#because things like access to technology allows for normalization of specific ways of moving through the world

[ternaryflower53]

I like how this poll asks if poor vision is a disability, as if blindness isn't one of the "classic" disabilities that everyone knows about (yes, I know they mean correctable vision issues/refractive error, but still)

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

I’m interested in history, but only in a very narrow area of history (the modern history of amusement parks and related amusement venues). I don’t think this makes me a good candidate for going into an actual history degree, but I’d really like to know more about how to research and interpret history (and maybe one day know enough to publish a book or something) - is there anywhere in particular I could go to learn?

Apologies for the delay, but I was contemplating how to answer this. I want to explain this the same way I would if you were a student asking me why I am doing a graduate degree.

The first thing I'd say is that history as a discipline is full of specialists. We all have the one thing we are really the most interested in. That's how it works in graduate school: you produce work on something very specific.

My dissertation, for example, is about one guy (and through him, his politics and social circles and diplomatic connections). And this is true one way or another of everyone in my PhD program.

That's not to say you need a history degree to write the history of the specific thing you like. People publish with non-academic presses without degrees all the time.

However.....

One of the big problems with amateur history that always stands out to me as a trained historian is lack of context. People write books about specific things or specific people without tying it to bigger developments because they don't have the broad knowledge base to do that.

The reason that training as a historian moves from the broad to the specific is that it allows us to have a workable knowledge of the period and the themes. That allows us to write well-grounded books.

For example, I'm writing about one guy but I've read extensively about the whole century he lived in so I can properly situate and contextualize him.

Even if you don't want to do a history degree, I would encourage you to think about which broad ideas you want to engage with (like, for example, the social changes that normalized public entertainment, the technological changes that create amusement parks, or the economic conditions necessary for people to have enough spare income for entertainment, etc.) and to read extensively about them. If there are books you like, read their citations and then read the books they read. Search libraries or databases (if you have access) for new works on these questions.

A history degree helps with this because it provides structure. But you can also figure it out on your own.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 51 - Amazing technology - 'Human with modified skull'

K: Hi this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this week's  episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe, Tasai, welcome.

T: And thank you too.

J: Ta-da! We are wearing it.

K: Hahaha

J: We are wearing it. This is naturally cool, isn't it?

T: Yes.

K: Um, if we don't say anything the viewers won't understand.

J: Uh, Tasai, could you explain?

T: Um, so this is another Tokyo Sports T-shirt collaboration. We are putting one out.

K: It was a hoodie before, right? 

T: Yes, that was a collaboration with Don Quijote. This time we've collaborated with the store Hardcore Chocolate in Higashinakano, to create this really cool tshirt.

K: I'm wearing it too.

T: Oh, thank you. Its a Core-choco × Tokyo Sports collaboration.

*clapping/cheering*

K: The back is nice too.

J: Yeah, I mean, I can't see it myself though. What is written on it?

T: Its past Tokyo Sports headlines. The black is pro-wrestling headlines, like 'Inoki's grand KO defeat'.....'Hansen...near murder' etc.

J: Wow.

T: These shocking headlines are...

J: All over?

T: Yes, all over it. And as for the front, Joe, could you turn around?

J: Yes.

T: Those are copies of Tokyo Sports tied up with string, just on the verge of being thrown away, giving a kind if melancholic feel.

J: Ahh, this is cool too.

T: Its very Tokyo Sportsy.

K: Are the white and back versions different?

T:  Yes, they are different.

J: Ah! They are different?

K: The white one has 'Matsui' written on it.

T: Matsui's wedding.

J: Oh yeah.

K: This black one says, 'Brody'.

J: Pro-wrestling?

T: Yes, its mainly pro-wrestling. And the white is showbiz...

J: Sports and showbiz? Oh, so it is.

T: 'Elvis lives' and so on.

J: This is great...ah..'The Monster with 21 faces'!

K: Its nostalgic, isn't it?

T: Yeah, this type of thing.

J: Ahh..of course...Ah, shocking photos.

K: 'Discovery of Kappa'....'Madonna had hemorrhoids' haha.

K, J, T: Hahaha.

J: Does it really matter? haha.

T: Haha, that was about one time a long time ago when Madonna came to do a show in Japan. She requested a bidet toilet, so we reckoned maybe its because she had hemorrhoids.

J: Just from that? You put this headline with it?

K: Your info is thin!

T: Haha.

J: Right?! Zero fact checking! Guess after guess!

K: Incredible. So, there are two of these.

J: What should we do with them?

T: Well, I thought we could make them presents for the people who always watch The Freedom of Expression.

J: Ohhh! *claps*

K: There is black and white.

J: One of each?

T: Yes.

K: The size is S.

J: S?

K: Joe is wearing M, I'm wearing XL. Anyone who wants a big one..

J: Please but it.

K: Yes. For people who want S...um, what should we do...you could leave a comment on my Twitter..

T: With your thoughts on this show.

J: Of course.

T: Yes.

K: Yeah.

T: And we could choose one from those.

J: Leave a decent comment..

T: Like which was your favourite episode or something?

J: Ahh, you know how to do this!

K: Joe, its just that you're always drunk.

J: I'm always drunk, haha. When I see Tasai, Im learning how to conduct myself.

T: Excuse me brother, thank you very much.

J: Your stocks will rise with this tshirt. Yours and Tokyo Sports' stocks.

T: I hope so.

K: Everyone will be cool wearing this.

J: They really will be cool.

K: Please buy it, really.

J: If someone wanted to buy this, where do they get it from?

T: Probably online. You can buy it on Corechoco's site.

J: I see.

K: Ok, so today's story is a Tokyo Sports selection.

J: Its a Tokyo Sports day today.

T: A Tokyo Sports produced story...

The headline is 'Will we rise up in 2021? - Amazing technology, human with modified skull'. As for the content of the story, it asks what new technology will appear in the year 2021, and its by our science writer Hisano, who wrote about some of the things he'd heard.

J: Oh, so he's done it properly?

T: Yes. So firstly, well, we hear a lot about this A.I. deepfake problem at the moment, don't we? Like changing faces without permission, and making these made-up sexy images which cause harm, for example. *1

J: Yeah, its the basis of fake news, right?

T: We are hearing about that more and more, thats the first thing. Secondly, there is apparently this idea called, 'Trans-human' where people power up their own body with technology, and Hisano wondered whether Trans-human technology with develop a lot during this year. Specifically, well, there is actually someone doing this in Spain, Manel de Aguas. He peeled back the skin on his head and attatched self-mafe fin shaped devices to his skull. The fins contain a bone conducting oscillator and temperature sensor, so he can tell if the weather is hot or cold through vibrations in his head. So, this is a way to catch very small atmospheric changes that regular people wouldn't normally be able to sense.

J: I see.

T: And there are pictures of him, so please take a look.

J: If you go to the Tokyo Sports website?

T: Yes, you can see it there. Furthermore, well, there are quite a lot of other examples, like a 'trans-human' using prosthetics, or having an IC chip implanted into your hand to use for the train etc. On top of that, France has plans to make a conscription army like this. The name  of the project is 'The Bionic Soldier Project', which is a really cool name. They would be like super strong soldiers who never got tired and didn't need sleep, and who could heighten their sight and hearing with medication, and would have communication equipment embedded in their brains to connect directly to wireless  netwoks. Bionic soldiers..scary, right?

J: Yeah. Its like the end to the era of traditional fighting.

T: Research has been going on even longer America, in their Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where paralyzed patients have had chips embedded in their brain, and have successfully been able to control drones with their thoughts. They've already done that. Even bedridden people can control drones. Technology his also being developed to go without sleep for 48 hours by running electric currents through the brain. This is not the talk of dreams, we are closing in on these things. There is also a plan by Nasa, a mission to redirect asteroids, where a robot spaceship would grab an asteroid, carry it over to the moon's orbit, and dig up minerals from it. Its like the world of Gundam. What do you think of this for 2021?

J: So, like these might become a reality within this year?

T: Yeah, some of them, as far as the technology goes.

K: It'll be like Robocop.

T: Yeah.

K: Its incredible, its like the world of 'Terminator'.

J: Yeah, it is.

T: In reality, controling a drone with the brain is aleady being used in China with toys.

J: With the brain..?

T: Like, controlling it with your thoughts by just imagining it rising. And in Japan..

J: You have to operate it.

T: In Japan they can be controlled with radio waves *2, but in China they can already move drones around using brain waves. Like, its technologically possible to attatch a bomb to a drone and make it fly somewhere and explode...its scary.

J: If technology advances this far, people won't need to study for exams and stuff, will they?

T: Thats right.

J: With a chip embedded...we talk about preventing cheating these days, but you would have all that data within you, or you could just go outside and remotely update.

K: Or you could send questions with just your eyes and get answers back.

J: Yeah, its like already at the point where you don't have to bother with tests or exams.

K: And it would mean no more back entrance admissions.

T, J: Yeah.

J: Yeah, like whoever has the money.

T: They might starts scanning people with metal detectors when they do exams to see if they have chips or something in them. Like, have you got a chip in your brain?? If it beeps, you'll know they have a chip.

K: They could put the people who have chips inside like anti-vibration shields..

J: Yeah, like to stop the transmissions.

T: Oh, yeah.

J: We're already getting to this point in time.

T: Do we even need to study anymore?

J: Yeah, like the era of people using their brains is ending.

K: We don't even really need universities and stuff anymore

J: We don't! Cause you have have access to all the information in the world in your head, whenever you like.

K:Yeah, if you have it ???*3

J: Well, there's also the issue of whether this kind of thing will be permitted by law. Like how far..

K: Yeah, it wouldn't be allowed immediately.

J: Yeah, like how far can human ability be harnessed in this way. I mean, there is the problem of genetic engineering too, but..thats where we are at now.

K: Well, there might already be people like this out there.

J: Well, yeah, the technology is there already.

K: You don't know whats going on in other peoples' heads.

J: Well, yeah. Eh, what if Kami is one of them?

K: No, I don't think he is. Absolutely not.

J: Haha

Kami: No, gods are different. But the bionic soldiers who don't need sleep, never get tired, and use medication to improve their sight and hearing...they've been around in Nishinari for a long time.

K: In Nishinari?

J: Haha

Kami: People who look like zombies, there have always been tonnes of them. There is also an article about a 'robot girlfriend to go for a walk with you', which Gifu University made, I'm interested  in that. I'd like to support Gifu University with that.

T: I see. Yeah, its a robot girlfriend who holds your hand and goes for walks with you, made by Gifu University.

K: What did Kami say earlier about women, doesn't he have woman trouble?

J: Oh yeah. Kami, don't women like you, being a god?

Kani: Thats a whole different story. Um, this is just a hand holding robot, but I'd like them to try harder with more in-depth research on this.

K: In-depth research? Haha

J: I don't know what he means by that. Kami!!

K: I mean, if they've been able to make the robot to this level, Im pretty sure they can also manage 'in-depth' research. haha.

J: They just won't announce it as university research, they stopped at holding hands.

Kami: Ah, I see. I wanna support deepfake technology too.

K: Ha, you wanna support it.

T: Well, this type of technology was originally invented for mens' pleasure. New technology can even start from such places. Like videos...

K: Ah, yeh, popular people from videos turned up a lot in this erotic stuff (*Sorry if I got this wrong*)

J: Ahh, yes, necessity is the mother of invention. Technology increases due human desires.

T: Yeah, thats it.

J: Well, this could be used for evil ways, or for more interesting ways. There are various ways to use it. Kaoru is there any kind of technology that you ever wanted to invent?

K: That I wanted to invent?

J: Like a specific type of robot or anything like that?

T: If you had a chip in your brain though, and you didn't have to study, what would you do?

K: But if all this stuff becomes normal, I think on the contrary, will might start to want to do things in more detail again. When you can get anything effortlessly, you will start to want to do those things that don't come effortlessly.

J: Ahh, hand made things will become nostalgic.

K: Our sense of value would change. People will want to go out and do things...if you can get everything you need without ever going out. And with food, it will be all there, ready as soon as you open the cupboard, right?

J: Yeah

K: Like, wouldn't you feel like going out instead?

T: Yeah, you'd want to go out and see live performances and stuff too.

K: People were told not to go out on New Years eve, but so many people still went out. haha

T: Oh, yeah.

J: Yep, human mentality just goes like that.

K: People will still go out. So, I think thats the direction it will head.

T: A.I. is pretty popular in human competions at the moment, for example with Shōgi, but in the end, what people really want to see is a human competing with another human.

J: Yes, I think thats true.

K: Yeah, its those natural variations

J: Thats it, we need those. Its that type of thing  that is impossible to calculate.

K: A computer couldn't come up with this type of thing. (*holds up Tokyo Sports tshirt*)

T: Haha

K: Its a product of wild fantasies.

T: Hahaha

J: Yeah, that would be impossible.

T: If we let A.I. do this kind of thing we would have lost. Tokyo Sports would be finished.

K: A.I. couldn't make this.

J: Its incredible.

K: 'Human gives birth to frog'.

J: Haha, A.I. could never write this.

K: It probably couldn't, right?

J: Only some bombed out person could do it otherwise.

K: It was worth making, naturally Tokyo Sports.

T: Oh, thank you.

K: So, everyone, please buy one of these tshirts. We have a black and white in size S here, so please send a tweet. Ok, we'll finish here this week. Please subscribe, thank you very much.

*1, 2 Not sure its exactly right.

*3 Couldn't figure out

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[shyrose57]

Brothers anon and I actually was skipping through the official City of Mizu episode and realized I missed Skeppy as a idol. So if you follow Skeppy you get to learn about different kinds of gems and what they can be used for, get trained on proper safety when mining, what to look for and avoid when mining, and they also get to go on supply runs that specifically require mining, though not many people follow Skeppy because mining is dangerous. Also I missed Charles personality a good bit so ima change it to where he's still quite, reserved and anxious, but is adventurous, curious, dedicated to his interests, and when given the chance or talking about his interests he gets very excited and talks a lot. Like a excited puppy. 

1: People can get kicked out of a idol following for many reasons, like disrespecting the idol and their peers, claiming some of the history their learning is fake, attacking anyone in the city (like stabbing, they just get chastised for fist fights), and breaking multiple rules of the city. And some people don't choose a idol, though its highly unlikely as those who don't know what idol to pick tend to pick Tommy or Tubbo. Those who choose not to choose a idol, tend to only work in farming, as its a easy job to learn. Its for these people that the idol-less council member was added, the council member also represent other cities and kingdoms that do still acknowledge and trade with Mizu. Most houses are actually built out of the side, like how we saw the idol rooms in the official episode, and their kind of scattered about, theres some halls filled with homes, but some halls have no homes. The halls with the homes tend to be the biggest/widest halls of the city, as to allow for room for the families living there, and also because theres sometimes stores in this area. Some halls also have multiple levels to allow for more room, these specific halls are referred to as Residential Complex, and only house homes in their multiple levels. While halls that hold only a few homes arent called anything special. Because outside affairs are very complex, most kingdoms and cities ignore Mizu, treating them with disgust and some times, people who have done supply runs that go into cities have reported having higher prices on what they want to buy, and disrespect from all citizens and police. But some kingdoms and cities respect them and trade with them without any tricks. The councils main agurement in this situation is that, the nice city is very far away, a weeks travel, but the mean city is close, only a 2 day walk away. They agure about what to do and what city to travel too for all supply runs. And another agurement that the council often has is what to do with visitors, they had visitors in the past that had destroyed and stole items in Mizu while causing disruptions, but some also brought their own culture and items and happily exchanged said culture and items. So their conflicted on if visitors should be welcomed or turned away. 

3: He went through what Ranbob did, being held to high standards that he just couldn't meet. But unlike Ranbob, he spoke up about his problems and managed to get held to lesser standards and allowed time to recover. When he moved out he originally lived on his own in a forest, and because he was vulnerable to monsters he didn't know how to handle, he had to make many fast paced despite when cornered by monsters or when trying to save crops or his house. And since he was also the oldest child of a 6 child family, he had to constantly look after his siblings, giving him his father-like attitude and knowing how to help people in basically almost any situation. His siblings are (current ages) Nick-17, calm, information nerd, introverted and Benjamins favorite brother. Rock-10, a tiny gremlin that loved to mess with people, he often broke bones or broke items when playing due to his rough play style and broke rules, Benjamin was the only one who could calm him. Ion-16, a teen that is very adventurous and always wandering off, she always talked about traveling the world, the hardest one for Benjamin to keep track of. Stellar-13, in love with space, but other than that is a normal child, but she also has a fascination with monsters like enderman, often wondering where they come from, Benjamin doesnt have any strong opinions on her.  And finally, Juka-15, they are very invested in redstone, often experimenting on it and trying to make different things with it, often the stuff they make blows up, Benjamin admires Juka's persistence and love for redstone but also wishes they'd stop blowing up the damn kitchen. 

