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luscaina · 6 years

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Spooky Family Headcanons + Kaku AU

i cannot stop thinking about this post bc i love the concept so much so now yall have to just sit down and endure a new rant of headcanons from yours truly

how did Kaku end up on Kuragaina?

no one knows, this is an AU i do what I WANT OKAY

okay but WHAT IF Spandam spun some lies during the whole Enis Lobby debacle and attributed the failure onto the CP9?? so now they’re kinda on the run or some shit and had to scatter or whatever, anyway Kaku is my favourite so he gets to be special now

i correct myself: Mihawk has now THREE (3) headaches

fun fact everyone! Kaku is the Middle Child (Perona is like exactly 2 months older than him lmfao)

Mihawk thought Zoro and Perona are bad; Perona looks like a literal angel next to Zoro and Kaku

whenever the two of them are paired up, one has to say some complete bullshit and the other goes absolutely feral, Mihawk is this fucking close–

he has never consumed so much wine in his entire life, he actually started drinking tea in order not to permanently cripple his liver

Kaku: “well, I think–” Zoro: “nobody cares what you think” Kaku: Kaku: “unlike you, I actually have the ability to think” Zoro: “are you calling me stupid” Mihawk: *brewing his 5th cup of chamomile tea in a span of 2 hours*

despite their constant fighting, the boys enjoy sparring with each other; beats those annoying as hell monkeys any day

when Perona found out that she was the oldest she gloated for a good 3 minutes before Kaku unhelpfully supplied she’d age faster than he would and promptly made her cry

Mihawk once took them all on a grocery trip – never again.

now he usually just picks one to accompany him depending on what he wants to get done; for practicality, he takes Zoro; for basic common sense, he takes Kaku; and in all things fashion, he takes Perona bc his sons the other two are atrocious and as the long running Goth Fashion Icon he will not stand for slander in his own four walls

bc Mihawk, Perona and Kaku are Cultured people, they regularly partake in High Tea and catch themselves secondhand embarrassment from Zoro’s shitty scone etiquette

since Kaku low-key misses his days as a shipwright, he usually takes care of any reparations in the castle; from rusty pipes to the broken leg of Perona’s favourite armchair

Kaku loves to make Ships In A Bottle or just generally create miniature versions of ships he likes, so he often tinkers on them in his downtime

once Zoro accidentally broke one of Kaku’s projects and Kaku went full Giraffe form and sat on him for 2 full hours before letting off and ignoring Zoro a whole week straight

that’s how they all found out that Kaku, when mad or particularly upset, gets downright Petty

Zoro, at the dinner table: “can you pass me the chilli” Kaku: “i don’t know, can you pass me my 3 days worth of work spent on my high detail model of the Thriller Bark?” Zoro: “oh for fuck’s sake I SAID I WAS SORRY”

one of Kaku’s other favourite pastimes is to discuss the One Piece equivalent of shakespearean books in Mihawk’s collection with him

his fascination with them might explain why Kaku speaks like an Old Man

Kaku, frustrated: “well this just dills my diddly darn pickle!” Zoro, in most profound disgust: “just say Fuck, for the love of–”

Mihawk has his kids categorised in his head; Perona – the one who makes the rules Zoro – the reason why they have rules Kaku – the only hope for a normal child

Mihawk: “and these are my three children; my ghost princess daughter, my geographically challenged son and our newest addition, my semi-cultured professional assassin son”

Perona is most definitely the Big Sister who bullies her younger brothers into participating in Spa Day with her

and that’s how the rumour spread of Roronoa ‘Pirate Hunter’ Zoro now walks around with sparkly blue nail polish

((back with his crew, Zoro retained the habit of thumbing over his nails and gets confused for a second on why he can't feel the smooth glide of nail polish under his thumb))

((it’s his way of missing his weird gothic makeshift family))

on his birthday Kaku received a giraffe-patterned floaty from Zoro and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out if he was making fun of him or not bc Zoro seemed so super serious about it

Shanks: “you got yourself a third brat??” Mihawk: “how dare you call him that” Shanks: “???? you call the like that all th–” Mihawk, gathering his hell gaggle of halfway delinquents: “don't ever talk to me or my children ever again”

harming anyone in this family has become goddamn LETHAL bc you have one dedicated Goth Dad who WILL smite you with sheer will power alone, a kickass Ghost Princess who will traumatise you for life, one stabby and always down to slice Right Hand Man Of The Future Pirate King, and one assassin Giraffe who knows how to kill you 56 ways with a paperclip and a string alone

Kaku: “hey do you guys ever entertain the idea that Mihawk...might be a vampire?” Perona & Zoro: “what” Kaku: “y’know...the whole goth aesthetic, living on a dark island, the castle, him always drinking ‘red wine’, his boat shaped like a fudging COFFIN” Perona & Zoro: (later) Mihawk: “why is there garlic hanging of my highly polished crystal chandelier”

#headcanons ahoy #one piece headcanons #dracule mihawk #roronoa zoro #perona #kaku #one piece #the spooky family #BLEASE #THIS IS SUCH A GOOD AU IM STILL WHEEZING #kaku and zoro constantly bickering #and then perona joins in #mihawk has never aged so fast in his life

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xathia-89 · 6 years

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An Angel’s Touch

Nobunaga was barely sleeping. He kept calling me to his chambers at all hours, usually disturbing my sleep nearly as much as his own pattern. After a few nights, I was undoubtedly barely able to keep myself going during the day, and in desperation began to scour the archive for the children’s fairy stories that I was able to read at least. Mitsunari was nothing like his lord, Hideyoshi, and always seemed to have an angelic smile on his face whenever I appeared. He had gone out of his way to help me with my reading and teaching me the rules of the game ‘Go’, which Nobunaga was apparently a master of and had played me a few times over his sleepless nights. I was trying to stifle a yawn as I found the book in question, and stood on my tiptoes to get it. I was engulfed in some warmth the second I felt like I was losing my balance, and found myself swimming in the concerned gaze of Mitsunari. Time froze as I got lost in his amethyst eyes, before sharply realising that I was now staring, and also held against his surprisingly muscular body. “Are you okay?” He gently asked, unwavering in his hold on me, and bringing the fairy tales down to my height. “You look as though you haven’t been sleeping well, Hideyoshi will lecture you if you aren’t careful,” he smiled. Mitsunari was blissfully unaware of most things around him, including that holding a woman against you could give someone the very wrong impression as Ieyasu came barging into the library. The tousled blonde stared at us before I began to try and pry myself free of the misleadingly strong Mitsunari. Ieyasu was glaring daggers at me before shortly informing Mitsunari that he was required at a meeting and promptly left the room. “It must be getting serious,” the purple eyed strategist sighed. “My apologies, I am afraid I cannot stay to help you today.” He beamed and left with a slight bow, and completely missed the bright flush on my cheeks. Wandering the corridors whilst trying to go over some of the things that needed to be done in the castle, I managed to walk into my ‘boss’. Literally straight into his back. “Hm? Do you need something?” Oda was able to live off no sleep, that much I did know as I was rubbing my eyes to drag myself back to the present. “No, nothing. I was thinking and not paying attention to where I was going, sorry,” I waved my hand and went to sidestep Nobunaga, only for his hand to clasp my wrist smoothly. “Apparently the question was meant for me to ask you if you wanted something,” I sharply added, giving the black haired male a warning look. Hideyoshi was looking down at me like the mother hen he played to everyone else. “My lord, if I may be so bold, I think our chatelaine needs a little retreat,” he suggested surprisingly, his tone of concern rather than reprimand. “I also know that Mitsunari needs to return home for a few days for some research.” “Good idea, you can accompany Mitsunari to his estate,” it was the smile that put me on edge, the warlords could gossip like old maids at any point, and I was suddenly thinking that Ieyasu had said his piece on the scene he had interrupted. I was riding astride Mitsunari, Nobunaga had kept me up for most of the previous night demanding fairy tales as I combed through his hair in an attempt to get him to sleep. It looked terrible in the morning, I had woken up in Oda’s futon whilst he was out on the balcony and Mitsuhide had a snake like smile on his face upon seeing me leave the tenshu to pack my things. There was no need for forced conversation, the silence was comfortable between us, though I was highly uncertain as to what the strategist had been told was the cause for me to accompany him home. I was rather surprised to learn that his manor was well kept, and the maids were as surprised to see that the Princess had accompanied their lord home as I was to find out that not every room had an avalanche of books in it. Mitsunari immediately headed to his library whilst the maids chased me off to the hot springs in the back, having been informed I was to relax. It was mid morning and as lovely as it had been, having nothing to do was not much amusement in my world. I set about to locate the library, and caught a few books before Mitsunari received a concussion. “Hm?” The model beauty looked amazed to see me as I plucked the book from his hand, and then noticed the pile behind him. “You need to be more aware of your surroundings, and I am almost willing to bet my kimono on the fact that you have been here in that spot since we arrived,” I semi-chastised, and spied the foul attempts at tea that Mitsunari was famous for never being able to do. “A stretch of your legs and something to eat and drink before you resume,” I ordered, practically dragging the warlord out of the library. My arm was linked through his as a deterrent to stop him from wandering back to the library before he was sorted. Even though it was fuelling the gossiping maids like nothing else before had. I was virtually certain that a report of it would make its way back to Azuchi before we would. The maids were graceful in accepting some help to look after Mitsunari, since it wasn’t uncommon for him to be awake for days at a time in a trance and studying. At least keeping him company in the library and taking him out on occasions would give me something a little different to do. Even if I just felt as though it was more of a plan of Hideyoshi to send someone along with his vassal to make sure that he would actually come back to Azuchi alive and well. The days were peaceful if nothing else, but I was glad to be riding back to Azuchi. Mitsunari had packed his horse with the required scrolls, but his mind was very clearly elsewhere as I used my horse to stop his from diving headfirst into a rapid stream. “Hm?” The angelic beauty looked startled to see me glaring at him, and that we were off course. “This is not the quickest route to Azuchi.” “You lead us this way, I was beginning to wonder if you had a reason for it, but apparently I shouldn’t have trusted you this far,” I sighed. “There is something that has you deep in thought, would you care to share the burden?” I offered, knowing that he would likely just give me that heart melting smile of his and decline. The smile sent my heart into overdrive. “I am just concerned about the strategies our enemies appear to be pursuing in light of Honno-ji, and I am struggling to come up with the answers as quickly. It is an unusual situation for me, and it appears to have gotten the better of our situation.” “Then maybe you need to look for the differences instead of the similarities when we return?” I replied as the horses were turned about to find the well travelled route. Mitsunari looked stunned and then smiled even brighter as I had to tell my heart to calm itself. “That never occured to me, thank you,” he beamed. It was just after dusk on our return to the castle, and Hideyoshi was impatiently waiting at the gates before whisking Mitsunari off to a meeting with Nobunaga presumably. I shook my head before greeting the staff and looking to return to my own room. One of the maids was swift to find me, and practically bursting at the seams to tell me something. “My lady! Is it true?” She exclaimed, excitedly grabbing hold of my kimono sleeve before I could get to my room. “You and Lord Mitsunari-” I laughed and gently released her grip. “Went back to his manor so I could recuperate in the hot springs that was all,” I smiled gently. “Though I suspect it was also because Hideyoshi believed that Mitsunari would perish without someone checking in on him regularly.” The rumours around the castle made me smile. Apparently the maids’ reports from our break had made it back quicker than we could, especially given the detour that had occured, and made it look as though we had drawn out the journey on purpose. Masamune was looking a little sulky at times at the sight of Mitsunari, and Ieyasu had become even more prickly towards us both as I dropped in on the library to ensure that Mitsunari hadn’t buried himself in books. “-so the reports are false?” Hideyoshi was sounding strict as I approached the room. “What reports?” Mitsunari sounded startled. “That you and her are a couple?” His master’s voice was a little strained. “I don’t understand,” the vassal replied, confusion rife as I sadly smiled to myself. It would always be one sided with the way he smiled at me. I entered the library as I would normally, and smiled extra brightly at them both. “Good morning!” I went to pass Hideyoshi to get to the fanciful books, only for his hand on my shoulder to stop me. I looked up at the man in surprise, and tilted my head in question. “The maids gave reports saying that you were linked in arms and would spend most of the day together in a way that left no questions as to the situation,” he firmly stated, mostly glaring at me. “Some books nearly fell on him the first day I was there, I was making sure he didn’t get hurt, and the arm leading was to also make sure he had some proper food to eat and not just what he tries to pass as tea,” I sighed calmly, trying to stop myself hurting at the bluntness of the words. “I figured the maids would misinterpret, but I am also too aware of how easily distracted Mitsunari can be around books, so I was just making sure for myself he couldn’t get away from the important parts.” Hideyoshi seemed to accept that answer and left us both promptly. The air was a little stale as I went to throw open the shutters, but then there was an enticing warmth surrounding me. His smell was too good to ignore, and I automatically returned his embrace, my head buried in the crook of his neck. His heart was racing, I could feel it through his haori. “Just let me do this, I don’t think I could ever miss the heart wrenching look on your face when you were trying to pass it off as nothing,” Mitsunari’s voice was sultry, and make my hairs stand on edge. I couldn’t get any words out as I gently tightened the embrace around him.

