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tomeandflickcorner · 3 years

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Episode Review- The Real Ghostbusters: Devil in the Deep

As far as Peter centric episodes go, I’d say this was acceptable. At the very least, it gave him the chance to save the day.

This particular episode is particularly unique because we get to see the episode’s Big Bad from the starting gate. After an establishing shot of the East River, we go beneath the water, where a large, green entity that almost looks like a cross between a frog and a dragon is lurking around. After essentially mugging the camera, the creature, whose name will eventually be revealed as Necksa, blows air out from his blowhole, releasing a group of smaller entities.

It then cuts to elsewhere in the city, where an unnamed man is taking a bath while listening to the radio. The radio announcer states that the city was currently on Day 12 of the nastiest heat wave New York had ever seen, and that the temperature was currently a blistering 101°. The radio announcer then reminded listeners that there was also a water shortage and people weren’t supposed to be wasting water. Meaning absolutely no baths- only quick showers. Upon hearing this, the bathing man simply gives his radio a dirty look before going back to his book. (The book appears to be written by Herman Melville, but the title seems to be Lovely (words) Songs, which isn’t listed among Melville’s works. I’m guessing the people who animated this scene were trying to make a reference to Melville’s famous novel, Moby Dick, considering the episode contains an aquatic monster, but I can’t find any reason why they would make up that particular title.) At that moment, as if karma was coming for the bathing man, an octopus/lobster-like creature emerged from the bathwater, scaring the bathing man.

Over at the Firehouse, Peter is regaling the story of how they defeated Gozer to Alice Johnson, a journalist from Celebrity Magazine, while Egon, Ray and Winston stood by. Although, it’s quickly established that Alice is less than impressed with Peter. She reminds him that she came down there to interview all of the Ghostbusters, but so far, Peter’s been the only one who was talking. For two hours, 22 minutes and 16 seconds, to be precise. Peter, not batting an eye, promptly begins to introduce Ray. Although, even then, he doesn’t seem to be letting Ray talk for himself. Instead, he’s pretty much telling Alice Ray’s life story for him. At that moment, the phone rings. (Though Ray reacts to the phone ringing before it actually rings, so there was probably some sort of error in syncing up the audio or something.) When Janine answers it, it’s immediately obvious something is different about her attire. Janine spends the duration of her time in this episode wearing a leopard-print bikini. It’s never explained why, though. Offhand, I’d guess it was because it was previously established that it was unbearably hot in the city. But if that was their reasoning for this costuming choice, you’d think they would have reflected that with the Ghostbusters and Alice Johnson. But they don’t do that. The Ghostbusters are all still wearing their jumpsuits. And Alice is wearing long sleeves and slacks. So, why exactly would they put Janine in a skimpy bikini while nobody else was dressed for hot weather? Was this supposed to be an odd attempt at fan service?

Bizarre costuming decisions aside, the phone call is coming from Mayor Lenny, who states he only wants to talk to Egon. When Egon accepts the phone and listens to Mayor Lenny’s request, he passes on the news to the other Ghostbusters over how the city’s water supply appears to be haunted, as reports from all five boroughs were coming in. However, in one of the episode’s strangest moments, the Ghostbusters simply stand there until Janine hits the alarm button. Do the Ghostbusters just love the sound of the alarm ringing so much, they can’t head out until after they hear it?

So the Ghostbusters head off, though Alice is tagging along for some reason. I guess she really wants to do a thorough job in her article for Celebrity Magazine. At least the episode addresses this, with Egon warning her that they might be going into a dangerous situation and Alice telling him that she’s hoping for an exciting story to tell when she submits her report. She then makes it abundantly clear that she does not think much of Peter when she gives Egon and Ray permission to call her Alice but coldly states Peter is only allowed to call her Miss Johnson. When the Ghostbusters make it to the designated location, they find a crowd of people running in fright from a fire hydrant that is spurting out water. A large group of entities are also emerging from the hydrant. Ray is able to identify the entities as Undines, which are a group of water spirits. Egon voices his skepticism, as Undines were thought to be benevolent spirits while these entities were displaying malevolent traits. But before more could be said, Winston alerts the others to how the Undines were coming right for them. Dodging their attack, the Ghostbusters all drop to the ground, with Peter pulling Alice out of harm’s way. This briefly seems to get Peter on Alice’s good side, as she now gives him permission to call her by her first name. But the offer is revoked in the next second because Peter chooses this moment to duck down in order to pick up a quarter. And in that brief moment of Peter being distracted, one of the Undines flies headlong into Alice, resulting in her getting drenched.

The Ghostbusters begin firing their Proton Packs at the Undines. But then they realize that they forgot to bring any Ghost Traps, which triggers a brief argument between Ray and Peter over whose turn it had been to bring the Ghost Traps. Winston questions what they’re supposed to do without a trap, as they can hardly stand there and hold the Undines indefinably. Before they can come up with something, they feel something fighting against the Proton Streams. Moments later, the Undines seem to be dissolving, but Egon realizes they’re actually returning to their original primal state. (So, they’re de-evolving? Is that possible?) As the Undines retreat, they begin chanting the name ‘Necksa.’ In a matter of moments, the Undines all retreat back into the fire hydrant, with the water stream being pulled back as well. When things appear back to normal, Alice announces how this will make a wonderful story for Celebrity Magazine, adding that she’ll be sure to include the part where Peter forgot to bring the Ghost Traps. Peter is particularly humiliated by this, as his mother reads Celebrity Magazine. (Odd, I’d gotten the impression from previous episodes that Peter’s mother had died years ago.) Alice then asks Egon about the name the Undines had been chanting. Upon consulting his copy of Tobin’s Spirit Guide, Egon determines that Necksa was the lord of the Undines and master of all water elementals. He was also one of the most powerful of the primal gods. They realize that it must have been Necksa who called the Undines back. Winston instantly displays some natural intelligence, deducing that if the water supply was haunted, and all the water is coming from the East River, then it stands to reason that Necksa must be located somewhere in the East River. So the Ghostbusters immediately head off to investigate this new lead.

They rent a speedboat and steer it out into the East River. Though this time, they leave Alice waiting on the dock to ensure she won’t be put in danger. As they go along, Winston takes the time to poke some fun at Peter over how Alice clearly doesn’t like Peter and pretty much has it out for him. Their conversation is cut off when Egon alerts them to the fact that the PKE Meter is going haywire, and they’re surrounded by an army of Undines chanting Necksa’s name. Seconds later, Necksa himself surfaces from beneath the water, destroying their speedboat in the process. Necksa immediately scolds the Ghostbusters for hurting his children. And Peter makes the situation worse when he calls the Undines ugly. Egon quickly steps in before Peter could further aggravate Necksa, telling the primal god that the Undines were causing harm to the city. But this seems to anger Necksa even more, as he states he doesn’t care for such things. Necksa then informs the Ghostbusters that he had slumbered beneath the sea for thousands of years, with the undersea currents carrying him around as he slept. But his slumber was disturbed when workmen from the city had begun laying out new pipelines, which not only resulted in the East River being polluted, but it also significantly drained the water. When Necksa was abruptly woken up by this, he discovered a world far different than the one he remembered. Now, Necksa feels it’s time for ‘the change.’ (And right after he announces this, we get a super-close up of his eyes for some reason.) When Winston questions him on what he plans to do, Necksa announces his intention to torment the land-dwelling population of New York for a time. And when he’s done with that, he plans on sinking the island of Manhattan and claiming it as his own.

And this is when we get a rather big head-scratching moment. As the Ghostbusters try to come up with a way to stop this, Ray asks for confirmation that the Proton Guns went down with the speedboat. Even though they’re clearly still wearing the Proton Packs. (Aren’t the Proton Guns attached to the Proton Packs?) Egon tells Ray, that, even if they hadn’t lost the Proton Guns, they’d probably be ineffective anyway. Necksa is so massive, the Proton Streams would have bounced right off him. But then Ray suddenly announces he found his Proton Gun and he opens fire at Necksa. Even though Egon had literally just told him that wouldn’t work. Seriously, what was going on here? They don’t have the Proton Guns but then Ray suddenly is able to produce his out of thin air? And then Ray impulsively fires it off despite him just being told it wouldn’t do any good? Yeah, there’s a giant question mark hovering over my head here. In any event, as Egon predicted, this doesn’t accomplish anything, other than making Necksa even angrier. And Necksa responds by swallowing the Ghostbusters Jonah and the Whale style. However, he does end up spitting Peter back out through his blowhole.

Peter ends up getting blown all the way back to the docks. Upon climbing out of the water, he is immediately greeted by Alice, who doesn’t hesitate to pour salt in his wounds by stating she’d seen the whole thing unfold from the dock, telling him that he really blew it this time and that she plans on calling her article ‘The Ghostbusters’ Last Case.’ With that, she walks off, leaving Peter sitting there. But then, Peter seems to get an idea. He returns to the Firehouse and promptly begins gathering up various objects such as a generator and a lamp from Janine’s desk. As he loads the items into the Ecto-1, Janinie (who is still in the bikini), is going nuts over the fact that the city is overrun with Undines and Egon, Ray and Winston have been swallowed up by Necksa. Peter, however, tells her to calm down and instructs her to pass a message on to Alice that she should meet him at the docks around 10 PM, and that she should make sure she brought her camera along.

After nightfall, Peter heads out to confront Necksa again in another speedboat. (Though I feel I should point out he’s taking a great risk by taking a boat out onto the water in the middle of a thunderstorm. Being out in the water is one of the worst places to be when there’s lightning.) Upon reaching the middle of the East River, Peter manages to get Necksa to appear by directly insulting him. Necksa didn’t take the insult well, and he begins to chase after Peter. However, Peter clearly planned for this, as he manages to lure Necksa right into a fishing net tent he’d rigged up. With Necksa trapped in the fishing nets, Peter begins to fire off the modified Proton Thrower he’d put together with the items he’d collected from the Firehouse. As he fires the modified Proton Thrower, Peter announces this new invention of his fires off microwave particles that are capable of sucking up all of the moisture in Necksa’s body. Necksa cries out in pain, beseeching Peter to release him. Peter agreed to do so, on the condition that Necksa spit out his friends and then leave the city with the Undines in order to settle in a place where there aren’t any humans. Although, Peter suggests Necksa relocate to Antartica. While it is true there aren’t any permanent human settlements down there (at least, none that I know of), I’m pretty sure a lot of glaciologists and other scientists from various fields frequently conduct research down there. So I doubt Necksa will be completely able to avoid humans down there. Of course, this is a kids’ show, so I probably shouldn’t expect them to be that accurate.

Necksa agrees to Peter’s terms and subsequently spits out Egon, Ray and Winston. As Peter reunites with his friends on the docks. Egon voices his amazement that Peter had been able to construct something as complex as the Microwave Proton Thrower. Peter states that it was easy. But then, when he tries to activate it again, it immediately blows up. (Good thing Neskca agreed to leave when he did.) At that moment, Alice reappears on the scene. She tells Peter she’d got his message and had once again arrived in time to see what he did. She apologizes for misjudging him and asks for his forgiveness. Peter accepts her apology, and Alice proceeds to get a picture of all the Ghostbusters together for the cover page of the next issue of Celebrity Magazine.

This episode is probably a must-see for Peter fans, as it does give him a chance to shine. While Peter is definitely full of hot air and can be a screw up at times, the fact remains that he is still a college graduate with a Ph.D. So he’s not unintelligent. The fact that he was able to throw together that Microwave Proton Thrower with random objects he found lying around is proof of that. He even managed to impress Egon! I think we can all agree that’s no small feat. On the other hand, the fact that the Microwave Proton Thrower broke after just one use also indicates that he’s still not at the same level of genius as Ray and Egon. But there’s nothing wrong with that. It just further illustrates that the Ghostbusters are a team, with each member contributing what they can, and that they’re at their strongest when they’re together. As for the episode’s big bad, Necksa, points for creativity. Although, considering the fact that they stated that Necksa was woken up by the pollution in the East River, I was half expecting them to incorporate an environmental message into this episode. But they clearly didn’t. Can’t decide if that was a good thing or not. Although, you probably could make a decent argument how the solution to the problem was just to send the problem elsewhere. Which isn’t really solving anything. It’s just making it somebody else’s problem. Because I’m sure Necksa will have some encounters with human researchers in Antarctica now. Then again, maybe the waters down there are too cold for Necksa and he’ll go into a state of torpor. I suppose that’s possible.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Has the Story Outgrown the Limits of June’s Character?

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This The Handmaid’s Tale review contains spoilers.

“Are you ready?” they asked June, holding a red hot cauteriser over her bleeding gunshot wound. “No,” she said, but they jabbed her anyway. Hard relate. The Handmaid’s Tale has been away for almost two years, and now it’s back, are we ready for the pain? Of course not, but it’s happening.

