Submissions are now closed!

Sorry for going silent about submissions went silent, I had a bit of a tiring week. But I've gone through submissions and since it is now Friday, I will now be closing them. We have enough for a 64 bracket. We have a few over 64, exactly, though I rejected a few submissions for not being in the GX anime or not being a monster. What I'll likely do is just have a few polls in the first round be 3-ways instead of 2-way polls.

Tomorrow, I'll answer the two or three asks in my ask box & post the list of submitted monsters :)

Book Review 64 – Poverty, by America by Mathew Desmond

I read Desmond’s Evicted a while back and found it a really excellent bit of sociology/journalism about the specifics and mechanisms of housing inequality and how modern slumlords exploit the poor. So this has been vaguely on my list for a decent while. Sadly, I found it a bit of a disappointment – more listing of facts and statistics that I already basically knew to support a manifesto than anything new or enlightening to me. Not that it’s bad, but if it was 20 pages instead of 200 I’m not sure much of value would really have been lost. Many such cases, I suppose.

The book is about exactly what it says is, a polemic decrying and investigation into why the United State’s poverty rates, and why extremes of material want are so much more common there than in comparable (poorer, even) western democracies. Refreshingly, Desmond has a clear thesis he doesn’t beat around the bush before saying – self-interest, essentially. The affluent benefit from having an underclass to extract resources from, and from excluding its members from the amenities they share, so they do. The book spends most of its wordcount enumerating and describing what Desmond considers the main problems: direct exploitation (underpayment, predatory financiers, slums, etc), an underresourced and misdirected wellfare state (compare the cost of middle/upper-class targeted programs like the mortgage interest deduction or tax-exempt savings accounts to the cost of adequately ending hunger or providing healthcare) and segregation (both spatial/residential and in terms of access to public or semi-public services).

It’s pretty traditional for a book like this to spend 90% of its wordcount diagnosing problems and then end with some publisher-mandated optimism and a chapter of solutions with a fraction of the care put into them as in the diagnosis. Desmond, to his credit, avoids this – each chapter includes both the problems and he considers the most feasible solutions to them to be. He actually makes a point of it, arguing that having practical, winnable goals that will actually improve things when achieved (and then celebrating them when they are) is a key part of any political organizing with a chance of actually working. Now, what I think of those solutions varies quite wildly, but they’re there and exactly what you’d expect for his politics – and speaking as someone whose been renting my entire life I wholly endorse fucking all the tax benefits you get essentially for having the cash on hand to make a down payment. (Relatedly, the book has a great deal of scorn for comfortable, affluent people whose progressive politics amount to lots of critiquing and zero actual positive action.)

Desmond is clearly writing this from the point of view of a(n inspirational) public intellectual; that is, by writing this he’s trying to call an audience and movement based around it into being. He likes the label Poverty Abolitionist and the central project of the book is basically trying to make it happen as an umbrella term people identify with – especially the affluent well-heeled people who read books like this, and might be persuaded to start boycotting companies for underpaying their employees or union-busting, or campaigning against government subsidies that benefit them instead of the poor. I did appreciate the relative hopeful tone, given the usual coverage of American politics – or, well, is ‘Washington was at least this fucked when it passed the Civil Rights Act or the New Deal” optimistic? Whatever the right word is.

Now, I’m summarized all this in ~500 words, obviously actually making the argument needs more space than that. But it really did not need to be as long as it was – a huge fraction of the wordcount is spent either restating arguments or just throwing around numbers and statistics without really contextualization (anyone who spends so much time comparing expenses and budgets across the decade should be legally required to adjust for inflation imo). There’s a good, well-cited (excessively cited, if anything. The footnotoes are like a fifth of the book) persuasive essay in here, but there is so much fat to cut around it.

Anyway yes, disappointing reading experience, given I was hoping for more sociology and less polemic. But as far as American political polemic goes, it’s pretty decent.

OnS Theories (19S). Fourth Theory - Resurrection

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well! Just 2 weeks left before new chapter arrives and of course, as something I tend to do, let’s talk about something that has been on the mind of the readers, therefore, let’s begin!

P.S: Theories are held within a neutral view and ships are excluded

One of the things the fandom has wondered constantly, what’s the benefit of having Mika within a cursed gear? 

Which is heavily pointed by Shiho Kimizuki:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

But then, why is it necessary that Guren aims to take Mika with Yu? Is it because he intends to use Mika for selfish goals alone?

In fact, as I’ve been stating before, Guren’s end goal is to stop the First Progenitor, and this is due to the fact that the First Progenitor does not seek to save anyone in particular, he isn’t focused on protecting someone out of warmness but rather he aims to use Mika for a more twisted objective which was stated by Krul as a hint before she was silenced:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 98

But returning to the topic, why is Mikaela needed to be alongside Yu as Yu’s demon?

Let’s consider first the main factor of Guren’s end goal, such goal is the resurrection of humanity. 

But how can that be possible when the Seraph of the End was itself a forbidden experiment and only few persons were able to be resurrected?

The reason why the plan is different compared to the events with the Catastrophe have a lot to do with Yu. If many might recall, Yu’s seraph form was actually managed to control, Yu was able to use his powers at will without losing control thanks to his cursed gear along the bond that existed before Asuramaru got his memories back.

But the main question is, why is Mika essential for such plan of the resurrection? Is there an answer to that?

Surprisingly there is.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 64

If many might recall, Rigr Stafford did not only experiment on Yuichiro Hyakuya but he did so as well with Mikaela Hyakuya; he was under his care since he became his “Michaela”.

Rigr found Mika thanks to the ties of his parents; his mother was invested wiht the Hyakuya Sect to the point she reached her demise; she threw Mika out of the window of a moving car because he was special; and of course, after such event, Rigr found him and took notice that Mika was indeed a boy that had something he was searching for so long.

Of course, after the events of the Catastrophe, Mika and the orphanage kids were taken to the vampire capital on which they would reside for few years until they found a way to escape, but instead of touching such events, let’s go between that time, on which Mika and his family were learning the ways to survive within the vampire Capital, what do I mean?

Within the time the kids resided, specially taking aspects of the Story of Vampire Mikaela LN, there was a part of the LN which was focused on Mikaela. Mika started giving his blood to a vampire noble, of course, such noble was Ferid Bathory no less.

But, when it was his first time in order to gather food and supplyes for the other kids, Ferid of course drank blood from him directly, but, what does this have to do with the theory title?

After Ferid bit him, Mika started to release some tears, those tears weren’t of pain but rather frustration and agony, due to having done something shameful, something that wasn’t even thinkable for other humans.

But the question remains, what does this have to do with the sole plan of resurrecting humanity?

After Mikaela’s tear fell down on an orange small bud, said bud started to bloom into a flower.

It is well known that plants take their time to grow and bloom, hence why it is always recommended to water them and give them sunlight so they can display their unique beauty but, with Mika’s case, the bud bloomed into a flower instantly after his tears fell down directly to it, the small bud didn’t require sunlight in order to bloom because they were literally underground, where the sun wouldn’t hit directly at them since it was a place on which vampires resided.

Retaking the current events of the story

It’s true the outcome of them wasn’t the best for many readers, it is sadly to say that if the First Progenitor wasn’t held down for the time being, he would have gone elsewhere to track down Mikaela, and the proof to it was when Rigr stated the next thing:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 79

Rigr’s goal wasn’t to have the First finding Mikaela anytime soon, but of course, Guren, Mahiru, Krul and Ferid were very aware that Rigr’s plan by himself would fail, hence why the direction of the story has taken place to the current time.

Nevertheless, retaking once again the theory, what does this mean after all?

It means that Mika’s special trait is to bring life back. But if he was that special, was there a need to turn him into what he currently is?

The issue comes with the fact that, if Mika had gone with the humans without any interference, the First Progenitor would have sent Tenri to make use of him instead, of course, this is an hypothetical scenario of what could have happened if Ferid, Krul and Guren never interfered.

As for his demon transformation, it was bound to happen either by Guren or the First’s hands.

If Guren never interfered with the First, the First would have decided to attack Mika as soon as he spotted him alone, he’d have made the impossible to make him turn into a demon in a rather least joyful way in order to get his soul for his own purposes.

As for Guren’s goal, it can be concluded that Mika and Yu are the keys to restore the World to how it was before the Catastrophe, restoring the lives of many innocents that suffered the controlling fate of the First.

What do you think dear readers?

Let me know!

Hello People I’m here to tell you some things:)

1.Remember to take your meds they are important:)

2.Your sexuality is valid and no one take that away from you:)

3.Hydrating is important because the body lives off of hydration to survive:)

4.Your valid and no one can change that:)

5.Its definitely ok to not be super productive all the time:)

6.Take a break whenever you need to:)

7.You have talent and you need to pursue it:)

8.Its ok to cry sometimes there is nothing wrong with that:)

9.When you always take care of people remember to take of yourself along with it:)

10.Dont let anon hate get to you because they are not worth your time:)

11.Your beautiful your more than your scars

12.You never talk to much it justs means your comfortable around people an their is nothing wrong with that:)

13.You have a unique personality and no one can take that away from you:)

14.You breathe so you matter:)

15.You are loved even when you don’t see it:)

16.Its ok to say you hurt and need a break from social media or in general take as much time as you need:)

17.You are you and no one can change that:)

18.Don’t you ever feel guilty for what your family does to you:)

19.You are not a mistake or flaw you are perfect because the you you are is perfect:)

20. Your blog is incredible each of your blogs have their own awesome aesthetic:)

21. You should never feel guilty of your gender or your sexuality:)

22. you should never be ashamed of your talents embrace them.

23.Get the rest your body needs:)

24.Get the rest your body needs however long this needs to be for you personally:)

25. You are awesome and trying to get through life so I’m proud of you:)

26. Whatever you did in the past is in the past and never look back keep looking forward:)

27.Your blog and you are quality 👌

28.When you show up on my dash I get excited 😆:)

29.Im here and ready to talk about anything from exciting to hearing you rant it’s ok I’m here:)

30.Please don’t leave this earth I would be devastated because somebody as awesome as you left the 🌍:)

31.We need you and you are worth it please don’t commit suicide as the answer believe me it is not the answer:)

32.It might not be ok right now but one day it will be ok:)

33.Don’t turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain in your life it is not worth it please don’t because your body is to wonderful and awesome for you to hurt it:)

34. It’s valid and definitely OK to change your gender anytime:)

35.Its ok to change your pronouns as many times as you want their is no set number of times to change your pronouns:)

36.Use the pronouns that best fit you because it makes you the you that you are:)

37.Pronouns are valid:)

38.Pronouns are perfect (o⌒．⌒o) ♡＾▽＾♡

39.Your personality is an absolute joy to be around:)（・∀・） （・∀・） (　＾∇＾)

50.Please start loving yourself:)Because you are lovely and loved:)(*＾▽＾)／ (*＾▽＾)／ (*＾▽＾)／

51.You can change your sexuality and gender as much as you want:)

52.To those who are not recognized in the LGBTQIAP+ community you are valid and deserve to be represented more.