#ikesen #ikemen sengoku #Ikémen Sengoku #mitsunari ishida

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afishtrap · 7 years

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Hello hi um how did you get into art modeling and do you have any advice for people (me) who are interested in trying it?

It’s actually REALLY easy! Go to your nearest university, college, or community college, and find the art department. Tell them you’re interested in modeling for art classes.

That’s it.

Honestly, that’s all there is to it.

I have never in my life heard an art teacher say, “naw, we’re fine, we don’t need any models.” Now, they may have regular models, but sometimes things happen, so you might be a backup at first. It also depends on whether you’re willing to do clothed or nude – it’s always much easier to find clothed models. Nude models are rare and valued – and also often among the highest paid (if not THE highest paid) student work on campus. (Note that the trade-off is that you’ll probably only work like 4 hours a week, compared to 20 in the computer lab.)

Here’s the most important tip of all, for those moments when you’re second-guessing the idea:

True artists love ALL bodies.

I’m gonna say that again:

TRUE ARTISTS LOVE ALL BODIES.

This is not fashion modeling. This is art modeling. You do not have to be a size six (and in fact, if you’re a size fourteen or higher, the artists will LOVE you because those bodies are curvier and more fun to draw). You do not have to have a perfect tan, or delicate fingers. You just have to have a BODY, and I have yet to meet an artist who doesn’t see the human body as worth celebrating in all its shapes.

Hell, my sister’s favorite model in art school was a medium-height, mid-thirties woman who nude-modeled through her entire pregnancy. Okay so there was a break in class the first time the baby kicked, and for ten minutes no one drew ‘cause they were all too busy watching the woman’s stomach move, but still. Favorite model, hands-down.

A few tips behind the cut.

never undress in front of the artists

Get yourself a long bathrobe or yukata, something that’s easily wrapped around yourself. Change in the bathroom, shove your stuff back in your bag, and walk to the classroom. When the doors close and the teacher says it’s time, simply drop the robe.

The reason you don’t undress in front of the artists is that western culture is primed to see ‘undressing’ in front of another as a sexy, intimate act. So you want to minimize that as much as possible. One second you’re dressed, the next, you’re not. Plus, no one there needs to know what color underwear you wear. They’re just interested in the body.

(If you’re doing semi-clothed, like in a bathing suit, the same applies, unless you’re walking into class wearing, say, a loose dress that you just pull over your head to reveal a bathing suit. The undressing should still be minimized.)

plan ahead on your poses

You’ll want to know two things at the start of each class. One, where you should sit while you’re waiting. The other are what poses the teacher wants. (It’ll take a few times to learn to translate ‘I want the students to focus on X’ into ‘okay so I need to pose doing Y and Z’.)

A lot of teachers will give a short lecture at the start: ie, today you should draw in this style, or focus on this element. That lecture will clue you in on how you can help the students, too. Like if they’re focusing on muscles, think of ways to tense your muscles for them. (Frex, a way to pose where you’re pulling or pushing.)

If the teacher wants a particular pose (composition classes will do this, if they’re redrawing classical art), then practice it while still in your robe, with the teacher instructing you. (Since you’re clothed, it’s less of an issue if a teacher moves your arm or foot into position.) Once you’ve gotten the ‘feel’ of it, then drop the robe and get back into position.

forgive yourself for being nervous

If you were raised in western culture (especially as female), there’s going to be a moment where it hits you – omg, I’m naked in front of strangers holy hell wtf am I doing. Roll with it. We’ve all been there.

For most models (including me), it was that moment just before dropping the robe for the first time. Up to that point, it was intellectual, and suddenly it became real. We’re raised to be so aware of our bodies and the space we take up as female, violating those taboos can be hard.

So the first thing is that it’s absolutely okay to say this is your first time. Artists are people, too. When they stop to remember that models are people, they’re usually pretty good at recognizing that modeling takes guts. (Sometimes artists will look away or down, fussing with their supplies. That’s their polite way of giving you space to make the transition from ‘person’ to ‘model’.)

Then take a deep breath, and jump. Drop the robe, that is.

Make sure you’ve got that first pose in your head, and can go right to it. That helps reduce that awkward moment of panic. Once you settle into the pose, something clicks in the brain and we go, “okay, now I am just a body.”

Also, it does get easier. It’s just getting over the socialization that tells us our (female) bodies aren’t ours to use as we want. It takes practice, though.

the artists are friends, not food!

Artists WILL forget the room is cold, ‘cause they’re wearing clothes and you’re, well, not. (Even if you’re just wearing a bathing suit, you’re still going to be wearing a lot less, most of the time.) Speak up if you’re too hot, too cold, or need a break ‘cause your muscles are cramping.

Some artists will yell out that they’re almost there, please hold still! Count down for them. “I’m going to break in 5… 4… 3…” That gives them warning.

When you resume the position, get yourself into what you think is right, then ask someone to your left, “look okay?” They’ll usually look at their picture, then you, and say something like, “your left foot was a little farther back.” Check with the artists on the other side, etc., until everyone’s satisfied you’re as close as can be. Artists may suck at remembering the room is cold, but they adore models who work with them.

When you’ve got some kind of agreement, tell them, “okay”, and then close your eyes for a bit, take a deep breath, and then open your eyes. You are now in Body Model Mode. Go someplace nice in your head, until the teacher calls a break or you need to stretch.

(Usually by the 2nd or 3rd class, you’ll have a sense of whether the class is a bunch of talkers, or are fine if you talk. I used to do quasi-standup routines about my weekend adventures in the city.)

the rare artist may push your boundaries

If you ever break position (for any reason) and the artists’ groans aren’t good-natured, or you get the vibe they’re angry with you – and the instructor is okay with that – do not model for them again. You are still a human being, and it’s not right to expect you to hold a painful position past your point of endurance.

Also, one firm rule is that you don’t get touched when you’re naked. If someone wants you to move, tell them to do the pose themselves, and you mimic it. Or put your robe back on, practice, and then remove the robe and we’re back to the no-touching rule. Being naked is not permission for anyone to violate your personal space.

Again, to make this perfectly clear: if you are EVER made to feel uncomfortable by someone, do not model for them again. Hell, you can always just put on the robe, pick up your stuff, and walk out. You’re doing THEM a favor. If they can’t recognize that, they don’t deserve you.

That said, I modeled for almost three years, and only once did anyone put their toe on that line. I just glared at the person, and the other artists took care of it for me. They didn’t want to lose a model who was willing to work with them, after all, even if one classmate was being a jerk.

plus, extra cash!

Once you’ve worked with artists regularly, if you’re comfy, go ahead and offer out-of-class sessions (or they may even ask). Most artists will split that cost between them, and you’ll be in the studio on a saturday afternoon with five artists who will be absolutely delighted with the extra time. (I once made $200 in an afternoon and all I had to do was watch a movie naked while ten artists drew furiously. I even got fed lunch!)

Every now and then, an artist will want you for a solo session, like if they’re working on something and need a very specific pose. Use your best judgment on that, especially if you’re not meeting at the usual studio. Wherever you go, approach it professionally: wear the robe, plan the pose, drop the robe, and when time’s up, put the robe back on.

when an artist like-likes you

It happens. But of the artists I dated, not a single one ever made a move when I was posing. They were in artist mode, I was in Body Model Mode, full stop. Then I’d put my robe back on, and suddenly the flirtation came out.

This is not to say artists won’t talk, joke, or tease, sometimes. (Some people are just talkers.) But that extra element of attraction doesn’t seem to kick in until there’s mystery, and it’s really hard to be mysterious when you’re buck-naked. Besides, 99% of the time, you’re busy thinking, “oh crap I need to sneeze” or “I think my foot’s asleep” while the artist is thinking “sienna? no burnt umber” or “damnit I mangled her kneecaps”. It’s just not a conducive mindset for flirtation.

good luck!

Hopefully some of this is helpful, and feel free to ask if you have more questions. Now, go forth and conquer!

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newstfionline · 7 years

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How our housing choices make adult friendships more difficult

By David Roberts, Vox, Dec 7, 2017

I often think about a piece I read in 2015 in the Atlantic, by Julie Beck, called “How Friendships Change in Adulthood.”

I do think, however, that Beck left out an interesting piece of the puzzle. Our ability to form and maintain friendships is shaped in crucial ways by the physical spaces in which we live. “Land use,” as it’s rather aridly known, shapes behavior and sociality. And in America we have settled on patterns of land use that might as well have been designed to prevent spontaneous encounters, the kind out of which rich social ties are built.

We get by with a little less help from our friends. It’s a familiar tale that Beck tells: Early in life, friendships are central to our development and sense of self. This is true right up through to those early post-collegiate years, when everyone is starting out in their professional lives.

And then people get married. They have kids. Their parents get older and need more care. They settle into careers. All those obligations--spouses, kids, family, work--are things we have to do. Friendships are things we choose to do. And that means, when time constricts and things get busy, friendships often get bumped.

