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1000 results for “Cheeky_Disco”
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Shit-stirring happens: DayZ and Icarus offer survival fans discount in cheeky ‘The Day After’ deal
🔗 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/13/shit-stirring-happens-dayz-and-icarus-offer-survival-fans-discount-in-cheeky-the-day-after-deal
#TheDayBefore #DayZ #Icarus #TheDayAfter -
Pretty cheeky, Discord, to say that Firefox isn't modern because it doesn't support... quicktime?
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Cheeky August Blep!!
⭐️Other places to find me
https://aussiekitten.carrd.co
☕️Support me further
https://ko-fi.com/aussiekitten
💬Join the community
https://discord.gg/abmKHfM#furry #furryart #furryartist #furryartwork #furryfandom #furrycommunity #cat #furrycat #anthro #anthroart #illustration
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Cheeky August Blep!!
⭐️Other places to find me
https://aussiekitten.carrd.co
☕️Support me further
https://ko-fi.com/aussiekitten
💬Join the community
https://discord.gg/abmKHfM#furry #furryart #furryartist #furryartwork #furryfandom #furrycommunity #cat #furrycat #anthro #anthroart #illustration
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Anyone want a cheeky lil tattoo tomorrow? I'll give you a 40% discount on any of my flash!
Booking: https://venue.ink/@goblinhellion
Or book by email: [email protected]
#tattoo #art #flashtattoo #cute #mastoart #creativetoots #fediart #yyj ##yyjtattoo
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Anyone want a cheeky lil tattoo tomorrow? I'll give you a 40% discount on any of my flash!
Booking: https://venue.ink/@goblinhellion
Or book by email: [email protected]
#tattoo #art #flashtattoo #cute #mastoart #creativetoots #fediart #yyj ##yyjtattoo
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Anyone want a cheeky lil tattoo tomorrow? I'll give you a 40% discount on any of my flash!
Booking: https://venue.ink/@goblinhellion
Or book by email: [email protected]
#tattoo #art #flashtattoo #cute #mastoart #creativetoots #fediart #yyj ##yyjtattoo
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Anyone want a cheeky lil tattoo tomorrow? I'll give you a 40% discount on any of my flash!
Booking: https://venue.ink/@goblinhellion
Or book by email: [email protected]
#tattoo #art #flashtattoo #cute #mastoart #creativetoots #fediart #yyj ##yyjtattoo
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Anyone want a cheeky lil tattoo tomorrow? I'll give you a 40% discount on any of my flash!
Booking: https://venue.ink/@goblinhellion
Or book by email: [email protected]
#tattoo #art #flashtattoo #cute #mastoart #creativetoots #fediart #yyj ##yyjtattoo
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in fact the reason there is now such a problem with #ketamine and #cocaine is *because* prohibition had short term gains - Tories put a lot of effort into hammering the illegal #rave culture round here and stopping overt noisy hedonism such as loud parties where #MDMA was more popular - folk are now drinking more #alcohol and taking a few cheeky lines to stay awake, also cocaine and ketamine are shorter lasting so more popular with those who have work on Monday (or even next day).
New DUI laws and random tests *have* discouraged a lot of middle class users (they need to keep their driving licences in a car-dependent region), but leave a stubborn core of those who live in the urban areas and don't have to drive regularly..
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Have you seen the #Faircamp #WebRing lately?
Try #Fediverse googleless discovery!
Check out @keefmarshall great music. His groundbreaking #Image2BonkWave track & then just click next to discover an amazing musician that you've probably never heard.
Not your genre? Click Next. No harm no foul. I gurantee that you'll find some #music that you love.
Feeling cheeky? Click Random to a random spot on the webring.
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💥Announcement! Friday 30.01.2026💥
🥁 nohabit & ZUR NOT concert🎸
Friday, 30.01.2026 | 7:00 p.m. | 🌈 Regenbogenfabrik 🏭 Lausitzer Straße 21a, 10999 Berlin
Arrival: M29 Ohlauer Straße | U1, U3, U8 Kottbusser Tor | U8 Schönleinstraße
📣 Call: https://asanb.noblogs.org/?p=15299 - @rbf_xberg
🕖 Doors open at 7 p.m.
🕗 Start at 8 p.m.nohabit – four mixed from Berlin and Luxembourg.
We play diverse rock music in the form of self-composed melodies and cover songs from the good old days on the city's stages.
Our music is a reflection of our passion for rock and our love of musical diversity.
ZUR NOT are four guys from Berlin whose energetic sound inspired the invention of the genre ‘discounter rock’.
With catchy riffs, memorable melodies and cheeky lyrics, the four process the stories of life in all its colourful facets and monotonous shades of grey.
Free admission – donations welcome.
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Book Review: King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
Virginie Despentes’ King Kong Theory is a fierce and foundational text of modern feminism, a Molotov cocktail in book form. Part memoir, part punk manifesto, it is a raw, unapologetic, and deeply personal exploration of gender, power, and sexuality in our modern world.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir, Essays, Feminism
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK, 2020), The Feminist Press (US, 2010)
Review in one word: Joyful
Originally published in French in 2006, this classic feminist work is now available in English. Despentes is a punk iconoclast, rebel writer and confrontational filmmaker. Arguably her most famous book is her first novel Baise-Moi, was later adapted for the screen. She is the author of more than fifteen works, including the acclaimed Vernon Subutex trilogy. Always seeing life from the outskirts, Despentes draws from her own experience as a former sex worker and rape survivor for her scathing and excoriating analysis of surviving in a world mired in misogyny and misandry.
Far from being depressing in nature, this book is irreverant, hillarious and cheeky in its analysis of our world.
There’s a whole range of taboos that are exploded in this book. As she states in the explosive opening, “from the realms of the ugly, for the ugly, the old, the bull dykes, the frigid, the unfucked, the unfuckable, the hysterics, the freaks, all those excluded from the great meat market of female flesh”.
The essays in this book are provocative, explosive and generous in their philosophical reach and insight. Despentes examines concepts of rape, prostitution, pornography and the myth of the ideal woman. She strongly rejects victimhood and refuses to apologise or explain her reasons for doing anything she has done.
The book shows its age in the discussion about the ultimate waif-like beauty of the 90’s – Kate Moss. Despentes joyfully aligns herself not with the unreachable ideal of Kate Moss but instead with the mythological monster – King Kong who is beyond male and beyond female. He is a potent symbol of polymorphic sexuality and raw power before he is captured and destroyed by society.
The overarching themes are of railing against oppressive forces of sexual and societal control in our world are refreshing and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the ethos so closely intertwined with rebelious culture, art and music which showed in her amazing Vernon Subutex series. Despentes argues for a “new punk feminism” that embraces and loves what society deems monstrous or unacceptable in women and any one else who feels marginalised.
She challenges the binary thinking that pits “good” women against “bad” ones, virgins against whores, and victims against aggressors. Her style is blistering, direct, and brutally honest, characterised by precisely phrased rage and a refusal to soften her message for the comfort of the reader.
Despentes’ tone is provocative, warm and unapologetic. King Kong Theory is an essential work that rejects polite discourse in favour of a raw truth about sex and power that is as uncomfortable, liberating and joyful. I cannot tell you how much this book means to me, it is foundational, liberating and life-changing in every way.
Content Catnip
Follow me on Mastodon Watch my videos Donate to my Ko Fi #book #BookReview #BookReviews #bookTag #BookReview #books #essays #feminism #feminist #French #gender #History #manifesto #memoir #nonFiction #Philosophy #power #punk #sexuality #storytelling #VirginieDespentes #VirginieDespentes -
Book Review: King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
Virginie Despentes’ King Kong Theory is a fierce and foundational text of modern feminism, a Molotov cocktail in book form. Part memoir, part punk manifesto, it is a raw, unapologetic, and deeply personal exploration of gender, power, and sexuality in our modern world.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir, Essays, Feminism
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK, 2020), The Feminist Press (US, 2010)
Review in one word: Joyful
Originally published in French in 2006, this classic feminist work is now available in English. Despentes is a punk iconoclast, rebel writer and confrontational filmmaker. Arguably her most famous book is her first novel Baise-Moi, was later adapted for the screen. She is the author of more than fifteen works, including the acclaimed Vernon Subutex trilogy. Always seeing life from the outskirts, Despentes draws from her own experience as a former sex worker and rape survivor for her scathing and excoriating analysis of surviving in a world mired in misogyny and misandry.
Far from being depressing in nature, this book is irreverant, hillarious and cheeky in its analysis of our world.
There’s a whole range of taboos that are exploded in this book. As she states in the explosive opening, “from the realms of the ugly, for the ugly, the old, the bull dykes, the frigid, the unfucked, the unfuckable, the hysterics, the freaks, all those excluded from the great meat market of female flesh”.
The essays in this book are provocative, explosive and generous in their philosophical reach and insight. Despentes examines concepts of rape, prostitution, pornography and the myth of the ideal woman. She strongly rejects victimhood and refuses to apologise or explain her reasons for doing anything she has done.
The book shows its age in the discussion about the ultimate waif-like beauty of the 90’s – Kate Moss. Despentes joyfully aligns herself not with the unreachable ideal of Kate Moss but instead with the mythological monster – King Kong who is beyond male and beyond female. He is a potent symbol of polymorphic sexuality and raw power before he is captured and destroyed by society.
The overarching themes are of railing against oppressive forces of sexual and societal control in our world are refreshing and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the ethos so closely intertwined with rebelious culture, art and music which showed in her amazing Vernon Subutex series. Despentes argues for a “new punk feminism” that embraces and loves what society deems monstrous or unacceptable in women and any one else who feels marginalised.
She challenges the binary thinking that pits “good” women against “bad” ones, virgins against whores, and victims against aggressors. Her style is blistering, direct, and brutally honest, characterised by precisely phrased rage and a refusal to soften her message for the comfort of the reader.
Despentes’ tone is provocative, warm and unapologetic. King Kong Theory is an essential work that rejects polite discourse in favour of a raw truth about sex and power that is as uncomfortable, liberating and joyful. I cannot tell you how much this book means to me, it is foundational, liberating and life-changing in every way.
Content Catnip
Follow me on Mastodon Watch my videos Donate to my Ko Fi #book #BookReview #BookReviews #bookTag #BookReview #books #essays #feminism #feminist #French #gender #History #manifesto #memoir #nonFiction #Philosophy #power #punk #sexuality #storytelling #VirginieDespentes #VirginieDespentes -
Book Review: King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
Virginie Despentes’ King Kong Theory is a fierce and foundational text of modern feminism, a Molotov cocktail in book form. Part memoir, part punk manifesto, it is a raw, unapologetic, and deeply personal exploration of gender, power, and sexuality in our modern world.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir, Essays, Feminism
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK, 2020), The Feminist Press (US, 2010)
Review in one word: Joyful
Originally published in French in 2006, this classic feminist work is now available in English. Despentes is a punk iconoclast, rebel writer and confrontational filmmaker. Arguably her most famous book is her first novel Baise-Moi, was later adapted for the screen. She is the author of more than fifteen works, including the acclaimed Vernon Subutex trilogy. Always seeing life from the outskirts, Despentes draws from her own experience as a former sex worker and rape survivor for her scathing and excoriating analysis of surviving in a world mired in misogyny and misandry.
Far from being depressing in nature, this book is irreverant, hillarious and cheeky in its analysis of our world.
There’s a whole range of taboos that are exploded in this book. As she states in the explosive opening, “from the realms of the ugly, for the ugly, the old, the bull dykes, the frigid, the unfucked, the unfuckable, the hysterics, the freaks, all those excluded from the great meat market of female flesh”.
The essays in this book are provocative, explosive and generous in their philosophical reach and insight. Despentes examines concepts of rape, prostitution, pornography and the myth of the ideal woman. She strongly rejects victimhood and refuses to apologise or explain her reasons for doing anything she has done.