53.Avoid exclusionary people:)

54.Are you in the asexual spectrum?Well you are valid and awesome and deserved the world:)

55.Are you and Aro?Well you are valid and just as awesome as any other sexuality:)

56.Not some of the mainstream non-binary spectrum people you are unique and unbelievably beautiful:)

57.Are you a pansexual?Well you are valid and you are perfection:)

58.Are you bisexual?Well you are valid and you are the best:)

59.Are you Trans?Well awesome and incredible to be around:)

60.Are you gay or lesbian?Well you are valid,great,and amazing:)

61. Are you polyamory?Well you are perfection and are pretty if you don’t want to be called pretty then you are handsome or beautiful:)

62.To everyone part of the LGBTQIAP+ community you are valid and are incredible:)

63. ‘I care’

64.To all my artists on tumblr your art is beautiful and deserves more attention:)

65.To all my writers of fanfics,books,poems,etc.Hey your working really hard and your writing is just as valid as art:)

66. Disrespect and hate the orange tan transphobic homophobic sexist racist nazi other religion hater besides being a Christian Donald Trump

67.Help those in need:)

68.Your religion matters and don’t let anyone tell you any different:)

69.You make a mistake that’s ok just get back up and try again:)

70.Your health doesn’t define you as a personality or person:)

71.Struggling for thoughts to keep alive here’s one we will miss you

72.Every part of you is valid:)

73.Black Lives Matter

74.Cops are evil

75.Fight for your rights

76.Dont be afraid to stand up for what you believe in:)

77.Your body is beautiful from the top to the bottom:)

78.Respects people’s weight:)

79.Your not worthless:)

80.Dont be afraid to be proud of who you are:)

81.Still in the closet you are valid:)

82.Out is the closet but don’t like to talk about you are valid

83.Not afraid to say how valid you are:)You are valid:)

84.Don’t let homophobic and transphobic people get to you:)

85.Your a MAP or supporter stay off my blog:)

86.A Nazi or exclusionist stay off my blog:)

87.Pedophile or sugar daddy stay off my blog:)

88.Support Trump stay off my blog:)

89.Racist or evil people in general DNI and stay off my blog:)

90.TERFS stay off my blog:)

91.Neo-nazi stay off my blog

92.Transmeds (people who say you have to have gender dysphoria to be trans)stay off

93.Transphobes,Enbyphobes,or homophobes stay off my blog:)

94.Any disgusting person or exclusionary person stay off.That means people who exclude people in general about their gender or sexuality:)

95.Dont self harm please

96.Love is Love

What You Need to Understand About Patents and also Their Value

The number of patents released in the United States rose to 187,000 in 2003, up 22 percent from 1999. For innovators that comprehended the system or that were privileged, the benefits have been enough. Licensing fees from trademarked inventions currently earn $150 billion globally every year, a figure that is expected to climb almost 30 percent over the following some years.

At the same time, patent infringement lawsuits have been filling up headlines daily. The number of patent violation suits submitted each year in the United States. grew 64 percent in the duration 1991-2000.

Throughout 12 months finishing in September 2003, U.S. patent proprietors submitted 2,788 patent infringement lawsuits, a 13 percent increase over the same duration five years earlier, as well as more than double the 1,178 patent fits filed in the calendar year 1991.

However, lots of creators have not applied for their patents despite having legitimate insurance claims of violation. In some cases, they have been bewildered as well as intimidated by the expenses included.

Much of the time, these dissatisfactions can have been avoided if inventors had been armed with the expertise and also understanding of what patents are (as well as what they are not) and exactly how to determine their worth. Such understanding can make the difference between success and also a failure for an ambitious inventor.

Potentially the greatest misunderstanding issues what a patent is and also what civil liberties it offers to its owner. Numerous think a patent provides the inventor the right to produce or market the copyrighted invention. Absolutely nothing can be further from reality. Also check out https://kulturehub.com/inventhelp-support-inventors/

A Patent's Value

By statute, a patent is the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the trademarked invention. To put it simply, a patent is an exclusionary right as well as pays for no favorable legal rights whatsoever. A patent is just a certificate to demand infringement.

A patent is a state-sanctioned monopoly that is limited in 3 means. It is just active for twenty years from the filing day, it is just valid in the nation that gave it, and also it is restricted to what is specified in the patent's insurance claims.

Before applying for a patent, an inventor ought to ask concerns regarding its potential value. Is it much better to protect the technology by patenting it, or by keeping it as a profession secret?

To answer any one of these inquiries wisely, you require to evaluate the worth of the patent. The value of a patent ought to not be puzzled with the worth of the patented product. The two stand out and real-time separate lives.

To put it simply, a product without a patent has worth; so does a patent without a product.

Coca-Cola, for example, is a product without a patent. The product lives on, nonetheless, without the patent security, it when had.

An example of a patent without a product-- a supposed "paper" patent-- is a patent on an intermittent windshield wiper. The inventor, Dr. Kearns, never sold the product himself. He got $10.2 million from Ford, after taking legal action against the automaker, and also successfully imposed his patent versus a lot of other cars and truck manufacturers.

A lot more current instance is a patent on "Java" technology which came to be Kodaks as a result of a merger. Kodak, which had never marketed the modern technology, recently accepted a $92 million settlement of its violation of legal action against Sunlight Microsystems.

The worth of a patent is the difference between the worth of the product with a patent and also without it.

If the patent is certified, after that its value is the web present worth of future nobilities obtained from licensing, plus incremental profits earned from the market monopoly secured by the patent. You can also check https://midhudsonnews.com/2020/05/10/how-does-inventhelp-support-new-inventors/

Certainly, if the patent is not implemented, it is not worth very much at all.

How to Use a Patent

A patent can be utilized in two major ways. If you are making or marketing a patented product, the key use of the patent is to shield market share by keeping rivals at bay. If you are a scientist, you only intend to generate any kind of earnings may be by accrediting the patent.

There are 2 types of licenses: a carrot license and also a stick certificate. The carrot certificate is a volunteer license in which the prospective licensee, often a maker or marketing expert is not utilizing the patented modern technology and also is under no obsession to accredit the patent from you.

Patents safeguarding sophisticated innovations developed in the academic community normally lend themselves to carrot licensing. Stick licensing occurs when the potential licensee is currently generating as well as marketing your invention, consequently devoting patent violation.

The slogan of stick licensing is "License my patent otherwise ..." (Read: I will see you in court!). Most infringers will make the negative, however not unproven, a computation that they will possibly not be taken legal action against-- usually, they are right, as a lot of patent owners fall short to apply for their patents. Hence, stick licensing will work just if the hazard of litigation is legitimate. No hazard shows up to exist when it comes to carrot licensing. Or does it?

Allow's say you offer your most recent invention to a possible licensee and also persuade them of the overwhelming advantages of your innovation. What quits the other party from thanking you for enlightening them on the advantages of your invention and afterward proceeding and also marketing it without a permit from you?

A confidentiality arrangement, which most manufacturers reject to sign in the top place, even if carried out, will barely stop a business from using your technology. That's because the confidentiality agreement can not protect openly readily available details.

A patent is a public record, in which the invention is completely divulged, allowing anybody with sufficient manufacturing and advertising and marketing capabilities to produce and also disperse it. The only thing that stops a possible licensee from benefiting from your invention is the threat of a patent infringement legal action.

Thus, every carrot license is a stick license in disguise. Such words as infringement or litigation are never discussed in carrot license negotiations, they are in the back of everybody's mind. As well as, once more, unless the overlooked hazard of possible future lawsuits is qualified, why would anyone take a license?

You can trust the prospective licensee to ask their patent attorneys just how simple it would certainly be to prevent or "layout around" your patent. Only a well-written patent combined with the capacity and also the resolve to implement it may urge a prospective licensee to think about certifying it. Find out more advice https://www.techtimes.com/articles/249715/20200518/how-inventhelp-gets-new-inventors-onto-the-right-path.htm

Determining Just How to Apply for Your Patent

Every inventor submitting a patent application needs to stop briefly as well as ask a concern: Do we have the wherewithal to apply for the patent if it is infringed?

Several companies, particularly academic and research institutions, are litigation-averse. This undermines the value of their patent portfolios. If the message navigates that a particular organization hesitates to impose its licenses, why would certainly anybody license that company's licenses when the copyrighted invention could be infringed without major danger of legal effect?

Nevertheless, it is inadequate to have a proper perspective toward patent enforcement. This mindset requires to be supported by a healthy savings account. With the typical expense of patent violation litigation in the UNITED STATE exceeding $2 million, patent litigation is the sporting activity of the abundant. Unless you are used by a well-financed company that stands prepared to bankroll the litigation, you may not be in a setting to carry out your threat-- whether explicit or implied.

For tiny businesses and also specific developers, there are alternate approaches to financing patent violation litigation. One is to locate a law office that will represent you on a backup basis.

This means that as opposed to invoicing you by the hour, the law practice will certainly obtain a share in the monetary recuperation, which may be an award of damages to the winner of a suit or licensing charges worked out in a negotiation. A typical backup cost might be between one 3rd and one half of the recuperation.

Judith Butler on the culture wars, JK Rowling and living in “anti-intellectual times”

Thirty years ago, the philosopher Judith Butler*, now 64, published a book that revolutionised popular attitudes on gender. Gender Trouble, the work she is perhaps best known for, introduced ideas of gender as performance. It asked how we define “the category of women” and, as a consequence, who it is that feminism purports to fight for. Today, it is a foundational text on any gender studies reading list, and its arguments have long crossed over from the academy to popular culture. In the three decades since Gender Trouble was published, the world has changed beyond recognition. In 2014, TIME declared a “Transgender Tipping Point”. Butler herself has moved on from that earlier work, writing widely on culture and politics. But disagreements over biological essentialism remain, as evidenced by the tensions over trans rights within the feminist movement. How does Butler, who is Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature at Berkeley, see this debate today? And does she see a way to break the impasse? Butler recently exchanged emails with the New Statesman about this issue. The exchange has been edited. *** Alona Ferber: In Gender Trouble, you wrote that "contemporary feminist debates over the meanings of gender lead time and again to a certain sense of trouble, as if the indeterminacy of gender might eventually culminate in the failure of feminism”. How far do ideas you explored in that book 30 years ago help explain how the trans rights debate has moved into mainstream culture and politics? Judith Butler: I want to first question whether trans-exclusionary feminists are really the same as mainstream feminists. If you are right to identify the one with the other, then a feminist position opposing transphobia is a marginal position. I think this may be wrong. My wager is that most feminists support trans rights and oppose all forms of transphobia. So I find it worrisome that suddenly the trans-exclusionary radical feminist position is understood as commonly accepted or even mainstream. I think it is actually a fringe movement that is seeking to speak in the name of the mainstream, and that our responsibility is to refuse to let that happen.