So as we get older, time with friends tapers off. “[In a study we did,] we asked people to tell us the story of the last person they became friends with, how they transitioned from acquaintance to friend,” researcher Emily Langan told Beck. “It was interesting that people kind of struggled”:

In a set of interviews he did in 1994 with middle-aged Americans about their friendships, [researcher William] Rawlins [of Ohio University] wrote that, “an almost tangible irony permeated these adults’ discussions of close or ‘real’ friendship.” They defined friendship as “being there” for each other, but reported that they rarely had time to spend with their most valued friends, whether because of circumstances, or through the age-old problem of good intentions and bad follow-through: “Friends who lived within striking distance of each other found that… scheduling opportunities to spend or share some time together was essential,” Rawlins writes. “Several mentioned, however, that these occasions often were talked about more than they were accomplished.”

This is a sad story. People almost universally report that friendships are important to their happiness and well-being. They don’t want to lose touch with friends and stop making new ones. They lament it constantly. (I can testify to all of this firsthand.)

But as the habits of family and work settle in, friendships become an effort, and as every tired working parent knows, optional effort tends to get triaged.

Does it have to be this way?

Our missing tribes. There’s a temptation to say that this is inevitable, just the way things are. People grow up, they don’t hang out with friends as much anymore. It’s kind of sad, but that’s just how it is.

But it is not inevitable. In fact it’s quite new! For the vast majority of our history, we lived in small, nomadic bands. The tribe, not the nuclear family, was the primary unit. We lived among others of various ages, to which we were tied by generations of kinship and alliance, throughout our lives.

It’s only been since we developed agriculture and started living in semi-permanent communities, more recently still that were thrown into cities, crammed up against people we barely know, and more recently still that we bounced out of cities and into suburbs.

There’s nothing fated or inevitable about each of us living in our own separate nuclear-family castles, with our own little faux-estate lawns, getting in a car to go anywhere, never seeing friends unless we make an effort to schedule it.

Why should it require explicit scheduling to see a friend who lives “within striking distance”? Why shouldn’t proximity do some of the work? The answer, for many Americans, is that anything beyond a few blocks away might as well be miles; it all requires a car. We do not encounter one another in cars. We grind along together anonymously, often in misery.

The loss of spontaneous encounters. Why do we form such strong friendships in high school and college and form comparatively fewer as the years go on?

I read a study many years ago that I have thought about many times since, though hours of effort have failed to track it down. The gist was that the key ingredient for the formation of friendships is repeated spontaneous contact. That’s why we make friends in school--because we are forced into regular contact with the same people. It is the natural soil out of which friendship grows.

The researchers believed that physical space was the key to friendship formation; that “friendships are likely to develop on the basis of brief and passive contacts made going to and from home or walking about the neighborhood.” In their view, it wasn’t so much that people with similar attitudes became friends, but rather that people who passed each other during the day tended to become friends and later adopted similar attitudes.

As external conditions change, it becomes tougher to meet the three conditions that sociologists since the 1950s have considered crucial to making close friends: proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other, said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology and gerontology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This is why so many people meet their lifelong friends in college, she added.

This kind of spontaneous social mixing doesn’t disappear in post-collegiate life. We bond with co-workers, especially in those scrappy early jobs, and the people who share our rented homes and apartments.

But when we marry and start a family, we are pushed, by custom, policy, and expectation, to move into our own houses. And when we have kids, we find ourselves tied to those houses. Many if not most neighborhoods these days are not safe for unsupervised kid frolicking. In lower-income areas there are no sidewalks; in higher-income areas there are wide streets abutted by large garages. In both cases, the neighborhoods are made for cars, not kids. So kids stay inside playing Xbox, and families don’t leave except to drive somewhere.

Thus, seeing friends, even friends within “striking distance,” requires planning. “We should really get together!” We say it, but we know it means calls and emails, finding an evening free of work, possibly babysitters. We know it would be fun. But it’s very easy just to settle in for a little TV.

Those of you who are married with kids: When was the last time you ran into a friend or “dropped by” a friend’s house without planning it? When was the last time you had a unplanned encounter with anyone other than a clerk or a barista, someone serving you?

Where would it happen? The mall? Walmart? There are so few noncommercial public spaces where we mix and mingle freely with people on a regular basis.

Say you’re a family with children and you don’t regularly attend church (as is increasingly common). There are basically two ways to have regular, spontaneous encounters with people. Both are rare in America.

One is living in a real place, a walkable area with lots of shared public spaces, around which one can move relatively safely and effectively without a car. It seems like a simple thing, but such places are rare even in the cities where they exist.

Walkable communities are very difficult to find in the US, and because there is such paucity of supply relative to demand, they are expensive, accessible only to the high-income. Places where they exist tend to have absurd zoning restrictions that prevent growing them.

The second, even more rare, is some form of co-housing. There are many kinds of co-housing, too many to get into in this post, but my favorite, a common model in Germany, is baugruppen, or building groups.

The basic idea is that a group of people comes together to work directly with architects and designers, bypassing developers, to build a shared dwelling that they own collectively (a co-op, basically). Taking developers out of the picture saves money--25 to 30 percent in Berlin, where baugruppen are common--and opens up space for much more ambitious, innovative, and sustainable architecture. It also fosters cooperation and community among members of the collective.

In practice, baugruppen are basically like condos, but with much more robust shared spaces and collective ownership rather than developer ownership.

The idea behind baugruppen, and co-housing generally, is that it’s nice to live in an extended community, to have people to rely on beyond family. It’s nice to have bustling shared spaces where you can run into people you know without planning it beforehand. It’s nice to have nearby friends for your kids, places where they can play safely, and other adults who can share kid-tending duties.

Refusing to accept the status quo of default isolation. Both these alternatives--walkable communities and co-housing--sound exotic to American ears. Thanks to shifting baselines, most Americans only know single-family dwellings and auto-dependent land use. They cannot even articulate what they are missing and often misidentify the solution as more or different private consumption.

But I do not think we should just accept that when we marry and start families, we atomize, and our friendships, like our taste in music, freeze where they were when we were young and single. We shouldn’t just accept a way of living that makes interactions with neighbors and friends a burden that requires special planning.

We should recognize that by shrinking our network of strong social ties to our immediate families, we lose something important to our health and social identities, with the predictable result that we are ridden with anxiety and loneliness. We are meant to have tribes, to be among people who know us and care about us.

#friendships #adult friendships #spontaneous encounters #social ties #community

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lyricsbylincoln · 7 years

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“So you don’t think blowjobs are the answer? Huh. Intriguing.”

Meet my new semi-problematic son, Duncan Auger!! You can find a basic stats page by clicking HERE. And since that page covers the basics (pls do read it), I’m going to use this space to lay down some more of the deetz!

Duncan is half-French. He’s the son of a public defender and a semi-unsuccessful artist. Growing up in Brooklyn, money was fairly tight, so unlike the majority of his wealthy friends, he attended public school in the city. He’s never been too fond of school and the work associated with it, so once he got old enough (and confident enough), Duncan began manipulating the school system into allowing him to skip -- he used those skip days to join an elite dance troupe (think modern/contemporary with hip hop and ballet influences) that performed regularly in Manhattan. Through that, he made friends who were just as passionate about dance that he was. They began teaching him the foundational technique he’d neglected, and his dancing improved immensely. So much so that he began going to open call auditions for musicals in the NYC area.

He worked at Macy’s for a few years, in the men’s fragrance department. There, he got a lot of numbers (and a lot of ~sexual connects~). One guy in particular though, a redhead with freckles and a smile to boot, left a lasting impression on him. When Duncan had him sign the receipt, the guy left his name and number. Brett Hughes.

After creating a bit of a name for himself in local theater, Duncan decided to begin posting YouTube videos of him dancing, singing, and performing online. Call it a bit of a power play, or perhaps just a way to show off to the cute guy he met at his day job working at Macy’s, but his channel caught the eyes of some producers. He was asked to audition for the role of Moritz in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening (I’m altering the dates a bit but yolo you get the idea) and nailed it.

Remember Brett Hughes? They ended up going on several dates during Duncan’s Broadway run, and they hit it off really well. So like... Fast-forward two years, right? Duncan’s 20, Brett’s 21, and they’re so fucking in love, you guys. It’s sickening. Tabloids speculate all the time about when one of them’s just going to ask the freakin’ question. They support one another in every single performance, every interview. When Duncan does a bit of modeling, the magazine actually asks Brett to join the photoshoot. Free couples photos? The fans approved.

When Duncan landed the role on Treblemakers, Brett was more than supportive -- he picked up and moved to Hollywood with him for a bit, until he was notified that he’d been cast for his own Broadway debut. In January, Duncan traveled back to NYC to see Brett in his opening night and spent the weekend there. After Treblemakers finished filming, the plan was for Duncan to move back to NYC to make up for the time they spent apart.

In this past May, however, things took a turn for the worse. Brett collapsed just before intermission in a Thursday night show. Duncan was notified and he caught a flight across the country immediately. Upon arriving at the hospital, he was told that Brett had suffered from appendicitis, and that the procedure would be quick and simple. But following the operation, Brett encountered complications. What should have been an overnight stay and a quick release turned into a week-long hospital stint. Tests were inconclusive.

On May 2, 2017, Duncan Auger lost the love of his life.

The media ate this shit up. They followed him everywhere. When he returned to Hollywood to finish up the last bit of filming and keep up the dance performances he was featured in, paparazzi were relentless. He’s on “watch” now; the media is convinced he will crack and they’re waiting with bated breath for when he does.

Since Brett’s passing, Duncan has adopted a “no monogamy for me” type of lifestyle. He’s hot and he knows it, so clubbing becomes somewhat of a conquest -- scope out the best face, the best abs, the best ass, and add it to his list.

He’s that friend who’ll absolutely come over with takeout and be like, “Brought some Thai. You hungry? Need anything? Want a blowjob with that?” Casual. Seriously. Duncan is quite overtly sexual and he is not afraid at all to aid a friend in need. (Do with that what you will, I am here for juicy plots.)

He’s terrified of being seen as fragile, especially after what happened this year. So he’ll go out of his way to seem a bit more rugged and edgy. But he’s got this practiced grace about him, this swan-like poise that tears peoples’ breath away. It’s just a part of him, but the fact that there’s a “protect Duncan Auger at all costs” campaign on tumblr really irks him. He’s fine. And he’ll continue to perpetuate that lie until someone finds out he isn’t.

Highkey allergic to strawberries, but will still use them as a device for seduction. He’ll pop a benadryl and sensually lick one while making eye contact just to get someone going. No shame. None.

He will also swoop in and make out with you to save you from that awkward guy/gal/nonbinary pal hitting on you at the club. You’re welcome. ;)

Someone tell him to stop wearing the promise ring he found hidden in Brett’s drawers. He’s still so in love with his deceased boyfriend, and it’s not a good look on him.

Duncan has a slight Brooklyn accent because I say so. Cayoot.

