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chrismalcolmhnd2c · 4 years

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Geometry Club

©Dave Mullan

©Adrian flickr

“Embrace nature’s brutal perfection” Boyd Rice

Research the Narrative

The research required for this brief is simply to gather inspirational images from other practitioners. Add this to your blog/workbook with clear information as to where the images were sourced and who the copyright belongs to.

Tell the Story

Shape and form in environmental photography underpins the overall aesthetic, considering the underlaying composition of an image allows the photographer to explore the subject in new and exciting ways and help you see the photograph as a unique representation of the subject you choose.

Simple geometry can be found everywhere, the shapes formed by the play of light, structures intertwining, objects passing each other… training your eye to look out for strong shape to compose your subject is an important part of constructing strong, bold photographs. Waiting for the correct moment to press the shutter release is a skill in finding the right moment.

Look around your environment to find strong geometric images. Shoot 100 photographs with the main focus being on strong geometric shape, within an outdoor environment.

Edit and refine: Complete worksheet

Make a contact sheet of the best images.

Study and ‘mark-up’ the contact sheet, making aesthetic decisions on your final selection.

Optimise your best TEN images Describe your decision-making process.

Submit: Series of TEN images on ONE A3 canvas 300ppi. Upload to my city.

Geometry Club Research

What Makes a Great Fine Art Architectural Photograph?

JUNE 22, 2018 · SHARON TENENBAUM

Every person you ask might have a different answer to the question, what makes a great fine art architectural photograph? However, in my experience, there are a few key factors that are necessary for transforming a good image into a great one.

Great architectural images often follow these 3 features:

· Composition. In architectural photography, you need to use the language of geometric lines and shapes. These elements must create a harmonious balance within your frame. Without this component, not much can be done to salvage an image.

· Simplicity. Once the shot is made, ask yourself: “What elements in the image are not adding to the story?” In other words, try to simplify your scene by eliminating unnecessary details.

· Post-processing. Once the two factors above are covered, the work on post-processing begins. If you are familiar with my work, you might be aware that I’m a strong advocate of ‘creating’ an image and not ‘capturing’ one. This means accentuating and exaggerating the compositional elements mentioned above, and creating depth, volume, and balance through selective lighting.

Image 1 – BEFORE: cluttered, unprocessed and without a person in the frame. Even though the compositional foundation is present, there is still much work to be done on decluttering and gradient lighting.

Image 2 – AFTER: ‘cleaning’ the image of unnecessary details and implementing gradient lighting.

Until recently, this is where my creative process stopped. I don’t want to elaborate too much on the features listed above; instead, I want to talk about an element in architectural photography which I’ve only lately begun exploring.

Creative Shift

As architectural fine art photography is my passion, it’s been the subject of my images for over a decade now. My path of creating this body of work was a path of self-discovery. Even though some of my earlier architectural images are stellar and I would not have done anything different with them today, in my newer work, I am embarking on a creative shift. This shift is taking my architectural images in a different direction, so now, they are not just about celebrating form, but also about human interaction with the architectural environment.

Architectural structures, by their nature, are designed to serve a purpose for people. By eliminating people out of the composition, the photographer is celebrating the art of geometry and engineering above anything else. As magnificent as the design might be, by including a human element in the composition, the image takes on a new (and different) life form. The benefits are three-fold:

First, it adds a sense of life and warmth to an otherwise cool scene. An architectural image is naturally cold, comprised of concrete, steel and/or wood. By including even a single person in the image, we are warming up the scene and crossing the boundaries from the inanimate to the animate.

Second, it gives a structure a sense of scale and comes closer to the architect’s original intent in design, which is serving people for a specific purpose. For instance, Middle Age Gothic churches were designed to dwarf the scale of a human in comparison to the House of God they were entering. A church was designed to be of an enormous scale to give the parishioners an ‘otherworldly’ experience. If you walked into a Middle Age church and did not get that feeling, then the architect did not do his job right. This was done with the intention of making one feel small in the presence of the Almighty God. Likewise, an image of a church that depicts the sense of scale by including a human reference would convey that concept whereas the image without one would not.

Lastly, by adding a single person, we are giving the viewer’s eye a resting point. The psychological reason for this I can’t say, but it’s a fact. We tend to first spot the person in the image and use the rest as a background. That makes the image more intriguing on a few levels. First, as the photographer/artist, you now have the power to direct the attention of your viewers. You are saying to them: “Start here.” Second, it helps to simplify a scene that otherwise can be too busy with lines and shapes (as in the image below). Third, and maybe most important, it adds asymmetry or shifts the ‘center of gravity’ of an image to create a more intriguing composition.

Looking at the image below, we can see all the points I stated above exemplified, as the image without the cyclist is lacking warmth, a sense of scale and a resting point.

Image 1: With Cyclist

Image 2: Without Cyclist

Sharon Tenenbaum teaches Fine Art Architectural Photography Workshops around the world. To learn more about Sharon’s work and details about her upcoming workshops, please visit: SharonTenenbaum.com

Source: https://www.thephotoargus.com/what-makes-a-great-fine-art-architectural-photograph/

Matthias Heiderich

A self-taught photographer, Matthias Heiderich (b. 1982) explores urban environments, finding surprising angles and colours within cityscapes. His shots are framed in a distinct way, focusing on corners, sides and small sections of buildings. Consequently, he does not just record what he sees; rather he transforms the ordinary into dream-like spaces that suggest a futuristic universe. The minimalist images bring attention to symmetry, lines and patterns prevalent in the urban landscape. Primarily working in the realm of fine art, his pieces have also appeared in architecture and travel publications, such as Wallpaper* and Cereal. Since 2011, Heiderich’s images have been exhibited at galleries in Berlin, Barcelona, San Francisco, St Petersburg and Zürich. In 2014 Spektrum Berlin was published with the Parisian publisher Editions Intervalles. The images selected are an overview, illustrating how exploring lines, structures and space rejects the banality of city scenes, reforming them into an awe-inspiring collage of geometric shapes. www.matthias-heiderich.de.

Source: https://aestheticamagazine.com/geometric-architecture/

Architecture photography corner – in pictures

In 2014, Sheffield-based photographer and graphic designer Dave Mullen Jr started Geometry Club, a collaborative Instagram project in which people submit images of buildings forming carefully composed triangle shapes. Mullen is now creating an app to simplify the meticulous formatting process, and says the project is “a test of building an audience based on curating the same thing”. The account has attracted more than 25,000 followers and welcomes contributions by professional and amateur photographers. “I quite like the fact that sometimes you look at the photos and it’s not obvious that it’s architecture straight away,” says Mullen.

Photograph by @grg_mlll (US).

Photograph by @ferrypasschier (Netherlands).

Photograph by @mismaria (England).

Photograph by @davemullenjnr (England).

Photograph by @jagamac266 (Singapore).

Photograph by @marcclish (Scotland).

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/jan/28/architecture-photography-corner-in-pictures

7 Tips to Spice up Your Photography Using Geometry

MARCO DE GROOT

October 9, 2017

Finding yourself in a photographic rut? Add value to your images by keeping these geometric principles in mind.

SYMMETRY

Symmetry lies at the heart of the laws of nature. It’s calming and pleasant to the eye when an image features a symmetrical composition. But a photo doesn’t necessarily need to be split directly down the middle to successfully incorporate symmetry. When an image feels balanced, you can achieve the same (and sometimes more interesting) result.

Look around on your next trip; you can find symmetry everywhere.

SHAPES

Using shapes is another way to creatively frame the subjects in your photos.

Squares and rectangles suggest conformity and order. Keep an eye out for these shapes and use them to enhance that feeling.

On the other hand, the circle represents unity, completion, and perfection. When used in an image, circular shapes can help draw the eye inward and keep the viewer’s attention on the subject.

Finally, triangles are a good way to focus attention toward a certain point. And, depending on the way a triangle is angled, it can evoke a calm or energetic feeling for the viewer.

CONVERGING LINES

Converging lines can be used to add depth and guide the viewer’s attention in a specific direction. These lines don’t need to be physical, per se, but can be created using a pattern that directs the gaze forward.

PARALLEL LINES

The use of parallel lines evokes order and rhythm in photography. Parallel vertical lines give the illusion of growth, while horizontal lines give the impression of calmness or tranquility.

INTERSECTING LINES

Diagonal or angled leading lines can make an image seem more dynamic. By highlighting these lines, photos become more active. Depending on your angle, intersecting leading lines can also help connect more than one subject or add depth to a photo.

PATTERNS

Patterns are a useful tool for both framing and composition in photography. When a frame is filled with shapes it can add to a photo’s drama or, when aligned, its order.

You can find patterns in window arrangements in buildings, shapes of tiles, pebbles on a beach, bricks on a wall etc.. When you know what to look for, you can find them all around you.

PERSPECTIVE

Sometimes, even a perfectly-composed shot can end up looking a bit boring. If that’s the case, try changing the perspective by flipping or rotating the image to find the view that makes it most intriguing.

Source: https://passionpassport.com/spice-up-your-photography-with-geometry/

Shoot 1 Contact Sheets

Contact sheets marked up with images chosen for optimisation

I feel the above selected images could work well when optimised as they contain strong and repeating geometric patterns. The images are high contrast and colourful, while the ones chosen from the contact sheet below contain intricate patterns in the shadows created by the strong sunlight.

Most successful optimised images from shoot

Marked up contact sheet from 2nd shoot

Most successful optimised images from shoot

#geometry

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punchmedanny · 6 years

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How I Make My Edits

because @lesterluminous asked

First off, I have the most convoluted process ever because I use free/cheap apps on my phone for reasons. So, I'm not really the best example to follow, but here you go~~~

These are all the apps I use. The pink I use for almost every edit, the blue I use for color correction, and the purple are my go tos to make pics look cool. Everything else I use less frequently and only if I want a specific look

Here’s what I use each for

8Bit Photo Lab: easily my fave app for glitch effects

Afterlight: the best basic photo editing app I’ve found on android. Good if you’re in a hurry and just want like a filter. I rarely use this because I’m rarely in a hurry

Background Eraser: (from handyCloset Inc.) the best app of its kind I’ve been able to find. Very easy to use, minimal ads, and doesn’t lower the quality of your photo. I use this anytime I want to get rid of the background

Facetune: I mainly use this when I’m having trouble getting the coloring of the pic right in snapseed or if I want to color correct only part of the photo. The makers of this app have another one that is phenomenal called Enlight and it’s my absolute favorite editing app, but it’s not available for android

Glitch!: another cool glitch effect app. It can do some things 8Bit can’t, but it’s more random and I like ~control~ I mainly use it for GIFs

Glitcher: this one is ultra random, so I hardly ever use it. But, it’s good it you want a glitch effect, but don’t want to spend much time on it. Again, I mainly use it for GIFs

Layout: sometimes a bitch just needs a basic collage okay???

Snapseed: the first app I go to when making an edit. A lot of times the lighting in the boys pics isn’t great (especially in ig stories), so I use this to color correct and. It has the ability to edit using curves which is the best thing ever once you get the hang of it. It also has a bunch of features I never use, but they look neat. Also, it’s completely free

Autodesk SketchBook: tbh I never get around to playing with this, but it seems like it’d be good lol

ibisPaint: omg this app is sooo underrated. I use it for almost every edit and I also use it for drawing. It’s intended to be a drawing app and not an editing app, but it has so many features that are FREE. You can make a one time payment that gets rid of ads, allows you more layers than you’ll ever need, and gets you more brushes, but you don’t necessarily need that stuff. I’m honestly so shocked it’s free because it’s so, so good. It also has a monthly subscription with more stuff but I aint got a spare $2.99/month

MediBang Paint: I literally only use this to make gradients. I’m sure it’s perfectly good, but I like ibisPaint so much more lol The only thing ibisPaint can’t do that I wish it could was make gradients haha

GIF Maker: (by GIF Maker & GIF Editor & Video Maker) sometimes I make extremely shitty GIFs that may or may not work on desktop. This is what I use. It’s the least sketchy GIF making app I’ve found, has minimal ads, and plenty of features

Cute CUT: (by MobiVio Solutions) this is the best video editor I’ve found on mobile. I sometimes use it for editing video to turn into gifs and sometimes to work around the dumb way other apps do thing that’s too complicated for a basic overview haha

Glitchee: this app is really not user friendly, but it has some cool glitch effects. Good for GIFs because it allows you to edit/save video and not just pictures

DU Recorder: This is the best screen recorder I’ve found. Very reliable, non-invasive ads, etc. I use it to capture video I want to use for a GIF. I also used it to record my M&G

90s: (by ryzenrise) this has a lot of really cool retro and glitch filters, but it ONLY lets you edit video. I hardly ever use it, but it’s good for GIFs. I’ve also used Cute CUT to make a video file out of a picture as a work around

Easy Poser: for drawing, not edits lol

HUJI: for taking dumb photos, not edits

Kuji Cam: my fave for making pics ~aesthetic~ It’s free to download, but worth paying the small amount for full features. The filters are so good and I use this very, very frequently. If I’m still having trouble with color correction after Snapseed and Facetune, this is often my saving grace

Pixel Brush: for drawing, not edits

Spark Post: this seems like a cool app if you want to make edits, but would rather have something simple than mess around with a ton of tools. But, the best thing about it is that it has easily searchable free photos! I just use this to find a photo for the background of an edit then save it so I can use it in other apps that I like better lol

My workflow

So, I am not a good person to emulate if you want to make pretty edits. But, I’ve never claimed to be a good example, so I’ll tell you anyway lmao

To begin with, I have a Galaxy Note8. This is important because 1) the screen is huge af so I can actually see what I’m doing and 2) it comes with a pressure sensitive stylus. I literally chose this phone for these reasons. These combine to make my phone pretty similar to a drawing tablet which allows me to be a lot more precise than if I were just using my finger.

