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myblogontech · 3 years

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What is the Voice Recognition System and how does it work? || LN-TECHINFO

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Do you know what the Voice Recognition System is and how it works . Along with this, today we will tell you what are the advantages and disadvantages of this technology. I will also tell you about its history. Today we will give you all your information, so let us know.

How would you like it if your computer or Smartphone talks like your friend and also answers all your questions. Yes, you heard it right, but some people may be feeling this joke or dream. But this is true. Now technology is progressing so fast that it is also possible. You do not even need a keyboard in this technology . Like you will say hello, then your phone will also answer you immediately. It was impossible to do all this at one time, but gradually when the Computer Scientist and Mathematician started working on this concept one day and night, there was a technology invention called Voice Recognition. Nowadays this technology is available in every mobile phone and computer.

What is the Voice Recognition System: Voice Recognition is also called Speech Recognition . It is a computer software program, it is also a hardware device that has the capability to understand Human Voice. Speech Recognition is a technology that takes words spoken by Human like Input and converts those words into digital form, taking action over it.

This technology is used to operate mobile phones, to give commands to mobile and to search through voice. In this, you do not need to use any keyboard, mouse and neither do you need to press any button. For this, a program is used called ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition). For this, you need to train (teach) ASR PROGRAM. By which it will answer your questions by recognizing your voice and if you are given the command to do any work, then it will show working. Take an example, you will say "Open WhatsApp", then the mobile opens the WhatsApp by understanding the command given to you.

The best example of this technology is " Google Assistant " which is Google's application. SIRI is also an example of voice recognition technology software. This is Apple's application. You will find many software in the market which is run by Speech Recognition . The most used of this Voice Recognition Technology is in Bio matrices, Office , Medical. So let's now know how it works .. How Voice Recognition Technology Works

It is very important to know how it works. When you say something, on-screen-text (what you say will appear on mobile screen) or to convert it into a command, Voice Recogntion has to go through a lot of complex steps. Whenever you say something, a vibration is born. This Vibration is nothing else but this Analog Signal. ADC Translator is used to convert Mobile or Computer Analog waves into Digital. You must know this, understands Computer Digital Signal only.

ADC follows all these steps to convert Analog to Digital. Divide the Sounds into smaller Samples in a Particular Interval. Digitizes that sound. System Digitize Sounds Wave removes Unwanted Noise by filtering. Also normalize the sound and move the volume to the Constant Level. There is a need to Constant the level of Sound because not everyone pronounce in the same Speed. However, the Input Sound is easily matched with Sound already available in Sound System Memory.

After this, these Sounds are divided into small amounts and small isa means 1 second's fifth part or thousandth part. With which some of these letters can be easily identified such as P, B, T because it is easy for us to understand them, but if it is a very difficult task in the field of Computer and Smartphone. That is why it is devide in such small matters.

Now the last step is left, small notes of these sounds are matched with digital signal stored in the system. Just like the one that matches with the 'G' signal is G, O with O, D. With D. If these three are mixed then "God" will be created. If you talk about Google Assistant, then by speaking the word God, it shows the meaning of God. So now let's talk about the example of Voice Recognition Software. . Example of Voice Recognition Software

In this, we will talk about 1 special application which runs from the application " Voice Recognition Technology ".

Google Assistant

This is a people's favorite application. This Assistant has been developed by Google. It was announced at the Google I / O conference in May 2016. In this, you can do 2 way conversion, meaning you can talk with your friend the same way you can talk. And you can also operate your mobile without touching it.

Now a question may have come in your mind that what can this application do. So below are some Commands that you can use in Google Assistant. You will also get an answer immediately. Remember, first pressing the Home button in Mobile, use all the commands given below. Or use OK to speak Google.

Google Assistant Commands

what's the temperature: with this command you get the temperature and weather information for the day.

Show me the direction to Chandni Chowk :This command will show you the shortest route from your location to Chandni Chowk in Google Map. If you want, you can take another name instead of Chandni Chowk.

Wake up me at 4 am or Wake up me After 1 Hour : This sets the Command Alrarm and sets you the alarm at 4.00 am. You do not have the inability to do anything else.

Play Music : This is why you would like to listen to the song. Yes, this command is for you only. As soon as speaking "Play Music", songs started playing in mobile. If you want, you can also name the song after Play Music. paly Music kolawari d If you speak, this song will play in Google Music player.

Send a Text Message to Rahul : Through this command you can send anything to TEXT Message Rahul. You do not need to write a message, whatever you say, the name Message Rahul will go on the Contact Number. Here Rahul Udahran has been taken on par.

Whats The Square Root of ___ : This is Mathematical command. If you say a number after speaking this command, then Square Root Result will be generated for that number. If you want, you can use other command as well.

Open WhatsApp : This is a wonderful command, through which you can open any app by speaking. You can also speak Open Map, Open Facebook .

Make a Reminder : Sayed, you must have forgotten a lot, you might not even remember anything. So with this command you can save anything Reminder. You can see Reminder through Show me My Reminder.

Good Morning / Good Evening : This is a wonderful command of Google Assistant. When you say Good Morning, you will get all the details of the day in reply.

Show me my Emails : The emails that came in Gmail. Show them When you use all these Commands in your mobile, then you will understand how Voice Recognition works.

This is how Apple's Siri application works. Let us now know what the application is.

Applications of Speech RecognitionIt is gaining a lot of popularity in the fields of technology, let's know where else its application is. There is a lot of contribution to device control. Like by speaking Ok Google, you can control your mobile completely through Voice and you can give any command.

In this way, you can control your mobile through Bluetooth by connecting Call Receive, Music and Map with Voice Command. You do not need to touch mobile at all.

Voice Typing- You will know about Google Voice Typing, in which you can write anything by speaking. You can write a lot in a very short time. Voice Typing is also very speed and you can write without spelling Mistake.

Call Center- Whenever you call on a CUSTOMER Care number, then it speaks on there, give your message through Voice Command. This is also possible with this technology.

You must have heard the name of bio metrics- where this technology is used more on it. Voice is used for id verification in big software company. Time is ahead to know the history of this technology. So let's know.

History Of Voice Recognition Technology

1. 1950s to 1960s:

This was the period when Voice Recognition Technology was a small child which meant the time of harvest. At that time Voice Recognition worked only on Number and Digit. In 1952, a scientist named Audrey invented it at Bells Laboratory. But even this, only the number could understand.

2. 1960s to 1970s:

After this, in 1962, a company named Shoebox was developed again, this time the thing was something else, because of this number, now this technology was now beginning to understand English words as well. After some time, along with time, the ability to understand 9 consonant and Vowel also came.

3. 1970sUgh .

The S Defense department changed its thinking and increased its contribution to Speech Recognition Technology, from 1971 to 1976, he started a research program called DARPA SUR (Speech Understanding Research). The result of this program was quite good Carnegie Mellon developed Harpy. In which there was absence of understanding 1011 words. He created a system that could understand Logical Sentence. Due to the advancement in Bells Laboratory, it was so advanced in the 1970s that it was easy to understand the language of two persons.

4. 1980s:

This was the era of the Markov model, it was somewhat different, in which it used data to determine the unknown sound. In which there was no contribution of Speech Pattern or Fixed Template . This technology contributed well to Business Industries and Business Application.

With the help of this technology, a doll was created for the children in 1987. Whose name was Julie this doll was practiced in such a way that she could answer the remaining things. One problem in Surrey Voice recognition during the 80s was that you had to take a break after speaking something.

5. 1990s

The 1990s was the era of Microprocessor. Speech Recognition Software also started appearing in front of people. There was a company called Dragon. Release a software called 'Dragon Dictate' This was the world's first Voice Recognition Software. Common people could also use this software.

