King of the Clouds [Animatic]

the lightning thief tour

i saw the lightning thief last night and hOLY SHIT! JUST HOLY SHIT! click the read more for my notes n stagedoor experience n shit. obvi SPOILERS

ACT ONE

-so the show starts off with a quite literal BANG i’m talking bright white light and thunder noises so chirren b careful if you go to see it -i almost screamed when james went onstage and THATS when i knew this was real -hooray for grungy dancing our parents suck -they tore down the lightning bolt curtains and chris slid out and i lost my mind -“their father kronos-” “KRONOOOOOSSSSSS” -“please see me by the sphynx” (glass display turns around from pyramid to sphynx) -“i was on this field trip, and the x-rated art they had there? crazy.” -percy is literally so flamboyant and so sarcastic i was cracking up the whole two hours -james as gabe oh so help me gods -he sounded so desperate/afraid the whole time -“BEAN. DIP.” on the literal verge of tears -i loved sally so much. she can riff like it’s nobody’s business, and i can never get enough of it. i love carrie but jalynn... oh, jalynn. -“oh look. a goat in a trash can.” -classic “you’re a furry” joke. classic 10/10 -“i’m half goat!” “i’m sorry, this is just a lot to take in right now, okay?” -they did sally’s “death” in slow motion, which made it even more hard to watch. -also BIG FUCKING SEIZURE WARNING FOR THE MINOTAUR SCENE THAT SHIT IS INTENSE -i.... don’t know how to feel about poseidon. ryan literally goes to the bottom of his vocal range for poseidon and it’s the funniest shit (my mom loved it), and he’s like... he’s like a demon surfer. lowkey like jonathan raviv’s poseidon a lil better but ryan? oh gods he’s incredible. he’s the only man who can pull off hawaiian shirts. -annabeth comes in one of those wheel cart things you use to haul heavy shit -“another terrible day” in E minor? oddly needed and very refreshing. -chiron’s “reveal” scene was... interesting to say the least. -their sign :( my fave song of the show. so emotional. chiron puts his hand on percy’s shoulder at one point, percy shows so much emotion, and ryan can sing like an ANGEL i love his vibrato -when luke came on stage i literally whooped so loudly -oh gods there was this one scene luke: welcome to the dysfunctional family! oh, there’s someone who wants to see you grover: percy, i’m so sorry. satyrs are supposed to be protectors. i’m the worst satyr in the world. percy: grover, i’m so glad you’re here right now. then they hug and i sob -“it’s not a lightsaber” -oh btw jorrel is SO DAMN CUTE -clarisse’s battlecry is my energy -RYAN IS IN DRAG THIS ISN’T A DRILL RYAN IS IN DRAG AND IT’S SO EASY TO RECOGNIZE HIM BUT IT’S THE BEST THING TO WATCH -HE LITERALLY “HITS” HIS CROTCH WITH HIS AXE BY ACCIDENT -percy wheels himself in on the toilet. QT. -“she could’ve killed me!” “the plan would have worked either way.” -grover did a cute lil tap dance in “i’m the child of pan” -while crying you just hear grover go I DON’T LIKE THIS SONG ANYMORE then just keeps fucking dancing -“as long as you are here with me puts arm around percy” -“mr d wants to kill you- i mean, talk to you” -“it’s not just some silly lightning bolt on a traveling musical tour!” -“look at the boy! he’s hardly a thief!” “oh, i suppose, unless you’re a good actor, and OHOHOHOHO, i’m the god of drama, and i can say HE’S NOT.” -mr d’s obsession with dolphins is my will to live -the oracle is actually really fucking silly bc of everyone hiding under her dress -“AND YOU SHALL FAIL” “spirit fingers FAIIILLLLLLLLLL” -oh god good kid was making me feel things. the emotion, the lighting, the fog, the music, i was on the verge of tears. chris is so talented. -“if you’re the son of poseidon and you wanna be alone, don’t go to the lake. it’s the first place they look. don’t worry, i won’t tell chiron you’re here.” -“and i’ll be the second first! :D” -annabeth does a riff on her high note of QUEST and we don’t talk about it enough

