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oreolesbian · 9 months

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right but a lot of the criticism i’ve seen of oppenheimer isn’t that the movie oppenheimer isn’t about the victims but that a movie about oppenheimer & not the victims is what got made

I have definitely seen both of those criticisms. And while there’s merit to ask for films about the victims of the atomic bombings - that’s just the thing. There are films about the victims of the bombs. Many, many films (not to say there can’t be more made today - but to act like this narrative has never been addressed is false). Several of them Japanese films - which I would argue is the crucial POV for comprehending a tragedy that happened in Japan. An American film made by American people is not really the film to be evaluating how the Japanese experienced the atomic bombs. Does that mean a film can’t be made by Americans? Of course not. But one would hope there would be voices consulted and researched.

But to say that there can’t be a film about the man who directly led to the tragedy itself is a bad faith argument. There’s absolutely no reason both stories can’t be told. What would be a mistake would be if Oppenheimer was this big grand-standing story that made everyone who created the bomb look like a hero - the thing people are accusing this film of being. But that’s not what the film is. It’s a character study on a very complex historical figure. It is not glorifying him or the tragedy or the war. And it directly not showing the repercussions on others is both the point and lets the film escape any exploitativeness.

I’m not claiming to be an expert on this entire historical event, but it is very clear to me that saying this film shouldn’t exist is not even trying to engage with the text. Two things can exist. If people feel so strongly about having a narrative on both ends, then they should be talking about films that do talk about the bombings impact, not saying this one film is somehow taking away from the other conversation.

Nolan is not making a story about the victims, and he never claimed to be doing so. He does not have to tell that story either, especially when he probably isn’t the right person to do so.

If anything, the people asking about a film directly about the victims in Los Alamos is a better argument. There is definitely a story to be told there and I would encourage one to be told. However, just because that’s not what Oppenheimer is about doesn’t mean it is somehow morally corrupt or a bad film for that reason. Historical films are easily picked apart because they can always address more, and there are some historical films that get facts wrong in a genuine needs-to-be-fact-checked way, sometimes with intent to avoid controversy and other times to contribute to a narrative being shaped. But it’s also relevant to acknowledge that the focus of Oppenheimer is not the bomb. Or its impacts. Critique the film on its historical shortcomings if need be (I wouldn’t be the person to know all of that in detail), that’s all well and dandy. But this film on its own is a very focused lens idea, not the broad one.

Anyway:

• Hiroshima (1953) dir. Hideo Sekigawa

• Black Rain (1989) dir. Shôhei Imamura

• Barefoot Gen (1983) dir. Mori Masaki (I believe the original manga has many adaptations, but this was the first)

• Rhapsody in August (1991) dir. Akira Kurosawa

• Children of Hiroshima (1952) dir. Kaneto Shindō

• Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) dir. Alain Resnais

and common misconception that Grave of the Fireflies (1988) dir. Isao Takahata is about the atomic bombings - it’s more about the overall carpet bombings and the toll of WWII in general

hell - the entire kaiju genre is birthed from the artistic response to the atomic bombings : Godzilla (1954) dir. Ishirō Honda

^ these are just some I’ve heard of through my own knowledge / looking some up. can’t attest to their quality - but films like this do exist

#oppenheimer #asks #anon #film stuff #media literacy

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hauntedmoors · 7 months

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wot s2 final episode today and I'm so glad that the last episode was bad enough to cure me of illness about episodes 5&6

the way people responded to siuan's treatment with fierce defence (of the show) and insisted that her treatment was canonically accurate was so vile and frankly very annoying. multiple users were manufacturing posts that gained a lot of traction saying it was completely in character for her when no, it really wasn't, and they were ignoring her purpose in the narrative to shoehorn her character into stupid and irrelevant stereotypes about her belief in the aes sedai etc especially when in this half of the series you're playing her off against elaida and the black ajah not egwene. I also think lots of assumptions about how the show is doing Everything Right or Capable of Doing Everything Right is a frankly irritating position to occupy when you're trying to analyse media. I'm not interested in engaging with such commentary or such fandom spaces. every paranoid shoehorning of criticism into bookcloak rhetoric is kind of stupid actually. and maybe it says something that lots of people were also lacking in confidence about the position they occupied on the compulsion scene because they were simultaneously calling it a tragedy and trying to rationalise it by subscribing to the compulsion theory. lol. on the other hand people were complaining about others bestowing harsh criticism on compulsion!siuan and not doing the same for rand and moiraine just because they were working with a forsaken. like. that already canonically happened in the books 👍 L + ratio + moiraine was aware that rand was working with asmodean even if he never admitted it and trusted him to do his best + asmodean and moghedien didn’t go through all of that for you to dismiss them so flippantly.

"trust the showrunners" is also one of those insane pieces of advice that seems to be floating around a lot that mean absolutely nothing to me. I don't "trust" any writer. I didn't even trust RJ to do a lot of things right. I analyse something for the merit that it has and if anything I've been frankly very generous with the show because it's not very good, and I say that because the mere quality of the dialogue is very poor a lot of the time, and not necessarily because I don't think it's a bad adaptation (although so far it's brought nothing to the table that the books haven't and it instead handles a lot of themes a lot worse when it bothers to remember those Themes).

all this to say I've been very quiet about the show these past few days because of some of the absurd arguments on my dash. in fact, a refusal to engage with complex motivations of the characters (especially where characters like galad are concerned) are basically what made me stop posting a lot about the books for a couple months or so, and there's nothing that can kill the enthusiasm to engage with the text harder than to be involved in fandom spaces that can't tolerate nuance or criticism of the show. I don't really intend to wot post often after this, and really I think I lingered so long only because I read the books at a time when I was just really vulnerable and needed the escapism or something but I'm no longer mentally ill and thank god for that. and the beautiful wot mutuals that I have you guys did nothing wrong.

anyway! at least we have lanfear played by natasha o'keefe.

#text

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all-seeing-ifer · 2 years

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putting together that list of good queer Jo March posts naturally got me thinking about lw 2019 again and. ok, this isn’t going to be a Me Making Smart Points Post as much as just me indulging in my favourite activity of trying to articulate my own tastes to myself so don’t expect me to say anything particularly coherent. basically i’ve just been mulling over lw 2019 and the ok! revival and why it is that these two things in particularly resonated with me On An Aro Level in a way that most media never does. and I think it really is just that like. they’re both adaptations/retellings of texts that have these very capital T Traditional Happy Endings where the happy ending is marriage and all the men and women must be paired up, and both these new versions are, in some sense, engaging with that aspect very directly. and also, importantly to me, they both end up treating that aspect of their source material in the most cynical way imaginable lmao. it’s just that they end up still being wildly different approaches bc in lw 2019 this manifests as the film very firmly taking the stance of “this whole ideal is complete bullshit and you should just do whatever” whereas the ok revival engages with it through this mildly pretentious tragic horror-infused The Narrative Is A Prison From Which You Cannot Escape approach which. i mean it’s obviously way less hopeful (like love and light to daniel fish but maybe it’s a good thing I never got into the revival back in 2019 when it went vaguely mainstream i do not think i was in a place in my life where it would have done productive things to my psyche), BUT it does also manage to be deranged in a way which appeals to my current Tragedy Enjoyer Girlie sensibilities.

#also like. obligatory disclaimer that both works have a lot more going on than just #being about heteronormativity/amatonormativity #and in both cases i think it's dubious how much of that commentary is even intentional #HOWEVER it is still. an aspect of both that is worth discussing and idk i feel like it ties into their broader themes in many ways #also here's a realisation i had today #i rlly do think the reason sexy oklahoma has ended up attracting a queer audience #aside from the bi vibes of it all #is that daniel fish realised two important things #1) oklahoma is truly the original Are The Straights Ok musical #and 2) within the context of oklahoma the answer to that question is a resounding NO #oh and also i gotta talk about this stuff instead of the broader themes.#if i were to talk about like. retributive justice in ok19 that would require me to say a lot of words about jud #and that would require me to abandon what little remains of my dignity #peace and love <3 #ifer rambles #and i really do mean rambles this time

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ucflibrary · 5 years

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Every October UCF celebrates Diversity Week. This year’s dates are October 14 - 18, and the theme is Empowering Equity. University-wide departments and groups champion the breadth and culture within the UCF community, and work to increase acceptance and inclusion for everyone at UCF and the surrounding communities.

One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now and where we will be heading in future.

UCF Libraries will be offering a full slate of Diversity Week activities. To learn about the upcoming events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

Join the UCF Libraries as we celebrate diverse voices and subjects with these suggestions. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured UCF Celebrates Diversity titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These 12 books plus many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of two elevators.

And thank you to every Knight who works to help others feel accepted and included at UCF!

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A shame-free plan for embracing and achieving your goals by Rachel Hollis In Girl, Stop Apologizing, Rachel Hollis sounds a wake-up call. She knows that many women have been taught to define themselves in light of other people—whether as wife, mother, daughter, or employee—instead of learning how to own who they are and what they want. With a challenge to women everywhere to stop talking themselves out of their dreams, Hollis identifies the excuses to let go of, the behaviors to adopt, and the skills to acquire on the path to growth, confidence, and believing in yourself. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time. California’s Newport Beach is her family’s latest perch, and she’s determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name—Cindy. It’s the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even puka shell necklaces, pool parties, and flying fish can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home. Suggested by Cindy Dancel, Research & Information Services

Lean in: women, work, and the will to lead by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell Lean In continues the conversation around women in the workplace, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. Suggested by Katy Miller, Research, Education & Engagement

Out of Many Faiths: religious diversity and the American promise by Eboo Patel In this inspiring and thought-provoking book, Patel draws on his personal experience as a Muslim in America to examine broader questions about the importance of religious diversity in the cultural, political, and economic life of the nation. He explores how religious language has given the United States some of its most enduring symbols and inspired many of its most vital civic institutions―and demonstrates how the genius of the American experiment lies in its empowerment of people of all creeds, ethnicities, and convictions. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. Suggested by Cindy Dancel, Research & Information Services

Reclaiming the Black Past: the use and misuse of African American history in the twenty-first century by Pero Gaglo Dagbovie In this wide-reaching and timely book, Pero Gaglo Dagbovie argues that public knowledge and understanding of black history, including its historical icons, has been shaped by institutions and individuals outside academic ivory towers. Drawing on a range of compelling examples, Dagbovie explores how, in the twenty-first century, African American history is regarded, depicted, and juggled by diverse and contesting interpreters—from museum curators to filmmakers, entertainers, politicians, journalists, and bloggers. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