8: Totems do exist, their just so rare its not believed Techno managed to have and use one. So that part of the story got lost and left out over time. Pandoras vault has fallen, mostly because of a break out by Dream that destroyed most of it, and because it had fallen into disrepair. And they do have such advanced technology to make such a prison now, but they doubted the SMP had such technology and availability to do it in their time. And there is also a great lack of evidence (expect for the actual building, but even then people agure it was used for something else) supporting the existence of Pandoras Vault. 

Ran and Ranbob used to feel confused and hurt, not understanding why the world hated their home and why the world was so mean to them. Over time they learned why they where shunned, but still didn't completely understand. Eventually they grew used to it, and learned to avoid saying where they lived, unless they wanted to partake in a fight. They very very rarely say that they came from Mizu, as they had learned long ago from both classes and personal experience. But a few times it was revealed they lived in Mizu, they had to just endure it and move along, even though Ran really wanted to punch a fucker. They became friends when Charles went to him during the trip to the flower field, asking to join in on a game he was playing. Its a miracle the two didn't get a heart attack tbh.

10: He was not! Ranbob was too weak for Dream to access all of his powers. And Dreams constant hold of control and withholding food and all the essentials from him, made him even weaker. No one is aware of it, not even Ranbob. A mix of pissed, a weird sort of pride, and determination. The pride and determination is there because knowing Dream thinks that way of them, confirms that they're enough of a threat that Dream actually acknowledges them. And helps them believe that they could truly beat Dream if they tried. Though it also means Dream will try his damned best to kill them. 

13: Yeah he comes out on top, he still has some advantages over the others even without tatics, like his speed and he knows how to sneak around and use the area to his advantage pretty well. 

14: He seemed more finicky, more nervous and anxious. Constantly trying to seperate himself from the group when he tends to stay very close by. And more on edge/quick to snap at others.

 Ayy! Starting off with Skeppy and Charles, what a wonderful way to begin. How did Skeppy’s few followers mine? Were there mines under the sea floor? Did they travel out of Mizu to go find mines in the earth? 

1: Hm, interesting. The idol-less leader seems to have quite a bit on their shoulders, if they deal with all outside affairs. Were they specifically selected to learn their position? Since you said most of them farm, but all those politics and stuff seem kind of different from it. Does Ranbob remember any of the nice cities? Did either boy ever meet a former visitor that recognized them from back then?

3: Benjamin’s family sounds really cool. Does the gang ever get to meet them? If so, how do they get along with them?

8: Huh. Well, how about Woodland Mansions? What happened to those, to make totems so rare? So Pandora still stands today? Cool. Does the gang ever come across it? Where would it be located-or well, what areas would be around it? Is it used for anything else nowadays?

And that sucks. If this happens while the brothers are at odds with each other, do they still help each other out with it, since they’re being mocked about their home, or do they just ignore it, and such. How do their respective groups feel both about them being from Mizu, and how they’re treated for it, both before and after the two hauntings started to merge? Did it effect how they thought of them in anyway?

And that sounds cute. What game was it, and who won? 

10: Hmm. Was Dream aware he was causing Ranbob to become weaker, or was he that out of touch with human needs? Also, I think I remember way back then, you mentioned this part of Dream was the evil bits that survived his death.

What do you think would happen if they somehow managed to end up seeing the good parts, maybe with a similar artifact that Ranbob found in your supposed fluff?

13: Nice.

14: Oh, no. That’s not good.

[tea-at-221]

So, let's delve a bit into the Spanish dub of Supernatural.

I'm going to go through a lot of terms here, and a lot of basics, in order to increase people's level of understanding as to how the dub may possibly have come about the way it did.

This post will provide information and, I hope, allow some members of the fandom to move forward with their own theories with more reassurance. Information is power. I will define and clarify industry terms to the best of my novice ability to make it easier for others who wish to do their own research.

This post was inspired by the fact that I've been part of multiple fandoms in which queerbaiting has played an enormous part: I am tired of seeing fandom friends left devastated and without answers, no emotional resolution in sight. So this post is, in spirit if not content, largely dedicated to my fellow Johnlockers and Queliot shippers. And most of all, for Quentin Coldwater, who deserved not just better but the very best.

Disclaimer: This is my own research and there is a bit of speculation involved; I can't guarantee 100% that I will get everything right (I hit some very frustrating walls looking up what should be easy-to-find facts), but I did a *lot* of work for this. Other people will doubtless be able to clarify points/give better specifics/correct what I've gotten wrong. I am not promising a concrete answer to “SPN gate” here, as without more information than we currently have that is impossible to declare with certainty.

More under the cut.

All that having been said, onwards (see end for sources):

First, who airs the Spanish dub of Supernatural?

Answer: the Warner Channel.

Why? It goes back to who owns The CW.

From Wikipedia (2): "The CW Network, LLC, a limited liability joint venture between the CBS Entertainment Group unit of ViacomCBS; and the Studios and Networks division of AT&T's WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB. The network's name is an abbreviation derived from the first letters of the names of its two parent corporations (CBS and Warner Media)."

Warner Bros apparently is the side that handles the delegation of dubbing to outside studios. So, who does Warner use for their dubbing? Perhaps multiple studios, but the two I found in the course of my research were SPGStudios(5) (who specifically handle localization for Latin American Spanish productions) and Iyuno Media Group (formerly BTI Studios)(3).

What is localization?

Simply put, it refers to the translation of the home language of the show in question to the language of the new market it's entering. So, Supernatural 15x18 is translated from its native English to Spanish for Latin American viewers.

And what exactly *is* dubbing (actually called revoicing within the industry; dubbing is a widely-recognized term, however, and it's pretty well understood what is meant by it)?

Here is the Merriam-Webster definition:

"1 : to add (sound effects or new dialogue) to a film or to a radio or television production —usually used with "in"

They dubbed in the music.

2 : to provide (a motion-picture film) with a new soundtrack and especially dialogue in a different language

The film was dubbed in French and Spanish.

3 : to make a new recording of (sound or videotape already recorded) also : to mix (recorded sound or videotape from different sources) into a single recording"

There is a slang term, "dubby," which refers to any overdub that is comically jarring and obviously a dub. The history of dubbing has been such that this has become a way to think of and recognize it: by how awful and ineffective it used to be when it came to foreign films sloppily overlaid with English dubbing.

However, we are in the midst of an age of networks and companies scrambling to play catch-up, eager to use modern technology to create more effective, convincing dubs. In short, they see the moneymaking potential of presenting finished works that viewers may not even realize *are* dubbed without careful inspection. It's true that a good dub is about 10x more costly than subtitling, but it's hard to satisfy the viewer's desire for escapism if they can't suspend disbelief because they're busy reading.

The truth of that is reflected in internal statistics Netflix (for instance, but not just them) parses to gauge viewer interaction and retention with their various shows: when comparing subtitled vs. dubbed shows, it's easy to see which is the winner.(1)

So to be sure there is no nefarious intent here, we would need to be able to identify the following:

A.) What exactly was the process for this dub?

B.) Who decides what changes to make during a dubbing process?

C.) Who approves those changes?

*Can* there be such a thing as a "rogue translator," as Misha Collins put it? (I am going to clarify here that I think Misha is an upstanding person who believed the best of the show he was involved in and all the people who made it, so his assumption of a rogue translator makes sense in the context of that emotion-based reasoning).

I'm not sure which studio did the dub for the Latin American Spanish version of Supernatural; if I had access to that episode perhaps it's mentioned in the credits. You'd think that would be simple enough to figure out anyway, but I was unable. So maybe someone can take a look and let me know. But, as an example, here is how SPGStudios outlines their localization (dubbing) process:

1.) They make a digital or analog transcription of a show/movie.

2.) The translation, or localization, is done by their staff (in any of 40 available languages their staff can speak). When translating, they translate for meaning and then adapt for time, tempo, and style. They say that "extensive experience is required to capture the essence of the language dialog while accounting for variances in speaking time between the source and destination languages." i.e.,  wording/word choice will be kept as true as possible to the original intention of the native language, but at the same time the translation will need to use its chosen wording in a way that fits what is being shown on-screen. To produce a convincing/pleasing dub, they won't replace a word like "looked" with a longer phrase like "scanned the horizon" because it's not going to match what's onscreen. That would be venturing into "dubby" territory.

3.) They perform the ADR process: the voice actors (in this case it would normally be Guillermo Rojas performing for Dean Winchester, though it appears things may have been different in 15x18, possibly due to covid) record the new dialogue to replace the original actor's performance.

4.) The newly recorded dialogue goes to the sound editorial department "to ensure that lip-synch is optimized and technical aspects of the vocal performance match the original."

5.) All of the new audio--including dialogue, music, and sound effects--is mixed together to emulate the quality of the original production as closely as possible despite the changes in rhythm that resulted from the dialog having been translated.

6.) Designers, animators, and VFX editors assist with the localization or enhancement of graphics, if needed.

7.) Localized Master: SPG has a 'traffic team' who 'ensures that all client delivery and storage specifications are met, including file formatting, labeling, and uploading." So in other words, the files are heavily encrypted (or that's how I read this).

Presumably, after all steps are performed, SPGStudios transfers the show back to Warner, who then distributes it. The other studio, Iyuno, makes it very clear that *they* can coordinate and handle all distribution themselves to a vast number of networks. That means that if the client desires, Iyuno can send the finished product directly out into the world.

There seem to be two types of scripts that can be given to the dubbing company:

1.) "In-Production Dubbing indicates that dubbing production is active in tandem with post production. In-Production Dubbing fulfillment partners should expect potential changes to source materials."(4)

2.) "Final Asset Dubbing indicates that dubbing production takes place after final delivery of the show. All source assets will be in a final state. The dubbing fulfillment partner should not expect any changes to the source materials."(4)

Without knowing which of these was agreed upon for SPN 15x18, it is very hard to say exactly where or if additional edits may have been performed on the original material that weren't performed on the translated material (in other words, earlier draft).

If the studio was given the episode as an In-Production Dubbing project, this could explain why the title of the Spanish translation reflected the original script title, "The Truth," rather than the final title in English, "Despair".

Assuming this difference was unintentional, rather than a calculated marketing ploy re: audience enticement (which seems admittedly unlikely), then yes, it could indicate a screw-up on someone's part. The question is, was the dub company given the task of generating the title card, or did some other graphics department handle that before the project made it to them? If the latter is the case, the choice to add "Me too" instead of "Don't do this, Cas" could be either a conscious choice on the dub studio's part as sort of a nod to what they thought "the truth" was, or could just be them going with what they were given and making their translation choices based on something else, such as rhythm/timing.

SO, could there have been an original script that had Dean say "me too" in response to Cas, which then went through translation and made it out into the world? Teeechnically yes, but one would assume that the original script and original *footage* would have to have arrived at the dub studio together if the script is being transcribed in-house as SPGSTudios outlines in their process. I'm going to reason that the odds of them using a later edit of the visual--one that contained what in this instance we would be assuming was Warner's preferred dialogue ("Don't do this, Cas") yet choosing to stick with their own audio revoicing of the (supposed) original script/visual's "Me too, Cas" with its now subsequently poor timing, seems unlikely.

So either they would likely have to redo the exact same "Me too" audio again (having made the choice to keep the original dialogue, while also having to work under pandemic restrictions re: travel and talent availability) to make everything match the visual footage time-wise, OR, it was simply a matter that the English scene always was just as we saw it, but that the studio chose to interpret the script the way they did and were able to do their timing the first time around to match accordingly.

This still leaves a question in the air regarding the origin and fate of certain clips of Dean's more visually emotive reaction to Castiel's confession that have been floating around the internet. I've only seen very very brief glimpses of them, myself, and I'm not certain that they're really evidence of anything other than more than one take having been done of that scene, which wouldn't be uncommon and doesn't necessarily point to a conspiracy.

I also want to state that in the wake of 15x18, I opted to protect my mental health rather than follow every development/rumor/speculation that cropped up in the aftermath, so there’s probably a lot that I’m leaving out of this post that may be pertinent. Do me a favor and do assume that I know nothing of it. lol

I will also add this about the other studio, Iyuno: they are very careful to state on their site, repeatedly and with great pride, that they are committed to presenting the world with the smoothest, most true-to-the-original localized version of a film or show possible. Quote: "...our entire team of staff wants nothing more than to make every single one of our partner's content feel as if it were never translated." They are not fucking around. They want to please the client. Would they have done something like the translation in question without any direct go-ahead from Warner? It seems unlikely, though they don't outline their process on their site the way SPG does.

Notice that in the SPGStudios process outlined above, there is no mention made of a review step in which the studio presents the translated dialogue to the client for approval re: the new wording. That doesn't mean there isn't a review step; however, without seeing the contractual agreement that was made between Warner and whatever dub studio they used, or knowing Warner's preferred process by some other means, it's difficult to be certain whether or not there was a review process for the translated script. I did find evidence that Netflix reserves the right to review such translated scripts before air.

Speaking of Netflix, I will include here what their translation requirements are, as I did find those. They, like Warner, also use Iyuno Media Group much of the time for dubbing (voiceover style dubbing in which they apparently like to leave the original language audible underneath, so that's slightly different from revoicing, but I'm working on an assumption that the general expectations are the same for both):(4)

"1. Translation Requirements

1.1 Main Dialogue

   All main dialogue in the source (original) language should be translated unless specifically noted.

   Due to timing limitations, some of the dialogue may be condensed/truncated as long as it retains all essential elements of the plot.

   Please refrain from dubbing redundant words such as character names and repetitions.

       Additionally, do not recreate laughs, hesitations, reaction noises, etc."

I'm looking at that bit: "Due to timing limitations, some of the dialogue may be condensed/truncated as long as it retains all essential elements of the plot."

So let's say just for argument's sake that this is pretty standard language provided to the dubbing studios. Netflix is a giant, so I'll proceed with that assumption given the lack of more concrete information:

Does it really change essential elements of the remaining plot to have Dean return Castiel's declaration of love? Forgetting about the outside, emotional ripple effect such a declaration was bound to set off in the viewing audience, no. The two characters have no further scenes together, nor does Dean go on in the next episode to immediately embark on a new relationship, or tell anyone that Cas said he was in love with him but he couldn't return it because he didn't feel the same. So technically, no rule was broken. And that is what it comes down to, if you're thinking like a lawyer reading a contract: specifics, not theoretical implications or consequences.

So, possibly what we have is something that was simple to add and easy to get away with/argue for: translated dialog that fit a dub better due to its length, and didn't actually change anything plot-wise (or at least, the argument for that could easily be made). This points to the painful crux of the matter: why would the Spanish version of Supernatural which aired in Latin America allow Dean Winchester to return Castiel's declaration of love with a "Me too, Cas"? Could it *really* be as insulting as the fact that "Yo a ti, Cas" would be a quicker, smoother dub than "No hagas esto, Cas"? ("Don't do this, Cas" in English.) Or did they see something they could get away with, and a reasonable argument to provide for it, so they went ahead and claimed a small LGBT+ victory?

Is someone, somewhere, getting in trouble for all this? Maybe. But could action be taken against them? That would look pretty bad, public-relations-wise, for the party expressing condemnation if that got out. Could Iyuno, or whatever other studio (again, I don't actually know which one handled the dub) theoretically feel a ripple effect from the fallout of this? Could they quietly suffer a drop in acquisitions/revenue for "reasons unclear"? Sure. That sort of thing happens all the time, so theoretically yeah.

Whatever the reasoning behind the decision to have Dean return Cas' declaration of love, surely they didn't have to do it. Surely they could have chosen some other phrase that fit. But they chose to do exactly what they did. I don't know what went down, in the end, or whether censorship was indeed involved, but I will certainly say that I think it was a brave and admirable choice that was made with the Spanish dub. It doesn't undo the "bury your gays" trope of course, but for some LGBT+ audience members it surely provides a sense of validation and maybe even lends a little hope for better representation--which is long, long overdue.