ACT TWO

-RYAN AS AUNTIE EM IS THE REASON I GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING. -“i had a boyfriend... deep voice ONCE.” -he kept moving his hips and dropping into a deep voice and moving his hips and i was sure i was gonna die -“nemesis... nemesees.... nemisisises... WE DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER.” -perc+grov literally pulled a dirty dancing so percy could chop off her head. -“but it wasn’t your fault.” “you’re right, it’s yours.” -kristen’s vocals were stellar as usual and they used this badass lighting to make it look like sunlight was pokin out through windows as lil disco lights. -oh btw i was blinded like 3214732148904722 times but idgaf -“i know a way to get our parents to notice us HELP ME BOX THIS HEAD” -“care of: ~perseus jackson~ and ANNABETH C H A S E.” -was ares wearing a tracksuit? what the literal- -HKJFDSALK grover pulled his hair up during the slomo part and it stuck upright -percy’s like “i swallowed a bug” -“i’m gonna pass out... pass out... p a s s  o u t.” -KRONOS MADE ME ALMOST PISS MYSELF IT’S SO CREEPY WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK -grover shakes him awake like “you really do drool in your sleep,,,,” -in tree on the hill jorrel was actually sobbing and chris got up at one point to go to him and it was so touching -the scene above them made my heart ache too, especially the freezeframe during “maybe if i’d been a little bit braver” where thalia’s collapsed and luke and annabeth are holding each other i just... a h -charon as the elevator woman is GREAT -her riffs made me want to get up and start boogie-ing -“like? the fish sauce?” -ARGUABLY THE BEST PART OF THE SHOW WAS HADES -HE’S FUCKING GAY -LIKE FLAMINGLY FLAMBOYANT. I’M NOT EVEN KIND OF JOKING. LISP AND EVERYTHING. THERE WERE T E A R S. -ares wears a tank top in son of poseidon and i died -sally and poseidon flirted like hell and POSEIDON SHOT FINGER GUNS AND POOR PERCY WAS SO AWKAWRDHFALHFJDASFJHK -in last day of summer percy tried reaching out for luke early but luke just walked away b4 mr d came on stage -luke grabs percy by the shirt when he says “good!” and shoves him back -gods i can’t get over james’ vocals. so good. SO GOOD. -luke took the banner w him when he stabbed percy and ran -bring on the monsters was actually a huge bop and i didn’t cry like i thought i would :0 -all in all i re-lost my voice screaming over this shit and i’m so grateful i got to see it

STAGEDOOR

-so the stagedoor was super vague @ first bc i heard they weren’t doing it from a parent, but not even the staff were sure -so mom let me hang out by the stagedoor to see if ppl came out -chris came out first & i didn’t even recognize him til he was right in front of me (dramatic ass all bundled up like an eskimo) and he felt bad bc he couldn’t stay long and didn’t have a pen to sign anything but i couldn’ stop saying oH MY GOD OH MY GOD -then jorrel came out and was like “i can’t sign anything either but pics would be much quicker if you wanted them” and igOT TWO PICS WITH JORREL GUYS THIS IS NOT A DRILL -he was like “it’s so cold (findlay ohio) how do y’all live here?” and i was like “we don’t know” his dramatic southern californian ASS i loved him -i got a signature from sarah, and she was super sweet (she took the pic for me bc my fingers were numb from the cold. NEGATIVE WINDCHILL GUYS. WELCOME TO OHIO. -i asked jalynn to adopt me and shes like YALL ARE TOO SWEET and i got her signature too -i ALSO met kristen and got her signature+picture as well, idk how i wasn’t panicking but i was so flustered -someone told kristen they’d take a bullet for her and she went DON’T DO THAT -everyone else walked past and couldn’t bc of the cold but we cheered for them anyway -so yeah by the time i got in the car my fingers were literally burning and i couldn’t feel my legs but I GOT SIGNATURES AND PICTURES AND THAT’S WHAT MATTERS -i also got a t-shirt -who’s hardcore? me. i’m hardcore.

hope you guys enjoyed these notes lol

Two Lions In Love Edition | 6.19 & 6.26.21

Secret Radio | 6.19 & 6.26.21 | Hear it here.

 6/19: Juneteenth “Two Lions in Love Edition”

“Tropical use only” — drug salesperson

1. Daddy Don’t - “Bottom Side of Texas”

One of our favorite spots to play in the whole country is the Pilot Light in Knoxville — it’s not just the club, but the neighborhood and really the whole drive into town, digging into the Tennessee mountains. There’s a little St. Louis in its bricks and pathways too. One evening brought us a night with Daddy Don’t, which was a gal on guitar singing songs about the gal on drums, plus a guy onstage strictly to blow bubbles. They seemed so shy and so completely cool. Their set was hilarious and touching and maybe a little stumbly and thoroughly charismatic. I felt an overlap with Birdcloud and Schwervon and ‘90s Olympia but also definitely their own thing. I hope they’re doing cool stuff these days too.

