First, some notes: the vlog/audio feed from today mentions sexual abuse and assault but not in graphic terms.

In other news, the Tim Drake zines that The Salacious Crumbles did a new, original song for is shipping this week! We can't wait to release the track publicly! It's called "One (1) Sidekick in Desperate Need of a Nap"!

As for upcoming solo projects, I'm trying to finish a few Dani Orthanc tracks and then focus on some acoustic recordings of some of my originals.

Happy Tuesday, y'all! Why is it almost September already?

View the vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSf7eVpbFSs

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Here's a link to the video version, which is uploading now: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdUlmYg2VOijzUd_WNN6pat4OKeoe2TS8

Oh! Thursday, 7pmEDT: we're having a movie night! On deck is the Sgt. Pepper's movie, which I ADORE. I can't wait to show it to Leigh and R! The FB event is just for the reminder; we'll be watching on Discord. 

FB event: https://forms.gle/io3kwSoHxNRcprxy9

Discord for the watch party: https://discord.gg/8wavCvzc

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You may notice that I removed all my old tiers and replaced them with new ones, so anyone who hadn't updated their pledge to one of the new monthly tiers was refunded for just this month. I didn't want anyone to get surprise charges! If you have any questions, just message me.

Here's a link about updating your membership and where to find it! https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000126286-Editing-your-membership

Speaking of perks, it's time to pick out what the recorded cover of the month will be! 

Vote for the  Cover of the Month by leaving a comment or voting here: https://forms.gle/RwNnZzopANJ6S4Bh8

In this week's vlog, I gush about The Vampire Diaries and political disagreements with family and friends.

View the vlog version here: https://youtu.be/ueqF84xpZ30

Stay safe, friends!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nfDMRqVjjCM

Links:

Animal Restaurant: https://animalrestaurant.fandom.com/wiki/Animal_Restaurant

Folding Ideas 50 Shades of Gray Review: https://youtu.be/qzk9N7dJBec

Ladykiller in a Bind: http://ladykillerinabind.com/

Transcript:

Ah, okay! Welcome to Tuesday Talks with Trick!

I’m actually recording this on Monday--the day before--so that I can release it on time on Tuesday, so we’ll see how that goes. But--uh--let’s start putting on some makeup and I had a couple things I wanted to talk about.

As far as stuff--get my ears--as far as stuff going on for me this week I’ve been absolutely obsessed with this--it’s like a little clicker game, like a mobile game called Animal Restaruant and it’s not a very good game and honestly it’s more like an ad delivery system. But it has really cute art and it’s like an idle game and you run a restaurant and earn fish. There’s a thing where you have to hold down a button to promote and it gives you that active engagement but I actually made a turbo button--I’m sure this violates the TOS--out of some hair clips. I can clip it and hold down the button, so it’s my turbo button. Engineering!

There’s like a community of people, like a friendship feature and have people come work at your buffet. Also the story is kind of dark. You how you’ve got some Pokemon, you read through their descriptions and you’re like--I’m sorry, what? Like, the polar bear’s coming in like, “I wanted to eat your sushi one last time before the polar ice caps melt.” There’s a lot of ecological stuff; it’s not, like, super deep, it’s just kind of dark.

Well, let’s put on some foundation I guess.

The thing I really wanted to talk about today for just a little bit was--I don’t know if y’all get this--but sometimes I’ll be watching a show or reading a book or a series, especially series, I noticed that I’m really into them and kind of mainline them and then it starts to get toward the end (like the last season or the last few chapters) and I just can’t finish it!

And I was trying to think about why. I’ve been mainlining for a while Babylon 5 and now I’m getting stuck at the end. I don’t know what it is. Like, it’s not so much that I don’t want to finish it because then it will be over, it’s like--I don’t know--the story escalation especially in later episodes starts to get really intense. There’s something about that intensity that I really like--that’s what makes stories engaging--but do you know what I mean?

It makes it really hard because I get really anxious about mind control stories, or forced preganacy kind of stuff. It gets me hard to follow. I find it kind of triggering. And that’s not the problem here. It seems almost overwhelming to finish when you’re invested so much emotional energy in watching it, binging it, being in that world, and then to think it’s coming to the end.

And it’s not about “Oh, if I put it off I can stay in that world” but I’m almost expecting it to be a lot, based on my experience with other media. THere’s some stuff I can watch the first three quarters and then it’s that last quarter or third that somehow just feels emotionally insurmountable because the story will escalate. A lot of times I find myself watching stuff that’s really fluffy because I know I can finish it.

