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scottielambchop · 5 years

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Pitch Please: Pt. 1

The game is simple. I reach out to my friends and ask them to give me a product and a demographic. I take 30 minutes to research the product and demographic and come up with an overlaying concept. I then flesh out each concept into a full campaign.

Here goes:

Head and Shoulders for Goths

Hide the Light - When you’re a goth, your image is everything. You set yourself apart with the unique juxtaposition of dark clothes and lack of Vitamin D. But you don’t want those colors to mesh (e.g. dandruff). Head & Shoulders will keep your darks dark and your dandruff absent. We could produce full-blown print pieces focusing on the pristine shoulders of goth kids’ black shirts. Maybe use quotes from famous bands (e.g. Friday I’m in Love, etc), or lines like “Stand Out for Other Reasons.” We could change the bottle color from the traditional white and blue to all black with a red streak, especially since the bottle top and icon already somewhat resemble a face with goth/emo hair. We could also create H&S listening rooms in places like Hot Topic, Spencer’s, or malls in general. These would be self-contained kiosks with decorated in all black and dark red. Popular goth bands could play through the area and you could get your hair washed with Head & Shoulders by a professional hairstylist.

What’s This? - What does a quirky goth love more than the combination of bondage pants and tank tops? The Nightmare Before Christmas. For this TV-driven campaign, we could license the characters of the Tim Burton classic—but with a little twist. We could use the famous scenes from the movie, but without snow. And at the end, we could overlay the H&S logo over the screen. For print, we could use stills from Christmastown and Jack in the Santa costume, edit out the snow, and use copy like, “No Flakes” with the H&S logo. We could put statues of the characters of the movie in warm environments, such as Atlanta, Austin, Santa Fe (especially), and San Diego, with the H&S logo. To further drive this point, we could put these statues in snowy areas with a heating mechanism around the area so any snow in the area would melt. Thus creating an even more unique look with snow everywhere else, except around these statues of Nightmare Before Christmas characters.

Something Different - The goth look is very important. It’s more than a fashion. Goths want to do their own thing, they don’t care about what the general public has to say. Often times you’ll see them proudly wearing full garb in the middle of summer. And they like it that way. This campaign will highlight their individuality in the face of the status quo, by focusing on their unique hairstyles and colors. Most people know H&S prevents dandruff, but they don’t realize that it’s also just a really good shampoo. The print spots will feature cropped images of unique goths from the forehead up with wild hairstyles and colors with taglines like “Head & Shoulders. Above & Beyond,” “Do(o) Your Own Thing,” and “Define Your Own Look” This could also transfer well into disruptive billboards. Same style; same tags, but the hairstyles could extend outside the traditional shape of the billboards. We could also further promote individuality by creating a new line of design-inspired bottles. All breaking the traditional H&S style guide and just going all out with colors and/or bottle shapes.

Famous Monsters - This is a pretty short and sweet concept. Goths love old monster movies and TV shows. So we bring em back. Our print campaign could use characters from shows like The Addams Family and The Munsters, etc. (famous characters with black clothing) and superimpose dandruff on their shoulders. We could use taglines like, “They Were Scary for a Different Reason” For the TV spots, we could use scenes from old, Paramount monster movies and Hitchcock films. We could use “tense” scenes where characters are screaming, but instead of screaming at the actual monster or murderer, they would be afraid of dandruff on their shoulders. (This would work especially well with the scene from Psycho) For the out of home spots, we could dress up bus stops like the famous shower from Psycho and place a bottle of H&S in there. We could line subways with Munster family photos (dandruff and all) and have the logo in the corner. We could even have H&S sponsored movie nights where they play old monster movies and episodes of the Munsters and Addams Family. We could even encourage them to dress up (similar to a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show).

H&S Pop - Maybe this is more of a personal experience, but a lot of the goths I’ve ever met have an odd affinity towards Asian culture, especially Korean Pop music, or K-Pop. So, we full-on K-Pop with this campaign. Get the elaborate pop stars, go for the crazy, epilepsy-inducing visuals, and straight-up Korean-style print spots. It would be wild, it would be different, and I’m pretty sure the goths would love it.

Gum for NRA Members

That Pop Pop Pop - When playing connect-the-dots between this product and that demographic, the first things that come to mind are the sounds. That satisfying pop that comes with both blowing a bubble and pulling the trigger. So we make an audio-centered campaign. The TV spots could be set in intense battles throughout history (Civil War, World Wars, etc.). Using Saving Private Ryan-esque cinematography, we could have the visuals go through battles (on land or by air), but before any rounds are fired, it would focus on the soldier or pilot blowing up and popping a gum bubble. Followed with a tagline like, “Lock and Load,” or “Certain Sounds Echo Through Eternity,” or something like that. Print and outdoor could also have similar images of gritty soldiers or pilots throughout history. Most of the images could be in black and white or dark coloring, but have the bubble coming out of his or her mouth a bright white, pink, or whatever the color of the gum. With the same taglines and the logo in the corner. Terrestrial/online radio would clearly be in use. Paint the same picture over audio and follow them up with the chewing gum pop. This is kind of a very loosely described campaign, but it’s the first thing I could think of.

Calm - Another thing I thought of was the raw emotion of having to use a gun. Though most situations would be high pressure, the person using the gun would also have to remain calm and collected. What does gum do? It takes the edge off to a certain extent. So why not focus on that? This campaign could go a lot of ways, but the most innocent and non-blatant way to go about it would be having it set in hunting scenarios. The TV spots would put you in the shoes of a hunter. Use the time to show the patience needed to hunt. The boring parts. The parts involving walking to different spots and tree stands. The parts where the hunter is just waiting. All while you can see the hunter is chewing on something. Suddenly a certified trophy comes across. The camera cuts to the face of the hunter. Wide-eyed, visibly shaken as he brings his rifle to his face. There’s a noise. The trophy deer or whatever gets spooked and starts running. The hunter is now sweating with the scope in his eye, the camera pans down to the hunter’s mouth as he slowly bites down on his gum to calm himself as he pulls the trigger. The hunter quietly smiles. The words “Keep Calm” comes across the screen with the name of the gum. Our radio spots could feature similar scenarios of high intensity calmed down by chewing gum. Whether it be hunting, playing sports, watching sports, protecting your family, or whatever. All ending with “Keep Calm.” The gum packaging could also come with little zen tips. Every time you take out a stick, there could be a little tip to keep calm printed on the inside of the foil.

Protect Yourself - Most people buy guns for the satisfaction of protection. They want to know, when shit goes south, they’re capable of protecting themselves and/or their families. So, what do we do? We take this same mindset and attribute it to protecting your teeth or bad breath. We can use rhetoric like “The Best Offense is a Good Defense” and “It’s Better to be Protected and Not Need it Than Need it and Not Have it.” You know, the same kind of stuff most 2A disciples spout off as a need for keeping their guns. The imagery can be a juxtaposition of grittiness with clean smiles. Sort of like the Orbit “Dirty Mouth” campaign, but with less humor. Video spots can focus on American heroes (cops, firefighters, members of the military, etc.) doing the dangerous jobs they do, with hints of clean teeth shining through. At the end of the spots, we use the tag “Keep Protected” and then talk about how the gum fights tooth decay, whitens teeth and fights bad breath. The print spots can use the exact same imagery, but be more of a focus on individual American heroes. This can be long-copy pieces profiling the heroic actions of specific individuals. In the end, we can talk about how, though it pales in comparison to these brave actions, is protecting our protectors.

Hero/Come Packing - Who doesn’t want to be a hero? Well, with this gum, you can. The campaign can make a hero out of anyone. This could be a fun, tongue-in-cheek campaign putting people in dire situations where they desperately need a stick of gum (first dates, family gatherings, etc.) and have a well prepared war-hero-type guy cut into the situation and provide a stick of gum. This could be a spokesperson-type character or we could have a different well-prepared individual come in each time. Regardless, the tagline would be “Come Packing” Print pieces could be longer, copy-driven spots focusing in great detail about the horrible situation and how this gum saved their skins. We could put up kiosks outside popular dates spots (movie theaters, romantic overlooks, bowling alleys, barcades, or wherever the hell kids go to smooch) and hand out free gum to whoever may need it. Though it may seem like this is geared towards kids and people looking for an intimate connection, I feel gun nuts would resonate with the hero character and the “Come Packing” tag.

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doomedandstoned · 6 years

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To Helltown & Back: Electric Citizen’s Laura Dolan Speaks

~By Jamie LaRose~

Photographs by Sally Townsend

My recent visit with Laura Dolan, the commanding winger of Cincinnati’s Electric Citizen, was both enlightening and welcomed. She is a vegan, a lover of classic cars, and a well-experienced thrift store fashionista. I remember meeting Laura in 2014, when Satyress had the pleasure of playing a show with Electric Citizen and Fu Manchu at Dante’s in Portland, Oregon. I found the band to be a delightful, friendly, and talented bunch. Electric Citizen is currently on tour with Monster Magnet in support of the new album, 'Helltown' (2018 - RidingEasy Records). Their third album is reminiscent of their first, 'Sateen' (2014), with its raw, powerful sound. This is a great Cincinnati Northside-true album, written, recorded, engineered, and inspired by “Hell Town” itself. Get your dose of heavy psychedelic healing at one of the tour dates listed below and get your copy of Helltown while you're at it!

I don’t know if you remember, it’s been a while, but we’ve played a show together. It was the Fu Manchu show in Portland, Oregon in May of 2014.

I thought so! Yes, I remember your band. You were wonderful.

You, too! I remember meeting you and talking with you about essential oils.