2. Ennio Morricone - “Guerra e Pace Pollo e Brace” - “Grazie Zie” soundtrack

The great music find from the wedding of Josh and Ashleigh. We spent some time recently remembering what a fantastic time that was…

3. Panjabi MC - “Mundian to Bach Ke”

…because we all met up in Chicago this month to celebrate the marriage of Ren and Kiera! It was in the Morton Arboretum, bringing together both American and Indian families in one grand event. The music throughout the evening was lovely, from the ceremony (Josh on solo guitar) through the early events and the meal. Once the dance floor was opened, however, a whole new flavor dropped: the DJ rocked between Nelly and Indian dancefloor music, then over to Michael Jackson, then into Panjabi MC and on and on. We danced our faces off!

- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” karaoke version with special guest star!

4. Sparks - “The Number One Song in Heaven”

“Gabriel plays it and God how he plays it!” I know everybody’s gonna be talking about Sparks soon because of the doc that just dropped, and it’ll be both from people who know everything about Sparks and from people who are brand-new zealots. Bring it on — I’m so looking forward to learning more about these guys… especially because, in just over a month, on August 6, there’s going to be a whole other film dropping that we’ve been looking forward to for years. It’s called “Annette,” and it’s directed by Carax, who did “Holy Motors” and “Lovers on the Bridge” — it’s his first movie in English and his first musical. But check this: Sparks wrote all the music! The cast includes Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Angèle AND Russell Mael … I mean, we couldn’t be any more excited for this film. It’s entirely possible that it won’t work at all, but it’s also entirely possible that it turns out to be the combined efforts of some of the most interesting artists working today.

5. T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - “Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me”

We met up with Theo Welling recently just off Atlantic Avenue at a place with a questionable name and a brothel theme but a pretty epic back patio. Not only were there chandeliers and a disco ball hanging from the broad branches of the tree overhead, but the music was DEAD ON our tastes. When this song came on, it was like: they got us. There was some Francis Bebey a little later on, I mean it was the very stuff. And the thing is, this song totally rocked that patio. Because T.P. rules.

This is from Analog Africa’s crucial T.P. collection, “Echos Hypnotiques.”

6. Elsa - “Ecoutez”

The energy in French records from the ‘60s is crackling hard — this one 

We picked up this record at Dave’s Records when we were in town for Ren and Keira’s wedding. It happened to be Record Store Day as well, so we went to Dave’s Records, an old favorite with a “CDs — Never Had Em, Never Will” sign in the window. “They powered through CDs,” says Paige. That sign is this relic of them living through the ‘90s and ‘00s, really.”

7. Velvet Underground - “White Light/White Heat”

Theo was wearing a Lou Reed Transformer shirt that night and we spent some time talking about this crazy band. I feel like this track is the ultimate experience of VU where they find the most ragged frayed edge of pop music to ride and they spend the whole song there, until the end when they jump on the song like leopards on an antelope and start attacking it. But the song resists, takes off running, and actually gets quite a long ways before it is finally taken down. The ending sounds like a brutal act of nature.

8. Sroeng Sari - “Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng”

It took me a while to stop and actually listen to this song — the opening riff is kind of blinding. You stare into that riff and think that you’re gonna have to deal with a whole version of “Iron Man,” but on the other side of the riff lies a fascinating new riff and completely independent verse shape. (I have no idea if the lyrics relate to the concept of “Iron Man.”) In fact, it turns out the riff is practically only used like a sample within the structure of the song, and it’s mainly not Iron Man at all. 

9. [REDACTED] Keep an eye out for the Extended Drunk Scarface Cut Edition.

[9. Paige Brubeck as Scarface & Tony S. in - “Favorite Gangster Friend” feat. Chumbawumba]

10. Midnight Oil - “The Power and the Passion”

Paige was a little too late for Midnight Oil, but she’s extremely receptive to an ideologically, ecologically driven band. “If I had heard that band when I was listening to ska music, I would have fuggin loved this band. I think I would have listened to this band a lot. The part of me that likes Reel Big Fish and the Pietasters… it’s very punk and then when the horns come in it’s like, Oh yeah I love this stuff.”

