#whatever box you choose to sit in yourself etc etc <3

[mysunfreckle]

Suits for all my Aces~

Feel free to use for anything non commercial! Happy Pride💜

[meaningofaeons]

Ehhh hi! I love your work so i wanted to ask for hcs with star rail men and kafka (choose whoever you want) with gn!reader or s/o who has a lot of childhood trauma. I mean brutal emotional and physical abuse from a really young age, a lot of scars, blood, sa, ect. How would (star rail character) react to s/o telling them about their past/ seeing s/o's scars? Pls angst🙏. If you dont like the request, just ignore this. Have a nice day/night! -anon

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ old scars die hard

⊹ character(s) - sampo koski, kafka, jing yuan ⊹ word count - 1.3k ⊹ notes - gn!reader, TW!! themes of abuse both emotional and physical, self-harm tendencies (not touched on as much but possibly implied?), etc. please read with caution and heed the warnings!!!

hi anon omg I hope you're okay (ﾐዎ ﻌ ዎﾐ)ﾉ I don't know whether this is personal to you and your experiences or not but regardless!! this req touched me I know it's been sitting in my ask box for a while but I wanted to do it proper justice. I love you anon and I hope you are doing well <3!!! thanks for the req!

⊹ Sampo Koski

He's not super concerned at first when he sees the first signs of scars

I mean, he's had his fair share of run-ins with disgruntled "customers". His scars are more numerous than yours, he'd assume.

That is, until he remembers you're not really in the same line of fire that he can typically find himself in

That's what gets him wondering.

Sampo's not really one to get into emotional vulnerability, and I don't think he'd ask you first

Unless of course, you started to gain new ones under his watch

If he's known you for a while, I feel like he'd have questioned it often until you told him to stop, and then he'd be kind of reluctant to bring it up again.

However, if you two are fairly new friends/partners, he'd dance around the issue but try to confront it regardless.

Especially if the abuse is current from people currently in your life or something you recently inflicted on yourself, he'd try to mention/address it in a roundabout way.

"That doesn't look so hot, Y/N! Might wanna see Miss Nat for it. What, you getting into the business of scam—aheh, I mean, customer service—too?"

Sampo tries to keep it light, but when he notices the way you tremble at the acknowledgement he makes of your wounds, his face crumples.

He's instantly apologizing, instantly doing anything to make you feel even a little better.

Offering to take you out to lunch, buy you something nice, or just get some takeout food and watch a show together.

I feel like Sampo, being relatively unequipped to seriously handle stuff like this (considering he's very much a humor-cope kind of person) would be especially frantic in trying to assuage your troubles

Whatever you want! Seriously, he'll bend over backwards for you, especially when you're vulnerable.

Sampo Koski may not be the most sensitive or empathetic, but he knows when to hold the quips and jokes.

He's a very good listener, though. It's honestly pretty shocking.

Now, Sampo's not much of a violent criminal.

Yes, he's a conman, but usually his plans involve escape over actual fighting back.

Still, when he hears about those who have made you suffer, he's not going to stand by.

In the cover of night, after tending to your wounds (both physical and emotional), he'd be off.

He won't kill them. But Sampo sure as hell will make sure they wouldn't even think of coming within five miles of you ever again.

And you'll never find out about it, either.

All that will happen is your life improving because your abuser will be out of it, and Sampo is perfectly content melding back into his usual joking self, bringing as much normalcy to your more peaceful life as he can.

⊹ Kafka

At first, I think Kafka sees your scars/wounds and is kind of... uninterested? Or perhaps less uninterested and more just unconcerned.

Sure, there's questions and thoughts to be had, but everyone has their pasts—especially those among the Stellaron Hunters.

However, over time and with careful, calm observation, Kafka notices more about you.

She takes a special interest in you that she doesn't quite hold with her other fellow Stellaron Hunters.

How you apologize endlessly over small mistakes...

Or even how you flinched back when Silver Wolf of all people got angry and shouted at one of her video games.

I mean, Silver Wolf! The smallest of the Stellaron Hunters—outside of her abilities in manipulating the data of reality and hacking, she physically couldn't hurt a fly.

So, Kafka takes matters into her own hands.

She's pretty upfront, seeing no reason in beating around the bush.

She was content before in letting it slide as "everyone has their secrets", but she eventually develops something akin to concern for your situation.

"Darling, I just had a few small questions for you... Don't feel pressured to answer if you're not inclined."

The second half of her sentence shocked her a bit.

She has abilities relating to hypnotic suggestion—if there's something she wanted to hear or know, there's no reason she couldn't acquire it. And if there's something she wanted someone to listen to and obey, she could do it with no questions from the other party.

So really, it was awe-inspiring that she afforded you the luxury of choice here.

After hearing what happened to you, Kafka is not the type to go on a vengeance-path.

She knows the past is the past, and that you're with the Stellaron Hunters now, so your abuser is long gone from reach.

I think Kafka mostly focuses on comforting you in the moment.

Especially if you're partners, she'd be very inclined to give you a shoulder to lean on, a person to cry to.

Kafka may seem flippant, but she holds a deep-seated affection for you and she treats your trauma with the utmost respect and seriousness it deserves.

She'd definitely get more protective of you after hearing your past.

As long as it's not against Elio's script, she's accompanying you on any mission you need to attend to.

And, well, if someone happens to trigger any unpleasant memories, be it a stranger or otherwise...

They're taken care of. Quietly.

⊹ Jing Yuan

Jing Yuan, teddy bear of a man he is, is likely the most forthcoming of the three about any scars he sees on you.

He's the General and goes into battle so that you don't have to get scars like his, and yet, what are these past wounds he sees on you?

The man isn't an idiot, though. He knows the circumstances behind them are likely far from pleasant.

He also knows how to treat a matter with the delicateness it requires.

"My dear... May I ask about that wound on your arm?"

So, so gentle.

He's already got you in his arms before you can say a word, cradling you gently and soothing you before you can get the story out.

Listens to every single word you have to say, only breaking your continuous sentences to hush you now and then and calm you down

Doesn't matter how much work he has to do, Jing Yuan would stay with you for hours or days on end to make sure you were okay

He, like Kafka, is not the type to be overly vengeful or seeking of retribution against those who hurt you.

Rather, he's more of the mindset that the best revenge is a life well-lived, and that's exactly how he intends to get back at your abusers—by making your life as wonderful as he can.

That's not to say he won't do anything, though.

If your abusers were still alive or around, he'd definitely pull some strings.

Nothing violent, of course, but the abuser(s) lives aboard the Xianzhou Luofu would never be peaceful again if he knew who they were.

Jing Yuan is more focused on you and your recovery.

If you ever feel like hurting yourself, or the past comes back to haunt you, he's dropping everything for your sake.

He doesn't just treat you like glass or tiptoe around you, though.

He knows how strong you are to have made it through such experiences and still be alive—to a long-lived species, it's especially admirable that one could sustain themselves through such things

As such, Jing Yuan respects you greatly. And he demands the same from others.

Not that he didn't already, being that you're his partner or closest friend (however you'd like to interpret, but he is most certainly in love with you!)

He's just more conscious of his own actions henceforth.

Jing Yuan wasn't the type to raise his voice or get visibly upset with you even in moments of disagreement or conflict, but he's especially more gentle after hearing your past.

The man is literally a walking green flag, I don't know what else to tell you!

[being-worthy]

Saturday Home Cinema: Mulan (2020) - A very honest review!

I just had to write this review because Mulan is one of my heroes and I’m a huge fan of the original Disney Mulan (1998). I saw the movie for the first time as a kid when I had trouble feeling integrated and was daily bullied at school. I re-watched it again and again and again until I was able to learn by heart the script and all the songs in German (and later on, even in English). I just saw so much of myself in Mulan (maybe except for the fact that I’m not as beautiful or witty as she is). I too always felt out of place and I couldn’t be my true self and I was never very ladylike either. I also looked up at her and saw her as a role model. Sometimes I thought that if I stared long enough at my reflection in the mirror, it’d show me my true self - and I’m still waiting to this day… Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan was and still is my favourite Disney movie.

> SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!! <

The best thing about this movie is the soundtrack, especially at the end. Christina Aguilera was the right choice to sing Reflection and Loyal Brave True. The goosebumps her voice gives, I can’t even describe how extraordinary her voice is. In the end credits, you can listen to the English version of Reflection as well as the Chinese version (sadly sung by Liu Yifei  ¬¬). It’s worth to watch the end credits and listen to the songs.

*My suggestion: Stop whatever you’re doing. Put on some headphones (even better if they’re noise-cancelling), close your eyes, play the song Reflection song (and Loyal Brave True if you feel like it) by Christina Aguilera, no distractions no interruptions, forget about everything and everyone, let the song flow through your ears, mind, heart, body, and soul, and you will feel like you’re Mulan, especially when the drumming gets louder, it’s epically epic! (Sorry for the redundancy but it IS a remarkable song!)

I welcome the idea of wanting to take a classic and do something new, something fresh with it but humanity could’ve gone without this movie and they shouldn’t ask for $35 to watch it on Disney+ and sometimes a classical doesn’t need to be redone. Additionally, I can’t entirely understand what’s going on these past years not only with Disney but Hollywood and all other big movie production companies. It’s either remake of this classic or a 2nd/3rd sequel of a movie that doesn’t actually require a sequel but it’s still done anyway. Why even bother wasting big amounts of money to create a disaster? You’re better of donating that money to charity (or to me lol). The main thing that Disney has been doing lately are remakes of many of our childhood movies Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, among others, and now Mulan. Some have a few good parts in them but they still can’t and never will compare to the original. Why is there no originality and innovation anymore? Have they run out of ideas? Furthermore, let’s be honest people will always compare the remake (either consciously or unconsciously) with the original because there are less than a dozen movies where the remake either was (almost) as good as the original much less better than the original. The movie Mulan (2020) had a massive budget and is the most expensive film made by a female director (Niki Caro), yet how they made it, the battle sequences and CGI effects, etc. they’re all crappy.

Budgets of all Mulan interpretations:

Mulan (1998) - $90 million > Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Made $304.3 million in the box office

Hua Mulan (2009) - $12 million > Directed by Jingle Ma. Sadly, made only $1.8 million in the box office. It deserved more love!

Mulan (2020) - $200 million(!!) > All that budget was a waste!

I’ve seen all three versions. The 1998 version is for everybody and it’s funny and you feel with the characters and the film. Let’s be honest, the granny is one of the best characters, most of us have or had a granny like that in our lives. The 2nd one is a 2-hour long movie, a more mature adaption which illustrates the ugly harsh truth about war and the loss and death it brings with it and that there’s nothing funny or cool about it. This one is not suitable for children. You feel with the characters and their sacrifices and they also develop along the movie. I can only recommend to watch this version if you haven’t. And the latest one is a disgrace.

I’m a bit confused as to what the message of the movie is. On one hand, it tells you shouldn’t hide your inner beauty, you shouldn’t hide who you are, you shouldn’t hide your abilities, you shouldn’t try to hide who you truly are in order to conform to what the world/society wants you to be or who you should be, let your true self shine and be yourself and don’t allow anyone to tell you that you’re inferior just because they think/say you are. This is something powerful and admirable but, on the other hand, at the same time, it tells you that you can only do that if you are the chosen one. Let me explain... In the beginning, we see Mulan as a little girl chasing a chicken up to the roofs of the houses at the village where she lives. Basically, she’s born as a one-woman army (almost deus ex machina) and doesn’t require any further training which is total and utter rubbish. She has all the skills because of her powerful chi (vital life force energy) but has to underplay them because it’s not very ladylike to behave like she wants to and she still underplays them when she trains with the soldiers so as to keep a low profile. Her being so powerful from the beginning makes me feel alienated from her and I can’t empathise with her. It’s also not very realistic, nobody is born with their abilities fully developed. For example, even Bruce Lee had to train hard to get where he got and he wasn’t the only one.

The original version shows us a regular girl, at times clumsy (which is a cliché but we still liked it) and when she’s confronted with new situations, she analyses them and finds a quick canny solution to them. She also has to train her body and mind to get to the peak of her potential and accomplish what nobody else could in her time, and here the character is done from the start of the movie and the only thing she has to do is choose not to hide her chi anymore. This tells us that you don’t have to work hard to achieve your dreams whereas in reality you actually do have to work your butt off!

I’m not a fan of the leading actress they chose for Mulan, aka Liu Yifei, not only because she’s a police brutality supporter according to her controversial tweets a while back - this already makes her unworthy to portray Mulan who is the complete opposite - but also because she didn’t do a good job at depicting this great role. Mulan is a role model for every girl and woman and it’s a massive contradiction if a woman who agrees to the atrocious police methods impersonates her role. What message do we send out to every girl out in the world? In her acting she’s this blank and hollow person through the movie and transmits no emotion whatsoever - not even when she cries. This also makes it difficult for me to identify myself with her. She’s this wooden plank, she is and stays a blank canvas through the whole movie with no growth in her character and it’s frustrating having to see this because the character of Mulan isn’t at all like this. Mulan experiences many emotions from the moment where she makes the decision to enlist so her father doesn’t have to or when she experiences the loss of her comrades or has to kill someone for the first time, etc. she suffers along her journey and all this changes her but you see nothing of it in Liu Yifei’s Mulan.

In the Disney version, there are some crucial moments that are missing in the new one. For instance, the most crucial one is the moment where Mulan decides to go to war. If you remember the animation one, she’s sitting in the rain by the dragon statue and at that moment makes a decision that could kill her or worse bring dishonour to herself and her entire family (including ancestors) which was far worse than death during that time! She gets up, marches to the altar of her ancestors, takes her father’s sword and cuts her hair (I know men had long hair back then too but still), puts on the armour and goes to war. All this while being accompanied by an epic song written by Jerry Goldsmith called Haircut. This is one of the most intense and dramatic moments in the movie and in all Disney movies! You can understand and feel the importance of this decision for the character and you feel the weight of it! In the 2020 one, she takes the sword and the next shot presents her already with the armour on - there’s zero dramatic impact here. That was a great missed opportunity!! By omitting important scenes and their dramatic impacts like this one that are essential to the story and to the characters, to their development and their journey throughout the story and you really need to rely on the original from 1998 to have this context.

The battle scenes are like many modern movies: lots of action, lots of moving (too fast-moving), a few amazing fighting moves and fights but not showed entirely. I at least expected some similar quality, like we’ve seen in films such as Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and Tiger & Dragon (2020) to name a few. Sadly, these movies had better fight scenes quality than Mulan which were filmed in high frame rate but over-edited with action that is negatively frenetic and have artificial CGI effects (even the CGI effects in Independence Day were better - I’m watching the movie while writing this). We’re in the 21st century with great advances in technology and movies are given big budgets (particularly Hollywood films), yet despite all this, most movies end up with CGI effects from another era. How come this happens over and over? In this one, we see people running too fast, horses running too fast, and they’re all like a big mass of headless chickens and you don’t know exactly what is happening where. All this fast running, the constant cut and paste of scenes looks all too modern and doesn’t fit the current time period of the movie and it surely doesn’t transmit the way of fighting of that period. 

Moreover, we get lots of flashback-lesson learning scenes throughout the movie. This is another fashion in movies lately, playing the film in the present time while at the same time jumping back and forth between flashbacks. It spends a good portion of the movie with these flashbacks. This is not a big issue and admirable per se but when these scenes are insignificant because they’re glossed over and transmitted without zilch emotion, then why even bother to include them in the first instance?

As a last comment, I like the fact that they hired Chinese actors and actresses for the movie (although I don’t know why it had to be in English, I’d have preferred it to be in Chinese, it’s not like we’re allergic to subtitles - unless they’re not done properly), some of them of renewed name, like Gong Li, Rosalind Chao (I loved her in The Joy Luck Club), Jet Li, Donnie Yen (legendary Ip Man), Jason Scott Lee (saw him in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Tzi Ma but they won’t be able to save the movie even with a great cast like this one. 

[baconpal]

With ARMS being free for the next couple days still I thought I'd talk about it here cus I think it's a pretty neat game. I've included a messy painting for your scrolling pleasure, but from here on out it's all words so strap in for some game design talk.

So ARMS is a fucking video game, it's hard to call it a fighting game just cus it's hard to call anything a fighting game anymore, but it's definitely about fighting and it's definitely a video game so take that as you will. People have a lot of trouble getting to grips with the game, especially the controls, but a lot of that is caused by how much more you can do than you'd initially think, and I really do suggest you try the free trial and mess around with whatever control scheme feels right to you. It was a pretty dark time the first couple months when it wasn't easy to change controls and that definitely hurt arms as a whole i feel which sucks.

It's not the most hardcore complicated video game ever but it makes very good use of the aspects of the game that are simple and loose in order to make a very free-form fighting game, and overall it does a lot of stuff that I personally consider very good design as someone with a big love of multipurpose mechanics and unique mechanics that aren't just gimmicks.

UNIVERSAL ARMS ARE COOL The one part of the game that is universal to all characters is that you got two arms that you throw around and control as they move. How those arms move and how you move around the stage are entirely dependent on the fists and character you pick, leading to very expressive playstyles in spite of every character having the same goal of hitting the other guy with some long-ass slappers.