Thanks if you read this far. I hope that even though it’s not perfect it will be helpful in some way.

Sources

(1) https://www.indiewire.com/2020/02/subtitles-vs-dubbing-what-you-need-to-know-1202212800/amp

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_CW

(3) https://www.iyunomg.com/

(4) https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/115016062708-Dubbed-Audio-Style-Guide-VO-Style-Dubbing

(5) https://www.spgstudios.com/localization

[lokiondisneyplus]

Over five popular seasons, the story lines of “Better Call Saul” have unfolded across nail salons, fried-chicken joints and other strip-mall staples of American life.

When new episodes begin premiering next year, though, the locations that give the “Breaking Bad” spinoff its texture could be reined in or done away with altogether. The culprit? The novel coronavirus, which is limiting where the New Mexico-set AMC show can film, potentially altering both its style and substance.

“Like a lot of other people, we’re going to have to be very creative in where and how we shoot,” said Mark Johnson, the veteran producer who oversees the Vince Gilligan hit, whose writers just began collaborating on the series’s sixth season. “A lot of places just won’t let you in.”

Across the entertainment industry, casts and crew are beginning to return to work after a five-month hiatus. In states with loosened restrictions, such as Georgia and New York, production is starting to crank up under tight controls that alter how sets operate. Instead of crew members freely mingling, they’re being divided into “pods" that limit how production departments such as wardrobe or lighting can associate. Covid-19 officers monitor the health of the cast and crew to determine who is allowed on set. “Zones” dictate where those cast and crew can go.

These changes might seem technical, but they hint at the far-reaching effects the virus will have on final screen products. Interviews with 12 executives, writers, agents and producers across the Hollywood spectrum suggest a dramatically transformed world of entertainment. Until a vaccine comes along, they say, covid-19 will change what Americans watch as dramatically as it has where they work, shop and learn. Forget the new normal — movies and TV are about to encounter the new austerity.

Crowd scenes are a no-go. Real-world locations will be limited. On-screen romance will be less common, sometimes restricted to actors who have off-screen relationships. And independent films — that tantalizing side dish in the U.S. entertainment meal — could be heavily scaled back.

“A lot of people believe this is just about getting back to work,” said Mark Gill, a producer and former head of Warner Independent Pictures, the studio unit responsible for independent hits such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” “They don’t realize the massive cultural impact we’re about to face.”

For most of its history, Hollywood created entertainment based on a simple premise: Shuttle in large numbers of people and move them around at will. That’s certainly true of crews. But it especially applies to extras, the low-paid day laborers who pack sets and off-camera holding areas in order to create dense crowd scenes — and, in turn, lend the work real-world atmosphere.

Such scenes have of course been part of some of the most memorable moments in Hollywood history. From “Ben-Hur” to “Braveheart,” on-screen entertainment has become indelible thanks to hundreds of people you’ve never heard of packing tiny spaces, then moving as one when the cameras roll.

Yet the virus has essentially made these hires impossible. Many don’t want to risk their health for a $100 paycheck and remote shot at background glory, and producers don’t want to take on the liability even if they did. “Braveheart" used about 1,600 extras, many from the Irish Army reserves. Experts say the movie couldn’t come close to being shot today.

“Those of us in the entertainment business are not used to being told ‘no’‚” said Lucas Foster, a longtime Hollywood producer who counts the 2005 romantic-action hit “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and last year’s Oscar-decorated blockbuster “Ford v Ferrari” among his credits. “And when it comes to things like crowds, there’s going to be a lot of no.”

Foster understands the challenges personally — he’s one of the first producers to have made a movie in the age of covid-19.

In March, the Los Angeles resident was in Australia, several weeks into preproduction on a new version of “Children of the Corn” when the pandemic began to spread. Millions of dollars had already been committed to the movie, adapted from the same Stephen King story that yielded the 1984 cult hit. So rather than shut down, he decided to proceed — cautiously. Foster created a production bubble, consulted doctors regularly, procured large amounts of tests, and engaged in elaborate workarounds in realms like crowd scenes.

He said it worked, but with major accommodations.

“I had to figure out how to do a crowd with no more than a few people at the same time. And with very specific camera angles. And by taking actors who would normally be close together and making them not close together,” Foster said. “In the end, I’d get the scene I needed but it looked different than it would have before the pandemic.” (Computer-generated crowds, he and other producers say, only work for more distant shots; anything requiring close-ups needs the real thing.)

It helped, he noted, that many of his actors were children, who are believed less susceptible to the effects of the virus, and that much of the movie was shot in cornfields and other vast outdoor spaces, a luxury not all films have.

Producers say the added cost required to implement all the safeguards could also result in a lower-end finished product. Films and TV shows achieve their level of shine through an endless period of refinement, with actors and directors often attempt 10 or more takes of a scene. With everything now going longer — and thus costing more — they may not have the luxury.

One producer of multiple studio hits said he expects the number of takes to drop significantly as the virus balloons budgets. He also expected a diminution in night scenes, which tend to be more involved and expensive than day scenes. He said some productions will be able to make the switch, but not all will be as lucky.

Also unlucky, say Hollywood veterans: movies where characters seek to get lucky. Many insiders say romantic scenes will be a major challenge in movies. Two agents separately reported they had high-profile clients who told them they wouldn’t shoot love scenes during the pandemic.

“I think every agency right now is looking down their client list to see which actors have spouses who are also actors, because then we could try to get them cast, too,” said one of the agents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by their company to speak to the news media. “I’m joking. Sort of.”

The added wrinkle is even if the actors trust each other in real life, many of their characters would still have to take precautions on screen.

“How do you send two characters on a first dinner date when people aren’t really going on first dinner dates?” said a creator of romantic comedies who asked not to be identified because they did not want to be seen as criticizing colleagues who are attempting new projects. “You can send them on a socially distant walk, I guess.”

Writers say that leads to a broader dilemma: how much to incorporate the pandemic into their stories. On one hand, they say they don’t want to pretend the virus doesn’t exist. But acknowledging it poses its own challenges.

“Do you really want your stars wearing masks because that’s what characters would do? Do you want to have people engaging with each other in groups no larger than six? Do you want to write stories where everyone is at a safe distance?” said Mark Heyman, the co-writer of “Black Swan” and “The Skeleton Twins” and creator of the CBS All-Access historical drama “Strange Angel.” “Because a lot of those things won’t be very much fun to watch.”

Yet if creators aren’t willing to do that, he said, it could lead to those shows or movies getting shelved out of a fear that audiences will judge them inauthentic.

Heyman was working on a series set in a high school for Netflix when the lockdowns began. That project has now been put on pause. “It’s not easy to make a show about high school,” he said, “when there is no high school.”

To avoid reminding viewers of the pandemic, creators may take an approach that will lead to an unusual trend.

“I think over the next few years you’re going to see a lot more movies set in the past,” Foster said. “Even movies written for the present will be changed. They’ll make it the ’90s because then you don’t have to deal with these questions. And then you can just put in some cool ’90s music, so everybody wins.”

A few creators have gone the other way, leaning in to the pandemic.

Writers on Apple TV Plus’s “The Morning Show,” set at a news program, have torn up existing scripts to make the pandemic a part of the story line, according to a person familiar with the show who was not authorized to speak about it publicly. But with a lag time of months between shooting and airing, experts say that creators also risk looking out of date by the time episodes release to the public.

Sensing an opportunity, horror filmmakers have also tried to embrace current events.

“The horror genre is very suited to the pandemic and lockdowns — we’re always trying to create a feeling of being trapped anyway,” said the horror filmmaker Nathan Crooker.

When quarantines hit this spring, Crooker gathered nine noted horror filmmakers and had them shoot an anthology film — short fictional movies connected by the larger virus theme — and titled it “Isolation.” He required filmmakers to use only the materials and people they were in lockdown with, even prohibiting Zoom and other technologies.

“I think we’re going to get a very cool effect that mirrors what people are going through,” Crooker said of his work. “But I don’t know that every movie that gets made would want to look like that.”

One consequence of the virus could turn out to be the movies that don’t get made at all.

Some of the most beloved films of the past two decades, from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” to “Whiplash,” “Little Miss Sunshine” to “Fruitvale Station,” were independently financed. But before rolling cameras, independent productions require insurance policies to protect them from workplace lawsuits, along with completion bonds, in which a guarantor assures they will step in with funds to finish the movie if production is halted.

Experts say no company will cover covid-19 with either policy, effectively preventing production.

“Covid is an absolute disaster for the independent-film industry,” said Sky Moore, a partner in the corporate entertainment department of the Los Angeles law firm Greenberg Glusker who has spent several decades putting together film financing deals. “The lifeblood of independent-film financing is loans, and loans need insurance. Now you have this massive hole in the middle of all of it.”

Moore believes the toll will be vast.

“I think 50 percent of the independent industry goes away,” he said.

(Movies financed by large studios do not buy these policies; Netflix or Disney would just absorb a shutdown or lawsuit as the cost of doing business.)

Even if they can work around the insurance issues, many independent films won’t get made because they simply won’t have the money. “It’s already hard to get funding for a lot of these movies,” said Shaun MacGillivray, a producer who makes large-scale independent documentaries. “And now you’re telling investors the budget is going to be 30 percent higher?”

The independent-film world is trying to push ahead, slowly. The Sundance Film Festival, the epicenter of the indie-film business, where companies like Hulu and Netflix sometimes pay more than $10 million for an independently financed movie, will hold a partially physical, partially virtual edition in January, albeit at just about half the length.

“We are reminded daily of the power of what is made newly visible to us, the importance of what we look at,” Tabitha Jackson, the director of the festival, said in a letter to staff this summer explaining why the festival needed to go on. “My hope for this edition of the Sundance Film Festival is that through a multiplicity of perspectives held by artists and audiences in their various communities we will also come to feel the power of where we look from.” Left unspoken: What happens in 2022, when the well runs dry because new movies can’t be insured and produced?

Whatever entertainment can get made, experts say, will have a more hermetic look. Even television shows, once shot heavily on sets, now often rely on the authenticity of locations; a police procedural feels like it does because detectives are popping into pizza places and apartment buildings.

“We don’t want everything to be a chamber piece,” said Johnson, the “Better Call Saul” executive producer. “But if many shows look different, I think that’s okay, because the world looks different.”

Then, considering the challenge further, he added, “And if that doesn’t work, then at least our show has a lot of deserts and open roads.”

[genos-walking-autoclave]

Odd scenario - after calling the S Class heroes scaredy cats, all of them (beside king and blast) now want you dead. To survive, you need to kill them in retaliation, what is your survival plan?

Ok. So I like this stuff a lot actually -cheesy as it is- 

I’ve got to preface with some assumptions. 

I am just going to assume I know what I know about the anime/manga/web-comic because that’s easier (and more fun) than trying to keep track of what I should and shouldn’t know. 

I am more or less myself with little to no modifications or special abilities and only moderate physical fitness. 

In short. I’m most likely pretty f***ed. 

There are at least three possible tactics I’ve decided are reasonable responses in this scenario. 

Negotiation

Spy Tactics

Assassinations'

The Negotiator 

Just to be clear, I just want to survive here. I’m not necessarily worried that they’re my best friend. If they still dis-like me but at least let me live that’s an absolute win. 

Your prompt specifically states that everyone Except King and Blast want me dead. -It’s hard for me to believe I’m not dead immediately tbh- the first thing I would do is seek out King’s help. To date no hero aside from Saitama has really been able to see through King and that would be my advantage. If King told the other heroes not to attack me they may respect him, at least as long as he’s around that should buy me some time at least. 

Buddying up to King directly also gives me unique access to Saitama. If King and Saitama agreed to come to my side my chances of survival might increase from almost zero to upward of 30%. Additionally, if Saitama came to my defense so would Genos and with Genos I have reduced the number of S-class heroes out for blood and increased my chance of survival at least another 10% I would imagine. -these numbers are pretty made up-. At this point I may have to lay low and stay close to Saitama’s gang for a while -not a worst case scenario if you ask me- but now I’m building some momentum and security. 

My next targets would be Fubuki and Bang. Bang may not be hard to win over after getting King and Saitama on my side. Two S-class down 13 more to go. If I get Fubuki on my side it doesn’t necessarily reduce the probability that Tatsumaki will want to kill me but does reduce the likelihood that she will actually follow through with it, I’ll count that as 3/15 s-class dealt with. That’s not nothing because Tatsumaki is arguably one of the most deadly of the S-class. At this point I also have more freedom and additional options since I’ll likely be allowed to join the Fubuki group as a novice member and I’ll be able to be surrounded by heroes more often (although the Blizzard Group may not increase my chances of survival more than 2% on their own Fubuki’s connection to Tatsumaki improves my survival chances considerably).

 At this point, I would attempt to leverage Bang to get Atomic Samurai to stand down. 5/15 S-class down. 

At this point my life has been changed forever but if any of this has worked I’ve started to gain a chance at survival. (tbh for as long as they might put up with me I’d be sleeping on the floor at King’s or Saitama’s.) 

During my for months (hopefully if I can survive that long) time earning a living working with the Blizzard group and sleeping on people’s couches I would attempt to build rapport with some of the Tanktop crew and to slowly gain TTM trust and respect. (6/15) If I got the opportunity I would find a way to support Zenko and hopefully thereby convince Metal Bat that he doesn’t need to kill me (7/15). Maybe TTM deciding to not want to kill me anymore might convince Superalloy to back down as well. 

Zombieman can be a bit obsessive about an idea so he could be hard to convince but if I got either him or CE to back down I might be able to get them both. CE might be able to convince Pig God to back down as well.

One of the most significant weaknesses of this plan is that I’m really not sure how to get Flashy Flash, Watchdog Man, Drive Knight, Puri-Puri, Metal Knight, to back down. -Maybe I’ll just try to look super hot and PPP will back down. >.>’-

The Spy

This is a really really risky plan. This plan is slightly less complicated but significantly more technical but the gist would be to use Hack the HA in a plan to discover Metal Knight’s secret base. He can’t have his fingers in as many pies as he does without leaving a trace. I’d follow the money and resources back to him. As far as I can tell he’s probably a normal human so if I can slide in under the radar with the right weapons I’ll be able to take him out first and then I’ll have two things. A mostly secret, mostly secure location to stay, and an ungodly amount of information on the hero association and the heroes. Information which I could use to protect myself, neutralize threats, and find other heroes weak points.

The Assassin

All the S-Class heroes have incredibly egos which often become more of a weakness than a strength. As the Monster association showed us, even the most powerful heroes can find their match with the right match-up. My whole goal for survival in this scenario would be to keep my opponents off-base and on the defensive, exploiting weaknesses at every turn until victory is assured. A solid (albeit reprehensible) opening move would be to kill King. That could buy you time because the HA and heroes would not understand what person of in-human abilities could possibly kill the strongest man. It also shows them you mean business. But keep in mind there are at least 5 others ranked above King and so it would not be long before they gathered their strength to take you out. You’ll need allies without a doubt and you may find ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ types in the hidden ninja village, the Monster Association, and a number of other shady criminal organizations. 

Some Weaknesses that come to mind:

Tatsumaki - Fubuki, unwillingness to work with others

Bang - His students, his pride, 

Atomic Samurai - His students, his pide, things that can’t be cut. 

Child Emperor - A fear of not being useful/needed, being looked down on, the limitations of his technology and creativity

Metal Knight - Pride, fear, arrogance 

King - He’s literally weak. 

Zombieman - His obsession with the House of Evolution, You could send him on a multi-year wild goose chase.

Drive Knight - The limitations of his parts and creativity 

Pig God - Comparatively Slow moving, 

Superalloy - Simply breaking through his shell will shatter his confidence. 

Watchdog - Apathy, 

Flashy Flash - Arrogance, Possibly Sonic?, 

Genos - Revenge quest, send him on a wild goose chase too. 

Metal Bat - Zenko 

TTM - inferiority complex, his Tanktop team, comparatively slow moving, predictable fighting style

PPP - Beautiful boys, inattentiveness 

The primary reason this strategy is not necessarily a wise move is that at the end of the day you’ll have Saitama to reckon with and you’re not going to win that fight. Your only real chance of survival is to get this guy on your side, and you won’t do that by actually offing heroes. 