Yeah, I don’t know. But then there’s other stuff--it’s rare for me to binge something all the way through. One of the things I’ve binged all the way through right when it came out in one night was Jessica Jones. There was something I think--like, I’m wondering is that something to do with media I identify with versus media I’m experiencing new things that I haven’t experienced in a way that I can identify with. I feel like a lot of women can identify with--maybe not the specific trauma in Jessica Jones but a lot of the associated stuff seems kind of familiar in some ways. Because it’s not like I can’t handle intense stories but there are other ones--especially ensemble casts that almost seems harder. I wonder if it’s because I haven’t…

There was a Dan Olson quote in his 50 Shades of Gray video--and I forgot where he got it from, I’ll look it up--about the visual novel called Lady Killer in a Bind. Some of it was the idea that fiction lets us--you learn empathy, right? It lets you experience things from a different perspective or a different experience that what you know and you can always relate different things back to it.

It’s kind of a way to do emotional tourism. I read a lot of romance novels--I love them--but one of the things he pointed out was that it’s fun to spend a few hours in these torrid love affairs but they would be exhausting in real life. I wonder is some it is that maybe in some ways, when you get really into a series it does feel a little bit more like your life. Obviously there’s a difference between fiction and other things but it starts to feel more emotional invested and it’s less tourism. You’re not just involved in the meta of watching it but you involved in the story in a way that crosses over into your own life because you’ve become attached to characters. I don’t think that’s unhealthy. Part of it is you want characters that people identify with, or root for, or root against, are emotionally invested in.

For me sometimes, it’s “Oh no, it’s too real!” I’m out of the meta and I’m in the story and I think that’s a testament to good storytelling but also to the fact I get really anxious!

Let’s do some powder.

So I don’t know. That was something I’ve been kind of musing about. I wonder too…

I’m like that a lot with video games. It’s not the difficulty but it’s more that the story is about to get real. I wonder if that’s something that affects how I engage with there media.

If you have stories about things you’ve binged but not finished, let me know!

But I will finish Babylon 5 because it is amazing. As an aside, the first time I watched the pilot and I saw G’Kar and he’s skipping around, and he’s delightfull machinating all these things, I was, like, “That. That’s gonna be the best one.” And Richard was like, “Well yeah, he’s the best character. And actually, I don’t have any spoilers for the end of Babylon 5.

That’s the other thing I think is related to this: I usually love spoilers. I love knowing what’s going to happen at the end and then watching it happen because it helps alleviate some of that tension.

I know for some people they find that reduces their enjoyment in the work. Some people enjoy surprises more and they enjoy those “Ah-ha!” moments and that’s not something that I enjoy because it induces anxiety in me because I startle easily and it has similar responses to that.

So I wonder if for the people that do like spoilers and don’t like spoilers--I wonder where the anxiety crossover is.

But it’s funny with Babylon 5 because it’s an old show and I’ve just somehow managed to avoid spoilers this long. And because it’s old, people aren’t really talking about it that much unless you seek it out so it’s really easy to…

It’s fun to have one you do that with except now it’s getting to the point where [the story] is like, “Oh my god, oh my god.” I’m trying to debate whether I want to read spoilers or not to kind of get through the end because it would probably help me finish it. But there’s definitely something unique about watching a thing unspoiled. I don’t think one is better or worse; I think sometimes when people talk about they’re, “Oh no! Don’t read spoilers! You have to watch it!” because they want to share that “ah-ha” moment with you. I think something--and I need to remember they’re just being excited--but different people are going to need to absorb media in different ways.

The way I try to frame it, too, is “Oh man, I watched it unspoiled and I had this ‘Whaaaa!!!’ moment!”

But I don’t know. You can talk about that and share that in ways that maybe don’t make people feel like they’re cheating for looking at spoilers. I don’t know--spoiler culture is always its own kind of thing, too. I think in some ways it’s gotten out of hand because people get--there’s sort of a train--about what is a spoiler, what’s not a spoiler, when can you say the spoilers…

And in general, I try not to do spoilery things because I want to be considerate of other people there’s a certain line of is this a spoiler or not a spoiler. For certain people, if you say anything about the media--even if it’s not directly to character or plot--people might get angry. So it’s… Just trying to make spaces where there’s an expectation that this is an extra spoiler free zone, and this is the medium no-plot or character spoilers but we might talk about things in the show, and then the free-for-alls… I don’t know what to do about it.

And again, these are all minor problems, right.

Let’s get a little taupe [eyeshadow]. It’s called “That’s Taupe!” I love the names of it. Grab a little mirror.

So that’s kind of how I feel about spoiler culture. I think that it’s completely valid to want to experience media in the way you want to experience it but other people are gonna experience it differently. It’s better to kind of negotiate what kind of space a thing’s gonna be ahead of time.

I just know that “When I Met Your Mother”--I never watched it--but the night the finale aired somebody posted the name of the mother in the top line of a facebook post that was going out to all of their friends and that I feel was an overline the spoiler-spoiler. But then there’s some other stuff that people consider spoilers that I would consider extremely minor. I also have to remember that spoilers do not really diminish my enjoyment of work. They help me actually do it. There’s some things that I find kind of uncomfortable that I like know about ahead of time because then someone can tell me what episodes to skip or that I know where the story is going so I can enjoy the ride without having that uncontrollable tension.

