#having distinct phases of writing and reviewing and editing

[argetcross]

I've been working on wasting beats for over three years now and every time I go back to re-read, it's a toss-up if I'll go "god, agh, yergh [insert low self-esteem noises]" or "Oh this actually slaps? This is great? What the heck how did I do this?". Sometimes these happen back to back in the same day. This often also depends on how much food I've eaten.

In essence, what I've learned is that the inner critic is deeply flawed and confused and really the best thing for feeling low is, unfortunately, to keep writing. Time will take care of the rest.

[novlr]

How can I make my editing process quicker and less stressful? I feel like I’m spending way too much time on it and not really getting anywhere, so I’d love some tips on how to keep it simple and actually productive.

I think that most writers have a love/hate relationship with editing. It feels so good to see your manuscript go from a rough draft to something really polished, but at the same time, the editing process itself is painstaking and laborious.

The editing phase can feel like wandering through a maze without a map. Every writer has been there, staring at their manuscript, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work ahead. But editing doesn’t have to be a source of stress. With the right approach, you can make your editing process both efficient and effective.

Break it down

While some writers thrive taking a do-it-all-at-once approach, this isn’t one that works for everyone. If you feel overwhelmed, you can try to divide your editing into distinct passes, each focusing on a specific aspect:

Story Structure – Focus on plot, pacing, and narrative flow.

Character Development – Examine character arcs and relationships.

Scene Level – Look at individual scene construction and transitions.

Language – Analyse word choice, clarity, and style.

Technical – Look at grammar, punctuation, and formatting.

By tackling one element at a time, you’ll catch more issues and avoid feeling overwhelmed. And you also don’t need to do them back-to-back.

When I do my first editing pass, I look at only story structure and character development. After draft 2, I look at a scene level analysis, with some attention paid to language. If I need to, I’ll repeat this for as many revisions as I need, leaving a deep-dive on language and the more technical proofreading aspects until my final draft.

Create a system

No two writers write alike. Your process will be as unique to you as the writing you produce, so never take someone else’s routine as gospel or as the only “right” way to approach it.

What you will need to do is experiment. Try different things. See what works for you, and what doesn’t. Things you can try might be:

Set clear goals

Before each editing session, define what you want to accomplish. For example:

“Review chapters 1-3 for pacing issues.”

“Check all dialogue in Act 2.”

“Analyse character motivations in transition scenes.”

Having specific targets can help give you focus and give a sense of progress, as it’s a task that you can tick off.

Track your progress

Monitoring your progress lets you actively see what you’re accomplishing. It can be a huge motivator when you can see your manuscript start to take shape.

Keep a spreadsheet of completed editing tasks.

Use a notebook to log issues that need addressing.

Create checklists for common problems you want to catch.

Track time spent on different editing tasks to identify where you might be getting stuck.

Organise visually

If you’re a visual learner, then being able to see your editing process taking shape can be a game changer. You could try to:

Highlight plot threads in different colours.

Mark scene transitions with clear breaks.

Flag areas that need deeper revision.

Use comments or sticky notes for bigger structural issues.

Create a colour code for different types of edits (dialogue, description, pacing, etc.).

Incorporate these colours into your tracking if you decide to use it.

Set a sustainable schedule

Editing can be just as time-consuming as writing (in some cases, it might be even more time consuming), so it’s important to make sure you don’t overwhelm yourself. Don’t expect your editing to be done in a week. To keep a routine that’s realistic and sustainable, you can try to:

Block out specific times for editing.

Set deadlines for completing different passes.

Build in buffer time for unexpected issues.

Schedule regular breaks to give yourself a fresh perspective.

Plan rewards for hitting milestones.

For me, the rewards are the biggest part of the process. I need that little serotonin bump when I finish something and give myself a treat. That can be anything from taking a break, to buying myself something. You can even involve a housemate or family member in the reward!

Keep reference materials handy

If you’re the kind of person who likes to remind yourself of the task at hand, then it can be uesful to keep reference materials or a style guide handy. This could include:

Your story bible or outline.

Character profiles.

Setting descriptions.

Style guide preferences.

A common error checklist.

Notes from previous drafts to make sure you don’t repeat mistakes.

You don’t need to have all references handy at all times. You can pick and choose what works for you, and what is important for that editing pass.

Know when to step back

Fresh eyes make better edits. If you’re tired or overwhelmed, there is absolutely no shame in stepping away. You’ll be much more productive if you approach editing when you’re not exhausted, because it’s very easy to miss things and get distracted if you’re not in the right headspace.

Make sure you take regular breaks between editing passes to maintain your perspective. And don’t be afraid to take a week or two away from your manuscript can help you return with renewed clarity. Read something else. Watch television. Just make sure you do something other than constantly working on your manuscript.

Get outside input

If you’ve done a few self-editing passes and feel you need to start polishing, you might want to look for outside help. This can take many forms. Some are free, while others will cost nothing more than your time. You’ll need to decide what is best for you. You can:

Share your almost-finished product with beta readers (I recommend you read this guide to get the most out of your beta readers, as they can be such a valuable resource).

Consider hiring a professional editor once you’ve done all you can.

Join a critique group for regular feedback during the drafting and editing process.

Find a writing partner for accountability and reciprocal labour.

Trust your instincts

Try different editing processes to see what works for you. Don’t try to force something that isn’t, and be willing to change tack if you need to. If something feels right, stick with it. If it doesn’t, let it go.

But no matter what editing process you choose to pursue, don’t aim for perfection in your first pass. Instead, focus on steady improvement through multiple editing rounds. With practice, you’ll develop a rhythm that makes editing feel less like a chore and more like a natural part of your writing journey.

[unblinded-by-nostalgia-blog]

This is not going to be easy...

Plague Dogs is one of those films that that leaves an distinct impact on you after you watch it. Very few films leave you so emotionally drained after seeing it. And the book has also been praised by pretty much everyone who has read it, and it is also hard for reviewers to properly review it without having an emotional breakdown.

I two, struggled to write a review, not because of the emotional impact. It's because... I don't like the original novel...at all.

Yes, I said it. The film adaptation is better than the novel, and there are many reasons why the film succeeds and the novel falls by the wayside. And no, it's not because it was a sad novel. I have read much more darker and depressing novels than this (E.G. NO.6 by Atsuko Asano).

The reason I hate this novel is for reasons that are shocking and makes you wonder how propaganda like this still runs rampant even to this day...

The Story and Characters

The story is about two dogs that escape an animal research centre and try to survive out in the wild.

But the novel doesn't focus on the dogs, only less than a third of the book actually follows the dogs. No, the main part of this book is to describe backgrounds in the Lake District and to make humans look like the worst thing in existence.

I am not kidding when I say that none of the human characters are likeable. Not one are redeemable in any way. One of the Characters, Digby Driver, is one of the most Despicable characters I have EVER read about. If your curious, read his backstory on Wikipedia! The novel makes his actions 10x worse here than a webpage can describe it.

The dogs are given no memorable traits. They are just blank slates that the readers can project their dogs onto. Which gives the novel a sense of manipulation.

From the very first page when the dog drowns in the tank, the reader knows that this is not going to have a happy ending and that it clearly has a left-wing, PETA-Like agenda against ALL forms of animal testing.

Yes, some animals are poorly treated in these facilities, but most of them are given suitable habitats, and other than the test that they will go through, they live relatively normal lives.

Before you PETA fanatic go at me and call me an animal hater, let me make one thing clear...

I have lived with a lot of animals since childhood and I am currently taking an animal care course, and a science GCSE. I have read a lot about the different experiments they have given to animals, and all the animals have one thing in common...

They are healthy test subjects.

If the scientists had cruelly treated the animals and they were already sick, how would they know that the test (in this novel's case, medicine and disease control) was successful or they need to go back to the drawing board and try again.

Would I rather see other means of testing medication, of course I do. But until that day comes, we need to preform this necessary evil for the good of all. Clearly Richard Adams didn't do his research!

The entire novel only gives you one side of the argument without actually giving any viable reasons to agree with them. The author is so immature about the subject of animal testing, that he gave the animal research centre the acronym, A.R.S.E (a British slang for you buttocks!).

The fact that a reader complained about the ending of this novel speaks VOLUMES about this novel and how happy he was to give the work a "happy ending", people say that the first printing keeps the original ending. Luckily, my library has the first edition, and it is simply not true.

I did a bit more research and it was at the manuscript phase that the novel was changed to give the dogs a happy ending and add a scene where a girl who is seriously ill talks about the good of medical research in a childish way with her father.

The worst thing by far (other than the clear manipulation through guilt) is the character, Tod. What have they done to you, Tod? He is the only reason I read as far as he did, but the final nail in the coffin was his death.

The film gave The Tod a heroic death when he is trying to lead the police dogs away from the two main leads. In the book, he is killed by the gunman who gets eaten by the dogs.

It is the most disgusting scene I have ever read, not only did Rowf go out of character and eat the man in explicit detail. The Tod is captured and killed by the dogs, the gunman looks at his body, and throws at his hunting dogs to tear apart...

I am the only person disgusted by this novel? I mean, I know where Richard Adams is coming from, and I'm sure he had only the best intentions in mind, but why did he let the dogs die?

Well, if (and when) the dogs survived, they would of stopped being a construct and started becoming actual characters. They would of had to go through survivors guilt and Snitter recovering from his brain operation. It would of made it harder to project their own animals onto the two dogs. It would become Snitter and Rowf's story, not the reader's beloved animals. So the two dogs drown and all their troubles in life die with them.

The fact he wrote a "happy" ending angers me. He doesn't focus on the dog's recovery or what happened after they were rescued by the boatmen. The ending focuses on a father and little girl reading DR.Dolittle.

Richard Adams didn't care about the dogs, all he cared about was the message, and it isn't a good one.

The Illustrations

The illustrations are the only redeemable thing in this novel, the detail on them is beautiful. But later prints are removing the illustrations in later prints is confusing.

Even though they are only backgrounds and don't really fit into the story all that well, it is respite from the slog that is this novel. But now they are gone unless you hunt down an old copy, and they are getting harder to find for a reasonable price.

Final Thoughts

I am amazed that the film became a masterpiece despite the odds, and I still enjoy the film even after reading this novel.

The novel is a stark reminder how even today, people can easily manipulate you. And with a controversial topic like animal testing, we need someone with more of a neutral opinion about this topic, and not a left-wing activist preaching the word of PETA and god outside of these facilitie, harassing the workers who look after these animals...

The Story 0.5/5 The Characters 0/5 The Illustrations (No Longer Available)

Overall 0/5

[bookpublisher1]

The Publishing Journey for an Author

The Publishing Journey for an Author: Navigating the Path to Print

The path from a blank page to a published book is a journey that every aspiring author dreams of. It's a thrilling and challenging adventure filled with countless twists and turns. The publishing journey is not just about writing; it involves refining your craft, finding the right publishing route, and, most importantly, persevering through the inevitable setbacks. In this blog, we will explore the various stages and facets of the publishing journey for an author, shedding light on what it takes to bring your words to the world.

Stage 1: Writing and Self-Editing

The journey begins with a single spark of inspiration. Whether it's a novel, a memoir, or a collection of poetry, every book starts with an idea. Authors devote themselves to the creative process, tackling character development, plot structure, and narrative style. The first draft is often a thrilling, free-flowing experience, as the author pours their heart and soul onto the page.

But this is only the beginning. The first draft is rarely the final one. The next step is rigorous self-editing. Authors review and revise their work, focusing on grammar, punctuation, and consistency. Self-editing involves eliminating redundancies, tightening prose, and refining the plot and character arcs. It's a crucial phase that ensures your manuscript is as polished as possible before it's shared with others.

Stage 2: Beta Readers and Feedback

Once the manuscript has been self-edited to the author's satisfaction, it's time to seek feedback from beta readers. Beta readers are trusted individuals who review the manuscript and provide constructive criticism. They can be friends, family, writing group members, or fellow authors. Their insights help identify weak points and areas for improvement.

Receiving feedback can be a humbling experience, but it's a necessary part of the publishing journey. Authors must be open to suggestions and willing to make necessary changes. This collaborative process often results in a stronger, more engaging manuscript.

Stage 3: Professional Editing

After incorporating feedback from beta readers, it's time for professional editing. This step involves hiring an editor who specializes in the genre of your book. Professional editors can provide comprehensive feedback on structural issues, pacing, character development, and language use.

There are different types of editing, including developmental editing, line editing, and copyediting, each focusing on distinct aspects of the manuscript. Editing is an investment, but it is an essential one to ensure that your work reaches its highest potential. You can even try Hiring An Editor for professional editing.

Stage 4: The Publishing Decision

One of the most critical decisions an author must make is how to publish their work. There are two primary routes: traditional publishing and self-publishing.

1. Traditional Publishing: In this route, authors submit their manuscripts to literary agents or publishers. If your work is accepted, the publisher handles editing, design, printing, and distribution. However, the process can be highly competitive, with many rejection letters along the way. Authors typically receive an advance and royalties based on book sales.

