#INVENTION 8 IN F MAJOR IS SO FUN TOO

[decaysate]

washed up pianist semi ( nods to myself )

[grigori77]

2019 In TV - My Top 10 Shows

This past year may have sucked balls in a lot of ways, but we certainly never got short-changed when it came to our TV.  There was an absolute WEALTH of truly cracking TV around, both on regular networks and on the various on-demand platforms, and so here is my pick of the best, my absolute favourites of 2019.

10.  WATCHMEN

Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof brings us a blinding sequel to comic book legend Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel with a delightfully trippy, ruthlessly efficient rug-puller that seems pretty tailor-made for HBO.  Old faces return in interesting ways, while there are some cracking new “masks” on offer, particularly Regina King’s Sister Night and the always-brilliant Tim Blake Nelson as morally complex antihero Looking Glass (in some ways very much the show’s own answer to Rorschach).  It never goes where you expect it to go, and refuses to give easy answers to the questions it raises, effortlessly paving the way for more next year ...

9.  THE BOYS

Amazon offers up its own edgy, thoroughly adult superhero property with this darkly funny antiheroic gem based on the cult Garth Ennis comic, expertly adapted by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke.  Karl Urban dominates as Billy Butcher, the foul-mouthed, morally bankrupt “leader” of a makeshift crew of mercenaries, hitmen and psycho killers devoted to “taking care of” superheroes when they inevitably go bad.  Season 1 ultimately serves as an origin story, showing how the team come together, laying quality groundwork for the incoming sophomore tour that promises to open the already fascinating world out significantly.

8.  PREACHER (SEASON 4)

More Garth Ennis, namely this blinder of a closing season for AMC’s consistently impressive adaptation of his best known series for Vertigo comics.  Surprisingly epic, deliciously subversive and constantly, darkly hilarious, this thoroughly non-PC series from showrunners Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (yes! I Know!) certainly went out on a high note, providing its loyal followers with perfectly-pitched bow-outs and sometimes heartbreaking goodbyes for all its players, especially its dynamite leads, Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga and, in particular, Joe Gilgun as unapologetic bad boy vampire Cassidy.  A worthy end to one of my all-time favourite TV shows.

7.  THE WITCHER

While it’s clearly taken its look from the wildly successful video games, Netflix’s second most ambitious long-form offering of the year takes its lead from the fantasy book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski that started it all.  With its somewhat episodic set-up and decidedly twisted narrative timelines, it take a few chapters to get the hang of it, but there’s plenty to draw you in, from the exotic world-building to the frenetic action and compelling collection of richly crafted characters.  Henry Cavill is the titular hero, lovably grouchy mutant monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia, but the real scene-stealer is co-star Anya Chalotra as roguishly self-serving mage Yennefer of Vengenberg.

6.  CARNIVAL ROW

One of the year’s two big sleeper hit TV surprises for me was this inventively offbeat allegorical Amazon fantasy series from The 4400 creator René Echevarria and screenwriter Travis Beacham. Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne are the star-crossed lovers at the heart of this intriguingly dark and dirty murder mystery thriller set in Victorian London-esque city-state the Burgue, in which humans struggle to co-exist alongside a struggling disenfranchised underclass of fae (fairies, fawns, centaurs and the like).  The racial turmoil undertones are writ large throughout, but this is far more well-written and lavishly appointed than you might expect on first glance, and almost ridiculously addictive viewing.

5.  LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS

My other big TV surprise was this wonderfully bizarre sci-fi anthology series of animated shorts from Netflix, mostly adapted from an eclectic selection of short stories from a wide range of top-notch literary talent including Peter F. Hamilton, John Scalzi, Marko Kloos and Alastair Reynolds (a particular favourite of mine).  As you’d expect from the brainchild of Deadpool director Tim Miller and producer David Fincher, this is edgy, leftfield stuff, frequently ultra-violent and decidedly adult, and the wildly varied nature of the material on offer makes for a decidedly uneven tone, but there are some absolute gems on offer here, my favourite being Suits, an enjoyably simple tale of salt-of-the-earth farmers on an alien world utilising clunky mech suits to protect their settlement from rampaging giant xeno-bugs.

4.  THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE

The show with the biggest cinematic wow factor in 2019 had to be this long-awaited prequel series to Jim Henson’s classic fantasy movie masterpiece, created for Netflix by, of all people, Louis Leterrier (yes, the director of The Transporter, Now You See Me and Clash of the Titans, if you can believe it). The technology may have evolved in leaps and bounds, but there’s a wonderfully old school vibe in the delightfully physical puppet effects used to bring the fantastical world of Thra and its denizens to life, so that it truly does feel like it’s based in the same world as the film.  This was EASILY the most visually arresting show of 2019, packed with exquisite character, creature and set design that perfectly complements the awesome work done by Henson and Brian Froud on the original, while the writers have created a darkly rich narrative tapestry that makes Thra seem a more dangerous place than ever.

3.  THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

I was a HUGE fan of My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way’s magnificently oddball alternative superhero comic, so when I learned that Netflix were adapting it I was a little wary because I knew how spectacularly hard it would be for ANY showrunners to get right.  Thankfully Steve Blackman (Fargo season 2) and Jeremy Slater (The Exorcist TV series) were the right choice, because this perfectly captured the outsider nature of the characters and their endearingly dysfunctional family dynamic. Ellen Page, Tom Hopper (Black Sails, Merlin), David Castañeda and Emmy Raver-Lampman are all excellent as the more “functional” Hargreeves siblings, but the show is roundly stolen by Misfits star Robert Sheehan and Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn’s Aidan Gallagher as nihilistic clairvoyant Klaus and the old-man-in-a-child’s-body sociopath known only as Number Five. Consistently surprising and brilliantly bonkers, this was definitely the year’s most wonderfully WEIRD show.

2.  STRANGER THINGS (SEASON 3)

Writer-director duo the Duffer Brothers’ ultra-nostalgic 80s-set coming-of-age sci-fi horror series remains the undisputed jewel in Netflix’s long-form crown with this consistently top-drawer third season expertly maintaining the blockbuster-level standards we’ve come to expect.  This year the cross-dimensional shenanigans have largely been jettisoned, replaced by a gleefully nasty through-line of icky body horror that would make major influences like David Cronenberg and Stuart Gordon proud, as perennial teenage bad boy Billy Hargrove (the fantastically menacing Dacre Montgomery) becomes the leader of an army of psychic slaves under the control of the Upside Down’s monstrous Mind Flayer.  The kids are all brilliant as always, Winona Ryder and David Harbour really get to build on their strong-yet-spiky chemistry, and the show is almost effortlessly stolen by Joe Keery as one-time golden boy Steve Harrington and series-newcomer Maya Hawke as his nerdy new foil Robin Buckley, who were very nearly the cutest couple on TV in 2019.  Another gold standard season for a true gold standard show.

1.  GOOD OMENS

Sadly, legendary author Terry Pratchett died before he could see the adaptation of one of his most beloved novels (and one of my all-time literary favourites too) see the light of day, but at least his co-author Neil Gaiman was around to bring it to fruition with the aid of seasoned TV director David Mckinnon (Jekyll, Doctor Who, Sherlock), and the end result sure did him proud, perfectly capturing the deeply satirical voice and winningly anarchic, gleefully offbeat and gently subversive humour of the original novel.  David Tennant and Michael Sheen could both have been born to play Crowley and Aziraphale, the angel and demon nominally charged with watching over the young Antichrist in preparation for his role in the End Times, even though they would both much rather the world just went on quite happily the way it is, thanks very much. This is about as perfect an adaptation as you can get, the six hour-long episodes giving the surprisingly complex story time to breathe and grow organically, and the result is the most fun I spent in front of my TV this year.

[lockdownuk]

Lockdown Diary Part 9

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 241: Shit day at work. To cut a long story short, I could complete a task Sueanne gave to me and then I got it in the ear, including a snotty email ay 5:40pm. Pissed off.

Day 242: Had a meeting with Sueanne (our weekly 1-2-1 actually) and she was alright. I feel much better tonight. Last night I didn’t even have an appetitie - unheard of! Going to make up for that tonight, pie and loads of veg! A much better day. Ridiculously, I believe yesterday was all my own fault - I take work for granted sometimes and I let myself down by ignoring the urgency of a task just because it was Sueanne asking me to do it and she was a peer. She is now my boss, and I should respect that.

Day 243: So-so day at work. It’s strange how used to work I am after over six months on furlough. It’s been less than two months back but all the highs and lows amd frustrations are commonplace. Most importantly, it being Thursday, I cannot wait for tomorrow eveninga dn to kick back, drink and smoke. Spoke to dad this morning, he’s same as...that’s always good to know. Sugar levels have been a fucking roller coaster today, and it has really fucked me off! No salad at lunch due to them being so fucking high when I got back from my walk. It ended up being my tea. Sarted watching The Undoing...it’s OK. 

Day 244: Glad it is Friday. Just cooking a (very hot) chicken madras, cracked open my first beer. Gonna eat, drink, smoke and watch a good film.

Day 245: Gold was the film I watched last night, with Matthew McConaughey and it was a good choice. I then watch a Kevin Hart stand up show on Netflix...very Eddie Murphy, very funny. I did a 12 km walk today...fucking felt it in my legs. Walked the footpath from Stoke Doyle road to Benefield road for the first time. I liked it and it comes out between Lytham Park and Wakerley Close....I posted on FB about the fact that when I move to Oundle, Clifton Drive was the last street heading out of town. Saw Becks on the walk down Benefield road, She mentioned she’s tired of lockdown. I replied that I’m tired of the virus!

Day 246: Up at 1pm, nice long walk, ordered new slippers and waterproof jacket (my Craghopper is bust again).

Day 247: I screwed up at work today, went for a (ridiculously) late lunch right when I was meant to be at an online meeting that Sueanne had reminded me about in the morning. There’s mitigation but, when push comes to shove, I fucked up and now Sueanne’s on the warpath - one more slip up and it’ll be an offical disciplinary matter. 

Day 248: Suzanne wants me to troubleshoot a ticket she has in her queue, some database request for a Cork guy. It’s a test and it’s fucking me off.

I did testing for a network change tonight...8 till 11:15pm.

Elliot and Aaron cleaned the windows today. It was nice to see them.

Rita sent a couple of emails recently. Dad’s ear is all clear but Paul has got testicular cancer.

Day 249: New waterproof jacket arrived today. It’s very nice, bargain for £25 odd. Also picked up slippers from M&S food hall in Corby so, while over their, did a shop at Tesco’s...£109 mainly booze.

By the time I was back, I ended up doing my evening walk at 9.30pm!

Day 250: Leigh from Oundle Chronicle has got back to me. She (he?) has selected the photos that are going to be in the article and wants me to write a sentence on each - where they were taken and what inspited me to do so. Whether that means the stuff I wrote before is not going to be used, or not, I dunno! New slippers are OK and the new jacket is still impressing me.

Day 251: Typing on Day 252. Usual Friday, beers, meatballs, pizza, long chat with Fog. I should mention that, as we approach the end of Lockdown2 in England, Boris and his government have laid out a three tier structure for how the second lockdown will be eased. It’s caused confusion and consternation across the board. None of it affects me, still isolating like I was on day 1. Day 252: Totally forgot about my diary entry yesterday! Up at 1pm, nice long walk, nipped rong Elliots to pay for my windows, had a chat with him, Artron and Camilla - it’s so nice to socialise! Gonna make fish pie and supp a few ales. Day 253: The weekend is over way too quickly. It’s 7.30pm on Sunday as I type and I wish it wasn’t. I wish it was 7.30pm on Friday. Day 254: In a meeting, a working Zoom, with Andy Ashler in the US re: qfiniti, which Sueanne pissed me off about earlier in te day (RCI diary updated), but the meeting went well. I am desparately trying to buy an iPad on Black Monday. As usual with tech, I cannot make my mind up which to buy! Day 255: I haven’t bought an iPad....I’ll wait for the 10.2″ iPad to come down in price. I had more involvement with Andy Ashler and in the US with the Qfiniti project at work. I’m really enjoying it, it’s very technical...although I didn’t finish ‘til 6pm because of it. The Oundle Chronicle is out and an article about me and my pics is on the back page. Leigh, the editor, sent it to me electronically. It’s good. I am chuffed!  Day 256: I booked some holidays today, making sure that I didn’t include any days off in the week December 14-18 (SB’s off). So, this coming Friday (4th Dec), Next Weds-Fri and Monday 21st. I know I have only been back from Furlough a couple of months but I am more than ready for some kick-back time.  1-2-1 with SB today, it was a relaxed affair, most espcially becaus eof my success thus far with the Qfiniti project - that being said, I got pretty much nowhere with it today.  Ordered a couple of long sleeved Ts and a fleeced hoody from a shop called Doubletwo today, well cheap in the sale. I saw half a dozen joggers on the Milton Road blind bend tonight, oblivious to any other potential path user. I posted about it (in my own, sarcastic way) on the Oundle Chatter FB group. It was met how I’d expected plus some direct digs so I deleted it. Cowardly but, I figure, I don’t get my point across, the vast majority of joggers really don’t think they are doing anything wrong by bulldozing there way around town and, lastly, I couldn’t be bothered with the flak, and its tennis like back-and-forth!

Day 257: Got tomorrow off so worked late tying up loose ends, including the qfiniti project - fucking nuts really, making sure no one asks any questions of SB or the team, in terms of my work load, for just one day off! Still, just had tea, cracked open a beer and am watching Shaun of the Dead. Nice.

Day 258: The main thing I did today is walk. It was about 12km but felt much longer ‘cos it was wintry, pissing down, windy and slippery as fuck. And I really enjoyed it! Badge messaged me today to ask how I am and, in replying, I mentioned that I think I am becoming addicted to walking...it wasn’t a throwaway comment. Just cooked up a chilli (which I think I have ruined with a Knorr beef stock pot), and will tuck in with beers, smokes and telly. While it’s been a day off, this Friday evening will be as all others are at the moment, late, drunken and solitary fun - no doubt.

Day 259: Typing on day 260. That chilli last night was actually OK. Plus I ‘invented’ a meatball wrap - moving on from the TikTok ham and cheese wrap you fold into the toaster, I tried the same with meatballs but no fucking way could I fold it into the toaster slot (pissed up kitchen shenanigans), so I wrapped it in tin foil and heated it in the oven, Fucking delicious. I watched Shaun of the Dead. I think it’s the first time since its release and I couldn’t help thinking “zombies just aren’t like that [in real life]” Wtf?

Day 260: I was quite sensible (for a Saturday) last night, in bed by 2am, up at my alarm this morning, 10:30am. Nice long walk, taking in a new path up by Biggin Grange and took plenty of pics that turned out really good. Btw, posh lost yesterday at Portsmouth (with 2000 fans there) and they lost midweek and last weekend in the FA Cup to Chorley, at home. 

Day 261: It’s freezing today...actually 0 degrees. This house is so fucking cold, even with the heating on.

Day 262: Typing on day 263. Last day of work for 5 days. Beers are in order. And a sausage casserole. Day 263: I completely forgot to do a diary entry yesterday....concentrating on starting my work break off on the right foot, which I did. As a result, I didn’t get up until 1pm. So, to stop that sort of day wasting, no beers tonight. Just got back from a shop (£90 in Tesco’s), trying to sort out Romiley’s Christmas present, then something to eat (more sausage casserole) and a early, sober night.

Day 264: So, after abstinence last night, I was up before 11am and did a walk that included the track from Benefield Road to Monson Way past Park Wood. It was fucking hard work due to mud. I have lost coumd the amount of times I nearly slipped right over. Throw into that a hypo, the 12-13km walk was tough. Sorted out Romiley’s present (guitar stand, music stand and guitar exercises book). Took soime nice photos today as well which I’ve prepared and shared. No booze today/tonight either. Some break, a younger me would say!

Day 265: Friday, and I am typing with a beer, balti on the hob and I am just gonna choose a film and roll a single skinner. I am knackered. Up at 10am, cleaned the hall and stairs after a 10km walk. Also, I spoke with dad who is, as always, fine.

Time to make up for the last two sober nights.

Day 266: I am typing this on day 267. So drunk last night I left nearll a full can of beer and went to bed in my jogging bottoms and t-shirt. I have had a day off from any exercise at all which felt very odd. A few beers and watched Snatch. Day 267: While I was nowhere near drunk last night, due to sleeping in late (2pm) I was up ‘til 3am watching TikTok so today I struggled out of bed at just before 1pm. Watch the start of the season’s final GP (Verstappen won from pole and it was boring af), back on the exercising including a 9km walk. Back to work tomorrow which I feel totally conflicted about! Posh won yesterday at home to Rochdale (with the allowed 2000 fans) 4-1 including a 17 minute first half hatrick from Jonson Clarke-Harris.

Day 268: Back to work - Sueanne’s off and it’s the first day I’ve been at work with Jon in charge which involves a daily ‘SUMO’ (whatever that acronym stands for?) at 9.30am every day. I am still involved with te qfiniti upgrade project which seems to have taken a step backwards in the 3 days I had off, so I was working until gone 9.30pm! I have decided to do a quiz, hopefully for Christmas, whereby I don’t want the actual answers (to 25 particular questions, all with a common theme in the answer), merely an omitted question!  

