#the life of a person in their late 20’s is riveting I tell you

[sparkles-and-trash]

I’ve been looking for a new kitchen table for s while and today at ikea I found the PERFECT one, but it was going out of stock and they didn’t know if they had any left and then dad and I found THE LAST ONE!!!!

I am… so ancient lmao, but!!!

it matches my bookshelf and tv table and everything!!!

LOOK AT IT ITS SO PRETTY AND CONVENIENT

[teflonsos]

⌠ MIGUEL HERRAN, 21, CISMALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, RICARDO ‘RICKY’ ALONSO! according to their records, they’re a FIRST year, specializing in DRIVER’S ED; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (5 a.m. cigarettes after a sleepless night, the smell of burning rubber after driving so fast you break the sound barrier, cheap vodka in an expensive shotglass, scraped knees and elbows from reckless parkour). when it’s the (scorpio)’s birthday on 11/04/98, they always request their CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. ⌿ kati, 23, est, she/her ⍀ @gallagherintro

STATS / PINTEREST / CONNECTIONS / CLASSES

INSPIRATION.

fernando alonso – formula 1

james hunt – formula 1

jp – redline

peter quill – guardians of the galaxy 

emmett cullen – twilight

mercutio – romeo & juliet

han solo – star wars

charlie pace – lost

vert wheeler – acceleracers 

BACKGROUND + CLICK FOR FULL BIO.

when ricky is born, there are expectations as the firstborn male but they are expectations that ricky refuses to meet. he’s stubborn, insolent, and straight up annoying. his dad is mysteriously never around and his mother suffers from chronic illness, so he generally has free range of the house and...free range to harass and drive out nanny after nanny

his younger sister is the balancing force in his life, proper in all the ways that he’s a mess and polite in all the ways that he’s uncouth. however, they get along really well and she’s his best friend in an otherwise large, empty house.

as he gets older, his father’s comings and goings are more noticeable to ricky and he realizes that he doesn’t really understand what his dad’s job actually is? and his father won’t answer his questions about it either. one night, when ricky is about ten years old, he sneaks downstairs to find his father covered in blood. at first he screams until he realizes, that’s not his father’s blood – it’s someone else’s.

put the pieces together, his dad is a blackthorne alumn, assassin, and...brotherhood member. 

ricky doesn’t really get the chance to be close with his parents, but he is super close with his grandfather. his grandfather is a big man with a full laugh who used to race formula one like, back in the sixties. he’s a big name, and ricky wants to be like him, and his grandfather is the one that gets ricky really into the sport. racing. 

ricky starts off by racing t cars, and when he’s fourteen and sneaking out to the track with his sister, things go awry. they’re stopped and kidnapped by brotherhood members. from conversations by the kidnappers, he can surmise that his father has something to upset the brotherhood and the kidnapping is a move to keep his father in his place. ricky have to listen to his father tell the kidnappers he doesn’t give a fuck about him (likely a bluff, but still stings) over the phone.

ricky’s father’s move doesn’t work, and he doesn’t get to them in time. ricky has to beg on the phone for his life. a gunshot rings out. everything else is a blur.

ricky wakes up the next day with a million questions, but there’s one answer: his sister will never walk again. a gunshot has left her without the use of her legs, but otherwise she’ll make a full recovery. she encourages ricky to continue his racing and tells him how much she believes in him.

he takes home trophies year after year while t car racing and people start to learn ricky’s name, to see him as an up and comer as they associate him with his grandfather. the next four years are hard work, but he’s healing from trauma with a new passion and a great support system.

ate age 19, he’s on the podium after his third formula three race, and he wins the championship, raining champagne on his teammates and laughing. his nights are busy, filled with parties and clubs, pretty girls and people willing to give him whatever he wants. 

he awaits the next season and the rise into formula two, but he’s getting ahead of himself. late nights spent partying before the race take their toll on him, and his sister says it best. “you shouldn’t go out there,” she says. “i have to go out there. it’s fine, i’m just a little hungover. besides, it’s raining today. i have the advantage.” but he never learns.

ricky crashes hard, lucky to get off with a tbi and some broken ribs, but the drugs in his system render him a pariah and no one will really want to sponsor him after that. everyone had high hopes for him, but now he just looks like another stupid kid. he’ll never forget the disappointment in his grandfather’s eyes. 

he spends most of the year blowing previous winnings.

after all of that bullshit, his grandfather sits him down. “you’re going to apply to gallagher academy,” he says. and that’s when he tells ricky everything, about his father’s profession, just like his grandfather’s brother and father before him. the legacy, the brotherhood, blackthorne academy, and ricky’s both riveted and horrified. “that’s what my sister got shot for?” 

ricky passes the test while the brotherhood still has its claws clenched tightly around the reigns of gallagher academy somewhere. he’s a good driver, the fastest, and he might’ve been the best if he wasn’t so irrational and drunk on his own pride (among other things.) 

before he can gain the skills to stop his father himself, someone else does. the news comes on ricky’s very first day of school: “dad’s been arrested.” and it’s like his whole world stops, because he always knew his father was bad, just someone else got to him first. 

PERSONALITY.

ADVENTUROUS: ricky is not afraid of risks, and actually, this is usually in a good way. he pushes himself to want and pursue fulfilling life experiences, so while he’s made stupid decisions, he never lets fear stop him from taking chances and trying new things, so he’s pretty open-minded 

CHARISMATIC: pretty good at putting on a smile and making himself likable when he needs to be, he has a nice smile and a good-natured spirit even if he can be a bit MUCH at times ! the kind of asshole that you can’t help but like anyway, he means well 

FLEXIBLE: one of his great strengths is his ability to go with the flow, it doesn’t change him around or turn him inside out when things don’t go his way, he’s pretty adaptable and able to adjust when there’s a wrench in his plans

SELF-DESTRUCTIVE: ricky has a habit of ruining things when they’re going good for him, he’s notorious for self-sabotage and it probably comes from a mix of feeling like he’s invincible so he pushes limits and because he’s almost comfortable in the label of fuck-up at this point, not wanting to get his hopes up too high

ENTITLED: whether he likes it or not, he comes from a good family and a past where most things have just been handed to him. so, while he’s worked hard, he’s never had to work...that hard. he feels entitled to success and certain things in life and he can be a bit of a dick about it, even out of touch with other ways of life. he tends to feel like he deserves things, such as his gallagher education or another chance at racing

SELF-CENTERED: apart from his sister, ricky very much puts himself first and can be a bit selfish. it’s mostly out of self-preservation, but most of his thoughts revolve around him. he actually puts a lot of pressure on himself, which is why he turns to unhealthy coping mechanisms and doesn’t look at how his actions affect others in his life

HEADCANONS.

when it comes to his memory loss, it’s pretty manageable. he keeps up with medication and IF he gets a good night sleep/eats well...it’s good on his brain. but sometimes he’s not so great about it! his most common habits are: putting something down and forgetting where he just put it, asking you a question he’s already asked, and he’s bad with names

used to be good at fighting games but now he isn’t and he still tries and it’s sad :(

as you can guess, he’s really bad at card games but he likes to gamble so he’ll just bet on other stuff. always ready to put money on the results of a sports game or something, loves to do fantasy brackets

really likes anime movies! watches a lot, but his faves are obviously redline, akira, princess mononoke, perfect blue, and ghost in the shell. he watches anime too and tbh probably a lot of anime i’ve never seen like naruto, one piece, and cowboy bebop. for my sanity please don’t talk to much about them with him bc i won’t know what to write.

loves to skateboard and snowboard, and is pretty good at it because really the main thing is confidence and he has plenty of that! 

loves to play pranks in class or on people, he’s got a whole repertoire of tricks he used to play on his nannies growing up and has no issue with playing them on a teacher with a stick up their ass

his primary coping mechanisms are 1) hating his father 2) cocaine and 3) acting stupid 

is bisexual and honestly doesn’t give a fuck! guys, girls, whatever, sex is sex and he’s gonna like who he likes. has never come out to his parents but has never known them well enough for it to matter. 

had a steady long term girlfriend but she broke up with him when he started to tank his future and started partying more, probably as self-preservation for herself and ricky feels guilty about how he treated her, doesn’t want to put anyone else through that

really likes german cars so it’s a bummer that he missed out on the berlin trip, he’s going to geek out and cry any time someone mentions berlin to him, he’ll be so jealous of their semester

has wicked good eyesight, 20/20 vision which is great on the track but he also has really good aim on a shooting range, he’s a pretty observant person as well 

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

BROTHERHOOD CONNECTIONS. Someone who also had someone close to them (likely a family member) that was also arrested for being involved with the Brotherhood by the strike team. Both Ricky and your muse are dealing with the shock of this together. 

FAN? SOMEONE WHO FOLLOWS RACING? Someone who watched Ricky’s rise and fall from grace by being invested in F1. It would make sense if they were a big fan of Ricky’s grandfather...and Ricky is the disappointment. Idk someone with predisposed opinions on Ricky. 

PARTNER IN CRIME. The two of them just vibe like immediately they both have the same chaotic energy and encourage each other’s recklessness to take chances and do stupid shit, are probably hilarious and can’t take anything seriously when they’re in the same room together, the kind of friends that other people can’t stand to see them together.

WHOLESOME FWB. They get along really well as friends and mainly just need to scratch an itch sometimes. None of that toxic shit, they probably lay around and talk about their crushes and are actually friends.

CONFIDANT. Late night rooftop conversations, this person can get Ricky to open up, is probably someone who is really chatty and comfortable with their own emotions and they encourage Ricky to be open about his. 

INFATUATION. Ricky doesn’t know your muse at all, just sees them in the hallway and thinks they’re super hot, probably an older and unattainable student that wouldn’t give him a second glance but he’s like...this is my future spouse. They just don’t know I exist. Has never talked to them and they might not even vibe if they ever spoke lol. 

ENEMIES? They simply don’t! Get along? Hate at first sight? They see Ricky smoking a blunt on campus and think he’s stupid irresponsible? He doesn’t remember their name when he should have? He makes a stupid immature comment that rubs your muse the wrong way? Any of the above, ready to fight at any moment. 

RACING BUDDIES. Another driver’s ed student who is willing to race with him after hours or practice together, they both wanna fuck the cars, they both are super competitive and bring that out in each other. 

OLD FAMILY FRIENDS. Their parents knew one another, likely on his dad’s (Blackthorne/spy) side, and they grew up closely. After the kidnapping happened, your character’s parent stopped speaking to the Alonsos and distanced themselves. Your character is probably the only one who knows about that part of Ricky’s past in any detail. 