I download pics and video directly off Instagram because I want to know I’m getting the best quality possible I use StoriesIG for their stories and DownloadGram for their pics posted on Instagram (or i download from Twitter if the boys also put it there). I haven’t found a way to download photos from a photo set after the first one besides just screenshotting then cropping them.

From here, I color correct in Snapseed and Facetune, sometimes going back and forth between apps before I get it how I want. Then, I add any filters and/or effects I want. Next, I use Background Eraser to get just the boys. I determine what sort of background I want and I prepare that. I open a new canvas in ibisPaint and add any pics I want. Then, I get all creative combining everything together and making it look pretty instead of just slapped together (unless i want it to just look slapped together for a shitpost or something lol)

As for GIFs, I don't know how people who are actually good at it do it, but I acquire my video, use Cute CUT to up the contrast and saturation and mess with the color a little. Then I chop in into pieces that are about 3 seconds long and save each as its own video. Then, I put those into GIF Maker and maybe mess with the color again in there. Then I save that and pray to the patron saint of editing, Philip Lester, that I got the settings right and my file is small enough to upload. I rarely make GIFs because, using this method, they turn out very, very atrocious :)

And that’s it!

If anyone is curious about how to do specific things or get certain effects or there’s anything else you want to know, feel free to send me an ask or message and I’d be happy to try my best to help

#tutorial #i guess? haha #not ph*n #punchmedanny

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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youtube

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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candylani-draws · 6 years

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When Evil Conquers YT - Chapter 2

Character List: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/177562446573/when-evil-conquers-youtube-character-list

Cover Art: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/177562290268/hey-peeps-im-so-excited-to-be-re-publishing

Wattpad Link: https://my.w.tt/rTElIdf6MP

Deviantart Link: https://www.deviantart.com/pandaserules97/gallery/67161703/When-Evil-Conquers-YouTube

(READ THIS FIRST!!) Important Notes: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/178727812658/when-evil-conquers-yt-important-notes-about-the

Prologue Link: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/178859191453/when-evil-conquers-yt-prologue

Chapter 1: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/178892439558/when-evil-conquers-yt-chapter-1

WARNING - This chapter uses high levels of offensive language, including insults and nasty comments about these certain Tubers. I obviously do not hate these people, this is just for story sake. If you feel that you are going to be offended by the words here, just skip to the end. Thanks!

Anon: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to announce my purpose for joining this occult!"

He leans down to inspect the pages, then opens the large book to the page he was looking for, a large slam echoed the rooms. In it lies a cell phone, and he pulls it out.

Anon: "Now, as I load my information, allow me to give some context. Most of you are aware of a popular video website called 'YouTube', correct?"

Lucifer: "You mean that stupid website that forbids copyrighted material and is full of pampering, self-absorbed morons?"

Anon: "Yes, exactly! And don't forget about ad revenue!"

His YouTube app has loaded, and he begins to search, both for his content, and in his notebook.

Anon: "Now then, I have four specific specimens who I believe deserve a bit of a punishment..."

Lucifer: "Ooh, what kind of punishment?"

Leader: "Have patience, Lucifer. We cannot have anything done if we rush into it..."

Anon: "Ah, here we are!"

Anon flips over several pages and reveals a large list of names.

Anon: "For 7 years, I've putting all of my time into this YouTube matter, finding out who and what is popular during different eras, and today, I have found the perfect victims. Now, if you look at this list, it reveals YouTubers that I wish to see be taken down by my command! Most of them are the gaming community, just a heads up."

The list was insanely long, and each of the names contained some sort of extra name beside it. From the looks of it, it seemed that Anon wanted to take these Tubers and...change their names? The first 4 caught everyone's eyes.

List of Dumbasses - 2016

1. VenturianTale → Jimmy Casket

2. JackSepticEye → AntiSepticEye

3. Markiplier → Darkiplier, Yandereplier, Authorplier, Googleplier

4. Pewdiepie → Lucius-pie

Anon: "Let's see here, ah! VenturianTale, the first channel on my list! To keep this simple, I'll make a demonstration and start off with the first four names, to warm us all up. If this is a success, we continue this tradition every October!"

He pulls up a video of some brunette man wearing a blue hoodie, screaming like a girl at some stupid animatronic animal jumpscare.

Anon: "Now then, here's out first Tuber, Venturian, aka Jordan Frye, a American guy who is known for playing Gmod and has 2.43 million subscribers. Even though that's not a large number compared to other channels, it still eludes me how a man in his 20s spends his time playing stupid mods with his retarded siblings. Yes, this isn't a solo channel, he has 3 other siblings who are equally guilty of this cringeworthy dungheep."

Random Occult Member 4: "No wonder they only have less than 3 million subscribers..."

Anon: "However, there is something that caught my attention from them during my studies...on their Gmod murder series, Venturian has created an original character named 'Jimmy Casket', a crazed murderer who happens to have some sort of personality disorder. It's a long, boring story as to why that is, but the point is...whenever Jordan plays as Jimmy, it seems to be one of the few times he goes insane and turns into someone else...someone dangerous...someone...evil.."

Random Occult Member 2: "Interesting..."

Anon: "Now, onto our next Tuber..."

Not even 3 seconds into the next video, and several of the Tubers covered their ears in pain from obnoxious singing and shouting. Luckily, Anon came prepared as he grabbed powerful earmuffs during his searching.

Anon: "Is the ear bleeding done?"

Everyone: "TURN THAT SHIT OFF!"

Anon: "With pleasure..."

Anon took off his earmuffs and paused the video. From the screen, and the audio, this Tuber is European man with bright green hair and a VERY loud personality.

Anon: "Our next Tuber is JackSepticEye, aka Sean McLoughlin, an Irish gamer with 12.36 million subscribers. I have no idea how the hell he's able to scream and shout for more than 20 minutes without a sore throat, but that is a gift he should never have been born with. This man is irritating, and he seems to overreact to every little fucking thing he plays! And he's friends with an eyeball that's LITERALLY septic! He's FRIENDS with a toxic fucking eyeball!"

Random Occult Member 2: "Greaaaaat, as if this man wasn't unlikable enough, now he's a gross slob..."

Anon: "...Riiight...now then, despite his annoyance, he also has a darker side to him that, this time, was created by his fanbase. Since his YouTuber name implies that he's all septic, it only makes sense that his dark side implies that he's antiseptic, and it's quite an irony. Recently, some of Jack's videos are giving canon appearances of this alter ego, and it helps give one a glimpse of what his true design looks like..."

Lucifer: "Ooh, now THAT is something I would KILL to see!"

Anon: "...Okaaaaay then...Next up is the pure definition of a manchild. Do not be fooled from his appearance."

The next Tuber who was on screen was an Asian-looking guy with an extremely American accent, red dyed hair, square glasses, and a skin tight shirt, playing some horror game about a rabbit.

Anon: "This here is Markiplier, aka Mark Fischbach, and this is another American Tuber here, with 14.55 million subscribers."

Random Occult Member 3: "Ooh, this guy has quite the bod..."

Anon: "Hey, remember what I said earlier? This person may look handsome on the outside, but inside, he's a scaredy-cat and...a bit of a crybaby...He's also really stupid."

Anon fast-forwarded the video, and the man screamed loudly and flew backwards in his seat, with his jaw dropped to the floor.

Anon: "See what I mean? Oh, and this guy seems to have a weird thing for boxes, considering he's friends with one."

Anon then clicks on another video with the man playing with some sort of small box creature with a big baby face and cartoony hands, and they're making stupid noises and faces.

Lucifer: "How in the hell did he even-?"

Anon: "It's best not to ask right now. Besides, I didn't get to the real meat here. Mark is unique, because he has not one alter ego, but FOUR!"

All Members: "FOUR?!"

Anon went into his photo album and pulled up a collage for 4 characters that looked eerily similar to the manchild.

Anon: "You heard me right, 4 alternate egos! The main one, and the most iconic, is his dark side named...Darkiplier...I know, hilarious. This ego has an interesting history. He originally started off as Mark trying to be "scary" to his audience, and this soon turned to a whole new persona. The last time Dark was seen canonically on-screen was a video named "relax", but I've been hearing rumors about the new appearance of Dark; it consisted something of him being all black-and-white, in a formal suit, and 3D effects..."

Lucifer: "Wouldn't that be cool to see?"

Anon: "Ha, tell me about it. Now then, the next persona is known as 'Googleplier', and this one is pretty recent. From Matthias' video 'Google IRL', Googleplier is a real-life Google machine who can answer any question, along with having an obsession with destroying mankind...to be honest, this one is my most favorite. Unfortunately, Googleplier has a retarded weakness against too many questions."

Nobody said a word, but they all seemed to have some sort of prediction that Anon is, in some way, similar to Googleplier's personality.

Anon: "Third one has a bit of 'style', if style meant a weeb who wants to kill everyone for their lover. This is 'Yandereplier', but I'm calling him Yandere Mark for short. For those who don't speak weeb, a yandere is a character in anime who acts nice but kills peers behind their love interest's back. Yandere Mark actually started once Mark started playing an indie game called 'Yandere Simulator'. Basically, the game is shit, and the developer seems like an asshole. But this persona has definitely intrigued me. To have a fake persona to hide your true identity from the one you love? Seems like the perfect ego to hide crimes."

From the weird smile/grimace on Anon's face, the group was wondering if Anon has dealt with a "yandere" before.

Anon: "Last persona is a lesser known one, but holds great promise. Meet Authorplier! Honestly, he doesn't have an official name besides 'The Author', but I'll be calling him Author Mark for now. This persona was created back in 2013 in a mini-series called 'Danger in Fiction'. Honestly, most of the videos consist of stupid, immature potty humor, but the parts that I find to be BRILLIANT is the character's appearance and his power to write stories to torture his victims. See, with Author Mark, he has a special book that plans out the victim's fate, and he wants the victim to follow it, or else he'll end them faster with his bat."

Lucifer: "Now THAT one is my favorite!"

Anon: "And FINALLY, the last YouTuber on this list is..."

Anon quickly went back to his YouTube app and typed away, and everyone was anticipating for who was the last Tuber.

Anon: "PewDiePie, aka Felix Kjellberg! Not only is this guy the biggest gaming YouTuber, he is the biggest YouTuber of all time, having 48.17 MILLION subscribers!"

Random Occult Member 1: "48 million?!"

Random Occult Member 2: "He could have his own country with this many people!"

Lucifer: "This guy must be rich for playing games all day!"

Anon: "HOWEVER! I must point out that Felix does not play as many games as he used to in his hay day. Still though, he is no exception...the fact that this annoying Swedish man can entertain or cause controversy for stupid games or unlogical statements is beyond me. If there's one thing I cannot stand about him, it's his enormous ego, acting like he's a mighty god. He kind of reminds me another YouTuber, I think his name was Joke Pole, but he's not a gamer."

Random Occult Member 3: "What's Felix's alter ego?"

Anon: "Ooh, now this is a tricky one...see, Felix doesn't have an official persona like the others, especially since none of them have a canon appearance or voice. However, one I did choose is similar to Yandere Mark and Jimmy Casket, where this one is based off a game that Felix played named 'Lucius'. See, 'Lucius' was a game he played back in 2012, and it's about a boy with the powers of Satan; his main objective is to kill his family members without causing suspicion. For a while, people loved Felix playing as this demon-writhing kid, and he seemed to take on the personality quite well, although he had a strange obsession with a beach ball."

Leader: "I see..."

Anon: "And that's everything I wanted to say! I only have these personas, but these people have a SHIT ton of more personas than I could count, a lot of them were fucking stupid. I only chose the ones that caught my eye, which were coincidentally the popular ones."

Lucifer: "The power of shitty fanbases..."

Anon: "And this is only the start...once I make these personas a reality with a special recipe I have made, they will cause havoc, ruin the reputations of these YouTubers once and for all! These are only with 4, imagine what it would be like with every other YouTuber gamer, or YouTubers in general, big and small, destroying the platform and taking down Internet entertainment with it!"

Everyone gasped and stared in awe as Anon caught his breath from all his speaking.

Anon: "So...am I in?"

#youtuber fanfiction #evil youtubers #fanfiction #scary fanfiction #jacksepticeye #pewdiepie #markiplier #venturiantale

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mamfaplier · 6 years

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Nerve — Chapter One

Are you a Watcher or Player?