For me: I love the drum solo. It’s such an interesting full-length exploration of a few different ideas, and it helps point out the ways that the percussion operates in Midnight Oil songs. The overdubbed variations on the singer’s voice reminds me of techniques we used in Bound Stems. I really like that way of recording multiple emotions within a single line and just kind of smashing them together for a multi-faceted take on the lyric. I feel like “Jane Says” was the first recording where I noticed that approach. I also love the crescendo structure to the whole song. But to me, this feels like a song that was built to be played live but someone thought should be represented on the album. I think the transitions between the A, B and C parts are weird and unfinished, even though each of the parts is really good.

11. Phuong Dung - “Do Ai”

What a truly incredible voice… and the guitar accompaniment only slowly reveals its depth and litheness through the course of the song.

12. Group Inerane - “Ikabkaban”

This was a lucky discovery. It’s as much a state of mind as a recording of a song. The sound is very live and not ideal, which I do think ultimately makes it more interesting. There’s something about live recordings that can be embarrassing and compromised… or it can feel like lightning in a bottle. I think this one feels special. This sounds to me like desert blues. These are some of the notes on the track itself: “This album by the rebellious Tuareg musicians from Niger is certainly more hypnotic and less ecstatic than the first (which was recorded at a wedding celebration). It should be said that the guitarist Adi Mohamed, who played on the first album, was shot dead in a skirmish between the nomads and junta forces.”

Yow.

13. The Lemon Twigs - “As Long As We’re Together” (video version)

Now I should just say A) this is the video version of the song, and B) that’s the real version of the song as far as I’m concerned. This video is a perfect thing, at least to me. It was directed by Autumn de Wilde, who went on to direct the film “Emma,” which was one of the most enjoyable pieces of art we saw during the pandemic. (She initially got notice as a photographer before going into music videos.) The recording is masterful, with an intentionally pushed back main vocal and all kinds of panned effects both minimal and baroque. These guys were all teens when they wrote and recorded this song with Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado, which only makes it more (annoyingly?) brilliant. Also: this is our candidate for the song likeliest to get stuck in your head.

That video (I love the ending): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ4nqnVOfMo

- Nisar Bazmi - “Aesi Chal Main”

Pakistani music from a collection labeled “Folk and Pop Instrumentals 1966-1976.” It’s easy to imagine this as a folk song, but the instrumentation is so radically electric that it feels like new information being learned on the spot.

14. Katty Lane - “Ne Fais Pas La Tête” 

Another live recording. Actually, that’s probably not true: it’s a recording from a TV of a TV appearance that Katty made, almost certainly lip-synching the vocals. But it sounds better than the album version to us. Katty Lane is going for a cross between Nancy Sinatra and Brigitte Bardot, and it’s really interesting how close she gets but how far away she remains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T4gWLi5RUw

15. Ezra Furman - “I Lost My Innocence”

Man, the rhythmic arrangement of the opening verse knocks me out. The production on this whole album really, but the minimalist rhythmic clarity that comes from splitting the beat among a variety of instruments is so amazing. As a drummer I just find the pattern-building in this song enviable.

We got to know these songs well during a tour we did with Ezra Furman. The whole band is full of heavy hitters, including Tim Sandusky, the guy who recorded the album and plays a variety of instruments there and live. He’s one of my favorite musical brains, period, and “Transangelic Exodus,” the album this comes from, is one of my favorite pieces of album production, period.

16. Voilaaa - “Pas bon”

These are apparently contemporary people! This album is from 2015. I think Josh pointed us to this one.

17. Francois and the Atlas Mountains - “La Verité”

This a band Paige came across a couple of years ago, at 2222 Jefferson I believe. This chorus is a true tonguetwister and thus irresistable to try to sing along with. The melody is really strong, and check out how the guitar enters the solo!

18. Ata Kak - “Daa Nyinaa”

We had an amazing night in the back patio zone we share with our building. Dexter had a few friends over including a dude named KG who turned out to be super interesting on a variety of subjects. As we were talking about music he brought up Ata Kak, whose “Obaa Sima” we’ve played on here and who we absolutely love. Paige disappeared inside and came back with our tape of this whole album. He fell out, like what are we doing with this thing? I started telling the whole back story of how the album was discovered in a street tent in Ghana by the guy from Awesome Tapes From Africa, and eventually after many adventures actually tracked down Ata Kak, who was surprised to be found and even more surprised to find that the tape Awesome Tapes had found was distorted and ran way faster than originally intended. But then KG started playing that original tempo track, which does indeed sound comPLETely different. I still haven’t been able to find a way to get ahold of that original track. “Daa Nyinaa” is another banger off the same tape. The man just has a really great sense of what makes a hook.

