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clubpassim · 5 years

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Women in Folk - Kristina Latino

Hi there!

Katie here, ready and excited to bring you our first interview-e for the ‘Women in Folk’ Blog.

I’d like to introduce you to Kristina Latino. Kristina is an artist manager, primarily working with Americana/Folk artists. Kristina founded a company a few years back called Cornerscape, which started as a live-music events company that slowly morphed into the artist management company it is today. Her first job out of college was actually with Club Passim, working as a sound engineer in the club downstairs at night, and in the office as operations manager during the day. She credits her time at Passim as the thing that started her down the path of getting to know the Americana/Folk scene. During the interview, Kristina told me that while she worked at Passim, artists started coming to her for advice with little projects and crowdfunding ideas, and over time helped her transition to focus on artist management.

When I asked what her favorite part about working the job was, she enthusiastically listed off several things, which should stand as a testament to her passion and excitement for what she does;

“I love getting to see the way an album forms over time. Working with my artists and hearing them say, ‘I wrote this new song over the weekend, would you like to hear it’? And then they play it for me on their guitar, and then there’s a demo, and then months later it becomes a piece of their full-length album that they’re recording in the studio. Seeing the way a song morphs and transitions over time and the way album stories are built is really my favorite part.” We then circled back to her time at Passim, where she had some insightful things to say about her gained experiences, as well as a juicy secret kept in the dark all these years…

“I’m actually not sure if Matt Smith (booking manager for Passim) knows this yet, but I think it’s probably safe for me to admit this now...But I guessed that at my interview they would ask me if I had been to the club before, so I made sure to go to a show at the club the night before my interview. I had been to the space before but I hadn’t been to a show, and I just needed to be able to say yes in the interview, and not lie about it.”

You heard it here, folks.

She then went on to talk about how her work experience at Passim has continued to inform the work she does today; “The experience helps me every day; not just being a part of the Passim community, but when I’m with artists at shows elsewhere, having the training that I have as a former sound engineer to be able to listen really well to the mix that my artists are getting during their soundchecks and just being a good representative for them. Making sure they’re putting their best foot forward in shows is easier for me with that training and that background. It’s something I’m very practically grateful for.”

The next part of the interview was dedicated to her role as a woman in a male-dominated profession.

[full interview under the cut]

Club Passim: Talk a little bit about your experiences as a female in a male-dominated profession/field.

Kristina Latino: My experience has primarily been one filled with support from other women managers. That has been the predominant experience that I’ve had so far. I am continually amazed by the openness and the support that I get when I meet other women managers, many of whom have been doing it much longer than me, and that so many of them will give me their cell number and say, ‘If you need to talk through some strategy or if you have questions you can call me, you can email me’. It makes me feel like I have a community to turn to as I grow, and that has been really invaluable.

On the flip side, there are definitely experiences I’ve had that have been frustrating. It’s frustrating when some people, often men, just don’t take you seriously. With those people, I sometimes have to be a lot more forceful with my personality, or persistent in proving to them that I am worth their mental space and their time. Where gender comes into play, I have been inspired by the incredible women managers that I get to see and work with, and I hope I get to work with more and more of them as time goes on.

CP: Do you notice a difference in how you’re treated by artists, venues, audiences, and industry professionals before you’ve set expectations about the quality of your work?

KL: Sure. I try to be kind and respectful to everyone, and I think, you know, maybe because I’m a woman, that often that can be mistaken as being a pushover, or not firm enough. I think sometimes people think that because I try to be very nice that I am not able to be as much of a champion for my artists as they expect, but that’s fine. I know I can go after things that my artists need really well. I think people sometimes expect me to be more soft-spoken or less opinionated or think that because I’m nice that I’ll be a pushover and that’s not the case. I can stand up for myself just fine, especially with the motivation of wanting to do right by my artists. It’s easy for me to stand up for those artists and for the people I care about.

CP: What do you do in a situation when you feel disrespected by the artists/co-workers you’re surrounded by?

KL: The way that I react to disrespect has really evolved over time. When people treated me with real disrespect when I was younger, I was much more likely to write them off. Now when I encounter disrespect in the industry, I am more likely to politely address it. It all depends on the situation though.

And frankly, there’s always a calculation of whether or not it’s worth it to say something.

I wish that everyone was more introspective with how they interact with other people in all cases, especially when it comes to gender expectations. People have to want to work with you and people have to respect you.

CP: Follow up question. Have you found that this disrespect has come from more men or women?

KL: Men, definitely. But that question makes me a little uncomfortable, as I have found the community to be, on the whole, very welcoming, very respectful, very positive, so honestly, that has been the overarching theme for me; very positive.

However, I’ve also experienced some pretty classic examples of sexism. For example, I attended a meeting earlier this year where I was the only woman at the table and it was assumed by the person I was meeting that I was there to take notes. So that was, you know, very frustrating.

Or there was another meeting this year where the men at the table, who all knew each other well, set up a dynamic in which it was really difficult to work my way into the conversation. Those two instances were very frustrating, and you never know how much of it comes from gender, or age, or just someone thinking, ‘well if I don’t know you already then you can’t be worth my time’. You never know what the exact balance of factors is, but I’m sure there’s always some element of gender. You have to figure out a way to correct for it though, so with that situation, I went home and thought about how I could help those people and hopefully establish a positive working relationship.

So instead of pointing out to him that he was rude and talked over me for an hour, I tried to make it worth his while to register me as someone worth his respect.

And here is perhaps my favorite question to ask these women.

CP: In your opinion, how can men be more aware or informed about women in the music industry?

KL: I think that making spaces for new voices is really important. I try to think about this with myself as well. In the grand scheme of things, I am a pretty new manager. However, I am also the co-chair of Women in Music Boston, which is a non-profit organization that works to amplify the efforts of women across the music industry, and I am always reminding myself that while I am trying to learn from women mentors in artist management who are much farther along, I can also open doors to women who are years behind me in coming up in the music industry.

I think that this is a really important mentality regardless of gender, but I do think that men often do talk over people a lot, talk over women a lot. In the music industry, people are always clamoring for their voices to be heard, like, LITERALLY, so I think men should be more aware of how much space they’re taking up at the metaphorical microphone, and pass it to more women. Making sure your events are being hosted in a space that feels safe to women, making sure women know that they can report inappropriate behavior if it is your space.

Sidebar: A kudos shout out I want to give goes to a band in town called Future Teens. I went to one of their shows, and they had a text-line that you could text if someone in the space has made you feel unsafe in some way. One of the singers in the band named Daniel announced that at the show and it was awesome. That kind of ally-ship is super concrete.

But anyway, it’s just important to think about how you can open doors to younger women managers. The people you mentor don’t always have to look exactly like you, you know? Seeking out new perspectives, new backgrounds, new lived experiences will make all of our work better. I just think more men should think about the way that they make their spaces feel welcoming - physical spaces and intellectual spaces.

CP: What message do you want to display as a woman in the managerial field?

KL: The music industry, like many industries, is built on relationships, and I think the message that I want to send, as myself, but also as a woman in the music industry, is that we should all be treating each other with respect, and treating each other well, and building relationships from a place of mutual respect and level footing, as much as possible.

There are so many power imbalances in the music industry, and I want people to feel like they can come to me and that I will treat them with respect regardless of our history or experiences. The frustrations that women experience in the music industry come from a lack of respect. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen women-fronted bands, getting sound-checked on stage saying, ‘I need more of this in my monitor’, or ‘This is sounding weird’, and the engineer doesn’t take them seriously because he doesn’t think they know their instrument. That just seems absolutely crazy to me.

So at the end of the day, I think that lack of respect is the frustrating part, and if we all focus more on creating an environment of mutual respect, especially for women who need to fight harder to get it, that would make things a lot better.

CP: What words of wisdom/encouragement do you have for aspiring women in this field?

KL: I love that question. That you can totally do it and that people will welcome you into this field! It is less scary than you think it’ll be. There’s a wonderful network of support out there, to find your crowd and celebrate them and to keep your head down and do the work, and don’t worry too much about what other people think.

Thank you, Kristina, for your thoughtful answers and honest conversation! The blog’s purpose isn’t just to bring these gender-issues to light but to also provide ways for men to be advocates and supporters of their women-peers and co-workers. I challenge everyone to be more self-aware and observant of your workplace. You might be surprised by what you find.

For now, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for the next installment of the ‘Women in Folk’ blog!

-Katie

#womeninfolk #club passim #artistmanagement #feminism #boston #womeninpower

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gaming-rabbot · 6 years

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Rabbot Reviews: Far Cry 5

Great taste, empty calories.

Far Cry 5 is the latest game in quite the lineage of a series known, as you might surmise, as Far Cry. Game number 6, actually, dependent on how canon you feel Primal was. FC as it stands now, though, is a bit of a… how to put it? A long call? A distant yell? An outlying wail? A remote shout? No, a far cry from the original two games, before Ubisoft bought the franchise.

(Yeah, that’s the phrase. Glad I thought of it, though I don’t know where I got it.)

((Incidentally, Remote Shout is the name of my new indie punk garage band. Album drops: never, because this is a joke.))

Starting after Far Cry 3, Ubisoft has been telling their dev teams to make lightning strike twice. Thus, each game hereafter has been an excited waiting game of seeing how they’ll try and ultimately fail to match the demented, yet incredibly charismatic villain that was Vaas.

And 5 feels like this illogical conclusion of just that. Because you have not one, not two, but four scenery-eating, rompy villains. Less a refined, precise attempt at the concept, and more of a blunderbuss approach; hoping to tickle a little of everyone’s villain fancy.

That, I feel, is the perfect metaphor for the game in general.

Last call to avoid spoilers.

Speaking of fitting descriptions of the entire game, let’s start with the intro. Because I have mixed feelings about it, at best. There’s a lot it does right, and some things it simply gets wrong, in regards to the rest of the narrative as a whole.

The pacing and atmosphere are phenomenal. The very air feels heavy around you as you enter into the church, here to take the titular Joseph Seed away from his flock. The pressure of the stakes are established flawlessly, leaving a feeling of palpitation, and a true understanding of just how dangerous Joseph is. Surprised as I was, the game even managed to shock me a little.

In that respect, it’s fantastic.

But then the game uses the cop crew you rolled in with as your motivation for the entire rest of the game, in the form of saving them from the Seed family, and oh god, it’s Fallout 4 all over again.

Just like the Bethesda example above, this aspect of the intro simply doesn’t work. And not just because it’s asking me to unconditionally care about cops.

This sequence of the narrative focuses on every other aspect of narrative setup except for the characters that you’re supposed to get invested in. You get but the most cursory taste of who they are as people. Such a small amount of time can mainly attach their personalities to a specific emotion.

Whitehorse is the calm voice of reason. Marshall Burke is frustrated. Pratt is nervous. And Hudson is… there too, I guess. Look, I’ll be honest, I had to look up half these people’s names for this review. Which I’m sure is only a good sign.

With so little to go on, I found I simply didn’t care whenever a cultist bigwig dangled one of them in front of me on a string, expecting me to bat like a good little kitten. Instead, I yawned and wandered off to play with the packaging the toy had come in.

Like a mischievous little kitten.

Which is such a shame, because there are so many other more interesting characters I actually did care about. And in the few scenes where the Seeds held them to ransom instead, the game suddenly had actual stakes.

Nick and Kim Rye were delightful every time they showed up. Virgil was so honestly sincere, I couldn’t help but like him; and his past, as it unfolded, was interesting to dive into. And Jerome was pretty much cool by default, and an excellent concept for a foil to the cultist bad guys, and everything they stood for.

But the story feels almost unconfident in its execution. Like the team is scared you’ll get bored. So the solution, write more story, or rather, several seemingly self-contained stories across the three separate regions.

With no overarching theme or plot threads besides “Joseph Seed probably gave the command for this at some point,” however, the connection feels loose at best. And this looseness makes the narrative feel all the weaker.

I’d much rather the story had been more focused and condensed. If they’d honed in on about one third as many characters, and if the villains felt a little less redundant, the overall narrative could’ve been much more refined and interesting.

Even the gameplay, while fun, has the same issue.

When traversing from place to place, you can’t drive for five minutes without a dozen random encounters passing you by, whether they travel by wheel or foot or paw. What should be a ten minute trek can sometimes take 30.

Again, it feels like the game is nervous. Like it’s worried that if I’m not firing a gun every two minutes, I’m losing interest. Look, I know this is the age of the internet, but my attention span hasn’t deteriorated that bad.

What were we talking about again?

But it’s sad though, as it detracts from what could be some very nice vistas and scenic routes. I can barely enjoy the quiet, introspective new addition of fishing without a randomly spawned cultist with an exaggerated country accent shouting “Fay-oond ‘eem!” and scaring away all the darn fish with a wild assault rifle volley.

Speaking of guns, let’s talk about politics. Something that could only ever be fun and only ever go over very well.

I don’t want to get too deep into this, as it’s been covered to death, and more eloquently than I’ll probably put it. For a better dive into the subject, I’d recommend watching Errant Signal’s “The Art of Saying Nothing.” To sum it up though, while at face value, FC5 might seem as though it’s about to lay down a scathing indictment of certain aspects of American culture, it really doesn’t.

Not for lack of bringing it up though.

The lady who owns Peaches the cougar, that is to say, the former owner of this sweet large kitten (no I’m not looking up the name this time; she’s not even a narrative footnote), is a prejudicial old woman who lives alone in the woods.

Immediately upon entering her domicile so I could acquire my new kitty and leave, she mentioned that my player character looked vaguely Italian, and made an off-color comment about not wanting her silver/jewels to go missing.

What is this, the turn of the century, last century?

At Hurk’s place, you can meet his dad, who wants to build a wall. What, no, not a wall down there. A wall in the north, to keep out those accursed Canadians and their liberal ideology.

Addressing controversy by obfuscating the real world equivalent is cute, but it lacks the punch that makes it such that it’s proving some kind of point. Here, it’s npc’s that you’re expected to stay on good terms with, so that you can get more quests and goodies, like a new pet or ride.

(Shame you never get a new pet who is also your new ride, though.)

And why? Because they’re supposedly better than the cultists who only physically hurt and impede people different than themselves? What’s the takeaway here supposed to be, that it’s only physical extremism that’s bad and--oh god wait no, it’s Bioshock Infinite all over again.

Of course, we all know the real reason why. To offend as few people as possible. Because every offended party is a potential lost sale. Hence why despite clearly using Christian/Baptist imagery and motifs, no cultist ever actually mentions Jesus by name, and the peggy symbol only vaguely and technically resembles that of a cross.

I’ve bad news for you, though, Ubisoft; it’s too late. If you wanted to offend as few people as possible, it was already over the instant you let writers set it in a rural, dominantly Christian, dominantly white community, in America. Right wing talking heads were lining up to be officially offended the instance promos started showing bad guys toting guns, bibles, and the American flag.

Because despite bragging about having thick skin, when it comes down to it, they typically don’t.

At some point, you almost want to lean in uncomfortably close to the game’s face and tell it “Go on. Say what you really mean.” And it never does. Making it satire with no teeth, which isn’t actually satire, but parody. It’s a flag-waving, gun-toting parody of American culture. It’s an American beer commercial meets Saint’s Row. It’s a romanticized outdoorsy rural locale with tacky looking guns and gruesome murder set to made-up gospel and old rock hits.

Which doesn’t feel that far off from a Saint’s Row game, but it wildly conflicts with the tone Far Cry 5 very quickly establishes for itself. And it’s such a waste, because to use an on-theme colloquialism, “bless its little heart.”

It’s trying so hard, and there are some things I can’t help but enjoy about it.

There was a moment early on, when I was creeping through the bushes of a small neighborhood as slowly and quietly as I could. I had not but a bow and a pistol to my name. Cultists were stacking dead bodies while their speaker-mounted truck played their very own choir, singing about water washing away sin. As they were finishing up, they began to sing along.

It was as First Blood meets Jim Jones as the entire game felt, and it all just clicked. The gameplay and tone all lined up so perfectly and felt so right. Where did that go?

Luckily, the game is also pretty charming in various other inadvertent or otherwise unintentional ways.

Obviously it’s cute and wholesome that you can pet all the non-hostile animals. But it’s completely adorable how Peaches growls at you when you go where she can’t follow.

There’s also random npc’s you can recruit for the game’s buddy system, aside from the nine named specialty partners. At first, I seriously wondered how any of them could compare to Peaches, the oversized mewling kitten, or Grace, the cool as a cucumber sniper lady.

But then I found some lady named Evie, who looked like somebody’s mom, and I honestly found it hard to part with her. There was something so ernest and amusing about the idea of somebody’s mom who used to embarrass them at every PTA meeting or bake sale, now in an awkwardly-fitting militia vest yelling “Get some!” to every other cultist who dared cross our path.

The gameplay is also varied enough with timed races, and puzzling treasure hunting segments. The latter in particular, I really enjoyed. They had me doing everything navigating mazes of fire to hopping and swinging along successive grapple lines under a bridge, skirting river water along the way. It’s good, varied fun.

I also really appreciate the organic way in which story beats are unlocked, which is really saying something for a sandbox. Normally, there are specific missions that unlock the next cutscene that actually matters, and everything else feels like so much filler and padding.

Far Cry 5 had the genius idea that everything should contribute to an overall progress bar. This makes it that nothing feels like padding, as you’ll always be working toward the next story beat, even if you’re doing what feel like side quests.

But it’s one step forth and one step back with you, isn’t it Far Cry 5?

Once you’ve unlocked the next story beat, you’ll be whisked away to the next cutscene to have one of the villains get in your face for the next five minutes, whether you were ready for that or not. It gets annoying after the second time, and downright numb the fifth or sixth.

It’s also where the writing starts to fall apart some more.

You know that old James Bond trope where the bad guy has him right where they want him? But then because the villain is so contrived in how they want to handle him, he ends up getting away? Well that happens almost every time. It’s cheesy.

Also where some of the worst writing in the game comes into play.

Jacob Seed has a neat gimmick, I’ll admit. He’s all about classic conditioning, A Clockwork Orange style. Alright, interesting enough. And instead of escaping, you wake up, presumably days later, having finally escaped his mind control. It was a neat twist at first.