AF: One example of mainstream public discourse on this issue in the UK is the argument about allowing people to self-identify in terms of their gender. In an open letter she published in June, JK Rowling articulated the concern that this would "throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman", potentially putting women at risk of violence. JB: If we look closely at the example that you characterise as “mainstream” we can see that a domain of fantasy is at work, one which reflects more about the feminist who has such a fear than any actually existing situation in trans life. The feminist who holds such a view presumes that the penis does define the person, and that anyone with a penis would identify as a woman for the purposes of entering such changing rooms and posing a threat to the women inside. It assumes that the penis is the threat, or that any person who has a penis who identifies as a woman is engaging in a base, deceitful, and harmful form of disguise. This is a rich fantasy, and one that comes from powerful fears, but it does not describe a social reality. Trans women are often discriminated against in men’s bathrooms, and their modes of self-identification are ways of describing a lived reality, one that cannot be captured or regulated by the fantasies brought to bear upon them. The fact that such fantasies pass as public argument is itself cause for worry. AF: I want to challenge you on the term “terf”, or trans-exclusionary radical feminist, which some people see as a slur. JB: I am not aware that terf is used as a slur. I wonder what name self-declared feminists who wish to exclude trans women from women's spaces would be called? If they do favour exclusion, why not call them exclusionary? If they understand themselves as belonging to that strain of radical feminism that opposes gender reassignment, why not call them radical feminists? My only regret is that there was a movement of radical sexual freedom that once travelled under the name of radical feminism, but it has sadly morphed into a campaign to pathologise trans and gender non-conforming peoples. My sense is that we have to renew the feminist commitment to gender equality and gender freedom in order to affirm the complexity of gendered lives as they are currently being lived. AF: The consensus among progressives seems to be that feminists who are on JK Rowling’s side of the argument are on the wrong side of history. Is this fair, or is there any merit in their arguments? JB: Let us be clear that the debate here is not between feminists and trans activists. There are trans-affirmative feminists, and many trans people are also committed feminists. So one clear problem is the framing that acts as if the debate is between feminists and trans people. It is not. One reason to militate against this framing is because trans activism is linked to queer activism and to feminist legacies that remain very alive today. Feminism has always been committed to the proposition that the social meanings of what it is to be a man or a woman are not yet settled. We tell histories about what it meant to be a woman at a certain time and place, and we track the transformation of those categories over time. We depend on gender as a historical category, and that means we do not yet know all the ways it may come to signify, and we are open to new understandings of its social meanings. It would be a disaster for feminism to return either to a strictly biological understanding of gender or to reduce social conduct to a body part or to impose fearful fantasies, their own anxieties, on trans women... Their abiding and very real sense of gender ought to be recognised socially and publicly as a relatively simple matter of according another human dignity. The trans-exclusionary radical feminist position attacks the dignity of trans people. AF: In Gender Trouble you asked whether, by seeking to represent a particular idea of women, feminists participate in the same dynamics of oppression and heteronormativity that they are trying to shift. In the light of the bitter arguments playing out within feminism now, does the same still apply? JB: As I remember the argument in Gender Trouble (written more than 30 years ago), the point was rather different. First, one does not have to be a woman to be a feminist, and we should not confuse the categories. Men who are feminists, non-binary and trans people who are feminists, are part of the movement if they hold to the basic propositions of freedom and equality that are part of any feminist political struggle. When laws and social policies represent women, they make tacit decisions about who counts as a woman, and very often make presuppositions about what a woman is. We have seen this in the domain of reproductive rights. So the question I was asking then is: do we need to have a settled idea of women, or of any gender, in order to advance feminist goals? I put the question that way… to remind us that feminists are committed to thinking about the diverse and historically shifting meanings of gender, and to the ideals of gender freedom. By gender freedom, I do not mean we all get to choose our gender. Rather, we get to make a political claim to live freely and without fear of discrimination and violence against the genders that we are. Many people who were assigned “female” at birth never felt at home with that assignment, and those people (including me) tell all of us something important about the constraints of traditional gender norms for many who fall outside its terms. Feminists know that women with ambition are called “monstrous” or that women who are not heterosexual are pathologised. We fight those misrepresentations because they are false and because they reflect more about the misogyny of those who make demeaning caricatures than they do about the complex social diversity of women. Women should not engage in the forms of phobic caricature by which they have been traditionally demeaned. And by “women” I mean all those who identify in that way. AF: How much is toxicity on this issue a function of culture wars playing out online? JB: I think we are living in anti-intellectual times, and that this is evident across the political spectrum. The quickness of social media allows for forms of vitriol that do not exactly support thoughtful debate. We need to cherish the longer forms. AF: Threats of violence and abuse would seem to take these “anti-intellectual times” to an extreme. What do you have to say about violent or abusive language used online against people like JK Rowling. JB: I am against online abuse of all kinds. I confess to being perplexed by the fact that you point out the abuse levelled against JK Rowling, but you do not cite the abuse against trans people and their allies that happens online and in person. I disagree with JK Rowling's view on trans people, but I do not think she should suffer harassment and threats. Let us also remember, though, the threats against trans people in places like Brazil, the harassment of trans people in the streets and on the job in places like Poland and Romania – or indeed right here in the US. So if we are going to object to harassment and threats, as we surely should, we should also make sure we have a large picture of where that is happening, who is most profoundly affected, and whether it is tolerated by those who should be opposing it. It won’t do to say that threats against some people are tolerable but against others are intolerable. AF: You weren't a signatory to the open letter on “cancel culture” in Harper's this summer, but did its arguments resonate with you? JB: I have mixed feelings about that letter. On the one hand, I am an educator and writer and believe in slow and thoughtful debate. I learn from being confronted and challenged, and I accept that I have made some significant errors in my public life. If someone then said I should not be read or listened to as a result of those errors, well, I would object internally, since I don't think any mistake a person made can, or should, summarise that person. We live in time; we err, sometimes seriously; and if we are lucky, we change precisely because of interactions that let us see things differently. On the other hand, some of those signatories were taking aim at Black Lives Matter as if the loud and public opposition to racism were itself uncivilised behaviour. Some of them have opposed legal rights for Palestine. Others have [allegedly] committed sexual harassment. And yet others do not wish to be challenged on their racism. Democracy requires a good challenge, and it does not always arrive in soft tones. So I am not in favour of neutralising the strong political demands for justice on the part of subjugated people. When one has not been heard for decades, the cry for justice is bound to be loud. AF: This year, you published, The Force of Nonviolence. Does the idea of “radical equality”, which you discuss in the book, have any relevance for the feminist movement? JB: My point in the recent book is to suggest that we rethink equality in terms of interdependency. We tend to say that one person should be treated the same as another, and we measure whether or not equality has been achieved by comparing individual cases. But what if the individual – and individualism – is part of the problem? It makes a difference to understand ourselves as living in a world in which we are fundamentally dependent on others, on institutions, on the Earth, and to see that this life depends on a sustaining organisation for various forms of life. If no one escapes that interdependency, then we are equal in a different sense. We are equally dependent, that is, equally social and ecological, and that means we cease to understand ourselves only as demarcated individuals. If trans-exclusionary radical feminists understood themselves as sharing a world with trans people, in a common struggle for equality, freedom from violence, and for social recognition, there would be no more trans-exclusionary radical feminists. But feminism would surely survive as a coalitional practice and vision of solidarity. AF: You have spoken about the backlash against “gender ideology”, and wrote an essay for the New Statesman about it in 2019. Do you see any connection between this and contemporary debates about trans rights? JB: It is painful to see that Trump’s position that gender should be defined by biological sex, and that the evangelical and right-wing Catholic effort to purge “gender” from education and public policy accords with the trans-exclusionary radical feminists' return to biological essentialism. It is a sad day when some feminists promote the anti-gender ideology position of the most reactionary forces in our society AF: What do you think would break this impasse in feminism over trans rights? What would lead to a more constructive debate? JB: I suppose a debate, were it possible, would have to reconsider the ways in which the medical determination of sex functions in relation to the lived and historical reality of gender.

22 September 2020        

*Judith Butler goes by she or they

1. When was the last time someone saw you naked? I don’t remember.

2. If you could bring someone back from the dead and spend an hour with them, who would it be and what would you do/say? My grandma. I want to tell her about everything and introduce her to my babies.

3. What is the greatest loss you’ve endured? My grandma.

4. How would you describe your current mood? I’m okay. I’m just really, really tired.

5. When was the last time you did something you were embarrassed by? I don’t remember.

6. What was the last thing you lied about? Being okay.

7. Where is your favorite place to have sex? Prefer the bed. It’s so much easier.

8. What is your earliest memory? One of them is singing at my grandparents house.

9. Do you ever drink or get high alone? Nah.

10. What type of a drunk are you? It depends. I start off happy and okay and then I get depressed and stuff.

11. What song (or a few songs, whatever) means a lot to you and why? I get to be the one by JJ Heller.

12. When was the last time you revealed your feelings for someone? Were they accepted or rejected? It’s been a long time, and we’re married now.

13. What was the reason behind your last visit to the hospital? Miscarriage.

14. How do you tend to deal with a breakup? I’ve never really had to “deal” with a breakup.

15. What is the “worst” drug you’ve done? Are there any you will never try, or any you want to try? Weed. And I never want to do any again.

16. What is something you’ve done that you truly regret? Self-injury.

17. What does it mean to you to be a good person? Do you feel you are a good person? I think in some areas, I am a good person. But I could definitely be better.

18. What is your philosophy on life/how do you generally choose to live or conduct yourself? Always keep fighting.

19. Do you view animals as being just as important as people? Why or why not? My pets are family. As far as other animals, while I’m not a vegetarian or vegan, I still believe they should be treated in a humane way and with compassion. There’s no reason to be cruel, such as abusing them or keeping them in harsh conditions. <<< This.

20. When was the last time you were up all night and why? I’ve been up all night a lot. I haven’t been sleeping too well lately.

21. What is the worst thing you’ve done to yourself? What is the worst thing someone else has done to you? I have engaged in self-injury in the past. And I have been sexually abused.

22. What is the most personal thing you’re willing to reveal? Uh, I guess what I shared above.

23. What made you stop talking to the last person you cut out of your life? We just grew apart I guess.

24. Is there a situation or person you haven’t been able to get over/forgive? Yeah.

25. Who was the last person to yell at you? Did you yell back? I don’t know. Either my mom or Jake. I don’t know that I yelled back.

26. Where did your last injury come from? I banged a chair leg into my shin about a week or two ago. It still hurts.

27. What are some kinks or turn-ons you have, if any? I don’t have any kinks. My turn-ons are pretty basic.

28. What are you like during arguments? These days... I tend to shut down.

29. What is the worst thing you have said to another person? I don’t know.

30. Where do you like to be kissed? Forehead kisses are sweet.

31. What is more difficult for you, looking into someones eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someones eyes when they are telling you how they feel? Both. Eye contact is not my strongest quality.

32. Think of the last time you were REALLY angry. WHY were you angry? Do you still feel the same way? Something Jacob said to Wyatt that wasn’t okay at all. And yes.

33. You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You have enough time to make ONE phone call. Who do you call? What do you tell them? Jacob. That I love him and to make sure he always tells our babies that I love him too.

34. You are at the doctor’s office and he has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? What do you do with your remaining days? Would you be afraid? I would definitely tell some people. And I don’t know. But I don’t want to think about this with my upcoming doctor appointment. And very.

35. You can have one of the following two things. Which do you choose? Why? There’s no choices to choose between...

36. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late even once more, you are fired. Do you take the time to save the dogs life? Why or Why not? Yes I would. Because I can find a new job. The dog won’t have another life.

37. Would you rather be hurt by the one you trust the most or the one you love the most? They’re the same.

38. Your best friend confesses that he/she has feelings for you more than just friendship. He/she is falling in love with you. What do you (or did you) do/say? I’m straight, so there’s that...

39. Think of the last person who you know that died. You have the chance to give them 1 hour of life back, but you have to give up one year of yours. Do you do it? Why or Why not? No. People might think I’m horrible for that... but no.

40. Are you the kind of friend that you would want to have as a friend? I don’t know.

41. Does love = sex? No.

42.Your boss tells your coworker that they have to let them go because of work shortage, and they are the newest employee. You have been there much longer. Your coworker has a family to support and no other means of income. Do you go to your boss and offer to leave the company? Why or Why not? I’m in the same boat, so probably not.

43.When was the last time you told someone HONESTLY how you felt regardless of how difficult it was for you to say? Who was it? What did you have to tell the person? I don’t know.

44. What would be (or what was) harder for you to tell a member of the opposite sex, you love them or that you do not love them back? That I love them.

45. What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up? Why would it be hard to lose? Uhhh. Ice cream. It just makes me happy sometimes.