In any other show, episode one’s pain would have been been extreme. Esther’s story of a bloody act of revenge inspired by child sexual abuse would have been a rare depth plumbed, the culmination of a whole-series crime mystery, or a long-held simmering character secret. Here? It’s just another day in Gilead. Mrs Keyes (played with remarkable self-possession by 14-year-old actor McKenna Grace), is one awful story among thousands.

Specifically, she’s the story June fears will become Hannah’s in the near future. In her numbed, feverish state, June conflated the two girls and called Esther by her daughter’s nickname in that final “I love you too, Banana,” scene.

Esther isn’t June’s only adoptive daughter, our lead is also the protector of Janine and all the other former Handmaids. Despite barely being able to walk, June insisted on approaching the safe house alone, signalling to them when it was safe to follow. When they were dancing like teenagers in the barn, she only looked on. She’s no longer one of them, but their leader – a resistance hero in command of an underground revolt. More than that, she’s become a celebrity in this world – a figurehead for everybody who wants to see Gilead burn. She’s Che Guevara, a symbol of revolution. If Gilead’s rebels could put her face on t-shirts, they would.

A potential problem for season four is that symbols don’t make compelling characters. The transformation from person to icon can be fascinating, but once a character’s up on that pedestal, giving out rousing speeches and making the hard decisions, they’ve generally reached their climax. However supreme Elisabeth Moss remains in this role, there’s a sense that we may already have seen everything that June Osborne the character has to offer. How many times now have we watched June – as she did in this episode – suffer, collapse, and then rise up with a renewed sense of fight? Half a dozen? More? At some stage, a repeating pattern begins to lose impact.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Recap: Baby Nichole, June’s Flight Plan and the Waterfords’ Fall

By Louisa Mellor

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Teaser Says Unite and Fight

By Louisa Mellor

That may not be fatal, because The Handmaid’s Tale is no longer June’s story. Not really. Thanks to her, it’s now the story of Gilead’s fall, starting with the loss of the children she saved. A highlight of this season opener was watching the Waterfords receive the news that not only were there now 86 new Baby Nicholes in Canada, but that June was behind it. The looks on their faces. That whole scene crackled with hostility, making the prospect of any return visit to those two tantalising. Fingers crossed their trial isn’t delayed much further.

Commander Lawrence’s trial came and went, without him, or us, and with a rug pull ending. All episode, he and the viewer had been led to believe that Lawrence was heading the way of Janine’s pig Mr Darcy and facing execution for his role in the mass break-out that happened under his nose. Not so. Nick’s retcon ascent to power must have shot him to such heights that he was able to argue the case for keeping Lawrence around for the war ahead. Given the choice between Bradley Whitford and no Bradley Whitford of course, any sane TV viewer would choose the former, even if his character’s survival stretches credulity in a world where arms are amputated and necks broken for much less.

The episode denied us a glimpse at this season’s more compelling storyline – the fates of those children in the 19 days they’ve been on Canadian soil. While June was staggering around that farmstead getting her murderous groove back, it was hard not to let attention drift to the reunions and culture shock going on off-screen. How was Canada reacting to the bombshell arrival of those kids? Were Rita and Luke bonding? Did the sight of them bring back the Gilead trauma for Moira and Emily? Our investment in the stories of the ensemble is a credit to The Handmaid’s Tale’s thoughtful expansion of Margaret Atwood’s world.

It’s not just the production team who’ve expanded that world of course. Since season three aired, Atwood published Booker Prize-winning sequel The Testaments, set 15 years after the end of her original novel. For TV viewers who’ve read it, the book offers an endpoint for the series that will be fascinating to see reached.

The opener’s other highlight came courtesy of the indomitable Ann Dowd. Aunt Lydia appeared in front of the Sons of Jacob bearing signs of torture after 19 days of interrogation by the Eyes. The experience hadn’t softened her permanent fury, but it did appear to have pointed it in a new direction. She hissed with disdain for the Sons, her required humility in their presence accompanied by what seemed like visceral contempt. Her parting line about them doing their jobs and bringing June to her, was almost delivered as a threat. What an actor, and what potential in her trajectory ahead.

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Episodes one to three of The Handmaid’s Tale season four are streaming now on Hulu. Season four will air on Channel 4 in the UK at a later date.

The post The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Has the Story Outgrown the Limits of June’s Character? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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phoenixmaiden-reading · 4 years

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The Handmaid’s Tale Book Review

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Read: January 8, 2020 - February 13, 2020

The story is about a woman named Offred who is part of a new society of Gilead and she is a Handmaid, but not in the traditional sense. In this new world, the birthrate has declined and measures have been taken to prevent it. She, and other women, are brought into this new world to bare children for the wealthy who are unable to. The book is more of a mess of jumbled thoughts and events and doesn’t exactly flow the way things usually do and jumps around from past to present about people and events she has seen. It mostly follows certain times, events and night time where she thinks.

It was honestly so messed up. But it was really good.

Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Spoiler Summary Ahead!!

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The story jumps right in with Offred telling us that she is in a place where several women are kept in an old school. But now it is transformed into a training like facility and it’s called the Center. The women there have no names now until they are given one, they are not allowed to talk to each other so they learn to read lips or talk with barely a sound. They are taught the way to act and behave by older women called “Aunts” who rule over them like they are in the military. Outside there are guards, called Guardians that they are not allowed to talk to and are there to keep anyone out and them in. There are also others called Eyes that could be anyone, they are spies that watch everyone and if they don’t behave they take you away in their black van with a white painted winged eye on it.

Offred then moves on to tell us about the house she now lives in. It is owned by the Commander and he lives there with his wife. She recognizes her from TV from “before” as an activist Serena Joy. It is clear to Offred that Serena does not like her and doesn’t want to see her unless she has to. There are also 2 women called “Marthas” that do the cooking and cleaning named Rita and Cora. Rita doesn’t seem to care for her either, but Cora seems to. There is also the driver named Nick. Each person wears a certain color depending on their station, the Marthas wear green, the Aunts-brown, the Wives-blue, the Commander-black, and the Handmaids wear red. It is what Offred wears, everything is in red, her shoes, gloves, and dress. Only the winged habit she wears on her head is white. Later we learn that Ecowives-those of lower stature, wear striped drab clothing, children wear white and widows wear purple.

Offred tells us that she is not allowed to move about on her own, she has a mandatory walk that she goes on to the market. She is given money to spend and must go in a pair so they can watch the other. When the bell rings she gets ready to go to the market and meets her partner, another Handmaid Ofglen. She says there used to be another woman who was her partner, but she doesn’t know what happened to her. There is a Gate they must pass to get to the market guarded by Guardians with guns. They are there to make sure no one runs. They have to sign out with their passes. In the town where the market is everything is indicated by pictures, no words. Women are not permitted to read. All the stores have pictures of what they sell, even the stop signs have no words, it’s just the shape. While at the market another Handmaid Ofwarren comes in and shows off that she’s pregnant. It’s a big deal when there is a pregnancy. On the way back, the pair stops by The Wall. It keeps everyone in town in and it is also where they hang people who go against the new system. Like doctors who did abortions to set

an example because life is precious now. Offred also mentions Luke, who is not a doctor, and seems to be her husband.

It is at night that she thinks more of the past when she dreams. The first time she dreams of a girl she went to college with named Moria. Then it turns to a night she doesn’t like to remember. It is when she was taken by the people of Gilead. She was scared and confused and she was asking “what have you done with her?” They showed her a photo of a girl in a white dress with a woman she didn’t know. They just told her that she was with people who are fit and she was unfit. It sounds like they took her daughter away when they brought her to whatever place they took her to. How sad.

Now another shopping trip with Ofglen. There are 3 people hung on The Wall this time; a priest and 2 Guardians that have purple placards around their necks identifying them as Gay. So sad, they were hung because they were different and not following the rules. Along the way, they pass a funeral procession of Ecowives. One of them was holding a jar with an “unbaby” meaning she had a stillbirth. They also clearly did not like the Handmaids because of their higher status. When she gets back home, Serena Joy is outside and she remembers that she had once been an activist and had been almost assassinated a few times, but now she sits at home and does nothing; it has not agreed with her. Inside, she finds the Commander outside her room but leaves after hesitating. She wonders if he took anything, but she doesn’t have anything to take. Offred then talks about her room having been someone else’s, another Handmaid; it was like she was renting the room, like a hotel. She revealed then that her and Luke were having an affair and they would meet at a hotel, she missed those times. When she first came to the Commander’s house she had searched each corner of the room that they had put her in. In the cupboard she found an inscription gouged in the wood that you can’t see unless you really look. It’s in Latin and it said Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. I looked it up and it means “Do not let the bastards grind you down.” She had asked Martha Rita and Cora about who had been in the room before, but they wouldn’t say. But she thinks she might have known who it was.

Offred then talks about when she had gone to her mandatory monthly check-up with a doctor. The doctors don’t normally talk to them, but the one she saw that time was talkative then he propositioned her. Basically offered to have sex with her to satisfy her, and if she got pregnant she could just pass it off as the Commanders, no one would know. He then says that most old guys are sterile but they don’t say that anymore, it’s forbidden. It would have to be the woman’s fault that they couldn’t become pregnant. She decides to tell him she will think about it because he was in charge of her charts and if she flat out denied him, he could say she was infertile and she would be sent to the Colonies with the Unwomen. Basically, a death sentence, where they send people to work cleaning out contaminated areas. Anyway, he just tells her to think about it until next month.

Later, since it’s bath day, Offred is able to clean herself up but can’t take long since Martha Cora is waiting. She is able to reminisce about the times she used to take baths with her daughter. She also remembered a time when she was shopping at a market and when she turned her back, a woman had taken her daughter out of the basket and tried to leave the store. The woman was caught and her daughter was fine, but the woman kept saying that God had given her to her. She then thought back on her classes at the Center. The head Aunt, Aunt Lydia used to always tell them that the Wives should be pitied because they couldn’t bare children, but they also had to be careful because some could get jealous. There were also rules that the Handmaid’s had to follow. They couldn’t drink or smoke or eat heavy foods, only enough to sustain them and keep them healthy. She remembers a time when they

had a “resting” period when she saw her friend Moria being brought in. They couldn’t talk but they were able to acknowledge each other. It was nice to see a friendly face and she felt safer with her there. She also talks about a class called “Testifying” where women admit sins, and the others shame her. One of them, Janine, admitted that she was gang-raped in college and had an abortion. The other Handmaids-in-training all pointed at her and said it was her fault for leading them on and she deserved it. That’s just disgusting! Offred then mentioned that she was able to meet with Moria in the bathroom and how they both wanted a cigarette. She then had a vague memory of running through a forest with a little girl, probably her daughter, and trying to keep her quiet. Someone was shooting at her and she ended up dropping to the floor and covering her to keep her safe. Then it was the end of her bath and had to get out.

She then moves on to another day where she is to meet with everyone in the household before the “ceremony”. Offred kneels on the floor, the Marthas Cora and Rita stand over her, and Nick the driver. The Commander sits in a big chair and his wife sits next to him in another chair. While waiting for the Commander to come, they are able to watch TV and she sees that there is fighting going on beyond the walls, but they only show when they win. When the Commander comes in, he unlocks the chest the Bible is kept in because women are not allowed to read, and reads some lines that may have been changed to fit the new way of life. She then remembers a time at the Center when Moria had been carted away in an ambulance. She had been sick and they were taking her to be checked. Later Moria was dragged back to the facility. They learned that Moria had attempted to escape and had been caught. They couldn’t do anything too harmful to affect her womb, so they flogged her legs so she couldn’t walk for weeks. They didn’t need their legs to birth a child.

It was then time for the ceremony. It was so…sickening. Offred says she just lays there on the Commander’s bed, her red dress pushed up, with his wife sitting at her head and holding her hands as the Commander basically rapes her. Though she doesn’t say it is, it is only her job, and she made the choice to do it. She doesn’t really pay attention to the act at all and it is all very impersonal. Even the Commander does his part like a chore. Serena is not participating either, just holds her hands. It’s supposed to be like they are one, like she is the one the Commander is fucking and not Offred. Once the Commander has his orgasm, he simply leaves and Serena tells her to get out. All this is necessary for a child to be conceived but she doesn’t like it. I don’t blame her, she basically has to sit and watch her husband fuck another woman.

Later that night, Offred is restless and leaves her room. She’s not supposed to but she does anyway, it gives her a sort of thrill. She ends up in the sitting room from before and is confronted by Nick. He had been looking for her. She feels attracted to him and it scares her a little but it also feels good, to be talked to and touched by someone else. He just tells her that the Commander has asked for her to come to his office the next day.

