#and also procrastinating on designing my primers

[nemainofthewater]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Additional Tags: Don't copy to another site, bring your fic to work day, Science, bad health and safety procedures, WWX's trademark obliviousness, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Humour Summary:

“Sorry Lan Zhan, what was I saying?” he said. “Wait! Yes, I remember now, I was apologising for missing your recital. I really am sorry; I know that you’ve been working hard on it. I promise that I’ll make the next one, time just really ran away from me.” “It’s fine,” Lan Wangji said.

“No it isn’t,” Wei Wuxian said. “I’m not going to prioritise my work over my friendships, ok? I promised that I wasn’t going to be that kind of scientist… Next recital I will 100% come to, even if it’s on the day of my viva.” He paused. “Do you think I could convince my examiners to give me my viva in a concert hall? No, wait, sorry, I’m babbling again. I have had so much coffee, Lan Zhan, it’s not my fault that I can’t concentrate.”

In which Wei Wuxian misses Lan Wangji’s Wuji debut because he was too busy doing ‘Science!’

[somewhatofablog]

Thoughts about that Reading Systems primer task...

Ok, so I did the reading task. And ugh, as per usual I did procrastinate and so I did have to rush reading through the article (link here). Even though I had Wednesday and Thursday off...Thursday's session was cancelled by the strikes, which meant my understanding of Cohen's work in his own words are a little bit…skewed to say the least. When it comes to research, I like to throw myself deep into it. But I could not do that with this article. It was sooooo long and boring and the concepts Cohen elaborated on are too complex for my brain to understand. I looked on Google to see if anyone else had analysed the text and maybe then had similar ideas to me. I do this when I'm struggling with academic texts, just so we're all on the same page - I'd hate it if I found out later that my findings were wholly incorrect and I was under the impression that they were not.

Anyways I couldn't find any analyses online and so I've just generalised my opinions on his work. Here are my answers to those four questions:

Analysis on ‘On Purpose: An enquiry into the possible roles of the computer in art’ by Harold Cohen, 1974.

In your own words, describe what your text is about.

The text is about using the computer to create art through inputting simple and complex functions. Cohen was concerned with how he could program the computer/machines to create art instead of just using punched cards that would already have preset ideas for the outcome. He experimented with coding programmes and produced artwork using a teletype and a computer system.

Is this text about systems? What sort of systems does it describe?

Yes. This text is about computers as machines/‘systems’ as well as programmes. Cohen also talks about the difficult mathematical concept of ‘recursion’ as a system/structure and how that can be applied to computer art. It’s the idea of a structure having provided itself with ‘something’ by its last function/process (?). 

Can you identify any systems within the presentation of the text? Is the text structured according to a particular system?

There are flowcharts, labeled diagrams and art examples created by Cohen’s teletype-computer system. Cohen starts off the text by explaining his own opinions on what he thinks will happen to technology decades from now on in the context of art and design. He then swiftly moves on to explaining how computer systems are set up and work as well as elaborating on mathematical concepts in detail and how he uses them in coding/programming to create the systems he uses to create his artwork. 

How do you think your text relates to graphic design?

The text related to graphic design in the context of artificial intelligence and using technology to aid with creating art. Technology has evolved past the computers mentioned and used at the time Cohen wrote this text. Cohen is considered to be a pioneer of early artificial intelligence art and you can see from how ‘simple’ his systems are in comparison to today’s art-focused systems. In a way, there is already wide usage of artificial intelligence used in today’s design (mainly with command-driven tasks such as resizing images, curating colour palettes and so on). However, there has been an increase in using AI-generated art for visuals in design work in the last 5 years, which removes the need for a human user/designer. This raises a question of ethics, since AI art generation softwares are fed data from artists who most likely would have not given their consent for this purpose. Also, there are links with capitalism and graphic design when you consider Cohen’s text from that perspective. 

I'll probably revisit this text and form more solid, nuanced opinions but for now these answers will have to do for Friday's session.

[refinedbuffoonery]

Looking Through A Window (12)

macriley married undercover au

masterlist.

For pacing reasons, I decided to break what I had originally planned for Ch 12 into three(!) chapters. Also for pacing reasons, this one is shorter than usual. Oh well. Just know that the “good chapter” I’ve been teasing for a while is now Ch 13. 

As always, thank you for being patient with me and my slow updates! I am currently knee deep in original fiction for my capstone project, so my fic writing time is very limited these days. (I don’t remember the last time a story other than LTAW or Flawless occupied so much space in my head! At least this one pays rent since it’s my capstone lol.) 

*****

The day before the fundraiser, Riley calls him into the bedroom, asking for a favor. “I need your help,” she says, sitting on the unmade bed wearing shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She’s holding something behind her back. “How thoroughly did you read the binder on my cover’s backstory?” 

Unsure of where this is going, Mac replies, “I read most of it. Why?” 

“Genevieve Turner has a tattoo.” 

“Okay?” he says slowly, still not following. He vaguely remembers reading something about it. But only vaguely. 

“A large one. On her back.” Riley reveals the massive and intricate stick-on tattoo on the sheet in her hands, and Mac suddenly understands why she called him in here. The tattoo is stunning, all graceful lines and lifelike details. But Mac doesn’t miss the way Riley ever so slightly recoils from it. 

“It’s a—”

“Snake,” she finishes, looking anywhere but at it. “Bozer and Desi thought it was funny. Assholes.” 

“They made this?” Mac gently traces the design with his index finger. The snake—a rattler, based on the shape of its head—is wrapped around an ornate dagger, its head hanging below the point and its tail wrapped tight around the grip. A beautiful piece of artwork, if just a tad too lifelike. “This is really impressive.” 

Riley nods in agreement, explaining, “They designed it together, and they printed it with the new formula of that long-lasting fake tattoo ink they’ve been working on. It’s supposed to last for a couple weeks before fading.” 

