#super duper fun and a great challenge to work with other people's stuff GO FOLLOW BEAN AND MUSTARDD RIGHT NOW they're so cool

[avephelis]

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, i present, in partnership with @beannary and @raymustardd, a VERY BOTANICAL TURTLE COLLAB!!

this whole thing has been a super fun process with some wonderfully talented artists (even if things quickly devolved into madness), couldn't be happier with the end result. HERE'S THE CHART:

[jimintomystery]

So You Decided to Get Into Avengers after Endgame Came Out: A Guide

First of all, I feel your pain.  You had better things to do besides watching a gazillion Marvel movies, but now Avengers: Endgame is in the only thing in theaters and everybody’s going nuts about it.  But this movie is super-duper not accessible.  More than any other Marvel movie, this one assumes you know what’s going on and it can point to the box office history to back up that assumption.  (I’m not a fan of that choice tbqh.)  So now you can’t watch this 3-hour movie without everyone telling you to watch 20 other 3-hour movies.

Well, you’d be justified to say “screw it,” but if you still want to take the plunge, I’m here for you.  I was here when the first Avengers came out, and all the kids who saw the movie were like “I want to read the comics now but it’s hard.”  Yeah, it’s hard.  So comics fans like me helped them out, and now those baby fans know more about the Avengers than I do.  That’s how it goes around here--we work together, to follow the continuity no single superfan could withstand.

This is not a comprehensive guide to the “Marvel Cinematic Universe.”  This isn’t even a guide to the best movies.  This is the quickest way to get you up to speed so you can enjoy Avengers: Endgame.  Don’t let this stuff scare you.  You can do it.

Hashtag whatever it takes.

(The following contains very very light extra mild spoilers for stuff BEFORE Endgame, for people who managed to not care about those spoilers for 11 years.)

The short-short version

There are four main Avengers movies

Avengers 1 (2012)

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers 3: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers 4: Endgame (2019)

Obviously the fourth movie kind of assumes you saw the first three.  More importantly, 3 and 4 are a two-part story (like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I & II), so those two are really really inseparable.

Avengers 1 is the most succinct introduction of the main characters: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, the Black Widow, and Hawkeye.  You could watch the movies that came before Avengers 1 for more detailed introductions, but you don’t need to unless you’re super confused.  (If you just cannot handle the idea of literal Norse gods running around, I guess watching Thor 1 might help, but superhero stories work better if you’re more like “that’s weird but okay.”)

Avengers 2...didn’t go over real well with fans, and it struggled with telling its own story while trying to set up stuff for future movies.  However, since the future movies in question were Avengers 3 and Avengers 4, that’s the stuff you’re interested in.  Also Avengers 2 debuts key secondary characters (the Vision and the Scarlet Witch) and is a convenient way to be introduced to others (War Machine and the Falcon).

Captain America 3: Civil War (2016) came out between Avengers 2 and Avengers 3, and it basically ends up being Avengers 2½.  This is arguably the hardest one to skip, since it fundamentally changes the relationship between Captain America and Iron Man, and sets up where the characters are at leading into Avengers 3.  You also get to meet Black Panther, the Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man without devoting a ton of time to more movies.  To be fair, Avengers 3 does attempt to explain what has happened since Avengers 2, but it’s kinda hard since so much is going on in Avengers 3.  I happen to like this movie a lot, so I think it’s worth the slight detour.

Avengers 3 is where Thanos comes looking for the Infinity Stones, to put on his Infinity Gauntlet.  It may seem like all the movies are about Thanos and Infinity Stones, but don’t believe the hype.  Prior to this, some of the movies had plot devices that turned out to be Infinity Stones, and some of the movies featured Thanos cameos.  But the actual story starts here--all the teases and hints were just to establish that our heroes have a clue about what’s going on.  Many characters from other movies meet the Avengers for the first time, but if you haven’t watches those movies you’ll be no more or less confused than the Avengers are.

Avengers 4 picks up right where Avengers 3 left off.  I won’t say much about it, except that is trying to pay homage to all the movies before it while also trying to serve as an ending, which is challenging.  To accomplish that I think they sacrificed accessibility, so there are many scenes that depend on you recognizing references to earlier movies.  BUT, I think you can get by just from seeing Avengers 1-3 and Cap 3: Civil War.

Extra credit homework

Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier (2014) shows how Cap, a World War II hero, is adjusting to life after waking up in the 2010s and joining the Avengers.  If you’re confused about SHIELD, Hydra, or the Winter Soldier, this will help.  This is one of my favorites.

Guardians of the Galaxy 1 (2014) introduces a rag-tag band of misfits in deep space, led by a half-human/half-alien mercenary.  Aside from being fun, it delves into Marvel’s approach to aliens and cosmic powers.  If you’re wondering why all the aliens speak English and don’t wear real spacesuits and use glowy rocks to do everything...well, this doesn’t explain it, but it teaches you to chill out about it.

Thor 3: Ragnarok (2017) has very little do to with the first two Thor movies, except that it dramatically tears down the status quo.  The aftereffects of this are felt in Thor’s appearances in Avengers 3 and Avengers 4.  If you would be confused by questions like “why would Norse gods be refugees on a spaceship?” or “why would Norse gods have weird alien friends?” or “is Thor...like, okay?” then this movie will help.

Captain Marvel (2019) introduces Captain Marvel.  A teaser in Avengers 3 made it seem like she’d be a big deal, but her role in Avengers 4 kinda fails to properly introduce her.  I guess they figured everyone would watch this movie.  You certainly can watch this movie, but I don’t know that it’s essential, beyond understanding that “Captain Marvel is hella tough and she’s so cool.”  And I could just tell you that.  So I will.  Captain Marvel is hella tough and she’s so cool.

Wait, what are you leaving out?

If you are concerned that skipping over all the other movies will cause you to miss a key plot point related to the main Avengers series, allow me to briefly summarize what you need to know from them.  That way you can decide whether to sink time into actually watching these movies, or just reading my quick notes.

Iron Man 1 (2008) - Tony Stark becomes Iron Man and meets SHIELD; he’s like “I want cheeseburgers” and his chauffeur is like “sure, whatever”

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - The Hulk exists, pretty much

Iron Man 2 (2010) - Iron Man’s friend James Rhodes becomes War Machine

Thor 1 (2011) - The world finds out Thor and Loki are real

Captain America 1: The First Avenger (2011) - Steve Rogers becomes a super-soldier in 1943, fights the Red Skull with his friend Bucky, and he never got to dance with Peggy Carter, his best girl :(

Iron Man 3 (2013) - Iron Man has anxiety attacks about the events of Avengers 1.  Then he makes friends with a little boy.

Thor 2: The Dark World (2013) - Thor brings his human girlfriend to Asgard to meet his parents!

Ant-Man (2015) - Hank Pym invented shrinky-juice called Pym particles and gave it to Scott Lang.  I skipped this one, tbh

Doctor Strange (2016) - Doc takes over the Ancient One’s job protecting Earth from weird magical dimensions

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (2017) - Mantis joins the team and Nebula stops trying to kill them so they can be friends.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - Peter kisses a girl, maybe?  I skipped this one too lol

Black Panther (2018) - Black Panther has a genius little sister named Shuri and a cool general named Okoye and omg everybody loves this movie because it’s great

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) - Hank Pym’s daughter becomes the Wasp and they rescue her mom.  I skipped this too (uh-oh I’m a bad Marvel fan)

Now, if you want to marathon all these movies, you go right ahead.   They’re generally very good!  But don’t let nobody tell you that you’ve got to watch them all.  It’s not that complicated.

In conclusion all you really really need is Avengers 1, Avengers 2, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers 3, Avengers 4.  And if you need a hand, you’ve got a zillion people waiting to help.

[hazyheel]

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2019 Day 9 Review

First match of the night was SHO vs Tiger Mask. The two were very reserved in the beginning of the match, keeping the fight on the mat. Tiger Mask showed his experience edge with some inventive counters and submissions. Tiger Mask worked over the arm quite a bit, and delivered some stiff kicks to the midsection. Sho responded with his own attack on the arm, but obviously he injured it faster because of his strength advantage. Tiger Mask absolutely destroyed Sho with a kick to the head, to the point that Sho couldn’t capitalize on a shock arrow. However, Sho fought back into it with a bunch of brutal lariats and then another Shock arrow for the win. Sho: 6, Tiger Mask: 4

Grade: B-. I liked this a lot in the beginning, but it fell apart a bit towards the end. Tiger Mask seemed a bit gassed, and he didn’t really have as much snap on his moves after that. I think his matches should stay more on the mat, because that is where he is best. His strikes devolve quickly. However, this was still a good match, and I’m glad Sho won.

Next up was Will Ospreay vs Ren Narita. Narita knew that Ospreay needed a lot of space to get his offense going and tried to stay on him, but got frustrated too quickly and lost control. At one point, Narita caught Ospreay out of a springboard with an awesome German suplex for a near fall. He also hit a release German on the outside, and nearly got the win off of a countout. Narita then countered an Os cutter into a sharpshooter, and he came shockingly close to the win. Narita was going out of his mind, even countering the storm breaker into a backslide. Ospreay still got the win with an os cutter, but only by the skin of his teeth.

Grade: B+. Narita did super well here, and was an awesome underdog. Those German suplexes were awesome, and it seemed like Ospreay was going to tap out to the sharpshooter. Ospreay’s selling was super good, and I was almost believing. I like this a lot, and I still think Narita can do better.

