#but there could be some brilliant representation and someone would find some sort of problem with it

[mw-draws]

look, while it may not be absolutely perfect, Doctor Who has always (since its revival) handled lgbt+ representation much better than most other shows. yes, there's quite a significant trope of "Bury your gays" here and there (looking at you chibnall), but the fact that for 15 years, the show has had lgbt+ representation here and there, is just incredible.

Doctor Who is an amazingly inclusive show. we've had gay characters, trans characters, bi characters, lesbian characters, pan characters, ace characters, loads of characters from throughout the spectrum and it's amazing. how many other shows have done that? no, the representation isn't perfect, it will never be truly perfect. there'll always be that one thing someone said or the fact that most lgbt+ characters aren't often main characters, but there's always that safety and acceptance in Doctor Who and its always trying.

I mean, the main character's gender and sexuality is literally fluid, the Doctor doesn't give a fuck about gender and the fact that trans and non-binary people can relate to the Doctor about something like that is amazing. I've seen so many people headcannoning the Doctor as whatever gender identity/sexuality they want and the fact that they can find themselves in the Doctor is just brilliant, it makes me so happy.

we're now able to have the possibility of seeing the 13th Doctor kiss a woman. it's absolutely canon that the 13th Doctor is still attracted to women. it's canon that's she's married to a woman. it is canon that we have a wlw Doctor and that's great! that's something that will never, ever be taken away from us. and even then, before the Doctor became a woman, they've been in mlm relationships, kissed men and admitted to having a man-crush on the Master. the Doctor is not and never has been straight. we have Bill, the first explicitly lesbian companion and that's wonderful! we have jenny and vastra, a lesbian couple in the 19th century. we have Captain Jack, an omnisexual man, played by an explicitly gay man. we have Clara, Yaz and possibly Graham all hinted at being bi (although, most people find that these characters are bi due to personal headcanons, but because of these hints, these headcanons are possible. I am in no way saying that these characters are explicitly bi, especially Graham). we have loads of lgbt+ characters and that's something that will never change.

the representation in series 11, wasn't perfect, no, far from it, but series 11 had the most lgbt+ random side characters that I've seen in years. however, as I've stated, it unfortunately fell into the "Bury your gays" trope which is really shit. series 12, so far, has been a massive improvement on that trope, giving us a gay couple who was important to the story and both of them survived. yeah, it's not the greatest rep ever, but it's getting better.

Doctor Who is and has always been about inclusivity and that's one of the reasons why I love it so much. the fact that so many lgbt+ fans can find themselves in these characters and relate to them is fucking wonderful and I absolutely love it. the show loves and cares for its lgbt+ fans and always tries to represent them in some way. you can tell that lgbt+ representation is important to every showrunner so far and they have all, in one way or another, brought lgbt+ representation to Doctor Who.

[rainbuckets8]

Superman appreciation post

There is a Big Three of Superheroes. In my perception, and according to a recent poll (1), Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man are the clear favorites. Growing up as a comic book fan, my personal preference was Spider-Man, then Batman who was pretty close, then Superman in last by a long shot. As an adult, the idea of Superman has overtaken the top spot, followed by Spider-Man and Batman; yet what I want to see in Superman stories rarely reflects what I actually see.

The thing I’ve always thought with superheroes is that they represent something greater than just what they can do with their fantastic powers or cool costumes. For instance, Spider-Man is so successful because he successfully represents the struggles of being a high school or college student, and growing up into adulthood. He was a teenager with “personal problems” (2), notably something that was lacking in comics at the time. Batman, to me, represents the triumph of brains over brawn, and sort of the fantasy of becoming someone who wins because of their own effort and drive when the odds are stacked against him. (He has no super powers.)

And for the longest time, Superman represented, well, just a fantastical and boring character with no conflicts. He has so many powers and can do so much, what could he possibly struggle with? Of course he’s going to save the day. And there’s nothing further from the truth of who Superman is. But in the years I grew up in, that’s all I could see.

Part of the Superman story is the struggle of being an immigrant, a literal alien, trying to fit into a new world. But the part I want to look at that I feel isn’t being written is the story of Clark Kent, and Lex Luthor. Unlike many other Superman villains, characters like Brainiac and Darkseid, who have super powers to compete with the sheer strength of Superman, Lex is just another human. But he’s a rich and politically powerful human. And the irony is that for all the power in the world that Superman has, he’s so incredibly powerless to defeat Lex Luthor. And as an adult, who doesn’t relate to that? Who doesn’t look at some of the richest, influential, and most corrupt people in the world, and we all know they’re doing awful things, and yet there’s not a damned thing we can do to stop them? It’s a perspective that we just don’t have as a child.

Enter Clark Kent. Now it may be hard to believe, but people used to trust the news. Whether that trust was deserved, is a topic for another day, but generally we believed that the news told us the truth. And so it makes sense for Clark to be a reporter. He deals with exposing the people who Superman can’t touch. Clark’s superpower is the power of free speech. He is more of a representation of “truth, justice, and the American Way” than Superman could ever be. And that’s another angle I don’t see being explored, how our internet culture, media culture, and the current obvious bias of many major news organizations, have eroded our faith in the news to tell the truth.

Take all those topics and combine them with the recent political climate, and how could Superman and Clark Kent possibly fail to be interesting and relatable? How incredibly relevant these things are!

Moving on, this is why the dynamic between Superman and Batman has been criminally simplified. The common perception I’ve seen is that their fight is kind of like a brains vs brawn thing, and Batman is somehow always right, and whoever “wins” is the most important part. I mean…just google “can batman beat superman?” Of course he can’t! Why is this even a question? And I blame “The Dark Knight Returns,” not because of what it does, but because of how it’s misinterpreted. A large number of people just point to it as “yeah Batman punches Superman better and he wins.” But even narratively, the point of that comic was always that SUPERMAN was “right” in this situation. He needed to teach Batman the lesson overall, and it’s Batman who learned this lesson. And it’s Superman who chose to not expose the big reveal at the end, because Batman has indeed learned his lesson. Physically, of course, it’s absolutely no contest. But narratively, Superman was right too! Batman does things in different ways than Superman at the end, but he still learns the lesson Superman was trying to show him.

Their dynamic should be something amazing. The amazing part of it is that as much as people look at Batman as the underdog, that Batman is the one who fights against impossible odds, the other side of the coin is that Clark Kent is really the one who fights impossibly against the wealthy, privileged, influential Bruce Wayne. What would be interesting is a narrative where Clark comes across an unnamed mysterious wealthy philanthropist, who by virtue of being part of that social class, has to do shady things. Batman, and by extension Bruce, is ALL ABOUT doing shady things on the other side of what’s necessarily “good or bad!” Bruce would certainly associate with the corruption of Gotham’s wealthy elite, in the interests of mitigating harm or finding information for other problems. Superman, and Clark, would initially see these shady things and start investigating, and setting up a plan to discredit the mysterious rich person. And Clark eventually discovers Batman’s secret identity, not by just X-raying him, but because he puts the pieces together. Clark plays the detective to Bruce Wayne’s secrets just as Batman plays detective to Superman’s. (Because of course, Batman will be incredibly distrustful of Superman at first, because of the sheer power Superman has and the potential to be a threat.)

Of course you’d throw in the moral confrontations of Superman’s ideals vs Batman’s ideals: the way that Superman has no choice but to be incredibly black and white, or people will see him as a threat; and the way Batman tries to accomplish good, by working outside the law, and people DO IN FACT see him as a threat. There’s juicy stuff here about how being lawful and being moral don’t always coexist and the different philosophies on how to handle that. Do you cooperate with a system, a system that might be broken? Or do you go outside the law, and how far do you go?

And all the nuance and opposing world views inevitably come together when each person learns the other is not the real enemy. And they learn to accept that yes, they disagree with each other, and will probably always disagree, and that will lead to arguments. But there is also a certain amount of respect for the other person at the end of it all too. That, to me, is what should be happening with the character of Superman, especially as opposed to the character of Batman, because their dynamic should be something brilliant and captivating. But it’s just something I don’t see happening. (Now granted, I don’t have as much free time as I used to, so if there are stories where Superman’s character matches the ideas I want represented, please share them with me!)

1: https://comicbook.com/irl/news/superman-spider-man-favorite-hero-new-poll/

2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8UNrVnGhFI

[harris-coopers]

Cole Sprouse talks Five Feet Apart, singing on-screen and Riverdale season 4

PopBuzz: One thing that surprised me about the film was how it’s so heartbreaking and yet so hopeful at the same time. It felt so different to other films that fit in the same genre. Was that something you guys wanted to make sure you got across? To show the light?

Cole Sprouse: Yeah I mean, first off, I think Justin's mission statement, our director, was always one of hope and the job for Haley and I was to try and shave off the natural romanticising that takes place within that genre into something that felt a little more grounded and honest for the characters. But the interpretive ending allowed us to have the audience sort of decide what they felt happened to the characters. I think Justin was in the mind that if you're gonna do a movie that hopefully is going to be viewed by the cystic fibrosis community, then the message we wanna give to them is one of hope, not necessarily one that felt on the darker side of that narrative.

PB: This is the first movie you’ve done in a long time. What was it about this film, and the role of Will in particular, that drew you back in?

CS: Well, I was pretty hesitant at first. And I think that's because this genre has the potential to do a lot of damage if it's sort of represented incorrectly. At the end of the day, it was really after I met with Justin and finding out how passionate he was about the cystic fibrosis community and the mission statement being one of hope that that kind of put all my trepidations to rest. In terms of career trajectory? To be honest, I've had that question a lot and I wish I'd been thinking about it. I wanted to work during the hiatus on Riverdale and this lined up perfectly with it. It just seemed like a good move at the time.

PB: I know you’ve spoken about the immense responsibility of telling the story of such a heavily underrepresented community, how much preparation did you undergo for the role? I know you said that physically it was a challenge for you as well.

CS: Yeah, we had the luxury of about a month and a half of prep and research, alongside the advice of actual patients with cystic fibrosis and medical professionals. With their advice, I had a physical regimen to get me into the kind of shape or image of a cystic fibrosis patient. And then of course they gave us a lot of time to understand the psychology of grappling with your mortality at a very young age and how that effects social foundation and relationship building.

PB: The reaction to the film on social media has been incredible so far. Has anyone from the community reached out to you about it yet? And what did they say?

CS: We got a lot of really really positive feedback from the CF community, it's very validating. Ultimately, you know, they're why we made the movie so their acceptance is the currency of the success in my opinion and I think that's been really reassuring. Before the movie had come out, there was a lot of fear that it would misrepresent the community or would do damage to the representation through the sheer notion of romance or encourage a dangerous sort of connection. But the community has been really really responsive to the representation that we have. Yeah, so really reassuring.

PB: That's amazing to hear. The film has such an incredible cast with Haley - who is brilliant - and of course, your little Disney Channel reunion with Moises Arias. How was it working with the two of them? You guys seemed to have such a great dynamic on-screen.

CS: Yeah, I think Haley and I kind of had the same idea of how we wanted to play the characters, which was way more grounded in realism than what could have been the kind of overacting that often comes within that genre. And we got along really well! It's one of those things were you roll the dice, you can have chemistry and you can try to do as much as possible, but you don't really know how the work environment is going to be alongside your co-stars until you're there. And we were lucky enough to have gotten a good roll on the dice and really get along quite well! Haley's talented, she's also a very giving actress - and I act in a very similar way. So, we both cared a lot. Considering the kind of content we were grappling with, we were able to validate one another.

PB: Well, speaking about the emotional heaviness of the script and the subject, how did you guys combat that on set? I just saw that you and Haley went on a strip club tour... which is amazing.

CS: We did!

PB: How else did you keep your spirits up?

CS: To be quite honest, when we were on set, there was a responsibility and an emotional continuity that we needed to keep in order to stay in it. And I'm of the mind that it's better not to take from that. Toward the end of production, we were able to loosen up a little bit after the more emotional scenes had taken place and we had finished those and moved onto the last week of the production cycle. We were able to let go a little bit. In terms of levity, we really didn't allow ourselves to fall into too much levity. To be honest, it felt kind of inappropriate to detach from that. But New Orleans is an incredibly vibrant and wonderful city with wonderful food and great drinking. A really great nightlife! And more bachelor and bachelorette parties than I have ever seen in my life.

PB: I bet!

CS: So it was fun to kind of get lost in that crowd.

PB: One of my favourite parts of the film is the scene where Will sings to Stella and it’s so great that I get to talk to you now because of course, in the musical episode of Riverdale,you sing! And it's incredible!

CS: Thanks!

PB: Previously, you said that it would take a lot for someone to get you to sing and now you’ve sung twice. What made you finally say, “yeah, I’m gonna do it”?

CS: To be honest, I think I was mis-quoted the first time I said that. What I actually said when I said I wouldn't sing is that, Disney Channel was asking me and my brother to drop an album for very many years. And that's what we didn't wanna do. I mean, I've sung on The Suite Life, I've sung on a couple other projects and you know, when it's in character, it's not a problem for me. When it's 'Cole Sprouse singing,' it becomes very strange and vulnerable. It's just a matter of making sense for the character in the moment. For Will, it was a matter of comforting Stella in the same way that she had been comforted and trying to bring a little joy to something incredibly frightening - like surgery. And for Jughead, it was a moment of incredible vulnerability and really a tragedy that kind of fit perfectly to the narrative.

PB: Yeah. Like you just said, it depends on the character but let’s say Jughead decided to let it all go for a night and get involved with karaoke at La Bonne Nuit... What’s the one song you do think he would get up and sing?

CS: Oh, man... you know that angsty emo kid would sing some Avenged Sevenfold or Panic! At The Disco. Something incredibly emo.

PB: Maybe a slam poetry version?!

CS: Oh, of course! He'd be the guy in like, the top hat and all the bracelets looking like an amateur musician doing slam poetry.

PB: Love it! So what's happening next for you? Hiatus is coming up, you're still working on Riverdale now, you've got your photography, anything else lined up? Any other acting gigs?

CS: Yeah! I have one little project that I can't speak too much about lined up for the hiatus. I'd like to manoeuvre my way through the film thing where I'd like to do at least one film a year and it be of a more artistic calibre than a kind of commercial one. I've done Five Feet Apart and it was a commercial project, Riverdale is such a mainstream project that I'd like to live within the independent life for a bit. And then, a lot of photography! Honestly, I haven't stopped working for the last 3 years. So in the event I just sit on the couch for the whole time, I think that would be a welcome relaxation at this point.

