couple goals 🫶

Tojoctober Day 31 - Fly

(I follow the path I’ve chosen, searching in the endless night)

Alt title is from “Dreamcatcher” by Starset

Kiryu reflects.

(Spoilers. Just, spoilers.)

—---------------------------------------------

Is this the first time I’m choosing to stand as an obstacle?

I’ve been one before, out of obligation. I’ve been the insurmountable wall that koi have chosen to climb, and I’ve seen so many fall from a height unimaginable to myself. The role of legend was shoved upon me, and all I could do was accept and eventually embrace it. There was ever only one dragon, even when others rose to challenge it.

The path I’d chosen, one that’s flirted with death so many times, and has even made itself unrecognizable. Is this where it all leads to? Am I doomed to throw myself into the fire over and over until there’s nothing left? Am I destined to protect dreams but not dream for myself? 

Even being in prison for a quarter of my life barely deprived me of myself. First for selflessness, then for duty, I expected my agent life to be much of the same. A necessity to keep those I love safe. My family, as piecemeal as it is at times, can survive without me. They have before.

But I didn’t expect to feel so alone in my sacrifice.

I begin to sweat. Looking down, I adjust the cuffs of my sleeves, the all too familiar maroon peeking out from the sea of gray.

I never thought I’d don this suit again. The red and gray that I chose long ago to be my battle armor, taunted to wear for the rest of my life. While I proved him wrong, this suit is synonymous with my identity. When I threw my name into the fire years ago, naturally the suit went with it. To the world, Kazuma Kiryu is just a figure of legend.

Or so I thought.

I should’ve known that I can’t escape the ghosts of my past.

Throughout my time with the clan, I’ve seen past actions bite people in the ass. Sometimes they’re life lessons, sometimes it’s their demise. We always learn from the past, then use the present moment to define the next past. When we choose to cease hiding in the shadows, the figures of our past will be there to meet us.

I can still picture everyone's faces from the day the Fourth Chairman reemerged.

Watase, looking smug as ever, unwavering from the threats posed to him.

The legends of my past life, eyes shining with shock and hope.

The legends of the future, confused but allowing new adrenaline to soar through them.

The man whom I have no right to call my son, staring at me with the most warmth I’ve ever seen from him. His voice is the one that plays in my head, over and over. His words still sound like a dream.

And then… There's that one. 

Maybe it’s his eyes. Or the way he carries himself. Or that design that echoes his essence. Or where I almost saw him walk, mere hours ago. There are many facets to that man, and I’m not one to normally make quick assumptions.

However, their resemblance is uncanny. If I close my eyes, I can hear the echoes of his laugh, like a ghost sending shivers throughout my psyche. 

Maybe that’s why I’m here, edging so close to the disobedience of direct rules and orders.

I’m not going to let another man sink into the depths of that darkness. Not when I’m around to prevent it.

Opening my eyes, unaware that I had shut them to begin with, I hear the door open with a squeak, as pairs of footsteps follow. I look down at my watch, and take one last deep breath. I don’t need to turn around to know who’s there.

Alright.

It’s time I teach this young dragon how to fly.

hmm i am intrigued by so many of the titles! but also i want to pick one without time war 2+ spoilers. do any of these fit that description? the drowning deep or our minds at war or well deserved frustration with Romana? also please do tell me about Conspiracy Verse, Emily :D

ask me about one of my wips!

ah Scar regrettably all of the documents named with the Actual (Song Lyric) Fic Titles are in my post-Time War series. so yes there are spoilers.

but the spoiler free teaser is: every chapter in this fic series is based on last year’s Whumpay prompts (not in order, I rearranged the prompts). so I can tell you which prompts I plan to use for each of those fics.

the drowning deep

the prompts I’m using are: 1. Harming Self, 2. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

our minds at war

the prompts I’m using are: 1. It Never Gets Any Easier / Nightmares, 2. Headache of Doom, 2. To the Pain / Delirium.

SHORT: Bonding Over Well-Deserved Frustration With Romana

I keep forgetting this fic exists — it’s one of two fics I have that were fully drafted a while ago, and really just need some light edits. 

this one was written in fall 2021 when I was trying to write some shorter pieces—so it was part of the same batch of fics as the war outside our door keeps raging on (Scar don’t look at this one), be the lightning in me, twilight whispers, and overwhelm me (or this one). but I think I got distracted in early 2022 by writing prompt fics and I never got around to posting this one? I should get around to posting it.

it’s a post-Enemy Lines Leela/Narvin fic that is about Narvin working on talking about What’s Really Going On instead of letting his frustrations stew and bubble over…..and specifically, is about the ways in which Romana was a shitty friend in Enemy Lines and how both Narvin and Leela are allowed to feel their feelings and be upset about the things she did that hurt each of them. 

conspiracy verse

well, once upon a time, you were like. hey want to hear another au idea. and I was like. tell me more. and thus began rabbit hole #2. 😊

the premise of conspiracy verse is: what if, not long after the end of series 6, when the ot3 are dealing with the consequences of their reboot of the population of Gallifrey, a young Romana and young Sartia from another universe suddenly appear in the catacombs?

slight background: young Mana and Sartia end up in the “prime” universe after their Gallifrey is overrun by Daleks, brought by a Vansell from yet another Gallifrey, one wracked with a version of the War. alt!Vansell is the one with the mysterious universe hopping technology, and after he tries to kill young Mana, and Sartia ends up killing him, the two teenagers take a risk and make a portal to another world. surely it’s better than waiting for the Daleks to find them. 

story complications include:

there are actually consequences to the biodata reset. which first meant deciding how far back everyone’s memories were rebooted to. canon is contradictory about this, but we’re ignoring Matthias thinking he was president when Narvin woke him up because logically it has to be earlier than that, if the goal is “before the spread of the virus” and the civil war was canonically a super spreader event. we don’t know exactly when the pig rats the virus originated in got out, but after much discussion, we picked a moment mid-Imperatrix as the point everyone’s biodata is reset to. so no one remembers Romana declaring herself a dictator, or the civil war. but they did wake up to a Citadel in ruins, with hundreds if not thousands of Gallifreyans suddenly dead. meanwhile, anyone who isn’t Gallifreyan—namely any alien students who were on Gallifrey at the time, and the members of the other Temporal Powers in general—remember the civil war and everything after. so needless to say, things are rather politically fraught for Romana right now.

they’re hiding the kids. given how Gallifrey is this close to erupting into more civil unrest, Romana really doesn’t want it getting out that a version of herself from another universe—and a version of a wanted renegade from another universe—have appeared without explanation. so Romana, Leela, and Narvin have pseudo-adopted teenage Mana and Sartia, but their existence is a secret from everyone else on Gallifrey. (and when I say “they” have pseudo-adopted the kids, I really mean that Leela’s the one they’re living with and the one who’s actually taking care of them.)

the kids don’t know about Sartia Prime’s crimes. young Sartia and Mana know Sartia in this universe is a renegade, but that’s it. Narvin and Leela have only just found out from Romana that Sartia (in this universe) tried to kill her, but Romana really does Not want to talk about her Sartia-related trauma…..except for the fact that she inherently distrusts young Sartia and has already very nearly told her the truth about Sartia Prime in a fit of anger over Sartia trying to secretly use the Coronet to find out what the adults are hiding. (and y’know, they are hiding things!)

Pandora is back—kinda. in the catacombs, before hopping universes, Mana was contacted by Pandora, who tricked her into letting Pandora put the Imperatrix Imprimatur into her. a sliver of Pandora from another universe lives in Mana’s head, and no one, including her, knows it. but that fragment of Pandora is restless. she’s been cut off from the rest of herself, and she isn’t staying idle in Mana’s mind. over time, her grip in Mana’s consciousness will only grow—until Romana, Leela, and Narvin will be faced with their old enemy rising again, in the form of Romana as a teenager. and at that point: can Mana be saved? is even trying to save her worth the risk?

Sartia’s mother is still alive—and still scheming. in @presidentromana’s Sartia backstory fic, Sartia ultimately turns her abusive mother (who turned their House into a cult) over to the CIA. in this universe (and in redemption verse) Sartia didn’t have the chance to. that means: if Kinnora find out there’s a young Sartia running around that won’t really be missed—because how could the President admit that she even existed—Kinnora’s vampire-Gallifreyan hybrid schemes are back on, with Sartia as the experimental subject. but Kinnora has refined her plans since the last time they went wrong, and if (ahem, when) she gets her hands on young Sartia, Sartia will actually survive the process—and be a vampire-Gallifreyan hybrid, an abomination in the eyes of Gallifrey. and at that point: will anyone stand by her?

Sartia Prime is still out there—and pissed. her biodata is part of the archive, so she was reset just like everyone else. and now a chunk of her life is missing, Free Time (which she was working with) is scattered, and she’s trying to piece together what happened. basically, Sartia is out there, vaguely in the early chapters of my fic Redacted. and she’ll probably (definitely) become involved in the story at some point.

oh, and it’s a rom-com, too. teenage Sartia and Mana are doing the “slow realization of Feelings for best friend/first crush” story. Romana, Leela, and Narvin are in there “everyone has Feelings but no one has said anything” stage. at this point Sartia is convinced there’s something going on between Romana and Leela, and Mana is convinced there’s something going on between Leela and Narvin. neither is quite sure what that “something” is, but.

this verse truly has it all, I’m so excited to discover where the heck this story ends up taking us.

oh and in this rp verse: I always write (young) Mana, @presidentromana always writes (young) Sartia, I write Leela most of the time, @presidentromana writes (adult) Romana most of the time, and we share Narvin. (those are all the characters who have been involved in the story so far.)

how the most dangerous thing is to love

prompts used:

Suptober Day 22: I cursed the gloom that set upon us, but I know that I love you so Whumptober Day 7: I’ve got you + Alt 10: Nightmares Poem Prompt: “I would know him by touch alone, by smell. I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the Earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.” - "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller

warnings: temporary character death title take from Achilles, Come Down by Gangs Of Youth

Read on Ao3.

✯

in death is where we met so death can’t do us part you were damned in debt way down hell’s town at the start

but in touch we were found corrupted & lost, fallen in love heavenly cursed & profoundly bound angelic faith & human weakness, twelve years of star-crossed allegiance 

✯

“Kill him, Castiel,” Naomi’s as it echoed through his mind, joined then by Hannah’s, and it tasted like betrayal. The answer was a quick defiance, something he didn’t even have to think about. Never. 

“I will not hurt Dean Winchester,” he stated proudly, narrowing his eyes at the angel in front him. She sighed exasperatedly, disappointed like a parent in their child. Castiel blinked. Something seemed off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. 

“I thought I’d fixed you,” she spouted, bashfully. It was the feeling of falling, Cas then realized, the fear and uncertainty he felt when he truly fell from heaven that he now experienced. Rejection. 

Pain snuck into his body, bruises and cuts were painted on him, one by one, by invisible hands. The scenery was broken and shifted to something else. Castiel was laying in an old church now, so different from the clinical whiteness of Naomi’s office. “I will cure you of your human weakness,” Ishim promised, so sure of himself that this was the right thing to do. 

“No,” he weakly defended, but it only earned laughs.

Ishim stepped away, revealing an equally beaten up Dean. Their eyes met, and next to fear was a promise. We’ll get out of this. It was something he admired humans for: their devoted belief that everything would turn out fine. It was even found in humans like Dean, who had been through apocalypse after apocalypse. It was humanity’s unstoppable determination. 

Ishim tsked and shook his head at their wordless conversation. Then, he walked forward and grabbed Dean’s by his hair. With one swift motion, his blade slit Dean’s throat open, and Castiel felt like he was pulled away, down under, into hell. His hope was bleeding out, dying, and he had to return where he did not belong to. Not anymore. 

With a startled gasp, he awoke. Warm arms stalked around him, pulling him into a hug. “Nightmare?” Dean asked, wide awake yet sleep in his voice. Castiel only nodded, searching and listening for the hunter’s steady heartbeat. It was the soundtrack that would calm him down. Dean was safe and alive, defying every threat thrown at them, always. Castiel had to believe that. 

The dream’s imagery faded, leaving only dull hurt in the angel’s gut. It was okay, though. Hearing the constant thumping of Dean’s heart, he could breathe. Its cold was defeated by the hunter’s body heat, into which Castiel readily melted. Here and now, he wasn’t Eurydice anymore, who looked at her lover's face in her doom, as his dream had suggested. He wasn’t Romeo anymore either, finding his love dead. Here, Castiel was safe. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Dean asked, suppressing a yawn. Castiel hummed, looking for the words in the fields of his mind, and if they wanted to come. 

“You are not a mistake,” he simply said, leaving Dean to his own assumptions. It was the only thing the doubt had infected, that hadn’t been washed away by warm cuddles yet. It was dark in the room, but their shared body heat underneath the blanket was all Cas needed to feel content. 

The memories still echoed through his mind, riddled with ideology he once assigned to. Dean could be a liability, Cas could agree to that, but he was more than willing to take that chance. In their eyes though, he was corruption, causing a respected angel to step out of line. It was rebellion, betrayal, and above all, human. 

Castiel smiled into Dean’s chest, pulling him closer. Here was where he belonged, it was plain as day to see. Heaven mourned the loss of a soldier, and the staging of their grand play, but Castiel would never dare to regret his decision. He felt the power their love brought, even underneath the disguise they tried to put it into. After all, if it truly was weakness, what had they to fear?

