#I weirded a lot of people out by taking pictures with my giant iPad but i think it was worth it

[twasnotme]

Photo dump from my trip to the Ramses Exhibit at the Australian Museum

[orb-the-watchman]

can u do a tutorial on drawing grumpeses :0??

A tutorial you say? Alright. Time to unleash my Orb secrets. My little grumpus drawing recipe if you will. I’ve never done a tutorial before so sorry if this ends up being a bumpy ride.

So, I have a weird way of drawing grumpuses kinda, I don’t use guidelines or anything I kinda just go. I probably wouldn’t recommend doing it exactly like I do especially if you’re trying to learn. Use guidelines totally I would say.

the biggest tip I can give for drawing grumps or anything really is use references! Get a large reference pool of grumpus pictures together. what I did first drawing the grumps was I got a blank page and I just doodled stuff and messed around with how grumps looks and fit their traits into how my style works. I think that’s truly the best way to learn to draw grumps, or like anything.

Here are some really good posts to draw references from! I use them all the time.

https://theslimeologist.tumblr.com/post/641949075587137536/ultimate-grumpus-ref-post

https://rooniegrumps.tumblr.com/post/647650330960642048/heres-a-naked-grumpuses-masterpost

(also, to all my fellow iPad users out there I totally recommend the app VizRef. It’s an app where you can make giant references boards and It’s perfect for drawing on the iPad. It’s four dollars but totally worth it, if you’re an iPad user it’s a must have, I say. Get it you wont regret your decision.)

If you’re learning to draw grumpuses for yourself I would actually try not to apply everything in this tutorial in your own art, because a lot of this is just applies to how I personally draw grumps. unless you are trying to copy my style specifically, it’d recommend taking inspiration, if you’re trying to have your own way of drawing the funny muppet people

Anyway

90% of the time I draw grumpuses heads at a 3/4 view. This allows me to just draw in their eyes to start like so. For other head positions I draw a circle to start.

Then I start drawing the face. I’ll start with the nose that usually located under both eyes slightly. For character with an overbite I start the mouth next to the eye facing away from me and wrap it around. The rest of the characters will usually have a mouth that’s kinda like a subtle :3 face. That’s the best way I can describe it lmao

This is hardest part for me at least, for the heads I’ll draw the back of the neck and then the other side of the face, then I’ll connect them in a dome shape to make the head. It’s takes me like 20 times to draw the top of the head until it looks right, this part is very tedious. (The worst part is I’ll probably just erase it later because the characters probably wearing a hat or something else)

Boleslaw and Wiggle are kinda bad examples of this but- the shoulders for me will usually just start right after the neck. With the exception of Wambus and Wiggle and Floofty sometimes, I draw the arms before I draw the chest. I feel like it’s easier for me to plan out the pose that way cause I don’t use guidelines.

I usually just give grumps basic human anatomy, so arms end when they reach the thighs, make em seven heads tall, yada yada

Also nothin much to say about accessories, since those vary for each character.

This is the hardest part to explain. I draw the hands before I draw the arms since It’s easier to have the arm in the position I want it to be in. For grumpus paws I only give them four fingers and they’re usually little fat sausages. Nothing I can really say other than look at hands/paws. If it helps the palm isn’t a square, think of it more like a pentagon. And there’s usually a curve under the thumb and the pinky like you can see in the drawing below, don’t forget those. That was a tip I got and that’s probably helped me the most.

Legs are also kinda hard to explain. But there’s a shape diagram of how I shape the legs. Mess around with those kinda shapes. Also I take inspiration from animal legs, specially mammals like canines and big cats for the legs and feet. So I would recommend looking at those too.

Also I forgot to show it here but I try to raise the heels when I draw the feet sometimes. You can see it when I drew Snorpy’s feet in that one drawing of Snorpy and Gramble hanging out I drew. Most of the time they’re flat though.

I think that’s everything. My style is kinda hard to explain but I hoped this helped! I don’t know if I’m the best art mentor, so If you have any questions feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer them

Also I love drawing requests so if you have any at anytime just submit and ask and you’ll get a little doodle :) (I may also open commissions soon, so if you want a more detailed drawing instead of just a wee sketch)

[keanureevesisbae]

Serendipity Epilogue

Summary: Two months have passed. How are the two going?

Bucky Barnes x Winnie Monroe (ofc)

Warnings: Mentions of sex, but nothing major.

Wordcount: 1.5k

A/N: Unfortunately, it’s the end for Serendipity. I really had fun writing this and thank you for reading 🥰

Masterlist // Serendipity Masterlist // Previous chapter //

‘Are you actually, one hundred percent, sure you want this?’ I ask Bucky one last time, as I place my hands on his shoulders, looking at him through the mirror.

I’m met with a loving smile as he nods. ‘I am one hundred percent sure about this.’

‘But I really like your long hair,’ I whine, running my fingers through his locks. ‘Please, baby, just keep it like this. Your long hair looks so good on you and is very convenient during certain bedroom activities.’ I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing multiple kisses on his cheek. ‘Please, for me,’ I whisper.

‘While that does sound very tempting,’ he says, ‘I want it short and I want you to cut it. I only trust you with my hair.’

Okay, he knows his way to flatter this idea into my heart. ‘Fine, fine, fine,’ I say, walking towards the bathroom sink to lay out my equipment. ‘I’m just gonna miss your long hair,’ I say one more time. ‘Can you promise me that one day you’re gonna grow it out again?’

‘I promise,’ he smiles, ‘for you, darling. I just need to cut it now, you know?’

I know that and I know that very well He thought about it for so long and I do think it’s good for him.

Before we left Oregon to go back to Brooklyn, I taught my grandfather how to use FaceTime. Ever since we got back, the two of them FaceTime every other day and it’s quite endearing to see, especially because Papa still having some issues (for example placing the giant iPad near his ear, because for a few moments he thought he was calling Bucky).

For the remaining part of our trip, the kids would sleep in the treehouse with us, as we watched a lot of movies. Bucky and papa grew a lot closer and while the family thought they were talking about Bucky’s great uncle, in reality they were reminiscing. I drove back to grandpa’s home, this time with Bucky, and we restored the box, minus the pictures, since papa wanted Bucky to have them.

Everything Bucky ever owned from before and during the war, was gone and this was the last piece of past he had left.

Everyone fell even more in love with Bucky during the trip and I do have to admit: being actually boyfriend and girlfriend together felt so much better and even Brie had to admit that we were meant to be.

Leaving Oregon was just as hard as usual, but unlike other times, I am now looking for hair salons in Oregon for me to work at and florists for Bucky. While I know I am not going to live in Eugene (too many bad memories there, I don’t want to run into people I’ve known my entire life on a daily basis), Portland however seems to have many opportunities for the both of us. It only takes an hour and a half by car to visit my family, which is better than the dreading plane ride, including me selling my vital organs to to pay for it.

When we got back, Bucky sold his apartment and moved into mine and honestly, it was the easiest move I’ve ever experienced. While at first glance, people wouldn’t recommend moving in this early, not having him around my apartment just felt weird. I actually would miss him being useless in my kitchen and eat my pies hot from the oven.

The picture of him and my grandfather in the Second World War is placed in the living room and after he stared at it longer and longer, the more certain he was to leave his found image behind: for a while, he didn’t want to look into the mirror and see his long locks, reminding him of the Winter Soldier days. He wanted to look back on the days where he was truly himself.

And that means a haircut. While I might not like it, I should not come in between him and his path to recovery and acceptance.

It’s just that I really liked his long hair.

But I’m actually very glad he only trusts me with cutting his hair. Imagine the betrayal I would feel if he chose someone else.

After I cut off large pieces of his beautiful locks, I grab a clipper and try to recreate his older look. I circle around him and with a pair of scissors I try to get some pieces right in the front. Normally I would break my back in an uncomfortable stance, but now I plop on Bucky’s lap.

‘I sure hope this is a special treatment only for me,’ he says, as he places his hands on my hips.

I pretend to think about that. ‘No, I have a few other clients. Very handsome men around their forties, who could totally get it.’

‘Not funny,’ Bucky mumbles, before pressing a kiss on my nose.

I can’t help but get a little giggly. We might be dating for two months, sometimes it’s still strange to comprehend that he is my boyfriend. My actual boyfriend.

After I grab some gel, to put certain locks in place, I actually am very satisfied with the result. ‘All done.’ I step off of his lap and brush some hairs from his shirt. ‘You look so handsome.’

‘You like it?’ Bucky asks, standing up and leaning over the bathroom sink, to closely examine himself in the mirror.

‘I love it,’ I say. ‘What do you think? I mean, it’s your hair and it’s on your head.’

‘I adore it,’ he admits, grabbing my hand with his metal one. When we’re out and about, he still wears his glove, no matter how hot it is, but as soon as we’re in the safe space of our place, he quickly takes it off. I like how he slowly but surely is growing more and more comfortable around me. The first two weeks, he was hesitant about showing me his arm, but nowadays he simply walks around the place shirtless and doesn’t mind me tracing my finger over the sport where his arm and skin meet.

‘Thank you, darling,’ he says with a kind smile, one that I adored already, but now can barely live without. ‘How do I thank you?’

‘Usually I would charge around thirty dollars for a haircut like this, but I think you and I can arrange a special deal.’

‘Yeah?’ Bucky says, pulling me closer by my hips. ‘What’s does this special deal entail?’

‘Maybe… Something in the bedroom?’ While I see a very cocky smile appear on his face, I add: ‘Maybe you could help me clean out my closet. I desperately need to get rid of some stuff.’

‘I have a better idea,’ Bucky chuckles, lifting me up with one arm before throwing me over his shoulder.

‘Buck, put me down.’

