#maybe we in droves leave mainstream media

[uselessgayshit]

listen... this fucking sucks... i'm so angry... but all it shows is we have to really put our support behind actual queer artists or BIPOC artists to give us the stories that matter

i have so much to say on this and so much of it is conflicting which is why i'm hesitant to post much more. but all i will say is we shouldn't have to fight for good storytelling, shows shouldn't get cancelled when they're that highly rated, and mainstream media is super important. but so many of us are getting burnt out by this constant need to fight for a certain number of tweets to get an ending for a show and that's weird, my friends. that's super weird. that's not how this should work, and we should put our effort and energy and time into people and things that have fought for us as well

[spaceskam]

The Road You Didn't Take (2/7)

for day 2 of @michaelguerinweek : “There’s something you should know…”

ao3

Alex sat in the back of the car, staring out the window.

He still had that crease between his eyebrows like he was concerned or in pain. Michael had went to ask if he was alright more than once, but he figured he’d say something if he wanted it to be known. Besides, he agreed to Mississippi, so that was something.

They were still in New Mexico, going 80 on the interstate and sitting in complete silence. It’d crossed Michael’s mind more than once that he should probably mention that he recognized him, it’d make things less new. They weren’t strangers. Well, they were, but they weren’t. Or something.

“So,” Michael started, looking up at him, “I figure we could stop in Texas for the night, stay somewhere.”

“Okay,” Alex agreed.

Michael waited for a few more minutes before caving and deciding to ask.

“Are you okay?“ 

Alex didn’t immediately answer. He just breathed and stared out the window, clearly trying to think of what to say. That was enough to tell Michael that the answer was “no” but he didn’t push. He wasn’t stupid back in high school. As beautiful as Alex was, he’d always been a bit troubled. Maybe that was still following him. He just wanted to know.

“Well, personally, life sucks. Headed to Mississippi to try to start new myself, so hopefully it’ll help you too,” Michael offered. Alex breathed in deep and shrugged.

“Doubt it.”

“Why not?” Silence again. “Okay. Well, I hope it does anyway.”

Michael turned on the radio and fiddled with it for awhile before settling on a radio show where the two hosts were spilling celebrity gossip. Ariana Grande this, Kendall Jenner that, a ton of other names he didn’t quite recognize. It was mindless enough until they started talking about someone in particular.

“Alright, let’s talk about why fans of Fever Dream, the indie folk punk band gone mainstream after their title song from their most recent album went viral, are thinking lead singer Alex Manes might be leaving the band after going radio silent on all social media,” one of the hosts said, using her best gossip voice. Michael’s eyes widened a little and he looked back to Alex who looked even more pained.

“Can you change it, please?” Alex asked. 

“Yeah,” Michael agreed, clearing his throat and turning it to a random station. An old Johnny Cash song played through the speakers and it felt safe. Well, at least he knew what he was running from..

Michael didn’t say anything more as they drove. How did he not realize Alex had gotten famous? Or, had reached some level of fame at least. Shouldn’t that be something he would’ve noticed? 

It made him even more nervous to tell Alex that he knew him. He might think he was lying, that he was some crazed fan who was taking advantage of Alex’s state. Honestly, it didn’t seem like Alex had much self-preservation in the first place. 

Michael got off at an exit right on the edge of New Mexico and Texas to stop and get gas. He asked Alex if he wanted anything to eat and got a shrug, so he went into the gas station and just got a few different things and hoped Alex would like at least one. Crackers, original potato chips, chocolate, and two slices of cheese pizza along with two bottles of water.

“Thank you,” Alex said, accepting the pizza and the water. Michael just smiled and went to fill up the tank.

When he got back in the car, they sat and ate and Michael tried to figure out what to say to him. He didn’t want to press, but he also didn’t want to spend the entire weekend with him in silence. He just had to find something to talk to him about.

“So, what’s it like having straight hair?” Michael asked. Alex looked at him with confused eyes and slowly pulled the water bottle from his mouth. He had the tiniest trace of a smile which felt like a win.

“What?”

“Well, I wanna get to know you so small talk is out of question, but I don’t wanna start too heavy. So I got that and asking how you prefer your toast. Pick your poison,” Michael said. Alex’s smile got a little more obvious.

“Barely cooked. Just enough to call it toast with grape jelly on it,” Alex answered. Michael nodded thoughtfully. 

“I’m more of a strawberry jam guy myself, but I respect your choices,” he said, “I don’t turn peanut butter down either.”

“Peanut butter on toast?”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. It’s good,” Michael promised.

“I’ll have to try it sometime.”

“Absolutely.”

Michael opened the bag of chips and held it out to Alex. He plucked a couple from the bag and held them in his palm as he ate slowly. Michael switched between looking at him and looking at the chips.

“So, do you like podcasts? I can put one on until we find a motel,” he said.

“I’ll listen to whatever.”

“I like true crime, but that might be a little much when we basically just met,” Michael said. Alex shook his head.

“I don’t mind.”

“You’re just going with the flow on everything, huh?” Alex just shrugged.

“Sometimes you need to just go with the flow.”

“I feel that,” Michael nodded, “I’ve been living with my sister and just going with the flow, but I’m tired of that shit. Heading out to Mississippi to find a new job. You were gonna be my last ride, so it was pretty phenomenal.”

“Funny how life works,” Alex said. Michael nodded. 

He stared at him for a moment, weighing his options. It seemed like a good time to just get out on the table.

“So, if we’re gonna be traveling together, there’s probably something you should know,” Michael said. Alex froze a little and looked at him cautiously, nodding. “We went to high school together. Michael Guerin, if you remember. Wasn’t particularly talkative.”

Alex stared at him, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to place him before they shot up and his eyes widened. 

“Oh, fuck, dude, I’m sorry I didn’t notice you,” he said, “Life’s been hectic.”

“You’re fine, I’m surprised you remember me at all.”

“How could I not? You were smart as fuck, I used to be so jealous,” Alex laughed. He’d visibly relaxed since hearing that and Michael wished he would’ve said something earlier.

“You were jealous of me? I was jealous of you. You were so cool,” Michael insisted. Alex quirked a little smile and shrugged. 

“Guess we probably should’ve talked then, huh?” Alex said, “Fate clearly wants us to meet.”

The idea of fate having a hand in this whole thing was almost too romance novel for him, but he liked it. How else would they explain how perfect the timing was?

“Well, guess we should see why.”

Alex smiled genuinely. He was obviously tired and worn, but his smile was still warm and Michael felt special. This felt worth every bad choice he’d made.

“I guess we should.”

[earlgreytea68]

The Omegaverse Lawsuit

Everyone's been talking about the Omegaverse lawsuit recently, which is a little odd, since it was filed in September, but hey, sometimes that's how it goes!

It literally took me a little while to figure out that the names of the book series at issue here are Myth of Omega and Alpha's Claim. Like, I know this is meant to clearly signal they're Omegaverse books, but it just amused me to be talking about Omegaverse and not have it be a ficcy title. It really drove home to me how very, very different fic is as a genre from commercial original fiction, even when they're hitting the same tropes. 

The first thing to note is that the complaint is not a copyright infringement claim. Instead, the plaintiff, basically a writer named Zoey Ellis, is making allegations stemming from a copyright infringement claim against *her.*

The whole thing starts with a DMCA notice. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it's really easy for copyright holders to get allegedly infringing activity taken down: they file a notice. The website hosting the allegedly infringing activity is required by the DMCA to remove the allegedly infringing activity basically immediately. The person whose material has been removed is permitted to fight against the notice, but of course many people don't do that. It takes time, effort, and a knowledge of the law. For a lot of busy, sensible people, it's often not worth it. What this means is that DMCA notices are massively abused. We know they are. Theoretically they can only be advanced in good faith, however. So, if you can prove you've got a DMCA notice that was issued in bad faith, well, that could be a thing. 

Which is what this complaint builds around. It doesn't happen often, challenging a DMCA notice on bad faith grounds, but this complaint goes for it, which is impressive. And they allege a decent case because they allege a DMCA notice was issued for a book that hadn't even been published yet. Knowing an unpublished book is going to be copyright infringement before you've even seen it is a talent that you'd be smart to utilize on winning the lottery (if that’s what happened, of course). 

The plaintiff here did what you're supposed to do under the DMCA if you believe your work is fine and provided counter-notices. However, unlike in the case of the original notice, counter-notices can take months to process and resolve to get the works back up. 

As anyone familiar with fandom can tell you, rumors spread quickly. Once the word was out there that a DMCA notice had caused a takedown based on plagiarism, the allegations say that forums picked up on it, defaming the plaintiff's reputation. 

The complaint goes on to allege a pattern of the defendant Addison Cain manipulating social media for stars and reviews. I know we theoretically have standards for how stars and reviews happen, but, really, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there in book marketing. These are the examples in the complaint: 

Idk, if the DMCA notice claims are true, they seem sketchy, but these communications don't strike me as that bad. The truth is, it's hard to know as an author when you're going "too far." You need to educate people as to what's helpful algorithmically, and upvoting five stars and downvoting one stars is helpful. That sounds like what she's doing, providing information so people know how they can help a writer they love. Presumably anyone doing this would seem to care enough about Addison Cain's books to spend time doing this. It doesn't seem from these excerpts like she's bribing people in any way. The second example seems especially bland to me, like, the reader seems to ask if it would be helpful to mark it "not helpful," so the reader brings it up, and then in response to Addison Cain they seem to say that they're shocked anyone would find the review helpful, which seems to me to imply that their "not helpful" designation was a true reflection of how they feel. Surely encouraging truthful and honest behavior on the part of your readers isn't a bad thing, and surely we would not ask authors to explain to readers how to be mean to them, instead of how to help them. So, I don't know, this part of the complaint strikes me as a little weak. I just don't think asking for people who liked your book to review it as scandalous as they seem to think. Like, their exhibit is titled "Review Manipulation," and it includes things like this: 

(which, btw, afa I can tell, is her encouraging people to leave good review on *someone else's* book)

and

Idk, what do you think? Are you outraged by those? 

Moving on: 

This does seem ridiculous to me. She does seem to think that she was the first to ever write a M/F Omegaverse (which the complaint alleges is provably untrue), but also seems to think that she therefore influenced the entire genre to be exactly like her. Idk. This just makes me think, like, ::raised eyebrow:: Who goes around saying "Oh, you know why that's like that? They're all copying ME!" Idk.

