#differences betweeen these two situations

[thetangycheesemanwithaplan]

Some people are saying that Buck and Eddie's cheating is the same and I'm just like....

Buck didn't choose to cheat, it was a series of events that someone else initiated and he went with in the moment. He felt bad and yes he lied about it and made some mistakes but he did feel guilty the whole time. He still fucked up but in a different way

Eddie has actively chosen to do this, he flirted, he said he was a single dad (which okay fair if you don't see Marisol as a Co parent maybe just as a babysitter) but he followed up with it's just him and his son (further making a point he's single) he went out of his way to follow this path and yes his feelings with Shannon have complicated it but he's chosen to lie and walk this path and although we've just seen the beginning and we don't know what will happen he seems to be okay with it

Yes both are cheating/have cheated but it's vastly different levels to it.

[hairstyleforteen]

3 best Beard Oil for Short Beards

Using the best beard oil for short beards will moisturize not only the beard but also the face that is being hidden from the beard. Beard oil is helpful as it cures the hair follicles and prevents your bead from being brittle. Several beard oil brands comprise of supplemental ingredients like vitamins and minerals. These nutrients intend to aid in the promotion of healthier beard, making it look shiny and soft. Also, what is great about beard oil is that it provides an instant shine to your beard. Whoever the person is you are trying to attract, you must make sure to use the best beard oil for short beards.

What is Beard Oil?

Beard oil is basically a uniquely formulated oil, created to be used on your beard, stubble, or other types of facial hair to make it soft, look shiny and healthy. You can think of it as a hair moisturizer orc conditioner for your facial hair. On the other hand, making use of facial oil comes in a different purpose in comparison to hair shampoo or other treatments. This is because your facial hair is rougher compared to the hair on your head. This means that it needs extra upkeep and boost in hydration. When it comes to looking for the best beard oil for short beards, there can be several factors to consider. Below, we have reviewed some of the best beard oils that get the majority of buyers' seal of approval. They are budget-friendly, come in good quality, and most importantly, safe to use . Beard oil, typically, is milder and more quickly absorbed than that of sunflower oil, so we wouldn’t advise opting to get rid of two birds using one stone.

Why Should I Use a Beard Oil?

Try rubbing your hands on your face. That bristle, spiky feeling is because of dry and rough facial hair. Because a beard is thicker than the hair on your head, it has to be tamed. This is if you want people around you to get comfortable with it and prevent it from being so annoying that you just get rid of the whole thing. The best beard oil for short beards will hydrate bristle hair and help make it soft and much simpler to style. Furthermore, behind the scenes it will aid in conditioning the skin underneath it, decreasing the possibility of it feeling itchy or dry. And of course, as we’ve already stated, beard oils are usually fragranced. That being said, you will make your beard smell fresh throughout the day, without needing to resort to applying other products on it aftershave. All of which is relatively beneficial for any type of person wanting to stay stylish as the day goes by.

Best Beard Oil for Short Beards: Understanding the Difference Betweeen Oil and Balm

Beard oil nurtures, softens, hydrates, repairs beard dryness. It looks like it does a lot of things. Well, there are still a few things it fails to do: hold your hair in place and design your hair. Because of that, my bearded friend, you might want to use a beard balm instead. What is great about beard balm is that it not only styles your hair but it softens it and hydrates. There are plenty of beard oil that comes in a balm that you might want to check out.

In the event your beard survived the stubble situation and now attain the ideal length, you may find yourself in a place when it requires, aside from moisturizing, some styling. However, you don’t want to make it seem fake and firm like it will look like in wax. You just have to make it to look properly maintained, not a trying hard one. That is the time where balm takes place. Beard balm is a mixture of oils, a small amount of beeswax, and all kinds of butter. While it is great for holding and styling your hair, because of the wax and butter, it will make your beard feel heavier. Not only that, but it will also make a beard wash a bit more crucial every now and then.

Factors to Consider when Looking for the Best Beard Oil for Short Beards

It is time to tackle the real business, the things you must look for when shopping for the best beard oil for short beards. It is not enough to just buy whatever type of oil you see in an online or physical store. You have to know what constitutes the perfect beard oil. Aside from that, each beard oil is designed for a certain type of beard. For instance, there are beards oils that are only suitable for long thick beards. On the other hand, there are beard oils that is made specifically for short hair. In this article, we will focus on the best beard oil for short beards. As mentioned earlier, a beard oil is a mixture of different kinds of oils that will make your beard softer and healthier. This is, provided that the ratio of oils is balanced. When looking for the best beard oil for short beards, consider the following factors: 🧔Composition of Oil As we have already stated in the earlier part of this article, the effect that the beard oil is going to give on your facial hair is specifically dependent on the carrier and essential oils that are included in the ingredients. It is of utmost importance for you to determine your correct skin and hair type, to determine if/what ingredients you might be allergic to and to do intensive research prior to buying one. If, much needed, you happen to have serious skin problems, don’t start your grooming of facial hair experimentation. Make sure to ask for advise from your dermatologist first. The moment the skin type is no longer a question to you, it is important for you to know what specially you want for your facial hair: - Do you have an irritating beard? - Is your beard dry and lacks sparkle? - On the other hand, is your beard too oily? - Is your beard fir and lacks moisture? Depending on the answers to the above questions, you will need to go for a certain carrier or the other way around. Because, take note, it is the carrier oils that do the magic for your beard. 🧔Ease of application Leaving aside the main factor and reorganizing among the beard oil, there is another factor that plays a major role in our oil preference: how simple it is to use it. The ideal beard oil for us is rich and pure enough in texture without being too heavy to put it on our facial hair. For the majority of people, depending on how long their beard is, 3 to 9 drops of beard oil must be sufficient to properly hydrate your beard. The feeling after application must be of a soft, moisturized beard, shiny, smooth, and with a certain refreshing scent. Lastly, the perfect beard oil for you must still keep a consistent form in the liquid and must not be close to the texture gel. This can only ensure the smooth application and can also result to applying more oil than what is needed, resulting in a oily beard. 🧔Container and cap The container and cap of the beard oil bottle can affect its ease of use. From the experience of people I know when it comes to beard oils, the can tell you that the best beard oil bottles are made in amber glass. In addition to that, they are also the items that will survive for a long time upon opening them. Not to mention the fact that the overall environmental impact of not supporting the use of plastic. Amber glass is the perfect choice because, first of all, it protects the solution from ultraviolet light, which can jeopardize the shelf life of your product. Secondly, there is a saying that 60% of what we apply on our skin is absorbed by the bloodstream. With that, it is best to make sure that no toxic chemicals from the plastic bottle can reach into your oil.

Best Beard Oil for Short Beards- Our Top 3 Picks!

✰OUR tOP PICK: Delta Genesis Fragrance-Free Beard Flux

If you are looking for the best beard oil for short beards, we highly recommend this caffeine beard growth stimulating oil for facial hair growth. The best thing about this beard oil is that it is fragrance-free. This makes them suitable for people with sensitive skin. In addition to that, it has the best formula to promote and encourage healthy facial hair growth. Aside from that, it also give your beard the fuel it needs so as to maximize the natural growth. Best of all, it is 100% pure and organic. You do not need to worry about the possible harmful chemicals. The Beard Flux XL is the only beard oil all over the world that provides a double purpose of maximizing a natural and healthy beard growth. Furthermore, it is safe to both humans and the environment. It doesn't have fillers, fragrances, parabens, and GMOs. To achieve the best results, use after showering and when your hair slightly damp. If used in the right way, you will be amazed how this beard oil will transform your facial hair. This best beard oil for short beards will not disappoint you as it consists of only highly selective ingredients to give maximum benefits on your hair. Pros - 100% pure and organic - Fragrance-free - Infused with caffeine for bear growth Cons - none so far

Runners-Up

✰Honest Amish Beard Oil

Next on our list of the best beard oil for short beards is this classic beard oil by Honest Amish. A lot of users see this as the most trusted brand all over the world. Honest Amish only product the best products in the market that are safe, effective, and made of superior quality materials. This classic beard oil is handcrafted in the USA. It is also made of organic virgin argan, golden jojoba, and 6 more premium hydrating oils to give your beard instant boost of moisture. It is safe to use even for sensitive beard and skin as its made with all-natural and organic ingredients. In addition to that by using this oil, you can expect that it will soften and condition your beard.  Honest Amish’s Classic Blend Oil has over 7 specially chosen premium oils as well as 7 important oils that aim to promote hair growth, conditioning, overall beard and skin health. It is full of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants to help rejuvenate your facial hair and get rid of any irritation of new hair growth.  Pros - Suitable for all beard types - All natural and organic - Hand Crafted in the US Cons - Has a scent that not all will like

✰Pura D'Or Pure and Organic Beard Oil

Last on our list of the best beard oil for short beards is this USDA 100% Organic Leave in Conditioner with argan and jojoba oil. Due to its composition, it improves the softness and strength of almost all kinds of beards. Say goodbye to itchy and irritating beard with this beard oil. Using the combination of moisturizing oils, your beard will stay tangle-free and frizz-free. It improves the health and overall appearance of skin and beard by making it softer and more hydrated. The Pura D'Or Pure and Organic Beard oil is composed of hand-selected rare botanical ingredients that are imported from several parts of the world to provide you the highest quality. It is not just chemical-free and Vegan-friendly, but it is also cruelty-free. Say goodbye to irritations: The compounds of Sandalwood Oil aim to target the causes of skin inflammation and irritation. This aids in keeping the follicles tidy and unclogged. Pros - USDA Organic - Pure and Natural - Cruelty-Free Cons - The packaging is slightly fragile

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does beard oil last?  A: A standard-sized bottle of beard oil should last for 4-6 months, depending on how much you apply on your beard. As for the oil staying in your hair, it will last for 6-8 hours.  Q: Can you apply beard oil in the sun?  A: Yes, you can do it but can be risky especially if the beard oil has a lot of citrus oil. This is because the more citrus oil, the more your beard is prone to bleaching effect.  Q: Which is better, beard oil or balm?  A: The two products aim to deliver different results. If you want to keep your beard soft and moisturized, you should use beard oil. If you want to style your beard and keep it in shape, it is best to use beard balm. 

Final Words

As ore and more men want to grow beard, they are looking for ways on how to make their beards look soft, shiny, and hydrated. The above-mentioned best beard oil for short beards are the best ways to take care of your beard. We hope that you find this article helpful in choosing the best beard oil for your facial hair. Also, make sure to go back for additional product reviews. Read the full article

[nevwornxiety]

Has anybody watched that #yaçokseversen teaser?

Yesterday, I stumbled upon Twitter and noticed that there is a new summer dizi called #yaçokseversen starring by Kerem Bursin and Hafsanur.

I just watched the teaser and found out that Kerem has listed this own Spotify Playlist dedicated to his character, ATES (i think?)

So it just makes me wants to rant here that I have my own analyzation regarding what his character could be based on the teaser and the Spotify Playlist

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SPOILER. THIS IS JUST MY OWN INTERPRETATION AND ANALYZATION ON WHAT ATES MIGHT LOOK LIKE

I checked his playlist and noticed that he chose these songs Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkey and I Feel Like I'm Drowning by Two Feet.

I don't know why chose this song but it might be Kerem's own interpretation of ATES. So here is what i think:

ATES might have different character arc than Serkan Bolat. Even though the only similarity betweeen the two is how they love their partners.

ATES is a high-on-life kind of guy, meaning that he can be content and feeling settled with his life. He is not like Serkan where he is always serious and grumpy all the time. He knows how to have fun

ATES can be serious-yet-unserious person at the same time.

ATES is confident, but he is not arrogant (i think other people might have misconception of his character later)

ATES is aloof and chill person as he shows it. He is minding his own business. But despite this facade, he knows shit and he can take hints two and two. He is not stupid and he observes everything around him, but since he seems aloof people might think they can take advantage of him. ATES is charming man that can play along with you when you don't even realize it.

I checked his other songs of choice are A Million Dollar Man by Lana Del Rey and I See Fire by Ed Sheeran shows that ATES might seem aloof with everyone and everyone might think that ATES does not take them seriously even in serious situation. But if they care enough to see the real him, they will find out that ATES is a very intense and deep person. His feeling is very deep. He thinks and cares everything but he does not want to show it because he does not want people to take advantage of him. That is why i think he might not want to love anyone, because he thinks that no one can make him feel that way.

I am not really sure about his job, he might be a rich person. But based on the teaser, we saw Ates and Leyla meeting the officer at the end of the scene. It could mean that he works along with police ( he is a detective or police) or he might be one of the fugitive/ criminals that the police has been looking for. Either way, Ates and Leyla's relationship might take a place because of their connection with the police department so they have to stick together to save themselves.

I have a hunch that Ates did find Leyla cute and based on the teaser, he might find himself having sexual tension with her. But because he brings all his logic, he will not pursue her (as he thinks he should-_-)

I am thinking that he is quite afraid of showing his expression and feeling, he might hurt her feeling. Because showing his feeling is not his forte. He does not do love. So when i see the playlist and the teasers photo (especially the one where he hugged Leila at elevator and looks at someone, you can check his hand difference in her upper shoulder and her lower waist ). I get the sense that he might be a toxic bad boy because he control and manipulates the situation in his own way. NO one can control him. EVER.

#yaçokseversen #kerembursin #hafsanursancaktutan #turkishdizi #newsummerturkishdizi #turkishdizi2023

[howtofightwrite]

How much benefit does someone fighting get if advised by someone who knows their opponents tactics or weak spots? As in could that bit of info really mean the difference betweeen win/loss or life/death? Would it help when battling an opponent much stronger than themself? Not all encounters are hostile but friendly sparring as well.

That depends on the information they're given. The way these kinds of insights are used in fiction can be a bit artificial, but, potentially, there is some real value here.

A lot of the time, this is going to be a kind of deus ex machina plot device. Instead of it being an item (or, a literal god), it's someone wandering in and saying, "oh, yeah, this is how you beat the villain." This tends to get less flak than other forms of deus ex machina; probably because the protagonist, at least in theory, retains more agency, and the premise is broadly believable. However, when you start digging into it, problems become apparent.

You identified two different forms these insights can take; vulnerabilities and strategies.

In the real world, exploiting vulnerabilities is effective. Understanding someone's weaknesses can confer enormous advantages. This can be as simple as knowing about an old wound, meaning a specific strike will have have significantly more effect than you would expect, it can be a design defect in a vehicle or weapon, it can be detailed psychological information that you can use to shut them down and get them to give up.

These insights can be given by another character, or they can be collected by the protagonists directly.

For an example: The Death Star Plans in Star Wars, are an inanimate MacGuffin, but that's just obfuscating that they're effectively an insight saying, "shoot here to blow up the incomprehensibly massive superweapon."

These kinds of insights can also be time sensitive. Another example, from the same source, would be that in Return of the Jedi, the timing of the attack on the Second Death Star coincides with Emperor Palpatine's tour of the station. And, of course, as that example shows, these kinds of time-sensitive vulnerabilities are excellent bait for traps.

If the villain was injured during a recent battle, and is currently in a vulnerable state, of course your protagonists would jump at the opportunity to strike.

In more sophisticated situations, the villains actions may have alienated former allies who approach your protagonists with an offer to work together to unseat them, only for that entire scheme to be a trap.

Vulnerabilities can go either way. When played straight, they can be a very kludgly, "shoot here to win," solution. When they're subverted, it can be an effective plot twist (though, it will be on you to sell the deception, and the machinations that went into it.) At the same time, there's a very realistic element of having someone running surveillance on an enemy and then reporting to your characters.

So, reconnaissance reports are in the same category of, "reporting a vulnerability." The way these scenes are put together is a little different. Usually, they'll get the report, and then plan accordingly. This will often include the protagonists having to identify the vulnerability for themselves. From a character agency perspective, this is a huge difference, and it will further sell the idea that your characters found the solution for themselves. (Note that Star Wars isn't an example of this, as the Death Star Plans are handed over, and an unnamed character, played by an uncredited extra, who identifies the design flaw, off screen.)

Understanding an individual's preferred strategies can be useful, and in some situations it can allow you to develop an effective counter-strategy. However, in a lot of fiction, this is exaggerated, almost to parody.

Talking about a character's preferred strategies can be a useful opportunity for worldbuilding. Especially if their strategies intersect with novel elements of the setting.

However, it's important to be careful with this approach. Two things to keep in mind, first that the strategy must novel or unusual in some way, and second that if it has a transparent weakness, it only raises questions about how the character got to the point of being a legitimate participant in the current events.

On the former, I've literally seen cases where a villain's, "secret," strategy was to hold some units in reserve. I wish I was making this up. To some extent, my inability to remember exactly where I've run across this, gives me some hope that my memory is messing with me, and no one actually blundered into this. The problem with this strategy is that, ever semi-competent strategist will keep some forces in reserve to reinforce struggling troops.

Actually a specific example I can name from memory is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Remembering that it's been 25 years since I read the novel, and it is intended for a YA audience, most of Ender's "strategic genius" is understanding basic concepts like pickets. (It is a good example of worldbuilding through strategic analysis, but, the actual strategies employed by Ender are remedial at best. Also, as it turned out, Card is an ambulatory dumpster fire masquerading as a person.)

Unfortunately, if you want to avoid this, you're going to need to do some research on your own. There's an entire scholarly field (military history) that is deeply interested in analyzing strategies and tactics employed on the battlefield. This is a mandatory field of study for military officers, and if you're wanting to stage out large battles, this is something you're going to need to look into.

My best recommendations for the use of strategy remains the series Babylon 5. This has the distinct disadvantage of being a serialized TV series, and you're looking at over 80 hours of material, with the vast majority of that being unrelated to combat and warfare. However, it's one of the exceptionally rare cases where I can point to a fictional character who lives up to their reputation as a strategic genius. (And, no, linking to the second season was not an error.)

Another example of a strategic genius would be Grand Admiral Thrawn from Star Wars. This also comes with a caveat, the original version of the character has some very interesting (and plausible) rationale behind his methods. As other writers worked with Thrawn, his strategic insight degenerated into a superpower. There is a valuable lesson here though, writing this kind of a character is not easy, and will require a lot of work from you.

The old aphorism, "write what you know," is in full effect. If you want to write a strategist, you'll need to learn how to be one as well. You don't need to be as good as they are, but you will need to learn how to become one.

-Starke

P.S. As a quick aside, there is a reason I'm so focused on Sci-fi at the moment, there's a much larger post in the works, and I've been pushing pieces of it live on the Patreon Discord over the last few days. I haven't intentionally gone silent. So, keep an eye out for that.

This blog is supported through Patreon. If you enjoy our content, please consider becoming a Patron. Every contribution helps keep us online, and writing. If you already are a Patron, thank you, and come join us on Discord.

[mannatea]

The latest chapter is bugging me and I was hoping to vent. I feel like the message of “war is bad, killing people is bad” is being handled in such a ham fisted way by isayama. I understand what he’s trying to do but it just feels so forced. For example Zootopia did an amazing job of taking a complex subject and making it clear enough for children to understand but weaving it into a good story too. SNK seems to be making that attempt for young adults, but it’s failing. Do you have any thoughts?

I always have thoughts! Sorry this took so long.

Zootopia has flaws! Glaring flaws! In fact, Zootopia has one of the same flaws that SnK has: the oppressed are feared because they used to have power over their oppressors. Right at the beginning of the film, they say: predators used to eat prey. So predators like Nick really did used to eat prey like Judy. This isn’t contestable, it isn’t arguable. It’s the backstory right there in the canon. 

SnK has a little more wiggle room here, because our information comes from characters, not the narrative (or even an accepted historical perspective): we’re meant to believe that, more or less, the Eldians once had power over the rest of the world, and now, regardless of how they used that power and because of it, they are oppressed themselves.

What’s changed? Nothing, it’s just that the originally oppressed (Prey, Marley/rest-of-the-world) have gathered together the resources and means necessary to oppress, thus flipping the script. 

And like, no matter how you look at it, the flipped script is both awful and understandable. This holds up better in SnK than it does in Zootopia, but SnK has been dragging on for years and Zootopia is a children’s movie that had a two hour block of time. So okay, in Zootopia, again, the predators ate the prey, but then they all developed Intelligence and stopped eating each other, but the predators didn’t develop blunt teeth or lack of claws, so the prey still feel like there’s something to be feared, there. In SnK, the Eldians can turn into mindless gigantic monsters that literally crush, stomp, kick, and eat everyone in their path, and to the average human being are invincible. Fear? Understandable. Oppressing them because they’re different? Awful, not to mention wrong…but not like…hard to understand.

Again, Zootopia ran into the SAME problem that SnK did with its comparisons. Both, brought into the real world to use with real world comparisons, would sound like this:

The Jewish people oppressed their German neighbors and the Germans retaliated and put them in Camps and killed them off by the thousands so that they wouldn’t have to fear being oppressed again themselves. This is, like, weird revenge for stuff that happened in the Bible, like when the Jews took the Canaan Land.

(HI IT’S ME, there’s some kind of essay comparison thing betweeen SnK and the walls of Jericho I’m sure.)

Black men and women were in a position of power over white men and women so the white men and women shackled them and dragged them across the ocean out of fear for their own lives, and like, let them live and stuff, but only as slaves (who were treated as less valuable than cattle). Oh, and I guess you can keep aspects of your culture but only the parts that aren’t scary to us. And also become Christian so you’re less terrifying!!

Women were once the oppressors of men. We’ve been put in our place.

Do you see how legitimately gross this is? The idea that an oppressed people did something to terrify other nations into doing the oppressing? There is always a reason for everything that happens, and by that I’m not quoting bullshit Christianity rhetoric that is intended to make your grandma feel better when Aunt Susie dies; I mean CAUSE AND EFFECT. It’s easy to stir up hatred, okay? It’s not hard. You see it now. “Those brown people are stealing our jobs!!!” We all know someone, or ten someones, or a hundred, who believe that shit–who believe that Hispanic men and women are illegally in the USA stealing “American” jobs. And for a much quieter, less overt version of this, we have the white vegans who get mad if you try and explain to them that their lifestyle is understandable up to the point where they’re fine with brown men and women working as slaves to produce their food all in the name of “lol protecting animals.” Racism and misogyny aren’t always overt, and in fact…usually are not. Nobody who has been oppressed deserved it; nobody who has been oppressed was once the big bad oppressor, either.

All right, so moving on.

Zootopia’s comparisons are more clearly across the board. Judy, a prey animal, becomes a cop, a predator position, and is deterred by her parents/friends/new coworkers for various reasons that are clearly an allusion to misogyny. It’s commenting on anti-women attitudes. “That’s a man’s job.” “I’m going to give you my shit work because you’re a woman.” “I’m going to give you unreasonable parameters to work within because it’s funny to do that to women working in a man’s field.” Oh, and my favorite: “You work here but we’re going to give you the job here that we reserve for women.” And it’s not just the obvious people either, like Judy’s supervisor or her direct coworkers. Clawhauser doesn’t exactly come to Judy’s defense even though he’s kind to her, and Nick mocks Judy openly multiple times.

But wait, there’s more: Nick as a little boy wanted to join the Junior Ranger Scouts! It’s a prey-only group, mostly, where you’re taught how to protect yourself (it seems to be the idea, since prey is generally less capable of this). But when Nick was finally able to enroll, he wasn’t welcome and was bullied instantly (in a manner meant to discourage him from ever coming back). The situation is generally black and white: predators bully prey, prey bully predators. We don’t see a lot of instances of like bullying like (even though it probably happens in certain circumstances).

Nick’s joining the scouts also brings up poverty, as Nick’s family seems to have been very poor and his mother had to scrape the money together just to buy the uniform (probably contributing to feelings of guilt and shame when it ended up being obvious to Nick later that he wasn’t welcome there). And also something-something single parent.

SnK jumped face-first into “like bullying like” but only because Isayama stacked the deck that way from the start (and had time to do it): Oppressed Eldians vs. Walldians is what I mean, here. So we see Eldians who hate Marleyans, Marleyans (and the rest of the world) who hate Eldians, and then we see Eldians hurting each other, too (because they’ve been brainwashed into doing so and/or to protect themselves). We even get half-Marleyan Reiner, who isn’t wanted by his Marleyan father, but that seems to be more out of fear of getting hung (and/or hatred of Reiner’s manipulative mother) than anything.

Those are just a couple of examples. Both Zootopia and SnK deal with a similar type of issue and try to comment on things like racism, but only Zootopia openly comments on misogyny and poverty (which are both things very clearly related when you’re talking about racism parallels), not to mention internalized racism (which is still racism but exists more quietly, even in good people like Judy).

Where Zootopia excelled isn’t the broken-down simplified version of racism. It’s the story. It’s engaging. It’s fun. SnK started out that way! But now, as a whole, it feels disjointed and incomplete. There are long lulls of SnK where I feel bored and the characters/events transpiring feel meaningless.

I’m definitely not going to say that Zootopia is an objectively a better piece of media than SnK, because it isn’t. As I said earlier, it has its issues. They fell into the same pitfall that SnK did with “the oppressed were once themselves oppressors.” And if you look really hard at it and squint a lot, there are things to critique that you probably hadn’t considered before: like Gazelle’s dancers being shirtless predator men

And we can’t really say it’s fair to compare a two hour simplified metaphor for racism/misogyny/“they’re different than I am” intended for an audience of about eight years old to a teen+ rated manga that has been going on for literal years and has been published monthly that entire time.

(Try updating a story once a month for years and see how good the whole thing ends up being. Get back to me with a laundry list of embarrassing mistakes you made and massive regrets. You’ll have them. Trust me.)

Zootopia pretty much did “racism and misogyny are bad” and succeeded. It was a fairly successful film that was way, way better than anyone expected it to be (considering we mostly knew it as “the furry movie” due to the trailers being wildly stupid), but again: 2 hours and aimed at children. You can’t really  simplify racism and misogyny and poverty into a two hour film and you definitely can’t do it flawlessly. They get points for trying, though, and for creating a piece of media that I personally related to and enjoyed (particularly from the angle of a woman working in fields dominated by men).

SnK is doing a lot of…something. I think “racism is bad” is an intention but it’s very long and drawn out and plastered onto the backdrop of a war and brainwashing and, what, centuries of oppression? Shit’s convoluted as hell and there’s no room left to talk about misogyny and poverty, even though they’re part of the series in many ways, and even though IMO these things are impossible to fully separate from the topic of racism. Add to this the attempt to write a narrative commentary on war and grey morality with a fantasy/gore aspect and you’ve kind of accidentally ruined the intention of the racism message far more than Zootopia ever did. Zootopia’s kind of like, “so hey thousands of years ago predators and prey weren’t intelligent so in our pre-caveman days we were enemies but once we developed brains we were like WTF? and stopped doing that.” SnK’s like, “well so it wasn’t really that long ago BUT the eldians oppressed everyone and we’re scared of being killed by them so we keep them in internment camps lol.”

SnK could yet surprise us by telling us that anyone can turn into a titan, and IMO that’s the ONLY way to save the racism metaphor that the series seems to be going for. LITERALLY the only way. It won’t make it perfect, but it’ll save it from being a colossal failure. “They’re oppressed now because they used to oppress us” is disgusting and vile and honestly kind of scary; that’s not a thing and a wildly successful series like SnK putting that message out into the world is terrifying. “They’re oppressed because we’re greedy fucks who lied and covered it up with a reason” not only makes a LOT of sense (see: only Marley deals with Eldia, nobody else does, it’d be easy to lie about it), but it’s a clear real-world parallel.

Right now, though…SnK has basically failed to fully address “racism is bad”—at least in a satisfying and inoffensive way.

And then of course, as Anon said, we have the war to talk about. Greed is a huge part of this and not very discussed. (Greed being about monetary greed, power, land, resources, et cetera.) I don’t know if SnK is actively trying to say war is bad or not; the narrative seems to be painting Eren in a bad light, but if I were (general) you, I wouldn’t take that very seriously. Isayama is notorious at this point for manipulating the narrative to fit what he wants you to see/take away from things. Otherwise, his idea of a plot twist wouldn’t work. ;P

Anyway, the latest chapter’s “killing people is bad” thing would come across a lot better, in my opinion, if there wasn’t already so much going on. Zootopia could condense its subject easily due to its 2 hour block, smallish cast, and simplified world. 111 chapters into SnK and there’s just no way anything is capable of being simple anymore. Is 111 trying to talk about “war is bad and killing is bad” or is it talking about revenge or the folly of anger? The Count of Monte Cristo did revenge so well nobody else will ever top it (so it might be unfair to expect SnK to), and even a GBA Fire Emblem game did anger better in a few lines of text.

I’m always down for picking apart something large like SnK but it is my opinion that the series is just too big, the cast too large, and the story too convoluted and folded over on itself, to make anything satisfyingly simple. There just aren’t enough panels to let Mikasa talk about why she protected Gabi, or to get into Kaya’s head so that we understand how she felt right before she tried to stab Gabi, or even what Mr. and Mrs. Braus were thinking when they found out this little girl killed Sasha.

It has to be simplified for space and time constraints, just like Zootopia did, but on a scale Zootopia didn’t have to deal with–and probably wouldn’t hold up under, if I had to guess.

So that leaves us with Zootopia handling things nicely because it only had to hold up for two hours of non-critical thought/viewership with just a handful of characters (in possession of the added bonus of being planned and edited before publication), and SnK flailing around a bit in some areas, and badly in others, because it’s trying to hold up over 111 chapters of content and well over 100 characters while being written pretty much on the fly.

I mean, it sucks! But it makes sense. Themes are going to have to be ham-fisted if they’re going to fit into SnK. At this point the series doesn’t have the luxury of time to spread it out.

[2claspect4this]

could you please explain the difference betweeen a knight of heart and a knight of breath? im caught between the two aspects; im not sure which i relate to more :// also i am a derse dreamer, if that helps anything

Heart and Breath have quite a few similarities: they share the view that the important things in life are immutable. A person is who they are, and trying to work against it isn’t just futile– it’s unconscionable. The best outcomes for everyone arise when you do what you were born to do. (These aspects are not alone in this opinion, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Before we go further, I should note that this doesn’t necessarily translate to a belief in a god who designs you with all these things in mind, or a single specific soulmate, or the concept of destiny (although if you do believe in any of those things, more power to you!). You can figure that most of your talents are accidents of your upbringing– maybe you enjoy drawing because your parents signed you up for art classes for five years and it’s your escape from the grind of everyday life, not because that was something you were literally put on this Earth to do– but still have that attitude of “I’m good at it, so I’ll do it”. Fate and soulmates and that stuff are fundamentally things that happen to you, and so is the lived experience that has shaped who you are today.

The differences between Heart and Breath appear in the player’s interpretation of this immutability. Heart players see it as a playbook, a guide, a map: they’re driven to find out who they’re supposed to be, and use this knowledge to inform their decisions in life. They assess their responses to different stimuli– colour schemes, temperature ranges, narrative structures– and construct an internal image of themselves that helps them make the right choices for them specifically. This process also describes how they look at other people: their understandings of their friends are primarily defined in terms of all the things that make their friends happy, and therefore what is good for them.

Breath players, on the other hand, aren’t concerned with pinning any of this stuff down at all. They have a general sense of what feels good and what feels right, and beyond that trust goodness to assert itself through whatever agents are around. If you make a mistake somewhere along the line, the chances are that it’s mostly inconsequential, and you can make up for it by doing it better the next time around. When Breath players interact with people, they tend to assume that they are more similar than they are different: everybody likes to have fun, nobody really wants to die, and everything in between doesn’t really matter as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the first two things. There is a certain indifference here, albeit one that makes the Breath player amiable rather than callous. If you don’t really care how other people have their fun, you’re already much friendlier than a lot of people on this planet.

So, summing up: both aspects recognize an incontrovertible order to things. Heart seeks to curate and understand it, Breath goes “that’s neat” and moves on with life. With these similarities and differences in mind, we can look at how they alter the expression of a particular class– in your case, Knight.

Knights’ interactions with their aspects are fairly neat and tidy, at least compared to some of the stuff that other classes get up to. With Knights, it’s all about projecting a persona: a “better self” that lives up to the Knight’s ideals of strength and desirability. Because all peoples’ perceptions are filtered through their aspect, the Knight’s ideal of strength draws heavily from the qualities that their aspect considers vital to a mature person… but it doesn’t necessarily represent those qualities accurately. There is a degree of caricature in the Knight’s conception of their aspect, one that turns what should be their strong suits into what can be pretty severe character flaws.

Although I started this post looking at Heart, I have a stronger idea of what a caricature of a Breath person would look like, so we’ll go with that first. Your Knight of Breath presents themselves as an aloof figure, who doesn’t commit to any path of action or code of conduct but is always game to be silly with other people, even in situations of grave danger. The ideal of strength here is being impossible to lay a finger on: if you’re not there to be hurt, nobody can hurt you. Naturally, this eagerness to play games belies an unwillingness to play the game– to set aside your fears and doubts and actually prove that it doesn’t matter to you who knows your darkest secrets or how much money you have or whatever else you’ve been pretending not to be worried about.

The Knight of Heart, on the other hand, presents a more… directed personality than this. The more gauche among them might declare outright that they don’t care what other people think of them, and publicly insist on doing things their way, then get into a loud and very visible fight when someone points out a flaw in their way of doing things– even if that person was right. A more cerebral Knight of Heart might be quieter about the self-affirmation, but they will still take great pains to ensure that they stick to their guns. They want people to look at them and say, “Say what you will about her, but she has conviction.” The mistake here is confusing a rigidly performed persona for the real deal: an ideology founded on the notion that you should stand up for what you believe in is notably silent on the matter of what it is, exactly, that you should be believing in. It’s acting on the principle of action, rather than acting on principles.

So, we’ve got two caricature/character dynamics here: the Breath player who misses the point of abnegation and tries to use their performed indifference to shelter themselves from doing the things that they pretend not to mind, and the Heart player who misses the point of sincerity and loses themselves in doing the things that they think they should be doing, without pausing to actually get around to thinking about what they should be doing. The next point of order is thinking about the kinds of thought process that could lead there– what kind of self-image could make someone do this?

For Heart, at least, there’s a clear probable cause: not really having a sense of self of your own. If you think of yourself as a wishy-washy, “social chameleon” sort of person, and overcompensate by trying to be as consistent as possible (even if this makes you come across as an asshole sometimes), I can see an unconscious aversion to ever really thinking about who you’re supposed to be taking root and feeding into the hollow intransigence I mentioned earlier.

The caricature of Breath is a little bit harder to pin down, but fortunately for us, we have a canonical example of the opposite thought process to draw on. Karkat, the Knight of Blood, privately always knew that he was inadequate: unable to serve the Alternian empire on account of his hideous mutation, unable to fend for himself in a fight compared to the likes of Vriska and Kanaya, unable to really bring Gamzee to justice for his sins. This drove him to over-perform his passions, in an attempt to convince himself that it was his vehemence and ambition that saw his team succeed in solving the Ultimate Puzzle.

Conversely, our Knight of Breath will fear that they are just the opposite: instead of thinking themselves unable to impress, they might see themselves as overbearing, fundamentally hostile to friendship and goodwill. Expressing any negative emotion could be the seed of their next great failure-- far better to repress it, just in case it drives someone away. Direction does nothing but divide and destroy, thinks the unrealised Knight of Breath, not realising that sometimes a mutual goal is one of the greatest bonding experiences a group can have.

And there we have it: the Knight of Breath and the Knight of Heart, assessed in terms of their points of contrast with each other. I hope you found this informative!

[modavi85]

Lesson learned (III)

I’m smiling more, I’m putting on makeup, not for nobody in particular, but for myself because I’m beautiful, I’m glowing more, I’m taking better care of myself more, I’m taking a trip next year with one of my college besties and all of this feel so good. I lost myself within our relationship, I put my own feelings aside and took the back seat for you to make sure you were good. But the more I did that, the worser you got and the more you took until I was finally tired that day of our last conversation. But now since our breakup, I’m slowly finding myself each day. Since our breakup, I haven’t really thought about you, I just think about the words you said in our last conversation, in which it plays in my mind like it’s on repeat, that’s about it, but those words that cut like a knife that day will go away with time. There are some days when I cry about how the situation ended and then there are some days I get angry for allowing myself into this situation in the first place. My mother and God showed me the warning signs and I was so love blinded that I didn’t see them because I chose to ignore them. What we do for love huh? But this too shall pass. So while you live your life, going to work, going home, taking care of your children, in which by all means do that; I’m out here living my best life and that I will continue to do. I’m not married to anyone and I’m not tied down with children. I’m beautiful, smart, intelligent, playful, unique, and have a college degree. So you lost the best thing you ever had. I was in your corner when you had no one. I got you where you’re at now. But believe me when I say this, every good thing must come to an end. What goes up, must always come down. As I always say, you can’t mess with God’s children and expect nothing to happen to you because His karma is ruthless and I’m just sitting back waiting for it to unfold. I don’t wish no harm to come to you because that’s how much love I have for you. I would always tell you that I couldn’t live without you because I felt you were my soulmate. But you didn’t feel the same exact way I felt. I always thought that if you’ve found your soulmate, nothing can keep the two of you apart and it’s impossible to live without each other. But I thought wrong. YOU let me go so easily without thinking of how it would affect me. However, as far as us ever rekindling what we once had when you eventually find yourself alone after you’ve used all the people that you need to use and when you find that God will expose you to those very people that you chose to occupy your time with instead of mines, never that. YOU allowed me to close that door when we got into our last argument. YOU allowed me to close that door when you allowed too much time, space, and silence in betweeen our last conversation and now. YOUR silence was all the answer I needed. If you’re able to sleep at night knowing what you did was wrong doesn’t bother you, then it sure as hell doesn’t bother me. If you were able to let me go that easily, then you never loved me like I thought you did. You stopped fighting to keep me; you tried in the beginning, but eventually, your true colors showed through and you couldn’t handle it anymore. Now, although I hate you for what you did, hopefully soon I will let go of that hate. But this hate is different. This hate is more like, I believed everything you told me and you lied to me. YOU said you weren’t like all the other men before you, but eventually you were just the same. I hate that I allowed you into my world when I should’ve kept you out. This has left a permanent scar with the other scars I’ve collected through the years. But by no means am I bitter, I’ll never give you that satisfaction and soon this hate will go with it. But for now, I forgive you and I’ve forgotten you. I’ve loved and I’ve lost. This is a lesson learned.

[jimdroberts]

  We’re at a point in human history when civilisation is changing faster and in ways that will leave it different forever. It only follows that the people must be changing too. During the long soulless hours of isolation I’ve found myself asking:

  Am I changing for the better or worse?

There’s no other way to describe these times other than terrifying. Societally and as individuals we’re being forced into making decisions, and ways of living, that we’ve not been prepared for. The structure and order of our societies had to be rebuilt out of the wastelands of World War II, this structure and order is being threatened. If you’re unable to see the pachyderm at your drinks party hitting on your spouse, let me make this easier for you; we are looking into the  abyss.

Pandemic, collapse of the global economy, unemployment leading to an inevitable global depression; reduced manufacturing, oil scarcity, reduction in the capacity of food production resulting in famines that the Bible would consider hyperbole; civil disorder, racial tensions, the continuation of eternal religious conflicts, environmental collapse, and energy crises. If just some of these happen as a result of COVID-19, we’re in trouble. If most of them happen, as I am compelled to believe the may well, we’re on for a global reset.

  According to the ancient Chinese Book of Change, The I Ching, the symbol of the Tao, dates back to at least 200 BCE. A circle divided in two halves, yin and yang. The symbol intends to represent the oneness of man and the surrounding cosmos. The two halves representing the complimentary pairs of male and female. The I Ching, as it’s name infers, The Book of Change, tells us that mankind has been attuned to fluctuations between moments of chaos and order for thousands of years. Taoism is a religion based on the impermanence of the cosmos and that limitless shifts between hope and despair, life and death are the norm. It proves that such events are an immutable part of the cosmic order. And it’s reasonable to say, that one such event is happening now.

Current circumstances tell us that in our area of the cosmos chaos has taken dominion over structure and order. It is inevitable that under such an existential, and environmental uncertainty, that many of us feel heightened levels of anxiety. (I’m freaking terrified right now, and it’s the reason I’m writing this.)

Even though it might feel as if we have wandered into a metaphorical, valley of darkness, my purpose in writing these two posts, is to help reduce some of your suffering and put some love back into that sad, scared, and lonely heart.

It’s nothing new for suffering to play a part in everyone’s lives, the world’s major religions use this foundational message at the core of their beliefs. But what feels unprecedented is the universality of the suffering in the world. As a person who doesn’t subscribe to any faith, I’m uncertain of this being the actual apocalypse, but I’m keen on it being so. Some Christians might refer to their mythology and believe these times are the apocalypse. Christianity anthropomorphises the apoclypse through the symbolic Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

    Right now, maybe you’re thinking that this is nothing more than another blog promoting fear-mongering. Such a thought is understandable, even inevitable for many of us. Fear porn, along with actual pornography are the most prominent genres of material to appear on the internet. It’s my purpose to help you understand the gravity of the current situation. But it remains you’re choice, whether you ignore the warnings I’m about to set out. You always keep the right to ignore the elephant in the room.

  COVID-19 and Religions

  The spiritual texts of the Abrahamic religions have achieved an unprecedented level of success in their ability to remain valid. Even after two thousand years, they continue to influence and retain cultural relavence. It is the paragon of ignorance to deny this fact. I’m agnostic, but I’m very comfortable acknowledging  the profound hold these faiths have had, and continue to have on our world. But how have they achieved this?

  They achieved this because of one simple but profound reason, they contain ineluctable elements of wisdom that are fundamental truths of nature of the human condition. That might not sound so simple, basically these books tell us: who we are; why we behave the way we do; how it’s desirable for us to behave; what we desire; virtues (good habits); and sins (bad habits). As well as generally encouraging us not to behave like complete dicks. They’ve provided the rules and laws that enabled humans to start living in ever bigger communities. And ever bigger communities generated greater wealth.

  Earlier I listed the types of upheval and chaos that I expect COVID-19 to have and cause. And I genuinely see the potential for each of them occuring to a variety of degrees. But there is one area of society that upon which all other areas of our societies depend.

  Economic failure will result in the systemmmic failure of our societies as we know them. Should our economies fail, the rule of law, public order, claims to property, food, healthcare, sanitation, medicene, the list is endless, but each of these will to some extent lessen, or cease to exist.

  Economic Collapse Post COVID-19

  Whilst I am certain that the consequences of COVID-19 will be far reaching in both their space and time. At the moment, COVID-19 is affecting almost every industry and community around the world, and it’s likely to continue doing so for many, many, years to come. I’m thinking more in the terms of a generations ‘ball park’. Denying a generation the hope of upward mobility and prosperity, and replacing it with decades of poverty is going to profoundly affect the lives Once the hope of upward mobility, and prosperity is denied to a generation of people.

  Modern society is one that was built around the combustion engine and the burning of fosil fuels. The Baby Boomers grewp following World War II in the most prosperous generation, for the masses, in history. The world needed rebuilding, there was a population explosion there to build it. More people than ever before were in employment, producing more goods, buying more things and paying more tax. Land was affordable, they bought houses, the value of which they saw ascend on a never ending escalator. Baby Boomers worked hard, but the conditions for their economic prosperity were optimal.

  Thre’s nearly always a correlation in the relationship between the potential prosperity of an individual and the actual prosperity of their society. It’s now become obvious that anyone aged betweeen 15 and 30, the younger Millennials and start of of Generation Z, that their prospects are going to be worse than both their parents, and their granparents, Genrations X and the Baby Boommers. Generation Z will become the second consecutive generation to inherit a period generational economic decline. The question that needs to be asked is: how do we expect these people to live lives of diminished hope?

  This is important because it flouts a rule that is embedded in our evolutionary psyche. Nature determines whether species live or die, flourish or struggle. Because humanity’s prospects are so tightly bound to their economy, it’s becomming abundantly obvious to anyone aged betweeen 15 and 30, the younger Millennials and start of of Generation Z, that their prospects are going to be worse than both their parents, and their grandparents, Genrations X and the Baby Boommer generation to . Indeed, Generation Z will become the second consecutive generation to inherit a period generational economic decline. They are two generations for whom it’s realistic that they will endure significant periods of unemployment. Will be employed in a number of jobs that have unrelated skills. Two generations that will in all likelihood see reductions in worker’s rights. When unemployment is high people don’t tend to care how they’re treated, as long as they have a little bit of money to show for their effort. Temporary contracts, limited healthcare, maternity and paternity rights are realistic scenarios when unemployment s high.

  Today’s quality of life is almost a reflection of societal systems underwritten by an economy which is man’s greatest work of fiction.

  Why Economic Collapse Is Inevitable

This is an area I’ll actually cover in more detail at a later date, it deserves a more thorough explanation than I have the room for here. Here I’ll give an overview of the collapse, leaving the finer details in part II.

  Understanding Definitions is paramount if we’re to understand the severity of this current situation. When I refer to economic collapse I am referring to the end of our fiat based economies. Fiat economies are ones in which the government prints currency. It is then believed that this currency has a value that can be used in exchange for goods and services. I believe this to be quixotic fantasy, no less foolish than building castles on the sand. For further, more in depth information, I recommend reading the work of Dmitry Orlov.

  New Yorker, reporter, John Cassidy wrote in a recent article:

In January of 2019, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, appeared before a House of Commons committee to discuss global threats to financial stability. At that time, the U.S. unemployment rate was below four per cent, the gross domestic product was growing steadily, and Donald Trump was busy boasting about “the greatest economy ever.” But, despite these favorable statistics, staffers at the bank had identified a potentially serious problem on the horizon:

Cassidy suggests that, Carney, and the Bank of England became aware of high risk economic practices on Wall Street that haven’t undergone the changes necessary to prevent the exact same thing happening as in 2008. The essence of his article implies that the Bank of England was aware, and concerned about a decline in the lending standards in corporate debt markets, is almost the exact equal of the sub-prime debacle

If you’re still reading this I assume that you’re in agreement that the economic fall out of COVID-19 is going to be signifiicant, but may be reluctant to agree with my prediction of a complete collapse of the fiat system, bringing an end to currency as we know it.

Okay, what does your more optimistic scenario look like? We know that there’s going to be enormous recession/depression fueled by unemployment. In turn, this triggers a reduction in taxes received, resulting in sub optimal funding of public services. The unemployed will have to find money by fair means or foul, so an increase in crime is inevitable. The reduction in public funding means the police needed to deal with the increase in crime, will not exist. Poverty, results in poorer diets leading to obesity, diabetes, or other health complications. It causes stress which is known to heighten the risk of developing cancer. And if you’ve been lucky enough to survive all that, you have a proclivity to fall into drug and alcohol addiction, be at a greater risk of depression and according to a, 2003 study by a team of New Zealand doctors,  proved that people between the ages of 18 and 64, who are unemployed are between two and three times more likely to commit suicide. If history’s taught us one thing, it’s that poverty sucks.

  Ploughing the Fields of Hopelessness

And when one of these people do get a job, they’re so grateful that they’ll work till they drop to make enough to feed themselves. They can’t afford aspirations to improve their lot, for fear of appearing ungrateful. Read, Steinbeck’s, Grapes of Wrath. Mass unemployment and a depressed employment market erodes hope. And hope isn’t just a word you expect to see appearing in the inscriptions of Hallmark cards. Hope can be is also a noun, and a verb. The noun names the feeling, whilst the verb is the feeling. To be robbed of the ability to feel hope is a desperate state of affairs. Hope is an emotion that has survived millions of years of natural selection. Hope and evolution has interested psychologists. What purpose does hope play in maximising our abilities to survive, procreate and pass on our genes?

  Rats, Religion and the Power of Hope

  Let me warn you that psychology experiments conducted soon after World War II are notorious for their ignorance of ethics.

In the 1950’s Professor Curt Richter performed an experiment drowning wild and domesticated rats. At least when this is your line of work the neighbours never ask you to look after their dog.

The purpose of Richter’s morbid interest, to compare how long domesticated rats survived compared to their wild counterparts. Richter discovered that the domesticated rats, despit not needing to swim in their day to day environments, far out performed the wild rats.

  The explanation given is that the domesticated rats were used to being helped by handlers and were writing to be saved. While being far superior swimmers, the wild rats drowned sooner as once they had understood that there was no escape they gave up.

It’s been recorded that individuals who survive disasters are disproportionately made up of those that practice faiths.This was discovered by scientists, they’re not likely to put this down to divine intervention. What they concluded was that people with faith hold onto the belief of survival, of divine intervention. This hope is the edge that differentiates the victims from the survivors. Don’t underestimate the power of hope.

If you’ve read all and been left to feel that has lingered in each and every sentence, you have started to understand what’s about to happen. To have any chance of making good decisions over the next twelve months, it’s imperative to understand the scale of the events that are resulting from COVID-19. Hope is essential in the challenges that lay ahead.

in Part II I promise hope, chicken soup for your soul.

  It’s in Part II. I Promise.

                Chicken Soup for the Soul (Part I) – Surviving COVID-19, Isolation, Race Wars, Rioting, and the Inevitable Economic Collapse We're at a point in human history when civilisation is changing faster and in ways that will leave it different forever.

[unixcommerce]

Getting Ready for Web Video

Inspired Magazine Inspired Magazine – creativity & inspiration daily

Video is one of those really contentious points about web design. There are some people who feel like web pages should not have embedded video at all. These people are wrong.

Like any technology, however, we should respect it and not abuse it. The two worst things you can do are:

AutoPlay videos, without express consent from the user

Embed too many videos in one page

Both of these things are likely to cause annoyance to users and should be avoided unless you have a very good reason.

Knowing what not to do will only get you so far. The rest of your online video success story will depend on knowing the things you ought to do, which is what we’ll cover in the rest of this article.

Video categories

There are six different types of videos that are commonly used on sites. These are:

Regular video – you point a camera at something and record it

Live stream – you point a camera at something and don’t record it

Slide show – composed from a series of still images, often with voice over plus added descriptive text

Animation – various methods, but more commonly 3D rendered animations made with Maya3D or Blender.

Screencast – software records images from your computer, normally used for tutorials, usually with text overlays and voice narration.

Hybrid screencast – a screen cast with regular video segments, and possibly also slideshow segments.

Knowing which type of video you want to produce is a good start. Actually that brings us neatly to the next topic.

Plan your video

Good video doesn’t normally happen by accident. Meticulous planning pays off, and that means you know what kind of video you’re going to produce, how you’re going to produce it, and (very importantly) why.

Don’t fail to plan. For a start, your video should be scripted. This is true even if there is no dialog or narration. The script gives you a clear impression of how the video is supposed to unfold. You can also optionally story board the video, but a crew that can’t work straight from a script is not a very visionary crew.

If you’re making a bigger production, you’ll also benefit from budget planning, scene breakdown, shooting sequence (shot list), location scouting, etc. The more time you invest into planning, the better your video is likely to be. Professional preparation leads to professional results.

Software that can help you with script writing and planning includes Trelby and CeltX.

Invest in quality equipment

The equipment you use will have a big impact on the result. It may be difficult to believe, but the camera is not the most important part of your equipment investment.

That’s because for web video (in 2018, at least) it’s rarely sensible to shoot video above normal HD (1920px wide), and in fact it’s better to shoot in SD (1280px wide) or lower, and the aspect ratio should always be 16:9.

One source of confusion with these resolutions, by the way, is the slightly misleading standard names used, which references the vertical height (720p / 1080p) rather than the width, which is the most natural thing people think about.

In thinking about this, bear in mind that a video with a frame height of 720px will not fit on the screen real estate of most users, so it is easy to see why shooting above 720p will not give superior results for web video.

The larger your video frame is, the more resources it will hog on the user’s device, including in some cases failing to play at all, or playing very poorly. Your goal really should be to get the highest image quality and the lowest file size (in bytes).

The reason all this is mentioned is because cameras up to HD will be quite inexpensive compared to cameras that can shoot at higher resolutions, and you’ll just be wasting your money if you invest in them, because most users in 2018:

Do not have screens large enough to support the enormous frame size

Do not have connections fast enough to stream anything above HD smoothly

Do not have connections able to stream anything above SD smoothly either

Are not overly concerned about quality as long as it is reasonable

Quality of your content is the more important thing. So cameras for web video are cheap. What matters a lot more is the audio, and that is where you should invest sensibly.

Cheap audio solutions are likely to result in poor results, so avoid cheap audio and invest in quality. What you save on your camera can be reinvested into sound. Literally what you’d regard as a sound investment.

The main microphone types are shotgun, boom, and wireless. The top brands include Rode, Senheiser, Shure, and Audio-Technica.

Shotgun microphones will do the job if the camera is reasonably near and there is no wind. A boom mic can be made from a shotgun mic mounted on a pole with an extension cable. Wireless is the most expensive and the most likely to give you trouble.

You should invest in a good quality tripod as well, with the generally accepted best brand on the market being Manfrotto. What you should invest in lighting depends on the location. Other items you’ll need could include reflectors and shaders.

Completely optional items that can be useful include sliders, dollies, jibs, and lens filters. Don’t invest in these items unless your production warrants their purchase.

Set the scene

The best idea with online video is to keep it short whenever possible, and when it’s not possible, break it down into segments. This is far better than one long continuous narrative, and makes your video look more professional.

For each segment, think about what will be in the frame. If the camera will pan, track, or otherwise follow your movement between two or more points, think about what will be in the frame at each point. Rehearse it and mark the spots where you will stand if you’re in an on-camera role.

How you can mark ground spots is with chalk, tape, small bean bags, or stones. The camera operator should use a tripod or Steadicam for best results. Shaky video is truly horrible.

For screen casts and slideshows, think about how well the user can see what you’re showing. Zoom in on key elements if necessary, and be willing to switch betweeen different zoomed and unzoomed views, as the situation requires.

Make your own green screen

If you are presenting from behind a desk, a green screen can be a big improvement to your presentation. Simply get yourself a large, flat, solid surface, which should be smooth and unblemished, and paint it a bright shade of green.

For ultimate compatibility, also create magenta and cyan screens that can be swapped in if you need to show anything green colored in your frame.

With a green screen (or magenta, or cyan) you can use a technology called chroma key to replace the solid color with any image, including another video.

Obviously there’s not much point in making a video if nobody wants to watch it, so try to keep things interesting. Beware, however, not to be insincere or act out of character, because poor acting is worse than no acting at all.

Humor can be powerful if it is done well, and used only where it is appropriate. Likewise solemn, somber, and scandalous tones can also create interest when used appropriately.

Product videos and testimonials should be delivered enthusiastically and highlight the best features, however product reviews should be brutally honest in order to boost your credibility and win the trust of your viewers. Nothing is more valuable than trust.

Editing

Editing your video is the biggest task of all. For this, you’ll need software, and that software must be a nonlinear video editor (NLE). With this you can put mix and match the various clips you’ve shot to make a coherent narrative.

Not all editing software is equal. The best video editors are Cinlerra, Adobe Premiere Pro, Blender, and Sony Vegas Pro.

Rendering

Rendering is usually done, at least on the first pass, by the video editing software. When rendering for DVD, your goal is to get maximum video quality, regardless of the file size. Rendering for the web is a whole different thing.

The only formats worth considering are MP4 and WEBM, and while the latter will give you a better file size, it is not currently universally supported by all browsers. It is worth keeping in mind for the future.

Although your sound capture needs to be first rate, your rendered audio definitely should not be. In fact this is where most people go wrong, leaving their sound at ridiculously high fidelity when it’s not necessary. Reducing the audio quality will go a long way towards reducing file size while not noticeably affecting the outcome.

Codecs are a hotly debated topic, but the general consensus of professionals is to use the H.264 codec (or equivalent), because this will ensure maximum compatibility and a good balance between quality and file size.

Finally, consider shrinking the physical dimensions of the video if it is going to be viewed within a pre-defined space, and the user would not be expected to view it in full screen mode (doing so will work, but results in pixelation… their problem, not yours).

You can also use video transcoders such as Handbrake for your final render to fine tune the resulting file and ensure maximum compatibility. In some regions ISPs have restricted access to Handbrake downloads, but that’s just a testament to how good it is.

Captioning

Don’t under-estimate the power of captioning. Investing the time to create proper closed captions (subtitles) for your video production will be a very good investment. At the very least, allow auto-captions, but creating your own, especially if you allow a choice of languages, is always a good idea except when your video contains no speech.

Hosting

Considering how many mobile users there are and the prevalence of 3G connections, with 4G still being a (slowly growing) minority, HD video is not the best of ideas, and since Vimeo’s support for captioning is not on a par with Google’s, this makes Google the better choice for online video hosting at present.

Notice, however, that it was Google, not YouTube, that got the mention there. For numerous reasons, YouTube is not the best way to host your video, however there is nothing to prevent you uploading multiple versions of your video, one you host on a private Google account and one you host on YouTube.

The version embedded on your site should be the version hosted on your Google account.

The one exception to the rule is if you’re producing feature content, where you are showing off your film making prowess. In this case, Vimeo may have the edge.

For low bandwidth sites (those that attract less traffic than the bandwidth they have available), you could consider hosting the video on your own server. This can provide some advantages, especially in terms of loading time.

This post Getting Ready for Web Video was written by Inspired Mag Team and first appearedon Inspired Magazine.

http://inspiredm.com/

The post Getting Ready for Web Video appeared first on Web Design, Hosting, Domains, and Marketing.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2AKeJtT via IFTTT