#But something like archery is very focused on your own learning and progress

[nature-played-a-trick-on-me]

Who can watch this and not go. Oh my god I want to do this

[comicteaparty]

July 6th-July 12th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 6th, 2020 to July 12th, 2020.  The chat focused on Challenge of the Zodiac by Rachel Green.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Challenge of the Zodiac by Rachel Green~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/challenge-of-the-zodiac/list?title_no=36377)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until July 12th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

One thing I really like about the comic so far is how... passive the worldbuilding is? Like we had to be told what the challenge is early on, but, like, it's left up to the reader to figure out which races correspond with which sign, what prejudices this world has, etc. My favorite character is Elder Rion. It's interesting how he seems to walk on two legs too, yet even members of the higher ups are prejudiced against Fay. Like, do people refuse to throw ceremonies for him too?

rajmews

It's interesting how a lot of the countries in this world have a history of war and it seems like it's very on the edge of maybe falling into war again (but maybe I'm just reading into it too much? it's still early on in the story) yet they're coming together for this trail. Like an Olympic Games of sorts.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Yeah that is interesting, and I'm wondering how that will play out as the champions travel across the continent. Like, to a certain extent, the champions will probably be respected, but I get the feeling some countries will be way more hostile than others...

MissGreenie

Hey guys, I’m the author of Zodiac! I’m really enjoying hearing your feedback so far as I would like to continue making the comic. Ever since quarantine happened, I lost the drive to start drawing the other chapters I’ve scripted out. Looking forward to seeing more as the week progresses : )

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning of the comic was just kind of the no fuss about the world and, as @snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) termed it, the passive worldbuilding. I like that this comic kind of leaves me to my own devices to figure everything out and lets me gather information sheerly from how everyone in the world interacts and talks about things. My favorite moment in the comic so far was actually the bandit situation when Fay tried to rescue Elle. I kind of liked the attitude that Elle and Fay both had about it, plus I liked this mystery it opened up with Elle. Since it was pretty clear Elle was gonna come back, and now all I want to know is what Elle was up to and why come 180 that travel destination. Insofar, my favorite character is Leonard. I like Leonard's general personality just cause it's a lot warmer in contrast to a lot of the other characters. He's the sort of character I just want to give a big hug to, basically. As for characters interacting though, probably Fay and Elder Rion. I'm really interested to see how Elder Rion is gonna mentor Fay and I just overall like the respect that exists there despite them both being rather opposite. So I think it just makes for interesting interactions I can't quite predict. As for the art, I really like the overall style. It's simple and sometimes the lines purposefully wiggle, and I think that it gives the story a lot of character and emotion. In terms of themes, I really like this comic is exploring rich vs. poor with Leonard. Sometimes it's easy to just blame someone rich for everything, but just cause someone comes from a rich family doesn't mean they're magically responsible for everything bad. Even further, though, the comic also still leaves that door open for whether Leonard is obligated to do more because of his class privelege. So I'm interested to see where this all goes.

For the comic's overall story/content, again, the world-building. I just that it's this gradual thing as there's a good balance between stuff I don't understand but stuff I do. So I can always find a grounding element even when I want to know more. Which I do think this is the comic's strength since it let's you get right into the narrative without zounds of exposition.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Given the comic’s themes of discrimination, stereotyping, and more, which moment stood out to you the most? How do you think these themes will continue to affect the characters, and how might they grow from them (if at all)?

10. Do you think Fay’s team will learn to cooperate as they work towards a common goal? Also, why do you think Leonard and Elle are personally participating? How might this change how Fay sees them?

11. What do you think some of the other challengers are like? In what ways will they challenge Fay and her team? Alternatively, in what ways might gaps be healed and everyone bond?

12. Do you think Fay’s team will ultimately succeed and move to the final round? If so, how will that change things? Also, how would winning change Fay’s life, and would it be all she dreamed of?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

yeah it's interesting how much of this story focuses on people making assumptions about others as soon as they meet them. even down to the initial challenge - everyone assumed that elder rion was looking for something shiny & gold because he's an important guy, but it turned out that the old slingshot was the real key. something i'm intrigued by is that Fay, our protagonist, also falls into this, despite being a victim of stereotyping herself. like she assumed things about leonard, she guessed that the ring seller was a scammer at first glance, and she didn't even intentionally pick the correct item for elder rion's trial. it really shows that nobody is immune to biases.

RebelVampire

I liked that too about Fay, @snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) . That despite it all, she also is just as willing to participate in the culture of discrimination. The moment that stood out to me the most was when whoever that dude was said they weren't going to celebrate Fay being chosen. Cause there's discrimination...and then there's super jackass discrimination. And that was the latter. It also stood out to me cause of the contrast with a later scene, where Fay is told she can't participate in an archery thing because she's from a group of what's considered to be natural archers. And I think that kind of really captures the fact that not all flavors of discrimination are the same. I think all the character will learn that individuals are not their stereotype, and that in some ways they'll all come out better for it. I think Fay's team will cooperate eventually. I do think someone will need to slap Fay and remind her sabotaging them is sabotaging herself. So even if there's bitterness, they'll at least aim for that similar goal. As for why Leonard and Elle are participating, Leonard at least I think is trying to prove something to himself and/or his family. As for Elle, I think Elle is after power in order to find something. I think in some ways this will flip how Fay sees them now, wherein she'll think more of Leonard and less of Elle. As for the other challengers, I want to assume somewhere between Team Fire and Team Water. In that they aren't there to be jerks but aren't there to lose either. I do think one team will instantly be able to cooperate though. But I think regardless of what they're like the interactions will make them all rethink that perhaps what they've heard about each group is not entirely accurate. I think Fay's team will succeed to the final round, if not just for the fact they're the protagonists. I do think winning won't be everything Fay wanted it to be though, mostly because I don't think Fay has the best grasp on what she wants.

mathtans

So, first thing I want to do here is just offer a thumbs up of encouragement. It can be tough when real life stuff kind of takes over. Graduation, moving, job, then the whole pandemic thing... kinda sucks. But I like to think I get it. I've been writing a time travel story since, like, 2001 (when I graduated University) and I'm still poking away at it in my very rare spare time. The story wants to be told. So, we find something in ourselves to keep at it. It's nice that you returned.

And don't necessarily let art pages not being at some standard get in the way. Like I'm one to talk since my drawing skill is way poor, but anyway.

1. The beginning framing was very clever, I thought, with the classroom. Allows for exposition (somewhat subverted there), we see our protagonist is older, and is trying to improve herself despite having trouble making ends meet, which also comes up.

2. Favourite moment is probably back in Chapter 3, page 19. The exchange of "That could have been me back there"; "But it wasn't, let's keep moving". There's an echo there to whatever happened in Fay's past some panels earlier, when she came home (perhaps a point when she wished it hadn't been her) and the idea that you have to keep moving forwards.

Then the point was echoed again when talking to Elder Rion, about her picking the slingshot, and he told her not to dwell on what "could have been" (or words to that effect, sorry, not going to look up exact phrasing). I think it's a good message.