GOT OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT. Ricky tried to flirt with your character but actually wound up pissing them off by seeming like an entitled white boy, which he is. He’s trying to prove to your character that he’s not so bad! This connection has nothing to do with feet I just had no better ideas for a name I hate feet. 

REALLY BAD SEX. your muse has ricky saved in their phone like [link]...prob a hookup that happens on one of the first days after he heard about his dad but...he’s fucked up and sad and he can’t get it up! It’s literally so embarrassing, maybe they’re both embarrassed, he wants to die when he sees ur muse around bc they saw his limp ass sad boy dick.

CAT AND MOUSE TYPE THING. essentially ricky has a bunch of attempts to flirt with your muse & your muse fucking hates it. Tom and jerry but like, if tom wanted to fuck jerry. I think of this gifset. 

[solacefruit]

Writing tips, pt 1. the paratext.

Thank you to everyone who expressed interest in this little advice series! Here is the first installation: paratext. I hope you find it useful! 

Please note: all writing advice is context-relevant. If the advice offered here doesn’t work for you, don’t follow it! 

Paratext is the stuff around the story: the title, blurb or summary, foreword, dedication, cover of the book (if it has one), and so on. In fanfiction, paratext also includes the tags, notes, rating, and any other additional information that isn’t part of the story but is attached to the text. Paratext is almost always what people first come into contact with, which means it’s in your best interest (and theirs!) that you make what you’re providing useful. Below I’ve outlined some of the pitfalls to watch out for and some strategies to keep in mind when figuring out how to give the right details to your future readers. 

Title. 

Do whatever you want! It’s your title. This part is very much about your own preferences, so pick something you like. 

Summary. 

Don’t ever write “I’m bad at summaries.” A summary is writing, so what you’re saying with that phrase is “I’m bad at writing” and that’s a fantastic way to get your reader to not want to be your reader! They’ll go read something by someone who doesn’t talk down their own work rather than waste their time on yours. Excusing yourself from having a summary with self-deprecation--or not having a summary at all--means that you’re not actually telling anyone what your story is about, which also means that you’re probably not going to attract readers. So what are some summary options if you’re stuck?

Simple but efficient. Think of two sentences that define the conflict in your story. Try to make your first sentence set the scene with specific details, and your second sentence introduce the source of tension. For example (using a non-existent fandom), “Holly has been working in the same dead-end job for the last four years, and finally quits to join the circus. When the silver-hatted ringmaster convinces her to train the lions, however, she realises too late that she’s signed on for more than she could have imagined.” These two sentences tell a reader enough information to get them intrigued and want to read more or let them know this story probably isn’t going to be for them, which is ideally what a good summary should do. 

Quote your story. My personal go-to, because it’s easy and I like the result. This method involves going through your work and selecting a passage or few sentences that really sum up your story’s overall vibe, its crucial conflict, or other meaningful or intriguing moment. You have a lot of freedom here to give the reader a taste of personal writing style and voice, and it’s a great way to show off a really killer bit of dialogue or a description you really like. 

Things to watch out for: rhetorical questions, which are almost never as engaging as people seem to think. Questions like “will they survive?” or vague statements like “or perhaps she will be the bravest of them all” are superfluous if you’ve written a good summary, because often it makes the writer sound uncertain and unwilling to make bold statements about what the story will be. If you can be specific with your statements, your summary will carry more weight and likely be more interesting and attractive to your reader. 

Compare these summaries from another fandom that doesn’t exist: 1. “Toby was a normal boy living a normal life with his sister. But when he finds out about wizard school, Toby’s next choice will change the world...” 2. “Toby thinks he’s a normal boy until he’s swept up into a world of magic and murder. When his sister is stolen by mysterious forces, will Toby decide to do what’s right?” 3. “Toby has an impossible choice to make: save his sister or get a scholarship to wizard school. After deciding to risk it all to save Hettie from the mysterious forces that stole her away, he thinks his dreams of wizardry are over... until a skeleton man makes him an offer he can’t refuse.” 

I personally feel the third option is the most riveting as a summary, because it’s full of detail. I know a bit about Toby, I know what choice he has to make, I know the name of his sister, I know that--as expected--he decides to save her but there’s still plenty I don’t know. Who is the skeleton man? What is his offer? Why can’t Toby refuse? So many delicious questions unanswered, but without being entirely vague and shapeless as a story concept. The job of the blurb is to make the reader open the first page, and the first page’s job is the get the reader to read to the second page, and so on. Keep this in mind as you go. 

Tags. 

Mileage varies here, but my rule of thumb is to keep the tags list trim and only include the essentials that people might need to 1. find your work and 2. figure out if it’s what they want to read. Characters with significant speaking roles are worth listing, but not background characters (especially if the cast is large). It becomes too unwieldy and makes it harder for people to tag-search for specific characters. Likewise, it’s important to use warnings in a way that will help your reader figure out if they’re prepared to read your work--which doesn’t mean you need to list every synonym or act of abuse that’s present, for instance. In many cases, you can go, “emotional manipulation” or “abusive parenting” and that’s going to tell people who’re sensitive to that material to avoid. 

Something I’ve noticed increasingly over the years is people using AO3′s tags like tumblr ones--i.e., a place to chatter--and I cannot recommend it. There’s nothing wrong with a few tags of non-essential information (it’s your work, after all!) but keep in mind that the tags do actually serve a function, and if your tags are a million lines long, not only is that frankly pretty annoying to scroll past, but also does not instill a sense of confidence in your work. If you’re looking to try to up the views on your work, keeping the tags functional and lean is one of the better ways to do that, in my opinion. 

Warriors-specific advice: the allegiance list. 

In theatre and books wherein it’s difficult to keep track of a huge cast of characters, it’s common to have a list of characters (or dramatis personae) in the front of the book or guide. The primary purpose of this list is to provide the viewer or reader something they can refer to as needed, to help keep characters straight in their mind. However, even in these long lists, usually only the most important characters are listed. The chorus is typically just “the chorus,” for example, and the order of the list tends to go from most speaking lines/significance in the story to least. 

Something I commonly see Warriors writers do is include full allegiance lists, of four entire 20+ cat clans, at the beginning of their stories, regardless of what clan the story takes place in or how relevant this information actually is. This is learned from canon, which includes an allegiance list in every book--but canon, at least initially, didn’t actually include full lists. Into The Wild listed Thunderclan in entirety, some of Shadowclan (the cats that feature in the book), and only the leaders (and deputy) of the other two. 

This more streamlined version is far easier for a reader to use, and frankly it is more likely a reader will read it if it’s not a wall of text about unfamiliar cats. Unless a full allegiance list of all your clans is vital for your story, consider cutting it down to your central clan and only the most important members of the other clans. If you think of your allegiance list as a practical tool, rather than just “something you do,” you’ll be able to make choices about when and how is the right time to use it in your story. 

[tamarindtoffee]

Best English movies in 2018

List of some of the best english movies I have seen this year! (No particular ordering)

1. Upgrade :

One of the best movies I have seen this year. The action sequences are so exhilarating that I wish there was a sequel already. This is the only sci-fi movie worth mentioning this year (sorry Annihilation).

2. Ralph wrecks the internet :

Wreck it Ralph is one of my all time favourite animations. The sheer amount of imagination this franchise packs is amazing and the new installment just pushes the limit further. I am amazed at how much detail went into making the internet setup like the data packages sent across, user personas maintained, search engines, tweets, etc. But what really stood out for me is that the film packs a great message of handling friendships when your life is changing. I personally lost several friends because I couldn’t handle their life changes. Well, its never too late I guess.

3. Game night

This is a complete fun filled entertainer. It delivers exactly what you would expect from this genre. The real shiners are of course the lead cast Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman. Who knew they could scorch the screen with their funny side.

4. Searching :

Another good thriller I have scene this year. The concept is refreshing and the execution is flawless. The fact that they switch from Windows to MAC in the 2000′s is a testament to the goodness of the execution. There is not so much mystery in the whole story but the movie as a whole is just worth the time.

5. Crazy rich asians :

Henry Golding! Eeeeee! That boy is just HAWT. It has great story too but Henry Golding! As for the movie, pure rom-cam just set in a different culture. But as long as that boy is on screen, I will watch anything, so.

6. A quiet place :

Another good thriller with great execution. Personally, what I loved most about the movie is the lifestyle itself. I mean, listening to radio all day eating raw food and laying still and not making any noise just seems like an amazing daily routine to me. I’m just saying, I could live comfortably in these settings you know.

7. Bad times at el Royale :

This movie trailer looked like it is gonna be a treat for Chris Hemsworth fans! So, I went into the movie expecting to see the shirtless almighty. As I was waiting for him to appear, I realized how crazy awesome this movie is. It was just riveting from the beginning and was unsettling by the end. The movie really stands out for its ambiguity and symbolism. All in all, great story telling and amazing cast. Do not miss it at any cost.

8. Mission Impossible: Fallout :

Tom cruise and Henry Cavill in one movie! I would just watch it even if its worse than a super bowl commercial. And this movie has some amazing action sequences. It isn’t the best spy movie ever but it is good enough to make this list.

9. Hereditary :

I wish I hadn’t seen this movie because it has so many disturbing sequences. Oof. It is Donnie Darko meets The Boy meets Insidious.In any case, it is a terrifying movie and you should not miss it because is a life experience.

10. Johnny English strikes again :

Funny! Really funny! Mr. Bean did it again. The scene with the VR headset where Johnny interacts with real world thinking it’s a game is just phenomenal and will make you giggle uncontrollably whenever you remember it. Or is it just me?

11. The spy who dumped me :

Cute Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon are cute. This movie packs so much punch in terms of feminism and oppression and it is all cleverly disguised under this sarcastic tone of situational comedy that it is amazing. It reminds me of the Melissa McCarthy 2015 film Spy and if you liked that movie, you will love this.

12. Eighth grade :

This is a really good movie on account that it is very realistic and makes you really uncomfortable by reminding you of your own awkward teenage years. You see the protagonist win these small and trivial milestones and yet you are so proud of her. It’s just really good. The fact that it is scripted only makes it all the more precious. I just couldn’t believe that awkward teenager was in someone’s head and it got translated from script onto screen.

13. Love, Simon :

Ooh, this is such a nice movie and a great book. More than the love track, I love all other tracks like the friendships and the parent-child relationship. I think they are the core of this character who then stands on these strong relationships and goes on grab another good relationship.