What’s incredibly stupid though is everyone points it out. Dutch, Eli, all characters who know about Jacob’s MO, and none of them think anything suspicious about it. Nope, just “Hey, now that I can finally get in contact with you after an entire week of you not responding, come back and get uncomfortably close to me and people I care about.”

Nobody thinks anything’s up with that? Even after it happens three or four times?? And not even my own character thinks to warn them that I’m being psychologically manipulated to kill them???

Oh. Look at that. The game made me kill Eli. How very unsurprising. What is that, something like four hours of build up to a twist anyone could see coming if they’ve ever seen a story?

“Who cares, it’s fun, isn’t it?”

I mean, yes, sure. It’s very fun, in fact. Fewer things have been more satisfying than timing it just right to take down three baddies at once, with a sniper shot from Grace, a mauling from Peaches, and a throwing knife from myself.

And like I said before, the gameplay is just varied enough to not grow dull. But what should be a good game is held back by mediocre writing and a lack of commitment.

Weirder than any of it though is the troves of people lining up to say it doesn’t matter, because the game is fun. Listen, I can enjoy the gameplay for hours of mind-numbing fun, but still be able to pick apart everything wrong with the overall experience. There’s nothing really wrong with that. It doesn’t completely impede what enjoyment I, or anybody else, was able to get out of it.

I really don’t get this, though. This is no critique of the game itself, mind you, but it is at fault for bringing it up again, even if by accident. So it bears discussion.

Clean Prince was right when he said that Far Cry 5 brought up a lot of what’s wrong with modern gaming culture. Yet I can’t help but disagree with his reasoning behind this statement. Because he, like many, asked why any of it matters, so long as the game is fun.

Look.

Gamers clamored for years, demanding our hobby be taken seriously. Entire groups and brands like Extra Credits formed, to try and gain for games the same respect film and literature already had.

Nowadays, we have critics aplenty, like Super Bunny Hop, and the above-mentioned Errant Signal, who regularly dissect games with the same attention to detail movies, shows, and novels receive.

We did it. We’re here. We made it, right?

No.

People tear down bad writing in games, and suddenly it doesn’t matter. The game being fun is the only feature that matters, now that it’s convenient to dismiss anything that seemingly gets in the way of your enjoyment.

Even though it doesn’t.

If Far Cry 5 were a film, people would be trampling over each other to repeat the critics’ disregard of its milquetoast shotgun approach to writing, and lack of commitment to an actual point, despite advertising itself as any kind of satire.

It’s not like having an actual statement is foreign to Far Cry either. Far Cry 2 had a well implemented theme of deterioration in every aspect; your character’s health thanks to the malaria, the guns falling apart from being old, fire spreading wildly out of control.

It’s not even necessarily a Ubisoft problem either.

Far Cry 3 was all about the lengths you’d go to for the people you care about, and how growing and changing as a person ends up alienating you from them anyway. There was also an underlying theme about there being no real winners in a setting so deeply seeded with violence.

Ending sucks too. That’s not a good transition, but it’s as good of one as it deserves, to be frank.

It’s awful, but not because it’s unsatisfying and you don’t get to technically win. Not every game needs to end on a positive note, just because you work for it. Spec Ops: The Line had some of my favorite gut-punch endings in a game.

But the takeaway is just bad, for either ending.

Either you walk away from Joseph at the end, and Jacob’s conditioning kicks in again, and you kill everyone you just saved, or randomly and completely out of bumbling nowhere, several nuclear warheads go off around the tristate area. And everyone you just saved dies in irradiated fire anyway.

What’s the takeaway here? That we should just let dangerous people get away with violent uprisings, because hey, who knows, they may actually have been right all along?

The nuclear ending especially is just bad writing. It’s a twist out of left field meant to shock, and take you by surprise, but only because there’s nothing to indicate it’s going to happen. It’s trying, and failing, to ape the nuke scene from the first Modern Warfare game. But that scene was the dramatic release after an entire level’s worth of building tension regarding the bomb which was mentioned earlier. Of which said established tension, there’s simply none here.

Each region even caps off with you burning out the cult’s various bomb shelters. Only to find out, what? That you should’ve given up and let them kill and maim and steal all they like, so you could huddle down next to them in their bunkers? All because some uninformed zealot who doesn’t even sound like he’s actually looked at a bible lately made a lucky guess?

No thanks.

Instead of inspiring shock and awe, the ending feels random and nonsensical. Once again destroying any coherency the overall tone the game could’ve had. Is this supposed to be a fun, silly game to be enjoyed with a beer or a friend?

Or a serious and somber game where you face the deepest human fear of all: how people manage to justify overt acts of pure evil as “the right thing?”

All in all, Far Cry 5 is like a cheap burger from a fast-food joint. The taste is fine and it’ll tide you over, but it’s probably not very good for you. And you can’t help but think about how much better it looks in the pictures on the menu.

#video games #review #Far Cry 5 #spoilers #rabbot reviews

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rodpupo2 · 3 years

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Research: Project Defuture The Future

Randolph Lamonier

Randolpho Lamonier, is a visual artist from Minas Gerais, born in 1988.

He developed several works, specially photography articulated with other languages. He deals with several daily experiences in the city as a form of work, in which photography leads to multiple forms of symbolic exchange.

His work moves between different media, with a leading role in the practice of textile art, drawing, photography, video and installation. In his research, word and image are always together and tend to talk about micro and macro politics, urbanities, sentimental lies, chronicles, diaries and multiple crossings between memory and fiction.

The work done in fabric and embroidery brings sentences like: “ In 2040, we legalized love and other less intense drugs”, and is part of a set of creations in which Lamonier elaborates predictions based on thoughts about the present. “ I always create these works from guidelines that I consider urgent”, explains him.

In the words of the artist himself: “I make flags with what I have. I have never been so foreign. I draw poems, calls for help, war cries, everything is very urgent. The air is contaminated, the floor is covered with debris; sheets, pots, ropes, concrete, broom. Under the rubble the seeds grow in a hurry”.

Perhaps something more interesting than his incredible flags, are the themes he addresses, most of the time making a prediction of the future, about things that could happen in Brazil.

He is indignant with everything rotten that has in Brazil, from the corrupt government, the uncontrollable drug trafficking, the misogynistic society that still exists in Brazil and in several Latin countries, up to the violence itself.

He creates these flags in order to have some kind of hope for Brazil in the future, creating an utopia, where the problems would be thrown away.

David A Smith

Is a British designer who is specialized in lettering.

He started his own company own sign writing company in 1990 and after 13 years sold the business in 2003 to concentrate more on hand crafting lettering and glass gliding. His main techniques include water and oil gliding, acid etching, French embossing, screen printing and sign writing.

His career in sign writing began in 1984, when he left Westlands school in Torquay, age 16 and was apprenticed for 5 years with Gordon Farr & associates. They were a traditional sign writers, who had come up through the ranks and Gordon, had an uncanny ability to paint letters, accurately laid out, without even a sketch. Under their tutelage, David became an accomplished draftsman, and a accurate letter painter.

This gathering of talented sign artists, carvers and muralists experts. David passion for creating elaborate, ornate mirrors&reverse glass signs of distinction.

In 1992 he set up his own business in England dealing every aspect of sign trade from vehicle graphics to 3D installations.

In 2012, Smith was hired by the singer John Mayer to design the album cover, of ‘Born and Raised’. The cover was styled like 1900 trade card.

He has also worked on posters and other merchandise associated with the album and single.

He was also commissioned by Jameson Whiskey to design a st.Patrick’s Jameson Whiskey bottle for the brand.

David sold the business, to concentrate more fully on gilding, painting e acid-etching glass, adding cutting, so that he could fully replicate the Victorian glass work he admire so much.

Thomas Burden

Burden is a senior designer at the design boutique “I Love Dust”.

He likes to produce work that references the pieces of vintage tat and printed material he gets from car boot sales and junk shops. Thomas Burden has created work for book covers, ad campaigns, music videos and magazine editorial to packaging, and even animations.

Thomas Burden was always encouraged to be creative, he was allowed to draw murals on the walls of his house, when he was very young. He had many references to do his drawings, in his grandparents house, full of Alpine memorabilia and indigenous art.

Toys weren’t allowed in Burden’s life as a child, so he was always looking at catalogs full of brightly colored things.

So in his works he tries to transmit that nostalgic journey to his childhood memories.

In each work there is a maximization of colors and textures and his great influences are: the film director Wes Anderson and the artist Mark Ryden.

On his own words: “ I was lucky enough to have a pretty idyllic childhood. I grew up sailing and skiing and traveling, so our house was full of souvenirs that parents collected, along with various bits of old boating junk and pieces of old cars”.

As an 3D illustrator / Art director from UK. He had worked with many different clients such as Nickelodeon, The New Yorker, Apple, McDonalds, Penguin, Bloomingdales and Ford.

His signature style is mainly the toys that he was never allowed as child, combined with fairground / neon signage and anything bright and fun that catches everyone’s eyes. He create works in Cinema 4D, also using the Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and After effects.

Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger is a postmodern artist who was born in 1945 in New Jersey. Having grown up in a middle class family, her first job was as an operator. In 1965 she graduated from The Parson Design School in 1965 and worked as an art director in different magazines. By breaking some barriers of the modern art, Kruger and other women artivists ( art + activism) demonstrated not only against the bonds of patriarchy in society, but also within cultural production. Being an artistic medium an environment built largely by male hegemony, feminist art presents itself as a mean of liberating women. Her works examine stereotypes and the behaviors of consumerism with text layered over mass media images. Rendered with black and white, with a red background, Kruger’s works offer up short phrases such as “Thinking of You” and “I shop therefore I am”. Kruger uses language to broadcast her ideas in a myriad of ways , including through prints, T-shirts, posters, photographs, eletrônico signs and billboards. Despite the work of feminist artists of the twentieth century to change the way women are portrayed in the art world, today this representativeness still confined by a backward ideal. Thus, the work of Barbara Kruger proves to be even more relevant and undoubtedly necessary today.

Mike Perry

Mike Perry is an artist that makes paintings, animation, sculptures, books, public art installations, monographs, silkscreens and more. Mike Perry was born in Missouri, United States, and grew up in Kansas City. He started drawing at the age of four. He attended to the College of Art in Minneapolis, and earned a degree in graphic design. Mike Perry's style of using extremely vibrant colors, and making totally stylized designs with a lot of personality is something that draws my attention mainly. His letters are always around a totally imaginative space, which can be both a forest and even a city. The creativity in making those compositions for his posters is something very captivating, not necessarily making a poster that matches with the reality, but doing something perhaps lysergic. His works can be considered love notes to the abstract, unknowable future that is all possible in the present. Illustrator Ana Benaroya said that , “Mike Seems like a modern surrealist to me. His works feels like a childhood memory of slipping down a giant water slide during summer. Slippery and wet and innocent but not innocent. His drawings feel like they just fell right out of his brain onto the paper”. I think he is a great influence, especially for this project. Because I'm wanting to go overboard with the lyrics and the drawings, wanting to do something totally experimental, doing something absurd and creative at the same time. And with this nature theme, I want to make posters with extravagant animals and unconventional scenarios. How he uses photoshop and Procreate for most of his work. I would like to use Photoshop again for this job to continue to learn painting techniques.

Filipe Grimaldi

Filipe Grimaldi is a lyricist and designer. He has been working in the graphic design market since 2006 and, in recent years, has been focusing on the study of manual techniques of calligraphy, lettering and letter painting, migrating part of his work to the development of letterings and commercial decorative painting.

He even give practical classes in ateliers of other institutions. His works can be seen on walls, slates and thousands of plaques that circulate around with his characteristic traits.

Filipe Grimaldi works on the primary chromatic contrast, a key element for the graphic construction of the alphabet.

Letters, words and sentences are organically raised, avoiding the precise math of right angles.

I met Filipe Grimaldi at EBAC in 2019, when he taught a class of typography, teaching how to make a freehand letter. I was impressed, because I saw great perfection and lightness when he drew those letters.

In addition to using several very vibrant colors in his works, even looking like a lettering of an entertainment show.

He even painted on a mural at EBAC, where even I had the opportunity to give a light brushstroke in one of his letters.

For 13 years, Filipe has been specialized in manual techniques of calligraphy, lettering and letter painting. In his own words: “ My authorial research and commercial activities ended up leading me to rescue the calligrapher profession, an almost extinct activity in the development of technology and printing and clipping machines”.

Currently, he teaches typography and calligraphy, for college students, with the goal of encouraging people to try more hand-made letters.

Wayne White

Wayne White is an American artist, typographer, cartoonist and puppeter. A former set and character designer for the television show Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, White produces ironic, often subversive imagery. On Pee Wee’s Playhouse where his work for his set and puppet designs won three Emmys; he also did many voices on the show. He is best known for his word paintings composed of oversized, three dimensional text painted onto cheap landscape paintings he finds at thrift stores and markets. In 2000, he began painting words and phrases, on thrifted lithographs. “When you think about it, you’re surrounded by giant letters and words everywhere”. White said once. “We don’t take for it granted, but the whole American landscape is nothing but a giant letter forms”. One Journalist said his opinion about White’s paintings: “the weirdest landscape painter in America, White uses master painting techniques to create the illusion of words and phrases surreally disappearing into the horizon or jutting out from each lithograph’s place setting.” White’s famous “word art” paintings hang in museums and galleries across America. His paintings features technically proficient and wildly colored phrases that are funny and sarcastic. And critics have praise White’s series for being entryway to the artist mind. Over the past years, White has worked primarily as a fine artist with solo exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures in galleries in New York and Los Angeles. In 2006, he created a giant head sculpture, with a giant lettering next to head. This marks one of White’s other passions, which is sculpting, and he like to exaggerate on the expression, of the characters that he is sculpting.

Joshua Noom

Joshua Noom is a famous illustrator who was born in Australia, in 1988. He is very popular in the social networks, specially in Instagram, where his minimalist illustrations and typography have earned him over 60,000 followers. He had created several illustrations for musicians and major brands like, Miller High Life, Sony, and Warner. Today Noom lives at Florida, and he is specialized in detailed and bold illustrations combined with an organic sense of typography. One of his most recent works, was recreating the Bible’s cover, with many other Christian artists. Each artist offers a visual entry point focused on a particular biblical theme or passage, setting a tone of reflection as readers engage with the Bible. I’ve been looking at Joshua works, and I really like the feeling of gritty and inky that he puts in his illustrations. Some of his works feels military inspired and masculine, while other pieces feel soft and feminine, like some vintage postcards that he produces. Something that Josh uses in most of his work, and that connects with my posters, is the use of wild animals and different situations. It can either make a tiger surfing, or even protest posters for the preservation of wildlife. He has a very intense passion for animals, and he enjoys drawing them in very expressive ways. With strong colors, with its minimalist style, and texts with different fonts around it. In a interview Josh even discusses his style “ My inspirations for my style are mostly from music and other art, but one artist that I’ve been diggin’ is Mark Conlan. My style has just kind of developed over the time and I think I will probably keep evolving. After many attempts of trying new things and figuring out what works for me, and what doesn’t for me. I prefer to draw in a more minimalist style, specially using my ink pens. Animals are one of my inspirations, specially here in Florida, we got many different species of birds and reptiles, so like to sit somewhere, and draw any animal that appears, and try to create a composition with different typefaces, to make future posters.

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coll2mitts · 4 years

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#89 Head (1968)

From the minds of Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson, is a 110 minute acid trip featuring The Monkees. Their television show had been recently cancelled, and this movie is essentially their former-Disney star “I’m an adult!” moment in an attempt to break free of their preassigned roles and become Serious Artists.

I cannot adequately express the despair I felt when Head literally announced there would be no plot to this movie, and would instead be a series of skits. It makes sense in the context of The Monkees, since they were formed for a television show. Each section of the movie has a different genre, ranging from a traditional Western, a boxing movie, a television commercial, a stage-performed musical number, horror... they are all here, which makes an overall narrative pretty hard to discern, other than The Monkees’ general discontentment with their current position.

It begins similarly to A Hard Day’s Night, where the Monkees are being chased by... we don’t know what yet, but we can assume it is not excited teenage girls. They then launch themselves off of a bridge, trip on LSD, find some mermaids, and hold a kissing contest that only triggered my Covid-spread panic. The movie doesn’t give you much time to breathe before it comes in hot with a football player attacking soldiers, a football stadium cheering for war, and The Monkees playing a live concert with a screaming crowd cut together with scenes of civilians being killed during the Vietnam war.

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Not gonna lie, I didn't think I'd have to address the Vietnam War at all during this project (unfortunately, Meet the Feebles took that assumption away from me rather quickly). To be honest, I was really expecting this more from The Beatles, especially with John Lennon's very famous pivot to anti-war protest songs. In college, I wrote a sociology paper on the Vietnam War's influence on popular culture and the function of the media created, and not once in all my research were The Monkees even seriously cited, other than some coy allusion that “Last Train to Clarksville” might have had something to do with a soldier travelling to an army base. I was so taken aback by the opening scene of this movie, that I literally pulled out my paper and the books I had purchased to write it to see if I had missed something. There was ONE sentence about Mike Nesmith singing a protest song before he joined The Monkees. Granted, if you were alive during the 1960s, to be ignorant of the war in general would have been so incredibly tone-deaf. Had I realized this movie would be political in any way, I would have expected this. In one book, the author had compiled over 750 songs that directly addressed the war. Record sales tripled during the decade, and Woodstock might be the most famous festival we’ve ever held in the US - processing the war through music was very much *a thing*. So, of course, I had to dive into this, because my brain can't just be like, "Well, I guess The Monkees hated the Vietnam War like the majority of the population, I guess.”

There wasn’t much to find, other than this bizarre clip of Davey Jones on an 80s talk show bragging and singing about how he had evaded the draft. Turns out, the writer/director of this picture, Bob Rafelson, really controlled the message of this movie, and he inserted these scenes as commentary on the performative aspect of war, and how television “...makes you inured to the realities of life. Oh yes, it brings it into the living room, but then you don’t have to fucking deal with it. There is no distinction made between the close-up of the young girl responding hysterically to the appearance of The Monkees and to the shot of the assassination at the same time. And then the hysterical girls attack the stage where The Monkees are playing and shred their clothing off. But they’re not The Monkees, they are wooden dummies. They’ll shred anything, as long as it’s the thing to do. Rape the stage, attack the musicians, real or unreal, who cares? And it was just pointing out that there was a sort of a mindlessness to, as The Beatles used to complain all the time, to the appreciation of the music.”