Savage Feast: three generations, two continents, and a dinner table (a memoir with recipes) by Boris Fishman The acclaimed author of A Replacement Life shifts between heartbreak and humor in this gorgeously told, recipe-filled memoir. A family story, an immigrant story, a love story, and an epic meal, Savage Feast explores the challenges of navigating two cultures from an unusual angle. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Text Me When You Get Home: the evolution and triumph of modern female friendship by Kayleen Schaefer From Broad City to Big Little Lies to what women say about their own best friends, the stories we're telling about female friendship have changed. What used to be written off as infighting between mean girls or disposable relationships that would be tossed as soon as a guy came along are no longer described like that. Now, we're lifting up our female friendships to the same level as our other important relationships, saying they matter just as much as the bonds we have with our romantic partners, children, parents, or siblings. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

The Best We Could Do: an illustrated memoir by Thi Bui This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

The Moment of Lift: how empowering women changes the world by Melinda Gates In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she’s learned from the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book―to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.” Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention―from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world―and ourselves. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

Tinderbox: the untold story of the up stairs lounge fire and the rise of gay liberation by Robert W. Fieseler Buried for decades, the Up Stairs Lounge tragedy has only recently emerged as a catalyzing event of the gay liberation movement. In revelatory detail, Robert W. Fieseler chronicles the tragic event that claimed the lives of thirty-one men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on unprecedented access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates an indelible portrait of a closeted, blue- collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community. The aftermath was no less traumatic―families ashamed to claim loved ones, the Catholic Church refusing proper burial rights, the city impervious to the survivors’ needs―revealing a world of toxic prejudice that thrived well past Stonewall. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

Womanish: a grown black woman speaks on love and life by Kim McLarin Searing in its emotional honesty, Womanish is an essay collection that explores what it means to be a black woman in today’s turbulent times. Writing with candor, wit and vulnerability on topics including dating after divorce, depression, parenting older children, the Obama’s, and the often fraught relations between white and black women, McLarin unveils herself at the crossroads of being black, female and middle-aged, and, ultimately, American. Powerful and timely, Womanish draws upon a lifetime of experiences to paint a portrait of a black woman trying to come to terms with the world around her, and of a society trying to come to terms with black women. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

#featured bookshelf #ucflibrary #ucf celebrates diversity #booklr #suggested reading

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technology-and-ethics · 3 years

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Has social media hurt the development of politics? Or did it bring people closer to politics? - Could both be true?

The debate about social media and politics boils down to this simple question that does not have a simple answer. For example, can we blame social media for the rise of right-wing politics? Can we praise social media for bringing attention to movements like #blacklivesmatter, #metoo and the Hong Kong protests? Is it possible to do both? Praise and Blame? Every innovation does have negative effects.

I think that social media has brought me closer to politics as I was not really interested in politics until I started reading a lot about things that happened around the world on social media. Most of the posts were centered around American politics since a lot of American activism happens on social media. I saw how biased news stations can be especially when telling the stories of minorities. I read about things that were not important enough to mention on the TV news stations or local newspapers in the town I live in. Social media made me gain interest in politics because I also felt like on social media there were people from the same background as me debating about politics. Maybe that is why I became more invested in American politics, too. I found politicians like AOC, who in a way has the same background as me – she is from an immigrant and working class family. Not a lot of the politicians, who have higher authority in Germany have such a background. It is hard to accumulate an interest in politics when there is no representation for you.

It seems that a problem politics on social media has caused some people to be “worn out” as the article by Anderson and Auxier suggests. Social media can be draining we all experience that when we spend too much time on social media especially around negative or stressful posts. While I believe that social media bring people closer to politics I also believe it is more hurtful. Since you can put away newspapers, close/change stations or programs on the TV and Radio you cannot escape social media posts that easy because even if yourself do not choose to see something, someone in your friend list might, the explore page might put it to the forefront because it is popular, it might come up in an add etc. It is more connected and does not focus on your own interests. “Some 55% of adult social media users say they feel ‘worn out’ by how many political posts and discussions they see on social media […]” (Anderson and Auxier). What I find worse is that: “At the same time, users are less ambivalent about seeing these types of posts today than in the past. Today, 29% of social media users say they don’t feel strongly one way or another about encountering political discussions […]” (Anderson and Auxier). People have become too used to political posts on social media and they begin to become indifferent. Even the political discourse that people were able to have and drew people to social media is now no way near as positively seen: “Americans who use social media sites are also more likely today than in 2016 to describe the political discourse on these platforms in negative terms. Seven-in-ten now say they find it ‘stressful and frustrating’ to talk about politics on social media with people they disagree with [...]” (Anderson and Auxier). Social media might have brought people closer to politics at first but now the opposite is the case. It seems to put off people and make them more indifferent.

Could we consider this as “social media hurting the development of politics”? Maybe in a way but we cannot only blame social media for making people feel indifferent. Social Media is not the only platform to give us political news but since we spend so much more time on social media it might speed this process up. In the article “What Makes People Stop Caring?” written for the BBC the author Wen introduces a study series from Sweden, which shows that “we not only become numb to the significance of increasing numbers, but our compassion can actually fade or collapse overall as numbers increase” (Tiffanie Wen). She clarifies further: “[i]n fact, Slovic’s research suggests that as statistical numbers associated with a tragedy get larger and larger, we become desensitised and have less of an emotional response to them. This in turn leaves us less likely to take the kind of action needed to stop genocides, send aid after natural disasters or pass legislation to fight global warming” (Tiffanie Wen). So the more we see on social media the less we care or keep it in mind.

The European commission’s report about Technology and Democracy names four pressure points of democracy that social media can negatively influence in the future if nothing is done. These four pressure points have the potential to hurt the development of social media or have already done some damage. The first pressure the report names is “attention economy”, which simply means that our attention and engagement is the product for advertisers because of this algorithms that recommends content for example on YouTube will recommend content that is for example extremist to keep the interest of those, who search for this kind of content (“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds”). While sites like Facebook use their algorithms for “‘microtargeting’: highly personalised advertisements being directed at users based on their own personalities. If used politically, microtargeting has considerable potential to undermine democratic discourse—a foundation of democratic choice” (“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds”). Second, there is the “choice architecture” that utilizes techniques to make people share and engage as much as they can (“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds”). Third, we have “algorithmic content curation”, which means that an algorithm decides what we see, so it can either encourage discourse or stop us from seeing certain content (“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds”). It could also take problematic content to the front pages of their sites because there is more response and bury content that has less emotional effect but is informative (“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds”). At last, we have “misinformation and disinformation”, which is quite self explanatory and causes people to believe less in facts and more in emotional messages (“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds”). Now this article names pressure points that social media is pressing on and these could cause problems in the future. It does not tell us if social media has hurt the development of politics. So how can we tell if social media has hurt the development of politics already if we only have articles that speak about the future? I think this is hard to answer but I will try with something that caught my eye about some American politicians. I believe that “how strong social media can influence and hurt the development of politics in a country” depends on what kind of government you have. For example, American presidential nominees need a lot of support to have the chance of becoming president. Social media is a tool that they have to use to reach voters. If they can gain a lot of support there then they have a chance to win. Trump and before him Obama used social media for this. Furthermore, Trump already had a large fan base since he was an actor and in reality shows. There are many celebrities, who have become politicians in America like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The more your chance of election depends on your popularity or presence the more social media has the chance to influence the outcome. That is where I believe that social media can hurt the development of politics a lot. In Germany, we do not have this “popularity vote” for high positions but we have “popular vote” that we can do for parties that should represent the area we live in. As I mentioned in a last post, the party AfD is active on social media and has gained a lot of voters through their campaign on social media. So they get voted in such election and gain more and more power in the government. All the other things that were introduced in these articles could in the future make it easier for people who know how to use social media to get noticed be it negative or positive.

Anderson, Monica, and Brooke Auxier. “55% Of U.S. Social Media Users Say They Are 'Worn out' by Political Posts and Discussions.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 2 Sept. 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/19/55-of-u-s-social-media-users-say-they-are-worn-out-by-political-posts-and-discussions/. Accessed 09.03.2021.

“Social Media Influences Our Political Behaviour and Puts Pressure on Our Democracies, New Report Finds.” EU Science Hub - European Commission, 27 Oct. 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/social-media-influences-our-political-behaviour-and-puts-pressure-our-democracies-new-report-finds. Accessed 09.03.2021.

Wen, Tiffanie. “What Makes People Stop Caring?” BBC Future, BBC, 1 July 2020, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200630-what-makes-people-stop-caring. Accessed 09.03.2021.

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gadgetgirl71 · 3 years

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Top Ten Tuesday 15 December 2020

Welcome to this weeks Top Ten Tuesday. Originally created by The Broke & The Bookish, which is now hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week it features a book or literary themed category. This weeks prompt is:

Books On My Winter 2020-2021 TBR:

The Trials of Koli Rampart Trilogy Part 2 by M R Carey

The journey through M. R. Carey’s “immersive, impeccably rendered world” (Kirkus) — a world in which nature has turned against us — continues in The Trials of Koli, book two of the Rampart Trilogy.The earth wants to swallow us whole…Koli has been cast out from Mythen Rood. Behind him are his family and the safety of the known. Ahead, the embrace of the deadly forests awaits. But Koli heard a story, once. A story about lost London, where the tech of old times was so plentiful it was just lying on the streets. And if he can safely lead Ursula, Cup and Monono to this sparkling city, maybe he can save the rest of humanity, too. In a world where a journey of two miles is an odyssey, he’s going to walk two hundred. But the city is not what it once was…and around him, Ingland is facing something it hasn’t seen in three centuries: war. The Rampart Trilogy The Book of Koli, The Trials of Koli, The Fall of Koli For more from M. R. Carey, check out:The Girl With All the Gifts, Fell side, The Boy on the Bridge, Someone Like Me By the same author, writing as Mike Carey:The Devil You Know, Vicious Circle, Dead Men’s Boots, Thicker Than Water, The Naming of the Beasts

Reflect Reclaim Trilogy Book 1 by Jesse Booth & Joanna Reeder

Their romance only lasted a short few months… but that was more than 100 years ago.

