#( junior. / && aesthetics and imagery. )

[mybeingthere]

Mitsuru Watanabe, Japanese, b. 1953

Mitsuru Watanabe was born in 1953 in the Aomori Prefecture in Japan, the youngest of four siblings. His mother was an amateur painter who set an example for her children, not only with her own work, but also with an extensive library of art books in the family home. The young Mitsuru gradually began to browse through the books, thus introducing himself to a wide variety of styles, aesthetics and historical images. In addition, he poured over books on drawing and painting techniques, establishing a foundation for his future work as a professional artist.

His junior high school did offer an art class, but it was not particularly inspiring, and in high school, there was no art education offered. That left Mitsuru to study on his own, and after graduation in 1972, he again consulted art books about painting techniques, which provided some basic guidance. His introduction to professional training came as a result of an advertisement that he placed in an art magazine in the hope of attracting some clients for his painting. Instead one of his paintings was purchased by a collector on behalf of the painter Seiichiro Ban (b. 1950), who was impressed with the younger artist’s work. He invited Mitsuru to Kyoto, eventually teaching him “everything about painting techniques”, including the use of oils, brushwork and color adjustment. In the process, the two men became good friends.

Meanwhile, Mitsuru worked for a printing company for a few years. Eventually, he gave it up in order to paint, and for several years, he paid the bills by gambling at mahjong and pachinko (Japanese pinball). In spite of the hardships of such an uncertain mode of living, he looks back fondly on this period.

By 1975, he met and married his wife, and moved to Hachinohe City. The family soon grew to include a son and two daughters. Looking back on those early days, Mitsuru recalls spending many days reading in a library while taking care of his son. He requested books on philosophy, religious studies, cultural anthropology, psychoanalysis and contemporary criticism, all of which the library provided. A few years later, when his paintings were selling well, a librarian mentioned to him that they had spent over 200,000 yen per year on his requests; and that his absence from the library meant that they no longer had such a generous budget allotment.

With a growing family, Mitsuru realized that he would need to increase his income. He had become friends with a local theatrical troupe, even writing a play for the group at one point, and thought that they might be interested in purchasing some of his paintings. With these funds, he was able to organize a successful solo exhibition in Hachinohe. Ultimately, he was able to raise enough money to advertise his work in an art magazine and stage an exhibition in Ginza. Most of the paintings sold and Mitsuru’s career was launched.

In the 1980s, Japan was enjoying an economic boom, including the market for contemporary art. Although progress was slow initially, Mitsuru’s work began to attract attention in Tokyo. When he won the 10 million yen prize in the Second Ryohei Koiso Grand Prize Exhibition in 1994, the gallery world took notice. Soon he was working with a gallery in Ginza, which in turn led to Mitsuru’s art being noticed by a Hong Kong gallery; this broadened the international market for his art.

In 1990, Mitsuru met and befriended Hiroshi Furuyoshi after seeing an exhibition of his work. Hiroshi’s collection of international art books provided inspiration, and, as Mitsuru notes, Hiroshi “generously taught me about [western] painting techniques.”

His work offers a compelling mix of Japanese and Western traditions. He borrows imagery freely from a number of western artists, ranging from Pieter Brueghel and Hieronymus Bosch to Henri Rousseau. These “borrowed images” are grounded in the Japanese tradition of shyakkei (borrowed landscape) which utilizes nearby natural landmarks as the backdrop to the design of a garden. Likewise, Mitsuru incorporates traditional western images both as the stage for his work and occasionally as commentary in the form of small visual quotations from old master paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Erie Loran, as well as the Japanese contemporary artist Hayami Gyosyu.

Almost all of Mitsuru’s paintings feature his children as his models. In the 2018 painting, In the Forest-with Deposition of Christ, one of his daughters is shown strumming a guitar while comfortably seated in one of Henri Rousseau’s forests. The lion from Rousseau’s painting of The Sleeping Gypsy (1897) grazes casually nearby at a much smaller scale. And on the other side of the canvas, Peter Paul Rubens’ The Descent from the Cross (1612-14) is inserted into the forest landscape as if it were a staged tableau. In the 2019 painting, Naoko Walking in Rousseau’s Forest, the artist’s daughter again appears, this time walking on air with her “Hello Kitty” purse slung over her shoulder and a Canon camera pointed straight at the viewer as if it were a gun.

The combination of humor and serious cultural commentary is characteristic of Mitsuru’s painting. He notes that this too is based on an older Japanese trope, Honka-dori, in which new tanka poetry is created by quoting from famous older tanka poems. Mitsuru has used iconic western paintings coupled with very contemporary Japanese images to initiate a discussion about the cross-cultural influences of each tradition. And his children have become the ambassadors of that conversation. As Mitsuru comments “As long as I live, they will go around the world of painting as a child, like Peter Pan.”

Janet Whitmore, Ph.D.

https://rehs.com/Mitsuru_Watanabe_Naoko_Playing_in_Boschs...

[k1d1c4rus]

don’t know much about the thing with carr and much about her in gen. but that post you made comparing pete & meagan’s poor choice of a costume to her and pete’s relationship is kinda fucking weird dude… idk just saying pete would only sign her because he sees her as a fetish? (you were probably joking but still kinda off) i really don’t see what’s the problem with her calling herself a deep throat queen just get the vibes that everything is cool till a women choose to use her sexuality as a brand. i don’t know just think about that post. sorry

if you disagree with a post i made mostly in jest pointing out an aesthetic similarity in. i think we all agree. a weird halloween costume (to say the least) and carr's self styled combination of children's tutus and explicit sexual slogans you quite literally don't have to engage with it. i genuinely would like to know what you're hoping to achieve from sending this, because if it's to let me know you're uncomfortable then congratulations, but if it's to make me delete the post? unpost it? change my opinion? you're not really going to get what you want.

carr's brand is 'dilf hunting' and 'hot dads', which she posts specifically in reference to the middle aged men in the bands she is touring with. she's written songs about wanting to be a groupie and sleeping with rockstars in bands who are older than her. I think pete has a very canny understanding of the fact that that this sexualised aesthetic will sell, which is why he signed her. if u want clarification on this front, I don't think he fucked her.

i'm not going to be the one to give you a crash course in choice feminism. I think women can do what they want. I also think it's impossible to make choices that aren't influenced by the societal structures around you. as a female raised person I've said the statement "i shave my legs bc it looks better and thats my choice" and I've then deconstructed where my choices come from and what influences me to make those decisions.

i truly don't give a shit what carr does, the only thing that icks me out is the explicit sexual content combined with the kiddie tutus. there's a whole conversation to be had abt the eroticisation of childlike imagery that is just not something I have space to discuss with tumblr anons on my bandom smut blog. i don't like that so I won't engage with her content.

i dont know shit abt their relationship. the post was pointing out that pete obviously thinks there was something compelling enough abt that aesthetic to dress himself and his (10 years his junior) gf up as a pageant princess and himself as a daddy manager, and like 13 years later he is a record label manager and has signed an artist with the same tutu wearing aesthetic who explicitly refers to him as a hot dad. if you don't see a connection or if the connection makes you uncomfortable, you really don't have to be here.

[briannamwood]

Week 1: My Journey in Fashion & Creativity

Hello, lovely readers! My name is Brianna Wood, and I'm ecstatic to welcome you to my Tumblr blog. I'd like to take this opportunity to share a bit about myself, my aspirations, and what you can expect from this blog. I'm currently a junior at CMU online, majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Visual Design, with a minor in Entrepreneurship. While my days are filled with spreadsheets and numbers as a full-time accountant at Westborn Market in Redford, Michigan, my heart truly belongs to the world of fashion, music, and poetry. I draw inspiration from iconic artists like Lana Del Rey and Jim Morrison, whose creativity and individuality have left an indelible mark on my own journey. My ultimate career goal is to become a fashion stylist or buyer and, one day, open my very own boutique. I envision a space where I can curate unique collections that reflect my personal style and connect with individuals who appreciate the artistry of fashion. My blog is a platform to document my progress, share my insights, and hopefully inspire others who share my passion for the industry. On this blog, you can look forward to style inspiration, creative expressions, and, of course, personal anecdotes. Now, let's shift our focus to a company that I believe excels in their use of social media, particularly in line with the principles I've encountered in my studies. Chanel is an exemplary company when it comes to their use of social media, and they excel in several key principles that align with the modern fashion industry and the digital age. (Click on the link to see their Instagram page.) Chanel has mastered the art of storytelling. They maintain a consistent brand image across their social media platforms, which includes elegant and timeless imagery that reflects the essence of the brand. Whether it's showcasing their latest fashion collections, beauty products, or behind-the-scenes glimpses, Chanel's content always tells a story of luxury, sophistication, and creativity. Chanel actively engages with its audience. They respond to comments, messages, and questions, fostering a sense of community and dialogue. Their dedication to engaging with followers makes customers feel valued and heard, which is crucial for brand loyalty. Chanel's social media profiles are a visual treat. They invest in high-quality photography and design to create an aesthetically pleasing and cohesive feed. The consistent use of their signature black-and-white color scheme and iconic branding elements, like the interlocking "C"s, ensures that their content is instantly recognizable. Chanel often collaborates with influential figures, celebrities, and influencers. These partnerships not only expand their reach but also enhance their credibility and relevance in the fashion industry. By associating with these figures, they tap into new audiences and strengthen their brand image. Chanel utilizes social media to create a sense of exclusivity and scarcity. They often tease upcoming collections or events, creating anticipation and excitement among their followers. This strategy can lead to increased demand and engagement. Chanel has successfully built a community around their brand. They encourage user-generated content and hashtags, inviting customers to share their experiences with Chanel products. This not only boosts brand loyalty but also provides valuable social proof. While maintaining a classic and timeless image, Chanel also keeps up with social media trends. They use features like Instagram Stories, IGTV, and live streams to engage with their audience in real-time, ensuring they remain relevant and accessible to a younger, tech-savvy audience. This serves as a valuable example for aspiring fashion professionals like myself, showing how to adapt to the digital age while staying true to the essence of the brand. Stay inspired, Brianna Wood

[lcngliive]

LAN SIZHUI // AES ( hwtask13 )

pin board can be found here.

describe your character’s aesthetic in five words or less

pastels, soft lines, platform trainers and blue tones.

what flower would you connect to your character? why?

snowdrops - it's one of his birth flowers.

pick a crystal that you feel fits your muse best and explain the connection

Blue Aventurine is a stone of inner strength. this is def a good one for sizhui, because he has a lot of inner strength and has delt with a lot of shit ???? esp since a young age, being ill and then forgetting everything - despite everything he's turned into a very well-mannered young man who takes the thoughts of others into consideration and likes to help people.

out of water, fire, earth, and air, which element do you think represents your character best?

water is def something I heavily associate sizhui with, he's very fluid and light, just like water. also water carries memories so :)

what color do you most strongly associate with your muse?

light blue.

is there an animal you feel fits your muse’s personality best?

a bunny probably?? it kinda fits the vibe with him being small and cute?? idk what else to make him lol.

are there any choices your character makes solely because it fits their aesthetic?

not really? sizhui isn't really into things like that, he just basically goes with whatever he's doing and doesn't care too much about appearances. my boy doesn't even use social media, so that doesn't really mean much to him.

pick one quote that you think of when you think of your character and share it with us

'the memory is unclear, but the feelings remain'

list off the top three kinds of imagery that come to mind when you think of your muse

light blue, radishes and bright smiles.

describe your muse using only ao3 tags

these are all just him. one, two, three & four.

pick your top three favorite memes from your character’s pinboard and share them with us

I don't have any memes in his board, so have my fave three pieces of fanart of the juniors! one, two & three!