Tag List: @luciferstempest @nightmare-in-plaid @starrynightdeancas @gnbrules @aniridescentdreamer

Best of DC: Week of July 31st, 2019

Best of this Week: Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 - Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia and Tom Napolitano

The last case Batman will ever solve, might just be his most terrifying.

Beginning with Batman confronting an older Joe Chill in the past over the dead child in Crime Alley that looks eerily similar to Bruce. Our hero kind of surprises and disarms him by removing all of the weapons he’s hidden around his apartment. Chill seems to have been expecting him, preparing what he calls an “end of an era feast” for Bruce, implying he knows his identity. To make matters even more interesting, he insinuates that he didn’t even kill the Waynes for Marth pearls and makes it seem like there was an even larger plan afoot than anyone realized.

Cutting back to the Nightmare future, Batman and Joker’s Head are taken by surprise as a Speed Force Storm tears through the desert. Never let it be said that Greg Capullo hasn’t been improving his skills at body horror because the tornado is terrifying. Consisting of the constantly shifting, twisting and stretched bodies of Barry Allen, Bart Allen, Jay Garrick and possibly others, the faces scream and cry for Bruce to help them. It’s a shocking and unsettling sight as one can almost hear the deafening cries of atom splitting agony that they’re going through. The deep red of the storm doesn’t help as it just makes things FAR more threatening than they need to be. Bruce and Joker sit in a cave for safety while Bruce laments that there is absolutely nothing that he can do to save them.

The pair continue on, hang gliding through the air, crossing over a base named Fort Waller. Joker tells Batman that originally it was the last bastion of hope, where Mr. Terrific, Dr. Sivana, Ivo and others could combine their knowledge with the powers of the new avatars of the Green and Red to repel those incensed by Luthor. Batman asks him what happens and Joker’s narration ends as they watch the battle. Unknown Soldiers fighting abominations of the Red in a hellish battle of blood and fire until a Swamp Thing appears from the crimson dust of their fight, no longer appearing to have any faculties or emotion other than: KILL.

The tone shifts as they reach an area known as the Plains of Solitude, seeming a mass of crystalline structures similar to Superman’s secret base. The cool blues of this area offer something of a safety in a book that has otherwise been overbearingly tense since it began. It doesn’t help that Joker’s been doing variations of “can I be Robin, are we there yet, and knock knock jokes the entire time. Bruce snaps that he could never be Robin because Robin was a good guy and who in this world was still like that? Pods shaped like Superman’s baby rocket start landing close to Bruce and Joker before the pair are saved by… Superman?

Or so we think, this “very talkative” (end sarcasm) Superman leads the pair to a farmhouse in the middle of the plains where a surprisingly alive and potentially insane Lex Luthor greets them. Batman, furious at the state of this world demands to know what happened, what did Luthor do? Luthor answers that he had a debate with Superman. What makes this so interesting is that, Luthor says that he knows that he should have lost. The stakes were such that, the loser would be impaled by spike of Kryptonite and Luthor, having almost crapped himself a speech mostly using platitudes from others in his own words, didn’t hold a candle to Ka-El… but in the end, Superman ends up skewered and the world goes to hell with him.

It begs the question of, what happened? Did all of the people just side with Luthor on impulse? Did something happen to sway them or was someone else manipulating things? Everything is speculation. Things are cut short, however as Bane and Scarecrow show up to punish Luthor and bring Batman to their new God, Omega. Bane appears to be absolutely rotting with venom as his veins are green and his skin is pale. Scarecrow looks absolutely scraggly with long, gnarled fingers with syringes at the end of his fingers. Scarecrow has poisoned the Superman clone and forces him to try and break the Bat.

Suddenly, as Superman lifts Batman above his head, a sword pierces his chest as it’s revealed that Wonder Woman has returned to save the Caped Crusader. The two are told to run away by Luthor, to save the world as he opens a portal for them and is summarily torn apart by other infected Superman Clones. 

We see the full extent of the utter destruction Luthor’s actions have caused as they land on the cloak of The Spectre. Wonder Woman tells Batman that the fighting eventually spilled over and destroyed both Heaven and Hell. It only makes sense, doesn’t it? The forces of magic are very powerful in the DC Universe. How much trouble would it take for a Mordru or Neron to tangle with Doctor Fate or Zatanna, culminating in the ruination of the afterlife, damning everyone to a non-existence at the end of everything?

They enter the cloak and take a ride down the River Styx. Diana tells Bruce that the voices of the dead will be calling out to him for sending them there. Capullo stuns with a double page spread of many of DCs biggest heroes, showing Batman the sheer weight of what his as-of-yet unknown role in Luthor’s scheme was. There are far too many to name, but I will say that I appreciate Capullo putting Kyle Rayner among those in the front. His deaths in many alt-stories will always irk me, but I do like seeing him recognized and put higher than Hal Jordan or even John Stewart.

Things take an even darker turn as Alfred shows up among the dead and Batman almost climbs out of the little boat, knowing that he just saw Alfred not too long ago and he and Wonder Woman make it to the real Gotham City with a cliffhanger and a surprising reveal at the end.

Last Knight on Earth pulls no punches when it comes to depicting a desolate world where Doom wins. I want to say that it’s almost dour to the point of being almost being hopeless and that’s exactly what I love. I adore how much is being packed into this story, how many references to the greater DC universe we’re getting. Capullo’s art is probably the best it has been in years and the quality of the writing is right on part with Dark Knights: Metal. It’s a righteous trip as Batman lugs the annoying head of the Joker around like a planet hopping adventure. It’s really fun and very dark.

---------------------------------------------------

The world needs more Swamp Thing stories.

Runner Up: Justice League Dark Annual #1 - James Tynion IV, Ram V, Guillem March, Arif Prianto and Rob Leigh

This annual was dark, far darker than most of the Justice League Dark tales so far because of how self contained it was and the sheer weight of the situation therein. Sure, it wasn't a world ending cataclysm like the one they just stopped, but that doesn't make it any less horrible. I'd never heard of Ram V before, but their storytelling, combined with Guillem March's art makes me feel like I've been pulled back into the old days of Vertigo.

Magic is broken. After Wonder Woman and Zatanna used the Ruby of Life to repair the damage they did to magic after defeating the Lords of Order, magic itself is repairing itself, but in a manner that throws the old rules out of the window.

Consequently, the Parliament of Trees has been destroyed and now Swamp Thing has no one to answer to as the new Parliament of Flowers is seeking a new champion. After confronting Constantine about coming on as a consultant for the League, the con-man convinces Swamp Thing to go on the search for the new Avatar before he loses his humanity like Swampy did. Swamp thing tries to act like he doesn't care, but goes off to find the man.

The story descends into something of a tragedy as we're introduced to Oleander Sorrel, a flower botanist, and his wife Natasha. 

What makes this story so great is that, like the best Swamp Thing stories, it focuses on other characters and their own personal situations. The pair suffer in a broken marriage after the death of their son which causes Natasha to leave Oleander and himself delving deeper into his work, later resulting in his death. He becomes the Avatar of Flowers, but refuses to let go of his humanity after Swamp Thing tries to convince him that he is no longer a man.

He seeks out his wife and watches over her until Jason Woodrue, a very old DC villain that really hasn't been seen since the early days of The New 52, whispers in Oleanders ear. Oleander listens and suddenly a boy that looks very close to their son appears at the door. Natasha is happy, then another child appears and another until Natasha is absolutely blind with love for her new kids.

But not all gifts are good. There's no way that Woodrue doesn't get something out of this himself. There's always an underlying plot and Swamp Thing manages to uncover what really happened to Oleander. The fire that killed him was actually a pool of caustic that he laid in his flower bed and kills himself in. Oleander did die in the pool, but his memory lived on in the flowers that he planted. This revelation stuns Oleander and the children he created out of flowers begin to dissipate. He grows weary, knowing that Swamp Thing was right and Woodrue manages to convince him to rest for a while before feasting upon his flower flesh, regaining his own connection to The Green.

This annual definitely fit the title. It was Dark, not only from a storytelling standpoint, but also visually. Natasha’s post crying face was heart wrenching to see and Gullem March squeezed every bit of emotion out of it that he could. Her lips quivered, her eye makeup ran just a bit and there was a hopelessness that could be felt. Oleander’s transformation was a beautiful kind of macabre with his appearance, composed entirely of flowers, looking very sinewy and skeletal at the same time. Colors are very warm, juxtaposed against an ever growing sense of dread that culminated in the most haunting scene of Oleander growing more and more flower children. The shot is perfect as Oleander is shown to be a hapless man whose only intent is to make his wife happy, but his methods are horrifying almost wrong.

When the children begin to disappear following the revelation, light is shown on them while the background remains dark. Their petals waft away with the night winds as Natasha has to watch in horror, likely to be absolutely broken by the experience of losing her kids. Woodrue eating Oleander afterwards, however, is brutal. The color shifts to a deep red and Woodrue furiously munches on the flowers, gnawing and tearing his way into Oleander’s body and emerging as a new creature unto himself.

I haven’t been able to find anything about this Ram V person, but I want to read more of their work. This book was absolutely stunning and I hope that it does well enough to warrant another Swamp Thing mini-series or full run. Amidst the cancellation of the show after just one season, it’s definitely something the world needs more of. This story was chilling, well paced and had a great focus on someone else while keeping it’s main star tangential as he should be in things like these. This is a definite high recommend from me.

WBTV is bringing 15 series to San Diego Comic-Con next month, including The Flash, Supergirl, and Black Lightning, plus new debuts like Manifest! Check out the full #WBSDCC schedule.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Group

  Friends, the San Diego Comic-Con season is upon us and the countdown has begun!

Warner Bros. TV is kicking things off by sharing the full slate of the series they’re bringing to SDCC 2018. 15 of the WBTV’s fan-favorite shows are making their way to San Diego this year, including:

Arrow’s Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Katie Cassidy, Colton Haynes, Echo Kellum, Juliana Harkavy and Rick Gonzalez

Black Lightning’s Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Damon Gupton and James Remar

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’s Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Dominic Purcell, Nick Zano, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Tala Ashe, Matt Ryan, Jes Macallan and Courtney Ford

The Flash’s Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes

Legacies’ Matthew Davis

Manifest’s Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh

Riverdale’s KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Marisol Nichols, Madelaine Petsch, Ashleigh Murray, Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, Skeet Ulrich, Mädchen Amick, Luke Perry and Vanessa Morgan

Supergirl’s Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, David Harewood and Katie McGrath

Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins

  Starting on Preview Night (Wednesday, July 18), WBTV will host a special world-premiere pilot screening of mysterious new drama Manifest, a brand-new episode of The 100, and the world premiere of Season 2 of Freedom Fighters: The Ray.

During the rest of the week, the studio’s 2,400-square foot, multi-level booth (#4545) will once again be a must-visit destination on the convention floor, with autograph signings for each series will take place on the day of each panel. (WBTVG follows Comic-Con’s ticket drawing/wristband distribution procedure for all signings. Visit Comic-Con.org/CCI for more info.)

See below for more details and the full schedule!

  WEDNESDAY, JULY 18

6:00–10:00 p.m. Special Sneak Peek Screenings (Ballroom 20)

Manifest: When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent, but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible. From executive producer/writer Jeff Rake, and executive producers Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke and comes an emotionally rich, unexpected journey into a world grounded in hope, heart and destiny. The cast includes Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina and Parveen Kaur. From Compari Entertainment and Jeff Rake Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Manifest premieres Monday, September 24 at 10/9c pm NBC. Become a fan of Manifest on Facebook at facebook.com/NBCManifest, and follow the show on Twitter at @NBCManifest.

The 100: Over the last four seasons The 100 have fought to survive against unimaginable odds, only to see the world end for a second time. Season five begins six years later, with our heroes still separated: Bellamy’s team in space, Clarke (Eliza Taylor) on the ground, and hundreds trapped in the bunker below. But when a massive prison ship descends upon the last survivable place on earth, The 100 must come together to reclaim their home. As two armies converge on one valley, alliances will shift, friends will become foes, and the march to war threatens to destroy all that’s left of the human race. Can our heroes break the cycle, or is humanity doomed to repeat the past? In this epic battle for survival, one thing is certain: there are no good guys. Based on the book series by Kass Morgan, The 100 is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Jason Rothenberg, Dean White and Leslie Morgenstein (The Vampire Diaries). Starring Eliza Taylor, Paige Turco, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos, Lindsey Morgan, Christopher Larkin, Richard Harmon, Tasya Teles and Henry Ian Cusick, the series airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW. Become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/CWThe100, and follow the show on Twitter at @CWThe100.

Freedom Fighters: The Ray: All his life, Ray Terrill has fought injustice, dreaming of making a real difference like his older brother, a Marine who was killed in Afghanistan. One day, he stumbles upon a dying superhero from another Earth and is stunned to find that this superhero looks just like him—because it is! The dying Ray Terrill of Earth-X transfers photokinetic energy to this Earth’s Ray, making him a superhero – THE RAY. However, Ray quickly learns being a Super Hero isn’t all hanging muggers from streetlamps and fighting giant robots. As the evil Nazi New Reichsman of Earth-X, led by Overgirl, close in, The Ray must learn to harness his powers by coming to terms with his true self, even if that means also finally coming out of the closet to his parents. The fate of Earth-X depends on it! Based on the DC characters, the animated series is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Blue Ribbon Content, Warner Bros. Television Group’s digital studio. New episodes stream on CW Seed, starting July 18.