He has a pet parrot named Reba that talks back to him. Her catchphrase is, “Tu es beau, ouai, ouai, tu es beau.” They also get into little arguments that go like this: Duncan: Reba, je t’aime. Reba: No, no, you more! Duncan: No, you! Reba: Noooo, you! (And it continues on forever tbh because they’re idiots. Switching between English and French just because they can.) Hashtag confirmed.

Wanted Plots:

Friends with benefits. This would be so interesting because Duncan has no problem with this dynamic at all. Give me close friends who help one another out every so often. Or, better yet, someone who does have a problem with this dynamic that Duncan is just 100% oblivious to.

Flirtationships. Do you have a face? Is your face vaguely attractive? Duncan can and will make it his mission to see you swoon.

‘Bachelorette’ buddies. What do you mean it’s trash TV? It’s the best thing.

Bitches in the club. They’re that badass crew that saunters into the club and steals away everyone’s focus. Get crunk, get drunk.

Dance pals. I neeeeeeeeeeeeeed a pal who will dance incredibly with Duncan, but will absolutely 100% also go to arcades to fool around and show off on Dance Dance Revolution.

*Thomas Sanders voice* Disney pranks! With friends!! Need I say more?

Ladies who lunch. Give me that boujee squad who gets all dolled up in their best vintage-inspired ensembles for Sunday brunch. Bonus if they also do nails together and compliment one another on their taste in mid-morning alcoholic beverages.

Ladies who munch. Duncan may be on a self-imposed strict diet, but he loves twizzlers and will indulge if someone knows how to coerce him into committing criminal acts.

Ladies who crunch. Workout buddies, hell yeahhhh.

You annoy me a latte. Once upon a time their coffee orders got mixed up and now they just... get mixed up all the time. Maybe the barista is trying to play matchmaker. Or maybe they’re just stupid.

Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List. A friendship just like that. Bonus points if there’s unrequited feelings. Bonus points if they actually have a list. Bonus points if they walk arm in arm and are #adorable. I just... need.

Roommate(s)? I’m assuming after Brett died, Duncan really didn’t like the idea of being alone. How cool would it be if one of his closest friends moved in with him? Or several? What if the Ladies who lunch lived together? How cute. I am trash.

You are the music in me. *casual HSM reference* But seriously! A musician/pianist that composes songs for Duncan to choreograph dances to, that he then posts on his YouTube channel. Gah. My heart.

Talk about it, talk about it, talk about it, ooh yeah. (I realize those are the wrong lyrics to Funkytown but do I care? nah.) Guys!! Pals who hooked up and thought it was a good idea, but then stopped talking because it made things weird? Tbh Duncan is the type to be like, “You’re acting strange. Cut it out or I’m cutting you loose. We fucked; it’s not like I murdered your landlord or something.” RIP in pieces.

Enemyyyyyy. Someone who either loathes Duncan or Duncan loathes. Maybe he destroyed their relationship. Maybe he wore the same pants as them to a red carpet event. Doesn’t even need to be a good reason. Stupid reasons give me life.

Duet partners. *cries* He’s a Broadway babe so someone sing with him pls. Go to drunken open mic nights and remind him that there’s more to life than mourning your lost love, thx. Look him in the eye when you sing romantic lyrics and watch his flirty exterior drop and his soft heart show a bit. :”) Tears.

There are so many more but I’m gonna leave it so I can post this!! Yeeee pls message me to plootle plot I love you all <3

#zenith:intro #tw: mentions of death

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ccorinnef · 4 years

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Sketchbook Flipthrough: Dec 19 - Jun 20

One of the creative practices I have developed is to work in my sketchbook for one hour every day. It seems that the key to my personal creativity is consistency rather than quality. I have gone through so many sketchbooks in my developing career as an artist but this is the very first one that I have fully completed. I worked in this Seawhite of Brighton A5 sketchbook from December 2019 to June 2020.

This first page I was attempting to finish up my self-made Inktober prompts by drawing a Garden Chafer. I don't think I really did it justice but it got me past the dilemma of the first blank page. On the next page I've drawn a mandala - I love drawing mandalas to practice symmetry and linework.

This next drawing was for a Christmas present for my partner; it is one of his favourite Warhammer characters: The Green Knight. The composition of this piece was taken directly from the reference picture I had from a Warhammer book but I drew it in my style of ink illustration with a bold triangle frame. Next to this I tried my hand at some faux calligraphy by inking the words "lose hate not weight." This is a message that became a personal mantra in the post-Christmas and New Year diet culture frenzy that is so overwhelming and all-consuming.

This collection of small drawings is titled "Some things I found while walking the dog." It features some winter plants and a lot of litter as well as a turnip that had washed up with the recent floods, which my dog thought was the best ball ever.

This spread has a very simplified not-quite pattern of houses of different designs. I was just playing with different shapes and patterns to create the buildings and their features. Beside this we have a baby Yoda - can you tell we started the year watching the Mandalorian?

Next, I've drawn a very fine lined rendition of the Wallace Monument in Stirling - this one may become a print in the near future, I am as yet undecided. On the opposite page I've drawn another mandala, this time taking up the entire page. I love practicing my linework and incorporating more bold black elements is something I am going to work with more going forwards.

This is a random doodle page - I tend to have my sketchbook out on the counter while volunteering with Made In Stirling so I can doodle in between customers when it is quiet. I like to do these random shapes of lines to practice getting the flow and ease of specific line styles more natural. The drawing beside this is of Stirling Castle - this one is definitely going to become a print in my collection soon! I just love the combination of the semi circle and the trees.

On the next spread, I've done a simplified drawing of a local building - I use local estate agents pictures as reference images as they tend to take really good building pictures! The next drawing was another style I have really started to gravitate towards. It's a kind of line practice except in the style of a topographic map. I had great fun doing this and they'll definitely pop up in my sketchbook practices regularly in the future.

This drawing was one of the ones I did while idly watching TV to stop myself from fidgeting. It's just a collection of tiny leaves that look as though they are drifting slowly in the sky. On the opposite page is a weird lined abstract shape thing - I don't particularly like it, but bad art is just as important to the creative process as good art.

This next spread is another that I don't particularly like. On the left, I've drawn a group of tree shapes in a similar vein to the not-quite house pattern. On the right is an attempt at a more structured architectural drawing of a fancy modern style house. You can tell I got fed up of it by the time I got to the shading.

This next piece is actually my first ever drawing from life. I took a life drawing class at my local college at the start of the year to push my boundaries a bit. I just glued it into my sketchbook after class and folded it so it would fit properly. It was drawn in charcoal and I didn't use any setting spray on it so it has smudged a little bit. Beside this is a tiny collection of baby animals which I think I drew at one of the Community Creative Club meets. I will never not love baby hedgehogs - they are the cutest thing on this planet.

Next up, I've got a collection of the local birdlife. These are all birds that I have seen around my home and tried to identify as best as possible. The heron, which I had mentally named Herman and saw every morning, unfortunately died after being caught in the floods of the start of this year. I have since seen another heron take its place in the misty mornings. This spring it was a delight to watch the swan and duck families grow up - we saw the same goosander family almost every day and took great delight in witnessing the mum duck diving under the ducklings and teaching them how to swim and forage.

This drawing is another random linework practice piece - it's kind of noodly. On the right is a drawing of Mooncake from Final Space which we were watching at the time. Chookity Pok!

This is another simplified building drawing using local estate agents' pictures as reference images. Beside this, is another drawing from my life drawing class. In this activity I thouroughly misunderstood the instructions so everyone else in the class ended up with tiny drawings on the side of their bigger collaborative pieces.

Next, we have another topographic style line drawing but a lot more simplified, as well as one of the first of my portraiture practices for the 100 Heads Challenge.

This two page spread is another piece from my life drawing class - this time I drew with materials more familiar to me, using white ink to add highlights and make the figure pop out from the brown of the paper.

On the next pages I've drawn a leafy plant and a Totoro - this was when Netflix started adding Studio Ghibli to its catalogue.

This next drawing is another that I don't particularly like, I think I just got the composition not quite right. It's a kind of composite of a few different trees that formed the view out of our cabin window on our February holiday to Aviemore. Beside this I've drawn a collection of simple fine line mushrooms.

The next page is an attempt at illustrating a map of an imaginary town - I have mixed feelings about it. On the opposite page is an aimless doodle of tiny flowers, for no particular reason.

Next is a page of random tiny doodles which almost looks like a (really bad) tattoo flash sheet. On the right I've drawn a self-portrait.

Next is almost a cartoon board but made up of intricate food illustration. I wanted to really test my textures with ink in this piece to try and capture a sense of likeness of the food items. Also, a pine cone. I have a weird obsession with pine cones.

On the left is a kind of spiderweb doodle which was probably another line work practice. On the right is another piece from life drawing class which I've just glued in so as to keep a memento of my progress.

This drawing is yet another one from life drawing class where I used different colours of ink pens to create depth and shadows in the model. Beside this is a drawing of a monument in Edinburgh called the Dugald Stewart Monument.

Another piece from my life drawing class is followed by a rough sketch of the Falkirk Kelpies.

The next two pages are made up of another piece from life drawing class - I like the way I've used different shades of ink to add highlight and lowlight to the figure.

Here is a monument in my typical style, this one is a part of Glasgow University. And next to this is another very simplified topography style map.

This spread features more monuments of Glasgow - the Duke of Wellington Statue (complete with cone hat, obviously) and the Clyde Auditorium. Both of which will become prints before long.

These next drawings are of another topographic map and the Falkirk Kelpies. These Kelpies took me about two weeks to draw in total because there are just so many intricate details.

Up next is a couple more monuments, the Stirling Robert the Bruce statue, and Edinburgh's Greyfriars Bobby.

The next drawing is another in my usual style of Castle Stalker. I love how this one turned out and it will definitely be in my shop soon! Beside this is an attempt at drawing a building from the Royal Mile in Edinburgh - I don't think it turned out very well, I got some of the angles of walls a bit wrong.

This next page features a simple drawing of a piece of hawthorn blossom that I found earlier this year. Beside this is a cute little Japanese building which I've coloured in with pencils. I was inspired to draw this from watching Midnight Diner on Netflix.

This painting was one of the first that I did during lockdown - it's of some daffodils that smudged a wee bit. On the right is an ink illustration of St Andrew's Cathedral, which also has some smudged daffodil paint.

This spread includes a yin and yang mandala and another colour pencil Japanese style house.

This is some more linework practice. On the left is a drawing of some wintery cow parsley stalks. On the right is some simple lined circles - I really like how when they cross over each other it appears like cross hatching.

This next page was inspired by watching Chris Riddell's IGTV's during lockdown. Beside this is a fuzzy bumble butt grazing on a thistle.

These next two drawings are my first tentative steps into character design - when I'm learning something new I tend to take inspiration from artists that already work in a particular way so that I might pick up some of their tricks along the way.

The next spread features another tiny building and an adorable mouse peeking out of a tulip flower.

Next is another practice of character drawing and an attempt at a fairytale style house, I didn't get the proportions quite right unfortunately.