She makes it back to her room, but she is scared. Her mind then thinks about Luke and where he was. Or rather all the bad things that could have happened to him. Lying dead in a ditch, a prisoner somewhere being tortured, or that he made it across the border and was safe and met up with a resistance and she will get a message from him soon, he will get her out. But it is only a hope of hers.

In the morning while she is eating breakfast a siren goes off indicating that there is a Handmaid who has gone into labor in the community. It is a big event. Offred gets ready and is then taken to the Commander’s house of Ofwarren with a group of Handmaid’s. Along the way, hopes Ofwarren gives

birth to a baby and not some deformed thing. They don’t know since they don’t use the machines anymore to look. She then thinks about a class she took with Aunt Lydia at the Center. About how they learned that there were all kinds of chemicals in the air, and the water was dirty, that there was a chance of having an unbaby or something else. But it was a risk they had to take. When they arrive at Ofwarren’s Commander’s house, they are taken to the bedroom with the other Handmaid’s in the district. The Wives from the district will wait in another room with food and drink, the men, nowhere in sight. The birthing process if different now, it’s just natural all the way, there’s no more drugs, or anesthesia or C-sections. Ouch.

Offred then talks about how the Aunt’s used to show them movies at the Center. But only ones that were approved of. Some were porn, but the ones with BSDM where they are chained up, or movies that show women being raped or cut into pieces. It was supposed to show how women were treated before and that things were better now. They also showed documentaries about Unwomen when they would rally and have marches. Aunt Lydia would say they were wasting their time, always wasting time. The movies always didn’t have words so they wouldn’t hear it. In one of the documentaries, Offred saw her mother when she was younger, a part of the protests. She remembered her mother. How she had her when she was older as a single mother. And how she was very forward in her thinking and didn’t hold back. At the time she hated it, but now she misses her.

In the birthing room, all the Handmaid’s chant “Breathe, Hold, Expel” as Ofwarren goes through her contractions. We also learn that her real name is Janine from the Center. It is what Offred calls her. When it is time, the Wife comes in and sits on the Birthing Stool. The wife sits on the top with the Handmaid below her between her legs. It is supposed to seem like the Wife is the one giving birth. When the baby is born, a girl, the Wife gets into the bed and the baby is brought to her, Ofwarren’s job is done. The Wives crowd around her and congratulate her. Ofwarren is separate from her, not allowed to join in on the celebration. Her job is done. They will only need her for the breast milk for a few months, then she’ll be transferred.

Offred is back at home, tired from the birthing. She then tells us about what she had heard through another Handmaid of what happened to Moria. Janine had been called to Aunt Lydia’s office where she was questioned on what she knew about what Moria had done. She didn’t know anything, but Aunt Lydia told her that Moria had gotten away. She had gone to the bathroom and had called in another Aunt on guard, Aunt Elizabeth because the toilet was clogged, and it was because Moria had clogged it. She had also taken apart the inside mechanism of the toilet so when Aunt Elizabeth came in to look, Moria threatened to puncture her lung with it from behind. She then escorted her down to the basement where she switched their clothes, tied her up behind the furnace. Moria then just walked out of the front door and no one questioned it because she was dressed as an Aunt. Aunt Elizabeth wasn’t found until seven hours later and Moria was long gone. The Handmaid’s were giddy but had to hide it; Moria had made it out, she was their fantasy. And Moria was never dragged back.

Offred then tells about what had happened when she went to visit the Commander in his office. It was full of books which are banned but he was able to get a hold of possible through the black market. What he wanted was not sex like she thought but he wanted to play Scrabble, which she did. He is also very kind and courteous and it has been a long time since she has been treated like that. After the game, she goes to leave and he asks her to kiss him, but not a simple one, one like she meant it. She thought that was sad. When she got back to her room she has a laughing fit and tries to hold it in and ends up on the floor with her head in the cabinet to look at the carved words. It is where she fell asleep. Cora is the one who finds her and starts screaming but Offred wakes up and just tells her she had fainted. They passed it off as strain from the Birth.

After that, she continues to see the Commander several times a week. She gets her cues from Nick who wears his hat a certain way to indicate the Commander wants to see her. She can’t always come because Serena is around but he understands. When she does go, they play Scrabble and kisses him goodnight. The second time she went he gave her a magazine to look at. They were forbidden and Offred was reverent because it was a glimpse into the past of how things used to be. She didn’t know why he showed it to her. On the third night, she got daring and asked him for some hand lotion to use on her skin because it was dry and on the fourth time, he had it for her. She had to keep it in the office because they search the Handmaid’s rooms for anything they are not supposed to have. But now she couldn’t help but think about what else she could get from him.

The night of the next Ceremony is different now that there is a deeper connection between her and the Commander, she was now shy of him when before it had just been a chore, the same for him. She also felt guilty because Serena was right there with them, not knowing of their secret meetings. When the Commander tried to touch her face but she turned away. She told him later to not do that, it could get her transferred to the Colonies. The Commander didn’t even know he was doing it. He felt that the act was so impersonal, but Offred already knew that a long time ago.

She then remembers what Aunt Lydia said. That the next generations will be easier. All women will live in harmony and the population will be up to scratch and the women won’t be transferred around as much because then there would be enough to go around. But at that moment, Offred was basically the Commander’s mistress especially with them sneaking around even though they weren’t doing anything.

During another walk to the market, Ofglen take another route by the river. They pass a store called the Coul Scrolls. It’s where machines print out prayers that the Wives put in over Compuphone. The Wives do it a lot as it is a sign of faithfulness. They stand there a while to talk but it looks like they are praying. Ofglen asks if she believed if God could hear the prayers from the machine. She says no. Ofglen is relieved, she thought Offred was a true believer. Ofglen then says that she can join us. Us meaning more, a resistance and Offred feels hope. She wants to ask if she’s seen Moria or Luke, but doesn’t. As they continue to walk on a black van of the Eyes passes by scaring Offred who thinks they are going to be caught, but it doesn’t stop for them, instead, they grab another man walking down the street. Offred is just relieved it wasn’t her.

Back in her room now, she thinks about what Moria would say of her position now with the Commander. She hadn’t approved of her relationship with Luke either because he was a married man at the time. But Moria didn’t have that problem because she was a Lesbian and things were different with women. Offred then spoke about the time before. She used to have a job at a library transferring books onto computer disks. It was normal, for women to have jobs. To have money. There used to be paper money when she was a child but now it was all plastic cards and all the money was at a Compubank. On the TV it spoke of how the president had been shot and the entire government was gone, and they suspended the Constitution temporarily. To keep calm.

After a few weeks, some stores got shut down, pornomarts mostly and newspapers. Yet she continued her routine of going to work and stopping by a store to by cigarettes. Then one day the woman who usually was behind the counter was gone and in her place was a man. He wouldn’t say what happened to her. He was kind of aggressive toward her and when he ran her card for her cigarettes he said it was invalid. But she knew there was money in it but it kept coming up invalid. So she had to leave and called the company but only got a recording. Then at work after lunch, the director came in and let go of all the women in the office, because it was the law. He said they couldn’t work there anymore. The women in the office were upset of course, but he was too and clearly didn’t want to. He was being pressured by men in uniform with machine guns. So they left.

When she got home she tried calling her mother, but no answer. So she called Moria and told her she had been fired. And she came over to talk. Moria told her that they froze all the accounts that were owned by females, including hers. Women can no longer own property, it was a new law. It had been all over TV. But any husband or male next of kin can access it. Moria said she will go underground, the gays could get anything they need. They had taken away their jobs and money at the same time so they couldn’t run. Later, she picked up her daughter and waited for Luke to come home. He didn’t think it will last and he’ll take care of her. It wasn’t until later that she realized that the men at work with the guns were not the army. It was a different kind of army. There were marches, of course, to fight against what was going on, but the army or whoever they were would open fire as soon as it started and the marches stopped. So she just stayed home and tried not to cry and kept her head down.

Now back at present time. She sees Nick outside with his hat on sideways, her cue that she was summoned. Offred wonders what Nick gets out of his role and what he thought of pimping for the Commander. Yet she goes. She is now comfortable in the Commander’s office, sitting with her shoes off, After their Scrabble game, she is allowed to read. But this time she wants to talk. So she asks him what he used to do and he said he used to be in market research, a sort of scientist. She then asks him about what the Latin phrase that is carved in her cabinet means, not that it was there, but that she had heard if somewhere. He allows her to write it down since she didn’t know how to say it. It had been a long time since she had held a pen. He thinks it’s funny, a schoolboy joke. That it meant “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” But there had been no schoolboy, so she asks what happened to the other Handmaid before her. She had hung herself from the light fixture in Offred’s room, it was why there was nothing up there now. Cora had been the one to find her; it was why she screamed when she saw Offred on the floor. Offred said that maybe she shouldn’t keep coming here. She wanted her life to be bearable, so he asked her what she wanted. And she said to know what was going on.

It then jumped back to the past when Luke and her and their daughter were leaving their house. They couldn’t tell anyone they were leaving and they couldn’t just leave their cat there. They couldn’t give it to anyone nor let it go or it would reveal that they were running. Luke ended up taking it in the garage where he killed it. But that it all had been useless because they had been waiting for them. Someone had told.

Another day at the market with Ofglen. On the wall was a catholic with an upside down cross and another that was marked with a J. But it wasn’t a Jewish person. They had been given a choice, either convert or emigrate to Israel and a lot of them chose to go. Some regular people got out that way, pretending. But they crack down on that now. They don’t hang Jews unless they are noisy and pretend to convert. So she doesn’t know what the J on the man is for, he’s just dead. Ofglen tells her that the password for the resistance is Mayday. She had tried it on her before, but Offred didn’t know what it was at the time. She tells her only use it if she has to.

When she gets back to the house, Serena is in the garden and calls for her. She asks if she’s pregnant yet and she’s not. She tells her she’s running out of time, it was possible the Commander just couldn’t produce a child. So Serena tells her it may be possible to do it another way, with another man. With Nick. They just won’t tell the Commander. So Serena offers to get a picture of her daughter if she agrees. So, of course, she does, it wasn’t like she had a choice anyway. Serena then offers her a cigarette and to get a match from Rita. She ends up not smoking and saving the match, for what she is not sure but it was good to have, maybe she will burn the house down.

She says that during their meetings, the Commander had taken to drinking in her presence, even sometimes getting a little drunk. But he never offers her any because she isn’t allowed to since she is only there to bear children. Ofglen had told her that his position was high up there at the top, so seeing him like this was different. He wants to give her things, tenderness, intimacy, but she can’t do that. He then says that there is nothing for men to do anymore. Even though they have everything, but it wasn’t about sex. It was that they had nothing to fight for. In the time before men were bring turned off by sex and marriage because it was readily available, but now, now they want to feel. He then asks for her opinion, but she no longer is supposed to have one. He just says that they tried to make things better, but she thinks that it's not.

Offred then jumps to a different afternoon when she and other Handmaid’s are walking two by two to the Women Prayvaganza. All the women in the community was there. The Wives and their daughters sit in chairs along the side, above them are the Marthas, then the Ecowives though it is not compulsatory for them. On the opposite side sit the Handmaid’s, corded off where they sit on the floor. Offred sits in the back with Ofglen so they can talk. She points out Janine who looks really pale and skinny and tells her that the baby Janine had, died. It was apparently the second one she’s lost. The first was when she was eight months. Janine thinks it’s her fault for being sinful, the baby had been a doctor’s not her Commanders.

She then tells us about a time at the Center when Janine was in a trance-like state one morning. She was saying her name to herself and a mantra-like she was working at a restaurant. She wouldn’t snap out of it until Moria came over and slapped her a few times. She told her that they won’t try to cure her, she’ll go straight to the Colonies or just be taken to the Chemistry Lab and shot. Moria told the rest of them that if she slips again you have to slap her like that. They had to be careful, it was catching. Moria might have already been planning something then.

Back to the Prayvaganza, it started with a prayer by a Commander. Then the Angels come in, basically soldiers from the front lines that have earned medals. Veiled Daughters come in as well and they stand across from each other. It’s all pretty much a group wedding. It’s all arranged now. There used to be those who used to be able to get a man and those who couldn’t. Women used to do plastic surgeries to make themselves look better to attract one. But now everyone has a partner. But there is no love. That was what is overlooked now. Falling in love. There are Men gatherings like this but for military victories, but the Women ones are for group weddings or for when a Nun recants. They basically give them a choice, to go to the Colonies or take back their vow of celibacy and take the Red Veil. But it’s hard on them and they become broken and uncomfortable to be around. Not that I blame them, they are being forced to conform after devoting their lives to God, using their bodies to repopulate the earth with no regard to how they feel. Ofglen then tells her that they know she has been seeing her Commander. She doesn’t say how she knows but tells her to find out anything she can.