‘Nope.’

He drops me on my bed and I let out a slight squeal. ‘What’s your better plan, Bucky Barnes?’ I ask him with a smile.

‘That I’m gonna show you that those certain bedroom activities you mentioned, can still be done with shorter hair.’ He quickly takes off his shirt and crawls on the bed, caging me underneath his strong frame. Right before his lips touch mine, we’re interrupted.

By a high pitched female moan.

‘Really?’ Bucky groans.

‘214 has a date again?’ I ask him, referring to our neighbor who apparently brought someone back to his apartment. ‘I haven’t heard him in forever.’

‘That’s supposed to be a good thing,’ he deadpans.

‘I think it’s someone different this time,’ I mention. I chuckle, as I wrap my arms around his neck. ‘It’s how we met, remember?’

He chuckles. ‘Yeah, I remember.’

‘How about,’ I suggest, ‘we give him a little taste of his own medicine? I mean, what they can do, we can do better, right?’

‘What is it with you and that desperate need to make other people jealous with what we have?’

‘Call it a defect,’ I say. ‘Besides, don’t give me that attitude. You love it too.’

He smiles. ‘Yeah, you’re absolutely right.’ Bucky presses a long kiss on my lips, but when we hear the headboard against the wall, mixed with moans and grunts, he gets off of me. ‘I can’t handle this,’ he grumbles, grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulling it over his head.

I smile, seeing the annoyed glance in his eyes.

He grabs a hoodie and a glove and puts in on. ‘I’ll be back, darling,’ he says.

‘I’ll be right here.’

Bucky can’t help but let out a chuckle. He walks over to the side of the bed and gives me a long kiss. ‘I love you, Winnie.’

Maybe this is still our honeymoon phase, maybe it’s how we really are gonna be. Forever. I waited thirty years to find the man of my dreams. I am not letting this man go.

Also, breaking up with him, would also severely hurt my grandpa and I don’t think I am ready for that.

‘I love you too, Bucky. Forever and ever.’

[fourthingsandawizard]

Dan and Phil Rize Summary, Sept. 4/5, 2018

-Dan started the stream before Phil could fully sit down in frame, and then Dan hit the wrong button and almost ended the stream

-Phil made Dan write the notification, Dan refered to them “Dip and Pip.” Our secret code has spread to them, what have we done??

-Phil said his quiff is droopy because he just woke up. He just had his coffee before the stream, so he said we should see him wake up in about ten minutes

-Dan’s response to why they chose this time for the livestream: “Earth man. It’s crazy”

-They’re staying in a rainforest in a house surrounded by birds and nature before they leave for Asia

-Martyn told them they were renting a place if D&P wanted somewhere to relax instead of a hotel, but neglected to tell them beforehand that it was in the rainforest

-A lot of “nature” keeps coming inside the house, including a very specific mosquito that made a very specific noise, which Dan and Phil attempted to imitate to show us.

-They spent about an hour trying to find the mosquito so they could get rid of it and get some sleep last night. Phil: “I think every clap [of our hands] made it stronger.”

-Dan said they’ve made it through Australia without seeing a spider, and Phil got mad because he was going to jinx them. Dan said nature was about to burst to life because it’s almost spring, and Phil then did a rendition of Chasing Cars as “Show me your beast bursting into life” which he said was by the band “Beast Patrol”

-Dan tweeted out the Truth Bomb question about superheroes while Phil was asleep, and Phil reminded him that they already gave a question about what animal Dan looks like last week. Phil laughed while Dan hid out of frame in shame, and decided that will be the question next time

-Phil bought some “exciting” new Tim Tams that are iced coffee gelato flavor that you’re supposed to put in the fridge. Phil said it had a 0.5 out of 5 health rating. Dan: “Same.”

-They went on a tangent about Woolworths because it’s a thing in Australia. Dan discussed the “family underwear” section; Phil said there was a section called “Manchester.” They couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to be because the rest of the aisle was diapers and stuff, so Phil suggested it was their “family planning” section

-Phil cried (on the inside) at Hobbiton, Dan ACTUALLY cried. Apparently you get on a bus, and then they start playing Frodo running through the Shire, and it made Dan a mess

-Phil said the best thing was the giant tree on top of Bilbo’s house, which is made out of steel, and Phil said, “It’s STEEL there!” Dan gave him a classic “this guy” look at the pun, and then the livestream broke. Dan: “I think Phil just made a pun so terrible, it crashed the app”

-After seeing their friend try to take a picture leaning out of the Hobbit-sized door that looked like they were sticking their butt out, Dan told them they looked like they were “Backin’ it up the Bilbo.” (For Bilbo? Idk, they were laughing too hard to understand). When the waitress at the pub wanted to take a group photo of them, Dan said they should all say that instead of cheese and the waitress seemed confused and horrified

-Phil told Dan to “let me talk about the glowworm thing.” Dan said he wasn’t going to stop him.

-They loved their glowworm cave tour guide’s accent because he sounded kind of like Taika Waititi’s character in Thor Ragnarok

-They bantered about the difference between stalactites and stalagmites, Dan got so annoyed with Phil that he shifted the angle of the live stream so he was the only one in frame to talk about the cave

-Dan said they shouldn’t have told them what the glowworms were before they went through, because they are basically giant maggots that hang from “spider silk” stuff coming out of them to catch bugs

-Phil said it was a beautiful experience, like looking at a galaxy, but they weren’t allowed to take pictures. It was apparently a bright, satisfying blue that he would have flown straight to if he were a fly

-The ice cream place they went to doesn’t let you see the ice cream before you ordered it, they just show you an iPad, and it comes in some weird cones that go around your face? Phil got honeycomb, Dan’s was really difficult to eat, but really good. You could also get ice cream inside a Yorkshire pudding

-Dan: “You got your toast violated by a strange person.” Phil: “I did! Someone buttered my toast for me!” They went on a tangent about how personal the “buttering” experience is, and Phil said he started thinking about how much the person must have touched the bread while doing it. He still ate it, though

-The bath in their 32nd floor hotel room had a window that showed the entire city. Dan used a bath bomb, climbed in with the window shade closed, then opened it to look, but then the window steamed up so he couldn’t see anything. Phil said he likes when windows steam up because you can draw pictures. Dan: “Someone has to clean that, Phil.”

-They saw some “urban explorers” next to their hotel who were balancing on the edge of the skyscraper across from them, and they made awkward eye contact through their hotel room window. Phil apparently peed moments before, and he thinks they probably could have seen him through the window next to the toilet

-Phil: “Swish, swish, bish, another fly in your mouth!” Dan said Phil’s song was worse than actually getting a fly in your mouth

-Phil showed off his Friends t-shirt. Dan said that Phil is a combo of Ross and Phoebe. Dan said he is mostly Chandler, but also a bit of Monica. They said Friends was highly problematic by today’s standards, but everyone should go back and watch it

-They “smashed” all of Olan Rogers’ Final Space episodes. Dan is happy that people are finally appreciating Olan’s work. Phil said it was very emotional, and Dan is excited for more

-Phil about AHS: “Sometimes they put all of their eggs in one basket, and I’m just like, ‘Guys. Don’t ruin the basket.’”

-They finished Big Little Lies, Dan’s official review: “Dank AF”

-Phil had to remind Dan about the rest of the bath story, as Dan “repressed” it. Dan apparently got in the bath, then housekeeping knocked on the door and came in to replace the towels. Dan was waiting for Phil to do “LITERALLY anything,” but Phil didn’t think about Dan being in the bath. Dan screamed “NOOOOO” to stop her from coming in, Phil said it was a haunting scream, and the lady just left.

-Phil: “I forgot. It was fine. She didn’t see you. You were showing your naked body to the whole city anyway!”

-They apologized for the Manila mix up, and said there are bound to be some hiccups on a big tour like this. (If you’re still confused, check the FAQ on the tour page!)

-Someone told them to get a cat. Phil said he’s more allergic to cats than dogs, so that wouldn’t be a good idea

-They dodged giving details about the ii movie, they still aren’t allowed to say anything. They ARE putting ii tour merch on the website on FRIDAY though

-Dan said Phil doesn’t wear his Introvert jacket enough because he wears his blue one more

-They started up Truth Bombs with “What animal does Dan look like?” to which Dan’s answer was a tired, greasy rat

-The first person’s audio came through, but not video. Dan asked if they were existing in the space between dimensions, and they said yes. They said their group chat decided Dan’s spirit animal is Big Bird from Sesame Street (because he’s big and awkward). Phil said he used to have nightmares about Big Bird being in his bedroom when he woke up

-The next person’s video worked, and they were wearing a Phil hoodie. Dan complimented their nails, which were black on one hand and colorful on the other. They had an answer for Dan and Phil, which was Timon and Pumba if their personalities were switched. Dan said it made perfect sense on “like five different levels…Freaky Friday Lion King edition, the AU that nobody asked for”

-They tried the dice option to call a random person, it didn’t work. Twice.

-The next person was the one to get Phil the Polaroid shirt. Dan said it’s covered in Sharpie now

-Their answer was that Dan is a howler monkey. Phil: “Dan HOWELL-er monkey!” Dan disapproved of the pun, but declared them the winner

-Next week’s question is “If Dan and Phil were a superhero duo, what would their powers be?” Phil said he probably shouldn’t be trusted with powers

-Before the great mosquito hunt last night, Dan went to get a drink and found a lizard. He wasn’t scared of it, he just kind of closed it up in the room to let it do its thing

-They tried the ice coffee Tim Tams, they both liked them and said they would dip them in coffee later. Phil: “Dip, dip, bish”

-They went back and forth with the chat on how to pronounce “mukbang”

-Dan hasn’t listened to Bloom yet. He was going to listen on the plane, Phil told him not to so the plane noises wouldn’t interfere. Dan agreed because he wants to take it very seriously to see how Troye has matured as an artist. Phil suggested that he “eat it with his ears.”