There's also the fact that the other Sags clearly are going to dwell on this with the cancellation. I feel like there's layers. Anyway.

3. I think I'll have to echo snuffy in Elder Rion as favourite character. He's just so anti-establishment, like "don't worry about my title" and "I'm not picking some gold trinket" and "the last challenger was so boring". But at the same time he knows he has a role in this and spoke of the gift giving to be well regarded in the Circle. This guy's seen a lot and knows things.

4. For character interaction, I'd say Fay and Elle. Fay's pretty headstrong, it's easy to push her buttons, and Elle has been acting as a pretty good calming influence. But at the same time she knows when an intervention might be needed like with Castor. I could also see Fay being a bit of a lightning rod, drawing attention away from Elle, which feels like it's in her interests... idk.

That said, runner up is what we've seen of Castor and Kukah. Like the latter is kind of an open book, and Castor's almost got to remind him who he's supposed to be rooting for. Some of Castor's reaction expressions were quite funny.

5. Art is really not my forte. >.< One thing that struck me looking back is there weren't massively detailed backgrounds, and yet I didn't even really notice that. It's got the focus in the right places, is what I think I'm trying to say. (So maybe a bit like what Rebel said already?) I also did notice improvement through the last few pages.

6. Related to the previous moment above, one theme might be soldiering on even against overwhelming odds. Sometimes, you just get lucky (and sometimes, like with capturing the thief by dropping the pot, you can make some of your own luck). But I think there's a deeper one about race here too.

Namely the whole 'half breed' thing. For one thing, if only one of Fay's parents were a Sag, what does that make the other? And what made her identify as a Sag, rather than the other sign? (Is the other sign Aquarius, which would have made her a slave, is that it? Wondering based on Fay's recent reaction.) It certainly doesn't seem to be appearance that was the main deciding factor in her choice, which of course is largely why she's being so shunned (she looks different). It could have been marksmanship.

(Random aside, it's interesting how the "item selection" process really was more up to the Gods versus some sort of skill based process. I mean, I could see it as a method for narrowing the pool but I'm surprised it resulted in the choice outright.)

I mean, there's also the possibility that the choice wasn't up to Fay at all, and it was chosen by her parents. It IS interesting how you can just say "I identify as a xxxx" and people are cool with that, not asking to see birth certificate records or anything. Does that make aspects of their society more tolerant? Or does it simply make it easier to single someone out?

7. Regarding story and related content... I was immediately curious about what happened 12 years earlier when that was brought up (the 'greed' thing), and it was neat to see the 'Lore' page startup after that to provide a bit of information (without giving up the whole game too). There was also the bit with Jupiter... and, like, did they conquor Uranus? It's the only planet I'm not noticing on the map. (And there could be an obvious zodiac connection to why, I'm not an expert.) I guess what I'm saying is there are definite questions out there that keep you wondering but that don't interfere with the story itself. So that's clever.

8. In terms of strength I think there's a relatable protagonist with an interesting world that you know has a lot more to it than you're seeing. I'll come back to deal with other questions late tonight or tomorrow.

MissGreenie

Jupiter conquered Uranus, yes, it no longer exists and that’s why most Aquarians are enslaved. There’s really no Zodiac connection to that, I just wanted there to be some tension between two countries and to show that Leos/Jupiter are more or less the powerhouse of the world

Also I don’t remembered if this has been explicitly stated yet, (it’s hard to remember my own story LOL) but Aquarians are very strong, can lift pretty heavy stuff, so they’re seen as kind of the perfect servants

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

That makes sense. And I don't think it was explicitly stated, but it was at least implicitly, in terms of Leonard's description of the other person living there and Fay jumping to the conclusion that it meant an Aquarian.

9. One moment that stood out to me in terms of discrimination was when the Sagitarrius guy cancelled the dinner. Like, I get that they're not thrilled but seems like there would be implications for outright cancelling (not sure what Elder Rion would say about it for one). Yet the guy was all, screw it, we're cancelling, like not even worried about that. So much for the thought that Fay would begin to gain some respect among peers for being chosen.

Though I also wonder a bit about Fay's latest reaction. Like, she was willing to go along with Leonard (even given him embellishing stories) until she saw he was rich, now she's stereotyping him in with the rest of the Leos. If the prejudice runs that deep, wouldn't it have come up before? But then maybe she saw him as like someone in her position. In any event it will be interesting to see Fay coming to grips with her own issues there.

I suppose I've echoed Rebel a bit there. Interesting point about the archery thing later, like she kind of can't exist in either world.

10. I think Fay's team has already cooperated to an extent in how they handled Castor. They're better at coming together when there's an external influence; they don't know enough about each other yet to work internally. So they might blunder a bit into a solution but I think they'll stay on track. Elle, it might also have something to do with her appearance (I don't think we've seen her without the cloak), Leonard might be trying to prove himself given how I don't think he's the stereotypical type for his sign. I think Fay may have to put her foot in her mouth to change her initial preconceptions (just because she's pretty impulsive) but will get there. Or as Rebel said, maybe someone else will have to point it out explicitly.

Hadn't considered the flip from Elle to Leonard, that's interesting, Rebel.

11. We've mostly only seen the fire group so far, and that's an interesting dynamic. (Marena has good facial expressions too.) Maybe one of the groups will cheat, and be called out for it, related to what happened 12 years ago? It might be interesting too if there's a round where two groups have to work together against the other two groups.

And then there's that whole "sign form" thing, which is apparently not legal in towns. Nice hinting there... maybe that's how a group will cheat, or maybe someone does a sign form to save someone else so they get a pass (or do-over) even though they didn't achieve some goal? Don't even know what it means yet, of course.

12. I feel like they will get to the final round, but it might be because one of the other teams gets disqualified or something, like they didn't necessarily do it all on their own merits. And then of course they'll have to go against each other (I presume) in order to pick the top sign, and that's where things could really change, depending on how much they've revealed about themselves. Will Fay will overall? If she does, I don't think it will really be what she wants, whereas if she doesn't, I think it will be because she's found what she wanted. Again Rebel made a good point there, she's a bit directionless.

Though I also think she's simply so used to being taken advantage of, and looked down on, and ignored, that the whole "you win the thing" is not something she knows how to handle, even at this stage. (She "won" the coin purse and used it to pay off her debts, but that was more a result of actions she took.) Then there's whatever happened in her past when she "failed" and came home, which probably hooks in somehow.

I'll return for Part 3 likely tomorrow...

RebelVampire

I am most looking forward to just seeing the actual challenge starting since that will really speak on how the team dynamics will be and so forth. And I think it'll be good to find out which each character is bringing to the table in terms of skills, which can lead to interesting speculation for the future. My final words are this is a truly interesting world, so I hope to see it continue and learn more about it.

mathtans

13. Hoping to see... well, there's a couple things. Character wise I'm wondering about whether Elder Rion would have anything to say about Fay's opinions about Leonard, in part since he'll be a teammate. Also wondering about the rest of the teams (nice move in the colour coding during the introduction) though I can wait longer on that since the Water/Fire dynamic has been set up well to play out.