19. Sakuran Zensen - “Taxi Man” 錯乱前戦　タクシーマンのMVです

This was a video that flickered through my feed a couple of years ago, I think thanks to Steve Scariano (not Steve Pick as I claim aloud). I don’t think a single recommendation of Steve Scariano has ever been the wrong answer — the man has impeccable taste. This song has all of the rock and all of the roll PLUS a ladder. It’s a strong song and an even stronger video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNmubstNGFs

20. New York Dolls - “Looking for a Kiss”

As soon as we were in the nasty distortion of Sakuran Zensen it was probably inevitable that we would go looking for the New York Dolls. The live performance of this song is worth the price of admission… and the drummer looks like one of the brothers from The Lemon Twigs!

21. Mina - “La verità”

Sometimes Italian is the only language that will do. It does tend to have its own melodic shapes separate from French. I adore the way she goes for the high notes in the chorus only to get to the climax, which is her dropping down into her lowest register to bitterly and sarcastically deliver the title phrase: “La verità:” “the truth.” I know just enough Italian to catch that her final declaration is “Sono stato io,” or: “It was me.”

22. Pylon - “Cool”

Pylon has been back in the news recently thanks to a big ol’ rerelease at the 40 year mark, and it’s a great way to get more in touch with a band that lies at the source of so much music we love. They are every bit as cool as the song.

23. Dalida - “Aghani Aghani”

Dalida is Egyptian born, in an Italian household, who first gained fame singing in French — or in Italian to French audiences. She ended up singing in 10 languages in all. She is a blockbuster French star with no parallel, though she died young by her own hand. “Aghani Aghani” is an Arabic medley that became a gigantic hit all across the Arab world and has since entered the fabric of the language and culture.

24. Betti-Betti & T.P. Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou - “Mbala”

We have been falling deeper and deeper for Betti-Betti’s songs. This one has so many of my favorite things that she does — the fantastic melodies that cycle past each other, the expressive horn lines, and the mouth percussion that totally transforms the song for me. We just recently got a different album of hers that we’re also really excited about; that one features an entirely different band in a different style. This one is T.P. though, those consummate collaborators, and this song is an epic joining of forces.

- Mulatu Astatke + Black Jesus Experience - “Mulatu”

25. Nick Drake - “Pink Moon”

Oh that strawberry moon with its red halo.

Blackhawks Player Nicknames (according to Second City Hockey.com) [03\23\2017]

Andrew Desjardins #11 (currently free agent) Desi, Dijon, Colonel Mustard. Not Ben Smith, but was traded for him. Depth forward.

Artem Anisimov #15 Arty, Arty Party, Ani. Our long-awaited 2C. Friend of Annette Frontpresence.

Artemi Panarin #72 (now with Columbus Blue Jackets) Pan, Bread Man, Panera Bread, Snake. No one is quite sure how to spell his first name. Undrafted, caused much salt among fans of other teams when he won the Calder Trophy for best NHL rookie at the age of 24.

Brent Seabrook #7 Seabs, Biscuit (a reference to Seabiscuit), The Captain Whisperer (after he stepped into the box to comfort Toews after his third crappy penalty in the process of losing to Detroit in Game 4 in the 2013 playoffs). Nacho Seabre (admitted weakness for nachos and pizza).  Affectionately known as "(my) Seabsie boy" to his teammates. If he looks slow on the ice it's probably because he ate too many nachos. Gave his son Carter the middle name of "Seven,” but alleges it was his wife's idea.

Brian Campbell #51 (now retired) Soupy (like Campbell's soup, generic nickname for anyone with this last name), Soup Dogg, Ginger (the hair), 51 Phantom.

Corey Crawford #50 Crow, Watcher (the Watcher on the Wall from Game of Thrones), Crawful (generally used sarcastically), Crawsome. As this is Chicago, the victim of a perpetual goalie controversy despite performing as an elite NHL starter for the last four seasons. His glove hand/blocker/five-hole sucks and we'll never win anything with him in net. He's a fucking beauty (quote from his Cup parade speech where he was totally non-sober and dropped two f-bombs).