PB: Absolutely! My last question, I hope you don’t mind, it’s about Riverdale…

CS: Sure!

PB: We’re winding down toward the end of season 3, there's been some huge shockwaves being sent through Jughead’s home life with his mum right now. Where do you want to see Jughead’s story go in season 4? Because he's changed so much. What do you think is ahead for him?

CS: I think when Riverdale is at its strongest it's about the characters, their dynamics, their personal narratives and their relationships with one another. And I think Jughead asking himself how his family has affected him is what I'd kind of like to see. But I also think I'd love to see a Jughead that feels kind of like a season one Jughead, which is much more of a quiet sort of monologue side. I think there's a lot of potential and a lot of interesting narratives this season in the form of FP and Jughead teaming up and playing the True Detective crime investigator father/son duo. I think there's something really enjoyable about Jughead being the brain and FP being the brawn of that investigation. That's something I'd personally like to see going into season 4.

PB: And I mean, seeing as you’re finally showing off those vocals how about a lead in the next musical episode?

CS: Ha! Oh man, I'm not trying to trying to grease any wheels on that - if it makes sense for the character, it makes sense for the character. But I could spent the rest of my life not singing on screen and being totally content with that.

PB: You were fantastic in the musical episode!

CS: Oh, I appreciate that.

PB: It really was a lovely moment between Betty and Jughead, and so nice to watch.

CS: Yeah, I think that's a really pretty scene and I'm glad it turned out that way.

Source: Popbuzz

[sartle-blog]

Great Art History Gifts for the Holidays

  As the holidays approach and merrymaking intensifies, the pressure to cross everyone’s name off your shopping list mounts, but fear not! We’ve put together a selection of dazzling gifts the art history lovers in your life will be thrilled to receive! And to be honest, you’ll probably have just as much fun giving these gifts as you would unwrapping them.

  We hope you find these products as delightful as we do. Just an FYI: Some of the links below are amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, by clicking through and making a purchase, you will also be contributing to the growth of Sartle.

  1. Make Your Own Mondrian: A Modern Art Puzzle  

De Stijl, my beating heart! This delightful puzzle allows you to achieve abstract equilibrium by composing your own harmonious works of art inspired by Piet Mondrian. Perfect for someone who loves their ~mental clarity~ .

Find it on amazon here.

2. Paris Street, Rainy Day Umbrella

When the sky is dull and drizzly, this umbrella inspired by Gustave Caillebotte’s masterpiece will transport you to Paris and make walking in the rain magical again! Guaranteed to get you compliments, it’s ideal for the Romantic in your life. 

Find it on amazon here.

3. Design Your Own Deity Magnet Set 

This magnet set takes portions of works of art depicting deities from all over the world and lets you make your own hodgepodge holy being! Your most irreverent friend will love it.

Find it on amazon here.

4. Almond Blossoms Cleaning Cloths

Now you can make the pain of smudged glasses go away with this set of beautiful Van Gogh inspired cleaning cloths. Your mom’s reading glasses will thank you.

Find it on amazon here.

5. Pre-Raphaelite Tarot Cards

The Pre-Raphaelites loved the mystical and otherworldly, so it makes sense that their ethereal images should grace a Tarot deck. We can totally foresee that the cartomancer in your life will love this. 

Find it on amazon here. 

6. Hokusai Tea Cup

This gorgeous mug featuring Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa will definitely make a splash! It’s made of real Kutani porcelain and it has such a lovely shape that it just begs to be held. 

Find it on amazon here. 

7. Bob Ross The Art of Chill game

So what if you won’t find Bob’s art in a museum? No one before or since has ever made painting feel so possible! In this game, you compete for “chill points” as you paint landscapes filled with happy little trees. A fun gift for your most laid back friend.

Find it on amazon here.

8. Leonardo da Vinci catapult

How could one man be so brilliant? With this kit based on one of Leonardo’s actual designs, you can get a glimpse into Leonardo’s mind, as well as launch projectiles across the room. Great for someone who loves their art with a side of engineering.

Find it on amazon here.

9. Masterpiece Tablecloth

This lovely tablecloth comes in many different sizes and features an eclectic array of works of art, from Napoleon Crossing the Alps to Lady with an Ermine, overlaid on a charming floral motif. This is perfect for that one friend who hosts tea parties after art museum outings. And if you don’t have that friend, go find one.

Find it on amazon here. 

10. Cult Artists: 50 Cutting-Edge Creatives You Need to Know by Ana Final Honigman

This awesome book covers modern artists who have earned the “cult” label, from James Ensor to Faith Ringgold and Ana Mendieta. A lovely compendium for anyone who likes to see boundaries getting pushed.

Find it on amazon here.

11. Frank Lloyd Wright Puzzle

This dazzling puzzle, which sparkles in gold foil, is based on a design that Frank Lloyd Wright made for the cover of Liberty Magazine in the 1920s but which was never used because it was considered too radical. Give this shimmering gift to your most rad friend.

Find it on amazon here. 

12. Klimt Socks

These colorful socks take Klimt’s beloved The Kiss and pair it with an unexpected but delightful pattern inspired by his mosaic-like designs. They’re sure to make someone’s feet very happy. 

Find it on amazon here. 

13. Greek Columns Salt and Pepper shaker

They'll never forget their orders of columns again. You've got your basic Ionic for salt, and Corinthian for pepper because it's just a little bit spicier. Treat this to your friend who loves those Greeks and Romans. 

Find it on amazon here. 

14. Magritte Shopping Bag

Carry your groceries in this Magritte-themed reusable shopping bag and the bag will carry your imagination along with them! Perfect for anyone who ever has to buy things.

Find it on amazon here. 

15. The Artist Magnetic Poetry Set

  This amusing set contains all sorts of great art words, from silhouette to surreal, in which to convey one’s creative musings on the canvas that is the refrigerator. This is one stocking stuffer that will make waiting for the microwave to finish a lot more fun. 

Find it on amazon here. 

16. A Woman’s Place is in the Museum Tee

Whether as artists on the walls, as staff members, or just walking the galleries, women certainly do belong in the museum. This Guerilla Girls-esque sentiment is great for the person in your life who fiercely defends representation in the arts.

Find it on amazon here.

17. Andy Warhol Puzzle

This delightful Warhol-inspired Campbell’s soup can is just plain adorable as it is, but it also comes with a jigsaw puzzle inside! Could there even be a cuter stocking stuffer?

Find it on amazon here.

18. Cat in Art Notecards

Art enthusiasts and cat lovers alike will enjoy these note-cards that feature cats taking on the starring role in classic paintings like Ophelia and the Arnolfini Portrait. The only problem is that the cards are so cute, they’ll never actually send any!

Find it on amazon here. 

19. Devil on Night Chair Bosch Figurine

This little cutie is straight out of Hieronymus Bosch’s cryptic masterpiece The Garden of Earthly Delights. It makes a great gift for anyone who likes the weird stuff in art history. Only issue I have with it? There are no birds coming out of the naked man’s butt. 

Find it on amazon here. 

20. Modern Art Desserts by Caitlyn Freeman

This beautiful cookbook contains recipes inspired by works of art from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It’s perfect for your friend who knows their way around a measuring-cup and a Matisse.

Find it on amazon here.

21. Van Gogh Irises Ornament

This ornament from the Getty is so beautiful, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t stay out all year long!

Find it on amazon here.

23. Basquiat travel bags

  These waterproof bags featuring the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat are fantastic for storing toiletries or even art supplies. They make a great gift for the person in your life who knows that the King of Street Art is not, and never has been, Banksy.

Find it on amazon here.

24. The Grand Museum of Art Boardgame

Would the board game renaissance of recent years be complete without a game set in an art museum? I think not. Players compete to design the most popular exhibitions, making this game perfect for your friend who yearns for the museum world.

Find it on amazon here.  

  Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Time to finish up shopping! And from all of us at Sartle, Happy Holidays!

By: Jeannette Baisch Sturman

[phdna]

*arriving a month late with Starbucks and an uninteresting Endgame review*

This took me forever to write because work has been very intense lately, but I have thoughts I want to write down, for my own future reference when I’m an old woman looking back on my life, if for nothing else.

SPOILERS AHEAD, of course!

From whatever little I’ve been online since Endgame came out, it seems like the internet has been on fire swearing undying love, eternal hate and everything in between. I’m used to that because the MCU fandom has a tendency to be like that, but it feels like this time is more intense, which puzzled me a little bit, as it mostly adheres to the Marvel rules of storytelling, and people tend to not fuss over movies that do that as much as they do over movies that break the established MCU patterns. And then I did some reading and watching and talking and it just hit me that people aren’t reacting to Endgame itself, they’re reacting to the MCU. Both people who think it’s the best movie ever and people who think it’s absolute trash aren’t talking a lot about the movie, they’re talking about how the movie handled the end of this long journey that was the MCU. (Exception: time travel. I’ll get back to it in a moment!) I know I’m having a Captain Obvious moment here, but bear with me for a moment, I’m going somewhere with this.

Here’s the thing: as long as there are more movies coming, we can all overlook things we dislike about the MCU really well – “they’ll just fix it later,” right? Or we can fix it ourselves, even if we don’t write/read fics – the endless theories about what the next movies are gonna be about are in large part wish-fulfillment. Maybe next time Marvel will have more representation of all kinds, maybe next time Marvel will develop their female characters as much as their male counterparts, maybe next time Marvel will focus on this particular relationship that is either underdeveloped or so developed that it should get more attention, maybe next time Marvel will direct a character arc towards where I think it should go. But when the end arrives, we have to face that we aren’t in charge of the MCU and have sometimes wildly different expectations that what the Powers That Be have in mind. We have been emotionally invested in this universe for a long time – we bring the MCU with us in our lives even away from screens – and it sucks a little to realize that, ultimately, we are powerless to impact it. If Endgame was 100% everything you’ve always wanted for every single character and for the universe as whole, great! You’re still gonna mourn the end a little bit, but it’s cool! But if you feel like even one character of the dozens in the cast got the short end of the stick, you’re gonna be upset because don’t we all wish we could sit down with Marvel and teach them Why They Are Wrong About This Character?

I hope I’m not sounding holier-than-thou, like I’m being absolutely cool and adult about the whole thing. Hell no. I’d fight Kevin Feige in a parking lot any time, and have been ready to do that since huh… the MCU started. (Especially because the MCU has taken over the comics and I like 616 more than I like the MCU, so I’ve got beef with Marvel for that.)

So yeah, I have plenty of “What? No! Whose idea was that, that’s terrible!” moments, but I always try to focus on what I enjoyed more than on what I hated. Sometimes it doesn’t work and I get forever bitter, but most of the time, I make an active effort to 1) be grateful that WE EVEN HAVE GOOD SUPERHERO MOVIES AT ALL and 2) watch the movies I’m actually watching instead of watching the movies I think I should watch. For instance, I want to set myself on fire whenever I think about how un-family-like the Avengers are in the MCU, but since being a family isn’t a story the MCU is trying to tell, I consciously try to find something I enjoy about the constant conflicts, such as what they tell us about what each character believes, and how they keep coming back together to do the right thing despite their differences.

Arguably, that’s too much effort, and I get why some people want to be entertained and get upset if the MCU doesn’t deliver that entertainment – I mean, movies are supposed to be fun. But since I was a kid, I’ve always been a fan of imperfect things I have no control over, and I muddle through what I don’t enjoy to get to the shiny bits that give me goosebumps and keep me up at night feeling giddy over how good something was. It’s part of how I react to stuff I like by now. I don’t know, maybe it’s my History degree talking, but I don’t see what the big deal is with saying “Some of it sucks, some of it is brilliant, some of it has to be challenged on the ground of human rights, but overall I’m interested in learning more about it.”

Why the essay on how to engage with the MCU?

Because no matter how I think about it, my primary opinion about Endgame isn’t “I think it’s good” or “I think it’s bad” but just “I’m thankful.” That’s it. I can’t look at Endgame and see it as an isolated movie. I look at it and think “God, I was just out of school when Tony said I am Iron Man and now I’m a teacher and the MCU has always been there helping me keep track of the passage of time all these years.” Here, have a bad analogy: Endgame is when you finish a long travel and there’s nothing home to eat and you have to unpack and you’re exhausted and normal life is depressing and you have a headache and you’re frustrated that holidays are over and you didn’t do everything you wanted…. but that doesn’t make the entire travel a waste of time, does it? It’s actually the opposite. If the travel sucks, getting home is great. And very, very, very few people walk out of Endgame saying “Thank god this MCU saga is over, ugh, I was following it just out of obligation and I’m glad I’m free now” – I mean, there are people like that, and I can see why, but I also never finish things just out of obligation so I can’t relate. Anyway, mostly, people either expected more because the MCU is good enough to do better or thought this was the perfect ending. I’m both. Some things I loved, some things I really wish would be different, but mostly, I’m, like I said, grateful that the journey was so good that no ending would’ve fully satisfied me.

My biggest problem is with time travel. I’ve never liked the trope (not huge on alternate universes, either!), so I knew this would be a pet peeve even before I watched Endgame. I’m also surprised that apparently nobody involved in the movie can agree on how aforementioned time travel works. Fans certainly can’t. And I don’t think it’s a good thing if your audience is confused by a major part of your movie, even if there is a perfectly good explanation and the audience just didn’t get it. (Which isn’t the case, as apparently there isn’t a perfect explanation.) But you know what? I’m hand-waving it. It’s a convoluted plot device but it made a good movie, so like, whatever. Let it work in ABC way unless XYZ needs to happen, in which case, XYZ is how it’s always worked regardless of how ABC was used before. I don’t care. I’m taking what they say happened and saying “Okay, that’s how it happened” and ignoring the hows and the whys. It’s just bad comic book logic on the big screen, I’ve been rolling with this kind of thing since I was a literal child. Having said that, I don’t know what year it is in the MCU, I don’t know how Spider-Man will work, I’m not touching Cap’s time paradox with a ten-foot pole, and I’m not even gonna try to understand any of the timeline charts going around online.

