John not meaning what he says

You know, we all say a lot of things when we don’t know what we’re talking about. I’m probably doing it now, I don’t know what I say. You see, everybody takes you up on the words you said, and I’m just a guy that people ask all about things, and I blab off and some of it makes sense and some of it is bullshit and some of it’s lies and some of it is — God knows what I’m saying. I don’t know what I said about Maharishi, all I know is what we said about Apple, which was worse.

John Lennon: The Rolling Stone Interview, Part One

“It’s sort of complicated but sometimes you say things, but it’s not really what you meant to say. If I say something to you and you hear it different from what I’ve said it, and you answer back and we’re not really getting down to it. I’m really talking like that you know. Like somebody says ‘do you want ice cream?’ and I’ll say no, and actually I meant yes. You find yourself saying the opposite of what you mean. This happens to me quite a lot. I speak a lot, but what I say is not always what I mean.“

John Lennon, 1973.

‘I was told recently by Yoko that one of the things that hurt John over the years was me going off and doing The Family Way,’ Paul says. The filmmaking Boulting brothers had approached him via George Martin. ‘I thought this was a great opportunity. We were all free to do stuff outside the Beatles and we’d each done various little things.’ When he mentioned it to John, Paul said, ‘He would have had his suit of armour on and said: “No, I don’t mind.”

Paul McCartney, c/o Ray Coleman, McCartney: Yesterday and Today. (1995)

But by the time I arrived, an agitated John was deeply involved indeed. More specifically, he was having a row with Paul and George Martin. “We’ve already done the concept album,” he argued, presumably referring to Pepper. “Why do we need to do another one?” “Look, John, we’re just trying to think symphonically,” George replied. “We’re trying to create a complete work out of song fragments.” John was derisive at first, saying, “You’re taking yourselves too seriously,” but when Paul invited him to contribute some compositions of his own to the medley, he seemed to capitulate. “Well, I might have one or two that could fit,” he said sheepishly. I exchanged glances with Paul. I’m sure we were both thinking the same thing: He’s just been waiting to be asked.

Here, There and Everywhere - Geoff Emerick, Howard Massey

SHEFF: But you didn’t compose your stuff separately, as other accounts have said? JOHN: No, no, no. I said that, but I was lying. [Laughs.] By the time I said that, we were so sick of this idea of writing and singing together, especially me, that I started this thing about, “We never wrote together, we were never in the same room.” Which wasn’t true. We wrote a lot of stuff together, one-on-one, eyeball to eyeball.

John Lennon, interview w/ David Sheff for Playboy. (September, 1980)

PLAYBOY: "When you talk about working together on a single lyric like "We Can Work It Out,' it suggests that you and Paul worked a lot more closely than you've admitted in the past. Haven't you said that you wrote most of your songs separately, despite putting both of your names on them?" LENNON: "Yeah, I was lying. (laughs) It was when I felt resentful, so I felt that we did everything apart. But, actually, a lot of the songs we did eyeball to eyeball."

John Lennon, 1980

“No, no, no,” he answered and he meant it. “I’m going to be an ex-Beatle for the rest of my life so I might as well enjoy it, and I’m just getting around to being able to stand back and see what happened. A couple of years ago I might have given everybody the impression I hate it all, but that was then. I was talking when I was straight out of therapy and I’d been mentally stripped bare and I just wanted to shoot my mouth off to clear it all away. Now it’s different. “When I slagged off the Beatle thing in the papers, it was like divorce pangs, and me being me it was blast this and fuck that, and it was just like the old days in the Melody Maker, you know, ‘Lennon Blasts Hollies’ on the back page. You know, I’ve always had a bit of a mouth and I’ve got to live up to it. Daily Mirror: ‘Lennon beats up local DJ at Paul’s 21st birthday party’. Then we had that fight Paul and me had through the Melody Maker, but it was a period I had to go through.

John Lennon, interview w/ Ray Coleman for Melody Maker: Lennon – a night in the life. (September 14th, 1974)

GEORGE: I remember the day when John did an interview with a certain magazine and said certain things, and then I remember the day when he disagreed with what he’d said, but the man who interviewed him denied him the right to change his mind and, even though it was two and a half years, later still went ahead and published something which John said he no longer agreed with himself on. Which means the dream was over, yet certain people wouldn’t allow him to have his dream... over. Nudge nudge wink wink, say no more. [inaudible] JOHN: In other words, imagine if somebody or if you accidentally bang your head and you shout, “Ow!” – that’s the end of it. [self-conscious; laughs] Right? GEORGE: And he said that too. JOHN: I mean, it doesn’t go on for the next five years, right? And we all did that.

December 21st, 1974 (New York)

INT: It seem that you did minimize a little bit, what the, what the effect was on the, value and lifestyle and all that. You said that there was almost nothing left of Beatles. JOHN: Well I get bitter too, you know. And uh, also it was always the insistence that the Beatles led something, you know. And if anything they were figureheads, you know. And, I put it more succinctly later on when I thought about it. When I said those statements A) I was bitter and upset; emotionally upset cause we just split up, you know. I call it a divorce right. But when I think about it, obviously…you know, I can change my mind.

John interviewed by Jean-François Vallée in April 1975.

Underground journalist Felix Dennis watched the session. ‘I remember Ringo getting more and more upset by this… I have a clear memory of him saying, “That’s enough, John.”’ Lennon and Ono competed to come up with the most insulting lines, Dennis said. ‘Some of it was absolutely puerile. Thank God a lot of it never actually got recorded because it was highly, highly personal, like a bunch of schoolboys standing in the lavatory making scatological jokes.’ ‘John would forgive himself, and expect Paul to forgive him,’ Derek Taylor recalled.

Peter Doggett, You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of the Beatles. (2009)

I went through a period of trying to encourage Paul by writing and saying things that I thought would spur him on. But I think they were misunderstood. That's how "How Do You Sleep?" (on the "Imagine" album) was intended. Although I suppose it was a bit hard on him.

John Lennon Talks To Ray Connolly May 18th 1972 Radio Times

“At the moment he is cut off from the three of us. The last time I saw him was in December.” Asked whether he thought John Lennon’s recent unkind references to Paul on his “Imagine” album, had deepened the rift, George replied: “Maybe John felt like that about Paul at the time he was writing the song, but he doesn’t feel like that all the time. The song doesn’t represent what he really feels. It’s just John – people don’t really understand. “I think John’s record is great – though that track about Paul is a bit hard. But it’s only something felt at the time . . . ”

George Harrison, interviewed by Mike Hennessey for Record Mirror (October 16, 1971)

JOHN: (smiles) You know, I wasn’t really feeling that vicious at the time. But I was using my resentment toward Paul to create a song, let’s put it that way. He saw that it pointedly refers to him, and people kept hounding him about it. But, you know, there were a few digs on his album before mine. He’s so obscure other people didn’t notice them, but I heard them. I thought, Well, I’m not obscure, I just get right down to the nitty-gritty. So he’d done it his way and I did it mine. But as to the line you quoted, yeah, I think Paul died creatively, in a way.

John’s Playboy interview as published in the magazine’s January 1981 issue

He turned to me and told me that he had been equally vicious about Paul during the same period and that Paul had got it right when he had declared that the only person John was hurting with his vitriolic behavior was himself. It was not exactly an apology, more like an explanation.

Glyn Johns, Sound Man: A Life Recording Hits with the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, the Faces… (2014)

“I have to ask you, what was all that stuff in the telegraph about?... And he’s gone oh yeah, look, speak to Paul about that, I wasn’t in a good place mentally at the time. Just speak to Paul about it…. I thought it was a real cop out because he had hurt me, he’d said something unfair, and rather than just apologise, what he basically said was I’ve apologised to Paul, and Paul’s accepted my apology for for my behaviour in that period, the immediate aftermath of the Beatles, and therefore speak to him and he will explain to you why you should forgive me”.