On the left is a drawing of a treehouse which looks like an amazing place to live. On the right is an illustration of Fenton Tower - you might recognise it as Archie's humble abode from Balamory.

Next is another couple of spaghetti like line practices. I love playing with flow and texture within linework.

This drawing is a local building, the reference picture came from estate agents’ images. Beside this is some triangular line practice with the crossing over crosshatching again.

This is an illustration in my usual style of Dunnottar Castle - it will soon be in my avaible print collection. Next to this is an ink and watercolour drawing of a building from Culross, Fife where they have very distinctive white washed walls and bright brick edging.

This is another spread of linework practice - this time with squares and another topographic map.

This is a funky building I found online and wanted to draw - it's wedged between two sheer cliff faces! Next to this is a random page of scraps really. I started trying to draw some fairytale buildings before abandoning that idea and splashing some watercolour over the page instead. I then added this small watercolour painting of Kate from @kateshappinessjourney, which I tried to paint with a colour palette similar to Fran Menses.

These are two paintings of tiny country cottages done in ink and watercolour. I really enjoyed doing these and will probably do more going forward. Beside this is another bumble butt on a flower.

This is another Studio Ghibli inspired drawing and some character design practice. On the right is a couple more tiny watercolour cottages.

This page is has a random drawing from a reference on Instagram of a person wrapped up in a blanket along with a quote that reads: "I have planted worth, beneath my skin, in all the places, you made me doubt." Beside this is a practice loose watercolour painting of some flowers and leaves in a vase. It's not my usual style but I like to practice using watercolour regularly so that I can continue to develop my skills.

Next up is a collection of tiny drawings taken from scrolling through Instagram - I do this particularly when I want to draw but don't have a specific subject in mind. On the right hand side is a little landscape painting in gouache. I'm still learning how to use this medium so I don't expect masterpieces any time soon!

This is another weird building drawing - it did not turn out how I had envisioned so I am quite disappointed with it. On the adjoining page is a Draw This In Your Style challenge from @moonylux on Instagram. Its a very dainty and glamourous looking mermaid that I quite enjoyed drawing.

Here are some more gouache painting practices of some Scottish landscapes. I really like how my use of brushstrokes makes the paintings more vibrant and alive. Beside this is a little line drawing practice of some ocean waves.

This next drawing is another bumble butt on a flower. I think I might turn these into a print. On the right is a tiny collection of watercolour snails being adorable and curious creatures. I'm low-key obsessed with snails - I always move them from the path after the rain so they don't get stood on. I think these paintings could do with another layer of paint to increase the saturation of the colours.

This is an ink drawing of a Jackalope. I wish I could have one as a pet because they are so freaking cute. On the other side of this spread is another gouache practice piece - this one of a pink flower on a dark blue background.

This is another in my series of mythological creature illustrations. It's a fairy based off of the flower fairy drawings by Cicely Mary Barker in her books. Next to this is my first attempt at creating a repeating pattern for Minnie Small's #minniemission. It did not go well but I like to keep the scraps of my ideas.

This is a series of sketches for a commission for The Kitchen at 44. I often test out ideas in my sketchbook - sometimes completing the whole commission in my sketchbook and other times, as in this case, transferring the drawings over to something more fit-for-purpose (like watercolour paper).

Here is another of the great Scottish mythological creatures - this one is a Kelpie which features in stories across the country. Beside this I've done another gouache practice, of yet another landscape... I miss my studio and my acrylic paints a lot, but I am having great fun learning to use a new medium!

This is an illustration of a bean-nighe, or washer woman, who foretells death when she is seen washing the bloodied clothes of the people who are about to die. She also has breasts so saggy and cumbersome that she throws them over her shoulders to keep them out the way while she works. Next to this is a drawing of a building inspired by Ian Mcque's incredibly intricate illustrations.

This next drawing is another mythological creature illustration - this one is an uilbheist of Orkney and Shetland legend. This three headed sea serpent protects the islands from danger. On the right, is a little gouache seascape study. I really like how this one turned out.

This is another gouache study - I don't like how this one turned out much but there are tiny elements of this piece that I like. Beside this is some portrait practices for the 100 Heads Challenge - the challenge is to do 100 Heads in 10 days but that is way too difficult for me to achieve, so I just practice some here and there when I want to draw something different.

This is an illustration of a Boobrie, another of Scotland's mythological creatures. Beside this is some more portrait practice. I don't think I did these ones very well - but that is exactly why it is called a practice.

Here is a random piece of paper that I was testing pens on when decluttering. Over the top of it I've just drawn a quick flower doodle. Next to this is a collection of some of the Black Lives Matter protestors from June. Please keep this movement alive, listen and learn as much as possible. Only we can make the future better.

This next drawing is a commission I did for a friend who is about to embark on her probation year as an English teacher and wanted some literary themed illustrations to make signposts for her classroom. They are Narnia, Desire St, and East Egg, since they are some of her favourite stories. Beside this, on the right, is a collection of random shapes drawn with a highlighter and then turned into cartoony people. This kind of drawing practice really pushes you to look at shapes in a different way.

Here is some more portrait practices. I'm quite pleased with these. Next to this is some random leafy doodles, just for the hell of it.

This is another simplified house using a reference image from local estate agents. Beside this is another topographic map style linework practice.

Here is a creature by Karolina Plutowska from the book 'Sketching from the Imagination: Creatures and Monsters.' Practicing drawing like this helps me learn new ways of approaching illustration that I might not have considered before. Of course, I would never seek to claim any kind of profit or credit for drawings like these since they are based on someone else's artwork. On the right, is some more portrait practices which I never got around to inking. The pencil lines are very faint but you can see that I use a lot of shapes and lines to get the proportions right and help map out the whole page before I ink.

And this very last spread consists of another creature drawing from the book 'Sketching from the Imagination.' It is an illustration by Ksenia Bakhareva which I am particularly fond of. On the very last page of this sketchbook I've stuck in the finished repeating pattern that I made for Minnie Small's #minniemission. I am really pleased with how this piece came out and I can't wait to turn it into something fun!

And there you have it! That is the entire contents of my last sketchbook - dated from December 2019 to June 2020. It was been a wild few months but I've grown a lot as a person and as an artist, as can be seen from my sketchbook progression.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look inside my sketchbook. I use it basically as a place to store all of my art and treat each page as a new opportunity to practice my skills and talents. Not everything you create has to be a masterpiece but the act of practicing your skills every day will get you so much more creative than you ever thought possible .

#sketchbook #art skills #art #artwork #creative

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anycontentposter · 5 years

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How to Get Better at Street Photography

It goes without saying that if you want to get better at something you have to practice. Simple, right? The thing is, that unlike more structured pursuits such as sports or music, the idea of practicing street photography seems a bit hard to wrap one’s head around.

But before we get into that, we should establish the best methodology for practice in in general.

A shot I’ve taken before many times (not in this spot, but the same idea) before getting this awesome opportunity. Regular Practice vs Deliberate Practice

Regular practice happens any time you do almost anything. If you think about it, that’s how we learn most things in life: from using a fork, to talking to tying our shoes. If you just do it, you’ll gradually get better at it. It applies to more specific skills as well. If you sit down to jam on guitar for 30 minutes, you just practiced a bit. Shoots hoops after school? Practice. The same goes for street photography—shoot for an hour: that’s practice.

You can certainly have revelations and make improvements with regular practice. And it’s a lot of fun! But there is a more refined approach, commonly called “Deliberate Practice.”

Deliberate practice is when you make a conscious effort to practice very specific skills in a targeted manner. It also includes feedback and consistent rules or a set of constraints. Let’s break all that down.

To use analogies in sports and music again, it would be like running drills of very specific actions or movements, and in particular targeting ones where you think you have a weakness. In basketball it might be shooting from the free throw line, or perhaps it might be playing a particular part of a song again and again on guitar until that one part is perfect.

Deliberate practice is about breaking skills down and targeting weaknesses. But how can we apply that to photography?

Orange stripes on a 28mm lens (Ricoh GR II)… …and the same place a few weeks later on a 40mm lens (Nikon D4). Constraints are the Key: Prime Lenses

In photography, especially street photography, it’s hard to break down skills into sub-skills and drill them. What are you going to do, run around with the camera like a soldier in boot camp? It sounds silly. When practicing photography, it’s most useful to focus on the last part of deliberate practice: constraints.

We can put constraints on many aspects of our photography, the most obvious being focal length. I believe this is why prime lenses are traditionally so highly praised by street photographers. The common wisdom is that prime lenses spur creativity, but I believe that underlying this commonly held notion is the fact that by constraining the field of view, the photographer must learn how to compose the frame by moving their body (the cliché of “zoom with your feet”) which, over time, results in a better spatial awareness and understanding of the effects of that particular focal length.

However, as mentioned above in regard to deliberate practice, it’s good to tailor this advice by focusing on weak points. If you’ve been shooting with a 35mm prime lens for years, perhaps trying a 28mm or a 50mm for a few weeks will help you improve your skill with those focal lengths as well.

Eventually, using a zoom lens will become a more mindful and deliberate shooting experience where your own positioning (and therefore, your perspective) become less influenced by the lens. You will more easily be able to choose either a perspective and then match the focal length, or a focal length (effectively, a field of view) and then adjust your perspective to make it work.

I had my 28mm on the camera, but felt this would have been better with my trusty 40mm (this shot is cropped a bit). Nonetheless, I feel that having a prime lens helped me make an interesting composition in the heat of the moment. The constraint stimulated my creativity.

Of course, you could learn all of this with a zoom lens, but it’s more efficient to apply the deliberate practice method by giving yourself this focal length constraint. And if you don’t have many (or any) prime lenses, that’s okay! Just tape your lens to a particular focal length and go out and shoot that way for a day or two. Bam! Instant prime lens!

After this kind of practice, I now think of a zoom lens more as a series of prime lenses than a single continuously zoomable lens. That’s not to say that I look at the markings on the lens and set it to exactly 35mm or 50mm or whatever before I take each photo. It’s just that in my mind, I think to myself “I need about 35mm for this shot,” or “around 50mm would suit my idea for this composition.” And I got to that point by shooting on primes for a few years almost exclusively.

I somehow instinctively knew that the simplicity of primes would force me think in a different way with them. It wasn’t until years later that I learned about deliberate practice (mostly when I read the book The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle) that it clicked for me: prime lenses create constraints, and that’s why they are a great tool to help us build an understanding of the relationship between focal length and field of view while developing spatial awareness.

Shot in Aperture Priority, this shot required a 3-stop underexposure, something I expected from having practiced with both Aperture mode and Manual mode for quite some time. Constraints in Exposure: Manual Mode

By using prime lenses, we can apply a constraint to our field of view. Another way to constrain the way we shoot is to use Manual Mode. Generally, I don’t think Manual Mode is a must for street photography. I feel it can be a hindrance in some cases, although in others it does allow for more precise, accurate and, most importantly, consistent exposure.