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There’s a lot going on in this statement... I’ll agree that the constant barrage of violence and unrest eventually numbs you to it. Especially now, with a 24-hour news cycle, and twitter just bombarding you with every fucking egregious thing going on in the world at once. A sense of hopelessness overtakes you; The doom-scrolling will only pacify you into not acting, because what the fuck can you do to change anything? There are too many problems, and they’re too large to solve on your own.

The second part of this statement, where teenage girls will do anything “as long as it’s the thing to do” is pretty insulting. I suppose the attitude of teenage girls being easily manipulated to enjoying things was amplified with Beatlemania. Its continued on, where bands like New Kids on the Block, The Backstreet Boys, and One Direction are immediately dismissed as superfluous because teenage girls like them, and teenage girls are shallow because they’re driven by their hormones. What’s unbelievably frustrating about this mindset is it has been disproved time and time again, INCLUDING The Beatles. I know more dudes who rep for them than I do women. Shit, in this dumpsterfire of a year, Harry Styles’ new album has been one of the few positive things that has kept me going, and that came out 10 months ago. With the success of kpop as well, a lot more people are starting to come around to “manufactured content that teenage girls like can be good, actually”.

The Beatles complaining about how their music is secondary to the mania about them is really rich, considering their legacy now. It’s not like they were that attractive or charming... I sat through 2 of their movies and the only person I even mildly connected with was Ringo, because he was a goofy dope. I’m fairly certain teenage girls were buying their records and going to their shows because they liked the music. As a former teenage girl, let me tell you, the illusion of depth and sensitivity is way more attractive than a pretty face.

Teenage girls made The Monkees and The Beatles successful, and for the director, who directly profited off of that success, to make a movie that criticizes them really rubs me the wrong way. Also, it was the fucking 1960s, about as volatile of a decade as you could get *until* now. Maybe teenage girls focused so much on The Monkees and The Beatles because it was one of the few uncomplicated things that could bring them reprise from the violence unfolding around them. But whatever, disparage their money lining your pockets, I guess.

The skits afterward are pretty unremarkable. Micky is in the middle of a desert trying to get happiness out of a Coke machine, only to find it, and the task itself empty. He then blows up the Coke machine with a tank given to him by the Italian army.

The Monkees are given a tour of a manufacturing facility, only to see what they are producing isn’t a quality product, and the workers themselves are either fake, or endangered by the endeavor. There’s a few scenes where they fight against their predetermined personalities in the band, or what their fans might think of their behaviors. They are used in a dandruff shampoo advertisement and vacuumed up and held hostage in a black box. There is an outstanding upbeat musical number performed by Davy (and Toni Basil!) about a boy whose father left him. He lays it all out on the dance floor, only to be criticized by Frank Zappa of all people, for not having a message in his music that will save the youth of America.

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While they are searching for answers on how to escape the box they’re trapped in, or purpose in what they’ve accomplished, they find nothing. Peter tries to enlighten them with a bunch of culty bullshit, but instead Davy loses his shit and starts physically attacking literally everything featured throughout the movie, culminating in The Monkees running from their movie studio and jumping off a bridge to free themselves. They unfortunately are captured and shoved back in the black box, awaiting the next time they will be carted out to market something else for The Teens to buy.

I probably don’t need to tell you that this movie flopped. The studio purposely left The Monkees out of all the promotional material because they thought it might detract from the serious motion picture they were trying to release. The problem with this, however, is if you don’t know anything about The Monkees, this movie is not going to make sense to you. I had to watch several behind-the-scenes clips to get any semblance of an idea what they were trying to achieve. Sure, the Capitalism and Manufactured Entertainment is Bad theme is pretty easy to pick out, but why The Monkees were the ones saying this after being immersed in the middle of it for three years is an important position to understand beforehand. And even if you were a Monkees fan, like my mother was, this basically shits on their entire experience in show business, so it probably doesn’t hit too well with their core demographic, either. I respect what they were trying to do here, but it’s no mystery to me why this movie has almost entirely been lost to time.

I’d like to say this ends my series on rock bands that decided to make musical movies, but next on the list is a little story about a pinball-wizard-that-could, Tommy.

#unwarranted opinion #100 best musical movies of all time rotten tomatoes

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wikimakemoney · 4 years

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Adapting to the new normal: Video content strategy after COVID-19

30-second summary:

Video is now ‘the new normal enabler’ connecting brands and customers when offline interactions are still far from reverting to normal. Videos are bridging the gap for informing, educating, engaging, entertaining, and socializing with customers.

Low-budget videos are now the it-thing of the video marketing industry – they look nothing like ads or promotional videos customers are likely to skip.

Companies are expected to join the global conversation and express what matters to people behind the brand. And videos are a great tool for touching upon this conversation and revealing what the brand stands for as mere “We’re all in this together” message will not cut it.

Although not a new trend, the popularity of live streams has soared due to COVID-19. Yes, while WFH, people tend to get distracted with their devices and watch a live stream.

Not only stock markets are up – stock footage is getting increasingly popular as real video shootings are temporarily on hold.

As we adjust to the new realities of a COVID-19 driven economy, both brands and consumers have changed the way they sell and buy. Keeping customers informed, connected, and cared for is the biggest challenge businesses are facing. Challenges bring new solutions, and video content is the biggest one in sight.

The rise of video is unprecedented – Cisco estimates that by 2022, 82% of all created content will be video. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic has shuffled the cards and brought up significant shifts in people’s online behavior and purchasing patterns.

With an 80% rise in content consumption since the coronavirus pandemic, video watchtimes are expected to reach a 100-minute a day benchmark. But brands willing to invest in video should adapt their strategies to match the new customer and the so-called ‘new normal’.

The new consumer

With shelter-in-place, stay-at-home, WFH, and other COVID-19-related measures, what else is there to do but watch video content?

The pandemic has been the time of record highs for video consumption: Netflix reached 16 million new subscribers globally, Sky reported that ‘Bulletproof 2’ has exceeded 5.4 million downloads and All4 has seen audiences up 54% YoY.

Source: Statista

This may seem like an entertainment-only-related growth, but numbers say otherwise. With the sudden spike in people staying indoors and a total change in their lifestyle, consumers are now spending more time online than ever before.

The “buy online” search query has skyrocketed in March 2020, growing by 50% just within a month.

Source: SEMrush

Some brands have embraced the ‘sofa-surfers’ trend and started adapting branded video content to best match their needs. Despite the slowing economy and financial instability, people do go online and make purchases.

However, businesses should reconsider their video communication strategy as 43% of consumers are unhappy with the COVID-19 messaging they receive from brands.

How marketers respond to the brave new world

In business terms, videos allow marketers to engage, communicate, and retain customers as well as drive tangible results during (and probably long after) the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why is video the best thing to place a bet on? Marketing spend has been drastically cut: out-of-home advertising doesn’t make much sense now, yet even digital ad spend is down.

Source: SEMrush

With lower revenues, marketing budgets get cut, so limited resources encourage more and more marketers to consider video marketing that now requires fewer investments in production but brings more in return.

Although video was already on the rise before the pandemic, these extreme circumstances “forced” brands to reconsider their approach to some of the emerging video marketing trends that they were ignoring.

We highlighted some of the major “transformations” – different video marketing trends that businesses have adopted a lot more widely due to the lockdown.

How to adapt video content strategy to the new customer

As the crisis continues, businesses have to shift their marketing strategies to address the quarantine mode.

Minor or major, changes occurred across pretty much every aspect of the business: operation hours, brand-to-consumer communication, budget restrictions, product releases, and the overall planning.

So, besides ads and promo videos, video is now getting a stronger presence and broader use in customer care and support, direct communication with prospects, and educational means.

#1. Keeping production costs low

Working remotely has altered marketers’ approach to video creation. When thinking about video marketing, we were accustomed to employing camera crews, professional lighting and sound gear, and closely controlled sets.

What happened during the pandemic, more brands started getting used to the thought that they can do what vloggers have been doing all along – create short-form, amateurish videos that open up amazing opportunities for creative content production.

With new consumption habits and shorter attention span, new formats keep evolving and thriving.

Low-budget videos are now the it-thing of the video marketing industry – they look nothing like ads or promotional videos customers are likely to skip. This kind of production helps brands embrace some other growing trends and industry buzzwords:

Authenticity

Brand humanization

Connectivity

With fewer brands being ready to invest in Hollywood-level productions (think Masterclass video teasers), even larger brands are now turning to “from-the-sofa-broadcasts”.

Example 1: GQ explaining how they shoot video with no makeup and cheap camera purchased during COVID-19

View this post on Instagram

“We shot my album cover on this camera!” Hit the link in bio for the 10 things @Kehlani can’t live without. #GQ10Essentials

A post shared by GQ (@gq) on Jul 1, 2020 at 1:02pm PDT

Example 2: McDonald’s doing a simple “face to the camera” explanatory video

With 74% of brands admitting they are posting less on their social accounts, there can be an opportunity here to grasp some share of voice from the competition.

Acknowledging that more laid-back videos are a big part of future marketing, brands can get an almost first-mover advantage over those who cannot imagine posting low-budget video content from official business accounts.

COVID-19 made it clear: better make videos with what you can and have right now or you may lose the audience.

Ed Lawrence’s comprehensive guide explains how to produce higher-quality videos for social media.

#2. Placing authenticity at the heart of brand communication

Brand loyalty doesn’t come easy. Companies are increasingly expected to act and feel like humans. And authenticity is at the heart of this trend.

Customers care about brands’ stance in regards to social and political issues, which was only highlighted at the peak of the #BlackLivesMatter movement or the #COVID-19 precautions.

Example: CB2 speaks about the immediate steps to support diversity and the Black Lives Matter movement

View this post on Instagram

“Like so many of us, we’ve been reflecting and thinking through how we want to show up for our associates and our communities and be a force for change. Now, we’re taking action.” Hear from Samara Tuchband, Head of our Diversity and Inclusion Council and VP of Merchandising for our sister brand @crateandbarrel speak about our immediate next steps to support diversity and the Black Lives Matter movement.

A post shared by CB2 (@cb2) on Jun 18, 2020 at 3:49pm PDT

Edelman research shows that 65% of consumers say that brands’ reaction to the pandemic will affect their attitude towards their business/products. 33% admit to withdrawing from a brand that did not meet their expectations.

Example: Piada Italian Street Food’s simple stop-motion supporting the Pride month

View this post on Instagram

P R I D E

• We are celebrating Pride month by providing support to an organization that supports LGBTQ youth mental health. • When you order online at mypiada.com or on the app during the month of June, you’ll have the option to donate to the @trevorproject. We’ll match all donations up to $5,000. • The Trevor Project takes an intersectional approach to suicide prevention and crisis intervention, and helps to close this gap by providing free support via their 24/7 phone lifeline, chat and text. • We’re grateful for the opportunity to help provide these critical resources to those who need them. • Head to mypiada.com or your Piada app now to donate at checkout, or learn more at thetrevorproject.org.

A post shared by Piada Italian Street Food (@piadaitalianstreetfood) on Jun 23, 2020 at 4:32pm PDT

Some brands are successfully employing a sense of humor while showing how they care about clients during and after the pandemic.

Example: Catch’s video with A-team parody

View this post on Instagram

To re-open a restaurant post pandemic you have to have the A team !! Congrats to the @catch front and back of house team for coming together to make magic

#catchrestaurants #catchla #ateam

A post shared by Catch Restaurants (@catch) on Jun 15, 2020 at 9:03am PDT

Many brands took a more personal and touching approach when speaking about challenges by reminding and celebrating good moments together with their customers.

Example: Father’s day video by Sweet Green Restaurant made from home

View this post on Instagram

It’s Father’s Day, so we asked chef/dad/pal of sweetgreen, Malcolm Livingston II and his sous chef/daughter Elli to share one of their favorite recipes to make together: plant! based! carrot! cake! cookies! Another thing he carrots about? VOTING! If you’re in NY on June 23, be sure to make your voice heard. For more on Malcolm in the kitchen and beyond, follow + support @mliving2

A post shared by sweetgreen (@sweetgreen) on Jun 21, 2020 at 10:08am PDT

#3. Employing Live Streaming as one of the most cost-effective video formats

Although not a new trend, the popularity of live streams has soared due to COVID-19. Yes, while WFH, people tend to get distracted with their devices and watch a live stream.

Be it for utilitarian (during the pandemic, all the fitness workouts have been live-streamed in one way or another) or entertainment-only purposes, US streaming consumption grew by 73% from February to March 2020.

But brands have also benefited. Live streaming is a cost-effective way of communicating with the audience and building up engagement for:

Educational purposes: Ecamm and Stephanie Liu online conference gathered over 6K attendees;

Customer care and support: live Q&A’s, interviews, webinars;

Connectivity and entertainment: bloopers, behind-the-scenes, funny work moments, etc.

#4. Showing real people behind the brand

People buy from people. A brand that shows that it does not only care about its service/product or customers but also about its employees has an edge over the competitors.

This is especially pressing during global pandemic times. Although this strategy requires staff to overcome stage fear, more and more companies show their employees and demonstrate that there are caring people behind each brand who are trying to do their best for others.

Example: British Gas teaching how to fix boilers while they can’t come to people’s houses

We can only carry out emergency repairs at the moment but our engineers can help solve some common problems, from their very own homes.

If you’ve no heating or hot water, here’s Natalie, who’ll show how to re-pressurise your boiler. Get in touch if you’re still having problems. pic.twitter.com/riXbbWgvO3

— British Gas (@BritishGas) May 6, 2020

#5. Embracing the rise of stocks

Not only stock markets are up – stock footage is getting increasingly popular as real video shootings are temporarily on hold.

To diversify social feeds and content delivered to the customers, stock footage is a great alternative to investing in high-end production at times when that’s not even an option for most companies.

Revealing internal Wave.video users data, we see that 79% of all ready-to-use (rendered) videos contain stock videos. And within the past 30 days, stock visual assets were used more than 92,300 times.

Example: Real estate agency Zillow using stock footage to share tips on how to survive the lockdown

View this post on Instagram

Staying home doesn’t have to mean staying inside. Create an inspired outdoor space and make it your happy place. Visit the link in our bio for more ideas!

A post shared by Zillow (@zillow) on Apr 24, 2020 at 3:10pm PDT

Final Words

The current coronavirus crisis is only accelerating existing digital video transformation trends. With the new purchasing habits and lifestyle patterns, consumers expect brands to adapt to the changing realities and present new video formats that are both engaging and relatable.

Whether it’s about minor changes like using stock footage, creative leaps with livestream broadcasts, or fetching creative briefs for staff to film in their own homes, video content marketing is now getting an unprecedented edge over other marketing communication formats.

Daniel Glickman is an internationally recognized marketing leader, speaker, and author. As CMO of Wave.video, an innovative video marketing solution, he leads and manages digital marketing, advertising, and PR activities. His blog, newsletter, and podcast offer a frank, creative, and humorous take on the underbelly and undercurrents of today’s most pressing, exciting, and confounding marketing issues.

The post Adapting to the new normal: Video content strategy after COVID-19 appeared first on ClickZ.

source http://wikimakemoney.com/2020/08/24/adapting-to-the-new-normal-video-content-strategy-after-covid-19/

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squareallworthy · 7 years

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As a bioethicist of the pro-human school, I denounce the dim-witted hand-wringing in this article.

And because this morning I am a rather crabby bioethicist, I am going to denounce it in detail. If you are a transhumanist, or if you ever even heard of transhumanism, there’s likely nothing in the article and nothing I’m going to say that’s new to you. So the rest is below the cut. I apologize in advance for wasting your time on this stupid article and my foul mood.

First, the lede:

In a 2011 New Yorker profile, Peter Thiel, tech-philanthropist and billionaire, surmised that “probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead”. While he may not be technically wrong, Thiel and other eccentric, wealthy tech-celebrities, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, have taken the next step to counteract that inequality – by embarking on a quest to live forever.

So, the big news that sparked this useless blather is -- nothing. If you thought maybe you missed some big news in longevity research, no, you didn’t. The writer of this piece, Sanjana Varghese, looked over the entire field of transhumanism and couldn’t find anything more compelling to kick off the lead paragraph than a six year old quote. Smashing journalism.

After opening with this damp squib, Varghese invites us to contemplate this horror:

Thiel and many like him have been investing in research on life extension, part of transhumanism. Drawing on fields as diverse as neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering and philosophy, transhumanists believe that the limitations of the human body and mortality can be transcended by machines and technology. The ultimate aim is immortality. Some believe this is achievable by 2045.

Okay, so we should expect some argument about why this is bad, right? Well, what we get are these two complaints: 1) "transhumanism won't fix capitalism”, and 2) "I hope these people in particular die.”

It seems like if you could articulate those two simple ideas in a pretty strightforward way, right? Well, maybe you could, but let’s not. Instead, let’s first get confused about what the hell transhumanism even is, and who are the people involved in it.

The hows and whens of transhumanism are matters of debate. Some advocate the "Singularity" – a form of artificial super-intelligence which will encompass all of humanity's knowledge, that our brains will then be uploaded to.

Wow, sounds like a radical transformation of all of human civilization and society!

"Transhumanism doesn't have much to say about social questions. To the extent that they see the world changing, it's nearly always in a business-as-usual way – techno-capitalism continues to deliver its excellent bounties, and the people who benefit from the current social arrangement continue to benefit from it," says Mark O'Connell, the author of To be a Machine,

Oh, not so much then.

Musk has publicly declared that we have to merge with artificially intelligent machines that overtake humanity in order to survive.

Oh, survival of the species, that does sound like an important social question, though.

O'Connell points out that "you'd have to be coming from a particularly rarefied privilege to look at the world today and make the assessment, as someone like Thiel does, that the biggest problem we face as a species is the fact that people die of old age".

And we're back to "transhumanism is just overenthusiastic geriatric medicine."

But who are these transhumanists, anyway?

Of course, humans have long harnessed technology, from vaccinations to smartphones, to improve and extend our lives. But that doesn’t admit you into the transhumanist club. Wanting to live forever, and possessing vast sums of money and time to research, does.