I remembered it was Pentagram or Fu Manchu because we played the same venue, it was at Dante’s.

All of us at Doomed & Stoned are excited to get the chance to talk to you at this time of your new release 'Helltown.' I was interested in the meaning behind the name of the album and the band. I read that “Hell Town” is one of the names by which the neighborhood you live in is known. I would like to know a little bit about the relationship between that and the writing process for the band on this album.

Absolutely. I chose that name for several different reasons. I mean the most obvious is the translation of where the album was written and practiced, recorded. It just kind of made sense to pay homage to that. I also like that it can also take on these multiple meanings, which is something I really try to do with songwriting, as well. It can be a futuristic thing, or it could play into current times.

Helltown by Electric Citizen

As far as what our neighborhood means to us is this is where everything happens. The studio where we record is a stone’s throw away from our house, which is also where we practice and write all the music. It’s just this really great little neighborhood which is unique in Cincinnati where there’s a lot of different ethnic groups, and there’s a lot of artists, the LGBTQ community is strong here. All of these different types of people that we are surrounded by are hugely inspiring to me. I just have this very special place in my heart for this neighborhood, and the guys share the same sentiment. "Hell Town" is a nickname that was more commonly used in the 1800s when it was an entertainment district for the factory workers because we are in a very industrial area. So this is where they would go and hang out after they got off work from the factories and it was just known as "Hell Town." There were so many different things about it that are so meaningful that it just makes it the perfect title for this album.

Where do you find or draw inspiration in the process for the band or when writing any music in general?

I like to start by writing a track and feeling out where it’s going from the melody standpoint, and then trying to craft something meaningful into that. The melody is such a hugely important part of the song. There’s so much to draw inspiration from like today’s political state, relationships between people, our current times. I feel fascinated by the idea that we are living in this huge turning point, the dawn of the era of technology and how that’s affecting us as a human race. That’s something I love exploring. Every day is like an episode of Black Mirror. What’s going to happen to us? There are so many things happening right now that we’ve never experienced as the human race.

I can hear that questioning nature of inspiration in the lyrics and music. What type of challenges might you face while working together and making and recording music together?

Well, we’re pretty lucky in that we get along. That’s something I don’t take for granted because we’ve had a few different change-ups in the lineup, and we’re now kind of back to where we were at the beginning of the band. We had a great time with our other bass player, but the dynamic can be very different. Having the energy of the original band, and the relationships we all have with each other is a huge help as far as writing and making the music, as well as enjoying the process the whole way. I think we make it harder on ourselves by choosing to record analog; that’s definitely a much more tedious task than recording digitally. We have a pretty standardized process where Ross writes the basics of the song, and then we all start layering on top of that using a huge amount of editing. I think it’s a really important quality to have to be able to stand back and say, “You know what, I’ve created something and it sucks,” and I’m going to scrap it and try again. I think that self-reflection is really important.

It is the universal nature of some good work to be thorough. Speaking of the process of the mixing and the engineering, can you explain a bit about that process as used in the new album?

Unlike the process of the second album which may have been a bit more polished than we would mean, we knew on the third album that we wanted to try to capture what we had in the first album.

It sounds like everything about 'Helltown' was done in “Hell Town.” From the new tracks, I can see its relationship to the first album in its grittiness and more natural nature. What are the details of the release?

The album official release date is September 28th. It’s being released worldwide through Riding Easy Records. There is distribution all of the world, you can get it at Riding Easy Records in the states and of course we are also starting a tour with Monster Magnet on the same day so you can come get it from us at the merch booth.

What are some of your most successful accomplishments so far as a group?

Beyond what we’ve created, which is really the whole reason we’ve started doing this, I think that some of the bands we’ve gotten to tour with have been a huge accomplishment. There’s been Arthur Brown, a long-time hero he is the godfather of shock rock. He’s inspired so many different artists. We’ve opened for King Diamond, Joan Jett, Fu Manchu and this tour with Monster Magnet is a big deal for us. That’s a band that’s really made a name for themselves. Getting to tour Europe, I personally had never been over there before touring as a band. It’s great to go into a project like this having no expectations, and then having all these things happening. Every single one of them has kind of been mind-blowing for us. That’s one of the things I’ve learned growing older, have no expectations and life will exceed them all.

How have you grown as a singer and artist over the years?

When I was first starting out, singing in bands, I had such a fear for doing what I’m doing. As soon as I was able to release that and have the fearlessness of, “If I fail, I fail. If I don’t, I don’t.”, I would encourage anyone that’s going into any form of art; remember to have that fearlessness. It’s so freeing. I feel like that’s such an important message, especially to young girls that are interested in doing this and following in our footsteps, singing in a band or whatever it is. It’s just, "You have nothing to fear except fear itself!"

What is your message to the universe?

Oh wow, that’s a good one. Hmm, that is such an important question. I think really for me it comes down to… just be kind to each other. Everybody in this world is fighting their own fight, and I think it’s so important to remember to give room for people to behave like they do because you just don’t know what’s going on with their life. I think that ultimately what this world needs more than anything right now is kindness. I guess it would be just as simple as that. Be kind to each other. Maybe to ask everyone to love each other is too much, but if you can’t find that in your heart, just be kind.

Electric Citizen & Monster Magnet on Tour

10/02 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge 10/03 - Minneapolis, MN @ Cabooze 10/05 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater 10/06 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge 10/08 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater 10/09 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom 10/10 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon 10/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside 10/15 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory 10/16 - San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick 10/17 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge 10/19 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger 10/20 - Dallas, TX @ Canton Hall 10/21 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 10/23 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade 10/24 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East 10/26 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage 10/27 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre 10/28 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair

Follow The Band

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#D&S Interviews #Electric Citizen #Cincinnati #Ohio #Hard Rock #Stoner Rock #Doom #Metal #RidingEasy Records #Jamie LaRose #Doomed & Stoned

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hornsbeforehalos · 6 years

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Whiskey, Sweetheart: Part 13

Pairing: Norman Reedus x OFC, Past JDM x OFC Warnings: RPF, Smut, Language, Breif Violence, Jealousy, Angst, Older man/Younger Woman.

Series Masterlist

Summary: After Jeffrey’s neglect pushed her away and into the arms of his best friend, Norman and Ky have to figure out if their new relationship can withstand not only the aftermath of the unspeakable crime they commited to keep her safe, but the backlash that comes from being co-workers with a very betrayed Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

A/n: This is the Sequel to Anytime, Sweetheart and The Conquests of Norman Reedus. You’ll probably be a bit confused if you haven’t read Conquests yet, though, or at least the Finale, but you could probably figure it out on your own if you don’t want to. But I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to, lol.

*This chapter will have refernces to the Kuolema/Ville story I wrote at the beginning of the year, which can be found in the RPF Masterlist where the rest of the series is located, but it’s not something that will be detrimental. If you’ve already read TCoNR, then you’ll know who Lema is, and the story of her and Norman :)

Everything tags:@aquivercactus @srj1990@dragongirl420@docharleythegeekqueen @jesbakescookies @make-things-beautiful2 @through-thesilver-lining@sorenmarie87 @daddy-kink-confirmed@redm81 @heyitscam99 @kazosa@blacklightguidesnic@fandomoniumflurry @his-paradox@keepcalmimthecupcake @ambeazyyy @wilde-abandon

JDM TAGS: @jdmfanfiction @jeffreydeanneganstrash

Norman tags: @reedusteinrambles @jodiereedus22 @dollycrybaby

Whiskey, Sweetheart: @elinyaes @jml509@xagateophobiax@missghoul18 @beffyblueeyes @foreveror-never @zombeeemomeee @jackybehappy @journeyrose

Our ride to Santa’s Workshop the next morning was pleasant despite the freezing temperatures. After bitching enough to Norman about his ventures in speeding and the fact that my eyebrows were going to freeze off if he didn’t slow it down, he kept to a reasonable speed to where I could actually enjoy the ride and take in the beautiful terrain around us. After the two hour ride to the small village that was blanketed in slow, we arrived at Santa’s Workshop and were greeted by the Big Man himself.

“Ho Ho Ho! Welcome to my workshop!” The actor portraying Santa beamed, his Finnish accent thick. He had a bright smile on his rosy cheek as he ushered us into a large wooden cabin, the warmth of the room enveloping us instantly.

“I hear that you saw the Aurora yesterday, did they treat you well?” The jolly man asked as he let himself fall into one of the decadent chairs beside the roaring fireplace. Norman and I occupied the comfortable looking couch across from him, the camera crew surrounding us to get the best shot of the conversation.

“We did, it was beautiful,” Norman replied, smile curling his face as he bobbed his head. He turned to look at me and throw and arm over my shoulder, beaming, “I’m glad we got to do it. This has been a wild trip for sure.”

“Well I hope you see all there is to see here, and enjoy your trip through Finland, Now, join us for story time.” He smiled warmly as a group of other tourists came in and gathered around the man. The children sat on the floor in front of him, the parents and other adults fathered around on the other sides of the couch we were sitting on. The man went into what was obviously a rehearsed greeting while he pulled out a rather large book from the sack that sat beside his chair.

I listened intently as he read everyone the traditional Christmas tales, as well as some of the legends and stories that were based in the Arctic Laplands. Once the man was finished we gathered with the other groups outside and wandered around the area, taking pictures in front of the giant snowman and playing wtih the beautiful Husky puppies that were raised there.

We had lunch at the small coffee cafe, the crew fascinated with making sure they got the perfect shot of Norman burning his tongue when taking a sip of his coffee.

