#IVE seen some of the ship truly on brand for people to ship guys who never met

[chloesimaginationthings]

How much securitywaiter/dreamtheory stuff have you seen?

And what do you think of the ship

Tbh I’m shocked I got to see Matpat Yaoi in my lifetime

[solarprophecy]

my thoughts on Rise of Skywalker

spoilers ahead, obviously

I should probably say first that when it comes to Star Wars I’m a casual. That is, I’ve seen all the films at least once and enjoyed them, but I haven’t read any of the books (except the novelizations of Episodes IV–VI) or comics and it’s not a fandom I’m really in. Just FYI.

I went into it thinking—based on snippets of reviews I’d heard—the movie was going to suck big time. Perhaps because of my low expectations, however, I really enjoyed it. Of course it wasn’t the best film ever. Of course a lot of it didn’t make much sense (e.g. “these ships that are already in the air and not crashing into each other simply cannot do anything useful without a constant navigation signal from this one source” etc.). But the Force wasn’t any dumber or more self-contradictory than it always is, imho, and I was sufficiently entertained.

In no particular order, some aspects that struck me:

I think it sucks balls that Ben Solo died. He should have been given the opportunity to live a better life, on the side of the good guys. I suppose, though, if he’s a Force Ghost on Luke’s level—not just able to talk to and be seen by the living, but to actually be able to affect and manipulate real objects too—then that’s better than nothing. But yeah, he should have lived. And he and Rey should have had a chance to interact in real life without fighting.

At one point, someone says that the little wheel droid—K.O., B.O., whatever his name is lol—has some super important info about the First Order. What did that turn out to be? I don’t recall what came of that, if anything.

I LOVE the 3-way Finn/Poe/Rey hug at the end. I am so glad the filmmakers didn’t opt to arbitrarily lock down a pairing there. Now you can interpret things as Finn/Poe, Finn/Rey, Poe/Rey, or, best of all, OT3—’bout time that [something that could be interpreted as] a healthy poly relationship was shown in a big movie.

I have always thought Adam Driver was a good actor (and holy GOD is he a good actor), but I never had a thing for him. I can feel that changing. I am about to have a huge thing for Adam Driver

Chewie finally got a medal! I dunno if they gave him Luke or Han’s old medal or a brand new one, but who cares—he got a medal!!

Chewie’s grief over Leia’s death absolutely destroyed me. You never really think about them caring much about each other or interacting much—or at least I, a casual viewer, never did—so seeing him utterly devastated by her death was really moving.

I liked the ‘Good Rey fights imaginary(?) Evil Rey’ scene. It was just like when Luke tried to kill Vader under the spooky tree on Dagobah and ‘Vader’ turned out to have Luke’s own face.

I loved how they ask Hux why he’s helping them, and he’s all “I don’t give a fuck if you win, I just want Kylo Ren to lose.” That was honest and a good moral lesson, I think. Hux was the Snape of this movie, and like Snape he wasn’t actually a good person and did a lot of awful shit that he maybe can’t be forgiven for. But—again, like Snape—he also did a few things that were very right and helped the good guys win. If we’re supposed to learn that no one is 100% good or 100% bad and that it is people’s choices that define them, then I think Hux and Snape are good examples of some good choices that were made by shitty people, and which did not diminish their other dickish actions...but which deserve to be acknowledged as good choices nonetheless.

There’s really only one part that I hated, and that is that Leia’s body vanished at the same that Ben’s did. That makes me worry that what actually happened isn’t that Ben truly repented and came over to the light side, but that Leia was basically possessing him and controlling his actions through the whole ending. Cuz that would suck and completely remove his agency/redemption. ...Hopefully it just means that she waited for him so they could disappear together, and mother and son were reunited in death.

I can tell I’m gonna get all up in the reylo tag on AO3. I need another OTP like I need a hole in my head. Sigh. 

[the-house-of-the-nine]

In Depths Below: Epilogue, Part 5

Later that evening.... 

[ L.K ]     It would be a rough start to the night. Lazarius had accompanied Jursol back to her hut and patched the broken areas just before the storm let loose. And what a storm it was. No doubt those Tide Sages of Kul Tiras were at it again. But the rumbles of thunder and lightening crashing all around, as well as the torrential downpour, it bound them inside.

Lazarius had stripped down to his shorts in the swampy jungle heat once more. The glistening of his brandings, tattoos and scars evident in the light of what few candles there were to give them a way to see. He sat on the edge of the cot she had given him to rest on earlier, and in his silence, his extended palm in front of him would flicker with small galactic wormholes that would pop into existence and fade. A black purple flame swirling around him. He was simply toying with his magic.

“We once worshipped N’Zoth, the old god of the deep. My former Mistress was the leader of our cult of The Nine. In fact, Nine member all of which lead the rest of the order to its victory and inevitably its defeat. Decades passed... I have been leading us since the times of this great Third War of the mortal races. I know your people have never been too keen on involvement but that is how long.”

He closed his hand around the flame and sighed.

[ J ]       Once back at the hut, Jursol found a few things to patch the hole on the wall up with. With a smile she handled them to the elf. As she watch how surprisingly good he was at patching up such holes, a small laugh escaped her. She knew like him this was no normal storm coming. Those damn Tide Sages had it out for these lands.

[ L.K ]     “In recent months we have shifted further and further away. I took it upon myself to take inventory of what it is we truly do. What we stand for. And it is chaos, but it is more than that. We are saviors of some of the most brilliant and talented minds the world has ever seen. People who would otherwise be killed for their work, or worse imprisonment. We provide a home for like minded individuals who are through fighting others wars and wish to thrive on our own. A nation away from the political nightmare and a place that offers salvation to all who swear loyalty to the cause.”.

In his hand she would see the construct of a void magic made machine. He created it from the shadow to give her a visual representation of it.

“The Void Forge is our greatest achievement. Made from Titan technology, Mogu and ancient earthen wares. It was reversed engineered to take life, not create. Essentially what it does it extracts the void magic from the Ren’dorei. The void elves. It stores it in batteries for us to use.”.

The image would rotate and turn for her to see all the massive gears and devices.  

[ J ]        Zandalari after all had a great naval force that could rival their own. Due to the ongoing war however, Jursol feared this was perhaps their way of hiding ships sent to scout areas ahead of the coming battle. As she listened her eyes wondered to his hands. She was still mesmerized by the beautiful galactic wormholes he was making.

[ L.K ]     “The body is then stripped of its blood which is placed in a dedicated vessel for our blood mages to experiment on. And lastly, the organic husk is used as the fuel source. Perpetually it will run for as long as we provide it with its source of fuel, Ren’dorei.”