Then plot-wise I'm wondering about the "sign form" thing. Both what it is and how it's regulated, particularly during the tournament. And maybe it has a connection to the events of 12 years ago? But maybe not. Also there's Fay's history (which I feel will be plot relevant) in terms of what happened that time she came home and why she's opted to go Sagitarrius rather than the sign of her other parent. But maybe that's character too.

14. Encouragement probably echos back what I said at the start. It can be tough, when you've had to take a hiatus because of life and stuff. And then you just start to get going and life goes crazy again. But it sounds like you've got a lot of the story roughed out, so see what you can do with it, if you're able! And don't necessary worry if art doesn't feel like it's at a particular standard, there will always be improvements we want to do, it all comes with time. But something has to be out there in order to see the progression. Best with it!

(Oh yeah... and there hasn't really been any talk of shipping... should we ship Fay and Elle? Is that a thing we can do? Someone else feel free to chime in with a better choice.)

rajmews

For final words of encouragement I just want to say it's a really neat world, and I can see that the author put a lot of time in making it--with the maps and the different cultures and all their histories. I know that things have been nuts lately so it's hard to create, but thank you for making what you've done so far, to give us a cool world to explore for a little while.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Challenge of the Zodiac this week! Please also give a special thank you to Rachel Green for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Challenge of the Zodiac, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/challenge-of-the-zodiac/list?title_no=36377

Rachel’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/challengeofthezodiac

Rachel’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelgreenart

[hauntinghyrule]

Oooh that’s a cool thought I haven’t considered before!  So these are gonna be mostly disorganized, incomplete ideas, but...

Green:  Green is actually the one giving me the most trouble with this...

Uhhh... something focusing on a theme of teamwork, probably?  Like how some Pokemon games will have a section where you team up with an NPC and do double battles?  And in that case, maybe there are two totem Pokemon - the midday and midnight forms of Lycanroc - and you have to fight them as a double battle that is also an SOS battle.  Challenging!  (also potentially very lag-inducing, but shhh this is all pretend anyway)  Or if that’s too complicated, you could maybe have to do teamwork-stuff to get through most of the trial, but face the Totem Pokemon - in this case a Dusk Lycanroc - by yourself.

And maybe the Totem(s) SOS-summon Minior in addition to Rockruff, because a) they’re Rock/Flying type; Lycanroc is Rock-type and Green’s element is Wind, b) they come in different colors and look a little like the elemental keys in FS+, and c) I kept thinking of that drawing Sarah did of Green with a Minior as I was trying to come up with a trial for him.

Or for a completely different alternative, maybe the trial could be something based on the four forms of Oricorio?  I dunno.  Sorry Green, I’m having trouble coming up with ideas for you!

Red: Now, Red though.  Him I have ideas for.  Red should absolutely have something involving lighting lanterns, like he did in the Temple of Darkness.  Possibly a direct parallel to it: you start out lighting lanterns one by one, but they go out so fast it’s physically impossible to light them all in time that way.  When they go out, you’re faced with a Pokemon battle.  After ~3 battles, a method of lighting all the lanterns at once is revealed, and after doing so you face the Totem Pokemon - Chandelure!  ...technically Chandelure isn’t in Alola’s regional dex, but I want to make an exception because I think it would be such a perfect fit for Red’s trial!

Blue: Not sure what the puzzle would be exactly, but I imagine it’d be something along the lines of “facing challenges head on.”  I keep thinking about A:tLA, and the episode where Toph was first trying to teach Aang to Earthbend.  Could make some use of the Tauros Charge ride Pokemon, perhaps.  Oh, or you could get Sharpedo as a ride Pokemon after completing this trial, and it could have a Sharpedo as a Totem Pokemon!  Or, alternatively, Crabominable.

Vio: For Vio’s trial, I’m thinking you have to retrieve pages from his notebook that have been “stolen” by some mischievous Pokemon in the trial area.  You learn trivia facts about different kinds of Pokemon that help you figure out where they might be hiding.  (Some of Vio’s dialogue would definitely hint that the whole thing is orchestrated and he and the Pokemon actually planned the “theft” as part of the trial.)

As for Totem Pokemon... dang, I really want to say Decidueye.  On the one hand, yeah having an evolved form of a starter as a Totem Pokemon doesn’t seem like something that’d happen, and it’d be part Ghost, same as Red’s Chandelure, but c’mon!  Archery bird!  It’s even grass-type, which suits Vio’s Earth element!  I’m having a very hard time coming up with other options that I like even half as well.

Shadow: Something involving darkness, reflections, the seen vs. the unseen... how does this sound: the trial takes place in an obsidian cave. Shadow’s dialogue says some things about “knowing your true self” and “seeing yourself as you really are,” which sounds quite poetic and meaningful.  And maybe that’s true, but it’s also quite literal advice.  See, each chamber of the cave offers several paths forward.  Near each path will be a patch of obsidian on the floor or wall polished smooth enough to see your own reflection.  But only one of them will show you accurately - all the others will have some small detail wrong.  (This is a great chance to play to the trainer customization features, too!) ��You can only progress via the path that shows your “true self”; any other path will send you back to the beginning of the trial.

I like the idea of his Totem Pokemon being Absol.  Although it’s a one-stage Pokemon so I’m not really sure what it would summon as SOS allies.  Alternatively, it could be Weavile, maybe make the cave reflections ice rather than obsidian?  Though, Weavile would result in more type doubling no matter which Totem Blue uses, and... I’m just very fond of Absol and its “not as 'evil’ as I seem” symbolism ^^;;

(If anyone else wants to share their own thoughts on this, too, please feel free!)

[thegreenhorseman]

In the past 365 days a lot of blood sweat and tears have been shed.  We have officially been in our home for a year.  Since moving in you have come along with me on my journey to bring Blade home.  The work began in January; a warm spell allowed Zac and I to go outside and work in the yard.  Trees were prunes, the stream was raked, and we got to know our property.  This helped up lay our the ideas and plans for the busy year to come.  Zac and I spent time walking the property to get a solid plan.

  February blew in more winter.  The 2018 winter in New York was a snowy one.  We spent a lot of time snow-blowing, shoveling and roof raking.  In February I focused on projects in the house and learned to make my own hay nets.  March really was no better.  As the days became longer and warmer we began to emerge from the house and went back to exploring the backyard.  In March I set a goal to have Blade home by May and I simultaneously made plans with my trainer to bring Happy with him.  This helped motivate me to get things done.

  Morning Leaving Work and Heading to the Farm

Spring began at the end of March when the snows melted and left us with a shockingly we backyard.  We were so saturated you could hear the water trickling.  Equipment was rented and materials were purchased.  In the four weeks of April we cleared land (by hand), installed 300 feet of french drains, and set up one full paddock complete with the electric fencing setup.  I had also set up my new round-pen and corral shelter.  In these four busy weeks Zac and I got to know our neighbors much better.  They saw how hard we were working and we grew close.  We learned quickly that we have the best neighbors anyone could ever hope to have.

