#the middle pic is just a cartoon version of me!

[nero-neptune]

i think this year’s art vs artist ended up pretty alright!

[ckret2]

I give you... The Sims 4 Mystery Shack. Work in progress.

This isn't done-done, so I'm not gonna show off the whole thing—just some shots that show off just how much I'm trying to match up the details. I'm working with a 30 image limit here so I can't show EVERYTHING, mainly I wanna brag about how accurate it is with some comparison pics.

The reason the cellar door next to the gift shop is so much bigger in my version is because it camouflages an actual functioning doorway to the cellar seen in Bottomless Pit. The back porch currently has a window that's gonna be moved; I put the attic window there based off of its location in Headhunters, but I've now made the executive decision that Headhunters doesn't know what it's talking about and I'll make that window the one under the roof hangout spot.

The Sims 4 doesn't give you the ability to walk on roofs. You have no idea what kind of finagling I've been doing to try to sneak a subtle ladder onto this roof.

Please notice that Bill rug made out of seven other rugs. The blanket-covered table in the middle of the gift shop isn't show-accurate, but it's a yard sale table—so, you can load it up with knickknacks and collectibles, start a yard sale, and let people come in to buy them, thus actually running the Mystery Shack like a business while keeping it a residential lot.

There's no swinging vending machine so I put the hidden staircase behind a bookcase door instead, but I still need to experiment to see if I can't do something tricky with a vending machine.

I even included the hidden safe in the living room, but I'm trying to sample this house with a 30 image post limit, so you'll just have to trust me. There's a LOT of little details like that, but I'm proudest of that one.

Due to the restrictions of making this house fit in a 3D space with walls that line up and converting from cartoon proportions to Sims 4 proportions, the dimensions of a lot of spaces get adjusted—and I think you feel that the most in the kitchen, which is pretty squished. But even squished, it's got everything it's supposed to, in the right places. (Except a wolf head on the fridge. I had a statue up there that the game deleted, I'll put something back up there later.

And I've hit my 30 image limit, so I'm subjecting you to a part two in a moment.

[navstuffs]

Headcannons or one-shot for dating modern!ezio? :>

dating ezio headacanons - modern!au version

Pairing: Ezio x GN!Reader

Warnings: VERY VERY FLUFFY, comfort, lovey-dovey, warm feelings, ezio is in all fours for you, tooth-rooting headcanons in an affectionate way, no description of reader

Author's Note: heeey! thank you so much for ordering modern!au (one of my favorite tropes). i made this super sweet, argh, i want ezio for me lol i hope you don't mind i chose gn!reader. i hope you enjoy!

First of all, Ezio is a very passionate man. He loves you intensely and wants you to always know your importance to him.

How does he do it? In the form of gifts. A surprise bar of chocolate hidden in your things, your favorite food for "no reason" in the middle of the week, some random sticky notes wishing you a good day, how beautiful you were looking. A sudden text in your phone with a silly meme he knows will make you laugh.

Because Ezio loves to make you laugh. It always eventually made him laugh, which made you laugh even more.

He might be a little jealous lol I don't see him directly confronting anyone hitting on you, but more like staying around if he notices someone flirting.

He touches your back and arm, as if not paying attention, and makes sure that person knows you belong to him. If the person still hits on you, he will become very passive-aggressive.

"Don't you know you have a huge lettuce between your teeth?" or "Have you been sleeping well? Are you sick? You don't look so good" would embarrass anyone and make them run away. When Ezio notices you staring at him, he innocently smiles, "Che, amore?"

He is very active, period. Hike, run, camp, etc. He practices parkour. Ezio has an account on Instagram, and if you are afraid of heights, you don't even dare to look at those videos of him on top of buildings. If you are more daring, I am sure you will accompany him in taking pics. Or, if you are even more daring, you are also in parkour (you are fearless, let me tell ya!)

He is an excellent swimmer. If you want to learn to swim, Ezio will go out of his way to teach you. You know what that means, right? Ezio wearing swimwear. You will be able to check his toned body and get a skill that might save your life—a win-win.

(you get distracted a lot, and most classes end up with you two making out, but who cares? you will eventually learn)

Now if you can swim already, you two jokingly compete over who is the fastest. Ezio always loses, distracted by your body and your form, but he never admits it.

You and Ezio looooove lazy days as well. What's better than spending the whole doing nothing after a stressful week? He notices when you are not feeling much for everything, which means LAZY DAY!

You two cuddle, watch tv shows, cartoons, and movies, or play games. Sometimes you are resting on his chest, and sometimes Ezio is like a cat, all curled up on you.

EZIO IS AFFECTIONATE! Did I say that already? well, he is. And he is warm. So during winter time, prepare to have a furnace around you. Cuddling, holding, rubbing your body, massaging.

Ezio gives the best massages, by the way. He pressures in all the right places, with just enough pressure which always makes your toes curl.

For him, spending a day with you is the best thing ever, even if doing nothing. He plans the best dates, like when you two went out stargazing, and Ezio pointed out all constellations (Leonardo helped him with that one, he confessed later)

He loves to be surprised. On his birthday, you planned a surprise getaway, only the two of you, somewhere romantic Ezio always wanted. He loves exploring and discovering new places, food, and people.

Especially with you as his travel partner

Visiting his family? Be prepared to be asked when it is the marriage/where are my grandkids? You will eat well, watching his siblings never miss the chance to tease him about how in love he looks.

Also, his whole family adores you. Giovanni and Maria couldn't be happier, Claudia wonders how you fell in love with her stupid brother every time. Federico would tease, too, joking your vision wasn't doing well since you started dating Ezio.

Now, can we talk about protective Ezio? For example, if there is one thing he can't bear is the thought of you hurt. Emotionally or physically.

So, if you are having a hard time or have mental health issues, Ezio makes you his top priority. He makes sure you are okay with his presence and does everything you ask for. Ezio is there for you in the way you need him the most.

Even if it is to lay on the floor, you burrito'ed in a blanket he put you earlier, holding hands,

Even if it is to talk about crazy, random things.

And although it breaks his heart, he holds you while you cry. He wants to make it stop, he whispers and kisses the top of your head, assuring everything will be okay, and even hums to calm you. He would mix English and Italian because he knows when he speaks Italian instantly soothes you.

"Breathe with me, amore mio, in and out. You are doing so well. You are so brave."

NOW, if someone decides to harass you. Well, consider this person done.

If you are feeling unsafe somewhere, he will immediately drop everything to come for you. Or send Federico even.

But now, if someone harasses you in front of him, there will be violence. If someone calls you a bad name or insults you, Ezio will personally confront this person and make sure they apologize to you.

If he knows you don't like confrontation or fights in general, you will likely see his body go tense, ready for a fight, so you will have to whisper in his ears, asking to leave, and he won't discuss. He needs some time to calm down, though.

But he will be with you at his side.

Ezio is loud. He is loud about pretty much everything except when he is sad. You always notice that he gets quieter when he isn't having a good day.

You always try to cheer him up. When Ezio feels blue, you respect his boundaries, but his best therapy is to have his face hiding on your neck, holding you tightly. You calm him. 

He shares his feelings, his sadness, his whole soul with you. He knows you are the love of his life, and he plans to ask you to marry him. He will respect your decisions and be patient if you don't want it now.

But when you finally said yes to marriage, Ezio cried. Not in front of you, no, he hid his face on your body so you didn't see him shedding some tears.

During the wedding, he will cry. He will cry when he sees you walking in, his heart exploding with happiness, the biggest smile you ever saw from him. 

(Federico will say it was a sudden rain of eyelashes on his eyes, that's why he was sniffling)

But you are so happy you don't control yourself and kiss him, his tears, his smile, all of him. Ezio kisses you back, and you can hear the guests murmur, "Aaawwwwwnnn"

"Please, can we keep this for the honeymoon?" Petruccio groans, getting some giggles.

"Not thinking about running away, are you?" 

You joke simply because you know he would never. Ezio brings your hands to his mouth, kissing them with love.

"No. I am yours, and you are mine, tesoro."

MASTERLIST | EZIO'S MASTERLIST

[cherry-bomb-ships]

OOG OOG 1, 3, 4 and 9 for the animation meme !!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU BEHE MY FRIEND BEHE 🧡🧡🧡🧡

1) Show me some concept art!! How different do they look in comparison? 

Ooooh I'll do you one BETTER, here's 3 original pencil test animatics for the Powerpuff Girls back when they were still called the "Whoop-Ass Girls" 😅 Two of these eventually went on to be real episodes, the middle pencil test being a very short, very early version of "Monkey See, Doggy Do", the first episode of the series!! It also has Rob Renzetti, the creator of My Life as a Teenage Robot, doing the voice for Mojo since its just a lil test thing

This is... honestly strange. I am definitely a much much bigger fan of Mojo's design and voice in the finished show (angry lil evil geniuses with voices way too deep for their size my beloved) but its of course so fascinating to see where it all began!! Also very noteworthy that he has the title of "Dr." here. Who gave that chimp a PhD 😂 (side note very funny that the uploader of this has a Cortex profile pic. Can I ever escape 💀)

3) Which medium is your f/o animated in? 2D, 3D? Do you think they’d look better in a different one? 

The show is of course in that lovely old cel-animation 2D (up until they went digital in the last 2 seasons but I like the pre-digital look a bit more), and tbh I want it to stay JUST like that 😭 The only way a 3D style would work for me is if is was extremely stylized, like that newest TMNT movie where you can picture the characters in 2D perfectly.

That being said! I have not yet seen that one CG special they made in 2014 and I actually don't even know if Mojo Jojo's in that or not anyway, so if he is, when I eventually watch that then I'll know how I feel abt him in 3D! :3

4) Which “era” of animation is your f/o from? 

The beautiful cartoon wra of the late 90s, when everything was still 2D cel animated, episodic, and very, VERY zany 💖💖💖💖 Listen I adore cartoons nowadays I will not complain about the current state of story driven series, but there is something so nostalgic and fun about the old format of going back to the status quo every episode 💖 That aside! I adore how the "UPA style" of simple shapes was all over the goddamn place at this point in time, and I'd say Powerpuff Girls is the most iconic example of this style!!