So transhumanists are typically billionaires, then. Like Thiel and Musk and Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg? He's mentioned as someone "embarking on a quest to live forever" in the first paragraph, and then never again in the article. I guess supporting one's contentions is too tranditional-journalisty for a progressive outfit like the New Statesman.

But also, transhumanism includes Ray Kurzweil, an engineer at (gasp) Google. Also a former candidtate for governor of California, Zoltan Istvan. Kursweil has some ideas about that "Singularity" thing, and Istvan has no ideas at all, apparently, since none appear in this article. But he does admit that billionaires are funding longevity research, so that's obviously sinister.

But also, transhumanism includes white nationalists like Michael Anissimov. But also, they are not a fringe movement because DARPA is funding some projects. DARPA being a totally mainstream thing that everyone is always talking about, like Game of Thrones.

But also,

It would be remiss to tar all transhumanists with one brush. [...] There are some prominent transhumanists who don’t fit into the Silicon Valley mould. Natasha Vita-More, the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Humanity+ , the global transhumanist organisation, has spoken about the potential for a posthuman society to address issues of economic justice.

So transhumanists are evil billionaires, except when they are not, and they have no vision for the future of society, except when they do. So, we were going to learn about why they are bad, right?

On an even more basic level, a transhumanist society would undoubtedly be shaped by the ideals of those who created it and those who came before it.

Unlike other societies we might have in the future, which would not be shaped by any sort of ideals, of course.

Immortality as defined by straight, white men could draw out cycles of oppression.

PETER THIEL IS GAY, YOU DOLT! How can you even work in journalism and not know that he destroyed Gawker for outing him? You use a quote from Thiel to kick off your lousy excuse for an opinion piece and you don't even know this? Did you even spend as much time writing your screed as I did writing this rant in response to it?

Without old attitudes dying off and replaced by the impatience of youth, social change might become impossible.

We need to kill off these transhumanists because they are stuck in old, hidebound ideas like this "upload all human minds into a global superintelligence" thing.

Artificial intelligence has already been shown to absorb the biases of its creators. Uploading someone’s brain into a clone of themselves doesn’t make them less likely to discriminate.

Only technology that advances progressive ideals can be tolerated.

Thiel and Musk, for example, identify as libertarians and have frequently suggested that taxes are obsolete and that governmental military spending needs to be curbed (and put into life-enhancing technologies).

Progressive ideals like spending money on the military instead of on improving people's lives, that is!. Now, the New Statesman has been around for a long time, and what counts as progressive is as prone to drift as anything else in politics, but I did not realize they had come around to "bombs are more important than treating senlile dementia."

Okay, wrap it all up for us. What's the really real problem with people not suffering from old age as much as they do now?

If those who form society in the age of transhumanism are men like Musk and Thiel, it’s probable that this society will have few social safety nets. There will be an uneven rate of technological progress globally; even a post-human society can replicate the unequal global wealth distribution which we see today. In some cities and countries, inhabitants may live forever, while in others the residents die of malnutrition. If people don’t die off, the environmental consequences – from widespread natural resource devastation to unsustainable energy demands – would be widespread.

So, three basic complaints. First, old people in the future will suddenly stop wanting social safety nets. Old people are kinda well known for their attachment to safety nets now, so why exactly do you expect that to change? Because Musk and Thiel funded medical technology, and thereby hypnotized nonagenarians into voting to end Medicaid and the National Health Service?

Second complaint: in the hideous transhuman future, we would still have problems with inequality. Well, I had raisin bran for breakfast, and that also did not solve global inequality. Am I next on Varghese's hit list? "You did not solve global inequality" is a pretty tough standard to meet, so I guess we can look forward to a long series of columns explaining why knitting, and ISO date formats, and hanging toilet paper the right way, and coffee, Taylor Swift's new album are all bad. Don't you know that if it doesn't solve this huge, complex problem that's been around forever, it's bad?

But worse, the second complaint is entirely unsupported, and the reverse may well be true. Cell phones used to be toys for the rich. Now they are commonplace, and they're doing quite a bit to benefit poor people, thank you. Could it be that research into human longevity will have positive consequences for people other than six billionaires in Silicon Valley? Like every broad-based area of technological research always has, ever? Could that be an interesting line of inquiry to write about in an opinion piece? Nah, not worth considering.

And complaint the third is that keeping people alive is just too expensive. It's phrased in tems of environmental costs, but that's just a way of tabulating the bill. Let me tabulate it this way: Varghese looks at a bunch of humans and a bunch of non-humans, and says, "Yeah, it's better if the humans die and the non-humans live." If you're aiming your dumb-ass opinon at oysters, that might be a good argument. Aimed at humans, not so much.

So there's the case against transhumanism. There's the case against basic medical research into aging and disease, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, hearing loss, vision loss, and just generally feeling crappy when you get old. There's the argument against helping billions of people to live happier, more connected, more productive, more satisfying, and yes, longer lives.

It's also the argument against fighting cholera, smallpox, and polio. It's the argument against human existence. And it's not progressive, it's not in favor of human dignity and autonomy, and it's not a position that helps the people Varghese claims to be concerned about. As someone who is in favor of human beings, I say fuck that.

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chemicalpink · 4 years

Note

POST UR RANT im also sad :((( about the tour dates

Worry not we can cry collectively

Okay so I saw this post go around saying that “we shouldn’t be upset because we didn’t get tour dates and that BTS is doing their best” and so on and yeah, first of all DAMN RIGHT I GOT A RIGHT TO BE UPSET HOW DARE YOU (I’ll explain further why) and honestly I think no one is questioning wether Bangtan is doing their best or not, it’s pretty obvious that this album is just something else.

Anyhow, here is your 20+ y/o Sociology Masters anti-systematic fellow ARMY to spill some tea. Ahem.

I want to start by saying that I absolutely adore what BTS has done over the years, their growth and I do not mean to offend anyone, I am not shading them or BigHit, I am SHAMING the entertainment industry. I think that it’s amazing that BTS is not only empowering youth but is also sharing their newly found power and success over the world with people that share the same values as them, as a form of collectivity (they really make me believe there is still good in the world) but they are well... an idol group that belongs to the entertainment industry and as much as we hate to admit, it all comes down to yeah, numbers (yay capitalism amirite) specially ever since they took over the world so here’s the thing:

They can’t afford to lose the powerful westernised countries that allow them to top those charts that have given them the opportunity to smash down doors and allowed them to pave the way for other K-artists. Strategic cities are key here.

I am not even going to start with Japan/Korea bc I mean- it is pretty obvious.

But here is the scalding tea my dudes, and honestly the only fact that I’m screaming over. What. About. Smaller. Regions. That. Give. Massive. Numbers.? Huhhh? I’m talking South Asia & LATAM (I’ll address Mexico’s case in a bit bc I know about it a whole lot) it’s time to learn some marketing/social concepts. There is this oh so amazing thing called reciprocity, it is usually applied on international terms but it really fits here so yeah, basically you are meant to give just as much as you are given. That’s it. In economic terms, narrowed down to BTS this means: yeah, a large amount of numbers are given by this smaller regions and it is just fair to give something back (I’m talking industry level here okay, I don’t just mean being acknowledge by the guys) even if you zoom it out to a region e.g. if LATAM is on your top 5 of charting, it is just fair to give at least 1 date to some country in the region, this is called being politically correct and man, the numbers it will give you, bc we work collectively, the whole region is going to be ecstastic if one country is taken into account otherwise... the threat of losing numbers for feeling left out is just-something that is worth thinking over once or twice (and same goes for you know, South Asia, Australia, Africa, etc)

Of course there are a lot of other factors that should be taken into account like economic and security wise but yeah...there are many options to chose from and actually work out something amazing and mutually beneficial.

Now onto the specific Mexican case, some people are saying that they’ve already had projects like ‘BT21’ and ‘POP-UP HOUSE’ but let me tell you sth as someone that has experienced this first handedly, these two projects have only served as a market analysis and as far as I know, they’ve turned out even better than they had planned. I mean, the opening day, they had to restock twice bc ARMY was sweeping their credit cards left and right. Plus, I talked to one of BigHit’s staff members and she told me that “if they were to meet the sales goal, it would serve as a bonus towards bringing BTS for a concert” and I just feel clowned ok 🤡

In conclusion, yeah, you have every right to feel whatever it is you are feeling. Just keep in mind that as much as we love these boys and admire them and everything they do, tour dates are part of one of the darkest places in music industry, especially since they come all the way from Korea and their shows are out of this world (logistic costs and all that jazz). The disappointment is just thanks to some systematic decisions that goes beyond them and the agency. And we are all clowns 🤡🤡🤡

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk

BONUS

Also, this type of behaviour (ignoring specific regions that inflates numbers) is often seen in international groups/artists that are just starting out and then expand but BTS has been around for 7 years so as much as I hate to say it, who knows how much time we have left with them as a group before they take the wheel of their own life bc I mean they’re people after all, with personal goals, not just professional ones. [Fair warning I don’t wanna see u coming at me bc ‘what about their mental health?’ Or whatevs ofc I care and it falls into the “other factors” I am talking on a systematic level, aight]

#bts #bts tour #bts tour 2020 #i ranted so much #im sorry #its just that i had to okay #i am so mad at everything rn #this was just the cherry on top #also i forgot to add #ofc i completely understand and agree with the tour dates decision #i just dont like the way some people are tryna unvalidate the feeling of others for not getting dates #i am so old i consider myself that old rich aunt #of ARMY

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olmopress · 4 years

Text

The end.

week 13: Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, “Remediation”

Maghada Kingdom, Northern India. Somewhere around 2500 years ago:

I feel you Sha’

All beautiful things must end, and so also my smart-ass blogposts have to.

SAD

But I don’t know maybe you can pool some kind of financial resources and grant me a salary to write you reviews on stuff. It’d be cool, and I’d be constantly on strike to try and negotiate a better wage because

But anyways.

Before we start this last ride about digital media, I have a kind message addressed to my dear friends Bolter & Grusin

No for real guys. Don’t get me wrong here, your paper is great and you sound like chill dudes, but

DUDE

your points are SIMPLE, and we’re all grown ups with an education. You DO NOT have to state and re-state the obvious and make multiple and equally obvious examples

LIKE, WE GET IT

Instead NO, it takes these two little bitches something like

THIRTY PAGES

to get to the main point of the essay.

But oi, maybe I get it. Maybe you were writing for some whiny-ass professor/boss who gave you a nasty word count, or maybe editorial draconian policies by the journal forced you to do this. Boh. I don’t know. Don’t wanna antagonize her but reading you kids was a tour de force.

BUT LET US NOT GET DISTRACTED LIKE WE DO ALL THE FUCKING TIME

Bolter and Grusin’s article does something quite simple: it attempts to set theoretical lineaments to the three concepts of immediacy, hypermediacy, and remediation. Very cool.

The ‘core’ of the whole essay is something pretty much like this:

Our [sick-ass neurotic] Western culture is fixated on both immediacy and hypermediation. To achieve the first, we [very reasonably and not at all pervertedly] paradoxycally construct hypermediated environments. But we do also the reverse [again great reasoning abilities here]: in going all-in for hypermediacy we tend to rely on seemingly immediate devices. All this media push-and-pull is fucking bipolar implies a logic of remediation, in which the emergence of every new media generates reciprocal ‘borrowings’ and incorporations between the new and the old.

Now Bolter. Grusin.

DOES MY PARAGRAPH LOOK THIRTY FUCKING PAGES LONG?

B & G: No

GOOD. THEN WHY THE HELL YOURS DOES?

Fucking academics, man. They drive me crazy.

So the point is that this logic of remediation is based upon the mutual dependence of contradictiory determinations (the fact that immediacy depends on hypermediacy). And well, what is it if not another episode of my highly acclaimed sit-com series

“What famous philosopher is featured in this paper?”

Our guest star today is a boy you’ve already seen in this post.

Oh yeah baby, keep those antithetical determinations struggling with each other!

And so yeah, “Immediacy depends upon hypermediacy,” and very much like an original synthesis that transcends thesis and antithesis,

“the desire for immediacy leads to a process of appropriation and critique by which digital media reshape or ‘remediate’ one another and their analog predecessors” (314).

From this point, B. & G. write words upon words to disscuss the concepts of immediacy and hypermediacy, constructing what they define a “genealogy” of the two concepts. But they means this in a very specific way. Is another guest star of “What famous philosopher is featured in this paper” coming to join us?

OF COURSE

but surprises don’t end here, because

IT’S A RETURN!

Oh yeah, your favorite bald philosophical sex symbol is back to tell you that by saying “genealogy” he means

“an examination of descent” which “permits the discovery, under the unique aspect of a trait or a concept, of the myriad events through which—thanks to which, against which—they were formed” (qtd. in 315).

Therefore Bolter and Grusin investigate the way in which these two concepts have been shaped by cultural discourse over history. Which is all fun and leisure, but not really that important to us.

One thing I did want to talk about tho is the political aspect of immediacy. So let me get this straight. When discussing VR, B&G write:

“All these enthusiasts promise us perceptual immediacy, experience without mediation. They expect virtual reality to diminish and ultimately to deny the mediating presence of the computer and its interface” (317).

Now, you have been blessed enough to encounter some Marxism in your life, you might be reminded of the crucial concept of ideology. An ideology is a set of beliefs shared by members of a society – or imposed upon them – that naturalizes artificial relationships and norms inside that community. The thing about ideologies, though, is that they are not immediately visible. They are, to borrow from B&G, transparent, because they are designed to be invisible and to provide a sense of immediacy in social dialectic. Moreover, the stronger an ideology is – the more rooted it is in culture – the less visible it is. We could say, for instance, that Mark Fisher’s concept of Capitalist Realism works as a very transparent ideology.

Rest in peace, comrade.

But going even deeper, it seems to me that this whole transparency thing is very totalitarian. Like VR is kind of totalitarian, because it seeks complete and utter control over your body and senses. Totalitarianism is like a transparent interface. It is a form of cultural VR. Or rather, ideology is a form of virtual reality.

And, oi, B&G make it clear enough that this works also when individuals have personal freedom. Sure, they’re talking about digital media, but still look at what they write:

“For if immediacy is promoted by removing the programmer/creator from the image, immediacy can also be promoted by involving the viewer more intimately in the image” (324).

That’s DEEP bruh.

Now let’s move on. So immediacy is essentially the dominant regime for much of the history of Western culture. Or at least ever since the Renaissance. It is the dream of being able to produce objects that trick us into believing that what we see is real. Fine.

Hypermediacy is sort of like its nemesis. It is the cultural regime of fragmentation, indeterminacy, multiplicity, heterogeneity and pretty much also of deliberate and explicit artificiality.

IT’S VERY POSTMODERN

VERY META-

It’s culture that is aware of its mediated nature, and breaks that suspension of disbelief stuff that makes you care for characters created by someone else.

youtube

See this at work in one of the greatest moments of digital media history.

Bolt ’n’ Grus have a lot of superfluous stuff to say about it, but unfortunately for them I am very postmodern too and my attention spans are short and so I’ll jump to remediation.

Remediation is B&S’s killer application. All their money is on this nice idea. The idea is that one of the defining characteristic of contemporary digital media – or rather, a phenomenon sparked by the emergence of them – is the fact that media represents other media in them. This, they say, can happen in four different modes.

1. Transparency: digital media highlights and re-presents an older media without any trace of irony or critique. This is like when you go search for that old album you really like on Apple Music. The platform does not ‘comment on’ the music. It just allows you to experience it by reproducing the older vynil/CD medium.

2. Emphasis on difference: digital media underlines and renders particularly evident the difference between itself and older media. Kinda like an improvement of older media through digital tools. This encompasses all the ‘expanded’ stuff you can get. Like library guides on our our library’s website. They are text-based like a physical library guide would, but they also have nice little video tutorials which improve them. Through the digital.

3. Refashoning: an ‘aggressive’ form of remediation that tries to refashion older media entirely while still signaling its presence and therefore retaining a sense of multiplicity. Here artificiality is explicit and discontinuity is visible. It is kind of like a new media collage. Something like this, perhaps:

youtube

4. Absorption and incorporation: the fourth and final mode is one in which discontinuity is minimized, because a media has entirely absorbed one or more characteristics of another one. Thus, we sort of come full circle, in the sense that absorption is superficially quite similar to transparency. Note that absorption works in both directions. Therefore you have it both in film through CGI and in videogames through cinematic cutscenes.

Our reading for this article ended with Bolter and Grusin saying that at the present moment (which for them is 1996, but non importa) all mediation is remediation, in the sense that “each medium or constellation of media […] responds to, redeploys, competes with, and reforms other media” (345). Which is also a way to offer a new connotation to the concept of media environment.

Now, sadly

WE ARE DONE.

It’s been a hell of a ride. I mean a hell. But also a ride. So we’re kind of even. It is time for me to bid you farewell; remind you to have protected sex always; assure you that, no, you won’t have panick attacks for the rest of your life (it’s the oppressive and ultra-competitive educational system’s fault); and re-assure you that, eventually, the dialectic of history will complete its cycle, unveil the inherent contradictions of capitalist societies, and prepare for the advent of a millenary communist civilization.

This come from Amazon, lol

Everything will turn out well. We will be fine. One day Donald Trump, Matteo Salvini, Boris Johnson, Marine Le Pen, Vladimir Putin, and Jair Bolsonaro will all rot in hell. We will probably have to deal with the catastrophic consequences of climate change brought about by capitalism but we’ll come out of this with a stronger, more inclusive, and more just society. Our dreams will come true and we’ll all become badass human beings who will be pillars of a reformed, humane society.

Enjoy the ride!

Today’s culture is a celebration of our struggles to become great and revolutionary individuals. Enjoy that too.

Coldplay - Lost!

youtube

William Blake, The Angel of Revelation (1805)

Adieu!

Image Sources: GIPHY, metmuseum.org, thenewpolis.com, micciacorta.it, amazon.com

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curiouskarenscapers2017 · 7 years

Text

Vol.10 May 2005

The earth shook and my clothes swayed on the hangers. I’m sure it was just to say goodbye to April and the calm two months with no earth movement we enjoyed .…just reminding us that it’s still here under us, moving, breathing and changing. It started at 10:50 pm and it lasted about 5 min. I didn’t realize it was an earthquake until I saw my clothes swaying from side to side. The building takes a while to calm down though, so a lot of the additional swaying is the building coming to a stand still. It’s like taking a rubber column and moving the bottom and seeing the top go moggy for a while, like jelly until it is back where it started…pretty much like that.