I am the EggPod guest Sam Delaney talking about a Get Back screening Q&A with Glynn Johns

“I’m trying to be mad at you, but you’re so nice, it isn’t easy,” Glyn replied. Then he explained that he had been upset by John’s comments about him in the “Lennon Remembers” interviews. John had said that Let It Be, which had been re-mixed by Glyn, had wound up sounding awful, and Glyn, a true professional, had been very offended by John’s comments. John did not remember saying it at all and he was very embarrassed. He explained, “I had just done primal therapy. I was just lettin’ off steam. That interview was just a lot of anger.” Glyn stared at John. John’s words had hurt him, and he had never expected that John would not remember what he had said, nor had he perceived that the comments would be dismissed as “just lettin’ off steam.” Like everyone else, he believed everything the public John said and took him very seriously. John repeatedly apologised to Glyn, and eventually the matter was dropped.

Loving John

“John’s most influential interviews, interviews which people took as gospel truth, were for John occasions to blow off steam and then to forget what he had said.”

May Pang, The Lost Weekend

At the time, we at Apple weren’t feeling good anyway, because Apple had failed; and here was one of our friends telling everyone who reads Rolling Stone that we were bastards. In the end we had to say, ‘Well, we’re not.’ John later retracted some of it, and we became friends again. And I forgave him. He would forget he’d said it, and expect to be forgiven, as he always was.

Derek Taylor, interview w/ Peter Doggett for Record Collector. (August, 1988)

John had gone through a tremendous upheaval in his private life, and he was a very odd person at times; he wasn’t at all himself. There was the famous interview he did for Rolling Stone, which has been reprinted many times, in which he says many unfair and untrue things, slagged everybody off, including me. I took him to task over it later on, asking him, “Why did you say all those things? It wasn’t very nice.” He said, “Oh, I was just stoned out of my head.” That was his only apology, really. Unfortunately, that has become history now; it’s accepted as the Bible.”

George Martin, interview w/ Howard Massey for Musician. (February, 1999)

“If you look at interviews and stuff with John, from around about that time he was in Imagine [documentary] he kind of admits that he’s having problems with himself. So, well, the first thing you do when you’re having problems with yourself is you bitch about someone else. And the closest person was me…He had a real go at me. I personally think it was ‘cause he was trying to clear the decks for Yoko. He’s got a new love, he’s trying to say to her, “Look, baby, I love you. I hate those guys.” And I think—you also have to remember John was going through a lot of problems. And you know, as they say, people, when they’re going through problems, come out with that kind of stuff. You know that, we all know that. When you’re in a bad mood, the first thing you do is badmouth somebody else. You don’t want to badmouth yourself…Some of the times, he was having other sorts of problems…So—like most of what John said, I take it with a pinch of salt. I love him still. I don’t care what he said, you know. Even if he badmouths me, I still know that he was a great guy, and that he loved me.”

Paul McCartney

Todays rip: 30/03/2024

THANK YOU FOR RIPPING

Season 1 Featured on: beatmania IIDX 7 GRAND Also on: GilvaSunner's Highest Quality Video Game Rips: Volume 7: Part mm2wood

Ripped by beat_shobon

Requested by Bumsoldier! @bumsoldier (Request Form)

Its that time again - another Season 1 finale rip! But there's a good reason these keep showing up, as I reiterate with each one I cover - The Season 1 finale was when the team was truly firing on all cylinders to end the channel off with a bang. Planet Wisp Mashup Medley, The SiIvaGunner Smurfs Collab, File Select Fusion Collab, Stone Halation - tons of these incredibly ambitious, full-blast collaborations, that I've written plenty of words about already. In comparison, THANK YOU FOR RIPPING feels almost as if dwarfed in scope, not helped by being a rip of a comparatively niche series. Which is a damn shame - because what beat_shobon has done here is just as much of a loveletter to the entire channel yet expressed through his own individual style in a far more condensed runtime.

First of all though - wow, beat_shobon! It's been since Rolling Start that I wrote about one of his rips, and since then I've learned that he's become a bit of a superstar since his 2016 SiIvaGunner days - notably winning a Vocaloid songwriting contest with the ironically-named Can't Make A Song!! in 2018. The guy has a great grasp on this kind of music, is my point, and both Rolling Start and THANK YOU FOR RIPPING show that off well - but more importantly, I adore how THANK YOU FOR RIPPING still feels as much like a love letter to SiIvaGunner as a whole as it does a flexing of its rippers' muscles. The song used as the foundation for the mashup is GO MY WAY!! from the IDOLM@STER franchise, a song that was immensely notable in Season 1 as the song to supposedly "replace" Snow Halation during The Reboot storyline - see I Saw a Brainwasher Today for a bit more details on this. Its a song that I remember receiving a lot of pushback during that event as a result of those connotations, as a lot of people found it to be even *more* grating of an idol song than Snow Halation was - yet with The Reboot concluded, with those emotions settled, I find that the song has come to represent a sense of...unity, in the fanbase. It IS silly idol music, but we've come to accept it as part of SiIvaGunner, as a result of what The Reboot taught us.

That's far from all that THANK YOU FOR RIPPING contains, of course - the piano in the background continuously plays segments of The Flintstones theme throughout the entire song, as it jumps from joke to joke. Its a bit of a journey throughout the entire channel's life during Season 1: starting where it all began with Vinesauce Joel's reaction to 7 Grand Dad, to a quick clip of Snoop Dogg's "Smoke Weed Everyday!!", a sudden jumpscare from The Bean (I'll get to it someday), then moving into memes prominent in the season's last few months, in the infamous POKEMON GO SONG!!! and The Nutshack theme. All the while, again, those Flintstones-esque notes stay prominently audible in the background, as to keep reminding us of where this whole thing all began.

Perhaps most interesting of all, though, is near the rips end at around the 1:30 mark. Another Vinesauce Joel clip plays, a quite well known one - "WHO'S BEEN DRAWING DICKS?" - but its pitch shifted in a way that may ring as familiar to many of you. It is, indeed, directly referencing the rip "Creative Exercise - Mario Paint", known by its album name as Mario Paint exe 2. A sequel to a prior-made Soundcloud mashup from the same ripper in 2015, this is as of today the third-most-viewed rip on the entire SiIvaGunner channel - and was, to my surprise, also made by beat_shobon. Making that connection, then, drew my attention to another part of the rip just a few seconds earlier, where the instantly-recognizable bellow of "DAY-TO-NAAA!!!" from Daytona USA plays in the midst of the mix. I cannot help but think that this is a direct callback to Rolling Start, as another one of beat_shobon's most celebrated rips - one also made during The Reboot, tracing back to the rip's central joke.

I dunno - there are tons of these little connections to make within the surprisingly dense 2-minute runtime of THANK YOU FOR RIPPING, yet they all work toward the very same emotional goal. Gratitude - a thank you, from the entire SiIvaGunner channel yes, but also from beat_shobon himself, thanking us all for having enjoyed so much of the channel's life. Through thick and thin, through Reboots and Beans, though rips made by people all over the world - we loved SiIvaGunner more than ever before during the Season 1 finale. And its always such a treat to go back to that time and see just how much it meant to even the rippers behind it all.

23 August 1970 - Queen played in the Lecture Theatre at Imperial College, London, UK, attended by ex-1984 member, John Garnham. This is Barry Mitchell's first of 12 gigs as Queen's bassist.The gig was promoted by a hand-written ad on the college noticeboard by Roger Taylor. All these years later, Barry has happily given interviews about his short stint with the band. One one occasion he recalled his audition about three before this show, and how they ran through a couple Smile numbers that would end up on Queen's debut album. “I felt like such an outsider when I first joined Queen”, said Barry.  “They had everything worked out.  Just before my first gig, Freddie suggested we all camp it up and wear women’s clothes.  He really wanted to play on it, 