The project is news to Mac’s ears. “How did I not know about this? And since when does Desi hang out in the lab?” The safe house apartment is supposed to be a bubble, keeping the outside world out, but right now it feels like it’s doing more to keep Mac in. He needs to call Bozer. Catch up. 

“Perks of submitting your reports on time. Extra lab time to work on side projects. You’d know that if you weren’t a chronic procrastinator who needs to be chained to his desk in order to do any paperwork.” 

That’s… That’s fair. Uncalled for, but fair. 

“Should I be worried about whatever else they’ve got in the works?” 

She makes an exaggerated thinking face, then asks, “How do you feel about face tattoos?” Mac chokes, and before he can muster a response, Riley says, “Kidding.” He really hopes she’s kidding. 

Still, a pit forms in his stomach. He and Bozer don’t keep secrets from each other. Not anymore, at least. It feels wrong to be the last to learn something about his own best friend. 

“Anyway,” she says, now pointedly not looking at the tattoo in her hands or at him, “Can you help me put this on?” 

Mac casts all thoughts of Bozer aside. He has a much bigger problem on his hands. 

His past self—a version not yet in love with her—wouldn’t have hesitated to offer his assistance. But the more Mac thinks about it, the more he realizes applying the tattoo is going to be torture. The intimacy in touching her like that. Waiting for her breath to catch the way it sometimes does when he touches her back and she’s not expecting it. Having to ignore the fact that her shirt will be off. 

“Of course,” he says, hoping Riley can’t hear the panic in his voice. “How does it work?” 

She hands him the tattoo and another small plastic package. “Use the primer wipe first. Once you take the backing off the tattoo will stick on it’s own.” 

“Sounds simple enough.” Mac rips open the package with the wipe, and Riley turns around, lifting the back of her t-shirt. Is it just him, or is the room really warm? Unable to stop himself, Mac’s eyes roam as her bare skin is exposed, inch by inch, and he imagines tracing the length of her spine, placing kisses across her shoulders. She is… luscious. He hilariously, horribly, hears the word in Bozer’s voice. 

Stop it, he chastises himself. Mac closes his eyes, and when he reopens them, he studies Riley with professional precision. 

Mostly professional, anyway. 

Arms raised to hold up her shirt, her shoulder blades sit at a weird angle. “It’ll be easier if you lie down,” he says, hoping she can’t hear the desperate edge to his tone. 

She complies. 

Riley’s breath hitches when the cool wipe touches her warm skin, and the brief semblance of professionalism Mac had grasped is blown to pieces. Every nerve in his body is alight just being near her. 

Placing the still-wrapped tattoo on her back, Mac measures and adjusts until it’s in just the right spot—the blade aligned with the groove of her spine, the guard at the base of her shoulder blades. Thankfully, Bozer thought to make the plastic backing clear. 

“I need you to pull up your shirt more,” he says. Or just take it off, the reckless part of him wants to add. 

She does, again without question, and when Riley folds her arms beneath her head, he can just see the curve of her breasts pressed into the mattress. Hoping she can’t see him in her peripheral, Mac lets himself pause and appreciate the view for a few stolen seconds. His cheeks heat. 

He peels off the backing. 

“Don’t screw up,” Riley warns. 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Mac presses the tattoo on her skin, molding the plastic to the shape of her muscles and smoothing the wrinkles. He isn’t quite sure how the ink transfer works, but he has a few theories. He’ll have to call Bozer to be sure. 

Perhaps. . . 

Wait. Hang on. 

He’s alone with a beautiful woman who isn’t wearing a shirt, and he’s thinking about skin chemistry? What the hell is he doing? Talk about needing to get his priorities straight. 

His head’s all over the place today. Maybe it’s time for a break. 

There’s nothing left to do at this stage of tattoo application; it has to develop for an hour before the plastic can be ripped off. “Timer’s set for an hour,” Mac says, standing up. He wants to keep trailing his fingers down her back, stroking her sides, seeing what sweet sounds might escape her lips. 

He settles for only doing it in his imagination. He can’t stop that train of thought anymore, not once it’s left the station. 

All the more reason to put a little distance between them. Before he hurts himself more than he already has. 

Riley asks, “Can you hand me my book?” Mac does, then heads for the door. He needs to get out of this room for a few minutes, needs to clear his head and raging hormones. “Wait,” she whines. “Where are you going?” 

Somewhere where it’s easier to be just your friend. 

Later, after the fundraiser—where they have to put on a show of casual touches and unspoken intimacy—he’s going to have to talk to her about some new boundaries. To have half a chance of getting over her with his heart intact, he has no choice. 

Before this op, Mac was content to quietly love her forever. He could’ve done it, too. But over the last few days, the realization has started to sink in that if he’s to get through this op in one piece, physically and emotionally, he needs to finally let go of the dream of something more. 

Where is he going? To prepare himself for one last night of being this close to her. To prepare to mourn the hope that she feels the same about him, hope he’s been harboring for longer than he’s willing to admit. 

In the middle of all that, he somehow manages to say, “To figure out where the hell I put mine.” And when she asks him to come back once he finds it and read with her, he somehow manages to breathe through the ache in his chest and say, “Of course.” 

*****

At precisely 5:59 a.m., Harley announces it’s time for breakfast. 

“No,” Mac and Riley both groan, turning their backs to the dog barking between them. There is no reason for her to be demanding food this early. Mac’s internal clock doesn’t wake him up until a little after seven, and Riley’s alarm won’t go off until eight. In the three weeks they’ve had her, Harley has never been fed before seven. Ever. 

Harley paws the back of Mac’s head, and he pushes her away in a halfhearted attempt to defend himself, but she isn't so easily dissuaded. He swears. “Ask your mom.” The bed dips as Harley jumps on Riley, followed by a pained grunt. 

“Get off.” 

The bed jostles again, but then Mac hears the telltale thump from Harley jumping onto the floor. She leaves the room, and the blissful quiet returns. Exhaling slowly, Mac feels his body sink into the mattress, limb by limb. 

