My Idea for a Live-Action X-Men Movie...

Thinking... how can we introduce the X-Men into live action, whether through movie, tv show, limited series, etc. ... and I have an idea.

Let's start in media res.

Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted has been active for the past few years, however with a small class size of seven. Scott. Jean. Bobby. Hank. Warren. Alex. Lorna. Despite only consisting of seven students, due to Xavier's wealth he has been able to keep his school open and thriving since the beginning.

However that has changed as the size of his class has dropped from seven to one after a botched mission led to the capture of his students save one, Scott Summers.

And the opening scene is Xavier sitting in his mansion, worried, waiting, until Scott kicks his door down, tells them his team is gone, and passes out due to exhaustion.

We then pick up on our narrator for the movie, the character whose eyes we will be seeing the entire movie take place through, stepping off a plane and into JFK airport...

Ororo Munroe. Storm.

She had travelled from her home in Africa seemingly on a whim, as if drawn there by fate, and - unsure where to go or what to do next - she goes to a nearby bar to make her next plan.

Who should happen to sit next to her but a short, hairy man in a cowboy hat and a thick, Canadian accent?

Ororo, meet Logan. They do not hit it off.

She does happen to hit it off with the soft spoken Russian man who is reading poetry at the other end of the bar - Piotr Rasputin - and the bartender, a Native American man - James Proudstar - who wasn't supposed to be working that day but traded shifts with his roommate.

While they are all gathered there they hear a voice in their heads and turn around to see Charles Xavier, a man they all recognize and all soon realize is the reason they are now gathered together in this bar. At first they all want to leave but Xavier implores them to at least first hear him out, which they agree to do, but he tells them he won't start until the final member of their group is here.

Cue shouts and gunfire as Kurt - Nightcrawler - runs, leaps, and teleports across the airport in all his blueness.

Xavier manages to calm the crowd however not before one of the security guards manages to call in that the threat is a mutant and it's a race to grab Kurt before reinformcements arrive. But wouldn't you know it the group is not the best team yet and the reinforcements do arrive in the form of Sentinels.

It seems like all hope is lost when, out of nowhere, a stray quartz-colored beam blows one of the Sentinels apart and allows the group a moment to escape. They regroup in Xavier's car, which had been where Scott was waiting while Xavier gathered the others.

They return to the mansion where Xavier explains what happens to his team, that they were responding to a mutant in distress on an island that had ultimately been a trap - with only Scott escaping. The group has been gathered together to help Xavier and Scott rescue their teammates.

It's mostly a resounding no. Piotr would rather be at home on the farm. James has to go searching for a new job since he undoubtedly got fired from the bar for leaving during shift hours. Logan is "not a team player" and believes that the team is most likely dead anyway. Kurt is game but he is also "not the best fighter".

Ororo also agrees to help.

That surprises everyone. She says that while the circumstances that brought them together were underhanded, she cannot sit idly by while innocent people, people like her with a mutant gene, are in danger. Not just those on the island, who they are tasked with rescuing, but around the world especially since Sentinels have become standard issue around the world. While she does not see herself being a full-time member, she knows that the team Xavier had protected mutants like them from these threats and, with them gone, who will protect their community now?

Xavier tells them that, after they help rescue his original team, they would be free to leave and do what they want with their lives as they please.

Piotr is in. So is James. Logan sighs and agrees, "Since I don't want to be the odd one out." They agree to go save the others. Scott says, however, that before they can mount the rescue mission, they need to become a team first - referencing their battle at the airport and how they need to improve.

They agree to train.

Meanwhile, on the island, we see that there is a Master Mold along with Trask and scientists working on creating the next model of Sentinels in their ongoing war against mutants using the captured mutants from Xavier's Academy as test subjects. The scientists are just as much as prisoners as the X-Men, however, as they were led to the island on false pretenses and forced to work for Master Mold who had, unbenknownst to everyone until the final act, had taken over Trask and controls him as a puppet.

A few of these scientists came with their families. One of these families were the Prydes. Katherine Anne Pryde is seen as a non-threat by both Master Mold and Trask, and is able to freely wander the island as well as speak with the prisoners because, since everything is monitored and she is twelve, she cannot do anything to disrupt the mission. We learn from this scene that Master Mold is on the cusp of unveiling a new breed of Sentinel that, using the schematics pulled from Jean's mind, would be able to track mutants anywhere without needing to be called in. It was luck that the X-Men arrived on their island, fell into their trap.

Meanwhile back in Westchester, NY, this new team of X-Men are having a hard time at coming together to work as a team, which is making Scott mad. He and Logan almost come to blows if not for Piotr stepping between them to break things up. They both step away to cool off.

Ororo decides to speak with both of them. First, she goes to Scott, and tells him that he is not being a good leader. They have a heart to heart where he confesses that his friends are his family, and Jean... he has a lot riding on this being a success, and this is as new to him as it is new to them. He is not used to working with people he hasn't grown up with. Ororo tells him that he needs to lead from a place of love and courage, and not fear. Then, she goes to find Logan to see that he is brushing off Kurt rather coldly and Ororo does not wait to take him to task on his loner attitude. They clash a bit before Ororo tells him to get his act together or just leave, as it shouldn't matter to him what they think if he really doesn't care.

They all agree to do another training session, only they never get the chance as Xavier tells them it is now or never as there was a spike of pain from the same island his first team was lost, and that cannot mean anything good. The heroes go to get suited up and fly to the island base.

Master Mold is ready to create his new breed of Sentinels and it looks like they are a success, as they have been fitted with new upgrades. He activates a few and they immediately power online with the alert that there is a mutant among them.

All eyes turn to Katherine Anne Pryde. Kitty.

Her father and mother object but are restrained as the Sentinels begin to pursue her, only able to tell her to run before they are knocked out. Kitty runs and manages to escape the Sentinels after discovering her ability to phase through solid matter. The escape is not fullproof as they burst out the bunker in full pursuit. When she reaches the beaches with what looks like no place left to go, the clouds part and reveal the Blackbird jet which Ororo had just exited from and is now flying down to confront the Sentinels she spotted chasing the little girl. The Sentinels sense her power and lock onto her, only to get blasted by lightning and turret fire.

The X-Men land and confront the Sentinels but, unlike at JFK, they are able to work together and take them down. Even Logan finds himself being a team player. They rescue Kitty and she tells them where the prisoners are and also what Master Mold is planning.

The team decides to split up - Scott, Piotr, and James will confront Master Mold while Ororo, Logan, and Kurt follow Kitty to the prison area.

Of course we stay with Ororo because, again, she is who we are relying to guide us through this story.

We get to the prison area and it's Ororo, Logan, and Kurt going HAM on these guards taking them down while Kitty uses her powers to free the X-Men. She manages to get to the main control room and hits the button that releases all the prisoners who do their best to help, despite being weakened from experiments and torture.

We learn from Kitty that there's a prisoner missing, and they admit that it's Jean. She was taken by Trask.

So the group races to the main room where Scott, Piotr, and James are and see a BUNCH of Sentinels on the loose and pure pandemonium. Piotr and James are on the ropes and Scott is putting up his best fight, however just as the group arrives the Sentinels converge and blast him, with a woman across the room watching calling out his name as he 'perishes' (we'll circle back on this later).

Without their leader and shocked, Ororo steps up and takes command, leading the group into battle like she's been doing it all her life against the Sentinels while Kitty and Kurt evacuate the scientists. She cuts across the room almost instantly to get to Trask and Jean where we finally learn that the former has been completely taken over by Master Mold and is now a Sentinel cyborg. They battle it out but it's a tough battle given the numbers they're against until there's a moment where Ororo and Jean are tucked away, shielded from incoming blaster fire from Trask and the Sentinels, when Jean places her hands to the ground and closes her eyes. Ororo asks what she's doing and Jean tells her she's asking for help.

"From who? Xavier only sent us?"

"From the mutant we came here to help in the first place. From the island."

BOOM! We get the reveal that the island. Krakoa, is a mutant and has been weakened by the experiments run on it by Master Mold and the Sentinel. Jean tells the group that they need to let Krakoa 'feed' on a piece of their energy to recupe its strength for it to help them and they all look to Ororo as it's her call, and she says they should do it. They do and the ground rumbles and shakes and we can see the island begin to terraform as it fights back against Master Mold and the Sentinels. It takes out MANY of them while the X-Men pick up the slack on the rest.

Ororo takes on Master Mold/Trask hybrid as the island begins to sink back into the ocean, with Trask, damaged, spouting nonsense. That he is there to save the world, that he is the FUTURE, the INEVITABLE, that the X-Men cannot prevent the world falling apart in the future, that they will be responsible for the apocalypse. However, with a lightning zap and some timely telekinesis, the group escapes back to the Blackbird as the rest of the island has already been evacuated.

The X-Men return to Westchester without Scott and inform Xavier of what happened.

Time moves on. They recover. They mourn. A memorial service is held for Scott. Xavier's original students, Warren, Bobby, Alex, Hank, and Lorna, decide to leave the school afterwards as they believe they need to come at the Sentinel problem another way. They form X-Force.

Xavier comes up to Ororo after the service and asks her to stay on, despite her having no obligation to do so. She watches Logan and Kurt keeping Kitty entertained while Piotr and James speak with her parents, about Kitty staying on at the school and learning from Professor Xavier, and decides that she would like to stay and lead the X-Men. Jean joins them and says that she'd be happy to be on any team Storm is leading, revealing that -of the original students - she is the only one who is staying with the X-Men. The three look out onto the horizon as there are endless possibilities for the X-Men now *play the theme song*

END CREDIT SCENE NUMBER ONE - Magneto watches Xavier's new team of X-Men in action and converses with Mystique, saying that, "If Charles has put together a new team of recruits, we should, too."

END CREDIT SCENE NUMBER TWO - A blonde woman in all white speaks with a raven-haird men with red eyes and a crimson diamond embedded in his head. "You pulled a lot of favors to get him, are you sure he's worth it?" "Believe me. He is." The duo, Emma Frost and Dr. Sinister are looking over the body of Scott Summers, very much NOT DEAD, held in stasis as the camera pans out and reveals the Hellfire Club.

And that would be how we introduce the X-Men, and mutants, into live action movies.

1 and 13 for the female characters asks

*rubs hands together*

Putting this under a cut, because it's going to be LONG...

1 - Protagonists

There are... WAY more than 5... but I will pick 5 for whom I can easily articulate why.

In no particular order:

Fanny Price (Mansfield Park by Jane Austen) - People like to call her "the boring one" or "the forgettable one", but she's actually my favorite Austen heroine. Here's why: she shows us that strength of character doesn't have to be bold or forceful or charming or witty to be worth something; integrity can be quiet and meek and humble and still win. And even if she hadn’t received any recognition for doing the right thing - or won the guy's heart - in the end, it still would have mattered to her that she did what was right. I've always related deeply to Fanny's internal struggle to balance her fierce sense of justice with her gentleness of spirit, and, out of all of Austen's heroines, I admire her the most.

Delenn of Mir (Babylon 5) - Delenn is one of the fictional characters I relate to on the deepest, most personal level. At her core, she is genuinely one of the most gentle, kind, compassionate, empathetic, wise characters on television, but as the series goes on, we see that there are incredible depths to her dark side as well. As we gain insight into her past, we learn that she has a disturbing capacity for selfishness and anger and violence, but she chooses to exercise compassion and diplomacy and selflessness instead; as a result, she is deeply respected and trusted by everyone who knows her. She still makes mistakes, but she learns from them, and I love the beauty of her complexity.

Kara Danvers (Supergirl) - I've never been a big DC person, tbh, until the Arrowverse shows were created, and then I got thoroughly and completely sucked in by Arrow, Supergirl, and Superman & Lois (the last of which is apparently no longer part of the Arrowverse... but I digress). What I love about Melissa Benoist's portrayal of Kara/Supergirl is the fact that she is unfailingly kind and good and optimistic, while still having depth. It's very easy for characters like that to remain one-dimensional, but, despite her cheery optimism and dedication to choosing kindness and goodness, we also see her grappling with a heavy burden of guilt because she can't fix everything and save everyone... a dilemma I can relate to, even if her outgoing, go-getter, peppy persona is a bit beyond my realm of experience.

Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery) - Anne was one of my earliest fictional faves, and probably the first fictional character I related to on a deep, personal level. As an adult, I can see now that she is very clearly (albeit not knowingly) autistic-coded, but, as a kid, all I knew was that this character thought and felt just like me; she daydreamed constantly, her imaginary world was always bleeding into reality, she felt everything so intensely and so deeply, and everyone thought she was peculiar. Anne taught me that it was okay to be who I was, and that the people who truly loved me would love me for who I was, without trying to change me.

Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf) - Lydia's character arc is honestly one of my favorites in all of television, and one of the best in the show. She begins the series pretending to be something she is not - a ditzy, bitchy, cold-hearted, two-faced, party-throwing, nymphomaniac - and ends the series comfortable in her own skin and confident in who she truly is: an actual genius, one of the "good guys", a badass banshee, and deeply, painfully, beautifully human. She learns to face her insecurities with vulnerability and grace, rather than cover them up with make-up, and she proves herself to be unbelievably strong and resilient when faced with unspeakable horrors and fear. I just love her so muuuuch.

13 - I wish had better development/writing

Daenerys Targaryen (ASOIAF/Game of Thrones): *side-eyes Benioff and Weiss so hard my eyeballs pop out of my skull* They ruined her. They destroyed her. That last season of GoT was honestly one of the most upsetting examples of character assassination I have ever had the misfortune to witness, and I will never forgive them for it. DRACARYS. If we ever get the rest of the ASOIAF books - and that's a BIG "if" - Mr. Martin had better do her justice... OR ELSE.

Eowyn of Rohan (LOTR movies) - I was disappointed with Eowyn's character development in Return of the King. The film made it seem like she meets Faramir as she's recovering from her battle wounds and then just sort of... fades into the background, which feels so bizarrely anticlimactic after she played such a vital role in defeating the enemy on the battlefield. In the books, we see her realizing, after the war is over, that what she thought she wanted - to be a warrior and fight and live a life of glory - could only lead to loss and death, and it ultimately leaves her empty. She decides to dedicate the rest of her life to rebuilding and rebirth, as her uncle gave her stewardship of Rohan before he died. There's something subtly powerful and beautiful about her character arc to me, and the movies just didn't do a very good job of showing it.

Caroline Forbes (The Vampire Diaries) - I adore Caroline. She is my favorite character from TVD. However, I hated hated HATED her ending. She has such deep-seated insecurities about love and relationships throughout the series, and then, after bouncing her around from love interest to love interest, they finally give her "true love" and have her marry Stephan (ugh)... only to KILL HIM OFF ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. Why couldn't they just let my girl be happy?! I will be bitter about it forEVER.

Raven Reyes (The 100) - Another favorite who was unfairly treated by her writers. I loved Raven's early storyline around her injury and subsequent permanent disability, because it's not often that you see 1) a disabled TV show protagonist, much less 2) a disabled TV show protagonist dealing with depression and chronic pain as a result of their disability. That aside, Raven, like Caroline Forbes, was bounced around from love interest to love interest (all of whom die) and then ends up alone, which is one of her greatest fears and most deep-seated insecurities. She has her found family (well... what's left of it, anyway) to live out her days with, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Bella Swan (Twilight by Stephenie Meyer) - It is very possible for Mary Sue characters to be done well... but Bella is NOT one of them. She is honestly one of the most boring book protagonists I have ever read, and her movie counterpart is no better. Edward has more personality than she does... and that is a low, LOW bar. She had the potential to be interesting - I like the fact that she tells Edward she wants to become a vampire for herself, not for anyone else, because she feels like she was meant to become one and it feels right to her - but most of her potential was wasted and never explored. One of the perks of the main character being so, unbelievably bland is that the side characters are all fascinating by comparison... so at least she's got that going for her, I suppose?

Send me a number and I'll write out my top 5 fictional women.

08/09/2021 DAB Transcript

Ezra 8:21-9:15, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 21:1-2

Today is the 9th day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian, it's great to be here with you today as we do what we do, take the next step forward together. And that next step will lead us into the book of Ezra today chapter 8 verse 21 through 9, verse 15.