-There will be another “fun” DAPG video with “the thing with the thing” that is coming “soon...ish.”

-Phil tried to say he hoped we were having a nice day, and accidentally said “I hope you’re having a nice guy”

-They might do the next liveshow on a Thursday because they’ll be settling in Manila next Tuesday

[littlelovelymemes]

✰ * º ❛   buzzfeed unsolved sentence starters  ( part two )   ❜

        (   part of the youtube starter series   )

‘ in their defense, it was christmas eve.   ’ ‘  oh, so it’s fine if people die on christmas eve.  ’ ‘  i’m not saying i’m condoning them for being seven hours late to a fire that was 2.5 miles away.  ’ ‘  it’s just not-- not great.  ’ ‘  alright, i think we’ve solved it! it’s been fun! see you later!  ’ ‘  i will set your house on fire and your children will die.  ’ ‘  seems a little on-the-nose for me.  ’ ‘  agree to agree.  ’ ‘  what are we doing here?  ’ ‘  ehh, there’s a lot of paperwork.  ’ ‘  i think there’s some shady shit going on there, but that’s just my opinion.  ’ ‘  i’m telling you, nobody knows how to do their job in this town.  ’ ‘  so you’re telling me he screamed in your face that he’s gonna murder your family? sounds like a good dude to me. i don’t know what you’re talking about.  ’ ‘  why is the minister telling rumors?  ’ ‘  i think that’s the first time i’ve ever heard of a detective going missing. that’s like a fish drowning.  ’ ‘  what a terrible thing to happen in such a beautiful place.  ’ ‘  that’s a shark, baby. i know. i’ve seen jaws at least six time, that’s a shark.  ’ ‘  heads up, this is about to get pretty brutal here, in this description.  ’ ‘  no, this is bologna. i’m flip-flopping again.  ’ ‘  that’s called not being thorough.  ’ ‘  we’ve been over this before. the bear is the most deadly animal of all time.  ’ ‘  a shark can definitely kill a bear, hands down, if you dropped a bear in the ocean.  ’ ‘  a hippopotamus would kill a bear in a heartbeat.  ’ ‘  did she have anything on under the trench coat? ...that’s a weird question. never mind.  ’ ‘  this sounds like a law & order interview.  ’ ‘  yeah, that rings a bell or two. that shakes a tambourine.  ’ ‘  what the fuck? no, shame on him.  ’ ‘  it’s not even a good poem. it’s just weird.  ’ ‘  this sounds like something a drunk man would say as he’s laying on the sidewalk, just babbling.  ’ ‘  the shark is ten times less creepier than you.  ’ ‘  that poem is unforgivable.  ’ ‘  i feel like i need to take a bath in hand sanitizer.  ’ ‘  what in the fuck is that?  ’ ‘  ugh, fuck. i feel awful right now.  ’ ‘  there’s no way in hell i’m gonna go there.  ’ ‘  i’m surprised you’re conscious right now.  ’ ‘  kind of looks like hell.  ’ ‘  hey ghouls, the boys are here!  ’ ‘  this is the place where nightmares are made.  ’ ‘  it looks like one of the conjuring films.  ’ ‘  i got a little spoiler for ya: everything in the building is gonna look like this.  ’ ‘  yeah, yeah, that was a rough time in history.  ’ ‘  i’m glad we’re done with that. that was-- just everybody died.  ’ ‘  it’s a ghost butt!  ’ ‘  this is the biggest upset. i did not feel this coming.  ’ ‘  this is like satan’s butthole.  ’ ‘  what if you go fuck yourself. how about that?  ’ ‘  i’m gonna imagine that place is the closest thing to hell.  ’ ‘  how dare they dispose of my body?! they should leave it in the hallway to rot!  ’ ‘  yeah, i got the chills even thinking about it.  ’ ‘  look it up. it’s a thing on the internet.  ’ ‘  they pushed the dog too?!  ’ ‘  am i just freaking myself out again?  ’ ‘  i’m gonna take everything said by a ghost hunter with a grain of salt.  ’ ‘  oh my god, did your brain just explode?  ’ ‘  am i a ghost hunter? i don’t wanna be a ghost hunter. this is all bullshit. oh no. do i have to put that on my business card now? son of a bitch.  ’ ‘  let’s drop some sweet knowledge.  ’ ‘  i’m already fed up with the folders, by the way. it looks too official, considering the nonsense that is within.  ’ ‘  so, the aliens show up, show them pictures of helicopters, and fly away?  ’ ‘  i can’t wait to see a post of the motion picture wedding crashers and, uh, well, some lava lamps.  ’ ‘  wait, a funerary marker from 100 b.c. shows a woman presenting a laptop with usb ports?! how do they charge it? why are there usb ports on it if they don’t have thumbnail drives? what are they looking at on it? there’s no internet. do they have photoshop?  ’ ‘  here’s a picture of you with three butt cheeks.  ’ ‘  i’ve drawn it so it must be real!  ’ ‘  you have nothing to say about any of that?  ’ ‘  i will fight you tooth and nail when it comes to ghoulie ghosts, but aliens are a little more... probable.  ’ ‘  no, you don’t win because i’m sure you have plenty of other stuff on here that’s very dumb.  ’ ‘  i’m good, i’ll just sign up for karate or something.  ’ ‘  wow, have you ‘signs’? ‘signs’, the motion picture that they made back in the day? they found aliens, it was crazy! they ruined a kids birthday party.  ’ ‘  my big takeaway here is that art is not proof.  ’ ‘  you’re telling me those architects used math?! knock me down with a feather.  ’ ‘  can you imagine if you spent your entire life hauling around heavy stones to make the pyramids and someone was like, ‘no, they couldn’t have done it. you know what it must’ve been? space aliens. i seen ‘em.’  ’ ‘  no, they couldn’t have done it. you know what it must’ve been? space aliens. i seen ‘em.  ’ ‘  well, facts don’t matter then.  ’ ‘  if i’m building a giant, mighty, wondrous pyramid, i’m not gonna be like ‘hey, can you do some chiseling of the ramp? we really gotta show off this ramp. it’s a hell of a ramp.’  ’ ‘  are they written in alien language?  ’ ‘  i don’t doubt that they were mathematically adept.  ’ ‘  so, it was aliens?  ’ ‘  so, it was aliens? they showed up, gave ‘em ipads, gave ‘em zune, built the pyramids, left, and that’s it, and they haven’t been back since.  ’ ‘  i think they lied. i have yet to see compelling evidence.  ’ ‘  go fuck yourself, have a nice day.  ’ ‘  irrelevant. you’re irrelevant.  ’ ‘  we don’t care about anyone who died.  ’ ‘  we don’t care if he was famous. we treat everyone the same.  ’ ‘  i think you should just never do that again.  ’ ‘  if you’re saying that someone paid you a million dollars to kill someone, like wouldn’t you-- wouldn’t there be some kind of receipt to say that?  ’ ‘  quick thought: is it annoying that i always hold this pen like this?  ’ ‘  i think your douche-meter’s usually at half mass, right now it’s through the roof.  ’ ‘ ��oh, he ‘discovered’ it alright. just to be fair: fuck christopher columbus.  ’ ‘  you’re saying this ocean’s full of ghosts?  ’ ‘  what, are you taking notes over there? this isn’t a debate.  ’ ‘  the titanic -- she was a might one -- and now she’s lying at the bottom.  ’ ‘  i don’t know. ships sink, ya’know?  ’ ‘  these don’t do much for me because planes crash, boats sink. a goose probably flew into the propeller and the plane just fucking nose-dived into the ocean!  ’ ‘  so, what are you positing here? that it’s in an alternate dimension?  ’ ‘  i’m gonna need some documentation on this.  ’ ‘  you need some documentation?! look up the stories, i’m just sayin’!  ’ ‘  i can’t believe you think this is not weird.  ’ ‘  i can’t believe you don’t think that boats sink.  ’ ‘  a theory says that those lost in the bermuda triangle are actually now residents of the legendary lost civilization of atlantis.  ’ ‘  no-- no th-- no, they’re not. nope!  ’ ‘  now all the frustration that i had in the first half of this is now equally composited on top of you.  ’ ‘  are they breathing underwater?!  ’ ‘  i can see your face and it’s just-- it’s fuming.  ’ ‘  this is absurd.  ’ ‘  i think if there were a black hole anywhere near our solar system, everything would cease to exist.  ’ ‘  we don’t know anything about black holes.  ’ ‘  yes, we know a fair amount about black holes. black holes aren’t unicorns.  ’ ‘  i think there’s a lot you don’t know.  ’ ‘  oh, jesus christ... okay, tell me about... underwater area 51.  ’ ‘  to be fair, i’m not trying anybody on a carnival cruise.  ’ ‘  what happened to you on a carnival cruise?  ’ ‘  i’ve never been on a carnival cruise and i will never go on one.  ’ ‘  i assume they were drunk or high... probably just out of their minds.  ’ ‘  this is photoshopped to high heaven.  ’ ‘  that is so fake. i mean, look at it.  ’ ‘  that is the shittiest footage i’ve ever seen. that is so fake.  ’ ‘  i’m saying you don’t understand how black holes work.  ’ ‘  i’ve got a better understanding than you do.  ’ ‘  there’s other science we don’t know about.  ’ ‘  that makes me sound like trump.  ’ ‘  oh, you’re presenting alternative facts.  ’ ‘  it’s too sad. let’s just talk about ghosts.  ’

          (   videos:   one,   two,   three,   four,   five   )

[pekorosu]

a compilation of lil mentions of donnie that i found amusing while going through kenji’s blog

(under a cut bc it’s quite long)

September 3, 2009

[...]