And then we had Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Marty Scurll. Right out of the gate they both threatened to smack each other with their weapons, Scurll with the umbrella and Kanemaru with the whisky. Scurll was using a lot of dirty tricks during this match, such as attacking Kanemaru while he was getting in the ring. They brawled in the crowd a bit, right in Kanemaru’s wheelhouse, and he tried to get Scurll counted out. It worked against him though, as Brody King got in his way and they both nearly lost. Kanemaru gave the ref a bump, and got a tornado DDT for a visual pin. He then went for the whiskey spit, but Scurll blocked it with the Umbrella. They then switched weapons, and as the ref confiscated them, Scurll spit the whiskey in Kanemaru’s face and hit Black Plague for the win. Scurll: 6, Kanemaru: 4.

Grade: B. I love cheater vs cheater stuff. Kanemaru got a taste of his own medicine. Scurll is one of the most entertaining part of the tournament because of his charisma, and Kanemaru is awesome to watch lose. This match did it all for me.

Into DOUKI vs Robbie Eagles, Douki tried to get a jump start, but Eagles was ready and fought back. They soon spilled to the outside for some brawling with a chair, which split him open. Eagles stuck to his gameplan of going for the knee, while Douki continued to try his “hit until they fall” strategy. The clash of styles here was very evident, being a brawling vs flying match. Eagles was able to finally get the win with a 450 to the leg and a Ron Miller special. Eagles: 8, DOUKI: 2.

Grade: C+. Eagles sold super duper well during this match, so props to him. I don’t think that they blended well, and I am really losing steam on Douki. I like him in theory, but he hasn’t impressed me since his match against Bandido. I won’t need to watch him after the tournament, so that’s nice, but I thought Eagles did well here. He sold his ass off, and even pulled a blade job, but still couldn’t get Douki over in any meaningful way.

Next up was Shingo Takagi vs TAKA Michinoku. TAKA worked some dirty tricks right from the start, going for the eyes and the beard as they fought. He worked over Takagi’s right arm after he dodged a lariat and it slammed into the post. He transitioned right into assaulting the knee that had been bothering him throughout the tournament. Taka attacked Shingo in the crowd, with chairs and a cross face, and he barely beat the count, only to face an onslaught of offense in the ring. At some point in the match, probably during a moonsault to the outside, it looked like Taka hurt his leg, but I don’t know how serious it is. Even when Takagi was fighting back, TAKA was able to reverse into a cross face, which was his gameplan for the match. However, it only took one move for Takagi to get the win, as he reversed a knee strike into last of the Dragons for the win. Takagi: 12, TAKA: 0.

Grade: B. TAKA is having a very underrated tournament. I thought he was putting on very good matches, putting a lot of guys over, and telling a good story of desperate offense. He broke down Takagi in a fast and strong manner, and nearly got the win. He kept Takagi on the back foot for most of the match, but just barely lost. I hope TAKA gets a win at some point, because he is too much of a legend to buster out at 0. Also, Takagi did well.

Into Bandido vs Ryusuke Taguchi. The two started with the double fist bump, and went into some paced technical wrestling. This was quite the comedy match, with Taguchi forcing Bandido to run the ropes until he fell down. He challenged Taguchi to do the same, but drilled him with a superkick right at the start. At one point, Bandido hit a sunset flip powerbomb, but picked up Taguchi to powerbomb his ass into the post, followed by a somersault senton through the ropes. Bandido continued to counter Taguchi’s hip attacks with atomic drops, really destroying the ass. Bandido kinda tried to get a little cheeky with a few hip attacks, but Taguchi picked the ankle for the ankle lock, but Bandido was able to fight out of it. Bandido hit the go to sleep, right into the 21 plex, that he botched, for the win. Bandido: 6, Taguchi: 8.

Grade: B. Not as good as I thought it would be. They had the chemistry, but couldn’t really decide if this should be a comedy or a serious match. Not to mention the 21 plex botch, which he seemed very upset about. But it was still a fun match with a lot of funny and interesting spots. I loved the war of hip attacks in particular.

Then we had Jonathan Gresham vs Taiji Ishimori. Ishimori was super pissed about the loss last week, and spit on Gresham before the match. Gresham picked the leg and tried to spit on him back, but Ishimori dodged it, only to land facedown on it to avoid Gresham while running the ropes. Gresham was really feeling himself during this match, hitting flying knee strikes and drop kicks. At one point, Ishimori countered a rollup into a yes lock, but Gresham fought out. Gresham worked over the arm, and was able to lock in his own octopus hold, but Ishimori countered but just falling on his back. He followed up with a massive shotgun dropkick, double knees and a bloody cross for the win. Ishimori: 10, Gresham: 6.

Grade: B+. Good match here. They really worked to keep each other down, and Ishimori’s anger at his loss was very much a factor here. I liked how Gresham was really excited after his wins, as it shows his personality a lot. A fun match with a couple of great talents.

Next up was YOH vs BUSHI. These two are huge rivals in the junior tag division, and it showed, as Bushi attacked before the bell with a dropkick and a suicide dive that just about wiped out someone in the crowd. Bushi whipped him with his belt and did everything he could to keep the advantage. Yoh went for the leg of Bushi, both to slow him down and soften him up for the calf crusher. The two really beat the hell out of each other with slaps and ensiguris, but Bushi got the win with several lung blowers, followed by the MX for the win. Bushi: 6, Yoh: 6.

Grade: B+. These guys are really good together, and this match proves it. They beat each other down in a very intense way, and it was super fun to see. I love Bushi hitting his stride just as he is out of the tournament. Also, Los Ingobernables de Japon both got wins over Roppongi 3k, so they deserve another title shot if the G1 doesn’t work out for Takagi. I liked this a lot.

A battle of CMLL, Dragon Lee took on Titan. Red shoes actually wore a mask for this match, which was kinda funny, but he took it off and got booed. The match began with not just a handshake, but a hug. They started out with a mirror spot, each doing lots of moves in quick succession. Dragon Lee totally lit up Titan with an overhand chop, and Titan responded with his suicide lariat, only for Lee to respond with a ridiculous dropkick, and then a low dropkick from Titan. At one point, the two sat facing each other, shook hands and traded crazy elbows back and forth. At one point, Titan went for a hurricanrana off the top, but Lee caught his legs and nailed a double stomp in the corner. There was an unbelievable sequence where Lee hit a snap German followed by a knee lift, Titan hit a destroyer, but Lee followed up with a running knee strike. In the finish, Lee destroyed his friend with knees, before hitting Desnucadora. Lee: 8, Titan: 4

Grade: A-. This was the definition of flippy. These guys did so many high flying moves that it was tough to keep track of. Between the respect during the match and the hard hits, this was a really fun match. I like when the competitors respect each other almost as much as when they don’t. Really good match.

Our main event was Rocky Romero vs El Phantasmo. Two more people who hate each other. As Rocky entered the ring, Phantasmo stole his hat and threw it in the crowd, which prompted Rocky to start early with a dropkick and suicide dive. At one point, Phantasmo cleated a whole section of chairs just to start throwing them. The two began fighting in the crowd. And I mean literally in the stands, like on the chairs. Phantasmo went for a moonsault off of an entrance, but Rocky snuck away and hit a flying knee off of it instead. Phantasmo worked on Rocky’s leg, while Rocky went for the arm. Phantasmo tried to disrespect Rocky with slaps, infuriating him enough to fight back, only for Phantasmo to brutally dropkick the leg. The crowd was firmly behind Rocky during the match, popping especially loud when Rocky pushed him off the top while he was walking the ropes. On the outside, Phantasmo tried to give Rocky a CR2 on the exposed floor, but Rocky countered and brutally attacked him on the outside, ending in a senton off the top to the floor. They cheered like crazy when he beat the living crap out of Phantasmo’s arm. Rocky teased the crotch stop that Phantasmo normally does, but chose not to do it, instead delivering several back kicks to the face in tree of woe. Rocky hit an awesome tornado DDT into falcon arrow into an armbar, only for Phantasmo to reverse it. Rocky then reversed that into a triangle, and ELP powerbombed him out of it. At one point, Rocky hit a super sliced bread for a near fall, reversing the lockout into an armbar. At one point, Phantasmo was so desperate that he threw Rocky into the crowd and wanted a countout. Rocky made it back in, narrowly avoided a frog splash, allowing rocky to hit several clothesline’s and sliced bread. Phantasmo kicked out and Rocky landed on Red Shoes. While Red Shoes was out, Rocky blocked a low blow and then tapped Phantasmo out, only for ELP to hit the low blow anyway for a near fall. He then hit a huge splash in Rocky for a near fall, and once again Red Shoes was hit. Phantasmo used his Cruiserweight championship as a weapon, but Rocky ducked it, and then pretended he got hit. In the confusion, Rocky rolled him up for a near fall, then a backslide for a near fall. Rocky then countered CR2 into a spike rana for a near fall. At the 2 minute call, Rocky Locked in an armbar for the submission victory, and I actually shouted in excitement. Rocky: 4, Phantasmo: 10. After the match, Roppongi 3k all celebrated together.

Grade: A. The match started a bit slow, but by the end I was totally buying into everything. Phantasmo is such a good dickhead that I needed to see him lose, and Rocky was the perfect babyface to do it. They killed every emotion from the crowd and put on a hell of a show. This was an awesome story from beginning to end, and the match of the night.

Overall Grade: B+.

Pros: Ospreay vs. Narita; Scurll vs. Kanemaru; Taka vs. Takagi; Bandido vs. Taguchi; Gresham vs. Ishimori; Yoh vs. Bushi; Titan vs. Lee; main event

Cons: 21 plex botch

Losses: SHO, Marty Scurll, Jonathan Gresham, Tiger Mask, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI, Titan

[nellie-elizabeth]

Outlander: If Not For Hope (4x11)

Lord John! My love!

