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tokiro07 · 6 months

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Undead Unlcuk ch.186 thoughts

[Just Like Mama Used to Make]

(Contents: thematic analysis - artistic expression)

Before I say anything else, I just want to note how hard that one bystander saying "what the fuck?" made me laugh. That killed me. With how much wild shit the Union gets up to, it's refreshing to see someone not only witness it, but actually acknowledge it. I still wonder how the audience for Feng's martial arts tournament reacted to all of the weird fights

I also want to point out that in this loop, Enjin's iconic ripped hat look is created from him being thrown through the wall of his mother's hospital room. I'm sure there was some cool story to it originally, but nope, this time he just...biffed a landing, s'all. As usual, no dignity in this series

Onto the chapter, I figured that this chapter was going to continue to expand on the idea of togetherness using food as a symbol like last week, but nope! We're movin' on! Instead of examining how the act of eating can deepen bonds, this week we're examining the difference between mass appeal and individual experience

Enjin's ramen, made with refined technique, is "objectively" good food that pretty much anyone will say is tasty, but aside from the opportunity for custom orders like "extra toppings" or "light on the X," the overall dish is always the same. Without any direct input, Enjin will always produce the same meal, with the expectation that it's so high quality that no one could possibly dislike it. This approach is not necessarily wrong, as consistency is an important factor in food service, but it does mean that if there's any one factor that any one customer doesn't like, they won't end up enjoying it because it doesn't match with their personal taste

It's kind of like if a manga starts out with one of the main leads sexually harassing the other. Sure, the manga as a whole may be great, possibly even the best among its contemporaries, but some people just aren't going to be able to get past that initial bad taste in their mouth. No matter how good the end product is, someone is going to slip through the cracks

Someone isn't going to be able to stand how hot the broth is, someone isn't going to like the mushrooms or the bamboo shoots, and someone isn't going to appreciate seeing a girl get groped by a man whose dick is flopping in the wind. This is an unavoidable truth in the creative process: there is no such thing as perfect. There will always be flaws, and there will always be detractors, but there will also always be fans willing to stand by the art and declare that it's their absolute favorite

This is where Fuuko's ramen comes in: even if only two people out of...what, fifty people(?) liked it, what matters is that the person it was meant for liked it. The point was to show Enjin that no amount of refinement would be able to capture everyone's hearts, but any amount of consideration would capture the heart of the one person it's meant to. Luckily there was another person present who fit in that same niche to drive the point home, but even without that child, I think Enjin would have gotten the point

When it comes to art, you sometimes need to ignore the instinct to try to appeal to anyone and instead focus on creating the thing that you want, the thing that will make you happy. You will run the risk of alienating basically everyone, but by being honest and forthright in how you express yourself, you'll eventually find someone who your work truly resonates with

Fuuko's touch-starved isolation, Andy's hedonistic depression, Billy's stoic responsibility, Rip's dual loves...these aren't things that everyone can relate to, even if they can sympathize. But to someone who feels isolated, who tries to fight against crushing despair with a plastered smile, who bears the weight of the world on their shoulders, or knows what it's like to love more than others say they should, these things will all ring true, and make that reader feel like someone, somewhere finally understands, like someone said all the things they wish they could if they only had the talent or the time

To me, this chapter isn't about cooking, it's about the act of creation. It's about the act of sharing your soul with the world around you and knowing that you resonated with even just one person, and knowing that that one person's world has changed for the better. It's about the act of receiving a piece of someone and being able to smile back at them, telling them that the message has been received

Maybe this won't be what anyone else sees. Maybe this chapter will come across as lukewarm to somebody, maybe even to most people. Maybe it was mediocre at best to someone and they'd prefer something with a bit more of a kick. But someone, maybe just one person, was able to really sink their teeth into this one and savor all of the ingredients, the love and the care that went into creating this piece. Someone was moved to tears, and someone looks at the world just a little differently now thanks to this chapter

Until next time, let's enjoy life

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

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rhyselinn · 11 months

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In Defense of Toby Fox’s Halloween Hack

Twitter is all in a tizzy about the Halloween Hack as of late. The apparent reason for this is because the Halloween Hack uses a word commonly used as a homophobic slur, not taking into account that the hack was created in 2008 (when the internet was a different place) and that 2008 was 14+ years ago (and people are known to grow and change over this time). There appears to be some amount of discussion over whether Toby Fox should be “cancelled” for this.

I’ve seen a fair bit of banter from both sides on this, but what I haven’t seen people on the internet talk about is the CONTEXT of the game in which this word is used. And while I don’t spend a lot of time talking about HH due to Toby’s stated embarrassment when people draw attention to it, if the internet’s gonna go dig up old drama for some reason, then by golly, I’m going to go dig up my old love for this game.

So if you want to come take a wild ride through some internet history and literary analysis, then go buckle your seatbelt and click the Readmore.

(content warning: discussion of homophobic slurs)

A quick bit about me: I am an adult on the internet, and I fall into the original Halloween Hack (hereafter abbreviated as HH)’s target demographic: teenagers who existed on Starmen.net, an Earthbound fan website, in 2008. I am also a current admin for Starmen.net, which puts me in a good position to comment on the history and culture of the site as a whole, and how that ties into the reception of HH.

Starmen.net has a long and rich tradition of events called Funfests, in which the site staff run a combination art/writing/music/etc contest for the site members, usually coalescing around a theme such as “Earthbound”, or sometimes “Winter” or “Halloween”. These events offer prizes such as forum avatar/rank privileges, and historically they sometimes even offered physical prizes. The 2008 Halloween funfest had an entire website made for it, which you can view here. Toby Fox submitted HH to this 2008 Halloween Funfest under the internet handle Radiation.

This is the context of HH: a passion project made by a teenager for a fan website full of other teenagers/twenty-somethings. If you go to a high school science fair, you could rightfully lambast every project for being undeserving of a Nobel Prize, but that’s not why we host high school science fairs OR Starmen.net Funfests. These events are an opportunity for teens to show what they are capable of and receive commendation from both their peers and a panel of judges selected specifically for this age demographic and venue.

For perspective, here’s what one of the hosts of the 2008 Funfest had to say about HH:

“Radiation nearly outclassed himself with this effort of skill labour and love. What a lot of fun. Despite getting repeatedly killed in the sewers this was one thoroughly enjoyabe hack. I Think I’ll go and play it again!”

HH won an award in the 2008 funfest-- a #1 in the “Most Effort” category. For some perspective, few people on Starmen.net go to the lengths of creating an entire game for a Funfest (and HH has a playtime of roughly 5-6 hours!). Of those who do, most of the resulting games are consistent with the output you would expect from a teenage userbase, since it’s not fair to expect teenagers to produce professional-quality work. That said, I can say with confidence that HH is a standout in the areas of both effort and quality.

Another thing that needs to be said of HH is that it is not a standalone game made in today’s modern game engines-- it is a hack of a preexisting game. Earthbound's codebase is notoriously complicated, and a lot of the tools that modern Earthbound hackers use to make their jobs easier (eg Coilsnake, Ebmused) didn’t exist in 2008. Toby had to do a lot of manual coding grunt-work to make HH, up to and including manually typing hexadecimal values into his computer in order to compose Megalovania. (Source: Toby wrote a really in-depth post about the process he used to make HH way back when, which I’m referring to here, but it’s unfortunately been deleted since then.)

I can imagine a hypothetical objection at this point: “ok but high effort homophobia is still homophobia”. In this post, I am also going to argue that Toby’s usage of this word can be considered artistic merit when taken in context, but you’ll have to bear with me for a bit while I explain that context. I’ll also talk about some of the cool and neat things this game does along the way because I think they’re worth talking about.

HH is, at its core, a derivative fan work of the video game Earthbound. And while I love Earthbound deeply, I also recognize that it’s a cult classic that not everyone has played. So while I encourage people to play the game I love deeply, I’ll also sum up a few relevant plot beats here so folks can understand the source material HH draws from:

--Ness, a thirteen year-old boy, meets a creature named Buzz Buzz from ten years in the future who tells him that an alien named Giygas has destroyed the world (direct quote: “All is devastation”). As such, Ness and his friends must save the world.

--One of Ness’s friends is a shy boy named Jeff with a penchant for shooting bottle rockets at enemies

--Jeff’s dad is an odd character named Dr. Andonuts. Dr. Andonuts is a reclusive scientist who lives in a snowy region called Winters who sent his son off to boarding school at a very young age. Andonuts’s lab includes no other signs of life, certainly not any indications of a wife/Jeff’s mother. Andonuts ends his conversation with Jeff by saying “Let’s get together in another ten years or so.”