14. Set it up :

A netflix original with some great content. Another rom-com of course but the premise and the actors just make it stand out. Definitely worth a watch if you like Glen Powell because he is just so underrated.

15. Tully :

Another one of Charlize Theron’s acting master pieces. As a mother of three, Tully is the heartbreaking story of a mother who struggles to keep her sanity when she can’t find time for herself with everything happening in her life.

16. Dumplin’ :

I put this movie on the list because it helped me discover this whole new genre of Dolly Parton and cross-dressing. It is a cultural experience of sorts and you should have it.

17. Sierra Burgess is a loser :

The only reason this movie is on this list is because of Noah Centineo. That boy is yum and can be consumed only through these Netflix teen flicks. None the less, enjoy him.

18. Isle of dogs :

Haven’t seen the whole movie yet. But heard it’s really good and then there is Wes Anderson too. So watch it and let me know how you feel about it.

19. Avengers Infinity war :

It has become customary to watch these installments in summer and wait for the next one to come out year after year. But if you have invested in 18 movies before, what else are you gonna do? I blame RDJ for this burden.

20. Black Panther :

Hooray! I am at the end of my list. And I don’t mean to belittle Black Panther in any way. It was just as great as any other super hero movie released this year. I sure wish to see many more of the Wakandan supremo in the future.

Some more honorary mentions: Deadpool 2, A simple favor, Spiderman into the spiderverse, Destination wedding, etc.

Check out my other movies reviews here --> http://tamarindtoffee.tumblr.com/tagged/movie%20review

[patronsaintofprincesses]

Hey cutie, if you're up to the challenge, all 100 from the list with the 〜(￣▽￣〜) :)

First of all @unluckymess is the most amazing person in all of Texas I love you ilysm. Ahem 1. What are five things you want to do before the year ends? Well first I'd like to develop some structure maybe a morning routine nothing too fancy. Second, I need to buy a bike the bus is getting too expensive :0 Third, I would like to make an A in a class instead of B's and C's what is going on lol. Fourth, I would like to decorate my apartment and always have food in the fridge for friends that drop by. Finally, I'd like to settle this mess with my health insurance and be an adult. @_@ 2. What color are your pants? I'm currently wearing TMNT pajama pants so, green. 3.Favorite motivational quote? The one about John Lennon and his teacher. "I want to be happy." "You don't understand the question" "No, you don't understand life." 4.When was the last time you drank coffee? I had an Almond Joy cappuccino a couple of months ago. 5. What was the last thing you ate? An avocado and swiss cheese sandwich. 6. Favorite animal? Ooh probably an axolotl. Or snakes. 7. Favorite song? Of all time? One Step Closer by Linkin Park. But lately I've been listening to Let Her Go by Passenger. 8. Last movie you watched? While You Were Sleeping. Two Weeks Notice. Both very good Sandra Bullock rom coms. 9. Any turn ons? I've pretty much accepted that I have a thing for D/s (sir/ darling girl)and biting. Also being prettified and dirty talk. Dirty dirty. 10. Any turn offs? Physical S&M. Infantilism. Men who like being called Daddy.11. List 4 big words off of the top of your head. Antidisestablishmentarianism. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Hippopotomonstrosisquipedaliophobia. Deoxyribonucleic acid. 12. What are some meaningful movies? Robin Williams did a lot of those um I love Where The Heart Is. Movies based on books usually have some sort of nuanced meaning :p 13. Who are the 2 most important people in your life right now? Always my mum/brother and my best friend Mikachuu. 14. What are 3 things you want to do before the month ends? First, get a job. Second, take my dog to the vet. Third, learn some self-care darn it. Lol 15. When was the last time you read a good book? This morning! I am so hooked on Agatha Christie it is not even funny. 16. How long do you study for usually, if you study? Usually about three hours. Then I read my time away lol. 17. Do you have any nicknames? I am called San. 18. Favorite kind of perfume? (fruity, alluring, etc.) Happy by Clinique. It's a citrus/floral scent and Man by Pitbull. It's a woodsy?/musky cologne. 19. Do you have any international friends / friends who live out of state? Yes! Far off exotic places like Michigan, Illinois, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, California. Whee. 20. What is something unique that you do every single day? Hm live vicariously through fictional characters21. If there was a movie based on your life, what would it be called? Can't Hardly Even 22. When was the last time you bought a gift for someone? Mikachu's birthday 23. Are you a shopaholic? Nopers. I am poor and a minimalist 24. What are some songs that always make you feel better? Linkin Park. Panic! at the Disco. George Strait. The Hoosiers. Alllll of their songs. 25. List 3 activities that you can only enjoy by yourself. Reading, eating ice cream by the pint, and tightlacing. 26. If you could live in any biome (and survive) which biome would you live in? DRAGONLAND. 27. How do you like being roused in the morning? With poetry and flowers. Also brekkie. Maybe a pun or two lol. 28. How was your day? What did you do? It was swell, I read and ate cookies and doughnuts and an avocado sandwich. Thanks how was yours? :P29. What did your last text message say? Okay good let me know how you're doing. 30. Do you respond to texts quickly? Nooooooo31. Who was the last person you called? My mother, the saint @silver9mm 😇83. Do you miss anyone right now? My brother :)84. Who do you love? Why? All of y'all. Because I want to 85. Do you like sharing? Yes of course 86. What was the last picture you took with your phone? A selfie on SC 87. Is there a reason behind everything that happens? Yeah, the universe is fucking absurd 88. Favorite genre of music? Alternative. Followed by pop, country, and rock. 89. If you had one word to describe yourself, what would it be? San90. Describe your life in 5 words. Out. For. A. Walk. ...Bitch.91. Describe the world in 4 words. TOO MANY FUCKING PEOPLE 92. Craziest thing you've ever done? Survived 93. First three songs in your favorite playlist? These Tables Are Numbered For A Good Reason, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet by Panic! at the Disco. The Little Things Give You Away by Linkin Park. I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance 94. Are you more creative or logical? I think I'm boring beyond imagination 😇95. Would you rather lie or hurt someone with the truth? Truth. But I want to be lied to. 96. What are you most proud of? Being District Spelling Champion in 2013 97. What personality trait do you admire in other people? Charisma 98. When you imagine yourself as really, really relaxed and happy, what are you doing? Taking a hot bath in the dark listening to music reflecting on a book I just finished reading. 99. How do you usually start a conversation? Hi my name is San Juanita, I go by San. What is your name?100. What is the best news you could hear right now? My mother won the lottery !!! That was wild. I LOVED answering all of these thank you so much!!!

[dontfollowinmyfootsteps-really]

There’s a thousand places, (to match the thousand pieces of my broken heart) where I want to start this writing, but I’m so fucking mad, and sad, so so sad, that THESE THINGS about which I must write (or be crippled by the confusion, and pain) are things at all, that words come to me in rushes, and I think them, and write them, hate them, then delete them. And I have emotions colliding against each other with such ferocity I’ve felt literally for the first time in my life, over the last few days, that I might pass out. If this is where I am at, I can’t begin to imagine where must be those whose pain is mine only by association, admiration, and friendship. By history. By love. This writing which had started out about 2 heartaches, I am refining, which is not to say making shorter, to be about just 1.

I want to be very clear about something; I am gutted by Chester’s death, and it is a HUGE  loss for everyone who knew him, loved him, and loved his music. And this time “one of us” for me, for my huge extended Arizona family of ridiculously talented creative feelers, really was ONE OF US. But I do not seek to appropriate the pain of those who REALLY lost him. The one who lost her husband, the children who lost their father. The parents who lost their son. The friends since youth, business partners, and band mates. To them I send endless amounts of love, because if my pain is at 11, theirs must be at 11,000,000.

Chester and I were not BFF’s. We were more like super casual F’s, (friends, just in case that might read other than intended) who were part of a brilliant, ridiculously talented, absolutely insane in the best, and worst ways, group of people in the music scene in Tempe, (really metro-Phoenix) AZ, at the same time. “Tempe Jangle Pop” was big then, with bands like The Gin Blossoms and The Refreshments making names for themselves on the national stage. But also, The Meat Puppets and their punk/country thing, and Jimmy Eat World, were (and are in the case of Jimmy’s band) kinda big time too. DJ Z-Trip, The Phunk Junkeez, Dead Hot Workshop…these are just some of the bands/artists who “made it” to varying degrees, from that time, and place, and only representative of a small percentage of the talent that existed then, in the Valley of the Sun.

By now the world knows that Chester in the mid to late 90’s, was the vocalist for the band Grey Daze, with his Club Tattoo business partner, Sean Dowdell on drums. I, when we first met, was working as an independent Booking Agent/Band Manager, and then later as the Local Marketing Representative for a record label group. Having also been a singer, and writer,  most of what we shared was the arsty fartsy creative thing. I was later to find out we also shared being molested at age 7, and drug addiction.

Its not very often I know the exact date I first met someone, but thanks to how we met, and the internet, I know the first time I met Chester was September 10th, 1994. I think he was 18, but maybe 17. I was the Booking Agent for, “Tripping With Grace” and Grey Daze was the support act for them that night. It was my first show with Tripping With Grace, and my first show in the Phoenix scene. Literally in the hundreds is the number of shows I’ve been to in my life, so thousands is the number of bands that I’ve seen, and I will NEVER forget that night. Not because he became CHESTER BENNINGTON of LINKIN PARK, but because “who the f is the skinny kid with the braids and the HUGE voice, radiating raw passion, and energy as he sings?!” Truly he was riveting to watch, to listen to, even then. That voice. THAT voice. And him, on stage, so young, unpolished, not yet having perfected the front man thing, but riveting none the less.

Forever in my mind I see his stance, singing, bent at the waist, leaning forward, which anyone whose had any vocal lessons knows is the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to do when singing. Cupping the mic in his hands, which anyone who has done any singing into a mic know is the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to do. Unless you’re Chester Bennington.

This is DAYS worth of writing, attempts at writing, and so little said. Because I stop to cry, and remember, and wonder, and to FEEL my sadness and my anger.  I find myself unable to read most of what is written in the last week about him, except the memories written by my friends, his friends, our friends, and the tributes paid to him by fans. These precious memories we carry of this man who touched so many. Not just with his music, but with his genuine kindness, and humility. I’d say I’ve strolled down memory’s lane, but it has been more like a sunshine filled day – running through broken glass. Looks shimmery and pretty in the light, but hurts like a bitch.