For the most part, I use Aperture Priority when walking about town and shooting street photos; however, in the context of this article, I feel that Manual Mode is a must for training one’s understanding of exposure. It applies a constraint in the sense that it forces the photographer to think about the three main settings that are available in almost every camera–shutter speed, aperture and ISO–and understand how they relate.

It’s also possible to take it a step further and “lock” one or two settings for a day. That is, you can choose a particular combination of settings for two of the three, and then only adjust the third one to maintain a correct exposure. For instance, on a sunny day, you can select f/8 for the aperture, and 1/500 shutter speed, and the only adjust the ISO as needed in order to get the correct exposure. Similarly, say at night, you can choose f/2.8, 1600 ISO, and then adjust the shutter speed as needed. The point is to get an inherent understanding of how these settings work together and individually. Once you have this intuition, it becomes much more obvious what’s happening when shooting in semi-auto modes like Aperture Priority with Auto ISO enabled.

The ultimate goal of all this is to move beyond the phase where the camera’s operations are some sort of “black magic” and move into a mindful awareness of what the camera is up to at all times. This will allow for more consistent exposure when you’re out doing street photography, which is very beneficial in a photographic genre where speed is important and there are few second chances.

A shot inspired by the work of Siegfried Hansen… …while I shot this one with Saul Leiter in mind. Constraints in Theme: Emulate the Masters

So, we’ve talked about ways to constrain your framing and exposure. The third constraint that can be applied for the sake of deliberate practice is a constraint of style or theme.

An easy and fun way to do this is to “emulate the masters.” What that means is that you can find a photographer whose work you admire, or even simply has certain aspects or qualities that you wish to include in your own work. Once you find such a body of work, identify the consistent themes and choices that the “master” has made in his or her work, then go out and keep these themes in mind: constantly asking yourself “what would _____ do in this case?”

I try to avoid pushing my specific preoccupations when giving “study” advice for photographers, but I think it’s useful to illustrate this idea with a few example masters from whom I’ve drawn influence. The first is Alex Webb, whose work emphasizes multiple layers and subjects, all coming together to a single whole. Basically, he’s a master of having many individual subjects in one frame.

Something I learned from Saul Leiter, but made my own—obscuring subjects with bold splashes of color in the foreground.

The next is Saul Leiter, in whose work we can see an abstract approach to color and form. He sometimes avoids giving a direct portrayal of his human subjects instead opting for compositions that are more abstract, emphasizing splashes of colors, often blurred in the foreground. To the same end, he regularly employs reflections and glass in his images. Shooting in ‘bad’ weather is also common in his work.

Finally, I enjoy the work of Siegfried Hansen, who is a master of geometry and in particular utilizing lines and shapes in his work. Much of his work does not involve people, which is a bit unusual for most street photographers, yet he makes it work. All three of these photographers employ color to greatest degree, having little to no work in monochrome.

Of course, the work of each of these photographers can be analyzed in much more depth, but these visual elements and ideas are what I took from them and keep in mind when I am out shooting and practicing. Find the masters that inspire you and do the same!

I’m certainly a fan of Saul Leiter’s work… Self-Feedback and Mentors

The last piece of this “deliberate practice” puzzle is feedback. This is arguably the most important part, and in general it is not unique to the deliberate practice model. Everyone can agree that critiques and feedback are crucial for artistic growth. The problem arises when we can’t find a mentor to give us feedback… so… how can we get around this?

What I’ve learned is that being your own mentor is possible by channeling the masters. Just as I mentioned above, when you’re out shooting you can think to yourself “how would ‘so and so’ compose this scene?” Or even more concretely, you can focus on specific aspects of your composition: “what would ‘so and so’ say about this framing, or this element in the shot, or my timing?”

From this idea you can create for yourself a mental checklist of dos and don’ts. For example, here are some that I often keep in mind:

What (if anything) can I remove from this frame to make the story stronger? What (if anything) is in the immediate vicinity that I can add to the frame to make the story stronger? Can I improve any leading lines in the scene, by moving them into the corners, etc. Is my timing as good as it can be? Did I catch the action in the perfect moment? Can I imagine a better subject here, that is, a more suitable passerby that would enhance my composition?

And so on… The mental checklist can be anything that you think you need to work on. You can, and should, think of specific weaknesses or aspects you would like to improve, and then keep those in mind. It’s totally fine to write these things down to help you remember them.

An example of more reps: I had plenty of time to shoot here, so I took quite a few frame of this scene. Notice the general idea is not much changed, but the composition changes quite a bit from shot to shot…. …with the door handles… …and without… …and finally with a tilt—this is the shot I chose as the final. Focusing (Your Mind) and Doing More ‘Reps’

As a final note, I want to mention a few concrete and specific things that I do when I’m out shooting street photography.

The first is to make sure I give myself every opportunity to focus. This means I put my phone on airplane mode, or put in my bag. Another thing is that I typically bring only one camera and one lens. This can be a drawback at times, but it also makes for less indecisiveness. I don’t stand there wondering if I should switch lenses. I just focus on the gear I have and make do. This goes right back to the idea of constraints to spur creativity. To further enhance my focus, I tend do as much shooting as I can on an empty stomach. I find that having lunch first is the death of creativity, but when I’m hungry my senses seem heightened and my awareness and perception are increased. Also, getting some nice food after a few hours of shooting is a great reward!

Finally, in the words of Muhammad Ali, “I don’t count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.” In photography, when you are presented with a scene worth shooting, the first few shots “don’t count” when it comes to practicing and stretching your “perception muscles.” Even if you’re satisfied with that first shot, take more anyway. Give yourself a specific goal, like “shoot each subject from 10 different perspectives” (or any number you like). This is commonly boiled down into the phrase “work the scene.” In any case, the point is to force yourself to think harder about how to frame the shot. Do it until it hurts!

As always, I hope I’ve inspired some new ways of thinking about your own photography. And if you have anything specific you want to practice, please let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to give any advice I can to help you come up with a training regimen.

About the author: Lukasz Palka is a freelancing Tokyo photographer who is the co-founder of EYExplore photography workshops. You can find more of his work on his website or by following him on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. This article was also published here.

Read more about this at petapixel.com

https://bestcamaccessories.com/how-to-get-better-at-street-photography/

#advice #editorial #howto #inspiration #photography #practice #tips #blog

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wildlyhardphilosopher-blog · 6 years

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house training an older dog | 6 Dog Training Questions YOU Probably Don’t Know the Answer to...,

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house training an older dog | 6 Dog Training Questions YOU Probably Don’t Know the Answer to...,

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We have a carpeted bedroom so a paper training area might be difficult to accomplish. What would be your recommendation of sleeping arrangements during this time? Thanks so much. You’ll have a different word like ‘walkies‘ for other more fun times outside and your dog will eventually learn the difference and set their expectations of their time outside accordingly. Buy the Fresh Patch Disposable Dog Potty on Amazon for $19 + $9 shipping Although most dogs are highly intelligent, they don’t think like humans do. It is often a problem when we expect them to understand simple command words or tell you that they need to pee or poop. For this reason, you must be willing to understand how they communicate with you and study the clues they give and get from you. Researchers have described several reasons why the dominance model is a poor choice for dog training.[71] First, a relationship based on dominance is established to gain priority access to scarce resources, not to impose particular behaviors on the less dominant animal,[72] so the dominance model is irrelevant for most of the behaviors that people want from their dogs, such as coming when called or walking calmly on a leash.[71] Second dominance-submission relationships, once established, are constantly tested and must be regularly reinforced.[73] Thus people, particularly children and the elderly, may not be able to retain their rank and are at risk of being injured if they attempt to do so.[71] Third, dominant individuals gain priority access to resources, but only while they are present, establishing dominance over a dog does not guarantee its behavior when the dominant individual is distant or absent.[71] It’s best to wait until finished…which in your case would have to be the first time I guess, because there may not be a second time and you would miss the opportunity to treat and praise. Subsequent times, just praise. Once another week or two has passed, after he has finished the first time take him right back in. Do not wait around outside for a 2nd and 3rd time to go, take him in right after the first potty and eventually he will learn he should empty himself in one go or risk going back inside perhaps uncomfortable with a still semi-full bladder. Be sure to watch him like a hawk though as he may not be empty! The simple answer is: ‘When your puppy’s proven that they know to never soil inside your home.’ Lifegard Aquatics pricing: © 2018 Patch Media. All Rights Reserved. How to Train Your Puppy Not to Jump on Furniture © 2018 Wags & Wiggles – Site Created & Managed By: Web Designs Your Way, LLC. DOG & CAT MD Belgium – Belgique Don’t get confused about your role. “The best dog owners are care-givers and educators, rather than enforcers,” says pet behaviourist Danielle Beck. “You don’t have to be a domineering pack leader. 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Breeds Email Icon Your dog also have the option to live with us, while receiving quality training. @SaraLoganPhoto Specialty Classes Turf boxes are available with genuine turf or synthetic options. Library Greece – Ελλάδα Winning Your Puppy’s Love, Trust and Respect You should also consider dog food by Canidae , Blue Buffalo , Taste of the Wild , Primal Pet Foods , and Whole Earth Farms . Goldador Cons: More expensive than many options, cleaner may have an unpleasant or strong odor If your puppy does something right, reward and praise him enthusiastically. If he does something wrong, make it clear you’re not happy or ignore him. Stealing enzobobo Hi did you ever get an answer to this question? We’re about to get a puppy and want to crate train him but not sure what were meant to do with him at night…. Here it reads keep them closer but don’t shut the door…. We don’t really want him in our room with us. We’re a confused. Can you give any advice please? Really hope your puppy settled in the Ed end. Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm A ‘Nose to Tail’ Curriculum 8 Tools Whistle (1) Place cozy blankets and favorite toys inside the crate with the door wide open and allow your puppy to explore it on their own. If they don’t enter the crate, toss in a few treats to encourage further exploration. DOG Choosing Bedding for Your Dog’s Crate Tethers are great for when you are home and able to supervise your dog (although you should still work on crate training your dog when you are home, so that being crated does not become a predictor of you leaving the house). Tethering means tying a leash to your waist so that the puppy or dog is leashed and with you as you move throughout the house; a six foot leash will do fine. Tethering allows you to spend more time with your dog than when he is in the crate, and is a great way to form a close bond with your dog. It also provides more opportunity to start noticing pre-elimination behaviors. Unfortunately, there is no magic length of time or milestone age when a puppy can be considered fully housetrained and there are many factors that go into how quickly a puppy can be potty trained. Your puppy’s age plays a major role during the initial phase of potty training, as a very young puppy won’t have the muscle control necessary to hold it for long periods of time. how to house train a dog | how to train puppy to walk on leash how to house train a dog | teaching puppy to walk on leash how to house train a dog | teach puppy to walk on leash Legal | Sitemap

#training a puppy not to bark #training pitbull puppies

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thecoroutfitters · 6 years

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Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

There’s a number of things that get passed around about firearms, even among shooters, that bear some consideration. Some of them truly deserve their own articles, but meantime, here’s a few that I hear and see pretty regularly passed around on the range, in gun stores, on forums, and in articles and videos.