My other major problems have to do with real life more than with the movie. The only original female Avenger dies in the same way the only original female Guardian of the Galaxy died, and neither of them get funerals but we do get the men in their lives suffering over it (which switches the focus from mourning the women to the men’s journeys.) Not sure if the joke was that Thor was clinically depressed or if the joke was that Thor was fat, but haha hilarious. The first openly queer character is omg a nameless cameo talking about someone we never see, isn’t the MCU so progressive? (The bar was so low that Marvel had to dig a ditch so they could somehow get lower than that.) Not loving the idea of “Thanos treated Gamora like shit but the Soul Stone recognizes he loved her” and “Tony’s dad was awful but Tony can Forgive Him” being presented as touching – it’s creepy af and makes me wonder if the MCU will end up saying Alexander Pierce actually cared about Bucky somewhat or something of that sort. Female hero team up: unironically loved it and want it projected on my tombstone (it was one of my favorite part), but it’s a little disturbing that almost none of them had much of a storyline in the movie because they don’t have much of a storyline in the MCU – it really highlights that Marvel has a boy’s club problem still. Now, none of these things make for a bad movie, it just reminds me that Marvel has a long way to go with they want to become inclusive.

Okay, now on to storylines…

Tony. Loved it. I love how the Russos direct Tony (I do have a problem with how M&M write Tony, sometimes, though, and always have) because they love to highlight how soft Tony’s heart is. Part of what makes the character interesting in any universe is that he’s willing to do morally shady stuff when he thinks he’s justified and he tends to think he’s justified because he knows exactly how smart he is, but if you explore this borderline antihero behavior without a deep commitment to reminding the audience that Tony is emotional and gentle, you end up with Reed Richards. 616!Tony will always be sweeter than MCU!Tony (even though 616!Tony’s dad literally tried to beat emotions out of him, while MCU!Tony’s dad more ignored him than actively tried to make him colder, but that’s besides the point) but Tony was so openly loving in this movie, and it helps make his death hit home, why so many people will miss Iron Man and Tony I pity Morgan a lot because she won’t remember her dad, but the only way to feel like the torch has truly been passed to other heroes was to kill Tony – keep him alive in any way and characters are gonna want his advice even if he stops fighting. I want to see how other heroes will protect a world without Iron Man. It’s exciting and brand new and feels a bit like when Fury said in 2008 that Tony isn’t the only superhero.

Steve. Let’s take the time paradox at face value and say everything goes well in every possible timeline and nobody suffers more than they would if he hadn’t done his time-heist thing, because I think that’s what the movie wanted to imply. I’m actually happy he got to be with Peggy. It’s not how I’d write him, mind you, but I always knew MCU Steve was being written as someone who is inherently out of place in the modern world. In the comics, Steve has a culture shock and he mourns people, but he finds a new family in the Avengers and truly becomes part of this century. MCU Steve was never that guy. And that’s okay, it’s a valid take! Not what I’d do, but given his storyline throughout the other movies, I think it’s a very satisfying ending that feels very organic. Saying “screw everything, I’ll do what I think it’s important” has been Steve’s constant in all movies, and it’s nice that he learned that he is important too, not just everybody else. Handing the shield was also very important – no “I think he’d want you to have it” to fuel conspiracy theories in the future: Steve made a good decision and that’s fine. (And I’ll cut a bitch if y’all keep saying “maybe Bucky had the shield before” because Sam can be a first choice fgs!!!)

Professor Hulk is a thing and I liked it more than I thought I would. Hopefully we’ll see more of him. I liked Bruce and I liked the Hulk, but somehow this version of him made me go from “Yeah, they’re nice” to “PLEASE TELL ME HE’LL HAVE A SOLO MOVIE” so good job in redeeming the Hulk franchise, Marvel! It only took you 10 years to get the right tone, but hey, what matters is that you did it!

Thor…….. Um. Hard. I liked his character arc but hated how it was handled. I’m not even a huge fan of Ragnarok because comedy isn’t my thing, but watching Ragnarok, I could see why the movie worked and the humor didn’t come at the expense of being fair to the character. Endgame felt more like the movie itself was bullying him. They’re laughing at his pain, basically, and it’s just not funny. It bothers me for the same reason it bothers me when people say pre-serum Steve should never leave home – just… no. But then, we got Thor and Frigga and I’d sell a kidney for more Frigga, so, it wasn’t completely awful. Just like, 90%?

Natasha!!! I hope everybody who said Scarjo can’t act paid attention to this movie, because she gave Nat a depth that we haven’t seen since CATWS, and even then, because it was Steve’s story, she was sidelined. That’s the Nat I’ve always wanted in the MCU. …and of course, she’s dead. Luckily, we don’t know anything about MCU!Nat, so we can still get prequels even if they don’t want to bring her back to life. It’s a little shady that she dies (why is it that the randomly decided death always seem to be randomly assigned to whatever the minority in a team is, huh?) but I love that she sacrificed herself for the greater good. It’s a heroic end to a woman who thought she was gonna be a villain her entire life. Oh, oh, oh, I have to say this: Natasha leading the remaining Avengers? Godtier. I’m not much of a fic person but I desperately want fics of that off-screen period where she’s being a boss.

Clint. MCU!Clint never did much for me, so I was impressed that I was rooting so much for him during the movie. I don’t know if he’ll just retire completely, but I’m hoping he doesn’t so we can see more of him in the MCU.

Okay, that’s the original Avengers and I’ve already written……. Too much. So I’ll stop – sort of – here.

But first, other random comments.

Fight choreography? On point, 10/10, would let Marvel beat me up to experience these sequences myself

“I am inevitable.” “I am Iron Man.” I cried so much the screen got blurry and I almost missed the snap. Thank you for this exchange.

I love and support Morgan, but I’m dreading the idea that in a near future, the MCU will get Riri’s entire story and give it to Morgan. Please, MCU, I’m counting on you, have Morgan grow up to befriend Riri, not to steal her role.

Nebula needs a solo movie. Nebula needs a whole cinematic universe, actually. What a character.

Speaking of which, GotG 3 is shaping up to be very cool

Sam being the one to say “On your left” in the movie where he becomes Captain America? Poetic cinema. Also! Sam Wilson is Captain America and both the human being who wants children to grow up in a better world and the geek who wants to see flying Cap in me are equally over the moon with joy

Bucky, my darling, the MCU hasn’t known what to make of you since 2011. It’s okay, Sebastian Stan will always do his magic and make you be Bucky even when Marvel doesn’t fully understand anything about your character

Pepper’s character development in 10 years is protagonist-worthy, I can’t believe how she always only has a couple of scenes every movie

Tom Holland should not be allowed to have crying scenes, they make my heart hurt

The movie feels a lot shorter than it is

There’s a lot more I could say, but I’m writing it on Word (tumblr sometimes eat my text posts as I’m writing them) and the wordcount is nearing 3k, so I better shut up. If you’ve read all of this, please treat yourself to a milkshake, you’re awesome. If there’s anything you want to talk about that I didn’t address (or just… you know, about Marvel in general), my ask and my direct messages are always open. I’ll probably take forever to get back to you (I NEED A VACATION ASAP) but I will eventually answer you and I don’t bite, so please go ahead if you’re curious about my not-so-very-interesting thoughts :)

TL;DR: Endgame isn’t my favorite movie (IM, IM3, CATFA, CATWS and BP all come first, sorry) but it’s up there in the “I can watch this movie a thousand times and I won’t get tired of it” list, and I think it does a fairly good job in ending the Infinity Saga, so I’m basically pleased!

[wxldchxld]

OOC Rant: 

So rather than spend my day finishing drafts on all my blogs and working on completing Victarion’s setup, I binged the Umbrella Academy. Mostly because I was (surprise surprise) an enormous MCR fan as a teenager, and in fact I met my first girlfriend through their online MCR forum, which I frequented regularly. I was kind of a die hard. 

For the most part I was really pleased with UA though I have to say that’s mostly because it’s so pretty. Like a lot of shows try to make shit dark and edgy by using dim lighting and shit, but the entire first season was filled with beautiful, surreal imagery that made it very engaging. And while I was disappointed that they didn’t even begin or end with one MCR song, the music was brilliant. Starting out with violin shit from Phantom of the Opera? Oh that shit is my JAM. I felt in general they had strong characters and actors that did pretty well. Especially Ellen Page,  Emmy Raver-Lampman, and Aidan Gallagher (and child actors usually annoy the SHIT out of me). Were there cliches? Yes. Was is really cheesy in some places? Yes. But... superhero shit is so overworked rn that there was no way it wouldn’t be, and I don’t think that was what GW was even going for. He didn’t want 100 percent original. He just wanted to see the genre through his own “lens” as he put it.

So there was a lot I liked. Which I need to point out because as a big MCR fan, I know what they’re like and I don’t want this to turn into a bloodbath if somehow it makes its way into the tags.

What I didn’t like was the LGBTQ representation. Well---that and the weird adopted brother/sister romance but that’s beside the point. The point is that I was really shocked by Klaus. Certain scenes, especially in the first episode, imply that he’s a gender fluid character, and it’s later explicitly shown that he prefers relationships with men (though we haven’t been told he’s explicitly gay as far as I know). He’s also a drug addict, family fuck up, comic relief, tragic-sassy-scene-kid cliche. And he’s the only LGBT representation we get on this show. That’s not ok.

First off, I didn’t read the comics, and I don’t plan to because I find comics really annoying to read anyway. I don’t know if he was in relationships with men in the comics, and I don’t care. So don’t give me bullshit over “they’re staying true to the source material.” It doesn’t matter if he was gay/bi/pan in the original series, it doesn’t matter if that was ok when it was written, all that matters is that right now in the current climate, LGBTQ people don’t want the fuck up character to be their only representation in a show/book/movie.

Second, this could have very easily been solved by just---adding more representation. Rather than Patrick, Allison could have been in a failed relationship with another woman, and they could have still done her weird romance arc with Luther. Rather than the dude whose name I literally don’t remember because his character was so forgettable, Vanya could have been seduced and manipulated by another woman. Rather than the sexy female cop, it could have just as easily been a sexy male/trans/nonbianary cop Diego dated and it wouldn’t have mattered. This problem was an easy fix. Hell Page is a lesbian woman!!! She would have been willing to play that part, I’m sure. 

Third, this feels really fetishy. I can already see the straight girls writing horrible hurt/comfort category yoai bullshit on Ao3 and if it hasn’t started I’m positive it will. Do you know why? Because Klaus is the type of character they fetishize. Look at Bucky Barnes, look at Loki, look at the people in super hero movies that are the focus of those fics and tell me that Klaus doesn’t sit at the apex of that category. It’s not ok. 

Look I’m sure that Klaus’ character has something to do with Gerard’s own struggle with gender identity, and I understand the circumstances that surrounded him as he was writing UA that likely influenced the character that came out of it. Because if he doesn’t scream Black Parade I don’t fuckin know what does. But that doesn’t make it ok that he’s the only LGBTQ representation in the show.

What scares me is that while I haven’t looked at any official numbers I can see this show having a large teenage audience, as well as the older audience that likely tuned in for similar reasons that I did. The visuals, the characterization, the plot, it’s all very appealing to a teenage audience. And we need to be careful how we portray people in minority communities on shows with large teenage demographics.  

This character is literally plagued by tortured spirits. That’s not ok when you have people who believe LGBTQ kids have demons inside of them or are literally mentally ill. I was told the latter growing up and it did serious damage to me as a person. This sort of material is the stuff facebook moms and pastors quote mine for their sermons that they use to indoctrinate the parents of young children. This stuff is perfect for their fear mongering. 

I’m not going to touch on it in depth because this post is about LGBTQ rep specifically, but the way they portrayed his drug habit was also really upsetting to see. Addiction is a disease that can devastate lives and the “if you just suck it up and get over it” message really disgusted me. Again, it sends a bad message to kids that might be in a situation where they’re using drugs. You don’t just tie someone up in an attic to go through that shit by themselves. It’s very dangerous.

And yes, Klaus got sober by the end of the season, which was great, but I don’t have any hopes that he’ll stay that way or that his dynamic in his own family will change, and that doesn’t change the fact that they already spent a whole season like this.

Overall I’m really disappointed that I don’t see more people angry about this. I’m also really disappointed in Gerard Way, who I would have thought would have been more sensitive to these sorts of issues. And I’m shocked that Ellen Page, as vocal as she is about LGBTQ issues hasn’t said anything about how potentially harmful how this character is portrayed is.

[aion-rsa]

Bruce Lee Forever! Shannon Lee Reflects on Her Father’s Legacy

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Bruce Lee stands among the greatest icons on the planet. But such notoriety comes with a price and it’s one that Bruce pays more heavily than any other celebrity. He’s also the most ripped off. Brucesploitation is an entire genre of film dedicated to Bruce Lee impersonators. Bruce Lee clones proliferate fighting video games more than any other person, real or imagined. His image has been poached illegally for all sorts of random things like for Zhen Kungfu, a major Chinese fast food franchise with some 300 restaurants, all of which use his likeness without permission. No one else can claim this level of image piracy.

For years, Shannon Lee has fought hard to guard the family name and see that her dad receives the respect he is due. Now at the helm of the Bruce Lee Family Company, Shannon continues to champion her father’s work, dedicating herself to preserving his message of harmonious individuality and curtail those who would steal his image for their own gain. She has dedicated herself to bringing the real Bruce Lee to the world. 

As we approach Bruce Lee’s 80th birthday this November, the Little Dragon remains as hot as ever. The Bruce-Lee-inspired Cinemax series Warrior has kicked off its second season. On October 6th, Shannon releases a new book, Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee. And there’s more coming in November in celebration of her father’s auspicious birthday. Den of Geek caught up to Shannon Lee to talk about where the Bruce Lee estate is now. 

Den of Geek: Warrior is based on the treatment that your father did that was allegedly turned into David Carradine’s Kung Fu series?

Shannon Lee: Well, I guess that’s a matter of some debate.

Yeah. Which is why I’m asking you this.

Yeah. My father was definitely up for the lead in Kung Fu, and he was definitely not given that role because he was Chinese interestingly. And at the same time, he had also developed and pitched this show. Warner Bros.’ point of view is that they had been working on a show – their show – for a long time prior to involving my father. And if you speak to my mother, she will say that my father was working on this treatment for a number of years before he pitched it as well.

So the two shows are very similar in some ways and very different in some ways. What we do know is that my father was turned down to star in the show and we have no idea how much his ideas influenced the ultimate vision for Kung Fu. 