He collapsed the construct and peered over toward her, wherever she was at this point.

“We are bad people Jursol, I know this. But we are also true, pure and devoted to one another. Love and compassion are not lost on us. We do this because when the dam breaks, and the old one returns, lives will be lost. Chaos and the Black empire will return, I have seen this. These stores batteries will be enough to provide us with a shield that will allow the world to bypass us safely in the Bastille for generations to come.”

He looked toward her still and smiled.

[ J ]        As he spoke of his people, The Nine, and the old one N’Zoth she listened intently to every word. Like many Zandalari she knew the threat of Old Gods was real. They were coming back and soon. Hell there was already the created Old One who posed a threat, Ghuun. While he may be defeated easier then most he was still a threat to all life. Jursol recalled a old Seer speaking of the coming storm. A storm of blood, death, dark magic not seen in years. An evil that once thought dormant was said to be returning.

‘Could dis be N’Zoth then?’ she thought.

The more he spoke of how his people, and their home far from the political nightmare that most live in, the more she realized how truly misunderstood he was. Him and his people may have a strange way of doing things, but their goal is far from evil. She could hardly believe the structure of the Void Forge was real. The way it worked, how it was made, everything about it peaked her curiosity.

[ L.K ]     “I could not ask for a better person, you...you Miss Jursol, to be there with me, at my side. I would ask you for it is the respected position that you deserve.”.

She watched as he offered his scarred and worn hand toward her, the image of a serpent burned into the palm.

“Join us. You with your Magic’s..you are the prime candidate to offer us a perspective we have never seen. I see in you...a person worthy of a place where she can flourish...”

[ J ]        She only had to think for a moment after he’d stopped speaking.  He bright eyes looking toward him over the glare of the fire.

“You not be bad people my friend. Many forget der be times we must be doen thins we never thought we would in order to save ourselves or others Sometimes it be taken being da bad guy to get da job done.”

She said smiling looking at him.

“Da future of yo people means a lot to ya. Der be nothing wrong with dat in my eyes.”

As his hand was reached out towards her with an offer to go with him, she bowed her head and met his hand with her own clawed and scaled hand.

“I be happy ta be joinen ya Da raptors be happy as well. Dey seem to trust ya as I do.”

As she said this big raptors gave a small grunt sound in agreement. The smaller one leaping up next to the elf and laying down.

“A place to be using me magic in peace will be a nice change. Perhaps be learnen more about da blood magic I began studying before.”

[ L.K ]     Lazarius would listen to her as she explained and answered each of his various questions and requests. Listened to her explain her side of things. It was quite obvious he knew she was exactly the type of person who could work with the order.

“A place for you to work your blood magic and perfect it. Our former Grand Magus. . . .”

There was that pause again when he regarded her.  A hint of sadness in his eyes, but he would clear it away shortly after and continue on.

“ She has written two books on the subject, her parents before her were members of the council of Nine and served my former mistress. They’d written four. Also with the raw essence being reduced down from the forge you can perhaps practice hands on with it. I am sure a Zandalari brain can think of far more interesting ways to use the blood than we elves.”

The compliment was left there, hanging in limbo for a moment as he pondered.

“Blood Huntress Jursol.”. He said with a chuckle.

“Our last Magus took my hospitality and generosity and is currently beginning work on how to utilize this blood. If possible I’d like to put you in charge of how we research the blood within The Bastille. Perhaps you and our resident scientist Doctor Whistletorque can find a way to use the Azerite with it.”

[ J ]       Jursol moved around the hut as she listened to him. Grabbing some things to make something for them to eat. Herbs, spices, dried meat, and fresh looking fish. Using a very small fireplace she worked to mix the ingredients together just so. Her clawed hands seemed skilled as she gut, deboned, and flayed the fish.

Chopping the herbs with a large knife as she placed them into a bowl. Chucks of dried beef were tossed into a pot of boiling water. A small dash of spices were added as well. Grabbing the chopped herbs she added a bit of oil to them. In another bowl she worked to crush the herbs, turning it into a paste.

The paste was rubbed over the fish before she laced it onto a rack over the fire. Some vegetable type things got added to the stew of beef and spices.

“A place to be practicing in peace be something I be happy to have again. Ta learn more den I know would be a great gift to my allies. A curse to mah enemies.”

Her face seemed calm her pleased.

“So ya be having a scientist der? Dat would make finden new ways ta use blood magic much more fun, and if he be able to use Azarite as well, dat be amazing.”

A smirk grow on her lips as she laughed.

“Well I be not letting ya down. Dis magic be something I take pride in, even if he hated by many.”

As she spoke she kept up with the food. It now smelled like herbs and spices in the little hut. Her hands stirring the stew as she watched the fish.

[ L.K ]     “Well then on behalf of the Council of Nine. .  I officially welcome you into our order.  I know that it is not the Grand flare and show of excitement one such as yourself should warrant but...”.

The irony was not lost due to the fact that he was but one of the council, and the rest were not in attendance.  He extended a finger toward the air and from it a little violet spark shot up and burst into a small firework.  The explosion would for a serpent as it slithered around in a circular shape and then into a knot before vanishing.

[ J ]       Jursol gave a fanged smile as she watched the serpent slither around in a circle, then a knot, all before vanishing. It seemed to entertain her to see his use of his skills.

[ L.K ]     “Ive been giving it some thought.  And I think I know how we can get back to the Bastille.  But now comes the true test of our survival.  Getting us to the Eastern Kingdoms.  If we didn’t have to worry about the war I could arrange passage from Kul Tiras if we could get there.  But that is out.  But I need to reach Alterac.  If we can get there... the former Magus I spoke of who should still be there. . .”.

He sneered and shook his head.

“I installed a gateway through her lower sub basement into the Bastille.  It will place us directly where we need to be.  At that point I can sever her portal thus finally putting an end to that link, and reach my sisters hopefully before something terrible happens.”.

Lazarius would give only a glance toward her meal, granted he didn’t choose to eat anymore because of the parasite but he could still appreciate her talent.

“Are you up for the task Miss Jursol?  Any ideas on how we can escape this island?”

[ J ]       Hearing him speak about the order, and about getting back to them, she started thinking. She knew of the Eastern Kingdoms, and heard about the Alterac. However she never ventured there herself. Pondering for a few minutes before speaking.

“Hmm, I be knowing one way ya travel der. Dey be smugglers doe. We be needen ta get off Zandalar before dey can help. But if we be getting away from Zandalar dey can help get us ta Alterac, or close at least. Ta get off Zandalar we be needed a boat. Dat be easy, if not for da war. Mah people don take kindly ta outsiders. We be needen ta get past dem somehow.”