It’s like riding a roller coaster that you’ve been on before; it’s still really fun! You know what I mean?

Take my fluff [hair] down.

So that’s my feelings on spoilers. I forgot how we got here but we have arrived. So with that, I’m gonna sign off and try and get this all cleaned up. I really appreciate you guys supporting me on Patreon! Please check out my music. I’ve also uploaded all of my Dani Orthanc tracks on Soundcloud. All of those are available royalty-free for people to use however, remix. That’s the licensure they’re under.

But yeah! Tune in tomorrow--when you’re seeing this it’ll be Tuesday--on 6at6 our guest is gundo from the filk community. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I’ll talk to you soon!

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We're kicking off the official season a day late (again!), but I'll fill you in on all the news! I talk a bit about my chronic illness, my Baltimore trip, and Barry White! I'm also working on making written transcripts of these episode a regular component for folks that prefer or use a written version. 

Links:

Leigh's cats: https://www.instagram.com/teamhandsome_kitties/

First live Crumbles show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si1rvPg-G4U

Friday Crumbles Shenanigans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK3hTqqL-rk

Transcript:

Okay! Good morning, once again I am a day late on Tuesday time, but I got back from Baltimore on Sunday evening and it was a lovely trip, but then - and I don’t mean to say this in a - like - oh feel bad for me, but like I couldn’t get out of bed for two days? Because I was just really tired. I think for some people who deal with chronic fatigue and related issues probably understand, even if you’re not pushing super hard, you’re still pushing, and uhm I genuinely basically only got out of bed to eat some, and then go back to bed.

This is the first time I have showered since I got back, actually and that brought me to what I wanted to talk about for today: one of the things I’ve found has been different since I’ve started - and I’m gonna do some makeup while we’re chatting too - since I’ve gotten a diagnosis and been talking about having a diagnosis is that a lot of the times it does make people uncomfortable when you are talking about an illness that like can’t be fixed. And a lot of that I think is really relatable. You don’t like to think of your friends struggling or like being in pain or something and with chronic illnesses the nature of it that is that it doesn’t get better - like it can be managed - but I feel like there’s something... and I don’t get this to any strong degree but there’s something to be said with this sort like if you’re sick than like this puritanical American evangelical if you’re sick you’re not trying hard enough. You kind of know what I mean like - Oh you’re depressed have you tried yoga, or if you have a sleep issue have you tried melatonin and the thing it used to bother me more but then and I’ve always known that when people say that kind of stuff it’s coming from a place of care, but I’ve noticed sometimes when there are people that I’ve explained the situation to or you know what my life is like how I manage it with all this stuff people ask “oh how is it with narcolepsy? Is it getting better?” And I’m like “I mean I’m still managing it about the same.” And they’re like “oh but it’s still bad?” and it’s like “Yeah.” But I usually hear that from older adults. That maybe aren’t as used to the way people talk about chronic illness now, or the acceptance of just you just have a chronic illness and it doesn’t have to define my life. It’s apart of my life and how I live my life but like it’s not y’know, I’m a sleepy person. As I drink my coffee.

And it’s something that like - it doesn’t bother me a ton but like occasionally it’s that kind of thing of “Oh it’s not getting any better?” And it’s like...No? But I kind of know what they mean but they don’t mean you know are you coping with it better, have you found different treatments that work for you that’s not what they’re asking. It’s not a thing like heals or fixes, obviously there’s always ongoing research about different ways to fix the root causes but we’re not there yet. It’s just one of those things that I noticed. I just mention that because I genuinely like - I’ve noticed because this is the first time I’ve gotten out of bed. And it’s like “oh man. Alright. Here we go!” It’s noon and I’m ready to face the day. But I’m gonna throw on some more makeup and tell you a little more about my trip!

Last week was kind of an anomaly in that my laptop charger died and I didn’t have access to editing tools so if you caught last week’s I took a video and put that up on Youtube and my goal for this time is I’m going to strip the audio and the main thing will be like an audio podcast, and for those interested I”m going to put up an unlisted youtube video with the same thing where I’m talking and putting on makeup but we’re still kind of experimenting. But talking about like illnesses or just the way people cope with different stuff. Different things work for me at different times, so I’m trying to be understanding of the fact that different things work for other people at different times.

So. Let’s get some foundation of some kind on oh right! So I had an amazing time in Baltimore with Leigh Tyberg, my Crumbles collaborator. So like I said that was the first time we had ever played music together in the same room... at all. We’ve put out like our songs and stuff online, but it was amazing to actually futz around with harmonies together and do all this different stuff. So we did two online shows which are both archived on the Youtube which I hope I”ll stick in the show notes. One is from the Trick’s triple 6 series, and one is on the Salacious Crumbles Youtube page. Oh we need to put a pen in Trick’s Triple six, because season 3 starts today! Which will be really fun! It’s the Misbehavin’ Maidens! Sent in a video so I’m really excited but oh my god we played so much music and we still didn’t get through everything we wanted to which is fine because we both have like various kinds of chronic illnesses. I went to a real Maryland crab feast and I got to meet more of her local friends which I was really really glad to. Everybody was lovely. But I had never seen - and I’m from the coast - but I had never seen that many like crabs? There was so many! We have smaller - we have different crabs. North Carolina crabs. But these were like the Chesapeake crabs which I always - okay this is an ongoing thing - but I try to think of Maryland as like a hand? And the crabs are in the bay but apparently I have it backwards, but now I'm getting myself confused because the camera is a mirror image so we’re just gonna I ate the crabs from the Maryland with the old bay, like I was like aw man we are doin it up I love this.