Sleep beckons. One more hour, then he’ll feed Harley.  

A loud crash comes from the kitchen, and Mac doesn’t need to get up to know that damn dog is trying to feed herself. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mutters, rolling over. 

“Harley, no!” Riley yells, but her reprimand is conveniently ignored. She tries a different approach. “Harley, come.” Response comes in the form of another loud noise—the dog food bin getting knocked over. Riley growls her name a tad more harshly than Mac expects, but Harley slinks back into the bedroom with her tail between her legs. 

Voice softening, Riley pats the bed and says, “Come on. Let’s sleep a little longer, and then we can have breakfast. Okay?” 

To Mac’s surprise, Harley gives in, settling into her usual spot at the foot of the bed. Harley lets out a dramatic sigh, and then all is quiet in their apartment again. 

It’s the morning of the fundraiser gala, and once that little fact takes root in Mac’s brain, there’s no chance of him falling back asleep. They’ve got to learn more about what the Patriots are planning, and they can’t leave the party tonight until they do. It’s unsettling that three weeks have passed since the start of the op yet he and Riley still know so little about the organization, much less how to take them down. The thought has him clenching his teeth. 

The mattress shifts as Riley rolls over, her hand coming to rest on his forearm. His pulse jumps. “It’s too early for overthinking,” she says sleepily. 

“Then make me stop,” he snaps, regretting the harsh words the second they’re out of his mouth. Riley retracts her hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that,” Mac apologizes. 

Riley doesn’t say anything. Nor does she put her hand back on his arm. 

“I hate that we’re still in the dark.” He’s barely admitted that to himself, but voicing it aloud helps alleviate the weight on his chest. “We should know more by now.” 

“Not every op is an emergency, Mac,” she says softly. “We knew this would take a while.” 

She’s right. After years of urgent distress calls and impossible timelines, Mac’s forgotten what real undercover work feels like. It’s all the waiting around that he hates the most. “You’re better at this than I am. I’m glad Matty assigned you,” he says. Riley shakes her head.

“I’m only here because you and Desi would’ve killed each other by the end of the first week.” 

Mac laughs. “No. Well, yes. That’s true. But you’re here because we need you. I’m only here because these cranky old white dudes wouldn’t know what to do with an incredibly intimidating lesbian couple.” The comment earns him a pillow to the face, but Riley’s bright laughter makes it totally worth it. 

“I can’t imagine going on an op without you.” 

“I can’t either.” 

“Sure you can. I run point from the war room all the time.” 

“Not anymore. You haven’t stayed back in a long time, Riles. Not since…” 

Since. 

There are a bunch of ways he could end that sentence, but picking one doesn’t feel right. Leaving him with just since. It fits. 

“I guess you’re right,” she says quietly. Their knees brush, and despite yesterday’s promises to himself, Mac takes a gamble by crossing an ankle over hers, his heart squeezing when Riley doesn’t move away. 

Neither of them go back to sleep, but they make a good show of pretending until Riley’s alarm goes off, and Harley demands breakfast. 

They’ll get answers tonight. They have to. 

.

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[amyvictoriali]

Hey beautiful reader!

As an impending shelf exam for my 3rd year medical student surgery rotation draws near, I of course decided to procrastinate. 

Some of you may remember I once had a blog named sweetskindreams with my own URL/domain and everything. Well, it was incurring an annual fee and I honestly wasn’t blogging regularly enough to make that worth the money. I also wanted my blog to expand to a lifestyle blog, where it’s not just regarding skincare but also discusses makeup, fashion finds, food, med school woes, relationship updates, etc. As for the decision to opt Tumblr yet again (rather than the more formal Wordpress) - it is because most of my closest friends (cough people who will actually read this cough) are already on Tumblr and can easily be updated via a follow, whereas a formal blog requires a mailing subscription and the idea of my blog posts being e-mailed out to folks seems a bit extra. For how casual I’m treating all of this anyways. 

Intro aside, I wanted to kick off this new lifestyle blog with my recent Spring/Summer 2019 beauty hits and misses. Hopefully this will save you some money if you’ve been eyeing any of these products because there are definitely options I would avoid. 

Let’s start with the MISSES: 

- Touch in Sol No Problem Primer, $18: this was gifted by my roomie, so I really wanted to love it, but I gave it a miss because it still doesn’t beat Benefit’s Pore-fessional (quite frankly, nothing has) for pore minimization purposes and it doesn’t really act well as a primer either. Doesn’t ease foundation application nor prolong anything. It feels silky and nice to apply but I can’t perceive any useful benefits. 

- Too Faced Cooling Matte Pore Perfecting Primer, $34: people need to stop labeling things as “pore minimizing” or “pore perfecting” when they do absolutely nothing for the pores. Similar to Touch in Sol, this primer didn’t do anything special to prime the skin or cover up pores. It does feel cooling, and SMELLS AMAZING like much of Too Faced’s products do (a sweet fig scent), but those are secondary perks that don’t mean anything if the primary function is lacking. I also didn’t enjoy the application, which was hard to spread over the skin and knotted up easily. Hard pass.

- Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner, $45: it pains me to put this in the ‘pass’ category but I do so because the effects are not worth the price. Rose petals in the toner make this so beautiful and an addition to my routine I so wanted to incorporate for aesthetics alone, but my skin remained dry only minutes after application. It just can’t justify the hefty price tag.

And now for the FAVS:

- Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer, $54: Ugh. I can’t find a better one. Gifted to me on my b-day by my beautiful friend Liz, I treasure this DEARLY. I’ve known since college how effective this primer is, how flawless the application (very sheer liquid form makes it glide easily over your skin), and yet because it’s been on the pricier side I’ve never actually repurchased. To receive it as a gift is definitely a nod to how well my besties know me and I am so thankful for them. I only use this on special occasions/going out. Hoping I can make this last for a good few months. I have yet to find a better primer, although Laura Mercier is a close second.

