#AN IMPULSE THING BUT ... i thought it might be nice to have a central blog like this for luneblr hehe

[nakakitayumas]

so ... i might have done a lil smth ... follow @andteaminc ♡

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Naruto Shippuden S20 (Pt. 4)

Hashirama’s “:O” face at everything is so endearing

Hagoromo is now really the time for a family story there are three children and a sad old man in need

“It was a few thousand years ago” Zetsu just said it was 1,000 years ago how bad are you guys at telling time 

I wonder how Hashirama feels about Madara being his Soulmate™

“I want make sure [the Tailed Beasts] don’t fight amongst each other, and that people don’t use their powers for evil” better 2 have tried and failed I guess 

“That’s because a toad’s dream is destiny” weird flex but ok

“So then, will everything I do now be meaningless?” “Don’t waste your time worrying” Ffgkjhfgkjh damn I didn’t ask for a lecture on fatalism in my Naruto liveblog

Lmao @ this dude revealing his thievery scheme after talking to Hagoromo for 0.5 seconds what makes him think everyone will be on board with it 

“I only want you to go away as soon as possible” ah looks like Hagoromo made a friend lmao 

“If we make it too sturdy, you’ll break your bones when you try to destroy it” they actually did a really good job of making Hagoromo charming like consider me charmed I wanna hear abt ur ninja way

Hahahah I admire Futami for not bringing up the horns for the entire length of time it took them to build the bridge 

Futami: Hagoromo-sensei gave me a high-five one time and it touched my heart so I formed a cult around him

Wait if Hagoromo only gave 8 disciples chakra are the nine of them together responsible for fathering all the shinobi world what kind of Gengis Khan fuckery

Minus the Hyuga, who, for some reason are moon aliens, I guess

“Throughout this long history men appeared, one after another, with the desire to use the tailed beasts for their own evil purposes. And that turned the tailed beasts against mankind. Anyway, back to my story.” Hahahaha did Hagoromo just go “(A/N: Fuck Obito and Madara lol)”

Unbelievable you’re telling me there was someone who wanted to get with this old man with horns and three eyes who leads a cult and you won’t show me WHO where is the justice 

OH HEY FUTAMI HELPING RAISE THE KIDS I GUESS? WILD

Mmmm I love Ashura already 1000/10 endearing impulsive baby

Some filler storyboard artist who I respect beyond reason: But what if... we added.... a dog

“It might even be bigger than yours” please don’t tell me they fished Zetsu out of the river

"I didn’t realize you thought so deeply about [chakra being used as a weapon]” “Yeah, well” “But then again, what will be, will be” what kind of parenting is this Hagoromo kjhgkjhgkjhg

Indra, 10 years old: I am concerned about the ethical impact of my innovation

Hagoromo: YOLO, son ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“I’ll be watching you” Is that the voice of......... Pubescent Zetsu 

LMAO IT IS

These kids are really emotionally unprepared for the boar considering they were following boar tracks into the woods 

ARE YOU SHITTING ME THEY EVEN USED THE SAME FILLER DOG NAME LMAO WHO IS WRITING THIS 

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY KILLED THE DOG I’M SO MAD

Wow @ them having Indra invent chidori instead hkjhgkhg poor Kakashi

Indra awoke his sharingan over losing his dog I cannot believe this how are dogs the central plot device of multiple arcs

“Whatever is in this village belongs to everyone - that’s the law” wow along with fatalism this arc is also teaching us about the practical failings of communism 

“The law is still the law” where’s the post that says Sasuke is ethnically a cop. Because that’s this arc

Not 2 be that gal again but Indra’s voice is also nice on the ears he has inherited his grandmother’s kekkei genkai of having an attractive voice and a terrible moral compass

...............kekkei grandma 

“Looking into his eyes reminds me of my mother’s eyes” I was kind of joking about the kekkei grandma thing but fair

“At that moment I felt that I understood for the first time why heaven had blessed me with two sons” have you ever considered your eldest son is mean in part because you make comments like this 

“What will the two of you do when you are out in the world alone” wow Hagoromo is giving his kids some kind of High-Stakes Bell Test 

Hahaha I like Taizo I hope they don’t do anything to him but they probably will because he’s had so much screen time

HAHAHAHA I LOVE THIS SQUAD it’s the first ninja team and the boy is the healer!!!

Ashura: OH NO I’VE FORGOTTEN HOW TO GENJUTSU

Kanna and Taizo: WE GOT U BUDDY WE GOT BATS

I thought I was going bananas for a sec but the intro did change lol 

Poor Tenzo I think he’s been officially discarded from OPs RIP

Side note: Having a Naruto blog has made me so wary of Kakashi and Sakura standing next to each other I don’t trust the ppl on this website to be normal for a second RIP x2

“They’ll suffer, sure, but everyone dies eventually” okay calm down Taizo

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s possible or not, because I’ve decided to do it” I admire Ashura’s blind optimism lmao

Not to poke too many holes but why would the water in the well not be affected by the Divine Tree

I take my comment about healing back ludicrously all the men get to display chakra natures and the women can only display glowing yin chakra hands booooo

Omg there is a Tenzo after all in an ED at least!! This is the first time I’ve seen all three members of the Naruto’s Dad Association in one place!!! Bless up

A shot of them standing all together!!!! My heart!!!!!!!!

SASUKE AND NARUTO’S GRINS AT EACH OTHER I WEEEP

[Hagoromo as Kakashi voice]: TEAMWORK!!

I was very much expecting Indra to go crazy and kill those two guys but wow that was a scene

“Enough to make you fall in love with him and follow him all the way here” At least Ashura gets like a real wife instead of Hagoromo’s ‘ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ she dead’

Hagoromo: Indra’s a dick because his eyes are red trust me it has nothing to do with my parenting I’m a chakra scientist

“Indra, just what is the meaning of this” it’s a temper tantrum lmao

Was it really necessary to kill both of those guys Indra one best friend death usually suffices for mangekyo my dude

Minato joining Kakashi in the club of Boyz Who Jutsu Was Plagiarized

Hagoromo really has absolutely zero hesitation to attack his son and you wonder why Indra has a complex

“THIS IS THE POWER OF OUR BOOOOOND” he said, as he punched his brother in the face with a thousand wooden hands (mood)

Indra’s Lightning Teleportation Jutsu is really doing The Most the Raikage is not nearly this dramatic about it 

Can you... just.... declare that your soul will be reincarnated? Is that how that works? 