Okay let’s do a little bit of - my makeup I’m still unpacking as we go so we’re just gonna like - going easy on stuff, here we go, let’s get some - I love this highlighter it’s pinky kind of highlighter put a lot of that on oh and I Don’t even have all my lights set up because I realized I left my power chord upstairs with my stuff that I have unpacked but I’ll get it setup for tonight. But oh my gosh, it was just so much fun. And I cannot wait to try and figure out when to play music together again. A big goal is eventually - and none of this is planned or set in stone or anything - but to have a music meetup in Richmond, because that’s kind of partway between us and a bunch of NC and Virginia that sort of like - an overarching goal. But I just think that’d be so much fun to like - rent an airbnb for the weekend - shake my hair down some - but we can make noise. ANd again none of this is set in stone, but that’s maybe the goal is to have a house filk.

Talking about Richmond - I stopped in Richmond for dinner and I got to have snacks with Chick Parker! Of Chuck Parker: Worlds Okay-est and Metricula and the Friends with Benefits, and the Blibbering Humdingers of course and uh many other bands. Chuck has been in every band which is a delight. So that was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed that. And it broke up the drive so much to stop part way. Oh did I just close this? I hope I didn’t.

Yeah we’re fine. This is fine.

So.

Okay, hang on I’ve gotta dig in my bag. I was trying not to have dead air so I wouldn’t have to edit as much, but there are some goals that just aren’t achievable.

Okay. Now I have a brush, and let’s put on some colors. So let’s see I’m trying to think.

Oh yeah, Leigh and I have got so much stuff in the works, and actually we’ve got some recordings that are completely done but not yet released. So those are things we’re excited that are coming down the pipeline which I am thrilled about. But it’s just sort of like the kind of thing where we recorded something and went ahead and finished it, but we’re like okay now we’ve gotta wait for the right things to release this alongside of. It’s sort of one of the goals, and I’m just looking forward to it. And then we’ve got so many things that are like partially written. But the instrument to human ratio in her apartment this past week was so skewed because she has a couple trumpets and the kalimba a guitar, and the ukulele, and I brought like a guitar a mandolin, a tenor guitar and then there’s all these hand percussion things and a tambo and I’ll have to post this too. I have watched her cats grow up because they got them at the start of them pandemic, Anakin and Obi-Wan -  and I always thought “Oh they’re really cute, they’re really cute” But they’re really good at taking pictures of them. But then I got to see them in person and they are exactly as cute. They’re on Instagram as @Teamhandsome_Kitties, so I’ll have to post a link to that!

Oh! I hear - So I’m in my basement and I hear my husband shuffling around upstairs. So I think this is a good time to break for lunch. Again, thank you for bearing with me as I get this set up. Again my goal is to record these on like Monday evenings and have them go up Midnight Tuesday but uh...one thing at a time.

I shall never forget you. And if it’s ever gonna be more than a day late I’ll post a little thing in patreon. In general that’s kind of a goal. And of course tonight on 6 @ 6 with the Misbehavin’ Maidens is the first time I’m going to have set up a credits roll for the end of the show for people that subscribe to me on Twitch and Patreon for that week. So yeah,I’m excited about trying that out,  I still have to work on my sonic identity and I have to remember which way to point because it’ll be live on camera. Because I’ve already got it set up because I’m doing the videos. But I’m so excite about all the different projects I feel so musically revitalized, y’know, I’m so lucky that I have the stuff to stay in touch with people online and make music with people online. But it’s still really fun to do stuff in the same room, so I can’t wait to get to a point where we have a healthy mix of both.

So with that, I’ve covered my mouse with makeup. At some point on one of these I’ll set up a second camera and you can see my hideously messy desk, if you want some like real behind the scenes stuff. I’m gonna sign off and get this edited while I have lunch with my bae. And then I gotta set up for 6 @ 6 which means I need to plug all of my equipment back in, because I took my fx pedal - the thing I use to make harmonies - but it also has a setting that does like voice changing and it has like a Barry White setting, so the first night we just played with that for an hour, and we just kept saying different things in Barry White voice. That’s all we did. It was amazing! That’s the kind of stuff I think I miss the most. Like - random, goofy - There was no need for us to talk like Barry White for an hour but I’m glad it happened. Alright - everybody I will talk to you soon, and if you’re seeing this today, toon into 6 @ 6 live on Facebook on my Facebook page. Or you can catch the replay as always on Youtube - usually it goes up about a half hour after.

