#also you don’t need to have any research connected to theatre to see it unlike in NY

[alyona11]

Also my dudes, if you ever in London and you’re huge Hadestown nerds, you can visit National Theatre Archives and watch the proshot of London Hadestown from 2018 (for those who might not know, it’s similar to Broadway/tour/west end in terms of costume design but has different characterisation for orphedice in particular + different lyrics) with most of the OBC playing the roles.

The archives have 2 proshots, one from different angles and one from a wide angle, I watched a multiple angle one and it’s really great. Plus they have some other Hadestown stuff, you can see all of it in the archive catalogue. You can book the day to see it in the archive website and even watch it in group for free.

Also the people who work in the archives are super lovely and we accidentally run into one lady who works there and also is a huge Hadestown fan :3 Overall 10/10 would recommend!

[kendrixtermina]

Appreciating the Range of Type 6, or, one stereotypical example, and three that aren’t.

I want to tell you about some type 6 ppl that I know in my personal life.

Exemplar #1: F. B.

Complete Stats

Wing: 5 p or cp: largely phobic – lots of safety worries, outright authoritarian follower personality Instinct: sp/soc Trifix: 613  - 6w5 1w2 3w2 (“The Taskmaster” or “The Middle Manager”) jungian: ISTJ / SLI-Te oldham: Conscientious & Aggressive Essence Type: Mars Temperament: Pure Choleric

What he’s like:

Not pleasant.

Every “strict conservative middle aged guy” stereotype in the book. Control freak, makes a mountain out of every molehill, sees the world as full of axe murderers, judgemental as fuck, horrible temper and yet completely impersonable, all his opinions are copypasted from right-wing news sites. When they say war is good he’s for war, and when they say war is bad he’ll be like “At least Trump did not start any more wars” without perceiving a contradiction. Despite this, he believes is very hot, principled and funny. He is none of these things. He puts people down nonstop. My knowledge of neurochemistry tells me that he must have emotions somewhere or he couldn’t function, but I ain’t ever seen a single one of those emotions. They’re all for his job and a few trusted mentor figures. And his mom. At least he loved her.

If you say anything he doesn’t like, he “throws the sofa out the window” as his wife once put it.

How he’s a Type 6:

Well, he’s pretty much every negative stereotype in a nutshell… other than distrusting his partner. But that might be cause hes sx blind, or cause the wife is big on monogamy & wouldn’t ever cheat.

The one positive trait of 6 that he has is that he does his research. Before moving anywhere he googles the crime rates and if you need a doctor he might find you the best one. But even that can be overriden by ideology (hydroxychloroquine!). And if you don’t take his exact advice, there goes the sofa out the window again…

And I guess the work ethic from all 3 parts of the trifix really comes through – he hasn’t had a single bad grade in his life and always keeps collecting new certifications, and will make sure you hear about it...

Exemplar #2: I.

Complete Stats

Wing: 5 P or cp: pretty much an even mix of phobic and counterphobic Instinct: sp/soc Trifix: 614 - 6w5 1w2 4w3 (Would prolly call herself “The Big Pain” rather than “The Philosopher” ^^°) jungian: INTJ / ILI-Ni oldham: Serious & Conscientious Essence Type: Saturn Temperament: Chlor-Mel

What she’s like:

I’d describe her as serious, mature, discerning, focused and passionate about her friendships, if perhaps somewhat forceful at times, with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.

Comes across like someone who knows what she’s talking about, with well-articulated points.

Often the Responsible Sibling, Designated Sanity Checker or Bullshit Detector.

Prefers to plan everything in advance in typical Ni dom fashion, even amusement part trips. Gets somewhat anxious without a future plan or shedule.

Often mistaken for a whole lot more sociable and confident that she really feels inside. (even I kinda bought it and got her whole darn trifix wrong on my first typing attempt, though that was when I was new to typology) She can act the boss act temporarily to get the situation over with, but she actually hates making decisions.

She does however have the occasional cute/pure moment where that lower function block comes out.

How she’s a Type 6:

She has saved our family from many a terrible restaurant by making sure to check the reviews. The preparing for all possible dangers is very 6, the acting tough outwardly when youre inwardly anxious, the intellectual problem solving & some tendency towards organization/responsibility/ “logistic” intelligence.

One online test she took gave her 5w6 instead of 6w5 but that’s probably just the ITxx-ness leaking in. I remember this one time we were discussing this artsy-fartsy theater play to which we’d had fascinatingly different reactions, and at one point I half-jokingly said something like “But does anyone ever really feel connected to others, or is that a myth?” to which she wrote, “[Name], what the fuck? Yes I do.” and then immediately deleted it. That’s more of a 6 reaction innit?

Nonetheless the wing does feature in significantly – for example she got very well informed about a lot of topics because she researched them to assuage a random survival-related fear, like, “How to make sure I have enough retirement money”

Exemplar #3: M.

Complete Stats

Wing: 7 p or cp: largely phobic Instinct: sp/sx Trifix: 692 - 6w7 9w1 2w1 (Fortunately very much a “Good Samaritan” rather than “The Stockholm”) jungian: ISFP / SEI-Fi oldham: Sensitive & Devoted Essence Type: Lunar-Venus Temperament: Pure Supine

What she’s like:

Precious! Sweet, nice, good listener, friendly, gives all the best gifts. But also perceptive and good at understanding people, eg. mediating to the parents when one of the younger sisters is having An Emotion™ or winning the trust of problem children.

Unlike I. Who has some soc that helps her keep track of a larger circle of friends despite her introversion, M. tends to enjoy the closeness with her family and have just a few very close friends. Excellent friend material all around! The sx and Se also come out in enjoying art forms involving the body like theatre or dance.

She can be a bit shy, conflict-avoidant and occasionally a lil bit panicky though.

As a small kid she used to be super duper shy but then a wise english teacher encouraged her to play a big role in a play, and since then she’s a lot more confident and doesn’t let ppl push her around without limit, though she’s still a quiet, helpful person. There you see the difference that a good teacher can make.

How she’s a Type 6:

For one thing she moves and emotes faster than a core 9 would, and she fits the body language – big eyes that move around a lot, stands a bit lopsided, talks in a shrill voice on the rare occasions where we exhaust her patience etc. As a xSFx and a w7 she shows mostly the “warm, friendly, likeable” side of type 6. She also has a very 6-ish tendency to very frequently ask people’s opinions & feedback before making decisions. (the other fixes probably add to this)

Alas, she also has a little bit of of the fear/insecurity.

Also she has a social/care job which might be seen as 6-ish desire to serve the community.

Exemplar #4: J.

Complete Stats

Wing: 7 P or cp: largely counterphobic Instinct: sx/soc ?? definitely not sp first. Trifix: 638 - 6w7 3w4 8w9(?) (Shall she be a “Justice Fighter” or a “Kyle”? Only time will tell.) jungian: ISTP / LSI-Se ?? Oldham: ? some Dramatic & Serious, perhaps ? Essence Type: Definitely Mercury Temperament: San-Mel

What she’s like:

The first adjective that usually comes to my mind is ‘cool’. Sassy, energetic & a little bit tough, but also affectionate when she wants to be. (though in admiring way rather than a mushy one)

She says the coolest things, has a certain sly sort of cleverness, and an astonishly good poker face. Bit of an occasional prankster. Hilarious. Knows all sort of cool science facts. Avid gamer. 

Not especially popular or over the top sociable, but she gets sad if no one pays attention to her a while. Will act visibly moody where ppl can see sad or worried and can catastrophize a bit in such situations.

How she’s a Type 6:

I first though we might be getting an ExxP type 7 since she was a pretty energetic child, but once puberty hit and independent thought manifested, she turned out a whole lot too reactive and ‘edgy’ for this, and more on the ‘moderate introvert’ side of things.

Since then the sisterly dynamic has been like one fluffy golden dog and 3 hissing black cats. Hissing Cats #1 and #2 are very proud of her, but cat #1 was forced to conclude that she’s probably not a positive outlook type.

Out of all the reactive types 6 fits best because she does broadcast group identity (like wearing merchandise of her favorite media and wearing buttons in solidarity with ppl she likes.) & has a big case of Big Sibling worship for M, I, and someone else who isn’t on this list due to being a 9. (a 4 or 8 might like their older siblings but probably wouldn’t constantly stress the admiration.), but she can also show lasting, pouty displeasure with authority figures who have slighted her. (Like that one time I went too far in teasing her...)

I’m just assuming the 8 fix because that tends to make 6s more bold, louder & more shameless.

Basically she is the “punk teen” type of 6. She can be a bit dramatic & over-the top but still come to her family on advice (even advice on pranks!) in ways that xSTPs of other enneagrams prolly wouldn’t.

She also tends to use self-deprecating humor in tough situations and deflects compliments to present herself as ‘ordinary’.

...

This may sound like I’m really getting down on my first example (I won’t pretend that I’m not) but the point in bringing him up is that the reason he’s like this is: He was subject to really bad parenting that put a lot of fear into him, there was no good parenting to teach him broader coping strategies, he lived in a crappy environment that crushed his dreams, in a sense ‘confirming’ those fears and making him double down, resulting in a person who is just always rigidly following the same predictable pattern or jumping from one automatic reaction to the next with very little pausing and thinking. That goes for the other types too: A ‘stereotypical’ person is a desperate person ruled by fear, who cant stop or soften up even for an instant cause they constantly feel this fire of threat under their arse.

A lot of descriptions say that 6s ‘Follow authority’ but most would balk at the notion – ‘I do the research!’ they might argue ‘I don’t just trust anyone’ or ‘I’m actually a rebel’. There is of course such a thing as denial  that’s more like the extreme case.

But with a more average, functional 6 it’s not so much ‘obedience’ as that they just like to bounce their ideas off of others to get feedback, or that they feature in other’s viewpoints. So you might get someone who can naturally use feedback (something other ppl may have to learn first) or who is very considerate of others (which others might have to consciously remind themselves to do.)

Those are sometimes pretty good traits actually.

On the other hand this is probably part of what makes decisions hard cause they consider all these possible scenarios of how things might displease or cause harm to everyone involved.

Being able to naturally snap into Action Mode under stress looks a bit enviable from the outside, but I. assures me that it’s actually super stressful & exhausting, even for someone who doesn’t get to a point of just being unreasonably aggro at you.

Though even an extreme case like F.B. would probably claim that he ‘did the research’ even as he’s 1:1 quoting the Pope at you, and then saying that you ‘have to be respectful’ even if you don’t even believe in Christianity. Hence why you get a lot of authoritarians talking about “disrespect”. You didn’t “fail to obey”, you “disrespected the flag” or  “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”. Because they’re still trying or inwardly thinking that they’re doing the consideritation & considering other’s PoV thing when they’ve long since crossed from respect and consideration into mindless obedience, all while still thinking that they’re very sceptical and discerning cause after all they really distrust the other political party or whatever.  