but it just didn’t happen, thank God!”Freddie was flamboyant at rehearsals, but Barry Mitchell didn’t feel the posture was matched by the voice: ‘He didn’t sing very well, that was self evident. It just wasn’t there, it would break up and he couldn’t hold the note. It was later on, in the Eighthies, when it really became spot-on. Brian was outstanding, technically brilliant. Roger was never a great drummer but I loved his backing vocal harmonies, his high-pitched stuff.’In rehearsal Freddie did not play either guitar or piano and, indeed, Mitchell was unaware he could play an instrument. Despite this, Freddie appeared to form the group’s musical core. ‘It was Freddie who had the ideas, most of them came from him’, he said. ‘If someone else came up with something Freddie would hone it until it was right. Freddie had this really clear vision of how the songs should go.’”The new line-up rehearsed zealously - still at Imperial - and even played a couple of impromptu gigs for friends to gauge the reaction.  All they needed now were some small gigs to get themselves up and running again, starting with the Imperial gig 23 August.  They used simple lighting but they all wore fancy stage costumes.  Freddie even went so far as to procure the talents of dressmaker, Wendy Edmonds from The London College of Fashion: I made clothes for Roger and Freddie when they had the stall together. I would cut up curtains to make panelled velvet jackets and bags and things like that.Denise Craddock (friend) was there, and made notes in her diary: 'Fred looked excellent in shiny trousers, velvet top, snake bracelet, boots and silver hair. Brian's guitar work excellent and Barry's bass beautiful. Big crowd of supporters’. During the show the audience were treated to free apple juice and buckets of popcorn, which had been carried from Freddie’s flat earlier in the day.  Barry recalls the band playing these songs at shows around this time period: ‘Stone Cold Crazy,’ ‘Liar,’ ‘Keep Yourself Alive,’ ‘Doin' Alright,’ ‘Great King Rat,’ ‘Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll,’ ‘Hangman,’ and a Rock 'n' Roll medley of cover songs. The band set out to prove that they were different in all aspects, and that night, they went down very well - but the audience were friends of the band, and they may have been somewhat biased in their favour ! When asked about other songs that were rehearsed but didn't make it to the shows or albums, Barry replied, "I don’t remember any songs that we worked on not making it. I do remember a song that was not ready for performance by the time I left, ‘My Fairy King.’”  He said ‘Jesus ‘ was also rehearsed but never performed with him. ‘Doin' Alright’ was performed like the guitar-oriented Smile version. Mitchell recalls, "It was probably the first song that I worked on with the guys, and we did it much the same way that Smile did it. Any development of it came after my departure." And when asked about his contributions to Liar's bass lines, he said, "Liar sounds much the same as when I played it." He also stated that ‘Stone Cold Crazy,’ despite some stories that early live versions of the song were much slower in tempo, was played no slower in 1970 and '71 than what was eventually heard on Sheer Heart Attack in 1974. Over the years, the Rock 'n' Roll medley always included ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ and would often include (or at least have references to) many other covers, including ‘Tutti Frutti,’ ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo,’ ‘Shake Rattle and Roll,’ ‘Stupid Cupid,’ ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula,’ and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On.’ These bits would usually be sung by Freddie over a continuing 12-bar blues, giving him the freedom to jump into whatever he'd like. The medley would feature in the show through 1977, and later versions of ‘Jailhouse Rock’ in the 80s would often result in similar band jams. ‘Big Spender’ would usually precede the medley in the earlier years, and ‘Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting’ would feature in it a few times in 1977. Sources: Queen As it Began, Jackie Gunn & Jim Jenkins and Queen The Early Years by Mark Hodkinson77Katherine R Davis, Eileen Roether en 75 anderen1 opmerking16 keer gedeeldLeukOpmerking plaatsenDelen

The Battle of the Sexes charity concert was last night in downtown Del Sol Valley. Co-hosted by actress Azula Rodriguez and Oliver Stone, son of famed music producer Jimmy Stone. The lineup was packed with heavy hitters across the music industry: from R&B to country to KPop and rock. The concert raised over half a million and was divided amongst several charities. While the performances were outstanding, it was the backstage tea that left us wanting more.

Levi Schule opened the battle for the boys, delivering a heartfelt rendition of his song, "Love Struck." The gossip started as soon as Schule stroked the first cord of his guitar. Audience members live-streamed and questioned if the once uptempo song was slowed for a special someone.

"Awe, Levi! He misses his girl." - One watcher tagged the video. "They weren't even dating. It's a song ppl." - Another commented.

These comments are referring to the rumored fling between Schule and Pop singer Kassandra. It must have been awkward for Levi to later share a stage with Raleigh Carerra. Remember the last time a rumored fling came face to face with him.

Speaking of Kassandra, our favorite songstress belted out a ten-minute medley of her greatest hits. The song that left our jaws on the floor was "Love Rain". The ditty has never been performed live, only featured on the deluxe version of her debut album.

"Love Rain" was a fan favorite since its release and fans have been begging for a live performance. The song which is obviously about former bea, Raleigh, and Kassandra was never shy about it. The singer was open about her writing process in the early days of her career, and her desire to keep some things off stage.

"Maybe I'm jinking it. It's still a new relationship, but he makes me happy. I want to write and sing about anyone who makes me happy. Or sad. Every emotion, good or bad. It's out there for everyone to hear, but I'll only sing it for those special people directly."

It would seem those feelings have changed. Or maybe she was indeed singing to that special someone. There were surprisingly no cameras rolling backstage, but we have sources saying the exes chatted in private. One of the things that first drew the pair together was Kassandra's voice. A close friend of Raleigh's said "he loves her voice. It's like a drug to him. After that performance, he felt that spark again."

Well, there you have it. Charities were funded, we got to hear new versions of old songs, and there may be a possible reunited romance. Or better, a love triangle. For more Pop Culture news, come back to Gossip Queen.

GQ ISSUE I | Previous | Next

I have a Kirby Heardle Thread on Twitter so sometimes I go off about how much I love this series' music, here’s 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 so far (with a lot more added in lol):

     Kirby finales have a distinct structure that is kiiinda still being followed in KatFL and it started with K64. If you were wondering why the boss theme medley at the concert skipped everything from the 2000s after it, its probably cause this structure is the pride of Kirby OSTs now.      The structure is that the first or penultimate bosses have wild high-energy themes done by Ishikawa, and then the last song for the grand final boss battle is an orchestral song (usually) done by Ando. (EX: Miracle Matter & Zero-2, Under My Control & CROWNED, Sullen Grace & FLOWERED, Crazy Rolling in Money & VS Star Dream, LA FOLLIA D'AMORE & Star-Conquering Traveler Suite, The Raging Lion Roars and/or Hunted By the Beast & Roche Limit). This is an awesome staple of Kirby games cause it compliments the common motif of their being a greater cosmic evil behind the motives of the main villain of the plot, and it also means we gets to have two really cool brands of Kirby music for the finale: Ishikawa's heart pumping bangers, and Ando's beautiful motif-dense orchestral compositions. 

     Technically my favorite pre-final boss theme by itself is Crazy Rolling in Money because it’s incredibly dynamic and moody in a way that portrays Haltmann’s emptiness and madness better than the other themes do for their subjects in my opinion. But I think as a combo, La Follia D’Amore and the Void Termina Suite are some grade A gourmet shit!      Hyness' fight is led up to with the eerie echo of Hall of Worship leading you to the fight - a twisted version of Friendly Fields which is a hint to the parallel between the Jamba and the Star Allies. It compliments Hyness’s slow hollow mannerisms that give you the impression that this great “Officiant of Doom” has completely lost himself (with the lore dump outburst hinting at his underlying hysteria). That energy is carried with more energy into Puppet Offering which gives off an even stronger vibe of his hollowness before you get into the second phase.      The way he loses it when his veil is knocked off, him draining the life out of the mages till they turn to stone and using them like goddamn BASEBALL BATS as the music just goes crazy in the background - ITS JUST SO GOOD!! It’s still the darkest the series has ever gotten and it is so earned with the way Hyness’ mad screeching blends with the frantic and desperate La Follia D’Amore! They took a lot of care to make sure Hyness' voice (amazingly provided by Shigeru Chiba, a big shot VA in Japan) paired perfectly with the music too, and boy does it deliver. La Follia’s barely the same without Hyness’ voice in the background. Everything about that scene builds up the shock of it so damn well, and even after I’ve watched it a thousand times and have gotten over the “woo so dark” of it, its just really fucking powerful. Hyness’ madness and desperation comes to full boil in this fight as he throws LITERALLY EVERYTHING - even the people he once loved - at you to make sure his wishes are seen through. And coming after the build up and first phase that blends that gamelan style into the Ishikawa-core composition is just a masterful, seamless transition - mwah!

