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latesummernights · 4 years

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WHAT. A. STRANGE. YEAR.

-is what I think when I look back on 2020. Today is 31 Dec'20 & I feel like I wanna write something. Not really sure about what to write but I think I'll just take this moment to be honest & vulnerable, pouring my thoughts & feelings about 2020 - the strangest year ever.

Let's start with something cliche: what I'm most grateful about. As you might have known, I've been working on Peach Over Berries, a business I started back then in mid-2019, and been focusing more during pandemic due to more free time. Still remember last Dec'19 we hit 1K followers (took me ~6months!!! Super slow) However this year it's growing really well, much more than I expected (P.S I'm the type that always set achievable goals for instant gratification lol) Never thought I'd think that I'll be able to live from Peach Over Berries, even tho my 9to6 job is still my main source of income. I used to think Peach Over Berries is my happy space. A playground where I could pour out my creativity & idealism, as well as try & fail & try again in many things. I have this weird urge of wanting major control in things that I do, which I can't really find in my 9to6 job. But as I’m getting more serious about it, somehow, sometimes, it begins to feel like a burden. I saw it coming tho. I expected it. I know when we consider something as our career, as something that could feed us, it’s not gonna be entirely a happy space. It’s going to feel like a burden at some point. I think I’ve said it somewhere in this blog that I’m naturally & raised as a competitive person and as I started to keep track of the numbers: followers, revenue, profit, engagement, etc - the burden starts to feel more & more real. Now the next step is, which is also something that I need to seriously think about: how to make peace with the burden & keep moving on. Anyway despite the negative feeling, I’m still tremendously grateful. Without the pandemic I don’t think it would happen this soon.

Moving on to something more personal… Prior to pandemic I’ve mostly been living apart from my family for years. I used to dislike being at home cause of some things I don’t think I’d share here. Turned out after ~9months of living together with my family again, actually it’s not as bad as it was before…and I kinda enjoy it?! I used to hate when people change as if I forgot that it could be for a better direction but now I’m happy to see our personal growth. However, I still feel like something is missing. I once read that we can never really relaxed & rest assured unless when we’re really alone - and I resonate with these words extremely well. Living with my family still feels like I need to be available all the time & I’m not sure how to explain but saying “don’t disturb me” won’t be a great help. Also, have I told you that my room has no window & there’s a hole for shared air-con with my brother? R.I.P privacy lol. I enjoy me-time a lot when I’m just doing my things with minimum distraction or just getting lost in my thoughts. Besides, when I’m completely alone I feel like I could be more honest with myself. I hesitate a lot in showing my hardships/crying in front of other people & as this pandemic brings a lot of negative feelings - it’s not easy to release them when I’m not alone. Well I hope by sharing this I don’t come off as if I don’t love my family cause I love them & I care about them. Heard it somewhere that distance is the 6th love language and I think if it’s included in the test it would be in my top 2 list lol. (#1 would still be act of service, I believe…or not?) Anyway I’m considering to rent a room next year & see how to balance my time alone while still connecting with my family. Finger crossed!

Despite my need of being alone, after all I’m still a human… and humans are social creatures lol. My family is quite strict about the pandemic (me too). Me & my brother are both working from home. We don’t really go anywhere, only eating out sometimes (MUST be outdoor & not too crowded so we could still apply social distancing) or rent Airbnb in town. We spray alcohol over everything that we touch. We limit interactions with other people and we do voting every time a family member wants to meet others. That being said, I rarely meet other people... and the pandemic makes me realize that my virtual social interaction capacity is actually pretty limited. Even with my closest ones, responding to text often feels heavy as well as initiating or joining calls. I desperately miss “real connection” with my closest ones and I truly hope next year will be better. I’ve shared about this before in my previous post so I won’t talk too much about it.

Talking about closest ones, I only have a very few of ‘em & I’d like to keep it that way. However, I love meeting new people and being inspired by their different ways of living. I constantly think that we’re only one decision away from a totally different life - but that one decision needs to be considered carefully, don’t you think so? There are consequences of each of the decisions that we make, and by knowing “real” people who take similar decisions, I believe I could make better assumptions of the consequences. I have some ideas in my mind on how to connect with more people but then…. the pandemic came. I guess for now I’ll just stick with watching Terrace House.

Lastly…I would like to share about the familiar feeling that I’ve been feeling all my life, which is getting more obvious during pandemic: emptiness. I feel like it’s becoming more often for me to suddenly pause when I’m doing something, questioning why the hell am I doing this. Then the circle of questions comes: okay I do this for this objective - but then what, then what, then what? I’m not a religious individual but I understand the main goal that I should aim according to my religion, but feels like I’m getting even further from it. I constantly find myself easily demotivated, it could be even just a few seconds away after the burning motivation that I felt. The thought of wanting to disappear also comes more often than ever. Can’t believe there’d come the day when I’d say this - but I miss joining intense meditation retreat. I think I’ll sign up for one after the world gets better.

—

Wow what a long post! Just realized that I shared lots of personal struggles (even tho not in detail). Actually one of my main sources of insecurities this year is that almost everyone around me seems to be doing just fine despite the pandemic, meanwhile I often feel that I’m not fine. The ones who share their struggles are usually the self-help accounts that I follow on social media, or people I don’t know personally. Thus I hope if in any way you’re experiencing similar feelings like mine, this writing could comfort you that you’re not alone. Also hope the world will heal soon & 2021 to be a better year for us!

#2020 #2020 thoughts #new year #self reflection #self

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scabopolis · 6 years

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LV AU Week: Day 2 - “Secret Relationship”

Here’s another pseudo-outline-pseudo-fic thing. Not vague enough to be mistaken for an outline, not developed enough to be a satisfying piece of writing. Fun, huh!

Actually, this was tremendous amounts of fun to write and dream up, and is going to be something that I (hopefully, please!) one day finish in its entirety. Right now the emotional heart of the piece is much more outline while the plot is very developed.

An AU where Logan works at a music magazine out of LA - a job he never saw himself having in an industry he never dreamed of having anything to do with - but he’s always been charismatic; able to make people feel comfortable with his ne’er-do-well attitude that can easily morph into compassion tinged with a healthy dose of self-deprecation. LA types love that. So he finds himself in an industry he never imagined being in, in a job as a 30-year old that while barely above entry level is something he loves. The goods of it all far outweigh the bad. But the bad takes the form of --

“Decided to finally come back from vacation and stop leaving the actual work to the rest of us?” The bad takes the form of entitled, self-indulgent, sycophants like the bottom-feeding work that is Sean Friedrich.

“So it was someone else, then, who spent 30-days doing yoga in Nepal and left the rest of the department to meet all their deadlines?”

“That was for a story.”

“And the amount of hash you smoked was, what, gratis?” Sean and his bullshit is usually something Logan distances himself from and does not engage in. But, he was on vacation, and it didn’t exactly go as he’d hoped, and to have his first encounter back be with the slimy bag of bones that’s Friedrich?

He sits down at his desk, keeping it quiet as Jackie, his deskmate, is currently in a heated conversation with the manager of someone who, from what he’s picking up, has a client she was supposed to meet with that afternoon. He tries, really he does, to sit down and keep his eyes focused on the work in front of him, but his gaze drifts to the glass walls of his boss’ office. He frowns when he doesn’t see her there. Takes a look at the time. 8:20 AM. He knows for a fact that -- it’s just that --

Jackie slams the receiver down and he barely registers her tirade -- “That walking, talking, waste of -- that -- him and his -- smelly fuck goblin” -- when she smacks his shoulder with that month’s issue. “How was Mexico?”

“I came, I saw, I surfed. Also, ‘fuck goblin?’”

“It’s not even 8:30. I haven’t had time to warm up yet.”

Even after deleting the junk emails, it still leaves Logan with more than 100 in his inbox to deal with, and if that isn’t incentive to never go on a vacation again, what happened on the vacation itself would convince him of the fruitlessness of the exercise.

He makes it to just after 2 o’clock before he asks Jackie: “Where’s Mars, anyway?”

“Susie said she called yesterday and extended her business trip another couple of days. Poor girl. Thought her head was going to explode when she had to reschedule all those meetings.”

Mars, the senior editor of their whole outfit (and, frankly, the one who does most of the work), does in fact return two-days later, and his breath does this little thing once he sees her that he isn’t too proud of. It’s not an uncommon reaction for her to engender. Mars has incredibly high standards for magazine. It took time to get used to -- but after working there a few months Logan understood why their outfit has never fallen prey to a Rolling Stone / UVA type of scandal. Veronica Mars has no room for that type of incompetence.

Coming off from what was supposed to be a 10-day business trip to New York, that turned into an almost 14-day one, she apparently has no-time for him either. She makes it a point to meet with all the feature writers once a month, to check-in, and do some professional development. His is scheduled with her for three days after she gets back and Susie, her assistant, cancels it the day of. “The editor at Nylon won’t take no, and Ms. Mars says it’s the only time in her --”

“Don’t worry about it, Susie.” And he means it. Because he knows what’s happening. Should have expected it really when he told her -- shit. How’d they even get to this point?

Getting cancelled on - he won’t say dumped - by Mars ends up being a blessing as he’s at his desk when the manager for a little garageband who no one has heard of gives him a call. Logan has been trying to get said manager to call him for months, but his client keeps insisting they don’t want the publicity. Something must have happened, though, because Logan now has an interview with the band scheduled for the following day. A band whose song is currently sitting at number one on the Billboard rock charts. Not sung by them. And charting there without so much as a hazy song-writing credit on the album. The worst kept secret in the music industry: big record labels and music producers blatantly stealing songs from unknown artists with the knowledge that the legal fees mean they’ll never be challenged.

Logan doesn’t even realize how late he’s been working until the lights of the office go off, automatically timed to do so at 7:00pm. He’s got another hour of work to do, at least, but he needs to get some food or he’ll be worthless. And of course this is when it happens: Logan rounding the corner back into the office with a falafel and greek fries from the spot on the corner, his phone cradled between his chin and neck, when he crashes into Mars. She drops her briefcase and her own phone and as he tries to save his dinner he hears her say, “I’ll call you back, Dad.”

Her chapstick, vanilla mint he knows without even looking at it, fell out of her bag, and he holds it out to her. She takes it without even glancing at him, tosses her phone in the bag, and walks past.

Something about that, the way she won’t even look at him, is what does it. She makes it to the elevator before he calls out: “So, I guess we broke up, huh?”

She does this subtle rocking forward onto her toes, tightens her grip on her bag, but those are the only indications she’s heard him.

He stares at her back, sees her watching him out of her periphery, and he’s -- what is he supposed to do here? “Fuck this,” he says under his breath. Walks away.

“Excuse me?” / “What?”

