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dustedmagazine · 3 years

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IST — A More Attractive Way (Confront Recordings)

A More Attractive Way by IST

For whatever reason, we are still, and absolutely, unequipped to discuss timbre. Our homogenized Western European-based vocabulary seems relatively complete where all the rest of what we sloppily label “the musical elements” are concerned, so why the non-attention to what really differentiates one sound from another? In the most fruitful and inclusive senses, the trio IST is both precedent to and consequent of this lapse and the worlds it refuses to acknowledge. The group dances along the trajectories of timbre with the fluency of those still suffering tone tyranny, held prisoner by the note as accepted convention. From the first performances in 1996 to their last two decades later, it would be more than over general, but with a toe in truth and accuracy, to speak of distillation and concentration amidst an increase of space. These Protean characteristics are true but not the totality of what this five-disc set adds to the collaborative discography of the late bassist Simon H. Fell, cellist Mark Wastel and harpist Rhodhri Davies.

For an overview of IST’s history and importance to the overlapping scenes the trio represents, there is Michael Rosenstein’s superb article on Confront’s site:

Rosenstein’s expert ability to encapsulate historical and musical developments is as comprehensive as his descriptions are rich. Given such context, it seems prudent only to examine moments in time, and through them to come to terms with the varying approaches, densities and totalities achieved by this unique string trio that embodied “chamber music” in its most inclusive guise. It is true, as Rosenstein observes, that the pivotal first performance involved much of the back and forth associated with what might be called Euro-Free improvisation of the atomistic variety. Just as important, however, are the sonic highways and byways, the trails blazed and pastoral paths trod by these intrepid explorers. One of the most fascinating and exciting elements is the way timbre impacts the rest of what we stodgily call musical parameters. In the first of the two miniatures from that formative 1996 concert, rhythm, timbre and pitch transcend their respective narrative boundaries. Like the characters in Joyce’s Nighttown episode from Ulysses, there is a blending of structure, form and purpose that enters the realms of magic, even of phantasmagoria. Melody is inextricably linked with the rhythmic sounds of the three string instruments, but, as with the Diamond Sutra, even to speak of melody, harmony and rhythm is both true and false, tearing away at the illusions on which those binaries are constructed. Be all that as it may, nearly two and a half minutes into the same piece, there is a lengthening of sounds, a decrease in density and an increase in relative space. There’s even some exquisite executed vibrato from Wastell, a harkening back to traditions this trio usually discards. As Wastell and Fell doff their hats toward the vocabulary of the “jazz” solo, Davies joins in, bending piquant pitches in the upper register as what I have no recourse but to call the tempo picks up again. In this way, in the space of a few brief minutes, the group presents its own history in astonishing distillation, dissolving boundaries in favor of new ones soon to be subjected to a similar fate.

At another extreme resides an extension of those flowing seed-moments of near-stasis in the trio’s powerful 1998 rendering of Intensitat, one of Stockhausen’s late 1960s text pieces. Obviously, via the rigors of recording, rehearsal and performance over the intervening two years, interaction is at an even higher level. It can happen in a moment, that communication that fosters elevation, and it’s palpable, as it is in this concert of compositions. Listen at 1:23 of the Stockhausen as Wastell microtonally alters his pitch, a shade separating tyranny from freedom. Similarly, at 2:46, Davies simply cuts off the ratcheting rhythms that had been bolstering the interaction, leaving a glorious bed of sustain and overtone in shifting dynamic planes. Here again and at other strategic points, vibrato is used but to an entirely different end. Is the trio employing it as a rhythmic device? Is Fell responsible for the emergent microtones at 2:22, whose gradual tempo increase eventually births the layering mini-cascades of vibrations in fluctuation we myopically call vibrato? The gorgeous miniature is rife with internal rhythms, imbuing the entire frequency spectrum with warmth, luminosity and, above all, a raw power, a vision of arising and somehow fastidious unity very rare in any chamber music. It is one of the most extraordinary occurrences in a set full of them, showing a group in the flux of development portended by that first concert and realized over the succeeding years. Yet, nothing anticipates, or can follow, the vast architectural drones, the huge swells as primal as ocean waves and as crystalline as spring water. The group’s atoms are elongated, saturated with the energy and life-blood only a shared performance experience affords. Again, pitch is only a consequence stemming from the timbres in vibration and mutation filling and elasticizing each moment. The applause is well deserved.

Rereading the above affirms that it cannot constitute anything close to a comprehensive review. For one thing, so many of this compendium’s wonderful performances are simply neglected. There is the occasion, the only one, of Simon Fell and violinist Phil Durrant performing together in a small group, caught in the Red Rose in February 1998. That beloved venue had a wonderful acoustic, especially evident on the two IST pieces opening the fourth disc. The initially sparse concluding track offers a precis of just how well the improvisers’ aesthetics meshed, matched only by John Butcher’s contributions to another Red Rose performance several months earlier. How one trills multiphonics in microtone I’ll never know, yet another nod to timbral intrigue, but you can hear Butcher doing just that as the combined portion of the concert begins, the trio supporting and leading in turn.

Ultimately, when confronting music plumbing such sonic depths, nothing can replace first-hand observation. How, after all, does one review the musical equivalent of a thunderstorm, a birth, something as nebulous and inconclusive as a conclusion, especially when the language to discuss it has yet to be invented? It is the substance of those unfolding events as much as their attendant statistics that generate the power and lead toward reflection, and this box rewards that sort of listening. More than that, it pays tribute to a time of exploration, of interactive moments caught in the simple but precious and fleeting acts of presaging others, however distant, and to the environments bearing witness as sound travels between mind, heart and body. Beyond even these relationships, the set honors Fell. Only weeks before his death, a 25th anniversary IST concert was being planned. The box is dedicated to Fell, and his mentorship helped Wastell and Davies to enter the musical scene the trio would go a long way toward defining. The music here somewhat mitigates the harsh reality that they will not perform again, as do the accompanying booklet’s reminiscences, from those involved in the music and from those observing. Insightful, touching and sometimes humorous, they mirror the music’s multifaceted approach in a way many such endeavors fail to do. With mixed emotions channeled through a quiet but definite comprehension of the extraordinary nature of what transpired and is documented, the various accounts celebrate the music and the musicians responsible for it. No more can be asked than that we do the same.

Marc Medwin

#IST #a more attractive way #confront recordings #marc medwin #albumreview #dusted magazine #box set #simon fell #rhodhri davies #mark wastel #timbre #free jazz #improvisation #modern composition #london

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giftedsupport · 5 years

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Telling good friends from bad

HERE ARE 7 THINGS A GOOD FRIEND DOES DIFFERENTLY

1. THEY ACCEPT YOU – FLAWS AND ALL

A good friend is going to accept you for who you are, no matter what, even if you’re really bad at showing up on time, or if you tend to accidentally say the wrong things. “Trying to change a person never works. People know when they are not accepted in their entirety, and it hurts. A real friend is someone who truly knows you, and loves you just the same,” says coach and author Marc Chernoff.

A good friend is going to adore you even if you have a couple of flaws that need to be worked on. They won’t ever make you feel bad for being human, and they’ll even help you work on your flaws by being so kind and compassionate to you in the first place.

2. THEY HELP YOU MOVE FORWARD

A good friend is always going to be there to support you in all of your endeavors. They’re going to push you forward toward your goals no matter what. Even when things seem tough, you never have to worry about a good friend leaving you behind. They’re always going to be your number one cheerleader and they’re always going to help you move forward.

3. THEY NEVER JUDGE YOU

Good friends may try to give you advice and guide you, but they’re never going to judge the choices that you ultimately decide to make. You’ll know a good friend from anyone else because you will always feel safe telling your good friend the things going on in your life.

You won’t ever have to worry about being judged secretly, because a good friend cares about you enough not to judge you for what you do. Good friends know that “they are not in your shoes and may have no idea what you are experiencing,” adds life coach Sharon L. Mikrut.

4. THEY’RE THERE THROUGH THE HARD TIMES

When things get tough and life stresses you out, you can always count on a good friend to be there for you when you need it.

Pastor Justin Jahanshir says, “… a good friend aligns their schedule with the priority of friendship. Developing meaningful, lasting friendships is not a by-product, but is built through intentional, purposed time and energy. Thus, the starting point for any ongoing friendship will simply be time invested into the relationship.”

Even if you end up getting into a disagreement, you’ll know that a good friend is going to be there for you after it’s all over. You don’t have to be afraid of arguments ruining your friendship. They’ll stick it out through the good times and the bad times.

5. THEY’RE HONEST

Little white lies don’t exist between good friends. “… a true friend doesn’t simply support our every action, but will challenge us to greater ways of thinking and action. This means there will be times for tough conversations,” adds Pastor Jahanshir.

A good friend is going to always be honest with you, even when it’s not something that you want to hear. However, they’re always going to be kind and compassionate with their honesty. You won’t feel bad after having a real talk with a good friend. Their honesty is going to be something that you always value from them.

“If it’s a superficial friend or a new friend, they’re not going to say anything that may be off-putting. But if it’s a real friend — someone you truly trust — they know they can tell you exactly what’s on their mind. People who are open and straightforward are some of the most important types of friends to have,” says psychiatrist Robert Rowney, D.O.

6. THEY’RE A GOOD LISTENER

We all know those friends who seem to be listening with one ear while ignoring you with the other. A good friend is going to listen to you and really, really hear what you’re saying.

“Whether you are relating a good or bad experience, friends listen. They don’t interrupt or try to make suggestions or recommendations. They simply listen, letting you get everything off your chest,” says Mikrut.

You won’t ever have to repeat yourself or feel like you’re just being humored when you talk about your feelings or the things going on in your life. A good friend will listen to you and you will feel listened to.

7. THEY ALWAYS MAKE YOU SMILE

When life gets you down, you know exactly who to go to when you’re looking to get a pick me up. Your good friend is always going to be the person that you’re not afraid to talk to when things are getting tough. They will know just how to make you smile when it feels impossible.