Afterwards we ventured through the Reindeer sanctuary, taking the snowmobile tour and sleigh rides. Watching Norman try to drive a sleigh was probably funnier than the sight of him getting a blow job in a chicken suit.

OR the sight of me, giving him said blow job in said chicken suit.

I giggled at Norman as we munched on the food that was in front of us. We were back at the Apukka resort, spending the night before heading to Helsinki in the morning. We had ordered a bunch of stuff from the restaurant near by, and had locked ourselves in our room after the camera crew had retired to gorge. He was currently doing a little dance for the taste of whatever that he’d stuffed his mouth with.

“Fat ass,” I chuckled, popping a piece of potato in my mouth and smirking as he flipped me off. Holding my mouth open, i mumbled, “GImme some”

“Fat ass,” Norman mimicked, holding his fork out to me. I took the food in my already half-full mouth, my cheeks bulging as I chewed, earning me a snort from him, “How do you not weigh seven hundred pounds?”

“Good genetics,” I muttered before swallowing. I winked at him after wiping my mouth with my napkin, smirking at his dramatic eyeroll.

“You ready for tomorrow?” He asked as he wiped his own face and closed his container of food before getting up off the bed to put it away, “Gonna be a long ride.”

“Don’t remind me,” I whined, closing my own lids and handing it to him as well, “Ten hours in the snow on the back of the bike? I’m gonna have hypothermia. Ville Valo better be worth it.”

“Did you just say ‘Ville Valo?’” Norman asked as he suddenly stopped on his way back into the bed, his eyes narrowing.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied back, quirking my eyebrow, “He’s the lead singer of HIM.”

Norman’s eyes closed as he sighed deeply, his head shaking from side to side before he looked to the ceiling and chuckled, “Of fucking course he is.”

“Something wrong?” I asked, my head ticking to the side in curiosity.

“No, nothing’s wrong, it’s just...gonna probably be awkward as fuck meeting him...again.” Norman sighed as he crawled under the covers with me, propping his head up on his knuckles.

“Again?”

“I met him last year when I was in Helsinki doing a photography thing with a friend of mine. He picked them up from the bar we’d been partying at.”

“And it’s gonna be awkward tomorrow because...?” I trailed off, prompting him to continue as he rolled over onto his back and scrubbed his face as it turned red.

“I kinda went back to my hotel with his soon-to-be ex wife...” He confessed when he removed his hands from his face and rolled back over to look at me, “And kinda shared some words with him about being a douche I think.”

“What?!” I screeched, rolling over myself to hide my burning face as I busted out laughing, “You fucked Kuolema Valo?!”

“Uh, well, yeah, but I didn’t know who either of them are at the time.” Norman answered, obviously still slightly embarrassed.

“Holy shit. My boyfriend fucked one of the hottest chicks in the entire fucking planet. She’s fucked Ville! By proxy, do you know what that means?” I asked excitedly, sitting up and rolling him onto his back so I could lay across his chest.

“What, babe?” Norman chuckled, brushing the hair back that had fallen in my face as I stared down at him in awe.

“I FUCKED VILLE VALO!” I concluded loudly, kissing him deeply and diving my tongue into his mouth.

“Jesus, girl, you’re crazy,” Norman laughed once he pulled away from me, his hands wandering down my back to squeeze my ass, “You gonna leave me for him tomorrow if he gives you the chance or somethin’?”

“Maybe,” I replied teasingly, earning me a chuckle from him as he kneaded my ass some more, “She’s so fucking hot, dude. Was it good?”

“Whiskey, I’m not telling you that.” He snorted, attempting to distract me by kissing on my neck and jaw.

“Was she better than me?” I asked curiously, pulling away from his lips to quirk another haughty eyebrow at him, “Should I be jealous?”

Snorting again as he tried to hold back his laugh, Norman rolled his eyes before rolling me over onto my back so he could hover over me. He attacked my neck again with his lips and teeth, a low growl emitting from his throat as goosebumps flushed across my skin.

“Ain’t no one better’n you, Whiskey,” He rasped, his voice low and gritty and dirty as one of his huge palms covered my breast to grope it, “Ain’t know one you gotta be jealous of.”

“Good,” I panted, wrapping my legs around his waist as we became tangled in the sheets, and in each other.

I was pretty proud of myself when I late a total of three whole hours on the back of Norman’s bike in the freezing cold weather. Norman was less than amused, though.

“You know, the show is called Ride with Norman Reedus,” He griped into his helmet’s headset, “The point is to kinda...ride with me.”

“Honey, I don’t know if you understand this but your girlfriend weighs 100 pounds soaking wet and isn’t trying to die.” I retorted back into the microphone attached to me in the comfy, warm Suburban that was following Norman.

“Pretty sure you said somethin’ of that nature the first time I met you.” Norman rasped through the line, making me roll my eyes.

“Pretty sure I did, too, babe.” I retorted back, earning me a chuckle him as revved the bike’s engine and rushed forward in front of the camera crew, flipping me off through the window as he passed.

It was only a couple hours later into the ride that the roads got too bad for the motorcycle and Norman had them load it up into the tailor so he could join me in the warmth. He instantly pressed his frozen fingers into the small of my back, wincing when I let out a shrill screech into his ear.

We spent the rest of the way having random conversations about things we normally would never talk about as the camera man ‘directed’ us. You could tell that it was almost awkward because it’s not like he could talk about the details of the first time we met, or how we got together, or anything else having to do with our relationship.

It was a very, very long drive.

Traffic is a mother fucking bitch wherever you are in the world. Add snow, and it’s worse.

By the time we even got into Helsinki, we didn’t have time to even check into the hotel room much less make the dinner reservations that we’d planned, and were rushed to the spot where the concert was being held immediately.

Try doing your makeup on a bumpy ass road, with your boyfriend trying to change clothes and knocking into you, with a camera pointed in your face. Yeah, not fun.

Per usual, I looked like a raccoon. Whatever.

I was going to die. That was all there is to it.

Norman had made sure that we were towards the front of the stage, surrounded by security when it was time for the band’s performance. He stood behind me with his hands on my hips until The drummer, whom I didn’t recognize, walked out, followed by Mige, Burton, and Linde. I immediately started screaming when Ville joined them, his deep voice rasping a greeting in Finnish that I didn’t even mind not understanding.

Bending down to kiss my temple as I swooned, Norman teased, “You really weren’t kidding, were you?”

“Shut up,” I snapped back, smacking him in the chest with the back of my hand, “He’s still talking.”

After the brief introduction, Linde started playing out the beginning notes to my favorite song, and Norman would have sworn I’d lost my damn mind.

I climbed up on to his shoulders like he was a fucking tree, earning me a lot of grunts and “what the fucks” from him as I made myself comfortable to get the best view.

“She's smiling like heaven is down on earth Sun is shining so bright it hurts All her wishes have finally com true Her heart is weeping. Happiness is killing her. She'll be right here in my arms So in Love She'll be right here in these arms She can't let go”

“You are, absolutely, the best boyfriend any human being could possibly ever ask for,” I rasped hoarsely as we made our way out of the auditorium towards the back stage area. The camera guy said that they had everything that they needed, so they headed back to the hotel to prepare for the flight home the next day.

Norman had his arm thrown over my shoulders as he kissed the crown of my sweaty head, squeezing me tighter into his side, “Happy Valentines Day, Whiskey.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, babe.” I cooed back as I stepped up onto my tippy toes to press a kiss to his lips as we were ushered in to what appeared to be a green room of sorts. I instantly recognized two of the band members from another Finnish band that I listened to, Jussi and Jyrki from The 69 Eyes. Jyrki stood up from his seat with a smile, barking out a hello to Norman as he extended his hand for him to grasp and pull him into a hug.

“It’s so good to see you, friend, long time.” Jyrki said excitedly, patting Norman on the back before turning his attention to me, “You must be Kylin, it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, sir,” I squeaked out nervously, placing my sweaty palm into his hand. He kissed the back of mine and gave me a soft smile as I grinned at him stupidly, “I love all of ya’ll’s stuff, I wish we would’ve been able to get here to see ya’ll play.”

“If that’s not the cutest fuckin’ Southern accent I’ve ever heard in my entire life!” Was suddenly heard as the door opened. Turning to see who it was, my eyes widened as Bam Margera walked in, followed by Ville and Kuolema.

I immediately started sweating again, my mouth hanging open in awe as Bam shook hands with Norman, “Big fan, man.”

“Same here,” Norma rasped back, throwing his arm around my shoulders, “This is my girlfriend, Kylin.”

“Nice to meet ya, where’s that accent from?” Bam inquired, extending his hand while lifting an eyebrow.

My mouth kinda flopped around like a fish sucking air for a moment, before Norman practically smacked me on the back of my head and back into reality, “Uh..Uh... Texas, I”m from Texas.”

“Well, Tex, this here is Ville Valo and his beautiful wife Lema, but of course you prolly already knew that. Willie, this is-”

“Norman Reedus, I know.” Ville drawled lazily, cooling holding his hand out to shake Norman’s, “Surely, Bammy, you remember the story of when he fucked my wife.”

Kuolema’s mouth dropped as she gawked at her husband, slapping him in the chest before snapping something in Finnish that I could only assume to be a scolding, Her bright eyes turned to me as her face reddened, “Please excuse my husband, it’s nice to meet you” She asked in English, her accent thick as she sighed deeply before flicking her eyes to my boyfriend, “It’s good to see you again, Norman.”

“You too, sweetheart,” Norman replied with a small smile.