[darwinforthewin]

MODERN FIXATION

          If you’re reading this, it’s too late. Your device has already taken you. It’s going to be up to you now how easy or hard it will be for you to fight the urge to stay on it. One thing is for sure, technology is inevitable. From the very moment you tried reading this, you were already enjoying the benefits of technology. You used technology to do something that you wanted. Besides, you wouldn’t even be reading this without technology. Everywhere you go, whatever you do, there is technology. Technology has already become an essential part of our everyday lives and whether you like it or not, social media is a huge part of it.

           Now, social media is vitally useful in various ways. In fact, this is what helps us survive nowadays. Looking for jobs, finding solutions, deciding on what to eat, searching for a place to live, and most especially, getting connected with the people we know. Social media satisfies the needs of humans of having the desire of being part of something big. As a result of this, social media specifically produces identity that is akin to mob mentality allowing humans to be hyper-connected and unable to spend their time with real family and friends. (Koo, 2015).

           For students like me, social media is a must. There is no way you can efficiently accomplish a group task without using social media. Students of today were raised in an increasingly media-rich environment. (Perse & Lambe, 2017). It is inevitable for them to use any form of media for communication, connection, research, and many more. However, this could lead students to the overuse of media for it will inevitably be part of their everyday needs. Social media users specifically Facebook users tend to admit their excessive normal, usual, or planned amounts of time online. (Koo, 2015) Certainly, social media users like me are unable to take control of their online activity; hence, leading them to have negative academic, professional, and social consequences.

          Since technology plays an important role to me as a student, and to me as an individual, it is without a doubt that I need it every single day. With this, I can pretty much relate myself to the portrayals of young people using social media in the documentary The Social Dilemma. Even if it is not for the purpose of education, I still spend most of my time on my phone, if not, have my phone by my side, at all times of the day. This is because certain gadgets nowadays are most effectively and conveniently used for entertainment, communication, security, and most especially, for an emergency. Despite this, I grew up and was raised with the discipline to put limitations in everything. It has been part of the house rules that when we eat or when we spend time with family, we do not use our phones unless it is of great urgency and importance.

           The documentary The Social Dilemma reveals an essential portion of what you need to know inside the digital space. You may not have known yet but technology is getting way bigger and more advanced than you could have ever imagined. Everything you see on social media, what you’re seeing now, what you’re reading, what you’re looking at – all these are just tiny fragments of what the internet actually is. The Social Dilemma presents you with the adverse effects of technology and how it can actually be used as a system of manipulation that leads people into believing something that is not true. Because of the freedom that we can access in social media, businesses and politicians tend to overexploit the platform which, in effect, they use to create false publicities and deceptive propaganda that results in an overall sense of illusion for the vulnerable users of social media. After all, social media itself is a form of business.

           With the power of technology, I believe businessmen and politicians will continue to use it in the same way they are using it now. This is because technology has no limitations. As businesses, social media platforms earn through the running of advertisements. The only way they can grow their business further is to improve their method of revenue which is what they are doing now: use of cookies and personalization of advertisements. Anyhow, businesses need people and people need businesses. What makes the market mutually efficient for both parties is through the use of social media. As was mentioned in the documentary, people are the products of social media and that is how it really works. The time you spend on social media. which is the time you spend for your personal benefit, equates to earnings for the platform. Businesses will continue to advertise, whether it is for manipulation or promotion, because from the very nature of it that is how it works; this is explained by a common economic principle that nothing really is for free.

          As for politicians, the spread of fake news and cyber propaganda is prevalent. However, I believe that it will not be as prevalent as what it is now in the future. This is because social media nowadays, especially Facebook, have developed a capability to detect news or articles that portray false news, misinformation, and any suspicious posts and activities. Facebook created Temporal Interaction EmbeddingS research (TIES) as an effort to improve its detection of fake accounts and misinformation and the enforcement regulations. This has enabled the company to eliminate more than 135 million fake accounts in April 2020. This may not have completely removed all existing fake news due to diverse engagement, but this serves as a stepping stone for Facebook and other social media platforms to build a system of rectification on the issue of information fallacies across the internet (Hutchinson, 2020). Therefore, yes, the politicians will still try to take advantage of technology in the future because they have the freedom to do so, but the movement has already begun for it to battle upon in this respect.

          In the end, it may be beneficial for us to use technologies in our everyday lives but it is still part of our responsibilities to put certain limitations to it. Additionally, it is part of our due diligence to verify the information we encounter in the digital space. When you buy a certain product in the mall, you check whether it is fake or original before purchasing. This goes the same when you encounter articles, news, or any information on social media. You always have to verify the information before buying into it. This action must always be kept in mind when you browse the internet. Failure to do so can lead to detrimental repercussions that influence you and your decisions on life matters. Businesses and politicians will always try to play tricks on us but the only way we can push back against unethical practices of using social media is through our actions ourselves. Engaging our critical thinking skills and educating people about social media literacy are our best tools to defend ourselves from modern harm.

           There are certain lines from the film that give a powerful impact. One of these lines is “If you’re not paying for the product, then you’re the product.” This statement is indeed agreeable. Like I said in the previous paragraphs, nothing is for free. Everything has an opportunity cost and trade-off which is an economic principle. Even when you say you have free lunch available at the canteen, falling in line to get it is the cost of it. This is why if you are not paying for a product, then you should already expect that something from you is taken in exchange. Another line from the film states that “There are only two industries that call their customers 'users': illegal drugs and software." To me, this can be associated with the same effect that comes with both industries: addiction. Both drugs and software impart chemicals that trigger the release of dopamine or our happy hormones from our brain. When we use drugs, our neurotransmitters from our brains detect a sense of pleasurable experience in which it changes the behavior of our brain in a way it increases the odds of us repeating the activity again and again; thus, it goes the same with our usage of the software.

           There is another line from the film that I find to be agreeing with. It was the line that says “Social media is a marketplace that trades exclusively in human futures." This is evident from the many circumstances the film presented. The one reason why social media knows exactly how to keep you engaged on the platform is that they analyze your behavior pattern. And when they know the kind of behavior you have; they move on to advance their trading scheme. They sell your personal data and give them to large companies which is why there exist personalized advertisements as you scroll through your media feed. The last line from the film that hooked me is the statement: "The very meaning of culture is manipulation." Since our culture is filled with social media and the internet, it can be deduced that everything can now be tracked and monitored. People can now easily manipulate you into liking something or into having different sets of views, may this be in business or politics. As long as social media exist, so does manipulation. Our culture has become associated with the use of technology. It now depends on how we perceive information online that guides our beliefs and that what makes us who we are.

  Personal SWOT Analysis Worksheet

          Illustrated above is my personal SWOT Analysis. I would say that the political, economic, and social factors are crucial to my growth. Because of these factors, I can determine steps that I can take to maintain my sanity and to improve on what I am lacking. The technological factors play a significant influence on the political, economic, and social factors found in both of my opportunities and strengths. This is because technology boosts everything around you, most especially in a time of a pandemic. Although I cannot go out because of COVID-19, technology allows me to stay connected with my friends and keep myself updated with the nation’s news. Because of technology, distance learning has been integrated into educational institutions to continue the delivery of education to all students like me. However, technology also contributes to factors under threats. Technological factors reduce personal interaction and increase the odds of people getting influenced by fake news considering that people, nowadays, turn to social media to obtain news. 

           With all the aforementioned circumstances, I would say that there are similarities and differences between my personal assessment and what the documentary, The Social Dilemma, says about the influence of technology on our lives. In a similar aspect, both my assessment and the documentary have presented significant improvements in daily lives with technology such as communication, research, broadcasting, data exploration, labor, and many more especially in a time of difficulty. On the contrary, both my assessment and the documentary presented adverse effects of technology specifically on our mental health and decision-making. This just goes to prove that technology is not always what it seems.   

References:

Hutchinson, A. (2020, August 26). Facebook Outlines New System for Detecting Fake Accounts and Misinformation Based on Interactions. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-outlines-new-system-for-detecting-fake-accounts-and-misinformation/584228/.

Perse, E. M., & Lambe, J. (2017). Media effects and society. London: Routledge.

Koo, G. S. (2015). Lights and Shadows of Digital Technologies. Makati City: Church Strengthening Ministry, Inc.

[viasonixnews]

viasonix news

We have arrived at another decade and have seen a plenty of noteworthy advances in science and medication throughout the most recent decade. Critically, the 2020's unquestionably guarantee to convey significantly more energizing developments than the most recent decade as we keep on incorporating atomic and cell information into a more exhaustive comprehension at the tissue, organ, framework, and organismal levels. For vascular physiology and medication these are particularly energizing occasions. We have seen quick advances in vascular science related hereditary science, innovative headways in the bioengineering of organs and tissue, upgrades in instrumentation and innovation, progress in mechanical technology, and computerized reasoning to give some examples. The essential target of this paper is to feature key ongoing accomplishments, future prospects and the requirement for proceeded with propels in the field of vascular physiology viasonix news   We have a proceeding with need for speculation of assets in research coordinated at cardiovascular illness (CVD). As a non-transferable illness, grimness and mortality from cardiovascular pathology is one of the significant medical problems that impacts the personal satisfaction and adds to sudden passing. Regardless of a decrease in CVD related mortality as a result of advancements in both clinical and careful intercessions (Mensah et al., 2017), this remaining parts an overall medical condition with enormous monetary effect. Utilizing information given by the American Heart Association for the United States for instance, the expense of CVD and stroke was assessed at $555 billion for 2016 while being projected to ascend to more than $1 trillion by 2035 (American Heart Association, 2017; Benjamin et al., 2019). These figures rise extensively if costs identified with lost efficiency and nursing homes are assessed. Effect certainty proclamations for the (UK Fact Sheet, 2019) assessing yearly expenses of CVD at 19 billion GBP and different billions of Euros across Europe (Timmis et al., 2020) are a further declaration to the negative impacts of CVD on our general public. More likely than not comparative information exists worldwide, especially with the "westernization" of agricultural nations. These are faltering and calming calculates that underscore the requirement for proceeded with investigation into the danger factors that incline toward forming CVD and into the robotic causes and helpful ways to deal with treatment and the executives. In light of this monetary and wellbeing related information it is reasonable why there has been a move toward translational/clinical pertinence nonetheless, this should not prohibit major examination in cardiovascular physiology which stays a fundamental way to deal with comprehend significant sickness measures viasonix news.   In the coming decade will see expanding difficulties in the cardiovascular wellbeing field, especially as paces of insulin obstruction, stoutness and unmistakable sort II diabetes keep on rising (Ward et al., 2019). In such manner, in the United States, heftiness (BMI > 30) and serious weight (BMI > 35) are anticipated to reach ~50 and 25% of the populace, separately, by 2030 (Ward et al., 2019). Likewise, the cardiovascular effect of openness to particulate matter is as a rule increasingly appreciated. Expanding proof is aggregating that openness to airborne inhalable (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) particles incline to cardiovascular problems including those that are free of aspiratory impacts (Hamanaka and Mutlu, 2018; Zhang et al., 2018; Combes and Franchineau, 2019). Accordingly, openness to particulate matter has been connected to expanded pervasiveness of metabolic issues and even to inclining the creating baby to vascular sickness in later life. As of late, the cardiovascular effects of electronic cigarettes, or "vaping" is likewise now not too far off. Further, cardiovascular problems have arisen because of long haul clinical therapies (e.g., cardiotoxicity of against malignancy specialists) and expanded life span in patients with ongoing conditions (e.g., Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and cardiomyopathy). As we have acknowledged throughout the most recent decade, there is an expanding pace of CVD driven by the Westernization of agricultural nations. As referenced over, this pattern proceeds. At long last, the ebb and flow SARS-CoV2 (Covid-19) pandemic features the various associations that can happen between an irresistible viral illness and the cardiovascular framework. Albeit from the get-go in our full comprehension of the pathogenesis of Covid-19 contamination, the cardiovascular framework adds to cell viral section by means of the angiotensin changing over chemical 2 (ACE2) (Wan et al., 2020) while likewise being straightforwardly affected by the infection (for instance as reflected in myocarditis and thickening anomalies) (Libby, 2020; Spiezia et al., 2020). Further, seriousness of Covid-19 contamination, regarding negative results, is adversely influenced by different elements affecting the cardiovascular framework including coinciding stoutness, cardiometabolic illness, diabetes and wellbeing differences (Belanger et al., 2020; Hill et al., 2020; Muniyappa and Gubbi, 2020; Wu and McGoogan, 2020).    These CVD measurements are surely sensational yet looking forward there are numerous progressing advancements in the field that will essentially affect cardiovascular examination and wellbeing throughout the following decade. Imaging keeps on being an innovation based sparkling star. Predictable with the saying, "in the event that you can see it you can consider it," new advancements in imaging are proceeding to arise. In the realm of optical microscopy we are seeing enhancements in goal that are permitting representation of atomic occasions, new fluorescent specialists are improving particular focusing on and magnifying instrument computerization is driving huge expansions in throughput. Such improved methods of imaging incorporate super goal, light sheet microscopy with 4D capacity just as expanded use of optical procedures, for example, cryo-electron microscopy. The expanded accessibility of these methodologies will profit the cardiovascular field. In the most recent decade we have additionally seen a fast development in the utilization and application improvement of procedures including checking test innovation, for instance, nuclear power microscopy. These procedures have demonstrated their handiness in permitting single sub-atomic occasions to be contemplated and to biomechanically test cells and particles. Quick advances in high velocity nuclear power microscopy have progressed this innovation significantly further into the domain of seeing of sub-atomic occasions and it will be energizing to see further turns of events permitting solid live cell applications to turn into a reality. In cardiovascular exploration we need further advancement of utilizations to allow perception of the vasculature at all sizes of association from enormous conductor vessels to the littlest vessels of the microcirculation. Strategies for estimations of vascular measurements, perfusion, coursing cell conveyance, and vessel divider biomechanics to give some examples are generally basic boundaries for the investigation of organ work in wellbeing and illness. As the undertakings of formative science, regenerative medication, organ transplantation, and counterfeit organs advance the capacity to screen the working vasculature is key for the accomplishment of these undertakings.    Over the coming decade there will be an expanded accessibility of human information through electronic clinical records and business sources. Tissue realistic through biorepositories, expanded admittance to patient data sets and hereditary screening, non-intrusive mobile advancements that screen wellbeing, drug conveyance and speak with specialists are on the whole instances of new arising wellsprings of material for research. With these advancements and the mechanization in PC driven information assortment there has been a huge expansion in the size of informational indexes. Multi megabyte and even terabyte informational indexes are turning out to be more normal, the greatness of which is past human ability to fundamentally assess such outcomes. Accordingly, there is a basic interest for upgrades in bioinformatics and information preparing that will ease client connection with these enormous informational indexes and grant the objectivity expected to extricate fundamental highlights for exact speculation testing.    In the course of the most recent decade there has been a proceeded with accentuation on reductionism as we endeavor to comprehend natural capacity significantly more profoundly. As we look forward at approaches to decipher the importance of this data there is a need for proceeded with improvement of non-intrusive and insignificantly obtrusive types of imaging and biosensing that will permit investigation of physiological boundaries and biochemical occasions in unblemished creatures and subjects. In such manner, a perceptible move in research methodology during the most recent decade has been to supplement cell and sub-atomic methodologies with refined in vivo procedures. Of specific importance are approaches permitting transient examination of illness models as given by imaging procedures (MRI, SPECT, high recurrence ultrasound and photoacoustics, telemetry), metabolic phenotyping, and social investigation. These are exceptionally promising advancements that will assist with advancing a more integrative view and improved exactness of translation finishing in a more integrative way to deal with understanding cell atomic information. Physiology is, all things considered, a field that endeavors to comprehend the unblemished working framework at the organ and organismal level. It similarly significant we see these patterns reached out to an instructive level where a resurgence of some traditional order based preparing is significant and ought to be given expanded need. The developing requirement for research utilizing entire creature and organ level test research configuration requires an expanding not contracting populace of physiologists with the abilities to play out these kinds of examinations viasonix news.    Another region that ought not be disregarded in the coming decade is proceeding to assemble our abilities in displaying natural frameworks. The capacity to deliver precise numerical models of complex information and complex framework conduct is demonstrating an viasonix news

[megaguardain]

The Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw of Earth-96.

History and Powers are below the Read More.