Cons:

I actually really super-duper loved this episode. I liked both of the subplots, and of course I loved the Lord John and Brianna stuff. However, there are a couple of substantive complaints that I must talk about first, and then we're going to get in to the "nitpick corner" where I discuss a detail from the books that was altered very strangely.

Okay. First for the more significant problem. We're back at River Run with Brianna, which means we have to grapple with the fact that Jocasta Cameron owns slaves, and that Bree is benefiting from that. How is the question handled here? Brianna treats Phaedra like an equal while still letting her serve her, and glares at people who say racist stuff. That's pretty much it. I don't know how this issue is supposed to be treated in a narrative like this, and I'm not saying I envy the writers who have to work it out. But here, the fact that Phaedra and Ulysses are slaves, and that there are countless other slaves on the plantation, is treated as window dressing to a more interesting and relevant story, and that rubs me the wrong way.

I'm going to talk quite a bit about Lord John in this review, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, but first I want to discuss one change that was made from the source material that just kind of... confused me. It seemed to detract from the scene between Bree and John in a way that I don't understand. There were other changes from the book that I enjoyed, which I'll mention later, but there's just this one thing that felt odd to me. Brianna threatens that she'll tell everyone that John is a homosexual, and when John impresses upon her the seriousness of the punishment for that crime, Bree backs down slightly by saying "then I'll tell Jamie!" John gets this odd look on his face and then says "well, that's assuming that he doesn't already know," and he then points out that Jamie is far away so the threat is moot anyway. This moment reads like Lord John is bluffing Brianna, but we know that Jamie does know. In fact, it's a pretty significant aspect of their complicated relationship. In the book, John tells Brianna that Jamie knows, Bree is briefly confused, they talk some more about it, and Bree realizes just how much Jamie and John value each other as friends. It feels very odd to change virtually nothing else about the way this conversation goes down, but add this element that obfuscates an important piece of information. Maybe there's another conversation about it later? Who knows. It just felt very strange to me.

Pros:

Before gushing about John, I want to turn to the two subplots in this episode.

First, we have a couple of book-ending scenes showing us Roger, along with scenes showing Jamie, Claire, and Ian trying to track him down. Roger gets taken to the Mohawk camp and is immediately thrown into some sort of fight. Meanwhile, the Frasers follow his tracks and get help from the Cherokee in discovering his likely destination. Claire and Jamie are distant from one another, Jamie drowning in guilt while Claire holds on to her anger. In the end, Claire and Jamie talk and have a reconciliation, reunited in their quest to save Roger's life and Brianna's future.

There are a lot of things I love about this. For one, I love that Ian is tracking what's going on with his aunt and uncle, and wants to help smooth the way for them. Ian obviously feels a great deal of guilt as well, and hates to see his loved ones suffering. I also love that Jamie's contrition and guilt is so genuine and motivates him to such great lengths. There's this moment when Jamie reminds Claire that the two of them have suffered in the past, not knowing if the other is alive or dead. Now, Brianna suffers that same pain. This might seem like a small point, but I loved this moment of Jamie acknowledging that Brianna and Roger's relationship is as important and precious as Claire and Jamie's is. Jamie hasn't ever spoken to Roger, but his loyalty to his family will extend to Roger without question.

Then, you've got the Wilmington plot. Basically, Fergus and Murtagh are hunting for Stephen Bonnet. Also, Marsali wants to boost Fergus' confidence by having Murtagh invite him to join the Regulators. This material is very different from the books, of course, mainly because Murtagh is still around.

I love the relationship between Murtagh, Fergus, and Marsali, and all of the loyalties and interplay that we see between these three. The whole thing with Marsali asking Murtagh for a favor in order to help Fergus' confidence is actually lifted straight from the books, only in Dragonfly in Amber, it's a setup between Jenny, Jamie, and Ian. Jenny asks Jamie to take Ian with him to fight in the Jacobite uprising. Ian says no, his place is with his family. It's an element from the books that I quite liked, and it was fun to see it re-purposed here.

Also, Fergus is such a darling. I love seeing his loyalty to Murtagh, and to his family. Watching him coo over little Germain is honestly so precious. And Marsali is coming more and more into her own as a character. She's headstrong and knows what she wants, but she's also considerate and understanding. She's a great wife and mother! Murtagh protects Fergus in the end by letting himself get taken captive, which is the bad news. The good news is that at least they succeed in getting Stephen Bonnet arrested too. Again, because Murtagh's involvement is so different from the books, I'm really excited to see how it plays out over the last two episodes.

And we're back to my darling Lord John. I'm going to try and be brief and just list a few of the things that I found really compelling about the plot at River Run.

- Brianna's interest in drawing. Yeah, I wish the issue of slavery was being treated a bit more delicately here, but I did still like the moment when Bree draws Phaedra.

- Billy Boyd as Mr. Forbes. It was smart to make this character genuinely likable, if a bit clownish. I genuinely felt a bit sorry for him at the end. Also, it's always fun to see familiar faces appear in Outlander.

- One change I really liked from the source material is that Brianna discovers Lord John's sexuality because Lord John and another of Bree's suitors are having a dalliance. In the books, Bree catches Lord John on his way back from the slave's quarters, I believe. The plot significance remains the same - Brianna finds out something about Lord John that she can use to blackmail him into marriage. But the way it is in the books, it comes with a lot of icky implications surrounding slaves and consent and all that. Not exactly something I want to watch this show grapple with. Also, I liked the acting moment when the other guy got up from the table and we just watch Lord John follow him with his eyes. We know what's up.

- Another more complex change that I enjoyed was Brianna's specific motivations for asking Lord John to marry her. There's a conversation with Jocasta that really nails it home for her - if her child is born a bastard, it's going to make Brianna's life, and the life of her child, significantly more challenging, given the time period. Bree is also worried a bit about Roger, given that he might not want to marry her when she's not sure if the child is his or not. In the book, I recall Brianna being worried that Roger would feel obligated to marry her, and that she doesn't want to put him in that position. It worked out fine in the book, but I like how they've sort of streamlined the situation in the show.

More broadly, let's just talk about how amazing Lord John is. He's so earnest, and kind. I love how he reacts when he realizes that Bree is pregnant. He rushes to assure her: "your father didn't tell me about this," and then listens without judgment as Brianna explains the situation. One of my favorite moments is when Brianna asks John, point blank: "will you marry me?" John has this smile of amusement on his face, as he waits for the punchline of the joke, and then you can just see his expression fade to one of disbelief and horror: "Oh, dear God in Heaven." I love it. So much. Also, I love that even though Brianna is blackmailing John here, he doesn't freak out or slip up. You can tell that he's very good at obfuscation, and that he's always managed to deflect suspicion in the past. When he realizes that this isn't going to work on Brianna, he immediately switches to a tightly controlled anger, as he asks if Brianna would really tell his secret and condemn him.

Of course, I love that Lord John's love for Jamie is still on display in such a big way. He refers to him by his first name and says that Jamie is one of the people he holds most dear. Although Jamie's affection for John isn't a focus of the episode, we also get hints of Jamie's regard. He sent John a note and asked him to go out of his way to check on Brianna. He didn't reveal any specifics of the situation, but trusted John to look after his daughter. That's cute.

One of the overarching themes in the entire Outlander series is one of parent/child relationships. We see this with Jamie a lot, obviously, as he has to grapple with meeting his daughter, and the fact that his son doesn't know the truth of his parentage, but also with his relationships with his foster or stepchildren, like with Fergus and Marsali. Brianna is now grappling with the fact that the child she is carrying may be Rogers, or may be the product of rape. I love the fact that Brianna trusts John with this information, and John finds the perfect way to comfort her. He talks about his son, about how he loves him more than life itself, and about how there's no blood relation between them. I love that Brianna tries to compliment Lord John by telling him he's kind to raise another person's son, but John shuts that down. He loves William for his own self. He's not raising someone else's kid, he's raising his own. This would have been a perfectly logical moment for John to ruminate on the fact that William is Jamie's son, but it's not about that. It's about William as his own person, as John's amazing son. I love that.

So now we have Lord John pretending to be Brianna's fiance, to help shield her from other offers. I love it. It's one of the weirdest but best things that happens in these stories, to have these paths cross in such an odd way. I love how Jocasta is just so thrilled that Brianna managed to bag a Lord. It's hilarious. And I'm so excited to see how things play out in the next two weeks. I know I'm supposed to be worried about Roger, and I am, in an abstract sort of way. But I find myself way more interested in Brianna 's story, as well as the Wilmington plot. Here's hoping for lots more Lord John next week!

8.5/10

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 3- “Y'all wanted magic within and we delivered- case closed”-Autumn

Another super fun challenge! I want to shout out to the hosts for just doing a great job so far. This is making this quarantine just a little less terrible. So happy we have immunity and getting our first reward is so exciting! I’ve been trying my best to connect with members outside of my tribe in the great hall chat and get close with my tribe mates. For the most part I really trust all of them. And that’s horribly scary. I really love being on hufflepuff. But I have a feeling a swap is gonna happen. Kevin told me he thinks it’s going to be 2 tribes of 8. We will see. GL to slytherin and ravenclaw! 

