#Objectives of Strategy Formulation

[easynotes4u]

Strategy Formulation: Meaning, Definitions, Process, Importance, Objectives, Characteristics, Types, Methods, and Techniques

In this article we will discuss about Strategy Formulation: Meaning, Definitions, Process, Importance, Objectives, Characteristics, Types, Methods, and Techniques. Meaning of Strategy Formulation Meaning of Strategy Formulation: Strategy formulation is the process of creating a clear and comprehensive plan for an organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives. It involves assessing…

[komsomolka]

The US formulated a policy in the early 1990s on how to reform and domestically transform Russia in the image of the US (Cohen, 2001). The reforms that had been initiated by Gorbachev and further developed by Yeltsin was to be outsourced to Washington. Diplomacy between the West and Russia was primarily focused on reforming Russia as an object of security rather than engage Moscow in pan-European affairs, which fuelled a sense in Russia of having fallen under a sort of colonial tutelage. The relationship was summarised aptly by Bill Clinton in 1996: “We keep telling ol’ Boris, ‘O.K., now, here’s what you’ve got to do next—here’s some more shit for your face” (Talbott, 2007: 201). [...]

The West returned to the historical idea of having a “civilising mission” or “white Man’s burden” to tame the barbaric East, which was applied to Russia (Browning, 2003; Lehti, 1999: 28; Linklater, 2011; Zielonka, 2013). [...] Although, the new civilising mission was reconceptualised in liberal democratic language. [...] For example, the EU’s “Common Strategy of the European Union on Russia” in 1999 argued for multilateralism, yet the document did not present a joint framework and instead outlined a vast number of tasks that Russia must implement. Institutions were not used to harmonise competing interests and facilitate benign competition. Instead, institutional and diplomatic engagement is used as a tool to reward good behaviour, which is commonly defined as accepting unilateral concessions. [...]

The ideological foundation for the solidarity and identity of the collective West has completed the Othering of Russia from ethnic to ideological inferiority. The focus on an Asiatic ethnicity as the source of inferiority is largely absent after the Cold War, and when it emerges it stands awkwardly out from the mainstream narrative. There is seemingly a complete transition from ethnicity to liberal values as the West clothe all competing security interests in the language of competing values. Some exceptions do occur as for example the Estonian politician, Tiit Made, argued in 1991 that the Russian people were wild and uncivilised as Russian women had for centuries been raped by the Mongols and Tatars, which is common Russophobic rhetoric in the Baltic States (Neumann, 1998).

Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics by Glenn Diesen.

[avelera]

Interesting Characters Do Things the Reader Wouldn't Do

I've been thinking a lot about what makes an interesting character. As a topic, the variety of answers and strategies to creating interesting characters could be literally endless. But one element I've been dwelling on is based on observation of how characters who fascinate and delight us are the ones that do things in ways that we, the audience, generally wouldn't do them.

I'm thinking about this from two angles:

How to make characters who do things the average person wouldn't do (in an interesting way).

Why derivative works like fanfic often experience character drift, where over time, the character who does unusual things and has unique reactions in canon drifts away from having these unique characteristics, and becomes increasingly generic and/or like the author.

Let's address Point 1 first. The way to make a character who does things in an unusual manner is, in theory, to make a unique environment and/or a unique character (bonus points for both).

For example, a unique environment is core to many exciting fictional narratives. Most of us don't have to grapple with what we would do, for example, if we were faced with a Bad Guy Who Wants to Destroy the World That Only We Can Stop.

Or, on a less "epic" level, most of us on average don't have to deal with, say, the whacky hijinks that formulate the meet-cute in a romcom, even the more mundane ones like spilling our coffee all over a beautiful stranger and scrambling to make it right, leading us to the love of our lives. These in general are not daily occurrences, so it's immediately interesting to see how the character would handle the situation, even if they do so in a sort of "average" way.

For example, in my mind, the "average" way you respond to a Bad Guy Who Wants to Destroy the World That Only We Can Stop is to step up to stop the bad guy. If you're really the only one who can Stop the Bad Guy, I think the all of us would at least like to think we would accept this challenge, especially if The Fate of the World was objectively, provably, at stake.

Now, I think with this example, creative types can spot the issue right away. The hero who heroically does what we average people hope we would do in such a crazy scenario, step up and help save the world, is actually really boring.

Your typical Good Guy Protagonist who does the Typical Thing when faced with this Very Generic Plot is really goddamn dull. There's a reason these heroes who help propel their Gang of Heroic Misfits to actually Fulfilling the Plot and Saving the World are usually saddled with a Comedy Relief Character and at least one person who voices misgivings (usually with some degree of sarcasm or humor) about the risks involved with volunteering to save the world.

Han Solo in Star Wars, Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, are beloved characters because they don't leap to Save the World and Fulfill the Plot. Instead, they do unexpected, unique things. They're in it for themselves and that colors their reactions away from generically Doing the Right Thing. They want things like money, or safety, or more rum. They want less impressive human things that we can nonetheless relate to, and they pursue those things with a level of style and humor that the protagonist, like Luke Skywalker or Will Turner, are not necessarily afforded as our generic Audience Stand-In/Hero because their job as The Hero is to go on a hero's journey, increase their skills over time so they can learn things and strive at the same pace as the plot progresses and, in general, are saddled with Fulfilling the Plot.

Now, that doesn't mean the main hero/protagonist always has to be boring. It is possible to have a protagonist tasked with Saving the World who isn't boring. But this requires they address the problem in a way the average person wouldn't. This doesn't necessarily mean rejecting the call to save the world, by the way. What it often means is going about saving the world in a way that is unique to them or that shows a unique understanding of how to respond to the threat, in perhaps a more subtle or roundabout way other than just going the most obvious direct route.

One way to figure how to make a hero who goes about Fulfilling the Plot in a more interesting way is by making them want something in addition to their desire to save the world.

For example, Newt from Pacific Rim, the Kaiju-obsessed scientist (while not technically the hero of Pacific Rim's A Plot, I see him as the protagonist of the B Plot) wants to save the world, obviously, he's one of the idiots who lives there. Everyone in the story of Pacific Rim, particularly those in the Shatterdome, want to save the world, that's a given. How they go about it is what makes them unique. What they want in addition to saving the world makes them unique. Newt wants to study Kaiju and is obsessed with them on a level that is comparable with his drive to save the world. This colors how he goes about saving the world, by sticking to his specialty of studying and understanding Kaiju.

While the most obvious way to save the world in Pacific Rim is to jump into a giant robot and go punch Kaiju, which is what our A Plot protagonist Raleigh Becket does (and he is, apologies to his fans, a bit boring as a result), Newt's B Plot protagonist way of going about this shows that the problem is bigger than one hero offering one simple solution can provide, which helps expand the world and the scale of the threat. And there are many interesting (arguably more interesting) ways to address this threat than being the butt-chinned golden boy jumping in a giant robot to offer the most direct solution to the problem. As a result, to me at least, Newt is a more interesting protagonist, because his entire personality isn't based on the most obvious, direct way to Accomplish the Plot (like Raleigh's is). Instead, he wants and likes other things too, specifically Kaiju, and thus he goes about Accomplishing the Plot in a less generic way that includes his special interest.

To go back to the romcom example, likewise, just to show that an epic plot isn't necessary to accomplish an interesting character, I think it can safely be said that the average, generic thing that your average sane human being would do if they accidentally spilled coffee on a beautiful stranger (thus kicking off the romcom) would be to apologize and help them clean it up.

That is, as noted, boring as hell. Because it's what anyone would do, by the way, what anyone should do in this circumstance.

Fiction doesn't need to be an object lesson. We know the script of what should happen in this scenario, so we are immediately interested if it's not what happens.

The manic pixie dream girl who, instead of simply apologizing and helping to clean the spill, instead grabs the protagonists' hand, rushes them out the door and declares they're being chased by spies, quick, come with me we have to hide! all out of an attempt to help the protagonist get out of the embarrassing situation so she can help them clean up somewhere else is at least slightly more interesting than the average polite response. If we dig into it to find out why she came up with such a bizarre response to helping someone clean up, instead of doing the generic thing, we begin to unlock a more intriguing character. Maybe her therapist just told her get out of the rut she's in by treating her life as an adventure and she took the advice a bit too literally. Why was she in therapy? Well, presumably we'll find that out as the story progresses, but at least now we've got a hook to wanting to know more (how effective such a hook would be is up to you).

TL;DR Characters who go about Fulfilling the Plot in a way the average person wouldn't, because they want something else just as much if not more, is an immediate recipe for making a more interesting character.

Now, Point 2, the character drift back to the center is also worth examining. I see it happen quite frequently, both in individual fanfics, in ongoing mainstream franchises, and in fandoms in general. This isn't quite the same as Flanderization, wherein complex characters get boiled down to simplistic reads of their crazier attributes. Rather, what I'd like to look at is when unique characters do the opposite, and increasingly act and behave the way the average person would. Or rather, the average person who matches the demographic and community of the writer.

An example that springs to mind is when a complex, indeed, Problematic character begins to open up about their emotions in fanfic, and speak and act in line with the most cutting edge progressive terminology, or in general talk about their emotions like they're a therapist. Characters who would rather die than show weakness in canon suddenly saying things like, "I'm sorry I got angry with you, I realized it's because of unresolved issues with my father and also, I am attracted to you, which made me self conscious about my appearance when I am around you. Please accept my sincere apologies. Perhaps we can discuss our relationship and consider becoming romantic partners?"

Obviously I'm exaggerating here (unless the character is an android). But while really no one in the real world talks like this, I'm going to refer back to the Saving the World example about how the generic thing we wished we would do when faced with such a conflict is actually the most boring response for a character.

We all hope, I think, that if we hurt our romantic partner's (or romantic prospect's) feelings, we would find the courage to apologize, explain ourselves, and do so in a way that was dignified for us and effective with them. How to do that is another question. What to do when we have imperfect knowledge is a question. What we do when we want something else more is a question and with characters, it's the more interesting question.

Perhaps the protagonist wants to apologize and would love to find a way to be romantically involved with their love interest, but they have no reason to believe the apology would be accepted, their dignity would remain intact, or that revealing the truth would culminate in a relationship rather than a painful rejection. Now you begin to have conflict, which is the stuff stories are made of. If the protagonist wants to save face more than they're willing to risk that rejection, instead of apologizing they may have a more tsundere response (often seen in fiction) of just getting more angry, or blaming their anger on the love interest for frazzling them, or finding a way to avoid the situation entirely because it's scarier than communicating openly.

TL;DR - The most morally upright, correct, and laudable response to an interpersonal conflict is probably the more boring one (unless it is somehow earned as a novelty by the narrative). People are complicated. Interesting characters are even more complicated than real life people. Lean into that.

Now, here are some reasons I think you see this sort of character drift towards the milquetoast in derivative works:

Fanfic is about fulfilling the need for something that isn't in canon. That's often its entire purpose. So of course characters who would rather die than communicate begin to communicate, and communicate well and transparently. That's the itch the author is trying to scratch for themselves and others. It's not a bug, it's a feature.

We all want to be liked. When writers put the character in a situation, and then put themselves in the character's shoes and think what they would do in that situation, there is a tendency towards politeness, appeasement, communication, and mending bridges as our first instinct for what should be done.

To delve into point 2 here a bit, the tendency to want to be well liked and to mend bridges is a good skill in the real world.

But fiction isn't the real world.

I don't really particularly want to read a story where a character does everything I would have done in that scenario, whether it's saving the world or navigating a meet cute. That's boring. I want to see what someone who isn't me would do, so I can live vicariously through them without suffering the consequences personally.

If I as myself met, say, the evil scientist behind a rogue plot to destroy the world, I'm not even sure I'd be able to yell at that person because of how badly I want to be Well Liked. I'd probably just call the authorities (assuming the Evil Scientist isn't allied with them) and remand them into custody and hope they get a trial before facing their just punishment.

That is a very boring way to resolve a conflict with an evil scientist, unless you're Terry Pratchett, making a wider and very important point about the intrinsic value of due process in a moral of the story that is deeply intertwined and well supported by the text. But the point in a Terry Pratchett book where due process is honored would be that due process isn't the easy thing to do in that scenario, it is the more interesting thing to have the hero not turn vigilante, because it's harder and it's an unusual response that not all of us would do in that situation.

There's a great moment in the show The Expanse, where the evil scientist example comes from. One protagonist (arguably the more more boring one, at least at that point in the story) hears the Clearly Very Evil Scientist offering information in exchange for his life. But we all know if the scientist is spared, evil will go unpunished, his evil work might even be continued by the powers that be since it is valuable, the victims to that point will go unavenged, and the Evil Scientist might even make a comeback and regain his freedom and power down the line. But what else can you do? He's the only one who can help. Without his knowledge, the heroes are back at square one. The obvious choice, the only choice for your average person, is to grin and bear it and remand the Evil Scientist over to custody for a fair trial and so valuable information can be gained from him, even if down the line it might lead to more evil.

The second protagonist shoots the Evil Scientist in the head. Right then and there.

It's a shocking moment. It's also an epic moment. It is not something the average person would have done. But it was something that arguably should have been done (in that very unique scenario) with the clear-eyed decision making made by someone who refuses to bend their morals. It's something we all might wish we would do, like save the world, in that scenario but it's done in a unique and interesting way that, more importantly, creates more conflict than it solves. It neatly sidestepped the generic, expectable plot of this Evil Scientist becoming a recurring villain, and instead demonstrated a person who is very different from the average person, demonstrated by how they take an extreme action that therefore made for a better story. Shooter Protagonist did this because he wanted to avenge the victims of this scientist and stop this particular scientist from doing more evil more than he cared about how the information this scientist had might serve the heroes in stopping the overall plot. It solved one long term problem, maybe, by eliminating Evil Scientist, but it created more because now they can't get info out of Evil Scientist and the quest just got harder. But, the victims are avenged. And possibly, we'll never really know, a greater catastrophe was averted by not sparing the Evil Scientist here.

TL;DR: To sum up really, in my eyes, the key to interesting characters in original fiction and fanfiction is to have characters who want to do something other than just fulfill the plot in the most straightforward and logical way possible, whether that plot is saving the world (in the most generic way possible) or whether it's getting their love interest to like them (in the most generic and nice way possible).

Making characters who have other priorities or who want something else just as much if not more (to study monsters while saving the world, or to spice up their life having imaginary adventures while making this other person like you) are instantly more interesting. Layer more of those on and you're well on your way to an intriguing story.

And if you're trying to write good fanfic, take note of all the places where the protagonist does things you wouldn't do in a way you wouldn't do them. Therein, in my opinion, lies the key to interesting characters.

Losing that element and making unique characters act more and more the way we would in the same scenario is what makes them boring over time, it's at the heart of how fandoms can improve some stories (with creativity if they dream up more unique characteristics and adventures than canon does) but can also degrade others to the same cookie cutter stereotypes by polishing away the rough edges of a character until everyone is just Really Nice and never messes up or does anything wrong or unpopular or rude or bigoted that could get in the way of them Fulfilling the Plot (or romance) of the story in the most direct and generic and dull way possible.

[callie-the-creator]

bertholdt dating a deaf reader would include...

sfw. warnings: mentions of bullying.

author’s note: this was posted on my wattpad, so there is no need to worry if you see it there. other than that, there is nothing else to add!

• in all honesty, how it was revealed that you were deaf was a little embarrassing. it happened during the first day of the cadet corps when everyone was being debriefed and publicly humiliated in front of each other because commander shadis wanted to ensure every abled person was morphed into a model soldier. it didn't take long for it to be your turn.

— "sorry, sir! i can't hear you!" shadis, at first, thought you were being a smartass and before he could yell at you some more, you added, "i'm deaf!"

— "then why the hell are you here?!"

• from there, you explained that you wanted to not so much fight for humanity by physically driving the titans back but stay back and help formulate strategies and plans.

• fortunately, shadis was merciful enough to let you stay, though it took some convincing. that and once his superiors heard about your case, they were torn but eventually you were allowed to train with the others. 

• alas, you were completely oblivious to some of the bullying happening behind your back...

• you struggle with communication and social skills, such as simply not understanding a joke that everyone else is laughing at. when that is happening, you usually write down on a piece of paper to ask just what is so funny, but they usually brush you off by either ignoring you, saying "oh, it's nothing", or something of that nature.

• the first few months were hell on earth for you. if anything, you preferred the physical training over anything because that meant you wouldn't have to worry about trying to communicate with any of the other cadets since the same can't be said about sparring or the wasteland excursion training (an exercise where the cadets are split into two groups and make a round trip through the wasteland. they leave the training base at the same time on separate routes, retrieve an object at the checkpoint, and return to base. they exercise aims to test their vigilance in tedious, low-risk situations).

• in terms of bullying, you experienced quite a variety of things. being ostracized, taken advantage of when it came to sparring or other team activities since everyone knew you were at a disadvantage, or people trying to talk to you but you didn't know what they were talking about.

— "can she seriously not hear a thing?"

— "what a weirdo."

— "hey, y/n, can you even speak?"

• bertholdt didn't like how differently everyone was treating you just because you have a disability, it reminded him all too much of his father and the prejudice eldians face from marleyans. so, when he's finally had enough, he steps forward and tells everyone to cut it out. from there, he becomes friends with you and follows you everywhere to help you in any way he can.

— of course, this didn't blow well over with annie or reiner because bertholdt is sympathetic toward the enemy but it's not like they could stop him.

• it's from there where bertholdt did things like open the door for you, carry your things, intentionally pick you to be his partner in sparring so no one else would be rude toward you, try his best to translate things if someone was trying to talk to you (by writing down on a piece of paper).

• obviously, it didn't take long for you to develop feelings for him and the same can be said for bertholdt! ☺️

— he thought you were so sweet and precious...you needed to be protected and although he wasn't the best option for this, he still wanted to do his best to make you feel safe.

• so...within a few weeks, you two started going out! bertholdt couldn't care less about the stares he got— he was used to them— but if you ever pointed it out, he would make up excuses to make it seem like the judgmental glares were aimed toward him and not you. it wasn't like he wasn't used to it already and the last thing he wanted was to see you unhappy.

• a few years went by and close to graduation, shadis gathered everyone to tell them that the government had been working on a way to communicate with the hearing-impaired. sign language. shadis said it would be easier to talk to you that way. many people were against learning it because they thought of it as a waste of their time, saying that they had enough issues learning the specifics of titan killing.

— all in all, the only people that were willing to learn— aside from you— were christa, mikasa, bertholdt, armin, and connie & sasha (even though they can be a bunch of numbskulls at times).

• bertholdt spent many nights trying to perfect his sign language. it sort of pissed off some of the other guys in the cabin because of just how late he would stay up! he can't remember how many times he's accidentally pulled an all-nighter and only knew when he heard the bell for muster.

• when he signed to you the first time during supper, he was so nervous, afraid that he might offend you if he messed up any of the signs but was relieved and proud of himself when you understood him and offered to teach him some more which he gleefully agreed to.

• bertholdt likes that you two have this language that not everyone in the cadet corps can understand, that way he can be cute with you without the other boys knowing and making fun of him for it

[politicalprof]

The Banality of AI and the destruction of actual thought:

In my continuing exploration of the many ways AI is going to make it ever easier to say bland and innocuous things without having to think about it, I present the following prompt and response from Google Gemini for anyone interested.

For context, universities have for decades now been layering on new requirements intended to provide an "objective" basis for assessing why one candidate deserves tenure or not, or why one applicant deserves a grant or a job, etc. However, while these layers may be well-intended, in time they devolve into rote exercises that prove little beyond the fact that you know how to write certain types of statements "the right way." One such statement that is commonly required these days is a "teaching statement." It is ubiquitous for job applications, tenure and promotion files, and even some grant applications. Enjoy!

Prompt:

write a teaching statement for a tenure application that emphasizes my use of student-centered, active learning with the goal of developing my students' critical thinking skills

Response:

Teaching Statement

My approach to teaching is rooted in the belief that students learn best by actively engaging with course material and constructing their own understanding. I strive to create dynamic, student-centered learning environments that foster critical thinking, collaboration, and intellectual curiosity. My goal is not simply to transmit knowledge, but to empower students to become independent thinkers and lifelong learners.

Student-Centered Learning: I prioritize student engagement and agency in the learning process. I design my courses with a variety of active learning strategies, including:

Inquiry-based learning: I pose open-ended questions and present real-world problems that encourage students to explore concepts, formulate hypotheses, and develop solutions collaboratively.

Collaborative projects: I incorporate group work and peer learning activities that promote teamwork, communication, and the exchange of diverse perspectives.

Case studies and simulations: I use case studies and simulations to provide students with opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, analyze complex scenarios, and make informed decisions.

Reflective writing and discussions: I encourage students to reflect on their learning through journals, online forums, and class discussions, promoting metacognition and deeper understanding.

Developing Critical Thinking: A central focus of my teaching is to cultivate students' critical thinking skills. I explicitly teach and model these skills through:

Analyzing and evaluating information: I guide students in assessing the credibility, relevance, and bias of information sources, encouraging them to question assumptions and challenge conventional wisdom.

Constructing arguments and supporting claims: I provide opportunities for students to develop well-reasoned arguments, supported by evidence and logical reasoning.

Problem-solving and decision-making: I present complex problems that require students to analyze information, identify potential solutions, and evaluate their consequences.

Debates and discussions: I facilitate respectful and intellectually stimulating debates and discussions that encourage students to consider multiple perspectives and refine their own viewpoints.

Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment: I am committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive classroom where all students feel valued, respected, and supported in their learning. I strive to:

Establish clear expectations and learning goals.

Provide timely and constructive feedback.

Offer individualized support and guidance.

Promote a culture of respect and open communication.

Assessment and Continuous Improvement: I use a variety of assessment methods to measure student learning and inform my teaching practice, including:

Formative assessments: I use ongoing assessments, such as quizzes, in-class activities, and online discussions, to monitor student progress and provide timely feedback.

Summative assessments: I use exams, projects, and presentations to evaluate student learning outcomes and mastery of course content.

Student feedback: I actively solicit student feedback through course evaluations and informal surveys to identify areas for improvement and refine my teaching strategies.

Conclusion: I am passionate about teaching and dedicated to creating engaging and effective learning experiences for my students. I believe that my student-centered, active learning approach, with its emphasis on critical thinking, prepares students not only for success in their academic pursuits but also for meaningful engagement in their future careers and communities. I am committed to continuous growth as an educator and look forward to further developing my teaching practice at [Institution Name].

[mangaka-lanani]

FROZEN 3 ...

In my personal opinion.

The reason for postponing the release of Frozen 3: Disney is suffering from huge losses, especially after the collective failure of its works during the past four years, especially with the film Wish, which Disney had placed hopes on as a centennial celebration.

But it failed miserably.

Before that, Disney's strategy was to show its animated films at close times, especially with successful films.

This leads to the distraction of viewers and the division of profits among the films, which results in low profits.

That's why they did the right thing when they postponed Frozen 3 so that it would not overlap with the Toy Story screening period.

This is how good films are shown separately.

Without fear of films overlapping.

This is how films achieve huge profits because the audience will focus on one work and not several works at once.

There is another reason other than what I said earlier.

I believe that the reason for the postponement is due to Disney's policy, which it is trying to change after the failure of the agenda strategy that it tried in vain to introduce into children's and family works. I think that before their sick strategy failed, they had a plan for the movie Frozen 3.

And based on this plan, they built the story.

But after their sick agendas collapsed, they had to re-formulate and rewrite the idea, so it seems that they lost a whole year of planning, so they postponed it for a year to remedy the matter.

It is clear that they began to listen to the voices of families and stood on the strengths of the work and the active characters in the story, which were the reason for the success of the first movie.

That is why I bet that they returned to the family style and added the romantic aspect that we have missed for years in Disney works.

I would not be surprised to see the romantic aspect of Elsa in the movie.

I know that many will object to my words, but this is my personal opinion, and everyone has their own opinion, so I hope to respect it.

[dailyanarchistposts]

According to post-leftists, what defines the left?

dot

old and rigid forms of organization

specialization of roles, both within organizaions and between radicals and the masses™

representation

ideological thinking

categorization of (or perpetuating the categorization of) people into state-sponsored identities (gender, skin color, religion, etc)

valorization of work

law

I agree with dot, but I think some basics need to be examined even before her list.

The Left is usually considered by most (sympathetic) commentators to have something to do with a criticism of (the worst excesses of) capitalism—naturally depending on how we understand capitalism. The Left is often therefore equated with a generic Socialism. We have to acknowledge that Socialism is internally incoherent enough to be able to accommodate such diverse ideas as Maoism, right-wing (anti-Marxist, anti-revolutionary) Social Democracy, revolutionary (or reformist) Marxism, the left wing of the Democratic Party (Kucinich), and some types of anarchism (NEFAC, syndicalists, pro-democracy folks like Milstein). What they all share is a desire to use and/or take over most of the functions of the state in ways that ameliorate those aforementioned excesses. In this way they remain within the authoritarian system common to all other forms of tinkering with institutions of hierarchy and domination.

The reason post-left @s dislike Leftist categories and strategies is that we (if I may speak for others for the moment) find those categories and strategies to be historical failures; we judge them failures not just because stupid people were doing them, but because of the inherent philosophical problems with them. So a rigid organizational form like a political party (point a) is a problem not because of its particular program or platform or internal decision-making process, but because it is organized as a supposedly representative body (point c) that requires a division of labor (point b).

Ideological thinking (point d) is a problem because it uses backwards logic. Ideologists begin from solutions or answers and only later formulate questions—that just by coincidence happen to point precisely to those solutions or answers. The questions are only questions in a technical sense because they being with Why What Where Who Which When How, but they have the (desired/expected) answers imbedded in them. Most Leftist questions are How statements rather than Why questions. In this way they remain in line with all other forms of authoritarian or hierarchical methods of so-called discussion.

Because most forms of Leftism begin as a reaction to the ugly aspects of capitalism, they all share strategies for curtailing its excesses. One way to begin that process is to valorize not just work (point f) but workers as workers, as those whose labor and effort produces the wealth that is expropriated (by providing workers with a wage lower than the value of the goods and services their labor goes to produce) by those who own the means of production (whether capitalists or the state). Whether workers are conceived of as the Revolutionary Subject of History or just poor slobs who don’t get enough pay and/or benefits, they are elevated as the primary object (or agent) of salvation.

All leftist strategies are predicated on a redistribution of wealth, which means that they all wish to maintain methods of calibrating value in labor, in commodities, and in exchange. This is economy, and along with retooled mechanisms of statecraft (whether enshrined as government or the voluntarism so beloved of NGOs), certainly is a decent way of understanding the primary problems associated with Leftism. It has been pointed out by the left-anarchist critics of post-left @ that these are basic anarchist criticisms of capitalism and the state and authoritarianism in general. Fair enough; not many post-left @s trumpet their analyses as particularly new or ground-breaking. But one of the neglected points of post-left @ is that we are critics of false opposition to capitalism and the state. Where Leftists (and many left anarchists fall into this category) want to improve the lives of workers, post-left @s wish to abolish work (as a coercive and separate sphere of useful endeavor); where Leftists wish to expropriate the means of production to turn them to social use rather than as generators of profit, post-left @s wish to abolish economy, and at the very least facilitate a large-scale discussion of which technologies to maintain while destroying the ones that most folks don’t want or need; where Leftists want to develop or extend protections or compensations for categories of people who have been historically oppressed, post-left @s wish to abolish the ideology of victimization (point e).

Naturally there a ton of questions that arise from this brief overview, but that’s as it should be. For me the most interesting aspect of identifying with post-left @ is that we actually yearn for more questions than answers; with any luck, that’s also a way of steering clear of ideology.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Godzilla biology and history

(Monsterverse inspired, but incorporates the Toho movies and adds some non-Godzilla kaiju).

Godzilla (Gojira colosseus) is indisputably the most well-known example of interior earth hyperfauna (colloquially referred to as kaiju or titans) and the most influential and controversial kaiju known to man. Three individuals of this species are known, referred to as Godzilla I, II, and III. G. colosseus is an apparent reptilian organism with a superficial resemblance to theropod dinosaurs, though the species displays multiple non-reptilian traits including external ears, gills, endothermy, and three rows of bony plates that occur in the back and tail as extensions of the vertebral column. Godzillas also have a more upright stance than theropods, with tails that drag along the ground. While determining the genetic relationships of hyperfauna has proven difficult with the limited data available, G. colosseus is speculated to be related to other known species including Titanosaurus amphibious (Titanosaurus), Gorosaurus asperacutus (Gorosaurus), and Gojiramimus piscovoria (Zilla).

As with other hyperfauna, Gojira colosseus is capable of deriving nutrition from radiation. While it evolved to feed on interior earth radiation, nuclear radiation is also used as a food source. As with other hyperfauna, Godzilla will supplement its radiation diet with other food sources. Godzilla has proven to be an obligate carnivore and will consume other kaiju or whales. Godzillas are amphibious, capable of surviving both on land and in water due to possessing both lungs and gills. The species spend most of their time in the water, only occasionally coming to land. While underwater Godzilla will swim by propelling itself with its tail or walk along the seafloor. An adult Godzilla can reach up to 120 meters in height and is enormously strong even for a creature of that size. Godzillas are also highly intelligent, capable of recognizing individual humans, quickly formulating strategies in battle, some tool use (usually limited to using objects as bludgeoning weapons), and commanding subordinate kaiju. The species possess secondary brains located near the pelvis that control much of the bodily functions and muscular activity of the body, leaving the primary brain free to focus on more complex thought. If either brain is damaged, the other can take over its functions. While the strength and intellect of G. colosseus are vital when battling, another major advantage the species has access to regenerator-g cells. Found in no other species, regenerator-g cells are a poorly-understood variant of stem cell capable of rapidly specializing and replacing damaged or missing cells. The regenerator-g cells grant Godzilla rapid healing, even by the standards of kaiju. It is speculated that a Godzilla could even regenerate a brain as long as the other remained intact.

As with many other species of hyperfauna, Gojira colosseus possesses an internal organ known as the Yamane organ that functions as a biological nuclear reactor. This organ provides Godzilla with a supply of radiation while it is away from sources of interior earth radiation. This is a temporary solution and any Kaiju will need to access a source of interior earth radiation avoid starvation in the long term. G. colosseus has evolves to weaponize its internal radiation in the form of a stream of superheated, ionized particles released from the mouth, commonly known as atomic breath. This stream can appear either as a solid beam or a cloud of vapor and glows blue due to Cherenkov radiation. In rarer cases often after absorbing excessive radiation, a Godzilla will produce a stronger red version of the atomic breath (the red spiral ray), or will release a cloud of superheated, ionized particles in an expanding radius around it, known as the nuclear pulse.

Gojira colosseus is known to be territorial and highly aggressive when provoked. The species is known as one of the few alpha species, kaiju which can force other kaiju to submit to and follow them, often after a battle for dominance. Other known alpha species include Gigatinea mosura (Mothra), Titanopithecus kongii (Kong), and Hypertestudine pyrovoria (Gamera). While nothing is known about how adult Godzilla interact with each other, the species has been observed practicing parental care (albeit only one instance of an adult and juvenile interacting has been observed) and both Godzillas II and III had formed alpha-subordinate relationships with other kaiju. Godzilla II and III had shown stronger bonds with some subordinate kaiju than others, most notably with Angilosaurus spinatesta (Anguirus) that some researchers suggest is indicative of possible bonds beyond the simple alpha-subordinate relationship, possibly indicating something recognizable to humans as friendship. Godzillas have also been known to temporarily ally with other kaiju species that do not submit to them as alphas, most notably Godzillas II and III with Mothra. While G. colosseus has many characteristics of an apex predator, the species are known to have been attacked by Titanus muto (Muto) to be used as hosts for their eggs and by Titanopithecus kongii (Kong) in apparent battles for dominance. In both cases, it is speculated that groups of those more social species would collectively attack individual Godzillas. As the interior earth ecosystem is in the process of recovering from an apparent mass extinction, it is difficult to gain some information about the relationships of certain species.

Godzilla I was the being that introduced humanity as a whole to the existence of kaiju. While paleontologists had begun finding fossil evidence of hyperfauna, nobody expected that such creatures could still be alive until one made landfall in Japan in 1954. Why Godzilla I chose to attack humanity is a matter of speculation, though it is believed that nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean woke it from hibernation and it may have interpreted the blasts as an attack. Regardless of its motives, Godzilla I traveled from the ocean to Tokyo, attacking islands and ships along the way. The attack was unprecedented and the JSDF had no effective way to respond as conventional weaponry proved ineffective. The answer came from scientist Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, who invented a weapon known as the oxygen destroyer, which utilized a chemical called micro-oxygen to break down molecular bonds in biological matter. Dr. Serizawa discovered micro oxygen in fossils later discovered to be constituent organisms of the colonial kaiju Destoroyah infernalis (Destoroyah). A survivor of the nuclear bombing of Japan at the end of World War II, Dr. Serizawa chose to keep the existence of micro-oxygen secret, fearing it could be used as a weapon even more terrible. In the end, Dr. Serizawa was convinced to use the oxygen destroyer against Godzilla I, but he destroyed his research and committed suicide to prevent the weapon from ever being recreated. Godzilla I was reduced to a skeleton, killed along with all other life in the Tokyo bay area. The ethics of Dr. Serizawa’s destruction of his research has been debated considerably since then. Certainly the oxygen destroyer could have caused immense devastation to humanity and the environment as a whole, but it could also have been a potent defense against other kaiju. Perhaps if Dr. Serizawa had known Godzilla was not the only one of its kind, he would have made a different decision.

In the aftermath of the attack on Japan, the world debated what to do. The creature was named Gojira after a storm god worshipped by the natives of one of the islands it attacked. English language reports mistranslated the name as Godzilla, which has become the accepted name for the species outside of Japan. Scientists were at a loss to explain how such a large creature (50 meters) could support its own weight or acquire enough food to sustain itself. The answer many arrived at was that the creature was originally a mundane animal, often speculated to be a marine reptile or late-surviving dinosaur, that was mutated by exposure to radiation from nuclear testing. Many believed, even hoped, that Godzilla was a lone freak of nature. Those hopes were dashed when, over a year later, a second, even larger (100 meters) Godzilla appeared and engaged in a battle for dominance with Anguirus. This battle marked a turning point in world history: the realization to mankind that we are not the uncontested masters of the world and that monsters are real. 

In response to the appearance of Godzilla II, multiple government organizations were founded to study and respond to the threat posed by hyperfauna. The most notable of these are the Japanese G-Force and USA's MONARCH. Godzilla II was active around the Pacific Ocean until 1995. It engaged in primarily territorial battles or battles of domination against many other kaiju in that time, causing considerable damage to human lives and property in that time but defeating other kaiju that could potentially have caused far more damage. Indeed, on several occasions, G-Force was forced to deliberately lure Godzilla II into combat with Kaiju posing a more immediate threat. While Godzilla I was actively hostile to humanity, Godzilla II seemed more indifferent to us. It made no attempt to actively attack humans, but also took no care to avoid human casualties during its activity. In 1993, G-Force agents began exploring an uncharted island that showed higher than expected levels of radiation (later discovered to be a wellspring of interior earth radiation) and discovered an egg. This egg eventually hatched into an infant Godzilla. The infant bonded with biologist Azusa Gojo, who took on a parental role to it while G-Force leadership discussed what to do with the kaiju. A significant fraction of G-Force believed killing the infant before it could become a threat was the best course of action. The choice was taken out of their hands when a Rodan (Volcaptera rodan) arrived on the island and attempted to attack the infant, likely in an attempt to kill a potential rival before it could mature. While G-Force agents stationed on the island attempted to drive off Rodan, Godzilla II arrived, apparently responding to a bioacoustic distress cry from the infant. Godzilla II quickly drove off the Rodan and began to care for the infant. G-Force decided that the risk of angering Godzilla by killing its adoptive child was far too great to take and began passively monitoring the situation. Both parent and child remained on the island, nicknamed Birth Island. Within two years, Godzilla III had grown to approximately 50 meters tall, a similar size to Godzilla I, which has led to speculation that Godzilla I was also a juvenile. Despite their similar size, the two individuals had very different behavior. Presumably, III’s bond with humans, particularly Azusa Gojo, led to it becoming much more trusting of humans and even protective of them. A similar example of exposure to humans as an infancy leading to benevolent behavior was observed by MONARCH in Zilla II. As it aged, Godzilla III began to become more independent of its parent. 

In 1995, multiple attacks on humans and animals by an unknown subkaiju in and around Tokyo attracted the attention of G-force. Victims of this attack were reduced to skeletons and it was determined by G-force that the deaths were identical to the effects of micro-oxygen. At first it was thought that someone had recreated Dr. Serizawa’s oxygen destroyer, but the truth was soon determined to be different. The subkaiju were in fact utilizing micro-oxygen. These subkaiju were determined to be colonial organisms made of countless smaller organisms working together and soon joined together to form the kaiju Destroyah, a living oxygen destroyer in the form of a monster. At the same time, Godzilla II was undergoing a meltdown as a result of a battle with the G-Force's Mechagodzilla weapon. This meltdown greatly enhanced Godzilla’s strength and the power of its atomic breath, as well as dramatically raising its body temperature. However, if not stopped, the meltdown would not only eventually kill Godzilla, but result in a nuclear explosion more powerful than any nuclear weapon ever created by humanity. This would result in radioactive fallout covering most of the planet, not only causing devastating effects on human health and the environment, but likely triggering many more kaiju to awaken. G-force developed a plan to rapidly manufacture absolute zero cannons and cool Godzilla at the moment of meltdown to prevent its explosion. Godzilla III encountered Destroyah and battled it, quickly losing. Godzilla II followed its child’s distress call and found III on the verge of death. Enraged, Godzilla II battled Destroyah even as G-force and the JSDF set up the absolute zero cannons. Godzilla II died that night, but G-force’s plan successfully prevented the explosion. Destroyah was killed by the combination of extreme heat and cold from Godzilla II’s meltdown and the absolute zero cannons. The release of radiation from Godzilla II’s death was absorbed by the dying Godzilla III, not only revitalizing it to full health, but rapidly accelerating its growth. Godzilla III quickly became fully grown at a larger size than its parent (120 meters). 

Godzilla III is still alive and has engaged in battle with multiple Kaiju over its life, including sparking a rivalry with Kong. It has clamed a large portion of the Pacific Ocean as its territory, particularly in the area around Monster Island, the site of a major wellspring of interior earth radiation. Godzilla III has been the subject of the Monster Island Project, a joint project between the G-Force and MONARCH to encourage kaiju to relocate to similar wellsprings or into the interior earth where abundant access to interior earth radiation for food will hopefully reduce confrontations between the kaiju, or at least ensure they happen away from human civilization. This project is still ongoing and its success has yet to be determined.

[soulofjuche]

27 Gates of Juche: Lesson 19

Principle of Applying The Creative Method

Creativity of the people is the creative method to solve all the problems arising from the revolution.

Guiding principles.

The essence is to believe in the strength of the popular masses and enlist their creative ability to solve all the problems emanating out of the revolution and its construction.

 Only after applying the strength of the masses can society find success in solving difficult problems and to energetically speed up the revolution and its construction.

Relying upon the people.

It is necessary to map out the lines and policies that reflect the demands and aspirations of the masses and have the masses gain ownership of their desires.

 Be aware of the voices of the people to be able to reflect in a timely manner the issues the people have shed light upon.

 Make a campaign against the phenomenon of neglecting and disregarding the public sentiment.

To formulate a policy reflecting the will and aspirations of the popular masses and implement the policy as part of the masses ownership of that policy.

That which is necessary:

To unite the popular masses into a single political force.

 The struggle against all outdated things that hinder innovations.

 Launch a mass movement.

Establish the revolutionary method of work.

Methods that are suitable in the context of the situation:

Essence: Solve all problems creatively and in conforming with the changing and developing realities of the conditions of the nation.

 Take the correct accounts of the subjective and objective conditions of the revolution and determine the lines, policies and make strategy and tactics in accordance to the reality.

Take a correct attitude towards the established theories.

Use the new principles and methods in line with the historical conditions of the era.

Be rationally and constructively critical and creative of people’s experiences.

[overflowchute]

One of my problems as a person is that when people push me on an opinion, I try to essentially create an essay justifying where I'm coming from, because I feel otherwise people will attack the obvious corners of the argument and I don't want to concede the point by leaving it open. This leaves me immensely vulnerable to getting pseudo-trolled by people who are saying whatever on twtr and move the goalposts and so on, since I generally type a full response and then see it accomplished little. Furthermore, normal people who are expecting a normal conversation often feel under attack if you respond to people with a long highly processed article - type response across several messages. I do try to edit what I say for brevity in such cases, but I believe the thoughts legitimately require a considerable length to explain in the way I assemble these responses, so I'm stuck with either having to not say everything I intend to say or making people feel like I'm a nag.

This is part of the reason I have a somewhat negative view of such discussions online in general. There's too much emotional stuff wrapped up in conversations on both sides, and it's usually less about any sort of objective good or bad or actual curiosity than it is about being recognized and affirmed. I also believe most people in such conversations have already come up with an opinion and are going to stick by it unchanging no matter what. But I think it can be very difficult to determine whether someone is actually curious or interested in a topic or simply seeking to shut down someone else's complaining, until I've actually stated my thought in full structure. It is once I do such a thing and get a flippant or nonsensical response that clearly indicates saying more is pointless that makes me disengage.

Ultimately this is the problem with debating with strangers online: I just don't think it goes anywhere.

Overall I developed this style in response to chatting with extremely critical / argumentative people all the time, but ironically, it was never any good to use when speaking with them b/c they were really defending how they felt than earnestly engaging with anything I said. But I still do feel like I can't dismiss people as not actually interested until I've fully formulated a response and seen how they reacted.

I believe the normal person response to such situations is:

Ignoring bait opinions in the first place. This is the most effective strategy when something is unimportant and not actionable.

Replying off-the-cuff, confidently, and dismissively, "playing the same game". Alternatively known as not taking things seriously. This is a more difficult strategy than it may appear because you run the very real chance of coming across as an asshole or an idiot, it requires charisma I do not have…

Come up with your full argument and then synthesize an actual essay or article on the topic later. This prevents the goalpost moving mid-debate I dislike and has a defined beginning and end. However, this one's downside is in two places. First, subtweeting someone's response to you at length in an essay requires a comical amount of effort for something that probably doesn't matter very much. Second, ain't nobody reading that shit.

So, at the end of the day, the most important thing is recognizing that you do occasionally need to take the L and publicly lose the argument. Otherwise you risk both time and effort on meaningless things.

[write-my-thesis4u]

IMPROVEMENT OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

Research methodology is the heart of scientific research. Be it from academic research to clinical trials to market analysis, methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation are sure to play an essential role in making results believable and valid. Progresses and evolution in research requirements also ask researchers to evolve novel methodologies that may introduce some much-needed rigor, accuracy, and transparency into their work. This blog draws out the basic strategies that will lead to better methodology improvement for research in achieving a much more reliable outcome-the ability of a researcher towards integrity in scientific knowledge.

Define Research Questions and Objectives A well-defined and well-articulated question is the basis of the right research methodology. The design of research under a cloud of uncertainty leads to mismatched methods due to ambiguities in the articulation of the question, thus forming a chain of unreliable conclusions. Strategy: Take time to explain and define your research question into one that is not vague but specific, focused, and measurable. An appropriately stated research question will directly lead to the appropriateness of research methods but without it, you should avoid unnecessary complexity while at the same time ensuring that this study remains relevant and achievable. Example, and instead of the question, "Do social media influence society?"; it becomes much more specific and measurable as such: "What is the influence on the mental health of young urban teenagers who spend quite a lot of their time on social media?" The question is specific, measurable, and can therefore be focused upon while designing a systematic study.

Formulate suitable and sound methodology Proper study design is the best way to ensure reliability and validity in research results. Most errors arise from poor designs in research methodologies. Poor designs are, most of the time, inappropriate samplings, improper controls, or inappropriate types of study designs. Strategy: The appropriate study design depends upon the research goals. There are numerous kinds of study designs: experimental, observational, and descriptive studies that have their strengths and weaknesses. For example, RCTs best suit for testing causal relationship; cohort studies are most appropriate for understanding associations over time. Lastly, make sure that your research design controls all the variables well for other variables outside your control that could influence your results. Random sampling or stratified sampling can reduce biases and have your sample more representative.

Use High-Quality and Valid Instruments The collection tools and instruments evolve into the back bones of the accuracy of research work. Poorly designed surveys or faulty equipment or measurement techniques may result in careless mistakes and indeed influence the entire study outcome. Strategy: Choose or construct relevant, ready-to-use valid instruments pertinent to your questions. When you ever use an available one of these existing instruments, whether as a questionnaire or a scale, you are sure to depend on instruments already piloted for reliability and validity at the last use of those instruments in some other studies. When developing new instruments, pilot test them wherever possible, to expose any hidden inadequacies before when big scale data gathering is set in motion. For example, in a consumer behavior survey, ask questions that are clear, bias-free, and capable of capturing the aspects of behavior you are interested in. Use established scales such as the Likert scale and thereby ensure consistency and reliability in responses.

Conduct Strong Data Collection Procedures Data collection is viewed as the most sensitive phase of research. If this step goes wrong, a study can entirely be compromised. Quality data entail controls for quality and standardization of procedures in producing them. Strategy: Standardize as much as possible data collection processes. This would be achieved by putting in place clear protocols at every step of the process from participant recruitment to recording and storing. Data collectors must also be well trained to minimize human errors and biases. For example, large-scale studies can also use automated data collection tools or software to minimize human-biased errors. This subsequently improves consistencies and accuracies, especially the entry and analysis process of data. Pilot Testing: It becomes worthy to pilot test your methods before conducting huge data collection. A few tests can tell some problems with the instruments with regard to the collection of data, questions on your questionnaire, perhaps some problem with samples or just a few of any given set of things.

Make it Ethically Sound, Transparent Ethics are always always a basis in any research if human subjects are used. Ethical mistakes, whether they are or not, can invalidate results of a research and even embarrass a researcher and public faith in science. Strategy: Follow the ethical requirements of the conduct of research institutions and reviewing boards. This would comprise informed consent, participant anonymity, and transparency of methods and results. In addition, transparent reporting ensures that your research is sound. Report all aspects of methodology, including data collection techniques, statistical analysis, and potential conflicts of interest. Others in the research community may be able to review your methods and replicate your findings. Replication: Every time possible, invite replication studies or openly share your data so that others can verify your findings. Replication is probably one of the most vital checks for the validity of any findings and increases research reliability.

Analyze Data with Rigor and Precision Analysis stage of the research could be very efficient in supporting your conclusions but through mistaken statistical techniques or just being misinterpreted, this could extend way beyond the data. Strategy: Caution in data analysis, the kind of test appropriate for your kind of data and research questions. The assumptions must always be examined before the application of the statistical methods so that no error finds its way in during that process, such as applying a test that is parametric in the case of non-normally distributed data. Do not over-interpret the results. Statistical significance does not necessarily mean practical significance and correlation does not imply causation. Instead interpret findings objectively and search for alternative explanations for the findings. Cross-validation: The cross-validation techniques, such as splitting your dataset into training and testing sets, prevent overfitting and yield a better estimation of model performance.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation Research methodology is an evolving science. Newer techniques, tools, and best practices are coming to the fore at a quick pace. To be cognizant of such developments, your research must always be of the latest cutting edge and limit any possible methodological errors as much as possible. Strategy: Attend a workshop or conference on research methodology or get online training courses on research methodology. Develop knowledge of the new tools and techniques in recent literature and be geared to adapt the methods in view of new insights or technological advancements. For any research assistance reach out to us on our Whatsapp https://wa.me/+918217879258

[chairteeth]

So I did a lil bit of intro writing

For my upcoming contribution to the @magireco-minibang, I've decided to write a couple of introductions so to speak, in each main character's pov. I've been partnered with @karinmisono for this project and I for one am excessively excited about it aaaaa-

Anyway, the girls have grown different from their canon selves to some extent, given the changes in their formative years, but don't worry, being thrown into an eldritch horror gallery will bond anyone most people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eighteen. The very day Nemu Hiiragi had turned eighteen, she’d stopped going to therapy. Her parents didn’t stop her—didn’t care enough to even find out. What had therapy ever done for her, besides bring to light how miserable her home life truly was?

Her father didn’t give her a break. She was barely listening to him when she walked into the kitchen. Something about a competition. Another competition. What was it going to be this time? Kendo? Karate? Taekwondo would at least be enjoyable.

“Oh, Nemu, there are leftovers in the fridge,” her mother called.

“Thank you, Mom, but I ate lunch before I left Yukuni.”

“I see…”

Before either of her parents could continue talking to her, Nemu left her bag on the counter and headed to her room, registering one last shout from her father to get ready for training. This was why she preferred to be anywhere but the house. She caught sight of her brother glaring at her from the door to his room and politely ignored it.

Once she’d finished counting the books in her room, as she did every time she entered it in hopes that her father wouldn’t have thrown away any of them, she eyed her laptop on her desk. Weekend mornings were the only time her father had been convinced to grant her for classes, prioritizing training his begrudging champion above her studies. She’d used up that day’s morning free time on returning to Kamihama all the way from Yukuni City.

“I suppose my assignments will be feasible to do tonight after dinner… which leaves me stranded here to sleep for the night. Not the worst fate, although unpleasant.”

She left her glasses on her dresser to put in her contacts, seeing as it was preferable to do it at home rather than the dojo. After a few blinks, a glance at her buzzing phone showed her a rare text from the only person she would hesitantly call a friend: Alina Gray. That could not possibly be good news.

“Cherry blossom viewing…? Alina would never suggest this. It must have been her girlfriend who proposed this. In Sankyo Ward as well… I do recall Akira mentioning that there’s a park with beautiful cherry blossoms nearby. While the prospect holds a certain appeal, I cannot extend my acceptance until I’ve formulated a suitable strategy to circumvent Dad’s potential objections.”

Strategizing would not be difficult… so long as she didn’t delude herself with any ideas of her unflinchingly strict father allowing her to skip even a single training session. Her instructors promoted discipline, however they had been willing to cover for her in the past. Once or twice. She hated having to request anything out of anyone.

“But… I would benefit from a small break. A break that does not involve depersonalization of the highest caliber.”

If her therapist had left her with anything, it would be the curse of self-awareness. All she’d wanted to do after leaving the hospital had been to bond with her family and indulge in her passions somewhere that wasn’t a sterile white environment reeking of medication.

Over her summer shirt, Nemu felt her fingertips glide around the contour of the scar beneath her breasts, and she hated the way it made her breath hitch. Breathing, breathing, breathing. Her enemy, it felt like. Or at least, for the longest time, it had been. She had not yet been able to go more than a few days without thinking back to the hospital. To the days of choking on her own mucus, when her limbs felt like lead and her useless, weak, defective lungs were filled with sandpaper, each cough rasping and tearing at her throat. The days of gasping for oxygen in a lonely room as if trying to suck air through a straw, tears streaming down her cheeks and her vision swimming. Those days when she’d both plead for and curse her parents, unable to hear herself above the high-pitched whistle that filled her ears, the constant reminder of the narrowed airways that choked her every breath. The red of her blood had looked beautiful when it stained her sheets—unproductive, the nurses had called it.

A bang on her door snapped her out of her thoughts.

“You’re gonna be late, grab your uniform and get your ass out the door!” her father yelled.

With a sigh, Nemu retrieved her folded up uniform and took her immunosuppressant pills dry. She’d heed her father’s command this once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Touka never thought she could hate the stars. It wasn’t that she hated them, exactly. Recent events had simply granted her a new perspective.

“Fire requires oxygen and fuel. Fire produces heat and light through a chemical reaction called combustion. Fire releases ash and other byproducts. Stars don’t need oxygen or fuel in the traditional sense. Stars generate light and heat through nuclear fusion, where atoms combine to release enormous amounts of energy. Stars don’t produce ash, but heavier elements.”

She’d been repeating that to herself for months. The incident had left parts of her home in shambles, charred beyond recognition. Other parts had only seen minor damage. Including the particular canvas she’d been staring at. A perfect replica of herself, wearing a different dress and yet the same cursed bright smile she’d been made to sport since her inception. It made her frown to see the scorch marks—they left her figure untouched, consuming everything around her instead.

Touka took a deep breath. She couldn’t spend her day idling and moping. Her siblings were counting on her. They may have been older, but they’d been far more terrified than her when their guests had turned on them and set their home ablaze. It was her job to lead.

She stopped at the top of the stairs. The likelihood of falling was rather high, if her terrible balance since the incident was anything to go by. As if to taunt her, the sensation of burning embers radiated into her back and shoulders, numb yet tingling, icy cold yet searing hot. An ache, a throb she couldn’t escape. The smell of smoke and ash lingered in her nose.

“Like a ship missing its sails…”

With a scowl, she tried to take it one step at a time. And every step felt like descending into Hell itself. The ache radiated from her shoulder blades, down her spine, and into her fingers. Touka kept her eyes glued to the stairs below. Thankfully, there was a railing to hold onto. Unfortunately for her, as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she felt an itch urging her to scratch at it. She would not be scratching at empty air. For her dignity. She’d grit her teeth, squeeze her eyes shut, and hope it would pass soon. Her hand went to the black rose she wore in her hair.

“I need… to make better defenses. Every visitor that has come to our home has hurt us, only to flee before we can retaliate. I don’t know why I thought it would be different this time. Well, I was right, it was different, just… not in a good way. Of course not.”

Her older sisters had told her once, over tea, that she had no thorns. No matter how hard she tried to keep people away, she’d always end up trusting at the first sign of kindness. They’d tried not to blame her, but she could tell what they were thinking. Why would she want to be close to others when she already had such a large family that adored her?

“They don’t feel trapped here like I do… It hasn’t been the same since Father left. I wish I knew why he abandoned us. It was… little after I was born… Was it something to do with me? Did he not want to look at me?” She lifted up her forearm and stared at the burn scar forever etched into her skin. “Was I… defective?”

Touka slammed her fist into the concrete wall, sending cracks out from the point of impact. She could not afford distractions. She could not afford mourning. She could not afford-

But it ached. It ached and she fell to her knees beside the wall.

No sound. No sun. No wind.

She’d waited so long. First, in silence. Then, making the most noise she could. Trying everything, anything to make him proud. Why had he been so cruel as to abandon all of his children without a word? Her siblings had raised her with stories of their father’s loving soul and his kind hand. She’d never known them herself. What had she done to deserve his scorn? Why was she not worthy of his love as her siblings had been? Why did everyone who met her hate her? Why could she not let go of her sorrows and live happily like the rest of her siblings?

“They call me a genius… Is that why? It hurts… It hurts so much…”

The first sob came without tears.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

As you may have noticed, I'm big on the benefit of the doubt, aka there's more truth and knowledge in knowing you don't know than pretending you do. The pundits pretending to be neurologists with a specialty in gerontology that qualifies them to condemn Biden's brain don't actually have either the expertise or the evidence to reach the conclusions they are airing. They're in a sort of mass-hysteria bandwagon to sabotage the current alternative to Trump, which is as dangerous as it is familiar from the 2016 election.

Meanwhile fascism is staring us in the face (in the person of a man so dim he keeps boasting he did well on the kind of cognitive test given when they're actually worried about your brain: in 2020 "President Trump again sought to showcase his mental fitness on television by reciting, over and over again in an interview broadcast on Wednesday evening, what he said was a sample cognitive testing sequence." That was the “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV" business).

The New York Times, which has been running a concerted campaign in both news and opinion sections since at least February to convince the public that Biden is incompetent, has led the way. This is not my argument that Biden is the best candidate though he's certainly the best-placed candidate in that it's not so easy to get a new one up and running at this stage.

It's my argument that a whole lot of high-profile (mostly) men are suffering from too much faith in their own belief in their superior objectivity and cool rationality. Which is is too often why they're exceptionally unaware of the feelings/motives driving them and why they're jumping on the bandwagon. They seem to suffer from a particular kind of memory impairment: how with the same strategies, they (and, yeah, it's some of the same pundits) helped undermine the candidate running against the fascist eight years ago, led by the same newspaper.

I have come across several people who are in fact qualified in the relevant areas, and their opinions and some of the criteria for those opinions follow. A number of actual experts piped up to say that Biden's lifelong stuttering disability often has a little-known related symptom called cluttering, which I hadn't heard of. They thought it could explain some of his debate performance: "Cluttering is a speech disorder characterized by rapid or irregular speaking consisting of atypical pauses, repetitions, and disfluencies resulting in a breakdown in speech clarity and organization. In contrast, stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by the repetition of sounds or words and disruptions in the flow of speech." Some of the speech experts note that in such a situation, trying to manage a speech impediment consumes some of the mental energy that would otherwise be focused on formulating thoughts.

Meanwhile, there was an essay this spring by an actual gerontologist in the L.A. Times who says that Biden shows normal signs of aging. Dr. Stone writes: "First, memory. I explain to patients that there are three components to consider. One is formation. Then storage. And, finally, recall. The most common issue among seniors is slow recall. This is the familiar “tip of the tongue” phenomenon, when a word seems to hide or a name won’t come to mind. You know the name, it’s in your bank of memories, it just can’t be accessed quickly. Given time, it usually arrives. This problem, called age-associated memory impairment, often starts for people in their 30s and gradually progresses. It’s a nuisance but not disabling. If, like me, you find yourself using the term “whatchamacallit,” you probably have it. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine." https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-03-07/joe-biden-age-memory-alzheimers-cognition

Two other medical experts on aging (bios below) wrote this piece:

There is no clinical evidence for cognitive decline in President Biden — despite armchair gerontologists declaring otherwise. It may be tempting to conclude that such evidence does not exist because an extensive battery of diagnostic assessments of cognitive functioning has not been ordered (to our knowledge) by his personal physician, and if done, something significant might be revealed. But presidents are evaluated by their physicians just like everyone else — cognitive functioning tests are not done unless the physician suspects a problem or if requested by the patient. Even then, a screening test of cognitive function is done first, followed by other more in-depth diagnostic assessments if the screen shows a worrisome score. Since Biden’s personal physician seems not to have felt cognitive screening testing was medically indicated, this represents evidence that such issues are unlikely to be present consistent with his family history of dementia-free longevity. It is also common to mistake Biden’s lifelong speech impediment for cognitive decline, his cough for an inability to speak clearly, his changed gait for a man in significant decline, an occasional misstatement as a sign of mental decay, etc. Each of us bears our own challenges with age — this is not a reason to dismiss and discard. It’s a recognition that along with the privilege of long life, come changes that require adaptation. We see them in Biden because he’s under a 24/7 spotlight. Place the same bright light of the media on any of the rest of us — at any age — and few would survive the scrutiny without a similar negative profile.

Dr. Bradley Willcox, M.D., MSc, FGSA, is a professor and director of research at the Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa.

S. Jay Olshansky, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, [and] a research associate at the Center on Aging at the University of Chicago.

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4391046-is-joe-biden-a-superager-were-asking-all-the-wrong-questions/

(Rebecca Solnit)

[dailyanarchistposts]

The following are suggestions for direct action organizing. These are meant as guidelines—feel free to improvise process as necessary.

Direct action utilizes hands-on intervention to directly challenge hierarchies. By using spectacle to expose hypocrisies, direct action terrorizes the status quo and revitalizes public space. In the process, it builds a delicious and defiant culture of resistance. Direct action encourages people to push the boundaries of acceptable behavior in order to create new possibilities for organizing, self-determination and activism.

Why non-hierarchical organizing?

In this country we are encouraged to think that voting is a participatory act of “democratic” choice, when in reality it means that a majority controls the agenda. Non-hierarchical organizing means that everyone participates in the process. Though there may be other models for non-hierarchical organizing, we have found consensus to be the most effective.

Consensus Process

Consensus means everyone comes to agreement before any decision can be made. In order for meetings to run as smoothly as possible, at the beginning of each meeting, someone volunteers to facilitate. The facilitator compiles a list of agenda items at the start of the meeting, keeps track of who wants to speak, calls on speakers, makes sure speakers stay on topic and keeps the agenda moving. After a proposal for action and a discussion of this proposal, the facilitator calls for consensus when a decision seems imminent; this involves asking who is in favor, who objects and who abstains. If there are any objections, the group formulates alternate proposals until consensus can be reached. Some groups have a formal process for tallying abstentions in order to decide if a proposal should be revisited. In the case of GAY SHAME, we have found that consensus occurs remarkably easily, since we have worked through our common politics and we discuss issues extensively prior to calling for consensus. We only use the more formal consensus process in the case of extreme disagreement.

If someone believes that a decision close to consensus is contradictory to the goals of the action or group, that person can block consensus. In the case of GAY SHAME, this has only happened one time in our four-year history. Of course, consensus decisions may always be revisited in the future. Usually, though, it’s all flower power and SSRIs here at GAY SHAME.

There are many different effective models for creating consensus-- feel free to share your strategies with us.

Working It Out

If you know people who share common goals, politics and strategies then contact them to arrange a time/place to meet and brainstorm ideas for a call to plan an action. If you don’t know anyone else who shares your politics, skip to step 2.

Make a call to plan an action: including a purpose/target (for example, GAY SHAME’s all to challenge the rabid consumerist monster that is corporate pride).

Create regular, free, public, accessible, meeting time and space (for example, GAY SHAME started meeting in a café with a lot of empty meeting space, now we meet in the back room of a sympathetic bookstore). Assume that all meetings are being surveilled by law enforcement and concerned citizens and plan separate spaces for organizing covert aspects of actions.

Fundraising is No Fun

True, the world is run on money and that does not exclude your direct action, but it is important to figure out ways to avoid spending money in order to further your critique of capitalism. Many people have boring day jobs that give them access to many useful resources, such as: paint, paper, markers, copies, food, etc. Borrowing, stealing and sharing can build relationships that grant writing, silent auctions and walk-a-thons never can. As a last resort, if you must shell out money then try to figure out ways to best distribute the costs.

Should You Approach the Media?

The mainstream media will probably not be on your side, especially when you’re doing something that actually challenges the existing power structure that controls most media outlets. Always remember that the mainstream media consists of corporate hacks, vultures and ghouls all vying for a chance to exploit you into your grave. Therefore, it is important to discuss early on whether you want to approach the mainstream media at all, and if so, how to ensure that your message gets across, if at all possible. Also, discuss alternative media such as “progressive” newspapers, pirate or non-commercial radio, “public” television, indymedia or any other options that may or may not be better than the corporate crap. Of course, you can also make your own media (take this web site, for example).

[socialmediaoutsourcing]

2024's Top Social Media Companies for New Businesses

Social media is now a vital tool for companies trying to increase visibility, audience engagement, and growth in today's digitally first society. Working with a professional social media agency can alter everything because they have the resources and experience needed to handle the intricacies of many platforms. A list of the best social media companies, including Monk Outsourcing, to think about for your company's needs is provided here, along with information on how these companies help startups.

How Startups Benefit from Social Media Agencies

Strategy Development: Social media companies create unique plans that complement a startup's objectives, target market, and market developments. This customized strategy guarantees that the material connects and encourages significant interaction.

Content Creation: To create top-notch content that captures a startup's distinct voice and brand identity, agencies use creative professionals to create eye-catching images, engrossing videos, and persuasive writing.

Social Media Management: It can be quite difficult to manage several platforms at once. In order to maintain regular and expert connection with followers, agencies take responsibility for daily updates, interactions, and community administration.

Analytics and Reporting: Growth depends on insights derived from data. In order to assist startups to figure out what works, what doesn't, and how to effectively optimize campaigns, agencies monitor performance metrics and offer comprehensive reports.

Paid Advertising: With experience in developing and overseeing social media advertising campaigns, agencies assist startups in optimizing their advertising budgets, enhancing return on investment, and effectively reaching the target demographic.

Trend Tracking: Social media is changing quickly. By keeping abreast of trends, algorithms, and best practices, agencies help startups quickly adjust and take advantage of new opportunities.

Leading Social Media Agencies for New Businesses

The following are some of the best social media agencies that can support new businesses in thriving in the cutthroat digital market:

1. Monk Outsourcing

Overview: Building a strong social media presence for startups and small enterprises is Monk Outsourcing's area of expertise. Their staff specializes in providing tailored strategies that guarantee businesses attain quantifiable outcomes and cultivate significant audience involvement.

Services include paid advertising, analytics, social media management, strategy formulation, and content production.

Notable Clients: Monk Outsourcing has collaborated with numerous startups in a variety of industries, creating effective campaigns that are customized to meet their unique requirements.

2. The Social Cubicle

Overview: Social Cubicle is renowned for providing extensive social media services that are specifically designed for startups, with a focus on audience expansion and brand identity.

Services include paid advertising, analytics, community management, strategy development, and content production.

Notable Clients: With an emphasis on individualized care and results-oriented tactics, they have worked with startups in a variety of industries.

3. Disruptive Advertising

Overview: Renowned for its data-centric approach, Disruptive Advertising excels in creating targeted ad strategies that drive measurable outcomes.

Services: PPC management, social media advertising, conversion rate optimization, and analytics reporting.

Notable Clients: They provide tailored solutions for small to medium-sized businesses looking to optimize their marketing efforts.

4. Marketing using Lyfe

Overview: Lyfe Marketing provides customized services for startups and small enterprises with an emphasis on community involvement and organic growth.

Services include email marketing, SEO, content production, and social media management.

Notable Clients: They have assisted many startups in building community connections and improving their internet visibility.

5. Sprout Social

Overview: Sprout Social provides a powerful social media management platform with analytics and engagement features.

Services include social listening, analytics, customer interaction, and social media management.

Notable Customers: Their solutions, which offer practical insights to enhance tactics, are well-liked by startups and large corporations.

Conclusion

For a startup to succeed, selecting the best social media agency can be crucial. Startups may concentrate because agencies like Monk Outsourcing offer the know-how and resources required to handle social media efficiently.

[adhilseo]

What We Offer

Brand Strategy Development Our process begins with a deep dive into your business. We analyze your market, competitors, and audience to craft a unique brand strategy. This strategy serves as a roadmap, guiding your branding efforts and ensuring alignment with your business goals.

Visual Identity Creation Your visual identity is the face of your brand. We design logos, color palettes, and typography that are not only visually appealing but also resonate with your target demographic. Our goal is to create a memorable identity that stands out in a crowded marketplace.

Content Marketing Engaging content is vital for building brand loyalty. Our content marketing services include:

Blog Posts: Thoughtful articles that position your brand as an authority in your field.

Social Media Content: Eye-catching graphics and posts that drive engagement and shareability.

Video and Multimedia: Compelling videos that convey your brand message effectively.

Social Media Management Social media is a powerful tool for brand engagement. We develop and manage your social media strategy, ensuring consistent messaging across platforms. Our services include:

Creating a content calendar

Engaging with your audience

Monitoring performance metrics to refine strategies

Online Reputation Management Your brand’s online reputation can significantly impact consumer trust. We proactively manage your online presence by:

Monitoring reviews and feedback

Responding promptly to customer inquiries

Implementing strategies to build a positive image

SEO Integration A beautiful brand is meaningless if it’s not discoverable. Our digital branding services are intricately linked with effective SEO strategies to ensure that your brand ranks well in search results. We optimize your content, website, and social profiles for search engines, increasing visibility and driving traffic.

Why Choose SEO Kochi?

Tailored Solutions: We recognize that each business is unique. Our services are customized to meet your specific needs and objectives, ensuring a personalized approach.

Experienced Team: Our team comprises branding experts, designers, and content strategists who are dedicated to your success. We stay updated with industry trends to deliver the best results.

Data-Driven Decisions: We utilize analytics and performance metrics to guide our strategies, ensuring that every action we take is aligned with your business goals and leads to measurable outcomes.

End-to-End Service: From strategy formulation to execution, we offer a comprehensive suite of services that cover every aspect of digital branding.

Conclusion

At SEO Kochi, we believe that effective digital branding is the key to building a strong, recognizable presence in today’s competitive market. Our comprehensive services, from brand strategy development to online reputation management, are designed to elevate your brand and foster lasting connections with your audience. By choosing us, you gain a dedicated partner committed to your success, ensuring your brand not only stands out but thrives in the digital landscape. Let’s work together to create a brand that resonates and drives results!