Prompt: Roll Up by Fitz and the Tantrums

1940s Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 1,811

AN: This is my personal adaptation of the film Nerve (2016) that I’m submitting for @green-eyeddragonfanfiction‘s 3K Creative Content Challenge. I’m so happy to have been allowed to participate in this. So obviously my prompt is that song above but I’ll be using it later in the story so sorry if that throws you off! At first, I thought this was going to be a one shot but I watched the movie again and decided I’m going to make a series out of this!!! Our boy Bucky probably won’t come in right away but don’t worry ;) Also the film is based on seniors in high school (I think) so just imagine all the characters used in this as younger versions of themselves. Like for example, Bucky as young 1940s Bucky instead of a grown adult man who failed more than a few times and is still in high school with a metal arm :P Anyways, congrats on 3K Dragon! <33

Warnings: Mentions of death

(Y/F/N) = your first name (Y/L/N) = your last name (Y/C) = your city

Next Chapter

Welcome to Nerve. A game like Truth or Dare….minus the Truth. Watchers pay to watch. Players play to win cash and glory.

Are you a Watcher or Player?

ARE YOU A WATCHER OR PLAYER?

As you sit down at your desk in your room, you get comfortable and open up your computer. The oh so familiar startup tune softly rings out welcoming you back. (Y/F/N Y/L/N) appears on the screen as well as your favorite selfie from the summer in a small box, swiftly prompting you to enter your password for login. You’ve had to have entered it in a million times by now but still, every once in a while, you still seem to forget.

After the second attempt, your computer finally lets you in bringing you to your desktop. The smiling faces of you, your brother, and your mom together are plastered in a puzzle like collage on the background. As everything slowly loads up, the corner of your mouth smirks up into a small smile like it does every time you remember the moment you took that picture. You press on the Spotify app and begin scroll through your suggestions. To your surprise (or discomfort), a playlist called ‘Only Single Friend Left’ appears with a small, sad kitten as the playlist cover art. With a shrug and a slight roll of your eyes, you click the play button. Can’t Get Enough by Basenji starts playing through your computer's speakers.

You open up your internet browser and almost too quickly open up your email. Among the top of the hundreds of read emails sit two unread emails. One from DAILY CAT PICS and the other from the college of your dreams, subject reading URGENT: Admissions Reminder. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you would ACTUALLY get accepted but here you are. Hesitantly, you open up the email.

It reads:

Dear (Y/N),

Congratulations again! This is a reminder that your reply is due tomorrow. This could be the first day of the rest of your life. Click accept and join the class of 20**!

You sigh as you bring your mouse over the bright red CLICK HERE TO ACCEPT button in the email. This has been one of the hardest decisions in your life, but you scroll to the bottom of the email and press reply.

To whom it may concern,

I regret to inform the admissions board that I must decline…

You pause and yet again let out another sigh as you glance over at your brother’s and mom’s faces on your desktop background. You continue.

…because I’m a spineless loser and I’m too scared to tell my mom the truth which is that I want to move out and leave (Y/C) foreverlasjdhflajhsdljfaljdshflhadsjafhlf

In your distraught state, a Facebook notification brings a welcome distraction.

Chris “Thor” Odinson tagged you in a post.

Your heart skips a beat and you quickly click on it and with a soft giggle see that he’s posted the picture you took of him reminding everyone of the pep rally today. As you go to press the like button, your best friend Natasha Romanoff rings you on Skype. You roll your eyes and accept her call.

“Good morning. Whatcha doing? Besides stalking Thor, of course.” She greets you in her common teasing tone.

“I’m reading the news, thank you very much.” You gently respond to her jab as you scroll over to the Huntington Post quick link you have on your browser’s bookmark bar.

“Oh? You’re reading the news? You’re such a good liar!” Natasha jabs back again seeing right through you. She is your best friend of course.

With a chuckle you glance back at her through your computer screen, “Seriously, how do you know I’m stalking Thor?”

“Because I know you very very well.” She tussles around in her beside table placing things on her bed, a big bright N glowing right above it. “Oh wait! Did you tell your mom about your dream school yet?”

“Yea! I told her! She’s super excited for me to move across the country and go to a really expensive school.” Sarcasm very evident in your tone, yet completely goes over Natasha’s head.

“Really?”

You laugh. “No, I just haven’t found the right time to tell her and…”

Natasha abruptly interrupts you. “OH! Nerve is starting. Sorry, this is really important.”

“What’s Nerve?”

“It’s a game. Here, just click on the video.”

You open up your Facebook messenger and click on the link Natasha sent you. After you finish watching the short clip, you click back to Skype. “This looks very sketchy. Is this legal?” You ask and laugh nervously.

“Well, no. Probably not but who cares. Sign up and watch. Times a-tickin'!”

You playful pretend to sign up typing your fingers on your imaginary keyboard in the air. “Ok signing up. Look this is me signing up to watch you.” You say dryly.

“(Y/N/N)!” Natasha exclaims. “You have to sign up and watch me! It’s very important that I have watchers!”

“I gotta go. My mom’s home. I’ll sign up after breakfast!”

“Thank you! I love you. I’ll see you in a little bit!” You both bid each other goodbye with your signature flick of the nose and click off of Skype.

You run downstairs from your room to the kitchen, greeted with the delicious smell of pancakes and bacon as well as your mom’s smiling face. You both begin talking about how Natasha still hasn’t gotten into any schools yet and seems to be carefree. Your mother disagrees and reminds you that Natasha will always have a trust fund to fall back on. A hard jab to your best friend but nonetheless, still the truth. You, on the other hand, do not have a trust fund. You have drive and knowledge and a scholarship to a local college. Definitely not as exciting. But to your mom, it sounds like the perfect plan. You can’t afford to stay on campus but you get to have your mom as your cool college roommate. That’s awesome, right? Wrong. But you can’t tell her that. Instead, you offer to help her fix up your late brother’s room and post in on Airbnb. Maybe it would be a good time to go through his stuff and give some of it to goodwill? Maybe you could give her some space? She would like that, right? Wrong….again.

“I just want you here, (Y/N/N).” You mom responds sadly. To say it’s been hard since you lost your brother Peter is an understatement. You love your mom to bits but you’re getting older and just want to branch out. But now, more than ever, all your mom wants is to stay connected to you and you don’t have the heart to deny her of that.

“Ok, yea. I’m totally down for commuting. I can do my reading on the train.” Disappointed, you look over to your mom who makes her way to the table and press your lips together.

“That’ll work, right?”

“Yea.” You state simply, resting your cheek on your hand as you take a bite of your pancakes.

After breakfast, you run back up to your room. You grab your 2 most important things: your camera and your phone. Tossing on a light jacket that matches with your striped tee and jeans, you lug your backpack over your shoulder. You press shuffle on Spotify, starting Kamikaze by MØ before you hop on your bike and head on your way to school.

As you get to school, you immediately meet up with Steve Rogers, your yearbook partner in crime. Your school’s football team has a game today and it’s your mission to try to get as many pictures for the yearbook as you can. You both walk to the locker room, handing Steve your extra lenses. The team is gathered together, getting a pump up speech by Coach Wilson before the pep rally. You sneak behind some of the players to get some more up close shots of them but you may or may not have taken one too many of the captain of the football team and your crush, Chris Odinson. Everyone calls him Thor because he plays like he’s an almighty god and of course, he has definitely taken to the name. He looks at you as you’re snapping away and gives you the cutest smirk you’ve ever seen, making you want to melt to the floor.

You quickly walk over to Steve to grab a different lens for your camera and he chuckles. “Wouldn’t it feel a little unbalanced if every single yearbook photo is of Thor Odinson?”

“It’s not MY fault he’s on the team.” You snap back nervously. Are you really making it THAT obvious? Steve shrugs his shoulders before briskly grabbing your hand to pull you out of the way of the 30+ football players barreling your way. You gently pull away as you get in between the players running out onto the field to get the best shots you can. Nothing ever stops a good photographer from getting good shots, even if your minutes away from being trampled to the ground. All the while Steve is right behind you, guiding you through the crowd as you run backward taking your shots.

You take a couple more shots before all the players run out onto the field through the cheerleaders. Students fill the bleachers all the way to the top, shouting and cheering for their beloved football team and dressed in your school colors. The band is playing and the cheerleaders are in formation, Natasha the captain of the cheer squad, leading the way.

You and Steve stand off to the side as you see Natasha run over to her friend Sharon in the bleachers. You see Natasha hand her phone to Sharon and much to your surprise, Sharon starts to record her. You can’t hear what Natasha is saying to her phone, but she looks over to you and flicks her nose. Smiling as she runs back onto the field, you flick your nose back and watch in confusion. Sharon stands from her seat to get a better view, still seemingly recording. You look to Sharon and back to Natasha and shake your head, picking up your camera to take shots as the cheer squad goes through their routine. As they finish up, Natasha decides to pull one last stunt. She turns her back to the crowd and lifts her cheer skirt up, revealing her bare ass. The crowd gasps unanimously and Sharon bursts out in laughter, all the while recording the whole thing. You turn to Steve to show him the shot you took and you both laugh at the image of Nat’s ass front and center of the cheer squad.

Next Chapter coming soon!

#Dragon's3C3K #bucky x reader #1940s bucky x reader #marvel #my og work #nerve film #nerve #thor odinson #thor #natasha romanoff #sharon carter #steve rogers

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

Text

White Open Spaces

For my immigrant family, outdoor recreation was not part of our usual vacation plans. Could learning to camp be the pandemic escape I needed?

Wei Tchou is a Brooklyn-based writer and former non-camper working on a book about her family and the cultural history of ferns.

“I know you can do it,” said Salem, smiling at me with encouraging eyes, even though I didn’t know the first thing about building a campfire. It was meant to be a gesture of sweetness that he wanted me to build a hearth for his younger siblings on our first campout together. But I couldn’t read it as anything but an act of inscrutable emotional terrorism, doled out to a devoted girlfriend whose only crime was being accomodating enough to come on this stupid camping trip in the first place. I covered my face with my hands to hide my tears.

A part of me had hoped I would take to camping as if the woods were my true home all along. Like a captive platypus released back into her highland waterways, my real self would shake off such earthly superficialities as shelter, safety, and lumbar support as I became just another creature of nature, flowers weaving through my hair as sparrows sang overhead. Instead, my first experience of camping found me crying next to a gaping pit of ashes in front of my boyfriend’s family.

My first experience of camping found me crying next to a gaping pit of ashes in front of my boyfriend’s family.

I thought of my Chinese immigrant parents, who would likely shudder at the thought of me sleeping on a dirt floor and getting my vagina so close to the ground while peeing that something might plausibly climb in. My parents did not immigrate to this country for me to have something crawl into my vagina! I thought.

How could I have ever been so delusional as to think that I would tolerate, much less enjoy, a life in the woods, when very little in my 32 years of life has indicated an ease with anything less than the cool breeze of an air-conditioning unit, four bars of LTE, and good Chinese takeout just around the corner?

Minimalist camping, as it turns out, requires a surprising amount of stuff.

The answer to this question is most likely the same as yours “in these unprecedented times,” or ITUT, as a friend of mine likes to refer to the narrowing of life since COVID-19 spread to our coast. I was sick of being cooped up in the city but anxious about making the pandemic worse by contracting it, spreading it, or putting service workers at greater risk with my selfish longing for a cappuccino.

And also, I recently finished a partial manuscript of my book, which is in part a personal history of my interest in ferns. It’s hard not to spend, say, four years of one’s adult life writing about the wonders of ferns and nature without feeling like an abject phony for being suspicious about any immersion in wilderness beyond just, like, looking at it from the car.

So, when Salem’s younger sister, Pearl, and younger brother, Hazel, who are both outdoors enthusiasts, proposed that we all go camping together up in Maine last month, I felt uncharacteristically enthusiastic. Camping! A way to safely spend time with loved ones somewhere other than Zoom. Camping! A way to prove t,hat I could be as much of an expert on ferns as some unkempt white dude in Chacos. If I could learn to camp, it seemed to me, then maybe I could also be free.

Julia Cameron, the author of the cult ’70s-era workbook for creatives The Artist’s Way, would call this confluence of desires with opportunity a synchronicity, which is just a woo-woo term for coincidences that fall in your favor, she asserts, when you thoroughly believe in your art. Back in March, I roped Salem, who was quarantining with me in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and his sister, Pearl, who lives in Maine, into tackling the self-help classic, whose “spiritual path to higher creativity” winds through a tidy 12 weeks — enough time, I reasoned, that the lockdown would be over well before we finished. It was a welcome distraction from the aching distress of watching the daily death toll tick up and washing our hands until they were raw. Our group expanded to include Salem and Pearl’s mother, Betsy (who actually is an artist), Pearl’s partner, Alec (who is an artist, but for ice cream), Pearl’s best friend, Peyton (who works on behalf of environmental justice), and finally Hazel, after he graduated from college over Zoom.