Commentary:

Okay, it’s kinda hard not to notice the parallels that have aligned themselves in today's reading, both in Ezra and in 1 Corinthians. Even though these events happened centuries apart from each other. So, let’s just take a look at what's going on here. In Ezra, we began by, you know, hearing the journey taken to Jerusalem with these people coming back for the first time. Ezra, a leader before God comes back rests, counts out the money, make sure everything is there and then begins to observe what's going on and begins to hear the reports that some of the very things that it undermined their culture and their society, namely mixture, in this case, were occurring again. So, some of the very things that caused the temple to ultimately be destroyed and the people taken into exile, when they returned from exile, they began those practices again. So, for Ezra arriving as a leader before God to lead people in the worship of God, set up the systems that governed that and governed the culture, he's discovering this and he's, according to what we read today, devastated. Devastated, that's a big word. Like it wasn't like an annoyance or a roll of the eyes, he tore his clothes and sat down, devastated all day until the evening sacrifice. And then in his humiliation, he got up and prayed a prayer, a plea for mercy and a prayer of repentance and we’ll go back to that. It's easy for us in a very intermingled world to look at the situation and go why are you so devastated, like why can't people be together, like why can't they associate together but there was a point when…when God came to Abraham, which was back at the very first beginning weeks of our year, He said he was going to create a new set of people, essentially, and it was a people with promise and there was a son of promise, Isaac, and remember the whole journey. But the point was that God was coming to earth’s people and setting apart a certain group of people that he had chosen for a particular purpose, not because they were better human beings or somehow they were superior to other people in humanity, but because this people would be His people, and they would be ordered around knowing the one true God, and they would build a culture that would broadcast that to the world. A nation of priests, a nation who feared God, a nation who walked with God to reveal to the people of earth. First of all, there is one true most high God. There is no other and secondly to show what that looks like, how that can be lived so that the example can be set for the rest of the world. They didn't do that, like we’ve read the whole story, only in fits and starts. Kinda like us, only in fits and starts, did they do this and when they did they prospered and when they didn't, they were no longer setting an example. They were being influenced and led astray, so no longer were they this nation of priests shining the light into the world and showing and revealing the one true God and how to walk with that one true God. Instead, they were being seduced away. They were not being the influencers; they were being the influenced. In Ezra's like you've got to be kidding me, this is what destroyed us. So, he's devastated. They aren't setting a precedent or setting a standard, they’re mixing the standard with all kinds of other practices. Things that had led to their own destruction. Then we flip into 1 Corinthians in Paul's writing to the church there and he's pretty clear like not talking about judging everybody in the world, you can’t judge everybody in the world. And you can’t have an opinion about what everybody does out there, that's, God will judge that. But inside this community of faith, this is supposed to be a new species. This is supposed to be a new thing that God is doing in the world, one in which everyone is welcome, but you have to open your eyes and know that you died, to who you were and you started over. There's a new standard, a standard of love. And when you do things that really can't be done in the name of Jesus, then it's mixture that’s leading nowhere, it will ultimately, it will ultimately lead to destruction. It's the precedent of this whole story. And for Paul, he's a Jewish person who knows this story well and recognizes that God is doing something new in the world that he did this new thing by coming in the person of Jesus to accomplish it, and that has to change things. We can't just go oh, I’m free and then intermingle ourselves into bondage that destroys us and then blame God for it. And man, we can rationalize just about anything, but truly, if we are honest just with ourselves, if we can be, if we pause and contemplate a set of actions that we are going to engage our mind and heart and body to participate in. We know in the core of ourselves whether that is right or whether that is wrong for us, whether that is clean, or whether that is unclean for us, whether that is holy, or whether that is unholy mixture for us. Because, because there is a couple of really, really critical things that we must observe and pay attention to. One, when we go against the flow of our new nature in Christ, we are not headed for abundance, we are headed for destruction. We are not headed into further freedoms, we are free. All of these things that we mix and intermingle, they eventually lead us into deception, where we have to wear a mask, where we aren't true, we aren’t really who we were made to be, we’re a lot of things, we put on a lot of masks in every different circumstance, so that we are divided within ourselves. When freedom is, hey, there's a way that this works. Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you can't participate in it in the name of Jesus, then don't do it. Why do you want to hurt yourself? Why do you want to lead yourself to destruction? And so, you can see why Ezra would be on the ground with torn robes devastated, because this stuff is going nowhere. And so, truly the Bible has led us today into a place to consider these things because we're supposed to be the light of the world. Right, we may have all kinds of freedoms and don’t have to obey the Mosaic law but we’re supposed to be the light of the world. The mission hasn't really changed. Everyone is invited but we, who have been reborn, we're the ones supposed to be showing the rest of the world that there is a better way to be here together. That there is a better way to be a human being and if we look around man, we see the mixture, that's what we’re full of is the mixture. And this doesn't mean like oh okay well then, I’m gonna stop drinking wine, it’s the stuff that is intermingled in our hearts, it is bringing us anxiety and confusion that is forcing us to have several different identities in several different circumstances; we’re invited to be the light of the world, we’re invited to be true. And when we are true, we are not only walking in the light, we are free. And so, we can easily go back to Ezra chapter 9 and see this…this prayer, this plea for mercy, this cry of repentance. And maybe it's words can actually be meaningful to us because were guilty too.

Prayer:

And so, Father we come together here before You as if we were on our knees, humbled, devastated to realize that not only have we’ve been counteracting Your work in our lives but we’ve been sabotaging Your will and sabotaging ourselves. So, we pray from the Scriptures, our Lord God, we are ashamed and embarrassed to lift our face toward You Lord, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens. Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our ancestors until the present. Because of our iniquities, we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests to the surrounding kings into the sword captivity plundering and open shame. And now, for a brief, moment grace has come from the Lord our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in His holy place, even in our slavery God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes, though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us, giving us relief so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins. Now, Lord, what can we say in light of this, we have abandoned the commands You gave through Your servants the prophets, after all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt. Though You God have punished less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive. Should we break your commands again. Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in your presence, because of this. Father, we repent and we understand that the only reason we can stand in Your presence is that You came and rescued us and allowed it. You want us in Your presence. You want us as Your children. You want us to be the light of the world because you want all of Earth's people to be welcomed in and yet we are seduced into the mixture so that we have been influenced, we have not been the influencer. And so come, Holy Spirit in this moment of repentance and wash us clean. Help us to reset and restart by taking the next steps that are right before You. We pray for mercy, just as Ezra did, we pray in repentance for forgiveness in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Would that we had.

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November ‘20

Cross Code

Cross Code is a game that is trying so very, very hard. The story is based around your character being an avatar within an MMORPG, and its this kind of game-within-a-game setup that is used as a cheeky way to skirt the fourth wall and have its characters make snide remarks at certain design decisions, while also going full steam ahead with them regardless of the fact. Don’t think we didn’t notice, dev team! It plays out as a 2D top-down action RPG, but clearly has aspirations that extend far beyond this framework. Each of its environments is thoroughly layered with subtle verticality, with parkour-esque platforming having you constantly working backwards from your intended destination, and requiring meticulous attention to detail in order to find where it is you’re able to begin your elaborate series of jumps from. There’s a huge array of materials to gather and channel through traders and to craft into gear, and the combat they benefit is both precise and complex, requiring plenty of on-the-fly thinking as well as tight execution. As well as these set-piece battles, the game’s dungeons are full of puzzles that though smart in construction, are tough enough in isolation, and frankly brutal in their relentless frequency. One particularly ill-advised chapter has a series of three such dungeons in quick succession, and perfectly illustrates that just because you can, does not mean that you should. 

On a more positive note, one thing the game does have in spades is charm. The sprite work is admirable; even though characters are a touch on the tiny side to be too effective on their own, their portraits and dialogue provide a solid emotive connection to them and the story that builds up around them. In all, it is a game that can be a lot of fun, and plenty rewarding - but the entire thing is overly long and far too regularly punishing. It’s tapped into a number of 16-bit action-RPG ideas well, but has perhaps unintentionally also managed to become the most masochistic presentation of these ideas to date.

Crimzon Clover: World Explosion

A game I’ve technically owned for years now, however the lack of a Windows PC has held me back from playing it - with this debut on the Switch finally granting me the opportunity though to get hands on. Although I’d gleaned plenty from watching super players decimate it before now, even my feeble credit feeding through the game’s five stages has given me plenty of additional appreciation for just how good it is. 

It looks brilliant, with chunky, detailed enemies animated beautifully as they move about the screen. The music pounds along to an energetic beat, and the game keeps a solid pace all while plenty of bullets swarm around you in creative and considered patterns. Turning the tides with Break Mode is an incredibly satisfying way to take control of hairier moments, and while I can’t speak for every intricacy of its scoring system, I know that it’s developed by a team that demonstrably understands the value of these. What I can more reliably add to that discussion is that you’re unlikely to find yourself reliant on any one hook to find your fun though; even the most pedestrian appreciator of the genre should find plenty to enjoy. Thoroughly deserving of its regular appearance alongside the biggest names in the genre.

Holovista

There’s often a reasonable amount of scepticism that comes from some folks when you talk of gaming on a mobile phone. Flipping the conversation though, and instead to talk of one of my favourite advantages of the format, it’s great that a developer can lean on the familiarity and the personal connection that you have to the device you’re playing on. As a device that lives by your side 24/7 and increasingly encroaches further into every aspect of your being, Holovista leverages this connection amazingly, spinning its story in a series of interfaces that mimic how your phone acts when you use it yourself. Taking pictures and interacting with people in particular are key interfaces, and that are done in a way that neatly puts you right into the shoes of their character. 

It begins with said character taking an interview for a new job that is hoped to herald a new tide of good fortune, and promptly introduces the circle of friends that are there to help with this and that celebrate alongside. As you learn more about the job, things slowly begin to get a bit weird, and then take a turn that is something akin to Black Mirror meets nightmarish introspection. Though not overtly unpleasant, there are some memorably unsettling moments along the way. Sensibly, it does have content warnings that offer some sound advice for those it might not sit so well with, but self-care does end up being a central takeaway from the game as a whole as well as for its cast. On the back of circumstances we’ll generically chalk up to this year’s being what it is, this ended up feeling like a lovely little palate cleanser -  a considered refresh, thoroughly original, and a very worthy afternoon’s entertainment. 

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

One thing that’s always been great about Link’s Awakening came as a result of the technical limitations imposed by the Gameboy - that the Zelda format needed all the fat trimmed, while the mixture of puzzles and action were to be distilled down into their most potent and compact form. Even with the (entirely optional) extras they’ve slipped in with this remake, this still shines through in its design now, where it couldn’t be any further removed from the risks of overly long, dragged out pacing. A small overworld it may be, but it’s full of variety, secrets, and memorable moments. Dungeons are similarly economical with its good ideas - giving you new tools, laying out smart ways to break you into their use, and then letting you get on with things. 

While the remastered music is also utterly charming, the real upsell here is the total visual do-over; its tilt-shifted cartoon aesthetic pushing each and every scene to look like a shiny, hyper-cute diorama. For all of the different visual styles that the series has dabbled with in the past, this one definitely feels like the right match for the light-hearted whimsy that comes through from the story and the characters. That’s not to say that it’s flawless either - the blurring at the screen’s edges can be overly intense at times, and the overall presentation does cause the performance to stutter and feel a little sluggish at times. I point at these things only given the bar is raised so - something unavoidable when you already know a game is a stone-cold classic from the off. 

Astro’s Playroom

Coming pre-installed on your shiny new (and hopefully not scalped) Playstation 5 console, Playroom begins as a humble introduction to the capabilities of the Dual Sense controller. Touch control, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and the like are introduced and may well generate some cooing and low-key positivity, however this enthusiasm is elevated by a mighty factor when the game truly begins and everything is put so deftly into practice.

It’s not a complex or particularly challenging title as far as 3D platformers go, with frequent checkpoints and no life counter in sight. Any mould-breaking to be done comes instead from the diversity in how you control various sideshows, with the entire kitchen sink’s worth of interface options being showcased as you climb into a monkey suit, blast off a rocket ship, bounce around as a pinball, and so on. All of these demonstrate ingenuity that could’ve easily gone awry, yet are quickly understood, and grounded in a level of both tactile and in-game feedback that maintains a natural feeling. The game’s worlds serve as virtual tours through colourful, fantasy depictions of hardware components that demonstrates an excellent level of both pride and playfulness, with fellow bots littering both the through-fare and the unbeaten paths, dressed up and enacting smart homage to generations of games and their characters, all while Playstation-themed collectables are doled out in tandem alongside smart, well-natured puns. It arguably borders on propaganda at times, such is the intense positivity. That said, the more extensive your tenure is with Sony’s platforms, the more likely it’ll dull your better judgement to this, instead letting slip a grin at what is essentially the grandest love letter to all things Playstation, and the warmest, most celebratory pack-in for a new console Sony could have ever hoped for. 

The showcasing of new features and hardware aside, it’s also a subtle and unofficial coronation of Astrobot as Sony’s newest (and best) mascot. There’s been plenty of candidates in the past who’ve half-heartedly assumed to own the position, but it’s the silent, cheerful charm which makes Astro that much more of an endearing figurehead. G'wan the little guy.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

For someone that loves Suda51 and adored No More Heroes, my reaction to No More Heroes 2 on its original release was comparatively tepid. With a third game due next year, this re-release felt like the right time to revisit it and see it through, and although I found some things to enjoy, I certainly found plenty to remind me why I had bounced off it previously.

Roaming about in Santa Destroy between missions is gone, instead replaced with a short check list of destinations. While not a fan of the change myself, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing - though it does give a misleading impression of tightened focus that is very quickly lost as it lays out a spread of half-baked, and frankly clumsy mini-games. As well as being your prime source for money and upgrades, these do a lot to artificially increase the length of the game, and put simply, they’re just not fun enough to warrant this level of prominence. Even the main story has frequent moments where it veers away from the core 3D hack and slash gameplay, and again, these do more harm than good to the game’s flow.

The fighting underpinning it all has undoubtably been done better since by any number of titles, and though imperfect, it is still serviceable and enjoyable for the most part. Boss battles definitely hold the lion’s share of the game’s highlights, but there’s a few that also stick out with some poorly executed designs that tars its lasting impression. Shades do remain of the ridiculous, irreverent charm of the first game, although they are certainly more infrequent, and a more modern lens also brings into question just how sincerely we should take the sending up of Travis, when cast upon a backdrop of frequent fanservice. Not the best sequel then, but let’s hope 3 gets things back on track.  

Transiting Vesta enters retrograde zone

Timeline (current events in bold):

Wednesday, July 10, 2019, 00:18 UT - transiting Vesta enters Rx Zone, 12:05:35 Taurus

Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 03:46 UT - transiting Vesta stations retrograde, 27:39:18 Taurus

Sunday, December 29, 2019, 22:42 UT - transiting Vesta stations direct, 12:05:35 Taurus

Saturday, March 14, 2020, 12:11 UT - transiting Vesta exits Rx Zone, 27:39:18 Taurus

Martin Bulgerin at www dot biopscinst dot com:

Vesta rules over a core sense of identity and independence, a kind of faithfulness to yourself that allows no compromise or selling out. You are focused or centered in yourself, able to tap into the great powers of the self when you act out of truthfulness and integrity. When Vesta is in reverse, this fidelity to yourself is tested. Situations come up that force you to decide how much integrity really means to you and how much you'd rather "slide through life". She teaches us to be beholden to nobody, to stand up and be responsible for ourselves, to demand the best of every experience.

Vesta is fine in Taurus. She, and the sign, are conservative, practical, and results-oriented. The problems arise when Vesta, very introspective, is forced to work with/through Taurus’ lack of enthusiasm (shall we say) for introspection. Taurus is also comfortable where it is, doing what it’s doing. Why change that?

Sunday, July 14, Venus/Cancer sextile Vesta/Taurus, 13:17

Not all that great for romance with another person - so perhaps we could romance ourselves for a change? It’s also a very beneficial aspect for the arts, especially domestic ones. But as this is the first aspect of the retrograde zone, it’s probably a safer bet to focus on romancing ourselves. The signs involved can be pretty complacent; maybe we’ve done too good a job of loving ourselves, and we feel just fine and comfortable the way we are.

Placements affected lie between 12:17 and 14:17 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Saturday, July 20, Jupiter Rx/Sagittarius inconjunct Vesta/Taurus, 15:15

First of three. Just as we’re all complacent and smug about ourselves, here comes this inconjunct to Jupiter with its “grass is greener on the other side” nudgings. Our daily routines may suddenly seem a little too, well, routine. We have this persistent discontent to deal with, and in order to do so we may want to shake things up.

Placements affected lie between 14:15 and 16:15 of all signs - although 14-16 Cancer and 14-16 Libra may feel especially pressured..

Tuesday, July 23, Saturn Rx/Capricorn trine Vesta/Taurus, 16:13;  Wednesday, July 24, North Node/Cancer sextile Vesta/Taurus, 16:43;  South Node/Capricorn trine Vesta/Taurus, 16:43

First of three for all of them. Hard not to see this one as a reaction to that inconjunct to Jupiter. It may be the case for most of us that we double-down on defending our comfort zones. If we’re lucky, or if we work harder, we can get busy with a vision of a new, improved, more mature model of ourselves.

Placements affected lie between 15:13 and 17:43 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Sunday, July 28, Juno/Leo square Vesta/Taurus, 17:45

One of the most difficult things in trying to improve ourselves, is dealing with people who like us the way we are. Sometimes it’s because they can control us easily, if we don’t make changes. At other times it’s an uncomfortable challenge - “if she can and will improve herself, does that mean I have to?” Here, the “challenge” is felt by our intimate partners and by anyone else we have a seemingly equal relationship with. We have to decide if the relationship is worth the self-abnegation.

Placements affected lie between 16:45 and 18:45 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*; and between 1:45 and 3:45 of the cardinal signs Aries*, Cancer*, Libra*, and Capricorn*.

Tuesday, July 30, Neptune Rx/Pisces sextile Vesta/Taurus, 18:20;  Wednesday, July 31, Mars/Leo square Vesta/Leo, 18:38

A couple of different ways for these two. Neptune working on Vesta can be very seductive, and wants to divert Vesta from working on the difficult square to Mars because it’s easier. Or, Neptune and Vesta are trying to elevate the game to a higher level, but Mars/Leo’s ego won’t stand for it. Funnily enough the Moon will be on Neptune’s side before that sextile matures, and on Mars’ side after that square matures.

Neptune sextile: placements affected lie between 17:20 and 19:20 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Mars square: placements affected lie between 17:38 and 19:38 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*; and between 2:38 and 4:38 of the cardinal signs Aries*, Cancer*, Libra*, and Capricorn*.

Wednesday, August 7, Chiron Rx/Aries (5:35) semi-square Vesta/Taurus (20:35)

Semi-squares show that some problem has a “null result;” given the nature of Vesta and Chiron, this is indicative of some moderate self-criticism. The danger here is that the Scorpio Moon (which will oppose Vesta and sesquare Chiron) may turn a minor molehill into the Himalayas. Keep a good perspective on what happens to you. 

Placements affected lie between 19:35 and 21:35 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*; and between 4:35 and 6:35 of the cardinal signs Aries*, Cancer*, Libra*, and Capricorn*.