- Laneige Berry Lip Sleeping Mask, $20: Again gifted by Liz (WHY DID YOU SPEND SO MUCH ON ME THIS YEAR STOP) and IT IS THE BEST LIP BALM I HAVE EVER USED. And I’ve tried everything from Glossier (overrated) to all the usual drugstore brands (Eos, Baby Lips, Burt’s, Nivea). Nothing beats this. Not to mention it smells/tastes delicious. Laneige kills it with their sleeping mask for skin and the lip one does not disappoint either. Keeps my lips hydrated and doesn’t leave them extra dry after (that’s the main issue with all those other chapsticks, they moisturize for a bit but leave you drier than you started off. This does not have that issue, and is the only thing I’ve ever come across that doesn’t leave me more dried out!) looks glossy too and that’s always a bonus :) 

- Missha Magic Cushion Cover, $12 on amazon: ok so... cushion BB creams are my new fav thing. They are so damn easy to apply (literally pat your face for 15 seconds and you have flawless looking coverage) and don’t dry your skin out as much as foundation. Looks super natural too. I can’t rave about these enough. Sure, regular liquid BB creams/tinted moisturizers are also nice and good for summer but those require brushwork or beauty sponge work which both take a couple minutes, whereas the cushions take mere SECONDS. For someone who has to drag her ass to the hospital at 5am, the shorter the routine the better. (AND YOU CAN’T BEAT THIS PRICE TAG! Altho sadly these do only last about a month with daily use) 

- Lastly, I received 2 Drunk Elephant samples for my Sephora B-day gift this year. I’m sure y’all have heard of this brand as it is advertised constantly on instagram and has iconically beautiful packaging in bright, fun colors with minimalist designs. The samples I tried were the Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser and the Protini Polypeptide cream. Both are ... phenomenal. Very mild scents, free of all the junk that irritates your skin (mineral oils, silicones, alcohols, etc) and just what my currently cystic acne covered skin needed. (Yes, my acne is back, and I am so bummed about it. Definitely a result of me neglecting skin care when I was studying for Step. I ran out of my prescription retinoid for a couple weeks and sure enough these zits came flying back. Recovery has been slow but there is improvement.) The only caveat to Drunk Elephant products are their prices. Full size Jelly cleanser is $32 and Protini cream $68. Decking yourself out in the Drunk Elephant line will definitely hurt your pockets. But omg... I am seriously contemplating trying their whole line now. It’s not just how beautifully the product wears and how effective it is at what it advertises, but the FREAKING PACKAGING. And I don’t just mean the looking pretty part but more importantly the functional design. Go to Sephora and try the already opened samples yourself and you’ll see what I mean. The Jelly Cleanser cap “twists” (but does not come off) and has a little hole in the center that allows you to squeeze out a tiny dollop of product so you can quickly “twist” it back. And their serums are all in little dispenser bottles. You already know how much I love convenience, and DE makes everything as convenient as possible (and so so clean!) 

Hope you enjoyed this review and stay tuned next month for a review of a splurge purchase I made on AmorePacific products. I am especially curious about their Treatment Enzyme Powder to Foam Peels, so will review that later b/c I understand $60 is a lot to drop on something without knowing it will be worth your $. My brother is in Taiwan right now and has been instructed to bring back a hefty haul of sheet masks, eye masks, skin toners/essences/serums galore, so more to come in August. Until then, happy shopping! 

xoxo, Amy

[nyullm2020]

A deep dive into two of my favorite classes at NYU

Hi all! I have had some questions from readers about what classes are like at NYU.

I thought I might procrastinate a little bit on my readings for my next class, and write up a post going a little more in-depth on two of the classes I have enjoyed the most while at NYU - one that was held during the Fall 2020 semester (Mass Media Law), and one from this current semester, Spring 2021 (Advanced Trial Simulation). For me, these classes are both representative of the incredibly diverse range of classes at NYU taught by adjunct professors, the close relationship NYU has with the broader legal community in New York City, and the practical orientation/style of many of the law school classes.

Mass Media Law 

This was taught by the wonderful Prof. David McCraw, the Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel (and lead newsroom lawyer) of The New York Times - who teaches in alternating semesters at NYU Law and Harvard Law. We examined how the First Amendment, in combination with tort law, statutes, and common-law principles, shaped the rights and limitations for media publishers. We covered topics like defamation/libel, protection of confidential sources, prior restraints on publication, invasion of privacy by publication, criminal liability for publishing classified information, legal limits on newsgathering, and access to information. 

Advanced Trial Simulation

ATS is designed to give students practical trial experience. At the outset of the class, the professors taught us basic trial skills (rules of evidence, do’s and don’ts of opening statements, closing arguments, and witness examination, etc) in a lecture format. 

The class was then divided into trial teams of four students each—with two plaintiff’s counsel and two defense counsel. The semester then had 4 simulated trials with different fact patterns - e.g. I had a wrongful death suit based on an allegedly defective drug. Students either had to deliver an opening statement or closing argument, and were required to run one direct examination of a witness and one cross-examination of an opposing witness (the witnesses were played by pre-law students from NYU’s undergrad programs, and you had to prepare them). Pre-law students also act as a jury and deliberate on a verdict, and then, unlike in real life, the ‘lawyers’ and the rest of the class are able to view the deliberations and hear the jury’s thought processes. 

Similarities 

There are a few similarities between these classes:

Credits: Both classes are 2 credits, meaning they each have 2 teaching hours (in 1 class) per week. This means they are both technically seminars, and aren’t on the same grading curve as the 4-credit core or substantive classes.