46. Excluding romantic love, when was the last time you told someone you loved them. Who were they to you? My daughter.

47. If there was one moment and one time in the last month what would you change and why? I don’t know.

48.Imagine it is a dark night, you are alone, it is raining outside, you hear someone walking around outside your window. WHO do you wish was there with you? Jacob.

49. Would you give a homeless person CPR if they were dying? Why or Why not? I’m certified, so yes. Compressions are the most important component if you’re uncomfortable doing mouth to mouth until help arrives.

50.You are holding onto your grandmother’s hand and the hand of a newborn that you do not know as they hang over the edge of a cliff. You have to let one go to save the other. Who do you let fall to their death? What was your rationale for making the decision? I don’t like this survey. I”m going to be up all night, anxious as shit. So thanks.

51. Are you old fashioned? I guess in some areas.

52. When was the last time you were nice to someone and did NOT expect anything in return for it? I never expect anything in return for my kindness.

53.Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a broken heart, or never loved at all? Why? True love. I would rather have been loved for awhile than to feel as though I don’t matter.

54.If you could do anything or wish anything, what would it be? I’d wish for all illnesses to be cured and to be able to stay this age forever.

55. What was the last thing you ate? Pizza.

56. What kind of guys are you usually attracted to? I don’t know.

57. What’s the stupidest thing that’s happened to you that ended a friendship? I don’t remember.

58. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve had sex for?

I don’t know. I don’t time it.

59. What reality shows do you watch? The Masked Singer. I Can See Your Voice.

60. Post a video of yourself here: No thanks.

61. Where do you work? A local center for kiddos on the autism spectrum.

62. Have you ever gone up to a car thinking it was yours and tried to get in it? Yeah. I’ve gotten in one once even...

63. Where do you buy most of your clothes? Walmart.

64. If you were very intelligent and had the capability to have any profession, what would you like to be? Psychologist.

65. What’s your most irrational fear? I have a lot of them.

66. How many radio stations do you listen to? There’s two I mostly listen to.

67. What kind of music do they have?

One is popular music, and the other is country.

68. Would you rather go to Greece or Hawaii? Greece.

69. Musicals: Yay or Nay? Eh. Not necessarily my favorite generally.

70. What are the next concerts you’ll be going to? I don’t know. I’m going to a musical in a couple weeks though.

71. What was the last conversation you had with your best friend about? Needing sleep.

72. Are you one of those people that LOVE to hug others? Depends on the person, but not generally.

but yea, if you want my opinions on the paper mario games, here they are

i haven’t played paper mario 64 yet, so i cant say anything about that

i can totally understand all the love ttyd gets, it is really kinda that perfect mario rpg thats fun with unique characters and a big story with real weight to it

except i do really love super paper mario more because that game was my childhood and it had a much more grander and personal story than ttyd had, even if that did mean stripping the more traditional rpg elements away from that game to make it alot more palatable to gamers more traditionally accustomated to platformers

sticker star and color splash are fine, obviously, i dont really hate those games. ive never played them (i only played through the beginning of sticker star), and color splash can sometimes get broken, but as far as i know, these games arent as bad as TTYD elitists make them out to be

the origami king not only looks really good, but i have heard both sides on the arguments about the origami king, as you can see in my blogs bio. i havent played it yet, and im planning on getting it sometime soon, but from what i heard, the origami king might be the best paper mario game in this past decade of paper mario games (excluding the paper marios of the 2000s)

Weekend Top Ten #454

Top Ten Launch Games 

Oooh, it’s finally here!  

By the time you read this, the Xbox Series X/S consoles will be out, and the PlayStation 5 will be imminent if not already with us. At the time of writing I’ve yet to sample either console, although hopefully that will soon change. However, it’s a bit of a weird console launch, especially for Xbox owners, as there’s not much in the way of actual launch titles. PlayStation has the excellent-looking technical showcase (in that it shows off their sexy new controller, if not necessarily the excesses of the console’s visual prowess) Astro’s Playroom. But on the Xbox side, the only genuine first-party exclusive (not including the port of rather smashing PC title Gears Tactics) was to be the troubled Halo Infinite, which has now been pushed to next year to deal with some of its apparent graphical deficiencies. For what it’s worth, as a Halo fan, I thought the actual gameplay presented looked as good as it always has, so I’m still very excited, but it’s a shame not to sample something genuinely new and shiny at launch. For me, then – as someone not getting a PlayStation this year – I’m going to have to contend myself with updated versions of older games, and hopefully something like the really exciting-looking The Falconeer or, eventually, Cyberpunk 2077.  

Of course, it’s not always been like this; in the past, a landmark game has often been the core reason to upgrade to a new console. Certain titles have defined their hardware platforms, offering a taste of the experiences to come, be it through revolutionary control systems, previously-unimaginable graphics, or simply by shattering preconceptions and expectations. As such, this weekend I’m celebrating my favourite launch titles. 

Now, a couple of my usual caveats. I’ve hardly owned any consoles in the grand scheme of things; I was a computer gamer until the launch of the first Xbox, and even then was PC-first until about midway through the 360’s life. As such I came to a lot of these late, or played them on friends’ systems. I’m sure a videogame historian would give you another list, one that was able to put each title into its historical perspective. For my part, I’m mostly basing it on how much I like the game, but I am also trying to weight it in terms of its “importance”. I mean, one of my favourite “launch titles” of all time would be Lego Marvel Super Heroes on the Xbox One/PS4, but that seems a bit of a ridiculous game to call a launch title, especially as it doesn’t really show off the hardware or define the generation in any particular way. I just think it rocks. So I’m trying to judge it also in terms of how effective a given game was at being a launch title, as well as my personal preference; as such, some games, which I think are more emblematic of their time or their hardware, might end up higher in the list than if I was otherwise just ranking my favourites.  

Christ, that was boring. Look, here are ten games that I like that came out when a console came out. Have at it. 

Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, 2001): it’s not just that it made playing an FPS on a console as comfortable and enjoyable as on PC, but it revolutionised what an FPS could do. Expansive open landscapes, dynamic combat with intelligent enemies, an ingenious shield/health combo, two weapons, drivable vehicles, and frankly outstanding graphics. And for Xbox – a curious underdog, a big black sheep devoid of cool or class and feeling like Microsoft was trying to buy its way into the console space with a hefty dose of brute force – here was something unique, something incredible. I don’t think anyone quite expected Halo, and it’s arguable that it single-handedly changed not only Microsoft and Xbox’s fortunes but the entire game industry too.  

Wii Sports (Wii, 2005): the Wii was this strange outlier, a tiny white box that eschewed the grunt and girth of its rivals, and seemingly built around its unique motion controller. Would it work? Wii Sports proved that yes it would, a delightful bundle of games that perfectly showed what the console and controller could do. Immense fun in and of itself, but the Wii’s ability to lower the barrier of entry to non-gamers meant that your dad could thrash your brother at bowling. And that is a thing to cherish forever. 

Tetris (GameBoy, 1989): depending on where you look, Tetris may just be the best-selling game of all time. It’s on everything now, from the Xbox Series X to your watch. But there was a time when “Tetris” meant “GameBoy”; that four-colour greenscreen box of wonder that everybody had but me. It was beyond ubiquitous, and its short-form nature and simplistic styling made it ideal for the portable console, its chirpy and iconic music sounding perfect coming from those tiny speakers. And above all else, of course, Tetris is fantastic, one of the greatest games of all time. It was a perfect marriage of software and hardware. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch, 2017): so here’s the thing: I like Zelda, but I’ve never fallen in love with it. I didn’t grow up with it, so coming to Ocarina of Time, there were too many old-fashioned trappings in the way; it just didn’t feel as enthralling or as fun to play as, say, Half-Life or Deus Ex. BOTW changed that; the limitations were gone, the world was blown wide open. It no longer felt like an 80s game in three dimensions, it felt new. Better than new – it felt like tomorrow. Despite the Switch being graphically weaker than its contemporaries, BOTW was and is simply gorgeous to look at, but it’s how it plays, how it feels like a vast but real world, how it has its own rules and they make sense instantly. It’s the greatest open world game of all time, and emergent physics sandbox, and yet it’s still unquestionably Zelda, emphatically Nintendo. Okay, it technically came out on the Wii U at the same time, but who the hell played that? This was the game that made you want a Switch.  

Super Mario 64 (N64, 1997): this is often the game people cite as being one of the great revolutionary launch titles, but I must confess its charms were lost to me at first. Taking what was great about Mario and converting it expertly into 3D was a heck of a feat; graphically for the time it certainly impressed in the scale of its worlds, and whilst back then I felt it lacked the detail and granularity of some PC titles, in retrospect it was a perfectly-suited art style, offering smooth textures even when right up close. But it was its precise controls and the open, hub-based nature of its worlds that was revolutionary; many games aped its style, but it took a long time before anything really matched it.  

Hexic HD (Xbox 360, 2005): not every game here has to be some genre-busting graphical powerhouse; they can be simple but quietly revolutionary. Hexic HD is a terrific puzzle game with a simple hook, brilliantly executed, and enough intrigue and nuance to keep you coming back for one more go, to beat your high score, to get to the next tricksy level. But the time and manner of its release, and what that signified, marked it out as something more important. It was the first Xbox Live Arcade title; Microsoft’s curated gallery of smaller, more indie-flavoured games. More than that, it was free, coming pre-installed on all Xbox 360 Pros (the ones with the removable hard drive). It was a taste of what was to come, introducing audiences not only to the idea of playing these kinds of smaller, less intense games on a console, but also the idea of purchasing and downloading them digitally. It was great and ground-breaking in equal measure.  

WipEout (PlayStation, 1995): I kinda missed the PlayStation generation. I was still, more or less, in my PC-centric “consoles are toys” mindset (which I wouldn’t fully shake off till the release of the N64). But I came to appreciate its qualities as a cool, exciting, super-fast futuristic racer. I’m pretty sure it’s not the first 3D hover-car racing game, but it was presented in such a groovy package that it ticket all the boxes, and helped show off just what the PlayStation was capable of in terms of its 3D graphics and CD sound. And, of course, it helped define the console as being a bit more edgy and grown-up than the previous Nintendo and Sega stalwarts. 

Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1988): what can be said about one of the most iconic games of all time? Mario Bros defined not only a console, not only a generation, but arguably an entire artform. Creating what we now know as a platform game, it expanded and surpassed the basic template of Donkey Kong into a roaming adventure, part twitch-gaming reaction test, part puzzle game. I played a lot of copycat games on my Amiga, but even then, as a whiny computer brat, I knew that Mario was better. Even when my cousins got a MegaDrive and Sonic, I knew – deep in my heart – that Mario was better. It's a deep game, an endlessly replayable game, a supremely fair game despite its difficulty. I think it’s hard to overstate just how good, or how influential, Mario was. 

Project Gotham Racing (Xbox, 2001): I tried hard to pick a different platform for every game in this list, but I couldn’t exclude PGR. This may be tied up with my biography a little bit, but my other half and I played this game to death. I never think of myself as a big racer fan, but every once in a while a title comes out that I just really, really get into – Jaguar XJ220 on the Amiga, Midtown Madness on PC, the Forza Horizon series nowadays – and PGR did that in spades. A gorgeous arcade racer, it was a great launch title to show off the sheer grunt of the Xbox; then, as now, the most powerful console on the market. It also offered a terrific four-player split-screen. But its Kudos feature – borrowed from semi-prequel Metropolis Street Racer – offered ways to win outside of sheer racing graft, awarding cool driving. I still love the original, and I kinda wish they’d bring back or reimagine its city-based driving for a future release or Forza spin-off. 