The book shows its age in the discussion about the ultimate waif-like beauty of the 90’s – Kate Moss. Despentes joyfully aligns herself not with the unreachable ideal of Kate Moss but instead with the mythological monster – King Kong who is beyond male and beyond female. He is a potent symbol of polymorphic sexuality and raw power before he is captured and destroyed by society.
The overarching themes are of railing against oppressive forces of sexual and societal control in our world are refreshing and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the ethos so closely intertwined with rebelious culture, art and music which showed in her amazing Vernon Subutex series. Despentes argues for a “new punk feminism” that embraces and loves what society deems monstrous or unacceptable in women and any one else who feels marginalised.
She challenges the binary thinking that pits “good” women against “bad” ones, virgins against whores, and victims against aggressors. Her style is blistering, direct, and brutally honest, characterised by precisely phrased rage and a refusal to soften her message for the comfort of the reader.
Despentes’ tone is provocative, warm and unapologetic. King Kong Theory is an essential work that rejects polite discourse in favour of a raw truth about sex and power that is as uncomfortable, liberating and joyful. I cannot tell you how much this book means to me, it is foundational, liberating and life-changing in every way.
Content Catnip
Follow me on Mastodon Watch my videos Donate to my Ko Fi #book #BookReview #BookReviews #bookTag #BookReview #books #essays #feminism #feminist #French #gender #History #manifesto #memoir #nonFiction #Philosophy #power #punk #sexuality #storytelling #VirginieDespentes #VirginieDespentes -
AI is the Ultimate Expression of Open Source
Someone left this comment on my blog last week:
“I swear am not making this up… I tasked Claude with making a Web Cam App on OS X because I couldn’t find one that was easy to use and handled what I needed (Zoom in/out, Colour, Saturation). I noticed a lot of its web searches centred around Celluloid and JakeSpurlock.com… and wow, you’re further ahead of me, in fact I don’t need an app any more.
However, you might get a cheeky PR in the next week or two as one feature missing from Celluloid (that I can see anyway) was a Vignette slider. I like a nice subtle vignette.”
Read that again. Here’s what happened:
- I built Celluloid — a macOS virtual camera app — using AI tools
- Alan tried to build the same thing using AI tools
- Claude’s research surfaced my work
- He didn’t need to build it anymore
- He left a feature suggestion — a vignette slider
- I added it to the app
The loop closed. We’re both further ahead.
The Flywheel
Open source has always been about this: someone builds something, shares it, others use it, some contribute back. The commons grows. Everyone benefits.
But there was friction at every step:
- Building required deep expertise and time
- Discovery meant knowing where to look
- Contributing meant understanding someone else’s codebase
AI removes that friction.
Creation: I shipped six apps working nights and weekends. Not because I suddenly became a better programmer, but because AI let me move faster. Ideas that would have stayed in my head became real software.
Discovery: Alan didn’t find Celluloid by searching GitHub or Hacker News. He found it because Claude — in the process of trying to help him build a webcam app — kept pulling up my code and my blog posts as reference material. The AI discovered the existing solution while trying to create a new one.
Contribution: The vignette feature Alan mentioned? I built it five days later. It’s already merged. The feedback loop between “I wish this had X” and “here it is” has collapsed.
This Isn’t Hypothetical
I’m not theorizing. This is my actual workflow.
Recently I shipped:
- Today — an RSS reader for iOS and Mac
- ScriptStrip — local transcription for macOS
- Jewel Case — Spotify album art display
- Celluloid — virtual camera with filters
- Draft Night — Little League draft software (open source)
- WalkUp DJ — walk-up music for baseball and softball
All built with AI assistance. All open source or indie. All feeding back into the ecosystem that made them possible.
The models that helped me build these apps were trained on decades of open source code. Now my code becomes part of what trains the next generation. The flywheel spins.
What Open Source Promised, AI Delivers
The original dream of open source was democratization. Anyone could read the code. Anyone could learn. Anyone could contribute.
In practice, “anyone” meant “anyone with the time and expertise to understand a complex codebase.”
AI changes the denominator.
When Claude helps Alan understand my code well enough to contribute a feature, that’s not cheating — that’s the promise of open source finally being delivered. The knowledge isn’t locked behind years of experience anymore. It’s accessible.
More builders means more software. More software means more training data. Better training data means better AI. Better AI means more builders.
The commons grows faster than ever.
The Skeptic’s Objection
“But you’re just generating slop with AI!”
Look at the results. Celluloid works. People use it on Zoom calls. Alan found it useful enough that he didn’t need to build his own — and valuable enough that he’s contributing improvements.
The quality bar is the same as it ever was: does the software solve a problem? Does it work? Will you maintain it?
AI doesn’t change those questions. It just lets more people attempt answers.
Where This Goes
I don’t think we’ve fully internalized what’s happening.
Every open source project is now more discoverable — not through SEO tricks, but because AI assistants will surface them when someone tries to solve the same problem.
Every contribution barrier is lower — not because standards dropped, but because understanding code got easier.
Every builder has more leverage — not replacing expertise, but multiplying it.
Open source always had network effects. AI supercharges them.
Alan tried to build a webcam app. He found mine instead. His suggestion made it better.
That’s not a bug in the system. That’s the system working exactly as intended — just faster than we ever imagined.
The vignette slider is live in Celluloid. Thanks for the suggestion, Alan.
Related: I’m Shipping Like I Have a Team. I Don’t.
#AI #AppDevelopment #AppleDevelopment #apps #Claude #MacOS #OpenSource #software -
Kovacs – Shades of Black (2015, Netherlands)
As randomly chosen by survey[1] on Mastodon, our next spotlight is on number 799 on The List, submitted by @raisedfist.
I started this draft over a week ago, wondering if I could write it without comparing this singer to another singer. But, on this side of the pond, I can barely find any info on Kovacs, i.e., Sharon Kovacs, or any reaction on this, her debut album. And so, let me just say it, knowing I mean it only as a point of reference and not to diminish the ginormous talent that is Kovacs in any way.
Imagine Amy Winehouse’s spirit, resurrected and mixed with the presence and gumption of Asajj Ventress (i.e., one of my most favorite characters in the Star Wars universe). Can you dig it? Kovacs’ soulful voice and lyrics are beautiful, powerful, sexy, cheeky, just on the edge of dangerous. In other words, I’m quite happy to have learned about this artist, I really enjoyed this album, and I’m excited to check out the rest of her work.
And, since we’re in the middle of our month-long run of #BowieADay, I think it’s worth mentioning that Kovacs is a David Bowie fan – indeed, one of the only things I could find on Kovacs is that she joined the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2023 for a special cover of Bowie’s take on Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam” (aka “Port of Amsterdam”). For those following our BowieADay listening schedule, today we listened to his covers album, Pin Ups (1973); his cover of “Amsterdam” wasn’t included on the album proper, but was included as the B-side for the album’s “Sorrow” single. Whether before or after checking out Shades of Black, I highly recommend watching the Kovacs/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra performance of the tune, at the end of this video (starting at 1:07:50).
Happy listening!
- The survey choices that initially led to this spotlight were “When the weather gets rough”, “And it’s whiskey in the shade”, “It’s best to wrap your savior”, and “Up in cellophane”, following the earlier surveys that had “Well, I don’t want no Abba Zabba”/“Don’t want no Almond Joy”/“There ain’t nothing better”/“Suitable for this boy” and “Well, it’s the only thing that can pick me up”/“Better than a cup of gold”/“See only a chocolate Jesus”/“Can satisfy my soul”. The second option was the winning selection, and the survey result was translated as picking an album in The List that contained a word in the phrase – in this case, “shade”. ↩︎
#1001OtherAlbums #2010s #jazz #Kovacs #ListenToThis #music #musicDiscovery #Musodon #Netherlands #RoyalConcertgebouwOrchestra #SharonKovacs #soul
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August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterHappy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDFInfographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans
Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.
Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.
References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife
Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Did you enjoy visiting this website?
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-FiPalm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
-
August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterHappy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDFInfographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans
Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.
Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.
References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife
Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Did you enjoy visiting this website?
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-FiPalm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
-
August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterHappy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDFInfographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans
Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.
Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.
References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife
Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Did you enjoy visiting this website?
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-FiPalm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
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August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterHappy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDFInfographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans
Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.
Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.
References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife
Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Did you enjoy visiting this website?
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-FiPalm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
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Kenstrosity’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024
By Kenstrosity
When I think back on this year, a year of unprecedented stress and struggle for this sponge, one predominant emotion rises above the rest. Gratitude. I went through hardships I couldn’t possibly have anticipated; watched as harrowing events, both global and domestic, rocked our world; and trudged through time-dilating frights that I only previously experienced in some of my worst nightmares. And yet, I persist! I found myself asking, once again, why I was spared a worse fate where others weren’t? What have I done in life to deserve the good fortune I’ve received? In time I’ve come to believe that understanding the why of it all isn’t always the most important part. In some ways, the pursuit of an answer to “why” even blinds us to more enriching lessons we can learn from the experiences we share, both mundane and extraordinary. These things teach us how to be human, how to grow, how to thrive, and how to come together as a community. So, for what must be the first time of my life, I stopped asking why anything happened, as tempting as that spiral always looked from outside. Instead, I spent all of my energy prioritizing the moment, experiencing it, allowing it to change me and mold me, and to be present in it not just for me, but for my friends, my family, and my neighbors.
Back to gratitude. More so this year than any other, I must express my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude for damn near everyone. When my roommate and I lost everything overnight, I felt completely and utterly overwhelmed by the response. Hands of friends, family, and community reached towards us, open to do whatever they could to help us up. AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Sentynel, GardensTale, Twelve, Dolphin Whisperer, Maddog, Holdeneye, Cherd of Doom, Grymm, El Cuervo, Dr. Wvrm, Ferrous Beuller, Saunders, Eldritch Elitist, Doom_et_Al, Dear Hollow, Carcharodon, Felgund, Ferox, Thus Spoke, Iceberg, Mystikus Hugebeard, Itchy, the n00bs, a shit ton of Discord frens, all of my meatspace friends, Mom, Dad, my sister, some of my extended family, my work colleagues and acquaintances, random kind strangers, even Dr. A. N. Grier went above and beyond to help directly with our recovery. Every single member of staff here did whatever they could to give some relief, far beyond what I could’ve ever asked for, and it overwhelms my little heart to know they cared that deeply. My owlpal and great friend Rolderathis, writer and editor at Toilet ov Hell, unexpectedly swooped in via Discord to jump start our financial recovery by creating a crowdsourcing page for us—even as the admin for AMG planned to do the same. Instrumental to its dissemination and subsequent explosion,1 both AMG Himself and Steel Druhm made sure to aggressively spread the word via an official post on this very site, and in their own circles public and private. Friends and family did the same, to great effect. Toilet ov Hell even posted their own article, too, and I don’t even fucking write there. Incredible. My aunt and her husband helped us replace two full rooms worth of furniture without hesitation, and another close friend of mine provided yet another room’s worth on top of that. Our friends reached far and wide to find opportunities to get us shelter, food, essential items, and vital emotional support. FEMA did more than their part for us as well, and they continue to help us as we navigate the next stages of long-term recovery. My therapist stuck with me through the storm, helped carry me through some concerning emotional blockages shortly after, and continues to guide me now. The continuous waves of support and outreach blew me away, and motivated me to pay it forward in whatever way I was capable for those who were going through hell with us. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
As if a hurricane wasn’t enough to bear, Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer just ten days after the storm hit. Still, there shined small silver linings that kept me going. It was caught very early, and she has already returned home after a resoundingly successful surgery, where they removed the tumor in block.2 As scary as the thought of losing my Mom right after everything else that’s happened was, I choose to emphasize the excellent treatment and attention to detail that allowed Mom to come home quickly and in decent health, all things considered. I choose to be with my family, to live in this moment through the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, so I can be there when the sun inevitably shines again, too. I want to extend a very special thanks to Dad, who remained constantly by Mom’s side and supported her through every stage of this development when I wasn’t able.