In 1997, while improving it, another software was developed called "Dragon Naturally Speaking" Software. In which there was absence of understanding 100 Sabbaths. BellSouth introduced Voice Activated Portal (VAL) and it had many mistakes.

6. 2000s

Till 2001, Google was on Voice Recognition technique, when Google killed Entry. Google invented the Google Voice Search Application for iPhone. Which, using the Data Center, used to answer the questions of the users by matching the data spoken by human to the data center which is the data.

You must have known that Google is very homogeneous. In 2010 Google released a Personalized Recognition application for Android. Through which Google started recording Voice Quries to create a good Speech Model. Due to this, a database of 230 Billion Words was created. Right now the name of the application is Google Assistant, about which I have already given you information.

This Personal Assistant is quite intelligent, it is also funny because you can also talk jokingly with it through Voice. Apple also, without delay, invents its Personal Assistant, which is named Siri. Hopefully, you must have felt good about history, now know about its advantages and disadvantages.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Voice Recognition

Just as every technology has its advantages and disadvantages, so too are this Voice Recognition Technology. I know if you are anxious to know this, then start with goodness.

Advantage

1. You can get your work done easily and in less time.

2. You need to touch the mobile to get you very little time or no time. You can do all the tasks by just speaking through Voice.

3. For a person who is physically Akhyam, he can do all his work by becoming very helpful and companion. Neither does he need to hold a mouse nor a keyboard. If you want to write some text, then it is possible through Voice Command.

4. Useful for those who have absolutely no hands.

5. You do not need to care for Grammatical Error and Spelling at all.

6. If we talk about Speed then it is quite fast. You cannot even think about which you will keep on speaking and will keep writing.

7. For students, this is a farce, nor do they need to type anything, just those who ask questions will get answers immediately.

Loss

1. As you have been told, Google records your voice. It may also be that your voice is put in a wrong job. 2. Understanding Voice is a little smiling at the time of onset. 3. Due to incorrect pronunciation, the input of word can also be taken wrong and whose output can also be wrong. 4. When the background is sound then the data starts to write less Accurate and upside down. 5. In a quiet place you will have to speak loudly, which can spread the peace. 6. Even if there is a change in your Tone, it is also a little easy to understand Speech. Contact us :https://lntechinfo.in/contacts/

#LNTECHINFO #RECOGNITION VOICE #VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEM

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asthalntechinfo · 3 years

Text

What is the Voice Recognition System and how does it work? || LN-TECHINFO

It was impossible to do all this at one time, but gradually when the Computer Scientist and Mathematician started working on this concept one day and night, there was a technology invention called Voice Recognition. Nowadays this technology is available in every mobile phone and computer.

What is the Voice Recognition System

Voice Recognition is also called Speech Recognition . It is a computer software program, it is also a hardware device that has the capability to understand Human Voice.

Speech Recognition is a technology that takes words spoken by Human like Input and converts those words into digital form, taking action over it.

How Voice Recognition Technology Works

Example of Voice Recognition Software

In this, we will talk about 1 special application which runs from the application " Voice Recognition Technology ".

Google Assistant

Google Assistant Commands

whats the temperature: with this command you get the temperature and weather information for the day

Show me the direction to Chandni Chowk : This command will show you the shortest route from your location to Chandni Chowk in Google Map. If you want, you can take another name instead of Chandni Chowk.

Wake up me at 4 am or Wake up me After 1 Hour : This sets the Command Alrarm and sets you the alarm at 4.00 am. You do not have the inability to do anything else.

Open WhatsApp : This is a wonderful command, through which you can open any app by speaking. You can also speak Open Map, Open Facebook .

Make a Reminder : Sayed, you must have forgotten a lot, you might not even remember anything. So with this command you can save anything Reminder. You can see Reminder through Show me My Reminder.

Good Morning / Good Evening : This is a wonderful command of Google Assistant. When you say Good Morning, you will get all the details of the day in reply.

Show me my Emails : The emails that came in Gmail. Show them When you use all these Commands in your mobile, then you will understand how Voice Recognition works.

This is how Apple's Siri application works. Let us now know what the application is.

Applications of Speech Recognition

It is gaining a lot of popularity in the fields of technology, let's know where else its application is. There is a lot of contribution to device control. Like by speaking Ok Google, you can control your mobile completely through Voice and you can give any command.

In this way, you can control your mobile through Bluetooth by connecting Call Receive, Music and Map with Voice Command. You do not need to touch mobile at all.

Call Center- Whenever you call on a CUSTOMER Care number, then it speaks on there, give your message through Voice Command. This is also possible with this technology.

History Of Voice Recognition Technology1. 1950s to 1960s

2. 1960s to 1970s

3. 1970s

Ugh . The S Defense department changed its thinking and increased its contribution to Speech Recognition Technology, from 1971 to 1976, he started a research program called DARPA SUR (Speech Understanding Research). The result of this program was quite good Carnegie Mellon developed Harpy. In which there was absence of understanding 1011 words. He created a system that could understand Logical Sentence. Due to the advancement in Bells Laboratory, it was so advanced in the 1970s that it was easy to understand the language of two persons.

4. 1980s

5. 1990s

6. 2000s

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Voice Recognition

Just as every technology has its advantages and disadvantages, so too are this Voice Recognition Technology. I know if you are anxious to know this, then start with goodness.

Advantage

You can get your work done easily and in less time.

You need to touch the mobile to get you very little time or no time. You can do all the tasks by just speaking through Voice.

For a person who is physically Akhyam, he can do all his work by becoming very helpful and companion. Neither does he need to hold a mouse nor a keyboard. If you want to write some text, then it is possible through Voice Command.

Useful for those who have absolutely no hands.

You do not need to care for Grammatical Error and Spelling at all.

If we talk about Speed then it is quite fast. You cannot even think about which you will keep on speaking and will keep writing.

For students, this is a farce, nor do they need to type anything, just those who ask questions will get answers immediately.

Loss

As you have been told, Google records your voice. It may also be that your voice is put in a wrong job.

Understanding Voice is a little smiling at the time of onset.

Due to incorrect pronunciation, the input of word can also be taken wrong and whose output can also be wrong.

When the background is sound then the data starts to write less Accurate and upside down.

In a quiet place you will have to speak loudly, which can spread the peace.

Even if there is a change in your Tone, it is also a little easy to understand Speech.

#lntechinfo LNTECHINO

0 notes

randomthingsthatilike1 · 7 years

Text

Was talking with @tomas-abe about this--have you ever thought of a supergirl leverage au?

Honestly, I’ve talked so much about how Kara isn’t a horrible liar—she’s a phenomenal liar. She makes everyone think she’s a bumbling, harmless, ordinary, average human—her kindness isn’t a lie, but as we’ve seen with RedK—it is a choice. And we’ve seen her with Clark— “you really have the clumsy thing down.” But for Clark that was real. For Kara, it’s an act. She’s the heir to a house renowned throughout the galaxy for its scientists—and she was about to become the youngest person in Krypton’s history to enter the science guild. But she was told over and over and over to be ordinary, average, unremarkable—to hide herself, hide anything that marks her as alien. She’s a genius in a room full of preschoolers who are just now learning concepts that she’s understood since before she could walk—of course she’s bored with earth science.