Dennis Rasmussen #70 (now with Anaheim Ducks) Moose, Raz. Swedish defensive forward.

Duncan Keith #2 Duncs, Jigsaw (reference to character from Saw, because his teammates claim he's kind of psycho scary and methodical), Teeth, in reference to his heroism in the 2010 WCF, losing 7 teeth in Game 4 and only missing a few shifts, Bambi because of how fast he skates (he has crazy good conditioning and routinely has the highest TOI of the team). Inspired the phrase 'Chicago Runs on Duncan'.

John Hayden #40 Hayds, Hayder.

Johnny Oduya #27 Odie, Oh do ya? eg, "I think his last name has a lot of pun-potential." "Oh, do ya?" Jeremy Roenick is jealous now because Oduya's wearing his old number, but Roenick thinks it should be retired.

Jonathan Toews #19 Jonny, Tazer, Captain, Best Captain, Captain Marvel (he wears the C and he's the best/marvelous, obviously), Captain Serious (because he is one serious motherfucker, although glimpses of him off-guard on camera suggest his off-ice personality has a large component of goofy weirdo), Captain Lardass (from an angry Twitter comment), Captain Seriously [Adjective]. Draws comparisons to Grumpy Cat (Kaner's feline equivalent is Lil Bub) and to a hockeybot who does not understand human emotions, due to his hilariously incongruous facial expressions in any given situation (see also Toewsface)

Jordin Tootoo #22 Toots, Two two and other such puns. Depth forward, here for the grit.

Marcus Kruger #16 (now with Carolina Hurricanes) Krugs, Frogger (because he likes to play in traffic, gets crunched a lot, yet has many lives), Freddy (his team nickname, from Nightmare on Elm Street), The Plan All Along (according to Stan Bowman, his call-up from Europe in late 2011 was "all part of the plan"). "Kruger is mashed, gets away with the puck" - commentary from Foley, and the story of his life. As Tracey Myers once put it, his tombstone will read, "Kruger took a hit to make a play.”

Marian Hossa #81 Hoss, Panda (originally sad panda, a name acquired during the playoffs while he playing for Detroit, shortened to Panda when he joined the Hawks), Gossamer (from autocorrect), HE IS MARIAN HOSSA AND YOU ARE NOT, because few can do what he does. Likes KitKats, as they are "good for you!"

He is a hockey demigod, a fact acknowledged by everyone including the official twitter. His name may be substituted for "God" in common phrases, eg "Oh my Hossa!"

Michal Kempny #6 Lemony, via autocorrect. Third pair dman.

Michal Rozsival #32 Rozi, Rozsi. Elderly depth dman, looks like an elf. Will still be signing 1-year deals with the Hawks when Toews and Kane have retired.

Nick Schmaltz #8 KFC (Schmaltz means chicken fat), Biggy Schmaltz. Playmaking center drafted from UND (this worked out well last time they tried it), snatched from under the noses of the St Louis Blues when Stan traded up in the draft. Brother Jordan is a Blues prospect. Chicago Mission alum.

Niklas Hjalmarsson #4 (now with Arizona Coyotes) Hjammer, Hammer, Meatball (because he was the original Swede Hawk), Jelly (his AHL nickname), Super Nintendo Chalmers (Simpsons reference), Jarbles (the LA announcers clearly mislaid the Swedish names cheatsheet in the WCF and called him Jarbleson), Swedish Viking (description by Jonny Oduya). His leg bones have been upgraded to titanium, judging by the number of shots he blocks.

Patrick Kane #88 Kaner, Lazy, Showtime, wee blond ninja, Black Magic for what he does with the puck, from a quote by former SCHer gmh - "...but the devil lives inside this kid, I swear it. It rises out of him in a mist, this baby-faced defiant wrathful version of Pat Kane, escapes his bodily confines to perform satanic miracles all over the offensive zone. The only thing more fearsome than that assist was the keep-in preceding it. The only thing more unholy than his face is his black magic."

Richard Panik #14 Visa (due to visa issues when joining the team), Panik at the UC!, or Disco for obvious reasons. His name is actually pronounced PAH-neek but hockey never lets a bad pun go to waste.

Ryan Hartman #38 Hartzy. Giving Seabrook a run for his money for "Best Hair" on the team. Another Illinois native/Chicago Mission kid.