[ofravensandgenesis]

IT IS FINISHED no seriously, this took ages. First couple of days were fine and motoring along with progress, then I was laid out for a week-ish with health problems. Then once I was well enough again I was back to being fixated on finishing this piece of my lad Joshua here for another handful of days, so I’m super glad this is done now. More talk about the painting, details and process under the cut:

Art Entry 01, Joshua Rook, Junior Deputy of Hope County. Regarding the painting’s execution, stylistic choices, practiced methods, and speculation on further experimentation for skill and stylization. _____________________________ Honestly I thought that the uniform’s large swatches of green fabric would be more difficult than it actually was. Turns out that was the easier part compared to the shoulder patch and metal badge. x’D The metal badge design is based off of and inspired by a custom-ordered cosplay badge design I found while looking for references, in this post here (link,) from v-i-d-e-n-o-i-r’s blog and Far Cry 5 cosplay. There are some differences in the painting’s rendition above, namely I flattened the middle section and made it all concentric polished metal instead of painted and the great seal rendition in the middle doesn’t have silver lineart either. Those choices are as much for aesthetic reasons of eliminating the blue ring so it was all a fairly simple mono-material-looking surface as it was for simplifying having to forego painting the foreshortening that a spherical dome might entail. Also just because the rest of the metal turned out looking good enough that an additional bit of shiny metal seemed like it’d fit right in for this. That being said, the badge design that inspired this one is rad and awesome looking—and I totally didn’t realize it wasn’t quite like the badges from in-game assets until after I’d painted it. x’D So, I decided to stick with this one since it’s simpler and has cleaner lines, and less engraving to pick out highlights on. Metal is very hit or miss for me to get right, so I’m very pleased with how this one came out! :D I think I did well on that one. The shoulder patch originally I was looking at real world references and ended up changing the shape once I actually looked at in-game references on Staci and Joey—who I discovered have slightly different details on their uniforms, like the font for their name tags—Staci’s has an old-timey-looking-font with serifs, Joey’s is a non-serif more modern-style font. Some pictures have them having different buttons on their uniforms either in color or shape (the former being exported assets, the latter being in-game gifs/screenies/etc.) This is also how I learned that the little landscape with the shovel, pickaxe and plough/plow are part of the great seal of Montana. I had no flipping idea that was what it was, looking at the patches in-game. The cosplay community does some great work for that, for which I’m grateful. I ended up looking up references of what the state seal’s design was so as to see the smaller details, and to find out what the motto meant ”Oro y Plata,” meant, leading to etymology googling adventures from there, as usual. All important details to paint though I think here, since Joshua’s deputy uniform is symbolically significant to him and will remain so throughout his story as part of his internal conflict for a couple of reasons. One thing I knew I should’ve done from the start, and reminded myself to do, was the fact that I should paint all skin sections at the same time, so as to ensure they all came out the same shades. I did not do this. x’D I’ll have to actually try to do that next time honestly. Same with the hair sections, while I like how they came out, I do feel the differences between the three major segments in terms of brushwork is not as coherent as I’d like, even if beard hair is not necessarily similar in how it lays to scalp hair, particularly with length and such taken into consideration. Still, not bad. Could’ve used more refs for the backlighting and figuring out how the highlights would fit best on the ponytail, but I think the hair curves turned out nice there in particular. Overall, Joshua’s hair ended up messier than I’d thought with how the locks all end up looping this way and that across his head, but it does actually fit him well as a character for his hairstyle to be messy and loosely held together, but functional. It did end up longer than I’d intended, so we have him likely ending up with a nerdy Jesus hairstyle when it’s down. x’D (Thanks to @undead-gearhead​ for that mental imagery, I shall take great amusement in that should I get around to drawing Joshua with his hair down.) Aside from that, I think I’m slowly improving on figuring out how to paint glasses, though I’m thinking in the future I should test more layered reflective light on them or something where the frames are in contact or close to skin, particularly around the glasses’ bridge across the nose and such. Then there are the other deviation details added—like using dark green instead of the black for the uniform accents. The faded black looks great in-game, but I do think the buttons pop more against dark green instead for this painting. I’m a little bit surprised how well the button-placket section came out, Clip Studio Paint crashed when I painted the first rendition of it, sadly losing all that work. I thought it’d be okay but turns out it didn’t quite get to auto-save that recently enough, but the second go around turned out quite well I think, possibly better. I was originally planning to try to put more textured brushwork across the flat sections of the uniform material, but decided to skip it for speed—I’ll test that elsewhere perhaps, though I think it came out well with the watercolor brushes layered on top of one another like that as is. Among the other smaller details, there’s some tweaks and such for how Joshua’s eye shape, eyebrows, nose shape, hairline etc came out compared to references of Greg Bryk in his role as Joseph Seed. I think Joshua did come out looking like he’s obviously related to the Seeds as I was hoping for, but I’m kind of on the fence that people would look at him and automatically assume it’s Joseph specifically that he’s descended from. I hope so, but either way, that’s how he’s written in-fic. x’D Overall, I would consider this painting a success, though as usual I do wish it’d been faster to finish. I do think this was good practice for detail work, and metal shading, also: buttons. Still haven’t figured out how to paint lips with more pink or red tones, I don’t like the way they look when painted sadly, unless it’s lipstick. That may end up being a stylistic element perhaps, along with how I paint the lines for fingernails and other such details. Fun fact: I have to leave the shading on the eyes for last, or else my brain goes “The eyes are done! We’re done! Call it a day.” I’m not sure why, but so far, leaving them as flats until the end seems to work a treat for keeping me focused on finishing the rest of the work with less mental dissonance. Now if only I could figure out why despite knowing I should do all the exposed skin portions at the same time, I don’t follow through on that naturally as far as inclinations go. Maybe it’s a layer organization thing and perception of wanting, say, the cloth to be done first before working “down” to the hands and such in the sense of working from the head down? I’ll have to think on that some more and test things in the next painting. Perhaps color coding the order of layers to paint will help? CSP does have a nice layer-icon-color function that I’ve dabbled with here and there. There are so many brushes, I really do need to test out more of them, I use, what, four or five total, but primarily somewhere around two or three. Hm, but what to do with texture, and how to utilize it so? Hmmm, as far as personal appeal for methodology goes, I might prefer to use textures in select pieces for more emotional emphasis? If I can figure out how to do that in a messier speed-paint style of things. Rougher textures for conflict, for example. That sounds like an interesting idea to explore, I’ll have to remember that for a later piece. Maybe more heavily textured brushes will also help with the mental itch to refine things to a cleaner-level of refining instead of leaving it in a more organically rough state. Hm, maybe it’s a “mental texture” aversion or something, as far as an interplay between the brush’s texture and the flow of the linework/brushstroke. Perhaps more uneven brushes echo that in a complimentary fashion to better allow less mental discomfort for me personally when trying to paint in a faster, looser fashion? Honestly, very tempting to go try that out sooner rather than later on some art ideas I have, but I’ve been missing my writing very much of late with two time-demanding paintings back to back. So, ideas for a later time to experiment with.

[robotnikfucker]

10 Questions Tag Game

I’ve been tagged by @jimbotniks​

Rules: Answer the 10 questions, ask a different 10 questions, and tag 10 people

(Small warning, I have ADHD and just took my meds so this is a little ramble-y and disjointed. I apologize, there is no way to fix this, my brain is just like that oops. For courtesy, I’ve put all the long stuff under the cut so you only have to read my monologue if you want to.)

1. What is your favorite genre of music? Why?

Probably indie-rock and indie punk. I like indie-rock largely because my favorite shows in my formative years were Chuck, Bones and a couple other “golden era” crime dramas that all featured a lot of indie-rock music in the background. Indie punk appeals to me because it’s just a good catharsis while also being pretty damn dance-able. Kiwi Jr and AJJ are both really good bands if you need to just let it all out while jamming to some bops.

2. What’s an art project you’ve made that you’re proud of?

I draw angels frequently, often depicting them as humanoid but still terrifying. This was an art theme that I’ve had going since before I was religious and I find that “angelic” imagery can sometimes leak into my other art so a lot of my favorite art is drawings of wings, gore, monsters and all kinds of Gothic themes. Right now, I have a watercolor of Virginia Madsen that I’m just in love with. I was always enchanted by her hypnotized stare in Candyman and I did my best to capture that. I even went out with my girlfriend to buy a gold gel pen so her tears would glitter. From theme to technical prowess, it’s my favorite painting right now and possibly my magnum opus. My previous best was a gore heavy, similarly angel themed, digital painting of Roger Wilco from the Space Quest games (weird special interests, I know.) I could go on about drawings I love for hours, so I’ll cut myself off here with the small post script that this is just my visual art and I also have poetry and prose that I feel similarly about.

3. Do you have a favorite album/podcast to put on in the background while you work or study?

It all really depends on my mood. My girlfriend shared a really relaxing Sovietwave playlist with me recently that I’ve been enjoying. I also listen to a lot of AJJ and Saint Motel, I don’t really think I could really pin down a specific album for either of them. The Candyman soundtrack works really well for study especially for my Gothic and Mystery class. I have a playlist titled Fuck Funk that’s specifically for writing fanfiction since I could never find a good playlist for writing smut when I needed it but I also use that playlist to work out since it’s mostly just a healthy mix of songs that I can jam to. I’ve never liked podcasts for study/work since I can’t really write and listen at the same time but I did make a podcast once for a professor that was a radio-play style parody of Scooby-Doo. I did all of the editing and I still listen back over it and pat myself on the back for turning 2 hours of raw improv into something that got us like a 98. A lot of my own music taste peaks through.

4. If you could become the protagonist/antagonist of any media franchise, which one would you pick and why?

Realistically, Animal Crossing because that’s the safest bet least likely to lead to my death. If we’re gonna get wild... probably BJ Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein so I could kick some N*zi ass or Conan Edogawa/Jimmy Kudo from Case Closed/Detective Conan so I could enjoy that sweet mid 90′s aesthetic.

5. Can you play any instruments? which ones?

I can, actually, I’ve played cello since I was 8 (I’m 18 now) although I’m a little rusty. I played piano and drums for a while and while I’m pretty useless when it comes to piano these days, I still maintain a pretty firm grip on my sense of time and rhythm thanks to the years I spent playing percussion. I played bari sax in middle and high school. I marched it for 3 years until I had a back injury but I was in jazz band all 4 years of high school so I was still playing. I was also in choir for a very long time and even spent my junior and senior years in an acapella Madrigal choir (I still have my costumes from both years) and even though it hasn’t been a whole year since I graduated, I still miss singing. I certainly don’t miss high school but I do miss that choir.

6. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Not sure if this counts but I’ve been an achievement hunter/completionist since I played Ocarina of Time so I guess I “collect” video game achievements. I also collect lost things when I find them. I have an abandoned library card, two different gym membership cards, and a whole bunch of business cards. I have a small collection of lighters but that’s less about the joy of collecting and more about how often I burn incense. Aside from the usual stuffed animal collection that most people have from childhood, I don’t collect anything else.

7. How many songs are there in your music library?

This is kinda difficult for me to answer. I use Spotify and I don’t always download my music since I have unlimited data, but it currently says that I have 1070 “liked” songs which is likely a little conservative since I had to switch accounts last year and lost some of my music in the process. (This just got me thinkin, back in the iTunes era when songs were 99cents a pop I would have had to pay more than a thousand dollars for that kind of collection.)

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, and at any time in history, where and when would you choose?

So, by any time in history do you mean only the past or the future too? If future is an acceptable answer, I’m gonna say Star Trek. Like if Star Trek ever becomes vaguely reality, I’m going there. Even if the details are wrong, a career as a science officer on a space ship in a universe that isn’t constantly at war and is instead working towards peace and the pursuit of higher knowledge is perfect. If we’re only talking about the past, with no allowances for possible futures, then I think I’d want to live in the 80s in a metropolitan city like New York, Chicago, or Tokyo. Perhaps its misplaced nostalgia, but working as a secretary sounds nice. In the 80s you could still outright buy an apartment instead of renting it and it was actually semi-affordable (at least for the privileged) which as someone facing adulthood in the current economy, sounds like a dream come true. I guess I just want the simplicity and security of economy back then. Lookin for that yuppie life!

9. Have you ever performed live in front of an audience?

I have, several times. Although I’ve never been a headliner or anything I’ve played and sang at school concerts (even had a few solos) and my jazz band once performed for a dance hall full of people. I’ve never been paid unless you count getting a free CD but I’ve performed in front of quite a few live audiences.

Anyway, Jimbotnik didn’t write a tenth question so I guess I get an out. I’m sorry for my rambling answers, that’s just life. I’m gonna tag @jasminerobotnik @zoekrystall @rohotnik since y’all are my Sonic blog mutuals (like my header implies, I keep my main and this side blog separate for privacy’s sake) I’m also tagging @actsoflove @manicrobotnik @dusicielkusiciel @hamil-trash24 @lee-bunny @legally-immortal and @wutevrz

If you’re confused as to why I tagged you, I don’t have many mutuals so I picked followers who I’d seen some interaction from. You don’t have to play if you don’t want to and I’ll delete your tag if you’d prefer. As usual with these games, it’s also open to anyone who wants to get one of these started among their group so if you’re reading this post and wish you’d been tagged, that’s you.

My questions:

Do you wear glasses/contacts? If you wear glasses do you like how they look on you?

Do you have a playlist of music that’s just for when you’re sad? What are your favorite songs from it?

Is there a skill you consider yourself particularly good at?

If you’re the kind of person who uses a reusable water bottle, do you decorate it? If not, what is your favorite drink day to day?

Do you drink diet soda or can you not tolerate the taste?

Do you write fanfiction? What fandoms and genres? Do you share your fic with people you know in real life?

What’s your favorite scent? Do you often buy scented products like incense or candles?

Do you like scary movies? If so, what’s your favorite? If you don’t, what is your favorite genre of films?

What’s your go to movie snack when you’re watching in a theater? What about when you’re watching a movie at home?

What’s your favorite “medium” for art (sculpture, dance, music, painting, drawing, poetry etc.) and which one do you feel most adept at?

[kdtheghostwriter]

SNK 115  - “OMW”

I mean...

Let’s be real. As far as Deus Ex goes, I’ve seen more preposterous this week.

If any of you are wondering why this post took so long, it isn’t for lack of time I assure you. This chapter was…a lot. And god damn, Isayama, I wasn’t expecting to dig up my Junior Year debate notes for this one blog post but here we are lads. Quick recap before we get into writers’ mumbo-jumbo.