Day 269: Stand Up Meeting Online. SUMO. Ian Bird told me. I might struggle with double Y for my quiz. Work was OK, more Qfiniti stuff. Posh drew away to MK 1-1. Posh were 0-1 up but Lincs lost at home. I can’t undertsand why that pleases me so....oh, yeah I can Steve Dee.

Day 270: Struggling to order Dad and Rita booze for Christmas without it being a Morrison’s delivery that I can do through Amazon Prime. That would be OK but it’s just a bit clinical! Meanwhile, now I am paying for Prime, and they are showing some Premiership games (for example, tonight I watched Liverpool v. Spurs (2-1), I really have to contact Sky - I am paying £71pm atm! Sam posted pic of her Christmas tree but mentioned how she’s finding it hard to get in the spirit - Paul has testicular cancer and the outlook is bleak - fuck know’s what she’s going through with all that, trying to shield Romiley from the worst without lying!

[ailuronymy]

Hey, I follow a WC YouTuber called Moonkitti and she'd uploaded a video called "Warrior Names". She kinda slams traditionalism and also demonstrates she has no idea what exactly it is. Like she shows some prefixes as examples which has Tree and Dirt as acceptable and Jay isn't, despite the inverse being true. I know she mentions she's not against it in concept, but that it was being enforced to limit others' creativity, but I have really mixed feelings about it and wanted to know your opinions.

Hello there, Ruddles! I hadn’t heard of this person before but I went and watched this video and I think I understand where your mixed feelings might be coming from. This video is trying to do a lot of things but, in my personal opinion, it’s doing none of them particularly well.

There’s three major things happening all at once: 1. a legitimate personal reflection about how certain traditionalists acted towards this person in the past and how that impacted her (4:50; 6:20); 2. an incorrect and misleading explanation of what traditionalism even is and very clearly no understanding of why it appeals to people, and therefore very little empathy towards people who use the style; (5:13; 6:00);  and 3. (from an outsider stance as someone who likes deconstructing arguments for fun) a fascinatingly messy argument both in favour of Erin Hunter while using Erin Hunter’s various (and typically more incompetent) choices as justifications for… everything and anything. 

It’s a mixed bag to be sure! To start with, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying that some people who use the traditional style are jerks. It’s very true. I remember those days too. Some people genuinely did crash forum threads just to mock and belittle other people. It was terrible and I think it’s totally legitimate to be upset about that.

I think the argument that everyone who uses traditionalism behaves that way is bad faith, however, and I also question the confirmation bias happening at 6:54, because I only ever see people talking about traditionalism for themselves, because that’s the spaces I hang out in. I wonder if Moonkitti has ever actually looked for traditional forums and sites, or if she’s just taken for granted that they don’t exist and everyone who uses the style is waging their own personal crusade. That’s not something I endorse in any way, by the way. Don’t anyone do that. 

The second topic is personally the most frustrating because at points she’s almost right. But her definitions are incorrect and explanations simplify in a way that isn’t helpful to anyone. She’s not trying to actually give an account of the style and then point out the ways it doesn’t work or shouldn’t exist or anything like that: she’s half understood the idea and gone, “That sounds dumb.” This is in fact what she claims traditionalists say about other styles (7:22), which I disagree with: traditionalism is based mostly on having a set framework in place and then fairly rigorously debating what works and doesn’t within that world set-up. Plenty of names that are traditional sound pretty silly, but that doesn’t mean we knock them back wholesale. The whole point of the style is there is a method. Making judgments based on looser qualities, like sound or flow or imagery, is more of a lyrical approach.

Anyway, she doesn’t even seem to have gone to the effort of learning about it herself before deciding to preach. I think that’s tacky. It’s exasperating to me, because it’s not like there aren’t a ton of resources out there: if nothing else, traditionalists are good like that! We love lists and archives and referring to rules we’ve written out. That’s one of the things she’s correct about. She frequently refers to the fact that traditionalism is fan-made (2:25; 3:59; 6:45), but she does so as if this is a bad thing, which it’s not. Traditionalists are aware it’s fan-made: we are, after all, the fans who made it. That’s the whole idea. 

Which brings me to the third topic: she doesn’t seem to fully understand why traditionalism exists and why it brings joy to people who use it. That’s an issue, because much of her argument is based around “well, canon.” She mischaracterises traditionalists as people who are “taking things too seriously” for being creative–i.e., she recognises that the entirety of traditionalism is fan-made, but can’t seem to understand why fans would elect to create rules to follow; it seems to cancel out the creativity in her world-view. She also repeatedly refers to the fact that she doesn’t need a traditional system to enjoy the Warriors world (0:26; 7:17; 8:28; 9:05)–to which I reply, your mileage may vary–and seems to look down on people who are pulled out of the story by “a silly name,” unlike her or Erin Hunter, who don’t take things “seriously.”

The major problem I have with this approach is that it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the value of good world-building–or even some idea of what it looks like. She claims a strict system would result in a boring story (which perhaps would be true for her, who knows: again, mileage may vary) (8:28), but the issue I have is that she says: “don’t get me wrong, warrior cats is not perfect, but the least of our troubles with the quality of these books is how strange these names are. Sure, Bouncefire sounds weird and doesn’t seem realistic, but if you’re worried about this story’s realism, consider the fact that we have about fifty cats who live together who barely gossip except if it’s about a housecat” (1:06). 

She uses the word “realistic” throughout the whole video, as though the goal of using a traditional style is to make Warriors realistic, which in my opinion it’s not. Plausible, yes. Believable, yes. Cohesive, yes. But not realistic. These are, after all, talking cats with religion. I myself multiple times a year refer to the fact we’re all getting excited over “feral cats talking to stars in the forest.” There’s no pretense there! But the thing Moonkitti argues that actually makes me mad is that, because it’s not real, nothing matters. 

And that’s absolutely horse-apples. It matters that the names in canon don’t have structure, because the world of Warriors doesn’t have structure and that is the underlying problem of the series. That is part of why the series is not well-written. The world doesn’t have structure or consistency in how it is built, and the run-on effect is that characters are frequently flat and their decisions–even their deaths–are regularly made meaningless by the world of the story. The world-building is inconsistent and poorly planned, and the run-on effect is that plots regularly force characters who are supposed to be intelligent or even an average amount of smart into being unbelievably stupid simply for the sake of furthering it, and the stakes of the stories are constantly forced to increase to squeeze any amount of impact out of the plots because the writing itself won’t do it. 

There is no hierarchy from most to least when it comes to the quality troubles of Erin Hunter’s work. The issues in Warriors are not stand-alone. They are interconnected. It’s silly to pretend that transformative world-building, which is what traditionalism is, is somehow a superficial, ornamental thing and not simply another way for fans to mend some of what makes Warriors “not perfect,” like any other AU or fandom meta. Canon invented the name-change custom (7:43)–and repeatedly made it messy, and shameful, and had no idea what they wanted to go with. Traditionalism mended that and made it better. If you can recognise that the series isn’t perfect, I don’t think it’s a stretch to also recognise and acknowledge different ways of how fans react to and deal with those imperfections in fan-works, such as role-playing and fanfiction and OCs. 

Moonkitti’s repetitions that this is a fantasy series and it’s not real so stop caring frankly reminds me a lot people who get uncomfortable and defensive when you analyse and discuss a piece of media in any kind of critical or thoughtful way and will tell you don’t be so serious. In my case, these people tend not to realise that, for me at least, this is fun--and it’s worthwhile and important to do. It’s also my actual job, in the daylight hours. (Here it’s just a hobby).

So tl;dr: Erin Hunter doesn’t take Warriors seriously–and that is the problem. The canon naming style is a symptom of how little effort Erin Hunter puts into consistent or meaningful world-building. Traditionalism exists as some fans’ attempt to craft a solution for themselves, and I include myself in that. 

Moonkitti’s approach to explaining traditionalism from a place of 1. not being interested in understanding it and 2. being oddly defensive of Erin Hunter, the creative team behind all of canon’s terrible weird writing choices, rather than critical of said choices and choosing instead to blame fans for wanting canon to be better and then acting on that desire, feels a bit in bad faith to me. I’m sad to hear that she had such bad experiences with traditionalists in the past, because that’s awful, but I also feel strongly that it’s a good idea to know what you’re talking about before you step onto the stage like this.

For instance, she says, “There’s no real argument for why [certain] names [should] not be in the series,” (2:13), but, well. I’m here and this blog is my seven-years-and-counting argument. I like to think it’s often a persuasive one, too!

[confusedinfj]

What is mbti?

That really depends on who you ask, so I'm just going to answer it the way you'll be seeing it on my blog: it's a shorthand way of referring to people's cognitive functions.

3 things to understand

Mbti is A shorthand for a FRAMEWORK. A FRAMEWORK of how people's minds work - not a personality/behaviour rulebook. You won't relate to your mbti type descriptions all the time, because they're just predictions of behaviour based on cognitive functions.

There are 16 types - 16 function stacks - and 8 cognitive functions. The type names help you remember which functions an individual can have.

Cognitive functions. This is the part of mbti that is most important. In fact, FORGET THE LETTERS. It's all about the functions. There are 8 functions. Every one has all 8, but they preference four for everyday life. To learn more about the functions you can read #fun functions posts. The way the functions interact is important.

Cognitive Functions????

There are two directions for functions - internal (intraverted) and externally (Extraverted). There's no such thing as an ambivert, because it's not about socialness. It's about how your mind is working.

There are perceiving functions - how you take in information - and there are judging functions - how you filter information.

Perceiving functions

You can either be a sensor or an intuitive. Don't think about this in the way the terms are generally used, sensors don't go around rubbing things do understand the world around them.

Short explanation: Extraverted perceiving functions seek possibilities, and intraverted perceiving functions create an internal framework.

Put simply, sensors perceive the world around them through physical things, and intuitives perceive the world around them through... Vibes.

Intraverted sensing (Si) notices small details in its world (body, house, etc) and creates an internal framework based on these details. It favours past experience, and methods that it knows have worked before.

Extraverted sensing (Se) notices bigger details in the world around them (subtle details, like who's looking at who and who might like each other). It favours learning through experience and being present in the moment.

Intraverted intuition (Ni) picks up on vibes. Some say this isn't possible, and Ni can't really explain how it is. It creates a framework of the world internally, and tries to predict the future based off past behaviours and current vibes. It can get weird.

Extraverted intuition (Ne) can get weirder 😂. It gets vibes, but instead of creating a framework it creates possibilities. Did the vibe mean x, y, or z?

Judging Functions

You can either filter your perceptions through thinking or feeling. No, this is no emotion vs logic. Many feelers are very good thinkers. I'll explain it in a minute.

Short explanation: intraverted judging functions filter their perceptions through their own internal thoughts/logic (Ti) or feeling/morality (Fi). Extraverted judging functions filter their perceptions through other's thoughts/logic (Te) or feelings/morality (Fe).

Intraverted thinking (Ti) isn't too bothered if you disagree with its logic. They care that things make sense to them personally, and won't think something just because everyone else does. They're the reasons the rule 'thinkers speak of thoughts and feelers speak of feelings/people' DOESN'T WORK. Ti is intraverted. It doesn't often share its thoughts. This doesn't mean Ti users don't care what anyone thinks, but it does leave them vulnerable to that weakness.

Extraverted thinking (Te) is bothered if you disagree with its logic, and will try to convince you it's correct. This is why Te users often speak of ideas. This doesn't mean Te users will think anything the majority of people do, but it does leave them vulnerable to that weakness.

Intraverted feeling (Fi) is kind of the opposite of Ti in a way. Fi users don't need your approval to believe they're right. But they still want you to agree with them. They want you to share their morality, because they believe it is right. Fi is more about a feeling of morality than emotions. This doesn't mean Fi users are self righteous, but it leaves them vulnerable to that weakness.

Extraverted feeling (Fe) is about other people's feelings and ideas of morality. Fe users often don't know how they're actually feeling, so the idea they talk about their own emotions is WRONG. They talk about other's emotions. This doesn't mean Fe users are pushovers, but it does leave them vulnerable to that weakness.

Function stacks

Every person preferences four functions. Their first function determines if they're an intraverted or Extravert (nothing to do with people!). The direction of the functions is the opposite of the one before (I, e, I, e). The two middle functions are either two judging functions or two perceiving functions.

If you lead with an Extraverted judging function, you are called an E**J. So no,

Judgers are not judgy

Depending on whether you have Si/Se or Ni/Ne in your first two functions, you are either an S or an N type. And depending on whether you have a T function or an F function first, you are called a T or an F.

The list of types

Enfj - Fe Ni Se Ti

Infj - Ni Fe Ti Se

Entj - Te Ni Se Fi

Intj - Ni Te Fi Se

Enfp - Ne Fi Te Si

Infp - Fi Ne Si Te

Entp - Ne Ti Fe Si

Intp - Ti Ne Si Fe

Esfj - Fe Si Ne Ti

Isfj - Si Fe Ti Ne

Estj - Te Si Ne Fi

Istj - Si Te Fi Ne

Esfp - Se Fi Te Ni

Isfp - Fi Se Ni Te

Estp - Se Ti Fe Ni

Istp - Ti Se Ni Fe

How you use the functions

You use the first function (primary function) without even really realising it.

You use the second function (auxillary function) when making a basic decision. It supports your first function.

You use this function (Tertiary Function) when making a tougher decision. If you get too stressed and get in a loop between your first and third function, you'll probably start doing dumb stuff or inventing conspiracy theories.

You use the fourth function (Inferior function) when you're a little stressed or sad. You don't really have much control over it. You probably find it hard to relate to people who lead with your inferior Function.

Shadow functions

Like I said, everyone has all 8 functions, but the final four are barely used, and are like the shadow of your personality. They're the opposite direction of your first four. (So for an Enfj (Fe Ni Se Ti) their shadow is Fi Ne Si Te).

You use the first Shadow Function when you feel stuck, to consider new options. You probably like people who lead with this function.

The second shadow function is your critical parent. You use it to tell yourself and others off. You may feel like people who lead with this function are always having a go at you.

This is the function you use to spite people, and make sure neither of you are happy. You probably think people who lead with this function are mean or manipulative.

This is your Demon function. If you go here you're severely depressed. You may mind people who lead with this function simultaneously boring and hard to connect with, and attractive and ideal.

Personal Twist

I personally believe you can see the first function in someone's eyes, as well as the difference between Fi and Fe. I have some posts about that #mbti eyes. It's hard to explain, but from experience it works. You're looking at how the brain works after all 😉

Anyway

If you made it to the end of this and like it, enjoy my blog. Otherwise, I'm not really looking for an internet fight 😂 Pls don't kill me for my stupid Ni-Ti ideas. Just laugh and go on your merry way.

[thesinglesjukebox]

DUA LIPA & BLACKPINK - KISS AND MAKE UP [5.80] Are we the forgiving type?

Jessica Doyle: The other day, leaving the supermarket, I glanced at the magazine racks and saw a pop-issue devoted solely to BTS. Dang, I thought, maybe this K-pop-increasing-in-global-prominence thing really is happening. And now here's another milestone: a perfunctory, spiritless collab where the invitation came from the Western side. [3]

Katie Gill: This is definitely a Dua Lipa song that Blackpink got invited to collaborate on, not anything that the two worked on together. Which means that unfortunately for Blackpink, they're stuck on a middle of the road Dua Lipa song. Everybody's voice is amazing: all the women get to show off their lower registers to beautiful effect. But the song itself is third single filler: boring lyrics with a boring hook. [5]

Alfred Soto: On first listen the fader tomfoolery and decent hook compensate for the invention; on second listen the kinetics create the impression that "Kiss and Make Up" has something to say, and the fader tomfoolery remains such. [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: "Touch me like you touch nobody" is a compelling phrasing of an old lyrical conceit, and Dua continues her hot streak, providing a charismatic performance on the first run through the verse-pre-chorus-chorus that sets the tone well for the rest of the song. The song itself is a bit too slight to support the full integration of all four parts of Blackpink, but not for lack of trying. Yet in the end, "Kiss and Make Up" feels deeply unnecessary, both in neither-here-nor-there position it holds in the discographies of both artist and group and in its overall attempt to bridge pop styles. Even with that in mind, though, the song is fun enough to not wear out its welcome. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: Tapping bass synths wash ashore with flat, clattering percussion as Dua Lipa glides over it all without picking up a thing, while Blackpink sink into the production and swirl it into cotton candy around them to float out of the mush. [6]

Vikram Joseph: This sounds instantly recognisable -- that buzzing, burrowing hook which screams early-2010s pop, the achingly familiar chorus melody -- but feels full of character, loose-limbed and breathless. It's elevated by spacious, clubby production and an oscillating left ear-right ear trick that succeeds in drawing me deeper into the song, which reveals itself as an atmospheric, idiosyncratic bilingual banger. [8]

Matias Taylor: As of late, pop stars have been shying away from hyper-kinetic, unabashedly catchy bangers so it's refreshing to hear a major-pop-star-pop-song so urgent and frantic it basically interrupts itself to launch into the chorus. Blackpink show up halfway sounding as clipped and polished as the expensive-sounding synths behind them. Their earnest, brassy performance contrasts well with Dua's underrated ability to emote while maintaining an impossibly cool, detached aloofness. [7]

Juan F. Carruyo: Cool vocoder intro that's probably the third coolest thing about this song. Dem-bow riddim contributes to a heavy tropical feel that's probably not as in vogue as it used to be. However, the best thing about this is how the melody constantly rides the upbeats in syncopation, both in the "ayayayayay" that denotes the pre-chorus and after in the bridge. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Much like the generic dancehall beat that Banx & Ranx provided for boy band Rak-Su, "Kiss and Make Up" benefits from having production that's tastefully inoffensive. Anything too flashy would distract from the vocals, and there's plenty of fun sing-along moments that allow for a personal insertion of personality. That titular line can be sung with the lustful wink of "Put your hands all up on me," the casual directness of "This love's important/don't want to lose you this way," or the anxious desperation of "Can we work this whole thing out?" And at the very least, it's as amusing to replicate as Rosé's "I, I, I, I" sequence. Your personal Choose Your Own Adventure, where taking part in the journey is more exciting than the familiar end result. [7]

Alex Clifton: I like Dua Lipa and Blackpink both, but... [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[melonoverlord]

ABCs for the beautiful baby bois

Since these are long ass prompts, I’ll split them up. Here is the baby boi Ravi first.