Supergirl isn’t a lie, but it’s not quite the truth either—and neither is Kara Danvers. Both are part of her, but at the same time they’re both personas that she embodies and can step into almost at the drop of a hat—they are constructed and built. And yes, when outright confronted, she is a horrible bluff—she can’t do it. But almost everyone forgets or glosses over how much pain Kara must always be in, the anger she carries inside of her of being the very last, of being sent away, of being alone. They forget that she is not simply a human with powers but forever and always Kryptonian with powers—like how everyone thinks of Clark, like we’ve seen in Myriad how even Clark thinks of himself, Kara never thinks of herself as human. She has a different language and values and culture and religion and she fools everyone into thinking that she’s just like them(for more about this, here’s the post I made that’s a lot more comprehensive). That isn’t Kara’s stage. This kind of complicated and woven falsehood is her stage. Sound like anyone?

Kara would totally be a grifter. Especially a Kara who wasn’t found by Clark, who wasn’t found by the Danvers—this is Kara without a purpose, who sees her cousin flying over Metropolis with the house of El’s Crest on his chest and doesn’t need her. She has nothing to live for—so she wanders, constantly pretending to be someone else and she gets good at it. She has a soft spot for swindling people who violate environmental laws because it’s easier—and never goes after anyone who doesn’t deserve it. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily legal. She’s also got a soft spot for art—it’s marvelous, in a way even Krypton never was. And grifting is something that makes her feel alive, covering up for just a little bit the gaping hole in her heart where Krypton used to be. And really, she doesn’t have very many ties, or attachments—she travels light, easily able to switch identities and leave at the drop of a hat. There’s this undercurrent of sadness in all of her identities, even with the happiest of her personas—which just makes her a mystery and all the more magnetic to the people she’s trying to con—she’s able to seem so damn genuine and sincere it’s addicting.

Not to mention someone who can easily see everyone’s tells because of advance senses, hear their heartbeat and see infinitesimal twitches and expressions that pass in a millisecond—she didn’t visibly use her powers as Cat’s assistant, but she still kept the job for 2 years before using super speed or strength—and that was because of how well she could read Cat, who went through probably hundreds of assistants before finding Kara. That would be essential for a grifter. Plus, we know that she learned English in less than a week. An entire language in just a handful of days—being able to learn regional dialect and adopt accents and

She goes by so many aliases, trying to run away from the memory of krypton. But her current alias? Kiera. Kiera Deveraux.

Kara woke up alone on Earth and saw her no longer baby cousin with their family crest on his chest doing perfectly fine—he’s grown, he doesn’t need her. How would he even know about Kara in the first place, or any of it? Kara’s been doing this since she was 13, and now she’s probably 30 something, maybe 32. We’ve had Clark even say—Kryptonians age very slowly. She still looks like she’s in her early 20’s. She doesn’t seem to age maybe that makes her even more legendary but she likes to use make up to make her look older because that truly fucks with people, although she never goes after bad people.

One thing that is truly different from Krypton, and not in a bad way, or a lesser way, is the way humans create art—she loves art. And it’s something that she bonds over with their thief.

As for who’s Nate, the alcoholic whose young son died because of corporate greed, the mastermind who thinks of every contingency and almost obsessively observes and analyzes? Why, that’s none other than Cat Grant. Cat Grant

Cat, who was a war correspondent for the Daily Planet but god that was so much danger, maybe too much when she finds out she’s pregnant with Carter—she wanted a break from them and she made a split-second decision. She’s still planning on creating CatCo, but that takes money. And she’s not asking her mother for it. Journalism doesn’t pay all that much frankly—and she gets a commission off of the things that she recovers.

But she spends every single cent she saved up for CatCo paying for medical bills for her son. She has so many regrets in her life—this isn’t one of them.

She hasn’t talked to her ex in months—M’gann as Maggie, much more adjusted, still hurting but not self-destructing and spiraling like Cat is. They met when Cat was pregnant, Carter the result of an impulsive and kind of crappy one-night stand that she has no desire to track down. This is a Cat who knows about aliens maybe, a bit more discreet. Except—M’gann maybe isn’t the most-adjusted because hospital bills are expensive, and Carter may not be biologically hers but he was still her son too and she would have done anything to help pay for those medical bills—including illegal and shady alien fight rings to help pay for medical bills, almost killing herself in the process. The week Carter died M’gann could barely even walk.

It’s why Cat never told M’gann about the experimental treatment she found. There was nothing her wife could have done.

By the time the series starts she’s definitely drinking her life away, and divorced from her ex.

So—I’m guessing it’s not much of a surprise to say that Alex is the hitter. This is Alex without growing up as Kara’s little sister, without losing her father. Without the pressure of being an older sibling to a special needs child being raised by a single mother—without the worry that if Kara was found to be special needs she would die, because if anyone other than the DEO (and trust me, intelligence agencies are notorious for being petty and not sharing information. They probably keep it to themselves) finds out about Kara she will be taken apart molecule by molecule. This is an Eliza who has Jeremiah to temper her, and a hell of a lot less stress. Alex probably has the most stable childhood and came out of it with minimal scarring.

Sure, maybe the DEO came knocking but this is the Danvers family with nothing to lose—they could threaten Alex, but the Danvers can threaten to expose the DEO. In canon, it would be mutually assured destruction with the Danvers exposing the DEO and the DEO likewise exposing Kara. Not the case here. Once the DEO came sniffing Jeremiah and Eliza enrolled Alex in a shit ton of martial arts class. And just remember, Alex was a surfer—her balance is phenomenal to start with. She has years of training in childhood to get a leg up, and she gets into competitions in college—Alex is always competitive, always a need to strive and be the best, especially since she lives a childhood without Kara. She hasn’t found out quite yet that there are more important things than being the star.

This is Alex without intense depression, guilt, anxiety, and massive responsibility on her shoulders—Alex parties sure, but not a supreme or unhealthy amount. She’s able to finish her post grad studies and med school almost faster than the time that it takes for people to get their undergrad degree, her parents supporting her decisions and hoping their daughter follows in their footsteps. But it’s not quite that simple.

Intelligence agencies frequently recruit from elite colleges. Alex changed so much when she made the decision to be Kara's protector—she’s a different person, one who maybe feels a bit purposeless, and wants to serve. It definitely causes a wedge between her and her parents. They don’t want that life for her, they want her to become a doctor and a scientist and to be safe. But Alex has never wanted to be safe, just extraordinary. It causes a falling out between them. She definitely is a field agent, and probably did some pretty shifty things. And then went to work for Damien Moreau.

Wow, did that get fucked up. She becomes the retrieval specialist/hitter.

In every world, it is Kara who brings out Alex Danvers' protective spirit. Even this version of Kara who is warier and a little less openly heroic—she sees danger or someone getting hurt around her and of course she helps, but not in the same flashy way as before. Alex looks at her and thinks "this dork needs to be protected." And in every universe Alex becomes protective of Kara, and at first it’s because Kara is so damn seemingly hesitant and gentle and clumsy, and doesn't know it's bc Kara is always trying not to hurt someone

But God later, later it's so Kara will never accidentally kill someone and then, when she finds out that Kara is this way because of her super strength, she becomes all the more protective when she finds out it’s because Kara doesn’t want to accidentally kill someone. When she learns the truth it actually makes Alex want to protect her even more. But like, emotionally. Like "this gentle thoughtful alien has to worry about being gentle always so you better not startle her you asshole"

But surprisingly out of all of them Alex probably has the least traumatizing childhood tbh. Post childhood is a different story. all that shit, she has a skillset already. Instead of acting, she’s terrorizing undergrads as a professor—she does have a PhD. She’s not Elliot, she doesn’t need food and something useful to do with her knives like he does. She has an MD and can practice medicine but she never really did a residency anywhere—plenty of field experience though. She’s been trying to the whole teaching thing for like the past year.

And when they all get together for their first job, and even after it all goes sideways Kara still doesn't really trust these people so no way was she revealing that she could probably be more effective than most hitters. So when Cat gets the crew to stay together she's like “this can be dangerous so I'm getting us a hitter,” Kara stays silent. Cat and Alex knew each other for a long time when cat was finishing her time as a war correspondent Alex was just getting her start. You know how they find Sophie at a theater? They find Alex at a lab, since she wasn't hired for that con they didn’t get a hitter they got a grifter instead—Kara.

Nate and Sophie knew each other ahead of time, but in this story? It’s Alex and Cat. Kara isn’t Sophie, she wouldn’t try and walk on the straight and narrow by being an actor—that’s not what she wants. But Alex? Alex has a PhD. Alex has been trying to teach college kids for the past year as a professor, but before that, on her very first job? Involved a run in with a certain war correspondent—Cat Grant. They kept in touch and now the gang needs a hitter unrelated to them and oh Cat has the perfect candidate.

Also, if in every universe Kara brings out Alex's protective side? in every universe, Kara would expose herself for Alex and save her plane from crashing. There was that time the plane blew up, and maybe they couldn’t stop it—Kara isn’t going to let everyone she cares about die. Not again. She reveals herself for the first time since she landed on Earth—and that’s when things start to get interesting.

And next: their thief: the one and only Lucy Lane. Her mom signs her up for both dance (primarily ballet--but really the type of dance can change depending on what’s close to the base they’re on and which dance classes the country they’re in offers)—and gymnastics from a young age. We’ve heard plenty of General Sam Lane, and we know that he’s both Lucy’s father and Lois’s—along with the fact that Lois and Lucy have an age difference, and they’re not close. But what we know absolutely nothing about? Lucy’s mother. Because I kind of hc that Lucy spent a lot of time abroad going from base to base growing up. And maybe something happening to her mother, also when she was young. Now, there’s just one question: what happened to her?

So. There are a few options. Maybe she was sick. Maybe one of her dad’s enemies happened—either one he made domestically, or internationally. You don’t get to be a general without coming out enemy free. Especially from someone like Sam Lane. This is a man who has absolutely no compunction about torturing someone, who’s xenophobic as fuck and we’ve seen with James is pretty damn racist as well (and most likely homophobic tbh)—and Jenna Dewan Tatum is Lebanese. So I def hc Lucy as Lebanese, and Lois has a different mother (and yeah, you can totally be racist if you’re married to someone who isn’t white). He very well could have done something to Lucy’s mother. Or maybe even she just left—it’s not easy being Sam Lane’s wife.

If it was her dad's fault there's a very good chance he goes weeks without talking to her and maybe that’s the first time she stole. It’s been 3 weeks forgot to leave little Lucy money for takeout or groceries and she’s all by herself, recently moved to a new country so no one knows her, Lois gone, she doesn't know how to talk to her sister, and this is before cell phones and she definitely doesn’t have an email, and esp w international communication there's no skype. In one universe she decides against it, collapses on the floor where her father finds her and has a massive freak out, internally promising to change his behavior and stop neglecting his daughter so much but in this one? This one she goes out and steals for the first time gets a taste for it.

It helps that there are so many asshole men in the military, there was that line about not wanting to work for old white men. As an adult, she doesn’t steal from anyone who can afford it, but as a kid she’s mostly just trying to get by with a neglectful father, picking victims at random but going for the ones who at least dress like they won’t miss the wallet too much. But maybe, when they’re back in the States for the first time in years, Lucy steals from the wrong person—and Archie does exist in this world as well. He takes her in, but not really--the same thing he does to Parker. He teaches Lucy, and she gets good fast.

Lucy’s 14, 15 when she leaves her father for good. It’s not the first time she runs away but it’s the first time she doesn’t come back, or the first time Sam can’t find her again. Because he’s now General Sam Lane, he has subordinates who would go and find her but this is when they're back in the US and they’re a bit more limited now. One day she just packs up a few things that she doesn’t want to leave behind and poof. Disappears. She’s not quite a master thief but damn she’s getting there. She kept up with ballet and gymnastics, Sam thinking that it would be good structure but jokes on him.

So much of the art Lucy steals was either created by old white men, or stolen by old white men. She later doesn’t feel bad about taking it. This is a Lucy who was always on her own, with so many questions, traveling from place to place and never really made friends so she doesn’t quite get people, not really.

So that just leaves the hacker: Lena. Her background would still be the same, adopted at 4, hated by Lillian, Lex a good big brother and loving and welcoming. And maybe Lena’s 12, maybe she was being teased a bit at her fancy boarding school for being too smart and pudgy and has really bad acne that won’t go away no matter how much Lillian pays dermatologists and Lillian wants her to wear contacts but she has glasses she really likes and is very publicly known to be adopted and is not at all heterosexual and is surrounded by pretty girls at school all the time, the poor baby gay.

Basically, the absolute worst things to be in middle school all in one girl. and Lex, her still darling older brother who loves his sister more than anything, tells her that she just needs to figure out how to be cool and is like you know what's cool? Motorcycles. He makes his baby sister be in full protection, but he’s just in his usual suit, not wearing even a helmet.

Lena was behind the wheel, Lex letting her drive and is right behind her. There was a crash and Lex insisted that Lena wear a helmet, but he didn’t. And Lena wakes up in the hospital, arm broken, a concussion, and her brother dead. Can you imagine how much Lillian would be on the warpath? She knows that Lillian doesn’t like her but this time she sincerely worries that Lillian will kill her for this. She’s sometimes worried about her safety but not really her life—not until now. So. She runs. Lena goes by her birth mother’s last name, not Luthor—that’s far too distinctive.

She gathers as much cash as she can. It’s not immediately, of course. It��s over a few weeks. She continually takes out slightly over average for the Luthor’s weekly allowed amount of money from her account, not too distinctive but paying in cash stops a lot of questions from ever being asked.

She’s definitely the youngest out of the bunch. But Lex taught her more than how to ride a motorcycle, he also taught her to hack until she was just as good as he was—maybe even better. That’s when she disappears. She's a kid but she knows how to hack her way into leaving hotel reservations and accounts--leaves a back door into Luthorcorp if she ever needs it. But she never uses it.

She doesn’t want to be traced or found, doesn’t want to be reminded of Lex, of what she fucked up. Lex was the golden boy who was saving the world, everyone loved Lex, Lena most of all. This isn’t the Lex who tried to kill her. Some signs of mental issues there, like not wearing any protection riding a motorcycle but nothing like trying to kill his baby sister, or xenophobia.

And damn, this is a world without Lex Luthor. Without his influence, or quite a few of his inventions, or any of his xenophobia but with so much more of Lillian’s hate and rage.

And God, she’s season one Parker level of uncomfortable when grifting. She can channel who she was expected to be as a Luthor, but that’s kind of the extent that she can do. She spent so much time alone, and she’s already awkward, to say the least, before her brother’s death. Lex was one of, if not the only, person who understood her.

Lena grew up a Luthor, and then was a hacker. She probably spent a lot of time in hotels, especially since she ran away so young, she tried her very best to avoid people but she knows how to look like she fits in to those fancy hotels thanks to years with the Luthors, she doesn’t look like a runaway but god she’s so bad with people, she tries avoiding them as much as possible and she’s so awkward looking as a kid and a teenager and it’s just when she meets the Leverage crew is she finally starting to grow into her looks—she’s not used to being hot tbh.

Also I’ve wondered, especially in later seasons, how the leverage gang got so many clients because even just word of mouth like they go all over the country and even the world—we saw that ep w Parker’s torn ACL that they go to Japan, and in the ep with the boy’s heart they were coming back from a con. There may very well be someone doing referrals. And that person here? Is Diana of Themyscira, art museum curator. After all, the leverage gang acquires so much art, they send it somewhere. And they trust Diana

It’s not just Diana, and it is a lot of word of mouth, but they probably have someone in a law office or courthouse or something who sends along cases/failed lawsuits and with Maggie? She’s always gonna be in the criminal justice system, but what if instead of a cop she became a lawyer? She sees the system fail people over and over and somehow hears about Leverage Team and starts sending people to them. And like, Maggie as a lawyer can still be kind of a daredevil! She's that lawyer that picks up hopeless cases and fights against big powerful people at the stand—think of season 1 of arrow Laurel Lance. Team Leverage has to rescue her from kidnappings and thugs sent to beat her up relatively often (except Maggie Sawyer knows how to defend herself thank you very much so they sometimes just have to do some clean-up or Lena some hacking to get back at the people threatening their friend)

And then there’s James and Winn—hello the show’s version of McSweeten and Taggert. So to start: James. Not every single major event in someone’s lives needs to be because of a world shattering story, like a sister who falls from the sky. Maybe it could be something simple, something you don’t even think about. there was a delay the day James was in metropolis, before he took that photo of Superman. Maybe there was a simple flat tire keeping him home-bound, or he stayed after a class to talk to a professor. Because that photo might be what got him a job at the Daily Planet and definitely a Pulitzer. Canon James described himself as just a kid with a camera, and let’s say Clark is like what, 22 when he debuted? Let’s make James about 4 years younger—around 18.

James double majored in both Peace and Justice alongside Photography, sold that photo of Superman for an absolute king’s ransom, and he drops out of school to be a full-time photographer. But that doesn’t happen here. Being good at looking at a scene and observing every single thing that happens is still a p good skill for an FBI agent honestly? could be something inconsequential. “An eye for detail" is what his instructor says when he's up for promotion into full-fledged agent. He’s always wanted to help people, be a guardian for others. This is how he does it. Knowing what to photograph for evidence, maybe how to case a place, or even as a cover? is a pretty good skillset for an FBI agent to have frankly.

And then there’s Winn. Consider this: if Cat doesn’t establish CatCo, then Winn wouldn’t work there. Winn is the son of the Toymaker, a child murderer. Winn wants absolutely nothing to do with his father, publicly renounces him and hasn’t ever visited him before. He joins the FBI hoping he can use the skills his father taught him to do good and to keep him on the straight and narrow and stop him from ever becoming like him. Maybe starts as a forensic computer analyst and works his way up.

This is the only pairing that I’ve decided on but James and Winn definitely get together and poor James, he’s been flirting with Winn for so long and Winn just doesn’t notice.

They’re a rag tag group of people, and the only ones of the 5 that go by their real last name are Alex and Cat. Lena doesn’t want the Luthors to find her, and Lucy doesn’t want her Lois or the General to find her—she barely remembers Lois, and what she does remember is someone who never really cared about her. And Kara wears personas like a wardrobe—she’s never told anyone her name before.

The four of them are all brought together for one con—but the con’s on them, although not for long. Mon-El (who’s human in this—guess what I do make the rules) really shouldn’t have tried to use Cat’s son. He doesn’t even know what hit him.

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bisoroblog · 6 years

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How to Boost Math Skills in the Early Grades

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

BERWYN, Ill. — In the last decade, educators have focused on boosting literacy skills among low-income kids in the hope that all children will read well by third grade. But the early-grade math skills of these same low-income children have not received equal attention. Researchers say many high-poverty kindergarten classrooms don’t teach enough math and the few lessons on the subject are often too basic. While instruction may challenge kids with no previous exposure to math, it is often not engaging enough for the growing number of kindergarteners with some math skills.

During the last school year, only 40 percent of fourth-graders nationwide scored at a proficient level in a nationwide math assessment. Even more alarming, just 26 percent of Hispanic students and 19 percent of African-American children tested proficient in fourth-grade math. That is significant because strong math skills are needed for some of the fastest growing jobs of the next decade and are requirements for many of the highest paying jobs. Understanding and being able to work with numbers “is a fundamental skill for success in almost any occupation you might choose,” said economist Greg J. Duncan of the University of California Irvine’s School of Education, whose research examines child poverty and education. “It leads to the analytic, higher-level thinking that’s increasingly important.”

One district that is steadily ratcheting up its achievement levels, with a focus this year on mathematics, is located in a small Chicago suburb. Two years ago, just 14 percent of third-graders in Berwyn North School District 98 — a high-poverty, mostly Hispanic school district about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago — were able to do grade-level math. That was the district’s first year taking the PARCC assessment, a college- and career-readiness test mandated by the state of Illinois, and the results were dismal, though not exactly surprising. “When we started here in 2012, our district was the lowest performing in math and reading of all the schools that feed into Morton West High School,” said Carmen Ayala, Berwyn North School District 98’s superintendent.

Ayala, the district’s first woman and first Latina in the top spot, rolled up her sleeves. “Turning this around isn’t something you can do during a couple of workshops,” said Ayala. “For us, the focus had to be on equity because our district is 96 percent children of color, but 90 percent of our teaching staff is white. It’s not just about teachers teaching. It’s how we recruit, how we use resources, how we conduct business in the district.”

Although Illinois adopted Common Core standards in 2010, Berwyn North, a kindergarten through eighth-grade district with 3,084 students, had not yet incorporated the standards when Ayala and her new assistant superintendent, Amy Zaher, were hired in 2012. “When I started, the consistent word was how inconsistent we were,” said Ayala.

Ayala and Zaher created a set of goals for fixing Berwyn North that included an entirely new, district-wide Common Core standards-based curriculum that aligned through each grade, fixing the district’s special education inclusion program, upgrading programs for English learners and better integrating technology into schools and classrooms.

These goals still guide the district today. “We’ve become laser-focused on these areas in order to really bring up the achievement levels,” said Ayala.

In a district where almost 30 percent of the students are learning English, these goals have meant a radical change in how math is taught in the early grades. Ayala said that before she took over, math lessons were basically one-size-fits-all, making it especially difficult for kids learning English to absorb what was being taught. “We needed to change how we’re teaching math, especially for our English-learners, so that we were paying attention to language development and communication skills — how our teachers are helping our students express themselves and connect their experiences with what they were learning,” said Ayala.

This connected closely to the common core mandate that children learn to discuss their thinking about math problems, and to approach problem-solving in a variety of ways, rather than simply producing the correct answer. One way the district is applying this standard is via “number talks,” a math practice that encourages students to discuss and critique math solutions, helping kids develop into flexible and creative mathematical thinkers.

On a recent spring day, Maritza Cleary’s third-grade class at the district’s Prairie Oak Elementary School tackled math pictographs. Children sat together in small groups at tables and on the floor with large sheets of paper and markers spread out between them. Cleary was not the only adult in the room: Four adults — teachers and administrators from the district there to observe Prairie Oak teachers at work — meandered between the groups, scrawling notes onto clipboards, sometimes kneeling beside the children to listen as they worked out the problem.

A pictograph query, a way of showing information using images, was projected onto a whiteboard at the front of the class:

“Mrs. Cleary is having a last-day-of-school ice cream party for her third grade class. She did a survey to find out what flavor each student preferred. There were 10 votes for chocolate, eight votes for vanilla, four votes for strawberry, and three votes for coconut. Use the information from the survey to create a pictograph that shows the preferred ice cream flavors. Create an ice cream symbol for your pictograph that represents two students.”

Students quietly discussed possible solutions, and sketched out ideas on small dry-erase boards before drawing their solutions on the poster-size sheets of paper. Cleary pulled a chair close to a group, listening intently as her students debated the ideal ice cream cone data layout strategy — an opportunity to flex their math skills and, in the process, become stronger communicators and mathematicians.

Shortly after this classroom visit, 30 teachers and administrators who had spent the day visiting the school’s classrooms — including the four adults who observed Cleary’s class — sipped coffee and nibbled pastries in a windowless conference room in the basement of the school. It was the second and final instructional round of the school year at Prairie Oak (the first was last fall). Instructional rounds, modeled after medical rounds, are an opportunity for educators to observe classroom instruction, and then address problems together in an effort to improve their teaching. This year, the district’s instructional rounds focused on the quality and depth of math instruction.

At this Prairie Oak session, educators looked for improvements on math-related issues identified last fall during the school’s first instructional round. Were teachers working more closely with instructional coaches? Were lessons rigorous enough? Was classroom management stronger? Were students willing to take risks? In a post-rounds wrap-up session, teachers and administrators discussed positive growth, including greater student participation and more productive math talks between students. The group also noted areas requiring improvement: Teachers needed to use classroom wall space to better promote mathematical thinking, for example, and they needed to step back more frequently to allow students to work out their own creative solutions.

Instructional rounds, first brought to the district by Assistant Superintendent Zaher, who learned the practice at her previous job as a Chicago Public Schools administrator, are clearly an effort to unite a formerly disjointed, low-achieving school district around a common vision — 100 percent of students meeting high academic standards — and, importantly, to adopt a cohesive curriculum, connected grade-to-grade and school-to-school.

That push for a common, connected curriculum also includes what happens before, and during, kindergarten. Until recently, researchers believed that instilling strong foundational math skills before children enter kindergarten was the best predictor of success in school and life. For those children who missed out on a quality preschool experience, especially poor children of color, catching up in the elementary years was considered unlikely. Today, this thinking is evolving, putting into question just how permanent the advantage may be for children who benefit from rich math curriculums in high-quality preschools. The reason: The early-math boost tends to fade out once children enter elementary school classrooms where teachers often focus on helping students who did not benefit from preschool prep, neglecting to teach more advanced skills to the advanced learners.

Last year, 43 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Guam, poured $7.6 billion into publicly funded preschool. In the past few years, researchers have begun exploring how to take advantage of that powerful preschool bump, especially in math, while also ensuring students who didn’t go to preschool could catch up. One of the biggest roadblocks, experts say, is the disconnect between preschool and elementary school math curriculums.

UC Irvine’s Duncan, co-author of a seminal study linking early math and reading skills with later academic success, noted that recent research using strong math curriculums in preschool or Head Start programs showed it is possible to level the math-skills playing field among low-income and middle-class children in the early grades.

The weak spot occurs once kids enter elementary school and kindergarten teachers become absorbed with teaching students who don’t yet know their numbers. “There’s really not much point [to high-quality preschool] if we don’t work on this task of aligning kindergarten and first-grade classrooms — setting them up to take advantage of the skills built up in the preschool year,” said Duncan. “If most children benefit from preschool or Head Start before heading to [a] kindergarten where teachers are skilled, and coached and supported to build on those gains, then you’ve got a situation for low-income kids that’s on par with middle- or upper-middle-class kids who come into kindergarten knowing their letters and numbers and teachers just take off from there.”

Another neglected area contributing to the national math achievement gap, is the lack of math emphasis at home. “Parents focus on reading to their child much more than they do on math skills. We’ve not been very successful so far in convincing parents — as we have with reading — to ‘count with your child’, ” noted Deborah Stipek of the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

In Berwyn North District 98, math scores are steadily creeping upward. Last year, 33 percent of Hispanic third-graders met or exceeded math grade-level expectations on the PARCC test — nearly double the percentage from 2015. Berwyn North recently turned another stat on its head: Of the four districts that feed into the local high school, Berwyn went from dead-last to leading the pack in both math and reading achievement.

This story about early math instruction is part of a series about innovative practices in the core subjects in the early grades. Read about reading, science and social studies. It was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

How to Boost Math Skills in the Early Grades published first on https://dlbusinessnow.tumblr.com/

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perfectzablog · 6 years

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How to Boost Math Skills in the Early Grades

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

These goals still guide the district today. “We’ve become laser-focused on these areas in order to really bring up the achievement levels,” said Ayala.

A pictograph query, a way of showing information using images, was projected onto a whiteboard at the front of the class:

How to Boost Math Skills in the Early Grades published first on https://greatpricecourse.tumblr.com/

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afishwithfeathers · 7 years

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Good Times and Noodle Salad

This is not a comedy piece. This is a paper I wrote while I was at USC film school. The assignment was to compare and contrast a film with another work of art that was not a film. I chose to write about "As Good As It Gets" and the stage musical "Avenue Q." Enjoy. And thanks for reading.

“What if this is as good as it gets?” - Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) in “As Good As It Gets.” “Everyone’s a little bit unsatisfied… Everyone goes ‘round a little, empty inside.” - Cast of “Avenue Q” from the song “For Now.” BACKGROUND. “As Good As It Gets,” a feature film, opened in theatres on Christmas Day, 1997. It was written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks, and directed by Mr. Brooks. It stars Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear. The film was the third highest grossing film of all films released in 1997. It currently has a score of 85% favorable on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Mr. Nicholson and Ms. Hunt won Academy Awards for their work. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and Screenplay. “Avenue Q,” a stage musical, opened off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre on March 20, 2003, where it ran for seven weeks. The songs were written by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and the book was written by Jeff Whitty. The show then transferred to the Golden Theatre on Broadway. It won the Tony for Best Musical, beating out the popular favorite “Wicked.” After a highly successful six year run on Broadway, the show returned to off-Broadway, to the New World Stages theatre, where it performs to this day. THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE YOUR APARTMENT. At first glance, “As Good As It Gets” and “Avenue Q” may not seem like obvious companion pieces. The first is an A-list film comedy made by multiple Oscar winners. The second is a stage musical featuring puppets in a twisted parody of “Sesame Street.” Yet both deal with the struggles New Yorkers face every day. These include loneliness, crime, economic uncertainty, dissatisfying jobs and the distinct sense of alienation that comes from living in a large city. Neither story shies away from showing the dark side of city life. And yet, both stories remain, each in its way, optimistic about the future and open to the possibility of finding joy in everyday existence.

SUCKS TO BE ME. In the opening number of “Avenue Q,” Princeton, a recent college graduate laments his lack of job prospects in the song “What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?” (Princeton’s specific college major is never stated, but since later in the show he demonstrates a desire to write a stage show, one can safely conclude he was a creative writing or playwriting major.) The character of Simon, a painter featured in “As Good As It Gets” could be a spiritual cousin to Princeton. They are both sensitive and creative but unsuccessful young men living alone in New York. They are fairly normal guys surrounded by far more colorful neighbors. They’re both emotionally overwhelmed by their inabilities to pay their bills. And both are characterized by a profound longing for greater meaning in their lives. As the opening scene in “Avenue Q” continues, more characters appear, joining in the conversation. They argue (in song) as a group over whose life “sucks more.” They all plead (effective) cases that their lives are full of disappointments, unmet needs and overwhelming problems. In a similar scene late in “As Good As It Gets,” the characters discuss their backgrounds and how past disappointments helped to shape their worldviews. Simon talks about how his father rejected him as a teenager, because of his homosexuality. His new friend Carol responds, and Carol’s would-be boyfriend Melvin weighs in as well. CAROL You’ve got to get past it all when it comes to your parents. We all have these horror stories to get over- MELVIN That’s not true. Some of us have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes with boats and friends and noodle salad. Just not anybody in this car. But lots of people, that’s their story. Good times. Noodle salad. And that’s what makes it hard. Not that you had it bad but being pissed that so many had it good. THE MORE YOU LOVE SOMEONE THE MORE YOU WANT TO KILL THEM “As Good As It Gets” is primarily the story of Melvin Udall, an obsessive-compulsive writer who lives alone and cares nothing for the problems of other people. He eats his lunch alone every day at the same neighborhood restaurant, waited on by Carol Connelly, the only waitress who can tolerate him. When Carol quits her job to be closer to her ill son, Melvin decides to pay for the boy’s medical expenses. This will allow Carol to continue to be his waitress. Melvin’s act of kindness leads to others, and in time he becomes a more caring person. A sort of connection is formed between Melvin and Carol, gradually evolving into a kind of romance, albeit one where Carol’s patience is continually tested by Melvin’s emotional problems and limitations. At one low point late in the film, Carol finds herself voicing her own frustration to Melvin, when her mother Beverly suddenly appears, joining in the conversation. CAROL Why can’t I have a normal boyfriend? Why?... Just a regular boyfriend who doesn’t go nuts on me. BEVERLY (suddenly appearing) Everybody wants that, dear. It doesn’t exist.

Carol’s dissatisfaction with her love life is similar to the dissatisfaction felt by Kate Monster in “Avenue Q.” Both are attractive, pleasant young women, hopeful that they will find love and impatient with male selfishness. Kate enters into a relationship with Princeton. After an awkward first date and a passionate night of sex, Princeton withdraws, afraid of committing himself. Like Carol, Kate Monster opens up about her love life to an older, presumably wiser woman, in this case, would-be therapist Christmas Eve. (Please note that English is not Asian-American Christmas Eve’s first language.) KATE MONSTER Why can't people get along and love each other, Christmas Eve? CHRISTMAS EVE You think getting along same as loving? Sometimes love right where you hating most, Kate Monster. The two sing a duet. CHRISTMAS EVE The more you love someone the more he make you crazy. The more you love someone the more you wishing him dead! Sometime you look at him and only see fat and lazy. And wanting baseball bat for hitting him on his head! Love... KATE MONSTER Love... CHRISTMAS EVE And hate... KATE MONSTER And hate... CHRISTMAS EVE They like two brothers... KATE MONSTER Brothers... CHRISTMAS EVE Who go on a date. KATE MONSTER Who... what?! CHRISTMAS EVE Where one of them goes, other one follows. You inviting love he also bringing sorrows. As the song continues, Christmas Eve explains how she finds a balance between her love and her frustration. As quoted above, when Christmas Eve looks at her unemployed and overweight husband Brian, she sometimes “only see fat and lazy.” But by the end of the song, she sides with love, which, for her, is the more dominant emotion. CHRISTMAS EVE So if there someone you are wanting so to kill 'em, you go and find him, and you get him, and you NO kill him, cause chances good... CHRISTMAS EVE AND KATE He is your love. In this respect, Christmas Eve is like Simon in “As Good As It Gets.” Early in the film, Simon explains his approach to creating art to his new model. “If you look at someone long enough, you discover their humanity.” It might be said that this is the experience the audience is intended to have while watching the film and getting to know Melvin. (This comment, made early in the film serves as a perhaps too neat summing up of the film as a whole.)

PURPOSE. IT’S THAT LITTLE FLAME THAT LIGHTS A FIRE UNDER YOUR ASS Both stories feature creative young men suffering from emotional paralysis. Simon has lost the will to paint (and live) after a mugging leaves his physically and emotionally damaged. Princeton struggles to find his “purpose” in life. He refuses to allow his existence to be defined by boring office jobs and dissatisfying relationships. Both of these artistic men eventually find transcendence and salvation through their creative work. In “Avenue Q,” at the beginning of act two, the characters try to cheer Princeton up by taking him out of his apartment and going on a fun trip around the city. Similarly, in “As Good As It Gets,” Carol and Melvin take the depressed Simon on a road trip to Baltimore. While staying at the hotel, Simon accidentally observes Carol’s naked body, and bewitched by her beauty, he begins to draw again. The experience invigorates him, and he finds himself able to face the future with newfound optimism. (In the film, Simon’s creative and emotional breakthrough is symbolized, perhaps too blatantly, by having him happily break off his arm cast so that he can draw more effectively.) Like Simon, Princeton in “Avenue Q” also finds his creativity sparked by a random encounter with another person. Meeting someone who reminds him of himself at an earlier stage in his life, Princeton finally finds his purpose. He will write a show about his experiences living on Avenue Q. In both instances, creating art becomes, for these men, an empowering, transcendent experience which helps them break free of their emotional paralysis. WHEN YOU HELP OTHERS, YOU CAN’T HELP HELPING YOURSELF Princeton gives some money to a homeless man, and in so doing, discovers the joy of helping others. He sets out to raise the necessary funds for Kate Monster to achieve her dream of running a school for monsters. (The bulk of the funds come from Trekkie Monster, the character from “Avenue Q” who most resembles Melvin Udall in terms of personality. Like Melvin, Trekkie lives alone, dislikes most people and has a history of childhood trauma and therapy. Both characters are well off financially, and eventually use their wealth to assist young women in need.) Melvin, as has been mentioned earlier, also comes to learn about the inner satisfaction one can experience when helping others in need. Nevertheless, both Melvin and Princeton harbor hopes that their kind acts might facilitate romance with the women they are helping. Kate Monster and Carol Connelly are understandably grateful for the kindness and wary of what happens next. At the end of the play, Kate Monster is reluctant to give her heart fully to Princeton, recognizing, as she does, his commitment issues. Still, his act of generosity has moved her deeply, and she’s willing to meet him half way, and see where the relationship may go. Carol Connelly ends the film in a similar emotional place. Having witnessed Melvin’s generosity, to both her and Simon, she finds herself open to the possibility of a relationship with Melvin.

(It’s also possible that both women are tired of the dating scene. They may have reached the point where they are willing to let go of their idealized expectations and embrace the companionship these flawed but well intentioned men have to offer.) EXCEPT FOR DEATH AND PAYING TAXES EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS ONLY FOR NOW Yes, life in the big city can be cold and alienating, and these stories make no attempt to pretend the dark side of city life doesn’t exist. Yet both stories, in the end, lean ever so cautiously towards optimism. Even in the seemingly heartless world of New York City, there are comforts and pleasures to be found: Friendship. The families we create for ourselves. The satisfaction that comes from helping others. The empowering experience of creating art. The sublime surprise of learning that people aren’t always as bad as we thought. The joy that comes with forgiving the flawed people we love. Perhaps the most important comfort is the enduring hope that life will be better in the future. This life may be as good as it gets, but the problems we face are only for now.

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janiklandre-blog · 7 years

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Friday, March 31st, 2017

last day of March, nasty weather - 9:35 a.m. - preoccupied with those cataracts - "they" said they would call me today to let me know time to be on Monday on East 80th street - still under shock about price of these drops - also the drops he told me to use, such a pain, you have to squeeze and squeeze that tiny bottle - at last likely to miss the eye - no fun.

So, I treasure now my time at this here computer - came downstairs at 9:15, room here still closed, at this moment one of the nice maintenance men appeared - will I get this Asus? will I not get it and learn to use ipad at last - in the meantime I am wasting money - and prepared for the worst in co-pay - some do get millions out of medicare - thank God I am not one of them - still - all I do is pay for it and then endless copay - only my socalled primary doctor - whom I like but also don't trust - she has never charged me a penny.

Speaking of that, I heard that French Christine is town - she went to my primary doctor, then got on an HMO that does not pay her - never understood that - she still treated her, for free and Christine wanted to sue her for not treating her right. She now lives in Paris, in the 16eme arrondissmont - fancy Paris - of course, she also owns an apartment that she rents, bad neiborhood - and at this moment she is here for two weeks. She taught me about people of value - since - I hope - she no longer wants to use my docror - I am no longer of great value - wonder if she will call me at all - if not, so be it. All the people users - they call you when they want something from you.

All the annoyances. But also pleasures! Well, yesterday I headed for the dentist - good dentists have kept me painfree for most of my life - and I am thinking of a Dutch woman in Amherst, she was beautiful, she went to some dentist who was a friend - who did something that caused her such permanent pain - one day she killed herself. In the NYT was also an item - medicare does not pay a cent for dental car, medicaid only for fillings and extractions and perhaps some lousy dentures - millions don't go to dentists because they cannot afford it - and teeth cause great medical problems.

My very expensive dentist whom I have now seen for 20 years, began to relent on payments when he knew I no longer could afford it - and saw me with great sorrow through the deterioration of my teeth due to betablockers - meds to keep my veins open to prevent strokes - and strokes are scary - but now my teeth are gone and since last August this bridge he lovingly made - a great decoration, I look wonderful - but a year ago he still had hopes for improving them but in August he told me, there was no more hope. Then he told me I have to face dentures - he would make them - though it seems it is not his specialty. Slowly I'm getting used to this idea - but yesterday, once again, he said he was using the strongest cement but did not want to talk about the dentures - his office equipped with very expensive machinery, two lovely assistents in a neighborhood whre rents also a sky rocking - I would not be surprised if the landlord is squeezing him - and he also is not getting younger - all he could say yesterday was: wait until after Easter - and so I have no idea where this is going and may also end up with great costs for decent dentures. Just about all people I know who have them keep taking them out, eating without them - and yet my grandmother got them at 24 and I don't remember complaints, the parents of my ex-husband had them and joyfully ate their steaks they so loved - while my bridge looks great but I have not been able to chew properly since I got it.

The great German writer Thomas Mann who, just like the Russians and also Proust and others wrote novels in the most leisurely of styles, I read most of Thomas Mann - he was very teeth conscious and remarked in his writing how teeth are related to social class. My mother spent much effort to keep her teeth and my teeth in classy shape - I immediately notice somebody's missing tooth or teeth. And I am so aware of the high cost of keeping teeth in some sort of shape. Of the countless people who suffer infection - and yes, how can I forget my former husband - whose second and third wives no longer allowed him to see the excellent dentist, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who's husband we had hosted in Geneva had recoomended when I asked her in 1962 - they would not allow him to see a dentist I was seeing and he obayed - and is was the dentist of the disastrous third wife, whose dentist extracted a tooth and did not give him anti biotics. It seems as a child he had had rheumatic fever that had effected his heart - in any event - he developed a heart infection that nearly killed him, put him on a drip in the hospital for weeks - a good reason for cutting his sons off any support because the wife claimed they did not show enough concern - and, then there was a repeat of the heart infection and a second hospital stay - may have led up to his triple bypass - all related to teeth and a bad dentist.

Obviously, I too can dwell on the topic at length - wondering when and how I will get these dentures - ate enough steaks in my life, don't care that much for them - am resigned not to bite into apples any more, to stay away from nuts, to cherish what is soft - icecream! chocolate cake - and yes, there is the mixer not much used until now - longingly I do look at many foods I no longer can eat - but this is more survivable than a heart infection, and the great pain of the beautiful Dutch woman.

It is a trip to get to my dentist - he is on the Upper West Side - I always get there early in ordeer to be on time, by now have sampled eateries on Broadway, settled on what is called a diner - a nostalgia diner - has little to do with what diners once were about. A pricey diner. Before seeing the dentist I treated myself to chocolate mousse cake, it was excellent.

Later I headed for Central Park - for years and years I walked there, yesterday I took two buses, one down Broatway to 79th Street and then one across. On the first one a man got on with greatest difficulty, moaning and groaning - I said I sing the song What a drag it is getting old - I am not old, he angrily said, I am only 76. O.k. I said, you are the new 36 and he said, indeed I am, I have so much energy, I will do in Trump - good for you, I said. A New York exchange. I am glad theere are Americans like you - and indeed we need them - reading the NYT - it all is unbelievable. The cuts for this here my housing could be momentarily cut, good bye computer room - who knows where I'll go.

In the park I met two impassioned birders - one woman who had been on many safaris in Africa but now arthritis plagues her, the other a photographer - somewhere in the 70's - young - she sells her photograohs on 5th Avenue, brings a table and all - and then there was my friend Suzanne. A German - in her 50's - she never was married, no children, also strenuously staying young - I must, I must, I must she says - a bundle of incredible energied - and endless diseases - long living on an overstayed visitor's visa - great efforts and expense to get a green card - one of so many European I do meet - who consideer it their worst fate having to go back to their native country. I was lucky to arrive here on permanent papers and on the day I was here five years, at little cost and no effort became a U.S. citizen - it was 1956 - withiut a moment's hesitation I gave up my German citizenship. My number 456 German passpart alas burned in 2000. Now dual citizenship is possible - expemsive and tedious project - I am glad for my American passport - though I now do say, I've managed to be a citizen of two evil empires - luckily Hitler made me stateless, so I was not a citizen then.

Suzanne, a long story - she now found her vocation as a tourist guide - loves it - works incredibly hard at it - yesterday she also had some book on Prana - she knows countless people, many Indians - some sort of Indian wisdom she is studying and wants to teach - about changing your consciousness - to her regret I did not have too much interest - but she is such life wire - I do enjoy her - and she is a good reason for going to Central Park - so serene and quiet compare to Washington Square - a park where you can enjoy the flowers provided by the park conservancy - run by rich neighbors of the park - and a long waiting list to become a volunteer. Society status.

My friend had called, said she would come for an hour at 6 p.m. - I got on bus at 4:30 was downtown at 5:30 - figures it is 3.5 miles - marathon runners do 26 miles in a little over two hours - you waait for New York buses endlessly, then this one stopped nearly a block short of the 26 street stop, said last stop - there had been three people on the bus - Uber is getting cheaper than buses - clogging the streets - the buses do run good routes, but rarely come - and then - five at a ime, getting into each other's way.

My friend came, she then went to see Hair done by some old people under Columbia U.auspices - we were joined by my house guests - she of course was particularly interested in the Lebanese man - there are many religions in Lebanon, two Catholic - amazing into how many categories we are divided - I say I only want label: Human being - trying to be as good as I can. Maronite and Caldeic Catholics. the Maronites speak Arabic, the Caldeic speak Caldeic, some ancient language - and if lucky we can communicate in English. French also an important language in Lebanon - it was a French colony.

It's 11 a.m.off to the church - there is a woman Marie, Serbian, she comes to the CW - she has a daughter Svetlana who escaper her to Europe, she is a horder and about to be evicted - she always tries to get my attention - bt she is real trouble - still I feel a bit guilty for totallu avoiding her, could I give her some good reason - well - there have been others in my life who later told me they saw me as stuck up - I guess I do give many different impressions to different people - mostly thesae days an old woman hobbling about - still, this Marie who so much wants to tell me of her great troubles bothers me - she is there at the church, fighting with people - there is nothing I can do for her, but I also don't want to listen to her - my friend likes her - and of course she is not much available and so Marie looks at me. What does one do. 11:10 - I'll miss the writing - Monday the op - then dark glasses, expensive drops, my friend who has come says he'll stay until I feel o.k. - I much appreciate that. Have not heard from "them" - perhaps a message on my land line. Adios.

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