I looked back up to Ville, who was glaring daggers at Norman without much subtly, smiling at him as I said, “I really loved the show, ya’ll are like...my favorite band ever.”

“Good thing Norman here knows all the right people then, huh, love?” Ville deadpanned with a sarcastic smile.

“Anybody want anything to drink?” Jussi called from his spot at the makeshift bar as he pulled out two bottles of Vodka.

“I’ll take a wine, veli!” Kuolema called back, before gesturing to me, “Do you want anything, darling?”

“Oh..uh, no thanks, I’m good,” I smiled back, internally grimacing when Norman quirked an eyebrow at my denial of alcohol.

“You okay, babe? You sure youd don’t want some Whiskey, sweetheart?” Norm asked curiously, looking down at me with his face furrowed.

“I’m fine, Norm. Just don’t feel like drinking tonight,” I shrugged easily, smiling up at him and hoping he would’t question it.

“Alright, then, well, I’m drankin’, so I’ll be back,” Norman said as he squeezed me closer into this side, “You gonna be alright for a minute or are you gonna embarrass yourself?”

“I’ll probably embarrass myself, but I’ll be okay,” I chuckled, earning me a giggle from Kuolema and Ville before Norman sauntered away to find Jussi.

Kuolema led us to the couches and I sat on the opposite side of one of them as the couple, smiling like a creeper as I tried to realize that what was actually going on was reality. Bam plopped down into the chair closest to me, taking a sip of his Redbull as he leaned back, “So how you likin’ Finland, Tex?”]

“It’s cold,” I replied back with a smirk, nodding my head, “And snowier than New York or even Vancouver.”

“Your brother’s in that demon show, right? Supernatural or whatever? They film in Vancover?” Bam asked.

“Yeah, Jensen films in ‘Couver and I follow him around sometimes. I work for another one of the cast members as their assistant so I’m constantly up there. It’s a different kinda cold though.” I replied.

“That’s how I feel with Pennsylvania and here, it may be the same temperature, but the air is different,” Kuolema added as she took the offered glass from Jyrki, who smiled at me again before waling back over to where Norman and Jussi were talking.

“So how did you meet Norman?” Kuolema asked, taking another sip of her wine and ignoring the annoyed look on Ville’s face.

“Oh, uh...” I huffed out a laugh, “I met him through my ex, Jeff. It’s a long story.”

Jesus, if I ever needed a fucking drink...

“Norman fancies things that belong to other people, huh?” Ville snickered, his eyebrow raising haughtily. Bam almost choked on his Redbull.

Good Lord...

“Um, it’s a little bit more complicated then that, actually.” I smiled politely back, internally appalled that this was what my first time meeting my idol consisted of. It was taking all of my willpower to not instinctually snap back at the man, go off on him, and storm out of the room, but I knew these were Norman’s friends and I had to behave, despite the most uncomfortable Valentines Day this was turning into be, “Um, I’m getting’ thirsty, so, um, I’m gonna go find Norm and get a drink. It really was nice to meet you, Ville, I’ve been a huge fan for years.”

I stood up from my spot on the couch at the same time Kuolema did. She grabbed me by the hand , winding our elbows together as we stepped over Bam’s feet. She gulped down the rest of the red liquid in her glass and said, “I’ll come with you. I’m needing a refill.”

Behind us, Bam could be heard bitching at Ville in what sounded like Finnish. Raising my eyebrows, I asked her about it.

“Oh, yeah, he kinda picked up on a lot of it over he years, plus with me in the house he gets to hear all the really good insults,” she answered with a giggle, her lips winding into a Cheshire grin as she looked over her shoulder as we approached Norman, Jussi, and Jyrki. The two band members greeted us again, snuggling Kuolema between them over dramatically as Norman tucked me into his side and kissed my temple. His breath already faintly smelled of Jack Daniels, and I smirked up at him at the goofy grin plastered on his face.

“You have brothers, don’t you, Kylin?” Lema asked as she pushed the two men off of her, regaining my attention, “Isn’t it horrible?”

“Ya’ll’re siblings? Wow, I never knew that.” I replied with wide eyes.

“Long story,” She smirked, eyes flicking from mine to Norman again. I nodded my head with a snort in return before turning my head up to the man digging his nails into my back under my jacket.

“I think we’re about to get out of here, we got an early flight int he mornin’.” He rasped without looking away from me, getting a giggle from Kuolema in reply.

“Awh, really? Leaving so early?” Jussi complained with a whine, distracting Norman from me for a second and gaining a laugh from him.

“Sorry, man. Time zones are a bitch and she’s gotta be all over this next week.” Norman sighed, pulling away from me to shake the two men’s hands and give Lema a quick hug goodbye. I gave her a hug as well and waved to everyone else as Norman practically dragged me out of the building, that devilish smile curling onto his face as his fingers dug into mine.

“Now it’s time for you to get your real gift, sweetheart,” Norman teased, his eyes darkened as he climbed onto the bed to hover over me.

“And what would that be, babe?” I teased back, bucking my hips into his obvious hardon as he wedged my thighs open with his knees.

“Oh, I think you know, girl.” He grinned as he rutted his dick into my panties, hi hands lifting up the over-sized shirt I’d worn to bed. It slipped over my head easily, and a growl left his lips at the sight of my exposed nipples.

“These things are getting bigger, Whiskey,” He commented before attaching his lips to a sensitive nub, gently caressing the other with his large palm. I writhed below him, arching my back into his mouth as he devoured me whole. My panties came off shortly after, followed by what few clothes he’d been wearing as well.

He grasped his throbbing cock in his hand as he swirled the head around into my soaking folds, earning a desperate moan from me as I dug my own fingers into my hair and needily bit my lip. Another growl left him as he forced himself inside me, not stopping until every bit of him was perfectly seated inside me.

I gasped at the fullness, always never completely ready for the stretch that my body had to make to accommodate him. He wasted no time in pulling out and thrusting again, a deep, feral moan vibrating through him and into me. I let out a loud mewl myself, my legs securing themselves around his waist as he set his pace.

Our bodies moved in sync with each other as we scratched and groped and heaved, our pants and wails probably heard through the hotel complex.

“Fuck, yes, take it, baby,” He snarled as his teeth sunk into my shoulder, my hands grasping at his sweaty hair as I keened. My orgasm washed over me unexpectedly, my shrill cry and tightening walls the only warning he had before my body gripped him like a vice, successfully spilling him over the edge as well. He came deep inside of me with a harsh roar, his hot seed filling me and leaking onto the sheets.

He collapsed next to me for a moment to catch his breath before getting up and going to the bathroom for a wash cloth. He came back and kneeled onto the bed between my legs, wiping the traces of his mess while watching my face with a smile.

My heart fluttered, wondering if he was going to say anything about my lack of concern for the obvious accident he’d made. He said nothing , though, just watched me as I bit my lip and returned his grin while he cleaned me off.

He threw the rag in the direction of the bathroom before curling up under the covers with me, his body molding into mine like it always did.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Whiskey.” He rasped before kissing my shoulder and neck, “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

#Norman reedus x ofc #norman reedus imagine #norman reedus x you #norman reedus x reader #whiskey sweetheart #norman reedus fanfiction #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead rpf #norman reedus rpf #norman reedus #norman reedus fan fic #twd fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfiction #norman reedus smut

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wizzypiehigh9 · 3 years

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Chapter 2: 'Gritty Details' Summary:

"Is that an insult?" He drawls considering how his grits might look sprawled across the Vulcan's uniform attire.

————————————————————————

"Bones." The Captain swirls his fork. "We have a meeting tomorrow at three? You will be there this time. Right? ON Time?"

"Surely I will be. No repeat of last time gentlemen."

"I do not believe that the incident last time could be..." A slight cough ensued. "... repeated." The Vulcan across the table from the Captain and himself deadpanned obviously remembering the 'fashionably late' scenario. Emphasis on 'late'; not so much the fashionable bit. Unless tighty-whities were the new trend.

"Hush." He waved his hands.

The Vulcan sipped his tea.

"Now, what was the meetin' about Jim Boy?"

"Didn't you read the report?"

"Ya know I can never understand those fangled things. Its like trying to read a wet newspaper. They tell ya they want ya to act one way and they themselves act another way." The Good Doctor waved his coffee around in a dramatic fashion.

"That is illo-"

"Illogical my ###, its the #### truth."

"BONES. I don't care if you show up wearing a Santa Claus suit, I just want you there on time and preferably knowing what the meeting is about."

"Fine. Fine. Lemme guess. Andorian Flu?" Rolling of the eyes a mutter escaped his lips, " For the umpteenth time."

"Try new mapping layouts for Med Bay." The Captain crossed his arms obviously unimpressed; his eggs and bacon left untouched.

Now this was news to him.

"WHAT?"

Jim sighed.

"Messing with my-" He gestures to his chest. "-sickbay are they? Are they crazy?"

"Doctor, to suggest that anyone were to mess with, 'Your sickbay'. One must be dubiously classified mentally unfit immediately."

Paying no mind to Spock, "Jim Boy, ya know I don't like it when 'Federation know it all's' come in tryin' ta fix what ain't broke... They don't live the system, how are they supposed ta know what works best and what don't?"

"Bones, that is exactly why we need your input. Although not for those reasoning's."

"Doctor may I suggest reading the 'fangled reports' in order to give your own opinion in opposition to the new proposition tomorrow?"

Curling his face, "What reasoning's are ya two against the new layout?" He points. "I know ya would kill for a cabin redecoration Jim. Why are you so opposed to a change?"

"Time and effort being wasted within such a small mission time don't seem so evidently important." The Captain shrugs.