     And after all that into the Void Suite! IDFC if The Star Conquering Traveler Suite comes off as too mellow or boring or whatever to you, if you don't like it you are my enemy!! It is a bee-a-utiful composition and I couldn't imagine anything better for Void Termina. It perfectly encapsulates the fight of a false God of Destruction's first steps. (Also fucking love the movement names, ty Kumazaki.) The super dramatic and orchestral theme fits the fact that Void is not just another greater evil as in other games like a corrupted crown or mad computer, but a God! Specifically a God not from it's own definition and understanding, but from the weighty title placed upon it by it's creators -by isolated and lost people who turned to darkness for catharsis and salvation. You learn later that the true nature of Void Termina is not the God the Jamba thought it to be, but the fact that it is by the power of their faith makes the painfully grandiosity of the suite fit perfectly! If there is no true “God(s)” in the Kirby universe, these people MADE one, physically and metaphorically. And that still gives it more power and merit than anything you’ve faced so far, and its gonna exude all that godliness and power the whole battle - UNTIL YOU GET TO ITS CORE! UNTIL YOU GET TO ASTRAL BIRTH VOID!      SPARKLING STAR STARTS WITH THE SAME CRAZY FINAL BOSS MUSIC BUT THE MORE YOU FIGHT IT THE MORE KIRBY REALIZES WHAT IT REALLY IS!! He realizes Void Termina was not some inherently malevolent being, but a creature with no other choices acting out! And he sees how it was so much like him, how if it could be given a second chance the poor lil godlet could’ve been better. AND THATS WHEN THE MUSIC GETS ALL SOMBER AND SHIT AND THE GREEN GREENS KICKS IN ON THE PIANO! AND AS KIRBY REALIZES THAT VOID AND HIM REALLY DO COME FROM THE SAME ORIGIN THE FUCKING DISTORTED CHIPTUNE KICKS IN!!!!!!!!! AND EVERY LOOP IT BECOMES CLEARER AND CLEARER AS KIRBY GETS CLOSER AND CLOSER TO SAVING IT - TO GIVING VOID A NEW BEGINNING!      And Kirby finally gets to Astral Void, to the core of Void Termina and the origin of himself as well, and he breaks through! And Astral Void glows blinding white and explodes with a smile on it's face in a shower of friend hearts....... Kirby Star Allies is SO fucking good man...

     Good-at-best gameplay and generally disappointing ass OST, but KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK AND INTO THE STRATOSPHERE with the storytelling and finale!       La Follia D’Amore and Star Conquering Traveler work together on this and tell an amazing musical story about how the Jamba were driven to insanity. How this group that once considered themselves family deteriorated and only wished to spread more hate and corruption. And collected that within themselves and into a vessel that they called a God. But really it was just a false idol, and a being representing the limitless possibilities of emotional connection. They brought it to life filled with crazed spite and grief, they propped it up as a destroyer of worlds and it fed on that because it had no way else to live. But Kirby and his friends combated that with the power of positive connection, of bonds built on magic and friendship and rainbows and heart. And through the limitless potential of Void, Kirby reached out and made an ally out of the unconquerable depths. Because KIRBY IS A FRIEND DOGGUMMIT, and even the eldritch horrors and its cultist worshippers are invited to the Sunday picnic!!!      Fucking love KSA... I wish it was technically better and more ffun but it is still an amazing finale and full of so much love. It’s maddeningly dense with envirornmental and musical storytelling I could talk about it for AGES.

perreauxphoto: Tessa + Scott doing what they do last night in #yql

tessavirtue17: One year ago today, Scott and I performed for the last time together. I can’t decide if it feels like yesterday or a lifetime ago ... either way, my heart is so full as I reflect on it all 🤍

📸@redbuttonphoto

Home from Canada at last and sorting through video and photos from my three RTR shows. First up, Mississauga videos. 

Most of the Motown Medley.  When they couldn’t both fit in frame, I focused on Scott because his shenanigans change nightly and he tended to be on my side anyway.  

20s Medley. Focused on the tables, TS dancing together, or Scott’s shenanigans if I had to choose.

I was both trying to watch them more than the camera and also simultaneously losing my mind/emotional well being that all of this was happening in front of me so the video goes a little wonky sometimes whoops. A couple more clips under the read more.

Some of Wish You Were Here. Not sure about why I started/stopped recording when I did. I was having a lot of feelings.

Some of the Rolling Stones Medley. Again, feelings were happening so excuse the camera work.

A Bit of Let You Go. Tessa and Scott’s first appearance in the song.

I have a couple more from Mississauga but Tumblr is cutting me off from embedding and it’s time for me to leave for trivia. Photos and more videos coming from Ottawa and St. Catharines too.

Also: reblogging preferred to reposting but please credit me here (@thatsamoireh) if you repost or gif. Thanks!

Billboards #1 1965

Under the cut.

Petula Clark – “Downtown” -- January 23, 1965

I love this song to bits. I don't entirely know why. Petula Clark obviously sings it wonderfully. There's that little bell that sometimes chimes in. There's a pattern to the song that makes it feel like Broadway, which is, of course, downtown. It's a fantasy version of a downtown in a big city. One thing I love about fantasy is a sense of place, and that's what this entire song is dedicated to. It's an unusual subject for pop music, and it's great.

The Righteous Brothers – “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” -- February 6, 1965

How does one even talk about this song? It feels somehow eternal. This is Phil Spector's production at its best. But Bill Medley's singing is the point. This song is one of the greats.

Gary Lewis And The Playboys – “This Diamond Ring” -- February 20, 1965

Gary Lewis is Jerry Lewis' son. Unlike his father, he does not consist entirely of annoyance-producing molecules, but the song's not good either. In it, the guy's fiancee dumped him and he's selling the diamond ring. A boring, bland heartbreak song that belongs three years or so back.

The Temptations – “My Girl” -- March 6, 1965

My mom used to sing this song to me when I was a little kid. I think a lot of parents sing this song to their little girls; it's that kind of love song. Yet it's not irritatingly antiseptic. It's about true love. True love can be a lot of things. This song is every superlative you can think of. Brilliant in every aspect.

The Beatles – “Eight Days A Week” -- March 13, 1965 

It's a good, but not great, Beatles song. Very fun, with a lot of interesting things musically, like the bassline (as usual) and whatever George Harrison does with his guitar.

The Supremes – “Stop! In The Name Of Love” -- March 27, 1965

Finally, Diana Ross actually sounds kinda pissed off. It's also got more of a rock edge. She's still begging, and not threatening to leave the guy's cheating ass. Yet, though there is no explicit threat, I feel like there is an implied ultimatum here.

Freddie And The Dreamers – “I’m Telling You Now” -- April 10, 1965

It sounds like this guy is exaggerating his English accent. Considering the British Invasion, probably. He cackles like a monkey on acid, which is the only interesting thing about the song, which is otherwise a bland love song. Though the cackle is interesting, that doesn't make it good. It's creepy. I don't like this one.

Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders – “The Game Of Love” -- April 24, 1965

"The purpose of a man is to love a woman, and the purpose of a woman is to love a man." Whoo boy. Dated. But the song is 55 years old. Attempting to put that aside, the music is good. The lyrics sound pushy, though. Also it gets terribly repetitive at the end. Meh.

Herman’s Hermits – “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” -- May 1, 1965

Was it once usual for guys to go to their ex-girlfriends' mothers to talk of their heartbreak after the girlfriend dumped them? This song is painfully "look how English I am! You Americans like to throw money at English pop singers, right?" It wears out its welcome quickly.

The Beatles – “Ticket To Ride” -- May 22, 1965

It's interesting how the Beatles seem to have matured five years in one. I can't imagine this group having performed "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The harmonies and rhythms in "Ticket to Ride" are far more complex, the sounds are more varied, and the lyrics are much more mature. His wife/girlfriend is absolutely determined to leave him, and he seems taken by surprise. Yet there are hints he shouldn't have been: "She would never be free when I was around." He goes on, "My baby don't care." Yet underneath there's the suggestion that she simply hasn't got it in her to care any more, because he's exhausted her. Layers of harmony and layers of meaning. It's an intelligent heartbreak song, and those are rare.

The Beach Boys – “Help Me, Rhonda” -- May 29, 1965

I know Brian Wilson was a musical genius but I usually don't like the Beach Boys. It's the lyrics. The narrator was dumped, now he's begging Rhonda to be his rebound. Lucky Rhonda. Then they sing "Help me Rhonda/ Help, help me Rhonda" about five dozen times. Not for me.