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May was the month Blade and Happy came home and we officially became a horse property.  We also adopted Bardi, our fluffy Icelandic Sheepdog who has proven to be THE MOST AMAZING DOG EVER (seriously, even non-dog people want to take him home). I continued to work hard and added the second paddock.  I also had the confidence to go try something new all on my own: mounted archery. This led to the discovery of a whole new fire within me.

  The heat of June combined with dietary changes and major life changes threw Blade for a whirlwind.  He suffered mild colic a few times which led me to suspect he was experiencing gastric issues yet again.  I spent a lot of time monitoring Blade, attending mounted archery practice, and preparing the site of our new run-in shed.

  July came and we began the big build.  My incredible friends and family teamed up to make my dreams and Zac’s carefully thought out plans a reality.  The days were long and the sun was hot.  We enjoyed the pool often.  At the end of the month two of my girlfriends made some bucket-list dreams comes true.  Borrowing a friend’s horse I went along with them to Lake Luzerne and camped.  We trail rode and even took the horses swimming.  I couldn’t stop smiling even if I wanted to.

  Facebook is a wonderful thing and in August I found an ad for some old polytape fencing.  It wasn’t in the best condition but two strands easily covered four acres.  The gentleman advertising it gave me all plus some hardware for only $25.  I put it up two weeks later; it’s not charged and runs in and around trees but the horses have a fantastic turnout pasture at the top of our hill.  This has been tremendous in keeping them out of the mud during wet weather.  I also explored another new-to-me activity, cattle sorting!

  Time got away from me in the later summer months.  Taking advantage of the weather was of the upmost importance.  I am only realizing now that I never posted about several events including our housewarming party!  We hosted nearly 60 people at our home for a wonderful barbecue.  Blade gave pony rides to my cousins and hugged my grandma.  Blade has improved so significantly that I began to desensitize him and train him for mounted archery.  Surprisingly enough he took to it quickly.  In our second session we were trotting around shooting the target on our own.  We also purchased our new ATV which has made life so much easier.  At the end of September I had to sadly say goodbye to Happy as she left my home, returning to riding at my trainer’s farm.  Before she left I made a wonderful connection with Susan Kayne, founder of Unbridled Thoroughbred Foundation.  I began fostering Zeno Bay and Vai Via a week before Happy went home allowing for Blade to become acquainted with the boys before losing his girlfriend.

  October rolled in and brought with it some cooler weather.  The boys got to know each-other and I was collecting donated blankets from some amazing supporters.  November was a great month for indoor activities.  Cornell hosted a seminar where we learned to run our own fecal floats to look for parasites.  I attended Equine Affaire again and I spent most of October and November getting to know Vai Via and Zeno Bay.  The personalities have made them both shine.  The months have been wet, however, so it’s been very inconvenient for riding and making much progress on that end.  Due to financial reasons I stopped taking lessons.  Now, at the end of December I am very much missing them especially when I want to ride and it’s either dark, too frozen, or too muddy.

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I don’t know what the coming year has in store for me.  I sense more big changes on the horizon.  Depending on how these changes play out the year can unfold into several different directions.  Right this moment I can say I would love to earn enough money to get back to taking lessons.  I hope to finally find a routine that works to help me lose weight and stay active with the balancing of horses and working out.  Unfortunately my mounted archery club is on shaky ground but I hope to practice at home.  I also hope to become a stronger more active voice for thoroughbreds by making a place for myself within the Unbridled Thoroughbred Foundation.

Also, something very important to me, is The Green Horseman.  I want to know how you think I can improve.  This year I posted 81 articles.  What did you like?  What didn’t you like?  Most of my articles are posted Thursday mornings.

Do you want to see more educational posts?

Do you prefer my journey?

…or do you like the mix?

I would like to become a more structured blogger and revamp my website to be more user friendly.

Do you want to see product reviews?

You voice is what matters most!

Below is a COMPLETE listing of 2018’s articles by month.  I thank you for being with me on this journey and hope you will continue to support me in the new year.

  [contact-form]

January (6 Posts)

01/03 – RESOLUTION TIME

01/08 – Equine 101: POP QUIZ (#2)!

01/22 – Heart to Horse Box – January 2018

01/23 – Weekly Photo Challenge: Silence

01/24 – Every Barn Needs…

01/28 – Weekend Projects

February (5 Posts)

02/01 – Will Delta Dental Cover My Horse?

02/08 – The 5Ws of an Equine Dental Float

02/10 – Playing on a Friday Afternoon

02/15 – The Power Argument in Dentistry

02/17 – When You Fall Off a Horse…

March (9 Posts)

03/01 – Protecting Our Four Hooved Friends

03/04 – Afternoon Naps

03/13 – Blame It On Heartland

03/15 – Progress

03/18 – Weekly Photo Challenge

03/19 – Poison Prevention Week: Mind Your Feed

03/22 – Don’t Judge!

03/29 – Night and Day, There’s a Difference

03/31 – I’m Drowning

April (12 Posts)

04/02 – It’s Someone’s Birthday

04/03 – Barn Cat Arnie Again

04/05 – Update on the Homemade Hay Net

04/07 – Farm Updates: French Drains

04/08 – Who Said Having Fun Can’t Be Productive?

04/09 – Busy Brain = Lack of Sleep

04/12 – Fencing Update

04/18 – Absorbine Liniment For My Shoulders, Please

04/19 – Did You Catch Me?

04/23 – What’s That Burning Smell?

04/26 – Backyard Critters

04/30 – Weekend Update 

May (7 Posts)

05/02 – T Minus 24 Hours

05/03 – We Have Arrived! 

05/08 – Farm Update

05/10 – When the Going Gets Tough

05/17 – New Experiences

05/24 – Shout-Out For the Trainers

05/31 – Overdue Update Part 1

June (11 Posts)

06/01 – Overdue Update: Part 2

06/02 – Overdue Update Part 3

06/03 – Overdue Update Part 4

06/04 – Overdue Update Part 5

06/05 – Overdue Update Part 6

06/08 – Equine 101: Horse Vitals

06/09 – Putting the Vitals to Use

06/11 – The Aftermath of Last Week

06/14 – Recovering From The Stress Dump

06/21 – On to the Next One

06/22 – Quick Fun Update 

July (1 Post)

07/31 – Summertime Slump

August (2 Posts)

08/02 – Bucket List!

08/09 – Cross Training On The Weekend

September (8 Posts)

09/13 – Horses Update

09/15 – Barn Progress

09/16 – Bad News and Good News Squared

09/19 – Mounted Archery Update

09/21 – Day 1 for Two…

09/22 – Mounted Archery at Home

09/23 – New Toys, New Tools, New Fun

09/27 – The Ups and Downs of the Weekend

October (6 Posts)

10/11 – I’m Cold Therefore My Horse is Cold

10/18 – A Needed Night Away

10/22 – Celebrate the Wins

10/23 – Everyone’s Talking About It

10/25 – Happy Birthday and Thank You

10/26 – Spending Money Like Ouch

November (9 Posts)

11/01 – A Joyful Noise

11/07 – Poop, Yes I Said It. POOP

11/14 – The Green Horseman at the Affaire

11/15 – Clinicians of Equine Affaire 2018

11/16 – The Green Horseman at Fantasia

11/22 – Happy Thanksgiving

11/26 – Blade’s Resolutions

11/27 – Tis The Season to Be Giving

11/29 – The Green Horseman’s Recommended Gifts Under $50

December (5 Posts including today) 

12/06 – Update On The Three Amigos

12/13 – The Green Horseman on Another Project: Winter Prep

12/20 – Hay, Hay You! What’s New?