Name: Hank Henshaw

Nickname/Alias’: Superman, Cyborg Superman

Titles: Grandmaster

Species: Human (formerly), Kryptonian Cyborg (currently)

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Eye Color: Brown (formerly), Blue, Red/Yellow (currently)

Hair Color: Brown (formerly), White (formerly), Black (currently)

Height: 6’ 2”

Weight: 500 lbs

Gender: Male

Orientation: Heterosexual

Birthday: May 9th, 1956.

Timeline

1956- Hank Henshaw is born

1981- Hank Henshaw marries Terri

1989- Hank Henshaw obtains a Ph. D in Computer Science. Hank and Terri Henshaw are hired by LuthorCorp as astronauts

1990- Hank and Terri Henshaw, along with two other astronauts are sent to experiment radiation in orbit by LuthorCorp. The shuttle is affected by a solar flare, mutating the occupants. Attempting to reverse their mutations, the other two astronauts commit suicide. Hank’s body is destroyed in saving his wife from phasing into nothingness. Hank’s consciousness survives and, using the LuthorCorp labs, constructs a robot body for himself to reunite with his wife. Terri Henshaw commits suicide after discovering her husband’s new body. Hank Henshaw steals a rocket from the Fortress of Solitude and leaves for deep space.

1991- Hank Henshaw becomes paranoid and delusional from his journeys in space. Having come to the conclusion that Superman allowed his wife to die.

1992- Hank Henshaw finds and subjugates Mongul. He then begins building a body to combat Superman.

1993- Hank Henshaw arrives on Earth ahead of Mongul to discover that Superman has died fighting a monster known as Doomsday. Hank steals Superman’s body and returns to Mongul with it. Hank returns to Earth, using Superman’s cybernetically revived body, and makes the public believe he is the real Superman First public appearance of the Cyborg Superman. Hank Henshaw’s identity is revealed and he destroys Coast City to aid Mongul in creating a new Warworld. Jonathan Kent takes up the Superman mantle after learning of the Cyborg’s origin. The combined effort of the Justice League, Superboy, Power Girl, Steel and the new Superman they defeat the Cyborg and Mongul.

1994- Hank Henshaw’s body is modified by Darkseid to combat a rampaging Doomsday on Apokolips.

2000- Brainiac discovers Hank Henshaw and they conceive a plan to destroy Superman and his legacy.

2003- Hank Henshaw returns to Earth and fights Supergirl II. It’s revealed that Cir-El is a sleeper agent designed by Lex Luthor, Brainiac and Hank Henshaw to destroy Superman II

2006- Hank Henshaw is given a Yellow Lantern Ring and a commanding position in the Yellow Lantern Corps.

Powers and Abilities

Electronic Consciousness: His mutation from the Excalibur shuttle accident made Hank a being of pure energy. Allowing his consciousness to be transfer between electronic bodies, he is able to use this to take control of nearby machines to add to his current body or complete tasks his current body cannot achieve.

Kryptonian Cyborg Body: Having stolen and cybernetically revived Kal-El’s corps, Hank has access to all of Superman’s powers and abilities.

Solar Radiation Absorption: The ‘main’ ability of Kryptonians is the ability to absorb solar radiation. Depending on the wavelength of solar radiation, they can gain super human abilities. Their powers also depend on the amount of radiation absorbed.

Super Strength: Hank is much stronger than he once was in a normal human body.

Super Speed: Hank can move faster than the eye can see, while not as fast as experienced Speedsters, he can hold his own in a race.

Unlimited Stamina: Due to his mechanical body, Hank does not tire. Even if his solar battery is depleted, he will not lose stamina.

Flight: Hank is able to fly due to gravity manipulation tech in his body.

Heat Vision: Hank can fire beams of intense heat by concentrating. This ability was altered by Darkseid to fire specifically Red Solar Radiation to combat Doomsday.

Super Senses: Hank has a variety of super senses due to his Kryptonian Cyborg body; he can hear sounds far away and on a larger frequency than humans, he can see further away, on the sub atomic level, the EM spectrum, heat and through everything but lead.

Computer Memory: Due to his brain essentially being a computer, Hank has perfect memory and can easily learn any skill he needs to complete tasks.

Hacking: Hank can send his consciousness into computers and databases to hack them for information. 

Self-Subsistence: Due to most of his body being robotic in nature, Hank does not need to eat, sleep or hydrate to live. 

Intimidation: Hank is an intimidating figure to behold, he has instilled fear in the hearts of many people since his true nature was revealed.

Equipment

Yellow Lantern Ring: Hank has instilled great fear in a number of heroes and villains alike. This has earned him a Yellow Lantern Ring and a position of authority in the Yellow Lantern Corps.

Fear Empowerment: Users who wear the Yellow Lantern Ring gain an unnerving aura about them. Any Fear the User instills on a Subject (those who don’t have the Ring) will aid in powering the Ring.

Yellow Energy Constructs: Users of a Yellow Lantern Ring can create energy constructs by willing them into existence. Typically the constructs of Yellow Lanterns take the form of something frightful to the Subject , in order to further power the ring. If the User knows the fear of a Subject, they can make a specific construct of that Fear to enhance the power gained from the Subject. Constructs can be manipulated to allow certain people or objects to pass through them, become transparent or opaque, or radiate certain wavelengths like Kryptonite. It is only limited by the knowledge and imagination of the User.

Kryptonian Charging: By attuning their constructs or energy blasts to the wavelength of a yellow solar radiation, Users of a Yellow Lantern Ring can charge a Kryptonian’s solar battery.

Force Field Generation: A Yellow Lantern Ring can generate a force field around the User to protect them from harmful environments.

Energy Blasts: A Yellow Lantern Ring can fire blasts of energy. The energy are typically lasers or plasma in nature. The Energy blasts can be attuned to different wavelengths.

Phasing: A User can phasing through objects they normally cannot pass through, this takes considerable effort and energy from the Ring’s battery.

Universal Translator: Yellow Power Rings, being based off the Green Lantern Power Rings, will automatically translate spoken word into language the User can understand and translate the words of the User.

Energy Absorption: The Yellow Lantern Ring can absorb a variety of energies; from technological, magical and alien.

Genetic Lock: The Yellow Lantern Ring is genetically locked to the User, so no one except the User or those genetically similar to them can use it.

Scanning/Playback: The Yellow Lantern Ring can scan the environment in a variety of ways and playback recent events as energy constructs.

Wormhole Generation: The Yellow Lantern Ring can allow the User to enter hyperspace to travel great distances in little time, this takes concentration to maintain the wormhole and emerge unscathed. If multiple Users use the same wormhole it becomes easier to maintain.

Limited Cellular Regeneration: The Yellow Lantern Ring will automatically attempt to heal it’s User if they are damaged. However, it can only do so much.

Yellow Lantern Battery: A Power Battery in the shape of a yellow Lantern, it’s handles resemble the Symbol of Fear. Yellow Lanterns use these to recharge their Rings.

Earth-96 Story

Hank Henshaw is an interesting character. More interesting than a lot of Superman’s other villains in my opinion.  His whole identity is based around destroying Superman’s image, and that worked. Then DC took that away while turning him into a Green Lantern villain. While making him the villain to more than one hero is nice, especially given how he destroyed the hometown of Hal Jordan, it takes away from the focus of his motivation and primary target; Superman and his legacy. 

This is why on Earth-96, in probably the ballsiest thing I am doing and going along with the ‘No Resurrections unless it’s an essential part of their Character’ Rule, Hank uses Clark’s actual body to aid in his quest to destroy Superman’s image and legacy. This allows a setup for Jonathan, Clark and Lois’ son, to become the new Superman and have a major villain to face in trying to reclaim his father’s body back. 

This doesn't mean Hank won’t be a Yellow Lantern, he’s still a very intimidating figure in the super community because he complete disregard for respecting the dead and his willingness to do horrible things to destroy Superman’s legacy, making him a perfect agent in commanding the Yellow Lantern Corps.

[healthyfitness2020]

What is Digital Marketing.......?

Digital Marketing is that the use of digital technology to deliver your marketing messages and to permit your customers to interact together with your business.

With technology, now you'll enter into a dialogue together with your customers and deliver what they really want and not want you think that they need . Often there's quite gap and digital marketing is what allows you to speak one to at least one together with your customers and on a mass scale.

So what areas does digital marketing cover?

For me Digital Marketing includes:

Web Sites which includes: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Getting found on Google etc Pay Per Click (PPC) - Paying for somebody to seek out you on Google etc Banner Adverts - Paying for banners to urge visitors to your site E-Commerce - the power to shop for and sell products, services and knowledge over the web .

Consumer Reviews - Consumer reviews are a strong thanks to get consumers on to your eCommerce site as they create the purchasing decision easier because the reviews are by consumers who have purchased the merchandise . Whole businesses are built around this idea like TripAdvisor.

Blogs. Personal internet sites with stories, expert opinion etc that you simply believe will help your readers, customers and stakeholders.

Social Media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Ushi, Xing etc. These are web based systems that allow you to attach and share information like ideas, links, photos, videos with compatible people. they will also generate income for your business then are often routes to plug for your business. they will be great ways to attach with people that you'll not be ready to get to by the other means. Twitter are often an excellent source of publicly available real time information and has reported major global events before the world's press.

Social Media News. Washable is far and away the most important social media news site.

Online PR. There are specific internet sites for creating press releases available to the press. Pr log. org and helpareporter. com are examples.

Webinars/Events - Webinars are one to several seminars distributed across the web . this enables you to present to an outsizes number of individuals independent of location. Events are traditional meetings or workshops but are marketed through Social networks like Link din.

Email Marketing - The sending out of bulk emails which you think are relevant to the people you're sending the message to.

Lead Nurturing - this is often where an opportunity gives you their email address in exchange for something free. this is often usually an eBook (in pdf format), video, course of emails on the way to do something.

Viral Marketing - The sending out of a message which is so compelling that folks forward it on to people unknown to you. an excellent thanks to send a message if you catch on right.

Video - Increasingly popular method of sharing ideas, passing on information and selling on the online . Great for selling more complex products or services. YouTube is that the hottest at this but video is becoming embedded into more digital media. Music/Podcasts. Spottily is becoming the foremost popular legal file sharing system because it gives you access to an outsizes range of music. Podcasts are voice recordings a few particular subject. they will be download for taking note of on computer or MP3 players at a later date. Great for relaxation or for learning a few new subject whilst travelling.

Chat/Instant Messaging/Skype. Chat and Instant Messaging are systems for conversations employing a keyboard which are wiped out real time. I.e. one person types something and therefore the other responds. Both got to be present and online for this to figure . Users of Facebook, Bebo etc use this, especially the younger generation. Skype is an online based video and telephone system that permits Skype users to call one another for free of charge or at lot low cost and is becoming increasingly popular for business use and can grow now that the video version is out there on Facebook.

Smartphone or Mobile Apps. Smartphone or mobile apps (or software applications which is where the term springs from) are small pieces of computer software that run on your phone that allow you to try to to things that you simply would normally do on a computer. the necessity to figure anywhere, anytime means these will become increasing fashionable business systems beginning to appear on them. Great for anybody who works faraway from the office including executives, technical and sales people. Also await a growing number of consumers using their mobiles for online purchases as they fill their time expecting something.

Cloud based storage/File Sharing. The Cloud is for many purposes another name for the web . So Cloud based storage is that the ability to store information on the web including backups and sending large files to customers and suppliers. Drop Box and Yous edit are samples of systems for sharing large files between unrelated users. There are a good range of suppliers of remote backup systems now with most corporate including them in their backup strategies. Personal File sharing is additionally available for 2 or more computers to be linked together to share information including music and videos. Personal File Sharing is usually not a business tool for larger corporate.

Cloud based systems. These are systems that allow you to figure anywhere. Google has Google Docs, Microsoft has Office 365. tons of third party software providers are moving their systems onto the Cloud in order that customers can access them from anywhere and do not need to worry about their own IT infrastructure. Companies are moving their IT infrastructure on to the Cloud so as to scale back costs as all the infrastructure is managed by a 3rd party. Extra nets/Web based Systems. Companies are now looking to offer customers and suppliers access to their information (through Extra nets) and their systems (through Web based systems). this enables customers and suppliers to access to information relevant to them and enables them to try to to any processing on a DIY basis saving you both time and money like the entering and progressing of orders and checking stock levels.

Remote Access. the power to figure anywhere means you sometimes need access to your computer reception or work. Remote access through internet sites like Team view and Logging are an excellent thanks to get at critical documents faraway from the pc . a number of these systems allow you to try to to on line demonstrations of your product and repair . this protects you and your customer time and money.

Online Games/Gaming. More gaming companies are moving their operations on to the online in order that their services are often accessed anywhere anytime. Also notice that more consumer applications have games technology or ideas inbuilt to them so as to form it more fun to shop for . The term is named gratification. this might be a challenge for folks because the line becomes blurred between buying something and playing a game.

In an age where systems are everywhere businesses got to understand the way to exploit Digital Marketing because it may be a means to improving the service to your customers, driving down costs and making your organization more agile.

All organizations large and little got to understand Digital Marketing and have a technique of how they're getting to exploit the opportunities that Digital Marketing has got to offer.

See More:

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

alright alright alright it’s long overdue, but here’s my “Angel returns” theory from way back when her actress posted an image of her on twitter.

tl;dr: Angel is back and we see her getting digistructed in the dev trailer in the giant electricity machine thing

There’s some Commander Lilith spoilers below (main story and side quests) so if you haven’t beaten the whole dlc yet, don’t read!!

Alright so this obviously was kickstarted by the Sirentology quest lol 

I didn’t wanna say anything above the cut about that cause that’d be a dick move

let’s start with the thing I first noticed as soon as I walked into the prototype chamber!

ahahhaha yeah.

and if you’ve been following me since I replayed tales, then you might see where this is going

we see something similar here

this is from TFTBL, in the biodome where you find one of Gortys’s pieces (chassis? i don’t remember lol. the big ring one). It’s holding it up, like it’s being suspended in the air. I imagine this is the same technology Jack used to build Control Core Angel, keeping Angel suspended above the Vault Key. So this was built by Atlas, just keep that in mind, I’ll bring it back in a second.

You can see when Jack brings Lilith to the Vault itself, it keeps her stuck in the air, charging the Key

so obviously jack needed to improvise because he wasn’t about to bring Angel to the Vault with him, he wanted to wait until the key was fully charged.

I think Angel definitely got a little bit of leeway compared to Lily, though. I also think, since we don’t see any wires, the Vault key is sorta pulling the Eridium through Angel to process it and absorb it? and the thing above her is a pump/shield generator/suspension. As i understand it, in the new dlc we’ve seen Lilith actually flying with her wings in the final battle, and I do think Angel is using hers to move around (above), but I do think the Vault Key/machine thing is holding her suspended in the air. 

Anyway, the reason I’m bringing all this up is because of how Tannis acts in this DLC. @humphreyhornbeam commented on one of my interview posts with a great point and that is that “[Tannis] may or may not have blueprints and/or information that Jack used to create the Siren Collars and she may be the only one alive that has this info”. Which, oh fuck

Lemme point out some lines that are very suspicious from her just to let that sink in for a bit

we know Tannis has been studying Lilith for some time now, since the Assassinate the Assassins quest, and she has apparently dubbed such studies as “Sirentology”, hence the name of the quest.

so she wants to know exactly where Siren powers come from and how they act/appear over time (Understandably, we’ve seen Lilith’s exposure to Eridium allowed her to start teleporting)

we end up sending her the data through a console hooked up to the chamber

we don’t exactly get a choice.

normal reused console from other areas, with a little projection coming out of it (I’ll get to that soon)

Lilith comments this:

which… y’know… “she could have been so much more”. im not saying the devs are regretting killing Angel, but… that very well may be foreshadowing. Yeah, I’m getting there.

and Tannis is pleased (don’t think she quite cares about Angel).

so… i imagine Tannis is going to have some sorta hold on the story in the next game (”Tannis is not what she seems” is still relevant). Interviews have already confirmed this next game is focusing HARD on Sirens. This quest was 100% put in because of that. There’s no way they’d throw this in otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. 