2. Self-Publishing: Self-publishing allows authors to take control of the entire process. They hire professionals for editing, cover design, and formatting, and they choose where and how to publish their book, often through platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or IngramSpark. Authors receive a larger share of royalties, but they are responsible for marketing and distribution.

The choice between traditional publishing and self-publishing depends on an author's goals, preferences, and circumstances. Both paths have their advantages and challenges, so it's essential to consider what aligns best with your vision for your book.

Stage 5: Cover Design and Formatting

Regardless of the publishing route chosen, a well-designed book cover is crucial. Readers often judge a book by its cover, and a professionally designed cover can significantly impact your book's marketability. Interior formatting, ensuring your book's layout is reader-friendly, is equally important.

Authors can choose to work with a cover designer and formatter independently or use self-publishing services that include these elements. A compelling cover and professional formatting can make your book stand out on the virtual or physical shelf. Explore the Importance of a Good Cover Design For Your Book

Stage 6: Marketing and Promotion

Publishing a book is just the beginning; the real challenge is getting it into the hands of readers. Effective marketing and promotion are essential to a book's success. Authors need to create a marketing plan that includes online and offline strategies, such as:

- Building an author platform through a website and social media

- Leveraging book reviews and author interviews

- Running book giveaways and promotions

- Utilizing book launch events and virtual book tours

- Engaging with book bloggers and influencers

- Collaborating with bookstores and libraries

The marketing journey can be a long and continuous one, but it is vital for building an audience and generating sales.

Stage 7: Distribution and Sales

The distribution stage varies depending on the publishing route. Traditional publishers have established distribution networks and partnerships with bookstores and libraries, giving them broader reach. Self-published authors need to leverage online platforms and explore distribution options like print-on-demand services, ebook distribution, and audiobook production.

Sales can be an unpredictable aspect of the publishing journey. Authors often face challenges, including slow initial sales and market competition. Persistence, adaptability, and continued marketing efforts are essential to build momentum and reach a broader readership.

Stage 8: Reader Engagement and Community Building

Building a loyal readership is an ongoing process that extends beyond your book's release. Engaging with your readers through social media, author newsletters, and book clubs can create a strong author-reader bond. A supportive community can help drive sales, generate reviews, and sustain your writing career.

Stage 9: Feedback and Learning

Throughout the entire publishing journey, it's essential to remain open to feedback and continuous learning. Every book you write, publish, and promote provides opportunities for growth. Stay connected with writing communities, attend writing conferences, and seek opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge.

In Conclusion

The publishing journey for an author is a complex, multifaceted adventure that encompasses writing, editing, publishing decisions, design, marketing, distribution, and reader engagement. Each stage presents its challenges and triumphs, and the path is unique for every author.Avoid Common Mistakes New Authors Make When Trying to Get Published

While the journey can be daunting at times, it's also deeply rewarding. Writing a book and sharing it with the world is an accomplishment that many dream of but only a determined few achieve. Embrace the challenges, learn from the setbacks, and savor the moments of success. The publishing journey is an extraordinary adventure that allows your words to take flight and touch the hearts and minds of readers around the world.

[gedthestudent]

5+2 Micro-Reviews of my favorite D&D Retro-Clones

OSRIC and Hyperborea 3e

I am very partial to the Advanced flavors of Dungeons & Dragons so its no surprise that these are included in my favorites. OSRIC is a relatively faithful retro-clone of the first edition of AD&D, a game much maligned as the most un-designed among the editions of D&D. It turns out once you remove Gary Gygax's appalling writing, weapon versus AC adjustment tables, and endless Dragonsfoot debates about initiative rules, you arrive at an excellent game. For a free product, it comes with a surprising amount of charming art in the black-and-white style now synonymous with the OSR. The book is not only free but it is three books in one: a player's book, a game master's book, and a bestiary. Hyperborea 3e on the other hand is a AD&D 1e retro-clone that is laser-focused on the sword and sorcery genre. It also streamlines AD&D 1e by smoothing over some of the game's peculiarities. Attribute modifiers are simplified, weapon damage versus size adjustments are dissolved, and segment-based initiative is dissolved in favor for a phase-based initiative in the spirit of Holmes' Basic D&D. Multi-classing is also dissolved in favor of providing a rich variety of distinct sub-classes. Hyperborea 3e also includes robust spell research rules. Spell levels in this retro-clone only reach the heights of spell level 6. The two-column formatting and black-and-white art is wonderful. Hyperborea 3e comes in two books, one for players and the other for game masters. The latter book includes an even a more detailed gazetteer for Jeffrey Talanian's namesake setting, the bestiary, and more rules.

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Dungeon Crawl Classics is a fascinating and idiosyncratic retro-clone based on the scaffolding of D&D 3e. DCC has unified d20 resolution mechanics, ascending AC, and the emblematic three saving throws of reflex, fortitude, and willpower. That is where the similarities end. DCC is as much as game as it is a shameless indulgence of the spirit of old school D&D. Death is common, dungeons are dangerous, and the world is gonzo. DCC adopts the race-classes of Basic/Expert D&D but also endeavors to be its own game with two defining features: funnels and extensive charts. Heroes are not made, they are found. Level-0 characters must survive an ultra-lethal dungeon before they are able to enjoy the first level of a class. Funnels are a tool to teach OSR principles and they have the subtlety of a blunt executioner's axe. Do not be fooled by the book's length. The game is a simple and familiar. Most of the length comes from the tables for spell checks, critical fumbles, and critical successes. The other defining feature of the game is the incredible flavor held in these tables and in the situations that arise from rolling on them. DCC is both a premier retro-clone and the single greatest instrument of mainstream D&D deprogramming.

Castles & Crusades

Castles & Crusades is both understated and underrated. To describe the game in the most simple terms, it is AD&D 1e reimagined with the unified d20 resolution of D&D 3e and beyond. The game includes all of the iconic D&D classes and the eighth printing in particular is to be applauded for its superb art and formatting. Punitive attribute requirements are dissolved, ascending AC is used, and multi-classing is presented in an accessible manner. My only criticism that the explanation for the non-combat resolution mechanic is poor. All Difficulty Classes are 18. All rolls are modified by the one of the six classic attributes. If the roll includes the character's primary attribute, they receive an additional +6 to their roll. If the roll includes the one of the character's class abilities, they receive an additional bonus equal to their level. This is the game to play if your table wants to engage with AD&D but do not want to engage with its vestigial qualities.

Old School Essentials and Advanced Labyrinth Lord

Old School Essentials is a 1-to-1 retro-clone of B/X D&D presented in a best-in-industry, control panel format. Game mechanics are stripped bare and presented in a brutalist fashion that leaves no room for ambiguity. Descending and ascending AC are both included. All the art is wholesome and not at all missing the OSR charm. Advanced Fantasy is the definitive version of the game that includes everything in the Classic Fantasy tome but introduces reimagined features and rules from both AD&D and Unearthed Arcana. Labyrinth Lord was the retro-clone that preceded OSE. Advanced Labyrinth Lord is a comprehensive game that includes everything in the first iteration of Labyrinth Lord but incorporates the Advanced Edition Companion. This results in an experience that cleaves much more faithfully to AD&D proper. Classes' attribute requirements are here and descending AC is used. Segment-based initiative from AD&D 1e is absent. What OSE might lack in flavor, ALL has in abundance.

Swords & Wizardry Complete

Original D&D, or "OD&D," has no shortage of retro-clones either. There is Delving Deeper, Iron Falcon, White Box Fantasy Adventure Game, Swords and Wizardry, and more. Each seeks to clone various iterations of OD&D and each has its fans. Swords & Wizardry seeks to clone the original game and its supplements, which results in a streamlined game that approaches AD&D. More class options, a divorce between race and class, and both descending and ascending AC are all present. Swords & Wizardry also is known for its unified saving throw. There is no more wrestling with five categories of saving throws. The crowdfunded Revised edition of Swords & Wizardry Complete also comes with rules for morale and spell research.

[updatedgeek]

Free AI Tools For Digital Marketing To Explore In 2023

Businesses are always looking for strategies to outperform the competition and have a major impact on the target audience in today's cutthroat business environment. Digital marketing has undergone a transformation as a result of artificial intelligence innovation, which has provided cutting-edge technologies to boost online presence. I'll give a thorough study of Free AI Tools For Digital Marketing in this article.

AI tools for online advertising

A variety of tools called artificial intelligence (AI) tools are used in digital marketing to watch enormous amounts of data, spot patterns, and take immediate action. These tools improve the effectiveness of marketing initiatives and increase the ability to reach potential customers. Knowing the buyer's next action is the main goal of the marketing plan, and doing so is attainable.

Free AI Tools For Digital Marketing

Jasper.ai

Content creation, a plagiarism detector, editable templates, social network posts, etc. are some of this tool's main features. This tool's operation is based on the openAI-developed GPT 3 model. The user can add the name of the product or brand to the built-in templates of this tool, and an automatic copy of the information is made. Additionally, users have the ability to write product descriptions for use on online shops. This tool costs $40 for a starter that provides 20,000 words.

Flick

Caption writing, idea brainstorming, post scheduling, hashtag search and managers, auto-suggested hashtags, etc. are some of this tool's best features. Users can quickly plan, come up with ideas, and write content for social media. For a 7-day free trial, you can try out this tool and see how it generates material differently. There is 24-hour support available for a simple setup procedure. This program generates countless ideas for articles. This tool's only drawback is that it is still in the pilot phase. This tool starts at a cost of $13.60.

GrowthBar

Content generation, a meta generator, search engine optimization, blogging tools powered by AI, etc. are some of this tool's best capabilities. This program aids in the creation of material automatically and provides suggestions for words, pictures, links, accurate word counts, and many other things. The Chrome extension can also be used to access it. This tool has the benefits of being affordable, comprehensive, and simple to use. Limited customization options and features are drawbacks. The initial cost of this gadget is $79.

Smartwriter.ai

The LinkedIn Chrome extension, customised cold emails, and personalized LinkedIn outreach are the best features. To boost consumer outreach, this technology generates emails automatically. Additionally, it creates backlinks. Additionally, this utility is compatible with other third-party tools. The initial monthly cost is $49.

AI Beacons

This application has some of the best features, including a brand database, editing capabilities, pitch creation, and high-quality AI-generated content. Users of this technology can receive tailored and distinctive email pitches. The only requirements are choosing the brand, setting the necessary tone, and specifying the pitch's duration. This tool's user-friendly design and customised email production are advantages. Limited analytics features are a disadvantage. Depending on how it is used, this tool's pricing changes.

Grammarly

With this program, grammar errors can be easily fixed. A few of the characteristics include formality level, tone modulation, clear communication, and plagiarism detection. It is one of the best marketing strategies for any organization because it draws attention to any errors in the written correspondence. The tool is available for Chrome browser installation as an extension. The premium and business versions of this program are useful for reviewing the content's tone, style, and clarity.

Seventh Sense

Campaign analytics, email campaign management, and event-triggered activities can all benefit greatly from this application. It guarantees that the emails are consistently sent at the appropriate time to the appropriate consumers. This helps advertisers connect with their audience more effectively and determines when an email is most likely to be opened. The greater the likelihood that emails will be delivered, the higher the sender score. Companies that send out tens of thousands of emails to their clients each week will find this technology to be quite beneficial.

MarketMuse

This application is useful for tracking SERP rankings, competitor analysis, and data visualization. For organizations who need to write lengthy content, such as landing pages, emails, essays, or sales copy, this tool is highly useful. The user-selected topic is used to construct the initial draft, which can then be updated using the built-in editor and formatted according to suggestions made by artificial intelligence. This tool's usual monthly cost is $7.2.

Chatfuel

The cost of this tool every month is $11.99 for businesses and $199 for enterprises. The lead database connection, multi-channel marketing, template administration, and pipeline management are some of this tool's main features. Additionally, it aids in qualifying leads before directing them to sales personnel and automating frequently requested inquiries. The integration of this tool with other applications, such as Shopify and Google Sheets, is possible.

Surfer SEO

The keyword surfer, keyword research, free outline generator, and content editor are the main features of this program. This tool's goal is to improve blog entries and articles. Additionally, it handles technical SEO. This tool's entry-level plan costs $49.

A lot of people have questions

How does AI function in online advertising?

Based on the customer's browsing history, preferences, and demographics, the AI algorithms can produce personalized content.

What further AI tools are employed in digital marketing?

Frase.io, Smartly.io, Emplofi.io, Semrush, DeepL, Acrolinx, InstaText, Brand24, ManyChat, Optimove, Anyword, etc. are some of the AI tools used in digital marketing.

[bywordofaphrodite]

Book Reviews 5&6: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan & Alpha Force: Survival by Chris Ryan

This review’s theme is action and adventure ! audience age range: roughly 12 and up !

For this review I’m using the first book from two action/adventure series, featuring the only male authors I've selected of the ten books chosen for these posts. Both are action-packed books with ensemble casts featuring boys and girls, though the similarities mostly stop there.

As a lover of Greek mythology and fantasy in general, Rick Riordan’s sarcastic and upbeat hero of Percy provided a hilarious new way to look at the more serious myths concerning the gods and enemies of Mount Olympus (his slightly inaccurate retellings made acceptable because the series was made for a younger audience, not to mention it’s funny so who cares).