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  FRIDAY, JULY 20

10:00–11:00 a.m. Young Justice: Outsiders Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Room 6DE) — The fans have waited long enough and it’s time for a first look at one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year.  In Young Justice: Outsiders, the teenage Super Heroes of the DC Universe come of age in an animated world of super-powers, Super-Villains and super secrets.  This time, the team faces its greatest challenge yet as it takes on meta-human trafficking and the terrifying threat it creates for a society caught in the crossfire of a genetic arms race spanning the globe and the galaxy.  Join producers Greg Weisman, Brandon Vietti, art director Phil Bourassa, voice director Jamie Thomasson and members of the voice cast, Troy Baker and Stephaine Lemelin as they give you an inside look at what it means to be an outsider.  Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Young Justice: Outsiders is coming soon to the DC Universe digital streaming service.  Become a fan of the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YoungJusticeDC and follow DC Universe on Twitter at @TheDCUniverse.

10:15–11:15 a.m. Inside The Big Bang Theory Writers’ Room (Ballroom 20) — Join The Big Bang Theory writers and producers as they return to San Diego to take you inside the biggest moments of season eleven, and behind the scenes of television’s smartest comedy! From the engagement to the wedding, and all the moments in-between, find out what goes into making the hit series each week, and how the writers keep things fresh after more than 250 episodes! Join the show’s executive producers and writers as they take you inside the Writers’ Room for a lively discussion and special video presentation. From Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television, The Big Bang Theory returns for season 12 this fall, airing Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS. The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Eleventh Season is available now on Digital, and will be released this fall on Blu-ray™ and DVD. Become a fan of the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheBigBangTheory and follow the show on Twitter @BigBangTheory.

12:30-1:30 p.m.  DC Super Hero Girls Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Room 6DE) — The DC Super Hero Girls universe continues to expand with new original graphic novels Out of the Bottle and Search for Atlantis and an all-new animated action-comedy series featuring fresh character designs and storytelling from Emmy®–winning producer Lauren Faust (Super Best Friends Forever, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends).  The world may know them as Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batgirl, but not-so-typical teenagers Diana, Kara and Barbara, alongside their Super Hero friends have much more to deal with than just protecting the citizens of Metropolis from some of the most sinister school-aged Super-Villains of the DC Universe.  After all, being teens is tough enough, what with school, friends, family and the chaos that comes with managing a social life.  But add super powers and a secret identity to the mix, and things can get a lot more complicated.  Join DC Group Editor Marie Javins for a sneak peek at upcoming books, and producer Lauren Faust and other members of the creative team for a first look at this upcoming series.  DC Super Hero Girls is coming soon to Cartoon Network.  Follow Cartoon Network on Twitter at @CartoonNetwork and DC Super Hero Girls on Instagram at @dcsuperherogirls.

12:45-2:00 p.m.  World Premiere of Hulu’s Castle Rock (Ballroom 20) — scape the summer heat for a chilling world premiere screening of the first episode of J.J. Abrams and Stephen King’s psychological horror series about the hometown of some of your favorite nightmares.  You’ve read the books, you’ve seen the movies, you know the characters, but you’ve never heard the story of Castle Rock.  Following the screening, join the creators and executive producers Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason (Manhattan) along with stars Sissy Spacek (Carrie), Bill Skarsgard (It), Melanie Lynskey (Togetherness) and Jane Levy (Suburgatory) as they discuss the most tragic and disturbing town in America.  Prepare to sleep with the lights on.  From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Castle Rock premieres Wednesday, July 25 on Hulu.  Become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/CastleRockHulu and follow the series on Twitter at @castlerockhulu.

  SATURDAY, JULY 21

10:00-11:00 a.m. Unikitty! New Episode Premiere and Q&A (Room 6DE)–– Your favorite character from The LEGO® Movie, Unikitty, is bringing her joyous kingdom to Comic-Con!  Make sure to bring plenty of sparkle matter, positive vibes and all your questions as producers Lynn Wang and Ed Skudder, animation director Anna Hollingsworth and the voice cast, Tara Strong, Grey Griffin, Eric Bauza, H. Michael Croner, Roger Craig Smith will be there to share a brand-new episode and answer your questions.  Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Unikitty! airs Fridays at 6:30/5:30c on Cartoon Network. Follow Cartoon Network on Twitter at @CartoonNetwork.

11:00–11:45 a.m.  Black Lightning Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Ballroom 20) — Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, he must return as Black Lightning — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.  Join series stars Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Damon Gupton and James Remar and producer Salim Akil for an electrifying look at season two!  Based on the characters from DC, Black Lightning is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti, Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil, and Sarah Schechter. Black Lightning returns to The CW on Tuesday, October 9 at 9/8c. Black Lightning: The Complete First Season is available now on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital.  Become a fan of Black Lighting on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CWBlackLightning and follow the show on Twitter @BlackLightning and the hashtag #GetLit.

‪12:00–12:50 p.m. SYFY Panel: Krypton Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Indigo Ballroom) — After a mind-blowing season one finale that saw Krypton’s history drastically rewritten, the future of Superman has never been in greater jeopardy. Join series stars and executive producers of SYFY’s hit series as they discuss the many surprises of the first season and provide an inside look into what fans can expect in season two. From Warner Horizon Scripted Television and executive produced by David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Dark Knight trilogy) through his Phantom Four banner, along with Cameron Welsh, Krypton is based on characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, published by DC.  The series will return in 2019 on SYFY. Follow the show on Twitter at @KryptonSYFY.

1:00-2:00 p.m. Manifest Pilot Screening and Q&A (Indigo Ballroom) –– When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely in New York after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible. Join executive producer Jeff Rake (The Mysteries of Laura, The Tomorrow People, Boston Legal, Miss Match, The Practice) and series stars Melissa Roxburgh (Valor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies), Josh Dallas (Once Upon a Time, Thor), for an emotionally rich, unexpected journey into a world grounded in hope, heart and destiny.  Manifest premieres Monday, September 24 at 10/9c on NBC and is produced by Compari Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television.  Become a fan of Manifest on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NBCManifest and follow the show on Twitter @NBCManifest.

2:00–2:50 p.m.  Legacies Exclusive Video Presentation and Q&A (Indigo Ballroom) –– Continuing the tradition of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, Legacies is the third installment of this supernatural series about witches, vampires and werewolves.  The story follows 17-year-old Hope Mikaelson, daughter of Klaus Mikaelson along with Alaric Saltzman and his twins at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted as they come of age in the most unconventional way.  Join executive producer Julie Plec and series stars Danielle Rose Russell and Matthew Davis for a special video presentation followed by a Q&A.  From My So-Called Company, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios, Legacies premieres Thursday, October 25 at 9/8c on The CW.

3:30–4:15 p.m. Supergirl Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Ballroom 20) —  Season three saw Supergirl stop Reign and the other Worldkillers’ threat to humanity and our planet, and in the process, Kara was shocked to find her mother Alura alive and living in a salvaged Argo City that survived the destruction of Krypton. Reconnecting with her past caused Kara to realize that her true home is now here on Earth, where big changes are taking place for her and all of her friends in National City – and also, it appears, for a doppelganger in Russia! Season four promises to be full of surprises, action, adventure and lots of big revelations for Supergirl, Alex, James, J’onn, Lena and Brainy.  Join the series’ cast, Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, David Harewood, Katie McGrath and Jesse Rath and executive producers Robert Rovner, Jessica Queller and Sarah Schechter for a special video presentation, followed by a Q&A where they’ll discuss what’s to come and more! From Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Supergirl’s fourth season will premiere in its new Sunday 8/7c time period on The CW starting October 14.  Supergirl: The Complete Third Season is available now on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on September 18. Become a fan of the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheCWSupergirl and follow the show on Twitter at @TheCWSupergirl.

4:15–5:00 p.m. Arrow Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Ballroom 20)—There has been no shortage of close calls for Oliver Queen when it comes to protecting his Super Hero identity, but in the season six finale, he was finally backed into a corner and forced to reveal himself to the world as the Green Arrow. Now, Oliver will come face-to-face with many of the criminals he placed behind bars, as he makes a new home for himself at Slabside Maximum Security Prison. Oliver will find himself vulnerable in a way unlike ever before when a mysterious new enemy begins to unravel his work as Green Arrow, challenging him to redeem his name or risk losing everything. Join series stars Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Katie Cassidy, Echo Kellum, Juliana Harkavy, Rick Gonzalez and Colton Haynes and executive producer Beth Schwartz at their annual Comic-Con panel to be among the first to learn more about what this means for Oliver and the rest of his team. From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Arrow will return to The CW on Monday, October 15 at 8/7c, and Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season is available now on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on August 14. Become a fan of Arrow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CWArrow and follow the show on Twitter at @CW_Arrow.

 5:00–5:45 p.m. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Ballroom 20) — After defeating Mallus by cuddling him to death with a giant stuffed animal named Beebo, the Legends were ready to ease off the gas. That was until Constantine arrived to inform them that, in solving one major problem, they have created another, much larger one. When the Legends let time crumble in order to release and defeat Mallus, the barrier between worlds softened. History is now infected with “Fugitives” – magical creatures from myths, fairytales, and legends. Having been expelled throughout time by people like Constantine, these Fugitives are now returning to our world in droves and making a real mess of things. So when all hell breaks loose, who ya gonna call? That’s right, the Legends! Join the cast and creators of The CW’s zaniest Super Hero series – stars Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Dominic Purcell, Nick Zano, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Tala Ashe, Matt Ryan, Jes Macallan, Courtney Ford, showrunner Phil Klemmer and producer Keto Shimizu – at their annual Comic-Con panel for an in-person look at what makes this time-traveling crew tick. From Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will return to The CW on Monday, October 22 at 9/8c, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Second Season is available now on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on September 25. Become a fan of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CWLegendsofTomorrow and follow the show on Twitter at @TheCW_Legends.

5:45–6:30 p.m. The Flash Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Ballroom 20) — Matching wits with The Thinker, who by season’s end had harnessed the powers of all twelve bus metas he created, stretched Team Flash to their limits, but with the help of some new allies, Barry Allen (aka The Flash) and company were able to put a stop to the Enlightenment and save Central City once again. However, with the arrival of Barry and Iris’ speedster daughter, Nora, who arrived from the future admitting to having made a “big mistake,” things are anything but status quo. Will parenthood be the challenge that finally slows The Flash down? For answers to this, and all your other Season five questions, please join the cast and creators of The CW’s highest-rated series – stars Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Hartley Sawyer, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Danielle Nicolet and executive producer Todd Helbing – at their annual Comic-Con panel. From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, The Flash will return to The CW on Tuesday, October 9 at 8/7c. The Flash: The Complete Third Season is available now on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on August 28. Become a fan of The Flash on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CWTheFlash and follow the show on Twitter at @CW_TheFlash.

  SUNDAY, JULY 22

10:30–11:30 a.m. Supernatural Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Hall H) — Join the series’ stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Alexander Calvert and executive producers Robert Singer, Andrew Dabb, Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner in Hall H to answer questions about the shocking events in last season’s intense finale, as well as what’s in store for the 14th season of this exciting series, when the show will reach the rare milestone of 300 episodes! Fans will also be treated to an exclusive video presentation featuring series highlights! The 14th season of Supernatural will return to The CW on Thursday, October 11 in its 8/7c time period. The series is produced by Kripke Enterprises Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television. Supernatural: The Complete Thirteenth Season is available now on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on September 4. Become a fan of the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Supernatural and follow the show on Twitter at @cw_spn.

11:45a.m.–12:45p.m.  Riverdale Special Video Presentation and Q&A (Hall H) –– Following yet another drama-filled season and shocking season two finale, don’t miss Riverdale when it returns to San Diego for its third appearance at Comic-Con – this time in Hall H!  Join Archie and the gang as they continue to dive into the secrets that loom and keep emerging from the shadows in a town that once seemed like a quiet, ordinary place. The circumstances surrounding Archie’s arrest kick off the drama of season three as the gang tries to #FreeArchie and Hiram Lodge continues to flesh out his plans to control not only Riverdale, but the ever growing SoDale.  Based on the characters from Archie Comics and produced by Berlanti Productions (The Flash, Supergirl, Blindspot, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) in association with Warner Bros. Television, this one-hour drama is a bold, subversive take on the surreality of small-town life.  Join us for a special video presentation followed by a Q&A with series stars KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Marisol Nichols, Madelaine Petsch, Ashleigh Murray, Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, Skeet Ulrich, Mädchen Amick, Luke Perry and Vanessa Morgan and producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater.  Riverdale’s season three returns Wednesday, October 10 at 8/7c on The CW. Riverdale: The Complete Second Season is available now on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on August 7. Become a fan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CWRiverdale, and follow the show on Twitter at @CW_Riverdale.

  For additional information about WBTV’s SDCC plans along with real-time updates during the convention, follow on Twitter at @warnerbrostv (official hashtag #WBSDCC) and visit http://comiccon.thewb.com.