Also. Who slept with Indra?! U made him out to be like. Very Not Okay. But he’s the forefather of the Uchiha?? WHERE ARE THESE CHILDREN COMING FROM TELL ME WHO IS BANGING THIS OUT OF CONTROL FAMILY

Hahahahaha I’M SO READY FOR THIS RIDICULOUS TEAM 7 TRYING TO UNMASK KAKASHI EPISODE BRING IT THE FUCK ON

I knew the Sukea voice would be different but omg I’m still thrown

“S-kay-a” is really not how I thought that would be pronounced wow 

“If I’m able to capture this Kakashi guy without a mask on, it’ll be the biggest scoop since the Leaf was established” a little arrogant Kakashi but okay kjhgkjhgkjhgjhg

This is such an adorable and weird bonding exercise of Kakashi teaching his kids how to break into Konoha’s archives I’M WHEEZING

I would pay money to see Kakashi explain what he was doing to all those dudes in ANBU who probably thought he was intimidating as all fuck catching him a wig with three twelve-year-olds breaking into his own file

“Who cares what I look like anyway!” THIS IS SO DUMB I LOOOOVE IT

“I think that a woman might’ve drowned right over there on the river bank” HINATA!!!!! UR TOO NICE TO BE ENLISTED INTO THIS SCHEMING HAHAHA

Oh I remember seeing reference to this scene booooo do they really have to make it weird all the time

This concept is even MORE ridiculous in the show bc it expands beyond Team 7 to all the other Konoha rookies like Kakashi how much do u enjoy teasing the children that this is how you’re spending your day

HAHAHAH Kakashi is lucky that the person who knows him best has face blindness and can’t call him out for his schemes 

Okay not to betray my own brand but ᵏᵏᵍᵃᶦ ᶜᵘᵗᵉ

They really designed a nicer apartment for Kakashi just so they could animate his silhouette in the shower STUDIO PIERROT PLEASE

Fhkjhkjfhkjhkf that last scene made me so uncomfortable I don’t really like seeing Kakashi’s mouth while he talks it’s weird

You know I spent a lot of this interlude chanting main arc main arc in my head but alas now that we have arrived I’ve remembered that the war arc climax is a mess

“If my chakra runs out, I’m done” seriously Obito.......... how are you here

Can you imagine if Naruto actually died.... what would that even mean for this series I can’t imagine 

“I already marked this space, so I can hide out in my time-space” I want to know how Obito “marks a space” is it like a jutsu or does he just have to nod at it and go “my space now”

 I would also pay money to see what Obito and Sakura talked about when they had to hang out in Kamui for a solid two minutes lmao 

“So you’re friends with sensei huh?” “Yeah it’s complicated but I think we’re cool now” “Yeah, same with us and Sasuke” “Sorry about that” “I don’t forgive you but thanks”

“You alright?” define ‘alright’ but also Obito’s never been alright a day in his life, Sakura 

Uh oh foreshadowing to the heavy gravity space where Obito d*es

Okay maybe this is the part of me that is still clings to their Part I friendship but Sasuke helping Sakura stand really brings out my inner soft bitch

 “It would’ve been helpful if we could’ve received this advice a bit earlier” Tobirama’s bitter about sitting through five episodes of filler

Tobirama: Why haven’t u been helping this whole time

Hagoromo: It all comes down to Madara’s magic pelvis—

“This man lent me his power and that’s why we were able to get here” does Sakura not know Obito’s name either khgkjhgjkgh

How many times will we watch these same two flashbacks of Obito’s life

Looks like Kakashi brought a knife to a taijutsu fight LMAO

God Rin is such a good friend to Obito and he repays her by literally defacing her grave 

“Am I powerless to do anything but sit here and watch” it’s not really your fault you can’t fly Kakashi tho u could try throwing some kunai or smth ur not a one sharingan pony

Ddkjhsdkjhd why does Obito get a line worrying about Naruto’s death but Kakashi doesn’t he’s spent the past two days trying to kill Naruto

I’m still emo abt Kakashi trying to die for Sasuke that’s his soooon

“Rin... this time, let’s spend some alone time together, just you and me” Why phrase it like that, Obito

"Why save someone useless like me” Kakashi get some therapy

“A fool full of only mistakes” it’s hard to disagree with Zetsu when they’re flashing back to every mistake Obito has ever made

Where’s the graphics set where Obito goes ‘admittedly I lost my cool here’ because that’s what that flashback was 

Update: found it

“Don’t cry, Obito, you’ll just get laughed at” this fantasy is an indication that Obito has no real comprehension of how fucked up Kakashi was by Rin’s death

Can you believe that Rin still dies in Obito’s jonin AU like....what. It’s not even like “AU of what I want” it’s like “AU where I learn how to cope with trauma” 

Also was this just an out for not designing an adult Rin bc he’s been thinking about Rin endlessly for like three episodes straight so..... what up with that

It’s still so fucking funny that Iruka’s in Obito’s jonin fantasy like when did they meet did he just absorb secondhand Iruka appreciation from Naruto 

“But, if you screw up, I won’t hesitate to step up as a candidate for Hokage myself” yesssssssss let Kakashi be the playful menace he truly aspires to be

Gjghjkhgjhg Obito’s “euuuuuuuuehhhh” when the paperwork dropped was funny

Sasuke’s face when Sakura punched Naruto was also v funny 

Honestly to be real for a second Obito imagining himself as buddies with Team 7 makes me mad u’ve done nothing but make these kids’ life TERRIBLE until today babysitting license REVOKED!!!!!!

Am I a hypocrite for enjoying AUs ft. Obito? Mayhaps!!!

“You told me that saving you was pretty much the same as saving the whole world, remember?” (Well.)

“I’d say, you did your best” You know that post that said it makes sense that Rin said this bc she’s a Scorpio. I’m still upset about it

You know... Naruto’s “the coolest guy” (“nothing but awesome”) comment about Obito is a direct parallel to “Bravest man I ever knew” in HP and that’s why, if I were to meet either adult man, I would dropkick both of them. In this essay I will—

“It’s kind of annoying seeing [Kakashi] all stiff and useless” u right Obito

Kishimoto pick up the phone I just want to talk about that rabbit bijuu design 

“A Susano’o? But whose?” DAD’S HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRE

Kakashi with Six Paths Power REALLY feeds into my theory that Kakashi is Hagoromo’s transmigrant 

THAT’S MY TEAM READY TO SAVE THE WORLD TOGETHER!!!!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 KAKASHI GETS HER VULNERABLE AND THEN THE BOYS ATTACK WHILE KAKASHI GUARDS THEIR BACKS AND SAKURA FORCES HER INTO PLACE THIS IS WHOLEASS TEAMWORK

“I really love you guys” YEAH HE DOES 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Okay arc over haha right guys we’re good now RIGHT GUYS??

In part, Kakashi jumping around to save his students feels very much reminiscent of Part I’s “MY SENSEI SENSES ARE TINGLING” swoop and scoop that he and Gai loved to do

Lmao @ Kaguya spitting Madara out like he’s a bad-tasting vegetable

Coming up with an OP specifically for VOTE2 is so extra but I kind of love it the Diver parallels!!!!