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago, after Chris Cornell committed suicide titled “Who Cares if One More Light Goes Out? In A Sky of a Million Stars… I do.” Taken from the Linkin Park song which Chester, with great emotion, sang the day after Chris’s passing. This particular blog is about how us ridiculously talented creative feelers are sort of fucked up in our own ways. But how some of us, inexplicably, make our way around, or through, our fucked-upness, to the other side. The side where we’re still fucked up, but we’re not actively, or passively, trying to off ourselves because of it. And I wrote of  3 (anonymous)  people whose lives to greater or lesser degrees I have been privileged to be a part of. These 3 people who have had certain situations and circumstances  sadly similar to each other, and mine, and each rose to such amazing heights, in spite of bullshit, and pain, and for a couple of them, (and me) in spite of stupid choices. And Chester was one of those of whom I was speaking. The one of whom I wrote “Rise doesn’t begin to describe this story’s (not yet finished) end.” Because he had “made it.” Until he didn’t.

The last time I had a real conversation with Chester before he became CHESTER BENNINGTON OF LINKIN PARK, has always been for reasons I could never quite understand, indelibly etched on my brain. 4 years had past since the first meeting. I’d been to who knows how many Grey Daze shows, gotten my first tattoo by a Club Tattoo artist at an event called “Club Sex” which was basically live music and tattoos happening all under one roof, on my birthday (known to some as Valentine’s Day), and had seen him out and about every now and again because; music scene.  Now working for Never Records Group, I had one of our bands playing a show at Gibson’s in Tempe.

At one point in the evening I was outside the venue, and Chester came walking up. We hugged, exchanged hellos, and “what are you doing here” sort of questions. And then we talked about real life, and heartache. His heartache. And I see him now, just like I do every time I’ve thought of this the last 20 years, I see him, leaning up against the wall, hands pushed in his pockets, back curved, leaning forward, head down, one knee bent, and one foot on the wall behind him. When he’d look up, the emotion, the hurt around what he was sharing with me, was written all over his face, and reflected in his eyes. His life, and hurt at that moment in it is not my story to tell the world, and is ancient history now. What I can say is that he told me of new opportunities, and changes he was going to be making because he had to make them. I don’t recall what I said, but I’m sure I offered some words in which I’d hoped he’d find comfort, and hugs, and wishes that all would turn out for the best. Then we went inside, him to enjoy a show, and me to work my show.

Within a year or so of that is when he started to become CHESTER BENNINGTON OF LINKIN PARK. Every time I’ve thought of that conversation over the years, I’ve thought about how desperately sad he was. How he had no idea that the choices, and changes he felt he had to make, were going to lead him to heights none of the rest of us ridiculously talented creative feelers in Tempe, Arizona, could in our wildest dreams imagine achieving. I know by his own admission that even in his happy moments, he was prone to self sabotage, but I’d like to believe that there were at least some periods of time where he was able to ride the wave of happiness.

Grey Daze was set to do a reunion show in Tempe on September 23rd this year, and I was flying home for it. Having only seen Chester a couple of times since 1998, and always in some sort of mob fest meet and greet situation, I’ve never had the chance to remind him of that day, and how sad he was, and how far he’d made it. Not just in music, but in life, with the work he did with MusiCares, and in love with Talinda, with his kids, with Club Tattoo. I wanted to tell him how much hope he’d always given me, and how privileged I’d always felt that he, the human being Chester, not the eventually famous guy, had shared something so deeply personal, and allowed me to hold that space for him. And like so many others around the world I wanted to thank him for music, and lyrics, that brought me a measure of comfort in so many moments in time when nothing else could. Even if it was just because his was a voice from home, and a challenge to “scream” with! In this last week I have mourned the loss of that opportunity to say those words, which I do know he is aware of anyway.

This really has been a tough one that has brought back around my lifelong deep think about why so many of us ridiculously talented creative feelers go so low, even when soaring so high. I have grieved for him, for the pain he must have felt. I have cried copious amounts of tears. And screamed. And sang, And danced, And walked. And run. I have asked WHY god bless it WHY? I’ve sent waves of love, and peace, and healing, to the hearts that need it most, so that I could at least do something. I’ve been moved by the tributes to him from ALL OVER THE WORLD! Over and over reading words, or watching videos in which someone is talking about how they owe their life to Chester, and Linkin Park. I have had coworkers, and friends tell me that they directly credit Chester with getting them through some of the worst times of their lives.

Tonight, the day after the memorial for Chester, I have found myself in the place I feel I have to be, and that feels right, with all of this. I, as usual, have no answers, but, what is a possible truth that resonates for me, even while knowing it doesn’t comfort those he left behind, is that his work here was done. He has touched thousands upon thousands of lives with his music, and with his heart. He has been a voice to give courage to those struggling with depression, and addiction. He has literally saved lives because of those things. And now, he has “leveled up.” With his passing people from all over the world are coming together to celebrate him, to mourn the loss of him, and to comfort one another.  Funds are being donated in his name, which will help a someone in need someday. People who may not have reached out for help, are doing so. Suicide prevention information is being spread across social media at a rate I’m certain is much higher than usual. Chester’s friends in music are openly speaking of his passing, and urging anyone who needs help to seek it, and to reach out to each other for support, and friendship.

For me the loss of Chester has brought about the renewed desire to have the conversation about how the paradigm of the tortured/suffering/starving artist is played out. How there must be a way to create, and be happy, all at once. Not always of course. Not fake “church lady” happy. But that we don’t need to be unhappy because its what we’re “supposed” to be. We don’t have to self sabotage when we do find ourselves happy. We must tell the ridiculously talented creative feelers that it is OK to be those things when they are tiny humans! Nurture that. Give them the opportunity to explore that. Don’t bullshit them about it either. It’s not pretty, and it sure as hell isn’t always fun. But don’t tell them they have to be a Dr,/lawyer/scientist whatever. Teach them the value of taking care of reality, while pursuing their dreams!

I get that I’m not solving the problems with this very 101 “choose happy” sort of thing. See above and “I don’t have any answers.” But I am willing to shine a light, to be a light, to give a hug, or be the ear or shoulder that is needed. There can’t be anything more important to do in this life than that, right? If I never remembered another time when I made a difference in a persons life, I will always know that even for just a minute, I helped a sad someone feel, if not better, heard.

The last thing I want, need, to say, is Thank You to that skinny kid, with the braids, and the HUGE voice. Thank you for crossing paths with me in this reality. Thank you for the music that was the sound track for so many moments large, and small in my life, and not just sad moments, at all!! So many happy memories of you, with Grey Daze, and Linkin Park. Thank you for writing lyrics that I understand at a soul level. Thank you for your courage in being forthcoming about your abuse, your addiction, and your depression because it helped me when I was in my deepest, most dark place, where I didn’t care if I woke up the next day, feel quite so crazy, knowing it was just me who’d ever gone there.. Most importantly, thank you for giving me your trust, and the opportunity to be whatever you needed at that time, all those years ago. I will not say goodbye to you, I will simply say see you later, for whenever later may be, and I love you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photos not mine but were found via Google search.

                                                    -I was privileged enough to be working in the (son of a bitching, eat souls for breakfast, and puppies for lunch, but has always been my love) music industry in the mid to late 90’s in metro-Phoenix, where Chester was in a band called Grey Daze.

  For Chester, For Me, For You There's a thousand places, (to match the thousand pieces of my broken heart) where I want to start this writing, but I'm so fucking mad, and sad, so so sad, that THESE THINGS about which I must write (or be crippled by the confusion, and pain) are things at all, that words come to me in rushes, and I think them, and write them, hate them, then delete them.

[thelgbtarchives]

Rosie the LGBT Riveter

Mathew Scott

Newsweek Global, 6/20/2014, Vol. 162 Issue 24

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/06/20/rosie-lgbt-riveter-254508.html

This article discusses LGBT people in the United States during WWII, specifically lesbians and woman-loving women in the women’s workforce and gay men/men-loving men in the military, with some mentions of gender identity. While it is not written in first person or directly by an LGBT+ person, it speaks to and has interviews from LGBT+ people.

Bev Hickok remembers the deafening noise, the ceaseless mechanical hammer blows of women riveting airplanes together. She remembers how everyone smoked on breaks and that all the women wore pants. But mostly she remembers the friends, the women who invited her to sit with them at lunch her first day on the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California, in 1942.

"Evidently they took one look at me and said, 'There's another one,'" says Hickok, now 94. They apparently recognized her as one of their own -- a lesbian.

World War II has long been viewed by historians as an important moment in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history in America. During the war years, millions of young men left their homes and small towns for the military, living in a same-sex environment where they were exposed to a greater variety and volume of people than they had previously known. Women also left their homes, to work in factories and live in same-sex settings under similar conditions. Some homosexuals were not necessarily declaring they were gay or lesbian, says John D'Emilio, a history and gender and women's studies professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "But it creates a space where it's safer and easier to find other people like you and in which there's also -- both in military and homefront -- more tolerance, because it's the war and we're all working together."

It was a watershed moment in LGBT history, but public historian Donna Graves says most people and places that talk about World War II do not acknowledge it. "There's a national D-Day museum in New Orleans -- they don't touch this," she says.

Since the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park was established in Richmond, California, earlier this century, Graves has been pushing for the inclusion of LGBT stories. In March the park finally announced a campaign to collect some of those stories for a 2015 traveling exhibit. While recent decades have seen the inclusion of LGBT history in specialized courses and venues, what the Rosie the Riveter park is doing is "pioneering" says Graves, the project's lead historian and an exhibit consultant. "It's one thing for a local entity to document their history, and it's another when a federal agency decides this is really an important story to tell."

Both D'Emilio and Graves view the Rosie LGBT campaign as part of a recent trend within the federal government to openly recognize LGBT people. This can be seen in attempts by the National Historic Landmarks Program and the National Register of Historic Places to acknowledge buildings and landmarks significant to LGBT history. Two cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles, are conducting studies to document such places of historic importance.

That much of this effort is happening in San Francisco -- long a gay mecca -- is not surprising. The Rosie the Riveter park, located across the bay in Richmond, was founded on the idea that the stories of American civilians on the World War II homefront are complex. From the beginning, a variety of stories have been included, not all of them happy ones: Japanese internment, African-American segregation and Native American hardship. "We want to explode the myth that it's just the white middle-class woman suddenly taking a job in the factory, that Rosie was so much more," says Elizabeth Tucker, lead park ranger at the Rosie the Riveter park.

