tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post5235237899026618615..comments2024-03-27T23:28:20.274-04:00Comments on Face to Face: The gen that wasn't cided: Gypsies of the Spanish Empire (Inquisition, Santa Hermandad)agnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-15912734479302532462022-09-28T17:04:16.713-04:002022-09-28T17:04:16.713-04:00Mumei revealing her Midwestern power level through...Mumei revealing her Midwestern power level through her bowling skillz (Switch Sports), rivaling only fellow Midwestern emo Hologirl, Fauna.<br /><br />Also heard Mumei trying to nonchalantly say "soda" a few streams back -- it's OK to call it "pop"! It only tells us where you grew up, not where you currently live. People, especially young people with a tech-related job, have probably moved around the country several times after high school is over.<br /><br />Speaking of which, Fauna let in a "don'tcha know" sometime recently, too, but the "o" vowels were over-enunciated into Standard American diphthongs, instead of in the Great Lakes dialect with the monophthong "o". But even the phrase itself (regardless of how it's pronounced) is a giveaway to being a Lake Michigan girl.<br /><br />Regional character is endearing, and fleshes the persona out in richer detail. Please don't worry about it -- look at Gura's example. She uses "wicked" all the time, talks about clam bakes, and puts a high front vowel before a stressed "ah" (the vowel in "that"). So "cat" sounds closer to "KEY-at". It's so damn cute, especially when she's all hyped up and draws it out, like "i-ME-yagine the DEE-yamage!" Obviously a New Englander by upbringing, whatever twists and turns around the country she may have taken after high school.<br /><br />East Coasters recognize how non-standard they sound, no matter what they try, so they just don't worry about it and don't try to sound standard, whether they're Yankees or Southerners. It's charming!<br /><br />But since Midwesterners are already pretty close to sounding standard (which is Western), it doesn't take much to round off their sharper regional edges and "pass" as 100% standard all-Americans. So they'll switch to saying "soda" instead of "pop," or diphthongizing the vowels in "don'tcha know," and most people will be none the wiser. Except for true cultural connoisseurs, like yours truly. :)<br /><br />Trust me, though, the audience doesn't mind regional character -- the #1 vtuber in the world is a Yankee who frequently roleplays as a Southern-drawling Texan cowboy.<br /><br />Hmmm, stream idea, perhaps? Faunya or Mooms "roleplay" as a Midwestern / Great Lakes gal, and let it all out with no shame -- since it's only a roleplay, to showcase their voice-acting skills, and awareness of America's cultural diversity. Yes, that's why. Hehe.<br /><br />I'm not sure who they could imitate, the way Gura roleplays as a cowboy, but the girls themselves probably know a good example of a really Midwestern archetype, one that the audience would know as well. Maybe there's a really Chicago-sounding character from SpongeBob? I dunno, but they might!<br /><br />OK, wouldn't fill an entire stream, but an occasional bit they could commit to during their normal streams, here and there.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-2935071280567073222022-09-28T16:21:33.811-04:002022-09-28T16:21:33.811-04:00While Gura is undergoing some downtime, I've b...While Gura is undergoing some downtime, I've been testing out whether the streamer format is like old school TV -- endlessly re-watchable in reruns. At least for her -- and she's a natural entertainer -- answer seems to be... YES!<br /><br />I only started watching her during the Super Metroid streams of spring 2021 (and none of the other streams around that time). Regularly since not even a year ago. That's a lot of content to go back through. Starting with the coziest, most escapist, open up about yourself game of all time -- Minecraft. Hehe.<br /><br />But will get to the horror games soon, to treat myself to some classic scream queen goodness. She's such a natural at that, if our entertainment industry were in halfway functional shape, she would've been part of Hollywood years ago. But it's all nepotistic, or casting couch, and woketarded, with constant witch hunts (all of which is Democrat on Democrat violence, since no one there is conservative or Republican, just a great big terminal auto-immune disease).<br /><br />And the chatty streams where she's asking the audience how their day has been, what she's been up to, etc. -- a bff simulator. :) Like I said, the social climate is so fragmented, guys are eager just to get friendzoned. Oh nyo, pwease don't make me become close fwends with the cutest guhwy guhw in the whole wuhwd -- *anything* but that!