The Supremes – “Back In My Arms Again” -- June 12, 1965

Urgh. Don't listen to the Supremes' #1 hits close together. She's got her man back because she stopped listening to her friends' advice. In isolation, there's nothing wrong with that. After all the songs about rotten cheating assholes whom the narrator is desperate to keep, though, it's super uncomfortable. Also using the names of the two backup singers as the friends who give bad advice is in poor taste. And "Flo, she don't know, cuz the boy she loves is a Romeo"? You solely date Romeos! Taken alone, without the context of the other songs, it's good, though I still don't like the strange insult toward the backup singers. Taken with the rest of the Supremes' hits, though, I'm not happy. Especially considering these were all written by men.

The Four Tops – “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” -- June 19, 1965

The Supremes weren't the only people in Motown singing about being hopelessly in love with someone who treated them badly. That's what this song is about. I like it, though the line "I'm weaker than a man should be" is a bit wince-inducing these days. But it's an honest sentiment about how men often feel they're not allowed to be idiots over love, though that's a near-universal human experience. Anyway, good song.

The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man -- June 26, 1965

The original version of this song was by Bob Dylan, but the Byrds didn't like it, so they changed the sound and ditched a bunch of the lyrics. The lyrics they were left with don't matter at all. This is all about the music, especially the guitar. It's mellow without being soporific, groovy without requiring drugs to understand. It's nice.

The Rolling Stones – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” -- July 10, 1965

The Rolling Stones were almost never nice. They went straight for the gut -- or gonads -- found all the nastiest things that people are afraid to say and embarrassed to feel, and hung them up on the front porch. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" sounds kind of silly today, since it's been played and overplayed so much. But that beginning riff still goes straight to the back-brain.

Two years before, pap like "Hey Paula" was clogging the airwaves. Funnily enough, it's the same subject matter: Goddamn I want to get laid. (The idea that Mick Jagger had trouble getting laid is pretty ridiculous, but anyway.) And then there's the critical bit about hating advertisements. They managed to stick a cultural criticism into a song that's about wanting sex. When you can't get no satisfaction, everything is annoying, and things that were already annoying to begin with start to feel unbearable. The Stones go harder in every way than any #1 before them.

Herman’s Hermits – “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” -- August 7, 1965

And here's the opposite. This song must be meant to be annoying, right? One of my friends and I used to sing it at our parents to drive them nuts, and that was before Ghost. It was their fault for exposing us to it in the first place.

Sonny And Cher – “I Got You Babe” -- August 14, 1965

Cher with Sonny is eternally confusing. Though their marriage didn't last, their love was real, and Cher was heartbroken when Sonny died. But anyway, the song. Sonny saying Cher has a "little hand" is goofy. Actually the whole song is kinda goofy, especially the beat that seems to be made of kazoos. Cher's got this powerful, deep voice, while Sonny has a squeaky little thing, but somehow they mesh. The sentiment is sincere, and a good picture of what it's like to be in a happy relationship. It's good.

The Beatles – “Help!” -- September 4, 1965

John Lennon was only 25 when he sang about being "younger, so much younger than today." But for the Beatles, that could have been two years before. They got so famous so fast and so young, I don't know how any of them lived through it. And that is what this song's about; Lennon called it a "public freak-out." But it's still universal. I love this song, and it helped carry me through some tough times.

Barry McGuire – “Eve Of Destruction” -- September 25, 1965

I remember when I first heard this song on the radio in the car with my mother, I asked her what "Old enough to kill/ But not for voting" meant. That's when I learned people used to not be able to vote until they were 21, though young men could be drafted at 18. I was absolutely stunned, and obviously it stuck with me. When you're a little kid, you tend to think the people in charge are generally fair. Then you find out that's not true at all. That's what this song is about, to me.

The McCoys – “Hang On Sloopy” -- October 2, 1965

Speaking of fair, I'm about to be totally unfair. I hate this fucking song. I had to play it endlessly in middle school band, and then I had to play it AGAIN in high school marching band. And the flute part in the arrangements was the most boring thing that has ever been conceived. I hate this song and I will not be listening to it or thinking about it more than this.

The Beatles – “Yesterday” -- October 9, 1965

Why do people in songs lose their significant others so often because they said something wrong and they don't know what it was? That can't be common. Anyway, this song is beautiful and sad. I'm kind of tired of all the covers of it though.

The Rolling Stones – “Get Off Of My Cloud” -- November 6, 1965

I'm listening to the original mono version of this, and mono sounds very strange these days. I keep wanting to check that my speakers are plugged in. Anyway, thanks to Jagger's marbles-in-mouth singing, I can't understand a word of this song except "Hey! you! get off of my cloud!" and I've never known the lyrics until now. And they're not important. Even the chorus isn't that important. This is all about the beat and the music, neither of which I find interesting for the entire length of the song. Not for me.

The Supremes – “I Hear A Symphony” -- November 20, 1965

A thoroughly happy Supremes song! I think Diana Ross is more suited to happy lovesongs than what she had been singing. She has a lot more emotion in her voice than she has before. The violins are lovely. I love this song.

The Byrds – “Turn! Turn! Turn!” -- December 4, 1965

I have always found this song slightly annoying. The Bible verse set to light pop thing doesn't do it for me. The music isn't anywhere near dramatic enough. This should be operatic, or heavy metal, or something else with serious weight. This is thin.

The Dave Clark Five – “Over And Over” -- December 25, 1965

This song is a bit of a throwback to three or four whole years before. It would have been good then. At this point, it's pretty boring. It's about going to a party he didn't want to go to, hitting on a girl, and getting turned down. The snare drum beat is very repetitive, and so is the melody. A big meh.

BEST OF 1965: "My Girl", with stiff competition.   WORST OF 1965: "I'm Telling You Now"

NHL Playlists: Metro Division

Carolina Hurricanes:

Brass Bonanza - The Zambonis//Pump It - The Black Eyed Peas//My Type - Saint Motel//Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper//Dancing In The Moonlight - Toploader//Digital Love - Daft Punk//Boy With Luv - BTS//Temporary Fix - One Direction//Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions//Can’t Stop - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Columbus Blue Jackets:

YOLO - The Lonely Island//The Wire - HAIM//You’re Not Good Enough - Blood Orange//Everything Is Embarassing - Sky Ferreira//Dancing On My Own - Robyn//The Way I Do - Bishop Briggs//Let’s Dance To Joy Division - The Wombats//Under Pressure - Queen//Left Me Like Summer - Daily J//Waiting Game - BANKS

New Jersey Devils: 

Better The Devil You Know - Kylie Minogue//Suit & Tie - Justin Timberlake//Opposite Of Adults - Chiddy Bang//Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club//Give Me A Try - The Wombats//Get Busy - Sean Paul//Move - Saint Motel//Carried Away - Passion Pit//You Get What You Give - New Radicals//Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones

New York Islanders:

If I Can’t Have You - Shawn Mendes//Survivor - Destiny’s Child//Dedication To My Ex (Miss That) - Lloyd//Good Luck - Basement Jaxx//No Scrubs - TLC//Clap Back - Iggy Azalea//Wait A Minute! - WILLOW//Ubu - Methyl Ethyl//99 Luftballons - Nena//Moving To New York - The Wombats

New York Rangers: 

Subways - The Avalanches//Let Me Down Easy - Gang Of Youths//Eventually - Tame Impala//no tears left to cry - Ariana Grande//Whatta Man - Salt-N-Pepa//Blow Your Mind (Mwah) - Dua Lipa//Barbara Streisand - Duck Sauce//The Walker - Fitz and The Tantrums//Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous - Good Charlotte//Uprising - Muse

Philadelphia Flyers:

Ginger - Riton//Freaking Out The Neighbourhood - Mac DeMarco//The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala//I Love It - Icona Pop//Not About You - Haiku Hands//Just A Girl - No Doubt//Unpredictable - 5 Seconds Of Summer//Never Miss A Beat - Kaiser Chiefs//This Is Not A Party - The Wombats//Vitriol - Bluejuice

Pittsburgh Penguins:

Back To Back - Drake//Superstar - Jamelia//Superstition - Stevie Wonder//I See You Baby - Groove Armada//Bubble But - Major Lazer//Tempo - Lizzo//Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen//Roses - OutKast//On Your Way Down - The Jungle Giants//I Wish - Patti Labelle (Happy Feet Soundtrack)

Washington Capitals:

(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life - Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes//What A Feeling - Irene Cara//I Love You Always Forever - Betty Who//Good As Hell - Lizzo//***Flawless - Beyonce//Every Day’s The Weekend - Alex Lahey//Heroes - Mans Zelmerlow//(Fuck A) Silver Lining - Panic! At The Disco//Rock DJ - Robbie Williams//Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor

Atlantic Division

Hey there ! I'm rather new at this whole figure skating thing. ^^ Now I've been getting rather familiar with the 2017-2018 and the whole carrer of Yuzuru Hanyu, so I'm looking for other programs and performances worth watching. Any favorites to recommend ? Thank you !