Brandishing A Gun Scares Off Bad Guys

I tend to brush off legalities of self-defense, because if I’m pulling a gun, it’s the potential of life or death anyway and I’m willing to face repercussions – as well as potential retribution attempts from the deceased’s family/friends/community.

However, for those who like the “flash it” theory of scaring off would-be thieves or possible assailants, do be aware that in some jurisdictions, it’s illegal. In some, without actual threat of violence predicating it, it’s considered assault with a deadly weapon.

As far as the sound of a pump gun or facing a gaping maw sending bad guys running in fear … don’t count on it.

Before we pull a gun, we need to be ready to use it. If it’s not worth killing or dying over – killing, because “shoot to wound” is another fallacy – that gun needs to stay in our holster, vehicle, closet, etc.

When we pull a gun, or even print or gesture a willingness to shoot, we have just escalated the level of violence.

This puts whoever we’re facing in a high-level threat situation. There are three responses to threats: Fight, Flight, & Freeze.

Only one of those three actually leads to a result we want if we’re trying to scare our bad guy into leaving.

Not myth. Not supposition. Not conjecture. Not projecting. For-real 100% documented solid fact: “Fight” is a common response when people feel threatened, whether they “deserve it” or not.

It’s why higher-level defensive shooting training actually includes retention and disarming tactics. It’s also why the upper-level daily gun-toting professionals spend so much time learning to de-escalate a situation, and avoid escalations in threat – even in the military.

There’s not really much statistical chance you actually land on the loaded cartridge in Russian Roulette. Most of us still wouldn’t risk it.

Don’t risk it by counting on a show of force dispelling trouble, either.

Pulling or intentionally drawing attention to a firearm should be a last resort.

It should never be done with the expectation that it will scare somebody away and that will be that, all done, no bloodshed or screaming today.

If you’re not willing to kill or be killed, and willing to expose family and bystanders to crossfire, right then, over whatever the (possible) offense is, leave it be.

(Same goes for loading a gun with rock salt, powder bombs, bean bags, blanks, rubber bullets/shot, etc. We have to be able and willing to back it up, or we need to leave it alone.)

Preppers Must Get A Battle Rifle … and, Soon/Early

Only if you’re planning to ride into battle. Even then, only if the most-likely scenarios are already covered.

For many, a defensive pistol is likely to be more practical and thus a higher priority. We’re more likely to have it on us, every day or End of Days, because it’s lighter, smaller, and easier to carry and work while carrying.

If it’s not on us when we need it, whatever we’re doing, wherever we are, we might as well spend the money and skills development elsewhere.

A shotgun is another practical option, every day or End of Days, for home defense, walking into the wilds if that’s the plan, urban combat, property defense, and a wide range of hunting possibilities even with a shorty designed for working corners and close quarters.

If we do feel like a battle rifle is a biggie, try to get one with the accuracy to cross purpose into hunting, whether it’s new high-speed poly or an old surplus we can hack and chop to 1/2 or 2/3 the weight.

Some of the hunting rifles (and surplus bolt guns) have reasonable conversions to detachable mags and extended mags, and can fill a lot of the battle rifle roles if we really want to go that road.

Women & Small People Should Get 20-gauge Shotguns

Not necessarily. A shotgun’s action type and weight, the specific model and even era/age of that model, and the shell(s) loaded are going to play equal or bigger roles in experienced recoil.

My 1960-1970’s and 2010 break-action 20-gauges feel the exact same as my 12-gauge 1931 Model 97 and 1980’s 870 and my nephew’s 2015 Maverick. My 12-gauge 1990’s-2000’s Nova shoots lighter than any of them for bird shot, but with goose, buck, or slug loads – big grrrr-girl or not – oh, ow.

I’ve played on other people’s much more expensive auto loaders 12-gauges that feel like total whispers even with those goose and buck loads and slugs, and others that are so light they go back to the “hell no” of the Nova and ’97.

The tradeoff in shell variety, pellets-per-shell, range, and sourcing easy-to-upgrade platforms outweighs the differences for most adults.

We can have stocks fitted with pads, weigh stocks with lead shot or fishing weights, and choose lower-recoil shells to reduce experienced recoil. There are some particularly slim, petite people who would still do better with a child’s model in 20-ga., but if it’s at all manageable, the 12-gauge is a better choice.

(This lady breaks down action selection really well here http://norcalcazadora.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-choose-shotgun-for-hunting.html, and is also a proponent of 12’s for women, which she details elsewhere.)

Revolvers Are Safer/Better For Self-Defense Carry Than Semi-autos

There’s numerous arguments to this theme.

One is that because you have to cock the hammer of a revolver, it’s less likely to be fired accidentally/prematurely – as opposed to “just” pulling the trigger for a pistol.

I assume the ones who propose such have never heard of double-action revolvers or considered the possibility of an exposed/external hammer being cocked by a scuffle or by clothing or hands in the draw phase.

(A gun is a gun is a gun and should be handled and treated with respect – if only two rules are followed, there would never be an accidental shooting.)

A second is that a revolver is faster/easier to deploy in self-defense because you have to work the slide of a semi-auto.

That threw me for a while. Turns out, it stems from an apparently not-uncommon resistance to holstering a pistol that is ready to fire. That’s a training and familiarity issue, and ignores the many CCW/W&C civilians, security guards, cops, and military who do it daily with no issues.

It also ignores the possibility of holstering a ready-to-use double-action revolver.

If you’re not ready (read: comfortable enough) to carry hot, you’re not ready to carry in public, period. Train to build the confidence in safe handling.

There’s also a few that stem from the likelihood of mechanical failures, particularly in cold weather.

Since Arctic Circle cops and military keep semi-autos working in some seriously gnarly conditions, we can pretty well write off the latter.

The former is, actually, more of a risk. The more moving parts something has, the more likely it is to have a failure in one of those parts.

On the other hand, if your firearm is (reasonably) clean, checked for wear – just like we should be checking springs and pins in our revolvers – and you’re using the usual ammo (1911s, .22LRs), you should be okay.

It’s only “more” of a risk, not “risky”. We also risk more driving to work in the fog and super bright days than “normal” days, and buying supermarket greens instead of growing our own.

*I in no way hate revolvers and think they actually have some specific better-best circumstances … just not safety or reliability vs. semis.

Persisting Myths

These are just a few of the most common and most persistent “truths” that get passed around.

One of my other absolute favorites is that modern revolvers should still sit on an empty chamber (there’s a safety bar to prevent dropping/slapping causing the hammer to send the firing pin forward). The newly spreading insistence that every gun should “fit” each shooter is another head-scratcher, given how many of us own a standard-stock 10/22s, served with fixed-stock rifles (and still do), and swap or inherited firearms that perform well.

I also love the apparent belief that at household distances shotguns never miss, and the near-on “one shot one kill” mental image so many ascribe to combat and defensive situations (versus police hit rates of <50% and the averages of 10 K to 250 K shots fired per each enemy KIA in various modern war eras and guerrilla actions).

There are plenty of others out there. I’d rather not get into the political-oriented idiocies or caliber debates, but if you have a favorite myth that involves ownership, use, and safety, feel free to throw it in the comments.

It won’t step on my toes at all – I’d far rather have mistruths dispelled than have them linger.

If you have a question about some truth that gets passed around about firearms, throw that in the ring, too. You are almost assuredly not the only one with that question.

And I promise you, bottom of my heart, from behind the counter and standing in front of classes, unless you start with “but I…” and get “Red Dawn” and “Call of Duty” in the same sentence, it is not even in the running for the most ridiculous legitimate question ever heard. Promise.

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santtechgq-blog · 7 years

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Our top pick "overlooked tech"— from BeOS to Zip Drives Our ride-or-pass on devices of yesteryear didn't all accomplish showcase success.

We all think about the devices that get showered with steady acclaim—the symbols, the fragment pioneers, and the distinct advantages. Tech history will always remember the Altair 8800, the Walkman, the BlackBerry, and the iPhone.

Yet, individuals do overlook—and rapidly—about the gadgets that neglected to change the world: the immense thoughts destined by average execution, the devices that touched base before the market was truly prepared, or the advancements that discovered their walk similarly as the world was rotating to something else.

In our keep going piece on contraption history, we profiled the most noticeably awful items the Ars staff had ever utilized. Here, we praise the best items that are sliding gradually into the memory opening. Be that as it may, when they initially showed up, we adored them.

PC equipment

The Iomega Zip Drive

Before all else was the floppy plate. It was eight creeps over, and it was... floppy. After some time, the floppy shrank to 5-1/4", then down to 3-1/2" (picking up a plastic external shell all the while). It in the long run offered 1.44MB of versatile stockpiling. What's more, PC nerds saw that it was great.

Be that as it may, then the hard circle started to develop. Moving down vital records turned out to be all the more a bother as hard circles passed the 200MB stamp. After I purchased my first Mac desktop (a clone, really), I found that exchanging my records from an old PowerBook 145 to my new Umax SuperMac J700 was a bother, as was guaranteeing that the greater part of my imperative archives were moved down. Enter the Zip Drive. Greater and thicker than the 3-1/2" floppy drive, Zip circles held an incredible 100MB of information (they would later come in 250MB and 750MB sizes).

The Zip Drive was presented in 1994, and I acquired an outside SCSI model (and I ended my SCSI chain appropriately, hell!) inside two or three years of its landing available. Zip plates weren't horribly modest at $20 each, however I inevitably amassed a sizable gathering and moved down to them (semi) routinely.

By the last 50% of the 1990s, OEMs like Apple and Dell offered Zip Drives as alternatives on their machines, and I quickly possessed a PowerBook 1400c with a Zip Drive module. In any case, the Zip's rule as the versatile mass stockpiling of decision did not last. Before the finish of the 1990s, CD-R and CD-RW drives were progressively accessible; after I utilized Zip drives to move documents from a PowerMac G3/266 to my new PowerMac G4/400, the Zip circles were put away in a drawer. There they stayed until I moved a couple of years back, when they were placed out in the rear way alongside the other electronic waste I had aggregated over the nine years I lived in that house.

These days, I can stuff a 32GB USB thumb drive in my pocket, making the massive 100MB Zip circles appear to be considerably more old-fashioned. Yet, for a couple short years, the Zip Drive hit a sweet spot in the market, which is the reason despite everything I have affectionate recollections of it. (Eric Bangeman)

Magneto-optical drives

The quantity of cases where my tastes covered with those of the late Steve Jobs are entirely restricted, however we shared one conviction: we both thought magneto-optical drives were a better than average thought. Employments really made them the default removable capacity media for some early models of NeXT PCs, an inheritance that lives on just through the turning beachball-of-death that holds on in OS X. For me, they were the response to a somewhat darken issue: how would you keep a regularly growing accumulation of magnifying instrument pictures sorted out and documented?

Back in my examination days, I could create many high-determination pictures in a matter of hours—then do a similar thing the following day. In the mid-'90s, this made a wide range of issues. Desktop hard drives hadn't achieved the point where you could simply leave each picture you at any point went up against a solitary machine. Hard drives flopped, so I required a reinforcement framework. Not each machine would have all the product you'd have to work with the pictures, so you frequently expected to rearrange several megabytes between desktops.