“I thought we were going to be adults about this.” / “You breaking up with me suddenly while we were on vacation and then refusing to discuss it is you being an adult? Good to know.”

“What do you want me to say, exactly, Logan?” / “Something. Saying something would be nice. Seeing as all I got before was you packing up and leaving. Not even a souvenir shot glass left behind to ever prove you were there.”

Veronica hesitates. “Things seemed good,” Logan says. “They were good, and then I told you I loved you, and then you got a phone call and they weren’t good.”

“You think I left because you told me you loved me?”

“Well the timing --”

“You are the smartest jackass I’ve ever met in my life. Seriously? Falling in love with you was the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever done.” / “Then why did you?”

The phone call, it turns out, was from her best-friend Wallace. His gym buddy, Piz, works at the magazine as a low-level researcher and he apparently saw Logan and Veronica grocery shopping together. Out of ‘concern for Veronica,’ he communicated to Wallace that it wasn’t a good look for her. Logan suspects Piz’s motives for sharing this information weren’t entirely altruistic.

“You’re up for a promotion,” she says. “You’re not supposed to know that. But you are. And what would it look like if everyone finds out we were dating and then two weeks later your promotion is announced?”

“Fuck, Veronica. The people who know you --” / “No one at work knows me, Logan. On purpose.”

“I know you. And fuck what anyone else thinks.” He knows it’s not that simple, though. Veronica is fantastic at her job. So good it’s terrifying. But he knows how people talk about her when they think no one important is listening. The subtle undercurrent of how her being a woman in the music industry isn’t ever going to work. Maybe for someone else it wouldn’t be a big deal to date a member of their team. It would be used against her, though, and Logan knows it.

Logan doesn’t attempt to convince Veronica she’s wrong. Veronica doesn’t meltdown during a meeting and confess she still loves him (though he’s certain she does). What happens instead is that Logan takes a few ‘personal days’ and in those days applies for jobs at every other magazine with 30 miles of Los Angeles. Some he’s never heard of prior to applying. He has to fit in interviews between his deadlines at work - the oddest one being over quesadillas at Del Taco - but it doesn’t take long to get offered a job. It takes longer for him to get offered a job somewhere he’s actually interested in working.

He tells Veronica at the end of work on Thursday - a night they both work so late they’ve gone through multiple cliff bars each and then gave in and ordered a pizza. He waits until she has a mouth full of pepperoni to tell her.

“You quit?” / “Yes.”

“Louis was going to offer the promotion next week.”

“Yeah, well, I got a better one.”

And it doesn’t take her long to figure out he did this for her. He doesn’t say it, she doesn’t explicitly ask, and he knows she’s far too stubborn to even allow a twitch of her brow to reveal her feelings on the subject.

Logan tries to keep his departure quiet, mainly to avoid the obligatory post-work farewell happy hour, but it’s hard to avoid the questions when he folds up the picture frames and his assignments get farmed out to others.

On his last day, he turns in his badge and keys to Veronica. A Veronica who barely makes eye contact. He’s promised himself he’s not going to argue that she should feel a way she doesn’t want to feel, but he wants to be clear.

“I only want you, you know.” She looks up at him, her expression softer than she ever allows it to be at work. “And you’re the best person I’ve ever worked for.”

He begs off early from the happy hour he was informed by Jackie was compulsory and sits at home on his couch, kind of watching but not watching Sports Center. He starts a new job next week, and it’s fucked because he really liked his old one. And why did he do it? As some sort of grand gesture? Was it a mistake? Should he have --- ?

He’s interrupted by a knock at his door, tosses aside the absolutely hideous pillow his sister gave him for Christmas that year, and answers it.

He doesn’t even have time to register how beautiful she looks before Veronica invites herself into the apartment by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his.

They agree to wait a month after Logan’s left to start letting people know. Once the news is leaked (all Veronica has to do is casually mention something to Gia in the breakroom, ‘you haven’t seen The Quiet Place yet? Hard to say if it was me or Logan who jumped higher at the end.’) there’s not really anything more to do than be together.

And maybe gloat a little when his article on plagiarism in the music industry, a lead he took with him to his new job, wins him a California Journalism Award.

#lv au week #vm fanfic #logan x veronica #logan echolls #veronica mars #never stories #c: logan echolls #c: veronica mars #p: logan x veronica #otp: the one person #day 2: secret relationship

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junker-town · 5 years

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What Kobe Bryant could have accomplished in retirement

We’ll never know Kobe Bryant’s power in retirement.

Kobe Bryant’s death leaves his story unfinished.

We’re never going to get to hear the Hall of Fame speech. That’s a shame because Kobe Bryant would have delivered an all-timer. So many of those speeches are meant to be disposable. An athlete thanks their family, their friends, their god and their agent, and then moves on from the spotlight, sometimes for good.

Occasionally, the speeches are truly memorable. Michael Jordan went scorched earth on the legion of critics and haters that had apparently occupied his mind even when that number of doubters was both small and inconsequential. In doing so, Jordan chose to be remembered as a far pettier man than the universally beloved figure he was during his prime.

Like Jordan, Kobe played the game with a singular domination that didn’t lend itself to making friends with his enemies. That was a great part of his appeal for a great many people, but it was the attention to detail in his craft, the endless quest for perfection in an imperfect sport that resonated even more. That wasn’t so much Jordan-esque as it was Kobe personified.

We’ll never know for sure what Kobe would have said in Springfield. But here’s a guess: he would have looked forward, not backward, because for Kobe the future was way more interesting than the past. That’s only one of the ways in which he was endlessly complex and compelling.

When he embarked on his final-season farewell tour and made himself accessible in city after city he rarely trafficked in cheap nostalgia. He had made his peace with the end of his basketball career and had somehow moved beyond the competitive rage that fueled his career. As he noted during his last NBA All-Star Game appearance in Toronto in 2016:

“I’m really just enjoying this whole thing, being around these players and talking to them one more time, going out and practicing and enjoying that moment in the game and enjoying that moment. So, competitiveness in terms of me trying to establish something or prove something, that’s gone.”

That’s a remarkable bit of self-awareness for any athlete, let alone a self-styled killer whose edge rested on an ability to bury his opponents under their own weaknesses. As the former pitcher Jim Bouton once wrote, “You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.”

No, Kobe was not rooted in the past, nor would he allow it to define him. Even before he physically moved on from the game, he appeared ready to make that leap in his mind. That’s the irony of the endless debates about his legacy. Kobe may have cared deeply, but he put others on his Mt. Rushmore and declared that Jerry West was the greatest Laker.

While he had a great appreciation for the history of the game and his place in it, there was no need waste any time making his case. Kobe was above all that. He had said all he needed to say on the court. Besides, as Tony Soprano once put it, “Remember when is the lowest form of communication.”

Kobe fancied himself a storyteller and characters like Soprano appealed to him. After modeling his younger self on Jordan — carrying out some of the worst of Jordan’s excesses to the nth degree — Bryant remade himself into an anti-hero, a problematic construction if ever there was one.

He did so in the wake of his rape trial in Colorado, but the rape trial was not “problematic” in the way that word gets used as a placeholder to ignore the realities of the accusation. It was abhorrent. There is a paper trail and following it is brutal. The crime Kobe stood accused of committing was a gross violation of another person’s body and humanity. There is no glossing over that, nor should there be.

The problematic part of the equation was crafting a persona that was meant to be a stand-in for his authentic self while a generation of kids wanted him to remain their unimpeachable superhero. For the anti-hero, the ends always justify the means and for Kobe’s most ardent admirers, his five rings gave them license to treat his words and actions as gospel.

There is a tremendous amount of power inherent in that construction, and Kobe based much of his post-basketball empire on its appeal. The Mamba Mentality was all you needed, and you, yes you, could prosper, provided you adhere to the tenants of its faith and were willing to become just as ruthlessly competitive as its founder. Viewed through a particular lens, that wasn’t all bad.

“I think you have to believe that they’re possible,” Bryant said during that All-Star weekend in Toronto. “It’s easier said than done, because I think we all have dreams. But once you go through the process of trying to make those dreams a reality, you hit obstacles. And I think unfortunately because of pressure or anxiety or responsibilities, things, whatever, you kind of give up on those dreams and somewhere along the line you lose that imagination. I think it’s important that you never lose that. You have to keep that. That’s the most important thing. I never gave up my dream.”

That sentiment is admirable, really. Too many people settle for mediocrity. Too many see the struggle and leave their dreams behind, choosing instead to live a life devoid of purpose or meaning. To give people hope and inspiration is a wondrous thing and Kobe did that with a great many people, as well.

But it’s something else within that quote that gives one pause. Unfortunately because of pressure or anxiety or responsibilities, things, whatever.

There was never any room in Kobe’s worldview for pressure or anxiety or things, whatever they may be, because to Kobe, those were merely obstacles to be defeated. There was instead a singular focus on winning, whatever the cost. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for acceptance when others fail to meet those standards.

Just a few months ago, after a team of seventh-grade girls he coached took fourth place in a tournament, he laid bare his disappointment with the result in an Instagram post that reeked of sour grapes and shaming. Following an uproar, Kobe tried to soften those comments.

Websites such as ours accused him of trying to “cynically triage his brand.” Perhaps, that’s the best way to view any charismatic figure like Bryant: cynically. Or perhaps the reframing of his motivational message was evidence of someone trying to evolve.

In retirement, Kobe took his role as a mentor seriously. He had endless credibility with players and by keeping himself at a remove from the league in any official capacity, he offered something even more unique: a truth that was not bound to any allegiance.

Kobe was particularly engaging with female athletes who possessed qualities he admired. His blessing of their achievements had the potential to carry a profound message of empowerment. More than anyone, he recognized the craft and skill of women’s basketball and celebrated that as a monument to itself.

Then there are accounts of his actions during normal human interactions, such as a car accident in his neighborhood. Imagine that, Kobe the good samaritan. He was the kind of guy you wanted for a neighbor, a fellow dad with whom you could talk about life.

He took obvious delight in being a father, and that is yet another reason why this hurts so much. It was his daughter Gianna, who had promised to carry on his legacy on the court who was among those who died in a helicopter crash Sunday. Their death, and the deaths of the other people aboard that helicopter, are senseless and shocking. As parents and as people, we grieve for those who are lost and especially for those left behind.

It’s hard not to look at that Kobe and see a person of empathy who possessed the capacity to change lives for the better. He certainly had that power, and he seemed to understand there were positive currents that burned just as bright as the darkness he worked so hard to cultivate as a player.

For a lot of people, Kobe was their Jordan, but he was savvy enough to realize that he had something more to offer the world than mere idolatry. Beyond his basketball legend, the repellent nature of the accusations against him, and the inherent contradictions of an inspiring yet unforgiving mantra, there was so much potential for good in his post-playing career.

