everything we need is already here.

(a mock-up Nurture poster ive been working on for class!)

On Politeness vs Helpfulness

Two stories for you.

January 2018, my little town in rural Wisconsin was experiencing a cold snap. It was not record levels, but it was still very much cold enough to kill if you were unprepared. I was working ten to twelve hour shifts in a factory four towns away for 11 dollars an hour. When I woke at five AM for my shift, I discovered that my car wouldn’t start. The battery was flat dead - a common occurrence when temperatures dropped so suddenly. I couldn’t afford to miss a shift - on top of likely being fired for even a single sick day, I genuinely wouldn’t be able to afford rent.

I called my brother who lived two towns away, mostly to seek advice. He started swearing at me, hung up the phone, and was on his way. An hour of yelling and swearing and insults later, my car was running, and I was on my way to work. It was unpleasant - my brother and I didn’t have the best relationship - but he still *risked his life* in order to make sure I could make rent.

October 2022. I was in Oakland, California for Second Sky, a music festival. A few weeks earlier I had injured my knee at work. I was mostly healed, but I had brought my crutch to the show out of an abundance of caution. I had just gotten into the festival with @swarmingbats and I was given a task - get some drinks while she got into the merch line.

Second Sky was an experience, with landmarks made by the prop masters that created the Hogwarts theme park. There were giant trees, ancient temples, little secrets to discover and explore while getting blasted by EDM - it was a magical place to be. However - it did not make it obvious where you could go to get food or drinks. So I did what any reasonable person would do - I scoped out a couple who didn’t look too busy who also had drinks in their hands and asked for directions.

The couple managed to be very polite while *also* managing to impart zero information to me. I remember the woman looking at me like I was stupid for not immediately knowing where to get drinks. Fair enough - they owe me nothing, and they were *polite* while treating me like an idiot.

I managed to find the beer tent - they were literally right behind the couple. I got my wife the collectible cups they were selling, mission accomplished.

While I was giving my wife her drink, my crutch placed precariously under my arm, the *very same couple* walks *between* me and @swarmingbats and somehow managed to *kick* my crutch to the ground. It was obviously an accident. One of the couple turned around, horrified at what she’d done.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were a *cripple*”

Platitudes were exchanged, an easing of tension - but it was on my wife to actually pick my crutch from the ground.

I am a big fan of politeness, but if it gives someone the excuse to avoid being *helpful* in any way, I know which of these two interactions I’d choose, every day.

hey everyone.

i’m kominion and i make electronic music. i’m not sure how to define it, as i’m notoriously bad with genres (and hashtags, & many other things). but if you like porter robinson, jai wolf, madeon, or certain vocaloid producers, i might just be your new fav. if not, i hope to talk to you anyway.

for the longest time, i tried to be sound like every other artist i idolized. porter robinson specifically, because he makes beautiful music that touches something in my soul, and honestly, i can relate 1000% to his mental health struggles. but i can only be me, and porter is someone whose work inspired me to be as open and honest as i can with my own music.

which brings me to artifact, an album that is at least 7 years in the making. what began as a sci-fi concept album first conceived while listening to porter & madeon’s shelter became an intensely personal journey through my childhood trauma, something i wasn’t even aware that i had until it was brought up in therapy and i began to process it as an adult.

and against all odds, artifact would thankfully not leave me alone. even through my adhd habits, periods of procrastination, depression, a short stint in alcoholism, a toxic relationship, my notorious inability to finish most things i start, and the death of my prior laptop. it kept calling my back.

now, i’m thankful to say that in just one day’s time, it will be here. i hope you keep an open mind and heart and give it a chance, but more than that, i hope you give yourselves a chance.

you’re worthy. you’re beautiful. your emotions, experiences, and identities are valid. know that the one thing you’ll always have to fight hardest against in this world is yourself and your own perceived limitations. you’re more than you might think you are, and most importantly, you’re enough. remember that. 💜  

you can check out my music & socials below ;]

https://linktr.ee/kominion

Look at the Sky Poster, SP2023.