A: Aptitude

1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young?

He’s been doing hospital work ever since he was around two. It started just as organizing documents and running from room to room getting supplies to help his mom who was in the surgery and delivery ward. He’s also suspiciously good at guessing which couples are going to end up together.

2. what activities have they participated in?

He’s often Val’s guinea pig for her inventions that have to do with bionic parts, but he’s also a really avid bowler. It was one of his physical therapy requirements so he could be used to lifting heavy things.

3. what abilities do they have that they’ve worked for?

Making his bionic arms and legs are natural to him as his normal limbs were. It took a long time to be able to walk and move on his own, but now he knows just exactly how to move his limbs for the most fluid motions.

4. what things are they bad at?

Staying still while getting shots. Whenever he has to get his daily flu shot, Nivviah has to chase him around the ship while he screams and cries. Eventually Nivviah has to cast “Calm Emotions” or “Charm Person” on him to get him to calm down and sit still to get his shots, which she hates because she dislikes taking away Ravi’s autonomy, but he gets sick easily otherwise and please Ravi, we can’t keep doing this.

5. what is their most impressive talent?

Boy is incredibly good at anatomy. He definitely has a career in the medical field because he can find any vein or blood vessel and know just where to cut in surgeries.

B: Basics

1. what is their hair color?

Black

2. what is their eye color?

Dark brown

3. how tall are they?

4′0

4. how old are they?

8

5. how much do they weigh?

75 lbs

C: Comfort

1. how do they sit in a chair?

Criss-cross applesauce with his hands in his lap.

2. in what position do they sleep?

Curled up in a tiny ball. He usually takes up as little space as possible. It makes it perfectly for scooping into your arms.

3. what is their ideal comfort day?

Wearing his onesie while watching Disney movies with his parents, siblings, Castor, and the snabies. Also playing nerf guns with his siblings, Castor, and Val because Ravi takes no prisoners.

4. what is their major comfort food? why?

Lassi. It’s an Indian yogurt drink that he really likes. It reminds him home. No one else can really make it, though.

5. who is the best at comforting them when down?

It used to be Crumb because Crumb thought it was his duty to take care of Ravi, but now it’s his good good mama Ciri.

D: Decoration

1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name?

He just wants a house where him and all his siblings have their own rooms but connect them to make one giant sleepover room. If he could choose how Tam and Ciri decorated the house, everything would be connected to a slide and the floor would look like a little forest floor.

2. how would they decorate their child’s room?

He won’t have kids for a long, long, long time, but he would try to put as much little toys in their room because he spent so long without them and would give them everything from chemistry sets to trampolines just so they can try everything.

3. how do they decorate their own room?

His room’s actually one of barest, but he’s slowly building up his toy collection, but he also has one of those little plastic slides that he likes to go down. He also has a lot of his own artwork on the walls.

4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear?

Usually he wears jeans or overalls and a sweater, but in the summer when it gets hot he likes wearing summer dresses, especially ones that are swishy. He likes wearing long skirts in the spring or fall when it’s not cold but not super warm either.

5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends?

He doesn’t like wearing makeup because it makes him itchy, but he loves doing his nails with Venus or Percy whenever Percy comes over.

E: External Personality

1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality?

Yes for the most part. There’s a hidden salty part of his personality that comes out when he really does not like someone, but for the most part he’s a bubbly boy.

2. do they do things that conform to the norm?

There’s not really much of a norm given how secluded they all live, but compared to other children, he tends to be more fluid in everything from actions to dress.

3. do they follow trends or do their own thing?

He usually does his own thing. Because he’s been the only kid for a long time, he has to start his own child trends.

4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads?

There’s very few non-Freedom Vessel things he knows.

5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it outon their own?

The personality he displays for the most part is his honest one, so most people can figure out his personality right away. It takes a little while but people see that he has a hidden sass and mischievousness underneath that good little boy exterior.

F: Fun

1. what do they do for fun?

He really likes bowling with the kids or playing Nerf Guns with Castor and the snabies.

2. what is their ideal party?

Slumber party with his friends and family while they watch Disney movies and then he kicks their butts at bowling.

3. who would they have the most fun with?

Crumb is still his very best friend, but he’s getting close to Allura as his first non-family friend.

4. can they have fun while conforming to rules?

He’s a lawful good boy who has never broken a rule in his life. Except maybe training with knives. He’s broken that rule a bit.

5. do they go out a lot?

Nope. The first time he stepped off the ship since when he was rescued from Earth was Dryas. And everyone has been hesitant to let him out of their sights since.

G: Gorgeous

1. what is their most attractive external feature?

He has the cutest fucking baby nose and is a very short kid. He’s absolutely precious.

2. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

You know that he 110% cares about you and looks up to you and you never have to worry whether he’s faking his devotion to you.

3. what benefits come with being their friend?

You get the best, free health care and he will love you unconditionally even when no one else will.

4. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

He likes his intelligence and kindess, but hates that there’s not much he can contribute to the ship because he’s small. He also hates and doesn’t understand why he has such big gaps in memory and can’t remember stuff.

5. what parts of others do they envy?

He envies that he is the only child on the ship who is restricted from doing stuff (when he learned that Kalliste was going to Helios he asked if he could come with them but Luna said no because he was too recognizable).

H: Heat

1. do they rather a hot or cold room?

Cold. He loves wearing onesies and being buried under 7 blankets, and he can’t do that if it’s too hot.

2. do they prefer summer or winter?

Winter. Summer in New India got sweltering hot, and if his limbs get too hot they will flat out stop working and most likely burn him.

3. do they like the snow?

The few times he got to experience snow he loved it immensely. When he lived on Earth, he loved doing snowball fights and making snow angels.

4. do they have a favorite summer activity?

Making ice cream sundaes with Tam and Crumb.

5. do they have a favorite winter activity?

Snowball fights. It’s why he likes nerf guns so much.

I: In-the-closet

1. what is their sexuality?

He’s a little baby bi in the making.

2. have they ever questioned their sexuality?

He hasn’t met enough kids to establish a crush (as every kid he met eventually became his sibling or y’know, tried to kidnap and sell him to Genesis), but he knows that if the time is right, he will have a crush on someone.

3. have they ever questioned their gender?

No, he’s always been a bouncing baby boy. But in his presentation he tends to dress more fluidly in that he’ll wear overalls and a t-shirt one day, and a dress and painted nails the next.

4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT?

Absolutely, his family just wants him happy and safe over all else. Also both his parents are Bi so there’s not much to be not okay about.

5. how long would/did it take for them to come out?

He wouldn’t really come out just because growing up under a rainbow flag of a ship, coming out isn’t necessarily a requirement, you just say who or who you don’t want to kiss. 

J: Joy

1. what makes them happy?

Trains, being a help to the Freedom Vessel, nerf gun fights, Disney movies

2. who makes them happy?

Ciri, Tam, Crumb, Psyche, Castor, Allura, and Kalliste. His family and his very best friends.

3. are there any songs that bring them joy?

‘You’ll Be in My Heart’ from Tarzan.

4. are they happy often?

For the most part. He has some underlying sadness sometimes but most of the time he’s able to push that down and be happy.

5. what brings them the most joy in the world?

His favorite baby brother, Crumb.

K: Kill

1. have they ever thought about suicide?

No, he just wants to live in peace.

2. have they ever thought about homicide?

Absolutely not. The only reason he killed Manisha was because she was going to kill his family.

3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who?

Nobody. Ravi is already messed up from killing one person, 

4. who would miss them if they died?

Everyone on the Freedom Vessel and their cousin. But he thinks Crumb and Ciri would probably be the worst off.

5. who would be happy they died, anyone?

Genesis, Magdalena, Adrian probably.

L: Lemons

1. what is their favorite fruit?

Blueberries

2. what is their least favorite fruit?

Technically tomatoes are a fruit, so tomatoes. He doesn’t like skin and thinks its too squishy.

3. are there any foods they hate?

Carrots. They’re too crunchy and bland.

4. do they have any food intolerances?

Pumpkins.

5. what is their favorite food?

Pancakes, especially blueberry pancakes.

M: Maternal

1. would they want a daughter or a son?

Both. All. He’d love them all.

2. how many children do they want?

Probably 4. He doesn’t want anyone to feel alone like he did and wants his kids to be best friends.

3. would they be a good parent?

It’s like at least twenty years before he becomes a parent, but he’d be the most attentive, caring parent that reads voices in the stories and tucks his kids into bed.

4. what would they name a son? what would they name a daughter?

He would name his daughter after his birth mom Padma and would probably name his son after his big brother Castor.

5. would they adopt?

His favorite mom and dad adopted him, and he knows firsthand how many orphans of war there are.

N: Never Have I Ever

1. what would they never do?

Swear or lie to people. Or willingly hurt someone.

2. what have they never done that they want to do?

He still wants Castor to teach him to use a knife. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody with it but he likes playing pirates with Crumb and the snabies and wants to do knife tricks like pirates do.

3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do?

Tell lies (or swear)

4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done?

When he was first trying to get used to his limbs, he left the infirmary before Val told him he was ready and got until out the door when his legs stopped working and he fell. He was stuck on the ground for three hours just sobbing until Nivviah came down because she wanted to check on him. Needless to say, after that it as clear that everyone was a problem child on the ship and Ravi had 24/7 watch.

5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do?

Kill somebody.

O: Optimism

1. are they optimistic or pessimistic?

He’s very optimistic. About 90% is his actual optimistic nature and 10% is trying to be optimistic for his family and friends because he knows that they aren’t that optimistic about the future often.

2. are they openly optimistic, throwing it on others?

Absolutely. He is probably the only Freedom Vessel member who’s honestly hopeful about the future.

3. are they good at giving advice?

No one’s really came to Ravi for advice because he has a limited world experience, but his advice tends to fall on the optimist side of things. If you want advice that looks more on the positive side, come to Ravi.

4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them?

Usually it’s Crumb but usually he has to throw his own optimism on himself.

5. were they always optimistic?

Yeah, at least as far back as he can remember.

P: Personality

1. what is their best personality trait?

Caring

2. what is their worst personality trait?

Gullible

3. what of their personality do others love?

Castor loves his big heart, endless love for everyone, his determination to be helpful, his kindness, and secret mischievous side. Ciri loves everything single thing about him from the top of his head to the tip of his cyborg toes and everything inbetween. Particularly she loves his intelligence, sweetness, bravery, and loving and trusting nature.

4. what of their personality do others envy?

Everyone pretty much envies his endless optimism even as he got kidnapped. Castor envies Ravi’s innocence and cheerful personality and his ability to make anything he’s doing fun. Ciri envies his ability to trust easily.

5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities?

He doesn’t really like personalities that rely on pushing people away or being mean to people, especially non-Genesians to other non-Genesians. He knows that Genesis already treats people bad. Why do other people have to as well?

Q: Questions

1. do they ask for help?

Usually. He wants to do a good of a job as he can be, which is why he often asks for help when he can’t do something. It embarrasses him when he has to, but he knows that everyone needs help sometimes.

2. do they ask questions in class?

He’s the kid who sits in the front of class and raises his hand for every question.

3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable?

He’ll probably answer your questions even if it makes him uncomfortable, unless he desperately doesn’t want to answer it in which he’ll just shut down completely.

4. do they ask weird questions?

He tends to ask fairly normal questions unless he really wants to know something, then he’ll push.

5. are they curious?

He wants to know everything about the world and would do anything to get the knowledge he seeks. He’s a Ravenclaw through and through.

R: Rules

1. do they follow rules?

He’s a lawful good boy who follows every rule.

2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent?

He’d be strict in the sense that he wants his kids to do go but he’d give them freedom to just be children and run about.

3. have they ever been consequenced for breaking a rule?

I mean, he was consequenced in the sense that he literally got kidnapped, but not in punishment.

4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking?

He still mentally kicks himself for not listening to Ciri on Dryas and still trusting Magdalena.

5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous?

Let him play with his knife, he’s a growing boy. He got it for a reason.

S: Streets

1. are they street-smart?

He is still a fairly trusting kid who tends to take things at face value. He’s spent very little of his life being able to talk to the general public and has spent about half his life solely in the Freedom Vessel.

2. would they give money to someone on the streets?

Absolutely. If he ever went to a planet with people begging, he would try to help them anyway he could. Which would probably get him dragged into bad situations.

3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets?

Nope. He doesn’t usually like fighting and hasn’t had a chance to start any kind of fight.

4. has anything happened to them on the streets?

Absolutely. The two biggest scares of his life happened when someone came up to him on the street.

5. are they cautious when out?

Now he’s more cautious, but he also has like ten people ready to destroy the world if someone tries to stomp out Ravi’s light.

T: Truth

1. are they honest?

He’s pretty honest. If he doesn’t want to tell you something, he will just straight up not tell you. He’d never lie about anything. Though with his memory problems, there’s a lot he doesn’t say.

2. can they tell if someone is lying?

He’s got a +5 to insight, so he is pretty good at telling when people are bullshitting him, but he also likes to see the best in everyone so tends to push past his instincts and trust people.

3. is it obvious when they’re lying?

He doesn’t usually lie but it’s not super obvious when he’s lying. Since he never lies, people usually assume he’s always telling the truth.

4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about?

Nope, he’s an honest kid.

5. have they told truths that have been spread against their will?

There was the Dryas tapes when Ravi killed Manisha, but that part is kinda common knowledge.

U: Underdog

1. have they been bullied?

Yes, mostly by Adrian.

2. have they bullied anyone?

Nope, he is too good for that.

3. have they been physically attacked by a bully?

I mean, Adrian attacking him is 110% of the reasons why the party hates the pussy.

4. have they ever been doubted?

Luna rescued him just because Crumb led her to him, but she just expected it to be a child that they’d take of. When he finally got better enough to ask if he could work, Luna almost said no because she thought he wouldn’t be able to keep up and should just stick on being a kid.

5. have they surprised people with being good at something?

Absolutely no one expected a four year old to be this good at anatomy and medical knowledge. He may be a small child but he’s a prodigy at anything in the medical field.

V: Vomit

1. do they vomit often?

Nope, kid’s got a pretty good stomach.

2. do they get lots of stomach aches?

He really only gets stomach aches if he’s actually sick. He mostly gets head colds than

3. are they good at comforting someone ill?

He’s the ship’s doctor so he’s pretty good. When Castor was on his death bed while sick, he came and gave Castor chicken noodle soup and make him drink tea.

4. what do they like as far as comfort goes?

When Ravi is sick, you’ll know he’s sick because he’s the clingiest little shit that just wants to be carried everywhere and held. When Ravi’s sick, all the caretaking is given to Ciri since she can’t catch his germs.

5. do they burp, cough, or hiccup most when nauseous? when vomiting?

He hiccups a lot when nauseous or vomiting. Most of it is because he’s actually hurting, and the second half is because he doesn’t like vomiting so he starts crying.

W: Water

1. do they drink enough water?

He’s a good little boy who knows that you need water to stay healthy and hydrated.

2. have they learned to swim?

He knows how to swim, but only the bare basics. He’s too scared to put his face underwater. He learned when he first came to the ship and was able to use his bionic limbs.

3. do they like to swim?

He likes wading in at best and splashing around, but likes it more when his feet can be on the ground.

4. can they dive?

Nope. He’s one of those kids who tries to dive and just ends up in a weak jump.

5. can they swim without holding their nose?

Baby boy needs the whole scuba goggles to swim period.

X: Xylophone

1. what is their favorite genre of music?

He really loves Disney music or classical music. He likes listening to piano or harp as he goes to sleep and Disney music during the day.

2. do they have a favorite song?

‘Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)’ from Mary Poppins. He remembers his birth mom singing it to him when he was a baby. It’s one of the few things about his early childhood that he remembers.

3. do they have a favorite band/artist/singer?

Enya. She’s very peaceful when he’s trying to go to sleep, especially because he doesn’t like the feeling of falling asleep. Sometimes it feels like he’s being forced under for some reason.

