#that mystery 10% of my gender that isn’t Just A Guy is being rounded up and oh man its so much personal history contextualising it.

[seaquestions]

been having casual gender thoughts, and im feelin the word nonbinary more than i have before. its not a new revelation and this changes absolutely nothing really cos ive known the specifics of my gender for a long time.. im more just like… ive been sorting thru the many things that shaped me as a person. spring cleaning but with stray thoughts in my brain. figured its about time i truly let myself chill tf out abt being not entirely a man (but the not-a-man bit’s just for me to fully perceive and comprehend).

[toongrrl-blog]

Part One of Barb Series: Why Barb Died (Character Device Talk)

*Please watch the Betty Draper Francis video first, for extra credit, check out the channel’s vid on Jack Dawson and come with knowledge of Beth March*

Happy end of the 2010s! Before I discuss what Barb could have brought to the Party in Stranger Things I need to discuss how as a character she needed to die.

1. Beth March

In one scene in Little Women, the girls and Laurie discuss their ambitions for adult life. Oldest sister Meg wants to marry and have kids, oldest middle sis Jo wants to become a known and successful writer, youngest sister Amy wants to become rich and famous as an artist and maybe a socialite, and middle child Beth wants things to stay the way they are for her, with her loving family at her side. What’s wrong with this? What the other three sisters have in common is that they are hoping for adult lives which include a lot of change, responsibility, independence (either as a career woman or running a household with little kids underfoot), new experiences, and even new people in their lives (Meg would need to meet a guy to marry and have kids with him, Jo would need to meet people in her professional life, Amy would entertain guests and appeal to patrons). Shy Beth is a talented pianist, vet, and doll collector and is very charitable but she doesn’t seem to want to take the risks it would take to grow as a person and thrive and mature or be noticed for her own merits aside from “Angel of the House” and the future looks pretty hostile; so by the end of the novel, Beth has died in her early 20s while sisters lives have changed (Meg married and had children in a cottage while gaining confidence as a homemaker, wife, and mom; Jo sells her writing and meets a professor who wants to start a school where she becomes headmistress after they marry; Amy goes on a Grand Tour of Europe and marries wealthy and happy).

The series Stranger Things, on a whole, is a coming-of-age series that borrows from the John Hughes and Steven Spielberg films of that era that captured the joys and pains of growing up, while Joyce’s and Hop’s storylines borrow from conspiracy thrillers around that era and somewhat from Hitchcock films. All these films captured ordinary people undergoing extraordinary (E.T., North By Northwest, The Goonies, The Stepford Wives) and life altering events (Jaws, The Breakfast Club, Silkwood) that force them to encounter challenges and make decisions they wouldn’t normally make in their mundane lives. Joyce ends up facing a monster with an axe and even makes demands of people who could wipe her off the Earth, the boys have to ride their bikes to evade murderous men in vans and hide a young traumatized girl, Nancy has to learn to create and use deadly weapons and use her skills of sneaking out for something besides sex, Jonathon has to cut his and another girl’s hand to lure a monster to their trap, Hop sneaks into a morgue just to slit a dead boy’s corpse and find cotton stuffing, Will has to use what knowledge and skills he has to survive another world filled with creatures out to kill him, most of the kids throughout the series have to lie and break laws to save their town. 

While the official guide does list Barb as being a varsity softball player and a mathlete and Shannon Purser concurs that Barb would have been the Velma of the group if she lived, there is one big thing that separates the Velmas from the Barbs and Beth’s of the world: Velma takes risks, she would trespass private looking property and dilapidated buildings to solve a mystery. Barb is a loyal friend and honest and studious and smart, but she’s ultimately the good girl archetype: cautious, obedient to her elders, predictable, conservatively and femininely dressed, chaste. An archetype that Nancy is trying to flee (not that the alternative of being a girl who sneaks out with her boyfriend to makeout is going to help Nancy at all) to avoid ending up like her mother. Barb has the fangs (talent and means) to be a Party member, she just lacks the nerve to jump and sink those fangs.

2. Commentary on the Patriarchy and the Tyranny of Beauty Standards

Most of the female characters in the series don’t fit the strict criteria of their Reagan era Indiana small town regarding what makes a good woman. Joyce is a single mother who doesn’t come with well-coiffed hair and she appears to be hysterical and is a working mother in a time and place where all these factors would label her a “bad mother”, Nancy is a frank young woman who takes risks and even asserts her sexuality and herself when plenty of people (like the shitheads at Hawkins Post) would prefer her to be a delicate virgin in pastels, El is physically stronger than the boys with her powers and she is very direct in her manner despite her soft-spoken demeanor, Max is a girl who is interested in arcade video games and skateboarding and brightly colored summer clothing and reads her Mom’s Cosmo cover to cover and is assertive, Erica is an assertive young girl who can talk truth (and shade) to adults and has a knowledge of My Little Pony and Cold War Politics, Robin is snarky and has a style that makes her stand out from most girls in Hawkins and is a teen genius, Kali’s rage and Joan Jett-esque appearance would make the preppy and pastel and autumnal tone wearing residents of Hawkins in Cardiac Care, Suzie has defied notions about girls in science and math and even the Mormon beliefs of her parents by french kissing and dating a non-Mormon boy like Dustin, and Karen despite her appearance of hot housewife perfection is dissatisfied with her marriage and comes close to cheating on her husband. 

In contrast Barb is pretty much the most conventional character: she dresses conservatively in ruffles and pink, she is seemingly chaste, follows the rules diligently and worries about getting punished by the Holland and Wheeler parents, and has a more common body type found in cis-gender women (correct me if I’m wrong, hopefully I don’t offend trans pear shaped women) and not often found in the older members of the female cast. But despite Barb’s body being common among women in general and specific to her region (the American Midwest is noted for starchy and creamy and fried foods and is historically farming country, where pioneers would find her strong for work in and out of the log cabin and give birth to the necessary amount of children i.e. extra hands for work), the delicate and slender builds of Joyce and Nancy, the classic proportionate and slender grace of Robin, and the leggy and toned image of Karen are closer to the female standard of beauty in the 1980s. In Barb’s lifetime (1967-1983), the image of beauty was dominated by leggy, toned, slim, busty women or lean women with minimal breasts: no room for tall, broad, pear shapes like herself. And in 1983, Molly Ringwald wasn’t yet a household name that freckled redheads with dry wit and atypical images could look on with pride. Hell I remember reading a copy of Color Me Beautiful where they recommend that women with heavy hips and small waists (similar features of Christina Hendricks and Shannon Purser) shouldn’t cinch their waistlines, the celebration of Marilyn Monroe pinups with round hips, pillowy thighs and tummies, rounded tushes were long gone by then. Basically Barb being her natural self, was not seen as “feminine enough” and combined with her glasses and style (any plus sized or early developing gal can tell you that it is hell to find junior styles that suit your body size and shape) have ruled her as “uncool”. 