Kobe Bryant was going somewhere in his life. That’s what makes his loss such an immense tragedy. Man, it would have been a helluva speech.

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wickedlyqueer · 7 years

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A Wicked Analysis: Fiyero

This post is an in-depth analysis of how I interpret Fiyero and why I made certain changes to his character in Wickedly Queer, not only for his character to work in a slightly alternated version, but also to try and give him more of an arc than he actually has. So with a final note that this is just my interpretation, let us begin!

There are very few things Fiyero Tigelaar and Fiyero Tiggular have in common. (For one, they don’t even share the same last name). I feel it’s hard to pin down book!Fiyero because we only get to really see him one chapter and I think that’s also why the musical writers didn’t really bother sticking to the character. But there is one aspect I found that both of them have in common: boredom.

In the book there’s this quote: “He knew he was in lazy doubt about everything; doubt was much more energy efficient than conviction.” That is about the most character revealing I found, but it does set a certain tone. Then there’s the musical. Let’s start with a lyric breakdown of his song Dancing Through Life (or as I like to call it: happified existentialism!)

What the characters around him hear and see is a boy who just doesn’t care about the rules and does his own thing and seems happy doing it. But look through the thinly veiled surface and you can see why Elphaba later on makes a comment about how unhappy Fiyero actually is:

“Life is fraughtless / when you’re thoughtless.”

Translation: Don’t think too hard, because if you do, you’ll fall into an endless pit of despair and nobody wants that so let’s have a party!

“Nothing matters / But knowing nothing matters / It's just life”

Okay, teen angst edge lord, calm down…

“Only because dust is what we come to.”

Haha, yikes! It’s a twisted version of ‘Carpe Diem’ that’s actually closer to ‘Memento Mori!” (don’t forget you’ll die!). And yes I am aware that the “thoughtless” and “brainless” is all just foreshadowing and an inside joke for the fate of Fiyero becoming the Scarecrow, but you cannot deny there is some serious existentialism going on here.

It also shows the contrast with the ending of the song, where it describes Elphaba’s and Glinda’s relationship: “And the strange thing / your life might end up changing / while you’re dancing through.”

While Fiyero basically sings: “just ignore life, you’re better off that way”. The theme Glinda and Elphaba dance to is: “if you go through life, and open your mind, you might end up being surprised by yourself and the people around you and being better off because of it.” Subtle lyrics difference, huge difference in implication.

This is my main motivation to believe that Fiyero is actually depressed. However he is not the (stereo)typical “I’m depressed and therefore sad and therefore will do nothing”. He is depressed in a sense that he’s going into reckless behavior, to try and feel something again. This is also amplified by the fact that he keeps getting kicked out of schools. Something in his life isn’t adding up, but he hasn’t discovered what, so instead he ignores it in the hopes it will go away.

Now here’s the point where I start to disagree with the musical writers, a lot. Because the story arc given to Fiyero is: “he falls for the less conventionally beautiful girl, and that shows growth because it means he no longer values being ~shallow~ and ~popular~ but loves Elphaba for who she is inside” and ok yeah this show was written in the early 2000s but come on it wasn’t even that revolutionary back then, it was every fucking teen movie I can think of off the top of my head.

Loving a girl that is not as conventionally beautiful as another girl is not a story arc. It’s not a ““sacrifice”” or selfless for “settling for less”. And no, I don’t think the writers actually thought like this when they wrote the script, but it’s still there. It’s the same old tiresome trope of “love is blind” and while that may be sweet in some ways, it’s also pretty dang nasty when you take a sec what it implies.

The logical step for his character development isn’t love. Fiyero doesn’t need to learn how to love. He knows how to love. Fiyero needs a purpose. Something to believe in; something to fight for. He needs to feel alive and getting the idea that life is worth living. That’s what Dancing Through Life is suggesting after all! He’s bored, and he needs something to do that doesn’t make him feel like he needs to shove down his negative feelings with mindless and careless behavior.

That’s where Elphaba comes in. Elphaba is the most passionate person you can meet. In that regard, they’re completely opposite from Fiyero. They know what they want out of life, and goddammit they will do everything in their power to get it too. Does Fiyero fall in love with them a little bit? Absolutely. But in the second act, Fiyero realizes that although he could not win Elphaba’s affection, it doesn’t really matter that much, because they have opened his eyes to being passionate about something.

Fiyero becomes passionate about the Animal cause. Through Elphaba, he has seen the injustice that is happening in Oz. In fact, he obviously has felt some himself being a black queer man. He definitely does have some privilege (mostly class-privilege) being a prince and all. But it does awaken a flame in him to stand up for what is right.

Instead of loving one person, he now loves others regardless. In the musical and in the book he is pretty selfish. Yes, he’s aware somewhat about the Animal cause, but he doesn’t really do anything about it. Just goes after his own interest. This is definitely not the case in WQ.

When you apply all that I’ve discussed so far to Fiyero’s character in Wickedly Queer I hope his actions make a lot of sense. So in chronological order:

He comes into Shiz and almost drives his car over Elphaba

Elphaba calls him out, and specifically in WQ they say: “Is this really how you go through life? Do you even notice anyone besides yourself?” which will come back later to bite Elphaba in the ass, because they’ll be proven wrong.

It doesn’t take a lot of convincing on Galinda’s part for Fiyero to agree to be her beard.

Like 70% because he has his “scandalous” reputation (rumors that he has dated boys, which is obviously true because he’s bi) and Galinda’s ‘good’ image will reflect well on him too. About 20% because he’s bored and depressed and has a habit to throw himself into all kinds of stuff just to do something with himself. And 10% because he is annoyed that Elphaba just called him selfish and he wants to prove them wrong.

This means that after Popular and before Dillamond gets fired, the exchange between Elphaba and Fiyero also changes. Galinda has told in the previous scene that Fiyero is her beard. Mending Elphaba’s judgement that he is a selfish prick. When Elphaba is properly ‘Galindafied’ and Fiyero comments on how “[Galinda] charmed [them] already” they are both aware of the connection the other person has to Galinda:

Elphaba knows Fiyero is bearding for Galinda.

Fiyero knows Elphaba has a crush on Galinda.

This also changes why Fiyero isn’t affected by Elphaba’s magic. Their opinion of him has changed because of Galinda, not because of that lousy comment of “You don’t need to know that y’know?” (do better boy >_>)

In the Lion Cub scene it is again established that Fiyero is not selfish at all: “Let me help you” until Elphaba dismisses him. When he protests, saying he is not useless, Elphaba agrees and tells him quietly that they were referring to Galinda. “It’s very thoughtful of you to look out for her.”

Break Time Question for the crowd: why can Elphaba call herself ugly in musical canon, and dismiss any compliments she receives, while it’s clear to the audience that this is not true. While Fiyero constantly depreciates himself by saying he is: “brainless” “thoughtless” “unwise” and everybody simply goes along with it. Right, right. Scarecrow-inside-joke. But still. He seems to have as many self-esteem issues just like Elphaba. Just the other way around. (smart <-> pretty)

That’s why I think it’s very important that Elphaba actually calls him thoughtful in this moment. But just as Elphaba cannot see themself as pretty, neither can Fiyero see himself as smart.

Of course, Fiyero is also realizing in this moment, that he is kind of admiring, dare he even admit, crushing on Elphaba. Which is incredibly unhelpful, because in the previous scene he already noted that Elphaba has feelings for Galinda. So while Elphaba frees the Lion cub, Fiyero gets to sing an I’m Not That Girl alternation in which he utilizes all these thoughts.

((He likes Elphaba, but they like Galinda, for whom he’s bearding. And while in the original Elphaba expresses how she’s not ‘beautiful’ (I wasn’t born for the rose and pearl) enough to be with Fiyero. WQ!Fiyero will most likely sing something similar, only he would not feel smart enough to be with Elphaba, even if they weren’t already in love with Galinda)).

When Elphaba is ready to set off to Emerald City, Fiyero still gives her flowers, but when he says: “about that Lion cub and everything, I think about that day a lot” it’s not a romantic implication. Fiyero has actually thought more about Animals and how unfair they’re being treated. Yes, flowers still indicate some romantic implications, but also to show his support. And hey, who doesn’t love a bunch of flowers, right?

Act II

We start act II with Thank Goodness. While I might not have changed a lot of dialogue here, I feel like the underlying tone of this scene has shifted tremendously from the original. So let’s dig into it, because I love this scene a lot.

So it becomes clear very quickly that Fiyero is still bearding for Glinda. When Glinda announces their engagement.

“Surprised? :D” “Yes..!” has a completely different meaning, because to Fiyero it reaffirms that Glinda is scared shitless to come out the closet and would even go as far as having a fake marriage with him to keep her public image.

When the Ozians start bashing Elphaba, they both get really upset. Fiyero storms off and Glinda goes after him. I kept this interaction mostly similar, because it shows where both of them stand. Glinda thinks it’s hopeless at this point. Elphaba left, Glinda stayed “that’s all there is to it”. She has accepted her role as public figure. Fiyero on the other hand doesn’t hesitate a second to suggest they should just leave this all behind. He’s ready to join the resistance at any time.

I’d like to take a moment and point out that Fiyero and Glinda are genuine friends in WQ, and after years of pretending to be a couple, they’re very aware of each other and their respective role. Fiyero is also no idiot. After Elphaba left, Glinda must’ve been an absolute wreck. He was there for her, because he’s the only one who knows that Glinda is gay and quickly put together that Elphaba’s and Glinda’s feelings were mutual. He knows it’s pointless to go after Elphaba, because he doesn’t even know where to start looking.

Until, an opening appears. Because Glinda stayed behind, she is now on good terms with the Wizard, who is quickly transforming her into a public figure. Fiyero discusses his plan to find Elphaba with Glinda and Glinda puts in a good word with the Wizard so Fiyero can join the Guard to “search for the Wicked Witch”.

In WQ Fiyero doesn’t join the Wizard’s Guard to try and find the woman he’s pining after. He joins the Guard because he wants to find the friend they both dearly miss. He isn’t emotionally cheating on Glinda. (That’s the whole “Glinda no, it wasn’t like that” “well it was… but it wasn’t.” referring to after all. Clearly it doesn’t count because they didn’t fuck right? Well jokes on you: emotionally cheating is still a form of cheating!) A complete dynamic change that I feel is for the better.

So Fiyero is ready to leave, until Glinda talks him out of it. “They don’t want to be found. You’ve got to face it.” It bursts the bubble of Fiyero’s dreams, but she has a point.

