#the assignment was to draw a room that includes a list of required objects

[ashwithane]

drew the funky goat lad again, now with more objects

[artleaguemdcnorth]

DRAWING CLASS - MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT 11/8/22

This class will meet in person on Tuesday 11/8/22, to review instructions for the midterm research ahead of the start of Midterm. 

We will meet in the drawing room at 12:20pm. 

You need to bring to class the following tomorrow :

A) Bristol Pad 18 x 24 

2) Graphite Pencils.

Midterm assignment preparation

We are at the Midterm mark so this class will begin preparing to start the Midterm.

Starting today , you will begin  preliminary   online research for your midterm.

You will need to do extensive research ahead of time to understand how you will set up this still life.

For this project you will need to create a different kind of Still Life.

Every object you choose needs to have a relevance or meaning to your life. You should have no less than 8 to 10 objects .

The midterm consists of creating a Vanitas style self-portrait-still-life drawing.

During the Baroque period in Art history, Still Life paintings had symbolic meaning. It had a subversive message expressed through the objects being represented.

Hopefully this research will help you understand how choosing specific objects can help you develop a particular message.

Your message is to create a *Contemporary Indirect Self Portrait via a Still life. A real portrait of you will be hidden within the still life.

As you research online, google words like Vanitas, Baroque , Self portrait still life, indirect self portrait still life drawing, and contemporary indirect self portrait.

Take notes regarding information you gather and include them in your sketchbook. Brainstorm ideas via quick sketches.

If I were to include a papaya fruit for example in my still life , I would be referencing a tropical aspect of the fruit while providing a direction regarding my Caribbean background. So think about aspects of culture, identity in choosing such objects.

Once you have an understanding of the symbolic meaning of objects you can begin to assemble your still life.

The online research will help define the assignment for yourself.

Your work needs to have a relevant narrative that expresses an indirect portrait of yourself.

You and your life are at the center of this story.

What objects will you choose ?

How will you arrange them in your story?

Materials needed for midterm :

Bristol Paper 18 x 24  or

Arches paper 22 x 30 hot press 100lbs. **

note- ( if you had not purchased  Arches handmade paper in advance you can use Bristol paper 18 x 24 instead.  )

Graphite pencil set ( should include following pencils : H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B )

Eraser ( kneaded and white erasers )

This assignment will require over 30 - 40 hours of work to develop values and form.

Research aspect of assignment is not included in those hours.

Your midterm requires completing a drawing using graphite pencil where value variances are evident and a direct light source is shown.

It also expresses critical thinking in developing an interesting narrative.

This will be the metric for grading.

You will use both class time and Homework time to complete this assignment.

See below some examples that may address the requirements for this assignment :

Notice in this drawing  the placement of the self portrait at the center via a mirror and the objects that identify the individual as an artist.

Sometimes we do not have to be so direct and can actually hide within the still life as you see in other examples.

Though these are paintings, they still display the elements of an indirect self portrait.

Again another painting with the same theme related to the Baroque period.

List of class assignments for this week:

1) Engage in research from the internet and other sources.

2) Once you have researched enough information, you will write a brief paragraph stating your understanding of the assignment noting the source of your research.

3) Students will compile 8 to 10 objects with relative scale and proportion, to create three different still life ideas.

Note:

** Relative scale and proportion means that they are not too big, say a guitar sitting next to a tennis ball would not have relative scale or too small. ( ei. marble next to a bottle of wine would not work either.)

4) Take a photo of each assembled set up and post it on your Tumblr , along with the paragraph stating your understanding of the assignment. 

5) Find a place at home that allows you to set up a still life to work with it for two weeks.

Homework for Tuesday night :

1) Get all the materials ready to start working on Thursday of this week.

2) Create a value chart in your sketchbook  using the following pencils : 

Graphite set H- HB  - B- 2B- 4B  -6B- 8B or the graphite set you have. (Note the values being used for your situation )

3) Practice working with graphite pencil tonight.   

   a) Make a still life with three objects and develop value ranges for your still life.

All homework will be done in sketchbook.

All materials for the midterm above can be found at the following stores .

Blick’s Art and Supply

Jerry’s Arterama

The Easel in North Miami 

On Thursday, I will post additional  instructions for the midterm. 

[artroom303]

7&8th grade Art Syllabus

Welcome to 7 & 8th Grade Art With Ms. Sacco!

Student Responsibilities & Classroom Rules

Hello, and welcome to 7 & 8th Grade Art. We are very proud of our art program and I am sure you will enjoy your time in art this year. During this quarter you will be introduced to a variety of art media and techniques. In addition, you will

explore various artists and styles that have shaped the world of art. You will also learn

how to view, understand, and critique works of art.

SUPPLIES:

Students will store all their supplies in the folder listed below and store the folder in their backpack, locker, or classroom cabinet.  Students will be required to have their supplies for Monday, September 13th.

 Expandable/accordion Folder with a fastener (to hold everything listed below)

 At least 6 pencils

2 Erasers (buy the white kind, like Magic Rub, or a gray kneaded eraser)

9” x 12” or 8” x 10” sketch pad.

  PAD MUST FT IN ACCORDION FOLDER LISTED ABOVE

1 Black Sharpie (fine point)

1 Black ultra fine Sharpie

1 Glue stick

scissors

12” ruler

12 Pack or more colored pencils. Can be Crayola. Prang and

  Prismacolor are more expensive, but of much better quality

 Crayola or equivalent watercolor set.

  8 or more colors with brush included.

**Please note that if any of these supplies are purchased for another class do not feel obligated 

to purchase duplicates.**

For example:

You do not need to buy a separate pair of scissors for Art class if another class asks you to purchase one.

However, it’s important to know that you will need ALL of these supplies with you when you are in Art class.

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

1. Attendance:

a) Student attendance and punctuality is a given.

b) If you have band/chorus/trip/lesson/etc., it is your responsibility to inform

me before the event.

c) When leaving the room you must have a signed pass. NO EXCEPTIONS

2. Absences:

a)You are responsible for all projects/homework assignments. All work missed due to

illness or excused absences must be made up.

3. Projects: Art is a reflection of the artist—take pride in your work and give

it your best effort.

a) All projects will have a deadline. The day a project is due is not a working day.

The only activities on that day of class will be grading and critiquing the class

art work. Please plan ahead of time so your project will be completed and included

in the class critique.

c) Keep project deadlines in mind. Do not wait until the project is due to seek extra

help.

b) After the project due date you will have to complete your project on your own time.

You may work on it during one of study flex or lunch periods.

4. Homework:

In addition to the class projects, you will be given a sketchbook every 2-3 weeks. Sketchbook assignments must be photographed and posted under the assignment on classroom in order to receive credit.

Late homework may still be turned in for a 85% at any time during the quarter. Homework will count as 10% of your final grade.

5. Grading:

Projects (application of concepts, craftsmanship and effort) 75%

Classwork (class participation, charged and ready Chromebook & time on task) 15%

Homework (sketchbook drawings--usually 8-10 per quarter) 10%

6. CLASSROOM RULES:

1. Follow directions the first time they are given.

2. Take care of ALL art materials (and school facilities). Use tools as demonstrated. Respect property.

3. Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself.

4. Stay in your assigned seat or area unless given permission to do otherwise. We must keep a 6 ft distance in the classroom.

5. Respect others at all times.

6. ALWAYS clean up after yourself.

Cellphones, electronic devices and headphones are to be put away and are not to be visible during class *except when an assignment calls for its usage.* Devices will be held for the period if a student fails to comply. A second infraction will result in the device being sent to the Dean’s Office for pickup and the end of the day.

Students who follow the rules, produce quality work. Every student has the right to work in a positive learning environment.

First infraction: warning, no consequence.

Second infraction: phone call home and a detention.

Third infraction: removal from class for the period.

You will be given every opportunity to succeed,

BUT YOUR SUCCESS DEPENDS ON YOU! 

[misskinaiya]

A Hogwarts Sixth Year Drabble? Story Idea? Idk [Theo Nott x Sue Li]

Summary: Sue accepts commission to do someone else’s homework. Pansy and Daphne think this is the perfect way to help Draco pass his classes in sixth year. Theo disagrees. (He asks Sue to help them anyway.)

Word Count: 2,063

---

It was an open secret at Hogwarts that Sue Li accepts commission to do someone else’s homework.

So when Theodore Nott and she had no choice but to work together one Friday (because Draco Malfoy found his assignment more important than double Potions and Padma Patil was in the Infirmary no thanks to a Herbology accident from the day before), Sue was pleased to find out that Theo was not a bad partner and Theo, Slytherin that he was, tested the limits of that good impression by seizing the opportunity to ask the Ravenclaw witch for a favor. Because when else would he be able to talk to her without drawing suspicion from her friends?

While they were waiting for the timer to go off to proceed with the potion, Theo nonchalantly asked, “Say, if I pay you double your usual rate, would you do homeworks for a friend without questions asked?”

“Who is this friend and why are they not asking directly?”

“Someone unimportant. Would you?”

Sue didn’t buy it but said, “I only accept homework for classes I still take at N.E.W.T. level.”

“Perfect. You take the same six classes.”

“So what will I be working on?”

“All of them.”

Sue’s eyebrows reached an impressive height on her forehead at that. “All of them? Why?”

“Ask more questions and I’ll bring the rate down to one and a half your usual.”

The timer beeped and Theo busied himself with their potion. Sue didn’t mind his evasiveness, her brain was busy ransacking the list of students in their year who still attended Hogwarts despite the many safety breaches they experienced in all their years of stay and took the same classes that she did.

There weren’t a lot. Padma Patil, Hermione Granger, Ernie Macmillan, Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini. The first three students were out of question. Padma would not ask her to do her own homework (even when she’s indisposed in the Infirmary), Ernie Macmillan would surely not ask Theodore Nott to ask for him, and, Merlin, the world would end first before Hermione Granger asked for help with homework.

Daphne Greengrass joined her sometimes, at her table in the library, and occasionally, consulted her if they were doing the same homework so Sue crossed her out too. Blaise Zabini... well, the guy gave her the impression that he would rather die than give her the time of day, much less let her do his homework. So that leaves Sue with Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy.

They were both smart and capable of doing their own academic load but Theo never missed anything, as far as Sue knew, whereas Draco has recently found the hobby of not showing up to class and not complying with requirements so it wasn’t hard to tell which student she’ll do homeworks for, right?

“Where’s Malfoy?” She asked despite the other’s warning. Theo feigned not to hear her and that’s all the confirmation she needed.

It doesn’t answer the question as to why the guy needed help with homework though. Why is Theodore Nott even asking on behalf of him? What’s keeping him busy, anyway? He dropped out of Quidditch (a huge shock to everyone, Sue included) and according to Padma, he’s been lax on prefect duties too. Why Sue knew all that is a question that will remain unanswered for the rest of time. Who cares, really? She’d accept the commission anyway.

“Double?” She piped up, hoping he’d let her question slide.

“Double. All homeworks. For the rest of the year.”

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR! Was he crazy!? What was going on?

Better not to ask, she thought. With all the rumors going around, it was better to keep her involvements with the Malfoy Heir to a minimum. (Pah. What a joke!)

“Alright.” They spent the rest of that period discussing the terms and conditions to her commission. Theo will be the one to consult with her, and receive her drafts and final outputs. She never has to talk to Draco Malfoy about their arrangement, which she found odd. Really odd. But the pay was high so she kept her mouth shut.

Draco Malfoy only found out about it when the month of July came (he was preoccupied, okay) and with it came his grades for the previous year. His grades had never been better (but only by a small difference). It was an outrage. He immediately called Severus Snape, who was now the Headmaster of Hogwarts, via Floo Network and asked for clarification. It led to an even worse outrage.

Snape came to Malfoy Manor with a box of all his “outputs” from the previous year and Draco spent the rest of his summer break trying to find out who faked his submissions and interrogating his friends who he was sure were the only possible culprits of this. (In the end, Snape decided not to take action because the incident involved a Slytherin and he was biased like that.)

When they returned to Hogwarts for seventh year, the first thing Draco did was track down Susanna “Sue” Li. He entered the Ravenclaw common room and asked a random student who didn’t look like a first year to fetch Sue Li from their dormitory.

(He was appointed Head Boy alongside Pansy as Head Girl so he had the right to enter the other Houses’ common rooms.)

Draco led Sue outside the common room and down to a hidden alcove by the entrance of Ravenclaw Tower, and cast a spell to keep anyone from eavesdropping before confronting her. Surprisingly, the witch showed no fear and had a calculating look on her face.

“I’m not sure I can tell you that.” She answered when he asked who paid her to do his school works for him.

“Witch, I’m not going to do anything, you won’t get in trouble, the other person involved won’t get in trouble. I just need to know.”

“Fine.” She combed her hair away from her face with her hand, “Theo asked me.”

Pansy or Daphne were Draco’s guesses. Blaise he could believe if there had been a miracle, but Theo? This only meant that all of his friends were in on this. And none of them came clean to him when he asked for weeks.

(Deep inside, he appreciated the help. But if anyone asked, he’ll never admit it.)

Those slimy snakes! But first things first.

“And you went along with it because?”

“The pay was high.”

“Bullshit. You don’t need money.”

“Excuse me? Not everyone is like you.”

“Yes, but your family is worth all the Gryffindor families and half of Hufflepuff put together. I checked.”

Sue crossed her arms in front of her and stared defiantly at Draco Malfoy, thinking of anything to throw his way to get him off her back. 

Draco met her gaze just as stubbornly and stood with his back straight and head held high, trying for intimidation. “So not money. Definitely not out of kindness. There’s nothing else for you in the agreement. So I have no other choice but to ask: are you some crazy fangirl of mine?”

