arthursfrienddragon

[arthursfrienddragon]

Snow Queen: The 53-hour adrenaline induced by giddiness Blogpost

Distortion and Inversion are one of the two things brought upon by the demon unto our world via the mirror he created. Once shattered to million pieces, it acted like a plague that would cloud and darken one's perspective and feelings as the examples given where beautiful things either shrink or become grotesque after being reflected in the mirror, or how Kay, who had a grain of broken shard of the mirror going inside his heart became a completely different person who showed wickedness and hints of cruelty. Stories such as the Snow Queen collection could only be found in a library mostly in the children's section if my memory from elementary serves me right. These stories have valuable lessons that isn't particularly accessible to majority of the population because not everyone would have an interest in visiting the library or the luxury of owning a book, but right now it can be easily accessed and for free with one tap of a finger for it has been adapted to the internet as an e-book. Right now these stories who have failed to touch the minds of those who aren't able to get their hands on the books can be read and understood by almost everyone. The impact of these stories being available online would entirely depend on whether the user of the internet would stumble upon it or even bother reading it, but it will never be a problem understanding and absorbing them for it is simple yet interesting. The Emperor's New Clothes, a story I most vividly remember because I used to read this over and over when I was… I don't know. 1st or 2nd grade? At that time I was but a child who couldn't even recite the multiplication table except for 2, 5, and 10 was able to understand the moral of the story which is not putting your complete faith to someone and to believe in yourself more as some times it is better to trust your own eyes and gutfeel rather than those around you as they might trick you like what happened to the emperor. What I'm saying is, that these stories hold so much value and it would only take at least 10 working brain cells to understand that way it can easily affect and benefit everyone who potentially has access to it. But enough of this fad over the classic stories being available online, let us also discuss the dark side of things. As it is common knowledge to everyone that the revolution started by digital publishing would one day kill and erase the presence of hard copies and traditional reading experience, there might still be some other things that would pose as a hurdle of challenge when it comes to e-books. Yes, they are accessible anytime and can fit tons of them into your gadget but what if there is no internet connection at the area, or your battery run out. Those were situations where traditional books come in handy. And not to forget the biggest problem we all our facing currently, each of us at least spend 4 hours in the internet looking, watching, reading something that it overclocks your brain to a point where you can no longer fir whatever the hell you read 1 hour ago because of too much information. Our brain can only retain memories of the ones we deem as interesting no matter how important something is if we find it boring, poof sayonara kiyoku-san! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ That is why at times I still think writing something down will be retained longer in your storage as it was in a different medium and whenever you try to remember something that is on paper, there would be no competition and it would most likely appear immediately.

[arthursfrienddragon]

DTP (Down to Publish)

Ever since I was a kid, I was the type whose mind wanders endlessly, the one whose thought process isn't linear but becomes an ever expanding root of Yggdrasil but sucks at expressing his mind especially when it comes to art and design. This block caused me to have a somewhat unrequited love because I too wanted to create things that would be featured in books and magazines but end up just in awe and forever dreaming because I realized that it is beyond me. I never really been the type to enjoy creating digital designs and visual aids, not until 2017 when I first learned of Canva. Yes, I know, Canva, but it has been a big help for me because the options on how you can design your work is already laid there and it's just up to you to choose. It's a literal spoon-fed layout and design concepts that made it really easy for me even if it's not the exact thing I envisioned I can somehow find something that is similar at Canva, ever since I've been lowkey looking forward to using it not unlike years ago when I would always say, "Di ako magaling/marunong sa digital shenanigans na yan eh". Canva is one of the turning point of my life as it was accessible, beginner-friendly, and has a wide sea of designs that you could choose from even without the Pro subscription. So now I can now look at some digital or printed work and think if I could do something like that in Canva instead of just staring at it, I can now actually try reproducing something like it and if I'm successful, I could absorb it use it in the future.

[arthursfrienddragon]

Backtrack: Appreciation on Print Publishing

Had people ever thought that print publishing was one of the cornerstone of our current world? How it has been the cause of all these development that without it, we would still be somewhat primitive?

Since way back I don't know how many years but, print media has already been of use for numerous things throughout our daily lives has been the intermediary between people and the harbinger of various things like ill omens, advancements, etc. It has been supporting humanity ever since writing was first discovered, it helped people communicate any time, anywhere. Through it, it has been able to let the people on into something good by spreading print media nobody has been leftout unless of course, you are from an uncontacted tribe who hasn't been part of the civilization yet. Even when it comes to entertainment, print publishing has been able to make anyone enjoy the works of others, like books, newspapers, comics, etc. People either make reading their passion, or just a hobby to pass time but it still proves that it has helped us in many ways throughout time. Even when it comes to technology where people are debating over print vs digital nowadays, news of technological advancements are published and scattered around the world making other want to try and make their own out of inspiration but where would they learn the secrets and engineerings of such technologies before? Through books. Which were the results of print publishing. I look back just a decade and I can still remember that I would prefer reading books on mythologies of the Greeks, Egyptians, and the Hindus, and reading fiction novels over going outside to play with others. Even my addiction to the Harry Potter series (sorry maam, d ko po alam noon na may libro siya dahil ignoranteng bata palang po ako noon pero binasa ko po yung The Cursed Child around 2017 :)) ) began from when my father brought me a newspaper that says that cinemas are premiering the movie nationwide and asked if I wanted to watch it, I forgot which sequel was that but I remember Daniel Radcliffe being an adolescent already. Who I am now has mostly been influenced by print media therefore also, print publishing. It has shaped most of us actually and it is just nostalgic and amazing to recall how far we've gone.

