#wade: the edits of us are so high quality
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farmhandler · 9 months ago
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Something very fun about writing from Logan's perspective is he would never bother to google his own name
“DP! Mr. Wolverine!” Dopinder called from the door when he showed up. “I brought gifts. Would you mind giving me a hand?”
Logan walked over and grabbed the massive bag of snacks Dopinder had brought. He didn’t recognize any of them.
“Fuck yes,” Wade breathed. “You are hooking me up Dopinder. I could kiss you!”
“Please don’t,” he replied, smiling. Logan clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks for taking us around all those times,” Logan said. “We appreciate it.”
Wade loudly crinkled a snack bag open. "Oh fuck yes!"
“I appreciate it,” Logan said.
“Oh, it was nothing. I’m just so sorry I missed your wedding. Which by the way, I had no idea you two were engaged!”
Logan looked back at Wade licking his fingers. Wade loudly crunched a chip. “I swear to god it wasn’t me.”
“We’re not fucking married. Am I gonna have to finally look up my name on the internet, or tiktok, or wherever this shit is happening?” Logan asked.
“Don’t,” both Dopinder and Wade replied.
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anamazingangie · 2 years ago
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House of the Dragon : Stills / Screen-cap Resources
Making this mostly for my discord as per usual, but some people have asked me where I get my files for edits. not tagging this with anything since the more people who know about these, the more they will be targeted for takedown...but i'd like other fans to enjoy them as much as i have, too.
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Stills: [these are photographs taken during production rather than images pulled from footage, so they tend to be higher quality and have better lighting without the various filters]
Section of Randomess is amazing - free, no ads, great quality, easy to download, but does not update frequently.
Warner Brothers Media very well organized, search by episode, date, etc. all very official as they literally make the show. however these are intended for use in press releases, and you need to have a press account to download the files. still, you can look at all the previews.
MovieStillsDB updates very frequently, has the largest collection of images released by official sources spanning all the various international hbo media accounts. you do need an account to download, and credits, but the most "expensive" credit packages still come out to less than 10c per a photo.
Kinorium this kind of has everything in one place which is nice, but the quality is lower. i usually use it to find an image i like, then right click and 'search image in google' to find a higher resolution version. stills gallery [kinorium]
poster gallery [kinorium]
promo gallery [out of costume] [kinorium]
they have tabs for BTS photos and screenshots too, but they are very incomplete.
Stock photo websites i am CHEAP and these are EXPENSIVE so i don't have a lot to say about them, but the big ones like shutterstock and almay usually have a selection of high resolution images too.
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Posters: [branded promotional material to build hype]
Cinematerial i think this is the sister site to moviestills, similarly you can browse everything but need credits to download, and they have the same pricing system. still it's pretty great because they have every variant of each poster including international ones, and they offer very high resolution copies.
also, see above for poster gallery [kinorium]
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Screencaps: images pulled ['captured'] from the episodes
there are probably dozens or even hundreds of sites with screencaps, but my favorites have been these two
Cap-That very thorough caps from every episode that can be viewed and downloaded individually in 4K, or downloaded in zips for each episode in standard HD.
and i do mean very thorough. each episode has on average four thousand images.
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comparatively the zips from another site [lostintimegraphics] have about one thousand images per an episode.
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what makes them "special" in addition to few ads (comparatively) is that they brighten the thumbnails on each page, a MUST to see wtf is going on in some parts, given how dark the show is.
when you click on the thumbnail and download the file, it is unfiltered/as appears in show, it just makes it easier to find the file you want instead of wading through a sea of black thumbnails.
So-Obsessed i think this is managed by a single person and i give them MAJOR props for that. they not only have 4k screencaps of HotD, but also every episode of Game of Thrones.
they are sorted by episode, there is no download a zip option, only individual files. they also have a stills gallery. there are no ads, which is wonderful.
the only reason i prefer cap-that is because they have 3x times the number of images for each page. despite both sites being comparably thorough, on so-obsessed there are 120 pages for episode two, and on cap-that there are 40.
you also can't right click/open in new tab/download images, you have to use their toolbar. it's well designed, just slower for me who is accustomed to the other method.
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ok, am done. if you're wondering why the fuck anyone would want screencaps or stills, personally *i* like using them for edits to entertain me in the offseason, see here.
what other people do with them...that's between them and god.
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digitalxonixblogs · 8 months ago
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Photon Insights: Unlocking the Potential of Students and Professionals
The ability to access efficient, personalized tools in the rapidly changing landscape of academic research is more important than ever. Students and professionals alike are looking for innovative solutions to streamline their research and increase productivity. Photon Insights is an advanced AI research tool that revolutionizes how individuals interact with information and insights. This platform is designed to meet the needs of all users and can be a valuable resource for personalized research.
Understanding Personalized Research
Research that is personalized involves tailoring it to the individual’s needs and preferences. This allows researchers to focus their attention on the most relevant material, methods, and insights that are specific to their fields of interest. Personalized research, which uses advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, can improve the efficiency and quality of academic work.
AI and Research
Education is not an exception. Artificial intelligence has revolutionized many sectors. AI tools can analyze vast datasets, recognize patterns, and deliver tailored recommendations — capabilities that traditional research methods simply cannot match. Photon Insights is a great example of this transformation. It provides a research AI tool that allows users to navigate academic inquiry easily.
Why Photon Insights stands out
The Free AI Tool for All
Photon Insights’ free AI tool is one of its most attractive features. Photon Insights makes advanced research accessible to everyone in a world of prohibitively expensive educational resources. This access allows students and professionals of all backgrounds to conduct high-quality research, without having to worry about the cost. Photon Insights creates a more inclusive academic environment by removing these obstacles.
Customized for Students
Photon Insights, as an AI tool for student, recognizes the unique academic challenges students face. When you have to deal with deadlines, and a lot of information that needs to be sorted through, research can feel overwhelming. Photon Insights makes this process easier by offering personalized features tailored to the needs of students.
Students can use Photon Insights for example to:
1. Generate Summaries — The tool summarizes lengthy articles quickly, so students can grasp important concepts without having to wade through dense text.
2. Create Citations — Photon Insights helps students save time and maintain academic integrity by automating citation generation.
3. Brainstorming Ideas: AI can suggest topics and research questions that are relevant to students based on their interests. This makes the early stages of research easier.
These features enhance the student’s research experience and empower them to own their learning.
Efficient Document Management System
It is essential to have a robust document management system for research success. This allows users to efficiently organize, search and retrieve their material. Photon Insights has an advanced document-management system that directly addresses this need. It can be used by both professionals and students.
- Organization : Users can organize their research materials into categories, making it easier to find specific documents.
Search capabilities: This system supports keyword searches so users can quickly find articles and notes that are relevant.
Photon Insights allows multiple users to edit and access documents for group projects. This fosters a collaborative research environment.
This streamline document management saves not only time, but also increases productivity. Researchers can now focus on insights and analysis rather than administrative tasks.
Your AI Research Assistant
Photon Insights is more than a traditional research tool. It acts as an AI Research assistant. This unique feature enhances research in many ways.
1. Data Analysis: AI can help users analyze complex datasets and identify trends. It also provides insights that are not immediately apparent.
2. Literature Review: The tool allows users to perform comprehensive literature reviews and receive recommendations of relevant articles and studies, based on the research interests.
3. Photon Insights provides real-time feedback, suggesting improvements to research drafts and helping users refine arguments.
Photon Insights’ incorporation of these features allows users to approach research with more confidence and creativity. It acts as a research partner, improving the quality of academic output.
Benefits of Personalized Research With Photon Insights
Focus and efficiency are improved
Photon Insights’ personalized research allows users to focus on what really matters — developing insights and arguments — rather than being bogged down by administrative tasks. Researchers can get tailored insights and recommendations based on their needs thanks to the AI-driven tool.
More Accessible
Photon Insights is a free AI-tool that removes the barriers to research. Students and professionals have access to high-quality tools and resources without financial burdens, which promotes a more fair academic environment. This accessibility allows diverse voices to participate in research and fosters innovation and collaboration.
Continuous Improvement and Learning
AI tools such as Photon Insights learn from the interactions of users. As you continue to use the platform, it will become more adept at understanding your research style and preferences. The continuous improvement allows users to benefit from a personalized research experience that is evolving over time.
Case Studies: Success Stories With Photon Insights
Student Success
Imagine a graduate student who is working on his thesis in environmental sciences. Photon Insights is the solution for a student who finds himself overwhelmed by a large amount of literature. The summarization tool allows them to quickly digest important articles while the citation generator ensures that their references are up-to-date and accurate. The student can complete their literature review quickly, and then focus on creating a strong thesis.
Professional Research
Photon Insights is used by a professional psychologist for a project in cognitive behavior. The AI Research Assistant assists them in identifying relevant studies and analyzing data efficiently. The document management system allows the researcher to work with other researchers, making sure that everyone is on a similar page. Photon Insights helped them submit their findings ahead of schedule to a prestigious publication.
The conclusion of the article is:
Photon Insights is at the forefront of a personalized future for research. Photon Insights redefines what it means for researchers to be effective by offering a powerful AI research tool that is accessible and tailored to students’ and professionals’ needs.
Photon Insights offers features that streamline processes, improve collaboration and offer personalized support. This allows users to unleash their full potential in research. AI-driven tools are essential to those who want to succeed in academic and professional pursuits as the academic landscape continues its evolution.
Find out how Photon insights can enhance your research experience. Photon Insights can help you with personalized research, whether you are a student looking to improve your studies or an expert trying to streamline your project. This innovative AI tool will elevate your research experience.
0 notes
jamespotter7860 · 8 months ago
Text
Photon Insights: Unlocking the Potential of Students and Professionals
Photon Insights: Unlocking the Potential of Students and Professionals
The ability to access efficient, personalized tools in the rapidly changing landscape of academic research is more important than ever. Students and professionals alike are looking for innovative solutions to streamline their research and increase productivity. Photon Insights is an advanced AI research tool that revolutionizes how individuals interact with information and insights. This platform is designed to meet the needs of all users and can be a valuable resource for personalized research.
Understanding Personalized Research
Research that is personalized involves tailoring it to the individual’s needs and preferences. This allows researchers to focus their attention on the most relevant material, methods, and insights that are specific to their fields of interest. Personalized research, which uses advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, can improve the efficiency and quality of academic work.
AI and Research
Education is not an exception. Artificial intelligence has revolutionized many sectors. AI tools can analyze vast datasets, recognize patterns, and deliver tailored recommendations — capabilities that traditional research methods simply cannot match. Photon Insights is a great example of this transformation. It provides a research AI tool that allows users to navigate academic inquiry easily.
Why Photon Insights stands out
The Free AI Tool for All
Photon Insights’ free AI tool is one of its most attractive features. Photon Insights makes advanced research accessible to everyone in a world of prohibitively expensive educational resources. This access allows students and professionals of all backgrounds to conduct high-quality research, without having to worry about the cost. Photon Insights creates a more inclusive academic environment by removing these obstacles.
Customized for Students
Photon Insights, as an AI tool for student, recognizes the unique academic challenges students face. When you have to deal with deadlines, and a lot of information that needs to be sorted through, research can feel overwhelming. Photon Insights makes this process easier by offering personalized features tailored to the needs of students.
Students can use Photon Insights for example to:
1. Generate Summaries — The tool summarizes lengthy articles quickly, so students can grasp important concepts without having to wade through dense text.
2. Create Citations — Photon Insights helps students save time and maintain academic integrity by automating citation generation.
3. Brainstorming Ideas: AI can suggest topics and research questions that are relevant to students based on their interests. This makes the early stages of research easier.
These features enhance the student’s research experience and empower them to own their learning.
Efficient Document Management System
It is essential to have a robust document management system for research success. This allows users to efficiently organize, search and retrieve their material. Photon Insights has an advanced document-management system that directly addresses this need. It can be used by both professionals and students.
- Organization : Users can organize their research materials into categories, making it easier to find specific documents.
Search capabilities: This system supports keyword searches so users can quickly find articles and notes that are relevant.
Photon Insights allows multiple users to edit and access documents for group projects. This fosters a collaborative research environment.
This streamline document management saves not only time, but also increases productivity. Researchers can now focus on insights and analysis rather than administrative tasks.
Your AI Research Assistant
Photon Insights is more than a traditional research tool. It acts as an AI Research assistant. This unique feature enhances research in many ways.
1. Data Analysis: AI can help users analyze complex datasets and identify trends. It also provides insights that are not immediately apparent.
2. Literature Review: The tool allows users to perform comprehensive literature reviews and receive recommendations of relevant articles and studies, based on the research interests.
3. Photon Insights provides real-time feedback, suggesting improvements to research drafts and helping users refine arguments.
Photon Insights’ incorporation of these features allows users to approach research with more confidence and creativity. It acts as a research partner, improving the quality of academic output.
Benefits of Personalized Research With Photon Insights
Focus and efficiency are improved
Photon Insights’ personalized research allows users to focus on what really matters — developing insights and arguments — rather than being bogged down by administrative tasks. Researchers can get tailored insights and recommendations based on their needs thanks to the AI-driven tool.
More Accessible
Photon Insights is a free AI-tool that removes the barriers to research. Students and professionals have access to high-quality tools and resources without financial burdens, which promotes a more fair academic environment. This accessibility allows diverse voices to participate in research and fosters innovation and collaboration.
Continuous Improvement and Learning
AI tools such as Photon Insights learn from the interactions of users. As you continue to use the platform, it will become more adept at understanding your research style and preferences. The continuous improvement allows users to benefit from a personalized research experience that is evolving over time.
Case Studies: Success Stories With Photon Insights
Student Success
Imagine a graduate student who is working on his thesis in environmental sciences. Photon Insights is the solution for a student who finds himself overwhelmed by a large amount of literature. The summarization tool allows them to quickly digest important articles while the citation generator ensures that their references are up-to-date and accurate. The student can complete their literature review quickly, and then focus on creating a strong thesis.
Professional Research
Photon Insights is used by a professional psychologist for a project in cognitive behavior. The AI Research Assistant assists them in identifying relevant studies and analyzing data efficiently. The document management system allows the researcher to work with other researchers, making sure that everyone is on a similar page. Photon Insights helped them submit their findings ahead of schedule to a prestigious publication.
The conclusion of the article is:
Photon Insights is at the forefront of a personalized future for research. Photon Insights redefines what it means for researchers to be effective by offering a powerful AI research tool that is accessible and tailored to students’ and professionals’ needs.
Photon Insights offers features that streamline processes, improve collaboration and offer personalized support. This allows users to unleash their full potential in research. AI-driven tools are essential to those who want to succeed in academic and professional pursuits as the academic landscape continues its evolution.
Find out how Photon insights can enhance your research experience. Photon Insights can help you with personalized research, whether you are a student looking to improve your studies or an expert trying to streamline your project. This innovative AI tool will elevate your research experience.
0 notes
photon-insights · 8 months ago
Text
Photon Insights: Unlocking the Potential of Students and Professionals
The ability to access efficient, personalized tools in the rapidly changing landscape of academic research is more important than ever. Students and professionals alike are looking for innovative solutions to streamline their research and increase productivity. Photon Insights is an advanced AI research tool that revolutionizes how individuals interact with information and insights. This platform is designed to meet the needs of all users and can be a valuable resource for personalized research.
Understanding Personalized Research
Research that is personalized involves tailoring it to the individual’s needs and preferences. This allows researchers to focus their attention on the most relevant material, methods, and insights that are specific to their fields of interest. Personalized research, which uses advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, can improve the efficiency and quality of academic work.
AI and Research
Education is not an exception. Artificial intelligence has revolutionized many sectors. AI tools can analyze vast datasets, recognize patterns, and deliver tailored recommendations — capabilities that traditional research methods simply cannot match. Photon Insights is a great example of this transformation. It provides a research AI tool that allows users to navigate academic inquiry easily.
Why Photon Insights stands out
The Free AI Tool for All
Photon Insights’ free AI tool is one of its most attractive features. Photon Insights makes advanced research accessible to everyone in a world of prohibitively expensive educational resources. This access allows students and professionals of all backgrounds to conduct high-quality research, without having to worry about the cost. Photon Insights creates a more inclusive academic environment by removing these obstacles.
Customized for Students
Photon Insights, as an AI tool for student, recognizes the unique academic challenges students face. When you have to deal with deadlines, and a lot of information that needs to be sorted through, research can feel overwhelming. Photon Insights makes this process easier by offering personalized features tailored to the needs of students.
Students can use Photon Insights for example to:
1. Generate Summaries — The tool summarizes lengthy articles quickly, so students can grasp important concepts without having to wade through dense text.
2. Create Citations — Photon Insights helps students save time and maintain academic integrity by automating citation generation.
3. Brainstorming Ideas: AI can suggest topics and research questions that are relevant to students based on their interests. This makes the early stages of research easier.
These features enhance the student’s research experience and empower them to own their learning.
Efficient Document Management System
It is essential to have a robust document management system for research success. This allows users to efficiently organize, search and retrieve their material. Photon Insights has an advanced document-management system that directly addresses this need. It can be used by both professionals and students.
- Organization : Users can organize their research materials into categories, making it easier to find specific documents.
Search capabilities: This system supports keyword searches so users can quickly find articles and notes that are relevant.
Photon Insights allows multiple users to edit and access documents for group projects. This fosters a collaborative research environment.
This streamline document management saves not only time, but also increases productivity. Researchers can now focus on insights and analysis rather than administrative tasks.
Your AI Research Assistant
Photon Insights is more than a traditional research tool. It acts as an AI Research assistant. This unique feature enhances research in many ways.
1. Data Analysis: AI can help users analyze complex datasets and identify trends. It also provides insights that are not immediately apparent.
2. Literature Review: The tool allows users to perform comprehensive literature reviews and receive recommendations of relevant articles and studies, based on the research interests.
3. Photon Insights provides real-time feedback, suggesting improvements to research drafts and helping users refine arguments.
Photon Insights’ incorporation of these features allows users to approach research with more confidence and creativity. It acts as a research partner, improving the quality of academic output.
Benefits of Personalized Research With Photon Insights
Focus and efficiency are improved
Photon Insights’ personalized research allows users to focus on what really matters — developing insights and arguments — rather than being bogged down by administrative tasks. Researchers can get tailored insights and recommendations based on their needs thanks to the AI-driven tool.
More Accessible
Photon Insights is a free AI-tool that removes the barriers to research. Students and professionals have access to high-quality tools and resources without financial burdens, which promotes a more fair academic environment. This accessibility allows diverse voices to participate in research and fosters innovation and collaboration.
Continuous Improvement and Learning
AI tools such as Photon Insights learn from the interactions of users. As you continue to use the platform, it will become more adept at understanding your research style and preferences. The continuous improvement allows users to benefit from a personalized research experience that is evolving over time.
Case Studies: Success Stories With Photon Insights
Student Success
Imagine a graduate student who is working on his thesis in environmental sciences. Photon Insights is the solution for a student who finds himself overwhelmed by a large amount of literature. The summarization tool allows them to quickly digest important articles while the citation generator ensures that their references are up-to-date and accurate. The student can complete their literature review quickly, and then focus on creating a strong thesis.
Professional Research
Photon Insights is used by a professional psychologist for a project in cognitive behavior. The AI Research Assistant assists them in identifying relevant studies and analyzing data efficiently. The document management system allows the researcher to work with other researchers, making sure that everyone is on a similar page. Photon Insights helped them submit their findings ahead of schedule to a prestigious publication.
The conclusion of the article is:
Photon Insights is at the forefront of a personalized future for research. Photon Insights redefines what it means for researchers to be effective by offering a powerful AI research tool that is accessible and tailored to students’ and professionals’ needs.
Photon Insights offers features that streamline processes, improve collaboration and offer personalized support. This allows users to unleash their full potential in research. AI-driven tools are essential to those who want to succeed in academic and professional pursuits as the academic landscape continues its evolution.
Find out how Photon insights can enhance your research experience. Photon Insights can help you with personalized research, whether you are a student looking to improve your studies or an expert trying to streamline your project. This innovative AI tool will elevate your research experience.
0 notes
svgoceandesigns1 · 11 months ago
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Wade Doesn't Burn 2024 SVG - Funny Saying Fire SVG PNG, Cricut File
Wade Doesn't Burn 2024 SVG, Funny Saying Fire SVG PNG EPS DXF PDF, Cricut File, Instant Download File, Cricut File Silhouette Art, Logo Design, Designs For Shirts. ♥ Welcome to SVG OCEAN DESIGNS Store! ♥ ► PLEASE NOTE: – Since this item is digital, no physical product will be sent to you. – Your files will be ready to download immediately after your purchase. Once payment has been completed, SVG Ocean Designs will send you an email letting you know your File is ready for Download. You may also check your Order/Purchase History on SVG Ocean Designs website and it should be available for download there as well. – Please make sure you have the right software required and knowledge to use this graphic before making your purchase. – Due to monitor differences and your printer settings, the actual colors of your printed product may vary slightly. – Due to the digital nature of this listing, there are “no refunds or exchanges”. – If you have a specific Design you would like made, just message me! I will be more than glad to create a Custom Oder for you. ► YOU RECEIVE: This listing includes a zip file with the following formats: – SVG File (check your software to confirm it is compatible with your machine): Includes wording in both white and black (SVG only). Other files are black wording. – PNG File: PNG High Resolution 300 dpi Clipart (transparent background – resize smaller and slightly larger without loss of quality). – DXF: high resolution, perfect for print and many more. – EPS: high resolution, perfect for print, Design and many more. ► USAGE: – Can be used with Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Cameo, Silhouette Studio, Adobe Illustrator, ...and any other software or machines that work with SVG/PNG files. Please make sDisney Father's Dayure your machine and software are compatible before purchasing. – You can edit, resize and change colors in any vector or cutting software like Inkscape, Adobe illustrator, Cricut design space, etc. SVG cut files are perfect for all your DIY projects or handmade businDisney Father's Dayess Product. You can use them for T-shirts, scrapbooks, wall vinyls, stickers, invitations cards, web and more!!! Perfect for T-shirts, iron-ons, mugs, printables, card making, scrapbooking, etc. ►TERMS OF USE: – NO refunds on digital products. Please contact me if you experience any problems with the purchase. – Watermark and wood background won’t be shown in the downloaded files. – Please DO NOT resell, distribute, share, copy, or reproduce my designs. – Customer service and satisfaction is our top priority. If you have any questions before placing orders, please contact with us via email "[email protected]". – New products and latest trends =>> Click Here . Thank you so much for visiting our store! SVG OCEAN DESIGNS Read the full article
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unofficialrivermonsters · 12 years ago
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ICYMI: Exclusive behind the scenes look at River Monsters 3D
via 3D Focus (12 August 2012)
Icon Films talk to 3D Focus about the challenges of producing a 3D episode of hit Animal Planet series River Monsters.
Fronted by biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade, River Monsters is Animal Planet’s most popular series. Summarised by the presenter as “a genre of its own”, the series, now in its fifth season, investigates unusual fisherman’s tales across the globe. In River Monsters 3D, Jeremy travels to the Okavango Delta in Southern Africa, after a group of people capsized and were attacked by a frenzied group of unknown creatures. Some people drowned and others suffered severe mutilations after, what looked like, Piranha attacks although there are no such fish in that part of the world.  It turns out the feared Tiger Fish was the culprit – a pack hunting species that Jeremy aims to catch.
River Monsters 3D: Pack of Teeth, was premiered on 3net in April this year. “Bringing a high-quality ratings hit like Animal Planet’s River Monsters to 3net audiences in immersive, native 3D for the first time ever underscores our on-going commitment to deliver the most unique and compelling content possible,” said Tom Cosgrove, president of 3net. “This series is a perfect fit for 3D and the kind of eyes wide open experience our viewers have come to expect”.
River Monsters, including the 3D episode, is a production of Icon Films for Animal Planet. Being Icon Film’s first 3D production, the crew attended lots of training courses and paired up with 3D specialists Inition who supplied Stereoscopic Supervisor Campbell Goodwille. Thomas Kelpie was Icon Films 3D Workflow Consultant for the project and Barny Revill was the director (who also directs the regular 2D series).
“What I am most proud of is that the whole thing works as a film, it is not just a 3D spectacle. I think a lot of 3D productions get overly caught up in the 3D mechanics” said Barny Revill “It’s still a River Monsters film through and through; it’s got the pace and the energy and we haven’t compromised it because it’s 3D. It’s not gone from being an exciting series to a very static tripod type show”.
For those of you who are not familiar with the TV series River Monsters, which is broadcast on the Animal Planet channel in the UK, the show is very filmic in its style with fast paced editing, dramatic reconstructions, Hollywood style sound effects and strong narrative threads.
Maintaining the run-and-shoot look was the challenge Inition’s Campbell Goodwille had to face although he was armed with years of experience of shooting 3D in extreme locations.
“The bulk of our filming was done with SI-2Ks using Canon lenses on a Pulsar rig. The main rig weighed just under 20 kilos so the Cinematographer used our Easy Rig (pictured) which supports the camera. That was able to provide the ‘run and gun’ aesthetic of the show. We then had an umbilical from the cameras to my backpack mounted unit. I built a custom recording system which allowed me to have a touchscreen in front of my face the whole time to allow me to adjust the 3D settings”.
Jeremy Wade was initially sceptical about producing a 3D version of the hit series, especially when filming River Monsters is already difficult. Speaking before a recent premiere in Bristol, Wade said “River Monsters in 2D is a challenge enough to make. Fish are wild animals, a lot of people forget that. In order to film them you have to be mobile and relatively stealth. When we started discussing the possibilities of doing it in 3D, I was very sceptical. I was thinking that this was possibly a step too far. You are going from a crew of four to maybe seven or eight with great big bits of kit. But the amazing thing was that it worked, it was incredible. I thought it was going to really slow things down but it wasn’t too different from a normal 2D shoot. Part of that was due to very meticulous planning and also because we were very fortunate with our location”.
Icon Films 3D Workflow Consultant Thomas Kelpie (who doubled as a Safari Warden in the show) edited the programme using AVID 5.5 and ended up with burnt in side-by-side footage created by the offline support people at Films@59.
“That worked quite well but it meant that we didn’t have any opportunities to fix the 3D problems that you inevitably come across” said Kelpie “I got the guys to create some preset filter effects for percentage parallax corrections as well as being able to set the depth and convergence just for the offline viewings. We didn’t want to cause any pain for the American executives who hadn’t been watching that much 3D because its wasn’t exec’ed by a 3D channel (Animal Planet)”.
Although ‘River Monster 3D : Pack of Teeth’ is being distributed by ITV Studios, River Monster 3D has so far not aired in the UK and the programme highlights the different approaches taken by 3net and Sky 3D regarding extremity of 3D according to Kelpie… “We were always aiming for about 3% but in run and gun mode, some of the second cameras we had ended up with some shots that were up to 5 and 6%. Some of those got through all the way to the US version. I haven’t seen whether they made it into the Sky 3D friendly version yet. When we came to the online and doing the depth grades we went for a Sky 3D style. I took it to Discovery Centre in the States and I was able to sit in their 3D depth review where the guy re-depth graded two thirds of the film to bring everything out. The Americans are not too fussed about edge violations – they just want everything out, slapping you in the face wherever possible”.
Jeremy Wade revealed some of the TV trickery required when dealing with wild animals and to ensure their welfare, especially in a fast paced production… “When you have actually got the fish, it’s pressure on everybody because the crew has got to get the filming right first time…. We do sometimes employ a little bit of trickery. We can do a two shot of me plus fish, then we do close ups of the fish, put the fish back and do close ups of my face talking as if I am still holding the fish, cutting between both”.
Across the River Monsters series in general, Jeremy Wade spends less time with a fishing rod than you might think with an average of about 30% of any shoot involving fishing.  Also, as with River Monsters 3D, the final sequence of catching the fish was filmed at the beginning to ensure the main element of the programme was in the bag, although those sequences appear at the conclusion of the episode.
Choosing the right episode for the first 3D version of River Monsters was important. The subject matter and location were key elements behind the decision to travel to the Okavango Delta. Many episodes of River Monsters involve shooting in several locations, but ‘Pack of Teeth’ required only two, highly beneficial when moving large equipment and crew around. The team sourced a floating platform originally designed to take vehicles over the river which provided a steady platform for filming and the Tiger Fish themselves were known to not be as elusive as others.
“Part of the reason we decided to shoot the tiger fish episode in 3D was, of all the ones in this season, we knew we would have more than one chance with this fish. It wouldn’t be one moment we had got it for five minutes and then ‘what do you mean the stereo was all messed up!?!’. We knew that we would probably have a few chances” said Director Barny Revill.
Looking at the final piece, Jeremy Wade said he was delighted with the result, suggesting 3D can enhance the format saying “If you are showing an unfamiliar animal, 3D does really give you a better sense of what that creature is like” and Barny Revill  learnt a lot from the experience… “The big thing that I learnt was, as a director on a 3D shoot, you are one of the only people that is not really thinking about the 3D. It’s not your sole focus. Your focus is the narrative the story – It’s not just a 3D showcase. Inevitably you might have a shot that is not the best 3D shot in the world but you need that because you’ve got a story to tell…This was my first 3D project and I loved it. I just think it’s going to get better and better.”
Finally, when we asked if Icon Films would shoot the rest of their documentaries in 3D, the answer was a very quick “NOOO!” with Thomas Kelpie saying “We were very lucky with this episode worked so well in 3D with the flat platform but if we had to lug all that kit up valleys and mountains it wouldn’t have worked as well. But, that doesn’t mean that in the future that everything wont shrink and become better and faster.”
River Monsters 3D is being distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment and it is their first 3D product. They are pursuing sales for the programme in territories around the world. ITV SGE say there are no plans to release the show on 3D Blu-ray unfortunately but agreements might be made at this year’s MIPCOM to have it shown in the UK.
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maximura · 4 years ago
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MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS: JANUARY
Guys. 2021 is a Phoenix Rising year. I can feel it. The amount of insane music we’ve gotten so far is unbelievable and there’s a distinct feeling of shaking off the ashes from last year and diving headfirst into this year with blind optimism that we don’t really have, haha. I know a lot of people who follow me don’t read my text posts but please do yourselves a favour and check these out. Or don’t. I’ll just send Hyunjin after you and he won’t be nice about it. But some of you might like that. =)
1) EPIK HIGH: ROSARIO and ACCEPTANCE SPEECH. They just released their album, Epik High is Here. They’re back and they are fucking killing the game. The collab list reads like dream team and the two songs I linked to features CL and Hanbin, two YG escapees who do lend a certain poignancy because of that. The production is flawless. Every single rap verse is out for blood. Not a bad track on the entire album. The Quality is Too High. Epikally High you might say...
2) U-KNOW: Thank U. I’m calling it now, this is Thee Music Video Of The Year. Before I move onto the details, the people responsible for this masterpiece are: Kim Hyunsoo (Director),  Eumko (DOP), the MU: E Art Team and my favourite person on any production ever, Jung Joong Hyuk (Gaffer/lighting wizard). We so rarely pause for the crew but this one deserves it. The video is just gorgeous and I love the nods to Kill Bill, Old Boy and old asian cinema. The editing and post production on it is so clean and minimalistic. Oh and the song is awesome too, haha. Just a bonus on top of a very very deliciously violent cake. Who knew SM had the balls to do this. Respect on that.
3) ZAYN: SWEAT and Tightrope. Hi it’s me, your local Zayn connoisseur, requesting politely that if you listen to him, it should be through the best speakers/headphones you have. If that means getting into your 2005 Honda Civic with the subwoofers that your boyfriend assured you would be “subtle”, then so be it. I think he’s probably an acquired taste and you do need some level of patience wading through his mumble verses but his voice is Undeniable and is always the main event. There’s no gimmicks on that. If you like bass heavy, chill, mood music, then give these a try. And yeah yeah, every song is about sex. So what? I dedicate them to Hyunjin. What about it.
3) ZOE WEES: Girls Like Us. The message. The music. The performance. I hope Zoe blows up everywhere because it’s a voice that needs to be heard. That’s all. Listen to this. 
5) THE WEEKND: Save Your Tears. Get past the weird aesthetics. He does not make bad music and I feel like every track sticks around for months and months on end. Maybe I’m just in the mood for these euphoric sounding synthy songs with melancholy message. The juxtaposition is delicious. It’s like dancing out your misery. I guess that just the type of thing I enjoy these days.
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hippriestess · 5 years ago
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The Fall – The Post-MES Years
It is now two and a half years since the passing of Mark E Smith and, therefore, the end of The Fall. In her show, “Savage”, comedian and writer Alice Fraser notes that “only the unfinished contains the infinite” and there was something not just sad but also oddly inappropriate about The Fall being finished and the catalogue therefore finite. Of course, the music industry doesn’t work like that and we have had no shortage of opportunities to add to our Fall collections since January 2018.
On the whole, the array of releases that have emerged since Smith’s cruel and premature death have been every bit as mixed a bag as one could have expected had one been sufficiently engaged with those which appeared in his lifetime. The quality, price and value of these additions to the catalogue have all the highs and lows we had come to endure from the mid '90s forwards and range from the essential to the unnecessary, from the delightful to the unedifying, from the respectful to the vulturous (in the aftermath). This is going to take a few posts so let's call this Part 1 and let’s leave those that beggared belief for now and look at those that rewarded belief in Beggars...
Beggars Banquet could be said to have waded in quite quickly but we need to be fair to them. The Arkive, as the catalogue and reissues division of the label is known, had long noted the ever-growing market for vinyl and had been quietly putting some classics from the BB catalogue back onto plastic for quite some time. It was, therefore, inevitable that they would do this for The Fall. After all, they had already included the group among their “Omnibus” editions and also in their “5 Albums” series. There was precedent: in 2015, The Arkive took over the LP pressings of  “The Wonderful And Frightening World...” and “This Nation's Saving Grace” again, having previously licensed these to Vinyl 180. Each was appended with an accompanying second LP which pulled together the singles and b-sides from around each of those albums: “The Wonderful And Frightening Escape Route To...” and “Schtick: Yarbles Revisited” respectively. A few copies of these were made available separately too, just in case they were accused of double dipping. Fair play.
In August and then October 2018, two further vinyl-only reissues were added – a respectful enough distance. First up was a new pressing of  the “458489” A-Sides collection. White vinyl was used to match the artwork and new inner sleeve was designed but, given that this was quite a long LP to start with at 17 tracks, it was a shame that the opportunity wasn't taken to press it onto two discs and use the full length “Cruiser's Creek”. This was followed by a 30th anniversary reissue of  “I Am Kurious, Oranj” on, inevitably, orange vinyl with the original gatefold sleeve restored as well as a reproduction of the programme for the Edinburgh Festival run of the ballet from 1988. However, the versions of  some tracks match to the longer takes on the original cassette and CD editions rather than the original vinyl and a small audio clip from the show that featured on the 1988 first press LP fell by the wayside too. Whilst the programme added value, the decisions regarding the audio made it feel like a “collector's item” rather than a proper reissue of the original vinyl.
The new edition of “IAKO” brought renewed requests for film of the ballet to be released. Over the last decade or so, it has become apparent that there was more footage captured than was thought at the time but that this is either in an antiquated format (Ellen Van Schuylenburch has this, it seems) or has been lost/wiped (the BBC). It seems likely that this simply isn't coming – even if Van Schuylenburch does have a full shoot, the condition of the tapes after 30+ years would be an issue, as would the cost of making any kind of transfer and restoration. The likelihood is that the cost involved simply couldn't be recouped for such a niche item. As frustrating as it might be, as with the “Hey Luciani” play, this one has evaded capture. Still, all is impermanence.
However, in 2019, the real boo arrived. The remastered and expanded reissue of “Bend Sinister” finally (FINALLY!) emerged, the gap in the Beggars Banquet years filled at last with the first new edition of the group's divisive 1986 album since....well, since 1986. This is actually quite astonishing given how regularly many of their albums have been retooled but all credit to Arkive; for one thing they can't be accused of flooding the market and for another, when they did the job, they did it right. Whilst there were a few exhales at the price (£22.99 felt like a lot for a double CD but was, I suppose, a relative bargain for the 2LP set), the results were an absolute joy and this is – in fairness to everyone – the only release since Smith's death that has told us anything we didn't already know about The Fall.
All that trolling, snidey waffle about the album being mastered either too slow or entirely from cassettes was killed off once and for all. The layer of fog lifted from the album in the remastering process demonstrates that the group were not necessarily playing at concert pitch in every session and that only 2 of the album's songs came from Smith's fabled wonky Maxell; we had already guessed “Riddler!” was one of them due to the audible wobble and hiss at the end of the track but it turned out the other was “Terry Waite Sez”. We were partly compensated for the latter with an alternate, slightly longer mix taken from a studio master but your bottom line here is that “Bend Sinister” had never sounded better and the album's long shadow was finally cast off. It turned out that the relative griminess wasn't actually a core part of the album's sound (unlike, say, “Dragnet”) and letting the light into “BS” was a relief as well as a thrill. The second disc collected the group’s 1986 singles and their flipsides (every one of them absolutely first class) as well as their Peel Session from that year and a few alternate takes for the faithful, the best of which was an early stab at “Entitled” which crackles with raw energy. Oh, and the previously cassette-only “Town And Country Hobgoblins”, now with both channels audible. 
OK, it took a looooong time but the Beggars Banquet years have now been perfectly preserved; the Omnibus editions of “TWAFW...” and “TNSG”, the 2CD “BS” and the “5 Albums” set give us great sounding versions of all the released material as well as an array of contemporaneous outtakes and live tracks to expand and round out our view of what remains, for some, a controversial era of The Fall's tenure but is, for most, one of their most persistently rewarding periods.
In Part 2: we'll have a good look over the hefty contribution the Cherry Red label has made to keeping The Fall’s work on the shelves.
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fly-pow-bye · 6 years ago
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Powerpuff Girls 2016 - The Final Stack Up (The Worst)
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It’s been a good time, friends, but the time has come. Which episodes managed to be the worst of them all?
This is the final stack up, and it's not just me saying that because the phrase "stack up" just caught on in my vocabulary. Out of all of the episodes, I'm going to make two different stacks of episodes: which episodes were the worst, and which were among the least worst. I would say "best", but I feel like that's a bit overselling even for those episodes. Let's start off with the worst, because I just want to get that out of the way.
Here's the criteria for that list:
It must be an episode of PPG 2016. As much as its quality is rather surprising, I consider TTG v. PPG a Teen Titans Go episode. While it even features one of the crew members, it has the Teen Titans Go animation, the Teen Titans Go theme song, and, for better or worse, the Teen Titans Go humor. Also, the Narrator appears in it for more than 10 seconds, and that’s just not allowed in PPG 2016.
It must be at least an episode of PPG 2016. The shorts are just too short and simple to rate among the full episodes, and I'm not rating PSAs or commercials. If one needs to know, Bubbs and Donny Get The Mail is the worst, and Mojo Builds A Shelf is the best.
In a challenge to myself, I have to say at least one good thing about each episode. I'd like to believe there's at least something good in even the worst of media.
This is my opinion and my opinion alone. There's some universally hated episodes I personally did not hate as much, and I am sure there’s going to be episodes people love that I did not particularly care for. It does not mean their opinion is wrong. In fact, this list is based on my current opinions, so that can even apply to past me's opinions.
Let’s roll.
The Bottom 10:
Without further ado, let's wade through the muck first, starting with...
10. A Star Is Blossom
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At first, I didn’t think this episode was particularly horrible; the review even initially had a Neutral Buttercup, the “bad, but not that bad” rating. The more I thought about it, the more I felt this episode wasn’t deserving of it.
The whole episode hinges on Blossom being uncharacteristically evil and jealous of her sister’s success, to the point where she locks her in a boiler room all so she can be the red-haired warrior woman that she wants. It all just turns into this non-sequitur plot with this Viking woman that doesn’t really do much for me. Erica the Red was more annoying than anything, with her being so tough, butch, and not particularly bright being her only character trait. They do try to throw that moral about not being jealous in there somewhere, and it just feels forced.
I would be remiss to talk about one rather infamous aspect of the episode: the way it uses Jared Shapiro, a new “love interest” character. He seemingly has no other character in most of the episodes he appears in than being the love interest of a girl who is barely past the “boys have cooties” age. While this is not the worst episode with him in it, this is the episode where he’s the creepiest. One example is where Jared attempts to kiss Bubbles right on the lips, and Bubbles shouts for her understudy in apparent horror. That was the big joke to end the episode, and all it did was make me feel queasy even when I pretended to not hate this episode.
Good thing: I did enjoy Ms. Moss a little more here than in Drama Bomb, even if Drama Bomb was better in most ways. Maybe it’s because she isn’t entirely the villain of the plot, even if she was the cause of the problem. The viking problem, not the Blossom jealousy problem.
9. Snow Month
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Snow Month: the episode that aired during Winter that explicitly takes place during Spring. Admittedly, they probably needed an episode to air during Christmas time, and there were no Christmas episodes in Season 1. Airing Twas The Fight Before Christmas was not an option. While I could see showing off the original would confuse viewers into thinking this series was good, it certainly would have been better than this episode.
That screenshot shows the truth, this is an episode where Jared is a major player. This was meant to be his very first appearance, though thanks to the mixup, episodes featuring him as Blossom's fantasy boyfriend have already aired. Here, we get to see him outside of Blossom's fantasies, giving her a note asking if she likes him. This utterly terrifies Blossom, and at least sickened me, and she causes a Snow Month to prevent her from seeing him again. To be fair to Blossom, I would want to avoid Jared, too.
There's a subplot involving this titular snow month causing a bunch of yetis to move into Townsville; yetis that act like rich yuppie tourists that openly discriminate against people that aren't their kind. Either that, or they were terrified people that had to leave the Matterhorn because of butthead yetis who destroy buildings. They can't seem to decide if all yetis are bad.
As for the other plot, it just ends with a total cop-out where Jared didn't really mean anything with that note. Throughout the series, no real progress is made with the Jared and Blossom relationship, even when Blossom just outright blurts out that she's in love with him in another episode. Happening to share the name of a certain spokesperson is only one of his problems...and that's the last I'll say about that.
Good thing: There's a cute sledding scene. I just found it cute, and Blossom even uses her powers at one point. It's good.
8. Professor Proofed
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We go from one male character I didn't really like to another, and this time it's a character that is trying to be one character from the original. I'm not saying that the original Professor Utonium was an absolutely perfect father figure with no flaws whatsoever, but the reboot's version of him seems to be written more like a Sitcom Dad most of the time.
While he was making a growth ray, Sitcom Dad gets into an accident thanks to his bumbling and dangerous actions. And by bumbling and dangerous actions, I mean Buttercup shook a pepper cloud in his face. Yet, it's his fault, apparently, and he ends up becoming a man in a protective bubble. Sitcom Dad just goes along with all of this, because he decided he's not going to do anything of worth in this episode other than being. He's more of a prop than anything.
That's it, really, the episode is just a one note premise that doesn't do much with it. There's a giant baby caused by that growth ray, but the most they do with him is have him cover Bubbles with spit. If "kids being overprotective of their parents" is the funniest joke ever, this episode does not prove it.
Good thing: There's some decent commentary on inattentive parents. Oh, not from Sitcom Dad, but from the parent of the baby that becomes a giant.
7. Memory Lane of Pain
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If you asked me which of the three Reboot Puffs is my least favorite a year ago, I'd say Bubbles. She's the only one that's inconsistent. Some episodes, she's an insufferable brat and/or crybaby. Other episodes, she's impossibly stupid, and not because she's written with child-like naivety. And in this episode, she's written as if she's the most incompetent superheroine alive.
This is one of those "three shorts" episodes, though it's really two and a really lousy ending. Blossom takes on the Rubber Bandit while Bubbles gets destroyed by a Dali dolly bomb, Buttercup takes on Popsicles while Bubbles gets turned into one of those ice cream bars, and Bubbles gets to learn that she's an everyday hero by a bunch of people talking about how she saved kittens and joined barbershop quartets. What?
I get what the ending was supposed to allude to: you don't have to be especially talented or have superpowers to be a hero. The problem is...Bubbles is a superhero. She has definitely been a major factor in saving the day in several episodes before this one. It just wasn't enough for this reboot to stab Bubbles' original voice actress in the heart, they had to stab all of the Bubbles fans in the heart as well, and that's terrible.
Good thing: The way the Rubber Bandit and Popsicles were taken down were pretty cool, and I would think if they were in episodes that weren't meant to be torture for the poor little blue teddy bear, they may have been okay.
6. Buttercup Vs. Math
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As much flack as I gave the idea of giving Bubbles the ability to code in Viral Spiral, especially considering this reboot's constant gag of her misspelling words, at least I can argue that Viral Spiral was a decent enough episode to get girls into a STEM field. This episode, at first glance, appears to have the same mission, except instead of Bubbles and programming, it's Buttercup and mathematics. After watching this, I grew to appreciate Viral Spiral a lot more.
In this episode, we see Buttercup has a knack for math, testing herself into honors math. This gets her the disdain of people she considered her friends, even more jealousy from one of her sisters, and she has to hang out with nerd stereotypes that would make Urkel disgusted that call her a "math queen". It's no wonder Buttercup spends the entire episode fighting against this trait that's just forced upon her. This is the exact opposite of Viral Spiral; it makes math look like something only for super nerds, and people interested in math should be ashamed of themselves.
A special focus should be put on how they treated Blossom in this episode. In Viral Spiral, Blossom was glad to see Bubbles getting into coding. Here, it's A Star Is Blossom times 100, as she gets angry at the thought that the "muscle" of the group tested into honor's math and she did not. In the end, Blossom tries to take on the math-based villain, and ends up getting turned into a literal zero. That's it, really. Only at the very end does this episode give Math the respect it deserves, and it's so tacked on that I wonder if it was all meant to be a gigantic joke. If it was, it was not funny.
Good thing: The battle scene does at least give a good lesson about math: don't just take it all in at once, simplify it! Also, they did a joke involving decapitating Barry. Not that I hate Barry, far from it, but the fact that they even did anything like that is surprising.
5. Horn, Sweet Horn
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Bubbles finds a new BFF, a horse with a cardboard tube on his head named Donny. While most horses just whinny, this horse can whine. He can whine about how while the horn he had was mere cardboard, he knows that inside, he's a bonafide unicorn. Since Bubbles really wants to be friends with a unicorn, she takes this wanna-be corn to the lab and tells the Professor to change him with his transmogrification ray so he can fulfill his dreams. Everything goes downhill after that.
With this talk about being a unicorn inside, Sitcom Dad warning Donny that it's his body and it's a serious choice, and a line about "adolescent self discovery" later in the episode, some may believe that this episode was meant to be a gender identity allegory. In fact, that was said to be the case in an interview with the two directors of the show. If that was the case, maybe having that transmogrification ray turn him into an out of control monster was not the best idea. To be fair, one of the writers had come out and said that the allegory wasn't intentional, though they decided to wait until after everyone shared their disgust with this episode to say that it wasn't.
Donny is just a terrible character all around, and he will prove it even more in another episode. Hint, hint. In this one, all he does in this episode is whine. Wah, I'm not a unicorn. Wah, science ruined me. Wah, I hate you for doing this, Bubbles. Slap. Wah, what have I done. The ending is ridiculous as well; it turns out that Donny's hair was hiding a horn this whole time. If I had a horn on my head, I would certainly feel it even if my hooves couldn't reach it.
In the end, Bubbles gets a horn that will summon him, which she will never use. Sadly, it turns out Donny can just barge in at any time without it. Oh well.
Good thing: A coalition of unicorns could have led to more interesting stories. I am really stretching for positives with this episode in particular; the only reason why it's even this high up is that it just didn't offend me as much as the next four.
4. Once Upon A Townsville
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The Powerpuff Girls try to make a stereotypical Disney-esque princess into a superhero, something she is clearly not, and, in the end, they learn the lesson that people should accept each other for what they are. On paper, that doesn't sound like a bad episode, but the way this episode handles it is just questionable to say the very least. Simply put, this episode is about the Powerpuff Girls saving a princess from putting herself in grave danger, and they're considered the bad guys.
There's even a whole montage of her putting herself in grave danger, and except for one scene, it's more disturbing than funny. In the end, the episode seems to give the Powerpuff Girls a stern lesson over their actions in this episode, as if they were in the wrong for saving her from what are essentially suicide attempts! What were they supposed to do, let her die? I'm all for letting girls be themselves, but there is a limit to that.
At least they got into the Disney-esque spirit by making this one a musical, and one of the songs, otherwise a complete ripoff of Missy Elliot's Work It, has a Buttercup beatbox solo featuring stock images of the elderly. I wondered if it was meant to be a joke about how these old characters are desperately trying to be hip to the youth that this reboot is supposed to be for.
Oh, Once Upon A Townsville, if only there was someone who loved you. Well, the Emmys did, as they gave this one this reboot's only Emmy nomination. Sometimes, the Emmys are wrong. Either that, or Cartoon Network should have submitted a different episode.
Good thing: I kind of liked the joke where Buttercup keeps swapping away all of the poisoned apples. At least those only put princesses to sleep.
3. Painbow
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Here it is, this reboot's most infamous episode. Clips of this episode became infamous overnight, and everyone seems to agree that this is the episode that shows how bad the Powerpuff Girls reboot truly is. While I disagree with the notion that this is the absolute worst, I cannot disagree that this episode deserves to be on this list. The episode involves the Powerpuff Girls having to stop a rainbow that causing everyone to be unnecessarily happy...except them, because they ate anti-mind-control pineapples. Better explanation than the nothing they give in the episode itself.
This all leads to the worst minute in reboot history. While this show's rainbow dimension sears anyone's eyes slightly harder than an episode of Problem Solverz, we get Blossom referencing the "literally can't even" meme of the early 2010s right after hearing Bubbles say "OMG, yas!". Not too long later, we get the scene that most people think about when they think about PPG 2016.
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The twerk scene. To be honest, I think people are really overselling this scene. It's bad, it's uncomfortable, and it dates the show, sure, but there's a lot more to hate about this episode. The animation errors that are even more numerous in this episode, Sitcom Dad in a speedo, the fact that Allegro is just a bad Him wannabe, I could go on far longer than I did in my initial review.
There is supposed to be a moral about how there's a time to be serious and a time to be funny, and we know this because Buttercup outright blurts it out near the end of the episode. It's easy to be distracted from that, considering everything else. It's a bad episode that is worthy of the first Disgusted Buttercup. However, it's not the worst episode of Season 1.
Good thing: The way Buttercup punches out Allegro in the end is pretty well animated by reboot standards.
2. Odd Bubbles Out
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No, this is the worst episode of Season 1. Because they just knew Horn Sweet Horn was going to be a huge hit, they just had to make another episode featuring this not-so-lovable hell horn, and this one is worse in every possible aspect. The episode involves Donny getting together with Bubbles, even down to going to school with her. Nobody questions why a unicorn is walking around with them, but I can ignore that. He then makes a brand new friend named Chelsea, which makes Bubbles really, really angry because how dare he make another friend. Not to say that there are other reasons, of course.
If I were to give Horn, Sweet Horn one thing; at least I know who was the most annoying character in that episode. Donny just hangs out with Chelsea off-screen, not even talking to Bubbles and treating her like she's not as cool. Bubbles is acting like some crazy ex-girlfriend over Chelsea even existing; it's as if Donny should only have her, and she makes no effort in joining in any of the activities Donny is doing. Maybe the idea was that neither Donny nor Bubbles were in the right, but all this really does is give me an episode where nobody was likable.
...and then Chelsea turned out to be an evil robot made by this show's version of Mojo Jojo, all so Bubbles can look good treating her like an irredeemable enemy. Kind of funny how the "silly monkey with the silly hat" that I call Discount Jojo for various reasons hasn't even appeared in this list until now. Most of his worst moments just aren't in the absolute worst episodes, it seems.
Good thing: ...and honestly, his plan in this episode isn't one of his worst moments at all. Making a fake robot friend was one of the better Discount Jojo plans. Such a shame it was wasted on this episode.
Dishonorable Mentions:
Hustlecup - No episode from Season 3 made the Bottom 10, but that's not to say that Season 3 didn't have any stinkers. In fact, this episode would have been the number 11 pick if I went that far. A sports episode where the sports parts are written very poorly, an ending that does not make sense, and a waste of what should have been a special appearance by one of the Gorillaz.
Quarantine - Quarantine was practically a blank check for what could be a really funny episode: Mojo Jojo and the Powerpuff Girls stuck in a room together. If only it was the actual Mojo Jojo, and the Powerpuff Girls didn't just relegate themselves to just constantly beating him up. It's just a painful episode all around, and could also be a good candidate for a #11.
The Wrinkle-Gruff Gals - Hey kids! Are you being bullied for being different? Why not follow their advice and try being different? I was way too easy on this one.
Tiara Trouble: In theory, an episode that involves the villains participating in a talent show should be a laugh riot. It's too bad most of the jokes are, "tee hee, what if they were dressed in women's clothing?" Also, it gave us the infamous Bubbles No Me Gusta face, which is up there with the you-know-what scene from Painbow.
Presidential Punchout - A really bad version of Impeach Fuzz. The only good thing about this episode is that it shows a universe where the most sane candidate could win an election. If only, if only.
Halt and Catch Silico - The most interesting villain that the reboot managed to cooked up is tarnished by this episode, as we get to hear his very confusing and laughable even in-universe origin story. Anyone's imaginations could have done better; they may as well have kept it a secret forever.
Huh, confusing and laughable origin stories, what does that remind me of? Admittedly, including this episode is a little against the second rule for this list, as it is just one part of a multiple-part special. However, it has certain unique and horrific traits about it that really puts it over the edge. And that episode is...
1. Bliss Reminisce
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As a whole, The Power of Four wasn't bad. It had a solid opening, a slightly-less-solid ending, and a rather boring middle part that could have been cut down by an episode. Oh, and there's this part. There is so much I could say about this episode's flaws that I could make a top 10 just of the worst parts in it. In fact...I'll do it right now!
The Top 10 Reasons Why Bliss Reminisce Is The Worst Episode of PPG 2016:
This is more in hindsight, but out of the entire series, this is the only time in the entire reboot that Chemical X is ever mentioned in the episodes themselves. Such an important item in this series, and it's never used outside of what is essentially a joke in this episode.
Discount Jojo adds basically nothing to Bliss' origin story. They could have at least explained that Bliss was the inspiration for him pushing the Professor into the Chemical X, but we don't even get that. All it adds is that Jojo was Bliss's only friend at one point, which has at least one negative connotation.
That face Jojo makes in the middle of the episode, complete with stock image eyes and lips. Eugh.
Her name isn't just Bliss, it is Blisstina Franchesca Francis Mariam Alicia Utonium. Even disregarding that overly long names is a trope associated with overly idealistic fan characters, what the hell is a Blisstina? I know what a blossom, bubbles, a buttercup, a bunny, and a bullet are, but there is no such thing as a blisstina. They could have just stuck with Bliss.
Sitcom Dad is kind of a jerk to the other three throughout this whole episode, which clashes with his appearance in the last episode. There's sort of a reason for this, and I'll get to it a little bit later in the list.
Discount Jojo wants to tell his side of the story, but the Powerpuff Girls make him skip over the whole pushing Sitcom Dad into the chemicals part. I can't help but think this was done to not ruin that "great joke" that appears later in this list, but it also makes me wonder if they were even aware of one of the biggest reasons for Jojo being their arch-nemesis.
Sitcom Dad promising that he'll never leave Bliss, and, a few seconds later, he has to leave to get an reward for "best ham"! Sitcom Dad, everyone!
He even dares to say that Bliss is his favorite of all of his creations, despite ignoring her existence for the past 5 years or however long its been since the Powerpuff Girls were created. Again, seems to be a trope associated with overly idealistic fan characters.
We do learn that Bliss is made from Chemical W. That's fine, it gives an explanation to how she has so many powers that the Powerpuff Girls don't have. What I can't accept is that we learn that he not only accidentally knocked into a vat of Chemical W, but every Chemical from A to V as well! There is no indication whatsoever that this wan't just inspired by someone saying, "Chemical X, what about Chemical A through W, wakka wakka!"
Oh, that whole Professor Utonium making the Powerpuff Girls because he wanted a family, or being inspired by an incident involving time travel? No, silly, it's because he was envious of another scientist who did the same thing! The Reboot Puffs were made out of envy, really good to know. That scientist and her creation will never become important, ever; she's just there to take credit and decency away from the man they dare to call Professor Utonium.
Oh, and I didn't like it.
Good thing: It would be impossible to do a top 10 best things about this episode, but there is a mediocre joke involving a garage door that almost made my constant frown at this episode disappear.
With bad episodes like these, why did I continue to watch the show? I would say it's my job, but I didn't really get paid for this. Turns out, there are some okay to even, gasp, good episodes of this show. Episodes that actually made me happy that I did this experiment. I certainly would have never experienced them if I decided to quit watching the reboot after Season 1, which was my initial plan.
In the end, I felt it deserves to be its own article. See you tomorrow for The Best.
← Sideline Dad ☆ The Final Stack-Up (The Best) →
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sage-selfships · 6 years ago
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Sage H. D. - Bully Self-Insert
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This is my Self-Insert for Bully/Canis Canem Edit! I made the art myself and would appreciate if you didn’t use it! The Template was created by Silkvale and found here! I will post updated versions to @kitty-selfshipping so uhm yeah, follow that blog to read it when it’s totally finished or edited.
If you are interested in reading the current info about my Bully Self-Insert, please read under the cut!
Biographical Information Full Name [& Pronunciation] - Sage Holland Drage ( S AI J ) ( H AW - l uh n d ) ( d r ai j ) Meaning - Herb or Prophet, Ridgeland, Dragon Set Age - 14-15 Certified Birthdate - 12 January 1992 (not my real birth year, but shh) Astrological Sign -  Capricorn Pronouns - They/them or He/Him Aliases & Preferred Nicknames – Dumbbell - Sage might not actually like the nickname, but Mandy WIles insist on calling Sage it whenever Mandy sees Sage, so Sage is  Dragon - As some people may not be able to pronounce Sage’s surname, Sage just call themselves Dragon to make it easier for everyone. Ms. Shy - Even though Sage prefers to go by he/him or they/them pronouns, people insist on calling them ms, and many people consider them shy because of how they seem terrified of new people Puppy - A nickname Sage got from Kirby Olsen, that they claim matches their general personality Ethnicities Distant Descendants : American, British,  Dominant Descendants : Norwegian, Swedish, Danish Physical Description Hair Color - Brown Eye Color - Blue Weight – Height - Typical Clothing Wear :  Maroon or pink vest, purple skirt, blue bow, purple bow, pink shoes - School   uniform  Red stained dress and blonde wig - Halloween costume, that is supposed to resemble Carrie White from the movie Carrie Faux fur coat, faux fur ushanka - Winter attire Figure/Build - Distinguishing Features/Scars/ or Birthmarks – A mole just over their lip Explain: Tattoos: Piercings: Frequently Worn Jewelry: Choker belt around their neck Personal Information Current Living Arrangements - Sage currently lives with three of their American relatives, but also they technically live at Bullworth, in the girl’s dorm Originated from - Vestfold, Norway Traveled Territories - Hobbies -   Fears – Spiders, snakes, insects, heights, scarecrows, most of the jocks Religion/Beliefs – Atheist Why?: Sage grew up in an atheist family, as simple as that. Health Behaviors Physical Ailments/ Disabilities/ Issues – Addiction(s) [Sex, Drugs, Smoking, Alcohol, Other]  Why?: Any regular medication taken? – Medication for their Iron Deficiency and for their Hives Chronological Information Profession - Student Likes - Dislikes - Goals/Ambitions – Most Instructive/Painful/Memorable Experience - Story behind experience: Weapons/Equipment - Sage mostly fights using their hands but can use a baseball if they need to Personal Attributes Personality - Strengths - Weaknesses - Good Habits - Bad Habits - Fetishes/Strange Behaviors - Stereotype - Shy kid with few friends As you know them better(and you like them) : As you know them better(and you hate them) :   Ratings on Personal Qualities (don't go overboard make reasonable stats for your character) Physical Strength : 4/10 Sage might not regularly train, but surprisingly Sage is stronger than they seem Attractive : 5/10 Sage doesn’t consider themselves the most beautiful and mostly blames it upon their parents and grandparents for how they look Honesty : 7/10 Sage hates lying in general, but still does lie if they need to. Rule Abiding : 3/10 Sage thinks certain rules are to be broken and others are to be broken. Sociability : 3/10 Sage is quite shy when it comes to meeting new people, but if they muster up enough confidence they can make new friends. Bullworth Academy Information Reason for enrolling: Sage has lacked disiplince and Sage’s parents had relatives that lived close Bullworth, so they decided on sending them to a Clique - Standing and Rank in Social Circle  - Room Number – 4 Roommate(s)-  Zoe Taylor & Beatrice Trudeau Favourite Subject(s) – English,  & Art Why?: Sage loves English because they’ve felt so motivated and  Least Favorite Subject(s) – Why?: Favourite Teacher – Mr. Galloway & Mrs. Philips Why?: Mr. Galloway - Sage takes a liking to Mr. Galloway, mostly because he encouraged and gave Sage a warm welcome to the school, during Sage’s first day at Bullworth Mrs. Philips - Sage got a few compliments Least Favorite Teacher –  Mr. Slawter Why?: Sage is quite afraid of Mr. Slawter, mostly because he yelled at Sage during their first class Knowledgeability Language(s) – Norwegian, English Schooling Level - Grade 8-9, Expertise – Chemistry - Math - English - Geography - Sage knows a few things, like where certain European countries are, but after that, nothing more Politics/Law - Economy - Cooking/Culinary - Shop - Botany/Biology - Mythology - high / Sage knows a lot about Norrøn Mythology and enjoys learning more and more about it Art - high / Sage highly enjoys Art and feels that they know a lot about the rules about realism and perspective Photography - Sage knows how to use a camera, and what settings look good or not, so they consider themselves at a 5/10 Reading Level - Overall Intelligence Level(s) - Interpersonal and Naturalistic. Relationships Statuses   (once you list characters here, delete them from the other list near the end of this information sheet, makes things less confusing) (Also, please describe the relationships of your character with other characters) Trusted Companions Closest Friend(s) –   Milliz - “I trust her with my life. Nothing more or less to say. And might I add that her and Earnest are really freakiNG ADOREABLE?” (Jeg beklager ikke for at du er satt på denne lista, Milliz) Friend(s) -   Kirby Olsen - Despite Kirby being a jock and Sage being afraid of most of the jocks, Kirby and Sage are pretty close and    
Hated Rivals Worst Enemies – Intolerable Students - Harmless Acquaintances Tolerated Students - Tolerated Townsfolk - Hot Encounters Hinted Attractions - Crush(es) - Lover(s) - Gary Smith, Jimmy Hopkins and Petey (Ey, don’t judge me please or make comments about this please, I just ship myself with all of them :( I will also make like another post or tweet where I just describe everything from lore to headcanons about this ) Ex(s) - None Extra Information Eating Habits Omnivore/Carnivore/Herbivore – Favorite Food(s): Favorite Drink(s): Disliked Food(s): Disliked Drink(s): Added Information Proclaimed Theme Song(s) - Either Dancing Queen by ABBA or Scent – Favourite Color: Favourite Season: Favourite Animal: Sage  Favourite Music Genre: Sage can’t really choose, but they are very fond of country and Pop Most Memorable Quote – Various Quotes Through Interaction :  “ Walking around – “I sure hope Mandy was joking when he called me a dumbbell...” “I don’t know jack dritt about math, how am I supposed to get a good grade?” “Gary mentioned something about rats, wondered what he was on about.” “I’m considering joining a clique... but which one?” “ “ “ “ When the fire alarm goes off – “Stuff like this always happens when you least expect it.” “Sure hope this isn’t a drill, I don’t want my slippers to get wet again without reason.” Greetings Good Terms: “Hiya!” “Hey there, best friend!” “How ya doing, sweetie?” “How are you doing, buddy?” “Hey, anyhting fun happen recently?” “Bro! What’s up?” “Heisann!” (Norwegian for ‘Hey there’) Bad Terms: “Please leave me alone” “I rather not talk.” “Ew.” “Get out of my face!” “Leave me alone!” “Continue being around me and I’ll beat you up! Or cry!” Saying goodbye – Good Terms: “Have a good day! “See you later!” “Hope you have a good night!” Bad Terms: “”See you in Hell, I uhm mean class.” “Leave already.” “I’m getting a headache, gotta go.” “Byyeee, see you never.” When Flirted With – Good Terms: “I uhm...” “Thank you....” “Well I uhm, thank you so much! I uhm haha, we should hang out or something!” “I feel flattered. I’ll uhh have to go over there until the blushing stops.” “Continue acting this sweet and you’re going to be getting ladies really quickly.” “ “You’re such a sweetheart!” “If I were of age, I would marry you right here on the spot, but I’m still too young.” Bad Terms: “I wouldn’t say I don’t like you, but I’m not that interested.” “Not to be rude, but no.” “That better not be trying to make me blush, because it didn’t work at all.” “ “
Watching a fight – “I know I shouldn’t watch this crap, but damn it feels so right, right now!” “ Attacking – “I’m sorry!” “I have no choice in this situation, so I apologize beforehand!” “I learnt this one from my friend!” While Fighting – “I really wish it didn’t have to end with one of us being hurt!” “Ouch! Thanks, I guess!”
Chasing someone – “You can run, but you can also hide!” “Come back here! please...!” Out of breath – “This always happens....” “Why do I have to have iron deficiency? When hidden from – “ Knocked out – “ Stinkbomb explodes – “I can’t see shit!” “I should be happy I can’t smell anything from before!” Opinions on students who reside at Bullworth Academy– (in alphabetical order) Bullies   Davis White: Ethan Robinson: Russell Northrop: Tom Gurney: Trent Northwick: Troy Miller: Wade Martin: Zoe Taylor: Greasers Hal Esposito: Johnny Vincent: Lefty Mancini: Lola Lombardi: Lucky De Luca: Norton Williams: Peanut Romano: Ricky Pucino: Vance Medici: Jocks Bo Jackson: Casey Harris: Damon West: Dan Wilson: Juri Karamazov: Luis Luna: Mandy Wiles: Ted Thompson: Nerds Algernon Papadopoulos: Beatrice Trudeau: Bucky Pasteur: Cornelius Johnson: Donald Anderson: Earnest Jones: Fatty Johnson: Melvin O'Connor: Thad Carlson: Non-Cliques Angie Ng: Christy Martin: Constantinos Brakus: Eunice Pound: Gloria Jackson: Gordon Wakefield: Ivan Alexander: Karen Johnson: Lance Jackson: Melody Adams: Pedro De La Hoya: Ray Hughes: Sheldon Thompson: Trevor Moore: Preppies Bif Taylor: Bryce Montrose: Chad Morris: Derby Harrington: Gord Vendome: Justin Vandervelde: Parker Ogilvie: Pinky Gauthier: Tad Spencer: Opinion on Adults who teach and patrol at Bullworth Academy – (in alphabetical order) Miss Danvers: Miss Peters: Mr. Galloway: Mr. Luntz: Mr. Matthews: Mr. Wiggins: Mrs. Carvin: Mrs. MacRae: Mrs Peabody: Ms. Phillips: Neil: Prefects – Edward Seymour II: Karl Branting: Max MacTavish: Seth Kolbe: Opinions on People in the cities of Bullworth – (in alphabetical order) Townies Clint(aka Henry): Sage doesn’t like saying it, but they’re quite afraid of him and  Duncan: Edgar Munsen: Gurney: Jerry: Leon: Omar Romero: Otto Tyler: Residents in the city of Bullworth – Bethany Jones: Denny: Dr. Bambillo: Krakauer: Mihailovich: Miss Abby: Mr. Brekindale: Mr. Buckingham: Mr. Castillo: Mr. Doolin: Mr. Huntingdon: Mr. Johnson: Mr. Martin: Mr. Ramirez: Mr. Salvatore: Mr. Smith: Mr. Sullivan: Ms. Rushinski Mrs. Lisburn: Osborne:
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barmcakemag · 4 years ago
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Halifax Festival of Words talk
This is the talk I gave at the Halifax Festival of Words. It took place in the front room of the Grayston Unity bar (pictured below) last month, just before publication of Barmcake 9. Some of the posters from the talk are also pictured below. Thanks to the festival and bar for having me.
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I love this front room.
It sort of reminds me of being a kid, at my grandparents, on Boxing Day.
Some of the family used to get up and do a turn ­– a song, a sketch, a tune.
Among the aunties and uncles was my Great Aunty Mary, who was great in all respects. She was very funny, wrote poetry  –  and was the spitting image of Hylda Baker, (poster below), who I’ll be coming to later.
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 I didn’t have an uncle like Lou Reed ­– fortunately.
That would have made Christmas a bit tense.
‘Uncle Lou, you’ve spilt heroin on your roast potatoes again.’
Anyway, I’ll be coming on to the Velvet Underground later as well.
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So, I’m Dave Griffiths and I make Barmcake.
The magazine started in April 2014 and the new edition – issue 9 – is out next week.
There are usually two editions a year. I only brought one out last year because I was busy with my other work – I’m a freelance writer, editor, proofreader and journalism tutor.
Barmcake is available free in about 45 venues in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Sheffield, and North Derbyshire. You can also obtain copies by post, if you send a donation.
I write all – or all but one or two – of the articles in each edition. I also design the magazine, edit it, find the advertising, sort the fundraising, promote it, and deliver it.
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This afternoon I’m going to be telling you why I make a print magazine in the digital age.
And why I make this particular magazine, which I believe is different from anything else out there.
(I know it’s definitely the only one that offers northern entertainment for the middle-aged.)
I’ll also tell you how I make an issue from scratch.
There are high points about ­making Barmcake – interviewing people like John Cooper Clarke, Viv Albertine, and Ken Dodd.
But there are perils about making a magazine on your own – for example when my computer packed in a week or so before deadline for issue 8 and I had redo the pages from scratch
I’ll also tell you about the money side of things.
I’m happy to take any questions at the end. Although don’t ask me anything about maths. The square of the hypotenuse is worth two in the bush, or whatever.
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I’ve been a journalist since 1989.
I’ve worked for all the ridiculously-named weekly newspapers – the Congleton Chronicle, the Biddulph Chronicle, the Ormskirk Advertiser, the Wigan Observer.
I’ve never been a Woodward and Bernstein-type journalist. I used to love doing  golden wedding anniversary interviews – finding out about people’s lives. (The secret for most couples is: ‘Never go to bed on an argument’).
I moved to London in the mid-90s and became a sub-editor. Then I came back up north to Leeds to work for PA New Media’s Ananova website as a sub and writer. It was a really exciting time to be part of a new national media organisation.
At that point the digital world seem to offer limitless possibilities – a chance to hear fresh voices and cover things that didn’t get much attention on a national platform
But as it went on – on Ananova and elsewhere – the choice of topics became narrower and the coverage shallower.
It felt like a missed opportunity and after a few years, I left to become a sub on the Manchester Evening News print edition.
That disillusionment with the digital world fed into the creation of Barmcake. I even stopped doing my own blog, which is a sort of forerunner of the magazine.
I feel websites lack the personal touch of magazines and newspapers. Each edition of Barmcake is yours to hold, to savour, to read how you want. It’s not borrowed on a screen in a clutter of links and dowdy, keyword-heavy headlines.
Print is more personal.
I was reminded of that a few years ago when I was flicking through a paper, turned the page and there was a two-page picture spread of the inside of a doll’s house – with fantastic detail of each room
Now, if that had been a website link – say ‘See the amazing doll’s house, click here’ – I probably wouldn’t have looked at it.
But the photo, text and design on the printed edition stopped me in my tracks.
And it was me who chose to stop and look at it, not a website trying to guide me
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Of course, I can’t do Barmcake without digital media.
I can get instant access to performers and venues via their websites and email addresses.
And Twitter is a great promotional tool.
Even the front page of each Barmcake is partially designed that way so it looks good on Twitter.
Crucially, it’s how you use all that information available on the internet.
And I think many websites, magazines and newspapers aren’t making the most of it. They are picking from the same narrow pool of stories.
Meanwhile arts coverage in regional newspapers – with a few notable exceptions – is not as good as it used to be.
Some newspaper bosses are so pleased they can offer the same size newspapers as 10 years ago with half the staff, they forget about the quality of the editorial content.
When I look at some of the free lifestyle magazines in shops and pubs, the editorial content seems to be a shoddy afterthought.
And some website and magazine interviews are written by people who don’t appear to know anything about their interviewees, beyond what the PR company has told them
So that’s another reason why I started Barmcake – I want the articles to be the top priority.
I don’t stint on research ­and writing and rewriting.
For a two-page article in issue 8, for example, I read four books and endlessly wrote and rewrote the article.
They were four books about The Fall so it wasn’t the worst thing ever.
Hashtag firstworldindieproblems
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Pete Wylie was another reason I started Barmcake.
I read he was crowdfunding to make a new LP which to me was huge news.
But I couldn’t find much about it in magazines, newspapers and websites.
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Now I’ve got Northern entertainment for the middle-aged in my strapline.
But I hate some middle-aged people’s attitudes to new bands, the sort of people who say: ‘Well, of course,  they sound a bit like the Velvet Underground but they are not as good as them – and I speak as someone who has a 23-minute out-take of John Cale whittling a spoon.’
But having said that, there are artistes aged 40 and upwards  – like Pete Wylie  – whose work is either being ignored or under-appreciated, while some fairly dull, conservative, twentysomething bands are lauded to the hilt, merely because of their age.
I also felt audiences aged 40 and over were being ignored by many websites and magazines – the sort of people, for example, who might live in West Yorkshire but travel to gigs or comedy shows in Sheffield and Manchester (hence my circulation area).
People who like a nice real ale pub, a good book and trips to theatres and galleries.
Those were the subjects I wanted to write about.
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Plus I wanted to provide a decent listings service.
I used to love looking at City Life and Time Out and picking out gigs I wanted to see.
Can you do that on the internet? Not really, unless you want to wade through lists of venues or dates of gigs.
Barmcake is also a reaction against magazine shops like Magma and websites like Stack and Magculture.
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They only consider design-led, rather than text-led, magazines (spoof trendy mag, above).
Their view, unfortunately, seems to dominate the indie-mag culture.
The Magma magazines are beautiful, for sure, but slightly formulaic – lots of photos, lots of white space.
Some of the articles can be slightly sterile and desperately in need of an edit.
I was brought up on 80s NME and Sounds with writers like Steven ‘Seething’ Wells and his  hectic, hectoring, hilarious prose, which is completely at odds with something you’d read in, say, Monocle.
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Word magazine and Forty-20, a rugby league magazine, are other influences as they put – or did put in the case of Word – witty text first, before the design.
So a year before I left the MEN, I was thinking about going freelance and starting a magazine.
I went on a Guardian course about how to make one.
I wanted to know if I could make a magazine on my laptop and how much it would cost.
But the course wasn’t particularly helpful about either the basics of making a magazine or the money side of it.
And I realised I had a lot to learn when I went to a printer in Manchester after I went freelance.
I wanted someone to guide me about the basics of the printing process.
At the MEN, you simply had to press a button to send it to the printers. The page sizes, colours, etc were all set up for you.
So I came bounding into the shop, all enthusiastic, to be met by this spectacularly miserable bloke.
I said: ‘I’m going to make my own magazine and I was just wondering what I need to do.’
He said: ‘How many pages?’
‘Er..I don’t know, about 35.’
Shakes head: ‘You can’t have that number. What type of paper do you want?’
‘Er…I don’t know, just standard magazine paper.’
‘What sort of paper do you want for the front?’
‘Er…I don’t know.’
‘Do you want colour or black or white?
‘A mix of colour and black and white.’
‘Which pages are colour?’
‘I don’t know yet.’
I left the shop with my tail between my legs; my hopes not exactly crushed but dented.
Fortunately, I discovered the Footprint Workers Co-operative in Leeds who were very helpful and answered all my daft questions with patience.
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I can definitely recommend them if you are starting your own magazine or fanzine.
So I had an idea of what I was going to cover (music, comedy, pubs, theatre, books. film, art).
I had an idea of how I was going to write it (make the writing as good as it can be, keep the articles short)
I wanted to target an over 40s audience living in and around Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester, (although I don’t mind who reads it -– I’m not going to tell a youth with a fashionable beard to ‘put the Barmcake down sunshine’)
I wanted to keep the design simple and retro (the headlines are meant to look like 70s sitcom credits).
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And I wanted to make it as cheaply as possible – so I would do all or most of the writing, as I couldn’t pay anyone else, and I would deliver it.
I found a free design program (called Scribus) and I only use publicity photos or photos that I take myself.
I don’t charge for Barmcake because I want to get the magazines in the sorts of pubs, cafes and independent shops where people like to read books, newspapers and magazines.
In these sorts of places, most of the other magazines and newspapers are free.
Keeping it free also means less hassle for the owners of the pubs and cafes – no separate pots of money to keep etc.
I wanted a funny northern word for the title and Barmcake fits the bill.
There’s also the ‘You starting a print magazine in the internet age? You Barmcake!’
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‘Northern entertainment for the middle-aged’ gives some idea of what the magazine’s about, but it is not entirely serious.
I don’t want to go down the professional northerner route:
(Hovis voice):‘Eeeeeeeh, we’re all right friendly in t’ north.
‘London? They never speak to anyone.’
I’m always up for challenging northernness, because let’s face it – some of the world’s most miserable people are in Yorkshire!
I also didn’t want to get stuck in a straight, white, indie, male, middle-aged rut where The Smiths, The Fall or Half Man Half Biscuit can never be criticised.
And where it would  be blasphemous to suggest that Temptation by Heaven 17 is better than Temptation by New Order.
Barmcake is A5 because I wanted something that people can fit in their pocket or bag when they are out and about and it only costs a first class stamp to post a copy.
Apart from postage, my other costs are printing and petrol.
So I need to find about £850 for each issue.
Initially I used some of my voluntary redundancy money from the MEN and money from my other work to pay for the magazine.
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I started seeking advertising from issue 2 onwards.
My advertising revenue has gone up from £60 in issue 2 to £630 in issue 8.
It will be more than that in the new edition.
I feel that if you give people something to read, then they don’t just flick through the magazine and so they are more likely to see the adverts.
I am pleased that plan appears to be paying off.
But, it’s tricky balancing the amount of time you spend on editorial and advertising.
On some issues, I’ve left the advertising a little too late because I wanted to get the editorial right.
But, if I spend too much time on the advertising, I may get more ads in the short term, but I won’t keep the advertisers in the long term as the quality of the magazine will drop.
I set up a Paypal account for donations, which you can access via my website, and that brings in between £150 and £200 per issue, so I was more or less able to cover my costs for the first time for issue 8.
I also sent some copies to Australia for the first last time.
However I’d like to bring in more money through donations.
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So I’ll go through how the magazine has developed over the years.
Here are some bits from Issue 1 (above).
That issue had interviews with Cud, the Wedding Present, the director of a Frank Sidebottom doc, and the Revolutions Brewing Company owners, among others.
Features included Maxine Peake, a pub crawl on the Tour de France Yorkshire route, and Alan Bennett.
I did ask for interviews with Maxine and Alan.
With Alan, Faber and Faber gave a curious response – not no, but: (Alan Bennett voice): ‘Mr Bennett is aware of your interest.’
(I like to think everyone at Faber speaks with an Alan Bennett accent).
I was hoping perhaps that they were giving him potential material for his diary.
That would be the dream for me: (Alan Bennett voice): ‘I used to be contacted by the Guardian, but now it’s only bread-related magazines.’
In general I find about 75% of people I contact agree to interviews.
I was excited to get the first issue out.
There were 1,000 copies for that, it’s been 1,500 copies from issue 2 onwards
There was a good response to Barmcake 1 – the title, strapline and the front cover probably made the biggest impact.
But in hindsight I felt the interviews were too short and there were too many, fairly ordinary, one-page previews.
I addressed those issues for Barmcake 2 by making most of the interviews two or three pages long and sticking about 6-7 previews on two pages at the back – and that’s been the format ever since.
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So issue 2 (above) had interviews with Viv Albertine, Pete Wylie, Age of Chance, Steve Huison, among others.
My friend Richard wrote about why Otley is better than Prague for beer.
He has also done Bluetones and Skids interviews in other issues.
My friend Roshi has written about David Bowie and Count Arthur Strong.
And Prue, my wife, has interviewed Bryony Lavery and done a piece on the theatre company she co-founded – Root and Branch Productions (more northern entertainment for the middle-aged).
I’ve only used one feature from a writer I didn’t know as I want to be in a position to pay people for their work.
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 Viv Albertine was one of my most important interviews I’ve done for Barmcake.
It’s one of the most popular pieces with readers and it encouraged other artistes to get in touch.
I thought her book was one of the best memoirs/autobiographies I’d read, yet many of the reviews concentrated on the Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious anecdotes and didn’t focus enough on her fascinating life.
She answered my questions within a day (some people take nearly 2 months) and I was really chuffed she’d taken the trouble to give such interesting answers.
For example I asked her: Was punk the only time she’d come across so many strong and interesting characters?
She said: “God no.  Those people weren’t that strong and interesting.  Vivienne Westwood was.  
“We were all very flawed.  But at least we didn’t hide our flaws, we flaunted them.  
“I would say it was the only time in my life when you were allowed to be yourself, not smiling and saying thank you all the time.  
“Not greasing the wheels and aspiring and careerist.”
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 The Ken Dodd interview, from issue 5, in 2016 was also a highlight.
Here’s an extract:
He was fizzing with jokes and anecdotes.
When I mentioned I was from Huddersfield, he immediately recited a limerick about the town involving udders.
He told me an interviewer once asked if Dodd was his real name and he told him it was an anagram.
While I took that in, he’s onto the next joke.
I was also fascinated with how works an audience.
He said: “You play an audience like a musician plays his instrument.
“You know where the hotspots are, you know where you’ve got to work hard on them when they’re a bit stubborn, you know where to flirt with them, where to encourage them, and where to take it easy.
“You put little ad libs in, little asides, go faster, slower, louder, quieter, take it easy.”
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 So it was great to interview Ken and it was great to interview John Cooper Clarke for the same issue.
The interview was difficult to set up but turned out well.
I was meant to be interviewing him at a gig in Buxton but my car broke down and I couldn’t get to the gig in time on the train.
The angle I went on was his accent – whether it was the most important thing about his work and whether living in Essex for 25 odd years had affected it.
Here’s an extract:
“Accent? I don’t think it’s at all important. It’s what the work contains.
“I don’t think the accent’s got anything to do with it.
“I think vocal quality might have something to do with it, as in musicality.
“Listening to my old stuff it sounds like I’ve got a problem with my adenoids, and it can’t be that because I had my adenoids removed when I was about eight-years-old.
“To be honest, I think my voice is better than it’s ever been.
“But that’s not because of the accent, it’s because of the sonorous baritone quality.”
And of course, I can’t think of anyone else who says ‘sonorous baritone quality’ quite like John Cooper Clarke – stretching the vowels and punctuating the words so they got a real rhythm., He makes run-of the mill words sound magnificent.
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Issue 3, (above), had interviews with, among others, John Shuttleworth, John Bramwell, O’Hooley and Tidow, the organiser of the Glossop Record Club, and Professor Paul Salveson, who talked about railways and northern regionalism.
The latter is an example how I’ve occasionally moved away from my core subjects as I think it would interest readers.
In issue 7 I interviewed the marvellous Beers Manchester blogger who wrote about dealing with grief after his son died.
And in issue 8 I talked to Rosie Wilby who has written a really interesting book about monogamy.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed about Barmcake is finding out about wonderful artistes I didn’t know much about, like O’Hooley and Tidow, and looking into topics I’ve not really thought about much, such as non-monogamous relationships – and record clubs.
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Glossop Record Club was the first of the groups or people I featured from Twitter.
I noticed the people who started following me were doing some interesting and unusual stuff.
In other issues I’ve done features on 8bitnorthxstitch, (pictured below) who makes fabulous cross-stitch creations of bands such as The Fall and TV shows such as Coronation Street
There’s Beer Mat Movies, who writes film reviews on beer mats
And Jennifer Reid, or as she calls herself, the pre-eminent broadside balladress of the Manchester region.
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 In Issue 4, I decided to make a few tweaks to the structure with a picture-led centrespread and a bigger listings section.
I don’t want the magazine to date so my listings look up to four months ahead.
The listings are usually the first and last thing I do in the magazine.
I look at every gig venue, theatre, and gallery website in my circulation area, looking for potential star interviews, cover stars and centrespreads.
I listen to bands I’ve not heard of before who are playing at these venues.
Artistes are also contacting me now and I use three or four stories an issue from them
Once I get two or three big interviews, the rest of the magazine falls into place.
I feel it’s a bit like organising a festival – you need headliners plus strong supporting acts.
And once I get the headliners, I start looking for advertisers.
I have a mix of regular and new advertisers.
I then ask all my stockists, I ask local brewers and some businesses who follow me on Twitter.  
Most of my interviews are by email, the rest are phone interviews although I did one face-to-face chat with Martin Parr.
There is always a mad panic at the end of each issue , either because of a missing interview or ad, but all you can do is politely grovel with people to please, please, please in send the material.
As it’s just me making the magazine, there are no back-up features, no IT team to deal with technical problems, such as converting pdfs to jpgs.
Fortunately I’ve always managed to fill an issue in the end.
Once I’ve written and rewritten my pieces, I go back and check everything – the original source material, fact checks, spell checks.
The issue is then proofread by Prue and then by one of our friends.
I don’t want a daft literal or incorrect name to undermine the magazine, especially as Barmcake takes about two months to do, on and off, between my other work.
My printer then gives me a final proof before it goes to press and I get it back within a week.
The new Barmcake is due out midweek next week.
I like to do a big reveal on the day of publication but I can tell you it is the biggest Barmcake ever, with 9 exclusive interviews, more than any before, and 5 features – including Hylda Baker.
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It takes me four  days to deliver the copies.
I cover an area bordered by Wigan, Ilkley and Sheffield.
The list of venues is on the website, although it will change slightly over the next few days. Venues ask to be stockists and readers also recommend places.
I keep about 300 copies back for people who want a copy in the post, and for friends and media people.
Then I do a Twitter promo campaign for about 2-3 weeks.
I only put one article per issue online and I only do that months after the issue comes out.
In February, I start on a new issue.
It will be the fifth anniversary issue and a chance to take stock.
Ideally I’d like to be making more money for it, getting regular sponsorship from a suitable partner, and in the long term looking to pay others to write.
But anyway, that’s the story of Barmcake.
I hope you have enjoyed it
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tittahk · 3 years ago
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Los pollos x islide
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#Los pollos x islide upgrade
ISlide enables consumers to create their own design on high-quality athletic sandals enabling individual expression and self-representation with peers, family, and friends, embodying the message “Stand In What You Stand For. Founded in 2013 by Justin Kittredge, a 19-year footwear industry veteran, ISlide has amassed over 50 official licenses and more than a dozen partnerships. You can customize your own ISlides today at .Ĭompany Info: ISlide is the industry leader in premium, custom sandals. To learn more about ISlide, check out their blog or follow on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Maker of DJ Khaled's famous "Another One" and "Bless Up" sandals, ISlide fuses performance with leisure and has partnered with the NBA, MLB, Overwatch League, and a number of other teams, brands, and organizations for officially licensed custom designs. ISlides are the sought-after athletic sandal sweeping the world on the feet of such athletes and celebrities as Lebron James, Justin Bieber, Dwyane Wade, BearDaBeast of the 2019 NBA2KL Championship T-Wolves Gaming team, and more. The sale officially closed at the end of the day on Tuesday, August 13th and capped out at over 750+ pairs sold. In the final days of the promotion, ISlide released two “Limited Edition” designs on limited-availability colorways (Purple and Pink/White Fur) that sold out a number of sizes within minutes of going live. By the end of the first day, sales had officially doubled the previous year’s total. Launching on Friday, August 2nd, the Los Pollos collection sold over 150 pairs in the first 5 minutes alone. We were happy to partner with Los again, and this year’s sale really took off.” “That’s what really turned us onto the gaming space, where we now have official licenses for both NBA 2KL and the Overwatch League. “We saw really great success in the Flash Sale we ran with Los Pollos last summer,” says Justin Kittredge, CEO and Founder of ISlide. Originally working together on a brief collaboration in 2018, both ISlide and Los Pollos decided to go for it again. GAMER TARGETS SUCCESS, WINS BIG WITH CUSTOM FOOTWEAR BRANDīoston, MA: Known for their innovative, high quality, customizable slide sandals, ISlide recently wrapped up a partnership with streamer Los Pollos, known for playing the popular video games Fortnite and NBA 2K. Nicholas Knoerr FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/16/19 You can also check out our official Press Release below: You can check out what you may (or may not) have missed out on below and don't forget to comment who you think we should collab with next! BUT! Because we like to see as many people as possible have the opportunity to own a pair of ISlides, we hit up Los Pollos to see if he wanted to add another design on a special colorway for the last few hours of the sale.Īt the end of the sale, we had released a total of 8 designs with two of them being super limited edition, having less than 50 pairs of each. Our unique sensor system will exactly track and surprise. Users will be able to choose from a wide range of themes and special effects so that each ride can be different. In the first 3 hours, over 200 pairs were purchased and we were beginning to worry if we would sell out before the end of the sale. iSlide offers an entire range of light, sound, ambiance and 3D projection effects that can be easily mounted into your existing slide. Care for them with love!” says celebrity hairstylist Alexander Armand who counts Serena Williams, Cleo Wade, and Quinta Brunson as clients.Our most recent collection with eSports gamer, Los Pollos, has sold out in all sizes and colors.Īfter collaborating in 2018, we teamed up with Los Pollos again, to offer another collection of designs on limited edition colorways. “For maintaining hair extensions, it’s very important to treat them like it’s your natural hair. Our experts agree though, that extensions should be considered an investment and treated as such. Nowadays, you can count on extensions for versatile tape-ins, bundles for the age-old sew-in, or clip-ins you can easily attach yourself.
#Los pollos x islide upgrade
Even more: with the right extensions, you can upgrade up your everyday blowout or even add some hair to that quick messy bun before running out the house. “My favorite hairstyle to add hair extensions to is any hairstyle,” he says-whether it’s a super-long ponytail or extra length for beachy waves. Pro hairstylist Paul David notes that the Youth black Boston celtics 2022 NBA playoffs hype shirt it is in the first place but evolution of the extensions industry means that there are a plethora of textures, colors, and lengths available now.
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longnor · 3 years ago
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Cute flamingo clipart
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CUTE FLAMINGO CLIPART DOWNLOAD
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It is a place where designers and artists can upload their own work for other designers to use. The GoGraph is an online repository of free-to-use clipart.
CUTE FLAMINGO CLIPART FREE
For example, if you’re looking for an image of flamingos to design your boss’ birthday card, Shutterstock has you covered with over 10 million stock images available for commercial or personal use! #2: įreepik is a website that offers free clip art that can be downloaded for personal or commercial use. So without further ado, let’s get on with it! #1: įlamingo clipart is a form of imagery that can be used to create anything from posters to ads.
CUTE FLAMINGO CLIPART DOWNLOAD
Today, we’ve compiled an awesome list of the best free flamingo images for you to download and use as you please! The flamingo is a wading bird in the genus Phoenicopterus, the only living species in the family Phoenicopteridae. Discover the Top 5 Flamingos Clipart on The Internet There are many flamingo images available on the internet. The reason for this might be because people find them cute and they attract customers, but there is another reason why companies love using flamingo images in their branding. This is why flamingos are often used when someone tries to advertise a product that is related to the water or when someone wants to sell something that has to do with summer.Ī large number of companies use flamingo images when it comes to their branding. They can also help you save time when designing presentations like graphs or maps by reducing the need Pick a Flamingo Image to Work withīecause flamingos are pink and they also stand in water, they make people think of the beach. The file format typically remains the same regardless of what program it was created in and, as such, can be edited and scaled without quality loss or distortion.Ĭliparts are often used by designers as an alternative for photographs when high-quality images are not available or necessary. Clipart is vector graphics that are created from a single image file. In order for people to understand the importance of clipart, we first need to understand what they are and how they work. They have been known to be inefficient and difficult to use as they require you to open an image every time you want to insert it. The use of clipart in the workplace has been a controversial issue for a long time. Related Why Use Flamingo Clipart in the First Place?
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justboston · 3 years ago
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Battletech record sheets cover
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BATTLETECH RECORD SHEETS COVER PDF
BATTLETECH RECORD SHEETS COVER CODE
BATTLETECH RECORD SHEETS COVER DOWNLOAD
BATTLETECH RECORD SHEETS COVER DOWNLOAD
Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. Ideally, i'd like 2 mechs per A4 page if. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. Hi guys, just wondering if anyone has made any condensed record sheets to waste less paper/ink/space I still like using the diagrams for armour/internal, though i'm sure someones bound to have made those smaller to fit side by side or something, and a way to shorten the crit table (hopefully). Fire up your ‘Mech’s fusion reactor, secure your neurohelmet, and wade into battle with stories from the merciless front. Order: Volume 2 (1991) Record Sheets Volume Four: Assault 'Mechs by Warren B. Order: Volume 1 (1991) Record Sheets Volume Two: Medium 'Mechs by Warren B. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Picking up the battle-standard for BattleTech fiction, Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine continues the tradition of hard-hitting stories set in the war-torn interstellar future of the 31st century and beyond. Order: FASA1625 (1987) Record Sheets Volume One: Light 'Mechs by Warren B. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.įor printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. Download Solaris Skunkwerks or Megamech and you can print off the record sheet for pretty much any mech. The older era (same era as most of the other Intro Box set variants) Battlemasters (1G, 1D, 1S) are in RS: 3039 Unabridged. BattleTech: Record Sheets: Succession Wars Iron Wind Battletech. But most of the newer Battlemasters, like the 10S, are in RS: 3085 Unabridged - Project Phoenix. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. The BattleTech Beginner Box and BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat boxed sets are set. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching.
BATTLETECH RECORD SHEETS COVER PDF
Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.įor PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. More than forty battle armor, vehicle and aerospace fighter sheets bring the excitement of combined-arms game play to any table top. Publishers use these marks when books are returned to them.These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. these sheets are for you Record Sheets: 3075 contains forty pre-printed ’Mech record sheets that will have players firing autocannons, missiles and PPCs at each other in no time. Remainder Mark - A remainder mark is usually a small black line or dot written with a felt tip pen or Sharpie on the top, bottom, side page edges and sometimes on the UPC symbol on the back of the book.If excessively worn, they will be marked as "tray worn." Flat trays for SPI games are not graded, and have the usual problems.If excessively worn, they will be marked as "card worn." The cardboard backing of miniature packs is not graded.In most cases, boxed games and box sets do not come with dice.Due to the nature of loose counters, if a game is unplayable it may be returned for a refund of the purchase price. Boardgame counters are punched, unless noted.Major defects and/or missing components are noted separately.Example, EX+ is an item between Excellent and Near Mint condition. A "plus" sign indicates that an item is close to the next highest condition.When only one condition is listed, then the box and contents are in the same condition. 01 - Cover Sheet 1 75 shipping Pioneer PL-670 Turntable Motor and Board.
BATTLETECH RECORD SHEETS COVER CODE
Boxed items are listed as "code/code" where the first code represents the box, and the second code describes the contents. Pads for Audio Equipment HiFi System Speakers Record Player by majerjack.
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gravitascivics · 4 years ago
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OTHER RELATED “CONSTITUTIONAL” TERMS
By analyzing language one can garner a good deal of what the motivations of people are.  And that goes for the foundational documents early settlers used to organize themselves politically.  Reviewing those documents not only informs one of the structural and procedural elements of those early governments, they also contained the underlying values and beliefs of those settlers and, in their way, give one the initial political biases they brought to the task of their self-governance.
         In turn, they betray what these people anticipated their politics would be like or what possibilities they could, as polities, pursue.  This was no small matter if one considers the social and physical challenges these people faced.  They were embarking on establishing a society in a raw natural environment.  How they fashioned their collective decisions would play no small role in how successful they would be.
         Donald S. Lutz[1] presents and reviews many of these early documents and prefaces the effort with a review of the terms that repeatedly appear in those documents.  The last posting shared and described a set of those terms.  That posting emphasized the variance those documents expressed between the specific provisions contracts contain and the more emotive, descriptive, and value laden content of compacts and covenants.  
That posting ends with the hopeful role that “organic acts” can provide. They are an “after-the-fact” sort of addition to a compact and a way to tailor general compact-al concerns and resulting language to the demands of everyday life and the need to establish reliable law. Lutz introduces this concept by writing,
 An “organic act” is one that codifies and celebrates an agreement [such as an initial compact] or set of agreements made through the years by a community.  In this way, a “common law” comprising legislative and judicial decisions made over a number of years can be codified, simplified, and celebrated in dramatic form, thereby also renewing the consent-based oath upon which obligation to the community rests.  The early state constitutions adopted in 1776 could be viewed as organic acts as well as compacts as they usually summarized and codified what the colonists of each state had [by the time of independence] evolved over the previous 150 years.[2]
 What this writer takes from this description is that in a democratic-republican modeled arrangement there is always room for change and the actors never feel they are beyond being questioned or amended in their efforts. Even the best of plans can be improved upon or abandoned if reality indicates they should be.  Yes, when it comes to “constitutional” issues, the change should have more hurdles to overcome, but its possibility is never beyond consideration.  
And in terms of contracts and their shortcomings, organic acts do not have reciprocal provisions – they are not transactional instruments – since they reflect communal commitments in the governance of a people.  They, therefore, can be considered extensions or “improvements” of original efforts.
This above description introduced another term.  That is “agreement.”  Here, the use of this term falls mostly as one understands the term – an arrangement between or among parties.  Covenants and compacts are agreements.  But of importance to the federalist mind is that agreements imply or spell out a sense of coordination, collaboration, and cooperation.  And, of importance, is the connoted or implied element of free-willed consensus or, at least, acceptance.
This last bit of language should be remembered when a prominent religious or otherwise moral authority attempts to impose moral views on a population that does not totally share in its views or beliefs.  Here, the track record of Americans is not so consistent with this requisite.  There have been extended periods in their history when not only religiously based prohibitions have been imposed, but also its legitimacy has not even been questioned.
Religion or other moral systems can inform a federated body, but it cannot legalistically impose its dictums on a federated arrangement like that of the US without providing a secular justification for such imposition. One readily thinks of attempts to do so when one considers any plans to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision in its overturning of state laws banning abortions.  
And another quality of such accords is that they encompass more than what a contract entails in terms of its generality.  To remind the reader, contracts are specific in their elements or attributes, they denote reciprocal expectations between or among the parties, and they usually have a specified time frame.  Agreements can have such specification, but not as a definitional requisite.
Another highlighted term is “charter.”  This term, to this writer, offers a bit of confusion.  While the thrust of these documents reflect volition on the part of settlers and resulting “citizenry,” charters are issued by high authority – usually a monarch or some business entity which in the mercantile age were, in turn, chartered by the Crown.  Probably the most famous charter was the Magna Carta.
Generally, charters were issued to grant permission to commit some act(s) if the actor(s) meet certain provisions – earlier in this review of these documents and history, the Puritans acquired a charter to establish the Plymouth settlement claiming it to be a proposed commercial enterprise.  This was by all accounts stretching the truth, but it worked not only for the Pilgrims of 1620, but for subsequent Puritan groups that made the trip over the Atlantic.
To give the reader a range of purposes for these charters, Lutz offers the following listing of goals for which they were issued:  grant pardon, incorporate boroughs, universities, companies, and other corporations.  They could also convey property from one entity to another.  In general, charters took on a more contractual form by highlighting fairly specific anticipated results from their issuances.
The last term this review will describe is “constitution.”  Derived from the term, “constituent,” the concern here relates to what elements or characteristics need to be present to make something what it is.  For example, a constituent element of a novel is words.  They, therefore, communicate the act or acts establishing, making, decreeing, or ordaining something by those legitimately considered in authority to do so.
So, constitutions have two attributes considered essential in their meaning – they are legitimately issued by appropriate authority and they denote the resulting structure with implied or denoted related processes of some created entity.  Technically, the US Constitution contains more than its “constitutional” elements.  For example, the Preamble is not part of its constitution (with small case “c”), but the document describing the Presidency is.
For the purposes here, that will suffice in terms of the terms this writer feels are important for the reader to consider when reflecting on the compact-al qualities the US Constitution has.  Other terms that Lutz reviews include “combination,” “frame,” “fundamentals,” “ordinance,” and “patent.”  The interested reader can acquire a copy of Lutz’s edited book for the respective definitional notes he shares.
This blog with the next posting will pick up with the ongoing story line of how the US Constitution came about.  What one needs to keep in mind, the emphasis of this review is focused on espoused values of these early Americans with references to events as they relate to those values.  
It will become necessary to look beyond those values to actual behaviors, but the reader should keep in mind that this writer does not believe such values equate to actual behavior patterns.  So, for example, while one can ascribe lofty beliefs about freedom and equality and justice to the founding generation, one can read of very self-centered behaviors being exhibited by those very people.[3]
[1] Donald S. Lutz, “Introductory Essay,” Colonial Origins of the American Constitution:  A Documentary History, edited by Donald S. Lutz (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1998).
[2] Ibid., xxxi.
[3] For example, see Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution:  How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence (New York, NY:  Perennial, 2002).
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