Very diplomatic answer. One thing that’s continually impressed me about your father was how incredibly prolific he was. Even today, and I remember when he passed, I still see new material from him. Did he have any other show ideas that you might have kicking around?

Most definitely.

Oh, that’s very intriguing.

Yes. So he did have a number of other treatments in various states of readiness and even one full script that I still have, and that I am working on developing, in different ways.

That’s incredibly exciting. How close do you feel that Warrior is to your father’s original vision of it?

I think it’s actually very close, in the sense that I think that the show captures the perspective that he was hoping to capture. Meaning, his treatment was written more as 1970s episodic television; it was more of an adventure of the week format, which shows were back then…I think he would be really pleased with how the show turned out today, because I think we have more of an opportunity to tell the story that he would have wanted to tell, than he would have had back then.

What can fans expect from Season 2? 

We have the warring Tongs. We have the political goings on and plotting. We have the Irish labor workers really coming into more conflict with the Chinese workers. We have the cops on all sides of this as well, really coming up against the Chinese. So it’s very complicated and the weaving of the story is really brilliant and the stakes are really high. And you’ll see what happens.

As an immigrant tale, how do you feel this is playing out given the current politics surrounding immigration right now?

It’s crazy how relevant our show is. I think that its issue’s not just of immigration, but also of racism, of the involvement of the police, of xenophobia, of ‘us versus them’ mentality. There’s a lot of themes in the show and, quite frankly, where the show culminates toward the end of the season is very reflective of where we find ourselves right now, which is interesting since we filmed it last year.

But I think that it’s because this is the natural outcome of these types of policies and attitudes toward our fellow humans. And also what happened historically, so history is rather repeating itself.

How does it feel to be working on this show with a predominantly Asian cast?

It’s phenomenal. I know that there are a number of shows that, especially in the half-hour genre, that have Asian casts, but in the one-hour television format, there really aren’t that many. Even shows like Into the Badlands who have Asian characters, they’re not necessarily predominantly Asian characters.

So I feel really proud of our show that we got to make the show we wanted, that we got to create these multi-layered, complicated three-dimensional characters for all our cast. And I think that it’s actually a huge win for representation.

You used to have a pretty wicked spinning back kick. Are you still practicing?

[laughs] Not as much as I used to. Every now and again, I get back to it. It’s been a little harder in quarantine, not because I’m not able to exercise on my own. Certainly I am, but I’m much more used to working with others in the space. So I would say I’m a little rusty right now.

I think we all are during the pandemic. I could totally see you doing a cameo in Warrior like a singer at Ah Toy’s place or something. Are you thinking about that?

We definitely talked about it for Season 2. Just by the time we were talking about it, the season was already written and there didn’t seem to be the perfect and right feeling opportunity to do something like that.

Right now, Season 3 is a little uncertain. There are not plans to move forward, just given that Cinemax has canceled their programming and their original programming… If there are, then I will definitely look to try and sneak on set for part of that.

Do you ever think about going back into acting?

I don’t think about it as a career. I think if there were opportunities, if the right opportunity came along, I think it would be a lot of fun. I would definitely have, from a creative standpoint, an interest in doing that for myself, but not as a career.

You have a book coming out the same week that Warrior drops. Tell us about Be Water, My Friend.

I wrote this book, over the last year or so, and it is called Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee. It is a book about my father’s water philosophy, what it means, and what it meant to him, what it means to me, and also how it can be accessed and utilized by the reader.

Read more

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And, for me, it was a really personal, internal journey to write this book, to really sit with my father’s words and to really try and express in as simple and in as simple and clear a way as I could, what this is and to provide it as a tool for the reader to utilize, or even just something to think about for themselves.

I find my father’s words to be extremely soothing and extremely healing and extremely thought provoking. And my hope is that people will pick up this book, regardless of whether they’re into martial arts or whether they’ve recently had, because it’s really for everyone. It just really speaks to this human journey that we are all on. And I hope that people will find something beneficial for them in it.

I really admire what you’ve been doing with the Bruce Lee Family Company. Your dad has been the most ripped-off icon of all. Nobody has an entire film genre like Bruceploitation that’s dedicated to him. What are some of the battles you’re fighting trying to control his image? 

Yeah. Look, it’s always a challenge. It’s really hard to know what the best course of action is. I’m certainly very protective of him and his legacy. And at the same time, I try not to be unreasonable or overly difficult, but I really do think he requires respect. And that’s really what I’m asking for most of the time.

If somebody can show up and have a honest conversation with me and be open minded and listen to me, then I will always give them the same in return. It is really hard. The laws are different in all different places and it’s really challenging because it’s on a global level and you got to pick your battles and you only have so many resources to put towards these different types of things.

But I really feel like when I’m asked to speak up about, and give my opinion on something, I definitely will and do. And when it seems like a fight worth fighting, then I have no problems with that. I’m willing to stand up for myself and my family. And it doesn’t mean I’ll always win, but for me, it’s not about winning. It’s about doing what I feel is appropriate and right.

The CW reboot of Kung Fu is getting some buzz again, which feels as if it is in the wake of Warrior now. That’s ironically recursive given the unusual relationship that Bruce Lee’s treatment had and what we spoke about, when we first started this conversation. They’re putting out that it’s going to be all female leads, and that Asian community is reclaiming this property, but who knows? What are your thoughts on that?

Listen, I’m not in competition with anyone. I’m trying to put forth the best projects that I could put forth. And I never want to be in a place of wishing someone to not do well or be well. Right?

I don’t know anything about that show other than its existence and exactly what you just said. I haven’t read any scripts. So it’s really hard for me to say what it is. I don’t even know. And look, it’s hard to get a show made. I think that whatever happens with the show, I know these things are always a labor of love and or just a labor. So either way, it’s hard enough. And I just really couldn’t comment because I really don’t know, but I certainly never wish anyone any ill will.

That’s fair. What does your mom think of Warrior?

Oh, she loves it. She really loves it. She really is like, “Oh, I think your dad would love this show. I think you really did your dad proud.” My mom was married to Bruce Lee, so she’s no shrinking violet when it comes to action. She just thinks the show is great and a lot of fun. She’s really impressed with Andrew Koji and with the whole cast, and she just thinks it really captured the right energy and the right spirit.

What’s next for the Bruce Lee Family Company? 

Oh, my gosh. So much. We’re really excited. In November, we’re going to be celebrating my dad’s 80th. How crazy is that? Eighty years of Bruce Lee in the world. And so we have a lot of celebrations planned, mostly virtual and online and through our store, and on social media and those types of things.

Read more

TV

Warrior Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Learn to Endure, or Hire a Bodyguard

By Gene Ching

We were hoping to be able to do some kind of bigger events, but of course, with the current state of the world, we’re changing it up a little bit, and our timelines have been a little delayed on some of the bigger things that we’re working on, but we will be having some interesting announcements and fun drops and things that’ll be available in November. And so I’m super excited to celebrate that. I’ve got a number of other film and TV projects in the works, which hopefully I’ll be able to announce soon.

We’ve got a bunch of exhibits that we’re working on with different museums around the world, revamping the exhibit in Hong Kong and in Seattle but also other places. We have our social initiatives we’re doing through the foundation. We’re about to launch and revamp that website to have some different social initiatives that we’ll be promoting as well as our camps for kids that we do. And the exhibits that we’re doing, and we’re working on a permanent exhibition space as well for my father. So there’s no shortage of things going on. And we’re all really excited to share what we can do with the world.

That’s great timing because it will still be in the rollout of Warrior Season 2. You’ve got the show, the book, and the celebration, so we’re looking at a Fall season of Bruce Lee.

Yeah. And we have a new season of the Bruce Lee podcast. That’ll be dropping in October also.

Has Warrior met up to your expectations in terms of what you envisioned when you first embarked on this?

Absolutely. I would say it met it, and it exceeded it. Obviously, in small details, sometimes there are things you’re, like, “Oh, I wish we could have done this differently or that differently.” But those things are nothing in comparison to the full force of the project, the scope, the storytelling, the cast that we have, the crew that we have, the writing that we have. I really couldn’t be happier.

Look, I think there are always places to go and things to be improved. Nothing is ever perfect, but I think that it’s as good a show as I could have hoped for. I’m so thrilled because I think it captures my father’s spirit and his energy without being like a copycat of him in any way. I think it tells his story. I think it’s entertaining. I think it’s got awesome action. I think it’s got amazing characters with storylines. I think it’s dramatic. I think it’s very binge worthy. It’s like one of those shows where you’re like, “Oh my God, what’s going to happen next.” You know?

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Warrior Season 2 can be seen exclusively on CINEMAX. Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee is available wherever fine books are sold. For more on Shannon’s work and the Bruce Lee Family Company, visit BruceLee.com.

The post Bruce Lee Forever! Shannon Lee Reflects on Her Father’s Legacy appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[the-desolated-quill]

Deep Breath - Doctor Who blog (New Doctor, Same Bullshit)

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

I was very cross going into Deep Breath back in 2014, and before I talk about this episode, I’d like to quickly address all the bullshit that surrounded the buildup to the Twelfth Doctor.

Moffat kept saying how Series 8 was going to represent a brand new direction for the series and that this new Doctor would be so different to any we’ve seen before. He even hinted at the possibility of a female and/or non-white Doctor, saying there was no reason why it couldn’t happen. Who did we end up with? Peter Capaldi! Wow! A middle aged white guy?! Never seen one of those before!

Now before @furrychimp has a go at me, I’ve got nothing against Peter Capaldi. He’s a brilliant actor and I was confident he’d be great in the role. That’s not the issue. The problem I had was that Peter Capaldi was the only actor auditioned for the role. Moffat didn’t even try to think outside the box or look elsewhere. I’m not angry because Capaldi was cast in the role. I’m angry because of the wasted opportunity here. It was a year after the 50th anniversary. A chance to break new ground and try something different, and Moffat didn’t take it. If Moffat knew a non-white, non male Doctor wasn’t on the cards, why in God’s name did he keep banging on about it? It’s like I said in my review of A Good Man Goes To War, he’s more concerned with looking progressive than actually being progressive. Anyone can say there needs to be more diversity or that there needs to be change, but unless someone within the industry actually pulls their finger out and does something about it, those are just empty, meaningless words.

‘Oh but Capaldi is a lot older than previous Doctors.’

Bollocks! He was 55! That’s not old! And besides, we’ve had older Doctors before. He’s not even the first actor to play an older Doctor in New Who, or have we all conveniently forgotten about John Hurt all of a sudden? This is nothing new or original. And while I’m on the subject of his age, good God how fucking patronising were the press at the time? Listening to them, you’d think Capaldi was a 200 year old corpse that had arisen from his tomb and was at risk of collapsing into a pile of bones by the end of the series. The whole obsession with his age was seriously odd on both sides (those who thought this was some kind of cheap novelty and those who thought Capaldi was so weak and frail that he wouldn’t be able to get around the TARDIS without the use of a motorised wheelchair).

And then there’s the promise that the show was going to get a lot darker than it was before, to the point where the BBC pushed the show further back in the schedules so that you knew how dark this was going to get. This isn’t teatime entertainment anymore. It has to be broadcast at 8:00pm because it’s going to be so much daaaaaarker. 

Well... we’ve all seen Deep Breath. We all know that was bollocks.

Seriously, how is this any different from an episode in the Matt Smith era? (apart from the fact that Peter Capaldi is less zany and more tolerable than Matt Smith was). It still has the same goofiness and forced whimsey to it (more on that later). In fact some of the humour is actually worse than the Matt Smith era’s. When Madame Vastra tricks the Doctor into forming a psychic link with her so she can put him to sleep, they actually had the fucking nerve to add a comedy cartoon sound effect when he falls unconscious. How fucking desperate can you get?!

But what really strikes me about Deep Breath is how utterly unoriginal it all is. The clockwork robots are back from the overrated Girl In the Fireplace and they’re basically just doing the same shit as they did before only with an extra helping of stupid sprinkled onto them for good measure. ‘Don’t breathe’ is basically the same gimmick as ‘don’t blink’, but whereas ‘don’t blink’ made the Weeping Angels bloody terrifying, ‘don’t breathe’ just makes the clockwork robots laughably inept. A lot of the plot is similar to The Talons Of Weng-Chiang and we’ve seen dinosaurs in London before in Invasion of The Dinosaurs. Not to mention all the lines taken straight from the classic series that Moffat is determined to grind into the dirt (I swear if I hear the ‘you’ve redecorated’ gag one more time, I’m going to scream). Is this what constitutes a brave new direction now? Rehashing plots and concepts from previous stories rather than coming up with your own ideas? Moffat, go stick one of your BAFTAs up your arse. Best place for it as far as I’m concerned.

What’s worse is that this episode has been extended to an hour and 15 minutes, most of which seems to consist of extra scenes of the Paternoster Gang being their usual unfunny selves. At this point it’s not just that they’re boring, underdeveloped and utterly uninteresting characters that bothers me, but also that they are making the Doctor’s universe too small. The man has travelled all across time and space, Surely he must know some other people who would be willing to help him. Why do we keep having to come back to the Paternosters? Strax is still fucking irritating (how can he not tell the difference between an eye and a mouth? Humans and Sontarans aren’t that different. And what was even the fucking point of that medical checkup anyway other than to pad out the runtime?), and I really take issue with how Vastra and Jenny are written. I’ve taken issue with how Moffat presents LGBT characters in his stories before, but this just takes the cake. The episode constantly finds ways to patronise and objectify Jenny while Vastra plays a ‘man with boobs’ type role. And it gets worse when Clara gets involved and we see Vastra start to morph into the predatory lesbian stereotype. Call me picky, but I think we deserve better representation that that. And don’t get me started on that bullshit ‘oxygen share’ kiss. Doctor Who has never been apologetic about two heterosexuals kissing, so why should it treat two homosexuals any differently? It’s just wrong! If they’re open and okay about same sex marriage, why are they being so coy about two lesbian partners being intimate with each other?