[arthursfrienddragon]

Snow Fall: The Late Submission

Snow Fall by the New York Times definitely got me taking back my initial thoughts on the read and making me want to apologize to the author for my disrespectful claims of it seeming to be boring while I haven't even read it, very much like how I first almost gagged when I see my relatives eating oysters but after actually tasting it, I am now even eating it raw when it's freshly caught. The storytelling and the really immersive widgets like the video of Elyse narrating her experience during the avalanche, the geographical view of the whole Cowboy Mountain, the photos the aftermath of the disaster at Tunnel Creek, all of them made it a unique experience for me. A first for someone like me who has read countless of books in the past and eventually burnt himself out to the point of nothing amuses him anymore except for eating and listening to other people's problems, Snow Fall has truly made me love reading temporarily as I enjoyed it while giving me a hint of what's it is like at that snowy mountain. That is enough sidetracking and let me now get back to my part by part review on Snow Fall.

Snow Fall has 3 parts and the first would be the Avalanche. Some souls really liked to experience the full thrill of life by doing something that might actually make their lives flash before them, mountain climbing and skiing are one of them. Skiers like Elyse Saugstad, had always thought of the vast white as double-edged. They can be the source of adrenaline one longs for to make their life complete or the River Styx itself. That one time Elyse was doing what she loved, the unpredictable and unavoidable happened, an avalanche. She was aware of the chances of it occurring and had lessons on what to do in case of an avalanche but can one really maintain their composure and remain calm if the shadow of death is looming? It is white and is coming after you at accelerating speed, such is the case with Elyse as she prematurely inflated her compressed air wings from her backpack out of fear. As she thought that her companions would laugh at her for doing so, there might be another way to deal with a white snowy wave coming for you but in the end her lessons managed to make her live through the snow burial, so… all's well that ends well? Overall this part of Snow Fall is my favorite as it made me do the thing I do best, putting myself in others' shoe, as I imagine how it feels being toppled and swallowed by snow, and how she would put her hands on her face to be able to breathe, all the way to how she wiped the snow from her mouth. I thank my brain for being in a constant state of delusion and I was able to recreate the scene in my mind.

The next would be the Tunnel Creek, a combined story of the tragedy from 1910 and the geography of the back country and how to reach it, not really immersive like the Avalanche but due to the tailwind left behind by the first part, I miraculously didn't get bored. The tragedy of February 1910 which took the lives of less than a hundred people is very much the Fimbulwinter before Ragnarok as it is said to have a snowstorm lasting several days and causing an avalanche which would trap trains resulting to 96 passengers being taken to Valhalla. As it seems the Tunnel Creek attracts death as much as it attracts skiers for the same reason, the snowy slope ride down from the back country. They say that people tend to find their selves giggling as they glide down the slope because of the little bits of snow that slams through their face as it tickles them, the geography of the slope also makes the Valkyries giggle as they would accompany another soul (opo, nagrereference ako ng Norse mythology dahil sa snow, masyado masaya para tumigil pero sige stop na me) for the sheer number of people going down the slope creates vibrations that would eventually trigger an avalanche.

The Plan in Motion tackles about how all of this happened as it was said to be born from a drunken idea from a bar by Chris Rudolph. He has noticed that it has been 2 whole weeks since it has stopped snowing and he thought that it might be a good time to finally pass through the Tunnel Creek to promote his "Steven Pass" by inviting some guests and get skilled skiers to come with him as an attraction in which by some dumb stroke of luck, were there at the bar with him. To make this really long review a bit shorter, he invited guests and told them they could invite other acquaintances as well for a camping convention. By this part of the story the tailwind brought by The Avalanche already petered out and I'm starting to want to finish this article fast rather than fully understanding it because no thrilling things that would wake up and exercise my mind like imagining myself consumed by snow or digging up frozen carcasses of passengers are there during the "Steven Pass" meeting. Atleast they had good photographs of sunsets on a snowy mountain.

Honestly, the Snow Fall by the New York Times is like a literal snow glide down a slope on how the story progresses, from exhilarating near-death experiences to people having a chat about promoting one's business. I just didn't like the last part but overall it was a pretty good read and I am glad that I have read it. It also gives a new idea for the future of digital journalism as it was proven effective for me that this kind of immersion would work wonders with people even if they haven't went to snowy places or reading articles at all. This approach might just help people appreciate digital journalism more.