Hello, and welcome to the figure skating family!!

Anything by Yuna Kim (my fave is her James Bond program)

Javier Fernandez (Aerobics Class EX, Man of La Mancha, Malagueña, Elvis Medley)

Nathan Chen (Nemesis, Stole the Show EX)

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (That’s Life, Spiegel im Spiegel, Paradise)

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (Moulin Rogue, Rolling Stones/Eagles/Santana, Prince Medley)

Wenjing Sui/Han Cong (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Hallelujah, Turandot)

Other people I like watching: Shoma Uno, Satoko Miyahara, Adam Rippon, Patrick Chan, Jason Brown, Mirai Nagasu (especially her Olympics 2018 Team Event performance), Mao Asada, Papadakis/Cizeron, Savchenko/Massot, Boyang Jin, Kaetlyn Osmond

I hope this list is a good starting point for you to go and discover skaters/programs you really love!

From the beginning of February to April 4th, I was in intensive, in-patient treatment in acute psychiatric care at Mission Hospital Laguna Beach in the latter phrase’s domain, and Palomar Medical Center Escondido. I do not know if I have mentioned yet on this forum, but I have severe bipolar I disorder with psychotic features (though I prefer the term “manic-depression”), and complex PTSD from a near lifetime experience of emotional, physical, and sexual violence perpetrated by everyone from three childhood neighbors of relatively close age, my first serious boyfriend Jack raping me on November 10th, 2010, and numerous strangers raping me on August 23rd, 2013, (which is known colloquially as gang-rape, and in medical and psychological literature as multiple perpetrator rape or assault; also, I find “shell shock” or “rape trauma syndrome” to be more accurate). 

I suppose there are some dates we unfortunately never forget. Though I’m grateful to remember dates like my April 24th, 2016 wedding anniversary perfectly, there are less savory dates where my mind grinds to a halt, and I can still feel this chill and violation in my body; (my partner JP and I eloped in a humble courthouse in Laguna Niguel or Hills that aspirational and awesome April, I can’t remember precisely, because the suburbs roll into one sometimes sullen spread).

I’ve also weathered other attempted assaults. While we were visiting for what we assumed was a business dinner, our former friend Brandon and his coworker Daryl derailed and exploited our out-of-sorts and vulnerable situation, from a dank and dreary, paradise-paltry, backroom bar adjacent to San Francisco, to a nearby Outback Steakhouse. A computer programmer named Jonathan also tried to assault me one night, when I was stone-cold sober and he was drunk at a USC student-organized, lukewarm artistic function, where he pinned me down in an interactive, poorly safety-informed, and dark exhibit room. 

I also dealt with an extremely abusive relationship, psychologically and physically, with my ex-boyfriend Wade Kubat, who I was romantically entangled with for more than 2 years, beginning in early 2013 when I attended Saddleback College, a community college in Mission Viejo, California, for a year before transferring to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is currently in a band called The Catamites, which has played a couple of times at most, and which is named in an inherently misogynistic way, as catamites are the young boy lovers that Greek philosophers kept due to abhorrence of females. Our relationship was plagued by his drug addictions primarily to heroin, but he also abused substances from meth to codeine, and imbibed hallucinogens, which I realize are not addictive inherently, but which provided sensations I believe he sought compulsively. He also cheated not only on Riley Johnson with me, (or me with Riley Johnson, as she was in San Francisco for university and I was with him the majority of the days of the week most of the time), with multiple women from Emmy Ricciardi to more. He also once feigned punching my face in front of his brother when we were in a tiff about the ownership of a guitar I had purchased for him for almost $1,000 when we were together, (we broke up and mended mediocre all the time), and I was scared he would bodily harm me, and also that he sets negative precedents for his innocent sibling. He also would tell me cutting nonsense constantly, like that my life was meaningless, and all of my suffering was instead just worthless and manipulative histrionics. I believe he projected many of his own issues onto me due to a profound paucity of self-awareness.

Wade is languishing in poverty and basically always has with a mother suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s, and a father who I believe has a drinking problem, and issues with rage and sexual inappropriateness towards myself and Wade’s “official girlfriend”, Riley Johnson, such as jokes as to whether he could “have” one of us; I do realize that this may have been a method of ethically questioning Wade’s decision to be unfaithful and inauthentic to essentially everyone he’s ever met, including himself. I feel this economic condition is the only reason Wade has never sought or received mental health treatment, as it seems clear to me based on our relatively lengthy period of time together, that he has some severe type of mental illness, and personality disorder. I offered to try to cover therapy for him when we were together, and he declined, and he also declined my offer to drive him to therapeutic appointments he was entitled to as a rape survivor; he was actually raped as a teenager, perhaps 16 or 17, by... Guess who? Riley Johnson, his “official girlfriend” depicted here, likely spending a substantial portion of her income on increasingly ridiculous and cheap-looking ensembles that betray an unfortunate allegiance to fast fashion companies that destroy the environment and workers’ lives, from illness to disasters which snuff out those flames completely.

Riley graduated in a timely manner from San Francisco State likely due to its ease as an unimpressive campus and the lack of rigor in her fashion merchandising major, and has no presence online insofar as career trajectory; based on her LinkedIn, she is still a waitress at a seafood restaurant called Pacific Catch where she met her boyfriend Zac Hannah, who goes by Premature Zaculation on Instagram, which I find a sad and precise username. Riley used to work as a salesperson in an Ugg shoe store, which is a position I guess she’s lost. Zac studied creative writing at the same school according to Facebook, which is astounding to me as an author, as I believe writing is about insight, and certainly, that is polymathic, passionate, and basically unteachable insofar as the academic environment.

Anyways, I remember that once I told Wade, and he responded positively, to my assertion “You have a pathological sense of destiny”, which I explained to him when we were at the Getty Museum in the ancient-inspired and meditative outdoor garden, after looking at the painting that reminded me most of our relationship, the Italian Renaissance-era “An Allegory of Fortune” by Dosso Dossi. The painting depicts a female Fortune resting without rest, fleet-footed and poised to possibly leave a lightly rendered bubble that reminds me of economic fiascos, and a masculine Chance with lottery tickets clutched above a golden cup, and in this mental configuration, I would be Fortune, and Wade would be Chance. My family has an abundance, and his family is abject, and one would think we’d compliment each other perfectly, but perhaps he didn’t think he deserved me at the time, or we were both too unstable, or he’s in love with himself to the point that he continually dates women who are basically his doppelgängers in a very disturbing pattern of self-melded matches from Shannon Soufflay to Julianne Glass. 

I am not a clinician, but I have much experience with psychiatric/psychological diagnoses, and I believe Wade could also have bipolar I disorder or potentially schizoaffective disorder, and I am almost certain he also suffers from complex PTSD, and additionally has issues with narcissistic personality disorder. He has severe boundary issues, as evinced by one night when I was sleeping under a bedside light, and he tried to sexually assault me in my slumber, his bizarre level of benevolence when I was living in Paris as opposed to in physical proximity, (he seems to idealize the unavailable, as he was constantly confronting me about Riley’s non-existent superiority to me as a partner when it was obvious she was egocentric, damaging, and intellectually feeble), and his unwelcome liaisons with plenty of women, yet anger at me when I was dating during my summer abroad.

Anyways, that is all for now, but I included photos of my first meals prepared at home, since hospitalization and likely forever, to demonstrate that I’m majorly self-sufficient when given adequate space. My family has issues trusting me to basically care for myself, which is logical due to the severity of my disorders and how they have prevented me from self-care in the past, but I’m a very economical and efficient person, and given the wealth my family is blessed to have, I have very few constraints when it comes to expressing myself in any medium, including cooking, baking, and upkeep of the house. 