<br /><br />It really puts the lie to the "guys just think with their dicks" misanthropy, which is the reverse-side of the "girls are such insufferable whiny cunts" misanthropy. Girl-haters are guy-haters too -- people-haters. We want a social and emotional bond, not a base physiological satisfaction. Like those orphaned baby monkeys in the sadistic Harry Harlow experiments. (An even more apt comparison when the Goobinator releases an official dakimakura.)<br /><br />Back in the heyday of broadcast TV, I used to re-watch certain series that I had them memorized! The classic Simpsons, a decent amount of Seinfeld, Star Trek TNG (beginning with season 3 or so), and even Project Runway when it was hot (seasons 2 and 3, which I just scored on DVD at the thrift store for only $3 apiece!).<br /><br />New content was so infrequent -- 47 minutes per *week* -- that you had to watch it over and over again before the next novel hit dropped.<br /><br />I'm not yet to the point of re-watching streams I've already seen, but I'll go there too eventually. And I don't think I'll be let down, she's too entertaining and leaves such a strong and irresistible impression. I could already re-watch the Big Brain Academy mega-collab, and that was just a couple weeks ago. Really burn her content into your brain, to truly test your devotion to your oshi. Hehe.<br /><br />Her fans have to do what they can to keep her spirit alive until she feels safe materializing once more. We will never lose faith in our earthly guardian angel. :)agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-39088436764374196742022-09-28T15:57:06.655-04:002022-09-28T15:57:06.655-04:00Sana tower visit this weekend. Nature is healing. ...Sana tower visit this weekend. Nature is healing. :)agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-46996363359682640172022-09-27T05:09:34.366-04:002022-09-27T05:09:34.366-04:00Millennials and Zoomers, ywn stage-dive off of the...Millennials and Zoomers, ywn stage-dive off of the cafeteria tables into the interlocked arms of your bros, while Nirvana or Green Day blasts in the background of the middle school dance in suburban America...agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-5856352416209081952022-09-27T04:34:36.693-04:002022-09-27T04:34:36.693-04:00Mumei unlocking memories for Gen X-ers singing &qu...Mumei unlocking memories for Gen X-ers singing "Basket Case" instead of the 2000s emo era Green Day songs.<br /><br />It's strange to think that, back then, Dookie was considered their superstar album, cementing their iconic punk status, etc. But today it feels almost like a deep cut, when their legacy mostly begins with American Idiot (and the similar "Good Riddance" from the late '90s, slow / moody / accoustic).<br /><br />Possibly due to X-ers aging out of online discussions about anything, and replaced by Millennials? But now with Zoomers like Mumei aging into the contest over what's canon (through her selection of setlists), perhaps "Basket Case" will become a familiar fave again.<br /><br />She's also covered "Come As You Are" a couple times, also more of a deep cut these days, but was everywhere back then, and from Nirvana's breakout superstar album. And linked to the coolest band shirt of theirs at the time (the psychedelic sea horses one, part of the '60s revival of the '90s).<br /><br />Mumei's karaokes usually leave me lost in my feels for hours afterward, because she includes songs that are straight out of those awkward teen years, when angsty 8th grade me went to school with purple hair (way before anyone dyed their hair weird colors, which only became mainstream in the 2010s).<br /><br />Fauna has one song that puts me back in that time ("Lovefool"), and of course when Gura belted out "Creep," that took me right back as well. But I didn't own either of those albums, whereas I had Nirvana and Green Day in constant play on my boom-box's CD player.<br /><br />So much so that I still link certain albums with the video game I played with them as the background, on an endless loop. Dookie for Super Metroid, Smash for Zelda: A Link to the Past, Agent Orange's Living in Darkness and Kraftwerk's Man-Machine for Doom II, and on and on.<br /><br />But enough about 14 year-old me. The point being, any of you X-ers reading would enjoy Zoomers singing karaoke. If you like 2000s music, Millennials will never disappoint you. But if you want '90s memories unlocked, Zoomers are much more into that (and all other decades, they're not trying to pander to X-ers or anything).agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-19745337560130875192022-09-27T04:33:07.636-04:002022-09-27T04:33:07.636-04:00Mooms willing the SNOT collab into existence by du...Mooms willing the SNOT collab into existence by dueting with Gura, Fauna, and Kronii during karaoke. Well, sure, she's civilization -- using technology to beat back the forces of wild nature that might have otherwise prevented them from streaming together. :)agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-36511036309147081972022-09-26T16:23:12.104-04:002022-09-26T16:23:12.104-04:00There's some she-wolves in the pre-chat