This entire DLC was the devs’ way of ensuring we were prepared for bl3, and that means for (7? I’m pretty sure this dlc takes place about a year after the end of bl2) approximately 6 years, Tannis has access to some of the most in-depth Siren information. Ever. Remember, before BL2, Jack was smashed in the face with a Vault symbol and apparently got a shitload of information from it before that. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he learned some stuff about Sirens through that. He’s even the one who first confirms there are only 6 Sirens in the universe(s) afaik.

so what’s going on here? What’s Tannis going to do with all this information? We don’t really know a lot in regards to what she’s trying to study. As I understand it, she’s mainly focusing on Eridians in general, so her study of Sirens makes sense. We know she had a large stake in what happened to the Vault Key in the DLC (she’s very upset Mordy is just leaving his drinks in it). We know she’s extremely interested in what happened to Typhon Deleon (which I don’t think is coincidence considering what her focus is).

I want to believe she’s trying to use this information to simply discover more about the Eridians. I don’t wanna believe she’s going to use it for evil. Her introduction as a Dahl scientist stranded on Pandora seems super legit, so I can’t see her being of alien origin. I suppose I could see her teaming up with something of alien origin trying to find out where the Eridian homeworld is, since she’s wildly smart and I imagine would have at least 1 or 2 leads (concerning the Vault Symbol on a slab/floor tile we see in her infirmary on Sanc-III). 

Also, I know it is largely assumed the CoV thing is a broadcast from the twins to their cult, but that just… doesn’t make sense to me. I’m gonna go wildly crazy here and suggest that the broadcast wasn’t from the CoV, but instead the Children of the Vault are another entity and the cult picked up the name after hearing said Broadcast. I mean, seriously, do you really think a bunch of crazed lunatics are going to want to call themselves “Children of the Vault” without a larger influence?

HEAR ME OUT.

okay, I do not play battleborn. at all. so idk what the deal is, but looking at videos that show the morse code easter egg shows this

now i did a little looking, not a lot because I am not a fan of battleborn and my disinterest made me terribly bored BUT

this is what i think a “Varelsi” (the enemy faction of Battleborn) portal is SUPPOSED to look like: 

so, you know, there’s a difference. probably the reason it’s called “anomaly”.

And we know the code we get from those anomalies is in morse code

which translates to this (thanks reddit. It’s been 2 years since I upvoted stuff on that post, btw. time sure does fly.)

And y’know, I JUST did a analysis trailer of We are Mayhem, and you know what was in that trailer? Maya’s Phaselock.

let’s take a look at that, shall we?

so we know that Maya’s ability “allows her to lock an enemy in another dimension, preventing the desired target from fighting back for a short while”. Do you see where I’m going with this, yet?

yeah.

Compare the phaselock to the easter egg “anomalies”, they’re both cracks in our dimension, though Maya’s is white, and they’re both cast against a space-like/starry background which I think is our look into the “other dimension” her description mentions.

in fact, let’s look at some other Sirens we know of, more specifically, let’s take a look at Amara’s arms

I think that’s all the same “stuff”. idk what to call it. just… “STUFF”. yeaaaahhhh.

Anyway, this is all a convoluted way for me to say that I think that morse code message we hear is coming from that dimension that Maya can open a rip to. She uses it to imprison people? yeah. Probably the same dimension Lilith can phasewalk through. idk the deal with Amara’s arms but I assume they take their power from that dimension as well. I imagine that dimension is also tied to the Vaults. We know the Traveller “teleports” places, I imagine he’s doing something similar to Lilith: jumping into the other dimension then quickly jumping out. (okay yes i just likened Lilith to Kurt Wagner, whatcha gonna do?).

Consider the idea that Sirens are this dimension’s connection with the other dimension we see within their powers, and that’s where this message is coming from. I think that’s why Sirens can be used to charge the Vault Keys. But wait, there’s more.

(Sorry i totally lost my train of thought, i got SUPER distracted.)

I think Eleseer (the inside of Elpis in TPS) is connected to this dimension as well, or traveled to through this dimension.

the holograms of planets, the stars- I mean the whole thing looks like a giant void, and I get it, the moon is HUGE, but you think at some point you’d see the outside crust or something. You’d think at some point the mines would’ve caused the planet to cave in or something. Fuck, even the Crackening, which we all kinda know was caused by the Eridians, you think that would have shown this GIANT cavern inside the moon.

I think the whole above bit, Tycho’s Ribs, the huge Eridian base thing, is powering a large rift or something into another dimension, the dimension that the TPS VHs drop into on that giant platform with the cutscene and everything. I mean…

COME ON. is all that seriously inside a MOON?

there is even a bubble shield surrounding the platform they get off on, something very similar to the shields Axton has around his turrets. I think that may be to prevent the atmosphere from escaping, anything visiting from getting out, or, possibly, things from getting in. If this actually is somewhere out in space/another dimension, then it would make sense that they’d wanna keep their magical floating future-seeing platform from getting knocked by asteroids or raided by other aliens

Okay, and I know the “planets” all appear as holograms, but look at that galaxy. the nebulas. Those aren’t holograms. 

Eridian writing on the outside ring there? Oh boy bl3 theories here i come. That’s looking very familiar right about now after my We are Mayhem analysis.

cloud/nebula. clearly not a hologram

there’s even a fucking galaxy down here like… Yeah guys I don’t think we’re on Elpis anymore

Even the entrance to the Vault which… y’know isn’t that normal Vault-y shape is a giant hunk of eridium with a huge crack in it. 

and when you touch it, what happens??

You teleport inside, and it even plays the same animation as when Lilith teleports you during the Hunting the Firehawk quest. 

It probably looks less organic than the one in bl2 because this is powered by Eridian machinery, but it’s definitely the same concept- you fade back in all purple and shit

then this asshole shows up out of an actual Vault symbol, which makes me wonder why we traveled all this way and if Vault symbols are actually gateways somewhere and by walking inside one (unlike every other VH), Rhys and Fiona really DID get teleported somewhere

also, a little off-topic but does anyone else think this is what the eridians are gonna look like?

just… the face after u shoot the mask off.

how did i get to this topic…??

oh yeah Tannis LMAO SORRY

Okay POINT BEING

I think that the easter egg message is coming from whatever dimension all of THIS is. If it IS the Eridians, then maybe humans (or the Vault Hunters- the Crimson Raiders?) are the “Children of the Vault” and the Cult took the name because they heard the broadcast. Because as it stands, “Do not open the Vaults” just doesn’t make sense coming from the Calypsos’s perspective. They WANT the Vaults opened. You know who doesn’t? The Eridians.

So the line: “Tannis is not what she seems” then wouldn’t be coming from the CoV, but instead from an outsider watching us. You know… someone getting info to whoever is in that dimension… like the Watcher maybe? Or maybe the Eridians are just watching us in general, like they can see things from their dimension or homeworld or whatever. They had the Elpis Vault that could see the future, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they could see the present anywhere. 

Anyway

TANNIS

I don’t want her to be evil is what I’m trying to say. but you know what? I didn’t even get into the MEAT AND POTATOES of this post yet

here we go

you know this thing? It’s from the dev trailer for bl3. looks pretty similar to the above stuff, doesn’t it? And it’s powered by electricity, because if you watch the tubes get filled up/emptied out in the video. I’m still trying to determine if the footage was reversed or not because the lava (?? I think???) outside the window is falling upwards when it’s playing normally.

So you might be wondering? Why bring this up?

Cause I think it’s possible Tannis has built this using the blueprints she got from Angel’s prototype room. and why is THAT important? 

Well, hear me out.

this is what a digistructer looks like. Imagine 2 of those facing opposite each other, supercharged by electricity

Now we know Tannis has built Digistruct peak to create fake enemies for us, but maybe those don’t last long/aren’t stable enough

and yeah I think you know where I’m going with this

I think it’s possible Tannis has somehow created a machine to digistruct Angel for us.

and you might be wondering

“why the fuck would she do that”

BECAUSE

IF YOU LOOK AT THE CONTROL PANEL WHILE YOU’RE UPLOADING THINGS FOR TANNIS

YOU CAN SEE ANGEL’S FACE APPEAR FOR A SPLIT SECOND

which only ever happened while she was speaking using her powers!!! I don’t even think you actually could “record” that because that’s her using her Siren powers to talk in your brain!! It’s not a part of your ECHO or a tv screen, that’s literally part of her powers

so what if Angel uploaded herself into Helios, then when AI Jack came barging in she had to hide somewhere she wouldn’t be found/overwritten by him

and please tell me if I’m wrong, i’ve been staring at a computer screen all day/night

but that looks like a body to me. You can see the left arm on the right, then a torso, then another arm slightly behind that

even the electric bursts coming out of them create the shape of a body standing there. I can very clearly see the hand/thigh/waist on the bottom and the shoulders/opening to a shirt? on top there

idk lmao. I’m trying my best to explain why her actress would tweet a picture of her with no context and then PIN it to her twitter page

why britanni. whyyy

[immediateedge4-blog]

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[bryyo-data]

What if Samus had Metroid powers: design for a hypothetical game

I got this ask the other day and my answer was a bit of a ramble, but I've come back to it with a clear head. I decided to have a go at hypothetical game design, for a Metroid title set post-Fusion in which Samus Aran gains Metroid-like abilities due to her DNA changes! Some of the stuff below is rehashed from the ask reply itself.

Be warned! Bit of a long post, and I apologise in advance for mobile users for whom readmores don't always work.

Premise

I tried to stay vague with the story details because I was more interested in writing about the gameplay, but I failed at that and wrote a lot. Story has it's own section at the bottom. However, the basic idea is that Samus, now an enemy to the Federation and probably on the run, ends up on a world where the environment triggers the manifestation of strange powers. Metroids are known to adapt when introduced to new worlds, and Samus is essentially doing the same- her Metroid DNA, previously doing little more than sparing her from the X, is now active and granting her abilities.

New abilities

This isn't solid ideas so much as a brainstorm, but I tried to come up with a few ideas for what Samus might be able to do with Metroid DNA. None of it has any scientific basis but that's okay, there's dragons in this franchise.

ENERGY DRAIN: This is the first ability you learn, perhaps one you start off with. Samus starts the first area trapped, maybe after a ship crash, and is told how to shoot and jump etc. by the game. Or alternatively, maybe she doesn’t shoot. Let's say her weapon is down for now, hence being more trapped than usual, and she's stuck using a melee move to break through the surrounding rocks. While doing this, she comes across a biological barrier. But as she goes to use her melee attack, something unusual happens... The barrier turns to dust, and the health she lost during her crash-landing is replenished.

Henceforth, that melee thing becomes a drain attack. This power allows Samus to drain energy, killing a foe quickly and restoring some of her own health, but it isn't unlimited or easy to perform beyond the starting portion of the game. With mobile and aggressive enemies, it requires very precise timing to pull off. I would personally make it so that the game relies on this move much less than Samus Returns relied on the melee counter, but have it function in a similar way. Samus can still blast quickly through enemies like she could in Super Metroid/Zero Mission/Fusion, but if she wants to absorb health she can coax enemies into a specific position and with the right timing, perform a drain move.

If the move is a success, it will insta-kill a low-level enemy and is more rewarding than a standard kill. This might even replace normal energy drops from shooting, or at least would give much more health back than a standard drop. If she fails, she opens up to the enemy attack and risks taking more damage than usual. So if a skilled player is at low health and might die, they can take the risk of draining from an enemy. They may either stabilise themselves, or take double damage and die instantly.

If we don't replace normal energy drops altogether, this becomes less of a thing. In fact for the sake of health grinding and general convenience it's probably better to keep regular drops in- this would just become a fun extra which allows you to get past certain points in the game, like barriers, and can let you heal up quicker if you've learned how to pull it off without fail.

Regardless, this allows for OPTIONAL bullshitting past segments and sequence breaking; for example, you might be able to just get past a standard too-hot-without-Varia region by energy draining the whole way through.

Most bosses would have opportunities to use this if you position yourself right, but I'd personally cut down on flashy cutscenes when it happens. They're fun but I don't want to sacrifice the flow of the game for cinematics too much. Just a quick draining move, steal a bit of health. This move wouldn't work on mechanical enemies, because it relies on life energy specifically.

As you go along, this ability might power up, perhaps triggered either by the environments Samus moves into (since Metroids introduced to new environments will alter accordingly). Perhaps there are ways to power up every Metroid ability, or even an item that allows you to enhance one at a time by channelling your energies-something like that. An enhanced Energy Drain may steal more health and even fuel your weapon ammunition or something like that. Plus, it would make it easier to insta-kill some stronger enemies with the move.

I kinda like the idea of using an item to power up one Metroid ability at a time. To add a bit of challenge to the game, so you can't just switch to the most convenient one at any given time, maybe have it so that you can only change your powered-up ability in certain areas? Special Chozo statues? Interfacing with the other half of whatever this technology is, maybe a computer system found in a couple of rooms across the planet (with all except the first one or two being in hidden and slightly hard-to-find locations? Is that being too mean?)

(Btw just to get retro, we're giving this hypothetical game cheats- one of which is the ability to switch power at any time. Among others like immortality and fun suit colour changes.)

One thing I considered is that, similar to Aeion, Samus might have a power meter for using other Metroid abilities. This would give more function to the draining move outside of just health, and could explain some of Metroid biology too. It would imply that they specifically have to feed on life energy in order to do the things they do, and normal food wouldn't power them up the same. For that reason, Samus could power up her energy meter by draining. The amount of power she absorbs would be proportional to the enemy difficulty.

This could make certain segments trickier; for example, if there were a region similar to the end of Metroid 2 (not Samus Returns) where Metroids have killed off most of the life in the area, Samus would have to use her powers sparingly. The player might find it a bit trickier to traverse the area if they run out of power. Enemies here might be easy to kill and give a lot of power back on easier modes, but harder to kill and less rewarding on hard difficulty.

An alternative is that Samus's powers are fuelled directly by her own life energy, i.e. her health. This would essentially work like Phazon, but not in bursts; each time Samus activates a power, she sacrifices a bit of health, either continually or at once (again, same as how Aeion works, but depleting the health meter instead of a separate one). This makes it vital to locate energy tanks, which could prompt more exploration and may lead Samus to interesting locations that have hidden lore and such (see the section below for more on that). This might also be interesting from a lore perspective because it explains why Metroids are so aggressive as predators- they waste so much energy on simple things like flying, it means they have to near-constantly feed.

Which brings me to the other power-ups. I imagine Samus wouldn’t pick these up traditionally like items. There would still be items in the game, including several brand new ones not directly comparable to those in previous games in the series (obviously we can bring back some old favourites but copy-pasting the exact same items over and over again can get a bit dull even with new abilities). Most normal items would play to the normal Metroidvania game design, of “can’t access area -> locate pickup -> move to new area. These abilities might be triggered by moving into new environments, or if Samus is under stress i.e. during a specific boss fight. So you wouldn’t necessarily be hunting for them, but they could still let you get to new areas or items.

FLOATING: Samus floats, draining power continually until she stops or runs out. This one would require significant limitations; for example, perhaps as you move further away from the ground, you drain SIGNIFICANTLY more energy. This means you are welcome to try and sequence break, or get an item that you were meant to get with grapple beam, but you're wasting a LOT of energy doing so. Maybe gravity is still trying to pull Samus down once you lift off, so you have to actively fight it, and each ascent drains energy faster the higher you go. Sort of like a built-in jetpack. With that said, this would have interesting applications in world traversal.

An enhanced float may have a significantly lower cost for ascending or just maintaining the float. Because we all love some Aesthetic(tm), maybe Float+ gives Samus a faint wing-like aura when she uses it- especially if we go with the above idea that Samus uses Chozo tech to power it up. Imagine the sick fanart that could come out of that.

SHIELD: A fairly standard one ripped off of Samus Returns' lightning sheild. By sacrificing some energy, Samus can temporarily keep up a shield that will mean she takes less damage. If we go with the function of sacrificing health for Metroid abilities (rather than a separate power bar) it would require some careful balancing as well as player learning- for example, trying to ensure that (at least for stronger enemies) it's worth turning it on at all, and that the energy loss to create the shield is less than the theoretical energy loss if you took hits from the enemy.

Maybe this would be a pulse thing rather than an ongoing one; you activate it, and it lasts maybe 10-30 seconds, taking a defined amount of energy. During that time, you get an opportunity to pummel the enemies around you while not being knocked back or stunned when they hit (though you might still take e.g. 1/2 or 1/4 damage from incoming attacks). Of course, it could also function to protect Samus from things like lava, allowing her to access subsurface items if the game never gave her a Gravity Suit or equivalent.