And so a new month dawned with at least two things to look forward to….payday and the weekend away to Green Island “Liudau”. Can’t wait, need a break desperately and fresh air!!!! You can not believe how dirty air affects you! We are still very lucky in SA that our air is good….I have this vision of people wearing masks one day soon..oh wait they already do here!!!, everyone on a scooter has a mask. I bought one for my bike but couldn’t wear it, it was suffocating me. Even the smallest kids have. All kinds and designs…quite cute..sad but cute!! We need to appreciate it and try to hang on to it for as long as possible!! You only miss it when it’s gone! Trust me it’s gone here!

We had a photo session at the school for the kindergarten’s graduation etc. So they are making photo albums to give to the kids when they leave for BIG school…cool idea. I managed to steal the CD and copy the photo’s. The first photo is of the foreign teachers at the school. From left to right. Melissa( Canada), David(Canada),Teri(S.A), Abby(Canada), Karen(S.A), Ryno(S.A) and Kim(Canada). Photo 2 is our Zoolander poses in case you think we were serious!!! The boys on the other hand obviously weren’t into taking photo’s as we were!! Photo 3 was my mom’s mother’s day gift. I need before and after photo’s, do you see the grey hair???? Photo 5 are all the teachers with the graduating class in Kindergarten called K3. With the owner Judy in the centre back next to Melissa. Great fun..as usual!!!

So on Friday night I got a meal to remember! I was hungry and the Chinese teachers got me something for dinner..so nice of them. I opened the little square box, which all take always come in…someone makes them in their garage…..anyway, I opened it to see a pork knuckle. Skin and toes…lovely sight, I first thought it was a pork knuckle but kind of put it to one side thinking of eisbein or any other pork dishes we usually eat. The meat was sooo tender and fatty and homely that I licked it’s fingers off and enjoyed the meal. It was more difficult as I got fuller. But the paw or claw or foot was amazingly put together. Amazing what you learn about the anatomy of a pig if you eat all parts of it!!! It had fingers and nails like our feet…weird, with all the little bones you have in each finger as well, the end bone is slightly different and formed like a little hoof on it’s own…wow!!!!!! Anyway, so that was that, don’t know if I would like to do it again soon, but it was delicious, we are just way too spoilt for choice meat! To add to my day of experimenting with food, at lunch at the kindergarten I had some of the food they serve the kids. We had miniature squid as our meat source. About the size of a hair clip or a medium sized eraser. Tentacles, eyes and body……..I had to try two, each kid was given two, I saw a few on the side of the bowls after lunch….obviously not everybody’s cup of tea! Tasted like nothing much, chewy calamari, I think the eyes and the tentacles got me a bit….it looks very alive!!!! Don’t like to eat things that look like the original animal …you know? Anyway, been there and done that…bring on Fear Factor!!!! Obviously fear is not a factor for me!!!!!!

Samsung came to fetch my little camera all the way to Taipei for a service…yes people, I do take on average about 100 photo’s a day!!!!! Not really but I make up for it when we travel. I will have a full length 3hour movie when I get home, it might actually be more of a Lord of the Rings 1, 2 and 3…the more I think about it. How’s that for service. If anything goes wrong they fetch it where ever you are in the country…which is only the whole 360km of it from point to point…but that’s not the point. They come fetch it and fix it and return it within 7 to 14 working days which is within 7 to 14 days…teeeheee..these poor people!!!!

Anyway, it was 14 days on Wednesday and I got Monica, a friend of mine to phone to check where it is. So when she phoned they knew it was me “the English teacher from Changhua”. I’m famous…the whole Samsung Help Desk of Taiwan, knew me as the English teacher!!! They would try to get everything done a.s.a.p. I wanted it for my trip to Green Island next weekend, they assured me of priority treatment!! I suppose I was the only English name on their database…my name…Karen…no other details!!!!! Cell phone and address to pick it up and that’s it!!! They better hurry because my shooting/clicking finger needs exercise!

Mother’s day is coming and I’m getting all depressed about it! My mother is 14 hours flying in that direction to the west!!!! All the kids are writing our mother’s day wishes in their school mother’s day cards…too cute!!!

I’m going to explore Chiayi county with Melissa as she finalises her contract and paperwork with the new school. She resigned a week ago to the schools horror but they replaced her and me probably with two new people that arrived yesterday. We’ll still have to chat to them at some stage and warn them what they’re getting into. Just so that they don’t walk into this school blindly.

Kingdom of Heaven started this weekend as well so Saturday is movie day. Melissa wants me to go see the Boogeyman and House of Wax with her…I respectfully and politely tried to decline!! She’s a horror movie fanatic…also lives on a graveyard in Ontario…hmmmmmm…the friends I make!!! Anyway, Star Wars III is more my style and I promised to go with but watching another movie!! We’ll see if it works! Can’t wait!! Need to get some DVD’s before coming home…all the legal type, but much cheaper than home!!

I organised my mother’s day gift and package for sending and then you get stuck in what to send with, this is your chance of communication with the outside world, what can you send??? So many things!!! Food stuffs? No it’s mother’s day and besides it must be small enough to go express airmail to get to her by Tuesday or so. Anyway, so the gift with two cool photo’s and butterfly stickers she would love was carefully packaged as well as a school mother’s day card and a proper one….after bawling my eyes out writing the real one I ended it off with a silly one…all about balance!! I need my mom!!!!!!!!!

Anyway only two more months, missing her birthday as well! And don’t get me started on father’s day soon!!!!! At …how old am I now?……thirty something, your priorities change in life and family becomes the centre of your existence! Life is precious and way to short!

And so the rainy season also started with showers nearly everyday or every other day. My camera arrived on Tuesday to my relief and immediately I started clicking away…to check and see whether it works of course. My Q class at school graduated on Tuesday night and we had a bit of a ceremony for them. Pizza, biscuits, sweets and Milk tea. It’s amazing how you get attached to the kids and they to you. We exchanged email addresses to send photo’s. We’ll another two hours a week gone…my hours are dropping quickly as the stages graduate and move to other classes. In total I have lost 20 hours a month with this class ending this week.

Anyway, enough of that, let’s explore Taiwan rather and see what we can discover in the last few weeks. Well the heavens opened and we got washed away for a few days!! The poor dead river running next to our complex, suddenly got a life of it’s own and flowed merrily through the canal washing away all the sewerage that gets pumped into it daily from the factories along the canal. Soap, oil etc, etc. Can’t believe I hear the frogs chorusing at night. I think they are more in the actual rice paddies than in the river. Even small yellow and white butterflies flutter over the rice fields between the buildings and factories. To beautiful!

Well the weekend has dawned and I was getting very excited about our Green Island trip starting tomorrow night at 11pm on a bus in Taichung. Packed my three pieces of clothing, which included my cozzy (2 pieces) and my towel. No, a few things more, but light, minimum and mix ’n match style. I’m ready, camera charged!

After school on Friday night at about 9:00 Melissa and I walked to the station to meet up with Kim, Abby and Teri. We got our tickets and saw Kim already waiting…..big surprise as she is usually late…just shows you how desperate we were to go on holiday, even if this is actually only a weekend. Anyway, Abby and Teri pitched and we went for our train. We were on two different trains as we bought our tickets at the express machine but luckily there were two trains bound for Taichung within 15 min of each other. We arrived at Taichung and found the rest of the group in a pub nearby. We toasted our new adventure and met Eddie at the train station at 10:55pm.

He was on a scooter and we only had quick introductions. little did we then suspect what would happen over the weekend… So we got into a taxi and followed him on his scooter to the bus stop where we get our bus to Taitung. We chatted a bit and got some background on the his business etc. The bus was about 20min late but at 11:30pm we were in our seats and ready to roll. We explored the bus a bit and found a lounge on the bottom deck, which was basically just two rows of seats facing each other so that you could chat without disturbing the rest of the passengers sleeping up stairs. It was situated just behind the driver, between an extremely small bathroom and a semi bedroom section right behind the driver. We later discovered Kim had annexed the “bedroom” and made the crew stay up the whole night because she was in their bed!!! Just joking but she did sleep in their bed…..a bit of a Goldilocks ring to it, doesn’t it? I slept soon after we got on the bus and Melissa joined me upstairs soon after while the rest had a few drinks in the lounge and stayed there overnight. Anyway, after a fitful sleep I slowly awoke to see the sun rise over the flat mirror of the sea. Too beautiful. It reminded me sooo much of Toti sunrises maybe also because it was on the East coast of the country, that I have grown up with. The fishing boats were bobbing and swaying like floats on fishing rods in the calm grey early water. We arrived soon after in Taitung at about 6:15am. We got out, and caught the next means of transport to the harbour. The taxi’s dropped us off and we awaited our third means of transport in one day, a ferry, that was to depart at 7am for Green Island. We met up with Alicia and her two Chinese friends, I-han and Cleo.

It arrived on time and we boarded. A space age looking vehicle with all the space inside looking like an airplane and a small outside area on the top floor. Reminded me of a typical American style mode of transport, all engine and no packing space!

I took a space in a corner section of the railing and felt like Kate Winslet in Titanic, also wanted to burst into song…..but I didn’t. The small deck soon became crowded as the ferry rocked slowly toward Green Island that was visible from Taiwan soil. It was only 33km off the coast but took us about an hour to cross. Wonderful to have the wind in your hair, blue skies and fresh air. Aaah yes, fresh air! Blue seas!

Next minute a dog poked his head through the railing and looked out too sea with his nose to the wind and his eyes closed, so I wasn’t the only one. I patted him and looked around behind me on deck, it was a golden retriever convention! About 13 of them lay on the deck, it looked like a carpet! They were stunning.

We arrived at about 8:00.

The skies were clear as we thought we would have bad weather due to the storms and rain on the main island for the last few days. We were helped by Henry, a partner with Eddie to pack our bags in the combi while we were taken to get scooters. They were all 125cc and we chose number 18 to be our steed for our time here. We rode off like a biker gang to drop of our baggage at the hotel. It wasn’t even 5 min from the habour when we stopped at the Sunny Waters Hotel.

It was bit early and we left our bags to go and have some breakfast at the Green Summer Coffee – Tea. Our breakfast had real bacon!!!!Amazing how you miss the little things in life. Squires breakfasts at Harties or Cappuccino’s breakfasts at Menlyn. Anyway, it was fresh juice and a good breakfast.

We finished at about 9:30 and Eddie came in to tell us that we can go snorkelling at 10 if we want before it gets too hot. He said it was going to get about 40 degrees today. Lovely! So we all agreed and went off to the place where we get the wetsuits, snorkels and goggles and booties. I was wondering why on earth in warm water and a hot day do we have to wear wetsuits. I think we lost about 5kg’s just getting to the snorkelling site! It was damn hot!!!! On scooters we all left the shop and travelled to the snorkelling site, me with my helmet and my goggles and snorkel in the wind!!! I was told by Teri that it was quite a site!! I aim to please!

We arrived and took to the waters.

This island was known as Burning Island or Fire island by the locals who lived on this volcanic island. So many of the beaches have coral and volcanic rock you need to cross to get to the deeper water. So we walked ankle deep into the warm water for a few meters before being able to swim. It was beautiful, sea life worthy of the Maldives and many other diving sites in the world. The parrot fish, angel fish and many more darted in and out of the coral and crevices. They fed the fish with some bait and hundreds came to snap it up. Henry, our diving guide as well, caught a puffer fish and showed it to us, this little thing that was now a ball of spikes the size of a large apple, hissing as air escaped and he tried to make himself bigger, was not too impressed with this capture and unwilling demonstration of what a puffer fish looks like puffed up!!! When he was freed he deflated and disappeared among the crowds underwater. We saw a yellow and black, sea snake or eel type. Stunning! The people were not equipped with fins, to protect the reefs and plant life. The few times I tried to dive down, the buoyant wetsuit and lungs full of air popped me back up, feet first like a blow up doll. I gave up the battle after a few attempts. We were being stung like hell by small strands of jellyfish type things, that were mostly invisible to the naked eye but looking carefully, you could see them. They drifted about a ruler’s length thick on top of the water. Small specks of glowing neon red plankton was visible every now and then and darted away as you tried to touch it. Too cool, no pain no gain! It was great. After we returned to the shop and thanked them we went exploring, agreeing to meet each other at the beach called Dabaisha, “white sands” beach.

So off we went. I wanted to see as much as possible before the weather changes or we don’t get the opportunity later, you know how it goes on holidays, do it while you can and the opportunity presents itself. So off we went stopping at all kind of spots to get some stunning photo’s of the rock formations and clear water. There is a Sleeping Beauty rock with a small Pekinese dog rock near her head. We didn’t know this was the sleeping beauty rock until we looked at our photo’s later! Too beautiful.(last photo). This is the old harbour at high tide…remember this one.

The wind came up on the one side of the island and we found the beach. Kim and them were there already and we waited for Abby and Teri. They eventually came and we had a beach day for the rest of the afternoon.

We had our usual Zoolander shot that we used for our T-shirt of Green Island.

The Chinese people are a fascinating race, or rather the Taiwanese. For a nation that lives on an island: no one swims (or very few), they don’t go to the beach other than to take photo’s of themselves on it but clothed from head to toe because they don’t want to be tanned as this is a sign of being inferior or of a lower class and they work themselves to death. Why live on an island??? Go live in the UK. Oh wait, that’s also an island. Amazing the contrast to any other nation living anywhere near the sea or on an island. They always have a laid back attitude, lazy days, brown bodies and carefree life styles. Weird!

We were asked to pose with strangers we have never seen or don’t know from a bar of soap, we were taken photo’s of unawares by passers by and young boys with cellphone camera’s….we were over night celebrities! They could probably not believe that we would be lying in the sun tanning on the beach…what a ridiculous notion!!! Who does that? On our way off the beach we met up with a family from New Zealand. They were parents coming to visit their son who teaches in Taipei. The dad and I were talking rugby when he heard I was from South Africa. The mother was quite cool as well and the son told us of his 6months in Taiwan.

It was about 5pm when we got back to the hotel and went for dinner at the Fisherman’s. Eddie got us at about 6:00pm and we walked down the street to where the Fisherman was looking out over the ocean. Too beautiful to watch the sunset from there! We were organised at a table upstairs on the deck. We met Jackie another contact who apparently, we didn’t know this at the time, owned the ferry service and half the island. The godfather! Good to know him! We also got to know Ted, another Canadian, who joined us from then on. Everybody was in a festive mood and we took the restaurant by the horns.

We had delicious seafood dishes presented to us and the wine flowed. We thought that this was where the evening would end as everybody was drained by the sun and being awake for so long and not really sleeping on the bus. But then the second wind came for all and the party started!

And on it went! At about 11:00pm we ended up going to where Eddie and his crew hanged out, behind their shop. Stunning Japenese garden style layout of white pebbles and two sets of dark green granite tables and granite rocks for chairs. We all gathered and sat back and relaxed over a few whiskies. Then the thought came of all going for a dip in the old harbour which is used as a swimming pool. Off we went all on our bikes again heading north, past the lighthouse and there we were. The bikes were parked and we all skinny dipped, probably about 10 to 12 grown up people, screaming and splashing around like kids every time something brushed past our legs! (It was seaweed) Isn’t it cool to be alive!!!(This is where the harbour photo comes in)

That lasted about an hour and by this time it was nearly 2:00 in the morning. Then Eddie suggested we gate crash the hot springs! Okay!!! We were on the bikes and off again. The group had diminished somewhat to about 5 of us going to scale the fence of the famous, volcanic hot springs! We got there and parked our bikes in a dark undetectable section in the road…..all very 007, climbed over the fence and walked down to the three pools as if we were royalty! Eddie assured us that he ALWAYS does this, the people knew him by now! The hot springs are natural and heated by the active volcanic currents. One pool is hot, the second cooler and the third even cooler. Eddie educated us on the use of the pebbles at the bottom of the pool to rub on your skin or feet by pulling Melissa off her feet to perform the demonstration. It was fantastic. Therapeutic and calming. Everybody was in a pool somewhere and new customers kept coming and going at 2 in the morning!!!! At about 3am I couldn’t keep my eyes open and went home leaving the rest to percolate! I think at about 5am all the birds were in the nest. What a day!

The next morning at about 10:00 am we got up and went for breakfast. Various levels of hangovers were appreciated and shared and treated. After breakfast we were told Eddie managed to organise us the 5pm ferry instead of the 12 o’clock one! I think we impressed Jackie!! It’s who you know! We were extremely grateful. We went exploring a bit on the way to the beach again at about 11:00 and swam and tanned until about 14:30.

Then things got a bit rushed as we were told that we had to get the 4pm ferry due to fully booked ferries. We went to the T-shirt shop, downloaded our Zoolander picture for the woman at the shop to put on out T-shirts and went for lunch. We came back and it was nearly 4pm. We raced to the harbour, parked our bikes on the side of the road and ran to the ferry as it hooted!! The whole ferry was waiting just for us!!! We let rip down the harbour side, bags, bobbing and foreigners flying. We made it! And the people on deck cheered!!! We apologised to all in general and explained we didn’t want to leave Green Island, they understood! We waved goodbye to the best holiday in ages and this photo shows a boy who depicted what we were feeling at that stage.

But we reminisced as we sailed of into the sunset. Off to Taitung and a 6 hour wait for the bus back to Taichung.