"It would be a crude waste for something that... does not require change." Spock inputs. "And the new layout would do no benefit towards efficiency or level of accuracy in the functional procedures currently being run by the ship CMO."

"Is that an insult?" He drawls considering how his grits might look sprawled across the Vulcan's uniform attire.

"Not to mention the retraining of the new layouts and systematic's. That's going to be pure misery." Jim interrupts massaging his temples.

"Sentiment is agreed."

"I told ya ta come to Sickbay a week ago for that blasted headache..."

Watching between the two he ate another mouthful of grits. The pair watched him as if expecting him to say more.

"Fine, yes. You two can count on me, I'll be there if the creek don't rise." Another mouthful of grits.

"Doctor, surely there will not be a natural disaster within the lunch room?"

...

Huh, he had no more grits. Nor did Spock a clean uniform shirt.

Guess a natural disaster did happened.

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nedflix-n-chill · 3 years

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12 Days of Christmas #10 Christmas Blood Have you ever wondered if other countries also make really bad killer Santa movies? Like I've seen a dozen bad American killer Santa films (and a handful of good ones) and you start to wonder if this is a regional thing like how a lot of other countries don't celebrate Halloween or don't really give a shit about Star Wars. Maybe the godawful low budget killer Santa film is as American as apple pie or going into lifelong debt because of a medical emergency. Christmas Blood is the answer that no we are not alone in our quest to bastardize this most holy of holidays into some cheap excuse for entertainment. After an absurd amount of title cards delivering far too much exposition (seriously I was ready to read subtitles but not a goddamn novella before the fucking movie even started) we then join the absolute WORST group of friends who are supposed to be comforting one of them whose mother just died but instead spend the whole time bickering and lying and backstabbing each other. It's essentially a ripoff of Halloween except with a Santa Claus instead of Michael Myers and while I'd love to get into the nitty gritty plot details its nigh impossible since apparently they decided for some reason to never point a goddamn light at any actors face leaving them in complete darkness and me spending the whole time trying to figure out who the fuck is who. Like how the fuck you can't light an interior at a police station? This is a place of work it has actual overhead florescents, use them. This level of light cannot be good for their eyes, they got jobs to do. I shouldn't have to be all up in my TV's goddamn settings cranking up the brightness. And even when you can make out what's happening, who gives a fuck, its stupid. Like this features maybe the worst example of the coroner eating while performing an autopsy trope, just purely unimaginative. This film takes itself way too seriously. The only good thing about this movie is that one of the cops looks like he spends all his time in a bar yelling at Will Ferrell to "play Ja Ja Ding Dong." https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJ45QTlzPZ/?igshid=1n4dvrrbm135a

#10

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vinylfromthevault · 6 years

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Jon Spencer “Big Yule Log Boogie” b/w “My Christmas Wish” 1992. Sub Pop Records, Sub Pop Singles Club limited edition on green vinyl. Probably the coolest - and weirdest - Christmas music in the Vault. Recorded just at the beginnings of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Judah Bauer plays raw and unrestrained guitar while Spencer whoops and wails a gleeful “CHRISTMAS!!!” and signature “C’mon honey” at the start of “Big Yule Log Boogie.” It’s a Hasil-Adkins level lo-fi devolution of rockabilly blues and simply amazing. Side B’s “My Christmas Wish” is a woeful holiday lament, swampy country-blues with gritty sliding electric guitar. Both tracks were eventually included on the 2010 reissue on Shout! Factory’s pressing of Extra Width + Mo’ Width. The run-out grooves have writings and scratchings (due to a pressing error between Spencer’s 7″ and Wolverton Brothers’ single of “My Assassin”), Side A: Special Merry Xmas to XNA and Side B: Love Always, Jon. (Thanks to the excellent Pop-Catastrophe website for the details and lyrics)

“Big Yule Log Boogie”

Come on honey and fly with me

We’re gonna get some lovin’ on Christmas eve

Christmas time rock ‘n’ roll

Holiday season with a little soul

You got to try Holiday’s-a lovin’, baby You and I

I’m gonna love you this Christmas love you Crazy

Calling all elves all around the world I got a yule tide date with my kind of girl

Seen ’em alive I’ll be your Santa Claus I’m gonna love you this Christmas Rock ‘n’ Roll

Happy New Year dad I’m the dude that’ll kick your ass I’m gonna get drunk this Christmas I’m gonna tie one up

Christmas Remember me

I’m gonna get a little lovin’ Going more on Christmas eve Honey, this do mean honest I got the spirit of giving

I’m gonna love you this Christmas

Christmas

Oh lord

#jon spencer #jon spencer blues explosion #judah bauer #sub pop #sub pop records #sub pop singles club #vinyl #colored vinyl #45rpm #7" single #christmas music #punk blues #jsbx

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rivaco · 4 years

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Dissecting Away’s toxic use of messaging software to create a culture of anxiety and fear

A leadership lesson for all businesses

A damning report about the culture at the luggage company, Away, was recently published by The Verge. The article details abusive behavior committed by the executive leadership at Away, focusing on CEO Steph Korey. The article offers many lessons to all managers and people who aspire to learn how not to lead a team and build a business.

One of the elements that struck me was the company’s frankly terrible use of their internal messaging tool, Slack. I work for Flock, which is a messaging tool very similar to Slack. To be honest, Away could have done the same things with Flock as they did with Slack. That’s why I was appalled by the way messaging software was weaponized by senior executives to bully, shame, and suppress the voices of employees.

Messaging tools are simply that, tools. Toxic cultures bend work tools to their strange tendencies, and Away opted to amplify that culture through their chat tool. While there are a plethora of problems with how Away’s executive team chose to run their business, I wanted to focus specifically on how their poor culture translated into abusive messaging practices.

How Away Approached Communication

At Away, employees used Slack as their messaging tool. All company communications were to happen on Slack because the company did not use email. The policy was for all teams to communicate and collaborate in public team channels, where anyone in the company could join in take part in conversations. This was meant to encourage transparency and is a pretty common practice amongst companies with flat hierarchies. We love when messaging software is used to foster collaboration and communication because it leads to improved team performance.

“Once you break barriers to people engaging with one another you create the condition for people to collaborate more, to increase innovation activities, to be more productive because they’re not duplicating work and to give people the sentiment that they’re part of one organization that increases their sense of commitment and loyalty to the organization and then feeds their motivation to do more.” — Tsedal Neeley, Professor, Harvard Business School

Away employees were told they could only directly message each other for non-work conversation, like asking if someone wanted to go grab lunch. Any work related conversations were supposed to happen in public channels, whether they were big team updates or nitty gritty process conversations. Private channels, where the channel itself is hidden and only invited members can take part in conversations, were discouraged.

So how did things go so wrong?

Issue 1: Senior leaders used messaging software to berate and publicly shame employees.

Because private conversations and emails were discouraged as a matter of policy, every team at Away operated in a public channel. Everyone had to have conversations out in the open, whether they liked it or not. Away’s CEO chose to use these public forums to berate, bully, and intimidate team managers and team members.

I don’t need to explain why that is poor leadership. Teams absolutely should learn to disagree and dissent in the open, but there is a clear line that Korey crossed in the messages shared in The Verge article. While most CEOs give critical feedback behind closed doors or to a smaller group, Korey took their communication tool and weaponized it. Everyone in the company got to see what she was thinking.

““Slack bullying is a thing,” explains a former member of the creative team we’ll call Erica*.

… Korey was infamous for tearing into people on Slack. “You could hear her typing and you knew something bad was going to happen,” says a former customer experience associate we’ll call Caroline*. Yet while her feedback was almost always sent online, its effects were felt in the real world, often when employees burst into tears.”

Issue 2: Leadership enforced an always-on mentality that demanded instant responses to messages, regardless of time or date.

The team’s use of messaging software exacerbated the always on habits of the leadership team. Because leadership chose to work all day and night, they had no empathy for their employees and expected them to do the same.

Messaging tools have Do Not Disturb settings and give people the ability to set themselves as “away” to reduce the pressure of always being on. But it’s clear that the Away team was not allowed to use those features. Employees were expected to be available and responsive at all times. This created a culture that exhausted and stressed the Away staff:

“They were reprimanded for not answering messages immediately — even late at night and on weekends.”

In one example, a harangued customer service manager sent a 1,200-word message to her team asking them to work on New Year’s Day — 1,200 words in a single message! How did the employees react to the note?

“I burst into tears,” Caroline says [after getting the message]. “I was trying to finish so I could have my first day off in weeks. I was telling my mom, ‘I just need a break and I can’t get one,’ and she was like ‘just say no.’ I was like, ‘I can’t do that.’”

Lots of articles have been devoted to “hustling 24/7” and “doing whatever it takes” to succeed. We need the flip the narrative and focus on why balance for employees is a good thing, and why working nonstop is not good for human beings with interests and ties outside of work. In fact, having happy, healthy employees increases productivity and profits.

Issue 3: By banning email and private conversations, the Away team took away the ability for employees to voice concerns in the workplace.

Even if Away offered other ways for employees to voice concerns or report sensitive HR violations, it’s clear the culture they created — one of “intimidation and constant surveillance” — discouraged employees from speaking out on public channels.

Many business leaders we speak to worry that private conversations or gossipy channels that may derail productivity. But professors at Harvard Business School and UC Santa Barbara have found that fears that “employees are going to be on there, screwing around and engaging in all kinds of chit-chat that [leaders are] not going to be able to control and [which will] sap their productivity” are unfounded. In fact, the water cooler conversations were where the best ideas and solutions emerged.