A powered up version would obviously be something like a stronger shield, or a less costly one, or longer lasting if it's activated in pulses. Or a mix of them all. Maybe even a lightning shield effect where things that come into contact with Samus take damage, possibly even feeding her a bit of health (in TINY amounts, not comparable to the drain ability). Visually, so it looks as pretty as the powered-up float, it could maybe have an effect similar to the traditional big-shoulder Varia suit (assuming Samus is still in some form of the Fusion suit by this point).

SENSE/METROID VISION: I'm ripping this one off Samus Returns as well, but I'd change it. This would allow Samus to detect the life energies of all creatures in the area by focusing. It would also indicate how the larval Metroids, lacking eyes, locate their prey. Sensing would either come as a pulse like in Samus Returns, or a toggle on-toggle off ongoing thing, which you can't keep up indefinitely due to energy waste. Like in Skyrim where you can use the Aura Whisper shout or Detect Life/Undead etc.

Key differences include that this ability doesn’t show you hidden entrances by default; it would just indicate that "something is living in this wall" and you have to make judgements based on that info. Is this an enemy that will jump out and kill you (hence, you can avoid it)? Is it a hidden room with enemies in, and an entrance nearby? Thus, it keeps in a little challenge and exploration work.

A powered up version might be able to show other things too, including nearby items, entrances, or breakable blocks- like scan pulse from Samus Returns. That would make it useful for players who don't want to spend hours bombing every wall, or 100%ers like me who are at the endgame and getting frustrated because they can't find the last two missile upgrades. Obviously it's offset by the aforementioned fact that if you choose this ability, you can't choose another without going back to one of the set locations.

TELEPORT: I'm hesitant to include this one because it was fairly signature to Phazon Metroids, but I guess it could be passed off as "a hidden Metroid ability that Phazon unlocked". This would allow Samus to do short-range teleports for an energy cost. I dunno who's played Axiom Verge here, but there's an item which (spoilers if you haven't played it) lets you teleport through walls, and once upgraded it lets you go through bigger and bigger gaps. Samus's teleport would be more instantaneous than that one, and available to use from any position, but costly to perform.

The teleport could help her dodge enemy attacks (though like energy drain, success would rely on timing, and Samus might still take damage just before she teleports assuming there's a slight delay from inputting the command to actually jumping). It would also allow Samus to get through certain walls, though there may be some which are inpenetrable due to the material they're made of. I don't know how it would work in terms of control schemes, but maybe the player could choose their jump distance, with smaller jumps needing less energy.

A powered up version might be able to take Samus further or even have her emit an energy burst when she leaves/emerges from the jump, damaging nearby enemies- though with a greater energy cost.

METROID COMMAND: I can't think of a lore reason why this one would cost energy, unless it's some weird energy psychic thing that specifically resonates with Metroids. Anyway, let's assume Metroids aren't unique to the end-game Tourian-esque area in this game, and there are several locations where you can encounter them throughout the world. This ability would allow you to communicate with them, actually stopping their attacks and saving yourself or other nearby innocent creatures.

Maybe these Metroids are communicating with a "parent" who is actually an evil enemy (i.e. intelligent species that bonded parentally to them- see lore section below) which may result in more co-ordinated attacks than you see from wild roaming individual Metroids. But Samus can use this ability to stop their coordination, or even turn them on their handlers!

An upgrade of this... Maybe Samus turning the Metroids on their allies, including each other and the enemies commanding them? Keep it up long enough and you might be left with just one Metroid standing for you to take out. That could lead to some dark stuff as well. I can imagine Samus needing to be ruthless by using this ability for survival, but feeling baaaad about it.

The upgrade may also include things like asking local Metroids to affect the environment; bringing inaccessible power-ups to Samus, such as ones on high ledges (if she doesn't want to waste energy floating up there) or opening new passageways that Samus herself couldn't get open, either via draining or using brute strength, depending on the Metroid form.

SOMETHING TO DO WITH SHAPE CHANGING: This is one that, cool as it would be, would be REALLY hard to implement because I cannot think of an idea for how it would work. Especially because Samus is in the suit, and we're presuming that the suit itself can't really change shape along with her. But the basic idea is that Metroids famously mature and change, so what if someone with Metroid DNA could undergo controlled, temporary form changes? Or just change certain body parts? I'll come back to this one in the plot section but I'm not convinced Samus could use it herself, though it would be really cool, if potentially OP. Why have a Metroid Vampire when you can have a METROID WEREWOLF kinda I guess.

Just going for bullshit here, perhaps Samus could unlock this one close to the end in a Zero Mission-esque sequence where she's parted from her suit. She seems vulnerable and really has to rely on her Metroid abilities while being extremely energy-conscious, because she's no longer got extra energy tanks to keep her alive (going by the life=power method anyway; slightly less relevant in the separate-energy-bar method except for the fact that energy refills require enemy draining, and that move is much riskier without the suit, since it already increases damage if failed.)

At the end of the segment, she starts growing claws and being able to slash through thick wires or whatever un-drainable thing is in her way. Then she grows bigger and gets more hunched, scaled, and armoured, until she's starting to look like a warped variant of an Omega Metroid. Maybe even a Queen. Luckily she gets under control of it and reverts when she finds a power suit to fit into, something most Metroids can't do but luckily she's a humanoid protagonist and can't stay monstrous forever. Also gives a reason for her to replace her Fusion suit with a cooler classic Chozo suit!

(For real, would Nintendo even do that? Use their sex-sells tiddy out game section as the scene where Samus becomes the most un-fuckable monstrous body horror dragon alien in the game? Probably not but I can dream.)

Maybe the player can't really control this one, or there's a huge cost to doing so but when you do you become SICK AWESOME POWERFUL and take up half the screen and the final boss attack that should've one-shotted you just slides off your back. Maybe. Maybe I just think monster aliens are cool.

Ideally I would like to have maybe 4-5 unique abilities in the game. With drain as one and four others, it would be fairly similar to Aeion and could act as an off-SR388 Aeion replacement. The above ideas are by no means the limits of what could be done, but I can't think of any others at the moment. To work nicely with the game lore, ideally there would be some powers that Samus hasn't seen Metroids use before. Not only does she learn to use them herself, but the Metroids on this planet start using them too, making for some new and unique Metroid battles.

I would leave as much leeway as possible- there's a lot of ideas here, and while new abilities are fun to play with, I don't want it to be over-complicated or inaccessible. This is very much just a brainstorm! If this were a real game, the most important things would be letting the player have fun, feel badass, and tackle challenges their way so they can feel a sense of achievement from finding items or beating puzzles.

Plot

Okay I wasn't originally going to go into plot, but I got carried away. Because this is a sidescroller in particular, you don't have the advantage of Prime's scan system to pile on lore. I wouldn't do too much heavy plot and dialogue, at least not more than Fusion. If anything, LESS than Fusion to decrease dialogue time. But I might adopt Prime elements, specifically stealing the idea of scan downloads from Another Metroid 2 Remake. These would activate at key times, including new boss encounters, entering new regions, or when the player stumbles upon something interesting. In that regard, I'd hide secrets around the world; little rooms which may or may not contain items, but which add an optional lore entry to your logbook as you enter.

Some plot/gameplay stuff I would include:

So this post-Fusion game would probably be where you'd pick up the thread hinted at by Samus Returns' Chozo memories- there are evil Chozo, and either they still exist, or have left a dangerous legacy of bioweapons and robots. Perhaps there's only one or two commanders left alive, and they will stop at nothing to stay that way.

Adam exists, but his dialogue with Samus is limited. This is intended to create isolation, but also hope. When all feels down, you might stumble on a way to communicate with your ship and with Adam again, getting a bit of reassurance. Adam may be able to help direct you during these moments, but I wouldn't go to the same extent as Fusion itself (or Zero Mission's Chozo statues). He might not be able to point out direct target locations, at least not later in the game. Regardless, I don't want to totally sideline him in the title where, post-reveal in Fusion, his character really ought to be emerging properly.

Metroids have new, previously unforeseen abilities locked into their DNA. The planet this game is set on is a Chozo haven with a perfect atmosphere. It has been selected by the evil Chozo for Metroid breeding in order to bring out their full potential. As Samus arrives here, the environment starts affecting her DNA as well, and she begins unlocking her own hidden abilities, one by one.

She runs into evil Chozo, most of whom are hostile to her. If we permit some dialogue at designated points (otherwise implying that Adam and Samus's communications are largely disrupted, keeping the isolated feeling in place) she might confess to Adam that she feels horrible killing what might be the last of her kin. Though I wouldn't write a plot around pushing a theme, there may be an underlying theme of identity, with Samus's human vs. Chozo vs. Metroid identities coming into conflict. The conclusion of which might be "actually, who cares, I'm just Samus. And whatever Samus is, she's an awesome galactic saviour who won't ever be truly alone in the universe."

The main boss Chozo are not initially hostile- they may coax Samus in, pretending to be her ally until it becomes apparent that they want to use her as a pawn for their greater plans. Again, I'd minimize dialogue here. Instead, Samus's communications with these Chozo may be through things such as wall scrawlings or messages left on abandoned computers (readable through the logbook). When she actually meets them, the dialogue would be vague as to whether she read those lore snippets or not, but the players that did read them will have a deeper connection to these mysterious Chozo and greater understanding (though it may be a completely false one) of their motivations.

Adding to that, there may even be a good Chozo among the ranks, one whose wall scrawlings etc. are harder to find, implying they have to hide them. Maybe even taking the Axiom Verge route of having them in an untranslatable language, until Samus picks up a required cipher and can go back to her logbook and read them. But they give Samus reason not to trust the others. You may or may not ever meet the individual(s) leaving these messages, implying they have been taken care of since you arrived but before you met them.

This could actually give the players plot advantage- maybe at some point, Samus is offered a choice of direction. Evil!Chozo says "Meet me at the pool where we will perform the ritual to revive all the dead Chozo." but Good!Chozo's scrawlings said "If he tries to take you to the pool, you're gonna die and the Metroids will be unleashed again. Sneak in via the overhead pipe and drop some bombs on his machine, destroying it before he even gets a chance to start it up." (Something you could optionally do anyway, if you the player finds the pipe entrance and decides not to trust this Chozo. It gives you a bit of free reign to interpret the characterisation of Samus and what she would do.) In the latter case, it might prevent you from taking some initial surprise damage from the boss, or let you skip sections of the boss fight.

Evil Chozo are breeding Metroids, and forging parental bonds to them. This means the Metroids will defend them to the death just as the baby Metroid did for Samus, and also they have trained them to follow commands, mostly battle-related ones. Maybe they have figured out what SR388's Chozo could not- how to remain friends with Metroids after puberty. Thus allowing them to use matured Metroids. It would be lazy to include Alpha-Gamma-etc again because this isn't SR388, so I'd design new Metroid forms, which in-lore are supposed to be upgraded and more powerful according to the design of the Chozo that bred them here. They might superficially resemble Alphas etc. at first, but their developmental pathway ends up very different and unique.

The big ending twist is that the final boss Chozo is modified like yourself- you couldn't have guessed! Lore-wise, perhaps they were one of the ones who originally created the Metroids, not starting as one of the murderous Chozo seen in the Chozo memories. They knowingly turned on the other SR388 Chozo in order to side with the bad guys, and worked their way up the ranks once that trust was earned. Their Metroid DNA could then be explained by them having, like Samus, come off SR388 with an X infection that needed curing. Or maybe they just happened to be an expert in Metroids and thought it would be awesome to use Metroid DNA to get stronger.

Gameplay-wise, this means they can use powers like yours, but also a variety of others because they're a final boss. One of these might be a refined form of the shape-changing that I'm not convinced Samus could use. Metroids mature into new, bigger forms, and perhaps our villain has figured out how to do this in a controlled manner.

Remember the Chozo tech Samus might use to power up her Metroid abilities? Our villain upgraded theirs so all their abilities are powered up. But you're Samus Aran and you're still winning. In desperation, they use it to mutate into a giant monster, like some kind of weird bird-dragon-alien with hundreds of eyes and bioluminescence. Awesome! This is their final form, but it's not as brief as the mutant SA-X's appearance; maybe you defeat their normal Chozo form in the penultimate boss fight, then have to go up against this version of them at the very end.

Of course, they're still a Metroid-based monster. They have VERY potent draining abilities, which they will use more often on , so you have to use a combination of items you've picked up on your adventure, and your Metroid abilities, to prevent them from making the fatal strike, because if they hit you with that attack you're gonna lose between 1/2 to a full energy tank and they're gonna gain a chunk of health back. It's a mean boss design, but on lower difficulty settings it would be toned down.

Sequel potential

I’ll give this one it’s own section to break up the text walls a bit.

The idea behind having this SR388 traitor Chozo character in particular is that they are NOT the initial wave of evil Chozo. This means that whoever "turned them to the dark side" might STILL be out there. Thus, the plot is not over yet, and there's even more sequel opportunity to be had! It could essentially begin a new arc. I wonder how the next game's final boss could compare to "giant intelligent bird-alien-dragon-lamprey" though?

The game discussed so far might make no mention of the Federation at all, because that would overcomplicate things when the plot focus is on Samus, Chozo, and Metroids. A sequel could easily reunite Samus with the Federation, and let trust be regained on both sides as she saves them from the evil Chozo that are now trying to destroy and dominate everything for evil reasons.

Though we don’t want to sacrifice too much traditional fast-paced Metroid sidescroller gameplay time on plot stuff, maybe have a sideplot where the corrupt parts of the Federation are cut out? No doubt those who wanted to breed Metroids, no matter how pure or evil their intentions, are the most likely to accept help from a band of evil Chozo who have lots of Metroids and need help breeding and improving them. It could end up being a dialogue-heavy thing but it would be fun to see this subplot played out without any dialogue whatsoever; Samus just doing her thing behind-the-scenes to stop or expose these people, while they send threats after her.

One reason why I bring up sequel potential at all is because Samus is now part Metroid and the Federation know it- but they don’t know about her abilities. Now she’s saving their asses and they’re gonna have to learn about it. That might lead to a whole bunch of new conflict potential, which could either be explored in-canon or by fanfic writers afterward. Fun either way. May even lead to MORE sequels where the Feds are creating superhuman bioweapons because they learned it worked with Samus.

What happens with Samus's powers between the two games? Will she go into the next game being super OP? Probably not. So how will that be resolved? Theoretically this first game in the “arc” could be the only one, and could actually end the timeline, but it would be a bit of a shame to do that.

One possibility is that Samus has to suppress or lose her powers. Maybe they start getting out of hand, beyond her control, especially if the shape-changing thing comes into play. She may use a reverse form of the power-up technology to tone down her abilities to nothing for safety reasons. She may even use the final-boss-guy's DNA modification equipment to strip herself of her Metroid DNA. Perhaps she decides that it's not something she wants to be a part of herself any more, and takes it out.

Here's a fun tangent off the last one- what if the DNA mod goes wrong and she does something else... Like damage her Chozo DNA? What implications might that have for a future game, and for Samus's own perception of herself? What if we were left on a cliffhanger, where Samus knows she has to rush off to her next battle with the evil Chozo but when she steps into her own suit, her own second skin, it rejects her?

As an alternative, maybe something off-world- or even just the act of BEING off-world- means she loses her abilities because her body "settles down" and suppresses them outside of that world's environment. While this may seem like a cheap ending, it depends on how sequels go. Because in theory, Metroids adapt to their local environments, which means Samus might be able to unlock a plethora of brand-new and previously unseen abilities in the next game owing to her arrival in another new environment.

Conclusion? I have too much time on my hands. It's been an interesting one to think about. Aside from "Chozo will return as villains" I couldn't really speculate what will happen in Metroid 5 at this point, though I'm very tempted to say it will be made eventually. Unfortunately, word-of-god says that Metroid Fusion's ending rectified Samus's DNA and took out the Metroid stuff (hence her losing cold weakness at the very end) so it's unlikely that any of this kind of thing would make it to canon, unless they're happy for to retcon what was already a fairly unclear thing in game.

[howtohero]

#248 Countdowns

00:19:59

Well, it finally happened, somebody is trying to kill us. I suppose it was only a matter of time really. After all, we teach superheroes how to be superheroes. You could probably trace every foiled evil plot and captured supervillain from the past two and half years back to us. In fact, I recommend you do that right away. Any time evil has been defeated and the world has been saved is on us. We just haven’t been able to say that because we didn’t want villains coming after us, but like we said, somebody is trying to kill us.  (If you are a crime-fighter and take offense at the notion that all of your successes should actually be laid at our feet, please, stuff it, we’re the ones who are about to be killed. The least you could do is let us have this.)