Alright, talk to y’all soon.

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1.) Hey, y'all! I know I've been quiet this year, so first a little housekeeping:

Because I post inconsistently, I have my Patreon set to only charge you when I release something. If I skip a month, you will not be charged.

Further, this post is not a charged post since it's not new, original material from me. 

If you want to support me in the off-season, as it were, the best ways are to share my music, buy it for a friend, stream it on Spotify, YouTube, Google Music, etc., follow my social media, and watch my livestreams. I also have a Kofi for tips! A ton of links are at the bottom of this post. <3

2.) It's May! For the past two years, music livestreamers on Twitch have produced a charity album of original music with a twist: we cover each other's original songs! This year, I produced a cover of @JakeMartins' song "Sapphire", featuring me on guitars and the main and mid harmony vocal and the talented David Tyberg of the Extraordinary Contraptions on upright bass, percussion, and the high harmony vocal. My song "I Choose You (The Pokemon Love Song)" is being covered by the amazing nerd comedy musician Meri Amber!

There are going to be about 30 tracks on the album, professionally mastered by Jake Wallace (aka @JakeMartins). The album will be availabe on June 1st to anyone who donates to the Saving Music Live charity drive here:  https://tiltify.com/@savingmusiclive/mmmh19 

This year, our charity is  To Write Love on Her Arms, a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery. You can connect with them here:  https://twloha.com/ 

The album will eventually be available for free on the StreamerSongSwap Bandcamp, usually about 3-6 months after the charity drive ends. Volumes I and II are available now, and I have music on both of them!  https://streamersongswap.bandcamp.com/ 

I really can't tell you how much livestreaming on Twitch has meant to me. I've made great friends, brought the Social Justice Bards together, improved my musicianship, and been able to contribute to a community that's so encouraging and supportive. 

3.) As for life updates, I have been SLAMMED and it's good and bad. The biggest thing is that I've stopped drinking alcohol because I was developing dependencies I wasn't comfortable with. I've long used alcohol to self-medicate my anxiety and sleep problems, and over the last few years (frankly, the political climate and continuing erosion of my human rights as someone of breeding age with a uterus haven't helped) it had gotten worse. I wasn't binge drinking so much as just constantly drinking. Like, whiskey in my coffee mug at 9am drinking. In order to give adjusting my meds a better chance, I stopped drinking alcohol entirely. As of this post, I am 76 days sober.

I may eventually re-introduce alcohol into my life, but for now having the chance to really work on my mental and physical health without it is the way to go. 

In lighter but related news, the alcohol was masking other consumption-related compulsions; like, a desire to consume harsh condiments like hot sauce and vinegar. I weaned myself off of those (my digestive track thanks me) and then starting craving baking soda? Like, I mixed baking soda with water in a shot glass. Then it was soap and certain kinds of glossy paper, which tasted gross. Anyway, I started taking a new med that actually immediately helped quell that, and it was *so* exciting to be able to see that kind of noticeable improvement. 

This all may be TMI, but it's important to me personally to be open about my mental health struggles to help normalize it. 

In general, though, I'm doing great! The house is a wreck, but I'm happy.

Oh! I also started working part time at a local yarn shop, Warm 'N Fuzzy in Cary. I love it! I'd long been a customer, and the owner is a woman about my age. It's a delight and super flexible, which is a great fit for me. 

4.) I recorded versions of some of my fave Celtic tunes: "Nancy Whiskey", "The Selkie of Sule Skerry", and "Man You Don't Meet Everyday". Those are available on Bandcamp at  https://metricula.bandcamp.com/ as well as in the Sub Recordings Dropbox for y'al, for free!  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwoelw23c2ay774/AABXAJfapte1gAC9uYWgh0tZa?dl=0

5.) Link party!

People I mentioned above:

David Tyberg:  https://davidtyberg.bandcamp.com/releases 

Meri Amber:  https://www.meriamber.com/ 

Jake Wallace: https://twitch.tv/JakeMartins

Tip Jars:

Ko-fi:  https://ko-fi.com/metricula 

StreamElements:  https://streamelements.com/metricula/tip 

Socials:

Twitch (watch livestreams):  https://twitch.tv/metricula 

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/metricula 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/metricula

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metricula

Site:  http://metricula.com/ 

Chat with me on the Social Justice Bard Discord! https://discord.gg/tqd62tF

Sub Recordings Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwoelw23c2ay774/AABXAJfapte1gAC9uYWgh0tZa?dl=0

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The "Upcoming Shows" part of my web site is now up-to-date with everything that's publicly on the docket! 

Check it out here: http://metricula.com/news-shows . 

There's also a new interview I did with Geek Radio Daily at RavenCon 13.5 that features a "Truth-or-Lie" guessing game if you want to learn more obscure facts about me. :)

After tons of manual code scrubbing and working with a security consultant, I think I finally got ride of the malicious redirect injector on my web sites! It should be safe to view.