9 was already answered, so sorry 🥺

💜 ask game here! 💜

[bugtransport]

oh geez guess who remembered they can actually explain the thought process behind Whatever The Fuck The Rothko Comic Is look don't ask me let's just let me talk about art for a minute that's probably easiest

"nooo aha dont write a fucking novel about your favorite piece of art haha youre so sexy" shut up! my meat is huge. AND i'm sexy as hell. thank you.

let's talk about Clothespin by Claes Oldenburg.

my favorite piece of art of all time. this isn't a joke actually. this 10 foot tall clothespin has made me feel just about every emotion in existence. there's a larger (i think about 45 ft?) version in philadelphia somewhere that i'm aware of but i haven't actually gotten to see that one in person (maybe someday) so we're just going to be talking about the smaller one. which is still quite large. i think to actually explain myself and this one i need to take you through my history with it and how i originally saw it, because that really plays a lot into how i view it. maybe more so than the actual piece itself.

i'm just going from memory here so bear with me... this story takes place back in middle school when i lived in the midwest. i was a young dumb kid who liked drawing stuff so my parents would just sign me up for whatever art classes they could find (i took botanical art with a bunch of middle aged ladies once which fucked severely) and, since we were in the burbs just a train ride away from chicago, one of the options available was to take kids classes at the art institute. so i took some digital art classes there.

enter me: 12 years old and just wanting to learn how to draw anime girls on the computer. at this point i have not thought about art beyond knowing superficially that i enjoy Some Paintings and that certain narrative works have whipped my nuts off and sometimes i would look at pics on deviantart and get emotions i was unable to describe but i have not really, at this point in the story, thought to question why i feel that way.

there's one other important thing to know to make this whole experience make sense. the timing of me attending these classes was right around when the art institute opened up their modern wing! brand new wing + taking a digital art class = i spent so much time in there i cannot even begin to describe it. i wouldn't necessarily say that i like modern art more or less than anything else... but i can say that by sheer volume alone, no question, it is the majority of museum art i have consumed.

anyway, for those unfamiliar: the art institute has two entrances (well, that i know of). there's the main one with the lions that you've probably seen in ferris bueller's day off, and the second one is through the modern wing. here are some pictures i found online showing what the main hall is kind of like:

that glass wall in the far part of the picture is where the doors are. it's a really nice space; there are galleries both upstairs and downstairs. this is also the same place that i saw Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA) but that's really neither here nor there. i've just seen it brought up before here and thought i would mention that it was a very cool experience. one of those things again where i saw it way before i could comprehend why it made me feel the emotions it made me feel... and then i got hit with The Understanding years later like a cartoon anvil. i couldn't actually find any pics in the 5 minutes i had to spend on google with Clothespin actually displayed, but here it is with a different statue in roughly, to my recollection, the same place:

that is a really dramatic place to put a sculpture.

okay well, anyway, the first time i saw this piece, i did not think it would rock my shit. i actually thought it was just kind of funny. i still remember it - our little group was walking to go take a look at a specific piece and of course, had to go through the lobby to get there. i saw Clothespin for the first time and went "haha, that one's kinda funny, i wonder what that means?" and someone shot back "i don't know, maybe a giant lost it doing laundry." that exchange tickled me so much that i spent the rest of the day and into the next week thinking about it.

the second time i saw Clothespin i was mostly just confused. in the same way that today i can still remember my first interaction with it but not any of the other pieces of art i saw that day, i was confused as to why this thing was leaving such a large impression on me compared to everything else. i did look at it for a while and then just kind of left. and came back to it. and left again. and came back to it.

that dance continued for a couple visits until i finally got the chance to sit down and watch it for a while. there were some benches under the stairs for people to rest; i took one of those and started to people watch. and brother... suddenly i began to get it, i think?

[to be read in the tone of someone who has been haunted by these thoughts for over half their life] see, i think the real genius in the way this was (and the really large one is) displayed is that they're in thoroughfares. they're both in high traffic areas where people are mainly trying to get from one place to another more interesting place, right. people entering a museum usually have a starting point in mind that they're looking to get to and go from there; people exiting a museum are usually kind of wiped and probably not really looking to look at much more art at that point. it's not quiet in a lobby like you get when going through an exhibit - it's not loud, but there is a constant background hum. there's a café upstairs and people checking tickets and families and school groups chatting and, of course, in the middle of that, a 10 ft tall steel clothespin, being largely ignored.

yeah, okay, not totally ignored. people would stop and look at it for a second or make a comment about it maybe or glance at it in passing. but people didn't really tend to look at it like they would if it would have been displayed in a room. maybe that was because they didn't want to hold up the flow of traffic going through (it was always pretty packed on the weekends) or maybe the display location inherently lowered the perceived value of the piece as art - it's not "enough" to be put on display in one of the collections specifically, it's just a clothespin. but it was big and quite impressive and in the middle of the floor and not something you could easily ignore, really. the juxtaposition between the impact it had on me and the way it was being treated by the visitors en masse... you know what? it is kind of being treated with the same thought that you would give an actual clothespin.

it might seem like a pretty base level concept. and it is! of course everything that has ever been made has been made by someone. but this was the first time that thought had really occurred to me in a way where i actually grasped the impact of that statement. somebody out there designed the clothespin and put thought into how it worked and felt and looked. even the most utilitarian designs are still designed. Clothespin my beloved is a reminder to myself to appreciate and recognize the beauty in the little things in life that people might not otherwise think about and i cannot overstate the impact that way of thinking has had on my life. some pieces of art i think definitely are better learning things about the artist but i've never looked anything up about Clothespin - i don't think this is necessarily the impact that the artist set out for it to make, but it alone and regardless of intent obviously has done one hell of a number on me.

"julia that fucks but what does that have to do with sonoi tarou" i'm getting there i'm getting there. god!

i think the important and relevant part of that story isn't at all what i ended up getting out of that piece. the important and relevant part is the confusion i felt leading up to the realization. i am not looking to get into a debate about What Makes Art but i think that we could probably agree on a baseline statement that one of the things that may make something art is the ability to elicit emotions from the viewer.* while yeah sure probably not what i think most people would anticipate or look to get out of art, frustration at your own lack of connection and understanding is an emotion. being unable to understand the artist's intention and experiencing connections but taking those connections you make completely off book is still experiencing an emotion. simply enjoying something superficially is as well an emotion. sonoi is so painfully close to getting things in my Humble Onion and goddamn that really makes me feel some kind of way. he just has to unclench about it.

for someone who has a stick so far up his ass ("integrity and perfection personified," cannot stand the bitch) i can understand why the concept of allowing himself to relax and consider how he is already obviously being impacted by art and what that means is hard. to focus on the correct way to view and create art is... well, how many duels have he and tarou had? how long have they spent trying to do things "right" and get the "correct" feelings from it? i mean, it makes sense for his character. i know a lot of people who feel the same way looking at art. i totally experienced adjacent feelings before the cataclysmic earth-shattering world-busting event known as Clothespin. ooh i just want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. introspection! it's uncomfortable but that's the joy in it! i want to psychoanalyze him so bad.

fuckin, to conclude: MY moral of the story is that there's no right or wrong way to look at art. and i dont think there's any wrong way to love someone either.

*"julia are you arguing that fat anime milf tits are art" fuck yeah i am because they make me feel an emotion: HORNY. sorry i had to add that joke into this otherwise dry ass essay.

p.s. it's my life goal to make everyone look at Clothespin. i have a picture of it at my desk. again i have never made a joke in my life

[summerb4jc]

Did you see the Cats movie? What are your thoughts on it? I’m really curious after seeing all the reviews coming out about it 😅

I SURE DID ANON.

So CATS (2019) is a fever dream. It starts weird, it’s weird in the middle, and it ends weird.

And yet, somewhere deep inside, I know I will watch this film again.

Below aren’t really spoilers, but if you don’t want to know anything than I suggest not reading further.

Now we all know that the plot of cats is not really a plot. Many years ago I watched a film of the stage version and I walked away with absolutely NO CLUE what happened. What I will say is that the film makes a modicum more sense. They made the white cat in the trailer a sort of “main character” that all the other cats were introducing themselves to. She served as the audience stand-in. We didn’t know what the heck Jellicles were, and neither did she. That, plus adding the new song “beautiful ghosts” sort of made a thread you could follow.

That’s about all I can say in its favor.

The movie looked like it needed maybe two more years of work. They were too ambitious in their attempt to turn these actors in to cats, and, like Icarus, they flew too close to the sun.

Have you ever seen this clip from Once Upon a time?

This is what the entire movie looked like. Fake, off, wrong. And the crazy thing is, I’ve seen the behind the scenes pics. I follow Taylor Swift on Instagram, I’ve seen the giant kitchen set. They made practical sets to make the cat/people look tiny. I love that idea! It’s fantastic! But the fact that they INSISTED on covering everyone in fake, animated fur ruined the effect.

Anytime someone danced or walked, it never looked like they were actually standing on the ground. They looked like cut out. The looked like the floor was moving without them. And do you know why?

THEIR GOSH DANG BARE HUMAN FEET PRANCING AROUND AT THE END OF THEIR NEARLY NAKED LEGS.

See, almost every cat was barefoot. But they couldn’t just...you know, decide what color fur the actor would have and use makeup to color the feet accordingly, just like they couldn’t use practical face makeup and hair to make their faces look cat like. That would have been too practical. That would have made too much sense. That might actually let the movie have a chance to age well.

Instead, they edited everything, including the color of the feet, so what we were seeing on screen wasn’t the actors dancing, but rather an animated layer on top of the actor, and you could SEE THE LAYER SO CLEARLY. There were times where the edges were so messy, I could practically see where the editor took the pen tool in adobe after effects and roughly created a mask by outlining the shape of the actor. There was sometimes a shadow of the actual leg in the black motion capture suit. Every thing was shifting, always, just a few centimeters off, especially the faces, creating a constant jittery effect that ruined the smooth, feline movements of the dancers AND!!! frankly, ruined the the dancing, thus ruining the actual plot of cats. The cat collars also ranged from realistic to actual cartoons. Like, Rebel Wilson’s cat collar was SO CLEARLY animated, it looked like it came from the first toy story, or maybe an early episode of veggie tales. It did not exist in this world.

It just seemed to me like one great big first draft. Like everyone worked really hard on this big, ambitious thing and suddenly it was the due date and they were all so tired and frustrated from all that work that they decided to just turn it in as is rather than ask for an extension. Maybe, if they worked on it for two more years, refined the edges, fixed the shadows, blended the layers, it might actually look cool. But we have what we have, and what we have is CATS (2019)

But listen, it had its high points too. I watched this movie alone, so I had to restrain myself a bit, but I laughed really hard at some parts.

I don’t think they were parts I was supposed to laugh at, but I found them immensely funny. (Have you ever imagined what an audience of cheering cats would sound like? Well watch this movie and wonder no more. It’s ABSURD.)

I think this will go down as one of those perfect, So-Bad-It’s-Good films that you watch with friends when you just want to laugh. It was horrible, and I’m so glad I watched it.

[stardustizuku]

What is it that you hate about ladybug? I also don't like it very much

(This is a bit long and written on my phone. Sorry for the weird format!) but

1.- The Romance

I have time and time again praised ML for having an interesting twist on the Magical Girl Romance. In cases where a girl would be crushing on a guy who is crushing on her alter ego…they added the love triangle of the bad boy/good boy. Which is interesting when handled correctly

But I don’t think they’re handling it the best way possible.

The thing is…there’s a fine line between Slow Burn and plain reluctance to actually get to your end goal.

They make it clear they’re gonna end up together but they don’t really give us that much interaction…Especially considering the amount of time we’ve been in the series. I personally prefer the fanon versions because they seem more nuanced and with a quicker pace.

Because to make a slow burn work, you have to make them really likable on their own, or give a subplot that that drives the viewer away from the fact you’re still teasing the couple.

Sakura Card Captor does a magnificent job in my opinion, by making the B plot the cards and making friends. So, Despite everything, the plot is always moving forward.