Ever since his fiancé, Gemma MacLugh, was killed at the hands of a dragon shifter, vampire Leif Villers has mourned his loss. Still, a part of him never gave up on her. He could hear her voice, feel her love even through the grave, relive her memories over and over until they were stripped from him.

Now Leif has discovered the final piece to bring her back from death’s clutches. He carried her brooch, never knowing it held the key to resurrecting his love.

Too bad it’s now in the hands of the formidable kraken shifter who nearly destroyed the Shifter Academy in the recent vampire/shifter war and then slithered away, never to be seen again.

————

Across time, powerful selkie Gemma MacLugh–a magic user who can shape-shift into a seal–should have a wonderful, comfortable existence at her home in New York in 1897. But jealous sisters target her with their cruelty, making life miserable. If not for her Grandmother and her best friend and fellow selkie, Frederick, things might have been truly unbearable.

But when a mermaid seer foretells her upcoming death and opportunity arises to leave her home and travel across the country to a boarding house in Washington, she takes it.

To get away from her cruel sisters.

To escape her destiny.

But is it luck or fate’s final joke when she meets a tall, dark and handsome man by the name of Leif Villers?

Their love will challenge time and death itself, but can Leif get Gemma back? Can Gemma truly escape her fate?

**Reflect is the first book in the Reclaim Trilogy within the Shifter Academy Universe written by USA Today Bestselling Authors, Jesse Booth and Joanna Reeder**

The Dictionary of Lost Word by Pip Williams

In 1901, the word ‘Bondmaid’ was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the ‘Scriptorium’, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word ‘bondmaid’ flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it.

Friends and Strangers by J Courtney Sullivan

An insightful, hilarious, and compulsively readable novel about a complicated friendship between two women who are at two very different stages in life, from the best-selling author of Maine and Saints for All Occasions (named one of the Washington Post‘s Ten Best Books of the Year and a New York Times Critics’ Pick).

Elisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly twenty years in New York City. Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms’ Facebook group, her “influencer” sister’s Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore.

Enter Sam, a senior at the local women’s college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path she’s always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. She’s worried about student loan debt and what the future holds. In short order, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeth’s father-in-law, the true differences between the women’s lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.

A masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege in its many forms, Friends and Strangers reveals how a single year can shape the course of a life.

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

‘At first glance they’re magnificent, yet the more she looks, the more she realizes how sinister the mountains appear: raw, jagged spikes. It’s not hard to imagine, she thinks, looking out; this place somehow consuming someone, swallowing them whole.’

An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother’s recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it’s beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous – as does her brother, Isaac.

And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancée Laure has vanished without a trace, Elin’s unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

But no-one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she’s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they’re all in . . .

Book of Yeshua by Francis Chapman

The dual time-line conspiracy thriller that will make you question everything

Did you ever ponder the sheer absurdity of the story told in the New Testament? That humanity’s redemption lay in the execution of God’s only son?’

Elliot Ambrose is one of the few souls on Earth who knows the truth about Yeshua of Nazareth. His determination to expose this truth throws him into conflict with an ancient and powerful foe, who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets. Elliot must undertake a violent journey, and a war started in Judea two thousand years ago culminates in a final battle in the twenty-first century.

This dark, gripping, dual time-line conspiracy thriller will appeal to fans of Dan Brown, S. J Parris, and Raymond Khoury.

Dances & Dreams on Diamond Street by Craig Revel Horwood

An offbeat, funny and heartwarming romantic novel from the fabulous King of Strictly, Craig Revel Horwood.

Set against the colourful boho backdrop of London’s Camden in the 1990s, Craig Revel Horwood’s first novel, Dances and Dreams on Diamond Street, tells the story of an unlikely family of friends who each rent a room in a ramshackle six-bedroom, four-storey townhouse. Like any family, the residents of Diamond Street sometimes fights and often act up but when the chips are down, they’re there for each other in an instant – usually brandishing a cheap bottle of booze, and the offer of an impromptu kitchen disco.

Presided over by the wise-cracking but warm-hearted patriarch of the family, Danny Hall, a professional dancer turned choreographer, the novel follows a year in the life of the inhabitants of Diamond Street, rough diamonds one and all, as they try to achieve their dreams – with unexpected, heart-warming and sometimes hilarious results.

Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day by Captain Sir Tom Moore

Who is Captain Sir Tom Moore? You’ve seen him on the television walking the length of his garden. A frail elderly man, doing his bit at a time of crisis. But he wasn’t always like this.

From a childhood in the foothills of the Yorkshire Dales, Tom Moore grew up in a loving family, which wasn’t without its share of tragedy. It was a time of plenty and of want. When the storm clouds of the Second World War threatened, he raised his hand and, like many of his generation, joined up to fight.

His war would take him from a country he had never left to a place which would steal his heart, India, and the Far East, to which he would return many years later to view the sight he had missed first time around: the distant peak of Everest.

Captain Tom’s story is our story. It is the story of our past hundred years here in Britain. It’s a time which has seen so much change, yet when so much has stayed the same: the national spirit, the can-do attitude, the belief in doing your best for others.

The Diary of Bink Cumming Vol 3 by Bink Cummings

Must read: The Diary of Bink Cummings Vol 1 & 2 previously.

Tests, life is full of them. The world is constantly trying see how much you can take before you break. Before you’re no longer you. Before your world dissolves into nothing. How long you can preserver and overcome the endless obstacles. It’s no secret that Big and I butt heads. It’s no secret that I not only dislike my mother, I hate her, because she hates me. Can these people break me? Can they push me to the edge of insanity, ready to jump? Having moved in with Big, I was living the life I never even knew I wanted. Every day was filled with hope and love. Until it wasn’t. Until it all changed and I was forced to learn what I’m made of. It took a single day for my world to never be the same. One day to change me forever. A day of revelations. Twenty-four hours I’ll never forget…

Steamy Adult romance Warning: Contains Mature scenarios, and mass quantities of profanity. For Ages 18+

-This is not a Stand alone.

Satan’s Fury MC Box Set by L Wilder

From the New York Times and USA Today Best Seller L Wilder comes the complete Satan’s Fury MC series with this limited time offer. The boxed set will only be available through the Thanksgiving Holiday, and then it will be gone forever. Grab yours quick while you can.

Maverick- The sergeant at arms finds his silver lining.

Stitch- With this enforcer, there are no limits to his brutality, no lines drawn in the sand … until Wren.

Cotton- The president of Satan’s Fury gives in to his carnal desires.

Clutch- Sometimes closing one door, opens another.

Smokey- Chance brought them together. Circumstance tore them apart.

Big- Hacker verses hacker in the most intriguing way.

Two Bit- Where she was his weakness, he was her strength.

Diesel- He may look like the boy next door, but if you mess with someone he cares about, he’ll become your worst nightmare.

*The Satan’s Fury MC series continues with the Memphis Chapter. Be sure to check out Blaze, Shadow, and the latest addition, Riggs. All are standalone romances with no cheating and no cliffhanger.

Until next week.

#JustForFun, #Top Ten Tuesday, #TopTenTuesday, #TTT

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funkymbtifiction · 6 years

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Hello! Thank you so much for your blog. It really opened my eyes to the sensors and how capable they are- particularly the SJs. That’s what my ask to you is about…I believe I’m an ESFJ, but am not sure. I read your post about emotional abuse SFJs undergo, which I relate to…I’ve suffered from low self esteem + depression all my life. Where I have trouble relating to Fe-doms is popularity: I was never popular and was absolutely obsessed with it. I have terrible social anxiety and am very sensitive to changes in someone’s face or how they text me which indicates whether they are getting bored with me. I believe I fixated on this aspect of my life to the point where I began to “detach” from reality: forming very narcissistic daydreams to escape real life where I am amazing to others, they are in awe of me for whatever reason, etc. I began trying to analyze/determine a way to have a good life “without” people. Naturally, I try to act compassionate and polite, but there are times I’m not, and I question why I don’t feel anything towards someone’s situation. Is this normal for ESFJs in my situation?

Sensors are awesome. Just saying.

Being a Fe-dom doesn’t necessarily indicate you will be popular; but the fact that you wanted to be and felt something was missing because you weren’t does indeed indicate Fe-dominance.

Healthy F-doms are all very sensitive (to their own feelings and being aware of and considerate of others’ feelings), seek harmony / to avoid conflict, and want to be accepted for who they are. Most of them champion the right to be unique. So, wanting to be popular / liked / etc is all normal behavior for a Fe-dom.

I have terrible social anxiety and am very sensitive to changes in someone’s face or how they text me which indicates whether they are getting bored with me.

This makes sense given your social anxiety; the less secure Fe is, the more it will adopt behaviors and/or study other people’s reactions as its guideline, rather than the more secure Fe-inclination of ‘reading’ what other people want and need and figuring out how to harmonize with them. Here’s an example: the Fe-dom waitress who gets a read on everyone at the table and drops in to fill cups and fulfill the table’s needs but never interrupts (the unseen pair of hands that gets a big tip at the end of the night because they never had to ask for anything... but she was not the center of attention either) vs. the anxious Fe-dom who is more concerned with fulfilling needs than reading the people at the table, so she hovers / interrupts to ask if she can refill drinks, rather than just doing it, thus consciously bringing the attention back to herself all the time, with the result that the table may be annoyed because she ‘intruded’ on them.

So, how do you figure out how to be the former and not the latter? You use Fe to pick up on what they need and want, you do not ‘guess.’ Guessing people’s motives is your enemy; you need to catch yourself doing it and ... stop. Assume if someone IS texting you, they WANT to be texting you. Watch their face, but focus on what they are SAYING and on LISTENING and RESPONDING, rather than being distracted in trying to read them.

Here’s a common rule: people love it when other people listen, and make them feel valued / special / heard. People are starving for attention, and if you need and want it, you can get it by being someone everyone loves to talk to, because you listen to what they say, you respond to what they say, and you take a genuine interest in them. Many people only care about themselves; the people who care about others stand out, because they ask questions. If you can focus on another person, find out what they like, and ask questions to get them to talk about it with you, they will think you are wonderful -- and you will establish an actual bond with them, as opposed to a superficial interaction.

For example, you get seated at some function next to a stranger, and you find out they like to fish; now you may know nothing about fishing and care about it even less, but you could also say, “Oh really? What do you love most about it?” and then a little while later, after they tell you that they used to fish with their grandpa, who is now gone, you say, “It’s really cool that you had a special relationship with your grandpa. Do you have a favorite memory of him?”