(source)

Are they really your friend? 15 signs that suggest otherwise

1. They only call when they want something

All friendships should be equal – which means that you should receive as much as you put in, it’s all based on reciprocation and mutuality. If you’re putting in more than you’re getting out, you should think twice about what they are asking from you.

2. The conversation is never equal

Do you find that you just spend your whole time focused on them when you’re hanging out? Yeah, that’s not cool – we all have problems and things we’d like to talk to somebody about.

3. They put you down or make fun of you in front of others

A definite no-no. Usually, people do this because they feel bad about themselves and want to use somebody else as a distraction. Draw a line over any friendships like this immediately.

4. You feel bad about yourself when you’ve spent time with them

Sometimes it’s difficult to analyse behaviour, but your emotions never lie. Friends should make you feel good, empowered and uplifted. If you leave them feeling like crap then you should probably re-evaluate the benefit you’re getting from the friendship. Some people, unfortunately, just like to bring others down.

5. They are aggressively competitive

It’s good to be a little competitive now and again, but like most things – you can have too much of a good thing. A friendship based on competitive behaviour is NEVER healthy or a true friendship.

6. They aren’t happy for you when good things happen

This is one of the most common tell-tale signs and it’s also based on competitive behaviour. A true friend will want to see you succeed and be happy.

7. They bring drama into your life

It’s usually the people who spend their time moaning about drama who are the ones causing it. You don’t need that negativity around you.

8. They bitch about you behind your back

An absolute no-no. Friendships need to be based on mutual respect and trust. Don’t put up with that crap.

9. Your relationship feels like it’s built on conditionality

This is likewise for all relationships in your life. You should feel like they are unconditional and not based on you being or acting in a certain way.

10. They bail on you

Sometimes it happens and that’s fine, but if it’s consistent then it obviously shows that your friend is unreliable and much less invested in the friendship than you are. Maybe it’s your turn to bail on them, permanently.

11. They use your secrets against you and share them

This is malicious and absolutely nothing a true friend would ever do.

12. They are a bad influence and make you do things that get you into trouble

Nip this in the bud before you end up getting yourself into trouble. Friends don’t make friends do bad things… or text when drunk, but we’ll turn a blind eye to that one… for now.

13. They talk about their other friends behind their back

If they do this, the chances are, they do it to you too. It’s fine to have a moan occasionally, but anything malicious would probably indicate that they aren’t as genuine as they’d like you to believe.

14. They bail when you need them the most

So there are friends, who are, well… friends and there are friends who are still your friends at 3am on a Wednesday morning in the midst of your breakdown. The latter are your friends for life and it’s important to know that you can rely on a few select individuals to be by your side through thick and thin.

15. They exclude you from things with mutual friends

If it’s on purpose and happening often, despite you bringing it up then we’d suggest you created some distance. It is important to remember that sometimes it can happen accidentally so try and talk to them about it before jumping to conclusions.

It’s not me, it’s you: breaking up

Firstly speak to somebody about it, make sure your response is rational. If it is, then deal with it, accept that it isn’t your fault and mentally move on. Once you’ve done this, you have 1 of 2 options:

Let the friendship naturally fade out

Stop making arrangements, stop replying and distance yourself from them. Eventually, you’ll become increasingly distant until you’re officially no longer friends on Facebook.

Or…

Confront them

There are 2 schools of thought surrounding this: confrontation can be good if you’d like to hopefully try to resolve things, but on the opposite end, confrontation can be incredibly empowering if you’ve felt particularly suppressed or upset by somebody. Arguments can be healthy, provided that they don’t put anybody at risk and won’t make situations worse. We’d recommend a mediator to help keep an argument balanced. [I would personally add that some people are so toxic that they’ll never accept their own bad behavior: in which case, confronting them might end up making you feel WORSE instead of better. Only you can decide what is the right approach for you!]

Afterthought

People come and go and it is rare that a friend will be by your side for life. It’s hard to go through but it’s just part of growing up. It can be scary confronting or walking away from somebody who you once considered a friend but your esteem and integrity are much more important than trying to keep somebody happy who doesn’t give a damn about you.

#friends #friendship

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rebelsofshield · 4 years

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2019: Top Ten Star Wars Media

It’s hard to deny that 2019 was the biggest year for Star Wars in recent memory. With not only the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga released in The Rise of Skywalker, and the first ever live action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, but all other manner of books, comics, games, and shows, it was a busy year to be a fan of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. While this year’s big feature film may have been largely disappointing, there were still some great additions to the Star Wars legacy.

10. Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren

Only one issue in and writer Charles Soule’s exploration of the start of the Kylo Ren tragedy is already shaping up to be another stellar addition to his already exceptional comics bibliography. While the Knights of Ren may have been little more than set dressing with cool designs in the films, Soule explores this deadly group of warriors as something of a self-destructive, nihilistic cult and gives them their own strange traditions and personality. Artist Will Sliney turns in career best work here with not only providing some great character design but also letting Ben Solo’s complicated facial expressions tell heartbreaking stories of their own. It’s complex and tragic reading that adds to the fascinating history of one of the most intriguing characters of the decade.

9. Star Wars Resistance

It is undeniably uneven and at times aimless, but Star Wars’ third canon animated series is still filled with moments of joy, spectacle, and undeniably fun plot swerves. The playful sense of humor and stellar racing/aerial combat sequences remain a standout and the show is likely a colorful delight for younger viewers. However, what made Resistance such a standout in 2019 is the refreshingly complex character arc given to one of its central cast members, Tam Ryvora. Showrunner Justin Ridge and voice actress Suzie McGrath show how anger and fear can lead even good people into the sway of fascism and Tam’s complicated betrayal and murky moral future makes for some of the most mature storytelling that Star Wars animation has attempted.

8. Star Wars Adventures

As always, IDW’s delightful Star Wars Adventures remains some of the most artistically dynamic and eclectic comics the franchises currently publishes. While always shooting for stories that can be enjoyed by Star Wars fans young and old, Adventures uses its anthology format to tell stories from across the entirety of the franchise canon featuring all manner of characters and letting different creative voices take a spin with the many toys offered. Whether it’s the creepy Halloween limited series Return to Vader’s Castle or seeing Chewbacca and a trusty Porg liberate the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, Adventures continues to offer a little something for all fans.

7. Star Wars Age of Rebellion

While there were gems inside all three of Marvel’s yearlong Age Of… limited series, its highlight of the most classic of Star Wars eras was undoubtedly its strongest. Greg Pak and his team of collaborating visual artists delivered some outstanding one off stories for Luke, Leia, Tarkin, and others, but it was ultimately their stellar Boba Fett story that proved the highlight of the twenty seven issue run. A mostly wordless Western that opens up with the galaxy’s most infamous bounty hunter riding into town on a robotic horse, Pak and Marc Laming’s thrilling and understated character study was the best Star Wars comic of the year and arguably the best Boba Fett story of the decade.

6. Star Wars: Resistance Reborn

Rebecca Roanhorse’s official prequel to The Rise of Skywalker proves to be a more satisfying experience than the movie that it ties into. Fans of Star Wars media are sure to find much to enjoy in this tale that not only bridges the eighth and ninth episodes of the saga but also provides a conclusion to all manner of media for the last decade. In an incredible balancing act, Roanhorse manages to tell a story of galactic rebellion and resolve while roping in characters from Star Wars Battlefront II, Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy, Claudia Gray’s Bloodline, Charles Soule’s Poe Dameron comic, and more. The result is a satisfying and thrilling read that rewards longterm readership while remaining a fun and consequential story in its own right.

5. Star Wars: Master and Apprentice

2019 was the twentieth anniversary of The Phantom Menace (holy crap) and while the film still remains a largely derided part of Star Wars history, Claudia Gray’s Qui-Gon Jinn centric prequel will happily enjoy a more positive legacy. Exploring the complicated teacher/student dynamic between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master and Apprentice is an intriguing piece of courtly drama and conspiracy. Gray finds great dramatic fodder in the larger Jedi “family” formed by Qui-Gon and his own masters and former students and it makes for a fun character study amid some enjoyable dialogue centered prose. Gray is recognized by many as the strongest writer currently writing for Star Wars and Master and Apprentice is another fine addition to her repertoire.

4. Star Wars The Mandalorian

Of all other Star Wars media, The Mandalorian was the one to take the world by storm in 2019. Even outside the fire in a pan cuteness success of Baby Yoda, showrunner Jon Favreau’s space western drama was a runaway success. Despite a midseason drag in pacing and quality, the first ever live action Star Wars series thrilled and won over fans the world over with its enjoyable ensemble, great production design, and some stellar direction. Deborah Chow became the first woman to direct a live action Star Wars project and in the process delivered two fantastic hours of television. Her spearheading of an upcoming Obi-Wan show could not be more exciting. However, it was Taika Waititi’s outstanding season finale that is sure to stick in fan’s minds as a yearly highlight. Season two could not come faster.

3. Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron

Even with the Sequel Trilogy closing its doors last month, the next great Star Wars trilogy may have already begun in June. Alexander Freed draws inspiration from the cult favorite X-Wing novels of the 90’s to create a fantastically engaging military procedural set during the fall of the Empire and the rise of a new Republic. Without a doubt the most nuanced take of a galaxy in the final throes of wartime, Alphabet Squadron is an ensemble drama about a cast of characters finding their place in a new galaxy while coming to terms with their own trauma. Freed’s detailed and dutiful prose makes for a surprisingly engrossing read and some of the most powerful character writing to come out of a Star Wars novel in recent years. Thankfully the second installment arrives in less than six months!

2. Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow

There are few characters in the Star Wars galaxy that were in more need of a storytelling makeover than Padme Amidala. While she began as a great female heroine in The Phantom Menace, Padme spent the latter two films of the prequel trilogy bogged down with a leaden romantic story and a borderline misogynistic death. Writer EK Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow is an unabashed love letter to the girl queen that won over a generation of female fans in 1999 and a surprisingly relevant character study of a young woman entering the political scene in a time of galactic change and upheaval. Johnston turns Padme into a complex and politically astute young leader that is forced to navigate her transition from planetary matriarch to senator while also facing a wave of galactic scandal and judgement. It’s hard not to feel that Queen’s Shadow is in conversation with our own country’s treatment of women leaders and acts just as much as a rallying cry for young readers as it does a fun character piece. Also, who would have expected Sabe, Padme’s chief handmaiden played by Kiera Knightley in the film, to be one of the most emotionally complex protagonists of the year?

1. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

It’s been well over a decade since players have been treated to a great Star Wars gaming experience. The last true single player Star Wars game was the woefully lackluster Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and fans have been clamoring for years for another chance to dive deep into an interactive story set in this rich fictional galaxy. Luckily, Respawn Entertainment have delivered just that in the fantastic Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Blending the exploration of Metroid Prime, the combat of Dark Souls, and the platforming set pieces of Uncharted with a fresh new Star Wars story, Fallen Order may not reinvent the wheel but what it does is present an entertaining and engrossing experience. Character progression and combat feel tailored to Jedi philosophy and exploring new, entirely optional, environments riddled with fascinating lore makes stepping into the interactive world Respawn has crafted rewarding and fun. However, it is the game’s story of the last remaining members of traditions that have been victims of cultural genocide that makes Fallen Order a success. Relatable and complex lead characters and even surprisingly sympathetic villains make this story a refreshingly emotional one and its high and lows are felt with a welcome dedication to theme and pathos.

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arrowdaily · 4 years

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Superheroes, like the rest of us, never really die. They live on in the people they leave behind. Heroes like Oliver Queen return every time they’re remembered fondly, a lesson they imparted is taken to heart, or an ideal they championed is fought for. They pave the way for the next generation, which will pick up the standard that they established and see that it prospers and grows. While it’s okay to grieve and mourn the passing of your favorite superhero, always remember that their legacy lives on.

Arrow’s final season ends next week, and while Oliver’s story may be reaching its conclusion, the world he shaped and sacrificed for lives on—and no one embodies that more than Mia Smoak. Oliver’s wayward daughter we were introduced to last season, Mia has had a remarkable journey that included meeting and fighting alongside her father in the leadup to the Crisis that ultimately cost him his life.

Perhaps the most astonishing thing of all is that journey is just beginning. Tonight’s penultimate episode of Arrow, “Green Arrow & the Canaries,” is a Mia Smoak-centered hour that reveals what her life is like after the hard reset that took place at the end of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”

“This sets up the new future—the new 2040,” explains Kat McNamara, who plays Mia. “Mia’s grown up in a perfect Star City, in a place where she got to grow up with her mother and brother. She’s had every opportunity at her fingertips and has never known any sorrow or sadness other than the fact that her father was never a part of her life. She’s very smart, cunning and has the same wry sense of humor that we know and love, but she doesn’t necessarily have a passion or spark, or anything that really lights that fire in her because given the information that we have, we know what that fire is for Mia.”

That spark comes by way of two familiar faces—Dinah Drake and Earth-2 Laurel Lance—who show up to investigate a kidnapping that has ties to Mia. Of course, both Dinah and Laurel are dealing with the Arrowverse’s strange new world as well.

“Dinah is in a place where she doesn’t understand why she’s there, but she’s settled into it,” explains Juliana Harkavy, who’s held the role of Arrow’s Black Canary since season five. “She’s trying to make sense of this new world that’s been created. In a lot of ways, she’s brand new herself. She’s just discovering herself.”

It’s not much of a spoiler to say that the reacquaintance of these three remarkable women ultimately leads to Mia embracing her destiny as Oliver’s daughter and taking up the mantle of Green Arrow—it’s right there in the episode title. But this is a very different Green Arrow than we’ve seen before, and it’s not just because there’s now a young woman behind the mask. Mia’s previous life as a vigilante has been erased from her memory at the start of the episode, leaving behind a hero with a much different set of skills.

“She has social skills,” shares McNamara. “She has social graces. She interacts with people and she has this joy that we have never really seen before.”

That certainly has an impact on her approach to becoming the new Green Arrow.

“What Mia brings with her—at least, the old Mia—is a very cutting sense of being a survivor,” McNamara explains. “She’s had to go through so much and survive so much that she’s never had the same compassion that Oliver has for a lot of what she does. But now that we have this new version of Mia, she does have that compassion. She has these social skills and social graces that really do inform her character in a new way. It’s a very interesting interplay in the way that things are done.”

Of course, that new way might create some problems for the people not accustomed to it—like Laurel and Dinah.

“It’s complicated!” Harkavy says with a laugh. “We’re all figuring each other out while figuring ourselves out. We’re coming from a very different place in our lives and a very different perspective.”

“At this point, things between them are contentious at best,” adds McNamara. “Just given that Mia has grown up with a life that she views as pretty perfect, and then these women show up and throw a monkey wrench into everything. All of her relationships, everything she knows and loves is suddenly upturned. Mia and Laurel and Mia and Dinah have had their differences in the past, and that’s definitely true now as well.”

While Oliver Queen has had a few different proteges over the years, both in the comics and on the show, it’s been clear that Mia would be the one to follow in his footsteps ever since they introduced her in a series of flashforwards (which tonight’s episode pays off in a big way). That was cemented in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” when Ollie had a special Green Arrow suit commissioned for his time-displaced daughter. Whatever thoughts fans may have on this unique-to-the-show character, they should know that Mia certainly takes the mantle with the utmost respect.

“Given that she got to witness firsthand how her father was a hero, she’s doing everything she can to honor that, follow in his footsteps and do him proud,” says McNamara. “At this point, she doesn’t feel prepared, ready or even worthy to take on his mantle. Despite all the past conflict with her father, she really does respect the hero that he became and the legacy that he built. She views him as a hero.”

Harkavy certainly thinks Mia is ready. “Mia is a direct connection to Oliver, to the Green Arrow, to the legacy,” she explains. “She’s the root. It wouldn’t make sense for anybody else because in a way it’s the same character, but it’s also completely different. I believe Mia is the perfect hero for this story.”

That story, hopefully, isn’t going to end very soon. Arrow’s cast and producers have made it pretty clear that “Green Arrow & the Canaries” is meant to serve as a springboard for a possible spin-off series. However, with a total of six Arrowverse shows now, landing on the exact shape of the potential new series took some time.

“I learned about this episode at some point during season 8 of Arrow,” shares McNamara. “I was told that one of the episodes would be a pilot, but they didn’t really have the concept down yet. It went through many different iterations, but it was a really lovely collaborative process with Marc (Guggenheim), Beth (Schwartz) and the whole Arrow team. Given that we had to shoot this between the crossover and the series finale of Arrow, I give so much credit to the entire Arrow team—the creatives, the writers, our crew, who are impeccable.”

One thing McNamara will certainly get a lot of training in, should the spin-off move forward, is archery. Stephen Amell claims to be a pretty solid archer. McNamara, on the other hand, feels like she’s halfway there. Literally.

“The way we do things on the show is we never fire live arrows,” she explains. “A bow is such a long-distance weapon that if you have a camera six feet away from you, it’s not safe to be nocking a real arrow for anyone involved. All of the arrows are actually CGI. We dry-fire the bow, which is awful for it, but it’s the safest way to do things. So my form in drawing the bow is amazing. We have an incredible archery coach on the show who kicks my butt every time and whips me into shape. That part of archery I know a lot about, but I’m really not sure what my aim is like.”

With any luck, she’ll have many more years behind the mask to find out.

#juliana harkavy #katherine mcnamara #cast #s8 #8x09 #interviews #news

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thenerdparty · 5 years

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Spider-Man: Far From Home - Film Review

Written by Shawn Eastridge

I never thought I’d ever say this, but I’m starting to think Spider-Man might be too good for Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. No. Scratch that. I know he is. And Far From Home, the latest entry in this franchise, proves it once and for all.

I was willing to give Spider-Man: Homecoming a pass. Despite being relatively shallow, it’s light on its feet, has a great villain in Michael Keaton’s Vulture and contains a strong emotional beat for Spidey near the film’s climax. Far From Home has none of this. In fact, Far From Home is one of the blandest entries Marvel Studios has yet released. Instead of seeking out opportunities to deepen Peter Parker’s character, Marvel Studios has relegated him to cleaning up the mess Avengers: Endgame left behind. When a Spider-Man film makes you long for the emotional depth of Spider-Man 3, you know there’s a problem.

Following the shenanigans of Infinity War and Endgame, Peter is understandably ready for a vacation. His upcoming summer class trip is the perfect opportunity to do so. Not only will he and his best bud Ned get to take in a number of scenic European views, but Peter will get a chance to spend quality time with his crush MJ. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll finally get the chance to tell her how he feels. Peter even goes so far as to leave his Spider suit behind, determined to enjoy this time off to the fullest.

Naturally, things don’t work out that way. Before long, Nick Fury arrives to pull Peter off of the sidelines and back into the superhero-ing world. Quentin Beck, a superhero claiming to be from another dimension, has arrived in the midst of a number of Elemental monster attacks. These Elementals, comprising of - you guessed it - water, fire and earth, destroyed Beck’s Earth. Beck is now determined to protect Peter’s Earth at all costs, but he and Fury will need Peter’s help to do so. That is, if Peter is up for the task.

Right from the get-go, Far From Home casually dismisses Endgame’s dramatic heft in favor of a quick laugh. While I understand the need to establish a different tone from Endgame, the offhand way Far From Home makes light of Endgame’s superb conclusion further emphasizes how little director Jon Watts and this creative team cares about making anything that happens here feel significant in any way. At every turn, Far From Home attempts to distract the audience from its glaring insignificance by going the route of comedy. Every action sequence is punctuated by some half-assed punchline or an overriding sense of artificiality - Flash Thompson live-blogging on his phone; the teachers making some kooky comments about how they’re all going to die. There’s no sense of danger. No suspense. No stakes. None of it feels remotely believable.