Talk to my family about spending a stretch of time in the woods and they’ll assume you were exiled for doing something very bad, like owning land or refusing to become a doctor.

It alarmed me at first that I was an outsider in my own self-help group — the new girlfriend in a weekly video chat of Salem’s family and friends, and, just as acutely, the only nonwhite person. But I grew close to them as we completed tasks that encouraged our childlike sense of wonder: wandering outside to gather leaves and flowers, collaging our dream lives. One writing exercise asked us to name activities that we wished, as children, we’d had the freedom to try. I found myself absentmindedly listing mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, and, surprisingly, camping.

What the fuck, I thought, immediately troubled by what appeared to be a repressed desire to become woodsy. In my mind, woodsiness conjured images of beautiful, sunned white people looking inexplicably chic in technical gear and tangled hair, unbothered by the elements — the kind of person whose insouciant athleticism and confidence in using the terms “suffering” and “challenging” interchangeably did not belie a childhood of Suzuki method and Saturday school and the lifelong condition that every decision you make must justify the sacrifices your family made for you to simply be alive.

In my predominantly white Appalachian hometown, I had felt alienated by how casual and insistent people were about outdoor recreation. (Talk to my family about spending a stretch of time in the woods and they’ll assume you were exiled for doing something very bad, like owning land or refusing to become a doctor.) Unlike turning the radio on to learn pop songs or begging your mother to buy you a pair of sweatpants with “JUICY” written on the butt, learning to camp was impossible without someone to show you how. And the only people who might show me how were the same assholes who rejected me, even if I could sing along to every ’N Sync song, unconvincingly shaking my hips in baby-pink terry cloth. Along with how I looked, it was just another obvious way of understanding that no matter what I tried to become, I would never really belong.

Setting up the tent was less puzzle-like than I’d thought.

From left to right: Pearl, PJ the dog, Hazel, and Salem

After I moved to New York City, I was proud to be able to finally reject woodsiness entirely. Here, I found belonging with people who, like me, found “camping people” to be perplexing and objectionable. I left behind the fear of being patronized for simply wanting to sleep in a bed with central air blowing on my face for the rest of my life. It was devastating to have to admit to myself, and then to my Artist’s Way group, that I had always secretly dreamed of seeing myself out there in the wilderness — tending a fire and drinking a tin cup of coffee in the foggy, crisp morning — strong enough to shoulder a pack over rough, pastoral terrain.

Call it another synchronicity that after Salem and I met on Tinder (an app that literally runs on synchronicities), we discovered that we were from two towns hugging opposite sides of the same Appalachian mountain range. Yet Salem had grown up camping, even if he had later diverged from his woodsy siblings, fleeing the mountains for the city. As we drove north for our camping adventure, I contemplated the cruel joke that now, as an adult, I was off to assimilate to the white hobby I’d rejected with fierce vehemence all of my life, with my white boyfriend and his white family who were from the same white part of the country I’d spent my entire life attempting to escape.

Our lakeside campsite was beautiful, if car-accessible.

Any self-worth I’d managed to cling to evaporated as soon as Salem, Pearl, Hazel, and I — in preparation for our trip — walked into a camping store, whose floor was marked all over in blue tape to indicate where customers might stand to stay six feet apart. In part, my insecurity had to do with the fact that I’d poisoned myself the day before eating dried apricots, forgetting that apricots are a stone fruit, which I am allergic to. (Another synchronicity?) But really it was my intimidation about entering a store that said it was for camping, yet seemed only to sell racks and racks of long metal thingies and neon fabric bags attached to larger neon fabric bags. All the products were puzzles to solve, rather than recognizable pieces of equipment — a tent, for instance, that I might look at and think, Wow, that’s a great tent! My reluctance to touch things in stores since the pandemic began only made the process worse. Like, I knew I needed to buy a sleeping bag but felt stupid trying to choose one by staring as hard as I could at various lumpy sacks of nylon.

If the allure of camping evokes a certain rugged minimalism, the reality is strikingly fussy.

Sensing my panic, Pearl asked if I’d like to go take a look at tin cups in the cooking section, and I was relieved. I know food, I know cooking, I thought, puffing out my chest as we walked. But to my bewilderment, anything I might recognize in a kitchen was again abstracted to pieces of plastic, or sinister-looking canisters of gas and gadgets that promised to boil water in under 30 seconds (but, why!).

“Wei, look,” Pearl said, as I stared into the abyss of a collapsible plastic bowl. Grinning, she presented me with an enamel tin cup printed with a graphic of a lantern, and I sighed in recognition as she placed it in my hands. For drinking coffee out of! So sturdy! So cute! I thought. It was $20 and I threw it greedily into my basket — had it been $200, I still would have wanted it, for its familiarity, for its having the decency of looking like exactly what it was.

Shopping for camping supplies was triggering — and expensive.

If the allure of camping evokes a certain rugged minimalism, the reality is strikingly fussy. You need a lot of stuff; the stuff is very expensive, and without experience, it’s hard to figure out what kind of stuff you’re even going to need. And none of it is going to make you feel woodsy, really — mostly it will just make you feel broke, staring at a two-foot-long receipt, registering that you’ve blown $650 in less than half an hour on the bare minimum of supplies.

It can make you furious to think about, especially during a pandemic when there are few options to escape the city, and the one that seems easy and cheap and safe turns out to be so psychologically and financially demanding that I, for one, would have given up upon entry at the store if I wouldn’t have felt even worse to let Salem and his siblings down.

I was still fuming about all of this when Salem suggested we camp out in Pearl’s backyard to test out our new equipment. Though I was feeling defeated, I followed along as he pulled out tent rods and began assembling them over a plastic tarp. I found that assembly was surprisingly intuitive — not puzzle-like at all — and before long, we were straightening out another piece of tarp over a modular mesh structure. We took turns staking its corners into the dirt, and in spite of myself, I couldn’t help but feel proud, admiring the neat little orange tent before us.

That night, I fell asleep in my new sleeping bag listening to rain drum the fabric over my head. All of my frustrations unexpectedly melted into a sweet, peaceful feeling that this small space, with its sounds and its funny mesh pockets and zippers, was mine. I was suddenly a child overcome by wonder, the anxieties and paranoia of the past few months dissipating as I observed little spiders scurrying in from the rain under the fly. They parachuted around on their silks as Salem snored softly, far away already in a distant dream.

Dinner was a delicious hodgepodge.

Our campsite was situated on a farm nestling an ocean bay — salt breezes rolled through the open windows of our car as we puttered along a long path of RVs, campers, and tents. The first thing I noticed was that very few people were wearing masks — we’d all been required to prove we’d been tested for COVID-19 before we booked. I marveled at the fact that it was the first time in almost half a year that it seemed okay to observe the noses and mouths of so many strangers, going about their days uninterrupted by obsessive ritual sanitization of their bodies and possessions.

The next thing I noticed was that I didn’t have to carry anything more than a few feet from car to campsite, which, by the way, presided over a spectacular waterfront view, no walking necessary. It turns out there are degrees of camping, folks — a fact I was a little mad to find out. There was even an organic ice cream stand on the premises (which did, for the record, observe social-distancing protocols) where Pearl, Hazel, and I would circle back later to share a cup of s’mores-flavored ice cream, studded generously with marshmallow fluff and graham cracker crumbles.

Have camping people selfishly stoked the conspiracy that you have to strap on 50 pounds of gear and scale K2 every time you go camping to keep non-campers from their delicious ice cream stands? I contemplated this as we drew closer to our site, but my attention was drawn toward several figures playing on a swing set.

“Asians,” I whispered urgently, pointing them out through my window.

One privilege of being a journalist is the shamelessness with which I feel I can approach strangers, and Asian strangers in particular, to ask about their experiences, because, well, it’s my job. After we set up our tents, Hazel humored me by coming along as I stalked across the field toward several preteens at the campsite’s playground.

“I’m going to wait over here,” Hazel told me, stopping tentatively by the swing set, as I approached two of the older kids, introduced myself as a writer, and asked if I could chat with them.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride and relief in registering that the most beautiful campsite of all was made by the only nonwhite people I’d seen.

“So, like, I’ve only seen white people out here,” I told them, trying to make my eyes smiley rather than threatening above my mask. They giggled and looked at each other. “Are you guys from around here?” I asked.

“We’re from Brooklyn,” they said, and I laughed, because of course they were. They told me that they normally vacationed in Japan this time of year, to visit family, but given the pandemic they had to stay in the States. Camping was popular in Japan, too, they said, pointing in the direction of their campsite, which featured an impossibly chic yurt flanked by a large shade sail. I knew just by glancing at their complicated-looking pour-over device that they were drinking excellent coffee.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride and relief in registering that the most beautiful campsite of all was made by the only nonwhite people I’d seen, and Asian Americans to boot. By then, Hazel was making his way up to me, and I waved at him gleefully as I introduced him to the kids.

“Our parents are Asian, too!” one of them told us cheerfully.

“We’re Asian, dummy,” the other responded, rolling his eyes. “So obviously that means our parents are Asian, too.”

“I mean, not necessarily,” I said, trying to be helpful. “You could be adopted!”

“Yeah, we could be adopted,” the other said, blowing a raspberry at his friend. Hazel and I grinned conspiratorially as we hurried back to fill Pearl in on what we learned about the Asians, taking turns recounting the details.

I’ve never built a campfire in my life.

Later, we all drank sake out of our tin cups as we watched the sun set pink over the bay at low tide — clam diggers worked their way through the glistening mud as the siblings told me stories about growing up together, their disastrous road trips, the pets they had loved. As dusk settled, we hurried back to make dinner, at which point my pleasant, dreamy mood was shattered as Salem heartlessly attempted to press me into building that fire — the one on which our comfort and dinner depended.

“Oh no, oh my god! Wei! You’re getting so upset!” he said, as soon as I hid my face with my hands. He pulled me into a hug.

“Wei,” Pearl said gently from the fire pit, using the same tone she had at the camping store to coax me out of my manic state, and I wiped my face on my sleeves and crept down next to her as she explained how to start with pine needles, leaning larger and larger sticks over the fire as it grew. “People like to say there’s a right way to do it, but there isn’t,” she said, swatting Hazel away as he tried to offer commentary. She leaned in to blow on the fire, and the embers lit up with her breath.

Soon the fire was crackling and the siblings jumped into cooking, enthusiastically clashing about what they wanted to eat and how best to make it. Hazel established himself as the gourmand, dressing a steak with rosemary and butter and showing me how to gauge its doneness by pressing on different parts of my fist. Pearl roasted a hot dog on a stick while Salem fussed over an aluminum packet of potatoes and mushrooms. As they cooked, they debated new ways to construct a s’more — wrapping the entire thing in foil to place on the grate, dumping the chocolate and marshmallow in a pan to approximate something like s’more fondue.

At that moment, there was no better hot dog in the entire world than the one dripping with butter and ashes in my hands.

Listening to the siblings bicker and tease each other about their different ways of cooking, eating, and being, I was encouraged to find my own way, too, to see my camping ignorance as an opportunity to do exactly as I felt. (I’d even discovered, by then, that, just a little hike away, there was a cabin of gloriously pristine bathroom stalls, for those of us with overactive vaginal imaginations.)

I ventured to throw a hot dog and a bun on the grate. When they were both black with char, Hazel doused them in butter for me. I hate it when people say that food tastes better when you’re camping, as if there is glory in deprivation, but at that moment, there was no better hot dog in the entire world than the one dripping with butter and ashes in my hands.

Without a doubt, the best hot dog I’ve ever eaten

Maybe I’m a camping person after all.

The next day, Salem and I decided that we would camp one more night on our way home to Brooklyn. We stopped midway to have lunch with some friends, who graciously took our elaborate order, in advance, for what I like to call salad sandwiches — tomato, cucumber, sprouts, onion, avocado, cheddar, dill pickle, and mayonnaise on seven-grain bread. After picnicking and horsing around in a river all afternoon, the thought of setting up a tent again started to feel arduous.

“We could just drive straight home to Brooklyn,” Salem suggested, as I merged onto the freeway. I told him no — I was a camping person now, and that meant I needed to camp. Who even was I anymore, without the sun on my face and a patch of grass to curl up on?

We often talk about assimilation as if it were a one-way street, but it isn’t. It shouldn’t be.

We grew quiet, and I reflected on our past few days, on his family, on him. I thought back to earlier in the year, during some big fight, when I’d shouted at him to stop treating me like I was white, fed up with what I felt was his disinterest in my individual experience, while simultaneously seeing that I hadn’t exactly shared the reality of that experience freely, for fear that he would reject me like the camping people of my youth.

Until that fight, I had too often conflated belonging with acceptance. I thought that in order to be accepted, I needed to keep my nonwhite perspective from my white boyfriend and his white family. That I needed to face the wilderness unafraid to be taken seriously as a nature writer. That I needed to camp like “camping people” — like white people — in order to camp at all. But I grow more certain each day that my fixation with belonging only ever backfires. If I’m not honest about who I am, how can anyone figure out how to accept me in the first place?