Push &...There's some she-wolves in the pre-chat<br />Push "go live" so they can stream<br /><br />UWUUUUUUUUU!!!<br /><br />There's some she-wolves in the pre-chat<br />Push "go live" so they can streamagnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-86278050891046231422022-09-26T16:15:46.122-04:002022-09-26T16:15:46.122-04:00When I get that feeling,
I need sharkual healing,
...When I get that feeling,<br />I need sharkual healing,<br />Sharkual healing,<br /><br />Makes my dim den shine<br />Cleanses all timelines<br /><br />And it's such a buff<br /><br />Sharkual healing<br /><br />She's something much more than memesagnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-43776241124541050462022-09-25T22:44:20.573-04:002022-09-25T22:44:20.573-04:00> ywn deeply inhale the used towels of vtuber i...> ywn deeply inhale the used towels of vtuber idols<br /><br />Seeing Gura in the Among Us stream sniffing those towels so hard she nearly got the mic lodged in her nostril... sensory sharky. Hehe.<br /><br />When she opens her own Gawr Gura Airlines, instead of a freshly steamed towel, her first-class customers are treated to a second-day funk towel.<br /><br />That's right, ladies and gentleshrimps -- ethically and sustainably sourced from local e-girls who don't have the time in their 7-hour daily streaming schedules to take a proper shower, but still rub a hand towel around under their arms before rolling on deodorant.<br /><br />Simply inform our flight attendants of your preference for "free-range," from girls who touch grass and work out IRL, or "closet-aged," from those whose skin has never been chemically treated by sunlight.<br /><br />Flooded with pheromones, our heady aromatic towels are sure to lay you right out on your back, for our discerning customers seeking the next level of in-flight relaxation.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-51927758950521537782022-09-25T17:27:05.796-04:002022-09-25T17:27:05.796-04:00Also thanks for covering Franz Ferdinand's ear...Also thanks for covering Franz Ferdinand's early great material on the last karaoke! And getting past your aversion to their goofy later stuff.<br /><br />I know you think of yourself as stubborn, but it's more in a persistent / resilient way, like sticking to it even if the goal seems doomed (as in the funny fish farm in Minecraft). Not as in you don't take suggestions or listen to others' advice. You're very good at that.<br /><br />All part of the Mother Nature / onee-san vibe. You're the most mature and level-headed of EN, although you have your girly-girl singsong voice, occasional sweaty gamer moments, and "it's always emo night karaoke" traits to keep you young as well. ^_^agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-65461917043948999822022-09-24T23:24:14.438-04:002022-09-24T23:24:14.438-04:00The best corrective to tonight is visiting Sana...The best corrective to tonight is visiting Sana's tower top as a group. Now there's a real team-building exercise -- paying respects and expressing gratitude for one of your former genmates (though still kinda there in the shadows). Sharing memories & stories, joking around about the experiences you had, not just in Minecraft but overall.<br /><br />No competing, no pressure, no finger-pointing. :) And something you guys couldn't have done too much earlier, since it had not yet totally sunken in. Now you can reflect a little.<br /><br />It'd be totally fine if just Councilrys went, since getting you guys plus all of Myth, at the same time, is pretty tough, and you're doing a lot of that already this weekend.<br /><br />But the Myth girls could visit individually, at their own schedule, after Sana's genmates had already been. Or they could just remark about it during a chatting period of some other stream. I dunno.<br /><br />And it wouldn't have to be as solemn as if it had been right after her graduation. If you all get to goofing around afterward, or otherwise treat it like a slumber party with no concrete goals, it wouldn't seem disrespectful to her memory. She'd want you to keep your relationships lively and fun, once the grieving period were over.