Friday, August 9, Pluto Rx/Capricorn trine Vesta/Taurus, 21:17

First of three. This is a very self-empowering trine. The questions are, who’s going to be empowered, and to do what? Just because it’s a trine doesn’t mean we’re automatically going to use the energies in a positive way. This could find us even more entrenched in our complacency and egotism. We could think, “I’m just going along to get along,” without heeding any damage this does to our character. Or, we could find the strength to commit to positive changes.

Placements affected lie between 20:17 and 22:17 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Thursday, August 15, Venus/Leo square Vesta/Taurus, 22:38 Sun/Leo square Vesta/Taurus, 22:43

Ouch. This is a Full Moon day as well, so essentially we have the Sun and Venus in Leo, opposite the Aquarius Moon, and all of them squaring Vesta/Taurus. Issues with a capital “I” about alienation (Aquarius Moon), vanity (Leo Sun and Venus), and stubborn complacency (Taurus Vesta). As we all know by now (I hope), the way to “cope” with a t-square is to work on the qualities of the missing sign - in this case, Scorpio. Rise stronger from the ashes.

Placements affected lie between 21:38 and 23:43 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*; and between 6:38 and 8:43 of the cardinal signs Aries*, Cancer*, Libra*, and Capricorn*.

Saturday, August 22, Eris Rx/Aries semi-sextile Vesta/Taurus, 24:14

First of three. The Moon is in Taurus today, which will really highlight Vesta’s side of the story. We have a lot of anger about being ignored, left out, or otherwise “Othered” - and we’re beginning to have some glimmers of ideas about how to address it in a constructive way.

Placements affected lie between 23:14 and 25:14 of all signs.

Monday, August 26, Mercury/Leo square Vesta/Taurus, 24:58

Stubborn mental attitudes can bring us down here. We may have an inordinately high opinion of our mighty intellects - we have been thinking the same way for years and years, and we don’t want to change - we believe we have all the answers. And then, if we aren’t cautious, we get shown up.

Planets/Points affected lie between 23:58 and 25:58 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*; and between 8:58 and 10:58 of the cardinal signs Aries*, Cancer*, Libra*, and Capricorn*.

Thursday, September 12, Venus/Virgo trine Vesta/Taurus, 27:10; Mercury/Virgo trine Vesta/Taurus, 27:11

Vesta is beginning to slow down, prior to her retrograde station; this aspect (and the next one) will be in effect for a longer time than just September 12. Both Merc and Venus made some pretty harsh squares to Vesta, the last time they met up. Enough time has now passed that we can see the wisdom of being truer to ourselves. We’ll at least see that it’s the practical thing to do.

Placements affected lie between 26:10 and 28:11 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Friday, September 20, Sun/Virgo trine Vesta/Taurus, 27:37

The final non-lunar aspect before Vesta stations retrograde. As with the above trines to Mercury and Venus in Virgo, this trine to the Sun in Virgo may find us just humble enough - just enough wishing to improve our lives - that we’ll submit to some Vesta introspection over the next three months. 

Placements affected lie between 26:37 and 28:37 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Who's your favourite character besides Sasuke?

Mmm!!! Good question! I'm not into a lot of fandoms, but I do have a bunch of favs! Although, I guess I just don't stan them as much as I do for Sasuke. So in no particular order:

1. Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Characters don't always have to be good looking blokes okay. I love Iroh. I love every second he's on screen.

Its touching honestly. How his loss was the reason foe him becoming so humble. Like, just watch the end of The Tale of Ba Sing Sae, and tell me how you didn't hold yourself from breaking down and crying like a baby because of just how sad it was.

He's a humble character. Wise and philosophical even. Avatar's narration shows how both his neice and nephew were part of chold neglect from either parent. Azula was brought up by an abusive father, while Zuko was brought by a loving mother. And yet both of them were treated harshly from the opposing parent.

What I found good about him is how he actually tried to reach out for both of his brother's childre, indescrimnately. I won't deny how at certain instances he did favor Zuko more, but I will say one thing was that Azula was favouring her father from starting an era of oppression. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. I love Iroh.

2. Ren Hakuryuu from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

After Naruto finished, this was the guy I stanned. Honestly, this BABY. He's so pure abd soft at the start of the series and ends up becoming so mature. Although, what's sad to see is the character's moral degradation over time. Or at least that's what we are supposed to think.

In the world of Magi, almost all characters are moral grey. Aside from Alibaba and Morgianna, all the other characters have very contrasting prespectives on life and the world, yet they happen to be flawed, but right within the undersranding capacity of human limits.

Its probably what draws me to his story. Flawed prespective, yet strangly perfect and right. His mother was an evil witch who killed his siblings and blackmailed him using his sister.

He loves his older sister a lot, and she does too. Like its one of the most wholesome relationsjips in the entire manga. Do you have any idea how emotional that scene was when he became almost hopeless to sace his sister from coma? When he found out his sister got posessed? When his sister saved him from getting killed by the woman they called mother?

Anyways I love how he goes from being the crybaby of the crew to this big strong guy. None of these characters are maey sue ir gary stues, yet all of them are weak and unimaginably powerful at the same time.

3. Dead Master from Black Rock Shooter

4. Jaeseongdaeseong/Jin Mo Ri from God of Highschool

5. Frakenstein from Noblesse

Another character Inlike from a webtoon. Although I w

6. Aelita Schaeffer from Code Lyoko

Her story is like just so ???? Sad ??? Like hear me out. Aelita's father creates an AI, thinking that it'd be revolutionary, and how it would greatly benefit humanity. However one day when she was playing, she realized that her mother was being taken away, and she and her father had to be on the run to escape from the very AI that her father created.

All this happens during the time when she was too little to understand what ezactly was going on. Her life is destroyed. She's like 12. And the two end up transferring them selves to a digital world to seek refuge. If they die, so does the AI. Her life is really taken away at this point.

I'll brief in a bit more because this girl had to be homeschool because the death threat issue had been going on for a while underwhich they were being watched. Mostly because whatever information her father had was vital for updating that AI. She never had a life to begin with aside from her parents. After one was taken away, and the other presumeably dead, she's practically all alone.

And then 10 years later, this kid randomly comes up and boots up the server in which these two were and gives her a new life. New people. Friends and a family all together. How she gets a new life, and just grows from being a damsel in distress to this actually p badass girl who doesn't scream mindlessly in the name of danger. Yes.

7. Hatsune Miku

All I have to say is that she gave me RSI during exams, and I'm not even mad at her for it. Idk how I found her games, but I found her, got obsessed with her, then became what I became now.

I mean, there are so many iconic songs of her: BRS, Leven Polka (cover), Triple Baka, Kagerou Days, Love is War, Kyouchimuite baby, aaaaaaaaand a lot more.

8. Doctor Strange from the MCU

A neurosurgeon? A guy who can use magic? Someone fvcking relatable as a med student? Uh, sign me up. His movie was trippy as hell, and gave me what felt like actual glipmses to what seziures might feel like and how this movie was on literal drugs.

Like just how mind blogging was his story. He looses everything, all because of his over confindence and pride. From his hands, to his resources. This guy ends up taking a one way ticket to Nepal in search of a way to heal his hands.

When western medicine failed him, he decided to head east, only to find of out that nothing can ever truely "heal" his hands; but only just make it a little better. That ending was on all levels of heartbreaking.

On another note, this guy used his powers in like the most sensible way. Got hurt? Opens a portal to the hospital and asks his colloague for quick heal. Learns stuff easily. When asked how, he responds with "thats how I became a doctor". Like TRUE BRUV. ONLY THOSE PPL CAN BECOME DOCTORS OR EVEN SPECIALIZE WHO HAVE GREAT BRAINS.

9. Megumi Tadokoro from Shokugeki no Soma

She's like an airhead, a nervous wreck, a procrastinator, super anxious, yet a very strong, determined, and hard working lil' baby.

At times, she freaks out, and then improvises to cover her mistakes. She does her best to provide the most flavour out of her food despite the shear contrast between herself and the person she's match to fight against.

She knows her terf, and she knows how to use her abilities best. Just because her skills happen to be slightly less than the main cadt around her, it doesn't mean that she's someone of any less value.

This girl okay. She's so wholesome and adorable. Like, I'm glad that they don't downplay on her as a female character, after considering how this is an eechi series in its core.

Best of all, she doesnt let her infactuation with the MC get to her abilities. In fact, its something that gives her hope to struggle and compete with. The praise does make her extremely happy for days on end, but that doesn't mean she has to stop working hard. There's still a lot of room for improvement and I personally think that's one of her best traits.

Hence, I deem her to be Best Girl !!!

10. Ochako Uraraka from Boku no Hero Academia

Yeah... I guess thats it......

Best Albums of 2018

BEST ALBUMS 2018

20. Noname: Room 25

19. Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign: Mih-Ty

18. Tierra Whack: Whack World

17. Parks Burton: Pare

16. Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of

15. Angelique Kidjo: Remain in Light

14. Shannon Shaw: Shannon in Nashville

13. Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs: Fetti

12. Ariana Grande: Sweetener

11. Vince Staples: FM!

10. DJ Koze: Knock Knock

9. Mariah Carey: Caution

8. Courtney Barnett: Tell Me How You Really Feel

7. The Carters: Everything is Love

6. Snail Mail: Lush

5. Shannon & the Clams: Onion

4. Teyana Taylor: K.T.S.E.

3. Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour

2. Blood Orange: Negro Swan

1. Dirty Projectors: Lamp Lit Prose

(Spotify playlist)

(Capsule reviews of Top 10 below) 

10. DJ Koze: Knock Knock.  The music writing trope of “a sounds like b + c” is as lazy as it is played, but sometimes you hear a record and those type of comparisons spring to mind, like when I first heard Saint Pepsi’s Hit Vibes and instantly thought of J Dilla making a disco record.  That was also my response to Knock Knock, which sounds like the Avalanches making a more patient update of Since I Left You for 2018 ears.  The record is long and lush, and draws from roughly nine billion different aesthetics, but its particular mélange still manages to sound fresh.  As with SILY, the album is best experienced as a complete piece of music (though several tracks, such as “Lord Knows” and “Scratch That” would sound great in a mix or DJ set).  Knock Knock takes the listener through ambling pathways that wrap around and revisit each other, like an evening stroll through the spacious Joshua Tree National Park depicted on its cover.  It’s nearly a two-hour journey, but it’s well worth the price of admission.

9. Mariah Carey: Caution.  Mariah got a dirty mouth and I’m here for it.  As mother, a twice-divorcée, a woman nearing 50, her work and her image are all her own; if she wants to include the word “fuck” in a bunch of songs on her new album (“GTFO,” “With You,” “The Distance”), then who the fuck are we to tell her no?   It’s a refreshing twist from someone whose public persona is often so curated, but I’m burying the lede.  The real story here is that Caution is a batch of excellent R&B songs from one of the genre’s all-time greats.  It’s not overwrought – by contrast, the album’s sultry blue cover art is indicative of the moods within.  The Ty Dolla $ign-featuring “The Distance” is laid extremely deep in the cut, assisted by some subtle production from Poo Bear, Lido and—holy shit, Skrillex?  Yup, and like Mariah herself, everyone involved uses an even hand and measured patience to let each song breathe.  

A personal highlight for me is “A No No,” which flips the Lil Kim/Lil Cease classic “Crush On You” on its head.  Here, where Biggie intones “he’s a slut, he’s a hoe, he’s a freak/got a different girl every day of the week,” there is no irony intended.  She gauges her suitors’ intent and responds simply: “that’s a no-no.”  In fact, the word “no” accounts for easily half the song’s lyrics, but it’s still a blast on subsequent listens.  But don’t get it twisted – highlights abound herein, from aforementioned singles “GTFO” and “The Distance” to the thoughtful, expansive, Dev Hynes-helmed “Giving Me Life,” which begins as a downtempo club hit and morphs into a surrealist dream.  Mariah Carey is one of the artists who’s been in my life the longest – I’m so happy she’s still killing it.

8. Courtney Barnett: Tell Me How You Really Feel.  Courtney Barnett is what I was raised to believe an indie rock star should be: an unassuming, smart slacker with regular clothes and the ability to unleash earthbound poetry and atmosphere-puncturing solos with equal aplomb.  That effortless cool permeates every facet of her work, from her casual half-singing style to her loose but proficient playing, a mighty guitar god in the body of a humble 31-year-old.  (That she recorded a collaborative record with renowned cool guy Kurt Vile should surprise no-one.)  But what’s really striking about Barnett’s work is her wryly observant lyrics; whether she’s describing the banalities of urban life (“City Looks Pretty”) or eviscerating toxic masculinity (“Nameless, Faceless”), her keen eye and incisive wit pervade every line.  Tell Me is the sound of a strong artist getting stronger.

7. The Carters: Everything is Love.  I often say that as I get older, my favorite elements of songwriting are editing and restraint.  That’s why I tend to hate double albums and love EPs.  I just believe that most double albums would be better if distilled down to one really strong record.  EPs, on the other hand, leave the listener wanting more.  Such is the case with Everything is Love, which reads like a Beyonce trap record with a number of guest verses from Jay. Regardless of speculation on who did the lion’s share of the writing on the record, both are in top form.  Bey’s signature vocal virtuosity is on display as ever, but the real delight is in her capable delivery as a rapper.  She glides effortlessly through triplets like “Poppin, I’m poppin, my bitches are poppin, we go to the dealer and cop it all.”  Big Sean could never.  Meanwhile, Jay turns in a few of my favorite bars of the year (and also a very slick Drake diss) on “Boss:”

“You not a boss, you got a boss. N*ggas gettin’ jerked, that shit hurts, I take it personaly.  N*ggas’d rather work for the man than to work for me.  Just so they can pretend they on my level, that shit is irkin’ to me.  Pride always goeth before the fall, almost certainly.  It’s disturbing what I gross.  Survey says: you not even close.  Everybody’s bosses till the time to pay for the office, till them invoices separate the men from the boys. Over here we measure success by how many people successful next to you.  Here, we say you broke if everybody is broke except for you. BAWSE.”

I don’t know if they intend to release more records as The Carters, but Everything is Love is a fun, successful experiment.

6. Snail Mail: Lush.  There’s no reason for a debut LP to be this good.  The record, from solo project-turnt-band of 19-year-old Lindsay Jordan is focused, clever, and sophisticated.  Every component of these songs appears exactly as it should.  Jordan’s songwriting is clean and incisive (“I hope whoever it is holds their breath around you/’cause I know I did,” she sings on album standout “Heat Wave”).  The arrangements are smartly simple; seldom do they deviate from the four-person rock lineup, so the embellishments that are included (the French horn on “Deep Sea,” the layered keys on “Speaking Terms”) really leap out.  The playing throughout is lovely, with Jordan’s beautiful guitar technique front and center (the finger-picking on “Let’s Find an Out” is a particular delight). Everything in its right place – only where Radiohead’s inward gaze can be mopey and self-indulgent, the core strength of Lush is its efficiency.  There’s no filler here – just the exact amount of support that each piece requires.  The drumming feels especially strong in this regard – there’s an economic directness in Ray Brown’s playing that prioritizes the backbeat over everything, including his ego. The fills that he does include are modest and workmanlike.

It’s right that the record would be released by Matador, because these songs are drenched in the influences of the 90s slacker rock of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney and Sebadoh.  And as with each of those bands, Snail Mail’s songs are buoyed by excellent lyrics.  Jordan doesn’t just sound wise beyond her years, she actually seems to have lived more in her 19 years than many folks twice her age.  There’s a subtext of sobriety in some of the songs (“It just feels like the same party every weekend, doesn’t it?” on “Pristine,” or “I’m so tired of moving on/spending every weekend so far gone” on “Heat Wave”).  Perhaps the self-reflection that’s required in recovery has helped to distill her worldview.  

And look, I don’t mean to be patronizing here – this album would be a major achievement from any person of any age.  But to hear an artistic vision this crystal clear and laser-focused from a 19-year-old is something truly special.  I can’t wait to hear what she does next.

5. Shannon & the Clams: Onion.  Upon first listen, Onion struck me as the best record the Clams have released to date.  Now, admittedly, I’m a sucker for keyboards, and the inclusion of organist Will Sprott is pure Patrick-bait.  But beyond my own tastes, the organ both fills out and anchors the Clams’ garage doo-wop sound.  There’s a welcome succinctness to Onion: the songwriting is tight, the guitar playing is melodic and utilitarian, and the vocal performances from both Cody and Shannon are more technically refined than in any of their previous outings.  One wonders if Shannon’s work on her own solo album (the very good, Dan Auerbach-produced Shannon in Nashville, which also came out this year) pushed her to improve her technique.  And don’t get it fucked up – this is still a Clams record.  It’s still shaggy and loud and rambunctious – but they’ve worked hard to reign in their wildest tendencies.  Some might say that it’s layered, just like-- *an oversized cane hooks around my throat and drags me offstage* ….Well…..let’s just say it’s good.

4. Teyana Taylor: KTSE.  Of all the seven-song mini-albums Kanye produced in Wyoming this year, KTSE is both the best and the least talked-about.  She arrives seemingly out of the blue, a fully-formed artist who knows her strengths exactly.  She has bars when she feels like spitting them, a beautiful husky alto when she feels like crooning, and a profound connection to multiple styles of club music that’s borne of her history as a dancer.  It’s become a bit trendy to nod to vogue & ballroom culture in the last few years, but while Drake’s Big Freedia feature on “Nice for What” feels a little forced, Taylor can walk it like she talks it.  A dancer by trade, her comfort in the ballroom is palpable. 

Ye keeps it simple, remaining comfortably in his wheelhouse and flipping excellent soul samples such as Billy Stewart’s “I Do Love You” (which he repurposes into a nostalgic 4/4 slapper on “Hold On”) and The Stylistics’ “Because I Love You, Girl” (which he expands into a melancholy mediation on the horn section of the original).  It’s a welcome return to form.

3. Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour.  In her SNL performance earlier this year, Kacey Musgraves appeared as a flat-ironed, longhair disco queen.  As she slayed Golden Hour’s catchy lead single “High Horse,” I was reminded of Dolly Parton.  I’ve been spending a lot of time with Dolly’s mid-70s and early-80s catalogue this past year, having purchased vinyl copies of All I Can Do, New Harvest…First Gathering, and Dolly, Dolly, Dolly.  Parton is one of those artists whose discographies are so gigantic as to seem practically impenetrable, so I’ve been trying to hear as much as I can.  Dolly, Dolly, Dolly is an especially interesting entry: released in 1980, it was her 23rd album, and it represents a pretty clear swing for crossover success.  A handful of the tracks are straight-up disco, and these are what Musgraves called to mind.  I was thrilled – Dolly’s disco experiments were widely panned, but I think there’s a lot of good there, maybe Golden Hour would be an attempt to vindicate Parton’s vision?

Unfortunately or not, I was incorrect.  In total, Golden Hour bears more resemblance to Dolly’s friend & frequent collaborator Emmylou Harris (Kacey’s hair should’ve tipped me off, SMH).  It’s a beautiful, understated, and thoughtful set of songs that could fit as well on a folk radio station as a country one.  Like Harris, Musgraves has an innate sense of how to let a great song be great, hanging back in both arrangement and vocal performance.  She’s emotive when she needs to be (“Rainbow”), and contemplative as needed (“Golden Hour”), always letting her writing breathe.  Also, she has the confidence to bury the lead single so deep on Side B that you almost forget it’s there (and are thrilled when it is).  As a person who prefers the full album experience to that of a shuffled playlist, this is one of my very favorite tricks.

Quite simply: great songs + great arrangements = a surprising list-topper for me.

2. Blood Orange: Negro Swan.  For years, the roles of sexuality and gender in black identity have been foci of Dev Hynes’ work as Blood Orange.  He spent time with drag queens and sex workers while writing his debut album Coastal Grooves, and has often cited transgender icon Octavia St. Laurent as one of his primary influences.  But while these interests have colored his previous albums, on Negro Swan they’re the bedrock.  In a press release preceding the album, Hynes described the album as “an exploration into my own and many types of black depression, an honest look at the corners of black existence, and the ongoing anxieties of queer/people of color.  A reach back into childhood and modern traumas, and the things we do to get through it all.  The underlying thread through each piece on the album is the idea of hope, and the lights we can try to turn on within ourselves with a hopefully positive outcome of helping others out of their darkness.”

These ideas are fundamental to the songwriting, and they’re reinforced by snippets of conversations with Janet Mock and Kai the Black Angel (who adorns the cover in a durag and angel wings) peppered throughout the album’s 49 minutes.  On “Family,” Mock defines community as “the spaces where you don’t have to shrink yourself, where you don’t have to pretend or to perform, you can fully show up and be vulnerable in silence, completely empty, and that’s completely enough.”  That search for community, the desire to be seen and loved and supported as your whole self informs each of these beautiful songs.  Already a competent producer, Hynes continues to grow, selecting beautiful flourishes like the jangly, perfectly out-of-tune guitar on “Charcoal Baby” or the soft, echoing snare drum on “Dagenham Dream” to characterize the thematic content of each piece.  Negro Swan is a powerful and complete work of art.  It sounds like he’s finally found some answers to the questions he’s been asking. 

1. Dirty Projectors: Lamp Lit Prose.  On Lamp Lit Prose, David Longstreth appears to be having more fun making music than he has in years, probably because almost 100% of his band has turned over (kudos to longtime bassist Nat Baldwin, whose playing tethers him to his own beginnings).  Beyond the new Projectors themselves, Longstreth spent the months during the writing of the album making new friends in the LA music scene, and bringing them around the studio to record various parts.  Members of Haim contribute to album standout “That’s a Lifestyle,” Syd (of The Internet) anchors the refrain in “Right Now,” and Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Vampire Weekend alumnus Rostam Batmanglij stack harmonies onto the swirling ballad “You’re The One.”

I see LLP as the second half of a diptych begun by the self-titled Dirty Projectors, released last year.  While that record wallowed in the pain of a broken relationship with former Projector Amber Coffman, LLP reveals a healed and newly in love protagonist.  Both records feature David Longstreth at his most vocally competent: he’s now able to truly execute the melismatic R&B runs he lovingly wrote and charmingly attempted in his earliest work, his diaphragm now supports his every leap and bound, and his croon is sweeter than ever before.  But furthermore, both albums expand on ideas that have popped up throughout his illustrious and impressive body of work.  Whether he’s reviving the Rise Above era blasts of noisy guitars on “Zombie Conqueror” or revisiting the orchestral ambitions of The Getty Address on the stunningly soulful “I Wanna Feel It All,” Longstreth sounds like a worker with a complete toolbox and a detailed blueprint.  He’s been working at honing his craft for years.

I saw the Projectors in June, at a time when only “Break-Thru” and “That’s a Lifestyle” had leaked.  I didn’t know what to expect, being among the seemingly small minority of fans who liked their previous record.  But their set was staggering.  Flanked by his group of mostly-new faces, Longstreth was bouncing all over the place, proudly showcasing each instrumentalist & vocalist (seemingly everyone had at least one moment in the spotlight), visibly excited about playing with this group of people.  And that makes sense: LLP is Longstreth relishing the fundamental glee of musical collaboration.  The joy is positively bubbling over in tracks like “Right Now,” “I Feel Energy,” and “I Found it in You.”  To see him play these songs live is to wonder if he’s talking about the act of musicmaking itself when he sings: “Ask now, I’m in love for the first time ever.”

Status: guide used for sidequests

completed/platinumed in about 80 hours

Points: 4.25/5 [4,1875]

I’ve realised that I’ve been into JRPGs for the longest of times, because for many players this Tales of was their very first Tales of and here I’ve played Tales of Phantasia and Symphonia in 2004. It’s been sooooo many years! Either way, after Berseria was a solid but mediocre experience, Arise made up for it. It still doesn’t push Symphonia from place number 1, but it’s immediately snagged a place within the top 5 Tales of titles. 

Given it was many people’s first Tales of experience, I’ve seen countless people shitting on mechanisms and ideas that are almost traditional to Tales of games, like skits, characters and a perhaps very Japanese-y JRPG, because yes, at its core it’s just a hero setting out to save the world. It’s sometimes naive, yes, some decisions are not extremely logical, yes, but Tales of has been more idealistic than realistic for 26 fucking years. I bought Tales of Arise knowing exactly what I’d get myself into and boy I’ve enjoyed my week with Tales of Arise! I even took 8 days off work just to be able to finish it in a timely manner.

I just love Tales of.

Artwork/Designs - 5/5

This is by far…. by a huge margin, the best looking Tales of title up to date. It’s also the latest, of course, but even for a modern JRPG it looks absolutely fantastic. While it is not exactly an open world game, you have massive areas to explore and the design makes it seem like there is a huge world ready to be raided by you. The environment looks diverse, bright and sometimes dark and gloomy, the monsters look fierce and some bosses look gigantic, the character designs are lovely, diverse and once again absolutely fantastic while the battle animations are smooth, cutscenes looking stunning, no matter if they’re in anime or game form.

There is perhaps nothing - in  my humble noob opinion - that Tales of Arise can improve on. Overall it’s eyecandy.

Story/Combat System - 4/5

In general I’d describe Tales of Arise as a normal straightforward JRPG with few twists, that I was not exactly able to foresee - but at the core we have a mysterious dude striving to free slaves from their opressors and eventually also save the planet they have lived on for centuries.

Tales of games are about bonding and protecting what is important to each of the characters. It might have also been a pretty normal shounen anime, honestly. There are quite many idealistic talks, humorous skits to lighten the mood and a few different outfits to obtain through either the story or the side quests. Side quests, by the way, are listed down with conditions and places which makes it easy to follow through, luckily, and collecting the owls meanwhile has been quite fun to me, too.

If you don’t like stories all about friendship and love and all this “naive shit” then perhaps I’d not recommend Tales of Arise to you. It did end up in third place after Symphonia and the Abyss, but I also don’t think it can compare to NEO, which I have played this year or NieR Replicant. Both had a more immersive story, albeit I have never thought that Tales of games were bad to begin with. Just saying they can’t compare to the joy I’ve felt while playing these two games. Nonetheless it’s easily within my top 5 games of 2021.

Tales of Arise tackles quite a few heavy topics nonetheless. I’d say the theme of the game is bias and racism, as the whole story is merely about two planets at war, although they know next to nothing about one another. 5 Renan lords have taken over Dahna, where they keep the civillians as slaves. They work towards gathering power which is sent back to Rena, thus sucking planet Dahna dry. The one who gathers the most power becomes the sovereign and reigns over Rena in the future. That’s the premise and it honestly doesn’t even come close to what the hell happens in the later chapters of the game.

Apart from that you will watch the characters grow together like a family while each of them also receive massive character development, may it be to face their dark past, leave their comfort zone or forgetting about revenge as it brings only emptiness. There is perhaps one theme that shocked me the most: the pre-established canon love lines, especially Alphen’s and Shionne’s. Characters marrying in Tales of games??? Unheard of, what a progress.

You will find a few head bonking moments in here, obviously, but overall we have an interesting cast of characters that join Alphen on his quest for freedom. There will be someone you like for sure: may it be our cold maiden Shionne who slowly opens up to all the people around her, Rinwell, who has been hiding her identity for so long and slowly trusts in her abilities in order to fight for what is important to her, Law, my favourite boy who has some hefty hand-to-hand combat, Kisara, who is the most loyal knight you can find and Dohalim, who is so unlike his fellow Renan lords or our main character Alphen, who remains true to his word and is almost as passionate as Lloyd although quite a bit less naive. Everyone has a different skill set and you can flexibly choose who you want to go into battle with and switching them out in battle is also just a few button presses away.

I normally just stuck to Law and Alphen since doing combos with them was easy for me. The battle system is almost just hack and slash, if it wasn’t for well timed combos with your teammates that are triggered by staggering the enemy with certain magic spells or physical attacks (or personal abilities) or your CP, your cure points which diminish when you use healing artes (magic). They can be filled up with items. However, playing this game on moderate I have to mention that items were few to obtain (you get none through battling) and also rather expensive in towns.

For once I have to mention that each character’s mystic artes (a special attack) has been much easier to trigger and the team combos look downright amazing, although they can become quite a bit repetitive. Through fighting you earn FP, which you can then use to unlock skills, artes or stat boosts. Apart from that you can buy weapons and armour and craft accessories with different effects. You can play the game on any difficulty you like, but lemme be honest, the fights just take longer and you’ll end up being poor because items are too expensive. Save yourself some time and just enjoy the story.

Tales of Arise may not blow you out of your socks, but it’s a good enjoyable experience in my opinion that sticks to the original JRPG roots of “friendship wins over evil”.

Enjoyment - 4,5/5

Survey Comments

Okay, I’m copying and pasting the comments in their entirety.  And there’s a lot of them.  I didn’t go through and edit this, sorry, but there’s a lot of good stuff in here.  Each line is a separate comment unless it’s a longer comment or paragraph.  Read them all below the cut!

I do not appreciate being manipulated for ratings. Series wayyy off the rails I am disappointed with the direction of the show. I will record season 6 but only watch the episodes you say are good in this blog. I'm not giving them ratings when they drag out silly story lines and neglect good ones..

Something is just off with the series. It used to be so good. I miss the lightheartedness and I'm going to miss Jack. I am disappointed that the cast/ executive producers keep saying there is hope in Hope Vally because of the baby coming. I have no desire to see that story line played out. I lived it. There is no hope or joy in growing up without a father.

The way the powers that be are trying to do damage control is insulting to fans’ intelligence. I can’t believe they knew for a year and a half and this was what they gave us. I think they should bring Jack back and say he was found alive with amnesia. I’m so mad that they dragged the wedding out until season 5 and only gave us a couple episodes of them being married before killing off Jack. It feels like they don’t actually care about the story at all, just trying to squeeze out as much ratings as possible. I feel really used. I wish they would have handled Dan's exit a whole lot better than they did, but oh well. Going to miss Jack. He was my favorite character. I'm still too numb. I loved "dark" Elizabeth. Thought it gave a lot of depth to her character. Nice to see her not be so happy all the time, it is rather unrealistic.

They should've told fans that Daniel was leaving to prepare them. It's like they are admitting they don't have confidence in the show beyond the main couple. Next season I hope they spend more time on the characters we already know instead of bringing in new people we only see for an episode or two.

Well done! You're amazing! :) ras i would like to see daniel and erin in a ,movie f their own I think they are all amazing actors/actresses. I do not blame Dan for moving on but I am sure going to miss him. Disappointed in how his exit was handled.

My favorite episode was "Heart of the Matter" but I thought the denouement in "Weather the Storm" was lacking. That story arc probably needed three episodes, but that was indicative of this season and series. The writing has always been up and down throughout the seasons. I am disappointed with Jack being gone as he is a great character, but I think I would have been more disappointed with recasting. I know the actors and writers and producers are very connected with the fans, but I would never have expected them to give me a heads up when they chose the death route. I accept that this is how it is handled. I would have loved, however, having a few more Jack-read letters to Elizabeth. I really thought it would have been great to have one in the Season 4 finale, but also one in "Weather the Storm." It would have felt a little more even and connected. Regardless, I think "In My Dreams" and "Close to My Heart" were probably the two best episodes back to back in the season. I think there are great storylines going forward, but I am also prepared for suspending reality as usual when it comes to uneven plots, missing characters, magical travel times, and pristine sets. That's how it's been since season 2 and I just accept it because while it isn't the greatest, it's good enough to keep me interested and chuckling. I really enjoy your Tumblr. Thanks for all the work you do. NA The only storylines that could get me to continue watching the show would be a Henry and Abigail romantic relationship and the development of Jesse and Clara as a couple. Take them off the back burner for a bit while Elizabeth copes with single motherhood. No, it's unfortunate that Dan wanted to leave, but that's reality. So I don't feel "cheated" as fan. I've been watching since Day 1 but honestly havent kept up with the most recent season. I was sad that Jack's character is no longer part of it, but I'm hopeful. I'll probably start faithfully watching again to see how the show continues.

Thanks for your hard work The season finale was extremely well done! Incredible cinematography! The actors and crew did an amazing job considering the pill to swallow! I hope they made J&E married life longer with a marriage at thr end of season 4 with a baby on the way! And season 5 about their married life and the baby! With an unfortunate departure for WW1 (in terms of time/date, I think we are pretty close from beginning of WW1) and a very heroic death on the field! Although I knew something not good was going to happen with Daniel’s reduced participation I had hoped it was temporary and he would be back full time for season 6. I feel betrayed and think it’s all about the ratings has nothing to do with the fans.

I love Carson's character. I love how he found himself again after losing his wife. I think if Jack cannot come back, then Carson would be the perfect character to pair with Elizabeth because they were both hurt by feeling cheated of their loves. They can find comfort, strength, and a new faith in God's plan in each other. This series is dead to me. I'm done. They should have told us in advance that it was Dan's last season.  Fans were misled.  The hair and makeup is completely overdone - makes it feel sooo fake. Why couldn't you just recast Jack in s4? we would have accepted that more easily and allowed the story to continue. Please don't milk something that is "cute" once (i.e. Brownie).  It gets very old. This season was cruel now that we know they knew Dan was leaving for 1.5 years. They should have had a show where we got to say goodbye knowit was his last show.

Bring Frank back! Loyal fans were cheated, used and deceived. Makes me more angry to know all involved knew for year and half and yet through together the rest of J&E story.

They Mase a mis tale Wotherspoon Jack death

Season 5 ended with the wedding for me.  The rest of the season just fell flat! Season 5 was extremely disappointing with terrible writing. No Bring back Jack I am upset that they had a wedding to kill off Jack and now Elizabeth will be a single parent.

no More doom and gloom next season.  Elizabeth will probably die giving birth to Jack's child.  I will never watch the show again. I think faith and Carson should be an item. They need to gather up the many things going on too busy.

The producers and writers dropped the ball in dealing with Dan's departure. What was the point of the wedding if they were going to kill him off immediately after. Would rather have had the wedding instead of the engagement in Season 4 and at least seen the two happy before he left for the Northern Territories. Season 5 could have had them in their home and happy before sending Jack off on his training exercise. I feel cheated and lied to by the PTB and won't be watching into Season 6. And I don't believe all the hype about Dan still being part of the Hallmark family. I've seen just about every other cast member, including the kids, in more than one movie over the last 5 years, but only one with Dan in it. That speaks volumes. No wonder Dan wanted to leave. He's a far better actor than many of the men in the Hallmark family and yet they shelved him. I could see in Dan's eyes that he was conflicted about lying to Hearties and fans of WCTH. I hope he walks away and never looks back. It's obvious Hallmark, BB and even Lori knows they screwed the pooch in the way they handled Dan's leaving and I am getting fed up with all the damage control they're doing. Why don't they just be honest and admit they screwed up instead of continuing to lie to and manipulate the fans of WCTH. If they were confident they did the right thing then why all the damage control. I guess that's entertainment business for ya. They're all full of crap and only want one thing....MONEY

They should have had Jack & Elizabeth marrying at the end of Season 2 and had Season 3 be about their married life with possibly a child, they made the mistake of drawing out the courtship way too long-very unrealistic. Also needed more in depth character development with core characters instead of bringing in new people and killing off Cat Montgomery for instance. Season 1 was the best Season by far in my humble opinion.  If the writing does not improve, I will not continue to watch. They had a really good thing and pretty quickly proceeded to kill it.  SAD! I miss the season one aesthetic so much, it was darker and grittier and much more real. Now it's just a pointless soap opera with no direction or plot. Jack and Elizabeth were the bar  -  chemistry will be difficult to match I feel like they can move past Jack's death only if they spread around the character focus. Hopefully, we will have more time with Rosemary and Lee. I want to see their family grow. I want to see progress between Abigail and Henry. Give Henry more screen time! He is such a interesting character. I so didn't like Elizabeth being pregnant, it feels like another slap to the face. Now, she has to raise this child without its father!  She will probably have another love interest and it will probably be Carson. It will be interesting to see where the show goes from here.

No

It's just heartbreaking and unfair to the fans and the characters.

I understand that Dan is an actor and wanted to leave, but as Jack and Elizabeth were built up to be the main characters of the show(in my opinion), they should have had them go off together.  To keep the show going after that they should have been building up another couple to take their place.  Shows like Little House on the Prairie had main characters leave like Charles and Caroline, but the show remained with them returning periodically to guest star.  I would have hated to have Erin leave, but I think that would have been the best option for the fans.  Sorry, Lori you have lost a fan of your show. Good luck in your future endeavors, Dan! My overall feeling is that if the writers handled and developed other characters well, then a main character's death would be just an addition to the plot. I'm not upset about Jack, I'm upset with the lack of development.  The show just doesn't hold my attention anymore. Thanks for doing this survey!!! And for taking time to listen to followers.

I did not care for the way they handled Daniel Kissing leaving. Hallmark is the channel people watch for escape, a happy ending.  I will not be watching next season. Bring Jack back

No Not right now

Know many will disagree but would have preferred a recast so the characters'' lives could go on. Thanks for all that you do well if Eliszabeth is happy with carson i would'nt mind but other wise anyone apart from Charles i am good.

Writing is so sad Needed more married time. His death would have been easier if they had written it better. I think Lori Loughlin’s indluence as an executive producer led to a change in focus for the show .All of the crowd storylines took time away from the central focus from season 1, which was Elizbeth and her life. Just watching the social media interactions and the stories in recent seasons it seems as if Abigail, not Elizabeth will be the central character.

I wish I'd stopped watching after season three when I was mad they didn't at least have a proposal after his near death experience. I personally would never want Elizabeth to be paired up wih anyone from Hope Valley. No Your blog is awesome.  Thank you for all the work you put into it.  We appreciate it!  I think the storyline I liked best was Henry's almost return to the dark side only to turn towards good in the end.  I do think there will be more seasons, but I don't think there should be.  The money/ratings are just too good for Hallmark to shut it down... and the "hearties" will continue to support, I have no doubt.IMO, that's why Elizabeth had to be pregnant.... ensured storylines for future seasons. Thanks for the spoilers on the last two episodes of the season, I haven't watch those episodes because of that. I think it was rotten of all of them (Hallmark, BB, Lori, etc.) to decided to kill off Jack rather than recast. Not sure if I want to watch next season because of the way they handled it. If I do watch in the future it will be for Lee and Rosemary.

I've been shocked by Lori's attitude on fb live. She was selling the damage control as the right hand of BB. Never have thought that she has so much influence on the show. I've got a very bad taste in my mouth seeing and hearing her talk about the show. 18 months of knowing it and do nothing to make the end acceptable for tke fandom. I won't support this emotional manipulation anymore. WCTH stab their fanbase in the back.

Boy do they need to work on their skills They really screwed themselves by waiting so long to get e/j married. It would have been much easier to swallow if everything wasn't so rushed.  Also, I hope we get more story lines about the dangers of the frontier next season, they kind of lost those at some point.

I really miss Jack This is a cool tumblr . I'm really pissed Jack is gone I was pretty 'yuck' about the suggestion of Carson/Elizabeth, but I think with a little care and attention, it might be an okay pairing. Of course, this hinges on them not jumping into it, and preferably not failing to acknowledge that both of them can still love their deceased spouse while finding a new love. Not sure they're fully capable of doing it well, but I'll take 'reasonably decent' at this stage. Thanks for the survey! :) I just hope Elizabeth finds someone new soon in the appropriate time that we can all love and that Abigail and Henry get together or Abigail and Bill or Bill and AJ

The way the powers that be (specifically Brian Bird) have handled this is incredibly frustrating and insulting to fans. The constant deception and snarkiness is so over the top, and really doesn't jive with their whole goody-goody Christian values image that they're trying to project. Booooo.

it was an interesting season and i really love this show.

I feel it was super sad to have jack die. The fans and myself truly loved that relationship and honestly that’s a big reason I watched the show. I’m not sure if I will continue to watch or not. I feel it is too sad to not have him there anymore and the relationship between them will make it hard to see her with someone else. However, she needs to have love in her life. Rosemary needs to get pregnant but I’m glad elizabeth is. They could have handled Lessing's departure so much better, moving on with the story from season 4. Pity.

Abigail as a character is unrecognizable and by getting rid of Frank they threw away their most interesting male.

. I would like to see the series have a time jump and have Elizabeth with a new love interest I don’t think Carson and Elizabeth is a good idea but maybe if they pursue the paring, the show will prove me wrong

With a year and a half of knowing Dan was leaving the show.  They could have done better.  If they had married in season 4 and shown them together as a married couple for a while then he died in the northern territories and she found she was pregnant when he was gone it would have been better Keep hearing Dan was fired and then he quit. Want to know what’s happening. Only ereason I started watching was for that pairing not interested in saccharine sweet storylines and dropped characters. Nothing to add

It appears that Dan has taken on the role of resident scapegoat.  The message is "Please blame me for leaving, but keep watching the show".  I think the issue was Dan wanted to branch out from Hallmark and guest star on NBC where he got his North America break, and that didn't sit well with management.  It' feels like the other actors are only working for Hallmark. I've been feeling dissatisified with WCTH since the Charles proposal, but I was holding on for the engagement and the wedding.  Now after season 5, I'm disappointed in myself for not trusting my instincts and stopped watching three seasons ago.  Aside from the cute moments between Rosemary and Lee, there's not enough substance to keep me interested in WCTH.  I will continue to look for Dan in future roles and wish him all the best. I feel SO cheated! I think they should have ended it, or have Elizabeth and Jack leaving Hope Valley together and continue the show with the other characters. I don't know if I will ever watch another show from Hallmark, they used to be my happy place! Now I feel betrayed. Not happy with waiting to season 5 for all that happened between E&J.  Totally a manipulative move especially when we know they have been working towards him leaving the show for some time.

Hope there is more Henry and Abigail next season. Barley got anything. Maybe if they didn't drag out the Elizabeth and Jack storyline/wedding we would have gotten to see more of the other characters.Hopefully next season will be better! just have to wait an entire year No

Questions are good, but some answers need expanding. Killing off a central beloved character is very risky, so anything after 1st 3 episodes of S6 is shakey. HM counld have handled Dan’s leaving a little better. Other thing is this show keeps getting rid of the “strong male” characters, which I don’t think is good. I love seeing shows with strong women roles, but I also like to see them paired against a strong male character. This show is lacking balance, and has begun to morph into The Widows of Hope Valley. Also, life is hard enough, that’s why I like to escape into Hallmark shows. This show could be long lived, if they develop the characters, stop making Bill so ornery and Henry depressing, and Jesse a little stronger. Lee seems balanced- take the lead from that character. Not a fan of Carson, though him and Faith could have a good relationship.One last thing, the finale was too stark and depressing, which I think also added to the fans upsetment. Thanks for taking the time to develop the survey. Just recently found your blog, but glad I did. Although there were quite a few gems this season, it felt very...unorganized overall. There was very little cohesiveness, and the storylines were (for lack of a better word) cheesey.

With Daniel not really committed to the show the past 2 seasons I am fine with his death. Not really sure how it could have been handled better since they missed the chance at a wedding earlier in the series. Hoping it will return to its earlier formula of developing other characters and storylines. Carson is boring, Frank was boring, bill is boring as a romantic lead. I don't think they necessarily had to kill Jack off if Dan wanted to leave. More stories with Lee and Rosemary

I hope they stop with all the pairing. Life isnt about that and Elizabeth should be a great teacher without a pairing.  In fact teachers weren't allowed to get married and keep their teaching job.  I really hope, although it is Halmark, to see more of what life is suppose to be like at the turn of the century.  Or at least idealized as in Anne of Green Gables.  This shows writing has gone down hill.  But its Halmark paried with Oak.  Overly sweet sappy love stories ahea. If they were going to have Jack and Leixabeth to get married, they should have had them married by the beginning of season four. They could have had Jack die in the NT and it would have been painful and meaningful and whatever else. Lee and Rosemary have so much potential and the writers refuse to utilize them and it’s very frustrating. I would actully like to see a relationship between Carson and Faith!

No

Should have found another way Incredibly poor writing with gaping plot holes and disappearing characters.

The lack of a proper funeral for Jack the character was an insult to all the character has been to the story - 3 minutes reallY!  43 minutes of grieving is ridiculous - all it takes is a letter from the dead, a ride on the horse and a talk with Opal and she's smiling - totally unrealistic.

I was widowed a couple months after I got married when I was 25. I use TV to escape so it’s dishearting that TV thinks death is the only way to close a characters chapter on the show. It’s like I lived this, I see it in real life, give me an escape. It’s been 9 years but sometimes I think my daydream about my husband coming back. I understand Dan wanted to move on, and the show could have sent Jack on assignment, he could have still been mentioned in the show and made occasional guest appearances when his scheduled allowed. That way the fans still get what they want and when the series ends we could have had Jack and Elizabeth riding off into the sunset with their family. I would have preferred not for Elizabeth to be pregnant because now not only did we actually get to see Jack and Elizabeth as husband and wife but we don’t get to see them as parents....together. Although I stopped watching the show when Dan’s screentume became less and less, I still keep up with the show here and there. I would support Elizabeth and Carson only because they know what the other has been through but I still won’t watch the show consistently.

I respect Dan's decision to leave, really sad about it but I think I felt relieved over the fact that they developed a lifelong friendship. But truth be told, those obstacles led to Jack and Elizabeth getting paid dust and honestly deserved so much more - especially with the house and baby talks they had during the season. Recasting would have turned out horribly, but I think it's pretty understandable that Jack died a hero since he's a Mountie. His life is on the line in his job. I just wish they had settled down after the wedding instead. Will watch the Christmas special, and that'll be the deciding factor if I'm sticking around. It's going to be hard without Jack, but having Dan and Erin's friendship as it is, that's something I'll hold onto. After Jack went to western teritories the show lost its momentum and it went downhill from there. It felt as if he was absent even when he was in Hope Valley. Such a shame. I want Elizabeth to be happy but I also do not want to get invested in another relationship of hers. I am also not thrilled about the baby - super predictable, and I don't think every woman would be thrilled that she has to go through pregnancy and raising a child without the father. I'm sure Hope Valley will support her, but I hope they show her struggle with that. I don't particularly like Carson/Faith (it seems like she has a kid crush on him) but I also don't like Elizabeth/Carson. Not sure what they'll do for season 6 ...

I do like that most problems start and end in one episode, I do miss the ongoing issue that runs through an entire season. Saw that season 1-3 but it lacked the last two. The financial crisis didn’t count this season. That was just poorly executed.

Pay Dan what he wants. Make it a dream,continue the show as it was. Horrible way they played along with the romance for years and then threw everything together like a bowl of spaghetti.  I'm done removed it from my DVR.

I really don’t blame Hallmark for the entire mess.  I fell there is a lot more to Dans leaving than has been reported. Hallmark and the Hearties jump started his career in the US and he could have stuck around to given  them another season to continue his and Elizabeth’s love story and be there to see his child born. They only film for barely 3 months so I think it could have been worked. I feel Dan is responsible for taking the joy out of the series. I respect that one has to move on, but I hope for his sake that he made the right choice. Hollywood is fickle. This show has always had its faults, but both season 4 and season 5 have felt utterly directionless. Maybe that's a result of trying to steer a large ship away from Jack and Elizabeth to focus on other story lines, but it has been so very frustrating to watch. I watched all previous seasons on Netflix (I don't have cable), but I bought the 5th season because Daniel Lissing was finally back and I wanted to see the weddings I could finally put this show behind me. Basically, I bought this season out of a sense of desperate frustration. The wedding itself was wonderful (not the whole episode - just the wedding), and when Jack and Elizabeth said "Finally!" at the end, I did too. But the rest of the season? Ugh. Plot progression is so slow, if there is any. I feel like we see the same thing over and over with Lee and Rosemary, the same crisis over and over with Abigail as mayor, even the same conversation between Henry and Abigail over and over ("I'll never be accepted, Abigail" "Yes, you will. I know you're a good man."). It's exhausting. And this isn't a popular opinion, but I'm not crazy about the kids - too cheesy for me and the school scenes are so sugary sweet I can't stand it. Elizabeth has turned into a walking stick of cotton candy. Anyway, for me, I was planning on ending this show with the wedding unless something in this season really grabbed me. I haven't watched the end of the season because I already got what I came for, but I am frustrated that Jack died and angry at the way the whole production team decided to handle it - although with their plot pacing decisions over the past 5 years, I'm not sure why I expected better. This show could be so much more, but it's not.

It's the most saddest, tragical love story I've whitnessed on tv. Not only between Jack and Elizabeth, but also between Dan and Erin. I quite the show and really hope that season 6 is their last one. I don't wanna be part of a show in which fans are cheated and lied to, only for the ratings and the money. The powers to be and also the leading cast, Dan, Erin and Lori, don't deserve any attention from the fandom. The way they handled everything about the show was devestating. I will also unfollow Dan. I'm not interested in him either. To deserve attention you have to show some respect to your fans. He didn't. Only control damage, especially by Lori. I've always admired her for working hard and combining private and business live together, but this time I've got a very bad taste in my mouth considering her. Finally the show, Hallmark, the powers to be and the leading cast showed their true colors!!!!!!  I wanna thank you for your time you've spent on me. It's just a show. Just some Sunday night entertainment. More Rosemary appreciation around the town, PLSSSSSS

I'd prefer that Jack's character have been played by another actor rather than removed from the show (even if he rode off happily into the sunset), UNLESS Elizabeth left too. (I think Andrew Walker would have made a superior replacement for Daniel Lissing.) I'd happily watch the show just for Lee + Rosemary, but this plot twist has squeezed all the joy out of a previously happily un-realistic TV show with this crudely presented character death. It was unfair of the network to insert gut-wrenching drama at the conclusion of a season where the (previous) worst problems were resolved in moments. Hallmark didn't allow the hero in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries to be killed off even though his character dies in the books, conveniently sending him back to the CIA instead. But in their "family-friendly, heart-of-TV" show, they kill off the hero in a landslide instead of recasting? What a sad way to end five seasons of “sweet and naïve” television. They handled things well. I would say that I’m disappointed that they knew for so long and decided not to tell us that Daniel was leaving. However, it was Daniel’s choice to leave the show so he could focus on other things. Like they said in their live stream, they went through every option. I strongly believe that killing Jack was the best thing they could do because replacing him with a different actor would not have worked. I’ll continue watching the show and supporting the cast because they have a story to tell and I want to see where it goes. Jack's death should have been handled differently. The reaction of BB and LL left a bad taste in my mouth. Thead shows are supposed to entertain and uplift, not depress. That was a terrible way for them to get rid of Jack. I would like to have seen Jack recast since DL wanted to leave, it could have been very exciting to have a new Mountie Jack. Maybe still could be if the backlash is strong enough.

Thanks for the fun times! I feel hurt and cheated. I know its just a show but I have been crying all week, I was hoping Jack was still alive. Henrigail. Only thing I'm hanging on for. Wishing, but not bothering to hope, that they do that right. Steeling myself for continuing mediocrity.

Unless I hear that jack is miraculously back, I’m out

Definitely understand Dan's decision to leave. They could have handled it better. Especially having a long time to plan for it. Not mad at Dan in the slightest. Really going to miss him. Hope nothing but the best for all involved in the making of When Calls the Heart. Carson and Faith pairing all the way! Thanks for your blog!! I think they should have ended the show with this season since Dan wanted to leave. It would have been more respectful for the fans who have been following this show for 5 years now. I get the comment made by Lori about a lot of people depending on the show for a job. However, this show is filmed in Vancouver and there are plenty of tv jobs within that city. Also, tv is unpredictable and people who work in film know that. I just find Jack’s death as a slap in the face to the fans. They should have ended it this season. I mean let’s be honest, this show is obviously very different since it started. The quality in storytelling has gone way down.

I want for season 6 more deapt in the stories and not so many plot per episode.

This season was a huge letdown.  The wedding episode was terrible.  Also, Rosemary should have been pregnant instead of Elizabeth. no Thank you!

I'm done with this show. Jack and Elizabeth was what hooked me.

Overall, I think the show has the potential to return to it's former self in previous statements. But I do think it's lost its way this season. This season was a train wreck and I feel cheated on J and E's relationship.  Very jerked around by Hallmark regarding the hype of the wedding.  From chalkdust to eternity?!  How about from chalkdust until 3 weeks from now--when you die!

Shitty season. Honestly, they could've had Jack go elsewhere and still send letters just in case Daniel did want to come back. Thanks for the survey! This has been a great season (except for them killing Jack off). I enjoyed all the stories. I loved all of the kids getting storylines. Opal's adventures. I loved the stories of Jesse and Clara. I loved Rosemary and Lee. Gowen's stories, too. I loved they tied up Tom and Julie. I hate that everything was rushed with Jack and Elizabeth and now he's dead. That is why I won't continue. I'll miss it, but life goes on.

The series touches hearts and gives hope...life isn't sunshine and roses but with faith and hope we are able to make it good... This season was wasted on filler- and they did not utalize Dan's limited time wisely. I think we are still getting half the story on why they went the route they did. In the FB LIVE You could tell Dan was given the lowdown on what he could or could not say- poor guy!

This season could have been better but they need to get rid of all the one and done people. But i'm here for Henry and Abigail. Let that ship sail!!

Zwei: The Arges Adventure - Localization Blog #1

AAAAAAHHHHH IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING.

I’ve been working on this game for the better part of a year now, but have been unable to say anything about it for PR reasons – namely, that it wasn’t in a showable state, and we didn’t want to confuse prospective players by having two Zwei games announced but unreleased at the same time. Which is totally reasonable, but AAAAAAAHHHH I’VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THIS GAME SO BADLY YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

…Ahem. First off, I guess I should bring you all up to speed, in case you missed the announcement. Falcom’s 2001 PC classic Zwei!! is coming to the Western world via Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store in early 2018, under the name Zwei: The Arges Adventure. Why the name change? Well, because we already released its 2008 sequel, Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection (which was originally called Zwei II: Sky-High Great Adventure in Japan).

That’s right. Localization work wrapped on the sequel first, and now we’re finishing things up with the original.

What are we thinking?!, you must be asking yourselves. Why would we release the sequel first, then go back and release the original? Why wouldn’t we release the original game first? And since we’ve already released the more modern second entry in the series from seven years later, can this earlier effort really hold its own by comparison? 

Well, that’s why I’m so excited. Because Zwei: The Arges Adventure is good. REALLY good. In fact, I dare say it’s my favorite translation I’ve ever worked on to date – yes, even topping Return to PopoloCrois and Corpse Party. And if you’re at all familiar with me (this is Tom, BTW), that statement alone should tell you that Zwei: AA is something special, since PopoloCrois and Corpse Party are… shall we say, perennial favorites of mine. To put it very lightly.

So, yeah. Let’s address those hypothetical questions, shall we?

Why would we release the sequel before the original? Well, two reasons. One, because we can – these games each tell standalone stories, set on different floating continents with different casts of characters. Zwei: AA’s two protagonists, Pipiro and Pokkle, do make a few cameo appearances in Zwei: II, but this is done almost purely for the sake of fanservice (the literal kind, not the naughty kind). When all is said and done, these two games are completely standalone, taking place in the same world but telling very different stories with very different characters and a very different feel. Think of it kind of like the Ys series, but even more episodic (since, Ys Origin aside, Ys has the Adol-as-protagonist connection from one game to the next, whereas Zwei doesn’t even have that!).

The other reason is because of the nature of Zwei: AA’s code. The Japanese version of this game utilized DirectX 5, was formatted strictly for 4:3 resolution with no widescreen options whatsoever, offered a lovely FPS selection of 30 or 15 (seriously!), counted on players to play it with mouse and keyboard over gamepad (it supported gamepads, but… barely), and contained no fewer than six unlockable Windows desktop apps that were loosely tied to yet completely separate from the main game.

This is one of them. And that first screenshot at the beginning of this blog entry is another.

In other words… this is the kind of adaptive coding project that’s been known to give lesser programmers heart attacks. Getting a game like this to even run on a modern Windows machine at all – much less run WELL – was decidedly not a task for the meek. In fact, it’s because of the way this game is coded that we ultimately decided to translate the game in-house rather than working with any fan-translators as we did for Zwei: II, as no two programmers would handle this text the same way – and trying to convert a fan-translated script to a format that would work for us would’ve taken almost as long as translating the game from scratch.

So, yeah. Getting Zwei: II out first was pretty much just done because… erm… it was ready first. And it was always GOING to be ready first. Even with a lengthy QA process and a couple minor delays, it still inevitably got finished long before its predecessor was ready to make its debut.

Fortunately, we hired a veteran programmer to work with us on Zwei: AA… but you’ll never guess who! It wasn’t Sara, since she was busy getting Zwei: II ready at the time (and a fine job she did of it, with one of our smoothest PC launches ever!). But this wasn’t our first time working with the guy we worked with on this project, either. It was, however, our first time working with him to modernize someone else’s game – and he really did perform some miracles for us (and put up with my many, many demands for quality-of-life improvements and feature additions, to boot!).

The man in question? Matt Fielding, of Magnetic Realms. A.k.a. the guy who brought you the game Exile’s End. 

Pictured: Exile’s End. Which is also an awesome game you should play!

And thanks to his technical wizardry, you guys are going to have an astoundingly up-to-date version of Zwei!! on your hands at launch. We’re talking more than just widescreen support here – there’s full in-game integration of the Pet Monitor and other desktop apps, new control functionality for more natural gamepad support across the board, inclusion of the arranged soundtrack from the Japan-only PSP version of the game, additional art and text content not present in any previous version of the game, and much, much more (to be detailed in future blog entries!).

Moving on to the second question I asked, with Zwei: II already out, can Zwei: AA hold its own by comparison?

I think you know what my answer’s going to be, on that one. Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a freaking awesome game with a lot to offer, and differs from its own successor in enough key areas that it can very easily hold its own any day of the week. Hell, you might even like it better than Zwei: II – it’s certainly a very close call for me, but I’d say Zwei: AA gets the slight edge! 

Sure, they’re both dungeon-crawling action RPGs at their core, and they both use food to level-up, even sharing the same food exchange system to discourage grinding. And the two-character party (plus one pet), with one character taking the role of physical attacker while the other slings spells, takes center stage in both titles as well. Plus, both games are set on floating continents in the same world.

That’s a lot of similarities, but they’re all relatively superficial. You could say Zwei: AA is like the 2D answer to Zwei: II’s 3D world, but that would be discounting its snarkier and more tongue-in-cheek storyline (yes, even more than Zwei: II’s!), or the gorgeous and ludicrously colorful hand-drawn backgrounds, or the two games’ very different approaches to pets (you only get one pet in Zwei: AA as opposed to the veritable army of pets featured in Zwei: II, but that one dog or cat [or other?] has significantly more personality and gameplay involvement than its many Zwei: II counterparts), or the huge variety of minigames on offer (all of which have been adapted to play from within the game itself, despite formerly existing only as desktop apps)… and that’s just scratching the surface. In short, although the two games use the same basic template, they represent two very different approaches to game design within the confines of that template.

For me as Zwei: AA’s translator, though, I can’t help but laser-focus right on the game’s dialogue. Protagonist duo Pipiro and Pokkle are without a doubt the best pair to write that somebody like me could ever ask for. Pokkle constantly cracks bad puns (and I do mean constantly!), wears a tail for funsies, and is always hitting on women twice his age.

And Pipiro just has absolutely no filter whatsoever, and is full of so much snark that she’s fit to burst.

Practically every line out of these two is an absolute gem – and that’s to say nothing of the many quirky NPCs surrounding them over the course of their rather lengthy quest (such as the endlessly self-delusional “libertine fatass” that’s funding your adventure, and his extremely no-nonsense maid who gave him that nickname).

I… really can’t stress enough how much fun it was to write for these characters, and how inspired I was to come up with the perfect phrasing for every line. I’m extremely appreciative that we chose to translate the game in-house, as it gave me an opportunity to work much more deeply with this script than I ever could’ve if we’d only been tasked with editing it. As time went on, I found myself revising my work on a daily basis, making small tweaks here and there as new bits of wordplay or better puns popped into my head (much to Matt’s chagrin, I’m sure!). The end result is something that I can stand behind as a faithful interpretation of the game’s mood and intent – an attempt to convey the same degree of lighthearted fun and irreverence present in every line of the Japanese script, but formatted to sound more natural in English, accounting for context, tone, atmosphere, and individual character quirks rather than just hammering out a word-for-word translation.

I’ve never laughed so hard while playing a JRPG before, and I truly hope that when you guys play this one in English, you’ll find its English interpretation just as hilarious as I found its original Japanese to be. That would mean I succeeded at what I set out to do, and would bring me great joy and pride as a localizer!

And please do keep an eye on this Tumblr, as I fully intend to give lots more info about Zwei: The Arges Adventure (and more screenshots showing off lines I’m particularly proud of) in the weeks to come!

Until then, I hope you’re all continuing to enjoy Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, and… well, I’mma go back to testin’ Zwei: The Arges Adventure now, ‘cause I want this game to be downright perfect when it’s released! And with translation and editing 100% complete, and coding probably somewhere in the 70-80% done range, that release date will be here before you know it…

Time to stroke my ego and elevate my opinions to untouchable facts with the fourth annual Whatever Awards! Now, don’t let me being a veteran AAA game developer trick you into thinking this list has any merit. My pointless, subjective list carries the same weight as The Oscars, that is to say, none.

Now read my absolutely important, objective list of Best Games.

Intentionally Hardcore or Accidentally Impossible? - ELEX One of my gaming guilty pleasures involves wonky sandbox adventures from Europe. Colorful worlds with unconventional RPG systems make for...unique game experiences. Which means unpredictability; something AAA games sorely lack.

This year’s prime example was ELEX, from the makers of Risen. Adding a dose of sci-fi seemed like an interesting twist on this already bizarre sub-genre, but it may (or may not) have gone horribly wrong. Because I genuinely can't tell if this game is monstrously difficult by design, or by accident.

The leveling system is heavily balanced towards quest completion, yet most quests involve traveling to areas swarming with tough monsters (who reward almost no experience for being killed). The combat is extremely stiff, so fighting them is an uphill battle to begin with, but presumably easier with better weapons. Yet you can't upgrade weapons (or even hold fancy weapons, like a blaster pistol) until you level up your character...which is almost impossible, since you finish so few quests. There's no good way to break in to this loop.

So my brief time with ELEX devolved into cautiously exploring the world and running away from all combat. And reloading often from the never ending stream of one-shot kills.

The Tale of Two Takes Award(s) - Nioh and The Surge Both games offered a take on the Soulsborne formula this year, with varying degrees of success. Without naming names, one was fast, fun, and interesting, whereas the other was slow, awkward, and frustrating. I liked the settings of each, and the core systems, but ultimately one I finished and the other I dropped after getting lost for hours in the second level. And for me to get lost is an almost unheard of feat. Remember, I make virtual mazes for a living!

Phrases to Retire Award, part 1 - Love Letter Every indie game on Steam is a love letter to some game from the past. Just once, I'd like to see a reply from one of the games that’s been called out.

Dear Face Xploders Xcelsior, Thanks for the kind thoughts. I tried your demo, and it kinda sucked. Please, don't write me again. Ciao, Castlevania.

P.S. Stop mentioning my name!

Too Much of a Good Thing Award - Prey Prey is a smart, rewarding game with confident, emergent design. Except for the last four hours of backtracking and more backtracking through monsters that repopulate at mach speed. Because of this, there is little motivation to fight them, only to flee, leading to a marathon of speed-run style tactics to get from point A to B, and back again. That said, the ending IS great, and makes everything come together as a whole, but it could have arrived much sooner. AAA games are so afraid to cut any finished content, (hey, that cost time and money!), but sometimes its necessary.

Way Too Much of a Good Thing Award - Miitopia Miitopia is a quirky, cute game with fairly standard JRPG design. And there's a good dose of humor in the unexpected interactions between Mii characters. Nothing close to the likes of Tomodachi Life, the insane, brilliant Mad-Lib generator, but still amusing.

This is a slow paced game, one that I burned through over the course of many nights, falling asleep in bed. But the thing is, this game is HUGE. It keeps going and going, world after world. Long after it has run out of new things to show you, there is just MORE. Even beating the game unlocks two worlds and an infinite side-quest system. As a kid, I never imagined that a game could be too long. Sorry, Little Me, but you were wrong!

Bad Habit Award - Hyperbole Headlines Everything is either the Best Thing Ever or the Worst Thing Ever. This reaches much further than the game industry, but some (not all) of our news sites have jumped fully onto this trend, which is the Worst Thing Ever, by the way.

I Forgot This Came Out Award - For Honor One of my only repeat awards, the "I Forgot This Came Out" Award is not meant to downplay the award's recipient, its meant to humbly remind us that hype and excitement mean nothing when it comes to standing the test of time. For Honor was a big E3 reveal for Ubisoft, a new IP set to redefine online combat. It had the world's attention. I tried the beta and it never clicked for me, but I know some of my co-workers adored it.

And then...it was gone. Like so many of the games we pour years of our lives into creating, they get their 15 seconds of fame, and nothing more. No end of the year praise, no all-time best lists. Just another momentary fragment of joy.

Best MMO - Destiny 2 No matter what Bungie claims, Destiny 2 is an MMO...and it's pretty fun this time! There's a deep-seated momentum to the gameplay. You never sit still as you dance through a progression of ever more colorful worlds. And strong art direction bleeds through everything. Compare that to my only memories of Destiny 1: sitting around, waiting for a FitBit to decode computers in dull, empty rooms.

Phrases To Retire Award, Part Two - Blowing Up My phone is blowing up! This game is blowing up! These awards are blowing up! They got two whole retweets!!

Remasterpiece Award - Final Fantasy XII Sometimes its sacrilege to mess with a masterpiece. Even the phrase "Who shot first?" evokes memories of defending Han's trigger finger. Yet, in videogames we buy remakes and remasters with the express hope that our masterpieces HAVE been messed with. They better have spruced up them graphics and tripled the FPS, re-recorded the voice-overs, let me fast travel, save anywhere, and given me a new epilogue for good measure.

Such is the case with Final Fantasy XII, a masterpiece to begin with, and much more so now with the addition of one clever feature: the fast-forward button. One click and the entire game runs at either 2x or 4x normal speed. I was certain using it would cheapen the experience, but to my surprise, it greatly enhanced it. By speeding up the tedious parts, players have more time to enjoy the tasty bits. It encourages deeper exploration of the world and its content.

One could argue, of course, that there should be no tedious parts, but I can think of few narrative-heavy games without some tedium built-in. Every second of the story can't be exciting, we need peaks and valleys. A sprinkle of tedium helps virtual worlds feel more lived-in and authentic. Pure games like Ikaruga can dispense with tedium because the story of Ikaruga is "shoot or die!"

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Shadow of the Colossus next (this) year. A ground-up remake of yet another masterpiece, but by a completely different creative team. Every line of code is new. If I told you I had the exact blueprint to replicate the Mona Lisa, I doubt you'd be excited to see my "remake."

Trend That Needs To Die - Loot Boxes They've been lame since day one and everyone finally seems to agree. Companies, just let us directly buy the dumb consumer junk we want!

Game that Most Impressed my Parents Award - Horizon: Zero Dawn My Dad is a classical landscape painter, so I like to show him vast game environments. While he was impressed by Assassin's Creed's Egypt, and Zelda's rolling fields, he was blown away by the sheer beauty of nature on display in Horizon. And my Mom also remarked that it was "very pretty." I made a brief attempt to explain robot dinosaurs to them, but ultimately concluded with, "look, its a videogame, ok?"

The Inverse Xenogears Award - Mass Effect Andromeda Xenogears, if you'll recall, started strong and remained strong...until disk 2 where, frankly, the game kinda fell apart. Many games fall into this mold, most famously Mass Effect 3 which ended on a particularly underwhelming note.

So what happens when I game STARTS on a particularly underwhelming note, but gains momentum and finishes strong? Such is the case with ME:A. The game sets up a simple, awe inspiring premise: humanity goes to Andromeda. We've finally reached a new galaxy. Things beyond our imagination await here, just you wait!

Oh, never mind. Turns out its just the standard bipedal dudes-with-guns waiting for us, behind cover no less. Also, some animations were weird. Buzz killed. Understandably, most people bailed out around this point.

But, given about ten hours, the game opens up. For one, you start visiting proper alien-looking planets, and the scope of the story broadens vastly. Around the same time you've gotten enough abilities to zip around the battlefield, never needing to hide for cover again. This is where the game should have started.

By the end, the fate of Andromeda convincingly rests in your hands in a truly bombastic finale that hits on every level. And your character is a bona fide joy to control by this point. This is easily the strongest ending in Bioware's history, overcompensating for the ME3 ending fiasco. Shame that most will never see it, and the stage that it sets will never continue. Mass Effect is likely dead now.

What's the Fuss Award - Player Unknown's Battlegrounds This game has been around for years, more or less, in various forms. So why do people suddenly care? Why this one? Nothing about it is particularly new. If anything, it seems like a slower, clumsier version of almost any other shooter that comes to mind. The Zeitgeist is weird.

Might have been game of the year, if I had more time to play it - Persona 5 Even though I've played ten hours already, I know I'm basically nowhere in this game. Which is more than I can say for Divinity 2, another supposed GOTY candidate that I've yet to even start. There were just too many good games this year. Who has the time to play them all, especially these 100+ hour behemoths?

Movie and music critics can easily keep up with new releases, but game reviewers are obligated to complete these massive games before rendering judgement. Most professional game outlets divide reviews across numerous individuals and even then these outlets only review a fraction of new releases. Is there a single soul on Earth that played EVERY Steam game released in 2017? Doubtful. Given this, is any "game of the year" pronouncement valid? At best, GOTY is more like "Best game I played this year, of the 5% of total releases that I actually played"

Phrases to Retire Award, Part 3 - Is a thing. Apparently, Microsoft Windows 3.1 is still a thing. Listen, it might have been cute if it was said once, by one human, and then retired for a decade. But instead it's said by every human, every second, about every THING. How is this a thing?

The Long-Lost Everything Award - Xenoblade 2 This game reminds me of all the best bits of ye olde games of yore: A huge, sweeping story that keeps evolving and unfurling with none of the cut corners I associate with the PS3 era (where every game got really short, and every environment got reused 200 times). A huge, sweeping soundtrack with countless memorable songs and none of the generic movie-orchestration I associate with games made in the west. A huge, sweeping overworld that's intricately hand crafted to match the story (living on the shoulders of Titans is escapism at its best), with none of the generic cities/fields I associate with, well, most open world games.

Mostly, this felt like a great, overlooked space-opera Anime that we've all somehow rediscovered 15 years later. That said, the fan service also feels fifteen years out of date, and is the only questionable bit from ye olde games of yore.

“Hey, I Have a Fun Idea” Award - Super Mario Odyssey The award is named after how the game was designed. Just a bunch of people sitting around saying, “hey, I have fun idea,” and then making that into a tight, micro-slice of gameplay bliss. This game is loaded with brief, memorable moments that are novel, and never overstay their welcome. As the last drop of fun has been reached with one activity, the game is already moving you along to the next...hundreds of times in a row. Now that's impressive.

Everyone's a Speedrunner Award - Ys VIII: The Lacrimosa of Dana Most games try to mimic real-world physics when it comes to character movement. A character's jump, for instance, looks wrong if it doesn't match what we'd expect to see in reality. Speedrunners know how to exploit these pseudo-physics to great effect, and use this knowledge to "break the game" by moving and jumping in ways unintended by the game's developers. Usually this type of movement is difficult to perform, and requires hours of practice to master single-frame animation windows and pixel-perfect jump arcs.

But not in Ys VIII! Just mash on the jump and dodge buttons and you'll soon become a whirling dervish of energy, constantly increasing in speed. It requires no practice, and feels exhilarating. The music's tempo matches the speed, and nothing ever slows you down, making it clear that this freedom of movement was by design. Brilliant!

The Armchair Architect's Wet Dream Award - Gravity Rush 2 Gravity Rush 2 is a beautiful game. Maybe too beautiful, as I spent most of my time slowly walking the streets, taking in the colorful architecture. And while this world is obviously an impossible place, most of the buildings still seem like they could work. In particular, I liked that the bottom of every island was explorable as well. I guess there are literally no places to hide when your main character is a badass, flying-cat superwoman.

Game of the Year Award (or Best game I played this year, of the 1% of total releases that I actually played) - Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Hardly surprising given that Zelda has won this award from...well, everybody I think, but there is no denying this game is just sublime. A profound sense of freedom and old-school Adventure permeates every inch of this vast world. And the game is greatly unpredictable, thanks to all the emergent physics systems built-in to the core gameplay. No two encounters play the same because of it, keeping this behemoth utterly engaging from start to finish.

Art of the Year Award - Nier Automata Videogames are an Artform, which we all (finally) know by now, but of course they're only one of many Artforms that fight for our hearts and minds: Movies, music, literature, painting, sculpture, and sandwiches made at Subway (hey, they're made by "sandwich artists," right?). And with this in mind, I offer up my first ever "Art of the Year Award" to the best damn Art I've seen in many years: Nier Automata.

It's hard to explain why this game packs so much of a punch, especially given that, at first glance, it seems like an easily dismissable fan service game. Do not be fooled! What starts as a standard sci-fi premise, becomes more and more involved both in terms of plot and philosophy. This buildup leads you exclusively in one direction, thematically. This theme is remarkably consistent, from the music to the side quests, even to the enemies you encounter. That is, until the credits of ending five roll (there are 26 endings, but you'll only need to see five to fully understand what I mean). Then everything gets flipped, so to speak, in what is EASILY the best ending in video game history. This turnabout is not only well earned, but it makes every second preceding it feel more important and absolutely necessary. In terms of vision, this is a Complete Thought, delivered in video game format.

Most importantly, Nier showed me that "art games" don't have to be boring. It's so fun to play! With my game, ULTRAWORLD EXODUS, I kept many exciting elements of movement out because I was worried players wouldn't pay attention to the message, which was the game's reason to exist. But instead, they paid attention to the lack of movement options, and missed the message anyway because they were too frustrated. Nobody wants a symposium, they want to smash giant robots. And hey, if someone is talking that philosophy stuff in the background, that's cool I guess, as long as I can keep smashing. This one will stay with me for years.

-----------

And that’s all; what an embarrassment of riches this year was! Feel free to disagree with me, because honestly, that’s the point. Your opinions will always hold the most weight, far more than mine, which suck. So, yeah, whatever :P

BLOG POST NO.9

Character Sketch

Chrollo Saipher

-----------------------------------------

Monolue Script

Hi! I'm Chrollo Saipher! But you can call me Detective Saipher. I'm 17 years old turning 18 next year and an ex Mafia Boss.

Yes! Your heard it right! An ex mafia boss at a young age, Unbelievable right?

Yes, I started my career on the underground since I was just a kid and as I grew older I slowly built my reputation and developed my powers then became the most powerful mafia boss.

I'm not just an ordinary mafia boss, I don't control just the underground, and I also control the law above. I'm so powerful that I control both, I am above the law.

I may be just 17 years old but I possess different powers which is one of the reasons I’ve reached this kind of title.

Powers such as seeing what will happen in the future for 5 – 10 seconds and I can disable the powers of anyone I tend to disable with just a slightest contact with them and I also have super speed which allows me to defeat the enemy instantly but I intend to have fun because defeating the enemies instantly is boring and I don’t want to end the fight quick because I want to have fun and feel my adrenaline rushing.

I left my treasures and possessions in the underground to be a detective. A detective that will capture those evil syndicates who contrasting my heart's desire- to reign the universe.

Little did I know, that this syndicates are too far from what I've been expected. I have a secret twin brother, Cholo Saipher.

He's far with me since we'd bare in this world, as my father took him and equip him to be an ultimate monster inside.

He is also one of the reason why I decided to be a detective, to seek him, and to be my companion in my plans. Little did I know that my brother is the supreme of all evil.

Am I late? Should I kill him?

Should I kill my long lost twin brother?

But unfortunately, he's barely to defeat. He is totally a demon. Dark aura revolves himself, as there's no hope. With a masculine arm, hot look, a demon's eyes, and a long-fiery blue hair.

He owns the sun, as my father inherited it to him. I can't come closer to him, but he's not wise as me, he's not optimistic as me, he's not that powerful and skillful as me, and above all, he's not that handsome man as me.

He has a lot of barbarians and wizards. He commanded them to replenish in every undergrounds and planets, and gradually destroy them. But I don't want him to destroy my chosen territory to be reign.

He summoned me and brought me in the core of the sun, knowing that too much heat exposure is one of my weaknesses. But he didn't know that I can teleport whenever I go, as I use my special speed.

I throw balls of potions towards him. He's boastful to his territory and he freely accepts those boats of potions, without knowing that it will capture him. I brought him into the vacuum, in the outer space to be specific. To avoid my vulnerability in the hotness of the sun and to be far off from the earth, and gradually sealed him.

However, he immediately threw a pile of twinkling dust of evil and syndicates spreading them all over the universe. But he can't escape anymore and getting sealed in a round object, called moon.

Unfortunately, the story has not yet ended. It is just the beginning of the threat in connection to the destruction of the universe, as he luckily spread those devils in outer space.

: Chrollo, don’t you want to die?

: I’ve started to take a little interest again in the mafia’s work and in my long lost evil Twin brother Cholo. In public society, death is far removed from daily life. But in the mafia, death is merely an extension and a part of daily life. I think that’s the way it should be because death isn’t the opposite of life. It’s simply a function that is part of one’s life. Without observing death from up close, one can’t fully grasp the concept of life.

: So you started wanting to live, you suicidal maniac? *grins

: I just feel that it’s worth giving a shot now.

: Tell me one thing though, what makes a leader?

: A leader not only stands atop an organization, but he’s also a slave to it. To ensure the organization’s survival and prosperity, he’ll gladly dirty his own hands.

He’ll develop his men, place them in the right posts, and use and throw them away if need be.

He’ll gladly commit any cruelty for the sake of the greater good. That’s what a leader is.

: Thank you for that. I’ll stay with you and defeat the vicious and evil creatures scattered by your evil twin brother for we know he is powerful and that there is a possibility that he can escape the moon and get you.

Character Triangle

Strength

• HAS SUPER POWERS

• CAN SEE THE FUTURE FOR A SPAN OF 5 – 10 SECONDS

• HAS SUPERSPEED

• EXPERIENCED COMBAT

• HAD NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE

• CONTROLS THE UNDERGROUND AND THE LAW

• EXCELLENT MYSTERY SOLVING SKILLS

• FEARLESS AND FEROCIOUS

• HAS CONNECTIONS WITH THE BIGGEST OF AUTHORITIES

Vulnerability

• WHEN ONE OF HIS LOVED ONE’S GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE ENEMY

• HIS SUICIDAL MINDSET

• OVER – CONFIDENT

• HIS THIRST FOR BLOOD

• WHEN HIS GIRLFRIEND IS CAPTURED

Weakness

• GETS WEAK IF GIVEN TOO MUCH EXPOSURE TO HEAT

• LIKES TO JOKE AND PLAY WITH THE ENEMY

• NOT IMMORTAL LIKE THE GODS

• RECKLESS

• CARE - FREE

• UNDERESTIMATES OPPONENTS AND LOOKS DOWN ON THEM

• TRUST’S PEOPLE EASILY

• STUBBORN

Aspects

Physical Aspects

• TALL AND TANNED – SKIN

• MUSCULAR BODY

• HAS BROWN EYES AND BLACK SHORT HAIR

• ALWAYS LIKES TO WEAR SUITS WITH OR WITHOUT TIES

• HAS A STRONG AND INTIMIDATING AURA

Psychological Aspects

• CARE FREE AND LIKES TO

HAVE FUN

• A LITTLE BIT RECKLESS WHEN IT COMES TO FIGHTING

• BRAVE AND STRONG

• LIKES TO SOLVE MYSTERY CASES AND FIGHT BAD GUYS

• KIND OF MYSTERIOUS HIMSELF

• ADAMANT

• SUICIDAL MANIAC

Sociological Aspects

• AN AMBIVERT

• RISK TAKER

• HUMBLE

11/28/2017 DAB Transcript

Daniel 5:1-31, 2 Peter 2:1-22, Psalms 119:113-128, Proverbs 28:19-20

Today is the 28th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and, like always, it's wonderful to have this opportunity to be together for a few minutes as we take the next step forward into our adventure through the Bible this year. And, right now, the path is leading us through the book of Daniel, and through second Peter in the New Testament. This week we’re reading from the contemporary English Version and we begin with Daniel chapter 5 verses 1 through 31.

Commentary:

Alright. In second Peter today we have a bit of a tirade against false prophets. And our understanding of prophet in this day and age is often tied to a person who predicts the future. But here we’re more appropriately talking about a person commissioned and sent by God to speak on his behalf. And, so, sometimes this is translated, false teachers. So, a person claiming to be commissioned and sent by God to speak on his behalf, but it's not true, it's false. And there was plenty of this going on. A lot of people were saying a lot of things for a lot of reasons about the faith. Before we dive into this, I think an important distinction needs to be made, because we can read passages in the Scripture like this and get the impression that we can’t ask any questions because we've seen a lot of that in our time. Anyone who asks questions that might mess with our tidy little box of assumptions can be labeled a false prophet, a false teacher, simply for posing questions or asking them. And I don’t think that’s the same thing and I don't think that's fair. I ask questions constantly. I ask questions of the Bible. I ask questions of the Lord every single day of my life, simply because I want to know the answers and you probably due too. That's not what we’re talking about here in second Peter. Peter is being very forceful about people who are claiming to speak on behalf of God, who have come to faith in Christ and then have begun to or have completely turned away from some of our all of the core essentials of the Christian faith and are leading people to do the same thing. And Peter has little tolerance for this. And, so, to quote him, ‘these teachers don't really belong to the master who paid a great price for them and they will quickly destroy themselves. Many people will follow their evil ways and cause others to tell lies about the true way.’ And, so, we’re pretty clear what he's talking about and what he's saying is, this is not going to work for those people, in fact, it's going to go quite badly for them in the end. And then he goes on to give some examples of what that will look like, and he uses the examples of rebellious angels in heaven, the wicked and ungodly people in Noah's time, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. So, we could all agree, that's not a good time and that's not a trajectory to aim your life in. And then Peter tells us what's going on. Right? What the behavior is that he's so upset about. And it's here that we have the opportunity to look into our own lives to see if any of this is going on with us. These people, Peter says, ‘speak evil of things they don't know anything about. They have done evil, and they will be rewarded with evil. Their immoral and the meals they eat with your spoiled by the shameful and selfish way they carry on. All they think about is having sex with someone else's spouse’. Right? So, in other words, they are consumed with lust. ‘They trick people who are easily fooled and their minds are filled with greedy thoughts, but they are headed for trouble. They have left the true road and have gone down the wrong path by following the example of the prophet, Balaam’, which is a reference to unrighteous behavior for personal gain. ‘These people’, Peter says, ‘are like dried up waterholes and clouds blown by a windstorm. They brag out loud about their stupid nonsense and by being vulgar and crude they trap people who have barely escaped from living the wrong kind of life. They promise freedom to everyone, but they are merely slaves of filthy living because people are slaves of whatever controls them.’ And there’ something to put in your pocket carry around today. I am a slave of whatever I let control me. And it is here in this last paragraph that we read today that Peter shows us what happened to these people and where that road is going. He says, ‘when they learned about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ they escaped from the filthy things of this world, but they are again caught up and controlled by these filthy things. And now they are in worse shape than they were at first. They would've been better off if they had never known about the right way, because even after they knew what was right, they turn their backs on the holy commandments that they were given. And that is like a dog coming back to lick up its own vomit.’ Alright, this is pretty poignant, and this is pretty direct, this imagery that Peter's using to describe what it's like to know the truth, have tasted the goodness, and then turn around and walk back into the filth of a former life. So, I imagine that most of us have at least been around a dog. I guess I've been around dogs most my life in one way or another and I've watched them do this. Right? Haven't you. Dog goes out into the yard, has to poop, and can barely finish before they have to turn around and smell that nice steamy pile of waste. You're out walking your dog, they’re smelling every mailbox, but if they can come around some other dog poop, oh, that's just a treasure and they smell that and maybe even eat it. Dog is sick, pukes on the ground, pukes in the kitchen, and they might give it a nice whiff and even lap it up. I know, I mean I know that's gross, I know what I said is his disgusting, and I said it frankly because it's disgusting to go back to a former life after the beauty of the presence of God. It's like puking in a bowl and then eating it like soup. Sometimes understanding something starkly can shake us away to what we’re doing. And when we realize what we’re doing it explains a lot about the shape our life is in. To turn away from the narrow path that leads to life and go back and try to resurrect a life that is no longer a part of our story is like walking into a gas station bathroom, seeking out toilet that has been backed up for days, hoping to ladle out some of that filth into a Styrofoam cup so that we can go back to our car and drink it down. That is what it is like to try to resurrect the corpse of who we were before Christ. That is what it is like to wander into territory that will only lead us away from our union with God and the intimate collaboration in life that we've begun with Him. And that helps us understand the context of so many of the books of prophecy that we've read and are reading, when God is exasperated and essentially saying, why would you choose this over me? Why would you choose sewage over the banquet I have prepared for you?

Prayer:

Father, those are questions that have no valid answers. They never have. And we’re all guilty of this. And we’re all humbled at the starkness of what we’re doing. And, once again, we are called to repentance, we are called to change from within. And this can only happen with our surrender and Your participation. And, so, together we pray the ancient prayer of repentance, most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. In Your mercy, forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we will be, that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You, our God. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what's going on around here.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here as we move toward the end of the year, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There's a link on the homepage. If you prefer the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Springhill Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Song:

O God Forgive Us ​for KING & COUNTRY https://youtu.be/tz4toSf-xQU

Lyrics 

We've prayed the prayer with no reply

Words float off into the night

Couldn't cut our doubt with the sharpest knife

O, O God forgive us

Silence isn't comfortable

We want drive through peace and instant hope

Our shallow faith it has left us broke

O, O God forgive us

O, O God forgive us

 A slave to our uncertainty

Help us with our unbelief

O, O God forgive us

 Young and old, black and white

We're rich and poor, there's no divide

Hear the mighty, hear the powerless, singing

O, O God forgive us

O, O God forgive us

 A slave to our uncertainty

Help us with our unbelief

O, O God forgive us

With our white flag sailing in the night

Eyes pointed to the sky

Hands up and open wide, open wide

With our white flag sailing in the night

Eyes pointed to the sky

Hands up and open wide, open wide

With our white flag sailing in the night

Eyes pointed to the sky

Hands up and open wide, open wide

With our white flag sailing in the night

Eyes pointed to the sky

Hands up and open wide, open wide

 O, O God forgive us

A slave to our uncertainty

Help us with our unbelief

O, O God forgive us

Growth mindset: Part 2

**Disclaimer: This post is kind of long but I think/hope worth the read!**

In part two of my debrief on Carol Dweck’s Mindset, I’d like to back-up and define the core principles of mindset, as Dweck explains them. She looks at mindset as being growth-oriented or fixed. P.S. the diagram below (created by Nigel Holmes) is located on p.263 of the book.

An individual operating with a fixed mindset sees their abilities and talents as ascribed or “set in stone”. Either they can do something or they can’t. It’s pretty black and white. For example, an adult who has always been good at math begins to see themselves as naturally talented at math because they don’t have to work at it and it’s seen as something they’re effortlessly gifted in. They likely grew up hearing “you’re so smart!” or “Math genius!” and this became part of their identity. Picture that Calculus rock star who never studied but always aced the exams – and prided themselves on it. This person’s worst nightmare would be failing in a math test. Not only would their talent be questioned (a hindrance to their image), but also, their sense of self, which is largely defined by them being a math genius would be shattered and they would be left deflated and lost. The fixed mindset is not very adaptive as it doesn’t do well with change, especially any change where challenge exists and a victory isn’t guaranteed. Growth mindset, on the other hand, is “based on the belief in change” (p.223) - constantly learning and growing our abilities to develop ourselves. If a fixed mindset is content in being a masterpiece, a growth mindset is happy with being an ongoing work in progress. In a world of constant flux, the growth mindset is our best friend. Since nothing ever stays the same and life is a constantly changing journey, adopting a growth mindset allows us to be adaptive and enjoy the inevitable change of tide life brings. In this sense, a growth mindset can be considered a “fluid” mindset. Adopting a fluid mindset unleashes us to continuously grow and redefine our skills, knowledge and contributions. Internal change aligns with external change.