HOES MAD 

https://giphy.com/gifs/lifeminute-birthday-rihanna-3fihINg62RNynS9cbY 

I'm so dead and drained rn but I look forward to reading this round and seeing how heated people are over this. And this will definitely follow me the entire game but you know what I'm glad. Don't let the 16 month hiatus fool you: when I show up I show out. Everything is mind over matter in a way and y'all caught me on a good day so I was just like fuck it I'll do this all day if I have to. So I walked into that challenge at 11:30 am and deadass my phone never left my side... for 9 1/2 hours. Also y'all know I'm at my best when I'm an underdog? So of course I went all out, please tell me you didn't expect anything less. And can I just say Gryffindor legitimately and collectively earned that because everyone participated and put points up. So yes I am that girl but I do it for the squad because I know they'll do it for me. BIG ups though to Vi and Jess- I don't care what their alliances were before today they better have each other's backs and I'll riot if they don't both survive. Literally do the right thing and send a man home. And the same goes for Ravenclaw! I wanna know what's going on over there and I'm not picky but send a man or inactive home if you can. Let it be known that I literally came into this game to raise hell for Dan and Owen lmaaaaooo. I mean I don't want them to go (yet) because that's not what good frenemies do and where's the fun in that. We make each other's arcs better and if we're cast, there will be a fight to the death sooner or later. But until then! Yes I am absolutely living for them sweating it out for a full round. Can y'all believe it? They finally lost at something God is so good. Would've loved to make Hufflepuff sweat too but hey. There's always next round

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/UnsungOblongBlesbok-max-1mb.gif

14 minutes later

Also I just wanna say that 6:00 hour was chef's kiss. In my entire org career, I have never been on a tribe that pulled off a shutout like that and that was ICONIC. Hoes mad but did your entire tribe come together and get a streak of points nonstop for upwards of an hour?? No ma'am you did not. I kept us alive all day but that hour was THE hour that took Gryffindor from 4th to 2nd and that's how you win immunity. Y'all wanted magic within and we delivered- case closed

I don't trust Nick at all. I know in the back of his mind he's thinking i'm gonna play like our previous game which I wasn't exactly loyal to him because I was loyal to some bitch ass alliance that ended up... ANYWAYS. So he seems like the type of player to keep that into consideration because he happened recently and he's sort of a newer player. So I have to be mindful of this all and as much as i'm STRESSING the fact that obviously there were external factors in that game.. that won't impact this game kind of a deal. I know this all could just be my paranoid little brain and thinking that he's out to get me when he's not.. but I haven't played any back to back games in FOREVER and when something THAT FRESH happens.. it's hard for me to not have the after thought of: Wow Nick must think i'm an loyal person who won't tell him my real thoughts. 

 But Nick gonna be a scary player down the line. He's already in my pm's bragging about how him, Landen, and I think his name is Matt? idk one of the "Weebz" (still don't know what that means) and how he will have those potential relationships moving forward.. I just... don't.... understand..... him. ANYWAYS

 The thing is... I think? I can trust Jacob fully. I think this vote SHOULD BE EASY.. but I can't help but feel really fucking bad. Like terrible. Like extremely heart broken about voting out VI. She's put her all into everything and honestly I would be so mad if i've given my all and these two dweebz didn't even show up to the comp. I know she's gonna be upset and I hate knowing that. So i'm TRYING to take emotions out of this decision and make this all strategical and within the game environment because if I was voting with my HEART i'd keep her. BUT then I have that voice in the back of my head that is saying "But if you save Vi.... she'll be loyal to you!" BUT ALSO... I know from HOSTING VI... is that Vi is only loyal to... the fun she has. If she gets bored she fucks around. She's a crackhead. But I obviously can't VOICE THIS TO ANYONE because they could flip this and reverse this on ME. 

I'm scared that if I cast any form of doubt about the vote to Jacob he will relay the message to Nick and well I become more threatening than Vi at this point because I pointed the gun at him... SO I was fucking around with the idea of... using my idol on myself, causing a 2 to 2 tie.. and well.. unless Jacob wants to go to rocks by himself... and basically get voted out.. Mr. Nick goes. But it's LITERALLY FINAL 18............ If this was final 11, sure i'd do this in a heart beat... but this is such a bad bitch move i'm scared people will see I got something on my resumé already. They'll see I went against an alliance for VI. It's just so risky.. but I told myself i'd have FUN in this game.. I just don't want to make a move purely on a past game or purely on emotion. I want to be making moves that move me forward in the game..

I LOVE JOANNA!!! THIS IS A JOANNA APPRECIATION POST!!!!!! and dan has the idol. 

Unsurprisingly, we lost the challenge. I worked my lil booty off as best as I could (I did give up but that is beside the point at this current moment) and I have been friendly, fricking nice as all hell, and then Miguel wants to vote me out. And honey... I think that sealed your fate. I am working on being a little more ruthless I guess because I really want to win this game, so if you come for me, you bet I'm coming for you. I've always made jury and I don't think that this is the season I'm getting stuck with pre-jury. Miguel is the only relationship I don't feel confident in so... bye sis. 

The immunity challenge was a hard-fought battle, but we managed to pull out a win near the end. It was the most stressful time of my life. Honestly, I felt that if we lost then I would get voted out next. Thankfully, that did not happen. However, this is a huge wake up call for me to get my ass into gear and start being more social with my tribe. Otherwise, I might find myself in the bottom and that is not a position I want to be in.

AHHHH so my tribe won immunity and reward and things are great!  Someone mentioned yesterday (Kevin?? Maybe) that this means we are the last tribe to have to see tribal council and that is a GREAT THING!  I really wonder who is going to go home- I just hope it isn't Owen.  I also really hope he still wants to work with me if we end up on a tribe together. In other news, I'm curious to see if a swap is about to happen.  With a double tribal happening tonight it seems as though it would be a big maybe! Also I'm still irritated that my glee shirt didn't count as a band tee, when everyone asks what kind of music I like the first thing I always say is 'anything by the cast of glee' xD I don't feel like I was much help in the challenge but I was there and got points for wine and sequins if that means anything. 

doing this ON TIME.. anyways chile. WOO WE DID IT! finally not coming in last hehe. god the amount of i was just frantically running around my house.. well thank god my family didn’t question it for the most part hehe. overall this challenge was super duper fun and i’m HOPING we can continue to win some because the stress of my tribe wanting to go against me.. yea it’s there. hopefully my paranoia is just that and i have nothing to worry abt ✨

Hey all you cool cats and kittens! It’s Dan, not Carole Baskin, but with the same crackhead energy. So Miss Miguel should be leaving tonight! It’s not anything personal at all. He’s a really sweet guy, but he’s just not around. I work mad hours a week and still make time for this stuff. Joanna is worried because she knows her name is going around so as long as she doesn’t try to pull something, everything is good. I think the chances of that happening are slim to none honestly. I feel like had I been able to compete in the comp I could have helped way more than others. I have a ton of random shit in my apartment that was asked for!!! I was a little shady toward Jacob in the Great Hall chat so lettuce pray that he doesn’t act like a petty fool if we swap together. I am kinda anticipating a swap after this tribal but we’ll see!!! 

we won immunity and nothing has changed on my tribe for me since my last confessional woo consistency yay c:

im sad. we have to vote out vi which is so sad. i love her shes so sweet but i have suhc a tight bond with jess and nick that like there isnt another option. but ugh someone hold my hand

Darn, we were so close to winning, yet so far. Always remember, the unintentional matsing is just as mighty as the intentional, so 3 of us making swap or merge is much more advantageous than a unit of 4. I love my tribe, I do, and I genuinely feel I may be in danger! I trust Jess and Jacob though (JJJ: Jess, Jacob, Jay), so I’m hoping for another unanimous decision. (I will probably be asleep at tribal since I have 1 hour of sleep today)

So out tribe basically gave everything they could in a 12 hour challenge of Hell. I tried especially hard thinking I would be voted out if we lost because no one really talks "game" with me. I know that side seasons are 'Survivor Lite' but typically people at least talk game. I know I wasnt the target from last vote because everyone assured me they want to work with me and Josh said to vote him out in the tribe chat. Apparently though Josh wanted to do a blindside and reached out to Autumn to let her know asking me if he had asked me. So honestly Autumn is the truest! The other two notnvoting me inlobe seeing but if Josh talked to them then... hm Anyway I cant play a perfect game anymore :( Also I have officially dug through all of Hagrids things and he has no idol for me. I thought he might have something in could take and use somewhere else since he is a keeper of keys. But naw.

Guess who lost by two points!! Fricking Nicholas and Jacob leaving us for 7 hours. Then nick only showed up for the last 3ish but he didn’t even submit anything. Wth? We’re gonna try to kick him out.

i love my tribe so much we keep having more and more fun each time :D i definitely think after max's april fools prank i'm even more inclined to want to vote him if we lose, but i'm also grateful he's not really gone because mayhaps a weeb alliance in the future is possible.... !!! i also always utilize the great hall segments to make myself known and thought about even if people also think i'm a bit annoying, idc, the main thing is they remember me and when we meet on a swap or something i am one of the first they choose to talk to! it is always an important strategy of mine, people don't realize that in big games, one of the most crucial things you can do is leave a big first impression on people on the other tribes, you have the lucky opportunity to get some spaces where you meet them in ORGs unlike in the real world - USE it to let them form an idea of you in their head and decide they like you before they even meet you, it's a weird phenomena but i've found it's one of my most consistent strategies, when i actually decide to employ it (flashback to me being so lazy in 2020 i barely even used one world.. eep) hufflepuff is cute and we WILL be continuing to make marshmallow moves, until i get to make my own independent marshmallow moves to win

Soooo we finally lost a challenge kfjahsdj time to put this alliance to the test! The answer seemed pretty clear to me though - everyone kinda just wants to do Miguel. I feel bad, because I do think these competitions have NOT played to his strengths at all and I know he can be a great competitor. And I really wanted to get to know him again this time around. For a second, Dan and I considered saving him as a loyal number... but I just can't do that to Joanna, who has rlly busted her ass lately. So tonight it's a harder choice than it seems, but ultimately, I'm going with Miguel, and I told him that. I really wish he would've put more effort into our conversations before he was in trouble lmao. Also, DAN FOUND THE IDOL HEHEHEEH so that's great :) Glad to know he trusted me enough to tell me about it! I think he's probably going to be pretty loyal this time to me? And I feel like I have to give that same courtesy back to him. Someone will probably take one of us out eventually. I rlllly do not want to stress. If for some reason they blindside me tonight or Miguel has another idol or something, it has been fun <3

[firstumcschenectady]

In the Gospel of John, we hear,  “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.”  Of course, it is not a new commandment.  At all.  Rather, this is as old of commandments as commandments come.  Love commandments are fundamental.  There are two parts, the love your neighbor part (Leviticus 19:18)  “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” and the love God part.  (Deut 6:4) “Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  You shall Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”  Jesus' commandment to love each other is grounded in the already there tradition as an abiding commandment. Further, that's a tenet of every major religion in some form or another.  

It isn't new, but it is still challenging.  You know that passage from 1 Corinthians 13 that people love to have in their wedding ceremonies? The one that says “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”  The one that is actually Paul writing to the church in Corinth who are fighting amongst themselves, and he is telling them what Christian love toward one another looks like? Well, if Paul had to write that letter to do that, then we can assume the people weren't following the commandment too well.

And, of course, we have the history of Christianity showing us more examples of how badly we follow this commandment.  If our love for one another is meant to be way we show that we are Christ's, OYE. There was the split between the Eastern and Western Church.  The Protestant Reformation was a wreck – I can't even go into the horrors it other than to say that at least 100,000 people were killed.  And then, in our tradition, our Methodist Church split all over the place over the issue of slavery, and power, and money, and we're facing a new split now because the church doesn't know how to love.  We have NOT loved each other well.  We have not shown ourselves to be disciples of Christ, at least not on the big scale, not if it means showing the world how well we love.

Instead, on the large scale, I think we look like most other human institutions, obsessed with power, money, and control.  It isn't pretty.

While there are great things that do happen on the larger scale (UMCOR, Africa University, supporting seminaries, Imagine No Malaria), I don't think the larger scale is the one that CAN be reflective of love.  The blessed ties that bind us together are just not big enough for the size of organizations that exist.

Have you heard of Dunbar's number?  The New Yorker explains it well:  

The Dunbar number is actually a series of them. The best known, a hundred and fifty, is the number of people we call casual friends—the people, say, you’d invite to a large party. (In reality, it’s a range: a hundred at the low end and two hundred for the more social of us.) From there, through qualitative interviews coupled with analysis of experimental and survey data, Dunbar discovered that the number grows and decreases according to a precise formula, roughly a “rule of three.” The next step down, fifty, is the number of people we call close friends—perhaps the people you’d invite to a group dinner. You see them often, but not so much that you consider them to be true intimates. Then there’s the circle of fifteen: the friends that you can turn to for sympathy when you need it, the ones you can confide in about most things. The most intimate Dunbar number, five, is your close support group. These are your best friends (and often family members). On the flipside, groups can extend to five hundred, the acquaintance level, and to fifteen hundred, the absolute limit—the people for whom you can put a name to a face. While the group sizes are relatively stable, their composition can be fluid. Your five today may not be your five next week; people drift among layers and sometimes fall out of them altogether.1

Dunbar's numbers are about the limits of how many people you can feel connected to at certain levels.  They're also about how many people can feel connected to each other as a group, and how much structure is required to connect people at different levels.  The gist is, the larger the group, the less people feel connected, the more work is required to create a sense of community.

This may explain a bit about church size and function, as well as a lot of human behavior.  It also explains why we've struggled so much as an Annual Conference to feel bonded to each other – we get together only once a year and we're STILL bigger than the largest group that can have actual cohesion.  The disconnect between levels of the church makes sense in this model, although so does the fact that our church is built in layers, so that relationships can be built.

The key seems to be, that human beings, human institutions, and human societies run on relationships, and none of them can be successful if they outgrow relationships.  Institutions that are larger than relationship capacity EITHER have to have ways to subdivide to allow relationships to stabilize OR they will lose their focus and identity, because they lose their basis in relationship.

I don't think Jesus was talking about institutions, I think he was talking about PEOPLE, and the way they treat each other.  The part of the command that IS new is that is it no longer love “your neighbor” but now “love one another.”  It takes the community from physical proximity to one that is defined by shared work. (Which may be more similar than it sounds to begin with.)

Only relatively small groups can have enough cohesion to be defined by how well they love each other, it just can't happen on a massive scale. But let's be really honest – it doesn't always happen on a smaller scale either.  Humans can be REALLY hard to work with.  #shock Groups can really struggle.

I've really been thinking a lot about group dynamics, OK, I ALWAYS think a lot about group dynamics, it seems like they're super duper important to every part of following Jesus.  One of the harder things about functioning in a group is that the group is usually looking out for the group's best interest, and that doesn't always line up with each individuals best interest.   This isn't that fun if you are one of the individuals whose needs aren't aligned.  You'd almost think groups aren't worth it, if it weren't for the great benefits they do offer:  companionship, connection, shared reality, wisdom, growth, hope, a place to make a contribution, support, acceptance, belonging, being known, laughter, inspiration, purpose, stimulation, interdependence – stuff like that.  (I think groups are TOTALLY worth it, can you tell?)  

Perhaps because of the constant need in a group to balance between the needs of the whole and the needs of individuals, it is common in groups for individuals to attempt to gain control over one another.  Sometimes one, or some, or all of the people, just WANT THINGS DONE THEIR WAY. I expect that sounds obvious, and I expect that you have experienced it.  Vying for control is one of the basic dynamics of most groups, and it can unravel them, and the degree to which people are vying for control can relate tightly to how functional the group is.

Now, thinking about a person trying to control groups, and trying to control other people in groups is ALSO interesting, and it leads me to some self-reflection.  After all, sometimes I'm that person and sometimes I'm not, and I've been wondering about what makes the difference.  Two pieces of it have occurred to me:  I don't tend to seek control when I don't really care what choices are made (so when something doesn't much matter to me), and I don't tend to seek control when I trust the group process to come up with a good answer. That suggests that I'm more likely to seek control when I think something really matters (duh), and when I'm scared.  This has been a bit of a relief for me as an insight, because I'm guessing I'm not the only one who gets controlling when I get scared, and that means that when I feel like people are trying to control me, it gives me an option of being compassionate towards them because 1. they care a lot and 2. they're scared instead of … well all the other narratives I've otherwise created in my head about other people trying to control me.  If people are feeling scared, that elicits compassion from me, whereas if I just respond to my experience of someone trying to control me, I'm far more likely respond with annoyance, frustration, and … let's be honest, defiance.  Now, I dislike that this has to be said, but it does:  Having compassion for someone's fear does not require us to give them their way.  This is inherently true.  Also, as people of God, we are seeking to be motivated by love, not fear, so we don't let fear rule.

Now, let's jump over to Peter in Acts.   This is a hard story to preach on, because I want to be very respectful of the Jewish tradition of keeping kosher, which I find beautiful and meaningful.  Keeping kosher is a form of being faithful by paying attention to eating in just ways, and it forms an identity of faithfulness, patterned into one's life.  All that means  that the formative story of why Christians abandoned our Jewish roots, that were formed in keeping kosher, is a tender sort of thing.  Giving up keeping kosher was giving up a primary Jewish identity, and Jesus' early followers were good Jews.  Keeping kosher was good practice.

That said, the history of Christianity is also found in this story.  What was once a sect of Judaism became a major world religion, in part because of these decisions – the ones to include Gentiles as equal partners in the Way of following Jesus, and not to require Gentiles to become Jewish in order to become Christian.  A GOOD THING had to be let go in order to make it possible to do ANOTHER GOOD THING.  To welcome in new people required letting go of what had been very important.  To make space for what God was up to next in that community required letting go of something that was already sacred. Peter is horrified in this story about what is being asked of him. But we wouldn't be here if he hasn't adapted.

That's a lesson that we all have to learn time and time again, particularly if we want to live well in community.  The “love one another” bit requires adapting to each other, and it requires constant attention to the living tradition, to see what needs to bend, or adapt, or be let go.  This loving each other thing – its really hard work.

But, it is worth it.  We know a God of love BECAUSE we know love through each other.  Thanks be to God, and may we continue to love one another.  Amen

1Maria Konnikova ”The Limits of Friendship“  October 7, 2014 https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/social-media-affect-math-dunbar-number-friendships

--

Rev. Sara E. Baron

First United Methodist Church of Schenectady

603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305

Pronouns: she/her/hers

http://fumcschenectady.org/


https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

May 19, 2019

[seotipsandtricks-me]

Special Edition incl. “Why it’s Fabulous” and “Lulu’s List of Lessons Learnt” I’m Lulu, a 21-year-old Marketing with Advertising Management student. Over the summer I completed a 3-month internship with SiteVisibility, before going into my big bad third year. It was just enough time to fall fully in love with SiteVis, but short enough that it went by far too quickly. Why Any Internships are a Good Idea Even with a degree, graduate life is tough. A whole load of people will come onto the job market at the same time of you, having done the same course as you. What are you going to have that helps you stand out? 58% of employers agree that work experience is the most popular qualification (with personality coming in second interestingly, with 48%). They want to see that you have experience applying the theories that you’ve learnt in the real world. Additionally, it’s so hard to know how much you’ll enjoy a profession until you’re there getting stuck in. Internships can be crucial when it comes to this with helping you to work out if you’ve chosen the right area to work in and where you may even want to specialise further. Alongside this, it helps you get an idea of the company and how you fit into it. It’s a brilliant entry point, with 85% of companies using internships to recruit for full-time roles. Taking all of this into account, it’s no surprise that student interns are three times more likely to get top jobs. So many joke about the struggle of finding a job when they ask for experience of the work previously. They feel this isn’t the case due to having not been awarded previous jobs due to lack of experience. How my Internship at SiteVisibility came about Jason (the companies CEO) and I both went to the same school, and so met at a Marketing Networking events held by them. Everyone’s had a moment of feeling slightly judged or inferior to someone. As a student around a load of business owners and people at the top of their game it’s very easy to feel this, regardless of whether the other person you’re interacting with means for this to be the case. Jason however was super approachable and easy to talk to; he was down to earth, had time for me and gave me some really sound, personalised advice that’s ended up shaping what I plan to go on to do. I saw him the following year however he was surrounded by people the whole evening so I was only able to catch him on the way out. And, as it turned out, it was the most productive 2 minutes of the evening!  (I know this only from asking him, whilst I was an intern, why he had agreed to look at my CV. To this, he told me how far a good handshake and remembering someone goes). The points that made sure this happened were: Introducing myself to him (incl. handshake, eye contact and smile) Catching him when he was about to run off home to grab a business card Interrupting a conversation to quickly say hi before leaving (having remembered his name) I still however had no clue I’d made a good impression, let alone remembered me until he mentioned having met me upon bumping into my dad (Pa) a month or so later at another event and was surprisingly positive. If it weren’t for Pa telling me about this, I wouldn’t have sent the email leading to the internship and would have missed out on this huge experience. Therefore, I’m adding: 4. Actually send the email / LinkedIn message / make the call With each of the steps you may feel like you’re being annoying, as I did, however if you’re polite on each encounter, they are going to put you in a much better position than if you wimp out and don’t do it at all. One quote brilliant theory to live by is Mark Twain’s famous quote: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” (He forgot about the stern lines, nonetheless these are very wise words.) Go introduce yourself to that person or send that email rather than allowing yourself to only wonder what would’ve happened if you had. My Role at SiteVisibility Jason and Scott had been considering the role for a little while before I came onto the scene as Jason has a lot of networking, responding to day-to-day emails, meetings and looking communicating with prospects, alongside the actual running of the business. They wanted someone to help take a few of his tasks so he had more time to do his Mr-Boss-man stuff. When I did get in contact, they said it all worked together perfectly and so offered this position (after a few emails back and forth, a chat with the Scottmeister/Scottdog both over the phone and in person). My first day was basically back to back meetings which was awesome as I got to get an idea of the business. My role was “supporting the Sales and Marketing function by learning about and then executing various lead generation and prospect nurturing activities designed to help grow the business.” My role was largely sending emails and carrying out various social media activities on behalf of the CEO and improving the sales process, coaxing prospects further along the pipeline. However, I had no clue just how much I would learn along the way. I got to attend a whole load of events whether for educational reasons or to represent SiteVis and learnt how to use a whole load of programmes including Salesforce, SEMrush, Leadfeeder, Sales Navigator, Process Street, Hunter, Trello and more. My desk buddy, Peter, who was also my line manager was super duper clever and taught me loads of short cuts for tasks which I previously hadn’t thought could ever be automated, which I’ll use forever and ever. Mind blown. Why it’s Fabulous. Monthly Team events; our specially elected Minister of Fun organises this. Each month we all vote what we fancy doing (meal, water sports, climbing, outdoor cinema, cocktails, paintballing, escape rooms, volleyball etc.) and when, which is then booked with the Minister of Fun’s allocated budget. Beer O’Clock; employees are given (optional) a beer or cider at 4pm on Fridays to get the weekend off to a “lubricated start”. Cheers for peers / Onboarding; Site Visibility uses a program which especially helps with the moving in process to keep a positive environment. You can send a “Cheers” any time you’ve appreciated something someone’s done and the person with the most each month gets a reward. They have spinny, wheely, height altering office chairs; I know everywhere has them however aren’t they just one of the most beautiful things invented? Buddy system; you’re allocated a buddy who will take you out for lunch on your first day, take you around the office and be there for any questions you may have. This can be the same or separate to your line manager. Flexible Working Hours; you can come in whenever you fancy from 7:30am to 10am (subject to meetings). You can then leave earlier or later according to this, just making sure you’ve worked your 7.5 hours at some point that day. Bagel Mondays; free bagels on a Monday – I never had Sunday Blues (that feeling when you remember you have work tomorrow) in the whole three months I was there. I adore my job; however, I think SiteVis are onto something with this. Office Atmosphere; everyone is just brilliant. I always get nervous around office environments, however it’s very relaxed (we get work done, but can have a laugh too), it’s such a perfect size and your colleagues make you feel right at home early on. Lulu’s list of lessons learnt: You’ve got this It’s okay to be nervous – I thought I was the only one until I discussed it with a few chums the other day. You’ve sold yourself and it worked. Now what? What if you’ve sold more than you can deliver? What if you’ve set yourself up to fail and can’t do everything the job requires? My 56-year-old Aunty explained to me the other day “Absolutely everyone, probably even the queen, has those thoughts every now and then; the oh no, what if they find me out? What if they realise I can’t properly adult?”. It turns out this is called imposter syndrome, and there’s a lot written on it. Our minds make us think of all the things that could go wrong. That’s how we’ve managed to stay alive for so long, both you and humankind. It’s good to be prepared, however sometimes this part of our mind goes into overdrive. There will always be a voice that tells you that you can’t do things you want to do (and sometimes even things you need to do). Experience in environments that are new, and challenging can make you nervous and therefore give you the experience to distinguish between rational and irrational anxieties. The most important thing to remember is that you aren’t alone in these thoughts and your new bosses want you to succeed too. Take notes on EVERYTHING / take it all in Even if you think someone else is taking notes – take better notes. This works when on your own, in a meeting or at your desk. It’s always great to share anything you’ve written down as different people will have picked up certain things from the meeting which you may have missed. Comparing different summaries not only allows you to pick up what you may have missed, but also make sure you’re all clear on the actions to be carried out following the meeting. It avoids the classic feeling of knowing you had a really good thought on something or something really important to do but not being able to remember it. Additionally, the process with which you carry out an activity can be super useful to someone else carrying out that activity, or even yourself when coming back to it. There are so many new things you’ll come across as an intern, however, the quicker you learn it, the easier it all becomes. The more you learn, the easier it becomes and the better you feel about your job. Get excited about it / give it 100% I was lucky enough to be interning in a new city (big up Brighton) which allowed me to be antisocial for a couple of weeks when getting started – I’d forgotten how tiring it can be when you’re new! So many words which I’d learnt at university with the sole purpose of regurgitating them for assessments and now had to remember what they ACTUALLY meant. It sounded so much like a foreign language at some points that I felt I was back in my GCSE French listening exams and similarly I was frantically writing down words I was hearing in order to go away and Google them at my first opportunity. And I loved it. It was so exciting finding out about all these different programs, writing lists of everything, meeting everyone and seeing how I could make an impact. I found this really pushed me to learn more and do a better job. Make friends. Get involved with everything (out of the office too). I understand not everything is in your control and it’s hard to get the right balance of being friendly without looking overly confident, but the more you get involved and get to know everyone, the less you will worry about this balance and the more fun it will be. Every single person in the office made my experience that little bit better. Take every opportunity you’re given Be a “yes” person. Be sure in yourself; the only feedback I had for my boss was to spartan kick me out of my comfort zone. Even if you feel you’re not ready for it, you can make yourself ready for it. Stop waiting for the perfect moment when you feel 100% ready. I was really lucky with all the opportunities offered at SiteVisibility not only with educational / entertaining events going on, but also the responsibility they were willing to give me if they felt I deserved it which was sometimes more work but super rewarding. Nothing like a bit of DIY If there’s a task which you find yourself waiting on input from others in order to complete, don’t be afraid of finding a way to do it yourself. This may involve getting a colleague to train you up on it or checking out a load of YouTube videos. There may also be things you think could work better. Feel free to create a plan for this or create a draft to show your boss just how possible it is and how well it could work / good it would look. Record all your successes This is something I didn’t think of until half way through, unfortunately; however I highly recommend as it helps in a surprisingly large number of areas. Even the most ambitious, motivated people find themselves feeling a little lost and losing the will to keep going with their tasks with out Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a term frequently used in the marketing world especially, however, it’s also incredibly important when doing personal evaluations. Get help if you need it You’re there to learn and help them out. You won’t be able to learn everything by yourself. They’ll want to make sure that you’re benefitting fully and learning what’s needed, in terms of what they’re getting in return, the more you know about what to do, the more productive you’ll be for them. So, don’t be afraid to ask for a hand in working something out if you find yourself stuck at any point. Be prepped to get addicted to coffee …or just any kind of caffeine

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

A lot of times, we get what we pay for. Sometimes, though, the best things in life are free … or very, very inexpensive. In the case of target practice, inexpensive and free targets offer not only a cost reduction, but actually provide better training.

For most of these, we’ll need repetitions of a couple of supplies, starting with a backer and attachments, so…

First Stop: Liquor Store

They have boxes free for the asking. Other sources can be the cigarette cartons many gas stations get, or used boxes from moving companies. Flattened Amazon boxes and pasteboard boxes we’ve emptied of cereal, pasta, etc. will also regularly work.

Total cost: Zilch

Second Stop: Bargain-basement Budget Store

We’re after some packing tape and-or some string, twine or yarn. For some purposes, the cheapo Dollar Tree stapler and staples will work instead. Sometimes the duct-like tape works.

It does not need to be good, for-real duct or Gorilla tape, but a lot of gift wrap-type tape isn’t quite enough.

Total cost now: $2+tax to $4+tax

If there’s some available and it doesn’t overtax the budget, binder clips and paperclips are super-duper handy for the range.

Small Trash & Recyclables  

Small shoe boxes and shipping boxes, oatmeal and grits tubs, odd-shaped dish detergent and spray-cleaner bottles, and cracker and cereal boxes are handy all on their own. And, free – yay!

Those freebies have increased value for small game hunters and shooters who are aiming small to replicate long-distance shooting.

They’re even more useful if we can hang them as-is in their original shape from a frame/line by string or cord, or prop them up loosely on straightened metal coat hangers or tree branches so the wind can make them more challenging. Loosely attached, they’ll also bounce and swing a bit from hits, further replicating real-life challenges.

For hunters, value increases further since we can get a better idea of how different angles will affect the penetration and path of our shot through our target.

Add to total: Nada

(But don’t forget to bring something to attach them to like stapling or taping them to string, or those sticks from the yard.)

Branches

Sticks with multiple branches spaced out can accomplish a lot of what I’ll talk about with other holders, and do it absolutely free.      

All we need to add are yarn/twine/thread or binder clips or clothespins (or clips made by breaking cheapo free clothing hangers), and whatever we’re shooting at, and drape it like people do for cutesy decorations.

(I have no idea why that’s cute in that iteration. But it was inspirational.)

If we fiddle a little, we can hang them from overhead lines using other clips, or with screw in hooks. Otherwise, we can stab them into the ground or fill an empty cereal box, coffee tub, or cut-down milk jug with dirt, mulch, rocks, charcoal, or crushed soda cans to prop them up.

As with other targets on the list, the size of items – from playing cards and partially inflated balloons to paper cups and tin-can tops – is greatly useful to small game hunters and for replicating long-distance shots.

The movement of targets from wind and impacts adds challenges, and having the targets swing back and forth behind each other is also great for shoot-no shoot training.

Add to total: Zippo

Pool Noodles!

I love these things. They have so many uses. A couple lengths of cheapo pool noodle can make a great add for our range kit, whether we’re heading to the backyard or off somewhere.

They’re lightweight, very adaptive in how they can be set up, hold numerous types and sizes of targets, and can be pegged and weighted to reduce movement or left to roll, twist, and blow for added challenge.

On the supply front:

– the pool noodle – $1-$2

– plastic forks – $1-$2

– some playing cards – $1-$2

(Go to the Dollar Tree for a multi-deck pack, use the gone-soft home decks, or ask a nearby casino if there is one – they punch decks and will let you have them as mementos. It doesn’t have to be poker cards; the kiddie multi-packs of Old Maid and Go Fish, flashcards, etc will work, too.)

Add to total: $3-$6+tax

We can also use small paper/plastic cups instead of cards, or even small and large paper plates. Used canning jar lids and emptied cartons and cereal boxes also work.

*Pool noodles work at most public ranges with overhead lines or target frames, although we need to be aware at ranges where there are rules about hitting the floor/ground and the side walls/berms instead of the rear berm.

Combining Those Oddballs

Pool noodles can hang vertically by punching a hole at the top and tying some cord, or we can slide them over anything relatively straight – sticks, straightened wire clothes hangers, garden stakes.

We can use them at full length or cut into shorter sections, which we can set up in ladders tie them at the ends so they mostly only blow back and forth a bit. Or, arrange tie them at the center so they spin at different rates and add some yaw to the bobbling and bouncing in wind and from hits.

The good ol’ backyard stick can also be used, stuck into the ground with short lengths of pool noodle springing out for a spread of targets.

We’re going to strategically slit some holes in our pool noodle for the forks and clothespins.

Playing cards can be set up pretty tight, so a 1/4” slit every 3-4” works. I tend to poke slits all the way through so I can balance a pair of targets going down or alternate which holes I’m using without any hassles.

Slice pairs to wiggle in clothespins.

I find it easiest to pull the clothespins in and out to affix whatever we’re shooting at. Just skip slots going down the pool noodle when using larger cups, paper plates, or pantry refuse instead of cards.

Do be aware that the pool noodle is going to be inclined to roll “down” with weight, so if we go for a horizontal ladder strung on something, we need to make sure whatever we’re shooting is tight enough to not fall out of the forks.

On top of being super adaptable in both target and how they get set up, there are weight and size advantages and the pure ease in creating targets with pool noodles compared to some types of folding or portable frames, which can be big for some people.

Balloons!

Head to a bargain-basement budget store and grab a bunch of balloons. We’re after a bag of multiple colors and the type we blow up with our lungs (not helium). They don’t have to be particularly sturdy. The ones that come with multiple shapes and sizes are a bonus.

Balloons have some singular advantages.

One, hanging, they offer movement. Especially in bunches of different colors, the movement can help us refine tight shoot-no shoot reactions or hone aim for times we need to make a window.

Draw 1-2 spare or pre-shot balloons from a bunch on the bench with you that match your hanging balloons. Those are either the good guys – don’t shoot – or the bad guys. We can also number balloons and roll dice to generate from-the-bench good-bad targets, or draw good guy and bad guy faces.

Balloons are also a fast and fairly easy way to generate “shoot-n-see” instant reactive targets. Since we can get anywhere from 12-50 for $1, it’s a little prep work, but pretty low cost compared to the real deal.   

We can blow them up, pre-tie strings to the tails so they hang singly or as overlapping bunches, clip them directly with clothespins, or tape them or staple the tails to our backers. We can do some of the work sitting watching TV the night before or up to 1-2 days before our range date. (Any longer, and they’ll deflate.)

Add to total: $1-$2 (+tax)

Free & Cheapo Targets

I love free, cheap and easy stuff – especially when it works just as well as or better than something static and boring. It’s a little bit of work sometimes, but it’s usually a little bit of work.

When we’re ready to up our game on the square range with some selective-target and speed drills, prepping for hunting, or out to convert somebody with how fun shooting can be – or “just” entertaining our family – balloons, trash from our pantries and yards, and pool noodles have a lot to offer.

There are plenty of others, to include ways to jazz up the common paper plates we target for increased skill development, or replacing those plates with trash from our pantries.

Most of these methods, particularly, are also multi-platform friendly. From low-power BB trainers to pellet guns, rimfire and centerfire pistol or rifle, or archery platforms and even darts, they offer nice feedback as well as skills development.

For some of us, the instant feedback alone is big – and lower cost than high-vis reactive targets.

The understanding of angles from 3D targets and the shoot-don’t shoot drills that can be designed would make them valuable over static paper all on their own, even if they were a more expensive option.

Being less expensive, and in some cases free or nearly free, using things we can largely source around our yards and homes for better training than static cardboard and paper, with easy and minimal assembly or planning and time to set them up… really and truly, when it comes to both shooting and prepping, it just does not get much better than cheapo targets.

Follow The Prepper Journal on Facebook!

The post Better Training with Cheapo Targets appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[bidickgrayson]

i’ve been really loving persona 5 so far, but i’ve been too busy playing it to actually write down my thoughts so far lol

i think persona 5 is going to be the first persona game i actually finish!! amazing. i got like, 65-75% through both persona 3 and 4 and haven’t played them in over a year lol....probably going to go back and restart them after i finish p5 so i can finally finish them a couple years after starting them. i can barely even remember what happens in both of them lol

the palaces are surprisingly fun?? also i’m super duper glad that safe mode is a thing, my enjoyment of the game went up a lot when i finally switched. dungeon crawling in p5 is fun, but i’ve never been all that invested in the actual fights themselves in any persona game, and to me they’re just annoying obstacles in the way of all the other stuff about the game i’m a whole lot more interested in. i honestly doubt i’ll ever play a persona game on a difficulty higher than easy

i’m also really impressed by how different each palace is?? i really thought after the first one that they’d all follow that same basic blueprint of like, you go in, fight enemies, find the items you need to progress, and you’re done, with different aesthetics for each one. but each palace has kind of a new gimmick/puzzle, so it’s not just finding the right order to pull levers or whatever, it’s figuring out how to beat an unwinnable game or interrogate a guard the right way for a password. it’s all so fresh and different and never feels like a slog because of that. and i love the connections between the palace and the person’s cognition, like “oh, this is that way because this person thinks of this thing like that”. lots of cool connections that way, lots of cool explanations for why a palace is a certain way

this game feels so cool??? cool isn’t even the proper word for it, because i don’t think it conveys the my strength of feeling enough. like, everything about the game’s design and the whole phantom thief thing makes me feel cool and competent as hell. infiltrating a palace by sneaking in and solving puzzles and beating up or sneaking past guard and making thieves tools and taking cover and jumping up and across obstacles and sending calling cards and assigning different tasks in the middle of a boss fight to accomplish something and hearing the awesome music after you’ve sent a calling card and getting contacts to help with various aspects of thieves’ work....everything down to the menus and loading screens, the whole game is just a whole lot of fun and looks rad as hell and makes me feel rad as hell playing it. it really feels like a group of thieves planning a whole involved operation, and that’s awesome