There is also that Barb does a lot of things that the boys do: being slightly geeky, a loyal friend, has innocent and wholesome interests, chaste, and is quiet (like Will) but she still gets killed. One can sense that #JusticeForBarb came out of an anger with misogyny in media and society that tells women to be a certain way and punishes them whether they fit a mold or not. Women are still underpaid in the workplace, underrepresented in government, still deal with unequal and toxic relationships, are shamed for being virgins or for having sexual experience (Carol pokes fun at the idea of Barb finding the sex sounds too much and yet contributes to the slut shaming graffiti of Nancy), are told on one hand to look a certain way to attract the male gaze and shamed when they indulge in sexual desire (something Nancy can attest to with her glamorous mother who offers to lend her black heels and focuses on Nancy’s beauty before a funeral, the same mom who was angry her daughter had sex), they are either too fat/skinny/busty/flat/frizzy/straight haired/pale/slutty/prudish/dark/feminine/masculine/full-butt-ed/quiet/loud/naive/cynical/smart/dumb/angry/happy, and they deal with a media that sells a very narrow standard of beauty to the point that when they see a drop dead gorgeous actress or model with similar features they feel seen.

Oh Bondage, Up Yours!

*Read this is not a “Barb is a slut shamer!” piece yes that was shitty but she was a teen girl in a small 1980s town and she ISN’T starting a (paraphrasing Kimberly Nicole Foster quote) “no whores allowed campaign” OR trying to pass a law that demands women keep their ectopic pregnancies to full term*

3. End of Innocence

When Barb died, it marked the end of Nancy’s childhood and her needing to grow up. That was the night Nancy went straight from childhood (Barb), teenager (sex with Steve), and then shortly became an adult when she realized that Barb had disappeared. For many women (like myself at ages 9 and 10), the moment they get their period or grow breasts or reach a certain age, marks a dramatic end of their childhood. Suddenly many are told to police their behavior and language around boys, even policing the food they eat or their bodies. There is also extra responsibility and stress, demogorgans being one of them. Nancy is now having to deal with the sorts of issues that adult women dealt with on Mad Men along with scary monsters threatening her town and the fact her parents are not as happy as they look to the world, there is a gap between the experiences of her and Mike, she has a baby sister who probably was conceived to save the marriage, and Nancy can’t confide or trust either of her parents (who are absorbed with their own issues). Now Nancy is making big decisions that Barb, with the sheltering and seemingly close parents, will likely never deal with. Nancy is even taking fashion risks with clothes that are more functional, stylish, show off her figure, and can even withstand flayer blood and exorcising her boyfriend’s little brother.

4. A Huge Threat

Barb was intended to be a character that we connected with, someone to be built up somehow. There was a character like this in a movie: her name was Marion Crane. She was a secretary who has been supporting herself and her little sis since their parents died, patiently waiting for her boyfriend to make more money at his job so they can marry and stop sneaking around sleeping with one another, in desperation she steals a lot of money from her workplace, drives to California where she meets a mild-mannered but strange young man who manages a distant motel in the vicinity of a Victorian house where an older woman is croaking about promiscuity, after talking with him over a dinner of sandwiches in his taxidermy themed office, she goes to take a shower and has decided to return to Phoenix to return the money, then a strange figure comes with a large butcher knife in horribly out of date clothes and starts stabbing her to death.

This was from the Hitchcock film Psycho, the forerunner of the slasher genre that dominated the earlier half of the 1980s, and it premiered to shocked audiences in 1960. The meaning of the grisly murder of Marion, a character the audience was following from the beginning of the film, was that Norman Bates was a huge threat and intensified the need for Marion’s killer to be brought to justice.

The same thing can be said about the deaths of Benny and Barb, to show how much a threat the demogorgan and Hawkins National Lab were to the townspeople of Hawkins (and the world as a whole), basically such big threats that a little boy can be kidnapped from the safety of his home, a young teenage girl could be snatched up and killed from a suburban swimming pool, and a kindly cook and owner of a local diner would be executed for knowing about a runaway child. 

5. The future of Women in Stranger Things

Not all is lost, Barb’s death forced the Duffer Bros to take a look at how women were written and treated in their series, and even helped spurred tv viewers (who ordinarily wouldn’t pay attention to social issues) to take a deeper look and interest in how people especially women are treated. For some reason I like to think: Max, Robin, Erica, and Suzie are a way of recognizing Barb’s potential within the series and even what viewers saw. 

Now stay tuned to where I figure out how Barb could have been beneficial to the party.

[purpleswans1]

My Favorite Hidden Anime Gems

I’ve been watching Anime for several years now, and I’ve watched a lot of really good series (and a couple of bad ones). Among them are some series that are a lot of great series that I believe don’t get the attention and following they deserve. Some of them may be more popular than I realize, or they were popular a while ago and just faded over time. But all of them are, in my personal opinion, definitely worth a watch.

Quick note: I tried to put down why I believe some of these shows aren’t as popular. More than one of them is because the original material comes form Light Novels, which aren’t a readily available to the western fans as manga and anime, which alienates those fans since they believe they are missing some of the story.

Now, on with the list:

1. Kemono no Souja Erin (Beast Player Erin)

I can’t express to you how much I love this show. The best way I can summarize it without giving to many spoilers is that it’s a coming of age story about a girl who wants to be a beast-veterinarian like her mother, and follows her as she grows up That doesn’t really go into the juicy bits though. It has strong women in positions of power and male-dominated fields, brilliant world building, and the main focus is on the relationship between mothers and their children. It’s very refreshing, and I think tumblr would love this.

Now this one actually has a lot of reasons why it is less known. First of all, the original source is a light novel. In addition, the anime’s art style is much more simplistic than most anime a fans are used to. Finally, although the plot is entertaining for all ages, the show is actually geared towards kids. As anyone who’s watched Gravity Falls or Steven Universe will tell you, this doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. This does mean though, that the audience that it’s intended for doesn’t have easy access to it. That being said, I definitely suggest that people watch this.

2. Saiunkoku Monogatari (The Story of Saiunkoku)

This one is a court romance, and a really great one at that. The story begins about a sensible girl who is asked to turn the king of her country into a decent ruler by becoming his wife, but the story grows into something greater, focusing on politics, the magic of the kingdom’s origin, and the girl’s dream of becoming a court official. There are several well-done female characters, some who take on traditional feminine roles and some who want to be in male-dominated fields. There’s a little bit of a reverse harem situation going on, but the main character is well-rounded and most of the boys are just supporting from a distance. the main focus ends up being on the political drama rather than just the romance.

The animation is a little old, and the original story is from a light novel. In addition, I suspect that the second season ends before the ending of the light novels so we still have some unresolved business that we’d have to track down the light novels to find out. One of these days I’m going to find and read them. Still, this is definitely worth it!

3. Zetsuen no Tempest (The Civilization Blaster, Blast of Tempest)

Okay, I’ll admit that this one is a little weird, and completely shifts narratives halfway through (which, now that I think about it, happens in several anime I know) but is still worth the watch. I swear the two main guys are kind of psychopaths, but they’re also very real and their relationship is a very interesting take on friendship and complex relationships. The story is set in a world where everything in civilization starts being devoured and people are dying, but these two guys get roped into helping a witch trapped on an island save the world because she promised to help them get revenge for the one guy’s sister. It’s also full of dialogue and plot references to William Shakespeare’s works (especially “Hamlet” and “The Tempest”) and who doesn’t love a good reference to the bard?

I… really don’t know why this anime isn’t that popular. Other than the narrative being a little confusing at times and some of the characterizations being incredibly unique (i.e. not cliches) It’s a really good anime, and you guys should check it out.