Scott Darling #33 (now with Carolina Hurricanes) Oh My, Clem - from the song "Oh my darling Clementine.” A native of Lemont (or maybe Aurora according to one confused commentator), is very tall.

Tanner Kero #67 Depth center.

Tomas Jurco #13 Part of Stan's secret plan to collect all the Slovaks in the NHL in case any of them grow up into Hossas.

Trevor van Riemsdyk #57 (now with Carolina Hurricanes) TVR, Smiley van Smiley due to his happy demeanor in interviews. Brother of James/JVR.

Prospects/IceHogs

Tyler Motte #64 (now with Columbus Blue Jackets) Apple Sauce, Motter.

Vinnie Hinostroza #48 Cousin Vinnie. Bartlett native and ex-Chicago Mission kid.

Brandon Mashinter #53 Mash, Manshitter Here to maintain the quota of players called Brandon and occasionally punch things.

To see the rest of the article, go to: https://www.secondcityhockey.com/2017/3/23/13762402/guide-nicknames-jargon-slang-blackhawks-fans

15 Fave Songs Meme

@gfdisterek (btw omg how good is Amanda Palmer), tagged me in this and I have nothing to do while my hair dye sets in so here we go. Here are the songs I currently think are my favourite, with unnecessary explanations because my favourite topic is ME lmao.

1. Cocoon - Catfish and the Bottlemen. In fact all of The Balcony album is like coming home, for me, I save it for special occassions when I don’t want to think.

2. Sax Rohmer #1- The Mountain Goats. Probably my favourite band. The song that started my love for them. Other songs are arguably better (see High Hawk Season, This Year, and Vampires) but this is nostalgic.

3. Honeymoon - Bombadil. Another favourite band. This song rewrote my world. I’ve screamed it at the top of my lungs. I’ve played it on my worst day. It’s amazing. (Also see ‘Matthew’ and ‘Escalators’)

4. Girls/Girls/Boys - Pan!c at the Disco. Opening notes always get me bopping, it’s my bi anthem, and I got to see Brendon do it live with the rainbow flag wrapped around his mic, god bless.

5. Cosmia - Joanna Newsom (and the Ys Street Band). If you haven’t heard this, oh my god, look it up. It’s like a literal faery queen graced us with a musical performance I can’t listen to it without needing to lie down. It’s also kind gay.

6. Mr Brightside - The Killers. Until the very day I die my ears will always prick up and my head will turn to seek out the opening bars of this song. It is, Foundational. Similar to Black Parade, I could be flatlining in the hospital and this song would raise me from the dead.

7. Pictures of You - The Cure. Want to be whisked away on lilting guitar notes and cry like a freaking baby? This is the song. May or may not be related to how perfect it is for my ships.

8. Bubblegum Bitch - Marina and the Diamonds. I love everything she does tbh, but this is the ultimate ‘getting ready for the day, need to feel like a bad ass’ song.

9. Still Ill - the Smiths. Look when I was a massive depresso I got a lot of comfort from this band, cliche as it may be. This song is still a go-to.

10. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley. Still imo the best rendition, and now just one of the all-time classics in my mind.

11. Sail - Awolnation. How did I nearly forget this one!? Life-changing. Stiles’ personal anthem of bad-assery. Iconic.

12. Vitriol - Bluejuice. “If you stay alive for no other reason please do it for spite.” Get shit done because you hate it, is the motto of this song.

13. Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Sprinsteen. if you really listen to the lyrics, it’s the perfect song for your early 20s ‘there must be more to life than this’ crisis.

14. Put Up or Shut Up - All Time Low. I’m cheating, because i really mean the whole album. It’s such a good angry lost soul jam. 

15. The Handshake - MGMT. Low key my favourite song. Can’t even explain it. 

Um um um alright @fiascodownunder, @sassymustardminx, and oh geez whoever wants to do this really. It’s nice. Get to know yourself better. If you want.

I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE THE NEW ED SHEERAN ALBUM SO FUCKING MUCH I LOVE LITTLE SHEERAN I JUST WANNA KIDNAP HIM AND HIDE HIM IN BED AND SPOON WITH HIM FOREVER AND EVER.......AND EVER.

It is Saturday and I have absolutely no plans today. I feel good. I was just dancing I danced for like an hour and took videos of it and I actually like how my bum looks like heheehe... And now I am listening to Hearts Don’t Break Around Here. I am just feeling fearless recently..It is crazy how much I changed and how little I noticed it. I have become such a positive person (relatively) I have realized that I am now someone people describe as “talkative, easy going, smiles a lot”.

