#insider knowledge

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

MFGHMFGH im sorry for the vagueness!! like, idk, touching it, licking it. it's not like it's a normal human eyeball.

oh my god-

SKJDGJFJKFKDJSHD THAT IS SO SILLY

UHHH that also gets a maybe!!!! I mean, depending on the context, that may or may not be on tumblr though. I might give something like that to my patrons. Throw that in their enclosure

[thriftrescue]

I WAS today years old when I learned——

Hot Wheels Face Right ➡️

MatchBox Face Left ⬅️

🧠🧐

[mafaldaknows]

Mafalda, the erroneous use of y’all and the reference to the brood of vipers was pretty telling to me. Don’t want to name any names but there’s only one person still alive around these fandom spaces who remembers in that much detail the ss and uses y’all like the wannabe american she desperately wants to be. And I’m gonna bet it’s not a charmie or an armie fan at all lmao.

Unless she still considers herself his fan :D even after all that supposedly happened to her.

Hello, Anon:

Well, bless her heart. 😏🤣

Thanks for your observation. 😏😉🎪🎟️🤡😂

[teaforten]

So as you may already be aware, I'm friends with Richard K., The C. Cat, and he has told me things. Oh lord, things.

One was that it was thought by many that Hatter and Hare acted like a couple. The executive producer particularly would joke about it. AND he knew that takes had to be redone sometimes because of small things that were "too slashy" for Disney happening between them.

There was a time on youtube where diehard religious moms complained about the shippers being perverted, and it felt really good to say "well, there was some shipping going on by the cast and crew so joke's on you."

Also, LOL @ Reece for saying a few months ago "yeah, I guess I will have to agree [that Hatter was cute] since apparently he was my husband".

[peekbackstage]

Live Performance 101

Since I’ve mostly been ranting about XZ’s poor experience with Dragon TV’s terrible production crew, I thought I would write a breakdown of a good production by explaining how WYB most likely put together his NYE performance.

This post will explain how a performance like that is put together from A-Z. 

I actually did not watch the rest of the show and only WYB’s performance, so I don’t know if anyone else had such insane set pieces during their performances. This production breakdown would largely be what would be required if WYB had a completely original set. 

In order for WYB to have pulled off a performance like the one he pulled off, he would have needed to involve a very large team that began planning this at least 1-2 months in advance, especially if all the set pieces were his own. 

This team would include: 

Creative Director - This is the person who comes up with the vision for the show, often working closely with the artist on different mood boards and ideas. The CD is also usually responsible for hiring the rest of the team if there isn’t already backup dancers, a band, etc. If the CD is not a choreographer, they also hire the choreographer and work closely with them on creating the entire performance. In WYB’s case, I am going to actually assume that he has his own preferred choreographer and backup dancers (but you guys can correct me here - I’m not actually 100% sure?) 

Set Designer - Works closely with CD on realizing CD/artist’s vision for the performance. 

Lighting Director - Works closely with the CD to come up with a plan for lighting and cue sheets. Is also in charge of lighting team and special effects. (i.e. If there’s a spotlight, if there is pyro or confetti cannons or anything like that.)

Music Director - If there were a live band involved, an MD would have been necessary, but in this case, there was no band, so an MD would not have been hired for this performance.

Protools Engineer - While WYB could have used the Protools engineer that was provided to him by the station, he would have needed one to run rehearsals with. Protools Engineer is responsible for playback during a show. 

Monitor Engineer - Monitor engineers are responsible for stage monitors and in ear monitors to make sure the artist can actually hear what they are performing. WYB potentially could have used the TV station’s, but also had his own for rehearsal.

Front of House Engineer - FOH Engineer is responsible for the front of house sound board (what the audience hears.) WYB could have used the TV station’s, but also had his own for rehearsal.

Video Director - If there are any LED video screens or any video used at all during the show, a VD would have been necessary. Usually works with LD. 

Stage Manager - Manages all cue sheets and times everything down to the second, communicating with other staff - especially if a lift is used or in this case, wires. 

Stunt Coordinator - For a wire performance, there would have needed to be an SC on hand in order to help incorporate the wires. 

Production Manager - Responsible for hiring the rest of the crew, coming up with technical rider, negotiating rates for rentals, advancing the show, arranging rehearsals, managing the entire crew and the production, etc. If this were a tour, there would also be an additional Tour Manager hired on, but this is just a one-off, so a TM wouldn’t have been necessary unless WYB has a TM he really likes to work with who travels with him to every single live show.