12/27 –Christmas Festivities

  2018 Recap In the past 365 days a lot of blood sweat and tears have been shed.  We have officially been in our home for a year. 

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: 5 Centimeters per Second

Got there.

Kind of.

Makoto Shinkai has other works listed on his wikipedia page, and maybe I’ll get around to those someday, but for now, let’s sit and be satisfied I’ve watched all the important ones!

Reminder that the score is two good films, two bad films, and two average ones.

Making this a tie breaker!

Also proof that any claims that Makoto Shinkai is the new Miyazaki are unfounded and dumb.

Anyways, time for 5 Centimeters per Second!

It’s a middle of the road story. Backgrounds are beautiful as always, character are flat, and a lot of good ideas that deserve more exploration.

It fits very nicely in the Auteur arc Shinkai went through to get to actual masterpiece Your Name. It was produced after the unwatchable The Place Promised in our Early Days[1] and works off the themes of a relationship stalled by time and distance first used in Voices of a Distant Star. What it lacks is the character complexity he sorted out in Garden of Words and plot structure and humor finally inserted into Your Name.

5 Centimeters per Second is draft three is what I’m getting at.

It’s also not a singular feature, but instead three short films (OVAs? Not sure how to use that term) that share a male lead and played in order, covering four phases in his life: Middle School with recollections to Elementary in part one, High School in part two, and adulthood in part three. Each also have their own title, so let’s go in sequence.

Episode 1: Cherry Blossoms

‘5 Centimeters per Second’ refers to the rate that cherry blossom petals fall. Mystery solved! Go home everybody! We’re done.

Okay, okay, there’s more than that. Basically, our story concerns a boy named Takaki Tono who meets a girl named Akari Shinohara during elementary school. The rest of the class ships these two, but being literal children neither actually have the capabilities to provide any romantic progress, so that’s fine.

Then Akari moves away, and that’s a real bummer, but they can communicate through letters, and if there’s one thing I can credit this film for is igniting a romance for sending mail to a sweetheart.[3] It’s very charming seeing the words and doodles on a page.

However, Middle School comes around, and Takaki’s family is moving to the opposite end of the archipelago,[4] so now it’ll be even more impractical for the two to meet up.

That’s okay. Takaki can make the trip now. They can meet one final time. At Akari’s home station. At 19:00! This is practical!

Unfortunately, snow storms conspire to make Takaki about 4 plus hours late. And the wind takes his love confession letter away! And this is set in the 90s, so he doesn’t even have a fun app to kill time on the train![6]

Eventually, the train arrives, very late.

And Akari had waited.

Could this have been resolved if they met in the middle and saved some time? Yes, but that’s not important! What’s important is Akari brought a homemade meal, and she waited all that time, and the two have a kiss under a snow covered tree like two stupid kids.[7] Takaki realizes they’d likely never meet again.

Due to the bad weather, the two spend the night in a random shack, then Takaki[8] heads home in the morning.

Akari looks wistfully at a letter she’d brought herself.

It’s a fine segment. The train journey is a good concept, but I feel like it could’ve been slightly lonelier. Open with him on the train, stalled on the last stretch, Takaki reflecting on what brought him here, cutting from him sitting on the train reading Akari’s old letters to the elementary school days to him pacing the aisles of the train to him explaining to his middle school friends he’s moving away. Or something better. Something to make the audience feel the agonizing wait and desperate push to see Akari one. Last. Time.

Episode 2: Cosmonaut[9]

I like Kanae Sumida. She deserves better. I hope she gets her life figured out.

So, we jump ahead to Takaki’s final year of high school. He’s in the archery club. But this isn’t his story to tell, because the kid is not actually a compelling character. Yet he’s captured the heart of Kanae Sumida, a shy girl who’s trying to learn to surf, get the courage to confess her feelings, and plan for her future. The final year of High School is a worrying time.

So Kanae narrates the middle act.

Now this isn’t a distant pining. Kanae often returns to school after attempting to catch waves in order to ‘happen’ to head home when Takaki’s heading out himself. They ride their scooters to a convenience store, where Takaki always gets the same coffee milk drink and Kanae takes her time picking out a drink. When Kanae catches back up with her own drink, she’ll find Takaki texting... someone...

Obviously Akari, but when Takaki takes over narration duties for a short time to reveal a great truth, we learn that the boy hasn’t been sending the messages about dreams of standing with her on an alien world, because it wouldn't be a Makoto Shinkai film without a lovingly rendered night sky and space stuff. It’s also implied that the two haven’t communicated in some time.

Back to Kanae, she’s unable to fill out the future planning worksheet that’s deeply entrenched in slice-of-life anime,[10] and it contributes to her melancholy.

However, when she asks Takaki his plans, he gives a vague answer, revealing he doesn’t have a trajectory set. Kanae finds peace in this, since if the object of her affections doesn’t have things figured out, why should she?

Y’know, it’s that whole unhealthy habit of placing your crush on an unreachable pedestal thing that gets to her.

But hey, it helps. Soul lightened, and between typhoons, Kanae catches a wave. She successfully surfs! Atta girl.

Riding high, she returns to the school to wait for Takaki to finish his archery. She decides that if she can’t confess the same day she rode a wave, then she’ll never be able to.

They go to the convenience store, and Kanae buys a smaller version of Takaki’s drink of choice, because she’s building her future on the afterimage of Takaki, but isn’t fully committed. They drink, then attempt to ride the scooters, but Kanae’s not starting. Takaki offers to walk her home.

On the walk, Kanae attempts her confession.

Only to be interrupted by a rocket launch, which is going 5 kilometers a second.[11] There’s kind of a theme of hearts moving in relation to one another.

Kanae can see in Takaki’s eyes that he’s focused on something. And it’s not her and never will be.

So she abandons the confession, but feels she’ll always carry a flame for Takaki. Which, unfortunately, is what happens when you put someone on a romantic pedestal but lack the courage to confront it. Eventually you decide it’s not worth an attempt, either because you view yourself too beneath them, fear rejection, fear discovering the person isn’t the portrait you’ve composed, or a mixture.[12]

The two reach Kanae’s home, and she cried herself to sleep that night.

It’s a bittersweet story, and yet another good seed that could blossom into a fuller piece. Again, Takaki himself is bland, but if we give him personality, a subplot about an interest in aeronautics and cosmonautics and how he doesn’t even notice the world around him for the ideal girl he drifted away from, and it has potential to be a melancholic full film on its own. Or even keep it as a short film, just build the male lead.

Cosmonaut is my favorite of the three parts, though.

Episode 3: 5 Centimeters per Second

I don’t feel bad for Takaki. He deserved this ending.