Adjunct Professors: They were also both taught at night because both were taught by incredible adjunct professors with full-time day jobs outside NYU. Mass Media Law was taught by the wonderful Prof. David McCraw, the Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel (and lead newsroom lawyer) of The New York Times - who teaches in alternating semesters at NYU Law and Harvard Law - while Advanced Trial Simulation is co-taught by Cravath, Swain & Moore Chairman and leading trial attorney Evan Chesler, and the also-brilliant Cravath litigation partner David Marriott.

No expensive textbooks required: For Mass Media Law, we had about 6 case extracts to read before class that we could download from the NYU Classes portal. For Advanced Trial Simulation, there was just a small course pack to read, that contained no cases - just the mock fact patterns, witness outlines, exhibits, and depositions we would use in our simulations. 

Differences

However, the classes differed in a few key ways:

In-person vs. Online: Mass Media Law was taught in a hybrid model - so while most students chose to attend online, I attended in-person each Tuesday night and was taught by Professor McCraw in person. He drove in from Connecticut every week! Advanced Trial Simulation is solely online.

Style of the Class (Lecture-Style vs. Simulation): Mass Media Law was taught in a somewhat traditional lecture-style, case-based model (with lots of slides that brought the cases to life, and a very engaging lecturing style from the professor!). Towards the end of semester, we had very interesting visiting lecturers come and speak to us - more on that below. In contrast, Advanced Trial Simulation dedicated the first 4 lectures to teaching us about the most critical rules of evidence for trial lawyers, and strategy/dos and don’ts for opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, and closing statements (with video clips and other slides), followed by mock trials for the rest of the semester run by the students, with the professors acting as judges.

Manner of Assessment: Mass Media Law was assessed via an exam at the end of the semester, with a boost for class participation, whereas Trial Simulation was assessed on the basis of performance in a mock trial that ran over 2 weeks for each trial, with a boost for class participation. 

Overall Thoughts

I’ve found both classes to be really helpful and fascinating. Advanced Trial Simulation enabled me to immerse myself in trial strategy with my co-counsel, and I loved practically applying the lessons I learned in Evidence in Fall 2020 (e.g. impeaching a witness for inconsistent statements; objecting on the basis of hearsay). Hearing Professor Chesler and Professor Marriott’s tips based on their own stellar trial practice is an incredible opportunity.

Mass Media Law is probably my favorite class overall. Professor McCraw was so kind and engaging, and took the time to send us wrap-ups of the key takeaways from each class, and primers on the cases we would discuss next class. He cold-called, but you knew which case you would be called upon to discuss, so it wasn’t intimidating. He has also stayed in touch with me, and even put me in touch with people he knew in a city that I’m looking at for job opportunities.

The speakers we had in that class were also hard to beat, and included people like:

Ted Boutros - a leading media and entertainment litigation partner at Gibson Dunn, who spoke to us about his work acting for journalists who had had their White House press passes confiscated during the Trump Administration - Brian Karem of Playboy and Jim Acosta of CNN;

Mike Schmidt - the Times journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who wrote #MeToo stories uncovering the sexual misconduct of Bill O’Reilly and Harvey Weinstein; and

Susanne Craig - the Times investigative journalist who covered all of the reporting on Trump’s taxes.

We discussed topics ranging from:

In the context of the tort of intrusions to privacy and the First Amendment - The artist Arne Svenson’s art exhibition, ‘The Neighbors’ - photos taken of unsuspecting people in a building next to his in NYC. 

Julian Assange’s indictment:

And Section 230 and the proposals to amend or repeal it:

Let me know if you have any questions about either of these classes - happy to discuss further!

[barnodyssey]

Two years later, we’re almost done.

First an apology for not touching this blog since April of last year. Several people have asked about it, and I suppose procrastination has gotten the better of me. And I’ve had a few things going on in my life, among them, the completion of this project that’s now nearly two years in the making.

If I knew at the start what I now know, I’m not sure I would’ve embarked on this barn odyssey, convincing my mom to sell her house to finance the development of this old post-and-beam building that not-long-ago was a home to horses. I know someone who built himself a beautiful house in 6 months, and I’m embarrassed to say that even with a GC, it’s taken this long... but most of that is my own fault.

See, when I decided not to GC the work myself, I also committed to taking on several components of the project, most of the parts that you’ll see as part of the final finish: the entire paint job, building the two vanities and medicine cabinets from scratch (as well as towel racks and toilet paper holders), assembling and installing the kitchen cabinets, doing the finish carpentry on the stairs as well as baseboard around the whole house, installing flooring in the upstairs, trimming out the exterior windows and painting the siding -- and the most monstrous of all: salvaging the old 1″ pine that was used for the barn’s original flooring, cutting it down to size, planing and cleaning it, and then installing it in the main area of the house. Those are my tasks, and at this point I’m probably 90% there.

In the spring of 2019 we hired Structure Design And Build -- a Roslindale based GC and millwork shop -- to oversee the bulk of the project, starting from a gutted barn and finally installing the railings using more wood reclaimed from the old barn, which I’m hoping will happen in the next two weeks. And once the plumber comes back to the do the finish work, a few more electrical items, and I finish the baseboard, the upstairs flooring, and paint all the trim and doors -- we’ll be ready to call in a final inspection and then move in my mom and her partner Sam. Hiring Structure was the smartest move of this entire project -- they’re honest, responsive, highly-skilled, and come with refined aesthetic tastes and youthful spirit -- and they’ve come in on-budget, thank the Gods. There have been hiccups, but nothing we couldn’t hash out in a conversation and a (pre-pandemic) handshake.

Structure’s plaster/drywall guy finished right when the pandemic hit, which was truly stellar timing considering that’s when most of my work would begin. Our pre-COVID plan was to have a “painting party” with a dozen whackjobs slinging brushes and rollers for pizza and beers -- but the coronavirus meant I’d have to apply 40 gallons of paint myself. I started researching “airless paint sprayers,” and with most of the prep work (which is like 90% of painting, I hear) done by the plasterers, I pulled the trigger on a machine that would allow me to finish the job in 4 entire days, with one coat of primer and two of Benjamin Moore. Taking on the painting saved us around $20,000, which seemed like an insane amount to me, though now, having done it, I can understand why it would cost that.