All of this merely scratches the surface of everything we’ve gone through in 2024. But we are still here!3 We are living the best we can, helping each other to survive, and perhaps soon to also thrive again. The sense of community I feel not just for my deeply wounded city, but also the people in my life, deepened significantly just in the last few months. These experiences have changed me, changed my outlook on life and on relationships. The fragility of life and the sheer power of the love that comes from the people in it sharpen my understanding of what’s really important. Life is about the people you have, the way you treat them, and how you conduct yourself in this world to try to improve it with your unique light, little by little. It’s about supporting your loved ones as they go through good times just as fiercely as when they go through hardship and change. It’s about growing every day into the very best version of yourself, and being there to witness and celebrate the same journey in those close to you. I understand that more today than ever before, and I am thankful that this lesson, above all else, is my takeaway from 2024.
It’s going to be a while before we can return home to AVL, but I’ve already returned full force to my home away from home, Angry Metal Guy! I’d like to thank Steel Druhm and AMG Himself again for keeping my spot warm for me and for being excellent taskmasters and blogrunners, to Sentynel for keeping things running smoothly on the back end and for being awesome in general at his job, to all the writers for continuously providing the internet with the best worst opinions on metal extant, and to Dr. A. N. Grier for deleting everything I’ve ever written so that nobody has to suffer my silly goofy ramblings.
With that said, everybody should probably snapshot this little Top Ten(ish) of mine before Grier deletes that, too. It looks mighty different to how it would’ve had the storm not happened, both because I couldn’t listen to any new music for a while and because the event itself ushered a sharp shift in my listening preferences. Regardless, I’m happy with my selections, and I fully expect the rest of you to rabble at my confounding omissions.4 Let it commence!
#ish. Elvellon // Ascending in Synergy – Elvellon holds a special place in my heart, and thanks to masterful songsmithing, Ascending in Synergy holds a well-deserved placement on my list. I simply haven’t been able to stop jamming it all year. Ascending in Synergy is everything I loved about metal when I first got into it, and it embodies much of what I love about metal today. It never hurts that the first eight songs are all megaton bangers. This record would have placed nearer the top if it weren’t for the monologue in the penultimate epic. Nonetheless, I love Ascending in Synergy.
#10. Madder Mortem // Old Eyes, New Heart – Ever since Marrow, Madder Mortem successfully won me over where every other album in their back catalog failed to resonate. I can’t explain what exactly it was that captured my adoration all of a sudden, but Old Eyes, New Heart has my heart just as Marrow did before it. Smart compositions, earnest delivery, crystalline lyrics, lush sound, this record has it all. I’d be a fool not to award it placement on this list.
#9. Oceans of Slumber // Where Gods Fear to Speak – Oceans of Slumber carved out an ever-evolving, fearlessly creative, and unique sound for themselves since their inception, but always seemed somewhat inconsistent with the quality of their songwriting. Not so on their magnum opus Where Gods Fear to Speak. Immense, cohesive, and richly layered with detail and compelling songwriting, Where Gods Fear to Speak feels like the culmination of their entire career, fully matured and refined to peak form.
#8. Sunburst // Manifesto – There was a point in time that I was confident Manifesto would top this list. That was largely due to sheer excitement that a new Sunburst album, which I never thought I would see in the first place, actually turned out to be great. Rich compositions, sharp hooks, and a masterful performance from everyone involved, Manifesto solidifies Sunburst as one of the best bands out of the Greek power metal scene. I just hope that I don’t have to wait another eight years for the next one!
#7. Scumbag // Homicide Cult – This record is simply unfair. I had my Top 10 all sorted out, and then some bottle-nosed bastard with a dorsal fin and a propensity for beating up smaller mammals on the wrong side of the sea had me check this out, with the promise of killer riffs by the main Noxis guitarist. That bastard was right, this record absolutely rips. There are so many unbelievably filthy, stank-face inducing riffs on Homicide Cult that I had to get plastic surgery to look like myself again. Otherwise, I’d look more like my rotted-out friend on the cover.
#6. Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System – Death metal this good hits me in a special place. While embodying all of the skullcrushing ways of olde, Violence Inherent in the System represents one of the most creative, smart, and well-produced records in modern death metal currently. And while my review helped spike the hype, it still feels a bit like Noxis are running further under the radar than they deserve. Coming out of absolute nowhere and dropping the best straight-up death metal of the year? Unreal.
#5. Feind // Ambulante Hirnamputation – Grind, and all of its hybrids, never once made it on my proper Top 10. I’ve written here for six years. That’s how powerful Feind’s Ambulante Hirnamputation truly is. Immense fun, more quality riffs stuffed into less than twenty minutes than some of the best records can fit into an hour, and cheeky to boot, Ambulante Hirnamputation proves that Feind mastered the grindset. Let’s hope this isn’t the last I get to hear of Feind.
#4. Brodequin // Harbinger of Woe – In contrast to grind, I almost always have a brutal death metal record on my Top 10. It’s a style that resonates with me very easily, and there’s never a shortage of it for my personal enjoyment. Brodequin won the day in a year chock full of great options, with the immensely accessible Harbinger of Woe. The sheer level of groove brimming from this torture chamber sends my booty into overdrive, and the thick, nasty production only serves to enhance the entire experience. There’s very little else I could ask for to sate my brutal death cravings.
#3. Iotunn // Kinship – It’s been a banner year for our friend Jon Aldará. Where Iotunn’s Access All Worlds interested, but did not woo, me, follow-up Kinship absolutely rocked my socks. Every single track is a celebration of epic, melodic, and deeply immersive extreme metal. Gorgeous compositions, ascendant guitar work, ridiculous replay value, and stellar vocals propelled Kinship way up on my list of favorite records at a blistering pace, leaving me revelling in an idyllic honeymoon period. Even after investing more time marinating in its wondrous environs, I’ve only fallen deeper and deeper in love with it. I just can’t imagine how Iotunn are going to top this.
#2. Replicant // Infinite Mortality – This is the year for records that floored me where their predecessors didn’t. Replicant’s Malignant Reality was enjoyable, but couldn’t touch my Top 10 in its year. Infinite Mortality, on the other hand, made a valiant bid for Album o’ the Year from the very first riff kicking “Acid Mirror” into the stratosphere. Hardcore-tinged technical death metal for fans of the discordant and the unorthodox, Infinite Mortality is supremely memorable not just for its sound, but for its infallible, hook-laden construction. Infinite Mortality may not be the only record of its kind released this year, but it’s without a doubt the greatest.
#1. Myrath // Karma – Hurricane Helene took my home. It changed the ecology, geology, and pedology of the entire Asheville region, likely for all time. But one thing it couldn’t take from me is my spirit, my drive to survive, and my determination to thrive. Even during a long period where access to music was a rare luxury, Karma remained at the forefront of my mind. It held me from giving up and reminded me of the strength that burgeoned not just in myself, but also in my friends, family, and greater community as we rebuilt our lives together. If there was ever a record released this year that embodies that spirit of triumph over adversity, it’s Myrath’s incredible Karma. It was always going to be high on this list, thanks to its insanely memorable songwriting and passionate performances of univerally great songs. However, it wasn’t until I personally resonated with its empowering message in the context of a devastating natural disaster that I knew this would be, unquestionably, my Album o’ the Year.
Honorable Mentions
- Amiensus // Reclamation Pt. II – Thoughtful, dynamic, and immersive, Reclamation Pt. II represents the pinnacle of what I like in progressive black metal.
- The Flaying // Ni dieu ni maître – Unsung melodic death metal heroes The Flaying offer up nonstop hooks and a crazy bass performance delivered at a feral pace.
- Hamferð // Men Guds hond er sterk – Empotionally compelling and monstrously heavy, Men Guds hond er sterk is death doom at its peak form.
- Khirki // Κυκεώνας – Massively dynamic hard rock that comes from the heart and the head, not the butt.
- Saidan // Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity – Fun, fast, ferocious, Visual Kill is an unqualified blast of killer hyper-melodic black metal.
- Unhallowed Deliverance // Of Spectres and Strife – Deathcore rarely offers this level of dynamics and quality in songwriting, and it hits like a runaway train full of unstable nuclear warheads.
Non-Metal Album o’ the Year
- Kali Uchis // Orquídeas – Simply put, this album is pure sex. Period.
EP o’ the Year
- Glassbone // Deaf to Suffering – Far and away the slimiest, crustiest, and bestest slam of the year. Absolute filth.
Song o’ the Year
- Elvellon – “A Vagabond’s Heart” – Easily my most listened to song of the year, “A Vagabond’s Heart” strikes a special chord in my spirit that embodies everything I used to love and everything I love today. Furthermore, it leaves me hopeful and excited for what the future holds. As a delightful bonus, it’s catchy as all get-out. I couldn’t ask for a better song to fit this slot.
Surprise o’ the Year:
- Nightwish // Yesterwynde – My original intent was to place this somewhere on my list proper, but the storm foiled that aspiration, as I rarely got to listen to any new music that came out in late September and pretty much all of October until it was way too late. But when I did get to spend time with Yesterwynde, it continually impressed me. Songs that felt novel and exciting, performances that brimmed with new life, and wonderful pacing from start to finish, Nightwish’s latest record feels like a return to form. I’m excited to follow them on this latest arc in their career.5
Disappointment o’ the Year:
- Vredehammer // God Slayer – The riffs are there, that’s for sure. But the album just doesn’t come together in a way that scratches my brain at all. Therefore, I had the most difficult time sitting through God Slayer. Shame, especially considering how much of a banger each of the previous two records were…
#2024 #Amiensus #Brodequin #Elvellon #Feind #Glassbone #Hamferð #Iotunn #KaliUchis #KenstrositySTopTenIshOf2024 #Khirki #MadderMortem #Myrath #Nightwish #Noxis #OceansOfSlumber #Replicant #Saidan #Scumbag #Sunburst #TheFlaying #UnhallowedDeliverance #Vredehammerð
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Kenstrosity’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024
By Kenstrosity
When I think back on this year, a year of unprecedented stress and struggle for this sponge, one predominant emotion rises above the rest. Gratitude. I went through hardships I couldn’t possibly have anticipated; watched as harrowing events, both global and domestic, rocked our world; and trudged through time-dilating frights that I only previously experienced in some of my worst nightmares. And yet, I persist! I found myself asking, once again, why I was spared a worse fate where others weren’t? What have I done in life to deserve the good fortune I’ve received? In time I’ve come to believe that understanding the why of it all isn’t always the most important part. In some ways, the pursuit of an answer to “why” even blinds us to more enriching lessons we can learn from the experiences we share, both mundane and extraordinary. These things teach us how to be human, how to grow, how to thrive, and how to come together as a community. So, for what must be the first time of my life, I stopped asking why anything happened, as tempting as that spiral always looked from outside. Instead, I spent all of my energy prioritizing the moment, experiencing it, allowing it to change me and mold me, and to be present in it not just for me, but for my friends, my family, and my neighbors.