In reading about growth versus fixed mindsets, I found it really interesting how ego intersects with both. The ego is quite predominant in the case of a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset is all about protecting your image amongst others – failure being its greatest kryptonite. A fixed mindset lacks resilience in the face of inevitable setbacks and rejection - and even how we view/internalize these setbacks – instead of being seen as learning opportunities, they are viewed as signs of our defects. Ultimately, a fixed mindset is about establishing superiority, a key element of ego. The ego reinforces and validates itself through a hierarchy of those who are more than or less than “ME”, in every possible criterion. As Dweck says: “in the fixed mindset, effort is not a cause for pride. It is something that casts doubt on your talent.” (p.99) to be better than others without having to really try is the foundation for a fixed mindset. [SIGH].

……[Breathing in some fresh air], a growth mindset is ALL about effort. Nothing great was ever achieved easily. It’s about seeing ourselves and others as developing individuals, constant works in progress. Our traits and skills are not fixed, which is liberating and exciting because it’s about seeing our potential as limitless, and realizing that anything worth having requires real effort and hard work (not inherent talent). Dweck emphasizes it’s not just the conceptual belief in this idea, but very much about walking the talk. Having a growth mindset means being action-oriented – it’s about the deeds we carry out to try, fail, get back up, try some more, learn, pivot and lean in. It doesn’t matter what your skill level is today, the growth mindset believes that with enough effort and perseverance, you can become great at anything if you really want it. What’s the role of ego in this arena? The ego takes a back seat with a growth mindset because it doesn’t matter who is watching us try, fail, try and fail again – it’s not about establishing or protecting an image. It’s about IMPROVING (learning/growth) ourselves not PROVING ourselves (ego). So much to improve. Nothing to prove. I love that!

Inherently, the growth mindset is freeing because it means we’re all in this messy, non-linear journey together, climbing, falling, scraping our knees and turning to each other to learn and keep going. Dweck’s book appealed to me for several different reasons but this point right here hit home on a deep level. I love that we are all free to constantly reinvent ourselves. I have no interest in being the same person I was 6 years or 6 months ago. I love that in my entire lifetime, I will have had 5-10+ different career paths. Stagnation is death to me. I want to grow, improve, burst, change, break apart and bloom again. The growth mindset is exactly that – being a lifelong passionate learner who doesn’t settle in and get cozy but rather is willing to take risks, be vulnerable, check the ego, fail and try again and again (and again) because the end goal is to have learned and grown, not to “look” good and protect a certain image of oneself. Growing up in an Indian culture that is gravely obsessed with what other people think and “keeping face” in the Indian community, I detest the idea of living my life for others. What a sad existence that is. To be in a job, a marriage, an outfit or lifestyle because it’s the “proper good Indian girl thing to do”. Most of my arguments with my Mom to-date are about challenging her “what will people think” commentary. My Mom is amazing but I recognize and appreciate that she was socialized to care about protecting an image in a way that I (thankfully) never will.

Dweck does a great job of exploring the growth mindset in different areas of our lives from leadership, coaching, relationships and even parenting. Several years ago, I was visiting a startup incubator that NYU ran for students. I remember seeing the quote below on the wall:

I feel like this quote speaks to the growth mindset, which is about welcoming challenges and being curious about and learning from the adversity we face. “I’d like to share a few key points from Dweck on leadership and relationships that further elaborate this point. 

Dweck explains that the most effective leaders learn from everyone around them. They “surround themselves with the most able people they can find, and they look squarely at their own mistakes and deficiencies, and they ask frankly what skills they need” they operate on “facts and not fantasies about their talent” (p.110). Growth is important but it’s not easy. It’s hard to not be good at something but that’s where the real test comes in of checking our egos and changing our perspective to focus on the WHY (purpose) and the HOW (process) and not the WHAT (end result). Jack Welch, the infamous former CEO of GE, talks about his journey of personal growth from the fixed (me, me, me) elitism mindset to a growth (we) mindset. In reflecting on a time when he was “too full of himself”, Welch came to learn that “true self-confidence is the courage to be open - to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source” (p.127). Dweck adds: “Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow” (p.127). 

In her chapter on relationships, Dweck insists that “a no effort relationship is a doomed relationship, not a great relationship” (p.155). Sometimes we can get caught up in the “if it’s meant to be, it shouldn’t be hard” mentality. That’s the fixed mindset operating. Being surrounded by younger married couples, I often see how friends or family can get annoyed with certain habits of their spouse. But, according to Dweck, thinking: “my partner is incapable of change” (p.159) is very much a fixed mindset. Of course the partner needs to want to change themselves (it can’t be forced on them) but if we are encouraging and supportive instead of “fixed” in how we see our significant others, it can do wonders for them, us and the relationship. Whether you’re single, dating or married, you need to recognize that everyone comes with some baggage. “Daniel Wile says there are no problem-free candidates. The trick is to acknowledge each other’s limitations and build from there” (p.157). Just as we wouldn’t give up on a career or fitness goal without putting in great effort and seeing it as a long game with setbacks and pivots, how might we take the same approach when it comes to matters of the heart? Dweck puts it beautifully when she says: it’s not “they lived happily ever after” but more like “they worked happily ever after” (p.155). Remember, anything worth having never comes easily.

So, obviously, the growth mindset is pretty dope and I’m all hyped up about it. When I read Mindset, I was like “I totally have a growth mindset….a fixed mindset is lame and it’s just not me”. But the truth is, as I read further into the book, I was humbled to realize that in some aspects of my life, I can for sure have a fixed mindset. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I was a nerd who soaked up school and prided myself on getting straight A’s. I look back and see how that, to some degree, was the fixed mindset in my life. I bought into and worked hard to protect my image as a 4.0 GPA person – it came at a cost, of course. Even today though, I can see traces of that operating in my head where I like to be the smart one and the one who can excel at things – sometimes my ego needs to chill. But you know what? That’s okay. I’m grateful for the awareness. I am forever going to be a work-in-progress and seeing the fixed mindset pop up in my life gives me motivation to dig into that and change it. Think of mindset as a spectrum with fixed on one end and growth on the other. Dweck reinforces that none of us have a growth mindset ALL the time, 365/24/7. She points out that we truly are a mix. It’s important we see where we are on the spectrum in the different areas of our lives – and this can change day-to-day too. When you’re facing a setback or challenge, how can you get curious instead of discouraged? What efforts and strategies have you employed? What growth feedback could you seek? Is there a completely different approach that could be taken? Is there someone who’s really good at a particular skill or in a certain area that you could shadow with or learn from? Is there more you could learn or uncover - have you really stretched yourself or are you just sitting in the comfort of your ego?

Above all, the growth mindset reminds us to take the pursuit of our passions seriously but not to take ourselves too seriously. For example, although you might not want to rock the unibrow and sweat pant Sally look when you run into your ex – accept that you aren’t always going to exude the “too hot to trot” image. Embrace the mess - the sweat pants, bird’s nest hair and stained t-shirt - surrender, smile and move forward with your life. But take a shower and maybe call your eyebrow lady too - it’s about effort after all :)

Blueprint  for a better  Sabbath  afternoon

Blueprint  for a better  Sabbath  afternoon

"Memory Text: “ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord’ ” (Leviticus 19:18, NKJV ),

"In His mercy, God has always had people with whom He has maintained a special relationship. In the stories of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—among others—we see God yearning to rebuild the broken relationship with human beings. But this was not just for the benefit of these few individuals and their families. When they were connected with God and blessed by Him, it was part of a larger plan to repair that relationship and share the blessing with others. As God said to Abraham, “ ‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing .  .  . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’ ” (Gen. 12:2, 3, NIV). As he was blessed, he could be a blessing to others."

"This blessing was to come through the nation of Israel and, ultimately, the Messiah, who would come from that nation. With the creation of the people of Israel, God was now working with an entire nation. So, He set about giving them laws, regulations, festivals, and practices that would be a way to live so that those who were blessed by God would be able to bless others, as well."

The God  who hears

"“ ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering’ ” (Exod. 3:7, NIV)."

"Four hundred years is a long time to wait, especially when waiting in conditions of increasingly harsh slavery. God had promised that He would return to His people and bring them out of Egypt, but for generation after generation they were left to build the wealth and prestige of their idolatrous oppressors, and all the while God seemed silent."

"Then God manifested Himself in a unique way. He appeared in a burning bush out in the remote desert to an unlikely leader, a fugitive prince and humble shepherd named Moses. He gave the reluctant Moses a job to do, and the first part of that job was to go back to the Israelites in Egypt with the message that God had heard and seen their oppression—and, yes, He did care. In fact, He was about to do something to change their situation dramatically."

"Read Exodus 3:16, 17. Why was it important for God to begin outlining His plan for these people with this specific message? What catches your attention about this statement from God?"

"But God does not stop there. Not only does He have a plan for a better land, He does not intend for the people to escape from Egypt destitute. For hundreds of years, they had contributed to the wealth of the Egyptian Empire. God foresaw the initial resistance from Pharaoh, but He assured Moses that the Israelites would be compensated for their years of hard labor: “ ‘And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed’ ” (Exod. 3:21, NIV)."

"After their years of oppression, God took the opportunity to establish a new kind of society with these former slaves. He wanted them to live in a different way and to establish a society that would continue to be sustainable and viable. His plan was that this new kind of society would be a model for the surrounding nations and, like Abraham, that the blessings they received from God also would bless the whole world."

The Ten Commandments

"Read Matthew 22:37-40, then Exodus 20:1-17. How does Jesus’ sum-mary of the commandments help your understanding as you read each of the Ten Commandments?"

"The Ten Commandments read like a constitution. After a brief preamble that sets out the basis on which these statements are made—in this case, the fact of God’s deliverance of His people—the document lists the core principles on which the nation is founded. In this case, there were specific commands about how human beings could best live out their love for God and love for each other. It is little wonder that many nations with a Christian heritage have drawn the basis of their laws from these guiding principles."

"While many of these statements are brief, we should not underestimate the breadth of their impact and the comprehensiveness of the Ten Commandments as the law of life. For example, the sixth commandment—“ ‘You shall not murder’ ” (Exod. 20:13, NIV)—summarizes and includes “all acts of injustice that tend to shorten life” as well as “a selfish neglect of caring for the needy or suffering.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 308. Similarly, the prohibition against stealing (see Exod. 20:15) condemns “slave dealing, and forbids wars of conquest.” It “requires the payment of just debts or wages,” as well as prohibiting “every attempt to advantage oneself by the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 309."

             Am I  thy brother’s keeper

"We can easily tell ourselves that we are not bad people. For example, if we are not directly involved in murder or obvious stealing, it might seem we are doing OK. But when Jesus talked about the commandments, He made it clear that the commandments are not fulfilled simply by not doing a few specific acts. Rather, our thoughts, motivations, and even failure to do things we know we should can break the law of God (see Matt. 5:21-30)."

"So, imagine a society in which each of the Ten Commandments was taken seriously and lived out fully. It would be an active, vibrant society in which everyone enthusiastically acted on their love for God by loving and caring for one another."

"Why do we tend to read the Ten Commandments “narrowly,” often ignoring the broader applications of these important principles to our lives? Why is the narrower reading easier to follow in practice?"

Slaves, widows,  fatherless and foreigners

"Read Exodus 23:9. What is God’s message to Israel here?"

"As newly freed slaves, the Israelites knew what it was to be oppressed, exploited, and marginalized. And while they celebrated their freedom, God was concerned that they not forget where they had come from, what it was like to be excluded, and what He had done to rescue them. He instituted the Passover as a memorial event and an opportunity to retell the story: “With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exod. 13:14, NIV)."

"Read Exodus 22:21-23. How important was the memory of their own slavery in the instructions about how the people should treat the least fortunate in their new society?"

"Barely had the echoes died away after the giving of the Ten Commandments when Moses is called to spend more time with God, who gives him detailed instructions as to how these grand commands should be lived out in Israelite society. Even before the instructions for building the tabernacle, God gives three chapters of laws about such things as the appropriate treatment of slaves, laws that would have stood out in stark contrast to the treatment many of the Israelites had experienced. There were laws dealing with violent crimes, laws related to property, laws for everyday living, and principles for establishing courts to implement these laws and to administer justice (see Exodus 21 to 23)."

"Prominent among these laws was concern for fellow citizens in this new society, as well as concern for the outsiders and those most vulnerable. These people were not to be exploited; they were even given rights to access food in ways that would respect their dignity, such as gleaning leftover crops from the harvested fields. Such treatment for “outsiders” and foreigners was not common in the ancient world. Even today some seem to forget the important moral principles found here regarding the treatment of others."

Second  Tithing

"Many Christians recognize and follow the Bible’s instructions regard-ing paying—or returning—tithe. Usually referenced from Malachi 3:10, it is a simple formula, with believers giving 10 percent of their income—or “increase”—to support the work of the church in spreading the gospel. Entrusted with these tithes, churches usually have strict guidelines about how to use these funds, primarily applying them to support direct ministry and evangelism."

"Read Deuteronomy 14:22-29. In these instructions, what is the primary purpose of tithing?"

"The temptation is to think we have fulfilled our giving when we give that 10 percent. But the instructions given to the Israelites suggest that the 10-percent figure was a starting point. Studies suggest that an ancient Israelite living and giving according to the guidelines in the Levitical laws would on average give almost one fourth of the year’s income to the work of God, to support the priests and sanctuary, and to help the poor."

"Some scholars describe this giving—particularly to support the foreigners, orphans, and widows—as a second tithe. It is obvious that the people were to enjoy the results of their work and to celebrate their harvests. God promised to bless them, particularly in their new land, but they were not to take that blessing for granted or to forget those who were not so blessed."

"In regular years, this portion of the harvest was to be brought to the sanctuary and shared from there. But every third year, there was to be a special focus on sharing their blessings in their own community. In these harvest celebrations, there was a special focus on those who might easily have been overlooked or forgotten: “You shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied” (Deut. 26:12, NIV).

"According to God’s instructions, at least some portion of the Israelites’ giving was to be focused on providing financial and practical assistance to those who most needed it. Again, this was based on the people’s memory and appreciation of how God had been merciful and just to them."

"Read Deuteronomy 26:1-11. What is the Lord saying to them? How should we apply this to our own attitude toward giving to those in need?"

The Year of Jubilee

"Meeting the Israelites as a people who had no home of their own and who were waiting for their arrival in the Promised Land, God knew the importance that the land would take on as they established their new society in Canaan. Under the leadership of Joshua, God oversaw an orderly distribution of the land by tribe and family groups."

"But He also knew that over time the wealth, opportunity, and resources that were connected with landholding would tend to become concentrated in the hands of the few. Family difficulties, ill health, poor choices, and other misfortune might cause some landholders to sell their lands for short-term gain or simply to survive, but this would mean the family might be dispossessed for successive generations."

"God’s solution was to decree that land could never be sold absolutely. Instead, land would be sold only until the next “year of jubilee,” at which time the land would revert to its allotted family, and any land sold could be redeemed by the seller or another member of the seller’s family at any time. Again, God reminds the people of their relationship to Him and how that affects their relationships with others: “  ‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers’ ” (Lev. 25:23, NIV)."

"Read Leviticus 25:8-23. How do you imagine society would be different if these principles were applied, especially the words “you shall not oppress one another”?"

"“The regulations that God established were designed to promote social equality. The provisions of the sabbatical year and the jubilee would, in a great measure, set right that which during the interval had gone wrong in the social and political economy of the nation.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 534."

"Bible historians are unsure as to whether these economic and social rhythms were ever fully followed for any significant period of time (see 2 Chron. 36:21). Even so, these rules offer an intriguing glimpse into how the world might work if God’s laws were fully followed. Moreover, they underline God’s particular concern for the poor and the marginalized, as well as His concern that fairness be manifested in practical ways in our world."

Further  Thoughts

"Read Ellen G. White, “The Law Given to Israel,” pp. 303-314; “God’s Care for the Poor,” pp. 530-536, in Patriarchs and Prophets."

"“There is nothing, after their recognition of the claims of God, that more distinguishes the laws given by Moses than the liberal, tender, and hospitable spirit enjoined toward the poor. Although God had promised greatly to bless His people, it was not His design that poverty should be wholly unknown among them. He declared that the poor should never cease out of the land. There would ever be those among His people who would call into exercise their sympathy, tenderness, and benevolence. Then, as now, persons were subject to misfortune, sickness, and loss of property; yet so long as they followed the instruction given by God, there were no beggars among them, neither any who suffered for food.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 530, 531."

"“These regulations were designed to bless the rich no less than the poor. They would restrain avarice and a disposition for self-exaltation, and would cultivate a noble spirit of benevolence; and by fostering good will and confidence between all classes, they would promote social order, the stability of government. We are all woven together in the great web of humanity, and whatever we can do to benefit and uplift others will reflect in blessing upon ourselves.”—Pages 534, 535."

Discussion  Questions

"•  Of the blueprint God gave to Moses and the Israelites for the kind of society they were to establish, what feature, law, or regulation most catches your attention (whether it be specifically mentioned in this week’s study or from your wider reading)?"