[ L.K ]      “That is good for us then.  Unfortunately the Horde had not actually made contact with your people before this all began.  I never gave the order to send my own operatives into Zandalar.  But hindsight is of course twenty - twenty.”

Lazarius would think for a moment.  His eyes drifted toward his hands.  The edges of his fingers slightly starting to blacked right at the tips.  Alarming but not enough to warrant attention.  

“What if....”.

He slowly smirked and shifted on the bed while sitting on its edge.  His pale flesh glistening in the hot jungle night; the humidity was overwhelming and the rain outside on made it worse.

“You take the guise of a guard.  One of the elite kings men.  Since I can easily pass for a Ren’dorei, you could be doing a prisoner transfer.  Say you’re taking me for a parlay with the Alliance, trading one of theirs for one of “ours”.  We get our boat and sail to where these smugglers are, they’ll never see us again.”

[ J ]       A grin crossed her lips as she gave the stew a last stir. Scooping some into wood bowl before grabbing a wooden spin.

“Dat may actually work. Ta get a guard be easy enough. Get one ta chase ya ta me, and I can use a dart with poison on dem. Can’t be having blood on da armor.”

Jursol took a bite of the stew before speaking again.

“Da dart be covered in jungle frog poison. Works fast and silently. Most be to busy ta question a prisoner trade. One of da Zandalari priest been missing for some time now. If dey ask I can be saying we be trading for her.”

Jursol laughed as she said that last part.

“Don’t worry she not be comon back. Saw her body being eaten by a few stray raptors. Some small men be killing her. Dey were near some strange looking metal things.”

She nodded and smiled, a tusked toothy smile.

“Yes dis may work for us.”

[ L.K ]     He nodded right back, and gazed at the warrioress with a matching grin.

“Yes...dis may work for us.” 

To be Continued in. . . “In Depths Below: Epilogue, Part 6″

[kingofattolia]

a list of things about Star Wars: The Last Jedi

TLJ felt like watching two completely separate movies. .. .  one i deliriously LOVED and one i spit upon and shake its profane dust off my sandals

THE GOOD

“ive got an urgent message for General Hux” “YOUR REBELLION IS DOOMED” “yeah... im holding for General Hux”

it straight up took me a minute and a half of this scene to figure out this was actually the start of the movie. it felt like one of those pre-movie skits where it seems like a movie but then anthropomorphic M&Ms tell you to turn your cell phone off. was it just me or were there a LOT more comic moments in TLJ compared to almost every other star wars movie? anyway i loved it even tho it gave the movie a slight someone-made-this-while-high-on-LSD feel 

Leia USING THE FORCE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

R2 playing Luke the “you’re my only hope” recording of Leia, i almost died

FORCE SHENANIGANS. we saw more powerful, dramatic, and varied uses of the Force in TLJ than we have ever before seen in a live action media and i was L I V I N G

“you’ve closed yourself off from the Force”

Rey and Kylo’s foRCE BOND TALKING like this.. . . is so interesting .. .  and it wasn’t only Snoke doing it because they did it again after he’s dead...

Rey lifting 30 giant fricken boulders without even breaking a sweat after having one (1) single “training” session

Kylo remotely activating Anakins lightsaber

projecting himself........ across the entire galaxy. . ..

Yoda. in the former EU the Force ghosts had a non-negotiable expiration date a certain time after their deaths. Obi-Wan couldnt just come back and visit Luke forever, he faded away at some point. is this no longer true??? DOES THIS MEAN ANYONE CAN COME BACK IF THEY WANT??? why was yoda so physical even as a ghost that he could whack luke on the head

summoning lightning like alright this is a new Jedi power im adding to my arsenal

Leia’s mary poppins action

Luke vaulting across the cliff to stab fish

POE'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT he turned from a kamikaze into a leader who's able to see the big picture and walk away, im so proud

everyone..... messing with Hux...... i loved this

Snoke smacking him into the floor

Kylo smacking him into the wall

Kylo force choking him

slowly taking gun out. . . . . HES AWAKE ABORT ABORT... slowly putting gun back . . . Hux is going spend every waking moment wishing he took that shot

Finn's character arc, like what an awesome Slytherin. the contrast between him and the codebreaker 👌👌👌👌 & where he makes the choice REBEL scum 👌👌👌

LET'S GO, CHROME DOME

i cant believe Phasma died again lol. her backstory novel was SO DRAMATIC and she just dies over and over

when Kylo does that little skid out into the hallway to look for Rey

Chewy breaking down Luke's door

when Luke kisses Leia on the forehead . . . .

kylo KILLING SNOKE I AM LITERALLY SO HAPPY. I AM SO HAPPY. IM SO

this had to happen, it was so obvious but i didnt think they would actually do it, Snoke was so boring and useless, i am SO GLAD they didnt drag him out..... I AM SO HAPPY HES DEAD

it was truly awesome... i couldnt stop grinning it seeing it the 2nd time... "I CANNOT BE BETRAYED, I CANNOT BE BEATEN, I CAN SEE HIS MIND" & then he narrates the entire process of Kylo killing him i was LIVING. everyone theorized for so loooooong and so hard about what form Snoke's control over Kylo took and how it would be possible for him to break it,, , , and then he just DOES IT JUST LIKE THAT by SHEER MISDIRECTION FOLKS I AM SO ALIVE

THE TEAM UP FIGHT

i love lightsaber fights so much i would very nearly give up my critical integrity for a single awesome duel and this was,,, so awesome

when Rey drops her lightsaber to catch it again and cut that guys knees out from under him

when Snoke is cut in half and then the lightsaber rockets towards Kylo and Rey's hand SHOOTS INTO THE FRAME to catch it 👌👌👌

when Kylo takes on FOUR OF THEM AT ONCE

"THE SUPREME LEADER IS DEAD" "long live. . . the supreme leader .. "

not gonna lie, i am such a huge fan of supreme leader!Kylo. CAN HE EVEN LEAD ANYONE??? DOES HE HAVE THE CAPABILITY?? HONESTLY WHAT DOES HE WANT TO DO? WHAT WILL HIS SELF-DIRECTED MISSION BE? VADER NEVER GOT TO BE ANYTHING BUT AN ATTACK DOG, WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING TO HAPPEN

I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA BUT IM SO HYPE TO FIND OUT

THIS IS BRAND NEW

"finn! rose! you're not dead! where's my droid"

the little slave kids from Canto Bight. did the kid at the end use the Force to pull his broom!??!