Flashback

Deus EX

#HeelFloch

Sad Hange

RESURRECTION

We all know Isa loves his religious imagery. He isn’t quite as egregious as Zack Snyder (who is, tbh?) but it’s definitely a thing. He also loves mythology of all types. And while Norse mythology seems to be his area of expertise, it isn’t mine - which is why seeing Stupid Sexy Zeke emerge from his Titan Incubator made me think of another Stupid Sexy God from the Ancient Greek Canon.

I speak of the Goddess Aphrodite, who has dominion over love, beauty and its various trappings. Admittedly, this comparison is drawn in relation to aesthetics only. Zeke’s aloof temperament doesn’t really mirror that of the Greek goddess. Even though Aphrodite did technically help start the Trojan War but that’s neither here nor there.

Zeke’s appearance from the steam of the felled Titan is nearly identical to the foam that appeared during Aphrodite’s spontaneous conception in the Ionian Sea. For the sake of transparency, I must point out that long ago, a fanfic author by the name of Homer relayed to us that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. This is not technically wrong but it is quite boring. And it was also pre-dated (shout-out to Hesiod). Uranus, the primordial god of the sky, got into a spat with his children as deities are wont to do. This particular dust-up ended in Uranus being castrated by his son – the Titan, Cronus – who usurped the throne. The disembodied testicles fell into the sea like a pair of primordial bath bombs and out of the resulting effervescence appeared a full-grown Aphrodite in all of her Tumblr-banned glory.

Zeke, with nothing left of him after the explosion than a head and torso, was taken into the gut of a waiting Titan. Let me clarify, here. He was not eaten, no. The mindless titan scooted itself along the river banks and inserted the dying Zeke into its stomach cavity. Then OG Ymir with her trademark PATHS Magiks,  crafts the golden boy a brand new body and sends him on his merry way.

Like I said up top: of all the examples of Deus Ex, this isn’t even the third-most severe I’ve seen. The implications of it are…a lot. And it actually makes sense if you consider what we know about Titan Biology.

Back to the beginning. Once upon a time, the Founder Ymir Fritz made a deal with the Devil of All Earth that gave her untold power after coming into contact with the “source of all living matter.” With that power, Ymir became the Progenitor of Titan Power. Upon her death 13 years later, her soul was split into nine pieces and connected via a metaphysical system known only as PATHS. These PATHS transcend space and time and bind together every subject of Ymir, even those who have been long dead.

We also know that the Titans themselves are a conundrum of theoretical physics. Their mass and energy are created from nothing. They generate massive amounts of heat, but don’t appear to need fuel. They have no digestive system and regurgitate the contents of their stomach when it becomes full. Even though they are huge creatures, their actual limbs and body parts are incredibly light. Even though Zeke has little recollection of what happened to him post-explosion, he’s likely smart enough to infer, as we can, exactly how and why he emerged from the carcass of a Titan with a brand new body.

This is all before we mention that Zeke Jaeger is a part of the Fritz family tree. The Royal Family line that descends directly from Ymir herself.

I also thought about Lazarus of Bethany while reading this section. Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus, the lad from Bethlehem. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Jesus was told that Lazarus had fallen ill, but has business and doesn’t set out until a few days later. Jesus and his crew arrive in Bethany only to discover that Lazarus has already passed away. This leads to the Gospel’s shortest verse.

Jesus wept. [John 11:35, KJV]

Perhaps the better comparison for her is to Abraham (with the whole “making a great nation” stipulation). But! I’m trying to do something pithy here, so bear with me.

The story of Lazarus might be the Good Book’s most well-known resurrection (besides that other one). The idea here is that the world’s most Holy Figure decided that this man’s time on Earth wasn’t done. Jesus was too late to heal Lazarus and felt so guilty as to weep. Lazarus was then called forth from his tomb, still wrapped in his death robes.

For the Eldian Empire, no figure is more Holy than Ymir Fritz. She’s the Founding Titan and, if this chapter is to be inferred upon, her spirit still influences the will of her subjects to the day. An entire cult has formed with the sole purpose of returning her to her former glory. I should also point out that Zeke essentially committed suicide.

Like, yeah, maybe the injuries were a bit too extreme for an old shifter to be able to regenerate from, but even if that’s the case there would have been the telltale signs of an attempt to do so, like Pieck in Liberio. There wasn’t even that. He was so tired of the fight – so done with Levi torturing him – that he was willing to abandon his years-long plan entirely and sacrifice his powers to the shadows of death. He chose to die; the Founder chose differently.

The rainstorm clearing to make way for the sun. The beautification of Zeke Jaeger. The visage of his tall, strong frame standing firm as his hated rival lays broken and mutilated at his feet. It’s all very hard to miss. Who knows where his head is at following this? I do, however, finally know why I get so many Spidey Sense tingles whenever Zeke opens his mouth.

  The name is Immanuel Kant: German scholar and one of the godfathers of modern philosophy. I first learned of Kant and his teachings as a teenager on my high school debate team as I prepared my cases for the Lincoln-Douglas competition. It was my first tournament and I placed second out of dozens of students. After I was done for the day, a girl came up to me and gave me congratulations for understanding Kant. I thanked her, but the truth was that I didn’t fully grasp Kantian philosophy until I got home that night and studied a bit more. Kantian ethics can be hard to grasp because they are often in conflict with each other. (Gee, that sounds familiar.)

Kant’s ethics are deontological in principal. This is a fancy way of saying that the main concern is the Deed That Must Be Done. It is a separation of morals from emotion. Kant rejected the Utilitarians of the day and their schools of thought regarding the inherent “goodness” of an action. Specifically, he had a big problem with Determinism, saying that things like free will were inherently unknowable; also, basing the morality of a decision around perceived outcomes was impossible, because consequences existed outside of physical existence and therefore could not be quantified. Kant set out to quantify the question of moral relativism with his most famous work: The Categorical Imperative.

This is a terribly complex system that has been repurposed and reinterpreted countless times over the past two centuries so I’ll spare you any ballywho. Basically, CI is the inverse of Consequentialism where everything but the consequences matter. Saving a person from drowning isn’t inherently a good action unless there is a logical reason for doing so. This is admittedly a very simplified summation, but even the expanded version leads to some dissonance of reason.

If we look at the Abstract of Categorical Imperative, it tells us: “Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself.” This line is very similar to the Golden Rule, which Kant famously opposed. The American scholar Peter Corning pointed this out, saying, “Kant’s objection is especially suspect because the Categorical Imperative sounds a lot like a paraphrase…of the same fundamental idea. Calling it a universal law does not materially improve on the basic concept.” To borrow an idea myself, it’s like playing the Super Mario theme in a minor key. It’ll sound more dour than usual, but it’s still the Mario theme. Joking aside, what’s important here is that the whole point of CI is to quantify the question of morality and it appears to do that in part by using the qualitative philosophy of the Golden Rule.

Another big beef came from Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. He felt that Kantian autonomy was insufficient in holding people to the standards of CI’s universal truths. In his words: “Kant was of the opinion that man is his own law – that is, he binds himself under the law which he himself gives himself. Actually, in a profounder sense, this is how lawlessness or experimentation are established.” In other words, if the only thing that matters is reasoning, you can justify almost anything to serve your immediate reasoning.

EXAMPLE

Here is where the dubious nature of the Categorical Imperative fully rears its head, as it displays BOTH the morality and immorality of Zeke’s plan.

On one hand, this plan is fucking awful. There are numerous and many arguments to be made against it; working solely in the context of Kantianism, it is irrational to presume that sterilizing the Eldian people will lead to a more peaceful world. It relies on a ludicrous number of assumptions – the least of which isn’t that Marley will one day stop being a total bell end. Besides that shit, it violates the nature of Kantian philosophy by attempting to foresee the outcome of the situation.

The other hand? It actually makes sense. CI says that only reason matters. It’s ethics through the lens of rational thought. No matter your thoughts about the Great Titan War, how it started and ended, whether or not the Eldians’ preceding subjugation was just or not, it’s a fact that the Titans have caused a great deal of suffering for many people. Only one race of people can transform into these beasts, so the idea of stripping their ability to reproduce isn’t a great leap to make. It is rational specifically in the context of this universe.

(Apologies for any details missed. I haven’t read any Kant in several years and this is a very condensed version of a concept I would encourage you to look into further. Thinking about this all now, the fact that I ever made it to out-rounds while arguing any of this is frankly absurd.)

It makes sense then, finally, why Yelena is so devoted to Zeke’s plan. Titans destroyed her home and slaughtered her people. The rational course of action is to remove this weapon from the hands of those (Marley) that would abuse them. And if those same perpetrators get screwed over during the course of this plan then…[Shrug Emoji]. She claims what she wants is justice. What she really wants, of course, is revenge. Just like her sensei, Jaeger-san, who wants revenge still. Which Jaeger, you ask? The answer is yes.

Situations have been reversed. The volunteers (and Onyankopon) are seated at the head of the table while the officers of the Garrison and Military Police that held them captive are under their thumb. Color-coded armbands are divvied out to the Eldian forces, juuuuust in case you forgot which period of history we’re sending up here. Armbands are assigned based upon when a person surrendered to the Jaegerists. Those higher ups (and Falco) that partook of the wine get their own special armband, because Everything Is Awesome!!

Then there’s this fucking guy. Before I revisited the world of epistemology, I had a much less astute take prepared about character psychology and the concept of the “Double Turn.” I may still write that as a separate post; it won’t do any good here. Reiner didn’t appear, firstly (even though it appears that he and the Warrior Unit are on Paradis), and the visage of a disembodied child using Titan Magiks to bring Zeke back from the precipice of death brings up some very real questions about how real the Curse really is. We don’t know how Ymir Fritz died originally. Given the way mythology tends to work, I’d say patricide is highly plausible.

As usual, all we can do is speculate. One thing that doesn’t need speculation is Pieck. As usual, she’s right on time. As expected, she’s exactly right.

 Stray Thoughts

- As I noted last time, Levi was sent flying into the river. Evidently, he had enough strength to make it back to shore, just not much more than that. I suspect he’s alive for now but, goddamn did he get messed up. Levi underestimated Zeke’s suicidal tendencies, just as Zeke underestimated Levi’s tenacity. For two fellas that spent months in direct contact with each other, they have almost no clue.

- Not to stir the pot here but, here’s an in-story example of Kantian Ethics in case you’re still not quite sure. On the roof in Shiganshina – if Kant had been there (lol) – he would have disputed Levi giving the serum to Armin. Not for the reason you think. Categorical Imperative is all about reason. The reason Levi chose to save Armin is because he refused to rob his loved one of their humanity and instead chose to let him rest as opposed to reviving him for the sake of continuing a senseless, endless war. As Momtaku has said before: Levi chose Erwin over Armin. This was a choice made on emotional, borderline selfish, grounds and thereby irrational, which in Kant’s eyes makes it immoral. Just a little extra nugget for you. Discuss, friends!

[respecthbcus]

Fatherhood By: Jaylen Amir Brown, Respect HBCUs Student Ambassador (Winston Salem State University)

What makes a man a man? Money, provision, integrity? Is it the ability to reproduce? Is it their sexual preference?          

What is fatherhood? Is it continuing one’s bloodline? Enforcing discipline? Is it phone conversations, talks over dinner, weekend/holiday visits, or appearances during big game days?

As my twenty short years of life continue, the definition of fatherhood and manhood is one which is intriguing to me. I’ve spoke with several fathers around the world, receiving many different answers. I've come to the realization that it's not like a "cup". There is no concrete definition which every man lives by to know what is and isn't a cup. It's more so like recipes to food which are often changed here and based off personal likes and dislikes. These changes can be great and others can be rather distasteful. These changes are critical due to how powerful the influence a father can have on his child(ren).

I think we all can relate to the lack of male presence in the classroom. At least we are aware of this. Don’t forget to add Black and/or African American to the equation. Personally, I can count on one hand the number of those that fit into this category. Actually, two fingers. The opportunity of those in classrooms to give everyday guidance for a minimum of five days and seven hours a day can be worthwhile. Not to mention when the father or a positive male is missing. I found that number to increase as I transitioned to college. More surprisingly to me this was evident on campuses other than Winston-Salem State University. It was one of those things which I was aware of but first hand seeing the professor, faculty, and staff members who actually looked like me daily provided that reassurance. Although this number did increase significantly, nationally there is still only a small percentage present.

Growing up I was unaware how common it was in my area for children to not communicate with their father. Let alone know who he was. This was especially something many of my classmates had in common. For whatever reason it may have been, as I reflect back I realize the impact this caused and how problematic this is in the black community. It was an actual privilege for me to know my mother and father and an even bigger one to watch their love strengthen as I continue to spend more time living. My father taught me many things that my mother could not. His caring father perspective allowed for me to be immersed in understanding. I remember many times where I have been abled to witness my father serve as one of the positive male figure in the lives of others. He has been a true “step-father” to many while only being married once for twenty years (which continues to flourish shout out to my parents for twenty years this past Thursday June 13th).  

So, what makes a man a true exemplifier of fatherhood? The question can be left for you to define at your own discretion. However, one can conclude for one to be a fatherhood he must put his child first, always be there in times of need, be a provider, and handle his business. So, to my fathers out there, those with kids and those without, thank you.