Alpha Force is firmly set in the real world, no magic to be seen, just hardened survival skills that seem more sitting to the SAS than a bunch of young teens- but with the author Chris Ryan being a member of the SAS himself, it’s exactly what you’d expect.

Nostalgic review

Rating: ★★★★★

Percy Jackson is one of those famous book series in a long list of teen/YA fiction that has gripped teens by the throat on its basic lore alone. During class my friends and I would go on Tumblr and Pinterest to pass time, and as readers we always ended up on That Side of Tumblr- yes, the side filled with cheesy edits of all the popular main characters of the time: Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games, Clary Fray of The Mortal Instruments, all the usual squad, and of course Percy Jackson himself. In a sea of lead female characters, Percy was a fun male lead to throw in the mix. It felt special too, that Riordan continued to write Percy’s story ageing him up as the books went on. We grew up with Percy too. I still keep collect the series even now; my brother’s gift to me for my 21st birthday was the Heroes of Olympus collection, though I haven’t read the older books in several years. I’ve always thought Riordan’s writing style not only improved over the years, but also adjusted well to writing for an older audience in the newer books, which was impressive. Additionally, Riordan listening to his fans and adding in more and more representation through great diverse characters definitely sweetens the memories attached to this series.

Alpha Force is just so good. And so underrated. It was between Alpha Force and Alex Rider for the second book in this review, but ultimately I decided enough people know Alex Rider (there’s a movie and a new series about him, go check the series out, it’s great!) and Chris Ryan’s hidden gem was something I wanted to discuss more. I went through an Extreme Survival Adventures book phase during early high school, devouring all kinds of action from deep-sea diving to climbing Mount Everest and every shipwrecked story on the shelves. I’ve always been a huge fan of the ensemble character groups where everyone has a distinct role that no one else can fill; I find it prevents boring main character syndrome where one singular person never needs any help and therefore has neither character development nor conflict. The Alpha Force series managed to deliver fantastic action sequences, smart yet surprisingly realistic characters and somewhat rarely in my experience- incredible female characters who actually had real personality and arcs that belonged to themselves and not the male characters. Honestly, this assignment has been a great excuse to make myself read these books again!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief Review

Post-read: ★★★★

Synopsis: when struggling student Percy Jackson’s pre-algebra teacher transforms into a monster on school grounds and tries to kill him, Percy runs home to be told the truth by his mother about who he is: a demigod, and upon his arrival at the safe haven for demigods- Camp Half-Blood- Percy discovers he is the son of Poseidon, with water powers to boot. With the help of a satyr named Grover and daughter of Athena, Annabeth, Percy sets course for the Underworld to prevent a war breaking out on Mount Olympus.

(I wanted to make this four and a half stars, but I am incompetent at adding in the half, so if you’d kindly just imagine it is there that would be great.)

Okay! Let’s get into it!

With the first chapter titled ‘I ACCIDENTALLY VAPORISE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER’, I think the tone for the story is established rather immediately. The first-person narrative allows the character of Percy to talk to readers directly, and it creates a very easy feeling of Percy recounting his feelings and adventures as if in a one-on-one conversation. I felt just as drawn in rereading as an adult as I did when I was in school. Percy doesn’t fit it in at any schools and has been kicked out of six when the first chapter begins. His ADHD and dyslexia make concentrating and studying hard, and he’s always restless. The only people he feels are on his side are his friend Grover and his Latin teacher, Mr Brunner, who seems to be the only teacher who doesn’t have it out for him.

As it turns out, neither Grover nor Mr Brunner are people! Grover is a satyr sent to watch over Percy until he reaches Camp Half-Blood, and Mr Brunner is the immortal centaur Chiron and the activities director at the camp, also watching over Percy. When the Fury Alecto- disguised as Percy’s pre-algebra teacher Mrs Dodds- tries to kill Percy on a school field trip, the satyr and centaur jump in to save him. Later at the camp, Percy continues to stay fast friends with the two and confides in them while they teach him everything about his new world. Percy meets many more kids at camp, all of whom struggled in the human world before finding their true capabilities upon discovering their status as demigods. Annabeth is one such kid, the daughter of Athena who is cold to Percy at first, out of loyalty to the history between Athena and Poseidon, but who ends up becoming fast friends with him, and later his girlfriend throughout the series.

Riordan’s writing is fresh, engaging and fun at every turn. His modern takes on the gods and their ancient stories and riddles makes for a terrific adventure, and the ‘quests’ undertaken by the demigods mimic the old mythology in a palatable way for young readers to digest easily and understand what exactly is going on. The best part about Percy Jackson for me isn’t the monsters and battles, but rather Riordan’s intentions when creating the series: he wanted to give his dyslexic son a hero he could relate to, and since the first set of books Rick Riordan has gone above and beyond expectations to create demigod heroes for kids spanning many different ethnicities, genders and disabilities. Of the many series popular among young people, I’m especially glad that this one full of so much representation is maintaining the hype it deserves.

Characters who aged well: Percy! At twelve years old in this first book of the series, and just the right combination of witty, kind, hot tempered, brave and cheeky to make a believable and lovable young protagonist; his diagnosis with ADHD and dyslexia not being portrayed as a weakness but rather a part of him makes Percy a special hero to neurodivergent readers. Annabeth, too, remains a great character, she’s intelligent, logical and ambitious in a positive manner, and never falls into the trap of being ‘not like other girls’.

Characters who aged badly: nobody! All the side characters are great, and even the villains are entertaining, especially alongside Percy’s ridiculous commentary. The gods are portrayed rather mockingly, which is a kindness really, compared to the awful acts they commit in the original myths.

Favourite scene/quote: ‘Deadlines just aren’t real to me unless I’m staring one in the face’ – I first read this book years ago and it’s still relevant. I can’t even be embarrassed to relate to it at this point.

My favourite scenes both centre on Medusa- or rather, her severed head. Furious with the gods- namely, Zeus, Athena and his father Poseidon- for sending himself, Annabeth and Grover on such a dangerous quest so quickly after his first day at camp, Percy stuffed Medusa’s head into a package and wrote the address of Mount Olympus on a delivery slip, ending with ‘best wishes, PERCY JACKSON’. To Grover’s distress at Percy’s being ‘impertinent’ to the gods yet again, Percy simply responded ‘I am impertinent’. 10/10 big mood.

The second refers to Sally explaining to Percy that she can take care of herself, and, leaving Medusa’s head in her fridge, Percy exits their apartment just as Sally’s abusive boyfriend walks in. The last thing Percy sees is his mother, ‘staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue’. It’s a nice moment between mother and son, followed by Percy understanding the strength his mother has and how much she does for him.

Alpha Force: Survival Review

Post-read: ★★★★

Synopsis: Five teenagers end up stranded on a desert island after their sailing ship goes down at sea. Enthusiastic Alex, reluctant Amber and Hex and practical jokers Paulo and Li are all part of a ‘working eco-voyage’ that quickly falls apart, leaving them to survive on their skills alone against komodo dragons, sharks and modern day pirates somewhere on the Indonesian archipelago.

The story begins with Northumbrian boy Alex- the closest to a main character out of the five- scrubbing the deck of a ship called the Phoenix and lamenting the fact that he’s been lumped in with four people he would never have chosen to be in a watch with. Assigned to A-Watch by their mean supervisor Heather, Alex finds himself the unofficial watch leader… and the only person who really wants to be there. Also in A-Watch is Amber, the daughter of African-American software billionaires who recently died in an accident and left her the sole heiress to the fortune. Amber, still hurting from her parent’s death, is furious to be on board the eco-voyage organised by her Uncle John, who believes she needs to move on in a place outside her comfort zone. Amber spends a great chunk of time antagonising English hacker Hex, who was sent on the trip as a punishment by his school for ruthlessly hacking into the accounts of a teacher who bullied his younger brother. Rounding out the group are Paulo and Li, both of whom are very athletic and thrive in the outdoors, but also uninterested in doing any real work aboard the Phoenix. Paulo is a charming ranch hand from Argentina who loves food and flirting; Li is the Anglo-Chinese daughter of zoologists who enjoys testing out her martial arts on Paulo.

After an argument with their supervisor Heather, Amber decides A-Watch should steal food and relax in a small boat beside the ship to thwart her- a fine plan at first, which goes haywire after the rope frays and they awaken to find themselves in the middle of the Java Sea with no one knowing they’re missing. Tensions rise between the teenagers as they panic over food and safety as they work to survive. Hex just barely survives a Komodo dragon attack, and their hope for help in spotting a family aboard a yacht goes down the drain when it becomes clear they are hostages of modern-day pirates. Luckily, for the family- the Larousse family who were friends with Amber’s parents, no less- the members of A-Watch manage to put aside their differences and put together their skills to save the day.

By the end of the book, the group have outwitted the pirates, saved the Larousse family and successfully sent an SOS signal leading to their rescue. During their recovery in hospital, Amber learns the truth about her parents: behind their billionaire software company her parents worked as undercover agents around the world, fighting against corrupt governments, powerful cartels and other dangerous ventures. Amber’s Uncle John agrees to let the five carry on her parents work as a team, noting that five teenagers could easily slip into situations that adults can’t. Hex then announces he has a name for the five: Alpha Force, taking the first letter of all their names and representing the new beginning for Amber to move on from the Omega (ending) necklace she wears round her neck to remember her parents.

Characters who aged well: all of them!

Alex’s love of the outdoors is endearing, and he never underestimates anyone else’s skills despite being the most prepared for struggles in the outdoors; he is fairly introverted and thoughtful without being boring, I think he’s very sweet.

Amber’s presence as a billionaire black girl with great navigational skills was a fun subversion of the unfortunate stereotyped roles black characters are given; she has great character development without losing her sharp-witted personality and she’s very funny.

Hex plays off Amber’s banter with ease after their initial clashing, and I like that, though he loves his electronics, he never lets the team down by adapting to the outdoors.

Paulo is just adorable, a charming boy from a ranch who likes to flirt with the girls he likes but always respects their boundaries. His positivity is also very uplifting.

Li: ahh my cool favourite Li. Not just providing Asian representation, but also mixed representation, which I was very pleased about as a kid, and still am. Similarly to Amber, Li subverts a stereotype of her own- she’s knowledgeable about things without being a nerd, and gets to be the most playful character alongside Paulo. In my experiences with male authors, the girls rarely get to be the ‘funny’ character so I always enjoyed this!

Characters who aged badly: no one!

Favourite scene/quote: “‘Or was Heather right? Are you too good for us, Alex?’ said Li, slyly.”

This quote signifies when Alex properly commits to being a part of A-Watch, going along with Amber’s plan to ignore Heather’s disciplinary instructions in favour of ‘stealing’ food. It’s the first time the group work as a team, and his hesitation gives way to helping his new friends even though he never does anything against the rules. I also just enjoy Li’s sneakiness at any time, really. The following scene where the five relax under the stars eating food and getting to know each other before all hell breaks loose is nice to read, and all the action sequences are really great, especially Amber’s dive with the sharks while escaping pirates.

Overall verdict:

I wanted to give both of these books four and a half stars, so let’s pretend I figured out how to do that. The only reason they both don’t get five stars is because the following books in their respective series improve after the first ones- both in writing style and character development- and I’m allowing room for that.

Starting off with The Lightning Thief, the headlong dive into action from chapter one was so fun, and learning about the monsters and mythology in time with the main character is always a welcome addition. As someone who read the original myths before any Percy Jackson novels, hearing them retold from Percy’s humorous perspective is very amusing. Anyone familiar with Percy Jackson knows that the movies released a few years ago were kind of a major letdown compared to the books, so the fact that Disney+ has now taken the series on board and begun casting (worldwide!) is super exciting! In line with Rick Riordan’s mantra of inclusivity, anyone of any ethnicity or gender can apply for the roles, which I think really fits the concept of what Percy Jackson represents.

There were very few reviews for Alpha Force due to how underrated it is, and all I could find was a few comments on Goodreads. One person mentioned that they felt the beginning of Survival was slow. I personally don’t know what ‘slow’ refers to in this case, as I felt the introductions and set up all very natural and in a way, necessary before the serious action kicks in. However, I tend to enjoy a few quiet scenes focused on character development that might not be for everyone. I’m still pretty sad there’s literally nothing else about this series on any fandom pages or anything, but I suppose I’ll just have to resign myself to just me and my brother talking about it!

In the case of both books in this review, my memories of these series were not simply clouded by the rose-tinted lenses of nostalgia. I remain just as impressed and in love with the worlds and characters within the stories, and I hope other people enjoy them as much I continue to.

[davidmann95]

Superman & Lois Pilot Script Review

I’ve been reliably informed that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and indeed as my laptop and everything on it have been unusable for a couple months after a mishap, I went from ‘maybe I’ll write something on the pilot script for Superman & Lois’ to ‘as soon as I can get my hands back on that thing I’m writing something up’. I’m actually surprised none of you folks asked about it when I’ve mentioned several times that I read it; I was initially hesitant, but I’ve seen folks discussing plot details on Twitter and their reactions on here, so I guess WB isn’t making much of a thing out of it. Entire pilots have leaked before and they just rolled with it, so I suppose that isn’t surprising. Anyway, the show’s been pushed back to next year, and also the world is literally sick and metaphorically (and also a little literally) on fire, so I thought this might be fun if anyone needs a break from abject horror. 

