#did she play uke in the book? or did they add that to be relevant to the times?

[01tsubomi]

apparently disney+ made a stargirl movie in 2020 and it’s strange i didn’t know about it until searching “lgbt” on disney+ (since netflix apparently has, count ‘em, zero live-action yuri series) which is a whole other can of worms bc unless they adapted the (still perfectly good) story for modern times the only thing lgbt about it is that it follows a girl who’s not scared to look weird. speaking of which

this is how they styled stargirl in the movie. and yeah it’s a little out there and i don’t really remember how her outfits are described but times and styles have changed enough since the early 2000s that teenagers who look like this are everywhere. at a more conservative school yeah maybe there’d be nobody with this cardigan but if i saw this girl on the street i’d just be like aw i love gay kids

[lifeinperpetualreview]

She Said (2022)

Long time coming, many apologies! First of all, I absolutely loved this film, directed by Maria Schrader and written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz based on a book by the same name by the two journalists that broke the original story about Harvey Weinstein in the New York Times which started the global #metoo movement and changed the game for reporting sexual assault int he workplace and in many other sectors across the world. This film watches the two protagonists Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Meghan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) played INCREDIBLY, face hurdle after hurdle in trying to get women across the world to go on record about their experiences, racing against the clock as news another paper has got wind of the story and against the legal powerhouse of the Weinstein business.

For a film where the story & the end result were already known, they did a great job of adding depth and tension to the story. One of the most impactful ways this was done was through the incredible score composed by Nicholas Britell, which heavily featured his cello-playing wife. The impact was immense, adding gravitas to the battle to seek the truth and the reality of what the survivors of assault were dealing with in the fallout in their personal lives, even before they had decided to go public with their news.

The haunting shot of a hotel corridor with real audio captured by Ambra Battilana Gutierrez of Weinstein trying to coax her into an assault, gathered as part of an Italian investigation is bone-chilling and adds a level of threat to the shots of the reporters in the workplace & enjoying time with their families. Another win for audio impact was rooted in the decision to not give any visual airtime to "Harvey" only seeing him right at the end and even then only from behind. This decision more importantly doesn't add to any trauma for sexual assault survivors by choosing not to show any aspects of assault too graphic in the actual film. It is a very dignified ending to the film that takes power away from Weinstein and delivers it to those brave reporters - Carey's face in the scene where she knows that they've got enough to publish the story about him is incredible acting, I felt everything with them.

One of the lasting impacts of this film for me is the importance o investigatory journalism in our so-called democratic countries. In a time where simultaneously governments are trying to restrict the rights of a free press in many countries including my own in the UK and a time where rich media & press owners are writing more pieces based on clickbait headlines rather than serious investigatory work, it's scary how much these publications have done shape society by holding governments and public business/figures to account and I worry about our ability to tell truth from tale without a free investigatory press.

Another huge takeaway for me is how difficult it is for women to tell their truth in the increased culture of misogyny we're experiencing today, which has only worsened since the time this took place. There's now an anti-#metoo movement, where a rising group of white cis men believe that all women are scheming, capitalising liars and that all that "woke" behaviour has gone far enough. To me, it's clear to me that no woman who came forward about Harvey Weinstein (& Trump, which was touched on at the start of the film), especially in the beginning has benefitted in any way from telling their truth. Their lives are ruined, their careers over and spend so much time living in fear and with the repercussions of what has been done to them and what they have to go through to tell their truth is nothing less than pure bravery. It's an increasingly difficult time to be a woman, and for me, this story was so relevant and needed - even as people deem this saga 'over/history'. It's beyond baffling that the world is experiencing a #metoo fatigue when stories like this just show the tip of the iceberg as to what behaviour and abuse are lurking in the undercurrent of society.

Another thing that was painfully familiar was the number of men in high-up positions that were happy to turn a blind eye to the behaviour and underestimate the damage they knew was being done because it wasn't in their interest to report it. Power, money and morality go hand in hand in our world, people are unwilling to get involved and stand up for what's right until the stakes become personally too damaging. It also amplifies the complexity of reporting and prosecuting sexual assault cases, it's one of those few crimes that often leaves no lasting injuries and very little proof of non-consent. In a case of he-said, she-said it's very hard to find a man of resource & wealth guilty of any crime and if a case has a chance of being won the victim often has their lives turned upside down to do so, I've seen cases where someone's underwear choice or porn search history be used to prove the victim wanted the action to happen. It's sickening.

All in all, I'm not someone that particularly wants kids, but really makes me terrified to have a daughter based on this film, but also the experiences I and many of my girlfriends have faced personally. When the story because tough to break, you can see the two journalists looking at their young daughters and it fuelling their motivation for justice for these women, as well as a compelling final reason for the two women to finally go on record. They're braver than I for that.

A final shoutout has to go to the cast in this, especially Carey Mulligan and Jennifer Ahle who played Laura Madden - a victim of Harvey Weinstein suffering from cancer. They were powerful, and compassionate and told the story with the urgency and sensitivity it desired. I also particularly enjoyed Andre Braugher as the NY Times editor Dean Baquet who added so much gravitas to the scenes, especially cutting down Harvey whenever he tried to insult or bargain with his journalists.

Overall I really enjoyed this film, I know it hasn't done well and I blame that on the state of society & how prevalent misogyny is at present... and don't even get me started on Brad Pitt being an executive producer of this film as a defender of women's right *eyeroll*. 7/10.

[disappointingyet]

Cold Comfort Farm

Director John Schlesinger Stars Kate Beckinsale, Eileen Atkins, Rufus Sewell UK 1995 Language English 1hr 45mins Colour

Creditable adaption of Stella Gibbons’ very splendid novel

In some ways, Cold Comfort Farm is the ultimate in British Sunday evening TV*: rural, period setting,  steam trains, magic-hour shots of the countryside and – of course – a bagful of familiar actorly faces.You’re certainly not getting short-changed on that last one: Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Ian McKellen and Miriam Margolyes are all present and correct. 

None of which is normally my idea of a good time. Stella Gibbons’ 1932 novel, on the other hand, is one of my favourite books. And it has one of those stories that seems survive adaptation well – and John Schelsinger and novelist/academic Malcolm Bradbury, who wrote the screenplay, have done a good job here. The key, as ever, is not letting the costumes and the pretty countryside get in the way of the jokes. The one predictable change they have made is to remove the sci-fi elements. If you’ve never read the book but have seen the film, that sentence might surprise you. Then again, I don’t think I really noticed the near-future setting when I read the novel the first time. But although most of the book takes place in on the crumbling farm of the title, where it might as well be the mid-19th century, up in London in the mid-20th century, they’ve got videophones and assorted other bits of high tech, plus all the fashionable types are living south of river (the very thought of it!). Presumably on the grounds that all that would be a bit confusing and isn’t relevant to the core of the story, the film is set in the historical 1930s. 

Our heroine is Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale), a young upper-middle class woman whose parents have just died, leaving her needing somewhere to live. She decides that the most colourful and therefore most potentially entertaining of the distant relatives who offer to put her up are the Starkadders, inhabitants of Cold Comfort Farm. 

Cold Comfort leaves up to all her city-girl prejudices, being apparently backward and undoubtedly dirty. The many, many inhabitants live in fear of Aunt Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), who only leaves her room a couple of times a year for the counting and is still traumatised after seeing ‘something nasty in the woodshed’ as a child. 

An efficient and tidy young women, Flora sets about fixing the lives of Starkadders and their farmworkers. Cold Comfort Farm is a bit like a benign version of Kind Hearts And Coronets, another story about an orphan taking on their large and eccentric family with a clear and ruthless plan. Although I should swiftly add there is nothing murderous about Flora’s intent: deeply patronising and objectifying, yes, but not deadly.

The film benefits from the task-based plot: unlike, say, a romantic comedy or a mistaken identity tale, there are no tiresome contrivances needed to keep the narrative going. 

It occurs to me that maybe the reason I find Fry, Lumley and McKellen fine here is that in 1995 none of them had yet ascended to national/international treasure status: Fry was still doing TV sketch comedy, Lumley was mid-Ab Fab reinvention and McKellen was a stage star who did the occasional films and TV, as opposed to the star of two movie mega-franchises. In short, they were still being hired to work rather than to merely bestow their presence on a project, and therefore more likely to be kept in check, especially by a director who could wield his Oscar at them.   

Also a different figure in 1995 was Kate Beckinsale, very tangibly pre-Hollywood here both in looks and approach. A fair chunk of the original audience in the UK were looking at her and thinking about her dad.** She was only 21 and playing 18, and she’s so much better than any of actors I can imagine being considered for the role if this had been made a few years later – Keira Knightley, Felicity Jones etc – would have been. Beckinsale gets the mix of briskness and sly amusement just right. 

The other cast member worth mentioning is Rufus Sewell, excellent value as the farm’s reluctant bad boy Seth.

John Schlesinger is not a director whose work I’m too keen on – I like his early 1960s films A Kind Of Loving and Billy Liar, and not a lot beyond that. But he does well here. There are a couple of minor jokes from the book that are kept in quite subtly – only as visuals, with no one nudging the audience towards them. 

So if you are a massive snob like me and stumble across Cold Comfort Farm, please don’t dismiss it – this is much sharper and funnier than you might expect.

*It was shown on TV in the UK, but released in cinemas in the US. **If, understandably, you are unfamiliar with British TV of the 1970s, Richard Beckinsale was a much-loved sitcom star who died in 1979 aged only 31. Of his work, I thorougly recommend the prison comedy Porridge, one of the peaks of British television.

[the-desolated-quill]

BBC’s The War Of The Worlds blog - Episode 1

(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 much looking forward to the BBC’s adaptation of the H.G. Wells sci-fi classic. How could I not? It’s the definitive alien invasion story that jump-started an entire genre of science fiction  Not to mention this is the first adaptation made by a British film company and actually set in the time period it was written. I was very excited. Nothing could possibly dampen my spirits... until I learned who was writing it.

Peter Harness is a writer I’ve been less than kind to in the past. For those who don’t know, he wrote some of the worst episodes of Doctor Who. Remember that stupid story about the moon being an egg? Yeah, that was him. He also has a penchant for writing painfully forced and thinly veiled allegories with all the grace and subtlety of a ballet dancing rhino in a glow in the dark tutu. Kill The Moon, for example, was a pro life metaphor that portrayed the other side as being irrational baby killers, and his Zygon two parter was about Muslim immigration and integration, with the slimy repulsive Zygons being used as stand-ins for Muslims and non-white immigrants.

Harness’ ability to write allegorical stories about sensitive topics is... under-developed, to say the least. So naturally he’s the perfect candidate to adapt one of the most beloved sci-fi stories ever written. I mean, why not? The BBC have already ruined Sherlock Holmes, courtesy of Steven Moffat. Why stop there?

In all seriousness, while I wasn’t excited about the prospect of Harness getting his grubby mitts on War Of The Worlds, part of me hoped that maybe he could pull something out of the bag. You may recall I held a very similar negative view toward Chris Chibnall, and his first series as showrunner of Doctor Who was an extremely pleasant surprise. Maybe Harness could achieve his own metamorphosis.

He doesn’t.

The first episode of War Of The Worlds was fucking tedious to sit through. It actually looked quite promising initially. We get some nice moody shots of the surface of Mars as Eleanor Tomlinson recites the famous opening lines of the book. But then just after the opening titles, it all goes downhill.

I was sceptical when it was announced that this would be a three parter because that just seemed too much. A feature length film you could do. Maybe a two parter, at a push. But three episodes? Each an hour long? That’s going to require a lot of padding, and that’s exactly what Episode 1 is. We see the Martian cylinders launch from the planet at the beginning of the episode and it’s not until the forty minute mark where we get our first proper glimpse of the Tripods or the heat rays. So what do we get in the mean time? Mostly pointless shit.

The original War Of The Worlds book isn’t exactly remembered for its characterisation. Outside of the astronomer Ogilvy, none of the characters even have names, but to be fair to Wells, the characters themselves weren’t really the driving force of the narrative. The Martians were. The narrator, a journalist, was merely there to relay and facilitate the plot, giving us a first hand account of the subjugation of Earth. Fine for a book, but somewhat harder to get away with in a film or TV series, which is why most don’t even try. Every single adaptation of War Of The Worlds attempts to expand on the central characters to varying degrees of success, and the BBC version is no exception. But where Harness really miscalculates is in anticipating how much the audience is going to care about the characters, to which the answer is ‘not that much.’ We don’t want them to die obviously, but we’re not so interested in who they are or where they come from because they’re not the main focus. The Martians are. So to have a significant chunk of the episode focusing on their day to day lives is quite baffling. Not to mention unbelievably boring.

George, played by Rafe Spall, is living out of wedlock with Amy, played by Eleanor Tomlinson, which causes their neighbours’ tongues to clack and net curtains to twitch. The only person supporting their union is Ogilvy, played by Robert Carlysle, which is how they learn about the mysterious goings on the surface of Mars. This is all established in the first five minutes, but as I said, the Martians don’t properly show up until the forty minute mark. Until then we’re subjected to painfully forced and tediously dull ‘right on’ posturing and irrelevant social commentary that adds nothing to the core narrative.

Here’s the thing. I’ve got nothing against the idea of expanding the characters. I definitely have no problem with giving the narrator’s wife from the book more development and screen time. In fact I’m all in favour of it. What I do have a problem with, however, is when that expansion and development comes at the expense of the plot.