Lucky for us the sea was calm but some still felt a bit under the weather with the motion of the ocean. We arrived at 5pm and went walking around. Dropping our bags off at the bus station saying goodbye to Eddie and going for a snack at Young’s a restaurant in Taitung. We had something to eat and drink and wandered the streets aimlessly after Alicia, I-han and Cleo got their train to Tainan. Email addresses were exchanged and photo’s promised. Good friends departed and the wait continued. We probably walked past the same people in the streets 4 or 5 times in our wanderings, and images of them asking us if we were lost flashed by. Oh look dad, those foreigners again…. Oh look dad, those foreigners again!!!!! At about 10pm after sitting outside KFC for nearly an hour I went back to the bus station to read my book while the other three went shopping for pillows at the Working House, a bit like Boardman’s in SA. The bus finally arrived after we surfed the channels on a TV in the waiting room and competed with a guy that probably works there or knows the guy who does. This bus had individual seats in a row, so you had a huge lazy boy all to yourself with no one next to you. We all passed out pretty quickly and I was only awaken by the wild bus driver’s maneuvering skills through the mountains and narrow mountain roads at an amazing speed for such a big bus, that moved me from side to side in my chair! I woke up again at about 5:00 as we entered Taichung. We said goodbye to Teri and Abby and caught a taxi to Changhua, I was back in bed by 6:00 and woke up at 12:00. The day was bright with an unusually bright blue sky. We then heard that they have had downpour after downpour the whole weekend…..isn’t it amazing how the good weather just sticks to me on my trips to places! That’s why the air was so clear. Amazing the difference the blue air makes to the look of the city. Anyway, back to work but in a much better mood than usual. Everybody commented on our stunning red tans and broad smiles. Let’s see how long we can run on this regenerated energy.

Monday 16 May, I now officially have 2 months to go before my contract ends!

The time flew by and suddenly it was the next weekend. We wore our T-shirts to school to the great delight of the kids. “Teacher I see you!” was most of the comments jabbing you in the back as they scrutinize the photo. Melissa had packed her bags and we had our last breakfast together at our breakfast shop, where the owner was fascinated by my silver bracelets I always wear. I promised her I’ll have a look around to see if she can get it here in Changhua. Very few people here wear bracelets or much jewelry, not even many rings. So of course, me with all my silver, always attracted attention with the kids. “I want this!”

So the depressing action of saying goodbye and seeing Melissa off to Chiayi began on Saturday afternoon at about 1:00 She packed, and boy did she have luggage. Two big bags and two smaller bags with one on the side. I suppose I haven’t even started to see what mine will accumulate to. Anyway, we got a taxi and Eddie, our initial taxi guy rocked up to take us to the train station. We got our tickets, got on the train and off we went. One hour later we arrived in Chiayi and was helped by the passengers to off load the luggage, amazing how helpful people are here!! Anyway, Harris, her new boss, was waiting for us to take us to her flat. We got dropped off and met with Gloria, a Philippines lady that has been at the school for about 4 years and about 60 years old. Too cool. We got Melissa settled in and went for lunch. As we left the building gate the 3R3H was winking at us from across the road….how lucky s that and how weird. Our favourite place just outside her door as well. We had the usual chicken salad and a stunning Melon ice smoothie, must get the recipe! We met up with her third roommate Michelle who was busy on her laptop in the restaurant. A proper coo girl, but in a very good way. Aerobics, dancing and shopping!!!! We unpacked all her things out of my suitcase and it was nearly 6 o’clock already when we started walking to the train station to see me off. Me with my big green empty suitcase and Melissa. Said our goodbyes and she’ll visit within the next three weeks for the dragon boat festival on the 11 June in Lukang, a must see! So there I was on my own, back to Changhua, got off and walked home with my empty suitcase.

Life carries on regardless. It’s a blessing in disguise, don’t you think? No matter what happens to you, it moves on and goes by whether you grab and hang on to it with all your might, it slowly slips from your grasp and suddenly it’s the next day!!!

We have had hot and humid days, nothing like Durban in Feb but close in heat. Your laundry dries in half an hour! No tumble dryer needed! (Unlike Durbs!) The school’s reading competition is on Saturday when we dedicate our well earned free time of 5+ hours to listening to kids read on a Saturday from 12:30 to about 5:40pm. Lovely, that’s why we’re here!!!!

Anyway, we’re planning some relaxing after it. Apparently a new started and will be starting on Monday next week. She has been kept under lock and barrel from us, probably trying to get her to stay at least a week before deciding to go! Shame!! Anyway, no matter, they need people as David is leaving in 5 weeks, me in 7 and the rest each month after! Trying to get things organised for Draco with the vet that Teri and Abby use for their dogs. I’ll have to sort him out by next weekend because he can’t fly if the vaccinations are done within a month of travelling, must be more than a month.

Things are happening fast and furious in my last few weeks. Feels like I’m running out of time to do the things I’ve wanted to. In two weeks or so is the Dragon boat festival….can’t wait!

I pulled all my strength from my various reserves and went to go and see Star Wars III, for the first time without my brother………big move for me!!!! This is a tradition that has lasted all of his 26years. We do big movies together….no questions asked!!! Definitely loses some of it’s appeal without him. I nearly poked a Chinese couple in the ribs sitting next to me to show him my excitement when going to see a long awaited movie!!! You can’t discus things and say “cool hey?” you know?, those important little interactions when watching a cool movie. Anyway, the movie soon gripped me and I lost track of all the 10 people in the cinema. I waited a while before going to see it because of the usual rush and I went to see it at 1:00pm on a Sunday! Much better! Next movie “Batman begins” starting 19 June!!! Can’t wait!!!

Got as sick as a dog on Saturday, had a nagging dry cough that’s lasted for about a week or so and suddenly at the internet café on Saturday evening, I nearly lost them all their clientele with my coughing…..just joking, it’s so noisy in there with each computer playing full blast through their speakers and each guy playing a different game! But my eyes were streaming and I had to leopard crawl to the fridge for a water!!! It calmed down a bit after that. I don’t know who’s battery ran out first, mine or the laptop’s. Went home and Sunday morning I had a cold! Amazing how it works here. It hits over the head in a matter of approximately 2 to 3 hours flat. This place and the air is no good! There is a vicious child sickness sweeping Taiwan and three kids have died already. It looks like a rash on the inside of the lip and on the hands and legs. Looks like irritated mozzie bites. Immediately the alcohol sprays come out, although it was said this doesn’t help. Some kids will show different parts of the disease although not all is fatal, a certain combination or level is though. So any sign and they’re whisked off to the doctor. A few of the kindergarten kids have displayed some symptoms and were treated as best they can. The problem with this one is that the adults become the carriers because our immune system is strong enough to fight it…….hope this is not a repeat of my chicken pox episode at 30 years old!!!!!!!! A childhood with a record breaking 0 typical childhood sicknesses and I get it from a baby at over 30 years old!!!! Go figure!!!! Anyway, I’ll watch the cold as this would probably affect my immune system a bit….gimme meds!!!!!!

Taiwan Times vol 10 Vol.10 May 2005 The earth shook and my clothes swayed on the hangers. I’m sure it was just to say goodbye to April and the calm two months with no earth movement we enjoyed .…just reminding us that it’s still here under us, moving, breathing and changing.

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detachableteacher · 4 years

Text

A new chapter of stuff yay

Transfer students are rare in this school, mostly because it's a new school, so whenever there is a new student in the middle of the year, it’s some unexpected scenario that we haven’t really handled well yet. We’re expecting for the new student to arrive, more like I’m expecting them, since I’m always the first guy in the faculty they figured that they give me a key to the faculty door.

Apparently, so is the new guy, someone knocks on the door while I’m gazing onto the clock, with hands pointing at . The decor screams ‘do you guys have any old stuff lying around?’ and I have no problems with that.

“Come in.” I call out, and he enters, staring at me in awe, as I was holding my head then, something I totally forgot. I place it back on my neck after jumping off my seat in surprise, and ask, “Keisuke Sato, right?”

“Yes, sir, I am the new student here.” He politely answers, then I stare at him for a while, there’s nothing else to do

“Okay, just take a seat, let’s see where you’ll be put in.” I make a quick read at the records of this guy, which is complete and all, but one space is blank, the “assigned room” space. “Oh, according to this, they haven’t placed you in a room yet, so we’ll assign you in one when there are more people here.” He simply nods.

Then someone barges in through the door and greets me, “Good morning, Jun... and...” He walks next to me. “Is he the new guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure looks like someone I can see in a fashion magazine.”

My face turns serious. “Just move along.” I face the student. “Sorry about that, he’s an old friend of mine.” Keisuke simply nods. “So where did you move from?”

“Nara.”

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

“Let me ask the office, they might know.” I leave and ask the people handling student files where Keisuke would be assigned to.

“Sato?”

“Keisuke Sato, yeah.”

“Here you go.” She hands me a bunch of papers from a drawer without skipping a beat.

“Okay, you’ll be under the advisory class of Mr. Maejima here.” I pointed at Yu. “That’s room 2-A, you may now go there if you want.” He simply bows his thanks and leaves.

“He’s in my class?”

“That’s what the paper says here.” I shrug. “Hey, doesn’t 2-A have more girls than guys in it?”

“It’s a half plus one, why’d you ask?”

“...Nothing.”

“Could I ask where he’s from?”

“Nara, from what I’ve read.”

“Why did he leave his old school?”

“They haven’t detailed it, but apparently, his family’s moving to Tokyo.“

“Ain’t that something. Say, doesn’t he look like Yamaguchi?”

“Sato? Just because they’re both blonde doesn’t mean-”

“Same shade of blonde, almost the same hairstyle, blue eyes...”

“They’re not related.”

“Yeah, and one of them is definitely not a people guy.”

“Look, I have my blond, you have your blond, let’s keep it at that.”

“Deal.”

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

“Sensei, is the new student in the room just next door to us?” A student asks me as the people in this room try to ignore the ruckus coming from our neighbor.

“Yes, it’s pretty obvious, which is weird as he’s actually two rooms away.”

“Like why we don’t have anyone as attractive as the new guy?” The whole class laughed at that, and I shook my head.

“We already have Kyota here.” Another student adds, something to which Kyotaro turns to.

“Don’t drag me in this!”

“Wait,” I have to ask. “Have you seen him yet?”

“Who?”

“The new guy?” The student tries to make it clear.

“No, there’s a new student?”

The class seems a bit disappointed to hear that.

“Can, can we move on, please?”

More silence. I start the class before the awkwardness overwhelms us.

-----

“How was class, Yu?”

“I doubt I had one, Jun. I might as well not be there cause everyone’s busy with the new guy.”

“Is he that popular?”

“Go ask the students, I know as much as you.”

“Yeah, let’s get lunch.”

We open the faculty door and face a more substantial amount of students than usual, which in this case is about five. With a sight like this, we’re immediately curious and check what’s happening.

There’s only enough room for us two to walk in a single file. And the closer we get we see a student go out of a room.

“Hi, Keisuke!” A couple of female students approach him.

“Uhh, hi.” He answers, flustered.

“Are you going out for lunch now?”

“I am.”

“Can we join you?”

“Uh, what?”

“Are you actually going to eat alone?”

“Yeah, er, excuse me.” And just like that, he bolts as fast as he can away from those who are merely looking now.

After all that we walk to the cafeteria, on the way to get some lunch.

“What do we have today?” Yu asks one of the cooks, as usual.

“Curry, miso, this thing here, I dunno what it’s called.”

“Curry again?”

“Yusei, whenever we pull curry off you ask where it is.”

“I’ll have some of these croquets.” I tell a different cook. On the way to get our food, we see Keisuke look for a table.

Every table has students sitting on it, and he looks around for a table with a weary look on his face. He does find a table filled with nothing but boys.

“Can I sit with you?” He asks.

“Huh?” One of the guys looks up. “Sure, you can.”

“Thanks.” Keisuke sits down.

While the other boys continue to scarf down their food, Keisuke carefully holds his chopsticks and slowly eats through his meal like he’s on a banquet hall. Seeing such manners while eating made them pause. Once Keisuke catches them looking, they return to their food pretending they weren’t watching.

“Wait,” A different guy interjects. “I haven’t seen you before, what’s your name?”

“Me? I’m Keisuke Sato.”

The other boys look at each other for a bit before the guy responds, “You’re the new guy?”

“Yes.”

“So he’s the one they’re talking about?” He turns back. “Kyotaro Yamaguchi, I’m-” At this point we get our lunches and a few onlookers start surrounding the table. “What do you want?”

Everything after that is practically a blur, but after we leave the place we hear Kyotaro scream, “Can you leave us alone?!”

-----

At first blush it does seem like Keisuke doesn’t want to talk to anyone and is anxious about meeting people. Turns out there are other reasons for it.

Turns out we took in more than just a pretty face. Keisuke does modeling gigs at the side and apparently he’s also staking out a chance to be on TV as part of some idol group he’s in. The former has proof in the form of magazine spreads while the latter will have to show itself on Youtube.

The family move to Tokyo is basically because at this point he’s mainly on tour and the headquarters of the group is around the same area as Amakusa. How do I know this?

“What the heck is this?” Yu exclaims as we’re about to eat. He takes a piece of paper from his desk. “A schedule?”

My meal has landed on the table at this point. “What schedule’s that?”

“It’s for Keisuke, something about the extra stuff he’s gotta do.”

“Let me see that.” I take a look, the header’s already weird. “Who wrote this?”

“Some idol group company? I dunno, but look at this. “...Sato may fail to attend class days...events...prior notice...’”

“Is that telling you that Keisuke will have to skip some days?”

“And we make up for it! This is way worse than I thought.”

“You don’t need to make new material for him-”

“That ain’t it, Amakusa practically took in an idol, and we’re going to be security!”

“That’s ridiculous, just because he goes to school alone? How did he get here, anyway?”

“He walked. All by himself.”

Akashi walks in. “Hey, your food’s getting col- whoa, what’s that paper?”

“A letter.” I answer.

“From Nakushonen?”

“You know this?”

“I keep seeing them on TV. I dunno the big fuss about them, I guess they’re pretty popular.”

“How popular are we talking here?” Yu asks.

“Talk show guest popular. NTV talk show guest popular.”

“We’ll be in for a ride, gang.”

-----

After a stressful day of silently making sure class doesn’t derail, we teachers are silently sitting at our places in the faculty room. Yu breaks the silence by suggesting, “Wanna see where the HQ is?”

“HQ?” A teacher asks.

Silence. “This place where Nakushounen, um, is. It’s like a walk away from here.”

“That’s pretty convenient.” I respond.

“Are you gonna join me, Jun?”

“What? Do you really think I’ll join your spying?”

But here I am, walking with Yu, Akashi and Ryu on the way to an office building where Keisuke should be if the itinerary’s right.

“Are you sure it’s around here?” Akashi asks, looking at the address

“There should be an indication somewhere,” Ryu answers, looking around him. “There it is!”

We look up to where he’s pointing, just under the entrance canopy of a building was a tarp with the group logo in question. Then we direct our sight at the door and see Keisuke entering.

Immediately we hide to the nearest possible spot, the side of the building. Then we try to enter the place, and the guard quickly intercepts.

“Where are you going?”

“To the Nakushonen studio.” I answer on everyone’s behalf.

“ID?”

We hand our teacher ID’s over. He gives us a look, then lets us through.

One elevator ride and the doors open to what’s probably the snazziest studio I’ve ever seen. The whole floor has been taken, and the reception desk has pictures of the group behind it on the wall, which is weird as the door has the logo of a recording company.

Akashi notices this. “Hey, isn’t this that indie label? I still have their first issue of Tokyo Rinkai Kosoku Tetsudo Rinkai Line by Hype Train.”

“The what?” I ask after catching up with that he said.

“That one over there,” He points at the merchandise at the store. “Tokyo Rinkai Kosoku Tetsudo Rinkai Line.”

“I have never heard of that, or any of those albums.”

“You probably have never heard of any music.”

I give him a stern look. “Let’s get in.”

The lady at the front desk greets us. “Hi, are you looking for anyone?”

“Is Hype Train th-”

I elbow Akashi. “No, we’re just looking around-”

The elevator chimes again, and without a second thought we hide behind the ajar door leading to the store.

“Keisuke!” We hear the conversation through the open door. “How’s the new school?”

“It was great!” Is that the same guy from a while ago? “It’s like I never left the old one. Are they here yet?”

“No, but they’re about to arrive.”

We hear some footsteps away from us. The coast is clear.

“Okay, can you guys now put me back together again?”

-----

We close the store door and take a finer look at the store. It’s filled with the usual merchandise: albums, shirts, maybe a mug or two; but on a wall are things that seem out of place. There are still albums, but including that are plushies, light sticks, keychains, and other knick-knacks.

“This is the same store, right?” I ask. “It feels like two different stories, and the only thing in common is that they sell music.”

Akashi is definitely looking at one section of the store. “Damn, they released a new album? How didn’t I know this?”

“Are you really going to buy that?”

“Yeah! I wouldn’t even think that we’re gonne be in this place!”

“Your first question when you saw us leaving school was ‘Are you guys having a night out?’”

“Whatever, I’m getting this.”

“Okay, before we forget why we’re here, let’s go to the other side.”

From the store, we head to the other door, leading to both the recording and rehearsal studio. On one side is the open studio that also doubles as the place where events happen.

On the other side is the recording studio, nothing too special. It doesn’t look like anyone’s inside as far as I can see through the door window, maybe Keisue went out while we were shopping around?

“Can we get in the studio?” You’d think Akashi is here for the boy band. I yank him back to us.

“Sure, be careful not to break anything.”

We get in, and my assumptions are wrong. There were other people inside.

“Sensei?” Every single one of them from Amakusa. To be fair, there are three of them.

“They won’t shut up about this tomorrow.” Yu points out.

“Are you here for Keisuke?”

“Who isn’t?”

“I ain’t.” Akashi butts in.

“You’re not here for anything until you saw your favorite band’s stuff.” I respond. “Is he here?”

“No? We did see him leave while we were at the convenience store downstairs.”

“Wait just a minute,” Ryu speaks up. “how are you here while every other student in school would want to see him and the other members?”

“We already know where the studio is, and we didn’t tell anyone else.”

The door opens and in comes Keisuke and a few other people.

“...I think we should- ah.” He sees us. “Hey, sensei.” He sees the schoolmates. “Are you guys here for...?”

“They do, not sure about us.” I answer.

“Guys,” He turns to his mates. “these four here are my teachers at Amakusa. Kakuji, Maejima, Gyokusho, Mikoshiba. Those three are my classmates.”

“I take it they’re your bandmates?”

“Yeah, this is Juro Inagawa, and this is Takahiro Uesugi.”

Muted greeting and bows follow.

The last guy to enter is about the same age as us teachers. “We have guests?”

“A-a-a-are you...” Akashi out-fangirls the fangirls for this moment. “Sen30?”