Back to gratitude. More so this year than any other, I must express my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude for damn near everyone. When my roommate and I lost everything overnight, I felt completely and utterly overwhelmed by the response. Hands of friends, family, and community reached towards us, open to do whatever they could to help us up. AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Sentynel, GardensTale, Twelve, Dolphin Whisperer, Maddog, Holdeneye, Cherd of Doom, Grymm, El Cuervo, Dr. Wvrm, Ferrous Beuller, Saunders, Eldritch Elitist, Doom_et_Al, Dear Hollow, Carcharodon, Felgund, Ferox, Thus Spoke, Iceberg, Mystikus Hugebeard, Itchy, the n00bs, a shit ton of Discord frens, all of my meatspace friends, Mom, Dad, my sister, some of my extended family, my work colleagues and acquaintances, random kind strangers, even Dr. A. N. Grier went above and beyond to help directly with our recovery. Every single member of staff here did whatever they could to give some relief, far beyond what I could’ve ever asked for, and it overwhelms my little heart to know they cared that deeply. My owlpal and great friend Rolderathis, writer and editor at Toilet ov Hell, unexpectedly swooped in via Discord to jump start our financial recovery by creating a crowdsourcing page for us—even as the admin for AMG planned to do the same. Instrumental to its dissemination and subsequent explosion,1 both AMG Himself and Steel Druhm made sure to aggressively spread the word via an official post on this very site, and in their own circles public and private. Friends and family did the same, to great effect. Toilet ov Hell even posted their own article, too, and I don’t even fucking write there. Incredible. My aunt and her husband helped us replace two full rooms worth of furniture without hesitation, and another close friend of mine provided yet another room’s worth on top of that. Our friends reached far and wide to find opportunities to get us shelter, food, essential items, and vital emotional support. FEMA did more than their part for us as well, and they continue to help us as we navigate the next stages of long-term recovery. My therapist stuck with me through the storm, helped carry me through some concerning emotional blockages shortly after, and continues to guide me now. The continuous waves of support and outreach blew me away, and motivated me to pay it forward in whatever way I was capable for those who were going through hell with us. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
As if a hurricane wasn’t enough to bear, Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer just ten days after the storm hit. Still, there shined small silver linings that kept me going. It was caught very early, and she has already returned home after a resoundingly successful surgery, where they removed the tumor in block.2 As scary as the thought of losing my Mom right after everything else that’s happened was, I choose to emphasize the excellent treatment and attention to detail that allowed Mom to come home quickly and in decent health, all things considered. I choose to be with my family, to live in this moment through the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, so I can be there when the sun inevitably shines again, too. I want to extend a very special thanks to Dad, who remained constantly by Mom’s side and supported her through every stage of this development when I wasn’t able.
All of this merely scratches the surface of everything we’ve gone through in 2024. But we are still here!3 We are living the best we can, helping each other to survive, and perhaps soon to also thrive again. The sense of community I feel not just for my deeply wounded city, but also the people in my life, deepened significantly just in the last few months. These experiences have changed me, changed my outlook on life and on relationships. The fragility of life and the sheer power of the love that comes from the people in it sharpen my understanding of what’s really important. Life is about the people you have, the way you treat them, and how you conduct yourself in this world to try to improve it with your unique light, little by little. It’s about supporting your loved ones as they go through good times just as fiercely as when they go through hardship and change. It’s about growing every day into the very best version of yourself, and being there to witness and celebrate the same journey in those close to you. I understand that more today than ever before, and I am thankful that this lesson, above all else, is my takeaway from 2024.
It’s going to be a while before we can return home to AVL, but I’ve already returned full force to my home away from home, Angry Metal Guy! I’d like to thank Steel Druhm and AMG Himself again for keeping my spot warm for me and for being excellent taskmasters and blogrunners, to Sentynel for keeping things running smoothly on the back end and for being awesome in general at his job, to all the writers for continuously providing the internet with the best worst opinions on metal extant, and to Dr. A. N. Grier for deleting everything I’ve ever written so that nobody has to suffer my silly goofy ramblings.
With that said, everybody should probably snapshot this little Top Ten(ish) of mine before Grier deletes that, too. It looks mighty different to how it would’ve had the storm not happened, both because I couldn’t listen to any new music for a while and because the event itself ushered a sharp shift in my listening preferences. Regardless, I’m happy with my selections, and I fully expect the rest of you to rabble at my confounding omissions.4 Let it commence!
#ish. Elvellon // Ascending in Synergy – Elvellon holds a special place in my heart, and thanks to masterful songsmithing, Ascending in Synergy holds a well-deserved placement on my list. I simply haven’t been able to stop jamming it all year. Ascending in Synergy is everything I loved about metal when I first got into it, and it embodies much of what I love about metal today. It never hurts that the first eight songs are all megaton bangers. This record would have placed nearer the top if it weren’t for the monologue in the penultimate epic. Nonetheless, I love Ascending in Synergy.
#10. Madder Mortem // Old Eyes, New Heart – Ever since Marrow, Madder Mortem successfully won me over where every other album in their back catalog failed to resonate. I can’t explain what exactly it was that captured my adoration all of a sudden, but Old Eyes, New Heart has my heart just as Marrow did before it. Smart compositions, earnest delivery, crystalline lyrics, lush sound, this record has it all. I’d be a fool not to award it placement on this list.
#9. Oceans of Slumber // Where Gods Fear to Speak – Oceans of Slumber carved out an ever-evolving, fearlessly creative, and unique sound for themselves since their inception, but always seemed somewhat inconsistent with the quality of their songwriting. Not so on their magnum opus Where Gods Fear to Speak. Immense, cohesive, and richly layered with detail and compelling songwriting, Where Gods Fear to Speak feels like the culmination of their entire career, fully matured and refined to peak form.
#8. Sunburst // Manifesto – There was a point in time that I was confident Manifesto would top this list. That was largely due to sheer excitement that a new Sunburst album, which I never thought I would see in the first place, actually turned out to be great. Rich compositions, sharp hooks, and a masterful performance from everyone involved, Manifesto solidifies Sunburst as one of the best bands out of the Greek power metal scene. I just hope that I don’t have to wait another eight years for the next one!
#7. Scumbag // Homicide Cult – This record is simply unfair. I had my Top 10 all sorted out, and then some bottle-nosed bastard with a dorsal fin and a propensity for beating up smaller mammals on the wrong side of the sea had me check this out, with the promise of killer riffs by the main Noxis guitarist. That bastard was right, this record absolutely rips. There are so many unbelievably filthy, stank-face inducing riffs on Homicide Cult that I had to get plastic surgery to look like myself again. Otherwise, I’d look more like my rotted-out friend on the cover.
#6. Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System – Death metal this good hits me in a special place. While embodying all of the skullcrushing ways of olde, Violence Inherent in the System represents one of the most creative, smart, and well-produced records in modern death metal currently. And while my review helped spike the hype, it still feels a bit like Noxis are running further under the radar than they deserve. Coming out of absolute nowhere and dropping the best straight-up death metal of the year? Unreal.
#5. Feind // Ambulante Hirnamputation – Grind, and all of its hybrids, never once made it on my proper Top 10. I’ve written here for six years. That’s how powerful Feind’s Ambulante Hirnamputation truly is. Immense fun, more quality riffs stuffed into less than twenty minutes than some of the best records can fit into an hour, and cheeky to boot, Ambulante Hirnamputation proves that Feind mastered the grindset. Let’s hope this isn’t the last I get to hear of Feind.
#4. Brodequin // Harbinger of Woe – In contrast to grind, I almost always have a brutal death metal record on my Top 10. It’s a style that resonates with me very easily, and there’s never a shortage of it for my personal enjoyment. Brodequin won the day in a year chock full of great options, with the immensely accessible Harbinger of Woe. The sheer level of groove brimming from this torture chamber sends my booty into overdrive, and the thick, nasty production only serves to enhance the entire experience. There’s very little else I could ask for to sate my brutal death cravings.
#3. Iotunn // Kinship – It’s been a banner year for our friend Jon Aldará. Where Iotunn’s Access All Worlds interested, but did not woo, me, follow-up Kinship absolutely rocked my socks. Every single track is a celebration of epic, melodic, and deeply immersive extreme metal. Gorgeous compositions, ascendant guitar work, ridiculous replay value, and stellar vocals propelled Kinship way up on my list of favorite records at a blistering pace, leaving me revelling in an idyllic honeymoon period. Even after investing more time marinating in its wondrous environs, I’ve only fallen deeper and deeper in love with it. I just can’t imagine how Iotunn are going to top this.
#2. Replicant // Infinite Mortality – This is the year for records that floored me where their predecessors didn’t. Replicant’s Malignant Reality was enjoyable, but couldn’t touch my Top 10 in its year. Infinite Mortality, on the other hand, made a valiant bid for Album o’ the Year from the very first riff kicking “Acid Mirror” into the stratosphere. Hardcore-tinged technical death metal for fans of the discordant and the unorthodox, Infinite Mortality is supremely memorable not just for its sound, but for its infallible, hook-laden construction. Infinite Mortality may not be the only record of its kind released this year, but it’s without a doubt the greatest.
#1. Myrath // Karma – Hurricane Helene took my home. It changed the ecology, geology, and pedology of the entire Asheville region, likely for all time. But one thing it couldn’t take from me is my spirit, my drive to survive, and my determination to thrive. Even during a long period where access to music was a rare luxury, Karma remained at the forefront of my mind. It held me from giving up and reminded me of the strength that burgeoned not just in myself, but also in my friends, family, and greater community as we rebuilt our lives together. If there was ever a record released this year that embodies that spirit of triumph over adversity, it’s Myrath’s incredible Karma. It was always going to be high on this list, thanks to its insanely memorable songwriting and passionate performances of univerally great songs. However, it wasn’t until I personally resonated with its empowering message in the context of a devastating natural disaster that I knew this would be, unquestionably, my Album o’ the Year.
Honorable Mentions
- Amiensus // Reclamation Pt. II – Thoughtful, dynamic, and immersive, Reclamation Pt. II represents the pinnacle of what I like in progressive black metal.
- The Flaying // Ni dieu ni maître – Unsung melodic death metal heroes The Flaying offer up nonstop hooks and a crazy bass performance delivered at a feral pace.
- Hamferð // Men Guds hond er sterk – Empotionally compelling and monstrously heavy, Men Guds hond er sterk is death doom at its peak form.
- Khirki // Κυκεώνας – Massively dynamic hard rock that comes from the heart and the head, not the butt.
- Saidan // Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity – Fun, fast, ferocious, Visual Kill is an unqualified blast of killer hyper-melodic black metal.
- Unhallowed Deliverance // Of Spectres and Strife – Deathcore rarely offers this level of dynamics and quality in songwriting, and it hits like a runaway train full of unstable nuclear warheads.
Non-Metal Album o’ the Year
- Kali Uchis // Orquídeas – Simply put, this album is pure sex. Period.
EP o’ the Year
- Glassbone // Deaf to Suffering – Far and away the slimiest, crustiest, and bestest slam of the year. Absolute filth.
Song o’ the Year
- Elvellon – “A Vagabond’s Heart” – Easily my most listened to song of the year, “A Vagabond’s Heart” strikes a special chord in my spirit that embodies everything I used to love and everything I love today. Furthermore, it leaves me hopeful and excited for what the future holds. As a delightful bonus, it’s catchy as all get-out. I couldn’t ask for a better song to fit this slot.
Surprise o’ the Year:
- Nightwish // Yesterwynde – My original intent was to place this somewhere on my list proper, but the storm foiled that aspiration, as I rarely got to listen to any new music that came out in late September and pretty much all of October until it was way too late. But when I did get to spend time with Yesterwynde, it continually impressed me. Songs that felt novel and exciting, performances that brimmed with new life, and wonderful pacing from start to finish, Nightwish’s latest record feels like a return to form. I’m excited to follow them on this latest arc in their career.5
Disappointment o’ the Year:
- Vredehammer // God Slayer – The riffs are there, that’s for sure. But the album just doesn’t come together in a way that scratches my brain at all. Therefore, I had the most difficult time sitting through God Slayer. Shame, especially considering how much of a banger each of the previous two records were…
#2024 #Amiensus #Brodequin #Elvellon #Feind #Glassbone #Hamferð #Iotunn #KaliUchis #KenstrositySTopTenIshOf2024 #Khirki #MadderMortem #Myrath #Nightwish #Noxis #OceansOfSlumber #Replicant #Saidan #Scumbag #Sunburst #TheFlaying #UnhallowedDeliverance #Vredehammerð
-
Kenstrosity’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024
By Kenstrosity
When I think back on this year, a year of unprecedented stress and struggle for this sponge, one predominant emotion rises above the rest. Gratitude. I went through hardships I couldn’t possibly have anticipated; watched as harrowing events, both global and domestic, rocked our world; and trudged through time-dilating frights that I only previously experienced in some of my worst nightmares. And yet, I persist! I found myself asking, once again, why I was spared a worse fate where others weren’t? What have I done in life to deserve the good fortune I’ve received? In time I’ve come to believe that understanding the why of it all isn’t always the most important part. In some ways, the pursuit of an answer to “why” even blinds us to more enriching lessons we can learn from the experiences we share, both mundane and extraordinary. These things teach us how to be human, how to grow, how to thrive, and how to come together as a community. So, for what must be the first time of my life, I stopped asking why anything happened, as tempting as that spiral always looked from outside. Instead, I spent all of my energy prioritizing the moment, experiencing it, allowing it to change me and mold me, and to be present in it not just for me, but for my friends, my family, and my neighbors.