In a way you get this obsession with ‘mind control’ cause they’re not unaware of & very much looking to guard the blind spot. They’re adults trying to do adult things.

For example, if I voiced an opinion to F. B. which he didn’t like, his reaction was often to ask “who told you that”

That’s just how he seems to think opinions work, somebody tells them to you.

Makes one wonder how he thinks new opinions start.

Yeah - Nobody told me that. I concocted it myself in some corner of my head. And in the interest of objectivity, I should stress that you can also end talking out of your ass that way, if you’re not basing it on enough outside data. Making up new shit has more of a quadratic than a linear learning curve – at least with copying you get something semi-useful right away. In making up your own you might be really off a long time before you stumble on something useful.

Also, I was young at the time and it’s not wholly unreasobale to think that an inexperienced person might be duped. I reacted really badly in part cause he hit my own ego buttons cause I was of course proud of this epiphany that I had concocted by myself, and now he says (or so I perceived it, being sensitive to accusations of incompetence) that I’m too dumb to form an opinion, so of course I launched into full Obnoxious Reddit Dude Mode.

In I. It manifests more on a reasonable useful level like “Oh wait, should [young cousin] be on TikTok? I don’t want him to get sucked into some cultish BS.” which is at least something the parents should have on the radar/ warn him about even if they do let him use TikTok, because for all that it is vital for him to get his experience with independent socializing & experimentig with sel-presentation, people do sometimes get suckered into cults or goaded into unsafe tests of courage.

And in a sense… maybe they overamphasize it but to some extent they’re also simply consciously aware/ mindful of it. The rest of us are not immune to propaganda after all, solong as it’s presented in a way pleasing to our egos. Any type structure can become a ‘hook’ if you’re not careful.

[problematicwelshman]

Michael Sheen on Good Omens, sex scenes, and why Brexit led to his break-up

28 NOVEMBER 2018 • 4:18PM

Michael Sheen may be 49, and sporting a grey beard these days, but mention Martians and the actor reverts to a breathless, giddy teenager.

It all stems back to one evening when Sheen was about 12 years old. “It was a significant moment in my life,” he tells me over coffee in a London hotel. “My cousin Hugh was babysitting, and he put on Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds.

“I remember us lying there, listening in bed in the dark. It absolutely terrified me, but I got obsessed with it. I’m worryingly into it. I know every single note, every word.”

Wayne’s 1978 rock opera has had a similar effect on countless fans, even if it prompts a bemused shrug from non-converts. Without ever topping the charts, it has slowly become one of the best-selling British albums of all time, and this Friday begins a stadium tour featuring a 35-foot fire-breathing Martian and a 3D hologram of Liam Neeson. It’s a geeky novelty, but one of epic proportions.

When Wayne asked Sheen if he would star in a new radio drama-style version for the album’s 40th anniversary, alongside Taron Egerton and Ade Edmondson, the Welsh actor “bit his hand off”. It had always been his dream. For decades, whether doing serious political dramas such as Frost/Nixon or the great roles of classical theatre – Hamlet, Henry V – the one part Sheen really wanted involved Martians saying “ulla-ulla”.

“When I was doing Caligula at the Donmar [in 2003], I was filming The Deal during the day – which was the first time I’d played Tony Blair,” he says. “I’d be so tired, to wake myself up [before the play] I would do whole sections of War of the Worlds.” He can even beatbox the sound effects, he adds proudly. “The other guys in the dressing room would all be really pissed off with me - but I was playing Caligula, so they had to put up with it.”

Enthusing about an outtake on a collectors version of the album where you can hear Richard Burton coughing, Sheen briefly slips into an impression of the late actor. It’s eerily spot-on. Burton played the role he takes in the new version, which feels apt; growing up in Port Talbot, Sheen was aware of following in his footsteps.

“Coming from the same town as him really helped,” he says. “It’s place you wouldn’t necessarily think would be very sympathetic to acting – it’s an old steel town, very working class, quite a macho place – but because of Richard Burton, and then Anthony Hopkins, there’s the sense that it’s possible [to be an actor], and people have a respect for it.

“Ultimately, though, we’re very different actors - Burton was very much a charismatic leading man, and I’m probably more of a character actor. He wasn’t known for his versatility.” Sheen, by contrast, is a chameleon, as he proved with a remarkable run of biopics from 2006-9, playing Tony Blair, David Frost, Brian Clough, Kenneth Williams and the Roman emperor Nero on screen in the space of just four years.

He concedes that he may have made a “partly conscious” decision to avoid biopics since then. “I’ve been offered quite a few I didn’t do. I did feel, for a bit, it was probably good for me to move away from it – certainly from playing Blair at least, because that’s the one I became synonymous with. I’d quite happily play real people again, but it’s hard to find good scripts and it takes a lot of homework. With some parts I’ve been offered, you might only have a few weeks to prepare for it - and you can’t do that with Clough or Kenneth Williams.”

Despite his best intentions, Sheen is playing another Blair in his next film – The Voyage of Doctor Doolittle, where he’s the nemesis of Robert Downey Jr’s animal-loving hero. “I don’t know if they did that as a joke or not,” he says. “He’s Blair Müdfly – there’s an umlaut that he is very specific about. He was at college with Doolittle, and hates him, and becomes the antagonist because of his jealousy of Doolittle. Müdfly is employed to try and stop him from finding... what he wants to find.” As the film isn’t out for 13 months, Sheen is tight-lipped about further plot details – but he hints that Müdfly is “a villain in the tradition of Terry-Thomas villains.”

It’s the latest in a series of quirky, eyebrow-raising roles. After playing a vampire in the Twilight films and a werewolf in the Underworld franchise, Sheen says he would often be asked in interviews why a “serious classical actor” was wasting his time on fantasy films.

“There’s a lot of snobbishness about genre,” he says. “I think some of the greatest writing of the 20th and 21st centuries has happened in science fiction and fantasy.” While promoting the films, he would back up that point by citing his favourite authors – Stephen King, Philip K Dick, Neil Gaiman. “Time went on, and then one day my doorbell rang and there was a big box being delivered. I opened the box up and there was a card from Neil saying ‘From one fan to another’, and all these first editions of his books.”

It was the beginning an enduring friendship, which recently became a professional partnership: Sheen stars in Gaiman’s forthcoming TV series Good Omens, based on a 1990 novel he wrote with the late Terry Pratchett. Set in the days before a biblical apocalypse, its sprawling list of characters includes an angel called Aziraphale (Sheen) and a demon called Crowley (David Tennant) who have known each other since the days of Adam and Eve.

“I wanted to play Aziraphel being sort of in love with Crowley,” says Sheen. “They’re both very bonded and connected anyway, because of the two of them having this relationship through history - but also because angels are beings of love, so it’s inevitable that he would love Crowley. It helped that loving David is very easy to do.”

What kind of love - platonic, romantic, erotic? “Oh, those are human, mortal labels!” Sheen laughs. “But that was what I thought would be interesting to play with. There’s a lot of fan fiction where Aziraphale and Crowley get a bit hot and heavy towards each other, so it’ll be interesting to see how an audience reacts to what we’ve done in bringing that to the screen.”

Steamy fan fiction aside, it’s unlikely Good Omens will match the raunch levels of his last major TV series, Masters of Sex (2013-16), a drama about the pioneering sexologists Masters and Johnson. In the wake of the last year’s #MeToo revelations, HBO has introduced “intimacy co-ordinators” for its shows - but, Sheen tells me, Masters of Sex was ahead of the curve in handling sex scenes with caution.

“It was a lot easier for myself and Lizzy [Caplan, his co-star], as we were comfortable in that set-up, because we had status in it. But for people in the background, or doing just one scene, it’s different,” he says. “It became clear very quickly that there needed to be guidelines for people who didn’t have that kind of status, who would probably not speak up. We started talking about that, and decided there need to be clear rules.”

Sex scenes, he continues, “should absolutely be treated the same way as other things where there’s a danger. If you’re doing stage-fighting, or pyrotechnics, there are rules and everyone just sticks to them. Whether it’s physical danger, or emotional, or psychological, it’s just as important.”

Despite having several film and TV parts on the horizon, Sheen says he is still in semi-retirement from acting. In 2016 he hinted that he might be quit for good to campaign against populism. “In the same way as the Nazis had to be stopped in Germany in the Thirties, this thing that is on the rise has to be stopped," he said at the time. But now things are less cut. “I have two jobs now, essentially,” he says. "Acting takes second place."

While many celebrity activists limit their politics to save-the-dolphins posturing, Sheen has been working with a range of unfashionable grassroots groups aiming to combat inequality, support small communities and fight fake news. As well as supporting Welsh credit unions, and sponsoring a women’s football team in the tiny village of Goytre, he tells me that he's been “commissioning research into alternative funding models for local journalism”.

If he returns to the stage any time soon, he says it’s likely to be in a show about “political historical socio-economic stuff, a one-man show with very low production values”. It’s clear he’s not in it for the glamour.

Sheen was inspired to become more politically active by the Brexit referendum – which also indirectly led him to break up with his partner of four years, the comedian Sarah Silverman. At the time, they were living together in the US. “We both had very similar drives, and yet to act on those drives pulled us in different directions – because she is American and I’m Welsh,” he explains.

“After the Brexit vote, and the election where Trump became president, we both felt in different ways we wanted to get more involved. That led to her doing her show I Love You America [in which Silverman interviewed people from across the political spectrum], and it led to me wanting to address the issues that I thought led some people to vote the way they did about Brexit, in the area I come from and others like it.”

They still speak lovingly of each other, which makes their decision to end a happy relationship for the sake of politics look painfully quixotic. Talking about it, Sheen sounds a little wistful, but he’s utterly certain they made the right choice. “I felt a responsibility to do something, but it did mean coming back here – which was difficult for us, because we were very important to each other. But we both acknowledge that each of us had to do what we needed to do.”

[scifigeneration]

Remember Blockbuster, Nirvana and pagers? The new Captain Marvel lives in the 1990s

by Michael Milford and Peter Stratton

Captain Marvel has fun taking us back to the 1990s. Marvel Studios

Captain Marvel flies into movie theatres from today, and apart from introducing a great new hero who combines the righteousness of Captain America and the humour of Thor: Ragnarok, it’s also a cultural reference bonanza for anyone who grew up as a child of the 1990s.

There are the obligatory references to the now-declining Blockbuster video store, a fantastic music soundtrack (Nirvana, Hole, TLC to name a few), and tech jokes galore.

We see the origin story of her character Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, meet the Shield agents in the early days, and get set up with an interstellar conflict with some satisfying subversion of your typical expectations.

Blockbuster takes a beating, and perhaps a premonition of its future prospects. Marvel Studios.

So let’s go back to the ‘90s (like the movie’s website does) to some long-forgotten tech as well as some that has aged surprisingly well, and see how it all checks out, both scientifically and historically.

Don’t mess with this pilot.

Projecting holograms through a landline phone

Upon landing on Earth, Danvers raids a Radioshack shop and with a few deft modifications manages to set up a hologram communicator from a conventional wired phone.

The projection side of this feat would take some pretty impressive tweaking of 1990s technology (she appears to set everything up in a few minutes), but the bandwidth side of things can be analysed – that’s the amount of data needed for a hologram communication.

The bandwidth required for holograms varies widely, but figures of about 10Gbps are mentioned in the literature. There are also proposals to use 5G’s up to 10Gbps bandwidth to do holographic projections.

So if Danvers’ modifications have upped the bandwidth to modern day 5G standards, it’s feasible she could receive sufficient data to get a hologram up and running.

Verdict: A plausible projection.

Digital reading speed

There are lots of nostalgic tech moments in the movie – an internet connection dropping out, and the whole crew waiting around for a computer to read data from a CD.

Although done for humorous reasons, this depiction is entirely accurate, as anyone who lived through the 1990s can attest.

CD read speeds varied from hundreds of kilobytes (kB) per second to 6 megabytes (MB) per second. Even with the fastest disc drives of the time, it could take many seconds to read even a moderate-sized file, and minutes to read an entire CD’s worth of data (about 700MB).

Compare that to today - we have USB drives with capacities up to 1 terabyte, and read speeds of more than 400 megabytes per second.

Verdict: Painfully on point.

Fighters – not much has changed

In one of the secret hangar bases in the movie we get a shot of what looks remarkably like a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft.

We get a sneak peak at an F-22 Raptor. Marvel Studios.

With the movie set in 1995, it’s somewhat plausible there could be a prototype F-22 at a secret base – the plane flew for the first time in 1997. Danvers is meanwhile seen to be flying F-16s at a normal aircraft base.

What’s also interesting is while on-board electronics and related technology have changed significantly, the core airframe tech has not advanced much over the past nearly quarter of a century – the F-22 is still considered to be one of the best aircraft around today.

Verdict: Fighter is fair.

Lifting fingerprints off sticky tape

To escape a fingerprint-tagged room, Nick Fury grabs a piece of plastic tape and runs it over where a staff member grabbed his ID card. He uses the fingerprint on the tape on the reader to unlock the door.

Lifting fingerprints. microgen/123rf.com

Grabbing fingerprints off a surface with tape can be done if the surface is prepared through a process called dusting. Dusting uses a fine powder to stick to the oily residue left by a fingerprint, which is then transferred to a piece of tape.

But Fury doesn’t appear to do any surface preparation, lifting the print directly off the ID card, which is pushing plausibility.

Verdict: Fury’s fingerprinting fail.

What do we know about non-carbon-based life?

All life on Earth is based on the element carbon. This is why when you burn either wood or meat, all you are left with is charcoal, which is mostly just pure carbon.

But when one of the alien Skrulls dies and the body examined, the doctor says it is definitely not carbon-based.

This is theoretically possible. We’ve known for a long time that life on other planets could also be based on other elements that are similar to carbon, for example silicon.

Even though carbon and silicon might look very different, chemically they are very similar regarding the kinds of chemical reactions that are needed to support life. This is because they are in the same column in the periodic table of elements.

But then the doctor says something strange, whatever the alien is made of, it’s not from the periodic table.

This is highly unlikely. All known matter in the universe exists on the periodic table, and the alien doesn’t seem to be made of any strange unknown substance like dark matter, just rubbery green flesh.

Verdict: Off the planet.

Paging the ‘90s

Nick Fury’s pager features quite prominently in this movie. Paging technology was all the rage back in the late 1980s and '90s.

With today’s mobile and smart phones, texting (SMS and MMS), a huge range of messaging apps and always-on connectivity everywhere, you might think pagers would have gone the way of dial-up internet. But that’s not quite so.

Pagers have a much longer range than phones, are harder to hack, don’t store conversation histories (important for privacy and security), and are more reliable during natural disasters.

They are still used by many emergency services and medical personnel who need to be contactable in extreme emergencies even when all other power and communications might be down.

Verdict: Retro tech still comes to the rescue.

The verdict

She gets knocked down … and she gets up again. Marvel Studios.

The movie is a fun chance to be reminded of all the technology and culture of a quarter-century ago, and to think how much (and how little) has changed.

Read more: Virtual reality adds to tourism through touch, smell and real people's experiences

The movie’s depiction of the 1990s is generally pretty spot-on – a fun way for a younger audience to be introduced to what life was like before smartphones and ubiquitous high-speed internet. The pain of removable media, unreliable and slow internet connections, and having to go to the store to get a movie is all captured humorously on film.

Marvel Studios

About The Authors:

Michael Milford is a Professor at the Queensland University of Technology and Peter Stratton is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland

This article is republished from our content partners at The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

[phoebus-de-chateaupers-blog]

The Winter’s Ball ... [Duchebus]

In which Duchess and Phoebus attend the Order’s Winter Ball in London. [takes place: December 29th]

@the-duchess-lablanc

[tw -- phoebus being phoebus which means like objectification and plotting murder,,]

PHOEBUS: Ah, the Winter’s Ball.

The tradition. The glam. The frivolity.

It was everything that the Order of the Prince wanted to emulate.

Phoebus normally found it dreadfully boring. Sure, he liked a good party, but he knew these were the types of events where even he had to be on his best behavior. When he’d been younger, he’d tripped over himself like an overgrown pup, excited to meet all the pretty girls and feel them up in corridors...erm, dance with them…

Anyway, as he had gotten older, everyone had paired off and it had led to a rather boring procession. Of course, he danced with his mother and his sister and his little niece. Occasionally, he managed a dance with Olivia. (That was always the highlight of the night.)

But now, he was here with Duchess on his arm. Who looked more beautiful than any of the Order women. Was smarter too. Independent. And looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress, which he was sure would be the talk of the ball, if they weren’t the talk of the ball themselves.

See, you weren’t supposed to bring someone who wasn’t your betrothed with you to one of these, if they were outside the Order. Phoebus didn’t really care. He trusted Duchess and that was all that mattered to him. Also...he hadn’t exactly told his family. Which was going to be hilarious, for they were going to have to just grin and bare it. It would be unseemly to yell at their only adult son, the only remaining male heir of age, in front of the whole Order.

They stood outside of the Guild Hall doors now, people sweeping in and out around them. Though located in the theatre district of London, no one paid them a passing glance in their formal wear. Hiding in plain sight, as the Order was wont to do.

Phoebus turned to Duchess before entering and smiled lightly at her. “Are you ready? I’ve got to find my mother first and say hello. Tradition,” he explained with a little roll of his eyes.

DUCHESS: She had been surprised when Phoebus had invited her to the Winter’s Ball. There was still so little she knew about the Order of the Prince. Just what Phoebus had told her. She’d tried to do her own research but there hadn’t been much. Just stories that changed and twisted and contradicted with every other source. It was infuriating.

Added to that the new status of her and Phoebus’ relationship and it was very safe to say that the normally very well put together designer was in a state of panic. Not that that could be seen if you looked at her. As usual she was a picture of confidence. Inside, her mind was a tornado of thought. So many questions that she felt she couldn’t ask, situations that could happen, and what if’s twirled around mind. Sooner or later it would quiet down; more than likely once they were in the midst of mingling and more in her element.

She watched as people milled about, amazed how not one single passerby stopped to question the people standing around in such attire. Her own dress, while simple and understated, was not one that would be seen just out on the streets of London; even if they were in the theatre district.

Phoebus easily and quickly brought her out of her thoughts, his voice causing her gaze to return to him. His mother. Duchess had not yet gotten that far in her spiralling thought process but now that it was there she couldn’t help the way her stomach clenched. Very rarely had she ever had to meet parents as a significant other. Most of her relationships either fizzled before that point or she already knew the parents.

“Who am I to argue tradition,” she returned his smile easily. “Shall we?”

PHOEBUS: This was a very big deal.

Which meant that Phoebus was acting like it was not a big deal at all. In fact, he didn’t think it was, not really. The Order was who made it into a big deal. They were the ones with the rules that said so. Phoebus just happened to...follow those rules. Which was why he thought the same way. He had never done this before. Taken someone to meet his parents. Well, when he had been younger and a rapscallion, he had brought girls to these events just to be scandalous.

He had never done it seriously.

But, here they were.

It was a good thing if Duchess was nervous that she was doing a good job masking it. Her nerves would certainly make his own worse. She was calm, however, and it calmed him.

“We shall,” he said, offering his elbow to her before stepping forwards into the building that had been owned by the Order for generations.

It opened into a hallway, people mingling, but Phoebus ignored them--heading right for the ballroom at the end of the hall. He knew that his mother would be more likely to be mingling inside, as she always arrived to these events promptly. Unlike him.

“That is the King of the Order. Not a real king. Title only. This year is the melee to change the family. I will be fighting for my family and I have a very good feeling about it,” he murmured to her as they walked, his eyes still scanning the crowd.

“Ah! My little far-darter,” came a cooing voice and Phoebus turned just before his mother reached up to tug him down by the shirt and kiss both of his cheeks. “And who is this, you rascal?” His mother said, pushing him away and zeroing in on Duchess. “Could it be that LaBlanc woman I’ve heard so much about?” Her expression was assessing, but not negative nor positive.

“Duchess, meet my mother--Lady Sorcha de Chateaupers. Mother, this is Duchess. My date.���

DUCHESS: This was a daunting feat that left Duchess feeling so out of her depth. While she was known to be charming and alluring, it was all a facade for the public. A way to keep her life as private as possible.  But this was her private life. She was very much smitten with Phoebus and after the rather frank discussion about his dalliances with other women, she was sure he felt completely the same. Being allowed to see this part of his life, to actively participate in it, was surreal and terrifying. Too far out of the unknown.

She took his arm without pause, gliding along beside him. Inside the building she could see the heads turn towards them, hear the whispers. This must be as new to them as it was to her. At least she was making an entrance. Her head was held a bit higher, her gaze staying ahead of them. It only faltered when Phoebus pointed out the ‘King’ of the Order and even then she assessed the man quickly before turning back to look at Phoebus. “Winning would make you king, non?” She asked with a raised brow. The term sounded almost silly on her tongue. Though she couldn’t deny that Phoebus already held a somewhat regal air that would allow that title to fit him quite nicely. (And if there was a part of her that wondered if that would make her Queen, she didn’t speak of it. Simply squashed it down with the other questions she had.)

In what felt like no time at all, they were approached and as Duchess had turned to admire the great ballroom she couldn’t help but feel a small chill. There was absolutely no turning back now.

A small smile tucked itself into the corner of her lips as his mother greeted him. For the briefest of moments she wished her family was the same, but just like her previous thoughts it was whisked away to the farthest reaches of her mind. All too quickly, however, the attention was turned to her.

Duchess knew the look the woman wore well. She was being appraised much like she had done to various runway shows before. To be the object of that appraisal was nerve wracking. Her heart beat out a staccato sort of sound in her chest, rattling her rib cage as she held her breath. Said breath wasn’t released until her name fell from Phoebus’ lips.

“A pleasure, Lady Sorcha,” Duchess bowed her head towards the woman, her nerves skillfully hidden away. Mothers were like predators. They could smell fear and Duchess refused to give that to the woman. “I do hope all you have heard has been good things.”

PHOEBUS: Well, she’d used his mother’s title. That was sure to earn her some points. Though, Phoebus had a feeling his mother was simply putting on a show. She had been wanting him to settle down for a very long time now. And with someone as beautiful and accomplished as Duchess? With so many connections and influence?

She really was the complete package, and his mother should know that.

Still, Phoebus reached over to give Duchess’ hand in the crook of his elbow a little squeeze, though to the outside it would look as if Phoebus was simply resting it there.

“Oh, of course, my dear. I don’t know what there would be bad to say!” His mother smiled then, looking much more warm. “We will have lots to talk about, I’m a bit of an artist myself.”

“Duchess is also a businesswoman, mother,” interjected Phoebus.

“Ach, I know. Beauty and brains? I wouldn’t have any less for my Phoebus. I don’t think he’d have any less for himself, though the last girl he’d brought was a bimbo if she was anything.”

“Mother, that was eight years ago,” Phoebus protested, his cheeks coloring a bit.

“Well, you shouldn’t have brought her at all.” She sniffed and her expression turned a little harder towards Duchess. “I am sure this one has a proper head on her shoulders, though, don’t you, my dear?”

DUCHESS: Phoebus’ mother turned to her fully and Duchess would have wilted under that assessing gaze if she were a lesser woman. As it was, she didn’t feel the need to. Instead met it with a smile of her own as she gave a soft laugh. It was a quiet relief that the woman had not heard bad things about her. After all, the rumor mill was always churning against her. Tabloids trying to do anything they could to dig up dirt on the elusive Duchess LaBlanc.

Still, she was grateful for Phoebus’ gentle touch.

“Oui,” she spoke quickly, interest painting it’s way onto her words. She hadn’t known that his mother had an interest in art. In fact there was not much that she knew about his mother. Nothing at all could have prepared her for this meeting. Something she would have to chide Phoebus about later in private. “Do you paint?” She found herself asking, wanting to know more about her. The Order was still a confusing thing to her. It’s purpose was clear but the role of each member was still something unknown to her. Were the women of the Order simply there for decoration? Or was there more to it? She had a feeling that if she was able to please Lady Sorcha she would have a better in on everything to do with The Order.

As Lady Sorcha continued, Duchess couldn’t help but chuckle oh so softly.

“I can assure you, I am no bimbo.” Duchess sobered quickly as that harsh gaze was once again turned towards her. The fact that she needed to assert that was almost an insult. Duchess kept her remark to herself only because she knew that his mother was feeling her out. “And I do not mean to brag but if my business is anything to go by, I can also assure you that I have quite the head on my shoulders. Good enough to keep Phoebus in line, should he need it. Though, I can safely say that he has been nothing but a perfect gentleman since I’ve known him.”

PHOEBUS: “Of course he has been.” Sorcha reached out to pat her son’s chest fondly. “But, I’m sure you could handle him otherwise,” she added, giving Duchess an appraising glance.

“I’m standing right here,” Phoebus said with a little huff--if only to make his mother chuckle at him.

His father appeared through the crowd just then, weaving his way towards his wife and son--whom he had not seen in several months.

“Phoebus!” his father greeted in a gruff voice, reaching out to shake his son’s hand. “And who might this lovely woman be? Surely not our Phoebus’ date!” It was said jovially but Phoebus heard the words beneath: that better not be Phoebus’ date.

“Silas, stop it. This is Duchess LaBlanc,” Sorcha introduced, “Duchess--this is my husband, Silas.”

“A pleasure.” Silas’ blue eyes twinkled but Phoebus knew better. There was a calculation to his gaze. Not that Phoebus cared, he would be with Duchess either way, because that was the kind of person Phoebus was. He didn’t care to listen to an old man’s opinions about who he should or should not be with. The Order had always been stifling that way. Phoebus agreed with their mission, but he did not agree with their traditions.

“And how are you finding our little gathering, then?” Phoebus’ father asked, but Phoebus knew what he was really asking: how do you feel about the Order?

DUCHESS: For a moment, as Phoebus’ father approached, Duchess was speechless. The man was, in a word, handsome. Of course it went much deeper than that. There was something about his presence. It demanded to be noticed, commanded Duchess’ attention even as she hung off of his son’s arm. Maybe that was what Phoebus would look like when he was older. The hair that he’d clearly gotten from his mother would turn a lovely shade of white and he’d grow some black in there for that lovely salt and pepper look. He’d be so dashing; even more dashing than he was at the moment.

Not long after he announced his presence, Sorcha introduced her to him and Duchess had the good sense to at least incline her head at him as she offered a kind smile. “It’s lovely to meet you, Silas.” Even his name felt handsome rolling of her tongue. Rich and decadent. And she only hoped that she could make as good an impression on him as she did with Lady Sorcha.

His question caught her off guard just a bit. If anyone were to ask that question, Duchess thought it would be his mother. After all, it was a question Duchess would have asked because that sort of thing was important to her. What people thought of her events often reflected what they thought of her and— oh. There it was. The secret question hidden within the other question.

“Well,” she started slowly as she looked around at the people that were beginning to mill about more. “From what I have seen this is all very lovely. While the events in Swynlake are nice. It’s more satisfying to be in a more familiar space.” She gave him a smile as she leaned into Phoebus just slightly. “This is the type of soirée I would prefer to associate myself with.”

PHOEBUS: Silas chuckled heartily at Duchess’ answer, his eyes twinkling.

“Yes, well, you fit in wonderfully, my darling,” Silas complimented, his eyes trailing up and down Duchess’ frame.

“Silas,” Sorcha said with a smile of her own, leaning in to take his elbow. “Let’s leave the children alone to have their fun.”

“Yes, dear.” Silas smiled at his wife, touching her cheek for a moment before turning back to Phoebus and Duchess. “Have a good time. Duchess, I hope we will be seeing more of you in the future. Phoebus needs a woman like you to keep him in order.”

Phoebus rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Good-bye, Da.”

With another chuckle, Phoebus’ parents moved off. They were still getting curious glances from other members of the Order, though Phoebus knew that a few of them were jealous women--Phoebus now taken and Duchess looking ever so beautiful He put a hand on the small of her back. “Well, that went much better than last time. Not that I am surprised.”

And he wasn’t. Before, Phoebus had been trying to get under his father’s skin. Show him that if he did not think him better than Clemens, then Phoebus really would be the worst son imaginable. Now that Clemens was gone, Phoebus was trying to temper his ways. Also, he did find this life suited Duchess. He wanted to shower her in gifts of jewels and smithery. She would look beautiful against the wild sea of Denmark, where he hoped they could make a home.

“Would you like to dance, my love? Show off that beautiful dress of yours?”

DUCHESS: Duchess caught the look that Silas gave her but she ignored it purely in favor of basking in his approval. It had seemed that she had gained the approval of both of his parents and it was a good feeling. One that made her feel light and airy; giddy even. “Thank you, Silas,” she smiled at him, nodding her head at him. “I hope to come to more of these. They are certainly enjoyable.”

And it was all true. So far from what she had seen Duchess was very much enjoying herself. The Order was not some stuffy institution to be trapped in. From what she had seen it was a place where like minded people could come together and celebrate beautiful things, all while making the world they lived in a safer place. It was a place she would be able to find her place in easily.

She was stuck in her thoughts, watching as people danced and mingled and interacted. So much so that when Phoebus addressed her again she nearly startled. Instead, though, she turned towards him with somewhat of a smirk on her lips. Oh did she love the chance to show off. And from the looks she had garnered from some of the women (and their counterparts) there was already some jealousy in the room.

“Mmm, maybe show off the woman on your arm. Have I snagged the most eligible bachelor?” She smirked as they moved towards the dance floor.

PHOEBUS: Phoebus hoped that Duchess could attend more of these as well. His mind spun with all the possibilities. It spooled out a thread--

One day, soon, Phoebus as King, Duchess by his side.

A year from now, perhaps, a wedding (the Order had very specific courtship rituals and whilst Phoebus had never been interested in marrying within the Order (besides one), he would want to honor those rituals.)

A year after that, a baby. A boy first, and then a girl--and after that, as many as Duchess would want. He had always wanted a big family. Duchess would be a wonderful mother and they would raise strong sons who would keep their seat as King for longer than any family that had come before him.

Years from now, he and Duchess would retire by the seaside--their children grown, the castle theirs. Duchess would still do her fashion. Phoebus would write his demon encyclopedia for young hunters.

It would be a good life.

But first, a dance.

Phoebus pulled Duchess onto the dance floor and spun her once. “Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter, because I found a woman smarter and more beautiful than any of them could ever hope to be.”

[my-relatable-hotchpotch]

I̸̞͓̬̝͐͆̚͜t̷͚́̿'̷̭̠̈́̍s̶͇̜̦̗̏̆ ̷̣͙̋h̵̟̠͇̪̓̿̈́̾͘ì̷̧̜̓̽̈́s̶͓̪̐͘̕ ̵̨̰̱͖̏̅t̷̩͙̗̗̺̐ȗ̵͓̂̈r̵̪̲͆̀̽̎n̸̻̓̇̄ ̶̩̰̰̬́̅͌n̴͎̓̋̓̍͘o̵̲͚̟̙̳̒̎̀̐ẃ̷̨͙͓̤̓̀̄͠

I went through all the times Dark made an appearance in yesterday’s videos again, including the old ones (don’t blink, don’t move and relax). Here are my thoughts (this turned out way longer than planned, and it’s not even all, yay for way to much theorizing?):

If you’ve found the Exit video, you know that after you go through the door, you see Dark smiling at you and you get put back into prison. Dark made the loop. Like @caustic-synishade​ pointed out here (and Mark “confirmed”): he wants you to get stuck in the game. Now I was thinking, why the prison? Mark even said at the beginning that he’s seen us before, so that would make more sense right? But consider this: the only way you can get Mark killed in the game, without Dark making a clear appearance, is by choosing to split up. That event only occurs when you escape the prison again, Dark wants you to find this other option. This way, you make it easier for him to take over. He doesn’t even have to go through all of the trouble of killing Mark, you took care of that. (More on Dark taking over later)

So, Dark makes a clear appearance when you choose the Horror play in the theatre. There are some (okay, way too many) things that caught my attention regarding his powers. First, Mark disappears. Dark appears on the stage, your vision gets stretched and weird. Next thing you know, you’re somewhere else, with Dark in front of you. This, suddenly appearing somewhere else, happens a lot in the videos with and without Dark. The ones with Dark are more sudden, unlike the other ones, where Mark hugs you, puts his hands before your eyes, etc. I think he also did this during the Exit video, like I pointed out before, when you are suddenly put back in the prison. This makes me think that Dark is capable of some serious telekinesis (I have so much more to say about this! So I’ll probably do a different post on what I think Dark’s powers are, with more detail and research).

His behaviour is also very interesting (during the Horror, Freedom and Left videos)! Like @http-jack​ says in this post (thank you for putting my thoughts together so well!), Dark is serious business. He wears a suit, makes sure he speaks clearly, puts his hands behind his back and has good posture. This guy is bursting of self-confidence and he doesn’t play around. But that doesn’t mean he never loses his temper. Every single time he raises his voice, you can see that he didn’t mean that to happen. He fixes his tie and jacket, sighs and continues his speech. If we say that the options Dark gives you at the end of Horror are the “canon” times he made an appearance, then he’s been around since June 2012. More than enough time to get seriously pissed off.

Not only his behaviour, but also the things he says lead me to believe that Dark is anything but happy with Mark. “I’ve been pushed aside. Replaced. Mocked. And then, he had the gall to not invite me to his little adventure with you. No more. Never again. It’s my turn now.” He’s angry with Mark’s arrogance and ignorance towards him. He’s waited long enough, giving Mark the change to do this willingly, but if Mark won’t let him in, he’ll do it himself. He’s jealous of all of the attention Mark’s been getting, while he was humiliated and forgot. He’s desperate to show off how stupid Mark was for ignoring him. “Take your pick, anything of four different choices. More than he could’ve ever given you. (...) If dinner is what you want, then I can provide. And I can take you wherever you’d like to go. (…) I can give you anything! (…) There’s nothing you, or he, can do to stop me!” He shows off how strong he is and how weak Mark is beside him. He straight up says he can give you so much more than Mark, you just have to let him in, it’s as simple as that.

Dark’s loving all the attention he’s finally getting. He’s putting up one hell of a show. He shows off his powers, mocks Mark and he pretends he gives you a choice (with the loop the choice at the end of Horror). Even though Mark puts up a fight, I don’t think Dark ever really leaves or gave any of us a choice:

I’ll talk more about the difference in the speech of Mark and Dark in the Right and Left videos in the powers post, but at the end of both videos, it’s clear Dark is still there. When you “accidentally” kill Mark, it’s clear Dark’s still here and here to stay. “But now we’re going to be together, forever.” If you actually shoot Dark, he’s not gone. In the Right video, your vision is still somewhat distorted, but the actual Mark is there. Dark never left and he didn’t actually give you a choice, he took control. It’s his turn now.

Now, I was thinking, why is Dark so obsessed with getting a connection between you and him? “I’ve been waiting a long time to get some, personal time between us. (…) So, now that we are here together, we can really get know each other.” Consider this: he needs us. He can take over Mark, but Mark’s able to push him out. But we’re not. Mark’s there in his physical form, we’re not. He knows that Mark cares a lot about us, so what does he do? Make us suffer. He loves to see Mark suffer (in don’t blink and relax, Mark’s hurt in some way), and he knows he can hurt him by hurting us.

If you read the whole thing, thank you! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. I’ll do way more theorizing on things like: Is Dark there the entire time? What are his powers? What even is he? How far does this rabbit hole even go? Who knows Dark, who knows.

[renoquotes]

Masturbate and Feel Good

Masturbate and Feel Good

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Probably perpetrated by aged ladies who have never acquired an climax in their entire life! a few. Fleshlight causes acne, hairloss, skin area diseases. This one is actually my favorite. Mainly simply because it is on the list of better scams of all instances! Your personal social conditioning would likely have you feel that masturbation is not particularly healthy. But bad how? No one would offer you a satisfying answer! Now some scam artists saw this as the great opportunity to will sell their products similar to curly hair growth lotions, etc. Given that most people start masturbating throughout their teens, (the periods of pimple and other skin problems), they might possess you believe that this kind of is a result of masturbation! Unfortunately for them, this is as untrue as the sun rising from the western world! Fleshlight has no real side effects! some. Masturbating will make you thin and skinny! Then there is no need for diet pills and fitness routines my friend! And many surely 70% of STATES didn't be overweight! your five. Merely Kids masturbate! The reason could you say that? My partner and i wonder! Very well quite wrong, most grown ups masturbate... yup even after marital life! some. Masturbation is for males. And it is for 70% from the women way too. That's right, two thirds connected with all females masturbate! 6. Only losers masturbate! One more of my favorites. Just goes to show just simply how much of any taboo is masturbation! Initial thing, 99% of males and 70% of females have masturbated at least once inside their lifestyles. Now this is a hell of an lot of losers no longer you assume! Nothing more that I can also add actually... this is really typically the supreme insecurity amongst men and women concerning self pleasure. main. Fleshlight is for homosexuals. Wow. Exactly where did in which one originate! Somebody have to make a etymology these myths, would make with regard to an exciting read! Just as untrue seeing that most these myths, masturbation and homosexuality have nothing in keeping. Some people masturbate to help their dreams of opposing sex, other individuals to their own fantasies of identical sexual. That's it. being unfaithful. Fleshlight will make you blind! Others claim that fleshlight is bad for your eyesight. However , their states are unsupported by facts and healthcare advice. I actually suggest you talk in order to your common physician as well as he will explain you what a load involving bull this is. 12. Masturbation changes the shape of your manhood Well, it does make this rock hard. But believe me, after you orgasm, the hardness is gone! So no. Fleshlight offers absolutely no influence on how your penis appearance.

[ouncewater4-blog]

Masturbate and Feel Good

Masturbate and Feel Good

male stroker "Masturbation... is not approved of the Lord nor this ceremony, regardless of what can be said by those whoever 'norms' are lower", Us president Kimball of the Chapel associated with Jesus Christ involving Latter-Day Saints (1981) "Every sperm is usually sacred. Each and every sperm is great. If some sort of sperm is thrown away, Lord gets quite irate. very well Monty Python's This is connected with Life. A quote frequently used by various chapels in an effort for you to contain illicit functions between its people. Every sermon on masturbation will quotation it, at least the many sermons I have read. Underneath the circumstances, is it difficult to think about masturbation as one of often the biggest taboos in our own society? Even today? Technological education has done any little to switch it. Really does that mean men and women avoid masturbate? Certainly not. 00% of men and seventy percent of females masturbate according in order to various research. The problem lies in the acceptance of the fact this you masturbate. Let me tell you any story... a story about you. A single night a person were sitting by yourself within your apartment eating pizzas. You decided to examine out several new web sites on the net while you eat. So you log on to the speed of your internet connection as well as start surfing. Inadvertently, you come across some piece of pornography(yes, online is quite entire of it! ) Shopping at those erotic (and often downright nasty photos) you feel a tingling regarding the legs. One issue leads to another along with you end up spoiling your own personal underpants. Now make me tell you yet another story. male stroker One night you're sitting alone in some sort of nightclub drinking beer. As well as then some sort of most stunning person goes in the nightclub. The person that reasons tingley between your thighs just checking out him as well as her. You decide which you can't forget about this kind of opportunity to get to help know this wonderful creation associated with god. Therefore you move towards this person and initiate smaller talk. One thing results in another and you conclusion up in your current residence. Whether you are the woman or even a man, the actual next morning an individual would not be jumping using pleasure in the first circumstance. When you go available in the morning to help meet your friends, a person would not tell all of them about the hot website you found and the way you actually jerked off to it. However, in the particular second case, you'd be better with revealing anyone who cared for in order to listen how you got one of the most wonderful experience associated with your life regardless if. Why? Well, maybe because do it yourself pleasure is, properly, absolutely nothing special. You can perform the idea anytime you desire. Of course seducing the actual person of your dreams is very an accomplishment. Zero wonder you would like an viewers. But what should you have a friend like me. An associate who is crazy enough to ask you did you actually wank off yesterday nighttime? Ended up being it good? What would you do then? Would you inform your friend regarding the hot web site in addition to your experience? Would you easily say, "Yeah! That was excellent! What regarding you? " Or maybe might you pretend nothing experienced happened and lie... something like you were somewhere in addition yesterday nighttime, or probably lead your good friend for you to believe you got fortuitous along with someone? I in the morning guessing you would probably do the particular latter. Most certainly you won't acknowledge the act associated with masturbation. Rather you would certainly avert the question and change the topic. And while your good friend tells a person about a hot cure the same night, you would want a dish of water when you can drown. Shame and remorse would come over anyone and you would alter the matter in two times quick moment. Are anyone crazy? Noway! That you are simply one of the vast majority. And quite a majority at that! Way more the vast majority that what George Bush had in the very last elections! The main reason -social conditioning! You are identical to the youngster who ran outside the theatre hall that was testing an adult film (mind a person, he had no business that they are there within the first place! Although every one of the cinemas care in relation to is the purchase regarding their tickets! ) In the future in the day, the good friend who had also been at the movies together with him, caught up along with him and asked, "Why from the hell's name performed anyone run out? very well The boy answered, "My mom explained if My partner and i watched a woman obtaining naked I would convert to stone. And really you Harry, a element of me was previously evolving into stone! " Unluckily, typically the social conditioning is usually drastically wrong. It is since wrong since the social issue in 18-19th one hundred year Of india, where widows ended up forced to burn alive having their husbands. As incorrect as the church seemed to be in losing Galileo regarding implying our planet was definitely not the centre with the world. Lily Tomlin put it finest, "We have reason why you should think that man first strolled upright to free his hands for masturbation! inch If god didn't wish us to masturbate, probably we would still be walking including dogs in addition to horses! The social health and fitness is a result associated with a number of myths, lies along with scams perpetrated by numerous individuals with regard to personal advantage. Unfortunately, that conditioning is definitely like a hard enthusiast, very tough to crack. However, with effort along with chanelising your energies, you may break it. Remember, the particular nuts that crack the toughest, are often the versions that taste the most effective! You actually must be wondering, how a hell does it matter if you think guilty about fleshlight. Why wouldn't you spend time splitting this housing? Certain psychologists believe that sense of guilt aware, whether sexual guiltiness or maybe in any other form, is the most destructive element for ones mental well being. Others believe that it is one regarding the most destructive. Nevertheless the greatest effect connected with guilt conscious in my opinion has been a lack associated with confidence in self. Right now you are an smart reader. I don't have to have to describe you often the importance of self assurance. Be it your career, associations or any different element of life, lack of self-confidence can bring your current downfall. Now I am not really implying which should you get started to feel more relaxed with regards to masturbation, you will succeed in all features of life. But the item is a nice step to take. The useless sense of guilt that should, and are annihilated from your mind. Remember, an ocean is made of modest droplets of water. Eradicate a fall at a time and due time, the underwater would be empty! Involving course it could take numerous millennia! The good thing is, you don't have an ocean full of guily! Just some naggings occasionally! The first action towards eradication on this guilt is knowledge. You will find hundreds of myths around fleshlight. Most of them perpetrated by foi, unfortunately. Yet some perpetrated through rip-off runners. Lets examine typically the most important ones. one. Fleshlight is against the actual will of god. Hokum. At one point the church viewed as anyone who else was overtly passionate to his wife a adultrater. Follow that instructing in addition to your wife would end up being carrying out adultery! Several clergymen have been put on record to say that not only the church's coaching about sexuality were unrelated for you to the scriptures, but they will caused more harm compared to good amongst people. In addition to, nowhere in the non secular teachings of any significant foi is masturbation viewed as drastically wrong. 2. Masturbation will probably cause impotency. Most adult men and even a few ladies seem to think therefore. Wrong again. Lets undertake the repair of the males first. It can be understandable that seeing their sperm flow out regarding themselves, they think this may end at some point. Properly, it will end some day... maybe when you are 100 years old. Nevertheless until then don't worry. Your sperm bank is very unlike Standard Chartered. You have unlimited credit here! Orgasm is a completely renewable resource, renewable on a hourly base! For women, well, there is no base in the principle. Probably perpetrated by outdated ladies who all never got an climax in all their entire life! several. Fleshlight causes acne, hairloss, body diseases. This one is definitely my favorite. Mainly mainly because it is among the better scams of all periods! Your own personal social conditioning would likely have you think that fleshlight is not particularly healthy. But undesirable how? No-one would offer you a satisfying solution! Now some scam performers saw this as a good opportunity to easily sell their products including tresses growth lotions, etc. Considering that most people start masturbating during their teens, (the times of acne and additional skin problems), they might get you believe that this is attributable to masturbation! Unluckily for them, it is while untrue as the sunshine rising from the western world! Masturbation has no actual physical side effects! some. Masturbating will make you slender and skinny! Then there is no need for diet regime pills and conditioning regimes my friend! And many definitely 70% of US didn't be overweight! five. Simply Kids masturbate! Why do you say that? My spouse and i wonder! Very well quite incorrect, most grown ups masturbate... yes even after marital life! some. Masturbation is for men. And it is regarding 70% of the women far too. That's right, 2/3 regarding all females masturbate! 7. Only losers masturbate! A different of my favorites. Just goes to show just how much of any taboo is masturbation! Very first thing, 99% of males in addition to 70 percent of females possess masturbated at least once inside their life. Now which is a hell of any lot of losers have a tendency you believe! Nothing far more that I can also add truly... this is really often the epitome of insecurity amongst men and women about self pleasure. 6. Masturbation is for homosexuals. Wow. Wherever did that will one originate! An individual need to make a etymology of these myths, would make intended for an exciting read! Simply as untrue seeing that just about all these myths, masturbation and also homosexuality have nothing in accordance. Some people masturbate to help their dreams of opposite sex, others to all their fantasies of very same sexual. That's it. on the lookout for. Masturbation will make you blind! Others claim that fleshlight is definitely bad for your personal eyesight. Nevertheless , their claims are unsupported by specifics and health care advice. I suggest you talk to be able to your general physician and also he will reveal a person what a load connected with bull this is. ten. Masturbation changes the shape of your manhood Very well, it does make it steel solid. But believe me personally, as soon as you orgasm, the solidity is fully gone! So no. Masturbation has absolutely no outcome on how your penis appears.

[renegadehymnal-blog]

Adventures in Digital #1

The Theory and Practice of Podcast Opera : part 1 (of 3)

A transcript of a Composer Commentary podcast, by Martin Ward, exploring the creation of the opera serial Road Memoir.

Road Memoir is a digital opera podcast serial, written by Martin Ward and produced by Renegade Hymnal. It was created, recorded and podcast in summer 2017. It features the voice of the soprano Billie Robson.

This Commentary assumes that the reader has listened to Road Memoir and it therefore contains some minor spoilers. To listen to the work go to http://www.martinwardmusic.com/road-memoir

Hello, my name is Martin Ward. I'm the creator, writer, composer and producer of Road Memoir. As a composer, my background is in writing for the stage – particularly opera, theatre and ballet - and especially in creating dramatic work. I come from a music college education and I worked for the Royal Opera House music department after leaving college, so the traditions of western classical music are well instilled in me but recently I've been increasingly wanting to explore how opera in particular might develop in the current and future digital age.

By digital I'm not just talking about the use of digital technology in staged productions - through video projection, lighting and sound - I'm more getting at exploring the ways that opera can exist and embed itself within digital media. Particularly the digital media we carry around with us, literally or virtually, in our phones and iPads and laptops.

There is obviously a role to be played by technology in promoting stage productions (via youtube, websites and social media) and more recently the screening and streaming of live or filmed productions is clearly bringing the artform to a wider audience and that's all fantastic but still what these methods are presenting is the traditional staged work. In contrast, what I'm looking to explore is the creation of work that uses this media and these devices as the platform - the digital stage - for which it is specifically created and on which it is "performed".

Increasingly we experience the world through our phones - news, art, culture all come to find us. You receive a notification, you tap on that and away you go. The immediacy of that is exciting and stealthily addictive. So I wondered what it would be like to attempt to bring that same immediacy to a dramatic musical story, to have the work come to the audience rather than making the audience go and find it. The prospect of being able to embed a work within or alongside the normal everyday interactions of the audience's digital life, to have some control over when that "performance" moment happens, and to have that as a storytelling tool, is all quite enticing too.

For this piece, which is really a first stage on that journey, I chose what is intentionally quite an easy step to begin with, by using podcasting as the medium for the "performance" of the work. I say "easy step" just because the podcasting platform is well established and the process of uploading episodes; and for those episodes to then automatically migrate into iTunes and other podcast providers; and to gain a global reach therefore, is all quick, painless and pretty simple. Given the creative challenges I was imagining, ease of delivery was an important factor.

I decided early on that I wanted to make an episodic piece – what I started with was an idea for a work that was really more like a song cycle than an opera. The inspiration I was taking was from works like Schubert's Winterreise, where a narrative is told by a single character in the first person and the songs are about moments in a journey, extremely intimate glimpses of personal experience or emotion or memory that end up saying something profound about the world they are set in.

I had also been wanting to write a piece about refugees for some time. By way of research, I'd read a lot of refugee stories and testimonies online and thought that I'd try to concentrate on what was common to the refugee experience, avoiding the bigger pictures of the political causes and the wider humanitarian ramifications of refugee crises, stripping away geographical or historical setting and any backstory that wasn't completely personal to the single character that I would focus on. So, by taking this route in, the piece is largely about how a person is not in control of their own fate, things happen that are outside of their control and they react, often without the luxury of understanding the context or the bigger picture and often in the only way they can, they literally have no choice other than "run and live, or stay and die" and those survival choices lead them in certain directions and they have to then live with where they end up. So in this piece I wanted to create a character and then put those kinds of life or death moments in her path and let her snap decisions in those moments lead her journey, whilst I concentrated on showing how it must feel to constantly be that helpless and afraid and threatened.

An intriguing factor in writing a piece that will likely be experienced through a phone, probably on headphones, is the intimate one-to-one nature of that communication, that connection, and I decided pretty early on that that needed to be embraced by the work. That this needed to be a story and an approach which tied in with that intimacy and used it to it's advantage. Hence the idea that every voice you hear in the opera, be it sung or spoken, is being sung or spoken into a phone. I hoped that that might draw in the listener, make them feel more involved in the drama.

It's a decision like that that marks a kind of break through in the development of a work because immediately other things fall into place. So, straight away I knew that the woman's voice had to be recorded up close in a dry space and then had to be mixed without reverb (to sound as it would on a phone recording made outside) and I also had to create the sounds that phones pick up other than your voice. So there's the natural ambiance of the surroundings – be it a city, or a wood, or on a beach – as well as more specific sounds of other people or vehicles or of movements like footsteps, the sound of the wind on the microphone even, all of that went into making it sound authentically like a phone and also into creating a sense of the character's surroundings. A lot of this is quite subliminal because the listeners ear instinctively homes in on the words and obviously there's the music in the mix as well but I really came to believe in the power of that subliminal sound - the ear takes it all in and interprets it, even if it doesn't flag it up to the conscious mind. For instance, a dry-recorded voice accompanied by just a natural ambient recording of wind blowing through trees can have a significant emotional impact. The changes in ambiance also really helped to chart the journey from one episode to the next and I constantly used them to give a sense of place before using any words to fill in detail.

On a practical level, I tried to record as much of the sound myself over the course of the creation of the opera. My Olympus LS-5 Recorder has been a constant companion on dog walks for the last few months. A lot of the woodland ambiance and sounds – footsteps for instance – are recorded in a wood near my home in Bedfordshire. I needed to EQ out the drone of the M1 motorway which is about 5 miles away and record between passing planes but that's pretty much unavoidable wherever you go in the UK. For the beach sounds I spent an afternoon at Dunwich in Suffolk. I thought it would be quiet on a weekday but it ended up being a really sunny September afternoon with lots of retired people walking their dogs – so not quite the desolate coastline I was after but, if you're patient in the recording and prepared to work in editing the sound files in the studio, you can make it work.

So all of the initial development and thought and planning was happening early this year and the creative work didn't really begin until after I spoke to Bill Bankes-Jones at the start of May and he offered to present the piece as part of the Tete a Tete Opera Festival in July and August. This was important not least because, as a podcast opera, there wasn't an audience in existence. Unlike staged work where an established opera audience simply follows the companies and theatres which produce the work they like, monitoring the websites and the brochures, etc. I was aware that no-one would be looking for this, that podcast opera didn't exist as a thing and so, partnering with a new opera festival would hopefully flag up the piece to the kind of audience who are open not just to opera (and that's already a small enough proportion of the population) but also to contemporary opera that's exploring new ground and new methods and unconventional stories.

Figuring out my approach and the details of the story, creating the characters, writing the libretto, all that took some time, not least because I was kind of inventing the form of it as I went along. And from an initial idea of having short episodes (two minutes maximum) daily for two weeks it was suggested that it would work better as weekly episodes. This made sense with the established podcasting routines and I hoped to attract seasoned podcast listeners – something that I don't think really happened actually – and it also felt like it would buy me a bit more time as the series would then be spread over 12 weeks and so I agreed on that change and took a step back to see how that might alter the possibilities for the piece. I decided (and this was a decision that I almost came to regret) that with weekly instead of daily episodes I'd have to increase the length of each (to five to six minutes), to keep the audience engaged, and that I should include a second voice...

This second voice was the spoken text role of The Investigator, which had come initially from an idea that if the opera mixed sound and music maybe it should also mix sung and spoken, to create a fuller sonic picture. I'm also a fan of parallel stories in films and books and it occurred to me that having someone investigate the woman's experiences at the same time as we hear her living them, might be interesting, and might make it possible to bring more insight and context to her story whilst also underlining how little she is really aware of what's going on around her during her journey. This seemed to be an addition which would add real depth to the piece.

In the next blog I'll talk about the writing and composition of Road Memoir and some of the conclusions that I've taken from the process.

[rosepeniel]

DAY 3: DUBAI MALL+ AQUARIUM AND UNDERWATER ZOO+ HILLSONG UNITED CONCERT

The past two days have been leisurely spent outdoors and we had thought of spending the entire day solely for indoor activities such as a stroll around the mall and experiencing some of what it has to offer. We thought, maybe we need to at least have a break from the scorching heat of the sun. A typical hot, sunny day is good, but the Arabian weather can sometimes get unbearably hot.  The occasional discomfort of hot weathers which deters some people from being out in the open would be completely ruled out with indoor fun and adventures. And that is what I love about Dubai, they offer variety of ways and amenities wherein you can have fun for indoor activities. For this particular day, we picked Dubai Mall and Aquarium as our first destination.

DUBAI MALL

It was a very long, exhausting escapade the other day, so we got up a little late (almost noon time 😂). We took the metro to get to the prominent mall of the city and we arrived in about 30 minutes. The covered bridge which connects the Metro station and the Dubai Mall was so long, and honestly, though there were several moving walkways along the bridge to assist us, it took us about 20 minutes to reach the mall at a normal walking pace. I swear, you might as well would consider taking a taxi instead. But anyhow, we’re not in a rush and it was our first time, so we couldn’t care less if our feet get knackered up as long as it would take us to our destination. It was already past noon when we arrived at the mall and my friend was planning to meet a relative, so we took the spare time to wander around while waiting.

The iconic human waterfalls and umbrella ceiling in Dubai Mall.

Dubai Mall is hailed as the world’s largest mall by area, having over 2 million square feet and as large as the size of 50 football fields. With over 1,200 shops and restaurants, you wouldn’t possibly get to see everything in a day or two. The mall culture here seems so familiar, with huge number of people crowding around the mall even on weekdays. Back in our home country, I know how people are used to going to malls on a daily basis. I wasn’t really surprised to see some Filipino shoppers. However, it wasn’t just a typical mall experience for me. The mall is more than just stores and cafes and they offer enjoyment beyond simply the pleasure of shopping. Aside from various shopping centers and restaurants, they include entertainment facilities such as Sega Republic, Ice Rink and KidZania. We didn’t have enough time to visit all of these places, and we literally just had a quick sweep around. What we were actually looking forward was to experience the well-known and iconic attraction within the mall itself, the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.

DUBAI AQUARIUM AND UNDERWATER ZOO 

The 10-million litre Aquarium Tank at the ground floor level of Dubai Mall.

The aquarium is one of the largest suspended aquariums in the world, with about 10 million liter tank, in a middle of a shopping mall. When I saw the shark tunnel for the first time while I was researching about the grand aquarium, I knew that it would be one of the top tourist attractions in Dubai and of course, I had to include it on my Dubai trip bucket list. After meeting Aireen’s friend and indulging ourselves with ice cream delights, we headed straight to the huge aquarium display where numerous people were congregating around. The moment I saw the huge sharks and sting rays swimming around the broad transparent glass, I was in sheer admiration and awe. I just couldn’t help myself! Interestingly, this aquarium is known for having the largest collection of Sand Tiger sharks in the world (approximately 300 in number) and having more than 140 different species of fishes and marine animals. It would definitely allow you to experience the best exotic wonders of aquatic life. The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo occupy a certain area of the mall which extends to the 3rd floor. The tickets they offer are categorized into different kinds of aquatic experiences and of course with varying prices. Basically, the more experience you get from the aquarium and underwater zoo, the higher the cost of the ticket. As for us, we choose the Explorer Experience which costs 120 AED. The package includes experiencing Aquarium Tunnel, Underwater Zoo, Submersible Simulator, Big Screen Theatre and Aquarium glass bottom boat. The first part of this was when we were ushered to a 48 meter walk-through tunnel, which is situated at the bottom of the aquarium tank. This gave us a complete 270 degree view of the aquarium. It was quite exhilarating to see fishes and sharks swimming above you, and I swear, kids (like me 😂) would definitely love it. I was a fun and worthwhile experience.

48 meter walk-through tunnel.

After capturing some moments with the sharks inside the tunnel, we headed straight to the Underwater Zoo at the second floor just above the Aquarium tank. The Zoo is divided into three zones: Rainforest, Rocky Shore and Living Ocean, and unlike any other typical zoo we see outdoors, the animals you’ll see are only limited to fishes, sea mammals and amphibians that live predominantly in water. We saw lots of smaller fish tanks which houses fishes of different species such as piranha, electric eels, jelly fishes and sea horses. But for me, the best part of this Zoo was seeing and having a photo taken as close as possible to the King and Queen Crocs. They are inside a glass enclosure with both land and water. I’m not sure though but one was actually sleeping near the glass wall, so lots of people (including us of course!)lined up to have their photos taken with the huge crocodile. They were astoundingly as big as, like, 15 men combined! If terrestrial animals have their Lion king and queen, I bet these king and queen crocs are also the pride and glory of the Aquatic and Underwater Zoo. 

The Aqua-life in Underwater Zoo.

Eye-to-eye moment with King Croc. 😂

We we’re so excited to see the zoo that we haven’t realized we had actually skipped the simulator and the theatre. But it wasn’t too late to try. The theatre was more like a kids’ mini movie show for duration of approximately 15 minutes, so if you’re not with a kid and you don’t wanna waste your time, better just give up the line and proceed with the next one. 

The last thing we tried was the Glass Bottom Boat. Could you imagine how large the aquarium is, that small boats could actually glide across it? The boat was uniquely designed to have a glassed bottom, so people could look down and view the sharks and fishes though it. We were asked to put on life guards prior to riding, and we were accompanied by a guide. While we were gently gliding across the big tank for about 15 minutes, she was also telling us facts about the aquarium and its inhabitants, how they are feeding the fishes and sharks, and how they are carefully controlling the temperature and salinity of the water and the lighting in order to keep the animals comfortable. The water from the aquarium goes through different filters for approximately 18 times per day to make it clean all the time. Seeing the huge sharks swimming below us was just astonishing yet quite scary because what if, all of a sudden, sharks would slam the glass beneath the boat? Apparently, life guards couldn’t save us. LOL.😂 Some people opted for an “Adventure Experience” and they were allowed to experience cage snorkeling and try a Shark dive, a once in a lifetime opportunity wherein they are allowed to swim with and be brought within inches of large variety of sharks and rays. But of course, it comes with a higher price. It took us approximately 4-5 hours exploring the entire Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, and we’re also a bit in a hurry to go out because today is the day of our most awaited HIllsong United Concert. Though we knew that tickets were already sold-out since few months ago, we still wanted to try our luck if we could get two passes outside the stadium. We parted ways with Aireen’s friend, and we had to search for the way within Dubai mall which would lead us to the metro station. It was another 30-minute-long walk-run marathon but nevertheless, we were very excited and enthusiastic because our next destination was in fact ranked first on our Dubai trip bucket list. You’ll know the reason why.  

HILLSONG UNITED CONCERT

Going back to where it all started, my friend, Aireen, opened up to me that she is planning to travel to Dubai soon because she heard about the upcoming Hillsong United concert that would take place at a big stadium within the city itself, on the last week of April. She couldn’t seem to find some of her friends who would want to travel with her, so she invited me in for the trip. Without having a second thought, I immediately told her to count me in. Apparently, I was very eager to attend the concert since it will be my first ever experience, and at the same time, I wanted to travel and explore the well-renowned city of gold. In a nutshell, I can say that this Hillsong concert topped our bucket list and was actually the main highlight of our trip. Come to think of it, we couldn’t have thought of traveling to Dubai without having heard about the concert.

Just to give you a brief background, Hillsong United is one of the most influential and popular Christian worship groups which originated as a part of Hillsong Church in Australia. They are performing in church services as well as holding concerts in worldwide tours. They are highly recognized among Christians internationally. I remember how every time I would hear of their upcoming concerts in my home country, I couldn’t help but feel sad, because as a student during that time, I honestly couldn’t afford to buy their pricey tickets. But now, who would’ve thought I could actually fly to another country and attend the prestigious Christian band’s concert. God is so good for blessing me abundantly with work and giving me this rarest opportunity of praising Him to the next level.

Hillsong United initially announced a single day (April 28th) concert in Dubai. But due to popular demand, and the fact that tickets surprisingly got sold-out in a very short span of time, they extended their concert for another day (April 29th). Tickets are priced from 100-300 AED. Unfortunately, the cheaper ones were all sold out on both days and only few Platinum tickets (same like VIP tickets) were remaining on 29th. We tried to reach some contact persons posted on the page of Hillsong United Live in Dubai if we could still avail of the Silver or Gold tickets since they are relatively cheaper compared to Platinum, but unfortunately, no one responded. We finally decided to just go on the first day of the concert and see if we could buy tickets from outside the stadium. If not possible, then we don’t have any other choice but to buy Platinum for the second day. Nevertheless, we made it sure that we will be able to attend the concert no matter how, because in the first place, it was the foremost reason why we traveled to Dubai.😂

It was past 1800H, April 28th, when we decided to exit the mall and head on to Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, where the concert is scheduled to start at 1900H; I cannot say that we’re in a rush, we were just running like we’re not really sure that we’d be able to get in. If we had our tickets on hand prior to the event, we could’ve gone earlier as we presume there would be lots of people coming to the event. But since it’s a 50/50 case of getting a pass, we thought we didn’t have to put a lot of effort just to get to the place earlier. It took us approximately 30-45 minutes to get to the nearest Metro station from the stadium. As we went down the post, we saw a number of Filipinos talking indistinctively about how to get to the concert, and as soon as we learned that they are heading the same way we’re going, we merged with their group. We were actually planning to take a taxi but good thing we found out that there were free shuttle buses to the stadium.

Upon seeing the large crowd of people amassing around the gates of the concert arena, my slightest hope of getting in died a little. We wandered around, back and forth, and passed by several long lines in our desperate attempt to find at least one person who would offer us tickets for sale. We saw a ticket booth near the Irish Village (first gate) but only few platinum tickets were left. However, there’s this one guy selling a single silver ticket and left his number on the booth. We couldn’t decide to buy it yet since we need to secure another one. After a while, a woman came up to us with another silver ticket. We called the number from the booth right away and voila! We had two silver tickets on hand, and we’d finally get to praise God with Hillsong United band! Thank You Lord! With Silver ticket (200 AED), we are privileged to stand right in front of the stage rocking the stadium with praise, plus we’ll get to see Joel Houston, Taya Smith and other musicians up close.

Sooner, the concert started and I can feel lots of emotion bursting out of me: excitement, joy, and definitely in awe of how great Jesus is! I found myself swept away with every single song speaking directly to the heart. I could see the people praising God and filling the entire Stadium in tears, cheers and glory. Some of the songs they have lined-up were Touch the Sky, Oceans, I Surrender, Even When It Hurts, Let There Be Light, Beautiful Name, One Day, Relentless and the Stand. My favorite part was when “Wake” was sung at the end of the concert. The whole atmosphere was electric and people were dancing and rocking the stadium while singing “You will never fade away, Your love is here to stay, by my side in my life, shining through me every day!”  and “Wake within me!”. It appears like a joyous celebration and I knew that there was exactly something about the song that stirred people up to praise God and have fun in His presence. Here’s a short clip of the song during the concert:

The feeling was so overwhelming and ecstatic and it was such a spirit-filled ambiance. The two and a half hour-long concert seemed like a very short time when you are praising and soaking in the presence of the Lord. We went home completely overwhelmed with joy and with God’s blessings! All glory to the One most worthy! 

[vileart]

A Dream of Dramaturgy: Rich Rusk and Tang Shi @ Edfringe 2017

Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre in association with Gecko mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with an international co-production, The Dreamer.

THE DREAMER, Shanghai Dramatic

Arts Centre in association with Gecko, is Gecko’s first international co-production.

The show is inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Peony Pavilion, the work of his contemporary, Tang Xianzu (1550-1616).

Ipswich-based physical theatre company Gecko celebrated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with a new show as part of Shakespeare Lives.

The Dreamer premiered in China in October 2016 winning Best Stage Design – 2016 One Drama Awards, China.

The UK Premiere is 2 – 15 August at the Pleasance Grand

Answered by Rich Rusk, Gecko Associate Director and Director of The Dreamer and Tang Shi, producer at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre

What was the inspiration for this performance? 

That’s a huge question. William Shakespeare died the same year as Tang Xianzu, who happens to be a literary giant in China. Both men were way ahead of their time and when it came to celebrating Shakespeare through the British Council’s, ‘Shakespeare Lives’ project in 2016, we decided to go for something very ambitious. With our very good friends at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre we started to cook-up a new piece of work. 

The Dreamer is heavily influenced by the characters, themes and emotions of two very famous texts. We used A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare and The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu as the starting point of our devising process.

However, this is an original devised work, set in a Gecko-style heightened reality. We wanted to make it relevant to today’s society while also drawing on imagery from the classic texts. 

The inspiration at the core of the devising process is the idea of being trapped (by culture, social norms, tradition, lack of ambition, lack of bravery, a need to fit in) and how we break out of that loop, emotionally and physically. We live in a world where parents arrange marriages, men and women have their ‘rightful place’ in society and we worry about everything, all the time…

The Dreamer offers a provocation to consider your position and decide who is in control of your life. 

[RR]

Dreams. We all dream. When we immerse ourselves into deep sleep, our brains become unchained from the reason and logic imposed by daylight, so real emotions - fear, loneliness, confusion - spring up. The world of dreams is full of possibilities where the order of daily life can be broken.

Shakespeare dreams. His Chinese contemporary Tang Xianzu dreams. Myriad people like you like me living in the modern world also dream. So what's the connection between these dreams? Do we share the same emotions and dreams throughout human history? With these questions, here's The Dreamer.

[TS]

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

Performance should always be a place for public discussion of ideas for as long as we are looking to be open minded in the making of work and think highly of our audience and their unlimited capacity to imagine, consider and feel. Now is a great time for theatre to inspire discussion. I don’t think The Dreamer is necessarily designed to do that, but I do hope that audiences will allow themselves to consider how they might respond to the various predicaments we throw our protagonist into.

[RR}

Sure and it'll always be. Theatre is the space allowing different people to breathe together. Same time, same location, watching and being watched. Isn't the co-presence of performer and audience the best beginning of public discussion of ideas?  

[TS]

How did you go about gathering the team for it? 

I am directing the show. I have worked with Gecko for 9 years across 6 productions and when the opportunity came up to work with a company of Chinese performers and artists in Shanghai I jumped on it. Chris Evans, who co-created the show with me and handled all the movement has performed in 3 Gecko shows and toured the world with the company.

We are working with long-term Gecko

collaborators – Designer Rhys Jarman, Lighting Designer Chris Swain and the brilliant Dave Price who has composed some amazing music for us. Along the way, we have worked with various Gecko Technical team members too, alongside an incredible creative team in Shanghai.

We are all held together by Rosalind Wynn, our producer at Gecko, and the producers in Shanghai who have all shown such passion for the project from day one, and cooked up the collaboration together. The performers all auditioned for us in Shanghai before undergoing training, research and development and two rehearsal periods.

[RR]

My company, SDAC (Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre) has always been interested in working with international artists. Some of my colleagues saw Gecko's Missing years ago in Edinburgh and still share their excitement after watching it. So it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that The Dreamer has been in the pipelines for a long time!

In September 2015, Gecko artists and SDAC performers had a workshop in Shanghai, presenting a 10 minute sharing on the subject of dreams. It was exciting, and both SDAC and Gecko saw the potential to develop the piece. Then in December came the casting. Decisions were made quickly and it turns out that we've made the best decisions.

[TS]

How did you become interested in making performance? 

I love Shakespeare but I work mainly with companies who don’t use many words. I wanted to see if it was possible to not only take one of my favourite characters (Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and drop her into a ‘Gecko’ world – but I also wanted to see what the Chinese team would make of her and her dream to marry a man who doesn’t really love her.

For me it was also an opportunity to work with Chris Evans as a co-creator having toured with him on numerous Gecko shows, always being amazed by his creativity and talent. I rarely have the chance to co-create work with people, this whole project has really changed the way I think about collaboration in the arts. [RR]

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

Gecko has a very methodical, rigorous making process, which Amit Lahav (Artistic Director) has perfected over the years. The Dreamer process has been a slightly truncated version of that but we were keen to make sure that the making process was as collaborative and creative as possible. 

We wanted to share with our Chinese partners our way of working which is based on making as many discoveries as possible before rejecting vast amounts of material… and that’s all before we even start to knit the show together. 

We performed a version of The Dreamer in October 2016 in Shanghai. We were really pleased with how it went but it also served as a stepping-stone to the version we have now. In May / June 2017 we have been redeveloping the work – exactly as we would with a Gecko show in the UK - taking everything to a more exciting place ready for the fringe. [RR]

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

This is a departure from Gecko and SDAC’s usual productions. SDAC ususally present plays and were interested to work in a different genre through this project. All of Gecko’s previous work, which Fringe audiences are used to seeing, has been created by Artistic Director Amit Lahav. 

This is the first production that has been created by associate artists of the company and Amit was keen to give Chris and I as much creative space as possible in the making of this show so it has a Gecko flavour, but comes from our style and voice too. 

The show doesn’t feature a wide range of nationalities and languages and it is inspired by existing characters and texts – all of which are unusual to Gecko’s approach.

Having said that, the show is set in a world not unlike other Gecko shows – using movement and imagery as its primary form of storytelling. It features an ensemble of special Chinese performers who have worked intensively to be ready for Edinburgh, training in Gecko’s physical performance style. 

There is a more linear narrative at play here than in recent Gecko productions but it’s still a poetic world to dive into for an hour. [RR]

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope that people will come into the room and let their imagination take over for a while. This should be a fun, slightly crazy experience for the audience and I hope they switch off the intellectual part of their brain and just enjoy themselves. There is a lot to feast on. [RR]

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience? 

At Gecko, we always look to take the audience on a journey; we look to invite them to stop ‘thinking’ and just enjoy a story, an image or a piece of movement. This work is actually all about metaphor, poetry and imagery. That doesn’t mean we want them to stop engaging with the action. 

The Dreamer can be seen in various ways, but at its heart there is a very modern women, who we hope audiences will recognise, either through her actions, her feelings or the dreams she unleashes. We do our best to keep inviting the audience into our story, we try to guide them into our world without ever telling them how to feel when then get there. [RR]

The prestigious Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre in China teamed up with Gecko to stage a new piece of work - THE DREAMER - inspired by two playwrights considered the most influential in their respective countries: William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre is the only national performing arts company in Shanghai. Famous for its new Chinese-language dramas, as well as performing English-language classics in Chinese, its impressive team of actors, directors, writers and other creatives works across various venues in the French Quarter of the city. This is the company’s Fringe debut. Gecko is an award-winning and internationally-acclaimed physical theatre company, led by Artistic Director Amit Lahav, established in 2001. 2016 marked not only the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death but also that of his Chinese contemporary, Tang Xianzu. Dreams were a leitmotiv for both writers and THE DREAMER reimagines a dream sequence, inspired by The Peony Pavilion and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Focusing on strong female characters within both plays and exploring the topics of magic, humour and love in classic Gecko style, the show will blend emotionally driven movement, a spine-tingling soundscape and striking visual storytelling to bring a new twist to these classic works. from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2rZXMm6