I had a chance to interview a few HBCU fathers. Scroll below to check out some of their awesome advice, insight, memories, stories, and thoughts on fatherhood. Check them out below!

Mr. Jimmie Lewis III, is a recent 2019 Prairie View A&M University Biology graduate from Katy, Texas. He is the father of two-year old twins, Mason & Marshall Lewis and is on the journey to become a Physician.

Q: What has been your greatest moment as a father?

A: I love that fatherhood has brought me back to all those simple pleasures I had long forgotten as a kid. I can now hold my own while watching hundreds of Disney movies and sing the words to hundreds of toddler tunes. I'm also proud to say the joys of playing hide-and-seek and follow the leader have finally returned to me as a 22 year old young man. However, as a new father I am most proud of watching my sons grow and learn. Being born prematurely early two years ago at the Longview Regional Hospital to now being very curious and knowledge during the terrible two year. I love being a witness to all their new lessons and discoveries.

Q: How did fatherhood impact you as a full-time or part-time college student?

A: If I were Picasso and had to paint a mural that would be representative of who I was, who I am, and who I will become it would be a harmony of colors. This painting would be a prolongation depicting yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The imagery behind my mural shows a story which is exclusively mine as I travel down the road of life. First impressions take less than thirty seconds. However, there was a time in my life when most people made their assumptions about me in less than ten seconds. Many strangers would declare both disappointment and lack of expectation, followed by condolences instead of congratulations. This was the reaction I received from a lot of individuals at first, therefore, I hid the fact for over two years that I had two twin sons while raising them to be exceptional young kings. I was a twenty-year-old father, a sophomore in college, a new father of twin sons, a stereotype to society.

A painter usually starts with the color blue. Blue represents the color of hope and dreams that I have fostered. However, all of a sudden, I felt as if the mortal error had been committed and everything that preceded it was embarrassing. Being young and naive, I use to care about others opinions, therefore I wouldn’t tell my peers or associates that I had sons. Growing as a better man and better father, my focus changed that allowed me to see my purpose as a young father.

Being an undergraduate scholar at Prairie View A&M University presented me with new challenges as a young parent during the beginning of my junior year of college.  I wasn’t used to taking care of kids since most of my siblings and cousins are around my age. My life as a new father was marred by many obstacles that tested my strength and willingness to endure the uncertainty of what was to come. I did not think I fully grasped what it would be like, what it would mean, to be a new father for a greater part of my academic and social life. I had to study more during the week when I knew I would get my sons on the weekends and had to miss plenty of social gatherings due to my new responsibilities. In order to provide for my sons, I relied on my campus job, and financial support from my parents.

The color purple which represents self-awareness and realization on my mural also has an influence on my personal growth. It was imperative that I abandon all previous habits of yesterday because they cannot be incorporated into my sons’ futures and my goals as a young father and man as well.  Tomorrow is colored gold for promise. Tomorrow is full of promises and opportunities.  My aesthetic painting will never be finished in spite of the strong decisions of colors. I am carrying the torch that was passed to me; just like I walk in other’s footsteps, therefore my twin sons can have the possibility to pass the burning torch. This calling is who I am and what I aspire to be.

Q: I personally remember times when parents would have to bring their child with them to class and even ask their classmates to watch their child during class times. Has there ever been a time where you had to depend on your HBCU family to assist with your parenting?

A: I didn’t depend on my HBCU family a lot. I would say my immediate family on her side and my side has had the greatest influence on the boys. Without my parent’s wisdom and assistance, I wouldn’t be able to raise my sons by myself. I also applaud the mother for being an incredible mother to my sons. Her journey over the past 2 years hasn't been easy, yet she found the courage and resilience to keep moving forward. Many would have quit after transferring schools, becoming a new mommy of twins and working 3 jobs all at once. Yet, she stayed the course. And as much as I would like to take a lot of credit for my part in my sons lives, she has played the greatest role in my son’s lives since they are with her majority of the time.

Q: When it's finally time for Mason and Marshall to visit colleges and apply, how likely will you encourage them to attend an HBCU?

A: I will definitely persuade my children to attend the best HBCU in the land, Prairie View A&M University. Hopefully, they become future members of the Eta Gamma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc as well. HBCUs have a historic sense of community and family that makes the students feel more at home, therefore I want my sons to be comfortable and experience college just how I did.

Please share any advice you would give to soon to be fathers.

For future fathers, always be there for your children even during the worst circumstances. Fathers are apart of the critical point in the lives of our young African-American children. We must individually assess how we're raising them and figure out what we can do to keep our families intact (or at least how-to co-parent effectively). Also, always give your children a hug and tell them you love them everyday.

Mr. Oscar Ball III MS, OTR/L is from Goldsboro NC and the father of a beautiful daughter, Jayla.  Oscar is a two-time graduate from Winston-Salem’s own Winston-Salem State University. In 2009, he received his B.S. in Exercise Science and in 2012 he continued on obtaining his Masters in Occupational Therapy.

Q: What has been your greatest moment as a father?

A: I don’t think I could take one single moment and define it as my greatest moment as a father. So many come to mind and I know there’s plenty more to come. I would have to say it just has to be the overall experience. My daughter gives me a reason to live and grind each and every day. Her smile lets me know everything is going to be ok. And just watching her shows me that if nothing else I know I’ve done one thing right.

Q: How did fatherhood impact you as a full-time or part-time college student?

A: I had my daughter right before I started a strenuous Master’s program at WSSU. It made me more focused and taught me the importance of balance. It made me stronger as a student because I knew I had to be for her even when I wanted to be weak. It gave me the grind to make it through and hustle to support her while in school.

Q: I personally remember times when parents would have to bring their child with them to class and even ask their classmates to watch their child during class times. Has there ever been a time where you had to depend on your HBCU family to assist with your parenting?

A: I can’t really say I needed others help to support her. When I was in grad school her mom and I did a good job of co-parenting.

Q: Do you believe there was ever an instructor or faculty/staff member who assisted with you experience as a father? This can be from advice to make adjustments for you due to father duties.

A: If anything, the advice I received from Dr. Anne Jenkins about life and the importance of making an impact for myself and my family was the biggest motivation I received as a student that had an impact on me as a student.

Q: When it's finally time for your child to visit colleges and apply, how likely will you encourage Jayla to attend an HBCU?

A: I will strongly advise my daughter to attend an HBCU but will ultimately support whatever decision she chooses. I’m a firm believer that how I live and the way I share my experiences with her even now will mold and influence a lot of the decisions she will make going into adulthood including her choice of college. As of now, she’s already planning to attend WSSU as an education major.

[kowelascam]

Kowela Review: An Offshore Forex Investment Platform

From a fresh eye’s perspective, Kowera looks like a formidable and transparent investment platform. Once you get to hear the experience of members, you see it differently. Kowela.com provides nothing but pain to investors. Those that have already signed up are ruing the decision. One of them is Mark James, who deposited $2,500 with the junior account. He’s now blocked from accessing his funds. Learn more in our detailed KOALA REVIEW.

A Brief Overview of Kowela

The platform claims to put its client’s interests first for the best investment experience. These are fancy words that are used for marketing the platform as the go-to platform for investing. Those who make the mistake of not doing due diligence end up becoming victims.

Kowela does an incredible job of coming up with a well-designed website. The aesthetics will even fool the standard investor. It would be best if you had a keen eye to spot some of the mistakes found on the platform.

And this is what we provide, facts and proof as to why investing with Kowela.com is a risk. The platform tries to hide its faults with industry jargon and compelling imagery. There are, however, ways of knowing whether a platform is real or not.

You should avoid interacting with their call agents, who later act as account managers. Those are the people they use to make direct calls to potential investors. Once they rope you in and give you false hope, that’s the last you will hear from them.

ontact and support

What most investors will realize afterward is that there’s no contact detail on the platform. There’s no forwarding address, just a bunch of social media pages. And this points to a platform trying to minimize contact.

There’s a reason why they have been avoiding contact. With several complaints lodged against them, they want to stay below the radar. It would be best if you were on the lookout for such platforms that hide their contact details.

A legit platform should have available support 24/7 as this is an investment platform. As an investor, you should be able to get a hold of the people handling your funds. With Kowela, this is not the case, and you can only wait and pray for a miracle.

Domain records

There’s a reason we check domain records, and it’s to find out what search engines think of the website. Kowela.com went live on October 15, 2020. The website has been active for 259 days as we publish this post.

What this means is that we are dealing with a platform with no online reputation. Most search engines have low trust scores with the website. Due to the anonymous nature of the website, they rank it low.

Even the server used to host this website has some glaring issues. It seems the server hosts other Forex investment websites from offshore jurisdictions. The name of the registrant has also been redacted for privacy reasons.

Kowela License and Registration Status

With kowela.com being an offshore investment platform, your funds are at risk. Kowela is not a licensed platform and does not hold any legal right to operate. There’s no oversight to protect investors from the harsh conditions.

Investors are at a loss when they deposit funds with an unregulated platform. Even the platform knows this and decides not to inform members of their status. It’s a breach of trust which puts members at a disadvantage.

Without oversight, members are at6 the mercy of the people running the platform. If they decide to shut down, you won’t get any compensation. And that’s a huge disadvantage that comes with unregulated platforms.

Safety of funds with Kowela

As we have discovered, the platform lacks regulation, the safety of funds is out of the question. There’s no safety net provided, such as insurance cover for deposits made

[queernuck]

The Kafkaesque, Without Kafka

To understand the Kafkaesque, to specifically discuss the means by which the “Kafkaesque” becomes part of a larger vocabulary of the conceptual space marked by literary analysis as a metacultural entity, as a specific discursive flow, one may refer to Kafka’s work itself, as well as the way in which it is read, or indeed, not read.

For many, the only Kafka they have read, or at least the first Kafka they read, is his “Metamorphosis” and it comes in a high school English class, often during a short story unit that lacks much in coherence or thematic linkage. Rather than creating an assemblage of short stories as one might in a collection thereof, or looking to discuss short stories with similar themes, from similar literary milieus, or from within a single author’s work in order to understand how the short story as a specific form is often used in order to explore a thematic structure in a form that a novel or even novella is unable to. The structure of the short story is used to great effect by Kafka’s works, such as “In The Penal Colony”, in that the shortness specifically informs its structure as a chronicle of a certain sort of event, a certain kind of encounter and uses a certain sort of obscurity, a kind of unfamiliarity specifically induced by the break the beginning of the story presents in order to place the reader in the place of the legal observer, learning of the penal colony’s affairs and the residual burden of colonialism evokes the structuring of the colonizing subject, the remove of the colonizer from the colonial. The short story specifically benefits from its form, from the way in which it contains and structures itself across a narrow field of interaction, in which the text not only operates rhizomally, but through developing rapidly, becoming a sort of rhizomal organism on a small scale. The Metamorphosis is perhaps one of the best examples of this, its famous beginning and less-remembered ending serving as part of a transfiguration of Gregor’s experience itself into the compactness of becoming-insect, the sort of way that it generates the structure of the story through the generation of the text as text akin to the restructuring of Gregor’s body, the sort of undifferentiated internals of the insect body as understood by Kafka’s depiction, a body marked not from the inside by its organs as in the human, but from external structures of interpretation, the carapice dictating the organs within in a sort of reversal of structure.

However, there is a certain bleakness to these stories, to other works of Kafka, found in their alienation and crowdedness, the way that the sensory overload of claustrophobia or incoherence of the lone individual, the unmarked and unknowable, leads to the creation of the Kafkaesque. In Being Ecological, Timothy Morton’s discussion of the picturesque specifically in relation to the Enlightenment discusses the colonial realism of finding the frontier, of the creation of American naturalism through art and from that, forming a concept of country, of the American state and how the natural “belongs” to the American. The picaresque is itself a lie, presents itself with a sharpness and an emergence that is impossible specifically because an environment cannot be perceived in such a fashion except through this picturesque lens. The picturesque is, then, a consequence of ideation, is a framework named for how it creates a hyperreal. The sublime is, then, what Morton ascribes to the romantic: the picturesque is a cliffside, whereas the sublime is climbing the cliff, finding the sediments that encompass the rock layers, the differentiation in the geological and the surreal character of this encounter. The transcendent structure of this, the way in which a kind of apparent essence far more faithful and thus far more true to the character of that which is found within these encounters, the differentiation of scale notwithstanding, makes it something such that the sublime, at-hand encounter is something far more faithful than the picturesque. 