Back to gratitude. More so this year than any other, I must express my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude for damn near everyone. When my roommate and I lost everything overnight, I felt completely and utterly overwhelmed by the response. Hands of friends, family, and community reached towards us, open to do whatever they could to help us up. AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Sentynel, GardensTale, Twelve, Dolphin Whisperer, Maddog, Holdeneye, Cherd of Doom, Grymm, El Cuervo, Dr. Wvrm, Ferrous Beuller, Saunders, Eldritch Elitist, Doom_et_Al, Dear Hollow, Carcharodon, Felgund, Ferox, Thus Spoke, Iceberg, Mystikus Hugebeard, Itchy, the n00bs, a shit ton of Discord frens, all of my meatspace friends, Mom, Dad, my sister, some of my extended family, my work colleagues and acquaintances, random kind strangers, even Dr. A. N. Grier went above and beyond to help directly with our recovery. Every single member of staff here did whatever they could to give some relief, far beyond what I could’ve ever asked for, and it overwhelms my little heart to know they cared that deeply. My owlpal and great friend Rolderathis, writer and editor at Toilet ov Hell, unexpectedly swooped in via Discord to jump start our financial recovery by creating a crowdsourcing page for us—even as the admin for AMG planned to do the same. Instrumental to its dissemination and subsequent explosion,1 both AMG Himself and Steel Druhm made sure to aggressively spread the word via an official post on this very site, and in their own circles public and private. Friends and family did the same, to great effect. Toilet ov Hell even posted their own article, too, and I don’t even fucking write there. Incredible. My aunt and her husband helped us replace two full rooms worth of furniture without hesitation, and another close friend of mine provided yet another room’s worth on top of that. Our friends reached far and wide to find opportunities to get us shelter, food, essential items, and vital emotional support. FEMA did more than their part for us as well, and they continue to help us as we navigate the next stages of long-term recovery. My therapist stuck with me through the storm, helped carry me through some concerning emotional blockages shortly after, and continues to guide me now. The continuous waves of support and outreach blew me away, and motivated me to pay it forward in whatever way I was capable for those who were going through hell with us. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
As if a hurricane wasn’t enough to bear, Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer just ten days after the storm hit. Still, there shined small silver linings that kept me going. It was caught very early, and she has already returned home after a resoundingly successful surgery, where they removed the tumor in block.2 As scary as the thought of losing my Mom right after everything else that’s happened was, I choose to emphasize the excellent treatment and attention to detail that allowed Mom to come home quickly and in decent health, all things considered. I choose to be with my family, to live in this moment through the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, so I can be there when the sun inevitably shines again, too. I want to extend a very special thanks to Dad, who remained constantly by Mom’s side and supported her through every stage of this development when I wasn’t able.
All of this merely scratches the surface of everything we’ve gone through in 2024. But we are still here!3 We are living the best we can, helping each other to survive, and perhaps soon to also thrive again. The sense of community I feel not just for my deeply wounded city, but also the people in my life, deepened significantly just in the last few months. These experiences have changed me, changed my outlook on life and on relationships. The fragility of life and the sheer power of the love that comes from the people in it sharpen my understanding of what’s really important. Life is about the people you have, the way you treat them, and how you conduct yourself in this world to try to improve it with your unique light, little by little. It’s about supporting your loved ones as they go through good times just as fiercely as when they go through hardship and change. It’s about growing every day into the very best version of yourself, and being there to witness and celebrate the same journey in those close to you. I understand that more today than ever before, and I am thankful that this lesson, above all else, is my takeaway from 2024.
It’s going to be a while before we can return home to AVL, but I’ve already returned full force to my home away from home, Angry Metal Guy! I’d like to thank Steel Druhm and AMG Himself again for keeping my spot warm for me and for being excellent taskmasters and blogrunners, to Sentynel for keeping things running smoothly on the back end and for being awesome in general at his job, to all the writers for continuously providing the internet with the best worst opinions on metal extant, and to Dr. A. N. Grier for deleting everything I’ve ever written so that nobody has to suffer my silly goofy ramblings.
With that said, everybody should probably snapshot this little Top Ten(ish) of mine before Grier deletes that, too. It looks mighty different to how it would’ve had the storm not happened, both because I couldn’t listen to any new music for a while and because the event itself ushered a sharp shift in my listening preferences. Regardless, I’m happy with my selections, and I fully expect the rest of you to rabble at my confounding omissions.4 Let it commence!
#ish. Elvellon // Ascending in Synergy – Elvellon holds a special place in my heart, and thanks to masterful songsmithing, Ascending in Synergy holds a well-deserved placement on my list. I simply haven’t been able to stop jamming it all year. Ascending in Synergy is everything I loved about metal when I first got into it, and it embodies much of what I love about metal today. It never hurts that the first eight songs are all megaton bangers. This record would have placed nearer the top if it weren’t for the monologue in the penultimate epic. Nonetheless, I love Ascending in Synergy.
#10. Madder Mortem // Old Eyes, New Heart – Ever since Marrow, Madder Mortem successfully won me over where every other album in their back catalog failed to resonate. I can’t explain what exactly it was that captured my adoration all of a sudden, but Old Eyes, New Heart has my heart just as Marrow did before it. Smart compositions, earnest delivery, crystalline lyrics, lush sound, this record has it all. I’d be a fool not to award it placement on this list.
#9. Oceans of Slumber // Where Gods Fear to Speak – Oceans of Slumber carved out an ever-evolving, fearlessly creative, and unique sound for themselves since their inception, but always seemed somewhat inconsistent with the quality of their songwriting. Not so on their magnum opus Where Gods Fear to Speak. Immense, cohesive, and richly layered with detail and compelling songwriting, Where Gods Fear to Speak feels like the culmination of their entire career, fully matured and refined to peak form.
#8. Sunburst // Manifesto – There was a point in time that I was confident Manifesto would top this list. That was largely due to sheer excitement that a new Sunburst album, which I never thought I would see in the first place, actually turned out to be great. Rich compositions, sharp hooks, and a masterful performance from everyone involved, Manifesto solidifies Sunburst as one of the best bands out of the Greek power metal scene. I just hope that I don’t have to wait another eight years for the next one!
#7. Scumbag // Homicide Cult – This record is simply unfair. I had my Top 10 all sorted out, and then some bottle-nosed bastard with a dorsal fin and a propensity for beating up smaller mammals on the wrong side of the sea had me check this out, with the promise of killer riffs by the main Noxis guitarist. That bastard was right, this record absolutely rips. There are so many unbelievably filthy, stank-face inducing riffs on Homicide Cult that I had to get plastic surgery to look like myself again. Otherwise, I’d look more like my rotted-out friend on the cover.
#6. Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System – Death metal this good hits me in a special place. While embodying all of the skullcrushing ways of olde, Violence Inherent in the System represents one of the most creative, smart, and well-produced records in modern death metal currently. And while my review helped spike the hype, it still feels a bit like Noxis are running further under the radar than they deserve. Coming out of absolute nowhere and dropping the best straight-up death metal of the year? Unreal.
#5. Feind // Ambulante Hirnamputation – Grind, and all of its hybrids, never once made it on my proper Top 10. I’ve written here for six years. That’s how powerful Feind’s Ambulante Hirnamputation truly is. Immense fun, more quality riffs stuffed into less than twenty minutes than some of the best records can fit into an hour, and cheeky to boot, Ambulante Hirnamputation proves that Feind mastered the grindset. Let’s hope this isn’t the last I get to hear of Feind.
#4. Brodequin // Harbinger of Woe – In contrast to grind, I almost always have a brutal death metal record on my Top 10. It’s a style that resonates with me very easily, and there’s never a shortage of it for my personal enjoyment. Brodequin won the day in a year chock full of great options, with the immensely accessible Harbinger of Woe. The sheer level of groove brimming from this torture chamber sends my booty into overdrive, and the thick, nasty production only serves to enhance the entire experience. There’s very little else I could ask for to sate my brutal death cravings.
#3. Iotunn // Kinship – It’s been a banner year for our friend Jon Aldará. Where Iotunn’s Access All Worlds interested, but did not woo, me, follow-up Kinship absolutely rocked my socks. Every single track is a celebration of epic, melodic, and deeply immersive extreme metal. Gorgeous compositions, ascendant guitar work, ridiculous replay value, and stellar vocals propelled Kinship way up on my list of favorite records at a blistering pace, leaving me revelling in an idyllic honeymoon period. Even after investing more time marinating in its wondrous environs, I’ve only fallen deeper and deeper in love with it. I just can’t imagine how Iotunn are going to top this.
#2. Replicant // Infinite Mortality – This is the year for records that floored me where their predecessors didn’t. Replicant’s Malignant Reality was enjoyable, but couldn’t touch my Top 10 in its year. Infinite Mortality, on the other hand, made a valiant bid for Album o’ the Year from the very first riff kicking “Acid Mirror” into the stratosphere. Hardcore-tinged technical death metal for fans of the discordant and the unorthodox, Infinite Mortality is supremely memorable not just for its sound, but for its infallible, hook-laden construction. Infinite Mortality may not be the only record of its kind released this year, but it’s without a doubt the greatest.
#1. Myrath // Karma – Hurricane Helene took my home. It changed the ecology, geology, and pedology of the entire Asheville region, likely for all time. But one thing it couldn’t take from me is my spirit, my drive to survive, and my determination to thrive. Even during a long period where access to music was a rare luxury, Karma remained at the forefront of my mind. It held me from giving up and reminded me of the strength that burgeoned not just in myself, but also in my friends, family, and greater community as we rebuilt our lives together. If there was ever a record released this year that embodies that spirit of triumph over adversity, it’s Myrath’s incredible Karma. It was always going to be high on this list, thanks to its insanely memorable songwriting and passionate performances of univerally great songs. However, it wasn’t until I personally resonated with its empowering message in the context of a devastating natural disaster that I knew this would be, unquestionably, my Album o’ the Year.
Honorable Mentions
- Amiensus // Reclamation Pt. II – Thoughtful, dynamic, and immersive, Reclamation Pt. II represents the pinnacle of what I like in progressive black metal.
- The Flaying // Ni dieu ni maître – Unsung melodic death metal heroes The Flaying offer up nonstop hooks and a crazy bass performance delivered at a feral pace.
- Hamferð // Men Guds hond er sterk – Empotionally compelling and monstrously heavy, Men Guds hond er sterk is death doom at its peak form.
- Khirki // Κυκεώνας – Massively dynamic hard rock that comes from the heart and the head, not the butt.
- Saidan // Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity – Fun, fast, ferocious, Visual Kill is an unqualified blast of killer hyper-melodic black metal.
- Unhallowed Deliverance // Of Spectres and Strife – Deathcore rarely offers this level of dynamics and quality in songwriting, and it hits like a runaway train full of unstable nuclear warheads.
Non-Metal Album o’ the Year
- Kali Uchis // Orquídeas – Simply put, this album is pure sex. Period.
EP o’ the Year
- Glassbone // Deaf to Suffering – Far and away the slimiest, crustiest, and bestest slam of the year. Absolute filth.
Song o’ the Year
- Elvellon – “A Vagabond’s Heart” – Easily my most listened to song of the year, “A Vagabond’s Heart” strikes a special chord in my spirit that embodies everything I used to love and everything I love today. Furthermore, it leaves me hopeful and excited for what the future holds. As a delightful bonus, it’s catchy as all get-out. I couldn’t ask for a better song to fit this slot.