Tucker, 47, who has long been interested in the issue, only recently discovered that not a single LGBT story was in the Rosie the Riveter collection. Author Therese Ambrosi Smith found this absence a "glaring omission" and was instrumental in helping launch the LGBT campaign. Smith is donating the proceeds from her novel Wax, which tells the story of lesbian characters in the Richmond shipyards, and $1,000 toward an LGBT exhibit. More money poured into the Rosie the Riveter Trust, the nonprofit that supports the park, and the future exhibit was announced. In acknowledgement of the severe prejudice members of the LGBT community faced during World War II, an anonymous tip line was established.

Bev Hickok's friends made the first call, nominating her.

Arrested for Touching

Hickok was an unlikely "Rosie," a woman working for the war effort. Her mother dressed her in white dresses and gloves, and she belonged to a sorority at the University of California, Berkeley. The people she knew then didn't work in factories. They attended dances where they were expected to find suitable husbands, a ritual Hickok detested so much she paid a fine to her sorority to get out of them.

It was at Berkeley that Hickok first started to recognize that she was more interested in women than men. And it was at Douglas Aircraft that she admitted to herself she was a lesbian.

She initially became a Rosie because it was a way to stay on her own after she finished graduate school in Los Angeles. Her parents weren't pleased, but war work was an acceptable reason for her not to return home. She did the job for two years, in part because it was a world in which gender roles were more flexible. For the first time in her life, she was encouraged to wear pants. She met her first gay couple. She lived with a girlfriend.

But the openness was limited; she had to remain guarded in the outside world. "I found that I had to be secret," says Hickok, a thoughtful woman with a sharp wit. "It was exciting in a way -- this was a secret society."

She isn't sure what would have happened had she been discovered, but she believes the punishment would have been severe, even prison. Back then, you could be arrested for wearing clothing of "the opposite gender," Graves says. You could also be arrested if you were in a bar and dancing or even touching someone of the same sex and police deemed it a homosexual encounter. "People really were living in fear of losing their jobs, their housing -- in the case of someone in military service, of being dishonorably discharged -- and even threats of physical violence," Graves says.

While the abundance of women makes the lesbian tales the easiest to obtain, the LGBT project is also attempting to tell the stories of bisexual, transgender and gay civilians serving on the homefront. Selwyn Jones discovered the danger of being openly gay early on. The war brought Jones, a farm boy from Texas, to Tampa, Florida, where he served as a court reporter on a case that involved the dishonorable discharge of a gay man. Although he was not a civilian at the time, he shared his wartime story with the exhibit because it took place in the U.S. and not overseas. "It certainly was an eye-opener," says Jones, a small bundle of energy whose jeans are held up by black-and-white-checkered suspenders.

A night owl who rarely schedules anything before noon, Jones has lived in San Francisco for decades. At "92 and a half," he has experienced the swing of gay history, ranging from the activist years of San Francisco politician Harvey Milk in the 1970s to the dark years of the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s (a bedroom photo commemorates a lover who died of complications from AIDS). For Jones the story begins during World War II while he was still in the U.S. before shipping overseas. It was then that he heard the word homosexual for the first time. "I was already behaving like one, but I just didn't have that word for it yet," he says. "Being a farm boy from East Texas, I had never read anything."

He was in his early 20 s then, and although he would soon be sent overseas to fight, he was discovering the possibilities, and dangers, of being a gay man in America. After the war, he looked up the man who had been discharged and went to visit him. "I still didn't know many gay men, and I wanted to find out from him what it was all about."

The man took Jones to a bar frequented by both gay and straight men. It was the first time Jones had been to such a place, and the first time he had socialized publicly with an openly gay man.

The Women's Land Army was also a place to discover gay life. The WWII Home Front Oral History Project has collected stories in collaboration with the Rosie the Riveter park. In his story, Jeffrey Dickemann -- known then as Mildred -- describes several encounters with lesbians while spending a summer helping on farms. While one retelling includes the dismissal of a woman known to be a lesbian, others chronicle the relative openness with which some women engaged in same-sex relationships. For Dickemann, as for Hickok and Jones, the period served as an introduction to gay life.

And yet it was not until late in life that Jones and Hickok were able to be completely open about their sexuality, and Dickemann was ready to make the transition to living as a man. Neither Jones nor Hickok ever told their parents about their sexual orientation, and Hickok worried that her employers at the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked as a librarian, would fire her if they found out. Despite the fears and prejudices they once lived with, both believe society is now ready to hear their stories.

In April, at the LGBT campaign kickoff event in Rossmoor, a senior community in Walnut Creek, California, Hickok shared her story. Around 60 people attended, only a handful as old as Hickok, who has mobility difficulties but remains clear-headed and well dressed.

Her sharp wit is also still in place. When talking recently about a gay hairdresser she spent time with while working as a Rosie, she tugged a strand of her short white hair and said, "I could use him now." The hairdresser couldn't understand how Hickok could endure the noisy environment of the aircraft company. But for Hickok it was far better than when she was surrounded by sorority sisters interested only in "dating and marrying a rich man."

Hickok did eventually marry. In 2008, after the California Supreme Court ruled that a law excluding same-sex couples from marriage was unconstitutional -- and before the passage of Proposition 8, which overturned the ruling -- she married her partner, Doreen S. Brand. Hickok has outlived Brand and watched as Americans first fought against and now seem to be largely in favor of same-sex marriages.

In 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Prop 8's defenders, once again making it legal for same-sex partners to marry in California. The changes in LGBT rights have been monumental, but Hickok continues to take them in stride, she says, "walking along with it."

[celebritylive]

For three days in Nashville, it was a country music glutton’s feast of performers: Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum.

Was there any reason to complain? Well, maybe that Chris Stapleton did fail to show up, but he had a good excuse with three of his five kids down with the flu.

Otherwise, the artist lineups had the sparkliest shine at Country Radio Seminar, the broadcasting convention held last Wednesday through Friday. CRS offers artists and labels the annual opportunity for one-stop radio promotion: to break news, to introduce new music and to boost songs already charting.

No doubt the biggest industry news was label hopscotching by two superstars: Tim McGraw, who recently split from Sony, was the jaw-dropping surprise at Big Machine’s luncheon on Friday, returning to the company where he’d made himself at home from 2012 to 2017; he didn’t perform at the event, but he’s set to release a new single soon and will tour this summer. Reba McEntire’s appearance was the shocker at Team UMG’s revue at Ryman Auditorium on Thursday. Emigrating from Big Machine to her original label, Universal Music Group, she rewarded her audience with a trio of classics: “How Blue,” “And Still” and “Fancy.”

Kenny Chesney, who jumped from Sony to Warner Music a couple of years ago, appeared at Warner’s luncheon on Wednesday to receive the artist humanitarian award from the Country Radio Broadcasters. He was honored for his bountiful charitable efforts, including donating all proceeds, more than $1.1 million, from his 2018 album, Songs for the Saints, to Hurricane Irma relief. Chesney kept any new music under wraps, instead performing crowd-pleasers “Save It for a Rainy Day,” “When The Sun Goes Down” and “Get Along.”

RELATED: After Losing His Own Dog, Kenny Chesney Helped Save 1,400 Animals in the Year Following Hurricane Irma

Since CRS offers a captive audience of radio’s decision-makers, it’s often the moment when new songs are premiered.

This time around, Keith Urban advanced his new single, “God Whispered Your Name” — a luscious R&B-tinged love song with an outro “hallelujah” chorus — that the rest of the world will hear on Thursday.

Just back from two months of surfing, Kip Moore brought his current single, “She’s Mine,” out to play for a verse and a chorus before effortlessly segueing into “Janie Blu,” a soulful heartbreaker probably destined for his next album.

Hard at work on their next project, the Brothers Osborne delivered a first-time performance of “Skeletons,” with trademark guitar licks and a driving “It Ain’t My Fault” beat.

Sam Hunt didn’t bring a hip, hop or click track with him, but he did arrive at UMG’s event with three acoustic guitarists to help him deliver a surprisingly traditional “three chords and the truth” country ballad. Solemn and mournful, “2016” is steeped in regret (“I thought I wanted my freedom / I told myself I’d have a ball / But it turns out goin’ out and chasin’ / Dreams and lonely women / Ain’t freedom after all”). Surely it has some real-life inspiration, considering his well-documented reconciliation that year with girlfriend Hannah Lee Fowler, whom he married in 2017. Hunt’s new album, Southside, is due out April 3.

Kelsea Ballerini also surprised by going traditional in a completely different direction, adding her first-ever drinking song to her catalog. “Hole in the Bottle,” debuting at Amazon Music’s showcase, features a lot of the same tongue-in-cheekiness of Ballerini’s “I Hate Love Songs”: “There’s a hole in the bottle / Leakin’ all this wine / It’s already empty/ It ain’t even suppertime.” (Ballerini takes her country vibe only so far: The bottle holds Cabernet, not whiskey.) The song is sure to show up on her third album, dropping March 20.

At the end of an hour-long Q&A covering his life and career, Eric Church premiered one of 28 songs he’d completed in an astonishing 28-day marathon, in which he wrote and recorded a song a day. Perhaps to be titled, “Jenny,” the high-spirited love song comes with lots of renegade spirit.

RELATED: Who Is That Unmasked Man? Without His Trademark Shades, Eric Church Talks Career, Drive and That Outlaw Image

Still looking for a career-breakout hit, Mickey Guyton delivered a searing debut of “What Are You Gonna Tell Her.” The freshly penned ballad is a bracing dose of reality to young girls with big dreams — a timely message that may be a hard sell to country radio, but the ecstatic reception by the crowd at the UMG event clearly signaled it deserves a national audience.

Other up-and-comers with new music, some just released, also drew attention: Sami Bearden, Savana Santos and Sam Backoff — the girls-next-door trio Avenue Beat — showed they’re blazing their own trail with an infectious song like “Ruin That For Me,” which goes to radio March 23. Travis Denning brought a welcome helping of merriment with new release “ABBY” (which stands for “anybody but you”). At Big Machine’s luncheon, Payton Smith auditioned to be the next country-rock god with a four-song set, including upcoming debut single, “Like I Knew You Would.”

RELATED: Five Things to Know About Travis Denning, Country’s New Go-To Guy for a Good Time

Caylee Hammack was at her storytelling best with new single, the autobiographical “Small Town Hypocrite” (though she might have to find another four-letter word to rhyme with “hypocrite” to get it on terrestrial radio). Danielle Bradbery’s two brand-new ballads, ““Girls In My Hometown” and “Never Have I Ever,” reminded listeners of the crystalline voice that was The Voice on that TV show’s fourth season.