Takaki is a working man now, fresh out of an unsuccessful three year relationship, wherein the woman broke up over text, saying that in all their time together, their hearts had, at best, moved a mere one centimeter closer, because might as well complete the trilogy with the analysis.

His hang-ups on Akari still lingering thirteen years after she moved away during elementary school, and a long term relationship ended because of it, and a depression setting in, Takaki quits his job. Then he just kinda floats about, stops at a convenience store, looks at a magazine article about the rocket launched back in the second act, which is leaving the solar system. What a distance it’s managed to cover, and Takaki’s still got no solid plans nine years since it left the atmosphere.

Takaki and Akari share a narration about a dream of their childhood promise to watch the cherry blossoms someday.

Then the two suddenly cross paths walking over some train tracks. Was that? Could it be? They turn to double check. A train passes, cutting them off.

Then there’s a musical interlude, because it’s a Makoto Shinkai film and you’ve got to have a random AMV just before the conclusion.

We see scenes from the rest of the movie cut together! Takaki and Akari as children! Train ride! Kanae catching a wave! (I hope she’s moved on. Met a nice guy. Forgot the stagnant mess that is Takaki) Takaki’s dull, meaningless life!

Then the train passes.

Akari’s gone. Because of course. They haven’t talked in over a decade, and even if she found that undelivered letter from Act One it doesn’t mean she has to linger. She’s apparently engaged now, and Takaki is a dumb kid from when she was a dumb kid waiting at a train station five hours after the two agreed to meet.

Because nothing waits. The earth turns, the waves crash, rockets leaving the soolar system, and Cherry Blossoms fall at 5 centimeters per second.

So just move on.

Takaki, seeing his last hope of reclaiming the past vanish behind a passing train, smiles and walks off. Did he learn anything? Who cares, he’s unflavored frozen yogurt. Cold and devoid of sweetness.[13]

Takaki refused to live in the present or look to the future, and what do we have? A nothing.

Takaki’s dull.

This act isn’t even a good seed. It’s the conclusion to a narrative I don’t care about. I can’t even offer any advice on it that isn’t ‘cut it, expand one of the previous episodes.”

The Film

It’s fine. It’s an okay movie. Critically lauded, so if you feel like watching it, you won’t feel cheated. But I wouldn’t put it on a list of must watches. It’s not hilariously bad, it’s not specifically boring, it’s not particularly deep, and it’s not Your Name.

It’s the middle of the Shinkai scale of quality. Don’t avoid it, don’t pursue it.

If 5 Centimeters per Second was a person, it’d be Takaki Tono. Defined by the females its features, and not giving the proper due to Kanae.

Thanks for reading. If you like this analysis on an anime film, check out my other reviews (including other Makoto Shinkai films), my webcomic about a living muffin, and maybe support my patreon. I’ve got a Digimon review series that’ll be living there until I finish the first season at least. The show had an effect on me.

Until the snow clears and the train brings my next work,

Kataal kataal.

[1] Do you know how hard it is to get me to quit a movie? I’ll wait for a conclusion. Heck, I sat through 2001: A Space Odyssey![2] You need a whole lot of nothing to bore me off a paltry 90 minute journey. [2] The movie will have its day eventually, I promise. [3] Not that I have a sweetheart. Or the address of any distant friends. Or stamps. [4] Which is fun to say. Say it with me. Arch-i-pel-a-go.[5] We should find excuses to say it more. [5] What’re you, 6? This is a written essay! No one’s talking along with you! I bet you feel real silly. [6] And it doesn’t seem he brought a book. Must’ve been a boring trip. [7] Fun fact! Not only am I pessimistic about any young love (IE, starting in middle or high school), I actively root against them. Because I’m a monster. [8] I’m just now noticing how similar these names are to two Digidestined. Huh. [9] Back in the fourth grade, we did a class play about the California Gold Rush. I was stuck into three songs in a row. The middle one was called Argonauts. I liked it, but not the other two, which I scarcely recall now. It didn’t occur to me that I could simply refuse to perform the other two songs. I also didn’t like my long term sub at the time. Anyways, that’s what I think about whenever I hear the ‘-naut’ suffix. [10] I don’t know how true to life such worksheets are. It’s possibly as accurate as Sailor Fukus in High School. [11] As some who completed a Couch to 5k, that’s official fast. [12] Suffice it to say, there’s a reason Kanae appeals to me. [13] I keep meaning to get frozen yogurt. There’s a place theoretically within walking distance. But then I have to remember to go there.

[isaulitzsch-blog]

31 Things to Do Before 31

I know many bucket lists roam the internet, and many say the same things or are overly ambitious. Unrealistic, some might say. Mine below will likely suffer the same criticism, but nevertheless I am determined to accomplish at least 2/3 of this list – with which I would be very pleased (I believe it is called ‘managing expectations’).  

I started this list some time before my 30th birthday – probably around August or September time – but now that I am 30 years and 3 weeks old (how is that for timing), I felt it was high time to put an end to this indecisiveness, and just do it. Because in the end, I needed to realise, this is not an exhaustive list by any means, but merely a motivator and inspiration to be aware of time being precious, and experiences and achievements valuable. And I had to remind myself that I have done and achieved some great things in life already (reading through some of those bucket lists helped with that), but that I also pushed a lot aside that really should be the centre of attention for various reasons. So to help me commit to it, I am sharing it on the good old internet. Feel free to hold me accountable, cheer me on, or simply live your life as before. :-)

1.

Visit 30 Countries (and among that one unvisited continent) – for me that is 9 more countries, or at the very least 7 (depending on if I choose to count England, Wales and Scotland as separate countries). The Inca Trail would be awesome, or Vietnam and Thailand. So much choice, so much to see.  

2. 

Baltics Cycle Tour – great way to make progress on No.1 and it is a beautiful scenic trip across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia that allows an active element to this. Hopefully even with some friends. Because road trips are so 2008 ^^

3.

Three Peaks Challenge – while I am still debating on whether to do it in 24 hours (not sure hiking up Skafell Pyke during night hours will provide the same satisfaction without its views as reward), I think even doing the three peaks in three days would be an exciting achievement.

4.

A Murder Mystery – while I hear it is fun to host them yourself at home, I want to experience professionals at work, without even knowing it technically.  

Solo Performances – I love singing (watch out you may hear that again down the line) and I have not performed nearly as much solo as I would like to, simply for reasons of confidence and opportunity! Singing in front of an audience is so nerve-wracking, but powerful and uplifting. It creates a wonderful connection, and I have always been better at expressing myself through song. Perhaps purely because I enjoy it so much. This is why I want to make more of an effort again to find platforms to do exactly that.  

Complete 7 Paintings – VERY ambitious, because I get super frustrated over my perfectionism. If it does not look the way I envisage or hope, it remains unfinished. Or worse, not even started. So those 7 canvases that have been sitting under my easel for...well, forever...need life in them.  

Read 30 Books – while I have some classics I would like to read, I am always open to suggestions. Avoid the fat ones though.