(Speaking of the world being on fire: while trying to offer a diversion amidst said blaze, still gonna pause for the moment to add to the chorus that if opening your wallet is a thing you can do, now most especially is a time to do it. I chipped in myself to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and even a casual look around here or Twitter will show people listing plenty of other organizations that need support.)

What I saw floating around was, if not a first draft, certainly not the final one given Elizabeth Tulloch later shared a photo of the cover for the final script crediting Lee Toland Krieger as the director rather than a TBD, but the shape of things is clearly in place. I’m going for a relative minimum of spoilers, though I’ll discuss a bit of the basic status quo the show sets up and vaguely touch on a few plot points, but if you want a simple response without risk of any story details: it’s very, very good. Clunky in the way the CW DC shows typically are, and some aspects I’m not going to be able to judge until the story plays out further, but it’s engaging, satisfying, and moreover feels like it Gets It more broadly than any other mass-media Superman adaptation to date.

The Good

* The big one, the pillar on which all else rests: this understands Lois and it really understands Clark. Lois isn’t at the center of the pilot’s arc, but she’s everything you want to see that character be - incisive, caring, and refusing to operate at less than 110% intensity with whatever she’s dealing with at any given time, the objections of others be damned. Clark meanwhile is a good-natured, good-humored dude who you can see in both the cape and the glasses even as those identities remain distinct, who’s still wrestling with his feelings of alienation and duty and how those now reflect his relationships with his children. The title characters both feel fully-formed and true to what historically tends to work best with them from day one here in ways I can’t especially say for any other movie or show they’ve starred in.

* While the suit takes a back seat for this particular episode, when Superman does show up in the opening and climax it absolutely knows how to get us to cheer for him; there’s more than one ‘hell yeah, it’s SUPERMAN, that guy’s the best!’ moment, and they pop.

* While the superheroics aren’t the biggest focus here, when they do arrive, the plan seems to be that they’ll be operating on an entirely different scale than the rest of the Arrowverse lineup. Maybe they scripted the ideal and’ll be pared-down come time for actual filming and effects work, or maybe they’re going all-out for the pilot, but the initial vision involves a massive super-rescue and a widescreen brawl that goes way, way bigger in scope than any I’m aware of on the likes of Supergirl. I heard in passing on Twitter from someone claiming to be in the know that the plan for Superman & Lois is that it’ll be fewer episodes with a higher budget, more in line with the DC Universe stuff if not exactly HBO Max ‘prestige TV’, and whether it’s true or not (I think it’s plausible, the potential ratings here are exponentially higher than anything else on the network so they’d want to put their best foot forward) they seem to be writing it as if that’s the idea.

* This balances its tones and ambitions excellently: it’s a Kent-Lane family drama, it’s Lois digging in with some investigative reporting to set up a major subplot, it’s Superman saving Metropolis and battling a powerful high-concept villain, and none of it feels like it’s banging up at awkward angles with the rest. There are a pair of throwaway lines in here so grim I can’t believe they were put in a script for a Superman TV show even if they don’t make it to air, and they in no way undermine the exhilaration once he puts on the cape or the warmth that pervades much of it. This feels as if it’s laying the groundwork for a Superman show that can tackle just about any sort of story with the character rather than planing its feet in one corner and declaring a niche, and so far it looks like it has the juice to pull it off.

* While the pilot doesn’t focus on him in the same way as the new kid, Jonathan Kent fits well enough for my tastes with the broad strokes of his personality from the comics, albeit if he had made it to 14 rather than 10 without learning about his dad being Superman. A pleasant, kinda dopey, well-meaning Superman Jr. - the biggest deviation, one I approve of, is that he can also kinda be a gleeful little shit when dealing with his brother in ways that remind you that this is very much also Lois Lane’s boy.

* We don’t know much about the season villain as of yet, but it’s an incredibly cool idea that I’m shocked that they’re going for right away, and I absolutely want to see how they play out as a character and how they’ll bounce off all the other major players.

* The way this seems to be framing itself in relation to the Superman movies and shows before it feels inspired to me: there are homages and shout-outs to and bits of conceptual scaffolding from Lois & Clark, Smallville, Donner, and more, but they’re all shown in ways that make it clear that those stories are part of his past rather than indicators of the baseline he’s currently operating off of. We get a retrospective of his and Lois’s history right off the bat with most of what you’d expect, and combined with those references the message is clear: this is a Superman who’s been through all the vague memories that you, prospective casual viewer, have of the other stuff you saw him in once upon a time, but this series begins the next phase of his life after what that general cultural impression of him to date covers. It strikes me as a good way of carrying over the goodwill of that nostalgia and iconography, while building in that this is a show with room to grow him beyond that into something more nuanced (and for that matter true to the character as the comics at their best have depicted him) than they tended towards. Where Superman Returns attempted to recapture the lightning in a bottle of an earlier vision of him in full, and Man of Steel tried to turn its back on anything that smelled of Old and Busted and Uncool entirely, perhaps this splitting of the difference - engaging with his pop culture history and visibly taking what appealed from some of those well-known takes, while also drawing a clear line in the sand between those as the past and this as the future - is what will finally engage audiences.

The Bad

* This is the sort of thing you have to roll with for a CW superhero show, and that lives and dies by the performances, but: the dialogue varies heavily. There are some really poignant moments, but elsewhere this is where it shows its early-draftiness; a decent amount is typical Whedon-poisoned quippiness or achingly blunt, and some of the ‘hey, we’re down with the kids!’ material for Jon, Jor, and Lana’s kid Sarah is outright agonizing. I suspect a lot of it will be fixed in minor edits, actor delivery, and hopefully the younger performers taking a brutal red pen to some of their material - this was written last January and the show’s now not debuting until next January, they’ve got plenty of time for cleanup - but if this sort of the thing has been a barrier to entry for you in the past with the likes of The Flash, this probably won’t be what changes your mind.

* There are a few charming shout-outs to other shows, but much moreso, Superman & Lois actually builds in a big way out of Crisis. Which is a-okay with me, except that what exactly that was is rather poorly conveyed given that lots of people will be giving this a spin with no familiarity with that. Fixable with a line or two, but important enough to be worth noting.

Have to wait and see how it plays out

* The series’ new kid, Jordan Kent, is so far promising with potential to veer badly off-course. He’s explicitly dealing with mental illness, and not on great terms with Clark at the beginning in spite of the latter’s best efforts, the notion of which I’m sure will immediately put some off. Ultimately the commonalities between father and son become clear, and he’s not written as a caricature in this opening but as a kid with some problems who’s still visibly his parents’ boy, but obviously the ball could be fumbled here in the long term.

* Lois’s dad is portrayed almost completely differently here than in the past in spite of technically still being her military dad who has some disagreements with her husband. There are some nice moments and interesting new angles but it seems possible that the groudwork is being laid for him to be Clark’s guy in the chair, and not only does he not need that he most DEFINITELY doesn’t need that to be a member of the U.S. Military, especially when one of the first and best decisions Supergirl made when introducing him was to make clear he had stopped working with the government any more than necessary years ago. Maybe it can be stretched if his dad-in-law occasionally calls him up to let him know about a new threat he’s learned about, and maybe they’ll even do something really interesting with that push-and-pull, but if Superman’s going to be even tacitly functioning as an extension of the military that’s going to be a foundational sin.

* As I was nervous about, Superman & Lois has some political flavor, but much to my delighted surprise, there’s no grossly out of touch hedge-betting in the way I understand Supergirl has gone for at times. As of the pilot, this is an explicitly leftie show, with the overarching threat of the season as established for Lois and Clark as reporters being how corporate America has stripmined towns like Smallville and manipulated blue collar workers into selling out their own best interests. Could that go wrong? Totally, there’s already an effort to establish a particular prominent right-wing asshole as capable of decency - without as of yet downplaying that he’s a genuinely shitty dude - and vague hints that some of the towns’ woes might be rooted more in Superman-type problems than Lois and Clark problems. But that they’re going for it this directly in the first place leaves me hopeful that the show won’t completely chicken out even if there’ll probably be a monster in the mix pulling a string or two; Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder’s Action Comics may justify Superman punching a cop by having him turn out to be a shadow monster so as to get past editorial, but it’s still a story about how sometimes Superman’s gotta punch a cop, and hopefully this can carry on in that spirit of using what wiggle room it has to the best of its ability.

So, so far so good. Could it end up a show with severe problems carried on the backs of Hoechlin and Tulloch’s performances? Absolutely. But thus far, the ingredients are there for all its potential problems to be either fixed, subverted, or dodged alright, and even when it surely fumbles the ball at junctures, I earnestly believe this is setting itself up to be the most fleshed-out, nuanced, engaging live-action take on these characters to date. And god willing, if so, the first real stepping stone in decades to proper rehab on Superman’s image and place in pop culture.

[theculturedmarxist]

Goldner on Elbaum

Commune has a new review out of the 2018 reissue of Max Elbaum’s Revolution in the Air, which recounts the trials and travails of the New Communist Movement in the US. Written by Colleen Lye, “Maoism in the Air” is very sympathetic to the book’s central thesis: namely, that three distinct strands of American Maoism (Cultural Revolutionary, Third World nationalism, and orthodox Marxism-Leninism) shaped the politics of the post-’68 generation in a novel and generally beneficial way. Lye even goes a step further than Elbaum, remarking on the NCM’s institutional legacy that “today’s academic field of critical ethnic studies might well be described as a space where anti-racism and anti-imperialism continue, in a different key and perhaps even unknowingly, the Marxist-Leninism of the ’68 generation.”

She may well be right about this, but I hardly think this is a legacy to be proud of. Usually the so-called “long march through the institutions” is seen as a political defeat held up as an intellectual victory. Marxism’s relegation to the academy is a sign of its neutralization, in other words. I can only speak to the field of Jewish Studies, which is what I’m most familiar with, but for the most part I find it a useless discipline — despite my persistent interest in the history of Jews. Regardless, I was somewhat surprised to see such a positive review of Elbaum’s book in the pages of Commune, a magazine that I am very excited about. (For any readers who haven’t already, I encourage you to check out Jay Firestone’s ethnographic survey of alt-Right NYC and Paul Mattick’s outstanding piece on the centenary of the German Revolution.)

Admittedly, I’ve never understood the appeal of Maoism for American communists, either in the seventies or today. Perhaps it possessed some exotic aura back then, or was maybe just a dope aesthetic. Either way, the theory and practice of the Chinese brand of Stalinism ought to have been long discredited by now. Virtually all of the national liberation movements that were supposed to destabilize global capitalism and pave the way for international socialist revolution have been seamlessly reintegrated into the world of commodities. Nowadays, of course, there is the added association of Maoist ideas with the Black Panther Party, which is still celebrated as a high point in the history of revolutionary politics in the US. How much of this is simply mythologization after the fact is difficult to say, but it was certainly influential.

But even in light of this association, the attraction of Maoism is difficult to grasp. It was recently revealed, in fact, that the person who introduced the Black Panthers to the writings of Mao was an FBI snitch. Richard Aoki, the Berkeley radical and leader of the ethnic studies strike, informed his Bureau contact: “The Maoist twist, I kind of threw that one in. I said so far the most advanced Marxists I have run across are the Maoists in China.” Despite this ideological straightjacket, BPP spokesmen like Fred Hampton were able to say fairly interesting things (all this before he was gunned down in Chicago at the age of 21). While it gave Hampton the perspective he needed to denounce the empty culturalism of Stokely Carmichael, whom he referred to as a “mini-fascist,” it otherwise limited the Panthers’ scope of inquiry into capitalist society.

Loren Goldner’s review, lightly edited and reproduced below, provides a much-needed corrective to the laudatory reception Revolution in the Air has met with so far. Goldner grounds his critique of Elbaum in the left communist and heterodox Trotskyist tradition he belonged to at the time, even though he likewise went to Berkeley and knew many of the same characters. Other Maoists, such as Paul Saba, have gently criticized Elbaum’s book over the last few months. Saba contends that the main fault of the NCM — of which he was also a veteran — was its theoretical poverty, and that it might have benefited from a more sophisticated Althusserian-Bettelheimian viewpoint. Quite the opposite holds for Goldner: the New Communist Movement was wrongheaded from the start.

You can read a 2010 interview with Elbaum by clicking on the link, but otherwise enjoy Goldner’s blistering review. Maoism may still be “in the air,” as Lye contends, if the various Red Guard formations are any indication. According to Goldner, however, it might be in the air the same way smog and other pathogens are.

Without exactly setting out to do so, Max Elbaum in his book Revolution In The Air, has managed to demonstrate the existence of progress in human history, namely in the decline and disappearance of the grotesque Stalinist/Maoist/“Third World Marxist” and Marxist-Leninist groups and ideologies he presents, under the rubric New Communist Movement, as the creations of pretty much the “best and the brightest” coming out of the American 1960s.