But now that I think about it, Hong Kong action directors are all really good talkers. As for Donnie, I may not know if he's the best at fighting or not, but he's unbeatable when it comes to arguments (laughs).

September 27, 2009

[...]

Halfway through our meal, Donnie asked "How's Yuji doing?" so I made a call to him. I thought he'd be in the middle of filming but he picked up the phone!

Donnie (on the phone): "A no~ Yuji-san wa, a ho de su ka!?"※

Yup, Donnie's just pestering him. (laughs)

[※: “Is Yuji an idiot!?”... left it untranslated bc that’s exactly how he said it, probably with a bad accent ^^;;]

October 22, 2009

"Shengjian Bao" as recommended by Donnie. 10 yuan for 6 pieces. Looks like a slightly burnt Xiao Long Bao, but it's insanely delicious!

November 19, 2009

It snowed today...

Tomita(?) had to do a falling stunt from the 2nd floor in that ridiculously cold weather. It's rare for an applause to happen on set for Hong Kong movies, but today it happened spontaneously.

When asked about the stunt later on, apparently "it didn't hurt at all."

When Donnie heard that he said, "Then we should have dropped you from the 3rd floor instead." (laughs)

November 22, 2009

Today wasn't that cold but carelessness was unacceptable. That's because there's going to be rain in this scene (laughs).

I wasn’t directly affected, but other stuntmen had to do their scenes in the rain. It's rough. We didn't have “gangan” like in Japan (containers that look like kerosene cans with kindling in them) and no one even bothered to prepare blankets. We did request for the production team to prepare these things, but it would have been wise if the action team had prepared them too. 

Perhaps Donnie had anticipated it to be that cold, so today he gave out jackets to the entire team (22 people!) as gifts. Yan Hua and I received especially good ones. The action team and the lighting department combined has so many people. Being the boss is really tough...

January 4, 2010

Tried editing the action scenes that we filmed the day before yesterday using clips from video assist. Looks like things are getting quite interesting. 

Halfway through I got a phone call from Donnie, so I went to meet up with him and have dinner at his hotel. 

When I showed him the clip that I had edited so far in my iPod, he mumbled, "...damn, I’m good." (lol) Isn’t that already obvious!

February 2, 2010 (1)

Continuing from yesterday which went smoothly, today we are shooting Donnie's counter-attack scene. Donnie takes off his white Mao suit... 

What the hell!! That is not the body of someone who's turning 47 this year!!

He hasn't been eating much the past few days, and has been bulking up heavily by doing things like push-ups until just before his take starts. To be honest, his body is much better now compared to 15 years ago during "Fist of Fury." I swear, this guy is getting younger and younger...

February 2, 2010 (2)

In the afternoon, we did a couple of shots of Donnie receiving attacks from Colonel Chikaraishi.※ 

As usual, we used dummy arms and legs dressed in costume. For some reason, this unpleasant duty always ends up being assigned to me, so I just went ahead and gave him a good beating.

If I’m not mistaken, during "Bodyguards and Assassins" I had to wear the enemy's shoe on my hand and "kick" Donnie's face. On the second take, it grazed the side of his face by accident and formed a bruise. I've got to be more careful this time! (that’s what I thought, but it’s not like I was being particularly careful...)

In the end, I think we did over 50 punches to his temple, cheeks and shoulders...? The people who get hurt and the people who do the hurting in action movies both have it hard! 

Well then, tomorrow's the finale~!!

[※: the antagonist for legend of the fist.]

pics from end of shooting:

February 4, 2010

Habit is a real scary thing. Woke up at 6am even though there was no filming today. Watched DVDs until past noon, went for lunch with the Japanese team. After that, we watched "14 Blades" and discussed our thoughts and impressions.

Nighttime was spent at Donnie's hotel. Had a dinner party with the main staff and action team. Donnie's headed off to Taiwan tomorrow, so I suppose it'll be a while before we see him again. 

During these times, Donnie wouldn't say things you’d expect like "Bye! See you soon!" at all, he would just leave quietly. As though we'd be meeting as usual tomorrow. Something about it feels very Donnie-like.

March 15, 2010

[...]

After our meeting, Donnie and I left for Beijing. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Ritz-Carlton. 

I ordered a lasagna, while Donnie ordered a lobster pasta. However, apparently there'd been some coriander that clashed with the flavour of the pasta, so he forcefully got them to replace his order (laughs). As always, he's like Giant (while everyone around him is Nobita)...

[t/n: i can't believe kenji used doraemon as analogy L MAO. anyway donnie has mentioned before that he hates coriander and just the smell of it makes him tear up o.0]

June 30, 2010

Going back to Japan. Received a call from Donnie at the airport. He said, "Thanks for your help this time.” Hearing such words straight out of Donnie's own mouth kinda throws me off balance (laughs), but it does make me feel "ah, I'm glad I came.” 

I do express my gratitude to the people around me in words too, but it's not always an easy thing to do, so i'm going to try making more of a conscious effort from now on.

I would probably just weird people out though (laughs).

August 23, 2010

First day of filming. Staff & cast gathered together for the prayer ceremony.※

I can’t write about what we filmed, but everything went smoothly. Donnie took lots of pictures on set with his brand new camera. It had nothing to do with filming at all but Donnie kept going, "Kenji, jump!" and I was made to jump many times (laughs).

Donnie asked Sakuma to bring him a peach from the cardboard box and when he handed over an unripe peach, Donnie asked, "Are you colour blind?"

That was his first conversation with Donnie (laughs).

[※: i think it’s a tradition before filming? for good luck, for things to go smoothly, etc. also this was the first day of wu xia filming! :D]

September 11, 2010

Today was also action filming. Unlike stunts, acting while performing action moves is truly difficult. Donnie gave me all sorts of detailed instructions but the more intently I listened to them, the worse my performance got. Halfway through I almost blew my lid and complained, "I don’t get it anymore! The more I follow your directions, the more robotic my acting becomes!"

Donnie replied, "...Kenji, that's because you're only understanding my words on the surface, instead of acting with your heart."

At that moment, those words sank into me and I felt like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"That's right..." I realised, "I should just act with my feelings!"

That said, what came next...

"Kenji, step forward with your left leg and make sure to jump on one leg only! Look directly at the camera in that position and react while hitting your right arm on the corner, as though by accident! Make sure to do it naturally!"

...was another absurd direction from Donnie (laughs).

How in the world can I act with my heart that way~!!

And so, that made me realise that I should start being nicer to actors.

September 17, 2010

[...]

By the way, I was stopped by a woman who looked like a tourist on my way to the washroom today. She asked, "Um, by any chance is this Director Peter Chan's movie?"

When I said yes, she yelled “Kyaa~~~~!!!” excitedly. (laughs)

Speaking of which, something similar happened before at the airport. They'd ignored Donnie (lol) and went straight to asking, "Um, you're Director Peter Chan, right? Can I have a photo with you?"

I’d get it if he were an actor, but isn't it unusual that a director's name would bring out such a reaction? What a big name...

September 24-27, 2010

Today is the continuation of a scene that I’ll be acting in. It’s alllllllllll action. Feeling so exhausted. My spinal cord gets bad when I’m tired, so the left side of my body is now numb...

Donnie’s demands are grueling as usual, and as the person being subjected to it I’ve been thinking “really wanna kick his ass...” twice or thrice a day (laughs). I fully understand that Donnie is always aiming for top quality so all I can do is put in my best effort.

The material that we’ve edited so far is quite interesting! That’s the only thing keeping me sane right now.

Hang in there, me~

Got some flaky egg rolls + doing an impression of Donnie (lol).

October 19, 2010

[...]

Went location hunting after filming ended. After that, went straight to Donnie’s hotel for a meeting. There was a car accident on the way there which brought traffic to a complete standstill. I ended up being very late.

When I arrived it was already time for dinner, so I ate together with Donnie's family who had come to visit since yesterday. 

Ah, Jasmine and James have grown so much. When Donnie’s with his children, he's a good father and looks like he's having so much fun. 

I wish he'd smile more on set too, even if it's just 1/10th of this (laughs).

[t/n: !!?!???? *lies down*]

December 22-23, 2010

[...]

Arrived in Beijing a little past 12am and had a meeting right there with Donnie. Received an iPad... I'm getting a real bad feeling from this (lol).

Meanwhile, I handed over the Japanese press release for “Ip Man” and “Bodyguards and Assassins” to Donnie, as well as a kewpie doll. He was really delighted, but I think he probably has no clue who that kewpie doll is (laughs).

[t/n: kenji getting a Weird Feeling every time donnie is unusually nice to him is a recurring joke bc he suspects some favour is about to be asked of him 😂 

also i think “kewpie doll” is referring to these dolls they gave out during the japanese ip man release? 

dunno why he’d be so happy if he doesn’t know who it is. my hypothesis: donnie has a soft spot for cute things. that, or he just likes getting gifts. i mean, who doesn’t?]

January 6, 2011

There's no filming today, but I've been asked by Donnie to do some editing for The Lost Bladesman's promotional video in Beijing. Why? 

...I'm sure people who are reading this blog for the first time have started mistaking me as the "Editor Guy" (laughs)?

September 1, 2011

Got a text from Donnie while I was in the middle of action training that said, "Tell me the name of that tonkatsu place in Shibuya (he's thinking about Maisen Aoyama)" 

Hm? Feels like a similar situation has happened before...? 

Flashback to 10 years ago, around the same time. 

It was during filming for "The Princess Blade" when Donnie called me, saying "I'm in a tonkatsu shop right now, order something for me!" 