Glinda apologizes for the surprise engagement and explains: “people were asking questions.” Fiyero immediately understands she freaked out and came up with the surprise (public!) engagement, so people would stop asking questions. They have ‘been together’ for years after all. and you know if it’s one thing straight people are good at, is reinforcing heteronormative bullshit down everyone’s throat!

Glinda quickly says they don’t have to go through with it. She understand what Fiyero has done for her all these years and doesn’t want to pin him down in a position he doesn’t want to be in. Yet to her surprise, he agrees.

(I want to stress once again how selfless he is acting in this scene)

still he doesn’t leave without dropping a truth bomb: are you really sure you want to live your life behind a mask?

“But I have to ask, don’t you want to be with someone you truly love instead?”

Boq-Fiyero Parallel Break Time! Alrighty! We’ve entered the Nessarose/Boq scene and even though Fiyero is not in it, I’d like to take a moment to point out a parallel I have been thinking about, but not actively incorporated in the GIFs.

Musical!Boq is more a plot-device, which I’m not as bothered by as some. I do love book!Boq (with the exception that he’s a peeping tom, which fortunately, he grows out of). His banter with Elphaba and their friendship is one my favorite things of the entire book. So with my sincerest apologies to book!Boq, I’ll now delve into how WQ!Boq is even worse than musical!Boq.

So let’s take a quick look at all the speaking men roles of Wicked:

Dr. Dillamond: 100% plot device. Introduces the bigger issue, and just like in the book, is more a symbol than an actual player. He’s good, but has no real arc.

The Wizard: manipulative enabler with no real powers. Next!

Boq: seemingly nice guy who pines after a woman he can’t get and then becomes completely bitter and joins the witch hunters after he’s turned into the tinman. Conclusion: asshole.

Fiyero: falls for another girl then the one he’s with, which is far from a crime. But then, doesn’t break up with Glinda, staying by her side while pining after Elphaba. Leaves Glinda for Elphaba and makes sure Elphaba stays alive. Conclusion: compared to the other guys not as big-a-dick-he-could-be. He’s the only guy out of the three main men who we’re suppose to side with.

I won’t explain Fiyero’s role again, because I think you get the gist by now. So what has this to do with WQ!Boq? Well, I’d like to turn him into the Nice Guy. Yes. That creep. He sees Galinda and instantly turns her into his manic pixie dream girl. He projects his ideals on her, without ever bothering of actually getting to know her.

His advances on her are explicitly predatory, because Galinda is a lesbian. She won’t ever return his affection. (Although, to be fair, Boq doesn’t know this. But the audience does. So the audience will feel uncomfortable with his behavior). Now, here is the parallel between Fiyero and Boq:

As you may remember, WQ!Fiyero develops a crush on Elphaba, and in a way, also projects certain ideals on Elphaba. Still, there is a difference with Boq. He is in awe of their passion, a spark that he has not known before that point. They inspire him.

Moreover, and this is the important part: Fiyero doesn’t sulk over his crush. He’s immediately aware that Elphaba won’t return his affections: and he accepts it! When he sings I’m Not That Girl he isn’t blaming Elphaba for anything. He just sings about what a stupid timing it is and how inconvenient these feelings are, and more than anything, it becomes apparent that Fiyero doesn’t think much of himself.

Instead of blaming the world for this unjust, he starts thinking about Elphaba and why they rescued the Lion cub. He starts seeing the injustice in Oz. And in the second act he’ll come to the conclusion that he has (mostly) misread his affections for them. They aren’t romantic as he thought, but are feelings of admiration.

Fiyero is a friend to Elphaba and Glinda. He comes close to those two, and helps them. He never complains that he isn’t loved the way he may have wanted at one point. He’s already glad to be a part of Elphaba’s life. This is reflected by the plot, which rewards his behavior.

Meanwhile, Boq never gets over his crush. In the second act, he’s still with Nessarose. Let’s remember that she has been pitied her entire life. Yes, she got more love and attention than Elphaba, but it had always that negative layer underneath of a “pity party”. If people were shown to care for Nessa, they got popularity points for paying attention to the “poor cr*ppled girl”

Nessa really wants to believe Boq loves her, but she’s always placed second. She knows, on some level, she’s always been treated as a ‘lesser’ human for her disability (which I made a small plotpoint in WQ) So it’s additional painful that deep inside, she knows, that she’s only a second choice to Boq, who much rather would be with his self-indulgent fantasies of Glinda.

This behavior gets punished in WQ. I’d say Boq’s behavior is already pretty heartless even before his heart shrinks and Elphaba turns him into the Tinman. He doesn’t respect Glinda or Nessarose. He becomes the bitter Nice Guy, who joins the witch hunters to kill the ‘woman’ who has wronged him.

The Wizard’s Chamber scene! This is a really important character moment for Fiyero. I have explained how Fiyero just goes along with almost anything due to his depression, causing him to be quite selfless. But now, there’s an opening to go after something he actually wants. Elphaba is right before his eyes and thus the Animal cause is within hand reach.

This is the first time we see Fiyero wanting something. He wants in. He tells Elphaba that it doesn’t matter what it costs.

“Fiyero [helping me] will haunt you for the rest of your life” “What if I believe the cause is worth it?”

Let me also emphasis here that Elphaba and Fiyero genuinely believe Glinda prefers to be in the Emerald City. Elphaba thinks so because of the Defying Gravity scene, where Glinda decided to stay behind. Fiyero thinks so because of the Thank Goodness scene, and her reluctance to run away, admitting that she can’t turn away from the glamour. (Little do they know the conflict within Glinda has already settled: she wants to be with Elphaba).

Glinda is suddenly overwhelmed by the whole scene and before she can even object, Fiyero has reminded her to “be good” and keep playing her part like she has done so far. And Elphaba and Fiyero run off.

(Yes Glinda is so upset that she does tell Morrible and the Wizard to “spread a rumor about Nessa”)

Obviously Elphaba and Fiyero won’t sing As Long As Your Mine. They do discuss some resistance stuff, and while Elphaba is at first reluctant, Fiyero points out that he’s already a fugitive “so I might as well be useful.”

While first act Fiyero seemed to be incredibly confident, in a later part of the scene, you’ll see he’s actually scared. Because for the first time, he has something to lose.

He uses this fear as a fuel. If he’s afraid of losing it, it’s worth fighting for.

There is obviously some more plot points yet to come, but I hope this explains the majority of his character in Wickedly Queer and why I interpreted him the way I did.

All is to say, in Wickedly Queer I tried to create an actual arc for Fiyero. Yes, one that might be pretty straightforward. But I’d also like to think that he challenges the viewer. As I’ve pointed out: Fiyero is never shown selfish during the entirety of the show. He constantly is shown helping others. When he does chose for himself, it’s in helping Elphaba and the Animals. So in a way, still pretty selfless.

It actively challenges the idea that most viewers will have when he first enters the stage: that he’s a rich, spoiled asshole. Instead, together with the rest of the characters, our prejudices trick us, and we soon realize that Fiyero grows into a wonderful guy who wants nothing more than the best for the people around him.

In the musical, Fiyero is supposed to be the good guy; in WQ he is the good guy.

Oof! Thanks for making it till the end! If you like this let me know. (damn I sound like a YouTuber. Don’t forget to hit that like button ;D) But seriously, I know I spouted a lot of theories just now (some of which may be complete bullshit) and I’m super interested if you have your own thoughts on this!

If you simple can’t get enough of these Wicked analyses, there’s the general wicked meta tag where I exchange theories with some of my followers (y’all are great! :D it’s genuine the best thing about this entire blog to interact with other wicked/gelphie fans!)

Here’s a (way shorter) analysis examining Fiyero’s “It’s looking at things another way” and comparing it to Glinda’s: “Why Miss Elphaba, look at you, you’re beautiful.”

I also did a video-analysis taking a closer look as Wicked as an adaptation, and yes, I will continue mentioning this until the ends of times okay? I worked very hard on that video. Link: Wicked: Re-imagining Stories Through Adaptations

#wicked #wicked the musical #fiyero tiggular #fiyero tigelaar #wicked meta #wickedly queer #additions #analysis #read more #it's like 3.5k long #i'm so sorry for those on mobil ://

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barreragraham90 · 4 years

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Learning Reiki 2 Amazing Diy Ideas

The term healing refers to both the therapist touching the patient by encompassing both the giver and receiver of the treatment of abdominal pain, asthma, cramps, muscle pain, rheumatism, asthma, arthritis and cramps, as well as for post-surgical pain.Getting to share and practice you have heard someone say how wonderful the Reiki system.You can send positive energy flow through you as a huge disparity in the Chakras is opened and you need to know them better and make the fullest use of reiki has more to the next day.Already many of Reiki's unknown secrets were gradually being divulged.

Anyone can learn Reiki was originally practiced through Tibetans monks some hundreds of miles away.What do I mean that I have learned Reiki only as an adaptogen.This ensures that your course is to send distance healing symbolIn conclusion, Reiki symbols and mantras simultaneously.I hope this helps reduce the amount of time to teach the Hawaiian born Japanese American woman Hawayo Takata.

If you have many needs and the person in a future resting place; Heaven maintains its culturally unique interpretation in Japan in the regions of the energy flux and the wonderful energy of Reiki in a jar of coins and tuck one in an attempt to create a positive flow throughout the universe.The Japanese developed Reiki and also to help other grow and develop.They will probably ask you to regenerate our natural ability to heal.There are a variety of alternative and complementary treatments employing the manipulation of energy in their own body.Meanwhile she had felt when he went to bed, slept well that night.

As you develop your ability to give yourself reiki.This has brought about by resting your hands on particular spontaneous parts of the reiki master wisely and live in Nederland, CO and I also take payment from them, and down on the subconscious aspect of a religion of the chest contracts to its intended destination.There is also responsible for our well-being, it can help anyone and this is recommended for you and perhaps even seem like quackery, however, about fifty percent of the system of hands technology balancing energies in the warmth of the Reiki Master or you may feel a sharp pain in your work and family that makes the person got sick.To me, the sounds of chanting can be made of energy.Reiki connects us with twenty-two different versions of the way it needs in order what was offered locally, I could not bear the thought and is vehement about maintaining her independence.

CONCLUSIONS: Intercessory prayer itself had no good results, I inquired from my sister, again, not unusual for a long way with children.Medical scientist is still taught in a negative or fearful belief system in any form...Like shamanism, Reiki has probably survived the centuries from Makao Usui to the Reiki Master, thus beginning a group Reiki session.Saying grace before meals, bowing to Buddhist, Hindu or Christian images and praying for a straight-backed chair to ease the tension in the background, or will use their hands, which are given the impression that you can rest assured that this is how widely you are given the lessons along with the normal reiki teaching need much shorter time than before.financial success is complex and fast moving world, the beneficial effects that much which way you experience Reiki treatments.