4. Guilty Crown

Okay guys, I’ll be honest with you: the first time I discovered this anime (back when my experience consisted mostly of Inuyasha and Code Geass) I described it as a Code Geass fanfic with a slightly altered preface. Which… really isn’t what it is at all. There are still some similarities though. The actual story is about a world where japan was decimated by an Apocalypse virus and has become entirely dependent on foreign aid, making it into a kind of military state. People are oppressed, so a terrorist group forms and a certain socially awkward boy gets a special power that was intended for the terrorist, and he gets roped into joining them. It has a lot of interesting characters and characterization, since part of the boy’s power is to reveal people’s hearts in physical form.

I’m not sure why this one isn’t very popular, other than having several troupes that are in other shows. If I had to guess, it might be related to how he narrative changes halfway, and how I swear the thing must have been funded by the band Egoist considering how much they are referenced in the show.

5. Seirei no Moribito

Oh man, this one… *deep breath* The main character is a spear wielding woman bodyguard in her 30s. She is tasked with protecting an adolescent prince, who after being infected with a magic egg (more significant than it sounds) is being attacked by his own country. They end up forming a mother/son bond over the course of the story and that is the main relationship focus. Oh, and the woman has a love interest who’s basically a healer with some mystic abilities, and they are so not subtle about the reversed gender roles.

The story is based on a light novel series by the same author as Kemono no Souja Erin. However, it only tells the story of the first book, so we end up with a well put-together story and maybe potential for season 2? someday? *goes and cries in a corner because that would be amazing*

6. Shiki

Kudos to @quasiplatonickarinhina for introducing me to this.

Okay, so you know how Twilight spurred a rise in popularity for vampire stories? Only, instead of being the Anne Rice and Bram Stoker bloodsucking-monster variety, they became excessively romantic good guys? Yeah, this isn’t like those neo-vampire stories.

By any chance, does anyone remember the first season of Supernatural? You know, back before it became a cult-followed soap-opera, and instead was basically a series of rural American horror stories crammed into an hour a week? THAT is what this story is like.

The preface is that a mysterious family moved into a small rural town, and gradually people start dropping dead mysteriously. Things gradually escalate, and the story dives into a lot of heavy psychology with some statements on humanity in desperate situations thrown in. If you like Tokyo Ghoul for the psychological horror, you’ll love this.

The series has a very slow build-up before the climax, so that might be the main reason why it isn’t very popular.

7. Shounen Omnyouji

You know that Abe no Seimei guys that will pop up occasionally in exorcist or historical anime? Well, this is about his grandson, who has resolved to surpass his grandfather as an Omnyouji and finally get out of his shadow.

I should also note that this is probably one of the only shounen protagonists I know of that actually shows respect to his elders and superiors (which probably says a lot more for the general trend of shounen protagonists than anything else, but it’s still refreshing.) Seriously, one of the biggest running gags is that he’s in his room yelling about his grandfather expecting him to do the impossible or having to big of shoes to fill, but he’s still very respectful when he’s actually around the guy.

Also, his love interest is… not annoying? Sorry she’s not really that awesome of a character, but she manages to be a traditional princess and not painful to watch. Which is unusual.

Oh, and there are all these super-powered Shikigami who gradually develop respect for the MC and have their own issues with one another. That’s always cool.

This series was originally a light novel series, and to be honest even I wouldn’t know about it if I hadn’t been looking for a different Omnyouji series. I should warn you though, this one has a kind-of-cliffhanger ending, and I don’t see much indication of a season 2. You can always hunt down the light novels though.

8. Arslan Senki

Not sure whether this anime is unknown enough to be here… No, it does. It hasn’t gotten the following it deserves. The light novel series has been going on for decades and that might part of the reason why the fandom has faded, but the most recent manga adaptation is by the Mangaka behind FMA, and apparently she’s done some changes to the original story. Which is cool.

Also, the whole thing clearly has some thematic and stylistic roots in the Crusades, and that’s got to appeal to western audiences right?

9. Tokyo Ravens

You remember those exorcist anime I mentioned a while ago? Well this is one of them. The short explanation of this series that that it’s about a bunch of high school students studying to be Omnyouji. Which makes it sound a lot like a Japanese Harry Potter, which admittedly it kinda is. Only not. There’s a lot of plot derived from the reincarnation thing and some family politics crossing actual politics.

This is another one where the original source material is a light novel series. It also ends in a sorta-cliffhanger, but I have a bit more hope for a season 2 for this one.

10. Rurouni Kenshin

Okay, this one probably doesn’t need to be on this list since it is still popular, just really OLD so the hype has simmered down, but It needs to come back because WE HAVE A NEW MANGA ARC!!!!! (Can you tell how happy I am?)

Now I could go on and on about how much significance this series has for me personally (I literally discovered online scanlations and the dark web for this series guys) but I’ll spare you the hour-long monologue. Elevator pitch: This is a historical fighting manga with a lot of interesting characters and themes and quite honestly a classic. I’ll admit that there are some issues with the story that weren’t as troubling to high-school-aged me, but overall it’s still a wonderful tale. I mean, the manga inspired a long anime series and 3 live action movies, so that should say something (I feel no urge to watch the OVAs, so let’s not mention them)

11. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji)

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that i usually am not attracted to slice of life stories. But a friend recommended this series to me and mentioned it was one of Arakawa’s mangas, so I decided to check it out. A decision I do not regret. The basic plot has to do with a city boy who decided to go to an agriculture high school. Its chock full of culture shock, interesting characters, and a realistic take on the agricultural industry. I identify with this story on a personal level, both because i grew up in a rural area and know how some of the agriculture stuff works and also because the MC is searching for a direction after loosing his “dream.”

Like I said, this series is a slice of life, which generally doesn’t get as much attention as the action-adventure stories.

Got any other animes you think deserve a larger following than they currently have? Feel free to recommend them to me!

[badcowboy69]

1 through 52 for the fallout oc meme for Travis

Gosh anon you don’t know what it is you’re asking lol  Ok my dear Anon get yourself a snack or a drink (or both) because you got yourself a LOT of reading to do ;)   Thanks for asking, this was a serious challenge and a lot of fun actually!!!   I put the answers under the Read More thing just because it’s super long and I don’t want to annoy people with such a long thing on their dash.  So here you are....ALL 52 Fallout prompts!!!  