Who controls the past, Orwell said, controls the future. Read at a certain level, Elbaum’s book (describing a mental universe that in many respects out-Orwells Orwell), aims, through extended self-criticism, to jettison 99% of what “Third World Marxism” stood for in its 1970s heyday, in order to salvage the 1% of further muddled “progressive politics” for the future, particularly where the Democratic Party and the unions are concerned, preparing “progressive” forces to paint a new face on the capitalist system after the neoliberal phase has shot its bolt.

I lived through the 1960s too, in Berkeley of all places. I was in an anti-Stalinist revolutionary socialist milieu (then called Independent Socialist Clubs, which by the late 1970s had spawned eight different offshoots) a milieu the author identifies with “Eurocentric” Marxism. We argued that every state in the world from the Soviet Union to China to Cuba to North Vietnam and North Korea, by way of Albania, was a class society, and should be overthrown by working-class revolution. We said the same thing about all the Third World “national liberation movements” and states resulting from them, such as Algeria, and those in the then-Portuguese colonies (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau). We were dead right, and Elbaum’s “Third World Marxists,” who cheerleaded most or all of them, were dead wrong. This is now clear as day for all with eyes to see. We based our perspective on realities that did and do not to this day exist for Elbaum and his friends: the question of whether the Russian Revolution died in 1921 (Kronstadt) or 1927 (defeat of the Left Opposition). In Elbaum’s milieu, the choice was between 1953 (death of Stalin) and 1956 (Khruschev’s speech to the Twentieth Party Congress). “Eurocentrics” that we were, we took note of Stalin’s treacherous and disastrous China policy in 1927 (which Mao Tse-tung at the time had criticized from the right); of Stalin’s treacherous and disastrous Third Period policy and its results in Germany (above all), but also throughout the colonial world (e.g. the 1930 “Communes” in Vietnam and China). We critiqued Stalin’s treacherous and disastrous Popular Front policy, which led to a mutual defense pact with France, the reining in of the French mass strike of May-June 1936, and above all to the crushing of the anarchists and Trotskyists (and with them the Spanish Revolution as a whole) in Barcelona in May 1937 (it also led to the abandonment of anticolonial agitation by the Vietnamese and Algerian Communist Parties in the name of “antifascism”). We were disturbed by the Moscow Trials, whereby 105 of 110 members of Lenin’s 1917 central committee were assassinated, and by the Stalin-Hitler pact, through which Stalin handed over to the Gestapo dissident factions of the German Communist Party who had sought refuge in the Soviet Union, We read about Elbaum’s one-time hero Ho Chi Minh, who engineered the massacre of thousands of Vietnamese Trotskyists in 1945 when they advocated (with a real working-class base) armed resistance to the return of English and French troops there after World War II (Ho received them warmly under the auspices of the Yalta agreement, wherein Uncle Joe had consented to further French rule in Indochina). Stalin had done the same for Greece, where again the Trotskyists were slaughtered while pushing for revolution, and in western Europe, where the French and Italian resistance movements were disarmed and sent home by their respective Communist Parties. We studied the workers’ uprising in East Berlin in 1953, and the Hungarian Revolution (and Polish worker unrest) of 1956; we distributed the brilliant Open Letter to the Polish Workers’ Party (1965) of Kuron and Modzelewski. We were heartened by the Polish worker uprising in Gdansk and Gdynia in December 1970, which arguably heralded (through its 1980-81 expansion) the end of the Soviet empire. Elbaum mentions none of these post-1945 worker revolts against Stalinism, which were undoubtedly too “Eurocentric” for him — they did after all take place in Europe — assuming he heard about them. At the time, he and his milieu would have undoubtedly described them as revolts against “revisionism.”

From 1970 onward I moved into the broader, more diffuse anti-Stalinist milieu in the Bay Area. We read Victor Serge’s Memoirs of a Revolutionary and Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia; we discovered Georg Lukacs’ History and Class Consciousness, and the Situationists; we saw Chile’s 1970-1973 Popular Front once again crushed by the same collaborationist policies which Elbaum’s Stalinist lineage had first perfected in France and Spain in 1936, and unlike Elbaum and his friends, we were hardly startled when the Chinese Communist Party embraced Pinochet. It had not escaped our “Eurocentric” attention that China itself had pushed the Indonesian Communist Party to adopt the same Popular Front strategy in 1965, leading to the massacre of hundreds of thousands (a success for US imperialism that more than offset the later defeat in Indochina), or that it had applauded when the Ceylonese regime (today Sri Lanka) bloodily repressed its Trotskyist student movement in 1971. We were similarly not shaken, like Elbaum and his friends, when China went on to support the South African intervention against the MPLA in Angola, or call for the strengthening of NATO against Soviet “social imperialism,” or support the right-wing regroupment against the Communist-influenced Armed Forces Movement in Portugal in 1974-1975. We “Eurocentrists” snapped up the writings of Simon Leys, the French Sinologist, documenting the crushing of the Shanghai proletariat by the People’s Liberation Army in the course of the “Cultural Revolution,” the latter lasting from 1966 to 1976. Elbaum and his friends were at the same time presenting this battle between two wings of the most elephantine bureaucracy of modern times, as a brilliant success in “putting politics in command” against the capitalist restorationists, technocrats, and intellectuals, and burning Beethoven for good measure. All of these writings of Chinese Stalinism struck us more as the second-time farce to the first-time tragedy of the worldwide ravages of Soviet Stalinism from the 1920s onward. Elbaum and his friends cheered on Pol Pot’s rustification campaign in Cambodia, in which one million people died; no sooner had they digested the post-1976 developments in China after Mao’s death (the arrest and vilification of the Gang of Four, the completion of the turn to the U.S. in an anti-Soviet alliance) when, in 1979, after Vietnam occupied Cambodia to depose the Khmer Rouge, China attacked Vietnam, and the Soviet Union prepared to attack China. How difficult, in those days, to be a “Third World Marxist”!

We had been shaped by the worldwide renaissance of Marxism set in motion by the serious diffusion of the “early Marx” and the growing awareness of the Hegelian dimension of the “late Marx” in the Grundrisse, Capital, and Theories of Surplus Value. We leapt upon the “Unpublished Sixth Chapter” of vol. I of Capital as demonstrating the essential continuity of the “early” and “late” Marx (though we did not yet know Marx’s writings on the Russian mir and the ethnographic notebooks, which drew an even sharper line between a truly “late Marx” and all the bowdlerized productivist versions coming from the Second, Third and Fourth Internationals). A familiarity with any of these currents put paid to the “diamat” world view and texts which were the standard fare of Elbaum’s world. It was of course “Eurocentric” to rethink Marx and official Marxism through this new, unexplored continent, “not Eurocentric” to absorb Marx through the luminosity of Stalin, Beria, and Hoxha. The Marx who had written extensive journalism on India and China from the 1840s onward may have been “Eurocentric” but the braindead articles emanating from the Peking Review about the “three goods” and the “four bads” were, for these people, decidedly not.

Rosa Luxemburg and everything she stood for (including her memorable writings — no doubt “Eurocentric” — on primitive accumulation in the colonial world and her rich material on precapitalist societies everywhere in Einführung in die Nationalökonomie) meant nothing to these people. Her critiques of Lenin, in the earliest months of the Russian Revolution (not to mention before 1914), and of the right to national self-determination, did not exist. Elbaum and his friends were not interested in the revolutionaries who had criticized Lenin during the latter’s lifetime (or at any point), and they remained blissfully unaware of Bordiga, Gorter, and Pannekoek. The philosophical critiques of Korsch and Lukács similarly meant nothing to them. They never heard of the 1940s and 1950s CLR James, Raya Dunayevskaya, the early Max Shachtman, Hal Draper, the French group Socialism or Barbarism, Paul Mattick Sr., Maximilien Rubel, the Italian workerists, Ernst Bloch, or Walter Benjamin. They seriously argued for the aesthetics of China’s four “revolutionary operas” and songs such as “The Mountain Brigade Hails The Arrival of the Night Soil Carriers” while the serious Marxist world was discovering the Frankfurt School (whatever the latter’s limitations) and Guy Debord.

Then there was the influence of “Monthly Review” magazine and publishers. Baran and Sweezy had migrated from the Soviet Union to various Third World “anti-imperialists” to China; they were infused with the “Bandung” climate of 1955 and the brief moment of the Soviet-Chinese-neutralist “anti-imperialist” bloc. Names such as Sukarno, Nasser, Nkrumah loomed large in this mindset, as did the later “Tricontinental” (Latin America-Africa-Asia) consciousness promoted by Cuba and Algeria. The 1966 book of Baran and Sweezy, Monopoly Capital, (which, years into the crisis of the Bretton Woods system, did not even mention credit) became a major theoretical reference for this crowd. This was supplemented by international names such as Samir Amin, Charles Bettelheim, Arghiri Emanuel, and the South American “dependency school” (Cardoso, Prebisch, et al.). But the lynchpin was Lenin’s theory of imperialism, with its idea of “imperialist superprofits” making possible the support of a “labor aristocracy” and thereby the reformism of the Western working class, against which this whole world view was ultimately aimed. Even today, after everything that has discredited Sweezy’s economics, Elbaum still uses “monopoly capital” as one of his many unexamined concepts.

Because in the world of Elbaum and his friends, while the reading of Capital may have been on the agenda of many study groups (in reality, in most cases, the study of Volume I, which is tantamount to reading Hegel’s Phenomenology only on the initial phase of “sense certainty” of English empiricism and skepticism), it was far more (as he says) the pamphlets of Lenin, or if the truth be known, of Stalin, Beria, Mao, Ho and Hoxha which were the main fare. (My favorite was Beria’s “On The History of Bolshevik Organization in the Transcaucasus,” reprinted ca. 1975 by some long-defunct Marxist-Leninist publisher.) Elbaum is honest, in retrospect: “the publishing houses of the main New Communist organizations issued almost nothing that remains of value to serious left researchers and scholars.” He might have added that it wasn’t worth reading at the time, either, except to (briefly) experience ideology run amok. Whereas for the political world I inhabited, the question was the recovery of soviets and workers’ councils for direct democratic worker control of the entirety of production (a perspective having its own limits, but far more interesting ones), by Elbaum’s own account the vision of the socialist society in Marxist-Leninist circles was rarely discussed beyond ritual bows to the various Third World models, today utterly discredited, or the invocation of the “socialism in one rural commune” of William Hinton’s Fanshen, or the writings on Viet Cong “democracy” by the indefatigable Wilfred Burchett (who had also written lyrically about Stalin’s Russia 30 years earlier). The real Marxian project of the abolition of the law of value, (i.e. the regimentation of social life by the socially necessary time of reproduction), existed for virtually no one in the 1960s, not for Elbaum, nor for me. But the Monthly Review/monopoly capital world view, in which capitalism was understood not as a valorization process but as a quasi-Dühringian system ultimately of power and domination, meshed perfectly with the (in reality) populist world view of Elbaum et al. Through Baran and Sweezy a kind of left-wing Keynesianism pervaded this part of the Left, relegating the law of value to the capitalism of Marx’s time and (following Lenin) seeing everything since the 1890s as power-political “monopoly capital.” This “anti-imperialism” was and is in reality an ideology of Third World elites, in or out of power, and is fundamentally anti-working class, like all the “progressive” regimes they have ever established. It did not trouble Elbaum and his milieu that the role of the Third World in international trade had been declining through from 1900 to the 1960s, or that 80% of all direct foreign investment takes places between the three major capitalist centers of the US, Europe, and East Asia (so much for Lenin’s theory of imperialism); the illusory prosperity of the West, in their view, was paid for by the looting of the Third World (and, make no mistake, the Third World was and is being looted). The ultimate implication of this outlook was, once again, to implicate the “white” (e.g. Eurocentric) working class of the West in the world imperialist system, in the name of illusory bureaucratic-peasant utopias of labor-intensive agriculture. This working class in the advanced capitalists countries had meanwhile, from 1955 to 1973, carried out the mounting wildcat insurgency in the US and Britain, May 1968 in France and the “creeping May” of 1969-1977 in Italy, apparently not having been informed by Elbaum’s “Third World Marxists” that they were bought off by imperialism.

A number of unexamined concepts run through Elbaum’s book from beginning to end: revisionism, antirevisionism, Leninism, Marxism-Leninism, ultraleftism. Elbaum never explains that “revisionism” meant to this milieu above all the ideological demotion of Stalin after 1953, and that therefore those who called themselves “antirevisionists” were identifying, implicitly or explicitly (usually the latter) Stalin’s Russia with some betrayed “Marxist orthodoxy.” In his counterposition of “revisionism/antirevisionism” Elbaum does not devote one line to the consolidation, in 1924, of the grotesque concept of “socialism in one country,” a concept that would have made Lenin (whatever his other problems) wretch. (Not for nothing had Lenin’s Testament called for Stalin’s removal as General Secretary, another “fact” that counted for nothing in the mental universe of “Third World Marxism.”) For someone who is writing about it on every page, Elbaum has, in fact, no real theory of Stalinism whatsoever. Whereas the milieu I frequented stayed up late trying to determine if the seeds of Stalinism were in Leninism, Elbaum and his friends saw mainly or entirely an unproblematic continuity between Lenin and Stalin, and affirmed it. As for “Marxism-Leninism,” Elbaum does admit that it was a concoction of Stalin.  In its subsequent career “Marxism-Leninism” could mean anything to anyone, anything of course except the power of soviets and workers’ councils which in every failed proletarian revolution of the twentieth century  (Russia 1905 and 1917-1921, Germany 1918-1921, Spain 1936-1937, Hungary 1956, France 1968) had more genuine communist elements than all the large and small totalitarians in Elbaum’s “Third World Marxist” pantheon put together.