Also make sure you’re following the official Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for WBTVG series, talent, and producers: http://comiccon.thewb.com/wbtv-social-media-contacts/.

  Warner Bros. TV Unveils Comic-Con 2018 Line-Up (#WBSDCC) WBTV is bringing 15 series to San Diego Comic-Con next month, including The Flash, Supergirl…

Nehoda Strike Reflective Tone in New Music Video “But Anyways...”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

Words by Mark Brandt

Take a stroll through rock n’ roll. Marvel at its origins and where we’ve reached, during a span of several decades. Nehoda is certainly well aware of the path traveled. After originally playing solo, band founder Patrick Nehoda finally found his voice after meeting drummer Jeremy Gill and bassist Grayson Papa. The band shows reverence to many genres, from grunge to Americana and blues, from good ol’ rock n’ roll to '90s alternative rock. Its title, But Anyways, may seem flippant, but there is heartfelt sincerity in the trio’s writing and playing.

Patrick Nehoda is a rocking chameleon -- his guitar playing shifts effortlessly from mean riffing on opener “I Don’t Know” and “Afterglow,” through the Doors-esque blues of “Devil’s Bitch,” the alt-rock catchiness perfected by Dinosaur Jr. on “Shakey Pop, to the tender melodies that form “Please Don’t Go.” The last of these tracks, which rounds out the record, recalls Radiohead’s classic “True Love Waits” in its simplicity yet devastating effect.

Drummer Jeremy Gill and bassist Grayson Papa balance their respective roles perfectly. Gill knows when to let loose on his kit and when to leave it understated, while Papa lays down a solid foundation on which the melodies are constructed. Patrick had been playing as a solo artist for eight years before this band's current incarnation, but it wasn't until he teamed up with Gill and Papa that the music truly found its voice.

And indeed, master storyteller Mr. Nehoda has some yarns to spin against this new musical backdrop. Whether Faustian pacts on the already-acclaimed “Devil’s Bitch,”questioning someone’s authenticity in the title track, or wistful nostalgia on “Walk Away” (a choice lyric: “The promises of our youth keep fading, like your favorite pair of boots they keep aging.”), there’s a line for everybody to connect with.

His voice has the right amount of grit and soul, both out in full force on the emotive “Just Another Season,” as he wails “Why, why do I even try?” upon discovery of an unfaithful partner. A powerful song that no doubt sounds even more incredible on the stage -- and they’ve certainly been making their way around the US and UK/Europe already.

All in all, Nehoda provides the perfect soundtrack for many activities -- beer sipping, reminiscing, highway driving, and dancing among them. The album’s many parts are made into a well-crafted whole. But anyways, just listen to it.

☸

And now, Doomed & Stoned presents the premiere of Nehoda's new music video "But Anyways..." (title track from their recent December album). Filmed live at The 5 Spot in Nashville, it's melancholy mood, contemplative lyrics, and alt rock flair is just the change of pace we needed to ponder on a world gone mad.

Give ear...

Nehoda - But Anyways...

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Top Ten 2017 Games

That time of the year again, the end of the year is upon us. And as such, this will be my last post for this year on this website.

2017 has been a year of a LOT of good games. In fact, it’s argubly been the year of some of the best games ever made being released. Nintendo dominated this year with the Switch, several games have been said to be the best games of all time, and Microsoft shot themselves in the foot, again, with the Xbox One X.  So odds are there’s a lot of great games out there that people love.

Keep in mind, these are just my personal picks for the top ten. If your favorites aren’t here, don’t worry, they’re still great too! Just one rule though.

No ports. Aka no Skyrim, no Doom, no Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokken Tournament, etc. Let’s get this started!

10: CupHead (Xbox One)

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw CupHead I wasn’t exactly sure what to think of it. It looked like it was a tribute to the old cartoons from the 50s and that gave it a bit of a nice feel to it. But I didn’t expect the game to be anything fantastic. Especially given Microsoft’s recent track records with exclusives (Looking at YOU, Halo Wars 2). However, come to my surprise, CupHead is a great game! In fact, it’s so good it’s the only Microsoft title to be on this list. So what exactly keeps it from being in the top 5? Well....

It’s hard. Like, brutally hard. Make no mistake people, this game will kick you in the teeth if you try to go into it acting like you aren’t going to die. In CupHead, expect to die. A LOT. And yes, just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean the game sucks. No one ever says that unless it’s someone who absolutely hates challenges. But sometimes, you gotta give the player a chance to BREATHE. And while boss fights are doable once you learn the patterns, people who AREN’T patient are going to break their controllers. A lot.

Overall, Cuphead is a good game. But goddamn does it make you fight to survive.

9: Crash Bandicoot: Insane Trilogy (PS4)

Crash is back baby. Crash is back. Okay, he’s SORTA back, but hey, it’s nice to see that Sony wanted to have their mascot back! Last year when they showed this off at E3, I went “Welp. There goes Microsoft’s chances to getting back into first place.” (At the time of this post, there is no Xbone Port yet) Seriously I was hyped, if Crash was coming back, then there was a huge chance that Spyro could come back as well. Now Insane Trilogy is an HD remake of the original 3 games, updated to modern times. And damn. Just DAMN. These games looks absolutely stunning. Gameplay wise they are just like they should have been from the past as well. That’s a good thing....aaaaaaaaaaaaaand a bad thing.

Crash 1 is still the hardest of the trilogy, mostly because the game was not MEANT for speed run purposes, and some of the hitboxes in Crash 1 are still as bad as they were back in the day. And while having Coco being playable is a nice touch, she doesn’t really change that much in the games. She’s basically just an alt skin for Crash, and most of the death animations that Crash goes through she’s spared. It’s still a wonderful remake of the original three games, and I am very happy to see that it sold incredibly well. Maybe Activision and Sony might work together from now on to do MORE Crash games? Or at least, you know...give us a Spyro trilogy remake too? That’d be nice. Anyone? Please? ...No? Skylanders still? O-Okay.

8: ARMS (Nintendo)

Oh yes. Now we’re getting into some Nintendo titles. (Be prepared, there’s a LOT of them here.) ARMS is basically what I would like to call the ‘Splatoon of fighting games.’ When they did the full presentation of ARMS back in January this year, I was one of the view that didn’t seem to out right hate the concept of ARMS. I thought it looked like a blast to play, plus fighting games are awesome. ARMS thankfully to me, did not disappoint. In the months of waiting for Splatoon 2 and other Switch titles to come out, ARMS was there. And for what it’s worth? The game is a blast to play. Simple controls that one can get use to, wonderfully designed characters, beautiful music, intense hype as hell battles, and being able to combine different arms with one another based on your fighting style is a great thing. Many hours were put into ARMS trying to get more unique ARMS to use in battle.

That’s...kinda where some of the good stops. The game’s great, don’t get me wrong, but there were some things I feel ARMS needed to be more active on launch. For one, a better story mode. Arcade mode is basically what you get. Info on your fighter, what they’re fighting style is like, and that’s pretty much it. There’s no story building, no interactions between characters, and that can KINDA hurt a fighting game this year when you have Injustice 2 showing how to do a story in a fighting game. Mind you, this is just a MINOR flaw to me.

Overall, ARMS is a lovable experience. And I’m glad to see that it got all the support they said they were going to give it. Maybe the comics will be just as good, or at least have more stuff for ARMS 2. (If they make it.)

7: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Nintendo)

If you would have told me that this game, this game, would be on this list this year or that I would find it to be one of my favorite games this year at the start of January? I would have smacked you in the mouth. I should make this clear to everyone.

I. Hate. The Rabbids.

When I first heard about this game from that huge leak from Ubisoft, I first thought “What? Are you shitting me? Mario and Rabbids crossover? And they have GUNS? What the hell is this? Is this gonna be MARIO OF WAR 4 where it’s a third person shooter? Come on Nintendo.”

Then E3 happened. Oh boy, did I get proved wrong by Ubisoft.

Kingdom Battle isn’t ANYWHERE close to the over done third person shooter area. It’s bright, colorful, charming, actually kinda funny in moments (that’s saying something given the Rabbids’ history) and believe it or not...

Actually...a LOT of fun.

No, seriously. This is one of the most fun games I’ve played this year. Bar none. It’s hard to believe I’m saying that about a Rabbids game that’s crossed over with Mario of all franchises, but it’s true. The game is the first huge strategic game on the Switch and I’m happy to report that the game plays damn well. Think of it like Xcom. Where you actually have to think out your strategies and make certain you know the map well enough.

The only kind of flaws I could give the game is that well...it’s kinda short. Four worlds, each with large maps to do battle, and the story is just kinda...there. Like they explain how the two series meet and everything, but it’s just...there. Not like I expected a huge story from a Mario + Rabbids game, but it would have been interesting to see them go a BIT more into it. Ah well, the DLC will probably cover that.

6: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Nintendo)

And here we have the first Fire Emblem game on this list (Someone’s gonna get upset somewhere). Shadows of Valentia is the first game that uses the classic gameplay the series has been known for that I’ve played since Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Which we’ll get into why THAT game sucks another time...) and to be honest? This game really really contends with Awakening as my favorite FE title.

I love a lot of things about Shadows of Valentia. The storyline is enjoyable, the art style is absolutely beautiful, the music is GODLY, the battles are intense and force you to be on your toes, the character models look absolutely gorgeous for a 3DS game, and the characters are wonderfully written. No joke, Alm and Celica, as ‘bland’ as they can be, are some of my favorite FE characters now.

The only thing I can really say that is sort of a draw back to this game is that...well, how it will test your patience. No joke, the maps are fantastic and the gameplay is a joy to go through, but GOD in heaven above, do some maps want to test your will to continue. Especially maps that have the annoying spell known as UPHEAVAL which damages everyone in your army on sight AND...ahem, let’s save that rant for another time.

Over all, Shadows of Valentia is a great remake of the second game in the series. If you have a 3DS, which is going to be put to rest soon, I would recommend getting this game. It’s fantastic.

5: Fire Emblem Warriors (Nintendo)

Annnnnnnnnnd there goes some of the older FE fans booing at me liking this game. Yes, the game is only Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates. Yes, some of the other characters (Celica and Lyn) are the only representatives of their games, yes some characters have the same moves as others. But you know what? I don’t care.

I. LOVE. THIS. GAME.

It’s fun, it’s stupid mindless fun, and enjoyable. I know most fans may not like the fact that it’s three games over the many others, but to me? I am happy with the choices they’ve made.

Combat is smooth and stylish, like Warriors games tend to be, the animations are wonderful, the controls respond perfectly, and just seeing the way that characters interact with one another is fantastic. I love hearing them call each other’s names when they do a dual strike together. I love how over the top some attacks can get, and I love the ability to switch between units on the fly.

Yes the story’s a lil stupid, and yes they should have included other games in the franchise too, but I like it. If you want to turn your brain off, this is the game for you. It got into my list because I’m a fan who doesn’t hold favoritism over others. Just don’t be rude to people who don’t like the game, and vice versa and you might find a gem.

4: Metroid: Samus Returns (Nintendo)

Yeaaaaah, there’s a lot of Nintendo games.

If you would have told me that Nintendo was going to show off not only Metroid Prime 4 and a new classic Metriod game this year at E3, I would have called you a liar. And to my surprise, they did it. They actually did it. Prime 4 during the new stuff for Nintendo Switch, AND during the after presentation, a new Metroid title to be released this year.

Samus Returns is what I would like to call one of the best looking, and best playable, games on the 3DS. This game I could even consider it to be a swan song. Everything from classic Metroid is here. Charge shots, wall jumps, bombs, beam upgrades, etc. It’s all there. As an official remake of Metroid 2, people were happy to see that Nintendo not only DID care for Metroid, but it shed some light as to why AM2R was taken down. There’s really not much to complain about when it comes to this game. It plays well, responds well, and really teases at more future Metroid games down the line. To which I say...please give us more.

I wanna see Metroid Dread. Do it Nintendo.

TOP THREE.

Oh boy...these three were hard to decide their order. I’ll give short paragraphs for them as I feel I’ve dragged this list out long enough. That and really, I don’t have complaints for these three. These three are the best of the best. Hands down. The best games this year easily.

3: Persona 5 (PS4)

This. Game. Holy shit this game. RPGs live. And Persona 5 has shown the world, and more importantly Square Enix, that turn based RPGS still live. And goddamn, is this game amazing. Fantastic story, fantastic characters, fantastic music, spot on battle system, wonderful dialogue, wonderful artstyle, wonderful EVERYTHING. GET THIS GAME.

2: Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)

Easily the best 3D Mario game ever made. No seriously, it’s fantastic. If you own a Switch, you need to get this game. It’s beautiful and is just a charm to play through. Also god DAMN does it play so smooth.

1: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

I know. Predictable. But you know what? I don’t care. This game, this game is my favorite game this year. From exploring Hyrule, fighting enemies, discovering what meals to cook, the wonderful story, and just how much of a riveting experience it has been, I can NOT put this game at number 1. It was the first huge game this year, and I feel it deserves the praise that it’s been getting. I spent many hours playing this game, and I am glad to say that it’s my number one game this year.

And that’s how we send off 2017. Let’s hope 2018 is a good year for games as well!

PS: Also Splatoon 2 is a huge honorary mention.