Glam Team - Stylists, hair, and makeup 

The above are just all the management-level staff that would have been needed for this show and does not include lower-level crew such as production assistants, assistant PM/SM, and other tech crew. 

Once the crew is hired, the stage is built, equipment rented out, and a plan is in place, usually the artist and dance crew will begin rehearsals in a studio as they work out the choreo. At this stage, wires wouldn’t be involved because of the fact that a normal dance studio doesn’t have the equipment to support it. 

At least about a week before the actual show, the entire stage - all the gear, everything that would have been required for the performance - would be brought into a soundstage. An entire stage would have been built out. This is where flying rigs would actually be brought in to rehearse with. 

At most, they would have had a few days to rehearse on a soundstage, which meant any flying choreo or any choreo that would have required coordinating with stunt crew would have had to be finalized within a very short period of time. They would have also definitely run through a dress rehearsal in full costume as well - to ensure there wouldn’t be any accidental costume gaffs during the actual show. (With wires in particular, WYB would have had to be quite careful.)

I should note that all of the above would have been incredibly expensive. There is no way they wouldn’t have exceeded their technical rider budget that would have been negotiated with the TV station. This meant that Yuehua most likely invested a significant budget into any overages for crew and equipment rental. (They definitely would have had to shell out quite a lot of money just for the soundstage so that WYB would have been able to actually rehearse properly!) 

When I say “incredibly expensive,” I don’t mean in the range of $50K USD. That stage was definitely well over $150K USD, if not more. The amount of money they invested would have been very significant! 

The day of the show, they would have performed a sound check and run through the set during the time that was allotted to them. If WYB used the TV station’s crew, then they would have had to run rehearsal at least a few times. If he had his entire production crew swap out the TV production’s crew, then they would have taken over the sound/monitor boards/etc. which could have entirely been possible, given the production value of his performance. (And it would also have been the best way to avoid any terrible mistakes made by TV production sound crews such as the ones XZ had to deal with during all three of his songs.) 

A lot goes into putting together a show of that level  - far more than anyone can really imagine unless they’ve been through it professionally. Months of hard work and labor get condensed into a few moments when everyone works together as a single team to realize an incredible performance upon a live stage. 

The reality is, behind WYB stands a massive production team that supports him, and without this team, WYB would not have been able to pull off the show he did last night. And this is precisely why most artists are actually very appreciative of staff, and treat them well - because they know that without them, there would be no stage to stand on. Someone needs to build it, after all. 

[intelligentchristianlady]

Congress office panic buttons "torn out" prior to Capitol attack and other disturbing details about Capitol Riot emerge | Boing Boing

It’s becoming clear that the assault on the Capitol last week was well-planned. Here are a few of the latest findings: The riot may have been coordinated with the help of at least three far-r…

We’ll be learning more and more over the next few weeks, I suspect. The rot goes deep.

[squiggelsquirrel]

People use Amazon to look up products, then buy elsewhere because they hate Amazon.

Companies invest time & money listing their products on Amazon, because it increases sales - even from people who aren’t buying through Amazon.

This increases Amazon’s sales, without them needing to invest time & money.

You’re still helping Amazon.

Not trying to guilt anyone or tell you what to do, just thought you all might want to know this. Do with it what you will.

[narrativetherapy-blog]

Linking Lives in Narrative Therapy

[Michael] White often said that people do not invent problems. Instead, they are recruited into actions and ways of thinking that create problems. Narrative therapists ask questions with the intention of bringing the ways that people have been recruited into problems to light. In their inquiries, they examine the effects those problems have on people’s lives and relationships. In answering the therapist’s questions, people are able to notice gaps in their problem stories. These gaps can provide openings to other stories. As people develop and live out preferred stories, narrative therapists look for ways to link them with other people who have struggled with similar problems. This allows people to both contribute to and partake of a growing body of insider knowledge. Also, as people join their voices together , they are more likely to be heard in the larger society. They are less marginalized. This linking of lives through shared purposes is one of the fundamental and recurring ways that narrative therapy supports social justice.

— Gene Combs & Jill Freedman, “Narrative, Poststructuralism, and Social Justice: Current practices in narrative therapy” inThe Counseling Psychologist, 40(7),October, 2012 pp 1034-1035.