Sasuke is SUCH a liar abt his attitude towards Team 7 - more specifically towards Sakura and Kakashi bc he has already granted that he cares for Naruto

Sasuke: Comrades? I don’t know her

Also Sasuke: Constantly urging Sakura and Kakashi to get to safety and actively intervening when they’re not

“Honestly at this point I don’t think anything could shock me anymore” Sakura really needs a hug and a nap

“I shall be sure to ask Obito tell me that tale in the afterworld” the real question is if Obito will still look 12 when he takes Hagoromo on the harrowing journey that is his life

Kakashi truly has endless love in his stupid ass heart Obito’s like, “Hmmm... whoops sorry 4 committing mass murder” and Kakashi’s like “Hehe, we all mess up sometimes :) See u in heaven”

Madara and Hashirama really did invent being in gay love huh

WOW I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO TEAR UP BUT KJHFKJHFKJH MY BABY BOY SAYING GOODBYE TO HIS DAD HE IS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SWEETHEART

“You’ve now finally settled things with Madara” Tobirama has been waiting for like a hundred years for his brother to get over his ex

Hagoromo: Naruto’s your new conference room congrats kids 

Mmmmm I don’t like aaaaannnnnny of this

“You’re suggesting that I enjoy a roooOoomance” why say it like that Sasuke

I genuinely think this is the maddest that Kakashi’s ever been at Sasuke that boy is very, very grounded

“I, too, had two children at one time” OMG KAKASHI OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED TEAM 7 DAD BY HAGOROMO (ur miscounting tho Kakashi actually has four (4) children)

“I think I shall let Naruto handle this” said Hagoromo, and everyone who encountered any problem in this series ever

I’m very distracted from Sasuke’s dictatorship speech by the fact he looks so much like an alien. What is UP with his eyes they never look like this???? Why are they so far apart and narrow and angled

“Your blood will be the last that I shed” what r u just gonna keep genjutsuing ppl Sasuke? Could just keep the Tsukuyomi on then, homie

It also plays into the Hagoromo and Kakashi are related (spiritually or literally) that Hagoromo is equally as useless with advice to him lmao

Kakashi: What should I be doing, sir?

Hagoromo: Sometimes I like to pray :) 

Fjkkjgkjhgkjhk Sasuke claiming that Naruto is his only bond never ceases to amaze me like Sakura and Kakashi are RIGHT THERE ghkjhgkjhgkj u have been protecting them this whole time while they shout how much they care abt u. Just admit u have a crush on Naruto and go!!!

“I know your heart well by now. And you mine” Sasuke u unintentionally romantic dumbass

“Finally decided to kill me, huh,” said a thrilled Sasuke, taking a lesson from the Kakashi School of Very Much Needing Ninja Therapy

This entire fight is the Life or Death equivalent of this tweet:

Lmao one of these boys lost a tooth I want to know which of them has a dental implant 

Omg............... Iruka what is going ON.... u are suddenly v pale and also I think ur VA might be different could they not get the same Iruka or has he just forgotten how Iruka sounds

It was real unclear until this fight that Sasuke had any of the same powers as Nagato

“Now I can finally be alone... farewell, my one and only... friend” again... Sasuke... u can be in love with Naruto and still have other friends!!!!!!! Ask Naruto he has tons of friends he’s not in love with*

*Disclaimer: they are all in love with him

The idea that everyone Naruto’s ever cared about is spiritually trying to help him kick Sasuke’s ass is p funny

“Sakura and Kakashi are still there, they’ll figure something out” cute that you have such an assload of faith in your loved ones in ur life-flashing-before-you moment Sasuke but with what jutsu lmao

“I began to see a shadow of my own family in Squad 7″ YEAH HE DID  😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I still can’t believe that Kishimoto really wrote that all it took for Sasuke to return to Konoha was Naruto explaining to him how love and empathy work 

Omg Sasuke laughing...... I missed your laugh you precious boy

“Release the infinite Tsukuyomi once I’m dead by transplanting my left eye into Kakashi or someone else” Fhjfhkfh it detracts a little from the significance of Sasuke offering his eye to Kakashi to add the “someone else” but I guess they gotta make the syllables match up

Why is every Uchiha’s long-term plan just to die before they have to deal with the consequences of their actions

“I’m sorry” “Sorry? For what” “For everything” “You got that right” Sasuke I think u need to treat all of ur teammates to ramen 

“It’s finally back to the way it was” Kakashi loooves his baaabies 

TENZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Omg they included Guren from the filler arc in this crowd hahahaha

Gaara and Naruto enveloped in that same beam of light like Kakashi and Tenzo in the Tsukuyomi kghjghkgh SP said gentle gay rights

“I’m forbidden to talk about it” Team 7 would RIOT if Sasuke was locked up in a cell like that fuck you

Hahahaha I wish I could see the scene where Kakashi and Iruka decided to ambush Naruto with study materials 

Okay this is definitely a different Iruka ahhhhh weird I don’t like it

Iruka bursting into tears whenever Naruto talks about his progress.... same

I 100% believe that the vast majority of the reason Kakashi became Hokage was to pardon Sasuke but also that prison scene still seems appalling to me STOP MAKING THINGS WORSE THAN THEY WERE SHOWN TO BE

"Maybe next time” is super funny in the context that he does take her on his next mission outside the village and comes back with one (1) whole baby

Sasuke’s introspection usually seems to amount to “Birth is a curse and existence is a prison... oh hey Naruto <3″ 

The moral of the story seems to be that the best way to show someone you love them in ninja language is by telling them you want to keep punching them for the rest of your life

[hopefulfestivaltastemaker]

January 17, 2021

This is my weekly roundup of things I am up to and looking at. Topics include human rights, decentralized social media, the I5 bridge replacement, Kuznets curves, and the Trump administration rundown.

Human Rights

I added a bit more to the Social Well-Being section of the Urban Cruise Ship site, which is mostly on human rights topics.

Having followed the work of, e.g. Steven Pinker and Has Rosling, I had expected to present a view that the world human rights situation was getting inexorably better. The reality is that the picture is more mixed. Democratization peaked some time around 2007 and has been in decline since then, though the world is still much more democratic than in the 1970s. Education, defined as the number of children not in school, made great progress in the 2000s, but now progress seems to be stalling.

It is my read of the data that inequality is generally increasing in wealthy countries, and decreasing (though it’s a mixed bag) in poorer countries. More important than inequality within countries is inequality between countries, and that metric appears to be going down as the world undergoes the Great Convergence, or the tendency of incomes of countries to converge as poorer countries experience fast growth and richer countries experience slow growth. This follows the Great Divergence that occurred from around 1800 to 1975.