With a few hiatuses to focus on personal matters and non-barn related woodworking, i’ve been ankle deep in this barn ever since the pandemic hit. I have a bit of previous carpentry experience, but I’d never done any of the work that lay before me. Suffice it to say, efficiency hasn’t been my strong suit, because I’m convinced that the first time always take three times longer than the second. And yet somehow we’re almost finished.

Every piece of this project has a story behind it -- and together with probably 100 people who have had some role in the building -- they’ve combined to make this barn a home, almost.

I’ll be back with a certificate of occupancy -- soon, I hope... 

[adoranymph]

[2:05 pm-ish, April 20, 2019]

Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don’t start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon. I had planned to get up early and everything, and I even did. Sort of.

I scrolled through a ton of YouTube videos first, and before I knew it, it was nearing ten in the morning and I still needed to eat something. Ugh, so I did that…and then I committed the sin of hibernating on the couch for a couple of hours to catch up on some anime-related stuff. Though it was the sort that always manages to fuel my inspiration and imagination.

[Present Day]

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: that all’s no excuse, every procrastinating writer says that as they convince themselves to turn on Netflix or Hulu to “get inspiration” instead of writing and end up marathoning that show they really just want to finish so they’re caught up with everyone else, and because they love it so much.

Just the same, it did give me what I needed to open up my laptop and start working towards my writing goal for the day working on editing and polishing my manuscript: I finally got around to watching Kara No Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin – Recalled Out Summer and Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus.

Okay, now that probably doesn’t mean a whole lot just by a name-drop, but let me explain. After all, that’s the whole point of this blog post: My love letter to Type-Moon. (And yes, I realize I’m not the first person to express said love in a blog post.)

Saber from the Fate Series and Ryougi Shiki from Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners

Type-Moon is a Japanese game company known primarily for their visual novels. Not really a thing here in the West, at least not as much if at all, but when I was first introduced to the concept of visual novels, I thought of them as choose-your-own-adventures played as an electronic game rather than read as a book. As I’ve come to better understand it, it’s kind of like that, you do make certain decisions that can lead to certain endings, but sometimes, as in the case of arguably Type-Moon’s most well-known visual novel, Fate/Stay Night, the point is to play through three different versions of the same story premise: kid gets dragged into ancient battle royale known as the Holy Grail War, and with each version of the story, or “route”, being played through, each featuring a different heroine for our protagonist, Shirou Emiya. One route builds upon the previous, and each route gets subsequently darker in terms of plot points and content.

Fate/Zero, incidentally (and my #1 favorite anime ever), is the prequel to that, and succeeds where most prequels don’t, since it’s a tragedy (I’ll go into more detail on that in my upcoming post about how Fate/Zero succeeds as a prequel). That was written as a light novel (kinda like a YA novel, or well, a shorter novel, so “light” novel) before it was adapted into an anime, and sets up the events of all three routes in Stay Night. So, it confirms that no matter what route you’re in in Stay Night, the events of Zero hold true for each of them. (Which is interesting when you consider the damage some of the characters in Stay Night have been living with since Zero, yet they may or may not come up in Stay Night depending on what route’s being played.)

Cover art for Fate/Zero blu-ray box set 

The co-founders of Type-Moon, writer Kinoko Nasu and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi, have come up with some pretty interesting and awesomely cool material in my opinion, and not only for Stay Night, which ultimately culminated in launching the Fate franchise, which has…a HUGE number of titles, and with the anime adaptations of Zero, the original of Stay Night, and the reboots of Stay Night covering the two subsequent routes that the original couldn’t really cover, a bunch more titles in the franchise have each been getting their own anime adaptations in turn, as though there was suddenly this HUGE frenzy for Fate title after Fate title to be adapted into an anime, demonstrating just how sprawling the lore and fanbase of this franchise is.

Promo art for Fate/Grand Order

And if that weren’t enough, there isn’t just Fate, there are other Type-Moon-developed visual novels whose worlds are connected to that of Fate. The only two I’m aware of for sure are Tsukihime and Kara No Kyoukai. (And then there’s Canaan, which was developed by Type-Moon too and its wonderful little 13-episode series in its own way, though I’ve been unable to verify for sure just how much if at all it’s connected with the aforementioned titles.) While I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime much at all, since I can’t shell out to get my hands on the original visual novel, translated or not, and the anime is notorious for sucking so much that most deny it even exists, I have been able to get into Kara No Kyoukai, a series of films adapted originally from a seven-series online novel written by Nasu, and are seen by many as primers to the world of the Nasuverse (or the world of Type-Moon), which makes sense since when you see it you can recognize characters and plot points that feel like they were taken and reworked for things like Fate. Despite that though, they still do in fact exist in the same universe all as their own characters with their own stories.

Yeah it’s a lot. And the Kara No Kyoukai films cost a pretty penny, but this year I at long last got my hands on both the bluray box set of both the original seven films, as well as the additional film (Future Gospel and Recalled Out Summer: Prelude), and the extra special (Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus) just this year–stories that Nasu had an idea for after the original seven came out, but had not written in novel form. I’ve watched the first seven several times at least, but I was hesitant for the longest time about seeing the eighth film and the extra specials, since the first seven tied together so satisfyingly well, to put it mildly. But I finally gave in because I just love Type-Moon that much. And in the end, I was happy I got it, if only to have more Type-Moon in my life.

And that love compelled me to write out, essentially, a love letter conveying that love to Type-Moon. I’ve developed a lot of plot points for both my novel manuscript, as well as my style and voice as a writer, from the material I’ve seen from Type-Moon.