Lumines: Puzzle Fusion (PSP, 2004): okay, so this is a bit of a cheat as I've barely played the original PSP version, but Lumines is just phenomenal; the best moving-blocks-around game since Tetris, and probably the most influential one since then too (for the record, I've played it extensively on multiple other platforms). An excellent spin on a Tetris-a-like, its use of music and colour made it a beautiful, brilliant sensory experience. With Sony entering the handheld market, the PSP needed a USP, something vibrant and cool that suited a portable experience, and Lumines provided it in spades; also its funky visuals and music was a good fit for Sony’s brand.  

Well, that was fun, and a lot harder than I expected. If you’re enjoying a new console this Christmas, then hopefully you’ll have fun with one of the new launch titles too – even if I doubt any (apart from maybe Astro) would trouble a list like this in the future (although I do think The Falconeer looks all kinds of cool). 

The reluctant (masculine) hero in GoT and Harry Potter

(Spoiler warning for episode 8x04 of Game of Thrones)

In the latest episode of Game of Thrones Varys and Tyrion talks about who would be the best ruler of The Seven Kingdoms; the queen who has spent years trying to get the throne, or the potential king who doesn’t want it. (NOTE: I AM NOT TAKING A STAND ON WHO WOULD BE THE BETTER RULER) Varys then says: “Have you considered the best ruler might be someone who doesn’t want to rule?” (Game of Thrones 2019: 57:34 min) This plays right into the classic trope of the reluctant hero, the character who doesn’t want to lead but is forced into the situation and turns out to be the hero. Another example of this is Harry Potter, who never wants to be the chosen one, but ends up leading the fight against evil nonetheless. In the seventh Harry Potter book the issue of power and how it can corrupt is very present, and in their final dreamlike discussion Harry and his mentor Dumbledore discusses just that. Dumbledore says:

It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. (Rowling 2007: 575)

I couldn’t help but to think of that quote after watching that latest Game of Thrones episode and ruminating on how alike Jon Snow and Harry Potter’s journey of reluctant leadership are. Jon Snow declines leadership several times in both the books and the show, in this latest episode of the show they emphases several time how he doesn’t want the throne. The books obviously haven’t gotten that far, but there as well this trope is evident when Jon initially doesn’t want to be the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch (Martin 2000/2011: 519). This recurring theme in stories of the hero not wanting to lead is interesting and is most likely there to make us more sympathetic towards them. But as @arhythmetric on twitter wrote (and shout out to her for being the inspiration of this text), not everyone has the opportunity to be a leader in the first place:

I understand the appeal of the “reluctant monarch” but I continue to hate it because it almost always cuts against those to whom power doesn’t just fall into their laps. Look at who gets to be the reluctant monarch every time: straight, able-bodied white men.

The myth of the reluctant leader cuts against women, POC, LGBTQ, disabled people, those who DON’T already have power. And when they try to take some of it, they get painted as power hungry for wanting something denied to them. Because we have to fight for it in a way those who just get it don’t.  (arhythmetric 2019)

There are a million ways one could analyse the reluctant hero, why some leaders are seen as legitimate and some not, but one thing that struck me as interesting is the way the importance of them to be masculine.

As many have written before, the traditional hero in Western stories are male, and masculine (Goodwill 2009: 15). But what does masculine mean? RW Connell (2008: 109) writes that there are different types of masculinities in society, that are all a result of the gender relations that exists. She sees gender as a way to organise social praxis, that is, how everyday life is organised based on the reproductive arena (i.e. bodily functions such as attraction and child bearing) (Connell 2008: 138). Moreover, by describing the different kinds of masculinity that exists she makes it clear that there are hierarchical relations between them as well (Connell 2008: 114). She describes different types of masculinity, but here I want to focus on hegemonial masculinity. Hegemonial masculinity is the type of masculinity that is on the top of the gender hierarchy. It is the ideal version of masculinity and the one that best preserves men’s power over women. It’s important to note that this might not be what we often think of as the most masculine, it doesn’t have to be a body builder for instance. In Sweden (where I live) I’d probably describe it as a white middle class man, who works out (but not too much), is a responsible dad, is handy and likes being outdoors, but is also “with the times” and tech-savvy… You get it, the ideal. The point is that hegemonial masculinity is different in different contexts. One important part of it however is that it often excludes certain types of men, for instance LGBTQ men are often seen as “too feminine” (Connell 2008: 116). Another example is that men of colour for instance might represent a marginalised masculinity, something framed as the opposite of the (white) hegemonic masculinity (Connell 2008: 117).

How does this all connect to the reluctant hero? Well, I would consider most heroes to be examples of hegemonic masculinity. In many ways, that is what makes others rally around them as leaders, even if they don’t want to be those leaders. If we use Harry Potter and Jon Snow as examples they very much fit many of the requirements to be ideal masculine heroes. Firstly, they’re both white, straight (as far as we know…), able-bodied and men. Like Varys said in this last Game of Thrones episode “Yes because he’s a man. Cocks are important I’m afraid.” (Game of Thrones 2019: 1:01:08 min) (Note: I obviously don’t think genitals determine one’s gender, but the world does, including in Westeros) But while they’re both fighters they aren’t merciless, both of them try to spare people from death when they can, often to their own detriment. (Martin 2011/2012: 829 & 1064; Rowling 2007: 64) This shows that they aren’t just super-masculine killing machines. The fact that they don’t want to be leaders also show that they are somewhat humble, another good trait. But the fact that they can afford to not be ambitious, and still becomes leaders is in my opinion dependant on the fact that they fit the image of hegemonic masculinity so well.

Wahl, Holgersson, Höök and Linghag (2011) discusses how gender impacts hierarchies in organisations, and what kind of leader someone can be. They write about three aspects that impacts one’s ability to rise in the hierarchy; ability/opportunity, power, and the composition of the group (Wahl et al. 2011: 77). The first aspect is about what kind of ability one perceives themselves to have to advance. Someone with limited resources/opportunities will limit their own ambition, but someone who starts off with many opportunities will have a higher self-esteem and make use of the opportunities they have. When it comes to power, someone with a small amount of power becomes more authoritative and has to use force to get their will through (Wahl et al 2011: 79). But someone with more power can afford to be more relaxed and thus is generally more liked. Finally, the group’s composition matters because if you are in a minority (for instance being a woman in a male-dominated workplace) you become more visible (Wahl et al 2011: 80). This can be negative because you then become a representative of that whole minority and might have to suffer from stereotypes that exists. You might also feel more pressured to perform well, feeling that you are a representative of for instance all women. A final consequence might be that the majority group might feel threatened by you infringing on what has previously solely been their territory.

Does any of this sound familiar? Those last points in particular, in my opinion, very much describe how Daenerys and Jon have been described in this last season of Game of Thrones. Authoritative and disliked, or less bothered by formalities and more liked by the people. Daenerys is a stranger, not only as someone having lived in another country, but also as a woman trying to rule. She becomes hyper visible in this way, and as Varys says, perhaps people would be less forgiving if she was a man. Jon on the other hand doesn’t want to rule, but people keep trying to force it on him. He can keep turning down leadership, but people will still accept him as a leader. If Daenerys didn’t actively try to seek power no one would give it to her. This is in the end why so many reluctant heroes are white straight able-bodied men, they can be reluctant and still be given power. I’m not saying that someone that isn’t a white man is automatically a better ruler. But I am saying that it’s much easier for such a person to gain power. If a woman, POC, LGBTQ+ person, and/or disabled person doesn’t actively seek it no one will give it to us. But a good hero doesn’t seek power.

 References:

arhythmetric (2019). I understand the appeal of the "reluctant monarch"(…) [twitter post], 6th of May. https://twitter.com/arhythmetric/status/1125377350596812801 [2019-05-06]

Connell, R.W. (2008) Maskuliniteter. (2nd edition). Göteborg: Bokförlaget Daidalos AB [this is the Swedish translation of Connell’s book Masculinities]

Game of Thrones (2019). The Last of the Starks. [TV-show] HBO, 5th of May.

Goodwill, J-A. S. (2009) THE ACTION HERO REVISIONED: AN ANALYSIS OF FEMALE “MASCULINITY” IN THE NEW FEMALE HERO IN RECENT FILMIC TEXTS. Master dissertation. University of South Africa.

Martin, G.R.R. (2000/2011). A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold. London: HarperVoyager.

Martin, G. R. R. (2011/2012). A Dance with Dragons. London: HarperVoyager.

Rowling, J.K. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Wahl, A., Holgersson, C., Höök, P. & Linghag, S. (2011). Det ordnar sig: teorier om organisation och kön. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

A Hat in Time -- Cute as Heck

Yeah, I don't know where to start on this one. I mean I did liked Spyro: Year of the Dragon and that similar muppet video game when I was a kid. But I was never really into the 3D collect-a-thon, because the PS1 was the only console I had at the time, and most of those games were on the Nintendo 64. Hell, I didn't even know there was a Nintendo 64.

I told you, I was a dumb fuck when I was a kid

I picked this up because a friend kinda recommended it to me. I asked him about this game, and he said "it's pretty good, but the light-hearted-fun kind of good". Well shit, that's something I haven't heard in a long time to describe a video game, what with everything gotta be "gritty" and "realistic" but they end up edgy and depressing. After all of those things considered, I thought to myself, why not?

Let's have some light-hearted fun!

The first thing I noticed when I googled it is that it was a kickstarter project. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of pessimistic. What, with your Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee ending up being one of the most expensive disappointment in the history of kickstarted games. But between the two, Mighty No. 9 was the one that caught my attention the most. I mean Keiji Inafune was in the team behind it. And that guy was the father of Megaman. This is like if BombTag was made by the guys who made Bomberman but also being a lot more shit than the current version of BombTag. So you can clearly see why it was a cruel twist of fate that it turned out to be crap, it had all the pieces and all the money it needed to be the homecoming diva of the year that will receive all the scholarships, and look how it ended up: a 60-pound crack-whore that sucks dick by the nickel. Well I decided then that wallowing and speculating about how this game might be another pile of shit is just wasting my goddamn time, so I moved on to finally playing the game.

The first time I started it, I wasn’t impressed

I’m just gonna be honest and upfront about this, I think the graphics sucked. I understand that you’re angry, but this is my paragraph, so shut the fuck up. Ok, how do I explain this? I mean the graphics are cel-shaded, which actually compliments the theme this game was going for, I’ll give it that much. But it’s fucking bad, even for indie. There are clipping issues everywhere, shading that went crazy and mis-matched, and a few more minor issues. They didn’t disturb the game though, not at all. I just think that if you’re making a game that’s on kickstarter and a few projects like this one has failed miserably, maybe don’t make it look like Wind Waker went a few rounds with a semi truck. But again, as I have said, it does not affect the game in any way, just a minor complaint from me really. The graphics aren’t the strength of this game anyway.

To be fair, graphics wasn’t Wind Waker’s strong suit either

To me, the strength of the game lies in the gameplay

The story is that you are some alien kid in a spaceship fueled by thingies called Time Pieces. On your way home some mafia guy asked you to pay the toll, in a blue suit, in outer space, without rockets. You gotta admire his dedication. Anyway, he fucks up your ship and as a result all your time pieces got scattered across different themed worlds. And thus begins your journey of collecting all 40 macguffins so you can kickstart your magic spaceship-home-base-thingy! Now please relocate your eyes back to it’s original place after rolling it so far backwards from hearing the sub-par theming of the game. Don’t worry, I promise everything gets better, because I will finally talk about the gameplay in the next paragraph

The gameplay at it's core is a simple 3D platformer. You jump, you slide, and you attack enemies. Pretty basic shit on the surface level, if not deceptively so. Thing is, there are moves that you can get from a combination of jumps, slides, and wall hops that can get you further than your little minds can handle. And like it or not, this is a thing that you have to master becuase the platforming will only get more and more challenging as you progress throuh the levels, especially the secret levels that can be hard as balls. Thankfully, they usually teach you how to do things by introducing a mechanic in a story first, and only after then do they allow you to go wild.