Luke Bryan prepped listeners for his seventh album, out April 24, by performing recently released title cut, “Born Here, Live Here, Die Here.” Carrie Underwood, a newcomer at the UMG event, offered an acoustic version of album cut “Spinning Bottles” and duetted with Urban on their No. 1 hit, “The Fighter.”

Dierks Bentley showed up as Hot Country Knights frontman Doug Douglason in his bad wig and (yikes) a crop-top T-shirt; he and his ’90s-throwback band threw down their new single, “Pick Her Up.” Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum both did victory laps, delivering sets of selected hits at the Big Machine event. Miranda Lambert topped an hour-long Q&A with two Wildcard cuts, “Dark Bars” and “How Dare You Love.” And Garth Brooks turned in an 11-song set of covers and his own hits at CRS’s annual songwriters event.

RELATED: Miranda Lambert Dishes on a Freaky Fan Encounter, Dog-Discipline Magic and Her Husband’s Favorite Song Request

Five fresh talents — Ingrid Andress, Morgan Evans, Riley Green, Runaway June and Mitchell Tenpenny  — were voted by broadcasters to be the 2020 class of CRS’s “New Faces,” and each was rewarded with short sets on the final night of the conference. Their stage performances proved they’re all just as riveting to the eyes as the ears, and each amply proved the power of the personal.

Andress drew a standing ovation for her top 15-and-climbing “More Hearts Than Mine,” inspired by real life. The loss of loved ones brought out the emotional depth in three artists: Evans’ “Things That We Drink To” was dedicated to his late manager, Rob Potts; Tenpenny performed “Walk Like Him,” inspired by his late father; and Green wrenched hearts with his career-defining “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.” And though Naomi Cooke, Jennifer Wayne and Hannah Mulholland of Runaway June didn’t write “We Were Rich,” they made that looking-back song their own with a stirring delivery.

from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/2T63nbD

[hatchibomitar]

1-70

alright this has been sitting here for like a month and im tipsy so im gonna fkin answer it

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

i have a great relationship with my mom!!

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to?

my girlfriend 😊😊😊😊❤❤

03: Do you regret anything?

oh sure i do! lots of little things. that’s anxiety babey. but i don’t regret any choices that have got me to where i am today

04: Are you insecure?

it depends on the day, i am some of the time - but it’s a huge improvement from the past omg

05: What is your relationship status?

in a RELATIONSHIP with the LOVE OF MY LIFE 

06: How do you want to die?

i do Not like this question ! goodbye thot

07: What did you last eat?

salsa chicken and rice, and zucchini!!!!! and i might annihilate a pint of ice cream later

08: Played any sports?

yes omg i played soccer and lacrosse!!! i love lacrosse sm.

09: Do you bite your nails?

nope i never have! i used to rip them off though lmfao! not the whole thing!!!!! jsust bits

10: When was your last physical fight?

never lmao

11: Do you like someone?

yes

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours?

no oh my goodness i would literally die

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment?

sober kaiden might be all dramatic and say yes but white claw kaiden says No :-)

14: Do you miss someone?

yes :( i want to be Kissed!

15: Have any pets?

yA omg i have 2 cats at my mom’s house!!!!! i cannot wait until i can have my own pet

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?

i’m actually feeling fgreat, it’s basically my summer break rn and usually i’d feel terrible with no strict plans of what to do, but today was so much fun. i had a great time just fuckin around. im very optimistic

17: Ever made out in the bathroom?

HEHEHE oh my gosh, i don’t kiss and tell, but yes i do actually. ok so not a public bathroom but someone else’s bathroom at a party, yes, and my own bathroom, yes, and someone else’s bathroom, yes! i just love bathrooms (wow i sound so cis)

18: Are you scared of spiders?

not especially ! i am Not good at capturing them and also i cannot kill them, but i am sometimes ok with just letting them chill. ok maybe i lied. it depends

19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?

no 😤

20: Where was the last place you snogged someone?

the brit Popped Out! the last place was, the airport when i dropped my girlfriend off :(((((

21: What are your plans for this weekend?

omg well it’s still the weeknd rn? it’s sunday night. and my plans were: d&D!!!!!! and it was SO FUN!!! but next weekend, im seeing my bestie graduate college along w my other mt friends, and then on sunday i’m driving home 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

22: Do you want to have kids? How many?

Yes I Do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i ‘m not super sure, maybe 2? 1 would be fine too but also i feel like siblings are great, even tho they’re terrible at the same time. like i’d face my brother in ritual combat but i would also slap a high schooler in the face for being mean to him, yknow

23: Do you have piercings? How many?

i do! i have 2 closed up ear holes. 

24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)?

i was always great great great at english/reading/spelling! now i’m in college so like uhhh . i get to choose my subjects. so my best is photography ahah!! but i’m not bad at writing :-)

25: Do you miss anyone from your past?

not desperately. sometimes i feel the urge to reconnect with old friends tho

26: What are you craving right now?

a Kiss!!!!!!

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart?

wait omg first i have a story. so on facebook they used to have those things where you’d answer questions, like this, in a note. i got tagged to do one so i did. let me set the scene. it was sophonmore year of high schoool. im 16. i’d broken up with my first “real” boyfriend a few months ago. so i was tagged for this shindig right.? it got to this very same question: have you ever broken someone’s heart? and i thought about this kid who i dated for 2.5 months...and i was like....well, clearly, he’s devastated we aren’t together! so i answered “Yes. Unfortunately.” ooohhhhh..... the drama.......the absolute emotion..... riveting.... who was he ? i was probably listening to jonas brothers SOS at the time.

anyway, how am i supposed to actually know ? like does sometone have to say “u broke my heart?” bc if so no one’s said that. but my last gf took the breakup v hard so maybe ? but i don’t wanna plant emotions in to anyone’s skull!

28: Have you ever been cheated on?

one of my exes sexted her friends. jury is still out on whether that counts, please lmk me know ur thots. kaelin, if ur out there, i’m so.................................happy that i haven’t spoken a word to you for 3 years. fuck off !

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?

Yes

30: What’s irritating you right now?

real quick, an update on the chocolate ice cream situtiaon. i’ve cracked open my pint, as well as another hard seltzer. i’ve also lit a candle. it’s a real production

anyway, no ! oh hahahah. sorry. thought it shaid who’s irritating you. ummm, personal stuff! but im not like mad. just personal drama

31: Does somebody love you?

lors of people do! and lots of people love You Too!!!!! you’re a delight!

32: What is your favourite color?

i LOVE yellow !!!!!!!!!!!! and blue, specifically teal! but not too dark of a teal you km,now ?

33: Do you have trust issues?

depends what im trusting them with !

34: Who/what was your last dream about?

i had a nightmare that i was sabrina the teenage witch and another witch was chasing me on a rooftop trying to kill me :(

35: Who was the last person you cried in front of?

hmmm idk actually bc it’s hbeen hard for me to cry lately :( probably maya ?

36: Do you give out second chances too easily?

to be honest i don’t think i’ve often had the chance to Give a second chance

37: Is it easier to forgive or forget?

idk man iuhhh it’s kinda hard to just literally completely forget! and mnaybe not as healthy!

38: Is this year the best year of your life?

that’s kinda premature, it’s only april!!! but i suppose may is soon. idk im not sure! maybe every year is the best year of my life :-)

39: How old were you when you had your first kiss?

20 bb

40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked?

i have ANaughT

51: Favourite food?

i would give up everything for a bgagel. i also LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEE sushi! my fave roll is i think either spicy tuna w the spicy sawce or seared salmon ora spicy tuna hand roll. i fuck sushi

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?

this is a hard question for me to answer bc i want to say yes but also i don’t think abuse or murder or bad things or unnecessary death happens for any reason other thna, it just does sometimes and that sucks real bad. so idk. i don’t think everything has a grand purpose. but i blieve in my life, everything that’s happened to me has in fact led me to where i am today and i’m learning and healing and growing. that being said i could do without some of the things that have happend to me!

53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?

read a storm of swords :00000

54: Is cheating ever okay?

no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the point of cheating is it’s a breach of Trust! and that’s not okay!

55: Are you mean?

i hope not :(

56: How many people have you fist fought?

what is with u brits

57: Do you believe in true love?

depends what u mean by true love...like in fairytales? i think true love is just loving someone so much you’re willing to work on whatever you need to to keep them. not unconditional in the sense of “even if they’re mean i still love them” but unconditional in the sense of “even if u fart in front of me i don’t care, and even if you go through hardship and aren’t yourself for a while i will still love you because im with u for real”

58: Favourite weather?

SUN SUN SUN my favorite is when it’s warm out, but there are clouds to gaze at. it’s kinda humid. there’s a slight breeze. oh gosh i can’t wait for the summer :*( im currently cyring

59: Do you like the snow?

i am so fucking tired of the snow LMFAO it snows 8 months of the year here and i’m here, guess what, 8 months of the year! i fuckin hate it! go shit on someone else, clouds

60: Do you wanna get married?

YES more than anything, so much, i want to, so badly

61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OH MY GOD I DIE I MELT

62: What makes you happy?

sunshine, late night drives, laughing so hard my stomach hurts w/ my best frineds, playing d&d, writing poetry,  thinking about how small animals’ feets are, petting my cat and making him purr, talking to my little brother about real stuff, kissing my girlfriend and seeing her smile, warm blankets when it’s cold, eating cookie dough, dancing, singing in the car, holding hands, walking in the summer and listening to my favorite podcast, talking about harry potter with my mom, playing overwatch in the summer with andy, going to council crest

the list could go on forever :-)

63: Would you change your name?

already did PAL!!!!!!!!!!!

64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed?

only hard bc she’s not physically here rn. but no, it would be easy, beacuse she’s so kisssable

65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

if you define sex by GENITALS YOU BIG BIBNCH then i don’t Have one

66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around?

stop omg......

67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to?

STOP OMG

68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

hmmmmmmmmmm..... idk maybe jamie

69: Do you believe in soulmates?

i don’t necessarily believe that there’s 1 perfect person for everyone out there romatnically, but i believe thaere are people destined to be in your life and i believe there are people that you will click with just absolutely instantly and feel an incredibly deep connection with, whether it be romantic or not

70: Is there anyone you would die for?

kinda morbid :/

[foresthillsirisgardens-blog]

Chief Joseph war shirt sells for $877,500

Chief  Joseph Monument Nespelem, Washington

Today in depressing auction news, a beaded, quilled hide shirt with white weasel fur fringe and human hair decoration worn by Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph sold at the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction in Reno, Nevada on July 21st for $877,500 to yet another anonymous private collector. This particular garment is of major historical significance. Chief Joseph was wearing it in the first photograph ever taken of him and in a painting by Cyrenius Hall that is now in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The Hall portrait was also used in 1968 to make a postage stamp dedicated to the great chief.