Cover art for blu ray box set of Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners original seven-film series

Fate/Zero was my induction, the jumping off point from which I finally took the plunge (some would argue watching the 2006 adaptation of the first route of Fate/Stay Night first is more prudent, but if I’m being honest, I tried that, and just couldn’t get through it knowing something like Fate/Zero was out there–I just couldn’t wait, though eventually I did end up owning and watching the original 2006 Stay Night, mostly because I was starved for Fate material until more of the anticipated new content came out, and because I was able to get a DVD copy of the series for $10.00–more than worth it, it turned out).

Promo art for Fate/Stay Night (2006)

Anyway, Zero pulled me in not just with eye-candy, godly levels of animation quality unprecedented in an anime TV series (considering how much budgeting goes into animation on the whole in the industry), and not just with its very epic concept of the Holy Grail War and all that that entailed as well, but also with its characters.

I adored Waver Velvet, the underdog student of magecraft who, despite being in over his head as the youngest participant in the War, manages to summon the hero Alexander the Great to act as his Servant, the one who’ll fight the other Masters by proxy with Servants of their own, all of them famous figures plucked from history and legend (with some creative license, in some cases a lot). And throughout the course of the War, they form an admirable friendship.

I despaired over the fate of Kariya Matou, who was basically the character that every show like this has, the one that gets ALL THE CRAP thrown at him, and undeservedly of course, as he tried so hard to win just for the sake of saving a girl from the abuses of her adoptive family, even with the cards stacked against him.

I relished in the development of the villain Kirei Kotomine, who could’ve just come off as your typical priest-that’s-secretly-a-bad-seed, but instead is SO much more than that, and it’s awesome.

Then there’s Gilgamesh, the sort of OP, arrogant villain you love to hate, but also the kind that has the power to back up his boasting being master of the universe.

Then you’ve got Saber, i.e. King Arthur, who despite apparently really being a girl named Arturia, all this time, still lives up to the namesake of the legendary King of the Britons.

And of course, my favorite of all, Kiritsugu Emiya. The relationship he shares with his wife, Irisviel von Einzbern, and their daughter, Illya; the motivations for why he does what he does unfolding as the show progresses, culminating in him finding redemption in at least being able to save the life of his eventual-adopted son, Shirou from the War’s fiery collateral damage at its climax; the epic rivalry between him and Kirei Kotomine; the way his methods clash with Saber’s chivalric values; the fact that he gets all of the best qualities of what I love so much about Takashi Takeuchi’s character designs. (Which is another way of saying he’s drawn so appealingly to me that he’s made it to #1 on my list of husbandos. That’s right, I said it!) The whole story and arc of his character is one of the, if not the, most poignant things I have ever seen in an any form of media. Never has a character made me physically ache at the thought of everything he went through, combined with the bittersweetness of his and Irisviel’s love story, as well as that of his love for Illya.

  It’s basically everything I’ve ever wanted in a story’s emotional core or emotional foundation, and definitely served as a turning point in terms of my own writing, particularly seeing as how it’s a feels dynamic I’ve wanted to write for years. So thank you for that, Type-Moon: somehow, some way, much in the way that the universe miraculously weaves together a human being by a near infinite number of factors, you’ve managed to craft my own personal Holy Grail of an emotional story component.

Indeed, since the discovery of the Kiritsugu x Irisviel ship (an underappreciated gem depending on who you talk to), I haven’t found any ships to exceed that level of emotional perfection. I’ve found ones that come close, even ones that equal it, but thus far, in my eyes, Kiri x Iri is unrivaled, and probably never will be.

  Sadly, this scene was not in the anime. Just in the Realta Nua re-release of the Fate/Stay Night VN game for PSP. 😦

In terms of ones that have equalled it though, one of those came unsurprisingly from another Type-Moon work, the aforementioned Kara No Kyoukai, and its main romantic core of the delightfully darkly complicated relationship of Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Mikiya. That was another pleasant surprise. I had already fallen hard for Fate/Zero and everything it had to offer, but I’d heard of Kara No Kyoukai before that. It had been on my to-watch list for a while, but I’d say that learning that it takes place in same universe as Fate, the Nasuverse that is, it sort of drove me to get my hands on it a little sooner.

Cover art for Volume IV of the box set for Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners VII: ��not nothing heart, with Shiki and Mikiya (OMG the feels)

My first copy was, admittedly, one of those many, many bootlegs floating around eBay (hem, hem), but at long last (especially since I got a bluray player (FINALLY) for this past Christmas), I was able to purchase the beautiful bluray boxset release of all seven movies, plus the special edition bluray for the Recalled Out Summer extras, because why not? Sure, again, the latter works basically as a sort of sweet but small desert to a large delicious main course, but that sweetness is worth it regardless, because it’s sweet, especially when you get treated to sweet strawberries in that sweet strawberry Hagan-Dasz ice cream of an extra story of things like seeing that (SPOILERS) Shiki and Mikiya eventually have an adorable little daughter named Mana, who for her limited screen time, does indeed seem to be the perfect blend of her parents. Plus it’s just great to see something so normal yet wondrous result from a romance that if not for a saving grace or two, probably would’ve ended in bloody tragedy.

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer box set featuring Shiki and Mikiya

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer blu ray set featuring Ryougi Mana (Shiki and Kokutou’s daughter, and Mitsuru Kamekura

  So yeah, I’ve come to learn that when it comes to Type-Moon, where romance and personal relationships come in, the writing nine times out of ten shines (with the first true failure to connect with me coming in Fate/Extra Encore, and even then, because of the production studio behind it, it at least benefited me with flashbacks triggered by similar imagery used in another one of my favorite anime, Madoka Magica).

Again, sorry I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime, but I’m not completely blind. There’s that anime adaptation that doesn’t exist ha, ha. In all seriousness though, I’m familiar with the basic premise, and some of the plot points seem to overlap other Type-Moon works. Plus there’s Wikipedia.