A man and a woman shacked up together in defiance of society is all well and good, but what does any of this have to do with War Of The Worlds? It’s not even as if Harness tries to connect this back to the story’s main themes of imperialism and colonialism. It’s mentioned that Amy was born and raised in India. Maybe if she was an Indian woman, it could have been more thematically relevant, but no. Once again we have a period drama with no people of colour because, as we all know, non-white people weren’t invented until 1962. Also, while I get that society at the time was very strict, I’m not entirely convinced George and Amy’s relationship would have been that scandalous to the point where it would have affected his career as a journalist. That just seems like a step too far and is merely there to add some artificial tension... in a story about Martians invading the Earth.

In the end it all comes down to this. Why the fuck should I care? What’s the bloody point of this? Yes it expands the characters, but it doesn’t contribute anything to the narrative. It just wastes time. Again, I must stress, we don’t get our first Martian until forty minutes into an hour long episode. Previous adaptations never felt the need to bore the audience to death with pointless shit because they knew what audiences came to see. Martians blowing shit up. Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of War Of The Worlds from 2005 didn’t piss about giving us needless exposition about Tom Cruise and his family. We’re given the basic info about the characters and their relationships within the first ten minutes before the Tripods emerge and the action gets going. The BBC version, in contrast, is just painfully slow, dictating every tiny thing about these characters even when it’s not relevant to the plot.

And the thing is, once we actually get to the bits from the actual book (you know? The bits people actually want to see?), it’s actually pretty good. The Tripod looks incredible, as was the scene in Horsell Common where we saw people getting killed by the heat ray. Unfortunately we have to slog through all this other crap before we can get to the good stuff.

Eleanor Tomlinson probably gives the strongest performance as Amy. It’s just a pity the character is so utterly uninteresting. Like I said, I’ve got nothing against giving her a bigger role than she had in the book, but it feels like Harness is more interested in showing off his feminist credentials than actually telling a story or creating a believable or likeable character. Her being an assistant to Ogilvy I think is a great idea, but it soon becomes clear that this was only done so other male scientists could comment on how unusual it is to have a woman digging up a crashed cylinder, which is kind of ridiculous because I’m pretty sure female scientists did exist back then and you don’t exactly need a penis to use a fucking shovel. Then things turn really stupid when George’s brother, played by Rupert Graves, starts blaming her for the Martian invasion, saying that everything was going fine until she came along. Exploring 19th century sexism is one thing, but this is just daft. There’s no interest in actually exploring the root causes of sexism back then. Instead Harness seems content with portraying men as being the equivalent of cartoon caricatures foaming at the mouth.

George, meanwhile, goes from being a fairly boring character to a downright hateful one when it’s revealed that he and Amy aren’t just living out of wedlock, but that he cheated on his missus because she was infertile. So not only do I not care about him, I now straight up want him to die because what the actual fuck?! And this is not helped by Rafe Spall’s incredibly wooden performance. Seriously, I’ve seen corpses with more life in them. When the Tripod first emerges, we see him stare at it in what I assume was supposed to be shock, but instead he just looked gormless. It’s honest to God one of the worst performances I think I’ve ever seen. There’s no emotional range to him whatsoever. He just blunders around wearing a confused frown on his face. It’s as if he had just wandered onto the set by mistake.

The biggest problem with this first episode is that Harness is focusing on all the wrong areas. A large segment is dedicated to George investigating the Dogger Bank incident, which seems to be an attempt at making a parallel between the UK’s tenuous relationship with Russia then and now. What this has to do with War Of The Worlds, I don’t know. There’s so far been no attempt at exploring the themes of the source material as we’re too busy with this shitty romance. There’s even a moment where we see the characters dig up the cylinder and take a photo only for the same exact scene to happen five minutes later. I mean for fuck sake!

And then there’s the pointless plot twists. First we get the cliched pregnancy reveal, then it’s revealed that the scenes we thought were on Mars turned out to actually be a post apocalyptic Earth with Amy and a seven year old kid who is presumably her son. Wait, how long has this fucking invasion been going on for?! It only lasted a couple of weeks in the book! What happened? Did the Martians get vaccinated? This just highlights to me how inept Harness is as a writer. He can’t just do a straight adaptation of War Of The Worlds. He has to engineer these pointless and utterly idiotic cliffhangers to get people to keep watching because the story and characters clearly aren’t doing that.

If I wasn’t committed to reviewing this mini-series, I honestly wouldn’t watch the rest of this. This first episode is legitimately terrible. Boring, poorly thought out and utterly, utterly clueless. Just like everything else Peter Harness has ever written. I don’t understand why he was chosen to adapt War Of The Worlds and I don’t understand why he chose to adapt it in this way. Why so much focus on pointless exposition? Why over-complicate the lives of the main characters? Why can’t they just be a normal married couple living a life of privilege until the Martians come and trample all over it? It makes no sense! Some could defend this saying it was building tension until the Martians emerged, but there’s a significant difference between making an audience nervously anticipate the Tripods arrival and making them wait impatiently for something, anything, interesting to happen.

[ava-candide]

Here’s your problem. You are in charge of Poldark, one of the UK’s most successful TV series of the past five years. A huge hit in the US, the show made its leads, Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson, stars overnight. Last year’s fourth series was watched by 6m UK viewers at the height of a World Cup summer. (The final series of Game of Thrones, by comparison, reached just 3.39m viewers, and most soaps average 5m.) The series is based on 12 hugely popular books, of which you have adapted just seven. So there are five further novels to plunder. But...

“The first seven books are set in the 18th century and finish at the end of 1799,” explains the writer Debbie Horsfield, whose problem this actually is. “But then Winston Graham stopped writing — and when he came back for book eight, The Stranger from the Sea, he left an 11-year gap in the story and changed almost everything. We leave Ross in series four a frustrated MP. When we meet him in book eight, he’s basically a spy for the British government. Dwight [Enys, the doctor] is helping George III with his madness. Graham doesn’t really explain how any of this happened.”

None of this would matter if the latest TV adaptation of the books, like the 1975 version, simply gave up at the end of the first seven. There is, however, an informal agreement between cast and creative team that — if everyone is still around and available in 10 years — they will reunite to finish the final novels. “There’s nothing on paper, but everybody has said yes,” Horsfield says. “Why wouldn’t we?”

So she set about trying to fill in that 11-year gap for the fifth and perhaps final series, and turned, as the show has often done, to the ferociously radical politics of the time. There she found a real-life Ross Poldark in the shape of a radical war hero who had married one of his servants — Colonel Edward “Ned” Despard. (It’s tempting to say that desperate times call for Despard measures.)

“The parallels between him and Ross are quite astonishing,” Horsfield says. “They were both military men — Despard was a hero of the American Revolutionary War and his wife, Kitty, was originally a Jamaican servant in his kitchen. I asked Andrew Graham whether his father had based Ross on Ned, but he hadn’t heard of him. Despard’s history doesn’t end well, so it seemed that he could become the ‘There but for the grace of God’ figure for Ross.”

Vincent Regan, who knows how to buckle a swash, with roles in the BBC’s The Musketeers, Troy, 300 and Clash of the Titans, brings a rugged determination to the role. He roars his way through the first two episodes like a force of nature, and in this Horsfield has stayed true to the real-life Ned. After the American Revolutionary War, he was made superintendent of what became Belize, until he fell in love with Catherine (Kitty) and set out to give freed slaves the same rights as white settlers. This did not go down well in London — Despard was recalled and jailed. When he was released, he joined the London Corresponding Society, a radical organisation inspired by Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man, and agitated for the end of slavery.

“Ross was clearly an abolitionist, and there has always been a political thread running through Graham’s books,” Horsfield notes. “Period dramas shouldn’t be clean, neat and tidy — they should matter as much as contemporary stories.” To illustrate this, she sketches out what seems at first an improbably modern storyline: Luke Norris’s character, Dwight, the troubled Royal Navy doctor, develops a form of PTSD treatment for the villainous George Warleggan, played with chilling power in this series as a man driven literally mad with grief at the loss of his wife, Elizabeth.

“Graham mentions in passing in book eight that Dwight went to France to study with a Dr Pinel,” Norris says. “He was a real historical figure who pioneered humane ways of dealing with mental health issues, at a time when we locked people in Bedlam, plunged them into icy water, whipped them, beat them, locked them in cages, sedated them and purged them to rid them of demons or animal spirits.”

“It made sense,” Horsfield adds. “By book eight, Dwight has become the go-to expert on mental health, being called in to consult over George III.”

We forget there was a strong possibility of an English revolution at that time. There were serious food shortages and measures to suppress any kind of dissent, including trade unions. “The beauty of the novels is that the dashing Byronic hero makes thrilling drama out of the dullest school history lessons,” Horsfield says. “Ross opposes the greed of bankers and wealthy industrialists, so it made sense for him to have served with Ned, and for Ross and Demelza to be caught up in the story of Ned and Kitty.”

The idea of a radical mixed-race couple cutting a swathe through London at that time is almost certain to incite adverse comment. In fact, there were black Londoners in Roman times, the first settled black community in the capital was in the Elizabethan era, and by the time Despard was recalled to England, about 2% of London’s population was black.

It’s also true that in the early 19th century, the British secret service was headed by William Wickham, a civil servant busy infiltrating radical groups such as the London Corresponding Society. By gradual steps, Horsfield leads Ross and Demelza through the first two years of the missing 11, gradually wrapping Ross in the plots and skulduggery of political espionage.

For Turner, the arrival of Poldark’s old commanding officer provided a couple of welcome changes. “It was nice that Ross finally had a friend,” he says with a grin. “I got on great with Vince — he was an English actor doing an Irish accent, and I’m an Irish actor doing an English accent, so we do good impressions of each other.

“And it felt like there was a lot more action in the series, with Debbie given free rein. There’s much more sword-fighting, that’s for sure. We’ve had pistols, riding and swimming in previous seasons, but you can’t beat fighting with real steel swords. You can’t fool around with them. You just have to commit and go for it, and hope everything will be fine.”

Turner famously does his own stunts, except in the scenes where Poldark gallops along the cliffs. “For insurance reasons,” he points out hastily. “But they put me on a horse on the first day of shooting, back when I was such a young and innocent man. I was pretty nervous, I was on a horse and Debbie says I was quite fierce...” He pauses. “But I think I was a little bit nicer than that.”

He will miss the show, he admits. “We had pretty much the same crew for the entire job, so it was like a proper family, and I’ll miss everyone a lot. You hope to keep in touch — you tend to with the actors, but not so much with the crew.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Turner found his final day of shooting very emotional. “It’s always been amazing working alongside Eleanor, we get on great, and the last day was just the two of us doing some bedroom scenes,” he recalls. “That was quite lovely, and it seemed to make sense that it was just the two of us. It was poignant to leave things there.”

Leave them there? What about the talk of reuniting in 10 years? “I wouldn’t rule it out,” he says, then tacks a little to the left. “I mean, I wouldn’t rule anything out. That’s for other people to decide. It depends if it’s something the audience wants to see.”

Horsfield can’t see why the audience would have changed by then. “When I started this adaptation, people were asking how I was going to make it relevant for now,” she says. “But you don’t need to update it, because the concerns of the time and the concerns of Winston Graham are still the concerns we have now.

“Things actually don’t change. We all want to find a sense of community and not be exploited. That Europe, surveillance, terrorism and immigration are still hot topics may be a shame, but it’s really no surprise.

“If we are to come back in 10 years, dealing with mental health and continental politics — I mean, you’d be crazy to say that they won’t be hot topics in 2030. Constant conflict around the same ideas may be depressing for me as a person, but as a drama writer, it makes my job a whole lot easier.”

[mymoonjin1]

My thoughts on Crimes of Grindelwald

I know there are loads of comments on this already but I too need to rant for a while. I’ll try to finish this off with some constructive criticism, though. (I’d like to add that it’s perfectly fine if you did enjoy this film, this is just MY opinion.)

I don’t even know where to start. Listen, I am a huge Harry Potter fan, always have been, even considering a tattoo. And I actually really liked the first Fantastic Beasts movie. It had its flaws, but overall it was a good story. But most importantly: the movie can stand on itself. It has its own plot. Newt arrives in New York and accidentally lets loose a few magical creatures. The goal: finding the creatures whilst figuring out who is causing the muggle attacks. Simple, fun. They mention Hogwarts and Dumbledore, stuff we’re familiar with, but not overly so. It’s done cleverly. Now. Cut to Crimes of Grindelwald. Oh, boy. From uncomfortable close-ups to just plain weird editing this film is a goddam mess, not to mention the nonsensical storylines. No matter how effing cute nifflers are. Let’s break it into themes. 

Grindelwald

The movie ended and I still had no idea what Grindelwald’s crimes were. He “escapes” (He had already switched places with Abernathy, so why was that whole scene even there? A dark, evil wizard like him surely would just call Abernathy's sacrifice necessary for the cause or whatever), his French sidekick kills a family in order to keep their house and then he gives a speech. That’s it. What were his crimes?! He’s already a “notorious" dark wizard, what has he done besides spreading the word? Also, what is his actual ideology here? I’m sorry but that speech was a bit lame and again, confusing. Is he opposed to World War II or is he gonna take advantage of it? Kill all muggles or only those responsible for the war? But most importantly, we see Grindelwald for like ten minutes during the whole movie, why is his name even on the freaking title? I liked when he held his wand like he was directing an orchestra whilst killing everyone with the blue fire. That’s pretty much it.  Also, I’m not getting into Johnny Depp’s controversy cause that’s a whole other issue, but I think it reflected on his performance, like he was being too cautious, or something, at least that was my perception. I mean, whatever the circumstances, you’re already playing the role, then play the goddam role. 

Queenie

*Sigh* I honestly do not understand how they managed to turn a sweet and caring character into this whiny and annoying person, doing things so out of character. The love potion crap. Are you freaking kidding me?! Why was this necessary? Never mind about Jacob’s consent when I can just roofie him, kidnap him and force him to marry me! I’m the victim here, I just want to marry the one I love! Just… whyyyy? Also, she’s a freaking mind reader. How could a mind reader get brainwashed into joining a dark wizard? Because he preaches... free love? Ummm, does he?! Also, why did she freak out on the street? It was never mentioned before that her mind could get overwhelmed in crowds. It would make sense, but it was so out of nowhere it came out weird, and that scene just takes too damn long. Then the movie forgets about her for like twenty minutes to suddenly show her at the French witch’s house, like sure, I’ll go for a cup of tea with a total stranger, why not? Ugh. 

Dumbledore 

Ok, I actually liked Jude Law’s performance. The issue is that he, just like Grindelwald, is barely in the movie. We already knew that their relationship wasn’t going to be explored in this film, but it was still disappointing. We only got a “we were closer than brothers” and some hand-holding seen through the Mirror of Erised, WHICH APPARENTLY CAN NOW SHOW MEMORIES TOO, BUT OKAY. And please explain to me how is a blood pact different from an Unbreakable Vow? I get the aesthetic but surely an Unbreakable Vow is more convenient since it can’t be undone. Dumbledore suggested at the end of the movie that he might be able to destroy the blood pact. Wouldn’t have Grindelwald made sure to not leave anything to chance? Also, when did they make this blood pact, before the duel that killed Ariana? Why were they able to duel then? It can’t have been after, they wouldn’t have been exactly on speaking terms after that. That blood pact storyline took away the complexity of Dumbledore’s motives about not wanting to go after Grindelwald. Why wasn’t it enough that he once loved him and couldn’t bear to confront him after all that happened between them? That was a perfectly good explanation. This whole thing completely downplayed their relationship, like “yeah, now I just need to figure out how to destroy this necklace and I’ll be free to duel and possibly kill him, yay!” *Sighs*

Leta and Yusuf

What was the real purpose for these characters? We were lead to believe that the Lestrange family history was going to have this awesome revelation/plot twist and it ended up going nowhere. Also, the (insufferably long) scene where they finally explain the whole thing was so overcomplicated and confusing AF. For some reason, Leta’s dad (a rapist) sent her and her half-brother to the US, but since the baby wouldn’t shut up Leta switched him with another baby who happened to look exactly like him, and that baby was Creedence. Uh…okay? But then Leta returned to the UK and studied at Hogwarts? Sooo was that meant to be only a cool summer abroad? And how did she know about her half-brother Yusuf? How did they meet? Who made that freaking prophecy? Yusuf made that unbreakable vow with… whom, exactly? Himself? Arrgggg. Yusuf seemed to be an important character, I mean he locks Tina and Newt in a dungeon (they escape immediately but ok), but no. He spends almost the entirety of the movie unconscious only to appear conveniently at the cemetery to reveal he’s Leta’s half-brother. Just. Why ANY OF IT if later on we’d find out Creedence isn't even a Lestrange? GOD. 

So, back to Leta. She switched the babies (in the Titanic?) and also befriended Newt at Hogwarts. What was her relevance in the present? Why wasn’t the whole "ending up marrying his brother" explained? That’s a flashback that would’ve been useful, unlike the other ones. It could’ve added so much more to the relationship between the three of them, specially Theseus and Newt. But it was never mentioned. Also, why was she hated by everyone at school? Were all the Lestrange hated or was it only her? And THEN, FFS what was she even trying to attempt when she approached Grindelwald? Was she like tempted into joining him but regretted her decision last minute and tried to kill him instead? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? I liked the part when she said “I love you” and you’re not quite sure if she meant Newt or his brother. That was interesting. Would’ve been even more interesting had it been developed properly. But the rest of it? What a mess.

Newt, Tina, and Jacob

I actually adore Newt as a character. He’s a refreshing male lead who’s unapologetically himself throughout the story. I read a Vox article that called him amazingly neurodivergent, and in an interview, Redmayne also said he thought of him as having Asperger's. What an extraordinary thing to see in a male lead in a multimillion-dollar franchise! He’s awesome and doesn’t need to change the way he is in order to be cool. And yet in this film, he’s sooo relegated. He could’ve done SO much more, instead, he’s just lost in the sea of subplots with no real purpose. As for Tina, she has absolutely no character development whatsoever and Jacob is just there for comic relief. Also, how did he get his memories back? I’m sorry, but “the potion only took away the bad memories” is lazy writing. They are great characters but did absolutely nothing in this movie. Totally underappreciated. 

Nagini and Creedence

I don’t get why they made such a fuss over this since she has like THREE lines in the entire movie?! Seriously, why was she even there? She brought absolutely NOTHING to the plot. She just stands there next to Creedence when she could’ve been a super badass character. I’m not getting into the whole controversy, but I mean, if it was already happening, she should’ve at least had a kickass introduction. A backstory. ANYTHING. Why is a woman turning into a snake a circus attraction when anyone in this universe can become an animagus with enough practice? She was sooo mistreated here as a character. I get that there’s gonna be three more movies but COME ON, you can’t just make a huge ass preamble to another film without ANY sort of character development. It needs to have a plot of its own too. Like each of the Harry Potter books/movies. GEEZ. Now, Creedence. How did he survive? We saw a little remnant of the obscurus at the end of the first film, but hey, a little more context would’ve been nice. I thought the host and the obscurus were different things. Care to explain?! Also, how did he end up in Europe working at a magic circus? That circus thing could’ve been a very interesting plot but it goes nowhere. Again. And then... the ending. I hope the theory going around that it’s actually Ariana’s obscurus that somehow got attached to him and not actually him that’s a Dumbledore (and that’s what the phoenix was attracted to) is real because otherwise IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE. Kendra Dumbledore died in 1899. Crimes takes place in 1927. That’s 28 years. I HIGHLY doubt Creedence is 28. Why would he still be living at an orphanage at 28 then? Or did Dumbledore’s dad knock someone up in Azkaban? Just. So. Many. Plot. Holes.

Nonsensical stuff

-The lady guarding Leta’s chamber. What. The. Fork?! She lets them through even though she clearly knew Tina wasn’t Leta, and only after they’re already inside she unleashes those weird cat things with Leta being there, the actual owner of the chamber who clearly doesn’t have a problem with the “intruders”. Just… WHY? 

-Jacob being able to go through the statue. Ummmm?! 

-McGonagall. SHE WAS BORN IN 1935! WHAT?!

-Also, I get the whole 1920’s vibe and I mean no disrespect towards Colleen Atwood, because the costumes are actually gorgeous, but like… no robes? NONE? You can’t tell muggles and wizards apart. That was a key aspect of Harry Potter, at least with the older generations, so you’d think in the 1920’s they’d be even more traditional with their wizard clothing. I mean, Lupin wore both suits AND robes. Just saying. 

-Out of hundreds of people at the cemetery, the niffler somehow knew precisely what item to steal and from whom. Ok???? 

-Nicholas Flamel. What was the point of him? All he did was talk with a random woman through a book and then conveniently appear at the end to tell everyone what to do to control the fire. I mean, cool, but care to elaborate?

-And that blue fire eagle thing. It’s a very, very long sequence that could have been way quicker. It was time wasted on CGI, time they could’ve spent more wisely elsewhere. 

-Another thing that has been rubbing me the wrong way is the mention of Creedence’s nanny being half-elf. I know it’s probably stupid for me to be weird about it but listen. This is a universe with house elves and goblins, and that’s totally fine, I like the part they play in the story. But then we also have Professor Flitwick, who’s never mentioned to be either of those things; he’s just little. That’s it. And he’s a total badass. So why did the nanny had to be half-elf? I remember an interview with Peter Dinklage in which he said he didn’t like playing roles that cast little people as magical beings, which is why he loved Tyrion in Game of Thrones. Then why couldn’t the nanny just be a regular witch? Why half-elf? How did that come about? Think about it: a human witch/wizard… with a house elf? Which are, essentially… slaves?! I don’t even want to know. And I’m probably overthinking it, but seriously. It wasn’t a necessary detail to mention. 

The Fanservice 

Ok, I get that they’d include certain Potter related stuff. Nostalgia is fun, right? AS LONG AS IT MAKES SENSE. McGonagall being there makes no sense. RESPECT. CANON. PLEASE. I get retconning stuff like classes taking place on different floors at Hogwarts but dude. This was kind of an important detail. The Philosopher’s Stone casually being shown at Flamel’s house. I mean, fine. But we get it, we know who he is, it’s not like we are idiots who need reminding of this. Also, the music. I adore Hedwig’s Theme, but this is a different story. I get like a few notes here and there, but the WHOLE damn theme during that Hogwarts shot? It actually kind of threw me off a little. I couldn’t pay attention to what was actually happening. 

Conclusion 

Ok. I honestly don’t understand what went wrong. I don’t know if Rowling should just stick to writing novels or if it was the editing, the directing or-or… I just can’t even. JK Rowling is amazing at writing mystery. In all of the Harry Potter books, there were mysteries to be solved: who’s after the Philosopher’s Stone? Who opened the Chamber of Secrets? Why is Sirius Black after Harry? Who put his name in the Goblet of Fire? And so on. And in the first FB movie, the mystery was who was responsible for the attacks, and it made you believe it was Creedence’s little sister. That was still a good plot twist. Please, do tell, what was solved in Crimes? What did they actually accomplish? They spent the whole movie going in circles. Like I said, you can’t just have a huge ass preamble to a different movie. It needs to stand on its own, have its own arc. Otherwise, what’s the point? I genuinely wanted to like this film, but its narrativity makes it impossible to enjoy the actual plot, even with likable characters and appealing visuals.

Listen, I will forever be grateful to JK Rowling for the impact Harry Potter has had in my life. They are to this day my favorite books. I loved the original book for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as Quidditch Through the Ages and Tales of Beedle the Bard. They added fun details to the main story, a little peek into the Wizarding World. But then the whole expansion happened. And I used to get mildly excited whenever a new story was published on Pottermore. But eventually, I lost interest. And whenever someone said “I wish there was another book” I immediately cringed at the thought. Why ruin something that had ended in such a perfect way? The Harry Potter world ended with the seventh book. And that was ok. You need to let things go. That’s life. But then for money some reason, Cursed Child (aka That Which Must Not Be Named) was allowed to happen. And then, Fantastic Beasts happened, but it was a whole different story with brand new characters within the same universe, actually written by JK Rowling. Well, that actually sounded promising. Because it was a separate thing. A few references here and there. What could go wrong? Right. 

There are millions of reasons why the expansion hasn’t been working, but I think part of the problem came from social media. When we were kids we’d send letters to our favorite authors, but now they are just a tweet away. Which can obviously be wonderful. But you have to know where to stop. And I don’t think JK understands that. And I don’t mean it like she’s not allowed to have her own opinions and versions of certain things that didn’t come up in the books; she created the universe. But altering canon isn’t right. Forcing narratives that don’t make sense with what’s already established is weird. That’s why it’s important to leave things to the imagination/each reader’s interpretation. You want to write a different story within the same universe, that’s amazing, go ahead! As long as it’s properly developed and has its own merits. I genuinely want to like FB. And I did. But I don’t know what went wrong with this one. You’re capable of SO much more, Jo, I know you are. Sorry if I’m being too harsh. 

[bbclesmis]

How giving Jean Valjean a Yorkshire accent helped Dominic West understand Les Miserables

BBC One’s new six-part series Les Miserables promises to be unlike any previous adaptation we’ve seen of the classic, epic novel. Georgia Humphreys speaks to its stars.

Chances are you’ll know the gut-wrenching story of Les Miserables. Whether you’ve seen the 2012 film, watched the musical on stage, or read the historical novel by Victor Hugo, it’s a depiction of the struggles of France’s underclass, and how far they must go to survive.

Now, six-part BBC One mini-series Les Miserables promises to delve deep into the layers of the classic story, which is set against the epic backdrop of 1845 France – a time of civil unrest.

It could barely be more timely given the ‘yellow vests’ protests that have erupted across modern-day France in recent weeks in anger at fuel tax rises and growing living costs.

Here, cast members Dominic West, Lily Collins and David Oyelowo tell us more about what to expect from the adaptation, which will air over the Christmas period.

The protagonist of the story is Jean Valjean, who is struggling to lead a normal life after serving a prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his sister’s children.

And for Sheffield-born West, star of The Wire and The Affair, the appeal of playing him is simple.

“He’s the best superhero that’s ever been written about,” says the 49-year-old Yorkshireman, who went to Eton after his father George made his fortune from manufacturing plastic vandal-resistant bus shelters.

Meanwhile, it’s a dream come true for Collins, 29 – who is the daughter of musician Phil Collins – to play orphaned, working-class Fantine, as she grew up loving musicals like Les Mis.

However, the actress, who played Snow White in the film Mirror Mirror, loves the fact that the BBC version doesn’t feature any singing.

“It’s really fun to play the part that people have played before, but in a way no one’s seen before,” say the Guilford-born star, who moved to LA as a child with her mother.

“We get to see her meet her friends, meet her lover, be wooed, and go out on dates and actually fall in love and have the child,” adds Collins.

“And then she goes on the journey that everyone mostly knows.”                         

Oyelowo, who was born in Oxford to Nigerian parents, takes on the role of Javert, a police inspector who becomes obsessed with the pursuit and punishment of convict Valjean.

And the 42-year-old admits he was pleasantly surprised when he was offered the part.

“It’s the kind of role that growing up in the UK you just accept, ‘Well, I love watching that, but that’s never going to be me’,” confides the actor, known for films such as Selma and A United Kingdom.

“I’m elated that we are in a time and a world where it’s not any sort of big move on the BBC’s part or Tom’s [Shankland, director] part or the producer’s part to approach me with a role like this.

“I’m just so glad that 12-year-olds that look like me are going to get to see images that I didn’t get to see when I was their age, and would have been formative for me.”

Much of the drama in Les Mis revolves around the cat-and-mouse relationship between the characters of Jean Valjean and Javert.

“Javert sees Jean Valjean as a mirror to himself,” explains Oyelowo.

“Javert was born in a prison, he was born to gypsy parents, he was born in and around criminality.

“And that is the thing he is pushing away from obsessively for all of his life.”

Both actors enjoyed scrutinising the text to develop their characters.

“We’ve spent a lot of time just trying to nail down what makes this feel real, because the book itself relies heavily on coincidence,” notes Oyelowo.

On exploring the motivations of their characters, West says his roots in Yorkshire helped with understanding the part.

“We had a bit of trouble at first, thinking, ‘What’s Javert’s problem? Why is he so obsessed with this dude?’

“But it all became easier when David starting doing Javert in a London accent, and I started doing Jean Valjean in a Yorkshire accent!”

Collins’ preparation, meanwhile, saw her speak to Anne Hathaway, who won an Oscar for her role as Fantine in the film.

She was told: “Good luck, and do your own thing.”

“I was heavily inspired by that movie,” she shares.

“But Tom also wanted it to be about the literature, not basing it on someone else’s work.”

She adds: “In any role I do there is a little bit of pressure to do my best because I’m my own harshest critic, let alone when you’re playing a literary character that people love.”

West says that because the book – which he calls “the best book” he’s ever read – is a lot less known than the musical, it takes the pressure off a bit.

“It’s huge, epic, magic, romantic, heroic, incredibly morally challenging and morally interesting.

“People will play this part forever because it’s a great classic part, and the reason is there’s so many ways to come at it.”

What also makes the tale timeless is its themes, such as guilt and revenge. And West also points out that there are parallels with today’s society in terms of the class struggle depicted in the show.

“Les Miserables is about the poor people and their fight against injustice and plutocrats running over them,” he says.

“It’s all pretty relevant.”

West admits he’s been “in tears all day” on set (the series was filmed in Brussels and northern France).

“I can’t stop crying,” he says. “I just love this man.

“It’s quite hard to make a good guy interesting, and really care about a good guy, but he’s just strong and courageous.”

He continues: “I’ve got loads of kids, and I’ve played a lot of villains and I don’t want to be a villain, I don’t find them interesting any more. So I love playing this hero.”

Collins agrees she’s been affected by filming the sadness in Fantine’s story.

“I obviously feel what my character’s feeling, but I also try at the end of the day to leave some of that at work.

“Even though I’m alone here in Brussels, I’m going out and spending time with people and also being able to see friends in London, and FaceTime ... I don’t have to live in a bubble.”

Filming away from home does of course poses its challenges, as Oyelowo, who now lives in LA, candidly reveals.

“I have four kids and a wife who I miss so terribly,” admits the star.

“But she and I have a two-week rule – we’re never apart for more than two weeks. So, a lot of flying back and forth. You make it work.

“But that’s partly why this is the first time I’ve done anything of this nature since I did Spooks, because it takes up so much time and I have young children. But this was one I couldn’t say no to.”

Script ‘demanded best actors’

Screenwriter Andrew Davies says the roles in Les Miserables called for the “finest available actors”.

“We were thrilled to be able to cast Dominic West as Valjean and David Oyelowo as Javert,” he told the Radio Times about his adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 19th century classic.

“That casting reflects the often ignored fact that France, like Britain, has a multicultural history going back to Napoleon’s time and beyond.”

Davies, known for acclaimed previous adaptations including Vanity Fair, Pride And Prejudice and War And Peace, added: “I have a reputation for bringing out, and (some say) even inventing the sexual element in the great classics.

“It is there in Les Miserables, too, but deeply buried.”

Watch Les Miserables on BBC One over the Christmas period. (x)

[mj-in-nyc]

Mirror, Mirror Bibliography

Frosh, Stephen. "Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Identity: From Ego to Ethics." The SAGE 

Handbook of Identities, Margaret Wetherell, and Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Sage UK, 1st edition, 2010. Credo Reference, http://proxy.library.nyu.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sageukid/psychoanalytic_perspectives_on_identity_from_ego_to_ethics/0?institutionId=577. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

This is an extensive psychoanalysis on identity, bodies, ego, and sense of self culminated from the professional opinions of several psychoanalysts. They point out a lot of issues of the common misconceptions of human identities. This analysis is useful to me because they relate the awareness of human beings bodies to the formation of their identity, and focusing on mirrors as the object in my final project makes the effect of bodily awareness essential to my message. According to the psychoanalysts our ego stems from the perceptions of our body and is based highly on appearance. The relevance of this fact is that without an external projection of the self, people’s identities would consist more on what is within them.  I want this idea of focusing on what is within to be highlighted in my message. This source gives me information on the present process of identification, which they say is “an ‘imaginary’ process of taking on an image and ‘appropriating’ it as if it represents the self.” This information will inform my reasons for wanting to shift this “imaginary process” which forms the ego, which people believe to be the truth of a person. This psychoanalysis informs that most people have a common misperception of the ego. 

Hall, Ardelia Ripley. “The Early Significance of Chinese Mirrors.” Journal of the American  

Oriental Society, vol. 55, no. 2, 1935, pp. 182–189. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/594440

This source chronicles this history of mirrors in ancient Chinese society, going back as far as the initial use of mirrors in the society. Mirrors were reserved for royalty who could afford the ornate polished metal. They were a symbol of intelligence more than they were regarded as a symbol for seeking beauty. On mirrors of the Han dynasty there were inscriptions that read “purity of the mind is reflected in the mirror; the bright light is patterned after the brightness of the sun and the moon.” The explanation of mirrors’ history shifts to compare its meaning to that of the natural mirror, reflections in water. There was a saying in this culture related to one’s reflection in water: “Let not men in water look for their reflection; let them look to the people for their reflection.” This quote is most significant to my project because it shows that if there is no solid mode of looking at one’s reflection human beings would be able to see themselves in the eyes of others more clearly. And it is clear how much the meaning of mirrors has changed to become less spiritual in today’s society than it was when mirrors were first coming into use.

Hoffmire, Baird. Mirror. Sept. 16, 2011. Fine Art America.  

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/mirror-baird-hoffmire.html.  

This is a digital artwork depicting a very thin girl standing in front of a mirror wearing a white dress with thin straps, her reflection looks the same except much larger in size. Both of their heads are hanging as if they were looking at the floor ashamed, which conveys the feeling of sadness to the viewers. There is nothing else in the frame of the picture the background is very dark which juxtaposes the gold and shiny mirror omitting light. You can not see the girl’s reflection in the mirror because her head is down and her dark hair is hanging in her face. The theme of this piece is definitely centered around body dysmorphia, which is something my piece addresses. One of the reasons my utopian world doesn’t have mirrors is to prevent dysmorphic thoughts, which can have a negative impact on mental health and emotional wellbeing. Painting over a mirror to create my object would be a symbol of this.

Kleeman, Alexandra. “A World Without Mirrors.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 9 July 

2019, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/16/a-world-without-mirrors.

In this article the author is prompting her reader to imagine the possibility of a world without mirrors. Where we would go back to the early ages of self-awareness that did not require us to see a reflection of ourselves to self identify. She wants people to think about the possibility of only knowing their body through the feeling of being in it and knowing ourselves through others’ view of us. She describes the present use of mirrors to be anxiety producing due to the way people’s reflections allow them to focus on their faults. This anxiety caused by a person’s reflection is what wouldn’t exist in my utopian society, which would positively affect everyone’s mental health and sense of self-worth. Reflections only give people a skin-deep view of themselves and cause them to lose touch of the other parts of their being. This author’s opinion really matches the framework of the message I want to send. I want to realize the idea of going back to before their were mirrors and stress the importance of our how others view us because it can bring people more in touch with those around them. 

Mauss, Nick. Images in Mind. 2018. 303 Gallery, New York City. 

https://www.303gallery.com/artists/nick-mauss?view=slider#3.

This source is an image of an artwork by Nick Mauss. This piece is made of 56 mirrored-glass panels with images painted all across them. It is currently being displayed at The Whitney in New York City, which is where I saw it in person. This piece inspired me to create a mixed media art piece using a mirror as one of my mediums. Art using mirrors has such a unique effect, since each person looking at it gets a different view due to the added element of their reflection. When I encountered the piece I thought that it was an interesting concept that when looking into a mirror I was forced to look past myself at something more (the painting). I am going to take from this piece the idea of manipulating the surface of a mirror with painted images. 

“Mirror Checking .” National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 

https://anad.org/education-and-awareness/body-image/body-image-articles/mirror-checking/.

This source shows a possible negative effect of ubiquity in the use of mirrors in our everyday lives in this society. They explain how checking the mirror can become an obsessive habit with a serious impact on mental health. They mention Body Dysmorphic Disorder which is a mental illness that negatively impacts the perception of your body. The disorder can start a number of ways but mirrors definitely play a huge factor in progressing this mental illness further. People who suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder are obsessively compelled to look into the mirror, for a person who suffers from Body Dysmorphia looking in the mirror becomes a significant part of their day. The fear of how they look is what compels them to look into the mirror and as they are looking at their reflection this fear and panic builds and often time leads to compulsions to change their appearance. People with Eating Disorders tend to also suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. This information has helped clarify things that would be prevented in my society as a result of having no mirrors, and further justifies why this would create a utopian society where the people living in it are healthier and happier. 

Newton, Mark. Erotic Reflections. 2012. Mark Newton Art Archive. 

https://marknewtonart.wordpress.com/mixed-media/#jp-carousel-1110

This artist, Mark Newton, uses acrylic paint on a mirrored surface which is the medium that I plan on using to create my object. Some of the mirrored glass in this piece is exposed, and not painted on. The shiny and reflective quality of the glass mirror is a good juxtaposition to the nearly matte acrylic paint on the rest of the canvas. For my object I want most of the mirror to be covered in paint; the juxtaposition in Newton’s piece inspired me to leave a small part of the mirror. somewhere at eye-level, exposed, Newton uses different blacks, greys, and whites to depict a large woman with long black hair, posing with her legs and mouth open. This piece is very much Newton’s style he likes to depict erotically surreal looking images and symbols in his work. I plan to use a lot of black paint in my piece as well and will take from Newton the aesthetic of adding other colors to highlight areas and add dimension. These colors also go really well with all of the exposed mirror glass in his piece.

Levy, Keren. “Want a New Perspective on Life? Throw out Your Mirror.” The Guardian, 

Guardian News and Media, 7 Dec. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/07/italian-jellyfish-life-without-mirror.

This piece chronicles the author’s experience living a short part of her life without having access to a mirror, creating the inability to look at her own reflection. She frequently travels to places where access to a mirror isn’t a necessity. The author describes a trip where they are hiking a mountain and didn’t pack a small hand mirror. She describes being able to focus more on the environment and people around her. Eventually she didn’t even have the urge to see what she looked like. She trusted the people around her to alert her of any major malfunctions of wardrobe. She claims that the experience was instructive to the liberation of not being concerned with one's reflection and inherently critical of oneself. This real account of someone’s reaction to not looking at their reflection for an extended amount of time allows me to imagine the mass reaction of people when the ubiquity of mirrors is taken away.

Pendergrast, Mark. “'Mirror Mirror'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Aug. 2003, 

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/books/chapters/mirror-mirror.html.

This article goes through the evolution of human self-awareness and the relation of that to reflections. It starts with an excerpt from a poem by William Yeats that speaks to the message of my utopian world. Especially one line that reads, “I’m looking for the face I had before the world was made.” It speaks to there being more to a person than what is physically reflected. The article goes on to chronical early artificial reflective devices in different cultures to show their cultural significance, to different ancient civilizations. They go into the role of mirrors in Egyptian, Ubaidian, and Hebrew culture. In the beginning mirrors were a lavish thing to own, People mirrors symbolized a lot of important things relating to religion, cosmology, vanity, beauty, sex, death, magic, and science. Mirrors were more sacred back then. I think can help the development of my Utopian world to compare the differences of the sacrality of mirrors in ancient times to the ubiquity of mirrors in the world today.

Sault, Nicole. Many Mirrors: Body Image and Social Relations. Rutgers University Press, 1994. 

The author of this book is a female anthropologist. Learning about societal views on body image from an anthropologist is really important because they can give a clear picture of how we see our bodies as a cultural species, compare it to that of the past, and draw educated conclusions. Sault asks the same question with her book that I intend to ask with my object, and final project as a whole. She asks the question: what if there were no mirrors; and this question presents the follow up question: how would we see ourselves? In answering this question Sault brings up a term that becomes the main way of viewing oneself in the Utopian society that I have created, and that term is “social mirrors.” As Sault explains the term “social mirror” is defined on the reliance of other people’s reaction to you as a means of learning how we look, how we are perceived, and who we are. Sault emphasizes the importance of rethinking body image through an anthropological, psychological, and feminist lens. This shows me that the body image system that is currently in place does need rethinking, which makes the topic of my final project very relevant to the world around me. 

[limejuicer1862]

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Brian Moses

has been a professional children’s poet since 1988.. To date he has over 200 books published including volumes of his own poetry such as Lost Magic: The Very Best of Brian Moses (Macmillan) and I Thought I Heard a Tree Sneeze (Troika), anthologies such as The Secret Lives of Teachers and Aliens Stole My Underpants (both Macmillan) and picture books such as Beetle in the Bathroom (Troika) and Trouble at the Dinosaur Cafe ( Puffin). Over 1 million copies of Brian’s poetry books have now been sold by Macmillan. Brian also runs writing workshops and performs his own poetry and percussion shows.   To date he has given over 3000 performances in schools, libraries, theatres and at festivals throughout the UK and abroad. He is also founder & co-director of a national scheme for able writers administered by his booking agency Authors Abroad. CBBC commissioned him to write a poem for the Queen’s 80th birthday and he was invited by Prince Charles to speak at his Cambridge University teachers’ day in 2007. His latest books include Spaced Out – an anthology of space poems (edited with James Carter and published by Bloomsbury) and two picture books Walking With My Iguana and Dragon’s Wood, both published by Troika.

websites: www.brianmoses.co.uk

https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/explore/?key=Brian+Moses

Blog:      brian-moses.blogspot.com

Twitter: @moses_brian.9181@twitpic.com

The Interview

1. What inspired you  to write poetry?

I was drawn to poetry through my enjoyment of the lyrics of rock music, particularly singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and the Beatles. The poetry I was offered in school made little impression on me at the time and it wasn’t until I picked up a book of poems by Liverpool Poets – Adrian Henri, Roger McGough & Brian Patten, that I realised that poetry could be fun, that it could speak to me in  a language that I understood and that it had relevance to my life as a teenager.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

Think I’ve answered this in the above.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

Very much aware. I read and read poetry by others once I started writing it myself and  it was what spurred me on. I wrote terribly bad imitations of other poets to start with and then suddenly began to find my own voice.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

If I’m at home, I often start ‘writing’ when I’m on an early morning walk with my dog. I live in the country and we are out in the fields and the woods. She pursues her agenda with rabbits and pheasants while I chase words round and attempt to capture them on a voice recorder. Coming home I then transfer anything that might be useful to notebook or computer.

Mornings are best for writing but I sometimes do some more between 5 and 7 in the evening.

However, as a poet, I can write anywhere and everywhere – hotel rooms, trains, planes etc.

5. What motivates you to write?

I’ve been a professional poet for 32 years now and am motivated to write for performances. I need to keep them fresh and add new material when I can. When you earn a living from poetry, money (or lack of it) is also a great motivator!

6. What is your work ethic?

I think I have a really positive work ethic – Over 200 books published and over 3000 performances of my poetry in the last 30 years are testament to that.

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

They did when I first started to write myself, but not so much now.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

There are many writers – for fiction it’s Carl Hiaasen who writes the most wonderful eco-thrillers which are amusing at the same time. I’ve always admired the poet Roger McGough for his wordplay in both his adult and children’s poetry. There are also a bunch of younger children’s poets who are making their mark on the scene and who’s work I admire.

9. Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?

Everyone needs to do something creative.  I began by trying to write songs and play the guitar. Quite soon I realised that I hadn’t got the motivation to practise enough and I gave up the guitar but kept on writing words which turned into poetry.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I would tell them not to underestimate how challenging it is, particularly if you want to make a living from your writing. There are so many distractions when you work from home and you need to set yourself targets. I still fail miserably at times but somehow ideas still come along and poems are written.

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

At the moment I’m writing a series of 8 picture books for very young children. My wife is my co-author on this project. I’m also two-thirds of the way through my second novel for children (first one ‘Python’ was published a couple of years ago) and I’m putting together a new poetry collection. I also started up a blog for teachers 7 years ago and need to keep that up to date each week brian-moses.blogspot.com (http://brian-moses.blogspot.com/) If you’re a teacher, it may save you some planning time!

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Brian Moses Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

[oblivionspeakk]

Why Your SEO is Missing the Mark (And How You Can Fix It)

Search engine optimization (SEO) will be a technique utilized by website owners to get more traffic in order to the site. The end from the particular year 2018 is expected in order to witness a major shift within SEO marketing. With this switch happening at regular intervals, the particular search engine optimization (SEO) tendencies are also shifting. In the months of January and February, you would get a drop in web site traffic, but it does maybe not always mean that your Local SEO campaign is failing. Not just that, Google wants businesses in order to consider advantage of HTTPS, plus they are rewarding websites along with a small but significant increase in SEO for their attempts. 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I am a good expert SEO and in this particular article I will highlight several important SEO tips that you ought to adhere to in order to secure great search engine ranking positions. One region of focus for greater marketing SEO performance in 2018 may be the confluence of content, influence, plus social. The above SEO styles & tactics research through the study conducted by the team associated with GoodFirms must have given a person rich apprehension for dealing along with the Search Engine Optimization associated with the website. Algorithmic chasers, technical SEOs, and Google Design followers should hone their specialized skills to focus on growing voice search technologies and AI applications. Once you have got a variety of keyword suggestions, you can then use all of them for on-page SEO, improving your own content, building helpful pages plus finding relevant sites in your own niche. Search queries like Chinese language food near me” or greatest auto mechanic near me” offer the perfect opportunity for regional SEO to capitalize on possible customers. In this free e-book, we will discuss everything a person need to find out to start a good effective Local SEO campaign intended for your business. These are called SEO ranking factors. In order to help you stay on best of those changes, this post will cover SEO trends that will are already noticeable as properly as the best practices in order to improve digital marketing strategy with regard to the business. Topics include; Perform you know the best methods for Local SEO? ”, Search engines My Business optimisation”, Local SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Keyword Research”, and other innovative tactics that will help your own business get more exposure, visitors, and customers. SEO provides become a crucial piece in order to this shift, as people research for information or products through Google around 5 billion occasions every single day. Modern-day article will focus on on-page optimization, and am will end up being sharing lots of good on-page SEO techniques you should put into action while working on optimizing your blog page posts. This is why appropriate SEO seo is so essential. If you have got an old site in add-on to just started to shape out SEO plus it just hit you that OMG, none associated with the keywords I've researched are usually in any of my URLs”, you need to skip the particular whole URL changing process. The particular most important SEO factors are usually a mobile-friendly user experience mainly because well as the page-loading velocity. So that your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION if your thinking mobile, should be either responsive or application store strategy with the correct dimensions, design, user-friendly, UX knowledge. As SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is now moving towards offering personalized experience thus, UX might play a vital role within maintaining the search traffic. Voice search will certainly definitely be an important SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION trend to know in 2018. Nevertheless, all too usually SEO 2019 Slide, Local SEO's impact is muted, leaving profits on the desk for a lot of business owners who perform not dive set for more understanding. Thank you regarding your awesome In-depth Guide, There are learnt some new SEO Methods, I will start with enhancing my site's Dwell Time Next to Creating Visual Content, I can really appreciate In case a person could Write an In-depth Guideline about Creating Embeddable Images”, I have to understand it better. You must end up being witty enough to select greatest SEO Company that handles sociable media marketing technique very nicely. The SEO trends regarding 2018 and the years in order to come are not some separate concepts you need to deal with separately. SEO, within general, covers all types associated with businesses, blogs, and websites. I indicate, most websites outsource their SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION for an agency - is actually just not cool ripping straight down someone's online presence for activities they did not take. You can build links through Digital Marketing or content advertising blogs too, because these are usually (SEO, Digital Marketing or Content material marketing) closely related topics. A successful SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION campaign always begins with key phrase research. SEO strategies that as soon as were along with the video game may not apply to the particular current search engines like search engines. But, the most substantial SEO announcement might have already been Google's mobile update of 04 2015 - this update triggered non-mobile-friendly websites to get reduce rankings. 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Your goal — in the event that you want to be great at SEO — is in order to appear on the very greatest of the search engine outcomes pages for the keywords that will are important for your company. This review roundup covers 10 SEO tools: Ahrefs, AWR Cloud, DeepCrawl,, LinkResearchTools, Regal, Moz Pro, Searchmetrics Essentials, SEMrush, and SpyFu. However in the drive in order to more closely align search outcomes to actual human experiences, wishes and intentions, Google's engineers plus algorithms are pivoting to research quality as the next excellent transformation in SEO. The particular agency is led by the digital marketing expert who keeps more than a decade-long encounter in the SEO field. The particular main reason for this article is to offer ideas plus open a constructive discussion throughout the future of SEO and electronic marketing over the next twelve months. 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[bluejanuarysky]

Why Your SEO is Missing the Mark (And How You Can Fix It)

After a person are ready using a fully created and developed website, the very first thing that comes into your own mind is "after creating the website, why do we require SEO? " Let us notice. No. In case you have a normal weblog and use a WordPress SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION plugin to optimize it regarding search and social media, a person are probably in the obvious. Mobile-first indexing is one of the particular latest SEO updates in 2018 by Google. This offered the rise of search motor optimization which known as SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. Nowadays, we discuss 8 SEO developments to look out for since you build your marketing program for 2015. In today's article, I'm going to discuss the particular top SEO trends in 2018, which you must follow. SEOQuake: A plugin for your internet browser, not WordPress, SEOQuake enables users to quickly and effortlessly assess SEO attributes of any kind of website without having to open up up extra programs. For improvising SEO with hyper-localization, webmasters will have to focus on hyperlocal keywords, which have to be optimized for local search results. Rather of marketing at people, you have to make it easy for all of them to find you if they desire you, and that's where SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION comes in. The Penguin update was released to algorithmically penalize sites who deliberately attempt to enhance their search motor rankings via link building methods or Black-Hat SEO techniques in order to artificially raise the ranking of their particular websites. Blog site commenting is another SEO techniques for enhancing your SEO results. Tools like SEMrush Backlinks Band, Moz Open Site Explorer, plus MajesticSEO Bulk Backlink Checker permit you to input your website to be able to monitor the number of backlinks you might have gained over a certain time period of time. 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Therefore, having the Google My Business profile will be essential for local SEO since it enables you to show up in these results. Hazel, SEO Consultant and founder associated with SEO+, works together with companies throughout the UK. She's serious in making websites work efficiently and it has a status for increasing traffic, leads plus sales. And if they find the particular content useful, they might actually bookmark it. Which is exactly what off-page SEO is all regarding beyond link-building. Moreover, Google will certainly continue to elevate the importance of usability and technical SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION factors, such as site protection, page speed, mobile friendliness, plus navigability. This will also help you spy on the competition's content marketing and advertising efforts, determine what queries your own website ranks on in different countries and what your best SEO pages are. Let's imagine a search motor optimization company wants to position for the term "Best SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Company", the title of the particular webpage or post that is definitely being optimized should start with those keywords. White Hat (and successful) SEO is not about ‘gaming' Google, or other search motors for that matter. Mobile SEO is mobile lookup engine optimization or optimizing articles for a better search motor ranking. So how should businesses make use of SEO as a marketing technique? SEO efforts may involve the site's coding, presentation, and construction, as well as difficulties that will could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering the site. I am a good expert SEO and in this particular article I will highlight several important SEO tips that you ought to stick to in order to secure great search engine ranking positions. One region of focus for greater marketing SEO performance in 2018 could be the confluence of content, influence, plus social. The above SEO tendencies & tactics research through the study conducted by the team associated with GoodFirms must have given a person rich apprehension for dealing along with the Search Engine Optimization associated with the website. Algorithmic chasers, technical SEOs, and Google Design followers should hone their specialized skills to focus on rising voice search technologies and AI applications. Once you have got a variety of keyword suggestions, you can then use all of them for on-page SEO, improving your own content, building helpful pages plus finding relevant sites in your own niche. Search queries like Chinese language food near me” or greatest auto mechanic near me” offer the perfect opportunity for regional SEO to capitalize on possible customers. In this free e-book, we will discuss everything a person need to find out to start a good effective Local SEO campaign with regard to your business. These are called SEO ranking factors. In order to help you stay on best of those changes, this post will cover SEO trends that will are already noticeable as nicely as the best practices in order to improve digital marketing strategy regarding the business. Topics include; Perform you know the best procedures for Local SEO? ”, Search engines My Business optimisation”, Local SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Keyword Research”, and other superior tactics that will help your own business get more exposure, visitors, and customers. SEO provides become a crucial piece in order to this shift, as people research for information or products through Google around 5 billion periods every single day. All of us article will focus on on-page optimization, and am will become sharing lots of good on-page SEO techniques you should put into action while working on optimizing your blog site posts. This is why appropriate SEO seo is so essential. If you have got an old site in add-on to just started to determine out SEO plus it just hit you that OMG, none associated with the keywords I've researched are usually in any of my URLs”, you need to skip the particular whole URL changing process. The particular most important SEO factors are usually a mobile-friendly user experience simply because well as the page-loading rate. So that your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION if your thinking mobile, should be either responsive or application store strategy with the correct dimensions, design, user-friendly, UX encounter. As SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is now moving towards supplying personalized experience thus, UX might play a vital role within maintaining the search traffic. Voice search may definitely be an important SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION trend to know in 2018. Nevertheless, all too frequently SEO 2019 Slide, Local SEO's impact is muted, leaving profits on the desk for a lot of business owners who perform not dive set for additional understanding. Thank you intended for your awesome In-depth Guide, I use learnt some new SEO Techniques, I will start with enhancing my site's Dwell Time Next to Creating Visual Content, I may really appreciate In case a person could Write an In-depth Guidebook about Creating Embeddable Images”, I have to understand it better. You must end up being witty enough to select greatest SEO Company that handles cultural media marketing technique very properly. The SEO trends with regard to 2018 and the years in order to come are not some unattached concepts you need to deal with separately. SEO, within general, covers all types associated with businesses, blogs, and websites. I suggest, most websites outsource their SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION for an agency - it can just not cool ripping straight down someone's online presence for activities they did not take. You can build links through Digital Marketing or content marketing and advertising blogs too, because these are usually (SEO, Digital Marketing or Content material marketing) closely related topics. A successful SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION campaign always begins with key phrase research. SEO strategies that as soon as were along with the video game may not apply to the particular current search engines like search engines. But, the most substantial SEO announcement might have already been Google's mobile update of Apr 2015 - this update triggered non-mobile-friendly websites to get reduce rankings. Yes, I go along with you Karthikeyan Maruthai, We Should Know Over Off-page SEO Techniques to Attain Very Good Ranking. Technical SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, content, and links should keep on to be the focus associated with SEO campaigns, tailored to your own users as well as the particular type of customer you are usually targeting. Rank factors could be divided straight into on-page SEO factors (including specialized SEO) and backlink or off-page SEO factors. And the goal is not really to master the trends, yet instead to build a dependable SEO process which will provide organic traffic to your specific website. SEO in 2018 is not really that different in spirit through what it was 5, ten, or 15 years ago: the way for having our personal and our clients' websites the particular most visible possible to possible customers in the search motor results. We see the use of tone of voice for Search being bigger plus long tail keywords like exactly where is the nearest dentist in order to me” local companies need in order to have a local SEO existence and need to appear with first position from your SERP's. The SEO professional analyzes and decides effective key phrases for your website promotion, plus suggests you the expertise upon different factors of SEO. Agreed, but above compensated links, stuffing, seo, invisible textual content, additional options, you can simply buy traffic. This is an excellent illustration of a digital marketing weblog on this list that's a lot broader than just” an SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION blog, however it contains a lot of valuable SEO-related information. Most SEO focuses on optimizing for Google's search engine, which dominates the overall search market with a share of over 90%. In contrast, black hat SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is about trying to consider shortcuts and game search motors. The purpose associated with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is usually to increase web visitor matters by ranking quite high in the particular results of searches using the particular most suitable keywords describing the particular content of your site. Cell phone search has entirely reshaped the particular realm of SEO in previous few years. 5. Mobile Initial Index @jambad 2018 SEO Developments - 5 Ways To Remain Ahead of the Curve SEOmeter 91 What exactly is this? Of course, there will become the normal offerings of incredible content, link building (acquisition) plus technical SEO (Auditing), but 2017 is going to be the big year for mobile. For this reason I reached out in order to more than 60 SEO professionals and asked them how they will would define what seo is definitely now. Yes, I actually agree with you Karthikeyan Maruthai, We ought to Know Over Off-page SEO Processes to Achieve Extremely Good Ranking. The particular top SEO trends 2018 contains the maximum uses of video clips and images. When Google was within its infancy, Keyword Density dominated SEO. The Ancient greek language philosopher Heraclitus said, Change is usually the only constant in existence. ” If he were still living today, one might think that will he was referring to Search engine optimization (SEO). I observe it as more of the need now for SEOs in order to make websites search engine helpful. We're going cover technical SEO in very much more depth in future content, but in short, it offers things like site speed, examine errors, redirects, duplicate content, canonicalization, mobile optimization, sitemaps, markups, organised data, and various HTML labels, for example rel=nofollow, that might end up being needed sometimes. Traditional SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques are still effective, yet a number of trends are usually in the works that can significantly alter the practice of enhancing for search. Whatever you do, be sure you don't fall in the trap and begin doing some black-hat SEO techniques like cloaking or spammy backlink building, it could get you seriously penalized by Google. Unless you upgrade your own SEO strategy and just stay to traditional methods, you may find hard to push your own website pages in top ten results, and even worst, obtain penalized by Google for carrying on with aggressive and forceful SEO strategies to gain ranking. The blog post of interest in order to SEOs from is this one particular: 4 Search Trends That Produced Waves in 2017” This write-up begins having a paragraph that might resonate with those who have got searched on Google (or some other search engines like google, regarding that matter) for many yrs: For the past 2 decades, the particular pinnacle of search sophistication had been talking to a search motor like you're Tarzan. I think the particular biggest SEO trend in 2018 would be voice search search engine optimization. Among the essential SEO tips for you in order to follow is to not select keywords which have already already been used by multiple businesses plus websites. In situation you are improving user encounter by focusing primarily on the particular quality of the MC associated with your pages and avoiding : even removing - old-school SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques - those certainly are usually positive steps to getting a lot more traffic from Google in 2018 - as well as the particular type of content performance Search engines rewards is in the finish largely at least in respect to a satisfying user encounter. Off-page SEO is important, even more because it helps in delivering your site out in front side of the hundreds of hundreds of online users. The SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION services are usually cost efficient and they can be actually helpful in diverting traffic in the search engines to your internet site. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION helps to get a brand name recognition searching engine by obtaining ranking of the business internet sites at the same time this improves the traffic of the website. Whether you are usually a marketer or a company owner, or even a organization for SEO, it's always helpful to research and learning fresh SEO tactics. I'm curious - sometimes along with your chapter-based guides, you have got them all on a solitary page like this one, yet sometimes they're separate pages along with an overview page as being a type of intro + table associated with contents, like the Keyword Study for SEO Definitive Guide. More significantly for us as SEOs, it indicates that the power of hyperlinks to rank websites is established to decrease, as well because the power of good user-engagement metrics on the website (and anything that improves them) is definitely increasing. Even as we head in order to 2018, SEO is becoming progressively important as more businesses are usually aware they require it in order to get found online. If youโ€d like to know more about doing keyword research that will give a boost to your SEO activities, head over to our completeย long tail keywords research guide and find out some of the FREE tools in action. Mobile users are increasing therefore it you must aware with all the current mobile SEO tactics and also updated that Google making. 1- I realize that do backlinks with robots or programs, that not great for SEO and Big Sibling Google do not love this i mention to Fiverr Gig”. Knowledge associated with SEO techniques can assist a company to promote its online existence effectively. Therefore, as a good online marketer, you should have got a clear regarding the current SEO trends. Along with SEO becoming more and even more important, search engines had in order to produce a way to utilize this with greater accuracy. Given the rankings plus search volume, SEO can generate considerable traffic and leads regarding Grainger. Google's Featured Thoughts and quick answers can become another important SEO trend that will you should watch in 2018. Many business people find checking out up on the "moving target" of SEO distracts them through daily priorities more than these people ever imagined, therefore it is definitely good to look closely in why is sense for every business. Back in times, people utilized to manipulate the particular search results using some well-known black hat SEO techniques. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ranking factors will continue in order to act as the bottom associated with SEO pillars in spite associated with whatever search engine updates. If a person are reading this blog right now, you'd probably know what Research Engine Optimization” is. It will be quite commonly called SEO Now i'm giving you a quick short on Search Engine Optimization, sorts of SEO techniques, the methods involved in these processes plus so forth Seo is techniques that will search engines recommend as great practice and black hat SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is those techniques that research engines do not approve associated with. For SEO consultants who practice seo, they tend to create results that be very long lasting. Follow along and you will have done your most readily useful Local SEO audit in know time. SEO strategies that will once were on top associated with the game might not use to the current search motors. Since that action can indicate losing all search engine visitors, Web Strategy Plus always suggests sticking to SEO techniques that will fall within Google's guidelines. As the matter of fact, the strength of any website lies within the DA. Domain Authority is usually SEOmozs calculated metric for exactly how well a given domain is usually likely to rank in research results. You should restrategize your method to local SEO to create sure you are picking upward on voice searcher intent regarding keyword groupings around your company or industry. Sometimes the best method to improve local SEO will be to correct previous mistakes. In today's rapidly shifting globe, SEO techniques can change upon a dime—and the worst component is that you might not really even know it. Hacks that will could have won you the front-page result as recently because 2016 are not only outdated now, but they may also hurt your website's rankings. As shown above, in the event that a user will say some thing like Tell me something regarding Semantic SEO? ”, Sir Jerr Link might be invoked. Your goal — in the event that you want to be great at SEO — is in order to appear on the very greatest of the search engine outcomes pages for the keywords that will are important for your company. This review roundup covers 10 SEO tools: Ahrefs, AWR Cloud, DeepCrawl,, LinkResearchTools, Regal, Moz Pro, Searchmetrics Essentials, SEMrush, and SpyFu. However in the drive in order to more closely align search outcomes to actual human experiences, wishes and intentions, Google's engineers plus algorithms are pivoting to research quality as the next excellent transformation in SEO. The particular agency is led by the digital marketing expert who keeps more than a decade-long encounter in the SEO field. The particular main reason for this article is to offer ideas plus open a constructive discussion round the future of SEO and electronic marketing over the next twelve months. Almost all capable SEOs understand that the number of customers within the mobile platform will just increase because the years go simply by. So, with that in brain, among the top SEO methods for 2018 is optimizing the mobile-friendly website. Keyword research is still the critically-important element of SEO. Finally SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Smart links allows you in order to set nofollow attribute and open up links in new window. Page titles and descriptions have an effect on what individuals see in lookup results, so it's necessary in order to check these out in any kind of SEO audit. Mobile user experience may enjoy a key role in the particular way sites are ranked, therefore not having a mobile-friendly edition could greatly hinder your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION efforts. SEO is actually a cross-functional marketing activity that will gives visibility to content within the organic search channel. 15 Upon Page SEO Techniques To Position High In Search engine outcomes. There are several technical modifications that web developers and SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION companies can do to repair this, so do not overlook it. If your competitors have a fast mobile-friendly site plus you usually do not, you will drop traffic and business to all of them. Improve the customer experience by providing the thorough assistance and provide your SEO ranking a enhance.

[thegloober]

Thumbnails Special Edition: National Disability Employment Awareness Month

by Chaz Ebert and Matt Fagerholm

October 24, 2018   |  

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Thumbnails is a roundup of brief excerpts to introduce you to articles from other websites that we found interesting and exciting. We provide links to the original sources for you to read in their entirety. This special edition of Thumbnails celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which runs through the entirety of October. Our contributor Scott Jordan Harris gave us the following article recommendations, and they provide a vital array of perspectives on the need for inclusivity in media.—Chaz Ebert

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1. 

“Growing Up, I Only Saw Half of Myself Represented On TV—That Needs to Change Now“: A personal essay from Bustle‘s Andrea Lausell about representations of Latinx people with disabilities. See also: Melissa Hung’s Huffington Post piece on “the most damaging way movies portray people with disabilities” and an article by prominent activist Vilissa Thompson on her Ramp Your Voice blog about portrayals of disability in the Black community. 

“As I’ve grown into my adult years, it has made me happy to see Latinx-centered media begin to share stories of other marginalized non-disabled groups in the Latinx community (LGBTQ+, Afro-Latinx, Indigenous-Latinx). Representation is slowly improving with how these identities are viewed with TV shows like ‘One Day at a Time’ having a teenager like Elena Alvarez come out as queer and work through the emotions while seeking acceptance from her Cuban family. ‘Jane the Virgin’ highlights characters of color tackling the topic of immigration, all while making a political statement about our government and its treatment of people seeking a better life. Although these strides are giving us a diverse representation of Latinx culture and are being received fairly well by the community for being marathon-worthy, if Disabled Latinx were to be included in the narrative, would the public receive it as well? I’ve noticed that non-Latinx communities are just starting to embrace disabled narratives on their TV screens. Often, disabled representation in Hollywood, like in the novel-turned-film ‘Me Before You’ starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, portrays the harmful stereotype of disability being a burden. However, shows like ABC’s sitcom ‘Speechless’ have been a game changers for showing a disabled lead character happy with their life. But that’s just starting to happen now. Growing up, I learned to be ashamed of who I am because there were so few positive disabled Latinx representations on TV. Hearing from my Latinx community that disabled Latinx don’t exist — or that there’s ‘no need’ for us to be shown — told me that my place as a Disabled Latina within Latinidad wasn’t welcomed.”

2. 

“Why are disabled actors ignored when it comes to roles like the Elephant Man?“: Asks The Guardian‘s Frances Ryan. See also: Ryan’s piece on the controversy regarding Netflix’s “Afflicted” series and Julie Rehmeyer’s Los Angeles Times essay on how Netflix is “televising prejudice against the chronically ill.”

“The BBC has been widely criticised over its decision to cast a non-disabled person in its remake of ‘The Elephant Man.’ The role of Joseph Merrick – who had severe physical deformities – will be played by the Stranger Things actor Charlie Heaton. Notably, actor Adam Pearson – who has neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition which was once thought to affect Merrick – has said he wasn’t even given the opportunity to audition. As Pearson told LBC, it’s part of a culture of exclusion for disabled actors. ‘It’s a systemic problem, not only in the BBC but industry-wide.’ From Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man to Eddie Redmayne in ‘The Theory of Everything,’ it’s routine for non-disabled actors to play disabled characters, often gaining critical acclaim in the process. At best, it takes work and exposure from talented disabled actors and further adds to an arts and culture that pushes disability representation – much like race, sex and class – to the sidelines. At worst, it sees non-disabled actors mimic the characteristics of a minority group without any involvement from the community it depicts.”

3.

“‘A Quiet Place’ proves there’s no excuse for using non-disabled actors to play disabled characters“: According to The Independent‘s James Moore. See also: Variety‘s Joe Otterson reports that Maysoon Zayid, who has cerebral palsy, will write and star in “an autobiographical comedy series in development at ABC,” while CNN‘s Wayne Drash analyzes the outrage over the portrayal of epilepsy on Netflix’s “Seizure Boy.”

“The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic world haunted by blind monsters that zero in on sound with the aid of supersensitive hearing. Silence is thus a matter of survival. Because her family uses American Sign Language (ASL) they have an advantage: they can talk to each other in a world where speaking can get you killed. The script could have fallen down at this point by having Simmonds perform a functional role without much else to do other than move the plot along for the other actors, including A-lister Emily Blunt, to shine. But it has more ambition than that. Simmonds’ Regan Abbott is a fully formed character; a stroppy teen, chafing against her parents’ overprotectiveness and haunted by what she sees as her role in her little brother’s death. It’s not just her deafness that is central to the plot: she is. She’s neither an afterthought, nor is she an inspiration, which is another trap films involving disability fall into. She’s a person. She’s also the best thing about a film that is full of good things. Director John Krasinski, who pushed to cast her, has further revealed that she changed one of the signed parts of the scripts in an important way that makes it better.  In fact she elevates the whole project. As Kamran Mallick, the chief executive of Disability Rights UK, says, she brings ‘an extra dimension to the role which a hearing actor would not have been able to do.’”

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4. 

“Toppling Structures of Inequality in the Documentary Field“: A great article published at IDA by Nicole Opper. 

“New Day Films, a distribution co-op created by and for independent documentary filmmakers in 1971, has recently been grappling with what it means to be truly representative of the broad spectrum of filmmakers that exists, including filmmakers of color, working-class filmmakers, trans and gender non-binary filmmakers and those with disabilities—groups that have historically been underrepresented or poorly portrayed in the industry. At our Annual Meeting in upstate New York this past June, a panel was convened to discuss the findings of an Equity and Representation task force, and to open up the conversation to all member-owners of the co-op. ‘Very often in the documentary space, I’m the only person of color,’ remarked Michael Premo. Premo is the director of ‘Water Warriors,’ the story of a community’s successful fight to protect their water from the oil and natural gas industry. ‘This is also sort of dually equated with poverty, which is equally as racist as being the token black guy.’ Cheryl Green, the director of ‘Who Am I To Stop It’—a documentary about individuals with traumatic brain injuries—shared her perspective as a filmmaker with acquired disabilities herself: ‘There is no one disability community. What is a film about disability? What is a person with a disability? We’re not a monolith. There’s not one way to talk about it; there’s not one way to present it. The main way disability is represented is non-disabled people parachuting in and filming a medical story. Usually it’s one that starts off as ‘That’s gross or scary or painful! Phew! They got better.’” 

5. 

“CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion“: Scott Jordan Harris recommends Jenni Gold’s documentary in his RogerEbert.com review.

“‘CinemAbility’ is the most entertaining and comprehensive history of disability in American film and television ever made. In that sense it is the onscreen equivalent of Matthew F. Norden’s classic book Cinema Of Isolation: A History Of Physical Disability In The Movies, and Norden is prominent in the film’s opening scenes, explaining the early and generally disheartening history of Hollywood’s ideas about disability. Due prominence is given to Lon Chaney, an able-bodied actor notorious in the disabled community for making a career out of grotesque and exploitative parodies of disability. He often did so in partnership with director Tod Browning, who in 1932 made ‘Freaks’ with a cast of disabled actors. Norden uses ‘Freaks’ to make an important point about audience attitudes to disability then that is still relevant now: ‘Audiences couldn’t handle [‘Freaks’]. People supposedly went screaming down the aisles because what they were seeing on the screen were not able-bodied actors wearing tricky makeup … They were seeing authentic disabled people.’ But ‘CinemaAbility’ never feels like a lecture. It is structured like a conversation, with contributions from an array of industry heavyweights, including Marlee Matlin, Ben Affleck, Geena Davis, William H. Macy, Ben Lewin, Peter Bogdanovich and R.J. Mitte.”

Image of the Day

TV Guide‘s Alyssa Andrews explains “how TV is still failing people with disabilities,” in graphic novel form. 

Video of the Day

[embedded content]

The official trailer for Jenni Gold’s documentary, “CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion,” reviewed above by Scott Jordan Harris.

Previous Article: Thumbnails 9/28/18

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[mrmichaelchadler]

Thumbnails Special Edition: National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Thumbnails is a roundup of brief excerpts to introduce you to articles from other websites that we found interesting and exciting. We provide links to the original sources for you to read in their entirety. This special edition of Thumbnails celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which runs through the entirety of October. Our contributor Scott Jordan Harris gave us the following article recommendations, and they provide a vital array of perspectives on the need for inclusivity in media.—Chaz Ebert

1. 

"Growing Up, I Only Saw Half of Myself Represented On TV—That Needs to Change Now": A personal essay from Bustle's Andrea Lausell about representations of Latinx people with disabilities. See also: Melissa Hung's Huffington Post piece on "the most damaging way movies portray people with disabilities" and an article by prominent activist Vilissa Thompson on her Ramp Your Voice blog about portrayals of disability in the Black community. 

“As I’ve grown into my adult years, it has made me happy to see Latinx-centered media begin to share stories of other marginalized non-disabled groups in the Latinx community (LGBTQ+, Afro-Latinx, Indigenous-Latinx). Representation is slowly improving with how these identities are viewed with TV shows like ‘One Day at a Time’ having a teenager like Elena Alvarez come out as queer and work through the emotions while seeking acceptance from her Cuban family. ‘Jane the Virgin’ highlights characters of color tackling the topic of immigration, all while making a political statement about our government and its treatment of people seeking a better life. Although these strides are giving us a diverse representation of Latinx culture and are being received fairly well by the community for being marathon-worthy, if Disabled Latinx were to be included in the narrative, would the public receive it as well? I’ve noticed that non-Latinx communities are just starting to embrace disabled narratives on their TV screens. Often, disabled representation in Hollywood, like in the novel-turned-film ‘Me Before You’ starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, portrays the harmful stereotype of disability being a burden. However, shows like ABC’s sitcom ‘Speechless’ have been a game changers for showing a disabled lead character happy with their life. But that’s just starting to happen now. Growing up, I learned to be ashamed of who I am because there were so few positive disabled Latinx representations on TV. Hearing from my Latinx community that disabled Latinx don’t exist — or that there’s ‘no need’ for us to be shown — told me that my place as a Disabled Latina within Latinidad wasn’t welcomed.”

2. 

"Why are disabled actors ignored when it comes to roles like the Elephant Man?": Asks The Guardian's Frances Ryan. See also: Ryan's piece on the controversy regarding Netflix's "Afflicted" series and Julie Rehmeyer's Los Angeles Times essay on how Netflix is "televising prejudice against the chronically ill."

“The BBC has been widely criticised over its decision to cast a non-disabled person in its remake of ‘The Elephant Man.’ The role of Joseph Merrick – who had severe physical deformities – will be played by the Stranger Things actor Charlie Heaton. Notably, actor Adam Pearson – who has neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition which was once thought to affect Merrick – has said he wasn’t even given the opportunity to audition. As Pearson told LBC, it’s part of a culture of exclusion for disabled actors. ‘It’s a systemic problem, not only in the BBC but industry-wide.’ From Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man to Eddie Redmayne in ‘The Theory of Everything,’ it’s routine for non-disabled actors to play disabled characters, often gaining critical acclaim in the process. At best, it takes work and exposure from talented disabled actors and further adds to an arts and culture that pushes disability representation – much like race, sex and class – to the sidelines. At worst, it sees non-disabled actors mimic the characteristics of a minority group without any involvement from the community it depicts.”

3.

"'A Quiet Place' proves there's no excuse for using non-disabled actors to play disabled characters": According to The Independent's James Moore. See also: Variety's Joe Otterson reports that Maysoon Zayid, who has cerebral palsy, will write and star in "an autobiographical comedy series in development at ABC," while CNN's Wayne Drash analyzes the outrage over the portrayal of epilepsy on Netflix's "Seizure Boy."

“The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic world haunted by blind monsters that zero in on sound with the aid of supersensitive hearing. Silence is thus a matter of survival. Because her family uses American Sign Language (ASL) they have an advantage: they can talk to each other in a world where speaking can get you killed. The script could have fallen down at this point by having Simmonds perform a functional role without much else to do other than move the plot along for the other actors, including A-lister Emily Blunt, to shine. But it has more ambition than that. Simmonds’ Regan Abbott is a fully formed character; a stroppy teen, chafing against her parents’ overprotectiveness and haunted by what she sees as her role in her little brother’s death. It’s not just her deafness that is central to the plot: she is. She’s neither an afterthought, nor is she an inspiration, which is another trap films involving disability fall into. She’s a person. She’s also the best thing about a film that is full of good things. Director John Krasinski, who pushed to cast her, has further revealed that she changed one of the signed parts of the scripts in an important way that makes it better.  In fact she elevates the whole project. As Kamran Mallick, the chief executive of Disability Rights UK, says, she brings ‘an extra dimension to the role which a hearing actor would not have been able to do.’”

4. 

"Toppling Structures of Inequality in the Documentary Field": A great article published at IDA by Nicole Opper. 

“New Day Films, a distribution co-op created by and for independent documentary filmmakers in 1971, has recently been grappling with what it means to be truly representative of the broad spectrum of filmmakers that exists, including filmmakers of color, working-class filmmakers, trans and gender non-binary filmmakers and those with disabilities—groups that have historically been underrepresented or poorly portrayed in the industry. At our Annual Meeting in upstate New York this past June, a panel was convened to discuss the findings of an Equity and Representation task force, and to open up the conversation to all member-owners of the co-op. ‘Very often in the documentary space, I'm the only person of color,’ remarked Michael Premo. Premo is the director of ‘Water Warriors,’ the story of a community's successful fight to protect their water from the oil and natural gas industry. ‘This is also sort of dually equated with poverty, which is equally as racist as being the token black guy.’ Cheryl Green, the director of ‘Who Am I To Stop It’—a documentary about individuals with traumatic brain injuries—shared her perspective as a filmmaker with acquired disabilities herself: ‘There is no one disability community. What is a film about disability? What is a person with a disability? We're not a monolith. There's not one way to talk about it; there's not one way to present it. The main way disability is represented is non-disabled people parachuting in and filming a medical story. Usually it’s one that starts off as ‘That's gross or scary or painful! Phew! They got better.’” 

5. 

"CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion": Scott Jordan Harris recommends Jenni Gold's documentary in his RogerEbert.com review.

“‘CinemAbility’ is the most entertaining and comprehensive history of disability in American film and television ever made. In that sense it is the onscreen equivalent of Matthew F. Norden's classic book Cinema Of Isolation: A History Of Physical Disability In The Movies, and Norden is prominent in the film's opening scenes, explaining the early and generally disheartening history of Hollywood's ideas about disability. Due prominence is given to Lon Chaney, an able-bodied actor notorious in the disabled community for making a career out of grotesque and exploitative parodies of disability. He often did so in partnership with director Tod Browning, who in 1932 made ‘Freaks’ with a cast of disabled actors. Norden uses ‘Freaks’ to make an important point about audience attitudes to disability then that is still relevant now: ‘Audiences couldn't handle [‘Freaks’]. People supposedly went screaming down the aisles because what they were seeing on the screen were not able-bodied actors wearing tricky makeup ... They were seeing authentic disabled people.’ But ‘CinemaAbility’ never feels like a lecture. It is structured like a conversation, with contributions from an array of industry heavyweights, including Marlee Matlin, Ben Affleck, Geena Davis, William H. Macy, Ben Lewin, Peter Bogdanovich and R.J. Mitte.”

Image of the Day

TV Guide's Alyssa Andrews explains "how TV is still failing people with disabilities," in graphic novel form. 

Video of the Day

The official trailer for Jenni Gold's documentary, "CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion," reviewed above by Scott Jordan Harris.

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[unlovedaddict]

Quick Guide to SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) will be a technique utilized by website owners to get more traffic in order to the site. The end from the particular year 2018 is expected in order to witness a major shift within SEO marketing. With this modification happening at regular intervals, the particular search engine optimization (SEO) developments are also shifting. In the months of January and February, you would view a drop in web site traffic, but it does maybe not always mean that your Local SEO campaign is failing. Not just that, Google wants businesses in order to consider advantage of HTTPS, plus they are rewarding websites along with a small but significant increase in SEO for their initiatives. On the issue of speed, at the starting of 2017 there is still very much resistance to AMP within the particular SEO community overall, but even as we head toward 2018 that seems to be dissipating now relatively having a reluctant acceptance that AMPLIFYING DEVICE looks as though it's not really going away any time shortly. For a long time, back links have been one of the particular primary parts of SEO. While it may sound uncommon, it really is simple: whenever Google sees that the firm takes care of customers day-in-and-day-out, it will probably be much easier to obtain local SEO traction. I possess one question, I searched your own page info from Seo tremble and it says your web page noesn't need meta description and meta description keyword. SEO could be the practice of increasing the search engine rankings of your web pages so that they appear higher in search results, bringing more visitors your web site. Effective SEO aims to boost search engine position, user appointments, return visits, and to enhance conversion rates, which reflect the particular numbers of visitors who consider desired actions on the web site. SEO stands for Seo, which is a way to reverse-engineer how a Internet search engine (Google) works in order to rank higher within the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs). Based on the SEO study firm, MarketingSherpa, 44% of ticks for B2B companies go in order to a homepage, not a getting page. Hyper-localisation offers consumers the new way to search with regard to and compare products and solutions and in 2018, SEOs will certainly appear to serve those queries with hyper-localised SEO strategies. This is typically the taking treatment of of SEO that individuals spend probably the most time and the particular most optimisation on. This is definitely why it is so unexpected the script is flipping whenever it comes to backlinks, along with more authoritative unlinked words becoming the ones that fight by means of algorithms probably the most effectively. Therefore, having the Google My Business profile is definitely essential for local SEO since it enables you to show up in these results. Hazel, SEO Consultant and founder associated with SEO+, works together with companies throughout the UK. She's fascinated in making websites work efficiently and it has a popularity for increasing traffic, leads plus sales. And if they find the particular content useful, they might actually bookmark it. Which is exactly what off-page SEO is all regarding beyond link-building. Moreover, Google may continue to elevate the importance of usability and technical SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION factors, such as site protection, page speed, mobile friendliness, plus navigability. Consequently, it is vital to obtain hold of the right Equipment, in order to perform superior SEO analysis for higher rank and better visibility in Search engines. This blog focuses on offering SEO information targeted to little businesses. This completely modifications the overall game for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION as voice search queries are usually using normal conversational speech rather of an unnaturally sounding vocabulary easier understood by a device, so that it calls regarding a different approach to the particular keyword research. Visible search is changing the planet of search and a great SEO strategy to think regarding this 2018 is to really think about the way individuals consume visual content. Many individuals associate off-page SEO with hyperlink building but it is not really only that. Meta keywords have been deprecated intended for a long time in Search engines and Bing as it belongs to SEO. SEO is almost all about reverse engineering and replicating the organic search success associated with market leaders. One region of focus for greater marketing SEO performance in 2018 could be the confluence of content, influence, plus social. The above SEO styles & tactics research through the study conducted by the team associated with GoodFirms must have given a person rich apprehension for dealing along with the Search Engine Optimization associated with the website. Algorithmic chasers, technical SEOs, and Google Design followers should hone their specialized skills to focus on growing voice search technologies and AI applications. Once you possess a variety of keyword concepts, you can then use all of them for on-page SEO, improving your own content, building helpful pages plus finding relevant sites in your own niche. 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SEO offers become a crucial piece in order to this shift, as people lookup for information or products through Google around 5 billion instances every single day. This article will focus on on-page optimization, and am will become sharing lots of good on-page SEO techniques you should carry out while working on optimizing your blog site posts. This is why correct SEO seo is so essential. If you possess an old site in add-on to just started to determine out SEO plus it just hit you that OMG, none associated with the keywords I've researched are usually in any of my URLs”, you need to skip the particular whole URL changing process. The particular most important SEO factors are usually a mobile-friendly user experience simply because well as the page-loading velocity. So that your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION if your thinking mobile, should be either responsive or application store strategy with the correct dimensions, design, user-friendly, UX expertise. 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[wakingwriter]

What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your subject/genre that isn’t so?

I write science fiction and fantasy, and people (who don’t read it) tend to think of it as ‘all spaceships and magic’. It isn’t! Science fiction, for example, can indeed be based on space, time travel or life on other planets; but it can also be based on imagined scientific or technological developments, major social or environmental changes, set in the real world here on Earth. My latest book, Towards White, falls into this category, imagining a world where scientists have discovered when the electrical energy in your brain goes when you die. It’s set in Iceland and I’ve been told it’s portrayed in a very realistic style. Because of this, people who don’t read science fiction have enjoyed it so much they’re going to read more science fiction from now on. I hope they do!

Can you share with readers a little bit about your latest book?

Towards White is a story about a girl trying to pull herself back together in extraordinary circumstances. We all fall apart sometimes, face the darkest of dark hours, question the essence of our being, then seek a way back to ‘normal’ life. I wanted to write a story about a character struggling to do that, and facing a crisis at the same time. Sometimes when it rains, it pours.

They know what’s going to happen to you… after you die.

Scientists in Iceland think they’ve figured out one of our greatest mysteries – where the electrical energy in our brains goes after we die. According to the laws of physics, one form of energy must always become another form. So the electrical energy in our brains and nervous system can’t simply disappear…

When ex-lawyer Becky Dales travels to Iceland to track down her missing brother, she doesn’t care about the groundbreaking discoveries or the positive-thinking practiced by the Icelanders – she just wants her brother back. Having stumbled on something she thinks the Icelandic government wants to be covered up, Becky must piece together the answers fast… before she becomes a victim herself.

What made you decide to sit down and actually start writing this book?

I’ve always appreciated the systematic beauty of the laws of physics, especially life cycles: how one thing becomes another, and another, wasting little but time. So when I read about the conservation of energy law at school, one of the fundamental laws of physics, I dwelled on it, pondered it, and extended it as far as I could. What if…what if that was the answer to one of man’s greatest mysteries: life after death. The conservation of energy law states that one form of energy must always become another form of energy—so where does the electrical energy in our brains go when we die? It can’t end, it can’t just disappear…

Over the years I played with this idea but it wasn’t until I went to Iceland in 2001 that the story that would become Towards White started to take shape. I fell in love with the country’s austere beauty and inspiration simply poured into my brain from there.

There were some delays along the way – moving to Australia, marriage, two children, a new career and finding the right publisher – but the story evolved so much it demanded to be told, and finally, it’s here!

Tell us more about your main character. What makes him or her unique?

My main character, Becky Dales, has food issues. Weight control is becoming an increasingly popular issue these days, and the methods used to stay slim aren’t always healthy. So it was no surprise to me to learn that 84.3% of young people know at least one person with an eating disorder (NEDC 2010), 15% of women will experience an eating disorder at some point during their life (Wade, 2006), and an estimated 20% of women have an undiagnosed eating disorder (NEDC, 2012b)? As humans, our relationship with food is complicated and strained, yet we rarely talk about it. I wanted to explore this by creating a character authentically representative of those struggles, both to show how something debilitating can remain hidden and to acknowledge an otherwise typically invisible and isolating experience. Help is available. Here in Australia, free confidential help is available through the National Eating Disorders Collaboration helpline on 1800 33 4673. We can start by talking.

What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

That readers think Becky Dales is me! Of course, I try to put a little of myself into every story, not only because it helps make characters more authentic, but because I read to connect with others, their stories and challenges, and assume others do too. So when I’m writing, I like to offer readers the opportunity to spend time in another person’s shoes, and to do that I have to search through my own closet of shoes and find the right pair to offer up (BTW I don’t actually have a closet for shoes, my shoes are bundled up on wardrobe shelves!). Once I’ve found an experience I might be able to share, I imagine what it would be like to intensify that experience and go through it in extreme conditions, and once I know what those conditions might be, I build my character. During character development, though, I also think of friends and family who resemble my character in some way and borrow bits of them to add into the mix. So there’s a bit of me in Becky Dales, there are bits from a few lawyer friends I know, and of course, Becky’s also herself because none of us have ever been in her situation in Towards White – I’m sure we wouldn’t want to be either!

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Travelling to Iceland. I love traveling. I love exploring new places, seeking out unusual stories and uncommon sights, then taking copious notes on them. I have a heap of travel notebooks, and they allow me to travel back in time to when I was last in a place, then write scenes that really show readers what it was like to be there. I visited Iceland in 2001, and when I re-read my notes it’s like being there again. Hopefully, when readers read Towards White, they’ll travel there with me too.

What role does research play in your writing?

A lot! Especially for Towards White. Once I knew I wanted to write a story based on my scientific ideas set in Iceland, I started thoroughly researching those ideas. For the scientific side of things, I went to libraries in the UK and over here in Sydney, read online and asked scientist friends, putting together a folder of research and ideas about energy. I researched all kinds of other relevant things too like gravity and electromagnetism, how colour works, magnetic field therapy, Reiki, astronomy, genes, artic phenomena, the auroras, the constitution and history of Iceland, and of course the brain and nervous system, including brain death and methods of execution. I also bought an Icelandic dictionary and got to know the language as best as I could, including famous cultural quotes and swearing. Many of these ideas have been ingrained in the story from the very first draft back in 2002, but I cut out a lot of the language as my writing technique developed because it didn’t bring anything to the story but ambiguity. Some of the research I cut too because it was too lengthy – but I still have it all somewhere!

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Be determined in spite of everything, but not everyone. Writing is a collaborative process and writers need the support of family and friends, as well as readers and editors. Sacrifice and hard work will get you far, but you don’t want to be alone at the end of it, or for your health to suffer. I’ve had to fight over the years for every precious second of writing time I’ve carved out of my days and weeks, knowing talent is nothing if you don’t put in the time too. But I’ve also put down the laptop when others needed my help or attention, or to look after my health. It’s a matter of balance, of course. Oh, and chocolate and wine, definitely chocolate and wine.

What is your next project?

I’d like to re-edit a fantasy novel I’ve been working on for a few years, following on from a Writing Inclusive Fiction course I studied earlier this year. It’s so important to write with sensitivity and respect, I want to ensure I’m doing what I can to address imbalance. I’m also working with agents in the US and England to get more of my writing to readers. Watch this space! Or rather this space over here: zenashapter.com/blog. 😉

Want to learn more about Zena Shapter?

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page | Towards White

Zena Shapter, author of Towards White @zenashapter #sciencefiction #fantasy What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your subject/genre that isn't so?

[vitalmindandbody]

Finland ranked world’s most literate nation

Report pooling investigates of literate action peculiarities from around the world places the Scandinavian country firstly, 16 homes ahead of the UK

Finland is the worlds most literate society, according to new experiment, with the UK coming in 17 th, behind countries including the US, Canada and Australia.

Home to Tove Jansson, the author of the much-loved Moomin books, and a widely praised education and training systems, Finland surfaced a table of world literacy in a new subject conducted by John Miller, chairperson of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. The investigate looked at literacy accomplishment testing and also at what it called literate behaviour features everything from numbers of libraries and newspapers to years of schooling and computer availability in the countries.

Rather than calibrating a countrys ability to read, the Worlds Most Literate Nations suggests it grades commonwealths on their literate behaviours and their supporting aids. It set out to look at data from 200 countries, drawing from informants arraying from Unesco to the Programme for International Student Assessment( PISA) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development( OECD ), but exclusively 61 constructed the final slash, due to lack of relevant statistics. Person was also considered, to give per capita ratios.

The Nordic countries reigned the top of the charts, with Finland in first place and Norway in second, and Iceland, Denmark and Sweden rounding out the top five. Switzerland followe in sixth, with the US in seventh, Canada in 11 th, France in 12 th and the UK in 17 th plaza. Botswana was last, in 61 st lieu, behind Indonesia in 60 th and Thailand in 59 th.

Miller said that the factors we examined present a complex and nuanced portrait of a nations cultural vigor, and that what the higher-rankings strongly show is that this type of literate practices are critical to the success of individuals and nations in the knowledge-based financials that define our global future.

The power and cost of being literate in a literate society is played out every day around the world, adds the report. Numerous individuals, and even whole societies, realize substantial relinquishes to become literate just as others take it for granted. Cultures that do not tradition literate behaviours are often squalid, undernourished in memory and mas, tyrannical of human rights and dignity, harsh and harsh.

The report been observed that if it exclusively ranked commonwealths on their reading assessment results, the final counters would have been very different. When this is the only factor considered, Singapore comes in top, with South Korea, Japan and China in second, fourth and fifth lieu respectively. Finland is no other non-Pacific Rim country to prepare the top five, in seam second place. The UK is 26 th.

Adding in the number of members of academic, public and academy libraries, and the number of members of volumes in libraries Estonia, Latvia and Norway top this list as well as statistics on years of education, computer invasion and newspapers, changes the results vastly. When influences other than experiment scores are included, there is not a single Pacific Rim country among the top 25, tells the report.

Miller said that a consistent conclusion from research reports was that there is no meaningful correlation between years of compulsory schooling and educational expenditures on the one handwriting and exam ratings on the other.

He believes that Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden took the five top slits in the study because their monolithic culture appreciates reading.

Finnish author Aki Ollikainen, whose debut novel White Hunger has just been longlisted for the Man Booker International prize, did: The most important thing is that schooling is equal, reading and improving have been appreciated also by working class and that the professing of belief and education is also revalued.

He contributed: I have to say, that Im very proud of the Finnish school system and too our libraries, which have very versatile accumulations available to all. Everybody has an equal opportunity to learn and to speak. In Finland we are use to keeping this obvious, but globally it is luxurious.

Commenting on the USs performance, Miller said that while the two countries had learnt its years of compulsory education increase, its practice of literate behaviours had decreased, while the ability to read had abode relatively the same. It is not so much that we are slowing down in this nature race, but preferably that others are speeding up, he said.

Diana Gerald, chief executive of UK speaking charity BookTrust, said the content to draw from studies and research was that we have to get babes reading more, and experiencing it more.

Were not going to change this ranking unless we have a nation that is construe. And its a virtuous circle if you read more for delight, you experience speaking more, and so “youre reading” more, she spoke. And that will show up in these figures.

Gerald said the 17 th neighbourhood was not absolutely frightful, but why wouldnt we want to be top?

We come from the nation of Dickens and Shakespeare, we have an extraordinary literary background, she supposed. I believe we are doing lots of good work on core literacy and phonics, which are indispensable, but we need to add get children from a young age into adoring interpret, and wanting to read … Weve got to get the fun and relish back into reading.

Top 10 most literate countries

1 Finland 2 Norway 3Iceland 4 Denmark 5 Sweden 6 Switzerland 7 US 8 Germany 9 Latvia 10 Netherlands

Top five by educational investment 1 Brazil 2 Israel 3 Mexico 4 Belgium 5 Argentina

Top five by test scores 1 Singapore 2 Finland 3 South Korea 4 Japan 5 China

By libraries 1 Estonia 2 Latvia 3 Norway 4 Iceland 5 Poland

By newspapers 1 Finland 2 Norway 3 Germany 4 Switzerland 5 Czech Republic

By households with computers 1 Netherlands 2 Iceland 3 Denmark 4 Luxembourg 5 Norway

The United Kingdom grades: 17 overall 11 by computer 12 by educational investment 29. 5 by libraries 31 by newspapers 26 by tests

Read more: www.theguardian.com

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