The shirt was dispersed with the rest of his belongings at a potlatch — a ceremonial gift-giving feast in which goods both material and spiritual are redistributed and/or traded — hosted by Chief Joseph’s widow the summer after his death in September of 1904. He had been buried immediately after his death, but in June of 1905, a white marble monument was erected to his memory in the historic Nez Perce cemetery in Nespelem, Washington. He was reburied under the new monument with great ceremony on June 20, 1905.

An article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper of June 25, 1905 describes the event:

The Chief Joseph potlatch took place Friday. It was one of the greatest affairs of the kind we have any record of. The huge council lodge was filled. At the head of the lodge were gathered heaps of the worldly possessions of the late Chief Joseph. … After dinner speeches were made, the crowning of which was made by Chief Yellow Bull. The speech was made on horseback while the old chief rode slowly three times around the outside of the big council lodge. He rode Chief Joseph’s faithful old horse and besides that dignity he wore all of Chief Joseph’s war clothes, including the famous eagle feather war bonnet. His speech related almost wholly to the greatness of the man whose clothes he was wearing. …

The great war bonnets and war clothing went to the three nephews. A dozen watches were among the gifts, three fine guns and an endless array of blankets. One of the three buffalo robes was given to Three Knives, or Professor Meany.

So presumably this shirt passed into the hands of one of Chief Joseph’s nephews in 1905, but there is no record of it after that for another 90 years. Its prominent presence in national iconography notwithstanding, the shirt disappeared into the market and was purchased by a collector at an Indian relic show some time in the 1990s. Neither the seller nor buyer had any idea of who had worn this shirt and when. It was sold purely as an exquisite Native American craft in excellent condition. That collector then sold it to another collector who researched the piece thoroughly and was able to identify it as the shirt worn by Chief Joseph in the 1877 picture and the 1878 oil painting. Experts confirmed that it could not have been a later forgery based on the images. The crafts and materials simply cannot be duplicated.

Pictorial evidence is the best evidence there is for the provenance of an object like this. Another war shirt attributed to Chief Joseph sold at Sotheby’s this May for $482,500 because even though there was an impressive paper trail and oral history linking the shirt step by step to Chief Joseph’s cousin Peo-Peo-Tholekt who is said to have received it at the 1905 potlatch, there is no direct evidence that it was ever worn by the chief. One picture is worth a thousand words and $400,000, I suppose.

The picture in question marks an incredibly sad period in Chief Joseph’s life and in the miserably awful history of the United States’ dealings with the Native Americans.

In 1855, Joseph’s father known as Chief Joseph the Elder and a council of other Nez Perce chiefs signed a treaty with the US establishing a 7.7 million acre reservation covering traditional tribal lands in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Among them was the Wallowa Valley, the ancestral land of Joseph’s tribe. In 1863, under pressure from settlers and gold rushers, some of the Nez Perce tribes signed a new treaty establishing a 780,000 acre reservation which did not include the Wallowa Valley. Joseph the Elder refused to sign, as did other chiefs, this creating a rift between the “treaty” and “non-treaty” Nez Perce peoples.

On his deathbed in 1871, Chief Joseph the Elder told his son “This country holds your father’s body. Never sell the bones of your father and your mother.” Chief Joseph promised. He never fought the white settlers or the US government with weapons and bloodshed, but he struggled at council after council to ensure his people remained in the Wallowa Valley. Treaties were made that were of course broken whenever the US felt like it. Finally in 1877, Army General Oliver Howard gave Chief Joseph an ultimatum: move out of the valley to the Idaho reservation or we’ll consider it an act of war.

Then began a massive flight. The Nez Perce, pursued by the US Army, first fled east hoping the Crow nation would allow them to settle on their lands. The Crow did not, so Chief Joseph’s people moved north hoping to cross the border into Canada. They almost made it. Just 40 miles from the border near Snake Creek in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana Territory, Chief Joseph and the US Army fought a five day battle. Freezing, starving, his warrior ranks decimated, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Howard. Chief Joseph’s speech, ostensibly recorded as is but very possibly embellished by Lieutenant Charles Erskine Scott Wood, has gone down in history:

Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Too-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are—perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.

The 600 or so surviving Nez Perce were forced to march 400 miles to Fort Keogh, Montana Territory, where they arrived on October 13th, 1877. It was there that post photographer John F. Fouch took the first picture of Chief Joseph ever taken. He was wearing the war shirt as he sat for the picture. From the auction website:

Joseph is seated in the photo and his hands appear frostbitten. Yet, his hair is pushed up in a proud warrior pompadour and he is dressed resplendent in his shirt. Examination of details in the photo leaves no question that the shirt in the Fouch photo is one and the same as the shirt here under discussion. Note and compare the varying lengths of quill wrappings on the hair locks under the neck flap, the short fringe cuts at the end of the sleeves, and the alignment of bead decoration on the neck flap, shoulder and sleeve strips. (Color values of the orthochromatic film used in the 1870’s do not always appear as they do in the later panchromatic film.) Several of the red wool wrapped ermine skin fringes have been secured with pericardium and match up from photo to shirt, especially on Joseph’s left shoulder.

After their stay in Fort Keogh, General William Tecumseh Sherman sent Joseph and 400 of his people to the prisoner of war camp in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. At Leavenworth, painter Cyrenius Hall made his portrait of Chief Joseph, again wearing the shirt.

The Nez Perce were kept prisoner at Fort Leavenworth for eight months, then moved to Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma. They lived there (in a manner of speaking; many died there) for seven years. During this time, Chief Joseph tirelessly fought for them to be allowed to return to their ancestral lands, personally pleading their case before presidents, politicians, intellectuals and in the press. Read his riveting account of the history of his people and the patronizing, stupid introduction to it in “An Indian’s Views of Indian Affairs” from the North American Review of April 1879. It’s enough to make you pop a blood vessel, I swear.

In 1885 Chief Joseph’s Nez Perce tribe was allowed to go back to the Pacific Northwest, but not to the Wallowa Valley. Even once settled in Washington’s Colville Reservation, until the end of his days in 1904 Joseph never stopped advocating for his people to be treated with reason and respect, and for their right to return to their ancestral homelands.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/18392

[otmaromanovas]

those asks??? do em all buddy go nuts

ask and ye shall recieve

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?When You Believe, You Will Be Found, Danse Macarbe, 96000, Africa, and Hey Jude2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?Queen Elizabeth. She’s an absolute legend, and I’m going to be devastated when she dies. 3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.Maria Eva Duarte de Peron had in large quantities many of the qualities needed to lift her from obscurity to fame4: What do you think about most?What the hell I’m going to do with my life5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?“You up for DTBD tonight??”6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?Depends on the season. In autumn and winter I do, but sometimes summer can be way too warm (even at night)7: What’s your strangest talent?I can sightread sheet music perfectly8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)Girls will be girls. Boys need to grow the hell up.9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?Not explicitly, no. 10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?I honestly can’t remember11: Do you have any strange phobias?No12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?I had a piece of lego up there when I was a little kid13: What’s your religion?I’m Roman Catholic14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?Tanning, taking photos or reading in the shade15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?Behind it.16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?I don’t think I have one. I fluctuate between favourite songs, and bands are even harder17: What was the last lie you told?I claimed having to work so I could be designated driver so I didn’t have to drink18: Do you believe in karma?I do. I try to do good things so good things happen to me. 19: What does your URL mean?I’ve loved Elizabeth Schuyler since I was an actual child, and her familial nicknames were Liza and Betsey20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?I’m so awkward around people I don’t know. I like to think I am the most supportive person you will ever knoe21: Who is your celebrity crush?Gal Gadot22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?No!23: How do you vent your anger?Throwing pillows around and screaming24: Do you have a collection of anything?I’m working on a playbill collection of shows helmed by women. I started collecting shells from every beach I visit when I was a kid, and I still do that now. 

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?Video chatting- I love seeing peoples faces when I talk to them26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?I’m content. I wouldn’t say happy yet, but I’m getting there27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?Microphone feedback is literally the worst. Orchestras warming up is the greatest sound you will ever hear28: What’s your biggest “what if”?What if I dropped out of my degree and moved down to Canberra now, rather than in two years?29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?I think ghosts are just the memory of people who have lived. I do believe people see them. I absolutely refuse to think that humans are the only sentient species in the entire universe. 30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.A mug of tea. A potted plant31: Smell the air. What do you smell?Freshly cut grass and cold air32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?A B&B in Sydney that boiled the sausages for breakfast33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?I live on an east coast, so I’m biased34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?If I had to choose, probably Calvin Harris35: To you, what is the meaning of life?Living to the best of your ability36: Define Art.Subjective37: Do you believe in luck?Yes38: What’s the weather like right now?Windy and kind of chilly. But not cold yet.39: What time is it?10:25am40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?I do! No (knock on wood). I’ve been in the car when it has crashed, but I’ve never caused it.41: What was the last book you read?The Book of the Dead by the New York Times. It’s a collection of the obituaries they’ve published since they were founded. It’s grim, but so interesting42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?A little, yes43: Do you have any nicknames?So many! My favourite is Goldilocks (I used to have really long, blonde, curly hair) 44: What was the last film you saw?Moana. I was babysitting my neighbours daughters and they suggested it. 

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?Okay so I was a water polo player for years, and had some major beef with this girl. We played against each other in an interschool competition. It was a REALLY violent game. I ended up giving her a black eyes and I loosened some of her teeth- she gave me a concussion, a cracked rib, and managed to nearly dislocate my knee. Oh yeah, and I nearly drowned. Great times. We aren’t allowed to play on opposing teams anymore.