Miraculous Lacks a concrete end goal aside from defeating Hawkmoth. Which causes the slow burn to be a bit tedious.

Compare it to Sailor Moon or Tokyo Mew Mew, where they had also very vague missions and chapters that didn’t move the plot forward. To make up for that, they had a relatively fast paced romance.

ML is stuck in the middle not really advancing the plot not the romance and you’re just left unpleasantly unsatisfied by both.

But it’s really the least of my problems with the show that’s why it’s on the top of the list.

2.-Aesthetics

I cannot emphasize how much I loathe ML’s designs. They’re ugly, 3D models feel cheap, everything is grey and colorless, or just way too saturated with primary colors. It’s plain ugly. It has very little artistic direction, I wouldn’t DARE put a single pic of the background as wallpaper, the aesthetics in general feel like New York not PARIS

As Magical Girl Enthusiast, aesthetics play a BIG part of the genre. Transformation sequences are polished to a T for this very reason.

The sparkles matter, the colors matter, the feeling matters.

It simply does not feel magical enough. And it frustrates me to no end. I would be passing so much shit if it weren’t for the art.

Because it seriously feels so low quality..,especially for the time it takes for a single episode to air…

WHICH LEADS ME TO

3.- the pacing

I’m actually trying to remember a single series with as much of a horrible problem of pacing as ML has.

45 EPISODES IN and nothing is substance has actually happened. Well yeah we got Ayla transforming into Rena Rouge

But by this point every single magical girl EVER was nearing its season 1 finale with most of the gang long since together.

ML Is waisting a lot of time with shit we don’t need.

We really didn’t need a whole season of the entire school being akumatized. And we didn’t need to wait a season to get our first partner (AKA Rena)

The series is all over the place. It takes FOREVER to update and they update one episode at a time, that gives little to no context on whatever the fuck is happening.

And then when they finally started showing us the Chat and Lady’s team members….it’s super rushed, they’re barely given time to breathe, or shine. They’re being given the miraculous with no real thought, or justification (just because Marinette wants) and they don’t even get to keep it! I know it’s something about keeping the secret but it’s seriously feels so fake that they have to turn their miraculous in every time she needs help.

It seems like a waste of time in universe and outside.

It overall feels…rushed. Not really well thought and even cheap to a degree.

It frustrates me to no end because I know it could be great.

And this is coming from someone who loves JEWEL PET. This is not a matter of “oh oh you’re just an adult asking for too much from a kids cartoon!”

I adore dumb mindless magical girls. I was a fan of the first season of SVTFOE and ML. If it sparkles I’m gonna watch it and I’m gonna like it.But ML doesn’t sparkle. Doesn’t have that great of a romance…and the pacing is worst that sailor moon.

Is this down in the bottom with KamichamaKarin? God no!

It does a better job that SVTFOE in regards of romance and has adhered to the themes more. It’s more along the lines of Jewel Pet, Fushigi Boshigi no Futago Hime and probably Princess Yucie.

Good but not that good. Passable but not memorable.

[captawesomesauce]

🌧️- favorite thing to do on rainy days?🍭- how tall are you?💒- which show would you want to live in?🎄- what is your favorite holiday?

Rainy days - Uh.... So ... I live in Los Angeles. AKA - the land that weather forgot! We've literally got over 300 days straight with 0 measurable precipitation. Here, look, this is a current drought index pic... it's the middle of December... No rain. It... just doesn't rain here.

Well... Except when it does. And whoooweeee when it rains, it pours! El... Fucking ... Nino man! It's a bitch! You get those El Nino's and those Pineapple Express atmospheric rivers and you can get 2 feet of rain and 13 feet of snow in one damn storm! Like... fuck that shit. Streets flood, trees come crashing down, power goes out, cars crash, homeless people get trapped in the flood control channels, Sepulveda Dam floods... it's a mess. A real god damn mess.

So... the question is what is my favorite thing to do on rainy days? Honestly, stay the fuck at home and read :) Just listen to the pitter patter of the rain drops, watch the trees way in the wind, listen to the howling in the staircase next to my place.... I love it. I love to just turn off, tune out, and enjoy mother nature doing her thing. I love to watch the rain drops fall.

Now, how often does that actually happen? Almost never. Usually I have to go to school and drive through the mountain passes with the mud and rock slides, and deal with the nutjobs who can't drive in the rain. I then have to trudge my ass to class with it pouring, hoping the laptop stays save in the ziplock baggy, and deal with the wind, the cold, and the miserableness of it.

OR...

I have to work, and that used to mean a lot of rescue calls and car accidents on the Fire Engine and Truck, now it involves being a part of the command team who responds to all river rescues and mudslides. Which means I have to drive out to who the fuck knows where and watch for people floating down the river or posting up in mountain communities watching mud and debris come flying down the street wiping out homes.

But my favorite thing used to be snuggling mystic into my arms and watching the rain. For many years, the rain really bothered him. He'd whine softly, and be skittish and out of sorts. As long as I held and kissed him and rocked him in my arms, he was fine, but left to his own, he would even hide under the bed sometimes. Remember, I found him in the middle of a street on a rainy night... so I think that always stayed with him, whatever happened before I found him cold and alone. I made sure, every time it rained, to give him all of the love in my heart to let him know he'd never ever have to go through that again. 21 years we were together, 21 years I gave him all of that love and I kept that promise.

How tall am i? 5'7. Not too tall, not too short... no NBA aspirations

Which show would I want to live in - hmmmm... I'm not a big tv person, mostly I watch cartoons like Archer and the Venture Brothers! But... what about a british panel show? Can I pick Qi? The Fry version???? Can I just live there and soak up all of the knowledge and the jokes? Can I just sit next to David Mitchell, and Bill Bailey, and make jokes with Alan Davies??? Can Fry just teach me stuff every day about every thing???? Yup... I'm gonna go with QI.

Favorite holiday is easy .... My favorite holiday is halloween without a doubt. God I love everything about it. The spooky stuff, the monsters, the evil.... look, I'm all about scaring little kids to death. I think all little kids need to pee their pants at least once a year, and this is the one day I'm not an asshole for making a kid shit his britches! I know others love the candy, even the parties, but for me... it's all about letting go of the evil, watching movies like Donal Ducks Scary Tales and The legend of Ichabod Crane... I love to carve pumpkins, I love to decorate, I love to blast Peter Murphy and Bauhaus and dark music.... (ok that is every day but shhh).... yep... Halloween wins!

[theaterdisneynerdsunite]

Tony Awards Thoughts

So it looks like, at least for now, the CBS website lets you watch it for free (at least in the US). Here are my thoughts using those time stamps (be warned I have a long running commentary)

0:23 Oh is this going to be a parody of her playing the piano on last year’s Tony’s

1:05 How has neither one of them won anything? I mean I get if they said neither one of them one a Tony cause I mean, they both did shows that one time…but anything?

1:18 Is there anything more Broadway than saying the same rehearsed thing at the same time and pretending it was just part of the banter? Oh theater tropes I love you

1:36 That’s always been something that bothered me, people assume that just because something didn’t win the Tony doesn’t mean its not a great show, and the show that wins might not even be the best one that season (you know who you are). I love the Tony’s but its an award show, people don’t stop watching tv shows and movies or listening to artists that didn’t win or weren’t nominated, it makes me sad that so many shows close post Tony’s just because they weren’t the big winner. Anyways…

1:53 THEY CELEBRATED THE LOSERS LIKE ME, these A list celebrities that are totally not losers are soooo relatable ;)

2:40 A few years ago Something Rotten did what I thought was a brilliant advertising campaign listing amazing shows that lost the Tonys like them, so the fact that it was put into song gave me a fond flashback. See? SEE??? Oh it feels so good to be vindicated on tv

3:49 “If you make art at all your a part of the cure” :)

4:10 THEY HAD THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS BE THE ONES IN THE OPENING NUMBER RATHER THAN THE LEADS THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY. If only my high school self could have seen this she would have felt so much better

6:42 I didn’t see any of the plays this year but I heard the most about Angels in America this season so not surprised. Looks interesting

7:45 Happy Pride Month

8:40 Bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked would actually be a pretty good diction warmup

14:10 Kinda surprised that they didn’t pick Rather Be Me or Apex Predator considering those are the really marketed songs. “Where We Belong” seems a lot like “Status Quo” from High School Musical. I mean you’ll get that about high school clicks in the lunch room with a blond queen bee but like, even the dance moves felt similar, and the lunch tray dancing, even the giant cat decal. But like, it's not as catchy? I didn’t expect them to win anything tonight but I really don’t think they’ll win anything now? Is that mean? Just cause it feels like it was supposed to be a high energy number and it didn’t have that energy I thought it would. Also come on, just cause you want the girls to be shallow and dumb doesn’t mean the lyrics have to be that cringey. This feels like a less good version of if Legally Blonde and High School Musical had a baby (I absolutely love Legally Blonde that was not intended to be an insult to either show).

15:00 Is it me or did Amy Schumer look like she wanted to say something but Rachel Bloom kept talking. But it didn’t really have any joke setup or serve as a good segway for commentary, what could she have wanted to say?

15:35 Later on I’m going to see if I can find the award speeches that didn’t get televised. most of the world doesn’t get broadway they get regional theater, I wanted to hear what they had to say

15:45 Nick Scandalious feels like a cartoon name you’d see in an Onion article about the Me Too movement. His face even looks like the generic celebrity that had a TMZ scandal five years ago. I thought I read it wrong at first lol

16:40 I was cracking up they know their brand so well. The air quotes on emotional, perfect!

17:10 Mini Sara and Josh are so cute!

17:50 Ok I missed the reference, what is the giant bird lady from?

18:10 oh

20:57 celebrity child picture counter: #3 Amy Schumer. Also guess which year the musical described as “a comedy about class and sexism” is from? Yup it’s My Fair Lady, the audience laughed like I did in that sort of this is funny but also sad kinda way

26:00 This was so overacted and hammy and one day I aspire to that level of loud printed robes. Coincidentally my name is also spelled like Eliza but my voice is not nearly that good. Also does it count as drag if they are clearly men in dresses with some comical makeup or is there another name for it when they aren’t actually trying to look feminine?

26:18 The twitter usernames were too small to see on my screen who were the twitter pictures of?

26:30 See above comment

27:00 What show did Billy Joel work on? Also Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Josh Groban maybe my mom will finally enjoy theater

29:12 Oh my gosh that picture of Titus Burgess is amazing as is that suit. And that intro is so Titus its great

30:07 Renee Fleming we’ve got the Opera world here too? It’s so many famous musicians from outside broadway on broadway, think of all the crossovers

32:50: Yes spongebob get Josh Groban to sing more thank you for your service. Ok I’m not a huge fan of spongebob but they have to win for sound design that guy is on overload

33:27 Lol it explains so much why the songs sound disjointed cause they got a billion people to write them. Also lol I was waiting for that joke

33:50 Also what I thought would happen would be a medley that way Spongebob who really is the driving energy of the show and Squidward played by the Broadway darling would both have a song. This wasn’t how I expected them to do it, but I was sort of right so I’ll count it. I’m not really a fan of Spongebob the musical (I’ve listened to it twice once when it first came out and once during Tony Season. I’m not one of the people who hate it off the sheer premise and won’t give it a chance, but I just thought it was meh and not worth having the most nominations.) But Squidward’s song is very me, not in terms of melody cause that is I find most of the melodies to be rather generic but the lyrics are 100% me trying to convince myself. Also all I will be thinking about for the rest of the will be what tap dancing must feel like its gotta feel weird how long do you think he spent practicing it with and without the extra legs. Or it might be nightmare fuel with the sea anemone contributing to it, who knows? Probably both,

38:07 still don’t know whose handles those are

38:28 ^^^

38:40 Ok when I saw the outfits I was expecting a Chorus Line Parody, but this Sia parody fits this every genre but musical theater theme of this Broadway season

39:20 Eight times a week, and all the subsequent puns

40:28 Can I just say I love this return to singing interludes over awkward award show banter?