"that library did not contain anything the girl Rey does not already possess" Yoda thinks hes so funny. REY STOLE THE LIBRARY LMAO... thanks Rey... im glad someone around here has a brain...

the Falcon swooping in to draw off the TIEs on Crait

"OH, THEY HATE THAT SHIP"

Vice Admiral Holdo's lightspeed kamikaze. . . aside from the drama of the moment & making Hux look stupid, just visually it was awesome

absolutely every single thing said by either Hux or Kylo in Kylo's command shuttle above Crait

"i want every gun we have to fire on that man"

"blow that PIECE OF JUNK oUT OF THE SKY"

when kylo's like "concentrate all fire on the speeders" and then Hux immediately shrieks "CONCENTRATE ALL FIRE ON THE SPEEDERS" and Kylo looks at him like 🤔

"do you think you got him?"

when Luke faces Kylo

WHEN LUKE FACES KYLO

this scene makes the movie for me honestly. as of now im in a state of uneasy ceasefire with TLJ and the sequel trilogy as a whole. if the scene of Luke facing Kylo did not exist, TLJ would probably be dead to me

"did you come to SAVE MY SOUL" "no."

absolutely everything about Luke was so completely epic in this scene. even though he barely said anything, even the way he stood was epic. im not sure how Hamill did this but it was everything i ever wanted

"i failed you, Ben. I'm sorry." "i'm sURE YOU ARE"

the contrast between Kylo's fighting stance and Luke's

when Luke steps out from the massive cloud and duSTS OFF HIS SHOULDER

this fills me with so much pure glee i could literally ascend

"if you strike me down in anger, i'll always be with you. like your father."

the slow, dawning horror when Kylo starts realizing Luke's not actually there

"see you around, kid"

"SEE YOU AROUND, KID"

"SEE YOU AROUND, KID"

my favorite line in the WHOLE THING i could Scream

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHH

"SEE YOU AROUND, KID"

when Rey slams the door in Kylo's face

THE BAD

Luke should have LIFTED HIS X WING OUT OF THE WATER WITH THE FORCE AT SOME POINT GOSH DARN. i knew from the moment we saw the submerged x wing that this moment was meant to happen.... but then it DIDN’T. like PLEASE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO GOOD I NEED TO SEE THIS

the casino subplot. . .  it was awesome for Finns character development but couldn’t he have developed character over an actually materially relevant story arc.. . .

BB-8 didn’t fight Dark BB-8 like what the hell honestly

for what earthly reason does Kylo need to wear his pants up to his armpits. is he TRYING to look like a doofus

why wasn't Lando the master codebreaker. like quite frankly, give me one good reason. why. no. there are no good reasons. when is Lando going to come into it you cowards

honestly....... what the FRICK was that horrible backstory behind what caused Kylo to turn

WHAT THE FRICK

im trying to keep my cool but this is a huge, enormous, and vital problem i have with this movie and whoever came up with that should be shot

Luke, in a brief moment of insanity, ignited his lightsaber over his sleeping nephew's bed to assassinate him because of a vision

LUKE SKYWALKER the guy who wouldnt believe that DARTH VADER, ENSLAVER OF WORLDS, SLAUGHTERER OF CHILDREN, MASS MURDERER OF THOUSANDS, was a lost cause and who refused to kill him, TRIED TO KILL HIS APPRENTICE IN HIS SLEEP

like... do you see my problem?

character assassination. it is ludicrously greater-than-Anakin Skywalker levels of overreaction to a Force premonition that Luke would see a vision of darkness and instantly move to slice his sleeping, defenseless nephew in half, and even in Luke's version of the story Luke is legitimatly the bad guy. he brought about the future he was afraid of, just like Anakin

because of this background, every interpretation is blown wide open to reasonably see Kylo as the victim and Luke's actions as those of a villain. of course he had to defend himself? it's legitimately possible to construe the subsequent killing of the other students as self-defense as well. if they wake up to find Ben having "killed" Luke? anything could have happened, Kylo could honestly have done barely anything bad up to this point and have been driven to the dark side on that one night

it's going to take.... so much work.... to walk this back. obviously Kylo's a villain now, because of what he's chosen to do since then, but for Luke to come out of this not looking like trash, they would have to provide SO MUCH more backstory including the "dark" things Kylo had done to make Luke suspect him, and have him probably be actively seeking darkness while under Luke's tutelage. and then Luke still seems like a fool and a betrayor

maybe they WANT Luke to come off as a legitimately bad person? i've seen some interpretations of TLJ as tearing down "legends" by showing everyone as flawed people, teaching the lesson of not deifying people to Rey AND the audience as well. if thats true and they actually want me to believe Luke is not worth believing in, i'm sorry but i reject that

luke skywalker is not a bad person

rey said "you didnt fail Kylo, Kylo failed you" WHICH... its true that Kylo failed in all his actions after this. but if this is the unmitigated truth about what happened that day, Luke definitely failed Kylo, thats not really arguable

i spit this backstory out of my mouth and stomp on it

bye felicia

"the legacy of the jedi is failure and hypocrisy. at the height of their power they allowed darth sidious to come to power and wipe them out" ok true. "it was a jedi master who was responsible for the training and creation of darth vader" YOU TAKE THAT BACK

a related point..... Luke is a coward.

i'm not saying that the only kind of Luke i would accept is HEROIC LEGEND LUKE WHO BURSTS FORTH FROM HIS ISOLATION AND SINGLE HANDEDLY DEVASTATES THE FIRST ORDER. but at the same time, his isolation is NOT in any way comparable to Obi-Wan's. "i came here to die" ok buddy.

dying is all well and good, hiding from your failures, being broken for a while after taking a hit like that

what i am NOT able to forgive is how he abandoned Leia

???? the frick???

"so many losses, i can't take any more" "sure you can" STORY OF LEIA'S LIFE

"im from the resistance, your sister Leia sent me" boy when she says jump you better say "how high?" honestly YOU OWE IT AT LEAST TO YOUR GUILT TO DO THAT FOR HER

HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE? SHE'S ON HER OWN DEALING WITH EVERY PROBLEM IN THE WHOLE GALAXY AND HE'S DOING WHAT? YOU'RE TELLING ME LUKE WOULD HAVE ABANDONED HIS SISTER LIKE THAT??? AND WHEN SHE SPECIFICALLY ASKS FOR HIM HE SAYS "no frick u" ?!?!?