I remember now that I had to order a roast cutlet set or something like that for him over the phone, even though I had been in the middle of filming!

...In other words, there's still no improvement when it comes to this even after 10 years (laughs).

[t/n: i guess this is one answer to the question of “where does donnie yen eat (when he goes to japan)”]

March 20-25, 2012

[...]

Filming ended when the sun had set but immediately after, I went back to Donnie's hotel to discuss tomorrow's action scenes. And as expected everything gets changed entirely the very next day. 

Oh well. Every day is pretty much a repeat of that.

At any rate, Donnie is in top form this time. Goes without saying that he aced his own parts but even for Andy's parts, he would do demonstrations and stuff.

"He's so tough~" I thought in awe.

March 30, 2012

The ending has reached its climax. Donnie's wife and children had traveled all the way here so after filming, all of us including the action team had dinner together. Everyone's exhausted from filming, but I feel like moments when we are able to gather like this are something very precious.

May 22, 2012

Received a call from Donnie praising the "making of" video that I'd put together (it was only a 2 minute teaser though). “Oh, a rare praise!" I thought. And then he went, "So, could you make another version that features me as the main subject?" (laughs). Well, I already saw that coming~

[t/n: is he perhaps, talking about this video?]

some other photos from special id filming:

Donnie and Andy On doing a read-through ↓

Sakuma, overwhelmed by being with Donnie (lol) ↓

Chris (from the action team)’s birthday ↓

Kenji: Isn't this amazing!? It's called a driving pod, you can drive the car from above! It's possible to do small turnings compared to a car that's just being towed along!! ↓   

[ponyregrets]

So what are your thoughts on S4 overall? I know you didn't care about the last season very much

my good friend @tlaloc​ asked for spoilers/if she should catch up on the show so I ended up writing a very long email with a summary of every episode in the season and my feelings on whether or not she should watch each one, so I’m just going to use that email as my answer here, anon!

401: The apocalypse is back, in pog form! They call the upcoming badness THE DEATH WAVE and it is literally a wave of fire we see it consuming some Egyptian grounders at the end of this episode so that's cool. Anyway this is a solid intro episode, kind of weird camera angles, but we set up Roan in charge, Clarke wants to save the world, Bellamy is attractive, etc. etc. I like this one.Watch: Yes

402: This episode is really weird because the big plot is about how they are gonna turn the Ark into a bunker to survive the upcoming DEATH WAVE and Bellamy takes a rag-tag bunch of misfits to some Ice Nation place to get a part they need, but then they discover they have SLAVES and Bellamy has to decide whether to get the part and leave the slaves or blow up the part to save the slaves. This was clearly meant to make Bellamy sympathetic again after the whole massacre thing, but by saving the slaves he reduced the savior capacity of the Ark from 500 people to 100 people so anyone who was still mad at Bellamy remained mad at Bellamy. Also Octavia starts murdering people, that's cool.Watch: Follow your heart

403: Bellamy and Clarke go on a road trip with Jaha because he found a new cult to be into on his iPad. Clarke has to make a list of 100 people who will survive the upcoming apocalypse. She cries about putting her own name on so Bellamy writes it for her. I don't care about anything else that happened. OH WAIT radiation is coming Luna shows up like dying of radiation but DOESN'T DIE dun dun dunWatch: I've seen this episode like eight times

404: OKAY NOW WE ARE GETTING INTO THE SHITTY MIDDLE OF THIS SEASON WHERE THE POINTS ARE MADE UP AND THE SCORES DON'T MATTER goddd anyway Monty and Jasper (oh btw Jasper was gonna kill himself before but found out that the world is ending anyway and was like COOL I CAN JUST WAIT so yeah) find the list and are like CLARKE THIS IS FUCKED UP YOU ARE NOT GOD Roan kidnaps Bellamy and finds out they are planning to keep the Ark just for themselves, Octavia gets shoved off a cliff, Bellamy gets told she's dead and is FUCKING HEART BREAKING and then all the tension is lost because they immediately reveal that she's alive, this will be a patternWatch: Eh

405: THIS EPISODE IS SUCH A GIANT WASTE like did you ever read the last twilight book where they are about to have a huge confrontation but then one of them can see the future and she sees how the fight would go so she's like nah we out? that's this episode. Bellamy figures out immediately that his sister is alive so they do nothing with ROCK BOTTOM GRIEF and then he has to talk this rando dude everyone acts like we care about (no seriously he is one of the slaves they saved in 402 and everyone is like YAY IT'S RILEY and makes a big deal and he is just a non-entity) out of murdering Roan and he does but it's a shitty speech also Echo is there being weird Echo is so weird this season I think they just want to have her around to date Bellamy if they chicken out of Bellarke ANYWAY Clarke and Roan agree that they will share the 100 spaces in the Ark, but then Ilian, the grounder who brought Octavia back, decides to set fire to the entire Ark and it burns up in a fiery explosion while Bellamy holds Octavia and and Clarke holds both of them and they're all like OUR HOME IS GONEWatch: Probably not

406: The Ark appears undamaged everyone is still hanging out living there it's SO WEIRD Clarke gets laid and stares at a picture of Lexa, Octavia tells Bellamy she hates him for killing Lincoln, which is the first we've heard of it since the season began, BUT THEN Clarke and Bellamy go on a pretty great roadtrip with Roan so Clarke can go to science island, where Raven and her mom are using Luna's blood to try to save people, bc nightbloods are immune to radiation. Also they need to go to space and are bringing rocket fuel. Bellamy definitely tries to tell Clarke he loves her on a river bank.Watch: Sure

407: OH this one is pretty great actually! Emori is a fucking badass on science island, Clarke is good, Bellamy has a GREAT storyline and also takes off his shirt. It's relatively plot light--black rain is coming and burning people, they need someone to test nightblood on probably--but a nicely done self-contained episode. This is also FINALLY when they start realizing what they need to do with Bellamy, which is shut up about the massacre and actually let him do good things.Watch: Yes!

408: This one is pretty meh. They spend the whole episode with Clarke having a moral crisis about using Emori to test nightblood, which is annoying because the moral stakes are fucked. Clarke ends up taking the nightblood herself at the last minute, which is theoretically fine, but they wanted it to be a twist ending so everyone kind of makes no sense up until then to make it happen. Also Abby immediately destroys the radiation chamber that they're gonna use to test if the nightblood really protects them from radiation so it doesn't matter anyway. Bellamy and Jasper go on a quick roadtrip to get drugs and then Bellamy gets drunk and probably laid, so good for you, buddy. Watch: Eh

409: This one was pretty boring IIRC? Mostly I remember that at the end Clarke tries to become commander and Roan shuts her down and decides they're gonna battle royale instead, and it was annoying on like every level. OH Jaha and Kane and Monty found a bunker by Polis where 1200 people can survive so they're taking all their people there, but Jasper and (randomly and stupidly) Harper and some other people decide they want to stay behind to die instead. Monty stays with them for friendship, but is planning to get to the bunker. The battle royale is one champion from each clan fighting, and the winning clan gets the bunker. That's their plan. It's not a great plan. Octavia's been off randomly having sex with Ilian and failing to be a farmer and she shows back up again to fight for skaikru. Her arc this season is a mess, but this is when it starts turning around. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with anything else she did this season. It just starts going in a better but ultimately random direction.Watch: Eh

410: THIS ONE IS GREAT I was so ready to hate it but they do a good job with the battle royale. Luna shows up to be like IF I WIN YOU ALL DIE bc she's mad at basically everyone, which they don't quite sell, but it spooks Clarke bc Luna is an amazing fighter. Bellamy's like, listen Octavia you are not actually a baller you need to hide until most people are killed, and they follow through on that. Ilian saves her (and dies, you were v pointless, Ilian), and then Roan rethinks Clarke's "we should form an alliance" and forms an alliance with her. Bellamy has to stop Echo cheating and has a GREAT scene with Roan. Octavia eventually does win and I actually believed it, and she says they'll share the bunker equally, which was kind of annoying bc it was literally what Clarke wanted to do, but then it turns out Clarke and Jaha STOLE THE FUCKING BUNKER and also knocked Bellamy out to get him inside before they sealed it. which was SUCH A GREAT TWIST and I was so pumped but unfortunately, next episodeWatch: YES

411: OKAY so like this episode had a lot of individually good parts, but REALLY refused to pick a fucking lane with Clarke, to its detriment. There was great Blake sibling stuff, good Bellamy stuff, but Clarke was just kinda like "eh idk what to do" and really wishy-washy because they wanted this dramatic moment of her pointing a gun at Bellamy, which was fine, but then they had zero follow-up on that. BUT there was a great Raven subplot (Raven is dying of an ALIE brain tumor, I forgot to mention) where she talks to ghost Sinclair in her head and chooses life and I love it. But unfortunately there is ALSO the Jasper subplot where he gets all the kids but Monty and Harper to commit mass suicide and it was majorly triggering for a friend of mine. So, uh, yeah. Anyway in the end Bellamy unseals the bunker and lets the grounders in and O takes charge and tells them they have to pick 100 people for their slots and everyone else dies.Watch: ????????