41:44 I saw the Bands Visit a few month’s back and I still don’t know how to describe it. Normally I would guess it would be the second fiddle of the Tony’s but considering the “purists” it’ll probably win most of the awards

44:16 With all the previous reaction shots you knew it had to be Nathan Lane. I always forget how well spoken he is because of his typical roles but he is really well spoken and sincere rather than trying to wise crack and it was so sweet. It made me smile

47:43 His face saying “blow high” has got to be a gif right?

51:45 The entirety of the Carousel number was me thinking if I had a higher sex drive this would totally make me thirsty. They also used very creative ways to physically embody the shape and workings of a ship but then again I’m admittedly biased. Listen to that number you know their vocal prowess was not why they picked it

52:12 I mean, I know that crew gets less attention than cast and plays less attention than musicals but I would watch the full version stop cutting out the speeches. C’mon I love costumes

53:04 I know your joking but that hurts

53:19 yes #4 famous kid photo Uzo Aduba

55:49 Ari'el Stachel’s speech is made all the more poignant when you realize everyone else in his category were white. Despite this season’s commerciality you actually do have shows and casts with Asian leads and African American leads and Latin American leads and Middle Eastern leads somewhere between the sea of shows like Spongebob and Frozen. Show these shows some love, prove that Hamilton wasn’t the anomaly but the rule

56:55 They brought the Parkland teacher for the theater education award! Fitting 65 students into a high school teacher’s office for hours to protect them is not easy, she saved lives that day

58:17 I thought #5 Matthew Morrison was a girl in his child pic

58:40 They went to Parkland?!

59:35 OMG they’re performing!?!

1:00:10 Seasons of Love is the Perfect song for this, they sound so good too!

1:01:18 Girl has an amazing voice! Dang to get up there in front of all of these famous performers on live TV after the media has already hounded them and putting yourself out there is courageous

1:02:45 I can’t see the handles

1:03:11 Will they be able to top NPH’s Tony magic trick though??? Probably not but let’s see

1:03:31 So cheesy but tbh if I had a Harry Potter wand I’d be even cheesier

1:03:46 Was that line improved or was the tech delay intentional?

1:04:22 C’mon Squidward already pulled the same “trick” you have ensemble block the audience pov while someone enters from the back. Didn’t even come close to topping NPH

1:04:43 Little Patti Lupone I can’t believe she allowed them to include her picture of lil’ Patti

1:05:04 I just wanted to include Patti’s line about a “deep appreciation for outspoken women” cause I actually said “you go girl” out loud

1:05:35 Yeah, fun fact, Tony wasn’t a man but was actually short for Antoinette. They referenced it multiple times before, including earlier tonight, but it was stated most explicitly here

1:06:35 Is that a young or modern Claire Danes, I can’t tell

1:07:39 Also it’s really cool that an older woman won something, I feel like the stage gives more roles for older woman that other acting industries, also if people argue that she was political she served political office. Also how cool is it that apparently people were there from every recognized country?

1:09:27 so that’s how they do Sven, I knew Olaf was supposed to be an Avenue Q style puppet but the way they move Sven is really cool (it’s the technique they used on things like War Horse, I don’t know if it’s considered costuming or puppetry or what the official name is)

1:10:20 Anna looks exactly as I pictured her, and they changed a few minor lyrics for it to fit the stage

1:10:44 There are so many quick changes tonight

1:11:22 Elsa did not look like what I imagined her to be, but the costumes are on point

1:12:00 The chorus versions of these songs have beautiful harmony, but Olaf shouldn’t be there yet right? Isn’t he “born” in Let it Go

1:12:47 Alright I’ve been waiting to see how they’ll do the snow effects!

1:14:00 They got out of building the castle by already having it built at the beginning of the song, which is smart technically but I wanted to see how they do it, unless it’s one of those things that’s a surprise for when you see it live.

1:14:25 Never call it “Daddy’s Day” ever again. Never.

1:14:46 I can’t see the handles

1:14:59 How could you not show Chita Rivera’s lifetime achievement? I’ve been lucky enough to see her in more than one show and she is incredible.

1:15:13 And you also cut out Andrew Lloyd Webber’s?? You made the wrong cuts Broadway

1:15:25 It looks like they’re going to show a tribute I’m excited!!!

1:17:42 Two things: Andrew Lloyd Webber has written a weird collection of musicals, like when you see clips of them back to back you realize just how weird of a collection it is, and Josh Groban needs to be the next Phantom

1:18:08 That exchange was so physically awkward they haven’t even started talking yet and I feel the cringe

1:19:18 Is “I swore I’d never do something like that” shade against the La La Land debacle? In 2018? Or am I reading too much into it

1:19:21 I saw the Band’s Visit but I also saw Once on this Island and I thought that one would win Direction for sure but I guess I was wrong

1:22:36 I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it’s a weird read, but I haven’t seen it live so maybe it’s directed brilliantly, who knows? Who else thinks its a weird read?

1:23:56 He’s getting the Tony audience to sing his boyfriend "Happy Birthday" instead of giving a speech and that is both adorably sweet and such a power move. Also a rare occasion of Happy Birthday being sung on key

1:25:10 They’re having DEH perform? You cut out people who actually were awarded tonight for people who already were featured on the Tony’s last year? And that song is a weird choice for a In Memoriam considering that show doesn’t really…respect the deceased. Weird

1:28:17 Give the tech more time in the limelight! You cut out Chita and Webber’s speeches for a weird tribute and you have weird stunts with tech like the magic thing yet cut out all their stage time. I know this is standard Tony procedure but it is something I will comment on every year until it changes

1:29:20 That move for “work hard for the money mom” line was uncomfortable

1:30:30 They really do sound like the original singer

1:31:53 So that’s how the performers follow the conductor. They have a huge teleprompter-like screen in the back of the audience

1:32:52 This cast seems specifically tailored to gather different subsections of internet geeks and I will not tell you which categories I fall into

1:33:18 I never knew “the Jimmy’s” were a thing when I was in high school

1:34:54 THOSE are the great themes of Harry Potter? Really?

1:36:10 Aww look at little Cinderella

1:36:34 How are they going to build that stage for the Tonys? They built a river inside the theater for it before!

1:37:00 Well it makes sense that they’d only include part of the set, you can’t really recreate an entire building. Yes I’m so glad they included Mama Will Provide. That song is like the definition of a Tony performance song. Why did they include the Daniel bit, that was so awkward and broke up the flow

1:40:40 If anyone would be chill with the goat it’s Nathan Lane. Yup, there a live goat at the Tony Awards

1:41:21 Don’t joke about that

1:41:41 Are you going to cut out every technical award

1:42:32 Too relatable

1:43:16 Is this that song from Chorus Line in real life

1:44:10 English Major life

1:46:03 The angel from Angels in America is so Extra TM

1:46:54 That Tony Kushner line was forced

1:47:18 Awkward segway but REMEMBER TO VOTE

1:47:38 That Judy Garland line ties in perfectly with the Happy Birthday to the gay couple

1:48:04 That reaction to the word “money” is me. And also is a gif right?

Am I so much of a Tony nerd that I both knew and was shocked that the accountants weren’t the normal ones from Ernst and Young but instead were from Grant Thorton. Why do I remember what company normally tallies the Tony votes? Why did they change companies? Why do I care so much? But seriously what happened

1:49:00 That phrase just sounded so odd, just the way it was said “my television Daddy-O Tony Shalhoub”

1:53:15 I don’t have the accent and I’m about as white as white can be, but I really want to perform this song somewhere at some point. I have family in this area even though I don’t look like I would but and I just connect to it. The melody is gorgeous and the chorus reminds me of the lullabies of when I was very little.

1:54:15 Every time the young photos come up it puts a small smile on my face

1:54:37 Good on them for putting their money where their mouth is. They actually helped fund arts programs in places where they were cut

1:55:05 I wonder what the rest of the scenic guy’s speech for Spongebob was because this tiny clip seemed so passionate (and just has such an interesting aesthetic). Gosh darn it Tonys stop pretending the only backstage people that count are the directors and producers, you have all these other people who put in so much hard work yet you consistently ignore them. Even orchestrations, choreography and score?? Orchestrations, choreography and score are crucial for musicals to exist as unique entities from plays. You make jokes about people sitting through 5 hour plays but I would gladly sit through a five hour award show if you just included the technical awards.

1:57:10 me trying to open anything ever

1:57:14 Yes! I was so worried they would go with the super old school ones that get constant revivals. I mean, they picked the show that had “1000 pounds of sand, a 100 gallons of water, a goat and 2 chickens into his theater” when you have safer, more conventional bets. Everyone kept sleeping on Once on this Island this Tony season to talk about their feelings about the Spongebob’s and Mean Girl’s of the world but this is such a good show. Maybe this’ll get this show the love it deserves.

1:59:30 what did Robert DeNiro say on the recording the sound cut out. Did the mic cut out did he say something inappropriate, I’ve been avoiding Tony news what happened?

1:59:55 It’s got more than just a big cast, dancing, and a history lesson. You know that applies to, idk like 60% of famous Broadway musicals lol

2:00:06 when someone gives that pregnant of a pause you gotta wonder what the story is there

2:00:27 Truth

2:00:40 “Jersey Boy” that’s such a good one liner, actually, it might sound sarcastic online but that was a funny one liner in context

2:03:00 Is Bruce Springsteen really going to just do spoken word poetry the whole time? Also I don’t know why but this makes me think of Fun Home

2:06:05 Oh he’s going to sing after all. Though that story is about as Americana Fourth of July as anything I’ve ever heard on the Tony Awards ever and that’s saying something

2:07:39: who are these people?

2:08:00 Didn’t Kristin Chenowitz and Alan Cumming do this exact same shtick when they hosted, what 2 years ago? And there’s was much bigger I mean really go big like that Glinda the Good dress or go home.

2:08:23 Was there really no punch line? Also aww baby Kelli O’Hara is precious

2:09:07 The actor’s name sounds like his character’s name and I enjoy that

2:09:39 Well these actors are very different from each other

2:11:28 I am a sucker for genuine sincerity and that combined with some of the earlier moments like the Parkland moment brought me close to tears

2:12:45 Look at this award shows actual diversity, and not just using one show for diversity and nominating a bunch of actors you have 3 out of 6 female leads be people of color and none of them are a “token” and they all support each other. Hailey Kilgore is so young and such a good actress and I wanted her to win so much but she seemed so excited for the person who did win and they all seem happy at the result you don’t have any of that polite loser face they are all genuinely supportive and this makes me happy. I’m happy, look at those smiles I’m smiling, I love it when they show women supporting each other.