if that's Luke Skywalker then Luke Skywalker is a useless coward

that is not Luke Skywalker

honestly everything Rey said was spot on "Leia sent me here with hope. if she's wrong then she deserves to know why. we all do"

the overall thesis of the sequel trilogy seems to be "there's no point to any of this"

a powerful student turns to the dark side and destroys the Jedi Order. an authoritarian regime destroys the republic and takes over. a small band of resistance fighters rallies against great odds. a Force sensitive from a desert planet teaches herself the Force from old Jedi books after her teacher evaporates into the Force after teaching like 1 lesson. everyone Leia loves dies

guys... i'm tired

it's just exhausting. what is the point? in the sequel trilogy we've seen the republic destroyed, the resistance decimated and harried from place to place until theyre down to 12 people on the millennium falcom. there's only one movie left. they're going to come back from nothing and destroy the first order and then smile at each other in the ashes?

why?>??? what are they going to do? build a republic again? is rey going to build a new jedi order? we've seen how that worked out

there's nothing to believe in here. HOPE is such a strong theme in the sequel trilogy. "as long as there's light we've got a chance" "leia sent me here with hope" "the galaxy has lost its hope, the spark is out." "hope is like the sun, if you only believe in it when you can see it you'll never make it through the night." like good grief. constantly hammering on the need to have hope, but WHY?

what's the point of defeating the imperials, spending your life trying to build something good in the galaxy, trying to build a family, when you're only going to have to do it all again in your old age, when everyone you love is dead?

i cant see any hope if this is the ending for the OT characters, so i powerfully struggle to care about and cheer for Rey, Poe, and Finn. what's the point in anything they're doing? what's the point in the sacrifices they're making? it might turn out just exactly like it did for Luke, Leia, and Han, spending their old age in loneliness, sorrow, and violence

if this is the way history repeats itself, you probably should just make out like the stuttering codebreaker. "dont join"

[parkwoojin]

the shipping in the wanna one fandom is cute, can you ship some of you mutuals with the wanna one members

- daniel w/ val @kingdans ; tbh i was debating either dan or ong in the end i flipped a coin which means fate wants her nd dan to be together LOL she’s always screaming abt him in her tags and i think its rlly cute ;; i also think daniel would find her funny and that they’d balance each other out v well! he would take care of her and tell her cheesy jokes that she’d pretend to hate 

-jihoon w/ naia @parkji-hoons ; naia like hardly ever tags posts and the only times she does is when its of jihoon and shes professing her love to him JFDKLS it makes me laugh she’s so great! also jihoon is like an odd sort of manly u know what i mean like though he does do a lot of aegyo he’s v chill and playful so i think he needs a good spirited person to take care of him which i think naia is ideal for, plus jihoon wld make her v happy which she deserves!!

-daehwi w/ claire @dearlydaehwi​ ; her dedication nd love for daehwi is unbelievable!! she is always on the ball w/ info and updates bc she loves him so much and i love screaming about the brand new boys w/ her! she’s also a bright person who’s v easy to talk too, just like daehwi so ofc they belong together…. they soulmates dont u know!! plus they’re both super super cute and i want to protect them both!!!!! 

-jaehwan w/ lucy @kimjaehwanswife​ ; lucy is rlly one of the funniest blogs i follow hJDFLSFAF everytime she makes text posts i die laughing….. she hates and loves jaehwan at the same time like thts tru luv yall!!!!!! she’s also v strongminded and protective of her friends so i think she’d be a good match for jaehwan bc he’s been thru some rough times and she’d be good at cheering him up!! jaehwan, the funniest member of wanna one and lucy, one of the funniest people on tumblr.com wow can u imagine anything better

-seongwoo w/ ginny @ongsecngwoo​ ; i have an unexplainable soft spot for ginny hFJDLFsf is that weird i think its bc she and i tag posts in a similar fashion like our lil comments nd keysmashes hAHA anyway, she’s one of the first ong blogs i followed so i now associate the both of them together so it has to be ginny! 2 kind amazin ppl, ong wld make her laugh a lot and i dun think he’d be pressured about being funny in front of her & THEY CLD GO ON CUTE DRIVES 2GETHER……

-woojin w/ gee @darkpastwoojin​ ; TBH I SHIP ALL WOOJIN STANS W/ WOOJIN WE LOVE OUR GUY!!!! but if i must pick one it has to be gee! like she rlly loves him so much i think she’s rb every post of woojin to exist on tumblr LOL i always see her rb my posts with the cutest tags her love for woojin makes me smile so hard!!! she’s also so kind and sweet! also i called woojin yesterday nd he told me he loves her; no printer just fax out here - them hearts he was shooting out at the fansign? all for her

-guanlin w/ mel @1guanlins ; mel is rlly bright and happy she tags guanlin as her sunshine nd das rlly cute ! and other times she’ll say she wants to light herself on fire bc of him which i think truly captures the duality that both her and guanlin have…. as in sometimes guanlin is the softest baby boy to ever live and other times he looks like he came straight out of a magazine w/ those amAZING visuals i cant believe hes only turning 16 this yr its too much; also mel uses a lot of emojis in her tags which is young hip and in the know just like guanlin #OTP

-jisung w/ jasmyn @yoonjsung ; ah i sometimes see her interactions w/ the emoboiz squad and from what i can tell she’s so caring and kind to her friends so her and jisung would make literally the P E R F E C T match! he’s always looking out for w1 but he needs some1 to look out for him too so i think jasmyn and him would be nice! i think jisung wld also be v attentive plus he’s good w/ kids so thats v important!

-minhyun w/ sarah @minhwangs ; though sarah occupies 3 lanes simultaneously (min, dan, and woojin - how you ask? her car is huge) she belongs w/ minhyun in my heart - the og OTP!!! they’re both such affectionate and kind people who care for others while also retaining some silliness LOL i love sarah!!! treat minhyun well girl…. have tea parties w/ the busan line okay use ur opportunity well

-jinyoung w/ abia @rosybaejin ; bc when i think baejin i think abia she was one of the only baejin blogs i followed for a while so again i associate her w/ jinyoung! 70% of the baejin content on my dash is from her LOL she loves him a lot and i think he’d pair well with her he’s such a soft sweet shy and happy boy

-sungwoon w/ yan @sung-woons ; if you’ve seen yan you’ll know she looks like an angel aka a being who lives up in the clouds and sungwoon is a cloud ill let yall connect the dots!!!! LOL but truly her love for sungwoon is so pure nd cute so i have to ship them 

[seanmeverett]

Review of KPCB’s 2017 Internet & Tech Trends

Learnings from a product person’s perspective of a 350-page deck

I. Setting the Stage

At the pace the tech news goes these days, you’ve probably already forgotten all about Mary Meeker’s latest gem of a trends report. This year was a doozy. Over 350 pages. Analysts, get you some sleep.

The slides are embedded below to make this easier and so you can follow along with our comments of how to interpret these findings. Use this to build your own startup, innovate at the company you work at, or just to learn something new.