The different types of arms all fill different purposes based on their shape and trajectory. Some arms are meant for straight forward boxing and clashing fists together, some are slow, heavy arms meant for countering weak punches or putting up defensive walls, some arms curve around the arena to avoid colliding with other arms at all, some have multiple fists to specific defensive options like dodging to the sides, jumping, or sitting in shield, and there's a variety of unique arms for all kinds of weird playstyles, including projectile arms (even though your arms are alright projectiles, they're even more projectile-y) as well as the variety of elemental arms; Elements allow for strengthening your playstyle by increasing factors like arm size, hitstun, arm disabling, movement disabling, knockdowns, knockback, vision impairment and other forms of disruption. 

Overall, each arm carries its own benefits and risks, and switching arm layouts between rounds or matches is very similar to counter picking in a standard fighting game, meaning choosing arms is like choosing a character in and of itself. As a result, the game feels a lot more balanced than a lot of fighting games I've gotten into before, as any character has access to any arm, so no character has directly more damage than other characters, and powerful arms can be adjusted for all characters at once. Picking arms is just one half of ARMS' character building, the actual fighter you use also greatly changes the options you have in game, and for the most part follow a type of design philosophy that divides every action into parts, and puts lots of focus into making sure every little part of a games systems are put to use.

THE FIGHTERS AND DIVIDED MECHANIC DESIGN While the arms you chose determine the way your punches will travel and behave, everything relating to movement is determined by your character, and while most characters have the same general movement, every character has something different to offer and augments a very small part of that overall movement to change what kinds of actions each character prefers. To explain that I'll need to give a brief overview of all the movement options in the game, and split them up into parts to make discussing them easier.

Punching As explained earlier, most of this depends on the arm, but having an arm out causes your movement to be reduced, even more so with two arms. You regain all movement as your arm retracts back.

Grabbing By punching with both arms at once, a green band will connect them, and if that band touches the enemy, you will chuck em across the stage and do a good amount of damage. If the enemy punches the green band it splits and the grab is cancelled, but grabs will land even on blocking opponents, so it forms a standard power triangle of punch > grab > guard > punch, etc.

Dashing Pressing the dash button and a direction will let you do a short dash that's faster than walking around, and holding it allows you to do a longer dash that causes your arms to hang to the side and having more overall lag time. Completing a dash without getting hit or having your hands hit will give your arms charge for a short amount of time, increasing their damage or letting them use their elemental properties. If none of your arms are out, continuing to hold dash will cause a character to stand in place and charge up their arms, greatly extending the length of a charge without changing the effects.

Dashing causes punches to curve much stronger in the direction you're moving, and when an arm is out, you can only do the short dash, and when in the air with both arms in, you can do the long dash in the air, but a bit slower.

Jumping Pretty standard jumping, you commit to a jump arch for the most part, but can slow your decent by punching or change your direction with a dash. Landing from a jump is just like finishing a long dash, you gain some charge and can hold the button to charge longer. Jumps have a very notable amount of end lag where you are just fuckin standing there, with only your hands to defend yourself, so while gaining a height advantage is very useful, jumping is overall a risky maneuver.

Jumps can be short or high depending on the length pressed, though jumping with an arm out makes all jumps short. You can also jump out of a dash to jump further.

Guarding When you guard, you block all punches, even weird ones from the side and shit, but can't move. You can hold guard for as long as you want, and your arms will charge after guarding for a second, and you can cancel blocking into literally anything, as well as dash forwards/backwards out of blockstun. While blocking is useful, grabs go through it, and all damage that hits your guard will build up and damage your arms, which can disable them or break through your guard, you also cannot guard if you have a punch out or have a disabled arm.

Also just a side thing that I can't think where else to mention, while I really like how this game is fairly simple, for some reason there's just not a good place to put block on any control scheme. The default for motion control is very slow and not very accurate, and on controller the default is pushing in the stick, which is super awkward. You can remap the controls to anything that's comfortable, and my control scheme is nothing like the default, but the guard button is still never in quite a convenient enough spot, so sometimes it becomes hard to implement. Pretty much my biggest gripe with the game but it's hard to complain about it cus I can't come up with a better solution myself.

Rush A universal counter/super that all characters share. When you have full meter, pressing rush will deflect any fists about to hit you, and cause your punches to be very very fast for the next 3 seconds. Exactly how each arm behaves during rush is arm specific, but the general use of rush is for very big punishes, generally doing around the damage of 2 or 3 clean hits. It's still very possible to block or dodge a rush or to beat it out by sneaking a hit in or using your own rush.

With the basics explained, here's a general overview of how each character splits the movement into fine pieces and makes use of them.

SPRING MAN The funny spring guy is the first character on the list, and as such sets the standard for everyone else. Even with that in mind he's got a pretty defined style. Similar to ryu from streets, spring man lends himself to a grounded defensive style of fighting. Since all his movement is average and jumping is dangerous, he generally wants to stay on the ground and find chances to punish others.

He has two main differences from other characters, the first is pretty beginner friendly and easy to explain: when below 25% health, spring mans punches are always charged. This comeback mechanic is very helpful to beginners but can come with some disadvantages when using different arms, as many arms are slower or less safe to use when charged. His other mechanic is much more advanced than you'd expect of a main character, and that's his deflect. Whenever spring man is charging his punches (holding a jump or dash) and releases the charge before finishing, he will deflect any punches about to hit him just like a rush. Since new players are hardly ever gonna charge their punches, but may panic and dodge out of a charge before getting hit, it has its place for beginners but allows confident players to charge punches whenever they want and to find better punishes by deflecting the opponents attacks.

I really enjoy taking something as insignificant as releasing charge and making it into a conscious action. These are the types of design choices this game is full of that make me happy.

RIBBON GIRL Funny little air woman likes jumping around, and has 4 jumps of decreasing height, allowing her to stay in the air for a very very long time. Having more jumps also allows her to stay in the air long enough to air dash more than once, giving even more air control. As a kind of mixup/quality of life choice, holding an air dash will make her quickly drop to the ground, making her landings unpredictable, which helps when your main strength is constantly jumping, playing the exact opposite type of game as spring man.

NINJARA Funny ninja guy's air dash is a teleport, making his air movement a bit harder to read. His main mechanic is that he has no form of blockstun; when a fist hits his shield, he will teleport in the direction the player is holding and instantly be able to act, giving him the opportunity to punish attacks on block more easily than other characters. I don't play him enough to act like I know what this means for him, and the community memes him up to do nothing but air dash into grab but I'd assume he's a mobile bait and punish type.

MASTER MUMMY The big funny mummy is this games grappler sort of. He has higher throw damage than every other character, and his wide shoulders means his grabs innately have a wider hitbox, which makes catching rolls and dashes easier, but also makes a big target for punching. His jumps are narrow and his dashes are slow, but he has super armor when jumping, dashing, charging, or punching. I haven't brought up health since every character has the same health, but super armor also cuts damage taken in half to avoid the horrible pain of super armoring through a hit with multiple hits and ending up taking way more damage. This makes master mummy one of the beefiest guys in the game, and combine that with his other ability to gain health while guarding, master mummy generally wants to play a really dangerous punish game where he sits in shield to make you hit him, and punishes you by punching through your grabs or armoring through your punches. He also can corner people more easily since his arms are far to the sides, allowing him to hit people trying to run away from him more easily.

MIN MIN Funny noodle lady deflects attacks with her air dash much like spring man's charge release, her grounded back dash also does this, letting her stay pretty safe while retreating specifically. Her main mechanic is that completing a charge or landing a grab will cause her left arm to remain charged until she is knocked down. The possibilities are pretty wide with what an always charged arm can give you, and mainly depends on what arms you use, but overall it gives min min a strong advantage state while keeping a generally safe disadvantage. She's also pretty cute and I wish she'd kick my head off maybe.

MECHANICA Funny girl in a funnier robot will keep any momentum she has while charging, allowing her to slide across the stage with charged arms, or to hover in the air with charged arms. She also has super armor during these charging slides, giving her very hard to punish air and ground movement, but her large size and laggy movements do leave some openings.

TWINTELLE Funny model girl with twintail fists and a scientifically perfect ass (i don't make the rules her model literally has 2 spheres for a butt idk how much simpler you can get) slows down nearby arms while she holds dash, and also causes herself to float in place if she holds an airdash. This makes her charging safer overall, and generally lets her react to things easier and lets her punish easier, or hold the enemies arms hostage while she throws a punch around them. Also a character I don't play much but she seems to mostly be about limiting the opponent and slapping em. Also horny.

BYTE & BARQ Funny robocop and funny robodog fight together using the dogs predictable AI. It doesn't seem very predictable to the other player but its generally pretty simple. The dog punches a second after you do, the dog will roll under you if you hold jump, and he'll generally try to stay diagonally in front of you. When Byte jumps on the dog it will deflect punches like spring man, and he can high jump by holding jump when bouncing, which also immediately charges his arms. With this, the duo can stay airborne and rain down charged attacks at the cost of low mobility. Also, if the dog gets hit byte is by himself for a while and has absolutely no special traits to speak of by himself, this leads to a character with very strong advantage and abysmal disadvantage.

KID COBRA Funny snake has really wide jumps and very slow dashes, but when his fists are charged he instead has even wider jumps and very fast dashes that slide him around, allowing him to dodge punches very easily. In general his gameplan seems to be getting off a jump to get some charge then darting around like a crackhead. He also has much bigger arms than his skinny body would suggest, and a lot of people hated that about him when the game first came out but I don't hear much about it now so idk if it really makes that much of a difference for good players. Anyway another character with drastically unique movement with strong advantage and bad disadvantage.

HELIX Funny goo guy makes squash and stretch into gameplay mechanics. When he jumps, he actually stretches his body up and doesn't leave the ground until you release jump, and will stand in place, but has complete control of his torso, allowing him to juke punches while throwing down charged punches from up high. His lack of ground movement means you can surround him easily in this state, so he can't hold it forever. When helix lands from a jump or performs a dash he'll squash into a little puddle which ducks under punches, though any punches the opponent throws while helix is already in the puddle will aim down at him, meaning he needs to use it sparringly, but he can move all around the floor with charged punches in this form. Essentially he moves super slowly and is easy to corner, but his movement is erratic and slippery and he has lots of ways to get OUT of the corner once you put him in it, and if he has any distance on you he'll give you hell.

LOLA POP Funny clown and part time Dobson fan inflates while guarding and can walk forwards or backwards very fast while blocking, giving them a safe approach or retreat option. Much like ribbon girl, she can hold her air dash to quickly drop to the ground, except she inflates while falling, giving her a quick shield and making her bounce into the air again, letting her bounce over and over to regain charge on her punches. She's very elusive and hard to pin down, but she's a lot bigger and easier to punch then you'd think because of how much she spreads herself out in her animations.

MISANGO Funny tribal man has the tiki mask from crash bandicoot follow him around and change colors every few seconds. Guarding causes the mask to form a pillar in front of Misango that can get in the way of punches and grabs but also blocks the whole fucking screen get out of the way fuck. Completing a charge will put on the mask giving him some benefits until he gets knocked down. Red mask gives him super armor, blue gives him better jumps and dashes, and yellow builds more rush meter and also gives his rush even more deflecting ability. Not a guy I use much or understand the appeal of beyond being versatile I guess but there are some good as misango players so shows what I know.

BOSS CHARACTERS The next 3 characters are characters who were first in the game as bosses, but became playable characters, and is another thing I absolutely love about this game. Its the first game in a long time that makes the bosses be bosses through their character and not through being objectively broken assholes who roadblock you from playing the game. Their personalities and playstyle exude the powerful presence they have and helps round out the really good cast.

SPRINGTRON A funny robot copy of springman who has mostly the same size, slightly slower speed, and the same deflect on charge ability, but no comeback mechanic. What makes this character unique from the springer is that following through and completing his charge will instead put out a gigantic deflect that disables any punches it deflects, and will charge his arms for 9 seconds, the longest charge length of any character. The big deflect can be countered by just waiting for it to come out and attacking springtron while he finishes the move, but it makes him a very scary version of springtron who can punish you much harder at the cost of some versatility.

DR COYLE The funny mastermind scientist villain makes herself seem bosslike by having a drastically different control scheme from the rest. She floats around, so floating is considered her grounded state, meaning she always has access to short and long dashes, but can't charge by jumping. Holding jump causes her to elivate, forcing the opponent to punch up at Coyle and giving her constant heigh advantage while still being able to shoot around with dashes. Her charge is much like mechanicas but without super armor, and helps to keep her moving around. In addition, when coyle fully chages, one of her arms will duplicate, allowing her to throw out the same punch twice, giving powerful pressure to her neutral. The opponent can see which arm is duplicated before she has time to throw the punch, and her charge time is super short so its really easy to know what she's gonna do, but it still creates a threat simply by existing. Overall a very cool villain.

MAX BRASS Funny fucking CHAD. The guy from the painting at the start and my mans of choice, so I think quite highly of him obviously. The primary antagonist of the game and champion of the sport, Brass is genuinely just a tough guy who wants to have fun, completely betraying the imposing image he gives off and the general idea of "final boss = bad guy". He is a slower, wider character than most, and shares the deflect mechanic with spring man when releasing a charge, but when he fully charges, he will expand all of his muscles to become even wider, move faster, and have super armor and charged punches for 5 seconds. Like spring man, at the last 25% health, Brass will always be charged, which include being buffed up, which has its pluses and minuses.

This creates a character with the defensive strength of spring man, and the cornering ability of master mummy, giving him an overpowering image of beating down the opposition with his strong advantage state, combined with the an imposing "final form" when he's down to the wire. Like most of the cast, he has a tough time in disadvantage as a result, and his wide shoulders cause him problems with characters who can get close to him quickly or who move around too much.

While separate from his actual character, the stage you fight him on takes place at sunset, and the sun shines against his back, giving him a really strong silloute which is even more imposing when he buffs up or is own low health. Really has been a while since i've been so impressed by the presentation of a boss fight, especially for a boss who is actually really fair.

HEDLOK So this isn't an actual character, but is still part of the boss list and is yet another thing I think is super cool and well designed in this game. Hedlok is a robotic head with exaggerated facial muscles that latches onto peoples head and makes copies of their arms. This is used in the grand prix mode to make a rematch with Max Brass where brass has 6 arms instead of 2, and that giant head matches very well with Brass's giant body. He also appears to make Dr Coyle's fight more imposing as she flies around with those 6 arms. While thats all he does in the "story" mode, Hedlok can function on the head of any member of the cast with any combination of arms, and 2 of the game modes online incorporate this by having players team up against a CPU with hedlok, or letting players fight over hedlok to beat each other to death with him. I am really impressed with the design functioning to perfectly that any character can be augmented by the simple addition of 4 more arms without sacrificing any gameplay elements. It's really great how none of the game is wasted, as even the closest thing to a super boss is still considered from a player's point of view.

While just having more arms sounds objectively better, and for the most part it is, the game is still always fair, and as such these advantages still come with downsides for the hedlok wearer, the biggest being that you don't punch the 6 arms separately, they punch in sets of 3 of the same arm one after the other when a punch comes out, and all arms curve the same way. This makes the pressure strong but predictable, and also increases the time the arms stay out after initially punching, leaving a large weak point at hedlok's flank. Hedlok does have a much more powerful rush that can hit for nearly double a normal players rush, but this is to encourage players to block and dodge to the sides around hedlok, as a stationary target is all hedlok can really chew up.

STAGES Much like the characters, the stages are all wildly unique despite not being very difficult to describe, the feature a variety of heights and sizes, as well as various obstacles like pillars and trampolines, and no stage is just a boring simple arena (except sparring ring, whose gimmick is being a literal boxing ring). Stages like Spring arena, Spring stadium, Mausoleum, Sky arena, Ramen Bowl, and Sparring ring all provide different experiences through their minor changes in shape and height. Stages like Ninja college, Buster beach, Via dolce, and [NAME REDACTED] provide long, thin arenas which put more emphasis on height and straight forward defenses. Then there are stages like DNA lab, Scrapyard, Ribbon ring, Cinema duex, and Temple grounds, whose obstacles and weird shapes provide wild and dynamic matches that change with time.

The music for the stages also slaps, there's only really a few melodies that the game uses, but the stages all have such different instrumentation and theming, as well as incorporating original segments that keeps the soundtrack unified without being literally 1 song.

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND DESIGN TIDBITS Reading back most of this I guess I didn't make it very clear what I was talking about with all the divided design stuff but basically I just like how much emphasis is put on every little piece of the games design to pull the most out of it. It's amazing to have a game with such unique characters when all the attacks are universally shared. Some other small things from this game that are good touches for me are.... -Online lobbies are super easy to use, unlike a lot of first party nintendo online shit, and allow changing characters and arms without holding up any action or needing to leave and come back. -Online lobbies also have these cute little bubbles that show you what modes other people are playing and how their doing that update in real time, so while you aren't spectating directly, you do get to enjoy some amount of involvement in others matches while waiting for your own. -The other game modes in the game make great use of the same universal mechanics to offer wildly different experiences with the hoops mode, volley ball, and target breaking contests. -The tutorials are what a lot of people need in a fighting game that they don't think they need, and that's opponents who "spam" and do just one thing while fighting, giving you the chance to learn how to play around those strategies and become better. -You unlock the universal arms for character by playing a fun minigame that rewards your ability to actually play the game. This mode also favors giving arms to the character your playing while also spreading out some of the arms to other characters to encourage you to mess around. It also won't give you an arm if it won't be of any use to you, while lots of other games would love to waste your time with duplicates that mean nothing to you. -You can set controls to anything now, including changing what the motion controls do, and you can have any amount of duplicate inputs to help make your gameplay more comfortable.