412: MOST PEOPLE LIKED THIS EPISODE MORE THAN I DID I found the main plot pretty boring it was just Jaha being THE WORST and being like WE FOUND THIS BUNKER WE SHOULD GET SLOTS FOR ALL OUR PEOPLE and stirring shit as they tried to perform a lottery to pick slots. Eventually Kane talks him down and they gas all their own people and just use Clarke's list of 100 people to survive from 403 to pick. Whomp whomp. Meanwhile Clarke and Bellamy are kinda awks but it doesn't last long and he flirts so hard with her he commits vehicular manslaughter, which is hilarious, but Clarke's arc is such a fucking mess this season. ANYWAY they're on a road trip to get Raven that (of course) goes wrong, they end up with eight people on science island who have to go BACK TO SPACE to surviveWatch: Probably yeah

413: COUNTDOWN TO DEATH WAVE this was a good one, tight, single-plot with the kids at science island trying to get the spaceship working. Bellamy and Clarke were A LOT but they also made sure Bellamy had some shiptease stuff with Raven and Echo, I assume in case they decide not to go Bellarke. Clarke ends up having to stay behind on earth to get everyone else out, but because of her nightblood she survives. Bellamy thinks he left her to die on earth and is super sad. Then we get SIX YEAR TIME JUMP Clarke has a cute haircut and adopted a grounder and has been calling Bellamy EVERY DAY even though he can't hear her she just talks to him anyway and she SPOTS A SHIP and thinks it's them but of course it's a MYSTERIOUS OTHER SHIP DUN DUN DUNWatch: For sure

And that's what you missed on Glee! Overall I think S4 was better than S3 but the pacing was AWFUL and they kept just setting shit up and botching the delivery. I'm honestly pretty excited about the timeskip for S5 and I am looking forward to a hiatus full of angsty BELLAMY THINKS CLARKE IS DEAD fic like damn

[ntrending]

The Google Pixel Slate mixes great hardware with a slight identity crisis

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/the-google-pixel-slate-mixes-great-hardware-with-a-slight-identity-crisis/

The Google Pixel Slate mixes great hardware with a slight identity crisis

About a year and a half ago, Google decided that its Chrome OS (short for “operating system”) should play nice with Android apps, which were previously relegated only to smartphones and Android-powered tablets. It’s a logical step, and other companies like Apple and Microsoft have been working to marry the historically quarrelsome relationship between web apps that run in a browser and mobile apps downloaded from an app store in recent years.

A device like the Pixel Slate is the perfect candidate to take that relationship to the next step. When you’re holding the tablet without its keyboard, the hardware itself to the Android selections found in the Google Play store. At the same time, the beautiful 12.3-inch screen demands a full version of Google Chrome that displays complete versions of websites rather than nerfing them down to the smushed mobile versions.

While the Pixel Slate shows a lot of promise, it illustrates how much work there is to do before these two factions can live together in harmony on a single device. If Chrome OS tablets were the American Version of The Officethen the Pixel Slate is the moment when Jim comes back from Stanford, but still hasn’t asked Pam out. There’s so much hope, but we’re not quite there yet.

What is it?

The Pixel Slate itself is a tablet with laptop-grade guts. It uses the latest 8th generation Intel Core processors. You can start at the $599 base model with a Core i3 processor, 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, or if you’ve recently won a PowerBall jackpot, you can climb all the way up to the $1,599 flagship with a Core i7, 16GB RAM and 256GB built-in storage.

The review unit I’ve been using is the most reasonable in the bunch, checking in with a sensible Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM and 128GB of built-in storage. It comes with a nice round price tag of $999, but that’s only if you don’t get a keyboard to go with it–and you’re going to want a keyboard to go with it.

Rounding out the feature set you’ll find a pair of USB-C ports, dual front-facing speakers to either side of the 3,000 x 2,000 pixel Gorilla Glass 5 screen, and cameras on both the front and the back of the device. The front-facing wide-angle camera is really fantastic for video calls. The back camera takes totally nice-looking, smartphone-grade photos, but should only be used in emergencies since there’s no way not to look like a dork when taking a photo with a tablet.

What’s the deal with the keyboard case?

It’s hard to imagine a situation in which you would spend this much cash on a device that is designed largely for productivity without at least giving yourself the option of a keyboard. When drawing with the stylus or just reading a book in the Kindle app (which actually works pretty nicely in the Chrome OS architecture), ditching the keys and holding a slab of aluminum and glass is nice. But, I tried getting some of my regular work done in that formation and I’d rather eat a bag of cotton balls than use a content management system (the system used for putting words and pictures on websites like this one) or type for long periods of time without some real keys to press.

The Pixel keyboard is a great accessory. The round keys are weird–like a throwback to a vintage typewriter–but they work great. They have a relatively short travel similar to the iPad keyboard, but they’re so satisfying to push. You can type really quietly on them if you want, but I enjoyed slapping away at the keys as loudly as possible. Even going back to my MacBook Pro—the one that still had the good keyboard—was a little disappointing. Even if you’re one of those mechanical keyboard types who like your typing to sound like a tommy gun in a movie from the 1920s, you’ll still probably like this better than any other tablet keyboard case.

But, like eating a giant burrito before bed, the keyboard feels good, but has some considerable drawbacks. Unlike the iPad keyboard case, the Slate keyboard has a really responsive touchpad. It might seem redundant with a touchscreen device, but it makes the transition from a laptop much soother. The downside, however, is that it gives the whole device a huge footprint that failed catastrophically when I tried to use it on a train tray table. This isn’t an issue with a rigid hinge to keep the screen upright, but trying to use this thing in the case on a tray table is a great way to spend two minutes trying to pick it up off the ground after it slides under the seat in front of you.

Here come the apps

Hardware is one thing, but how is that Android and Chrome OS marriage going?

If you haven’t used Chrome OS in a while, it may take you a little while to nail down the correct mixture of web apps and Android apps from the Google Play store. Some things are obvious, like Adobe Lightroom CC, which requires a download, but other common go-tos like Gmail simply open in a Chrome tab.

Once you’ve committed to downloading the Android version of an app, there’s no guarantee that it will look great. Instagram, for example, opens as an app that either looks hilariously tiny or appallingly pixelated. So, while you get access to some things laptops can’t access—games like Arena of Valor, for instance—it’s a coin flip about how it will render or work.

While this is a detractor from the current version of the device, it might not apply to everyone. If you’re just looking for a really slick machine to watch Netflix, do email, and maybe doodle around with the optional $100 Google Pen, you may not even notice the issues until they’re resolved. And it seems very likely they will get resolved.

Right now, Chrome OS is a very minor player in the tablet market, but it’s a 10,000 pound gorilla (yes, that’s much bigger than a 400 pound gorilla) in the education world. Chromebooks have a reported 60 percent share of the education market where young people are building allegiances to tech platforms in between learning how to multiply fractions and shooting spitballs. Giving those students options to stick with a familiar operating system down the road seems like a very solid play for Google.

So, can it replace a laptop or what?

We’re getting there, but not yet. And ultimately, that’s not the point of the Pixel Slate. Google already makes the $1,000 Pixelbook if you want Chrome on a typical Pac-Man style computer. This is something different and, under the right circumstances, pretty great.

There are excellent little touches all over the hardware. The power button has a built-in fingerprint reader that lets you store up to three fingerprints to accommodate different ways of holding the tablet. And the speakers are loud enough to enjoy content on if you’re planning on replacing your TV with a smaller device—something more and more people are doing. The Google Assistant integration is nice, too.

If you’re going to buy one, the $999 Core i5 option seems like your best bet. You don’t need to crank the storage because external hard drives work with the Slate’s two USB-C ports. You should, however, spring for a keyboard case. The Brydge G Type Keyboard that Google sent along with its review unit has a firm hinge, which I found a lot more useful than the sleek-but-too-floppy Google keyboard case.

Whether you want to spend the extra $100 on the Pen is really up to your tastes. It has a built-in Assistant button and allows you to do things like circle an item on a web page and automatically search for it on the web. So, there is functionality there, even if your artistic talent peaked during fingerpaints in grade school

Written By Stan Horaczek

[fandomriderx-1]

The Play’s The Thing

Hi all! Here's a short story I wrote for my fiction class. I’d love to hear some feedback, especially from the admittedly great writer, though thoroughly incompetent arch-nemesis, @identityconstellations

I sobbed as I held Amon’s limp body, when I heard loud footsteps just a little to my left. I wiped my tears and gazed at Amon.

“Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. Oh happy dagger!” I picked up the knife in Amon’s hand, still a little warm. I held it with both hands in front of me.

“This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.” I shouted these last words, plunging the knife into my chest. Warm red liquid poured down my chest, turning the purple of the dress black. As I collapsed next to Amon, I couldn’t help a small smile. Sometimes, friends are the greatest things in the world.

Rewind a few months. It was the second week of my senior year, and a giant banner had appeared in the main hallway. It was one of the cheap kind the school always used, made from that really big paper the school buys in huge rolls and letters in paint that would flake off if you breathed on it. Still, it did its job, proclaiming tryouts for the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet.

My friend Maddie nudged me as we walked to our first class. “We should try out, Cindy!”

I stared at the poster. Today was Monday, and the try outs were on Friday.

“I’m not sure we even have enough time. It says we have to recite a monologue.”

Maggie rolled her eyes at me. “Oh please, you’ve had ‘The V Speech’ memorized since we watched V for Vendetta last year. You made me recite Evey’s line so much when I die they will cut open my skull and find ‘Are you, like, a crazy person?’ carved into my brain.”

I chuckled. “Ok, I get your point. Still, that’s from a movie. Think Chrismon will count it?”

“Probably,” Maddie said, shifting to take her jacket off without removing her backpack. “That whole speech is basically a really long tongue twister. Get it right and he’ll know you can handle Shakespearean.”

I mulled over it for a second before nodding. “You’re probably right. Ok, I’ll try out.”

We spent the next few days rehearsing after school at Maddie’s house.

“What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe! Oh time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me to untie!” Maddie finished in her best man-voice, reciting Viola’s monologue from Twelfth Night. Putting down Maddie’s iPad with the monologue on it, I gave her a round of applause.

“Awesome! Pull back the hair, add some fake stubble, and you could totally pass for a man!” That earned me a pillow aimed at my head.