4. can they sing well?

He has a really cute, high voice. He actually is really good at singing to Disney princesses.

5. can they rap?

He tries his best, but he always ends up out of breath.

Y: You

1. how old were you when you created them?

16. His powerpoint is dated July 2014.

2. what inspired you to create them?

I think Ravi’s story was one of the ones that started from a dream about a little boy with robotic arms and legs and had a little robot that followed him around.

3. were they different when they were first created?

He’s a lot more wholesome and less salty. He is now also a lot younger (his original form was 11 years old). All the salt got transferred to his big sister Sasha.

4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters?

I mean, one of my favorite things is well written child characters, so Ravi is a blast to play.

5. what’s your favorite thing about them?

He’s my good, smart little medic boy who just wants to help people. Also I’m just really glad that people love him because he used to be my obscure boy from a story about a Dystopian Steampunk India and now he’s everyone’s favorite brother (or son in Ciri’s case).

Z: Zebra

1. what’s their favorite animal?

His favorite animal is a bear just because it’s the species of his teddy bear and Winnie the Pooh.

2. do they like animals?

He’s a little scared of animals just because he hasn’t been near a whole lot of them, but he likes the ones that are on TV.

3. cats or dogs?

If you show him a tiny dog, he will probably die because it’s small and he’s small so he can’t protect it.

4. what’s their dream pet?

Anything soft like a bunny or guinea pig.

5. do they have any pets at the moment?

Nope, but he’s helping Nivviah take care of Noodle while Castor’s on Helios. He and Allura have a running joke of calling Noodle everything noodle related but not her name. Favorites include ‘Spaghetti’, ‘Fettucine Alfredo’, and ‘Linguini’.

[ted-hyung]

as a b1a4 supremacist, what do you think one should do to get to know them? i only recently kind of got into them because i didnt really know them until sandeul released his solo album

that’s CNU, btw, used to invent long hair before nuest ren or seventeen jeonghan.

also used to rock hipster glasses before it was cool. kang daniel the shoulder gangster? idk her. it’s CNU.

anyway.

where should i start? BUT a major note to take about B1A4 is they went from this:

(RIP FASHUN)

to this:

hallelujah. read more here.

listen, friend, i go way back with B1A4. i literally cried watching this subbed video lmaooo skip to 43:40.

it’s from MTV MATCH UP B1A4 X BLOCK B eps 8. rip me wyd. let’s talk about B1A4 and block b. they were the shits back then yo. 2011 was their debut year; two boy groups from unknown agencies tackling two different genres and images and MTV GOD BLESS MTV GAVE THEM A MATCHING VARIETY SHOW. you can watch B1A4 cuts here and you will see the legendary dread!zico tryna to win over gentle jinyoung-hyung and FAILED BIG TIME who’s crying with me.

block b will always hold a place in my heart. do you know who invented hep hap? it’s block b. their “new kids on the block”, “welcome to the block”, and “blockbuster” albums have no fault. none. but then they’re hep hap no more and i lost them.

B1A4 KOREAN DISCOGRAPHY + PERSONAL SONG REC, from latest to newest. i believe you can find the newest albums on SPOTIFY JFC why can’t day6.

LET’S FLY (2011): please listen to “only one” lmao. “only learned the bad things” was so, so, so sweet for my skinny freshman ass. i love it.

IT B1A4 (2011): lbr “beautiful target” was the best. watch them grow from you zoom zoom my heart like a rocket to CNU’s iconic everybody say la la. also “chu chu chu” was super chill. “fooool”? you’d find yourself singing along upon first listen.

IGNITION (2012): EVERYTHING IN THIS ALBUM BUT THE TITLE TRACK AKA MY HYUNG JUNG JINYOUNG’S FIRST TACKLE ON PRODUCING GEMS. also sandeul has a solo track here TITLED “CRUSH” GO FIND IT NOW.

IGNITION SPECIAL EDITION (2012): “baby goodnight” is so iconic i’m still side-eyeing newer idols who aren’t singing it to the camera while they’re preparing to go to sleep LMAOOOOOOOOO.

IN THE WIND (2012): yes they graced us BANA with 3 albums back in 2012. “TRIED TO WALK” HANDS DOWN ONE OF THEIR BEST SONGS. TOP 5. i’m the president of na honja ireoke opening line. i have a shrine for that line. the most impactful opening line of all songs, korean or not. amen. listen to all tracks please please. you’ll find the B1A4 distinct flavor on “what do you want to do”. like. go. now.

WHAT’S HAPPENING (2013): B1A4 wore fancy stuffs during this promotion. me ghosta. but DO YOU LIKE BALLAD? “good love” had me on the floor. then i read the translation and i died.

WHO AM I (2014): jesus lord and savior. this album. jesus f christ man THIS ALBUM. LISTEN TO EVERY SINGLE THING HERE PLEASE. “baby” further wow me about baro’s voice. “too much” WHICH IS SANDEUL + GONGCHAN’S DUET? fuck lmao we’re talking about heartbreak here and mine’s bleeding whenever i listen to “too much”. “DRUNK WITH MUSIC” tho. wow CNU-hyung. killed. this. concept. i can’t. you’re lying if your shoulders aren’t moving along and if your head isn’t nodding along. it’s THAT good. you’ll feel the swag. seriously.

SOLO DAY (2014): summer means “solo day”. period. it’s my summer jam. it should be YOURS. “drive” is so so so good. it has asphalt in the lyric. honestly do listen. also if you’re JYP stan do realize B1A4 had collaboration with min and suzy and in this album, sunmi. awesome.

SWEET GIRL (2015): oh my girl visual slash vocal slash handsome girl jiho is in the music video for the title track “sweet girl”. life’s good. in “wait” BARO IS SINGING I REPEAT BARO IS SINGING AND BANA prolly cried everywhere. and jinyoung wailing i can’t stop thinking about you girl everyday, everyday? LMAO BYE.

GOOD TIMING (2016): “a lie”, undoubtedly quenched BANA’s thirst after one whole year. have you watched “a lie” live on music shows? if the ‘touch my cheek tell me i’m not lying’ isn’t the best point of all dance point then idk what to trust. yes, i’m that supremacist LMAO. “crushing on you again” is so sweet, so very winter season love song aka B1A4’s very own color. they should be dubbed as winter season kings because their releases during fall/winter (in the wind, who am i, good timing) are the be(a)sts. “nightmare” paved the road for winner’s “really really” LMAO i’m joking. but not really. i mean baro and mino are practically brothers. “in dreams” sounds so fucking dreamy, like i said, totally winter season love song. “i’ll find you” makes me long for someone it shall inspire y’all. “together” is the one last song that leaves you wonder if these singing strangers are really worth our money and time and dedication and the answer is YES BECAUSE B1A4 RECORDED THIS SONG WITH KOREAN BANAS. jesus.

okay.

it’s july 2017. my bro baro is acting in a drama now. sandeul, your man, has collab with a starship kid. does it mean we’re going to have another winter season album? i’d say amen.

bonus: this is my fave pic of them.

if you’ve heard of it jinyoung is a composer. he’s well noted by other idols and important people in the industry lmao. he also acts. wow. i don’t follow girl groups, but LMAO THIS SONG? “AT THE SAME PLACE” MADE BY JINYOUNG HELPED B1A4 TO GET MORE RECOGNITION. this time i gotta thank mnet for the opportunity. and for the girls who were so sweet fangirling towards my hyung jung jinyoung.

listen to my ult oh my girl’s “one step two step” here and say yes that you can hear jinyoung’s magic there. i’ll just link to the BEST FANCAM EVER.

HERE’S THEM SINGING THE LEGENDARY SONG THEMSELVES:

AND JINYOUNG COMPOSED THE NEWEST GIRL GROUP BOP “DEEP BLUE EYES” wow my hyung shall be crowned as THE PRINCE OF GIRL GROUP BOPS. like.

i cry a lot. but promise this is the last time. i cried watching sandeul’s music video for his solo debut “stay as you are” but y kno it already. help my bro reach 1 million views before a year please.

fun fact: been with them since 2011. never got into shipping business, just here purely for the music and the people. they’re like friends that i’ve known for a long time; we don’t necessarily stay in touch but i always think of them fondly, y feel? i find new friends as i get older every year, yet i’ll always be the first to congratulate them if they reach another milestone in their respective lives y kno? moral of this story: don’t ship for a long lasting stanning TROOLOLOLOLLOLOLO.

this is comprehensive.

i hope i helped.

everyone please have a good weekend.

[imm-blog1]

4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3

4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3 (also included at bottom is session 1) [ To see the rest of this, if it gets cut off, go to hearingtheword2.posterous.com/41211-notes-from-hip-hop-su… ] HIP-hop session #3 of 3 (B. Santelli leading) : [he’s reviewing some books as I arrive] …Tricia rose, hop hop wars..I took her place at rutgers….another..written colloquial….book..new history of.."big payback"…also nelson George..fellow journalist..jersey,,opinionated, but well-written.I was a rollng stone writer.. ‘500 greatest albums"..not many hip hop..very white..mtv did a series on greatest hop hop..wanted to go over greatest emcees. 10) ll cool j, 9 eminem, 8) ice cube 7) big daddy kane 6) krx-1 5) nas 4) rakim (william griffin, aka ra) 3) notorious b.I.g, aka biggie, 2) tupac 1) jayzee [conversation]..rock roll hall fame..they put us rolling stone writers..together..sppsd to pick 500..sppsd to be fun, but..by wed we were @ eachothers throats..who’s missing? No females. Lauren hill? ..[what about lil wayne?] …& the albums? 10) pub enemy, nation of millions 9) tupac 8) 7) nwa 6)jayzee 5)run dmc raising hell 4) biggie, ready to die, 3). ..2)? 1)paid in full (eric b. & rakim [spare, stripped down..rhyming, flawless,..his fav, raising hell ..6 of 10 from gangsta rap era ..[has this guy abandoned anglos..has he caved? Or is he speaking to his primary audience ? Only a handful of whites in the room of maybe 50]…hip hop orig was new york centric..like 50’s in memphis & orleans..but now things changing..begin. here in L.A. large af am pop in late 80’s..lot of kids rapping , deejaying..public enemy (long island), ..why so amazing..first class..am bl roots of hip hop ..we mentioned gil scott herron..changing..g.master flash.. some dies..pub enemy brings it back.chuck d. Knows his …pub enemy makes a political mess. ..from a white perspective..bob dylan…Fear of a black planet..nation of millions..huge..brought over to white…white intells..get more intrsted..then nwa and tupac..gangsta rap..west coast..using what pub enemy doing back east..more outrageous & angry than pub enemy.. …What we hear..chuck D….at rock of fame..had him come & lecture ..he said it was a refl of blues..language previously couched..in blues..now able to scream it..listen to tupac, … in harlem..best pedigree..black panther..he was deep into it..early life a mess..what tupac … shakur.this man had a..he was a 5 tool player….genuine anger..he was intelligent..bitter but intelligent..most important..listen to cadence of words..anyone can rhyme..but cadence…..Eminem..too many words..don’t apprec his stuff as much..tupac best ever..right in middle..perfect storm..east west..1990’s..mid 90’s..bitter rivalry east v west ..ironic …and tupac …then —– killed..neither murder solved..//Why a feud ? East jealous? Tupac..death row l.a..; bad boy east..so 2 diff schools forming.. Then puff daddy..sean combs (aka diddy, p diddy, puff daddy, p daddy) .west… tupac….2 "m words" .1) MEDIA..hip hop mags..source..vibe..’88 mtv raps ..2) MONEY ..early 90’s..can make money..on radio…mtv..also white element..beastie boys..middle class white kids in suburbs.. …Bold personalities..incendiary..tupac murdered..later biggie (notorious B.I.G, Real name Christopher Wallace, aka biggie smalls) killed..media gets hold of it ..society says its out of control….when Biggie dies..album..double platinum.. Also the tree..acid jazz, socially conscious hip hop, funk jazz, trip hop, some from england ..england didn’t embrace hip hop at first ….Arrested development..? Hip hop? Some music lost relevancy..blues, big band ..glenn miller..ragtime..some become "historical"..mid-90’s..hip hop not dying, but branching out..moody blues..I hated it…but difference between hating versus respecting [I actually liked moody blues & saw them @ hollywood bowl]…Who else ? Outcasts, wootang, lords of underground, onyx,.[several others shouted out] .hip hop 90’s taking over…Now beyond nyc & LA..master P…new orleans..tree exploding..geographic connections..diff sound..good businessman..he also played b-ball..also atlanta…in south, but northern sensib.,,,also houston..health..multi-billion $ business..mainstreaming of hip hop,,,gangsta rap dies out…invention, re-invention…..also, rise of detroit..eminem..major figure…brings detroit to forefront..making detroit hip..and then kid rock ..real..metal..fringe genres..coming together w/ hop hop..limp biscit, korn,…Today? Hip hop becoming irrelevant? ..making lots of money..stop changing..less experimentation..less bold, ..fashion from hip hop …u know u become mainstream when grammy recognizes u..heresy for me to say but….Recording academy..being in biz..producer, writer, ….[Plays vid eminem & elton jon..given hip hop’s homophobic culture..this was seminal] [ was it a seminal moment as the beginning of the END of hip-hop, as it lost its verve?] ..2006 nas comes out saying hip hop dead..didn’t want to stay stuck in rut…had nas here….rock hall of fame brings in hip hop, grammy awards..world knows hip hop …After we did whitehouse thing..state dept..calls..cultural diplomacy..obama revived it.. they asked me to organize hop hop to go to muslim countries.[hip hop to muslim countries as a form of diplomacy ?! Please explain how that would appease muslims or appeal to muslims who already think of America as godless] .as did armstrong & ellington 50 yrs ago …I couldn’t run it….Where is hop hop now ? Ring tone..commercialize..sound same..its on life support now..homogenized..mentions nicky menaj opening for britney spears in upcoming tour..360 degrees ..piracy..economy ….Country music still buys cd’s ..loyalty..not download..not w/ hip hop….need audience with means to support act ..when economy of art form goes away..trouble ..younger gen doesn’t feel the concept of spportin.."////BELOW are the NOTES from SESSION 1 of 3 (I missed session 2 ) ——————————–

3/29/11 NOTES FROM HIP-HOP SURVEY COURSE (1 of 3) taught by Bob @ GM: "…learn more abt music forums….like hip hop..whats a middle age white guy teaching hip hop..I’m a musical historian…af am music my specialty..not hip hop.this class not like the elvis class.this is a survey course..3 periods as an overview..will have other courses..hip hop america’s pop music now last quarter century..its a survey class..people who live this culture..if u want to add, embellish..can never learn too much..my expertise. Af am music..also reggae..after hip hop comes bob marley exhibit..a hip hop museum ready to launch..in bronx..I’m on board…maybe russel simmons on board..anybody see him here a few weeks ago….others coming chris blackwell, ..pbs special..kate..@ whitehouse..kate did this exhibit..don’t need to agree..its interpretive..subjectivity..otherwise just read in book ..used to teach @ rutgers..this is not academia..try to do this in colloquial way..not preach to u..meant to be entertaining..some here b/c I asked u to come..I didn’t come quickly to hip hop..even tho I was there in the early 70’s…think of 20th century..america’s century..come to age as superpower..after fall of comm ..also musically, no country can touch what we have given to the world musically in 20th century..separate bl & wh culture..look @ af am contribs..as to amt..# of new forms..brilliant artists..overall impact.entire world..not all clear cut..jazz black music form..but dig down.others contrib too ..but in general..louis armstrong et al..blues blues jazz, soul, funk, r & b, disco, hip hop, bee bop swing, cool, fusion,,of all these forms..all given due..endorsed exported..except hip hop until now…revol music..challenges..polit..most recent..hasn’t gotten its due.celeb gospel blues…maybe too controversial to get credit..still…what made it so..give & take of african cult..also anglo irish..also racism..extra tension..in nutshell..bl & wh celbr..where r we now..first time..af ams bouncing …haven’t had major music..lately..last was grunge..late 80’s, 90’s..music slowed down ?ess imp..25% decrease in concert att…here to ..soul music..motown..also…and atlantic..golden age..also rock roll..then 1970’s..chronolog..musically ’63 to ’73..that’s the 60’s music era..hip hop..not 60’s ..bronx..how go from soul ..then..to funk…I don’t know re hip hop in ’73 ..have to wait 6 years..before recorded artifact..rappers delight ..sugar hill gang..why in this ? .69 71 motown losing lustre..stevie wonder..migrated..motown leaves detroit comes here..but not like it used to be..sly & family stone..loses sensib as..couple key bands & artists..2 huge..gil scott herron ..last poets..black..music…."when revol comes.."..gangsta rap..not on radio..last poets..many blacks didn’t even know of this music..marvin gaye..more known..cnsdrd greatest of all times..70-73 ..clip.."far too many of u dying.."…[red hat]..also "sounds of philadelphia"..the oj’s..signed in cleve but rcrded in phillie.."love train" ….revolution vs love..this is backdrop to bronx ..no q..rock surfaces memphis ..why hip hop fr bronx..music to be created & sustained..not just artist but audience..in bronx..it was like beirut or baghdad..suffered incredibly..ny in bad condition..bronx pushed aside..gangs ..drugs..south bronx..maybe mother cabrini projrcts chicago..maybe south l.a….become so isolated..create in a vacum w/o outside interference or ack..seattle..grunge..a seam..pearl jam, nirvana..already formed b/f world knew..a lot carribeans settled nyc ..jamaicans..brooklyn..1962 jamaica indep..many got out..s. bronx…late 60’s..kid campbell..clive ..from jamaica..brings..reggae..sound systems..everything outdoors ..disc jockey….toast over dub plates..jamaicans come to usa with this..clive campbell..longs for jamaica..wonders what he’s doing in bronx..sound system..he didn’t know he was creating history…invit..come to dj cool hercs party set up jamaica style..earliest hip hop…rap..part of af am cult..verbal battles..here at herks party..af ams and jamaicans together..’73..sudden concept of spinning records..unique way, art form..74 75..another frm..also hispanic & gay..disco..gets no respect…but it was important..w/o disco no m. Jackson, no usher..in manhattan..records..disc spun..if white grate dead, almond bros,..underground movement, black hispanic gay..dance again..mixing..never leave dance floor..77 sat night fever..mst imp of all time..j. travolta..exported disco cult..drugs..all this happ.. bee gees..trammpps…burn baby burn..disco inferno..red & white outfits..early hip hop would borrow from.some day will do disco shoe exhibit….or rush..sex pistols.springsteen..u had to select what u would embrace….people dressed their music..