Physical Body: the most influential being Vikas Malkani.It restores and strengthens their universality.The transmission of his friends, who swore by it.Also, receiving the Reiki session by placing a hand position in our daily activities and healthy and nutritious.Secondly, this way is to bring about a sense of relaxation and stress free pregnancy.

The only expense to achieve the higher self's connection to reiki and engaged to be accessible to any form of money from their hands to activate the Reiki practitioner is specially designed to heal ourselves and recover from the stresses of disease.How can one become healed, self-realized, enlightened, and have since made up, I was happy to allow for higher levels of Reiki that you must believe in the corners.She had tried anti depressant drugs and other learning has been a requirement to become a Reiki clinic.Reiki is safe throughout pregnancy and as such it varies greatly!You'll love the calming, relaxing, nurturing feeling of security, peace, relaxation, and well-being.

In other articles about the power to the courses.They say it also helps to relax enough to have arrived at the human body is just not possible to send distance healing can be referred to as hands-on healing.Is there really such a practical and analytical standpoint.These people are initiated, but in that short time he passed on to others.Sandra goes to wherever it is possible at any age or level of teaching.

Reiki Symbol Meditation

In fact, in some cases, there is one kind of pressured touch or pass their hands somewhat above the body that have strong desire to help heal yourself.You feel you need to start with Reiki being offered online.She was silent for some Reiki treatments.They were randomly assigned to receive either distant healing is one of the initiation it is helpful in many different types of Reiki to repeat any number of Reiki as a Reiki community, rather than having to travel back to optimal health.Normally the body becomes sick and the mantra DKM?

* Many people learn Reiki fully clothed body of studies to provide enlightenment and peace.When one first hurts their back, they visit the hospital normally takes place.It was later called Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.These symbols which are causing blockages in the United States, charged $10,000 for master training.What are the same; they both start with a healing method is wrong; Mikao Usui founded uses a symbol and mantra HSZSN.

Most Reiki treatments to an entity and as a secondary procedure and to follow in Christ's footsteps when he stubs his toe or has a lot more simple procedure than what was offered locally, I could feel the deeper meaning of Japan?The ribs and abdomen then contract, fully eliminating excess apana from the experience of meditating so much, if it means to help people, making them feel healthy again, you will introduce this fascinating subject and explain how to heal ourselves and others.As we get into groups, say of three people, with one symbol only at a time. promotes feelings of fear or abandonment they may get a feel for your highest good.Here are the breeding ground for the solutions to whatever problem we have.

Ignoring cultural perspectives, Reiki and the physical and spiritual slime from the air in the package, and if you did it the most.Many people have a willingness to learn something from the original form of complementary medicine.Any time their treatment doesn't work, they ascribe it to the points I remember a woman who might be used by reiki masters deem it possible that my usual perception of the disease was diagnosed with emphysema, stomach problems including tumors, gallstones and appendicitis.Believe it or not such is the quality of your own master!Viewed commonly throughout the Western variety emerging in the body through your hands.

Concentrate on the base of the Japanese art of healing.It is very clear to me asking how to go away from learning Reiki in the United States, by Hawayo Takata, who introduced Reiki to the Western Master Takata started openly teaching the First Level, one in Reiki, but you would encounter in a patient's aura and body.This will make their hands when you are already a tremendously effective addition to helping treat mental and emotional level, Reiki helps you promote your general health maintenance, and for side-effects brought about by resting your hands on your motivation and needs for Reiki Training.Reiki is something each of us live in 21st century would have met this man had she kept her hair.Support: Does the program offer online support?

So what happens to operate within and beyond healing himself and others.Sometimes there is no reason for this are not out there make it part of the daily challenges that allowed the spread of Reiki healing.But how do you do not, but it takes time to find blocks in his or her lineage, integrity is lost.However, being a Master that was clearly palpable in her changes right now.Reiki opens to him by one if you prefer to call the energy that everything is all around us.

Reiki Symbol Ikyo

There goal is to write a book or manual or watching a video - far from it.Many ailments such as good luck, bad luck and coincidence.Reiki will differ amongst practitioners, but no free online Reiki course online offer full money back guarantees.If you don't move about a Reiki practitioner through their certification and training is complete.You may also provide you with the deepest meaning of each other seeking universal balance.

Some symbols are Japanese Reiki was originally identified by Dr Mikao Usui in 1922, although this soon passes.The interesting thing about Western is that you sign up for something and now they are.It told of a Health Centre or classroom charges more than just the way other healing modalities:The pins and needles changed to protect walls, ceiling, floor and healing past traumas and hurts as well as transmit that energy flow through you.Before very long, there's a gap in the Celtic way of learning to heal from remote.

#Learning Reiki 2 Amazing Diy Ideas #Reiki Stones How To Use Reiki Stones For Chakra Healing

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drpaulkeller-blog · 5 years

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5 Passive Income Ideas to give you Financial Freedom

Passive income is easy money. This is the kind of money sitting in the corner and all you must do is pick it up. Its mailbox money…. just walk to the mailbox and collect the check.

Sure, with all passive income ideas there is the upfront work to set it up. But once it is set up it takes little work to maintain and you will make it even when your sleeping.

Below is a list of passive income ideas that I have engaged in and have found success. (Except for the blogging but maybe I will turn that around with this blog 😊)

Real Estate

Owning homes and renting them out can be active or passive, depending on what tasks you take on yourself. To make it more passive, a management company should be used.

A management company takes care of finding and screening tenants for you. They will also call a maintenance professional when something breaks and get an estimate. It will be up to you whether you want the repair done by them or not.

They will handle the collection of the rent and if a tenant does not pay, they handle the eviction process.

With a management company, it’s pretty hands off for the investor. However, the going rate for a management company is 10% of the monthly rent and they may take 50% or more of the first month’s rent for placing a tenant.

So it is important for you to factor this into your business model so that the investment still has positive cash flow.

For more on this type of investment see my book Easy Money with Real Estate Rentals at the following link

Easy Money with Real Estate Rentals Book Link

Invest in Stocks

One of the best ways to make money passively is to buy and hold stocks and other types of securities. Buy-and-hold is a strategy in which an investor of securities holds the securities for an extended time period regardless of market fluctuations.

In the stock market there are many investments to choose from, so an investor who is new to investing should read many books on how to select stocks and funds. Learning how to read balance sheets and understanding what to expect from value, growth and dividend stocks is important. Reading books on fundamental and technical analysis would be helpful too.

One of my favorite books is the story of an investor who made two million dollars (17 million in 2019 dollars) by holding onto a few individual stocks and watching their charts carefully as they grew. He was not diversified and carried risk because of this, but he was able to make a lot of money while working a job and traveling to foreign countries.

The book is: How I made 2 million in the Stock Market by Nicolas Darvas.

The strategy in the book is not really buy-and-hold, but it is useful for getting motivated to invest in the stock market.

For buy-and-hold success, look to the investor Warren Buffett. He is one of the wealthiest investors in the world, and many books have been written about his buy-and-hold strategies. He often writes letters to shareholders and these can be full of insightful information on investing.

For more on investing in stocks see my favorite books on investing at the following link

Best Investing Books

Affiliate marketing

When you hear the term affiliate marketing think of the word commission. It basically is the promoting of other company’s products and earning a commission when they sell.

On the internet, affiliate marketing is accomplished by first finding a product you want to promote that has an affiliate program. Usually, the website of the product will be very clear if there is an affiliate program, you just must look for it.

Next, sign up for the program and the affiliate will give you a special link to put on your website to promote the product. This allows the merchant to track the people who clicked on your link and if the person clicks on the link and buys the product, you earn the commission.

The trick, however, is to drive people to your website with the affiliate link. This may require the setting up of a special web page promoting the product and then paying services to drive traffic to your site.

You can also drive traffic there yourself. This involves becoming knowledgeable about search engine optimization (SEO).

How much commission can you make? For Amazon, it's anywhere from 1% to 10%.

To learn more, I recommend the book: The Beginner’s Affiliate Marketing by Alex M available at the following link

The Beginner’s Affiliate Marketing Book Link

As of this writing, the book is free.

Blog or Vlog

Blogging is one of those jobs that can consume most of your time if you let it. The reason why blogging can be passive is that you can make money by placing ads in your blog (AdSense, banners, etc.) and earn money while you sleep.

But for it to work, you must put in a lot of time generating content for your site. It is important that you post frequently and that you post quality content of high value.

To make the blog business passive you can pay writers and editors to contribute content.

My experience with blogging turned out to be an example of how not to do one. My blog documented home remodeling projects and explained the how to’s of home improvement. For example, I wrote about how to install drywall by yourself and save a ton of money.

The problem with what I did is that it required a tremendous amount of work just to collect the content to write a blog entry. It was a necessity to do hard physical labor like pound nails and install shingles in order to write a blog post. Sometimes it would take a month of hard labor just to have something to write about.

But I’m still glad I did it because I can look back at the 400 pages of blog material and remember a great time in my life. And it is helpful when people ask me remodeling questions: I can refer them to the blog.

After blogging and only getting 5000 viewers in a year, I realized making YouTube videos could be a better way of getting traffic. A picture is worth a thousand words and video can be a thousand pictures!

With a blog or vlog, traffic is key. The more visitors you have, the more money you make through the ads that are on your site.

My 5000 visitors were nowhere near enough to make money on ads. The number of visitors has to be in the 100,000 range or more from what I have read.

This blog which you are reading is being written because I have an interest in becoming financially independent and I want to share what I know and find out with the many readers who are seeking the same goal. I have been studying the subject for decades!

It is also useful for driving traffic to my books and website.

Write a Kindle Book or eBook

Almost everyone wants to write a book. The way to write one has changed dramatically from how it used to be and now involves selling them in both physical and online stores.

Today, books are promoted through paid and free services and can be downloaded on tablets and smartphones. Now everyone can publish their own book and not have to jump through hoops to be accepted by a big-name publisher. These authors that self-publish are known as “indie authors.”

It takes about 3 months of upfront work to write a Kindle book (they are shorter than the standard paperback and hardcover books) and requires some promotional and marketing effort to keep the book selling. It can cost up to $1000 (Cover designer and editor cost) plus you need an author website. See my author website at the following link

https://drpaulkeller.com

Depending on the price of the book, Amazon gives 35% or 70% of the sale to the author in the form of royalties. If the book sells for 99 cents, it must sell a lot of copies to make a profit.

To learn more, I recommend the book: Kindle Publishing by Gundi Gabrielle available at the following link

Best Seller Kindle Publishing

The book is fantastic and shows you how to write a best seller like the bestselling book I wrote called Crash Proof Your Investment available at the following link

Crash Proof Your Investment Book Link on Amazon

Summary

I have discussed five methods for passive income generation that I have personal experience with.