The second part of the gameplay is the objective, which is to collect all the scattered time pieces thingy to re-fuel your spaceship. This is achieved through a set goal depending on the levels of the game. And since there are 5 unique worlds in total, each with levels of their own, you can bet your ass that there’s a lot of gameplay variety. This is in one hand, a good thing since a lot of variation can be a guarantee that you will not get bored by doing the same thing again and again. I guess this is a thing that comes from being a kickstarted game. This dev guy wants this, that dev person wants another thing, and the everybody just frankenstein’d all the different concepts into one big ball and hope for the best. Thankfully, it worked in favor of the game, since the interchanging themes and mechanics means that every level feels fresh and novel. Although I must say, this also results in one particular level that’s very different in tone from the rest of the levels. I mean for comparison, In one level I was in a town full of bald Mafia men, pushing them off cliffs and ledges for fun. Meanwhile, in the next level I was being chased by the lordly ghost woman in a haunted mansion. Now, since the other levels are anything BUT scary, I thought that this horror-themed level is just children level of scary. You know, like your talking bones or bed sheet ghosts. What I didn’t expect was a sincerely terrifying level that made me genuinely scared. 

Wow, I never expected that my pants could be so brown.

I gotta tell you though, that level wasn’t some kind of genius design or some avant-garde breakthrough. It’s just your generic scary enemy chasey chasey sequence you’ve seen a million times. It’s just that you can really feel the horror because you didn't expect it to be there. It’s like walking into Disneyland to find everything has been replaced by spiders and mickey had hung himself on the main attraction.

One thing that I felt is that the game is very short. 25 levels in total (excluding the DLC) with bonus missions for extra time pieces that amounts to 40. That may seem to be a huge number, but trust me it isn’t. The reason why is because the game is a bit of a cakewalk. The bosses themselves aren’t hard, except for the purple ghost guy that can spam AoE attacks like it’s going out of style. After playing it fully, I get the feeling that I’m not quite the intended audience for this game. I feel like A Hat in Time is made to be played by children. It’s just a feeling I had though.

In Brief

You know what I felt when I played A Hat in Time? Joy. Pure innocent child-like joy that leaves a grin on your face. The kind of grin you used to get when you played in the yard with your friends or family. It’s a different kind of joy from the triumph when you defeat a hard boss in Dark Souls or when you get the top frag in shooter games. It’s warm and optimistic and leaves you content. If you’re a kid looking for a good kiddie game, this one’s for you. If you’re just looking for some good old fashioned nostalgic platformer game, this one’s also for you.

Hey we don't judge things over here my guy. A game's a game, and what matters is you enjoy what you're playin'.

OnS Chapter 99. Yuichiro Hyakuya/Amane - Deep Analysis

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing alright, one of the things I’ve noticed is one of the most controvertial characters within the series and that character is Yuichiro Hyakuya, the main protagonist of the story.

Therefore, I’d like to make a deep analysis on him due to his psychology and his bevaior. 

P.S: THEORIES AND ANALYSIS ARE HELD WITHIN NEUTRAL VIEW. SHIPS ARE EXCLUDED.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3D_PnaxT0

Yuichiro Hyakuya is well known for being the main protagonist of Vampire Reign; but of course, like any other character within the story; he has had his hardships within the past along the fact that he was something without form but rather, someone treated as an object or a synthetic human by Sika Madu.

It is well known that Yuichiro had quite the personality before he befriended Mikaela Hyakuya; he didn’t consider the Hyakuya orphanage his family until the events with Ferid Bathory changed his life:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 01

Of course, this only made Yu fear of bonding with other people; the only figure he could rely on was Guren since he was his saviour, a person that found him lost in a destroyed world; but even after Guren picked him up and trained him to defend against others; he couldn’t interact with people; Yu was left unable to make friends nor wanted to follow up orders; which eventually gave him the result of going to a school in order to bond with others; thus leading with the encounter of Shinoa Hiragi:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 02

Shinoa was tasked to keep an eye on Yu but along with this, she was also ordered to make sure Yu was able to make friends; and of course, her being an observant, she detected easily Yu’s fear which was to make friends or find the love of his life, though of course Yu wasn’t having such thoughts, his only thoughts were to avenge Mikaela and slay vampires.

Gradually, his world started to become bigger; he was able to find a new family; despite the ways he made friends; those who became important to him were Shiho Kimizuki, Yoichi Saotome, Mitsuba Sangu and Shinoa Hiragi.

He took his time to follow up orders; and that was due to the fact he aimed to be stronger, he wanted to defeat vampires to fulfill his revenge, that was his sole reason to live. 

But after several chapters which could mean days within the demon army; a fateful event occured.

Correct, he was able to meet Mikaela once again; with the surprise he was alive but as a vampire. Though, the reunion didn’t go as expected since Mikaela was aware the demon army only experimented on humans; by worst Yu saw his new friends being food for vampires which made him lose control and awake his seraph until he ended up returning to normal and thus lead to a comatose state of a week.

But then, was this the factor that made him acknowledge Guren as everything?

No. At this point, Yu was happy Mikaela was alive no matter what, plus he received the support of his new family. He felt blessed; until he discovered that Guren had knowledge of previous events but despite that, he stated the next thing:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 18

Correct. Yu stated he wouldn’t mind being a Guinea Pig if it meant to bring Mika home; of course Guren dismissed such thoughts and stated they were family, and family would bring or save each other.

Despite that, time went peaceful, Yu was still impulsive and mostly when the Nagoya Arc began; he met another squad which was Narumi’s squad; they eventually worked together and supported each other until they heard Guren was caught.

This triggered Yu’s mind to the point he didn’t mind consuming pills in order to unleash his demon; of course, Asuramaru at that time halted him from doing such reckless move towards his body and instead suggested him to allow him to possess him; which only made the squad rush for him and save him; only to see Mikaela attempt to retrieve him without thinking that he was surrounded by the Demon Army.

Afterwards, they were reunited again, but something changed; what do I mean?

If many might recall, Yu went towards Nagoya’s airport with Mikaela in order to meet with his friends, but what he wasn’t expecting was to see the demon army killing humans in order to trigger the experiment of the Seraph of the End with Mirai Kimizuki.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 40

This was the detonant as to why Yu had the mental set of seeing Guren as a good person and in fact, he’s not wrong; Yu’s aware Guren carries a big weight over his shoulders but like any other rational being, such message isn’t easy to deliver specially when the squad doesn’t know Guren like Yu does; Yu was able to see sides of Guren since he was the one that took care of him after his rescue.

But then, does this mean Yu will always be trusting Guren as if nothing happened?

At first, it seemed he understood why Guren did such thing and that was because he commited the biggest taboo which was to bring back the dead; Yu understood that his actions were out of the pain and grief and thus he didn’t mind his return nor the fact he’d use him again; thus lead to Mika get angry 

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 58

Mika was the first one to tell Yu it wasn’t alright but Yu didn’t respond to that because to Yu’s possible mindset, it was that Guren endured a lot and he needed everything he could to restore the world again; such event followed suit to the preparations to face the 5th progenitor Ky Luc.

Afterwards, Yu’s heart stopped and was treated quickly but this only made Mikaela fear rage and anger towards Guren due to how he was using Yu specially after showing those two that he kept the 6th trumpet within his household:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 64

Nevertheless, Yu still supported Guren’s ideals. After stopping the 6th trumpet, the squads went to Shibuya since Kureto Hiragi called Guren; of course, he called them in order to inform he was possessed by something Godlike for the time being and his demon was fending against such monster; said events would follow suit to the possession of Shinoa Hiragi and the fracture of the squad.

Yu was kidnapped by the Hyakuya Sect along his cursed gear; Mikaela eventually found a way to escape and find Yu; Yu’s friends escaped by their own while Mitsuba tried to find them; and of course, after Guren saved Shinoa from Shikama’s possession; the battle between Yu, Mika against Guren, Mahiru and Noya began.

Such battle was intense, it only made Yu allow Asuramaru take full possession of him in order to give him power but the results of that strength weren’t enough; Yu was halted by Mahiru; Mika did the imposible to rescue him leading to his death and of course, the biggest impact on Yu’s heart came:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 90

Yu stated he wished to die; Yu’s been bearing too much pain for so long and whenever he attempted to rescue someone, he couldn’t go further which made him think he was the problem. And as surprising as it was, Asuramaru conforted him and made him recall what Mikaela told him; the fact he needed to live was what made Yu cry and see his first family, his treasured person die in front of him.

After such events, the demon Mikaela started to manifest on the real world; Krul Tepes was able to meet up with Yu and told him a way to save him but of course, they needed to find a spot where to hide for the meantime. Within this, he pleaded Krul to save Mikaela or to at least get knowledge on how to save him

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 96

This result only ended up making the Queen start asking them if they knew who the enemy of the world was, who they were fighting, what their reasons to live were; but before everything could keep going, the First Progenitor took control of Shinoa’s body which was something Krul quickly detected and luckily, Mahiru managed to supress his cells from Shinoa’s body with quite the strange drug.

After that, we saw Guren and Mahiru entering the building the squad and Krul were in leading to the eventful details of chapter 99, which were the sealing of the demon Mikaela and the most controvertial scene for the fandom:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

Now the real analysis begins.

Why is Yu so trustful? Why is Yu so easygoing with Guren’s actions? Or something that the fandom asks, why is Yu so dumb to not even doubt Guren in the sightlest?

WARNING: Theories and analysis aren’t focused on viewing characters in a bad light nor attacking the faves of the readers; analysis and theories are held within a neutral view and ships are excluded.

Something the fandom hasn’t noticed is Yu’s nature within the story. What do I mean?

Yu himself viewed as the character that deserved to die for bringing harm towards those who were close to him which explain why he didn’t want to make friends before meeting Mika and after Mika’s death as a human.

The fact that he eventually found support made him have a change of heart and the fact that he discovered Mika was alive gave him more reasons to fight the world he lived in; he was tired of always running away from everything that could harm him and so, he decided it’d be best to find answers; such answers would lie with the Vampire Queen.

But among this, Guren kept coming back to his life; was it bad that he did?

In a sense it wasn’t bad, because despite the harsh decisions Guren had to take in order to fight a God like entity, he did care about Yu and the squad as well;he understood the distrust they had and it was fine for him to carry such weight on his shoulder but, does this mean Yu will easily forgive Guren every time his feelings gets hurt?

The answer for this isn’t a yes or a no, but rather a why. Why is Yu forgiving towards Guren?

The answers is scary and the reason is because Yu has an overwhelming fear.

How can I state such thing?

Yu’s mentality hasn’t been stable from the very beginning; ever since the incident with his parents; he saw himself as a monster, and the fact Mahiru met him one day and saw the terrible experiments they did with Yu only made her give him an advice which was to find a reason to live even if it was a simple one. He had the right to live.

After Yu grew up and learnt the Hyakuya Sect performed experiments with kids and learnt that Guren knew such thing, he didn’t care if Guren used him, he was fine with that as long as he could provide help.