Then bob marley..new sensib..lively up yourself..all this happening..rappers delight..sugarhill gang….soul train on tv..imp for black..this was seminal..just happened to catch it on camera..not the best

Three main entities..curtis blow..then up to run dmc ..hip hop is developing a consc style.that will explode…grand wizard theatre..scratching..then grand master flash. Popularized it..then .barbada (?)..flash a seminal giant..

Dj & mc..back then dj..was the guy..age of mc in future..dancing why they’re spinning records..bee boy bee girl..bboy break dancing..some of best break dancers were latino ..

Tagging..grafitti..becomes part..cey dams..tagging did a piece here ..been dodging cops for 3 decades…there’s a f you mentality in bronx..didn’t want to be part of discos..taggers..socs & psys studied.. I was in zurich..most expensive place in world..cab..graffitti wall..

[He periodically makes some of his prejudices obvious..re "conservative zurich"..wouldn’t apprec it in des moines iowa.."no offense to des moines"..let’s "rock n roll"..(it was a term for sexual icourse)..he’s talking to white christians….jazz also fr black culture ..means sex icourse.."

Posted by VANDERKOK on 2011-04-14 00:16:15

Tagged: , curtis blow , run dmc , grand master flash , grand wizard theatre , tagging , graffiti , nas , black planet , ll cool j , eminem , big daddy kane , mtv , krx-1 , public enemy , rakim , gangsta rap , diddy , puff daddy , p diddy , sean combs , arrested development , outcasts , wootang , nwa , shakur , tupac , ice cube , beastie boys , lords of underground , jayzee , lil wayne , santelli , grammy moody blues , bronx , russel simmons , sugarhill gang , last poets , marvin gaye , ojays , clive campbell , dj cool herc , saturday night fever , travolta , disco , bee gees , trampps , disco inferno , burn baby burn

The post 4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3 appeared first on Good Info.

[durenjtmusings]

The Great SPN Meta Scavenger Hunt: Round 2  - The Exclamatories, Expletives and Key Words/Phrases Listicle

(or TL;DR - “Suck as it may, our perky nipples are defcon screwed with signs of douchery, so shut your cakehole, you whackjob, before I make your posh spice ass have a code brown moment and use you for an angel condom. Asshat.”)

[No abstract here because writing them is hard and f*ck that sh*t it is 4 am.]

Introduction:

Thanks to @elizabethrobertajones​ for kickstarting my “SPN Character Voice Database” project with this challenge. The verbal creativity and qualities of each character’s “voice’ has always been one of the things that has greatly entertained me about Supernatural. So, in attempting to write SPN fanfic, I am pretty obsessed about making character’s dialogue *sound* right. @chiisana-sukima​  and I were chatting recently about our struggles to 'write’ the boys swearing convincingly (I make then swear lamely and she has to take swears out) and BOTH of us are struggling with making Sam swear right (tip – turns out, that’s because he doesn’t very much). [I think this is the presenting problem or sorta the research question, but again, 4 am and not getting paid so ;P]

In the spirit of scientific investigation, I have begun to address this problem in a typically “academic” way – I collected and analyzed unique character language patterns data for all 12 of the initial SPN episodes (using Excel and everything). Analysis consisted of *highly subjective* qualitative and quantitative methodologies using the rubric below (thanks to @k-vichan​ for the rubric framework from their “Dean the Action Hero” entry)

Review of Existing Research:

As far as I know – this research is unique in fandom – if someone has already done this, PLEASE let me know so I can do something ELSE with my time.

Definitions of Key Terms:

Exclamatory – ‘throw-away’ words which, if removed from the sentence, have no real effect – they are there for punctuation, character flavor, etc. and often start or end a sentence. Includes ‘pet words’ for people like son, boy, douche, Giraffe, etc. For my purposes, I did NOT count ah, well, alright or OK, because EVERYONE USES THEM ALL THE TIME in this show. Some words counted in this category ONLY if they were NOT used ‘correctly’ in context – examples (correct usage in brackets):  Hell (the place), God (the person/entity), hey (to get you to turn around), c’mon (to get you to come with someone) and man (to indicate a male person).

Expletive – swears, substitute swears and blasphemes (technically all exclamatories, but in a class by themselves). These were casually assigned ‘strength’ by how much I got in trouble for saying them when a kid (words like friggin’ were counted for strength as if they were the swear they replaced). We were not a religious family so blasphemes were all counted as lamer than more scatological swears.

Key Words and Phrases – Crack stuff said by characters that ‘define their voice’ – things that make them uniquely them. Fun phrases and sayings. Includes innocuous stuff like “Seriously?”, “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” and chick. Sometimes a colloquialism was counted, like ‘ain’t been’ because it seemed unique to the character. NOTE: Cas is a special case here – his entries tended to be overly formal words no one else ever really says OR cases where he starts to use human idioms at ALL.

Method:

Re-watched all initial episodes over the course of 5 days and recorded all entries in the above 3 categories by character, with extras grouped as a block. Then grouped all recurring characters of note in a “friends and family” group for easier analysis, creating 4 main groups: Dean, Sam, F&F and Xtras. These four groups were then analyzed in the following categories and assigned scores by one completely biased reviewer.

Quantity - actual # of items recorded across ALL characters. Repetitions were counted individually.

Variety - (scale of 1-5) measures how unique and interesting items are for this episode, as well as ‘strength’ of expletives.

Originality - 5 points per item that made me chuckle or raised my eyebrow the 1st time I watched the episode

Sam vs Dean - % of Sam items to Dean items as an integer. Sam hardly swears, so we want to give him lots of credit for when he DOES do so. This also serves as a measure of ‘balance’ in verbal creativity for the episode.

Family & Friends - (scale of 1-5) QVO (see above) across other core characters (+1 bonus point if Cas had ANY)

Xtras - (scale of 0-5) QVO across any Xtras

Impress me – 5 points per character whose performance REALLY stood out to me (purely subjective, don’t argue with the researcher)

Controlling for Bias: @chiisana-sukima and I also discussed how the writer for each episode had a lot to do with language, so we’ve included that data in the results. Other items that may affect the data include a) how much silence there was built into the script, b) how MANY characters appeared in the episode, and c) how plot affected the character (Demon!Dean, Demon!Bobby, Leviathan!Cas, dead-hallucination Bobby-in-Sam’s-head, etc.). For my purposes, if they LOOKED and tried to ACT like the character, their words were categorized for that character. But, essentially, I didn’t sweat this stuff and did whatever I wanted, because no one is paying me, so there.

Results:

SO – no surprise this is stupidly long and full of illustrative screencaps. Read below the cut for the Fun stuff! {Oh, and pre-emptively: “Screw you, my math is perfect.”}

1.1 Pilot (Kripke)

Dean: Whoa; easy tiger, are you kidding me?; hell, gig, dude, not bad, scored (got); do some digging (research), cakehole, check it out, c'mon, I betcha, here's the deal; dude, took a swan dive, "what the...", I'm super, chick, what a bitch (she is), I don't get it, no chick flick moments, bitch, hey man, dude, five-o, take off, crap, boobs, nice work (well done), saved your ass, screwed up, shag ass, whatever, helluva,

Sam: crap, hell, hey, c'mon, the damn thing, working overtime on a Millertime shift; man, dean; jim, jack and jose; I swear, man; kinda, hey, genius (deprecating), hey, jerk, hell, we got work to do.

F&F: John –hell, (sports reference) ; Mary - oh my God

Xtras: hell, smartass, hell, Hell

Quantity – 60    

Variety – 4    

Originality – 20  [cakehole; no chick flick moments; working overtime on a Millertime shift; jim, jack and jose]

Sam vs Dean – 18/35  or 51

Family & Friends – 1

Xtras – 1

Impress me – 10 [Dean, of course, made a strong first impression in this pilot episode, but comparatively this is one of Sam’s strongest episodes as well.]

          Total = 142

2.1 In My Time of Dying (Kripke)

Dean: man, c'mon, gimme, thank god, screw you, c'mon, lay some mojo on me, c'mon, what the hell kinda, hey, frickin', man, dude, full on Swazy'd that mother. What the…, get the hell away, now what?, sorta, you gotta be kiddin' me, god, I'll be damned, damn straight, I'm screwed, son of a bitch (angry), chick, far too laid back, hell, cut me a break, I'll pass, not into (x) chicks, what the hell, ditch it,  c'mon, c'mon,

Sam: I swear to god, you wanna bet, lay some mojo on, thumbs up our asses, I got it covered, hey, aw man, pissed (mad), what's going on?, go to hell,  hey, man, hey, c'mon, man,

F&F: John - our only card, meet up with, hey, pick it up (for me), hey, dude, buttin' heads, I seen; Bobby – you got it (yes), damn; Tessa - freaked, I'm dealing, flipped out; YED - get the hell out

Xtras: oh my god

Quantity –   64  

Variety –    2.5  

Originality –  5 [full on Swazy'd that mother]

Sam vs Dean – 15/34  or 44

Family & Friends – 2

Xtras – 0

Impress me – 0  [Really kinda banal, noting major happened verbally in this episode. Dean was lively, but not really inventive.]

         Total = 117.5

3.1 The Magnificent Seven (Kripke)

Dean: freaky, weirdo, bupkiss, drivin' me crazy, I aint sweatin' it, get this, spiffy, whackjob, stupidx3 (in one sentence), showtime!, sit here with our junk in our hands, send [him] packing, hell warmed over, poor bastards, chick, whatever it takes to get you through the night, goose chase, welch out of it, so help me god, tuff, whatever, sons of bitches, raise hell,

Sam: ah, god; beats me, man, my god, what the hell, good bet, stark raving psycho, bustin' my ass,  

F&F: Bobby - (double negative), pack it up, damn it, half-cocked, this joker, son (at Dean),

Xtras: "Hell's Bells", Hell, bastards, damn fools, man, rat's ass, piss poor, damn

Quantity –   47 

Variety –    3 [very little repetition, several new words by several characters]

Originality – 15  [whackjob, sit here with our junk in our hands, stark raving psycho]

Sam vs Dean – 8/25  or 32

Family & Friends – 1

Xtras – 2 [more quantity and variety than previously]

Impress me –  0 [ solid performances, but no one really stood out]

          Total = 100

4.1 Lazarus Rising (Kripke)

Dean: Preachin' to the choir, dammit, bad mojo, some [one's] bitch boy, badass, hell yes, damn,  douche her up, bit it (die), freaky, weirdo, crap, I'm game, bring it,  work him over, perky nipples, cut me loose (from Hell), tell you squat, "don't come crawling to me when they show up on your doorstep with vaseline and a firehose", whatever had the juice to, bad mofo, peachy, (serious) as a heart attack, bigtime [knife], get caught with pants down, helluva, "ring the dinner bell" (call up bad guy), get the hell out, I'm not buying (it - belief),

Sam: hell, they booked up here, thank god, what the hell's goin' on, hell,

F&F: Bobby - dead set on it, took off, what in the hell, aint been, sticky question, damn thing (2 x), kid (at Sam), you can't be serious; Pamela - Grumpy (at Sam); ruby: getting pretty slick

Xtras: damn, gotah Hell

 Quantity – 47    

Variety –   4 [Dean’s range alone here pulls this up from a 3]  

Originality – 20  [douche her up ; perky nipples; don't come crawling to me … vaseline and a firehose;  Grumpy]

Sam vs Dean – 5/29  or 17

Family & Friends – 2.5 [about avg quantity and variety]

Xtras – 1 [pretty lame]

Impress me – 5 [Dean really lit this episode up – back from the dead and spittin’ words!]

          Total = 96.5

5.1 Sympathy for the Devil (Kripke)

Dean:  What the hell, keep our heads down, whatever, hey, stupid bastard, asshat, sons of bitches, cram it with walnuts, ugly; two-faced douche, jack squat, you dicks, son of a bitch, hey, bitch blood, yeah, right wavy gravy; thank god, angel condom (vessel), son of a bitch, eat me, big dicks, what the hell, screw him, screw [them], crap (adj), give 'em hell, crap, a snowball's chance, hell, man,

Sam:  Jeeze, hey, ass, meatsuit (posessed human), hey,

F&F: Bobby - Romeo (at Sam), ass, kid (at Sam), damn, snot-nosed son of a bitch, kick your friggin' ass, we're boned, nine kinds of crazy, boy x2 (at Dean and at Sam), damn (adj); Chuck - x the crap out of him, oh God; oh crap, sucks ass; Nick (pre-Luci) - man, why the hell; Meg (dark) - pain in the ass; Zachariah - Chucklehead, screwing around

Xtras: holy crap

Quantity –  55  

Variety –   4 [nice range from both Dean and F&F]  

Originality – 25  [asshat; cram it with walnuts, right wavy gravy, angel condom, nine kinds of crazy]

Sam vs Dean – 5/30  or 17

Family & Friends – 4 [nice quantity and variety, with some originality and group participation as well]

Xtras – 0 [boring really]

Impress me – 15  [Dean, of course, stood out again, but also this was a standout episode for Bobby, and Chuck because like 50% of his total episode lines counted]

         Total = 110

6.1 Exile on Main Street (Gamble)

Dean: crap (adj), chicks, dig (like), man, freakin', how the hell, [?] what the hell, c'mon x2, you gotta be kidding me, god knows why, sue me, damn, sons of bitches, stick my neck out, whatever, you bet,

Sam: Hey, crap, go gunnin' for (hunt), that's nasty,

F&F:   Bobby - dammit, mi casa es su casa, damn  

Xtras: thank god, what the hell, my god, shook loose, helluva, oh my god, you son of a bitch

Quantity –   30  

Variety –  2 [softer curses, common, some repetition – generally blah]    

Originality –  0 [not an danged thing new]

Sam vs Dean – 4/16  or 25

Family & Friends – 1 [only Bobby and lame showing]

Xtras – 3 [Better quantity than everyone but Dean, decent quality]

Impress me –  0 [for obvious reasons]

          Total = 61

 7.1 Meet the New Boss (Gamble)

Dean: this is nuts, c'mon x2, ah well; stick your neck out, figure it out, off the deep end, pissed, pray to god, kicked in the daddy pills, scuzzy, piece of…, thingy, hear us out, (X) is our bitch, both of you put your junk away, really?, crap, piehole, out of the cards, hey x2,

Sam: I guess (yes), seriously?, hey, friggin', crap, hey,  

F&F:  Bobby - diddly, c'mon, kid (Sam), sport (Sam), son of a bitch, Jenga (eureka); Cas - genitals, cannot abide, atone, unpleasant; Crowley - bollocks, jig is up, bend them right over, come on, giraffe (at Sam), mash us like peas; Death - you're joking, shut up; Lucifer - long time no spooning, right on, yank the wool off of your eyes

Xtras: heck, oh my god,

 Quantity –  49  

Variety –      3  [pulled up by some Dean inventiveness and the variety in F&F]

Originality – 10  [kicked in the daddy pills; long time no spooning ]

Sam vs Dean – 6/20 or 30

Family & Friends – 4 +1 [more than DEAN! And. Of course, Crowley’s imaginativeness, And Cas HAD some!]]