(Incidentally, it's interesting that she's claiming to own the straight version of the trope, that the straight version of the trope is the unusual version, because romance is in the mainstream culture dominated so much by straight love stories, and indeed every love-story example in the complaint is a het example. They use "The Runaway Bride" as an example of an enemies-to-lovers trope, which was SO WEIRD to me, I stared at it and was like, ....but all of Harry/Draco exists???? lol)

Asserting that on its own, though, would just make me roll my eyes a bit and move on. Coupled with the DMCA notice allegations, however, it does make it seem like she's trying to claim ownership over the entire M/F Omegaverse genre.

The similarities listed in the DMCA notice do seem like pretty basic aspects of the trope that I don't think anyone can own. 

(There are more alleged. This is just the first few.)

But the DMCA notice does purport to contain reviews that say the two books are very similar. 

(Again, there are more, this is just a selection.) Part of me feels like maybe these people just haven't read much Omegaverse? Or haven't read fic, so they're not used to how tropes work? Idk. Without having read the books myself, it's hard for me to make this call. (And that's honestly how copyright infringement gets decided. You just have to read the books and decide if they're substantially similar in something copyrightable. Which apparently somebody did because the books were eventually reinstated as not infringing, it just didn't happen in a court of law. If this case goes on, eventually some judge is just going to have to sit down and read these.)

And of course the DMCA notice obviously chooses the most favorable to their cause, because there's also this: 

If the only similarities are the rules...that just sounds like the Omegaverse trope. 

The claims itself in this case are really interesting. It's not a copyright infringement case, because the plaintiff is specifically saying they are NOT infringing. Instead, the first claim is a copyright misuse claim (that you're using the monopoly granted to you by the government in an improper way, usually understood to be anticompetitive in a way that the government didn't contemplate as being part of the copyright grant). These are relatively rare but I think it's the right call, that using your copyright to send false DMCA notices would be copyright misuse. 

The defendant has now answered the complaint denying the allegations. Indeed, the defendant asserts that the complaint is defamatory because it alleges Addison Cain has only filed one other DMCA notice in ten years of being a published author and thus she has not repeatedly manipulated the system to shame other authors. It also includes a counterclaim that alleges basically that this lawsuit has been brought for harassment purposes because it’s expensive to defend a lawsuit and they alleged that online sales metrics tell them that at most Zoey Ellis has lost about $2000 worth of sales.

So that’s where the case stands now.

Other miscellaneous observations:

--The complaint has spoilers for the end of Alpha's Claim which tell me I would never read that book. 

--This is what the complaint lists as the common markers of the Omegaverse trope: 

--

You know, people in Omegaverse fics often grapple really hard with consent issues, and I love when that happens, and I'm sad that's obscured in this paragraph. I mean, I know the point of the complaint isn't to talk about the ways in which the trope can be subverted, but anyway.

I'm not a huge Omegaverse person, but one thing I do often enjoy about it is how stark it makes the sexism of our patriarchal society, that the gender that breeds is so devalued and treated as dangerous and cordoned off and loses agency, etc. And then how straightforwardly it often has to deal with that. And I know M/M Omegaverse often skimps on female characters but I also like how much it drives that point home, that it's not a man/woman thing, it's literally just that as soon as someone has to bear the children, that comes attached with all sorts of burdens and expectations. 

And I'm also not saying that every Omegaverse author sits down to grapple with those issues, or should be, or has to be. Just that Omegaverse can reveal so much about how we structure societies. And I'm sad that this complaint is just furthering this idea that fic doesn't really do anything profound or interesting or necessary and is just: 

It's cool, not all fic/writing/creativity needs to serve GREAT INTERESTS, nor should it, but also I think a lot of fic/writing/creativity does, and that gets ignored in favor of dismissing it as frivolous. Idk. Obviously this complaint is not about solving that issue, but it made me think about it. 

--

OR. Hear me out. They could get together and just cuddle for 100,000 words and banter and stuff. Just sayin'. Just throwing it out there. 

--

I'm honestly really annoyed by this paragraph's wording. It sounds so condescending. "Employed a degree of creativity consisted with other 'fan fictions.'" I hate those quotation marks around "fan fictions," like they're not sure those are a real thing. So-called "fan fictions" (which, who calls them fan fictions anyway? who are they quoting there lol). But also, like, what's the "degree of creativity consistent" language. Like, the standard for copyrightability is that it possesses a modicum of creativity. That's it. It's a low bar. We know the phone book doesn't have a modicum of creativity but almost everything else has SOMETHING. So this strikes me as a little...sneering and dismissive, like, "Well, it's just as creative as other 'fan fictions.'" No. It's creative. Fic is creative. This is creative. It's an entire BOOK, that no one is alleging copies anything other than tropes (AS ALL PIECES OF FICTION DO, THIS IS NOT A FIC THING). It's got plot, characters, setting, dialogue -- none of which are alleged to be copied. So, like, just say it. It's creative. It possesses a modicum of creativity. Move on. I have no idea why that weird "fan fictions" reference is in there, Idk. 

--They've got an exhibit that they claim is Addison Cain online statements about the plaintiff, but I can't make heads or tails of them. They're weirdness about how she's wrote the original M/F Omegaverse, but I don't see any references to the plaintiff author Zoey Ellis, other than very vague references like this: 

I'm a little bewildered by this exhibit. I think maybe they might be alleging that Addison Cain set up fake accounts to badmouth Zoey Ellis but if that's the case it's not clear to me, especially since they've blacked out the account name: 

--This complaint has an exhibit that's basically an expert witness on Omegaverse. I love this so much. :-)

--Let's just enjoy this being in a legal filing: 

--This isn't part of the main allegations. This is apparently, though, the kind of thing that Addison Cain has in the past considered plagiarism. Just a small selection, again, there are more. But:

I have long said that writing a sex scene is like writing a cover letter: You’re trying to convey a very narrow series of events, over and over, and there’s only so many words you can use to do it. So comparing sex scenes like this just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Sex scenes will mostly inevitably sound similar in isolated sentences like this. It’s so funny, I was just saying to Aja about a gif, “He’s arching his neck to give him access like every heroine in every romance novel.” Because that’s a line we’ve all read in every romance novel.

--

Honestly, honestly, literally every single Omegaverse fic I’ve ever read has this exact moment. (And many of them do it better.)

--This complaint has taught me a lot about how much of a kink some people have for being covered in days’ worth of caked-on semen, rubbed into their bodies and massaged into their hair. Really, the complaint is kink-instructive, I recommend it.

--Honestly to me the most damning thing about this is this exhibit where Addison took matters into her own hands to post the similarities between her book and another book, because I’m just not convinced by any of these, and if this is what she thinks copyright infringement is, then I doubt she understands what it is. Bull all these BTBB/TMO comparisons have been her making her case that these two books are similar, and I’m just dubious. And then stuff like this comes up:

Omegas being tired after a heat, yup.

They…both came up with a futuristic device that has a…screen?

She does end with this:

But I just don’t see what she’s claiming ownership of *other than* these really common Omegaverse tropes that I’ve read a million times. (Which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing. I’m a fic person at heart; I adore tropes.)

Anyway. That’s it. That’s the case so far. Let me know if you have questions, because lawyers can be bad at remembering what non-lawyers might be confused about.

In the meantime, I’m going to dig up some Omegaverse.

[thisurlwasnttakenbutnowitis]

*sigh* I’m seriously worried this is the beginning of the end for Tumblr. From a business point of view, this change is definitely going to hurt the revenue Tumblr generates as people are kicked off or leave in droves. And I don’t believe Tumblr was really that profitable in the first place. When Yahoo were the owners of the site, I wasn’t really worried that they’d pull the plug, because they paid a fortune for this site and so they damn well would want to see their investment pay off. But Verizon bought out Yahoo, and I don’t think Verizon really cares what happens to this site. Tumblr was just a small part of their purchase of Yahoo, and unlike Yahoo, they didn’t invest any money in the acquisition of this site directly. So since Tumblr has failed to become the social media juggernaut that Yahoo wanted it to be, coupled with the fact that it’s just a tiny footnote in Verizon’s empire, if the profits it’s generating are slouching, I could see Verizon deciding it’s not worth the resources and just... pulling the plug.

I don’t know, man. It’s been 8 years since I’ve joined this site, and I’ve never felt genuinely worried that we could be witnessing the end until now. And as much as I’ve shit talked this site... I’m scared. I don’t want it to die. This site has been with me through so much. It’s always been there to comfort me, to make me laugh. Sure, there will always be other social media, but I can’t put my finger on why I feel there’s this sense of community here that I just don’t see in other social media. The way I see Twitter is everyone just feels like their own island. Like... Twitter feels more about seeing what your favorite celebrities are up to than actually interacting with people who share your interests, you know? Maybe it’s the fact that this site hasn’t broken into the mainstream that make it feel so unique. No one here is high and mighty, we’re all just a bunch of losers who can bond together about being losers.

I’m just rambling at this point, but I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

[mamamittens]

Until the Tide Comes Home

(Self Love - Ace February Event Part 2) Warning: suicide ideation, depression, and related topics discussed below.

Part 1 for context here.

@lunaxmerigold @secretsnailor

Skip to the 'Words: 621' for the actual story, I just didn't want to harsh the vibe by explaining my headspace while writing this at the end of this story.

I got really into my feels seeing them finally look into how other people (besides the close family characters) were affected by Ace dying, which feels a little late. And I kind of... got to wondering about what it might have looked like if we finally got a different sort of suicidal ideation/depression/self esteem issue point of view? Like, we have a lot of media about the hole people leave when they go tragically, but not a lot about what it means to pull out of that dark place. Especially not mainstream.

And while I've never been quite so down and dark before, I've... looked into the void, so to speak. Before works like "13 Reasons Why" were everywhere providing closure to situations that in reality would likely never happen so neatly... or dramatically depending on your PoV. I can't imagine being in that headspace and seeing variations of people like you dying for character motivation without really explaining that they would take back every bit of that power gain just to see you again. Or at least not in a timely manner.

That there's more that you can add to the world besides reasons for other people to do better. Dying in media tends to be the way characters 'redeem' themselves when doing so in other ways is either impossible or too difficult to really pull off. So Ace doing so felt... wrong.

Don't get me wrong, it was tragic and a very good twist--I don't think Oda could have predicted how popular his character would get, but killing off a character is sort of... an easy way to raise the stakes.

Especially when this character clearly didn't have a lot of motivation to live to begin with.

So this is my totally healthy way of dealing with that--stop looking at me istg--and sort of prompting an idea of how empowering it would have been to see Ace pull himself out of that darkness for others until he can do it all for himself. A more healthy redemption arc, if you will.