When you communicate in silos you are less likely to share ideas, figure out solutions, or inspire one another. When conversations are more open and more public they’re more effective and you build a stronger fabric within your organization.

Regardless if your business chooses to disable DMs or private channels, ensure you build a culture that values and encourages candid feedback and conversation. More importantly, employers need to offer support and privacy to employees if they need to flag inappropriate behavior. It also protects the business from potential liability. Of course, it doesn’t help that it was the CEO who was acting inappropriately in Away’s case.

Issue 4: When Away found out about a private channel where people of color and LGBTQ discussed their feelings of discrimination, they opted to confront people in the channel and then fire them, rather than reflect on the feedback they saw from concerned employees.

As more companies strive to increase diversity and inclusion in their organization, it’s important to establish safe spaces for different identities to feel protected and able to advocate for themselves. What occurred at Away is a classic example of thin-skinned leadership. Leaders who are unwilling to introspect and reflect on their weaknesses, to take feedback, and unwilling to try to be better will eventually be called out.

Take what Away did and do the opposite

The Verge article showed that the culture at Away was rotten, and it infected all facets of the company. The leadership team grew the company at the expense of the health and happiness of their employees. Surely companies can grow in a customer-centric way while protecting their most valuable assets: the employees who make everything happen. Somewhere along the way, the executive team lost sight of what helped catapult their brand’s growth. And they forgot that their words can live on long after they’ve sent them.

After all, the irony is that Steph Korey’s own words were used against her in the Verge article. She may not have realized it, but her words were public and on the record because she used messaging software. She was not the first CEO to deliver harsh criticisms, but in the days before messaging software existed, those tense sessions happened face to face or over the phone behind closed doors. Because she chose Slack as the channel to deliver her words, they were recorded for posterity and for technology reporters. One thing is clear: if you adopt messaging software your organization will become more transparent, for better or worse.

Dissecting Away’s toxic use of messaging software to create a culture of anxiety and fear was originally published in Flock Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

#Flock #Enterprise Chat

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tocinephile · 5 years

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Ada’s Top 10 Films of 2018

In tandem with this post, I’ve also recreated this list in Letterboxd.com, you can find it at: https://letterboxd.com/palindr0me/list/adas-top-10-films-of-2018/

Between Christmas shopping, baking a couple hundred cookies, and rewatching Bad Santa every December, I try to take a peek at critics’ lists of the top films of the year (even if I myself manage to procrastinate well into February to compile my own list each year). On December 31st a good friend and fellow writer published his list, the opening sentence of his blog proclaimed 2018 was the best year for film this century and that’s when I began to panic.

Though I was far from finalizing my list, I had thought 2018 to be one of the worst years for film in recent history! I immediately starting chasing all the award season favourites plus other talked about films at TIFF 2018, and spent as much of January in front of a screen as possible. I hoped against hope that I somehow missed all the good films of 2018.

A month later I will say this: 2018, it wasn’t as bad as I thought! However, after much brainstorming and revisions to the order of my list, I will say that not a single film stood out for me as the year's best, which is very rare. So here are 10 films (and then some) in not much of a particular order that I think should be talked about for 2018.

Qualifying films for Ada’s Top 10 Films:

• any film that screened at a festival that I attended in 2018 • any film with a Canadian theatrical release dated in 2018 • is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2018

1. Widows 2. Hotel Mumbai 3. Destroyer 4. Capernum 5. The Hate U Give 6. Love, Simon 7. Isle of Dogs 8. Pick of the Litter 9. Shadow 10. Transit

Honourable Mentions:

• Shoplifters • Free Solo • BlacKkKlansman • A Star is Born • Vox Lux • Everybody Knows • The Other Story

1. Widows

I firmly believe Widows film came in under the radar considering all that it embodied. In a year of diversity in film, Widows is made by a man of Caribbean descent (Steve McQueen), written by a woman (Gillian Flynn), starting FOUR women - 3 of which are of a visible minority (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Enviro, and Elizabeth Debicki), and Daniel Kaluuya portrays one cold-blooded villain. And on top of that, Widows is good entertainment! I may have a soft spot for heists and ass-kicking women, but I’d like to think I know a good thriller when I see one. I feel that Widows didn’t get the love it deserved and so I'm mentioning it first.

2. Hotel Mumbai

I saw Hotel Mumbai last year and it is dated 2018 across the web, but it is coming to theatres soon and I assure you it’s good entertainment for your buck. I saw it in the midst of back to back films and long work days during TIFF 2018, worried that I’d accidentally nod off. Instead, I couldn’t close my eyes if I tried. Again this ensemble cast film is more about entertainment value that cinematic artistry, and I never compared the story on screen to historical facts, but what I took in was enough to stay with me and rank it amongst one of the best times I had in a movie theatre in 2018.

3. Destroyer

Destroyer is fresh in my mind having only seen it a few weeks ago. Due to the nature of my volunteer work with TIFF, it was one of the films this year that I kept walking into mid-movie (much to my dismay). I purposely avoided the ending of the film and then had no opportunity to see it again until recently, giving me lots of time to forget anything I might have accidentally absorbed. Fully aware that it was going to be a dark, depressing watch, I quickly found myself engrossed in the story reminiscent of the HK police dramas that I grew up with about divided loyalties and double agents. Director Karen Kusama pushes Kidman's character well past the point of likability but the story keeps you invested in the events as they unfold. That's when you know you've got a good story.

4. Capernaum

Also fresh in my mind is Capernaum, a Foreign Film nominee in this year's awards season. This film that looks at extreme child poverty from Lebanon is at once heartbreaking and endearing. The film follows young Zain but is supported by a host of complex characters, ch with a detailed back story of struggle and survival. Together they give the film a fullness and weaves a world where although individuals' actions fall into a decidedly grey area, no explanation is required to justify them. It is a world unknown to the majority of people who will see this film, but it is utterly engrossing.

5. The Hate U Give

This was a last film on my list of 2018 movies to watch before compiling this list and I'm really thankful I didn't get lazy and skip it. While there's no single aspect to make it truly stand out in awards season, it's a shame that The Hate U Give isn't getting quite as much love as Green Book nor BlacKkKlansman because it delivers a similar powerful message, from a different angle that actually made it the differentiator for me. The story comes from the eyes of young black teenager girl named Starr, wonderfully portrayed by Amandla Stenberg, and addresses an aspect of being a visible minority that speaks volumes to me: assimilation. Compared to other common themes (oppression, profiling, etc)

6. Love, Simon

When I think of light hearted, entertaining but impactful teen-targeted, coming of age tales, I like to compartmentalize them by the decade. Now maybe I'm getting too old, or maybe it's become so ok to be and do whatever you want that no individual story can resonate anymore, that I don't have too many examples from the 10's, but Love, Simon is definitely one of them. It's not heavy nor gritty, rather glossed over in fact (the main character even admits it), but the message shines through and it's a really fun film that I think will remain a crowd pleaser for years to come. There is a place in our hearts for movies like this one, it's easy to go over the top or fall flat in this territory but I think Love, Simon really hit the nail on the head.

7. Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson + endearing tale about dogs, I mean, come on! None of my defenses would be strong enough to dislike this film! I wish I'd had a chance to rewatch it so that I offer you more than just a rehashing of all the things I love about Wes Anderson's style and trademarks.

8. Pick of the Litter

Perhaps 2018 was truly the year of the dog, not just in the Chinese Zodiac but in film as well. Pick of the Litter was my most memorable documentary of the year, I did not make it through the intro without tearing up (it was really embarrassing and thank god the friend I went to see it with was sniffling harder than me) It was truly a journey, and insightful too, it goes way beyond humour and cuteness, and believe me there was a lot of cuteness. The thing that hit home most about Pick of the Litter for me besides the idea of guide dog named Phil (and we still always wonder how Phil and his human are doing!) as how invested I became in the litter's story through the course of the film.

9. Shadow

Ok, here's my Chinese film of the year. Joke aside, Zhang Yimou's Shadow is not on this list merely because I need an Asian film to fill a quota. With the possible exception of Isle of Dogs, the films on my list this year were selected largely based on story over style... Except this one. This is all style, it's a visual stunner that really puts the director back at the top of his game. He devotes the film to a steely palette that's at once cold but exciting. Come to the think of it, the story wasn't bad either.

10. Transit

If you haven’t seen Transit, I have some advice for you. This is not a spoiler so please take it into consideration. Transit is adapted from the 1942 novel by Anna Seghers with a few modernizations that calls for a leap of faith. As an audience member, be prepared to suspend believe and it will make all the difference in your enjoyment of the film. I wish someone had told me this beforehand so that I didn’t spend half the movie trying to make sense of details that had little bearing on the plot. I spent days after the fact trying to decide whether I loved the film or it didn’t make any sense. Thankfully the conclusion I came to was that Transit is a lucid tale of love, loss, longing, and humanity. Characters and story mirror each other in early meanderings that creates an almost surreal existence contrasting against the harsh realities of events taking place around them. There is profound sadness, but there is also beauty.

Honourable Mentions:

You'll note from above my list of honourable mentions is getting to be almost as long as the top 10 itself (in fact it was probably just as long until I trimmed a few films off... You don't need me to tell you about Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther)

I saw Destroyer, Capernaum, and The Hate U Give quite recently, but until I had, Shoplifters and Free Solo had firmly been in my top 10.

I'm typically not a fan of Japanese cinema, but there are always exceptions and Shoplifters was definitely one that defied the odds. It broke from the often tiresome mold (to me) of demure characters, restraint, and complicity that's often portrayed in that country's cinema. The message of making your own happiness and family being those that loved you most regardless of genetic ties was heartwarming and resonating.