<br /><br />Mooms escaped the crucible tonight, but I think the rest of you are still feeling some unresolved tension, and the need for some group healing. It's the perfect occasion -- everyone would want it, so you wouldn't be herding cats. :)<br /><br />:::Faunya:::agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-26216175940055730722022-09-24T22:55:11.762-04:002022-09-24T22:55:11.762-04:00I don't mean this is the state of the company ...I don't mean this is the state of the company you work for, only that the game you guys played tonight is a simulator for the toxic reward schemes of companies that are terminally infected by the cancer of HR Karens and MBA morons.<br /><br />If it has to be billed as a "team-building exercise," obviously it is not. Genuine team-building activities speak for themselves, and don't need such branding.<br /><br />You know what was truly cooperative, team-building, and strengthening the bonds of solidarity among the HoloEN teammates? When you work on a project together in Minecraft! :)<br /><br />I was just watching an old Gura stream (and maybe others streamed it too), where the central project was Sana's gingerbread house. I think there were 6 of you there at the same time! Each contributing their own tasks and roles, the whole thing coming together in a few hours -- and you also got to have plenty of time for goofing around, bantzing, and trolling each other, too.<br /><br />Just like a real workplace with real work and real workers (not a fake zombie company being run into the ditch by managerial pathogens, and only propped up by the life support of central bank money-printing).<br /><br />When you're working on a real team, with real teammwork, you typically have some real result to point to -- what you did constructively with all that time and effort. In that stream, you had that whole gingerbread house area to point to.<br /><br />What did you guys construct or achieve tonight in that other game that shall never be named? Nothing, aside from "crossing the finish line," which doesn't even feel that rewarding because you didn't set a record or anything, just finished. I'm glad your team did get to finish it, but it's not enough prize to be worth the pain.<br /><br />Not that I have to urge you too strongly, but please don't play these solidarity-destroying games again. :) Maybe no one had any idea of what it was like beforehand, other than a vague assurance that it was a co-op game. Yeah, cooperating on scapegoating!<br /><br />Speaking of Minecraft, look at how well you built those elaborate farms! Those are real systems -- if you make a single human error, you can correct it. :) It doesn't all instantly blow up, and make you go back to square one. Only an artificial game would have fake rules like that. Not one that's trying to simulate the real world (however fantastically).<br /><br />And throughout that process, you had to work with some One Guys in your chat, in the comments, etc. That's all part of teamwork, too.<br /><br />You're a great team-member, not just judging from the results that speak for themselves, but from how much your colleagues love collaborating with you.<br /><br />I don't mean to lay it on so thick! But when you get thrown into the crucible of these fake HR Karen games, it can make you doubt yourself for a moment, while you're shocked and in a daze. Please realize that it's the artificial nature of this sadistic divide & conquer game that produced those results, not anything from your worth as a team-member. :)<br /><br />:::Faunya:::agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-55396118349112289382022-09-24T22:33:24.940-04:002022-09-24T22:33:24.940-04:00These kinds of exercises only show up in a company...These kinds of exercises only show up in a company when it's gotten so bloated and sclerotic that it gets colonized by the infectious superbug known as HR Karens, or their male know-nothing MBA brethren.<br /><br />What they do is make everyone sink or swim together, even though that's not how things work in reality. Most people are doing their own thing, and should be rewarded for their own individual performance. Real-world systems are compartmentalized and have redundancies, buffers, dampeners, etc., so that if one person makes an error, it doesn't affect the whole rest of the entire organization.<br /><br />But when wannabe petty tyrants infect a company, their first goal is to divide & conquer, in order to protect their own position above them. So they create reward schemes that either overtly put everyone into competition with everyone else (like, "only the top 10% will keep their jobs"), or they artificially link everyone's rewards together when the results were not generated in a holistic way.