Surprise o’ the Year:
- Nightwish // Yesterwynde – My original intent was to place this somewhere on my list proper, but the storm foiled that aspiration, as I rarely got to listen to any new music that came out in late September and pretty much all of October until it was way too late. But when I did get to spend time with Yesterwynde, it continually impressed me. Songs that felt novel and exciting, performances that brimmed with new life, and wonderful pacing from start to finish, Nightwish’s latest record feels like a return to form. I’m excited to follow them on this latest arc in their career.5
Disappointment o’ the Year:
- Vredehammer // God Slayer – The riffs are there, that’s for sure. But the album just doesn’t come together in a way that scratches my brain at all. Therefore, I had the most difficult time sitting through God Slayer. Shame, especially considering how much of a banger each of the previous two records were…
#2024 #Amiensus #Brodequin #Elvellon #Feind #Glassbone #Hamferð #Iotunn #KaliUchis #KenstrositySTopTenIshOf2024 #Khirki #MadderMortem #Myrath #Nightwish #Noxis #OceansOfSlumber #Replicant #Saidan #Scumbag #Sunburst #TheFlaying #UnhallowedDeliverance #Vredehammerð
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CW: Shotas x Adult, smalldom, dub-con, public sex, piss drinking, Anal, Blowjob
Holy shit imagine an inverse of the Town Slut trope where instead of the victim being the smaller one, its a society of self governed boys who captured a hapless hitchiker.
Their leader makes a decision that this man henceforth is going to be the "Towel Boy" for the rest of them. What this ends up meaning is that the Adult is allowed to walk around the bounds as normal, but any boy is allowed to tell him to stop and just, pee on him. Just for the sake of doing it. Adult of course doesnt find out this is the deal until he's already confronted by a shota with his "firehose" ready.
Adult has to get on his knees and let Fireboy pee in his mouth. Adult tries to tell himself, its a kid- it wouldnt be that much, they have small bladders. A small penis the length of lip gloss slips between his lips. Fireboy puts his hands on Adults head and pulls him forward so cock is on Adults tongue.
"Ha...nuh uh- you gotta take all of it" says Fireboy, shuddering a little as his penis bobbed from the sensation of Adults mouth already. A small dribble starts to leak from his tip and he sighs with relief as he pees into the back of Adult's throat.
Adult is just striken and horrified by how much more crazy this got so fast and gags at first before getting lightly papped on the cheek by Fireboy. "Don't waste it! Swallow all of it. All of it!" he complained.
Adult closes his eyes and tries his best to swallow and open his esophagus without touching the kids cock any further. He ended up needing to do a deep gulp that was accompanied with a slurping sound as his tongue glided around Fireboys tip.
And clearly, Fireboy is so horny, knowing exactly what he was doing. He ends up face fucking Adults mouth by pushing him to the ground and humping Adult's mouth shamelessly. Adult cant get up because what ends up happening is Fireboy is so horny, he wants to suck off Adult as well.
When Adult's cock swings free and firm, Fireboy drools on it in anticipation. He starts by licking at the topside of the base, working his way down to head and nuzzling Adult's cream from the dribbling tip. Fireboy's hips start to shudder and he realizes Adult is doing it on his own! Whats worse is he's touching Fireboys love handles, spreading his butt.
Fireboy is hungry for it too, he winks his hole at Adult, almost as if to tease him more. A needy moan came from Fireboy as Adult deftly slid his middle finger deep inside Fireboy's butt. Adult is panting, hearing how needily the boy is panting, as the thought dawns on him that theres nothing for his life escaping from here anyway and there wasnt much to lose with just going along with it. Plus the boy started it so- it wasnt his fault,
Adult just finished what Fireboy started.Fireboy curls over and pants hard as Adult squishes around their butt, making wet noises as Fireboy's penis started to drip a string of precum down to Adult's chest.
Adult is then easily able to roll out from under Fireboy and mount the kid, holding his shaking hands and staring down at his quivering cock, inches from Fireboy's hole. He winks his butt at Adult again with a pant. "Aha? I'm so bad aren't I? Daddy has to punish me-" he cooed easily.
That does it. Adult sinks his cock into Fireboys cheeky behind and in one smooth slide, bottoms out right away. Fireboy, becoming filled was enough to make him cum right away, painting a splatter on the pavement. But Adult wasnt done yet
This was a weird town. A mild amount of onlookers had stopped what they were doing to watch, some of them even with camera phones or their own cocks out they rubbed while watching. This one kid even cheered him on!
"Creampie! Creampie!" was shouted until a chant started. "Creampie Creampie Creampie!" Like a dark ritual.
Adult doesnt need to be told five times, he fucks Fireboys hole as the heat built up in his cock. The boy was so pliable but still warm and delicious. Fireboy was even arching his back again, almost ready to cum a second time.
Adult holds Fireboy by the hips and lifts him off the ground, so he was plunged full of cock, feet hovering in the air. Adult grunts and feels his balls tighten, delivering a load of fresh cream to paint the walls of Fireboy's tunnel. He made one more thrust, groaning as a thick chaser released, Fireboy moaning happily.
Adult took few more slow thrusts ro really make sure that he was out, then lifted Fireboy off his cock, strings of his cum breaking as he disconnected them both. Fireboys hole was shuddering, cum leaking down in little rivulets from his ass.
Now sooner than Adult turned around, boys were starting to get in line to have their turn too.
#BeebzFic #shota #pee #watersports #piss #pissdrinking #facefuck #smalldom #agegap #creampie #anal #shotastory #hornyideas #gooning #blowjob #publicsex #vouyerism #exhibitionism #analsex #analcreampie #dubcon
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A few weeks ago, we had our second experience of the wonderful community that is the Electromagnetic Field festival.
The EMF24 sign: solar panel, water installations, and recycled circuitboards.Electromagnetic Field [background here] is also known as EMF or #emfcamp – a festival initiated by Jonty Wareing and Russ Garrett over a decade ago. It is entirely, and wonderfully, volunteer-run and community-oriented.
We first went to EMF two years ago, and that time, took a car filled up with a lot of camping gear, and as many gadgets as I could cram in alongside. For some reason, the only place I wrote much about that trip was in my newsletter… which I have been neglecting a lot, much like this blog. On that trip, we camped near to the Guild of Makers, had no particular expectations, and just had a fantastic time exploring and learning. I built an RC2014 Micro in one of the workshops, and went to some great talks.
A Plan
This year, with our Forge & Craft studio becoming more established, we wanted to do something more. I submitted two talks, one of which was accepted; we applied to be a part of the Null Sector Night Market; and, with all of the maker stuff we wanted to take along, we decided to hire a camper van and set up an area for drop-in workshops around our craft (pen plotting, vinyl cutting, heat pressing, sublimation et al… I didn’t take a 3D printer as well, but did seriously consider it!).
We even made a sign. Previous tenants of our studio had left a giant empty frame in the storage area, which we repurposed with some plywood and paint (a future upgrade will probably include some LEDs, but I didn’t have the time before the event to make those happen this time around).
A large square wooden frame painted white, with a Forge & Craft logo and URL in dark blue.About ten days before we were due to set off, the owner of the camper we’d booked let us know that the boiler was leaking and that we’d have no hot water, but on balance, that was a compromise we were OK with… The van (named Louna, and hired through Quirky Campers) was lovely, beautifully kitted out, straightforward to drive, and it worked really well for us, even when we had some mud-related challenges getting parked up at the top north east corner of the EMF site, and getting back off that spot on the morning that we left (our wonderful neighbours were good enough to give us a quick push off to get us on our way).
The Experience
There are a number of other write-ups of how folks experienced EMF 2024, and pretty much all of them have different content and highlight different things, many of which are miscellany that I missed around the site. That is to say – EMF has a lot of diverse and interesting stuff to discover.
This time I felt like an experienced hand, even as someone that had only been along once before. It turned out that several of my friends were going to be there for the first time, and had already sought advice and made connection with me about travel, planned location etc. We ended up parked at the far top corner of the site, opposite Null Sector, but also close to the Guild of Makers village that we were again loosely affiliated with (also, we’re thrilled about the MBE awarded to our brilliant GoM friend Dr Lucy Rogers!). It turns out that having a surrounding sheet of steel to sleep inside was reasonably sound-insulating compared to a tent, so we did mostly manage to get some sleep, despite the proximity to the loud late-night music generation zone!
There are far Too Many Things to write about in detail, here is but a small flavour.
Talks
I went to a handful of talks; there were too many on my planned schedule across the 4 days, but realised I would never see everything, so I sniped at some key ones and resolved to catch up on recordings of others when possible.
- I finally saw Ellie Huxtable talk about shell history with Atuin (I missed this talk at FOSDEM although did get to meet Ellie there, and she was unable to join State of Open Con, so I’m glad to have seen this!). I’m now gradually installing and learning Atuin on each device and system I regularly use.
- Love love loved Shan Sun‘s talk about becoming a maker! So interesting, and a reminder that folks from all kinds of backgrounds can find joy in creating things. Shan’s lighthouses installation in Null Sector was also really cool.
- The talk about Tiny Toolkits was really good, and has caused me to add an array of small and handy tools to my “wanted” lists…!
- There was a fun talk about connecting Arduino boards to the web, which had some great demos inside it.
- Lucy gave an inspiring talk about looking Up, and the science above our heads. Looking forward to her book on this subject.
- After my experience (and illegal treatment) by the company that used to be Twitter UK as directed by the new owner, I found the discussion about Why Tech Needs Unions very interesting. A topic about which I now, in middle age, have a lot of Thoughts, which I may share at some point.
- Martin Hamilton‘s fabulous rewind to the 1990s session about the origins of web search and how AI and capitalism have largely ruined things, was great. After briefly flirting with some other options, I’m now mostly using SearXNG for my search needs where I can. Be More Goat! 🐐
For my own time on stage, it was exciting to be able to deliver a new version of a talk I’d previously given as a 45 minute closing keynote, in a more focused 20 minute slot. I talked about the history of computer art and pen plotters – computer-driven drawing machines – and how I’ve now built several of them. There was, however, an A/V bump in the road, so I definitely lost a bit of momentum and content along the way when I had to reboot halfway though 😬 video to follow, on this one. You can find the related links and notes here.
Thanks to my friend Jacqui for taking some nice photos of me on stage!Sights
As with the talks, so very many things I could mention here, and still more we didn’t even get to encounter. Let’s summarise a few.
- the on-site (wired) phone system was, once more, a delight – it made me a bit sad that I didn’t bring anything to plug into it, again.
- a man played a Theremin to drive the output of a Tesla coil.
- there was a series of murder mystery games involving the death of our beloved Clippy. I did not play these, but loved the idea and execution and heard that a lot of people did get really engaged in solving the crime!
- A physical version of Flappy Bird! Just brilliantly executed, I loved it.
This was in the main bar; the whole of the Arcade (a separate space) was also fantastic, although I did not have a lot of time to explore. I was excited to see some games there built using Downpour, which I recently talked about on our weekly podcast. - The most engaging and intriguing installation for me was Shadowplay (inside Null Sector), from Joseph Lindley, Roger Whitham, and Jesse Benjamin. An absolutely fascinating live demonstration of image diffusion [aka generative AI] effects applied to video capture. No particular reason, except that it was cool. I could have played in there for ages!
Hacks
On to the physical “making” I got involved with…
- in 2022 I missed a workshop I was interested in on Building a Tiny Satellite Ground Station; this time, I successfully made it in. I enjoyed the experience of building a small 1⁄4-wave ground plane antenna and hooking it up to TinyGS running on a LilyGo LoRA board.
- When I got home, I excitedly started to poke around in the TinyGS project, but it seems a bit tricky to get involved with – only parts of it are open source / source-available, and the community discussion is largely on Telegram. I’m finding myself more frustrated than I’d like – I definitely would love to contribute to documentation and so forth, but have not really found a way to do so. It is fun to set up, but (my impression is that it is) not so easy to take it further. Back burner, and I may give up on it if I can’t figure out how to help and get helped.