In that case, then, there is something to be said of the Kafkaesque, the similarity it shares to the picturesque (as well as something akin to the picaresque, the specific connotations of such a description) as a kind of ideation that is located in no particular place, that loses the sense of realness as part of becoming similar to the Orwellian. In re-reading The Trial and realizing how long it had been since I had first read it, since I had last read it, how much I had remembered the imagery of it and how I had been so deeply influenced it while not quite remembering it as a text, that I had been caught up by the Kafkaesque. Part of the brilliance is that the sublime, the transcendent encounter, is captured the way that the Kafkaesque relies on the notion of Kafka replicated as something other than itself on this new scale, the means by which a sort of lack of acquaintance with Kafka is required for the Kafkaesque to fully take effect. In distance from Kafka, from Kafka’s work, one in fact begins to see the Kafkaesque, the means by which Kafka’s work takes on a character outside itself. That Max Brod is in a sense the origin of Kafka’s work, is the way in which we meet Kafka, in which we encounter him. In the intimacy of Kafka’s work, one finds these moments that, then, can be used to create an aesthetic likeness, in the same way that one creates a vocabulary of Hemingway, or Steinbeck, or other authors whose short works are often contained within the curricula of classes where a study of Metamorphosis is undertaken. The Kafkaesque takes on its character in separation from Kafka, the way in which Kafka’s work defies the sort of characterization that a term such as “Kafkaesque” describes and moreover how it reduces and restructures that which makes Kafka’s work so important.

Certainly, there are means by which one finds the origins of the Kafkaesque, the aforementioned aesthetic signifiers. One is the apparent confusion, inscrutability, the way in which the reader seems to have a sense of purposelessness, moving on without knowing where one is moving, a kind of unrelenting process of transition. In The Trial, Josef K discusses the way in which his lawyer has gone over and over the lack of details about his cases, the sealed records and filed that constitute the operation of the court, the means by which the legal system is specifically closed to lawyers, how K.’s own lawyer goes into an aside about the relationship between judges and lawyers through a bit of legal apocrypha before circling around back to the paradoxical nature of K.’s case, that it is all but decided and yet it has only begun, the matter is finished and over and yet far from any meaningful conclusion. After pondering this, the reader quite deeply embedded in the lawyer’s droning on as K. sits quietly in his office, one is suddenly visited by a manufacturer, one who really should have been allowed to interrupt (as, understandably, Herr K. had only meant to keep out junior employees of the bank, not important clients) who meets with K.’s dispirited corpus and the bank’s vice president before being pulled into the vice president’s office for K. to consider the matter of finding favor within the bank, spending far more time thinking about both his trial and his future after it than his actual work at the bank. The means in which social capital, its exchange, the complex relations at hand are made into points of contention and confusion, then, is in part Kafkaesque: it is not that these characters are entirely inscrutable, but rather rely on a certain sort of reading, a certain kind of understanding of the metastructure of the story, that which is in the text-of-the-text, the relationship between the relationships and lives of the characters that the text continually creates and recreates within itself. On his way out, having neglected to reference it twice before (creating a sense of forgetfulness which the reader may feel some contempt for, but a thankfulness at this final development all the same) the client mentions his friendship with the exact sort of figure the Lawyer believes to exist, that K. imagines reside within the bank itself: the spectres surrounding the Law, the kinds of influencers who may help the case along. K. visits him, a painter named Titorelli in a poor suburb of the city, working in a chokingly hot attic (warm despite the snowfall outside) and a painter of the judges. Just as the Law is kept from those such as Titorelli, those unfit for it and those unable to understand the Law due to the secrecy thereof, the rules for painting judges, the iconography and how Titorelli can envision the throne of a judge despite having not seen it, despite the fact that such a throne may not even exist, points toward a certain aspect of the law, the means by which it creates classes that are unfilled, the way in which law specifically works in order to create new categories of the criminal without the criminal even being aware. The verdict of acquittal is, according to Titorelli, literally only a legend, while the best K. can hope for is an apparent acquittal, where a certain sort of acquittal is granted until the court re-opens the file and finds that it is only this apparent acquittal, a time which can be months or years or hardly as long as it takes the accused to arrive home from the courthouse, or protraction, where the accused, those who influence their case, and the judges enter a sort of conspiracy where the rhizomal structure of the lower court is used to spread the case so thin it becomes at once almost imperceptible, able to be handled like a chronic illness, but so compact it takes on a razor’s edge. In taking his leave, K. is unaware until he is told that he in fact exits yet again into a law office, directly across town from that which he first visited. And so K. returns to his bank. Titorelli’s discussion of protraction versus apparent acquittal, the way the two are differentiated by the Law despite the characteristic differences being preempted by the accused’s own experience of them, resonates in a sense far deeper than most of what one would call Orwellian: it is not in the surveillance that one is caught, as it is not in surveillance that the institutions of the School, the Asylum, the Hospital, and the Prison most readily extend themselves. Rather, it is through the interruption and restructuring of association, the Foucauldian structure of volunteering oneself to surveil oneself, the means by which a lack of coercion is itself coercive through the implication of what sort of coercive measures would be taken if the right choice is not made without a show of duress, the Law becomes contained in one’s own head the way that Titorelli’s understanding of the law of the judges, the appropriate depictions of a Judge for different situations, aesthetic profiles, different sorts of judges is written in his father’s notes, and even in losing those he would have still his own knowledge of those same laws, his own father a sort of judge in his head. The means by which a hierarchy itself places an emphasis on new relationships, on decentralization and a specific lack of hierarchy until it reaches a certain point of arborescent flourishing, then, itself displays a Deleuzean tendency within the emergence of some sort of resolved lack-of-resolution to the Trial at hand. One is continually kept in the court’s orbit, is controlled by the apparatus of this court, and merely negotiates the sort of biopower it exerts upon oneself, the choice between two Oedipal concentrations of possibility. It specifically does this in order to create, for K. and reader alike, a sense of distinction that rings false, akin to the means by which the US maintains its black sites and secret prisons, the “terrorist assemblages” of Puar’s work and the disappearance of “undocumented” immigrants into a continual slow-moving but rapidly-presenting series of hearings and arbitrations that are so vital to the contemporary politics of American hegemony.

The Kafkaesque character of those institutions, however, is not embedded in Kafka himself. He does not create these institutions in order to maintain them, his work is specifically emotive and compassionate in the face of them, against them. Whereas the work of Orwell is best understood in this former fashion, and the human joy of excess in Huxley’s Brave New World reaches a joy that is often absent from Kafka, the sheer feeling with which Kafka’s characters live, the emotiveness of Kafka, belies so many descriptions of a cold and unfeeling image of the Kafkaesque. When one thinks of the Kafkaesque, one thinks of Gregor Samsa dying unmourned, rather than the love that some of his family tried to show him, the way in which he becomes-insect in a fashion that his family at least tacitly accepts in their cohabitation, the sort of rejection that is most painful by some standards, that appeals to those in the closet or those whose identities, disabilities, those whose experiences designate them as a “burden” for the family to bear, from the autistic to the addict, Kafka provides a certain sort of release and relief regarding the structure of identity in this way. Kafka’s compassion is deep, is part of what makes his work so important, and the Kafkaesque often forgets this.

Thus, when the Kafkaesque is mentioned, one would do far better to imagine The Onion’s depiction of Prague’s Kafka International Airport than any actual Kafka work. While certain stylistic and aesthetic choices of The Onion are rather importantly accurate (such as the deeply-embedded symbolism that appears as incoherent signifiers, or the circuitous and poetic tautologies of bureaucratic language) the hostility shown is merely an affect. The Kafkaesque is, at most, a term for anything about Kafka except the works of Kafka himself, a term of passing resemblance rather than a meaningful indicator of allusion or schizophrenic emergence.

[metaandpotatoes]

Some old school Kingdom Hearts fic recs

Once upon a time, I think most of the fics on here would have been the usual suspects for a KH fic rec list. Time to resurrect them and make sure everyone gets their eyeballs on these beautifully crafted stories. I like these fics because they challenge you, they take risks, and you can see through the writing that the authors were also out to challenge themselves.

Note: Most of these don’t appear on @rabidbehemoth​‘s excellent old school KH fic rec list. Also, there are tragically few Zemyx fics because apparently the ones I love best have all been removed.

Bonus: This definitely double as a slight history of my aesthetic development as a writer.

Deceitful Above All Things by Quillslinger

Pairing: Axel/Roxas

Rating: Mature (no smut, but some descriptions of sexual acts/porn)

Summary: A history of Axel and Roxas’ relationship (and its unraveling) as they move through the Organization. Written before Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days etc., but surprisingly prescient with regard to them.

Excerpt: He said, "Meanwhile, my name's Axel," and gave himself ten seconds before adding, "Got it memorized?"

In a surprise twist, Roxas managed neither to develop an allergic reaction to Axel's trademark icebreaker nor find it funnier than he should, which actually made Axel decide maybe he liked the taciturn shrimp. It led to his spending the rest of the morning—Afternoon? Evening? You could never tell in this seaside cosmic joke—asking probing, insightful questions—"But seriously, how do you get your hair to look like that?"—only to learn that everyone in the Organization had warned Roxas about him.

My commentary: Great characterization, slow build, beautiful evocation of ocean imagery. The dialogue is really out of this world, and shows that you can insert humor into writing even if its predominantly serious or sad. This fic also turned teen!me onto Pablo Neruda.

Meaning of Silence by The Writer Triumphant

Pairing: Axel/Roxas

Summary: AU; Axel finds love in a park, within a boy seven years his junior. Unfortunately, Roxas loves him back.

Rating: Mature

Excerpt: "Watch this."

I sit up, twist around, and watch as Roxas performs a simple skateboard trick. And then another. He's still wearing the band-aid, and I don't ask why. He offers half a smile and then walks off to join the retreating backs of his brother and the silver haired boy. I have to erase the image from my mind before I start driving.

He gets better at it, and eventually he's gliding along effortlessly. I don't want to watch him. I don't want to walk over to him when he's alone on the swing, have his hair brush my chin as I pull back on the chains to start the arch. But I do.

"You're not a grown-up."

I tell him I'm seventeen. He's ten.

My commentary: This. Story. Ruins me. Every. Fucking. Time. It’s a really moving and beautiful and bleak exploration of a topic that still riles people up in fandom: Age differences in pairings. Which is to say, it’s an extended literary meditation on accusations of pedophilia for certain pairings in fandom. It is not crass or crude or fetishizing; it is compassionate, it is complicated, it is seeking to understand.

This fic should make you uncomfortable; it should make you stop and think. Reading does not have to be pleasurable or fluffy or politically correct (I would argue it should rarely ever be that last one), not even in fanfiction.

This is also one of the only first-person fics I’ve ever liked. It heightens the reader’s complicated relationship to the story’s subject matter; it implicates us. It cements Axel as sympathetic.

The second part is dramatic as fuck and I don’t know if I agree that it should have ended the way it does. I also lose track of wtf is happening at one part through it. But once again, that is the pleasure and challenge of reading interesting work.

(Also, I don’t really know why the author chose to structure it like a play, e.g., in acts, etc.)

(Two more recs under the cut)

A Cautionary Tale by Quillslinger

Pairing: Axel/Roxas

Rating: Mature

Summary: Roxas-centric; focused on his feeling pulled away from the Organization toward Sora.

Excerpt: The slice of light is narrow but has a certain buoyant quality that fills up the entire room with a dusty glow, and all of a sudden Roxas entertains the absurd thought that perhaps this light has the ability to permeate skin and flesh, sinking under and shining out from beneath surface membranes, glowing red with the color of living blood. In this moment, he and Axel seem like diaphanous creatures, two members of a light-consuming, translucent-skinned breed glutted on radiance, veins pumped full of light, to the point they're so bloated on the stuff you could scoop halos from their cracked-open ribs.

My commentary: While some of the verb tensing can get confusing at the beginning, there are just really beautiful and visceral descriptions of light throughout this entire piece. And some surprising, satisfying word combinations. It also has a Riku-as-prophet-spouting-nonsese element that elevates it into the surreal; really fascinating and daring stretch of canon.

Shout! by Dualism

Pairing: Zexion/Demyx (Zemyx)

Rating: Mature

Summary: AU; The worst thing about living in an apartment, Zexion decided, were the neighbors. And the fact that his were apparently nymphomaniacs. And by the way: falling in love with one of them? So not a good idea.

Excerpt: It wasn't that he hadn't accounted for the neighbors. Zexion had definitely accounted for the neighbors. Really. He'd spent a grand total of three seconds accounting for them. And then he'd realized that the neighbors didn't quite matter, anyway, because Zexion had little intention of ever associating with them. Zexion, to tell the truth, rarely had much of an inclination to associate with anybody. Which wasn't to that he was a recluse. He just had high standards.On the other side of the wall the bed started thumping. Zexion resisted the urge to cover his ears with a pillow. It was eight o'clock in the morning. Surely no one had sex-drives at eight o'clock in the morning.

My commentary: No one wrote Zexion (really Zemyx) like Dualism did. Dualism made him a true schemer, but not unlikable or sociopathic. Dualism also converted me from an irrational Larxene/Zexion shipper (long story) to a Zemyx shipper. And Dualism’s writing is hi-lar-i-ous.

Obligatory moment of silence that the best of Dualism’s Zemyx work seems to be lost to the bowels of the internet. (They purged their livejournal :( )

Brb, not completing this list because I’m sobbing.