Knowledge is a tool that must continue to be sharpened.

http://ift.tt/2tQfhrR

II. Advertising & Retailing

p5: global internet users and smart phone growth has essentially stopped. We’ve reached the fat middle of the market in terms of spreading and have plugged in half the human species. The only thing that’s spread further is life support (oxygen, water, food) and electricity. New enablement technology diffused? Check.

p9: adults now spend nearly a full working day interacting with tech and digital media in the US. So, you’ve got your work job and now you’ve got your fun job. The convergence has already begun. Social media marketers isn’t just some joke job. It’s a skill of the new economy.

p13: this “time spent vs ad dollars spent” chart has been out of whack for years. It’s finally getting in sync. Which means its time for a new medium to get released. Only this time, it’s going to be so personalized, it’s basically a reflection of you.

p14: the internet is our new television, is our new radio, is our new book.

p15: if you’re buying ads, trying to target a certain demo to create a conversion into a sale, you basically only have one choice: Google or Facebook.

P16–25: ads is where almost all of the money is flowing in tech. You may find it boring, but don’t forget, boring = cash flow.

p27: I’ve never been a fan of interactive or dynamic ads. It makes the user do two things they hate: 1) sit through another damn ad, and 2) you’re not going to make me interact with it?! Oy, the best ad doesn’t look, feel, taste, or sound like an ad. It’s compelling content.

p32: Google is basically the digital world’s most pervasive and compelling product. Because it makes people pay to be next to the stuff you’re looking for. In the real world, that would be like some dude following you around a museum asking if you want to go buy this paint brush or eat at Denny’s next to a picture of food. Not knocking it, it’s an incredible business, but there’s a lesson here in that the digital world has different rules than the real one. Expect that lesson to keep playing itself out over the coming decades.

p35: future ads are going to be pics instead of text. Humans process pics way faster. Pinterest and Snap might have an opportunity against the Googs here, but the search habit is so embedded in the human populace that now it’s part of the web browser URL bar. Snap nor Pinterest has that level of OS access.

p39: retail and brands. It’s not about just showing your product in context anymore. We believe it’s about creating an experience around your product that customers want to come for. An example is throwing a music festival in the summer if you’re a bottled water company. You create the context and leave your product as the only option. That’s how you reach Millennials and Gen Z. And Amazon.com is how you reach adults with kids and no free time. It ain’t rocket science, it’s just execution.

p40: Will Smith saved us from aggressive aliens. We appreciate him. And he was a former math guy so, street credibility.

p44: AR is going to be interesting. Yet to be seen how pervasive it will become from a visual perspective until we have the glasses that don’t look like cell phones strapped to our heads. Or as I call them, “Noggin Boxes”.

p45: AI Assistants, to me, are the promise of truly invisible software. Many have talked about it, but you can’t just say what you want and have it work right all the time, as well people are very uncomfortable talking to a machine in public. It just feels weird. No amount of NLP or AI is going to change human behavior. It’s going to have to jump the shark in favor of neural laces where I think it and it happens.

p53: customer support survey where people tell you what they want. I’ve got a better solution. Make your product and service so great that it makes support obsolete. I know, easier said than done, but it’s a goal that means your business is around forever. Look at Vaynerchuck. He didn’t sell wine. He sold “I’ll drive to you in a blizzard with a power generator to keep your business open and house warm”. Then you never buy from another wine seller again. That’s extreme support.

P55: that little intercom chat window is freaking everywhere.

more retail stuff with a bunch of metrics and pipelines and yaddy yaddy

P66: apartment lobbies become storage facilities for packages. Boy can I attest to this in Cali as well as NYC. It’s a really smart notice by the folks who put this together. What it means is again: Amazon is your retail strategy. Forget store fronts, websites, apps, etc. Just drive traffic to Amazon pages. Get Affiliate commissions on top of it. Reduce friction, just get the damn sale. Your brand is in front of people when they get the product home. You don’t need to own the web experience.

p68: food delivery is a huge deal. We’re tired, we’re sick of cooking, and entire startup businesses have been created on the back of a grubhub page. It’s like amazon for real-time, hot food. It’s a big deal and will only get bigger. Cheap + Healthy + Filling. That’s your magic formula.

p71: AI for clothing design of the future. Don’t count it out.

p73: people don’t want to just try stuff on. They want to get it now to wear now. Real-time is the key to in-person experience. That’s the excitement, not to wait for it to be shipped. Not a fan of the “waiting” model.

p74: Wal-Mart’s in real trouble.

p75: meanwhile, Amazon Basics is a gold mine.

III. Interactive Gaming

p81: if you’re on the internet, it’s highly likely that you game. Play is built into human nature because it’s escapism.

p82: I used to watch a room full of developers talk about and watch online gaming while they coded. This was back in 2013. Cooperative esports is not a fad, but something that’s going to be around for some time. The new sports agent will be after these huge sponsorship dollars.

p84: people in Asia like video games. No secret here.

p85: pretty even split amongst all age groups on who games.

p88–97: there’s a reason gamification works. The problem is always around defining and designing a concept called “fun”. Just because you slap points on something doesn’t automatically make taking out the trash fun.

p99: Twitch ain’t goin nowhere. Level that up with Minecraft and then add in some cryptocurrency where it becomes your job and watch a new economy blossom in a digital universe completely outside the confines of governmental taxation, which means you get to keep 33% more of that money you spent time making.

p101: I’ve never played fantasy sports but all my friends have been playing since we were kids. Weird that it took until only recently for the likes of Fan Duel to show up.

p103: more game machanics. Understanding that they exist is the first step, the next step is applying them correctly. Easier said than done. Trust me from experience running a gamification product for brands to increase engagement via social media.

p114: gaming beats social in engagement. The problem is that you eventually master the game but not your social network. So more value is continually added to Facebook, Insta and Snap while the creators of FarmVille, Clash of Clans, and Angry Birds have to keep creating hits. And content is hard.

p120: tech and sports has been talked about for decades but there hasn’t really been a breakthrough killer product that everyone swears by. Maybe the bracelet / watch that tracks steps but that’s pretty low-grade in terms of information density.

p123: state of the art for sports platforms is just analytics dashboards with some gamification added on top. But does that really increase your performance? Sure it helps to know you did a few more steps than yesterday and that you’re on a streak for working out 3 days in a row, but you kind of already knew that intuitively didn’t you? Where’s the leverage? Much like the iPhone made computing pervasive, did the Apple Watch really make sports pervasive and higher performance? It seems there’s a big hole that still exists in this area until we start tracking automatically what food goes into our body, the digestion that takes place, how exercise and sitting affects that, alcohol, work and environmental factors, and then gives you suggestions for improving your health.

p129: gamification in industrial settings is highly important. It gets talked about too much in consumer and not enough in aerospace, automotive, surgery, military, industrial manufacturing, robotics, etc.

p132: the volume of digital information created is on a power law curve, we’re still just at the very beginning.

p133: Moore’s Law still isn’t coming to a close, regardless of how many people talk about it. Because there is always room to pay more for faster compute.

p138–145: esports is a big deal. It’s growing 40% every year now reaching half the population of the United States.

p150: do trends in gaming predict future product around all of tech, much like porn used to in the video production space?