I am currently dating someone, his name is Menke, he is 31 and Dutch. He has two cats and plays the piano and he is super sweet and such a good kisser (even though he always taste like food!!!pfft). Anyway, he asked me if I wanted to be exclusive and I mean I don’t know..there are reasons I do not want to be exclusive. First, I am an Erasmus student, I want to go to parties and make out with boys whose names I don’t know, also girls. Second, I am not over Pavan yet, a lot of times when Menke is holding me or kissing me or even during an intense makeout session my mind would wander off to think of Pavan, I am always trying to not think of him but sometimes I cannot help it, I am still very much in love with him and i have this notion that I would never be happy unless I end up with Pavan or someone EXACTLY like him, like identical. Which is weird because Pavan was not even such a good boyfriend, he was my perfect man but he was not good at being in a relationship and he was always too busy. And now I have someone who treats me as a priority and surprises with the best gestures; like on our third date he played one of my favorite songs for me (she had the world, pan!c at the disco) on his piano, he learned it just to play it for me, how sweet is that?? I don’t deserve it really. And, he got us tickets to go to the opera because i said I liked how people dress up to go to the opera and he is such a good listener I really do enjoy spending time with him, I do not know what is wrong with me but I know that eventually I am going to push him away.

The other day I was walking in the street and some guy followed and stopped me and started speaking to me in Czech, I said “hi” to let him know that I don’t speak Czech so he started talking in English and he told me that he just saw me and thought I was beautiful so he wanted to say hi. Now on normal terms I would think that he is creepy BUT he is super cute and tall and really good looking so I just talked to him, we talked for ten minutes then he asked to add me on Facebook and to see me later and I agreed and we went out and it was terrible, he is boring and very childish and not a good kisser AND when he found out I had a cold he wouldn’t even get close to me. However, he did tell me how to get weed so that was good. He asked me out again I said “we’ll see”, maybe I will give him another chance when I am bored.

This semester is turning out to be better than I expected. At first, all of my friends left and I was worried that I am going to end up alone and not find any new friends but then I met this Jordanian guy from my university back home and he brought Aga with him, a Polish girl I had met before in the first semester and then Aga asked me if I wanted to join her going out that night and I did and I met new people and now I have some friends and I know the new people and I got to quiz night and parties and it is all good.

I registered for ten classes at the beginning of this semester, then it felt like too much. I really don’t feel like being constantly stressed in my last semester here. I want to have fun and experience things and make friends and travel and see the world and improve myself as a person. I want to become more confident and responsible and positive about things and social, I want to learn to be more accepting and to not take things personally and to believe in myself and ultimately to love the person I have become. I want to get over my obsession with becoming skinny and having thin legs and it is happening I believe..I am happier now. I feel like I finally have friends I actually like. And I am not afraid of what the future holds, I know I am strong and whatever happens I can overcome it. It is MY life, my family does not own me, I do not owe them and eventually I will make sure they realize that and no matter how lost and confused I get now, I will find my way in the future so I am going to relax and enjoy and live in the moment for now.

Today I made my own peanut butter and it turned out to be tHE BOMB. I am so happy with it because I eat so much peanut butter usually in my oatmeal every morning so I spend a lot of money on peanut butter and the other day my flatmate told me “do you know how to make peanut butter” and I said “You can do that” and so she told me how and it is actually pretty simple so I made it today and it is really really good even better than the one I buy so I am going to be saving a lot of money yyaayy.

I am thinking of going for a swim today, I got a nice swim suit so why not. I am now going to have some lentil soup (which I made yesterday) and it is really good so yeah, oh and I finished Gossip Girl, it sucks but the finale is nice and I was super happy Blair and Chuck ended up together and have you seen how adorable their kid is?!!! I love babies at some point I have to admit that..

The classes I am taking this semester are pretty cool. Three of them are normal linguistics classes but the other two are interesting, one of them is called Gender Perspectives in social work and it is basically about feminism so YAY. And the other is called Islamic Political thought and the classes are super boring but I am hoping I can learn something from it.

I decided to stop wasting my life on TV shows (after Switched at Birth season 5) and to start reading and writing more. So yeah..

That is all I got to say for now I guess..will update you later.

You know you love me XOXO

Your favorite frog

March 4 2017

*drops this and runs* hehehHEHEH