<br /><br />When it's the latter -- everyone collectively gets either 100% or 0% -- inevitably some sheer chance error will occur, likely several of them independently of each other. That leads them to casting blame over whose chance error was "really" the one that did it. And then cliques, office politics, etc. go on top of that.<br /><br />At this stage, the cancer is terminal, and either this toxic reward scheme kills off the company, or it gets put on life-support (like when the central bank keeps dumping billions of dollars into zombie companies).agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-53562793624487261322022-09-24T22:26:35.581-04:002022-09-24T22:26:35.581-04:00:::Faunya::: I didn't realize this was just th...:::Faunya::: I didn't realize this was just the video game version of those fake "team-building exercises" from the corporate office cesspool, which only ever have one result -- destroying solidarity among the teammates.<br /><br />The point is not training teammates to cooperate, but training them to scapegoat each other, point fingers, assign blame, and cover their ass when the results naturally fall short of total well-oiled perfection. It's meant for managers to divide & conquer their subordinates.<br /><br />Imagine trying to make a team sport out of the hurdles. That's not too far from what you guys were doing tonight -- each player had to make a series of perfect jumps, just like hurdles. But in the real sport, it's individual. They don't artificially lump you into "teams" and add your scores together for a single collective score. In that nightmare sport, if one person missed a hurdle, it wouldn't just ding their own score, but their whole team.<br /><br />And doing that would not get better performance out of the individual athletes -- if it did, they would've organized it that way a long time ago. The time-tested tradition is making it individual, since that's what gets the times better and better. The reason is that if you knew one of your artificial teammates slipped up even a bit, there's no point for you yourself to continue putting in your best effort, so everyone just commits sudoku, as in the game tonight.<br /><br />It's nothing more than an artificial rule to prevent the best performance from everyone, and to encourage them to blame others instead of minding their own business.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-47166909776804462362022-09-23T16:33:29.691-04:002022-09-23T16:33:29.691-04:00Fauna, what if there were a goth version of Disney...Fauna, what if there were a goth version of Disney World?! All the dark Jim Henson places, especially Labyrinth. The Tim Burton places like the abandoned mansion of Edward Scissorhands. The Secret of NIMH -- all the dark emo children's worlds, collected into one central theme park!<br /><br />Goblin World! xD<br /><br />Throw in the Hobbit and related worlds, to lighten the mood (only somewhat, while keeping it weird and fantastical) and cater to the cottagecore audience. The Smurfs, David the Gnome, etc.<br /><br />Apropos of this get-together where a girly-girl crew visited Disney World in Minecraft:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdczOAVJgsI<br /><br />I was trying to think, "Hmmmm, which Disney princess would Fauna be?" Then I thought she'd have to be a more emo one, outside of Disney proper. Sarah from Labyrinth, or someone more like that. Also a child non-liker, who comes to appreciate children by the end of her adventure.<br /><br />Alsooo, Gura is way too knowledgeable about Disney World. Was that weather cancellation the other night because of the hurricane approaching Florida? Our all-American sharky princess is a member of the "Florida woman" population? Holy shitake, we have to pray for her well-being!<br /><br />It makes sense, I guess, Disney World being like the Vegas of the East Coast. And she's transmitting her signals from an escapist virtual fantasy realm. Not from the humdrum parts of the country.<br /><br />Although she did say "it's been a little while" since she's been, and her knowledge of the Spanish language monorail track has gotten rusty. Maybe once she got her big break with Hololive, she gtfo of the Florida Woman state? To Austin, near the Gulf of Mexico and still threatened by that weather the other night?