But, have you dear readers noticed such thing?

Of course. That’s the most terrifying thing Yu is afraid of. He is afraid of being alone and not being loved. He is afraid of being discarted, he is afraid that those persons around him hate him. He is afraid to be a let down to those who surround him.

Yu can’t simply discard such idea of his mind; that’s why when Mika was a half vampire, he didn’t mind if Mika drank his blood; he didn’t mind fighting and using his seraph powers or having his demon give him power if it meant doing something for the greater good. 

When his most important persons were endangered or were close to dying, he’d lose it; he wouldn’t even know what to do, he begged God or anyone to save them. But whenever he heard there was a chance, he didn’t mind the result, as long as it made it possible to bring back the person he cherished which is something that can be seen with Mika.

Yu’s nature goes to not only from being a kind guy but rather, he seeks to be helpful but along this, it only leads to a self destructive attitude despite him not acknowledging it.

The reason he lacks character development is not because of being badly written but rather, because his heart carries many traumas, he hasn’t been able to move on from them, he hasn’t learnt how to overcome them and have the confidence to state what he really feels aloud; he’s afraid of rejection; his actions alone speak that he wouldn’t dare to betray someone’s wishes because it’d mean losing the trust he might have built with the characters he has interacted with.

But then, there’s something else to notice about Yu’s behavior, what could it be?

Correct. Despite Yu being someone who wishes people could rely on, he unconsciously sets barriers towards the people that know him, such barriers are directed towards the squad that has worked up with him and became an important family to him; but how can make such statement?

That’s simple. It is reflected within the behavior seen in the latest chapter. Shiho and Yoichi for losing their loved ones and seeing Yu crying for losing his loved one as well, understood the pain he went through; and thus, for them being easier to express such thing without the fear of losing anything else, they don’t want to risk to lose more; such behavior is directed towards them unknowingly

It can only be said it is required to wait and see when Yu will stop fearing to have contradictions or rather, when he’ll start being more honest of what he truthfully feels.

What do you think dear readers?

Let me know!

GIF belongs to clair-audients

To Danny

...... And to be honest, you are already a horrible person in my impression.

You are uneducated, stupid, rude, having no manners no knowledge like a barbarian. (You are so dumb that once you even let me explain what a thousand is because you only understood the concept of hundred. Dude, seriously, go to f**** school!)

You have no dream, no life objectives, all you do is working for a lousy low-end job, wasting your time in pub, getting drunk, and trying to hook up with ugly people.

What's worse, you have no correct value of what is good thing and what is not. (You told me everyone of your people/community uses drugs and that's normal. That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. You are only humiliating your people.)

Then, you use the name of friendship to ask for free liquors. If people don't do it for you, in your mouth they are not friends any more. This is disgusting and shameful. You are humiliating the name of friendship. Is friendship just a tool for you to take advantage of people? You are shameless and have no dignity.

The longer time I spent with you, the more obvious that you are a disgusting maggot in human form.

You know what, I don't usually make friends with illiteracies like you, the reason I did is I'm polite and sympathetic that I should give you a chance since you tried to reach out. I thought you might have a chance to be a good friend even if excluding those standards above. I know not a few people without education or other stuff can still be honorable and respectable because they have merits inside, in another word, they have noble souls. But I'm wrong this time. There's no merit inside you at all. You are not one of them. You are just another pathetic loser.

Tips for you: grow up, get educated from a college or at least from a decent family member, be useful to the society, get the f*** away from drugs, have some dignity, stop gaining your 300 lbs weight or stop saying you are hitting CrossFit(there's no such CrossFit making someone's BMI increase steeply), before being at least an average person which is not so difficult, don't come out to make friends.

I regret being a friend with you in general. All I learnt from you is, don't be the farmer to a snake, don't waste time trying to change losers since I'm not a saint, and losers don't deserve it either. Oh one more thing, people have standards for a reason. 🙂

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Kolby Ledbetter, 25, began worrying about the new coronavirus a few weeks ago, when it became clear that it was starting to spread in the United States. He works two jobs — a full-time job as an Americorps service member in Chicago and a part-time job at a bar — and at first, his main concern was for his health, since he doesn’t have paid leave at his bar job or health insurance to fall back on.

Then on Sunday afternoon, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all bars and restaurants would be shut down for dine-in customers through the end of March. The bar where Ledbetter works closed the next day, leaving him with a whole new set of worries. “Even before all of this coronavirus stuff, I had a lot of financial anxiety because I was basically living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “Now I have a lot of worry about my health, but I’m also terrified about my ability to stay afloat financially even if I don’t get sick.”

As dramatic measures to tamp down the spread of the virus are implemented across the country, workers like Ledbetter will likely be among the first to feel the economic effects. Big retailers like Gap and Columbia Sportswear are cutting their hours or shutting down entirely in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. And bars and restaurants have also been closed or restricted in a number of states beyond Illinois. On Monday, President Trump urged Americans in a press conference to avoid congregating in groups of more than 10 people.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers like Ledbetter could be especially hard hit economically by the coronavirus, as part-time workers, very young or old workers, and workers in the lowest quartile of earnings are disproportionately likely to work in service industry or sales jobs.

Martha Ross, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution who studies the labor market, told us that workers like Ledbetter have few economic protections right now. “There are a lot of folks who don’t get paid leave if they get sick. They probably can’t work remotely, so they’re more likely to get sick if they do go to work,” said Ross. “And even if they don’t get the virus, they’re still at higher risk of losing their jobs or having their hours cut. They’re vulnerable no matter what happens.”

Crises have a way of exposing inequalities that linger uncomfortably below the surface when times are good. A few groups of workers are particularly likely to lack both paid leave and the ability to work from home: part-time workers, the youngest and oldest people in the workforce (those under the age of 25 and over the age of 65) and workers who fall below the 25th percentile of earnings.

Who is economically vulnerable to the coronavirus?

Percent of workers with access to paid leave or with the ability to work from home by job status, age and earnings in 2017-18

job Status* Paid Leave Work From Home Part-time 23.3%

–

13.7%

–

Full-time 77.0

–

32.6

–

Age (years) Paid Leave Work From Home 15 to 24 35.4%

–

6.7%

–

25 to 34 70.3

–

31.4

–

35 to 44 71.7

–

36.2

–

45 to 54 74.4

–

32.5

–

55 to 64 74.2

–

32.2

–

≥ 65 51.7

–

25.5

–

Earnings† Paid Leave Work from home ≤ 25th percentile 56.5%

–

9.2%

–

25th to 50th percentiles 80.0

–

20.1

–

50th to 75th percentiles 83.9

–

37.3

–

> 75th percentile 86.0

–

61.5

–

Included all wage and salary workers who were 15 years or older at their main job. Self-employed workers are excluded.

*Full-time includes those who work 35 hours or more a week and hold a single job. Part-time includes those who work 34 hours or less a week and hold a single job.

†Earnings includes only full-time workers.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey

Of course, some of these groups make up a bigger portion of the workforce than others. Workers over the age of 65 — who are also at elevated risk of a life-threatening infection because of their age — only make up about 5 percent of people with jobs, for instance. But part-time workers make up about 22 percent. Some of these groups may overlap — young workers, for example, are disproportionately likely to be part-time workers — but they still represent a sizable chunk of the country’s workforce.

Many of these workers are employed in jobs that will be hard-hit by the recent wave of closures and cancellations, too. Almost one-third of part-time workers are employed in the service industry, which includes people who work in food preparation, and 25 percent work in sales. About 40 percent of workers under the age of 25 are employed in service or sales, too. Other research suggests that contingent workers — independent contractors, freelancers, or other people who work in the “gig economy” — are disproportionately likely to be affected, since they’re more likely to be young and to work part-time. And they typically have no access to paid leave or other benefits because their employment is only temporary. They also tend to make less than workers in traditional, permanent jobs. (The data wasn’t available from the BLS, but low-wage workers are also overrepresented in these sectors that will be hard hit.)

Where do economically vulnerable employees work?

Percent of employed persons who work part-time and are under the age of 25 by occupation in 2019

Occupation Part-time Less than 25 years old Service 31.2%

–

22.0%

–

Sales and related 24.7

–

19.2

–

Office and administrative support 19.7

–

14.4

–

Transportation and material moving 16.8

–

14.0

–

Professional and related 15.0

–

7.5

–

Mgmt., business and financial ops. 8.3

–

3.9

–

Production 7.3

–

11.0

–

Construction and extraction 7.3

–

11.0

–

Installation, maintenance and repair 5.5

–

10.9

–

Part-time includes those who work 34 hours or less a week.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

Lee Taylor, 31, a musician living in New York City, said she watched all of her work evaporate as bars and music venues across the city shut down, and she stopped being able to give voice lessons in person. “I’m getting three or four texts or emails every day, all saying the same thing — ‘“Unfortunately, we’re postponing.’” Taylor is in a particularly tough position as she can’t work remotely either. She has the money to cover her rent for April, but says she doesn’t know what she’ll do if the entertainment industry remains shuttered. “I have no idea how to get income.”

And Taylor is not alone. “It’s a bad week to be a waiter, or a cashier, or any kind of contractor whose work relies on in-person interaction,” said Jesse Rothstein, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of California, Berkeley. “Those people are going to see dramatic cuts to their income — their hours might be reduced, or they might lose their jobs altogether.”

Taken together, all of these factors create a bleak outlook, no matter what happens next. People who don’t have access to paid leave and the ability to work remotely are disproportionately likely to be low-income, which means if their workplace isn’t shuttered, they’re more likely to keep coming to work out of necessity, even if they’re not feeling well. That can put them at greater risk of being infected, since their coworkers may be doing the same thing. Research has found some workers in the food service industry kept coming to work even though they had symptoms of norovirus because they were afraid of losing their job or leaving their coworkers short-staffed.

And the possibility that many will lose their jobs or have their hours cut because of the coronavirus creates a whole new set of problems. A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation from March 11 to 15 found that 73 percent of workers with a household income of less than $40,000 a year, 68 percent of part-time workers, and 60 percent of self-employed workers are worried that they will lose income due to a workplace closure or reduced hours because of the coronavirus. According to that survey, part-time and self-employed workers are likelier than full-time or salaried workers to say they’ve already lost income so far.

If the shutdowns persist, some employers may go out of business, leaving workers who weren’t permanently laid off with no job to return to. “We have to start thinking about what’s going to happen when people can’t pay their rent or mortgage,” Rothstein said. “Because these workers are going to start burning through their savings — if they have any at all.”

Obtain Merge Mp 3

Create your personal music, send musical greetings or remix songs. Alternatively you may download an audio modifying app for iOS to join the voice memos together on iPhone. Hokusai is a free audio editor app that may mix or merge multiple audio clips, sound tracks on iPhone. HereвЂs the way it works. Audacity does not include a library of sounds, so you will want to have private copies of the songs you need to combine. Ideally, you'll use a legally owned copy of each song, though it's possible to illegally obtain nearly any tune you need. Merge MP3 is a simple portable utility to merge MP3 information into one lengthy MP3. Additionally, you might batch merge MP3 data by using Textual content file lists, Excel file lists, CSV file lists, or by getting into the lists of audio information to join instantly. Hope you discover this tutorial to separate and merge audio recordsdata simple to understand. Free audio cutter software program program to chop or merge audio recordsdata. OnlinePianist has the largest catalog of animated piano tutorials on-line, five new songs are being added each week. Kakao, proprietor of South Korea's hottest chat app KakaoTalk, will merge with its music subsidiary Kakao M, the companies announced. You may mix MP3, merge mp3 online OGG, WMA, M4A, WAV and lots of more codecs. The itemizing of recordsdata (to be merged) was chosen by folks within the stay viewers using a easy React-Redux web app. In actuality, you possibly can record a number of mp3 info after cat. Approach 2: Additionally, there's another technique to edit and be a part of audio tracks with out placing in software: taking on-line service. 1 Generally talking, and with a point of approximation, yes: merge songs online sound waves "merge" right into a more advanced sound wave and nothing particular occurs, as the resulting wave is nothing but the sum of the two authentic waves. Merger Video On-line is a totally simple-to-use online video joiner. It is especially appropriate for new starters. When use it, you can be at liberty so as to add files from laptop, Dropbox, Google Drive, or on-line supply by submitting detailed URL. At you personal will, you'll be able to add a number of movies in various formats. It's also workable for you to re-arrange the order flexibly.

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Year 5: Year End Review

Here’s how things stand at the end of year 5.

Year 5 End of Year Census

Royals (1 household, 6 sims total)

0 elders

2 adults (2 female)

1 teen (male)

3 children (1 female, 2 male)

3 cats (2 female, 1 male)

3 dogs (2 female, 1 male / 1 adult, 2 puppies)

1 small pet (womrat)

Change from previous year: -3 sims, +1 pet, 0 new households (*There should only be 1 Royal household in the kingdom*).

Losses: 3 elders died from old age, 1 adult died from illness, 2 left for university and/or graduated and started their own households.

Gains: 1 sim was added to the household as a domestic servant, and 2 were born into the household.

Nobles (12 households, 71 sims total)

0 elders

25 adults (15 female, 10 male) (*Including one adult male and one adult female living on the university lot)

5 young adults (2 female, 3 male) (*Not including those from the subhood)

11 teens (7 female, 4 male)

20 children (12 female, 8 male)

4 toddlers (4 male)

6 babies (5 female, 1 male) (*Including one on the university lot)

4 cats (1 female, 3 male)

6 dogs (3 female, 3 male / 4 large, 2 small / 5 adult or elder / 1 puppy)

3 small pets (3 birds)

Change from previous year: +27 sims, +2 pets, +5 households Average change: +2.25 sims/household.

Losses: 5 elders died from old age, 4 sims died from illness.

Gains: 27 sims were born into households, 1 sim married into the noble households from a neighboring kingdom, Princess Violette's family returned to the kingdom as nobles, adding 6 to the count.  Princess Dahlia and Princess Petunia as returning university students also joined the noble class (+2).

Merchants (11 households, 47 sims total)

5 elders (3 female, 2 male)

25 adults (14 female, 11 male)

4 teens (3 female, 1 male)

6 children (2 female, 4 male)

3 toddlers (2 female, 1 male)

4 babies (1 female, 3 male)

3 cats (2 female, 1 male)

3 dogs (1 female, 2 male)

Change from previous year: +18 sims, +1 pet, +2 households Average change: +1.6 sims/household

One household was restored as sims moved in from the subhood to take it over.  One new household was added by Peasants who moved up in class. 

Losses: 3 elders died from old age, 1 died from illness/starvation, 1 sim was removed by social services.

Gains: 12 sims were born into this class, 4 sims immigrated from a subhood, 5 sims moved up from the peasant class and 2 townies married into the merchant class.

Peasants (10 households, 34 sims)

0 elders

18 adults (9 female, 9 male)

2 teens (2 female)

6 children (5 female, 1 male)

4 toddlers (1 female, 3 male)

4 babies (1 female, 3 male)

3 cats (2 female, 1 male)

10 dogs (7 female, 3 male)

Change from previous year: +6 sims, -3 cats, +3 dogs, +3 households Average change: +0.6 sims/household

Losses: 6 elders died of old age, 2 sims died of illness, 3 sims were taken by social services, 3 sims (that were born before year 5) moved up to the merchant class.

Gains: 16 sims were born into the class, 4 sims married or moved in to existing households (of those, 3 were townies and one from a subhood).

All of my classes (except for the Royal class) saw an increase in the number of sims and households this year.  Periodic fluctuations in the Royal household are to be expected and right now the Royal household is in the middle of a decline.  It should go back up again when the next heir grows up and starts a family.

My population is feeling very top heavy, but the percentages are similar to the previous year.  Royals and Nobles combined make up 49% (up from 48%).  It’s still a lot considering they started out as only a third (32%) of the population.  The percentage of Peasants in the kingdom is still declining.

Rates of increase are up for all classes (excluding the Royals.)  I’m glad to see the growth rates for merchants and peasants on the rise.  The Noble class still seems to have the fastest growth.

The Noble class is mostly composed of younger sims.  60% are younger and young adult, so I would expect high growth rates to continue for this class.  But many of the adults are older adults that are nearing the end of their reproductive years.

64% of the Merchant class are adults or older.  Some of them are fairly young adults that still have many reproductive years ahead of them but the population is skewing older.

53% of Peasants are adults, so there are not as many young sims as I would like to see for the increased growth needed in this class.  With so many of the younger sims being first cousins with each other, it’s going to be a struggle to keep the next generation going.

Status of Royal and Noble Households going into Year 6

Royal:

Head of household: Queen Rosalin Royal

Spouse: None

Heir: Princess Lilah Royal

Household Score: 4950

Income: 4000

Burgos:

Head of household: Lady Laurel Burgos

Spouse: Prince Florian Royal

Heir: Lady Beatrix Burgos, Countess, House Beamont

Household Score: 4027

Rank: Duchess

Income: 3500

Durden:

Head of household: Lady Nicolette Durden

Spouse: Sir Trevor Cade

Heir: Lady Lucretia Durden

Household Score: 3884 (Trevor is bringing her down...)

Rank: Duchess

Income: 3500

Cade:

Head of household: Lady Erin Cade

Spouse: Sir Navin Langerak

Heir: Lady Leila Cade

Household Score: 3941

Rank: Duchess

Income: 3500

Pederson:

Head of household: Princess Violette Royal

Spouse: Sir Galen King

Heir: Princess Rona or Princess Ruby Royal (twins)

Household Score: 3078

Rank: Countess

Income: 3000

Rocade:

Head of household: Princess Hyacinth Royal

Spouse: Sir Claudius Cade

Heir: Princess Sheridan Royal

Household Score: 3114

Rank: Countess

Income: 3000

Lyndlia:

Head of household: Princess Dahlia Royal

Spouse: None

Heir: Princess Lynette or Princess Cecily Royal (twins)

Household Score: 2998

Rank: Viscountess

Income: 2500

Beamont:

Head of household: Lady Beatrix Burgos

Spouse: Sir Montague Durden

Heir: Lady Sophie Burgos

Household Score: 3008

Rank: Countess

Income: 3000

Cadeking:

Head of household: Lady Elaine Cade

Spouse: Sir Tobias King (betrothed)

Heir: None

Household Score: 3043

Rank: Countess

Income: 3000

Elover:

Head of household: Lady Elodie Burgos

Spouse: None

Heir: Lady Bianca or Lady Olivia Burgos (twins)

Household Score: 2769

Rank: Viscountess

Income: 2500

Kara (needs a household name):

Head of household: Lady Kara Durden

Spouse: None (but she’d benefit if she married Lorenzo...)

Heir: None

Household Score: 2899

Rank: Viscountess

Income: 2500

Valora:

Head of household: Lady Cora Burgos

Spouse: None

Heir: Lady Colette Burgos

Household Score: 2450

Rank: Countess

Income: 3000

*Lady Valerie Burgos and her husband Sir Ravi Langerak also live in this household.  I wanted to name Valerie as head of household, but with her husband she ranks a baroness and alone she ranks viscountess, so since Cora ranks higher, it would be better for them to give it to her.  They also only have sons, so Cora’s daughter Colette would be the heir anyway.

Clarett:

Head of household: Lady Clarissa Cade

Spouse: None (but she’d benefit a lot if she married Brett)

Heir: Lady Miranda or Lady Chastity Cade (twins)

Household Score: 1916

Rank: None

Income: None

Clarissa really should be bumped down from the Noble class.  If Brett would marry her, they would make the 2000 cut.  I’m kind of waiting to see what he does in regards to her and Sheridan.

I’m also still trying to decide how I want to deal with sims that don’t make the required amount of points.  I do want some sims to be demoted so my neighborhood doesn’t feel so top heavy.  I think starting next year with the next generation anyone who doesn’t make the points upon graduation will be downgraded.  It would also make finding a spouse during university and doing all the things to raise their rank more important.

Status of Merchants Going into Year 6

I’m still updating my spreadsheet for the Merchants and still trying to decide what the requirements are to move up or down and trying to get the points to work in a way that makes sense to me.  I’m thinking Merchants need to have 2000 personal points and 2000 business points to rank up.  I’m not sure how to count high ranking businesses that were inherited from a previous generation (maybe they are required to have a second successful business) and I need to decide the criteria for being moved down.  I would like to keep my businesses going, so I don’t want too much mobility into or out of this class.

For personal points, Brendan Laughlin of the Pet Shoppe and Audrey Collin, who manages the crown’s businesses are eligible to move up.  Brendan has 2559, but his business only scores 1375.  Audrey has a personal score of 2530 (most of that is from her aspiration score, because her reputation is terrible.  The three businesses she manages each score less than 1000.  As an elder, all I could really do is have them retire somewhere or give them a bonus or reward.  They both have grown children to take over now.  Some type of retirement would be nice.

For business points, the Pottery Shoppe scores 2265 and the Tavern scores 2990.  None of the owners have the personal points to level up.

At the bottom are the Farmers.  Their business scores -170.  If anyone should go out of business, it should be them.  I might just wait and see what happens to Gabriel and see who he marries.  Assuming that Caleb and Aiyanna don’t have any other children, his moving out could be the end of the household continuing.

Status of Peasants Going into Year 5

After I went through all the trouble of setting up a new lot and moving sims around I saw that I had three sims in the Peasant class that have enough points to move up.  Earnest and Ione (who isn’t really a peasant, she just moved in with one) both have exactly 2464 points each.  Since she is nobility from another kingdom and her parents’ heir (even though they were renting a house) I decided they are going to move into her parents’ household.  It’s a big jump for Earnest, but it makes the most sense.

Justice also has a score over 2000 at 2148, so I want to move him up too.  I’m not sure what I will have him do yet, but I want it to be tied to his identity as a warlock.

Jeremiah is pretty close at 1980 and I’m kind of afraid too many of my peasants will be moving up as they accumulate aspiration points as they get older.  I may need to limit the class changes to adults or raise the criteria for elders.  I haven’t decided.  No one else is really close at this point, but he is one of the older peasants of the second generation.

In Memoriam:

This year the kingdom said its final farewells to . . .

Queen Liliana Royal (72)

King Anton Royal (72)

Kathlynn Peasant (73)

Sir Cristobal Burgos (75)

Sir Lucius Durden (75)

Tabatha Potter (75)

Abigail Farmer (76)

Russ Peasant (77)

Byron Peasant (77)

Demetrius Peasant (78)

Brigid Cook (78)

King Kevin Lam

Prince Oliver Royal (38)

Lady Claudia Cade (78)

Sir Lyndon Durden (37)

Sir Cecil Durden (6)

Lady Eloise Durden (79)

Lady Cynthia Burgos

Jenee Peasant (78)

Abram Peasant (80)

April Peasant (46)

Kalisa Peasant (15)

Sir Errol Cade (81)

Leopold Tavern (81)

Avri Peshterianu