Economic freedom is generally improving across the world. It has been the case historically, and it remains true today, that there is a correlation between economic freedom and political freedom. But with the rise of state capitalist or illiberal capitalist societies, that correlation seems to be getting weaker.

Freedom House’s review of freedom of the press unfortunately had its last year in 2016, and it showed an improvement, following by a stalling, of freedom of the press worldwide. It does not appear to me that the situation has generally improved in the last four years.

I have to move on, but I would like to look at these figures much more carefully. Taken as a whole, the picture for human rights in the 2010s looks like a mixed bag, with some areas of progress and some areas of regression, without an obvious trend one way or the other. This joins other observations about the present state of the world, which is also seeing declining productivity growth, seeming technological stagnation, the spread of sub-replacement birth rates, and the proliferation of dangerous debt levels. Although it is premature to panic, it should be clear that at least something is not working as we might hope, and we could ask whether a person’s effort is best focused on returning to the roots of principles of liberal democracy, or on bringing about a post-liberal order.

Decentralized Social Media

The noise has quieted down a little bit now, but there has been much consternation lately about whether the tech industry exercises too much power. Major events that have prompted these concerns include Donald Trump’s Twitter account being disabled and the social network Parler having its AWS service canceled.

I’ve generally taken a hard-line market position, arguing that whatever the merits of actions by Amazon, Twitter, and other companies, they are private companies and should be able to set their own policies without government interference. This is a minority view, though, and it looks increasingly likely that there will be some kind of regulation. Balaji Srinivasan pointed out on Twitter that the major tech companies came out of an era (recent, yet feels long ago) when the dominance of both the United States and American technology companies was beyond reasonable question. Now there are more alternatives to both, as well as growing concerns about nationalism, privacy, cybersecurity, and other factors that may motivate regulation.

I think the only lasting defense against the impulse to regulate is to build decentralized alternatives to major tech services that are inherently impossible to regulate, both by governments and by major corporations. This sounds nice, but in practice the industry is moving toward greater centralization for a reason. It is one thing to built a decentralized Twitter; I could probably do that myself. It is quite another to build a decentralized Twitter with the security, scalability, and reliability that one expects from main service. Parler evidently failed in these tasks; not only could they not survive the cancellation of their AWS contract, they did not secure vital data of their users. It is even more difficult to replicate the community that comes with scale. Building a decentralized version of AWS is even harder, as this means replicating a large and growing volume of computing resources. These companies have thousands of software engineers each.

So, “if you don’t like [Facebook/Twitter/Uber/Amazon/AirBnB/whatever] you should build your own alternative” is not yet a credible response. Such alternatives don’t exist for lack of effort. We don’t even have a widespread decentralized app for identity. I would start there. If that problem can be solved, then maybe there is some hope for more complex issues.

Metro and the I5 Bridge Replacement

Oregon Metro is getting off to a new term. In a work session this week, we heard from Metro’s lobbyist. He lamented the fact that there will probably be some security added in Salem, taking away the historic openness that the state capital has had. Aside from being closed due to Covid, there was a security incident last month which now implicates one of the legislators.

The main event of the work session, though, was the I5 Bridge Replacement, a project formerly known as the Columbia River Crossing. This project has been on the agenda for Oregon and Washington for most of my adult lifetime, and the states are now aiming for construction to be complete in 2025. I’ll be happy if it’s done this decade.

The main topic this week was the restorative justice program, which basically boils down to paying people with homes or businesses in the Albina neighborhood, which will be the site of much of the construction. The money didn’t seem to be sufficient for some council members. In addition, others are concerned about the fact that there is any highway project at all, wanting more money for local streets and/or non-automotive transportation.

While I am not without sympathy for the opposition to the bridge, I find the CRC and successor project to be prime examples of the syndromes that prevent the construction of any kind of infrastructure. Portland is one of the worst cities in the country for traffic congestion (though it has recently improved slightly), and the cost of living is significantly higher than the national average. If you don’t like highway projects, then fine, but propose credible alternatives that work for the region as a whole. There are some, but I don’t see Metro pursuing them. Simply obstructing projects, or adding ancillary priorities that raise costs, make problems worse for the region.

Kuznets Curves

Back to Urban Cruise Ship stuff, I whipped up a plot on Kuznets curves this week. An (environmental) Kuznets curve is a hypothetical model under which an environmental impacts shows a U-shaped curve with income. In other words, as income grows, the impact gets worse to a point, but it tends to get better after a certain level of income. Generally speaking, water pollutants and localized air pollutants show clear signs of Kuznets curves, while for other impacts such as municipal solid waste and CO2 emissions, the evidence is inconclusive.

To be honest, I have my skepticism about the whole business. I find Kuznets curves exhibit the “reading history sideways” fallacy, where the development of countries is assumed to be a predictable, linear process such that poor countries today look like rich countries yesterday, and rich countries today look like poor countries tomorrow. Some, though not many, scholars seem to have noticed this problem specifically in the context of Kuznets curves.

Misgivings aside, I hope to have several more results to present. Perhaps at some point I will attempt my own analysis. I tried something similar a few years ago when I was at The Breakthrough Institute, though those efforts were not successful.

As for other work, I also spent some time on the section on Economic System, though that is still not uploaded. I had hoped to have it down by now, but the section is turning out to be both longer than harder than I thought.

Some thoughts on the Trump Administration

This will be my last blog post while Donald Trump is still president, so I thought I would review some of what I see to be the highlights and lowlights of the last four years. The administration published their own list of accomplishments. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but rather a list that I find to be of particular interest.

The Good

There has been some significant reductions in regulation, which has helped power the economic good times of the administration’s first three years. These regulations have, in particular, helped the production of natural gas, which has done more than anything else to replace coal power (though, in fairness, the development of fracking and tight oil has been a bipartisan effort that goes back to the Ford administration).

Trump has had three appointments to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Bret Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Each of these justices have earned strong credibility through the Federalist Society, and I think they have generally done a good job.

(Fun fact: Jimmy Carter is the only president who served a full term and did not get a Supreme Court nomination.)

The Mixed

In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act bill was signed. This was a major tax reform bill which did far too many things to comment on, but a main thrust was bringing corporate tax rates in line with international standards. I give this legislation significant credit for the strong economic conditions that prevailed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The cap on the SALT deduction was good too.

Unfortunately, tax cuts were not balanced with spending cuts, raising the deficit to around $1 trillion per year prior to the pandemic. These are dangerous levels that the United States should not be running during good times. Now we have deficits exceeding $3 trillion per year, a debt/GDP ratio in excess of a dangerous 100%, and an excuse for Democrats to embark on their own reckless spending plans.