[georgesthesis]

082818 NY Comics Symposium

Speaker: Frank Mouris

I went to the NY Comics Symposium on August 28, 2018 hosted here at The New School University Center right after coming from my internship. I don’t recall having heard of Frank Mouris prior to this speaking engagement but once he played Frank Films I instantly recognized that piece of animation. For my Junior Year Topics: Animation class I was taught by Gary Lieb and he showed us Frank Film on the very first day of class and it was a kind of animation I hadn’t really seen before. I recalled having seen collages as editorial illustrations but not an animation. It wasn’t my taste but there was a lot I learned from the first time I’ve seen the film and this one. I watched this film with more of a critical eye and I noticed that this animation was just as much video production, sound design and video editing as it was animation, or moving pictures. The film seems to be an exploration of cognitive process of conscious thought. There are multiple layers of sound that collide over each other and no matter how hard I tried to pay attention to the narrative voice, it was very easily overrun by the descriptive voice. It is a free association of words and thoughts and it’s unclear if the sound influenced the imagery or vice versa. Coney feels like a love story; it’s treated with a tenderness reminiscent of new love. It looks like a love affair with Coney Island and the people that live there. As someone who grew up in Brooklyn, it was nice to see what Coney Island looked like in the 70s, long before I was born and before my parents had arrived to the States. I have a personal connection with the film, I really enjoyed it. Screentest was a interesting but I don’t particularly think I’m the best person to give an objective review of it considering I’m very big on understanding appropriation and race politics but I really loved the kinetic typography for the introduction of the drag queens. I did not enjoy the intro animation to Naturally Obsessive because I didn’t think the aesthetic treatment of the animation fit well with the narrative of the show. I prefer the rotoscoping in the film “Waking Life”. I had to leave after Frankly Caroline but I loved that animation, merely for its narrative quality. It’s the perfect exploration of how it’s like to collaborate and work with your significant other. The voice of Caroline sounds very similar to Princess Caroline played by Amy Sedaris in Bojack Horseman and it’s amazing; the perfect eclectic, manager/agent tone of voice.

To end this, I remember listening to one of the professors at the lecture discussing how Frank created a paradigm shift from the dessins animee (animated drawings) to moving pictures as I know animation today.

[kbrown78]

Monthly Wrap Up: June

June wasn't as good of reading month as May. I only read 6 books as compared the 11 books from last month and while I didn't have as many books that I hated, most of the books were just mediocre, so I didn't have as many highs either. I will say that was a good month for expanding the genres I've read and the diversity of the authors, but next month I will be doing Tome Topple and reading books over 500 pages for the first two weeks, then the rest of the month will be dedicated to doing rereads and revisiting some old favorites of mine and see if I love them just as much now.

The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu: I loved this book! It's a little hard to do a full review for this one because it's a collection of short stories by Ken Liu, but I'll do my best. First I love all of the stories, I honestly couldn't pick one favorite. Even ones that weren't one of my favorites were still very well written. The mesh of multiple Asian cultures and histories with American culture and history is so well done, and I liked the references and dedications a the end of some of them. All the stories were very touching, some darker than others but they all had a sort of bittersweet tone to them. I also loved how all the stories were varying degrees of science fiction, some having technology so similar to today's that it could have almost been a literary fiction story. The themes were all amazing (especially how the complexity of each one was written), the characters were all well written in each story. There's really nothing bad I can say about any of it. I also liked how in many, if not all, the stories had a theme of storytelling in theme and how that identifies a person or brings people together. The Paper Menagerie received 5 out 5 stars from me.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman: This is going to be my full, spoiler review because I tried to tag the book as I read it but I really struggled with that. In part because of the format. It is unlike anything I have ever read, and in hindsight I probably should have done this one on audiobook.  It is a compilation of interviews, military reports, surveillance videos, data from the AI, online messages, and more. It's a unique format, that can work well, and at times it did, but there were too many names just  dropped that I could not remember, and with about 600 pages in this format, the plot dragged. I think this book should have honestly been 100 to 200 pages shorter, to keep the fast pace going. The first tenth of the book I was really invested in and flew through it, but then nothing happened and I just got bored with the story. Once the virus became more of an issue and AIDAN's POV was introduced then I became reinvested. Speaking of AIDAN, the ships AI, that was without a doubt the best part of the book, with Kady coming in a close second. Any AI can bring up the question of what it means to be human, and AIDAN contributed an interesting perspective to that discussion. No, I haven't seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it sounds like there are similarities to that AI and AIDAN. Over the course of the book, AIDAN killed thousands of people, and is rather remorseless about it because it believes it did that for the greater good. AIDAN keeps up this cold, mechanical behavior until it starts to interact directly with Kady. In fact their “relationship” was what revived the book for me. The more time AIDAN spends interacting with Kady, they start to almost become friends and Kady definitely humanizes AIDAN and gets it to question everything it's done. Ezra and Kady's relationship was cute, since they just broke up but when the cards are down they need each other for emotional support, and Ezra was a decent guy, but he was a little generic for me and I also felt he wasn't as well developed as Kady. Kady I really liked, which is funny because she's that hard person with a heart of gold and I don't usually like that type. She doesn't deal with authority well and is absolutely willing to go rogue to help save lives, which is good in this book because most of the people in charge just make things worse (even if they don't mean to) and cause more death. So real quick the highlights of this book were: AIDAN, Kady, the unique format, the first and last 10% where the action was fast pace. The things I didn't like about this book were: how long this book dragged for, too many characters to keep track of , very few relationships (platonic or romantic) that I was invested in, didn't get to learn more about the world, Ezra's mother being the big bad (kind of tired of family drama being the plot driver in media). All in all I didn't love this book, it was okay, but I'm not sure if I want to continue with the next book (fortunately its a companion series so I don't have to read the next one). Illuminae received 3 out of 5 stars, and was pick for the PopSugar promt “book with two authors.”  

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco: This was one of the very few books that comes as close to a cover buy as possible. The cover is stunning and I do think reflects the personality and power of Tea, the protagonist. I did look at some reviews and the worst thing I can find was that this book has a lack of plot, which is something that I'm willing to overlook, particularly in first books. But this book really didn't have any plot. It started out interesting with a resurrection through dark magic, but then that story was pushed to the side until the last few chapters. The book has two separate story lines one being Tea's origin story which takes up the majority of the book, the other takes place in the present with Tea having gone dark, but the end of the book still doesn't explain why Tea was in exile. So more back story is needed which will only be in the second book, which makes the first book feel incomplete. I liked Tea, but she felt a bit naive at times and didn't drive the action forward but I could still believe that the powerful, morally gray character in the future was also this little girl. The side characters were okay, a little bland aside from Likah who was barley in the story. I did not like the romance at all because it was very sudden and one sided. The readers also see in the future how obsessed Tea still is with the guy she was in love with, which was actually kind of creepy. Most of the story was boring and I strongly disliked how similar many scenes were to Memoirs of a Geisha. The general aesthetic of the story and the imagery and symbolism was amazing. The end conflict in Tea, the old in power serving themselves and only themselves, was interesting in itself but the fact that it came in only at the very end made it feel like it was just a plot device to explain partly why Tea is so angry in the future. The Bone Witch received 2. 5 out of 5 stars because the aspects I liked were well done, but there wasn't much about this story that I liked.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Partick Ness: This was a book I had been looking forward to reading, because I loved A Monster Calls but this was something completely different. Unfortunately, I didn't like it. This story is from an uneducated 13 year old boys point of view, and it reads like that. Had I read this book when it first came out and I was still in junior high, I probably would have liked it better, but reading it as an adult I find it to be a little immature and simple. So while the writing itself was good and the world was kind of a unique science fiction/ dystopian blend, I didn't love any of the characters, I wasn't invested in the story and there was so much unnecessary drama because no one tells Todd or Viola anything. Also there was a death in this book, that I didn't cry at, but it made me want to throw up my arms and go “Why!” I do think Patrick Ness is a good writer and I still want to read other books by him, but because of how basic the whole story was I'm not sure if I'll continue with the rest of the series. The Knife of Never Letting Go received 2 out 5 stars from me.  

The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: For me this book was a fairly mediocre read. I knew I was going to read it at some point but it was an unexpected buy this month and I started getting excited for it and decided to pick it up immediately. I was hoping that it would be a sort of Snow Like Ashes, where I didn't expect much in the first book but would be pleasantly surprised. I also thought that since it's just two books that I would get more in the first book. Unfortunately neither of those happened. This story is a 1001 Arabian Nights retelling and places a heavy emphasis on the romance between Shahrzad, the protagonist, and Khalid, the man Shahrzad marries in the hopes that she kills him. For the romance being a hate to love one, it wasn't bad. I personally have a very hard time enjoying hate to love ships, but this one I think was done well because I felt like the evolution of the romance felt natural and the reason these two start out at odds with each other wasn't based off contrived drama. That being said I didn't like the lack of communication these two had and I don't get attached to cold characters and Khalid was definitely that. The side characters were decent, although the male character all felt similar (actually come to think of it the female ones did to), but I am fascinated by the transformation Shahrzad's father underwent and I wish I could have seen more of that. The friendships in here were decent, but were never the center of attention and I was never invested enough in the side character to be invested in their relationships. As for the world building, that was actually sub par for me because I thought there was going to be some magic, but there was hardly any in the story at all. In fact magic is discussed, so the readers know it exists, but never shown any performance of magic. The rest of the world I barley know anything about, so that all was disappointing. The pacing of the story was good, loved the tie ins for the retelling parts and incorporation of story telling, until the end when everything was just rushed and a bit confusing. It was decent and I'll probably read the sequel since it's just one book but I haven't read anything that motivates me to read it, so I'm not in any rush to read it. The Wrath and The Dawn received 3 out 5 stars from me.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: Like The Paper Menagerie I had a difficult time doing a wrap up for this one, but for very different reasons. I rarely read books that are set entirely in our reality, and also don't read historical fiction, so I can't approach reviewing this book quite the same way that I usually do. Also it's difficult to review this book without giving away any spoilers. This novel is broken into two different parts, each one in a different POV identified by their code names. This is an emotional and powerful story about the friendship between two girls that takes place during WWII. One is a pilot and one is, for lack of a better term, a spy. The emotions and relationships were fleshed and well delivered in this story but there were parts that dragged the story a bit for me, so I was going to give this book 3 stars but the last 15% really got to me so I had to boost up the rating. I will say this is a very character driven story, again focusing on the two girls and their experiences in the war effort and some of the harsh realities of being involved in that. I would recommend this one to people looking to read a fictional WWII story, and Code Name Verity received 4 out 5 stars.  

[fst-critique]