The next time you stress over a text message maybe not sounding enough like they want to talk to you, ask them about their day. You may find out they’re in the grocery line at the store, or their tire just blew out on the freeway, or there’s nothing wrong at all.

Remember this: people get bored with people who are self-absorbed. Choose to take an interest in THEM, and they will not get bored with you; and the smart, healthy persons will respond in kind, by taking an interest in YOU.

I believe I fixated on this aspect of my life to the point where I began to “detach” from reality: forming very narcissistic daydreams to escape real life where I am amazing to others, they are in awe of me for whatever reason, etc.

This is a Fe/Ne loop. To break it, you need to re-engage Si and focus on introducing yourself to new situations and building confidence through social interactions as you put your detail-skills to work. High Si means you can remember things really well about people; you know what makes people feel good? If you run into them two weeks later and say, “Hey [insert their name, because you used Si to store it in your brain], been fishing lately? Did you buy that new tackle?” This broadcasts to them: I really did listen to you. You are worth remembering. And having them feel good will make you feel good.

I began trying to analyze/determine a way to have a good life “without” people.

I understand your desire to do this, because rejection and anxiety is painful, but as an extrovert, being alone will never make your content. You cannot cage the inner tiger; those wants and needs you have are for a reason, and if you deny them, you will cope with your loneliness in less healthy ways. Because Ti is inferior, over-using it will result in an imbalance of the sort you describe below (not caring about people and lacking compassion for them); it is also not a reliable judge of others’ behaviors. The solution is not to avoid people, but ask yourself, “What do I have to offer that will improve both our lives?”

Naturally, I try to act compassionate and polite, but there are times I’m not, and I question why I don’t feel anything towards someone’s situation. Is this normal for ESFJs in my situation?

Okay, here’s the thing.

This COULD be an inferior Ti loop, but ONLY if it means you feel nothing for anyone for prolonged periods of time, you are extremely critical of everyone and everything, and you rationalize all of your decisions. If that happens, you will have to re-engage Fe by putting yourself out there and becoming involved in projects, and with people, in order to re-activate your Fe.

OR... this could be called “being human.”

Being a feeler does not automatically mean you are compassionate and polite all of the time; that is a myth. Fe is a judging function -- it seeks external group consensus but also judges things based on their collateral damage. So, if someone does something stupid and hurtful that winds up hurting a lot of people, Fe is not going to feel sorry for someone who did that, are they? No, they are going to say, “You did it to yourself... and tragically, to everyone around you, which makes you a jackass.”

In other words, context matters. The next time you feel ‘nothing’ for someone’s situation, ask yourself what caused their situation and whether it involves a moral judgment on your part? If you tell someone not to play with fire, and they burn their hand, you’re likely to be a lot less sympathetic than if they knew nothing about fire and innocently put their hand on it.

Everyone learns to put up emotional barriers -- if you didn’t, you would curl up in a ball of feels and die. When I heard about the Texas shooting, I cried -- I was so angry, I burst into tears over a family meal. I don’t know how the people who were there feel (and don’t have to), but I was so angry that these kinds of cruel injustices happen that the floodgates that have been building for months burst. This is unusual for me. I’m usually more detached than that. I care in as much that I wish bad things did not happen -- but if I made an emotional investment in every person I meet, in every tragedy I hear about, I would be an emotional wreck and no use to anyone.

So not feeling anything for a situation doesn’t matter -- what you DO for them or about it matters. =)

- ENFP Mod

#question #esfj #mbti #submission

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shakespearesglobeblog · 7 years

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Nina Romancikova on Editing Drama

“O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew.”

Until the twentieth century, no one challenged the First Folio reading of this famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But turn to the most recent Arden edition and you’ll see “too too sallied”, or “assaulted” flesh. Look at the Folger edition and you’ll read “too, too sullied flesh”. The Norton and New Cambridge volumes both retain the familiar “too too solid”, but an actor reciting the first published text from 1603 (the so-called ‘bad’ quarto) would say something completely different: “too much griev’d and sallied flesh”. So why such a variety in one of Hamlet’s most famous speeches?

In the case of Hamlet, it’s because several versions of the text survive, all with some claim to be the most ‘authentic’ version and closest to Shakespeare’s original intention. Editors of the play face the task of deciding between textual variants, and their decisions variably provoke controversy. But editing is a complex business even when a text has a simple history. Editors modernise, add, correct and interpret, and every choice will give an editor pause.

Most editors will try to convey the meaning of a text as clearly as possible, bearing in mind the likely intentions of the author. But authorial intention is a tricky thing to establish. Mostly, we simply don’t know how Shakespeare would have liked to see his plays in print. Editors are constantly debating the intentions of early modern authors. King Lear, for instance has long been accepted to exist in two different, yet both authoritative texts: the 1608 Quarto and the 1623 Folio. The Quarto contains about 290 lines not to be found in the posthumously published Folio, but it also lacks about 100 lines that are only printed in the Folio. The Folio is usually accepted as cut and revised by Shakespeare in light of theatrical performance. However, not even this long non-challenged two-text theory escapes questioning. In 2016 Brian Vickers’ The One King Lear, the theory of Shakespeare’s agency in revising the Folio was rejected. Instead, he suggested that the cuts were probably made by the theatre company. And although Vickers’ case is a radical one, it shows the range of different approaches to editing. Should the ultimate source of authority be the text as originally composed by the writer, or the play as it actually appeared on stage? Shakespeare’s authoritative role is thus constantly being re-assessed and questioned.

That is not the case for all early modern playwrights. We have evidence that John Marston, John Webster, Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe all went to some trouble to edit their own plays and so make them available for a reading public. Webster in The White Devil (1612) and Jonson in his 1616 collected works supplied readers with stage directions to assist them in visualising the action. Marlowe’s stage directions are sometimes elaborate and descriptive, such as “Tamburlaine goes to her, & takes her away lovingly by the hand, looking wrathfully on Agidas, and says nothing”. But Marlowe is not always so informative; for instance in The Jew of Malta, when Barabas is cued to start work on his nefarious booby-trap, we’re told he “enter[s] with a hammer above, very busy”.

We can see how theatre and editorial practices are closely intertwined. Recent editions of early modern plays particularly encourage editors to present the plays as scripts for performance. Editors usually intervene when the stage direction is misleading or absent. However, the critic John Cox in Textual Performances proposes that editorially inserted stage directions can be restrictive for readers, and actually take them further from early stage practice, not closer to it. Therefore, it depends on what the editor is willing to sacrifice – the reader’s clear perception of the actions on stage or the preservation of the play’s early stage practice.

These modern editorial concerns bothered early modern dramatists too. They had questions about how the printed editions of their works should capture their inherent theatricality. Marston, especially, was anxious about the transfer of his plays from stage to page and fretted over the loss of the theatrical experience in a printed edition. In The Malcontent’s address to the reader, Marston expresses his concern “that scenes invented merely to be spoken should be enforcively published to be read”. He makes the same point in the preface to The Fawn: “Comedies are writ to be spoken, not read; remember, the life of these things consists in action”. For Marston, the published version of his plays simply couldn’t capture the theatrical experience. And yet it seems like he might have been pleased with the work of today’s editors who try to smooth over the differences between stage and page and engage the reader in drama-as-theatre, as the editors of the forthcoming Oxford Marston will be doing here at Shakespeare’s Globe on 22 July.

One version of an ideal edition, then, would strike a balance between a reconstructed text close to what was available to a sixteenth- or early seventeenth-century actor or reader, as well as one that is readily understood by a twenty-first century people, whether readers or theatre artists. The result is a text that can be engaged with, adapted, cut and analysed for contemporary purposes. Thus, as the editor George Williams claims, “every editor should be a director, whose page is his stage” – a position endorsed by many early modern drama editors. The role of the editor could certainly be enhanced and enriched by adapting some directorial traits. The result of such a combination might be an edition that offers more choice, more possibility of engagement, and a different attitude to reading, which would thereby transform passive readers into players with an imaginative input.

The Oxford Works of John Marston, currently in preparation and supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, will be the first complete critical edition of this neglected but fascinating playwright. The event, Editing in Action on 22 July is a work-in-progress, allowing the team of 14 international scholars to explore how works such as The Malcontent and The Dutch Courtesan translate into performance. The editors will ask for your feedback as they investigate particular theatrical puzzles in Marston’s comedies, satires and tragedies.

Find out more >>

#Shakespeare #William Shakespeare #Christopher Marlowe #Ben Jonson #John Webster #John Marston #Play #Plays #Editing #Workshop #The Globe #Shakespeare's Globe #London

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ciathyzareposts · 4 years

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Camelot: I Know It Sounds a Bit Bizarre

My inventory fills up as I continue with Camelot.

Since my first year of blogging, when I forced myself to win Wizardry while adhering to its implementation of permadeath, I’ve often remarked that I would never do that again. My adherence to “playing the way the developers intended” was so strict that during the remainder of the year, I quit Wizardry II, III, and IV rather than even consider backing up the save files. (I would later return to II and III and win both under more relaxed rules.) These days, I am likely to try to abide by both the developer’s original intent and my own “conduct” (limited saves), but I feel that showing and documenting the endgame are more important than questions of integrity.

Thus, there’s a certain exhilaration to the occasional PLATO game, where cheating isn’t even an option. (At least, not in most forms, though see below for a slightly unusual version.) When my character dies, I frequently have a moment of disbelief, almost like people who experience sudden tragedies report having in real life. A couple years ago, I happened to speak to a woman whose husband had fallen asleep while driving home from work and had run head-on into a truck. “I remember thinking he was just here,” she told me. “How could such a simple mistake be so irrevocable? How could there be no rewind button? No do-over?” That’s how I feel when my elf fighter gets killed by a demon. I mean, maybe not exactly, but there are analogues.

The point is, life is precious in the real world and in Camelot, so it becomes all that more meaningful when you succeed. And while death may be a constant danger in the game, it’s not at all arbitrary. When it happens to me, it’s almost always because I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. The game is actually quite good about offering multiple ways out of a situation, about not requiring you to engage enemies that you don’t want to engage. You have to be quick with your fingers, but it would be theoretically possible to explore an entire dungeon level, and collect a good percentage of its treasure, without engaging in a single combat round.