Before someone gets hurt, we try to hold Akashi down before he loses his mind.

-----

So the lead vocalist of Hype Train, Sen Yamate, is managing this brand new boy band. That explains some stuff.

“You know how hectic the schedules can get. We’re still trying to get the hang of all this as we never had so much demand, even with my band.”

“How did this group get so popular?” I ask, as we wait for the musicians to set things up. “I’m not exactly into these things but I haven’t even heard of Nakushonen. When did this start?”

“Last year. I dunno, we sorta decided to give this idol thing a shot, so we posted an online audition call. Only these three seemed to fit together. Then their first single hit pay dirt, and now they’re the stars of the label.”

The guitarists signals that everything’s ready, and we listen to a new song being made, and what it would sound like in a concert as there’s already the squealing audience next to us.

After the session follows a bit of an impromptu meet-and-greet with the younger folks, while the adults cover matters related to scheduling.

“We’ll try to keep you updated on when the next gigs will be, we’re having a hard time saying no as everyone wants to have them perform in their place.”

“It’s probably tough for them to go from place to place at such short notice.” Yu comments.

“It’s not that hectic. But three gigs a week on average is busy.”

“Sounds like a full-time job, with the rehearsals and all.”

“It is, and I understand that they have school to do, we’re adjusting schedules on our end right now.”

“Thanks for letting us know.”

He gets something out of a drawer. “Oh, and here’s something for the redhead.” It’s a business card CD. “Exclusive.”

-----

Akashi’s the happiest guy in the group as we head out the building back to our places. He’s the first guy to get a copy of his favorite band’s next single.

“Looks like you’re the only guy who got something out of this.” I comment. “Didn’t you have class a 2-A?”

“Yeah, nothing unusual, the blond guy keeps getting attention, though.”

“Of course.”

“Look, Jun, if you wanna find out you’ll find out tomorrow, okay?”

“Tomorrow?” I remember that I have a math class after lunch at 2-A. “Oh no...”

“Have fun.”

I turn to glare at him and he responds by waving his CD card with a grin.

-----

And here comes the day. Wherever Keisuke is there’s sure to be those who want to strike a conversation. But there hasn’t been as much conversation whenever they notice him along with Kyotaro’s group.

But the most important time for me is my class after lunch break. Everyone’s on their way back to their rooms, including me.

As I’m about to enter the room, I suddenly see Keisuke enter at the same time as me.

“Ah, sorry!” He says without so much as a pause.

I head to my table and greet the class. “Good afternoon, class.”

For the first minute, it looks like the usual class, then I notice the girls around Keisuke not being attentive, to say the least.

As I turn and start writing on the board, I can hear the shuffling of a piece of paper, and when I turn around the Daruma stops itself. I catch someone drawing the band on a piece of paper instead of on the book margins.

This continues for a bit, and it bothers me alright. I walk to where I think the paper is and ask for it. Student eyes dart back and forth. “I don’t think that thing’s going to compromise any of you, can I please have it?”

Slowly, the paper arrives at my hands. It’s a sealed envelope with one thing written on it: To Keisuke.

“You had all lunch to do this.” I jam it into my pocket before I continue the class, still as busy as it can get to get Keisuke’s attention instead of mine.

“We’ll have a quiz tomorrow,” And everyone turns towards me. “Don’t make me put Sato somewhere else just to keep your eyes from trailing.”

-----

“To be fair, it’s day 2, they’re not as starstruck.” Ryu starts. “But even with things calming down he’s still a popular person.”

“I can take that, but I got this.” I pull out the message. “On its way to Keisuke.”

“Open it, open it!” A teacher requests.

“No way. We’re not here to gossip.”

“So you’re gonna destroy that?” Ryu asks.

“I can’t do that, can I? I don’t know what to do with this, to be honest.”

“It’s confiscated, you can do almost anything with it.”

“Do you guys really want me to risk it?”

“Nothing to lose, nothing to gain.”

I carefully open the envelope, and pull out the similarly-themed paper. Written on it is definitely one of them love letters. The content is nothing spectacular, it’s something every anonymous love not has, though I never did get any myself, only get well soon cards.

What is special is a full-body drawing of Keisuke, looking fresh out of a manga. It took more space than the writing.

“That’s some dedication.” I comment. “Probably been working on this for a while. Hey, Yu.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. You should probably deal with this thing.” I hand him the note. “You’re advising his class.”

“Just get me involved in this without my knowledge, that’s fun.” He takes it anyway. “Keisuke’s getting this, by the way.”

-----

The next few days pass by without any major hitch. Slowly the whole school is getting accustomed to having a pretty popular guy studying in it.

Speaking of whom he’s also having a great time with his friends, he’s never with any other group of people except Kyotaro’s. Whether they know it or not, the three are in what’s probably an enviable position.

He did get the note, and was pretty happy about getting a bit of fanmail, I guess they don’t get that much, whether through the mail or handed to them by someone.

One time, I noticed Keisuke giving Kyotaro something, but I didn’t see the thing clearly and didn’t want to ask, so I let it slip by, not giving it any mind.

Today is Sunday, I have finished most of today’s duties so I’m passing the time with some TV. I rarely know which shows are on at given times, so I take what I see as a show worth watching.

“Good afternoon!” The host starts. “Today we’ll chat with the newest boy group to come into the scene, Nakushonen! And we’ll show you the latest resaturants...”

Now this should be interesting. Up first is indeed the three, seated as part of the main guest roster. I guess they’re that popular, though I’ve heard that there’s also a bit of a promotional aspect to guesting.

Looking at the group, they don’t have that usual look I often see from the other groups I’ve seen. They’re way more casual, and their outfits make them look like some trendy teens you might see downtown than they are singers.

“So you three met for the first time at the studio, is that right?” A co-host answers.

“Yeah, we didn’t really know how we’ll get along together.” One of the three answers, who I definitely remember is Juro. “But after a few songs, we kinda clicked.”

“How have you guys been preparing for this tour?” A tour?

“We’ve been practicing dance moves, and preparing some new songs, which we’re not allowed to talk about.”

“Now you’re just teasing us! Well, what are you going to perform for us, then?”

And the three take center stage. Whenever such segments happen I go do something else while the music plays. By the time I return to the couch with a bag of chips an announcement’s on screen. A chance to win concert tickets... tour...what kind of tour is this?

The rest of the show goes on without anything notable regarding gigs, but the three boys are the youngest in the room by a rather wide margin. Maybe I’m getting older but most popular singers weren’t this young then.

-----

The next day is a Monday, and it’s back to work for me. The mail pouch has something in it. Most mail goes to the office, so this must be something. I decide not to touch it as it might be a bit of a confidential file.

Later on as Yu comes in he grabs the file in the mail and starts ripping the envelope open, carefully keeping one corner intact. He’s also muttering something under his breath.

Slowly, almost everyone else comes in to work, and Yu asks us into the meeting room. “Okay, the school’s been having some talks with HT Records about this. Yamate, the manager, has asked if one leg of the tour of the pop group Keisuke Sato’s in would be here at Amakusa.”

“Are you serious?” I ask.

“Yeah, wait, I think they’re...” He opens the door and in comes Mr. Manager.

“Good morning. We’ve decided to start our promotional tour of Nakushonen’s first album on the three schools each member attends. The first one will be here, in Amakusa.”

“Won’t it get crowded?” Someone asks.

“We’ll only sell about a few hundred tickets and give a few backstage passes, I’ve seen the possible venue, the soccer field, so I don’t think overcrowding is a problem even with students being able to watch for free.”

“When will it be?”

“Saturday. Get ready, I’ll have to visit the venue.”

After a good while, I sit in my place for a good while.

“Jun,” Akashi pokes me. “You hung up on something?”

“Huh? It’s nothing.” It’s definitely something. “Nothing too important.”

He walks out the room, then I rush out and quickly reach Sen.

“Need anything?”

“Yeah, you said something about backstage passes.”

“That’s right. We’re planning to raffle about ten of them to the students, why?”

“First off, what’s the point, Keisuke’s a student of Amakusa and not exactly off-limits here.”

“Precisely why only students can get them, and if we let every student backstage it will get crowded.”

“Speaking of Keisuke, did he ask for some before all this?”

“He did, four passes, actually. He said he’ll give them to his friends.”

“If that’s the case, you’ll have to start the raffle soon. I have a terrible feeling something’s going to happen.”

Kyotaro and Keisuke walk by us greeting good morning. A short pause follows.

“They really looks the same if it’s blurry enough. Is he—the one who isn’t Keisuke—one of those friends?”

“Yeah, I asked all this cause I saw Keisuke giving him something that looks like a card a few days ago.”

“Do they look like this?” He shows me a master copy.

“I wasn’t too close but yeah.”

“I’ve told him not to let anyone else know there will be passes. It’s up to the other guy now. See ya.” He leaves, and I get to class as fast as I can.

-----

Kyotaro’s mood is a bit more chipper than usual, knowing he’ll have a date on Saturday.

“We’ll continue the lesson from last time, please get your books.”

Everyone gets their books out, though Kyotaro’s a bit careful about opening his. He’s probably scared that he lose it or for it to fall off his locker. The announcement better come soon or he’ll slip before classes end.

Outside isn’t any better, work is already being done with sound tests and soft hammering. Heads start turning at every little clang and feedback, and I’m not immune either.

So far no one has screamed at- and now someone is screaming from outside a window. Doesn’t seem to have any effect.

“Sensei, what’s happening outside?”

“Fieldwork.”

“I think they’re setting something up.” A student by the window comments, and everyone goes watching.

“Get back here, class.”

No immediate response, but they go back to their places in dismay not too long after.

“Don’t mind what’s happening, it will all make sense soon.” It better, if Kyotaro staying put on his chair means anything.

“Let’s continue, on the first two sentences we see a...” And the lesson moves through, even with the noise interruptions.

There wasn’t much time left after I end the lesson, so everyone is putting back their books and materials. Kyotaro hurries and the pass falls off the book.

Before he can pick it up someone else gets a hold of it.

“What’s this, isn’t this Nakushonen?”

“Give it back!” His wide eyes say it all.

“Backstage-” Before she can read any further, Kyotaro snatches the pass from her. “Where did you get that?”

He doesn’t answer, but only slips it into his bag.

“Where else can he get that?” Another student suggests.

“Guys, please settle down...” I get close to the commotion.

“It has to be someone from- aha!”

“Oh no.” I mutter to myself, as a few students start going out of the room. The only thing the rest of us could do if not move along is follow with what’s happening.

At one end of the hall is Keisuke, who’s on his way back to 2-A. Upon seeing a group marching onto him, he runs back to where he went. They start the pursuit, and at that point I have no idea what’s happening.

-----

In what’s practically a snap, word spreads around about exclusive stuff and there’s now a good amount of students out for some dibs.

“Don’t you guys do anything ridiculous.” I say before leaving my class and get ready for the next. Kyotaro is still evading questions.

The halls are in their empty state again as Keisuke has hidden himself somewhere else and there’s no point in searching for him now. I don’t know where someone like him would hide.

I see Kyotaro walk past me, crossing over 2-A, and quickly retreating as a bunch of students give chase. What follows is me pulling him into 2-B as that’s the closest door.

“Kakuji-sensei? But it’s not yet English class.”

“Hey, it’s Yamaguchi!”

I peek out the door to a quiet hall. “Sorry about that, guys.” I face Kyotaro, who’s slowly standing up. “The coast is clear.”

“Did he do something again?”

I’d prefer not to answer; if I answer I’ll be in trouble. “No, he didn’t, it’s just-”

“Is it about the tickets?” Another student shouts.

I turn to Kyotaro but he’s rushed out the door. “Please do him a favor and don’t ask him about that, okay?” And I myself make an exit.

-----

As Kyotaro runs to his locker, someone beckons him.

“Kyotaro!” Keisuke wipes his brow as he emerges from his hiding spot.

“Hey, I’m so sorry for causing all this.”

“I should be to blame, giving you those was a terrible idea. I have to tell Sen about this but I can’t go to the room he’s in, they might see me.”

“And what do you need me for?”

“I have a plan, listen...”

A while later, the two start walking up to the storage room. A few students see Keisuke as he climbs a flight of stairs.

“It’s him!”

Alarmed, the two blondes split off, startling the group. That buys Keisuke enough time as he dashes for it to the storage room where his manager is.

“Keisuke,” Sen sees him panting, back to the door. “Isn’t is a bit early?”

“Yes, but,” Keisuke catches his breath. “you have to tell everyone about the event, or this school won’t be having any peace.”

“What are you talking ab- did he...?”

“I don’t know what happened, but his classmates found out, soon enough the whole school will want to know what’s happening.”

“Is it that bad, can it still-” The door slides open against and overpowered Keisuke.

The few students outside can’t see him, and they don’t know who the stranger inside is. At this point Keisuke has hidden himself behind a carboard cutout of himself.

“Where is he?” One of them asks. “Sir, did someone come in here?”

“No?” Sen answers warily. “I’m moving these boxes here.”

They go in anyway. Sen bucks it to the stage while their backs are turned. One of them peels back the stand-in of Keisuke, revealing the real deal. Keisuke reacts faster and heads for the door.

----

“Will all of you please calm down?” I face an uneasy crowd as they look at Kyotaro and his gang. I’m the only thing in the way, and terribly nervous as every person before me are in it for one thing.

Then loud speaker feedback reels us back.

“Hello? Someone has an announcement to make.” Everyone heads to the nearest vantage point to see the field.

The stage is empty, and the air is still, but that’s to build the tension.

“A! MA! KU! SA!” Everyone knows that voice. “Are you ready this Saturday?” Keisuke, still in uniform, goes up alone on stage, but it’s as if the full trio is about to perform if the crowd goes any wilder.

Being a guy who wants to get a better view, I hold my head up and see a Keisuke I haven’t seen before, this time he’s got a brighter smile, a totally different guy from the shy transfer student.

“Nakushonen’s going live right here on this field this coming Saturday, and you know what’s better? You can even get a change to meet Taka and Juro!”

The details of the raffle fade from my ears as I start going down to the field as another teacher signalled me to head there.

Placing my head back on by the time on the field, Keisuke has already finished and is leaping off the stage.

“Do you have one of those tumbling things for the raffle?” Sen asks us.

“A drum? Well, I don’t have one myself.” Ryu answers.

“Of all the people not to have one...” Yu retorts then turns to Sen. “We can make one if you want, it won’t take that long.”

“Great, start collecting names tomorrow, I already have 20, er... 16 here ready, one per person. Obviously they want to get to meet the other two boys more than their classmate, that should probably be enough. Keisuke!”

Keisuke arrives looking a bit tired. “I’m so sorry, sensei.”

“Everything’s okay now.” I answer. “Don’t feel too bad about yourself.”

“You did great, Kiesuke! Everything’s gonna go smoothly after this, so don’t feel too bad about it. Your friends are definitely coming, right?”

“Yes.”

“They’re definitely going in first. Let them know, okay?”

Keisuke nods and bolts.

“Better get working again, there’s still a equipment to be made.” Yu says before we all head back to where we should go. It’s lunch break by now, and the students are pretty stoked for Saturday.

-----

Names have been collected, and a pretty quick rig was made before the day has ended, but took out drawn names after class. The list of winners is on the bulletin board and on the construction site for redeeming purposes.

Saturday finally comes in, and with the other members in their respective schools, you can just feel the anticipation as the place gets a livening up with student-made decorations welcoming Nakushonen as no one can be bothered to greet only 2/3s of the group.

Once classes are over, it’s a matter of preparation for visitors to come in. I quickly scout the place to find a specific group. I find them waiting in 2-C.

“Sensei?”

“It’s almost time, you should really get going, it’s only gonna get more crowded, follow me.” I say having planned a shortcut to the first row. Quick check and ready and we sneak past the excited crowds on the way to the backstage and the first row of seats.

Teachers on their special spots, some students over by the building, the rest on the field, it’s about time to start. For all it’s worth, the band playing before the main event already has Akashi going.

The background music stops, and the fanfare blares, the main event is about to start.

“Are you ready, Amakusa?” The response makes that apparent. “The wait is over! Here’s Keisuke, Taka and Juro, Nakushonen!”

Pyrotechnics were forbidden, but their entrance is explosive enough. It’s been a while since I last went to any concert of sorts, making this experience feel like the first concert I’ve watched.

Safe to say, everyone’s stoked, and after the performance, it’s time for autographs, and there’s quite a few of them who have bought or brought something for signing purposes, so the line is pretty long.

But just beside the stage is another line, for those lucky few who can get really up close and personal with the whole group, soon enough they’re allowed in, and heading the line is Kyotaro, Ayumi and his pals.

Suffice to say, it’s a success and it will definitely be the talk of the town for quite a while. As everyone else goes we school staff and volunteers clean up the mess left from all the confetti and whatever else.

-----

Monday comes, and the halls are as lively as when I left them, even though there are only a handful of people in school so far. I check the letter by the faculty door: a thank-you note from everyone at HT Records.

Other teachers start coming in. “Any of you did stuff yesterday?” I ask.

“Nothing special, really.” Ryu answers. “I slept the whole yesterday away.”

Akashi rushes in as usual. “Morning, everyone!”

“Guess it’s not just the students who got something from the concert.” I smile as Akashi pins a picture of a picture he took with his favorite band.

-END

#//story #bio

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findasongblog · 5 years

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A few albums for you to check out!

CHAMPS - The Hard Interchange

Three years in the making, the twelve-track record represents the highs, lows, heartbreak, adventures and everything in between.

"We've lived with this album for a long time and we're really very excited to be able to set it free. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much we enjoyed making it.” (press release)

The Switch - Birds of Paradise

Following the outfit’s previous bodies of work “We’re Fooling No-One” and the Norwegian Grammy-awarded “The Switch Album”, they return with fifth full-length “Birds of Paradise”. Lead-vocalist Thomas Sagbråten and co-author of the bulk of the album says “We tried to make a musical universe with slightly different laws of nature than real life. A bit less gravitation. The air is thicker. It’s hyper realistic, but also unreal.”