So let’s talk about the Twelfth Doctor. Despite my anger and frustration towards the circumstances surrounding his casting, I knew Capaldi would make a great Doctor and he does do a good job in the role for the most part. I liked the stuff at the beginning where the Doctor is really confused and was having memory problems. You could almost draw parallels between him and someone suffering from a memory disorder like Alzheimer’s and it’s genuinely unnerving to see the Doctor in such a high level of distress. I also really liked his final confrontation with the robot and the moral ambiguity of whether or not he pushed him. This is a very different Doctor from Matt Smith and I’m curious to see where they take him (remember I haven’t seen any episodes past Kill The Moon, so I genuinely have no idea what happens to him). Unfortunately all of this is punctured by the usual shit you find in post regeneration episodes. A lot of crazy goofiness and pondering over whether or not this is the same man as before. Admittedly the latter was interesting at first, and The Christmas Invasion did add some dramatic weight to it what with the Doctor being the last of his race and therefore having a more personal connection with Rose than he did with any other companion as a result, but after the twelfth time you’ve done it, you’re just bored by this point. Is the Doctor the same person as before? Er... Kind of. That should be firmly established by now considering the number of bloody times the show has asked this question. Can we move on?

A lot of times I feel Capaldi is scuppered by the humour. He can be a great comedic actor, but this sort of material just doesn’t work with him. It’s too whimsical and eccentric, like the whole sequence with the horse or him calling the dinosaur a big sexy woman. It feels like Moffat is still writing for Matt Smith and it just doesn’t sound right coming out of Capaldi’s mouth. And then there’s the painfully obvious metaphors. There’s a lot you could interpret about the Doctor from what you see on screen. The similarities between him and the robot, and how they both change and replace body parts to the point where you could argue they’re not the same people they originally were. The similarities between him and Vastra, both hiding behind some kind of mask in order to feel accepted. All potentially interesting, but what ruins it is Moffat’s need to fucking spell it out for us. How about crediting your audience with some intelligence?

I really hope Chris Chibnall doesn’t go through all this shit when Jodie Whittaker takes over. In my view, all post regeneration episodes should be like The Eleventh Hour. New body, new personality and then it’s business as usual.

But by far the worst aspect of Deep Breath is Clara. I can understand being worried about the Doctor’s memory problems and state of mind, but that’s clearly not the case at all. Clara is more concerned that the Doctor has gotten visibly older, which is beyond absurd. She’s seen all of the previous Doctors. She’s met the War Doctor. Why should the Twelfth Doctor be a shock to her? Vastra says it’s because the Doctor is no longer young and sexy and, no matter how much Clara tries to deny it, that’s pretty much the only reason I can think of why she’d be angry at the Doctor. I honestly can’t see any other alternative. It doesn’t make any sense why she would be this shocked about the Doctor’s regeneration. At one point she even asks how they change him back. It just makes her come across as really shallow and selfish (not a narcissist or an egomaniac. Seriously Moffat, try browsing a dictionary some time). But what really gets me is that the episode clearly expects you to be on Clara’s side, even going so far as to try to imply that the Doctor is so different now that he has at one point abandoned Clara and left her to die, which I didn’t buy for a second. The First Doctor may well have done that, but he’s a very different man by now. Does she have to stay as the companion? They even wheel out Matt Smith again for yet another goodbye speech to reassure her about Peter Capaldi, which was just plain silly. I suspect the BBC were a little worried that people wouldn’t accept an older, less romantic Doctor. I think the BBC need to have a bit more faith in the audience. May I remind everyone that Doctor Who lasted nearly 30 years without the need to shove in any Doctor/companion romances or snogging and people loved it?

And finally we get Michelle Gomez pissing about in a garden. Who is this mysterious and clearly crazy woman who appears to have intimate knowledge of the Doctor? Gee, it couldn’t be the Master, could it? Oh no! Of course not! The Master is a man! And besides, Moffat would NEVER do a plot twist that bloody obvious.

So what is the Promised Land? I don’t know and I don’t really care to tell you the truth. i’ve become so sick and tired of Moffat’s convoluted series arcs and endless intrigue that I honestly can’t even muster up the energy to even be mildly curious about it.

Deep Breath is an uncreative, boring and lazy start to Series 8. That being said, the Twelfth Doctor does show promise. We’ll see where they go from here.

[foxandfiction]

so i havent written anything in a LONG while (since 2017?) for a very good reason: i was going to school fulltime. good news: i finished! i finished in december and i walk at graduation in may. hopefully i learned something about writing. i enjoyed myself, at the very least, and i was grateful to have made myself write frequently about literature, even if it wasn't the way and type of lit we were looking at in school. i don't know that i will come back to this frequently. after all, it's february and i've been free from the school grind for months now. but sometimes a book sparks an idea in me that i have to write out. so here we go. niko rides again.

truly devious / the hand on the wall by maureen johnson.

so here is a thing: i like maureen johnson enough as a person that i will usually read her books, despite the fact that she writes mostly YA hetero romances, and infrequently anything fantasy and never sci fi. when she announced she was writing a mystery i was interested because i do like mysteries but the genre as a whole is often difficult to enjoy for other reasons. and so, expecting it to be a stand alone novel because i am a fool and an imbecile, i picked up truly devious.

this isn't to say it is a bad book. it's just 3 books.

a brief summary: stevie bell has just been accepted into ellingham academy, a prestigious private boarding school with a checkered past. the site of several famous kidnappings and murders of the ellingham family that established it, the school is known for inviting brilliant students with very specific passions to study there. stevie is invited because of her expertise on the ellingham case-- her goal being to solve the murder while she attends the school. of course, when accidental deaths seem to be more than accidents, the case may not be solely located in the past.

intriguing.

the case itself is interesting and fun, relying on the weird school and its strange inhabitants, both presently and in the past, their penchant for secret passages and riddles, to propel the mystery forward. yet the mystery is not the sole content of any story. recently i caught up on the magnus archives (if you like audio horror.... please give it a go) and in the q&a after the most recent season they were discussing constructing a mystery. horror, of course, must have some sort of mystery. as they discussed character arcs coming to head, they brought up how such a thing can sacrifice the mystery-- poirot's character development consists of not knowing who killed someone to knowing who did it.

this is not to say that truly devious sacrifices some mystery or some character development for the sake of the other. rather, truly devious operates as two different stories with the same cast, contained in one trilogy. stevie solves the mystery. and stevie gains friends and a romance.

i prefer the mystery.

the mystery, at the very least, does not stand on weak willed politics.

there's two main issues here, in my opinion. one is the issue of representation while still wanting to write a straight romance between two white teenagers. the second is that johnson wrote this during the results of the 2016 american election and its awful aftermath. these are understandable-- at least the latter one-- because no one worthwhile has been positively impacted by this. there are of course several problems with this. the first is what i'll call representation lite. "representation" or "diversity" is something in these cases that are dolled out to a larger cast of characters so there is a variety, instead of any real issues impacting a singular person. instead of any real depth these "representations" get to have, the audience can see them and, if they want, feel included. or they can ignore them. the audience in the know can pick up on them -- stevie's best friend janelle is a lesbian, and janelle's partner is nonbinary. there is a minor character with a physical disability. stevie herself suffers from an anxiety disorder, which is the only one of these things that is talked about beyond mentioning for mentioning's sake.

one thing that struck me as a very sour note occurs in a chapter from the perspective of a witness to the original crime, a friend of albert ellingham, founder of the school. leonard holmes nair (subtlety is for adult novels), talking to some students about how he knows dorothy parker, says, verbatim, "i am a friend of dorothy's".

now. several things. i didn't need this line to know he was gay. you nailed that one maureen, without having to discuss sexuality at all. to a modern audience, that's what this line specifies. in certain contexts it would be amusing-- it is innocuous in 1935, but in 2020, it's full of meaning. the film did not even come out until '39, and i'm not sure when the phrase came to mean what it means now. a kind of circular joke, that is meaningless both to the joke teller and his audience, yet full of subtext to both the author and the readers. it's interesting. it's also a little bit insidious and what i dislike about this novel revolves around it. it is a joke under layers and layers that you must already know something about to know what it means. and yet if you don't you miss it and you miss nothing. it's the "representation" in this novel-- it's buried and it's minor and you can miss it easily, and while it may be well intentioned, its existence is more insulting than inviting.

it's second major flaw is its attempt at a political message. it suffers as much liberalism suffers, by drawing an arbitrary line in the sand where doing the right thing is the goal, if you have someone you like pushing you to do it, but it's ok to fall short if it inconveniences you, scares you, is considered illegal in any way.

here is a minor example: a character who studies environmental science talks about writing a paper about all of the plastic in the ocean. not two chapters later he talks about how he likes tuna salad, as if the majority of plastic in the ocean didn't come from the fishing industry. i'd chalk this up to author ignorance (and not character ignorance because i think teenagers are smarter than that) but johnson is vegetarian, maybe vegan; she is at the very least a big fan of isa chandra moskowitz, noted vegan cookbook author. (if you care about the environment.... go vegan).

here is a bigger example: throughout the novel there is a commentary on a fictional senator who could very well be a number of real senators. he's your run of the mill republican, in my opinion: racist scaremonger who wants a "return to personal responsibility". stevie's parents work for his campaign, despite her personal objections to him. after making out with a housemate several times, she discovers he is the senator's son. the kid is supposed to be just as against his father as stevie is, although he is, in perhaps the politest way i can phrase it, chaotic as fuck.

maybe i am just jaded but i can't imagine anyone with money not being tainted by their parent's politics that work to get them this money. yet they do end up together, and a large part of the secondary, non-mystery plot is her love interest's work to ruin his father's bid for presidency.

there is a turning point where, the boy and some friends (not stevie and her friends, because it Felt Wrong) find out that his father has been blackmailing shady people for campaign finances. great. until, instead of exposing them, they decide to destroy the information, because it is less illegal.

oh..... ok? i mean, if he got dirt on these people i don't think he couldn't do it again. if he reports it to the press, he destroys his father's bid for presidency and the lives of the awful people he's extorting. it's a win-win scenario. will the kid go to jail? maybe, but even if his father is pressing charges against him, he's still a rich white boy. he'll be ok. doing something illegal for the greater good is ok. lots of things were once illegal. that doesn't make them immoral. maybe doing the right thing, like absolutely destroying any chance your awful father has at holding a position of power, is better than taking an easy way out.

maybe, if you want to write a mystery, write a mystery, and if you want to write something political, don't feature the police as a trustworthy organization.

but what do i know.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/technology/entertainment/watch-phoebe-robinson-on-her-new-movie-what-men-want/

WATCH: Phoebe Robinson on her new movie 'What Men Want'

Transcript for Phoebe Robinson on her new movie ‘What Men Want’

Phoebe Robinson is signing back for the second podcast turned HBO show that made her a star, “2 dope queens,” but she’s keeping busy in the new comedy “What men want” and hitting the road with Michelle Obama. Please welcome phoebe Robinson. ??? Hi, guys, how are you? Good, good. Loving your hair. Thank you. Fly, fly, fly. Thanks for having me here, you guys. Yes. I’m so excited. So we were talking about the super bowl — sorry. Did I yawn? I’m sorry. Did you watch? I didn’t watch. I’m with Kap so I’m just going to support him and just, you know — but I heard that it was not that exciting anyway so I didn’t miss anything. Right. The commercials are better than the game. Exactly. So you do stand-up comedy. Yeah. I’ve been doing it for 11 years. Someone was telling me that, you know, about something that you did and I know that as a comic when a famous comic walks into the club everybody gets excited and robin used to stop at the catch and rising star, like, oh, my god, the audience went wild. So that happened to you. Yes. And yet you walked out instead of following that person. What happened? I won’t say who the comic is but he is an alleged sexual assaulter and it wasn’t announced in the lineup that he was going to be in the show. It wasn’t Louis C.K.? It was not. I felt like this doesn’t sit right with me. This is bigger than comedy and I don’t need to be on stage with someone who is making it unsafe for people in the workplace. So you have strong principles, Kaepernick and now this. I try. If I can do something as simple as walking away from that, then I feel comfortable do that. Good for you. Thanks. Phoebe, you are all over the place and I know because I love your social media, especially your Instagram. You’re in a movie “What men want”, you’re doing stand-up. Your show “2 dope queens” is back, absolutely hilarious. You and Jessica Williams have had huge success with this, and your podcast, 2 deep queens. How has it resonated with so many people and what does it feel like to have success? Jessica and I started it four and a half years ago because we thought there’s so many brilliant people doing stand-up but a lot of times it’s just the straight white guys on late night. We thought we’re going to have women, people of color, people on the identity spectrum and I feel like people saw themselves in the show and I think that’s why the show resonates with so many people so I’m happy about it. We’re going to take a look at a clip. Let’s do this. It’s just a box braid, not a corn row, just a box braid, right? Both: Yeah. Okay, let’s let it rip. It’s just one? Whatever you feel like. We’re like your cool art teachers. Whatever you want. I’m going to massage the scalp because I don’t know if she’s tender-headed or not. That’s very respectful of you. You okay, baby, you going to be okay. Those are a lot of inside jokes about getting your hair done. And I loved “What men want”. Thank you, thank you so much. That was fantastic. You’ve said in the past that the way you choose to do your hair on any given day affects the way people see you and makes people feel a certain kind of way. And with the ongoing conversation about black women and hair, does that still hold true, people treat you differently depending on the way you wear your hair? Absolutely. If you have it a little more natural, you’re going to get followed in Dwayne reed. Trust and believe. If you have it straighter they’re going to be like nicer to you. I’m 34, I know what it is now and I change my hair all the time as you guys can see and it runs the gamut. Throws them off too. Yeah, right. I like it. No one can identify me. But it is really nice to represent the hair the way that I want to wear it and not let them have the power over me about it. You talk a lot about representation, even just here on the show. Was there anyone that you were able to look up to when you were growing up? Because I always found that difficult when I was growing up, people that just looked like me in a magazine. Yeah. Especially on the cover. Yes. I was really obsessed with Tyra banks. I loved her so much. Every time she was in a magazine I cut out pictures of her and put it in a shoebox, like, I’m going to be like her one day, I’m going to meet her one day, I’m going to have boobs like her one day. That still hasn’t happened and I’m 34 but that’s okay. I love how she made everybody feel beautiful about themselves. And obviously Oprah, I’m obsessed with Oprah. She’s a role models. Yeah, yeah. Have you spent time with Tyra? I got to interview her on my podcast, so many white guys, and I think people forget that she’s a very smart business woman. Like, she’s not just in front of the camera but she’s making moves behind the scenes so it was really cool to learn from her. Another bff that you have is sort of a big deal. People say you can’t make great friends the older you get but I totally disagree with that. Michelle Obama of all people. How did that friendship come about? Well, she asked Jessica and I to interview her on “2 dope queens” and we were like, you know who we are? We said some really ignorant things on our podcast and you still want to talk to us? We got to go to D.C. And be in our office and interview her and we just had a black girl magic moment. She’s the greatest. She’s so fantastic and I love her. And I’m interviewing her, yeah. So easy to talk to. She’s amazing. Do you just shoot her a text. And you do it quite often. This Saturday I’m going to be in Portland for her book tour and I want to have brunch with her, just real, no makeup, and just sort of talk about pop culture. What hair will you wear that day? Ooh, my hair’s got to be on point, okay. Something else I love about you, you love abbreviated words. Yes. What’s your favorite one? I like to say soups monogs for super monogamous. Whoopi does not like it. I just — you know, in my head I have to see can you say it just if you’re running to catch a taxi. Can you yell it? Soups monogs! I put menage. There’s my problem. She’s speaking singularly. I’m speaking to the world. So earlier at the table we were talking about Jada Pinkett Smith and what she said about romantic love and being the highest form of love. She talked about friendship first and foremost. What is your take on love? Do you think you need romance and friendship, one or the other? Absolutely. In the beginning you’re like, this person is so hot, they’re so new, I love the way they smell and nine months in you’re like, pick up your underwear so you got to have that friendship. You got to have the friendship if you want to keep it going. That’s my boyfriend. He’s a tour manager for rock bands and we travel all the time. Aw. His nickname is British bakeoff. This one knows a lot. We know each other. He went home to London over christmastime with him and I was obsessively watching your Instagram. They were hilarious. And his mother, you were so funny with her. She’s so cute. She did not want to be filmed. I’m like, you’re going on my insta story. She’s like oh, my god. So he’s a Brit. He’s a Brit. Did you fall for the accent? I did. It’s hot. It is. He’s in your social media a lot. He doesn’t care. He’s pretty good. He’s like, as long as my name doesn’t get out it’s good. As long as his name doesn’t get out? Yeah. Because he doesn’t want it to affect his work. We saw his picture. But you don’t know his name. His name could be John. He does not, but I will have him get on that for you. You need to find out about Idris when you England. No, no, you’re happy. She doesn’t have to find out about anything. Bring him back here. Bring it back here for you guys. Believe me, there have been e-mails towards Idris. Idris said he’ll see us soon. Sunny, not for me. Yeah, yeah. Listen, come back any time. Oh, my god, 00 I would love to. You guys are amazing, thank you. Our thanks to phoebe Robinson. She’ll be in Portland with Michelle Obama on Saturday. Check out her new film “What men want” and her HBO show, “2 dope queens,” both out this Friday.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