Free Solo ranked amongst the fictional narratives on my list for thrilling and edge of your seat viewing. It takes a lot to keep me wide-eyed griping the arm of my chair in the theatre in anticipation and fear for an hour and a half. I love heights and I was scared witless.

BlacKkKlansman and A Star is Born are seemingly award show favourites, though not winning as many awards as they might have hoped, both have strong scripts, powerhouse talent, skillful direction for the former, and one of my favourite songs of the year from the latter. They truly are amongst some of the best films made in 2018.

Vox Lux is one of those films that warrants a discussion after viewing, at least for me. Though it feels like the film scored points neither with critics nor audiences, there’s a part of me that’s drawn to intricate explorations of the selfish and narcissistic. Natalie Portman was great in the role in my opinion. To make an unlikable character worth watching is not an easy feat, especially when the possibility of redemption isn’t really on the table. Like Destroyer, it takes one hell of an acting performance and skilled direction to pull this off. I guess this is where some thought Destroyer nailed it, and pretty much no one thought Vox Lux did.

Everybody Knows (Spain, thought director Asghar Farhadi is Iranian) and The Other Story (Israel) were also amongst the most enjoyable foreign films I watched in 2018. I'm not sure if The Other Story got Canadian distribution but Everybody Knows is playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox right now for those who want to see it. Both are dramas centred around families.

We're well into 2019 films now and I'm really hoping for some standouts this year, at least in my eyes. I mean, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood does have a July release date after all! As well, we're about to wrap another decade in film so even more lists charting the best of the last 10 years. But first, we got some more movies to watch!

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: Required Reading

Kengo Kuma & Associates has unveiled their eco-friendly (and plant-covered) design for a hotel on the left bank of Paris’ river Seine. (via Dezeen)

A story about Louis I. Kahn’s renowned Salk Institute (often considered one of his masterpieces):

The Salk has been responsible for major breakthroughs in neurobiology, genome mapping, and stem cell research. Elements of the design, such as the way natural light illuminates the underground labs through a series of courtyards and the open plan that requires members from different departments to circulate among study towers, have been cited by the Salk’s scientists as influential to their research.

But as the building neared the half-century mark, it was clear that certain aspects needed a more interventionist approach. “A lot of decisions weren’t made right away because Salk had run out of money to complete the project, so parts were unfinished for a long time,” says Ball. With scientists eager to move into their labs, some details of the design, like Kahn’s recommendation to add window flashings, were never implemented, leaving Ball’s team to contend with decades of leaks and water damage.

Aruna D’Souza writes that the recent opening at MASS MoCA was notable for a few unfortunate reasons:

But it’s not that black artists and black art weren’t visible at the opening: there was a parade featuring dancers in Nick Cave’s Sound Suits, choreographed by Sandra Burton. Holley and DeDeaux gave a gallery talk, and the singer Helga Davis performed in the galleries as members milled around. And, to the delight of the overwhelmingly white crowd, the Brooklyn United Marching Band, an African American children’s group, gave an excellent, rollicking performance of Beyoncé hits. They were bussed in for the event, and bussed out after; as far as I’ve been able to ascertain, there was no particular logic to their inclusion in the program.

Donna Zuckerberg (yes, Mark’s sister) asks “How Should We Support Scholars Who Are Getting Harassed Online?” She writes about the recent backlash to Sarah Bond’s article on Hyperallergic and her own experience with online harassment:

Furthermore — and I know that this might be controversial — if you know that a scholar is receiving abuse for an argument, and you want to critique that argument in good faith, I believe that the onus is on you to start off your critique by denouncing the abuse and differentiating your approach from that of the harassers. And if the bullied scholar responds to your critique in a way that you feel is unnecessarily defensive or thin-skinned, remember what they’re going through and give them more latitude than you usually would. If you aren’t prepared to take that approach, reconsider your motives for issuing that critique at that particular moment.

Some, no doubt, are thinking to themselves that Bond and I brought this on ourselves by writing about Classics and white supremacy. They are wrong. Nobody ever brings harassment or death and rape threats on themselves. Furthermore — and this is a crucial point — Bond did not argue what the far right is claiming she argued. (I likewise did not argue that classicists shouldn’t study canonical authors, although that argument is misattributed to me constantly.) She pointed out that groups such as Identity Evropa are using images of classical statuary, especially the Apollo Belvedere, in a way that recalls Nazi aesthetics. I’m not sure how any classicist can look at that poster and not feel horrified at its implications for our field, but that’s a topic for another day.

Is the museum an “inherently colonial institution”? Alicia Eler of the Minneapolis Star Tribune asked a number of people (I have a small cameo):

Connie Butler, chief curator, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles: “While the issue of the ownership of history and trauma is one we are seeing on many fronts, I believe there are issues here that are very particular to this case and to Native American history in this country. So while some may worry that museums will bow to community pressures of all kinds, I think that this is an instance where clearly the trauma being recalled and relived on the part of native people warranted the serious consideration that the Walker gave it. I think we can all learn from this. The issue that still remains to be worked through, and makes the reception of the work part of its history and impact, is the transference of the intellectual property back to the Dakota people. This will become part of a living archive of the work.”

Important journalism about a Congolese village where dozens of girls under the age of 11 were raped:

Denise was, by some counts, the 39th child to be raped in the village of Kavumu, since the first was reported on 3 June 2013. Each time, men in groups had kidnapped a girl of between 18 months and 11 years old from her bed, raped her, and either returned her to her home or left her in a nearby field, which is farmed by demobilised soldiers. At least two girls have died from their injuries.

Although rape has been used as a weapon of war in this part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for 20 years, these attacks on children are new – in terms of the repeated patterns, the symbolism and the youth of the victims. At first, the cases didn’t appear to be related. But over time, as each abduction resembled the last in certain significant details – the way men entered the houses; the way the girls were taken, violated and returned or left in the same field; and the fact that none of the families woke up as men stole their children – investigators began to suspect that there was an organised ring behind the attacks.

Because the girls are so little, their organs are often irreparably damaged. Panzi hospital’s founder and medical director, Dr Denis Mukwege, said that he and his staff frequently weep while operating on the girls. Another doctor said the brutality of the rapes made her faint for the first time in her life. “When I treat a child with all her bladder and abdomen destroyed, I think, This is really not something I want to do with my life,” Mukwege told me. We were sitting at a long, plastic-covered table in a conference room at Panzi in January. He looked exhausted. “You are thinking about how you are just repairing and instead you should be preventing this.”

Getty curators David Saunders (Antiquities, Villa) and Bryan C. Keene (Manuscripts, Center) discuss male relationships in ancient Athens by examining three red-figure vases at the Getty Villa:

An immigration lawyer reviews a movie featuring Paddington, the beloved migrant bear, and ponders the plight of refugees and whether the bear would actually be allowed in today’s UK:

Paddington stows away and deliberately avoids the immigration authorities on arrival. He is in formal legal terms an illegal entrant and as such commits a criminal offence under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971. It is an offence punishable by up to six months in prison. If or when detected by the authorities it is more likely he would simply be removed back to Peru than that he would be prosecuted, though. To avoid that fate he would need to make out a legal basis to stay.

Incidentally, for offering a home to Paddington — or harbouring him, as the Home Office would have it — Mr and Mrs Brown could potentially face prosecution under section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971, entitled “Assisting unlawful immigration to member State”. The maximum sentence is 14 years.

The Santa Fe Art Colony Tenant Association in Los Angeles, which is one of the oldest continuing art colonies in the city, is being threatened by rising rents. In March, the owners gave the residents sixth-month notice that rents will increase as much 80 percent and in some cases will double. KCRW reports:

Artists began moving to the downtown area in the 1970s to escape rising rents and dwindling studio space on the Westside. They built illegal lofts in abandoned warehouses and lived together in gritty, blighted neighborhoods that weren’t zoned for occupancy. To address the zoning and safety issues, the city created an Artist-in-Residence program in 1981, allowing artists to live in converted commercial properties and form the neighborhood that would become the Arts District.

In 1986, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA) entered in a 30-year partnership with the owners of a defunct terrycloth-robe factory on Santa Fe Avenue to provide low-interest loans to retrofit the buildings and create rent-restricted artist lofts. The Santa Fe Art Colony was born and quickly became a fixture of LA’s art scene. Previous tenants included renowned artist like Kim Abeles and Sam Durant.

After receiving a one year extension from the city in September 2016, the agreement is now set to expire for the colony’s residents. Tidwell and the tenant association have asked city officials including City Councilmember José Huizar to help find a way to stave off the rent increase.

The story of a Lower East Side mural that was painted over after 40 years in the neighborhood:

The gentrification of the Jewish Lower East Side has made headlines for decades and is often the subject of nostalgic anguish, with people recalling the way things were and telling stories of their grandparents who grew up there. Over time, many second- or third-generation Jews moved to Brooklyn or the suburbs. Dress shops closed, scribe masters relocated, yarmulke stores and kosher shops shuttered, family businesses faded, and the synagogues once dotting the neighborhood were decimated or flipped. By 2002, the New York Times declared this “primal homeland for American immigrant Jews has lost so much of its cultural texture and so many of its living touchstones that it may be time finally to pronounce it dead.” In 2008, the Lower East Side made the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places, a roundup of areas or venues threatened by neglect.

Throughout all this, the Jewish Heritage Mural remained one of the few staying relics of the Lower East Side. It brightened up a drab section of East Broadway. It taught travelers a vital history. It was a source of pride. Many admired its endurance to withstand gentrification, but given the transient nature of murals, were not surprised by its eventual fate.