- The Tildagon badge is great! I really enjoyed following it from announcement, through pre-event discussion, to collecting mine at the event and continuing to figure out what is possible afterwards.
- Before EMF I tentatively created up a few 3D printed addon Hexpansions, and some folks were able to confirm that they should fit, so I made a set of simple spirit level pieces, which other attendees seemed to enjoy. I’ll be making more, and you can find the designs on Printables as well. I like the concept that a hexpansion can be anything from a piece of card, through to a fully-functional electronic peripheral which contributes software to the main badge, and that we can continue to iterate on this design in the future.
- I ported my previous 2022 badge Duck Facts app as an app on the Tildagon, for all your vital Duck Facts – @emfducks, you’re welcome, QUACK! 🦆
- Before EMF I tentatively created up a few 3D printed addon Hexpansions, and some folks were able to confirm that they should fit, so I made a set of simple spirit level pieces, which other attendees seemed to enjoy. I’ll be making more, and you can find the designs on Printables as well. I like the concept that a hexpansion can be anything from a piece of card, through to a fully-functional electronic peripheral which contributes software to the main badge, and that we can continue to iterate on this design in the future.
The Magic
On Friday, we had a spot in the Night Market. We loved the experience of being there, talking to people about pen plotters and our art (and also, encouraging folks to come to see us at the pop-up by our camper, or to my talk), and making some sales. This was our first time selling as Forge & Craft outside of our own open studios, and a very different audience.
The response was really wonderful, and it felt like a great place to be.
Our stand in the Night Market, selling plots, prints, and a few HexpansionsA very busy Night MarketThe only tiny piece of feedback I had was that the Night Market space itself was relatively small for the amount of footfall and traffic that came through – we could easily have used a full table, and having a bit more space for visitors may have made it feel a little less crammed in – nonetheless, Thank You so much to the organisers for having us, it was an absolutely great experience and we barely noticed the time rush by up until the 1am (!) close!
One more magical thing, was that this was an event at which Mastodon and the Fediverse came into their own!
- Ahead of the event, I put together a Fediwall to track associated hashtags and accounts across a range of popular and related Mastodon servers. As EMF approached, the chatter became more noticeable, and I began to follow a lot of interesting folks I had not previously been aware of.
(also, you can follow hashtags on Mastodon, which can help to build a network around your areas of interest, particularly if you are on a larger server). - My old friend James Smith proposed a Fediverse Friends meetup – which unfortunately overlapped with our Night Market time, but there were two of us to man our stall, so I was able to pop out and put some faces to Fediverse handles. I even brought Mastodon stickers and (for the fortunate few who got one) some magnets as well. Even if you were not at the meetup, hopefully you may have found a cheeky Mastodon logo sticker waiting to be collected somewhere else on the site 🦣 😉
- A key element was that every organising team at the event was on the Fediverse (specifically, GoToSocial, which is what their server uses, but easily followable on Mastodon, thank you ActivityPub), and attendees could use that to keep up with announcements and news. And, in the end, the wonderful @DrLucyRogers joined in the fun! I also managed to persuade the TinyGS project to set up their account.
- There were installations that connected to the Fediverse! Fabulous! This really felt like the early days of Web 2.0 platforms again, to some extent – it could easily have been 2010 all over again, with a dot matrix printer that sat in the main bar printing out Mastodon posts with the specific hashtag (thank you Matt Gray!), and a fax machine in the Null Sector bar that took in physically doodled images and posted them on Mastodon.
The Feeling
This.
I came back feeling energised and enriched, having reconnected with my communities. We had a great time.
Roll on 2026. Thank you to everyone involved.
Postscript: I did some babbling about EMF on the podcast a couple of weeks ago, as well, just at the start. Why not take a listen?
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https://andypiper.co.uk/2024/06/20/energized-mood-flux/
#art #camping #community #emf2024 #emfcamp #forgeAndCraft #making #penplotter #publicSpeaking #Technology #volunteering
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Interview with controlfreak
“I see and hear the world through a filter of tape noise, glitch and warble.”
NHAM: Hey control! First of all, what’s the best way to address you? ctrl? C2? ctrlfrk? control.org? controlfreak? Or did we get it right first time?! And how did you come to adopt these monikers?
controlfreak: All valid.
As a teen it was hard finding other kids that would show up to band practice. So I decided to just do all the things as needed, jokingly as a control freak but mostly just for dependability. Shout out to 4-track cassette. I also have a hard time turning the other cheek to the litany of terrible things in the world that are realistically well out of our individual control. Plus it’s made for a rad domain for approaching 30 years.
Hack the planet.
NHAM: Well it’s lovely to have this opportunity to catch up with you thanks to a brand new release: an album of 10 unique covers, called REPLICATE1.0.
You’ve chosen to cover a range of artists including Editors, Hilary Duff, Soft Cell and Siouxsie and the Banshees. How did you go about choosing which 10 tracks you wanted to cover?
controlfreak: While there are historical and personal ancillary and tertiary reasons certain tracks resonate and made the cut, the primary and absolute definitive criteria was Rule no.1, do I yell it at the top of my lungs when doing loud farm work with closed ears on? That’s the secret sauce!
There were a few complicating factors. First, I don’t like covers and other than for some encore sets in tours over the decades, haven’t really published any. But as many of us do, I’ve had an obscenely long list of candidate tracks should and if I were to tackle some. The variety on the whiteboard is wild.
I’m an ex-drummer not a singer, which makes quite a few tracks I’d love to musically tackle, a bit more, daunting.
Individual track lore can be found on the album page.
NHAM: Would it be fair to say you like to add an extra ounce of oontz, a gritty edge if you will, to broadly electronic, synth pop?
controlfreak: Sure. I court the structures of dance music but exist in an industrial wasteland.
To my mind there can never be enough kick drum(s).
I feel after a certain point, hyper clarity and sterile overproduction has far overshot any utility, so I prefer a “flawed” human touch and organic grit.
I see and hear the world through a filter of tape noise, glitch and warble. My head is full of horror soundtracks to movies I’ll never afford to make. I do have the production background where I could possibly make more pop accessible sounds, but turns out it’s just not my nature. I’m in a good space personally when being less clinical and more organic, chunky, broken and abrasive. Sounding angry is my happy place. I appreciate it’s not for most but always excited when folks cut loose and dip a toe into my dark oontz waters.
On REPLICATE 1.0 I tried to not get too abstract and deconstructive. I hope I put my “sound” stamp there but with some reverence to the source material to be well recognisable. If it induces a wee head scratch or, even better, a nod I am amped to have anyone along for the ride.
NHAM: You only allowed yourself one or two vocal takes on any of the tracks on this album. What was the reasoning for this? Not wanting to put too much strain in yourself / Not wanting to fall in to the eternal pit of perfectionism / or something else?
controlfreak: All of the above. This was Rule no.2 for the project. I had to do all the vocals and force one-takes for all parts. Most days during this project’s creation, one take was more than I could physically muster.
Could I have done better on many vocals especially at later times, absolutely, but this was the rule. The decision to do a vocal session was sometimes because I felt like I could and sometimes because I felt there was no way I could, each surprising me at times in all directions. Also, nothing is ever “done”. As a healing project, it was important to document where I was and what I could or couldn’t do. There is pain, failure, determination and success all in here and I’m enjoying the reflection. Did I text a friend a couple nights in this process that I blacked out during vocal tracking, yes, yes I did. Lore.
NHAM: Do you have a favourite of the ten covers?
controlfreak: My favourites in terms of personal resonance with the source material but also reflecting on persevering and actually managing to do them at all are “I Felt the Pain” by Anything Box, and “Be Mine” from Robyn.
My overall favourite in a sincerely comical way is of course the Hilary Duff track “With Love”. A few metropolitan terrestrial radio shows have played that one and I have quite a chuckle thinking of someone nipping out to grab a cheeky Nando’s and bumping scan on the radio and getting hit with EBM Hilary Duff.
NHAM: There are guest appearances on a few of the tracks from Adam Colegrove, Jamie Hill and Shannon Curtis. Tell us more about how and why these came about
controlfreak: Part of the rules of the project was I had to do everything myself, especially the vocals, which is my least favourite and capable part.
However, another part of my challenge for 2025 was if I wake up in the morning, I want to make music with friends. Since I have been working in parallel on original music, remixes for others and some collabs, I felt it was still in the spirit of the game to bring in some tiniest bits of morale boosting cameos for REPLICATE.
I had been touring with Adam’s projects for years where we’d show up in each others’ live sets, and he has featured on multiple control.org and C2 releases (see PENTALOGY and the fourth estate medicate video).
I could write an entire coffee table book on how awesome Shannon (@shannoncurtis) and Jamie (@hilljam) are. The precursor to attempting this covers project was doing some remixes to get back in the studio via I Am and One Thread. They had zero hesitation in allowing me to endirtify their gorgeous work. Their energy is infectious. Their encouragement is unwavering. Their 80s Kids covers project was a huge boost for me to really have a go at compiling and finishing REPLICATE. I can’t send enough black heart emojis their way.
It’s also been very positive getting many old and dear art and life friends embedded into the upcoming original albums.
That others are willing to abet and contribute to my a/v hijinks is just wild.
NHAM: You’ve said this project was a ‘vehicle to try and get back into producing music’. It certainly seems to have been successful as the past few months have seen you make remixes for other people, play live shows, release a music video AND you’re currently deep in to work on a new album. Can you elaborate on why your creative output had previously stalled?
controlfreak: I have been generically open that serious scary and debilitating health declines stole much more than just my creative time/space/energy.
During recent years one of my means of trying to put two fingers in the air to my situation was mostly anonymous extreme volunteerism on music community building projects. I have two settings, go too hard, and go way too hard. I’m told it helped many but it was neither safe nor good for me.
Having to be an infinite fountain of positivity and a community pillar is one of the hardest things I’ve done. Having to be chronically online to infinitely seed positivity and hope against the monolithic doom of ALL social web/media including if not especially the Fedi is hard.
Unending requests, misconceptions and assumptions, hate et al at the project are one thing, but THE WORST was being stuck in a front seat bearing witness and proxy to so much struggle, and how hard it is out there for all the cousins, especially the bard class. That takes a massive toll. Already in physical health debt this all added an emotional and mental debt that came due.
The wild irony is doing all the things to foster positive organic community building, activism against tools that make life harder for artists, and exploring how to normalise direct support for independent and marginalised artists relegated my personal artistic output at zero.
Selfish as it may be, for self preservation I needed to make space to try to fight to make the space to even be able to sit at a studio desk for 15 minutes. Then see about getting back into making noise as a release valve and fuel for my health battle. Remixes were the dipping of the toe, the covers album project was the cannonball into the deep end. The live shows were wildly ambitious but fully supported by my awesome clinical team. As some confidence and energy built, more work on originals started to take place concurrently.
I hope to continue growing creative activities with recordings, live sets, remixes and sound commissions in 2026.
NHAM: Although it may have come at the expense of your own work, what you managed to do with RFF was huge. You built and galvanised a whole community – a scene around Fedi music – one with kindness, compassion and community at its core. You must be proud of what you achieved there?
controlfreak: It’s nice to see resonance and ripples in community and ethos of things I did differently to prove there was a place for organising and rallying organic community, attribution, consent, empathy, normalising as direct as possible support for indie artists.
Problem being, on the “social” interwebs there is no cruise control. That galvanisation requires someone to be always on, always connected to the many, and always fighting. Fighting: atrophy; platform splintering/visibility/reach/scale/enshitification; bad dev actors (indie and corpo bros alike); funding going to projects that will not help artists and/or in fact harm marginalised folks; the VIP talking head class that hate artists taking a gram of attention from them; IRL doom; and the general walls of noise. That’s a lot of fronts to fight in order to be positive and uplifting. The Fedi has been very good at burning out anyone with a sense of duty to community.