“Ultraleftism” for Elbaum means little self-appointed vanguards running amok and demarcating themselves from real movements. Elbaum seems quite unaware of the true historic ultraleft. One can agree or disagree with [Anton] Pannekoek (whose mass strike writings influenced Lenin’s State and Revolution), [Herman] Gorter (who told Lenin in 1921 that the Russian revolutionary model did not could not be mechanically transposed onto western Europe) or [Amadeo] Bordiga, who called Stalin the gravedigger of the revolution to his face in 1926 and lived to tell the tale. But such people and the genuine mass movements (in Germany, Holland, and Italy) that produced them are a noble tradition which hardly deserves to be confused rhetorically with the thuggish antics of the (happily defunct) League for Proletarian Socialism (the latter name being a true contradictio in adjecto, inadvertently revealing bureaucratic dreams: Marxian socialism means the abolition of wage-labor and hence of the “proletariat” as the commodity form of human labor-power). As indicated above, figures such as [Karl] Korsch, [Paul] Mattick, [Cornelius] Castoriadis, and the early CLR James (whatever their problems) can similarly be considered part of an ultraleft, and unlike the productions of Elbaum’s milieu, their writings are eminently worth reading today. One Dutch Marxist organizing in Indonesia in 1908 had already grasped the basically bourgeois nature of nationalism in the then-colonial world, an idea Elbaum was still catching up with in 2002.

“Internationalism” for Elbaum means mainly cheerleading for the latest “Third World Marxist” movement or regime, but in reality his vision of the world is laughably America-centered. He refers on occasion (as a source of inspiration for his milieu) to the French mass strike of 1968, which swept aside all self-appointed vanguards, “Marxist-Leninists” first of all. This is lost on Elbaum. By the early 1970s, Trotskyist groups had clearly out-organized the Marxist-Leninists, and for what it’s worth, today the two largest Trotskyist groups, Lutte Ouvrière and Ligue Communiste, together account for 10% of the vote in French elections and are now larger than the Communist Party, without a Marxist-Leninist in sight. In Britain, similarly, Trotskyist groups out-organized the Marxist-Leninists hands down, played an important role in the 1972 strike wave (never mentioned by Elbaum), and today the British Socialist Workers’ Party (not to be confused with the American rump of the same name) is the largest group to the left of the Labour Party. Elbaum refers in passing to the Japanese far left of the 60s as an influence on some Japanese-Americans, but he seems blissfully unaware that the Zengakuren was overwhelmingly anti-Stalinist and mainly viewed Russia and China as state-capitalist. The most creative and internationally influential currents of the Italian 1970s, the so-called operaisti or workerists, were breaking with Leninism from the early 1970s at the latest. (To be fair, in Italy and in Germany large Maoist and Marxist-Leninist groups did exist, and the Trotskyists were basically marginal.)

On the subject of Trotsky: I am not a Trotskyist, and have basically (as previously indicated) since my callow youth viewed all so-called socialist societies as class societies, and not (as Trotskyists do) as “workers’ states.” But I have more respect for Trotsky (who should be distinguished from the Trotskyists) than I ever had or will have for Stalin, Mao, Ho, Kim il-Sung, Castro, Guevara, or Cabral.

Wearing the blinders of his milieu, Elbaum shows real ignorance of Trotskyism. (“Third World Marxism’s” philistine hatred for Trotsky, while generally not stooping to 1930s “Trotsky the agent of the Mikado”-type slanders, was exceeded only by such ignorance.) Blinded by his milieu’s acceptance of complete and positive continuity between Lenin and Stalin, the world events of the early 1920s, which decisively shaped both Trotskyism and the aforementioned ultraleft (and the last eighty years of human history) have no importance for him. Hence (as indicated earlier), the triumph of “socialism in one country” after 1924 and the total subordination of all Communist Parties to Soviet foreign policy are totally unproblematic for these people, as were all the debacles of the Comintern mentioned earlier. Similarly, the question of the relationship of the Bolshevik party and Soviet state to the soviets and workers’ councils, i.e. the question of the actual working-class management of society, which was settled (in the negative) by 1921, is of no consequence either. It is Eurocentric to be concerned about Soviet history before the rise of Stalin, not Eurocentric to admire Stalin’s Russia with its ten million peasants killed in the 1930s collectivizations, its massacre of the Bolshevik Old Guard in the Moscow Trials, its factories operating with killing speed-up under direct GPU control or its twenty million people in slave labor camps at the time of Stalin’s death. For such a view, “revisionism” must therefore be Khrushchev’s (equally top-down) attempt to decompress (a bit) this nightmare. The memory of Stalinist Russia still weighs on the consciousness of masses of people around the world as the seemingly inevitable outcome of trying to do away with capitalism, and reinforces the still potent neoliberal mantra “there is no alternative,” but why the people Elbaum describes as the “most dynamic” part of the American left in the 1970s were so taken with the Stalinist legacy never seems to strike him as a major problem to be addressed.

Elbaum might also inform himself about Trotsky’s (and Marx’s) theory of permanent revolution, which was the centerpiece of the Bolshevik internationalist strategy in 1917, and its repudiation by Stalin the key to all the post-1924 politics swallowed whole forty-five years later by Elbaum’s “Third World Marxists.” Permanent revolution-rightly or wrongly-meant the possibility that a revolution in a backward country like Russia could link up with (or even inspire; cf. Marx’s preface to the 1882 Russian edition of the Manifesto) revolution in the developed European heartland, and in that way be spared the bloody primitive accumulation process which every capitalist country from Britain to Russia to contemporary China has necessarily undergone. It is this theory, and not some “Eurocentrism,” that made (the small minority of) honest Trotskyists keep their distances from regimes using “Third World Marxism” as a fig-leaf for capitalist primitive accumulation. Most Trotskyists were howling with the wolves that “Vietnam Will Win!” Well, we have seen what won in Vietnam (and even more so Cambodia).

This is hardly the place to describe the devolution of Trotskyism since Trotsky, but honesty and courage of convictions were not the strong suit of the [Ernest] Mandels and [Jack] Barneses and [Michel] Pablos who shaped it after 1940. Elbaum sees the American SWP as the main face of Trotskyism for 1960s and 1970s leftists in the US (and he is right about that), and claims that Trotskyism’s involvement with “old 1930s issues” and “European questions” was the main hindrance to a larger impact of Trotskyism when the Third World, from China to Vietnam to Cuba was supposedly sizzling with revolution and the building of socialism.

In point of fact, watching the SWP (like their French counterparts Ligue Communiste) in the 1960s and 1970s, I could only laugh up my sleeve watching the way they buried their critique of Stalinism (as in the case of the Vietnamese NLF) in the fine print of their theoretical journals while rushing after popularity, waving NLF flags, in exactly the milieu influenced by Elbaum’s “Third World Marxism.” To take only one anecdotal example: In a 1969 debate in Berkeley between the ISC and the SWP, we put SWP spokesperson Pete Camejo up against the wall about the 1945 massacre of the Vietnamese Trotskyists in front of a large New Left audience. And Camejo conceded that, yes, Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh had in fact oppressed the Vietnamese comrades of the Fourth International. I am sure most of the New Leftist cheerleaders present considered our point to be “ancient history” — just twenty-four years earlier! Today, as they watch Vietnam rush into “market socialism” with investment capital from Toyota and Mitsubishi, I am sure they do not think about it at all. I remember Camejo’s brother Tony telling a similar audience that we should not be too critical of black and Latino nationalism in the US because blacks and Latinos had not yet passed through their “bourgeois revolution,” as if American blacks and Latinos did not also live in the most advanced capitalist society in the world. But he had put his finger on a certain reality, since many of the black and Latino nationalists of the 1960s and 1970s were in fact on their way to middle-class careers, once the shouting died down, as uninterested in genuine proletarian revolution (and the true twentieth century examples of it) today as they were then. (They were and are in this way no different from the great majority of the white New Left.) Elbaum approvingly quotes Tariq Ali attacking those who (such as myself and the ISC to which I belonged) saw no difference between “Mao Tse-tung and Chiang Kai-shek, or Castro and Batista,” whereas all of world history since Ali uttered that remark has demonstrated nothing except that the main difference made between old-style US-backed dictators and “Third World Marxist” dictators with state power is that the latter better prepare their countries for full-blown capitalism, with Mao’s China exhibit A for the prosecution, and Vietnam following close behind.

Further, Elbaum never seems to notice that many of the twentieth century Marxists still worth reading today (and he apparently has not read them), such as the early Shachtman, James, Draper, and Castoriadis, made their most important contributions in a break to the left of Trotskyism. In 35 years in leftist politics, I have met many ex-Stalinists and Maoists who became Trotskyists and council communists; I have never met anyone who went in the opposite direction. Once you have played grand master chess, you rarely go back to checkers.

Finally, while Elbaum rightly says that the turn ca. 1969 of thousands of New Leftists to the American working class was largely fruitless, he does neglect one important counterexample, namely the success of the International Socialists (the renamed ISC after 1970) in building the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and through it being the sparkplugs for the election of Ron Carey as President of the Teamsters in 1991. There is no question that this development, however much it turned into a fiasco, was the most important leftwing intervention in the American labor movement since the 1940s. I no more wish to go off on a long tangent about that terribly-botched episode than I wish to expound on the history of Trotskyism; I left the IS milieu in 1969. It is rather, again, to show Elbaum’s blindspot to the real flaws of his own tradition. The IS’ success with TDU came at the price of burying (at least for the purposes of Teamster politics) the fact that they were socialists, not merely honest trade-unionists (It turned out that Carey wasn’t even that.) Anyone educated in a Trotskyist group (and the IS, despite its rejection of the socialist character of the so-called “workers’ states” was Trotskyist on every other question), in contrast to most Stalinist and Maoist groups, develops a healthy aversion to the trade-union bureaucracy and to the Democratic Party. Elbaum provides a long history of how Maoism evolved out of the wreckage of the old CPUSA after the 1960 Sino-Soviet split. Some of these groups looked back to the CP under Browder; others preferred William Z. Foster. But almost all of them saw something positive in the CP’s role during the Roosevelt era, both in the Democratic Party and in the CIO. The problem of those working off of Trotskyism was, on the contrary, the “bureaucracy” that developed in exactly the era of CP influence; the problem of those working off of Marxism-Leninism was “revisionism” (Stalinists and Maoists for some reason don’t have too much to say about bureaucracy, except-as in the “Cultural Revolution,” when they are supporting one bureaucratic faction against another). And the concept of “revisionism” rarely inoculated these people against seeking influence in high places, either with Democratic politicians or with trade-union bureaucrats, as the CP had done so successfully in its heyday. It is certainly true that many of Elbaum’s Marxist-Leninists did neither. But he seems to ignore the fact that the ability of a group like the IS to intersect the Teamster rank-and-file rebellion of the 1970s and thereafter had something to do with the fact that they, in contrast to every Marxist-Leninist around, were not approaching the American working class with tall tales about socialism in Cuba or Albania or Cambodia or North Korea. The oh-so-radical defenders of Beijing’s line, whether for or against the “Gang of Four,” turned out to be defending a considerable part of the global status quo.

Finally, if Elbaum would lift his head from the rubble of “Third World Marxism,” he might notice that, in Britain and France, Trotskyist groups have a solid mass base (whatever one thinks of the politics involved), whereas Marxist-Leninists are almost nowhere to be seen; and even in the politically-backward U.S., groups such as the ineffable ISO, not to mention the youthful anarchist scene, are attracting more young people interested in revolution than any Marxist-Leninists. Being for the overthrow of every government in the world lets you see and do things that the baggage of Pol Pot or Shining Path or Kim Jong-Il conceals.

It is now time to turn to the merits of Elbaum’s book, which, contrary to what the reader may conclude from the above, it indeed has. First — and with this I have no quarrel — Elbaum attacks the “good sixties/bad sixties” vision of figures such as Todd Gitlin, for whom the late-sixties turn to revolution was the “bad sixties,” compared to the early sixties Port Huron vision of participatory democracy. Revolution was necessary then, and is necessary today, whatever the current ideological climate might favor. Elbaum is also right in critiquing Gitlin’s (and many others’) almost exclusive focus on the white New Left, seeing the movement essentially collapse with SDS in 1969-1970, and not recognizing its extension, particularly among blacks and Latinos (not to mention the thousands of white New Leftists who went into the factories, and the wildcat strike wave which lasted until 1973).