A unpublished piece by Hannah Arendt was released to the public this week and it includes “thoughts on poverty, misery, and the great revolutions of history.” It’s an excellent read that is relevant to today:

All these revolutions, no matter how violently anti-Western their rhetoric may be, stand under the sign of traditional Western revolutions. The current state of affairs was preceded by the series of revolutions after the First World War in Europe itself. Since then, and more markedly after the Second World War, nothing seems more certain than that a revolutionary change of the form of government, in distinction to an alteration of administration, will follow defeat in a war between the remaining powers—short, that is, of total annihilation. But it is important to note that even before technological developments made wars between the great powers literally a life and death struggle, hence self-defeating, politically speaking wars had already become a matter of life and death. This was by no means a matter of course, but signifies that the protagonists of national wars had begun to act as though they were involved in civil wars. And the small wars of the last 20 years—Korea, Algeria, Vietnam—have clearly been civil wars, in which the great powers became involved, either because revolution threatened their rule or had created a dangerous power vacuum. In these instances it was no longer war that precipitated revolution; the initiative shifted from war to revolution, which in some cases, but by no means all, was followed by military intervention. It is as if we were suddenly back in the 18th century, when the American Revolution was followed by a war against England, and the French Revolution by a war against the allied royal powers of Europe.

Did you know there are war re-enactors in the US that dress up as Nazis to take part in WWII battles? Well, Zoë Berry reports from Pennsylvania:

I didn’t come to the vendor area at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s World War II re-enactment weekend for the Nazi memorabilia. I came to see why thousands of people flock to an active airfield in Reading, Pennsylvania once a year to either re-live, or watch other people re-live, life across a world in chaos in 1943. I left 36 hours later having heard a lot of reasons: to honor veteran relatives, to honor veterans generally, to preserve history, to escape reality.

No one, except a few WWII fighters and an Auschwitz survivor, was there to remember the Holocaust. And no one gave a second thought to donning a German uniform, even though public displays of Nazism have been on the rise in the U.S. since right around last November 8.

One couple asked the internet to help them photoshop some shirtless guy out of their lovely pic and then the internet responded and made them a meme. Here are some of the images:

The rest are here.

The post Required Reading appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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type2diabetestreatments-blog · 7 years

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"Golden Rules" for Living with Type 1 Diabetes

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/golden-rules-for-living-with-type-1-diabetes/

"Golden Rules" for Living with Type 1 Diabetes

One of the best resources for learning about diabetes and connecting with other PWDs (people with diabetes) locally can be summed up in five letters: TCOYD.

That would be Taking Control of Your Diabetes, the national educational conference series founded by endocrinologist and longtime type 1 Dr. Steven Edelman in San Diego. He's not only a super-knowledgeable clinician and researcher, but a really funny, passionate guy who infuses these day-long seminars with energy and inspiration. Seriously, everything I need to know about diabetes I learned at TCOYD.

For the past dozen years, I've had the privilege of speaking at my local Santa Clara event, that brings in about 1,000 patients for a full day of talks, panels, activities, a product expo and a banquet lunch -- all at the affordable price tag of just $20 per person!

This year, I was honored to be on a very cool opening panel for the Type 1 Track led by another awesome accomplished endo + type 1, Dr. Jeremy Pettus (who shared his smarts on alcohol and diabetes with us here).

Our panel was titled, "Golden Rules for Type 1s: Tips for Living Well with Diabetes," and included Dr. Bruce Buckingham of Stanford, Dr. Christine Ferrara of UCSF, Adam Brown of diaTribe, and Yours Truly from the 'Mine.

I think the audience really appreciated that we weren't trying to act as if we had all the answers, but rather just talking turkey about the realities of the hour-by-hour challenges of T1D. I thought you all might enjoy hearing the answers I prepared for this session, which aren't exactly "golden rules" but my own personal best practices, such as they are...

TCOYD) Do you have an overarching philosophy with your approach to managing your diabetes?

Amy) Do just enough to stay in decent control while STAYING SANE.

Has this philosophy changed over time?

It’s only grown stronger. Not having regular meltdowns over diabetes issues is an ongoing effort.

What would you say is the most important thing that has made a difference in your type 1 life and helped you keep on track? Inner strength/approach? A healthcare provider? Family members? Your job?

The support of my family for sure, and to a large extent exercise -- which makes me feel good physically and psychologically.

I also think it's super important to connect with other PWDs for sanity checks (TCOYD is excellent for that!)

What therapy or equipment has made the biggest difference in your life (CGM, pump, rapid insulin)?

I would say the OmniPod tubeless pump and Dexcom CGM. I love being able to pump with no dangling cannula, and the CGM has been a huge game-changer in just being constantly aware of what's happening in my body. I've also been using Afrezza inhaled insulin for the past year and have found the biggest advantage of that is having less complexity with IOB (insulin on board).

As you know, injected insulin sticks around in your system for four hours, whereas Afrezza is in and out in 1.5 hours. That means way less chance of insulin stacking, going low during exercise, nighttime lows, and more.

How important, or not, has a healthcare provider been in your success?

From my POV, the priority is that your HCP does NOT annoy / judge / misunderstand you / dismiss your concerns. You need to be comfortable and feel respected with that person! I have been fortunate to find such a doctor, although I must admit I don't see her all that often.

When everything goes to shit, what is usually the reason? Travel? Life stress? Change in diet? And what do you do to get back on track?

Travel and lack of sleep are huge for me; they usually go hand-in-hand. For that, I do my best to eat as low-carb as possible and check often, plus correct often.

Laziness / procrastination are also big factors. There are lots of times when my pump is beeping that it's time for a pod change or my CGM is alarming high, and I just don't want to deal with it immediately. I don't want to have to drop what I'm doing. But the results are almost always bad. I chalk this one up to being human.

Finally, my period does wonky things to my BG levels that are hard to predict. For the Ladies reading this: am I right? Hormonal cycles have a strong effect on blood sugar, an issue that's not discussed or explored enough.

How do you deal with exercise? Does it help your BGs or make them worse?

It’s constant trial and error. I have some set Temp Basals that I use regularly for spin class, aerobics, kick boxing, hiking and other workouts, but they’re far from fool-proof. To me, the most important thing is not to have to eat a bunch of empty calories I’m not hungry for -- in other words, to avoid going low at all costs, which often means I end up high after exercise and have to spend several hours at least chasing those highs. Come to think of it, I could use some improvement in this area.

What's your approach to food? Do you eat whatever the hell you want and just bolus for it, or do you avoid certain foods? Do you have any additional dietary restrictions?

I’m also gluten-intolerant, which is a pain in the rear, but it helps keep me very low-carb. I try to eat as low-carb as possible without making myself miserable -- meaning I try to do "just a taste" of the carby foods I desire most (which for me is mainly tortilla chips and granola bars).

Overall, I just eat a lot of protein and veggies, mostly salads. Thank God I actually like kale 🙂

How involved, or not, is your significant other in your diabetes? Do you want them more or less involved? If you could tell them one thing to change, what would that be?

My partner is very supportive, but not at all involved in the daily nitty-gritty. That's usually how I like it.

If I could change one thing, I guess I wish that instead of peering over my shoulder every once in a while to ask something like, "175, wow isn't that kind of high?," he would periodically ask a broader question, like, “Hey, how’s it going with your diabetes?” and then just listen to whatever I feel like sharing -- without necessarily trying to "fix it."

What do you LOVE to eat when you are low?

Raisins! I loved to eat lots of dried fruit before I got diagnosed, and had a hard time giving that up. Now I buy copious amounts of those little red snack boxes of raisins. Did you know the mini-boxes come in chocolate-covered and yogurt-covered varieties now too? Yum!

I stash them in my car, purse, nightstand, kitchen, suitcase, etc.

I stock up so much that one day when I had a bunch of six-packs piled in the backseat of my car, I picked up my daughter and her little friend asked, "Does your mom sell raisins?!"

Tell us a time that you have used type 1 to your advantage?

This is a hard one to admit, but I've definitely used it to get to the front of a buffet line. When I get really hungry, it feels like a low, even if my BG isn't dipping too badly. If you tell people you have type 1 diabetes and need to eat now, they're usually accommodating.

I've also had my doctor write me a letter to avoid jury duty. She actually encouraged me to get out of it if possible, because it really is tough if you get stuck there for weeks on end -- in terms of being able to eat right, exercise, etc. (Before you get judgy, know that many PWDs have gone this route.)

What does "being in control" mean to you? Is it an A1C? No hypos? Time in range?

I would say an A1C of 7.4 or less WITHOUT FREQUENT HYPOS.

My good friend Dr. Richard Jackson of Joslin Diabetes Center always encouraged me to think of "good control" this way -- not as pressure for ever-lower A1Cs, but maintaining a decent level without frequent lows, which shows that you are actually staying "in range" most of the time.

Tell us about your approach to complications. If you have them, how do you deal with them? If you don't, how often do they enter your mind?

I don’t have any yet, knock on wood! But I do think about them often – especially for eyes and feet, which are my “weak spots.” Gotta get those screenings regularly!

Give us a parting piece of advice to others on how to make life with type 1 better?

I’d return to my overarching philosophy: “Do just enough to stay in decent control while STAYING SANE.”

Sanity in this case means allowing yourself slip-ups, and taking time for family, friends and activities you enjoy (and occasional food splurges) WITHOUT FEELINGS OF GUILT.

So Dear Readers, got any "golden rules" of your own to share?

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

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