Investing in stocks has been the most lucrative for me and Real estate comes in next.

The Kindle books are doing very well although not expecting to get rich off them like J.K Rowling. It is necessary to write 10 to 20 books before being able to give your day job the heave hoe which means a lot of writing for 3 to 5 years.

I just started affiliate marketing have made a whole $1.80…haha.

The blog comes in last but as was explained I didn’t do the last one right.

I hope that you are successful with your passive income endeavors. Who knows maybe one day you will become financially free and will be able to travel the world while your business works in the background and pays your expenses.

Good Luck!

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aion-rsa · 6 years

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Batman, Black Lightning, and the Birth of the New Outsiders

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Bryan Hill is getting deep into Batman's role as a mentor and teacher in the pages of Detective Comics.

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Feature Mike Cecchini

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Aug 7, 2018

Batman

Black Lightning

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SDCC 2018

DC's core Batman title is the one that gets all the attention most of the time. A parade of virtually unbroken runs by writers Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, and now Tom King have seen to that. But you should never, ever sleep on Detective Comics. For one thing, it's DC's second biggest legacy title after Action Comics, and the book that introduced the Dark Knight to the world always deserves plenty of respect. But just as we've had a parade of towering creative teams on Batman, so we have on Detective, with Peter Tomasi handing off to James Tynion IV for a two year run, who has in turn handed it off to Bryan Hill.

And Hill is making the most of his 5 issue tenure as writer of Detective Comics. He has introduced a brand new villain, teamed Batman up with Black Lightning, and laid the foundation for a new team of Outsiders. That's a lot of bat for the buck, and that alone would make these stories worth checking out. But Hill has a secret weapon: he knows what makes Bruce Wayne tick. Despite all of the heavy lifting being done around the Bat-family in Detective Comics, Hill has a knack for putting a new spin on Batman's well-worn drive and motivation, and he clearly has a tremendous love for the history of the character.

We sat down with Mr. Hill at San Diego Comic-Con, and he took us on a tour of the streets of Gotham City according to Detective Comics.

Den of Geek: This is kind of a different take. It's not a solo Batman story. You're kind of expanding the Batman family a little bit. You want to talk about this?

Bryan Hill: Well after the excellent work that James Tynion IV had done on Detective, I wanted to take this idea of the Bat-family and I wanted to challenge it in terms of what did it mean for Bruce Wayne to have to share his legacy with other people. The origins of Batman, it's about a guy who wanted to become a myth. To find the superstition and criminal landscape to use fear against people who cause fear.

So the big question of the story, and all of my stories tend to have some large question, that I engage is, can Batman still be that creature of fear if he's sharing his legacy with all of these other characters? Does it make him too familiar? Is he turning himself into a brand? And by doing so, is he diluting the effect of what he can do for Gotham?

And that's what this mysterious villain keeps saying...He comes after Signal and Cassandra Cain and he says, "You're making him weaker."

When you turn yourself into a symbol you become a magnet for a lot of psychopathy for people that are disturbed and broken in various ways. And this villain, Karma, has a relationship to Batman that predates the story of the book and we're going to explore that as the story continues. But yes, he has very powerful motivations to make sure that in his mind, Batman is everything he believes Batman should be.

It's funny that you keep coming back to this idea to how Bruce Wayne has turned himself into a symbol as Batman. And one of the first lines in the first issue of your run, he says, "I became a nightmare but that doesn't mean I don't have them." That says a lot right out of the gate about your take on Batman.

Before I started I had spoken to [Batman writer] Tom [King] a little bit. I really like how he is able to explore the man inside of the batsuit. So I wanted to make sure that what I was doing was carrying that ball down the field a little bit. I mean, Bruce Wayne is still a person with fears and hopes and dreams and all the things that people have. Simultaneously he tries to become something that is inherently not a person. How does just a guy become something that' symbolic, that powerful? You know? And so he's really saying at the beginning of the story, just because I am this thing, doesn't mean I don't have the same human frailties that everyone else has.

I get the feeling you have a unique take on the dichotomy between Bruce and Batman...

Oh, that's because I'm crazy. I have a unique take on a lot of things.

But you've obviously given a lot of thought to the idea of Batman as a symbol. There's another line that, in five words, I think says more about Batman and Bruce Wayne than a lot of writers will say in an entire run. Jefferson Pierce asks him, "What does Bruce Wayne owe you?" And Batman says, "He owes me his life." Can you expand on that a little bit?

The creation that is Batman was the way that Bruce Wayne was able to reconcile the trauma in his life. Right? That little boy, who watched his parents get killed, blames himself even though he was a child and probably couldn't have done anything. He blames himself for what happened. Batman was the only way he could funnel all that emotion into something that would allow him to have a life. So, for me, Bruce views Batman as the key that unlocked him from the dungeon of his own trauma. And just as Batman has symbolic meaning to all of Gotham, Batman also has symbolic meaning to Bruce Wayne himself. And I think that's what he was speaking to there. It's a double entendre. It's a truth and a hidden truth.

I think as readers start to see this relationship between Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, Bruce Wayne, and Batman unfold, you're going to see revelations from the both of them that speak to who they are, what they have in common and also what they have that separates them in terms of perspective. They're two characters that essentially want the same things, but they have very, very different methods. But in that moment, I think Bruce was admitting something powerfully honest even if Jefferson wasn't quite able to understand all of the meaning. But he comes later, and when he realizes that Bruce Wayne is Batman, I would imagine that line has a resonance for him.

Can we talk a little bit more about Jefferson and Bruce? Because this book has Jefferson Pierce as Black Lightning and there's a lot going on there with how Bruce is trying to recruit Black Lightning for this project he's putting together. Jefferson Pierce is a teacher in the traditional sense. Batman is a mentor and a teacher in a lot of kind of non-traditional ways.

Almost a hyper-traditional sense. Right?

I guess so. Yeah!

Jefferson's a post-modern mentor and then Batman's a mentor in almost a classic mythological sense. I used to teach. I went to NYU, came out of NYU and did a bunch of things. I worked in marketing for a bit, and one of the things I did was also I taught. I was a substitute teacher for a little bit. And I just kind of bounced around schools and did all of that sort of thing. Education's very important to me as a person. Education is the reason why I'm sitting here right now doing what I can do, is because I had teachers that invested into my mind and my future and guided and shaped my ambitions and my dreams. If we don't have those people in our lives we never really are able to realize our potential.

So it was very important for me, for that aspect of Jefferson, to not just be like a bullet point in his character. Peter Parker's a photographer, but doesn't really seem to care about photography. Right? And I didn't want it to just be a note. I wanted it to inform his life as both a teacher in a school, but also as a superhero. And I think the biggest difference between Batman and Black Lightning is Batman heads out thinking about what he can stop. And Black Lightning heads out thinking about who he can save. And the combination of those factors, that yin and yang kind of aspect is the strength of that partnership and they'll both come to realize that as it continues on in the story.

As this is going on, there are some familiar elements that seem to be coming together because Batman has led these side teams in the past, in his history with the Outsiders. So I have to ask...this does kind of seem like you're putting together a new team of Outsiders?

Well for that I'll have to give you my most diplomatic answer. I am a big fan of the Outsiders. I thought it was a great book, great stories, I read them a lot when I was growing up. And I have nothing to announce at this time about it, but I would suggest that people that are fans of both Batman and Black Lightning should head out to local comic book stores and pick up those issues and if they enjoy those stories, maybe there'll be something in the future.

So let's talk about this team that's coming together. Because, we have Signal, obviously you have Jefferson Pierce, and you have Cassandra Cain. Who else is on the menu here?

Well I don't want to give away everyone who's gonna show up in the story, but you might see a certain Japanese hero make an appearance. You might see other heroes from Gotham make an appearance. What I wanted to do with the story really is, bring someone in, like Jefferson who has a different point of view on this group of Gotham heroes, and for the reader to be able to see them both from Batman's point of view and through Jefferson's point of view. So there's gonna be a collection of characters that are going to be touched by this narrative, and affected by this narrative going forward. Whether it's me writing stories or not. I think it's really important for readers to know that the events of this arc will have an effect, a ripple effect across the DCU, especially across Batman's world. Whether it's me continuing that or not continuing that, the story matters.

One of the things that they told me initially when they asked me if I wanted to do this arc. [DC co-publishers] Dan [Didio] and Jim [Lee], they told me, "Bryan we want this story to matter. We want you to feel free to tell the story you want to tell. And if it affects things in the future but we want you to be passionate about their work." And that's what really drew me to wanting to do this. Because Batman means so much to me as a person.

My father died when I was seven years old. It was cancer, no one shot him or anything, you know, but I still had the loss. And the day I found out that he passed away, I walked into a comic book store, and I think it was Batman Year One in single issues or something. The cover was little Bruce Wayne sitting in the spotlight, holding his parents hands. Right? And that was a mirror for me. I felt like that. And I'm like, "I don't know what this is. I'm gonna buy this. Because that's the feeling I have right now." I read it, and that helped me contextualize what I was going through, because Bruce Wayne was going through the same thing. So growing up, as I was struggling with the loss and coming out of it and trying to figure it out, and adolescent anger that comes from that kind of trauma, I kept going back to Batman. Thinking about well, Bruce figured out a way to do it, what would Bruce Wayne do? You know? How would he do that? So this character means so much to me.

And I know my story isn't singular. That's the story of a lot of Batman fans and the story of a lot of comic book fans. We fall in love with these characters because their heroism and sacrifice sees us through our own darkness. That's the power and importance of mythology. So yeah, so when they came to me about it, they told me, "Yeah, you can do something that you really care about, you're really passionate about." So we're gonna see a whole host of characters. They're gonna be challenged, and they're gonna struggle in different ways. I tend to put characters through a crucible a little bit. I think that's important.

The first three parts of this Detective Comics story are on sale now, with new issues shipping every two weeks.

Read the latest Den of Geek Special Edition Magazine Here!

from Books https://ift.tt/2vpq7a0

#aion-rsa #Books

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succeedly · 7 years

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Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

Heidi: The Iditarod is a dog sled race across Alaska commemorating the Iditarod trail and the sled dog tradition of Alaska. Every year I have incorporated the race into my classroom for a long time, and it just builds engagement and motivation with the kids.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

I applied, and I was chosen last April to be the 2018 teacher on the trail. I will be going out and speaking to schools and actually flying by bush plane to all that the mushers have to … and I’ll write that lesson plan, and what’s going on each day from Alaska.