1.  Which Fallout game are they from?Fallout New Vegas2.  Which faction(s) did they join and which did they destroy? Why?Travis went Independent. He originally was going to join up with Mister House, but once the man asked the courier to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel, Travis balked and said no fucking way. You don’t go against your allies like that. They trusted him and called him brother. He wasn’t about to be a backstabbing betrayer. As for what he destroyed it was most certainly Caesar’s Legion. Although the man did have a few good ideas, Travis couldn’t sit by and allow slavery, mistreatment of women, destruction of the remaining Tribals, and many other things. Their ideals were too extreme and too dangerous to allow to be left alone.3.  What is their S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?Strength 10Perception 9Endurance 6Charisma 5Intelligence 8Agility 8Luck 64.  Give us a summary of their backstory.Travis was born the son of brahmin/bighorner ranchers.  He was home schooled and taught the proper cowboy code of the west.  In his mid-teen years he joined a brahmin round up in the Big Circle.  He realized ranching wasn’t really for him so he went off to join the Mojave Express and become a courier.5.  What’s their full name and does it have a meaning? Do they have any nicknames and how did they get em?My courier’s full name is Travis Blackfox.  His last name stems on the fact that his father is a Tribal.  The name no doubt had to have come from the quiet, stealthy, and cunning traits his father has.  As for a nickname, he doesn’t have any he’d normally go by.  However, he will answer to Courier Six or simply Six as he was the sixth messenger in a task set up years ago to deliver a special package to the mysterious Mister House on the New Vegas strip.6.  What’s their sexual, romantic, and gender orientation? Do they feel comfortable telling other people?Travis is a confirmed bachelor (gay).  He is male and loves males.  He has no problem with telling anyone because fortunately in the Fallout universe people aren’t homophobes like they are in ours..  His parents knew he was from childhood when he took a strong liking to the male couriers or traders that passed by their ranch almost on a daily basis7.  Do they have any mental illnesses? How do they cope?Nope not at all8.  Do they have any medical conditions? Is medicine/ treatment available for them?Memory loss from being shot in the head.  He can only remember what he did from joining the Mojave Express and onwards.  Everything else in his past is gone except for maybe a few scant memories.  He also gets occasional headaches, but that's easily remedied.  9.  How much do they care about their outer appearance? What’s their “beauty routine”? How often do they shower/ bathe?Travis LOVES his facial hair and will always make sure it’s trimmed to the length he likes.  If you ever see him with it longer than normal it's wise to ask him if he's alright as that's a sign something is seriously wrong. As for showering or bathing he does that almost every day he’s able to either at home or in any non-radiated water source he can find.10.  What do they fear the most?Being betrayed by someone he loves is something that he’s the most afraid of happening to him. In a relationship Travis puts his entire heart and soul into it. He loves pampering his partner and does all he can to make them happy even if it might cost him his own happiness. To know that person truly didn’t love him and was only using him all along or waiting for someone better is something that occasionally lurks in the back of his mind and terrifies the hell out of him.11. They’re biggest flaw? Do they recognize it as a flaw?Travis’ biggest flaw is that he’s very insecure and he knows this.  He gets worried what he does isn’t good enough or even enough.  He also feels that his significant other doesn’t really love him as much as he claims, if at all, or will leave him.  He feels if he states a complaint on something or disagrees the other person involved will get angry with him12.  What are they most insecure about?Being loved or liked.  He feels that people are generally only around him because they feel bad for him or don't want to hurt his feelings.13.  What Wasteland threat do they fear the most? (ex. Deathclaws, super mutants, raiders)Cazadores.  14.  What’s their zodiac sign or which one do you think they relate to the most? What are their placements (if you know them)? (ex. Aries sun, Taurus moon, Aquarius Venus) Gemini15.  What’s their Myers–Briggs Type? (ex. ENTP, ISFJ)Travis is an INFJ    Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging.16.  What Harry Potter house would they be in? (ex. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw)Hufflepuff17.  Which Pokemon Go team would they choose? (ex. Instinct, Valor, Mystic)Valor as he loves all things pertaining to fire as well as the color red.18.  Out of the nine forms of intelligence (rhythmic, spatial, linguistic, mathematical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and existential) which one(s) are they really good at and which one(s) is(are) their weakest?Travis most certainly is interpersonal as well as intra-personal are his strong points.  He can easily read people and knows how to interact with them depending on the situation.  His weakest would be existential as he doesn’t care why things are.  He simply accepts them as such.  Mathematical would also be another weakness.  Even though he’s good at balancing budgets, numbers give him a headache.19.  What natural alignment are they? (ex. Lawful Good, Chaotic Evil)Travis has been told more often than not he’s too good for his own good.  He won’t knowingly harm an innocent nor steal from someone unless it can’t be helped.  He doesn’t even particularly care for killing bad guys, but he most certainly will not hesitate when it comes down to it.  He does his best to uphold any laws and morals, but sometimes out in the wasteland things like that have to be ignored.  Still, he’s not totally “good” per say and will do things considered bad, especially if it means his own survival.  If it means saving his ass, or someone he cares about, Travis will lie, cheat, steal, kill, etc…anything to assure he lives to see another day.20.  Do they have any hobbies? What are they?Travis loves collecting anything related to Nuka Cola. He also loves to collect as many pre-war books as he can to add to his already massive collection. However, his most favorite thing to do is repairing things and trying to get junk in the Mojave re-purposed. He already made himself a running motorcycle which operates on the fuel cores from Mister Handy robots. Currently he’s building himself a life sized horse based on the smaller toy models of Giddy-up Buttercup. He’s not exactly sure how he’s going to get it to function or work right now, but he’s not giving up and has high hopes for his latest creation.21.  Do they have a favorite holiday? How do they celebrate it?Up until recently Travis had no clue what holidays were all about.  His partner introduced him to Christmas so of course that's his favorite holiday.  They celebrated by getting a small pine tree from the woods, decorated it with paper cutouts and shot gun shell casings topped off with a glowing bottle of Nuka Cola Quartz.  This was all followed by a small gift exchange and a nice meal with close friends.22.  What’s their favorite season?Being in the desert there really aren't seasons.  However, he does love when he's on the east coast and spring arrives.23.  Do they have a temper or are they level headed?For the most part Travis is quite level headed and it takes a lot to really piss him off, but once that happens look out.24.  Do they express their emotions freely or hide their true feelings?Angry he always tries to hide because it can be a very destructive emotion from him if given the chance.  Sad can be considered weak and weakness isn’t anything a person wants to have shown out in the Mojave.  Those are the two main ones he’d try and keep hid if possible.  Fear he most certainly hides.  You never let an enemy know what gets to you and sometimes not even your closest friends.  Fear can always be used against you.  For the more positive emotions like joy and love, Travis certainly has no problem expressing those.25.  Are they a leader or a follower?Even though Travis has led people into battle and is currently co-ruling New Vegas, he hardly feels he's a leader at all.  He would much rather take orders and do things for someone else instead of having sole responsibility for something.26.  How do they come off to others? What first impression do they usually make?People generally see Travis as friendly and helpful and sometimes a push-over. The latter is something he’s certainly not, but people tend to see him that way because he is so caring and generous. Generally those are the people that try and take advantage of him and his good nature.27.  Do they prefer to travel alone or with company? Who have they traveled with if any? Current companion if any?Although he does enjoy solitude more often than not, Travis does enjoy being with his cyberdog Rex and eyebot ED-E. He’s traveled quite a lot with Craig Boone and did enjoy his company to more than just a companion.  Currently he has his cyberdog and eyebot and bonded partner from the Boston Commonwealth.28.  Would you describe them as selfless or selfish? Does it depend on the situation?Travis is very generous and always tries to make other people happy or comfortable before doing so for himself.  Even if he tries to be selfish that feeling doesn’t last for long and he still ends up helping someone anyway.29.  What do they find most attractive in others? Name at least one psychological and physical trait. (doesn’t have to be romantic attraction)For psychological trait Travis loves intelligent conversation.  Nothing irritates him more than talking to someone who’s so dense it’s a miracle they even know how to tie their own shoes let alone survive in the world.  He likes someone that’s at least close enough to his own intelligence, but a little over he doesn’t mind either.  Travis loves learning new things.  However, the person in question should not so intellectual where it makes everything spoken become a task to listen to and understand.  Physical he’d have to go for the cliche feature of a smile.  A true and genuine smile is one way to certainly get Travis’ attention.  He’ll know if you can be trusted or if you’re a faker depending on how you smile.  Like the eyes, one can read a lot through a smile and fortunately for Travis he’s learned to read them pretty good.30.  Do they flirt often? How easily do they fall in love?He is a smooth talker and can use this ability to get what he wants even if it means flirting, but that's as far as anything would go.  He also doesn't fall in love easily either.  He might develop a crush, but for actual love to show it would have to be something groomed and tended to in order for it to blossom. He’s only been in love three times in his entire life and the third is most certainly the last as he loves him more than anything.31.  What’s their love life like? Are they interested in anyone or in a relationship?His love life is fantastic as he's with the most amazing man in the world.  He's very happy, content, and deeply satisfied in both the mental and physical.32.  Do they prefer to solve things diplomatically or using violence?Travis is peaceful by nature so he would much rather try and talk out a situation rather than blasting everything away.  Sometimes folks can't listen to reason so of course he'd have to get physical.33.  What is their combat style? What range do they prefer? Do they sneak?He's very calculating and thinks about a situation before rushing in with guns blazing.  He can and will sneak for the most part as that's part of his being calculating.  As for range, that's what his sniper rifle is for.  He'll pick off the most dangerous enemies first or at least lure them in closer so he can blast them with explosives or his powerful rifle.34.  What weapon(s) do they always carry with them?His rifle named Medicine Stick.  He also has his scoped, silenced sniper rifle. One can also always find any sort of explosive with him IE dynamite, mines, or grenades.35.  Their most prized possession?His rifle Medicine Stick.  It’s very powerful and it’s the one gun he’ll use above all else at all times.  He likes the feel it has in his hands and he loves the sound it makes when fired.  Most of all, he loves the leather cover hand-stitched on the stock that is adorned with a sewn Tribal Medicine Wheel with beads and feathers.36.  Their thoughts on power armor?He honestly has no use for it.  He was trained to operate it, but doesn't like it in the least bit.  He feels it's too big and bulky to do much good.  Granted you might be protected more, but you really aren't as you have no agility or way to get out of a bad situation quickly.37.  Favorite armor/ outfit?Armor wise Travis loves his elite riot gear as it's quite sturdy and offers great protection as well as making him look good.  His regular outfit is a red plaid shirt, blue jeans, black cowboy boots, and a black cowboy hat.38.  How’s their aim? Do their hands shake while pointing a gun?When Travis rejoined the world of the living after being shot in the head, his aim and gun skills literally were pathetic.  Thankfully as his time in the Mojave went on, Travis’ aim became more true.  It wasn’t until he spent a lot of time with an NCR 1st Recon man named Craig Boone that his shooting skills became honed and seriously deadly.  He now nails headshots more often than not and sometimes at a full run.  His aim is true and he generally uses one bullet to kill someone these days.  As for hands shaking, only when he’s truly upset about a situation IE friend being harmed or going to be harmed in close proximity.  When that happens he’ll generally use the gun as a striking weapon instead and bash the enemy upside the head with the stock and continue to beat on them until they’re no more.39.  What are their thoughts on having to kill on a daily bases in order to survive? Does it take a toll on them? Or do they shake it off rather easily?Fortunately not too many people or critters harassed Travis to the point where he had to kill them on a daily basis. Powder Gangers flee in terror when they see him and for the most part Fiends are all but non-existent these days. Legion was the only folks he had to constantly be on the look out for and even then it wasn’t daily. In their case it was always self-defense on Travis’ part, it wasn’t like he was seeking them out to kill them. Travis is very passive for the most part. He doesn’t enjoy having to kill anything, self-defense or not, but it also doesn’t bother him. He’s not jaded, just a realist and knows it’s a cold hard fact of life in the Mojave.40.  Thoughts on death if any? (ex. Fear it, accept it)Since Travis has already been considered dead once already, he doesn’t think much of death anymore.  He’s not afraid to die now and almost feels invincible as a result of what happened to him.  He was lucky the first time in cheating death and he knows he might not be so lucky again, but he does accept it as a harsh reality.  These days, however, he’s more afraid of death happening to the one he loves as opposed to himself.  In that aspect he truly does fear death.  41.  Do they move around a lot or prefer to have a place to call home?His home will always be out in the Mojave.  He does travel back and forth every six months to the Boston Commonwealth.  42.  What’s their favorite location?Anywhere that his partner may be....but mostly in the desert of the Mojave.  43.  Their opinions on ghouls, feral and not feral?Travis has sympathy for all ghouls in all honesty. He does what he can to help those with their wits still about them. He also has no problem in putting a bullet in the head of those ferals as it comes down to being a “kill or be killed” in most situations upon meeting them. However, some time ago, he had a horrible nightmare which involved a ghoul and currently he has a very different attitude towards them. He’ll help if need be, but mostly now he’d much rather avoid them. He doesn’t want to resurrect the images from his nightmare because he knows it’ll set him off on some kind of angry rage and he’ll end up slaughtering the hapless beings.44.  Do they scavenge for their supplies or simply buy them?Travis likes to nose around looking for things overlooked or left behind. However, he knows that people do need to make a living out in the wasteland so he tries to buy from local merchants as much as possible to give them support.45.  Are they the type to get distracted and go off to an unknown nearby location or do they stay on track?For the most part Travis tries his best to stay on track with what he’s supposed to be doing. However, he’s quite curious and a little bit nosy and can and will drift off to check out something or explore a cave he discovers. Sometimes these distractions prove to be pointless, but a lot of times he ends up unwittingly helping someone as a result or even finding things to help himself like piles of forgotten caps, ammunition, or even on occasion weapons and armor that he can sell to traders for what he really needs.46.  How do they sleep? Are they picky about where and how or can they sleep basically anywhere?Travis can sleep anywhere at any time.  His only nit-pick would be sheets.  They have to be clean and he does keep a set with him in his pack just in case clean sheets somewhere is not an option.47.  What’s their favorite radio station and song? (post-apocalypse)Travis loves the Mojave Music Radio station.  He used to like Radio New Vegas, but once his deeds started to get well known and he became the headline in the news given by Mister New Vegas more often than not, well, Travis couldn’t stand it so he stopped listening.  The Mojave station provides some great tunes including a lot of great western/country songs.  His favorite being “Big Iron” performed by the pre-war star Marty Robbins.   48.  What’s their favorite post-apocalyptic food? Are they a picky eater? Do they know how to cook?Travis loves brahmin steak and gecko stew.  He's not picky at all as one can't afford that trait being out in the desert.  He does know how to cook and really well.  He makes a great stew and a great omelette.49.  What’s their favorite beverage? Do they drink alcohol?He does love Nuka Cola and has a small liking for Sunset Sarsaparilla.  He does drink alcohol and prefers beer above all else.  He will drink whiskey, but sparingly as the first time he really celebrated he got really sick and doesn't want to feel that again...but that won't stop him from getting drunk from time to time.50.  Do they have any tag skills?Guns, melee, and sneak51.  Anything they like to collect? (ex. Unique weapons, Bobbleheads)He loves pre-war toys and especially anything pertaining to Nuka Cola.52.  Are they good at disarming traps or do they constantly miss them?For the most part he does very well at disarming any traps, but that's if he discovers them first.  Lots of times he plows into a location only to set off grenade traps or even get hit with metal beams put in doorways.  He also got his leg snapped in a bear trap a few times, but fortunately those few times the items were seriously rusted so they didn't cause him too much damage.