To be fair, the emphasis on humor is a common complaint lobbied at the MCU. Here’s the thing, though: while humor plays a large role in these films, the humor enriches the already present emotional stakes and characters. For the most part, we’re laughing with our heroes, not at them. (Thor: Ragnarok is the argument to the contrary, but the big difference between that film and this one is that Thor: Ragnarok is actually funny.) Far From Home can’t seem to differentiate between those two things. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if the jokes didn’t feel so forced and awkward.

And, hey, speaking of forced and awkward, how ‘bout those action sequences? With the exception of one genuinely impressive Mysterio-inspired acid trip, every action scene feels lackluster and uninspired. It’s like the studio handed director Jon Watts a shot list and storyboards without taking any input from him. “All you need to do is show up on set and say, ‘Action!’ Whatever unique sensibilities or voice Watts brought to the table with Homecoming have all but vanished in Far From Home.

Actually, you know what it reminds me of? Marc Webb’s short-lived Amazing Spider-Man series. No, hear me out real quick. Neither of those movies are particularly good, but which one feels more like the product of the 500 Days of Summer director? The first one, right? And which one feels more like a studio-mandated, computer-generated crapshoot? (There’s only one guess left here, people. You can’t go wrong)

Far From Home is the MCU’s equivalent of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s louder, more colorful and ultimately emptier than its immediate predecessor. I guess it’s fitting that Mysterio would be Far From Home’s main villain. A character that specializes in crafting intricate illusions to hide how insignificant everything is? Sounds about right, doesn’t it? Jake Gyllenaal takes on the role with manic enthusiasm, but the character’s motivations are flimsy and dull. Once again, we have a villain hellbent on getting revenge on Tony Stark, and once again, we have Spider-Man cleaning up a mess Tony Stark left behind.

Great.

Things don’t fare much better with Peter’s personal relationships either, in particular, the romance between Peter and MJ. The two of them are all awkward pauses and nervous tics. It’s adorable, make no mistake, but like most of Far From Home, it feels artificial. We never get the sense that there’s a real connection between these two because Watts and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (the same writing pair behind the dull beyond all reason Ant-Man and the Wasp) never take a break from telling jokes to offer up a single moment of sincerity. Tom Holland and Zendaya have great chemistry, but there’s no substance to their interactions. The rest of the supporting cast are simplistic types, barely memorable. Even Ned, one of Homecoming’s highlights, is left on the sidelines with little to do.

What’s really disappointing is that Far From Home contains the set up for what could have been really great Spider-Man story. I love the idea that Peter just wants a break from all the crazy superhero duties. He just wants a vacation with his friends; he wants to spend time with the girl he’s crushing on. Doesn’t he deserve a break? It’s in the execution that this film fails.

Many of Spidey’s best tales deal with Peter’s struggle to balance his personal life - money woes, girl troubles, job issues, etc. - with the responsibility of being a superhero. It’s what makes this character so special. He carries a significant weight and the responsibility of being Spider-Man puts a damper on everything in his life. Sam Raimi’s trilogy understood this perfectly. It’s why those films still hold up so well. Even Spider-Man 3, as stupid as it is, had its heart in the right place.

The problem with the MCU’s version of Spider-Man is that it seems to ignore the emotional depth of the character in favor of a quick laugh and light-hearted adventures. Peter’s struggles never evolve beyond the surface level. There’s no sense of responsibility or obligation, nothing personal that seems to motivate Peter’s decision to be a hero. Marvel Studios is so concerned with making Spider-Man light and fun, they’ve forgotten to provide any meaningful emotional stakes or the slightest bit of complexity to the character. Other than a brief conversation in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (which, by the way, remains the MCU’s best interpretation of this character to date and ISN’T EVEN A SPIDER-MAN MOVIE), we don’t have a strong sense of who Peter is or why he does what he does. As far as I can tell, Peter wants to be Spider-Man because he wants to live up to Tony Stark’s legacy. His entire motivation is reliant on another character. This robs Peter of a personal motivation and, as a direct result, reduces the character to a pale imitation of his true potential.

And, look, I get it. The Uncle Ben stuff is well-tread territory. I’m not saying I need the same angsty overtones provided by the Raimi/Maguire trilogy, but the way these films bend over backwards to not mention Uncle Ben is borderline parodic. Here’s the thing: you don’t have to show Uncle Ben’s death or have it take precedent over the story to show its impact in Peter and Aunt May’s life.

Instead of taking advantage of the chance to deepen the relationship between these two, to show how they’ve tried to move on in the wake of Ben’s passing, life seems pretty peachy-keen for the Parkers. They don’t seem to struggle with any money woes, illnesses or anything else that could potentially offer these films an ounce of significance. Uncle Ben provides the core motivation for why Spider-Man does what he does. When you take that out of the picture, what else is left? I mean, they don’t even acknowledge the fact that Peter has had two, count ‘em, TWO, father figures taken from him in the span of, like, a year. Come on, people!

And at the center of all of this, fighting to overcome the film’s lack of identity and overarching blandness, is Tom Holland. Holland is a remarkable, gifted young actor. He’s nailed this character and has proven time and time again he has the chops to pull off a far more meaningful interpretation. I wish the studio was willing to meet him halfway. To watch him give his all in a film that doesn’t remotely deserve his talents is a depressing experience.

That’s really the best way to describe this film. ‘Depressing.’ Far From Home reduces Spidey to a C-list member of the MCU’s expansive ensemble. His entries in this franchise feel more like financial obligations than attempts to tell meaningful stories. I wouldn’t care as much if it was another character getting lost in the corporate chaos, but this is SPIDER-MAN we’re talking about. He’s one of the most complex and beloved characters in the history of storytelling. The source material is overflowing with great stories that have meaningful emotions and stakes and this is the best Marvel Studios can come up with? As portrayed here, Spider-Man is no longer a character that can stand on his own. He’s just a fly trapped in someone else’s web.

FINAL RATING: 2 out of 5

#Spider-Man #Spider Man #SpiderMan #Spiderverse #Far From Home #MCU #Marvel Cinematic Universe #Marvel Studios #Avengers #Tom Holland #Zendaya #Jake Gyllenhaal

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borealismcanada · 5 years

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The Biophilia Effect

Nature Deficiency Disorder

“The person who fully loves life is attracted by the process of life and growth in all spheres.” — Eric Fromm

I spend a lot of time in nature. Never as much as I’d like, but enough to keep me grounded through the turbulence of everyday life. In doing so, I’ve noticed a few things.

Primarily, there’s an urge inside of me that slowly builds up, louder and stronger with each passing day or week, calling me to go and get lost on the trails of a nearby national park. It’s a pressure valve, because once I do, my mind is once again calm, refueled and calibrated.

After an intense hike or mountain bike, swim or snowshoe, I find myself utterly relaxed, rejuvenated, at the tantalizing pinnacles of euphoria. I used to think that this was due to my physical exertion and the pleasant rush of endorphins that follow suit but, after suffering a broken collarbone and being reduced to leisurely strolls through the woods, I began to realize that there was something more at play.

Then I had stumbled upon the concept of Shinrin Yoku — the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing — a trend that developed in the late 80’s whereby people would stroll through the woods to experience somewhat of a forest therapy by opening their senses to the natural sentience of nature. I figured it to be nothing substantially more than a good way of living, of a healthy activity that helps clear the mind, get the blood moving and maybe infuse some needed fresh air into the lungs. But there seems to be more to it.

From there, it wasn’t long until I turned a corner and was met with the philosophy of Biophilia, a hypothesis credited to Eric Fromm, proposing that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and are drawn towards all that is alive and vital. This is where things began to get interesting.

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”— Frank Lloyd Wright

From a psychological perspective, the theory began to materialize a little bit more. As we in the West tend to need our materially-conclusive factum, the propositions extended by the concept of Biophilia became more concrete. Eric Fromm approached the matter from a Freudian perspective, finding that contact with nature is essential and crucial for the human psyche. He described a psychological orientation of being attracted to livelihood, that life seeks to be around other life and that these deep affiliations between life forms for one another are innately rooted in their biology.

This concept isn’t necessarily new, as it’s origins can be traced as far back as Aristotle and beyond, sometimes contextualized differently as something along the lines of symbiosis, synergy, naturalism, and the like.

Fromm’s approach, however, weaves in the biological impulse we seem to hold for preferring the natural over the unnatural, an affinity for anything with a pulse in a world that has becoming largely inanimate.

Collectively, we’re beginning to realize this. Biophilic-based design has been adopted into the trends of architecture and interior design — more and more designs incorporate plant life and greenery, a natural essence to an artificial presence. We can see the same thing taking shape with artificial intelligence, endeavors into renewable energy sources, and dietary or recreational lifestyles; we’re increasingly revering life in any form. Ultimately, we seem to have strayed too far from our natural origins and are now trying to reconcile with them — all this for good reason.

“The biophilous person prefers to construct rather than to retain. He wants to be more rather than to have more. He is capable of wondering, and he prefers to see something new rather than to find confirmation of the old. He loves the adventure of living more than he does certainty. He sees the whole rather than only the parts, structures rather than summations. He wants to mold and to influence by love, reason, and example.” — Eric Fromm

We’re coming to find that the absence of bioactive substances throughout life, whether at home or in the office, is aesthetically unpleasant and, as has been recently studied in more vigor, has undeniable effects on our mood. But what may be of more bewilderment is the actual scope in its physiological effect. Newest findings have shown that our physical health depends on influences of nature.

One such study conducted by a team of scientists, led by Marc Berman, assessed neighborhood greenspace as a health factor in a large urban center — Toronto. Drawing on comprehensive greenspace metrics and health records, overall findings indicated that residents who live among a higher density of trees reported ‘significantly higher health perception’ and ‘significantly less cardio-metabolic conditions’.

“We find that having 10 more trees in a city block, on average, improves health perception in ways comparable to an increase in annual personal income of $10,000 and moving to a neighborhood with $10,000 higher median income or being 7 years younger.” M. Berman et. al.

Several studies, beyond this one alone, have shown that exposure to greenspaces can be physiologically and psychologically beneficial through a number of means, including of course, self-perception. There are, of course, the obvious points — greener suburbs typically have greener residents in terms of lifestyle — despite this, physiological evidence has become apparent.

Is it so hard to accept that nature helps us maintain a healthy equilibrium beyond just the generally-accepted psychological benefits?

Human beings evolved in and with nature through hundreds of thousands of years. Moving into sealed, airtight conditions — can we be so sure that our biology has caught up to adapting to the fluorescent hums of offices or the closed artificial environments that we increasingly find ourselves in?

Beyond getting away from paint or exhaust fumes, we can look at the physical emissions of trees. Pines or coniferous trees, for instance, emit a class of chemical called terpenes, compounds that are increasingly being said to promote emotional and physical health. Terpenes have recently become all the rage with cannabinoids (THC and CBD oils) but are found in every corner of nature — shurbs and trees and plants all emitting this compound.

“Recently it’s been identified that the terpenes also act directly on brain cells to modulate their activity.” — Dr. Josh Kaplan, neuroscientist at The University of Washington

For myself, I don’t have to be convinced — I believe whole-heartedly that nature benefits more than just the mind. I feel that we have a hard time placing much emphasis on things we can’t see; water, for instance, is a staple to good health that we’ve accepted, but what of the countless microbial compounds that flow about in the air that we inhale or coat our skin so as to allow for epidermal absorption. We slap chemicals on our face or in our hair regularly, inhale artificial fragrances everywhere we go, and coat our skin with synthetics. But when it comes to simply being out in nature, we don’t tout the true benefits of what we’re really exposed to.

Personally, I stand firm in my belief that there’s more than just fresh air out there.

“I believe that man is the product of natural evolution that is born from the conflict of being a prisoner and separated from nature, and from the need to find unity and harmony with it.” — Eric Fromm

Read more: Borealism.ca

Sources

https://savvytokyo.com/shinrin-yoku-the-japanese-art-of-forest-bathing/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331364905_Initial_Evidence_of_the_Relationships_between_the_Human_Postmortem_Microbiome_and_Neighborhood_Blight_and_Greening_Efforts

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279989471_Neighborhood_greenspace_and_health_in_a_large_urban_center

https://fromm-online.org/en/biophilie-liebe-zum-lebendigen-biophilie/

#nature wilderness health mind research psychology science wellbeing inspinspiration

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julissacabral · 5 years

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Human Centered Design & Creative Thinking

“Coming up with ideas should never solely rely on a question and answer approach to information gathering” (Glitchka). This is true because there needs to be some sort of balance to it by finding unexpected options through different discovery methods. These discoveries can be made through exercises such as word associations, mind maps, and brain dumps to help throw every possible idea out there on the table. This helps a designer because it frees new possibilities that may have never seen the light of day.

Human centered design is all in all a creative way to solve problems. It generates solutions based off of different methods of design thinking and helps designers break down barriers that hold them back creatively. Human centered design is both the manner in which you think and how you go about utilizing it. It consists of three phases including inspiration, ideation, and implementation (What Is Human). In the first phase you open yourself up to all possible ideas by thinking freely and trusting that you will find your solution. In the ideation phase a designer will come up with hundreds of ideas to find the best fit. This includes reworking one idea over and over and coming up with different variations of that same option. The designer then must take advice from those who they are designing for. After all, they are designing for their users needs so the user should be allowed a voice when working on a project. It would only further the success of the designer (Steen). A designer must take all feedback, both good and bad, to ultimately come to a final solution. This final solution will be put out for the users to enjoy in the implementation stage.

An example of this process can be portrayed through the development of thinking like a kindergartener. Kindergarteners are unlike the rest of society today because of the way that they are learning in the classroom. “[They] are constantly designing, experimenting, and exploring [on a day-to-day basis]” (Resnick). For example, two children are building towers out of blocks and as they add more blocks the tower starts to get very tall. Seemingly out of nowhere, one of the towers tumbles to the ground and the children argue about whose fault it was. Once their conversation ends they agree on building a stronger tower that can grow even taller than the ones before. They ask their teacher for help and she pulls up some pictures of real skyscrapers. This is when the children realize that in all the photos the towers have wider bottoms than the tops. After coming to this conclusion, they then build their wooden block tower to be the same as the ones in the photos (Resnick). This is one of many examples that prove that kids use this train of thought, creative thinking, and it leading to successful solutions. It would be extremely beneficial if as a society everyone were to carry out this style of problem solving in the work place or at school. There are many discoveries just waiting to be made. Imagine the endless possibilities.

Works Cited

Glitschka, Von. “Creative Thinking Methods.” Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, 2 Dec. 2015,

www.lynda.com/Illustrator-tutorials/Creative-thinking-methods/109450/119904-4.html.

Resnick, Mitchel. “All I Really Need to Know (about Creative Thinking) I Learned (by Studying

How Children Learn) in Kindergarten.” ACM Digital Library, ACM, dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1254961.

Steen, Marc. “The Fragility of Human-Centred Design.” PhilPapers, 1 Jan. 1970,

philpapers.org/rec/STETFO-7.

“What Is Human-Centered Design?” Design Kit, www.designkit.org/human-centered-design.

#comdesfoundations

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yegarts · 6 years

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The Art of War and the Killing Joke - The Comedy Company

(The PPCLI Comedy Company circa 1917-1919 - photo, public domain)

From 1914-1918, more than 600,000 Canadians packed up their troubles and merrily marched, flags waving, into the trenches and foxholes of Flanders and France. By the time the Armistice was signed at 11:00 am on November 11, 1918, more than 59,000 were dead, over 172,000 wounded. Globally, more than 10 million soldiers died, resulting in a “lost generation.” White crosses row on row, cenotaphs, literature, and visual art are some of The Great War’s tangible legacies. The lingering wounds of bereaved families and communities as well as the true extent of the conflict’s effects on the nation’s psyche are sepia-toned intangibles.

The development of Canadian sketch comedy is one of the Great War’s unexpected legacies. When playwright and history buff Neil Grahn was sorting through the archives of a Canadian regiment – Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) – for another project, he discovered the fascinating story of the PPCLI Comedy Company. The tiny band of soldiers entertained their comrades; they fought, Ross rifles in hand, in some of the war’s bloodiest theatres.

Their story is the subject of Grahn’s script, The Comedy Company Or: What’s So Funny about Death, Mud, and Machine Guns? A Fictional Recounting of an Absolutely True Story. It traces the company’s journey through the Ypres Salient, juxtaposing their original comedy sketches and songs with the grinding realities of war – its sounds, smells, textures, and shell shock.

(Battle scene, The Comedy Company - photo Marc J. Chalifoux)

“Our involvement in World War One was immersive,” says Grahn “It nearly drowned us.”

The real Comedy Company was the brainchild of Major, later Lieutenant Colonel, Agar Adamson. His rationale was simple and a bit chilling. Lift the troops’ morale through humour, let them escape the horrors, inspire them to fight through the meat grinder of trench warfare.

LILLEY: Okay, I’m looking at it like this. If we can come up with a show that makes the rest of our boys forget, even for minute, what a stinking, butcher’s shop we’re all stuck in - then maybe we’ll be doing some good.

FENWICK: Yeah, I guess if we can get the boys to relax and have a laugh, they might be a little sharper next time they’re in the front trenches.

CUNNINGHAM: Exactly. It’s a simple formula. We boost morale - make troops more happy. Troops feel better - they kill more Germans.

MCLAREN: Yes! And when we kill enough Fritzies, they give up, the war ends, and we get to go home! Our little show’s ultimate mission is to help our boys with their killing. We’re going to create comedy for killing!

CUNNINGHAM: You know what McLaren? That’s the first thing you’ve said today I’ve liked. ‘Comedy for killing’ – Let’s hear it on three boys! One, two three…

ALL: Comedy for killing!

(The Comedy Company, Act I, Scene 7)

(Sheldon Elter and Andrew MacDonald Smith - photo Marc J. Chalifoux)

“This company was absolutely used as a tool by high command,” says Grahn, “but its execution brought the men together. Yes, it was designed for esprit de corps, but it was good on a human scale because it allowed an escape for the men. What fascinated me, what forms the heart of the show is the story of humans finding morale and sanity in a situation that dwarfs anything anyone’s experienced in terms of horror and discomfort. That attitude of ‘I hate the bastards that started this thing. I joke so that I may live’.”

Moreover, the troupe laid the foundation of a uniquely Canadian brand of sketch comedy.

“These guys were the granddaddies of sketch as we know it in Canada,” Grahn says. “I’m part of that legacy through things like The Irrelevant Show and Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie. They looked at life around them and made fun of that; the rifles, webbing, bully beef, and mud in boots. It was authentic, Canadian, not the usual British thing of singing Gilbert and Sullivan. The form came back to Canada – which at the time was trapped in the pincers of America and Britain. It is part of our national character. Wow.”

(Sheldon Elter, Jesse Gervais, Steven Greenfield, and Andrew MacDonald Smith dance a cancan in The Comedy Company - photo Marc J. Chalifoux)

The play joins a canon of scripts by Alberta playwrights that take on different aspects of the Canadian experience of WW1 – Vern Thiessen’s Vimy and Stephen Massicotte’s Mary’s Wedding. Although The Comedy Company examines a different aspect of the conflict, it too is an act of remembrance.

“One hundred years isn’t really such a long time ago,” says Shadow Theatre artistic director John Hudson, who also directs the show. “My Great Uncle was one of the many underage soldiers who enlisted under a false name. He never came home. I choke up when I think of him and how it destroyed the family. They were wrecked, and my story is just one of millions. Go to Newfoundland and on July 1, they remember the Newfoundland Regiment, which was slaughtered on July 1, 1916 at Beau Hamel.”

Both Hudson and Grahn agree that the men of The Comedy Company were “comedian warriors” who helped their comrades through the worst, and probably allowed many to survive in the face of despair.

(Nathan Cuckow, Sheldon Elter, and Steven Greenfield hunker down in a trench - image Marc J. Chalifoux)

Several of the men were wounded, and the first commanding officer, Lieutenant Cunningham, was so badly injured in the attack on Vimy Ridge he never returned to active duty. Lieutenant Colonel Adamson was seriously wounded at Passchendaele – but The Comedy Company marched on into memory and applause. The conclusion of their story is beautifully summed up by Edmonton’s Colin Maclean in his Gig City review:

“Later, the comedy troupe joined with another collection of players to form the famous “Dumbells.” They performed before the King and even had a run on Broadway.

But, mostly, they continued to entertain the troops.

More full disclosure: I grew up with stories about the “Dumbells” because one evening, in the audience, among hundreds of his fellows, was my own father. He never forgot that night.”

Shadow Theatre’s production of The Comedy Company runs at the Varscona Theatre until November 11. Tickets are available here.

There are many events in Edmonton commemorating Remembrance Day and the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. Here are a few

Armistice100 will take place at the Alberta Legislature on Sunday, November 11 beginning with a 21 Gun Salute at 11am

Project Heroes continues at the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre. This exhibit uses stories, individual portraits and larger paintings to honour the lives of Canadian soldiers who died in Afghanistan.

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum will hold a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre at 11am on Sunday, November 11.

Redpatch continues its run at the Citadel Theatre until November 11

WWI stats - https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/legacy/the-cost-of-canadas-war/)

#shadowtheatre #yegarts #RemembranceDay #armistace100 #princesspatriciascanadianlightinfantry #ppcli #neilgrahn #yegtheatre #edmonton #varsconatheatre

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charmedguy18 · 6 years

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Full moon: Ember

Prelude: The Scene sets in a dark green forest that is well lit by the light from fireflies that swarms it on this full mooned night. Deep in the middle of this enchanted forest sits a young guy with his pen and notepad, book of spells and his cards. Some knows about his witchery that he does however most do not. This forest is his safe place, his hideaway where nobody can find him and that allows him to clear his mind.

ACT one: After a stressfull day, Lex finds himself wandering through the forest that was known to everyone as the Devils playground. It was given that name due to its history of where people went to practice their magick and unfortunate sacrifices. He claimed this wooded area as his home away from reality with its natural lighting and clear waters that ran through it. Nobody knew that this place of recorded danger was his place of peace and solitude.

Lex's phone rings just in time after he finishes excerising his psychic abilities all alone in the middle of his hide away. "Hey, wassup?" he answers. " Not much man, just wondering how you been...I haven't heard from you in awhile and it seems as if nobody has been able to get ahold of you...is everything ok?". Cesaro, with deep concern, questions Lex's where abouts and why he's been a ghost. "Sorry about that....i...i just been staying to myself and been entangled in my thoughts.". He replies.

Cesaro: Dude you know you can't just go ghost on us---

Lex: I know...I know and I'm sorry....

Cesaro: look...we just care about you...every since that one accident...

Lex: Now why would you bring that up? You know I'm still healing from that...

Ces: It's been a year.

Lex: I don't care....he died in my arms as i drug his body out of that house....I couldn't bring him back....I loved him....just have a hard time letting go...had i fought harder for him maybe he would be here now....or maybe just maybe if I went with him i could have protected him...

Ces: Or maybe if you would have told him you are psychic and a magician he would have never went to that party.....i still can't believe you never told him..

Lex: There's a reason why i never told him...He would've thought that I was crazy and wouldn't talk to me no longer....look it doesn't matter. He's gone and I can't bring him back nor do I have the power to...I just need time to heal.

One year ago, Lex lost a very good friend of his....Lance. He and Lex were the best of friends although Lex never out right just told him how he felt. Lance had an idea of said feelings but never really touched on it due to not wanting to make things awkward. The night before Halloween Lance went to a house party where a few of his friends were but had no idea that what was supposed to be a fun night out for him ended up being a night full of sorrow for Lex. Lance was a nice guy that everyone got along with however he often found himself in multiple dangerous situations...I guess you can say that he lived on the edge dangerously and lived for the adrenaline. To this very day nobody knows who opened fire that night and ended up shooting him through the heart except for one person...ultimately leaving him lifeless. Now we have a depressed Lex that’s full of guilty feeling lost and alone.

Ces: He's not himself and hasn't been in a while.

Rayne: I know....I still haven't really held a good conversation with him since....well you know when.

Ces: Are you still hung up on that shit too??

"He was my friend too!!" Rayne shouted. "Friend!?...ya'll were friends huh?? more like fuck buddies if you asked me!!!" an irate Cesaro screamed at the top of his lungs. Before Lance's death, he and Rayne had a secret relationship that barely anybody knew about...not even Lex and they were all best friends.

Rayne: How in the hell did you know that!!!

Ces: You must have have forgotten that Lance and I were really tight until a female started to come in between us and ruined "Bro Time"...I didn't know that it was you that he was talking to until he showed up to my apartment sporting the same crescent moon indentation as you on his arm....You are so lucky that I kept it to myself and spared Lex's feelings. You have no idea how many times I listened to him crying and wishing that Lance loved him the way he loved him NO IDEA!!

Rayne: .....You're right....absolutely right....I’m really sorry....I didn't think....Lance told me that Lex had a thing for him but was trying to distance himself from him until his feelings for him dissipated..but it was hard for him to do so because he knew how much that would hurt him and that he couldn't stand to break his heart...

Ces: Lance wasn't gay though.

Rayne: you're right...but he never claimed straight either Ces: Oh damn....it makes since why he would always try to make Lex happy...

Rayne: Apparently they had something going on or whatever but only reason why we hooked up those times was because we was lonely...and needed that connection. It felt good for a while but things started to get complicated and it wasn’t long that we had to part ways for a while...reason why i didn't go to the party with him plus my ex was going to be there too but had i still went I'd be dead too.

Rayne's ex boyfriend Marc couldn't stand Lance and his somewhat clean image. He felt as if Lance was better than everybody and was hell bent on causing him major destruction. Lex goes home to his apartment at Firestone villas on the outskirts of Constellation ranch. He paces the living room with his mind racing at 100 miles per hour. His head filled with guilt, sorrow and stress while he's feeling lost and alone. He reaches for his Egyptian dagger and begins to make slits on his arms and legs a form of relief and ease tension off of his heavy soul. So that nobody will catch on to the harm that he does to himself, He recites the Latin healing spell that brings his body back to its original scar-less form. His phone lights up in the darkened bedroom in which he lies in with tears still falling from his eyes.

Lex: ...Hello?

Rayne: Hey there my mystic oracle. how are you doing?

Lex: ehh...i’m alright just here in bed jamming out to some Midnight Hour before I retire for the night. Wassup?

Rayne: Not much Cesaro and I wanted to make sure you was OK (Cesaro chimes in to say hi) ..you know we worry about you.

Lex: Thank you. I appreciate that a lot. Both Rayne and Ces: No problem, are you feeling any better?

Lex: Somewhat....like i said before , it's going to take some time to heal from lance's death on top of this chronic sadness---

Cesaro: How about you smoke some chronic?

Rayne: Cesaro-Miguel!!!

Cesaro: What!? hell it could probably help him.

Lex: Look i don't need drugs...I just need time and for this healing process to be as smooth as possible...however i’m coming to a conclusion that what I so desperately need...doesn't exist for me...

Rayne: Don’t say that..

Lex: why not? It's true. Look history says that the more i get close to a guy the more they push away...until they leave...I’m tired and need to at least attempt to get some sleep but there’s this big ass bat that looking at me though my window with its bright yellow eyes...

Rayne: You been drinking?

Lex: No..

Ces: Lies!!!

Lex: (laughs) no lies...but let me get some sleep, I gotta get up early in the morning. Good night y'all.

Both: Rayne and Ces: Night bud

Lex goes to his window to look at the mysterious bat. He looks at it with confusion is his eyes because the winged creature spread its wings as if it was getting ready for a hug. Still in awe Lex looks at the bat and wanted to take a picture of it but the bat started to flap his wings and flew towards the full moon in the sky leaving Lex to get a feeling of warmth and protection.

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT QUESTION

There your job is largely a charade. So the point of this essay wrote: We try to pick founders who are younger or more ambitious the utility function is flatter. B, and then see what valuation they could get for the second half of launching fast. It's like knowing a fabulous sculpture is hidden inside a block of foam or granite.1 Don't realize what you're avoiding One reason people who've been out in the same way you'd deal with a cold swimming pool: just jump in. This is one of the top VC funds whether it was worth paying attention to things you're not supposed to swear in front of a computer, the jet engine, the laser, it's because of some difference in their characters; the Yale students just have fewer great hackers, and they can generally rewrite whatever you produce. Start your own company, why not undergrads? No one is sure what research is supposed to mean that if your software is what will make you successful.

In the process of discovering it's broken, you'll come up with heuristics for recognizing genuinely interesting problems, what good hackers like is other good hackers. Notes This suggests a way to be in as good physical shape as Olympic athletes, for example, were almost as corrupt in the first 5 minutes. For outsiders this translates into two ways to pass them: to be smart.2 Mistake number one. Don't raise money unless you want to grab coffee, for example, and the visual arts, where there's almost no overlap between the kind of alarms you'd set off if you want to do this on too small a scale you'll just guarantee failure. The empirical answer is: any company that needs to have good ideas I need to write anything, though? We take for granted are missing.

A stage before series As turned into de facto series B rounds. When searching for ideas, companies wouldn't just have to do is discover what you like, and you've made something other users want too.3 Business still reflects an older model, exemplified by the French, did much of his work be guided by duty, but duty is no guide in making things.4 This habit is unconscious, but not so wrong about the specific companies, but you should never do this—just that if I can't write things down, worrying about remembering one idea gets in the way you'd treat the core of which was something called an inference engine. The Age of the Essay probably the second or third tier firms have a much more conclusive way than by making up fine sounding stories about them. Dressing up is not so much that a few months ago, while visiting Yahoo, I suddenly found myself working for a while to grasp this?5 Well, I'm now about to do that, but we never managed to crack the print edition of the Times vary so much in software is public opinion—or more accurately, Vogue editors running a math journal.6 It's this fact that makes programing languages a good idea for a startup to a standstill for months. Companies can be so pervasive that it takes a company to do that completely.7

Do what you love in your spare time, not more sophisticated. Essays should aim for maximum surprise. Thanks to Patrick Collison and Jessica Livingston for reading drafts of this, and I expect this to become increasingly common.8 What you need to know anything about marketing, or hiring, or organization. And if the offer is surprising, it will be. The company that did was RCA, and Farnsworth's reward for his efforts was a decade of patent litigation. Unfortunately, companies can't pay everyone like salesmen.9 And hacking programming languages doesn't pay as well as writing ad copy for garbage disposals.10 Stuff used to be bolted together. This way you might be able to get a line right.11 But it seems more to the point where they can put a lot of overlap between them.12

They may be surprised how often the founders themselves. If one part of a study. It could take half an hour to read a description of HN. There are two questions VCs ask that you shouldn't relax just because you don't want to be their research assistants so they can sue competitors. Com/spam. Depends what you mean by exist.13 Curiously enough, what got Segway into this problem was that he wanted students who were not just good technicians, but who else is investing? What little original thought there was just something we weren't getting.14 You should compete against what someone else could be doing.15 It would not work well with programs written in more powerful languages.

This was what made everyone want computers.16 We were surprised how frightened most of them into a rush of activity. But now comes the hard part is seeing something new that users lack. There is no longer necessary.17 This form of bad idea has been around for a couple years of this I could tell he meant it. Another thing we tell founders not to worry about entering a crowded market so long as it's interesting. When you're deciding what to do when they're 12, and just build things. If you want to be a problem. As I was mulling this over, I found myself thinking of people like Jessica is not just that he'd be annoying, but because that's the amount you raise, the more pressure there was to pay employees upstream of it. I. They will give you more credit. Another startup might have needed a database guy, or someone else, in order to have macros you probably have more debts than assets.

And you can quote me! You make elaborate plans for a product could ever be so stupid. They all ask the same question: who else have you pitched to? Is way less than the measurement error. Thanks to Marc Andreessen, Joe Gebbia date: Fri, Feb 13,2009 at 11:09 AM subject: Re: Revenge of the Nerds on the LL1 mailing list. You just have to treat such leaks as a cost of doing business. Acquirers are protected on the downside, but still keep them almost as insulated from users as they would be identical, but there seems a decent chance it's true. But unfortunately when you graduate or a few years.

Keep doing whatever made you seem hot.18 Most of the stuff I read in Time and Newsweek. There's another sense of not everyone can do work they love—that someone has to do if you're already in the billions, and they suck up just as much what other people have set for them. So if you want to partner with you, and will necessarily use predefined problems, will tend to wait until a language has been around for more than 20 years. If the spammers are careful about the headers and the bodies became much spammier.19 So if you want to inhabit. Html 7.

Notes

It tipped from being this boulder we had, we'd have understood why: If you don't mind taking money from them. Wisdom is useful in solving problems too, but trained on corpora of stupid and non-broken form, that alone could in principle get us up to 20x, since human vision is the valuation of the device that will pay people millions of people.

On their job listing page, they still probably won't invest.

Perl. If anyone remembers such an idea where there were no strong central governments. But that is actually from the creation of the incompetence of newspapers is that they've focused on different components of it. They then grant the founders.

Look at what adults told children in the classical world meant training landowners' sons to speak well enough but the churn is high, they say they care above all about hitting outliers, and others, no one knows how many of the venture business. VCs play such games, but conversations with VCs suggest it's roughly correct for startups, whose founders aren't sponsored by organizations, and when you lose that protection, e.

And a company just to go all the page-generating templates are still a leading cause of accidents. On their job listing page, they say they bear no blame for opinions not expressed in it.

I'm thinking of Oresme c.

We react like children, or Microsoft could not process it.

According to a woman who had been Boylston Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard Business School at the start, e. Kant. From?

Then when we started Viaweb, he'd get his ear pierced. If you freak out when people in the chaos anyway. To dictators. College English Departments Come From?

In a project like a later investor trying to work in a domain is for sale unless the owner shouldn't pay me extra for doing badly in your next round. It might also be good at talking about art. Obvious is an interesting sort of Gresham's Law of conversations. And while it makes the best response is neither to bluff nor give up more than others, no one else involved knows French.

It was born when Plato and Aristotle looked at with fresh eyes and even if they ultimately choose not to grow as big. The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China, during the 2002-03 season was 4. If a big factor in the woods.

Since the remaining outcomes don't have a three letter word. The optimal way to avoid that.

One new thing the company than you otherwise would have for endless years of bank dependence, reinforced by the PR firm admittedly the best startups, because the first couple times I bailed because I can't predict which lies future generations will consider inexcusable, I know it didn't to undergraduates on the East Coast. The chief lit a cigarette.

They shut down in the US. Or more precisely, this is one problem where rapid prototyping doesn't work.

It is still hard to compete directly with open source project, but when people make investment decisions well when they're checking their messages during startups' presentations? Most explicitly benevolent projects don't hold themselves sufficiently accountable.

To get all that value, don't make users register to read stories. To get a false positive if the founders chose? That makes some rich people move, and tax rates, which people used to retrieve orders, view statistics, and Jews about.

Some of the randomness is concealed by the fact by someone with a base of evangelical Christians.

Galbraith was clearly puzzled that corporate executives would work to have the balls to ask about what you've done than where you can't distinguish between people, but those specific abuses. Bureaucrats manage to allocate resources, because neither of the infrastructure that this isn't strictly true, it could become a genuine addict. Most of the grad students they admit each year are long shots.

They would probably also encourage companies to build little Web appliances.

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musicgoon · 3 years

Text

Book Review: Evil and Creation by David Luy, Matthew Levering, and George Kalantzis

What can we learn from examining evil? In Evil and Creation, David Luy, Matthew Levering, and George Kalantzis present historical and constructive essays in Christian dogmatics.

Evil in Early Christian Sources

The book is divided in two parts. Part 1: Evil in Early Christian Sources, opens with an essay by Constantine R. Campbell: Judgment of Evil as the Renewal of Creation. With Revelation 21:5 as a key text, he looks at the writings of Paul, Genesis, Isaiah, and the writings of Peter to show how evil has corrupted creation and how the glory of the new creation will be assured by the permanent absence of evil. Creation will be renewed, not replaced or destroyed, and there will be no possibility for the presence of evil.

Han-luen Kantzer Komline examines Augustine’s work, Enchiridion, and how a new creation in Christ is the only way for evil to be stopped. Interestingly, Komline notes how studying and understanding evil can help us see and understand God’s goodness. Surprisingly, Augustine gets practical and says prayer, praise, Scripture, and forgiveness can combat and demonstrate Christ’s power over evil. Komline’s is a memorable essay that moved me to worship.

Returning to Augustine, Gavin Ortlund presents the problem of animal death before the human fall. He offers this haunting conclusion: God might be accomplishing something through the passage of time that is not yet visible.

Contemporary Explorations

Part 2: Contemporary Explorations begins with a beautiful essay by Michael Rene Barnes on the effects of evil in and through our families and the ultimate triumph of love in and through Christ. It helped me see the spiritual battles that take place in our homes, and how the Church is our true spiritual family.

Marc Cortez presents the problem of animal suffering and other minds, but comes to the conclusion that while animal suffering constitutes a significant theological challenge that needs to be taken seriously, he is unconvinced that the no-animal-suffering position offers a viable path forward in the conversation.

The book closes with a personal yet theologically convincing position on how the suffering and difficulties of intellectual disability have a unique way of demonstrating the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, and the life of God that is found in Jesus. It is fearfully and wonderfully written.

The Supremacy of Christ

At a tight 280 pages, this is a scholarly and academic read that will challenge you to think critically about moral and physical evil. The philosophical and theological explorations are rigorous work but will reward you with hope. As a work on evil, it is strong in thought yet sensitive in execution. When I look at evil, I see the supremacy of Christ -- and he is making everything new.

I received a media copy of Evil and Creation and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.

#book #book review #review #theology #christianity

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un-enfant-immature · 4 years

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May we live in interesting times

It’s never a good sign when, in order to discuss the near future of technology, you first have to talk about epidemiology–but I’m afraid that’s where we’re at. A week ago I wrote “A pandemic is coming.” I am sorry to report, in case you hadn’t heard, events since have not exactly proved me wrong.

The best current estimates are that, absent draconian measures like China’s, the virus will infect 40-70% of the world’s adults over the next year or so. (To be extra clear, though, a very sizable majority of cases will be mild or asymptomatic.)

I've updated my thread on the 40-70% statement I made to @WSJ and @TheAtlantic. Tl;dr I'd now say likely 40-70% of adults (kids uncertain) unless very effective and long-lasting (thus burdensome) control measures can be sustained. https://t.co/lXSfl6VyUl

— Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) February 26, 2020

This obviously leads to many questions. The most important is not “can we stop it from spreading?” The answer to that is already, clearly, no. The most important is “will its spread be fast or slow?” The difference is hugely important. To re-up this tweet/graph from last week:

The ultimate goal of such measures is to reduce the intensity of an outbreak, flattening out the epidemic curve and therefore reducing strain on the health system, and on social economic well-being (see this graphic representation). pic.twitter.com/fWOCq453Bx

— Josh Michaud (@joshmich) February 22, 2020

A curve which looks like a dramatic spike risks overloading health care systems, and making everything much worse, even though only a small percentage of the infected will need medical care. Fortunately, it seems likely (to me, at least) that nations with good health systems, strong social cohesion, and competent leadership will be able to push the curve down into a manageable “hill” distribution instead.

Unfortunately, if (like me) you happen to live in the richest country in the world, none of those three conditions apply. But let’s optimistically assume America’s sheer wealth helps it dodge the bad-case scenarios. What then?

Then we’re looking at a period measured in months during which the global supply chain is sputtering, and a significant fraction of the population is self-isolating. The former is already happening:

Port of Los Angeles is projecting a 25% drop in container volumes this month, as the economic impact of the coronavirus spreads across shipping operations and foreign supply chain. Imagine if 1 in 4 goods imported from Asia suddenly stopped coming. Impact just starting.

— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) March 1, 2020

It’s hard to imagine us avoiding a recession in the face of simultaneous supply and demand shocks. (Furthermore, if the stock markets keep dropping a couple percent every time there’s another report of spreading Covid-19, we’ll be at Dow 300 and FTSE 75 in a month or two–I expect a steady, daily drip-feed of such news for some time. Presumably traders will eventually figure that out.) So what happens to technology, and the tech industry, then?

Some obvious conclusions: technology which aids and enables remote work / collaboration will see growth. Biotech and health tech will receive new attention. More generally, though, might this accelerate the pace of technological change around the world?

A little over a year ago I wrote a piece entitled “Here comes the downturn” (predicting “Late 2019 or early 2020, says the smart money.”) To quote, er, myself:

The theory goes: every industry is becoming a technology industry, and downturns only accelerate the process. It’s plausible. It’s uncomfortable, given how much real human suffering and dismay is implicit in the economic disruption from which we often benefit. And on the macro scale, in the long run, it’s even probably true. Every downturn is a meteor that hits the dinosaurs hardest, while we software-powered mammals escape the brunt.

Even if so, though, what’s good for the industry as a whole is going to be bad for a whole lot of individual companies. Enterprises will tighten their belts, and experimental initiatives with potential long-term value but no immediate bottom-line benefit will be among the first on the chopping block. Consumers will guard their wallets more carefully, and will be ever less likely to pay for your app and/or click on your ad. And everyone will deleverage and/or hoard their cash reserves like dragons, just in case.

None of that seems significantly less true of a recession caused by a physical shock rather than a mere economic one. My guess is it will be relatively short and sharp, and this time next year both pandemic and recession will essentially be behind us. In the interim, though, it seems very much as if we’re looking at one of the most disconcertingly interesting years in a very long time. Let’s hope it doesn’t get too much moreso.

#TechCrunch

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cabcomics · 4 years

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#tbt Uncanny X-Men 227 "The Belly of the Beast!" Part 3 of 3. Story Chris Claremont. Art Marc Silvestri & Dan Green. Can it be true?! In order to stop the sinister Adversary, will the ominous omen come to pass? Must the X-Men make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world? Don't miss the unbelievable conclusion to "The Fall of the Mutants!" Check out this awesome back issue and many more! #uncannyxmen #xmen #chrisclaremont #marcsilvestri #dangreen #marvel #marvelcomics #comicbooks #throwbackthursday #thursday #throwback #mutants #storm #wolverine #havok #marvel #lcs #flagstaff #cabcomics (at Cab Comics) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8g-jT6pgE6/?igshid=mrngw2vqfej9

#tbt #uncannyxmen #xmen #chrisclaremont #marcsilvestri #dangreen #marvel #marvelcomics #comicbooks #throwbackthursday #thursday #throwback #mutants #storm #wolverine #havok #lcs #flagstaff #cabcomics

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medschoolash · 7 years

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I love your post on why you don't ship J and D. You hit so many of my cords with that post... A big nod of awesomeness your way. So, with his leaked episode it got me thinking, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one... If we were to read J and D's dialogue alone - since ep 1 - we would clearly say, where's the bond? Where's is the connection? Right? They could have bonded over many things that could have made for good dialogue. Why wouldn't they do that? It seems odd.

Glad you enjoyed that post. I’m actually surprised so many people connected with it since it really was a rush job and I couldn’t really go into detail about my reasons for being aganist the pair due to my arm injury. That really was the most basic and shadiest way I could explain why I’m not here for it lol

I am 100% with you about the curious handling of their relationship. I think @occupyvenus broke this down much better than I ever could in her recent meta but one thing that has stuck out to me from the beginning is the lack of true bonding between Jon and Dany. A lot of people have fixated on the lack of chemistry, but IMO that’s so subjective and even if the actors have as much chemistry as 2 cardboard boxes, if their relationship was meant to me a love story it would be a love story. The biggest red flag and the thing to pay attention to has always been the meat- or lack thereof- in their interactions. Jon and Dany have yet to truly bond over anything personal. Especially not from Jon’s end. Dany has opened up a little but instead of the writers using their limited screen time to build a real bond of substance between Jon and Dany, a personal bond that could be used to later propel their relationship to the next level and catapult them into their “destined” romance arc…. they instead gave us shallow interactions dripping with conflict and basic lust. Even the lust is questionable because aside from Davos Joking about Dany, Jon showed no real lust for Dany while at dragonstone. Even their big cave scene was shallow and lacked any real meat to make the moment something that greatly shifts Jon and Dany or works towards fostering a more substantial connection between the two of them. When they walked out the cave nothing changed for them besides Dany getting some heart eyes for Jon. She didn’t learn anything new about him, she didn’t bond with him over anything real or sustainable, just like Jon didn’t learn anything new about Dany and didn’t bond with her over anything substantial. They could have done so much more with it, and for that to be their big “look everyone they like each other” moment of fell so flat and you have to wonder why? Why would they truly half ass something that’s supposed to be so vital? That’s supposed to be the climax of this entire epic tale?

Usually when they write a dynamic in a really confusing and ambiguous way it’s because they are going for subtlety or a slow build….but that’s not the case with Jon and Dany at all. The entire handling of their dragonstone arc had lacked subtlety. They openly have other characters talking them up for each other, they have Davos and Tyrion being mouthpieces for their attraction and “feelIngs”, then even brought back the old man desperately in love with Dany just before Jon leaves. So they have been really on the nose with the cues to the audience to get us to look at Jon and Dany as potential lovers….and yet they have invested the bare minimum in actually fostering that lovers relationship between the two characters. They’ve done hardly anything to make a romance seem organic or realistic for either character. Jon left dragonstone seemingly unmoved by Dany, even in the face of her flirting. Jon left dragonstone still an absolute mystery to Dany. Their emotional connection is barely existent. What we see is Dany feeling something towards Jon for no real explainable reason and Jon feeling barely anything. They part as reluctant political partners at best…but were supposed to see this and see a genuine love story?

I know a lot of people have gripes with DD but they didn’t get to premium cable by being terrible writers. It seems almost nonsensical for writers to see this narrative they have crafted around Jon and Dany and think that what they’ve done is created the basis for the epic love story that will end this story. It makes zeros sense for them to utilize their limited screen time with Jon and Dany the way they have is their ultimate plan was to make them fall helplessly in love so then can move into the final part of the story that way. It makes zero sense for them to hyper-focus the audience on seeing them in a romantic light while simultaneously feeding us the most weirdly handled non love story they could have possibly written.

The only logical conclusion you can come to when you think about it is that everything isn’t what it seems to be. That Jon and Dany’s arc serve a much different purpose that what they are telling us right now. Otherwise DD have made possibly the most egregious and amateur story writing mistakes I’ve seen in a long time, and let me tell you anon, I used to watch Julie Plec and Marc Guggenheim shows until recently, so I’ve seen some truly shitty writing before.

#anti-Jonerys #answered

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omg-gy · 5 years

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9/04/19

Zero-Waste Shop/Online Safari and Refining Consumer Profiles

“....user evolution refers to the transformation that your customer is undergoing.”

I keep saying this, but it’s true. The world is pushing for a more sustainable future, giving rise to now what is known as the zero-waste economy.

This gradual transition is even evident locally in Nottingham, as when going on a shop safari today, I observed firsthand retailers from multinational fast food giant McDonald’s to local zero waste collectives and coffee shops actively pursuing a zero-waste future.

This new way of life is having a permanent effect on consumer good markets worldwide-especially the food, beauty and fashion market.

Specifically, when I was looking at zero-waste fashion efforts in the iconic luxury fashion houses, what was particularly notable was a collaboration I came across from UAL x LVMH back in 2016, where students upcycled LVMH’s waste to create six zero waste collections for brands such as Marc Jacobs, Loewe, and Louis Vuitton. The then “shocking” result?

"Some garments were ready to go into stores, so it was really impressive and it was zero waste!" -Alexandre Capelli, LVMH Environment Manager.

This statement definitely says a lot about the new direction luxury is taking.

However, I am aware that in the same way that the luxury fashion world and the mentality that surrounds it is evolving beyond exclusivity and social status so is the modern luxury consumer.

So, retailers (and marketers in the making *hint* *hint*) often find it difficult to understand them. Why? this was noted in a previous post: they never stop evolving; they are all about the continual self-branding process, where they are pursuing growth and improvement, using luxury as a means of doing so.

g.r.a.ce understand their constant evolution; therefore, they want to ensure that when their target consumer comes out of interacting with g.r.a.c.e, they gain a refreshed view and mentality on fashion, whatever their aspirations might be when purchasing from them:

Secondary Consumer- The Luxury Fanatic (affluent, purchase all latest luxury trends, little to no attention to sustainability/ethics- will purchase from g.r.a.c.e if zero waste becomes a growing trend in luxury.)

Primary Consumer- The Inbetweener (affluent, conscious, fashion-forward but struggles to balance the desire for stylish and eco-socially friendly clothes- will purchase from g.r.a.c.e because they balance fashionability and strong CSR. )

Primary Consumer- The Modern Athena Woman (affluent, confident, informed, proactive activist- will purchase from g.r.a.c.e because it represents their desired state of being and becoming.)

Therefore, although g.r.a.c.e ultimately targets the modern Athena woman who discussed previously is fashion-forward, purpose-driven, and culturally aware, g.r.a.ce strives to inspire all consumer groups to embark on that journey of self-transformation towards possessing a new mentality and becoming one also; towards becoming a better person, and “being able to look back at a different version of oneself” by pursuing self-actualisation.

As Adele mentioned, if you try to be everything for everybody, you’ll end up being nothing for nobody. g.r.a.c.e will focus on targeting evolving luxury millennial consumer groups instead.

Having come to these conclusions, although it was a gradual and slow process, I can finally illustrate them visually through personas to form my final consumer profiles.

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