And to stop with this obsessive pride thing the series has--I know it's lowkey a cultural thing and it is admirable, but the series doesn't really address how toxic it can get outside of villainous flaws.

ANYWAY! To the story!

Words: 621

Your father is… the Pirate King, Gol. D. Roger!

More than anything, those words felt like the real execution. Not the chains around his wrists, or the blades ready to cut him in two, but the public condemnation of his sin. The one thing he’d been running from desperately since he first understood the weight of his crimes.

What blackened his soul from the day he was born.

And now everyone knows.

And now everyone knows.

But nothing ever goes right for Ace. If it did, just this once, he would have been killed swiftly after Sengoku outed him to the world.

Instead, he had to watch as his precious family bared their blades in his defense, his aging father standing against all of Marineford… and his infinitely precious and stupid little brother fall out of the sky and challenge the world on his behalf.

He had to feel that glimmer of hope that he would see the crowning of a new Pirate King.

“…How do you make it stop?”

That he would make it out alive.

“It’s hard. Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done…”

That maybe…

“I learned to love myself.”

He was meant to be born after all.

“Step by step.”

But here he was… staring in horror as Luffy fell to the ground, wide open for a fiery fist he had no chance of withstanding.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day and he didn’t have a choice.

What other choice did he have but to save Luffy at any cost?

“The sky promised you freedom and the sea greeted you like kin.”

His pride got him here.

Again and again, it drove Luffy into danger. It drove everyone he’s ever loved into danger.

Bluejam.

Alabasta.

Thatch…

Teach.

Oyaji.

Luffy…

Sabo.

When would he ever learn?

“And honey, you grew like a bramble bush.”

How could he ever make it up to Luffy? To Sabo?

“And most importantly, Ace…”

All his life he lived like he was ready to die. Eager to die without regrets, specifically.

His boots ground into concrete and debris with desperation. His aching body screaming for rest as his throat tore with intention. The heat of the sun bearing down on him hotter than any devil fruit he’s ever known.

His eyes locked onto his little brother’s horror-stricken face, arms outstretched and knees preparing to brace themselves.

“I’ll say it again and again…”

There was a never-ending roar in his ears like the entire ocean was crashing against his skull.

He couldn’t think.

“Until even the waves can’t help but bring my words back to you.”

He was thinking with a clarity he had never experienced before in his whole life.

It was time for him to be ready to live.

For all of them… until he was ready to live for himself.

With shaking hands, he roughly scooped up his little brother. Like he should have when the flames grew high. When Sabo was lost to them all.

“Above all else, Ace…”

And he ran.

He turned his back to the fight with the only pride worth having in his arms and ran.

Cowardly heart aching as he was scooped up in turn by golden claws, Marco’s tearful eyes relieved as he delivered them to the safety of Oyaji’s arms.

The world stood still.

Oyaji looking down at him with a gentle smile, tears in his eyes.

“The sea brought you back to me, my precious son.” The sounds of battle faded away as his Oyaji whispered down at him, “You came back to us… welcome home, Ace.” He breathed out with pride.

“You are loved beyond measure.”

And in that moment?

He believed them.

For once in his life, he really believed them.

[matthewwilliamcharles]

Virtue

It’s a sad time to be a human being.  Sometimes I just find it hard to believe that so many of us are lacking in critical thought. I know that might sound arrogant to some, to others I may just be preaching to the choir.  The thing is, I know that I do not have all the answers, and I leave my mind open to the possibility that I may be wrong about anything.  Just in these past few years I’ve had so many eye opening realizations.  If I could talk to myself from several years ago I would surely be surprised by some of my viewpoints.  Or maybe I wouldn’t, when I am approached with a convincing fact or a life altering experience I will quickly challenge my previously held beliefs.  I think it’s important to constantly question yourself.  Some people are just so invested in their beliefs and their identity that no matter what evidence you provide them to the contrary they will not budge.  As Chris Rock’s character Rufus says in the movie Dogma, “I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier…”

One thing I do believe is that we humans are compassionate, and we do have empathy.  It’s just the controllers that shouldn’t be are continuously playing on our heart strings.  It’s amazing how they control us and get us to react based on our emotions and take off our critical thinking caps.  It is psychological warfare on the human mind and spirit.  Maybe it’s because we have become so void of emotion in our normal lives that we respond to the bait so easily? I don’t know, I am just sick of all this virtue signaling crap.  Why doesn’t anybody think that halting distribution of vodka to a liquor store or closing down IKEA’s in Russia is a good idea?  You’re not sticking it to Putin, you’re negatively affecting people's livelihoods, normal people like you!  Citizens should never take the blame for the crimes of their governments. It’s so stupid and it makes me so disappointed that people are so short sited.  War is wrong, and the people are suffering, but you’re not doing anything by playing the game and just regurgitating what you hear on the news.  Don’t dare rock the boat and use your brain for a split second, you might make somebody angry or offend somebody that has no clue of what is really going on in the world!  That’s the thing, we have all the technology in the world to be informed, but that’s not how we use it.

It’s just been an endless propaganda campaign since 2016.  Not that we weren’t inundated with propaganda here in the United States before that. That's just when, in my opinion, the propaganda volume was cranked up to 11 and we were doused with complete lies and garbage on a daily basis.  I used to listen to the news, I could listen to NPR and knew that it had a slant.  They had a subtle way of telling you some facts, but conveniently leaving out other facts to change the perception of a story.  During the Trump, Clinton selection, NPR and other similar news outlets lost their collective minds.  From the Wikileaks DNC leaks, to the completely fake accusations of Russian collusion (it’s amazing to go back and read these articles, total lies) the mainstream news started covering up so much truth that it was painfully obvious.  Now I can't even listen to NPR anymore, it’s too painful.  

When Trump became president we turned into a completely divided nation.  The media just could not tell the truth about America, and instead they drove a wedge in between us.  The logic was, Donald Trump was president, therefore the only way that could have happened was that a bunch of racists got together and voted.  By that logic, the country was overrun by racists and we needed a bunch of yard signs to let people know where we stood.  I have no trust in elections so I have no idea if he actually won legitimately (if any president ever does), but I do know lots of people voted for him, people of all cultures. Just take a drive through America (especially at that time) and see all the Trump paraphernalia littering every small town and city. Many people voted for him because we have broken system that people do not trust, and people would gladly fill out their fuck you vote for the guy that the establishment seemed to hate.  I’m sure racist people voted for him too, just like I’m sure racist people vote for Democrats.  (Just to be 100% clear I have no faith in elected governments and Democrats and Republicans are all the same to me)

Then we had covid, and then Black Lives Matter protests, and then the next thing and the thing after that.  More reasons to hate each other and virtue signal.   If you are a peace loving, virtuous person, you don’t need a sign or a banner.  You do not need to prove it to anybody, you just are, and you will not be concerned with whether people think that you are virtuous or not. I am just so tired of watching us go through these cycles, again, and again, and again.  Hopefully what I’m seeing and being presented is only a minority.  I just see it and hear it in my day to day life.  Sometimes you just need to step back, focus on yourself and the people in your life.  You can’t expect to change the world, but you can make a net positive in the world around you.

[kateayoung-blog]

Are social media platforms bad for democracy?

From revolutions to presidential elections, there is little doubt that the realm of Web 2.0 has real-world political consequences. Social media has long been heralded as a tool for liberation, giving a platform to those who had been excluded from the political arena, and affording them the ability to mobilise support (Tucker et al. 2017, p. 47). Likewise, official Facebook and Twitter accounts have become commonplace on the campaign trail, providing a forum for politicians to reach the masses and niche audiences alike (Young 2010, p. 221).

The events of the 2016 U.S. presidential election have raised serious questions over the capacity of such platforms to interfere with the democratic process. Previously, my biggest social-media-based election concerns might have been whether to unfollow my local member (and his incessant parking meter posts) on Facebook, or if I should post a picture of my ballot sheet that listed Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow as a candidate (I did). Now, they’re more along the lines of whether my accounts have (undoubtedly) been exposed to foreign interference and fake news. These concepts are not new but, like many others prior to 2016, I was still riding the optimistic high of social media’s democratic potential, unaware of the dark world of algorithms, data breaches, and filter bubbles that lurked beneath. As stated in a 2017 leading story in The Economist – “Facebook, Google and Twitter were supposed to improve politics. Something has gone very wrong” (The Economist 2017).

A couple of nights ago I went to see Hillary Clinton speak. When asked what she believed influenced the outcome of that November 2016 night, her response was clear – her fate was sealed by social media. In a presidential race that earned “fake news” and “alternative facts” places in our vernacular, the unsuspecting digital citizenry was bombarded with political bias, unprecedented vitriol, and highly unconventional campaign social strategies. Even Trump himself has declared that he probably wouldn’t be where he is had it not been for Twitter (Factba.se 2017). Circumventing traditional media outlets, Trump led a one-man Twitter campaign. Policy, attacks on other candidates, and self-praise came tumbling out in bizarre late night Twitter tirades, controlling the mainstream news of the day with perfectly timed distractions. When asked how he would change his social media behaviour upon being sworn in he responded "I'm going to do very restrained. If I use it at all, I’m going to be very restrained.” (Firozi 2016). I’ll just leave these here. 

The biggest threat, however, comes from the influence we cannot see. Facebook has admitted that between January 2015 and August 2017, 146m users may have been exposed to Russian backed misinformation across its platform (The Economist 2017). Additionally, the data of 87 users was accessed by big data firm Cambridge Analytica in an effort to deliver targeted political bias to Facebook users (Solon 2018). The danger lies in the fact that social media platforms are increasingly being treated as news sources (Tucker et al. 2017, p. 49), a trend that is particularly rampant amongst those who are “headline-checkers” (Young 2010, p. 218). The UI of social media platforms, combined with our “attention economy”, ensures that fake news travels fast and largely unchallenged (The Economist 2017; Tucker et al. 2017, p. 54), using so-called filter bubbles to keep us safe inside our like-minded microcosms. To step outside the filter bubble is to be confronted with an anger and moral outrage that seems to multiply on the internet, amplifying divisions that have long existed, and giving voice to partisans that were previously sidelined. Civilised discussion seems to have no home on our feeds - “Facebook is where you go to be outraged among people who are outraged by the same things; Twitter is where you take your outrage to the enemy” (Williams 2017). In the months surrounding November 2016, I witnessed many a post implosion, as people seemed to forget about general niceties, going straight for the throat at the first mention of politics. Magnified by this concept of everybody having a voice on social media, these disputes moved offline, making for many an awkward thanksgiving dinner in my own friendship circle.

Whilst the events of 2016 (unfortunately) cannot be undone, I at least hope that they serve as an example of how not to use the internet. The attention that has been brought to privacy and authenticity concerns on social media has offered an opportunity for individuals and corporations alike to take stock of their own practices – and maybe untick a few boxes in their Facebook settings. Perhaps if we spend as much time investigating sources as we do screaming at each other on the internet, there may be hope for us yet. As Hillary told us the other night - “we need to make social media work for democracy”.

References

Factba.se 2017, Fox News: Tucker Carlson Interviews Donald Trump - March 15, 2017, Factba.se, viewed 10 May 2018, <https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-fox-march-15-2017>.

Firozi, P 2016, 'Trump vows to be 'very restrained' with Twitter as president', The Hill, 11 December 2016, Available at <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/305747-trump-vows-to-be-very-restrained-with-twitter-as> (Accessed 10 May 2016).

Solon, O 2018, 'Facebook says Cambridge Analytica may have gained 37m more users' data', The Guardian, 5 April 2018, Available at <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/04/facebook-cambridge-analytica-user-data-latest-more-than-thought> (Accessed 10 May 2018).

The Economist 2017, 'Do social media threaten democracy?', The Economist, Nov 4, Available at <https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21730871-facebook-google-and-twitter-were-supposed-save-politics-good-information-drove-out> (Accessed 4 May 2018).

Tucker, JA, Theocharis, Y, Roberts, ME & Barberá, P 2017, 'From Liberation to Turmoil: Social Media and Democracy', Journal of Democracy, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 46-49.

Williams, Z 2017, 'We are all angry on social media - at least try to listen to the rage of others', The Guardian, 9 October 2017, Available at <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/09/angry-social-media-facebook-twitter-silicon-valley> (Accessed 10 May 2018).

Young, S 2010, How Australia Decides: Election Reporting and the Media, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.

Images and video

‘Bruce Plante Cartoon: Trump and Twitter’ 2017 [image], Bruce Plante, Tulsa World, viewed 10 May 2018, <http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/161817>.

‘How social media helped weaponise Donald Trump’s election campaign’ 2017 [video], Planet America, ABC News Australia, viewed 11 May 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VFTCwKLlgg>.

‘Outcome of political arguments meme’ 2016 [image], Me.me, viewed 10 May 2018, <https://me.me/i/outcome-of-political-arguments-on-facebook-you-change-your-mind-2911634>.

[micheldevries73]

LIBERATION DAY IN HOLLAND

Years ago, sometimes it seems like an eternity, sometimes it feels like it only happened yesterday. But years ago when I was still working for Dutch television, I had the utter privelige to participate in the filming of an episode for the Emmy Award nominated series "De Reunie" (The Reunion) by the KRO, where the then still living class mates of Anne Frank were invited to talk and remember Anne Frank on that very popular television show. I won't ever forget that day as long as I live because it made a considerable impact on me. It was over ten years ago, so most of those people we filmed then are probably not alive anymore as they were obviously of a very elderly age. For their peace and innocence maybe that is a good thing.

Today is the 5th of may. It is Liberation day in Holland. We are supposed to celebrate that 75 years ago the allied forces drove the Nazi's and therefore fascism out of our country. But today is a very sad day indeed. There is no reason to celebrate freedom and democracy and anybody who does is, as far as I am concerned, being disgraceful to all the victims, including Anne Frank, that we honoured yesterday on the 4th of may which is the Dutch National Remembrance day.

Fascism has put on a new jacket and has taken over the entire planet, including Holland, at an incredible rate. Freedoms that were fought for during WW2 and were taken for granted after that, have been stolen from us in a matter of weeks and more restrictive, basic human rights demolishing legislation is fast on it's way. Fear has been pumped into the population by the mainstream media in a manner that makes the Nazi propaganda machine look like an amateuristic highschool newspaper experiment. Yesterday a friend wrote to me that it is extraordinary how more and more people accept that the media is deciding for them what the truth is. Most people seem to accept this so blindly that no one bothers to ask how utterly strange this global mass hysteria actually is. Nobody, including the bulk of the medical profession, is questioning the fact that the most basic established medical, virological, epidemiological  and immunological science has been thrown out the window for the last two months. And those doctors and scientists who do point out this madness are ignorered and more and more of them are actively being silenced. Almost nobody is seeing the similarities with the control methods of the Nazi's. It has become the norm that you can rat out your neighbours to the police. Folks shrug their shoulders when one of those neighbours calls the police on a musician who, with 6 feet distance,  is giving a uplifting musical performance to a severely handicapped boy who has been stuck inside for six weeks because of the lockdown. The boys father got a 400 euro fine. People are getting used to this very unnatural 6 foot distance that has no scientific basis whatsoever and will probably last for the next two years. They will also blindly accept that artificial intelligence face recognition camera's will monitor this distance and check if they are behaving like the state wants them to.

The massive amount of fear and propaganda that has been pumped into them over the last couple of months is making them wish for, no even demand a mandatory vaccin. A mandatory vaccine that will not only violate the sovereignty of your own body but will leave a quantum technology digital ID mark beneath your skin that will have scary similarities to the tattoos that were forced upon the jews who were shipped off to the concentration camps. What Dutch highschool history classes so often conveniently forget to mention is the fact that an incredible large amount of jews were ratted out to the Nazi's by many 'respectable' Dutch citizens. Anne Frank was one of those jews that was ratted out. Will similar things happen to us who absolutely refuse to have this vaccine forced upon us? Do we have to go into hiding like many jewish families had to do? Will we be put in quarantine facilities if we are caught?

Do you think I am over-reacting? I truly hope I am, because then I will just go down in history as a paranoid nutter. And that is just fine with me because then we will still be enyoing our free society. And if I am not overreacting then this is my small contribution to counterbalance of what I feel to be a complete under-reaction of the population. Time will tell quite soon I reckon.

I shall raise the flag today. But it will be half-staff.

[berniesrevolution]

JACOBIN MAGAZINE

Yesterday, the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia brought together white supremacist groups from all over the country to demonstrate their volume, in both senses of the word. They cut ridiculous figures at first, dressed in khakis and polo shirts, wielding citronella candles, and shouting awkwardly. Their presence was met by a robust opposition, comprising local chapters of Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, Industrial Workers of the World, and other groups. But the rally took a violent turn. A young white nationalist named James Alex Fields, Jr., drove his silver Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counter-protesters, leaving many injured and at least one dead.

Soon after, President Trump made a statement from his private golf course in New Jersey. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides,” he said, before adding, again, “on many sides.”

The term “many sides” drew rightful scrutiny from many observers. In a confrontation between racists and anti-racists, in which a racist’s actions resulted in the death and injuries of anti-racists, it’s a strange geometry that identifies multiple equivalent sides. President Trump’s reticence betrays a reactionary bias, which comes as no surprise. But his rhetoric was not unique to him — the mainstream media and liberal intelligentsia had set the precedent.

The morning before the rally, Mieke Eoyang, vice president of the National Security Program at centrist think tank Third Way, tweeted, “If the Bernie Bros wanted to make a show of force on behalf of progressive values, Saturday in Charlottesville would be a good time.”

Neera Tanden, president of liberal think tank Center for American Progress, turned disdainfully to her left later that day. “We have actual fascists marching with torches. Maybe everyone on the progressive side could focus on the enemies of progress in front of us,” she tweeted. “We’re ready for you to join us Neera,” one young activist responded. Tanden’s response was to ask him to condemn “those on the alt left who want to join with the fascists.”

By evening, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a journalist for the New York Times who was reporting from Charlottesville, had tweeted, “The hard left seemed as hate-filled as alt-right.”

This middle-of-the-road tongue-clucking appeared earlier this year, in a Vanity Fair article by James Wolcott, pointing a finger at the so-called “alt-left.” Wolcott, too, directed his condemnation at many sides. He characterized the growing radical and socialist left, formerly scorned with the more lighthearted epithet “Bernie Bro,” as something more sinister. There is a “kinship,” he claimed, between the far left and the white supremacist alt-right. They are united by “disillusionment with Obama’s presidency, loathing of Hillary Clinton, disgust with ‘identity politics,’ and a craving for a climactic reckoning that will clear the stage for a bold tomorrow.”

The torch has been carried by centrist liberals ever since. Just a week before the Unite the Right rally, the Atlantic published an article by Peter Beinart decrying the “Rise of the Violent Left.” Beinart focused on “antifa,” which refers to tactical groupings of leftist activists dedicated to defending themselves and their comrades from fascist violence. “The people preventing Republicans from safely assembling on the streets of Portland may consider themselves fierce opponents of the authoritarianism growing on the American right,” wrote Beinart. “In truth, however, they are its unlikeliest allies.”

The day before the rally, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from an upcoming book by Mark Lilla, The Once and Future Liberal, which suggested that leftist anti-racism creates a “centrifugal” force, causing a movement to spiral out and splinter into factions. Even if we grant him his convoluted metaphor, based on a concept considered nonexistent by modern physics, it leads him to dangerous conclusions.

“Black Lives Matter is a textbook example of how not to build solidarity,” Lilla writes. “I am not a black male motorist and will never know what it is like to be one. If I am going to be affected by his experience, I need some way to identify with him, and citizenship is the only thing I know that we share.”

This isn’t just a failure of imagination, though it is certainly that. It’s a moral failure and a strategic failure as well. It offers no meaningful distinction from the politics of Donald Trump, who, after the violence in Charlottesville, tweeted: “We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST.”

(Continue Reading)

[florrie003games-blog]

Never Only Sit down At this time there! Start ONLINE GAME

The Apple Tv Gaming Blog

It's time to recognize the very best gaming blogs of the year. The true income in the video gaming niche comes from the affiliate sales. Not only promoting games, but selling the other products that go along with them. This can range from something to game guides, to digital currency for use within the games, to headsets, to the consoles themselves. Let's assume about your target industry for a minute. Gamers will do whatever they can to get an edge more than their competitors, even if that suggests paying for a ton for it. That's dollars going straight into your bank account.

Amazon's Fire Television, at the moment selling for $99, markets itself additional as a general entertainment box than a gaming console, but it can be utilised as a console with purchase of a separate controller. Moreover, the Amazon name has allowed it to draw a wonderful deal of help. Most streaming solutions have an app offered for the box. And whilst its games library is not massive, it does boast some big name titles like Minecraft Pocket Edition, The Walking Dead, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

It seems there was no a single at White Wolf who recognized that leaving this passage out would not have an effect on the book in any meaningful way whatsoever - no 1 operating a game at their kitchen table is having their gaming group's characters travel to Chechnya to discover the persecution of homosexuals throughout their Friday night game, and if they are, they should be intelligent enough men and women to do so with out White Wolf's published words. Leaving it out impacts practically nothing. Leaving it in affects the company's reputation.

The retail giant is nicely-identified for its expansions into novel industries and it is gone and completed it once more with game development. Amazon Lumberyard is a game engine born from Amazon's belief that game developers 'Ëœdeserve a further choice'. Absolutely free, powerful, and totally customisable, Lumberyard can be employed on projects for Computer, console and mobile gaming, and you only pay for the Amazon Web Services that you opt for to use.

MH Joystick lite is an awesome free responsive magazine WordPress theme. This theme is completely widgetized so that the customers can simply manage the content by using quick to use widgets. And the theme is excellent for gaming magazines, publishers, blogs, dynamic news, editors, online, newspapers, magazine, and news portals, and any inventive web-site. The theme is a well-optimized theme that helps you to load your web page on the major of Google completely. Also, the theme is completely responsive that looks equally awesome on all the screen sizes.

When it comes to mobile gaming, Android no longer finds itself in the shadow cast by the iPhone. And that is excellent news if you have gotten your hands on game-friendly phones like the Galaxy Note 9 , ROG phone or Razer Phone 2 — or seriously, any brand new Android telephone ready to fill up with all sorts of games. Browse through Google Play, and you'll come across a surplus of best games across a wide range of genres. No matter if it is action and adventure, puzzle games, or titles that the whole family members can love, our roundup of the most effective games accessible for Android presents anything for every sort of gamer.

For the moment, classic consoles are much more preferred than ever, but it's not a stretch to think about them dying out. Cloud gaming technologies is rapidly maturing to the point where it could very easily turn into the mainstream choice, even if other individuals continue to exist for enthusiasts. Equivalent to how film buffs still seek out physical media and music fans nonetheless commit thousands on record collections, specialised hardware will in all probability often have a spot in the homes of hardcore gamers.

According to Newzoo, the international mobile industry reached $24.5Bn in 2014, following impressive development prices of +33% and +57% for (clever)phones and tablets respectively. Growth is expected to continue in the coming years, with the mobile marketplace producing more than $40Bn by 2017. Regardless of a extensively reported slump in new tablet unit sales, game revenues on tablets are growing more quickly than smartphones, cementing their position as a crucial gaming device.

It wouldn't be a surprise to obtain a massive number of our viewers getting dedicated gamers. In today's context, it is a affordable factor to consider progressing your business enterprise or profession in the field of gaming. And for a fantastic cause also as it is such as an fascinating business venture. But, gamers as a crowd are fickle, in particular when it comes to design and style and functionality.

Revenues of the Southeast Asian games market are anticipated to double to $two.2Bn by 2017. Thailand will stay the largest market place in terms of gaming revenues in Southeast Asia, closely followed by Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore will continue to grow but http://freememberships4all.com/ will drop market share to faster expanding countries. Vietnam and Thailand will grow in line with the overall industry, maintaining their market share.

The firm prides itself on taking distinctive approaches to building its solution lines. In the course of 2012 Green Man Gaming acquired the Playfire social gaming network to both broaden its user base, as properly as leverage the wealth of player data accessible. The firm has also got into independent game publishing in 2014. To much better recognize how Green Man Gaming got to where it is, and where the online retailer fits in amongst larger digital distributors such as Steam and Origin, DFC spoke with founder and chief executive Paul Sulyok.

Make The Most Out of BRAVE and Facebook

Due to the fact we did not want to give regular news updates or gaming reviews we focused on offering high-quality content material about competitive games. We are passionate about mastering about new multiplayer games and we like to get fantastic at these games quickly. This passion is what drove us to write high quality guides and beneficial information and facts about these games.

GPD XD Plus portable combines cutting-edge components and technologies to provide remarkable mobile efficiency and precision gameplay for significant gamers. From subsequent-generation Android games to retro emulator games, GPD XD gamepad is gaming The Way It's Meant to be Played. For now, GPD XD Plus (GPD XD 2018 upgrade version) is offered. Massive things had been upgraded on this most up-to-date device- six parts upgraded: Android 7., vulkan engine, MTK8176 Quad-core+ power VR, Bluetooth shared net, RAM 4GB, E-ink book mode.

You are quietly accepting and at peace with your selection to become a board gamer for life. Your loved ones knows you adore board games and probably play them with you. Your friends know adore board games, and you have wonderful gaming groups. You've committed to assigning element of your home to be a board gaming area. For the first time, you have started to take away games from your collection. Maybe you have sold the games, or you just never have space to maintain virtually all of them. Mentally you accept that you don't want to play just about every game, and you've almost certainly narrowed down a handful of games that you want to play regularly.

Play is a bold and minimalist cost-free WordPress theme perfect for the gamers if you are thinking to create a fantastic gaming internet site. This theme is totally integrated with WooComerce plugin that helps you to open an on line organization. It is created with lots of incredible attributes that aid you to produce a significant number of versatile content. This theme is Search engine marketing optimized that is fantastic to get started your journey in the gaming sector. The theme is actively maintained and usually updated before each and every significant WordPress release. And the theme appears outstanding on all the screen sizes.

[salmankhanholics]

★ Tubelight director Kabir Khan: I need to be able to support my politics off camera !

Filmmaker Kabir Khan on his bond with Salman Khan, his new web series and why he feels it’s essential to wear his politics on his sleeves.

Anushree Majumdar | Published:April 30, 2017

I wanted to work with a political backdrop, post 9/11 America. Everybody around me said politics doesn’t sell says Kabir Khan.

In all your recent interviews, you have described Salman Khan’s performance in your upcoming film, Tubelight, as five times better than his performance in Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). How did you hit upon that number? I wonder how that came (laughs), I don’t know, it’s just a figure of speech. I said it once and then I kept saying it. He’s really gone the distance and pushed the boundaries in Tubelight. He’s trusted me enough to go into uncharted territories. By far, it’s his most endearing character. Maybe, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan experience allowed him to rethink what his audience expects of him.

You’ve always been open about the fact that when Ek Tha Tiger (2012) was made, you found it difficult to be on the same page as him. Now, you’re making a third film together. True. What I often say is that the turmoil we went through during the making of Ek Tha Tiger was necessary for us to make Bajrangi Bhaijaan. It was a clash of sensibilities, of aesthetics. I’m from a more real world, so to speak, he’s from a world and time when there wasn’t much of a premium on that — if it looks good, big and dramatic, let’s go for it. I’ve always struggled with that because, sure, it has an impact, but how did this situation take place? As an audience member, I used to struggle with the lack of social and political context in mainstream Bollywood films. They seemed to be set in some kind of la la land. How do you write a character without any context? We have to find some way of telling our stories, use a logical route. So, when I began working on Ek Tha Tiger, that was the struggle, and Salman and I had to work through it.

But the reason why I remained friends with Salman after that film is because, during the entire shoot, he never pulled the superstar card. He didn’t say, ‘Dude, you’ve only made two films. This is my way or the highway.’

You’ve embraced a sort of middle path now. You make commercially successful films but they always have a fairly political core.

Yes, that’s there with all my films. My first, Kabul Express (2006), was a small film, and was based on my experiences as a documentary filmmaker. Then, for New York (2009), which is my first mainstream film, I approached Aditya Chopra and said I wanted to work with a political backdrop, post 9/11 America. Everybody around me said politics doesn’t sell. Adi read the script and said, ‘I’m apolitical, but I can understand the politics needed to go ahead in the story’. And strangely, New York did really well at the box office.

It showed me that maybe, we are underestimating the audience. If a film is only about politics, they’ll get bored. But, if the politics is in the background, has a bearing on your story and is not shoved down their throats, then they will follow the characters into any world. With Ek Tha Tiger, I lost the politics in the masala. But, in Bajrangi…, I was finally able to put together what I’d been struggling to do for a while.

What was that?

A real context, that doesn’t jar with mainstream storytelling. What happened with Salman and me is that we thought that either our sensibilities can bounce off each other or they can clash. I think, now, I have understood Bollywood storytelling — there’s no formula to it. Yes, you pitch the dramatic and the emotional quotient a little higher than you normally would. But, if you’re going to talk about politics or send out a message, make sure it’s in the subtext. I keep going back to Bajrangi…, but there’s a song in it. At face value, it’s probably the most entertaining song in the film, the Chicken song, but it is also the most political song — the Chaudhury dhaba is actually India, it talks about what has been happening in the country. If I can make a film that is political, but still has the audience leave the cinemas smiling, I’ve won the battle.

You’ve just signed up with Amazon Prime Video to make an original show about the Indian National Army (INA). What’s the story?

I feel the INA is the most fascinating part of our contemporary history that wasn’t told before. Now, there are quite a few projects and I think it’s because the audience wants real stories. I got into the subject 20 years ago, and then, I made a documentary called The Forgotten Army (1999). The INA’s cry was ‘Chalo Dilli’ and I looked for surviving members of the INA. I found two — Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, who was tried at the INA trials at Red Fort at the end of WWII, and Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, who was the commander of the Rani of Jhansi regiment. For three months, we drove through Malaysia, Thailand and Burma, retracing the route of the INA from Singapore to Delhi.

What’s the game plan with the series?

Initially, I was planning it as a film but then I thought that this is an idea that lends itself much better to a mini-series. I’m adapting the raw material from my documentary into an eight-part series; each episode will be 40 minutes. We will have an international cast and we hope to use a soundtrack that is derived from the INA’s songs. A lot of people think that a web series is somewhere between films and television, but, actually, the scale of this show is more than two of my biggest films put together.

In the last year or so, you’ve shared your opinions about the industry and the government on social media. Have you ever thought of holding back like so many of your contemporaries in Bollywood have done?

People do tell me to hold back, but I don’t believe in that. I am making films, making content for the most powerful medium in this country. I need to be able to put my politics out there — and, I need to be able to support those politics off camera. Unfortunately, today, the liberal voice is always the meeker one. I think we should scream as loudly as the lunatics out there, and not say ‘Forget it, it’s not worth it’. It is worth it!

I don’t think we’re far away from a day when we’ll be told something like, ‘In one scene, a man is eating a kebab, remove it’. During Bajrangi…, when Om Puri’s character says ‘Jai Shri Ram’, somebody said, ‘Hata do, bura lagega (Remove it, it will offend people)’. I asked, who will it offend? I was told, ‘Muslims’. I’m also a Muslim and I didn’t see what was offensive about it. I watched the film at Gaiety in Bandra, on Friday morning — 80 per cent of the audience were working-class Muslims — and when that scene came, everybody cheered.

In a recent interview, you said ‘Dissent does not mean a lack of patriotism’, and your work today is addressing the themes of nationalism and patriotism. Comment.

I don’t understand the political climate right now. The greatness of this country lies in the ability to debate and discuss anything and everything. Today, a very clever narrative has been spun, that if you say anything against a ruling party or government, it means one is going against the country. Since when did a political party start representing this country? You say something, they’ll say, ‘Pakistan chale jao’ (Go to Pakistan). India has been around for several millennia!

Tubelight was Om Puri’s last Hindi film. What was it like to work with him in Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Tubelight?

My relationship with him has been a special one. I really wanted him to play the Taliban chief in Kabul Express, but he had a severe back problem at that time and his doctor had advised him against the project. But I kept in touch with him. In Bajrangi…, when this cameo came up, I went to him. He loved the story and the character, but he said, ‘Kabir, in your next film, you have to give me a better role’. So, Tubelight is that bigger, better role. You know, he had so much Punjabiyat in him — big smile, big hug in the morning, he was just so lovely. It was a shock for us when he passed away (in January).

2016 was a good year for Bollywood. Is there one film that you wished you could have made?

Dangal. It’s based on a true story and just the kind of film I love. I want to work with a lot of people but Aamir Khan is on the top of my list.

Indian Express

[thisdaynews]

India gives Trump the spectacle he loves

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/india-gives-trump-the-spectacle-he-loves/

India gives Trump the spectacle he loves

“Namaste Trump!” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shouted to the crowd, which repeated it back to a beaming Trump.

Standing alongside Modi, Trump on Monday inaugurated the brand-new Motera Stadium, lined with 110,000 orange, yellow and blue seats — all filled. Trump is ostensibly in India to help mitigate a long-standing trade dispute while tightening U.S.-Indian relations, but Monday’s mega-rally was also designed to appeal to Indian-American voters as Trump heads into his reelection campaign.

“The First Lady and I have just traveled 8,000 miles around the globe to deliver a message to every citizen across this nation: America loves India — America respects India — and Americans will always be true and loyal friends to the Indian people,” Trump said in a speech that was translated into Hindi on a large video screen in the stadium, which sits along the Sabarmati River in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

It was a political-style rally like no other. Even Trump’s popular MAGA rallies couldn’t compare to the size and scope of the “Namaste Trump” rally.

Attendees, some wearing matching shirts from schools, companies or groups and others visiting from the United States, gradually streamed into the heavily secured stadium starting at 8 a.m., hours ahead of the rally’s start time. Traditional, folk and patriotic songs blasted from the loudspeakers, keeping things upbeat under the unrelenting sun. A pair of jumbo video screens showed Trump’s motorcade moving through the city.

Nearly everyone was wearing white baseball caps provided by organizers that featured a Namaste Trump logo across the front and both countries’ flags on the brim. Even if the crowd started streaming out before the speeches were over because of the intense heat, the stadium was consistently filled with adulation for the U.S. president.

“Trump is my favorite,” gushed Gautam Patel, wearing a “Trump, Make India Great Again” baseball cap. “I like Trump. He’s straightforward, outspoken. … He’s got the verbal diarrhea but that’s okay. … He tells how it is. I love him.”

Patel, a businessman who grew up in India but now lives outside Chicago and planned his vacation to India around the rally, said he supports Trump because he helped push through the 2017 tax cuts and his opposition to illegal immigration. “I elected him and I will elect him again,” he said.

The event was more than twice the size of the “Howdy Modi” rally both leaders headlined in 2019 at a cavernous football stadium in Houston, billed as the largest event in the U.S. for a leader of a foreign nation.

“My friends, my family, maybe every Patel likes Trump,” quipped Suresh Patel, 67, who splits his time between Jersey City, N.J., and Anand, India. A green card holder, he isn’t able to vote but his wife and three adult children are all U.S. citizens and voted for Trump.

“I’m feeling proud,” he said in Hindi. “It’s the meeting of the world’s oldest democrat and the world’s biggest democracy.”

Hundreds of police officers in beige uniforms and black berets surrounded the stadium. Construction materials from the newly built stadium sat in piles outside. Near the VIP entrance was a huge sign that read “Welcome to India Donald and Melania Trump.”

As Trump’s motorcade slowly made its way to the stadium, the Indian music gave way to Trump’s rally playlist, including “Macho Man” and “Tiny Dancer.”

“People over here think he’s very powerful,” said Rashi Sharma, 20, a college student from Ahmedabad studying marketing and entrepreneurship. “I’ve always heard of him. He’s a strong leader. I’m following him on Twitter.” She said “watching him live and listening to his speech is an honor for us.”

At times, it felt a little like one of Trump’s MAGA rallies in the U.S. Some attendees went out of their way to criticize journalists, blast the mainstream media and praise Fox News. Trump and Modi even exited the stage to The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” Trump’s closing song at rallies since his 2016 campaign.

“We are registered Democrats but we have changed our views lately,” said Daksha Dalal, 66, a federal government retiree from Kansas City, Kan., who was spending the winter in India and attending the rally with her husband. The couple volunteered they used to watch CNN but switched to Fox News after a “negative” report on Modi. “We thought we could never watch Fox because we are Democrats.”

By the time the two leaders arrived after 2 p.m. local time, temperatures had soared and attendees were desperately fanning themselves with anything they could find. In their speeches, Trump and Modi, who both rode to office on a wave of populist rhetoric, heaped praise on one another in their speeches.

“Trump’s visit is a new chapter in the relationship between the U.S. and India, a chapter that will document the progress and prosperity of Americans and Indians,” Modi said in Hindi.

Trump talked about the economy — his usual topic — but this time he spoke about India’s economy. And he mentioned a landslide election — another usual topic — but this time he was describing Modi’s 2019 victory and ascendance from humble roots as a tea seller’s son.

“You are proof that Indians can accomplish at all, anything they want,” he said in his 27-minute remarks in which he mispronounced several Indian names and cities but name-checked well-known cricket players and Bollywood stars.

Modi began his political career in Gujarat, where he served as chief minister. As prime minister, he has enjoyed widespread popularity at home, though his reputation has taken a hit recently over over a new citizenship law that favors all religions over Islam. The move has sparked widespread protests around the country.

In his speech, Trump notably praised all religions.

Before appearing at the rally, Trump made a stop at the Sabarmati Ashram, the humble home where Mahatma Gandhi lived for a dozen years as he helped push India to gain independence from Britain. At one point, Modi could be seen explaining to Trump how to use a charkha, a traditional spinning wheel used by Gandhi. A makeshift VIP building had been hastily constructed for Trump and Modi in recent days, and the White House had been quiet about the visit ahead of time.

Another 100,000 people, largely hand-picked, spent hours in the sun waiting to wave small U.S. and Indian flags and cheer as the presidential motorcade drove passed. Some waved or gave a thumbs up. Along the route, artists from all 28 states performed at pop-up stages.

The leaders of China, Japan and Israel have all visited Ahmedabad since Modi became prime minister. But Trump is the first U.S. president and most high-profile visitor to date — even if he’s staying for less than two days.

Ahmedabad, a largely industrial city that bills itself as the land of Gandhi, features large swaths of crowded, low-income neighborhoods and more than its share of litter and cows roaming the streets. It has been furiously preparing for Trump’s visit for days — sprucing up the city, repairing roads, erecting flags and building a wall to hide a poor area along the route of the presidential motorcade.

Hundreds of signs — some in English, some in Hindi — have popped up, featuring photos of Trump and Modi with phrases that read “two dynamic personalities, one momentous occasion,” “the world’s largest democracy meets the world’s oldest democracy” and “a historic milestone for a historic friendship.”

The signs lined the lighted bridge across the Sabarmati River, where larger-than-life photos of Trump and Modi were also erected — Trump in his trademark dark suit tie, flashing a thumbs up.

Before Trump left Washington, he spoke about the crowds he expected to see in India, telling reporters that Modi promised him five to seven million people would line the streets between the airport and stadium. By Thursday, in Trump’s recalling of his conversation with Modi, the number had ballooned to 10 million.

It’s not unusual for the former reality TV star to be ever mindful of the optics. He often boasts about the size of his audiences and mocks his opponents, Republicans or Democrats, for what he deems lackluster support at events.

But in the days before Trump’s arrival, Ahmedabad officials announced 100,000 Indians had been selected and registered to stand along the motorcade route. While it was nowhere close to the 10 million people the president had predicted, the crowds were undoubtedly enthusiastic.

Trump posted on Twitter Saturday that he was looking “so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA!” while retweeting a clip from the popular movie Baahubali showing himself as the lead character and savior, riding on a chariot with the first lady.

He will leave for the capital city of New Delhi Monday night after first taking a detour for a private tour of the Taj Mahal.