I’m following a ketogenic diet to aid in my recovery, and my first night feeding myself, I oven-roasted a steak to medium-rare, and ate Brussels sprouts caramelized with balsamic vinegar and coconut oil, with Trader Joe’s mushroom medley and crushed walnuts, and had extra leftover for today. The steak was marinaded with a rub of black, garlic and Himalayan salt, and butter with thyme, rosemary, and lemon and onion spice with most ingredients sourced at Costco. For my partner’s dinner, I used the same butter to prepare pan-seared chicken thigh, more Brussel sprouts on the stove, and rainbow cauliflower mashed with miniature avocado dices. For my partners’ breakfast today, I made chicken breakfast sausage, and hash browns with the remaining butter and coconut oil, and made an omelette with 3 eggs, an avocado, red bell peppers, onions, spinach, and mushrooms. I put the leftover hash brown and sausage concoction in the refrigerator, and ate the remains of the omelette today for lunch. Also, before I cooked for my partner, I had whole fat yogurt with two tablespoons of almond butter, hemp seed helpings, muesli, and fresh raspberries for breakfast. I’ve also been partaking in decaffeinated green tea and seaweed-infused kombucha throughout the day, and will be continuing to remain well-hydrated. My partner JP is currently on Wellbutrin and is under-weight, so providing them with more highly-caloric sustenance is essential to ensure they maintain their strength.

I’ll also make a list of the vitamins and supplements I’m taking for later posting. I also purchased some organic essential oils: eucalyptus, lavender, and cypress, for use in massage, and could also use coconut oil to administer to myself and my partner, since it is anti-bacterial, so does not clog pores and is an amazingly effective moisturizer. I specifically picked eucalyptus, because I joke always that my frequently marijuana-high partner looks like a red-eyed koala when they’re all haze and daze, and they’re from Cypress in Orange County. I also bought an amber candle from Voluspa, since my preference is for warm scents. I’m currently reading “Healing Depression and Bipolar Disorder Without Drugs”. I also tagged “eating disorder”, as I suffered from binge-eating disorder as a child after my neighbors molested me, and dealt with anorexia athletica/orthorexia as a teenager, and focusing on mindfulness in food preparation and enjoyment has allowed me to deal with the truly insane fluctuations I have experienced in my weight as I’ve attempted, often futilely until now, to control my disorders.

NPM: The Programs

The timeline for YOI is so, so screwy, so for NPM, I’ve made it so that YOI S1 is in the 2014-2015 season and the skating season in NPM is 2015-16. Just roll with it, guys XD. Here are the themes and programs for some of the characters from NPM in the 2015-16 season.

Note that some of these might be a little SPOILERY (Particularly Viktor’s theme and all of the exhibition skates)! So tread with caution.

Yuri: ‘Moving On’ SP: Descente du Dragon (real name: Anakin’s Theme) FP: Once Upon a December (Piano) EXs: Emperor’s New Clothes (GPF, Russian Nationals)/Applause (Sam Tsui Cover) (Euros, Worlds)

Otabek: ‘Never Forgotten’ SP: Again to Goshintai FP: Across the Stars EXs: Mind Tricks & TKO Mix (GPF, 4CC)/ Bass Head & Lose Yourself Mix (Worlds)

Yuuri: ‘Devotion’ SP: La primavera in E Major, 2. Largo FP: 恋の予感 | Koi No Yokan* EXs: Turning Page (GPF, 4CC, Japan Nationals)/Turn to Stone (Worlds)

Viktor: ‘Farewell’ SP: The Winds of Winter FP: Sfumature di Rosso* EXs: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) (Sleeping At Last Cover) (GPF, Euros, Russian Nationals)/Centuries (Worlds)

Georgi: ‘On My Own Two Feet’ SP: London Calling FP: Say Something

Bonus: Les Femmes <3

Mila: ‘Revenge’  SP: Turn Hell Hound FP: Rhapsody in Blue EXs: Animal (Chase Holfelder Cover) (GPF, Euros, Russian Nationals)/Dangerous Woman (Worlds)

Sara: ‘Free’ SP: Méditation de Thäis FP: All I Ask of You EX: You Don’t Own Me (All)

Anna: ‘Fantasy’ SP: When The Love Falls FP: Once Upon A Dream (Instrumental) EXs: She Used to be Mine (GPF)/Carousel (Euros, Russian Nationals)/YOUTH (Worlds)

Phuong: ‘Glitz and Glamour’** SP: Death by Glamour FP: Chicago Medley (Intro, CBT, Razzle Dazzle, HHR) EX:  Hometown Glory (Euros, French Nationals)/Who Run The World (Girls) (Worlds)

*These songs are ones that I made up for NPM and sadly don’t actually exist. Koi No Yokan roughly translates as ‘The feeling you get upon meeting someone that the two of you are going to fall in love’ and Sfumature di Rosso means ‘Shades of Red’ in Italian, for the shades of red and pink that Viktor sees on his soulmark and on Yuuri’s every day of their lives. 

**Phuong Vu is a stock character I created to pad out the Ladies Singles division (because rn we only know two of them, and come on, there are so many!). She is 17 years old and a member of the Vietnamese minority population in France. Who knows if she’ll actually show up by name in NPM, but at least you know she’s there… lurking… >.>

***Note that songs less than the time frame for SPs and FPs would naturally be extended to fit the programs. Songs greater than the time frames (for example, Mila’s FP) would be cut down to fit. Also note that I know some (particularly Otabek’s SP) wouldn’t have actually come out until after the season had started but since we assume that the source of Yuri’s SP and Otabek’s FP doesn’t exist in the NPM/YOI ‘verse, those wouldn’t either, or they would come from something else. 

rallycrys: THE SUPERIOR SHORT DANCE ONE LAST TIME. #VirtueMoir #RockTheRink

Danielle Earl Photography: Here’s a little Flashback Friday to this time last year. I’ve been reminiscing about Rock the Rink a bit this week - seems like this was a whole lifetime ago and also just yesterday!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I am very excited to get back to photographing under show lights next week at the @cbcbattle premiere! 💜

#danielleearlphotography #VirtueMoir #tessaVirtue #scottmoir #kaetlynosmond #carolinakostner #jeremyabbott #patrickchan #figureskating #sportsphotography #figureskater #patinage #nikond5 #nikoncanada #actionphotography #Olympics #sportsphotographer #patinageartistique #фигурноекатание #フィギュアスケート #iceskate #iceskater #WorldFigure #GPFigure #skating #icedance #icedancing #pairskating #womensportsphotographers #isu

Drake's Playful Extra Life and the bounds of Ambition

New Post has been published on https://darbi.org/drakes-playful-extra-life-and-the-bounds-of-ambition/

Drake's Playful Extra Life and the bounds of Ambition

The title of Drake’s Extra Lifestyles comes from a Jamaican encouragement, and lots of listeners would possibly take it as a carpe diem or live lengthily and prosper or another zap of concept. However, you could study the phrase Extra darkly—as a reference to the drag of mortality, as a gripe at any other day on this rock. A person may sigh “Greater Life” around big birthdays, or after large achievements. That aspect your whole Existence has been leading as much as has come about. Now what? Simply More Existence.

Define Frisky

Playful Games

Drake turned 30 in October, during the length whilst his album Views turned into enjoyable each prophecy he’d made for himself. His lengthy-favored No. 1 hit? Perspectives gave him it. Becoming the most important name in track? Views bought Greater than any album a final year. The eighty one-minute launch additionally drew an exceptional quantity of criticism to him—for indulgence, for sameness, for petulance. What’re Extra Lifestyles after that? Laws of gravity and fame might advocate a probable answer: descent.

But Drake greatest expertise is in scrambling pre-anticipated narratives at the way to reaching the most effective issue he cares approximately: his personal validation. And so now comes a “playlist”—you can say “album”—to keep the thrill of achievement going while he charts a new long-term plan. A shocking large quantity of disparate sounds throughout 22 new songs, Extra Life can be examined as a brainstorming of future instructions, a cleaning of residence or, most plausibly, only a victory celebration. Spent, he indulges a tour kick, brings some friends together, hits play, and then Simply mingles—even though with a palpable sense of unease.

Greater Existence teems with voices apart from his personal, making for a medley of accents, tones, and shipping styles from throughout the continents. The women, consisting of Australia’s Nai Palm and Sweden’s Snoh Aalegra, often sound accelerated and higher than human (keep for a pattern of his perhaps-ex Jennifer Lopez this is bogged down, sinisterly). In the meantime, the men, many hailing from the United Kingdom dirt scene, are close-up, uncooked, and deeper-voiced than Drake. Once in a while, the visitor vocals are seasoning and Sometimes they are entree: The rising R&B singer Sampha showcases his wounded coo for a whole music; Atlanta’s amorphous Younger Thug raps on songs, each time modulating his transport for authentic novelty.

But the album’s celebrity detail is the production, which—just like the vocals—has been decided on with a style dressmaker’s feel for comparison and likeness. On a size of intoxicating dance songs, patient grooves play out with an experience of eternity, whether or not with denuded strings on “Passionfruit,” rubbery house bass on “Get It together,” or reggae-dusted drum skitters on “Blem.” For the directly in advance rap songs, Drake’s beatmakers construct momentum with little innovations: a legitimate like a psychedelic zipper-pull at the chic “Sacrifices”; a slow-rolling typhoon of syncopation and synth washes on “Can’t Have The whole thing.”

If I’m making it sound like Drake has receded a chunk on his very own album, he has. But while he does make his presence acknowledged, it’s with normal calculation and finesse (two traits he explicitly brags approximately right here). There’s a brand new, laconic go with the flow on “Sacrifices,” an experience of fly-off-the-handles chaos beneath his phrases on the opener “Unfastened Smoke,” and precision and cause at the same time as dressing down competitors on “Do Not Disturb” and “Lose You.” The oh-so-gentle singer persona the hundreds met on “Hotline Bling” recurs on the dancier songs—“Passionfruit” specifically is as smooth as sorbet—in addition to at the oddly lumpy Kanye West collaboration “Glow.”

But there’s a nagging disconnect among Greater Existence’s vibrant sound and Drake’s commonly sour concern count number, even supposing the playlist does have him doing the age-appropriate thing of taking inventory of his years to this point and questioning what’s next. “Free Smoke” is a number of the higher began-from-the-backside narratives he’s provided, packed with sharp details just like the truth that he wanted hand sanitizer to count number the cash at his early gigs. “Lose You” is a landmark of rating settling, with Drake pointing out the purpose in order to define his career henceforth: “We got it, now we Just gotta hold it.” He mentions his very own exhaustion a couple of instances throughout the album; he makes clean he’s Not satisfied; he closes by using pronouncing he’s taking a year off.

Ambition Essay

What’s fascinating is that Drake seems dimly aware that “maintaining it”—it being his area at the top of the heap—would possibly contain shifting his approach. At one factor, Drake raps, “higher attitude, we’ll see wherein it gets me.” Later, his mother leaves a voicemail pronouncing she doesn’t like his current “terrible tone” and advising: “Once they pass low, we go excessive.” But it’s Not clear whether we’re supposed to scoff given Greater Life’s other content material. A line like “I ought to by no means have a child then be out right here nonetheless kiddin’ round,” reputedly aimed toward Meek Mill or one of the different rappers-lower-dads who’ve come for him, isn’t going high After they cross low. Nor are the standard-issue airings of unhappiness towards girls and grim congratulation for his personal self-making.

Drake has spun the tale of his personal upward push once more, again, again through the years, and whenever he’s given the impact that the handiest factor that drives him is the impulse to win. Sometimes he’ll mention the want to pay his mother’s payments; other instances, he’ll bring in a sense of lifting up his community in Toronto. However, as he’s grown More famous and More powerful, the one’s causes have still in no way been the principle one—“My Lifestyles is centered ‘spherical competition and foreign money,” he says in Extra Life’s very last moments. Even love has gotten edged out inside the name of ambition: He raps that he’s spending an excessive amount of time on the studio to be a “Romeo,” after which wonders, “Who is aware of where I grow to be when that shit gets old? / perhaps it by no means gets vintage and that’s Just the way it is going.”

Grabbing cleverly from an array of worldwide patterns with an ear for a laugh, as he’s executed right here, is a way to resume his appeal in a moment whilst it regarded he’d have to stall out. Writers like Brittany Spanos at Rolling Stone have well counseled the undertaking is “redefining the borders of blackness in pop” by way of drawing from across the African diaspora—but if that’s the using idea, Drake doesn’t ever quite say it. It would help him to do so. The mission to hold beating the world appears unsustainable without, well, a larger mission that transforms the prove-yourself starvation of Drake’s 20s into something More stable.

Then again, he’s defied the good judgment of career arcs before. Possibly More Lifestyles for Drake method the music receives Greater interesting whilst the person at the center Just scowls, his success being the least pleasant kind: current most effective for its very own sake.

The Play Of Lifestyles – Who is Your Man or woman?

I trust with all my heart that you defeated Satan on Calvary, yet I wrestle with him daily. Lord your phrase is fact, so why does our flesh fall for each lie? Deep inside I know what a first-rate fee you paid for me and the hurt of residing in fear and Not via religion reasons me to stumble day by day.

He who the Son sets Unfastened is Unfastened certainly. These certainly aren’t merely words, they are a strength to interrupt the chains of slavery….Mentally, bodily and emotionally. when our situation stays steady our religion is sorely tested. We are saved through the Blood of the Lamb and by way of the phrases of our testimony. Dear God, I have always given you Glory for the miracles you have finished in my Lifestyles. If I ever hesitate, Lord seeks my coronary heart, it is my fear Lord Not my being ashamed of you or your Gospel.

Father, please cleanse my coronary heart and mind of something I do or say that grieves you. Our lives had been planned for you, But the alternatives we make are ours. Selfishness is an effective weapon in the palms of the enemy. If all of us would be honest with them, this crafty tool wrecks every kind of relationship. Satan authored in the ‘country’ of selfishness along with his act to raise himself up and above God to be more. That self-targeted move cost him his area in God’s Country. Will that situation in your Lifestyles value you your everlasting Blessing?

I pray for Father that your Holy Spirit will remove each choice in my Person that continuously locations me….Me….Me at the throne of Everything, But I apprehend how I’m being defeated. Jesus please take your rightful area at the throne of my heart, thought Existence and every desire.

God, I know how distressful it’s miles to look at your children fail to walk in victory daily when Devil is already defeated. He continues beating us up with the equal lame tricks he’s used for two,000 years. whilst will we awaken and recognize we do not fight in opposition to flesh and blood, our weaponry is your word. The entirety we see are Simply the ‘props’ in God’s play of Lifestyles. The actual performing goes on among your ears. Mind are spirits. If your Mind is properly, Reward GOD! If your Mind is evil, Praise GOD greater! that you had the thought is not the problem, what did you do with it or what did it do with you? Whilst you’re overwhelmed with hectic Thoughts that come to thieve your peace and pleasure don’t roll over and play useless…..we are at the struggle. Satan’s timetable to your loss of life is fast vanishing. He knows his time is short and he’s doing The whole lot he can to secure your soul to everlasting damnation.

If you’re and intellectual, an agnostic or an atheist Satan truly loves you. No struggle to wage to your soul, you’ve got already surrendered it. No shots to heart, Not darts to throw, no twisted useless imaginations….Too easy, manner too smooth. Created with the aid of the one genuine Splendid being in his photo and he entered this global as a light, But the ‘select’ selected the darkness and the darkness started, thanks!

There has been a tune George Michael sang that said God’s No longer keeping rating. I am sorry George, But yet again the serpent maintains to weave his net of deceit.

nicely The united states we are blazing a path to hell as hard as we will and I won’t even try and run down the listing because each and every one of us has felt conviction. We recognize right from wrong, However, our conscience has been seared with a hot iron.

he’s sluggish to anger, However how lots More is he going to watch? We’ve pushed him out of our minds and we somehow have advised ourselves there will be no day of reckoning. What a lie, what a fall!

If you’re still Blessed enough to have that quiet voice speak to you, stirring up all of the goodness God synthetic in you….concentrate….Be nevertheless. We have made it acknowledged we do not need God nor can we want him in our lives, there may be most effective one problem, this play was written in his residence, all you and that I am….Are the cast.

Playful sentence

Make certain the part you are gambling is blanketed in blood when the very last curtain is drawn. His blood shed for you even In case you’ve lived your entire Lifestyles for you, he is nonetheless accomplishing out.