SKAM

The precedent that Norwegian TV Show Skam has now set for the often ridiculed ‘teen drama’ genre is unparalleled in my view. I myself can’t deny I cried like a baby during the last episode of the series and I’ve come to ask myself what makes this show so special? What makes Skam Skam? And why do I believe it should be the anthem for all teenagers?

The title itself translated to English means ‘Shame’. Which is touched upon during the opening scene of episode one. Jonas recites his essay about consumerism, capitalism, inequality and the oblivious privileged. This ‘first world shame’ that everyone in the Western world should feel encumbered by is something we often see as a fixed and unchangeable way of the world. So what can we, teenage privileged Westerners do about this Shame?

As teenagers we can easily be blamed for doing very little for society, but I believe it’s hard to know how to make the world better if we don’t know our place in it.

Season 1 of Skam portrayed the very familiar journey of self-love and self-discovery that so many young adults embark upon during this time in their life. Eva’s journey throughout the season was to discover her own opinion despite other people. “Your opinion mattered more to me than my own, and that’s not how it should be.”

Season 2 followed Noora, an already very self-assured and confident person as she navigates the precipice of adulthood; discovering that no matter how well you know yourself or how well you think you can judge someone, there will always be more to learn from society and its people. “Be Kind. Always.” “People need people.”

Season 3 was about Isak and Even, who found themselves feeling scared to reach out to each other and the people around them, even though they know people are there. Season three’s message focused on overcoming the dreaded sense of loneliness through consistence and patience. “You’re not alone.” “Minute by minute.”

Season 4 wrapped up the series with Sana, an individual who journeys along all previous character arcs at once; coming to find who she is, learning there is always more to learn, and reaching out to those around her. In a way, we ourselves are Sana because we ourselves must discover all these things through these years.

The show ends with another speech from Jonas. Who again addresses the impending doom of western ideologies and the fear that inhibits any dystopia. But leaves us with the clear and overarching message of the anthemic show:

Alt er Love.

We shouldn’t feel shame if at least we spread love.

An Internet Primer

===An Internet Primer=== Non-profit and free for redistribution Written on August 24th | 2016 Published on August 24th | 2016 For entertainment and research purposes only