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?I almost always have a bouquet of flowers with me, and they like to land on me, but I’ve never caught one47: Do you have any obsessions right now?Vinyl records48: What’s your sexual orientation?Cis-straight49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?That I had sex with four people in a tent on the one night. Yeah, nope. This girl doesn’t have sex in tents. This girl doesn’t even camp.50: Do you believe in magic?Not the fairy magic, but yes51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?Oh my god yes52: What is your astrological sign?Aries53: Do you save money or spend it?I try to save, but usually end up spending it all.54: What’s the last thing you purchased?A pair of Rosie the Riveter-style overalls for a 1940′s themed costume party55: Love or lust?Love. It’ll last longer56: In a relationship?Not right now57: How many relationships have you had?Two. Maybe three, but we never defined what it was58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?No.59: Where were you yesterday?I was at work60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?My headphones, mouse pad and fingernails61: Are you wearing socks right now?No62: What’s your favourite animal?Quokkas. Literally the cutest things I have ever seen63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?64: Where is your best friend?In Sydney (I only see her once a year, which is just not good enough for me)65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.lucreziaborgia, runawayforthesummer, and that’s literally it. 66: What is your heritage?My dad is Italian, my mother is Australian. His family are Italian, her family are Irish and English67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?Drinking the university bar dry68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?Smith or Jones. Lucifer Smith sounds terrifying, does it not?69: Biggest turn ons?Neck kisses, a well-tailored suit, button up shirts with the sleeve pushed up over the elbow, a uniform (especially army), just a little bit of scruff70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?I think so, yes.71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?Save the dog. I’m the boss at work, so if I get fired, everything collapses.72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?I’d tell my family and close friends. I’d spend all my money on travel- see more shows, roadtrip, party. I wouldn’t be afraid.73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.Trust.74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?The Cha Cha Slide. so many good memories attached to that song, and it’s impossible not to smile when you’re dancing to it.75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?346276: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?Trust and openness 77: How can I win your heart?Flowers, a new edition of a classic book, and a love of music and theatre78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?Yes. It gives you a perspective that not a lot of other people have79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?Dumping my last boyfriend. That little shit was going nowhere in life. 80: What size shoes do you wear?I’m an 1181: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?“You still owe me money”82: What is your favourite word?Fuck. or serendipity because it’s so fun to say83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.Warm84: What is a saying you say a lot?“I’m just putting it out there”85: What’s the last song you listened to?Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?Rose pink, mint green and sky blue87: What is your current desktop picture?My best friend and dabbing on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?Donald Trump

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?Have you ever gotten pregnant?90: Turn offs?Not showering, sexism/racism, cargo pants, CROCS91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?Invisibility92: where are your parents from? Dad is from Tully, mum is from Longreach93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?First boyfriend cheating on me. 94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?I dont’ know.95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?New York City96: Do you have any relatives in jail?Not that I know of97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?Nope. I’ve been driving when someone has thrown up, but never done it myself98: Ever been on a plane?All the time!99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?Y’all have got to fucking chill

[lodryons]

Madrid

Hola! They speak Spanish in Spain. Makes sense. Portuguese in Portugal. Man, these people are consistent. Everyone here is tan and beautiful too. Americans really were the undesirables. Murderers and uglies breeding for centuries really messes with a society. I’m just kidding, we have Kim Kardashian, she’s a real beauty (except for like everything on her body but it’s what is inside of her that matters, Mr. West!).

I flew with TAP Portugal or air Portugal TAP? Whatever. It was really nice. The seats looked crisp and felt new. They even had a universal outlet for each chair. This is luxury ladies and gentleman. My phone that gets 2G via shitty T-Mobile is now at 100%!

I met a man from NYC that moved here 3 years ago and he says he loves it. He’s finishing his Ph.D. here in psychology. It’s costing him 600 euros. I do wonder if the quality of education is comparable to our $50K/year system. Probably not. He was telling me they speak weird Spanish here (or maybe we’re the weird ones?) and in Barcelona, they speak something called Catalina which is even weirder. Apparently, the Spanish people have the best work-life balance. Generally starting work at 10 AM and working until 2 PM. From 2 PM - 4:30 PM they will eat lunch. From 5PM-9PM they will finish work and then eat dinner around 11 PM or midnight. He also mentioned that if it’s nice outside absolutely no one is inside. They must not have video games here.

I tried another latte and I’m getting closer to something latte-ish. You’d think espresso and milk would taste the same everywhere but the leche in Spain is weird I think. I’ll wait for Rome to get a proper one. Everyone drinks espresso here anyways. Gross.

Lost one of the tips to my $80 earbuds. That’s like $40 in tips lost. Luckily I got a free pair of the absolute worst earbuds from Delta and cannibalized its tips and they fit! I was just describing to someone how I absolutely hate everything about earbud tips. A new 1st world problem in my life!

Apparently, they love Fish here too. God dammit.

I keep thinking people are speaking Russian in my hostel when really it’s Spanish or Portuguese. I even asked a girl if she was from Russia and she was from Portugal. I was in Portugal. I didn’t ask anyone else that question.

A friend recommended I try out this great app called Lonely Planet. Found a great tapas place (read: snackys) last night and spent many euros on lots of great ham, veal meatballs, blood sausage and some potato ball things. An American from New York overheard us talking in English and was delighted to find someone to chat with. He’s here on business with a bunch of people from his company that’s in the Oil & Gas industry. It’s probably because I’m an Elon Musk fanboy but I felt like he had just told me he works for the Tobacco industry. It’s not a fair view. He seemed like a nice guy. Probably drives an electric car.

I slept 11 hours last night. In reality, the quality of sleep is about 50-60% since you’re woken up about every 15-30 minutes by someone snoring, rummaging through their belongings, turning a light on, speaking in their outdoor voice to one another or entering/exiting the room. There is a reason it costs 30 euros to sleep in these beautiful establishments.

I failed to secure a latte today. I was sure I was on the right track. The woman asked me if by latte I meant coffee in milk! Yes. This is progress. I said oh no, espresso in milk! I might have thrown out an “espresso con leche!” Which I don’t think is right because she just smiled and then said something slightly different. I didn’t specify the volume of milk and so I received essentially an espresso with a dash of milk. Still, this is progress. I’ll order an espresso con mucho leche next time.

I tried but couldn’t find a damn cafe that had both WiFi and an outlet. So I went to Starbucks. Within 3 minutes of being there, a group of 3 American girls (I think) sat near me and sounded basic as hell. I’m not judging but damn that’s impressive. They’ve gone worldwide at this point. I must say the internet & quality of latte at Starbucks in Madrid was quite good.

One of the most interesting things about sleeping in a hostel room is experiencing each person’s take on nighttime civility. Being American I will generalize this to how every member of their home country acts at night too. Everyone that practices Islam is a terrorist right? I’d say that Americans might be described as stupid and fat but in my opinion, we take the cake when it comes to nighttime politeness. We at least do that annoying “Shhh!” thing to each other.  From what I can tell most people not in America think that chatting at full volume to each other past midnight when there are 4 people sleeping around them is normal. I wish I understood what they were saying because perhaps it’s warranted. For example, “My mum slept with the neighbor again. Dad’s buying another boat to spite her.” I’d forgive that.

This morning I had 4 snorers and one guy sleep through his alarm for at least 20 minutes. I just left. How haven’t we solved snoring as a society? I think there should be a Richter scale for snoring and your rating is placed on your license. Then we can bucket people of similar ratings in rooms by law. I’m running for president on this.

I did a walking tour yesterday. Easily the worst and best tour I’ve ever had. The gentleman was quite nice and eccentric but his accent made everything rather hard to understand and he didn’t speak loudly at all. I met some cool Americans studying in Rome for the semester that were doing a vacation across a few cities in Spain. One of them is actually studying Computer Science at Michigan right now. Small world. We all had a laugh at how ridiculous our tour guide was. He basically asked us what we think we should do if President Trump were to visit Madrid and stay at the Royal Palace in the most awkward way. I can’t even recall how he phrased it but it took him several minutes for him to relay to us that he was actually joking and not trying to give us some interesting note on how foreign presidents are treated in general in Spain. He said we should put him the bosses room, lock and throw away the key. I found it hilarious that he thought this was a good joke (as did half the group).

Apparently, Madrid has bomb hot chocolate. It’s thick and you can dip churros in it. So I did at 1 AM last night with a nice chap I met on the tour named Brandon. An eccentric Italian man came in and started making lots of noises and questionable body language positions next to us. I found him quite funny and charming. He played the Clarinet really nicely too. I gave him 5 euros. He seemed like he was in his 60’s or 70’s. Feels bad man.

The South Korean guy’s alarm went off blazing this morning at 8 or 8:30 AM this morning. Shortly afterward the Brazilian guy adjacent to me got up for breakfast presumably and decided to turn the light on and start singing for 10 minutes while he packed his bag. I think my data is getting pretty damn good at this point. Other cultures don’t have a noise or light policy when others are sleeping. Animals!

Today’s my last day so I figure I’ll go to a museum or two. I’m sure it will be riveting.

I got to the Prado (famous paintings of kings and shit) and it was so nice and sunny that I decided to sit on the lawn right outside it and read for a couple of hours instead. Judge me and my fabulous tan all you like.

I had tapas with my girlfriend’s childhood friend and her boyfriend in a non-touristy area called Rosa Rosia (or something like that). Man, my girlfriend is so popular. I hope I have friends one day.

Slept a beautiful 6 hours last night (that’s about 3 hours less than I’m used to). I’ve written a lot about sleeping in hostels for this post but it cannot be understated how screwed you are if you think you’re going to sleep normally.

If you go to bed too late, you’re screwed because some animal will always be getting up at 5 AM for a flight or maybe 6 AM because he was a loser and wants to be a damn tourist all day, nice and early bird style.

No one has anything around the night before so they will spend 20 minutes purely on zipping and unzipping 3 bags as they dress themselves in a sleepy stupor (picture yourself putting pants on, zipping your bag shut, and then realizing you also need a shirt, repeat, and then you need socks, and then you want to wear that bracelet actually, etc etc).

Now, consider the other case, the loser going to bed early to avoid the early bird traffic case. You are absolutely screwed anyways. You go to bed at 10 or 11 PM and for the next 4 hours you will have someone come in or out of the room either to get ready to get drunk for the night, or they’re already drunk coming to sleep, or they need something in the middle of a drunk-infused night.

You might be wondering how I don’t add to this chaos? I pack my bag the day before and leave out only exactly what I need in the morning. Upon waking I grab it instantly and get the hell out of the sleeping vicinity and move to the bathroom area. No lights and zippers and shit.

I’ll never post about sleeping or hostel sleeping etiquette again.

Madrid was fine. I think I should have gone to Barcelona though. I didn’t really find the city interesting as a traveler. It would be swell to live there I’m sure. I also had the worst luck with my hostel roommates which is quite rare for me. It’s still nice to have visited Espana. Peace.