00:19:34

About 26 seconds ago, we received a bomb at our offices. Well, technically we don’t know when the bomb was sent here. We are not good about checking our mail. We’ve all got our excuses. Parenthesis Guy is not allowed within 300 feet of any mailman in our city. (I got turned into a dog once and I was pretty jazzed because finally I could express my utter ire and hatred for mailmen in a socially acceptable fashion. Unfortunately, my colleagues here managed to break the curse just as I was about to pounce on our mailman.) Curly adamantly believes that if the Devil ever comes to collect on the debt Curly owes him, that he will do it through the United States Postal Service. {And I’ve yet to be proven wrong!} Lawyer Guy is a very lazy, good for nothing freeloader who can’t be bothered to pick up a few envelopes off the floor. [I… I don’t work out of your office. Are you guys ok over there?] No, we’re less than 19 minutes away from dying. Dr. Brainwave hasn’t been allowed to touch the mail ever since he built that army of origami robots out of envelopes with our address on them. <Honestly, even I was surprised that no superheroes came to take me away from here after that one.> And me? Well, I refuse to open the mail because I have a crippling fear of inadvertently starting a countdown on an explosive device. Validation has never tasted so sweet. (You were the one who opened it!) It was just my birthday and I thought somebody had sent me a present! {That seems fair actually, it did “Happy Birthday” on the package.} (Ok, but the “birth” part had clearly been crossed out and the word “death” had clearly been written above it.) I thought It was a hilarious gag! But honestly, this is fine. We can make this work for us. Today, for what may very well be our final post, we’re going to talk about countdowns.

00:17:03

I’ve often seen people wonder why supervillains would even include countdowns on so many of their evil schemes. Wouldn’t it be better not to give the heroes a clear timeframe for when their evil plot will be perpetrated? Would it not be better to simply show up, blow something up without warning, and call it a very evil and very successful day? Well, yes and no. While blowing something up with no countdown might result in a very successful and agonizing explosion, it causes the villains to miss out on being able to inflict an additional level of psychological torture on their victims as well. Think about all of us here, huddled around this bomb, watching it countdown. Why, we’re going positively mad. (We’re using this time to talk about the relative value of countdown clocks instead of doing anything productive to actually stop it so, yeah, that’s pretty batty.) Exactly! The mindset of villains is that their victims will suffer from fear, anxiety and desperation as the clock ticks down, and then they’ll get blown up! <Plus, countdown clocks are not really as useful of an early warning system as you seem to think. Most of the time, the numbers displayed on them are inaccurate and the explosive will go off much sooner than you think it will.> (Wait what?) [Seriously, do you need me to call someone?] Maximum torture. Maximum evil. {It’s maximum evil that our office is about to be blown up and you still won’t let us go home early for the day.} You should’ve thought of that before you used up all of your vacation days back in May! {For the thousandth time. I was mugged and in a coma.}

00:15:19

Curly makes a valuable point though. Few things are worth your life, and if you can get out of where you are, you definitely should without wasting any time trying to diffuse the bomb in the time you have left. One of the fun things about having foreknowledge of an impending explosion is that your adrenaline is going to be pumping through the roof. This means that many of your pain receptors will be dampened and you can get away with doing things you would not normally be able to. So you can hurl yourself out a nearby window. Kick down a door. Punch a wall down! Shrink yourself down and flush yourself down the toilet! When there’s a ticking time-bomb in your midst, any way of getting out is going to be safer than sticking around. (It should be noted, dear reader, that ever since our Escapology post all of our doors now lock from the outside and we have to come up with increasingly absurd ways to escape our own offices every evening. So we’ve very much backed ourselves into a corner here.)

00:14:01

If you can’t leave the room you’re in, perhaps the bomb can. Bombs are often much smaller than humans. (Shrinkers notwithstanding. Honestly, if you have access to shrinking technology, you should probably shrink the bomb before you shrink yourself and flush yourself down the toilet.) If you’re able to move the bomb, and you’re fairly confident that nobody around you will be injured, try throwing it out the window, or chucking it down a trash chute, or flushing it down the toilet! <Fortunately, our office is nestled in between two preschools, so no matter which direction we throw the bomb, we win.> That is obviously incorrect and we’re not going to do that, but there isn’t a preschool floating above us. (Wow, good thing we moved last year.) So what we’re going to do now is just pick up the bomb and throw it as high as we can. Worse comes to worst we accidentally blow up a bird or something, but honestly, they’ve had it too good for too long anyway.

00:05:59

Well that was a terrible idea, we should not have touched the bomb and we certainly should not have thrown it through our skylight because it fell right back down and we are 6 minutes closer to death and destruction. <Again, it’s going to be less time than displayed actually.> [Why do you guys even have a skylight that opens?] (When we first started How To Hero, we operated out of a car that had a dope sunroof and we’ve been chasing that high ever since.) If throwing the bomb doesn’t work, or it causes the timer to speed up, you might want to look into alternative methods of stopping the bomb from going off. Thankfully, we live in a world of superheroes and a world of superheroes is a world of fantastical science! We could use a time-dilation bubble to slow down the timer forever! We could open up a portal to a dead universe and drop the bomb through it! We could send it back in time! We could send it forward in time and make it tomorrow’s problem! We could use a technology neutralizer to neutralize the technology in the bomb! We could call upon our bomb-diffusing robot, Todd! The possibilities are endless! Well, not for us. Unfortunately, we keep our time-dilator, portal generator, time machine, and technology neutralizer in an offsite storage unit that is at least an 8-minute walk away. (Plus we’ve locked ourselves in.) And unfortunately, Todd the bomb-disposal robot is a disco convention in Tallahassee (he is a robot of many interests!) and it will definitely take him more than 4 minutes and 33 seconds to get here (and he has definitely been screening our calls).

00:04:29

If you can’t get rid of the bomb using the power of science fiction, you might have better luck simply disconnecting the timer from the bomb. If the timer isn’t connected to the bomb the bomb won’t know what time to explode and it probably just won’t! Maybe! I don’t know, we’ve only got 4 minutes to save ourselves. (Readers are encouraged to start playing “4 Minutes” by Madonna……….. Now!) If the timer is attached to the bomb with screws unscrew them. If it’s scotch taped just cut through the tape. If it’s a series of different colored wires… ah, hm. Which wire are you supposed to cut? Does anybody know? (Blue.) {Green.} <Chartreuse.>  So, no. Guys, come on, you’re looking at the bomb, you know none of the wires are those colors. Ok so we can’t remove the timer, we can’t move the bomb, and we’re stuck in here. (And Todd the robot who diffuses bombs won’t answer our calls.) Right, and Todd the bomb-bot won’t pick up the phone.  (Can’t really blame him though. You know how much he loves disco. He probably didn’t even bring his phone.) He is a robot his phone is in his head. {So, where does that leave us?}

00:03:30

If you can’t remove yourself, the bomb, or the timer from the situation, another thing you can do is to contain the bomb, and thus, the ensuing explosion. Look around you, see if there is anything that you think is powerful enough to lessen the effects of the explosion. You’re going to want something durable, so no glass display cases or wooden music boxes.  (Wait a minute... Something durable... Like something that can contain, among other things, unholy sky liquids, eternally damned souls, and all powerful cosmic artifacts?) Oddly specific but I guess. (Does anybody have one of Jerry’s Homegrown Condiment Jars????) Are you kidding me! (Do you have a better idea?) Well I guess not! Does anybody have a Jerry Jarman jar? {I’m pretty sure he blacklisted me after I yelled at him.} <Personally, I believe he’s the one who sent us this bomb!> Ah gosh.

00:00:50

(You know what? It’s really weird that “4 Minutes” by Madonna is only 3 minutes and 10 seconds long. Now what are we supposed to do? Just sit in silence like a bunch of idiots?) {Maybe one of us can eat the bomb?} Nobody’s eating the bomb! That’s stup- Wait, Dr. Brainwave’s Greatest Shame! (What?) {What?} <NO!> What, this can work! <You dare invoke that name!> Look, we’ve got a giant monster in our backyard that I’m reliably informed will eat anything. In my experience if something will eat me there’s little it won’t eat. She’s 38 feet tall, and a mile wide and an adorable abomination of science who I’m pretty sure will be fine if she eats this bomb! (I don’t know...) What other choice do we have! {Did you forget about the fact that all of her internal organs are sentient beings and musical theater professionals? We can’t risk them getting hurt in the explosion!} Oh, you’re right. I did forget about that. <That’s all right, I’ve figure out what needs to be done.>

00:00:10

<By my estimate we’ve got about five seconds left before this thing explodes and takes all of us with it. I don’t know about the rest of you but I find that completely unacceptable.> Yeah, the rest of us aren’t exactly pleased Brainwave. Though, if I’m honest. If I’m going to get blown up, I couldn’t imagine a better group to spend my last few minutes with. (Awwwwwwww. You love us.) {I think I’m gonna cry.} <All of you idiots shut up now. Listen, none of you are going to die. None of you can be allowed to die. You were right, this guide has saved the world, seemingly by accident, more times than I can count. And I’m a doctor, I can count pretty high. If you die here today, if this guide dies today, well that very well could be it. So I can’t allow that to happen.> What are you doing Brainwave? (I cannot believe it hasn’t been five seconds yet.) <Well, I guess you can say I’m saving the world.> Hey! Put that bomb down, every time we touch it it speeds up! <Well, t-minus three seconds then.> What are those? Rocket boots? Have you been wearing rocket boots this whole time? <I read what you said about air superiority being crucial, and it’s a good thing I did!> {Wait, you actually read this guide?} Put that bomb down right now. <Of course I read the guide, do the rest of you not read it?> (Only the parts I’m in.) {That doesn’t even make sense, your parts are all commenting on the other parts!} Brainwave, I don’t know what you think you’re doing but if you’ve really read through the whole guide then you know how stupid I think heroic sacrifices are! <Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a hero then.> You are missing the point! <Thanks for letting me live in your basement. The mutant alligators will need to be fed. Tell DBGS that I love her, and tell Professor Brain-Scrambler that he’s a hack and that he can suck it.> Frederick wait! (Whelp there he goes. Right through the skylight. The skylight that we just said is retractable. He just went right on through it. Pretty baller actually.) How likely is it that this whole thing was just some big prank? {Pretty likely I’d say.}

00:00:08

00:00:07

00:00:06

KABOOM

[Guys? Guys what happened?] Oh god. He’s dead. [Who is? What’s going on?] Brainwave- Dr. Brainwave... He... He sacrificed himself for us. That idiot. (Oh god oh god there’s- There’s blood and glass everywhere.) (Who better to clean up all that blood and glass than Jer-) NOT NOW! [Is it true?] Yes. Dr. Brainwave is dead.

[sarahtheflutist]

From Dont to Yost to the legendary Korguof exercises that Mr. Vamos used to write out by hand every time I “misplaced” them, there are lots of resources out there to help us improve our technique.

But how does one become more “musical”?

As a student, especially in my younger years, I think I pretty much went off of instinct and emotion alone. Just trusting my fingers to do whatever I felt moved to do in the moment.

But that never felt like it could be the whole picture. Because that would suggest that the key to being more musically creative, is to simply feel more emotion. And if that were the case, what the heck was I struggling through music theory for?

Anyhow, all of this came to a head when one day I had to learn a new piece for which there was no recording. And while I could play the notes ok, I discovered that aside from stealing ideas from whatever recordings I could get my hands on, I had never really developed a system for cultivating my own artistic vision for a piece.

So…what do accomplished musicians do when they’re learning a new piece? How do they decide what those lines and dots and squiggles on the page should sound like?

9 guitarists learn Why

Guitarist and Université du Québec à Montréal professor Isabelle Héroux conducted a study which analyzed the practice behaviors of 9 guitarists (with 15-40 years of performing experience), as they each prepared a short new piece for performance (Why, by Andre York).

But no listening!

Aside from having all of their practice sessions videotaped, and being asked to verbalize all of their thoughts and actions as they practiced, there was one big change made to the musicians’ practice.

Specifically, they were not allowed to listen to a recording of the piece. Ensuring that their artistic vision of the piece would be completely their own.

So what did the musicians spend their time doing?

8 strategies

The guitarists utilized dozens of different strategies, but they could all be grouped into eight main categories.

1. Musical structure

All nine guitarists did some kind of analysis of the form, harmony, melody, etc. Although some took it a step further and wrote down musical ideas or notes from their analysis in the score.

2. Musicological references

The guitarists also drew from their past experience with similar pieces, or other works by the same composer.

3. Exploration

“Exploration” was another important strategy utilized by each of the guitarists. Whether it involved trying different fingerings, playing around with timing, rhythm, pacing, tempo, placement of notes, articulation, dynamics, color, or sound, it seems that the process of experimenting with such expressive techniques is an important part of finding one’s own interpretation. As illustrated by one of the participants’ quotes:

“In general, I would say that when I don’t know what I want to do, or if I feel I’m playing mechanically, I’ll start doing some things arbitrarily to rekindle my sense of spontaneity, you know.”

4. Evaluation

The guitarists were also really diligent about maintaining an effective feedback loop. As in, they didn’t just play the same thing over and over without a target to aim for. Instead, they continuously compared their playing with a) what was written in the score, and b) their internal concept of how they thought the piece should sound.

5. Extra-musical support

Many – though not all – of the guitarists also tapped into their own life experience or memories to access different emotions. Some also used cue words or images to access different emotional states, while others created stories or narratives to bring the music to life.

6. Psychological strategies

A number of the guitarists experimented with different ways of focusing – like trying to get their ego out of the way, “letting go,” or “connecting with one’s inner self.”

7. Visualization

A few (not as many as I would have expected) engaged in mental practice and visualization too, as illustrated by this quote: “Since the last practice session, I’ve been working a little bit on the sound in my head, trying to imagine how I wanted the piece to sound eventually.”

8. Incubation

And a couple even took a break from the piece, before coming back to it and preparing it for the recording.

4 takeaways

Guitarists varied quite a bit in the amount of time they spent on the piece as they went from sight-reading to performance (ranging from 2-9 practice sessions, 54-327 minutes, and 2-38 weeks).

And each musician used a different combination of interpretive strategies too.

But there were a few that every single one of the guitarists used. Strategies that would probably be useful to incorporate into any musician’s music-learning process.

Strategy #1: Analysis

Everyone took the time to create an artistic concept of the piece, whether it was by analyzing the piece through a music theory lens, or by tapping into knowledge gained from other repertoire.

Strategy #2: Keep the goal in mind

Everyone appeared to use their musical concept as a guide to help direct their practice. So, practice wasn’t random, and like a sailor navigating by the North Star, they always had a goal to strive for.

Strategy #3: Explore and experiment

Everyone engaged in musical exploration and experimentation too – trying new things to see what might work and what might not. As described by this quote (which, incidentally, is from the participant whose performance I enjoyed the most):

“I play it, and if something comes to me spontaneously or intuitively, well then I will try to verify it [with the score]. Is there something that supports it? If so, well, then there it is, bingo. If not, well, then I’ll continue to look.”

Strategy #4: Link music to life

Many of the musicians also used stories or analogies to help generate ideas and play more expressively. Of course, not all did, so this may not work equally well for everyone.

Honing your “audition ears”

Many of us have had lots of experience auditioning for things. But it’s not often that we have the opportunity to be on the other side of the table or screen. Where we are the ones listening to a series of musicians performing the same exact piece, one after another. Faced with the difficult task of deciding who wins the prize or gets the job.

It’s an interesting experience, as you might find yourself listening in a different way than you normally do. And it can expand the way you listen back to your own recordings too.

Wondering how your favorite guitarist practiced?

Now that you’ve picked your favorite performance, check out the study (but only AFTER you’ve picked your favorite) to learn more about how that particular guitarist practiced. Or, check out this handy chart that breaks it down in one page.

About Noa Kageyama:

Ph.D.Performance psychologist and Juilliard alumnus & faculty member Noa Kageyama teaches musicians how to beat performance anxiety and play their best under pressure through live classes,coachings, and an online home-study course. Based in NYC, he is married to a terrific pianist, has two hilarious kids, and is a wee bit obsessed with technology and all things Apple.