<br /><br />I dunno. I just don't want our virtual princess, who's carrying so much on her shoulders, to vanish into the literal and figurative swampland of Florida. It's only for tourist visits! Live there too long, and you're in the rootless transplant abyss. Like Vegas with a wholesome facade...agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-42245620966399547802022-09-23T14:13:23.105-04:002022-09-23T14:13:23.105-04:00How did I miss Mumei doing FOUR covers of One Dire...How did I miss Mumei doing FOUR covers of One Direction in a single karaoke session? A few months ago. I could've sworn I searched all the Holo girls + 1D back then, and it only came up with one of her covers.<br /><br />Anywayyy, she covered "What Makes You Beautiful" again, but followed with 3 of their slower ballads, not "One Thing" or "Live While We're Young" etc. Songs that, when they were in constant rotation in retail stores, I never linked up with their banger songs, and thought they were from one of the many folk revival groups of the 2010s. "Story of My Life," "Little Things," and "Night Changes". (Re-upped at the HoloTofu Karaoke channel on YT.)<br /><br />It feels good to see my risky simping for a decade-old boy band pay off with the Holo honeys giggling about the topic during a slumber party stream (Propnight), Mumei indulging her 1D fangirl days with 4 songs during karaoke, and then topped off by Goobarama taking my 1D request for her birthday karaoke with Ame.<br /><br />One of my warmest fuzziest series of memories. :)<br /><br />If any of the Zoomers are keeping an open list of karaoke requests, how about "Perfect" by 1D? I think that's one of their only hits that hasn't been covered yet. Halfway between a slow ballad and a radio banger.<br /><br />On that note, there's a Cimorelli video for every occasion, isn't there? Hehe.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Il2Mx1Wrw<br /><br />Great incorporation of some lyrics from "Style" by Taylor Swift, which it was paired with at the time (part of Taylor and Harry's mutual bearding PR fauxmance).<br /><br />God, the way Lauren Cimorelli does that point-and-wink thing, it's like an e-girl / vtuber come to life, more than 5 years ahead of its time. Love the yearning, urgent tone that's always in her voice, too. My favey of the group for sure.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-58161053035779949332022-09-23T02:19:17.918-04:002022-09-23T02:19:17.918-04:00Going through the back catalog with this Minecraft...Going through the back catalog with this Minecraft get-together, and saw that both times when Mumei greets someone in the Minecraft chat, she uses "hiiii". Reminded me of the "hiiii girl" vs. "bruh girl" discussion from 2020, but still relevant.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6uIOTI2EMA<br /><br />She's a girly girl, who can easily get into the Disney princess role for a karaoke stream. But she's also paranoid, and that keeps her from just putting that side of herself out there, because she's worried that others will take advantage of that girliness somehow.<br /><br />I hope these collabs with other girly girls present, help her trust that she can show that side of herself and not worry. Same with the audience reactions -- we're not clipping and dunking on her for being a Didney girl, etc. We appreciate girly girls! -- why else are we tuning in to a format with cute anime girl avatars? Hehe.<br /><br />If the #1 vtuber in the world is an unabashed showtunes-singing, Disney princess reincarnated for the virtual era, that should reassure Mooms that that side of her own persona will be appreciated by the audience too!agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-88172544460902505992022-09-22T17:44:51.263-04:002022-09-22T17:44:51.263-04:00The whole world is in love with Gawr Gura, smitten...The whole world is in love with Gawr Gura, smitten kitten edition: <br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZq841VbjiU<br /><br />Gooba's cuteness overload transcends any language barrier, and is just as overwhelming IRL as online. ^_^<br /><br />Reminds me of Fauna's fangirling over her sharky senpai:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7aycZfnKNI<br /><br />The way her female colleagues adore her and cherish, rather than merely "want to be her", shows that she's truly deserving of her prominence as the #1 vtuber idol princess.<br /><br />Any old ladder-climbing, zip-code-striving, brand-building girlboss could get other striver women to want to be her. The income! The real estate location! The socia media metrics!<br /><br />But they wouldn't adore, cherish, or love her.<br /><br />Goobarama has soared to the top because she's so adorable and lovable, to both male and female onlookers -- as long as they aren't girl-haters, of course. And she adores and cherishes her fanbase just as much as we do her.