Offred then talks about the day they tried to cross the border. They had fake passports for her, Luke and their daughter. They got to the border and gave it to the guard saying that they were going for a picnic. But something was wrong and suddenly Luke got back into the car and sped away and they got out and ran into the woods to getaway. But she didn’t want to think about it. So she came back to the present. Serena had come to her room with a photo of her daughter that she had gotten from another Martha. She couldn’t keep it though, Offred could only look. Her daughter was taller now and smiling a little in her white dress. It was like she had been erased from her life. It would have been better if she hadn’t brought it.

The next time she went to see the Commander he had a surprise for her. He was going to take her out of the house. But she couldn’t go in her red dress, it stood out. So he had gotten her an old fashioned party dress in pink with feathers and sequences. It was so dated and had been used before. It didn’t fit right when she put it on. He got her makeup as well. She had a hard time remembering how to put it on and it takes her a few tries to get it right. When they leave, he has her wear a blue hooded cloak that was clearly Serenas. The Commander even had a pass for her to get her through the check stands. They leave the house by the car that Nick is driving. She has to get on the floor during some moments of the ride but eventually, they arrive at a secret Brothel. It is clear that the Commander has been there before. He tells her that if anyone asks, he bought her for the night.

In the brothel, there are a lot of women similarly dressed in flimsy, old fashioned outfits. It was all that was left now when the new army had gotten rid of all of it. No one pays attention to her and think she is a new prostitute. The Commander shows her off on his arm as he talks to people. He tells her that this place is their club, while it is forbidden, you can’t cheat Nature. The Commander said that it is mostly officers and trade delegates. It stimulates trade and a good place to meet people. The working girls there are those who can’t be assimilated or don’t want to. Some even prefer it.

While there, Offred sees the last person she thought she would. Moria. She is dressed in the same ridiculous outfit with bunny ears, but it’s unmistakably her. She is able to catch her eye and Moria indicates to meet her in the bathroom. So she does so and they have a bittersweet reunion. They don’t have long to talk, only 5 minutes for a break. She tells Moria that her Commander snuck her in. Apparently, it is a common thing. They like to see them all painted up, they get a kick out of it, especially because they are supposed to be chaste vessels.

Over the next two visits, Moria tells her what happened to her when she left the Center. After she had left Aunt Elizabeth tied up in the basement, she had just walked right out wearing an Aunt’s clothes and she kept walking. She bluffed her way through checkpoints acting self-righteous like an Aunt and they let her through with no problems. But she knew she couldn’t keep doing it once they found out what she had done at the Center. So she tried to find the house of one of the underground groups she had been a part of. She ended up remembering the mailing address of one of them and they let her in. They then helped smuggle her to another place, where she was moved around from one safe house to another for several months trying to get to the border. But near the end, she got caught with a few others. She didn’t know what happened to them, they took her in another van. Moria thought that she would be taken back to the Center, but instead, they showed her a movie about the Colonies. That the people sent there clean up bodies after a battle or in radiation areas with no protection. It’s mostly older women who are of no use and Handmaids who have been given 3 chances or Gender Traitors. They then gave her a choice. To go to the Colonies or the Brothel. So she chose this place. She had 3 meals a day, drinks and drugs and she only works nights. So it’s not too bad. Besides it’s a “Butch Paradise” she said since she was a lesbian. The men who come actually like it. Amongst themselves, the girls call themselves Jezebels. After that, she never saw Moria again.

Later on in the night, the Commander takes her to a room in the back. She goes to the restroom to compose herself first and remembers her mother. Moria had said she had seen her in a film they showed her of the Colonies. She was relieved she was alive, but Moria said she should wish she wasn’t because she might as well be. Offred then says that before when everything was just starting, she had tried to contact her mother and couldn’t get through. She was worried, so she went with Luke to her apartment and got the superintendent to let them in. Her apartment was a mess, with things broken and turned over, her mother was not there. She had wanted to call the police, but Luke said don’t. There was no point. Whoever it was that was doing all this had taken her. Coming back to the present, she goes back out where the Commander is waiting. He had brought her there thinking she may enjoy the change. So she sleeps with him. She just lays there and fakes it.

The next night, Offred is snuck out of her room by Serena Joy and per their arrangement, she takes her out of the house to the garage where Nick lives in the upstairs room. There are no Guardians and the searchlight is out, no doubt arranged by Serena. She really wants a baby. So Offred goes up to Nick’s apartment where he is waiting. She makes up ways in which it happened, that they came together like it would be the last time. Or that they flirted and about how he gets paid and that there was not to be any romance. But in reality, she doesn’t remember what happened, she was just trying to make it seem more than just sex. But one thing is for sure. She actually enjoyed it.

She then said that she wished the rest of the story was different and that she had acted differently. She was sorry that there was so much pain in this story but she tried to put in good things as well. She then continued with her story. After the first time, Offred kept going to see Nick in his room above the garage without Serena knowing. She did it for herself and became reckless to do so. He could have turned her away, but he didn’t. She feels more in control with Nick. They don’t talk much before they sleep together, they save it for after. With the Commander, she closes her eyes because she doesn’t want to see him up close. But with Nick, she wants to see him. They make love like it was the last time. She feels safe with him and clearly enjoys herself more than she thought she would. She tells him about herself, her real name, but he doesn’t say much about himself. They don’t say the word love, that would be romance, bad luck.

When she sees Ofglen she tells her to try to get into the Commander’s office when he wasn’t there to look through papers and find any information they could use. But Offred was no longer interested in the Commander and what he did. She is too preoccupied with Nick. She also believes she may be pregnant and it could be, she wants it to be his. So she tells Ofglen she can’t do it, the door is locked and she is afraid. She tells her they could get her out but she no longer wants to leave. She wanted to stay with Nick. Ofglen gives up on her after that, no longer whispers to her and talks of the weather. But she doesn’t care.

One day a bell rings early in the morning and all the women are to gather. It is a Salvaging and they are for women only. The last Women Salvaging had been 2 years ago, they weren’t common. They all gather in the same hall as before and they file into their appropriate areas with the Handmaid’s in front, but they have cushions this time. On the stage are the ones to be Salvaged: 2 Handmaids and a Wife. They are silent as they sit there, drugged to keep them quiet. Aunt Lydia, who Offred hasn’t seen in years comes out to address them. She tells them that usually before the salvaging there is a detailed account of their crimes, but this time, because it is televised they will not in case there will be an outbreak of similar crimes. So they will just continue on with it. The Handmaids wonder what they did, it could be anything, but the Wife there wasn’t a whole lot they would be punished for. They could do anything to the Handmaid’s but kill them. Or it could be adultery. Aunt Lydia calls the women’s names and stand them up, put a white bag over their heads and hang them.

After the Salvaging, Aunt Lydia has the Handmaid’s form a circle while most of the other women leave, others stand in the rafters to watch. It was a Particicution. Offred wants to hang back but Ofglen doesn’t let her, to hang back would mean you lack conviction. Aunt Lydia has two Guardian’s bring in a third that has been beaten up. She tells them that he has been convicted of rape. He is a disgrace to the uniform and abused his position. His partner had already been killed. She said it involved 2 Handmaid’s at gunpoint, but she won’t go into detail only that one had been pregnant and the baby died. The group is angry at this and wait until Aunt Lydia gives the signal. When she does the group surges forward and starts to brutally kick and punch him. Ofglen gets there first and kicks the Guardian in the head. Offred is horrified at her. But Ofglen tells her amongst the noise that the Guardian wasn’t a rapist, he had been on their side, the resistance. She had knocked him out to put him out of his misery. So that means that they had found out and lied to make an example of him.

Later, Offred goes shopping and her partner is a different woman, now going by the name Ofglen. I had never put it together before but their names are not really names, its an ownership. They are Handmaids Of Glen and Of Fred. So the name must be their Commander’s names. It’s why this new woman is now Ofglen. There is no explanation as to why. So Offred subtly questions her and uses the secret word of the resistance “Mayday.” At first, there was no response, but as they were going their separate ways the new Ofglen told her that the other one had hung herself before they could take her away to do who knows what, definitely kill them though.

When she gets back to the house Serena is there and shows her the cloak and sequined dress she had found. The cloak had lipstick on it, so she knew what they had been doing. Serena called her a slut like the last one. Offred then went to her room to wait for her fate. She debates ending her life before they could take her but ends up not. A black van comes with the Eyes for her and Nick lets them in. But he says to trust him and that this was a Mayday and to go with them. The Commander and Serena asks why Offred is being taken and what she has done. So they didn’t call the van. The Eyes tell them that she was being taken on violation of state secrets. The Commander thinks it’s his fault, of course, he may be a security risk now. And Serena just calls her a bitch. The book ends with Offred getting into the black van not knowing if it was into darkness or into the light.

That’s the end of the book! Another one down.

#phoenix be reading #The Handmaid's Tale #Margaret Atwood #Book Review #reading #books #literature #book lover #2020 Books

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youknowmymethods · 5 years

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Content Creator Interview #7

Welcome to interview number 7! Guys, this is a two-parter with fandom friends @ellis-hendricks and @geekmama posing a similar set of questions to each other. Ellis won the coin toss, so she’s up first -- discussing why her husband is to blame for her Sherlock obsession, fluffy realism, and why John reminds her of a sad walrus -- with geekmama’s turn coming next week.

Ellis_Hendricks (interviewed by geekmama)

We are, respectively, a Californian and a Geordie, and we got to know each other through reading and reviewing each other’s fics (geekmama’s ‘Time of the Season’ series was one of the first fics I read and loved). Geekmama has been writing in the fandom for around 3 years, and I’ve been doing the same for around 2 years, spurred on by the end of series 4 (and the ILY scene in particular). We started beta-reading each other’s work around a year ago, and are always discovering new and unexpected words and phrases that don’t translate across the pond! Although we’ve used the same set of questions for these interviews, we haven’t seen each other’s answers – so it does mean that if nobody else is interested, at least we will be!

Questions about the series

geekmama: Was there a particular moment in the series that set the ship sailing for you?

Ellis_Hendricks: It happened as soon as I started paying attention properly! I missed series 1 when the BBC first showed it, and when it was repeated, it was my husband who wanted to watch, and I was just casually joining in. But I think it was probably ASiB that did it for me - the contrast between Irene and Molly, and the manner in which Molly stood up for herself.

geekmama: What's your favourite episode and why?

Ellis_Hendricks: I know it’s considered by some to be the least ‘Sherlock’ of Sherlock episodes, but it’s got to be The Sign of Three. The Best Man speech alone is an amazing piece of writing and performance, but then you’ve got the Worst Stag Night in History (™), Sherlock’s Mind Palace interactions with the women caught up with the Mayfly Man, and of course, Molly stabbing her fiancé with a fork! But it also reveals some of Sherlock’s secrets (his love of dancing) and vulnerabilities (his loneliness), and they’re so deftly woven into the action and the comedy. From a Sherlolly point of view, the ‘planning the stag do’ scene is always going to be a classic (I particularly love how Molly has the upper hand here), and then there’s the look on Molly’s face during Sherlock’s speech that so clearly shows that she only has eyes for the Best Man.

geekmama: If you could ask/tell the series writers one thing, what would it be?

Ellis_Hendricks: Very hard to pick one thing, as there are so many moments when you really want to interrogate the writers’ intentions, particularly when they (deliberately, infuriatingly) leave things vague! I have always wanted to know, though, how Janine came to be Mary’s chief bridesmaid - was Janine a pawn used by Magnussen to befriend Mary and gain her trust, was she in on it in some way (seems unlikely), or were she and Mary genuinely just friends and the connection was just a massive coincidence?!

Oh, and at what point did Sherlock realise that Molly was engaged? The way the camera zooms into her engagement ring implies that this was the moment he noticed (and his previous behaviour would largely support that) - but it’s hard to believe that Sherlock would miss a detail like that.

geekmama: Do you have a controversial opinion about the series? E.g. a character who everyone else hates, but who you love?

Ellis_Hendricks: I’m not keen on Irene, although that’s probably not a controversial opinion. But it’s not particularly for shipper reasons - I just don’t like what the writers did with the character, which, to me, was quite tired and hackneyed. I do have a soft spot for poor Tom, though - and actually, I don’t think his ‘meat dagger’ idea was that idiotic! In other circumstances, if Sherlock had come up with that, it would have been hailed as genius!

geekmama: Have you ever, when watching an episode, cracked a case before Sherlock?

Ellis_Hendricks: Ha! No. Although I did notice right away that the same actress (Sian Brooke) was playing multiple roles in TLD - not that I worked out why, though!

geekmama: With whom would you rather be stuck at a wedding table - Janine or Irene? Donovan or Anderson?

Ellis_Hendricks: I would be massively intimidated by all three women, for different reasons, and Anderson would obviously be intolerable. It’s probably got to be Donovan - she’d have some good police stories, at least, and she probably wouldn’t try to make me dance.

geekmama: Who would you rather bring back in series 5 - Mary or Moriarty?

Ellis_Hendricks: I really like Mary, but I would throw something at the TV if it turned out she’d faked her own death somehow. I was sad she was killed off, but once it’s done, I think it has to be final. Moriarty has probably had his day now, too, especially in the light of the revelations about Eurus - although his suicide was a brilliant shock, I do wonder whether Moftiss killed him off too soon.

geekmama: Whose house would you prefer to live in - Sherlock's, John & Mary's, Molly's or Mrs Hudson's?

Ellis_Hendricks: If the rest of Molly’s flat/house is as nice as her kitchen, then Molly’s (although the kitchen wasn’t at all what I would have imagined for her). Although it has some nice quirks, I would generally see 221B as a horrible regression to student filth.

geekmama: In your opinion, who has been the best series villain - Jim Moriarty, Charles Magnussen, Culverton Smith, or Eurus Holmes?

Ellis_Hendricks: I think it has to be Jim, if only because he was the most fun. Magnussen and Smith were clearly despicable human beings in their own way, and they were both incredibly chilling. Although Eurus is a fascinating prospect, as a character in this particular show (and with the history she was given), I found her harder to buy into - it was all a bit too Silence of the Lambs.

Questions about your writing

geekmama: What was your first fic? What prompted it, and how do you feel about it now?

Ellis_Hendricks: It was ‘Completely Backwards’ - aka, Sherlock hatches a plot to get Molly pregnant, because he somehow thinks it will make her happy. It ended up being part of a much longer series, although I didn’t plan it that way. In fact, I wrote it more or less freeform, and it wasn’t beta-read, so I guess it’s a bit rough around the edges - looking back, there are a few small plot points I would change (mostly due to my relative lack of grounding in the series at the time), but it more or less stands up. Two years later, people are still reading and liking it, so it must work okay!

geekmama: Which fic are you most proud of/most attached to, and why?

Ellis_Hendricks: I’m genuinely quite proud of all of them, but I’m really pleased with the way both ‘In Loco Parentis’ (which follows Sherlock and Molly through 18 years of godparenting) and ‘A Knockout Christmas’ (Sherlock does A Christmas Carol) turned out. Both were quite big challenges. ‘In Loco Parentis’ involved thinking about how Sherlock and Molly would develop as a long-term married couple, how everyone’s lives might change and move on, and also both creating and sustaining original characters (in the form of their kids - and to an extent Rosie, who is not mine, but who we only know as a baby, and therefore have to take a guess at!). ‘A Knockout Christmas’ was an idea that came to me in a moment of insanity, and which I wrote fairly quickly - but I felt as though it had to strike a balance of being true to the series, and close enough to A Christmas Carol so that it followed similar beats and themes. Oh, and getting the choice of Sherlock’s ‘ghosts’ right was vital as well!

geekmama: In what ways does that old rule, “Write what you know” affect your writing?

Ellis_Hendricks: Quite a bit, I think. Or if I want to write about something that I don’t know, I do sufficient research so I can at least bluff that I know about it! My background is totally arts-based, so I feel very out of my depth when writing about anything sciencey (Chemistry was my worst subject in high school - I felt like doing a victory parade when I passed that exam!). I’m also not well-versed in fantasy or sci-fi literature, so I would also feel a bit of a fraud attempting something in an AU along those lines. Most of my fics are straightforward family/relationship pieces, and I suppose that’s my comfort zone. Generally speaking, my life is far too uneventful to actually inform plotlines - although Molly’s medical emergency in ‘Under One Roof’ was based on the birth of my younger child (and writing it served as cheap therapy!)

geekmama: What are your worst writing habits? What are your most overused phrases, plotlines, etc.?

Ellis_Hendricks: I’m not so hot on writing beautiful, detailed description, so I feel it’s something that’s lacking a bit in some of my fics - and it’s kind of out of laziness, and an impatience to get to the bits I do like! I think that I’m a bit repetitive when it comes to describing people’s gestures/facial expressions/reactions, and I’m also guilty of burdening characters with the same old verbal tics and quirks. In terms of plotlines, you could probably argue that all of my fics are basically the same story written from a slightly different angle!

geekmama: Do you have a writing routine? Where and when? And is everything digital, or are things ever handwritten first?

Ellis_Hendricks: Oh, for a writing routine! When I come up with an idea, it’s a case of frantically jotting down notes (usually on my PC or phone, but occasionally on paper if that’s more convenient at the time) - I then try to work those notes into a story plan in bullet points, usually including bits of dialogue if it occurs while I’m thinking. I generally have to write in short bursts, as and when I have time - at my desk during my lunch hour, on my phone while commuting (by train, I hasten to add - not while driving), at home once the small people have gone to bed. But if I had more time, I know I’d only procrastinate!

geekmama: Who do you enjoy writing the most?

Ellis_Hendricks: I’d love to give a more interesting answer, but it’s probably Sherlock - although writing his parents is also a lot of fun.

geekmama: Who do you find easiest/hardest doing first person POV?

Ellis_Hendricks: I think I’ve written from Sherlock’s, Molly’s, John’s, Mary’s and Mycroft’s POV, and to be honest, I’ve loved doing all of them, because each presents a different writing challenge. Mary was possibly the hardest, because she’s such a closed book in a way, and so much is unknown - and because I want to be sympathetic to her, at the same time as finding some of her choices questionable! Writing ‘A Dead Man in the Family’ really got me into writing Mycroft - to the point that I actually started to feel an affinity with him, which was a bit disconcerting!

geekmama: Which fic would you recommend to someone who has never read your stuff before?

Ellis_Hendricks: Hmm, if someone wanted a quick taster, maybe ‘The Wedding Planner’ or a recent one, ‘A Piece of That’. Most of my fics are multi-chapter, so if you’re willing to get your teeth into something longer (so to speak - that sounds wrong!), you could try ‘Not What it Looks Like’ (only 3 chapters), or start with ‘Completely Backwards’ and then see whether you want to keep reading that series for the next five months!

geekmama: What do you value most when it comes to feedback?

Ellis_Hendricks: All feedback is wonderful (except for the time a 12-year-old tried to start an ALL CAPS fight with me about Eurus!). For me, the greatest compliment is when people say that the characters feel authentic, and/or a story feels like a missing scene from the series. Anytime that someone says a story made them laugh, cry, or otherwise have a spontaneous outburst of emotion, that’s amazing, too. But having that dialogue with readers is what is important - the feeling that you’re not just throwing out stories into the void, and the encouragement that keeps you writing.

geekmama: Would you ever go back and revise old fics - or do you consign them to history once they're published?

Ellis_Hendricks: No, I’m pretty much of the feeling that what’s done is done. The only changes I’ve made are spelling/grammatical ones that I’ve spotted later on - or when I’ve spotted a glaring error that might throw people out of a story. I don’t think I’d ever do a wholesale rewrite.

geekmama: Do you - or would you - write other pairings?

Ellis_Hendricks: I write other established pairings, e.g. John and Mary, and have written post-TFP fics where Mycroft and Lady Smallwood are a couple in some way, but I haven’t written other fan pairings. Everyone is totally free to ship who they like, but I guess I just write the ones that appeal to me.

geekmama: How would you define your style?

Ellis_Hendricks: One reviewer described it as ‘fluffy realism’, so I think I might pinch that! Generally, my fics are fairly close to canon, and use events in the series as a hook or jumping-off point.

geekmama: What's your method in approaching a story? Do you plan methodically, or wing it?

Ellis_Hendricks: I used to wing it, but I’m better at planning these days - it at least means that if I lose momentum or have a gap between chapters, I’ve got something to fall back on. When writing a multi-chapter fic, I used to publish a chapter and then write the next, but now I tend to try to write the whole thing first (or at least get a few chapters ahead) - much less stressful that way!

geekmama: Who do you write for? Is it you, or are you thinking about trying to please your audience?

Ellis_Hendricks: Certainly in the early days, I was just writing things that I would like to read, as there was no guarantee that anyone else would be interested! That’s probably changed a bit now, but I go by the rule that if I don’t find something engaging and entertaining, then I’ve got no right to expect that other people will!

geekmama: Do you have any WIPs, and do you think new chapters will ever see the light of day?

Ellis_Hendricks: No, I don’t have any WIPs - I’m not good at juggling more than one idea at a time, and I’m a bit of a compulsive completer, too. If I get a new idea while writing a fic, I make a few frenzied notes and then bury it until I’m ready.

geekmama: Are you working on anything at the moment?

Ellis_Hendricks: All I have is an outline for a one-shot, which I’m hoping will see the light of day before too long. These days, it’s really hard to come up with something that hasn’t already been done (and done well) by someone else!

geekmama: What’s harder for you - writing the start of a fic, or coming up with a decent title?

Ellis_Hendricks: The start of a story, because of that need to grab people (hopefully a reader might forgive a crap title?!). I had a teacher who said that once you’ve written something, you should always go back and jettison the first paragraph, because it’s usually a pointless preamble - not sure whether I agree with that entirely, but I do always check to see whether there’s a better way of just jumping into a story.

Reading other people's fics

geekmama: What are your favourite tropes in the fandom?

Ellis_Hendricks: Lots of the old favourites. Off the top of my head...bed-sharing, Molly as ‘the missus’, secret dating/marriage, being lab partners, accidental pregnancy.

geekmama: What things are likely to turn you off a fic?

Ellis_Hendricks: I try to be pretty open-minded, but I’m not keen on fics where Sherlock is portrayed as insanely jealous or aggressively dominant, or when Molly is a bit of a teenage fangirl, usually with little or no backbone. Another is where Tom turns out to be a total bastard, either before or after Molly breaks up with him - I know we don’t see a lot of him, but I don’t read him that way at all, and I like to think that (even after Jim from IT!) Molly has better judgement.

geekmama: Can you recommend 3 fics that are not your own?

Ellis_Hendricks: No, because I’ve read too many good ones. But I’m always excited when I see something new from geekmama, MizJoely, Writingwife83, waitingtobedistributed, OhAine, Quarto, sunken_standard, miabicicletta, forthegenuine or hobbitsdoitbetter.

geekmama: What compels you to leave comments on top of kudos?

Ellis_Hendricks: I don’t know exactly - but it does feel like a compulsion. If something has really impressed me, moved me, made me laugh, or has prompted me to go and read the whole thing again, then it definitely warrants a comment.

Quick-fire questions!

John's TEH moustache or his TAB moustache?

Ellis_Hendricks: TAB moustache, because it’s acceptable for the period setting. TEH moustache makes him look like a sad walrus.

Sherlock's purple shirt or white shirt?

Ellis_Hendricks: Can’t say I’m fussy in this regard, but...purple. Or the all-black get-up from ASiB.

Molly's stripy jumper or cherry cardigan?

Ellis_Hendricks: Stripy jumper - it looks cosy (although I would snag it on everything).

Mary's christening outfit or black-ops gear?

Ellis_Hendricks: Black-ops. I’d wear it when I’m surreptitiously moving my neighbours’ bins.

Submitted by @thisisartbylexie: Your way of presenting Mary and Molly's friendship is so realistic and rich. What made you want to write about it?

Ellis_Hendricks: Thank you - and that’s such a great question! (I also had no idea that artbylexie had read my fics, so that made my day.) Well, I’m a feminist, and I think that female friendships are worth celebrating whenever you can. Also, Molly and Mary are both such brilliant characters in their own rights, and I was keen to think about their lives outside of their relationships to the men in the series. It always fascinated me that Molly wasn’t a bridesmaid at the Watsons’ wedding, but she was made a godmother less than nine months later - so a strong friendship must have developed in that time. I tend to think that, because of her past, Mary wouldn’t have fostered many genuine friendships, but that she can’t help but make an exception for Molly. Makes me want to write something else for them now!

Submitted by @ohaine: this is a joint question for Ellis and geekmama: Do you feel that working together as betas has changed the way you both write?

Ellis_Hendricks: Yes, I’m certain it has made me up my game! The quality of geekmama’s own work (both creatively, in terms of plot, and technically, in terms of grammar and structure) is very high, so I suppose I have that to aspire to when I write, too. She’s great at spotting my errors or opportunities for improvement - I guess that could make me lazy (knowing she’ll pick them up), but I think it makes me more determined to do a good job first time around, so she doesn’t have too much to do!