Breaking Some Bad Habits (at least try harder) – Nail biting. Must. Stop. Indecisiveness. Must Stop. Annoyance over little things. Must. Stop.

Parachute or Skydive – for the Adrenaline Kick. I really want to go water rafting as well. And at some point one does perhaps get too old for some of these things, or at least priorities certainly change.  

30-minute Flying Lesson – I am quite a nervous flyer, at least during take off and turbulence. And, come on, how cool is having the opportunity to see the world from a cockpit.  

Dance Class with Ben – we will have our first dance sooner or later (I hope), so we may as well get practicing – and dancing is fun and social ;-)

Make our Own Geocaching Series – Ben and I enjoy geocaching together as a way of exploring the outdoors, and we always try to get at least one in a foreign country we travel to; but we often enough have said we would like to hide our own little series, that it is just befitting for it to make this list.  

Sober in October x2 – It is a small price to pay for a good cause, which is why I am happy to put this on the list twice, so to speak. And it helps with No.19 certainly.  

Job Satisfaction – It is easy to fall into the ‘9 to 5’ trap, where we get up, mindlessly go to work, and maybe, if we have enough energy to do something in the evening, we might, before going to sleep - repeat. I want to embrace my job more consciously and reflect on what is important to me, on how I make more of a difference in the work place.  

Send Christmas parcels with Samaritan’s Purse – This is one I wanted to do last year, but got hung up in other things too much and missed the deadline. Poor excuses!  

Musical Theatre Class – I have always enjoyed singing, acting, dancing – performing! Singing in a choir – or two rather – is not quite as challenging for me, and I would like to see if I would be any use in musical theatre. Don’t worry, I don’t expect to have a breakthrough career on the West End...  

Theatre and/or Film Audition - does this really need explaining? ;-)

Dans le Noir – because who does not enjoy the idea of being able to indulge in fabulous food however you wish without anyone judging :-D

Take Care of My Body – a consciously healthier diet (yes, less sugar – it will kill me); a regular exercise routine for stamina and core (I think I will no longer get around Pilates); better sleep (I cannot recall the last time I slept through, felt rested or was not sore in the morning); ... .  

Volunteer 30 Hours – Not just around Christmas.  

Send 30 Cards/Letters – not postcards! Or birthday cards! Or occasion cards!

Know My Camera Better – at least the basics that allow me to switch off the Auto mode when I need, and take more focused pictures (without getting frustrated).

Sort my Photos and Make Holiday Photo Albums – although this is a bit more of a ‘To Do’, I am keen to cherish past experiences more and appreciate what opportunities I have had, and continue to have. Nowadays it is far too easy to take a gazillion pictures but to never truly look at them and reflect.  

Family Tree/Ancestry Test – maybe I’ll get behind the mystery of my red hair :-D

Finish my Website to Go Live – this has been sitting and brewing for ages. With so many platforms out there nowadays, it is nice to collate achievements and interests in one central place and really value the sheer amount of them while doing so. Not to mention that I have wanted to make a professional portfolio for ages, too.

Keep a Blog – which I once started  in July 2012 with one entry and never continued. For my benefit really, but hopefully someone may find them an interesting read at least.  

Run a 5k and a 10k (and beat Ben) – if I manage No.19, this should be super easy – and all for good causes! The Colour Run looks super fun, too.

Start a Vinyl Collection (and finally get a vinyl player) – Ben laughed when I told him I wanted to add this to my list. “You’ve been saying that for years”, he said. Perfect!

Better Energy, Better Relaxing – those may seem contradictory, but they make sense to me. While I often feel lazy and uninspired, I am also the kind of person who wants to do things - exciting, fun things - all the time.  I want experiences. Equally, I am incapable of fully relaxing, of fully winding down. I enjoy a hot bath, with just water or a nice glass of wine, candle light, ‘Dresdner Essenz’ bathing salts and a good facial mask - but also usually choose to either read, watch a TV show or film, or listen to music. Because if I choose to do nothing, my mind wanders, overthinks. I would like to learn to channel my energy at the right time, while learning to switch off – and leave things run their course without worrying.  

Learn a New Skill – Ben suggested I should learn an instrument (by that he really means guitar!). While I have played keyboard when I was younger and would love to learn an instrument again properly (I do rock the air guitar look), I am also quite keen to learn something completely new – something I have never tried or do in some other capacity already. Ideas anyone?  

Archery – I have tried it once at a  

[myneuroworld]

You Never Stop Learning Like A Child

The adult brain is far more malleable that we thought, and so learning can be child’s play if you know how. 

Some 36-year-olds choose to collect vintage wine, vinyl records or sports memorabilia. For Richard Simcott, it is languages. His itch to learn has led him to study more than 30 foreign tongues – and he’s not ready to give up.

During our conversation in a London restaurant, he reels off sentences in Spanish, Turkish and Icelandic as easily as I can name the pizza and pasta on our menu. He has learned Dutch on the streets of Rotterdam, Czech in Prague and Polish during a house share with some architects. At home, he talks to his wife in fluent Macedonian.

What’s remarkable about Simcott isn’t just the number and diversity of languages he has mastered. It’s his age. Long before grey hairs appear and waistlines expand, the mind’s cogs are meant to seize up, making it difficult to pick up any new skill, be it a language, the flute, or archery. Even if Simcott had primed his mind for new languages while at school, he should have faced a steep decline in his abilities as the years went by – yet he still devours unfamiliar grammars and strange vocabularies to a high level. “My linguistic landscape is always changing,” he says. “If you’re school-aged, or middle-aged – I don’t think there’s a big difference.”

A decade ago, few neuroscientists would have agreed that adults can rival the learning talents of children. But we needn’t be so defeatist. The mature brain, it turns out, is more supple than anyone thought. “The idea that there’s a critical period for learning in childhood is overrated,” says Gary Marcus, a psychologist at New York University. What’s more, we now understand the best techniques to accelerate knowledge and skill acquisition in adults, so can perhaps unveil a few tricks of the trade of super-learners like Simcott. Whatever you want to learn, it’s never too late to charge those grey cells.

The idea that the mind fossilises as it ages is culturally entrenched. The phrase “an old dog will learn no tricks” is recorded in an 18th century book of proverbs and is probably hundreds of years older.

When researchers finally began to investigate the adult brain’s malleability in the 1960s, their results appeared to agree with the saying. Most insights came indirectly from studies of perception, which suggested that an individual’s visual abilities were capped at a young age. For example, restricting young animals’ vision for a few weeks after birth means they will never manage to see normally. The same is true for people born with cataracts or a lazy eye – repair too late, and the brain fails to use the eye properly for life. “For a very long time, it seemed that those constraints were set in stone after that critical period,” says Daphne Bavelier at the University of Rochester, New York.

These are extreme circumstances, of course, but the evidence suggested that the same neural fossilisation would stifle other kinds of learning. Many of the studies looked at language development – particularly in families of immigrants. While the children picked up new tongues with ease, their parents were still stuttering broken sentences. But if there is a critical period for foreign language learning, everyone should be affected equally; Simcott’s ability to master a host of languages should be as impossible as a dog playing the piano.