Overall, while I talk about how simple the game is, it is still a very tough game due to how much freedom you have in your combat and how deep it can get. I love the game and I still get absolutely shitcanned by the top 3 difficulties, also there's lots of people who are way good at this game, but I'd like to see more from it in general cus it kinda died a sad death due to bad initial impressions, but smash has finally done one good thing and tried to help out a game get another shot, so hopefully things go well for the game.

Thanks again to anyone dumb enough to listen sift through this shit, if you were cool enough to have read it then you can add me on switch and fight me in ARMS or something idk. Here's my code, SW 7001 1122 2464. If you add me without having read this entire post I will know and you will regret it. Regardless, have a wonderful night and stay safe gamers.

[alovevigilante]

Me: Ok. I’ve made an executive decision on behalf of all of us...

Me also: are you an executive?

Me: yes.

Me also: at what company?

Me: ours. Yours and mine.

Me 3: and mine too!

Me: yes, at threes company, ok? Will you just listen to me? (The other me’s sit, silent) thank you. Now, we have all come to terms with the fact that we’re 46 and still not sure where the hell we fit in in society, let alone a career to help aid it, right?

Other me’s: yes, Agreed, (hub hub etc...)

Me: ok, good. Well, not good, but yes, we all concur. Now, we, collectively, are a fucking mess, so I propose this: we start from scratch. At zero point, ok? Ok! Great!

Me also: um, question?

Me: yes?

Me also: I don’t mean to be a contrarian or anything, but we’ve been here on earth now for 46 years, and we’ve experienced a butt ton. So, how do you just scrap it all, and have that be something that’s widely accepted by society as a whole?

Me 3: yeah! Cause I saw this one “I love Lucy” where she couldn’t even audition for a tv show without having some experience.

Me: yeah, but we’re completely walking away from the entertainment industry...

Me also: yeah, but what are we going to do? Walk into a different profession, let’s say, being an astrophysicist, and they say, “hey lady, where are your degrees and your on the job training, & oh, I see here on your non resume that you have never even taken a physics class. Were you in a coma for 50 years or something?” And then we’ll look like an asshole.

Me: good point. So, since we can’t start at a zero point, how do we make life ok from where we’re at if we’re feeling lost and confused about what to do next?

Me 3: I dunno.

Me also: well, maybe we can mediate.

Me: eh. You feel like that?

Me 3: not particularly. Me also?

Me also: I was hoping one of you would do it for me...

Me: no.

Me 3: no.

Me also: fine. Any other ideas?

Me: well... how about thinking about shit.

Me also: that’s what got us in this mess to begin with!

George Carlin: hello ladies! May I be of some assistance here?

Me 3: why not? We’re plum out of ideas...

George: ok, well, let’s simplify a bit, Kari, singular, let’s chat.

Kari: hey George.

George: love the pic you choose to rep me.

Kari: yeah. You’re being a lil Italian when you talk with the garlic clove shaped hand you got going there. 🤌 🧄 🇮🇹

George: Yeah. I’m diggin it. But you know, in your mind, I’m one of the reasons you’re here in this ass place.

Kari: you are? how do you figure?

George: people don’t like the fact that you write on behalf of the deceased.

Kari: well, Tim burton did it in beetle juice and a lot of folks love him..

George: ok Kari, can I be Frank... Sinatra-like with you?

Kari: I dunno, can you?

George: yeah. Just pretend I’m sporting a fedora, a cigarette in one hand, and throwing my jacket back over my shoulder with the other looking at you coyly.

Kari: ok... if you want to... but is the cigarette in his pocket? Cause if it’s lit, that shits gonna hurt his Netherlands eventually....

George: (like Sinatra) no. Now listen up, baby, it’s not normal to write on behalf of a dead person that was not a character, and that whom was once alive. People get touchy about it. We have friends still alive that knew us and probably don’t dig it.

Kari: I see.

George: so it seems like we’re at a crossroads here. What do you want to do about it?

Kari: do about what?

George: your writing! It’s freakin everyone out! Kari, look, you know how normal Hollywood is, ok? They are all normal, non creative, in the box gladly thinker kinda people...

Kari: they are?

George: yes!!! Come on, keillor, get with the program! You are too far fetched for these folks! They want normalcy, and sameness, and only all the shit that’s ever been shat!

Kari: George, are we talking about Hollywood California, here? Or Hollywood podunk nah? Because Hollywood California is where all the creatives go to create!

George: right! And guess what, Kari Keillor! You are not welcomed in Hollywood, California! They have a sign up with your picture on it at the airport that says, “beware! No to this woman! Too much with the weirdness! She writes dead people!”

Kari: I write live people too... hey, do I have a cowboy hat and a mustache on for my mugshot on that sign?

George: nice one Cookie Monster! Well, Keillor why not?! You may as well, because this story has as much validity as any other story you make up and make worse in your head cause you’re sensitive about of your writing...

Kari: you’re the one that said all that shit! You planted it in my head!!!

George: so I did, but remember, I’m a facet of you. So, decide. Is there any validity to what I/you said?

Kari: how the hell should I know?! I haven’t been in lax recently...

George: right! So you never know until you try talking to some people.

Kari: I’ll call the airport... Listen, George, I’ll be perfectly Frank Sinatra with you now, ok.?

Don rickles: no mere woman can be like ole blue eyes...

Kari: Shut your misogynistic, ass-kissing pie hole, Pickles.

Pickles rickles: oh fuck... she does it to me every time...

Frank Sinatra:, you tell him, baby!

Kari: I’m 46. (Back to George Carlin) Anyway, look George, I have had a few successful people from my entertainment past either shun or block me for no apparent reason, so I’m pretty sure that I’m not well received again, for whatever reason... probably because I wrote the truth about a second city class I took when I was 16, about the current state of snl which I am completely unfamiliar with because I do not watch it, and the way comedy has changed or not over the last many years. Come to think of it, maybe it was because I love frank oz, and frank was mad cause I wrote that belushi John was teasing him and calling him an asshole, another ironic statement because clearly frank oz, NOT an asshole, was many of the muppets for years, and Frank is one of my idols! (Not a true central religious figure to me, but someone I admire a lot...)

Frank Sinatra: who loves ya, baby??

Kari: (to Frank) kojak. (Back to herself) Or it could be because i called bill murray, the beloved patron saint of comedy, an asshole like me, yes, I said like ME, out of jest and irony, because yes, he cared about the kid in meatballs making friends, ok?! That’s probably it. & yes, i was kinda stoned when I wrote it, and also yes, I still can’t figure out why the movie was ducking named “meatballs”, cause there wasn’t an Italian to be seen in it! Ok?! And come to think of it bill as Peter venkman in ghostbusters 2, written in part, by him I think but let’s just say yes cause it supports my point, called all of New York City and it’s tri state area, all 3 million people, miserable assholes, and they took a head count, & they still (probably mostly) all love him! & that shit was good (I love that movie so much) and it was made in 1989, and that was a long ass time ago, ok? And some of those people, have procreated since then, and again, they all love bill Murray and now those “miserable asshole’s” kids, ALSO love Bill now! Double the miserable assholes! Why?! Because he’s funny, and much like me when I’m being tongue and cheek, he didn’t mean for people to take the shit he says seriously! See for yourself! https://youtu.be/t1gkRAWvxOs (1:15 on)

So yes!!! I just think people are not into that kind of talk from me and me alone, even though it wasn’t coming from a mean or spiteful place. It was coming from a place of love for my craft, and of both frank oz, and bill Murray. The rest, as I say once again... I dunno....

George: Kari, frank just told you he loves you, and you blatantly ignored him...

Kari: no, he asked who loved me. He didn’t say he loved me.

George: Keillor, stop being so mean to the dead crooners, ok?

Kari: pickles isn’t a crooner! He’s a ye olde well paid curmudgeon who made fun of everyone like a jerk fach.

George: um, Kari...

Kari: no, ok? No! The difference between me and pickles, besides everything under the sun other than the fact we’re both human, is the fact that I am pointing out the obvious hypocrisy of the way we are set up as society, and wanting to heal it within myself to make it a more palatable world for me and my family and friends and acquaintances to live in. And pickles thought making fun of people was ok. What royal lineage did pickles come from that he’s able to rip on everyone the way he did? And even if he was of a royal bloodline so fucking what?! And dude got paid to be mean! And normal people made him rich and famous! And how did that become prevalent, let alone celebrated in this world?! Roast em! Yes! Hilarious.

Dean Martin: oh noooo... hey, listen pally...

Kari: dean, don’t get me started, ok? Cause I like you, I really do, but you know how I feel about that shit... Listen, Dean, you left a legacy here that was mostly great, but in my opinion needs a lil tweaking. Instead of “roasts” which people do to this day, and I can’t see how it can make the honoree feel anything other than like major ass, we should have “toasts” (copyright Kari keillor 3/19/21 actually before this date but I never published publicly...)

Pickles rickles: toasts?!? What is THAT supposed to mean?!

Kari: it means, my curious lil ornery pickles, that instead of roasting someone and being a mean rotter egg to them, you can “toast” them. Cheers to you, honoree, we salute you, in a hilarious way, by being honest about you but not vicious, viper like, and cruel. It’s where everyone laughs together cause it’s not a character assassination, instead of ripping on someone. It’s being funny, and yes, in a KIND and uplifting way. Where you actually celebrate the person being honored. Now, will that take a lil more brain power then the go-to usual jerk fach? Yes. But, it’s a challenge I hope everyone will accept for the good of all of us. Cause I guarantee that no one walks out of a roast feeling great. And if they do, cause they thought they killed or whatever, they probably did. And not in a good way. And that, again, is ass. No one wins. It’s a short lived feeling, the feeling of “one upping” a person. It never makes you feel better about you in the long run.

Dean: I see. I think I’ll go work on my volare now...

Kari: see?!? Now THAT I like! It’s not at anyone’s expense!

George: oh shit.... kari.... Why do you give a fuck about all this?

Kari: you know why George? Cause this has become our accepted collective energy! The haves and the have nots! Take away your money and what have you got?! Who are you, without the people who have made you who you are?! People, make other people in the 3D reality we live in. So take away everyone’s cash money, homes, clothes, and all the cars, and all the shit, and what do ya got? A bunch of naked humans starring at our different body bits, ok?! We’re All the f’n same. So think about it. What are we each individually contributing energetically to the whole of us? What message are we sending the next generations In our every day lives? I’ll tell you what message. Whatever we feel about ourselves individually both good and bad. THAT’S what energy we all give, and receive from one another. That’s what we’re teaching the kids. They model themselves after how we feel, and how we choose to think, and how we decide to act toward others. So let’s all collectively recognize that, and how we treat other human beings and wake up first inside ourselves then beyond ourselves so we can all make the whole, better.

I am not an asshole or a human joke or any other kind of joke. I’m not going to cry over the fact that I’m not accepted by people who’s energies don’t match mine. And by the by, no one is a joke, no matter who they are, or what their socioeconomic standing is. So I don’t wear an ascot and a smoking jacket, and a neck full of gold chains and chest hair, holding a whiskey on the rocks with an umbrella in it saying “see that?! be somebody!” ok?! I’m not Steve Martin in the jerk, ok? https://youtu.be/tBfXTyzaUfQ

I’m not even close to Hollywood! I live in the Midwest! I’m Kariwood, ok? And I’m not even kari wood, I’m no woods, ok? cause I’m pretty much never in the woods or the outdoors for that matter, so much so that I just purchased a sweatshirt that says, “indoorsy” on it, ok? True story! So yeah. Cause one time I was in Wisconsin in the woods, and I was thinking, “look at me! I’m in the woods! Weird, no?!” (Cause never in the woods, but I thought, I’ll give it a shot! What’s the worst that can happen?) And guess what? Despite my shower the night before, I felt something on the base of my skull the next morning, and I picked out a really nasty, creepy and scary tick. And it was alive, and disgusting, and wiggly. And I started screaming. And I am still freaked out to this day about it. And that happened at least 17 years ago. And I didn’t like it. So that’s how “non woods-y” I am... I’m not even a fan of woodsy the owl, ok?

So I don’t know how I feel about all that. All this to say that I am definitely not Hollywood, but yes, I am included, as a “somebody”. I may not be an award winning, keillor, but I am still somebody, and I may not be rich and famous, but yes, I am somebody, and I may have been on one trajectory and now I do t know what the heck I am now, ok? It’s true, and yes, I’ve posted this before and I’ll keep posting it until everyone in me gets on board with it, yes! I am still somebody because yes, dear me, we are all this: somebody! : https://youtu.be/tu0lNcrZjG8

George: hard to argue with that.

Kari: eh. You know what I am, George?

George: yes, Kari. I know what you are. But do you?

Kari: well, I feel, like I’m one of those kids on Sesame Street sometimes, looking up at and intently listening to Jesse Jackson, wondering how to get from small to big, and from where I am, to the success that he reps, you know? The importance of being admired by many. Having a big platform to play on. A huge soapbox to stand on, you know?

George: yes. I get it, Kari, I really do. And we’ve all been there. But everyone’s story about themselves, is different. How we all got to where we are, was our own personal trajectory that we designed with our beliefs. And our thoughts. There’s no set pattern or manual to follow. The only energy you must follow, is your passion and your joy, aka the love. That’s it. So, if you want to be, and decide to be, you ARE Hollywood,. Because Hollywood isn’t a specific person or group of people, it’s a place, and an energy. Hollywood is what you make it to be with how you view it. You don’t have to “be” Hollywood to be in Hollywood...

Kari: you said I wasn’t allowed in Hollywood..

George: you may not be. All I’m saying, is that you are whatever you decide you are. The end.

Kari: well, am I or not? Cause I don’t want to go and be turned away. Besides, I love visiting olvera st.

George: Its a fine street, it is. Great margaritas... listen Kari, you cannot achieve anything in this life that you don’t truly believe is in the realm of your possibility. So yes! You can be, and pretty much are are Hollywood keillor, even if it’s in the Midwest in your own home.. You are creative, and love the arts, and are nutsy, and ballsy, and you may hold the title as being the first person to ever separate the two, and bring them back together in a scote sack, ok? So keep writing, and be yourself.

Kari: I dunno. But what I do know is this: I did it again...

George: did what?

Kari: reactivated all the shit memories and feelings from the past that I’ve felt about my career, allowing myself to relive all those fun feels of inadequacy and upset alllll over again.

George: aww, it’s happened to the best of us. Listen Kari, you are, in my humble not so humble opinion, since I’m still you, a loving person. So you reflect that way; with humor, and yes, absurdist, surreal comedy.

Kari: well, I’ll try.

George: You already do. Your credentials are superfluous. Your love and support of you no matter what you do moving forward is what you’ll feel when you choose to, and it’s available anytime you want to feel it. And when you feel that, it really doesn’t matter what you do.

Kari: ok, well, thanks George. It’s nice to know I have you around.

George: Kari, you were once told that you are golden, no?

Kari: well, I was told that I’ll be golden at some point moving forward doing whatever it is I choose to do.

George: right. So, when are you going to decide to experience that?

Kari: hopefully soon.

George: Kari, why do you chop to talk to and write about us “passed over folk”?

Kari: I dunno. I guess it’s cause I love and miss you guys in theory, even though I didn’t know you personally. And I like to re-experience your energy, as I appreciated and admired it. It helps me feel better.

George: you’re now golden.

Scene.

Appendices: if you choose to perform this scene, good luck. I’d like you to do it all in one breath, if you are a more advanced, and professional actor. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💕💕💕💕

[kimjongdaely]

Random Writing Tips #2

First random writing tip

So I’m currently enrolled in a creative writing class. It’s super fun, the teacher is chill, but I realized there are some things that I don’t agree with. Because I’ve been writing for quite a long time, I’ve pretty much established my own writing style and set of rules, and I’d like to share some things I’ve learned to those who might be overwhelmed with all the “rules” and “tips” they see other people post.

1. All adverbs are bad...WRONG!

This absolutely irks me to no end (lol I used an adverb already). ADVERBS ARE NOT BAD. YOU SHOULD NOT DELETE ALL OF THEM. What makes a lot of writers say adverbs are “bad” is because a lot of beginners don’t know how to use them well. Adverbs are part of the English language. It is impossible to just completely delete a whole part of the language. Adverbs are meant to enhance words. It is weak when you write something like “he yelled loudly.” Because ‘yell’ already shows the speaker is using a loud tone, there’s no need to add ‘loudly’ beside it. We already know. We get it just from ‘yell.’ Some more bad examples: “he ran quickly,” “she ate hungrily,” “I screamed angrily,” etc.

A good use of adverbs (and I use this example all the time) is the title: Killing Me Softly. Because ‘killing’ implies violence, adding the adverb ‘softly’ adds extra depth and makes the readers curious. How does one kill softly? Could it be figurative instead of literal?

If you are able to describe something better with a verb rather than adding an adverb, always use the verb. For example, “walk quickly” to “run/dash/rush/sprint/race.” “Talk loudly” to “yell/scream/holler/call/cry.” But then again, don’t overdo it. This falls into another piece of advice, don’t be pretentious: using words that are too complicated and rare does not make you sound smarter. It confuses the reader and makes them lose interest.