Next week, April 5th 2019, the shoe is on the other foot and @ellis-hendricks puts her questions to @geekmama

#content creator interviews #sherlolly #sherlock #ellishendricks #geekmama

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2dtcnjspring · 4 years

Text

2D DESIGN SYLLABUS

Caitlin Cocco

[email protected]

Office Hours by Appointment Only

Course Description This course will provide a foundation in the fundamentals of pictorial design. Visual elements such as figure/ground relationships, scale and proportional transformation, patterning, composition, value, color, and spatial illusion will be investigated through hands-on and digital assignments. In addition to introducing formal design strategies, the course emphasizes content issues and the historical and cultural context in which works of art are produced. Regular slide lectures and critiques encourage dialog and provide the student with an opportunity to verbally communicate complex visual ideas.

Course Materials Lots of magazines with photos – start collecting now – use an envelop or folder to keep organized! X-acto knife and extra blades Metal 12” ruler with cork backing Small vinyl cutting board (12x18” or larger) – Check Dick Blick Art Supply 1 Glue Sticks – White Glue works but can get messy – NO HOT GLUE Scissors Pad of Bristol 11 x 14” (at least 20 sheets) buy the least expensive in this size Pencils Group of micron pens sizes 02 (.30mm) 03 (.35mm) 05 (.45mm) and 08 (.50mm) or similar

Large Sharpie with thick tip

Regular Sharpie

Gouache Set of at least the primary colors plus black and white

Matte Medium (small jar or tube) 1 Flash drive 8-16 GB

Tote bag or tool box to bring to class with all your materials

Course Requirements Students are required to complete a number of in-class assignments and homework assignments that utilize the skills introduced in this course. Students will also be required to complete several written assignments. In addition, students will be required to keep a blog notebook featuring class work and homework as well as document active looking in the world. Students are required to make 2 image posts of an example of each week's lesson on their tumblr (i.e. Line Lesson will be accompanied by 2 examples of where students see line functioning in their daily life, etc.). Along with the lessons and projects students are required to attend at least three department Visiting Artist and Scholars Events as well as Brown Bag lectures. Students can submit lecture write-ups on the class blog for extra credit.

Course Purposes & Learning Goals • Develop hands-on construction techniques in combination with Adobe Creative Cloud programs (including Photoshop and Illustrator) showing basic digital and physical comprehension of the fundamental principles of 2D design

• Develop the skills to verbally analyze visual elements

• Develop a broader understanding of art and design, its historical importance and contemporary

concerns

• Develop an online portfolio/website

• Gain experience with printing on the color, black and white, and medium format printers. Students will learn seamless printing, color testing and color correcting.

Course Schedule

Schedule is subject to change at professor discretion

All tutorials must be viewed before the following class. Students are not allowed to view tutorial during class time, there will be review of tutorial information if needed.

In addition, at the end of every week's lesson, you will post 2 images that you take using your smart phone of where you see the week's lesson actually functioning in your daily life. Make sure to caption your images appropriately.

Week 1 Introduction

1/27 Self Intro

Syllabus & Classroom assignments with lockbox code

Tom Sachs

Print Room

Lynda Log In

Design and publish blog (tumblr)

Converting files for Tumblr

Blogging with Tumblr – Archive and Order

Blog requirements and daily posting

What is Art? – Creative Comforts

1/30 Introduction: What is 2D design? - 2D/3D: Line/Shape Demo

File saving/File formats Raster (pixels) vs. Vector (lines/paths)

Integrating the hands on and digital

Found Images

Searching & Sampling Copyright/Fair Use/Appropriation – TED Talk

Richard Prince Articles – Hyperallergic & Art in America

Reading Discussion

Advanced Google searching Image size/file size

Image Acquisition and Resolution – screen vs. printing

Image size/file size/file formats/save for web – come up with your own system

Watch: Photoshop CC Essential Training (2019): The Basics with Julieanne Kost

Sections: Documents and Navigation

Digital Image Essentials

Watch: Photoshop CC 2019 One-on-One: Fundamentals with Deke McClelland

Sections: Saving Your Progress

Watch: Illustrator CS6 Essential Training with Justin Seeley (Photoshop)

Sections: Getting Started

Working with Documents

Selecting and Transforming Objects

HW: Email instructor blog link. Post a selfie or image of yourself and short self introduction post. Make 2 posts on where you see 2D Design functioning in daily life. Purchase supplies. Post 1 image of a Tom Sachs' work.

Week 2

2/3 Line Line Types & Hands on Demo w/ Safety Demo – cutting/ripping, mounted, negative, positive, and breaking the frame.

Paper quality and material discussion (sharpies & direction). Line direction & emotiveness Line as accumulation

Drawing Lines – technique and material shifts – Contour Line and Marina Ice Breaker

Matthew Ritchie & Janine Antoni & Jacolby Satterwhite Art 21s

Wacom Tablet Demo

Classroom Assignment: If you could represent your life as a line, what type of line work it be and why? Then create your line using Illustrator. Post on tumblr.

Watch: Illustrator CS6 Essential Training with Justin Seeley

Sections: Working with Color

Working with Fills and Strokes

Working with Paths

Printing, Saving, Exporting

OPTIONAL: Watch: Wacom Essential Training

Sections: Tablet Fundamentals (Understanding Positioning)

Working with Control Surfaces (Some may be more helpful than others – you decide how much you want to customize your tablet/pen)

Tablets in Action

HW: Line analysis of famous work of art or Ad (post on blog). Emotional Line project Due 2/10, Line analysis of advertisement Due 2/10. 2 posts on line in daily life.1 Matthew Ritchie & Janine Antoni & Jacolby Satterwhite posts.

2/6 Balance & Unity

Types of Balance and Unity

Cropping and isolating images Basic compositing

Robert Mangold & Damien Ortega Art 21s

Watch: Photoshop CC Essential Training (2019): The Basics with Julieanne Kost

Sections: Cropping, Straightening, and Adjusting Canvas Size

Layers

Color and Brush Essentials

Working with Layer Masks

Homework: Balance/Unity project due 2/17, Re-bloging Unity – post on blog due 2/17. Photoshop isolation and cropped image practice (post on blog). Post 1 image showing balance and 1 image showing unity from your daily life. 1 Robert Mangold &1 Damien Ortega post.

Week 3

2/10 Critique Line Project

2/13 Shape

Shape lesson Shape study concept

Hands on Collage basics

Layering and Collage – multiple material shapes – cropping shapes out of found images

Image Transfer w/matte medium

John Baldessari & Auturo Herrera Art 21s

Watch: Illustrator CS6 Essential Training with Justin Seeley

Sections: Creating Shapes

Don't Be Afraid of the Pen Tool

Watch: Photoshop CC Essential Training (2019): The Basics with Julieanne Kost

Sections: Making Selections

Essential Transformations

Homework: Shape Series Due 2/24. Shape project, Space storyboard (post on blog). Post 2 images of shape or volume from your daily life. 1 John Baldessari & 1 Auturo Herrea post.

Week 4

2/17 Critique Balance & Unity Project

2/20 Space

Space lesson

Space Practice

Choose scenes and refine for Space Tryptich Project

Dustin Yellin – TED Talk

Watch: Illustrator CS6 Essential Training with Justin Seeley

Sections: Adjusting Appearance

Working with Layers

Drawing in Perspective

Homework: Space Triptych Project Due 3/5. 2 posts on space from daily life. 1 post on Dustin Yellin.

Week 5

2/24 Critique Shape Series

2/27 Rhythm & Repetition Lesson

Using Illustrator for Rhythm project

Pattern

Vector Drawing in Illustrator

Lucas Blalock New York Up Close

Cory Archangel Protools

Paul McMahon

Marcel Duchamp

Gerhard Ritcher

YSL - Manifesto

Class assignment: Vector Drawing in Illustrator (post on blog)

Homework: Rhythm & Repetition Project Due 3/23. 2 posts on rhythm & repetition from daily life. 1 post on Lucas Blalock.

Week 6

3/2 Introduce Midterm Project

Midterm Project Text/Grid

Midterm Introduction and research

Work on Midterm project

Midterm printing

Thumbnail process

Symbolism within your work

Using the grid

Preparing file for printing

Joseph Beuys

Jasson Musson

Barry McGee & Margrite Katherine

Sherin Neshat

Watch: Illustrator CS6 Essential Training with Justin Seeley

Sections: Using Type in Illustrator

Watch: Photoshop CC 2019 One-on-One: Fundamentals with Deke McClelland

Sections: Creating and Formatting Text (Vector Based Font in Photoshop, Creating and Scaling a Line for Type, Integrating Text w/ Imagery 1& 2, Finding the Perfect Font, Type Size and Script Fonts, Creating Text Along a Circle) Homework: Rhythm & Repetition Project Due 3/23. Midterm due 4/2. Post midterm ideas, myth, thumbnails (blog). 1 post on text and 1 post on myth in daily life. 1 post on Joseph Beuys, 1 on Jasson Musson, 1 on Barry McGee & Margrite Katherine, and 1 on Sherin Neshat.

3/5 Space Triptych Project Critique

Watch: Photoshop CC 2019 One-on-One: Fundamentals with Deke McClelland

Sections: Image Size and Resolution

Printing your Images

Week 7

3/16 NO CLASS – Spring Break

3/19 NO CLASS – Spring Break

Week 8

3/23 Critique Rhythm & Repetition Projects

Work on Midterm project

Homework: Work on Midterm project due 4/2

3/26 Work on Midterm project

Midterm printing

Putting together midterm project

Week 9

3/30 Color & Value

Value Lesson – India Ink

Grey Scale - Gouache

Middle Grey

Color wheel Properties of color

Color schemes Color and space Color Discord & Use

Digital color wheel

Bezold Effect

Designing w/color wheel

Color Heritage

Ryan McGinness

Robert Ryman Art 21

Watch: Photoshop CC 2019 One-on-One: Fundamentals with Deke McClelland

Sections: Balancing Colors (Adjusting Color Intensity w/ Vibrance, Intro to Hue/Saturation)

Brightness & Contrast

Class assignment: Grey scale, Middle grey classwork (post on blog). Bezold Effect, Designing with color wheel & digital color experiments. Color interpretation studies (post on blog)

Homework: Value Project Due 4/9. 2 posts on value in daily life. 1 Ryan McGinness and 1 Robert Ryman post. Color Heritage project Due 4/16. 2 posts on color in daily life.

4/2 Midterm Crit

Week 10

4/6 Texture

Tactile Texture Visual Texture Texture through Pattern

Texture in the digital space

Daniel Gordon – New York Up Close

Class assignment: Texture Studies (post on blog) Homework: Texture project Due 4/20. 2 posts on texture in daily life. 1 post on Daniel Gordon.

4/9 Value Critique

Week 11

4/13 Emphasis & Focal Point

Emphasis/Focal point lesson

Emphasis project

Homework: Emphasis/Focal point project Due 4/27. 1 post on emphasis and 1 post on focal point.

4/16 Color Heritage Critique

Week 12

4/20 Texture Critique

Focal point project

Paper weaving Homework: Texture project Due 5/4. 1 post on actual texture and 1 post on visual texture in daily life.

4/23 Scale & Proportion

Scale & Proportion lesson

Work on Scale and Proportion projects

Homework: Scale and Proportion PSA posters Due 5/7. 1 post on scale and 1 post on proportion in daily life.

Week 13

4/27 Emphasis/Focal Point Project Critique

4/30 Final Project

What is a book/Design concepts

Book layout - thumbnails

Bringing together of all program platforms A combination of hands on and digital work

Week 14

5/4 Texture Project Critique

5/7 Scale & Proportion Critique

Week 15

Final Exam TBD

Grading

(A) = A remarkable achievement which evidences extraordinary initiative, original thought and extra effort; demonstrated leadership in the class; mastery of formal, technical, and conceptual skills.

(B) = All assignments have been completed at level above average. The work shows initiative, is very well presented and demonstrates a clear understanding of the assignments and class participation raised the level of the class. (C) = All assignments have been completes on time. The level of success, attendance and class participation is average. (D) = Most assignments have been completed. The level of success and/or class participation is below average. (F) = One third of the course assignments have not been successfully competed. The level of participation is not acceptable for university study.

Course Workload

The TCNJ standard for student work-loads is 12 hours per class. This includes time both in and out of class.

Plagiarism

As per TCNJ's academic integrity policy as outlined in Violations of Academic Integrity, "Plagiarism occurs when a student submits as their own the work of others. When a student presents the products of another individual's work (words, images, formulae, music etc.) without citation or proper attribution, plagiarism has occurred. This includes but is not limited to copying from a fellow student, copying from an internet source and copying from a book or other published work." More information on academic integrity can be found attached to the back of the syllabus.