Right now, I'm trying to focus on being mad and channeling that into either A.) getting my housework done or B.) not burning it all down. 

Take care of each other. <3

_______________________

People I hate saying things: http://conservativequotes.metricula.com/

Housekeeping: My Patreon is set to charge support "per song" but it is not my intent to charge Patrons more than once per month, even if I have multiple updates. Thank you *so* much for sticking with me even when I need to take a couple months off of putting out new stuff. <3

Sub recordings Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwoelw23c2ay774/AABXAJfapte1gAC9uYWgh0tZa?dl=0

Discord: https://discord.gg/5QsXAPy

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In life news, I turned 33! I blissfully did NOTHING for my birthday except drink sake and play the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time (which is EXCELLENT and dropped down to $20). I also have a killer sweet tooth, and my parents surprised me with an acoustic/electric pie pan guitar! 

Earlier that weekend I was at Con-Gregate in High Point, NC, which was so much fun! They provided nearly constant access to an open filking space, and I had a blast getting to play along with folks. I spent an especially large amount of time playing with members of the nerd-band Dimensional Riffs and Mark MacDicken, a family entertainer specializing in stage magic. I even had Drew, one of the Riffs guitarists, up on stage to sing with me during my show! And I had so much having DJ back me up on bass that I snagged him and his wife, Ora, to come by my place and stream some shenanigans--video clips and a timestamped version of the broadcast are up on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDGqzzrnHSc .

For those interested, I also had a chance to bring out Dark Metricula for a local "Heroes and Villains" themed burlesque show:

There's some hammy video of that on YouTube, too! I also had the beautiful surprise of being spanked on stage with one of my own songs as the soundtrack, thanks to DJ Joey. I was *definitely* blushing (from the narcissistic joy, not the public spanking)! If you're curious about what the makeup looks like over each layer, check out my channel in the Discord (linked below).

Next on the docket is attempting to actually finish some of these half-finished songs and projects! I'm almost done with the recording phase of "Spank Me Daddy," but I'm hoping to get a couple friends to provide some additional instruments. One of my goals is to get this EP of "dirty" songs for my backlog done before DragonCon.

Speaking of DCon, I'm THRILLED to be on staff again! I'm on a personal mission to get more nerds making and participating in music, and the filk room at DragonCon is especially welcoming to enthusiasts of a variety of backgrounds, skill levels, and genres. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to help support and promote it! Over the last few years, I've made friends with folks that were comfortable sharing music the first year, to coming back the second year and wanting to sing, and then breaking out the mandolin they were learning the third year! Also, bless Steven Universe for the visible proliferation of young nerds--particularly girls and queer kids--jamming on ukuleles. 

Oh! And the sci fi book club I've been running for... Christ, SEVEN YEARS now is starting a new anthology! We're reading Dark Matter, a collection of genre stories by black authors! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Matter_(prose_anthologies)

If you're local to the Triangle, ping me for an invite to our mailing list!

Housekeeping:

-Dropbox of Free Recordings for Patrons/Subs: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwoelw23c2ay774/AABXAJfapte1gAC9uYWgh0tZa?dl=0

-Behind-the-scenes Discord (hosted by Social Justice Bards, say hi in the chat to get access to other members-only areas): https://discord.gg/6V2ddNA

-Reminder that my Patreon is set to charge "per song," but it is not my intent to ever charge Patrons more than once a month. I do this so that just in case there's a month where I don't I have something new or significant for you, you don't get charged. 

Hang in there, y'all!

<3

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First, I was messing around last night with reverb and worked on "Come Little Children" (Horner/Walsh) from the Hocus Pocus movie, which I love. It's attached here, and subs/Patrons can find it in the Dropbox!

The second big thing is that the Streamer Song Swap Vol II is out! For as little as $1, you can get 28 tracks of original, collaborative music from me and people like me.  Donate with your Twitch username or "via Metricula" in the comment field to make sure you get sent a Bandcamp download code! All of the proceeds go to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation for music education.  The album will be donor exclusive until June, at which point both Vol I and Vol II will be available on Bandcamp for free. Here's the link! https://tiltify.com/@savingmusiclive/may-music-monday-madness

And the third thing (and why this post is free and public as a sort of thank-you) is that thanks *directly* to y'all, I got a TC Helicon Voicelive3! I've had my eye on it for ages and I was able to buy it during a surprise sale for cheaper than buying it used from Reverb. Like, seriously. It's thanks to y'all supporting me on Patreon, Twitch, buying my merch and music, and even just sharing my work with friends that I'm able to do this and have the resources to take opportunities like that. 