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===DISCLAIMER=== The Paranoid's Bible and its writers hold no responsibility for the acts of others. The Paranoid’s Bible is for research and entertainment purposes only. Please visit our blog for more PDFs and information: http://www.paranoidsbible.tumblr.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===Preface=== While many still argue about how their own views on the history of the internet are the truth, we do know the core timeline consists of the “Electronic computer” being developed in the 1950s. From there the ARPANET was created and quickly adopted the Internet Protocol, which soon began a wildly discussed and argued about origin story of the internet sometime in the 80s. However, while many will even argue the core facts to the point of the internet being born either earlier or later in the timeline, we do know that Usenet wasn’t too far away. With the birth of Usenet, things like the BBS, Internet forum and terms like “Eternal September” quickly cropped up in a rapid session of growth and expanse. Now things like Blogging or Social Media are common, and people with rose tinted glasses grow remorseful of how inclusive the internet has become. Now, the early adopters and users aren’t too far off with their remorse, sadly… You see, many of the modern day users have grown complacent and wholly unaware of even the simplest uses of OPSEC. This guide aims at giving the average user a simple and quick primer to enhance their privacy and security when using the internet. This guide isn’t a quick-fix or one-button solution to your problems or concerns, however it’s better than nothing when paired with the other guides listed in the “Blue Primer”. __References__ • Net History (http://www.nethistory.info/History of the Internet/origins.html) • Internet Society (http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet) • History of the Internet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet) • ARPANET (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET) • Internet protocol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol) • Usenet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet) • BBS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system) • Internet Forum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum) • Eternal September (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September) • OPSEC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_security) • Blog (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog) • Social Media (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===The Browser=== The gateway to the internet, for the modern and average user, is their browser (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser). It’s a piece of software meant to help people transverse the World Wide Web by retrieving and presenting information resources taken from the internet. The modern browser is pre-built, requires hardly any tweaking, and is rarely, if ever, fully customizable. However, as more people aim for a free software or an open-source style of use, more browsers do offer some level of customization that range from modifying the settings under the hood to themes and other frivolous aesthetical customizations. With so many choices, people usually stick to Internet Explorer or Google chrome; however these browsers leave a lot of wanting when it comes to usability. Chrome also has a notorious past of spying on you (http://betanews.com/2015/06/24/is-google-chrome-spying-on-you/) without giving you a warning, which shouldn’t be such a surprise with all the claims of Chrome being a botnet (https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/Botnet) and not asking permission (http://www.netcompetition.org/antitrust/google-on-chrome-we-dont-need-your-permission) for accessing a user’s computer. Ultimately, anything with Microsoft or Google is unavoidable, sadly, and a lot of work has to take place in order to avoid leaking information or having it sold. But that’s the way things flow as of late, especially when “Don’t Be Evil” is dropped in favor of “Do the Right Thing” (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/10/02/as-google-becomes-alphabet-dont-be-evil-vanishes/). So, what does that mean for the average user? Research your quickly dwindling choices for what browser you should use, which will reside between two browsers and one’s many, many flavors. If you want something other than Mozilla Firefox, then try Brave (https://brave.com/) (Not recommended due to its newness) or Palemoon (https://www.palemoon.org/) (Based upon a fork of Firefox) or IceCat (https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/). However, for the sake of usability and quick to use features, we recommended, begrudgingly, Mozilla Firefox (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/). When you visit Firefox’s webpage, select the appropriate version for your operating system. Once downloaded, double click and follow the on screen prompts. When it comes to selecting “Standard” or Custom” ensure you select custom. ***Leave the default installation path, unless you wish to install elsewhere. *** ***The reason for removing the installation service is quite simple: *** Less communication between the browser and other sources, the less information leaked. Now ensure you've also unchecked/disabled the "Maintenance service" before proceeding. Selecting shortcuts/icons is ultimately up to you. The same applies to it being the default browser—it’s up to you. Once installed, it’s time for some basic customization and add-on installation. The first thing you’ll notice is an “import wizard” pop-up. You don’t want to import anything unless you’ve some backups of your bookmarks. Other than that, ignore it and wait for the browser to load. From there, we’ll ignore the “Firefox account” prompt. You don’t want to sync or backup, anything, unless it’s an html or json file for your bookmark backups. Syncing accounts and saving passwords spells doom, gloom and big brother (sometimes literally your big brother or sister) spying on your info and peaking into your accounts and other online items (if not leaking it in a data dump). Seriously, ignore prompts to sync or save information. You’ll also want to ignore the private browsing mode. It’s not private, information is still saved, and people can still use exploits to get at your information. Press the ALT button on your keyboard to get the menu bar to appear. From there, select the tools menu and then the “Options” submenu.   Press ALT button > Tools menu > Options sub-menu. When the options window pops up, you’ll want to start in the “General tab” Disable/uncheck “Always check if Firefox is your default browser” and set your homepage to whatever you want. Never let files save to downloads, you want to have it “Always ask” where to save them. On top of that disable all the "Tabs" options but "Open news windows in a new tab instead". We do suggest using “Start Page” (https://www.startpage.com/) for your homepage and search engine needs. Now click the "Search" tab and uncheck everything and delete all the "One-click Search Engines" options. From there, Go to the start page website, you should see an “Add to Firefox” option, select that. You should also, to prevent accidental use, remove all other search engines from the “Search” tab. Google, among several other engines, tend to cache and keep track of your search history and click stream (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clickstream). On top of that, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and a few others, will store and keep your search history saved to your accounts if logged into them, at all, while searching. On the “Content tab,” uncheck/disable everything but "Block pop-up windows". Now select the “Advanced” button and click it. From there, disable the option titled "Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selection above". This just prevents sites from using intrusive and generally distasteful fonts and also limits their control over your browsing experience and browser.   Everything in the “Applications tab” should be set to always ask or preview in Firefox. The only thing you can safely set to a default application would be shockwave flash, which should be disabled by default in the plug-ins menu. The “Privacy tab” should be straightforward; however most will recommend that you disable “Third-party cookies" but since this primer is aimed at providing some security, privacy, yet retain usability for the average user… You should disable everything but: "Use Tracking Protection in Private Windows"; "Accept cookies from sites"; Clear history when Firefox closes. Set 3rd party cookie to never, if you wish, however some banking sites lose functionality due to this. You should also set "Keep until" to "I close Firefox". Now click the "settings..." tab on on the Privacy menu and select everything there. In the “Security tab,” it’s again straightforward; however please do understand that the whole “Blocking dangerous and deceptive content” options are disabled due to the fact that, again, the less communication given over to the browser and its creators the better you’re off security and privacy wise. Basically uncheck everything but "Warn me when sites try to install add-ons".   ***Ignore the sync tab. *** Everything in the “Advanced tab” is straight forward and should be self explanatory. Advanced > General > Disable/uncheck everything but the four settings under "Browsing. Advanced > Data Choices > Uncheck all Advanced > Network > Check all and set cache to 0 Advanced > Update > Uncheck all and set to "Never check for updates" Advanced > Certificates > Set to "Ask me every time" and check the one setting there. Once done, exit out of Firefox and start it up again. This is just to ensure everything sticks and is working due to some of the more current versions of Firefox have had a habit to ignore settings from time to time and resetting things to default. Now we’ll go to the Firefox Add-on page and work our way toward customizing Firefox a bit to improve usability and its overall feel. First off, we’ll work on the aesthetics aspect a bit just to improve the overall feel of the browser due to its copy-catting of the Apple simplicity meme. ***You’ll want these add-ons:*** • Black YouTube Theme - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/black-youtube-theme • Classic Theme Restorer - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/classicthemerestorer/ • Smaller View - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/smaller-view/?src=search You should notice a considerable difference in your browser once restarted. More precisely, it’ll be easier to navigate and find your menus now. The YouTube theme is simply preference and feels easier on the eyes compared to the default theme of the site. Now, before we continue forward with the add-ons. Let’s do a bit of tweaking to the look of the browser. You should see icons on the upper right-hand corner. Right-click on the icons and select “Customize,” which should open up a new tab/window that’ll allow you to move the icons as you wish.   Remove all the icons present, except the down arrow/download icon. From there, close the window and right-click on the bar, again, and select the three bars/toolbars shown. You can also ignore the “Menu Bar” option if you wish to just use the orange drop-down menu. In the URL bar, type in About:config. You should see something similar like the below cap. Uncheck the “Show this warning next time”. And then, from there, click the “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button. In the search bar within the about:config window, ***enter this:*** browser.newtabpage.directory.source You should see a string with the name you searched, double-click it and delete the string of text. Once done, exit out of that tab and open a new tab. Click the cog wheel icon in the right-hand corner and select “Show blank page”. You should now be rid of those pesky tiles and most of the ADs that Firefox forces down your throat. You can now add the rest of the add-ons, which you can find listed below. Add-ons: • Better Privacy - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/ • BluHell Firewall - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bluhell-firewall/ • Configuration Mania - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/configuration-mania-4420/ • Decentraleyes - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/decentraleyes/ • Disconnect - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disconnect/ • HTTPS Everywhere - https://www.eff.org/Https-everywhere • PureURL - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pure-url/ • Quick Java - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/quickjava/ • Self-Destructing Cookies - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/self-destructing-cookies/ • Smart Refer - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/smart-referer/ • Track Me Not - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/trackmenot/ Now restart the browser. You should get a pop-up from HTTPS Everywhere, hit “No” and then right-click anywhere and select “Customize”. You’ll want everything arrange to your own taste, note that there exists an icon with two cog wheels. This belongs to “Configuration mania” and should be added for ease of use and access. Now, click the orange menu button and click the add-on menu. We’ll be working our way down the list, alphabetically, and modifying a handful of settings for some of the add-ons before we end this chapter. Starting with “Better Privacy,” go ahead and hit “Options”. You’ll want to select the “Options & Help” tab and adjust your settings to look similar to the ones listed below: •    Delete flash cookies on exit - checked •    Add LSO item to Firefox ‘Clear History’ dialog – unchecked •    Always ask - unchecked •    Delete flash cookies on application start - checked •    Delete cookies by timer – checked •    Not if modified within time interval – checked •    Time interval 1 second •    LSO delete shortcut – blanked •    Also delete flashplayer default cookie – checked •    On cookie deletion also delete empty cookie folders – checked •    Notify if new LSO is stored – unchecked •    Auto protect LSO sub-folders – checked •    Disable ping tracking •    Prevent Firefox ‘Clear recent history function’ – checked •    Portable mode – unchecked  Everything else can be ignored and you can go directly to “Configuration Mania” and select “Options”. Browser tab > Tab Browsing > Everything checked but the below: •    Enable about:newtab – unchecked •    Close the window when closing its last tab – unchecked •    Open the results in a new tab when searching from search bar –unchecked •    On CTRL + TAB – unchecked •    On taskbar (windows 7) – unchecked Now head over to the “Bookmark icons (favicons)” tab. Browser tab > Bookmark icons > Uncheck the two settings there. Finally go to the “Web API” tab in browser tab and deselect/uncheck everything there. From there, find the “Security” tab that should be right under the “Browser” tab and select the “Javascript” tab, everything there should be checked and all the other tabs left alone. Now, before we select “Smart Refer” please go to about:Config by entering “About:config” into the URL bar. From there, search for: network.http.sendRefererHeader You’ll want to either set it to 0 to not send a ref or to 1 to keep things somewhat clean and compatible. 2, however, is default and will always send a ref. So, ‘0’ if you don’t want to send a ref or ‘1’ to prevent most cross-site tracking and keep compatibility when visiting websites. Now go to “Smart Refer” and select “Options”. ***Set the drop down to: *** Send nothing as a referrer, looking like a direct hit. Once done, go and mosey on over to “Track Me Not” and hit “Options”. Set your settings as such: •    Enabled – checked •    Use tab search – unchecked •    Enable query burst – checked •    All search engines checked •    Query frequency: 10 per min •    Disabled – checked •    Persistent – unchecked •    Use list – checked •    Generate queries – unchecked Once you’re in TMN’s options, you’ll want to use recommend  RSS feeds for the add-on (hit validate once done): http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/HomePage.xml|http://rss.cnn.com/rss/cnn_topstories.rss|http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032091/device/rss/rss.xml|http://www.theregister.co.uk/headlines.rss|www.reddit.com/r/science/.rs|http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/.rss|http://www.reddit.com/r/kawaii.rss|http://www.reddit.com/r/kittens.rss|http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace.rss|http://www.reddit.com/r/steam.rss We also recommend these words for your black list: bomb,porn,pornographie, porn, pornography, rape, rapists, rape culture, bombs, pipebomb, ied, bdms, bdsm, raping, raped, murder, murdering, lolicon, loli, cp, child porn, pthc, jbhc, shota, shotacon, ISIS, ISIL   Once done with the add-ons, head on over to about:Config once more. You’ll want to implement these three settings to ensure you limited some of the tracking methods employed by websites and online trackers commonly found on Tumblr and other social media platforms. ===Settings to change:=== • browser.display.use_document_fonts = 0 • dom.storage.enabled = false • browser.sessionhistory.max_entries = 2 Once done, you can add whatever add-ons you want, ***however remember this simple rule: *** If you don’t need or use it, don’t install it or enable it. That’s why we had you install Quick-Java. Quick Java’s little bar, which is added to Firefox upon installation, allows you to disable and enable certain plug-ins on the fly. This is a wondrous little time saver and is a good thing to have at hand when you wish to browse the internet. When browsing, without having to login or watch something, your settings with quick-java should look something like this:  Everything red/disabled but I (Images); A (Animations); CS (Style) When you do need to log into an account or want to watch YouTube or something similar, you’ll need it to look like this: Everything red/disabled but JS (Javascript); C (Cookies); I (Images); CS (Style) Give or take the fact that you may need to enable flash (The “F” button). However, YouTube, and some other sites, are offering the use of HTML5 and Flash. So, if you don’t need to enable flash, don’t do so. Flash can leak a lot of data in the end. It also helps to outright not have anything enabled (sans the last three buttons) when you’re just doing research or looking up something. Only enable cookies and JavaScript (the “JS” and “C” buttons) when you actively need to log into an account or a website. This will help lessen the data diarrhea your browser has and help you retain some privacy without breaking your browser, yet many more configurations and add-ons are needed to even achieve some form of security or privacy. ***And, just as an FYI: *** This shouldn’t break your browser, at all, or your use of any websites. If something doesn’t work properly, try disabling BluHell Firewall by clicking the blue-devil icon on your browser. If that doesn’t work, try disabling Clean links, which has an icon of a broom wrapped in a chain-link. Outside of those two add-ons, you don’t need to disable anything as nothing should break or prevent you from logging into any websites. Ultimately though, this configuration, and the add-ons suggested, only helps lessen the effectiveness of the trackers and counters offered to civilians and the public at large. Some Ads will be blocked, along with a metaphorical ton of malicious content, however you’ll need to look into using Peerblock and Hostman if you want to lessen it even more so than what you can with this browser setup. We offer two guides that discuss the use of Peerblock and Hostman, among other things. However, save those for a later date as they’re a bit more advanced than what this guide has to offer. We’ll also be hosting what we call the “Blue Primer,” which is an archive of the most basic of information for those who wish to lessen their data footprint, prevent tracking and lessen their chances of being doxed. If you haven’t gotten this guide from the blue primer, please look into downloading it and reading the other guides within it. As for this chapter of this guide… you’re done! Move on to the next chapter, reader. ***P.S:*** Avoid using password storage, password sorters and similar features or add-ons. Write down your password, if you must, and hide it where no-one will find it but you. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===E-mail=== Electronic mail (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email), shortened to E-mail, is one of many means to exchange digital messages between computers and their users. However, since seeing frequent use in the 60s to now, e-mail has become used more as a means of identification than communication when needing to sign up for an account or do some sort of business based task, or being a responsible adult and working on your taxes or banking. Now, e-mail is just one of the many methods sites use to prevent bots, scammers and spammers from joining their communities. When you need to sign up for an account, you usually need to provide an e-mail from a provider that they’ve yet to blacklist (***Example:*** most common temporary e-mail services have been blocked by FaceBook). The average internet user will usually use of the main three: Google; Hotmail/Live/Outlook; Yahoo. •    https://www.gmail.com/ •    https://login.live.com/ •    https://login.yahoo.com/ Sometimes Yandex (https://mail.yandex.com/), among similar non-US based e-mail providers will be used, however the main three tend to rule. The issue with the main three (Shortened from now on to MT) is that they require a lot of data and “verifications” to ensure that it’s you who’re signing up or at least not someone with malicious intent. This wouldn’t be such a large issue if it wasn’t for the fact that the MT are notorious data collectors who work in unison with the government, among other groups, to not only data-mine and spy, but also possibly put down dissenters. If any of this comes to light as being true and not just some gossiping theories put forth by many privacy groups, then that just shows how much of your information is at stake. However, with the MT track records, it shouldn’t be that big of a stretch to see how or why they’d work with the government. But what does this mean for you, someone who needs an e-mail address and doesn’t want to risk their information or someone knowing they’re a part of “Sexy Jewish Singles” with the kink of “Eating pork on the Sabbath”? Well, the first step you should take, outside of doing the bare minimum to secure your browser, would be to look into using alternative e-mail providers when signing up for an account. There are numerous providers, however not all will exist or become permanent fixtures in the years to come, which means you have to pay attention to news and keep an eye on the services to use. As of now, Privacy Tools has a wonderful list of e-mail providers (https://www.privacytools.io/#email) you can use, and since most of us are frugal-minded to the point of being cheap, these four should hopefully sedate your lust for a free, secure e-mail provider. E-mail providers: • Mail Fence - https://www.mailfence.com/ • Open Mail Box - https://www.openmailbox.org/ • Proton Mail - https://protonmail.com/ • Tutanota - https://tutanota.com/ The four e-mail providers are free, yes, and support a variety of features aimed at protecting your privacy, however they aren’t like your usual e-mail provider. They often don’t ask for a secondary e-mail or a security question, nor do they offer any means to do so in case of someone taking over. Another issue, for many, is the fact that you can’t sync or linking accounts together—this is a good thing, though. Syncing, storing or linking accounts is something you shouldn’t do, at all. Your accounts should always be separated, never touching and kept as far apart from each other as possible. Now, personally, we recommend you use a mix of these e-mails each time you create an account or sign up for some service or another that isn’t tied to you offline(***Example:*** like banking, bills, school or work). You see, as much as we dislike the MT, you should honestly have one account on each specifically for stuff that’s offline. The reason for this is simple: You’ll generate enough of a trail to not be suspicious. For instance, Google, as much as it’s a heavily invasive mega-corp, does have a pretty decent setup for their GMAIL service. You should create an account there and have it used specifically for your banking, bills and similar items. Hotmail/Outlook/Live mail is way below GMAIL, however you should use this specifically for school and similar items to keep people away from your financial records, yet close enough to a normal provider that no one will question you if you simply state that they can send it to you over e-mail instead on some social media site. Yahoo, as much as it’s a disastrous service and corporation, won’t look out of place for business related subjects or questions. It’s simply a matter of coming up with a professional sounding username for the MT accounts and keeping them separated from each other. Never using the same MT account for different applications or accounts, and never letting them touch each other. With that out of the way, however, you should try to keep each account, regardless of the provider, isolated from each other—never using the same user, password, secondary e-mail, or information, ever. The only time you should ever use your legitimate information is for the MT accounts, which should only be used for work, school or financial items. ***Remember:*** Never save your passwords on your computer and never use a password manager. Write down your password and the piece of paper with it somewhere safe and away from people trying to find it. Use a lockbox if you must, but never save this info on your computer. Also look into writing down each account’s information down and hiding that paper, too, so you never forgot it. ***Remember 2:*** Use one of the free e-mail services to create a mess free secondary e-mail to use with the MT e-mails. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===Passwords=== Your password (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password) is the key to your account, without it you can’t login without going through an entire process of laziness meant to make it easier on the geeks who run the website you’re a part of or at least the “Help desk”. You see, that’s all a lost password request is: Laziness. It doesn’t mean you’re lazy, though, it just means you’re forgetful like everyone else. However, the people who run the site don’t want to deal with properly verifying your claim to your account, so they created these claims of simplicity where you submit a request to retrieve or change your password. That is where laziness comes in. Anyone who spent time researching you and applied a liberal dose of social engineering will be able to guess certain security questions and your e-mail addresses to the point of being able hijack your account(s). This is why it pays to keep e-mails separated, not to use the same username twice, and to have a strong password. Your password should be eight (8) to 15 (15) characters long and consist of randomly select characters that range from upper case letters (ABC) to lowercase letters (abc) to numbers (123), punctuation (.,;?!) and special characters ($%#). Your password will not only be hard to remember, but also hard to guess. This is why you should write it down on a piece of information and hide it in a lockbox or locked drawer where no one will get at it, ever. You should also avoid password managers, syncing your information, using “Master passwords,” reusing your password, or saving it on your computer or phone. Think of your password as a unique key and each account a unique door—you need a specific key for a specific door, ergo never use the same password twice. Always randomize your passwords, their length and the characters used to the point of each one never being overly similar. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===Accounts=== An account is like a membership you apply for when you join a community or a website. And like a membership, the difficulty to obtain an account ranges from something as easy as a username + password or to the near-impossible where you need to provide an arm length’s of information and an invite code. Regardless of what you’re signing up for, however, you need to learn to compartmentalize each account and profile into its own isolated object. You don’t need to interlink your information, account or anything like that. You don’t even need to sync it up to your e-mails or our phone. You don’t need 40+ accounts across the internet. You need what you need, and at that, you only need it if there’s a reason for it. So, in theory, what accounts do you truly need? ===Steam or Origin?=== You don’t need them, however gaming is a decent way to unwind and do something mindlessly to try and clear your head of troublesome thoughts. Honestly, though, do you really need any of those accounts? Well, yes, if you don’t believe in piracy or simply wish to support the developers you prefer. But you don’t need it to live or survive. There are plenty of non-DRM options that range from freeware to physical media options that don’t need an internet connection in order to play it. ===YouTube?=== You don’t need to one to watch videos or enjoy them. You only need an account if you, yourself, plan to comment, rate or upload videos. Do you really need to do that? There hundreds of ways to express yourself that don’t require you sitting in a chair, staring at your computer, and reviewing bottles of Fuji water from when it first was released. You’ll need accounts or simply want to make an account, for whatever reason, and participate in the community or reap the benefits of releasing your information for that slim chance of being “Internet famous”. No matter the reason, though, you need to treat your account and its associated profile as a contained fire during a camping trip. You want to give only as much information as is required, not what they offer you to give up. For instance: Your username shouldn’t be your real name or a nick name that you’ve been called before. It should be completely unique and unrelated to anything else you’ve made, claimed, were called or even thought about using. It should also be different from the e-mail address that you’re using for the account. Ultimately, outside of paid accounts or billing information, not a single thing on your profile should lead back to you or be associated with you or anything related to you. You shouldn’t use the same password, e-mail address, username or anything that you’ve used on another account. And, at that, no account should be linked, synced or associated with each other in any way possible. These accounts and profiles, depending on their settings, should be made as private as possible and be as minimalistic as possible. You could, in theory, supply false information in your bio or “about me” to create a false digital trail just in case, however leaving no information is better than leaving some. And, truthfully, you should avoid having more than ten (10) accounts at any given time. When an account is no longer useful, you should just follow the Paranoid’s Bible PDF and how to properly dispose of an account and the information associated with it. Never leaving a trace behind and letting the account and its information pass peacefully away before deletion. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ===Afterword==== This is nothing more than the barest basics needed to keep some sort of privacy when using the internet and trying to avoid being doxed during some kind of discourse. This won’t make you 100% anonymous, nor will it make you undetectable when it comes to the government, yet it’s better than nothing.

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Mansarovar lake

The epic third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything―and everyone―she holds dear.As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers―both magical and political―and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places. In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the fate of Feyre’s world is at stake as armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy it. [amz_corss_sell asin=”1635575591″] A Court of Wings and Ruin The epic third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J.

The comics that will be available during Halloween ComicFest 2019 this October were officially revealed today, including 19 full size and nine mini comics, featuring Batman, Spider-Man, Boba Fett, Ghost-rider, the kid-slasher parody Junior High Horrors (pictured above), and many more.

Read on for the full press release and the complete list of 2019 titles, and then enjoy browsing through our photo gallery of all the Halloween comic covers coming your way for the 8th annual Halloween ComicFest.

This year, Halloween ComicFest (HCF) features a whole new selection of 28 comic book titles for the industry’s most anticipated fall event taking place Saturday, October 26, 2019 at participating comic shops worldwide.

Of the 28 titles available, 19 are Full Size and 9 are Mini Comics for fans to pick up and enjoy. All will be available for free at participating comic shops on Saturday, October 26th, with the Mini Comics also available for purchase in packs of 25 for $4.99 at the beginning of October—a perfect item to give to trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

“This year’s Halloween ComicFest is poised to be bigger and better than last year!” said Halloween ComicFest spokesperson Ashton Greenwood. “The comics available this year are designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes, from the all-ages Mini Comics featuring popular properties like Archie, DC Superhero Girls, Nickelodeon’s The Loud House, and Pokémon, while the Full-Size Comics feature well-known characters like Sonic the Hedgehog, Boba Fett, Iron Man, and Batman. Halloween ComicFest is the perfect time to discover the wonders of comic shops and experience them as premiere destinations for Halloween fun!”

Read on for the complete listing of all Halloween ComicFest 2019 comics and our gallery of the covers for each.

HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2019 FULL SIZE COMICS AfterShock Comics | Dark Red #1 Halloween ComicFest B&W Edition – Charles “Chip” Ipswich isn’t one of those coastal elites with a liberal arts degree and a job at a social media start-up who knows where all the best brunch places are… No, Chip is one of the “forgotten men.” He lives in a rural area in the middle of the country where Jesus still has a place at the dinner table and where factories ship jobs to Calcutta. Chip is also a vampire. Stuck working the last shift at a gas station, Chip is lonely and bored…and then his dull, bleak life is turned upside down when SHE comes to town. SPECIAL BLACK AND WHITE REPRINT. Tim Seeley (BRLLIANT TRASH) and Corin Howell bring you a contemporary and horrifying tale of vampirism in the heart of America — one that’ll make you jump right out of your boots. Aspen Comics | Aspen Mascots and the Portals of Doom – When Wormier and Griff accidentally open multiples portals from another dimension, the Aspen Mascots must band together to stop their own doppelgängers from wreaking havoc in our world! In this new jam-packed activity-coloring book featuring Aspen’s most popular critters and oddities, readers must solve puzzles, mazes and more in order to finish the story and save the planet! Benitez Productions | Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte – After suffering a tragic loss, Lady Mechanika takes a trip to a small Mexican village just in time for their Día de los Muertos celebration. But the festivities turn truly deadly after the arrival of the Jinetes del Infierno, the mythical Hell Riders! Includes the first chapter of the Lady Mechanika Day of the Dead special, collected in the La Dama de la Muerte TPB.  Dark Horse Comics | House of Fear: Attack of the Killer Snowmen! – A group of kids throwing around a football on a pleasant winter afternoon are suddenly set upon by snowmen with jagged grins and twisted limbs instead of cute button eyes and corncob pipes. They’ll need to think quick in order to defeat these frozen foes! A spooky scare for young readers!House of Fearis the perfect comic for monster hunters young and old. DC Comics | DCeased #1 HCF Special Editon – A mysterious techno-virus has been released on Earth, infecting 600 million people and turning them instantly into violent, monstrous engines of destruction.The heroes of the DCU are caught completely unprepared for a pandemic of this magnitude and struggle to save their loved ones first…but what happens to the World’s Greatest Heroes if the world ends?New York Times best-selling writer Tom Taylor (INJUSTICE) returns with a terrifying new tale and is joined by artists Trevor Hairsine (LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT) and Stefano Gaudiano (The Walking Dead). DC Comics | The Secret Spiral of Swamp Kid / Black Canary: Ignite HCF Special Edition IDW Publishing | Sonic the Hedgehog #1 HCF Edition Keenspot Entertainment | Junior High Horrors Halloween Special – Halloween is here! But Mikey, the boy that’s always ready to dress to impress, has changed his tune and wants nothing to do with costumes this year. The gang gets together to change his mind, but will they succeed? This original story drawn by series creator Rob Potchak is the perfect jumping on point for anyone wanting to see why Robert Kirkman may have said this All-Ages Horror Parody was “Awesome!” This comic also features dyslexic reader friendly fonts, a first in the industry! Kodansha Comics | Tales of Berseria Preivew & Other Game Manga Mad Cave Studios | Battlecats: Halloween ComicFest Special Marvel Comics | Ghost Rider: King of Hell #1 Marvel Comics | Iron Man: Road to Iron Man 2020 Marvel Comics | Miles Morales: Spider-Man #0 Marvel Comics | Star Wars: Boba Fett #1 Random House Children’s Books | Doodleville/ Aster and the Accidental Magic Exclusive First Look Source Point Press | The Adventures of Cthulhu Jr. and Dastardly Dirk Vertical Comics | Bakemonogatari (Monster Tale) Exclusive HCF Edition VIZ Media | The Drifting Classroom/ Smashed YouNeek Studios | Iyanu: Child of Wonder

HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2019 MINI COMICS Albatross Funnybooks | Spook House – A spooky book for kids of all ages! This Albatross Funnybooks anthology features works by William Stout, Eric Powell and Gideon Kendall! American Mythology | Under Dog Halloween Hijinks – There’s no need to fear! Underdog is here! Its an extra special Halloween treat as we present a mini comic adventure of everyone’s favorite superhound, Underdog! We’ll have you singing the Underdog theme as you trick or treat this year, “Speed of lightning, roar of thunder, fighting all who rob or plunder, Underdog!”  Don’t let Simon Bar Sinister ruin your holiday, join us for Underdog hijinks this Halloween season! Archie Comics | Archie’s Madhouse Magic – Get ready for magic and mischief in this fun collection of Halloween stories! Archie and everyone’s favorite teenage witch, Sabrina, are proud to present two enchanting and bewitching tales from Archie’s Magical Madhouse–sure to leave you spellbound! BOOM! Studios | Just Beyond: Horror at Happy Landings – THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WOODS. Family camping trips are already a drag for Annie and Parker, especially with their cousin Clark tagging along, but when strange things start happening, they’ll discover startling secrets out of this world! When a pair of Martian siblings find themselves stranded on Earth, they must take over Annie and Parker’s bodies to retrieve the tracker that can signal Mars to bring them home. Can the Martians make it home safe, or will they be forced to become Annie and Parker forever? DC Comics | DC Superhero Girls: At Metropolis High Halloween ComicFest Special Edition – When Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Bumblebee, and Zatanna are continually late to class because of their crime-fighting, they are sentenced to finding an after-school club for a whole week … or else they’ll be suspended!But finding a club is not as easy as it looks, and when the girls keep finding themselves kicked out of the clubs they like, they must think outside of the box and go outside their comfort zones to avoid suspension. This first chapter from the DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: AT METROPOLIS HIGH graphic novel is perfect for ages 6-10 and a great entry point into the DC Universe. Golden Apple Books | Blastosaurus Halloween Special IDW Publishing | Usagi Yojimbo HCF Mini Comic Papercutz | The Loud House: “A Very LOUD Halloween” VIZ Media | Pokémon Adventures

(Click an image to enlarge and view in gallery browser.)

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  For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.

Halloween ComicFest 2019 Comics Announced The comics that will be available during Halloween ComicFest 2019 this October were officially revealed today, including 19 full size and nine mini comics, featuring Batman, Spider-Man, Boba Fett, Ghost-rider, the kid-slasher parody…

Review: Love Hates What You Become finds Lost Under Heaven seeking to unearth comfort and hope within inevitable deterioration

Within the first few seconds of Lost Under Heaven’s music video for ‘For the Wild,’ the closing track off their latest album titled Love Hates What You Become, a slowly disappearing epigraph reads “I would burn my right hand in a slow fire/ To change the future... I should do so foolishly.” Though the words of eco-poet Robinson Jeffers’ pass through the video in the blink of an eye, it’s underlying message reverberates as the lifeblood through the entirety of LUH’s sophomore release.

Lifted from Jeffers’ 1935 poem titled 'Rearmament', these words reflect upon futility and the inevitable destruction of humanity. Nevertheless, Jeffers seeks to strip futility of inherent failure and ruin, while imbuing it with a sense of virtue and necessity.

Though Jeffers’ vision regarding mankind’s finite potential and destructive nature is rather tragic, his sentiment bears more truth now than when the poet’s’ pen met paper, back in 1934. With Love Hates What You Become, Manchester art rock duo of Ebony Hoorn and Ellery James Roberts repurposes Jeffers’ message and funnels it through the social-political turmoil that bridges Brexit and Trump’s America. While there is a glimmer of hope at the end of it all, Love Hates What You Become is an emotionally explosive project cloaked by a heavy veil of frustration.

Though the duo recorded their latest record in 2017 and has just now seen the light of day. Nevertheless, its content—like Jeffers’ poem—is timeless, preceptive of what’s ahead, and serves as a cathartic time capsule for gen z’ers and millennials to cast their anxieties upon. Compared to their 2016 debut Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing, which was composed, clean and far more produced, LUH attempts to capture the prevailing animosity and angst of this moment in history through raw songwriting, immediate emotion and one impassioned chorus after another.

Love Hates What You Become is packed to the brim with intersectional topics and themes—all of which struggle for attention, but lead to two important questions posed by the duo in an interview with The 405 last November: “Are you satisfied?” and “Are you happy with the way in which you are existing on the micro and macro of the community and the planet?”

Keeping these questions and Jeffers’ excerpt in mind, the duo constructs an expansive enough space so listeners may ponder their place within the broader picture of the world, while remaining true to the tumultuous procession and processing of human emotion. Balancing feelings of torment with ecstasy and fury with tranquility, Love Hates What You Become wields the dichotomy of darkness and light—both metaphorically and through the messages each track communicates.

‘Black Sun Rising', which began as an immersive installation art piece, gradually evolved into a foreboding neo-folk burner about our world on the verge of ecological disaster. Not the best song to play around a campfire, but its veil of acoustic despondency certainly make you feel guilty for ever igniting one. In the cathartically enraged single 'Post Millennial Tension', LUH furthers the album’s anxious demeanor and attempts to combat mundanity and apathy, “My generation's burning/ Still we sing our love songs,” with swooning crescendos and anthemic passion, “Everbody singing fuck the world/ Close your eyes, we will be alright/ All the lovers singing this our world/ Do we stand, take up the fight?” Though their war cries are slightly tinged with doubt and caution, there’s no denying the earnestness behind the vocals of both artists.

With the noise-filled ‘Bunny Blues,’ Ebony takes center stage and shines. By way of an alter ego named Bunny Blue, Ebony yearns for women to be heard and understood as she confronts the patriarchy with confidence, charm and a bit of unquenched blood-thirst: “There’s a wolf inside of me/ I feel it clawing at my insides/ Its time for you to leave/ You best start running/ I feel blood lust coming.”

Though quieter on the ears compared to other songs on the album, the title track is an incredibly sad reflection on the theme and desire of wanting to be heard and understood—studied through the lens of an argument between Ellory and Ebony. According to the duo, “I guess it's that sense that you only argue with someone that you love because you want them to understand your point of view.”

It’s not all is doom and gloom for this incredibly insightful and talented duet. Sure, there are heavy, darker and less helpful moments throughout, but there are numerous instances that are life-affirming and searching for hope as well. In fact, the album commences with a bang and skittering dance beats in the form ‘Come’ an infectious, albeit, a slightly cheesy alt-rock number that beckons listeners toward a future that’s greater than the now.

Probably the most important and best track on the entire album, ‘For The Wild’, is an appropriate conclusion to an album that seeks some sense of joy, comfort and acceptance of the destruction around us. There’s a sense of surrender about ‘For The Wild’ that is really hard to pin down. It’s a discomforting notion at first, but it eventually sweeps you off your feet as Ebony joins Ellory on vocals: “Simmer down/ Nothing lasts forever/ Break like waves in the sea/ As the river floods the land/ Can't tame the wild in me.” With colorful synths and billowing percussion coalescing into epiphanic s elation, one cannot help but embrace their insignificance and their carelessness within the grand scheme of things.

The sweeping subject matter LUH croons about may come across as apathetic at first, but eventually, listeners will become overwhelmed by the life-affirming and life-giving cacophony of LUH’s latest record. All this to say, Love Hates What You Become is an endearing album that earnestly cares about our generation and is admirable because of it.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2R82KtB

When Kenyan lawyer, Professor Patrick Lumumba, spoke at SOTA for about 14-minutes, Nigeria shook.

Despite the human and mineral resources, Nigeria was recently ranked the poorest country in the world.

With a population of approximately 200 million, Nigeria is being trapped in the web of corruption, insecurity and bad leadership.

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, had promised to tackle these issues upon assumption of office on May 29, 2015 after he was declared winner of the presidential election.

Three years down the four-year mandate, most Nigerians feel President Buhari has not done enough in these areas. This, they blame on his leadership style.

With barely six months to another general election, some civil society organisations are spearheading a revolution that would cause a disruption in the Nigeria political space and its leadership system.

It is against this backdrop that the Summit of the Alternatives (SOTA) was conceived to kick-start a paradigm shift in the mindset of Nigeria’s political class and bring together credible, competent and capable alternatives that would lead the country to greater heights.