And Carnival Phantasm! Which is a little series Type-Moon produced as a celebration of their ten-year anniversary, something to reward the fans for being fans, and while I was at a disadvantage where a lot of the Tsukihime material came up, I still enjoyed it well enough, going on what I knew. But seeing as how Fate is arguably the most successful Type-Moon franchise, the ratio of Fate to Tsukihime material was almost 2:1. Which was awesome, as I basically got to see Type-Moon not only poke fun at itself and parodize its own characters, but actually give a sunnier if brief existence for some of these characters (because quite a lot of Type-Moon characters’ actual lives are SUCKY to put it lightly).

Screenshot of the Carnival Phantasm OP

For as sprawling as the lore of Type-Moon’s stories have grown, particulary with their Fate/Grand Order online game which seems to explore every single available Heroic Spirit that can be summoned as a Servant for your very own Holy Grail War, and the events of which have also been getting adaptations (the most recent exploring Gilgamesh’s past, and that has me intrigued if I’m being honest), there’re so many buried gems to find in there in terms of character and ideas and thoughts on life. Kara No Kyoukai in particular tends to philosophize quite a bit and contemplate things like reality, time, identity, balance, building a foundation for the world as a whole according to the Nasuverse. A bit like comic books, Fate in particular is one of those things where it’s debatable anymore where one should start, some answers being more correct than others, but once you find a place where you dip your toe in and get accustomed to the water, it’s easy to get wrapped up in what it’s various stories centered around the Holy Grail War are concerned.

I love stuff like that, and I’ve been inspired in my own work not just by Type-Moon on its own, but studio ufotable as well, which seems to be the ultimate Fate adaptation machine. Sure other studios do some of the lesser known titles (again like Extra), but ufotable got the reboot of Fate/Stay Night‘s second route, Unlimited Bladeworks, the adaptation of Fate/Zero before that, the film trilogy adaptation of the final Fate/Stay Night route Heaven’s Feel, and even the lighthearted quasi-AU Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, which is the Stay Night story if it was taken over by a cooking show, almost like Carnival Phantasm but not a parody, and still acknowledging the darker parts of the Fate universe, if distantly. Something about the care ufotable puts into their characterizations, along with the animation and art quality and the awesome voice-acting for the seiyuu and English VAs that end up getting casted (although I’m aware where the English casts are concerned that comes from the western licensing company that picks it up and not actually studio ufotable).

And then with Kara No Kyoukai, also made by ufotable, you get an expanse on this universe and its mechanics. It’s a bit vague on how magic works in both this and Fate, but I’ve actually found the idea of basing fantastic elements in the real word fascinating, not urban fantasy but something more than that. And the concepts it brings up. Like people having these things called “origins”, a certain trait from which their soul or being originated from within the Akashic Record, or “The Route” that once “awakened” in a person causes that trait to consume them. So if a person’s origin is “to consume”, and that’s awakened in that person (this requires a mage and the consent of the person who’s origin is being awakened), then they’ll say…embrace their desire to slaughter people en masse and then literally consume them afterward. Like this guy.

Ryougi Shiki vs. Shirazumi Lio – get him, Shiki, get that crazy S.O.B.!

Yeah, that’s the other thing. Apart from the things like origins and The Root or “Akashic Record” (which from what I’ve gathered is like the source of “everything” with a capital E: life, the universe, everything, and no, it’s not the number 42), Type-Moon’s world is what I like to call “beautifully dark”. Not a particularly unique thing, but either way, Type-Moon pulls it off well. There are moments of levity, but there are also very grotesque and disturbing goings-on underneath all that beauty, and even those things are beautiful in their own way. Sure, there are things like vampires or “dead apostles” floating around, and there’s a fair bit of bloody death, but then you’ve got corrupted Heroic Spirits who steal your heart and drink the blood from it like they’re squeezing the juice from a prickly pear, eye-powers that allow for a person to twist anything they want with their mind (including living human bodies), tentacle monsters crushing small children, souls jammed inside puppet bodies that start to fall apart to reveal their meaty, gear-riddled interiors, and life-sucking, magic-giving worms that consume the bodies of their hosts from within (okay we’ll file that under “beautiful grotesque”). And then there’s the aforementioned bloodthirsty killer whose origin is to consume and thus consumes the corpses of his victims (yeah, that Shirazumi Lio guy, see above, he does that)…when he doesn’t do weird stuff like contort them and mark them with the yin-and-yang symbol.

Just to list a few.

The name for Kara No Kyoukai in English is usually The Garden of Sinners, though Kara No Kyoukai literally translated actually means “The Boundary of Emptiness”. But a garden full of sinners is apt for one of the titles in the Type-Moon universe. In some ways that and things like Fate almost transcend storytelling when adapted well, and with godly animation and music (both Fate/Zero and Kara No Kyoukai‘s OSTs were composed by the incomparable Yuki Kajiura, who’s practically the authority on darkly beautiful and epic themes) to back up the engaging storylines.

And speaking of Yuki Kajiura, I’d like to take this moment to not only give props to her work with Fate adaptations, but Hideyuki Fukusawa as well, the main OST composer for the Unlimited Bladeworks reboot, as well as Kenji Kawai, who composed the OST for the original 2006 Fate–that adaptation might have its drawbacks, but that OST does wonders and is seriously underrated, especially considering this is the guy who composed the OST for the original Ghost in the Shell film.

Nothing is perfect, but nevertheless, this is a fictional world that I have fallen irrevocably in love with, much in the same way I did with Harry Potter, though I’ve grown since then. And I just wanted to extend and express that appreciation and love to something that has inspired me and the way I approach my writing going forward so incredibly.

So, thank you, Type-Moon, for the awesomeness you offer, in all its forms. You have my most sincere and utmost praise and respect. I hope that even when the last of the Fate routes, Heaven’s Feel, has finally received its full and deserved adaptation in the trilogy of films, that this is not the last the world will see of your wonderful content. You have more than earned your loyal and adoring fan base ten times over. You are amazing! ❤

Love Letter to Type-Moon Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don't start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon.