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pwnyta · 2 years

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I'm starting to think that some cookies really needs a redesign/new models because some of them really...don't look good at all. For example they really need to redesign coffee cookie to match coffee tribe look/lore. Fire spirit and wind archer defo needs a lil bit more details because let's be honest they look more like rares than legendaries . Also lemon and dinosour too idk how to explain that but they look.... weird (?).

Also do you have any tier list about your favorite/least favorite cookies that laying around? I wanna ask more questions but idk which cookies you like other than milk and dark choco

Well I disagree they should be redesigned but a costume to maybe make them fit in more with the standard now YES. ... Like Dark Enchantress' design is not terrible but like her hair is obviously like an old design choice to make it look more like the white frosting and her costume fills her hair in more and just looks amazing.

Lemon I think it might be because hes so lanky? He stands out because of it, same with Whipped Cream but Whipped Cream has a stronger design and his legs are probably designed to make him look en pointe where as Lemon is just super lanky. I have no problems with Dino tho IDK lol.

TIER LIST MAKER IT IS! (I only added NPCs if they were top tiers) Thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk at length about Cookies. Im delighted. Feel free to ask on commentary on other characters I didnt talk about

TOP 10 in my favs-

-Milk is obviously my absolute fav. I love loyalty in characters, I love buff sweet boys... Milk is perfect. I love the broken pedestal hero worship hes got and I genuinely dread and am overly invested in Milk and DCs meeting.

-Dark Choco is a tragic character im very invested in. And I currently have a knife at the throat of Kingdom if they dare hurt him anymore. The point is digging in as of the story out so far but I know hes got to get that evil costume mode in before things get better for him probably...

-Cotton Candy was my first fully maxed out character because I stared the game while a CC max out event was running and she carried me so god damn far in the game I owe her everything. Shes also adorable.

-Blueberry Pie is just a baddie all around and she also helped me get higher scores for a very long time. I loved the game when she was meta. She made everything so easy.

-Herb is baby. I love that hes friends with monster plants, the main baddies crazy sister, high-class rich boys and also is Sea Fairies son? or something in the comics... like what on earth is going on with this man?

- DJ is basically rainbow Lucio whats not to love? I only wish they were a musical healer too but w/e. Still adorable.

- Hero also helped me for a hot minute in early game and is also Iron Man so...

- Strawberry is my absolute baby and I love her more and more with each appearance.

- Millennial Tree is my favorite Legendary, I think hes beautiful, I love earth tones and his serene personality with his massively destructive ability is just everything. Coincidentally he seems a lot like Zhongli and then now in Kingdom shares an EN VA with him. Which I just think is funny.

- Black Raisin is terrific, she really stands out to me from the rest of the Kingdom-only Cookies and I just hope she comes to Ovenbreak.

Top 10 in Pretty Great-

- Aloe! Aloes first run was before I got into the series so the only thing I knew about her was what Ive seen in the fandom... and the fandom made her into like... a fuck boy type? Kinda and I hated 'him' but after she got the spotlight I adore her. Again that loyalty... shes just a sweetheart.

- Hydrangea is such the opposite of my usual type... but shes such a callous bitch to her boss that its just so fucking funny. Her design is beautiful and her personality is hilarious so.... She also taught me how to spell Hydrangea without looking it up!

- Almond may be a cop but more importantly hes a caring father and I love that. Cant go wrong with an over-worked, sweet father.

- Pancake has kind of an annoying personality.... but hes the reason I got into Cookie Run in the first place. I saw a pic of him while looking at fandom discourse and was like... WHO IS THIS CUTIE PIE?! So hes got a special place in my heart.

- Captain Ice is similar to Almond but I dont like her design as much. But shes still a baddie.

- Amber Sugar looks like he'd bee annoying but he was actually very cute in his story quest. He is peak tsundere unlike a lot of 'tsundere' characters who are just assholes that people insist have a good heart. Amber is actually does. Hes a good boy and his design is very cute.

- Pistachio is on of my favs... but I do think her design is MEGA DATED.

- Red Velvet is so unfortunate getting roped into DEs side as if its not her own fault that people are scared of the cake monsters. But his design is amazing and his love for little cake dogs is super cute.

- Prophets design is also amazing... I love that he tells fortunes and his mustache is a fortune cookie that when he speaks it cracks at the crease... thats so clever! Hes also pretty funny. -hold him up like a potato- I JUST THINK HES NEAT.

- Roguefort... classic. are they a bit of a bitch? SURE. Are they hilarious? Absolutely. Also their costumes are great. The bastard never misses.

Top 5 Good cookies-

- Dark Enchantress, Scorpion, Lotus, Wasabi. Sometimes you can be a rancid bitch and a bad bitch at the same time... I cant help it... I kinda of love these awful femme fatales.

- Yogurt Cream is also just kind of the worst... but hes funny about it.

- Squid Ink is one of the few characters that make me understand SKRUNKLY. I love that everyone is scared of this sobbing baby... its very funny.

- Raspberry Mousse... The fact he seems oblivious and confused by his own attraction to Rose just makes him amazing. Hes the weirdest incel.

- Birthday Cake is a mood.

- Earl Grey would be higher if he didnt look so much like Roguefort. The fact he just blindly follows the creepy twins is weird and uhm... kind of great, he doesnt seem evil but his duty is to serve them. Hes just incidentally on the bad side which is kind of funny.

- Sparkling is sort of like that too... the event with Roguefort had him like be an accessory to almost murder because he was like 'People tell me things, I knew shit was happening but thats none of my business.' LIKE? LMAO Ok. Herb your boyfriend is out of control.

Top 5 Takem or Leavem

- Avocado has a great personality but I genuinely hate her design, its so ugly. She needs a costume so bad pls Devsis...

- Fig is just weird all around but its not as fun or funny as the ones in 'good'.

- Eclairs design is technically good but also doesnt look like his namesake and also also looks too much like Roguefort and Earl Grey which is so tired at this point.

- Affogatos design his simply gorgeous but what a dick.

- Space Donuts design Ive always hated but its bear jelly costume is everything and its gameplay is pretty fun.

- Something about Apple just irritates me.

- Licorice also irritates me but I think hes the best of this category because I think thats the point of his character... hes like the Nuka (Lion King II) of Cookie Run...

- Madeleine was my favorite designed character for the Kingdom pre-release but his personality is obnoxious.

- Yam too is obnoxious. I was more tolerant of him earlier when he didnt have much screen time but now has been in the spotlight several times and hes just insufferable.

- Muscle is one of my fav characters to play as because his skill is challenging but very fun when you get the hang of it... but hes hideous and has an annoying personality.

- Carol is fine but her design is so terrible... Thats really the only thing but I hate it so much and her personality is a big shrug from me.

- Cocoa has the inverse problem... her design is phenomenal, its so fucking cute she used to be one of my favs before the Christmas event.. but her personality is fucking grating I just cant stand her.

- Ice Juggler is a clown, I hate clowns... also I hate douchey characters. Theres literally nothing appealing about this character, even their skill is just boring. How are you going to be an asshole to Banana Cookie whos just a sweetie pie?

- Sugar Glass seems like a character I would like... but even for me shes a bit much and her design is garish as fuck.

- Ginseng just skeeves me out because its clear that the flower is embedded in his head and his eyebrows and beard are its roots... its so gross...

#Cookie Run #Dear Nonny.

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lupinepublishers · 2 years

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lupine publishers|Comparative Evaluation Of Postoperative Pain Scores and Opioid Consumption In Septorhinoplasty After Administration Of Single-Dose Pre-Emptive Paracetamol and Ibuprofen: A Randomized Controlled Trail

Comparative Evaluation Of Postoperative Pain Scoresand Opioid Consumption In Septorhinoplasty After Administration Of Single-Dose Pre-Emptive Paracetamol and Ibuprofen: A Randomized Controlled Trail

Abstract Introduction: Septorhinoplasty operates on cartilage and bone of the nose and is ensued by severe postoperative pain. The objective of this study is to evaluate effects of preoperative administration of intravenous (IV) paracetamol and ibuprofen on postoperative pain scores in patients undergoing septorhinoplasty. Methodology: 150 patients undergoing septorhinoplasty were randomly assigned into three groups with 50 patients in each group. The control group (Group A) was administered 100 ml saline solution, paracetamol group (Group B) was administered 1000 mg IV paracetamol in 100 ml saline and ibuprofen group (Group C) was administered 800 mg IV ibuprofen in 100 ml saline before surgery. Opioid analgesics were employed to achieve postoperative analgesia. Postoperative pain was evaluated using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Postoperative opioid consumption and adverse effects were also recorded for each patient. Results: In comparison with Group A, VAS in Group B and Group C was statistically lower in all the time intervals (p<0.05). In 1st and 6th hours postoperatively, VAS in Group C was lower than Group B (p<0.05). In control group, total opioid consumption was highest in all time intervals (p<0.05). In Group C, total opioid consumption was significantly lower than Group B at 0-6 and 6-12 hours interval. (p<0.05). Conclusion: Single-dose pre-emptive administration of ibuprofen has more profound postoperative analgesic effect than paracetamol during first 6 hours in septorhinoplasty. After first 6 hours of the procedure, there is no difference in analgesic effect between ibuprofen and paracetamol. Keywords: Septorhinoplasty; Ibuprofen; Paracetamol; RCTs; VAS; Pre-emptive analgesia

Objective Pain is considered as the fifth vital sign in modern medical practice. Hence apart from other vital parameters, evaluation of pain has become a primary and necessary requirement for proper patient care and comfort. Septorhinoplasty is an elective and ambulatory surgical procedure which involves massive hard and soft tissue manipulation in the nasal region of the face. The postoperative pain is severe in septorhinoplasty since it necessitates to operate on the nasal cartilage and bone [1]. This postoperative pain is often disturbing, distressing and requires efficient pain control management [2]. Severe postoperative pain can lead to complications such as delayed wound healing, ischemia, thromboembolism, pulmonary complications, immunological changes, increased hospitaliza tion and cost of treatment [3,4]. In this quest to provide effective postoperative pain control, patients are frequently prescribed opioids. Opioids acts centrally on the nervous system and thus have strong analgesic potential [5]. Although they provide relief in acute pain but are associated with opioid-related adverse events (ORAE), dependence, abuse, overdose and deaths [6]. This situation is undesirable and hence is the need to develop regimes which involves the avoidance of opioid overmedication and at the same time provide adequate analgesia. Therefore, American Society of Anaesthesiologist (ASA) has recommended the use of multimodal analgesia techniques involving local anaesthesia, regional anaesthesia and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to potentiate pain relief and reduce adverse effects [7].

Pre-emptive analgesia is one such modality to reduce the severity and duration of postoperative pain. Pioneered by George W Crile, it is an antinociceptive drug administration done before tissue trauma to prevent the peripheral, central sensitization and hyperexcitability of the central nervous system [8]. This decreases the nerve sensitization and thereby reduces postoperative hyperalgesia and allodynia [9]. Administration of apt analgesia at appropriate time, dose and form before the surgical procedure has shown to reduce postoperative pain and need of analgesia. Pre-emptive analgesia also contributes to comfortable recovery, reduces the need of opioid consumption, improves patient’s satisfaction, outcomes and reduces cost of care [10]. Thus, the combination of multimodal and pre-emptive analgesia techniques in post-operative pain management have been researched and clinically experimented. Recently, pre-emptive intravenous (IV) administration of ibuprofen and paracetamol for post-operative pain management has been extensively researched. Ibuprofen is a common NSAID with anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti- pyretic effect. It is a non-specific inhibitor of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2 isoenzymes) which is associated with the analgesic effect [11]. Ibuprofen does not increase the risk of bleeding or gastrointestinal problems [12]. Paracetamol is another time-tested safe drug with analgesic and anti-pyretic effect but no anti-inflammatory action. Paracetamol acts centrally which effects both the peripheral and central antinociception process [13]. Clinically, paracetamol is more advantageous and safer over other NSAIDs since it causes less gastric irritation, antiplatelet activity and untoward drug interactions [14]. The primary objective of this presentstudyistoevaluatetheeffectsofpreoperativeadministration of IV paracetamol and IV ibuprofen on postoperative pain scores in patients undergoing open septorhinoplasty. The study also aims to evaluate the postoperative opioid consumptions in patients treated with pre-emptive analgesia approach. The secondary objective of this study is to evaluate the incidence of adverse effects associated with the study drugs. Material and Methods Ethics: The study was conducted at Najran University Hospital, Saudi Arabia and ethical approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee. The study protocols were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Study Design : It was a prospective, randomized and double- blinded study in which 150 patients between 18-60 years of age to be operated for open septorhinoplasty with ASA physical status I-II and planned hospitalization stay of minimum 24 hours were included. Written and informed consent form was obtained from each patient. Demographic data including age, gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), ASA score, duration of surgery (minutes) and duration of anaesthesia (minutes) were recorded. Patients graded ASA III and above, with history of renal, hepatic, cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, allergy to study drugs, long-term abuse of NSAIDs or opioids, history of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, furosemide or aspirin use, bleeding diathesis, platelet dysfunction, gastrointestinal disease, peptic ulcers, neuropathic diseases, pregnancy, those planning pregnancy in near future, breastfeeding mothers were excluded in this study. On the day of the scheduled surgery, the patients were explained about the study protocol, drugs used in the study, visual analogue scale (VAS). A computer software program was used to assign patients in three random groups (Group A – control, n=50; Group B – paracetamol, n=50; Group C – Ibuprofen, n=50). Group A was administered 100 ml of saline solution, Group B was given 1000 mg IV paracetamol in 100 ml saline and Group C received 800 mg ibuprofen in 100 ml saline before the surgical procedure. General anaesthesia was administered after a 30 min waiting period in all the

three groups. Propofol 2-3 mg/kg, rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg and fentanyl 50-75 mcg were administered during induction. Anaesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane 2% in 40-60% oxygen-air mixture and remifentanil 0.125 μg/kg/ min intravenously. Standard ECG, peripheral oxygen saturation level (SpO2) and non-invasive blood pressure were monitored and recorded in all the patients. All the surgical procedures were performed by the same surgical team using similar technique. Fifty milligram (50 mg) of tramadol was administered to all the patients about 30 min before the end of surgery. Following surgery and extubation all patients were taken to postoperative care unit. The patient, surgical team and anaesthesiologist were blinded to the study drugs. Postoperative pain intensity was self-assessed by the patient using visual analogue scale (VAS 0 = no pain, VAS 10 = the most severe pain) in the presence of nurse who was blinded to the drugs and groups. VAS was recorded at 1st, 6th, 12th and 24 hour interval. Opioid consumption was measured at 0-6, 6-12 and 12-24 hours interval and total at 24 hours. Pethidine 0.25mg/ kg was given to patients with VAS score of 4 and above for rescue analgesia. During postoperative care, all the patients received single dose of 0.5 mg/kg methyl prednisolone to control inflammation and 40 mg esomeprazole for gastric protection. During the 24 hour postoperative follow-up duration, the adverse effects of the drugs used in the study was recorded. Events of constipation, bleeding, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, sedation/confusion, urinary retention, pruritus and dyspepsia were charted for each patient. Statistics: The statistical analysis was performed by IBM SPSS 20.0 software program. Power analysis was performed based on the total opioid (Pethidine) consumption. It was found that the sample size was 95.42 in the 95% confidence interval and the power was 0.99 in the significance level. This indicates that the sample size is sufficient. The descriptive statistics were explained as mean±SD. The data distribution was analysed using the Kolmogorov

for more information about Global Journal of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine archive page click on below link

https://lupinepublishers.com/anesthesia-pain-medicine-journal/archive.php

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#lupine publishers group #Global Journal of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine #patients received single

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ronnytherandom · 3 years

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I started Writing My Thoughts On Things Again, I'm Sorry

15/8/2021:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Whole trilogy w/ all dlcs, Adept Class, Hardcore difficulty, 68 Hours):

Still brilliant! I adore this series. The first Mass Effect was one of the first games I ever played back in 2010 and Mass Effect 2 is one of the games I’ve played the most accruing several hundred hours over multiple playthrough from 2010 onwards, while Mass Effect 3 is a game I greatly appreciated but have more mixed feelings towards. Retrospectively as much as I liked the first Mass Effect, I did not nearly appreciate it enough back in the day. For a first entry in a new IP it is incredibly fleshed out with interesting Lore, an intriguing story and a cool galaxy to explore. I appreciate its combat far more now than I did back then but would still argue it is relatively weak in comparison to more modern titles and its own successors. Though the VA is rough in some places it is excellent where it matters, especially in the case of Sovereign whose iconic dialogue on Virmire is etched into my brain. A key element of the first mass effect I felt was sorely missing from the later entries was its exploration. While the galaxy grew routinely larger no game after the first had a drivable Mako, a vehicle I adore, and further lacked the opportunity to land on and explore the terrain of alien worlds for resources and side missions which I feel lends a lot to the atmosphere of the setting and could be made even more compelling using updated technology and a larger selection of assets and interiors which might have emerged from the higher budget successors. As it is I appreciate its inclusion in the first game. Mass Effect was also my first encounter with impactful choices in a video game and this is certainly something I appreciate but leads me to a major criticism specifically targeting the dialogue wheel layout as it is strange to me how you can puzzle out all of these possible dialogue outcomes but put exactly all of the positive outcomes behind the Upper Left dialogue option. While this is less pronounced in the First entry as the Renegade dialogue fills roughly the same purpose while sounding more badass, it becomes truer throughout the series as renegade options routinely just become nasty and exclusionary.

Mass Effect 2 innovates in some key ways which I have grown to appreciate more in the past 20 hours of play than I did when it launched. Primarily, its focus on characters and your relationships to them. Barring a couple of notable exceptions I found myself greatly invested in every single member of the Normandy crew and I think it’s a remarkable feat that each crewmate could be written to be so sympathetic, relatable and interesting in a world so full of appreciable elements. I would go into specific examples but id end up listing every character except Miranda and Jacob. This of course plays well into the Suicide Mission narrative which is perhaps my favourite overarching plot within the trilogy as it incorporates not just all of these incredible characters and plays upon your investment in them but also relies on the threat of both the Reapers and Collectors which are two excellently designed enemies which I find significantly more compelling than Saren and the Geth or Cerberus and the Reaper Husk Armies. Mass Effect 2 has a powerful horror element composed of the Collectors phobic horror and the reapers cosmic horror and it does wonders for the game’s atmosphere. I remember at this moment the Collector soundtrack which, like the rest of the soundtrack is absolutely excellent. Inasmuch as I would criticise it from a purely musical perspective for being simple at times and perhaps overly repetitive it perfectly fits the camp space opera that is mass effect. Galaxy Map and Suicide Mission are absolute bangers. I would hesitate to call the combat great. Playing the game as a weapon heavy class is superior, I’d argue as even with an armour build dedicated to decreasing ability cooldown it is too long to adequately utilise the powers of ability heavy classes like the adept. Additionally, ability play feels far more limited than in the game’s predecessor due to the limitation of this games skill tree elements which are frankly a step too far in simplifying the interface. It doesn’t massively affect enjoyment of the game but I couldn’t help but note every time I visited the abilities menu how much I missed Mass Effects abilities menu. So while I would say Mass Effect maintains a very well balanced game with regards to combat, roleplay and story, Mass Effect 2 eschews combat and mechanical roleplay in favour of an excellent story. Additionally while lacking an exploration aspect the more structured side-missions found by scanning planets throughout the galaxy create a lot of fun moments and interesting gameplay, emblematic of the fact that mission design vastly improves between this game and its predecessor.

Mass Effect 3 goes some way to resolve its predecessor’s imbalance as the majority of the game possesses enhanced combat, a much better abilities mechanic and an excellent story. First the addition of more mobility, loadout and engagement options benefits the combat greatly, while the addition of more complex enemy types than previous games pushes you to fully utilise these new options. A massive reduction in ability cooldown combined with liberal cooldown reduction bonuses in the skill tree means that abilities are very useful and versatile and you generally feel very powerful. Sometimes too powerful if you’re thinking from a balancing standpoint but given it’s a single player game this criticism is much diminished and being powerful is fun regardless. The skill tree system in this game forms a synthesis between its predecessors’ systems and comes out the better for combining a regular sense of empowerment with interesting choices within your own character build. All of this contributes to a much-improved combat experience, especially over Mass Effect 2. This also lends itself to the old multiplayer system which I honestly enjoyed when it launched (who cannot love a playable biotic Volus?) and feel is sorely lacking from this legendary edition. I would argue the only real problem with the multiplayer was requiring a player to engage with it in order to achieve the best story outcome; the actual multiplayer gameplay was thoroughly enjoyable and it gave players the opportunity to experience combat as an STG agent or a Krogan Warlord which were both fulfilling experiences from my memory. The aforementioned story is truly excellent and successfully builds off events in previous games but primarily succeeds due to Biowares exceptional character writing which persists from Mass Effect 2. Even in the case of its worst side mission content but especially in its primary missions the stakes and outcome of events are thoroughly compelling and the involvement of beloved Normandy crewmates is bound to incite intense emotions. This is possibly the only game that makes me cry multiple times throughout a normal playthrough. Unfortunately my goodwill often runs out when it comes to consider the ultimate ending of this series which I do not approve of. I admit there are mitigating factors: you should not play the mass effect series for the culmination of its plot. This series lives and dies with its characters and all of the major character arcs reach satisfactory endings before the final moments of Mass Effect 3, so the final moments have no real meaning as the thematic purpose of the series is achieved by galvanising the galaxy and uniting all these disparate races into a single force to fight the Reapers. Thematically the game is a success but the extent to which it utilises the choices the player has made, upon which the series builds its reputation, is limited in scope. This can likely be laid at the feet of the leaks of the original story ahead of the games launch which pushed the developers to create a new ending to avoid spoilers, but the quality of that ending is poor as it boils all the choices made throughout the series down to selecting the colour of a space laser. To make an odd comparison, this is why I think Game of Thrones’ and Mass Effect’s endings are different kinds of bad. Mass Effect reaches a fully satisfying conclusion in the moments immediately after launching the final mission, whereas Game of Thrones built its whole series asking the question “Who Will Sit The Iron Throne” With the final answer being “Actually, no one” after slogging through multiple series which did not live up to the quality of the first. Mass Effect answers its dramatic question of “Can Shepard Unite The Galaxy Against The Reapers” satisfactorily following sixty hours of excellent content and the colour of the space laser doesn’t actually matter. It just hurts to think that the finale could’ve been so much grander and more interesting. I would recommend the games, the disappointment of the finale doesn’t even come close to outweighing the grandeur that is the rest of the experience of Mass Effect 3, let alone the whole series.

There are only a few pieces of content I had not encountered prior to this Legendary edition playthrough. The Mass Effect DLC Bring Down The Sky is fun in that it adds an interesting combat experience with incredible stakes and immerses you in a stellar scale event, but the experience is very short. As part of the legendary edition I recommend it but having to pay extra for it at its time of launch I would have found it disappointing. Mass Effect 2s Overlord DLC is very good, introducing fun combat encounters, an opportunity to operate the fairly fun Hammerhead vehicle (even if it doesn’t live up to the Glory of the Mako) and explore a nice open environment with a truly haunting ending which is a kind of non-choice but it is gratifying to make that choice anyway. Additionally the visuals in the final station when interacting with the VI elements are very nice. The Arrival DLC is also quite fun, with a pseudo stealth section to open it, something which I believe occurs nowhere else in the series. The general element of operating solo is quite novel for mass effect as I believe outside of this moment, the opening of the Citadel DLC and the final moments of Mass Effect 3 there is no point where you fight alone. The indoctrinated nature of the project team does not come as a shock but regardless the dlc is enjoyable as a combat experience and the scale of destruction shown necessary to even slightly inconvenience the reapers lends a lot to the scale of their threat. I do not believe I played any DLCs in Mass Effect 3 before, insofar as I did not consider From Ashes DLC content as it was already on the disk and all buying the day one dlc did was activate it. Leviathan is very interesting from a lore perspective and does interesting things with its investigative process but I find it to be a relatively passive and uninteresting experience for the most part. Omega was more my style with a lot of good combat and interesting new enemies and a bit of bombast besides but still left me largely unmoved. Citadel was excellent but mostly for its “endgame” content rather than its story content. Despite featuring many hilarious moments throughout the actual plot it failed to interest me but I was definitely there for all of the fun character moments and the party is absolutely hilarious.

Ultimately a hearty recommendation but with tempered expectations for the finale.

Deaths Door (True Ending, 13.7 hours):

A Delight. Deaths Door is a charming little game about a bird that stabs things and I love it. It is incredibly impressive that this was made by a team composed of two people. The gameplay is fun in all regards. Navigation is a good time especially when all of the environments are lovely and full of personality. Obstacles come mainly in the form of puzzles and these are at a sweet spot between ease and frustration without being at all complex. Combat could’ve used a bit more work, primarily to create more meaningful distinctions between weapons or add a little depth, but it is still engaging and good fun. While the main bosses are challenging and satisfying to defeat, I worry over the side bosses; perhaps something could’ve been done to make them more distinct from one another? But a small gripe. I like the world, the aforementioned environments are well realised, the general aesthetic is artful and distinct and the story is good if slightly sparse. One notable element is the dialogue which is very good with a quick wit. The finale of the main game has the right amount of spectacle and weight while the endgame is cool and fantastical, with an ample supply of secrets and collectibles to find. Over all the music is incredible, soundtrack full of absolute bangers. I really enjoyed completing this game and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s into action adventure and souls-like games.

The Bad Batch (season 1):

This was Allright. To open I cannot overstate how good the animation and art of this series is. It is routinely beautiful and well-choreographed. Visually there are no complaints. The problems begin with the opening episode which I feel overpromised on a relatively dark take on the Star Wars universe by immediately dropping us into an Order 66 plot full of death, danger, brainwashing and the threat of an emergent empire. Now granted this series never explicitly promises that all of this would continue but I enjoyed these elements of the first episode and I was dissatisfied by their limited usage throughout the rest of the show. This is not to say I disliked the show, I did enjoy the characters who are all good fun, and most of the plots were good. This series I felt had a lot of filler episodes, which I’d simply describe as episodes I enjoyed less due to underwhelming plot or conflict, but they were still enjoyable despite what id perceive as a lesser quality. The show also “suffers” from what I’d called Star Wars Syndrome of Filonitis which is how Everything Must Be Interconnected, with regular cameos from extended universe characters which I feel is beginning to get a bit much. These features feel to me more often like nostalgia grabs rather than organically featuring a character in service of the plot and development. For example, I appreciate the Captain Rex feature as that served to highlight the inhibitor chip problem and drive the characters to seek a solution, however I appreciated Rafa and Trace’s feature less both because I’m less attached to those characters (especially Rafa) but also because the episode didn’t serve any particular purpose or create any particular set piece which couldn’t have been achieved without those characters. This is a similar issue I have with The Mandalorian, I adored season one as it was relatively self-contained and only featured vague or subtler references to the wider canon: to contrast season two is full of cameos from the wider universe sometimes for no reason other than to have a cameo when those roles could easily have been filled with new and creative content which doesn’t rely upon nostalgia to make something interesting. Ultimately Bad Batch is worth watching for the characters and the good episodes, it is fun and entertaining, it just has its issues.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: The Phantom Blood:

Its uh, its not good. Now that’s a very broad statement, as to assess this show critically at all is to take it far more seriously than you should, but to be more even handed the show certainly has a bunch of fun elements. Only from a story perspective, there isn’t really that much there; and from a pacing perspective it needs to be seen to be believed. I’m certain that if you condensed the show down to a reasonable size for the amount of content it has, you’d probably have a movie with a two-hour runtime at most which would be quite enjoyable but on a whole this first part wastes about 80% of its time on overlong drawn-out internal monologues and the dilated timeframes of the show’s fights. It also has an annoying habit of overemphasizing the weight of a moment or the genius of a characters unexpected action usually with no less than three people commenting on any slight manoeuvre which ruins the pacing beyond belief. Now I understand this is a staple of the Jojo series, only part 1 handles it very poorly in comparison to later parts. The fighting is especially hindered by this as most actual combat usually involves only four or five punches but they tend to take twenty minutes getting to each one. Additionally, Johnathan Joestar is pretty boring as a character with no notable qualities aside from being good both morally and at fighting. The intrigue of the stone mask is cool but this part deals in that very little. Like I say though, Part 1 is still fun to watch if you can disengage your brain and admire the potent meme quality of the series. It is not “good” from a critical perspective but it is incredibly amusing and the campness gives it a degree of charm. If you just want to watch a bunch of beefy men shout at each other and perform magic punches this is a good time. Speedwagon, despite being the worst offender of the “Explain Everything Twice and Ruin the Pacing” category, is still entertaining for the awful accent and endearing character. He’s also definitely in love with Johnathan and I will not be taking questions on that. Baron Zeppeli has a cool hat. Theres a lot of fun to be had as the show embraces the weirdness of everything that’s going on. So, check it out, it might just be a So-Bad-Its-Good Masterpiece.

300 (film):

This film was not so great in my eyes. I think there was one particular shot of the landscapes around Sparta which I felt was visually cool but everything else about the film lacked quality for me, barring practical effects which have aged significantly better than the graphical effects. The visuals are largely uninspiring, the washed-out colour pallet doesn’t help. Perhaps the dialogue was amusing at release but for me it’s all been memed to death. I can’t say any of the performances are particularly compelling, nice to see Magneto and Faramir though. The action could’ve been good and there are certainly moments where it has impact, but the constant application of slow motion I feel reduces the sense of power that should be there, like watching people fight on the moon. Ultimately, I can’t stomach it for two primary reasons: Historical inaccuracy and Racism, which feed into each other. The values of the Spartans do not accurately reflect ideas that historical Spartans held to and I must ask why? Historical accuracy is the default state, so to usurp those ideas in favour of others means the author of the graphic novel Frank Miller and director Zach Snyder replaced those ideas with purpose, in order to make the film more appealing to a mass audience or to express their own ideas perhaps? And the values they chose for the Spartans were freedom, justice and democracy which were things the slaving and monarchical Spartans did not believe in at least in the modern sense. This reeks of an imposition of the propagandised values of western nations on a historical society. This in itself would not be so much of an issue without the demonisation and perversion of the Achaemenid empire and the peoples therein. To establish the primary conflict as one of Civilised white westerners against barbarous non-white easterners, when historically the conflict was between two nations of a broadly similar heritage both possessing facets of good and evil, in the early 2000s? It feels as though some reactionary interpretations of the War on Terror have simply been recreated here with classical history as window dressing. Add to that reactionary attachment to the battle of Thermopylae as a representation of the western world’s struggle against the eastern world, in addition to other more problematic interpretations, and this film plays straight into extreme right-wing ideas of race. Cannot recommend, there’s a lot more better things you could be watching.

18/08/2021: Darth Vader (2015) comic (incl. Vader Down event):

This was really cool. The first comic I’ve ever actually read so I don’t have much frame of reference but I certainly enjoyed this. It was compelling, I’ve blitzed through this whole run in a single day. I think it serves a valuable purpose of demonstrating Vader’s potential and development between Episodes IV and V, as well as the nature of internal conflicts within the Empire. A side note, it is amusing that Palpatine identifies infighting as a factor in the fall of the Sith Empire and yet encourages it for his own political purposes anyway. I felt that the art and style was very good and fit well with the Star Wars aesthetic, though I couldn’t say if it is truly excellent or just standard: it certainly wasn’t bad, though I think a few designs such as Dr Aphra’s ship were hard to read as it were. Speaking of, I think characters new and old were well portrayed. The titular Vader is unmistakably the same character as appears in the classic trilogy, similarly for Han, Luke and Leia etc. And it was a pleasure to see Chewbacca absolutely destroy someone. The aforementioned Aphra I thought was fine but she lacks distinction to my mind, the real star was Triple Zero and by extension Beetee who I thought were excellent comic relief in addition to being a genuine threat, something I can’t necessarily say I felt with regard to the antagonists. This latter part doesn’t matter overmuch, I think the purpose of these antagonists was more to present Vader with pressure to fulfil his personal goals rather than actually oppose him and they work well in that regard, but are unmemorable beyond their basic attributes. What I think this comic does particularly well is create a kind of puzzle narrative and its almost thrilling at moments when Vader’s plots might be discovered. As a result of this I am looking forward to reading more comics in future.

The Suicide Squad (2021): Highly enjoyable! A big step up for the suicide squad as a franchise and a lot more fun, playing into a brighter and more humorous genre than its predecessor to good effect; This time with good editing, soundtrack, direction… well good everything in comparison. I enjoyed all of the characters and their acting particularly the rivalry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport and Margot Robbie is still fantastic as Harley. They all pale before King however, who is endearing beyond belief and a lot of fun to boot. The “villain” if that term is applicable is very interesting and actually threatening, no mere beam of light into the sky! And the willingness to engage in more mature elements such as gore and character morality is of immense benefit, serving to distinguish it from generally more childish superhero media and reach towards more interesting themes around colonisation, foreign intervention, America and such. Only a reach towards however as I don’t think it ultimately says anything beyond “This thing, kinda bad and dumb”. As I saw noted, it observes the theme but doesn’t comment on it which is a shame as that would bring it all together quite neatly. I feel it can drag a little at times and sometimes the dialogue and specifically its humour don’t hit right but the rest is of such quality that it hardly matters. It looks good, sounds good and offers a chance to engage in a little mindless and bloody violence. I hope Harley keeps the javelin.

27/08/2021: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency: TW: Mention of Nazism, Discussion of Sexism

This is MUCH better. Part 2 covers most of the problems I had with Part 1. The Monologues are less egregious so the pacing is much improved; the lore is fully integrated into the story and creates a genuinely good narrative and Joseph is a much more compelling and interesting protagonist with a quirky and entertaining personality. The Pillar Men are excellent villains and the fights are fully engaging. Even when you know that Joseph will pull out a “And next you’ll say” twist at the end of a losing fight it’s still surprising simply by dint of the strange and wacky solutions he creates. And these adventures are even more bizarre, playing into the weird camp of the series which works so well. All in all, the quality is excellent here HOWEVER there are some highly problematic elements. The show being set in the 1930s is a neat part of the travelling through time factor of the series but when you’re globetrotting around Europe you need some solution to the problem of Nazis popping up everywhere and this show does not provide one, and fails so drastically to offer even a slightly critical perspective on the fascist characters. The noble sacrifice of Von Stroheim and his later resurrection and heroism serve to idolise a Patriotic German Nazi Officer, which is not good, and this unchallenged perspective on an Actual Nazi is troubling especially when the character himself is an unrepentant mass murderer. Additionally, the show has a horrible attitude towards women, who exist almost exclusively for sex appeal and romantic interest in this show. Lisa Lisa does demonstrate ability and character but when presented with genuine combat is relegated first as a bit of eye candy during the fight with Esidesi (notably eye candy for Her Own Son) and later as a Damsel in Distress during her fight with Kars. Women are frequently used as objects in this part; Caesar Zeppeli uses women as props by controlling them with his Hamon powers and Suzi Q exists only to be rescued from Esidesi and then to be romanced by Jojo. It’s pretty ridiculous to be honest. I am informed that this improves over the course of the series but as for this part in particular it is a lot of fun just so long as you can ignore some incredibly troubling portrayals.

13/09/2021: Rick and Morty Season 4:

There is ultimately not much to say as Season 4 is simply more Rick and Morty and operates as such. It is good, even very good. It’s still very funny. Its voice acting is still the pinnacle of such work. It is still smart and has a lot of interesting ideas, only not to the extent of the copypasta fan boys. Its sci-fi universe is cool and its design and aesthetic are still excellent. I feel the show has passed a threshold however as there’s only so much time you can spend on the “dysfunctional family is dysfunctional theme”. I hope season 5 proves me wrong once I get to it, but season 4 is fun and I’d recommend it all the same, it’s just more Rick and Morty and I think that’s enough.

Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings: Spectacular! Very easily amongst the best if not The Best Superhero Movie (aside from Into the Spiderverse). To begin with complaints as they are limited, the colour grading was a bit dark in a couple of the fight scenes and in some moments of the climactic fight the CG effects are a little Too Much and distract from the central action of Shang-Chi, Xialing and a Dragon owning the shit out of a multiversal super spectre, which incidentally is fucking epic. Additionally, the standard MCU comic relief dialogue is a little meh at times but what’s new there? They still need to get a handle on that, especially because this film was really strong when it was serious. As much as I love Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, he was just a tad much here. Aside from a few moments of weak dialogue however the rest of the film is excellent. Acting is good, effects are good, the film is quite beautiful primarily once Ta Lo is reached and the score is bangin. I appreciate most of all the fight sequences which to me look well-choreographed with interesting arenas which were always appropriate to demonstrate the characters abilities; the sequences serve to develop character and plot at key moments also. The way the camera is handled during the fights is also a big step up, with wide perspective and long shots rather than the snappy close shots of old which serve to really show off that choreography and don’t muddy your understanding of the flow of combat. There is a good thematic line throughout the film of reconciling the bad and the good of your familial and personal history, to understand yourself better and channel that into developing and achieving your ambitions and I adore how that ties in with Shang-Chi and Wenwu’s final confrontation due to the nature and treatment of the Ten Rings themselves. They are a very interesting fantastical element especially once Shang-Chi acquires them and the way that he utilises them create a very cool combat style I can’t wait to see more of, even considering that their full potential is yet to be unlocked. I additionally approve of how they have been differentiated from their comic counterparts which to my understanding are just slightly weaker infinity stones; thus, a one-to-one reproduction would’ve been a boring mistake to make. It’s a fantastic film, go see it.

26/09/2021: Sable (20 hours, 99% complete) Sable has the makings of an absolutely fantastic game, it just has a few hiccups and hurdles to deal with. Thankfully most can probably be dealt with by patch as there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the game; but a game should never be released in a state where it needs a patch to function normally. This game is incredibly buggy. Probably one of the buggiest games I’ve ever played at launch, and I preordered Skyrim. Most of my complaints are with the menus, which simply do not work properly sometimes, but there are other documented issues with collision detection and weird bike movement among others including one annoying persistent issue with the soundtrack being replaced by random ‘bong’ noises. For these reasons I cannot recommend the game Right Now until it is patched or if it is on a significant sale. However, once the bugs are fixed this game will be a stunning achievement. The story is good and leads to powerful emotional moments, aided along by an excellent atmospheric soundtrack and beautiful visuals. The style and colour give this game an exceptional look, though diminished by a fairly rapid day/night cycle. I understand that this creates a visual contrast to make the daytime feel more vibrant and impressive, but I would also hold the sun still in the sky if that were an option. The world is well built, with interesting lore and cool design work. Varied environments show off a range of colourful landscape all with their own distinct atmospheres and landmarks which are good both for navigation and exploration, this being the bulk of the game. Exploring these environments is satisfying for curiosities sake but also offers collectible Chums that I adore and an intriguing backstory and world history to consider. Riding a hoverbike is cool and fun, and the customisability is nice though I would take issue with the “balancing” of bike parts as the best bike can be acquired only a few hours in and must be bought, where bike parts earned through long quest chains pale in comparison. This annoys me as I believe players should be rewarded more for great deeds than for acquiring currency, besides which the quest bikes look cooler. This is of little importance however as the game is a very casual and chill experience, keeping an excellent balance where it is not strictly challenging but does maintain your focus and attention. This world is full of strangeness and a little sci-fi magic; though I would argue it could use more of this I think that would threaten to overwhelm the player when even this world’s most mundane elements are still stunningly cool. I think a thick coat of bugs covers what is ultimately a magnificent game with many cool things to explore and even marred by its worst features I still had a great time playing it.

27/09/2021: The Matrix

Brilliant. A very cerebral action movie which definitely earns its place as an iconic work of cinema and its clear to see why its influence is so widespread. Fantastic action with a clear and open perspective which utilises the interesting and dynamic cinematography that runs throughout the movie. I particularly enjoy how over the top the fights are in terms of environmental destruction and gestures as a whole, with a great deal of emphasis added by practical effects which I enjoy. Cool characters, good dialogue and excellent performances across the cast. And, an interesting world well-built and designed. The robots particularly are quite intimidating and I like their arthropodal form. All of the design works well to create the feeling of a greasy industrial post apocalypse which contrasts sharply with the boring homogenous simulation, the latter having its own value as a setting due to its familiarity which would’ve been especially prevalent when this film first released. I love the soundtrack, especially the final feature of Rage, but most of all I love how deeply you can read into this film and its meaning. Having watched many videos about it I was primed on the trans allegory going in and it is very clearly a present part of the narrative before even considering the context around the Wachowski sisters and their own experience. It is a very interesting part of the story and plays well into other themes built around deconstructing the illusions pressed on us by our society, drawing strong parallels between the struggles of living as a trans person and fighting against an imperialist capitalist society. It is worth watching for any of its constituent parts but together they form a magnificent work of art.

28/09/2021: Star Wars: Visions

The series is a bit of a mixed bag. It definitely overpromises with its first episode which is of a remarkably distinct style, is incredibly cool and has great wacky moments in addition to tasteful call-backs to the wider Star Wars canon. I love the umbrella sabre, it’s a fantastic idea and there needs to be more of them. From there a few episodes are fantastic, The Elder and the final episode, and id rank the Ninth jedi just below them, but the rest of the series is definitely not to my taste. The wide variety of styles on show are all fantastic and the animation is universally very good, just some of the plots are more childish than I would appreciate and the rest are simply not engaging for me to the point that despite a great deal of spectacle occurring I would often be distracted. It’s worth a look if you’re into animation and unique takes on star wars but I find generally lacking.

Django Unchained (2nd Watch) TW: Discussion of Racism and Slavery

Red Flag: Tarantino Movie is good. Very good. Stellar performances from Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Leo Di Caprio, Christoph Waltz and everyone else in the movie to be frank; a special note for the trivia about Leo Di Caprio’s cut up hand during the dining room scene, a lot of respect for a man who can keep working through that kind of injury. We can go through a Tarantino Checklist say the film is well shot with beautiful environments; has excellent and witty dialogue with good attention to detail and mannerism; and finally has great and gory action which does not flinch from terrible injury and really appeals to a perverse bloodlust that seems to crop up from time to time in normal people. Strangely enough however, I could not recall if Tarantino indulges in his predilection for feet here. This film does indulge in Tarantino’s other predilection however and that’s the N-word, but here I respect it. Unlike his non-period works, the use of the N-word is a facet of slavery just as chains, whips and plantations are and slavery is the subject of this film which seeks to be historically authentic. If anything, the absence of the N-word would be very wrong in this case despite being the project of a white man as without it the film would lack the context of a key form of oppression that still exists today. I think Django does an excellent job documenting and commenting on the institution as it existed in the pre-war period. Django experiences every level of status a black person would encounter in this setting: first a slave, then a freedman, a black slaver and finally a Liberator and the final message of the film is that slavery deserved to be destroyed and any argument made for its return is horseshit which is kind of a “Duh” statement but with the state of modern politics and the state of education in the US it’s something that needs reiterating. You can interpret this beyond the bounds of slavery itself in addition, by arguing that there are existing powers in this world which seek to discriminate based on skin colour amongst other factors and create oppressed minorities for the benefit of a wealthy few with power and should the systems that create this environment be completely destroyed it would be cause for celebration. Beyond this I particularly enjoyed the historical authenticity of the environments, of the very varied biomes of the wilder parts of the US at the time, and the contemporary outfits especially King Schultz’ coat which I desire more than any item of clothing I’ve ever seen. The film is good at building suspense both in the moment to moment and through longer story arcs, particularly the second act, but I do feel like the 2nd act lulls a little, perhaps spends slightly too long reaching its climax. This is a great spectacle of a film which looks and sounds fantastic, puts excellent performances on show, tells a great story and has quite a bit of meaning bundled into it.

29/09/2021: The Road to El Dorado (Unfinished)

Despite not finishing it I think this film is actually really good. It certainly has a few elements which don’t fully gel with me but I enjoyed my time with it; I only felt like I should really be doing something else and that I wasn’t fully engaged with it, potentially as I’m not keen on cons and high stakes acting as it feels like a form of vicarious embarrassment for me which makes me immensely uncomfortable. Personal hindrances aside most everything about this film is excellent, I loved the animation and the very colourful world. The characters were fun, the voice acting good, the constant horniness was a great bonus also. I take issue with the music, much as it’s not my right to criticise Elton John, I feel it would’ve been better fully incorporated into the film. I enjoy animated musicals more when said music is diegetic and I think them beginning to employ non-diegetic music is part of what led to their downfall, outside of market saturation. Additionally, I was not a fan of The Trail we Blaze, just not a song that worked for me. I also appreciate the integration of 3d and 2d animation here as I felt the styles were reconciled better here than in most movies, especially for the time. I might take issue with what seems to be a plot about two Spanish men of the colonial age coming to central America and “enlightening” its people through humanitarian acts and music as that would reflect some troubling attitudes but I hold out hope that by the end of the film they decide to come clean about the lie, return the gold and help defend El Dorado from Cortez and his troops. Its enjoyable, I don’t feel drawn to finishing it though.

30/09/2021: Hunters Moon, Ghost

Here’s a new one, music reviews. This single is pretty good I enjoy it a lot. Opens slow and gentle and rapidly builds into some strong rock with a very 80s feel which scans with Ghosts whole historical rock and metal style they’ve always employed but have gone in extra hard on since Prequelle. The lead riff the track opens on is really nice and I would love to have seen it explored further, but the heavier style that ramps up progressively as the song continues is still great climaxing on the 9/4 post chorus riff which goes hard as fuck and I love that bit especially. It feels like it would be spectacular to witness it live. The bridge is a moment I’m not so keen on, the initial bass work is a little bare bone and overly repetitive but it definitely picks up once the guitar and vocals come in, even if just for the final moments. The final chorus leads into a good finale though I think it’ll serve better on an album version with a transition into another track, as I usually prefer to be fair. Technically I enjoy all of the different sounds and effects employed on all the instruments, especially in that leading riff, all of which are played well with good time. The vocals are great as usual. It’s a great track, I feel it was maybe a little short and could’ve explored some of its musical ideas or given them a bit more time to breathe; perhaps less time could have been given to overrepresented elements like the bridge and given over to work more into the very atmospheric leading riff but this is still a hard and heavy rock track and I enjoy it greatly.

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ziracona · 3 years

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Pretty sure your sudden spike in Fate content is gonna be like the third time I check something out bc you started posting it (I know next to nothing about Fate. In fact, I think I now know less than before you started). I'm rly not sure what the best starting point to get into it is, though. Any recommendation? (also I got Moriarty on your quiz and now I want to know why he's so beloved)

Oh sick! Awesome! I hope you enjoy it!

Uhm, so, Fate notoriously swaps out like their whole creative team from work to work, so some of it is really good, and some is really bad, and some in the middle, because it’s made by very different people. The things I am most into are UBW, and Fate Go. Fate Go is a little gatcha phone game, that suffers from the fate of the whole fate franchise but as a single unit. They swap out writers from arc and event to arc and event, so sometimes you’re living and thriving, and sometimes you’re like *thousand yard glazed, pained stare* ‘why the fuck did I download this game?’ Very mixed bag. I enjoy it because I just kinda blow through any arc I don’t like and skim, and then go hella into the good ones, but it’s very much an individual matter of taste one. It’s very fun to collect spirits and get to know them though, and some of the arcs are fantastic. Also, they have made/are making some of the Fate Go arcs into shows, and I expect the ones that are of good game arcs are good? But I haven’t actually checked any out myself yet--I really need to watch E Pluribus Unum, because it was an easy top 3 arc for me in the game.

I’m big into Fate, but I actually have approximate knowledge of many things? And have not consumed as much media as you’d think. I tend to hear people really like Fate Zero, and very mixed reviews of Apocrypha, but I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fandom Classic(tm) and my personal fave as where to start, which is Unlimited Blade Works.

Sorry this is so long. Okay, so. Originally, Fate Stay/Night was a visual novel with three paths/routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel. All of these are shows now. Unlimited Blade Works was made twice. Do not watch the early one; it’s bad. Watch the 2014 TV series--it’s on Netflix right now. Don’t watch the English dub--the VAs are...not great. 110% recommend watching it in Japanese/original dub, with subtitles. (This one)

My usual pitch is that if you’re a normal person, you’ll probably go “This was a little confusing, but I really got into it: 8.3/10″, and if you’re like me and you never really gave up on wanting to become a superhero and save the world some day, you’ll go: “It was fantastic, 18/10, but it also ripped out my soul and left me wounded but somehow in an okay way.” Either way very worth watching. Since it’s not the first route, there are some things they don’t explain about the world because they kind of assume the viewer will know, but that’s pretty minimal--it’s def coherent enough that the more confusing bits are more of a “Uh, okay. I think.” than a “W-What the fuck is going on?”

It’s really good. Two seasons, the most beautiful fighting in almost anything I’ve ever seen, phenomenal soundtrack, and one of the best show opens (Season 2′s) of any show I ever saw. All around a just big blanket rec from me. It’s a long-time fan favorite for a reason. It’s one of my fave shows ever :’-] It was. Very personal to me.

Uhhhh what else--okay so, on Netflix if you watch it there, and a lot of streaming sites, they list “Episode 0″ or “Prologue” as the first episode? This was originally bonus content, not the first episode. It’s basically the first episode from not the MC’s point of view, but a different major character. It’s got some really great character moments and insight into Rin and Archer, and it’s fun, but since it was originally bonus, the pacing is super weird? So I would recommend you start with actual episode 1/Winter Days, A Fateful Night instead? Unless you just want to. Like it won’t mess up the show, but it might give you a weird idea of what the pacing is. So you can watch it first if you want, or later whenever you’re curious about those two, just like, if you start on it, don’t get overwhelmed by the stuff they’re not explaining, or the weird pacing. It’s supposed to be bonus content haha.

Very happy you’re interested! I really love UBW so I hope you enjoy it! If there’s anything else you want to ask feel totally free! I just don’t want to ramble for eight years about my special interest and fall into a black hole unprompted haha. : D Very happy you’ve been intrigued by my weird spike of fate content WAIT YOU ASKED ABOUT CRIME GRANDPA HOW COULD I FORGET.

Woof this is gonna be a long ask answer. Uhhhh, so Moriarty is from Fate Grand Order/Fate Go, the phone game. The game has three major arc sets so far: Grand Order, Epic of Remnant, and Cosmos in the Lostbelts. He’s from Epic of Remnant, and he’s universally beloved because he’s amazing. The MC in Fate Go is like 16, but he or she (you get to pick) is constantly having to risk their life and be hurt and traumatized and watch people die to save the world because there’s no one else to do it, and usually people are...not super nice to them. Moriarty shows up in the first of the second set of arcs and is like ‘Haha that’s a wholeass human child tho. Guys. Guys, a-are you sure about this?’ and he’s really there to pull of a massive evil culmination-of-my-life’s-entire-work-and-value scheme, but this kid is nice to him, and has nobody who looks out for them, and Evil Has Standards, so (Arc End Spoilers for that one ahead) he ends up giving up basically at the last minute. He had a plan that was totally working and could have won, but can’t really pull the trigger, because winning would mean this kid who has been nice to him and is already a massive pile of trauma and pressure and mental illness would die, and he cares more about them than his life’s goal. In Go usually boss fights are progressively harder, but his is super easy because he throws it, and chooses to lose, and basically throws away his life’s work for this one kid because nobody else is taking care of them, and lets himself get killed. This is a pattern with him. Other high points include later being 5 seconds into a scheme when Frankenstein (the girl one, who in fgo is like 14) stops him to call him Papa and asks for help, so he adopts her on the spot and just is her dad forever after that. He’s very goofy and I love him; he’s evil, but I’d trust him with my life, because he’s more good than he is evil, even though he’s both. Basically he’s just a very interesting and well written villain, but he’s also like, the /best/ dad in the game at the same time, and his dialogue is amazing. Evil Has Standards team dad poster man. He’s like the only adult in Fate Go who actually is responsible, which is fuckin wild. I’ll try to find some good screenshots of his dialogue. Anyway he’s incredible and I’m so happy you got him; Crime Papa is life.

Here have some Moriarty junk: (Shinjuku arc you have 3 partners, and the other two are adults but harass the MC constantly, and this was the dynamic. Bless Moriarty)

And here’s some him roasting Sherlock memes and being good dad to the MC

#ask #tathracyn #fate #long post

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popolitiko · 3 years

Text

Bigots Get a Boost from the Bully Pulpit After Charlottesville

By Michael Scherer and Alex Altman - August 17, 2017

Nearly alone among the nation’s elected leaders, Trump saw a nobility of purpose in the fiery procession that began a weekend of street fights in Charlottesville, Va. White nationalists hoisted tiki torches that recalled the horrifying imagery of the Ku Klux Klan. They revived an old Nazi chant–“Blood and Soil” - which had been silenced in 1945 with American blood on German soil. And they mixed in a new anti-Semitic taunt, “Jews will not replace us,” meant to declare unity of the white race.

But to the President, those details did not tell the whole story. Marching with the racists, fascists and separatists, he argued, were some “very fine people” with a worthy mission. “Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me,” he said on Aug. 15 at a press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower. “Not all of those people were white supremacists. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee.”

It swept away any lingering delusions that Trump will harness the high office to unify a bitterly divided country.

American Presidents have often sought to seize the aftermath of a national tragedy to rally the nation together and point us beyond our history. This is the impulse that guided Ronald Reagan after the Challenger explosion, Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing, George W. Bush after Sept. 11 and Barack Obama after the Charleston church shooting.

But that is not Trump. Asked whether he would heed presidential custom by visiting the site of the tragedy, Trump replied that he owned a very large winery near Charlottesville.

His response was panned as a missed opportunity and massive error, not just by his foes but by scores of Republicans. It led Trump on Aug. 16 to preemptively dissolve two separate advisory councils of top CEOs after a string of resignations.

But his stance was no accident. It was a reminder that in some ways, Trump sees the world in the same us-against-them tones that inform his most racist supporters.

Throughout his business career, he used racial and ethnic divisions to his advantage. He sees the cultural norms that seek to minimize racial strife as “politically correct” barriers to free expression. Trump declared during the presidential campaign that an American with Mexican-born parents could not fairly adjudicate a case in which Trump was a party because of his immigration policies. On the campaign trail, he recited lyrics to a song that compared Muslim refugees to venomous snakes. Now, in the Oval Office, he is using the pulpit to tolerate and fan tribal grievance.

And he lashed out at others who came forward to criticize him. Trump’s longtime political Svengali Roger Stone has a maxim: “Politics is not about uniting people,” he told the New Yorker in 2008. “It’s about dividing people. And getting your 51%.”

That is not so far from the methods and goals of a revitalized white-nationalist movement, which sees in Trump a welcome partner.

“Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville,” tweeted David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, whose current ambition, like many at the rally, is the creation of an all-white American ethnostate.

Then, just days after vehicular terrorism in Charlottesville killed a young woman, Trump retweeted a photo of a train running over a man with the CNN logo on his face. (He later deleted it.)

All of which delights the angry white torchbearers. The new faces of American hate are now more likely to be a college-educated Internet trolls than goose-stepping skinheads. Instead of robes or hoods, they favor natty suits and New Balance sneakers, white polos and khaki pants. Dubbed the alt-right, they are a constellation of groups that organize online, delight in ironic and coded forms of communication, and typically have little actual influence outside of anonymous message boards and the comments section of revisionist YouTube videos that declare Adolf Hitler’s greatness.

Among this new racist right inspiration often comes from European fascist groups like Golden Dawn in Greece, the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement and the ultranationalist Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin’s. Their anger is directed at what they see as the dwindling fortunes of the white working class in America–an idea that the President has homed in on as well.

For this network of white grievance, Trump has been a godsend. “Finally someone at the level of presidential politics is speaking their language,” explains Lawrence Rosenthal, chair of the Center for Right-Wing Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. “This was a providential deliverance. He mobilized them in a way that has no precedent.

https://time.com/4904281/bigots-boosted-by-the-bully-pulpit-charlottesville/

====================================

Arnold Schwarzenegger Delivers a Powerful Message to Neo-Nazis after Charlottesville

Post is old, and needs to be shared again.

youtube

https://youtu.be/BaN78rXX6Lc

#Bigots #neo-Nazis #Charlottesville #fascists #White nationalists

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reading-writing-revolution · 4 years

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Heather Cox Richardson:

July 30, 2020 (Thursday)

Today juxtaposed the worst of America and its best.

The day began with the news that, as bad as we expected the second-quarter’s economic news to be, it was worse. Gross domestic product (GDP) which measures good and services produced, fell 9.5%, equal to a 32.9% annual rate of decline. The last three months have been the worst since economists began keeping track. NPR noted that “The economic shock in April, May and June was more than three times as sharp as the previous record — 10% in 1958.” The last three months wiped out the economic growth of the past five years. And that crisis is despite the fact the government has pumped trillions into an attempt to shore up the economy.

Also in the news was the story that Herman Cain, a prominent Trump supporter and former candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has died of Covid-19. Cain was co-chair of “Black Voices for Trump,” the Trump campaign’s outreach to Black voters, and attended Trump’s June 20 indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma without a mask. The 74-year-old was hospitalized with Covid-19 in early July.

Then Trump tweeted: “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"

Trump’s tweet was incorrect, of course: mail-in voting and absentee voting are exactly the same thing, and there is no evidence that they create voter fraud. The first secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, a Republican who served under President George W. Bush, recently told ABC News: “There is absolutely no antecedent, no factual basis for [Trump’s] claim of massive fraud in mail voting.”

The president has no authority to delay the timing of an election, which is set by federal law. An act of Congress could change that date, but it is unlikely the Democratic House of Representatives would do so.

The tweet was pretty transparently an attempt to distract from the dire economic news, the death of Herman Cain, the outrage over yesterday’s announcement that he is withdrawing 12,500 U.S. troops from Germany, and Representative John Lewis’s funeral, where three former presidents were giving eulogies and he was not even going to attend. It also advanced his attempt to sow doubt about the safety of the 2020 election.

But at a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to defend his politicization of the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threw gas on the fire. When asked by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), “Can a president delay the November presidential election, Mr. Secretary?,” Pompeo answered, “Senator, I’m not going to enter a legal judgment on that on the fly this morning.” Surprised, Kaine listed Pompeo’s impressive legal training, then asked again. Pompeo replied: “In the end, the Department of Justice, and others, will make that legal determination. We all should want–I know you do, too, Senator Kaine–want to make sure to have an election that everyone is confident in.”

“NO. THEY. WON’T,” University of Texas Law Professor Steve Vladeck tweeted before listing the relevant laws. Still, one legal expert noted that it was possible Attorney General William Barr was giving the administration different advice. “Because this is not a thing he can do unilaterally or lawfully, the Justice Department should disclose any formal advice or guidance to the contrary,” Christian Farias tweeted.

Trump perhaps misjudged the reaction to his suggestion that the election be postponed. After all, in May, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner floated the idea of delaying the election, and reaction was muted (When asked about whether or not it could be held on schedule because of the pandemic, he said: “I’m not sure I can commit one way or the other, but right now that’s the plan.”) Today, though, the outcry was universal. In the New York Times, a co-founder of the rightwing Federalist Society and formerly staunch Trump supporter Steven G. Calabresi called the tweet “fascist,” and said it is “grounds for the president’s immediate impeachment again by the House of Representatives and his removal from office by the Senate.

By afternoon, Trump was trying to pass off the tweet—which he had briefly pinned to the top of his timeline—as an attempt to protect the vote. “Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting (not Absentee Voting, which I totally support!).” His campaign said he was just asking a question.

Other stories continued to drop.

Vanity Fair ran an article by Katherine Eban about how the administration fumbled the ball so badly on its response to the coronavirus pandemic, noting that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was the key decision maker in the process, and that his team first set up, and then dropped, a plan for national coordination to fight the virus. They abandoned the plan after Trump began to downplay the virus out of concern that it would hurt his chances for reelection, and because it appeared the virus was largely confined to cities. According to one public health expert who worked with Kushner’s team “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy.”

This afternoon, we learned that in December 2019, Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, received a package of “information” about Joe Biden from Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker linked to Putin. Derkach claims to have sent packages to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), as well as former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, but it appears there is actually a shipping receipt for the package to Nunes.

The Senate adjourned today until Monday at 3:00, although federal unemployment benefits that have added $600 weekly to state unemployment benefits expire tomorrow. Republicans have been unable to agree on a bill. They tried to pass a week’s extension of the $600 benefit, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blocked it, while Republicans blocked Schumer’s effort to pass a full bill.

Tonight, a judge ordered nearly 2000 documents from the 2015 defamation civil lawsuit of Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, the companion of Jeffrey Epstein, accused of sex trafficking of young girls, to be made public. The documents claim that retired Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz, raped Giuffre repeatedly.

The news today was awful… except when it wasn’t.

Today, Representative John Lewis’s family and friends held his funeral in Atlanta, Georgia, where they remembered the civil rights icon with speeches honoring his conviction, courage, and compassion. Lewis’s life, former President Barack Obama said, “vindicated the faith in our founding, redeemed that faith, that most American of ideas: The idea that any of us, ordinary people without rank or wealth or title or fame, can somehow point out the imperfections of this nation and come together and challenge the status quo.” Lewis, he said, would someday be considered a founding father of a “fuller, fairer, better America.”

Still, it was to Representative Lewis that the last word fell. In a New York Times op-ed he wrote to be published the day of his funeral, he gave us a benediction:

“Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.”

“Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key.”

“Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.”

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astro-b-o-y-d · 5 years

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Season 4, Episode 7 (Preston time Preston time Preston time!!!)

Okay that first shot caught me off guard kgdhlhfklhgkl GWEN don’t read that in front of the kids

THOSE COLORS ARE THE NONBINARY FLAG

EITHER THAT’S A MASSIVE COINCIDENCE OR THEY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING

DAVID SPEAKING FRENCH LKGLGHKH

“Haha, David said Jong. And that’s almost DONG! Which is a comedic word!” I love Nurf so much. He tells jokes like how I tell joke.

When Dad goes off on another boring story about himself.

HE ATTENDED WHAT??? WHAT ???? DAVID PLEASE TELL US THAT STORY ???

“I can juggle SIX balls!” God, he really is turning into Donut. ...That concerns me. People got tired of Donut’s innuendos for a reason, and while I’m fine with some here and there, but at the same time.....Ehhhhhhhhh.

...You know what, if Gwen can read all her dirty magazines and make references to that kind of stuff, then David can drop innuendos here and there. It’s....kind of equality? Also they are two of the only adults in the picture so I’d prefer THEM to make those jokes instead of the kids.

Awww poor David. Clown school must’ve been traumatizing for him. I’m going to find that French clown teacher and kick his ass >:(

I like how Space Kid starts chanting ‘We want more’ after the other kids. I love that sweet child.

Ah, I can easily see where this is going, and not because the episode was spoiled for me. ...But yeah, I’m impatient and asked around and I’m very excited for it!

Hold on, are these kids eating mashed potatoes and pancakes for breakfast??? There’s no way that’s hashbrowns. Is it rice? ...Do I want to know? Probably not.

Awww, Gwen’s checking on him to make sure he’s alright c:

“No more mental masturbation, WE CAME TO LAUGH!” N E I L THKHGKGHJGHFJKGDJLJK

“Oh, this character is such a CARD!” God, he’s such a DAD.

Also it’s so odd to hear this many lines from Preston’s new(ish) VA because...well, they haven’t given him many lines since he took on the role. He’s doing a fantastic job!

“Did I leave the microwave on?” No, you destroyed it, remember?

WHERE DID HE GET A BATHTUB???

Awww baby......he’s so torn. And honestly, that’s a legit conflict for artists. Do you do what you love and get a smaller following, or what’s popular and get wider audiences? It’s always such a struggle.

“You’re doomed to be the king...of LOW-BROW MEMES!” OH NO ANYTHING BUT THAT

Oh GOD those older versions of the kids are HORRIFYING

Awwwww, the kids were all worried about him-They’re not actually worried are they?

Nope, called it. Little shits, the lot of them.

Poor Preston ;;

AWWWW IS DAVID GOING TO GIVE HIM ADVICE. Also....’Hi-dee-ho?’ ‘Thinky-thinks?’ GOD, man, how are you real??

I don’t know what that French means, but....I really hope it’s not another innuendo. But it probably is.

When your camp counselor (dad? dad figure? Preston might have decent parents and has his gram-gram so I don’t know about labelling him as his dad) thinks you all think he has an ‘impenetrable, tough-guy exterior’.

“Nature called me, and I answered.” Awww .w.

Awwwww, David giving him advice and telling him to stay true to his art ;; Heck with it, that was a real Dad moment and it was nice.

AWWWWWWWWW (I keep saying it but shut up this moment is CUTE) Preston apologizing for basing his character on David.

“I’m HONORED!” Of course he’s not upset :’) He’s just proud of his little theater camper.

“Wacky Camp Counselor guy, me! Pfft!” God, he has zero brain cells. I love him.

OH MY GOD IS THIS RED V-

YEAH BUDDY YOU TELL THAT STORY YOU WANNA TELL. Who cares if everyone’s probably going to hate it.

Yep, they did. But at least he’s happy!

David’s probably in the same boat as everyone else when it comes to not enjoying the play but he’s STILL BEING SUPPORTIVE AWWW I LOVE HIM

“There’s no point in making art, if it’s not something I myself would enjoy.” AWWW GOOD ON YOU, PRESTON! Also honestly? That’s a fantastic lesson. Don’t change your art for others and make what YOU want to make, even if it’s not always going to be popular. Honestly.....I sometimes need to remember that myself.

This is just a really cute screencap of David.

And this is a hilarious final shot of a very good episode that not only FINALLY gave Preston more screentime and attention, but had a good message to it too!

Also I hate to end my reaction on a negative note and I doubt this was the case because the episode was probably planned months ago, but after watching it a second time, I feel like this episode is a good response to all the people who only want to see David in the show (since Preston’s character is, in a sense, based off him) and complain when they don’t get him. See guys, this is what you sound like. And it’s obnoxious. Let the Crew Crew tell the stories they want to tell with other characters in the show.

#Hayley Speaks #Camp Camp #CampCamp #Camp Camp Season 4 #Camp Camp Season 4 Spoilers #Long Post

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feelingbluepolitics · 5 years

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"Nearly 200 chief executives, including the leaders of Apple, Pepsi and Walmart, tried on Monday to redefine the role of business in society — and how companies are perceived by an increasingly skeptical public.

"Breaking with decades of long-held corporate orthodoxy, the Business Roundtable issued a statement on 'the purpose of a corporation,' arguing that companies should no longer advance only the interests of shareholders. Instead, the group said, they must also invest in their employees, protect the environment and deal fairly and ethically with their suppliers.

"'While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders,' the group, a lobbying organization that represents many of America’s largest companies, said in a statement. 'We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country.'

"The shift comes at a moment of increasing distress in corporate America, as big companies face mounting global discontent over income inequality, harmful products and poor working conditions.

"On the Democratic presidential campaign trail, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been vocal about the role of big business in perpetuating problems with economic mobility and climate change. Lawmakers are looking into the dominance of technology companies like Amazon and Facebook.

"There was no mention at the Roundtable of curbing executive compensation, a lightning-rod topic when the highest-paid 100 chief executives make 254 times the salary of an employee receiving the median pay at their company. And hardly a week goes by without a major company getting drawn into a contentious political debate. As consumers and employees hold companies to higher ethical standards, big brands increasingly have to defend their positions on worker pay, guns, immigration, [t]rump and more.

..."[T]he Business Roundtable did not provide specifics on how it would carry out its newly stated ideals, offering more of a mission statement than a plan of action. But the companies pledged to compensate employees fairly and provide 'important benefits,' as well as training and education. They also vowed to 'protect the environment by embracing sustainable practices across our businesses' and 'foster diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.'

"It was an explicit rebuke of the notion that the role of the corporation is to maximize profits at all costs — the philosophy that has held sway on Wall Street and in the boardroom for 50 years.

..."[W]hile the group cast the change in language as an embrace of new corporate ideals, it was also a tacit acknowledgment of the heightened pressures facing companies across the country — including many that signed the document.

"In 2017, after [trump’s...] tepid response to the violent white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Va., the chief executives of several major companies disbanded White House business advisory groups in protest. Walmart, the nation’s largest gun seller, is under pressure after a series of mass shootings, including the recent massacre at its store in El Paso. Amazon, the giant online retailer, is facing scrutiny from lawmakers who say it avoids paying taxes and uses its dominance to hurt competitors.

"And protesters have mobilized across the country to call for a higher minimum wage.

"For companies to truly make good on their lofty promises, they will need Wall Street to embrace their idealism, too. Until investors start measuring companies by their social impact instead of their quarterly returns, systemic change may prove elusive."

No one believes them, of course. But that's just the opening premise for analysis.

Admitting that you have a world-destroying, nation-collapsing, sociopathic problem with evil greed is the first step.

From there, these corporations have a range of options, which all happen to lead to the same place.

Having admitted the destructive impact of their practices, they can try to bask in noble intentions but do nothing more.

Except the same conditions which forced this recognition upon them won't allow inaction.

Right now, the presumption is that they are playing the Facebook game, putting on a concerned and responsive mask over underlying runaway lawlessness, for the purpose of patting away inclinations toward ruthlessly regulating the stuffing out of them.

The drawback of this approach has become obvious. Having acknowledged a burden of responsibility, even when they didn't really mean it, highlights the utter emptiness of their assurances and self-policing actions. "We can, and will, do better" is not an infinitely useful decoy.

So whether this Business Roundtable meant it or not, corporations are now on a path toward change.

With trump, it's a case of being careful with what they wished for, but too late. They got their massive tax windfalls. They got their grossly permissive deregulation. The American auto industry was one of the first to recognize, recently, that trump's willingness to do away with improved mileage goals completely would actually lead to ruin.

In the public's solid assessment, the corporate world is tied closely to trump and Republicons. It is profoundly interesting that the corporate world has discovered that's not a good place to be.

Just look at the fallout generated against SoulCycle and Equinox because their self-proclaimed socially conscious billionaire Stephen Ross hosted a fat fundraiser for trump.

If they continue with trump and Republicons, the country will collapse socially and economically, and the world market will gutter. Furthermore, a fascist government actually is not conducive for autonomous businesses.

If they step back from trump and Republicons, and withhold much of the business contributions to Republicon political donations, Democrats will win. (They will, anyway, in part because of the heightened understanding of the damage Republicons and the business world have done.)

Depending on which Democrat becomes the Party nominee, the corporate world will no longer be left to it's own pretenses toward improving. Biden becomes less likely as he gets hammered more and more for assuring the corporate world that, with him, "nothing will change."

A Biden presidency will set off the same social upheaval as another trump term, just somewhat delayed. Warren's ruthless policy corrections affecting the business world reflect much of what has already been admitted as necessary at this Roundtable.

At this point, if the business world tries to use pretense to stave off real change, real change will be forced. If they try to do a little bit of change but not "too much," real change will be forced.

They know. They are trying to get out in front of it. That's what this Business Roundtable fundamental philosophical change shows: the acknowledgement that real changes are coming. Profit sharing and social and environmental responsibility are better than political, economic, environmental, and social convulsion and chaos.

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thatguythatcoulddraw · 4 years

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Quarantine Q&A!

Tagged by @primasveraas <3

Are you staying home from work/school?

Yee, the VA Governor closed all schools and recreational businesses for a hot few months, so my junior year is technically done. Online schooling til hopefully just August!

If you're staying home, who's staying with you?

I'm actually hosting one of my close friends, an exchange student from Serbia, for two weeks while her main host fam's under a strict quarantine themselves! Without her here I think I'd be mad by now, I love my parents to death but god, seeing the same ANYONE everyday for weeks on end would drive me crazy!! So while she's here I'm sane, but with the exchange programs constantly changing due to Covid-19, she could be sent home any day :(

Are you a homeboy?

Nope. Don't get me wrong, I love weekends at home and spending time relaxing alone, but I'm an extrovert and get cabin fever suuuper easily, so yeah I'm dying. Send help, please, just one movie night, I beg anyone 😭😭😭😭

Any events you were looking forward to that got cancelled?

Gosh, where to begin. The W&L University Singers and my dad (the conductor)'s home performances of Considering Matthew Shepherd, my SAT's, my AP tests, prom, the Equality Gala, my opportunity to sing for a local restaurant, voice lessons, a friend's soccer game I was gonna cheer him on at, my dance recital, my choir concert, the talent show, SO. MUCH. STUFF, LIFE GOT CANCELLED ALL IN ONE DAY AND YES I AM MOTHER FREAKING SALTY!!!!!!!!

Movies/Shows you've been watching?

New Movies!

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Shrek (YES, IK, DONT @ ME XD)

Rewatched!

Knives Out

Jojo Rabbit

Frozen 2

The whole LOTR trilogy + our ultra nerdy 11+ hours of behind the scenes content Dad got cuz we all neeeeeeerdz

To Be Seen!

Parasite

Your Name

New Shows!

Schitt's Creek

Gravity Falls

Rewatched!

Sherlock

Star Wars the Clone Wars

To Be Seen!

Killing Eve (got to see ep 1, def want more!)

Music?

Lots of the same old stuff, happy Dodie songs, og Steven Universe, Six the musical and anything Broadway, anything that's upbeat and not such a downer in these downer times :)

Also lots of lofi, for studying :)))

Books?

New Reads: the Crazy Rich Asian series (1 million outta 10, its SO GOOD), Good Omens finally, Call Me By Your Name, and lots more on my ever growing reading list :)

Rereads: I want to read Red, White, and Royal Blue again, the Virals series (by Brandon and. ) which is legit my favorite book series and the greatest one out there fight me, Crier's War, and Resistance Reborn because I want to forget Rise of Skywalker happened.

My top TBRs: Bonds of Brass (GAY SCIFI/CYPERPUNK FINNPOE I LOVE IT) and The Savior's Champion fiiinally

(All of these lists also have so much AO3 fanfic on each of them but we can't get into that or we'll be here til the virus leaves)

What are you doing for self care?

Video calling friends, volunteering at my local food pantry, staying active online with internet friends while avoiding toxic or anxiety-inducing news. I've been baking a ton and trying lots of fun, weird drinks using coffee and matcha just cuz and I've found so many I'd die for. I've started working out more regularly, I drink far more water than I did during school, I pulled out sixth-grade-me's hidden MASSIVE BOX of Bath and Body Work's hand sanitizers and am slowly going thru those. Overall I'm trying not to loose myself or let myself go right now. It's hard, and my mental health is taking a lot of hits right now, but just finding one thing a day to do, no matter what it is, and doing that thing, makes me feel so, so much better. This whole thing is hard. The world is scary and downright weird right now, in a limbo between fragments of normalcy and emergency. I don't know what's gonna happen, no one does. The best we can do is keep our chins up in the face of it all, keep taking deep breaths when it gets too hard, and keep living another day, even when that seems like the worst thing you could do.

We'll all get through this, together. I know we will.

Humanity is kinda batshit crazy. Our collective single braincell by some diety survived this long.

We can survive now too.

I'm not tagging anyone bc I legit know no mutuals here who'd do this who haven't already, so hey @scifigrl47 I love your work and you are my inspiration so uh... if you wanna, try this?

Mmkk that's enough rambling today, wash ya hands and stay safe out there, mates :)

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bond-villains-are-winning · 5 years

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Is Trump Just One More BS Artist in Long Line of BS Artistes? Just Not a ‘Smooth Operator’ like his Predecessors ?

Haven’t previous Administrations, Liberal and Conservative endorsed the same National Mythologies as the Current Administration:

Supported Isreal over the Palestinians

Supported Saudi Arabia with their horrid human rights history.

Looked for regime changes in countries doing well like Yugoslavia, Iran, Chile, let alone collapsing like Venezuela.

Placed corporate execs as Department Secretaries and Ambassadors.

Ignored mass protests and petitions

Did nothing of substance about gun violence

Unwilling to describe white mass shooters as domestic terrorists.

Did nothing of substance about wage suppression

Nominated federal judges based on criteria important to One Party.

(Other than Teddy & FDR) Did nothing of substance to prevent the Rich creating recessions and bubble economies as a means of creating monopoly capitalism.

Avoided seizing Banks after a catastrophic economic collapse orchestrated by the Rich.

Allowed the rape of the Public with high prices for publically developed medicines like insulin. As well as a thousand other necessities like glasses.

Used the military for Economic Imperialism

Maintain hundreds of overseas military bases outside of Europe.

Funded unending multi-Trillion dollar expansions of naval fleets and air squadrons despite no conceivable enemy navy or air force.

Maintained Gitmo and black sites

Expanded domestic capabilities of Inteligence Services which were set up to spy on foreign adversaries

Supported and expanded unjust for profit forced labor prisons

Did nothing about the police ‘executions’ of black and brown people.

Avoided developing a humane and legal process for refugees and economic migrants (George W pushed harder than most).

Underfunded the VA and Social Security.

Developed/maintained regulations to discourage people from using the Social safety-nets

Ignored 40 other nations’ success with Universal Healthcare

Maintain ‘emolument’ setups such as unregulated “leadership funds”, non-profit “charities” or think-tanks, or book-deals, etc.

Accept massive donations from the domestic and foreign rich

Gerrymandered districts and pandered to the Voter Base

Act unilaterally to impose US policy abroad.

Rejected the authority of the UN or The Hague to censure or criticize any US action.

Treated Puerto Rico as an unloved stepchild.

Accepted that Alabama and Mississippi are 3rd world societies.

Approved fossil fuel arctic exploitation, pipelines, offshore drilling, etc.

Other GOP Admins have also exploited the “Southern Strategy” to garner votes of bigots.

What, if anything, is the Current Administration doing differently than previous administrations? Other than being more obvious, crude, callous, and cold blooded.

Is the current administration substantialy any different than previous Administrations EXCEPT less hypocritical?

And, technically, the Current Administration has not invaded or fired into countries that we have not already muscled into in the Obama, both Bushes, Clinton and Regan Administrations?

Do we object that ‘less hypocritical’ makes us, as ‘informed’ voters, ‘more culpable’? Or that the current Adminstration is more predictable and we are accordingly ‘less entertained by dramatic surprises”? Or like the Media, disappointed that we haven’t had the glorious fireworks of a new invasion?

A better world is possible. Each day, though, I’m less certain that I can see the way there. Each day, the distance we have to travel grows.

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silenthillmutual · 5 years

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okay. warning for negative bc this is kind of a vent post?

so. i’m still working on unlearning a lot of things that i had kinda drilled into my head with my mom that i did not realize were bad until recently? or things that i could not easily voice were having negative effects on me until recently. and i’m kind of thinking about how my mom is very. hhhhhhhh.

my mom does not have a life outside of work. and not like, “oh she’s very dedicated to her career” sort of way. but like, she does not believe in taking time off. and i think in the way our capitalist environment functions that always comes off sounding very admirable. it’s not.

because what that equates to is like, she works to avoid other things in her life. she says that she can’t afford to take a break or any time to herself and my best friend and i had told her repeatedly that if she really wants a relationship she is going to have to take time to devote to that which means working less if only by a little bit! and that i have told her that she should take time to herself to relax whether she had a relationship or not because it’s not healthy to obsess over work the way that she does.

and. i guess she does a bit now. i saw recently on her fb that she went to colonial beach w her boyfriend and like. good for her. but that doesn’t erase that she is constantly harping on me, even from a distance, to do like. everything all in one day. and that i should be working 40+ hours a week and that if i don’t do that, that i’m lazy.

like my mom’s version of workaholism is to view herself as the rule and not the exception, which i can see in certain contexts how that translates into “oh so she’s not full of herself” but it’s actually really the opposite! because i think it takes a special brand of narcissism to assume that everyone is and should be exactly like you and that if they are not they are failing and that is their own fault.

so, my mom has fibro, like on top of all of that and i wonder if she’d feel better if she didn’t constantly push herself into working all the time. and the truth is that she’ll look at any time i spend online regardless of what i’m doing (bc she doesn’t ever care what i’m actually doing on there, to her it’s all the same) as time wasted and an addiction to the internet. and she thinks that everyone else w fibro or w any chronic or mental illness can work exactly as much as she can because if they do anything less they’re being lazy.

and i think you can kinda see why it’s an issue for a licensed therapist to think or feel that way.

so like. i have never pursued any job that says it’s part time, under $10 an hour that wants me to work 39 hours a week (one hour from full time in the commonwealth of va), no benefits, 8 hours every day, retail, with a massive list of responsibilities. because i know that i can’t handle doing 8+ hours which is how much it’ll wind up being if they want me to open/close (taking into consideration traffic and people who just will not fucking leave), like i had to struggle to work 8 hours at a job i actually LIKED without thinking of working at fucking target or some shit for 8+ hours a day. i can’t do it. between the anxiety and the autism that sounds like something that will make me absolutely want to die and i know this because i tried that at party city for three days and came home in tears every single day and my feet hurt so bad i couldn’t move.

and my mom’s response to that was like. just deal with it! just push through it! you have to!

you’d think a therapist with a chronic illness would be more compassionate than that.

but my mom’s whole life is focused on work and i don’t even think it’s because she just loves her job that much. she just refuses to do anything outside of it. she has a dog and a cat (MY cat I adopted her she is under MY legal name and that dog is basically my dog, he was my baby) that i was under no circumstances allowed to take with me regardless of where i went or when, but that she does not...enjoy. at all. she is constantly bitching about the pets and she bought an automatic feeder and self-scooping litterbox and hired pet sitters not for the occasional trip out to her boyfriend’s but for like a regular thing because she is at home as little as possible. every single second that she can spend at work she will.

and she hated that i didn’t spend 6-8 hours at work (more counting traffic) and then want to spend all of my free time looking for a second or different job and cleaning the house and cooking all the meals and running all the errands and taking care of the pets. with no help.

and that’s part of what i mean about her working to get out of having to do other things. because she also works so much so that she can get out of eating. like. ever. her body image issues are so fucked up that she will eat one meal a day and be like “ugh i’m such a pig i’m so fat i should stop eating maybe then i’ll lose weight”. and then she’ll deny that she he has an unhealthy relationship to food and claim she just “doesn’t have time to eat” even though she apparently has time to bitch at me over facebook or henpeck her boyfriend and read 8 different versions of her horoscope in an hour + longer breaks

like i’m sorry but if i could eat in 30 minutes with my coworker calling me to panic on the other end bc everyone decides to come into the library at the same fucking time then i think maybe. just maybe. you can eat a goddamn granola bar in 2+ hours while sitting at your desk instead of saying “i should be writing notes” and not actually writing your fucking notes!

what really kinda. bothers me all about it. like in addition to all this super unhealthy stuff that makes her occupation as a therapist hypocritical as hell is how she criticizes me for doing the exact shit that she does.

by which i mean. holding other people to my standards.

i’ve worked a lot at not being judgmental of other people and challenging my own notions of what is right and acceptable when i find myself judging other people. it’s really hard. i think it’s connected a lot to being autistic and the kind of biases that we’re all brought up into and it’s why travelling and secondary education are really important, not even just because of learning aspect (although liberal arts forcing you to take classes outside of your comfort zone. i think helps a lot in this too) but because meeting people from all different kinds of backgrounds makes you look at things from different angles you wouldn’t have otherwise, because if you never leave you never broaden your horizons.

so when there are still standards that i hold people to it’s. i try to just hold people to “not being a total asshole to everyone around you” as a relatively basic standard that i don’t think should be controversial? but even when i voice that opinion - like, literally, i went to richmond cc with two friends and when i got back i was telling my mom about this guy who was very loudly, specifically so that i could hear his unsolicited opinion of my cosplay, talking about how bad/boring jojo was because he knew i was dressed as someone from jojo and he wanted me and everyone else around him to know his opinion of jojo, then went and started mocking his friend for wanting to buy a gba instead of a gameboy sp bc his friend and i both saw the mother 1+2 and mother 3 cartridges and was just being an asshole! again! and i was just complaining to her after the fact about this guy being a dick and my mom’s response, not even like an “i don’t get it but i’m sorry” first was just

“well maybe he’s autistic”

and! i’m sorry! but that! doesn’t fuckign fly with me! i said “so am i that doesn’t mean i go around being an asshole to everyone at con”

and she was like “well maybe he’s not as high-functioning as you you can’t hold everyone to your standards”

NO! NO MAYBE HE WAS BEING AN ASSHOLE BECAUSE HE’S CIS WHITE GUY AND THINKS EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW HIS OPINIONS! do you know how many fucking people go to con are autistic????? a whole shit ton of us! do you know how many poc, trans, nb, not-straight people loudly voice their opinions to make the people around them including their friends feel like shit? NONE OF THEM! NONE OF THEM! NONE OF THEM! ONLY THE CISHET WHITE GUYS WHO THINK THEY’RE TOO GOOD FOR COSPLAY FUCKING DO THAT!

and it’s so irritating! like i’m not allowed to talk about my autism EVER and even when my standards are REALLY FUCKIGN LOW i’m being too judgmental of others but she’s allowed to talk about how everyone who doesn’t work 40+ hours every week and starve themselves is fucking?? lazy????

unreal. un fuckign believable.

#nori talks #nori's adventures in moving out

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uninterruptiblepowerreviews-blog · 5 years

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The Best Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for 2019: Reviews by Wirecutter

An uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, is basically a surge protector, a battery, and a power inverter (which turns the battery’s stored energy into usable power) wrapped into one unit. The size of the battery dictates how long it can provide power, while the inverter dictates how much power it can output at any one time—often listed as volt-amps (VA) but more easily discussed as watts (W).

A small, inexpensive UPS is great for anyone that wants their home Wi-Fi and Internet to stay online during shorter power outages or brownouts. Unlike traditional phone service that works without power, Internet and digital phone service requires a broadband modem, which may have only a small battery backup—adding a UPS could provide hours of uptime in case you need to reach emergency services.

Larger UPS units with extra power and features can help keep home offices and workstations running during business hours, or for at least long enough to save work and safely shut down vulnerable equipment. If you have a lot of important data on hard drives in a desktop computer or network-attached storage, you may need a UPS so you can prevent your drives from losing data in the event of a sudden power outage. In some cases, a UPS can provide crucial backup power to home medical equipment like CPAP machines for a limited time.

But powering your home theater for a movie marathon during a storm is going to be less feasible and less affordable. If you need long-term power, the capacity to keep appliances like refrigerators plugged in, or to light up your whole house, off-grid solutions like backup generators or professionally installed battery packs are the way to go.

How we picked and tested

We started by considering 93 models from three leading companies: APC, CyberPower, and Tripp Lite. We’ve tested uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors from these companies in the past, and all the power-product companies have long histories and reputations as reliable. Since a UPS is designed to be used in an emergency, choosing from a reliable brand is crucial to avoid buyer’s remorse at the worst possible time.

To whittle down such a massive list of candidates, we considered the most important factors that go into a great UPS:

Power management: We insisted that any UPS we tested use line-interactive topology, or automatic voltage regulation (AVR), a more advanced form of power management than that used by less expensive “standby” UPS models. AVR means that when power from a wall outlet briefly dips or surges outside of a specified range, a small transformer in the UPS acts like a buffer to compensate without relying on the battery; the UPS switches to battery power only when the transformer can’t handle the variation. This reduces wear and tear on the battery during frequent brownout conditions, prolonging its overall life and providing more-reliable power to sensitive gear like hard drives. Since AVR is available without a huge price premium, it’s a sensible feature to have to get the most from a UPS in the long term.

A UPS without some type of AVR is generally referred to as a “standby” UPS. That’s because the battery is always on standby, ready to jump in anytime the voltage from the wall outlet fluctuates outside a small predetermined range. A standby UPS is fine for many applications, but the battery inside may need to be replaced sooner, and it may not correct voltage fluctuations as quickly as an AVR model. We dismissed any standby models without testing them.

Battery capacity: Most UPS batteries are small, sealed, lead-acid batteries, not so different from a car battery. That makes them much cheaper than the lithium-based batteries in smartphones and laptops, but it’s also why they’re heavier and store less energy.

Manufacturers often publish run-time ratings that outline how long a UPS can keep various wattages running. Since most ratings are based on ideal conditions, we tested our top candidates at two different loads, 50 W and 300 W, to see how they managed in real-world use. Our 50 W load was meant to simulate powering a cable modem and Wi-Fi router. Our 300 W load is closer to a full workstation, as it adds a modern desktop (around 150 W), a 27-inch monitor (88 W maximum), and network-attached storage hard drives (60 W maximum).

Since the batteries will likely start to hold less energy at the three-year mark (and may hold noticeably less energy after the five years) most models we considered have replaceable batteries to extend the life of the UPS. Prices for name-brand replacements range from $30 to $60, and the process is simple enough for a novice to complete in just a couple minutes.

Power output: While battery capacity and runtime measure how long a UPS can supply power, the power output tells you how much it can power at any one time. Most models explicitly include their output in the name or model number in volt-amperes (VA). The smallest UPS models we found with the AVR feature we require output 650 VA, more than enough to run a modem and Wi-Fi router at home. For an upgrade pick, we looked for models with at least a 1,000 VA rating. VA ratings aren’t common in most people’s lives, but they’re power ratings along the same lines as the more-familiar watts (W). For a quick estimation when shopping, you can assume that a UPS’s wattage rating will be about 60 percent of its volt-amp rating. So a UPS rated for 685 VA can probably handle about 400 W. That’s plenty to keep a cable modem (25 W), Wi-Fi router (30 W), and laptop charger (65 W) up and running for a while.

Outlets: All outlets on a home UPS provide surge protection, limiting the amount of extra voltage that could reach and potentially damage anything plugged into them. But generally only half of the outlets will be connected to the battery backup in case of an outage—and are prominently marked as such. That’s why we focused on models that had at least eight outlets total, since you’ll have only four of them in a power outage. In most home offices, this shouldn’t cause a problem, but it does require some planning in terms of making sure the right things are plugged into the right outlets.

Power Quality: For each model we tested, we looked at the power output using a digital oscilloscope provided by Bitscope. This let us see how well the inverters in each UPS converted the DC energy stored into the battery into the AC power provided by the outlets. Specifically, the oscilloscope let us look at two aspects of power quality: which models introduced the least amount of electrical noise into the line, and how well the modified sine wave inverter in each model imitated the kind of power that comes out of a standard wall outlet. For our upgrade pick, we also required a pure sine wave inverter (see the next item).

Pure sine wave power: A modified sine wave (MSW) inverter turns the DC power stored in the battery into the AC power you need coming out of the outlets. Because MSW inverters are less expensive to make and work well for most devices, they’re the the most common type of inverter used in UPS units (including our top pick). But MSW inverters create only a close approximation of the kind of AC power that comes out of a wall outlet—it’s not quite the same. Most gadgets that charge with a power brick (including smartphones, tablets, and laptops) won’t care much, since the power brick does extra conversion anyway. But anything expecting AC power for moving parts like motors won’t work normally on an MSW inverter, and audio equipment can pick up buzzes of interference from them. And some home medical devices just won’t work with MSW power. In any of those cases, you need pure sine wave (PSW) inverters instead.

Pure sine wave inverters, and the UPS models that use them, replicate the smooth wave of power that comes from a wall outlet powered by a utility company. These inverters are more expensive to make and thus less common when it comes to inexpensive or occasional-use power sources. We’ve come across multiple online discussions discussing how to provide backup power for CPAP machines and whether MSW or PSW were better. We reached out to ResMed, makers of a variety of home respiratory care devices, to find out what they recommend. Amy Cook, the company’s marketing director, told us that many of the company’s newer products have power converters or even lithium-ion battery backups available. But if you plan on using a different power source, “older-generation PAPs (S8 and earlier) that are using modified sine wave inverters cannot power their respective humidifiers.” Given the importance, not to mention cost, of equipment like CPAP machines, we’d recommend you opt for a battery backup made by the same manufacturer, if available. If not, we prefer to stick to PSW inverters—like the one included in our upgrade pick—to avoid any problems.

Extra features: A basic UPS doesn’t need a lot of features to do its job, but other features we considered include status displays that show battery charge and remaining runtime right on the unit and power-management software that lets you monitor and manage a UPS (over USB) from your computer. Neither feature is crucial for a UPS in most homes—the power goes out and you know you have limited network or computer time to do what you need to do. But a status display is a nice-to-have feature that can help calm power anxiety, and power management software that works on any operating system future-proofs changes in your setup so that your UPS can be just as useful years down the line as it is the first day you plug it in.

Every UPS from a reputable brand comes with some basic surge protection built in, which is good because you can’t plug your UPS into a surge protector or plug a surge protector into a UPS. Unfortunately, most affordable UPS units don��t offer much protection compared with a dedicated surge protector. In previous tests, electrical engineer Lee Johnson took apart our UPS samples to examine their guts. Based on his assessment, we found that our picks should protect your equipment about as well, if not for as long, as basic surge protectors we’ve tested before.

Our pick: CyberPower CP685AVR

Our pick

The CyberPower CP685AVR is our first choice for anyone who wants a UPS to keep their home network and modem online during short blackouts. Unlike competitors at similar prices, the CP685AVR can compensate for quick voltage sags and surges without switching to battery, which helps prolong the life of the battery and provide more-reliable power. The four battery-backed outlets can keep basic home networking gear running for about an hour, and all eight outlets have basic surge protection to fit plenty of equipment day to day. No setup is required for the UPS to do its job, but anyone who wants to monitor power consumption or manage shutdown settings can do so over USB with a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer—the closest competitors offer software only for Windows.

Most people are looking for a UPS to solve one of three problems in a blackout: powering a digital-phone modem for contacting emergency services and loved ones, preventing damage to something that needs to be properly shut down, or passing the time until the electricity comes back. The CP685AVR can keep a combination of a common broadband modem and Wi-Fi router (about 50 W) on for about an hour. The runtime decreases if you add devices to the other two battery-backed outlets. Even though power outages have increased in some parts of the US in recent years, they tend not to last too long (PDF), so a basic UPS should get you by in even the most unreliable regions.

When a UPS battery kicks in during a power outage, it offers better value the longer it can last.

The “AVR” in the model name CP685AVR stands for Automatic Voltage Regulation, one of the power-management features we required. Many inexpensive UPS models don’t include this option, leaving out the transformer and instead functioning as “standby” backups that can only switch to battery. Even APC, a leading competitor, doesn’t offer AVR in any models available for a similar price. The closest competitor that does is the Tripp Lite AVR650UM, which we tested our top pick against.

When a UPS battery does kick in during a power outage, it offers better value the longer it can last. When we tested the CP685AVR with a 50 W load meant to mimic the power requirements of a broadband modem and home Wi-Fi router, it lasted 57 minutes before shutting down. The Tripp Lite AVR 650UM managed only 38 minutes in the same test. Given the similar prices, that’s a lot more value packed into the CyberPower model.

The CyberPower CP685AVR and competing Tripp Lite models have similar maximum outputs, 390 W and 325 W, respectively. There are other similarities, too. They’re nearly identical in size, each with eight outlets. Though all eight outlets offer surge protection, only four on either model are backed up by battery power during a blackout. That’s a common arrangement, and the outlets are clearly marked, so you just have to make sure that your most important gear gets plugged into the right outlets.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

Modified sine wave inverters, like the one in the CP685AVR, provide power that mostly works the same as power from a wall outlet but looks very different when examined.

The modified sine wave of the Tripp Lite TLAVR650UM.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

Modified sine wave inverters, like the one in the CP685AVR, provide power that mostly works the same as power from a wall outlet but looks very different when examined.

None of the keep-your-network-up models we tested, including our top pick, do a particularly great job of imitating pure sine waves with their MSW inverters, though the CyberPower waveform looked closer to what we’ve come to expect when examining many MSW inverters on an oscilloscope. If you think you might fall prey to the side effects of MSW, check out our upgrade pick below, which produces PSW power instead.

There’s no status display on the CP685AVR, but it’s rare to find a UPS in this price range that has one along with the other features we think are crucial, including AVR and a long runtime. The only feedback you’ll get when the power goes out is a double beep every 30 seconds, and a more-continuous alarm when you have less than five minutes of power remaining. But if your UPS is going to live near a computer, you can see more detail by connecting to it via USB and downloading the free CyberPower Power Panel application. You can use this software to see the battery’s charge and the UPS status, monitor power consumption, change the alarm settings, and even customize certain events like having your computer safely shut down automatically when the power goes out. CyberPower, TrippLite, and APC all offer this type of software for Windows computers, but only CyberPower offers a Mac version.

CyberPower’s AVR Series has user reviews dating back almost 10 years. Although we’ve become wary of user-review averages for some product categories, most users have found the CyberPower offering to be a solid UPS, which is about what you’d expect for a utilitarian device. All three companies we considered for this category—CyberPower, APC, and TrippLite—offer a three-year warranty on any UPS.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The CyberPower CP685AVR is a simple UPS that focuses on providing power at a good price, but that means giving up some conveniences. In particular, it has only one button, which turns the unit on or off. That means there’s no way to mute the alarm that chirps when power goes off unless you attach it to a computer and use the free Power Panel application. Without a way to quiet it, the CP685AVR will chirp every 30 seconds when it’s providing power during an outage. It’s annoying, but a common design for basic UPS models like this one.

Runner-up: CyberPower CP800AVR

Runner-up

If our top pick is out of stock and you don’t need (or want to pay for) the extra output or pure sine wave power that sets our upgrade pick apart, get the CyberPower CP800AVR. It’s nearly identical to the CP685AVR, our top pick: It has the same automatic voltage regulation (AVR) power management we like, similar one-hour runtime when powering a modem and router during an outage, and even the same dimensions and design. The only difference is that the CP800AVR can deliver about 15 percent more power at any given moment during a blackout, which isn’t enough to make a huge difference in how you’d use it.

Since the CP800AVR uses the same size battery as our top pick, it’s no surprise that it lasted about as long in our testing. When fully charged, the UPS powered a 50 W load (similar to what you might need to power a broadband modem and Wi-Fi router) for an hour. As you plug in additional power-hungry equipment, that runtime will go down—all the way to just three minutes (PDF) when fully loaded.

For the CP800AVR, a full load is 450 W, compared to 390 W for our top pick. That’s a small difference, especially since ideal setups will only use half that maximum to help maintain battery life in the long run. That brings the 60 W difference down to a real-world difference of just 30 W—less than what most laptop chargers use. If you need more power during an outage, you’re better off with our upgrade pick, which is rated for 600 W and adds additional benefits like pure sine wave power, extra outlets, and a status display.

The CP800AVR shares the same design and outlets (eight, four with battery backup) as our top pick, the CP685AVR. It also similarly lacks a status display to monitor the battery level, but you can use the CyberPower Power Panel application on a Windows, Mac, or Linux PC connected via USB to monitor the UPS and make minor tweaks like silencing the alarm.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

The CP800AVR uses a modified sine wave inverter to turn the DC power in the battery to a rough approximation of standard AC power.

The APC BR700G is a modified sine wave inverter as well, though it does a better job at smoothing out its peaks and valleys.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

The CP800AVR uses a modified sine wave inverter to turn the DC power in the battery to a rough approximation of standard AC power.

As was the case with all of the more-affordable UPS models, our runner-up uses a modified sine wave inverter that will work fine for most electronics with a power brick—including phone chargers, laptops, routers, and modems—but may cause problems for sensitive electronics like audio gear or home medical equipment. When we showed the waveforms recorded from our two top picks to Lee Johnson, an electrical engineer with whom we frequently collaborate, he noted slight differences in the two and suggested that the CP800AVR may have some sort of extra filter before the outlet. But Johnson agreed that there’s no evidence that the slight difference would have an impact on most devices. If you’re concerned about that, you need a pure sine wave inverter like the one inside our upgrade pick.

Upgrade pick: CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD

Upgrade pick

If you need more power, more outlets, or to power sensitive electronics like audio or home medical equipment in a blackout, the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD is the best choice. It costs around twice the price of our top pick, but it can keep a desktop computer setup running long enough to shut down safely, includes an upgrade to pure sine wave (PSW) power, adds an LCD status display to the front and two more outlets to the back, and has an output roughly 50 percent higher when the power goes out. The battery is roughly the same size as our top pick’s, though, so it won’t last much longer when powering the same devices.

Like our top pick, and any of the pure sine wave models we considered, the CP1000PFCLCD uses automatic voltage regulation (AVR). By putting less wear and tear on the battery, AVR should help to extend the overall life. And when it is time for a replacement, name-brand batteries cost around $35 and take a few minutes to swap in without any tools.

The CP1000PFCLCD is smaller than many workstation UPS units, which means that its battery is smaller than what you get with some competitors and won’t keep you running much longer than our top pick given the same load—a 50 W router and modem combo should last around an hour. And while it can handle a desktop computer, display, and a few accessories, in our tests, it could power a 300 W load for only about eight minutes. That’s enough time to shut down computers and hard drives safely, but definitely not enough to keep you working through a bad storm. (The APC BR1000MS, which sells for a similar price, has a larger battery inside and is rated to last around 50 percent longer than our pick, but an annoying flaw kept us from recommending it.) In contrast, the largest CyberPower UPS in this line is rated for nearly twice the runtime of our pick, but at over $200, we’re not convinced it’s a good value or a necessity for most people. With 300 W of gear plugged in, the larger unit is rated to last only 19 minutes, 10 minutes longer than our pick’s rating. My own survey of popular CPAP machines showed that most use between 30 W and 100 W, depending on the settings. That’s a big range, but a CPAP in the middle of it would likely last around 45 minutes connected to our upgrade pick.

The more gear you have plugged in, the less runtime the battery will provide. The CP1000PFCLCD is rated to put out 600 W at any one time, but we never recommend running a UPS at a full load. Not only do you risk overloading it—causing the UPS to shut down, trip its breaker, or in severe cases damage it—but larger loads will wear out the overall battery life faster. Besides, if you put 600 W of gear on this model, the battery would conk out after just three or four minutes.

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