[qyriad]

Ok, Let’s Talk About 13 Reasons Why

There’s a lot of controversy surrounding 13 Reasons Why, I’m here to give my two cents because I feel the people praising it and those condemning it are both missing a lot. I’m going to try to fill in the gaps...which considering the overwhelming amount of controversy means I’m going to be advocating it a lot. 

Having said that, I’m going to start with what the people who are praising it are missing. Before that though, let me add to my credibility a bit; a lot of those who condemn the show say that those who praise the show obviously don’t have any experience with mental health. That may very well be true. I, however, am personally depressed. I have self-harmed. I’m passively suicidal. I have anxiety too (and serious insomnia but that’s slightly off topic). I am an asexual transgender lesbian. I have a right to talk about mental health. *Ahem*, let’s begin. 

13 Reasons Why is Not Some Force For Mental Health

I’m actually pretty surprised that the first few articles that surfaced about 13 Reasons Why regarded it as such. From the first ten minutes it was clear to me that it wasn’t going to have any meaningful message on suicide. The premise is that a girl kills herself and sends tapes listing her reasons, essentially her suicide note(s), to all the people that she blames. The idea of that premise is pretty absurd, and to me it is already obviously glorifying suicide. This isn’t going to be clear to a lot of people who are dealing with mental health issues, but I would have hopped that the people writing this article maybe would have. 

There is no takeaway on mental health here, or no good one at least. No takeaway on suicide. This show doesn’t have anything good to say about either of those.

Showing the Actual Suicide is Indefensible

Holy shit I still can’t believe they actually did that. I can’t believe they actually thought it was a good idea to show the act of performing suicide. They literally decided it was a good idea to show suicidal people how to kill themselves. That is indefensible. I can’t even begin to explain how dangerous that is. That alone makes any ban against the show completely justified. 

“You Can’t Love Someone Back to Life” / “You Can Try”

I’m sorry...what? This is another demonstration of why I don’t think this show is supposed to be taken seriously as a force for mental health in general. Let’s be a tad bit real: love? It helps. A lot. Personally I don’t think I would be here writing this without the ones that love me and that I love. That being said. You cannot fucking say that love prevents suicide as a rule. That’s just bullshit. It’s almost embarrassing. Plenty of people have been loved and still killed themselves. Also this sends the message to loved ones of suicide victims it’s their fault. That’s dangerous to anyone with existing mental health problems as well!

“Self Harm is What You Do Instead of Killing Yourself”

*Groans*. Ok. First of all that line was almost unbearably cringey to hear. This is another thing I can’t believe they actually put in the script. And I guess to a certain strange extent they’re kinda sorta not really right? Like sure, I’d much rather someone self-harm than kill themself. But that line was basically saying “if you’re even thinking about suicide, cut yourself instead!” That is dangerous, but hey at least it’s less dangerous than suicide right? Oh wait they showed the actual suicide. God dammit. 

That was a lot shorter than it could have been because there is no shortage of criticism for 13 Reasons Why. Having said that let’s move on to what this show is good for.

Parents

This is a big one for me. There’s not nearly enough media that shows meh or bad parents and the effects of them. There’s plenty on stereotypically abusive parents, and plenty of media have meh or bad parents, but they gloss over them. 13 Reasons Why has some great moments where you just want to scream at the kids’ parents. Especially Clay’s. I’m going to cite when Clay comes home drunk here. They ask him if he’s drunk and he responds “I think so”. Presumably Clay has never done anything like that before. As the viewers, we know that he was forced to. Admittedly it’s pretty unreasonable to expect parents to come to that conclusion. However, without knowing what actually happened, it would have been pretty reasonable to assume that Clay made a huge mistake that he either does or will deeply regret. Instead Clay’s mother skips logical reasoning and goes straight to punishment: grounding and yelling. There is a lot wrong with that, and 13 Reason Why paints in a way that you feel Clay’s frustration toward his parents. Things like that are actually really important. Clay’s parents didn’t even ask for an explanation. His dad finally offers some sanity and stops his mother before she goes too crazy, but even he doesn’t try to figure out what actually happened. All sorts of parents are shown in this show, and while each representation isn’t perfect, it is much better than mainstream media is doing. 

I’d also like to take a small moment to also praise the show for depicting the counselor as a condescending asshole, because that really is how most counselors feel. 

Rape

Ok I’m going to cop out this one a little bit, because I have to. I have no experience with rape. As such I’m not fully qualified to speak on it, and if anyone would like to correct me in any way, please do so. That being said, I’m going to speak on what I think I can still talk about, and on what I’ve seen others who do have experience say. 

I’m very glad they depicted it the way they did. They didn’t display it as overtly violent other than the rape itself: ie they didn’t show someone beating the crap out of a women to the ground and brutally raping her. That’s the stereotypical representation, and it’s dangerous. It perpetuates the idea that rape has to be that way. No. Rape is nonconsensual sex. I’m sure you can find plenty of other Tumblr posts talking about that. 13 Reasons Why depicts it as just that, and that is great. Yes it’s hard to watch, it should be. It should also have way more trigger warnings definitely. But it does show what is probably one of the more common forms of rape, and it firmly takes a stand against it. Which brings me to my next point. 

How We Talk About Rape

Yes rape gets two sections. Hannah goes to the school counselor and starts to talk about how she was rapped. The counselor immediately assumes Hannah “made a decision with a boy she regrets”. Hannah actually calls him out on this which is pretty awesome. After that, she’s asked if someone forced themself on her, to which she replies yes. She’s then asked if she was drunk or otherwise under the influence. He asks if she said “stop” or explicitly told him “no”. Hannah’s frustration is obvious, Clay’s reaction to hearing about this is obvious; the show makes a clear and strong stance against victim blaming. Then he just tells Hannah to “move on”, which is what causes Hannah to finally give up. 13 Reasons Why shows how society blames rape victims and does nothing about it, and vehemently condemns it. That is extremely important.

Storytelling

In a perfect world, this would be an incredible show. If we didn’t have to worry about the messages it sends, I’d be praising it endlessly. The audio and visual direction is fantastic. The characters are well developed, and Hannah’s sense of humor is kind of perfect. The pacing is brilliant (especially considering they dragged this out from a book that takes place over the course of one night). This show is really good art. However, this is not a perfect world, and the messages sent by media are more important than ever every day. 

Conclusion

I hope that we can learn from 13 Reasons Why. In both ways. If you stripped cringey moments and the, again indefensible showing of the actual suicide, you’d just have the premise, and then we could just say “hey this show is built on a crazy premise, don’t take the premise seriously, but it’s pretty good”. But we can’t. So I don’t advise your average person, and especially not someone with mental health problems to watch this. I do recommend this to anyone who likes analyzing storytelling, and anyone creating storytelling, because then maybe we can start to see better depictions of parenting and its effects on kids. Maybe then we can start seeing media talk about rape the way it should be talked about. I’m certainly not saying we should ignore what’s wrong with the show. However, it does do a lot of things right too, and if we’re very very lucky, maybe other media can learn from those instead. 

[akasen-the-red]

What I Learned After Deciding to Attempt to Make an Anime 3x3

So for months now, I’d been contemplating the creation of an anime 3x3 after

the topic of putting an anime onto one came up last year during the Fall anime season.

The idea seemed appealing enough, create a visual representation of your favorite series in an easy to digest format that does not require any explanation at all. Just a list of names and a hope that whoever see’s it knows what they’re looking at.

It also would work as a decent recommendation list as well, a quick recommendation of someone nine favorite series.

So I’d been ruminating on the topic for months now and in the last 24 hours, I got to work trying to make one for myself. Here’s what I’ve learned overall, right after the break:

You Can Not Make a 3x3 On a Yearly Basis (let alone a seasonal basis)

Let’s try to understand my process here: In an attempt to make the process of making a 3x3 easier, I decided it would be more logical to look at anime between a frame of time (originally between the years 2006 and and 2017, but broadened to 2000 to 2017) and make a list on a yearly basis of my favorite anime.

The task is simple enough. The problem is when you set out doing this and also had the brilliant idea of making a 3x3 for every year do you realize why your friend basically scoffed at the idea of making one on even a seasonal basis.

While I browsed the MyAnimeList charts between every season of every year, I made sure to add anime that really called out to me. Things I watched that also really struck a chord with me. And so on average, I was listing off about four series every year

Interestingly, my lists for the years of 2014 to 2016 contains more series on average and 2017 is already breaking the average. This could mean or be because of any number of things, so we won’t dwell on the why of that.

The point is that as daunting as this task is, it’s significantly less difficult than what it may seem.

The true difficulty comes up when narrowing down to nine series

The Act of Narrowing down Your Favorite Anime to Nine Series Is Painful

The major problem I swiftly ran into was actually narrowing down the anime to nine unique series. It first started off as thirty-five series, was whittled to twenty-six, and massacred down to nine from those twenty-six series.

The more you narrow, the more difficult it becomes as you question things like how this reflects upon you and if you truly believe one series is better than another.

The most painful removal was Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon which was certainly a favorite of mine last year, and would have certainly made it to a top ten if this was a top ten list. But the decision was made to sacrifice it so that other series I deemed worthy could stay.

[The funny thing is that in writing that last paragraph, I couldn’t help but continue to feel bad in removing Maid Dragon, to the point I had to really look at my list once more and question the odd one series that was on my list that didn’t feel right. Kobayashi maid the cut.]

(The following is a brief list of series being considered for the 3x3 but were removed)

Some other series I had to remove were stuff like the Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. This was purely because they were adaptations on one hand. In Stay Nights case, I felt that the Visual Novel was more meaningful than the anime, and Zero just because it was an adaptation. Whether they were good adaptations was also a sort of question I tackle with. However, this didn’t mean other series that were adaptations of a work would get removed. This was the only way I could explain, and hold to, as to why I couldn’t keep Zero or UBW on a list.

Jormungand is a fantastic example of a series that really clicks with my tastes. I was almost certain it would have been on the final list. But after much deliberation, I realized that while good, it wasn’t as good as other series on the list, certainly not as good as Black Lagoon (though not to say Lagoon makes it look worse).

Blood-C was another series that was contesting also failed the cut. It was a simple question of whether the sum of is parts was greater than the whole. The story really wasn’t that good compared to its violence.

Highschool of the Dead, unfortunately in a way, did not make the 3x3. This I was certain of, but after much thinking on it, I realized I could not put it on. The manga is by far a much more superior work in my eyes to the anime. While the anime may be a fantastic example of “How to Create a Series That Advertises Itself Thanks to Controversy”, it’s those things, the more than gratuitous sexual fanservice, that really brings it down. Not enough for me to ever complain, cause I know the true fanservice is in the guns, but enough to realize that Hellsing and Black Lagoon were so much more than HOTD. [Admittedly, the fanservice may also be too much as well in all sorts of hindsight. Neither Hellsing or Black Lagoon dabble in such useless things as sexual tension, to the point you wouldn’t want to see porn of either series because of what kind of sex would be had given context]

Being True to Myself

Another factor though was me having to question if I was putting it on for a simple, but unconscious, pretentiousness where I was considering the series not because I thoroughly enjoyed the series, but because it would look nice on a list. Like if someone had to have just ONE Miyazaki movie on a list just so that they wouldn’t look uncultured.

I wanted my 3x3 to represent me in the best way possible, showing my major likes as best as possible. I knew a Miyazaki movie, as fantastic as they are, would not be able to truly make such a list. I considered for a moment “Your Name”, however I ended up deciding that while it was a gorgeous bit of animation and great movie all around, it simply didn’t fit into something that overall would be considered the best of the best

Thus, my list isn’t anything flashy. Heck, it may even be controversial in at least one way (I know one series is gonna get mixed feelings). But the important thing is that my choices were personal choices reflecting my most personal opinions with very little regard for what my peers may think of me.