Salem listened when I fussed at him about not being white, and I got a little braver every day about expressing the ways that I am different from him rather than the same. And now, a year into dating, his brother tags along when I feel moved to approach strangers at swing sets just because they are Asian, even if it makes him nervous. And his sister has identified how to tell when I’m so embarrassed I want to die, as well as the exact tone of voice that will calm me down. We often talk about assimilation as if it were a one-way street, but it isn’t. It shouldn’t be.

I glanced at Salem as he stared into his phone and struggled to remember what I thought of him when we first met. Now, when I look at his face I feel the collapse of distance, the familiarity of a kind of home that you can’t buy, or drive to, or set up with tent poles.

“Hey,” I said. He looked at me. “You were right. Let’s go back to Brooklyn.”

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3g9eaKo https://ift.tt/3g9Uypl

For my immigrant family, outdoor recreation was not part of our usual vacation plans. Could learning to camp be the pandemic escape I needed?

Wei Tchou is a Brooklyn-based writer and former non-camper working on a book about her family and the cultural history of ferns.

My first experience of camping found me crying next to a gaping pit of ashes in front of my boyfriend’s family.

Minimalist camping, as it turns out, requires a surprising amount of stuff.

Talk to my family about spending a stretch of time in the woods and they’ll assume you were exiled for doing something very bad, like owning land or refusing to become a doctor.

Setting up the tent was less puzzle-like than I’d thought.

From left to right: Pearl, PJ the dog, Hazel, and Salem

Our lakeside campsite was beautiful, if car-accessible.

If the allure of camping evokes a certain rugged minimalism, the reality is strikingly fussy.

Shopping for camping supplies was triggering — and expensive.

Dinner was a delicious hodgepodge.

“Asians,” I whispered urgently, pointing them out through my window.

“I’m going to wait over here,” Hazel told me, stopping tentatively by the swing set, as I approached two of the older kids, introduced myself as a writer, and asked if I could chat with them.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride and relief in registering that the most beautiful campsite of all was made by the only nonwhite people I’d seen.

“Our parents are Asian, too!” one of them told us cheerfully.

“We’re Asian, dummy,” the other responded, rolling his eyes. “So obviously that means our parents are Asian, too.”

“I mean, not necessarily,” I said, trying to be helpful. “You could be adopted!”

I’ve never built a campfire in my life.

“Oh no, oh my god! Wei! You’re getting so upset!” he said, as soon as I hid my face with my hands. He pulled me into a hug.

At that moment, there was no better hot dog in the entire world than the one dripping with butter and ashes in my hands.

Without a doubt, the best hot dog I’ve ever eaten

Maybe I’m a camping person after all.

We often talk about assimilation as if it were a one-way street, but it isn’t. It shouldn’t be.

“Hey,” I said. He looked at me. “You were right. Let’s go back to Brooklyn.”

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3g9eaKo via Blogger https://ift.tt/3iZAVC3

#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

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beatsfortheillperth · 4 years

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Words with Katie Dutch

“My art is about standing up for what I believe in and I’m very much into respect for women - women being empowered not being used etc.

I really find any injustice hard to take - when the strong take advantage of those weaker than them, from bullies to terrible abuse. I try to do art that makes others feel good, reminds them of beauty, history, fun etc but also my work has layers of meaning - some pieces touch on darker concerns but I don’t want to dwell on them & offer no hope.

… basically I’m about standing up for good, protecting others & nature, enjoying things that don’t harm others & offering hope/ a moment of joy”

-Katie Dutch

(All art displayed was created by Katie Dutch)

Katie Dutch has the most insightful imagination when it comes to producing a fine piece of art, worthy of display in any home or business.

What I enjoy most about Katie’s pieces is the way she incorporates that strong sense of feminine energy & compliments woman’s beauty and essence so respectfully and vibrantly in a manner that empowers woman & the classic beauties of our vibrant and ever changing world.

So enjoy a cold drink and the humble words of Katie Dutch the artist, the creative & one of many talented Australian artist on the rise, much love

Hey Katie thanks heaps for taking the time to share words you’re a really inspiring artist . How about we start with a few basics and get to know you a little better,

Favourite Artists: Picasso, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Joseph Cornell, Arthur Boyd, Jeffrey Smart & Tracey Emin

Favourite Movie: I love so many - I really like action movies like Terminator etc, Fight Club, True Romance, Mad Max, Blade Runner - the list goes on & on and includes Shawshank Redemption. I get a lot of my ideas from movies and love being told a good story paired with great visuals

Favourite place to relax: At home doing art, running with loud music in my ears and the beach when no one else is there.

A childhood memory that impacted the art that you currently create: Travelling with my family in a double decker bus, living in the bush in a mud house with no electricity, hens, animals etc and listening to my dad sing & play guitar - the lyrics painted pictures in my mind.

What inspires you to continue creating: For the above reason it’s great therapy, a way to work through ideas or things that concern me. I get very passionate about things I see as unjust and art is my voice. The drive to have a say and also the enjoyment I get from creating & connecting with others pushes me to keep going. Sometimes doing art can be disheartening as it’s a lots of energy and expense with seemingly little monetary gain but I can’t seem to stop!

Favourite way to connect and calm before putting together your art pieces: Often I do the art to calm myself, I can get a little depressed or manic & either need a pick-me-up or calm-me-down, art is what grounds me and makes me focus. It’s a discipline that brings my mind some balance/ peace.

Favourite city or location: I would dearly love to travel and now that my son is nearly twelve, hopefully I can make this answer more exciting next time you ask. I grew up in Tasmania which is lovely. I’ve been to a few countries but I really want to see Cuba & Venice! (the wish list is long)

Biggest inspirations: My Sculpture & Printmaking teachers at the University of Tasmania. Now it’s music, movies, pop culture, fashion and looking on IG at everything from selfies to high art.

What you enjoy doing in your down time: I love to run and walk - wander around just looking & thinking. Ideally I would love adventures, jumping out of planes, climbing tall mountains, deep sea diving, big wave surfing etc.

Views on current media news at moment: I watch a lot of current event programs and I’m interested in politics and world issues. I’ll reframe from giving my personal views. Over-all I’m very grateful to live in Australia, our system is far from perfect but compared to most places on earth it’s a great place to be. I could write a six page essay but will stay neutral and let my art talk for me. That said I hate injustice, corruption, cruelty, greed, the environment being ruined…. I’d better stop :)

Thanks for that Katie, so how about we start from the beginning, have you always been a bit of and artist? And has there been any other forms of art you’ve created or worked on before heading towards your current collage works?

When I was little I was always daydreaming, dressing up & making tree houses. I’ve always had a big imagination and loved to draw and make things. I would say art was always my favourite subject at school and I enjoyed being OK at it, as I found reading and spelling hard. I did a Fine Arts Degree at the University of Tasmania and majored in Sculpture & Printing making. I really enjoy sculpture & etching but collage is a much quicker medium for IG and having a daily say. I often have a point to make, regardless of if others see/ understand it and I can make a collage within three - six hours whereas a sculpture or copper plate etch takes me months for one piece. Collage is a quick way to have a say or respond to a recent thought, event, concern or inspiration.

What inspires you to continue creating:

For the above reason it’s great therapy, a way to work through ideas or things that concern me. I get very passionate about things I see as unjust and art is my voice. The drive to have a say and also the enjoyment I get from creating & connecting with others pushes me to keep going. Sometimes doing art can be disheartening as it’s a lots of energy and expense with seemingly little monetary gain but I can’t seem to stop!

How do you go about creating your pieces? I’ve always wondered how you put your marvels together they’re so beautiful, do you use digital prints at all or is it all usually free hand creations?

My collages are made from real paper & paint. I wish I knew how to use Photoshop etc but apart from some apps/ filters added to the final scanned image they are hand made. I make them by hand with a number of cut out images, then add some paint & details, then scan the collage for IG.

Where do you draw all your inspiration from when you came up with your particular style per say and how long have you been working on such collage pieces?

I haven’t really stopped working on creative ideas for the last 20 years. My skills & ideas are limited so I have to work hard. At times I’ve needed a break and had a few months off but I always come back to creating. I would love to discover what makes a successful & impacting image. There are so many images now that to come up with a style that stands out & impacts people is hard (maybe impossible for me - but I’ll try). I probably spend about 18 hours a day thinking about art & nine - eighteen hours doing it. This intensity has just been over the last year and a half but in the past I’ve also put in a lot of time.

Aspects of your pieces that I really love are how you incorporate what I like to call "vintage memories” or flashback moments within your art ie in one of your pieces you paint the Emerald City from the classic Wizard of Oz, in another Falcore from The Never Ending Story and also through out your pieces many other elements which just shout 1950s/60s vibes, beautiful really as I’m also a lover of vintage trinkets myself.. What draws you to that particular time and style and on a random note what are some of your favourite places to shop or source your vintage materials or trinkets around Sydney or online?

I have a huge collection of vintage ‘treasure’. I have not bought anything for about two years as I have far too much stuff. However in the past I was always at op shops, markets, looking in council clean-up etc etc Always collecting little vintage bits & pieces to make my sculptures and give me ideas. I also have a huge collection of antique paper & I traded Victorian trade cards & die cuts for a number of years. I love the memories vintage pieces inspire and the feeling you get from seeing an old childhood favourite movie or toy. I want to inspire that feeling or memory when people view my art - that magic time/ of being in the moment.

I discovered your art through Instagram and was blown away the first time I saw one of your posts that incorporated Buddha, I remember running to show my flat mate your art as she is also an artist like yourself, we were so impressed from first glance, really inspiring stuff as I’m sure you hear all the time :) in regards to your online postings, how do you feel Instagram has helped you get your art form out there a viewed and what would you say to other artists striving to get there piecesand heard online or beyond?

IG is a great way to connect with others and give & get encouragement but it’s very hard to make it pay. However it’s a great way to get your art viewed by people all around the world, which is very cool!

It’s hard work to be self motivated which you really need to be as a creative person. You have to have motivation other than fame and fortune as there is a very good chance it will never arrive. My motivation is I enjoy it, it’s therapy, my voice and I believe in helping/ trying to inspire others. Hopefully I can inspire a few people and in return they inspire others - keep the good vibes rolling!

You also have another page dedicated to more personal posts & your side interest photography called for_ever_free which also expresses your unique & talented ways could you share a little bit about that page and your favourite memories in regards to it? You share family photos too which are also sweet, how do you feel you family impacts the art you create and is your family on the arty side as well?

I wish I could take a decent photo but thanks for calling my humble snaps photography. I started to feel very limited with doing just collage and when I added selfies or personal photos to kitscheart I noticed some people unfollowed or didn’t get it. I felt pressured to do what people wanted and considered leaving IG. Then I realised I could open another account and do what I wanted. It made me love the collage again and gave me a visual space to work through ideas and get feedback from like-minded people & friends. My Dad and sister where at Art School with me. My other sister & my brother are also very creative. My mum is a legend who helps look after me & my son while I create - she encourages.

In your spare time away from your art what do you also enjoy doing? Are there any places on the Northern Beaches or around Sydney that you would recommend we all check out nature wise or treat wise?

Yes this area of Sydney is awesome - Visitors should go to Palm Beach, walk to the lighthouse and have a coffee at the Boathouse. Actually all the beaches around here are great and a ferry ride from Manly to the City is wonderful. Once there it’s a short walk to a number of galleries and the beautiful Botanical Gardens

Do you have a favourite quote or saying that you feel really sticks and motivates you in regards to life in general?

Sometimes when it all seems to hard I say to myself 'Make pain your friend’! Basically be tough and keep going regardless and try to stay young at heart. And I really believe in doing to others what you want done to you.. 'Do unto others…’ And I try very hard to forgive others and no get old and bitter - to understand & see the bigger picture… hard to do but worth a go.

You come across as a rather spiritual and intune lady which is why I feel I’m also so drawn to your art and art style, if so which elements of spirituality to you follow or incorporate into your day to day living?

I’m always thinking about the great beyond and my inspiration and drive certainly comes from a belief in something bigger than myself and the physical. Like politics I’d rather let the art talk - I find talking about politics and religion gets me into trouble and it’s hard to convey in a few sentences. However your observations are correct and the spiritual side of existence is highly important to me & of more value than material wealth (for me).

Back on topic in regards to your photography, your landscape shots really portray a lovely vibe and seem to share a lot in regards to your persona, I sense your very intune with your environment and enjoy the outdoors does your son get involved

On your journeys when you take landscape photos or do you tend to trek it alone? Does your journeys inspire a lot of your art and help trigger your imagination?

Yes I love the outdoors and as a child and teenager was always outdoors and in the water. I love bush walking, rock climbing etc - although since having my son I’ve been less adventurous due to circumstances. My son enjoys the outdoor but he is at the age where he doesn’t really want to go walking with me unless we’re on holiday. So for my IG photos I’m mainly off by myself, walking & thinking. The photos I take certainly inspire my art, the colour of the sky, shape of the clouds etc

We love to embrace culture, arts, spirituality & music here at beatsfortheill as we feel such areas provide such a beautiful ground for growth and expression, would you care to share your favourite topics/musical talents & spiritual leaders in these areas?