Writable CDs hit the market around this time, however the copying programming not precisely easy to use, and the circles made a hierarchical bad dream. A given day's worth of effort may include envisioning three distinct examinations. You were probably going to rehash every one of them at various focuses throughout the following couple of months. In the event that you were great about filing to CD, you'd wind up with many plate with odds and ends of various investigations scattered on every one. Really finding the bit you needed later was very little fun.

MO plates appeared to offer an answer for these issues. The 5 1/4" forms had multi-gigabyte limits yet were removable, which means you could move the information to any machine with a drive snared to it. They were additionally re-writable, implying that at whatever point you got more material from a given venture, you could simply drop that into a similar organizer that contained whatever is left of that work. Furthermore, they were recorded quality, ensured to hold information for a considerable length of time.

In addition, every one of the choices were a whole lot more regrettable. Iomega was the ruler of versatile media at the time, yet individuals in my building were losing information left and ideal to the "snap of death."

About the main thing clearly amiss with them was that MO drives were moderate—yet more subtle things incurred significant injury. The tech never went standard, so both the drives and media wound up stuck at the high costs run of the mill for a specialty item. Fresher, higher limit drives were frequently guaranteed yet wound up severely deferred. The equipment that made it to market was frequently inadequately bolstered and experienced flaky drivers.

With today's shabby, gigantic hard drives and modest, quick systems administration, I don't know MO drives would be an incredible alternative now regardless of the possibility that they had gotten on at the time. Be that as it may, their periphery status is likely a more awful destiny than the innovation merited. Still, I hear that, similar to Spinal Tap, they're enormous in Japan. (John Timmer)

Vadem Clio C-1050

Windows CE gets no regard. In any case, in 1998, the Vadem Clio resembled the future—and from numerous points of view, regardless it does. The MIPS-based compact PC measured 3 pounds, had a battery life of as much as 12 hours, and was the principal truly fruitful convertible tablet/note pad, at any rate from an outline stance. Its approval and revile was that it was worked for Windows CE.

Microsoft vigorously advanced a class of gadgets based on the Windows CE 3.0 H/PC stage called "PC buddies." The attract of Windows CE to gadget makers was, in addition to other things, its measured quality; it enabled them to dart on usefulness particular to their equipment and in addition other programming. For Vadem's situation, that included CalliGrapher, penmanship acknowledgment programming from Vadem's ParaGraph backup, that made it the best pen tablet of now is the ideal time. It permitted pen input straightforwardly into the Windows CE form of Microsoft Word, and was adequate that I could take cursive or print notes on the screen with such a low blunder rate, to the point that I sometimes expected to right them.

The outline of the Clio, made by frogdesign in light of thoughts from Vadem's building executive Edmond Ku, was development in itself. It was intended to be conveyed, with a practically natural shape that made it simple to hold with one hand and compose on in its tablet frame. Not at all like the other scratch pad style gadgets that were its peers, it had a screen mounted on two arms that could pivot 180 degrees on a couple of carbon-fiber strengthened arms, enabling it to flip around and lay level, tablet-style, while disguising its console, or to be turned into any position while open for use with its implicit console. That made it perfect for punching out a breaking story on a long plane flight sitting behind somebody with a leaned back seat, or documenting a story by email from a telephone corner that had a RJ-11 attachment to jack its 56kbps modem into.

Considering that my "genuine" scratch pad PC was an Apple PowerBook Duo (see our "Most exceedingly awful Gadgets" story), the Clio spared the day for me all the time.

Windows CE lives on in many structures, Vadem still claims ParaGraph. Be that as it may, the Clio outline and other protected innovation related with the gadget were obtained by The Pinax Group, which endeavored to permit out the "swing arm" plan to different producers before slipping off into lack of clarity. (Sean Gallagher)

Apple PowerBook 1400

A while ago when I was school, from 2000-2004, it's difficult to trust that tablets were still moderately extraordinary for classroom notetaking, even at a huge school like UC Berkeley. WiFi was recently turning out, and certain classes instructed in certain address lobbies could be viewed on the web. I had a trusty tablet that was even truly old by 2000, the PowerBook 1400.

Past being a conventional portable workstation for its time, the 1400 had two elements that were really flawless, and I've been amazed that they never fully gotten on. The first was utilitarian: expandable drive narrows. On the base of the tablet, two secluded openings took into consideration an additional battery, a plate drive, a CD drive, or even a Zip drive, which was amazing in that pre-USB stick period. Both spaces were hot-swappable when the PC was sleeping, obviously.

The second, which was more ostentatious, was the BookCover highlight, a removeable bit of clear plastic on the highest point of the portable PC that let clients put in various examples, workmanship, stickers, or generally customize their own particular PC. While I didn't have any acquaintance with it at the time, ClarisWorks had an element that let clients make and print their own, in light of an included layout that was packaged with the product as an "additional." (Cyrus Farivar)

Devices

Best stacking NES-101

By the fall of 1993, most everybody who needed a Nintendo Entertainment System had as of now got one and most genuine gamers had proceeded onward to the more propelled Super NES or Sega Genesis. In any case, those super-late adopters who chosen to tend to the NES were at last remunerated with a substantially more sharp and solid rendition of the framework that characterized an entire era of gamers.

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surviveuk · 8 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.surviveuk.com/survival-blog/beginners-guide-to-bow-sports/

Beginners Guide To Bow Sports

*This article was submitted as a guest publication by an outside source.*

So before I start this article I have to confess, I’m not a true prepper, I don’t have a plan for when the SHTF, I don’t have a survival cache, bug-out-bag or anything like that, I’ve not planned and prepared for what may come. So why have I been invited to write this article you ask? Well, I like to shoot, I’m a keen archer and I’ve several bows lying around my house and if you’re the kind of person I think you are and you want to be prepared to defend yourself and survive in the event of a serious societal collapse, I’m going to tell you why you should think about joining an archery club and learning how to use a bow.

There’s a lot you can do with the bow that you probably didn’t realise. It’s a great tool for sport but also survival. Over in the US bow-hunting is a big thing, not so much in the UK since the practice was prohibited in 1965 but nevertheless the US following shows the effectiveness of a bow as a tool for hunting, from small rodents to and larger game and even fish. Bows can be fitted with bow fishing reels and arrows with barbed points and used to catch fish should you find clear enough water to line up a shot. Besides those things though, one of the most important things I think you can do with a bows and arrows for survival is make then! If I lost my bow or was out of ammunition, given time I could make replacements myself without any complex infrastructure to support me.

Bowsports are also family friendly, when my son grows up I’m going to take him to the local archery club and teach him how to shoot a bow. I can probably start doing this when he’s about 3 or 4, I’m hoping he enjoys the experience and thinks it’s cool but you just never know with children, although boys tend to like swords and guns and all sorts of weapons and there are male and female hollywood role models who use a bow (Hawkeye, Katniss Everdeen etc) so I’m hopeful. I aim to give him a skill that he can take through life that I think is more useful than just being a sport he does. Also take my wife, she doesn’t currently shoot, but she isn’t as averse to me and won’t be frightened of her son shooting a bow regularly, but I’m sure she would think differently if we were off learning to knife fight or flying to Budapest to shoot pistols and semi-automatics at a range.

Now you know why I think bows are a good choice, I could give you more reasons but that could turn into a whole article in itself, instead let’s go through the types of bows you can find on offer today. If you want to know more about the different types and styles of bows available take a look at this article on bow types.

Traditional Bows

D-shaped bows include old english longbows, american flatbows, these are normally bows made from one piece of wood that don’t have stabilisers or sights. They’re the type of bow you’d make yourself from raw materials. You wouldn’t normally learn with something like this as they are not so widely available and customizable as the next choice.

Recurve Bow

Recurve bows are the bows that should interest you as a novice, this type of bow is the one they shoot at the Olympics. It curves round in the usual D shape but then re-curves back away from the archer at the tips which is how it gets the name. Recurve bows can be broken down into to pieces (takedown bows) and carried in a case or rucksack. Maybe not THE most portable bow in the world but certainly not the least.

Survival Bows

A survival bow is a light, compact, usually folding version of usually a D-shaped bow. Survival bows sometimes come with collapsible arrows and always are made to be easily portable and quick to assemble and modern engineering ensures they can also be pretty powerful. This as the name suggests is a the bow designed for a prepper or survivalist. But if I didn’t know how to shoot I’d still start with a recurve first and learn my technique.

Compound Bow

A compound bow is a bow with wheels or ‘cams’ at either end of the limbs, these cams compound the force of the string on the arrow when you release (hence the name) and a compound bow allows you to hold and aim for longer than a recurve. You might only be pulling back and holding 20 lbs, but when you release you’d get the power of 30-40 lbs acting on the arrow. Compound bows are great and a modern upgrade to the recurve, however as a prepper I wouldn’t have one as my first choice. They are bulkier, harder to maintain, harder to string and don’t normally breakdown for easy storage and transport.

Crossbow / Compound Crossbow / Pistol Crossbow

Everyone who’s watched the walking dead has seen Daryl and his crossbow, and I’m sure you know that a crossbow is just a bow mounted on a stock with a mechanism for holding back the string which is released with a trigger to shoot the bolt (it’s not an arrow in the crossbow world). You shoot a crossbow like a rifle, you can get compound versions and non-compound versions and you can even get pistol crossbows which are designed to be held and shot with one hand. If anything ever goes wrong with Daryl’s crossbow I don’t see how he’s going to maintain it very easily, he’s certainly not going to make himself another and there’s less skill and fun to be had in shooting one of these than with a recurve if you ask me. There are models of folding survival crossbows, but they don’t fold down as compactly as a survival bow.

When you look into bow sports you’d be surprised at how many different disciplines are on offer. There’s field archery, 3D archery, flight, clout, ski, run, even a martial art dedicated to the bow (Kyudo). Lots of choice and variety, but you nearly always start with Target archery, either indoors or outdoors which is the discipline that everyone knows. Standing and shooting at a target with a yellow bulls eye, it’s what the Olympians do.

Here’s a very quick introduction to all those types. Field archery is target archery practised on a course with different elevations and distances involved, 3D is similar to field with targets that resemble animals like Deer or Rabbit. Flight archery is the skill of shooting an arrow as far as possible. Clout is basically golf for archers where the aim of the game is to land your arrow as close to the flag as possible. Ski and run are basically forms of the biathlon with bows instead of guns. Outdoor Olympic archery is ONLY the recurve bow and they shoot at a target 70m away. Indoor competitive archery on the other hand is shot at a target only 18m away.

That’s a brief introduction to the sport, different bows and their disciplines. There are also many different types of arrows to support those bows and disciplines, but in the next article I’ll take you through some more practical information on actually purchasing a bow and what bits and bobs you need.

*This article was submitted as a guest publication by an outside source.*

#Doomsday Prepper #survival skills

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surviveuk · 8 years

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