There is something enticing about getting lost. Outside of missing an exit on the highway or losing cellphone service while on a hike, finding yourself facing uncertainty carries with it a notion of bliss that is both enticing and frightful. As has been the trend for three seasons now, creative director Hedi Slimane has undergone another transitory assignment of whom he will dress for the current times. Starting with Dior Homme in the early 2000s, Slimane catered to an androgynous audience with slim tailoring and sharp suiting, throughout both stints at Yves Saint Laurent, the muse was that of rockers and celebrities as trashy opulence and grungy glam defined a new era of dress for the Parisian Maison. Now, as the digital age has bellowed to include audiences of massive scale and diversity of age, the rockstars and a-listers are out- Tik-tokers and the restless generation-Z have caught Hedi's interest and launched yet another chapter in the Hedi Slimane Diary of Dress. Youth centric and forever chasing a demographic that will forever be his junior, Hedi Slimane’s Cosmic Cruiser collection for the Spring-Summer 2022 menswear journals the existence of teenagers in a time like no other. Adrift in space and forced to face a life where the only certainty is apparent chaos, Slimane intensifies his relations with the youth by tapping into the conflicted souls and minds of wandering adolescents. “Riding a new age, restless dreams of a Cosmic Teen” is displayed beneath the film per Celine’s website. The presentation, lasting just under 15 minutes, is an action-packed event staged in the French island Île du Grand Gaou. Riding branded dirt bikes, a gang of- barely- leather-clad dirt-bike riders tackle the beach terrain with a fearlessness that only an unbothered and unafraid teenager could express. The set mirrors that of an X-Games stage with ramps and an all-black runway. As the deep, monotoned voice of Izzy Camina rings out full of a careless nonchalance, Hedi’s defiant vision for the season renders its aggressive, absent head. Surrounded by the raw beauty of the beach, the set and resulting work aggregates on a theme not of a utopian sureness, but instead on confusion, conflicting ideologies, and rebelliousness. These are not easy clothes to combat the harsh realities of life’s struggles, rather, they are representative of urges to dismantle hierarchies, break conventionality, and to ultimately define a new era of manliness- all taking place and able to be viewed by millions for free on the wild World Wide Web. The Chinese media platform Tik-Tok boasts an egregious number of users at around a count of 1 billion worldwide. Per the statistics, every 1 out of 7 humans on earth has registered an account on the application. Living in an actual multi-media universe has given an unprecedented amount of access to the youth that carries with it many a consequence. New trends arise daily, inspiration is filtered through a screen, and reality is augmented to display a falsified version of being. Establishing a personality need not be so troublesome, after all, with the tap of a button and the swipe of a finger, a finely crafted, superficial, and specific version of identity is created, as is the methodology behind this campaign. Filtered through a scope of less-is-more and an uncharacteristically relaxed output, paring a puppy-patterned wool cardigan sweater with a black tulle skirt comes across natural for such a state of being. It is not about taste, rather, what arrives through such a process of unmeaning. Typography and subtle hints of feeling were everywhere. The phrases Heavenly Days, Dream of Me Please Dream of Me Please, and So Happy to Be Part of The Show were placed on the back of a tailored jacket and denim vests, each exuding a moment of fear of being forgotten as well as the need to remain relevant. Highly literal, the wording reads as insecure and unsure of what the future will hold. Experimental silhouettes resulting from the unfocused fashion encouraged styles that welcomed the 70s flared trousers, 90s rave denim, and 2000s slim-cut leather pants. Search engines such as Google and Safari allow users the ability to step back in time and arrive at any moment in history within seconds. The Cosmic Cruiser idea extends well into the zeitgeist's obsession with history and all things nostalgia, while a futuristic longing kept pace. White cotton blouses show a moment of soft masculinity and flowed with the ocean air only to be held down by a heavy studded black leather vest- a subtle nod to the Edwardian period of men's dress. A wool gabardine trench coat, sequined yokes, and chain-mail tops harken a mood to the 80s glam period. Even with such a new aesthetic, this love affair with shin has remained a constant. Studded submissive collars from the Teen Knight Dream collection, a palm tree one-earring only an e-boy would dawn, and a Baja beanie shapes the thrifty accessories. Metallic bolero jackets, cowboy boots, and shorts push into a realm of otherworldliness yet are grounded by intensive layering. For all its mismatching and absentness, a linear element accompanied the gathering. The camouflage and animal prints- zebra, cheetah, and snakeskin- beach imagery, and motorcycle boots keep a proven underlying tone flowing. Acting as a foundation to introduce the Nouveau, the concept is smart, organized, and well-thought-out. Adding to the success of his staple pieces- including the highly interchangeable element of his daywear- the less sophisticated apparel should please the suits at LVMH and their top line. A black and white bolero jacket with a palm tree motif stitched into the chest and a camouflage coat with a logo placed across the back shoulders is street-friendly and will sell instantly. Pair these with any Celine Skater Pant, denim, camp top, or t-shirt; the resulting work is highly versatile and accessible. Marketing to a customer base that takes its queues and style directly from the newest celebrity influencer on an app makes the task of connecting with a global audience simple. Given this, one may hope with Slimane’s established place within the world of fashion that he would attempt to define a new trend or introduce a fresh concept to the information age instead of mirroring what already works. After all, this is the designer who made extra-slim-tailoring cool again, re-introduced the heroin chic look like something to strive for in the late 2000s, and sent out over 110 looks in the Fall 2020 collection during the height of the sustainability debate- his ability to draw a reaction is just as good as his craftsmanship. This season's reaction is nil. Nothing to grasp at, pontificate over, or reflect on. Phenomenally cut clothing, outstanding handwork, and an aesthetically pleasing look, all familiarities admirers have grown accustomed to, nevertheless, the shock value has vanished. This begs the question then, as life rides into the future with only dreams to remain hopeful, is it Hedi who is lost, or is it his boys?

[group5practice2]

Art and Memory (1) (Hinna)

In the last three centuries orators, instructors and mnemonists have encouraged the use of psychological scanning and mnemonic devices to support memory decoding and collection. Until recently, our science community would not generally support these arguments also because data they were based on was rather anecdotal. This isn't the case now. As is evident from the other chapters within this book, regulated laboratory experiments carried over the past 20 years have proven the general argument that imagery and mnemonics promote memory learning and reminding can be taught to a broad variety of people.

Although you can store and reliably gather facts and data, they would need intellectual achievement at that later date. This has its drawbacks to remember names, date, milestones, formulas, the sense of the vocabulary of the different tongue. As students pass from the early elementary level to the junior high school and secondary school level, more content is taught and the teacher strives more and more to emphasize interpretation, examination and synthesis of simple or general concepts. Students also need to use learning technique to recognize and understand both the factual facts (sometimes called micro-initiatives or ideas of a minor order in prose learning literature) and the key ideas that are integrated into prose materials (also known as macro-initiatives or ideas of a higher level).

Overall, the solution to this dilemma can seem evident and simple as we can teach students to use mnemonic devices that help to understand and remember both kinds of thoughts. This will work for relatively concrete and organized passages. One common explanation why word lists or insane syllables are used is that learning mechanisms can be studied more clearly by simply organized and regulated stimuli (Meyer, 1975). Although this claim is true, it does have some inconveniences when it comes to essay learning. For one thing, studying concepts of word lists cannot always be found with writing (eg serial positioning). Secondly, Prose has a framework structured to convey a message. For vocabulary collections, that's not the case. Thirdly, prose is the key tool for the dissemination of knowledge in the school setting. Therefore,

Reference

Snowman J. (1987) Explorations in Mnemonic Training. In: McDaniel MA, Pressley M. (eds) Imagery and Related Mnemonic Processes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4676-3_17

Benefits Of Viewing And Creating Art (2)

People often prefer to view art as aesthetic reasons within their homes, but new research has shown that interacting with visual arts can really enhance depression, memory and empathy by looking at or making art.

Viewing art has countless advantages. A research carried out by Westminster University showed that people who visited an Art Gallery during their lunch break were less pressured. They spent just 35 minutes walking through a gallery, with lower cortisol concentrations, the stress hormone.

When you look at art, you still experience pleasure, like the feeling of falling into love. In order to alleviate people with emotional fatigue, people have often toured the gallery, as well as the outside world. As per the research by Jan Packer on the benefits of museum immersion, in natural environments and museums, the four aspects lead to mental rehabilitation (fascination and absence, compatibility and scope) make it a perfect break.

Not just adults love a visit to the Museum of Sculpture. A research conducted by Arkansas University revealed that teachers who saw art exhibited higher critical thinking abilities, stronger understanding and an ability to sense what it was like for people living in a different time and environment. Observation, understanding, assessment, association and problem solving capabilities were tested by ten thousand students. After a tour of the art gallery, the students' critical thinking capabilities improved by 9-18 points.

Art and Memory Relation with Mental Health

Besides seeing art, the production of art benefits mental health as well. The brain establishes new bonds between brain cells as individuals participate in complicated projects. It also facilitates coordination between the conservative and liberal brain hemispheres. Therefore, an assessment of the effects of the visual art development reveals that an individual's capacity to respond to circumstances and inconvenience has improved its psychological resistance .Art also decreases tension and negatives, providing a meditation-like atmosphere. Like meditation, art attracts attention to information and the world, which distract from daily thinking.

For other health conditions, visual arts activities help patients forget about their illnesses. It also lowers their stress hormone cortisol and gives them an outlet to express their feelings and experiences. Many ways to appreciate art, such as watching an art exhibition or dabbling in oil paints are open. It will lead to better mental states to be exposed to art, sculptures and photos. Try adding a lovely photo to your home at the end of a frustrating day to a fast rise of dopamine.

How Covid-19 permanently altered life of a fashion student (3)

There's no pandemic rulesbook, while blog posts and Instagram Live streams tend to want to bring one for young designers together – to encourage us to put our heads down and to be constructive and now all right that we are not productive.

We should find a way to "transform the fashion industry for the better," when we are all limited to our homes and apartments. People get even tougher in cases like this in their characteristics.

When Covid hit Pakistan in 2019 i was working as an Assistant Designer at a Boutique and suddenly cases of coronavirus were increasing day by day and because of shortage of masks, as a fashion designer i decided to make masks with my logo on for people and distribute them as a gesture of care and protection.

Pakistani designers such as Ali Zeeshan, Khaadi, Sana Safinas and many more had to face much loss during this time because of cancellation of orders from all over the world, above 15000 workers were fired from the factories, which contributes almost 70% of the countries export, which is a great loss to the country. Pakistani Fashion influencers and stylists were totally in shock because it is hard for them to tackle that situation in the first place and after three to four months 22.2% of Pakistani population moved towards online shopping and tried to tackle the pandemic situation. 

Since in the COVID-19 pandemic we are all spending more, more and more hours at home, loungewear is becoming a new normal. You have comfortable sets to watch TV in, and then you've got the sets you can save for "best" to wear at weekends, so we feel fascinated with loungewear, we feel there are several levels. 

https://fashionista.com/2020/12/loungewear-fashion-trends-2020

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/27/fast-fashion-pakistan-garment-workers-fight-for-rights-amid-covid-19-crisis

[mattyunijourneybrief13]

An Investigation into Potential Job Roles & Agencies - Part 1

Geographically, I would like to stay in the area of Leeds and Manchester. My family are in this area and I get homesick so at this moment in time it is not negotiable. 

In terms of a dream career if I wasn’t tied down anywhere, working for Apple in California would be the ultimate aim but for now I would like to stay in England.

I also enjoy working from home; this pandemic has made me realise that it isn’t necessary to rush into an office 5 days a week, however I would like to have a mix to stay sane! I understand that at first this may not be possible however once I am established in my career this is my goal.

What would my perfect job look like?

To get a feel for what my perfect job would look like I decided to collate some imagery and create a list of what I’d like to do (I’m aware life isn’t like this but I can dream! and it will help me in my job search).

1. Laid-back office

I love laid back offices where people are dressed in their own clothes, with an aesthetically pleasing office space. Being creative helps when you are in a creative environment with art on the walls and comfy furniture, rather than offices which make you feel like a number on a payslip rather than an employee who is cared for. It is vital to get some down time and to not feel like work is na chore, so an office with a table tennis or snooker table in for example would be fantastic.

I am aware however that this is unrealistic at the moment.

2. Enthusiastic employees who are on the same page as me

I know this is asking for the virtually impossible, but I love the feeling of being in an environment with other like-minded creatives. It helps to bring everyones creativeness out of them. It would also be nice to make some new friends and socialise with them outside of work and in work too.

3. Fun UX design projects to get my teeth into

I love doing projects I love. I mean that sounds obvious, right? What I mean by that is I love doing a project on a subject that I care for or I’m interested in, or that means a great deal to people. 

For example, I love the app called Be My Eyes. It is an app that has enabled blind people to get help from volunteers to ‘borrow’ their eyes and be assisted when trying to read something. For example I helped a blind person who was trying to read what was on a can. That simple gesture by me costed nothing and it helped that person. To work on a project like that would be a dream come true.

There needs to be a desire to design for someone otherwise there is no point in being a designer.

4. I want to get to the point where I don’t mind Mondays

Life is too short and living for the weekend is not what I would like to do. 

5. Most if not all of the jobs I find need to be an entry level/junior role

I want to do the best job possible and I don’t feel like I am ready to take a regular role just yet due to my coding skills.

Job Role Investigation

To gain a bigger understanding the career path I can go down, I will investigate existing job roles using various websites.

1. UX/UI Designer

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/ux-designer

UX Design stands for User Experience Design, and UI Design stands for User Interface Design. UX/UI Designers are responsible for the design and development of digital applications such as smartphone applications or websites. The experience that the user has when interacting with the product is down to you. As a user of many apps, I always strive for better experiences, and I get frustrated when applications don’t deliver.

UX Designers work alongside UX researchers, who look into target users and their needs and frustrations, which the UX Designer uses to mould the experience. UX researcher is a job role that doesn’t interest me, as I like to focus on the design of the products rather than solely the research side by going out to speak to users. I would compare it to being a football referee; as a big football fan I could never become one as the urge to kick the ball would be too great for me to handle! 

UX Designers work as part of a team, with their own digital team and the wider business to ensure that their products meet the needs of the clients. 

Digital products are part of our everyday life now, and I would like to create services that benefit lives in some way, even if it is to save someone 10 minutes of their day by tapping on their screen instead of physically having to do something. That 10 minutes saved in their day could end up being time for them to spend doing more meaningful tasks or spending quality time with family.

UX Designers can also work with User Interface Designers, who are responsible for the design of the visual graphic user interface and its elements, such as menus, tabs and widgets. UX designers however are usually responsible for both jobs, so it comes under the same bracket.

The positive aspect of becoming a UX Designer is that coding isn’t a requirement sometimes, however it can be necessary in the long run as a lot of employers prefer their UX designers to have coding experience. The fact that I plan to learn how to code alongside my UX design job if and when I get one will work in my favour as I can start without knowing how to code as of yet.

Responsibilities

meet with clients to gather information about their requirements

propose and sketch out a range of visual concepts both on paper and using software applications

create user personas, user journeys and site maps

translate concepts into wireframes, prototypes and user flows using specialist tools such as Axure, InVision, Marvel, OmniGraffle, Visio and Sketch, as well as the Adobe product suite

work on cross-platform applications to develop user experiences covering mobile phones, tablets and computers

work collaboratively with other designers, product design and development teams, business analysts, engineers and project managers

liaise regularly with clients to ensure that designs meet their requirements and core business objectives

attend meetings to discuss and review progress on the project

run workshops for clients and internal stakeholders

work with the research team to plan and conduct remote and on-site user research and usability testing with real users to ensure the end-product design provides users with the optimum experience in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and engagement

write reports and communicate the results of your work

identify areas for improvement

redesign websites to make them more responsive

redesign or create mobile apps that are easy to use and configured appropriately for smartphones and tablets

keep up to date with technological innovations and new tools.