Read More

[skylitlucy]

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Sexual assault has been front and center in mainstream media lately. Hell, it’s been front and center since the United States elected a man who openly admitted to sexual assault to the highest office in the country. As a survivor of sexual assault, this has been gut-wrenching. Every morning, when I wake up, I brace myself for the news. Each new revelation, each news story, each fallen hero, each time a woman tells her story over and over to the same horrendous reaction. “Why did she wait to come forward?” “Was she drunk? What was she wearing?” “Boys will be boys.” I think that last reaction hurts most of all. Because, perhaps, in some of these allegations, they were boys. Dumb, impressionable youths who take action before considering the consequences. But so much more often, these are not just boys. These are men. Adults. Men who absolutely understand the difference between right and wrong, and somehow, in their minds, the list of things that are wrong consist of things like: not stealing, not murdering, not beating anyone up. Someone, they fail to comprehend that rape, the forcible act of sex upon someone who does not, or CAN NOT consent, does not fall into the “wrong” category. I know this because I was raped by a man, an adult male, well into this 40s, who had and continues to have a distinguished job in the government. He was an adult. Not only did he know that what he was doing was wrong, but our mutual friend literally called him out on his sleazy behavior. We were both at our friend’s party, and he was flirting with me. The flirting was fine, but as his hand crept around my side and slithered down to cup my ass, I was very clearly uncomfortable. I pulled away, I scooted away, I started conversations with strangers to avoid him. Our mutual friend noticed his behavior and called him out on it. I believe his exact words were, “Not this one.” As if it would be fine with some other unsuspecting girl. A little background here: at the time, I had been living and working in DC for about three years, and my life had basically imploded. The Saudi company I was working for had stopped paying me (don’t get me started on the lack of rights for contract workers), my roommate had skipped town leaving me with about four months’ worth of back rent in my name, and I was done. I had officially called it quits. I packed up my apartment, my dog, and prepared to move from DC back home to Seattle. The night he raped me was literally two days before my flight back to Seattle. At the end of the party, our friend asked if anyone needed a ride home. I raised my hand, grateful for the ride back. I could have walked it, but it was December and cold, and I gladly accepted the ride. But when we got to my apartment, my rapist jumped out of the car and started walking towards my apartment. I panicked. What was I supposed to do? I went to the driver’s side window and pleaded with my friend, begging him for assistance. He scoffed “Ugh. I tried.” And then he drove away. I know that I should have refused to let him in. Forced him to take a cab home. Yelled at him to leave me alone. Ignored him, maybe? But politeness is ingrained into me (thanks, society). So instead of making a scene, yelling at him or, in my mind, being rude, I allowed him to follow me up to my apartment. We sat awkwardly in my living room, and I put on an episode of ‘Family Guy.’ I made a drink for both of us to share and it was absolutely disgusting. Because I was preparing to move, the only booze I had was whipped cream vodka, which I mixed with Sprite. It was hardly drinkable. After the Family Guy episode was over, I gave him a pillow and a blanket, showed him our ample L-shaped couch, and said, “I’m going to bed.” I went to bed. I had been drinking, definitely, but I was not drunk. It was about 3am by the time I went to sleep. When I awoke, I was confused. I became aware that it was morning, and the sun was shining through my corner windows, which means it must have been around 6am. My comforter was pushed up over my head and my tights were pulled down around my ankles. I remember being surprised about my tights, as they were very tight, the kind of tights you have to jump up to get all the way up around your waist. He was having sex with me. Which is to say, he was raping me. A million thoughts raced through my brain. Scream, fight, kick, cry, DO SOMETHING. But another, deeper part of me, my survival instincts maybe, stopped me. If this person is willing to rape you outright while you are unconscious…who’s to say if they are willing to punch you in the face? Strangle you? Kill you? And so I did nothing. I laid there and waited for it to be over. It lasted so much longer than I could have imagined. He raped me vaginally and eventually switched to raping me anally. At some point, I thought “Wow, he must not have a very big dick because him raping me anally doesn’t hurt at all.” He did not ejaculate. Instead, he stopped raping me, pulled up my stupid tights, and then he patted me on the ass. Like “Good game!” It was not a good game. When I finally pushed my comforter off of my head, I found my bottle of hair conditioner on the window sill at the foot of my bed. I knew it was mine because the top was broken and couldn’t close. He had used that conditioner as lubricant. Our mutual friend was the one to drive me to the airport. As we waited to make sure my dog made her flight, I told him what had happened. He was horrified. Anyone who defends or enables these rapists and sexual predators is not an ally. And if that is you, my man, I urge you to take a long, hard look at your friends and your actions. And I urge women not to trust men who defend sexual predators. They might as well be defending themselves.

Thank you to everyone who believes sexual assault survivors. And my heart goes out to everyone and anyone who has ever experienced sexual assault.

[eddiejpoplar]

Market Watch: 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX Z32

So you graduated from high school in the 1990s, your career is going well, and you’ve realized that you’ve even got a little money saved—maybe it’s time to reward yourself? You drove a Civic back then, but what you really wanted was a serious Japanese sports car. Today, prices are soaring for clean fourth-generation Toyota Supras and third-generation Mazda RX-7s from the same era, though in your Craigslist searches, you notice the Z32-series Nissan 300ZX is, well, pretty affordable. You dug those too, and they’re more in your budget. Ah, but which version to choose?

When the all-new 300ZX launched in 1989 as a ’90 model, an audible sigh of relief went out among the Z-car community. For more than a decade, enthusiasts watched helplessly as the once smart, economical, and sharp 240Z slowly went off its training regimen, gaining weight, losing focus, and drifting dangerously into boulevard cruiser status. The new model, code-named Z32 internally, was a revelation in contrast. Said to be the first car designed completely by computer-aided design (CAD)—on a Cray-2 supercomputer, no less—the new 300ZX was state-of-the-art.

Power came from one of two engines: a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated DOHC V-6 with variable valve timing (222 hp, 198 lb-ft) or the same with a pair of Garrett turbochargers boosting power to 300 hp and 283 lb-ft. The latter was good for a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds—enough to bring the fight to its Japanese competitors, as well as Chevy’s Corvette and Porsche’s 944. All cars were equipped with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

Twin Turbo versions featured unique bodywork with inlets in the front bumper and a rear spoiler. They also featured tweaked brakes, suspension, and Nissan’s advanced Super HICAS rear-wheel steering, which was initially developed for the Japanese-market Skyline.

The result was immediate praise from the automotive media, AUTOMOBILE included. The Nissan 300ZX was an Automobile All-Star five years running from 1990 to 1994. In 2004, we named it one of the 100 Greatest Cars of All Time. Pretty impressive, no? But which version is right for you, and how much should you pay for one in today’s market? For answers to those questions, we consulted Sebastian Chacoff at Specialty Z of Chatsworth, California, a shop that focuses on Nissan Z cars.

Base Coupe Average value: $7,400*

A base-model coupe may leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the Twin Turbo experience. But this model’s value is significantly lower, and many more samples were built, making them easier to find for sale and more affordable when you do. They’re also less complex to work on, leading to lower service costs. Just beware condition, as Chacoff warns: “I find that the naturally aspirated Z32s are [generally] in worse shape than the Twin Turbo Z32s.” And don’t expect collectability to match the Twin Turbo.

2+2 Average value: $6,900*

For those needing a little more practicality from their sports car, Nissan offered a 2+2 version that added two “occasional” rear seats, à la the Porsche 944. This was facilitated by stretching the wheelbase by roughly 5 inches. All bodywork aft of the front fenders is unique to this model. The 2+2 was only available in the U.S. as a T-top with a naturally aspirated engine, though in Japan most Twin Turbo models were sold with 2+2 bodywork. “Here in the States, the 2+2 was less desirable in my opinion than in the rest of the world,” Chacoff says, adding that the extra practicality can make it a good choice for some buyers.

Commemorative Edition Average value: $11,000 ($16,500 Turbo, $9,800 2+2)*

The last 300 300ZX models shipped to the U.S. were Commemorative Editions, just 78 of which were Twin Turbos. All CE cars received special decals and a plaque on the center console identifying them as such, along with a certificate of authenticity signed by Nissan’s president at the time. The downside? In 1996, the final year of production, Nissan dropped its VVT technology as it would no longer meet emission regulations, which some say cost the car 20 hp. Meanwhile, prices were higher than ever, with an MSRP closing in on $50,000 for the Twin Turbo model. Chacoff notes that a 528-mile Twin Turbo CE (No. 300 of 300) recently sold on eBay for $90,000.

Twin Turbo Average value: $11,000*

Only available in the U.S. as a T-top, the Twin Turbo was the model to buy if ultimate performance was your thing. “Here in the States, the Twin Turbo Coupe will be the most desirable as a collectible,” Chacoff says. “It provided impressive power, handling, and looks when it was first released in 1990. A good, solid Twin Turbo Coupe’s value has steadily gone up in the past few years.” So much so that Chacoff feels a good car should actually fetch between $15,000 and $30,000, “heavily dependent on mileage.”

Convertible Average value: $6,400*

Introduced in 1992, the 300ZX Convertible was a stylish factory conversion commissioned through ASC (which also produced the competing Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet) in response to aftermarket convertible conversions made by California-based Straman. Chassis rigidity was increased with thicker rockers, door bracing, and a beefier transmission tunnel. Only the naturally aspirated engine was available. “Convertibles are not as desirable in the mainstream for the Z32,” Chacoff says. “One reason to explain it is that they never came from the factory as a Twin Turbo.”

Stillen SMZ and Motorsports International SR-71 Average value: Highly variable

Two very limited edition 300ZX cars were produced with some help from aftermarket tuners. The Stillen SMZ was developed by Nissan racer Steve Millen’s shop for the ’95 and ’96 model years and was boosted to 365 hp and 332 lb-ft. Along with bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, and some bodywork, the SMZ added $14,000 to the Twin Turbo’s roughly $45,000 MSRP. Just 104 cars were built, all sold through Nissan dealerships. We found one that recently went for nearly $40,000.

Meanwhile, the Motorsports International SR-71 300ZX was a partnership between Texas-based Motorsports International and HKS in Japan. It featured larger Garrett turbochargers, special electronics tuning by HKS, and a Kaminari body kit designed by Peter Brock (of Shelby Daytona Coupe and BRE racing fame). Performance was strong, but an SR-71 conversion cost around $65,000 in-period, or about double the cost of a base 300ZX coupe. Not surprisingly, its sticker kept volume low—just eight cars were built. If you find one you can’t live without, it’s probably best to pull the trigger.

The post Market Watch: 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX Z32 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger 6 https://ift.tt/2upt5KA via IFTTT

[jesusvasser]

Market Watch: 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX Z32

So you graduated from high school in the 1990s, your career is going well, and you’ve realized that you’ve even got a little money saved—maybe it’s time to reward yourself? You drove a Civic back then, but what you really wanted was a serious Japanese sports car. Today, prices are soaring for clean fourth-generation Toyota Supras and third-generation Mazda RX-7s from the same era, though in your Craigslist searches, you notice the Z32-series Nissan 300ZX is, well, pretty affordable. You dug those too, and they’re more in your budget. Ah, but which version to choose?

When the all-new 300ZX launched in 1989 as a ’90 model, an audible sigh of relief went out among the Z-car community. For more than a decade, enthusiasts watched helplessly as the once smart, economical, and sharp 240Z slowly went off its training regimen, gaining weight, losing focus, and drifting dangerously into boulevard cruiser status. The new model, code-named Z32 internally, was a revelation in contrast. Said to be the first car designed completely by computer-aided design (CAD)—on a Cray-2 supercomputer, no less—the new 300ZX was state-of-the-art.