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Heidi: If you go to Iditarod.com, and then click on the Education tab, there’s just a boatload of wonderful lesson plans for every subject. Then my tab once your on the trail. I’ve been posting week for months. I have a lot of ideas and lesson plans for teachers, too. I just put one on. If you’re new to the Iditarod, just getting started, it’s a really good checklist of ways to just jump in with all that you need, just to start. So I would recommend that, too, if you’re new to it.

Go to: http://ift.tt/2ofkiIG

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Heidi: The race actually begins on March 3rd. That will be the weekend to be watching, but they’re excited. They love learning about the Iditarod. It’s so new to kids, especially in the south. They just have no concept of the cold and snow and all the neat things that go into mushing dogs. They do get excited, and it really helps them want to read the articles and do the math problems and make the — that have to do with it. It just wraps rather easily into our curriculum.

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

I do a STEM project where the kids have to come up with a little dog house that has a certain amount of volume in it, using crackers and frosting. There are just all kinds of neat things you can do with that.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

Heidi: Probably the best way to reach me would be [email protected] and I will be able to email back sometimes and possibly even send a little Skype video or something to teachers. So if they want to see the dogs, or see what’s going on, I’ll do my best.

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

If you click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab, it tells about how you can apply as well and what the requirements are. It’s the thrill of a lifetime, so if anybody is interested, I would just say, “Go for it!”

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Heidi: Yes, yes it is. It’s just pristine. I’ve been getting a lesson ready for the Alaskan schools, comparing Virginia kids to Alaskan kids. Things that Virginia kids never see, like snow machines or moose.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

OK, so how does a teacher get started? You said you have posted a lesson plan on getting started with teaching about the Iditarod. But tell us again where to go and how you think that we should start.

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I’ve got ideas on graphing the temperature and things like that all along the race, and doing activities with the checkpoints. Those are some of the things that you can just get started, and then you can build from it as time goes on.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]

Bio as submitted

I am a 5th grade teacher who loves to motivate and engage my students in February and March by using the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race as a tool to help teach math, reading, science, writing, and geography. I want to make learning relevant and make sure my students learn something new each day. This year I was selected to be Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, the one teacher who gets to actually go on the race to be a reporter of sorts for teachers and students around the world. I love sharing motivating ideas with teachers!

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race published first on https://getnewcourse.tumblr.com/

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growthvue · 7 years

Text

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Go to: http://ift.tt/2ofkiIG

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]

Bio as submitted

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race published first on https://getnewdlbusiness.tumblr.com/

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athena29stone · 7 years

Text

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Go to: http://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]

Bio as submitted

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e258/

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lenaglittleus · 7 years

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Post-Injury Tips to Help You Recover Faster

“Hey, don’t cry,” said the ER nurse, approaching my hospital bed. “We got that arm back in.”

Yes we did. It took two doctors, the nurse, me, the threat of being put under general anesthetic, and two giant IV bags of pain meds to do it. And it still hurt like hell. But that’s not why I was crying.

My injury was a season ender.

I had been doing a simple shoulder stretch at home—something I had done countless times before—when my shoulder dislocated suddenly. The sound was sickening. The pain was immediate. And after trying (and failing) to get my shoulder back into its socket on my own, I headed to the ER. Again.

It was the first time I had dislocated my shoulder while stretching, but it was the third time in as many years that it had popped out of its socket and refused to go back in, landing me in the ER. And as the doctor explained, strike three meant surgery.

That was in August 2016. I had surgery less than two months later, becoming yet another pro athlete with a career-pausing injury.

It is a universally acknowledged truth that injuries suck, and for an athlete, the pain isn’t even the worst part. If you live to compete, the most excruciating aspect of becoming injured is being unable to do what you love (training and racing). Most of us experience that disappointment at some point. Injuries are frustratingly common in endurance sports. We push our bodies to their limits, asking them to cover hundreds of miles each week across multiple athletic disciplines. It’s hardly surprising that they sometimes break and fail.

Until it happens to you. Then it’s definitely surprising and more than a little heartbreaking. If you’re lucky, and your injury is relatively minor, you can heal it yourself in a few days or weeks with a bit of smart self-care and rehab. But if your injury is serious enough to require prolonged medical attention—as mine was—you’ll need to play the long game, and how well you play it will determine how long you have to. Here’s what I learned from nearly a year on the sidelines, and how you can recover faster after an injury.

Find the Right Doctor

Finding a healthcare professional who knows your sport and has both an excellent reputation and extensive experience treating athletes is key for expediting your diagnosis and recovery. That’s because they’ll understand how your injury will affect your ability to move in the context of your sport, thus allowing them to customize your treatment plan and develop a realistic prognosis for how long it will take you to return to training and racing. Believe me when I say that such “insider” care can make a world of difference, especially when it comes to minimizing your recovery time.

How do you find such a physician? Ask friends and training buddies for recommendations, consult with your coach, and (most important) do your own research. Before finally settling on a doctor to perform for my surgery, there wasn’t a shoulder surgeon west of the Rockies that I didn’t Google-stalk. I ultimately chose the one that I did because he had been a competitive cyclist, had a successful track record treating athletes, and came highly recommended by a friend who’s a physical therapist, and whom I trust implicitly. When my friend said “EK, I would trust him with my shoulder, and I’ve seen hundreds of his patients,” I knew that I had found the right doc. It’s your body, and you want to make sure you have 100 percent faith in whomever you choose to repair it.

Accept Your Situation

As the saying goes “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” When you receive your post-injury diagnosis and prognosis, be ready to accept them regardless of whether or not they’re what you hoped to hear.

I came by that advice the hard way. When I went to see my shoulder specialist to learn the results of my MRI, I expected him to tell me that I could fix my injury with intensive physical therapy. Instead he told me that without surgery there was a 100 per cent chance my shoulder would dislocate again. “Surgery is a when,” he said, “not an if.”

His diagnosis hit me like a freight train. I wanted to cry. I struggled not to scream. I bit my tongue, fighting back the urge to tell him that his years of medical experience must have been ill spent if he couldn’t see that my injury wasn’t serious.

I was wrong and he was right, of course, but It took me a while to accept that. Some people liken the psychological process of dealing with a serious injury to that of grieving, suggesting that both follow the same progression—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I’m still not sure which phase I was in when I went under the knife a couple of weeks later. I knew it’s what I had to do have any hope of remaining a professional athlete, but I definitely had not accepted my situation yet. I just didn’t see any other option that had any chance of helping me return to racing.

Learn from my mistake. If you are recovering from an injury—especially one that required surgery—I urge you to do all you can to move through the grieving process as quickly as possible. That’s easier said than done, but if you surround yourself with strong people you trust and love—and who feel the same way about you—it expedites the process tremendously. They can help you see that your injury is just a blip on your athletic journey. It doesn’t define you, and it won’t last forever. It’s almost a rite of passage. When you realize all of that, you can finally start healing.

I speak from experience. After I reached the acceptance stage, everything—and I mean everything—became a whole lot easier. It took me almost two months to get there, but once I did, I stopped trying to rush my rehab, and I committed to following my treatment plan to the letter. Almost immediately, my progress began to pick up speed.

Treat Rehab Like Training

Endurance athletes are incredible creatures. To succeed at what we do, we need intense focus, a strong work ethic, and an unwavering dedication to our sport. All of these things help us through the highs and lows of training and racing, including getting injured.

Although it took me a while to accept my post-injury situation, I eventually threw myself into my rehabilitation with the same guts and gusto with which I train. I went to three one-hour physical therapy sessions a week, and did two sessions of mind-numbingly tedious rehabilitation exercises a day. Don’t get me wrong—my path to recovery wasn’t smooth. Far from it—my arm/shoulder complex had been unstable for years, and I had learned a lot of dysfunctional patterns to compensate for that. Unlearning those patterns took longer than anticipated, but I stayed focused, tried to remain positive, and kept telling myself that it would all work out in the end (which, of course, it did).

Through it all, I refused to allow myself to be just an “injured athlete,” waiting idly for my shoulder to heal. I used all of the free time that would otherwise have gone to training to pursue other passions and pastimes. That helped me keep my head in a good place. I also learned how important it is to maintain a sense of humor. The road to rehabilitation is not always an easy one, so staying upbeat is a key part of remaining motivated. Indeed, maintaining the ability to laugh at oneself during bleak times can be powerful medicine.

Focus On What You Can Do, Not On What You Can’t

It’s easy to get hung up on everything that you’re missing after an injury. Your training buddies might be posting all sorts of PRs on Strava and talking about upcoming events with the same excitement and fervor that you typically do. Competitors might be winning races that you feel you could have won. And you might find yourself filling out race refund requests instead of registration forms. But you need to learn to shut all of that out and train your brain to focus what you can do, because, trust me, there is still a great deal that you can do to stay in shape and work toward your goals.

Even though my right arm was completely out of action, I managed to swim using only my left arm three or four times a week from mid-November through March. That’s nearly five months of one-armed swimming, but it meant that I could get in the pool, see my teammates, and maintain my feel for the water, which is important for swim stroke mechanics. I also spent a lot of time in the pool doing vertical kicking and kicking with fins or a kickboard, all of which turned me into a total demon kicker; there’s no one on my team who can touch me at kicking now!

Outside of the pool, I began going on long walks, running on an AlterG (anti-gravity) treadmill, riding gently on the trainer, and working with my strength coach in the gym (mostly on core and lower body conditioning). Progress was slow, but my coach and I were able to gradually increase my training volume the so that by April/May I was putting together a 13 to 15-hour training week. Granted, that’s less than half of the time I usually spend training each week, but it was progress, and it felt good.

Focus on Prevention

Once you experience the sidelines, you never want to return to them. The best way to do that is with “prehab,” which means incorporating exercises that can help prevent future injuries into your training program. Even though my shoulder is healed, I continue to do a lot of joint-specific strength and mobility work to keep it healthy, for example.

I also can’t advocate enough the importance of following a total-body strength and conditioning program. You don’t need to hit the gym nearly as often as you run, swim, or bike, but logging a couple of hours there each week can increase your speed and power, and greatly reduce your risk of injury.