My Research was Sloppy

While not the biggest problem as far as I can tell, it is troubling that on a year to year basis, I am missing a series or two that definitely would have been a favorite of that year. It’s not too worrying though, because if it didn’t occur to me then, then the series was never above and beyond in personal impact to begin with.

The truly worrying issue comes up in hindsight though. For example, I realized I left off Shirobako on the list. I didn’t know what year it was from though (I watched it after it aired) so I had to look it up. Since I was viewing the seasons on a year to year basis while completely tired, it’s not unlikely that I missed a series that I would have at the very least considered a gem of that year, even if it wouldn’t have made the cut for a 3x3.

Furthermore, my listing was highly limited. It is also possible that there are series older than what I was looking up that could have possibly (though unlikely to be honest) made this list.

But on the other hand, I shouldn’t worry too much. I love me some Gundam, and I do love me some Macross. Rourouni Kenshin isn’t hated simply because I didn’t include it, nor Outlaw Star. It just means that these series don’t really call out to me like the other nine do (and just as importantly, twenty-plus other series).

Overall, I am unable to complain. Maybe I’ll do this again next year or later this year to see if my feelings change at all. However, I find a certain feeling of content with this 3x3 I have. It does a good job in showing what I am more than likely to look for in a series and I feel it’s a perfectly balanced spectrum of series as well (not a purposeful thing mind you, but also an opinion of my own work)

I’ll be posting it soon, however I wish to at the very least provide an explanation for each series and also give more insight to runner ups. MAYBE also list series year by year

[pngmanpower-blog]

How to Ace Your Video Interview

So you’ve been invited for an interview for a job you really want, brilliant! The twist is, it’s a video interview . Does the very idea of this fill you with dread, or do you embrace the opportunity to exhibit your skills from the comfort of your own home?  Hey, you could even keep your PJs on under the table if you so wish!

Video interviews are becoming more and more common in the recruitment industry with the release of new business technology making it such an easy and convenient method of communicating with candidates. It allows recruiters to gain a better understanding of a candidate than a phone call and first impressions and the way that someone presents them self are some of the most important factors in the recruitment process. But can a recruiter really get an accurate impression of a candidate via a video link?

A recent survey carried out by Sonru, ‘The Candidate Experience of Video Interviewing’, found a predominantly positive response from respondents, with 72% of candidates feeling happy about the idea of taking part in a video interview and 66% were impressed having experienced one. The survey identified a number of other benefits of video interviewing from the candidate point of view, such as that 38% found it convenient that they could choose a time that suited their schedule and 20% thought that being able to conduct the interview from home saved the stress and expense of travel.

Although there are disadvantages of not meeting a candidate face-t0-face, in the way that their general demeanour may not come across as clearly; it could actually offer a more realistic impression of the person, as they are typically more relaxed in their own environment.

If you’ve got a video interview coming up and are unsure about how to approach it, here are a few pointers for achieving your best and making the technology work for you.

Dress professionally:

Make sure that you look smart and wear the same sort of thing that you would for an in-person interview. I know I joked before about wearing pyjamas under the table, however it’s probably best to avoid this, in case you have to stand up and end up revealing your interesting outfit choice. It has also been suggested that block colours work best on camera, as they will stand out more amongst your surroundings.

Find a good camera angle:

The best position to place your camera is the same height as the top of your head. Pointing the camera down at you will give the most flattering angle and by encouraging you to tilt your head slightly upwards, it will also help you to sit up straight. Be sure to look at the camera and not the screen, in order to give the impression of making eye contact with the interviewer, as this is an important factor that would be expected in a face-t0-face interview.

Maintain good posture:

It’s likely that you will be doing the interview somewhere that you are comfortable, but don’t forget that it is a formal interaction and good posture is important for making a positive impression. Avoid slouching or fidgeting and do your best to maintain the same composure that you would if you were in an office. It’s also best to avoid too much movement, as gesticulating too much may impair the camera focus or become distracting.

Be confident in front of the camera:

This may be easier said than done, as not everyone is naturally comfortable speaking into a camera. Just try to relax as much as possible and practice is fundamental to building confidence for your video interview.

Find a neutral backdrop:

It’s probably needless to say that it’s not a great idea to exhibit a messy house to your interviewer, however, even something like a bookshelf or ornaments may be slightly distracting from the message you are trying to portray in your interview. If possible, set your camera up in front of a blank wall and sit close to the camera so that it is just your head and shoulders in shot, to ensure that you are the central focus of the shot. If not, be sure that the room is tidy and gives a good professional representation of you.

Use a good quality microphone:

It’s important that your interviewer is able to hear you properly, so invest in a good quality microphone before the interview for clear communication. The microphone will probably pick up other noises in the room in addition to your voice, so make sure you’re in a quiet environment and avoid shuffling papers or moving things around.  I’d also recommend doing a test run of all the video equipment before your interview, to avoid any unexpected tech problems on the day.

Be prepared

Like you would for any job interview, make sure that you have a good knowledge of the company and role that you are interviewing for. Be prepared for the usual questions you may be asked and be equipped with questions to ask your interviewer too. Make sure that you send any materials such as your CV, etc to your interviewer in advance, to save unnecessary time wasting on the occasion.

Hold a mock interview

Recruit a friend or family member to conduct a mock video interview with you ahead of the real thing. It will give you the chance to become comfortable addressing the camera and will allow you to trial run the lighting, camera position, etc.

[cynthiadshaw]

#LadyBoss: redefining what a boss looks like

Too many of us grew up only seeing one kind of boss or leader in the media. The lack of representation for other groups reinforced harmful stereotypes and acted as a self-fulfilling prophesy, but would our opinion of what a leader looks like be different if the media did a better job at representing the true diversity of leadership in America?

Women and other under-represented groups are already leading many great companies, organizations, & academic institutions; others are authoring best-sellers, building engaged audiences, leading movements and more.

We had the honor of connecting with many of the best and brightest female leaders from in and around the city and we asked them our question of the month: What is the best advice you have for someone who feels like they are facing insurmountable odds.

We encourage you to check out the female leaders we’ve highlighted below, follow them on social media if you find their work or story interesting and most importantly do your part to #fightstereotypes

Catalina Freeman | middle school reading teacher turned domestic engineer | lifestyle blogger

When facing a challenge you feel is insurmountable I think it’s best to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Success takes time and hard work and it’s okay to move one step at a time in the right direction. The key is to do it consistently and to believe in yourself because you are your own biggest critic.

lifewithcandg.com  @lifewithcandg

Irina Pizzurro | Executive Flower Wizard at Iris & Iree Floral Co.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It can be easy to lose hope, faith, or feel shame when faced with challenges that seem impossible. It pulls up all sorts of emotions. I always try to remember that everyone has a starting point and that progress is not linear. Remembering that restores hope for me. Having the right mindset is important. I also believe in the power of words and manifesting. If you want it so bad you feel it in your bones, it can be achieved. It just takes hard work and patience.

irisandireefloralco.com  @irisandireefloral   

Takesha Austin | Empowerment Life Coach for Millennial Women

Whenever I get to a place where I feel that I am facing a “giant” that is larger than me, I digress & remember exactly how I made it through the last battle. I am never fighting alone, in fact me knowing the outcome will work for good gives me peace & endurance to keep pushing! My bible says “All things work for the good of those who love the Lord.” This is how I fight & WIN! With Gods word, faith & TRUTH.

KeshaAustin.com @CoachKeshaAustin @CoachKeshaAustin

Katherine Bahlburg | Fitness Professional & Founder of Bells and Barbells: Wedding Fitness Studios

In life we all come across moments where we doubt our own abilities and we second guess what we are capable of. When that happens, and we let the self doubt takeover, we miss the opportunity to grow. When things feel insurmountable, remember, greatness is lying on the other side. People often ask me how I came up with my business and my answer isn’t what most people think it will be. They imagine that it was instant, and BAM…in comes this brilliant idea. LOL. That was not the case. My idea grew from me being in one of the lowest points of my life and after an especially long day, I started crying in my tiny one bedroom apartment. I was broke, frustrated, exhausted and over worked. I was drowning self pity and searching for inspiration. And that’s when it it hit me…I asked myself, “What is frustrating you?” and “What can I do to change it?” That’s how my idea was born. The next morning I took action and never looked back. You will always come across times in your life when things feel impossible or too much to handle but the minute you slow down and really break down the problem, that’s when you find the answer. There is nothing that gives you more confidence than achieving something that once had the ability to cause you so much doubt. Take that power away from those thoughts. Get focused and break down the challenges and watch success start to grow.

bellsandbarbells.com   @bellsandbarbells @kittykatfit 

Sidney Jennings | Writer & creative enthusiast

Facing a challenge they feel is insurmountable” the answer is in that phrase right there. If you don’t “feel” like it is insurmountable does that change the challenge? Of course not, the challenge stays the same but your perspective can change Everything. Is it really insurmountable or is it just that you “feel” it is? Feelings are amazing, deep, and real but they are also deceiving. They can convince you that something is unattainable because of how it makes you feel. I’m not saying to be a robot because, let’s be real, I don’t think I could take my feelings out of anything if I tried, but when you realize it is attainable and possible you progress out of hope instead of digressing out of fear.

@sidney.jennings  morethanbrunch.com

Black Orchid Boutique

I would say if you feel that a challenge is insurmountable that means you’re aiming high enough. Nothing that comes easy is worth it. So keep your dreams big and know that you are the force behind your own aesthetic living. Blossom Baby

theblackorchidshop.com

Tia W. Vaughn | Jewelry Artist | Founder-TarteLaine Designs

@totallytiffanyco, Facebook- @tiffanyevansfashion – location was at @2310routhstreet

Fear is paralyzing..don’t focus on how scary the challenge may seem. Come up with a plan and a goal then just do it. THEN celebrate. Pat yourself on the back for facing the challenge and celebrate every win along the way, no matter how big or small. You have to give yourself credit to stay motivated and confident to face the next challenge – even if the result isn’t exactly what you planned.

tartelaine.com facebook.com/TarteLaine @tartelainedesigns

Abigail Lalumandier | Recovery Influencer

What’s the best advice you have for some who is facing a challenge they feel is insurmountable? Nothing lasts forever and just know that the best views come from the hardest climbs.

@thesoberstyle  thesoberstyle.com

 Melanie Shute | Events Manager & Fashion Influencer

Colby Kruger Jones Photography

To keep going, and never give up. Sometimes the biggest challenge seems unachievable but launches into the most rewarding accomplishment in the future. Don’t compare yourself to others, and do things that bring you joy and happiness. Surround yourself around people that bring positivity. Remember you’re a badass, and you can absolutely do it!

instagram.com/shuteingmystyle

Felicia Akop | jewelry artist | designer  | web mistress | boutique boss & Lizzie Akop-boutique boss | style boss | merchandising maniac

We were raised with the ideology, throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack.

savannahhoffmandesigns.com facebook.com/savannahhoffmandesigns

Jillian Prado Terrell | Trend Forecaster

My advice for anyone facing an extreme challenge is to take it step-by-step and to lean in to those around you who will support you.

@jillian_prado drasticallyappropriate.com

Martha Flores | A Driven Fashionista

My advice would be to stay positive because positive thinking won’t let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.

youtube.com/kittybby21

Amy Duncan |  Owner | Principal Consultant of Rari Veblyn Business Concierge Services

Charles “CITY” Gbadebo of CSL Media Group @sosocity

It may sound really cliche but the confidence I get from being spiritually centered helps me conquer anything that comes my way. For me, I can’t do anything without God. I have to find the strength from Him before I can do anything. Prayer, meditation, and confiding in safe spaces have been my guiding forces. There’s a beauty in silence; you’re able to critically think and play out so many scenarios to get the answer to just about anything.

@ayyedunc @rariveblyn facebook.com/rariveblyn linkedin.com/in/amyduncan315

Samanda Marshall-Sawyer | Business Strategist

Challenges are opportunities. Always seek God for direction on how to handle those opportunities. Then move forward in that direction.

@Motivusmomentumagency facebook.com/Motivusmomentumagency motivusmomentum.com

Laci Villarreal | Personal brand photographer

Featured in photo Sadie Robin of Vanity Craft Salon

I believe we have all felt at some point in time something is insurmountable. Sometimes I still feel that way in certain situations but I remind myself of everything in my life I’ve overcome. In facing your fear of why you think this challenge isn’t possible, start to place yourself in that uncomfortable situation. The more you do the impossible makes it easier to do it and helps achieve that goal you thought was impossible. My favorite quote I found in college that I love even today is by pablo picasso “I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

warrlockphotography.com @warrlockphotography

Beth Wolfe

Don’t hold on to expectations, let go of judgments, and see how things unfold.

bethawolfe.com

Jennifer Dickson, BSN, RN  | founder of SITTERNEEDED and Acuity Career Consulting  |  health & fitness enthusiast

Keep telling yourself to go.  The biggest risk is to do nothing.  Whatever you do, find small ways to move forward whether that’s in researching new information, obtaining new resources, or creating a plan. Remind yourself that everything that’s ever been accomplished was considered impossible until it wasn’t. The path to overcoming lies in action, so when you start, just don’t quit.

sitterneeded.com instagram.com/SITTERNEEDED instagram.com/acuitycareerconsulting

 Brittany Bello | Model & Entrepreneur

Aaron Handler

Shift your perspective, always. Maybe *you* are the insurmountable obstacle in someone else’s journey. We are both the Universe/Source itself as well as the recipient of the blessings of the Universe. If you can make someone else’s day/life better, why couldn’t someone do that to you and help you overcome that obstacle? There are plenty of people and things available to help us in our journeys, but if you don’t have the lenses to SEE them then we will always be in the dark. Open up your consciousness to not always play the victim and step into the role of giving. We all know the Law of Attraction, but try and visualize it this way for maximum results! We get what we give back to the Universe. Give thanks for the obstacle and what it’s teaching you, just as you sometimes decline to help others if you’re not inspired to (and this is ok because sometimes we’re not meant to have what we want). We create our own realities, imagine a reality where you pass that obstacle. It doesn’t have to be “reasonable”. You can make anything you want happen with the power of your intentions. Go be great and remember your power!

linktr.ee/brittanynoelbello

Savannah Mendenhall | Health Coach and Coffee Lover

Go for a walk outside and disconnect from your phone. No music. No social media. Just take a moment or two or a hundred to breathe. Your problems will still be there when you get back home and reconnected to the craziness of life, but an intentional break like this helps you to remember what it feels like to be you. You’re going through something incredibly difficult right now, but you are strong and worth the fight to keep on keeping on!