(Another fun fact: U.S. federal budgets were last balanced under Bill Clinton. Before that, budgets were balanced briefly under Nixon.)

The Bad

Immigration and refugee rates have fallen significantly, in large part because of administration policy, and international trade has increased, despite administration policy.

The list of accomplishments above has a long section about the Covid-19 response (or the “China virus”), but there is no way to spin the fact that the American response has been atrocious. The best defense for the administration is that most governors and mayors have also responded poorly.

Much criticism has been directed at Trump’s personality and use of conspiracy theory, much of which is fair and much exaggerated. I think the least that can be said is that the Trump administration, like other recent administrations, provides a strong case for Congress to reclaim the authority that it has ceded to the executive branch.

Missed Opportunities

At HUD, Ben Carson started writing a rule to replace the Affirmative Furthering Fair Housing regulation that would have been the strongest federal action so far on liberalizing zoning. Those efforts were scuttled by the rest of the administration.

In 2020, the Trump administration embarked on an effort to cut the time of environmental assessments and environmental impact statements under NEPA. However, the effort has not been completed and I don’t think is likely to continue under the Biden administration.

[dollarstoreartspam]

Ok so Jacob Portman and Olive Abrolhos Elephanta have ADHD and you can pry this headcanon out of my cold dead ADHD hands so here we go~

Jacob

Younger Jacob had like a big hyper fixation on the peculiars and exploring and it was like a big Special Interest, and when he got older and got made fun of and sort of lost his interest he felt really Empty for a very long time 

Somewhat subtle stimmer

He chew stims a lot, he’s definitely broken like a dozen pens or more by chewing on the ends really hard. He also probably chews on shirt sleeves and the inside of his cheek, once he bought himself a chew stim toy but his mom thought it was gross and threw it away, he goes through like three packs of gum a week

When he’s really excited he probably like slams his hands of counters and stuff

The human embodiment of the Leg Bounce ™

Sensory stims are his SHIT man, Ricky probably makes fun of him because of how many slime blogs he follows

Hyper Fixates on really specific things like how planes work and ends up watching shows ‘How it’s Made’ and various documentaries and reads like every slightly related Wiki and before he knows it it’s been 40 hours and he hasn't moved for two days

Forgets to eat way too fucking much

A smart boy, he’s pretty good at understanding things on a base level and his anxiety forces him to behave enough in class so he isn’t diagnosed with ADHD until he’s like 15 and his parents are the kind of people who “Don't believe in labels” and think “It's just a phase everyone goes through” and Jacob is SUFFERING 

Zones out a lot

He’s TERRIBLE at studying and reading stuff like he gets distracted v easily

When he tries to study for finals it’s like dissociation central and hours of Tumblr scrolling

The reason he hates his job at Smart Aid is because it’s that type of Boring ™ where you feel like your brain is going to explode and you’re filled with such an overwhelming sense of under stimulation you want to slam your head against a table

Goes through interests so fast. I can guarantee this boy has played at least 5 sports, been in 20 + clubs, and picked up a million hobbies before dropping them all within a month to a year (like in the book when he talks about how the year before he had begged his parents for a camera he no longer gave two shits about like that’s so relatable man)

CANNOT maintain friendships. He won’t text back or drives them away and he’s honestly surprised Ricky and the peculiars have stuck around so long.

Olive

Weirdest fucking thought processes, like she’ll just be sitting at the dinner table and be like “Doesn’t that old lady who lives halfway up the street have red curtains?” and everyone is like “wut” and she’s like “WELL we were having turkey for dinner and that made me think of when me and my parents moved to England, right? And I met this girl named Tilly and she was my best friend! And Tilly had this Golden-Brown hair, right, that was in these pretty bright copper coils? And it looked exactly the color of this turkey! And Tilly only visited over the winter because she was staying with her aunt and she taught me all about christmas and I taught her about hanukkah and she got me this really nice skirt one year for what we called christmaanukah! It was brown. But her Aunt didn’t like her hanging around me right? And whenever Tilly visited and we hung out it was cold because we had to hide outside and her cheeks got all red and then I remembered I tore my current skirt and I wanted Horace to make me a new one but this time a red one  because red is just a much more pleasant color isn’t it? But we’d need to go into town and steal some red fabric right? So I thought of the old lady with red curtains. Horace do you think that would make a nice skirt?” and all Horace, who is used to these tangents is just like “sure olive” 

Stims so MUCH

When she’s excited she gets very bouncy and just kinda hops around and if the peculiars aren’t careful she might just like hop to the ceiling or the sky

Flaps so much holy shit she gets so excited man and you know, you just gotta Flap ™

Gets distracted very easily

Not the best at school, she’s loud and forgetful and she tries SO HARD but can’t focus

Wants to Always Do Something. It doesn’t matter what but this girl Cannot Sit Still

When she gets her mind set on something NOTHING can stop her from starting. Starting being the key word here. She’ll focus on one project for like three days straight and then stop right before finishing cuz she got bored and it drives Miss Peregrine INSANE

SO IMPULSIVE

Jacob gets her a Fidget Spinner and she’s in Heaven she loves it

Needs to say out loud what she plans on doing or she WILL forget

Together

Have the most inconsistent rapidly changing conversations that NO ONE can follow

Don’t tell them to get anything or remember anything or go anywhere without someone else because they WILL distract each other and forget

They definitely infodump to everyone and each other, Bronwyn and Millard are good to infodump too because they listen and REMEMBER some of your random babble. Sometimes Jacob and Olive will infodump to each other and have a full conversation, both talking about two completely different subjects and overlapping each other and it’s a glorious mess.

Neither have ANY perception of time its bad

[smilingformoney]

America’s Most Eligible 2 Diamond Scene: New York with Jen

You let your mind drift back to those carefree summer days…

Several weeks ago… You and Jen have just sat down at an upscale restaurant in Manhattan. Jen grins at you across the table. Jen: When you said you were treating me to a fancy meal after my flight, I didn’t realise how fancy. You: Aren’t you glad you made the trip? Jen: So glad. Trust me, I would’ve dropped everything to come meet you sooner if I could’ve. Jen: Work has been… hectic, with Carson taking over. Sometimes it’s overwhelming, but I think we’ll figure things out before the season starts. You rest a comforting hand on top of hers as a waiter brings you each a plate of delicious-smelling pasta. You: You work too hard, Jen. You deserve to have some fun. Jen: I’m here with you, aren’t I? And I want to hear everything I’ve missed since we last saw each other.

-If you won last season

Jen: How was your grand prize trip to Paris? You went with, um…

Who did you travel with? -Adam

You: I went with Adam. He’s so different when he’s away from the cameras! You: He even tried to get me to base jump with him from the top of the Eiffel Tower, but I chickened out.