Other news:

I got interviewed on the Fandomania Geek Music podcast! Take a listen and be sure to subscribe to find more geeky music you might like. <3 http://fandomania.com/geek-music-episode-135-metricula-explicit/

Tonight, the Social Justice Bards are hosting our first-ever online Open Mic in our Discord! It's tonight at 9pm EDT, and you can join the Social Justice Bard server if you're interested in listening (it's audio-only)--or maybe performing? ;) More info here:  https://discord.gg/tqd62tF 

"Complicity" and "Chewie, Chewie" are still somewhat in limbo, but I'm still planning to either get out a new original or record an older song that's never seen the airwaves by then end of the month. I've also got three or four slightly-less-than-half finished songs I keep coming back to, but that's how it goes. I'm trying to get more disciplined about sitting down to finish material and not overthinking it. Anything can be rewritten, re-recorded, remixed, scrapped and reworked. I love seeing works in progress and seeing things evolve or be given a different spin, but it's easy to admire that as a fan as opposed practicing it as an artist putting your heart out there.  That's one of the things I've loved about Twitch and Stream Song Swap; it's a bunch of people of various skill and experience levels (from new to their instrument to full-timers) working together to make something. Behind the scenes, a bunch of us helped each other record, listened to endless mixes, and encouraged experimentation. Like, "Dreamland," my cover of Intershellar's song for the album, was actually a little out of my comfort zone in that I recorded myself playing barre chords (which I'm finally getting comfortable with), was a "pretty" song, and was the first time I recorded against a drum loop so that I could get another musician (the talented Chuck Parker, in this case) to record additional tracks. I'm also getting WAY better and mixing and mastering my own work and that of others, and I *never* would have gotten into it if it weren't for needing to develop those skills to stream. 

I'm also getting distracted by story boarding and developing a narrative music video to the unreleased Pokemon song for this summer. I've been interested in trying to make a short film for a while, and starting with something short that doesn't need sound seemed like a good place to start. I also really want to incorporate some cheesy, practical effects because I like the aesthetic. I have a pretty clear vision and the challenge (and fun problem solving part) will be turning the shots I see into real footage.

Anyway, I'm working on tons of stuff and I love sharing as much in-process stuff as I can either here or in my section of the Discord. <3

Take care, y'all

-M

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Oh! In other life news, I'm typing this from the spiffy new basement studio! The walls are LOUD AS HELL with purple, hot pink, and teal (remember, Neo-Tokyo Alley) and we got one of those weird expanding ball chandeliers from IKEA. No regrets. 

I'm so excited to finally start getting the house set up to have people over! Richard and I are aiming to host a house filk sometime this summer, and I have lucky to have so many local friends that create cool stuff and I want them to come over and collab. :D

Lyrics:

With Pokémon I’m PokéGone way down this Furret hole

I wanna be the very best but it’s a lonely goal

I’m Butterfree to choose my path, but I just need you to know

My heart’s all in a Tangela when I tell you hello

I never thought I needed

More than Generation One

And two and three through seven

What could be more fun?

I caught every Pokémon 

Over twenty years 

But something still was missing

‘Til a wild you appeared

I’m too shy to talk to you

And it makes me Bulbasaur

My heart goes Ratata

‘Cause it’s you I adore 

I have a plan to Eggsecute

To get closer to you

I want to train beside you

And not just Pikachu!

Turns out all I had to do

Was just say hi and grin

Said, “Here are all my Pokémon 

Let me show you them”

You responded "Ditto"

And we journeyed on from there 

Through Red and Blue and Sun and Moon

Yeah, we’ll Go everywhere!

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If you have cats, I'm going to make a music video to go along with this song! It will consist entirely of pictures and videos of my friends' cats. If you want a kitty close to you included, you can send the files to this DropBox request: https://www.dropbox.com/request/1t47pldHpWSHaRAqSJW6 . I LOVE CATS. 

In other news, R and I are *this close* to converting the first floor of our town house into the RADDEST music studio/sin den this side of I-40. The color concept for the walls is "Neo-Tokyo Alley" and it's made up of dark, purple grays and hot pink and teal accents. I can't *wait* to start streaming from down there (on a wired connection, no less) and actually having the space to have folk over to record, jam, and stay a weekend if they're passing through!

I am learning SO MUCH about DIY sound engineering. Like, the guitars on "Meownir" already sound two worlds better than anything I laid down for my EP. Some of the equipment is different, but it's honestly mostly better management of EQ and mix.

But seriously, I couldn't be doing this without y'all. A couple years ago I had to quit working full time because of ongoing, chronic health issues (which I'm managing--it's mostly sleep/fatigue related and I'm not going to die), so I'm trying to take advantage of the situation by developing my skills as an entertainer and a side hustler. 

For new folks, here are some links you may want! Also, my support structure is set to "per song," but it's my intent to never release "charged" posts more than once a month. Covers for fun, updates, and works-in-progress/old demos or audio memos are sent out for free after being exclusive to patrons for a couple weeks. Mostly I just have a lot of anxiety around skipping a month, and this alleviates it if I have to. :)

Feel free to share any and all recordings you have of mine. 

DropBox of Recordings for y'all: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwoelw23c2ay774/AABXAJfapte1gAC9uYWgh0tZa?dl=0

This'll have anything I send out to Patrons--plus most of what I release on Bandcamp--in mp3 and lossless formats.