12:14:06 “my stupid little heart with so much joy” is me watching these people tonight.

12:14:27 Still can’t identify these people

12:15:00 Josh Groban’s reaction to Bernadette Peter’s name is me. Honestly Josh Groban is killing the potential gif game tonight

I’m sorry I just can’t take this description of them as “empowering stories” seriously when half of your nominations are Spongebob and Mean Girls

2:16:10 Tonight the Band’s Visit really swept. Honestly some seasons shows don’t win any awards that deserved it and other seasons shows that (while still deserving) probably wouldn’t have won win and it’s all kind of arbitrary, but I’m glad out of this batch it won, it was really the only show out of the four that would have gotten the Tony Award ticket sales boost and it got it.

2:17:35 “Music gives people hope and makes borders disappear”

2:19:08 yes another Josh Groan duet!

2:19:25 I love Miss Peters too

2:20:44 This number made me smile, this whole night made me smile. I was worried I would get frustrated by the night with Spongebob and Frozen and Mean Girls and all the potential for it to be a cynical snark fest or a capitalist money grabber spectacular. There are about 10 billion ways I saw myself not liking this year’s Tony Awards before it started and not only am I relieved that I was wrong about the mood of the night but I am elated. I love me some deadpan humor and some snark but you rarely see one of these nights just wholly be genuine and not tongue and cheek and it was such a breath of fresh air. Even the hokey bits like the stupid magic jokes and banter or weaker songs like that Mean Girls number, because everything was in such a kindhearted atmosphere, didn’t feel as bad as they otherwise would have.

[littlewalken]

Dec 10

I'm still finding myself momentarily thinking I'm in one of the hotel rooms we were in during our homeless time just before I wake up some mornings. Approaching 4 months of being in my own bed in my blessing of a home but part of me seems convinced that it's the middle of July and I'm waking up in a rather nice and classy Motel Shit in the part of Arizona that has trees and we can't leave until the dollar store next door opens because among the things the greedy cousins stole from us was all the food not in my personal snack bag, the clothes in mom's suitcase and even her sundries so I have to go to the store and get all of that for us.

Yeah, there's using someone's shampoo for one hair wash because you don't have/can't immediately find yours, and there's taking the whole bottle.

From family members who are currently homeless.

And giving you some money to let them stay there.

And buying food and toilet paper.

Or were going to the day we were kicked out so fuck that bitch.

I still have to finish sorting thru the pics form the trip but here's clouds and trees from Arizona.

In other news I'm glad lots of guilty people done been found guilty. Got to love all the ways Omegon mispronounced the false police report fake hate crime guy's name.

Really, there are real and much much worse versions of what you lied about that the police should be dealing with and will now be more skeptical about because you wanted attention. You could have gone to a community center, have the news film you spending some time with some kids, and got all the positive but shallow attention you want.

And the umpteen kids and fucking guy finally facing some real justice. $5 says his father will find a way to blame any and all women in their life, including the victims for it. All the money that was supposed to go to the victims is going to defend their attacker any way. And when CPS gets involved because attacker's wife now has no income, job skills, etc for 7 kids they won't be able to live with attacker's side of the family because they allowed that shit to happen under their roof while the baby factory was busy having a temper tantrum that a liquor store wanted to open in her county.

The people who scream the loudest and throw the biggest stones at how they perceive other faiths treat women need to look at their own first.

Started watching the Harley Quinn adult cartoon, I hope it gets fucking better because right now it's not that fucking funny, you fucking get me?

And always pay attention if something involving an old hyperfixation returns because past Little Walken bought a cheap DVD of Sherlock Holmes that was marketed around the time Cumberbitch was getting hot. It happened to star Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) and tho I don't think I've watched it yet I sensed it wouldn't hurt to buy it.

I need to watch something good so I'm going to try and start watching Picard.

[daleisgreat]

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Seven

-Finally, after three years of watching mostly one episode a week, I have finished my re-watch of all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation (season seven trailer)! I am thrilled to present my final entry here chronicling my adventures with the crew of the Enterprise! For the final season I was able to slightly bump up my viewing habits and mostly stuck to watching two episodes a week, and thus I was able to make faster progress on this final season! Somehow, my horrendously outdated Samsung Galaxy S7 phone has managed to barely limp along this entire journey with me, and the gloriously awful pics featured throughout this article are courtesy of that wonderful device. -Season six wrapped with an enticing cliffhanger to “Descent” where Lore managed to work some sinister sorcery to recruit a squadron of Borg and hack into the code banks of Data (Brent Spiner) in order to recruit him to join his cause. Season seven had a great kickoff to resolve this new threat, and had a satisfying conclusion at putting an end to Lore once and for all. I would rank “Descent” on the higher end of TNG two-part arcs, as the Lore/Borg/Data combination proved to be an intriguing antagonist to see how they would be dealt with.

Picard is ready for combat on the left, while falling ill on the Enterprise leads to crew members tripping with some wild illusions on the right! -I was a little bummed to see a complete lack of appearances from Whoopi Goldberg in her role as Guinan in the final season. I am presuming it must have been scheduling conflicts as she has always been in high demand, especially around this time just a couple years after her Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in Ghost. Whoopi would return as Guinan in two of the four Star Trek movies based on TNG cast.

-A pair of recurring characters that did return for their final episodes this season are Michelle Forbes as Ensign Lt. Ro Lauren and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. Ro is fresh off tactical training for an important undercover mission that conclusively decides her fate with Starfleet as she would never appear in another Star Trek series or film again after this. According to my research I was surprised to learn it took a last minute agreement with Forbes within a week before filming to get her to reprise her role as she was starting to distance herself from the brand after initial plans to make her a mainstay on Deep Space Nine fizzled. Wesley Crusher’s final appearance had a better payoff in “Journey’s End” where during a vision quest he finally is deemed ready by a previous guest character, The Traveler (Eric Menyuk), to join him on a mystical journey to see Wesley fulfill his supernatural potential. I had no idea they were going to payoff these vague promises The Traveler alluded to in Wesley way back in season two, so big props to the cast and crew making that happen! -Other past recurring characters returned, but only to see them casted in middling-to-disappointing episodes. This is the case for Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) in the head-scratching “Genesis” episode that has the Enterprise staff fall victim to a virus that de-evolves them into various primates. The love-or-hate mother of Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Lwaxana (Majel Barrett), has a major sendoff in her final episode where we learn all about her tragic backstory.

-Speaking of mediocre episodes, season seven has a bit more than previous seasons. A two-parter sees Riker and Picard go undercover to form a fake mutiny to sniff out a Vulcan double agent, and while it is not terrible by any means, the whole arc seems bloated and the second episode feels unnecessary. “Phantasms” is as bizarre as the dreams Data (Brent Spiner) has in the episode, but Data later has a redeeming character episode in “Inheritance” where he meets his mother…..then later hits another stumble in “Thine Own Self” where his radioactive experiments causes a planet’s population to become seriously ill. I will give season seven the benefit of the doubt for the noticeable bump up in lackluster episodes because several of the bonus interviews own up to this and attribute it to the cast and crew being spread thin with the final season of TNG, the second season of Deep Space Nine and being in pre-production of the first season of Voyager and the upcoming movie with the TNG crew, Generations. -The holodeck’s sendoff in TNG, “Emergence” is a decent affair that sees the crew go aboard the Orient Express to solve the mystery of how the holodeck becomes self-aware. The episode had a few promising moments, but could have been better. While I enjoyed the quality of holodeck episodes overall in TNG, from what I understand the holodeck episodes greatly suffer going forward and falls victim to holodeck malfunctions and sexual fantasy tropes.

Worf once again has a strong set of character-focused episodes this season. You have not lived until witnessing Worf adopt a cat for an episode, and experience a birthday party time-loop. -Worf (Michael Dorn) has one of the strongest slate of character episodes this season. Seeing Worf being a curmudgeon at his birthday party was pulled off to perfection! “Homeward” is a feel-good family episode where Worf resolves his rocky relationship with his foster brother, Nikolai (Paul Sorvino). The best Worf-centered episode is saved for last where he trains Alexander (James Sloyan) in the arts of becoming a Klingon warrior with the help of a mysterious Klingon friend.

-A couple other episodes that made strong impressions on me this season are “The Pegasus” and “Lower Decks.” In the former, Terry O’ Quinn of Lost fame, appears here as a higher-up from Starfleet to track down the lost USS Pegasus, but Picard (Patrick Stewart) eventually discovers a grand cover-up that has an enticing way of finding the truth of what Quinn’s character is hiding. “Lower Decks” is entirely focused on the background Ensigns and ancillary characters like Nurse Ogawa (Patti Yasutake). The last couple years saw the streaming service, Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) launch a Star Trek: Lower Decks animated series with the very same premise, and if you are a fan of the cartoon, you owe it to yourself to track down this episode as its source material. “Interface” and “Bloodlines” are both strong episodes dealing with long forgotten family members. The former has Geordi (LeVar Burton) risking his life with prototype tech to save his mother (Madge Sinclair), and the latter deals with Picard’s surprise of finding out he had a son (Ken Olandt) from a decades-prior relationship.

-Now to the moment of truth, it is time to cover the final two-part episode, “All Good Things…” The series finale naturally focuses on Jean-Luc as he finds himself constantly time-warping between three different time periods to solve a new challenge bestowed onto him by none other than Q (John de Lancie). I loved how they brought it back full-circle with one of the time periods emanating from the same setting as the original pilot episode of TNG where Q puts the then-newly assembled Enterprise crew on trial. The cast and crew hold nothing back for the final episode with an enthralling narrative as Picard pieces together Q’s final challenge, and has an emotional final scene where after seven seasons, Picard finally joins his crew for a round of poker. -Here is the paragraph with my obligatory kudos to the countless hours spent remastering TNG in HD for the BluRay set. I am not a video-phile and cannot immaculately explain with the proper tech verbiage on how they did it. All I can say is the staff painstakingly made it look like they shot it today, and it does not have any of the old fuzzy standard definition effects that would happen when forcing an SD resolution onto an HD set. Just watch this indicative video that overlays the remastered HD transfer over the SD version to see for yourself. I will also give yearly props to the podcast, Star Trek: The Next Conversation which chronicles every individual episode of TNG and has served as the best supplementary listening material to get the most out of every episode for me. The podcast took a hiatus during the pandemic, and only recently picked up again and are only a couple episodes into season seven as of this writing, so I will pat myself on the back at catching up to them when I was nearly a season and a half behind them when I started from the beginning of TNG.

-You guys know I love covering the bonus features, and season seven of the BluRay is absolutely jacked with them with previous bonus interviews and specials, and all new HD extras. According to my notes, it all added up for just over five hours of bonus materials, and that is not including a handful of commentary tracks on selected episodes. Going over each and every piece of bonus content will kill me, so instead I will highlight the handful that I got the most out of: -----Captain’s Tribute (16 min) – Stewart gives loving testimonials to the cast and crew. A lesson he learned from a dialog with Michael Dorn and LeVar Burton was a key takeaway here. -----In Conversation: Lensing ST: TNG (42 min) - This one is a new HD extra aimed at special effects enthusiasts where a roundtable discussion with camera operators and directors of photography reunite to talk shop of the many highs and lows of on the set production. While a fair amount of trade vernacular went right over my head, they provided ample context and their enthusiasm for their craft is irresistible!

I know it is asking a lot to dive into the many hours of bonus interviews, but nearly most of it is incredibly insightful and well worth your time! -----Starfleet Moments & Memories (30 min) – Awesome feature showcasing the camaraderie and humor between takes that indicates a true sense of friendship among the cast and crew. -----Closed Set: Tour of Real Enterprise (11 min) – The Okundas give a private, narrated, tour of the Enterprise filled with fun facts like how the set for sickbay gained a reputation among cast and crew as “nap-bay.” Every person should have their own nap-bay! -----Journeys End: The Saga of TNG (45 min) – Original 1994 TV special hosted by Jonathan Frakes celebrating the end of an era. ----Sky’s the Limit: Eclipse of TNG (89 min) – Three part special with part one primarily focused on the cast and crew having a lot of projects on their plate the final year and lovingly throwing shade at Picket Fences for stealing their Emmy award! Part two interviews various directors of episodes about their process, and Seth McFarlane shares a special moment he had with a fan on how the show saved their life. The third part interviews a lot of the cast on how they felt the show wrapped, with a couple highlights being Sirtis not being fond of the Worf/Deanna courtship, and Patrick Stewart remarking when asked about future projects that he would consider them, but thought they would ultimately be unnecessary. This was obviously recorded several years before Stewart would return as Picard in the current Paramount+ series, Picard.

-Suffice it to say, the extra features do not disappoint! As I foreshadowed above, there is an apparent dip in quality this season overall compared to the high bar set from seasons three through six, but I will cut the cast and crew some slack since they were seriously overworked during the 1993-94 season. There are still many excellent episodes though as I dissected above, and a terrific series finale that puts the best damn bow they possibly could on the TV series. Thank you so much for joining me on this ride over the past three years and bearing with me on my never-ending entries covering the series. If you missed out on previous entries, click here to see all my previous season recaps of The Next Generation, or click here to continue my journey with TNG crew with my reviews of all the Star Trek motion pictures.

Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap 2016-17 TV Season Recap 2017-18 TV Season Recap 2018-19 TV Season Recap 2019-20 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Baseball: A Ken Burns series Angry Videogame Nerd Home Video Collections Cobra Kai – Seasons 1-2 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 | Season 2 OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld - Final Season Star Trek: Next Generation – Seasons 1-7 Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television The Vietnam War: A Ken Burns series X-Men – The Animated Series: Volumes 4-5

[minimoll7]

Hmmm...how about...Gargoyles, Cybersix, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, He-Man and ThunderCats (feel free to pick either the 1985 version or the 2011 reboot, or both if you wanna) for that cartoon ask? Because I can't send just one. :P

Gargoyles:haven’t seen it | not a fan | indifferent | pretty good | absolutely awesome | one of my favoritesI’m currently watching through that show right now! I’m in the middle of the second season :b I love how bouncy the characters can be and the story is so interesting to! Brooklyn is my favorite to, he’s got a nice design

Cybersix:haven’t seen it | not a fan | indifferent | pretty good | absolutely awesome | one of my favoritesI’ve seen some pics here and there and I think I recall you talking to me about it once, but I obviously haven’t seen it yet. Tho it does look very interesting so maybe I’ll check it out eventually ;)

Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends:haven’t seen it | not a fan | indifferent | pretty good | absolutely awesome | one of my favoritesI’ve heard of this show here and there and seen the style but I’m not sure about this one?? To me, the style isn’t bad but I kind of don’t like it to much in regards to designs. But! Knowing myself, I’ll probably eventually look into it because I’m just honestly a slut for cartoons xD

He-Man:haven’t seen it | not a fan | indifferent | pretty good | absolutely awesome | one of my favoritesOkay this is a show that I’ve been dying to start forever now and I have no idea why I keep pushing it off. Admittedly my interest for this is because of the memes, but it does look like it would be a great show to get into!

ThunderCats:haven’t seen it | not a fan | indifferent | pretty good | absolutely awesome | one of my favoritesHonestly? While its obvious aside from the first cartoon that I’ve seen none of these, this one just feels the weirdest to me? Like the designs are very strange to me and it just looks weird. I mean of course that doesn’t make it bad and I’m not saying I could never get into it, but as of now I doubt I’d try it. Maybe in the future tho?

[pratktcven]

love in a time of social media

love in a time of social media part one. shance. eventual nc-17. alternate universe. lance is the king of shitposts and selfies. shiro is an artist who loves his dog and fatalistic humor. somehow, they fall in love. warning! underage drinking and casual use of marijuana

.

They meet online.

Specifically, they meet on tumblr. Shiro is an artist of middling popularity and Lance is a shitposter of the highest caliber. Shiro follows Lance months before Lance follows him; indeed, Lance is unaware of Shiro's work until Shiro @'s him in a small comic.

'I couldn't resist,' Shiro types below the image. 'Thank you for the inspiration, @lances-a-lot.'

Shiro—@white_iron—has a simple art style and a sharp sense of humor that makes Lance laugh out loud. He reblogs the comic, telling his followers to check it out, and proceeds to creep on Shiro's blog. Lance's first stop is Shiro's small about section.

Hello! My name is Shiro. I am a post-grad history student and I spend my limited free time walking my dog or doodling. art tag doodles photography

Shiro's blog consists mainly of his artwork. Occasionally, Shiro will also post real-life pictures of his dog, a beautiful black and white akita with bright eyes and a dopey smile. There aren't any pictures of Shiro himself. Lance—who takes roughly a thousand selfies every day—comments on this oddity to Blue, his enormous gray long-hair.

Blue blinks at him.

"My curiosity has been piqued," Lance replies primly.

Blue blinks her big gold eyes at him again.

"Enough of your judgement!" Lance over-dramatizes. "I can follow who I want!"

Shiro's blog is twenty-four pages of self-produced content that Lance blazes through in less than an hour. There are no reblogs. Lance nearly twitches at the restraint and—after a moment—decides to check if Shiro's likes are public.

"Jackpot!" Lance crows when the page loads.

Shiro's likes are a riot of memes and shit-posts. Art references and how-to's. Nerdy history jokes. Links to academic articles. Male fitspo. Healthy recipes, juice cleanse tips, and over-indulgent foodie pics. NSFW gifs of twinks writhing open-mouthed on rumpled sheets. Pictures of space and nature. Lots of dogs. Several of Lance's selfies. More than one necromancy pun. If it is at all possible to fall in love with someone based on their likes, Lance does it.

Lance's infinite scrolling comes to a halt at half past one, when his one of his many phone alarms notifies him of the time. Lance groans, closes his browser, and hauls his butt out of his narrow bed. It takes him a couple minutes to find an acceptably clean pair of skinny jeans and an unwrinkled sweater; he hasn't done laundry for several weeks.

"After lab," Lance tells Blue as he wriggles out of his worn sweats into his socially acceptable denim. "I'll do a load tonight."

Blue flicks her tail at him, a rude gesture that Lance returns with one of his own. Blue sends him baleful glance.

"Don't look at me like that," Lance says even as he plants a kiss between Blue's mismatched ears. She lost half of her left ear in a fight before the shelter picked her off the street. "You started it."

Blue meows loudly and bats Lance's nose.

"Okay, okay, you're right. I started it." Lance presses one more kiss on his cat's skull. "Have fun bird-watching. I'll see you later."

Then—with his good-byes said—Lance grabs his notebook-laden satchel, and is out the door.

.

Lance's lab is as much of a challenge as it always is. Lance is good at math—numbers and variables are easy—but his brain refuses to wrap around the concepts of physics. It's a small miracle that Pidge is his lab partner; without her, Lance is certain he would fail.

"You're a lifesaver," Lance gushes as they leave the old building. "Let me buy you pizza to show my gratitude."

"I told Matt I'd have dinner with him," says Pidge. "His roommate is going through some sort of clean eating phase and it's driving him nuts."

"He can come," Lance says. Then, less magnanimously, "But he has to get his own slice."

Pidge rolls her eyes as she texts her older brother. Lance shoots a text to Hunk, who responds with a single thumbs up emoji. They all meet at less than ten minutes later at the off-campus pizzeria that sells by the slice. Lance gets three for himself and two for Pidge; Matt, who is the only person over the age of twenty-one, covertly buys a pitcher of beer that they pour into their small, plastic water cups.

"Sweet, sweet, processed goodness," Matt half-cries as he chews, his mouth filled with cheese, pepperoni, and grease. "How I missed you."

Lance would be more sympathetic to Matt's dilemma if the man hadn't embarrassed him in a game of beer pong at a sorority the week before. Lance can't prove it, but he knows in his heart of hearts that Matt cheated. Nobody beats Lance at beer pong, okay. Nobody.

"That bad?" Pidge grins.

"You have no idea," Matt bemoans. "Like—Takashi's a great dude, don't get me wrong—but when I found him on Craig's List I was more worried about being murdered in my sleep than I was about weird diet habits. Turns out I should have been more worried about the diet habits. Our fridge is filled with kale. Kale, Kit-Kat. From the farmer's market."

"Kale is really good for you," Hunk interjects.

"That's what Takashi said," Matt mutters. "I don't know how much longer I can go on like this."

"Hasn't it only been three days—"

"An eternity—"

Lance laughs at Matt's plight and, once dinner is finished and the four of them part ways, he takes out his phone to tweet about the roundabout retribution.

Lance @lancesalot #revenge is best served blanched. or in a smoothie. #kale #healthyliving #karma

.

It's a little past nine when Lance returns to his apartment. His roommate, Rolo, and his ambiguously defined girlfriend/partner-in-crime, Nyma, are sitting on the couch sharing a joint. A bag of popcorn is ready on the battered coffee table and the television is playing an old nineties buddy-cop flick.

"Hey," Rolo says, smoke curling upwards from his mouth. "Wanna join?"

"Nah." Lance turns down the proffered joint with a shrug. "Gotta take my laundry down. You feed Blue?"

"Like she'd let me forget."

Blue—who is perched on the windowsill—releases a single, plaintive meow. She has no problems letting anyone know what she wants and when she wants it, especially when it comes to being fed.

"Thanks man."

"De nada."

It doesn't take Lance long to gather his dirty clothing and stuff it into his hamper. He takes it all to the basement, throws a few loads in, and settles into one of the old armchairs that have accumulated in the corner. He knows that he should read ahead for his classes, but the siren song of social media grips him. An internal debate rages inside him for all of three seconds before he opens his tumblr account.

Lance barely feels the twinge of guilt.

There are several asks—all anonymous, as per usual—and one unread message. Lance is a little surprised by the latter; after a few weird encounters, he changed his setting so that he could only receive messages from people he followed. He clicks on the conversation first.

white_iron Thanks for the follow! I'm really flattered. You're one of my favorite blogs.

Lance smiles at the message.

lances-a-lot no problem!!! ur art was super funny i laughed at everything pretty sure my cat thinks i'm crazy now

After hitting send, Lance plugs in his chunky headphones into the audio jack. He has a new chillwave playlist that Pidge gave him, but he knows that if he doesn't give Tycho his full attention Pidge may murder him. So instead, Lance pulls up his trusted Rihanna compilation and double clicks on the first song. He bops his head in time with the beat and opens his asks, quickly answering his anons.

Several chart-toppers later, a small ping interrupts Rihanna's plea for the dj to turn the music up. Lance looks at the vertical line of icons on the side of the page and sees that he has another message from Shiro. Lance opens the conversation immediately and reads:

white_iron My dog already knows I'm crazy.

white_iron sent a photo post.

A small preview image has been loaded into the conversation. It is a cartoon version of Shiro's akita, her expression morphed into one of extreme judgement. Her eyebrows—twin dots of white on her dark face—are low over her big eyes and her ruff is fattened comically around her muzzle. Lance cannot help but laugh at the exaggerated accuracy and immediately reblog it.''

lances-a-lot OMG THATS FANTASTIC
 THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT BLUE DOES

white_iron Stare into the depths of your decrepit soul and find you wanting?

lances-a-lot haha, yes! blue acts like i dont spoil her rotten shes such a princess

white_iron I definitely know how that goes. Bee has three dog beds, but she insists on sleeping in my bed or in my roommate's.

lances-a-lot blue has peed in every. single. bed i bought for her i stopped trying after awhile it was getting to be an expensive exercise in futility

white_iron Two words. Dog toys.

Lance talks to Shiro for the next couple of hours while his laundry finishes. Mostly, they swap stories about their pets and commiserate about their less than desirable—if not inadvertently hilarious—behavior. Lance even tells Shiro about how he rescued Blue. In turn, Shiro talks about the process he had to go through to adopt Bee. Shiro mentions that Bee is a service dog; what for, he does not say.

Don't be that asshole, Lance reminds himself as the topic wanes. His comfort is more important than your curiosity.

Lance is having such a good time talking to Shiro that he barely notices midnight pass. In fact, if it weren't for the enormous, jaw-cracking yawn that his body produces, Lance would not have noticed at all.

lances-a-lot dude i just noticed what time it was like i could seriously talk about blue forever but laundry sleep ADULTING i have calc at 8 am, ugh kill me now

white_iron Tell me about it. I have to TA an 8 a.m. class.

There is a small pause. Lance gnaws on his bottom lip as he watches the ellipsis that indicates typing flicker in and out of existence.

white_iron Talk to you tomorrow?

Lance bites down harder on his lip. Normally, he would send back a quick affirmation before logging off, but his interaction with Shiro feels different than the interactions he's had in the past. Their chemistry is undeniable and their conversation never felt flat or stilted. Yet while Lance knows he's been lowkey flirting with Shiro, he cannot be sure if Shiro has been flirting back.

Fuck it, Lance thinks as he gathers all his courage and sets his fingers back on the keyboard. He can feel how warm his cheeks are. Just do it.

lances-a-lot its a date ;)

After he sends the message, Lance closes his laptop and jumps off the armchair. He feels jittery and unsure, yet also oddly hopeful that maybe this time—for the first time—his interest won't be a mistake.

.

[the-obsessed-nerdist]

RULES: Answer 30 questions and tag as many peeps as you want

Gender: What the hell is a gender? (Non binary)

Star sign: Pisces

Height: 5′8

Time: 10:12 PM

Favorite bands: Ninja Sex Party and Queen

Favorite solo artists: Danny Sexbang

Song stuck in your head: Remember Me (unfortunately the de la Cruz version😑 damn you for being so catchy) and Un Poco Loco

Last movie I watched: I just watched Coco like 1/2 an hour ago. I like be that movie with all my heart

Last TV show I watched: I think it was Legends of tomorrow?? My friends were watching it

When did I create my blog: 2012

What do I post: So many things... mostly funny or fandom stuff. SO MANY CARTOONS

Do I get asks: Not really, but I have gotten a few recently and it was awesome!!

Why is that your url?: I obsess about nerdy stuff. A lot

Following: 288

Followers: 448

Favorite color(s): olive green, purple, red and orange

Favorite song rn: The entire soundtrack for Coco. I have been listening to it a lot in the past week

Average hours of sleep: 5-7 depending on the day

Lucky numbers: 6!!! Okay, maybe it’s not lucky but it’s my favorite number

Instruments: I can sing pretty decently and I played the French horn from middle to highschool

What am I wearing: A tmnt shirt, a backwards jean cap, jeans, and green gear socks

How many blankets I sleep with: 2 is usually what I have if only to make sure one blanket is cover my head

Dream job: I really want to write and illustrate my own books

Dream trip: Take me to Italy to take a pic of (michaelangelos) David’s sweet butt or New York to buy a tmnt comic

Favorite food: I love chicken dumpling soup, especially my gramma’s homemade soup! I am also addicted to milk

Nationality: American

Tags: @cap-and-cyborg @igotofetchthesun @cutie-patootie-with-a-booty @cutiepie-tro @forfuckssakejim @deathishauntedbyhumans

[devils-gatemedia]

Earlier this year, the glorious summer came to an end at exactly the time that Steelhouse Festival opened with a weekend of storms, high winds and incessant rain. Halfway up the bill on Saturday, a band that had somehow previously escaped my notice came on stage and gave the sodden crowd one of the best festival sets I have ever seen. As we left the pit the photographers each applauded, something I have never seen before. After the set, I sought the singer out in the crowd as he watched the next band, a young unknown called Myles Kennedy. Firstly, I have NEVER done that before, but I wanted him to know how much I enjoyed his music and secondly, after thanking me he gazed at the stage, turned back to me and said in awe “It’s Myles Kennedy”. That band was the Dan Reed Network, and when I heard that they were taking a headline tour on the road, I HAD to be there.

Opening the show were another band that have so far not appeared on my radar, but I will now be following and looking out for, Hollowstar. It is genuinely exciting to see young bands with this much class and ability. Every song in the brief set, from opener “Money” to absolute stunner of a set closer “All I Gotta Say”, hit the mark. There is light and shade, with “Feel The Burn” showcasing some soulful and emotional vocals from Joe Bonson before a huge guitar hook comes in, courtesy of the ever-active guitarists Phil Haines and Tom Collett, all supported by powerful drums courtesy of Joe’s brother Jack. There is a healthy dollop of Black Stone Cherry about “New Age Lullaby”, and “Let You Down” is simply massive! Mid set, Joe takes some time to talk about how it feels to be where they are and to be playing to a crowd, passionately talking about invisible illnesses and how music helps him deal with issues he has faced. It is raw and honest, and rewarded with spontaneous applause.

Later in the evening, during Dan Reed’s set, the female half of our little review team needed to hydrate and lost her place upfront with me. Joe, at the merch stand, saw what had happened, and made a gap back to the front for her, where he spent some time dancing. A really gentlemanly thing to do, and this is a public shout out to thank him as it made her day! It is easy to say that bands low on a bill have “potential” to go all the way in this business, but I haven’t been as impressed by an opening act in a long time, and wish the guys every success. I get the feeling I will be seeing a LOT more of them!

Mason Hill also appeared on the bill at the mudfest that was Steelhouse, and whilst I enjoyed their set, I picked up on some reviews that weren’t exactly impressed and accused them of going through the motions. Since then, they have had a number of difficulties, and so I was intrigued to see how they would come across on such a strong line u

Their intention became clear as soon as the lights went down. Singer Scott Taylor walked to the mic and sang solo vocals in a single spotlight to “No Regret”. It’s a ballsy and exposed way to start a show, and as the rest of the band kick in, it is clear that they are out to put the record straight. “Survive” was up next and could well have been written to sum up recent trials. The anthemic chorus was sung with particular passion. Hold On” slowed the tempo down a little then burst into life. “Out Of Reach” quickly followed. Every song an absolute belter and thrown at the crowd with immense energy and passion not to mention musical ability.

Between songs, Taylor has an easy rapport with the audience, which isn’t easy when the combination of his thick Glaswegian and a Bristol burr must be the most contrasting of accents! He seems thrilled at the size of the crowd and the reception they are giving the band. “Wait For You” and “Against The Wall” continue to showcase their songwriting skill. The twin guitars of James Bird and Marc Montgomery trade some powerful licks and riffs. One of the strengths of the band is the quality of the rhythm section with bassist Matthew Ward and drummer Craig McFetridge excelling. “Where I Belong” is a belter. Taylor’s vocals once again taking centre stage. It’s a ‘lighters in the air’ anthem, and the room is silent as the waves of emotion surge from the stage. For me, the best two songs end the set – “Now You See Me” with it’s complex guitar intro has a different feel to much of the set and then encore. “Cochise”, is delivered with real respect. Dan Reed has said several times on the tour how strong the support bands are, and how the future of rock music is in good hands. He is absolutely on the money. Here’s hoping Mason Hill get through recent challenges and realise their potential.

So, to the headliner. Even before Dan Reed Network take the stage, there was a demonstration of the class that the “Network” bring to the business when bassist Melvin Brannon snuck out and stood at Hollowstar’s merch table with his bass. The guys were visibly stunned when he asked them to autograph it for him! Shortly after, the band took the stage for one of the most entertaining and enjoyable couple of hours I have seen on a stage.

Now usually I would run through a setlist , mention a few songs that I liked and comment on the skill of the musicians, but somehow at a Dan Reed show that feels insufficient. You see, a Dan Reed show is a life affirming, joyous, fun, amusing, musical, soulful, funk and rock experience, rather than simply a collection of songs played live.

First there is Dan Reed himself. The living epitome of the phrase “dance like nobody is looking”, he is never still for a moment. His rapport with the crowd is unparalleled; constantly shaking hands, pointing at old friends, hanging out over the room from the unfortunately placed steel support right in the middle of the stage and entertaining them with banter and stories rooted in many years in the business.

Then there is the ‘Network’: Brion James, dreadlocks flying and a smile that lights up the room, mixing funk with raw rock sounds, Melvin Brannon slapping the strings off his bass and entertaining with one of the best solos I have witnessed on the four-string, Rob Daiker, keys and all around support as well as a couple of songs at the front in the spotlight, and drummer Dan Pred, long-time friend of Dan Reed, and tonight, honoured with a round of shots for his fast approaching birthday.

Then there is the sheer fun that they have on stage together. During the set, an entire litany of problems presented. First the monitor in front of Brannon objected to being used as a step and disappeared into the void. Result? Dan suggested they would spend the evening singing Celine Dion songs instead and handed the mic to Brannon for a simply hilarious version of “My Heart Will Go On” while it was sorted. Shortly after, the show came to a halt with Reed commenting that whenever the drums played the bass stopped. Brannon’s wireless system was to blame and Reed gleefully ranted about the old school leads that never let you down as Brannon went low tech. Further into the set again, and issues with James’ effect pedals led to more improvisation and finally a broken string for said guitarist led to Reed singing almost the entirety of jazz standard “All Of Me” leading to discussions of an alternative future as a jazz band.

Dan Reed stops and starts the set at will even without the issues, at one point instructing James not to choose a particular effect because he “wants to hear that guitar part differently tonight” and often just dissolving into laughter at the antics of his band. All of that might sound unprofessional, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. What we are seeing is how to continue to enjoy what you do many years after most bands become formulaic and all feeling is gone. Every band should take a lesson from Dan Reed Network, as it keeps a freshness that is pretty unique to the set. Of course, there are the songs too!

“Rainbow Child” is the song most people would associate with Dan Reed Network, and tonight it is played as emotively and passionately as the day it was written. “Tiger In A Dress” had the crowd in the palms of his hands. “Baby Now I” is possibly my favourite few minutes of a band on stage with its’ jam, where anything and everything could happen, from heavy metal classics to soul and funk. “Save The World” and it’s addictively funky rhythms.

The set consists of sixteen or more songs, plus the many breakouts and jams. The clock goes way past curfew with Dan Reed Network just keeping on going. Reed refers back to the support bands several times, and also takes time to thank pretty much everyone who has taken a part in the evening from the venue, another humble touch.

I rarely wish I had video from gigs, but the ending tonight just after I had put my camera away was one of the times I wish I had done so. Just as I thought Dan Reed Network had taken their final bow, they lined up and sang acapella with some sumptuous harmonies. Dan Reed, leaning out over the crowd, was unaware of the chaos unfolding behind him as Pred sneakily removed the cord from Brannon’s mic, just as he went to step forward to sing a lead vocal. Brannon grabbed James’ mic. James saw his moment approaching and reached to grab Reed’s mic from behind. Reed struggled and threw a mock punch at James who retaliated. Cue utter chaos and hilarity as the entire band tried to complete the song amidst cartoon violence with one less microphone than vocalists.

Several bows later, and Dan Reed Network finally leave the stage, promising to return for signing and almost nobody moves as they wait to shake his hand and have a word. There is only one way to end the review – to Mr Dan Reed and the Dan Reed Network, Thank you! See you soon!

Review and pics – Rob and Danni Wilkins

Live Review: Dan Reed Network – The Fleece, Bristol Earlier this year, the glorious summer came to an end at exactly the time that Steelhouse Festival opened with a weekend of storms, high winds and incessant rain.

[succeedly]

5 Fab Ways to Animate Your EduLife!

This article was published in NEA Today Magazine - pages 18-20 - and also posted on the NEA Today Website  5 Fab Ways to Animate Your EduLife!   

Begin Bitmoji

Savvy Signage

Fresh Feedback

Social Sharing

Cool Communication

Have you fallen in love with Bitmoji yet? This fun FREE app has been around for a few years and now can be easily used to transform and animate your professional life and classroom. For those new to this app,  Bitmoji is an emoji or avatar that you can customize to look just like you (or in my case a younger skinnier version of me!) which is then automatically inserted into all kinds of colorful cartoons. You can use Bitmoji stickers as your Twitter avatar, on Snapchat stories, within Seesaw and Google Apps for Education, rubrics, within Gmail, on your blog, or for classroom or library signage.  It’s also a fun way to add spice to you texting life with friends and family -- and there are at least four fab ways you can animate your edulife and use in the classroom!   I'm hooked! DISCLAIMER & BACKSTORY: There are other avatar creators out there, I have blog posts, articles, and resource web pages that go over more than 15 of them - but Bitmoji is FREE and is, by far, the easiest one to start with. I also have to assure you, I don’t work for them, this is not sponsored or a “paid advertisement,” nor do they even acknowledge my positive Tweets or social media love, though I wouldn’t be mad at them if they sent me a T-Shirt!      I used Bitstrips back in the day, and Bitmoji was created by them. A couple years ago one of my amazing MHMS Social Studies teachers, Ms. Daniller had her Bitmoji as her Twitter profile pic and I was all like "OMGosh, where did you get that!?".....she graciously shared, and well, now

1- Begin Bitmoji   With Bitmoji you can create your face, hairstyle, shape, and then dress it up, & BOOM! They're automatically put into fun cartoon stickers that are an alternate emoji keyboard on your cell phone, Chrome extension, Snapchat, and more! Even my 70 something year old Mom and Dad have them, and we use them with each other all the time. It's hilarious and a blast!  Though I gotta warn you, they’re a bit addictive!  Sweet Setup: 

Get the FREE App by searching for Bitmoji - available in iOS iPhone and Android. Download, open the app, start designing your avatar.  Don’t worry, you can easily and always change it later.   First you need to choose a cartoon style: either the more anime or squished Bitmoji style or the regular cartoony Bitstrips style. You can play around with skin tones, eye colors, eyebrows, hair color and style,  body shapes and even outfit styles. Keep choosing and testing until your digital doppelganger looks just like you. Once you finish, Bitmoji will automatically create an entire library of fun — and just a tad bit silly — images. Like this one of me:   Add the Keyboard & Give Full Access To use these Bitmjoji's you have to add them as an additional keyboard on your phone. For an iPhone go to General Settings > Keyboards > Add new keyboard and make sure you select ALLOW FULL ACCESS, this way you can use them on your iPad's, too.  For Android, Wikihow says:  “Enabling the Bitmoji Keyboard. Open your Android's Settings. It's the gray gear icon in the app drawer. Scroll down and tap Language and Input. It's in the

“Personal” section. Tap Current Keyboard. Tap Choose Keyboards. Slide the “Bitmoji Keyboard” switch to the On position. Tap OK.”    While you’re texting, there are 6 categories of Bitmoji's, you select them by just touching, copying, and pasting into the text message box.  To take them from the app and to send them into your computer, you can save them to your Camera Roll, upload to Flickr, email them to yourself, or the easiest way is to insert it into a Google Doc then take a screenshot, that way you can easily edit them in Photoshop or FREE with PicMonkey. Learn how to do that here Like Bitmoji? There's an Extension for That! 

2 - Savvy Signage   Once you have your Bitmoji on your computer you can make signage for your classroom or library. Think of Back to School Night signs and a classroom door welcome sign with your room number and name, or a “Place Homework Here” sign, the possibilities are endless.  I created the sign here by adding the text using PicMonkey, a FREE site with creative tools for photo editing and graphic design.  

Classroom do’s and don’ts signs can be so boring, Bitmoji’s really jazz them up! My friend Andrew Tyler aka @atylerlibrarian in New Hampshire, created really a neat Computer Lab sign featuring Bitmoji’s for his school!   (Picture found here in many sizes)   Andrew also shared on Twitter how he created a fantastic photo booth sign for his Middle School Library for Grandparents Day!

3- Fresh Feedback 

Bitmoji is now available as a Chrome extension that puts your cartoon avatar stickers super handy on your browser toolbar to use within Google Apps for Education, Gmail, Seesaw, and a growing list of other platforms. Getting feedback from teachers, in cartoon form, makes that feedback fun and much more personal.  Super educator, speaker, blogger, and author Alice Keeler, says about Bitmoji’s:  “When using digital tools try to put yourself into them to help students feel there is a teacher guiding them through the lesson. Bitmoji’s are great for adding “you” along with some personality into digital resources. Google Forms are awesome for flipped learning, formative assessment, checks for understanding, and so much more. Bitmoji AND Google Forms… the awesomeness meter here might explode.”  For step by step directions, search for her blog post titled: Bitmoji Feedback in My Google Doc 

Mr. Parkinson aka @ICT_MrP, a Primary ICT teacher in Britain, uses Bitmoji stickers in a rubric for writing prompts. What a great way to give kids a visual feedback for their assignments. Anything we can do to make Rubrics more approachable and useful the better!

  4 - Social Sharing 

Bitmoji avatars are super for sharing on social media. Whether it’s as your Twitter profile picture, on a blog, in Snapchat stories, or on Instagram - these cartoons really bring personality to any platform.  One of the coolest ideas I’ve heard lately was from Tara M. Martin aka @TaraMartinEDU called #BookSnaps. Tara shares how she takes a picture of a section of text, uploads it to Snapchat, adds a filter, re-types the quote from the book, draws arrows, writes words, and then brings in a Bitmoji to add more zip.   This is a cool way for the reader to express their connections to text with a digital visual representation. Search #BookSnaps for articles, directions, blog posts, and videos on how to join in on the fun.   But since I don't want to "friend" my kiddos on Snapchat (because, boundaries and I teach Middle School) I could see how you can do this same thing can be done using Instagram. You could also create these with Google Docs! 

5- Cool Communication  Leveraging the power of the FREE Chrome extension puts your Bitmoji right in your browser toolbar for easy use with Gmail and Drive. Linda Lindsay aka @mauilibrarian2, a super Teacher-Librarian in Hawaii says: “If I had my druthers, I would use my Bitmoji all the time! So I have to restrain myself. My favorite use is in Gmail (Chrome extension) to punctuate my ideas and responses to make my colleagues laugh. They're always pleased, and it makes me so happy imagining the looks on their faces.”  Our wonderful school data clerk Kimberly Walley (who has since moved schools - miss her!  She the one saved teachers when our Synergy electronic gradebook went wonky or changes - she used it to transform a possibly boring newsletter to bright when directions or updates are shared with the school staff. See her graphic above!  Caution: For Grownups Only!  I have to warn you that Bitmoji’s are to use FOR kiddos and not to use WITH the kiddos.   This is because some of the stickers or cartoons have to do with drinking alcohol, some have trendy bad-ish language (FML), and some are sorta flirty. Not R rated, maybe not even PG-13, but just not for kiddos in my humble opinion. Since I teach Middle Schoolers, this is right-out. Sure, some of my kiddos might have their own Bitmoji, but I’m not going to be the teacher to promote their direct use.  This is for your professional classroom branding and fun.   

Why Bitmoji?   Emojis have become necessary in recent years because they fill a gap people didn't even know they had. When texting, they add feeling to conversations and allow you to tell if someone is being sarcastic or sweet. Bimoji’s give those conversations identity and personality. Maximizing that super power of a customized and engaging cartoon and using it in your professional practice brings it to the next level.  Give it a whirl, and discover more ways to use them in your classroom! I’d love to see your Bitmoji, share and Tweet them to me @GwynethJones so our cartoons can be friends! Resources: If you’re reading this on paper, Google the title to find online & enjoy! Gmail Just Got Zanier, Thanks To Bitmoji | HuffPost Using Bitmoji In Your Classroom - BISD Learning Technologies Bitmoji Feedback in My Google Doc By Alice Keeler Why and how I Bitmoji in my classroom? - Sahar @MyMathscape #BookSnaps by Tara M Martin It's a Cartoon, It's An Avatar, It's a New Animated YOU! Got Bitmoji? - The Daring Librarian A Super List of 15+ Avatar Generators & Creators by The Daring Librarian The Daring Librarian Bitmoji Flickr Gallery 5 Fab Ways to Animate Your EduLife! published first on http://ift.tt/2jn9f0m