<br /><br />Very much the opposite of the callous girlboss, who may not outright despise those below & above who made her status possible, but doesn't exactly feel warm and fuzzy toward them either.<br /><br />She is always there for us, and we are always there for her. :)<br /><br />Not being an anime buff, I had no idea where this song was from, but I could just tell from the emotion behind her delivery that it meant something special and touching to her, so I looked up the translation. It's a love-letter / expression of gratitude / promise to stay resilient, from a stage performer to her audience ("fansa" meaning "fan-service").<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPFC0achlxs<br /><br />She covered it in the original style for her recent 3D live concert, but this impromptu rendition sounds more intimate. It feels like she's not aware we're there in the audience watching and listening, unlike the original style and her live concert performance.<br /><br />It's more like she's staring listlessly out of her bedroom window at night, wondering where all her fans are, what they're up to, how they're holding up, and wanting to say thanks for motivating her and giving her life new meaning.<br /><br />Then when the song is over, she slips out of her daydream, and realizes we have been here listening the whole time, not just being vaguely out there somewhere, a fictional audience from a fictional song. We're real, and we're right here, with you. :)agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-68617116695795695722022-09-20T14:39:06.608-04:002022-09-20T14:39:06.608-04:00Honorable mention to "Ojos Asi" by Shaki...Honorable mention to "Ojos Asi" by Shakira ('98), which does not contain flamenco influences, but does fuse the Arabic-speaking Near East with Iberian-derived culture. Similar to Amr Diab's scope of the same time.<br /><br />In the context of the late '90s, it felt part of the bigger trend of exotifying Spain, especially in its historical connection with Arabic-speaking cultures from centuries earlier.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BzkbSq7pwwagnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-64885734755618104062022-09-20T14:27:07.986-04:002022-09-20T14:27:07.986-04:00Flamenco in the '90s / y2k, part of the broade...Flamenco in the '90s / y2k, part of the broader Spain craze. Some highlights:<br /><br />"Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows ('93) is not part of the craze musically, but the lyrics involve going to a nightclub where there's a black-haired flamenco dancer (Maria, show me some of that Spanish dancing), whose father plays the (flamenco) guitar. Very heavy on the references, and the earliest example I can find of the Gypsy / flamenco craze in non-Spanish pop culture.<br /><br />"Macarena" by Los del Rio ('95), even the house remix popular outside Spain, has a flamenco hand-clap section. And the yodel-esque delivery on "Heeeeey Macarena" evokes flamenco vocal styles.<br /><br />"Ain't It Funny" by Jennifer Lopez (2001) has an extended flamenco musical and dance interlude in the music video, which is set in a nomadic Gypsy camp:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSLSwwkLRW0<br /><br />Azucar Moreno, a flamenco-inflected Latin pop duo from Spain (both Gypsies), found international success throughout the '90s and y2k.<br /><br />The Mask of Zorro ('98) has a Spanish tango dancing scene that is flamenco-influenced, even though the Zorro stories are set in Spanish colonial California.<br /><br />"Amarain" by Egyptian pop megastar Amr Diab ('99) is a pan-Mediterranean fusion song, with flamenco hand-claps, and flamenco-inspired choreography in the music video:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6RC2T3Q7rs<br /><br />"Kati Eho Pathi Me Te Matia Sou" by Greek Gypsy singer Eirini Merkouri (2003) has flamenco-inspired choreography in the music video:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOXZb0oEBzc<br /><br />"Jaleo" by Ricky Martin (2003) has a little flamenco tinge to it (in the yodel-style vocal delivery here and there), and the title is an exclamation used in flamenco performances.<br /><br />The last example is the rendition of "Livin' La Vida Loca" in Shrek 2 (2004), which has a flamenco flavor during the intro, although not in the rest of it.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-76915281267559387622022-09-19T00:48:13.182-04:002022-09-19T00:48:13.182-04:00Gooba and Irys both delaying streams due to horren...Gooba and Irys both delaying streams due to horrendo weather, meaning Same is actually in Japan right now? Hope the typhoon isn't too threatening where you are.