The problem is that once you decide to stand and fight, the game can be relentless. For instance, last night I wandered into a room and faced “6 imps.” I had faced imps before. They’re a demon type, but not very hard, and I was a relatively high level. Generally, when facing stacks of multiple enemies, you concentrate on killing one. Once you do, you escape the room, pray for healing, re-enter, and try to kill the next one. If you must, you can return to the town if your prayers run out.

What I didn’t know was that the 6 creatures weren’t actually imps; they were manes. That’s a tougher demon. It turns out that this game goes one better than Oubliette, which often gave you the category of monster but not the specific monster. In Camelot, the character can mis-identify the specific monster. When I hit (F)ight, I watched myself do 60% damage to one creature and then watched as the demons took their turn and pounded my health from 100% to 40% in one round. There’s no way to escape or to do anything in the middle of a combat round; that’s the point of no return. At that point, I should have immediately fled, or prayed in combat, or done anything but attack a second time, because clearly the enemies were capable of doing more than 50% damage in a single round, and I was now below 50%. But some primitive part of my mind, trained on other RPGs, forgetting temporarily that actions are irrevocable, decided that I didn’t want to waste the 60% damage I’d already achieved, and to at least try to kill one of the demons before I escaped. I hit (F)ight again, missed, and was swiftly torn apart.

Another death.

As I mentioned last time, there’s a good chance of resurrection, and Chester was resurrected. He’s been resurrected a few times now. But each one comes with a loss of score, the higher the level the higher the loss, and Chester now has a score of over -99,999. Fortunately, it caps there. Joshua Tabin (the author) insists that I’ll recover those points at higher levels, but I’m not sure he’s considering the possibility that I’ll die a few more times at those higher levels, too.

I guess Joshua felt a little bad about the game’s difficulty as I reported it in the first entry (though, as he points out, it’s only difficult if you approach it as a typical RPG instead of as Camelot specifically). Joshua and his Level 17 ogre, Drek McFeffer, joined me for a while last night on the first two levels. He ran ahead of me in the dungeon, decimating some of the rooms and alerting me where I could find lucrative treasure caches. One room on each dungeon level is designated the “stud room” and features better treasure and harder monsters than anywhere else on the same level. He helped me clear Level 1’s stud room a couple of times so I could bulk up my equipment. He also used his admin powers to insert a couple of useful items into the town’s store, and all the while he kept a steady stream of hints and tips going with the game’s chat feature. I still died twice, lest you think he made it too easy.

The author throws me some hints as I map the dungeon.

I can’t speak for the mid-game or late-game, but finding useful equipment in the early game is a joy. You have numerous equipment slots, and almost anything you find during the first 10 hours is an upgrade. I was more than three hours into the game before I even had a weapon, so finding my first short sword and then a steel sword was like hitting the real-life lottery. When I found a mithril helmet in one of the stud rooms, I had to stop myself from calling my mother with the good news. Later, it was destroyed because of a cursed item, and the pain was palpable.

Camelot does some clever things with its inventory, too. There are useful items like Palantirs, which tell you where you can find quest enemies (those you have to kill to level up), and Scrolls of Recall to whisk you back to town. The Scroll of Identify does what it suggests, but it can also be used to identify traps before you open chests, and items before you pick them up. The latter use is particularly important because some items are cursed, and in this game, cursed items break the items of the same type that you already have before replacing them. It’s a particular joy to find manuals, which increase your attributes permanently, but potions that increase them temporarily (they last a long time) are almost as good.

There are several items that let you briefly charm a monster companion. The Orb of Entrapment, for instance, seems to work on dragon types. Having one of those at your side really helps clear out a room.

A charmed firedrake follows me around.

I also like how character development is palpable. At some point, you get two attacks per round, which makes you feel like Hercules on the first level. (Although, as I learned more than once, you still can’t get cocky.) Attack and defense factors increase as you level, and it’s rewarding to go from missing 90% of the time to 70% of the time, to reversing the ratio and hitting more times than you miss.

Joshua clarified a few things from the comments on the first entry. He absolutely intended the game to be played by a single player. However, he also expected that the player would use two simultaneous logins. He built a feature where one user can “follow” another user on an automap, and I guess it was common at the time for one player to take over two terminals with two user names, playing on one, and using the automap on the other. A single player with two characters can also have them rescue and resurrect each other, at a higher chance of success than if you rely on the whims of the gods. Thus, I applied for and received a second Cyber1 account.

Playing with two terminal windows side-by-side.

I spent a number of hours mapping Level 2 and parts of Levels 3 and 4, but every time I thought I was finally badass enough to march around a level unopposed, I’d get my ass handed to me by some group of mages or demons who kill me in a single round.

Level 2 of the Camelot dungeon.

In the first entry, I noted that a number of rooms have “flavor text,” and I noticed that various rooms on Level 2 repeated those on the first level. For instance, both have rooms coated in guano, filled with statues, with soft ground, with an empty wallet, and so forth. Both have a small room with beakers and burners that seems to be a lab. Both have a room where I feel a “force of nature.” Joshua has hinted at deeper puzzles later in the game, and I wonder if they have something to do with these rooms.

If I need an alchemist’s lab later, I’ll know where to come.

Camelot is probably going to have to go on the back burner for a while. I enjoy the gameplay, but it’s taken me 16 hours to build a Level 14 character and map two and a half levels. The characters who have actually won the game are Level 60. I’ll dip into it now and then as I continue to progress with the rest of my list.

Time so far: 16 hours

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/camelot-i-know-it-sounds-a-bit-bizarre/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

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papers01-blog · 6 years

Text

Throughout the semester we've discussed how plays employ

hroughout the semester we've discussed how plays employ literary devices and that those literary devices become theatrcial conventionswhen iterpretted for the stage. THE SHAPE OF THINGS by Neil LaBute uses literary devices that include manipulation of the manner in which the words are printed on the page. In a sense, we could say they are "publishing conventions" because they are playing with the way that the play is published to convey meaning from dramatist to director, designers and actors. The two examples of this in Labute's play are

Question 6 options:

notation to denote simultaneous speech or interrupted dialogue and a lack of capitalization. Both of these serve to give the play a poppy, modern "text message" persona.

rests and spells. Both of these serve to transmit the raw, simple humanity of the characters to the audience.

symbols and motifs. Both of these help to establish meaning by linking theme to tangible, reoccuring objects in the play.

Irony. This literary motif irrors mirrors the horror of the plat's central -narrative dsevice.

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Question 7(3 points)

All of the following are themes we listed in our discussion of THE SHAPE OF THINGS by Neil LaBute except

Question 7 options:

art

sociopathy (lack of empathy)

eugenics

beauty

ethics

gender issues

realism versus naivete

intimacy and love

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Question 8(3 points)

IN THE BLOOD by Suzan-Lori Parks makes structural use of what two literary allusions?

Question 8 options:

the rest and the spell

double casting and confessions

Classical Greek Tragedy and The Scarlett Letter

diction and spectacle

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Question 9(3 points)

The birthplace of the dramatic arts, like the birthplace of all humanity, is thought to be on the continent of

Question 9 options:

Africa

Europe

North America

Asia

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Question 10(3 points)

What kind of IRONY is employed when Vivian says she is doing fine while is she is puking her guts out during treatment for her terminal cancer?

Question 10 options:

Dramatic

Socratic

Verbal

Situational

Exageration

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Question 11(3 points)

When we discuss a show's theatricality, we are talking about bridging the distance between the represented and the real with creative solutions that:

Question 11 options:

Do not pretend the distance doesn't exist and

Use that distance as on opportunity to build an additional layer of meaning into the production

Help to define and articulate THEME

Create realistic, believable stage effects

A, B, and C

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Question 03(3 points)

As we discussed in in class, the prefix META can be thought of as "about" in the sense that it makes the root word self-reflexive or self-aware. What META word relates most intimately to Aristotles concept of MIMESIS?

Question 03 options:

Metaplot becuase a plot about a plot is the ultimate imitation.

Metamorph becuase the ability to change is at the center of building character and relating stroy.

Metaphor because "the transference of ideas" between performer and audience is the basic building block of all imitation.

Metatheatre becuase its got the word "theatre" right in it!

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Question 13(3 points)

We can discuss theatre as literature, visual art, performance and entertainment. Of these, which is the most durable or the

least fleeting?

c. The Entertainment – I don’t care if I’m not engaged

d. The Literary – The performance dies; the script lives forever

Question 13 options:

The Visual Art – a great set is forever

The Performance – we remember moments, not things

The Entertainment – I don’t care if I’m not engaged

The Literary – The performance dies; the script lives forever

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Question 14(10 points)

Please match the term / person with the phrase which most closely represents its meaning or use.

Question 14 options:

best staed as an active sentence or an idea rather than a category or a word

represent abstract ideas

WORK versus PRIVILEGE

can be represented theatrically by double-casting

metaphysical poet

style of Ibsen, Strindberg that encouraged dialectic response leading to period of modernism

Russian theorist, father of montage

have thoroughly memorized the current state of affiars

important role was the representation of common audience on stage

repeated structural elements

this "arch", meaning "in front of / before the scenery" helped to to define the 19th century concept of the 4th wall

Russian theorist, father of modern acting technique

“emotional brain” is thought to home to our emotions, pleasure centers, spatial memory, long-term memory, and our sense of smell.

representation, a species of imitation from which we derive pleasure

director know for "Epic" work

distance that the audience crosses when they learn or infer the connection between representation and reality

1.theme

2.motif

3.symbol

4.proscenium

5.mimesis

6.Realism

7.Sergei Eisenstein

8.Constantin Stanislavski

9.Bertolt Brecht

10.experts

11.willing suspension of disbeleif

03.cycles of abuse or marginalization

13.Greek Chorus

14.Donne

15.limbic system

16.central contemporary political dialectic

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Question 15(2 points)

In the following quotation, Tenesse Williams is writing in support of Realism.

Being a "memory play," The Glass Menagerie can be presented with unusual freedom of convention. Because of its considerable delicate or tenuous material, atmospheric touches and subtleties of direction play a particularly important part. Expressionism and all other unconventional techniques in drama have only one valid aim, and that is a closer approach to truth. When a play employs unconventional techniques, it is not, or certainly shouldn't be, trying to escape its responsibility of dealing with reality, or interpreting experience, but is actually or should be attempting to find a closer approach, a more penetrating and vivid expression of things as they are. The straight realistic play with its genuine Frigidaire and authentic ice-cubes, its characters who speak exactly as its audience speaks, corresponds to the academic landscape and has the same virtue of a photographic likeness. Everyone should know nowadays the unimportance of the photographic in art: that truth, life, or reality is an organic thing which the poetic imagination can represent or suggest, in essence, only through transformation, through changing into other forms than those which were merely present in appearance.

This quote proves that, in the dilalectic between Naturalism and Theatricalism, Tennessee Williams clearly supports a realistic, "slice of life" aesthetic, when it comes to embracing the distance.

Question 15 options:

True

False

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Question 16(3 points)

Our style or aesthetic, as theatre artists, is often born of the solutions we find for specific problems faced in production. All of these are problems discussed in class except:

Question 16 options:

a. The problem of the inciting incident, the disruption of the initial stasis.

b. Structural/Critical problems like representing a conservative, "slipery slope" paradigm through a production of THE GOAT...

c. The need to provide a healthy return for investors and keep the production fiscally solvent.

d. The basic mimetic problem – how do I represent a reality on stage in such a manner that the audience will say, “Aha, so that is supposed to be that!”

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Question 17(3 points)

According to our THE GOAT by Edward Albee archive, every part of the play's title has thematic relevance, except:

Question 17 options:

THE GOAT

The main title is not meaningful. Albee himself says Sylvia is not a metaphor; she is just a goat.

OR WHO IS SYLVIA

The alternate title, although easily interpreted

Generally, as a reference to the two-part title's of Shakespeare and the Restoration and

Specifically, as a reference to Proteus in TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA,

does not address the plays central themes and is only meant to be meaningless, droll wit, much like the banter between Martin and Stevie in the first scene.

NOTES TOWARD A DEFINITION OF TRAGEDY

The play's subtitle is clearly a theatrical hedge, meant to deemphasize any symbolist efforts to parse Albee's text.

None of the above. Every part of evert title, no matter how long or short, is deeply meaningful - in terms of themes, aesthetics and narrative.

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Question 18(3 points)

In Father Flynn's Scene 6 sermon, which provides the best possible suggestion of the sermon's central theme and the related theme in the play?

Question 18 options:

Sermon: feathers

Play: life's variability

Sermon: gossip

Play: the dangers of easy beleif, certainty and a "mob mentality"

Sermon: women

Play: gender

Sermon: jailable offenses

Play: retribution

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Question 19(3 points)

All of the following are reasons that Sister Aloysius doesn't trust Father Flynn, except:

Question 19 options:

his pens

the subject matter of his sermons

the way he takes his tea

his adoration for old cars, especially since the parish provides him with "the brown Dodge"

his nails

the time he spends wih certain students

his secular Christmas music

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Question 20(3 points)

Is Father Flynn guilty?

Question 20 options:

Yes

The point is that we do not know. The question cannot be, "Is he guilty;" rather, it must be, "Is Sister Aloysiuis right to act?"

#semester

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thinktosee · 6 years

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“THE BUILT-IN TRAGEDY OF BEING IN LOVE: KEN URBAN’S THE REMAINS”

Ken Urban. Image courtesy www.studiotheatre.org

Foreword by David’s father

Today’s post is a re-blog of a review piece by Adrien-Alice Hansel. It touches on Dr. Ken Urban’s latest theatrical production. I have recently been communicating with Dr. Urban. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Theater Arts at MIT. He was referred to me by Michael Levin of BusinessGhost Inc. I wanted to bring to Dr. Urban’s attention about David’s life, including his award-winning theatrical script, “PIETY.” He mentioned that he is in the midst of a major theatrical play and that he’d review my request when convenient. I was curious about this play he mentioned. He kindly emailed me the link to the website.

This is a story which I am very sure David Singh would have loved, appreciated and empathized. And he would just go on talking about it forever, as was his custom in things theatre and literature. In things which bring art to life, and life to art.

So here we are with Ms Hansel’s take on Ken Urban’s production of THE REMAINS, which will have its world premiere from 16 May to 17 June 2018 at the Studio Theatre in Washington, DC :

THE BUILT-IN TRAGEDY OF BEING IN LOVE : KEN URBAN’S THE REMAINS

Ken Urban’s work grapples with moral questions in theatrically adventurous ways. The Remains, which premieres at Studio in the 2017-2018 season, matches its formal boldness with Urban’s curiosity about the public consequences of private decisions. The seed for the play grew from personal experience, as he and his husband filed for divorce in 2015. “The irony of filing for a divorce just as all 50 states finally recognized my marriage did not escape me, and it raised a host of questions about what it means to be married, what it means to be divorced, and what it means to participate in this kind of social and civic institution as a gay man.” As his questions broadened, the possibility of a play that could encompass these questions began to coalesce.

The Remains follows Theo and Kevin’s relationship, ten years after they were one of the first gay couples to marry in Massachusetts and seventeen years after they met in graduate school. But things have changed, not just their right to marry but their jobs, their outlooks, their feelings and agreements about monogamy. Kevin is an academic, back in Boston after his first year in a cushy but remote job on the West Coast. Theo left his grad program for law school and has just finished a big case (“Defending the bad guys,” his father half-quips; Theo doesn’t disagree.) They’ve invited their families over for dinner—Theo has invited his parents, Kevin his sister—and midway through the increasingly uncomfortable meal, they reveal that they’re divorcing.

Urban’s darkly comic play considers this shift in legal status through two lenses. The first is a consideration of the public face of marriage and divorce, and the ways family and friends come to build their sense of themselves around a relationship. Theo’s mom recognizes the justice of the peace who married him just minutes before coming over; it becomes increasingly clear that Kevin’s twice-divorced sister takes solace in her little brother’s ability to keep his family life together in a way that she—and their parents—never did. When you’ve become an icon of social progress for others, how do you play a role you never wanted?

The second lens is a philosophical one, as Urban explores the ethical dimensions of Kevin and Theo’s divorce. During his own divorce, Urban was reminded of his time in the classroom, where he used to struggle to get even exceptionally smart undergrads to understand that “tragic” isn’t a synonym for “sad” (a point he lets Theo’s father—who teaches, at Harvard as Urban did—make in the play). As Urban puts it, “There was a moment during the divorce when I was trying to put the whole experience into words, and it reminded me of Hegel’s theory of tragedy. The situation is tragic in that classical way: The problem wasn’t that I’d made the wrong choice; the problem was that I had to choose between two things that were equally wrong and equally right.”

Another surprise of the aftermath of Urban’s divorce was how universally his friends and family connected with the embarrassment and disappointment of a dissolved relationship. The promise of this shared connection helped him dig deeper into the particularities of a couple whose relationship may seem one of intellectual or historical convenience, bookended by Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the case that legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, on one end and Obergefell v. Hodges on the other.

Throughout his theatre-making, Urban is interested in using the resources of theatre to connect seemingly disparate people over a shared emotional experience. “I task myself with making sure that you can track the emotional journey of the characters, even if they’re different from your own experience. The more specific their journey is, the easier it is to lose yourself in it. What I learned during my divorce is that every relationship is marked by the fact of change. Of course it is. Work, life—things that happen to you and choices you make—they will shift your values. There is a built-in tragedy about being in love, especially over the long term, because it will always be good and bad. Loving someone inevitably costs you.”

To put a wider frame around Theo and Kevin’s relationship and divorce, Urban has a potent theatrical surprise lying in wait at the core of the play, simmering under the snappy and engaging talk. The first two-thirds of the play chart these characters’ connections and disagreements in dialogue-driven scenes: tensions over monogamy, the strain of long-distance relationships, lingering hurt from estranged family, and the question—threaded throughout the meal—of how to reconcile competing moral understandings of a situation. But at a certain point (no spoilers here) something breaks—in the relationships, in the characters, and in the structure of the play as well. What follows is a radical shift in theatrical mode as the consequences of the relatively compressed scene that preceded it comes into view, offering a poignant and compelling representation of the higher-order social and philosophical questions behind the rift and wreckage at the heart of the play.

—Adrien-Alice Hansel

Sidebar Text from the website featuring Ken Urban’s THE REMAINS :

“Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard’s version of tragedy is superior to Hegel’s…. Danish. Nineteenth century philosopher. He called the experience of the tragic hero, “the suffering contradiction.” You want two things and you cannot have both of those things. And so you suffer. Because wanting both those things that will destroy you.” —Kevin, The Remains

The link to the Website featuring Ken Urban’s works as follows :

https://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/play-detail/2017-2018-the-remains

Congratulations to Dr. Urban, the Director, the Cast and the Theatrical Crew of THE REMAINS.

In the Spirit of David Cornelius Singh

David’s father

Email : [email protected]

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stardust-lightning · 7 years

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Starchild: Dream Maker Chapter 5 - A Cream-Colored Envelope

Okay, so now I understand the Dreamscape a little bit better. It’s still raining outside softly and there’s not much happening. It’s not a bad thing though, it’s peaceful…

It’s still raining outside on the covered balcony, softly falling on the terracotta roofs. Zero is holding onto my index finger with a small, soft smile on his face. The entire atmosphere is really serene and peaceful, which is comforting considering that this dream journey can go crazy at any given moment so I want to take in all peaceful moments as much as I can. Even though we sit in silence, silence is golden as we just take in the cool evening air to relax. It’s great.

Our moment is interrupted by some yells and screams heard downstairs. Even the older gentleman with his guitar turned his glance into the stairwell.

“What’s wrong?” Zero asks, really worried.

“No sé, los niños.” The older gentleman rises from his seat and looks down the stairwell, his guitar held tightly in his hand.

“What did he say?” Zero asks, not familiar with Spanish.

“He says he doesn’t know.” I tell him.

We hear a glass bottle smash against a wall. The older gentleman rushes down the stairs with his guitar in his hands, ready to swing and fight whatever is going on in the lower floor.

“¡DETENER ESTA TONTERÍA!” He yells downstairs and proceeds to yell in inaudible Spanish.

Walking closer to the top of the stairwell, Zero hides behind me, cowering in fear as I brace myself, holding my sketchbook as my only weapon. We both walk carefully as the noise of the commotion grows louder. At the base of the stairwell, we come in time just as we watch two people engage in a full-blown fist fight as the men surrounding them were trying to split the two brawlers apart. The two fighting individuals, a Latino-looking human and a mint-green skinned individual with a body-builder’s stature and wild silver hair, are finally dragged apart to reveal their bloody faces and no doubt broken bones. I manage to catch a glimpse at the mint-green guy’s face and find that his eyes are completely pitch-black. Zero and I then watch as the mint-green body-builder and his company leave in a huff into the pouring rain, which at this point has started to grow heavier. The noise level of the crowd in the tavern is filled with shock and confusion at the events that have just unfolded.

“What happened?” I tap a little girl, who looks about eight, on the shoulder.

“The verde man started giving ol’ Señor Matías crap, tryin’ to ruffle his feathers. It eventually lead to the verde man pushing Señor Matías around and then the two starting throwin’ hooks. He looks like he enjoyed it, even if he got his butt kicked.”

“Gotcha. Gracias.” I thank her.

“Don’t worry about him, chicos. He’s an alborotador.” The older gentleman with the guitar spoke up next to us in English.

“A troublemaker, eh?”

“Me llamo Santiago. This is mi hija, Elena.” The older man addresses himself and his daughter, the young girl who spoke to us earlier.

“Me llamo Airika y Zero.” I introduce myself and Zero. I knew just enough Spanish to communicate normally with other people. Elena and her father then lead us to an empty booth in the back corner. The candle burning on the blue fat bottle flickers as we take a seat.

“Did ya see that guy? He looked muy loco. I mean, he had those piercing ojos to him. He even had this malo aura around him. Tan extraño…”

“Wait, a malo aura?”

“Malo means bad.”

“Yeah, it gave him a bit of an edge,y’know?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Zero turn pale.

“Don't over-exaggerate, Elena. He was just a mischievous diablo, nothing serious.”

“He was loco though...”

“Who was that guy?” I pipe, seeing an opportunity to speak.

“I dunno, but he was quite the character. His eyes were negro.”

“He’s one of the Eronos.”

“Eronos?”

“A street gang that has gotten really popular lately. I wouldn’t mess with them if I were you. Now that I think about it, a lot of nasties have been prowlin’ around lately...”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

“La taberna is about to close.”

“Already?”

“Sí. One last thing.”

“Yes?” Zero and I responded together.

“You two aren’t from around here, are you?”

“N-No, sir. Why do you ask?”

“My apologies, but I could help but listen to your conversation upstairs” Santiago lowered his voice, “Are you the Dreamlord’s apprentice and the Mortal?”

“We are.”

“Let me see your hand.” Santiago asked to Zero. Zero gave him his right hand without question. Santiago looked at the palm of hand studying it.

“You are indeed who you say you are. I can see your blood running through your veins, along with the magic of your ancestors. As for the Mortal, she needs no explanation; her aura is enough. Now I own this tavern here. If you wish, and I insist, there are some guest rooms upstairs. With people like you, you can get hurt or worse if they knew who you two were. I don't want to risk seeing you in trouble. Stay here tonight.” Santiago explained.

“It's not a bother?”

“We’ve taken in guests all the time. It's not a hassle!” Alena chimes in.

“What do you think, Zero?”

“If it's okay with you, Airika.”

“Don't worry about the charge. There’s no fee because you two have a lot more to worry about.”

“Oh thank you!”

“Come now chicos. Better get some sleep while you can.”

“Wait, how do you know who we are, besides the conversation?”

“I was met by an older Japanese shaman who told me to look out for you two. She wanted me to give you this message.” Santiago explained as he gives Zero a tiny cream-colored envelope with an ocean-blue seal with a strange symbol engraved in it.

“Older Japanese shaman…?”

“Oh! He’s talking about the Celestial Gatekeeper Rhiannye!”

“Sí, she's the one. Go ahead and get some rest. Alena will lead the way.”

--------An hour later--------

We settled into a small room upstairs with only one bed, a dresser and a window with stained-glass shutters. I don't know about Zero, but I don't have a problem sleeping with someone else, regardless of gender. I set my sketchbook on the dresser near the window. We then started to take our jackets and shoes off. I look over at Zero, who is facing the wall and not saying anything.

I start to see dark blue lines on his back through his thin, white shirt that resemble closed wings and they're glowing.

I try to strike up a conversation to keep me from staring at the tattoo on his back. Zero sets his jacket and his shoes on the edge of the bed and takes up the cream-colored envelope, clutching it in his hands, staring at it.

“Y’know, this place here is a beautiful town, with the red roofs and the flowers all about in a gorgeous display of colors. I wouldn't mind staying here a while if we didn't have a deadline.”

Zero turns and sits in the bed and I see his face. He looks white as a sheet and ready to have an anxiety attack.

“What’s wrong? You look really anxious.”

“S-Sorry, what?”

“You look like you've seen a ghost. Something bothering you?”

“Y-Yeah…I-I can't stop thinking about it…”

“About what?”

“The Dreamscape…”

“Why?” I probe him, sitting next to him on the bed.

“I think there's something really wrong here. I know that this is my first time out here, but even I can tell when something's not right.

“For one thing, the Celestial Courtyard and the atmosphere surrounding it are never that dead silent. There are always people going to and fro the Courtyard.

“Second, Celestial Gatekeeper Rhiannye is never alone; there is always one or two other Gatekeepers in each Courtyard to help run things. The only time when one Gatekeeper is alone is when there’s something serious and they leave one behind to keep the Courtyard running.

“Third, when Alena and her father were talking about the mint-green guy, they kept talking about his eyes and his dark presence and how ones like him are poppin’ up lately.”

“Why does his description bother you?”

“The eyes are one of the ways you can tell a Nightmare Spirit from a normal person. I keep getting a feeling that mint-green guy was a Nightmare Spirit.”

“Well, we’ll never know 'cause we weren't there, though you're not the only one with that gut feeling,” I try to reassure him, “What's inside the envelope?”

“I don't know…”

Zero breaks the seal and holds his breath. I look over his shoulder as he takes out the letter. The text is written in Enochian, I knew that much.

“What does it say?”

“Here goes.”

To Zero and Mortal Airika,

Listen to me very carefully: Be on your guard at all times. It has been discovered that some Nightmare Spirits have escaped into the Dreamscape. They may be already among you. When this became known, a horrific discovery was found: the Seven Elders are missing from Plasmatio.

“W-WHAT!?!?”

“Is there more!?”

Diávolos has regained his strength since his last attempt at controlling the Dreamscape and has risen again with his demonic armies. The Seven Elders are in the possession of Diávolos and his Nightmare Spirits, using their power to destroy and wreak havoc in the Dreamscape. Should this continue, the Dreamscape will crumble much faster that it already has and eventually cease to exist. The vessels that keep Dreams, Memories and Thoughts contained will be broken and they will dissipate into nothing. If the Dreamscape collapses, Zero, the fabric of your being and everyone else here will be erased from existence. As for you, Airika, you will never come back to reality for you will instead float in limbo-like purgatory for the rest of your existence.

In order to prevent this tragedy, you two must find the Seven Elders before the Dreamscape crumbles at the heart. The souls of the Seven Elders are trapped in the bodies of the seven Archdemons Lucifer, Beelzebub, Abbadon, Mammon, Belphegor, Sathanus and Asmodeus. I have designated their locations on the map in Airika's sketchbook. I have been called to battle against these tyrants, so you may see me again.

Remember what I said: Be on your guard.

Gatekeeper Rhiannye

We try sleeping later after reading the letter, but it's very hard to when it feels like your heart is about to pop from beating so hard.

#Starchild #Dream Maker #my writing #Fifith chapter

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lifeinfuzz-blog · 7 years

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The Long-Term Effects Overprotective Parents Have On Us

The reality is, obviously, a lot more complicated. However, the discussion does provide an intriguing aspect of human experience to the forefront: What does having over-protective parents really do to you and does being over-protective to your kids create more harm than good?

Quantifying parental over-. Most good parents are, understandably, inclined to safeguard their kids from threats because that is part of being a guardian and teach them about the danger. "Don't leap into that fireplace" and "get away from that puppy that clearly has rabies" are minimal requirements for parenting. But over-protectiveness is about more than protecting your kids from legitimate threat's as Milton Seligman mentioned in a 2000 text on parenting, over-protective parents' "main concerns center around defense against physical and psychological harm." Seligman also hypothesized that helicopter parents "have a heightened sense of the precariousness of the own existence and therefore protect against tragedy with extreme care." Whatever its root, over-protective habits may be hard because it frequently seems a whole lot to see. But its consequences from stopping interactions with other peers to creating a child scared of their own shadow can be pretty worrying, and carry on up.

If you've had an overprotective parent, odds are that the experience of your own self-was stuffed with shame and question, as you were not positive if you were able of taking on a big poor world. In the event that you did have the types of parents who called when you were out for over five minutes or forbade you from performing something remotely enjoyable due to imagined risks, this is the way that it might have affected your adult liFe.

Higher Danger Of Nervousness Disorders

It is definitely maybe not the only cause, but psychologists have repeatedly discovered that teens and grownups with anxiousness disorders particularly these centered around social interaction are more likely to come from homes with over-protective parents.

Meaning: A-T a certain point, all kids must discover that they wo n't be killed by diving into pools from the leading diving board, or that monsters underneath the bed are not real, or that talking to a new kid at school is not really terrifying. Parents who go to excellent lengths to prevent their children from engaging with such a thing that may scare them may also avoid them from producing these realizations, and s O inadvertently keep them stressed about fears that were aged.

It's also about modeling habits. Experiments have proven that anxious parents tend to produce nervous kiddies because they demonstrate the proper method to react to situations is through worry, fear, and withdrawal. They could also make the children believe the globe is an inherently threatening place which is the kind of considering that makes individuals risk-averse and worrisome as grownups. Interestingly enough, this usually extends to situations that are social too. It could be because your parents created you scared of the acceptance of others and were constantly trying to improve you, should you find yourself deeply anxious at parties.

Sense Of Dependence On Your Own Parents

Feel as if you can't make any main lifestyle decision without getting their approval first and consulting your parents? Feel as if you can't make any life decision that is minor without consulting with your parents? Have trouble deciding without texting them both about your options, what things to eat? That's a classic legacy of overprotective parents. In the event, you have grown up being conditioned into convinced that they're the only ones who will truly take good care of you and safeguard you in the planet, your ability to evaluate grown up choices by yourself is frequently hampered. To want your parents' input is one factor, but to feel susceptible and seriously emotionally dependent without their aid isn't a healthful place, and it is one that several kids of over-protective families face.

Tendency To Engage In Small (Or Lots Of) Risktaking Behavior

As we develop, we take moRe risks, from leaving home to going on dates to traveling but having overprotective parents can throw off the balance of acceptable risk-taking habits. The most obvious, needless to say, is that threat-averse parents appear to carry potential risks or can push that ideology onto their kids, producing them prone to avoiding issues which can be unknown.

However there's also the potential for rebellion, or what professionals phone "extreme sensation-seeking": should you have spent your entire life being guarded against threat, it really is also totally viable your rebellion against your parents will take the kind of participating in probably harmful conduct and using big gambles with physical, psychological or monetary safety.

A small risk-using is good; escaping from under a parent take on other challenges is frequently a stage towards independence or to, say, back-pack across a continent. But it could go too far, as kids from over-protective households have no actual concept of real risk levels, and may become adults who drive boundaries without totally understanding what is a-T stake.

Kids can be terrible, as anyone who's actually been bullied understands. And though bullying is never the fault of the individual being bullied, overprotective parents frequently give their children fewer of the abilities they need to fight and safeguard themselves. Lisa J. The problem with parents who swoop directly into help their kiddies a-T every opportunity is, alas, the kids often learn they-they can not guard or care for themselves, and that they will manage mo-Re easily if they remain nonetheless and permit other people to do the work. It's a persona trait bullies usually seem for and goal and it could continue into adulthood.

Lower Self-Esteem

This looks counter-intuitive surely folks whose parents were usually fussing over them should feel they truly are deeply cherished and valued, right? Experiments together with the adult children of diverse sorts of households have found that individuals who grew up with overprotective parents often don't have that self-esteem if they believe they're actually fairly confident and well adjusted. The reason behind this, apparently, is associated with how self-esteem is shaped; in assessing how we are valued by other people a big component of it's. And parents who stand in the way, are continually guarding and wrapping us in cotton wool can send the message the child wouldn't survive without aid, can't do this themselves, and in issue is incapable, susceptible. They may possibly get a lot of consideration but it really is not necessarily the kind of consideration that fosters self-love and acceptance.And would you perhaps not need a sweater that is third.

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ibloggingkits-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Blogging kits

New Post has been published on https://bloggingkits.org/new-director-college-schooling-chairs-meeting-of-officials/

New Director College Schooling chairs meeting of officials

SRINAGAR: The newly-appointed Director School Training, Dr. G N Itoo, chaired an assembly of officials of the department here nowadays. All Leader Schooling officials of Kashmir, Principals of all the ten District Institutes of Education & Training institutes, Foremost Country Institute of Training Srinagar and all of the workforce officers were present inside the assembly.

During the meeting, the College heads have been requested to make the sure keeping of near liaison with civil society and mother and father and that such meetings need to be held two times a month simply so conducive atmosphere is created for easy functioning of schools within the larger pastimes of the scholar network. The Director also harassed on giving due significance to co-curricular and sports in faculties.

The Director emphasized that there be no pendency of files and that accountability is ensured at all degrees. He also said that discipline officers need to be empowered to address nearby problems so that problems do now not get piled up.

Domestic Faculty Training Comes Full Circle The face of training has changed through the years. From mastering at Domestic from one’s circle of relatives, to 1 room School homes that served as the classroom for children of many a while, to colleges housed in large buildings in which students have to get entry to assets that was once reserved for the finest universities, schools have continuously evolved for the duration of present day records. these days we’re witnessing a reversal of that trend as increasingly students find themselves out of the public faculties and back at Domestic receiving a Home Faculty Education.

There are many reasons that parents can also opt to provide their youngsters with a Home School Schooling. A few mother and father pick a Home College Schooling because public schools are not legally allowed to offer religious guidance and training. Other dad and mom may additionally believe that a Domestic College Education can offer higher and extra stringent educational requirements, or a more secure learning environment than the public faculties can provide. For others, a Domestic Faculty Education is the best choice due to the fact the dad and mom journey drastically, or the child has unique wishes which might be the first-rate met at Domestic. For those reasons, and much more, Domestic College Education is a booming enterprise this is gaining momentum with every passing yr.

For individuals who are considering Domestic School Education, and those who are already engaged in that endeavor, there are several factors on which to focus. Public faculties provide extra than just educational practice, and a terrific Home College Education needs to fill those gaps to be able to be best.

Socialization is a number one concern of many parents who offer a Home Faculty Schooling for their youngsters. While college students can study the “Three R’s” at public School or at Domestic, additionally they need to learn how to percentage, listen, take turns, and get together with others. students who are receiving a Home Faculty Schooling are regularly enrolled in golf equipment, sports activities, and Other greater curricular sports a good way to assist broaden the kid’s socialization competencies.

Instructional resources are any other detail of Training wherein Domestic Faculty Training ought to try to suit the level of the general public schools. Public libraries, net, and specialized Home Faculty Training publishers and curriculums can help mother and father provide a good enough and effective Home School Training for their children.

Ultimately what subjects most is that our kids are knowledgeable. Current research shows that children receiving a Domestic Faculty Schooling carry out as nicely and in many cases higher, than their opposite numbers in public and private colleges on standardized checks. That success has persisted even after students go away the comfort of a Home School Schooling and pass on to faculties and universities. parents who experience that their Training options are lacking may keep in mind a Home Faculty Training. It can be the best healthy for his or her toddler and their circle of relatives’ desires.

Domestic Faculty Training – Benefits and drawbacks

Why parents Pick a Domestic College Training

Increasingly, youngsters, these days are receiving a Domestic School Education. The reasons for making the selection to Domestic School their kids varies from the circle of relatives to circle of relatives but there are 3 primary motives why dad and mom are casting off their youngsters from the public Faculty machine and giving them a Domestic College Schooling.

The primary motive is that the public Education gadget within the United states of America is suffering to offer a right Schooling for the state’s kids with out of date text books, run down School buildings and inadequate system. Provision of a Home School Training enables the parents to have managed over the best of the educational materials utilized by their kids and the overall conditions in which they’re knowledgeable.

The second motive is that mother and father desire to expect more manage over the impacts their kids will be uncovered to. That is regularly on the basis of spiritual grounds, however, very regularly, it’s far virtually because a Home College Schooling will make sure the kid learns the values upheld through the family and is taught from an early age what conduct is appropriate. Unluckily, many public colleges have a bad reputation for instilling top field in students. This often outcomes in badly behaved youngsters disrupting training and preventing their peers from getting the entire gain of lessons. discipline and the upholding of right requirements of behavior is a critical part of a Domestic College Schooling.

The third cause many parents Pick to present their youngsters a Domestic College Training is fear for their safety. Violence is on the increase anywhere and the public College device has no longer escaped this fashion. Violence within the public Education machine is getting worse and the individual acts of violence are greater severe. For the reason that shocking activities at Columbine High School there were further tragedies related to firearms in which instructors and college students have been injured or killed. A Home College Training ensures the protection of children who would otherwise be significantly vulnerable to damage.

The Hazards of Choosing Homeschooling

Supplying a Domestic School Schooling isn’t surely a count number of parental preference. In most instances, the Kingdom Education board of the Kingdom in which the own family is living will approve a selection to offer a toddler a Home School Education. The character taking on the duty of homeschooling should be certified to be a Home trainer, the curriculum must observe the Nation curriculum, and the textual content books and Other Educational materials to be used should be authorized by means of the State. Although this could visible like undue interference in what is an issue of personal choice, the State has an obligation to make certain that each one kid receive a good enough popular of Education and tests could be made to make certain that any baby being kept far from public Faculty is being properly educated.

A Domestic College Schooling would possibly mean that a toddler is disadvantaged of certain opportunities which could have been to be had in the public College gadget. There might be problems in Providing facilities for athletic kids to realize their capacity. Musically talented kids can be in addition deprived. In Some states, there may be provision for kids receiving a Domestic Faculty Education to take part in services along with being capable of attending sports activities instructions and be part of after-College clubs. However, the level of help provided to homeschooling mother and father is not uniform and varies lots from Kingdom to Kingdom.

The very last capability downside to affect children receiving a Home School Training is that they’ll no longer develop the social skills to be able to be essential as they develop up. Social interaction with their peers and with adults out of doors the circle of relatives is critical if a toddler is going to grow up with a nice balance persona and an affordable stage of social abilities. Those developmental issues may be pretty easily conquered if the kid lives in a Kingdom wherein homeschooling mother and father are given support and the kid receiving a Home College Training is frequent into instructions and additional-curricular activities.

The selection to keep a baby out of the general public Schooling device isn’t one any parent might make lightly and any weighing up of the pros and cons ought to don’t forget the level of aid the State will offer. But, if the public School system keeps going to pot, the number of children receiving a Home School Schooling is bound to increase.

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ouraidengray4 · 7 years

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The Things You Do and Don’t Miss Out on by Marrying Your First Love

My husband and I are pretty stereotypical Brooklyn creatives. We live in a Bushwick apartment filled with comic books and art supplies; he and his two partners run the ad agency GrandArmy, and I started the geeky clothing brand Jordandené. We spend our time working, creating, and partying, and at first glance, seem like roll-your-eyes cliches.

So when I was in my early 20s, the fact that I had married young was pretty shocking to practically everyone I met. Responses ranged wildly, from "OMG that’s adorable," to "Really? Why?"

When someone thinks my relationship status is unexpected, my favorite thing is to let them in on all the other details that are even more surprising. I got married when I was 21 to my first boyfriend, whom I met in high school… which we attended with fewer than 80 other people only one day a week.

We were semi-homeschooled in the age just before online classes were a norm. Our parents weren’t thrilled with the public school options available, so we attended a co-op high school in Delaware. Our friend groups overlapped, mostly because he had an unrequited crush on one of my best friends, which conveniently let us slowly get to know one another.

When we got engaged!

He was adorably genuine and sweet, in that Chris Evans Captain America sort of way. We spent many long nights chatting away online and officially started dating the week after my 16th birthday, because my parents wouldn’t let me have a boyfriend when I was 15. We stayed together through high school, our separate college experiences, and into our adult lives.

We never broke up, but we did create our own lives apart from each other. His college was an hour away from mine, which was far enough to create a bit of a long-distance relationship, especially since I didn’t drive. He had an internship in Oregon and spent a summer in London; I studied for a semester in Spain. He spent the last of his college kid savings to come visit me in Sevilla. Between meeting all of my new friends and touring around the city that had become my temporary home, he asked if we could take a trip to the neighboring beach town. While taking a midnight stroll down the sandy shore, he asked me to marry him. I was 20, and we’d been together for five years. It wasn’t even a question.