Xtras – 0 [Frickin’ BOring]

Impress me – 0  [Crowley was a near thing, but not really]

          Total = 97

8.1 We Need to Talk About Kevin (Carver)

Dean: you son of a bitch, you bastard, keep your nose clean, dammit, my ass, things got hairy towards the end, in the wind, turned tail on, knee deep in god's armpit, bully for you, damn, no signs of douchery, So what? You dropped your peanut butter in her chocolate?; 31 flavors of bottom-dwelling nasties, dental apocalypse (vamp), lookin' for a soul train, hey, wow, come sniffing around, I got bupkiss, sweet mother of god, come again?, wipe the slate clean, bastard, Spanky, by a long shot, jackass, hitting the head, helluva lot, beat a dead horse,

Sam: what the.., frickin', right, I did not have a roadmap (no clue), hey, throw a bitchfit, check this out, dude, it sucks, might suck, what the hell,

F&F: Crowley - Heavens no, sky's the limit, throw me a bone, hullo boys, moose (Sam), last time we danced (met), chop chop (hurry), meatsuit; Benny - what the hell, jackass, hump my soul (carry), howya holdin'up?,  keep your nose clean; Kevin - hell, eat me x2, what the hell,

Xtras: dude, bitch, dumbass

Quantity –    62

Variety –      5 [avg to strong performances from ALL involved, even the xtras]

Originality –  25 [knee deep in god's armpit; no signs of douchery; 31 flavors of bottom-dwelling nasties, dental apocalypse; hump my soul]

Sam vs Dean – 11/31  or 35

Family & Friends – 4 [good quantity variety and strength.]

Xtras – 1 [pretty basic]

Impress me – 10 [Dean, absolutely on this one; & Kevin – for eat me x2 said with absolute conviction]

          Total = 142

9.1 I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here (Carver)

Dean: whatever the hell, pissed at, we'll work it out, man, screw it, with ears on (listening), jimmied ourselves out, man, all due respect, don't be a pouter (speak up), son of a bitch, what the hell, hey, pissed, what the hell, dammit, whoa, give a damn, bite me, what the hell, you kidding me?, no way in hell, what the hell, dammit, dudn't mean squat, hell, hell no, angelic pacemaker, whoa, handsy, hell,

Sam: seriously? friggin' crapfest, shuttup (no/negative), the thing is, I bet you get off on this, what the hell, crap, we got work to do

F&F: Bobby - hell yes, you didn't do jack, suck as that may, idjits, basackwards crazy, son (Sam) x2; Cas – devote; Death - not my bag;

Xtras: what the hell x2

Quantity – 51    

Variety –  3 [lotta repetitive hell in this one, most not terribly strong, either]    

Originality –  15  [angelic pacemaker; friggin' crapfest; suck as that may]

Sam vs Dean – 9/31  or 29

Family & Friends – 3 [on the strength of Bobby alone, really]

Xtras – 0 [dull, dull, dull]

Impress me – 5 [Bobby (or Sam, however you want to think about it) for a dead guy with a small part, he was pretty verbally lively]

         Total = 106

10.1 Black (Carver)

Dean: oops, bitch, douche, you sold me out, you all suck, two-bit skank, sure as hell, knock yourself out, whatever jam he's in, damn sure,

Sam: you got it (yes), get this, jumped the gun, kick his butt, son of a bitch, meatsuit, what the hell, look buddy, turn tail, army recruiting ad that spit you out

F&F: Cas - I'm sensing awkardness, like a million dollars, put up much of a fight?; Crowley - you're budgin' it, moose x3, what's eating you up, out of your depth, what tickles me, what makes you lose your chickens, good luck with that, demon chum, does the tin man have a sheet metal willie?, fetid petri dish of broken dreams and beer, out with the club circuit and in with the stadium tour, my bad, midwifing you back to life; Cole - chicken wing (arm in sling), ass over teakettle, hurt like son of a bitch, I'm karma,

Xtras: eat me, jackass, douche, code brown moment, your funeral, screwed up

Quantity –  58

Variety –      4.5 [only because I’d like to see the variety more balanced among characters]

Originality –  25  [army recruiting ad that spit you out; what makes you lose your chickens; does the tin man have a sheet metal willie?; fetid petri dish of broken dreams and beer, code brown moment]

Sam vs Dean – 10/10  or 100

Family & Friends – 5+1  [Crowley, oh dear lord, was masterful, plus Cole was fun too. And Cas HAD some!]

Xtras – 4 [the Gas and Sip counter guy Rocked]

Impress me – 15 [Crowley OMG; the Gas and Sip counter guy xtra OMG, Sam – for EQUALING Demon!Dean in verbal skills this episode]

         Total = 212.5

11.1 Out of the Darkness and into the Fire (Carver)

Dean: What the hell, easy buddy, stay cool, heyx3, is this like a Magic Mike moment?, whoa, take it easy, everybody goes '28 days later'?, hell, like a sunnofa bitch, dudn't it, sumpin' straight, untenable, bite us in the ass, horse sense, we broke it we bought it, where the hell, defcon screwed, shove x up his ass, hell yes, farting sawdust, frickin', no way, c'mon x2, godspeed (good luck), screwy, kick her ass,

Sam: seriously? we know jack, you were on a roll, these things have a shelf life, hey, our crap, only half of the bumper sticker, hey, sons of bitches

F&F: Cas – transgressions; Crowley - you excrement, old school it is, daddy's home;

Xtras:  freaking out

Quantity –  43

Variety –    4 [actually quite a creative episode, verbally, with little repetition and not a lot of boring exclamations]  

Originality – 30  [is this like a Magic Mike moment; everybody goes '28 days later'; untenable;  defcon screwed ; farting sawdust ; only half of the bumper sticker]

Sam vs Dean – 9/29  or 31

Family & Friends – 1+1 [Because Cas]

Xtras – 0  [I mean, really]

Impress me – 5 [Dean kicked it for me this episode]

         Total = 115

12.1 Keep Calm and Carry On (Dabb)

Dean: flat on his ass, be pissed (mad), c'mon, new duds, whoa x7, hell yeah, what’s his face, bitch, (freak),

Sam: screw you, accent in a pantsuit, screw you, Screw.You., go to hell, screw you

F&F:  Mary - come again?,  sweetheart,

Xtras: Holy Mother…, hold up (wait), no way, were a bitch, chick, psycho, fricking, (demons): busted bitch, dude, gross,  posh spice ass

Quantity – 24

Variety –  3 [and not a 2 purely due to the xtras]    

Originality –  10 [accent in a pantsuit, posh spice ass]

Sam vs Dean – 6/15  or 40

Family & Friends – 1 [and not a 0 only because the way Mary says sweetheart to Baby melts me]

Xtras – 4 [good solid showing here]

Impress me – 10  [Sam – because, well Duh, Screw. You.  And the xtras]

          Total = 92

Conclusions:

In general, it looks like writers wanted to keep to at LEAST above 100 on the “@Durenjtmusings Verbal Inventiveness Rubric” for decent verbal variety in a script. Both Carver and Kripke were pretty good at this. Dabb should take note.

Ranking of episodes:

Worst - 6.1 Gamble – 61  (note that both Gamble’s scores were low – not judging, just holding it up for ridicule)

12.1 Dabb - 92

4.1 Kripke - 96.5

7.1 Gamble - 97

3.1 Kripke - 100

9.1 Carver - 106

5.1 Kripke - 110

11.1 Carver - 115

2.1 Kripke - 117.5

8.1 Carver & 1.1 Kripke – 142  (Both good showings, although I like 8.1 better, personally.)

Best - 10.1 Carver - 212.5 (Aaaaannd, Crowley wins this episode the trophy – who is surprised? Plus someone hire that Gas and Sip counter guy - comedy timing gold. Also, of note, Demon!Dean talked less, and less creatively -  letting his sneering and violence say everything for him, evidently. Because of this, however, Sam EQUALLED Dean for verbal inventiveness this episode, for perfect brother balance. Yea for the Mark.)

Bonus: Results Presented Chronologically – in case you care:

1.1 Kripke - 142

2.1 Kripke - 117.5

3.1 Kripke - 100

4.1 Kripke - 96.5

5.1 Kripke - 110

6.1 Gamble - 61

7.1 Gamble - 97

8.1 Carver - 142

9.1 Carver - 106

10.1 Carver - 212.5

11.1 Carver - 115

12.1 Dabb - 92

Final Thoughts: I have begun to note a number of fun cross-episode meta things – like Sam tends to echo expletives that someone else has already said in an episode, Angels are REALLY boring verbally except for Zachariah, and Dean is way more verbally creative when he’s just come back from exile (hell, purgatory, etc.) – but I’m holding on to this until I have more data on the 250+ episodes I have left to analyze.

Extra Credit for the Obsessed Experts: Go back over JUST Dean’s collected words and see how much of the episode you can visualize from his verbal creativeness alone.

Also - this was fun and I am clearly a compulsive academic…someone please stop me before it is too late.

[topicprinter]

I think the majority of us are here for ideas and inspiration, right? We like to read about successful people and figure out how we can apply that to our lives. Sometimes we find gems, usually we find trash, often we're just blinded or uninterested.Well, I'm here to wake some people up.A few days ago I listened to this amazing podcast from Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn, Paypal, .etc) and he was interviewing Brian Chesky the founder of AirBnB on his early days and how he scaled the company. Not only was it fascinating to hear how they started, and how they almost failed and came up with an ingenious political cereal idea to help fund the company (Obama O's, Cap'n McCain's) ...one number really stuck out.$7,000,000,000,000.00That's right. In between talking about their business model, funding and growing a billion-dollar company, Brian shot out a number as to why he chose the travel industry, it generates over $7 trillion dollars per year. Actually, $7.6t.So my question to you is, why fight over a $10b industry when you can take a small piece of a nearly $8 trillion dollar industry?Scared of the competition? Don't be a pussy. Competition means there's money, my people. You have a better chance of getting rich in a big industry vs. a smaller niche industry, it's simple math. More money to go around.Even cooler? You probably have a great shot at acquisition by some of the big public players that are looking to grow. The Pricelines, the Expedias.Excited yet? Let's get more hyped, shall we?There are four segments of the hospitality industry:Food and beveragesTravel and TourismLodgingRecreationWithin these segments you have unlimited options, and I truly mean unlimited. Let's break just some of these down.1.) Food & Beverages: Many of you might be saying, what? But F&B is actually the largest hospitality segment there is and, well, why wouldn't it be considering literally everyone needs to eat! If you think about how it ties into the travel industry you have everything from airport food, carts at events, F&B for hotels, hotel bars, distribution.Yes, it's rather generic, but think about how it applies to the travel industry. What could you do? Become a vendor near a tourist destination? Open up an American bar in France? A French bar in America? Supply healthy snacks to hotels?Doesn't sound like fun? What about starting an event for the F&B industry? Or a website dedicated to connecting people in the F&B industry. A blog that helps people get ideas for the F&B industry.Use your imagination.2.) Travel & Tourism: This is massive, and what everyone thinks of when they think of travel, right? You may not be able to build the next airlines, or have a billion dollars laying around to start a cruise ship or space tourism business - but there's nothing stopping you from catering to these companies, or inventing a tour of your own.Let's take a look at some of the verticals within travel and tourism.TravelAirfareCruisesTransportationTourism- Agencies- ToursIf you had a pen and paper and sat down for an hour you could probably come up with 100 business ideas for each one of these verticals.Flight trackingCruise packagesUber/LyftTravel Agency For Pet OwnersPet DestinationsSex toursCannabis toursAdventure toursCruise toursTours For Young PeopleTours For Old PeopleVegas toursGrand Canyon ToursNYC toursMaps to the starsParty busAirport shuttle...Dude, it's limitless.Oh, and each one of these ideas still needs an F&B source attached to it!Coffee supplier for travel agencies (B2B MRR!)Natural snacks for adventure toursand on and on.3.) LodgingThis is where AirBnB staked their claim. They wanted to own the whole damn vertical, but you don't have to be so greedy. You can take just a little bit if you want. Here are some ideas.AirBnB photographerAirBnB hostAirBnB house cleanerBed & BreakfastVacation lodgeVacant hotel room booking systemWebsite that helps people find all types of lodging discountssell bedding to hotelssell F&B to hotelsYet another rabbit hole, huh? There's easily 500 businesses you can pull out of this, local or worldwide.This brings us to the last segment...4.) RecreationThere's definitely some overlap between tourism and recreation, but that's fine. The whole industry kind of overlaps and runs in a sequence. You can't really have one without the other.So, recreation. There's got to be 1,000's of opportunities here because you can break this down into tours, sporting events, film, music, festivals and pretty much any activity you can dream of.Think about what you do, or want to do when you travel.Sightseeing: This overlaps with transportation, tours and sometimes lodging. All kinds of offshoot niches here. From creating the tour, to booking the tour, to guiding the tour, to hosting the tour.Sporting Events: If it's played with a ball, there's a cottage industry behind it. Think about all of the side businesses for stadiums, tickets (buying/selling/scalping), finding discounts, merchandise, F&B, security, cleaning, .etc.Nature: Maybe you want to enjoy the beach, you could take a taxi, or an Uber, or walk. You'll probably need clothing, too, huh? Maybe sunscreen? Are you going to eat today? Those shoes look pretty tired. Did you forget sandals? I'm sure you'd like this umbrella, or these delicious natural snacks for your hike. Oh, shit. Look, they're parasailing off the boat! Damn, that zipline looks fun, too. Let's get a t-shirt to remember this and drop $100 on a seafood themed dinner.Alright, I'm going to cut this short because I have to get back to a business that makes me actual money! I just wanted to drop some inspiration here, and honestly writing all of this out helps motivate me too.The hospitality/Travel industry is massive. I'm lazy, you're probably lazy - most of us are lazy, but we could all make 6 or 7 figures in this industry if we just grabbed an idea and ran with it.​

[barinacraft]

Ward 8 Cocktail - A Sweet and Whiskey Sour Political Drink

Ward 8 Cocktail Sours Election Night

The winds of political change swept the Ward Eight cocktail into the hands of Democratic politician Martin Michael Lomasney in November 1898. The drink's recipe is said to have been created by Tom Hussion at Boston's esteemed Locke-Ober Cafe, located a few blocks below the southern tip of the then thumb tack shaped eighth ward, across Boston Common on Winter Place, where Mr. Lomasney had just won enough election votes to represent the notoriously corrupt Ward 8 district.*

Or was it? See below.

This sweet and (whiskey) sour cocktail is a fairly easy home bar recipe to make and the opposing flavors of the Ward Eight drink mimic the ideological struggles of the left and right (in spirit anyway). So even if you live in a side-winding, incomprehensible, Rorschach test looking, gerrymandered voting district drawn up to guarantee the winning outcome, the sweet taste of absolute political victory there is sure to be offset by sour election results elsewhere outside the lines. Cheers!

Especially popular where it originated, Bostonians over-indulging in same, find the crowded streets of their city beautifully adapted for going home.

~ Irvin S. Cobb 1934

Behind The Bar

Ward Eight Drink Recipe:

1 ½ oz rye whiskey

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp fresh orange juice

1 tsp grenadine ( pomegranate syrup )

1 maraschino cherry (optional)

Fresh squeeze lemon and orange sections in a citrus juicer. Add both of the juices, the rye whiskey and the grenadine to a cocktail shaker with ice.† Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled V for victory glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry, if desired.

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A Local Will Demonstrate

Seems almost required to show a Ward Eight video made by Mr. Boston. Don't you think?

More old school. Simple syrup instead of OJ. No mineral water.‡

So Who Really Invented The Ward Eight Cocktail?

Who knows?

The story above is the most widely circulated and certainly the juiciest. After all, who doesn't like a juicy story?

Its a lot of fun to tell and that's probably why it gained traction. However, here are two others and some additional details for the first. You be the judge.

Mahatma Brandy

Or, whiskey in this case.

At least when referring to the drink. Its a word play on Mahatma Gandhi, with regards to Lomasney and the cocktail named after the political district he led.

Mr. L was seen as a God by the local people he cared for and influenced, so when Boston Post cartoonist Norman stopped calling him "the boss" and started using "the Mahatma of Ward 8," he was very happy.1 Not sure how he liked his caricature on the right though.

Its probably more of a reflection of the power hungry politician he was than a caregiver concerned with providing food, clothing, shelter and jobs to the large population of immigrants in his district.

Martin Lomasney is said to have run the Eighth without any subsidized corruption and attended Catholic masses outside of his Ward in an effort to separate church and state.2 He certainly pretended to go to great lengths to appear to be pure. However, there's just one thing.

He had the goods on everyone!

When a favor for a favor wasn't enough, that infamous safe he kept locked behind his desk at the Hendrick's Club was full of dirt on everybody who was anybody and all those who may be someday. You know that must have also included compromising details on his main rivals like James Michael Curley, John F. 'Honeyboy' Fitzgerald and Thomas W. Flood. Money may not have exchanged hands, but secrets were kept secure only as long as the votes were cast as he directed.

Can you say blackmail?

🍸 Cocktail-wise, as far as who made what & why—there's more to the story.

The most popular account, as mentioned above, was actually the third of the three main stories floating around to surface in print. Locke-Ober bartender Tom Hussion is cited in a 1951 Holiday Magazine article as the 1898 architect of the Ward 8 cocktail as a way to toast Martin's election victory that year.3

But, that may not be the case.

The part about Lomasney's election anyway. Although he did serve as an alderman, a state representative and a state senator; in 1898 he was a district chairman of the Democratic Party and pulled a dirty trick on his opponents that almost backfired.

In charge of organizing the nominating convention, he scheduled the assembly for 4:30 pm at the Maverick House hotel in East Boston, five miles across the harbor from the State House, where the candidate's name had to filed by a 5 o'clock deadline that same day. Lomasney's and Mayor Josiah Quincy's contingents both tried stalling each other with various tactics.