2. Said/say for the win

On a similar note as the pretentiousness tip, “said/say” should be used most often. Overusing synonyms of that such as “yell/whisper/murmur/call/whimper/groan/etc.” will become exhausting for the readers to read and feels amateurish. Using “said/say” more often and then using a synonym when you really need to will make that synonym carry stronger emotion/meaning.

3. Show don’t tell but sometimes you should just tell

A lot of times you see people say “show don’t tell.” What does that mean? It means you should use description to explain something rather than just telling the audience directly. For example, “this chair is old” is telling. You can show by saying: “the chair had multiple scratch marks embedded in its wood. The white paint that once covered it had peeled almost completely. When sat in, the wood would creak and threaten to collapse.” Seems a lot easier to picture, right?

But there are times where you should just tell something. Sometimes, description can be too much. One thing that I find in a lot of amateur writing is the want to explain every outfit the character wears. Nobody cares unless it’s really relevant to the story. I usually only describe an outfit if I’m introducing a new character. Stop doing that, please.

Telling will happen a lot more in 3rd POV limited. Because the narrator is observing what’s going on, they may not know what the characters are feeling, and therefore cannot describe what they’re feeling. So sometimes you’ll simply write: “He watched her sit down, head propped up in her palm.” This also happens when the character isn’t sure what’s going on in someone else’s head. For example: “I watched him stand, grabbing the gun from the table.” This builds tension from its simplicity and directness, and the character (as well as the audience) isn’t sure what the other person is trying to do. Telling will often be followed by showing, and then followed by telling again. They mix together to bring more flavor and tension. Showing will be labelled as (s) and telling will be labelled as (t):

I watched him stand, grabbing the gun from the table (t). My heart jumped to my throat and I couldn’t get the words out when he turned towards me, a determined glint in his dark eyes (s). “What are you doing?” I finally managed to choke out as I took a staggering step backwards and felt my back hit the wall (s). I was trapped (t).

Because I have showed what the character was feeling, putting a very simple “I was trapped” afterwards gives the audience a bigger punch. Again, practice and experience will help you learn when to tell and when to show. Reading a lot is also helpful in that regard. Take note of how more experienced authors show certain things, and when they choose to simply tell. Don’t be afraid to tell...sometimes. But you should still show more often.

4. Stop following all the rules

Everywhere you go, you’ll see lists and lists of so called ‘writing rules’ that you should follow, lists of do’s and don’ts. I guess this is also guilty of that. But listen here: writing is different for everyone. Everyone has different styles. There is no set rule for writing. As you gain experience and practice, you begin to develop your own style and rules. Don’t lock yourself into a box filled with other peoples’ rules. Do whatever the hell you want and as time goes by and you read more and write more, you’ll begin to understand which things you should and shouldn’t do as a writer. 

Take every advice with a grain of salt. Same goes for critiques. Readers will see your work differently than how you see them, and similarly, writers will see your work differently too. Readers usually read for enjoyment, while writers are more critical and nit-picky. But writers will give you advice on how they would write the story, and readers will give you advice on what they want to read. Remember! This is your story. No one else can tell it the way you do, and what they want to see might be different from what you want to write. Again, take every advice/critique with a grain of salt, and do what you want to do. 

But on the other hand, if someone gives you advice that you know is correct, but you don’t wanna do it just because you have to delete a section you really like, or change something major, or think it’s bothersome, etc. you should still do it. There’s a phrase called “kill your darlings,” which applies for character death but ALSO FOR EDITING! If you really like a section but you realize it’s kind of useless, you have to remove it. But don’t delete it completely! You can save it somewhere and maybe it will be useful for another story in the future.

I hope these tips are useful, and I’ll probably post more as I think of them. If you have any questions on writing, feel free to send me an ask or DM!

[ecostudier]

How to study in high school + procrastination tips

I’ve been meaning to make a post on study tips and I saw @sorcierstudies wanted some high school advice for freshmen so here it is! My biggest problems my freshman year of high school were not knowing how to study, or just not studying at all and thinking I would do fine, and procrastination. 

So here are some tips on how I got over those:

1. Procrastination

Never procrastinate. I know you think you might sometimes be able to get something done right before class, or the morning before school. Just don’t do it. I tried to do this so many times, and a lot of the times I would get the work done, but it never helped me learn the material.

Write to-do lists. To stop procrastinating, something I learned was to use a planner and instead of just writing the task down, I put a little box next to it, and try to check all the tasks off by the end of the day. Be realistic with this; don’t give yourself a million tasks you can not do in the time you have. Only give yourself tasks you know you will get done. But always make sure you get everything done on your list.

Be specific with tasks. Instead of saying you’re going to just “read your English book” or “study for algebra”, be specific. This will help you get things done without feeling drained or feeling so overwhelmed that you don’t want to do it and just put it off till later. For example, instead of writing: “study for biology” write down something like: “study mutations for 30 minutes” or “read chapter 4 at 8pm” Be specific. This has helped me more than anything when it comes to getting things done on time.

Hold yourself accountable. You can do this by rewarding yourself and punishing yourself. Obviously, by this, I don’t mean you have to slam your head against the wall if you don’t finish an assignment. Cough, Dobby. By this I mean, if you finish all of your tasks, do something you enjoy. Let yourself watch an episode of your favorite tv show. If you don’t finish all of them, don’t watch tv that night. 

Finish your homework first. This goes with the last tip, but don’t do anything you do “for fun”, until you’ve done the tasks for the day. Example: don’t use social media until you’ve finished your homework + studying.

Schedule time for fun. Tasks might be overwhelming, and you’re only in high school so you deserve time for your fun. Plan your tasks around some time for fun. Write down that you will only watch tv for an hour after your homework. I struggled with scheduling my time in high school and would get home and immediately start watching tv and going on my phone for 4 hrs plus. Don’t make this mistake.

Don’t overwork yourself. If you don’t feel like doing your work right after school, give yourself a brain break, but do not do any of your “enjoyable” activities. I’d recommend eating a healthy snack, exercising for a bit, or doing some meditation. School can be long and overwhelming every day and it’s good to give your mind and body a break after sitting in a classroom all day.

2. Studying

Active learning rather than passive. The way your mind learns is by active recall. This means testing/quizzing yourself, working out problems, etc. instead of just looking over your notes. If it’s something you need to memorize, quiz yourself. Make physical flashcards or use Quizlet or Anki. Quizlet was my go-to in high school. Reviewing things over and over, by quizzing, will help solidify those facts in your mind. Looking over your notes a few times will barely help you.

Learn the right way to study math. To study for math, physics, chemistry, or the like, the best way to study for those subjects is by doing problems over and over. Math is a subject that requires building. It’s like building a house. You can not expect yourself to understand large concepts without a strong foundation. Do the foundational problems over and over until you understand it, then work your way up. The only way to get better at math, or problem-based subjects, is to just do the math. If a complex problem is confusing you, do different problems until you know where you’re getting stuck.

Ask for help. When you get stuck, try to figure it out by yourself first. I recommend Khan Academy for math and science. If that doesn’t work for you, ask a friend who might understand the topic. Lastly, ask your teacher. However, be ready to explain exactly what you understand and exactly where you’re getting stuck or confused in a concept/problem. This helps them help you. It’s so much better than just telling them: I don’t understand this.

Tell yourself exactly what you will study. I kind of got into this with the procrastination part, but when you’re preparing to study, don’t just go to the library or sit down somewhere and say: I’m going to study. Again, be specific. Tell yourself you’ll study a certain subject for a certain amount of time. That way you’re not aimlessly going back between subjects and not getting much done. If you don’t get something done within the time you permitted, move on to the next thing.

Get rid of distractions. Only study for that certain thing during that permitted time. Do not go on your phone, put it in your backpack or on a different table. Keep it out of sight. Don’t talk to friends, don’t eat snacks. Just study.

Try the Pomodoro Technique: the most helpful studying technique I’ve ever come across. Basically what you do is set a timer for a certain amount of time, usually 25-40 minutes, then you only study one subject or one concept, whatever you choose, during that amount of time. When that time is up, set a new timer for 5 minutes, or a couple minutes longer if your first time was on the long side. This is when you can eat a snack, stretch your legs, etc. Try not to go on your phone and social during this time. It’s more of a short brain/body break to refresh you. When this timer is up, set another long one. Repeat until you’ve reached the amount of time you’ve set aside for studying. Example: keep repeating the process until 3 hours is over. I don’t recommend doing this for long periods of time, no more than 5 hours. You need a real break.

Give yourself halfway breaks. Within your Pomodoro-ing, especially if it’s a long session, halfway through give yourself a longer brain break—a ten to fifteen-minute break instead of five. This will help keep your motivation on track!

3. Goals

Stay motivated. I know I didn’t mention this earlier, but it’s super important to have goals when it comes to school in order to stay motivated. 

Write down your goals. Short term, middle term, and long term, for every course. Example: get an A on the biology test—short term. Graduate with a 3.8 gpa—long term. 

Keeping goals should always keep you at a steady pace of being motivated, you know you’re working towards something, instead of aimlessly going through high school, having up and down periods of motivation. 

Have a way to remember your goals. Always write down your goals to make them more real. Handwrite them or type them out in a document and revisit them occasionally. Whatever it is, it’ll make you remember that you have something to work towards.

Hopefully, this is helpful when it comes to the academic side of high school. There’s so much more to high school than just studying, like having friends and social life, activities, etc. I plan to make a post on the college application process, but let me know if you’d like a post on anything else high school or college related! Also, feel free to add more advice or constructive criticism in the comments; it’s always welcome :)

[bthenoise]

Quaran-Dine & Chill: Here are 12 Homemade Food Recipes From Some Of Your Favorite Bands

Look, we get it: You’re bored. You’re stuck at home with nothing to do and to top it all off you’re absolutely starving with no idea what to make except for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. 

Thankfully, we knew this would happen so we reached out to some amazing artists to see if they had any recipes to help us all get through this never-ending period of social distancing. 

Submitting for a feature we like to call “Quaran-Dine & Chill,” bands like Mayday Parade, The Used, August Burns Red, Atreyu, Periphery, New Found Glory and more have all pitched in some of their most favorite recipes to make from home. 

To check out how to create Groovy Toast, cook some of Herbie’s Homemade Chicken Taquitos or even put together some Veggie Pasta with Vegan Ass White Sauce, be sure to look below. Afterward, remember, before making anything to eat, WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!

Oh, and there’s also a special 35-song Quaran-Dine & Chill playlist at the end of all this. Listen to it as loud as you possibly can -- we hear it helps the food taste better. 

Enjoy! 

JAKE BUNDRICK - MAYDAY PARADE

JAKE’S OVERNIGHT OATS

Ingredients 1/2 cup oatmeal (any type will work but I personally like Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats) 1 cup water 1 scoop protein powder (It's not necessary by any means but I prefer French Vanilla from TrueNutrition) 3/4 cup of either frozen berries or fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries... you can either add this now to soak overnight or wait until you're ready to eat and then add berries. It's up to you) 1 banana sliced 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Instructions Mix oatmeal, water, protein and frozen berries together in a bowl or jar (frozen berries are optional). You could forego this and choose to add fresh berries later.

Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight or for a few hours -- your choice.

After soaking, add fresh berries if you haven't already. Then add bananas and peanut butter.

Enjoy.

MATT HALPERN - PERIPHERY

REALLY HEALTHY “CEREAL”

I love cereal but I don't want all the bad stuff associated with most cereals. So I came up with a healthy alternative. It's pretty simple.

Grab a bowl

Add Trader Joe's Go Raw Trek Mix

Slice up some strawberries and add them too

Throw on a couple blueberries

Add 1% milk

And there ya have it! Really hearty, really healthy, easy to make “cereal” that actually fills you up!

MATT GREINER - AUGUST BURNS RED

DEER CAMP BREAKFAST CASSEROLE 

Ingredients 18 eggs 2 cups of milk 1 cup cheddar cheese 1 lb bacon 1 lb loose sausage 1 ts salt 1 tb pepper 1 pack hash browns

Instructions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Brown sausage and bacon separately-drain

Pan fry hash browns until golden brown

Grease a 13” x 9” baking pan and line the bottom with hash browns

Add a layer of bacon

Add a layer of sausage

Whip the eggs in a large bowl, then add the mix, salt and pepper, mix well

Add the cheese to the eggs and mix again

Pour the egg mixture over the meat and hash browns

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes 

Remove foil and bake until the top of the casserole begins to brown. Then remove from the oven.

BRENT WALSH - I THE MIGHTY

B-LEE'S BREAKFAST FEAST

Ingredients Hash browns 2 eggs Onions Garlic Mushrooms Peppers Cheddar cheese Black pepper Salt Ketchup Valentina (black label, extra hot) hot sauce Olive oil

Instructions First, get the hash browns going in a frying pan with lots of oil. They take the longest. 

In a second pan, get all the veggies going adding garlic when everything else is almost done so that you don't burn the garlic.

When the hash browns are done, plate them and immediately add the cheese to taste. 

The veggies should be about done by this time so add those on top. 

Fry the eggs (I like mine over medium) in the original pan you cooked the hash browns in and add salt and pepper while they cook. 

I like to top it all off with some black label Valentina hot sauce and a little ketchup. 

Add a coffee and mimosa on the side and boom, you got yourself a good ol' quarantine breakfast feast.

MARK HOLCOMB - PERIPHERY

SRIRACHA TUNA SALAD

Take two cans of tuna, break it up in a mixing bowl, toss with two tablespoons of celery, half an onion and some chopped fresh parsley.

Add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise (or veganaise if you’re a tree-hugging hippy like me), 1 tablespoon mustard, and several tablespoons of Sriracha depending on how spicy you want it.

Top off with some ground pepper and lemon juice, to taste.

Also feel free to add half a diced apple if you like some sweetness and crunchy texture in there.

Delicious, healthy and super simple.

JEPHA - THE USED

GROOVY TOAST

Soak a cup of any kind of nut (almond, cashew etc..) overnight in water.

Next day, strain most of the water except for a little bit to help blend it.

Put soaked nuts in blender with a dash of lemon, a pinch of salt, pepper, two tablespoons of olive oil.

Blend until smooth.

Optional fun: slice something spicy like a jalapeño.

Add “Groovy cheese” to either toast or crackers.

Drizzle olive oil and lemon on top of “Groovy Toast” with a spicy, spicy jalapeño and let your mouth party like your stuck at home for the next month or so 🤙

CYRUS BOLOOKI - NEW FOUND GLORY

SHEPHERD’S PIE

Ingredients: Ground Beef (or turkey, or chicken, or any kind of meat for that matter) Onion, diced (optional) Frozen veggies (1 bag of pretty much anything you have, normally a carrot/corn/peas mix, but seriously, anything will do) Worcestershire Sauce (optional, but check the back of your cupboard because you probably have a bottle that’s been sitting there for years and is still good!) Potatoes (again, any kind of potatoes will do) Cheese (cheddar is the standard, but use what you have!)

Instructions: Cook your meat in a skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper and adding diced onion if you have while cooking.  

Cook/microwave your bag of frozen veggies and add directly into the meat and stir.

Now’s the time to find that Worcestershire sauce if you have it -- if not, don’t worry, this is awesome without it too!

Add a cup of cheese in there and also 1/2 cup of liquid (could be water, could be chicken/beef broth if you have). Stir to combine all ingredients and turn to low heat to keep warm.

Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes however you can (whether by hand or with a box) and when done layer these two things in an ovenproof dish — meat/veggie mix on bottom, mashed potatoes on top.

Toss cheese all over the top of that and throw it in the oven on medium heat for 20 minutes to melt the cheese.

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy your dish whether with family or all alone. It’s a full meal all in one, tastes even better the next day and you can even freeze it!

BRANDON SALLER - ATREYU

WINNER WINNER ISOLATION DINNER (Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs)

Ingredients Bone-in chicken thighs w/ skin Salt (coarse salt works best but any will work fine) Pepper Garlic powder Mixed herbs or Italian seasoning Desired veggie - Whatever you have (ie broccoli, green beans, asparagus, zucchini) Italian dressing (your favorite)

Instructions Preheat oven to 400º  

Pat dry chicken on both sides with a paper towel

Season both sides of chicken liberally. Especially the top. The key to this chicken is the well seasoned crispy skin.

Place on sheet pan and roast in oven for about 40 minutes. You are looking for the chicken to be cooked through and skin to be browned and crispy.

When chicken has about 20 minutes left, put marinated veggies on a sheet pan and roast until chicken is done.

When finished, let chicken rest for about 5 minutes as it just came out of a 40-minute fiery hell and will 100% burn your mouth.

ENJOY!

IRA GEORGE - MOVEMENTS

TACO SALAD

This is a very easy and fluid dish that you can make on your own with ease. Whether you are a vegetarian or vegan, you can make this fit your lifestyle.

Ingredients 1 bag of chopped romaine 1 can of black beans 1 frozen bag of white or brown rice 1 cup of frozen corn (thawed) Soyrizo (or any type of ground meat) 1/2 bell pepper 2 Roma tomatoes 1/3 yellow onion 1 avocado Cilantro 1 lime Taco sauce of your choice Cilantro dressing (or something comparable) Diced jalapeños Shredded Mexican cheese Handful of tortilla chips

Instructions Dice the bell pepper, yellow onion and Roma tomatoes

Chop a handful of cilantro

Thaw corn in microwave

In a small pot heat up the can of beans

Cook the soyrizo or other meat in a pan at the same time (if you are using meat you will need to season to your liking)

Heat rice in microwave (if using uncooked rice have it ready before everything)

Grab a big bowl and put rice down. Add the cilantro and lime and toss together

Now add everything else however you want. Remember this is a completely fluid meal, add or takeout any ingredient you feel. Get creative with it! DON’T FORGET TO ADD THE AVOCADO AND SAUCES!!

NICK VENTIMIGLIA - GRAYSCALE

HERBIE’S HOMEMADE CHICKEN TAQUITOS

Servings: 12 Calories: 241 Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 20 min Total time: 40 min

Ingredients 3oz cream cheese 1/4 cup salsa of your choice 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 1/2 teaspoon of taco seasoning 2 fresh cloves of garlic, minced 3 tablespoons cilantro or parsley 2 scallions diced 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or whatever protein you desire 1 cup Mexican blend cheese or whatever you want 12 6in flour tortillas Cooking spray Kosher salt

Instructions Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, taco seasoning, garlic, cilantro, and scallions until well combined and creamy. Add in the cooked chicken and cheese; stir to thoroughly combine.

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 10 seconds).

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone, making sure the taquitos are not touching each other.

Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little kosher salt (don’t skip the salt!)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.

BALSAC THE JAWS 'O DEATH - GWAR

I offered up my recipes for Feline Fricassee and Poodle Wellington but my publicist informed me that things hadn't yet gotten to the point where most people are ready to eat their pets. Instead, here is a recipe that you should be able to throw together without having to take that dreaded trip to the supermarket. 

Now more than ever, everyone should be able to hunt and kill their own food. So the first thing you will need to do is grab your favorite battleaxe, knife or shotgun and go in your backyard. Look for the happy yellow flowers that are probably taking over your poorly manicured lawn. Pick as many of these as you can find, making sure to pull them out from the roots keeping the long dark green leaves intact. You may be asking, “What do I need this shotgun for?” The weapon is in case your neighbor sees you and tries to shake hands!

DOOMSDAY DANDELIONS 

Ingredients Dandelion greens 1/2 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons vinegar (red wine vinegar or balsamic work best but whatever kind you can find in your cupboard. It is the apocalypse after all) 1 tablespoon mustard (Dijon if you've got it but who am I kidding, you only have that horrible yellow crap!) 2 cloves garlic minced Salt and pepper 2 teaspoons dry herb (use whatever you can find. What are you saving that stuff for?)

Instructions Pick the flowers off the dandelion greens (these are edible too, I suggest beer battering them and frying them, but that's another recipe and I'm not getting paid for this). 

Trim the hairy roots from the greens and discard. 

Wash all the dirt from the greens, cut them in half at the base keeping the leaves attached and soak in clean cold water. 

Wisk all other ingredients together until they are a cohesive solution. 

Drain and pat dry the greens and dress them with the vinaigrette. 

Enjoy by yourself!!

SCHUYLAR CROOM - HE IS LEGEND

VEGGIE PASTA WITH VEGAN ASS WHITE SAUCE

Ingredients 1 medium onion chopped 3 cloves of garlic Red bell pepper julienned Broccoli florets Mushrooms sliced thin Zucchini halved and sliced Yellow squash quartered and sliced 1 or 4 splashes of white wine

Finisher Sauce 1/4 cup of unsweetened oat milk 1 or 2 tbs coconut oil 1/4 cup vegan mayo A few handfuls of vegan cheese (I used a vegan pepper jack by Daiya and a bit of Follow Your Heart Parmesan) 1/3 cup of Nutritional yeast Fresh basil

Herbs and Spices Kosher Salt Fresh ground pepper Herbes de Provence Some other optional shit

Pasta Fettuccine noodles ( I like that Ancient Grain in the blue box.)

Instructions Boil salted water for your noodles and in a separate pot boil a few cups of water to blanche your broccoli. You’ll be mad if your water is not boiling before you start sautéing your veg... that shit goes quick, watched pots never boil.

In a large saucepan over med/high heat: Sauté onion for about 5 minutes until it is soft and almost translucent. Add chopped garlic until that smell wakes up your girlfriend. Boom you’re cooking. Salt and pepper that junk.

Add the peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and squash, hit it with some more salt and pepper. I like to throw in some Herbes de Provence and a TINY SPRINKLE of cayenne (a little goes a long way) plus some truffle salt because I’m fancy.

By now the lil pot should be boiling. Throw those broccoli guys in there and when they turn dark ass green drain them and throw them in the pot with the other veggies.

Shit’s all steamy now. It smells crazy good. Your girlfriend and your dog are in the kitchen salivating.

Hit those veggies with some white wine. I say a few dashes, but you’ll know. You’re gonna want to let that cook off for 3-5 minutes.

Maybe you’ve already put your noodles in. If so, they’re ready to drain. If not, get to it 9 minutes after the water starts boiling again (read the box)

Now your noodles are in the strainer. Make your partner divide that into bowls.

After the wine has cooked off, add the veganaise, coconut oil, vegan cheeses and the nutritional yeast and stir all of that up until melty and gooey and combined with the veggies. I like the throw in about half a cup of chopped sliced basil and leave a little for a garnish after you’ve topped your pasta with this creamy ass veggie goodness.

OH! Pro tip: Garlic bread. (Do this 40 minutes ago before starting anything else.)

Take 2 heads of garlic and peel most of the skin off but leave bulb intact.

Chop the very top of the head off the garlic to expose the clove (like 1/16 of the top).

Place it in tinfoil and close it up around the sides. Douse with a generous amount of olive oil and salt and pepper all over that opening on the bulb and close the foil up tight around the top. Create a little oven inside your oven.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. You’ll smell it.

Let it cool well.

Toast a loaf of French bread.

Those little garlic cloves will pop out like little teardrops of pure heaven. Smear that junk on your toasted bread and thank me later. The oil is now roasted garlic oil. You could drizzle that on the bread too or over the damn pasta that’s in the bowl.

(Be careful. You will want to skip the steps of letting the bulbs cool. They are unforgivingly hot and will burn your flesh.)

[asweetlovemessage-blog]

a sweet good morning message for my love | TAM RELAX

bacsiykhoa.com

           - My Blog                    13-17 phút              

”

==>> A Sweet Love Message.

When it comes to Southern romance, it's no secret that choosing the right words is important. Crafting the perfect romantic message and expressing how much you care about someone may be difficult, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. If you need a dash of inspiration, explore these short love messages and quotes about love for a little help with telling your beloved just how much you care!

==>> a sweet and romantic love message.

==>> a sweet good night love message.

==>> a sweet i love you message.

10 Brainstorming Techniques & Tips for Tapping Into Your Creative Side by Quincy Seale 12-16 phút

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. If make a purchase through these links, we receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclosure for more info.

James Allen wrote this about thought: “Man is made and unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also creates the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. Between these two extremes are all the many grades of character, and man is their maker and their master. ”

So if man is the maker and master of thought, how do you go about learning to harness your own thoughts to create a better reality and become a more efficient, more productive, and more successful human being?

Well, obviously there are plenty of ways to go about such an endeavor, but today I want to talk about one of them. Brainstorming.

Because in order for us to get better at thinking, we first need to learn how to produce more thoughts. The more thoughts we have, the more chances we have to bring something more exciting into this world, and the more we generate new thoughts, or brainstorm, the better our mind gets at creating these new ideas. The Key to Brainstorming

The key thing to realize about brainstorming is that it’s solely about creation. It’s not about judging the ideas that arise or forcing yourself to think a certain way. What it really is, when it comes down to it, is “forceful creation.” To put it another way, you are willfully forcing your brain to be creative.

And since creativity is something that should be allowed to run its own course rather than be intellecualized, the entire process is a bit of a contradiction.

For this reason, it is a process rife with confusion and hesitance. So today I want to go over some different brainstorming techniques you can use. And you can use these to attack any problem in your life – from coming up with a new marketing strategy for your business to writing a new book to launching a new website to designing a new life for yourself.

Let’s have a look. 1. Mindmapping Software

Mindmapping Software

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The first tool I want to introduce is actually software, and I realize this might sound extremely counter-intuitive and possibly counterproductive. After all, how in the world can you tap into your mind’s innate creativity with an electronic-based program?

But I stand by my assertion that mindmapping software really is priceless when it comes to this type of thinking, and it’s very hard to describe until you just dig in and give it a try.

The type of software I’m talking about specifically is the kind used by MindJet MindManager and Freemind.org, the latter of which, as the name applies, is downloadable for free.

The way these program works is you have an empty page with theoretically as much room as you could ever need. You click on the blank slate and create a bubble or box, depending on which program you’re using. You then write in the box the main idea you’re working from.

Let’s say, for instance, that you’re planning out a new website. You might write the name of the website here. If you click on another place on the page, it creates new nodes that comes out from that. You might lable one “Marketing,” one “Products,” and one “Audience,” for example.

Then from each of these nodes, you can create other smaller nodes. From “Marketing,” you might branch out to “Follow-up Marketing,” “Social Marketing,” “Branding,” and so on.

And you keep branching out and getting more and more specific until you’re just hammering out specific ideas for each segment of the web you’re creating.

This is just one way to use it – your mindweb or mindmap can be ogranized however you see fit.

And of course you can also do this type of mind-mapping technique on paper. But I find it way more productive to do it with software. It’s like a whole new world of creativity opens up to me when I match the speed of my mind and the speed of a computer with this old technique. 2. Become a List Whiz

Become a List Whiz

Photo Credit: matthewvenn | Flickr

A great way to train yourself to be more creative is to get in the habit of writing lists. Set time aside everyday to write lists about random things, or pressing problems when needed. Feel free to write about zany, irrelevant lists if you can’t think of anything better; it’s really just about strengthening your idea-generating muscles.

Lists I often write include stuff like, “10 Novels I Would Like to Write,” “20 Businesses I Could Start Tomorrow,” “10 Blog Articles for My Site,” or chapter lists for books I want to write someday.

Do this each and everyday and watch your creative muscles grow. 3. Mastermind Groups

Mastermind Groups

Photo Credit: rosefirerising | Flickr

Mastermind groups are a fantastic way to leverage the thoughts, knowledge, and inspiration of others in your path to success and happiness. Masterminding is nothing more than surrounding yourself with like-minded people who have similar goals.

You can create a formal group that sits down and actually involves in group discussions or brainstorming exercises if you like. It’s a platform where you can bounce ideas off of each other and take turns commenting on them.

You can also create something more semi-formal, where you meet every once in a while and sit down to discuss issues affecting your central industry or interest and then fill each other in on your individual challenges and invite ideas.

Or it can be completely informal. Just go out of your way to work out and socialize, etc, with people on the same path as you – mastermind ideas and inspiration will usually evolve naturally through your social interaction.

Online forums are also a good resource for masterminding and you don’t even have to ask people to specifically brainstorm. Just make a thread about the issue or situation and people will chip in with their different experiences and opinions. 4. Meditate Before You Brainstorm

Meditate Before You Brainstorm

Photo Credit: illusivemind | Flickr

One of the best ways to make yourself more emotionally healthy and tap into your creative juices is to develop the habit of meditation. After all, it’s hard to break into your intuitive side if your mind is filled with the clutter and stress of everyday life.

Meditation doesn’t have to be far-out or religious either. Just think of it as learning to calm and focus your mind. To mentally recharge. I make it a habit to meditate everyday as a part of a morning ritual I perform upon waking every morning – after working out and cleaning around the house. Just a quiet ten to twenty minute meditation.

Directly after this meditation is a great time to do a brainstorming session. In fact, you can make it a habit to brainstorm every morning after your meditation on whatever is currently your biggest goal, idea, or challenge. 5. Brainstorm in Your Sleep

Feeding yourself issues to handle while you sleep can often yield incredible results. Sometimes an issue is more appropriate for your subconscious than your conscious mind, and in cases like this, active brainstorming is nothing more than walking in circles. When you get in bed, meditate on the problem or idea for a minute, asking your subconscious to give you a solution by morning.

It can feel like magic at times. 6. Group Passing

While I do recommend masterminding, I’m actually not a big proponent of brainstorming in groups. Not that I don’t know they have enormous potential, but I’m just more of a solo-thinker myself and I find I don’t get as much out of them as most people do.

But if there’s one group-brainstorming exercise that really works well, it’s the concept of group passing.

Basically, you start with the central idea, or the foundation of what is to be brainstormed, and the first person in the group expands on that idea, without any input from the group. This person can even be tasked with coming up with the idea to be brainstormed.

Then they pass the paper to the next person and that person expands on it as they see fit. The idea is passed then to the next person and it evolves even further. The paper goes around the entire group and then the final result is shared with everyone.

Another thing I like about this tactic is that it can be done without physically getting together – over the Internet. Google Docs is a great way to do it; the online documents are easily shared and editable among the group. 7. Write It Out

Write It Out

Photo Credit: Abdulla Al Muhairi | Flickr

Using a good old pen and paper will never lose its effectiveness when it comes to letting your thoughts run free. In fact, some people prefer this as your mind works faster than you write, so by the time you finish writing down a thought, you’ve already got another in mind. In contrast, when many people type, they find themselves starting and stopping a lot, resulting in a much choppier process.

Do this any way you like. Free-writing is particularly effective for letting your mind run free. Write lists – this is a common brainstorming method for people who don’t even know what the word means, so it seems our minds intuitively work that way. And of course, you can create mindmaps.

One of the best things about writing is you can take this technology with you anywhere. Get a small notepad and keep it at all times, pulling it out when new thoughts cross your mind. I find this puts me in a constant brainstorming state, and I walk around creating throughout every minute of my day.

This type of constant approach allows you to catch yourself at your most creative. When intuition strikes, you can just sit down and get to spontaneous writing.

Whiteboards are also very effective. Hang one in your house with your major projects or developing ideas on them and it makes it official. You look at it and you get inspired. You have an idea and you add to it. It evolves as time goes on and sits further into your mind. 8. Give Yourself Omnipotence

I like the way Tim Ferris does this in his dream-lining technique. When he goes to goal-set, he asks himself what he would accomplish in three months time if he was the richest and smartest man in the world, and then starts from that foundation.

This essentially gives you liberty by removing all limitations. You don’t stop yourself from brainstorming down a certain path because “Oh, I’d need a couple hundred thousand dollars to do that” and then move on to another idea. Instead, you arrive at an idea that doesn’t recognize any boundaries and figure out a way to make it possible. 9. Brainstorm the Outlandish

Take the previous technique a step further by imagining nothing as impossible. Some of mankind’s greatest feats were accomplished when people decided to figure out a way to do something no one believed could be done.

How can we hurl a huge chunk of metal through the air so fast that it stays aloft and use it to carry people around the world? How can I create a light that never goes out so we don’t need fire to do the things we can usually only do in the day-time? How can I manufacture a device that allows me to talk with someone on the other side of the world as if we were speaking face-to-face?

The only way to produce impossible results is giving yourself impossible challenges and attacking them with your mind. 10. Walk Away From Thinking

Walk Away From Thinking

Photo Credit: bbcjk.king | Flickr

Sometimes you get too wrapped up in a problem and can’t extract yourself from it, so somewhere along the line in your brainstorming you may run into a dead-end or keep going in circles. What’s happening here is you’re trying to think yourself through it rather than tapping into your creative side.

Often, it’s best to get out from behind the computer or desk and go for a walk or do something that completely removes you from the situation. Your brain may just need downtime to sort things out, and you’ll often find that minutes after it’s out of mind an epiphany strikes. The Power of Thoughts

Thoughts may be the most powerful force on Earth.

In fact, they are so powerful that the existence of life on Earth is at risk due to things our thoughts have created – a worrying problem, no doubt, but a wild reality to contemplate.

Look around you. The computer mouse in your hand. Your laptop itself. The software that powers it. The table it sits on. Look up at the ceiling – the walls surrounding you and the building containing the room. The streets outside and the entire city laid out around you.

Everything you see and touch that is made by man was created first in the mind of a person and went through a process to be turned into a reality. In fact, some philosophers, and perhaps even some scientists, would go as far as to say that your entire reality is but a thought, and that your own thoughts can be used to direct and create the world around you.

I don’t want to get too esoteric on you today, but it’s clear that thoughts are an extremely valuable resource that has been recognized and even held in awe by wise-men throughout the centuries.

Will you be wise enough to see their value? Pick one of these brainstorming exercises and use it to start mastering your thought-creating capabilities. Tackle one of your greatest challenges today. And make doing so a habit. ”

[howtobuytech]

How to Buy a TV

It's stupid how difficult it is to buy a TV these days. It should be easy enough to walk into a Best Buy, look at the wall of TVs, and pick the one you think looks the best. Unfortunately, most people can't really see a difference between brands. To make things worse, most TV manufacturers use a special in-store display mode that basically turns the brightness way up to make the screen stand out among the others. Then a lot of people are disappointed when they take a TV home and it doesn't look like the display unit at the store.

Things can be even worse when you shop online. Most online retailers simply spew a bunch of numbers at you to make it seem like a particular brand has super advanced technology. The reality is that most people don't understand what 1080p resolution or 60Hz refresh rate means. Depending on your needs, higher numbers aren't always better or worth the markup.

The purpose of this guide is to help you get past the marketing jargon to help you not get scammed. Here are the 6 steps you should follow to pick out your next TV:

1. Decide what screen size best fits your needs. Note that TVs are measured diagonally, from either the top left corner to the bottom right or the top right to the bottom left. That means a 55 inch TV has a screen that's 47.8 inches wide and 26.9 inches tall. Keep that in mind when you're measuring or planning out how big of a TV will fit in a particular space. Obviously bigger means more expensive, so keep in mind that a living room centerpiece is going to cost much more than a small screen in your bedroom.

2. Choose the resolution of the screen. These days, you'll generally see either 4K Ultra HD (aka 1440p) TVs or 1080p TVs with the occasional lower-end 720p sprinkled in. To explain what those numbers mean, every screen is made up of a grid of thousands or millions of little dots called pixels. Each pixel emits different colored light such that all of those pixels lit up together produce the image on your screen. The resolution of a screen tells you how many pixels it has. The more pixels you have, the better the screen can reproduce an image of real life. If you think back to an old video game, those were produced with tens or hundreds of pixels, so the image looks blurry or blocky. Whereas games nowadays are produced with millions of pixels, so they look almost identical to real life.

Resolution is a little tricky for the average person, because it can be difficult to see a difference between say 1080p and 4K Ultra HD. For most people who are used to a 1080p TV at home, 4K appears to be only a very slight improvement. However, if you're used to looking at a 4K screen, going back down to 1080p (or even lower like 720p) generally appears to be a much bigger difference.

These days, I would definitely recommend 4K. We're at the point where there's plenty of 4K video content (like on Netflix) and game consoles (like the Xbox One X and Playstation 4 Pro) can even play games at the higher resolution. A 1080p TV at this point will become outdated very quickly in the next few years.

3. Decide if you want to pay more for HDR. If you do, look for a TV that specifies either HDR 10 or Dolby Vision (many TVs support both). Many manufacturers will try to fool you by saying a TV has HDR without specifying one or both of those technical standards.

HDR or high-dynamic-range refers to a wider range of brightness the pixels on your screen can produce. In real life, light and dark are very apparent, so there's a stark contrast between looking up into the sun versus looking at a shadow. Most screens have a hard time reproducing that contrast. You might notice a lot of times when you're looking at a sunset on your TV for example, the image looks kind of flat and not totally real. A TV with HDR will be better at producing that shift in brightness, so that the image looks more realistic.

Unless you have a limited budget, I would recommend buying a TV with HDR. If you watch a 4K HDR movie on Netflix for example, you might be amazed at how much more real the image looks than it might on a more muted screen. Buying an HDR TV now is also probably a good investment for the future, as more and more video content will support it.

4. Decide on the refresh rate you're looking for. Higher refresh rates can get expensive very quickly, but they can also make a huge difference depending on what you use your TV for. The standard numbers you'll see are 60Hz, 120Hz, and 240Hz.

A TV is sort of like a super advanced flip book. It displays motion by flipping through tons of still images. The faster you flip through, the more fluid the motion looks. The slower you flip through, the more unnatural or blurry it looks. 60Hz (pronounced like the word "hurts") means it shows you 60 images per second. The difference in refresh rate becomes apparent when there's a lot of motion on screen. So for example, a football game will look much better on a 120Hz screen because it refreshes fast enough to keep up with the players on screen, whereas a 60Hz screen might look a little blurry as players dart across the field.

If you're buying a new TV to watch sports or to play video games, I recommend spending up for a TV with 120Hz. If you're mostly planning to watch TV or movies, it might be hard to justify spending up for anything over 60Hz. Unless you're simply looking for the top of the line TV, 240Hz is usually not worth the price. While some people can see a difference, the human eye can hardly distinguish between 120 and 240Hz.

5. Figure out how many and what kind of inputs and outputs you need. Basically this means you need to ask yourself what all you're going to be plugging into the TV. If you have 3 game consoles and a Blu-ray player, you probably shouldn't get a TV with only two HDMI ports, or you'll be sorry to find out you'll need to buy additional hardware like an HDMI switcher. Additionally, if you want to connect a sound system, make sure the TV can support the type of cable your system uses (usually 3.5mm, analog optical audio, or HDMI).

There are different types of HDMI ports that you might want to be aware of, but I won't get into those because it's not relevant for most average people.

6. Decide if you care about "smart" features. This essentially boils down to whether you want apps built into the TV or if you already have a box like a Roku/Apple TV/Xbox/etc. that you're going to plug into the TV anyway. Most TVs these days have smart features by default, so it's actually kind of hard to get a TV without smart features these days. The important thing to know is that you shouldn't pay more for these features if you're already planning to plug in another box to play Netflix, Hulu, or whatever else.

7. (Bonus Step if you want to get a little nerdier) Choose the display technology. The display technology is basically how the pixels are lit up. The standard options nowadays are LED LCD and OLED. If the manufacturer doesn't specify OLED, then it likely falls under the LED LCD category. Samsung and other brands tend to be extremely confusing about this type of thing. They'll use terms like QLED or SUHD, but at the end of the day, they're really just LED LCD displays.

OLEDs are generally much more expensive, but the benefit is that they tend to have better contrast between light and dark areas of the screen. Because LED LCD panels generally use backlighting, it's hard to make one part of the screen bright and a different part of the screen dark. With OLED however, the screen can light up pixels individually, which makes for a more realistic looking image.

To wrap up, my philosophy for TV shopping is actually a little different than shopping for other products. When shopping for a TV, I would recommend setting your budget after deciding what features you must have. For most things, it makes sense to set your limit and then pick the best option within that restriction. However, a TV is a long-term purchase and a product that typically sits prominently in your living room. In my mind, it makes sense to decide what you want and then save up and only buy when you have enough money to get the product you want. Most people buy a TV every 5-10 years. However, most people buy a smartphone for example every 1-3 years. It makes more sense to splurge on the less frequent purchase rather than the purchase you know you're going to replace in a relatively short period of time.

I hope this clears up some of the marketing jargon for you. Let me know down below if this cleared things up for you!

[whydontwe-fanfics]

Vegan (J.M)

Description: When hearing Jonah and the guys mock your life choices, you try a change, but your body doesn't respond so well to it.

Request: could you possibly write one where y/n is a vegan and she hears the boys, including her bf (Jonah), making fun of her behind her back and she attempts to eat meat to try to fit in one night but ends up throwing up and getting really sick and you can go off from there

Warning(s): mockery of vegan lifestyles, swearing, the boys being assholes, angst

PSA: keep in mind this is fiction, I don't know the boys personally, but they're not actual assholes

Word Count: 2.5k

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You were always a vegan, since day one. Literally. Both of your parents have raised you in a vegan lifestyle since you were born.

You were ten when you had your first taste of actual bacon. Your friends went crazy when they found you've never had pork before and when invited to one of their homes, they peer pressured you into trying it, telling you that you'd love it and your parents would never have to know. So you did it.

And it was disgusting. You remember pretending to like it for the sake of your friends, but the chewy fat in your mouth felt foreign and inedible.

You went home crying that day, admitting to your parents' that you had eaten bacon within seconds of walking through the front door. Of course, you weren't punished and your parents wouldn't admit it until years later but they found the entire situation humorous.

Eight years later, and you haven't eaten a single slice of meat since. Your fifteen-year-old brother had given up being a vegan four years prior, but you quite liked the foods you ate.

Many people tend not to get it, which could be a pain when they repeatedly ask if you've ever eaten steak, chicken, duck, etc.

But Jonah had always understood it. Or so you thought.

"What the hell are vegan oatmeal cookies?" Zach asks as he pulls out a pack of said cookies from the cabinet.

"Exactly what they say," Daniel replies.

"I mean what the hell is in it? And who eats this crap?" He puts the pack back into the pantry before reaching for the Chips-Ahoys.

"Vegan stuff," Jonah shrugs. "I don't know, Y/N likes them."

"I forgot she was a vegan," Jack hums.

"You'd think she'd tell us with every breath," Zach says and the guys all let out small laughs at the overused joke.

"So what does she eat?" Corbyn asks.

"Vegan food, I don't fucking know," Jonah rolls his shoulders.

"Is she an 'I heart animals' vegan or an 'my body is a temple' vegan?" Zach rolls his eyes.

"Pretty sure both," Jonah laughs.

You stood in the hallway with your back to the wall, your arms crossed over your chest as you eavesdrop on the mockery going on in the kitchen. You feel your face heat up as you overhear the guys make fun of you, your own boyfriend apart of the teasing.

"I know plenty of healthy people who are healthy and aren't vegan," Corbyn mentions.

"Vegans just like the title," Jonah laughs and your frown deepens. Why was he saying all of this? Was this what he really thought all along? "It's very inconvenient, too."

"I couldn't imagine going to the market with a vegan," Corbyn further teases, making you feel even more self-conscious.

"How do people go without eating meat? I don't get it," Jack scratches his head.

"By simply not eating meat?" Daniel sarcastically replied. "It's her life choice, leave Y/N alone."

If anything you were shocked Daniel was the only one who defended you. You didn't want to cry, but you felt so embarrassed it was upsetting.

With watery eyes, you push yourself off of the wall and hurry back to Jonah's room, closing the door behind you and sitting on the edge of his bed with a heavy exhale.

You glance to the dried fruit on his desk that you had just been snacking on. With a huff you storm over and throw the bag away, turning your back to it just as Jonah walked through the door.

"Hey, we're leaving in a few minutes," he says, reaching for his sneakers before looking up at you and furrowing his eyebrows. "What's wrong? Were you crying?"

"Yeah-uhm, I hit my knee on the desk," you easily lie. "Just teared up."

"You alright?" He walks your way and kneels down to inspect your bare knee. You turn away quickly and head for your phone on the nightstand.

"I'm fine," you shrug. "Where are we going?"

"Some diner downtown," Jonah began to pull his shoes on while he stayed kneeling. "I checked, they have vegan choices."

You nearly wince at the mention, feeling small goosebumps rise on your skin. Was finding a place always a hassle because of you? Is this why he doesn't like you being a vegan? Is this what he meant when saying you weren't very convenient.

"Oh, thanks," you murmur, sliding your phone into your pocket.

"You sure you're alright? Anything bothering you?" He stands back up and wraps his arms around your waist from behind, pulling your back against his chest.

"I'm fine, Jonah," you fake a smile and squirm out of his grip before turning to face him. "Just hungry."

His furrowed eyebrows don't rest, but he inevitably complies and takes your hand in his.

As he leads you downstairs, you feel uneasiness poke at your ribs. You knew the guys didn't know you had heard them, but knowing that they had all been so rude about your decisions was embarrassing and unsettling. You grew to think that they didn't like or respect you.

"You guys heading out?" Jack asks once you guys get downstairs. You divert your eyes from him and shift uncomfortably as Jonah unlaced your hands and wraps that arm around your shoulder.

"Yeah, we'll be back in a bit," he declares.

The entire ride there, only one thought consumed your mind - Would it be too late to change? Maybe the first few bites won't taste good, but that's food being food and taste buds reacting. After a while, you'll get the hang of it and will be eating normal foods in a jiffy.

You grew determined in that thirty-minute ride, telling yourself that you'd just have to trick your mouth into enjoying the taste of pork chops or beef jerky. It couldn't be that hard?

"You've been real quiet back there, Babe," Jonah grasps your attention and you make temporary eye contact.

"Just tired," you shrug. "Could you drop me home after this?"

"Yeah, sure," he slightly frowned before looking back at the road.

You shift in your seat and nibble at your bottom lip as you pull into the parking lot of said restaurant.

"C'mere," Jonah pulled you into his arms right after you got out of the car, his chin resting on your head. "You're going to tell me what's wrong after we eat, okay?"

"There's nothing wrong, Jonah," you deny.

"Y/N," he sternly says. "You know you can tell me anything, right? I won't judge."

How ironic.

You find yourself scoffing on the inside as you pull away from him.

"Let's just go eat," you grumble, walking ahead and away, leaving him confused. He reluctantly follows you into the restaurant.

Your eyes rake the menu, a blanket of discomfort on you because now you're aware that Jonah will judge whatever you decide to put into your body.

When the waiter came around, you had decided not to get anything, claiming that you weren't hungry. When Jonah's food came, you just got a water.

"What if we order you something and you just take it home for later?" Jonah asks, pestering you about your decision on not choosing any of the food.

"I'm good, really," you assure him. "And if I'm hungry later, I'll just order something from post mates."

Jonah eyes you for a few seconds before shaking his head and turning back to the bacon burger and fries on his plate. Your stomach churned at the thought of eating that yourself as you eyed the meal down.

"You want a bite?" Jonah jokes, noticing your stare. You glance up at him with wide eyes.

"Really?"

"I was joking."

You furrow your eyebrows and glance back at his burger before grabbing a knife and cutting 1/3 of the patty.

He stares at you with genuine confusion as you bring the food to your lips and take a bite out of it hastily.

"Y/N, what the hell?" Jonah frowns. "You told me what happened last time you had bacon." He takes the remaining piece of burger out of your hand and places it on his plate. "Why would you do that?"

You don't pay much attention to his words as you feel the flavor of the meat fill your mouth, your jaw repeatedly moving because of how chewy the food was.

You tilt your head to the side at the taste. It wasn't nearly as bad as you had remembered, but it still was unusual.

"I just wanted to try it," you say as the mushiness finally goes down your throat.

Jonah eyed you down for a few seconds.

"What?"

"Was it good?"

"It wasn't that bad," you shrug. "Just not used to that kind of texture."

"So you liked it?"

"No, not at all," you find yourself saying honestly. "But I could get used to it." You grab the remaining piece back from Jonah's plate and put it into your mouth, slightly grimacing.

"Don't force yourself to eat it."

"I'm not," you detest.

"Yes, you are," he argues.

"No, I'm not, Jonah, for Christ's sake," you can't help but snap. A sigh leaves your mouth as you turn your attention to your phone, ignoring his confusion-filled eyes.

It didn't take long for his to request for a styrofoam box and the check, meaning he was ready and so were you.

You both silently head to his car and the tension doesn't die when he begins driving.

It's nearly six minutes after you guys have left the restaurant when Jonah decided to speak up.

"You gonna finally tell me what the hell is up or are you gonna just keep ignoring me?"

You roll your eyes just as a feeling of nausea passed over you.

"Hello?" He calls.

You place your hands on your stomach at the feeling of contents moving around unusually.

"Pull over," you mutter.

"What? No-"

"Just pull over!" You nearly yell and he swerved to the side of the deserted road. You quickly opened the door and rushed out of the car, placing both hands on your knees and throwing up on the side of the street.

Jonah grows himself out of the driver's seat and rushes to your aid, pulling your hair back and rubbing your back.

"Shit," he murmurs as your vomit falls from your mouth on three different occasions, small pauses between the vile feeling. Your eyes watered when it was finally over and you heaved, wiping your mouth with the sleeve of your sweatshirt. "Babe-"

"I just want to go home," you nearly whimpered and his heart fell.

"C'mon," he says in a hushed tone, leading you back into the car and kneeling beside you after you sit down. He places his palm on one side of your face, the frown on his face never subsiding. "It was the meat, wasn't it?"

You merely shrug, not looking him in the eye as the sick feeling doesn't disperse.

"Y/N, why'd you eat it when you knew this would happen?"

"I just wanted to be normal," you finally murmur.

"What? You are normal," he says incredulously. "Why wouldn't you be normal!"

"Because me being a vegan isn't convenient," you huff, finally making eye contact with him. He still looks confused for a brief moment before realization washed over him, his eyes widening.

"Why-why would you say that?"

"Why would you say that?" Your voice cracks. "Is me being a vegan that bad for you?"

"No, no it isn't. It never has," he shakes his head. "I don't know why I said that; I was caught up in the moment with the guys and-"

"You didn't defend me," you felt a tear fall and instantly reached up to wipe it away just before another one was released. "Daniel's the only one who stood up for me while my boyfriend was making fun of me."

"I'm sorry," his face fell. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know how bad it was," he gestured to the vile contents on the side of the road.

"It was embarrassing enough being made fun of by the guys, but you? I would've thought you out of everyone there wouldn't join along," you frown.

"You have no idea how sorry I am," he whispers. "I was- I am a jerk, I shouldn't have said any of those things, I didn't mean it."

"It sounded like you did," you protest but he shakes his head.

"Y/N, I love you and your vegan choices."

"I don't want you lying to me."

"I'm not lying," he deadpanned. "Earlier, everything I said was because I was being an asshole and in the moment I thought more of the laughs than your feelings whether I didn't know you had been listening or not."

You remain quiet, closing your eyes as the sickness built up in your stomach, causing you to grasp at your torso in discomfort. Jonah's face fell and he let out a small sigh.

"The guys are going to apologize to you and I'll do it a hundred more times if I have to," he declares. "Just never do something that would hurt you just because of what I or anyone else says... Is that why you were crying earlier?”

"I thought I could grow used to change and show you guys-" you heave, cutting yourself off.

"You don't need to change because we're jerks," he sighed. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that, God, Y/N, I really am."

You merely nod, not opening your mouth because you feel that the second you do, the urge to hurl will increase.

"I'll take you back to your place so you can rest," he finally concludes, changing his mind. "But I'm not leaving until you feel better."

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i would not have forgiven him so easily, but for the sake of keeping the word count under 3k and happy endings, here you go!! // also didn't know how to end it so the last paragraph is halfassed

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Masterlist | Talk to Me

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Tag List: @maddie-leighhh @my-otpkilledme @heyowdw @duh-danii @thefangirlingmaster @lyssaholic @prettylittlesheerio @jackaverysboo @lilheavfuhyobih @babyybesson  @guadalupeguac  @sunshineavery  @melodramonica @jackaverybabe @lovableherron @adoring-avery @deni-gonzalez @ciariamarie27

[kosmokrunch-blog]

Top 4 Tips To Finding Your Web Hosting Soulmate Author: Kristen Lambie

It’s late at night and you're sitting in your bed, scratching your head, wondering where to start in building your very first website. You thought it would be simple but then you realized there were domains, security features, web hosting networks, site builders and all these other unknown foreign concepts not built into your everyday vocabulary. But don’t stress. Take a deep breath. Grab a beverage of your choice, sit back and have a read. Because we are here to help.

Finding the right company to suit your Web Hosting needs can be a little  tricky. There are a lot of hurdles that can swing your way which may in turn have you hopping, skipping and jumping into unnecessary confusion. But the most important thing to know is that there’s a place for everyone on the world wide web to make their mark. So let’s start with yours.

Know Your Type

Building your website is like dating. You want to shop around, play the field. Get a little taste of what’s out there. In more direct words, you want to know what type of website you want to build before you can get your website up and running. What is your website for? Is it a website to advertise your new doggy motel? Maybe you just want to create a blog where you can share all  of your travel adventures with the world. Or it could be a website to sell your specially crafted knitted sweaters. Whatever the purpose, it is best to clarify that with yourself so you know what type of platform you will need. If you are looking to sell items on your website you will need a web host that supports e-commerce and that includes specific security features that a blogging website may not have or need. Some hosting services may push their e-commerce resources because that is the area that they have crafted while others may focus on easy to use blog features for those looking for simplicity.  If you are someone who doesn’t know much about HTML coding, it would be best to go with a web service that provides easy to use drag and drop templates. On the other hand, you may want to add more customized features to your webpage, in which having HTML coding will allow for specified optimization. 

2. Making Space For Your Needs

Once you have an understanding of what you’ll use your website for, you should look at what kind of consumer audience you’ll be engaging with. Specifically, you’ll need to gage how much traffic you will expect to get on your page from this. This will then determine what type of web hosting you will need. There is Shared, Virtual Private Server (VPS), or Dedicated to name a few.

Shared- The most affordable tier in hosting is on the shared server. Here, hundreds of websites will run on one server box. Think of it this way, it’s like putting a hundred people in a kiddie pool filled with jello. You can tread as hard as you want but if everyone is moving at the same time then you're really not getting anywhere. Okay, maybe that didn’t make the most sense. But what all that means is that your websites performance will be dependant on how much other sites are using the server. Ultimately you and all these other websites are taking power from the same source. Therefore, your website will become restricted from having access to more high functioning features like, file uploads, and access to databases.

VPS - The Virtual Private Server is a variety of self contained virtualized servers built into a shared server. It is multiple servers held on one host. The benefits of a VPS is that it is as affordable as the shared option, but you have the flexibility to do more with your website.

Dedicated - A dedicated server is just as it sounds.; it is a server dedicated to a specific individual or group organization. A dedicated server is not shared with any other application or website, thus allowing your site to have the full flexibility to implement high functioning features.

Web Hosting Companies will offer plans ranging in price and along with each plan you will be offered different types of beneficial features such as storage space and bandwidth. Depending on how much traffic you get on your website you may need more or less storage and bandwidth. There are several factors that can play into how much bandwidth or in other words storage space you will need. How much bandwidth your site consumes will depend on a number of factors.

The Website and Page Layouts

The more page links, tabs images or videos, the more complex the website becomes as a determining factor in how much bandwidth you will need

b.  Traffic

As mentioned before, the amount of traffic generated on your site also contributes to storage space it take up. Therefore, having a lot of page visits leads to heavy traffic and well… you’ll need a higher bandwidth.

c. Future Growth

If you’re planning to expand your website by adding in additional features, more pages, etc. or if you are trying to generate more traffic to your page in the future, then plan ahead.

Ultimately the point of the matter is it is best to have more and to add on based on your websites needs.

3. Build Trust and Get the Best Bang For Your Buck

Save that coin, or secure the bag as the young folks say. Find a plan that not only encompasses your website needs, but also one that is reasonably priced for what is being offered. The better the plan, the more money you’re likely to be spending. You can expect to pay between $2-15 per month for shared or cloud storage. VPS hosting can range from from $20 to $100+ a month. While a dedicated server can cost you over $100+ per month. A lot of providers will offer you whistles and bells, but reliability is the most important thing to measure when ensuring your needs are being met at the end of the day. What kind of customer service is the web hosting company of your choice offering?

4. Get a Web Domain

Now that you understand a bit about choosing a web hosting website, now it’s time to build your site under a personalized domain name. This can be a little time consuming as you’ll have to think of a name, verify that it has not been taken, and register it with a reliable domain service provider. You’ll also have to decide if your website should be a .com, .org, .net or any of the other hundreds of domain options you can choose from. Each will also vary in price. There are plenty of sources out there that can help you break down which is the best domain option for your business or personal needs. So go out there and dig dig dig. There’s an option for everyone.

For those who have an immense level of experience in building a website and registering a domain name, this may all seem very introductory. But for beginners these pointers are a great way to get yourself started in building your website and finding a reliable web hosting company. Again, remember that it’s like the dating game. You have to test the waters, do a little bit of investigating, swipe left or right, and maybe break a few hearts before you find the perfect partner. It’s a tedious yet fulfilling journey when you start to see your hard work come to fruition.

[hempowerment]

7 Must Visit Bangkok Cafes

Bangkok is a large city the size of London, in both population and land mass, and can be overwhelming for first time visitors.

Most tourists head for the temples, Khao San Road and street food, but for people living in Southeast Asia, is a popular weekend break for spas, desserts and cafe hopping.

 Although a cake and latte might not be at the top of your Bangkok to-do list, the city is home to many lovely cafes which can punctuate your holiday with little oases of calm and caffeine.

This is my must-visit Bangkok cafe list. It’s not exhaustive, and mostly revolves around Thonglor and Ekkamai. These neighbourhoods are adjacent and is the prime area for cafe hopping in Bangkok. I’ve included each cafe for different reasons: some for the decor, some for the atmosphere, and some because they have fabulous food and coffee!

1. Roast

Roast is located in The Commons, which is an eco-friendly mall, open-air with wood laminate flooring and greenery in little planters, and full of ‘artisanal’ shops and cafes. It’s one of the most hipster buildings I’ve seen in my life. When I went there, there were people sitting on the benches dotted around the building, working on their Apple computers and drinking lattes. It’s that kinda place.

The basement is called the Market Floor. It’s little food stalls in an industrial-chic space, more like the Food Hallen in Amsterdam or Gotham West Market in NYC, than the food stalls on the streets of Bangkok. There’s coffee here too: Roots, the more coffee-focused companion to Roast.

Roast is not so conveniently located in the basement. You have to climb the stairs to the very top.

When you do get there it’s an airy, light-filled space. The menu comes in the form of a little magazine. They do brunch, of the eggs benedict variety, and it looks fabulous. We had Roast iced tea (iced tea with lychee rose syrup and lychees, pictured) and amazing shakes: creamsicle and salted caramel. The salted caramel comes with a Pretz stick.

Roast

Unit #T1 (Roast), The COMMONS 335 Thonglor Soi 17, Sukhumvit 55 Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Closest station: BTS Thonglor

2. Shugaa

Shugaa is a dessert cafe and the main reason you need to go is because it is beautiful.

The space is beautiful, the desserts are beautiful. The decor is apparently sugar-themed, hence the geometric shapes reminiscent of sugar crystals. Everything is in soft, pastel shades. There is a small bear family made of, I imagine, fondant, sitting on the counter.

While it’s obvious that a lot of thought and care goes into the creation of the desserts, they run a little sweet for me, and heavy, for how sweet they are. These are substantial desserts. The different tiers of dessert are stuck together with syrup.

You know how on Bake Off: The Professionals people are sticking shards of sugar together with syrup and a blowtorch like they’re David Smith? Like that kind of industrial strength welding syrup. It’s instagrammable but if you like eating cakes you can do better.

Shugaa

27 The Residence at 61 Sukhumvit Soi 61, Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Closest station: BTS Thonglor or Ekkamai

3. Fill in the blank

Another cute cafe in Ekkamai, this is pretty much across the road from Shugaa with a totally different vibe. The feeling of this cafe is kinda Scandi/Japanese, light and breezy with lots of wood (including an indoor tree!).  A great place to chill with a laptop or a book, they have some English and Japanese language local magazines with articles on trendy things to do and daytrips, etc. We went on a weekday and there was one (very friendly) member of staff. The place was pretty empty, just us and a laptopper.

There was a selection of cakes in a display box next to the counter but we didn’t have any as we were going to Shugaa after. I had a caramel iced latte instead which had cream drizzled with caramel syrup, very picturesque and not as sweet as a caramel Frappuccino. I also liked that it came with a little glass of water. Of all the cafes I’ve seen in Bangkok, I wish we had this one in London.

Fill in the blank cafe

28/10 Sukhumvit 61 Alley, Khwaeng Khlong Tan Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110

Closest station: BTS Thonglor or Ekkamai

4. Audrey Cafe

Audrey is an Audrey Hepburn themed/inspired cafe. Normally I’m not into themed cafes, but I like frilly pink cafes and Audrey is the super frilliest pinkest cafe of all. It’s a mini chain with a few different branches, but the one at Thonglor has a fountain and a little rocking horse (!) in front, and is well placed for a day of cafe hopping. Inside the tables are marble-topped and there’s Hepburn quotes on the walls. Some of the staff are dressed in little maid outfits which is interesting but service is a little slow.

We ordered some pastel-coloured drinks: Sakura Glazier (pink) and Audrey on my Mind (light teal). They’re sweet frappe-style and very photographable, I’m like 99% sure the colour is artificial. The pricing is in line with London cafes: as you can see from the sign in the picture it’s 135 Baht for Audrey on my Mind, which is about £3.20.

They have a pretty solid food menu if you’re hungry, it goes way beyond typical cafe food and enters the realm of pizzas, tacos and fried rice, but it was pretty hit and miss. We weren’t really going to order food but while we were there, a little girl was celebrating her birthday (it feels the right kind of place for a little girl’s birthday and a girly afternoon) and her table had a lot of food, all of which looked pretty good. So we capitulated. We got the deep fried chicken wings with nuts and caramel, stir fried morning glory, fried rice and sliced pork loin salad. I was hoping the deep fried chicken wings would be like pok pok chicken wings - they’re were, disappointingly, not. The sliced pork loin salad was the best thing followed by the morning glory, the fried rice was too salty. The little girl’s birthday party had ordered the tom yam pizza and when theirs came out I kinda regretted not having gotten that instead of the fried rice.

The desserts are meant to be good but we felt so sugared up after the drinks that we didn’t want any.

Audrey Cafe

Soi Thong Lo 11, Khwaeng Khlong Tan Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110

Closest station: BTS Thonglor

5. D’Ark Coffee

D’Ark seems like a pretty typical modern cafe: exposed lightbulbs, wood, etc. etc. I went on a rainy weekday morning for coffee and there was only one other person there. But! Their coffee is great! They have different beans you can choose from and roast their coffee in house, and you can choose how you want it made: Aeropress, cold brew, Trinity One (which I don’t think I’ve seen before in a cafe). I went for a normal iced latte and decided to go all out and add their housemade salted caramel butter sauce, which is seriously amazing. I strongly recommend getting whatever coffee you like there and adding the salted caramel butter sauce. The coffee itself is not sweet so the sauce isn’t overwhelming.

D’ARK

651 Sukhumvit Rd, Khwaeng Khlong Tan Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110

Closest station: BTS Phrom Phong

6. The Asia Cafe

The Asia Cafe is a tall, bright cafe although it doesn’t have the window action of many Bangkok cafes. It’s bigger than it looks with an airy feeling. I like the giant wood cubbies behind the counter with piles of baguettes. I don’t think they’re real though. It seems to be...socialism themed? IDK. I say that because their front window has pictures of three dudes with little red stars, whom I think are (from LTR in the picture above): possibly Allende? maybe Ho Chi Minh? And some other dude I don’t recognise - his giant moustache + beardlessness stumps me.

I went because I heard they have sea salt coffee which I’m curious about, and also they have free rusks, and I like free things.

Sea salt coffee turned out to be an iced espresso topped with a salted creamy froth, kind of like the froth on cheese bubble tea but not cheesy. I really really like it this, the faint saltiness with the slightly bitter coffee go really well together and is refreshing, a little like when you have bitter unripe guava or grapefruit with salt.

The rusks are in a jar on the counter. I looked at the jar and was like, Can I have one? And the barista guy was like, Yes. You just kinda grab one from the jar, they’re rusks, they’re good.

I recommend this as a pit stop to revive yourself if you’re walking around Thonglor on a hot afternoon. It’s well located along a main road, the cafe has a relaxing atmosphere, is well air-conditioned, and has many plug sockets for your electronics and sea salt coffee to recharge yourself.

The Asia Cafe

159/15 Soi Thong Lor 9,Sukhumvit Road, Khlong Tan, Watthana

Closest station: BTS Thonglor

7. Caturday Cat Cafe

Caturday is Bangkok’s cat cafe. It has huge windows and is bright and airy, far more than Lady Dinah’s in London. There’s no cover charge, you just order a drink and you can be there for as long as you like - I think that’s why despite it being the most adorable of the cat cafes it’s also the busiest and most chaotic. They do food there though we didn’t have any. We had a Thai iced tea and an iced lemon tea, of the two the iced lemon tea was more refreshing, especially after walking around in the heat.

The cats are very sweet, in particular the little grey kitten. Like other cat cafes expect half the cats to be asleep and to be basically ignored by the other cats, although a few come and hang out with you especially if you sit quietly and drink your tea and ignore them.

This is by far the cutest cat cafe I have been to, ever. Granted I’ve only been to two, in Amsterdam and London, but still. There’s a giant cat mural of cats in a fairground, illustrated Caturday glasses and little coasters (I ended up buying one as a souvenir), and it’s all a pastel-coloured cat wonderland.

[livingcorner]

How to Build a Wooden Planter Box

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Want to exercise your green thumb, but don’t have the space? Maybe you have the space, but your soil is too harsh to be cultivated easily? A wooden planter box is a cheap, easy, and effective way to solve these problems! Planter boxes can be made any shape and size, and out of a variety of materials. You can learn how to build one of these planters quickly and with little damage to your wallet.

Sizing and Cutting the Wood

1

Decide how large (or small) you want your planter box to be. Your decision should be based on how many plants you want to have in each planter, as well as the size of the area where you will be putting your planter. For this article, we will build a smaller box that is about 4 feet by 2 feet (121.9 by 60.9cm).

2

Purchase your wood. Untreated wood or cedar will work well for this project as they are both easy to work with and can hold up against the natural elements your planter will be exposed to. For a small 4×2 ft (121.9×60.9 cm) planter, you can buy a 12-foot (365.76-cm) board, which you will cut down to form the sides of the planter. The width should be at least 10 inches (24 cm).You will also need a piece that will act as the bottom or floor of the planter if your planter is going to be used on a deck or similar surface. If the box will be over soil, you can place a layer of flattened cardboard boxes on the bottom to act as a weed barrier.[1]

Pressure-treated lumber contains chemicals that will kill plants in the box and can things like arsenic to your food if you are growing vegetables. A safe alternative is using ACQ-treated wood, a process which does not use any toxic chemicals.[2]

3

Cut the wood down to the right sizes. Use a measuring tape to measure out each side. Mark the places where you will make your cut with a pen or pencil. Use an electric saw or standard hand saw to cut the pieces to size (two 2 foot boards and two 4 foot boards), taking care to make the cuts as straight as possible.[3]

If you do not have a saw of any kind, or prefer to not make the cuts yourself, you can ask the workers where you purchased your wood to cut it down to the measurements you need. You may need to pay a small fee, but some lumber and hardware stores will cut your planks down to size for free.

Attaching the Boards

1

Create pilot holes in two of the boards. Pilot holes are holes drilled into the wood to ensure that the wood won’t splinter when you insert the screws into it. You only need to do this on the two end boards (the shorter boards). You should make three pilot holes, 3/4 inch (1.91 cm) from the end edge of the board. The middle hole should be centered in the middle of the width of the board.

2

Fasten the boards using galvanized screws. Galvanized screws are better for outdoor planters because the galvanized metal can stand up to the elements and will not rust. Line the boards up so that the boards with the pilot holes are positioned on the outside corners. Use a drill and drill bit to make sure that each screw goes through each hole and into the adjoining board.[4]

You can also use a screwdriver, rather than a drill and drill bit.

3

4

Drill drainage holes in the bottom of the box. Turn your now fully-formed box over and use your drill to create four or five drainage holes in the bottom of the box. These holes are very important, as most plants will develop diseases if they get ‘soggy feet’, meaning that their roots sit in very wet soil for too long.

Read more: How to create a low maintenance garden

If you have constructed a much larger planter box, you should consider adding a few more drainage holes.

Again, if your planter will be over soil, this is not necessary. Simply use flattened cardboard as the bottom of your box.

Adding the Finishing Touches

1

Place a layer of nylon or vinyl screen inside the planter. Doing this will protect the wood of your planter. Cut the screen so that it is the same size as the board you used for the bottom of the planter. Lay it in the bottom of the planter and fix in place with some small nails. Make sure that you remember to drill drainage holes in the screen that line up with the drainage holes in the bottom board if your box has a bottom.[6]

2

Sand any rough edges. Doing this will give your box a nice finished look, but it is not absolutely necessary to do. Take a sander or a piece of sandpaper and run it along the edges and corners of the box. Run it along the sides of the boards to vanquish any potential splinters.[7]

3

Paint, prime, or stain the outside of your planter. Pick out some paint that matches your backyard or home’s decor, or stain your planter to really bring out the wood’s colors. You can also choose to leave your wood alone, as cedar is a beautiful wood all by itself.

Do not treat the inside of your planter, as this may contaminate the soil and your plants. Instead, use a plastic liner (with holes) to protect the wood.

4

Add a thin layer of gravel, then add the compost or potting soil. The gravel will help to drain the planter box. The type of soil or compost you use will depend on the types of plants or flowers you intend to add to your planter box.[8]

5

Add your flowers, plants, or whatever seeds you plan to cultivate. Don’t forget to water! For ideas on types of flowers and plants you can add to a planter box, click here.

6

Enjoy your new planter box!

Community Q&A

Add New Question

Question

What do I make the bottom of the box out of?

Andrew Carberry has been working in food systems since 2008. He has a Masters in Public Health Nutrition and Public Health Planning and Administration from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Food Systems Expert

Expert Answer

Question

How long should the piece of wood be?

Andrew Carberry has been working in food systems since 2008. He has a Masters in Public Health Nutrition and Public Health Planning and Administration from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Food Systems Expert

Expert Answer

Question

Can I set the planter box on rocks?

There is no reason why not. I am building 4 planter boxes to put in an area between fences and the whole area is rocky. I am not putting bottoms on them because once they are filled with dirt, the rocks should provide good drainage.

Question

Where do I buy the vinyl screen?

You can purchase screen at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, etc. I prefer fiberglass screening, it seems to last longer, and I line my planters with landscape fabric.

Question

Can the box be placed on grass or soil?

Yes, but consider adding ‘feet’ to elevate the box off the grass or soil, or it will rot.

Read more: Your Complete Guide to Growing a Successful Vegetable Garden

Question

How deep should it be?

If you use 12-inch-wide boards (1″ x 12″ x 8 ft.), the planter box will be 1 ft. deep by default.

Question

What size of galvanized screws should be used for this planter?

Many sizes would work depending on the wood that you use. When working outside, deck screws are a great choice, probably 2 inch deck screws.

Question

What sort of wood should I use to build my planter box?

Cedar, redwood, and pressure-treated woods are all great choices. Cedar and redwood are both naturally resistant to insects and weathering. Pressure-treated wood uses chemicals to make it insect and weather resistant, so it may not be great for areas with children or pets. Cedar and redwood are safe for children and pets because they are natural, but they can also be more expensive than pressure-treated wood.

Question

How many drain holes do I need for a 6′ x 2′ planter box 3′ with legs?

Drill holes every 6 inches for drainage, or use the cut end (boxed end) of the cedar to place them randomly.

Question

How do I put legs on a planter box?

3 X 3 boards are the best. You can even attach wheels to the bottom of them for mobility. But, when raising your planter off the ground, you will need to add thin strips of wood to the inside bottom of the box for support. The corners of the bottom board will have to be cut to accommodate the 3×3 legs. If you don’t want the legs to be visible from the dirt surface, don’t bring them up to then top of your box.

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Tips

You can take these plans and scale them down for a window box.

Warnings

As always, when working with tools, don’t forget to use the necessary eye and hand protection.

Things You’ll Need

Four lengths of wood. We used 2″x9″ (two 4′ lengths two 2′ lengths)

Another board cut to the size of the bottom

Drill or screwdriver and galvanized screws

Piece of nylon or vinyl screen

Small nails and a hammer

Planting soil

Plants or seeds

About This Article

Article SummaryX

To build a wooden planter box, start by cutting some wooden planks so you have 2 that are 2 feet long and 2 that are 4 feet long. Then, use a drill and galvanized screws to attach the ends of the planks so they form a long rectangular box. Next, cut out a wooden board for the bottom of the box and drill a few holes through it for drainage. Finally, secure the board to the bottom of the box with the drill and some more galvanized screws. To learn how to add the finishing touches to your wooden planter box, scroll down!

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How to Prepare for a Professional Photo Shoot

Back when I was taking pictures just for the fun of it, I never once thought to optimize my preparation. There was no preparation — no shot list, no scouting, no mood board. That all changed when making pictures became my job and my livelihood.

Now there are stakes, and it’s more important than ever to set myself up for success and lay the foundation necessary to create work I’m proud of. In fact, let me dispel the myth of the scatter-brained creative who picks up their camera when inspiration strikes; I would argue that the quality of my preparation before a shoot is the single biggest indicator of how my final images turn out.

Before I go any further, let me take a moment to define what I mean by “professional photo shoot.” This includes any photo shoot that is conducted for commercial purposes: in other words, to make money. I would like to broaden that definition to include any shoot that is conducted for the purpose of fulfilling a commercial assignment, whether or not it is commissioned by a client. Oftentimes when you first start out, there are no real clients to speak of, and the onus is on you to produce self-assigned work that builds your portfolio in a way that potential clients see what you can do. Regardless, there are real stakes involved and a target audience you are trying to reach. Yes, this requires your own time and money, but do it right and you will be well on your way to your first commission.

To begin, ask yourself these two questions:

1. What are your constraints?

Whether they are provided in a client brief or they are self-imposed, the following constraints will always apply in some manner:

Budget

Timeline

Target audience

If these constraints are left undefined, that means someone isn’t communicating properly; you are always working within some kind of box, no matter how big or small. Either ask the client or be honest with yourself, because I can guarantee that even Jeff Bezos himself isn’t flying you to the moon for that perfect shot.

2. What are your goals for the production?

Does the client have a specific hero shot in mind for the campaign? Are they trying to bring more female representation to a historically male niche? Maybe your portfolio errs on the darker side of the color palette and you want something more bright and light-hearted. Whatever your ambition, make sure you have a clear idea of what you want going into this endeavor. Without direction, things can go off the rails quickly.

Once you have an answer to these questions, you can begin gathering your thoughts in a structured way. I’ve broken it down into a simple five-step process:

Step 1: Ideation

Not everyone simply sits down, has a lightbulb go off, and amazing ideas start flowing. Cal Newport, in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, he writes about the benefit of setting aside time to dive deep into the task at hand and work without distraction for a set increment. As I write this article, I am alone in my office with headphones in and Pop Goes Classical playing on Spotify. I texted my girlfriend to tell her I would be unavailable for a while, set my phone to Do Not Disturb and got to writing. I don’t always follow this process to a T, but when I do, I know that I will be at my best.

Once you have set aside time to think, feed your brain with outside content — work from other photographers you want to emulate, Pinterest boards with the look and feel you’re seeking, etc. This is your time to go down those rabbit holes and look outward for inspiration. Take note of your ideas as they come; some prefer mind mapping, others make lists, but find what works for you. When the ideas run dry, filter them through the constraints you identified earlier. This will help you narrow your options to something attainable and realistic. You can archive those that don’t make the cut for future consideration. In my case, I do this publicly in the form of Dreamscapes, a collection of creative concepts I have put into words for future inspiration.

Step 2: Mood board

Once your selected idea is clear in your mind, it’s time to find visual content that matches your intended style and document it. Pinterest is great for mood boarding, but using one social platform can be limiting. I prefer to look across the internet — on Google Images, stock websites, Pinterest, Instagram, you name it — and curate my findings in Evernote. This allows me to keep all my pre-production materials centrally located and searchable.

If you’re thinking, “Wait a minute, then aren’t you just copying someone else’s work?”

Here is the thing: There is very little that hasn’t been done before. If I were scrolling through a single shoot on Alex Strohl’s website copying only his images, then you might have a point; but when you cast a wide net and gather reference images from 20 different photographers, you aren’t copying anyone. You’re simply finding your lane.

Step 3: Casting

Once you have identified your target audience, you have to find the talent that best matches that audience. As I discussed in a previous post on how to tell an effective brand story, the character you choose must match the story. Depending on my budget, I may use a professional modeling directory like JoinAgent.com. On a self-assigned project, I would instead seek out a friend or search Instagram for local talent to offer a time for print (TFP) arrangement where it’s known that both parties are unpaid and looking to build their portfolios.

Step 4: Location Scouting

Steps three and four are interchangeable depending on the kind of images you are shooting. For a project that leans more heavily on the adventure side of things, location is often the more important variable and thus should be decided first. I often find interiors using Airbnb, while I find outdoor locations using a variety of platforms: AllTrails, Instagram, Pinterest — take your pick.

Here is my list of outdoor locations on AllTrails for a recent shoot with United By Blue.

Step 5: Shot List

This is where the rubber meets the road. All the ideas you have floating around in your head must now be documented as concrete, defined shots. In the early stages of pre-production, I take note of my ideas in list form on Evernote. Then, using StudioBinder’s shot list widget I cross-reference that list with my mood board to sequence shots in the order they will be taken. Every shot includes detailed notes on who the subject is, what action is taking place, the kind of lens I plan to use, from what angle I want to shoot, and the kind of lighting I expect to have. It may seem tedious, but consider this a time to visualize the end result and ground your thoughts in one succinct document.

On the left is the beginning of my shot list on StudioBinder, and on the right is my mood board in Evernote.

Now Bring It Home!

With all the necessary pieces now in place, it’s time to execute on your vision. In the event you are working with professional talent or you are working within a specific timeframe, I recommend drafting a call sheet for the entire crew and including your mood board and shot list as attachments. I often find it useful to print all of these documents to include in a hardcopy production binder on the day of the shoot. It keeps you organized and provides a fail-safe in the event your devices run out battery or lose connection.

Now that you’ve done the legwork, you can rest assured that when shoot day rolls around you will have done everything possible to prepare for success. Get out there and make some beautiful images.

About the author: Brad Vassallo is a commercial and outdoor lifestyle photographer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A creator since his earliest days, he once had the dream of being a National Geographic photographer. In spite of those aspirations, he spent the better part of his life chasing other people’s dreams of what he was supposed to do and who he was supposed to be. At a certain point though, the voice inside got to be too loud, too persistent and told him that the path he was on was not his own. He began to listen to that voice, affirming his own creative aspirations and returning to his creative roots. You can see more of his work on his website and Instagram.

This story was also published here.

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[room93-sl]

Second Life Guide for Beginners Part 1 : Firestorm

FYI these post will not be in any particular order honestly. Very random.

Sorry for the lateness.

Firestorm is a Viewer used to access the Second Life grid and is one of the most common viewer for SL. 

Click Hoe to download Firestorm. Click on your operating system and follow their instructions.

PART I In-world

 Movement Controls

 You can move using the arrows keys on your keyboard. Up and down arrows moves back and forth. And the Left and right arrows rotates. For whatever reason you want to Jump you would use the Page Up button.

Toolbar

(Customizable as well)

 1.       Nearby Chat & Chat Bar – This is for chatting with people. You click on nearby chat and a dialogue box would appear and you can see what people write to you and you can also chat with other.

2.       Conversation – This button allows you to open and close the chat box. Also allows you to see private messages people send.

3.       The microphone – the microphone always you to speak to people with people instead of typing if you prefer. Only works if you have a microphone on laptop/ webcam or if you have headphones with a microphone attached to it. I would suggest headphones with a mic because the person listening to you won’t hear an echo.

4.       The headphone button – This is for seeing who around you talking and also allows you to edit the volume on mics as well as your own. Also lets you mute peoples mute so you don’t have to listen to them, but they can still hear you if you’re speaking on mic.

5.       The Eye button – This button lets you see from different views. I personally allows have this button on because it good for taking pictures. It is also self explanatory just click on the different views to see how they look. Now the object view which is the 4th button, this allows you to zoom in. you can also bring up this view without clicking it by pressing the alt on your keyboard and click around (idk what it is on Mac I say Google it. LOL). If you happen to click on Mouselook view and don’t know how to get out just press the ESC button on your keyboard.

6.       The Moving Controls – you can also move with this button but its easier for you to move with arrows. It’s also self explanatory click through the buttons. You can also fly.

7.       The Pose stand button – This is for editing your Avatar whatever (facial, body, etc). Instead of having an AO (will explain later) it would temporarily disable it to have it pose in whatever pose you choose. Posing balls are also useful.

8.       People button – This button has 6 categories: Nearby, Friends, Groups, Recent, Block, and Contact Sets. Nearby tab lets you know the people in the same area as you. The Friends tab is a list of people who you added or added you. To add someone you can open their profile by right clicking on their Avi and click on “Add Friend” or go to the nearby tab, right click on their name and click “add friend”. Groups tab is to see what groups you have been invited to or just joined. Many creators have groups that they create to let users know of new release, gift and etc (they usually have signs in-world that you simply click and you join their group). You can also create group by clicking the + sign.

9.       The Appearance Buttons – This button allows you know the things your avatar is currently wearing, making outfits, and editing what you currently have on. This also allows you to edit your facial feature and also body. Mostly everyone on SL uses Mesh Body/Head (will explain further). You can edit body/ face by clicking on avatar click on Appearance>Edit Shape. You can make an outfit by clicking on the Wearing tab go down and click on Save As. That you can save a favorite outfit and put it on whenever you please.

10.   Search – This button allows you to search anything you want. You can search anything from people, places, events, creator’s stores, groups and etc. Also pretty self explanatory.

11.   World Map – Also pretty self explanatory and also similar to the nearby tab in the People button. Read the Legend it will help. I only use to copy the Landmark of a place for blogging or teleporting.

12.��  Mini Map – Smaller version of the World Map. I personally do not use.

13.   Snapshot – This button allows you take pictures and save you a folder of your choosing. You can save it to different places such as Disk (which would same to a folder of your choosing), To inventory (which will appear in Photo Album and will charge you 10L), Facebook, Twitter and etc. After you choose where you want to save it follow the instructions they give. When saving on Disk, you can choose the dimension of the picture depending on the resolution of your computer. If your dimensions are too high for your computer to handle, Firestorm will crash! So check your computer specs.

14.   Inventory – Okay so this buttons is where all of the things you receive or buy will be stored. Your animation, clothes, body shapes, Landmarks, and etc. There are 3 tabs in the Inventory window: Inventory, Recent and Worn. Inventory is everything and some are already categorized. I suggest making folders for the items you buy (such as Top, Bottoms, Hair, Shoes and etc) because it will keep you inventory more organized. Recent tabs is allows you to easily find the things you have recently brought. They usually disappear from recent tab after time but can still be found using the search bar in the window (click on Inventory tab first then search). Worn tab basically lets you know what you currently have on your avatar. You can also take off an item by double clicking on the folder with the name of the items (keep clicking until you reach bold lettering). Then right on the bold lettering, a small list should appear click “detach from yourself.” Another way you can right click on the folder and choose “Remove from Current Outfit” and this removes everything from the folder that your currently have on, off.

15.   AO – AO also know as Animation Overrider which basically overrides how your avatar stands, sits, walks and etc. You can make your own AO and also buy your own from creators who make Animations. You can also customize it to your liking from pose packs you buy.

Now if theres a button you would like on your toolbar that isn’t there you simply right click on toolbar and click on “Toolbar buttons”. Choose the button you want and drag onto the toolbar.

Lindens

Second Life has its own economy and a virtual token referred to as Linden Dollars. Lindens allow you to buy everything from Backdrops to a hairstyle. You must purchase Lindens with real Dollars in order to purchase anything in-world. You can also exchange your lindens for actual money!

As of right now the lowest amount of lindens you can purchase is $2.50 USD which is 622ls. There are 2 ways to purchase lindens.

Before you are allowed to buy lindens you must have a Debit/ Credit card or PayPal linked to the account.

To link one a payment option first you go to Secondlife.com.

Account > Billing Information > Click the payment option of your choosing.

 Disclaimer:  Please don’t use someone else’s payment option without their permission. Also do not commit fraud because if Linden Labs finds out you can lose your account and/or become banned from using Second Life at all.

 How to Purchase Lindens

1.       A. Way One

·         Load Second life Home page (secondlife.com)

·         Look for Linden exchange then click Buy L$

·         Then it will take you to the buy page. You can either buy a certain amount of Lindens or buy a certain money worth of lindens.

·         After you decide that you click place order and it will ask for Password to reassure it’s you on your account. So enter Password and pressing continue.

·         Choose you payment (Paypal or Debit/Credit)

·         Press the button and you should receive your money right away

2.       B. On the Viewer

·         Top Right on the Firestorm Viewer where it says BUY L$. Choose amount and Click Buy Now.

Well that’s enough for today. If you have any questions or concern, please don’t hesitate to message me. I answer any and all questions. 

Besos ;}