“Gee thanks, Cindy.” Maddie said, sitting down beside me. I shoved her with my shoulder, getting a shove in return.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Maddie began. “Are your sisters trying out for the play?”

My sisters, Theresa and Mildred, and yes they look just like their names sound, were notorious members of the drama club. They’d try out for every single play the school would put on, get small parts, and then throw fits if the whole family didn’t come see every single performance.

I sighed, exhausted at the thought of those two. “Of course they will. They wouldn’t miss a chance to stroke their enormous egos.” I glanced at my watch “Crap, I’ve gotta get home. Mildred has laundry duty this week, and she wants me to get my clothes together tonight.”

I grabbed my backpack and Maggie walked me outside. “We still good to go for lunch after auditions tomorrow?” Maggie asked as I got into my car.

“Yep! I already got my chores for the week done, so I should be free.” Chrismon, the drama teacher, had a small family emergency and had to reschedule the tryouts for Saturday instead of Friday, so we planned to meet at tryouts and then go for lunch afterwards. I closed my car door and pulled out of the driveway, waving to Maggie as I drove off.

The next morning, I woke up to a pile of dirty clothes landing in my face.

“Get up, Cindy. Its your turn to do the laundry.” Theresa announced.

I shot up in bed, knocking bras and skirts to the ground. “What are you talking about? It’s Mildred’s week. I vacuumed the house.”

With a smirk Theresa shook her head. “Check again.” She called, walking out of my room. I untangled my body from the sheets and dirty clothes and raced down the hall to the kitchen downstairs. My stepmother, Susanne, had instituted a chore chart that rotated every week, making sure everyone vacuumed, cooked, did the dishes, etc. When I got home last night under my name was written ‘vacuum & dishes’ in my stepmothers exquisite handwriting. Now under my name was ‘laundry & dishes,’ with ‘laundry’ written in a crude imitation. The same could be said for Mildred’s category, which now had ‘vacuum’ in the same crude handwriting.

“Midlred!” I shouted, loud enough that Susanne’s cat jumped and ran out of the room.

I stormed upstairs to Mildred’s room, throwing open the door. Mildred was sitting on her bed, reading a book I couldn’t see the title of. She turned the page before answering. “Yes, Cindy?”

“What do you think you’re trying to pull, changing the chore chart? It was my week to vacuum, and I already did it two days ago.”

Mildred laid her book down, still open, and dramatically raised her hand to her mouth. “What in the world are you talking about, Cindy? It’s your turn to do the laundry. I was the one who vacuumed on Thursday. Now, you better get started. Theresa couldn’t get to my or her laundry last week so you’ve got quite a lot to do.” She motioned to the huge pile sitting by her door, and handed me her book, nails perfectly manicured from their salon visit last week. “Unless you want to make something of it.”

I took the book, seeing it was the complete works of William Shakespeare book that Susanne kept in the living room to look smart. It was open to Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene II. My stomach sank. Maggie’s monologue. You could say a lot of things about my stepsisters, but three things would always be true: they were egotistical, they were overly dramatic, hence handing me the book like this, and they were cruel. I could feel Theresa grinning from the doorway.

A few hours later I pulled up to the front of the school, Theresa just exiting the building. She ran over to my car.

“Cindy, where have you been? You completely missed auditions!”

I motioned for her to get in the car. Maddie knew me well enough to know when I needed to be quiet. I drove us to Moe’s, our favorite lunch spot. We got our food and grabbed a booth in the corner. I was halfway through my burrito when I decided to talk. I gave her the short version of what happened that morning.

“Wait, they threatened me? With a book?” Maddie questioned.

I nodded. “Kinda. I don’t know how, but they found out what you were planning to do for your monologue. My stepsisters are evil, but they’re smart. They knew that Romeo and Juliet doesn’t have many female characters, just Juliet, the Nurse, and the moms really. They figured by getting rid of one of us they’d have a better shot of getting a lead role.” I took a sip of my drink, the cup crunching a little in my hand. I was pissed. “So, they rearranged the chore schedule so I’d be stuck doing laundry all morning and miss the auditions. And if I tried to do something about it, like tell Susanne or something, they’d find some way to ruin your audition instead.”

“Ok, your sisters are freaking psychos.”

I raised my cup like it was a toast. “Amen to that.”

Next Friday Chrismon had posted the cast list. I know this because the moment he taped it to the door Mildred and Theresa had taken pictures of their names and sent them to all our relatives, telling them to RSVP now for opening night, announcing that they had been cast as Lady Capulet and Lady Montague respectively. I turned off my phone and slammed my locker, marching down the hall to Biology.

“Cindy!” I heard a shout from down the hall. Maddie was running towards me with her phone in the air. Once she got close enough she shoved it in my face. “Chrismon posted the cast list.”

Barely looking at the phone, I tried to give my friend a small smile. “I know, Mildred and Theresa already messaged the whole family.”

Maddie shook her head, black curls flying everywhere. “No! I mean, yeah they were cast, but look!” She shoved her phone closer to my face, so I finally gave it a good look.

“Amon Strong is Romeo … Maddie Henson is Juliet!” I shouted, wrapping my arms around her neck. “You’re going to be Juliet! I can’t believe it!”

Maddie wrapped her arms around me too. “I know! But that’s not the biggest thing.” Maddie pulled back from me.

“I’ve got an idea about how we can get back at your sisters.”

The next few months flew by in a blur. Maddie had to go to rehearsal almost every day after school, and even a lot of Saturdays once October rolled around. I already gave Maddie I ride to and from school most days, so it was easy for me to stay behind and work on homework while they put the play together.

It was really interesting to watch. Chrismon apparently has never done Shakespeare before at our school, so he wanted to take this weird, minimalistic approach to it. Instead of a complicated, moving set, they just had this long, rising platform that curved around the stage. It was only about six inches off the ground on the left side, but on the right side it was so high that people would walk under it to get on stage. The idea was to let the context of the scene shape how people viewed the set. So, when the scene is supposed to be in a town square, the platform surrounding the middle of the stage would look like buildings. When the scenes were supposed to take place in the Capulet’s house, the highest platform would serve as Juliet’s bedroom. And when it was the final scene and Juliet was ‘dead’, the platform would feel like her tomb. It was pretty smart, especially on a high school budget.

To add to the minimalistic thing, he even had them simplify the csotumes. Everyone except Juliet, the moms, the Nurse, and Friar Laurence were wearing black dress pants and shoes, a white dress shirt, and a blue or red vest. And even then, Friar Laurence basically just had an overgrown vest on, and the girls were just wearing basic dresses. The idea was that everyone who was a part of the family feud was wearing a particular color. If you were on the Capulets side, you wore red, and if you were a Montague, you wore blue. To show their being apart, Prince Escalus, the Friar, and the Nurse all wore purple, as did Romeo and Juliet after they got married. Contrasting with the black platform and white background with shifting red, blue, and purple colors, it made a stunning display.

While I was admiring the set one day during a dress rehearsal, one guy wearing a red vest walked over to me.

I didn’t know his name, but I had scene rehearsals enough to know his role.

“Well, if it isn’t the noble County Paris. To what do I owe this pleasure?” I joked.

He made a deep, overdramatic bow. “To see why this fair maiden has dined to watch our humble practices all these weeks, with hope of learning her name.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Nothing quite like performing Shakespeare to get you accustomed to the language.

“I’m Cindy, Cindy Todd. Maddie is my best friend.” I answered finally.

The boy quirked his head. “Todd? As in-“

“Yes, as in Mildred and Theresa Todd. They’re my stepsisters.”

The boy scrunched up his lips in disgust. “Yikes. The worst I’ve got is an older brother who won’t shut up about how I’m the favorite child. Though between you and me,” He leaned down to stage whisper in my ear. “He really doesn’t make it that hard.”

I chuckled again. “Which brings the subject back to you. You know my name, so what’s yours?”

The boy extended his hand. “Jim Davis. Pleasure to meet you, Cindy.”

I shook his hand, smiling. “Pleasure to meet you, Jim.”

Over the next few weeks Jim and I ended up chatting quite a bit. As Paris he wasn’t in Acts III and IV, so he spent long stretches of rehearsal in the audience seats with me. Eventually I let him in on me and Maddie’s plan.

He frowned a little. “I get why you’d want to do it, but do you think it’s the smartest thing to do? I mean, this play isn’t just Mildred and Theresa, it’s everyone else. This is a lot of people’s senior year. If you mess the play up, you could hurt their chances at scholarships to go to acting colleges.”

“That’s why we’re only doing it for the last two performances. Our family can only come on that last night, so it’s the perfect time to strike.” I assured him.

Jim seemed to mull it over. Eventually he gave in. “Ok, fine, but you need to let me help you prepare. We did the play back in middle school, and I was Romeo then. I know all the lines, so I can make sure you don’t screw this up, no offense.”

I raised my hands in defense. “None taken. Thanks a ton!”

After that Jim would join me and Maddie at her house every night after rehearsal. We’d work together to rush through our homework, then continue working on the revenge scheme.

Opening night went off without a hitch. Susanne was busy that night, so I sat with Maddie’s parents in the front row. Her dad had even gotten a bouquet of flowers that he passed out to us. When Maddie took her bow, we threw the flowers on stage, congratulating her on a great performance.

Still, nothing could compare to what happened that Friday. Chrismon always insisted on running the play at least once before every performance. I was sitting in my usual spot in the audience while she and Amon, our Romeo, practiced the balcony scene. We had brought in Amon, who had dated Mildred last year only to discover her cheating on him, weeks before and he knew what to do. In our version of the balcony scene, Romeo climbs up the platform and spends a few lines up there with Juliet before climbing down part-ways, still holding Juliet’s hand.