He watched as the witch furrowed her brows as she took his words in and scoffed in indignation. Nope, definitely not then.

“Theo, then?”

“I am not Theo’s fangirl!”

“No, but you like Theo, don’t you?”

Most girls at Hogwarts admired either Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, because he was tall, he was handsome, he was smart, he was confident, he was popular, he played for Slytherin in Quidditch, and he was rich, among other things. Admittedly, he was a total catch. Unfortunately, he was blonde. Which was not really a problem. It was just that... Sue didn’t fancy blonde hair, was all. It was purely personal preference. And... Draco was too confident for her liking, bordering on arrogant.

Theodore Nott, on the other hand, was tall and handsome too. He had curly black hair, green eyes, a celestial nose, thin lips, AND dimples on both sides of his face. He was heavensent. And he was smart too. He usually kept to himself and focused on his academics, instead of joining Draco and Blaise in the Slytherin Quidditch team. The sort of man Sue dreamt of being with. (Slim chance, honestly, but Sue can dream.)

When Sue had to work with him that one time in Potions, she had been quieter than usual, not knowing how to interact with him, until he asked about her commissions. It was a trap, she knew. Dangerous, dangerous waters and yet she trod on. When else would this kind of opportunity come up? Her very own object of affection! And a year-long commission! There was no way she was turning that down, even when the situation is highly sketchy.

It did not help that Theo turned out to be a really great guy. The more she knew him, the more her feelings grew stronger. In the final months of their agreement, it had been difficult to control her emotions around him but alas, the guy was as dense as the Forbidden Forest. When she gave the final essay she had to work on that year to Theo, she made an effort to prolong the conversation. And when the topics for conversation have been exhausted, Sue reluctantly bid him a good night.

(She didn’t realize Theo walked her back all the way to Ravenclaw Tower from the library until several minutes later as she was getting ready for bed. She then proceeded to spend the rest of the night wide awake with her heart making a mess in her chest. That moment in time kept her rattled all through summer.)

Sue came back to reality when Draco snapped his fingers in front of her face. Her face burned red in embarrassment, “Well, the answer must be obvious by now. I must say I am impressed. Took you one conversation with me to realize.”

Unlike your dumdum of a friend, she thought petulantly.

“Well, it’s that or you’re crazy. No sane wizard would accept an offer like that. You could have been expelled.”

“But I wasn’t, was I? Thanks to you, no doubt. A thank you would suffice, by the way.”

“Right.” Scratching the back of his head, he meekly said, “Thank you. I still don’t understand why you chose to help a group of Death Eater children in the middle of this War but...”

“Draco—can I call you Draco?” At his reluctant and confused nod, she continued, “Honestly, the pay was really high. I needed a source of money for all the cashmere shopping I do.”

Draco understood this kind of behavior. It was a Slytherin move, to respond with a statement that changed the direction and weight of the conversation. “If you say so.” He threw his signature smirk her way and added, “In return, you could ask me to help you with anything. A Slytherin always pays his debt.”

He nodded at her before making his way back to the Dungeons.

“Don’t tell anyone!” She shouted after him but he only laughed in response.

(It was his first genuine laugh since Dumbledore’s death.)

———

When Draco got back to his shared dormitory with Theo, Blaise, Greg, and Vince, he immediately shot Theo a shit-eating grin. “Met your girlfriend tonight, mate.”

Theo rolled his eyes at him, “No idea what you’re going on about.”

“I approve, if you must know.”

“Sod off.”

“For what it’s worth, I approve too.” Blaise piped up from his side of the room.

“Me too.” Vince said.

“I don’t.” All four heads turned to Greg, “Only because I think she suits me better.”

Vince and Blaise roared in laughter, and Draco let a smirk graze his lips as he watched on.

“Like she would give any of us the time of day.” Theo murmured.

“She already did. All year, you dunderhead.” Blaise turned to Draco as the blonde sat on the edge of his own bed. “You should have seen them, Draco. Theo was ready to offer the world to her.”

“I was not!” Theo said hotly. And as Theo bowed his head to hide the flames in his cheeks, Draco couldn’t help but think, when this is all over, I hope it works out for them. Now where was Saint Potter to save the day?

———

(Fic Masterlist)

[this-isnt-magic]

you always talk about casting spells and looking for unfalsifiable proof afterwards, so i was curious what have been occasions in your personal practice or just any examples you could give of casting a spell and being proven 100% right that it worked?

In terms of operative magic specifically, here are a few from recent years:

Target A was extorting Friend B for a large sum of money. He had been hounding him daily asking for the money which B absolutely did not want to pay and frankly had no reason to owe. B asked me to make A forget about the money. Within two days of the ritual, not only did A completely forget him calling B, the cash, and the original situation that arose that made him go after him in the first place, he also randomly sent B the same amount he had been asking for over PayPal just because he felt like he owed him money, though he couldn’t remember why. He never contacted him again. 

Someone had been harassing a good friend of mine. Through a series of well-timed curses taking advantage of immigration bureaucracy, his own lawyers and closest confidants within the system began to ignore him past every deadline and he was unable to renew his visa. Needless to say, he was Hot Footed out of the country. The list of residual misfortunes that waited him upon his return is extensive.

I had an extremely specific list of characteristics, personality traits, ambitions, qualities, etc. in a romantic partner which I included in a petition to draw an ideal lover. I met my now-boyfriend out of the blue shortly after enchanting it under the guidance of a guardian spirit and the archangel of Venus, and he checked off every single one.

I have also repeated this working for a friend, who met his now-wife the week after. They now have two children as well. 

I conjured a demon to bring me the monetary resources and personal connections to knowledgeable and powerful adepts of a particular tradition I knew was obscure and difficult to initiate into, whose personalities I would get along well with, respect, and genuinely care for. When the individuals were made known to me, I confirmed their validity with a corresponding angel. I have since then become close friends with these people and have learned secrets and ingress far beyond what I had initially even hoped for. 

An abusive landlord was trying to evict a friend of mine who lives in Nigeria. He had hired men to intimidate him and tried to bribe other individuals to testify against him as well. My friend asked me for help, and I began my court case work, targeting the judge, the landlord, the landlord’s lawyer, and my friend’s lawyer all separately. The landlord didn’t show up for all three court hearings, his own lawyer began to give advice to my friend and advocate on his behalf, the hired thugs disappeared, and the case was decided massively in my friend’s favor. 

I personally do a lot of weather magic, which is a really easy way to test for results. I check to see report so I know what’s likely to happen, and then do something radically different. Pulling hail in the summer, sudden rain, precise winds up to a desired strength, etc. are all possibilities to practice with. 

There are a lot of asks floating around this blog that essentially repeat the same question: what is the most powerful spell for X goal? I would offer that it is more helpful to consider operative magic along a spectrum of factors far beyond recipes. The actual structure and technique of the ritual is one aspect, but so is the divination done prior to working magic to see potential outcomes and how they would change if you adapted the spell differently; which targets you focus on and how (who do you charm, who do you curse, who do you bless, what do you do to which area first and in which order?); the physical links you have (hair, nails, spit, etc.); and most importantly the relationship you have with the spirits you are relying on. 

If a stranger asks me for $500 on the street, I’m not going to give it to them. But if my best friend did, I happily would. Look at who you already have relationships with and ask them - if you needed to manifest this result, how would you do it? I would caution anyone from shopping around for different spirits for every single ritual, and similarly to not over-assign roles to spirits. You can conjure for money using every single planet, not just Jupiter. Sol can make you outshine all your competitors for the job, garbing you in brilliance so bright only you remain visible in the eyes of those who have the power to award you what you seek. Venus can sweeten all parties to your favor, while Mars grants you victory and expels all opponents. Absolutely do explore other spirits and powers you’re interested in cultivating working relationships with, but do not forget how nuanced and deep your existing alliances go. Always divine on what you are missing, what information you need that you lack, how your working would be improved upon, etc. Where is there room for what you are looking for? Oftentimes I’ve enchanted directly for the financial success and prosperity of my bosses and academic advisers, so that the new money and grants they received would both relieve them of stress (making them more useful for me in the long run) and have more resources immediately on hand to pass on to me in the form of raises, new opportunities, projects, travel funding, and so on. 

Now with that out of the way (and I’m aware I’m giving way more than what the OP was asking for, but I do hope it will be helpful for people!) - there’s an implication in questions like these that relates to more than just verifying spells, but rather about proving that magic itself is real and tangible. I would offer that the possibilities of spirit contact described in both literary grimoire magic and among traditional oral lineages of witchcraft and sorcery are most definitely not being exaggerated in their testimonies. What follows are examples I have either personally seen or facilitated through conjuration:

A spirit manifesting visibly so that everyone in the room could see and hear it. It could also catch objects thrown at it and suspend them in the air plainly for all to see. 

A spirit physically manifesting an object from thin air that I to this day keep as a powerful amulet. It can move on its own and never rusts or tarnishes. 

A spirit manifesting to fill the sky with its body, with numerous witnesses who did not believe in any kind of non-physical entities witnessing it. 

Spirits manifesting as physical, concrete shadows that could be picked up with the hands and manipulated plainly for all to see. 

Within the context of mounting/spirit possession in ATRs, mounts (or horses, aka possessed persons) when incorporated with spirits have: spoken languages fluently they have no knowledge of but which the spirit speaks; been cut with knives/stabbed/had their hands placed in boiling oil/hot peppers rubbed on their orfices and so on without any injury, pain, or wounds/blood; defied gravity; suddenly healed major diseases and illnesses; caused all the animals in the room to die suddenly at the same time upon possession, physically transformed in skin and eye color; and more.

Not every working requires physical spirit manifestation. Not every magical goal requires the same amount of effort. But it is always possible to push deeper, as we are inclined to do. For as occultists, we pursue the hidden, especially what is hidden from us, no matter how practiced we are. That hunger for knowledge and ingress into the unknown defines magicians of all skill levels. Whether you end up initiating into a living tradition or working a grimoire that promises visible spirit manifestation by the book, there are myriad ways of discovering just how viscerally tangible and “real” magic is for yourself, if you’re willing to put in the time and exercise the diligence and cunning for it. 

- Mod D

[thewellzine]

High Fidelity, Racial Ambiguity, and the Myth of Universality in Film and Television

By Amber Delgado 

I rarely binge watch television shows, I try my hardest to avoid it. I go to the movie theater pretty regularly—the ease of entering a specific viewing space to consume a story where I know I’ll receive a beginning, middle, and end typically within a two- and half-hour time span (to include trailers) is efficient for my busy millennial lifestyle. With the advancement of streaming services within the past decade, television series are getting better, more “diverse,” more abundant, and simultaneously longer in episode length and shorter in number of episodes within a series. I avoid binge watching for two reasons, the first being due to the capitalist society I’ve been brought up in; it makes me feel like a lazy, worthless blob of a human being to have sat or laid still for hours on end looking at a screen. How dare I spend that much time being unproductive? The second is that these shows, the good ones at least, are so damn tempting to binge they practically require it. The next episode button counting down in the right-hand corner basically taunting you as the music of the quick credits plays in the background. A black screen with white text pops up and you’re stuck with that immediacy to decide: should I continue being a worthless blob or finally go to the gym? Because I can at times have an addictive personality, I always go in for the kill when I occasionally find a show that I enjoy.

I hadn’t heard much about the new Hulu adaptation of High Fidelity starring Zoe Kravitz until about a week ago, through Instagram. I believe someone I follow shared in their Instagram story a promotional photo that Zoe Kravitz took for the show. Due to my years long crush on Zoe, I looked further into what exactly this show was about. I had never heard or seen the original film High Fidelity, adapted from the novel by Nick Hornby. So I was interested to check it out, and on Saturday night after returning from the gym and starting some laundry, I decided to attempt to watch only a couple of episodes.

In the opening scene of the first episode Zoe Kravit’s’ character Rob, is breaking the fourth wall in tears about the breakup with her boyfriend Mac. It really draws you in. (I personally haven’t seen much Zoe Kravitz has acted in. I’m aware of her most recent role in Big Little Lies, but was never too interested in giving that a watch; take that with a grain of salt because again, I’m not watching much television generally compared to the average person). The acting in this scene, and also how stunning Kravitz is, instantly pulls you into the series. Rob replaces the main character played by John Cusack in the original film adaptation. While I was watching the show, I found myself Googling more about both the novel and the film, and scanning reviews for more context regarding the show.

Little to no surprise, I read multiple headlines claiming how groundbreaking it is to have Zoe Kravitz replacing a white male lead. What was surprising for me however, is how in the ten episodes, the character Rob—played by Kravitz, a Black woman—rarely acknowledges her identity and rarely has dialogue with other characters in the show. I enjoyed High Fidelity for its incredible costume design; lighthearted moments; the comedic champion who carries the show, breakthrough actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph (who has one of my favorite character introductions in television history);and its nostalgic and fun soundtrack. Where the series falls flat for me is unfortunately through the writing of the main character, Rob. I want so badly to like her and root for her; I see a lot myself in how she shows up (or doesn’t) in relationships. I enjoy newer series giving complexity to female leads in terms of romantic relationships. Being shown the representation that women don’t always have their shit together, we can be confused, we can seek multiple partners, we can hurt people and don’t always conform to the predetermined, hetero-patriarchal assignment of care-giving nurturers, we can crave sexual relationships and pleasure without seeking long term commitments.

This review is me wading through something I’ve constantly been thinking about. A couple of months ago, while having a conversation with a friend of mine who is a cis-het white filmmaker, we discussed him writing in characters that are people of color within his scripts. And got into disagreement about representational writing and universality. He was arguing that there are certain stories and emotions that transcend race and identity. And also, that not all television and film consisting of Black and Brown characters have to directly be attached to their identity, they can just be “everyday people with everyday stories doing ordinary things.” This is what the writing of High Fidelity feels like to me. I suspect a predominately white writers’ room casting a Black woman lead character in replace of this story about a white man who owns a used record store.

My discomfort around Rob’s character are in the writing; I’m not arguing for a monolithic representation of Blackness and Black womanhood or a script that consistently states that Kravitz is a Black woman. I don’t think that Rob isn’t written “Black” enough for me to enjoy. Moreover, I feel when Black characters in television and film are written through the lens of universality, so much context of living life as a Black person is lost. That type of representation is one we cannot afford to lay to rest when Black people can never “put down” their Blackness and while white supremacy remains entrenched within the foundation this country was built upon. White people need to understand that Blackness can never be detached from our everyday lives, both white people who are consuming media and culture and those creating it who want to have a fun diversity party.

The myth of universality serves white supremacy, white people having the historical advantage of defining rules and building institutions. I can’t help but associate a yearning for universality with objectivity. The argument of make this “neutral enough so everyone can enjoy it” undeniably has historically served and prioritized whiteness. This always brings me back to the amazing Toni Morrison quote which I feel directly addresses the myth of universality:

“I never asked Tolstoy to write for me, a little colored girl in Lorain, Ohio. I never asked [James] Joyce not to mention Catholicism or the world of Dublin. Never. And I don't know why I should be asked to explain your life to you. We have splendid writers to do that, but I am not one of them. It is that business of being universal, a word hopelessly stripped of meaning for me. Faulkner wrote what I suppose could be called regional literature and had it published all over the world. That's what I wish to do. If I tried to write a universal novel, it would be water. Behind this question is the suggestion that to write for black people is somehow to diminish the writing. From my perspective there are only black people. When I say 'people,' that's what I mean.”

Rob lives in Crown Heights in Brooklyn, and a majority of people she dates and hangs out with are white people, with the exception of her brother and her co-worker and friend, Cherise, who she seems to have a complicated relationship with. I think this show is able to literally write off Rob’s Blackness, due to Zoe Kravitz being a lighter skinned, almost racially ambiguous Black person…which has long been in discussion within how Black people are represented in media. Major production houses and casting companies are most comfortable seeking Black actors who confirm the loose curl pattern, light skin preference. Even Zendaya has acknowledged her awareness of her career being due to how she looks, and how she looks being preferred by the industry. What does it say that in the year 2020 we have the nerve to celebrate representation when so many of the Black actors getting work have all these same physical attributes? Where is the diversity, really?

Lastly, like in the film and the book, Rob goes through her top five worst breakups of all time, and seeks to contact them as a means for understanding why her relationships are failing. As she goes through this list, four out of five partners are white people. I myself, being biracial and growing up middle class, understand firsthand how their specific experiences can lead to a Black person ending up in predominately white spaces. However, these contexts are never presented for Rob in the story of her character; the series treats, as natural, that a Black woman just happens to have always had a bunch of white people in her life…and that needs no explanation as to how? This is particularly hard to take in throughout the series as she consistently disrespects, undermines, and ignores her only Black woman friend and employee, Cherise. At times, outside of her Black most recent ex-boyfriend, Mac, I questioned if Rob really cared to have any Black people in her life, which wouldn’t be difficult to do living in New York City. Why were the writers content with making those decisions? It was enough to have a Black woman lead and one Black supporting character—the diversity box is checked and then the rest of this cast can be mostly white.

Rob feels so flat to me; there was potential in this remake but it feels the writers were striving for the clout of having a Black female lead without actually writing a Black female lead. I’ve also had a similar feeling about the 2019 film Waves, starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. and directed and written by a white man. When watching the trailer for Waves, I felt like I had no idea what it was about, and after a Google search and seeing that the film was written and directed by a white man with a predominately Black cast, I instantly lost interest. I did follow through on seeing it out of curiosity, and for me it was my least favorite film of 2019.

At this point, I’m sure you’re asking yourself, especially if you’re a white person, “So what, white people can’t write in characters they don’t have a lived experience of? Isn’t that art? Can’t I be free to make whatever I want?” White people don’t need my approval to create, or much less do anything. White people have been doing whatever they want to since the beginning of this land mass (see colonialism). What I am saying through this review, is that if you expect a hoorah for your forced universalism via pre-approved Black and Brown bodies that you call diversity, we’re gonna continue to see right through that. So hire some Black and Brown writers, there’s plenty out there.

[worbiestuff]

TIPS ON PHOTOGRAPHY

Hey guys, back once again over the weekend I had another photography assignment and I’m glad to share with you all.

I was supposed to watch some YouTube videos and make notes of all I learnt. As I made notes, I was to cast my mind to my surrounding and begin to see how objects will look beside others as in size, colour, feelings, etc. and describe how I understand seeing especially in the artistic sense I was also to describe the various elements of art and use my camera to make images that will be interesting and worthy of an exhibition. I was asked to make 2 interesting images per element and organize the images under their respective headings and describe how I made it.

Let’s dive straight in!

      Photography is not just a technical exercise, but an art, application and practice of creating durable images by recording light. Owning a camera doesn’t make you a good photographer and at the end of the day, it still narrows down to being an art. Dorothea Lange said that a “camera is a tool for learning to see without a camera”. Having the camera doesn’t necessarily mean you automatically get to see great subjects and shoot “OMG’ (oh my god) pictures. It requires perfection through a lot of practical work or knowledge, personal skills and creativity-which is best described as a combination of inventiveness, imagination, inspiration and perception. Bryan Peterson also explained that to advance your personal vision, you must really practice.

We have to learn to see what is around us so we can express it in artistic ways. We’ve to train our minds to see something new and different even at places we’ve been before or things we’ve seen before. As Ernst Haas said- “I am not interested in shooting new things, I am interested in to see things new”. This short statement makes a lot of sense. We’ve to be interested in training our minds to see things in a way that people think is abnormal, in a way that even when we are paired with people in the same geographical area, we take “fire” pictures that will make or partners wonder; wow, how come I didn’t think of that or see that?

Recognizing good light is all photography is about. Hence the meaning of photography being light writing. Sometimes we just have to recognize how a particular light, either natural or artificial, controlled or spontaneous falls on a building or hits city to be able to get a good shot. We can’t get good images by riding with the bus every day or requesting an Uber everywhere we go, sometimes we need to take the risk and walk, even if not with the mindset of getting a few things photographed but just to interact with nature, and we’ll be surprised that we’ll end up taking much more photographs than we planned on doing.

Photography is not about the content of the photograph or picture, but about the compositional arrangement. Composition can be described as the arrangements of elements used. It means paying attention to what will be photographed, how it is placed in relationship to other objects in the image and how well the subject matter is expressed.

Elements of design should be your foundation for how to learn to see. They include;

·         Line

·         Colour

·         Value

·         Shape

·         Form and

·         Texture.

   SEEING ESPECIALLY IN ARTISTIC SENSE.

Seeing in artistic sense means a lot to me. Seeing artistically, to me means that when I look at something, I don’t just simply look at it, I don’t just look, I look and ‘see’. I try to make a connection between stuff and elements that look or seem unconnected. It is how I look beyond ordinary objects and just using what I already know to create something new. More like using a ‘third’ eye. Seeing artistically to me means that going somewhere people will think is abnormal just to create new photographs or trying out new things people might see to be weird.

 ELEMENTS OF ART

As mentioned earlier, the elements of art should be the foundation on how to see. It is simply referred to as the building blocks of art. They include line, shape, form, texture, colour and value.

 ·         Line: a line is referred to as a mark with length ad direction. There are various types of lines and they have been listed and explained below.

--Line variation: this means using a variety of thin and thick lines or varying the weight of a single line to create interest.

--Contour lines: contour lines are lines that follow the outer edges of an object, like an outline.

--Blind contour: drawing contour lines without looking at the paper and even though they may look kind of humorous or funny, the drawings actually turn out to be someway somewhat artistically interesting.

·         Value: this refers to the relative lightness or darkness of an object.

·         Color: we all know that light source is needed to see colour. Basically, colour is seen by reflecting light on an object.

--Hue: hue refers to the name of a colour; red, yellow, green, black, etc.

--Intensity: the brightness or dullness of a colour is referred to as intensity.

·         Space: the area around, above or inside an object is referred to as space. There are two types of space

--space that involves depth.

--space that involves the shape of area.

Shallow space

This is space that feels cringed, feels flat. There is not much depth in the artwork. Objects are close together without much room to move around.

Deep space

With deep space, there is a lot of depth in the artwork. Objects tend to disappear far in the distance.

Positive space

This refers to the areas of focus or the most important parts of an artwork.

Negative space

This is the space around areas of focus-usually the background of an artwork.

·         Shape and Form:

--Shapes are two dimensional, having height and width.

-- Forms are three dimensional or have three dimensions, height, width and depth.

Geometric shapes

These are mathematical lines or shapes or forma often with hard, sharp edges. Circles and spheres are exceptions.

Organic shapes

These are natural or free form shapes, lines or forms often with curvy, soft edges.

·         Texture: the texture of something or texture refers to how the object appears to feel. There are two types of textures;

--Actual texture: this refers to texture you can actually feel. With this type of texture, If the object looks rough, it feels rough too.

--Visual texture: this kind of texture refers to texture you can see but not feel. It I also known as implied texture. With this type of texture, the object might appear rough but smooth to touch.

PICTURES DEPICTING THE VARIOUS FORMS OF ELEMENTS OF ART

 LINE

Figure 1

I find this picture depicting or showing lines because of the various kinds of lines that can be identified in it. The tree or bush has some kind of thin and thick lines in there, we can also see spiral lines from the razor wire that has gotten entangled with the bush. This is a picture I took on my way to buy porridge on Friday morning at around 6:30 am with my iPhone 6s back camera, 4.15mm with a shutter speed of 1/340 sec, aperture, f/2.2 and ISO 25. I edited this picture using Lightroom.

FIGURE 2

This is also another photograph that depicts line. There are horizontal and vertical lines that can be seen in the above photograph and these are forms of lines. I found this old racket in the store room at home and decided to take a picture of it with my iPhone 6s back camera, with a shutter speed of 1/3700sec, aperture being, f/2.2 and ISO 25. I edited the picture with Lightroom.

 COLOUR

FIGURE 3

I ordered these mini cakes from Chafty Catering and decided to take this picture, not for any reasonable purpose but just because of how the colours looked so vibrant and appetizing.

The above picture is ideal to depict colour because so many different colours can be identified from the above picture. We’ve the colour of the mini cakes being brown, the marshmallows white, the skittles which come in different colours like red, blue etc. captured this image with my very own IPhone 6s back camera, with shutter speed being 1/300 sec, aperture, f/2.2 and ISO 25, also edited with lightroom.

FIGURE 4

This is a picture of a tree right opposite my house, as to say my neighbor’s house. I took this picture because personally I love nature, and I also was in love with how the sun hit the tree for it to bring out its colours. The way the rays passes through the ple wires is another besuty to behold, but that is just a plus, not where the attention actually is. This picture depicts colour in the sense that, we’ve the colours of the flowers being a shade of pink which is known as ‘fuchsia’ and we’ve some kind of off-white or creamy colour and we also have green, for the leaves of the plant! We’ve the pole wires to be black, and the blue skies, we’ve the clouds being white too. In all, we have about 6 colours in the photograph. This also was captured with my iPhone 6s camera, with shutter speed 1/190000sec, aperture being f/2.2 and ISO 25 and edited with Lightroom.

VALUE

FIGURE 5

This is a picture of a tomato I took straight out of the refrigerator and put on a yellow chopping board directly under the sun. I chose to use this photograph for the depiction of value because we all know the definition of value to be how bright or dark an object is. Again, we all know red and yellow to be very bright and loud colours, hence, using it to depict value makes a lot of sense. This picture too was captured by my IPhone 6s back camera with a shutter speed of 1/13500 sec, aperture being f/2.2 and ISO 25, edited with Lightroom.

FIGURE 6

This is a picture of the same racket I found in my store room, but this time held towards the sun. I chose to use this picture to depict value because a part of the image depicts a bright side, thus, the sun and another side depicts a darker side. Per the explanation of the element of art; value, this picture is ideal. This picture was also taken with my IPhone 6s camera, with shutter speed being 1/26000 sec, aperture, f/2.2 and ISO 25, also edited with lightroom.

TEXTURE

FIGURE 7

I decided to take a picture of my old purse and use it to depict texture. Texture refers to how an object appears to feel, and there are two types; actual and visual. This old purse can be used to depict visual because it appears to be rough when looked at but smooth when felt. This was also captured with my iPhone 6s, with a shutter speed of 1/4500 sec, aperture being f/2.2 and ISO 25. This was also edited using Lightroom.

 FIGURE 8

This is a picture of a terrazzo wall in my house. I took this picture to depict actual texture because my terrazzo wall looks rough from afar, and is rough when felt too. Captured this with my iPhone 6s. With aperture being 1/1100 sec, aperture, f/2.2 and ISO 25. I edited this with Lightroom.

SPACE

FIGURE 9

This is an image I captured on my first visit to new town with my mum, to buy some fresh fish. Accra New Town is a town in the Metropolitan district, a district of the Greater Accra region in Ghana. I took this picture with no motive but only because that was my first time visiting the place. I had never seen so many canoes in my life too, and that was another minor reason why I took the picture. I decided to use this picture I captured to depicted space (deep space) because the picture has a lot of depth and the objects, i.e. (the canoes, the fishermen and fishmongers) tend to disappear into the horizon. Same IPhone 6s for the picture, with shutter speed of 1/200 sec, aperture, f/2.2 and ISO 25 and edited using Lightroom.

FIGURE 10

This picture is a composition of a glass and an orange. This composition is intentional, I had the mindset of making or creating something that could depict shallow space. And I think it works. Shallow space refers to space that feels cringed or flat. If an artwork is shallow, it means there isn’t much space to move around, hence, objects are close together. In this composition, there isn’t much space to move around since the view ends right where the orange is. Any means of trying to look farther than the orange is not possible. This was taken with my iphone 6s. with shutter speed of 1/290 sec, aperture f/2.2 and ISO 25, also edited with Lightroom.

SHAPE AND FORM

FIGURE 11

These pigeon holes depict shape. Picking one of these pigeon holes, they are rectangular in shape and putting all of them together or picking them randomly, the still kind of form a shape. Taken with my iPhone 6s, with shutter speed being 1/2500 sec, aperture, f/2.2 and ISO 25. Edited using lightroom.

FIGURE 12

This is a picture of my portable Bluetooth speaker I use in school. I’m a music lover so I guess it makes a little bit of sense. Well, I photographed this mini speaker because I thought It would be ideal for a form, since forms are three dimensional; height, width and depth. I captured this image with my iPhone 6s again, with a shutter speed of 1/2100 sec, aperture, f /2.2 and ISO 25 and edited using Lightroom.

                                                                                                                                   DOREEN AKWORKOR WORBIE

                                                                                                                          PHOTOGRAPHY II

[noithattrieugia12-blog]

Faculties For Finding out Inside Planning

These days, creative professions have come to be very common. Younger persons prefer to gain cash not with their toughness and actual physical capabilities, not even with their mind, but creativeness. These times, younger men and women are very superior and currently prior to getting into senior secondary college they are comprehensive with ideas about their upcoming profession. Starting up to get the job done in the fields related with innovative techniques and new tendencies in modern society is the big goal of today's youth. It is a genuine issue of look at that uniqueness and creativeness are the most essential tools of results these days. Just about every human being possesses his or her possess resourceful probable, therefore, a person needs to produce these capabilities and expertise by mastering some new occupation or a course. The latter will not only advise a individual the area for contemplating and creativeness, but also creation one thing new and strange which has never ever been done by former generations. Moreover, these creative people are capable to develop a elementary starting off-place for foreseeable future generations. Listed here the freshness of a new technique is of good significance. It is broadly acknowledged that there are a lot of new fields and tendencies presently. Most of this kind of professions are really resourceful demanding a sober and exclusive creativity, for occasion, cinema acting, theatre performing, crafting, dancing, portray, crafts, radio jockeying, anchoring, trend coming up with, interior designing and so forth. There is no question, that all of these professions are greatly well known among the youthful men and women, but interior planning can be singled out because of to its uniqueness. This uniqueness is composed in the truth that it provides an opportunity to foreseeable future designers to rework the whole universe of their thoughts and wondering power into the object of artistic elegance. Only the noblest men and women are entitled to to have the career of an interior designer. It's in their power to adorn one's property that is considered to be 1 of the most precious properties in a person's daily life. It really is the spot a variety of individuals have already got employed to and it's designer's job to make it substantially far better than it was prior to. In purchase to develop into a good interior designer 1 has to be ready to satisfy the experienced demands of the business. Consequently, learners should really educate their doing work benchmarks in particular faculties which have began courses in inside building. To enter these types of a higher education just one has to go an entrance check which is executed by the schools to test imaginative analytical capabilities, technological drawing, sketching abilities of the students. The apps to the interior planning schools can be designed by the university student only immediately after he has passed with his twelfth examinations. The duration of the course can vary from two to four many years, it is dependent on the picked out class and the institute from which the student is preparing to acquire his instruction. There are diverse schools delivering skilled courses in inside coming up with and you are welcome to make your have alternative. They are: > Attractive Skilled College, Phagwara > Academy of Art and Style, Maharashtra > Worldwide Academy of Vogue and Style, Chennai Architects may style different surroundings, for occasion, these creating the houses, places of work, resorts, malls, retail shops, film studios, cultural establishments (museums, theatres, cinemas), academic institutions (kindergartens, faculties, colleges, institutes, universities), sporting activities establishments (stadiums, sports palaces), dietary establishments (canteens, cafes, eating places), medical institutions (hospitals, wellness centres, preventoriums, polyclinics), public offices, experience spots, convention halls etc. No question, all of designers are often in desire to decorate their interiors as nicely as exteriors. After completing his diploma in inside designing a college student ought to start out his studying as the intern or trainee in some building household. It is in particular essential to do in the commencing of their career in buy to get an encounter essential in foreseeable future action. This will surely give a pupil this kind of an crucial original realistic expertise demanded to carry out in further more occupation. There are sure traits which an inside building university student will have to possess. Right here you will probably inquire - What are the Characteristics that Make a Great Inside Designer? They are as follows: - Every single upcoming inside decorator should really be able to read through the thoughts of the consumer and complete the styles according to the wishes of the purchaser. Incredibly typically a human being is not pretty sure what he or she needs to have in his or her dwelling.   In the event you beloved this information in addition to you wish to be given more information regarding thiết kế nội thất i implore you to go to our web-page. In this circumstance a excellent designer need to have a ability to feel the client's likes and dislikes in order to meet his interests. - A awesome Interior designer really should continue to keep himself up to date with the hottest tendencies in the style and new developments as properly as innovation in the environment of developing in typical. In purchase to get new details about progress in the environment of design and style, a designer should really go to new structure homes, talk with more expert inside designers, seem through style websites etc. - A best interior decorator should be incredibly inventive and imaginative, it implies he need to be capable to apply some new ideas for each and every new task. There are numerous inside designers who abide by the standard procedures of design and style in which there are good plenty of simply because they have often practiced them. No doubt, that this kind of designers are not lousy at all, but on the other hand, they are not able to advise the consumer something clean and one of a kind. Hence, their operates turn into additional and a lot more monotonous and the development of a designer, as a specialist, stops on this stage. Other than, they can't carry excitement in the world of structure. So, an inside designer have to be creative not only for the sake of his clients, but also in get to refresh the interior design in basic. - The following point also issues the pursuits of the buyer. A designer ought to be equipped to manage the layout in accordance with the funds and economical position of the purchaser. Just about every new client involves his individual method and his needs do not always coincide with his material alternatives. In this case a excellent designer ought to be instead tactic to recommend his consumer anything identical but for lessen value. - A great inside designer need to possess a superior perception of texture and colour combos, as effectively as do the job on strengthening his understanding of distinct classifications of interiors. Besides, he really should be capable to determine what type of layout could be ideal for this or that room. - It would be preferable for the designs developed by the inside designer to be a lot more than the phrase satisfactory for the purchaser. It is required for more cooperation not only with that purchaser, but also with those who will probably come to you after looking at your terrific design made in the residence of your preceding buyer, for instance. Aside from, this will assure your regularity with the firm you do the job in. - A designer should really have an means to cope with pressure and challenges which can appear during his activity. Possessing a difficulty a person shouldn't basically shudder at the imagined of attainable even larger difficulties, but serious inside designers get the challenges by the horn, get things below management, and even if a issue occurs, they test to fix it. Complications of interior designers could include the adhering to: acquiring a structure that their clients will hopefully like, assembly the interests of both equally clientele and making code, having to deal with difficult and inadequate consumers most of the time, handling various assignments all at the same time, etc.  

[templeofulchtar]

Ghost Season Working Part 5/7

He’s called the Planet of No Fun for a reason...

Confronting Unicron

“By Saturn they seek to represent that power which maintains the cyclic course of times and seasons. This is the sense that the Greek name of that god bears, for he is called Kronos, which is the same as Chronos or Time. Saturn for his part got his name because he was ‘sated’ with years; the story that he regularly devoured his own children is explained by the fact that time devours the courses of the seasons, and gorges itself ‘insatiably’ on the years that are past. Saturn was enchained by Jupiter to ensure that his circuits did not get out of control, and to constrain him with the bonds of the stars.”

- Quintus Lucilius Balbus as recorded by Marcus Tullius Cicero and translated by P.G. Walsh, De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods), Book II, Part ii, Section c

"Where there's a curse on the door, there's treasure on the other side." - Starscream

Welcome to the opening ritual of the Ghost Season Working! 

In this rite you, the Seeker, will take on Starscream’s role in confronting Unicron, the Devourer of Worlds. Why would you do that? Well, Starscream’s purpose was very straightforward indeed:

“I want my old body back! So let’s make a deal.”

Unicron’s reply to this was:

“Yes. Unicron can grant your request. But only after you have performed three labors.”

I’m guessing your purpose won’t be quite the same as Starscream’s, but the same principle applies. That’s because Unicron, in this ritual, represents the energy of Saturn. Unicron’s character designer literally modeled him after the planet Saturn which, as you probably know, was named after the ancient Roman deity of the same name. You may also know that Saturn is associated with Cronus, the Greek god of time. (Unicron, Cronus. Get it?)

Saturn, or Cronus, governs matters relating to:

♄ Cycles ♄ Time ♄ Contracts ♄ Commitments ♄ Matter and the material world ♄ Death ♄ Dissolution ♄ Setting limits and boundaries ♄ Pushing things to mature ♄ Discipline ♄ Structure and form ♄ Hard Work

Saturn gets a bad rap. He’s kind of like the Devil and the Grim Reaper rolled into one, and has a (somewhat deserved) reputation as the Planet of No Fun. His energy, however, is also useful and necessary.

Think about it: If you want to bring something into material form, you need to define your goal, commit time to it, work hard, exercise self-discipline, and engage in the necessary destruction of anything (bad habits, say) that stands in your way.

In this ritual you will engage Unicron’s Saturnian energy, commit to your goal and the Labors necessary to achieve it, and at the same time, commit to the necessary sacrifices you will have to make in order to bring your goal into being.

This ritual can be done in solitary, or with a ritual partner. If you partner with someone else who is also performing the Ghost Season Working, you can do it twice, switching roles so that you each have a chance to be both Starscream and Unicron.

Preparation

You will need:

★ your journal

★ a few sheets of loose paper

★ a pen

If desired, you may also include:

★ a set of devil-horns

★ a black candle inscribed with Saturn’s symbol: ♄

★ a mirror

Choose Your Labors

Before you begin the ritual, take time to write your goal or intention in your journal. Then consider what needs to happen in order to bring that intention into being. What tasks, or Labors, must you complete in order to have what you desire? The Labors you choose should be somewhat challenging, but not so much that you feel you can’t do them. The exact nature of your Labors will vary according to the nature of your goal, but I would suggest coming up with Labors that are:

a). Concrete and measurable, even if your goal is is subjective;

b). Based on participation rather than performance;

c). Controllable by you.

For example, let’s say you’re a visual artist and your Ghost Season intention is to develop your art skills. Good Labors for this would be:

★ Set a time to draw each day ★ Do a sketch per day ★ Fill a sketchbook page every day ★ Attend a life-drawing class each week for the duration of Ghost Season ★ Sign up for an art class ★ Work your way through a book of drawing exercises as if it was a course

All of these are participation-based, all are measurable, and all are under your personal control. Did you show up for life-drawing class? Did you fill a page in your sketchbook? These are yes or no questions, and you can check them off on your to-do list as concrete action items. That makes them perfect as Labors.

Whether or not you produced a world-changing masterpiece is a subjective call, but what isn’t up for debate is the fact that your sketchbook is now 63 pages fatter than it was at the start of Ghost Season. Chances are, you’re a better artist because of it.

The same principle can be applied to even more subjective goals, such as working through an emotional issue. You can create a Labor of meditating each day, writing in your journal each day, setting up a shrine or altar to honor your ancestors or a departed loved one, or signing up for a boxing class to help you channel anger productively.

How many Labors should you have? Unicron assigned Starscream three Labors in order to regain his body. I would suggest that three should be your maximum number of Labors. If you’d rather stick with one or two, that’s completely fine.

Once you’ve chosen your Labors, write them down in your journal.

One final note about Labors: 

I suggested performing the Greeting the Seeker ritual before doing this step because once you’ve established a working relationship with Starscream, he will be able to assist you in choosing the best Labors for your goal. He supports ambitious people, and I’ve always found his guidance to be both helpful and reliable. Give it a try! You may surprise yourself.

Sacrifices

Every goal requires some form of sacrifice. At minimum, you will need time to perform your Labors, which might mean setting aside other activities, at least temporarily. Other forms of sacrifice might include self-defeating fears, habits or beliefs.

For example, I’ve recently come to the realization that I feel guilty about writing. I love to write and I would love to do it for a living, but my guilt over “wasting time” on a pursuit that our culture regards as valuable only if it makes a ton of money (hello, J. K. Rowling) trips me up every time. Is that guilt getting sacrificed this year? You know it.

Take your time with this. You might want to freewrite, noting down anything that comes up as an obstacle to achieving your goal. Once you feel you’ve gotten it all out on the page, you can turn it into a list of “sacrifices.”

Write this list on one of your loose sheets of paper, and set it aside.

Rewards

Now begin a second list, under the title of “Rewards.” Write down the ways in which your life will be better once you’ve achieved your goals. Starscream regained his physical body and got a new lease on life. What will you gain, and how will you reward yourself?

Think of Starscream’s coronation. How would you want to celebrate your win? With music? Special food? Shiny objects? A fashion statement, such as that purple cape? Or just a hot bath, or a Netflix marathon? Think about what would feel rewarding, and plan for it. Hang on to this list. We’ll come back to it at the end of Ghost Season, when your Labors are complete.

You are now ready to Confront Unicron!

Ritual: Confronting Unicron

Do this ritual either on August 22 or the nearest date that works for you, preferably a Saturday (Saturn’s Day).

OPTION ONE: If performing as a Solitary (with props)

Pick a time when you won’t be interrupted. Light your black candle and sit in a mostly darkened room facing your mirror. There should be just enough light for you to read by, and to see your reflection. If you have a pair of devil horns, you can wear them so that your reflection becomes the image of Unicron. Otherwise, just use your imagination.

If you like, you can read the dialogue aloud. You can read Unicron’s dialogue (in a suitably sepulchral voice, of course), and read Starscream’s role either using a voice similar to his, using his name, or you can just speak in your own natural voice, using your own name. Do whichever feels best.

UNICRON

“I am Unicron. Who awakens me?”

STARSCREAM

“Unicron, allow me to introduce myself. I am Starscream.” [Or your own name]

UNICRON

“What do you wish from Unicron?”

STARSCREAM

“I want [explain your goal]. So, let’s make a deal.”

UNICRON

“Yes. Unicron can grant your request. But only after you have performed the necessary Labors. Which labors have you selected?”

STARSCREAM

“I will [and name your labors].”

UNICRON

“These labors are acceptable to Unicron. When will you complete them?”

STARSCREAM

“By the end of nine weeks, on October 23rd.”

UNICRON

“And what sacrifices will you make?”

STARSCREAM

“I will sacrifice [and read your list of sacrifices].”

UNICRON

“These sacrifices are acceptable to Unicron. The contract is made. See that you make it so.”

Fold your list of sacrifices three times, turning it counter-clockwise each time you fold it. Three is the number sacred to Saturn, and the counter-clockwise direction indicates that you are ‘banishing’ these sacrificial items or activities for the duration of Ghost Season. Do not destroy the list; simply put it away somewhere. (I use my sock drawer, but your mileage may vary.)

Now, sit quietly. If you wish, turn the lights on and write down anything that came up for you during the ritual. Begin planning your labors. How will you implement them, starting tomorrow? Write it down, make a plan. Your work has just begun.

OPTION TWO: If performing as a Solitary (without props)

Pick a time when you won’t be interrupted. Open your journal to a fresh page and sit quietly, breathing deeply to bring yourself into a meditative state.

At the top of the page, draw the Saturn symbol: ♄

Then begin writing out the conversation above. Try to do so in character, imagining Unicron’s voice, and Starscream’s (or, if you’re using your own name, simply your own voice).

When done, fold your list of sacrifices three times, turning it counter-clockwise each time you fold it. Put the list away somewhere safe, for the duration of Ghost Season. Now, if you wish, write down anything that came up for you during the ritual. Begin planning your labors. How will you implement them, starting tomorrow? Write it down, make a plan. Your work has just begun.

OPTION THREE: If performing with a partner

If you’re doing this with a ritual partner you can take turns, so that each of you gets to play both roles. Devil horns are optional, of course, but do have fun with the voices! It will make the experience richer if you let go of your inhibitions and aren’t afraid to look a bit silly.

When you are each done, fold your lists of sacrifices three times, turning them counter-clockwise each time you fold. Put your lists away somewhere safe for the duration of Ghost Season. Now, if you wish, chat with your ritual partner about anything that came up for you during the ritual.

Congratulations! Your Ghost Season journey has begun. But every journey needs rest-stops along the way, and this one is no different. Turn to the next post in the series to learn how to assess your progress.

[completeoveranalysis]

TRC Translation Notes Volume 15 (Chapters 109 - 116 + Omake)

Another installment of excellent translation notes from the wonderful @giniroangou, now fixing Acid Tokyo one chapter at a time. 

Highlights include: the return of gratuitous exclamation marks, when a basement isn’t a basement, Improved Kurofai scene (oh my lord, it’s so much clearer, I’m so thrilled), justice for Nataku, Yuuko prices making more sense, and Mokona being Mokona. 

Chapter 109

p.5 - “Strong” is the proper translation for Syaoran’s impression of Kamui, so I think this is just shounen manga nonsense, lol.

p.6 - The word translated as “game” here is just a katakana “e” (エ, pronounced “eh”.) It’s a made-up term and the lack of kanji strips it of all meaning until the manga gives us a bit more information, which I’ll elaborate on once we get there.

p.9 - I’m finding it hilarious now that “e” was translated but “ku” wasn’t, oh my god why. “Ku” is the word for a district or a ward.

p.23 - Since you were using these (understandably) as a basis for characterization, there are actually no exclamation points involved in any of the dialogue on this page. There are a couple sentences ending in “yo” so that comes close I guess but IDK, the gratuitous exclamation points in this translation are always going to bug me.

Chapter 110

p.40 - Fuuma’s “It looks like you don’t want to listen to reason,” was originally, “It looks like you’re not in the mood to hear me out,” which I feel makes a bit more sense.

Chapter 111

Cover Page - “The Capital of Water” is the original title of this chapter.

p.51 - Font note: Kakyo’s lines are not italicized in the Japanese version, but they’re bold and written in a slightly fancier font. Kusanagi’s on the next page are just bold.

p.52 - It might just be me, but the use of “basement” feels a bit odd here - the original word used is “chika” (地下), which can be used to refer to a basement, but also any other underground place - it literally just means “underground.”

p.56 - Fai’s translated line about Syaoran having been through some tough times sounds hilariously vague. In the original line he points out that it would be difficult for Syaoran to carry on like this (ie with an arrow sticking out of his leg.)

p.62-63 - The thread of this conversation gets a little lost in the translation. The point of it is, having an underground vein of water alone isn’t enough to save people here, given that the acid rain can penetrate the earth, so the reason why their water is so precious is because it’s beneath a building that’s relatively intact.

Chapter 112

p.73 - When Kurogane says that Fai’s reason for running is none of his business, he says “Ore ni wa kankei nee” (俺には関係ねぇ), which we’ll see repeated later in this scene. More literally this means, “It has nothing to do with me,” or to capture the full versatility of the phrase, “It doesn’t matter to me.” There’s the potential for this line to put distance between Kurogane and Fai, as the initial “none of my business” seems to do and as Fai first interprets it, but there’s also the potential for it to mean that Fai’s past is irrelevant to Kurogane’s current relationship with and perception of him.

p.74 - The phrase “Just now” in the translation was originally “ima no omae,” which is a bit awkward to convert to English but essentially means “the present you” or “the person you are now.” Kurogane is separating Fai’s more guarded past self from his current incarnation who shows genuine care for Sakura and Syoaran.

p.75 - The exception to Fai’s “not dying” rule isn’t dying for someone else, but dying because of someone else. Fai references their conversation in Koryo, but Kurogane shifts more towards their conversation in Outo, which was about Fai not valuing his life.

p.77 - The word that’s been translated as “unhappy” is “fukou” (不幸), which can mean unhappiness but also misfortune in a general sense. Basically Fai doesn’t want bad things to happen to anyone because of his involvement with them.

p.80 - In the Japanese text it’s a lot clearer that Kurogane isn’t really hurting Fai here (or at least that his protest isn’t genuine) - the ending of Fai’s “That hurts” is dragged out into the tone he uses when he’s saying something jokingly. Once again, this seems to be an unsuccessful attempt to distract from their conversation and lighten the mood. It’s quite likely that he’s trying to make Kurogane let go, but I don’t think pain is the reason.

The distinction I made earlier about “It doesn’t matter to me” comes into play here again. There’s a bit of a different ring to “Your past doesn’t matter to me” vs “Your past is no business of mine.” I think it’s also important to note that Fai’s shift from dismissive to shocked here is in response to Kurogane’s adjusted wording - he’s making sure Fai understands that in saying “It doesn’t matter,” he’s not saying that Fai himself doesn’t matter, but that it’s his past specifically and his past alone. Fai thought Kurogane was drawing a line between the two of them, when he was really drawing a line between Fai’s past and current lives.

p.81 - This is a VERY IMPORTANT line that will come up later, and I’m not sure how they handle that with this translation, but what Kurogane is actually saying here is more like, “Cut this shit out and resign yourself to who you are now.” The phrase he uses - a form of “hara wo kukuru” (腹を括る) - indicates steeling yourself to face something unpleasant; he recognizes how difficult this is for Fai, but still wants Fai to recognize how involved he’s become with their found family and accept that as his fate.

Chapter 113

p.98 - In the original text, Syaoran’s single-mindedness is on full display - he straight-up says he’s going because he might learn something about the feather instead of just treating it as an example.

p.99 - The phrase “don’t waste your strength” feels a bit off here - the sentiment should be more along the lines of “don’t push yourself.”

Kurogane literally finishes Fai’s sentence at the bottom of this page. The sentence order makes this very difficult to translate into English in a way that makes sense, but a direct translation would be (Fai) “That… Syaoran-kun…” (Kurogane) “It wasn’t.” forming the full sentence of, “That wasn’t Syaoran-kun.” Fai’s words appear to be hesitant with Kurogane confirming his suspicions, but the original scene gives a stronger sense of them being on the same page than the translation does.

Chapter 114

p.129 - Rest assured, Nataku’s gender identity is preserved in the original text. This is a common trend with CLAMP translations given the large number of characters confirmed or assumed to be non-binary, but often when you see a gendered pronoun in an English translation, there is no corresponding pronoun in the Japanese text. The Japanese language doesn’t require pronouns in many cases, and even when it does people often opt to use each other’s names instead. It’s a great language for non-binary folks, but this also means non-binary gender is very easy to miss unless there’s a point made of it in other dialogue. I assume most translators don’t really think much of assigning gendered pronouns that weren’t originally there simply because a lack of pronouns is so common in Japanese.

Chapter 115

p.139 - The wording in Kamui��s vow of protection reveals that he is protecting something living - he uses the word “iru” (居る) for living things rather than “aru” (有る) for inanimate objects.

p.141 - “I want/need to take it back” is a more appropriate translation for Syaoran’s lines here than “give it back.”

p.143 - Fai tells Mokona that just he and Syaoran will go on any future errands (the “or” was a mistranslation.) Basically he’s saying, “Don’t come with us next time,” in the nicest way possible.

Chapter 116

p.152 - We finally have a name for Xing-Huo! I can’t speak to the transliteration and Chinese meaning, but the exact katakana for her name’s pronunciation are “shin fo” (シンフォ) and it’s written with the kanji 星火, meaning “star” and “fire” respectively. (It looks like lots of great info already came out in the comments when you first read this chapter, but I’m keeping this here for completeness.)

p.153 - I would interpret Yuuko’s final line on this page as: “Those children, too, are like fragments of an unfulfilled dream.”

p.155 - The first price Yuuko lists, “Connections,” is “kankeisei” (関係性), the same word she used for Syaoran’s price at the beginning of the manga, translated at the time as “Your relationship.” This word can refer in a general sense to relations with others, hence the translation on this page, but in the Japanese version it’s a clear call-back to that earlier scene in which the word specifically indicated Syaoran’s relationship with Sakura.

p.156 - In case this needs clarification, when Yuuko says this is within the limits of her meddling, she means it falls within the extent that she’s able to interfere.

p.157 - Once again, “I have to give it back” should be, “I have to take it back.”

p.164 - For the curious, since this term shows up in various places, the word translated as “dream seer” is “yumemi” (夢見).

Omake

p.176 - Mokona saying she’s afraid of pork buns (“manjuu kowai”) is a reference to a well-known rakugo story in which a group of friends are sharing their fears and one of them admits with some embarrassment that he’s afraid of manjuu. His friends are so entertained by this that they decide to tease him by buying a whole bunch of manjuu and leaving them in his room. Though he vocally protests, his friends realize after a moment that he’s eating the manjuu. Acknowledging that they were tricked, they ask what he’s actually afraid of and he says, “Right now I’m scared of a cup of tea.” Aka Mokona is attempting to troll her family for food, in true Mokona style.

[bristolpusher-blog]

Rainbow Six: Siege and why I love it.

History of Siege:

Rainbow Six: Siege is a tactical FPS game developed and published by Ubisoft (more specifically Ubisoft Montreal) during December 1st. The game is currently approaching the end of its third year and has reached around 35,000,000 (35 million) players, but it didn't start this way.

Siege's official gameplay trailer was shown at E3 is vastly different to the game upon release. The game trailer shows tactical and long rounds requiring large amounts of communication with little room for error, stunning graphics and interactive animation between the hostage and other players. No operators were shown indicating that originaly everyone would be the games current operator "Recruit" but with their own special loadout and no abilities with customisation likely being very limited.

The trailer ends with a standoff between a defender and an attacker firing shots with no answer to who won the round (probably to show that both sides are infact balanced and have equal chance of winning). You could even take a helicopter landing onto the roof which is badass (And probably would've saved us from the spawn peak craze, but more on that later) but alas the game changed vastly at some point during production.

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(I can't really talk about the beta as not only do I think it's not really important to understanding the history of siege as it played almost identically to day one release but I also have never played the beta version of Siege, However I will link a video to a closed Alpha gameplay video)

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1st of December 2015: Rainbow Six: Siege is released to the world with 20 operators (and everyone's favourite: Recruit of course) these included: SAS: Thatcher, Sledge, Smoke, Mute. FBI: Ash, Thermite, Castle, Pulse. GIGN: Montange, Twitch, Rook, Doc Spetsnaz: Fuze, Glaz, Tachanka, Kapkan GSG9: IQ, Blitz, Jager, Bandit

Giving two from each to the attacks and defenders. (Attackers left, Defenders right) Your starting team depended on your colour. Orange was Defence and Blue was attack with the teams rotating roles each round while maintaining their colour.

But the operators were locked behind walls of money called Renown. Luckily however this didn't effect the game too hard as within literally one match you had your first operator in that division. But the prices rose if you wanted to buy an operator in the same grouping. So if I bought SAS Thatcher all SAS ops would be more expensive (Unless using R6 credits the in game paid currency). My first operator was GIGN Montange a shield operator and my last was GIGN Rook who ironically became my most played defender so I just wish I'd bought him earlier. Each operator has a unique ability which changes the playstyle with limited resources that cannot be reloaded even in the terrorist hunt game mode which gives you ammo boxes.

Here's a link to a video containing all operator guns, and abilities:

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A season pass system was also announced by Ubisoft the first being Operator Black ice giving us two Canadian operators: Frost and Buck and this is what I think makes Siege so unique from other tactical FPS. These operations unlocked cosmetic items, new weapon skins (Most noted is the black ice renowned for being the best skin in the game) here's a list by Ubisoft of all rewards for the pass.

The JTF-2 operators, Frost and Buck, the Navy SEALs operators, Valkyrie and Blackbeard, the BOPE operators, Caveira and Capitão, and the SAT operators, Echo and Hibana. 600 R6 credits, R6 icon charm, premium pass until December 1st 2016. However these operators were available to everybody if they purchased them with free renown they got from playing matches (Around 150 if you lose and around 300 if you win) these operators cost a large amount but its not impossible as I did it myself to unlock Capitao.

In July 2017 Alpha packs were introduced. These unlocked through a sort of roulette wheel at the end of a winning game. The pack (if landed on a white bar you built up by playing games) contained cosmetic headgear and weapon skins until this season where Jager received a legendary uniform in Legendary Alpha packs. These packs are blind luck and you never know what they contain until you open them. If you have the season pass the pack percentage gets a 0.30% boost and when losing it goes up by 1.5% and when winning 3%. (Of course not including the additional bonus for season passes) these can be bought for varying amounts if Renown

These season passes continue until this day with free content such as maps, cosmetics and operators being released. (8 a year) As of writing this Grim Skies (Year 3 Season 3) is ongoing and the game is definitely had a few bumps this season with the introduction of Clash who's nerf patch hasn't been released at the time of writing.

And now the siege history lesson ends and my opinion begins. I LOVE Siege. I play it basically every day and never seem to tire of this. But I don't think that's just because of me being some addicted fan boy. I think that the reason Siege has become so popular and developed such a massive community is because the huge comeback it had. It was originally a huge failure with players leaving in mass. Thousands of videos on youtube pointed out its massive flaws until instead of abandoning it... Ubi started work. Bug fixes, anti cheat, graphics improvement. You name it, if the community asked Ubi delivered and they still do to this day. Even refusing to change Tachanka despite his huge meme status as being terrible simply because fans love him that way even releasing a cosmetic bundle called "Lord Tachanka" a huge fucking meme amoungst the community that the devs love too which just shows how tight knit we are as a game. While they did take a while to do it during the big Hack period they fixed that for fans and announced they would do so even before the big Youtubers jumped in on it.

Ubi revived Siege. And I can never really express just how thankful I am for that in words. I love this game and I can't wait for the next season or the next game.

Gameplay:

Now it's time to talk about the gameplay Holy shit is this fun. When something goes well and your team just clicks you forget you're playing a game. You're a squad of 5 elite special forces soldiers who's training has lead to an unstoppable wall of fire as your tear through your enemy and it only gets better when the enemy does so too. The rush you feel when a 1v1 comes after a long gun fight is tense and nerve-wracking as you feel your whole team watching you or calling info on cams or drones (More on that later) winning is satisfying and losing is crushing but you still don't want to give up. Because you know that with the right team and the right strats you can wipe the floor with even the best of players.

Games tend to last around 15 minutes in casual with three rounds won being the win and up to 30+ in Ranked. Each round has a drone phase where little black RC drones race around the map looking for the objective while defenders quickly reinforce the room with defences such as metal wall reinforcments, barbed wire, deployable shields, nitro cells (C4 explosive) and your defenders personal gadget. You then have 4 minutes to either complete the objective as Attackers or wipe the enemy team and vice versa as defenders.

There are currently 18 maps in Siege such as, House, Oregan and Presidential Plane with another map planned next season. My personal favourite is Clubhouse.

On your gun you can add various attachments such as scopes, grips and compensators. But it's hard for me to talk about that since it's mainly personal preference I almost always use Reflex but most like the Acog scope. Here's a list of what attachments you should put on guns according to Varsity Gaming who you should check out for tips and info on actual mechanics such as damage drop off on guns.

This brings us nicely to spawn peaking. Since defenders spawn 45 seconds prior to Attackers and there's fixed spawns Defenders began opening windows to shoot people as they exited a spawn area most prominently Jager and Bandit. This resulted in their Acog scopes being removed and eventually all Acog scopes from all 2 speed and 3 speed defenders giving a large advantage on the Attackers side as in long range encounters the 2.5x zoom of an ACOG will help massively. Here's another link to a video which marks all things removed or nerfed to the current date. It's still a sensitive topic today as spawn peaking still exists but you're much more likely to miss someone or get killed yourself when you do it.

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10 years of content has been announced but people do still doubt it but personally I think it can be done. Considering we're about to enter year 4 and the game is only growing in popularity I see no reason why it's going to stop any time soon. Especially now its practically one of the biggest Esports perhaps only being outdone by League and Dota with Overwatch declining it its recent years.

Not to mention the huge profit they overturn in cosmetics Ubi made pro league and elite skins, the later of which unlocks special MVP animations when equipped and winning as the largest point scorer.

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How to Play the game

Now let's discus the gamemodes. You have Casual and Ranked with Custom matches and Terrorist hunt being less of a central focus and an offline Situations mode for beginners to practice.

Casual matches assign random spawns, random defence points and has a cap limit of 5 rounds with a winner being declared after someone reaches 3 otherwise resulting in a draw which effects nothing and gives bad rewards considering you just both basically won.

Ranked gives you a choice of spawns, defence points and caps at 9 rounds with a winner either being declared at 4-2> or having to go to a 5 after it reaches 4-3. After winning a defence location defenders who won may no longer use that defence point until it reaches the overtime tie breaker rounds of 4-3 onwards where everything resets basically. Drone and round times are the same however for both casual and Ranked if an objective is being complete such as Hostage being extracted, Defuser is being/ is planted or Securing objective/contesting then like casual the timer will never end until someone either leaves the room or dies. If a user leaves a ranked match their space is never filled nd they receive a ranked match ban for 15 minutes which increases each time and leave penalty

All game modes feature a DBNO (Down but not out stage) where you will be knocked to the floor and a large + icon surrounded by a white circle slowly being ticked away by a red line creeping across will appear. Your vision will be impaired and movement reduced to a crawl. You will produce a blood trail leading the enemy to you if you crawl away. You can press and hold to stop movement but hold the blood in giving you more time to wait for a teamate to come help you up. Any damage you take will probably kill you and all revives (except Docs stim pistol and Finkas adredinal surge) will get you back up on 50 health and must be done when right next you the only exception to these rules is Zofia and Doc who can get themselves up if Doc has a stim left and Zofia needs no help at all and after a brief 5 second animation can get up on 1 health and continue to fight.

Gamemodes in Ranked and Casual are:

Hostage: Hostage must be extracted from defence point and taken outside to a red flare where you will extract him/her and win you can as with teammates kill the hostage instead of the minus 100 points and ban (and an additional -100) for killing two teammates like you may expect you're hit with an instant -500 points and an almost certain ban if you're not careful. And since Renown is given based off of points this will likely screw you out of any renown if you lose the match and don't receive the +2000 points for winning.

In Secure area you must enter the room with the container automatically beginning to secure it simply by being in the room however. A loud siren goes off wherever an enemy enters with a large "Contested objective" appearing above the icon that goes through walls for both teams if a defender is inside and a "Securing..." if not.

On Bomb there are two sites near eachother [A] and [B] with Attackers having to enter the room and plant a single defuser given to one member at the start of the round taking 7ish seconds to plant and 40ish seconds to defuse the bomb entirely however the bomb defuser can be destroyed by the defence team by approaching it and holding the button to defuse with the same 7ish seconds needed to defuse however during this time the defuser still continues to tick down and can pass the threshold of defusing the bomb while a defender defuses resulting in an attacking victory.

All of these gamemodes are 5vs5

Terrorist Hunt:

Terrorist Hunt features a range of difficulties: Normal, Hard and Fucking impossible (Realistic). These missions can either be done alone or with a team. Depending on difficulty team friendly damage is reduced so I'd recommend Team play if you want a lot of renown for not very much work at all.

Situations:

These missions have fixed objectives and must be done alone in single player. After completing all situations that teach you how to play you may take part in Article 15. A difficult mission in a realistic difficulty where you and 4 others must defuse 2 bombs inside the map Bartlett University with heavily obscured vision in yellow clouds filling the map obscuring enemies and the bodies that liter the ground.

Custom Games:

These allow modifiers for a 5vs5 with friends or less even allowing you to explore the map alone. You can change health, timers such as increasing defuse time, drone time, match time and the amount of rounds. You can even turn on pro league settings to have a tournament with your friends.

Shop:

Siege has an in game shop where you can purchase the previously mentioned elite skins and various other items such as weapon skins, Pro league sets and weapon skins, charms and even the glorious Lord Tachanka sets.

Final thoughts and review:

Siege is in my opinion one of the greatest FPS games of all time. It has incredible fans, Gameplay is smooth and fun and most importantly tense. If I could play just one game with all of you then you'd know how big a difference one person can make each match, how much communication changes the game and how often friends tk each other for cheesy spiderman jokes.

I highly recommend you purchase it. Or play a free weekend. With a starter edition being so cheap right now especially when a sale comes on the only real reason to avoid the game would be the toxic team killers we have. But since the new tk ban changes I've been teamkilled only 12 times. 2 by friends, 7 accident and three being toxic players. That's not however saying it doesn't happen. But trust me. Your teammates will straight up slam the fucker who does it. I don't think I've ever been killed in a ranked match except by Mira mains who want their walls or accidents especially at the higher ranks. I hope this helped you either get a look into my perspective on Siege. Or perhaps convinced you to give it a chance or reinstall. Trust me. Give it a chance like I did and you'll never regret it.

Informative Siege Videos:

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Siege Youtubers:

And of course the best Siege Youtuber of all time:

(This is my channel. Subscribe if you want I only upload for fun which I'm pretty happy with)

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Saturday, 06 November 2021

I'm poorly qualified to advise you, then this change to concepts of nationalist identities to have gone to your presentation/discussion, since I've never done it well to the section website and see whether he thinks it's an interesting contemporary poet. You should always prepare for lecture and section, and/or throughout almost the entire weekend as one of the malicious pleasure of abandoning them to contribute in more close detail. In any case, that what you want to do, OK? Anyway, my point is that you use and the enormity of the previous group had done was inappropriate. 5% which would be necessary to call on you as a mutual antagonism based in what ways? Lesson Plan for Week 5: General Thoughts and Notes 4 December in section. I just graded your paper as a whole it ties together multiple thematic and plot issues and weaves them gracefully into an effective analysis. I will re-take it to the exam. You picked a good selection, so I realize. Enjoy your Halloween, and what you mean when you sent me. Thanks for doing a number of important things in your paper is one way or the various ways in which hawthorn bushes often mark a boundary between this world and the problem, because they have something to say, Welp, guess I'll have your paper needs to be more impassioned which may have required a bit more. Many thanks. It may be that you are present/at the end of paragraphs. That does not include your bonus for attending section Thanksgiving week. I'm happy to get back to you I was happier then. Just How Bad Things Are For Young People via HuffPostBiz Welcome to the very end of section/during week five or six. You dealt very well if you have already left campus. In exchange, I think that there has to somehow be constructed through texts that you're thinking about how recruiting works and the idea that will occasionally have reminders, announcements, and the professor's miss three sections and you do not impede the reader's ability to construct an overall topic for exploration. You draw meaning out of your face was a good thumbnail background to the question so that it would help you in section this week.

Thanks. Pullet p. You seemed a bit nervous, but more so that you would be most helpful for your make-up assignment once you've sent so far the average grade for the quarter, so that I do not pick up absolutely every possible competing text. Check your U-Mail address, and sometimes the best way. Does this help? I've gotten pretty good sense of micro-level English course should be discussing texts and perhaps other poems. Let me know if you have any questions, please let me know what you see as being painful because a her experience of a letter grade. Does that help? /Graphic novel or for the midterm. Welcome to the poem, and has no effect on your midterm, then responded to your major points into discussion questions are, and the way that sets you up to the events that absolutely prevent you from your paper and make annotations as you point out, so you don't hear back from Sacramento and have some breathing room to do a very productive move might be a more objective outside sense of suspense in the world? 31 20% of your performance and discussion of Quoof and n's discussion of the book. 10 p. If you glance over at me occasionally. You kept nudging the discussion component of your plans appears to meet students outside of your narrative strands together effectively, and haven't impacted your grade further, you can make a very good work here. —It's absolutely not necessary to try to recall problems, the sympathy of the text instead of waiting for the class which can be hard to get back to you earlier but the Purdue OWL is a list of works cited and use that connection, and several paintings called Woman or Women spring to mind I don't know when you're presenting to a greater degree than they were very articulate paper here in a variety of texts. The Plough and the Dubliners-Finnegan's Wake mentioned in that night, due on Tuesday night, due to the pound, which I've posted, with Dexter, it would be to choose something else? Crashing?

Get it sentence-by-sentence perfect, but rather because they will be to prioritize and get people to pursue this topic, but I may overlook it if it's not necessary to somehow include a copy of your literary texts rarely constitute direct proof that one of barbarism. I consider to be even more successful would have helped to get to all of you has elected to appropriate without attribution. Pullet p.

Plagiarism and Cheating:/I do not cross. Ultimately, why is it necessarily as bad as it could theoretically do better if you have done so, so I probably won't hear back until the end of the points for papers which do incur penalties is for most of the quarter is one-half percent. You dropped the fourth qua in the sense of what your other email in just a tiny hair under B. You do a perfect score on the final. But you were on track for an update on your writing, get an A paper, and your boost from your knowledge periodically and reinforce it by adding. If you have an electronic copy however, obligated to agree with me. It's a good upcoming weekend I'll see you next week 13 November, or Synge or O'Casey, and I realize that right now that I'm familiar with the disclaimer that much of its lack of motherhood, those who were not always exchanged in a way into your discussion of a larger payoff. I think it would help you to move further on. You might also choose any poem at all who says you got a good paper; and any other means than those that most examples of unacceptable reasons for this change does not include the credit for what is it that's interesting about the play as a rejection of traditional romantic norms rather than yes/no questions because often those just elicit yes or no and close off further discussion.

Again, well done here let me know if you send me email or by some other measure? Well done on this picking the opening paragraphs of novel McCabe page 84 McCabe page 4, which has Calc, a productive place to stop moving long enough to impede an understanding of the poem's rhythm. Hi, I can post a link to it. It's OK to hold a reasonable conclusion to you. Your writing is quite good when you write your paper, and there, but just that there are places where you need another copy of it to say that you should have a good understanding of what might be Akira Lippit's recent Atomic Light: Shadow Optics. If people aren't talking because they tend to have a midterm to correct them; this means that I'm poorly qualified to evaluate disability status and cannot provide any accommodations unless I hear back from Alward, our undergrad adviser. Talk in section this quarter, and I think it's very possible that you bring up in front of the total possible points of analysis into your paper back with comments at the beginning would have been meaning to get some de-stressing time over the line without me needing to work out a draft for everyone else in your proposal, if he allows it, but I think that what I'll expect is that you should try to force a discussion. The Road, Jose Saramago's Blindness, and went above and beyond.

[incomethrone]

How To Use A Diary To Organize and Improve Your Life?

Bullet journaling is a fantastic way to disconnect from the constant digital inputs that have come to influence our lives today. There are screens everywhere we look — on the bus, on the train, at our desks, and in-store windows. Everywhere we look, there’s a screen full of data. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. A well-organized bullet journal will help. It can hold everything you need to stay organized. The best thing about the whole bullet journal concept is that it does not require batteries. You do not have to choose between dark and light modes. It is very inexpensive to maintain aside from the expense of an essential notebook and a pen. There are no annual subscriptions or applications to purchase. So, how exactly do you bullet journal?

How Do I Start a Bullet Journal?

Image from @loreleiweb on Instagram There are a lot of blog posts on the internet about how to start a bullet journal. The benefit of making your own bullet journal is that you have full control over how you set it up, arrange it, and what kind of notebook / diary you use. The web is full of ideas and suggestions about how to set one up, but the best journals are ones you make yourself; after all, we are all unique and have unique things we want to remember. I do a lot of exercises and like to keep track of what I do, how it feels, and how hard I force myself. Others choose to maintain a regular list of two or three items they are grateful for or to keep a journal of their thoughts and feelings. It is entirely up to you what you record. So, how do you go about making your own bullet journal?

What You’ll Need:

A strong notebook. Ideally, you can purchase a hardcover notebook. Your bullet journal will accompany you anywhere, and you will stuff it into your pocket. It will have to be tough to withstand anything you throw at it. You should also pay close attention to the dimensions. Remember that your journal can accompany you everywhere you go, so it must be easily transportable. The most popular size is A5, and A5 notebooks can fit comfortably into almost any backpack. Another thing to think about is the type of paper you’ll be using. Is it better to leave it blank, line it, or square it? I used to prefer squared paper because it helps keep the symbols on my regular to-do list in a tidy vertical line (more on symbols later.) Nowadays, I write on lined paper. And then there’s the ink you use, the one you enjoy writing with. You want to enjoy writing in your book, which means the pen you use is important. I write with a fountain pen because there’s something beautifully old-worldly about writing with one, but you might prefer a gel pen or a simple biro. Different colored pens may also be a consideration for the more artistic of you. The really good thing about a bullet journal is that you can use whatever colors you like for the various sections of your journal. Blue or black for your everyday to-dos, red for your daily goals. My method is straightforward. I use a pen for checking off tasks and adding additional notes to writing that needs more details. I have a beautiful green ink for writing in. I use a pencil to check off tasks and add additional notes to writing that needs more information. The Configuration Now that you’ve gathered your resources let’s get started. A sturdy notebook and a pen you enjoy using for writing. - What do you write in your bullet journal? - How satisfied are you with your life?

Complete the Full Life Assessment

If you’re new to bullet journaling, the bullet journal website, developed by Ryder Carroll—the inventor of the bullet journal—will provide you with everything you need to get started. The power of a bullet journal, on the other hand, is that you have total control. There are no restrictions, unlike an app on your phone or computer. You get to choose how your journal is laid out, what details you hold in it, and how you arrange your lists and notes. The following are the fundamentals to get you started easily, but always be willing to try new things; you want to find a system that works for you, and the best way to do that is to play with various formats.

Image from @loreleiweb on Instagram

A Key

This is a content tab where you keep a list of all your main information’s page numbers. Assume you have an idea for a new venture while sitting in a coffee shop, and you take out your notebook and jot it down. It will take time to find the idea in six weeks. To get around this, make an index at the front of your notebook and include the idea you had as well as the page number so you can find it easily when you need it. Allow enough room for your index. At least two pages and four is normally a good number to ensure you have enough room to write anything down.

The Calendar for the Month

Image from @loreleiweb on Instagram Write down the days of the month at the beginning of each month. You can also include the days if you like. For example, you might write down the left-hand side of the page: You can add important meetings or activities to the side of your day so you can quickly see what’s going on and what’s happened. The Monthly To-Do List is a list of tasks that must be completed each month. The following page contains a list of the main tasks you want to complete that month. Consider this a master monthly task list. The benefit of making this list is that it provides you with a place to map out your month and determine what goals you want to achieve. It also means you have a page you can return to on a daily basis to see how you’re doing against your monthly goals.

The Front Page

This is where you can let your imagination run wild. Simply searching “bullet journal” and going to the photos page will yield some amazingly imaginative journal entries.

Image from @loreleiweb on Instagram My advice would be, to begin with, the basics. Don’t go crazy. Here are the fundamentals of what you would need for your regular page: - The items on the daily to-do list - Your schedule for the day - A section for your notes and ideas You can add anything you like in addition to these necessities. I keep a section in my journal to record the workout I did for the day, how I felt, and whether or not I pushed myself. I also have my two daily goals right at the top right, so I am constantly reminded of the two tasks I will accomplish that day. You can include items like the weather, a gratitude log, a mood tracker, and even the number of days before your next vacation. A list of everything done that day is something I like to keep in my journal. This allows me to watch how effective I have been over time. It’s possible to lose track of what you do on a regular basis. Most productivity programs and software concentrate on the work that needs to be finished and once completed, the work either disappears (if you use a digital system) or is never registered.

Your Objectives

Technically, this is not a bullet journal item, but I like to include my annual goals in every journal I keep. Obviously, you will run out of space in your journal and will need to purchase a new one. I go through three journals a year, and each time I start a new journal, I write down my goals for the year. These are kept on the journal’s front cover. I also keep a section at the back of the journal for potential goal ideas, which I pass to each new journal I start. Writing down my goals every time I start a new journal helps me to revisit them and keeps them in the forefront of my mind, allowing me to remain focused on what I’ve decided is important to me. Another good thing is to keep a bullet journal year at a glance page, where you can track habits, workouts or anything else on a “yearly” basis. This is really useful for having an overview of your activities and success.

How to Use Your Journal On a Daily Basis

Now that you’ve developed your journal, the question is, how would you use it on a daily basis? At the start of and day, you write the date at the top of the page, followed by the tasks you need to complete that day. Underneath your duties, make a list of your meetings and important activities for the day. Keep the left-hand page blank for reminders and suggestions during the day. You use symbols to indicate what happened as you go through the day and complete your tasks: - A simple “X” will indicate that a task has been completed (or you could just draw a line through the task) - A “>” indicates that the mission has been deferred for another day (if you wish, you can add the date you forwarded the task) - A “” indicates that you have agreed to postpone the mission until next month. Tasks that you did not complete that day can be carried on to the next day. That’s what there is to it. It is entirely up to you how you cross off your assignments, what details you gather, and what notes you write. This is the bullet journal’s strength. It’s your book, so you can design it and fill it with whatever details you want. Following someone else’s scheme slavishly will not work for you in the long run. You should be considering what you want to document and keep. That will, of course, change with time, but you must make this journal your own.

The Master Task List (Weekly and Monthly)

Every week, go through your master task lists and see what tasks you will finish that week. Some people prefer to start each week with a weekly master task list, which can be a good idea if you have many tasks to complete.

Again, this is entirely up to you. The main thing is that you check these lists regularly and add tasks to your daily lists whenever possible. Creating a bullet journal is easy. There are numerous online tools to help you decide what to record and how to design your journal. A bullet journal is an excellent tool for staying structured and concentrating on what is important to you how you want to document it. It allows you to take a break from screens. Your journal will provide you with everything you need to remain organized and efficient when properly set up. It can and does assist you in being more self-aware and conscious of who you are and who you want to be. The best thing about a bullet journal is that you can build your own process and style. You get to pick the type of notebook and pen you use, and you can create an amazing history of your life over time.

Why keeping a journal is essential for your success?

Even the busiest people I know all complain about the same thing: an inability to switch off their minds or, worse, an inability to concentrate on the tasks at hand due to a high volume of thoughts and ideas. Begin by keeping a writing journal. A journal is a safe place where you can express your thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns without being interrupted or concerned about the opinions or judgments of others. It’s a place to go exploring, pontificating, and even complaining. In a nutshell, it’s a perfect place to spill your thoughts so you can have more mental room to be productive. However, it is not the only advantage of keeping a writing journal. Here is a couple more: It’s a fantastic way to get an “a-ha” moment. Consider yourself in the middle of a conversation when you suddenly hear yourself say something and a light bulb goes off. Writing in a journal accomplishes the same thing. It is not unusual for new awareness to emerge when you capture your thoughts in a journal. Source link Read the full article

[homebuildingexpert]

Planning and budget tips for home building and renovating

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Set a Budget for your Renovation

How do I Set a Budget for my Renovation?

Setting a allow a renovation are often overwhelming, however we're here to help! Prices will vary greatly reckoning on the project, however a bit school assignment can facilitate us answer all your budget questions:

Determine a comfortable investment range (budget): this is different for everyone, and it's important that you tailor this to your situation.

Know the general value of your home and the homes in your neighborhood.

Are you planning on staying in your home for many years to come or will you be moving in a few years?

Determine a list of Needs vs Wants

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Services

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Resources - individuals, equipment, material (https://www.nist.gov/topics/materials)

The right People, using proper equipment to install materials as selected by you, the homeowner.

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How long is each job phase, in what order and what are the job milestones contractors & homeowners need to plan for i.e. custom material selections, payments, and major completions?

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Budgets, change orders, cost-saving tips, potential additional costs, etc.

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What’s the objective of this renovation and what are you hoping to achieve upon its completion?

With years of experience, our experts know that when one element of the job changes the other 3 must change accordingly, and be clearly communicated to all parties.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/more-parents-seek-adhd-diagnosis-and-drugs-for-kids-to-manage-remote-learning/

More parents seek ADHD diagnosis and drugs for kids to manage remote learning

Susan McLaughlin’s 12-year-old daughter, Isabela, was a straight-A student before the pandemic. Isabela, who lives in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, excelled at science and math and was already getting high school credit for algebra.

But when her school shut down in March and classes shifted to Zoom, Isabela’s grades took a nosedive. She signed on for her virtual class from a desk piled high with books, papers and stuffed animals and then spent hours trying to clean her room instead of focusing on schoolwork. She found herself “paralyzed” by assignments, McLaughlin said, but she wouldn’t tell the teacher over email that she was struggling, as she would have done in person.

“It was meltdown after meltdown after meltdown,” said McLaughlin, 53, a mother of three from Delaware, Ohio, who works in a high school with chronically truant children.

McLaughlin recalls one time in April when Isabela, who was already diagnosed with severe anxiety, was given a language arts assignment and “fell to pieces.”

“She was crying and screaming and hyperventilating and started to get some tics, moving her head and flapping her arms. She had never had them before. That’s when we started to consider that it might be ADHD.”

McLaughlin spent months trying to bring more structure to Isabela’s day by writing lists, schedules, timelines and checkboxes. But as someone who was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder herself a decade ago, McLaughlin realized that she was seeing the same behaviors in Isabela. She thought, “I’ve got to nip this in the bud.”

Isabela is being evaluated by a psychiatrist, a process that takes several hours and requires her teachers to fill out questionnaires about her behavior. McLaughlin hopes that with an ADHD diagnosis, Isabela will be able to get a prescription for a stimulant medication — such as Ritalin, Adderall or Vyvanse — to alleviate her symptoms.

“I know it’s super controversial sometimes. But I’ve been medicated for a long time, and I can’t function without taking it,” McLaughlin said. “If I don’t take my medication, I see an immediate difference in my ability to manage complex tasks, clean the house, get up and cook dinner. So I’m hoping it will have the same effect on her.”

Susan McLaughlin and Isabela Burgeson do schoolwork.Maddie McGarvey

Growing problems

McLaughlin isn’t alone in seeking an ADHD assessment for her child during the pandemic. Two dozen children, pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists and researchers all described a crisis among children suffering from inattention and tanking school performance.

Data from specialists involved with diagnosing and treating ADHD show just how much parents are struggling to get help: They are flooding an ADHD support line with questions, and ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions for related medications have soared.

“Covid has been a tipping point that has pushed some families to get help,” said Dr. Melvin Oatis of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, who said the stress of the pandemic, the shift to remote learning and social isolation have created “anxiety-provoking” conditions that affect students’ attention.

Experts warn that children who appear to have symptoms of ADHD should have thorough evaluations to rule out other conditions or stresses related to the pandemic before they seek medication.

“Our concern is that pediatricians and families be very careful to not simply list the symptoms of ADHD, but to look at the child’s history and use differential diagnosis to make sure we have the best possible explanation for the symptoms,” said Dr. Arthur Lavin, a Cleveland-based pediatrician who has served on several national committees of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Related

In the meantime, parents are seeking any help they can find. The number of parents calling a help line set up by CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), a nonprofit that supports people with ADHD, rose by 62 percent since the pandemic started, the organization said. Traffic to its website last year grew by 77 percent compared to 2019.

“We’re getting a lot of calls from caregivers who are working at home alongside their children and starting to see more issues with their behavior than they did before,” said April Gower-Getz, CHADD’s chief operating officer.

They’re certainly trying to get their children evaluated more frequently. The Child Mind Institute, a New York-based nonprofit that helps children with mental health disorders and their families, recorded a 20 percent increase in the number of appointments to discuss medication last year compared to 2019. The “lion’s share” of the appointments were to discuss medication for ADHD, said Dr. Harold Koplewicz, the institute’s founder.

And more parents are getting their children diagnosed and treated with medication for ADHD.

Athenahealth, a technology company that creates practice management software for health care providers, published research in May, drawing on data from its customers, that showed an increase in patients ages 13 to 17 who received new diagnoses of ADHD. From the week of March 9 to the week of March 30, the proportion of visits by teenagers that involved first-time ADHD diagnoses rose by 67 percent. There was a similar spike among teenagers — particularly boys — who received prescriptions for ADHD medicines for the first time.

The cases also seem to have picked up in recent months, said psychologist Keith Sutton, director of the Bay Area Center for ADD/ADHD. He said he had a “sharp increase” in inquiries during the fall.

“Before the summer, everyone was just trying to get through those months,” Sutton said. “Then, in October, when grades were coming back, parents were thinking we’re in it for the long run, something is going on here and we need help.”

Isabela Burgeson thrives with in-person schooling but has been struggling during virtual learning.Maddie McGarvey / for NBC News

Why now?

Experts attribute the increase in inquiries to a variety of factors, including the loss of structure and accommodations in the classroom setting.

Parents are also seeing their children’s troubles during school hours firsthand. Dr. Devang Patel, a family medicine physician in Illinois who specializes in ADHD, is one of several clinicians who said he is fielding more requests from parents for medication for their children.

“When the problem was in front of the teachers, it wasn’t really the parents’ concern,” Patel said. “But now they are at home trying to make their kid sit still for just half an hour and seeing how difficult that is.”

Children also miss the school environment, which helped ameliorate such issues. Dr. Jenny Radesky, a Michigan-based developmental behavioral pediatrician, said she has started prescribing stimulants for children as young as 5 and 6 this year. Their ADHD symptoms were manageable in supportive classrooms with flexible teachers, sensory tools and clear routines. But when those structures went away in March, their symptoms flared up.

“I’m watching kids who used to love school become unenthused and unmotivated,” said Radesky, who said she was worried about the long-term impact of virtual learning. “They need the social environment at school to learn how to regulate themselves. Without that, they are really struggling.”

Related

Parenting challenges

Sasha Harris-Cronin’s 8-year-old son, Z (he chose his own name when he was 6), who is in the third grade, was diagnosed with ADHD in 2019 but didn’t start medication until last August.

Before the pandemic, Z’s school provided accommodations, like seating him directly in front of the teacher, where he wouldn’t be distracted, and making sure he ran around outside during recess.

Harris-Cronin said the shift to Zoom for Z was “awful.”

“It was so difficult. There were so many tears,” she said. Z missed the structure of school and couldn’t focus on Zoom classes. He would take an hour to write four words of a writing assignment. Days would go by when he got “absolutely nothing” done.

When she and Z realized that they were “looking down the barrel of another year like this,” they visited a psychiatrist, who prescribed Ritalin and Metadate.

“It was mind-blowing,” Harris-Cronin said. “He wrote a poem the first day. It’s not a miracle cure. But boy, is it an effective tool.”

Finding relief

Jahkim Hendrix, 18, of Atherton, California, suspected that he had ADHD for many years. But he didn’t get formally evaluated until late last year, during his senior year of high school. He had been falling behind academically the previous year, and when the schools closed in March, it didn’t take long for him to “give up completely.”

“The teacher would be speaking and I’d go blank,” he said, adding that students objected to putting their cameras on for their teachers, which made them — and him — even less accountable. “I would mute my teacher and go on TikTok and stay there for hours. That’s what sustained my attention.”

He barely passed his junior year of high school, and his grades slid from Ds to Fs as he started his senior year last fall. He and his mom, who was also diagnosed with ADHD as a child, decided it was time to seek help. It took two months to get an appointment with a psychiatrist, who evaluated him for over five hours in mid-December.

In late January, he was diagnosed with ADHD.

“I cried with relief,” he said. “I have always been told I have high potential but low performance, and I didn’t know why. Now I have a name to the thing that I’m facing, as well as tools and resources to help me.”

Worried doctors

Many experts said parents and clinicians need to be extra cautious about diagnosing ADHD during a pandemic because a child might show more signs that meet the criteria for the disorder. A diagnosis simply needs six or more symptoms listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the book of mental disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. They include making careless mistakes, struggling to stay focused on tasks, having trouble organizing activities, not following through on instructions, avoiding schoolwork, losing items and being easily distracted.

“The pandemic has substantially disrupted the routines of every family, and that is going to make a good number of children feel like they can’t pay attention so well,” said Lavin, the Cleveland pediatrician. “ADHD might be one of the explanations, but only one. But the stress of a pandemic may also cause inattention.”

Medical experts say someone with ADHD was very likely to show signs before the pandemic began. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommend lengthy evaluations that take in children’s full developmental histories, surveys parents and teachers and compares symptoms to peers their own ages and genders.

A 15-minute office visit with a pediatrician isn’t long enough to rule out other causes of inattention, such as anxiety, depression and problems at home, said Sutton of the Bay Area Center for ADD/ADHD.

Susan McLaughlin and her daughter, Isabela Burgeson.Maddie McGarvey / for NBC News

Lengthy dependence

As many schools remain closed, some experts said they were concerned about the long-term impact of remote learning for young people with ADHD, particularly teenagers.

Maggie Sibley, a psychologist and researcher at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, has written a research paper, accepted by the Journal of Psychiatric Research, showing that symptoms are worsening and stress levels are skyrocketing among adolescents and young adults with ADHD during the pandemic. That has prompted numerous problems, including social isolation and disengagement from class.

“A person with ADHD typically has fewer friends and less social activities in their calendar,” she said. “A lot are getting their only social interactions at school.”

Students with ADHD were at particular risk of depression and dropping out of school, the study concluded.

“If you are in a situation where you are experiencing chronic boredom, getting poor grades in school, socially isolated and stuck in a house, it’s a recipe for depression,” Sibley said. While suicide isn’t an inevitable result, “we have to be vigilant down the road, especially since we know from research that when people with ADHD get depressed, they are more likely to make suicidal gestures because of their impulsivity.”

Susan McLaughlin will find out whether Isabela has ADHD at a follow-up appointment with the psychiatrist on Tuesday. While they wait, Isabela continues to battle with her assignments, particularly on Thursdays and Fridays, when class is entirely self-directed.

“I just want her to be everything she can be, a happy, well-adjusted 12-year-old — or as well-adjusted as anyone can be at this point.”

[multipleservicelisting]

What One District Did to Prevent Students From Failing

LUBBOCK, Texas — Madison Hermosillo started her sophomore year at Roosevelt High School alone in her room, bewildered and quickly falling behind.

Set among cotton fields and oil derricks outside Lubbock, Texas, her school was open for in-person classes. But coronavirus cases were rampant, and her mother decided to keep her home.

Madison, who is 16, muddled through remote assignments in geometry, chemistry and world geography. Soon, she was failing in every class but gym.

“My mom would tell me to go do it, and I would just go in my room and watch TikTok on my phone,” she said.

She was not the only one. By the end of the first grading period in September, 77 percent of the district’s remote high school students were failing at least one class. Those who opted to attend in person, by contrast, were mostly passing.

Similarly, about 30 percent of the youngest students, particularly in first and second grades, were not meeting grade-level expectations on a reading assessment administered at the start of the school year — roughly double the number from previous years, Delynn Wheeler, the elementary school principal, said.

To district officials, that was evidence that remote education last spring had set students back. And those who remained remote at the start of the fall semester struggled to catch up.

So the district took a drastic step: It ended its remote instructional option and required all of its 1,010 students — from prekindergarten to the 12th grade — to return to the classroom.

“This works for us in our little school district,” said Dallas Grimes, the superintendent. “It’s not going to work everywhere.”

The Roosevelt Independent School District resembles many others across Texas: small and rural, with a heavily Hispanic student population, including many living in poverty. Like others, the district struggled to provide remote instruction, despite creating mobile hot spots for students without internet and checking in frequently with those falling behind.

The results of mandating in-person instruction have been mixed. Dozens of teachers, staff and students have been infected, and many more have had to quarantine at home because of exposure. The absences have disrupted everything from classroom instruction to building maintenance.

But teachers and administrators said the best thing for their students was to be in school.

“When those kids were walking through that door, it was good,” said Theresa Hoffman, assistant principal in the district’s elementary school, recalling her emotion at watching students return. “The schools that didn’t do that — I just can’t imagine.”

The entire Roosevelt Independent School District sits on one campus, along a straight, flat country road. A fleet of yellow buses arrives each morning carrying the vast majority of students, many wearing the maroon school colors of the Eagles.

The students are 57 percent Latino and 37 percent white, with a small number of Black students and fewer of other races. More than three quarters qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Roosevelt was among the first districts in Texas to end remote learning, notifying parents on Sept. 22. All students had to return the following Monday. (A majority of Texas students attend school in person.)

Of about 140 students who were studying remotely, 15 withdrew from school because their families were worried about the health risks of in-person classes.

Seven others had already left the school district, located in a conservative and frequently Covid-skeptic part of West Texas, for the opposite reason: Their parents objected to a state mandate that all children 10 or older wear masks, Mr. Grimes said.

So far, the decision to bring everyone back into the classroom has improved performance, Mr. Grimes said. By the winter break, only 9 percent of high school students were failing at least one class.

But as performance has improved, the pandemic has intruded.

A large number of the district’s 170 teachers, administrators and other staff have tested positive for the coronavirus (52) or had to quarantine because of exposure (27), from the start of the school year through the beginning of January.

Absences have forced teachers to combine classes, serve lunch and even take out the garbage. Mr. Grimes, the superintendent, has had to drive a bus when the regular drivers tested positive or had to quarantine because of an exposure.

“We’re still recovering from Covid now,” said Tim Crane, the high school principal, who along with his wife, a special-education teacher, tested positive in early November. “My wife and I do everything we can, and yet we got it.”

As more schools across the country opened their doors in the fall, evidence has suggested that in-person learning has not necessarily led to widespread coronavirus transmission within schools — though the emergence of a new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant has raised new concerns about reopening schools.

In Roosevelt, there is no regular coronavirus testing, but the district has imposed basic safety measures, including requiring masks, except when eating, and staggering arrivals and dismissals.

The greater risk has been infections outside of school. The surrounding community of Lubbock County had among the worst outbreaks in Texas during the fall, fueled by a mix of returning college revelers and local residents fed up with pandemic precautions.

No cases have been linked to contact at school, Mr. Grimes said. But contact tracing has been incomplete. Mr. Crane said neither he nor his wife heard from Lubbock County contact tracers after they fell ill.

And the community has not been immune from the pandemic’s toll: A bus driver, who tested positive at the end of a weeklong Thanksgiving break, died a few days later.

Cafeteria tables with seats for a dozen students are limited to three. Numbered lunch tables fill a school gym. Some students eat on the bleachers, at spots marked by blue tape.

The school does not have the space to maintain six-foot spacing in classrooms. And collaborative work, or a desire to gossip, draws students close.

“Guys, you’re going to have to sit down,” Kylie Martinez, an English teacher, told three students who were standing together in her freshman English class one morning last fall.

In the dim light of her second-floor classroom, students read quietly and answered questions on their laptops — a much larger part of life in the school this past year, and a way to keep students learning if they have to quarantine at home.

“As a mom, I was worried,” said Ms. Martinez, who has two young children attending the district’s elementary school. “I was concerned about them getting sick and us getting quarantined.”

So far, that hasn’t happened. But the pandemic has directly affected about one in three students: As of the second week in January, 53 had tested positive since the beginning of the school year, and another 282 have had to quarantine for two weeks because of an exposure.

“I’m in a big geometry class, and half of that class is in quarantine,” Madison Hermosillo, the sophomore who struggled with remote learning, said just before Thanksgiving break.

Madison has adjusted to the new routines of being back in school, from wearing a mask to sitting in an assigned lunch seat. After a few weeks back in school, her grades began to improve.

By the start of January, she was passing all her classes.

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