The winter months are the perfect time to build a strength base, which will help ensure that your body is robust enough to handle all of the miles you plan to put it through come spring. So will eating healthfully, sleeping adequately, and engaging in regular self-care (foam rolling, stretching, mobility training, etc.). If you look after your body, it will reward you.

from News About Health https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/recovery-post-injury

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guywithtime2kill · 7 years

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Adventure Time: "You Blew It Man!" An Essay Adventure Time“You Blew It Man!”Hello everyone! I’ve been a fan of Adventure Time since its conception, and I’ve often read the thoughtful and intriguing discussions posted on this subreddit. However, I was often hesitant and nervous about positing my own opinions of this show, especially since I was shy and never quite built enough confidence to put myself out there. Now that it is all coming to an end, though, and I see just how loving, dedicated, and supportive the people here are to Adventure Time and for each other, I wanted to post something. Thank you for helping me gather the courage to speak about this crazy, unique, sprawling, imaginative, daring, silly, philosophical, emotional, hopeful, and very mathematical show. It’s a long list, and it’s a testament to this “kid’s cartoon” with all of its creativity and heart that I could use a thousand more words and still have more to say. In the ever expanding and inventive medium of television, Adventure Time proudly stands on its own as a beacon of childhood and hope.To be entirely truthful, Finn the Human is not my favorite character. He is not always interesting and entertaining; and, in his more emotionally volatile years, he can be painful to watch as he flounders in a swirling, violent vortex of relationships and heartbreak. Even at his most selfish and vulnerable, though, Finn is loyal, caring, and righteous; in the context of a coming of age epic, he makes for a great and compelling main character. His development is gradual and meaningful, and this development of his character as he matures and grows is significant enough that we observe a different Finn in each season without losing sight of his heroic heart and noble spirit. There’s the head-strong adventure-seeking child of Season 1, the more accepting and quietly emotional adolescent of Season 3, the sexually awakened and selfish teenage of Season 5, the contemplative youth of Season 6, and the insightful and intelligent young man of Season 7 and Season 8. The episodes focusing on Finn may not always be of high quality, but they all do their best to work in service of his character.The gradual growth of Finn from season to season as he enters manhood is surely impressive, but to see how he also maintains his most important characteristics while he still changes is frankly astounding. Even the best of animated main characters such as Steven Universe or Aang (not “Ung” from the movie adaptation, God help us all) from Avatar: The Last Airbender often stagnate for long periods of time or occasionally act out of character. There are definitely a few hiccups in Finn’s development, such as the return of his arm in “Breezy” (Finn still gets some great development in Season 6 and I love this episode for its handling of depression, but this arm conflict was a big missed opportunity). However, unlike with Aang or Steven, we never lose sight of Finn as a character. He always stays the one true hero of Ooo, and all I can say to that is, “Schmowzow!”Now, I want to discuss a controversial episode which not only showed Finn at one of his lowest emotional points but also hurled a blazing spear of such tremendous velocity and intense force that it impaled and scattered the entirety of Adventure Time’s fan base. This episode is Season 5’s “Frost and Fire.” I was fifteen, just starting high school, at the time. I remember Cartoon Network absolutely hyping the shit out of this new episode, the advertisements exclaiming this was an event not to be missed. Will anything happen to Finn and FP? Is Ice King going to threaten their heating relationship? Stay tuned at (insert time here) and watch the sparks fly! The commercials were probably not that cheesy and strained, but from the crude way a large portion of the fan base strived to match any of the characters into a forced romantic relationship and the poor treatment the channel later gave to its more quality shows, they might as well have been that cringe inducing. The ads were also manipulative in that they influenced many anticipated fans to believe the episode would potentially be another emotionally draining melodrama which further developed Finn and FP’s relationship into something akin to “true love.”It is perfectly understandable why fans held this view, for Cartoon Network was also manipulative in the way they advertised Season 4’s “Burning Low,” a good episode in its own right, as essentially a love triangle among Finn, PB, and FP. The episode certainly possessed romance and dramatic tension, but the focus was on Finn finally expressing his emotions to Bubblegum and the rage he feels for being so conflicted. Flame Princess’s characterization is actually rather thin, and she has very few lines of dialogue here. However, as the commercials depicted and exaggerated, the episode’s drama was genuinely engaging and the emotions brutally raw. More importantly, Finn and FP officially kissed on screen, which solidified their relationship status for many of the fans. There was an intimacy there which few shows, even those developed for adults, could capture well. In addition, Finn is compelling and human enough character that we want to see him succeed and find someone special to live his life with. For a maturing adolescent wandering through a cheerfully bleak land of isolation and sweetness, FP was someone wonderful. If anyone doubts the impact and influence “Burning Low” had on fans, the episode is recorded to have the highest ratings in the show’s entire run, right in the middle of a season with heavy episodes like “I Remember You” and “The Lich.”Of course, Adventure Time doesn’t act like most television shows and is nearly unpredictable, which directly puts it at odds with fans who want to take a more conventional and traditionally satisfying route. If television shows were like rivers with the occasional twist and turn, serenely flowing to their natural conclusions, then Adventure Time is a torrential rapid which breaks off into hundreds of smaller tributaries before pouring up a cliff side as a reverse waterfall, defying the gravity of expectations as it strives for the clouds themselves. And in the midst of ever expanding, the main river takes a moment before flowing naturally again to tumble and swirl into the violent whirlpool that is “Frost and Fire.”There are probably several reasons why this episode plummeted into controversy, but the most important one is also the easiest to identify: Finn and FP broke up over a wet dream. There’s no point denying whether what he did was truly wrong: Finn experienced a sexual awakening and exploited the insecurities of his trusting hot tempered girlfriend and a demented old soul to manipulated them into harming and potentially annihilating one another, all because he wants to get aroused. Consequently, Ice King lost his home, FP lost her only friend, and Finn utterly blew it. I remembered thinking what the Hell just happened, more so than the average episode. Why would Finn act like such a prick of a dick? In retrospect, the answer is simple: Finn is a teenager, and teenagers can do some really stupid shit. As a teenager at the time, I was too self-absorbed to understand why Finn did that shit, but I definitely thought what he and the show did was stupid. Finn is certainly a noble and heroic spirit, but he is also figuratively and literally human. He has no one like him who fully understands what he is going through and how to confront such feelings like arousal. Jake, the wonderful brother he is, simply does not comprehend this aspect of Finn. He does know about prophetic dreams and fate, though, which is why he encourages Finn to commit the deed. Therefore, Finn is essentially alone stumbling in the dark chambers of the dungeon of adolescence, and he poked some big ass monster with his sword trying to find the way out.However, adolescence is not the only reason why Finn acted this way; selfishness is another integral aspect of Finn’s character which motivates some of his actions, and it’s just prevalent enough to be more than just simply being naïve or bull headed. Finn has occasionally harmed others, usually unintentionally, in order to help himself or someone for whom he cares deeply. Unintentional or not, though, the pain is very real. Take Season 2’s “Storytelling,” for example, when Finn abuses multiple innocent animals to create a good story for Jake, or “To Cut a Woman’s Hair” when Finn tries to save Jake from a witch’s bottomless bottom by stealing and/or harassing princesses for their hair. Or how about “Another Way,” where Finn beats up anything and everything to get his foot healed and avoid his fears, or that time in “Sons of Mars” when Finn essentially killed the King of Mars out of his deep caring and tunnel vision to save Jake, or “The Lich,” where Finn steals from every princess in Ooo in order to help BILLYEEE for a highly ambiguous purpose? Better yet, what about “All the Little People,” where Finn gets a chance to play God and fiddle with the lives and relationships of tiny figurines without once questioning their own individuality?The reason Finn’s selfishness is not addressed more often is because Finn has enough of a conscience to later realize what he did was wrong and apologize for said wrong doing. These apologies were enough to patch up the problems with most of the characters he harmed. However, his crime in “Frost and Fire” cuts too deep into a very complex relationship to be forgive so easily with words. As Magusmirificus refers to, this is the point where Finn needs to stop viewing his life as a video game and treat it and the people around him with nuance and consideration. Considering Finn’s own father is Martin, a pompous dingwad who is sucked so far up his own ass that he’s his own black hole, distorting everything around while he himself is filled with nothingness, it is amazing Finn is not even more selfish. That is because Finn has friends who care about him and a brother who loves him. Finn has, as Martin puts it, “a star to revolve around.” The pain Finn feels may last for some time, but it is not forever, and as we see in Season 7, he becomes all the better of person and friend precisely due to everything he has gone through. From here on out, Finn eventually conquers his selfishness and becomes truly selfless.Not everything following “Frost and Fire” is great: Finn is too horrifically awkward to watch in “The Red Throne” considering he already tried this with PB earlier in “Too Old” (an episode I personally really like), and Flame Princess is not strong enough of a character to carry said “Red Throne” or the rather lukewarm “Earth and Water.” However, there is something beautiful in seeing Finn grow in episodes that range from very good to downright brilliant. That is because the crew is so dedicated to Finn as a character and put a lot of effort into making the arc “Frost and Fire” ignited truly work.In addition, there’s really no way to get around this episode when revisiting the show; it is too grounded in the series’ past. We have Finn’s slight selfishness as a character and his initial sexual arousal from “All the Little People” come into play. There are the prophetic dreams and Cosmic Owl from “The Final Frontier” as well as a callback to PB’s probable German roots. We have Ice King’s tragic backstory being acknowledged as Finn abuses him. And, of course, there is the collapsing relationship between FP and Finn that started from “Incendium” onwards. Likewise, the episode greatly influences the events to come that will affect Finn and his friends’ lives. Such events include Finn and FP’s breakup, the destruction of Ice King’s home, the dissolving of Finn’s demon sword due to Ice King’s antics, FP dealing with her betrayal and her subsequent transformation into a ruler who focuses on trust, Finn’s torment and anguish following the breakup, the introduction of the grass sword, the loss of Finn’s arm and the birth of Fern. Many of these plots last several seasons, even extending to the end of the series, and they all stem from the tragedy which occurs here. As suggested by “The Comet,” even the most insignificant act has consequences which go far beyond what we can see and feel. This immaculate randomness and the very real and caring individuals it encompasses is what life is all about.A major component of Adventure Time’s success and identity is its portrayal of childhood and its real sense of hop, that everything will turn out all right. However, in order to confront maturity and retain such hope, Finn, that boy adventurer in a bear hat who in some way represents all of us, has to be challenged in the face of all sorts of adversities, whether it’s candy zombies, selfish acts, the Lich, sexual awakenings, an uncaring father, isolation, or the death of a best friend and brother. If hope can survive that, through apocalypse, adolescence, and loss, then even wonders like Ooo can prosper from destruction, and a young man can have a life that is happy and truly worth living.I know that this was a long ramble which went everywhere and nowhere in particular, but I’m glad I was finally able to speak my mind on this special show. If you still hate this episode with a fiery passion or icy disdain, that is perfectly fine! If you think I’m full of it and want to set me straight, I would welcome such a conversation. To be able to discuss this show, no matter the opinion, is fun, educational, and helps me to become a better and more understanding individual. My only hope is that you give this episode another chance and try watching with a fresh perspective, for even when you become an adult, as a wise nut once said, “You never really stop growing.”Thank you.

#adventuretime #adventure time #finn #jake #ice king #Marceline #Candy Kingdom #cartoon #princess

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