But Elbaum does put his finger on the fact that the Third World Marxist/Stalinist/Marxist-Leninist and Maoist milieu was much more successful, in the 1960s and 1970s, in attracting and influencing militants of color. And he is equally right in saying that most of the Trotskyist currents, not to mention the “post-Trotskyists” to whom I was closest, were partially blind to America’s “blindspot,” the centrality of race, in the American class equation. The ISC, when I was in it in Berkeley in the late 1960s, was all for black power, and (like many other groups) worked with the Black Panthers, but itself had virtually no black members. Trotskyist groups such as the SWP did have some, as did all the others. but there is no question that Elbaum’s milieu was far more successful with blacks, Latinos, and Asians (as was the CPUSA). To cut to the quick, I think that the answer to this difference was relatively straightforward. As Elbaum himself points out, many people of color who threw themselves into the ferment of the 1960s and 1970s and joined revolutionary groups were the first generation of their families to attend college, and were — whether they knew it or not — on their way into the middle class. Thus it is hardly surprising, when one thinks about it, that they would be attracted to the regimes and movements of “progressive” middle-class elites in the Third World. This was just as true, in a different way, for many transient militants of the white New Left, similarly bound (after 1973) for the professional classes, not to mention the actually ruling class offspring one found in groups such as the Weathermen. Elbaum does point out that the white memberships of many Third World Marxist groups were from working-class families and were similarly the first generation of their families to attend college. He also shows a preponderant origin of such people in the “prairie radicalism” (i.e. populism) of the Midwest, in contrast to the more “European” left of the two coasts, one important clue to their essentially populist politics. These are important social/historical/cultural insights, which could be developed much further. Charles Denby’s Black Worker’s Notebook (Denby was a member of Raya Dunayevskaya’s New and Letters group) effectively identifies the middle-class character of the Black Power milieu around Stokely Carmichael et al., as well as black workers’ distance from it; the Detroit-based League of Revolutionary Black Workers similarly critiqued the black nationalist middle class, though it was hardly antinationalist itself.)

It is undeniable that the 1960s movements of peoples of color in the U.S. were influenced by the global climate of the decolonization of most of Africa, the Middle East and Asia following World War II, and the “decentering” of actually Eurocentric views of Western and world history, following the 1914-1945 “decentering” of Europe in the new lines drawn by the Cold War. They were similarly influenced by — and themselves were the main force enacting-the shattering of centuries of white supremacy in American society. It would be idealistic and moralistic to explain their attraction to “Third World Marxism,” Maoism and Marxism-Leninism by the meaningless assertion that “they had the wrong ideas.” One important part of the answer is definitely the weight of arriving middle-class elements in these political groups, who are today to be found in the black and Latino professional classes. But the typical black, Latino or Asian militant in the U.S. waving Mao’s little red book or chanting “We want a pork chop/Off the pig” was not signing on for Stalin’s gulag, or the millions who died in Mao’s “great leap forward” in 1957, or mass murder in Pol Pot’s Cambodia, or the ghoulish torture of untold numbers of political prisoners in Sekou Toure’s Guinea (where the black nationalist Stokely Carmichael spent his last days with no dissent anyone ever heard about), any more than the working-class militant in the CP-USA in 1935 was signing on for the Moscow Trials or the massacre of the Spanish anarchists and Trotskyists. All the above real history and theory blotted out or falsified by “Third World Marxism” was available and known in the 1960s and thereafter to those who sought it. The question is precisely one of exactly when groups of people in motion are ready to seek or hear certain truths. What Elbaum can’t face is that the entirety of “Third World Marxism” was and is anti-working class, whether in Saigon in 1945 or in Budapest and Poznan in 1956 or in Jakarta in 1965 or in case of the Shanghai workers slaughtered in the midst of the “Cultural Revolution” in 1966-1969. Workers, white and nonwhite, in the American sixties sensed this more clearly than did Elbaum’s minions, blinded by ideology. As Marx said, in The Eighteenth Brumaire, speaking of the English Revolution of the 1640s:

…in the same way but at a different stage of development, Cromwell and the English people had borrowed for their bourgeois revolution the language, passions and illusions of the Old Testament. When the actual goal had been reached, when the bourgeois transformation of English society had been accomplished, Locke drove out Habbakuk.

When the upwardly mobile middle class elements of the 1960s and 1970s New Left and Third World Marxism, both white but also important numbers of blacks and Latinos, had established themselves in their professional and civil service jobs and academic tenure, suburban life and VCRs drove out Ho, Che, and Mao. Things went quite differently, above all for blacks without a ticket to the middle class, as one can see in the difference between the ultimate fates of even the Weather Underground after years on the run, and black political prisoners such as Geronimo Pratt.

But, to conclude, if Elbaum has offered us hundreds of pages on the wars of sects and ideologies that no one — himself included — misses, it is not from an antiquarian impulse. The real agenda is spelled out in one of the effusive blurbs on the dust cover: “Finally, we have one book that can successfully connect the dots between the battles of the 1960s and the emerging challenges and struggles of the new century.” The giveaway is Elbaum’s treatment of the Jesse Jackson presidential campaigns of 1984 and 1988, which are presented as something almost as momentous as the 1960s, and which offered the few Marxist-Leninist groups (“Marxist-Leninists for Mondale” as someone once called them) still around their last chance at mass influence. In contrast to the 1960s, the Jackson campaigns came and went with no lasting impact except to further illustrate the dead end of the old Rooseveltian New Deal coalition and the Keynesian welfare-statism that was the bread and butter of the old Democratic Party and of the CP-USA’s strategy within the Democratic Party. And when all is said and done, this fatal legacy of the CP’s role at the height of Stalinism in the mid-1930s is Elbaum’s legacy as well. Just as he tells us nothing about the true origins of Marxism-Leninism and Third World Marxism, Elbaum tells us nothing about the CP-USA coming off its 1930s “heroic” phase, herding the American working class off to World War II through the enforcement of the no-strike pledge, the calumny of any critic of US imperialism’s moment of arrival at world power as a Hitlero-fascist, and applause in the Daily Worker for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So it is necessary to connect some further dots: this book aims at being a contribution to some new “progressive coalition” wedding the American working class to some revamping of the capitalist state in an all-out drive to “Beat Bush” around a Dean campaign (or something like it) in 2004. It joins the groundswell of dissent among capitalist forces themselves, currently being articulated by the likes of George Soros, Jeffrey Sachs, Joseph Stieglitz, and Paul Krugman as the still-dominant neoliberal paradigm of the past twenty-five years begins to seriously fray. While Elbaum’s book makes occasional passing reference to economic hard times times the 1970s, he does not see the extent to which American decline has circumscribed any possible agenda of “reform,” which can only be some kind of “Tax The Rich” scheme, share-the-wealth — the declining wealth — kind of left populism, with suitably “diverse” forces that will probably be the final fruit of the “progressive” middle classes, whites and people of color, that evolved out of Elbaum’s “Third World Marxism.”

Despite what Elbaum thinks and what he and his milieu thought thirty years ago, the fate of the world is in the hands of the world working class. In contrast to thirty years ago, however, this working class is no longer limited to North America, Europe and Japan, but is now spread through many parts of the “anti-imperialist” Third World, led by China. The East will be red again, not as the bureaucratic-peasant hallucination of the “Third World Marxists” of the 1960s and 1970s, but as a genuine working-class revolt against precisely the forces that used “Third World Marxism,” in the Third World as in the U.S. and Europe, to muddle every social question and advance their social stratum. The remnants of these forces are positioned today in and around the Democratic Party and the trade union bureaucracy, as well as in the antiglobalization movement, readying themselves to again revamp the capitalist system with torrents of “progressive” rhetoric, as they did in the 1930s and 1940s.

The only thing that is “progressive” in today’s world is working-class revolution.

[hopefulwhisperscollectorstu-blog]

The Reduced Down on Technique Portion Uncovered

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The Reduced Down on Technique Portion Uncovered

Why Almost Anything You’ve Learned About Strategy Department Is Incorrect

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[proofessor]

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Read More:

Why Professional Proofreading and Editing Can Improve Your Writing Consider Using Both Proofreading and Editing Online Services

[factocert]

Detailed information about ISO 9001 Certification in Angola

ISO 9001 Certification in Angola showcases the competency of experts who can conduct Quality Management System audits. Businesses that comply with the ISO 9001 standard conduct frequent audits of their Quality Management System (QMS) to ensure they meet the standards. Professionals certified as ISO 9001 Lead Auditors conduct the QMS audit for the business. The most current edition of the ISO 9001 standard was released in 2015. The international standard can be utilized by any company regardless of size. This is why Lead Auditor Certification ISO 9001 holders perform quality audits and write the report of their conclusions. This credential allows businesses to recognize professionals with advanced knowledge and skills, which can aid in improving the quality management system of an organization.

ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization to be used in the Quality Management System. ISO 9001 was prepared by Technical Committee the quality management system. ISO published the first draft of the new standard in 2014, and the final prototype was published in September of 2015 and is more focused on documentation. The ISO certification of 9001 does not certify the products made by the company, and it only provides methods of operation that require an organization to create quality management systems.

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·The ability to access new markets The ISO 9001 certification can help eliminate obstacles to trade and open global markets.

· A rise in market share (increased market share) Quality Management System certification can boost productivity and provides competitive advantages

What are the ISO 9001 Certification in Angola procedures?

Application: A registrar and the person applying must agree on a contract following that the company's owner has decided to use the ISO certification body and the ISO standard. The application should outline the rights and obligations in addition to the liability, confidentiality, and access rights.

Reviews of Documents: The ISO registrar will recognize the quality of your documents and reports for having distinctive methods and strategies employed within the organization. A previous study of work will aid the ISO registry in identifying possible problems with the ISO standards specifications.

Create an action: After the ISO auditor reports on the flaws in your company and weaknesses, and you must devise an action plan for closing the gaps. Write down the tasks that need to be done to obtain the highest level of performance for your business. You may have to instruct your employees on how to be efficient while adjusting to the new processes. Ensure all the employees are aware of the ISO guidelines for job efficiency and the quality of work.

 ISO 9001 Certification Cost in Angola

ISO 9001 Certification Cost in Angola for a business is contingent on the number of employees employed as well as the complexity of its business. Suppose the company is already operating to an established standard and has the majority of the best processes and practices up. In that case, the cost can be reduced dramatically, making it a breeze to attain ISO 9001 Certification.

In some instances, when a particular firm is operating during all three shifts, ISO Certification costs can increase because both the consultant and the auditor must participate in discussions and training in each of the 3 shifts.

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[m58]

A review of Peter Dent’s ‘Yarn’

Copy No-One

Peter Dent Yarn (Leafe 2021), citation p36; as nettles and ivy permit (Kaleidikon 2020) edition of 50

An alternative rendering of the title might be to copy only oneself, although as Dent elaborated ‘Copy no-one was my mantra until I’d tasted the best of what is and discovered ‘provenance’’ (p36). Dent that is is highly original but his inspiration neither is entirely without precedence. He has been writing inventive poetry for a long time now, since Proxima Centauri (1972) from Agenda, very often in short run limited editions. Dent has thus far resisted any compelling impetus to compile a Selected. Actually the copying motif is no doubt highly pertinent now given the essential status of appropriation among the avant-garde Conceptualists. Dent was also editor and publisher of Interim Press from 1975 to ’87.

It is worth recalling again that I first came across Dent’s writing in the Stride/Shearsman anthology A State of Independence (1998) for the spare and stirring sequence ‘Naming Nothing’, which I still regard highly, and is probably a good place to start for making sense of this poetry. Another highpoint is likely a trilogy of books from Shearsman;- Handmade Equations (2005), Tripping Daylight (2012), and A Wind-Up Collider (2019), by way of retrospect.

Working in favour of this writing is its originality and lack of pretension; it comes without inordinate claims and has a way of affecting or settling into the mind. That said I’d say Peter Dent clearly enjoys writing and is unequivocal about playing the authorial part. Like a number of others he is not averse on occasion to ephemeral private publication, though these works are generally in short runs, as we find for instance with as nettles and ivy permit.

I suspect then there is a sense in which Dent’s writing is not imposing; no grand claims; no reaching out or pushing for authority. And of course this is a little deceptive, like an underdog peculiarly fit for rigours of comparison.

We are here however certainly encountering a late phase in Peter Dent’s (b.1938) poetic trail. I don’t doubt one really has not, if anything else, the energy for it. That said, for mature work I’d say it is very accomplished, the mind in so many ways as perceptual and delineatory, discriminatory as ever.

Yarn naturally takes on both meanings of the word, but this is a collection of some 61 prose poetry pieces rather than any larger narrative. The self deprecatory note is apparent right off from the first poem, ‘At Least One Yarn’s Died the Death’. The homemade white yarn glove on the cover is also short of a couple of fingers. This piece does actually have a self-contained argument winding its way through;- ‘The school closed long ago’, ‘the 20th Century’s lost its way here’, recuperative action may be required but ‘it will mean more than walking the dog’ in that ‘Students are now topographically challenged’ where ‘Playgrounds fly only branded kites’. (p7) It’s a bit of a melancholy observation, Dent himself was a school teacher, but it can hardly be denied the acute and penetrating perception of these linked up observances. There seems to be some sort of recognition that students lack the capability of mobility that once promised and motivated challenges of moving higher or on.

This sense of perhaps opportunities curbed or lost continues in the second poem, ‘A Yarn Found Wanting’ which begins ‘The carnival was only too obviously over’ (p.8). Although this rather elegiac note seems to approach a kind of resolving cast in the third ‘One Yarn to Another’,- ‘I don’t mind what you do: being words only you can always listen to their song.’ (end p.9) There is a muted social commentary here that is perhaps for others to more fully if not prosaically work out.

‘Yarn with Black and Maroon’ that closes the collection returns to this quality of perceptiveness. It consists of three ‘deliberations’, which it is tempting to ascribe as students’ guides. These are,- ‘My shadow makes to light everything I owe’ (somewhat paraphrasing); ‘A road of the circumstances of my understanding’; and ‘Sometimes necessary to close down words too manic to fit’. This verges on a highly truncated ars poetica, while also nothing so obviously grand.

That first deliberation discusses a bringing to light but also a no doubt ethical question of what is ‘owed’. And this plainly also reverts back to the writing, as, say, ‘what is owed in writing’. This suggests to me the way so many of us are caught up as a ‘community’, albeit a highly dispersed one, of writers. We very likely often take on writing not for the obvious lure of fame, fortune and bestselling, but out of an effort of communication with and between those who matter to us, a certain quality of care, attention, craft and the workmanlike.

Dent’s gripping and multi-varied renderings of language are highlighted at many instances through the book. There is for instance a very charming observation on page 49,- ‘Only love and art have the faintest who I am’ which is succinct as well as unexpected. Another memorable rendering occurs just before this,-

            ‘half out the door I’m seeking alliance with simply what              at any given time and in any place actually IS.’   (p.45)

‘Yarn Warp’ (p.21) has some highly adventurous phrasing to encounter,-

            ‘I’m a latch-key liberal independent and a pro-future sky-              diver with an early-onset appetite for even slower slow-              cooking. I’m a multi-bit fact-fake deviant after my tea.’ (end p.21)

which is refreshing and provocative, for instance in matching ‘fact’ to ‘fake’ and contrasting ‘early-onset’ with ‘slowing’ down, not to mention concluding with questions of when to take tea.

nettles and ivy is also dispositionally quite complex. Ways of apprising this, say, might be the artwork and title, neither could be called ‘easy’ or ‘pitched to sell’, say. This intimates perhaps that much of which it speaks pertains to the inner life, including its complexities; but if probed it does yield.

I could pick out a few among numerous distinctive phrasings;-

          ‘If only I hadn’t put myself at the centre of the mystery; if           candy floss hadn’t tempted – and you not around to see.’ (‘Frailties’)

And the conclusion of ‘Palm Trees and Sandy Assignments’;-

                  ‘She thinks irresolutely about me. I

     can account for just about everything that doesn’t matter.      I can’t what does. Her whisper. Barely a breath of air.’ (‘Palm Trees’, end)

Then the penultimate ‘Imagine You Don’t’;-

     ‘She can wear her clothes out; I like her as much as she is as      she isn’t. I always stump up the necessary.’     (‘Imagine You Don’t’, end)

There is also the ‘last rehearsal’ and ‘waving goodbye’ of the final poem, ‘Ill-Informed Choices’, which I suspect many readers may pick up on. Personal pronouns don’t appear too frequently; the ‘Red Book of Refractions’ has much of the male third person.

So the pamphlet I would say is highly articulate and nuanced. There is a thread which I might describe as an awareness of seeking out or recognising in an insightful way matters of truth and deception. In all then, acutely thoughtful and unexpected. My impression is that this will hold up well to rereading; plenty going on there, as with Yarn.

Dent I can only conclude has a pretty decent grasp of philosophy and of ethics. As we find for instance in ‘Unspecified Yarns of the Moment’ he maintains that there is not the inclination to ‘put my mind between warring parties’ (p.62). And nearer the conclusion in this prose poem we arrive at ‘Thinking a letter will put things straight or fix a wise-woman’s potion is curious? If only there were different words and happier meanings.’ There are limits to what words can do. There is naturally what might be termed an interface between action and behaviour and the use of language. An accurate and incisive use of speech is no guarantor of happy episodes or endings.

Poetry can be showy or adept without necessarily offering up much in the way of novel insight or understanding. At the end of the day we are surely returned to how literature and words connect with our behaviour, thoughts and perceptions. Language might be conceded as something of a means to an end. But of course we are embroiled in it and lengthy passages of time can go by in which the use of words is not seen as particularly critical. I suspect Dent’s writing probes or at times irritates with these pertinent connections. There is and has been the effort to move forward with the language, to enjoy and explore its capacities. Albeit that these are very late entries into the game these two publications have a remarkable solidity and a kind of essentialism, whereof the expressiveness is very adequate, guided and appropriate to intent. Whence at last to reside,- ‘This is after all a road and being on it keeps me free’ (p67). Dent keeps this curt and suggestive rather than fully spelling it out, though others have well worked the road motif, as if we were not always gathered into that process of getting from A to B.

Clark Allison

[thedeskofsam]

RP: ‘Oxycontin and a Glass of Wine’

I am writing in the middle of the night again.

A few days ago, I got back to listening to indie tunes on Spotify to expand my series of playlists. It was also my first time to review my 'Discover Weekly’ playlist. And I must say - whoever curated that one, robot or otherwise, DESERVES A RAISE. I had to scroll my liked songs tab to review some great songs because as I check it right now while typing this essay, a new set of songs are already there. Some gems were:

fever dream - mxmtoon

A Million Doubts - Glassio

One Day - EXES, Jome

Australia - Edit - Connor     Youngblood

My Sound - Future Jr.

Towns - Forester

Electric Love - BØRNS

Say - Moon Taxi

These songs took me back to when I was just starting out in the indie music scene - flashback to my December 2017 phase. I was scrolling my genre tab under the discover page and got curious with indie jams. “Belong” by Cash Cash and Dashboard Confessional was the first song I listened to and the first song I loved since then until now. Then comes “Valleys” by Honors followed by “All My Life” of the same band and “Time Was On Our Side” by SHōTA LōDI. It was a great domino effect because it led me to Hippo Campus, Stop Light Observations, Moon Taxi, Coast Modern, and MORE.

I first had the connotation that indie music is only for those who are trying so hard to “be cool” or “be different from the society” but - NO. Music is universal and genres are just plain aspects of it. To some, indie might seem weird because of it’s eccentric nature but to me, it shows the other side of the world - something out of the mainstream!

A little insert: two days ago, I got caught up with Moon Taxi’s lastest album “Silver Dream” and Stop Light Observation’s “oRANGE”. And I was kind of expecting the latter to have more songs like “good to u” but they got me with “2young” and “ozymandias”

To add into the stitch, I find it really cool for most indie bands to remain carefree of their identity as a whole. If you are going to look into it, boy bands want their name to sound trendy, sometimes romantic, and cool to appeal to their target audience the same way metal bands market themselves in a badass type of way. But indie bands are somehow different and creative - they can name themselves something extra like “Gas Station Pebbles” or “Dusty Sofas” and STILL sound cool and wholesome despite the unconventional naming. I guess that makes them distinct adding to the music they play.

—

As I type this word, time check: 1:21 am. Yesterday we went to celebrate my aunt’s 56th birthday and I shifted moods. Got to distract myself by filtering two episodes of It’s Always The Dumb Ones podcast and coming up with titles and episode descriptions and how we can promote said episodes before and after it releases. And since I was not in the mood, I never got to check this week’s modules and got lost to the fact that I have to wake up at 7:15 for the weekly virtual morning assembly. But other than that, I am heavily looking forward to listen to this week’s Discover Weekly playlist.

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Bad Iliad

A friend of mine got into it about the various interpretations of the Medusa myth and it got me going about Greek Mythology. I love me some mythology but my first love was the Greek myths. They’re just so ridiculous and petty and tragic and fun. These things read like old timey comic books with the best villains and human heroes. Medusa a is one of my favorite characters and it’s all thanks to The Clash of the Titans. I saw that old movie way back when i was a wee sprout. It was during my Ray Harryhausen phase and fueled my love for claymation. His work, just like the original Clash, left a distinct impression on me and I've studied all things Greek myth since. When the remake was announced, i was pretty hyped but i never actually sat down to watch the whole thing all the way through, only bits and pieces. I missed it in theaters because the 3D transition ruined the movie and tainting the experience. When it was released to to home video, i skipped it because of all the bad word-of-mouth. Apparently, the remake is on Netflix so, after reminiscing about my love for the ancient myths, I've decided to actually watch this thing all the way through.

The Good

The look of this movie is outstanding. The sets, the costumes, the build of the world were all exceptional. You can tell they used every bit of that massive budget to do the original film justice. This thing s super easy on the eyes.

I really like the updated monster designs, specifically the Kraken and Medusa. Those Furies, then scorpions, and even the Pegasuses; All of them awesomely reinterpreted. The sheer scope of that climactic battle between Perseus and the Kraken was so f*cking epic and Medusa’s whole scene was beautifully tragic. I loved every bit of that sh*t. Also, Calibos was pretty okay in this thing, too. i prefer the old goat-like one but i ain’t mad at this version at all.

This cast is dumb stacked. Sam Worthington, Mads Mikkelson, Gemma Arterton, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Luke Evans, Natalia Vodianova, and Kaya Scodelario all make an appearance. Even Nicholas Hoult is in this thing somewhere. Dope ensemble is dope and i enjoyed mostly everyone, specifically Mads and Neeson. These cats chewed all of the scenery whenever they were on screen.

I have to say, the pacing in this flick is pretty nimble. They got from scene to scene rather swiftly without losing too much story in between. I appreciated that as, i mean, this thing ain’t one for the intellectual. You aren’t puzzling on the underlying themes of this narrative any time soon so the fact that this flick gets you from set piece to set piece as briskly as possible, is a real positive.

The Bad

The editing in this thing is kind of terrible, man. It has a problem with that early 10s, shaky cam, jump cut nonsense that’s supposed to convey intensity but just f*cking obscures whatever is going on in the movie. Your movie can be as beautiful as the stars and your action set piece as epic as anything from Terminator 2, but if you can’t see any of it, what the f*ck is the point?

The writing in this thing is dumb as rocks. The changes made to the plot did not make for a better narrative and a lot of the dialogue is corny as f*ck. The original ain’t winning any awards for it’s narrative but it feels far more coherent than this version of the story.

Way too much exposition. This, i think, is a problem that stems from the pour writing. There isn’t any organic way to expound the necessary information outside of having f*cking Io explain literally everything. This movie constantly breaks the cardinal rule of film making by telling the audience everything instead of showing it to us.

The performances weren’t great but that, again, stems from the fact that the writing is so goddamn weak. It’s really, really, hard to get into this click when everything is so goddamn mundane. This is a movie about man fighting gods, riddled with massive creatures and tragic monsters. This thing should be mad epic but it feels so goddamn small.

Bro, the plot holes. They weren’t super egregious like other films, i didn’t feel insulted watching this sh*t, but it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth by the time the credits began to roll.

While i loved the fact that Ralph Fiennes is in this doing his Ralph Fiennes thing, the switch t make Hades the main antagonist and not Thetis effectively ruins the entire story. The best Greek myths are when the gods are just petty assholes toward each other and humans get caught in the crossfire. The original understood this and literally portrayed us a playthings to be manipulated with that pretty on the nose, clay figure imagery. This flick ain’t that and i think it suffers for it.

Kind of in the same vein, the lack of Calibos was very apparent. The decision to move away from him as the main foil to Perseus kind of f*cked up the flow of the story. I wasn’t mad at the change in how the character was represented but there should have been more, direct, interaction between Perseus and Calibos, like in the original. In that one, he felt like a force, like threat. In this one, dude is just fodder and scene filler. Missed opportunity, for sure.

The whole Prokopion subplot was entirely unnecessary. Why was this dude even in the movie? It’s an interesting idea, sure, but there wasn’t anywhere near enough time to explore or develop that aspect of the film. Save that sh*t for a sequel. It would probably make fir a much richer narrative that what we actually got.

A bald eagle, my dude? Word?

The Verdict

This is a bad movie, man. It’s not the worst thing I've ever seen but i can’t say i was continuously entertained. To be honest, i was bored fro probably the first ten or fifteen minutes. It’s really pretty, though, and has some dope ass effects. The Kraken climax and that Medusa set piece was gorgeous to see and i really like this cast but there is no substance to this film. None. The actual story is little more than a skeleton to hang big-budget, CG effects, on to it and that’s fine. I can get behind vapid nonsense from time to time. I mean, i actually like the first Bayformers movie before they got really insulting. I might be giving this thing a harder time than it deserves but that’s because I've seen this movie done better. I’ve seen this story told better. I’ve seen this film executed better and it was done thirty years before this one came out. The 1981 version of this click is superior in every way with the exception of effects. That’s it. If i had to choose between the two versions, I'd definitely watch that one first however, the 2010 remake isn’t that horrible. There is merit to this version of the narrative and it’s definitely one of the more beautiful films out there. If you have an hour and change left, I'd suggest checking out the Clash of the Titans remake.

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