Power came from one of two engines: a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated DOHC V-6 with variable valve timing (222 hp, 198 lb-ft) or the same with a pair of Garrett turbochargers boosting power to 300 hp and 283 lb-ft. The latter was good for a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds—enough to bring the fight to its Japanese competitors, as well as Chevy’s Corvette and Porsche’s 944. All cars were equipped with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

Twin Turbo versions featured unique bodywork with inlets in the front bumper and a rear spoiler. They also featured tweaked brakes, suspension, and Nissan’s advanced Super HICAS rear-wheel steering, which was initially developed for the Japanese-market Skyline.

The result was immediate praise from the automotive media, AUTOMOBILE included. The Nissan 300ZX was an Automobile All-Star five years running from 1990 to 1994. In 2004, we named it one of the 100 Greatest Cars of All Time. Pretty impressive, no? But which version is right for you, and how much should you pay for one in today’s market? For answers to those questions, we consulted Sebastian Chacoff at Specialty Z of Chatsworth, California, a shop that focuses on Nissan Z cars.

Base Coupe Average value: $7,400*

A base-model coupe may leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the Twin Turbo experience. But this model’s value is significantly lower, and many more samples were built, making them easier to find for sale and more affordable when you do. They’re also less complex to work on, leading to lower service costs. Just beware condition, as Chacoff warns: “I find that the naturally aspirated Z32s are [generally] in worse shape than the Twin Turbo Z32s.” And don’t expect collectability to match the Twin Turbo.

2+2 Average value: $6,900*

For those needing a little more practicality from their sports car, Nissan offered a 2+2 version that added two “occasional” rear seats, à la the Porsche 944. This was facilitated by stretching the wheelbase by roughly 5 inches. All bodywork aft of the front fenders is unique to this model. The 2+2 was only available in the U.S. as a T-top with a naturally aspirated engine, though in Japan most Twin Turbo models were sold with 2+2 bodywork. “Here in the States, the 2+2 was less desirable in my opinion than in the rest of the world,” Chacoff says, adding that the extra practicality can make it a good choice for some buyers.

Commemorative Edition Average value: $11,000 ($16,500 Turbo, $9,800 2+2)*

The last 300 300ZX models shipped to the U.S. were Commemorative Editions, just 78 of which were Twin Turbos. All CE cars received special decals and a plaque on the center console identifying them as such, along with a certificate of authenticity signed by Nissan’s president at the time. The downside? In 1996, the final year of production, Nissan dropped its VVT technology as it would no longer meet emission regulations, which some say cost the car 20 hp. Meanwhile, prices were higher than ever, with an MSRP closing in on $50,000 for the Twin Turbo model. Chacoff notes that a 528-mile Twin Turbo CE (No. 300 of 300) recently sold on eBay for $90,000.

Twin Turbo Average value: $11,000*

Only available in the U.S. as a T-top, the Twin Turbo was the model to buy if ultimate performance was your thing. “Here in the States, the Twin Turbo Coupe will be the most desirable as a collectible,” Chacoff says. “It provided impressive power, handling, and looks when it was first released in 1990. A good, solid Twin Turbo Coupe’s value has steadily gone up in the past few years.” So much so that Chacoff feels a good car should actually fetch between $15,000 and $30,000, “heavily dependent on mileage.”

Convertible Average value: $6,400*

Introduced in 1992, the 300ZX Convertible was a stylish factory conversion commissioned through ASC (which also produced the competing Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet) in response to aftermarket convertible conversions made by California-based Straman. Chassis rigidity was increased with thicker rockers, door bracing, and a beefier transmission tunnel. Only the naturally aspirated engine was available. “Convertibles are not as desirable in the mainstream for the Z32,” Chacoff says. “One reason to explain it is that they never came from the factory as a Twin Turbo.”

Stillen SMZ and Motorsports International SR-71 Average value: Highly variable

Two very limited edition 300ZX cars were produced with some help from aftermarket tuners. The Stillen SMZ was developed by Nissan racer Steve Millen’s shop for the ’95 and ’96 model years and was boosted to 365 hp and 332 lb-ft. Along with bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, and some bodywork, the SMZ added $14,000 to the Twin Turbo’s roughly $45,000 MSRP. Just 104 cars were built, all sold through Nissan dealerships. We found one that recently went for nearly $40,000.

Meanwhile, the Motorsports International SR-71 300ZX was a partnership between Texas-based Motorsports International and HKS in Japan. It featured larger Garrett turbochargers, special electronics tuning by HKS, and a Kaminari body kit designed by Peter Brock (of Shelby Daytona Coupe and BRE racing fame). Performance was strong, but an SR-71 conversion cost around $65,000 in-period, or about double the cost of a base 300ZX coupe. Not surprisingly, its sticker kept volume low—just eight cars were built. If you find one you can’t live without, it’s probably best to pull the trigger.

The post Market Watch: 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX Z32 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk WP Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2upt5KA via IFTTT

[jonathanbelloblog]

Market Watch: 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX Z32

So you graduated from high school in the 1990s, your career is going well, and you’ve realized that you’ve even got a little money saved—maybe it’s time to reward yourself? You drove a Civic back then, but what you really wanted was a serious Japanese sports car. Today, prices are soaring for clean fourth-generation Toyota Supras and third-generation Mazda RX-7s from the same era, though in your Craigslist searches, you notice the Z32-series Nissan 300ZX is, well, pretty affordable. You dug those too, and they’re more in your budget. Ah, but which version to choose?

When the all-new 300ZX launched in 1989 as a ’90 model, an audible sigh of relief went out among the Z-car community. For more than a decade, enthusiasts watched helplessly as the once smart, economical, and sharp 240Z slowly went off its training regimen, gaining weight, losing focus, and drifting dangerously into boulevard cruiser status. The new model, code-named Z32 internally, was a revelation in contrast. Said to be the first car designed completely by computer-aided design (CAD)—on a Cray-2 supercomputer, no less—the new 300ZX was state-of-the-art.

Power came from one of two engines: a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated DOHC V-6 with variable valve timing (222 hp, 198 lb-ft) or the same with a pair of Garrett turbochargers boosting power to 300 hp and 283 lb-ft. The latter was good for a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds—enough to bring the fight to its Japanese competitors, as well as Chevy’s Corvette and Porsche’s 944. All cars were equipped with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

Twin Turbo versions featured unique bodywork with inlets in the front bumper and a rear spoiler. They also featured tweaked brakes, suspension, and Nissan’s advanced Super HICAS rear-wheel steering, which was initially developed for the Japanese-market Skyline.

The result was immediate praise from the automotive media, AUTOMOBILE included. The Nissan 300ZX was an Automobile All-Star five years running from 1990 to 1994. In 2004, we named it one of the 100 Greatest Cars of All Time. Pretty impressive, no? But which version is right for you, and how much should you pay for one in today’s market? For answers to those questions, we consulted Sebastian Chacoff at Specialty Z of Chatsworth, California, a shop that focuses on Nissan Z cars.

Base Coupe Average value: $7,400*

A base-model coupe may leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the Twin Turbo experience. But this model’s value is significantly lower, and many more samples were built, making them easier to find for sale and more affordable when you do. They’re also less complex to work on, leading to lower service costs. Just beware condition, as Chacoff warns: “I find that the naturally aspirated Z32s are [generally] in worse shape than the Twin Turbo Z32s.” And don’t expect collectability to match the Twin Turbo.

2+2 Average value: $6,900*

For those needing a little more practicality from their sports car, Nissan offered a 2+2 version that added two “occasional” rear seats, à la the Porsche 944. This was facilitated by stretching the wheelbase by roughly 5 inches. All bodywork aft of the front fenders is unique to this model. The 2+2 was only available in the U.S. as a T-top with a naturally aspirated engine, though in Japan most Twin Turbo models were sold with 2+2 bodywork. “Here in the States, the 2+2 was less desirable in my opinion than in the rest of the world,” Chacoff says, adding that the extra practicality can make it a good choice for some buyers.

Commemorative Edition Average value: $11,000 ($16,500 Turbo, $9,800 2+2)*

The last 300 300ZX models shipped to the U.S. were Commemorative Editions, just 78 of which were Twin Turbos. All CE cars received special decals and a plaque on the center console identifying them as such, along with a certificate of authenticity signed by Nissan’s president at the time. The downside? In 1996, the final year of production, Nissan dropped its VVT technology as it would no longer meet emission regulations, which some say cost the car 20 hp. Meanwhile, prices were higher than ever, with an MSRP closing in on $50,000 for the Twin Turbo model. Chacoff notes that a 528-mile Twin Turbo CE (No. 300 of 300) recently sold on eBay for $90,000.

Twin Turbo Average value: $11,000*

Only available in the U.S. as a T-top, the Twin Turbo was the model to buy if ultimate performance was your thing. “Here in the States, the Twin Turbo Coupe will be the most desirable as a collectible,” Chacoff says. “It provided impressive power, handling, and looks when it was first released in 1990. A good, solid Twin Turbo Coupe’s value has steadily gone up in the past few years.” So much so that Chacoff feels a good car should actually fetch between $15,000 and $30,000, “heavily dependent on mileage.”

Convertible Average value: $6,400*

Introduced in 1992, the 300ZX Convertible was a stylish factory conversion commissioned through ASC (which also produced the competing Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet) in response to aftermarket convertible conversions made by California-based Straman. Chassis rigidity was increased with thicker rockers, door bracing, and a beefier transmission tunnel. Only the naturally aspirated engine was available. “Convertibles are not as desirable in the mainstream for the Z32,” Chacoff says. “One reason to explain it is that they never came from the factory as a Twin Turbo.”

Stillen SMZ and Motorsports International SR-71 Average value: Highly variable

Two very limited edition 300ZX cars were produced with some help from aftermarket tuners. The Stillen SMZ was developed by Nissan racer Steve Millen’s shop for the ’95 and ’96 model years and was boosted to 365 hp and 332 lb-ft. Along with bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, and some bodywork, the SMZ added $14,000 to the Twin Turbo’s roughly $45,000 MSRP. Just 104 cars were built, all sold through Nissan dealerships. We found one that recently went for nearly $40,000.

Meanwhile, the Motorsports International SR-71 300ZX was a partnership between Texas-based Motorsports International and HKS in Japan. It featured larger Garrett turbochargers, special electronics tuning by HKS, and a Kaminari body kit designed by Peter Brock (of Shelby Daytona Coupe and BRE racing fame). Performance was strong, but an SR-71 conversion cost around $65,000 in-period, or about double the cost of a base 300ZX coupe. Not surprisingly, its sticker kept volume low—just eight cars were built. If you find one you can’t live without, it’s probably best to pull the trigger.

The post Market Watch: 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX Z32 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2upt5KA via IFTTT