related, but damn, pretty much everything about the protag is cool as hell, he’s so slick, and i went from thinking his mask was kinda goofy to thinking it really suits him and it’s great

i love the group a lot. like, a lot. and i know that because i don’t want the game to end, and also because i’ve been listening to the (awesome awesome awesome) ost, and there are some endgame songs that make me almost queasy with how much emotion i feel from them, which is directly related to how much i love the group. and the last time i remember that kind of feeling was in me3 and the batfamily lol

like i said, i don’t remember much from p4, but i like morgana a helluva lot more than teddie lol. which i mention just because they’re basically equivalents in the role they play, and also because i genuinely very much like morgana

i love the confidants. it’s hard for me to think of a confidant i don’t like (although i haven’t done them all). i like that they’re all likable people, and i love that so much of the game is about the thieves finding commonalities/connections with each other and with other people. i can’t remember a lot of p3/4, and maybe i’ll change my mind when i replay, but i feel like at least in p3 there were some social links for people who.....i didn’t really like a whole lot. like maybe they were interesting or whatever, but not really good people. which is totally different from my experience with p5 for me, because basically everyone is a good (misunderstood/unfairly judged) person (with some problems too probably, sure)

related, but i feel like this game is very sympathetic to its cast of characters, which i really love. like with futaba and her extreme social anxiety. the game/characters don’t shame her for having a hard time with people and needing time/whatever (and they praise her when she does something hard for her that’d be easy for others, like going out in public!! love it) and that’s really nice. i feel like there’s a lot of compassion for the victims of the story, which in a game that’s all about questions of justice and doing right or whatever, really makes the story a lot better and more compelling to me. it’s not just about going and beating up the bad guy, it’s going and beating up the bad guy so there is justice for all the people the bad guy has abused. and characters can be angry at their mistreatment! really like that too. 

like, there are legitimate reasons to kind of question the power to change hearts how they want, and the morality of that, but i liked that it was never like “these poor people whose hearts we changed didn’t deserve that :(”, it was more like “these villains fucking deserved whatever was coming to them, but is this the right way morally to handle these situations of injustice?” i liked that they never let abusive people off the hook for being abusive, no matter their reason

it’s been nice playing because i feel like i feel the things the story wants me to feel. which is a roundabout way of saying the game has good writing lol. i like that the game doesn’t just say “these are the good guys and that’s all there is to say about it”, i liked that there were questions of whether the phantom thieves were right or not, and while they’re the protagonists and clearly who you root for, there’s also an understanding for why some people might find it questionable that there’s an option to change a heart arbitrarily. and like, i hated when they were uber popular (and being set-up), but in-story, the characters were also a little bit wary and overwhelmed, and there was some evidence that maybe this overwhelming popularity wasn’t the best. and now that period of popularity is over, and the characters are like, yeah, that....wasn’t good, and i’m like, thank god i wasn’t the only one who thought so. there are dozens of other examples. like now that they’re back to being distrusted/ppl not believing in them, they’re all like, this is actually kinda better, and i’m like, YES, i love you best when you’re doing good things in the dark basically

and my final worry on this point of matching what the game expects me to feel versus what i actually feel was finally put to rest today! yay! i’ve pretty much always disliked akechi, and i fcking called that akechi was the gonna be a baddie (or at least not who he pretended to be) from back when he said something about pancakes when he shouldn’t have understood morgana saying it, and i’m relieved that i was right. persona loves to throw in little things that are just weird enough to make me ask “now why did that happen that way” and figure it out, which makes me feel smart when i figure something out 60+ hours before it’s revealed in game lol. and persona loves the “this seemingly benign character is not what they seem!” and that makes me 3/3 on that character in each of the persona games i’ve played. which i like, honestly. i like that the clue is there, enough so i can grab it, and feel clever for it. it’s why i like the puzzles in the game too--they’re not super challenging, but figuring them out usually makes me feel pretty clever and competent without getting frustrated, which is a great feeling

ALSO!! ALSO!!!! i love it when something the game has been teasing and building expectation for for a while turns out to be even better than i was hoping for. (which last happened with olivier in sora no kiseki sc). and the whole operation where protag gets caught and interrogated by sae?? SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT. i fcking loved their whole ridiculously complicated and involved plan, and them figuring out akechi without him knowing, and i loved all the tiny details, and i loved that once again, hours before it was actually revealed, the game gave me enough of a hint for me to realize, oh, they were wanting protag to get captured coming into this operation....(when makoto asked sae very specifically about the interrogation room in the basement). it was really frustrating to watch the phantom thieves get set-up in the badlands of september/october, but it’s gonna make it even more satisfying when the phantom thieves outsmart their enemies (which they’re already largely have so far, and it’s GREAT!!!). shido and akechi are good villains, they’ll be satisfying to beat

because i’ve never beaten an persona game, i have no idea what to expect for the ending. are we gonna go all the way through march to finish the year? is it going to finish at school or something (??) or with a big final boss?? is the protag gonna leave after his year is up and (presumably) his name is cleared? i don’t expect the game to end in december after they take shido’s heart, because the cruise ship doesn’t really feel like a final dungeon, and i think akechi is gonna have more significance than they’re giving him right now. but idk, maybe i’m wrong! i’m kind of dreading the ending just because i want to keep planning heists and playing indefinitely, but if the ending’s anywhere near as satisfying as the whole plan to get joker captured, i’ll be happy. i’m gonna really miss the phantom thieves and the feeling i get while playing no matter what tho

[ddrkirbyisq]

Well, I was =going= to do a lot of things last night, but had some changes of plans, hahaha.  Ran into a coworker on the train ride and ended up having a nice chat with them instead of blogging like I was intending to.  And then besides meeting Audrey for a short chat, Brett came over for a melee session which ended up being aweeeesome.  I was super on top of my game and definitely felt like I had leveled up.  My edgeguarding definitely still needs work though; I still have trouble recognizing when I need to jump out off-stage and go out there for an edgeguard -- right now I either stay on-stage or grab ledge but a lot of times the correct thing to do is jump out.  We captured a handful of our sets on video, including some pretty great moments like clutch ledgetechs, and even a mew2king-esque 0 to death that I did on FD as Marth (woot!). This past weekend was our Tahoe snow trip!  It was super awesome and filled with many fun adventures, as well as some silly mistakes that were made, haha.  Snowboarding felt amazing and I had definitely improved since the last time.  Our last run was super duper sweet and was the perfect way to cap off the trip (though I also wish we could have done more).  Was even starting to get the hang of turns at the end (though I also ate it once), and I felt like I had a lot of control as I was leafing down the mountain and navigating around other people.  Would definitely go again sometime. Me and Kat were in charge of food for the trip, which was quite fun and seemed to turn out successfully (though with one or two notable setbacks).  It was actually super awesome that we stayed at a place with a full kitchen, and I realized again just how much I enjoy cooking, haha.  It was a mild challenge being in charge of food for 6 people (definitely the most food I have ever made), but the proportions seemed to actually work out pretty nicely as well. Other highlights included some crazy shenanigans that both cars ran into due to closed roads on the way to Tahoe, a pretty epic 6-person Spaceteam session, as well as my first time actually (like actually) playing D&D, in which I played a snarky, socially inept wizard who always knew the exact time due to being raised in the Geffen Clock Tower (lololol).  Tahoe itself was beautiful and seeing all the white snow everywhere was quite something.  And yeah, boarding was awesome. Work is going okay!  I have been trying to cook myself one lunch per week at the office, though honestly it would probably be more often if I had more groceries on hand to bring and cook (things are still slightly a mess at home from having brought a bunch of kitchen stuff on the trip, though at least I spent some time putting up my fallen-down room posters).  Have been feeling a little less stressed lately and am trying to integrate myself into the team and in general just feel more comfortable.  I think it will take time (as it always does), but I can feel it getting there, slowly. Went to Mission City Swing for the past 3 weeks in a row!  It's been fun, though I'm ready to take a break and am not going tonight.  Cautiously looking forward to Jammix this Friday though! In other news, I'm working on a remix of my favorite A-zu-ra tune, which I've gotten off to a great start and hope to finish sometime this week to submit to his remix album.  It's going to be pretty sweet! That's about it for now, I guess.  Unfortunately I don't really have progress to report on Rhythm Quest -- right now I'm stuck trying to figure out the most elegant way to handle sloped collisions in a general way for my platformer physics system, which admittedly is not 100% related to Rhythm Quest entirely, but I hope to use it for some sloped paths in some of the levels.  Continuing to watch Chihayafuru here and there, and I don't know if I mentioned it but I started a playthrough of Earthbound, hoping to actually finish it properly this time around.  Also played through Gamma Bros, which was a cute little twin-stick shooter. To close off, I'm going to repost this little snippet from Kelly Casanova on (de)gendered dancing.  I know I've posted this before, but really it deserves more mention: "I see only positive results from encouraging ALL my students to learn both lead and follow roles as soon as they feel grounded in their traditional role basics. Men and women who both lead and follow learn to have more empathy and compassion for their partners. Women who know how to lead can now dance all night long where in the past the ratio of men to women would normally dictate that many women would sit out most of the evening. Men who can follow can directly "steal" moves and advanced techniques from some of the more experienced leaders making both themselves and their subsequent followers happier. Men and women alike get to stretch themselves in skills of leading and following in a relationship and perhaps discover skills and preferences they didn’t even know they had. In the traditional role of male lead, female follow, many men only get acquainted with women, and many women only get to know men. This breeds a sense of competition for partners, which is not always healthy to a good, friendly social environment. When everyone knows both parts, men develop more friendships with other men and women with other women. Win-win for everyone as far as I can tell."