<br /><br />So that's why the choreography was so in sync with you, Aqua, and Marine.<br /><br />I don't watch JP streams b/c I don't understand them, however... even I have seen a clip or two about what makes Marine so... unique. ^_^<br /><br />I hope Goob tries to steer the group toward a place where she and Marine "accidentally" "have to" "share" a "bench". Hehe. You know you're curious about the legends, too, sharky, don't pretend you're not! :)<br /><br />Also, did you meet Irys IRL??? You two together in the same room, holy shitake. Two instigators amplifying each other's mischievousness in a positive feedback loop.<br /><br />Did you two gang up against Calli, AKA Dad? And did she threaten to stop the car and turn back unless you two quit stirring the pot in her presence? What a perfect combination -- two chaotic instigators and a straight man!<br /><br />We are DYING to hear all about your trip to the JP server IRL! Especially how you all have been interacting with each other, are the character dynamics the same IRL as online?<br /><br />We're going to have to give our favorite virtual princess an extra-big hug, since she's on the other side of the world!agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-38163433676412837092022-09-19T00:46:23.496-04:002022-09-19T00:46:23.496-04:00Depends on what factor you're considering. If ...Depends on what factor you're considering. If it's political separatism, losing a civil war, having highly non-standard accents, etc., then the American South is like Spain's Northeast.<br /><br />But that region of Spain is also wealthy, industrialized, and liberal / progressive / labor-unionist -- the opposite of the American South.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-10287315742069327392022-09-18T17:36:00.760-04:002022-09-18T17:36:00.760-04:00Is the American Deep South the American equivalent...Is the American Deep South the American equivalent of the weakly-integrated northwest of Spain?Joseph Evansnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-65256985721385436712022-09-18T00:15:00.955-04:002022-09-18T00:15:00.955-04:00Hololive girls are so precious, I hope they're...Hololive girls are so precious, I hope they're preserved in physical media some day. You never know how long a website, or any one of its accounts, is going to last.<br /><br />Imagine owning a DVD (set?) that can never be taken away, and it's a highlight reel specially curated by the streamers and their biggest fans (by survey). Music videos, shorts, concerts, karaoke, the whole experience.<br /><br />Aaaannndddd... commentary tracks by the girls themselves, similar to "re-watching my debut, 1 year later". And maybe a discussion panel featuring a number of streamers, technicians, and so on, going over the whole history of the project to create this strange new irresistible format.<br /><br />I think for maximum emotional value, it'd have to wait at least 5 years. You can really tell the difference between the DVD commentary tracks that are made soon after the theatrical release of new movies, and those where the DVD came out 20 years later and it's a reunion and reminiscing kind of tone. More reflective, more "memories unlocked", more appreciative.<br /><br />The ones made soon after are more of a documentary / behind-the-scenes tone. They can't see a big picture yet that's worth commenting on.<br /><br />Gooba, Faunya, everyone is still going to sound just as precious in their 30s and 40s as they do today. Not only because idols never age, but because they'll be getting back into the place they were at while streaming for Hololive.<br /><br />I'll never forget the commentary track for one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, probably the original, where Heather Langenkamp (Nancy) sounds exactly like a bubbly teenage '80s valley girl, though she was in her late 20s or 30s by that time.<br /><br />In 5 to 10 years, maybe the Criterion Collection will be out of feature-length films to showcase, and they will pivot toward memorializing entertainment from online media, especially if it's aesthetic like the vtubers. Hehe.<br /><br />You girls are timeless, and I hope you know that.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-52525235769310544752022-09-17T17:40:05.027-04:002022-09-17T17:40:05.027-04:00Fauna and Gura singing tonight! Taking a break fro...Fauna and Gura singing tonight! Taking a break from effort-posting until after I'm done watching the girls on stage. :)<br /><br />But will comment some more on flamenco in the '90s and y2k later.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.com