In a senior role that I could aim for in the future, I will need to:

ensure design standards, guidelines and best practices are adhered to

oversee research and insight projects to understand user needs

manage, mentor and support more junior members of the UX design team

ensure that all colleagues in the organisation have an understanding of UX design practices.

Salary

Starting salaries for graduate junior UX designers are typically between £19,000 and £25,000, depending on your experience and location.

Experienced UX designers can earn between £30,000 and £50,000.

Senior UX designers and consultants can earn salaries of £40,000 to £65,000 or more.

Salaries can vary depending on the sector of work, the type of employer (e.g. public or private sector), skills and experience, and the location. Salaries in London and the surrounding areas are usually higher, due to the higher cost of living there. 

Salary at this moment in time is not much of an issue to me, as long as I can live from it. My main aim at this moment is to gain work experience and move up the ladder.

Working hours

The working week is (like many jobs) usually 37 to 39 hours a week, Monday to Friday. Occasionally, I will be required to work evenings and weekends to attend events, or when working on a special project with short deadlines.

Skills

To become a UX Designer, you need to have:

excellent problem-solving skills

to be a concept thinker with a keen visual awareness and willingness to learn specialist programmes

an interest in, and knowledge of, coding and design principles

effective communication skills to liaise with team members and clients to ensure that high quality end-user designs meet customer requirements

empathy with the customer so that you can understand what they want from the website/app

excellent written communication skills, with an eye for detail

design and spatial skills to gauge the usability of the website or application

an aptitude for using a logical, step-by-step approach to ensure designs are user friendly and simple for end users

a high level of concentration and resilience to stay focused on a project to the end and meet client deadlines

an open, flexible and adaptable mindset to cope with a rapidly changing set of tasks in an area of emerging, new technologies

the ability to relate well to other professionals and work in a specialist team

a willingness to keep up to date with software applications and new techniques in a rapidly changing profession.

Qualifications

Usually, to become a UX Designer I will need a degree, as well as a strong interest in the subject.

Relevant degree subjects include:

computer science

digital design/media

digital marketing

graphic design

media technology

web design.

However, having a degree isn't the only path into this field of work. It is possible to self-teach yourself the skills needed and the relevant software. It would still be beneficial and the best option for me to have a degree, though.

Career prospects

To begin, I will start as a junior, trainee or graduate UX designer. Hopefully, I can expect to be promoted to UX designer roles within two years. 

After around five years' experience, I should be eligible for a role as a senior UX designer. Something I could do in the future is relocate to enhance my work opportunities, as UX is a worldwide career. For now though, I would like to stay in England.

2. Graphic Designer

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/graphic-designer

If I can not find a UX or UI design job, I have experience as a graphic designer and currently have a job as one, so this is something that I can fall back on hopefully. 

A graphic designer is responsible for creating digital and printed visuals for clients. Work can vary from layout design such as posters, magazines, websites etc. to branding, illustration, packaging design etc.

A designer works to a brief set by the client, and will have set deadlines to meet. The job responsibilities will involve making more than one idea for the client to choose from. The job demands someone with creative talent that can come up with a design instantly, as well as being organised by sticking to deadlines.

Responsibilities

meeting clients or account managers to discuss the business objectives and requirements of the job

estimating the time required to complete a job and providing quotes for clients

developing design briefs that suit the client's purpose

thinking creatively to produce new ideas and concepts and developing interactive design

using innovation to redefine a design brief within time and cost constraints

presenting finalised ideas and concepts to clients or account managers

working with a range of media, including computer-aided design (CAD), and keeping up to date with emerging technologies

proofreading to produce accurate and high-quality work

demonstrating illustrative skills with rough sketches and working on layouts ready for print

commissioning illustrators and photographers

working as part of a team with printers, copywriters, photographers, stylists, illustrators, other designers, account executives, web developers and marketing specialists.

Salary

Starting salaries for junior graphic designers are in the region of £15,000 to £19,000. Once you've gained some experience, salaries can rise to £27,000.

At a middle level, you can expect to earn £25,000 to £35,000.

Salaries for senior graphic designers or creative leads range from £35,000 to £55,000. A creative director can make £60,000+.

As a freelancer, you can earn between £200 and £400 a day with experience. You'll be able to charge more once you have an impressive track record and recommendations.

Again, salary doesn’t mean much to me at this stage, however looking at my long term future, I would be better off becoming a UX Designer as that is what I am aiming to do.

Working hours

Working hours are typically 37 hours a week, usually with some flexibility around start and finish times. Like most design jobs, I would have to work extra hours when deadlines are approaching. This isn’t a problem, as I am interested in design so I would most likely be doing something design related at home anyway.

What to expect

It's likely you'll be based in a shared studio as some jobs involve working in teams, although you may also work alone on occasions. If you're a freelancer you could share offices, rent studio space or work from home.

Design work often involves sitting and working at a computer for long periods of time.

Job satisfaction comes from creating high-quality artwork and building a reputation.

Jobs are available in major cities and towns, with advertising agencies predominantly based in London, the South East, Manchester and Leeds. There's also a demand for British graphic designers internationally with opportunities in Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA, but it's advisable to work in the UK for a year before seeking work abroad.

Although work is mostly studio-based, travel within the working day to meet clients may be required. Working away is rare.

Qualifications

Relevant subjects for graphic design work include those that involve visual arts. In particular, a degree or HND in the following subjects may increase your chances:

3D design

communication design

film and television

fine art

graphic design

illustration

photography

visual art.

A large majority of graphic designers have degrees, so it is beneficial to have one. It isn’t essential however it is better to have one in terms of getting your foot in the door with agencies.

Skills

passion and enthusiasm for design, with a creative flair

a flexible approach when working in a team

excellent communication skills to interpret and negotiate briefs with clients

good presentation skills and the confidence to explain and sell ideas to clients and colleagues

time management skills and the ability to cope with several projects at once

accuracy and attention to detail when finalising designs

being open to feedback and willing to make changes to your designs

effective networking skills to build contacts.

Work experience

When starting out in Graphic Design, an internship or work placement experience is really useful. It can give you the experience you need to then move onto a paid job, as well as gathering a reference who can recommend you to future employers.

Career prospects

Initial progression from a junior graphic designer usually happens in two or three years. You can progress if you network and grow your reputation through your social media channels and your portfolio. 

I may be eligible to apply for a senior design position after three to five years. Another positive of this career is that with my design degree and design experience, I will be able to transfer between graphic and UX Design if needed/possible as the two career paths are linked.

To gain more insight into how to become a UX Designer, I looked at a case study that I found interesting:

UX Design Case Study: Senior UX Designer, Polly Fullerton

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/case-studies/senior-ux-designer-polly-fullerton

Polly studied English Language at University, which is interesting as it shows there is another route that can be taken; you don’t necessarily have to study the subject at university. 

Her degree benefitted her by giving her the communication skills needed to meet designers. Combined with independent learning, she moved into UX Design.

Her path began at a company called THG as an SEO manager. She began this job after graduating, and after 6 months she decided that she didn’t want to continue, and instead become a UX Designer.

Luckily for her, she was inside a company so she had the opportunity to move within it. It is crucial to get your foot in the door somewhere; everything gets easier once that first step is made.

To learn UX, she used online courses and went to meet-ups to improve her design skills and climb up the ladder. Once she got up to speed, she made a pitch to the UX manager at her company, and she was taken on as a junior UX designer. Since then, she has gone on to work for comparethemarket.com, firstly as a mid-weight UX designer and now as a senior UX designer.

She says that her typical work day is starting at 8:30am, and finishing at 5pm. However, her company is flexible with deciding work hours or working from home. Usually her day consists of design work such as sketching and making prototypes, as well as being in stakeholder meetings and design reviews.

Her degree is relevant because using clear language is crucial in UX design, when presenting to stakeholders and clients.

Her role as a junior and mid-weight designer consisted of her supporting more senior team members on their projects. As a senior designer she now takes on her own projects, which makes sense as a natural progression. Being a senior designer she says brings more responsibility but more freedom.

Here is the advice she has given to others who want to get into UX design:

Don't be put off if you don't have a technical background - some of the most brilliant UX designers I know transitioned into the industry from something totally different.

Make the most of free UX resources before committing to a paid course - it's amazing what you can learn on your own.

Try and get in touch with established UX designers, especially via local meet-ups

I will ensure that I (when possible) can engage in meet-ups, as this is what I feel I personally lack; I am quite a shy person so I need to get out there and network. 

Job Opportunities & Design Agencies I like the look of

1. UX Design Graduate Trainee Scheme

https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/trainee-schemes-and-apprenticeships/trainee-schemes/ux-design

This opportunity sounds perfect for me, as although I feel confident enough in designing user experiences, I don’t know a coding language and the fact that this role is a trainee scheme I feel like I can network as well as work at such a reputable institution as the BBC. If they don’t offer coding help however, I will still have the time to use a Udemy course outside of work to gain the skillset that way.

First of all, the location is perfect. I like the professionalism and aesthetic of MediaCity; it is an attractive place to work. The scheme starts in September 2021 which I am accustomed to after doing 3 years of university so it would give me a summer break which I would like to have to rest mentally and prepare.

I would like to join a team of people like me who are just starting out in their UX career, rather than with more experienced people and being the only one who is beginning their journey. What I mean by that is that there will be more than one trainee there (it looks like a group of 6 from their instagram account) so I can work alongside them as well as with the more experienced people at the BBC, rather than jumping in at the deep end.

I like to work in teams of people who are just as passionate as me in the subject, and I don’t feel like there is a better opportunity than to work at the BBC. The BBC as an institution is seen as the pinnacle in the UK amongst many British people, so I am aware it will be tough to gain a place. However, I am optimistic and I believe in my ability to get where I want to get to, whether that be at the BBC on this trainee scheme or another pathway.

The UX Design Graduate Trainee Scheme is a one year programme, where on successful completion you will automatically move into a role in the UX&D team.

They like people who are:

enthusiastic about what they do, and a delight to work with

motivated and full of ideas

geeky about design

geeky about technology

I tick every box!

The job involves rotating across a range of products – from iPlayer to News, from Sport to CBeebies.

I will be working on real projects with senior members of UX, as well as technical and editorial teams from across the BBC. Along the way I will gain unparalleled experience with user research, information architecture, content analysis, interaction design, visual design, prototyping and much more.

The job application requires a portfolio as will every other design job, so I will need to make sure mine is the best it can possibly be.

2. Bolser Design Agency

https://bolser.co.uk

Bolser are a digital design agency based in Leeds that have been in business since 2001. They have developed from a direct-response marketing business to a digital agency. 

They build websites, apps and content management systems for clients such as Microsoft, Xbox, McDonald’s, EE, Discovery, AIG, Taco Bell, Jet2, Battersea Power Station and KFC.

What I like about Bolser is that their ethos is putting the customer first. I know that sounds simple but when I design the user is the most important person.

Also, the perks are incredible. It sounds like a close-knit team environment:

The office itself looks industrial and spacey which is what I like too:

My favourite projects of theirs are:

McDonald’s App

Bolser helped to increase awareness and utilisation of the My McDonald’s app in the UK, through app store optimisation. In a three month period they were able to impact massively on the utilisation of the app. 

App Store ratings for the app increased from 3 stars to 4.8 stars.

EE App Redesign

They used the latest usability software, including eye tracking. They also removed any unnecessary content, creating a visual hierarchy that mapped with the user priorities.

Sadly they don’t have any jobs at this moment in time but they will be hearing from me in the future there is no doubt about that. As it says in the text below, they want to hear from enthusiastic digital people, and I certainly would class myself as that. It is better to try than not to try. The fact that it is in the heart of Leeds is hugely attractive to me, as Leeds is my home where I grew up.

3. Lucky Duck

To look for some more agencies in and around the Leeds area, I looked at a website called clutch:

 https://clutch.co/uk/agencies/ui-ux/leeds

I like the fact that they include service focus, and put percentages to show you if the role you want to do is important to them. For example, Lucky Duck are an agency that have full focus on UI/UX Design, which would be ideal for me. 

I decided to look at Lucky Duck first, and the website was fantastic on first viewing. The user experience was slick and easy to use. 

If an agency has a sufficient website it tells me that they are a serious agency that has high standards, which is attractive to me as a designer and potential future employee.

I love the simple layout of their portfolio. The main reason I love it so much is the simple fact that the work is parallel to each other but lower on the right hand side, as we read from left to right. This is a something I would like to add in my own personal portfolio. It may seem like a small difference, but it really helps me when I am reading each piece of work.

The project that stuck out to me was the app they did for SOLUS+. They were responsible for creating the user experience for a smart heating mobile companion app, and the design and build of an eCommerce store.

The app includes a lot of smart features, which helps the user to manage their heating more effectively, and to save money as well as reducing their impact on the environment, which is a very important aspect of life in 2020.

Like many agencies, jobs are hard to come by, but they have a contact us page that looks simple and friendly. I will certainly get in touch in the near future for a job opportunity whenever one comes available.