Attendance Every student is expected to participate in each of his/her courses through regular attendance at lecture and laboratory sessions. It is further expected that every student will be present, on time, and prepared to participate when scheduled class sessions begin. At the first class meeting of a semester, instructors are expected to distribute in writing the attendance policies, which apply to their courses. While attendance itself is not used as a criterion for academic evaluations, grading is frequently based on participation in class discussion, laboratory work, performance, studio practice, field experience, or other activities, which may take place during class sessions. If these areas for evaluation make class attendance essential, the student may be penalized for failure to perform satisfactorily in the required activities. Students who must miss classes due to participation in a field trip, athletic event, or other official college function should arrange with their instructors for such class absences well in advance. The Office of Academic Affairs will verify, upon request, the dates of and participation in such college functions. In every instance, however, the student has the responsibility to initiate arrangements for make-up work.

Students are expected to attend class and complete assignments as scheduled, to avoid outside conflicts (if possible), and to enroll only in those classes that they can expect to attend on a regular basis. Absences from class are handled between students and instructors. The instructor may require documentation to substantiate the reason for the absence. The instructor should provide make-up opportunities for student absences caused by illness, injury, death in the family, observance of religious holidays, and similarly compelling personal reasons including physical disabilities. For lengthy absences, make-up opportunities might not be feasible and are at the discretion of the instructor. The Office of Academic Affairs will notify the faculty of the dates of religious holidays on which large numbers of students are likely to be absent and are, therefore, unsuitable for the scheduling of examinations. Students have the responsibility of notifying the instructors in advance of expected absences. In cases of absence for a week or more, students are to notify their instructors immediately. If they are unable to do so they may contact the Office of Records and Registration. The Office of Records and Registration will notify the instructor of the student’s absence. The notification is not an excuse but simply a service provided by the Office of Records and Registration. Notifications cannot be acted upon if received after an absence. In every instance the student has the responsibility to initiate arrangements for make-up work.

TCNJ’s attendance policy is available on the web: http://www.tcnj.edu/~recreg/policies/attendance.html

Building Safety

During late night working hours, are strongly recommended to employ a buddy system when working late in the building. The buddy system is also encouraged when walking home from the building during late night hours. An escort by campus police is always available. The TCNJ Campus Police Hotline is (609) 771-2345; students are encouraged to keep this number on hand in case of emergencies. In order to maintain proper building security, students are not to keep computer lab doors open with trash cans or door jams. Students must also be aware of the location of first-aid kits around the building, and especially in studio spaces.

Selected TCNJ Policies

TCNJ’s final examination policy is available on the web: http://www.tcnj.edu/~academic/policy/finalevaluations.htm

Academic Integrity Policy Academic dishonesty is any attempt by the student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as his or her own, work, which has not been done by him/her or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to: submitting as his/her own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied from, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether the source is printed, under copyright, or in manuscript form). Credit must be given for words quoted or paraphrased. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral. TCNJ’s academic integrity policy is available on the web: http://www.tcnj.edu/~academic/policy/integrity.html.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Any student who has a documented disability and is in need of academic accommodations should notify the professor of this course and contact the Office of Differing Abilities Services (609-771-2571). Accommodations are individualized and in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992. TCNJ’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) policy is available on the web: http://www.tcnj.edu/~affirm/ada.html.

SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

#syllabus

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douxreviews · 5 years

Text

The Handmaid's Tale - ‘Witness’ Review

"You helped to create this world. How long did you think it would be before it came for you?"

Let's play Canasta!

While June was being punished at the hospital, the Lawrences redecorated. Because apparently, everyone in rebellious Boston must now conform to DC standards. Joseph Lawrence even has to go to Commander meetings now because they won't come to him anymore.

And why? As it turned out, Fred Waterford wants to take Lawrence down so that he can reacquire June. At that handmaid "inspection" thing with the bleachers, Fred immediately went to June and started chatting her up. He was practically flirting, calling her a "Boston girl, born and bred," and he suggested transferring her to DC. To his own house, I assume?

And then, even worse, the Waterfords, George Winslow, Aunt Lydia and a stray gynecologist stopped by on Ceremony night to make certain Lawrence was schtupping June. Like, wow. And yet, I could see it coming, no pun intended. It's been clear for awhile that the nonconformist Lawrences are in serious danger.

June, who hadn't been expecting ritual rape that night, held the lives of Joseph and Eleanor Lawrence in her hands. She did not let them down. There had clearly never been a Ceremony in the Lawrence house; June even had to show the Marthas where to stand. When the three of them retired to the bedroom and Lawrence was talking about twenty minutes of Canasta instead, June knew they had to go through with it and she actually talked Lawrence into having sex with her. "You just treat it like a job... you're not you, I'm not me. This is a transaction." The doctor was there afterward to make certain Lawrence had done his duty. June kept her face expressionless when the doctor examined her, but Elisabeth Moss is such a good actress that we could see how she really felt.

And then there was this.

Fred: "Are you all right?" June: "Mm hmm. I mean, at least it wasn't you."

That blow landed, big time. The look on Fred's face was priceless. That probably wasn't the smartest thing June has ever done, but I cheered out loud for her. I'd much prefer Joseph Lawrence, too. He so desperately didn't want to do it, and June knew it. I also loved his gift of birth control pills later, even though Lawrence and June risked being torn apart by dogs.

June may have been partially motivated by using Lawrence to get the kids out, but still – I'd want to protect the Lawrences, too. Lawrence may not admit it, but it's clear that he regrets helping create the nightmare that is Gilead. His deep love for his mentally ill wife Eleanor is so endearing too. Eleanor knew enough to keep silent during the recitation in the study, but started screaming when they went to the bedroom, poor thing. Eleanor has no medication now and nearly no filter anymore. June told Lawrence that Eleanor wasn't safe in Gilead. June is right.

So Lawrence agreed to the truck idea. Eleanor gets out. Kids get out, and June, please take the girls first. Lawrence could escape execution by bringing something valuable to Canada. Like kids. Is it even possible that all of this won't end in tragedy? Couldn't they surprise us and end this season with a win?

Scones mean no. But muffins mean yes. A kitchen full of baskets of muffins from the Marthas, overwhelmingly responding "yes" to June's plan to get children out of Gilead. That was just wonderful. June's smile was bit creepy, though. Or was that just me?

As I've mentioned before, I always enjoy the scenes at Loaves and Fishes. The first time, Alma didn't even want to talk to June ("You're like a nightmare right now"). But the way June gave Alma and Janine the news about their lost children was so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. Especially the news about Janine's son, who had died years before in a car accident. June told Janine her son had moved to California with his new parents and his mom was "super nice." It was the kindest thing June could have done.

Not to mention that if she'd told Janine the truth, Janine would have probably started screaming right there in the market. But still.

Bits:

— The mouth rings and veils are coming. Aunt Lydia still seems to believe it's voluntary, like anyone would choose to do that to herself. What world is Lydia living in? Okay, I know what world she's living in, but come on. Wake up, Aunt Lydia.

— Fred's face was all fake pious as he talked about bearing witness to the Ceremony. What a hypocrite he is.

— Eleanor reads, of course, which is against the law. She was looking for the Taschen Gauguin. About Paul Gauguin, of course; Taschen publishes art books. (I'm an art librarian.)

— This week's interesting musical cues: Beethoven's ninth as June staggered home with her bruised knees and new outlook on life in Gilead, and the delightful operatic music at the end with all those muffins. What are they going to do with so many muffins? Freeze them? I'm too practical.

— Janine's eyepatch isn't regulation; Aunt Lydia defended it. Please don't take away Janine's eyepatch, people.

— Were June and Janine looking at baby sharks in an aquarium? Do they eat baby sharks in Gilead?

— So disappointing that Serena gave that lifeline of a sat phone to Fred to talk him into another attempt to retrieve Nicole from Canada. What does she think Tuello will do?

— Gold acting stars for Bradley Whitford and Julie Dretzin as the Lawrences.

— The Handmaid's Tale was just renewed. We're getting a fourth season.

— What exactly is Canasta? Apparently, it's like rummy.

Quotes:

Lawrence: "What do you know about how much someone can take?" June: "Everything."

June: "Another walking partner dead. They must think I'm cursed. Or a terrorist. I'm not, though. Not yet."

Eleanor: "Joseph is a war criminal. He can't cross the border. He would be jailed for the rest of his life, or killed. And he would deserve it."

June: "It's been five years since we had our children torn away from us. An eternity. They were one; now they're six. They were seven; now they're twelve. We've missed everything. The steps, the smiles. The tragedies. Children still die. Even in Gilead."

June: "They used to do this in the first months of Gilead to the households that resisted the Ceremony. They declared it unnecessary. Things change."

Aunt Lydia: "Bearing witness ensures that every member of the family is performing their role. Any deviation could tip the scales to failure." Lawrence: "Are you gonna sit in the bed with us, too? Because that would definitely make things more interesting."

June: "I have a plan." Alma: "You're like a nightmare right now." I had to laugh.

Janine: "I can help. (June and Alma look at her) What? I'm brave."

I liked this one more than the last few. Three out of four… what would it be? Muffins, books about Gauguin, or games of Canasta?

---

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

#The Handmaid's Tale #June Osborne #Serena Joy Waterford #Fred Waterford #Aunt Lydia #The Handmaid's Tale Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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ty-talks-comics · 5 years

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Best of DC: Week of July 10th, 2019

Best of this Week: Batman and the Outsiders #3 - Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini and Clayton Cowles

Batman’s Outsiders has a lot to learn before they can properly function as a team.

After losing Sofia, the girl that they were charged with protecting, Baman gathers the team together and tells them that they are going to get her back, but first they need to be tested. On the other side of the coin, Sofia finds herself in the clutches of Ra’s al Ghul, who places the man who killed her father in front of her. Ra’s tells her to kill him, her own test to see if she’s worthy of being trained by him.

The book flips the focus between two central characters specifically, those being Sofia and Duke Thomas, aka The Signal. As mentioned in my last review of Batman and the Outsiders, this book was slated to come out around the same time or after an arc in Detective Comics where Batman’s sidekicks were being targeted by a murderous villain by the name of Karma. His primary targets were the Cassandra Cain and Duke Thomas, the latter of whom is still suffering from PTSD after failing to save a kid with a bomb strapped to him by Karma and being injured in the explosion.

Ishmael, the man who killed Sofia’s father, kneels before her and goads her into attacking him, telling her that he heard her father’s last thoughts before he died. He says that her father wishes that she were killed instead of him and Sofia succumbs to her anger, striking Ishmael. After a smokescreen clears, Duke is met by someone wearing Karma’s gear and attacks the figure in a rage. “Karma” tries to convince Duke that he doesn’t deserve the metahuman power that he has, the ability to see what others cannot (see Dark Knights: Metal), and that Batman must be disappointed.

After thoroughly thrashing Ishmael, Ra’s gives Sofia a sword, telling her to end Ishmael and become another of his weapons. She holds the sword in her hands and thinks long and hard about her decision. Ultimately, she decides that vengeance is the only option and chooses to plunge the blade into Ishmael. Ra’s reveals the test for what it is, allowing Ishmael to defend himself and telling Sofia that if she joins him, nothing will hurt her again.

Cornered and afraid, Karma approaches Duke and asks him where is his team now, making him think that The Signal is all alone. Suddenly, Cassandra kicks Karma in the face, Katana slashes him in the face of the mask and Black Lightning picks the kid up from the ground. Bruce reveals that he was the one under Karma’s mask and tells Duke that he is very proud of him.

This issue was made great by the duality of the situations presented. Batman normally takes in broken kids and builds them back up to be strong, compassionate and in tune with their emotions. Ra’s al Ghul takes young men and women and turns them into unrepentant killing machines under his will. Duke could just as easily have been in the same position that Sofia is in now and vice versa. Sofia, however, will be a harder case to bring back to the light now that she knows that she has given in to her darker side. Sofia has a chance to become like Damian if she’s lucky, but who’s to say?

Duke has already been to the dark depths since his late childhood, watching his parents get forever Jokerized, dealing with an army of wannabe Joker kids as a teen and fighting against the Dark Multiverse as Batman’s new ward. Duke has been through a lot, but he’s also been able to overcome every threat in his way. Karma took that security away from him when he made Duke watch his own failure and this left the young man angry and broken, unwilling to take orders from anyone lest he make the same mistakes again.

Batman and the Outsiders succeeds at placing it’s focus on characters other than Batman, leaving him as more of a support player while the stories hone in on individuals or team dynamics than Batman’s leadership. Duke Thomas has been out of the picture for a while and having the gates flood open on his headspace in particular made me very happy. I also kind of like Sofia. While not exactly super fleshed out yet, she shows a lot of promise especially making the decision to have this new character go down a dark path in the beginning. She has good motivations and I actually hope that by the end of this arc, she earns a place on the team properly.