RFF got proper out of control in the best sense for artists and friends for a few years. It was a powerful moment in time where together we proved a project and “popular” account could be totally about lifting up others which was like magnetic repulsion for the egotistical number go up movers and shakers. That level of “isolation” in plain sight and the always on and fighting sucked exponentially for the hamster sprinting in the wheel.
So yeah, love/hate. Loved the results for others, hated being stuck there. I hope the gauntlet thrown down helped adjust some durable baselines for how we treat artists, one another, and how we might assemble and celebrate in spaces outside of as many corporate and influencer stresses and pitfalls as possible.
NHAM: Tell us a little more about yourself. Where are you based, where have you come from, where have you been and how important has music been throughout your life?
controlfreak: I live at the foot of a mountain in the middle of nowhere on an island in the middle of nowhere.
Toured in the 2010s (fun!), but mostly the 90s (less fun!) as an artist, DJ, engineer, hired gun, all the things. Hilarious and traumatising road stories for days.
I was apparently attending some rather rocking concerts in the womb and then up on shoulders. I grew up on the road with a rock band. I was treated as an adult with agency, respect and as one of the crew. There were always pillows or milk crates around so I could sit or stand wherever I wanted to learn how to do all the technical stage and performance things. I was legit working tech crew as an ankle biter. There is old film of me at barely six years old sitting in on drums utterly dwarfed by the kit.
My musical upbringing was light on formality and theory, but very practical and from the literal school of rock. I was always supported and encouraged to perform, experiment and discover. As much as my mum had a fit over me rewiring everything and had to endure daily drumming, decades later she was still front and centre at my recent online concerts taking screenshots and being amped up for hours afterward. She said, “you can never be dark enough to scare me off”. Nice one mum.
NHAM: Currently in progress, what might we expect from your upcoming original album?
controlfreak: I’ve just released some more videos, the latest volume in my mangled sound asset series Broke and Dirt 004, and on 19th March I’ll be performing the control.org album manipulate, celebrating its 25th release anniversary for the *ahem* NHAM in concert series!
Coming up next for original releases is a control.org album called ERADICATE. It is primarily stripped down EBM and industrial club bangers with a few usual introspective and goth adjacent excursions.
Hoping to drum up (lol) remix, sound asset, soundtrack etc. donate-what-you-can commissions and, for continued support in this years studio campaign so I can also develop more custom live shows, do more collabs; an EP of reworking old material called REGENERATE; and the next covers album REPLICATE 2.0. All outlined here. There are even more album plans on the whiteboard of doom.
NHAM: And outside of the music what keeps you ticking? We’ve seen some lovely posts of your garden, your cat and even your own carefully manicured cricket strip!controlfreak: Thanks to friends and lovely strangers’ support last year, I’ve been able to again explore music as a therapeutic tool to be as vertical as I can for as long as I can. But, yes, other things I do in my bloody minded manner that both on paper and in practice I should not be doing are subsistence farming and fast bowling. Shout out again to my clinical team for encouraging my resistance.
NHAM: Lovely to chat with you. We love the new covers album, Replicate 1.0, and are very much looking forward to the new album when it comes. Stay vertical!
controlfreak: And Stomp in Solidarity!
Replicate 1.0 is out now! -
“Some Call Me Landrew”: Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone
Today is 35 years since Andrew Wood left us, and so we’re going to take a look at both albums we have on The List from him: Malfunkshun’s Return to Olympus and Mother Love Bone’s Apple. Below I include a few quotes from Mark Yarm’s fantastic Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge (2011). I’d highly recommend checking out the rest of the book; Chapters 3, 13, and 21 in particular focus on both bands, Andrew, and his impact on the Seattle scene in the 1980s/90s and beyond, via interviews with those who knew and loved him including his bandmates, fiancée Xana La Fuente, and roommate Chris Cornell.
Malfunkshun – Return to Olympus (1995, US)[1]
Formed in 1980 by brothers Andrew and Kevin Wood (then 14 and 19 years old, respectively) in Bainbridge Island (a suburb of Seattle) first under the name “Report Malfunction” with Dave Hunt on drums and Dave Rees on bass, the original era of Malfunkshun saw them settle as a trio with Regan Hagar on drums. For anyone who has heard Mother Love Bone but not its precursor, Malfunkshun’s sound is perhaps not too far away with one foot firmly in glam punk/rock and the other in that nebulous space often referred to as “grunge”, but often heavier, louder, with more metal tinges and big guitar solos.
Tom Price (U-Men/Cat Butt/Gas Huffer guitarist): The thing that always cracked me up about Malfunkshun – and the thing I loved about them – was that they would come to the end of the song and Andrew or Kevin would jump in the air to signal, Okay, the song ends here. Boom! But nobody would stop playing – the band would just keep going and going and going. Every show they did was one big, long song with a monster guitar solo all over it.
Regar Hagar: I feel like – and, of course, I probably romanticize things – Malfunkshun changed the sound of the city by putting metal into punk, which was such a taboo for a band like the Fartz, who would never, ever have a guitar solo.[2]
From an early age, Andrew had a class clown, theatrical, ‘I’m going to be a rock star’ personality, and he brought this with full force to Malfunkshun. Andrew’s amazing, big-arena-vibes stage presence that became more widely known through Mother Love Bone can already be clearly heard in the Malfunkshun recordings. Andrew would label their sound “Love Rock”, and used 333 (i.e., the opposite of black metal’s 666) to represent them numerically. Strongly influenced by KISS, each member of the band had their own character, with backstories at least partially created by Andrew:
Hagar: Andy had the band on paper. He had notebooks full of drawings, descriptions, histories, all made up. In the beginning, my character was Thundar…I’m Nordic. I have this love of Vikings, and I was thunderous. Andy got his name, Landrew the Love God, from an episode of Star Trek – there was a character who spread love and was this omnipresent love person.
Kevin Wood: I originally was calling myself Ded Springsteen, as a protest against Bruce Springsteen…And then I changed into Kevin Stein…I just wanted to have a different last name…
Hagar: [Andrew]’d regularly speak to the balcony – and there wouldn’t be a balcony. He’d do typical rock banter: “How you doing’ tonight?” “Let me hear ya in the balcony!” Lots of “Hello, Seattle!”s. It sounds almost too cheeky, but the way he delivered it was just great. He brought big rock to a small-punk ethic.[3]
While Malfunkshun was very active and loved as a live band, the band’s only releases in this original era were on two compilations put out by C/Z Records, namely two tracks on the holy grail that is Deep Six (1986), as well as another two on the also fantastic but often ignored Another Pyrrhic Victory (1989). In other words, Sub Pop really screwed up by not signing this band. The album we look at here, Return to Olympus, consists of recordings from 1986 to 1987 (including both APV tracks), released 5 years after Andrew’s death on Hagar and Stone Gossard’s label, Loosegroove.
Malfunkshun was essentially shelved as a project around 1987/88 when Andrew and Hagar started jamming with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament (then of the fabulous Green River, who were in the midst of breaking up), which eventually resulted in Mother Love Bone. Kevin Wood would go on to form/join a number of bands (often with other Wood brother Brian), including The Fire Ants, Devilhead, Satchel, and Brad.
About a year after the premiere of the 2005 documentary Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story, Kevin and Hagar would then resurrect Malfunkshun, with Shawn Smith as vocalist and with new songs featuring lyrics written by Andrew. The band has since undergone a few name and lineup changes, eventually returning to the original name with Kevin now the only original member. I’m not sure if the band is still active today, but the Bandcamp has both new era releases (dating up to 2021) and previously unreleased recordings from the original era. The Bandcamp also has the digital version of Olympus Awaits, the fantastic comp of material from the original era that Southern Lord put out for RSD just last year, which includes nearly all of Return to Olympus on the first LP (though oddly missing the great “Until the Ocean”) plus another LP of gems including the two Deep Six tracks.
- Songlink: Malfunkshun – Return to Olympus
- Discogs: Malfunkshun – Return to Olympus
- Bandcamp: Malfunkshun
Mother Love Bone – Apple (1990, US)[4]
Malfunkshun and Green River used the same practice spaces for a few years, and so perhaps it was inevitable that they would start jamming with each other. Beginning as a cover band in 1987 called Lords of the Wasteland with Andrew Wood, Regan Hagar, Stone Gossard, and Jeff Ament, how the Mother Love Bone lineup eventually settled was a bit awkward. By early 1988, Bruce Fairweather (like Gossard and Ament, formerly of Green River) was brought in on guitar instead of Kevin Wood, and Hagar was rather unceremoniously dropped to bring in drummer Greg Gilmore (formerly of 10 Minute Warning). Their final form, however, was magic. It created the perfect platform for Andrew to continue what he had started with Malfunkshun, not just to continue to hone his craft as a frontman, songwriter, and lyricist (the keen ear will pick up some shared lyrics between the two bands[5]), but also to bring his big-stage-vibes Love Rock to the actual big stage.
Nils Bernstein (Sub Pop Records publicist): In Malfunkshun, Andy was very clearly being a character. And with Mother Love Bone it was like, Oh, wait a minute, this is a commercial rock band with aspirations. They’re doing the Landrew rock-star shtick, but it didn’t have the cool, underground feeling of Malfunkshun. It was like instead of playing a rock star, he was being a rock star.
By November 1988, the band had offers from multiple labels and chose to sign with PolyGram. A few months later their debut EP, Shine was released, containing one of the greatest songs of all time, “Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns” (the latter part of which will also show up on their LP). A few months after that, the band recorded their debut LP, Apple, slated to be released in March 1990.
Given that Andrew died mere weeks before Apple was to be released, it’s essentially impossible to talk about Mother Love Bone without touching on their tragic end, not dissimilar to that of Joy Division. The band was just getting going, they were on the eve of making it big…and then their charismatic frontman was suddenly gone, ending the band and leaving a giant hole in the tight-knit scene, a loss that profoundly affected those who were there.
Unlike with Joy Division though, I (and I’m sure many others) reach for their music to pick me up, and I do so frequently; it never fails to put a smile on my face. The music is fantastic, the lyrics are often completely ridiculous, and Andrew’s star power and love of the music he is part of comes through the speakers so clearly. Love Rock, indeed. Andrew should still be with us, and Mother Love Bone should’ve had as long a run as they wanted. Thankfully we have the gift that is their only album.
Wanna show you something like the joy inside my heart
Seems I’ve been living in the temple of the dog
Where would I live if I were a man of golden words?
And would I live at all?…Words and music, my only tools
CommunicationLet’s fall in love with music
The driving force of our livings
The only international language
Divine glory, the expression[6]- Number 192 in The List, submitted by dharmadischarge. ↩︎
- Yarm, pg. 40. ↩︎
- Yarm, pg. 38-9. ↩︎
- Number 63 in The List, submitted by MetalheadDana. ↩︎
- E.g., the phrase “chartreuse regalia” in Mother Love Bone’s “Capricorn Sister” was originally in Malfunkshun’s “Until the Ocean”, and the last few lines quoted above from Mother Love Bone’s “Man of Golden Words” previously appeared in Malfunkshun’s “Shotgun Wedding”. The “Love Rock” label used for Malfunkshun also shows up throughout Mother Love Bone, e.g., in “Holy Roller”. ↩︎
- Lyrics from Mother Love Bone’s “Man of Golden Words”, from which Chris Cornell would take the name for his project that was a tribute to Andrew, Temple of the Dog. ↩︎
#1980s #1990s #altRock #AndrewWood #glamPunk #glamRock #Grunge #Malfunkshun #MotherLoveBone #Seattle #SeattleMusic
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O elemento que me fascina na feira da ladra é a capacidade daquela tralha toda gerar bizarras associações de significado. Onde mais se cruzaria o camarada armaldo com capas porno-cheesy de discos?
Também há o de quando em vez encontrar coisas interessantes no meio dos livros, mas isso, é outra conversa. #random #lisbon #lisbonlovers #lisboa