@fitwithsav

Megan Saustad | Fashion & Lifestyle Blogger | Influencer

My advice to anyone who is facing a challenge they feel is insurmountable is to rely on their faith.  I truly believe in a higher power, spending time in thoughtful prayer and being in a community with like-minded believers.  This has made a profound impact on my life, especially during difficult times.

instagram.com/trulymeganblog trulymegan.com

Barbara Arredondo | Dallas Real Estate Agent

@SocialResults

Give yourself permission to believe in the possibilities when you are faced with what seems to be a hopeless, unconquerable challenge. Doing so does not mean you are denying the present situation you are faced with.

barbara.claystapp.com @Dallas_RealEstate_Agent @ClayStappCo

Legz Paris | Entrepreneur and Entertainer

You should keep god first grind and don’t let no body stop you for doing what you love !it might not come over night but just remember Rome wasn’t built in one day ! It takes time to build a empire.

legzvanity.bigcartel.com youtube.com/legzparis

Rei Miller | Owner & Professional Organizer of Sakura Rose

I would say break it all down into bite size pieces, and if those pieces still feel too big and overwhelming to consume, break them down even smaller. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask someone you trust or a professional you trust for advice or help. One of the best things that I have done is reach out to mentors and join industry mastermind groups so that I have people who I can turn to for support at any time.

sakura-rose.com @sakuraroseorganizing

The post #LadyBoss: redefining what a boss looks like appeared first on Voyage Dallas Magazine | Dallas City Guide.

source http://voyagedallas.com/2019/07/23/girlboss-redefining-boss-looks-like-2/

[duaneodavila]

Book Review: Radley Balko’s The Cadaver King and The Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South

Radley Balko, Washington Post criminal-justice reporter, is an outstanding example of a type of journalist that’s all but vanished at national papers: the “beat reporter,” someone who, despite lacking a top-level credential in the field he covers, researches it so deeply and thoroughly for so long that he becomes the expert.

Better, Balko compounds his knowledge with a rare degree of honesty. Where other “issue” journalists blur the line between reporting and advocacy, Balko consistently refuses to indulge in strawmen. To be sure, he has his perspective – a libertarian one – but he’s well known for the lengths to which he goes to get and accurately report the views of people on the other side of a crimlaw debate. If there’s one thing you can count on Balko to do, it’s report first, provide an analysis second.

It’s tough to overstate how much credibility this gets him in an era dominated by partisan screeching. It also translates into a lot of access: his first book, Rise of the Warrior Cop, wouldn’t have been nearly as insightful if he’d alienated police by condemning them from afar instead of seeking out their company and making the effort to understand their positions.

It’s with pleasure that I say his integrity continues to serve him well, as his new book, The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist, is a genuine triumph.* It’s well-written, conceived and executed, and it tells an outrageous story, that of a fraud committed on the people of Mississippi over more than two decades. As Balko makes painfully clear, it was done with the knowledge, approval and cooperation of, it sometimes seems, everyone in the state government.

From cops to prosecutors, elected coroners to elected judges, defense counsel to crime lab analysts to medical “experts” for hire, there’s hardly a slice of the criminal-justice system that emerges unscathed. Even the feds are tainted. The only heroes are the Innocence Project attorneys and the out-of-state pathologists who, every couple of years, show up to become Mississippi’s new state medical examiner (the lowest-paid position of its kind in the country) before being run out of town by coroner-and-prosecutor-instigated good-ol’-boy politics.

At the heart of the story are two doctors and two murder cases. Twice in the early ’90s, little girls in impoverished Noxubee County, Mississippi were abducted from their homes, raped and murdered. Both times, there was an obvious suspect, psychotic white sex offender Justin Johnson. Both times, police incompetence led them instead to a black man. One, Levon Brooks – who died of cancer as this review was being written – was charismatic and intelligent, well-liked at the time of his arrest and with a good job at a dance hall. The other, Kennedy Brewer, was a taciturn sort with an IQ in the sixties. They didn’t have much else in common, except this: they were poor and they were innocent.

Brooks and Brewer received subpar representation at trial, but it’s unclear how much even the best lawyers could’ve done for them. At first, there was no physical evidence tying either man to the murder of which he was accused, so then-Noxubee County DA Forrest Allgood, a fundamentalist Christian who emerges as a case study in confirmation bias, relied on a trick many Mississippi prosecutors before and after would use: he brought in pathologist Steven Hayne to perform autopsies on the girls and find him some. Hayne, in turn, got his friend Michael West, a dentist from the Mississippi town of Hattiesburg, to ride shotgun.

Hayne (the “Cadaver King”) and West (the “Country Dentist”) are the villains of the piece, as much as there can be said to be villains when the miscarriage of justice is this systemic. Balko brings plenty of evidence to show them to be manipulative, greedy narcissists who started out with patchy professional records. This last wasn’t a problem for long, though, as they came up with a brilliant way to inflate their resumes as well as drum up business – a lot of business.

In Mississippi in the ’80s, pathologists were paid a flat sum per autopsy. So Hayne simply resolved to do every one he could get his hands on, and damn the consequences. To that end, he resigned his position as a pathologist employed by the state, where he was limited to a mere couple of hundred autopsies a year; partnered up with a funeral director whose business he could use as a morgue; and went around persuading every coroner in Mississippi to send his cadavers Hayne’s way.

(Balko devotes a lot of space to exposing the origins of the job of coroner; unlike the medical examiners of more modern states, Mississippi’s coroners are elected, typically have no medical training and work hand-in-glove with law enforcement.)

Soon Hayne was doing thousands of autopsies a year, and committing extreme malpractice along the way. His reports are full of charming details like the uterus and ovaries he said he inspected, not realizing the cadaver in question was male, or the spleen he claimed to have weighed and dissected, even though the decedent had had it removed four years before. But his market share continued to grow – at one point, Hayne was doing 80% of the entire state’s autopsies. Why? Because Hayne was the human equivalent of a police dog; anything law enforcement wanted him to bark at, he did.

Hayne and West developed a devastating one-two punch. First, Hayne would “inspect” the cadaver and find bite marks. Then West, the dentist, used UV light and other sorcery to “match” them to a mold of the teeth of whatever suspect law enforcement had sized up for the crime. And when there were no scratches or insect bites that could be reinterpreted as bite marks on the stand, Hayne and West would just jam the mold into the victim’s skin.

But it’s not just that Hayne and West were frauds. The entire forensic discipline they used to turn police hunches into guaranteed convictions, “bite mark analysis,” is a sham. And yet, as Balko explains, Mississippi’s elected, law-and-order judges routinely abdicated their responsibility to keep junk science out of the courtroom. (They were, of course, considerably more skeptical of expert testimony in favor of criminal defendants, as of research showing false confessions to be commonplace.) The failure of judges to do their duty under Daubert is an underappreciated crimlaw problem, and Balko deserves credit for explaining it so well.

Ultimately, Hayne and West would testify in countless criminal trials, padding their resumes and charging thousands with each appearance, and be backed to the hilt by cops, prosecutors and coroners until years after they’d been exposed as frauds. Brooks and Brewer were freed, but the full damage these physicians did has yet to be understood, much less reckoned with. And the reactions of the players in the Hayne-era criminal-justice system whom Balko interviewed range from “meh” (certain judges) to totally unapologetic (DA Allgood.)

The next whizbang forensic discipline is just around the corner. Maybe it’ll involve self-driving cars or the blockchain, or something similarly stupid. West’s UV bite-mark-ID techniques sounded mighty sophisticated to the juries of his time. Will we learn to be more skeptical the next time law enforcement pulls this trick?

Balko’s The Cadaver King and The Country Dentist is an infuriating and important book. It deserves to be read. It needs to be read. Read it.

*Radley was kind enough to provide a free, advance copy of his book for review.

Copyright © 2007-2018 Simple Justice NY, LLC This feed is for personal, non-commercial and Newstex use only. The use of this feed anywhere else violates copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it means the page you are viewing infringes copyright. (Digital Fingerprint: 51981395c77d7762065ca2c084b63e47) Book Review: Radley Balko’s The Cadaver King and The Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South republished via Simple Justice

[cabhonours-blog]

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

This is going to be one of my biggest inspirations, reference points, and bases for my project due to a multitude of reasons. 

First and foremost, we have to address what it is. This was an LGBT dating sim created by Game Grumps, giving it media recognition and pushing it into being a mass commercial success. Don’t get me wrong, the game has issues. But a huge group like Game Grumps producing LGBT content of this level was a massive step for LGBT normalisation and inclusion in games media.

Moving beyond that, I’ll start to breakdown the game bit by bit. The obvious first thing to speak about is the art. This is the kind of art we generally think of when we think of dating sims; cel shaded, clean, with non-obtrusive backdrops that don’t pull too much focus and simple UI. It’s the bread and butter of the dating sim world; tried and tested. Due to this, I’m unsure if I want to stick to it - don’t fix what isn’t broken - or experiment with alternate styles like Cing’s games. This is something to play about with in.

One of the biggest successes for the game was before you even got into the story, on the character creation screen. Now, first off, their character creation was... bad. For some reason, the art style felt completely different, and so your own persona became gimmicky and looked out of place. If you’re going to have character customisation in game then it needs to fit to the overall style. Outwith that though, it did one thing really right - you can be transgender.

The option to have your dad wear a binder or not was so unexpected and so brilliant. It was never questioned or treated as something special, your dad isn’t treated any differently in the game if they’re trans by the other characters. In fact, even one of the characters is trans themselves - the one pictured above, Damien. Yet, this is never given some crucial attention and is instead mentioned in passing if you pursue his route, with him saying;  "To be able to wake up in the morning, pick from my closet a variety of cloaks, top hats, and even binders that are period appropriate feels amazing...". This comment about binders was treated so normally that it practically slipped under the radar, and that’s what it should be like; being trans doesn’t have to be some spectacle. People don’t constantly have to be on display and going enough or presenting enough or being loud enough to be recognised. Being trans is a perfectly normal, perfectly valid thing and trans individuals deserve to see themselves in characters or given the option to see themselves in the characters they create without it feeling anything other than completely and utterly normal. Trans people are not tokens, they’re not there to earn brownie points, and that’s exactly how GG treated it. Their ‘Dadsona’ maker might look like... that, but hey, this was an A+ move.

Unlike AA, Hotel Dusk or others; this story isn’t as far-from-home. You’re not a successful attorney caught in the action, you’re not a down-on-his-luck ex detective with a dark past, you’re simply a dad. A dad whose partner died and is raising his daughter, Amanda, alone; trying to provide a good life for her.

You sell your old house and relocate to a new neighbourhood, and that’s the bulk of the premise. You meet the other dads in the neighbourhood, you attend BBQ’s and make friends, you go on dates, and you help your daughter as she struggles with teenage problems; university applications, drama with friends, the usual. It’s all very, very normal. And that, that is exactly what made it so powerful. It was so, so easy to relate to. Sometimes, what people really need is something that gives a real insight to your average persons life. The kind of thing that if you were, say, a young gay man struggling with his identity, you could look at and go “Huh, maybe that could be me one day. With a kid, and a happy life, meeting other cute dads”. That idea, that small bit of comfort; self love; self acceptance; recognition; whatever you want to call it, can go a long way. It can be the first step to these people making the most of their life, or ensuring they have a future at all.

Spoiler alert for what’s ahead; I’m going to address some of the endings.

They also add in to the complete normalisation agenda of this game. The endings don’t consist of some overblown, horseback-into-the-sunset happily ever after. Instead, each ending happens at a birthday party for your daughter you throw with your neighbours; congratulating her and wishing her luck as she’s heading to university soon. A good bit of the ending actually focuses on your relationship with her and a very heartfelt, tear-jerking discussion as you get ready to watch your baby leave the nest. (We won’t question how easily they get us emotionally connected to a fake child when we don’t have one. I can’t imagine how it must tug on the heart if you’re a parent).

Anyway.

Alongside this, you have an interaction with your chosen suitor at said party. In this interaction, you feel out your relationship, accepting your feelings for each other and planning to see how things go. It isn’t some overly romantic conclusion but instead it’s a very real example of how healthy relationships unfold. Following this, you’ll get a photo of your dad and an explanation of how things start to go. For instance, Matt takes up being a musician again after having given up playing when he lost his partner; 

The only dad that this is noticeably different is Robert. This is because, with his ending, he decides that even though there are feelings between you he needs to focus on straightening out his own life first. He needs to find himself, sort his relationship with his daughter, and be a more stable person before he can bring someone else into his life. However, it’s left with the note that perhaps once he’s done that, you two could pick things back up, should the time be right. And this in and itself is something that isn’t done very often - acknowledging that sometimes the right, healthy thing to do is focus on yourself and finding happiness in your own life. The idea that you shouldn’t try to find happiness in another person, that another person can’t fill the holes in yourself and that instead you need time to work on you, is a message not given enough. A person can’t complete you - you should be two whole people who come together and better each others lives, not a crutch. That’s not to say you can’t depend on one another, but there’s a difference between comfort and dependency issues.

Roberts ending is probably one of my favourites as it shows the importance of self love, and second chances. He’s your stereotypical down-trodden bad boy that most would cast to the side, but instead he became one of the most beloved in the cast. 

Overall, DD is a giant example of how LGBT representation can matter in the most natural way. It’s so normalised it’s practically unnoticeable. At no point is it treated any differently than if this had been a heterosexual otome game, and the stories are so day-to-day that they allow anyone to put themselves in the characters shoes.

Obviously, I’m only one person, a student, and on a time limit. I can’t aim to create a project close to this. However, it’s the leading industry example of what I’m hoping to achieve. It had problems. A lot of them. It’s limited in length, at times the interactions can seem superficial, and there’s mini-games in it that are... less than brilliantly coded with no clear point to them. Yet, it did so much right and made a huge leap for LGBT inclusion.

So, it’s a reference point. A dream goal to create a condensed version of, or a pitch for, or something. It’s what I want to keep in mind.