--Towards the end of the game, Dr. Andonuts uses a device he created called a Phase Distorter to send Ness and his friends to the venue for the final battle. This is very clearly telegraphed as a one-way trip, as the kids’ brains are described in text as needing to be transplanted into robots to get there, but the kids go along with it anyway because the world is at stake.

--The kids go on to fight the final boss in a spectacle that words can’t do justice to here. All I’ll say is that after a long-fought battle, in the grace of an unexplained Deus Ex Machina, the souls of the four kids are impossibly returned to their bodies so they can enjoy their happy ending.

These are all canonical events that happen in the base game of Earthbound. Earthbound’s sequel, Mother 3, was released in 2006, two years prior to HH, although the English fan translation wasn’t released until around the time of the 2008 funfest, interestingly enough. Mother 3 does develop Dr. Andonuts’s canonical character somewhat, but I won’t discuss it in further detail here other than to say it mostly re-emphasizes his odd, solitary nature and his overly cavalier attitude towards his science experiments.

It’s also worth noting that in an oddball game like Earthbound, there are a lot of weird and funny idiosyncrasies to theorize on. There are pencil-shaped statues that block your way, which need to be removed with a device called a “pencil eraser.” Ness and his friends fight robots, aliens, and Krakens, but they also fight handbag-wielding ladies and walking mushrooms. Dr. Andonuts’s character oddities, while strange, fit nicely into the evenly distributed mesh of oddities that comprise Earthbound’s world.

Derivative works, particularly fan works, exist in conversation with the source material. They answer questions posed by the source, interpolate details left out of the original, and otherwise build on the world of the original in a collaborative way. This conversation sometimes happens in a one-on-one manner, between fan and original creator, but it also happens in conjunction with the fan community as a whole. When a theory takes traction, it will begin to appear in more and more fan works, growing in popularity and notoriety until it is “accepted” as the most common interpretation of canon’s strange idiosyncrasies. Newer or more fringe theories are less likely to be taken as a “default” interpretation, but they are more likely to be taken as “fresh” or “interesting” until/unless they, too, begin to gain traction.

HH exists in a few conversations: one with the source material, one with the fan community of Starmen.net (and the broader Earthbound community as a whole, although there was much more overlap between the two back in 2008), and one with Starmen.net’s Funfest culture. In order for HH to be well received by the Funfest judges, it would need to be aware of the community sensibilities as well as push the boundaries of the fan conversation with Earthbound as a whole-- a careful balancing act of being both interesting but also recognizable.

So, the fundamental fan question that HH tries to answer is “why is Dr. Andonuts LIKE THAT?”

This is an absolutely fair question, and Toby was certainly not the first to ask it, although his answer in the form of HH is one of the most high profile now.

HH is set in the world of Earthbound a few months after the final boss fight in autumn, but one where Ness and his friends did not magically return after their one-way trip to the final boss. Word has it that Dr. Andonuts has turned evil and must be defeated. On its surface, this is standard fare for a throwaway plot for a Funfest submission, but the magic of HH is that it does not treat this premise as a throwaway plot. It sets out to earnestly discuss why this happened by delving into Andonuts’s psyche.

Coming back to the idea of derivative works existing in conversation with the source material and interpolating unexplained details: Earthbound does not explain why Dr. Andonuts lives in solitude, nor does it give any hint as to the identity of Jeff’s mother. It also gives no indication as to why Andonuts didn’t seem to have bonded well with his son other than the handwavey explanation that Andonuts is just “like that”. HH initially poses the question of “why did Andonuts turn evil”, but leaves the reader to puzzle that out while battling monsters in Earthbound’s RPG engine.

At first, Toby offers a partial explanation: in HH, Dr. Andonuts is portrayed as feeling immense guilt at having sent his son into what he perceived as a death trap. (quote from the game: “The world is dead, and I’ve become senile with guilt and rage.” He also says stuff like “what’s the point in living without them”.) As such, he turned evil and created zombies to storm the world of Winters, causing a surge in refugees and desperate survivors. This is why the main character was sent to kill him.

(image transcription: a picture of a menu with the text “What do you do!?” followed with a single option: “Kill him”)

But in order to see the depth of this explanation, the true answer to the question “why is Dr. Andonuts LIKE THIS”, the player must hit “B” to cancel out of a menu at the correct moment, something Earthbound players tend to learn by habit from closing the equipment menu so many times, but never used as a plot-relevant mechanic in the base game. HH takes this subconscious muscle memory and turns it into a mechanic gating off half the game if you don’t “spare” the enemy, a precursor to the “spare” mechanic that would debut seven years later in Undertale.

When the player does this, they enter Dr. Andonuts’s “Magicant,” a dream-construct representing his inner psyche, with his hopes and dreams and fears all laid bare. The main character is tasked with finding Dr. Andonuts’s lost Courage. In the base game, Ness enters his own Magicant, so this feels familiar to a veteran player, but it also gives Toby the chance to more closely examine Dr. Andonuts’s character than he otherwise might be able to do.

Over the course of the rest of the game in Dr. Andonuts’s Magicant, the player continues to control the main character, a bounty hunter named Varik, but the NPCs in the game often mistakenly treat Varik as Andonuts. The dialogue we see from these NPCs reflects memories from Andonuts’s own life. We see a lot more characters try to make connections with Dr. Andonuts (”hey don’t you want to play baseball instead of doing math?”), but these are apparently rebuffed througout Andonuts’s life. One NPC guarding the entrance to the path leading to this lost Courage advises “Be careful. Be yourself.” We see memories of Dr. Andonuts’s presumed wife/Jeff’s mom, who is an OC Toby created for this work to answer the questions posed by canon.

Varik is tasked with fighting three “demons” behind three doors, where each demon is said to be stronger than the next. Since this segment takes place inside Andonuts’s mind, these are unsubtly implied to be Andonuts’s inner demons. The second and third doors represent Andonuts’s relationship with his son and his guilt over getting people killed; the first door is relevant to this post, so I’ll talk about it in more detail.

Inside the first door, Varik sees Andonuts’s memories of something called “Remember Me,” who despite being faced in a battle, is friendly and affectionate and causes no damage apart from being “hard to think about.” This enemy has a stock overworld sprite of a male NPC from the base game.

(image transcript: a smiling purple sprite in an Earthbound-style battle. The text box says “The Remember Me? was a little hard to think about again”)

At the end of this map, we see a cutscene in which it’s implied that Dr. Andonuts felt disconnected from his wife, perceiving her as an incessant insect. She says things like “Lately, you’ve been acting kind of... disinterested in me. Is there something wrong with me?” She asks if Dr. Andonuts has been hiding something from her, which triggers the following battle:

(image description: an Earthbound-esque battle against three enemies, each a sprite depicting a closeup of a man’s muscular body: a bicep, a chest, and a swimsuit-clothed groin area)

All three of these enemies are named NO. The music that plays in the background is deliberately unsettling, and their battle moves consist mostly of “flexing in a masculine way”, “slapping their buddies in a masculine fashion”, and “being hard to think about again”. After three turns, these enemies deliver a series of un-dodgeable moves that kill the player before it’s possible to defeat them, ending the game. The only way to proceed in the game is to select the Flee option in the menu.

To summarize the themes being presented here, Dr. Andonuts is gay and repressed his homosexuality to try to preserve his relationship with his wife due to his lack of courage. From a game design and literary merit standpoint, this NO battle is actually a really poignant way of portraying Andonuts’s mindset and all of the fears that kept him in the closet, portraying men’s bodies as an enemy that he must fight, or in failing to do so, must run from. Remember that Earthbound takes place in 199X-- none of the 1990′s were known for being especially tolerant of gay men, nor was 2008 when Toby made this hack; 2008 was the same year that California passed a bill intended to ban gay marriage. In another since-deleted web page, Toby said that one of his motivations for creating HH was “the lack of non-stereotypical, major homosexual characters in media”. With that in mind, this is a surprisingly sensitive portrayal of the pains of repressing one’s sexuality, especially from a teenager.

Toby also portrays some complexity in Andonuts’s relationship with his son Jeff, making the case that Andonuts helped Jeff in his fight against Giygas as a way of living vicariously through him to feel like less of a monster. From this standpoint, it’s easy to see that Andonuts’s abrasive language might be a defense mechanism for his own self esteem issues, calling others monsters to deflect from the fact he sees HIMSELF as a monster.

(image transcription: a screenshot of the main character fighting Andonuts from the end of the game. The text in the textbox from Andonuts says “you idiots. look at your decaying, frostbitten bodies”)

(and just as a side note, I think the reminiscence of this dialogue to Flowey’s dialogue in Undertale is funny and interesting)

Dr. Andonuts says the following: "If I can't live with myself, why should anybody else? Ergo, nobody will live. Then, everybody will understand all the pain I went through. When everyone understands me... They'll cherish me so." This isn’t the expression of a healthy mind, but it is a portrayal of someone who’s experiencing some serious pain. I’d also argue that it’s a nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of a character who is clearly in a crisis.

Another Andonuts quote: “you’re going to kill me, because that’s what a hero does. he has to kill that monster, right? even in this form, i am shaking with fear. i don’t want to die. leave me alone”

The second-to-last fight in the game is against an enemy called Id. In Freudian psychology, the Id is the representation of one’s most base desires, in contrast to the Superego who restrains a person from operating on these desires. The game up until this point does a good job at portraying Dr. Andonuts’s Superego-centric repression strategies, so getting to see his underlying base desires directly is a novel development. The enemy Id consistently reiterates a desire to be left alone and for the main character to not kill it. At the end, it apologizes for not being much of a fight. Only then does Varik fight Dr. Andonuts proper, and without the Id, all that’s left is the Superego-fueled repression, labeled in-game as “hatred”.

Andonuts’s villain monologue starts as such: “I know what this feeling is. It’s hatred for the person who came so far just to destroy an old man. My mind is gone. All that is left is pure hatred.

YOU SEE THIS BURNING, BLOODY UNIVERSE. YOU SEE THIS ULTIMATE, UNLIMITED POWER? Varik. I HAVE FUCKING HAD IT WITH YOUR SHIT. you little fuckers are going to have your bodies ripped in half. i’ll shove your asses so far down your throats that when you crap, you’ll sing fucking beethoven.”

This monologue is the precursor to the infamous line:

(image transcript: a screenshot from the final battle, in which Andonuts says the words “tl;dr: eat shit, faggots”)

As established earlier, this is a line uttered by a gay character who is in a tremendous amount of pain, which would make it an act of slur reclamation. We could argue about whether Toby Fox is in a position to justify this usage, but I refuse to have that conversation because I don’t think real life queer people should have to out themselves in order to justify the art they make. Whether Toby Fox is actually queer or not is, I would argue, immaterial to the story he’s trying to tell here, which is nuanced in a way that a homophobe would be unlikely to write.

We can also have the conversation of whether this word choice is a good decision or not-- and there are, I would argue, a lot of parts of this game that a storyteller with more experience and maturity would have handled better. There are some parts that come across heavy-handed and needlessly edgy, and there are parts that could have been handled with more grace. We can discuss whether “bury our gays” stories were stale by 2008, or whether stories of queer pain had fallen out of vogue for stories of queer joy. But again, this is a work made by a 16-year old, and being needlessly critical of a fangame made by a teenager for a community of predominantly teenagers feels needlessly meanspirited. Just because the game has been unforeseeably thrust into the public light like this doesn’t mean we need to eviscerate it from a 2023 lens. It’s not fair to Toby Fox, neither the original 16-year old creator nor the adult celebrity today.

So I’m not going to do that. What I am going to say is that a queer reading of this work would indicate that this word usage may very well have been a decision made with artistic intent, and a death-of-the-author reading of this work might indicate that this word has artistic merit anyways. If a gay character sees gayness as bad and uses a slur associated with gayness to demean his opponent, that does fundamentally say something about this character, and in this case it reinforces the existing themes that Toby had put in place. I wouldn’t recommend people in 2023 take this approach in storytelling lightly, but I can see and appreciate the spirit in which the game and this word choice appear to have been made.

In the end, Varik does defeat Dr. Andonuts and kill him.

(image transcript: Varik standing above the machine containing Dr. Andonuts’s dead body, not depicted onscreen. The text box reads “You feel a little like this situation could have been avoided.”)

This is one of the last text boxes of the game, and I think it’s a good ending note for this work-- saying that queer lives do NOT need to go this way, that we do not need to bury our gays, that this genuine pain that Dr. Andonuts experienced is not an inevitability.

In conclusion, I do love Halloween Hack for what it is, imperfections and all. It was very clearly a labor of love made by a very earnest and well-meaning teen, and a lot of the things that would later go on to make Undertale so popular are present in their nascent forms here. HH has some genuinely interesting things to say about Earthbound, from both a plot and a character standpoint, and it’s clearly a good-faith attempt at grappling with queer and psychological subject matter. If people on the internet were to engage sincerely with it rather than judging it (and its creator) based on one out-of-context screenshot, I think they might find a diamond-in-the-rough that still manages to be an absolute gem of a fangame.

#earthbound #halloween hack #undertale #toby fox #tw slurs

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pstelwitchcraft · 23 days

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I'll have more thoughts on this as time goes on but seeing as YT is getting more and more hostile to original, adult content (this makes it sound like p*rn but you get it, content that has nudity, swearing and other adult themes), I think they are making a good decision with Beacon TV and I hope it pans out.

I imagine there are lots of projects they can't do bc of terms of service and just the fact that they have to factor in scheduling and the way YouTube and Twitch give out and promote content. I'm also a big fan of creators fully owning what they create and we'd be naive to pretend that it isn't getting harder and harder to find art created, owned and produced by the people that are most passionate about it, so if I personally have to get rid of a subscription I use less to subscribe to people that have been giving me a lot of high quality content every week for years, I will, and I hope a lot of people do too.

Like, can you imagine if this actually is a success? TLOVM was already something that had to go on another platform because of probably both production costs and because the first five minutes of episode one would already land it on a restricted list if it was on Youtube, if it was allowed to stay up at all. If they have a good reaction to this we could get so much more interesting, unique content in one place with a lot more freedom for them to do what they want.

#critical role #like i get why people are nervous after what happened to the watcher #but I dont personally think the situations are the same #the watcher content is very much monetizable and they didnt need a particular platform to do what they've already been doing #cr has been toying with all sorts of different media for 8 years now and its obvious they've actually hit a wall with what they can do #like can you imagine if we got exu calamity animated???#or if we had MN and BH animated by their own production company???#this could be so gooood

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goadventuremaps · 1 year

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Hi HI There.

While your characters travel quietly through the forest to their next destination, not so a scene out of a fantasy story, a large burning rock in the middle of the Forest produced by the fluctuation of lava below it, which causes the rock to slowly melt and the lava begins to come out burning everything in its path.

It shouldn't be long before the lava shoots out pressure and the big red explodes destroying everything in its path.

Patrons will receive for each map: high quality images, gridless versions, special version for Roll20, map tokens, color variations, versions without props. PSD of the original map, PDFs for printing the maps, behind the map images and much more.

Become A Patreon!

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thedansemacabres · 1 year

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The Wine Industry for Dionysians: French-American Grapes

THE WINE WORLD is almost as paradoxical and complex as Dionysus himself—the industry is a constant pull of old and new, tradition against modernity, and the complexity of art and science. In the centre of this is the debate of French-American vitis hybrids, as products of science for the modern wine industry. These hybrids are a new shoot in the wine industry, as they not only possess the disease tolerance indigenous American grapes do—but also the ability to stand the brunt of frozen winters and climates inhospitable to Vitis Vinifera. Since I am almost halfway done with my degree of Viticulture and Enology, I thought I should begin to share my knowledge of the art and science with other devotees.

As Dionysians, his realm of vines and enology is ours to explore. The wine industry is always adapting and growing—developing new trends and new styles of wine. From this comes new trendy grapes and wines that may or may not last on consumer’s palettes. That is why the wine industry often is afraid to branch out—new may outcompete the old and wine-making is a risky business.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY

French-American hybrids are called French-American as they are usually produced in France or from French cultivars with American grape species. Many hybrids were simply named with numbers, however many now have common names that are usually French. Every year new hybrids are developed with the hopes of a grape worth gold.

In the mid 1800s, due to colonial trade with Europe, settlers brought along pests endemic to North America such as phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) and powdery mildew (Uncinula necator) to Europe. This devastated Europe’s wine industry as Vitis Vinifera had no resistance to the imported pests. In an attempt to save the wine industry, viticulturists began to cross North American grapes with European vines. The first hybrids of these programs created by breeders like Seibel, Couderc, Kuhlmann and Bertille Seyve were widely planted across Europe, however wine quality was considered disappointing when compared with the traditional European cultivars. Modern French-American hybrids that possess some sense of recognition these days have a flavour profile similar to V. Vinifera.

Ever since, hybrids continue to be developed and breed to produce higher quality wine grapes with the desirable traits of American and European grapes.

ABOUT FRENCH-AMERICAN HYBRIDS

In my venture to become a viticulturist, in my heart has grown a passion for these hybrid vines. My current place of residence is within the high, cold mountains that have a special peculiarity to allow grapes to grow. The harsher weathers are shielded by the even grander peaks of the greater mountains and warm-winds trail through the craigs. Yet, vitis vinifera—the European grape—still struggles to grow due to foreign climates. As one example, since my town’s last freeze, the appeal of cold-hardy French-American grapes has grown.

For those who are unfamiliar, grapevines are under the species Vitis; possessing two subgenera, Euvitis and Muscadinia. Euvitis subgenus are the bunch grapes and Muscadinia are the muscadine loose cluster grapes. The majority of Vitis species are from North America, with others being naturalised to Europe (V. Vinifera, the most commonly used species for wine, originating within West Asia) and Eastern-Central Asia (V. Amurensis).

Some red wine French-American hybrid grapes include:

Baco Noir, a hybrid of Folle blanche and V. Riparia., is known for low tannin content contrasted with deep pigments and good acid balance. Wine flavour is described as “Rhone-style” or “Beaujolais-style”.

Chambourcin, a hybrid with no known parentage and considered the ‘king’ of the hybrid grapes. Produces a dark fuschia red wine with strong aromatics that may be made dry or with residual sugars from fermentation. Chambourcin is a very versatile grape, as it can produce rosé, Beaujolais, or other styles, and medium-to-full-bodied, fairly complex wines, or ports.

Chancellor, a hybrid made from Seibel 5163 and Seibel 880. Chancellor is mostly used to produce a varietal wine with notes of plum and cedar, or used in red blends.

Chelois, a cross between Seibel 5163 and Seibel 5593 with mixed American grape ancestry. While it is likely best for blends, the wine possesses medium-bodied, fruity wines with notes of berry, leather, and earthy aromas.

Concord, thought to be an accidental hybrid between V. Labrusca and V. Vinifera. A common and well-beloved base to grape juice, jellies, or other ‘grape’ flavour products. Many kosher wines are made with Concord grapes, though little-used elsewhere due to most of the market considering the “foxy” flavour of American grapes to be undesirable.

De Chaunac, a hybrid of V. labrusca, V. lincecumii, V. riparia, V. rupestris, and V. vinifera. The berries are loose and blue-black. Produces an intensely coloured wine, though the croppage continues to decrease over the years.

Frontenac, a loose-berried cross between Landot 4511 and V. riparia 89. Known for its cold hardiness, this hybrid can be made into ports, blends, and reds. As a wine, it is known for its deep-colour adorned with cherry, blackberry, black currant, and plum notes.

Marechal Foch, known for its intense deep purple hue, a light- to medium mouthfeel, and dark berry fruit flavours, Marechal Foch exhibits some Burgundian characteristics. Some tasters find that the similarities to Burgundy’s Pinot Noir develop with age.

Norton, also called Cynthiana, is an American hybrid from Virginia of V. aestivalis with small clusters of blue-black berries. The wine made from Norton grapes is very versatile, including spicy, fruity (ranging from “foxy” V. labrusca to raspberry character), black pepper, tobacco, and chocolate flavours/aromas. Wines have intense colour density and can be used in varietal wines, including port style, but is also blended with other red wines.

Some common white wine French-American hybrid grapes include:

Caguya White, a hybrid of Seyval and Schuyler with greenish-yellow berries. Cayuga White wine is versatile, as it can be made into semi-sweet wines emphasising the fruity aromas as well as dry, less fruity wine with some ageing in oak. When fruit is harvested early, it can ferment into a lovely sparkling wine with good acidity, good structure, and pleasant aromas. The wine is reminiscent of many German Vitis Vinifera grapes.

Chardonel, a large-clustered grape hybrid of Seyval and Chardonnay. Chardonel is typically produced as a varietal wine and is finished dry to semidry. Chardonel displays characteristics of its parents, king of the whites Chardonnay and Seyval, yet may also possess a high alcohol content. Chardonel also has the potential for fine-quality, dry still wines produced with barrel fermentation and/or barrel ageing. Chardonel is also used as a base for sparkling wines. The wines made from Chardonel have the fruit aroma characteristics of both parents, making it appealing to more European wine tastes.

Delaware, a hybrid grape that was found in the United States within a New Jersey garden and then propagated in Delaware, Ohio. The grapes of this hybrid are used as a prized sparkling or dessert wine.

Diamond, thought to be a cross between Concord and Iona, a V. labrusca and V. vinifera hybrid. Diamond suffers a small yet prized market similar to Concord or Niagara, but it can be made into dry table wines and sparkling blends.

Niagara, essentially the white wine version of Concord. The wines produced from Niagara possess a strong American “foxy” flavour and are usually finished semi-sweet, but can also be made into dessert wines such as cream and dry sherry. Similar to Concord, it may also be used for a white non-alcoholic grape juice.

Seyval Blanc, or known as simply Seyval, is an adaptable variety that can be finished fresh and dry, barrel-fermented with malolactic fermentation, sur lie aged (aged the spent yeast cells), or made into sparkling wines. Wine from Seyval Blanc has appealing aromas of grass, hay, and melon, though the body tends to be thin. Others describe the wine as clean and fresh, similar to Sauvignon Blanc.

Traminette, a lovely cross of Joannes Seyve 23-416 and the German white grape Gewürztraminer. Generally, hold strong spice and floral aromas, a full structure, and long aftertaste. The wine can be made dry or sweet but is usually finished with some residual sweetness. Varietal descriptions include floral, spicy, perfume, and lavender, with some similarity to Gewürztraminer.

Vidal Blanc, a loose-clustered vine with greenish-white fruit along with pronounced, noticeable dark lenticels at fruit maturity. Vidal Blanc is a cross between Ugni blanc and Seibel 4986 and is typically grown as a varietal wine. Akin to Chardonnay, Vidal blanc is versatile and may be used to make a variety of wine styles, from off-dry Germanic-style wines similar to Rieslings, sparkling wine base wines, dry barrel-fermented table wines, and complex Burgundy-style wines. Varietal taste descriptors for vidal blanc include melon, pineapple, lead pencil (I have no clue what this means), pears, and figs. Vidal Blanc has also been used to create late-harvest-style wines and ice wines.

Vignoles, born from a cross between Siebel 6905 and Pinot de Corton. Vignoles is frequently harvested for dessert wines, especially when picked late and overripe in the growing season. The wines from ripe fruit have tropical fruit, citrus-like, and pineapple flavours. Vignoles may produce many different styles of wine, including dry, barrel-fermented, sur lie aged wine, and sparkling base wines.

ENDING THOUGHTS

The modern wine world is dominated by almost the same 12 cultivars, which I find to not only be limiting but also horrid: thousands of cultivars and wine-making styles are under the threat of being out competed by the likes of the classic Chardonnay and Merlot. As a devotee of loud-roaring Dionysus, I find myself wishing to explore more of his realm—which means discovering new wines and strange grapes, all paradoxical just as he is. If you can drink, I would recommend adventuring off into the likes of rare cultivars and hybrids—after all, we tend to discover more when life is a bit unfamiliar.

Bibliography

Goldammer, T. (2015). The Grape Grower’s Handbook: A Guide to Viticulture for Wine Production.

Wine Grape Production Guide for Eastern North America. (2008). Natural Resource Agriculture and Engineering Service (Nraes).

Further Reading:

Wilson, J. (2018). Godforsaken Grapes: A Slightly Tipsy Journey through the World of Strange, Obscure, and Underappreciated Wine. Abrams.

#dragonis.txt #vīnum #dionysus deity #dionysus devotee #dionysos deity #hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #hellenism #paganism #pagan #hellenic paganism #witchblr

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overobsessedfanboy23 · 1 year

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Every Yugioh Thing I’ve Seen Reviewed In A Few Sentences

(And also which names I use for the characters because I've gotten so inconsistent it's worth noting)

Duel Monsters (Dub): Miraculously good considering how it was produced. I don’t care for most of the characters and the whole thing is so poorly paced it’s hard to revisit, but it’s still overall a good time. 7/10

(I usually call DM characters by their dub names.)

-Pyramid of Light (Dub) Really forgettable nothing movie. Animation’s kinda nice and the dub exclusive jokes are funny but that’s about it. If any one thing burned me out on DM content, it was this. 5/10

GX (Sub): A life changing series for me. I love its characters and themes, the duelling is at its most exciting, and Judai Yuki is my favourite character ever created ever. As far as I’m concerned, this is the show that made Yugioh “Yugioh.” 9/10

(I exclusively refer to all GX characters by their original sub names.)

-5Ds (Dub/Sub for the undubbed parts): About 30% of this show is actively bad, sometimes even harmful but the good stuff is unbelievably fantastic. The switch between quality extremes is so constant it gave me whiplash. 7.5/10

(I refer to almost every 5Ds character by their dub names, apart from Akiza who I'm back and forth on and Carly's last name.)

-Bonds Beyond Time (Dub/Sub): This movie is messy and dumb and doesn’t make sense but it’s just so damn fun to watch! And I latched onto Paradox really hard so I revisit this movie a lot. 8/10

-Zexal (Sub/Dub): Underrated as hell. The goofy tone was charming to me and I love most of the characters, even some of the pointless ones. It’s crazy at times, but that’s what I come to Yugioh for. 8/10

(I call the characters mainly by their sub names apart from Tori/Kotori who I go back and forth on and some minor/side characters whose dub names I prefer.)

-Arc-V (Sub/Dub): Similar to 5Ds, the quality constantly switches between amazing and terrible. The lows can be just as insufferable or harmful and the highs aren’t as high. 6/10

(I mainly call the Arc V characters by their dub names nowadays (thanks Declan) except for the GX and Zexal returns as well as Yuzu, Serena, and Ruri. Shun/Shay I might go back and forth on.)

-The Dark Side of Dimensions (Dub): The animation is so pretty! And the duelling is more entertaining than any duel in the original Duel Monsters series! I still don’t care for most of these characters but this is entertaining. 7.5/10

(I exclusively refer to VRAINS characters by their sub names.)

-VRAINS (Sub): This show’s world/lore is endlessly fascinating to me. It kept my attention all the way through with its sharp pacing and humour and it also repeatedly and viciously ripped out my heart and left it to bleed out as I cried in a ball on the floor. 8/10

-Sevens (Sub): Light-hearted with low stakes, but the characters are so fun and scenarios so loony that I was consistently entertained and charmed by it. It also subverted a lot of tired old Yugioh tropes, which I loved. 8/10

(I use sub names for Sevens by default since I haven't finished the dub yet.)

I haven’t finished Season 0 yet and Go Rush is still going so I’ll update this with my opinions on them once I’ve fully seen them.

#yugioh #ygo #yugioh duel monsters #ygo dm #yugioh gx #ygo gx #yugioh 5ds #ygo 5ds #yugioh bonds beyond time #ygo bbt #yugioh zexal #ygo zexal #yugioh arc v #ygo arc v #yugioh vrains #ygo vrains #yugioh sevens #ygo sevens #yugioh dark side of dimensions

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alexander-finance-blogs · 6 months

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Empowering Students to Excel: Strategies for Mastering Business Finance Assignments

Navigating the intricacies of business finance assignments can be a challenging task for students pursuing courses in finance. The intricate concepts, mathematical complexities, and real-world applications often leave students grappling for assistance. Recognizing this need, platforms like FinanceAssignmentHelp.com step in to provide invaluable support, ensuring that students not only complete their assignments but also master the subject matter. Whether it's comprehending assignment requirements, mastering key concepts, or seeking clarification on complex topics, FinanceAssignmentHelp.com is dedicated to offering Help With Business Finance Assignment. In this blog, we'll explore effective strategies for excelling in business finance assignments and highlight the features of FinanceAssignmentHelp.com that make it a go-to resource for students seeking academic support.

Understanding the Assignment Requirements:

One of the initial challenges students face is comprehending the assignment requirements. It's crucial to carefully read and understand what is expected. Break down the instructions, identify key concepts, and create a roadmap for your work. If uncertainties persist, seeking clarification from professors or utilizing online resources like FinanceAssignmentHelp.com can provide the necessary clarity.

Mastering Key Concepts:

Business finance assignments often involve intricate concepts and formulas. Mastering these is essential for producing high-quality assignments. Make use of textbooks, lecture notes, and supplementary materials to reinforce your understanding. Online platforms like FinanceAssignmentHelp.com offer comprehensive resources, including explanatory videos, case studies, and practice problems, facilitating a deeper understanding of complex topics.

Utilizing Online Resources:

The internet has become a treasure trove of information for students. Websites like FinanceAssignmentHelp.com offer specialized assistance tailored to business finance assignments. These platforms provide not only solutions but also explanations, ensuring that students grasp the underlying principles. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com stands out with its user-friendly interface, making navigation seamless for students seeking specific help with business finance assignments.

Features of FinanceAssignmentHelp.com:

a. Expert Tutors: FinanceAssignmentHelp.com boasts a team of experienced tutors with profound knowledge of business finance. These experts are well-versed in academic requirements and industry practices, providing students with the guidance needed to excel in their assignments.

b. 24/7 Availability: Recognizing the unpredictable nature of student schedules, FinanceAssignmentHelp.com ensures round-the-clock availability. This feature allows students to seek help whenever they encounter challenges, promoting a stress-free and efficient learning experience.

c. Customized Solutions: Each student is unique, and their learning needs vary. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com understands this diversity and offers customized solutions to address individual requirements. This tailored approach enhances the effectiveness of the assistance provided.

d. Plagiarism-Free Content: Academic integrity is paramount. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com prioritizes the delivery of original content, ensuring that students receive solutions that are free from plagiarism. This commitment to authenticity strengthens the educational value of the provided assistance.

e. Timely Delivery: Meeting deadlines is crucial in the academic realm. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com emphasizes the importance of timely delivery, allowing students to submit their assignments punctually without compromising on quality.

Practice, Practice, Practice:

Mastery comes with practice. Once the theoretical concepts are understood, it's imperative to apply them through practical problem-solving. Platforms like FinanceAssignmentHelp.com offer a plethora of practice problems and case studies that enable students to reinforce their learning by tackling real-world scenarios.

Collaborative Learning:

Engage in collaborative learning by forming study groups or participating in online forums. Discussing concepts with peers not only provides different perspectives but also reinforces your understanding. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com encourages collaborative learning through discussion forums where students can interact with tutors and peers, fostering a supportive academic community.

Feedback and Revision:

Submitting assignments is not the end; it's a step in an ongoing learning process. Pay attention to feedback provided by professors or online tutors. Use this feedback constructively to identify areas of improvement and revise your approach accordingly. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com facilitates this process by offering feedback on submitted assignments, guiding students toward continuous improvement.

Conclusion:

Mastering business finance assignments is a journey that demands dedication, understanding, and strategic utilization of available resources. FinanceAssignmentHelp.com stands as a beacon for students navigating this journey, offering expert guidance, customized solutions, and a commitment to academic excellence. By implementing the strategies discussed and leveraging the features of platforms like FinanceAssignmentHelp.com, students can empower themselves to not only excel in their assignments but also develop a profound understanding of the fascinating world of business finance.

#Business Finance Assignment Help #Help With Business Finance Assignment #Online Business Finance Assignment Help #Business Finance Assignment Help Service

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youroriginalcontent · 1 month

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Reasons to Choose the Best Content Writing Agency in Delhi

As we live in the digital era, the content is the king. Whether you have a small business or a big corporation, providing quality and "engaging" content is crucial to capture and retain your customers. In addition, generating interesting and useful content would be a big undertaking, especially if you can't find just the right time, talent, or resources to do it. Then comes the role of the Content Writing Agency in Delhi, where its services are required. Collaboration with a skilled agency provides access to all opportunities for your content to transform your business targets. The following article will unveil what stands behind the choice of the best Content Writing agency in Delhi, which can be the right option for the success of your business.

1. Expertise and Experience

Among the crucial reasons is their knowledge and rich experience in the given sector. A professional organization should have a constellation of writers and editors with the requisite comprehension of the major market sectors and niches. These experts embrace new technologies for content creation and keep abreast of the latest trends and innovations to ensure that the content is always engaging, unconventional, and fresh.

The Content Writing Agency in Delhi will also have an established practice of consistently producing superior writing material for people of various business backgrounds. They will clearly explain how the content writing service effectively generates measurable results through the proofs they will provide.

2. Time and Cost Efficiency

Building high-quality content can be quite expensive and time-consuming unless you are committed to outsourcing, i.e., employing a third party and managing an in-house team. Hiring a Content Writing Agency in Delhi to outsource the content creation process can save you much of the time and money you would otherwise spend, freeing up those resources for other business areas.

The professional firm must have a strong structure and tools and techniques to ensure your content is delivered on time and within budget. This team will collaborate with you to define your particular demands and aims and then develop a content plan that harmonizes with your business objectives.

3. Diverse Range of Services

The finest Content Writing Agency in Delhi will feature many service options to attain your content goals. Whether it is website copy, blog posts, social media content, or email marketing, they’ll have the know-how to create engaging content across several platforms and formats.

Some of the services that a top-notch agency may offer include:

Digital Marketing Content Writing

Best Website Content Writing Services

Affordable Article Writing Services

Copywriting Services

Social Media Content Writing

Conclusion

Hiring the best Content Writing Agency in Delhi will help companies stay on top of their content game as they try to break into new markets and win over customers. Collaborating with Your Original Content involves the use of professional services, knowledge, and different types of services that they offer. Being a leading content writing service provider in India, we have shown results that are pure and good content that attracts the audience and helps to get good results.

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chattercap · 9 hours

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June 2024 Monthly Devlog

Hello everyone,

Phew, we're already entering June, and it's getting HOT! I hope some of you have relaxing(?) summer plans!

WHAT DID I DO?

Overall I worked on a variety(?) of things this month! On the art side, I've been steadily working on Actala. I've finished setting up the base for most of the backgrounds and done around 1/3 of the renders, and I've also done a little over half of the CGs for the demo release I'm planning for the end of June. I also did some brainstorming for my fall/winter projects.

On the coding side, I've made several updates to MMM, Kanau, and TDW, including: -Added a click VFX. -Fixed bug if you clicked "Continue" before ever starting the game. -Implemented text box animation and typewriter effect toggles. -Implemented fix where the VA stops if you progress to the next line. -Minor script fixes.

For TDW, I also implemented some fixes for bugs that I addressed in Kanau. I also added a content warning screen and a custom end screen.

I also worked on porting Karamu to Godot! While I would have liked to keep it in the old engine, I would be porting it anyway to create the trilogy release for Steam, and unfortunately it's unrealistic for me to continue working in multiple game engines. Along with the Karamu port, I implemented support for multiple languages! This month I was working on a French language translation for both Karamu and Kanau. I've received the files, and they've been proofread as well (by my very kind friend chimeriquement)! I implemented the GUI and script language toggles so all I need to do is create new translated versions of the script files. I won't promise the French TL anytime soon since I'm focusing on Actala and the MMM and TDW Steam releases, but I'll get it out sometime this summer!

On the writing side, I worked a bit on Hanasu, as well as one of my secret projects. I fully outlined one of the projects that I plan to work on in the fall, and I also did brainstorming for the other project (GAH I really want to announce them already so I can stop referring to them in such vague terms…)

WHAT'S NEXT FOR JUNE?

For June, well…I'll be releasing the Actala demo, so whatever needs to get done for that…will get done! Unfortunately it won't be nearly as long as the original demo, but it's…well…understandable. The original demo was over a year's worth of work, and six months on assets alone, so it probably makes sense that I won't be able to get it all remade in 2 months, haha! (Especially since the current assets are much higher quality, and, as a result, take longer to produce.) Still, the demo will be very chunky (at least 2 hours) and will introduce all of the love interests.

In addition, I'll definitely be releasing MMM and TDW on Steam. TDW will also be part of Steam Next Fest on June 10th, if you're interested in checking it out!

I'll also be finishing up the Hanasu script in June so I can get it beta read and in recording by July, hopefully!

am very excited to announce the jam projects, but I'll restrain myself! I post most of my major announcements on here and Twitter! If you want to hear from me more often or see the WIPs, I post frequently on my Patreon with sketches, writing snippets, sneak peeks, high resolution art, and weekly devlogs.

Chattercap

#general-dev

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digitalmarketingagencybda · 1 month

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Mastering On-Page SEO: The Definitive Guide

In the vast ocean of search engine optimization (SEO), on-page SEO remains an indispensable component. It's the cornerstone of your website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and mastering it can significantly boost your organic traffic. But what exactly is on-page SEO and how can you optimize your website effectively? In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the depths of on-page SEO, exploring its importance, key elements, best practices and advanced techniques.

What is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO refers to the optimization of individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. Unlike off-page SEO, which involves external factors like backlinks and social signals, on-page SEO focuses on optimizing elements directly within the website itself. These elements include content, HTML source code and site architecture.

Why is On-Page SEO Important?

Improved Visibility: Properly optimized pages are more likely to rank higher in search engine results, increasing your website's visibility to potential visitors.

User Experience: On-page optimization often goes hand in hand with improving user experience (UX), leading to lower bounce rates and higher engagement metrics.

Targeted Traffic: By optimizing for specific keywords, you attract visitors who are actively searching for what your website offers, resulting in more targeted traffic.

Cost-Effective: Compared to other SEO strategies like link building, on-page SEO is relatively cost-effective and offers long-term benefits.

Key Elements of On-Page SEO

Title Tags: Title tags are HTML elements that define the title of a web page. They are displayed prominently in search engine results and should include relevant keywords and accurately describe the page's content.

Meta Descriptions: Meta descriptions provide a brief summary of the page's content and appear below the title tag in search results. While they don't directly impact rankings, compelling meta descriptions can improve click-through rates (CTR).

Heading Tags (H1, H2, etc.): Heading tags organize the structure of your content, with H1 being the main heading and subsequent tags (H2, H3, etc.) used for subheadings. They help both users and search engines understand the hierarchy of information on a page.

URL Structure: A clear and concise URL structure not only makes it easier for users to navigate your site but also helps search engines understand the context of your pages. Include relevant keywords in your URLs when possible.

Keyword Optimization: Strategic placement of keywords throughout your content, including in headings, paragraphs and image alt attributes, helps search engines understand the topic of your page. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as it can harm your rankings.

Quality Content: High-quality, relevant content is essential for on-page SEO success. Aim to create comprehensive, informative and engaging content that satisfies the search intent of your target audience.

Internal Linking: Linking to other pages within your website helps spread link equity and improves navigation. It also encourages visitors to explore more of your content, leading to longer sessions and increased engagement.

Image Optimization: Optimizing images by using descriptive file names and alt attributes not only improves accessibility but also provides another opportunity to include relevant keywords.

Best Practices for On-Page SEO

Research and Target Relevant Keywords: Conduct keyword research to identify the terms and phrases your target audience is searching for. Focus on long-tail keywords with lower competition for better results.

Create Unique and Compelling Content: Produce original, valuable content that addresses the needs and interests of your audience. Aim for a mix of formats, such as articles, videos, infographics and more.

Optimize Page Speed: Fast-loading pages enhance user experience and can positively impact rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and address speed issues.

Mobile-Friendly Design: With the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, ensure your website is optimized for mobile users. Use responsive design principles to provide a seamless experience across all devices.

Regularly Update Content: Keep your content fresh and up-to-date to maintain relevance and authority. Update existing content with new information, statistics or insights and remove or redirect outdated pages.

Utilize Schema Markup: Schema markup helps search engines understand the context of your content, leading to rich snippets in search results. Implement structured data where applicable to enhance your listings.

Optimize for Featured Snippets: Aim to create content that answers common questions or provides concise summaries to increase the likelihood of appearing in featured snippets.

Monitor and Analyze Performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track the performance of your pages, identify areas for improvement and measure the impact of your optimizations.

Advanced On-Page SEO Techniques

Semantic SEO: Focus on the context and meaning of keywords rather than exact match phrases. Use synonyms, related terms and natural language to optimize content for semantic search.

Topic Clusters: Organize your content into clusters around broad topics, with pillar pages serving as comprehensive guides and supporting content delving into specific subtopics. This structure enhances topical authority and improves internal linking.

Voice Search Optimization: Optimize your content for voice search by incorporating natural language queries and targeting conversational keywords. FAQ pages and structured data can also improve visibility in voice search results.

User Engagement Signals: Pay attention to user engagement signals such as dwell time, bounce rate and click-through rate. Creating engaging, interactive content and improving site performance can positively influence these metrics.

Local SEO Optimization: For businesses with physical locations, optimize your website for local search by including location-specific keywords, creating a Google My Business profile and obtaining local citations.

Video SEO: Optimize video content by providing detailed metadata, including transcripts and captions and embedding videos on relevant pages. Video thumbnails and rich snippets can improve visibility in search results.

International SEO: If targeting multiple regions or languages, implement hreflang tags to indicate the language and geographical targeting of your pages. Ensure content localization and use country-specific domains or subdirectories where appropriate.

Conclusion

On-page SEO is a fundamental aspect of any successful digital marketing strategy. By optimizing your website's individual pages for search engines and users alike, you can increase visibility, attract targeted traffic and improve overall performance. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned SEO practitioner, mastering on-page SEO techniques is essential for staying competitive in today's digital landscape. Start with the basics, experiment with advanced strategies and continually monitor and adapt to achieve optimal results.

#seo services #seo #digital marketing #web design #web development #search engine optimization

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 2 months

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Two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks

The early history of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is one of joining smaller galaxies, which makes for fairly large building blocks. Now, Khyati Malhan and Hans-Walter Rix of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have succeeded in identifying what could be two of the earliest building blocks that can still be recognized as such today: proto-galactic fragments that merged with an early version of our Milky Way between 12 and 13 billion years ago, at the very beginning of the era of galaxy formation in the Universe. The components, which the astronomers have named Shakti and Shiva, were identified by combining data from ESA’s astrometry satellite Gaia with data from the SDSS survey. For astronomers, the result is the equivalent of finding traces of an initial settlement that grew into a large present-day city.

Tracing the origins of stars that came from other galaxies

When galaxies collide and merge, several processes happen in parallel. Each galaxy carries along its own reservoir of hydrogen gas. Upon collision, those hydrogen gas clouds are destabilized, and numerous new stars are formed inside. Of course, the incoming galaxies also already have their own stars, and in a merger, stars from the galaxies will mingle. In the long run, such “accreted stars” will also account for some of the stellar population of the newly-formed combined galaxy. Once the merger is completed, it might seem hopeless to identify which stars came from which predecessor galaxy. But in fact, at least some ways of tracing back stellar ancestry exist.

Help comes from basic physics. When galaxies collide and their stellar populations mingle, most of the stars retain very basic properties, which are directly linked to the speed and direction of the galaxy in which they originated. Stars from the same pre-merger galaxy share similar values for both their energy and what physicists call angular momentum – the momentum associated with orbital motion or rotation. For stars moving in a galaxy’s gravitational field, both energy and angular momentum are conserved: they remain the same over time. Look for large groups of stars with similar, unusual values for energy and angular momentum – and chances are, you might find a merger remnant.

Additional pointers can assist identification. Stars that formed more recently contain more heavier elements, what astronomers call “metals”, than stars that formed a long time ago. The lower the metal content (“metallicity”), the earlier the star presumably formed. When trying to identify stars that already existed 13 billion years ago, one should look for stars with very low metal content (“metal-poor”).

Virtual excavations in a large data set

Identifying the stars that joined our Milky Way as parts of another galaxy has only become possible comparatively recently. It requires large, high-quality data sets, and the analysis involves sifting the data in clever ways so as to identify the searched-for class of objects. This kind of data set has only been available for a few years. The ESA astrometry satellite Gaia provides an ideal data set for this kind of big-data galactic archeology. Launched in 2013, it has produced an increasingly accurate data set over the past decade, which by now includes positions, changes in position and distances for almost 1.5 billion stars within our galaxy.

Gaia data revolutionized studies of the dynamics of stars in our home galaxy, and has already led to the discovery of previously unknown substructures. This includes the so-called Gaia Enceladus/Sausage stream, a remnant of the most recent larger merger our home galaxy has undergone, between 8 and 11 billion years ago. It also includes two structures identified in 2022: the Pontus stream identified by Malhan and colleagues and the “poor old heart” of the Milky Way identified by Rix and colleagues. The latter is a population of stars that newly formed during the initial mergers that created the proto-Milky Way, and continue to reside in our galaxy’s central region.

Traces of Shakti and Shiva

For their present search, Malhan and Rix used Gaia data combined with detailed stellar spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (DR17). The latter provide detailed information about the stars’ chemical composition. Malhan says: “We observed that, for a certain range of metal-poor stars, stars were crowded around two specific combinations of energy and angular momentum.”

In contrast with the “poor old heart”, which was also visible in those plots, the two groups of like-minded stars had comparatively large angular momentum, consistent with groups of stars that had been part of separate galaxies which had merged with the Milky Way. Malhan has named these two structures Shakti and Shiva, the latter one of the principal deities of Hinduism and the former a female cosmic force often portrayed as Shiva’s consort.

Their energy and angular momentum values, plus their overall low metallicity on par with that of the “poor old heart”, makes Shakti and Shiva good candidates for some of the earliest ancestors of our Milky Way. Rix says: “Shakti and Shiva might be the first two additions to the ‘poor old heart’ of our Milky Way, initiating its growth towards a large galaxy.”

Several surveys that are either already ongoing or bound to start over the next couple of years promise relevant additional data, both spectra (SDSS-V, 4MOST) and precise distances (LSST/Rubin Observatory), should enable astronomers to make a firm decision on whether or not Shakti and Shiva are indeed a glimpse of our home galaxy's earliest prehistory.

IMAGE....A visualization of the Milky Way galaxy, with the stars that Khyati Malhan and Hans-Walter Rix identified in the Gaia DR3 data set as belonging to Shiva and Shakti shown as colored dots. Shiva stars are shown in green and Shakti stars in pink. The complete absence of green and pink markers in some regions does not mean that there are no stars from Shiva or Shakti there, as the data set used for this study only covers specific regions within our galaxy. Credit S. Payne-Wardenaar / K. Malhan / MPIA

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #astrophysics

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lifestyleandbusiness · 2 months

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Digital Entrepreneurship: 10 Zero-Cost Ideas to Kickstart Your Online Business

Discover how to turn your skills and passions into profitable ventures with these 10 zero-cost digital product ideas. From customizable templates to online courses and mobile apps, explore lucrative opportunities in the ever-expanding digital marketplace. Whether you’re an artist, educator, or tech enthusiast, there’s a niche waiting for your unique offerings. Start your journey to digital entrepreneurship today without breaking the bank

1. E-book Guides: Create informative ebooks on topics of interest, such as self-improvement, cooking, or DIY projects. People are always looking for valuable information, and ebooks can cater to their curiosity and desire to learn new skills.

2. Printable Planners: Design printable planners for daily, weekly, or monthly organization. With the increasing demand for productivity tools, individuals are constantly seeking ways to manage their schedules effectively. Printable planners offer a practical solution while allowing for customization based on individual preferences.

3. Digital Art Prints: Showcase your artistic talents by creating digital art prints that can be downloaded and printed for home décor. In today’s visually-driven culture, people are drawn to unique and aesthetically pleasing artwork to adorn their living spaces, making digital art prints a lucrative business idea.

4. Customizable Templates: Develop templates for resumes, business cards, social media posts, and other professional documents. Many individuals lack the design skills or time to create polished documents from scratch, making customizable templates a valuable resource for professionals and entrepreneurs.

5. Online Courses: Share your expertise by offering online courses on platforms like Udemy or Teachable. With the increasing popularity of e-learning, there is a growing demand for courses on various subjects, ranging from photography and graphic design to personal finance and entrepreneurship.

6. Stock Photography: Curate a collection of high-quality stock photos that can be licensed for use in websites, blogs, and marketing materials. Businesses and content creators are always in need of visually appealing imagery to enhance their online presence, presenting a lucrative opportunity for photographers and digital artists.

7. Digital Calendars: Develop digital calendar templates for desktop and mobile devices. In an age where digital organization is paramount, customizable digital calendars offer users a convenient way to plan and manage their schedules efficiently.

8. Mobile Apps: Create simple yet useful mobile apps to solve common problems or cater to niche interests. Whether it’s a fitness tracker, budgeting tool, or language learning app, there is a vast market for mobile apps that provide practical solutions and enhance users’ daily lives.

9. Webinars and Workshops: Host webinars or virtual workshops on topics related to your expertise or interests. With the rise of remote work and online learning, webinars and workshops provide a platform for knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.

10. Digital Music Albums: Produce and distribute digital music albums featuring original compositions or royalty-free tracks. With the increasing popularity of streaming platforms and content creation, there is a demand for high-quality music that can be used in videos, podcasts, and other digital projects.

By leveraging your skills and creativity, you can embark on a digital products business with zero upfront costs, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of today’s digital-savvy consumers.

#entrepreneur #digital products #online business #business ideas #ecommerce #printable

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hetubers · 5 months

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He Tuber: Understanding the Rise of Influencers on YouTube

He Tuber, a rising star in the world of YouTube, has been making waves with his entertaining and informative videos. With over a million subscribers, He Tuber has captured the attention of viewers with his unique blend of humor and expertise.

In his videos, He Tuber covers a wide range of topics, from technology and gaming to cooking and DIY projects. His engaging personality and clear communication style make his videos both entertaining and educational, appealing to a diverse audience.

Whether you're looking to learn something new or simply enjoy some lighthearted entertainment, He Tuber has something for everyone. With his growing popularity and dedicated fanbase, it's clear that He Tuber is a force to be reckoned with in the world of online content creation.

Understanding He Tuber

Origins and Meaning

He Tuber is a term that has gained popularity in recent years. It is a combination of the pronoun "he" and the word "tuber," which is a shortened form of "YouTuber." He Tuber is used to refer to male content creators on YouTube. The term has been used to create a distinction between male and female content creators on the platform.

The origins of the term He Tuber are not clear, but it is believed to have originated from online communities that discuss YouTube and its content creators. The term gained popularity due to its simplicity and ease of use. It has become a common term used to refer to male YouTubers.

The meaning of He Tuber is straightforward. It refers to male content creators on YouTube. The term is not meant to be derogatory or offensive. It is simply a way to differentiate between male and female content creators on the platform.

He Tuber in Popular Culture

He Tuber has become a popular term in popular culture. It is often used in discussions about YouTube and its content creators. The term has been used in news articles, social media posts, and online forums. It has also been used in YouTube videos and podcasts.

YouTube has become a significant part of popular culture, and He Tuber has become a part of that culture. The term is used to describe a particular type of content creator on the platform. He Tubers are known for creating a wide variety of content, including gaming videos, vlogs, and comedy sketches.

Technical Aspects of He Tuber

He Tuber Plants

He Tuber, the popular YouTube channel, has been able to achieve its success through a combination of factors, one of which is the technical aspects of their content. One of the key technical aspects is the use of high-quality cameras and microphones to produce clear and visually appealing videos. This has helped to attract a large audience and keep them engaged.

In addition to the equipment used, He Tuber also employs skilled video editors who are able to create visually stunning videos that are both informative and entertaining. The use of special effects, animations, and other editing techniques adds to the overall quality of the videos and helps to keep viewers interested.

He Tuber Digital Platforms

Apart from YouTube, He Tuber has also expanded its reach to other digital platforms, such as the He Tuber APK. This platform allows users to access all of He Tuber's content in one place, making it more convenient for viewers to watch their videos. The APK also offers additional features, such as the ability to download videos for offline viewing.

Furthermore, He Tuber has also been able to leverage social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, to promote their content and engage with their audience. This has helped to increase their reach and build a loyal following.

Overall, the technical aspects of HeTuber's content have played a significant role in their success. By using high-quality equipment and skilled video editors, they are able to produce visually stunning videos that keep viewers engaged. Additionally, their expansion to other digital platforms and use of social media has helped to increase their reach and build a loyal following.

Youtube Integration

Youtube as a Platform

Youtube is a video-sharing platform that has become an indispensable tool for content creators. With over 2 billion monthly active users, it is a great way to reach a large audience. Youtube provides a platform for individuals to showcase their skills, talents, and interests, and monetize their content. It is an excellent platform for businesses to promote their products and services and engage with their customers.

Youtube for Audio

Youtube is not just a platform for videos; it is also an excellent platform for audio. Youtube has an extensive library of music videos, live performances, and covers. Youtube has also launched Youtube Music, a music streaming service that allows users to listen to their favorite music without interruptions. Youtube Music has a vast collection of songs, albums, and playlists, and it is available on all devices.

Youtube for Families

Youtube has a separate platform for children called Youtube Kids. Youtube Kids is a child-friendly version of Youtube that provides age-appropriate content for children. It has parental controls that allow parents to restrict access to certain content and limit screen time. Youtube Kids has a vast collection of educational videos, cartoons, and games that are both entertaining and informative.

Media Conversion

Converting Youtube Content

He Tubers often need to convert Youtube content into different formats for various reasons. There are many tools available online that can help with this task. One popular tool is the Youtube to MP3 converter, which allows users to extract audio from Youtube videos and save it in MP3 format.

Another tool that is commonly used is the Youtube to MP4 converter, which converts Youtube videos into MP4 format. This is useful for those who want to download videos and watch them offline, or for those who want to edit the video content.

Some He Tubers also use video editing software to convert Youtube content into different formats. This allows them to edit the content and add their own personal touch before uploading it to their own channel.

It is important to note that converting Youtube content without permission from the original creator may be a violation of copyright laws. He Tubers should always check the terms of use for any tools they use to ensure they are not infringing on anyone's rights.

In conclusion, there are many tools and methods available for He Tubers to convert Youtube content into different formats. However, it is important to use these tools responsibly and within the boundaries of copyright laws.

Conclusion

He Tuber has become a popular figure in the world of social media. With a large following on various platforms, he has gained a reputation for creating engaging and informative content.

Throughout his videos, He Tuber showcases his knowledge on a variety of topics, ranging from technology to lifestyle. He often uses a mixture of humor and personal anecdotes to make his content more relatable to his audience.

One of the key factors contributing to He Tuber's success is his consistency in posting content. He maintains a regular schedule, which allows his followers to anticipate and look forward to his new videos.

In addition to his content, He Tuber also interacts with his followers through various social media platforms. He often responds to comments and messages, making his audience feel appreciated and valued.

Overall, He Tuber's success can be attributed to his passion for creating content and his dedication to his followers. His ability to connect with his audience through his engaging and informative videos has made him a respected figure in the world of social media.

#hetuber #tuber #video #youtube #content #upload

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msdroppinit · 6 months

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lawnhive · 9 months

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The Future of SEO Content Writing and Its Impact on Digital Marketing

As you so very well know, the worlds of SEO content writing and digital marketing are undergoing significant transformations. The global SEO industry, valued at $68 billion in 2022, is projected to reach a staggering $129.6 billion by 2030. However, it's not just the financial numbers that are changing. The advent of AI-powered solutions like ChatGPT is blurring the lines between human-created content and machine-generated text in digital marketing. This article delves into the profound implications of these changes, exploring how SEO content writing is reshaping digital marketing strategies.

A Game-Changer in SEO

The future of SEO content writing is taking an unprecedented leap with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Gone are the days when human writers held a monopoly over content creation. AI tools such as Heliograf, Wordsmith, ChatGPT, and Content at Scale have already made substantial strides in generating content at scale. News organizations like the Washington Post and the Associated Press have harnessed AI to produce thousands of articles, significantly boosting their content volume.

Impact on SEO Strategies

The proliferation of AI-generated content ushers in a more competitive landscape in search engine results pages (SERPs). To stand out, creating valuable, user-focused content becomes paramount. Prioritizing keyword research, meta tags, and content performance optimization remains essential to outperform competitors in this increasingly crowded arena.

E-commerce Evolution

E-commerce giants are embracing AI-powered content to streamline the creation of high-quality product descriptions. AI algorithms analyze data to generate compelling product information, enhancing customers' shopping experiences. Personalized messaging based on individual preferences further boosts engagement and conversions.

News Outlets' Efficiency

News outlets are turning to automated journalism powered by AI to cover breaking news stories efficiently. Tools like Heliograf allow for rapid and accurate reporting, freeing up reporters to focus on in-depth analysis.

Financial Insights

In the financial industry, AI-powered tools like COIN are revolutionizing data-driven analysis. AI-generated reports provide timely and accurate market trend insights, saving time and improving accuracy.

Human Writers vs. AI: Balancing Quality and Connection

While AI-generated content offers efficiency, it falls short in establishing genuine connections with readers. Human writers infuse content with emotion, creativity, and cultural sensitivity that machines lack. AI-generated content sometimes veers into duplication, while human writers provide original perspectives and unique experiences that resonate with audiences.

The Role of Generative AI in Content Writing

The introduction of GPT-4 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4) has sparked discussions about its potential impact on content creation. GPT-4 boasts increased productivity, improved quality, reduced costs, and broader reach. It allows SEO professionals to focus on complex tasks while relying on AI for content generation and distribution.

Responsible Use of AI in Content Creation

Relying solely on AI for content creation has its pitfalls. Inaccuracy, lack of relevance, absence of creativity, and cultural insensitivity are potential drawbacks. Responsible use involves combining AI with human expertise to create high-quality, user-centric content.

Preparing for the Future of Content Creation

To thrive in the evolving content landscape, businesses must:

Build Skilled Teams

Invest in skilled writers who can enhance AI-generated content with a personal touch that resonates with readers emotionally.

Embrace Innovation

Diversify strategies by combining traditional methods with cutting-edge AI technologies, ensuring content remains relevant and engaging.

Prioritize Quality

Maintain a focus on content quality over quantity, implementing quality assurance processes for both human and AI-generated content.

Harness Data-Driven Insights

Utilize AI-generated content to gain valuable insights, identify trends, and optimize existing content for better search engine performance.

Conclusion: The Exciting Future of SEO Content Writing

The future of SEO content writing holds immense promise. As technology advances and search engines prioritize user-focused content, content creators have the tools and opportunities to thrive. Content creation is no longer about keyword stuffing but crafting engaging, informative, and optimized content that resonates with audiences. Multimedia elements, voice search optimization, and AI-driven insights will shape the landscape. By staying informed and embracing innovation, content creators can excel in this ever-evolving digital world.

#SEO Content Writing #Digital Marketing

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