Kenyan lawmaker, Professor Patrick Lumumba, was the keynote speaker at SOTA 2018 which took place at the Shehu Yar’Adua Center, Abuja on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.

  Nigeria’s leadership problem

Addresssing participants via Skype, Professor Lumumba noted that success or failure of Nigeria affects the African continent.

He, however, blamed the country’s current realities on the military takeover of government and the failure of leadership.

“In 1953 when African leaders assembled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia –32 of them – They were eloquent and correct about the fact that Africa needed to be led by men and women who love their nation,” Lumumba said.

“In Nigeria in those days, when one listened to Nnamdi Azikiwe, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello they made sense. No sooner had the gains of independence been realized that we started seeing the entry of the men with arms into the political arena. I dire say without fear or contraction that that was when the rain started beating us.

“I want to submit to us that Nigeria occupies such an important position not only in Africa but in the world. On the few occasions that Nigeria has demonstrated leadership, the neighbours have been at peace and at ease.

“Not so long ago, Liberia was in a throes of the civil war and the Nigerian political leaders provided the leadership to ECOWAS. Today, we can talk about a stable or stabilizing Liberia.

“When there was instability in Sierra Leone and Nigeria leaders came out and we can recognize that some sanity has been restored in Freetown.

“At critical moments when the Green (Super) Eagles were souring as they should, they were the pride of us. Whenever Nigeria has provided leadership, the African continent has always occupied her pride of place,” he declared.

ALSO READ: Invest in your people, Microsoft founder tells FG

  Nigeria as Africa’s political Mecca and Jerusalem

Lumumba, an advocate at the High Courts of Kenya, accused Nigeria’s political class of holding the country down.

“Let me say without fear or contradiction that the only thing that continues to hold Nigeria down are the political elites who in my view have to liberate themselves from the politics of ethnicity… and recognize that political leadership is a position of trusteeship. They ought to recognize that when they lead Nigeria, they are also leading Africa.

“The time has come that we must recognize that what Nigeria does is important to Africa. Nigeria and Nigerian leaders must recognize that Nigeria ought to be the political Mecca or Jerusalem to which we pay pilgrimage or visit to pay homage. When the Nigerian leader wakes up to this reality, Africa will be great.

“Africa is a continent under siege. This is the time for Nigeria to provide leadership in politics. This is the time for the Nigerian President, members of parliament and local leaders to liberate themselves and recognize that politics must be sanitized,” he admonished.

Buhari’s medical vacation

In 2017, President Buhari embarked on a medical vacation to London. The trip was prolonged to over 100 days“on the doctor’s advice”.

  The Pan-Africanist, urged Buhari to fix Nigeria’s healthcare system rather than “sojourn in foreign land”.

Lumumba who called for a revolution in Nigeria’s political affairs, however, expressed optimism in the country’s future

“It is time for Nigeria to know that her GDP must no longer be held down at $500 billion but at $3 trillion GDP economy. It is time for Nigeria to begin the revival of her textile industry.

“Nigeria must make sure that her oil industry is levelled up so that she does not produce crude oil, export crude oil and import refined products. Nigeria must improve her agriculture.

“This is the time that Nigeria must improve her healthcare (system) so that the president does not sojourn in foreign land on medical vacation.

“The time is now and if we don’t seize the moment, then we are doomed. Nigeria’s leadership is the missing link in Africa’s greatness,” he concluded.

Like an earthquake, the hall erupted in cheers.

Summit of the Alternatives, explained

Earlier, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Education Minister and chairperson of the Summit had called for an alternative that would take over power from Nigeria’s current political class.

  “The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are a Siamese twins; there is no difference between them,” Ezekwesili declared.

Ezekwesili, a co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) advocacy group, expressed concerns that Nigeria is being led by the “worst amongst us”.

“This is a summit that challenges apparent norm that for us as a society, good has become evil while evil has become good. This summit challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership is not for service but for self,” she announced.

“It is a summit that says that ‘no longer shall we allow ourselves to be led by the worst amongst us while the rest amongst us seat on the margins and murmur and complain.

“This a summit that overthrows that sense that we are stock in a place of permanence of bad behavior, failure, mediocrity, incompetency and the lack of capacity to work for the common good. A new Nigeria is possible,” she added.

  The two-day event is co-sponsored by the Center for Democracy and Development (CCD), Nigeria First, Enough is Enough, Budgit, YIAGA Africa and the Red Card Movement.

Other speakers include; Professor Adebayo Oukoshi, Emeka Okoye, Don Pedro Okogie, Fatima Yerima Askira, Hauwa Yusuf, Olusegun Oniginde and Ayisha Osori.

Go to Source Author: Goodness Adaoyiche SOTA 2018: How Kenyan lawyer caused an ‘earthquake’ in Abuja in 14-minutes When Kenyan lawyer, Professor Patrick Lumumba, spoke at SOTA for about 14-minutes, Nigeria shook. Despite the human and mineral resources, Nigeria was recently…

Canada should be embarrassed: Trudeau needs to smarten up on defence and pay our share to NATO

Canada has a fine military to be proud of, but Ottawa has been a laggard when it comes to support for its own defence and for NATO.

U.S. President Donald Trump just sent tough letters demanding that Canada and the other NATO allies live up to the two per cent of GDP spending commitment they made at their Wales summit meeting in 2014. This will be the subject of intense discussion at next week’s NATO summit.

The President’s letter said the U.S. “is increasingly unwilling to ignore this Alliance’s failure to meet shared security challenges.” He added that while he appreciates Canada’s contributions to defence around the world, they “do not excuse any of us from our commitments to ensure NATO has the resources it needs.”

“This frustration is not confined to our executive branch,” the letter continued. “The United States Congress has taken note and is concerned as well.”

The Canadian Press has confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

Time for Trudeau to cut the outrage over Trump’s antics and just cut a deal

NAFTA is doomed and it’s all ‘notoriously unpleasant’ Canada’s fault

In a post-Brexit world, Canada needs the U.S. more than ever

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau allegedly replied that Canada is doing its bit, but he’s dead wrong.

He, like all his predecessors, have repeatedly ignored American requests to pony up more. In June 2016, the diplomatic former President Barack Obama also made it clear that Canada was not doing its part and said in his speech to Parliament: “The world needs more Canada and NATO needs more Canada.”

Adjustments should have been made years ago, but were not. Now, with an aggressive president in the White House, countries like Canada need to pay up.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Canada is doing its bit to support NATO.

Only two non-NATO allies get it: Australia and Japan. What Trump is saying is fair: The cost of being the world’s policeman and its gigantic US$800-billion annual trade deficit are both unsustainable and unjust.

By contrast, Australia (not a NATO member but reliant on U.S. military help) puts Canada to shame and will reach defence spending of two per cent of GDP by 2021. Already, Australia is spending twice as much as Canada — roughly $35 billion in 2018 — compared with Ottawa’s paltry $17 billion.

Frankly, this is embarrassing and explains why Trump is so upset.

Japan, also not a NATO member, realizes it is dependent upon U.S. military protection and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is abandoning its domestic military sector and going on a buying spree for American-made weaponry, systems, and technology. This will also dramatically reduce its trade surplus with the U.S.

Meanwhile Canada, without any bargaining position in terms of trade because of its failure to even try to meet NATO commitments for four years, pouts and whines about Trump and his team, thus threatening to damage Canadians and ruin the two countries’ relationship for years to come.

The link between trade and defence contributions is totally clear. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin last week said if NATO member countries are seeking exemptions from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs they will be asked to step up their contributions to NATO.

Canada’s on the bottom third of the NATO spending list:

U.S. 3.6% of GDP U.K. 2.1% Greece 2.25% France 1.75% Poland 2% Estonia 2.25% Canada 1.25%

Meanwhile, Germany, Italy and Spain are laggards that spend less than Canada.

Germany is under huge pressure to get its act together and is faced with the withdrawal of 35,000 American troops.

“The United States continues to devote more resources to the defence of Europe when the continent’s economy, including Germany’s, are doing well and security challenges abound. This is no longer sustainable for us,” wrote Trump to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, said that underpaying NATO members, not the U.S., have undermined the organization in the face of the Russian threat.

Frankly, Trudeau had better smarten up and soon.

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2lVhBup via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

Review: Love Hates What You Become finds Lost Under Heaven seeking to unearth comfort and hope within inevitable deterioration

Within the first few seconds of Lost Under Heaven’s music video for ‘For the Wild,’ the closing track off their latest album titled Love Hates What You Become, a slowly disappearing epigraph reads “I would burn my right hand in a slow fire/ To change the future... I should do so foolishly.” Though the words of eco-poet Robinson Jeffers’ pass through the video in the blink of an eye, it’s underlying message reverberates as the lifeblood through the entirety of LUH’s sophomore release.

Lifted from Jeffers’ 1935 poem titled 'Rearmament', these words reflect upon futility and the inevitable destruction of humanity. Nevertheless, Jeffers seeks to strip futility of inherent failure and ruin, while imbuing it with a sense of virtue and necessity.

Though Jeffers’ vision regarding mankind’s finite potential and destructive nature is rather tragic, his sentiment bears more truth now than when the poet’s’ pen met paper, back in 1934. With Love Hates What You Become, Manchester art rock duo of Ebony Hoorn and Ellery James Roberts repurposes Jeffers’ message and funnels it through the social-political turmoil that bridges Brexit and Trump’s America. While there is a glimmer of hope at the end of it all, Love Hates What You Become is an emotionally explosive project cloaked by a heavy veil of frustration.

Though the duo recorded their latest record in 2017 and has just now seen the light of day. Nevertheless, its content—like Jeffers’ poem—is timeless, preceptive of what’s ahead, and serves as a cathartic time capsule for gen z’ers and millennials to cast their anxieties upon. Compared to their 2016 debut Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing, which was composed, clean and far more produced, LUH attempts to capture the prevailing animosity and angst of this moment in history through raw songwriting, immediate emotion and one impassioned chorus after another.

Love Hates What You Become is packed to the brim with intersectional topics and themes—all of which struggle for attention, but lead to two important questions posed by the duo in an interview with The 405 last November: “Are you satisfied?” and “Are you happy with the way in which you are existing on the micro and macro of the community and the planet?”

Keeping these questions and Jeffers’ excerpt in mind, the duo constructs an expansive enough space so listeners may ponder their place within the broader picture of the world, while remaining true to the tumultuous procession and processing of human emotion. Balancing feelings of torment with ecstasy and fury with tranquility, Love Hates What You Become wields the dichotomy of darkness and light—both metaphorically and through the messages each track communicates.

‘Black Sun Rising', which began as an immersive installation art piece, gradually evolved into a foreboding neo-folk burner about our world on the verge of ecological disaster. Not the best song to play around a campfire, but its veil of acoustic despondency certainly make you feel guilty for ever igniting one. In the cathartically enraged single 'Post Millennial Tension', LUH furthers the album’s anxious demeanor and attempts to combat mundanity and apathy, “My generation's burning/ Still we sing our love songs,” with swooning crescendos and anthemic passion, “Everbody singing fuck the world/ Close your eyes, we will be alright/ All the lovers singing this our world/ Do we stand, take up the fight?” Though their war cries are slightly tinged with doubt and caution, there’s no denying the earnestness behind the vocals of both artists.

With the noise-filled ‘Bunny Blues,’ Ebony takes center stage and shines. By way of an alter ego named Bunny Blue, Ebony yearns for women to be heard and understood as she confronts the patriarchy with confidence, charm and a bit of unquenched blood-thirst: “There’s a wolf inside of me/ I feel it clawing at my insides/ Its time for you to leave/ You best start running/ I feel blood lust coming.”

Though quieter on the ears compared to other songs on the album, the title track is an incredibly sad reflection on the theme and desire of wanting to be heard and understood—studied through the lens of an argument between Ellory and Ebony. According to the duo, “I guess it's that sense that you only argue with someone that you love because you want them to understand your point of view.”

It’s not all is doom and gloom for this incredibly insightful and talented duet. Sure, there are heavy, darker and less helpful moments throughout, but there are numerous instances that are life-affirming and searching for hope as well. In fact, the album commences with a bang and skittering dance beats in the form ‘Come’ an infectious, albeit, a slightly cheesy alt-rock number that beckons listeners toward a future that’s greater than the now.

Probably the most important and best track on the entire album, ‘For The Wild’, is an appropriate conclusion to an album that seeks some sense of joy, comfort and acceptance of the destruction around us. There’s a sense of surrender about ‘For The Wild’ that is really hard to pin down. It’s a discomforting notion at first, but it eventually sweeps you off your feet as Ebony joins Ellory on vocals: “Simmer down/ Nothing lasts forever/ Break like waves in the sea/ As the river floods the land/ Can't tame the wild in me.” With colorful synths and billowing percussion coalescing into epiphanic s elation, one cannot help but embrace their insignificance and their carelessness within the grand scheme of things.

The sweeping subject matter LUH croons about may come across as apathetic at first, but eventually, listeners will become overwhelmed by the life-affirming and life-giving cacophony of LUH’s latest record. All this to say, Love Hates What You Become is an endearing album that earnestly cares about our generation and is admirable because of it.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2R82KtB