Porter Robinson [Together, Live]

Second Sky 2022 

<3

Is Second Sky weekend and here are a few items I was commissioned to build for Potaro's Family.

went to Second Sky this weekend and it was a dream 💙✨

Porter played a live edit of Clarity at Second Sky this past weekend and I wanted to honor one of my favorite songs ever

bladee at second sky 2022 :)

Hammer of Fate by G.N. Gudgion (The Rune Song Trilogy #1)

Book: Hammer of Fate Author: G.N. Gudgion Pub Day: June 1st 2023 Buy Link(s): https://geni.us/B0BT8BH85Dsocial

About the Book:

“No surrender. No retreat.” With twenty enemy swords at their backs and a broken bridge ahead, the last knights of an outlaw order turn to fight. A young woman with forbidden magic joins their final stand. And as blade meets blade, she starts to sing…

Adelais was raised in the far north, learning stories of the old gods and the skill of weaving runes into magic. Now, she is locked in a convent far from home, forced to kneel to a foreign god. When inquisitors arrive with plans to torture an innocent man, Adelais cannot stand by. She aids an attack to free the prisoner and joins the raiders as they flee into the night. Her new companions are the last of the Guardians—once a powerful holy order, now ragged fugitives, hunted almost to extinction. The knights carry a secret treasure, precious and powerful enough to shape kingdoms. Their pursuers, desperate to possess it, will crush any who stand in their way. Nowhere is safe—in city or chateau, on the road or in the wilds. And even disguised as a boy, Adelais draws attention wherever she goes. Is she angel or demon, priestess or witch? Adelais must summon all her courage and all her memories of the old gods’ magic as the noose tightens around her and a thunderous final reckoning approaches.

My Review: The fun fact with historical fantasy is that you can talk about historical facts and using them as you like as no one can raise their hand and say NOT-RIGHT as it's a fantasy and we are in an alternate world. This is a historical fantasy, the author did an excellent job in delivering a story that builds slowly as we are introduced to a world where The Guardian are being tortured and persecuted, we could call them Templar but someone could start looking for their treasures, and a corrupt king, who's not called Philippe, wants the Guardian gone and get all their riches. We have a group of intriguing and fascinating characters: Adelais the northern shaman who is forced to convert and support the rebels, the remains of the Guardian who are not defeated and are part of the resistance. The religion is a strong point in this story but, as the inspiration is Middle Age Europe, it would hard not involve an element that was at the core of everyday life and don't forget that the Templar were warrior monks. Adelais is a strong character, il like her will force and her strength, she slowly grew on me as I discovered her talents. The male characters were more like or dislike as soon as I met them. I think that there's an excellent villain, a sort of fantasy Bernard Gui, one of the most infamous inquisitor and a character of The Name of the Rose. Gudgion creates a fascinating world, I can think of a lot of possible inspiration, Guy Gavriel Kay and Andrzej Sapkowski amongst other. This story is a bit slow at the beginning as it introduces the different characters and introduce us to the political and religious factions. As soon as the action starts the pace gets faster and I can say that the battles were well described. One note: as it's a historical fantasy there's not a lot of magic even if it exists and some characters are gifted. I hope that the rest of this trilogy will be up to this novel as it kept me hooked and I had to stop from time to time. If you like heroic or historical fantasy this is you book. Many thanks to Second Sky for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Author G.N. Gudgion (‘Geoff’) grew up with his nose in a book, often one featuring knights in armour. A later search for stories where women didn’t have to be either beautiful damsels or witches led him to the fantasy genre and the works of Guy Gavriel Kay and Mark Lawrence.

After Geoff gave up a business career to write, it was natural to gravitate to historical fantasy, to stories with complex, conflicted characters that a reader can bleed with, cry for, and perhaps fall in love with. They live in worlds where you can smell the sweat and the sewers, as well as the roses. Geoff lives in a leafy corner of England, where he’s a keen amateur equestrian and a very bad pianist. He spends much of his time crafting words in a shed, fifty yards and five hundred years from his house.He is also the author, as Geoffrey Gudgion, of supernatural thrillers Saxon's Bane (Solaris, 2020) and Draca (Unbound, 2020)

Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geoffrey.gudgion.author Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeoffreyGudgion Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geoffreygudgion Website: https://geoffreygudgion.com Goodreads (Geoffrey Gudgion): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6542406.Geoffrey_Gudgion Second Sky email signup: www.secondskybooks.com/gn-gudgion

hi, i made a new song. single will be out on streaming soon.

♡( ╥ ‿ ╥ )

Nurture Live poster, SP2023.

We ate Potaro 😋