Join the Social Justice Bards Discord: https://discord.gg/MbamaeR

(Discord is glorified IRC but cooler than Slack; we have channels where I notify people about our events, projects, and livestreams but also areas to talk about pop culture, share music and YouTube recs, and some private channels for super secret news. ;) )

All the best,

-M

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You can also grab the lossless or .mp3 version from the new DropBox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwoelw23c2ay774/AABXAJfapte1gAC9uYWgh0tZa?dl=0

This one isn't for commercial use since it's unlicensed, so it's an exclusive gift for y'all. :)

Oh! And don't forget that you can join the "Social Justice Bards" Discord server! I teamed up with musician David Tyberg (of the Extraordinary Contraptions out of Atlanta) to turn my personal Discord into more of a community effort, and it's working out great! Discord is like IRC 2.0, and we have a bunch of shared channels plus a VIP-style channel for subs, patrons, and other hardcore supporters. 

You can join here: https://discord.gg/TgBWfap

All the best as we move into the new year!

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If you'd like to share the tracks with friends, they can be played from my YouTube channel:

Gloucestershire Wassail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLYhE1NhvU

Boar's Head Carol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOD7haxY3uI

All the best over the holiday season, no matter your holidays or lack thereof <3

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I love you all. <3

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So I was going through the audio memos on my phone, and I found the first instance of getting the melody worked out for "Semen Succubus"! You can hear it take shape right that the end. The lyrics have changed a bit since I originally recorded the scratch track to practice with, but you can hear the earliest, never before released demo version of the song here: http://metricula.com/patreon/SemenSucc1.mp3

That's mostly how I write; I use the audio memos on my phone for snippets of melodies or lyrics, and then have an Evernote document that's just bits and pieces of ideas for songs or lyrics. 

Anyway, I've got three or four half-finished songs that I need more lyrics--my biggest struggle! I'm trying to tell myself that writing *any* songs is generally going to be better than *no* songs. :)

Oh! And in other news, we finally resolved the network issues that were preventing me from streaming! Between that and expanding my RAM, it's been WAY easier. Don't forget to follow @metricula on Twitter or join my Discord for updates! Everything should be linked for you to get access to the subs/patrons only section of the server. 

Thank you all for being here for me. <3

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That said, this is *hot* off the presses and free to y'all, because I <3 all your support. I really hope you'll head over to Bandcamp and purchase the track for yourself or a friend, because I'm donating all my profits ($0.74 per sale) from the track from now until the end of the year to the Durham Crisis Response Center.

https://metricula.bandcamp.com/track/fridged

Let me know what you think!

(Updated 10/7/2017 with new mix)

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When it releases on 20 October, the EP will be available on Bandcamp: https://metricula.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-gamers

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It contains the line, "I boot from discontent," so I'm pretty proud of that one. :)

Best,

-M

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Geek Radio Daily:  http://www.geekradiodaily.com/

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I really trying to push myself to practice recording and editing, so I appreciate y'all being my guinea pigs. <3

Lyrics:

Out of all them bright stars

Why did he have to come here?

With his bird calls and politeness,

What difference does he make?

Out of all them bright stars

Up there beyond the clouds

It's not a mirror, not the future

I won't see nothing else

You need this job so you need Charlie

Great big bully that he is

Keep your head down, fill the ketchup

That's when your eyes see into his

Chorus

Do what the g-men tell you

Answer all their questions now

Straight faces, smug dismissals

That's judgment by a brow 

Chorus

My stinging balled-up fury

Futility and shame

Why did you hold the mirror,

And say your bird call name?

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For about a week in May, the Twitch music community will be raising money LIVE on air for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation for keeping music alive in schools from tips and album sales! 

I can't wait!

I wanted to share the first cut of my cover; it's my first time doing this much production and using my new recording equipment. I'd love some feedback on the mix if you have it (like, I think I need to lower the vocals in relation to the guitar, lower some sound effects and harmony, etc). :) I'll post again when the album is live on Bandcamp and I hope you'll give it a listen for a good cause.

All the best, y'all. It means so much to me to know there are some people in my corner!

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Many of you know I had to leave my full time science job last year due to long term health issues, but a benefit of that is I'm playing SO MUCH guitar. Apparently you get a lot better when you practice. ;)

My goal is to record the finished song as an .mp3 to be released to y'all before I even play it on my Twitch stream! I'm starting to get more comfortable with my home recording set up, so I hope that I can get you some higher quality sounds soon too!

Lyrics:

Life's a simulation, but I keep dropping frames

My CPU's not fast enough to render all this shame

I just can't fight this feeling like I've done this all before

Hashtag six eight slash five four ampersand underscore

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In the meantime, enjoy my interpretation of Daniel Glasser's Pegasus Award-winning filk lullaby, "Close Your Eyes". It's been covered by so many wonderful artists and I love throwing mine in too!

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