The Hendrick's Club crew even joined a funeral procession to avoid road blocks on the way. Once there, the tiny room reserved was too small (by design) for both groups so the North End crowd had to meet elsewhere, causing another delay.

Nominations took only minutes and the race was on.

Messengers for each faction first traveled by tugboat and ferry, respectively. Then both pedaled furiously up the hill on bicycles until Mayor Quincy's cyclist broke his chain and had to run the last mile causing him to lose.

Now there's a reason for the eighth precinct to celebrate!

What's funny though is Lomasney wasn't a drinker. Maybe that's why its called the Ward 8 cocktail and not a namesake drink in his honor.

As yet another side note, its rumored that Hussion didn't start working over at Locke-Ober until 1900 so that casts a little doubt for some as well. Unable to find any information that supports or disproves this though.

So, let's go on to the next claim.

Pub Crawl

Puritan Club bartender Charlie Carter wrote Ward 8 drink history as the first mix master said to have concocted this cocktail. At least according to his 1934 letter to G. Selmer Fougner's "Along the Wine Trail" in the New York Sun where he claimed the credit himself for inventing it to celebrate a 1903 Lomasney election victory. Whether it was an office seat or a ballot issue; his own initiative or another whose outcome he influenced is unknown. This date also causes some to wonder.

Apparently its a popular name for guys who paint the town red though, since actor Charlie Carter stars as painter brother Paul, years later, in the 2012 movie Pub Crawl about some friends in Edinburgh, Scotland who go on a bar tour after one of them wins a bet on the Grand National horse race. Go figure.

Kane Is Able

The second person given credit for creating the Ward Eight was a famous bartender at Locke-Ober's named Billy Kane.

Billy's dead and laid in grave, and all his bones are rotten, but his Ward Eight will pick you up when Billy's long forgotten.

Recognition was given years later in 1940.4

History Of The Ward Eight Drink Recipe

Timeline of Major Milestones

1906 - The Ward 8 cocktail is first mentioned as being on the menu at Boston's Winter Palace Hotel a.k.a. Frank Locke's using Sirop de Grenadine made from pomegranate juice.5

1907 - All the mouth watering ingredients were originally fully listed as French grenadine, lemon juice, powdered sugar, whiskey and soda garnished with lemons, oranges, pineapples and strawberries. No measurements or proportions though.6

1912 - 1st Ward Eight drink recipe was printed as the juice of one lemon, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tbs grenadine syrup, 1/2 glass rye and Apollinaris sparkling mineral water strained into a goblet with ice and garnished with fruit.7

1914 - The Santa Clara Company serves notice in the Boston Globe newspaper saying they own and control the brand "WARD 8." Price is $1.00 a bottle, $10.00 a case. Their trademark to the word and numeral asserts use since approximately November 1912 and is said to consist of compounds of whisky, grenadine, rock candy syrup and lime juice.8

1922 - Orange juice replaces sparkling water as an ingredient.9

1924 - Canadian whiskey in particular is specified.10

1933 - Initial use of bourbon in a written recipe.11

1934 - Several dashes each of orange bitters and creme de menthe are added to the mix. Directions call for substituting fresh mint sprigs instead of creme de menthe when available.12

1934 - Esquire Magazine lists the Ward 8 as one of the 10 Best Cocktails Of The Year along with the Champagne Cocktail, the Daiquiri, the Dry Martini, the Harvest Moon, the Old Fashioned, the Old Fashioned Dutch, Planter's Punch, the Vermouth Cassis and the Vodka Cocktail.

Ward 8 Hosts A Political Cocktail Party

Hope your candidate wins. Be prepared for a long night.

If you plan on having your home bar host a political cocktail party on election night to celebrate whatever outcome it is you'd like to be celebrating, then the Ward Eight drink recipe should probably be on the left side of the menu. Don't forget to offer some politically biased beer choices as well.

BTW: This does appear to be the city's only classic cocktail, so why wait every two to four years to partake. You've got the Bruins ice hockey, Celtics basketball, Patriots football, Red Sox basketball and Revolution soccer teams to celebrate on a professional sports level and too many collegiate programs in the area to even list. Not to mention everything else that's great in Olde Towne.

To the good times!

Drinks Similar To The Ward 8 Cocktail

Bermuda Bouquet - apricot brandy, gin and triple sec win enough votes to replace rye whiskey.

Bunny Mother - a sugar sweetened vodka Ward Eight Cocktail with a splash of orange liqueur as well.

California Lemonade - blended whiskey, lemon and lime juice, powdered sugar and grenadine topped with carbonated water.

Chapala Cocktail - a tequila Ward 8 drink with a rain drop of orange flower water.

Chimp In Orbit - a high proof Tortuga minus the lime juice.

Crow Cocktail - Scotch whisky, lemon juice and grenadine.

Double Standard Sour - rye whiskey, dry gin, lime juice, sugar and raspberry syrup with a squirt of seltzer on top.

Eureka / Pink Garter / Gin & Sin Drink - a gin Ward-8. The Texas Fizz adds Champagne or soda to these recipes.

Hoffman House Fizz - gin, lemon juice, OJ, sugar, maraschino liqueur, cream, and grenadine topped with soda.

Hotel Drake Vesuvius - a sweet gold and Jamaican rum Ward Eight recipe garnished with fruit in season and a mint sprig.

100% Cocktail - an Eighth Ward mixed with Swedish punch instead of rye or Canadian whiskey.

Knickerbocker Special / Pikaki - a pineapple spear gets muddled in the district's drink and rums up the election.

Lone Tree Cooler - gin, dry vermouth, fresh orange and lemon juice, sugar and grenadine filled with soda or ginger ale.

New York Sour - rye whiskey, lime juice, sugar and grenadine.

Rabbit's Foot Cocktail - light rum brandies about the voting district drink.

Robson Drink - rye not try some Jamaica rum instead?

Scottish Guards - follows a similar theme with Scotch whisky replacing the rye.

Show Boat Drink - egg white caps.

Tonga Punch - light rum, brandy, curacao, passion fruit liqueur, lemon juice, OJ and grenadine.

Tortuga Tiki Tipple - rum(s), Italian vermouth, curacao, crème de cacao, grenadine and juices of lemon, lime and orange.

Welcome Stranger Cocktail - brandy, gin and Swedish punch substitute for rye whiskey in the original.

Whiskey Daisey - rye or bourbon whiskey, lemon juice, sugar, grenadine and optional egg white.

Winberry Drink - let the spirit change to bourbon and Amer Picon.

More cocktails and drinks that start with W.

References

* - Social History - The Traditional past and Locke-Ober... still the Boston Brahmin dining retreat!

† - many interchange bourbon whiskey as one in the same, but the original recipe called for rye.

‡ - Old Mr. Boston was a local distillery located in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts from 1933 to 1986 which now houses a number of different city government agencies.

1 - Leslie G. Ainley, Boston Mahatma (Boston: Bruce Humphries, Inc. Publishers, 1949), 4. Print.

2 - A. D. Van Nostrand, "The Lomasney Legend." The New England Quarterly, December 1948: 435-458. Print.

3 - George Frazier, "There's More than Beans to Boston." Holiday, January 1951: 58. Print.

4 - Eleanor Early, A New England Sampler (Boston: Waverly House, 1940), 371. Print.

5 - Amy Lyman Phillips, A Bachelor's Cupboard - Crumbs Culled from the Cupboards of the Great Unwedded (Boston & London: John W. Luce & Company, 1906), 154. Print.

6 - 1907 Boston Herald via.

7 - Holtz & Freystedt Co. Importers (New York: Holtz & Freystedt, 1912), 19. Print.

8 - Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 211 (Washington: Government Printing Office, February 2, 1915), 277. Print.

9 - Robert Vermeire, Cocktails - How To Mix Them (London: Herbert Jenkins, 1922), 48. Print.

10 - Carlo Beltramo, Carlo's Cocktails and American Drinks (Geneva: 1924), 44. Print.

11 - A. E. P. Bird & William C. Turner, Cocktails: Their Kicks and Side-Kicks (New York: Read Printing Company, 1933), 28. Print.

12 - G. Selmer Fougner, Along The Wine Trail - An Anthology of Wines and Spirits (Boston: Stratford Company, 1935), 287. Print. Initially via letters to the New York Sun in 1934.

[csyjen101-blog]

Filipino nowadays

 Manuel L. Quezon (see picture)

"If we compare our individual and civic traits with those that adorned our forefathers, we will, I fear, that we, the Filipinos of today, have lost much of the moral strength and power for growth of our ancestors"

“The Policies and Achievements of the Government and Regeneration of the Filipino”

CULTURAL CONTEXT

Different traits of Filipinos

POSITIVE TRAITS

Strong-willed  

Someone strong-willed doesn’t give up easily. A strong-willed person is determined.

having a determined will 

strong minded

Earnest If you are earnest, it means you are serious about something.

characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions

something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract

Adventurous people If you're adventurous, you're eager to try new things and take risks.

willing to undertake or seeking out new and daring enterprises 

Brave brave faces dangerous or difficult situations with courage 

possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching 

Courageous If you are a courageous person, you face danger or stand up against the odds without flinching. 

Active

full of activity or engaged in continuous activity 

NEGATIVE TRAITS

Easygoing 

If you're always carefree and relaxed, your friends might describe you as easygoing.

Unimaginative 

deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention 

Ningas kugon 

refers to the Filipino cultural trait of very enthusiastically starting things, but then quickly losing enthusiasm soon after. 

Filipino time 

being late and starting things late have always been part of our culture

Lack of leadership 

the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative 

Mañana Habit 

something that we have learned from the Spaniards. The word “Mañana” means ‘tomorrow’ or ‘specified future time’. As Wikipedia defines it – it’s “in the indefinite future (used to indicate procrastination – the action of delaying or postponing something)”, or “mamaya na” in Filipino. 

Youth Values

                  The values of today's youth different very much from those of the older generation. Now, a lot of children are affected by person's strong feeling that he or she must do certain things in order to be liked by people of the same age, the misguidance of parents, and family serious problems, leading to their inappropriate behavior. The youth of older generations were careful land family-oriented; now, a lot of the old values have been destroyed. Many of today's filled with problems young people point to family problems, like families broken due to early marriage, teenage pregnancies, and, sometimes, "home wreckers". However a lot of these can be prevented if, and only if, we are aware of what's happening in our community of people.

                   The older generation is allowing something to happen without reacting or trying to stop it and conservative while today's youth tend to be rough, thrill for something and enjoys doing fun new things. Youth are no longer know the value of hard work. 

Lack of Patriotism

                   “Modern education is a major influence for such a situation because the later generation was never taught of country-loving acts and sacrifices of people for their country which resulted in lack of inspiration and moral education also wasn't encouraged as it should have been. young people were taught to be self-independent and to only think carefully about on their well-being. maybe movies and songs also stopped showing country-loving and one-party thinking and started making them believe in fantasies, driving them apart from truthfulness.” (University of Arkansas System) 

                Filipinos back then, once battled for our nation utilizing the greater part of their quality and until their final gasp. In case we will think back to our past, Filipinos in those days thought about patriotism as a genuine issue. So as to achieve a superior nation, one must demonstrate their awesome patriotism and it implies that you will offer all that you have even your valuable life for your own particular nation. Be that as it may, in the Philippines, today, we are deficient in loyalists to a great extent because of the dispersion of Filipino esteems, culture, impact of conquistadors, and the juncture of recorded awful administration.

               We cannot achieve a goal for our country if we keep on doing such things. we should love our country and fight what is right.

POLITICAL CONTEXT

Quezon once criticized dictatorship, where in he do that for people, because of its accented too much sacredness of property and contracts, and recognized too little the social obligation their living in the same land of system. His conceptual and practical goal that individual liberty must not be restricted.  Quezon reveals to attempt to clear the general principles or ideas of a subject rather that practical ideas so that the Philippines might catch up with the United States. Quezon is not of that class he could get along with it, could seek and get its support in some matters and could still see the doing exactly what one want and social stratification of societies as dangerous to the Philippine.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Manuel Quezon was the only man styled as a president, he received a nineteen-gun salute. By looking forward to twenty-one guns, he gave a thought about the leadership and polity of the Philippines.  In 1940 he laid a speeches "Theory of a Party-less Democracy". He refer to a nation that is similar to a family. Party-less democracy means the independent candidates will not have any particular agenda and a viewpoint which is not healthy for politics and the conflict will lead to the exhaustion of democracy. In his second speech, it talks about all the critics have been lost in society that all people in Philippines was not to be afraid to speak it out what they feels. But in this idea many was reputed it but, he don’t care about that because the one he wants is that all have a power that was required to have a effect in social justice and  to show the world that totalitarian ruler is the one who known of the government University. But once again there many against of it but he didn’t care about that, even he loses his job and to go in jail but he knew that this idea is the one who can help his country to be grew and have a peaceful country. An earlier speech of Quezon "The Policies and Achievements of the  Government  Regeneration of the Filipino" he  talks about his deep concern of a national character of a Filipino, because of losing much moral strength and and national strength as a Filipino. He want to accomplish his task of a national spiritual reconstruction by "formulate and adopt a social code, a code of ethics and personal conduct" 

R E F E R E N C E S :

Abello, J. (2014). 14 Bad Habits that Filipinos should Break to Achieve Progress.  Retrieved December 15, 2016 from http://faq.ph/14-bad-habits-that-filipinos-should-break-to-achieve-progress/

Manila Trend. (2015). 9 Good and Bad Filipino Traits. Retrieved December 15, 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3ECEG8Hhkk

https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DV7uQ3yHgKA0&ved=0ahUKEwjiybeDyITZAhVMNbwKHRxwAykQo7QBCCQwAA&usg=AOvVaw2lnSAfw4NO511flWTg0TFI

UAS : http://www.philstar.com/inbox-world/406567/you-see-it-how-are-values-todays-youth-different-those-older-generation

Jujanester. (2016). Pinoy Life: 8 Classic Filipino Traits and Characteristics. Retrieved December 15, 2016 from https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Filipino-Traits-and-Characteristics

Vocabularies : https://www.vocabulary.com/

[gabrimarsh-blog1]

Greatest Level And Shoot Digital camera

Panasonic AG-AC90 professional camcorder: three CMOS sensors in a handheld package deal for $2,250. Along with enhanced inventive freedom, one of many major advantages of utilizing manual controls is the camera will perform much quicker than when functioning underneath motorized automatic controls. Western Clothes T-Shirts Polo Shirts Sweat & Loungepants Trousers & pants Jeans Shorts & Cargos. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS50 ‘s lens matches the field of view of a 24-720mm lens, with an aperture of f/3.3. Although low-mild isn't something to write down house about, the purpose of this digicam is that you should utilize it where you possibly can't use others (including your cellphone), so keep the light bright and also you shouldn't be disenchanted. Sure, it is slightly on the hefty facet, but it surely's still comfortably pocket-sized, is kind of a looker, and was the one that we discovered ourselves reaching for when it got here time to take a number of vacation snaps on our own. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. If you happen to plan on SCUBA diving or free diving along with your waterproof digicam although, you will want to be sure you choose a model that can be taken to the maximum depths you would be diving to. Our high picks, the Panasonic LX10 (left) and Sony RX100 III (proper), combine the high picture quality of a 1-inch sensor and a brilliant lens with the comfort of a pocketable digital camera physique. The CL65 is designed to help you enhance your creativity in terms of digital imaging. It also features wonderful full HD 1080p video recording with stereo sound for impressive dwelling films. Take one take a look at the photographs and videos captured by this miniature marvel, nonetheless, and you'll realise that you're within the company of something very special certainly. Customers can then showcase their creative creation through the camera's LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY, or by merely uploading their creation to social networking websites to make sure everybody have a look at their artistic masterpiece or doubtlessly, their latest profile picture - with a twist. Finally, although just about each digicam comes with inner storage, this is actually meant for storing a few shots in an emergency whenever you've forgotten to insert a memory card. I recently bought the Panasonic LX 3 and the vast angle conversion lens that gives you the equivalent of 18mm. 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For individuals just eager to shoot great-trying trip photos, birthday events, or the occasional Little League game, nonetheless, the not-too-shabby 10 fps burst rate and quick focus of the Panasonic LX10 are more than enough to do the job. As well as, people can control the destination of Fb uploads - selecting to share content material with everybody, or put up pictures only to chose Fb groups. With its 24 MP 4/three” sensor it is capable of producing excessive-high quality images, however unlike best point and shoot camera the company's compact cameras - for which Canon has one of many widest vary of proprietary underwater housings - there is no such thing as a underwater housing available from Canon for any of its EM vary. Impressive image high quality separates the Fujifilm XQ2 from different compact camera options. For these, who've been in search of a tricky and sturdy digicam on this checklist however havent discovered it up to now, do not lose hope as we are simply in time to present this harder than robust Olympus TG-4 level and shoot camera. Next up we've got another huge title and extremely reviewed point-and-shoot digital camera, the Canon PowerShot G16 This digital camera is Wi-Fi appropriate, which goes to make sharing your movies super easy if you wish to keep away from utilizing a pc altogether. The camera's Image-in-Image function lets customers insert one image within one other. Full hybrid photo experience with 24p or 30p 4K Ultra HD video and 4K photo mode. For photographers that need to profit from this, a full manual mode choice provides full control over the digicam's settings. With loads of vapor gentle, colors are correct, imagine it or not, though details are delicate on account of in-camera processing on this ISO 6400, 1/50-second, f/2.eight publicity. And once you're in, you keep in. A 2005 examine by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) followed 400,000 prisoners in 30 states after their launch and located that inside simply three years, greater than two-thirds had been rearrested. Lastly, the model contains the new Movement Photograph characteristic. The iPhone 5S lets one record sluggish-motion 120 frames per second video. Again, the LX10 isn't a groundbreaking digital camera—we can hint its headline features to earlier fashions from Panasonic, Sony, and Canon. Perhaps most notable to advanced photographers is the inclusion of RAW picture capture, which allows for better flexibility when processing photos. As with the other cameras here, the Fuji gives full HD movies recording in addition to some creative filters that can add fun results to your movies. There are just a few different improvments, together with a new movie mode, however those are the important thing factors. Image high quality: We at Enterprise Insider shot a collection of photographs that compared a DSLR digicam, a point-and-shoot digicam, and a smartphone digicam. If you need a digital camera for everyday photography tasks, the 3x to 5.9x fashions (fundamental level & shoot) or 10x to 20x fashions (Pocket Megazoom) with around 28mm huge-angle protection may give you good results. Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Digital camera assessment samples eighty five Photographs.