IV. Media

Editor’s note: after years of experience building online video/audio platforms, media businesses, and social apps, we are undoubtedly going to have a biased view about this section so you can either take it as we know some inside baseball or we’re bat shit crazy. So all I can promise is the unvarnished truth from my perspective.

p153: music streaming is pretty simple — make sure you have the song I want to listen to, give me some new songs I’d like but haven’t found on my own, and then charge me a flat monthly fee like $10 for it. Execute on those 3 things and you’ve got yourself some good bacon. Of course, Amazon is the real wild card here because as a Prime member, you get music plus a whole host of other things.

p154: online video vs cable tv is also very simple — give me the channels I want to watch, new movies the moment they hit the theaters, and charge me a low monthly fee. High quality is the name of the game here. Hollywood blockbusters and some personal favorites (HGTV, ESPN, HBO, Science Channel, etc). That’s it. Everything else is window dressing and noise. Apple Music is getting into Hollywood with original content. Netflix is killing the game but their library aside from originals is waning. Amazon Prime is coming in hot, and watch out for Facebook’s wildcard of a movie in a text message.

p158: streaming music subs are growing because nobody needs to buy albums anymore. Truthfully it’s Apple Music (install base of devices) vs Spotify (the O-G-riginal).

p161: Netflix subs are also growing rapidly as they expand their service globally. But the only thing that matters is getting the latest Hollywood blockbusters on their service. If they can’t continue to do that, it’s going to be a long painful death. I’m talking Avengers, Star Wars, etc. Basically, Disney. Which isn’t going to happen because they have their own streaming service.

p163: recommendation engines. Oy, have I heard the pitch for this a million and one times. Again, we’re back to “Ok this title I’ve never heard of is interesting, but what’s the new Hollywood flick I can watch?”. That has nothing to do with recommendation engines and everything to do with high quality content licensing deals with the studios.

p165: it’s YouTube vs Facebook. The former gets longer form, the latter shorter form. They’ll both battle for movie/TV-grade content but that’s Netflix, Amazon, iTunes. So there’s your split. Facebook is quick-hit social, YouTube is UGC around 15 mins, Netflix is originals and TV shows with some movies, iTunes is your Hollywood rentals and purchases, and Amazon is just the everything all the time so maybe one day.

p167: interesting that every one of the social networks is growing at the exact same MAU rate.

p171: the older you are, the more you watch. Less of a social / eventful life?

p173: pay TV will never go away because it’s more economical to pay the $100 to $200 per month for the cable, internet, TV bundle and get all the channels than trying to buy only internet service and then pay for one off channels and then movies on top of it. The reality is a mixed bag approach. Some internet, some cable, some OTT.

p176: the goal is a personalized linear channel. You tune into one TV station, let it play all day every day, and it’s filled with everything you want when you want it. Social videos, educational stuff, movies, TV, etc. Disclosure: I’ve got a patent for inventing this and for mobile live streaming.

V. The Cloud

p181: might surprise you to see the public cloud really hasn’t taken much of the spend away from a traditional data center / private data center.

p182: but AWS is kicking everyone else’s ass, which is no big surprise.

p182: security is a big deal, and as cyber becomes ever more important in the global economy (i.e., digital transformation), expect some big exits in this space due to the sheer need to protect not just information, but money.

p184: at this point, most people are familiar with APIs where as recently as 5 years ago I did some research and could find only about 10,000 public APIs in existence. Today, containerization is in a similar space. One way to think of it is like a computer dedicated to one API. Also, edge computing could be the biggest boon to digitizing our world, but the problem is fitting something powerful enough in a small space that doesn’t suck in a lot of electricity. You need efficient chips and efficient AI (i.e., connectomics).

p187: boy have I spent a lot of time on enterprise software. SAAS-based cloud products. It’s the playbook played out across Silicon Valley and internal digital transformation teams everywhere, now.

p188: at this point it seems laughable to say Design Is Important for digital products. Though the requirements for usability is much less, considering the Snapchat generation grew up with this stuff and can reverse engineer a UI just by tapping it.

p190: we don’t hear enough about cybersecurity, mostly because it’s a tight-knit group of folks who prefer to remain anonymous and protected. But it’s a big deal, especially in closed door conversations. Interpolate this to our infrastructure systems like power, water, etc and you start to realize how incredibly important this becomes.

p191: spam’s up? I would call many ecommerce shopping emails spam but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Where’s the startups that lets you unsubscribe from everything with a push of a single button?

VI. China

p195: China has nearly 4x the number of people of America with an economy and excess cash flow growing at staggering rates. Personally, I feel they’re iterating faster than the US and Rest of World in key innovation areas like AI, Space, Manufacturing and a single mobile app for the entire country. Watch out when they launch their own cryptocurrency that lets them optimize their monetary policy in real-time. I’ll invest in that ICO.

p196: service output is going up and to the right.

p197: it’s no secret that private enterprise fuels growth. China just proved it in a huge way over the last decade.

p198: focusing on health care (large population) and IT (the future). Smart.

p200–203: almost everyone in the country is connected to the internet via mobile and they spend almost all their time on it. Hello WeChat.

p204: No surprise on WeChat, but look at Tencent’s share of time. Crazy. More than half of China’s internet time is spent on a Tencent property, with a bit more on Alibaba to buy stuff. That’s like Facebook + Amazon in the US.

p209: live is a big deal over there, and has become an economy in and of itself. People are supplementing their work income with 24x7 livestreaming of their lives and getting paid by viewers with stickers and weird emojis. It’s also the place where many big companies are investing their R&D dollars because gaming and live are providing higher returns than investing in their own businesses. Isn’t that crazy? I take the money I make from my business and invest in this app over here because I’m going to get more money back. At what point does it suck up a lion’s share of the entire economy?

p210: Live is money.

p213: bikes are big in China because they’re cheap, don’t take up space, and they can fit in small spaces.

p216: bikes as the last mile of the commute. Interesting that people take a portfolio approach to traveling from A to B.

p219: expect this to explode when China releases their cryptocurrency.

p223: this is a great roundup chart to see which monetary services are getting the most users across China. Payments and Wealth Management, of course.

p229: China’s ad market doesn’t seem as fervorous as America’s. I have a feeling because the economy is more about direct payments.

VII. India

p233: it’s as big of a population as China, but a much smaller economy as their main export is software engineers instead of manufactured goods. Be careful though, it could be a sleeping giant as the GDP growth rate is the same as China. The US, while big, is only growing about 1/4th as quickly.

p234: far fewer of India’s population is connected to the internet. Only about 1/3rd compared to about 3/4th in China and almost everyone in the US. Internet penetration is highly correlated to the wealth of a nation.

p235: Android’s big there.

P236: smartphone shipments have basically flatlined.

p237: getting access to the internet is expensive for the majority of the population, hence the drag on the economy.

p242: China is selling India their phones.

p246: China is also India’s most-used web browser.

p247: US, China, India dominate the Android app store.

p251: expect internet usage to continue to increase based on bringing costs down which will have a positive impact on India’s future economic prospects. Internet > Education > Skills > Compensation > Productivity > GDP

p252: we’re all just humans regardless of the (country’s) name on the door. So yah, streaming music and video is big in India too.

p254: India’s leadership is focused on the right thing, see p251 above.

p260: a singular digital ID is smart. What is it in the US? Driver’s license and Facebook. In China? WeChat profile.

p262: payments and infrastructure are being built now. What happens when it’s fully built out?

p266–267: mobile is where all the time spent and no surprise that half is on entertainment with 1/3rd on social. Regardless of nationality, we’re all still humans.

p270: a massive portion of India’s compensation is spent on health care. Decreasing this cost + increasing access to the internet are the main two levers to increasing economic well being.

p274: VCs are investing in startups, helping to drive growth, though it has flatlined in recent quarters.

p278–279: I know that India’s young population presents a large opportunity and know some big transportation companies looking to capture that market.

p281: oh god, are you still with me? If you’ve happened across this chart, I think we’ve lost you. My fingers just got tired looking at this one.

p284: the US leads in number of years of schooling, and India trails far behind. Internet = education because it shows what’s possible and gives you the resources for free to get started.

p286: females in India aren’t working.

VIII. Healthcare

p289: have a digital helper analyze, diagnose, and prevent issues with your health is the holy grail. We’re close to that future, but knowing how lagging the healthcare industry is with tech overall, it’s going to be an uphill battle unless individuals take matters into their own hands. For examples, CIOs at hospital systems are focused on reducing sepsis which directly saves lives, but moving medical records and software to the cloud is a painful, decades-long process.

p292: health IoT including wearables are likely to expand in the coming years. Eventually the whole nanobots in your blood helping cells fix themselves in real-time is a nice thought but we’re a long, long way off from that.

p293: more blood and health tests are now available through labs, which means diagnosis is cheaper, faster, and more accurate.

p294: pay attention to sensors that are included in wearables. Without a sensor, there’s no data to analyze. So, the most pervasive (an accelerometer) will only give you number of steps. Not very helpful in helping you manage your health but I suppose it’s something. Once we get into heart rate, blood sugar, metabolism, etc we will start to unlock some pretty cool stuff. Then it requires a highly efficient, but low-powered AI like Biologic Intelligence to understand it all and detect anomalies in real-time.

p295: I’d say Google through Verily and Apple with their Watch wearable are best positioned from the big tech companies. Interesting that Amazon doesn’t really have a health-centric product yet. Now that they own Whole Foods and are pushing into groceries and food, expect that trend to continue into personalized health as part of a Prime subscription.

p299: patient data is necessary for understanding someone’s health but the flip side is pre-existing conditions and the impact it might have on you getting health insurance coverage, the price of your premium, and getting services paid for. Double-edged sword, this.

p302: look at this crazy exponential curve in medical knowledge. And there’s not much out there on the impact food we ingest has on our health. Expect this trend to continue into the future as our population gets bigger and older.

p304: personalization isn’t just for targeted advertising campaigns, biomarkers from DNA sequencing can be used to target clinical trials to get you the help you need from new procedures, drugs, etc.

p305: data, it works.

p306: the young are paying attention earlier in life. They’re listening to their parents and grandparents ailments and stories.

p309: a friend founded a telepharm startup called, well, Telepharm. He was early on the trend, but when you can’t get all the way to the doctor in person, live streaming is a great second best alternative.

p311: back to the tech adoption curve that I linked to at the very top of this analysis, of course we expect health to be adopted quickly. As we like to say in tech circles, find a problem and offer a solution. Health, when it’s a problem, is all you care about and are price inelastic.

p313: costs are decreasing.

p314–318: number of genomes sequenced are increasing. Just wait until we start capturing people’s connectomes.

IX. Innovation

p320: I take issue with this statement. It assumes that innovation is all it takes to raise capital, get big, and sell product. It doesn’t. Even scientific invention isn’t enough. You need to have relationships. Lots and lots of relationships to get capital from investors, corporate coffers, and customers. Then and only then does a product matter that someone can buy.

p322–325: US and China are dominating tech. The question is who’s iterating faster. Because that’s the slope of the line. And whichever line is steeper, predicts the winner. I have a gut feeling I know who it is.

p329–331: IPO & VC, a confusing chart with way too much going on but I think the story is it’s been more or less steady for about a decade. M&A is about the same, even though it cuts the timeline in the chart in half. Be careful, your graph axes.

X. Macro

p336: in the US we pay about 1/3rd of our income to the government. The question is what is it spent on. Unsurprisingly, health care for older people, defense so nobody hurts us, and interest on all that debt because taxes don’t cover the spending.

p337: the USA is not a healthy business if you look at it like a startup. Look at all that red.

p338: debt is highest during war. But that money gets spent somewhere.

p340: the US has the highest debt level in the world. China doesn’t even make the list because they’re printing money doing all the world’s manufacturing.

p341: giving people money and services for doing nothing is a great way to get an entitlement mentality. That’s why they’re called Entitlements and that’s where a lot of America’s income is going. It does help people who want to do something for that income, but are physically or mentally unable. That’s part of what a government is for. To help those citizens who can’t help themselves. But the fact that it’s increasing so rapidly is troubling.

p344: debt is debt. Most Americans have a bunch of debt in houses. Second is student loans. So living and educating. Not a great sign if you want to grow.

p347–348: immigrants account for a lot of value creation.

p350: as a world, we’re better off than we were. That’s progress as a species and something to be positive about.

— Sean Everett

Read more than 750 current and emerging tech analyses on The Mission’s other publication, Humanizing Tech.

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