Bearing this in mind, Ellen Bialystok at York University in Toronto, Canada, recently turned to the US census records, which detailed the linguistic skills of more than 2 million Hispanic and Chinese immigrants. A “critical period” for learning a second language in infancy should have created a sharp difference between those who had moved country in early childhood and those who were uprooted in adolescence. In reality? “There was absolutely no discontinuity,” Bialystok says. Instead, she saw a very gradual decline with age among immigrants – which could reflect differences in environment as much as the adults’ rusty brain circuits. “People talk more slowly and clearly to children in short, simple sentences,” she says. “And the child’s entire social and educational network is organised around that language.”

Yet while Bialystok’s study suggested that adult brains are more pliable than had once been imagined, there was still the suspicion that children might have the edge in certain skills. Adult learners sometimes find it harder to learn to sing in tune, hit a home run or mimic an accent convincingly. At first glance, the problem might seem to lie in adults’ perception and motor skills. Learning involving these abilities differs from the acquisition of factual knowledge, because it needs us to rewire the eyes, ears and muscles.

It’s something that Marcus can identify with. At the age of 38, he devoted himself to learning the guitar, an experience he detailed in his book Guitar Zero. “My family’s initial response was laughter – but they soon saw I was making progress,” he says. Still, during his research, he attended a musical summer camp for 8 to 15-year-olds. He says he was quicker to catch on to the structure of songs, but his younger bandmates had better coordination and sense of pitch.

Yet the available evidence hints that children may not always be inherently better at such tasks. One study by Yang Zhang at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis that focused on the acquisition of foreign accents in adults suggests we may simply be suffering from poor tuition. When the researchers gave them recordings that mimicked the exaggerated baby talk of cooing mothers, the adult learners progressed rapidly.

Nor do adults necessarily fumble over the intricate movements that are crucial for music or sport. When volunteers visiting Virginia Penhune’s lab at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, learned to press keys in a certain sequence, at certain times – essentially a boiled-down version of keyboard practice – the adults tended to outshine the younger volunteers.

During a more challenging test of hand-eye coordination, nearly 1000 volunteers of all age groups learned to juggle over a series of six training sessions. As you might expect, the senior citizens aged 60 to 80 began with some hesitation, but they soon caught up with the 30-year-olds and by the end of the trials all the adults were juggling more confidently than the 5 to 10-year-olds.

Old dogs, then, are much more adaptable than folklore would have it – and if we do have deficits, they aren’t insurmountable. The reason that children appear to be better learners may have more to do with their environment, and factors such as physical fitness (see “Faster body, faster mind”).

Indeed, many researchers believe that an adult’s lifestyle may be the biggest obstacle. “A child’s sole occupation is learning to speak and move around,” says Ed Cooke, a cognitive scientist who has won many memory contests. “If an adult had that kind of time to spend on attentive learning, I’d be very disappointed if they didn’t do a good job.”

A glut of free time and a carefree existence are out of reach for most of us, but there are other behaviours that boost children’s learning, and these habits can be easily integrated into even an adult’s schedule. For example, children are continually quizzed on what they know – and for good reason: countless studies have shown that testing doubles long-term recall, outperforming all other memory tactics. Yet most adults attempting to learn new skills will rely more on self-testing which, let’s be honest, happens less often.

That’s why Cooke developed a website, called Memrise, which helps take some of the pain out of testing and, crucially, can integrate learning into the adult day. It is designed to track your learning curve with cunningly timed tests that force you to retrieve the information just as you are about to forget it.

“Memrise engages your brain to the greatest possible extent,” says Cooke, who has himself used the site to learn thousands of words of foreign vocabulary. Users can create their own courses – the topics range from art to zoology – and importantly, it is easy to load the site in the few spare minutes of your lunch break or while you are waiting for a train. Cooke also plans to launch a smartphone app.

What about tasks that involve perceptual learning or motor skills – like battling against a lifetime of tone deafness, or perfecting that golf swing? Here too, there are guiding principles that can help you rediscover the seemingly effortless learning of youth.

Adults can hamper progress with their own perfectionism: whereas children throw themselves into tasks, adults often agonise over the mechanics of the movements, trying to conceptualise exactly what is required. This could be one of our biggest downfalls. “Adults think so much more about what they are doing,” says Gabriele Wulf at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “Children just copy what they see.”

Wulf’s work over the past decade shows that you should focus on the outcome of your actions rather than the intricacies of the movements. She applies this finding in her own life: as a keen golfer, she has found it is better to think about the swing of the club, for instance, rather than the position of her hands. “I’m always trying to find where best to focus my attention,” she says. Similarly, if you are learning to sing, then you should concentrate on the tone of the voice, rather than on the larynx or the placement of the tongue. Study after study shows that simply shifting your mindset in this way accelerates your learning– perhaps by encouraging the subconscious, automatic movements that mark proficiency.

Misplaced conscientiousness may also lead adults to rely on overly rigid practice regimes that stifle long-term learning. The adult talent for perseverance, it seems, is not always a virtue. Left to their own devices, most people segment their sessions into separate blocks – when learning basketball, for instance, they may work on each shot in turn, perhaps because they feel a desire to master it. The approach may bring rapid improvements at first, but a host of studies have found that the refined technique is soon forgotten.

Instead, you do better to take a carousel approach, quickly rotating through the different skills to be practised without lingering too long on each one. Although the reason is still unclear, it seems that jumping between skills makes your mind work a little harder when applying what you’ve learned, helping you to retain the knowledge in the long term – a finding that has helped people improve in activities ranging from tennis and kayaking to pistol shooting.

Such an approach might not be to everyone’s taste – with intricate skills, it might feel like you are making no progress. But even if you do revert to stints of lengthy practice, you can still reap some of the same benefits by occasionally trying out your skills in an unfamiliar situation. In tennis, you might move to a different part of the court for a couple of serves before returning to the regular position; while playing scales on a musical instrument, you might switch hands temporarily. According to work by Arnaud Boutin at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund, Germany, venturing out of your comfort zone in this way helps to ensure that you improve your overall performance rather than confining your progress to the single task at hand. “Otherwise, the longer you practise, the harder it becomes to transfer the skills that you’ve learned to new situations,” says Boutin.

If none of that helps you learn like a child, simply adopting the arrogance of youth may do no harm. “As we get older, we lose our confidence, and I’m convinced that has a big impact on performance,” says Wulf. To test the assumption, she recently trained a small group of people to pitch a ball. While half were given no encouragement, she offered the others a sham test, rigged to demonstrate that their abilities were above average. They learned to pitch on target with much greater accuracy than those who didn’t get an ego boost.

Whether your itch to learn will ever match Simcott’s appetite for foreign languages is another matter. “What I do – it’s like an extreme sport. There’s no need to learn that many languages,” he says. He has recently turned to Chinese, and has no plans to stop after that. “I’m like a linguistic butterfly. There’s always another, really far away, that suddenly feels appealing.”

Still, embrace the idea that your mind is as capable as Simcott’s, and the lure of extreme learning might take hold of you too.

Source: Old schooled: You never stop learning like a child