On the draw back, there is not any viewfinder, but the display screen tilts, which is useful. When selecting a digital digital camera, it's important to first perceive the options that are most important in your future purchase. The Sony RX100 collection has gone from strength best pocket camera to strength and in its fifth-generation format it's a digital camera that, at this measurement, pretty much has all of it. This is an advantage over SLRs as most cameras either don't have entry to the DOF preview button, and once you do, the viewfinder is just too overly dark to truly see anything when the lens is stopped down, plus there is no such thing as a peaking within the viewfinder. Nearly 4 years after it first launched its original EOS 6D price range full-body camera, Canon has unveiled a successor. The Canon PowerShot SX710 HS is similar to our runner-up in most ways. We have used our personal expertise with digital photography and consulted a professional or two to assist us out. Sensor measurement: As a basic rule, the larger the sensor measurement, the higher quality the images will likely be. The draw back of a giant sensor is that it requires a larger lens, meaning the value and practicality could also be affected. Straightforward to share photos and flicks with Wi-Fi and Dynamic NFC to instantly connect your digicam to your smartphone or tablet to update household and associates back dwelling! Choices embrace massive zoom lenses to get you nearer to the greatest sights, GPS to maintain monitor of the place each shot was taken and Wi-Fi and NFC so you can share your adventures again these house. Each app masses inside a second, there is not any slowdown or jerkiness and you will not be left grunting in annoyance at the gadget, it doesn't matter what you are doing with it. If the benchmark for taxing apps is to play a demanding recreation like Asphalt 8 with the graphics turned manner up, then the fact that the Z5 not often dropped frames must be encouraging.

[russellthornton]

Women with Curves: 20 Ways You Changed All Women for the Better

Skinny used to be in, but thanks to women with curves, women can again be beautiful in all shapes and sizes without anxiety or starving themselves.

I love that Meghan Trainor song when she says “I’m just teasing, I know you think you’re fat,” when talking about skinny bitches. I love the newer girl generation. I want to let y’all know that I admire the way that you don’t give a shit about your curves. You know why? Because women with curves rock!

I wasn’t born thin or fat, but what I certainly know was that I not endowed with any curves at all. I believe that growing up, the boys used to refer to me as “flat and easy to screw” *yes, they said it and I didn’t sue for bullying*. But, at the time, teasing was socially acceptable.

I grew up in the Kate Moss era. Kate Moss was the hottest model during my formative years. I was brought up with supermodels who made bulimia and anorexia not only acceptable, it was something to aspire to. The whole “you can never be too rich or too thin” – that was from my generation too. Yep, it was pretty miserable if you were one of the women with curves in my day.

20 reasons why women with curves rule

God bless your generation. You are who you are. You don’t apologize for anything. You don’t play the same games we did, or pretend that you don’t ever sleep around while sleeping around. You also, and this is the most critical component to you, don’t starve yourself to try to obtain something that isn’t only unobtainable, it isn’t healthy or real.

So, to all of you girls out there who eat dessert again, don’t stress about calorie counts, walk around like a zombie because your brain isn’t getting enough oxygen, kudos babe. You have freed us all, and my hat is off to you.

Here’s why women with curves rule.

#1 You aren’t bitchy all the time because you are starving. Have you ever starved yourself? If you watch the walking dead, you totally get it. Like wanting to ravage someone, your anger is quick and fast; you’re constantly ready to pounce and not much fun to be around! [Read: Why men love women and their oh so hot bodies]

#2 You care more about what is on the inside than the size of your jeans. It’s so great, because women with curves aren’t concerned with the size of their jeans… they are worried about better, less shallow things in life.

#3 You don’t look like you could pass out at any minute. Skinny girls have that look about them, like everything is a hassle and merely breathing can make them pass out at any second. But women with curves are full of energy and spirit and aren’t afraid to hop to it!

#4 You aren’t stupid because your brain isn’t getting enough energy to operate. Yes, it is true, depriving yourself of food to be skinny actually makes you stupid. Your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen or energy to run. That is why some skinny girls can seem so spaced out at times. [Read: Should a girl ever dumb it down to impress a guy?]

#5 You aren’t buying into what the media is selling. Another great thing is that women with curves aren’t slaves to anyone else’s ideal of beauty. You are happy with what nature gave you and aren’t about to let any media campaign change that. Wear it loud and wear it proud.

#6 Your selfies aren’t about being in a skinny bathing suit. I HATE girls in bikinis sporting their skinny asses. I’m sorry, if I had wanted to see you in a bikini, I would have invited you to the beach. Which BTW, if you are one of those girls doing it and you look really hot in a bikini, no one is going to be inviting your ass anyway… too much work!

#7 You aren’t a hater, skinny, fat, who cares where anyone else is at. What’s also awesome is that women with curves are accepting of everyone. Not envious that someone can fit into a smaller size than you, you find beauty in all women, big, tall, short, small… it’s all good. [Read: 14 insights into what men want and need in a woman]

#8 You have freed us all to wear skinny jeans, skinny or not. I wouldn’t have been caught dead in leggings in the 90s, so thanks to you for wearing your skinny jeans to show off your assets. You have freed us all.

#9 You are comfortable in your own skin. There is nothing better than being around someone who is happy, confident and feels good in their own skin. They don’t need to talk badly about other girls out of jealousy or put anyone else down to make themselves feel good. You are just okay with letting you be you and letting skinny be skinny.

#10 You aren’t ashamed of the way that God made you, or trying to continually fit a scale. If you haven’t stepped on a scale in years, you are my idol. No woman should define her beauty by what the scale measures. You are just beautiful you. [Read: Well endowed women – The ups and downs of jiggly jugs]

#11 You aren’t chained to a gym. You aren’t that girl who gets out of bed at 9 a.m. on girl’s weekend to take a run by the ocean, or wastes countless hours at the gym sporting your spandex.

It isn’t that women with curves don’t work out and take care of themselves, it is just that they don’t look like they’re training for the Olympics or missing out on so much of life because they are stuck on a treadmill.

#12 You can hit the beach and not worry about sucking it in. You can hit the beach and not suck it in like you haven’t eaten in weeks… it must be so freeing!

#13 You saved my girls from yo-yo dieting. Yo-yo dieting not only makes you dumb mentally, but it also makes it much harder to maintain and lose weight later on in life. Like setting yourself up for a lifetime of misery, thank you for changing things, so my girls aren’t beholden. [Read: How to look better naked – 15 real life tips for instant effect]

#14 You don’t pretend that you have an excellent metabolism in front of the guys and starve yourself around the rest of us. If you want dessert, you have it, and you damn straight aren’t going to just order a salad. God bless you!

#15 If a guy doesn’t like what you look like they can go “f” off. Women with curves have a f*ck-you attitude that just rocks. I wish I had that confidence all the way around.

#16 You brought child-bearing hips back into fashion. Women were supposed to have hips and curves, that is what nature invented us for. Men are attracted to hips and thank goodness you brought them back into fashion. [Read: What men like in women more than anything else]

#17 You don’t define yourself by looking around a room and gauging who’s skinniest *yes, we used to do that*. You don’t think you are superior because you have the major self-control to starve yourself, nor do you admire someone else who does.

#18 Designers can go f*ck themselves because you aren’t going to buy into the “catwalk,” – those girls look ridiculous. I think we can all agree, those models look ridiculous, don’t they?

#19 You are what the female species is supposed to look like – healthy. Having a full figure and curves is what the female body is made for. They signal the male species that you are just ripe for procreation. Your curves are your biggest assets; it is about time that women learned the truth. [Read: 13 physical attraction tips to look way hotter]

#20 An hourglass figure means you have no time to wait for someone. You aren’t into games or letting someone play games with your head. That’s because women with curves just own it, what more can I say?

I have four little girls at home, and I have to admit that I am so happy that they don’t have to grow up in a skinny-obsessed world. Girls today have so much more moxie, aren’t going to spend a lifetime trying to be someone they aren’t, and when they die, aren’t going to think… shit, I should have had that scoop of ice cream.

Most of all, women with curves don’t waste all their time and energy restricting themselves, missing out on meals, and vacations and all the other indulgent things that life has to offer. Most of all, they don’t judge people by their pants size or care about their own. If you own them, you own them; it is as simple as that.

[Read: How to flaunt your plus size curves and rock it with confidence!]

One more time, thanks for saving my girls from eating disorders, buying the media hype, and letting some fashion designer tell them their worth. Let’s face it – women with curves are not only in, they are awesome, and I am forever grateful for you taking your stand and being your own damn self with pride!

The post Women with Curves: 20 Ways You Changed All Women for the Better is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.

[grabey]

The newest Mario Kart is out today on Nintendo Switch and we’ve already given it a 10/10 score in our review. We also named it the best game in the series, not to mention one of the best multiplayer games ever made. But with so many tracks to choose from which are the best? Everyone will have their own opinion but these are out top 10 picks, along with a look at the eight new Battle arenas that are exclusive to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

10. Dolphin Shoals

The idea of your kart being able to drive underwater is a relatively new invention for the series, and one not every fan is always happy about. But Dolphin Shoals totally sells the idea, and the fact that most of it is spent underwater works really well. Especially when you emerge from sea towards the end and you suddenly realise the music has been muffled the whole time – only to blare into life as you snake through the final third and glide down to the tense final stretch where you’re dangerously exposed to everyone else racing for the finish line.

9. Baby Park

Most fans consider the GameCube’s Mario Kart: Double Dash!! to be the worst game in the series, but at least one good thing came of it: Baby Park. Unusually, you have to complete seven circuits of this course and it’s just a simple oval. A really short oval. One where it’s almost impossible not to get hit by someone else, and where starting to lap the backmarkers almost becomes as dangerous as dealing with your more serious rivals. It all ends up a glorious disaster of shouts and recriminations, and is easily the best track to play with other people in the same room.

8. Super Bell Subway

One track that almost made this top 10 is the Mario Kart 64 course Toad’s Turnpike, where you have to race through traffic on a motorway. This one seems to be very much inspired by that old classic, except you’re racing against tube trains instead of other cars. Obviously that’s not a fight you’re going to win if you hit one, so you have to constantly keep in mind where they are and which of the multiple routes you’re going to take through each section of the course. It’s also one of only three tracks (the others are Excitebike and Animal Crossing) that don’t have any anti-gravity sections.

7. Mute City

Unlike previous games, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features a lot of characters, tracks, and vehicles inspired by other Nintendo titles. That includes two based on futuristic racer F-Zero, which hasn’t had a new game in over a decade but has two race tracks in Mario Kart 8. This is the best one: a stunning looking sci-fi city where the rules of the game are adapted slightly so that you collect coins by driving over special strips, instead of picking them up individually. The real F-Zero is famous for its blistering speed and playing this at 200cc is as close to the real thing as we’re ever likely to get again.

6. Ribbon Road

Our favourite of the new DLC tracks, the course design itself isn’t very complicated but the setting of a kid’s bedroom means either they’re giants or you’ve been shrunk down – creating one of the most unique-looking tracks in the whole game. What really makes it though is that the track is literally a ribbon, and not only is the road texture subtly different but parts of it are constantly undulating up and down. If you’re really good you can get a little speed boost from cresting each bump, so a last minute win is never out of the question.

5. Toad Harbour

Over the years, as the graphics have got more realistic, there’s been more and more Mario Kart tracks that have been based in something that looks more like the real world. This one is pretty obviously inspired by San Francisco, with the steep hills and tram cars getting in the way. Although it does feature more driving on walls than is usual for the city. But that mixture works perfect in the game, with a complicated start as you zip past the docks and then through the city streets and down a final stretch filled with turbo boost pads and an alternative route you’re never sure is quicker or not.

4. Mount Wario

Not every track in Mario Kart 8 is a three-lap race. There’s also a few that are just one long course with a beginning and end, and this is the best of them. It starts off with a little micro-cut scene of everyone jumping out of an aircraft onto the snowy slopes below. All of this is accompanied by a very James Bond-esque soundtrack, that gets even more epic as you race through a dam, a thick forest, and then finally onto a ski slalom course. Trying to keep your position as you tear down that last straight, terrified you’re going to get hit by a shell at the last moment, is Mario Kart at its most thrilling.

3. Moo Moo Meadows

Our highest-rated retro course. It’s a revamped version of a course from Mario Kart Wii, which in turn was a remake of Moo Moo Farm from Mario Kart 64. There’s good reason why the course has been around for over 20 years, and the winding bends that open up to wide fields filled with tunnelling moles is just as much fun to race through now as it’s ever been; especially with the wonderfully upbeat soundtrack. The best bit though is all the cows, which get more and more in the way every lap and make you feel horribly guilty if you hit them with a shell.

2. Cloudtop Cruise

The Switch might not be the most powerful console around but somehow all the courses in Mario Kart 8 manage to look stunning anyway, especially this one. It even has the best soundtrack as well, inspired by a similar-looking level in Super Mario Galaxy. The track starts off in the clouds, as you race along a giant beanstalk, one of Bowser’s airships, and then onto a giant metal strip that, quite understandably, keeps getting hit by lightning. There’s a shortcut across the beanstalk’s leaves towards the end, but mess the jump up and you can find victory snatched away from you right at the last moment.

1. Sunshine Airport

Although it’s almost impossible to pick just one Mario Kart track as the best, this wins simply because it manages to turn the most boring, miserable location imaginable into a kaleidoscope of colour and movement. It helps that it’s a really well-designed track too, as you squeeze past the baggage machines, race across the wings of an aircraft, and fly through the air to the finishing line. It’s easily the most fun you can have an airport, and literally so if you actually take your Switch to one and play from there.

Battle mode courses

Battle mode is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s biggest new feature

All of the racing tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe were in the original Wii U version and its DLC, but the major new addition in Deluxe is the revamped Battle mode. Here you’re not trying to beat anyone to the finishing line but fight them in arenas using your power-up items. The eight arenas are all new for Mario Kart 8, although three of them are loosely based on ones from previous games.

Battle Stadium Although it’s set in the same opening stadium from the main game this is actually quite a complex course, with lots of criss-crossing tracks and little screens to hide behind. It is one of the best courses but maybe not the ideal one to start on.

Sweet Sweet Kingdom Another course that’s very easy to get lost in, with lots of small buildings (well, giant cakes) getting in the way and an elevated area you can jump down from. It’s also not necessarily the best starting arena for new players, but perfect for stalking victims when you get the hang of it.

Dragon Palace This is a good place (or rather palace) to start, in that it’s a much more open map – or at least it is once you realise you can smash through the screen doors and get outside. The second floor is reached via two long, sloping ramps which leave you very vulnerable if someone’s chasing after you.

Lunar Colony Another relatively simple open-plan arena, with only a few covered areas at the edges. The snag is the craters though, which can block your line of sight when trying to aim. They can be a benefit too though, if you remember to press the right shoulder pad as you clear them and get a little free turbo boost.

Wuhu Town Based on a 3DS battle map, that was in turn inspired by the town from Wii Sports Resort, the layout here is all right angles, as you drive between the streets laid out in something close to an American grid system. Don’t forget you can take a shortcut through the basketball court though, which many people don’t notice.

Luigi’s Mansion The most complicated course and definitely not for beginners. It takes place on three separate levels and is very easy to get lost in if you don’t know where you’re going. Cowards should bear in mind that many players forget to go to the top level, so that’s a good place to camp out.

Battle Course 1 This map is based on an original Super Mario Kart course from way back in 1992. That makes it a good place to learn the ropes, as there are no stairs or multiple levels – just a few short ramps. That makes it’s very hard to find anywhere to hide though, so just make sure you keep on the move.

Urchin Underpass Based on the Splatoon map of the same name, although it seems complicated at first the two sides are actually mirror images of each other and lead to a large open area in the middle. The whole arena is covered with patches of coloured ink on the floor, so be careful as one will slow you down slightly and one will give you a small speed boost.

from Blogger Top 10 best tracks of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe