#like this is a great lesson in statements vs questions!!

[galaxywhale]

we’re all planning writing together and I’m trying SO hard to balance supporting them and not being critical of what they’re doing but both of them have planned writing that actually completely missed the point of what we said we were going to plan and I’m like hmmmm I don’t want to be an asshole and be like no that’s wrong but 🥲

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I asked @generalluxun this while your asks were closed, but when would be a better time for the Emilie flashback from Werepapas? They suggested Style Queen as a comparison between 'good parents' vs 'bad parents', and it's a good one. Since you were discussing the Emilie flashback before, I wanted to get your input.

(My post on the Werepapas flashback and I believe this was generalluxun's post on Style Queen)

I agree with generalluxun's thesis statement that you want to use a flashback like this in an episode that has a clear message about good parents vs bad parents which Werepapas doesn't. As I discussed in another post about that episode, while Werepapas ends with Nathalie officially taking on the role of Adrien's mother, the episode does nothing to make Nathalie seem like a good mother. The only good parental figures in that episode are Gabriel's parents. They actually seem to want what's best for their grandson and are willing to actively fight for him. Meanwhile, Nathalie does whatever people tell her to do while showing off the spine of a jellyfish. She was going to let Emilie's parents take Adrien away even though she knew what they were like and knew that Emilie didn't want them in Adrien's life. Not a great look for the episode that's all about Nathalie becoming legally responsible for Adrien for the next 4 years or so.

The other key element of using the Emilie flashback is that the flashback needs to actually matter to the characters in the episode. That was yet another one of Werepapas' major flaws. The episode opened with Emilie talking about what makes a good parent, but no one in the episode actually cared what Emilie wanted or thought. We don't see anyone quoting her words or Adrien remembering those words and using them to decide who he's going to pick for his new guardian. Marinette is the one who tells him who to pick based on what he seems to want and she never even knew that this conversation with Emilie happened, begging the question of why this was even here?

All that being said, I do think that this flashback could have worked in Werepapas. I discussed how to do that in the post that spawned this ask, but anon seems to want to know where else I'd put the flashback. There isn't really an obvious answer to that question. I can't think of an episode that fits the above criteria (message about parents + Emilie feeling relevant). There aren't any episodes that focus on what makes a person a good parent and the episodes that could be shaped to fit that mold aren't centered around Adrien, making the Emilie flashback feel out of place.

That's why generalluxun suggested reworking Style Queen to be a more focused on Gabriel's parenting than it currently is. That fix absolutely works if you let Style Queen end the series since that episode ends with Gabriel giving up the butterfly for Adrien's sake, a nice contrast to Audrey's terrible treatment of Chloe in the same episode. Of course Style Queen doesn't end the series which means that the parenting message quickly falls apart which generalluxun already noted in the linked post, so please don't read that as a criticism of the suggestion! I liked the Style Queen suggestion, I'm just agreeing that it's only a solid fix in a vacuum or AU setting.

Any fix I come up with is going to require similar changes to canon and most of them would have the same issue of the message being undone in the next episode assuming that we're going the route where Gabriel is a good dad. The only episode that wouldn't immediately undo the lesson is the season five final so let's go with that one for the most canon compliant fix (which is still not very canon compliant).

If Adrien was involved in the season five final, then you could make this Emilie flashback be the thing that changes Gabriel's heart. Fix the flashback so that it's no longer Emilie and Adrien by themselves. Instead, it's all three of the Agrestes talking about parents and grandparents. You could even make Gabriel's parents be similarly flawed so that both Emilie and Gabriel have had to cut off people they love because of the way those people behaved.

This flashback would be how we open the season five final. The episode then plays out in a way where Adrien actually shows up for the final fight. Instead of Marinette playing Gabriel a lackluster video, we get Adrien quoting his mother, reminding Gabriel of that long ago day, making Gabriel see that he's become exactly like the parents he and Emilie cut off. You could even have Nathalie do something to protect Adrien to establish herself as the better parent between the two of them, giving Gabriel an Adrien-based reason to save her instead of himself. Going my beloved make-Adrien-a-human-to-symbolize-Gabriel-truly-giving-up-control route would also work. Both of these options give the episode a clear theme and message which is more than I can say about canon's version of the final.

That's the simplest fix with the least changes to canon. Now let's get really crazy and redo all of season five!

To make this message really work, I'd nix the love square drama that dominated season five and make the whole season focused on what makes a good parent verses a bad parent. The potential is actually there even if the show ignored it. Remember, season five sees all of the following:

Jagged stepping up to protect Luka

Andre abandoning Chloe

Audrey abusing Chloe

Marinette's parents not believing her when Chloe accuses her of theft

Tomoe abusing Kagami

Amelie protecting and supporting Felix no matter what he does

Nathalie pushing Gabriel to spend more time with Adrien since she knows that Gabriel is dying

Tomoe and Gabriel ignoring what Kagami and Adrien want from their lives

Several adults (Sabine included) failing to protect Marinette from extreme bullying

And that's just the stuff that I remember happening! There's probably more that you can use or you could just add more. Maybe let us finally see Nino's parents? I'd also want to fix this list so that there are more good parent moments as it's currently almost all bad, but that's a nitpick. You get what I'm going for here. Have most of the episodes have message around good parenting or bad parenting or even both to give the season a theme that fits our fixed final because that's how these shows are supposed to work! That's why My Little Pony made Twilight the princess of friendship after five season dedicated to messages about friendship! It's not exactly rocket science.

Alternatively, if we're allowed to be a little more serialized and deep, then you could have the Emilie flashback kick off season five in an episode that ends with Adrien reflecting on his father, wondering if Gabriel is a bad parent. After all, season four ended with Gabriel trying to ship Adrien out of the country against his will. That's the kind of thing that might make a person start to question their home life.

Adrien's reflection leads us into the same season we pitched above. We get a clear central theme about parenthood and what makes a good parent. The only difference is that, as the season goes on, Adrien comes to accept that Gabriel may have been a good father in the past, but he no longer is (he could even decide that Gabriel was never a good father). This leads into the reveal that Gabriel is Monarch. While Adrien is heartbroken, he isn't destroyed by the reveal because he's already mourned the loss of his father and accepted that Gabriel doesn't belong in his life. You know, the kind of thing that you're supposed to do when you decide to make the super villain the male lead's father?

Since it's topical, I'll note that I have no idea what canon is doing re Adrien and Gabriel in season six. Season six seems to acknowledge that Gabriel wasn't great and even seems to have my suggested theme of what makes a good parent, but it's not clear where that theme is going. It would be nice if the answer was Adrien realizing that Gabriel was a bad father, but I would not get my hopes up based on what we've seen so far. This has not been the season of cutting bad parents out of your life. It's been the season of forgiving parents who make mistakes. Since it's the episode that spawned this post, I'll point to Werepapas as a prime example of why I'm concerned about where we're going. You really think that Emil's so-called redemption was a sign that we're getting a Gabriel sucked message?

Even if the message of season six ends up being that Gabriel was bad, it's not going to be a satisfying message. All of the Gabriel-focused plots lost their potential to be amazing when he died. I don't really care if Adrien realizes that his father was bad in season six because the payoff for that realization is never going to be totally satisfying now that Gabriel is dead. This wasn't a show about a boy reflecting on his dead parents. It was a show about a boy actively fighting his living father! I wanted a resolution that fit that setup and I'm never going to get it. The most the story can give us is Adrien being furious at his father's minions.

The idea of Adrien getting justifiably angry at Marinette because she kept his father's villainy a secret is just depressing because where's the happy ending in that? Where's the satisfaction? Yeah, what she did was wrong, but she's not the main villain here. The reason the lie is so bad is because of the stuff Gabriel did. His actions are what give it weight. That means that the story has essentially made Marinette a proxy for the actual villain who died at peace and will never have to suffer the consequences of how his actions hurt his son.

Adrien getting mad at Marinette and cutting her off because she hid his father's crimes is a wildly different story beat than Adrien getting mad at and cutting off his living, breathing, villainous father because said father did some heinous crimes. I really don't want to see Marinette pay for Gabriel's crimes, but that's the only thing canon can give us at this point. It's also worth pointing out that an ending like that is the writers once again letting Gabriel win. He never wanted Adrienette to be together and he may just get his wish from beyond the grave. Yay?

[pankajfuturecept]

50 LinkedIn Post Ideas to Grow Your Personal Brand

Introduction Why LinkedIn Matters More Than Ever

LinkedIn has become more than just a networking platform—it’s a personal branding powerhouse. Whether you're a job seeker, freelancer, entrepreneur, or corporate professional, building your brand on LinkedIn can open doors to new opportunities, clients, and connections. The key is to consistently create content that adds value and reflects your expertise.

Consistency Is Key: LinkedIn Post Ideas That Actually Work

Not sure what to post? You’re not alone. Many professionals struggle with content ideas after the first few posts. That’s why having a bank of LinkedIn post ideas is essential for long-term success. These ideas help you maintain a consistent presence without sounding repetitive or irrelevant.

1. Share Your “Why”

Start by telling people why you do what you do. It makes you more relatable and gives others a reason to follow you. Use storytelling and be genuine.

2. A Career Milestone or Promotion

Celebrate your wins—whether it’s a new job, promotion, or anniversary. Tag people who helped you get there to increase engagement.

3. Behind-the-Scenes at Work

Show your workspace, tools you use, or your team in action. People love real-life glimpses into others' work lives.

4. Daily Work Routine

Share productivity tips, time management strategies, or what a typical day looks like for you.

5. Book or Podcast Recommendations

List your top five favorite professional books or podcasts. Bonus: ask your network for their recommendations.

6. Share Your Challenges

Talking about failures or lessons learned builds trust and authenticity. Everyone loves a good “comeback” story.

7. Educational “How-To” Posts

Create step-by-step posts teaching something you know—design hacks, writing tips, marketing tricks, etc.

8. Personal Story with a Business Angle

Talk about a moment in your life that shaped your career perspective. Keep it authentic and relevant.

9. Polls and Surveys

Ask for opinions on trends or controversial topics. Polls are a great way to boost engagement.

10. Share Your Resume or Portfolio

Especially helpful for freelancers and job seekers, these posts show off your skills and make it easy for clients or recruiters to find you.

11–50: More Post Ideas You Can Start Using Today

Share an article and add your thoughts

Industry predictions for the next 5 years

Lessons learned from a recent project

Thank a mentor publicly

Post a case study or success story

Announce an event you’re hosting or attending

Repost a colleague’s achievement with your comment

Showcase a testimonial from a client

Answer a frequently asked question

Share “then vs. now” of your career

Talk about your morning or evening routine

Review a recent webinar or training you attended

Share tips for job interviews

Talk about your first job experience

Share a quote that motivates you

Highlight a trending topic in your industry

Talk about your hobbies and how they help you professionally

Provide your favorite tools or apps

Share a productivity hack

Celebrate a team member or coworker

Recommend a newsletter

Talk about mental health at work

Give your thoughts on AI, remote work, or other hot trends

Share your goals for the week/month

Talk about imposter syndrome

Offer free templates or resources

Share a common myth in your industry and debunk it

Post about diversity and inclusion

Talk about leadership lessons

Share your favorite TED talk

Post a “3 things I wish I knew earlier”

Share your travel experiences related to work

Show gratitude for your clients or team

Talk about your biggest risk and the result

Celebrate community milestones (likes, followers)

Share user-generated content (if you’re a brand)

Show a before-and-after of your service/product

Talk about your side hustle or passion project

Highlight a tool you can’t live without

Tips for Making the Most of Your Posts

Use Engaging Hooks

Start with a question, bold statement, or intriguing fact. The first 2 lines matter the most.

Use Hashtags Wisely

Stick to 3–5 relevant hashtags. This helps with discoverability without looking spammy.

Add a Call-to-Action

Invite your audience to comment, share, or check out something valuable. A simple “What are your thoughts?” can work wonders.

Keep It Conversational

Avoid jargon. LinkedIn is professional but people still want human, relatable content.

Final Thoughts

LinkedIn isn’t just for job updates anymore—it’s your personal PR channel. These 50 LinkedIn post ideas give you a solid foundation to stay visible, provide value, and connect with your audience meaningfully. The goal is not just to be seen, but to be remembered.

Want more insights, strategies, and templates for powerful LinkedIn content? Explore expert resources and real-life examples at Wordsmithh and take your content game to the next level.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.162 thoughts

[Dad of the Year]

Think I spoke too soon with the “it makes you look stupid” comment last week, not because this chapter proves me wrong, but actually because it proves me so so right

There’s really no dignified way to say the word diaper, I think, and admitting that the he put his all into being a good dad specifically to keep up his end of the deal with Fuuko really does make him look like a bit of a fool. And it’s great

In the previous loop, Feng’s single-minded obsession with being the strongest pushing him to make decisions that actively hurt others made him a bit of a flat character. Not a bad or boring one, mind you, just kind of...one note. It was only when Shen posed the question of whether or not Feng saw him and his sister as family that some real nuance began to arise, as I mentioned in another post last week

Now we see pretty much immediately that, yes, they definitively are a family, albeit a dysfunctional and likely toxic one, with Feng openly resenting Shen and Mei for their part in preventing him from living the life he wants to. However, just like he came back to help Shen at the end of Loop 100, it’s pretty easy to guess that Feng’s arc will end with the realization that raising Shen actually not only benefited him in the long run, but was also emotionally fulfilling

The most important lesson for Feng to learn in this arc is that his view on individual strength is wrong, which we know not only because he’s a villain, but because that’s literally what Undead Unluck is about. With very few exceptions, every fight in Undead Unluck has been either one vs. 2+ or team vs. team, the most notable one-on-one’s being Andy vs. Billy or Fuuko vs. Void. Even Fuuko vs. Feng wasn’t really one-on-one, as her Unluck brought UMA Heat into the mix. Fuuko and Shen working together to stop the attack that killed him in the previous loop perfectly demonstrates exactly this concept, further setting up this arc’s theme of teamwork and interpersonal growth

Interestingly, Feng has never had a proper one-on-one on screen, and likely didn’t learn his lesson about the strength of the group vs. the individual because he was defeated by a group; “weaklings banding together,” one might say. To him, the fact that he lost doesn’t mean his philosophy was wrong, just that he hadn’t trained enough to be capable of defeating a group. To prove that individual strength isn’t everything, Feng ironically and counterintuitively likely needs to be beaten in a one-on-one match

If I’m right, this is the entire point of Fuuko’s statement at the end of the chapter: that with her help, Shen is going to gain the individual strength to overcome Feng. Shen and Feng’s final battle will be one-on-one and prove that Shen is stronger, but Shen will have attained that individual strength not through training in isolation, but by learning lessons from experiences with others. Feng can still value his own strength, but the method through which he will strive to improve his strength will be changed by what he sees in this tournament

I also said last week that this tournament won’t just be a showcase of Negators beating down non-Negators and that the tournament itself would be truncated in some way to focus on the Negators specifically. I’m now seeing how Tozuka likely plans to handle that: Shen is almost certainly going to face each of the participating Union members sequentially, learning something new from facing each of them, possibly with some kind of sage advice from Fuuko in the interim. Imagine Vegeta vs. Cabba from Dragon Ball Super, but without the immediate beatdown to show the vast power difference

I am really hoping that Shen won’t steal too much of the spotlight from Yusai, though, cus this definitely seems like a good opportunity for us to see more of her character. I imagine it will go something like Fuuko giving Yusai advice on how to fight Shen in a way that will help him grow by the end without actually throwing the fight, and either she’ll be pushed further than expected and feel like she’s not going to be able to give him a helpful experience OR she’ll trounce him and worry that she’s a bad teacher unable to fulfill Fuuko’s request; either way, she’ll likely draw inspiration from some of her father’s teachings, using them to keep up with Shen or inspire him to take a new approach

Void and Billy will likely do something along the same line, though probably more along the line of overwhelming Shen. I’m particularly excited to see Shen vs. Void specifically, as it will create a very interesting parallel to their initial introduction as partners in back in ch.2! They didn’t have much development at the time, of course, but the contrast will certainly make for a fun chapter or two!

As for Shen’s motivations here, we can all agree it’s for Mui, right? We know they’re poor, so he almost definitely wants the money to help take care of her and her brother; maybe we’ll actually learn the brother’s name this time!

Naturally, I could be wrong and we might actually see Fuuko fight Billy or Yusai herself here, which would certainly be interesting, I just don’t think it would contribute to Shen’s development much, which is definitely the focus of this arc. Whatever happens next chapter will most likely establish the flow of the arc going forward

See y’all next week!

[shhhhsh]

About Tim’s New Story….

I just really hope they address Tim’s mental health. Like, DC just been ditching really good plot lines in favor of being “woke” or pandering. Just look at all the live action shows.

Now I’m not saying they can’t make Tim queer/bi/gay, but (as someone pointed out to me) Tim’s previous story writer was bi and he still chose to write Tim as straight & in a healthy romantic relationship with Stephanie Brown. I’ve seen several people who identify as queer/bi say that to have Tim go “ ooooh I’ve fooled myself into thinking I was straight, but now I’m freeeee” sends the message that Tim’s previous relationship failed b/c he was with a woman and not because of Tim’s poor mental and emotional health.

To go back to my previous statement; by him not writing Tim as bi tells me that he didn’t want or care for Tim to be bi, but instead saw Tim as, or preferred him to be, straight. The writer had free control to write Tim how ever he wanted and yet he chose to keep Tim straight. And he actually liked & wanted Tim/Steph. Again, I’m not saying Tim can’t be queer/bi, I’m just saying I find the motivations for this possible change very fishy. Almost as if the new writer is trying to get brownie points for pandering to a portion of the fans.

I think this way b/c in every other media where a character is revealed to be LGBTQ they just did it. They didn’t beat around the bush or do any queer coding/baiting. They either announced it, just made the character that way right out the gate, or just dropped the bomb w/out warning (as seen in Netflix’s Voltron, Amazon Prime’s Invincible, and Nickelodeon’s Legend of Korra respectfully).

DC currently has a bad habit changing things to be “woke” and bragging about it or shoving it in our faces. DC is becoming the “pick me girl” of superhero media. If you want to do it, just do it. Again I just get the “look at me, look at me” & “carrot on the stick” vibes from them now. If you truly feel in your heart to do something you would just do it without the need for recognition or to be so dramatic about it.

Now what I much rather see & think it’s a natural progression for Tim:

I personally believe that if Jason, Dick, & Damian can get a story that attempts to give them character development beyond romantic relationships (romance was more of a B-plot to the character driven A-plot anyway) I think they can give it to Tim as well.

I know that the Bat-Family all struggle with some form of mental health problems (most commonly paranoia and PTSD). However, I would like to point out that trauma is was what brought the others into the vigilante lifestyle, while Tim & Barbara became traumatized because of the vigilante lifestyle. Yet, Barbara was shown overcoming her trauma and using it as motivation to get better. Tim is yet to have this moment.

We all know that Tim struggles with depression, self-esteem, and suicidal tendencies. I mean heck, him becoming Red Robin only happens because of Tim’s degrading mental health. I hate to say it, but Tim is very psychologically broken and has been show to get so depressed that he can’t even get out of bed some times. To my knowledge, Tim is the only one in the Bat-Fam that struggles in his head with the idea of not being needed, useful, or forgotten when in reality that is furthest from the truth (Steph, Jason, & Damian also feel like the black sheep periodically, but that is because they have been presented with real evidence that would lead them to logically believe this. I.e being actually forgotten or dismissed for past mistakes despite great efforts to better themselves).

While yes, Dick did Tim dirty by replacing him without having a proper conversation first, the motivation was because he saw Tim as his equal and not Damian. He thought highly of Tim, but Tim couldn’t see that over his offense. Tim is so beat down by life that he see’s everything with negative lenses. Everyone came to check on Tim’s mental health but Tim took it as an insult instead.

And even though now Tim has reached some form of “peace” in his life, that only happens because the people he lost came back (Bruce, Conner, Bart, Cassie, etc). Tim never fully learned to handle grief, to handle his emotions, instead he represses them. Again in the Red Robin run, the main reason he doesn’t believe in any form of God is because he can’t logically justify the pain he has gone through. He is hurting and doesn’t know how to deal with that. In his original Robin run, when he tried talking someone out of committing suicide……the words and comfort he gave….that wasn’t something that was just inside Tim, this is something that was told to Tim. This is followed by him calling Dick to get the same pep-talk he just regurgitated to someone else.

In short: Tim is hurting. Deeply. And having been someone who’s emotional & mental sanity was pushed to the brink and attempted to jump off several times, I think it’s really sad that DC just ignores it. Now as someone who’s gotten the help they needed & now helps other people who struggle with the same issues as myself & Tim, I think that they’re going to say a lot of Tim’s problems come from him not being “aware” of his own sexuality, which is just sad.

In the story in question, Barbara talks about Tim not having a solid identity. People are more than their sexuality. People are capable of making future decisions for themselves without it hindering on their sexuality. If Tim was real, I would brake down his struggle as so:

Tim refuses to go to college and do something more with his life because he cannot see anything beyond his current circumstance. And the only reason why Tim cannot see anything beyond his circumstance is because he has no internal sense of purpose, identity, and acceptance beyond the cape & cowl. And when Tim finally found that in being Robin, Tim held onto it as a lifeline. There’s a reason why everyone says Tim is basically Bruce 2.0: it’s because he is Robin/Red Robin/Drake & Tim is the mask. At a young age, he did not grow up having these things instilled into him due to his parents neglecting him at a very important age in his development. Tim raised himself, and for a lack of better terms; an idiot cannot teach themselves to be smarter, an idiot becomes smarter by learning from the intelligent. A child can’t teach themselves to be an adult, they have to learn from others to grow & better themselves.

Now a parent doesn’t necessarily have to sit down and give a lesson about how to be an individual, but children learn how to live life by watching their parents. A good example of this is the rest of the Bat-Fam; they all grew up with some form of parental figures that taught them how to behave (for better or worse). Of course children have their own personalities, which is why two kids can go through the same type of trauma but come out differently, but it is a battle of nature vs nurture. Steph, Jason, Cass, & Damian grew up in abusive/unstable homes, while Dick, Barbara, & Bruce grew up in loving homes, but their personalities & character dictated how they responded to trauma. They took what life gave them and decided what to leave or take.

Tim had nothing to work with & is basically playing catch-up with the rest of his peers.

In a weird sense, Tim is like Zuko from The Last Airbender: only living to serve their father’s purpose. Anything outside of that they don’t know what to do. They’ve been trained to be something externally without been given a chance to figure out who they are internally.

Again you are not your sexuality, your sexuality does not determine who you are as a person. When a person struggles through life, it is due to the conditions of thier soul. Everything starts internally and shows it’s self externally.

I want to make that very clear because I am truly scared that in DC’s attempt to claim “clout” they are missing the bigger picture. Tim doesn’t have identity problems simply because he “doesn’t know” he likes boys, but because DC never gave him is own identity to begin with. Robin was never his own identity, Red Robin was never his, & Drake was his first attempt to make his own but he quickly gave it up so that he can be Robin once again. What is Tim going to do once Damian gets back? Is Damian going to get his own identity before Tim? Or is Tim just going to go back to one of his old identities?

I would like for Tim to personally move on from being a vigilante and rejoin civilian society for a while. Go to college, do something for himself and only for himself. Give Tim the self-discovery story, let him heal, and grown to be his own person. Besides you can never have a functional romantic relationship if you are not a functional individual. Self love > romantic love.

[davidmann95]

All-Star Superman #3

This is gonna be a tough one.

Not the toughest, mind you - that’s probably going to be #7. But after two issues of establishing the tone, aesthetics, and thematic concerns of the series, this is one of the pair of issues in All-Star that for the most part functions as a ‘normal’ Superman adventure story, though in this case one following up on the themes established by the previous issue, while #7 will set up the one coming after it. It’s also likely the most commonly critiqued issue of the series in retrospect its use of Lois Lane as an essentially passive figure to be fought over, and while her characterization here lends some interesting dimension to that choice, it’s hard to disagree it’s the series’ most unfortunate framing and substantial missed opportunity. None of that however can overrule that on examination, there’s still considerably more going on in here than the traditional tale of Superman beating down monsters and showing up bullies, the harsh slap to the face of reality for Clark after his actions last issue and his redemption in the form of showing what makes him different from his predecessors as the strongman-savior template.

So I haven’t talked the lettering much in this series - it is, they say, the invisible art - but Phil Balsman absolutely kills it here with KRULL WILL EAT YOU!, and the decision on the next page to render the ZEE ZEE ZEE ZEE of Jimmy Olsen’s signal watch in the font of the title pages is absolutely inspired, nevermind what he does with the Ultrasphinx later on. The bombast of the bastard lizard prince of the underworld and his cronies wreaking havoc aside though, what this page succinctly does is set up the entire conflict of the issue. It’s not just a monster, it’s a monster out of the past mimicking the cover of Action Comics #1, and apparently by way of terraforming Metropolis via steam clouds, trying to take control of Superman’s ‘world’. From Krull to Steve Lombard (“You tell me what a spaceman flying around in his underwear can give her that a good old hunk of prime American manhood can’t?”) to Samson and Atlas to the Ultrasphinx, this is a story of Superman up against dinosaurs in his image.

Ironically, however, it’s this Superman vs. Bros comic that has perhaps the most Bro sensibilities in the series. Per Morrison on the subject, “For that particular story, I wanted to see Superman doing tough guy shit again, like he did in the early days and then again in the 70s, when he was written as a supremely cocky macho bastard for a while. I thought a little bit of that would be an antidote to the slightly soppy, Super–Christ portrayal that was starting to gain ground. Hence Samson’s broken arm, twisted in two directions beyond all repair. And Atlas in the hospital. And then Superman’s got his hot girlfriend dressed like a girl from Krypton and they’re making out on the moon.” That’s not unto itself a problem; it’s a precursor to Morrison’s t-shirt and jeans reinvention in that sense (which leapt back from the 70s to the 30s for inspiration), and when Superman himself finally gets his own back here it’s more than deserved. But it becomes a problem when Lois at theoretically her literal most empowered does little with her new powers and is framed narratively as a prize to be won in this ‘game’ of godlings, with Superman literally muttering “What do I have to do to make you keep your hands off my girl?” Morrison seems to be somewhat aware of the problems given Lois’s reasons for playing along (which are actually rather significant to the point of the issue) and her amused distaste at the suggestion of being ‘won’, and the issue is ultimately something of an argument against the macho storytelling tropes that drive that thinking. But it’s a far cry from the nuanced look at her and Superman’s relationship last issue offered, and there’s no virtue in overlooking it. As will be demonstrated again later on in the series in less structurally-embedded but more pointed ways, this was written almost 15 years ago, and mistakes were made.

Now we get to the book’s superheroed-up takes on Samson and Atlas, who are such delightful assholes. Occupying the Mxyzptlk/Prankster/Bizarro-in-his-friendlier-moods role of being the enemies to make Superman go ‘oh god, this guy’ as much as direct counterparts to him, they’re basically fratboys tooling around history and getting into trouble together, and Superman’s clearly had to clean up their messes before. They’re the champions of myth who operate by a morality that in no way precluded thievery, deception, and murder in pursuit of their grand ‘heroic’ conquests, the alpha male swaggering dipshit dudebro operating on Superman’s scale. And as much as they’re a pair of craven dumbasses who literally compare cock-sizes in here who Lois has no real interest in, their appearance is also the first and one of the only times in the series Superman puffs his chest out and does some traditional iconic posing, and he has good reason to be threatened - they’re trying to ply her with gifts and tales of miraculous feats basically exactly the same way he did last issue. He may have started to come clean with her, but he’s still playing his old Silver Age nervous bachelor games, and now that she’s got powers and costume to match his she’s showing him exactly where that bullshit is going to get him, teaching him a lesson just like he tried to teach her so many once upon a time.

As we’re around the midpoint of the issue, let’s talk the art. Quitely and Grant aren’t as showy with the tricks and effects as the first two issues; the one real noticeable structural thing is a consistent rhythm of zooming in-and-out on our four leads throughout the issue to keep a sense of momentum to a story mostly driven by conversation, culminating in the hyper zoom-ins of the Ultrasphnix sequence. But GOD there are so many perfect little details in here. The bow coming undone on Lois’s present, the glow of the super-serum (it feels so right that it literally glows, the ultimate alchemical potion), Lombard’s bouquet for Lois’s birthday party while Jimmy is bringing a conch of some sort as a presumed gift to whoever they’ll be meeting at Poseidonis, Jimmy’s happy-meal looking signal watch WHICH HAS A WRISTBAND SHAPED LIKE AN S, more beautiful Metropolis architecture and a good look at how the Daily Planet globe actually works, poor dopey-lookin’ Krull bursting through the satellite twirling around like a cat in a half-second of freefall, the Chronomobile, the far-off monumental stone towers of the Subterranosauri, the glow of the lava fading out as Samson reveals Superman’s fate, the bioelectric crackle around Atom-Hotep, mermaids waving up at Superman and Lois, and of course the pinup. It’s such a damn pretty book.

Just before the arrival of the Ultrasphnix, we have the mythic architecture of the series explained to us, naturally by the figure out of myth:

As noted by Morrison, the exact nature of the 12 challenges are never explained within the story because it’s only in retrospect that history will declare those specific feats as being of note in light of them being Superman’s last accomplishments before his ‘death’; Superman himself isn’t sure how many he’s done later on. It’s an apt if seemingly out-of-left-field bit of commentary on the way epics of the kind this story itself aspires towards are reinterpreted over time, but hindsight being 20/20? That this is a story of a massively iconic, archetypal take on Superman being brought out of the public eye to his physical and emotional lowest at every turn (hence the ACTUAL structure of the series being a solar arc across the sky, from day to a nighttime journey through the underworld and back again), that is now generally thought of being a fun fluffy story of how great and perfect Superman is, entirely bears it out. The 12 Labors of Superman are what Clark’s roughest year looks like to the awestruck onlookers, both in and as it turns out in large part out of text.

After Samson and Atlas seemingly show nobler colors by offering Superman aid in a genuinely stirring moment before Superman accurately dismisses it as the empty machismo posturing it is, Ultrasphinx - yet another super-champion of the past, this one an amoral god rather than a ‘hero’ on a quest - poses the unanswerable question of what happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object with Lois both alive and dead until he does (one of those unions of opposites Morrison loves), basically creating a high-stakes literalization of their relationship. Superman and Lois Lane had been playing will-they-or-won’t-they for almost 70 years at the time this was published (culturally at least), her trying to pry into his secrets while he screwed around with her in turn, running in circles until we finally reach the acidic psychodrama of Superman’s Forbidden Room and something has to break one way or another. And Superman answers that it’s time to surrender. Has he inspired the car ad we see at the end of the issue, or vice-versa? Either way, it’s illustrating by example what the deal is with the super-labors.

Superman, learning his lesson as he has and showing his greater heroism stems from his nobility, intellect, and willingness to transcend his worst instincts, still takes a minute to teach Samson and Atlas a well-deserved lesson (paired with that absolutely perfect shot of the rock cracking on Lois’s head), before taking us to my absolute favorite statement on why Superman loves Lois Lane which also connects back to the idea of surrender, and the iconic moon shot. And as Superman holds her as she falls asleep, his Clark voice in all its vulnerable humanity manifests itself as he tries to propose; the tough guys of the past wanted Lois for a day when she was finally operating on ‘their level’, Superman ‘lowers’ himself to his most human alongside her reassumed mortality as he tries to tell her he wants her for what lifetime he has left. We’re only halfway there at most, he still hasn’t admitted his condition and she still can’t accept that he’s Clark, but this is Superman taking his first step along his quiet character arc.

Additional notes

* Interestingly, the original solicitation for this issue declared “Meanwhile, Lex Luthor's plans simmer as the criminal mastermind exerts his charisma and intellect over the hardcore inmates who share his maximum-security prison.” One of many bits that changed in the process of actually putting the book together.

* Perhaps this story of very manly men out of time doing manly stuff and getting their asses kicked for it across generations is represented in part by Krull being the son of a king whose battle cry is KRULL WILL EAT YOUR CHILL-DRUNN! That might be reading a *bit* much into it though. That Morrison describes Krull in backmatter however as “the living embodiment of the savage, swaggering ‘R Complex’ or reptile brain” definitely plays into the ideas of the issue as I understood them.

* Jimmy’s declaration of “Ms. Grant, Mr. Lombard, I’m taking immediate steps” is a perfect little moment for him - he’s calm and on top of things, but there’s also that little touch of naive ego in thinking that it’s thanks to him that Superman’s going to notice the dinosaur invasion of Metropolis.

* In backmatter and interviews Morrison had substantially further fleshed-out backstories for several of the new characters here. Samson is indeed the original champion, plucked from his era by a pair of foolish time-travelers searching for a savior; instead, enamored and corrupted by future culture he stole their malfunctioning Chronomobile and went on adventures to slake his lust, for fortune, flesh, and adventure alike. Atlas meanwhile is the boisterous yet quietly burdened young prince of the New Mythos, a society of super-godlings torn between New Elysium and Hadia, Morrison’s vision of a Jack Kirby Olympian saga for DC following in the wake of Thor’s Norse myths rather than the full-blown invention of the New Gods. And the Ultrasphinx “is the super-champion of a lost Egyptian Atomic Age in the 80th century BC. When he crashed to Earth his otherworldly science founded the advanced, ancient dynasty of Atem-Hotep [sic], a civilization eventually destroyed by the nuclear war that left Northern Africa a desert”. A. Morrison backmatter rules and you should read it whenever you get the chance, and B. This notion of proto-civilizations mirroring the eventual legends of a mere handful of millennia past is one he followed much further in Seven Soldiers of Victory with Shining Knight and its antediluvian Camelot.

* The main inspiration for this particular story was the frequent use of ancient strongmen as rivals to the Man of Steel in the Silver Age, which Morrison noted preferring to the use of analogue characters like Majestic for their broad cultural standing, culminating in this:

...though with Atlas swapped in, as Marvel already had the definitive take on Hercules in superhero comics (and, one imagines, since putting Hercules in the comic where Superman gets 12 labors would have had to be addressed), though he’d tackle him later on in the...controversial Wonder Woman: Earth One. Morrison’s analysis of this cover in Supergods basically lays out the thesis of this issue quite cleanly: “This was what happened when you couldn’t make decisions or offer any lasting commitment. Samson pounced on your best girl. And for Superman, it was a horrific challenge to his modernity. Was he really no better than these archaic toughs? Or could he prove himself stronger, faster than any previous man-god?” Fun fact: I myself hate this comic because it’s an entirely standard issue that fully returns to status quo by the end, sullying the good name and promise of Imaginary Stories for nothing more than fooling readers into thinking this was one of the issues were anything could really happen. Shameful false advertisement.

* Worth noting this is a rare instance where the glowing-red angry heat vision eyes work for me. Those two were real dicks and had it coming, and for that matter Superman looking for all the world a wrathful god promising banishment to a very different sort of underworld more than underscores his relative position next to the suitably abashed adventurers.

* It’s an interesting choice to use Poseidonis here, the capital city of Aquaman - it’s a sensible place for Superman to travel (though the real implications regarding the Justice League in this world won’t be for awhile yet), but it’s Tritonis that’s the undersea home to Superman’s onetime love, the mermaid Lori Lemaris. Perhaps Morrison just didn’t want a subset of readers in the know and pining after all these decades for Clark to find succor in the arms of his fishy love to dwell on that particular what-could-have-been; either way, Atlantis in general as what sprung up from a devastated ancient civilization is a perfectly logical inclusion for this issue in general.

* Lois’s description of her super-senses is not only lovely, but sets up the victory of #12 right in the first act. Additionally Lois keeping a cactus is such a perfect little bit for her character - it’ll prick ya, but she’s working to keep the thing alive.

* The journeys to the moon and ‘underworld’ for this issue, but in playful and romantic contexts, marks this issue as the (depending on whether you read it as a 4 or 6 issue arc) final installment before All-Star Superman begins its structural descent into the night.

* A very happy birthday to Justin Martin (and a day-before-birthday to myself) with this, annotations of the issue of All-Star Superman about a birthday. Birthdays themselves being a signpost of time and evolution, a forward march, making it a potent occasion to highlight in this series in general and this installment in particular.

[clairebeauchampfan]

NYT; wrongthink vs. groupthink

The resignation letter of Bari Weiss, an Op-Ed editor of the New York Times. My highlighting in bold. 

“It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times.

I joined the paper with gratitude and optimism three years ago. I was hired with the goal of bringing in voices that would not otherwise appear in your pages: first-time writers, centrists, conservatives and others who would not naturally think of The Times as their home. The reason for this effort was clear: The paper's failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it didn't have a firm grasp of the country it covers. Dean Baquet and others have admitted as much on various occasions. The priority in Opinion was to help redress that critical shortcoming.

I was honored to be part of that effort, led by James Bennet. I am proud of my work as a writer and as an editor. Among those I helped bring to our pages: the Venezuelan dissident Wuilly Arteaga; the Iranian chess champion Dorsa Derakhshani; and the Hong Kong Christian democrat Derek Lam. Also: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Masih Alinejad, Zaina Arafat, Elna Baker, Rachael Denhollander, Matti Friedman, Nick Gillespie, Heather Heying, Randall Kennedy, Julius Krein, Monica Lewinsky, Glenn Loury, Jesse Singal, Ali Soufan, Chloe Valdary, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Wesley Yang, and many others.

But the lessons that ought to have followed the election—lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society—have not been learned. Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn't a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.

Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor. As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space. Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions. I was always taught that journalists were charged with writing the first rough draft of history. Now, history itself is one more ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative.

My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views. They have called me a Nazi and a racist; I have learned to brush off comments about how I'm 'writing about the Jews again.' Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers. My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in. There, some coworkers insist I need to be rooted out if this company is to be a truly 'inclusive' one, while others post ax emojis next to my name. Still other New York Times employees publicly smear me as a liar and a bigot on Twitter with no fear that harassing me will be met with appropriate action. They never are.

There are terms for all of this: unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge. I'm no legal expert. But I know that this is wrong.

I do not understand how you have allowed this kind of behavior to go on inside your company in full view of the paper's entire staff and the public. And I certainly can't square how you and other Times leaders have stood by while simultaneously praising me in private for my courage. Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.

Part of me wishes I could say that my experience was unique. But the truth is that intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times. Why edit something challenging to our readers, or write something bold only to go through the numbing process of making it ideologically kosher, when we can assure ourselves of job security (and clicks) by publishing our 4000th op-ed arguing that Donald Trump is a unique danger to the country and the world? And so self-censorship has become the norm.

What rules that remain at The Times are applied with extreme selectivity. If a person's ideology is in keeping with the new orthodoxy, they and their work remain unscrutinized. Everyone else lives in fear of the digital thunderdome. Online venom is excused so long as it is directed at the proper targets.

Op-eds that would have easily been published just two years ago would now get an editor or a writer in serious trouble, if not fired. If a piece is perceived as likely to inspire backlash internally or on social media, the editor or writer avoids pitching it. If she feels strongly enough to suggest it, she is quickly steered to safer ground. And if, every now and then, she succeeds in getting a piece published that does not explicitly promote progressive causes, it happens only after every line is carefully massaged, negotiated and caveated.

It took the paper two days and two jobs to say that the Tom Cotton op-ed 'fell short of our standards.' We attached an editor's note on a travel story about Jaffa shortly after it was published because it 'failed to touch on important aspects of Jaffa's makeup and its history.' But there is still none appended to Cheryl Strayed's fawning interview with the writer Alice Walker, a proud anti-Semite who believes in lizard Illuminati.

The paper of record is, more and more, the record of those living in a distant galaxy, one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people. This is a galaxy in which, to choose just a few recent examples, the Soviet space program is lauded for its 'diversity'; the doxxing of teenagers in the name of justice is condoned; and the worst caste systems in human history includes the United States alongside Nazi Germany.

Even now, I am confident that most people at The Times do not hold these views. Yet they are cowed by those who do. Why? Perhaps because they believe the ultimate goal is righteous. Perhaps because they believe that they will be granted protection if they nod along as the coin of our realm—language—is degraded in service to an ever-shifting laundry list of right causes. Perhaps because there are millions of unemployed people in this country and they feel lucky to have a job in a contracting industry.

Or perhaps it is because they know that, nowadays, standing up for principle at the paper does not win plaudits. It puts a target on your back. Too wise to post on Slack, they write to me privately about the 'new McCarthyism' that has taken root at the paper of record.

All this bodes ill, especially for independent-minded young writers and editors paying close attention to what they'll have to do to advance in their careers. Rule One: Speak your mind at your own peril. Rule Two: Never risk commissioning a story that goes against the narrative. Rule Three: Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain. Eventually, the publisher will cave to the mob, the editor will get fired or reassigned, and you'll be hung out to dry.

For these young writers and editors, there is one consolation. As places like The Times and other once-great journalistic institutions betray their standards and lose sight of their principles, Americans still hunger for news that is accurate, opinions that are vital, and debate that is sincere. I hear from these people every day. 'An independent press is not a liberal ideal or a progressive ideal or a democratic ideal. It's an American ideal,' you said a few years ago. I couldn't agree more. America is a great country that deserves a great newspaper.

None of this means that some of the most talented journalists in the world don't still labor for this newspaper. They do, which is what makes the illiberal environment especially heartbreaking. I will be, as ever, a dedicated reader of their work. But I can no longer do the work that you brought me here to do—the work that Adolph Ochs described in that famous 1896 statement: 'to make of the columns of The New York Times a forum for the consideration of all questions of public importance, and to that end to invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.'

Ochs's idea is one of the best I've encountered. And I've always comforted myself with the notion that the best ideas win out. But ideas cannot win on their own. They need a voice. They need a hearing. Above all, they must be backed by people willing to live by them.

Sincerely,

Bari “

It’s all there; the Left’s engrained anti-semitism (so often now cloaked by ‘respectable’ anti-Zionism), the refusal to admit of other opinions, let alone to acknowledge the possibility of  their validity, the narrowing of the mind, the cancel culture, the terror of the twitter storm and the mob in the street (”the people” as they like to call themselves) , the sheer spinelessness of the institutional ‘leadership’ unless it is in support of those people who have the ‘right’ opinions.   Sadly, exactly the same process is going on at The Guardian, the BBC and our once great universities. Only Illiberal Groupthink is allowed, and former bastions of liberalism close down independent thought, the better to signal their virtue. 

[404fmdminjung]

lyrical and composition verification for holo

summary: she plays the dusty keyboard for the first time in years, and comes out of a song that becomes a pseudo-‘fuck you’ to gold star. yet, it’s still something she can’t sing to herself as she doesn’t fully believe the words herself. but she has someone in mind, specifically — @fmdjiah​ warnings: alcohol tw, and i don’t even know if this is too ‘technical’ to be a composition but w/e going with it wc: 1710

summer in seoul — she can look out the windows, see how the sun kisses the silhouette of buildings that kiss the fronts in muted pinks. somewhere around the world, it’s midnight where the moon shines and invites another drink into warming her body. minjung takes herself to that place, indulgence in drinks that leave her head bobbing through the air — because it’s midnight somewhere. 

tonight, she feels a little out of place — the grip of the paintbrush doesn’t feel like home, not inviting as it once was a month ago. she could pin point mistakes to a schedule ablaze with musical promotions that have too many cameras and little cheer. a career that seems to plummet itself to the grave she’s dug. or just maybe, it’s the effect of coaxed beliefs that she swallows — the idea that being alone is something that feels like home. but she knows in reality, home isn’t alone, nor is the idea of solitude where the grapevines of bordeaux the solution to anything other than blurred mistakes and burning lines of regret.

she thinks it’s hapless — lost in the monotony of self-destruction. but she doesn’t bother to trigger a change in one way or another. instead, comes a wave of burgundy stained lips, legs crossed with a blank stare to the buildings that now melt to the baby blue wash of the arising moon. she blinks, displaced thoughts — a tilt in her head, and now the view of a lonely keyboard in a corner sits. and for the first time, the glass slips out of her fragile palms as her feet glide over towards the lonelier looking set of keys. 

there’s a notebook on the side, a 500 won pen she’s picked up from the corner bookstore. a memory that precedes the first time she’s ever written for herself — a thought that pulls the edges of her lips into a smirk, or maybe it’s just the effect of the alcohol. but she picks up the pen, spreading open the canvas of blank paper to write down something filter-free, the first pick into her mind.

‘is it really that hard to be alone to be completely still?  with people, or by myself i think i’m always lonely.’

it’s funny to think that the words of honesty come to reveal themselves earlier on — the feeling of loneliness masking her, covering her whole. she asks herself this question at three points in the day. the morning when she wakes up in a lonely bed, filled with the slivers of sunlight that peek through her curtain. in the middle, when she’s surrounded by a bustling staff and giddy members — drowning in the chatter that mangles itself into white noise. and the end of the day — when the end ends with the clinks of a bottle against a sole wine glass in the middle of her apartment.

and she believes the only words anyone wants to hear at that point — one day it will stop.

the words press themselves hard against the paper, or perhaps it’s her own will to believe the words now physically represented by the force of the pen on paper. she could tell herself a million and one things, never once to believe or swallow the truth of the statements. an age half of fifty, yet will all the time passed — she can’t necessarily bring herself to face the reflection of the words. so, she continues on with the theme that circles around her mind.

‘isn’t everything supposed to be as easy as you think and say? even sitting in the sun and breathing doesn’t seem to help.’

it strikes an uncanny belief in her head — the ideation that taking in the simple pleasures day to day comes as an easy feat. in theory, the great minds and her heart could tell her, lecture her into believing each day will become easier. yet, nothing ever comes as easy as the simple calculations that words simplify actions to. and she thinks to herself again, that believing the words ‘one day it will stop.’ 

it’s not love that makes her feel like this, no. it’s not the cracks of past lovers digging their claws deep in unpolished wounds exacerbating every clean cut image. it’s the idea of comparisons, the unnerved inability to satiate the money hungry woes of chart toppers and idealized ‘popularity’ that ranks high in the charts. 

it’s the flood of netizens that use their words like weapons, piercing deep into the tracks that engulfed her heart and soul. ‘a flop’ ‘a shit lead vocal.’ — she nods, laughs. howls underneath the images of how many people love to pick and piece apart her name inside the industry.

‘and i’m gonna stop crying, stop feeling, stop thinking about you. i’m gonna stop crying, and start putting myself first.’

she’s never given a second thought of keeping herself first — always on the verge of terror staged destruction wrecking havoc on those around her, leaving her trapped inside the devastation. it’s the need to rub salt on open wounds, make it hurt where it already aches. make it stand on the edge of a walking time bomb. and maybe, it’s the reason why gold star sees her as the standard doormat of a failed science experiment. a toy they hold high over her heads, the rationale for every step they push her towards.

‘her vs. me, me vs. her — what’s important to see who’s better? after i suffered a lot, i’m starting to get it. but i’m too important to myself to sit still and worry. take a look inside without a cover, you’re fine the way you are.’

it sounds cliche to write the words — she doesn’t believe it, no. but she wishes she could. because deep down seo minjung knows who the soul residing in her body is — a fragmented girl, afraid of the world. masking away anyone that approaches in fear that they’ll flee first. comparisons, one after another — one that pinpoints her to nothing. it doesn’t matter to her — it’s shit. the comparisons are shit. there’s nothing that aches more than suffering with the constant bereavement of being a second-hand choice or a second-staged puppet for someone else. 

—

it’s a funny image to see herself next to a muted keyboard — a makeshift desk for her words. but as on cue, the striking mirror image of herself juxtaposed into the ink pressed hard against the paper goes too much, and her body flees. retreats to the keys — button pressed on and the low start of the keyboard. 

she’s six when she’s introduced to the ivory whites and blacks, centered in the steinway and sons grand piano in her house — the second house in boston. the theory of progression of chords — three in a row, not at the same time. back straight, both feet pressed to the bottom. tiny fingers barely stretched across a sixth, and now she’s twenty five, surpassing an octave and barely reaching a tenth across the keys.

but despite the memories that flood of youthful hourly lessons four times a week, comes the ringing idea of the words that blare from the notepad in the corner of her eyes. if words had melodies, these words might have been a steady legato on the second octave. a chord progression, strictly arpeggio — her old piano teacher would’ve proud that she’d held onto these facts as a keepsake.

she doesn’t want to keep it major because she’s learned that the happiest of classical songs present in major keys — the somber melodies of majority of beethoven and liszt contain themselves in minor. a first few seconds, and the emotional bang hits front and center into the ears.

she hums to herself the first few words of being alone — a longing pull, a drag. a simple chord, not spanning an octave. her favorite chord, an f minor and a progression into d. it sounds lonely, it sounds sad. it sounds like her — she keeps it mezzo-piano, jots that down before the thought slips past. her voice sings the words, a few octaves too low for her range. yet, she forces it through with the gentle lilt of the chord, and then back down to the switch to d minor

it continues, and she drawls the keys to the words that read themselves out from the corner of her eyes. years of an untouched piano, and muscle memory comes back to haunt her — in a good way, this time. automated movements, a pendulum movement of something slow-paced and soft.

but she thinks that the dreary pace of slow stretches of chords become boring for a song about enlightenment, and seo minjung is no little bitch to stay still and complacent. no. she wants the words to hit in the middle just as the realizations barged through her the second they scrawled themselves on paper. the crescendo comes, and she wants it to go full force, loud — ff, she makes note of that. arpeggio no longer cuts it, and her fingers press against the keys — three notes, one time. a solid chord, staccatos released. 

she wants to shift it to major, an ode to her ‘fuck you’ song. but the stark contrast from major to minor is an artwork that she leaves to the masterminds of the past. 

she keeps it in the minor, two octaves higher — sounds have a tendency to have a ‘coming of age’ thought when it becomes brighter and clearer. but comes the thought to switch from a harmonic interval to a chord, a back-and-forth wobble of uncertainty posing across the keys. 

in her mind, she’s mozart inside the familial archways of classical musicians. except, she’s playing a reemergence in an a song she can’t pigeon hole into any niche. it’s not an experimental sound, nor is it anything that she sings herself outside of the privacy of her walls — it’s something still -ing in the process. 

—

it’s not a song she wants to wallow in silence or submerge inside the privacy of her notebook. it’s a song she wants sung, blared — even if it doesn’t stem from her feeble voice. she imagines the voice to stem from a gritty voice that can bleed emotion. someone who doesn’t crumble with the words said because she knows if she’d ever sing it, she’d fall to the ground and grace the world with pictures of tear stained eyes and a breach into the facade she’s created. 

and she’s aware — she’s a coward. hiding behind someone else’s voice for words she can’t face head-on.

so, the last thing she scribbles down is the one voice that comes to her mind — ‘jiah from bee’. hopes and wishes for the sole voice to be the only voice to sing the song written and crafted from her heart.

[impalementation]

Hi! I was wondering, seeing as you talk about the later seasons a lot (which I get, I prefer them too), if you have any like short observations about the earlier seasons as well.

Ooh, nice question! Thanks for asking. Gonna stick just to seasons 1 and 2, since this got long.

Season 1: Does not get nearly enough credit for having very coherent arcs in terms of both character and theme. There’s a beautifully clear line from Buffy wanting nothing to do with slaying in Welcome to the Hellmouth and her willing sacrifice in Prophecy Girl. There’s also the way the season is clearly playing with its cheesy horror aesthetic…a season-long Buffy vs. Dracula in some ways. It’s not new analysis on my part to point out that the Master is essentially a symbol of tradition and old-school horror. I love that the Master has this religious pomp to him, because the vampire aesthetic has been about perverting religious iconography all the way back to its earliest incarnations, especially Dracula. Except instead of that perversion being sexy, or even scary, it’s just sorta…boring.  As Buffy will say in season 3: “We get it, you’re evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?” Buffy quippily triumphing over the Master is like her triumphing over ponderous (not to mention Victorian, masculine, etc) genre tropes.

It’s my least favorite season, and I skipped about half of it on my last rewatch. There isn’t as much meat there, relatively. But I still think it’s a very solid thesis statement for the show. It positions the show as subversive and metatextual, as something that is “doing stuff.” It has the mix of absurd, iconic wit (“What is your childhood trauma?”), and emotional devastation (“I’m sixteen…I don’t wanna die”) that will remain present throughout. It’s a great lesson in how to create an original tone and voice right off the bat.

Also, I adore Buffy’s characterization in season 1. She’s so human, from the very beginning, in a way that’s such a fuck-you to how audiences might think fictional heroes or non-male characters, are “supposed” to be. She’s girlish, she’s good (the way she befriends Willow in the very beginning?), she gets nervous, she gets afraid, she gets impatient. She wants to be a cheerleader, she wants to think about boys, she’s gutted when she thinks her father’s rejected her (god that scene in Nightmares kills me), and she turns down a friend with careful, firm compassion. She not just a hero, she’s a person. Season 2: One of my favorite seasons of television, for all that I don’t talk about it much. But one of the reasons I don’t talk about it much is because its excellence feels just sort of apparent. I enjoy it more as an “experience” than as something to discuss.

They say that the best parodies of things are also good examples of those things, and I think that’s how I’d describe the way season 2 handles romance. Just as season 1 was subverting tropey vampire horror, while also kind of reveling in it…I see season 2 as subverting tropey teen love and the Romantic side of vampires, while also being completely sympathetic to the appeal of them. Buffy and Angel may not do much for me personally, but the narrative still convinces me that the characters believe that they are devastatingly in love. And I’m glad it does. The season walks this wonderful line between “love is real” and “stories are lies.” Love takes such a beating this season: Angel’s transformation and death, Jenny’s betrayal and death, Spike and Dru as the demonic mirror version of young lovers, I Only Have Eyes For You, Ted. Stories take a beating: everything in Lie to Me, the fact that Jenny is obeying a story re: Angel, the fact that Ted is programmed with a story re: love, the fact that Angelus is a voyeuristic manipulator (shades of the Trio, perhaps?), the fact that there is not a happy ending. But on the other hand, we really do believe that Buffy and Angel or Giles and Jenny love each other. Or that Giles and Joyce love Buffy. The season itself is highly Romantic, a totally engaging story rife with high-octane emotional manipulation.

And I love that the show walks right into that cognitive dissonance, and shamelessly rolls around in it. It’s the beginning of the show not just subverting its genre context, but also subverting itself, or at least: being self-reflexive. I’ve said before that I see season 2 as directly related to season 6, because I see both as being, in large part, about the value of stories. Both 6 and 2 are highly melodramatic while also being highly skeptical of that.

I also love season 2 for continuing the pattern set up in season 1, where Buffy’s heroism is about her doing things that are emotionally difficult for her. Her heroism is never about her superpowers, never about the latest apocalypse plot, never just about the audience going “fuck yeah”. It’s about the fact that she doesn’t want to die, she doesn’t want to kill someone she loves, she knows that being heroic will hurt her…and yet she does it anyway. Her “fuck yeah” moments like “What can I say, I flunked the written?” or “What’s left?” “Me” are exhilarating because of how emotionally earned they are. Buffy’s characterization in seasons 1 and 2 doesn’t just thumb its nose at the idea that heroic characters can’t be human. It presents a convincing argument that hero stories are actually better, and more exciting if the hero is human.

[writingquestionsanswered]

So... does fiction writing have to have a message to it, to be good or worthy? A message to the reader, a statement or something. Is it unavoidable? I’m trying not to get political or preach with what I’m writing, but I’ve read about a lot of people getting flak for not taking a stance or making a point in their work, from game developers to authors. I’m not sure I understand why? But I don’t wanna get blasted for not talking about important stuff in my story.

Does Fiction Need a Message?

Good stories have a purpose. They say something about something. Sometimes that means making a statement on a particular theme, like religion or politics, like: “religion can be as dangerous as it can be good,” or “democracy requires great sacrifice by those who build it.” Sometimes it means delivering a moral lesson, like “always be loyal to your friends” or “never judge others.” It can illustrate the good or bad of a thing, like how wonderful and important nurses or teachers are, or the importance of mythology to a culture, or that true strength lies in how you change the world.

Your story’s underlying message ties into the themes in your story... things like good vs evil, the power of love, changing friendships, loss of innocence, coming of age, etc. It also likely ties into your character’s arc, in terms of their internal wound and internal conflict, what they have to do to change, and what it takes in order for them to actually change. Look there, and you’ll likely see your story’s message.

Don’t panic if the message of your story isn’t super clear. It’s not like a thesis statement or something. Just ask yourself, “What do I want readers to take away from this story? What do I want them to feel about something?” The “something” is the theme of your message, and the “feel” is the statement you’re making.

I hope that helps!

————————————————————————————————- Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check through my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

[500wordtheology]

Detour: The Good Place Conclusion

    Please forgive me, I’m about to break protocol. Normally this blog is dedicated to theological topics and I strive to keep each post at around 500 words. Today’s post will certainly be theology related, but it is extremely unlikely I will be able to keep it brief. Should you want to skip this post, feel free to click here to advance to the next blog entry.

    The TV show “The Good Place” has now concluded. If you haven’t seen it, close this window and go watch the first season. It’s great. Possibly one of my favorite single seasons of any TV show ever. Genius creative work, and brilliant comedy and heart.

    I cannot say the same for the final season, and especially the final two episodes. That is what this blog post is about, and in case it wasn’t obvious:

    COMPLETE SPOILERS FOR “THE GOOD PLACE” AHEAD.

    I will not recap the show’s four seasons here, nor even the episodes being discussed. This is written for those who have already seen them. Instead let’s jump into exactly how, unfortunately, the conclusion of the show failed both morally and creatively.

    Please understand I do not write this as some stuffy critic. I lived the life of a stuffy critic in my younger days, and while it is a lovely boost to the ego, it is empty and dumb. I’ve learned that much at least. The reason for my critique here is because we as human beings need to KNOW this stuff. We need to not be tricked into shallow thought.

Where It All Falls Apart

    The Good Place made a number of mistakes with the final two episodes. Let’s discuss the errors and try to make clear where things went awry (and how/why they were hand-waved away).

    The penultimate episode, “Patty,” introduced the idea that an undisclosed amount of time in Paradise would cause you to become a boring, intellectually-stunted zombie. Apparently even the greatest thinkers who ever lived who managed to get into the Good Place only ever wanted milkshakes and orgasms, and instantly abandoned all big questions about the Universe for simple Hedonism. (And yes, it’s very true that Hedonism is empty and meaningless.)

    This outcome makes very little sense, and I am unsure if it was a result of running out of episodes (which would be a shame, because the early bits of the final season were often dull and it would have been far better spending more time exploring these later concepts instead of cheap laughs at the expense of stereotypical, hollow characters introduced and then thrown away) or if it was simply bad and unimaginative writing. Considering the fantastic writing of Seasons 1 and 2, and sometimes 3, this is extremely puzzling. At any rate, it shows a serious lack of creativity.

    Here is an important truth that was almost totally avoided in these final episodes: The question “Why?” does not disappear simply because you can conjure up a Coke and some sunglasses any time you want. Those questions remain. They might even move more to the forefront of the mind. Why are things the way they are? Unanswered, unexplored. Not just unexplored by the writers, but unexplored by the characters like Patty who were set up to have been in the Good Place for an undetermined amount of time (but “long”).

    This is the ultimate problem with exploring Philosophy without also exploring Theology alongside. Interviews with the creator of the show consistently have him bringing up things like Buddhism or Hinduism, but strangely absent are Monotheistic religions. Why is this? For starters, I expect it is because many of the loudest voices in the modern Western world do not care for such concepts. They don’t like what it entails. If we are not in charge of our own ultimate destiny, which is the case when God exists and has made you with a purpose of his intention, our ego gets a slap in the face.

    And it should, because that is what our ego deserves when it is out of order, but that is another post.

    Anyway, it is possible this choice was made to avoid ruffling feathers of media and the societal elite. It is easier to play it safe, even for a show that tackled some very large concepts like morality.

    It is also possibly because studying such religions requires a great amount of work. Heaven, in Christianity, is not a fluffy cloud where you get everything you ever wanted (like margaritas and monkeys in go-karts), where you sit and play a harp (or guitar) all day and also, hey look, your childhood dog is there. That is a foolish, childish caricature of Heaven, but unfortunately has become widely accepted as true simply because people refuse to go study further. So mistruths are believed due to ignorance. Cartoonish ideas are thought to be accurate, because non-cartoonish ideas are hard and sometimes extremely uncomfortable.

    It’s more than a shame.

    Not only is Heaven infinitely better than such a stupid caricature, but it isn’t even the final destination! New Earth and bodily resurrection comes after. However that is Christianity, and The Good Place makes its own version of heaven instead. A cartoonish one. Fine. But even ignoring that, the problem The Good Place’s ending faces is in the mantra “Death makes life meaningful.”

    Here’s the kicker: That’s not untrue. And because it is not untrue, we can quickly and easily get extremely confused. In fact, go read some reviews of the final episode from a number of popular websites and you’ll find they herald this truth. Because in our earthly life, it is right to say death makes this part of our existence precious.

    The problem, and it is a HUGE one, is they then transpose the earthly lesson onto eternity. Ignorantly (and forgive me for this is not an insult but a statement of why they claim it, they simply don’t KNOW and I realize even saying such a thing is unpopular) they claim that eternity would be “like this life but longer.” And yes, if that was eternity they might have a point. However even within the universe The Good Place has created that is not accurate! We are shown concepts like The Time Knife, and IHOP, and Janet, and the Judge. These things alone make eternity not simply Earth-life-but-forever. And here arises a major problem, because the writers suddenly go from thinking reasonably large to thinking utterly small, right at the end when thinking big is so important.

    Creativity is boundless. The Good Place was certainly not short on creativity! At least… up until the end. At the end what you had was creative bankruptcy. A nihilistic conclusion that there is no real meaning - except this conclusion gussied up with terms like “peace” and “love” before folks walked off to their annihilation. It is, in fact, the gussying up that I have the biggest problem with. It is a flat-out lie, paraded as some virtue.

    This is detestable. Tricking the viewer into believing such ridiculousness as “if you’re ready to die, you should do it and your suicide is a good thing. The best thing, even. The only way to be happy forever.”

    I am sorry, but this is not only trash, it is dangerous trash. I hope I do not need to go into detail as to why.

Retirement for All

    Let me jump slightly sideways for a second and point out something extremely telling: The “solution” that everyone got on board with at the end of it all was The Eternal Shriek.

    Think about that for a second. That is what their solution was. The thing that in Season 1 and 2 seemed (rightfully) so horrific.

    Now immediately one might say “Oh, no, that is not the same at all! The Eternal Shriek was a forced thing, the pretty gate in the forest was a willful decision.” 

    Really? 

    WAS it?

    This is the response the writers want you to have, and it is one, again, of shallow thinking. This is the trick of the pretty forest scene and the constant throwing around words like “peace” and “calm” and “love” at the end. What we learn from the show is that the Forest Gate ends up being everyone’s ONLY ultimate option. Tahani, after mastering demonic/angelic architecture, will be left with the same ending. She will “be ready” but only because she has no choice but to eventually be ready. It is no longer a choice, but, as Eleanor says in the show itself in Season 2 “It’s a crappy deal, but it’s the only one we get.” Even after all they’ve learned (and have the potential to learn, let’s never forget that aspect) they play God (but far worse, because they are not God) and give humanity the *same deal* they say is crappy and lament how it is the only deal they got.

    You might also say “Oh, no, the Eternal Shriek had all that awful stuff like having your soul scooped out with flaming ladles.” Yeah? What of it? You’re not conscious anymore (otherwise Michael wouldn’t have lamented “no more me” when he had his existential crisis) so the desecration of your esense and the atoms of your body are as meaningless to you as if someone dumps your cremated ashes in the forest vs. in the ocean. Or, yes, even in a rubbish bin.

    Note the throw-away joke of the creature Derek has become. In his final speech (before getting rebooted again against his will) he mentions the heat death of the Universe. Let’s not ignore that. We are left by the writers (manipulated, really) with warm fuzzy feelings as one of Eleanor’s golden particle-thingies lands on a person who then does something decent instead of cruel. But what is not shown (because it would harp on our buzz) is that man will die. Michael will die. They will be annihilated and then, eventually, all humans will die, the earth will die, the universe will die, Derek will die, Janet will die, the Good Place will die, the Judge will die, and the final pretty gold sparkle will no fall on some new person to help them improve, but instead cease to Be entirely and have absolutely no meaning at all. It will all amount to exactly the same in the end as if the Bad Place guys ran things.

    To use the pretty analogy of the show, “The wave will still be water and return to the ocean,” but then the ocean will disappear entirely for no reason or purpose and even the wave and water will be worth nothing. (They don’t note this second half, because that second half doesn’t make you feel good. Yet it lurks there, undiscussed and ready to pounce and surprise.)

    This is the stark, awful truth of a purposeless universe and existence. It is an awful thing, but it is the truth if that is the worldview we’re exploring. (A reminder this is not the truth of God, though. God loves you, and you do not exist for no reason. A necessary reminder because when we start to really dig in and explore nihilism it gets “real dark real fast.” We need to hold onto the Light at such times.)

    At any rate, what then seems to separate the Eternal Shriek from the Forest Door is only that the last fleeting moments are located in a peaceful looking (though ultimately doomed) place. The results end up being identical. The final option of The Good Place ends up being the worst-possible-option of The Bad Place: Annihilation. This is the “solution” the writers came up with. The one they themselves made fun of in previous episodes (rightfully so, because it is terrible.)

    And yes, it is that big and important. The *foundation* of ideas is precicely where they either stand firm or topple and crush everyone around them. We must dig deep when it comes to what we think and believe.

Selfishness and “Love”

    Here I will break and tackle another awful, awful thing these final episodes support: Complete selfishness as somehow compatible with Love.

    Jason is not all that bright. But generally he seems to have a good heart, particularly for those he cares about. Yet after completing a single perfect round of a video game, he chooses to leave the not-a-woman he loves forever. To abandon her, because he just doesn’t feel like sticking around anymore.

    What?

    But okay. It’s Jason. I was willing to suspend some disbelief for the sake of the character, who is a few crayons short of a box.

    Then Chidi does the same thing.

    WHAT?

    This is utterly absurd. Here the writers want to write what they want to write, rather than be honest. It is one of my biggest convictions that an author must be honest. He or she may nudge things in certain directions, but if the author of a story ever forces a character to do something against their character, that is not only poor writing but completely dishonest. It is the lowest form of storytelling to do such a thing. And we find it here.

    Chidi, by his own admission, has a sense of calm and peace. Chidi is just fine. Yet he knows his choice to kill himself (annihilate, really, because we need to be crystal clear on that) will hurt Eleanor deeply. It will cause her extreme pain. He still chooses it.

    My friends, that is not love. That is also not Chidi.

    Love sacrifices for the beloved. And in this case, Chidi wouldn’t even be sacrificing much if he stayed, because we’ve already established he is at peace and internally calm. So rather than maintain this feeling, or even work to be better IF other feelings arose in the future, he checks out on Eleanor. Quits on her. Deserts her. (Leaving her a hedonistic even if hilarious calendar, no less. Fun joke but morally what the fork.)

    Loving relationships in our modern age have taken a severe hit. One reason may be that we think this is how you should treat someone you love. “Me first” has become the battle cry of the age. 

    No, my friends. Love first. Always.

    I anxiously await Heaven and New Earth. But also I love my wife, family, and friends. If I must stay here to support them, I will. Even if “there and then” is better, it doesn’t matter. I love them. I will remain for them. (I will even eat kale and exercise if it means I get to remain here to support them a little longer than if I only ate bacon and browsed Twitter from bed all day.)

    Beyond that, I will remain because God has me here for a purpose. But since The Good Place did not deal with such topics, resorting instead to vague concepts of “helping people is good, so totally do it” and the like, I will even abandon this particular train of thought for this discussion. Even if it was ONLY my wife, family, and friends, they are worth it. Love is big enough to cause me to keep going for them.

    Yes, Eleanor was noble in letting Chidi go. But Chidi was completely ignoble for going when he knew, without a doubt, she wanted him to remain. That she was not ready.

    I think this may be one reason after thousands of years (or whatever a Bearimy is, they keep it vague on purpose and that is very clever of them) Chidi and Elenor are still calling each other “boyfriend and girlfriend.” They REFUSE to commit. Why? Because a husband does not walk out on the wife he loves and we know it. We all know it. Deep inside we know that is not what a husband is meant to do. That would make Chidi a horrific husband. But walk out on a girlfriend? Eh. Sure. Not great, but okay. The world says that’s not so serious. Walk away, dude, no one will care.

    Sorry, Good Place writers, I care. I care deeply.

Why?

    Here is where we get to the meat of it. WHY do I care? (Especially as a number of people point out to me “it’s just a TV show.”)

    I care because I have SEEN what real love brings with it. Bliss. Not hedonistic happiness, but JOY. Ecstasy beyond frivolous ideas like orgasms. Delight beyond mere milkshakes and talking pandas. Glory. Perfection. Eternal Good with no end.

    It is better, and it is worth striving for.

    What happens when we accept and perpetuate ideas like “It is totally fine to abandon people you love as long as it is in your own best interest” is that it degradates our concept of love itself. Love becomes lesser and watered down. This is the same with divorce. Divorce is never easy. Sometimes it is necessary. But it SHOULD never be easy. And honestly? It SHOULD never be necessary. It’s because of our sin that the necessity arises. Here we see the problem not with eternity, but with eternity WITH sin still permitted. Yes, eternity breaks when we are simply “us” but “forever.” (Even if it is slightly-better-than-on-earth “us.”)

    Going back to the idea of love, when we chip away at love and redefine it to mean something lesser we open the doors wide for awful things like what Chidi did and what Jason did. Selfish things. And newsflash, for anyone who didn’t already know, WE WANT TO BE SELFISH. It is in us. We desire to look out for number one, and always have number one be us. This is why the great command is “Love God, and Love your neighbor as yourself.” Because we already know how to love ourselves. Loving ourselves is “I don’t feel like being here in paradise with you anymore, bye.” We are called to do better than that.

    Real love is epic, you guys. Real love is flippin ridiculously good. It redefines GOOD itself. We shouldn’t settle for the “this is nice” false love that is tossed around these days as if that is the bar. That is a garbage bar! Raise that puppy to where it belongs!

    When you experience the utter glory of God and his love, it changes everything. The cheap love the world peddles becomes laughable. But not just laughable: sad. After I watched the finale and read review after review online where people heralded this idea of “eternity would be boring without death” I cried. I laid on the floor and cried for a world that doesn’t know God. That thinks this is all there is, or that boredom could ever come about from true paradise. Forgive me, but what shallow thinking that is! What despair, without even knowing it.

    Alas, this is what people are taught. Let us never forget that Story does not just entertain us, it teaches us. It molds us. This is, sadly, the emptiness The Good Place ends up teaching as its last lesson. “Do good, because it’s good (don’t ask why), but then abandon doing good if it means you get what you want.” Hedonistic Nihilism is the conclusion they offer, spit-shined so you don’t think too hard about it or feel too bad. Yes, feel a little bad, they want you to do that. But not bad enough to really think about how the hope and golden particles of light in a peaceful forest are a trick to shy away from ultimate meaninglessness and selfishness behind it.

    This is the final moral of the show, and it is desperately sad. This is the emptiness of Philosophy without God. And when it is sugar-coated like they sugar-coated it, it is a cyanide pill that tastes great and goes down smooth. 

    You know, until it kills you.

[studiousbees]

App review—LingoDeer Korean 2 (Beta test)

Happy Saturday, everyone! I was invited to beta test the new (more) advanced LingoDeer Korean levels. Of course I jumped at the opportunity! LingoDeer has in the past been my top recommendation for language learning apps*, and I have to admit that I was excited when news of the new levels dropped. Past experience has given me high expectations for the new levels.

I did the first four levels—titled "Impolite Form 1," "Impolite Form 2," "Will," and "Suggestion" before taking the next two tests to jump to higher levels. I took notes on my experience based on a variety of things. As this is a beta test, I of course took notes of any bugs that I found (and reported them through the app as I encountered them). Still, even the smoothest language app is useless if its information is no good, so I also made notes about the presentation and utility of the material. I'll take you through each level and the two tests so you can "experience" them in the proper order.

*Past LingoDeer reviews: Korean, Japanese, Japanese (exit), Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin Chinese (revisited)

Impolite Form 1

Notes:

Each level in Lingodeer has a "Notes" section that precedes the actual gamified learning panels. The notes explain the grammar and relevant cultural things related to the material that will be taught in the upcoming lesson. In this section, I found that the notes were quite thorough and, blessedly, they explained that despite labeling 해체 as the "impolite" form, they do not mean to say it is actually impolite. If you are aware of how low-key angsty it makes me when someone says X form =polite and Y form=impolite, you will understand why I'm so happy about this (hint: politeness is relative to the situation!). Also, they included some small pronunciation notes on the loss of 애/에 distinction in Seoul dialect, which I found to be a nice touch.

One fault I did find in the notes—one that I have found in past reviews—is that they are peppered with little grammatical errors. Not enough to obscure the meaning of what they are trying to say, but enough that I wonder why a few simple edits were not made to clean it up a bit.

In-course:

The good and bad things that I found in the "Impolite Form 1" learning levels all apply to every other learning level.

In the learning levels, the audio files were on point, though I did not expect anything less since LingoDeer has had (imo) the cleanest audio files of any language app since it first dropped last year. There is even an option to record your own voice when you listen to new audio examples so you can play back and compare your speaking with the example. I'm still waiting for the day that they implement pronunciation-check questions like HelloChinese did, though!

Another thing I liked in the in-course sections is that, when doing sentence building with syllable tiles (if you do not choose to just manually input all of the Hangul yourself), they now have blank tiles representing spaces. This is a huge improvement to just clicking on a bunch of syllables and getting a long string of smashed-together words. Still, spacing in examples and answer displays still could be improved. Particles are still spaced away from the elements that they attach to, and the difference in spacing between attaching element+particle vs. individual elements that would typically be spaced is not large enough to be easily noticeable. I would recommend either spacing regularly spaced elements even farther apart, or better yet, spacing things normally and just coloring particles and other attaching things like the copula 이다 to show that, while they are attached to something else, they are still distinct things.

Another thing I would like to see is more variety in the sentences that you are asked to work with. Seeing an example sentence and then immediately being asked to plug in a missing part of the exact same sentence makes it feel like you see the same sentence too many times, and you could ultimately just memorize the answer instead of having to actually apply knowledge to respond properly. I think that throwing in more sentences using previously learned vocabulary would be nice. I will note that the feeling of seeing the same sentence over and over lessened as I moved through the sections, as it seemed more "unexpected" sentences were getting mixed in gradually. Still, doing that from the very beginning would be great.

Impolite Form 2

Notes:

The biggest bone I had to pick in this notes section is that it claimed that 해체 is always formed by dropping 요 from the "polite" form or 해요체, when that does not in fact always work (ex: honorific -(으)시-). This is clarified in a notes section in a later tile... but still, even though they cleared it up later, I think they should not have made such a blanket statement in the first place, especially since they had already introduced 해요체 sentences with the honorific infix. Someone who has learned those forms but is not yet familiar with -세요 becoming -셔 in해체 could very easily get into a habit of writing sentences like (X) 바쁘세 instead of (O) 바쁘셔.

In-course:

"Impolite Forms 2" is where I made the most bug reports. The previous learning section was very usable, but this one was a bit of a mess still. There were a lot of missing images, and audio would not play. This was especially a problem if you wanted to hear the new example sentences read out, and on listening questions (just had to guess the answers for those!). I trust the team will fix those bugs soon.

Concerning the actual material itself, I was more or less content except with the huge amount of particle-dropping that they jumped into. While dropping particles in Korean is very natural in speech (and especially in 해체), it feels like they went straight from using all of the particles to using literally none in some sentences. There was no mention of this natural particle-dropping in the notes, and I think that it is something that learners should be made properly aware of.

"Will" and "Suggestion"

Notes:

I liked that the information in the notes for these sections was explained in a clear and easy-to-understand way, same as for the other sections.

In-course:

The issues with audio and image loading were gone, and the smooth user experience returned! I just had a minor bone to pick, that being how they translated "심심하다" to "boring" when "bored" would be more accurate. Solid levels overall!

Tests 1 and 2

I wanted to check out some test levels because they could give me an overview of material in the levels yet to come. I was pleasantly surprised: In those first two tests, which cover 16 sections, there was a lot of useful stuff including -기 위하다, the difference between 데려오다/가다 and 가져오다/가다, obligation with -아/어야 되다/하다, reasons with -기 때문이다, honorific particles and verbs, noun modifier endings, and more. All of it is really solid material, and that plus a skim over the titles for lessons further down (up?) the tree have me convinced that there is a lot of solid intermediate information in this new release.

Verdict:

The LingoDeer Korean 2 beta is full of solid information! Only in one level did I run into any serious bugginess, and the rest of my experience was smooth, with some nice changes and additions from what I expected based on my past experience with LingoDeer. Other than bugs, the things that bugged (har har) me the most were issues with how they space particles and such in example and answer display sentences, and the lack of explanation for some things I felt really needed explanation. Overall, LingoDeer remains at the top of my recommended language apps list, and I look forward to giving the Japanese and Chinese betas test runs as well (when I have the time!).

Happy studying~

[romancatholicreflections]

14th April >> Sunday Homilies and Reflections for Roman Catholics on Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - Year C.

To be celebrated on 14th April 2019

Palm/ Passion Sunday

Gospel Reading: Luke 19:28-40

vs. 28 Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

vs. 29 Now when he was near Bethphage, close by the Mount of Olives, as it is called, he sent two of the disciples, telling them,

vs. 30 “Go off to the village opposite, and as you enter it you will find a tethered colt that no one has yet ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

vs. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you are to say this, ‘The Master needs it.'”

vs. 32 The messengers went off and found everything just as he had told them.

vs. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owner said, “Why are you untying that colt?”

vs. 34 and they answered, “The Master needs it.”

palm sunday 1

vs. 35 So they took the colt to Jesus, and throwing their garments over its back, they helped Jesus onto it.

vs. 36 As he moved off, people spread their cloaks in the road, and now, as he was approaching the downward slope of the Mount of Olives,

vs. 37 the whole group of disciples joyfully began to praise God at the top of their voices for all the miracles they had seen.

vs. 38 They cried out: “Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens!”

vs. 39 Some Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Master, check your disciples,”

vs. 40 but he answered, “I tell you, if these keep silence the stones will cry out.”

**************************************************

We have four commentators available from whom you may wish to choose .

Michel DeVerteuil : A Trinidadian Holy Ghost Priest, director of the Centre of Biblical renewal .

Thomas O’Loughlin: Professor of Historical Theology, University of Wales, Lampeter.

Sean Goan: Studied scripture in Rome, Jerusalem and Chicago and teaches at Blackrock College and works with Le Chéile

Donal Neary SJ: Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger

**********************************

Michel de Verteuil

Lectio Divina The Year of Luke

www.columba.ie

General Comments

The Palm Sunday procession is a living lesson in liturgy. By inviting us to imitate the actions of Jesus entering Jerusalem and the crowd welcoming him, the Church wants us to experience that the story is still being lived today. Whenever people of faith decide to confront evil at its source, and do so with inner freedom, remaining faithful to their values, Jesus is once more entering Jerusalem.

We have the same experience by meditating on the gospel texts and recognizing ourselves in them.

Each of the gospels tells the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in a distinctive way. In St Luke’s account, which we read this year, there is first of all the very significant verse 28, which describes Jesus “going on ahead of his disciples.”

The events described in verses 29 to 34 are found in all the synoptic accounts, a sign that the early Church found them highly symbolical. Some take the story as evidence of Jesus’ supernatural powers, but it could merely be evidence of his self-confidence as he faces his great moment of truth, a mark of true leadership.

In St Luke’s account, it is the disciples themselves, entering alongside Jesus, who are moved to excitement at this moment.

A small detail, but clearly significant for St Luke: the disciples “helped Jesus on to the colt.”

The people do not wave palm branches in St Luke’s account, but their gesture of spreading their cloaks in the road before Jesus is both a sign of their wild excitement and their welcoming him as a king.

The cry of the people in verse 38 echoes the song of the angels at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:14).

The brief dialogue in verses 39-40 can be interpreted in different ways. The Pharisees in question may have been followers of Jesus who were afraid of confrontation and wanted to protect Jesus. Or they may have represented the first assault of the opposition to Jesus. In either case his answer expresses his inner freedom very dramatically.

Scripture reflection

Lord, there comes a time in the lives of all of us when we, like Jesus,

must enter into a radical confrontation:

– those in authority have been abusing their power;

– we finally recognise that we need help to overcome an addiction;

– some members of our community have betrayed the cause and must be excluded;

– we need to give up our comfortable situation and move into something new.

At these moments, give us

– and especially those of us whom you have called to be leaders in our communities –

a share in the inner freedom of Jesus,

so that like him we can go on ahead of the rest, as we go up to our Jerusalem.walking-with-jesus1

Help us like Jesus to make our arrangements confident that they will come to pass,

and to allow ourselves to be put in a position of authority.

Help us to be so confident of our cause

that if someone told us to check our followers

we would know that if they kept silence, the stones would cry out.

Lord, we thank you for glorious moments of grace

– we found a friend whom we felt we could trust perfectly;

– we enjoyed intimacy with our spouse;

– one of our children did us proud;

– a new social movement arose in our country.

We were like the disciples when Jesus approached the downward slope of the Mount of Olives:

we joyfully began to praise you at the top of our voices for the miracle which we had seen.

We cried out, ”Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

We glorified you in the highest heavens.

Lord, it is strange how when the moment of grace comes,

everything seems to fall into place very naturally.

If we need something, we find as the disciples did on the first Palm Sunday,

that all we need say is, “The Master needs it,” and immediately all obstacles are removed.

Lord, we pray that as a Church we may not betray our young people.

Often we lack the courage of our convictions,

are too anxious to please them, and do not go ahead of them.

But when young people today meet leaders who challenge them, they joyfully praise God,

they are ready to spread their cloaks in the road before them,

and welcome them as kings who come in the name of the Lord.

“The important events of history are the thousands of humble actions that heal and reconcile.” …Cardinal Arms of Sao Paulo in Brazil, 1994

Lord, we thank you for the many humble people who enter Jerusalem in peace.

As we think of them, we praise you at the top of our voices

and cry out, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.”

************************************************

Thomas O’Loughlin,

Liturgical Resources for the Year of Luke

www.Columba.ie

Introduction to the Celebration

The text in the Missal (p. 123: ‘Dear friends in Christ …‘) cannot be bettered. However, care should be taken to read it as if it were one’s own notes so as to stress the notion that we are entering into the Great Week, accompanying Christ in the Paschal Mystery.

Passion Notes

1. For those who seeking in the gospels an historical record of the events of Jesus’ life, the passion accounts present an awful problem: for the most crucial event in the whole story the early churches had at least four different pictures. When Christians today think of Jesus’s death their picture is invariably a mixture with the people drawn from John and the general scene from the synoptics. Ct the real oneChrist is flanked by two other crosses (Jn 19:18; but a detail common to all four), and standing near him are ‘his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene’ and John (Jn 19:25-26). Nearby also are soldiers casting lots for his clothes (Jn 19:23-25 but with parallels in all four). The scene is one of darkness covering the earth (Mt 27:45; Mk 15:33; Lk 23:44 — a darkness unknown in Jn). Against this conflation, it is worth noting how Luke sets out his scene as it allows us to see his particular perception. The scene of the crucifixion is dark (Lk 23:44) not only in terms of light, but in terms of the courage of his followers: those who knew him, men and women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching the event unfold (Lk 23:49). Near him there are a crowd of spectacle lovers, scoffing leaders and mocking soldiers (Lk 23:35-36). In Matthew and Mark both criminals also taunt him (they are silent in John), but in Luke (23:39-43) we have the dialogue of the Good Thief whose opening words are a confession that Jesus is suffering as an innocent man (23:41). The centurion’s confession is found only in Mark (15:39) and Luke (23:47), but while in Mark this is a christological statement, in Luke it is a declaration of the imiocent suffering of Jesus: ‘Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!”.’ Luke, uniquely, adds another detail at this point: ‘And all … who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts’(23:48).

2. A convenient way to see how Luke’s passion differs from the other is to note those items which are proper to him. These present Christ as the righteous one who is faithful to the end alone. Luke presents Jesus as alone from all those whom he had spent time with, eaten with, and been with in the good times; yet in the dark hour his goodness still shone out and transformed people. While his long-term followers were lying low, Jesus was gathering new witnesses to his truth amidst the moral chaos which was his crucifixion. The sense of finality is heightened at the beginning of the passage when Christ states his longing to eat the meal (the final meal in a whole series of meals in Luke) and that he shall not drink wine again until the kingdom comes (22:15- 20). It is also seen in his instructions for the church after his departure (22:35-7) and his warning to Jerusalem (23:27-32). His aloneness is pointed out in the prophesy that the disciples will desert him (22:21-3 and 33-4), and this is fulfilled in the detailed story of the triple denial of Peter (22:54-62)Jesus and cross

By this time Luke presents all the disciples as having fled. By the time of the crucifixion — in stark contrast to John from whence comes our familiar picture of John, Mary, and the other women standing beneath the Cross — there is not a single friendly face nearby: his acquaintances (hoi gnóstoi) and the women stand watching at a distance (23:49). In the end the only ones who acknowledge him are outsiders who at least recognise him as a good and righteous man: Pilate, a criminal, and Roman soldier. Luke alone has Pilate recognise him as one without fault (23:5; 14-5; and 22); similarly he alone has ‘the good thief’ incident who states that this man has done nothing wrong (23:39-43); and finally the centurion, but while in Mark 15:39 and Matthew 27:54 he states, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’, here Luke has him state simply: ‘Certainly this man was righteous (dikaios).’

For Luke Christ in his passion is utterly abandoned, and he in turn abandons himself to the Father to do the Father’s will (22:22, 29, 37, 42-3). This abandonment reaches its climax in the final cry from the Cross (23:46).

Homily Notes

1. The Missal says that ‘a brief homily may be given.’ There is definitely a case today for taking up this permission to omit the homily altogether; not because such an omission might shorten an already long liturgy, but since we have just come through one of the longest verbal elements in the whole of the liturgy (the passion), another verbal event (a homily) does not bring contrast or help the gospel reading to sink in. A better way to highlight what has been read would be a couple of moments of structured silence (e.g. ‘Let us now reflect in silence on the passion of our Saviour’) before standing for the Creed. On the subject of the length of today’s liturgy we should remember that length of time is one of the key non-verbal ritual cues that humans use to indicate special importance: a crucial symbolic event that is over in a moment, or takes just the same length of time as an ordinary event is an anti-climax – do not forget that Christmas dinner must take longer than an everyday meal. Because this is a special day opening a special week, it should md must take a noticeably longer time than an ordinary Sunday.

Holy wk2. If one does preach, then the brief comments should be directed introducing the week as a whole rather than particular comments on the readings. This could take its starting point from the gospel outside – that Christ has arrived at, and entered Jerusalem, and that ‘his hour’ has arrived. As Christians we are sharers in this event.

3. If the situation calls for a meditation rather than a homily, then a suitable meditation is provided in the Christ-hymn (the second reading) as a way of interpreting the events narrated. However, rather than re-reading it directly from the lectionary it may be broken up into its verses and read with pauses. The version used in the Office is better for such use than either the RSV/ JB. Better still, have it sung by a soloist and simply introduce as the earliest Christian meditation we possess on what we lve just recal1ed about the death of Jesus.

******************************************************

3. Sean Goan

Let the reader understand

www.columba.ie

Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56

Holy week begins with a dual focus, namely the events of Palm Sunday and the triumphant march of Jesus into Jerusalem and then, by contrast, the story of his passion and death. In year C we read from Luke’s account of the passion and it is worth our while noting the differences, as each evangelist highlights different things in order to bring out the meaning of what is taking place. As in the public ministry of Jesus, so too in his death Luke stresses the themes of forgiveness and prayer. Only in Luke does Jesus pray that his executioners be forgiven and only here is the good thief mentioned. Also in Luke, Jesus dies with a prayer of trust on his lips, thus embodying a teaching that he had given many times in his life.

Reflection

Suffering is part and parcel of being human and while we must readily acknowledge this fact it is also true that we usually do all in our power to avoid it. The readings for today are an invitation to reflect on how the passion of Jesus can change our outlook on suffering. Our Saviour may be seen in these texts as a model of patient endurance and of faithfulness. We are not asked to believe that suffering is good in itself but to see that good can come of it and to recognise in Jesus God’s solidarity with all those who endure suffering for doing what is right.

boy-and-cross-of-jesus

**********************************************

4. Donal Neary S.J.

Gospel reflections

www.columba.ie

PALM SUNDAY

Who was there at the end?

Who was there at the end? The friends of Jesus: from a distance, but still around. They stayed near, not wanting to leave. Did they all stand around for a while? Wanting to go and not wanting to go, like mourners at a graveside – confused, sad and discouraged – silent in the moments of violent death. Were they afraid that this might happen to them too? The friends and acquaintances of Jesus, the one who promised much and said he would rise again… Did any of them remember this promise? Did they whisper it to each other as they closed the stone at the tomb? Did they wonder if more was yet to come? For there was always more with Jesus. We are that ‘more!

centurian at the cross

There also was the centurion: the good man who said, ‘he was a Son of God’. The one from Rome saw through the many from Jerusalem. He was a strange type of guy at the cross – the Roman who had been told to get these crucifixions done, with the least amount of trouble and publicity. Away from home and his own people, he would find a new God in the home of his heart and would be linked forever to a new people.

Something about this man gave a scent of love, and an authority that came from somewhere far away – further than an emperor or a political power. He knew that this man was a Son of God; may we know this too of Jesus.

Lord by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free.

You are the savior of the world.

___________________________________

[wisetheoristgentlemen]

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3 Lessons I’ve Learned Decorating Our Home

Guys, I still have so many posts I need to put together on our new home and I promise for all those who have sent in questions, I'll be answering soon! We are still finalizing a lot of spaces and I'm still in the process of decoration, so I wanted to share a few of my favorite pieces from the Serena & Lily sale where the entire site is 20% off with code INSPO (ends soon !). I've had a few pieces in my cart for a bit, and they never do this sale, so it's just the push I needed to pull the trigger! Also wanted to share a few quick lessons I’ve learned while going through this decor process – keep reading to see It really is all in the details.

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[sandloading743]

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For in-class exams, students will be asked to record their answers on the question sheet and on a Scantron Answer Sheet. Refer to the exhibit. Practice Final. Multiple-Choice Tips. After completing the course, please be sure to complete the survey at the end. IT Certification Exam. Answer 2 3. Our extensive question and answer board features hundreds of experts waiting to provide answers to your questions, no matter what the subject. While the student is taking the Placement Test, the teacher should document observations regarding whether the student is using finger counting, touch points, or tally marks; other patterns should be noted such as missing steps, careless errors, or incorrect methods. Much as the addition of annotations in Java 5 created opportunities such as annotated.

Course objective After completing the course, student: - Will be able to read texts based on the content of the module. I like her idea of creating productive contents and her questions to her students and their answers are great advice to us. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. With a team of extremely dedicated and quality lecturers, learn2serve manager test answers will not only be a place to share knowledge but also to help students get inspired to explore and discover many. There is no time limit for completing this course. First introduced in in the US and Canada, S. This process is automatic. Details: This is a CLC assignment. CCNAv2 Chapter 5 v5. In a single day, 45 babies were born in hospital X, 65 babies in hospital Y, and 25 babies in hospital Z. The point-value. TKT Modules handbook for teachers. October 25, Clc Module 6 Answers. Tell her about you, your class, your best friend and favourite subjects.

Do not use abbreviations. More Cambridge English teaching courses and qualifications Anyway, I got your email. Switch router 2. Indicate the ammeter read- ing and the direction of the current R A — May Page 5. You will have 2 opportunities to retake an exam in its entirety. Legend: ( ) is an untested answer (g) is a guessed answer we don't know if it's correct or not. Module 6 This module provides an opportunity to apply the knowledge, skills, and abilities developed from this. Check out our free guides with free test answers below. Your answers will be used for this study only and evaluated collectively.

Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Which of the following is a primary responsibility of the Federal Reserve Bank? Establish monetary policy. What's the best Credit Union. Online Commercial Bank. Commercial Bank. Membership may be exclusive to certain people or groups, like members of the military or people who work in a specific industry. Ever Fi Banking Final Quiz Answers Posted on Jan banking module final quiz answers everfi final banking quiz answer everfi module What is a lease everfi final quiz Posted on Feb a charge for lending money to a bank. Start studying Banking Everfi answers. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other

I agree to inMusic's Privacy policy and Terms of Use. Keys to your future everfi lesson 1 my life goals answers Get started for free! Learn everfi module 1 with free interactive flashcards. A budget can help you make plans to reach your financial goals. Click for introductory video for Lesson 1 Goals are specific objectives that help us to plan our activities and strategies.

Everfi education technology company everfi. Here is an example: Let's say that you are writing a lesson plan on nutrition. With this in mind, here are 10 primary goals to accomplish as you plan for life in the next 10 years. Tags: Question 3. Use what you have. The Best Life Lessons Ever 1. Some people have goals too big they will stress out but some people have goals too small it doesn't count as a goal. Please use the navigation menu above to visit other pages on the site that are accessible. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. If you're looking to live a fulfilling life, I hope you'll do the latter. To enhance the impact, you can interrelate your short term and long term goals.

Keys to your future everfi lesson 1 my life goals answers. Goal 1: One life goal would be to increase my speed and accuracy at work within the next 12 months. The same principle is found in the New Testament. If you set the goal too high, try to scale it back. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. First and foremost, you should remember that an autobiography that is also called a memoir is a story about your own life. You have to keep your answer relevant to the job description. Then, in order to be successful, they have to identify the steps they need to take to reach those goals.

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