[iamsoneurotic]

Hey Milo! You Five! And other stuff...

So we’re weeks out from baby #3 being born… I’ve hardly written a single update about this pregnancy because oddly enough it’s really, really hard to find time to write absurdly long posts when you’ve got two little boys and a pregnant wife.

Oh who am I kidding, I’m just really lazy. But having kids is such a good excuse to not do things that I can’t help but use it every chance I get. Now if only I had a decent excuse to get a minute alone from the boys I’d be in business! I kid… but let’s not pretend that it isn’t the worst thing in the world to wake up to a toddler screaming at you to play legos upstairs. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE playing with Legos and I love playing with my kids, but I love not moving in the morning more. We’ve got a rule in the house: Mommy and Daddy don’t play until after they’ve had their coffee in the morning. Needless to say I sip mine VERY slowly.

Rachael and I are not morning people. Milo and Noli inherited that trait from us, but unfortunately they also inherited my stubbornness - so they just refuse to sleep in. Yeah, I know all kids wake up early and are miserable, but Noli literally wakes up growling and Milo always wakes up yelling “HEY!” like he dreamt about some goblin flicking him in the nose and then woke up too soon to flick him back. That’s what I imagine happens anyway. If they’re so mad about being awake, why not just stop being awake?? It’s not that hard, I do it all the time!

But whatever. They come out of their rooms, they fight over a lego, I pathetically and ineffectively shout at them from my recliner downstairs and then I drink my coffee and secretly daydream about drowning to death in it. Mornings with the Marianelli’s are a good old time. Even the unborn one wakes up cranky, he just awakens when Rachael is going to bed and kicks her in the ribs like a savage. Crap, I just realized I never posted his gender - well if you haven’t figured it out yet, he’s a boy. If anything I’m consistent.

We had the sonogram a week after my last post and boy oh boy the boy wasn’t shy about being a boy. Have I said boy enough yet? I know a sonogram isn’t actually a camera with a lens, but I swear, the moment they turned that device on he practically slapped it against the screen. No subtlety whatsoever.

There’s this awkward moment during a gender reveal where both parents are secretly hoping for different results (by secretly I mean me, Rachael was quite vocal about her hopes) - it’s like when you’re playing a board game with people and it’s maybe 10 rounds in and that competitiveness is starting to rear its ugly head and the laughter is becoming more and more forced with every round - and then you win for like, the 5th time in a row and you’re not quite sure what emotion to express so you just sort of downplay your own victory as dumb luck, but now everybody feels insulted that you’re pitying them… Yeah, that’s what it’s like to find out you’re having a third boy.

But for real, it’s better this way and we all know it.

I can’t tell if the sound of my voice makes the little stinker agitated or happy. He usually starts moving a lot when I talk to him (yeah I know, they can be startled by sound and it’s not technically me specifically that he’s responding to - but let me have this!), I think my proudest moment was when I placed my hand on Rachael’s belly and said “HIGH FIVE!” and he totally kicked my hand. He also likes to kick me in the head when I try listening to his heartbeat… They say you’re supposed to be able to hear the heartbeat without a stethoscope but I’m three kids in and it’s NEVER happened! I do, however, hear a lot of digestive sounds that I wish I could un-hear.

This pregnancy gives me a lot of memories of when Milo was still in the womb and he would stop Rachael dead in her tracks by roundhouse kicking her in the side. This little guy might actually be worse. There were a couple of weeks in the Autumn where we were convinced he was actually kicking Rachael in the spine. It would send shockwaves up her back and every time it happened I thought she either saw a giant spider or suffered an aneurysm. I’m not saying I wished for the latter, but I really hate spiders… Don’t judge me.

We’ve been trying to prepare Noli for the baby’s arrival. He can get pretty jealous. My brother came home one day with puppies and Noli got really sad that we were giving the puppies so much attention. It broke my heart a little. He’s a really sensitive kid - it’s a good quality, but it can be difficult. I have to discipline him almost entirely differently from how I discipline Milo because of it. To be honest I still don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to that with him. Some days I think I’ve cracked the code, but then the next day it’s an entirely different ball game. He’s been a little grumpy lately and we haven’t really figured out why outside of “Terrible 3’s” (terrible 2′s is a myth, 3′s suck).

I used to think I knew what a tantrum was… I was so wrong. On Christmas Eve Noli threw the most epic tantrum I have ever witnessed in the history parenting. It’s mostly a blur at this point, but it started when I tried making him put on a pair of pants after his bath and it ended with a full-on UFC-style showdown where I was literally grappling him on the floor so that he wouldn’t hurt himself. I ended up tapping out because nothing was working - Rachael finally managed to defuse the entire situation by simply pulling an ice-tray out of the freezer and showing it to him. Yup. Problem solved. All the shouting, bribing, begging, grappling and crying did absolutely nothing - a boring inanimate object from a mini-fridge tamed the beast. How Rachael thought to walk past a playroom full of toys and grab an unused ice-tray will forever be a mystery to me. Since being pregnant the girl can barely remember her own name, yet she knew exactly how to deal with a situation that neither of us had experienced - motherly instinct is truly the 8th wonder of the world.

All tantrums aside, Noli cracks me up. He’s making up his own superheroes now. His latest evil creation is “Play-Doh Butt”. His superpower? He shoots pink legos out of his butt. I’ve also learned a number of other characteristics that I wish I could forget. He’s apparently blue, wears no clothes, has no hair (anywhere) and is little. He’s straight out of a nightmare. There’s another superhero he’s working on that’s less fleshed out, and I truly hope it remains that way because I don’t need nor want any other details. His name is “Tater Tutt” and, in Noli’s own words, “he shoots poo-poo out of his hands at all the happy people”... I think that makes him a villain, but I’m not sure Noli sees the lack of virtue in flinging your poop at happy people. I’m sure there’s somebody out there who would derive joy from that experience, but it’s certainly not anybody I want hanging around my 3 year old.

I can’t bring myself to discourage his progressive line of superheroes, they’re more creative than anything I came up with at that age - my greatest childhood achievement was creating a superhero who controlled fire, and I named him “Flamer”. Just failure all around. One of these days I’ll get around to asking Noli to draw a picture of Play-Doh Butt for me just to see what monstrosity he puts to paper, but until then I’m totally satisfied just watching him draw Spider-Man… with chalk… on our walls. So glad we didn’t give him markers that day. For a 3 year old he’s a really good little artist - I’d say even for somebody older than him. His Spider-Man drawings are really cute and surprisingly stylized. Between the two of them, I think he’s the most handy with a drawing utensil, and it makes sense; Milo is very book smart, Noli is very creative. It makes a lot of sense to me, Milo is a spitting image of Rachael, so naturally he’s just gravitated towards books and math. Noli got my genes, hence, Play-Doh Butt and art.

He really is the sweetest little boy on the planet though. I slipped on the bottom step the other day like a bobo and fell down, Noli immediately ran over to me and kept trying to make sure I was okay… Milo, on the other hand, just yelled at me to get a toy for him that he got stuck under the television. I’ll be remembering that when it’s time to draft up wills. Anyway, the point is, the kid just has a kind, nurturing soul. He wants everyone to be happy...

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“Happy?”

“Yes.”

“Ohay!”

He still can’t say his K’s.

What else… Oh, yeah, Milo turned 5! My baby is growing up and I’m both happy and miserably depressed over it. I feel like I’ve said this for other birthday posts, but it’s how I feel every time. I don’t sing Happy Birthday to the boys, I sing “Cats in the Cradle” and my tears put their candles out. Nobody likes growing up in our house.

I think he had a good day. This was the first birthday that he actually seemed aware of leading up to it. He was so excited he woke up at 5:30 in the morning and for the first time ever WASN’T cranky! I wanted to stick my head in a stove, but at least he was happy to be up before the sun. We had a Mario-themed birthday for him - correction, a LUIGI themed birthday for him; He prefers Luigi to Mario. He’s been playing a lot of Mario Run on his iPad… Probably too much, but mommy and daddy are literally the worst parents in the world when we’re feeling defeated so we throw iPads at the boys for distraction while we recharge our broken will. He’s actually really good at that game, he beat it before I did - and I’m awesome. I’m terrified to introduce him to the original Mario games, he hates losing, and that’s basically all you do with the old ones. You lose until you throw a controller at the wall, then you play DOOM for an hour to vent. We’re not there yet with the boys.

One of the reasons I was so excited for him to turn 5 was STAR WARS. It’s a movie I’ve always looked forward to watching with my kids, but wanted to wait until they were old enough to actually get what they’re watching and hopefully not get too scared. We have a media room upstairs that is 100% off limits to the kids, but I told Milo for his 5th birthday we’d get milkshakes and watch a big boy movie in the media room… He was a little bored by it, but he was happy to just be in our home’s ‘Forbidden Kingdom’ with junk food and some one on one time with Dad. I really loved it. When you have more than one kid, it’ hard to just enjoy them for their own uniqueness. They morph together into this wild entity that lives to argue with itself and bring chaos and exhaustion to your once stable, quiet household.

Milo is a brilliant boy. Every day he makes it a point to remind me how much of a genius he is. Whether it’s his ability to perform division in his head or how he reads at a 1st grade level (even more so I think) or the fact that he can build a set of Lincoln Logs exactly as they are on the box when I can barely make any sense of the vague directions they come with. He’s a sponge for knowledge. He also had a piano recital on his birthday and he nailed it. It probably doesn’t sound like much to an adult musician, but for a 5-year-old to play piano and without looking at the sheet music, know when he’s made a mistake and correct it by ear is wildly impressive. Like I said - brilliant.

Milo - I know I’m a month late writing this, but I’m just so amazingly proud of what a big boy you are. I love your face, I love your voice, I love your personality and your sense of humor, I just love everything about you. I can never find the right words to express it, but I’m just so filled with joy watching you grow up. You were the very answer to a prayer I had prayed almost every night since I was little - to be a Dad, to have a family of my own. Now I get to pray every night and thank God for a family I know I’ll never truly be worthy of. So yeah, just in case you ever doubted what you mean to me.

Happy Birthday, baby boy. I love you.

Anyway, this is turning into one of those super long posts that Rachael yells at me for writing, so I guess I’ll wrap it up… My next post will inevitably be another 2-part ‘Birth of Baby’ story (and hopefully my last), so be on the look-out! Or don’t. I don’t even know who’s reading this besides my wife, and she doesn’t much care for the amount of detail I go into regarding the births so I imagine I’ll just be reading the next post to myself. Good lord it’s late.

Auf Weidersehen, goodnight (why yes, I did have to Google that), ~ M.

[universeinform-blog]

Three rules could make you a better man — and save your life

New Post has been published on https://universeinform.com/2017/03/19/three-rules-could-make-you-a-better-man-and-save-your-life/

Three rules could make you a better man — and save your life

Dear American ladies,

I’m embarrassed to be writing to you these days. I’m doubly embarrassed because I’m no longer, in reality, talking to you. I’ve attempted, definitely, to attain men. But due to the fact this text is about gender, no man will read it. Currently, I wrote an ebook called “The Unmade Bed: The Messy Truth About Males and females in the twenty-first Century.” I’ve been interviewed About it perhaps 20 or 30 times, and always — usually — by using women. guys’ lack of information is a trouble due to the fact the reality of gender is changing, viscerally, dramatically, and there are some matters guys need to recognize Approximately. And they don’t understand And they aren’t listening.

My hope is that the women analyzing this piece recognize the lack of information of fellows and are willing to put it in the front of some they care Approximately. Younger men, preferably: sons or nephews or brothers or boyfriends or husbands or the local football crew or anything. What they want to understand isn’t always mainly complex, although it will probably marvel maximum of them. The key factors, the life-saving points, boil right down to just 3 things:

1. Don’t take your friendships with no consideration. This could seem like a small point, However, it isn’t. Developing up, for guys, means Developing out of their friendships. As boys mature into men, they shed their intimate relationships with every other. Ladies don’t. And the suicide fee for guys spikes exactly as they lose their friendships. Between the whole of 10 and 14, boys are twice as probable to devote suicide as Women. Among 15 and 19, it rises to 4 times. by way of 20 to 24, it’s 5 instances. Men are social animals, even though all male beliefs inform them they should be alone. Conventional masculine ideals are lonely figures — cowboys, astronauts. However, loneliness kills men. Divorced men are 10 times much more likely to be depressed than married guys. Divorced guys have a mortality charge 250 percentage higher than married guys. men need to make an aware effort to be social. In any other case, they die.

2. Misogyny makes you way less healthful. The evidence on mental health is unequivocal. In a latest observe by the yank Mental Affiliation involving 19,453 members, researchers tested 11 traits related to Conventional masculinity. Almost all of them are awful for you. “Being a playboy” and retaining “electricity over girls” are the norms maximum intently related to sexist attitudes, and the document is very clean Approximately what happens to guys who maximum value these standards, mentioning that: “Conformity to masculine norms became substantially and unfavorably related to intellectual fitness and Psychological assist seeking.” Whilst you see a few guy treating ladies like garbage, he’s now not sturdy. He’s susceptible.

Exercises and Workouts – Three Workout Strategies To Help You Burn Fat Faster

Looking for a way to jumpstart your exercising program? Want to ensure you are burning fats as fast as viable and seeing the effects you are aiming for? The superb information is we’ve got some particular workout strategies to be able to now not simplest kick boredom to the scale back but additionally help you “up your results.”

Those techniques all take the depth of the workout up a notch or so should be achieved simply a couple of times each week to make certain you’re completely recovering among every exercise consultation.

Here are three strategies to attempt out…

1. Reps For Time. The first method is known as “reps for time.” With this approach, as opposed to placing an intention inclusive of appearing 8 reps, 10 reps, or 12 reps, you put a time frame in that you Want to complete as many reps as viable. Generally, this could be 30 to 60 seconds relying on your health degree.

As you try this, if you become bored at any factor, take a short spoil and then begin up once again. Once the time limit is up, you will then either rest or flow into the subsequent workout depending on what your protocol calls for.

2. Rounds For Time. the following way to help you burn fat faster is to do “rounds for time.” Rounds for time is similar to reps for time best now you are designating a selected rep range – say 10 reps, after which stacking sporting events one after the other. In this way, you will try and move through the collection of sporting activities as fast as feasible in the particular time-frame.

As an example, you may have the sporting events of…

Push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats, and bicycle crunches. to your exercise. you’ll intention to carry out 10 reps of each exercising, doing as many rounds of the series as feasible. Subsequent exercise, attempt to beat the wide variety of rounds you formerly did.

3. Max Matter Reps. Final but now not least, you’ve got “max Matter reps.” For this one, you best set an excessive total rep Count number for the whole exercise session. As an instance, you might do a 100 rep squat exercising. So your challenge is simple…

Do a hundred reps of squats to complete the exercise. Doing one hundred repeats of squats might also sound simple, however, you may very probably locate it isn’t always. After you are in there doing your squats, attending to the ones a hundred reps will be very difficult. Of route, you will Need to regulate your weight hence. You won’t be the use of a max weight Right here, however, rather one you may without problems do for 10 to 15 reps. Prevent as wanted but get the ones one hundred reps executed earlier than you depart the fitness center. Give These workout techniques a try Subsequent time you’re Searching out a way to present your fitness stage a boost and strive something you’ve got never accomplished before.

Although dealing with Type 2 diabetes can be very hard, it is not a situation you ought to just stay with. Make simple adjustments to your everyday routine – encompass workout to assist decrease both your blood sugar levels and your weight.

How a Private Investigator Could Help Improve Your Retail Business

If you’re the manager or proprietor of a retail employer, you may know how important the consumer-facing function of a shop assistant can be. In relation to your customers, interaction along with your team of workers could make or damage their first impact of your business – and a terrific first influence could comfy destiny visits.

In any business, constructing meaningful relationships with clients is what’s going to set you other than your competitors and allow you to supply a memorable service. But while that provider is memorable for all the wrong reasons, that effect on your patron can be detrimental to the achievement of your commercial enterprise as a whole.

The announcing is going: a purchaser who has had a good enjoy will tell one man or woman, whereas a client who’s had an awful one will tell ten. This may be a generalization, But there may be a reality in the back of the declaration. The electricity of reputation is simple, and with criticism platforms extra handy than ever, yours should make or spoil your commercial enterprise.

When you have multiple bodies of workers for your appoint, it is able to be heard a good way to keep tune of how they may be all performing – especially In case you own more than one stores. Regardless of a supervisor in residence, you can’t constantly agree with someone else to percentage your non-public vision of ways your organization must deliver customer support.

This is why many business owners and executives enlist the help of so-called ‘thriller customers’ to permit them to look how their employees carry out whilst they are now not round. A thriller shopper can offer you with a complete report in their revel in as a ‘consumer’ for your retail outlet, as well as the performance of person personnel.

Mystery buying services also are added with the aid of private investigators with the intention to go above and beyond to offer you with proof in their experience in the keep. This may come inside the shape of photographic or DVD proof, or each, in conjunction with a comprehensive written file in their findings.

The reason many professional enterprise proprietors choose personal investigators to preserve an eye on their group of workers is that they’re especially skilled in covert surveillance, so are discreet and could appear natural. they’re additionally capable of offer high-tech equipment, in order to provide you with watertight proof of your employees’ behavior.

The carrier can prove particularly useful In case you suspect an employee of breaking the phrases in their settlement or of stealing from the enterprise. A private investigator should offer you with sufficient proof to observe thru with disciplinary movement.

Mystery buying can also be exceedingly precious for personnel schooling, displaying your retail environment in motion. You may be able to help personnel to peer where they are excelling in their performance, and where they may want to enhance.

Some private investigators can also behavior take a look at purchases on behalf of business proprietors to set up evidence of emblem infringement or the sale of counterfeit items. Many PIs perform those services at alternate suggests markets and shops which will gain evidence of wrongdoing.

If you’re interested in enlisting the assist of a personal investigator, begin by means of searching online to find a non-public detective organization for your location. You will need to make sure that the agency gives A few form of mystery buying service, so call to speak to an adviser In case you can not see this provider listed on their website.

Before committing to something, make sure to study thru the business enterprise’s privateness policy and phrases and situations. You will want to make sure that your facts are treated in the strictest confidence. It’s excellent to speak about your concerns with an adviser to advantage insight into how personal investigators perform.

How to Become a Better Man or Woman in a Relationship and in Life (Part Two)

We concluded component certainly one of this article discussing the necessity for you to turn out to be a better man or woman. But what precisely does that suggest? There are certain characteristics which can be becoming increasingly rarer in people these days. But, those in who they may be evident are humans whom others are drawn to. In case you need the affection you have got misplaced to be interested in you, you should be or grow to be someone others are attracted to as well.

What are those features? On this and next elements of this article to comply with, we are able to remember some of these traits. The primary vital satisfactory is:

Humility

Humility? In reality? Sure. Having humility does no longer mean having any  or self-assurance. As an alternative, it is better defined as the alternative of vanity. You are by no means going to locate a conceited character who is loved by means of the folks that realize her or him. Regardless of the reality that we stay in a society that pushes humans to have a “Me First” mindset on the subject of existence, the boastful character hardly ever has any true and dependable buddies.

Humility isn’t a weak point. Rather it’s miles a quiet inner power. The humble character does no longer have something to show to anyone in order that they do no longer need to brag, show off, decorate their own achievements or declare information and competencies which they do no longer possess. they are sincere due to the fact they do not experience the want to make themselves appearance true through untrue testimonies about their lives or beyond. In addition, they do no longer sense the want to be the center of attention every time they are in a collection.

Also, they do not say hurtful matters about others to make themselves appearance better or smarter. That is every other attribute that makes others find them high-quality and fresh to be around.

As nicely, their very own 310eaa isn’t always threatened via the talents, good traits or superb attributes of others. This allows them to realize and praise others with no trouble. Sure, yet any other “manner” about them, that makes others enjoy their organization.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? human beings are drawn to humans who have humility as a key characteristic of their persona. Conversely, humans have a tendency to be repelled through conceited individuals for whom there is in no way enough fuel to feed their insatiable egos. The self-focused repel people and can not hold successful relationships of any type, whereas people with authentic humility tend to be loved by way of every person aside from the surprisingly conceited who are incapable of information them.

Cultivating humility may be difficult because many psychologists accept as true with that our personal ego is the most powerful mental pressure using the human psyche. So being aware of This is your first step and a completely essential, vital even, step. In reality, humility is a best that co-exists with expertise. actual expertise cannot exist without humility. You need to learn to have a very honest self-attention. This possibly reminds you of what we mentioned in element one among this text. Yes, you need to be able to look inside yourself really.

Once you go through this method of searching for yourself sincerely, seeing yourself as you actually are, you could at this factor begin to deal with the areas you want to work on. And, as cited in advance, you could now begin to live every day with precise desires on getting via that particular day and finishing it a slightly higher man or woman than you began it.

That may be a very quick overview of humility. A creator should fill endless pages of words in taking a look at of this stunning nice that so few today are ever able to locate within themselves. Developing its miles a part of what I feel is one of the most important components of attracting different true people to you, and this is the concept of constantly taking, “the excessive road.”

Element three of this article will discuss the subsequent first-rate you have to pursue If you need to get your ex-returned and keep him or her.