I have always struggled to find earthly heros. So often when I look up to someone or the world tells me they are great/ winners/ a guru I find out later they are just a flawed but talented human - and I get disappointed. That said I don’t want to sound negative. Some of the best people are not well know, they go through life quietly helping others or the environment. I like humble, real people who sacrifice a lot, not for recognition or fame but to make a difference. For that reason I don’t have a list but in saying that there are many talented people I respect & try and learn from - I just also know they are human like the rest of us.

In regards to Instagram do you have any other fellow pages or artists you could recommend others check out? What do you enjoy checking out over the inter web?

As above I love following real people, people with heart & soul. I love seeing great art & musicians online too. However I find they’re so popular that they don’t have time to respond or notice others. As an artist I really enjoy feedback & banter with people as it helps with ideas & is fun. I recommend following people on IG who encourage & inspire you, that will be different for everyone. A mix of friends & people who push you forward

In regards to your makeup art & leg art what started it all of for you and how did you get into it?

Good question - I was probably frustrated or having a bad day and got the paint out and started throwing it at myself.

I also look at so many other artists and images, that probably triggered the idea. I’m actually very shy in real life and would never wear a bikini to the beach! So it’s fun to express myself with paint, it’s art therapy!

I know it must be hard to talk about your talent so openly but I just want to say what you’re doing is really inspiring, a lot of Australian and international artists/art appreciators far and wide are really feeling on what you’re creating, what do you have to say to all your followers in regards to your art & what are some inspiring last words you would like to share with our followers here at beatsfortheill?

Truly I’m very humble that you like my art, it means a lot. Doing art can be awesome & disheartening all on the same day. However to succeeded you have to keep going even when it seems impossible or the world doesn’t seem to care or see. I encourage others to have self belief and work very hard and then work some more. I’m still hoping the lucky part turns up because after the hard work & self belief you still need a little luck (I think). If I never make it I still aim to be kind and encourage others to reach their potential. Art is a vehicle to inspire beauty, thought, hope and maybe change for the better. It’s not really a means to glory and wealth for self if it is I’m doing it wrong (ha ha).

To purchase one of Katie’s pieces check her online store here:

https://society6.com/kitscheart

Check Katie’s Art via instagram here:

@Kitscheart

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20straveling · 4 years

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Anotha One (List of Activities that are C19 Safe!)

I can count on both hands, and some toes, the number of COVID19 emails and articles I’ve seen talking about all the things to do during our current global situation. Their lists (yes, from the marketing people) have been:

- subscribe to this new service ($$$)

- shop our online sale! ($$$)

- sign up for this service to read articles for “free” ($$$)

And I was pretty disappointed by most of the emails I was reading...but there were a few that warmed my heart a little.

- free delivery and no service fee when you order from local restaurants

- all proceeds of ____ sale are going toward helping homeless or those in poverty receive the supplies that are currently unavailable to them

and so on, and so forth. These are the companies and groups that I was happy to see in my inbox, knowing that someone was doing something to help the world.

But, we’re human, and we can only do so much for our community and our global family. That’s just reality. And that’s okay!! If you spend the whole time giving, and no time taking care of yourself, then you’ll have nothing left to give.

So, with that in mind: here are some ideas for social distancing and quarantine activities!

At Home Activities:

- Photography! The majority of us have a smart phone and it’s got one (or two, shoutout 11 pro peeps) cameras on it — use that sucker!! Take silly photos with your family (fuzzy or otherwise), snap pics of your plants or collections of things, or even take photos of random stuff in your house (I know you’re bored enough to).

- Editing these photos is also a good pastime, with lots of free apps on smartphones, and online editing software like PicMonkey and similar — have fun playing with filters and stickers and all kinds of creative adjustments

- Online, Virtual Tours! This is such a cool resource that has been taking root in the last few years as accessibility and outreach have been gaining prominence! Many museums and national parks have posted online tours (similar to Google Street View) of their amazing spaces for online viewers around to globe to interact with. Get out there (online), and explore some amazing works of art and nature, alone or with the whole family through a TV!

- Share the love online and talk about the new things you’re discovering to encourage others to take advantage of these great online-passes to some of the worlds best views (on walls or outdoors).

- Read - yep, the easy one. Whether its new blogs from people online, the book that’s collecting dust on your “to read” shelf, or something like Audible where you can listen to a book and still get something else done - feed your brain!

- A good follow-up to reading is writing! Head online for good writing prompts, or even silly games where you can write a story with the help of the whole family, sentence by sentence!

- Online Concerts! Many artists are doing online tours, and you can enjoy some “live”music from the comfort of your own couch!

- I personally love Tessa Violet, and she has created her “Something to Look Forward To” Tour, where she plays her music, and has dance breaks to engage her audience and take polls of what song she should play next

- ReThink a Space: this one’s a little more broad, but if you have an area of your home or outdoor space that feels as stale as the air you’re breathing while staying inside all the time, REDO IT! Now is the time to start that obnoxious project that takes too long! Some of the most obvious spots are:

- Bedroom/bedroom closet - change out winter for spring!

- Guest room closets (because who knows what’s lost in there)

- Office spaces/playrooms (equally busy, equally disorganized!)

- Bookshelves/display areas

- Crafting: now, I know we can’t all run out to a Michelle’s or a Hobby Lobby, but I can almost guarantee that most of us have some form of markers/pens, and maybe a printer (but if not, have faith!)

- Checkout online tutorials for drawing or calligraphy, and get those hands moving! There are plenty of studies about how calming coloring is, and stimulating the brain with simple things like learning calligraphy are perfect for indoor or outdoor activities solo, or with family

- Pictionary! Or the like. There are online prompts if you don’t have the physical game in your house, and websites like Jackbox have online versions so you can play with your friends, without being in the same room!

- Collaging/crafting with outdoor objects: take a hint from the children that keep wanting to bring home spikey balls or a pretty leaf! Sometimes those objects are silly but can create a fun craft! Using some thread or string, and a stick or two from outside, make a hanging wall decor piece or mobile with the things you are collecting on your walks!

- Video games!! Although it’s not an option for everyone, video games are a great time to have some competitive fun between members of the household, and also help to connect online with other friends who are also playing the game

- Steam and Origin are the two main gaming platforms I know of, and The Sims, and other games, are on sale right now to help offer entertainment and connect people digitally!

- Cleaning, which I’m sure we’ve all done a bit of at this point (not judging if you haven’t but here’s your list of ideas!)

- Starting from top to bottom, now is a great time to get that deep “Spring Clean” that everyone talks about this time of year! Dust of the tops of things that you forget about, like picture frames or door frames, and go down from there, wiping down surfaces, cleaning that gross space between your window pane and the screen (it’s disgusting but if the windows are open, you get to breath all that funk), and continue on to dusting baseboards and sweeping/vacuuming/mopping floors

- And disclaimer: I have not done all these things, but I’m still on the “Rethink a Space” part, so there’s stuff all over the things I want to clean...

- Don’t forget to Clorox those popular surfaces we forget about, like light switches, cabinet knobs/handles, and the power buttons for things like a Keurig or other small tech

- write snail mail for family and friends you’re unable to see at the moment! Yeah, technology exists, but there is always something special about hand-writing some fun messages to send to your loved ones!

- If you think ahead, you can make some fun art, and send that along with your letters, as a bit of cheer to spread along to others!

- Find something to research: whether it’s how video games are made, how to grow new plants, the sound in space, or what that cool movie you just watched mentioned! There’s a million resources online, and even in your local library (using Libby, an online library source for e-books, and more!

- Checkout online resources for your everyday habits: gym or yoga studio’s facebook or YouTube, university resources for free classes/access to databases, educational resources for children (often found on library sites)

You may notice that cooking is missing from this list. I realize that grocery shopping is difficult at this time, so I’ve tried to think of ideas that involve resources you already have in your homes/yards. If cooking is your thing, or you’d like to take it up during this time, please, do so!! It’s such a great way to feed your brain and your body at the same time! Checkout online channels like “Binging with Babish” and other food related YouTubers or Bloggers to find new recipes or content. If you need to go out and grocery shop, just remember to be courteous of other’s and take hand sanitizer or Clorox mini-wipes to get those surfaces like cart handles and self-checkout/checkout screens and surfaces.

My brain is tapped out for ideas at this point, as I’m mainly doing the things mentioned above because they fit with my personal lifestyle and interested, but if you guys have thought of or done some things that might interest others, please list them below!! And those with kids: PLEASE, link a Pinterest board of ideas, educational (and FUN) websites you’ve found, or even just some good games/crafts/activities you’ve been trying out! I heard a coworker talking about a scavenger hunt they created that involves the kids texting/collaborating online to complete the outdoor hunt!

Get creative, do the most mundane thing in a new way, and hang in there! And if anyone wants a FT date, or more help researching things, please, let me know! I’m happy to dive deeper or even chat in general to help alleviate some of the adjustments and isolations going on right now - please don’t hesitate to reach out.

List of Links for Interactions/Ideas:

- Kelsey Ramirez (art-based ideas): https://www.kesslerramirez.com/blog/things-to-do-while-social-distancing

- Threads of Fate (wholesome naturalistic community): https://www.thethreadsoffate.com/pages/community-journey-taking-action?mc_cid=1ca95a65b0&mc_eid=3d56a629ef

- Harry Potter Alliance (yes, it’s a real thing, and yes, I’m a member) is hosting an online convention for conversations and events to bring us all together online: https://secure.everyaction.com/BEWi3AjhpEyWzUCDG-V7xw2?emci=21658d3b-0a6b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&emdi=96ab3eea-876b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&ceid=2470797

- All Online Libraries, By State: https://www.lib-web.org/united-states/public-libraries/

- Good Housekeeping’s Virtual Tour List (includes Zoos! I didn’t even realize!): 30 Amazing Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos, and Theme ...www.goodhousekeeping.com › life › travel › best-virtual-tours

- Mashed’s List of Cooking YouTubers (I haven’t watched all, but enjoy most): https://www.mashed.com/146555/ranking-the-most-popular-cooking-channels-on-youtube-from-best-to-worst/

#social distancing #at home activities #stay home #safety first #covid19 ideas #wfh hacks #bla bla bla

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twistednuns · 5 years

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June 2019

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”

A (very) sunny day in London. Seeing a seal in the Thames, right under the Tower Bridge. Walking through St. James’s Park, eating ice-cream. Taking a beautiful picture of Laura in Covent Garden. Finally getting out of the underground. A tiny rainbow reflection in the sky over Greenwich.

Playing badminton in the evening with Frank. Sitting by the river, making new friends (duckies).

Micha. Meeting in Thalkirchen after I had just seen a half dead mouse. Walking along the river, finding a nice spot across from the zoo with a bunch of musical hippies playing the drums on the other bank. We got drunk on Toro Loco and Grasovka in ice hockey cups until he kissed me in the middle of a sentence. It took quite a while until I noticed I was just kissing my first man with a tongue piercing. At some point I re-erected a knocked over portable toilet (does drunk me have superhuman powers?) and we walked to the subway together. Such a gentle weirdo.

Making breakfast for someone other than me. Sharing an apple. Eating out of the same bowl.

IKEA has veggie hot dogs now. Excellent. I also got a new cutting board. And that’s ALL I got. I’m virtually patting myself on the shoulder right now.

Christoph and Lauren’s wedding was pretty chill. We squeezed into a car, went up a very steep hill to attend the ceremony and spent the rest of the day around a camp fire drinking gin and tonics or dancing to very bad music. I loved getting to know Michael’s boyfriend of 4 years. I always received gay vibes from him… good to know that my gaydar isn’t broken.

Taking polaroid pictures in the beautiful afternoon light. I also loved Christian’s outtakes of the theme music quiz. One of them honestly looks as if I’d just won a beauty pageant - we have a host, two ladies with jealous side glances and me, all excited, open mouth, in front of the mic, waiting for her tiara…

Spending a few hours in my mum’s garden. Doing dangerous yoga exercises in the grass. Walking barefoot. Marveling at the lush roses everywhere. Watching a blackbird taking a bath under the cherry tree. Very entertaining.

I want to learn Spanish and this video gives me hope - apparently I can heavily rely on my French vocabulary.

Why the men I like usually look the same.

Hanging out with Martina, Tobi and Diego the dog at the Thalkirchen campsite. Watching the rafts go by (horrible music), driving them home with their car right before the apocalyptic thunderstorm.

The perfect dessert: berries or peaches with fresh cream. The perfect dinner: Truffle pasta.

The concept of eclecticism.

Spending the afternoon with Franzi at Maria Einsiedel. Meeting baby Elise for the first time. Hopping into the Eiskanal, turning my body into a freezer for five minutes. Eating tiny lemon ice-cream and galia melon.

Meeting Catrin and Andreas at Brillengalerie in Altheim. Really good cappuccino (he’s an optician AND a latte artist). I loved trying on those gorgeous glasses and talking to Catrin about the Latte Art championships and rude customers.

Our trip to the Bavarian Forest to make a cake tree for the wedding. We visited Lena’s uncle who turned a tree trunk into a three-tiered cake stand with his chainsaw. We helped. I really want to get a chainsaw license now.

Once again: roses. They are incredibly lush this year. I don’t know why exactly but climate change seems to have one tiny upside.

Drawing. Portrait practice. Filling my sketchbook from idee. Polychromos coloured pencils.

Using Instagram’s story feature for the first time. I love editing pictures and adding gifs and colours. Immature and tacky but fun.

Looking trough old analogue pictures. Finding lots of my dad looking like the perfect Millennial. 90s fashion really IS back. I still loathe fanny packs though.

I found someone who’s coming to India with me!! I’m going to travel with Bibi this summer. So excited!

Unfortunately: the Solitaire app on my phone. Unhealthy obsession. You know you’ve got a problem when you’re getting REALLY good…

The smell of dill pickles reminds evokes vivid memories of my grandma. She used to make them herself, in heavy stoneware next to the wash room in the cellar.

Spending the evening with Bibi at Kulturdachgarten (having Ginger Spritz as a sundowner in the late afternoon sun), eating Israeli mezze at NANA in Haidhausen and seeing Rocketman at Rio cinema. My colleague works there so we got discount tickets and free ice-cream. Taron Egerton is a fabulous actor. If I had to describe the film in one word it’d be flamboyant. Also, I’d have loved to be the costume designer for this.

Iglo veggie love frozen meals. With Hela curry ketchup. Nom.

Extremely cute new rockery plants (who will have to do with regular potting soil I’m afraid).

Meeting Andre at Thalkirchen. Spending the evening on an Isar gravel bank, drinking the beer Martina brought from Croatia. Joining the… eh, what’s the Mile High Club for people who prefer water to air travel? Catching the last train home. Taking dinky photobooth pictures because we still had ten minutes to spare. That fake photo strip makes me happy instantly whenever I look at it.

Getting better at asking for what I want.

The character Moe in the Netflix series Trinkets. To me, she’s so much more attractive than Tabitha. And I love her attitude. And her hookup in episode seven. What a pretty man.

Manu making me realise how much I look like my dad. “At least jawwise!”

Spending the evening with Tom. Pre-theatre Spritz, Melancholia at Kammerspiele, Isar-beer near Müllersches Volksbad. Talking about our insights and issues.

It’s fascinating to see the lupin in front of my balcony door open it’s blossoms gradually from bottom to top. This plant has such an interesting structure and geometry.

Salad season. Somehow I only like salads in the summer but then I eat them passionately. With strawberries, Black Forest tofu, peaches, blueberries, mangoes, olives. Those nice, firm Roma tomatoes you only get during the summer months. I made a huge bowl of Tabouleh the other day and had it for breakfast, lunch an dinner.

Going home in the morning, smelling of another person.

Booking flights to India. 5 weeks. I’ve never been gone for so long and then I chose India of all places… I feel a mild panic attack coming but I’m also super excited.

Artificial cherry flavour.

A day trip with Lexi. She brought crisps and a fun Mexican dice game which we played on the train. Spending the whole afternoon soaking in the warm water at Therme Bad Aibling. Discovering the amazing acoustics in the various domes. Making a new duckie friend. Weird mirror selfies with hairdryers. Dinner at a Bavarian restaurant in Rosenheim. Teaching le Sash some obscure Bavarian words.

The word obscure, come to think of it. Uncanny is a close second.

Jupiter being so bright in the night sky. I always notice it first as soon as it’s dark.

Librarians are secretly the funnest people alive.

So many things, really. I’m feeling quite happy at the moment. My only problem is that I keep gaining weight. Somehow enjoying myself is adverse to the strict regime I need in order to stay perfectly healthy.

Random things: Schweppes Fruity citrus and orange lemonade. Tomato sandwiches with fresh basil on olive ciabatta. That squirrel running over the garage roof in the morning. Dreaming of ferry rides through US rivers. And intercourse with a panther. The Garner Ambre Soleil natural bronzer spray with coconut oil. Nice colour, good smell, minimal chipmunk effect. And of course me regular Garnier sun oil. It’s the bottled essence of summer.

Filling in for someone in the Natural 20s pub quiz team. Being invited to a pen and paper round with feline characters only. Meeting Sophia who, I realised later, played Rosencrantz (or Guildenstern?) at Entity Theatre’s production of Hamlet last year.

My complete and utter obsession with Phil Collins’ version of You Can’t Hurry Love. I think it’s going to be my next karaoke song.

A desire and drive to be creative. Making collages out of dried leftover paint. Drawing on the window panes. Getting out gouache, pastel chalks, oil pastels, those weird 3-in-1 coloured pencils which create such a nice texture. Drawing first thing in the morning. Spending hours drawing owls for the coffee roasters. Using coloured pencils to draw portraits of all the cool girls of Instagram.

Oh, speaking of art. I don’t want to jinx it but I might get the chance to write a book soon! I met an editor who works at a publishing house for lifestyle books and needs someone to make a book about portrait drawing/painting for her. So. Excited. They’re also looking for a trainee in the graphic design department. I really hope I get to collaborate with them in one way or another.

Cute summer outfits. Good colour combinations. Accessorizing. Wearing pretty clothes with a creative twist. Actually putting some thought into putting together an outfit can be a lot of fun. After all it’s just another way of making a collage.

Polarized sunglasses providing me with the bluest skies and rainbow-tinted tram windows.

The Croatian man who sat down next to a visibly pregnant Bavarian woman on the subway and started telling her about his daughter Persephone and the abduction myth connected with her. I keep reading and hearing about Demeter and Persephone lately, for example about Baubo and the vulva presentations / Demeter worship.

Carmen Rohrbach’s Unterwegs sein ist mein Leben. I was very impressed by how much she has seen and experienced. How much she knows about nature and animals. I mean, she’s a biologist, too. Reading this book made my days a little more special because it gave me a sense of how much more there is to discover on this planet.

Eating vegan ice-cream (pumpkin seed and ginger-turmeric) with Micha. Sitting on the balustrade in front of the Art Academy. Staring into these insanely pretty blue eyes all the time. Looking for the toilets, roaming through the hallways. I love the architecture of that building.

A ladybug escaping the subway train through an open door. Freedom!

I love how the characters resemble each other so much in the different generations in the TV-series Dark. Uncanny. And they feature very nice colour contrasts, too. I guess I like their production designer / cinematographer.

Late-night Isar strolls. Drinking red wine, lying down, watching the stars surrounded by fireflies! (which are quite rare where I live so I was lucky - the strangest thing is that I had drawn a firefly into my sketchbook earlier that day, feels like I manifested it)

Tollwood gin and tonics, forgetting to go home, ending up in a gay club at 3am. Nice Thursday.

Making up for the lack of sleep on Friday afternoon. Waking up late. Releasing my inner Julia Child at 2am by making sushi rolls, taboulé and Bergsteigerbrot, something like super tasty vegan granola bars with lots of nuts and honey.

A little bike tour with Frank along the river. Pseudo-meditating on a log, eating some snacks I brought. Floating with the current. His alliterations (“further fodder for future followers”).

#personal #present perfect #things i love #june #2019 #june 2019

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anachef · 5 years

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What’s New in Hollywood Studios: New Menus, New Merchandise and MORE Construction Updates

It’s been a busy week over in Hollywood Studios! We’ve rounded up all the updates for you — new eats, new merchandise and LOTS of construction.

Hello from Hollywood Studios!

We don’t expect to see these Christmas decorations up much longer! They have been busy in the last few days in the park with lots of new updates, starting with the Skyliner station!

Skyliner Construction Updates

Disney’s Skyliner Gondola System is really making progress and we can’t wait to see this new mode of transportation open in the fall of this year. Noticeable updates this week include some more red elements along the top of the station.

Skyliner Construction

What’s New on Hollywood Studios Sunset Boulevard

Sunshine Day Bar, the seasonal counter service location that replaced Toluca Turkey Legs, Co. and subsequently Sunshine Day Cafe, re-opened this Holiday season with a new name and a festive menu.

Sunshine Day Bar

With the holidays now over, we went to check out the menu updates.

Sunshine Day Bar Menu

Christmas drinks have been swapped out in favor of lighter, fruitier beverages like the Cherry Blossom, with Bacardi Superior Rum and Luxardo Cherry Liqueur with pineapple juice and grenadine.

Cherry Blossom Cocktail

The Southside Fizz is made with Hendrick’s Gin and pure cane sugar.

Southside Fizz Cocktails

The Blackberry Moonshine Lemonade features Old Smoky Blackberry Moonshine.

Blackberry Moonshine Lemonade

Verrines, light parfait style desserts, are officially taking over! Over at Catalina Eddie’s, the Seasonal Eggnog Panna Cotta and Chocolate Mousse have been removed and you’ll now find a new Lemon Cheesecake Verrine.

Catalina Eddie’s Menu

Since Santa’s Meet and Greet is now over, Once Upon a Time has reverted back to a merchandise shop featuring mostly kids’ items with a small emphasis on Beauty and the Beast items.

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time Merchandise

What’s New in Hollywood Studios Echo Lake

Minnie’s Silver Screen Dine is back again at Hollywood and Vine! We first told you about this dinner party when it debuted back in 2016.At this movie-themed character buffet you can meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy wearing their award season best.

Minnie’s Silver Screen Dine at Hollywood and Vine

Star Wars themed eats are gone from Backlot Express!

Backlot Express Restaurant

We LOVED this fun Star Wars themed menu before. Luckily, the new menu is just as good — and you can still grab a few of your old favorites, just with new names.

Backlot Express Menu

Debuting on the menu is the Chicken and Biscuits — biscuits and chicken tenders topped with country gravy, a spicy strawberry glaze, and bacon crumbles. Read our review to see what we thought of this!

Chicken and Biscuits

The Cuban Sandwich features roasted pulled pork, sliced ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles and mustard. Read our review to see what we thought of this addition!

Cuban Sandwich

The HUGE Peanut Butter Brownie is pretty much everything we would want in a brownie — chocolate, peanut butter, frosting, peanut butter candy — Read our review to see if it lived up to our expectations!

Peanut Butter Brownie

The Key Lime Verrine is made up of layers of light and airy key lime custard and graham crumbs topped off with a dollop of whipped cream and a white chocolate ring — Read our review to see if we’ll add this Verrine to our must-try list!

Key Lime Verrine

One thing to note, kiddos can still have that BB-8 Souvenir Sipper with their soda!

Backlot Express Menu

While we’ll miss the Star Wars theme, we are looking forward to drinking Blue Milk soon once Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge opens this fall!

What’s New on Hollywood Studios Hollywood Boulevard

Cupcakes are noticeably missing over at the Trolley Car Cafe.

Trolley Car Cafe Bakery Case

Currently the only cupcake available is the Peanut Butter Crunch Cupcake — but, hey, we’re not complaining; there’s a reason we’ve loved this one for years and featured it in last year’s cupcake challenge!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cupcake

What’s New in Hollywood Studios Toy Story Land

Last week, we noticed the Buzz Meet and Greet had changed locations. His Meet and Greet was moved closer to the entrance into Toy Story Land, but this was to avoid the Slinky Dog Dash line during peak crowd days in the parks. Buzz has moved back to his original spot past the entrance sign.

Toy Story Land Buzz Meet and Greet

We also took a peek over the fence in Toy Story Land to see how Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge is coming along. There’s still plenty of scaffolding up, but things are really starting to come together over there on Batuu.

Galaxy’s Edge Construction

What’s New on Hollywood Studios Grand Avenue

We also got a much better view of this building that’s being constructed adjacent to Tatooine Traders.

Grand Avenue Structure

We had scoped this spot out just last week, but it seems progress steady progress has been made the scrims are down, revealing a green tile roof and a rather simple design.

Grand Avenue Structure

We’re still not sure what this building will be, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated on it’s progress!

What’s New in Hollywood Studios Shops and Stores — New Merchandise

We found the CUTEST new bags in Hollywood Studios this week!

Loungefly Disney Snacks Backpack

The new Loungefly bags and wallets are covered with all of our favorite Disney snacks, including Mickey Pretzels, Mickey Shaped Cookies, the Mickey Ice Cream Bar (coming soon to grocery stores!), and more!

Loungefly Disney Snacks Wallet/Clutch

We’ve also spotted Buzz Lightyear Ears at several merchandise locations around Hollywood Studios. This tribute to everyone’s favorite space ranger features his famous catch phrase emblazoned on the headband — “To Infinity and beyond!”

Buzz Lightyear Ears

Polka dot prints are in with the new merchandise line — Rock the Dots — celebrating Minnie’s classic dots!

Rock the Dots Merchandise

We spotted ears, spirit jerseys, new loungefly bags and even sparkly sneakers with a big poof on them in this adorable merchandise line.

Rock the Dots Minnie Mouse Ears

Rock the Dots Spirit Jersey

Check these out!!! We need somewhere awesome to wear these!

Rock the Dots Shoes

We found some more Mickey Through the Years items on Sunset Boulevard.

Mickey Through the Years Shirt

We’re loving the items in this line — perfectly retro and vintage-y!

Mickey Through the Years Merch

This bag matches the mug we found last week!

Mickey Through the Years Tote

Speaking of mugs, how about this tumbler? Its got the same collage art on it as some of the clothes introduced in this line last week.

Mickey Through the Years Tumbler

This t-shirt is really adorable with all of the different Mickeys on it, take a look and see how many you can find!

Mickey Through the Years Shirt

And a few more Celebrate Mickey items as well — all to celebrate Mickey’s 90th Birthday!!

Celebrate Mickey Hat

We also spotted a cool new Edna Mode Mug, featuring all of our favorite “Edna-isms“.

Edna Mode Mug

NO CAPES! Which is your favorite Edna quote?

Edna Mode Mug

Check out these awesome Chewbacca Ears that we can’t wait to wear!

Chewbacca Ears

And be sure to use the Play Disney Park app so you can grab this limited edition Midway Mania Pin after you complete the “Midway Maniac” Challenge in the app.

Limited Edition Midway Maniac Pin

We also took a peek at Disney’s new Valentine’s Day Merchandise!

Mickey and Minnie Valentine’s Plush

This line includes adorable Mickey and Minnie plushes and a limited edition Magic Band featuring characters and artwork from the Pixar Short, Lava.

I Lava You MagicBand

That’s it for our Hollywood Studios news and updates this week! Be sure to follow us so you stay up-to-date on the changes and additions to the parks every week!

What Hollywood Studios news do you find most exciting? Let us know with a comment!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Are you still planning your 2019 trip to WDW? Check out our latest video Best Times to Visit WDW in 2019. When you’re done – check out all of our Videos on You Tube!

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With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis (and how to get FREE dining); and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you’ll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet. Click here to pre-order your copy of the 2019 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining E-book with code WDW2019 to save 25% today!

But there’s MORE! Just like all DFB pre-order deals — when you pre-order your DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining, 2019 Edition today for 25% off the cover price, you’ll also get our fully updated 2018 Edition for FREE immediately, so you can start planning TODAY!

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What’s New in Hollywood Studios: Star Wars Construction, a New Party, and New Market!!

What’s New in Hollywood Studios this Week: Eats, Decor, Merchandise, New Entrance, Skyliner Update, and MORE!

What’s New in Disney World’s Hollywood Studios: 11-4-18

from the disney food blog http://bit.ly/2Fj4BdL via http://bit.ly/LNvO3e

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reverseskydives · 7 years

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26 Marketing Tools for Non-Tech-Savvy Marketers

Marketing tools are essential for streamlining and automating the more arduous aspects of the process.

The only issue is that you’ve got to actually learn how to use them.

You have to learn their capabilities, their limitations as well as their nuances.

It’s no biggie if you’re tech-inclined.

But what if you’re not so tech-savvy?

Using marketing tools can nearly negate the purpose if it’s a struggle just to figure them out.

That’s why I compiled a list of 26 marketing tools for non-tech-savvy marketers.

Each one is practical and user-friendly and requires a minimal learning curve. Many are even free.

Content creation

1. WordPress

Let’s start with the absolute basics: WordPress.

You could consider it to be the “OG” of content management systems.

As of late 2015, it powered 25% of the world’s websites.

And it’s very likely that number is even bigger today.

A large part of WordPress’ appeal is its utter simplicity and non-technical nature.

You can create and maintain a beautiful website with literally zero knowledge of coding.

And if you happen to understand HTML, you can completely crush it.

If you want to create a site for your business or blog, I highly recommend WordPress.

You can learn how to do it from scratch with this video from Quick Sprout.

2. Google Drive

When it comes to cloud storage, I think of Google Drive as being the universal platform.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve worked with clients or business partners who’ve made Google Drive their platform of choice.

Like most Google products, it’s super intuitive and easy to use.

I use it for writing and backing up content as well as for sharing content with others.

It’s perfect if you have multiple people working on a project because sharing and editing is a cinch.

Besides docs, you can create slideshows, drawings, spreadsheets, and more.

3. Grammarly

I don’t care if you’re Mark Twain, everyone is bound to make mistakes when writing.

Whether it’s a silly spelling error or poor grammar, it’s impossible to catch everything.

But Grammarly will do just that (or pretty darn close to it).

Add it to Chrome, and Grammarly will monitor everything you write, point out any issues, and offer advice on how to resolve them.

It goes above and beyond Word and will make you look like an expert even if your writing skills are lackluster:

The cool thing is that it will also scan your emails before sending them out so you don’t look like an idiot when corresponding to customers or clients.

I highly recommend it!

4. Word Counter

Word count is kind of a big deal, especially if you’re writing long-form content and need to reach a specific number of words.

But not all online writing platforms display word count.

I love this tool because I can quickly copy and paste a body of text, and Word Counter will let me know how many words I’ve written.

It’s super quick, and I’ve never experienced any sort of glitch.

Content ideas

5. Google Trends

Coming up with new ideas for content can be a major struggle.

Even if you’re an expert, it’s not always easy to come up with stellar ideas.

I’ve found Google Trends to be a great place for getting a sense of what’s popular at the moment.

Often, it will point me in the right direction, and I can then use it to gauge the exact interest in a particular topic.

For instance, here’s how the interest in content marketing has grown over the past five years:

6. Alltop

Using Alltop is a breeze.

Simply type in a search phrase, and hundreds of popular blog posts on that topic will pop up:

I use this for brainstorming all the time, and Alltop has helped me come up with some epic ideas for blog posts.

7. BuzzSumo

Words cannot express how much I love BuzzSumo.

Pretty much anyone can figure it out within minutes, and it’s the perfect tool for generating an arsenal of content ideas.

But what separates it from other tools is the fact that it provides you with key info such as:

how much engagement content receives

who is sharing it

links pointing back to the content

The only caveat is that you must purchase the Pro version to unlock all the features.

But you can still do a basic search with the free version.

8. Ubersuggest

This one is a bit like the Google Keyword Tool, only simpler.

Enter a search term, and Ubersuggest will spit out dozens or even hundreds of ideas:

It’s really easy to use, and it’ll keep supplying you with topics whenever you need them.

Communication and collaboration

9. Basecamp

If WordPress is the OG CMS, Basecamp is the OG of project management and team collaboration.

Countless other products have been developed, many of which are cooler and sexier.

But Basecamp still retains its status and continues to be one of the big dogs.

I love its clean interface and how intuitive it is.

It’s very non-intimidating even for the most non-tech-savvy of marketers.

10. Trello

At this point, you probably know I’m big on visuals.

Images make it easier for me to absorb information and stay on top of my game.

That’s why I love Trello.

It involves a system of boards where you can communicate with colleagues and keep tabs on project progress.

It can easily be scaled up or down as necessary and can really boost productivity.

I know many people who swear by it.

11. Asana

This is another visual-oriented platform that I’ve used on several occasions.

I prefer Basecamp over Asana, but it’s the number one team-collaboration platform for many marketers.

In fact, some companies that use it include TED, The New Yorker, and Uber.

My favorite aspect of Asana is the ease with which I can track a project from start to finish.

I’m a stickler for deadlines, so this helps me ensure they’re always met without a lot of stress.

12. Slack

When I think of Slack, I think of hipsters. But in a very good way.

It’s perhaps the coolest, sleekest, sexiest collaboration app in existence.

And it’s dead simple to use.

Slack revolves around creating “channels” where you communicate with team members either publicly or privately.

Drag and drop your files to share with others, and search your archive any time you need specific information.

Slack makes it easy.

Task management

13. Wunderlist

I stay busy, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when I’m bombarded with a barrage of tasks on a daily basis.

One of my favorite weapons to counter that is Wunderlist.

I place it on my desktop so I can see exactly what’s going on and what I need to take care of on any given day.

And, of course, I can also access it from my smartphone or tablet.

I can easily save links, photos, and other media I want to keep.

I also use it to set reminders of specific tasks’ deadlines and make note of any business/project ideas that pop into my head.

In other words, Wunderlist helps me keep my you-know-what together.

14. WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin

If you use WordPress (like I recommend), you’ll want to take advantage of this plugin.

It’s a little like Google Calendar, but specifically for scheduling your blog posts.

You can:

Manage drafts

See what’s been posted

See what needs to be posted

Manage posts from different authors

Like most things on WordPress, it’s user-friendly, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out its features.

15. Todoist

The tagline of this platform is “Accomplish more, every day.”

And that’s fitting because I’ve found Todoist to be a major catalyst for productivity.

You simply record tasks, prioritize them as needed, collaborate with others, and get stuff done.

I love its no-nonsense interface and minimalist vibe.

SEO

16. Yoast SEO

This is another WordPress plugin and one that I highly recommend if you’re fairly new to the SEO game.

Here’s a screenshot of its features:

In other words, it handles nearly every major aspect of SEO.

The best part is its simplicity.

I love Yoast SEO because it’s very hands off and automates many of the more arduous SEO tasks like creating optimized URLs, keeping track of keyword density, and so on.

Before you publish your content, Yoast SEO will rate its readability and your keyword usage by giving it a color: red for poor, orange for okay, and green for good.

If you loathe the technical nature of SEO, this is a great plugin to use.

17. Google Keyword Planner

If you were to use only one tool for performing keyword research, this is it.

Even the biggest SEO nerd will agree that it’s useful because you’re gathering data right from the horse’s mouth—Google itself.

The cool thing is that you don’t need to be technically adept to figure it out. Most of the features are pretty self-explanatory.

18. MozBar

In my opinion, Moz is perhaps the Internet’s number one resource for all things SEO.

I especially love its Whiteboard Fridays, offering in-depth analysis and insight.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to determine key SEO metrics like links, page authority, and domain authority, I highly recommend MozBar.

Simply add it to your Chrome toolbar, and you’re good to go.

19. SEMrush

This is another great SEO tool that’s amazingly easy to use.

Just enter a URL or keyword, and you instantly get a boatload of useful information such as:

Organic search volume

Backlinks

Top organic keywords

Main organic competitors

Branded search

If you’re looking to perform competitive analysis for keyword or content opportunities, look no further than SEMrush.

Images

20. Canva

If you’re creating content, you’ll need plenty of beautiful visuals.

In my opinion, Canva is hands down one of the best platforms for creating your own images and documents from scratch.

It’s really easy, and Canva offers a wide array of images that are totally free.

You can modify them as needed for your content or for branding purposes.

The best part is that you can do this with virtually no design experience.

21. PicMonkey

PicMonkey is a photo editor that allows you to design, resize, do touch-ups, create collages, and a lot more.

Using it is no sweat even if you have no clue what you’re doing in terms of design.

It’s perfect if you have your own images you want to customize, and PicMonkey helps you make them look like a million bucks.

22. Pixabay

Here’s my take on stock photos.

I prefer to pay for them and get the best of the best.

But if you’re just starting out or are on a budget, Pixabay is one of my top picks.

Everything is royalty-free and available for the public to download, modify, and distribute.

They have a massive archive of pictures that covers most topics, and the quality of their images has really improved over the past couple of years.

Here are just a few samples:

23. Creative Commons

Creative Commons is basically an aggregator of images free to use for commercial purposes. These images can be modified, adapted, or built upon.

You enter a search query, and choose from multiple platforms like Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, Open Clip Art Library, and even Google.

It’s a great tool for streamlining your image search.

Metrics

24. Google Analytics

There are countless metrics platforms out there for measuring your website’s performance, traffic numbers, and so on.

But I think it’s safe to say that Google Analytics is the be-all and end-all tool.

The free version is more than sufficient for diagnosing your website and, in my opinion, quite easy to use.

I’ll admit there is a bit of a learning curve, but most people can figure out the basics in a day or two.

25. Bitly

Bitly is perhaps best known for being a URL shortener.

In fact, I use it all the time for condensing URLs on my Twitter page:

But it’s useful for way more than that.

Here’s the deal.

Bitly allows you to track individual links and gather key information about their performance.

You can tell what your audience is responding to (or not) and tweak your marketing efforts accordingly.

26. Clicky

Finally, there’s Clicky.

Despite its comprehensiveness and level of detail, I consider it to be one of the most user-friendly analytics tools.

You can see what’s happening on your website in real time, monitor the actions of visitors, and even look at heat maps, which I love.

I know some marketers who actually choose Clicky over Google Analytics.

Conclusion

I totally understand the frustration that many non-tech-savvy marketers feel.

There are many tools that are great but require serious knowledge to be utilized properly.

These can really cramp your style and drive you crazy.

But the marketing tools I’ve listed are ones that will get the job done without being overly complex.

With most, the core features can be learned within just a few minutes.

This way, you can spend less time trying to figure out your marketing tools and more time reaching your audience.

Can you suggest any other easy-to-use marketing tools?

from Social Media Marketing http://ift.tt/2odm1Me via Social Media Marketing

#Social Media Marketing

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