High recommend.

---------------------------------------------------

Tom King’s Batman can be hit or miss sometimes, but this one is definitely a hit.

Runner Up: Batman #74 - Tom King, Mikel Janin, Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles

For the entirety of his superhero career, Batman has been driven by one singular goal: to make sure what happened to him as a child didn't happen to anyone else. He's vowed to protect the streets of Gotham and to honor the memory of his parents and the city they loved.

This vow has become increasingly harder to honor over the course of this run; from being unable to save a possible replacement in the Superman-like Gotham, to being told to stop being Batman by his father from an alternate universe, and ultimately being left at the altar by the love of his life. One man is responsible for it all, Bane.

Part of the (admittedly) convoluted scheme to break the Batman was to somehow bring the Flashpoint Batman from his Universe to finally convince his son to stop. Thomas rationalizes that all Bruce needs is the love of his parents and his sickness, his broken need to be Batman will go away. As revealed in the last issue, Thomas' goal is to resurrect Martha Wayne in Ra's al Ghul's most powerful Lazarus Pit and reunite the Wayne family.

Mikel Janín's art remains amazing as always. I could gush for days about how he's able to make Thomas and Bruce solemnly expressive through body language and only using the lower halves of their faces, but Jordie Bellaire, is the real star of this issue. She manages to color this story in a way that makes it seem like it takes place in three acts.

The first act takes place in the beautiful drawn and barren desert after Bruce and Thomas reconnect while fighting Ra's ninjas. Everything is bright and the yellows, contrasted to the Blacks of the Bats give things a slightly warm feel. Thomas is happy for his son to join him and give up his crusade.

The second act shows Bruce and Thomas reaching the edge of the pit and is coated in the cool blue hues of night. The scene feels somber and intimate as Thomas tells Bruce how stubborn he was as a child, crying because he wanted to hear his favorite story over and over until he fell asleep. Thomas says that Bruce absolutely got that from his mother, who would constantly insist that Thomas read him that story, how she always had faith that Bruce would sleep. The two begin to climb down into the pit.

Throughout the issue the Russian Folk Tale, “Animals in the Pit” had been told and spoken about in the usual Tom King style. The tale involves a group of animals that get trapped in a pit and perform contests where the loser gets eaten. In the end, one of the two remaining animals tricks the other into ripping himself open and feasts on his flesh.

In the final act, in the dark of the pit, the book takes on a harsh red hue. Thomas is finally there, at the end of his journey to give his son the happiness and family he deserves. Saying that he couldn't deny Bruce his childish wishes as a kid, but now he will deny him remaining Batman.

Bruce tells him that the reason he wanted to hear the story constantly was because, despite the horror, his father told him the story with a bit of levity. Bruce gained hope that one of the animals just might escape and even if he knew it was impossible, he never gave up hope. He then betrays his father with a right cross to the face.

Janín can draw a beautiful, flashy fight scene when he wants to, but this fight is anything but. It's raw and brutal, it's close quarters and every emotion is felt, accentuated by the excellent coloring. Bruce punches his father, Thomas punches his son right back. Even when the fight pivots away from them to focus on the coffin, the tension is still there. Their ideological struggle is felt through the shadows on the wall and when Thomas is thrown into the coffin, things spiral downward for him.

Right on the heels of the hopefully amazing “City of Bane” storyline, this two issue filler arc strengthens Batman’s resolve for what will be the final confrontation with one of his greatest enemies and all of his pawns in Tom King’s Batman run. While the issue does suffer from the usual King-isms (long winded diatribes taking up entire pages, lack of explanation for possibly crucial plot points, like how Thomas came to this world, and the general pretentiousness in dialogue structure) they don’t pull the issue down in a distracting way. While mildly annoying, they fit this story very well and continue to expand on Bruce’s reverence for his mother, introduced in the “I Am Suicide” arc and furthers him being resolute in his mission.

Bane’s going to have hell to pay when the Batman comes for him. High recommend.

#comics #dc #dc comics #batman #the outsiders #black lightning #the signal #duke thomas #katana #cassandra cain #dexter soy #bryan hill #thomas wayne #bane #tom king #mikel janin

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fragileshelfesteem · 6 years

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Rating: 5/5

Title: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) Author: Richelle Mead

Goodreads Summary: Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose... It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory. But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

***This review contains spoilers***

I'm so angry at the ending because I really don't like to support the idea of a YA fiction that tries to make an inappropriate relationship seem so sexy, and it doesn't happen for most of the book until the very end, but I was so shocked by Mason's death (obviously hindsight makes him an easy secondhand character to kill off, but so far no one relevant had died) that I can't rate this anything but a full five stars. Both because I cried from that point to the end of feverishly finishing the book (even while mad about her and Demetri's bullshit. It's adorable to read about made up people even if I hate what it's promoting for actual teenage girls and gross older guys) and also because I can't wait to read the next one. I regret not having read this series earlier, I just heard about it so shortly after the Twilight hype that I assumed it was a shitty vampire YA written to keep up with the latest trends, but it's actually so good and interesting and funny and fun to read. I'm so glad I finally started.

***This review contains spoilers***

#book review #booklr #women writers #fantasy #vampires #5 #vampire academy #ya fiction #spoilers

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lafcadiosadventures · 10 months

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Madame Putiphar Readalong. Book Two, Chapter Twelve:

“Where is my lord? where is my Romeo?” signals the beginning of Book Two.

(For any new followers wanting to read this novel in English you can do it now, here! )

this british anti-catholic, pro anglican illustration is not the perfect fit for this chapter,,, but i like it and it has a wolf.

As the lovers separate and move away from the home-as-prison, we start a new section of the novel. We also say goodbye to Ireland for the rest of the novel, and dive into the French fraction of the book.

It starts with Patrick struggling with not wanting to leave Deborah alone, and trying to reconcile his situation with pre-existent ideas of honor/courage. He knows he has to leave, and that staying next to her is really pointless (given that he’d not be allowed to sit by her side and take care of her. plus he could be killed, and dying if she lived on would be pointless, thinks Patrick) but he still feels guilty for running from the killer’s blade.

I wouldn’t have thought much of it with other author, but given how important canines are for Borel, I think it’s worth mentioning that Patrick gets compared to a dog (howling like a dog outside the house where its master agonizes) and a wolf (once he takes the choice to leave Cockermouth Castle and runs bravely into an unknown fate)

Sad, full of doubt and regret, Patrick leaves Ireland by ship. As the shores of his motherland grow blurry, Patrick weeps not only for Debby, but for his only mother, his country.

Once in French soil we meet through Patrick the Irishmen who have been forced to emigrate for years since the English invasion, forced to fight for another country.

Borel praises the relentless men whose “valor and genius proclaims the history of the continent and of the new world” (can’t help but think of Guillermo -William- Brown, 1st admiral of the incipient Argentine navy and fighter against empires in the Latin American Independence wars)

Patrick is taken under the wing of one of these Irish immigrants: -a scene that must have caught Janin’s attention in a powerful way since he felt the need to pastiche it in a clumsy but detailed way in his review- Monsignor Richard-Arthur Dillon, Archbishop of Narbonne, a historical figure and a noted libertine.

What follows is a picaresque scene (and in line with Borel writing not only a philosophical/social-critique/anti-authoritarian/with-elements-of-fairytale-logic/novel, but a multigenre pastiche of European literature as a whole) we get in this scene the clichés of the lover hiding behind the curtain, and the lecherous priest/in this case "sexually active priest " would be more fitting/, a figure Borel returns to in the Caverne d'Arcueil.

Social critique is brandished here in an almost gentle way? (imagine a Dillon type in Sade's hands) This is perhaps partially because the narrator assumes Patrick’s pov: Dillon recieves him merely wearing his bath robe, and invites him to his bedroom (he is not really even trying to hide his un-chaste activities... or is he inviting Patrick to join him and his lover?) Nevertheless the narrator claims one could have thought he had been praying, were it not for the scattered pieces of women’s clothes Patrick’s eyes keep falling at, and the sound of breathing coming from behind the bed’s curtains. You can tell from the playful tone Borel is just having fun building up the subtext, claiming that Dillon should have been the Bishop of the Opera House, that he was in a particularly great mood that morning, deeply predisposed to tenderness... (adressing the readers directly as well, plural vous and all, building up the complicity)

But Patrick rejects the implications because he can’t believe a priest would not be chaste. (his hardcore naivité is very ‘Pure and Innocent Protagonist in a French Philosophical Novel of the 18th Century’) The other unusual thing-to his experience- and second element of anticlericalism Patrick notices, is the opulence. The man is loaded, lives like a prince, unlike the other catholic priests he has encountered in Ireland.

Patrick continues to tell his story and Dillon’s hidden lover cannot hold back any longer, springs from behind the alcove’s courtains, and is pleasantly surprised that the touching narration was issued by a man of strikingly Ossianic beauty! (the song of ossian: a literary hoax, an original work written in the 1700’s whose author claimed to be a translation of a manuscrip wrtitten by a Scottish Bard. Fun fact: Napoleon adored the Ossianic saga and much of his imagery in paintings of the 1st stage of the empire is based on an Ossianic aesthetic. The connection here is not bonapartist, but celt. My edition claims the originality of the work was still being debated in the 19th century)

She enthusiastically declares her loyalty and undying friendship to him, Dillon swears to become his protector... Kissing Dillon’s forehead, his mistress declares Patrick has become her new favorite (echoes of François 1er’s wife having the king “gift” Benvenuto Cellini to her as a lover) Patrick shyly calls himself her slave... They part, but Dillon urges Patrick to return often, his door always open for him, etc (we just witnessed a sex pact, the difference is that Patrick seems too naif to understand what might be expected in exchange of Dillon’s protection? Or is he.)

Patrick bows and kisses the bishop’s emerald, but wholeheartedly asks for his benediction.

Next we get a frankly balzacian (not implying Borel is spoofing his style, it’s just reminiscent of it to me) paragraph explaining the workings of a sinner’s soul, how their volubility makes them emminently generous because they follow boundlessly every whim of their souls, both the good and the bad, Marie Magdalene allusions, the works.

The quid of the matter here, is that Patrick’s beauty and aristocratic descent assured him protection, leading to social ascent. “Parvenir! Parvenir a tout prix”, Patrick says NOT since he is Not in a Balzac novel.

And this is where the chapter ends: we meet two characters the reader would be wise to keep an eye on: Fitz-Harris’ Patricks long estranged childhood friend, and Colonel Marquis de Villepastour...

#madame putiphar #putiphar posting #long post #text post #putifridays: le retour

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teenageglitterchaos · 3 years

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Flac To Alac For Mac

Version: 1.9.7Updated on February 28, 2020 [changes] Price: Free

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Screenshots:

Our other products:

FLAC to ALAC conversion is used to provide device and software compatibility. As example, to playback of original Free Lossless Audio Codec stuff in iTunes after pre-conversion to Apple Lossless Audio Codec. Read how to convert FLAC to ALAC for free step-by-step on Mac and Windows.

How to convert FLAC to ALAC for free >Sound quality issues >What is the best flac to alac converter >

How to convert FLAC to ALAC for free

Flac To Alac Conversion Mac

To free convert FLAC to ALAC on Windows, Mac OS:

Download and install HiFi audio converter software AuI ConverteR 48x44 Free. [Download for Windows][ Download for Mac ]

Launch the conversion software;

Push Open button and select FLAC file;

In the main window, Output panel select ALAC (Apple Lossless) format, bit depth and sample rate;

In Directory output files panel select target directory;

Push Start button;

Wait until conversion end;

Look for target files into target directory.

To batch conversion of several files use AuI ConverteR Lite or above.

AuI ConverteR 48x44 conversion software - main window

Output audio format panel

Directory output files panel

Mac Convert Flac To Mp3

Sound quality issues

If you convert without resampling you are have 2 options:

sound optimization;

bit-perfect (without any altering of audio content resolution and processing).

To turn on bit-perfect mode, in AuI ConverteR's Settings > General tab > check 'Don't make DSP...' switch. At main window > Output panel > set bit depth and sampling rate 'as input'.

Sound optimization may be useful for some records and some hardware. It cut ultrasound upper 20 kHz to prevent audible products (may be listened as noise) of intermodulation distortions, generated by ultrasound. Sound optimization is activated by default.

Watch video: Experiment with cutting of ultrasound

Bit-perfect conversion re-pack FLAC to ALAC without altering audio content.

If you convert with resampling you are have 2 options:

sound optimization;

without the optimization.

Non-optimized conversion is the same to traditional resampling: target audio band is limited by minimal sample rate between input and output.

Mac Os Flac Player