From budding seeds to the overarching themes of this viridescent volume, the septet hones something every-bit stylistically varied, surrealistically inclined and tactile, like a brightly plumaged exotic bird lost in the upper stretches of the northern hemisphere. (press release)

Boduf Songs - Abyss Versions

Boduf Songs’ seventh album and first on Orindal Records (Gia Margaret, Julie Byrne, Advance Base) marks the Ohio-via-Southampton artist’s most detailed album yet, somehow voyaging into deeper recesses than ever before.

Mat Sweet, the solitary figure behind Boduf Songs, has spent the better part of fifteen years cultivating an idiosyncratic strain of quiet menace, augmenting library-hushed vocals and brooding guitars with psychedelic flourishes from processed loops, field recordings, and distant, subliminal atmospheres.

Subtly acknowledging Boduf Songs’ beginnings, Abyss Versions echoes motifs from the first Boduf Songs album (2005’s Boduf Songs on Kranky Records), forming its own secret, circular path, encapsulating the journey from there to here. Sweet’s background in doom metal still seeps into the quiet, pensive world of Boduf Songs via mood and tone, balanced by shades of the fingerpicking mysticism of his first four albums. As always, the music of Boduf Songs is steeped in a palpable sense of darkness and dread, offset by a gorgeous and discreet sonic beauty. There is much prettiness here, albeit within an inescapably unsettling frame.

Throughout the album, sonorous melodies mix with the grind of drum machines, esoteric bleeps and bloops, and reversed tape experiments, all in counterpoint to the morphine-addled guitar and grimdark velvet vocals. There are haunting, dreamlike elements, the aching time/no-time uncanny sad-charms of some far-off Gene Vincent/Chet Baker number never recorded from an alternate Lynchian universe. Sounds emerge into the light then fade back into the darkness as repetition and hypnotic drone play against the movement. Forward and upward, we move without moving.

Abyss Versions is full of love, and the expanse of things outside of us, the slow, elegiac stir of echoes, the mixed blessing of memory, the sensation of rot and longing. A letting go. A refusal to let go. The static that carries you off, the swell of feeling that is delicately tuned away, the whisper of consciousness, snuffed gently out. An opium dream, curling smoke spiralling into the blackness of a dimmed room's ceiling, meditations on mortality and the void for those who travel by night. (press release)

Joshua Radin - Here, Right Now

Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Joshua Radin shares a heartwarming new album “Here, Right Now.”

Produced by Tony Berg with an array of guest vocalists and musicians, including Berg’s daughter Z Berg, Maria Taylor, Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet) and Danny Burke, Here, Right Now is comprised of seven original tracks and two covers (Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” and The Rolling Stones’ “She Smiled Sweetly”). Each track tackles themes of broken relationships, rescue, friendship and self-determination, all delivered with Radin’s trademark silvery, intimate tenor. (press release)

Wildwood Kin - Wildwood Kin

Completely fulfilling the band’s artistic vision, it’s as natural as it is accomplished. The trio’s vocals harmonise effortlessly, there are shades of Simon & Garfunkel, Bear’s Den and early Fleet Foxes in the beautifully gentle melodies, and its lyrics address profound themes like love, loss and spirituality. But above all, there’s a spirit to the record that’s as wild and free as the West Country moors where they grew up.

The songs are all built around messages that Wildwood Kin believe in. The warm-hearted ‘All On Me’ is similar in spirit to ‘The Weight’ by The Band, a song about sharing the load with someone. ‘The Crown’ addresses the rise of political showmen, and asks if any would actually stand up for what they believe if their power was stripped away. The strident ‘Time Has Come’ is both a female empowerment anthem and a reminder to not let yourself be crushed by circumstance. Wildwood Kin may have an unusual gift for harmony, and a way with evergreen folk rock melodies, but ultimately they’re three normal, relatable young women finding their way in the world and dealing with the same challenges, triumphs and tragedies as the rest of us. That connection, acceptance and, ultimately, love is captured throughout this beautifully reflective album. It is a tonic for our times. (press release)

#music #music blog #indie music #alternative music #albums #CHAMPS #The Hard Interchange #The Switch #Birds Of Paradise #Boduf Songs #Abyss Version #Joshua Radin #Here Right Now #Wildwood Kin #indie #alternative #find a song

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ismael37olson · 5 years

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Thank You, St. Louis!

I know 2018 was a rough one in many ways, but in my position as artsy-cynic-optimist, I can't help but see a lot of awesomeness in 2018.

What a year of New Line shows! One of my most loved shows, the classic Anything Goes; the wild, new(-ish) rock musical Yeast Nation (from the Urinetown team); and my own Zombies of Penzance. Wow, talk about variety! So many people came up to me after Anything Goes performances, saying some version of, "This has always been one of my favorite shows, but I didn't know it was so funny!" That always made me laugh. But I think it revealed something important about New Line -- we took the show seriously, its characters and plot, its themes, its satire; and what we revealed to our audiences was only what had always been there. The other secret that many directors miss -- a comedy like this is meant to keep the audience off balance, so you can't ever give them a moment to catch their breath or process the insanity before them. It was overwhelming, in all the best ways. And it was hilarious.

And Yeast Nation... well, doesn't the title say it all? I was so happy that audiences and critics embraced this crazy show, its political intrigue and social satire. We had so much fun working on this, and then Greg Kotis, one of the show's writers came to see us -- and he paid us the most amazing compliment. He said to me, "This production has really renewed my faith in the material." Could we get a nicer compliment from a show's writer...? And then, my beloved zombies. You have to understand, I love zombie movies, and also, I love Gilbert and Sullivan. So when the idea occurred to me in 2013, through a stoner's haze, to mashup the two forms, I knew that was something I wanted to work on.

I worked for five years, off and on, writing The Zombies of Penzance. Contrary to what some assumed, it's not just a sophomoric joke; as wacky as it is, it's a serious piece of writing. Just as The Pirates of Penzance is a sharp satire of the British class system, in a parallel way, The Zombies of Penzance is a satire of the Othering -- the cultural and political excluding -- of many, many Americans today, often practiced through a morally hazy film of faux Christian values. When I replaced pirates with zombies, replacing metaphorical monsters with actual monsters, it had far-reaching narrative ramifications, even though the larger arc of the story remained pretty much intact. Part of the appeal of the project to me was the experiment, the fundamental mismatch of content and form that is the central joke of the show. It's a zombie apocalypse story told in the form of wacky, English light opera. And there was also the basic massive challenge of rewriting a Gilbert and Sullivan show, which I love deeply, and to make sure I was retaining Gilbert's voice. The response from audience and critics tells me I did that pretty well. After five years, it all blossomed in 2018. We did a public reading of The Zombies of Penzance in January, and to my great surprise, we had a packed house. The amazing Sarah Nelson music directed the reading for us, the cast did a really great job with it, and the audience LOVED it. They were fully engaged with the story and characters, even though it was just a reading, with the actors holding their scores. It was so encouraging! We had a talk-back with the audience after the reading, and I learned a lot. I was happy to find that they could easily follow the revised plot, and they understood the silly logic of the story's resolution. But I also discovered that not everybody sees zombie movies. I had assumed the audience would know the basic rules of zombism, just like everybody knows the basic rules of vampirism. But that assumption was wrong. So I addressed that in my rewrites. Also, a few women said to me afterward, half-joking, half-not, "Couldn't the women win?" And I thought, "Yeah, why couldn't they?" So I rewrote the end, so it's the daughters who outsmart the zombies. I did a ton of rewrites, mostly small things, but also a few big things, like adding one song and greatly expanding another. One of the biggest lessons the reading taught me -- every time I had inserted a Joke, it was less funny than the dialogue and lyrics around it. I realized I shouldn't be inserting jokes, just telling the story, because that's already funny enough. Almost all the jokes I had stuck in got removed. The only ones that stayed were jokes that came from character. My friend and partner in crime John Gerdes meanwhile had been orchestrating the show, and had created a piano-vocal score for us to use for the reading. So after all my rewrites were done, I passed it all back to John, so he could incorporate my changes, and finish it all, write an overture, etc. We produced the show fully in October, and again, the response was so wonderful. Sarah Nelson had moved to New York, so Nic Valdez took over as music director, and all but two of the actors returned. The reviews were raves, the laughs were huge, and everybody walked out smiling or laughing. The actors and band had a great time, all our designers did really cool work, and everything turned out exactly as I had hoped.

AND THEN... we ended up publishing the script and full piano-vocal score on Amazon! And our sound designer Ryan Day asked if he could try making a live, high-quality audio recording of the show. He did, and now we've released a really great live cast album on CD (also on Amazon). It will be on the streaming services soon. AND THEN... we started getting inquiries about production rights. There's nothing settled yet in that area, but it looks likely that there will be further productions of our show! And if all that isn't cool enough, while we were running Zombies, I started writing my next fake Gilbert and Sullivan show, and I finished a first draft, much to my own astonishment, before the end of the year. It's really fucked up. I'll let it sit for a while now before digging back in. If all goes as planned, we'll be doing a public reading of this one in January 2021, and then producing it in our 2021-2022 season. Stay tuned... This was also the year I published my latest collection of analysis essays, Literally Anything Goes: 14 Great Oddball Musicals And What Makes Them Tick, and a novelty book I had been working on for several years, It's a Musical!: 400 Questions to Ponder, Discuss, and Fight About. I also published several scripts and scores I've written. (You can see them all on my Amazon Author Page.) All in all, 2018 was a really scary year for our country, but a pretty great year for me artistically. And 2019 looks like it will be just as cool... Thank you to everybody I worked with last year, and everybody who supports New Line. I am truly living the dream. Though it would also be nice to be able to pay my bills... Oh well, you can't have everything. Long Live the Musical! And Happy New Year! Scott from The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2019/01/thank-you-st-louis.html

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clubofinfo · 6 years

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Expert: Leading a double life When my partner, Barbara, first opened an account on Facebook, she used it in a way that most people in Yankeedom use it. Her network was an eclectic assortment of family, current and former workmates, new and old friends, neighbors and relatives living in other parts of the country. Most of what was posted on this account were pictures of kids, dogs and kitty cats, vacations, dinner outings, jokes – nothing too controversial. Like most members of Yankeedom, religion and politics were off limits. However, there was a kind of politically unconscious assumption operating that liberal values prevailed and that somehow the Democratic Party embodied those values. I nicknamed her Facebook account the “Suzy Cream Cheese” account after the Mothers of Invention’s album because it only dealt with surface preoccupations. As the most recent US presidential primaries heated up and people took sides about Hillary, Bernie and Jill Stein, the Suzy Cream Cheese page started to be “not nice”. The political unconscious became conscious. The assumption was that all women – in the name of feminism – should vote for Hillary. My partner thought this was a very shallow understanding of feminism and posted an article she wrote that was published in a number of online radical newsletters titled, “Feminism is Bigger Than Gender: Why I’ll Be Happy in Hell Without Hillary.” Oh dear. After she posted that article on Facebook, she got the cold shoulder and lost a couple of friends. Around that time she opened up a second “political” Facebook account and started adding to it a whole new group of far-left friends and acquaintances. She continued posting “suitable for family viewing” comments with her Suzy Cream Cheese account while posting and responding to socialist and communist posts on her political account. The Two Faces of Facebook Neither Barbara nor I are sociologists of social media or specifically of Facebook, so what follows is experiential. However, we do know a thing or two about how capitalist institutions operate in general and Facebook is no exception. The primary purpose of Facebook is to sell ad space to marketers. But how do you reach the Yankee public? You make it easy for Yankees to set up individual accounts so that Yankees can do what we do best—talk about the micro world of family, dogs and friends. In the process, hopefully people will purchase some of the products or services touted in the ads. Facebook has also made it possible for individuals to join groups and set up pages that then allow them to place ads to publicize their group or organization. For Facebook, reading groups, hobbies and support groups are fine. But Facebook has encountered a problem that many other capitalist institutions have. The problem is that you can set up the conditions for selling your products, but you can’t control people’s motivation for buying the product, (joining a group or setting up a political page) or what they will do with the product (what kind of group they will form). Facebook could even tolerate political groups. But the political imagination of Facebook consists of Republicans and Democrats. What Facebook had not counted on is the proliferation of political groups that exist outside both parties. As most of you know, there are many anarchist groups, Leninist groups, social democrats and even council communist groups. On the right there are all sorts of nationalist and fascists groups. It is safe to say that Facebook, as a capitalist institution, does not want to host these groups but until recently has not been able to do anything about it. Planning Beyond Capitalism Meets Suzy Cream Cheese Facebook Six years ago Barbara and I co-founded an organization called Planning Beyond Capitalism. The name pretty much says what we are up to. As an anti-establishment organization our main problem was, and still is, outreach. We stumbled and bumbled our way with the help of some anti-establishment social media whizzes who convinced us we could reach a lot more people through placing ads on Facebook. Facebook calls it “boosting”. At first, we were skeptical because the language used in placing an ad on Facebook seemed to have nothing to do with politics. They were ads for businesses. They encouraged us to “pick the right brand” and “target our audience” for best “market return”. We weren’t a business and we weren’t a non-profit. The best category we could find was “community organization”. One of the things we do on Planning Beyond Capitalism is to select one article from a left-wing news source and write one post and commentary each day. We call this “Capitalist News Interpreted”. We publish these posts daily on Facebook, but don’t “boost” them. But every couple of months or so we write a longer article, in which we make an analysis of world events, mostly in the United States, from the perspective of our organization. We put these in the category of Perspectives. Over the course of two or three years we found four or five political newsletters in which to publish our perspectives. In addition, we decided to “boost” those perspectives on Facebook. Our pattern was to boost our perspective for one week for the cost of $30.00 to run for one week. This money came out of our own pockets. We were able to select our demographics – age, gender, interests – and we could post it to almost any country in the world. In selecting our audiences when we first started boosting our posts, the choices of “anarchism” and “socialism” were available for us to select. Typically, in a single week we reached about ten thousand people – with a ratio of people in that audience of people who “liked” our perspective from about 20% to 33%. The number of “shares” in a week ranged from 75 to about 250 depending on the article. In the process of doing this, we began hearing from people in other parts of the world. Some of those people then began to write for us. We were pretty amazed that Facebook approved of virtually all our perspectives in 2016 and 2017 despite our anti Democratic Party, anti-capitalist slant. Here are some of our titles: No Pink Wooly Caps for Me Open Letter to the Sandernistas: The Political Revolution Continues – Hearts, Bodies and Souls Planning Beyond Capitalism meets Big Brother Facebook Things began to change for us on Facebook when I published an article on April 1st of this year claiming the Democratic Party was worse than the Republican Party for 90% of the population. After we posted a link to it on our Facebook page we tried to boost it. Greater of Two Evils: Why the Democratic Party is Worse than the Republican Party for 85% of the U.S. Population Facebook rejected our ad and we contested that rejection. They said it was sensationalistic, involved hate speech and promoted violence. We contested this rejection and after two arguments from us, won our appeal. We ran the ad for two weeks because of its popularity. It reached 38,000 people, had many hundreds of shares and we gained about 100 new followers. The next article we published was written by an Iraqi comrade of ours living as a citizen in Russia. The article was about why Russians are upset with Americans. Why Russians are Upset With Americans – Seen Through the Eyes of an Iraqi This ad was again disapproved by Facebook but for different reasons: it was “political”. We contested this as well. Below is our argument: We have been boosting posts on FB for 2 years. Every single one of them has political content. Why is this particular one being singled out? However, this is the first article that we’ve published about Russia, written by someone living in Russia. We believe that you are not authorizing this ad because it is a favorable account of the Russian people, which does not conform to the Democratic Party’s anti-Russian ideology. This article was written by a Russian citizen and is written from his own observations and viewpoint. Furthermore, his sources are documented and it is neither sensationalistic nor violent. We are not advocating for Russian foreign policy. We are talking about average Russian citizens. If you read the article, you would see that your response is exactly the reasons Russians are upset with Americans. Their experiences are suppressed, while we maintain the stereotypes of them as in the cartoon image that leads the article. This, to us, constitutes blatant discrimination. Facebook’s response was a boilerplate line about what constitutes a political post. Their policy about political ads had changed as of May 7th, 2018. It implied that their disapproval had nothing to do with its content. It was because the category was “political”. We were told that in order to consider having our ad approved, we had to register as a political organization. In order to do this we needed to: * Be citizens of the United States * Provide proof of citizenship * Provide a residential address * Provide a drivers license number * Provide a Social Security number All this – simply to place a political ad. Doesn’t this sound like we are registering to be investigated by the FBI or CIA? Oh, no that’s just left wing paranoia. Further, they said it would take up to six weeks to verify this and to approve our ad. But not to worry, they would delete all our information once it checked out. As the author of the article on Russia, Jamal pointed out his other two articles that had been accepted by Facebook were far more political than the one they just rejected. But that was before their change of policy. Jamal rightfully pointed out that the rejected article was more historical, sociological and cultural than political. However, the upper middle class honchos of Facebook, having taken one class in political science in the United States, cannot tell the difference between sociology, political economy, and culture. Their formula is: Russia = political = bad America = Democratic Party = good To paraphrase an old country tune, “Take this job and shove it”, we told Facebook to “take your political registration and shove it”. No, there is no “Iron Curtain” in the US. That is for Russians. Our Analysis of Facebook We think it is reasonable to suspect that Facebook wants to get rid of its “political underground”, the groups that exist beyond the two party system. Why? For one thing people at both extremes of the political spectrum are likely to buy the products that are advertised on their pages. The second reason is that our ads are chump change for them. Getting rid of us will cost them close to nothing in revenue. The third reason is political. Facebook, like most media institutions, is committed to the Democratic Party. Cleaning its house of “Fake News” (the news and opinions of the socialist or fascist sides of the spectrum) will steer people back to reasonable choices like the Democratic Party. It is our belief that this change in policy requiring organizations like ours to register as political groups has occurred in 2018, in part, because this is an election year. There are other indicators Facebook is closing ranks. In selecting an audience for our article, we noticed the choices given under political interests on the left, the furthest left available to choose was “very liberal”. There was no socialist choice even though a self-proclaimed socialist ran as a Democratic in the 2016 primaries. If anyone reading this has recommendations for alternatives to Facebook that would allow us to place political ads to broaden our reach, please contact us. It’s time for those of us on the far left to find an alternative to Big Brother Facebook. • First published at Planning Beyond Capitalism http://clubof.info/

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