-Mackenzie

You: I went with Mackenzie. We were on the go the whole time, running around town and exploring. You: I think the longest we stood still was when we took power stance selfies in front of the Arc de Triomphe.

-Derek

You: I went with Derek. We hit up every museum in town and spent an entire day at the Louvre. You: He must be starting up a blog or something, because he was totally taking notes on everything we saw.

-Bianca

You: I went with Bianca. We spent a lot of time shopping on Rue de Rivoli. She’s scary good at haggling. You: But it was nice. It felt like we’ve been friends for longer than just a few months.

-Teagan

You: I went with Teagan. We definitely got a few looks when we did couples’ yoga at Champ de Mars. You: She insisted that we mirror the Eiffel Tower in form and spirit… and somehow we found a way.

Jen: It sounds like you had a good time. You: I did… although it would’ve been even better with you. Jen: What about after your trip? How did you spend the rest of your summer?

-If you lost last season

Jen: What’ve you been up to since last season wrapped?

You: I’ve been… -Taking it easy.

You: Nothing too exciting, just catching up on sleep, hanging with friends… And many, many movie nights on the couch. Jen: Honestly, that sounds amazing. I don’t really get to relax like that too often. You: Like I said, you work too hard. Jen: I dunno about that… but I could stand to take a little more time for myself every so often. You: Being here with me is definitely a good start.

-Doing some traveling.

You: I took an impulse vacation to Hawaii, visited my family, then took a few days to drive to New York. And now, here we are! Jen: It sounds like you’ve been having a good time. I’m just glad I finally got to do some traveling with you myself.

-Thinking about you.

You chuckle as Jen’s eyes widen, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. You: I mean it! Not a day went by where I didn’t wonder what you were up to, or whether you were having a good day. You: I missed you. Jen: Oh, Jamie… I missed you too. And… I also thought about you. Often.

Jen flashes you a brilliant smile, then glances at the restaurant around you. Jen: This is my first night in New York, and it’s even more glamorous than I always imagined. You: Any ideas for what you wanna do around town? Jen: A few… I was thinking we could visit the Met… You: I’m sold. Jen: Maybe take a boat-ride in Central Park… You: Sounds romantic. I’m double-sold. Jen: And I think it’d be fun to see a Broadway show! Maybe Hamilton? Though we’d be lucky to get tickets… You: I’ll get us tickets. What’s the point of being a reality star if I can’t call in a few favours? Jen: So these are the perks of dating a minor celebrity! You both laugh, and you take Jen’s hand in yours. You: I can think of a few more perks than that… Jen: If I tried to list them all, we’d be here all night. Jen gazes at you for a long moment, her eyes shining with happiness. You: You might be giving me a little too much credit, Jen. Jen: I’m just so happy to be here with you. When I got fired, I honestly thought I’d never see you again… Jen: This is all so much more than I’d ever hoped for.

You: Jen… -I always knew we’d make things work.

Jen: Really? You never doubted it even for a second? You: Hey, don’t look so sceptical. You: My philosophy is that if someone truly matters to you, you’ll always find a way back to each other… Jen: And somehow, we did just that.

-I feel the same.

You: It was awful saying goodbye to you after Piper let you go… You: But when I saw you at the finale, I dared to hope we’d find a way to be together after all. Jen: So did I. We’ve had our fair share of struggles, Jamie, but now that I’m sitting here with you… Jen: I can’t help but think there’s nothing that will keep us apart.

As you smile at each from across the table, a waiter offers you both a choice of drinks on a tray.

What do you drink? -Champagne -Martini -Mint Tea

You take your drink off the tray, and Jen grabs a second one. Jen: Before we enjoy these… I’ve heard the roof of this place has quite a view. Humour me? You: Always.

Jen leads you through the back of the restaurant and up to an intimate rooftop lounge. Looking across the skyline, you feel like you can see the whole city. You: Wow. This place is incredible… Jen: The most incredible part is the woman/man standing right next to me. Jen softly rests her free hand on yours…. As you smile at her, she smiles back, lifting her glass in a toast. Jen: Shall we?

You: To… -You!

My favourite producer… and my smokin’ hot date. Jen giggles and reaches forward with her glass. Jen: To my most memorable contestant… and my trusted friend.

-New York City!

You: And whatever adventures await us! Jen grins and reaches forward with her glass. Jen: To our journey. Together.

-Both of us!

You: May we continue being the perfect team. Jen nods and reaches forward with her glass. Jen: To us!

CHAMPAGNE/MARTINI/MINT TEA -Cheers!

You clink your glasses together and take a sip of your drink. There’s a familiar flush on Jen’s cheeks as she does the same. You: You’re doing it again. That cute blushing thing. Jen: Well, I was just thinking about something… Jen: Namely, how much I want to kiss you right now. Her gaze drops to your lips. You smile, and lean toward her. You: Why think about it when you could have the real thing? Jen meets you halfway, her lips on yours in an instant. You feel her sigh happily into the kiss as you deepen it, taking her lower lip between yours… When you part, you take a moment to appreciate the joy in Jen’s eyes, the redness of her full lips… You: I’m so happy you made it to New York, Jen. You: Here, we’re not the Girl/Boy Next Door or a hotshot producer… We can just be us. Jen: And I’m glad for that, Jamie. I don’t want to be anywhere else. As your lips meet hers again, a surge of affection washes over you. And it’s not that you realise you never want this moment to end…

You blink rapidly and come to, watching the others head back to centerstage. Jen steps up beside you with a smile. Jen: You looked deep in thought over here. Nervous about the Challenge? You: Nah, I could never be nervous with you beside me. I was thinking about our trip. Jen gives your hand a quick squeeze. So quick, nobody else could have noticed. Jen: I’ve been thinking about it too… Jen: I should’ve said this when we were in New York, Jamie, but I want you to know that I’ll have your back. No matter what happens this season. You: Thanks, Jen. And maybe when things calm down, we can revisit those memories together. Or make new ones. Jen: I like the sound of that.

[aisleb]

Phen375 composition - How To Lessen Belly Fat Quickly In 14 Days

Chu Yingtai smiled phen375 weight reduction tablet Pills Sexual Healthy and asked Are you talking concerning the yen The Vietnamese Dong can also be OK. He felt that the previous wound had only phen375 weight reduction pill Pills a slight warmth, but phen375 weight reduction pill Pills HappyMed in order to hand over, let the spirit enter. If the household doesn't assist, what do you mean Early the next morning, Li Xiaochu was extra anxious than phen375 weight loss tablet Pills Sexual Healthy Li Qingyun. This phen375 weight reduction capsule Pills Erectile Dysfunction is a few words of complaints that phen375 weight reduction tablet Pills Penis Growth Li Qingyun intentionally swears, however when he said this, he suddenly remembered what Finally, I lastly know why I feel that phen375 weight loss capsule Pills Erectile Dysfunction one thing is mistaken.

Lose Belly Weight After 50 Male

These merchandise are recognized to be unsafe to your physique system. Unlike urge for food suppressants, fats burners won't increase your digestion fee or maintain your hydration stage. It also won't improve your neurological activities like appetite suppressants will do. Phen24 is among the fabulous weight reduction drugs out there that have helped a number of individuals shed weight and regain their confidence about their physique. It known as phen24 as a result of it's a 24-hour weight loss method. The program works with human support, by way of coaching, personalized meal plans, skilled articles and access to a meals database managed by nutritionists. You get everything you have to lose weight and hold it off – all from a clinically confirmed system. Cayenne pepper is a spicy fruit is utilized in meals dishes, as well as over-the-counter dietary merchandise. Cayenne pepper might assist promote satiety and weight loss, states the journal Bioscience Reports. The method obtainable within the United States is markedly totally different from the method utilized in Europe.

How To Lose Excess Weight In Your Belly Fast At Home How To Lose Belly Weight After 50

If the consumption of a particular slimming complement causes issues and experiences like nausea, fuel, muscle cramps, pain, and all kinds of aches, bleeding and so on then via away the deadly weapon instantly. A perfect food plan tablet is one that gives solely optimistic impact to your health and positively your weight with none unwanted effects. It is advisable to opt for products that are prescribed by an professional or your physician as they're conscious of your well being and its requirements. Consuming these nutritional vitamins each day would provide your body with vitality and likewise preserve a great well being. Along with these, different supplements and nutritional vitamins may be consumed to boost the method of weight reduction.

How To Lose Excess Weight In Legs Calves Workout

But of course, you will be able to benefit from the mentioned advantages solely if you purchase the weight loss supplements from the internationally renowned producers. You may choose to look at prescription slimming capsules, there are several selections. The drawback with many of those is that there typically are undesirable unwanted side effects. Proactol Plus remains a rather unique complement as a result of it has the potential to bind fats making it simpler to remove. How is that this achieved and are the results dependable?

Weightlifting Exercises To Get Rid Of Belly Fat Lose Tummy Weight In Weekly

ERdiet Appetite Attack is a 60-capsule suppressant made for girls. This product is crammed with key pure urge for food suppressing components like apple cider, african mango, plain caffeine powder and green tea. These ingredients will assist in speedy weight discount. Unless and until an individual avails the suitable directions and medicines from their GP or common doctor, these supplements would not have the ability to combat obesity. However, there are still many producers who care about each the shoppers’ well being and own popularity. PhenQ is the best fat burner and this has been proved many times in apply and in numerous medical studies of the drug. Therefore if you are looking for the most effective weight reduction tablets, there's a want for you to positively have a look at a couple of things first. One necessary factor that you have to do is to verify if they've been accredited by the Food and drug administration.

How To Lose Excess Weight On Legs When Pregnant

The manufacturers of the non-synthetic supplements which battle chubby promote their merchandise as highly secure. But not all of these complement commercials line up with actuality. The lively ingredients of the drug get into the physique and bind the mind and central nervous system. At this stage the motion of PhenQ occurs. During regular hunger an impulse will get to the brain of a human and it's blocked and does not attain a point of destination.

How To Reduce A Lot Of Stomach Fat In 3 Days

The Best Phen375 Weight Loss Pill Healthy Sexual Healthy Online Shop HappyMed. However, presently, the entire island has been safe fat burners for girls Fast Weight Loss surrounded by 1000's of troopers, and there are numerous military tools on the island. One of the biggest benefits of the Phen375 food plan and slimming complement is its easy and simple to make use of, WITHOUT any requirements or difficulties

How To Reduce Tummy Weight Fast At Home

At first look, it seems the company combined elements recognized to advertise fats loss – Forskolin, cayenne, and caffeine, amongst others. We determined to take a deep look into Phen375 to give you the full info on the corporate and the product. Read on the learn what we came upon. So, is Phen375 a rip-off like so many different weight loss drugs in the marketplace? No.

Best Exercises To Lose Excess Weight On Legs And Bum Best Way To Lose Weight In Legs And Hips

If you are looking out for Amazon offers or GNC specials, you received’t discover any. While this diet supplement could have once been offered through these shops, it is not anymore. Chromium is a mineral backed by research for its well being advantages. It’s present in meals corresponding to broccoli, tomatoes, barley, romaine lettuce green beans and oats. Chromium can also be concerned in the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein, and fats, based on information from the Office of Dietary Supplements.

Best Exercises To Reduce Your Belly Fat

These key components will break down complex substances in your physique. They may also modulate the hormones responsible for meals intake in your physique system. Garcinia Extra is likely one of the handiest and bestselling weight reduction drugs within the market today. Click right here for the lowest priceComing fourth on the list is Garcinia Cambogia Exra. This is one of the most popular diet pills that works quick out there today. Based on the overwhelming constructive evaluations, it is safe to name PhenQ the best urge for food suppressant out there. I even have visited completely different blogs, boards and social media pages to get a feel of what users are saying about PhenQ weight reduction tablets. I wanted to know if they are getting results. These herbal weight reduction supplements are facet impact free and low cost. If you make use of those supplements, you are bound to lose round 5 to 10 pounds on the earliest however with the inclusion of a wholesome eating behavior and a regulated exercising regime.

Why Am I Reducing Your Weight In My Legs However, Not My Stomach

Here’s a easy fact about each dietary complement. If you want to maximize the benefits of a product you’re utilizing, the make sure you are using it correctly. Sometimes, should you don’t stick with the suggestions, you may even danger your personal well being because you’re exposing yourself to the potential unwanted effects. Many of those side effects may be from a few of the individual elements, quite than the whole method. ERdiet Appetite Attack is a 60-capsule suppressant made for girls. This product is crammed with key pure urge for food suppressing components like apple cider, african mango, plain caffeine powder and green tea. These ingredients will assist in speedy weight discount. Unless and until an individual avails the suitable directions and medicines from their GP or common doctor, these supplements would not have the ability to combat obesity. However, there are still many producers who care about each the shoppers’ well being and own popularity. PhenQ is the best fat burner and this has been proved many times in apply and in numerous medical studies of the drug. Therefore if you are looking for the most effective weight reduction tablets, there's a want for you to positively have a look at a couple of things first. One necessary factor that you have to do is to verify if they've been accredited by the Food and drug administration.

How To Lose Weight In Arms And Thighs How To Lose Excess Weight In Hands Exercise Biceps Exercise

However, Forskolin 250 weight reduction complement is not for everyone and individual results might vary. Be cautious before trying any new health regimen or complement, and consult your doctor before purchasing this product. PhenQ is essentially the most powerful weight loss complement obtainable on the market today. This highly effective supplement works by burns fats and suppresses the urge for food so that you eat much less.

How To Lose Excess Weight In Your Legs And Stomach Fast

As soon as you begin using these diet pills, you'll experience the nice feeling of fullness more often than not. This is extraordinarily important for people who are wanting forward to consuming unhealthy food. If you are in the market for a weight reduction complement and Phen375 has crossed your thoughts then you might be in the right place. Phen375 is a weight loss complement that is taking the market.

How To Lose Belly Fat Without Exercise Or Dieting

You can purchase the supplement on-line through the official web site. You’ll merely visit the official website and purchase Phen375; no prescription is required. Through numerous research and researches, experts have discovered many medicinal elements in natural supplements. Side results are common with numerous products in general. Unfortunately, most merchandise will risk your health, and yet they ironically don't actually produce any results.

How To Lose Weight In Your Thighs And Belly Good Exercises To Lose Weight In Your Thighs

Phen375™ is made in services which are FDA accredited, and this makes it completely clear that it is a secure food plan complement that complies with all federal rules and regulations. Let’s not forget that is extraordinarily important to drink a lot of water when taking Phen375 tablets to maximise their efficiency. This means, you'll boost the load loss process.

Lose Weight In Your Arms Fast

PhenQ will certainly make you fall in love with your body once more. And there’s nothing to lose as it comes with a money back guarantee. I’m assured PhenQ will allow you to drop those annoying additional pounds and hit you’re your aim faster. Weight issues have eaten the minds of many, although many haven’t been in a position to due to them! The finest weight loss merchandise are those that really present results and usually are not ballooned with guarantees. Capsicum (herb, more commonly often known as purple/chill pepper), piperine (the alkaloid compound on which the black pepper owes its purgency), caffeine, and niacin (natural compound, otherwise generally known as Vitamin B3) are the principle components of Capsimax Powder, an ingredient that can also be present in PhenQ Weight Loss Pills that we now have reviewed. Capsaicinoids, as we now have seen, are a well-known go to in relation to pure, helpful compounds for weight loss and fats burn. These diet pills are not replacement of food; as a substitute they're a medium to boost your food plan. These supplements must be taken with equal portion of nutritional food.

[afoolsingenuity]

My Thoughts // Where I Didn’t Like A Book I Thought I Would And Question Why

My Thoughts is a discussion feature I like to include sporadically on my blog and each one goes towards my goals in the Discussion Challenge hosted by Nicole and Shannon. I try and reason out things and talk about things which have been on my mind.

***

I began reading Labyrinth Lost, a book I had been very excited for, just a few days ago and as I slowly began reading I was nervous because it soon became apparent I wasn’t destined to love this book. It wasn’t even the books fault, I loved the premise. I was thrilled it features a bisexual main character with a M/F/F love triangle. I loved the fact it features Latin folklore of brujas and brujos and just learning about a culture I knew nothing about. I adored the fact that family was a central theme in the book and it wasn’t simply family present but past family members, ancestors, who played a role in shaping these characters because heritage was obviously important. All of that would normally mean I adored the book…. unfortunately, I ended up DNF-ing at 40% because of one reason and one reason alone… I hated the main character.

This post is me learning a few things about myself and how I can be way more judgemental depending upon the genre.

Alex was annoying to me for many reasons and they will be spoiler filled reasons, but spoilers which reveal little more than the Goodreads summary does. But if you’re adamant to avoid spoilers I will say it’s because she is impulsive and makes stupid decisions she doesn’t accept responsibility for (at least, not within the first part of the book).

The spoiler filled reasons are that she is whiny as hell at the beginning and so supremely ungrateful and selfish. I mean, I could accept her being scared and unwilling to accept her magical ancestry and powers but she makes idiotic mistakes and is unwilling to listen to advice and is to blame for her own ignorance. She completely ignored her heritage whenever possible, refused to listen to someone telling her that it probably wasn’t the best idea to use her magic if she was unwilling to accept the consequences, and made the cardinal magical mistake of combining 2 cantos (spells) when she didn’t know what would happen.

I may be being overly harsh to her incompetence but I really struggled to feel any sympathy for her and her plight when she was to blame for banishing her entire family to Los Lagos and she then tries to blame others at first and not accept it was her own damn fault. I just wanted to slap her dumb face and knock some sense into her. What was more annoying was when a character mentioned she would know things if she’d gone to Lady’s lessons as others her age do and I was beyond pissed. She can reject her gift, fine, but she put herself in the position by not even learning of her heritage? I can’t even deal with that kind of blind ignorance. And willing ignorance at that.

Now, I know many will say she is still quite a young character and this leaves her open for some great character growth and self-discovery, which I like the idea of. If this had been contemporary YA where a main character had been self-centred and made mistakes I might have enjoyed it. But, because it is a fantasy book it leaves me more critical of rash decisions made by characters as the stakes are higher. Her decisions can lead to character deaths and they have far greater consequences. It’s difficult to have the same stakes in contemporary YA so I am not so critical of characters. I can forgive them and then continue reading to see how they develop and will be invested but in fantasy, I struggle to have that same mind frame. It’s strange how something as small as the book’s genre can affect my perspective on things.

My criticisms of Alex’s character may stem from me having a particularly annoying week or two dealing with the consequences of people who don’t know how to do their job and the frustrations this has caused me so I am less willing to deal with incompetent characters in books as well. I don’t know, but I was not a fan of her and I do not want to read about scared characters who allowed themselves to be ignorant of their past. Some may say it was nice to have a character who was aware of her heritage and had a strong family behind her so she strong emotional connections to help guide her, I say I would have been more forgiving of her stupidity if she had a good reason for not being fully aware of her heritage, but willing ignorance is something that really bugs me.

Anyway, what I learnt from this is that I prefer to have slightly more sensible characters in my fantasy. I prefer strong women who kickass and fewer teenagers making stupid life decisions and seem to be put in a book just to piss me off (because this entire book was an entire attack on me and what I like, obviously). I may go back to this book another time and really enjoy it, but for now Labyrinth Lost was a book with an excellent premise that was hampered by an annoying main character that made me stop reading. There were lots of things which if done differently would have made me be someone raving about this book too, but sadly I’m not and that’s the worst feeling because I was excited about this book.

Have you read a book where all the boxes are ticked for you and a main character ruins it for you? Am I alone in being more forgiving of character flaws in contemporary fiction for some reason or am I just being a bit crazy right now? Am I just being overly critical and need to get over myself?

from Blogger http://ift.tt/2kzywA7 via IFTTT