Only this time, while reciting “I would I were thy bird,” Amon let his foot slip, keeping an iron grip on Maddie’s hand, who was already mostly leaning off the platform. With a shout, Amon fell to the ground, pulling Maddie with him. The two landed in a heap.

“Maddie!” I shouted, running up down the aisle and practically jumping onto the stage. Chrismon was there almost as fast.

“Ow!” Maddie shouted, peeling herself off Amon as she clutched her left arm. “I think I broke it.”

Chrismon checked on Amon while I inspected Maddie. It was well known that I had some first aid training, so he let us be.

“Nice fall.” I whispered. Maddie shot me a slightly angry glare.

“It wasn’t entirely fake.” Maddie grunted. Feeling her arm, I could defiantly tell it was messed up. Nothing broken, but her wrist and elbow were definitely sprained from Amon’s yanking.

“Crap.” I locked eyes with Maddie. She mouthed for me to stick to the plan.

Maddie turned back to our director. “Mr. Chrismon, is Amon all right?”

Chrimson nodded his head. “A little bruised, but I think he’ll be fine. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a planned.” He gave us a wary look but didn’t say anything else about it. “What about you?”

“She definitely sprained her elbow,” I reported. “But I don’t think anything’s broken. I guess Amon broke her fall.”

Still a bit dazed, Amon gave a thumbs up.

“She’ll need to be checked out by a doctor, but either way I don’t think she can do any more show’s” I concluded.

“The who’ll play Juliet?” Jim helpfully asked. That boy should’ve gone to Julliard for that performance, you could never tell he rehearsed that line.

I could hear Mildred and Theresa shouting from the back of the crowd that had gathered, but Maddie had already grabbed my arm.

“Cindy, you can do it! You’ve been here for every rehearsal, and you helped me with memorizing all my lines. I know you can do it!” She looked to Chrismon for encouragement.

The drama teacher looked at me. “It’s last minute, but do you think you can handle it, Cindy?” Loud twin screeches could be heard in the background.

I tried my best to look conflicted before nodding.

“I’ll do it.”

We called Maddie’s mom and had her taken to see a doctor while we worked to get me into Maddie’s dresses. One thing we failed to account for was that Maddie was at least three size larger than me. Luckily Chrismon is a wizard with safety pins and soon the dress fit perfectly. An hour later and it was curtains up.

I sobbed as I held Amon’s limp body, when I heard loud footsteps just a little to my left. I wiped my tears and gazed at Amon.

“Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. Oh happy dagger!” I picked up the knife in Amon’s hand, still a little warm. I held it with both hands in front of me.

“This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.” I shouted these last words, plunging the knife into my chest. Warm red liquid poured down my chest, turning the purple of the dress black. As I collapsed next to Amon, I couldn’t help a small smile. Sometimes, friends are the greatest things in the world.

We received a standing ovation. It turned out that was the night the local paper sent over a reporter to do a piece on our play. It was a slow news day, so I took great satisfaction in throwing the paper at Mildred’s head the next morning. Under the big bold headline of “THE PLAY’S THE THING” was a picture of me, taking a bow.

[kevinmoyer]

An Unplugged Wedding & What It Really Means

I’ve seen dozens of articles on the pros and cons of cell phones at weddings, and everyone has their different reasons for wanting them or not wanting them at their own wedding. But since our mission at Snippet & Ink is to provide advice on how to have the most meaningful wedding, we thought it would be a shame not to share our own thoughts on the matter! And I thought it might be interesting to share my perspective, not only as the editor of Snippet & Ink, but as a wedding photographer who sees these things firsthand.

When my husband and I got married almost six years ago, even then everyone had their cell phones out. I remember purposely blocking any photos my guests tagged me in on Facebook. I did this for a couple of reasons: I’m a pretty sentimental person, and I wanted to share my wedding publicly or privately in my own way. The thought of my friends and family instantly uploading photos while the event was happening (though a sweet gesture!) didn’t really sit well with me. It was our wedding to share, after all.

(This bride & groom allowed the guests to “take their shot” before the ceremony began and then guests were asked to put them away for the duration of the ceremony. Photo: Christina McNeill.)

I have to admit, it was hard for me to list the pros of having cell phones at a wedding. Why? Ultimately, I believe you’re having a very sacred, special day with your near and dearest friends and family whom you choose to invite to your wedding. I know this might sound completely one-sided, as my views do benefit photographers and videographers, but photographer or not, I still wish I would see more guests staying present at weddings. The alternative, sadly, is guests blocking the groom’s view of his bride walking down the aisle (and for many who opt out of a first look, the groom’s reaction is a big deal!), cell phones ringing at weddings, dads answering phone calls during the ceremony (shocking at first, but read on for a very happy ending!), guests more interested in their phone notifications versus what’s happening in front of them, giant iPads invading beautiful ceremony vistas, photos of cell phones in people’s hands (they become dated so quickly)…the list goes on and on. I guess the real question to ask yourself is: How do you want you to remember your wedding day?

We know it’s going to be nearly impossible to ask your guests not to take their own photos, so we pulled together a few tips in case a compromise is in order. 

Getting Ready

It’s hard to ask your besties to put your phones down while you’re getting dolled up for your big day. Champagne is flowing, the music is blasting and you’re having a good time! There are so many fun moments that your friends will want to take photos of and remember. At my own wedding, my photographer had to get to the venue early, so she wasn’t able to capture the last-minute getting ready details. My BFF sprang into action and took a few photos of me putting my veil on—even though they were shot on an iPhone, they are some of my favorite photos from the day! There is definitely a time and place for cell phones while you’re getting ready, but I encourage bridesmaids to be present for your bride. Do you really want your phone in your hand while you’re trying to help the bride get in her gown, laughing about all your favorite memories together, or giving her one last hug before she walks down the aisle? The point of the morning is to soak up every minute with your best friends! So my tip? Bridesmaids (or brides or grooms!) should definitely feel able to take a few photos while getting ready, but there’s a time where you don’t need your phone (or wallet), so put it away and let the professionals shoot the fun moments!

(A bride & groom take a selfie at the beginning of their ceremony and then carried on with an unplugged ceremony once that playful moment was complete. Photo: Christina McNeill)

The Ceremony

“Unplugged” weddings are becoming increasingly popular. Couples are realizing that they want their guests to be absolutely present during that time (your wedding is a BIG deal, after all!). As sacred or simple or elaborate as your wedding ceremony may be, couples certainly recognize the significance in having their ceremony be cellphone-free. It’s ultimately up to you how you want your wedding day to go, but here are a few tips for your ceremony:

If your family absolutely needs to take photos during the ceremony, my suggestion is to designate the first minute of your ceremony to allow your guests to take pictures (as seen in the first example above). I have seen this at weddings a few times, and it’s brilliant! Before the ceremony starts, your officiant will allow everyone to take their phones out while the bride & groom stand in the center of the aisle. Just like that—you make everyone happy and have a sweet moment at the same time! Then, the officiant asks that all guests refrain from taking any photos the rest of the ceremony. I’ve also seen my couples do a quick ‘selfie’ at the beginning of the ceremony which I find to be such a playful ice-breaker and a great way to let guests know they can relax and enjoy the ceremony.

Do you really need your guests getting in the way of the professionals? I know this is all coming from my personal experience as a photographer, but I really don’t mind people taking their own photos as long as they’re not blocking me from doing my job! But when a guest blocks the groom’s view, or their phone is out for pics (even while sitting down), it’s a distraction. And iPads might even be worse than cell phones! Not only are they so large they obstruct views, they don’t even take quality photos.

Like a ‘coat check’ – I have seen cell phones checked prior to a ceremony.  This one is pretty extreme, but could be effective if you really think your guests will violate your wishes.

Hashtags and Social Media

Another popular movement of late: hashtags at weddings. You want to see all the fun party pics from your friends and family’s point of view.  It’s the way of the future, so hashtag and share all you want, but just take the photo—don’t check Facebook, then Instagram, then email, then Facebook again. Be present and share in the couple’s happiness instead of trying to get the perfect photo to post on social media before anyone else. Plus, what a surprise for the happy couple to see fun photos rolling in days after their wedding.

Technology changes so fast! Do you really want a bunch of people holding old cell phones or iPads in your wedding pics? A few years ago, one mischievous guest didn’t listen to my bride and groom’s request to “unplug” and took her phone out during the bride’s recessional. My bride was so upset and wanted me to retouch the photos. Ultimately, it didn’t work—we either would have had a hand with a weird pose (no cell phone) or the cell phone, and my bride was disappointed.

Remember that the bride and groom paid a lot for professionals to take the photos! Be mindful of this, and don’t get in the way, even if you need to take your own photos.

Will you allow cell phones at your wedding?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post An Unplugged Wedding & What It Really Means appeared first on Snippet & Ink.

[thecanadiantechie]

The tablet is market is in a weird place right now, they’re not flying off the shelves like they did back in 2011 but somehow, Apple still manages to sell millions of iPads each year.

Part of the reason, why people aren’t buying as many tablets any more, is because everyone already has at least one tablet in their household. So there is no need to buy a second one, or even to replace your first one, because tablets don’t have the same lifecycle as a smartphone, which is about 2-3 years.

The other reason is that phones are getting larger each year, phones that were once referred to as phablets are now the new normal. It was just a few years ago, where any phone with a 5-inch screen would be considered huge. Now we’re seeing phones like the Galaxy S8 & S8+ with 5.8 and 6.2-inch screens and even the iPhones have larger screen that are almost half the size of an iPad Mini’s screen.

But companies like Samsung and Apple are still trying push hard to get their tablets onto more people. They’re adding things like high-quality speakers and screens and in Samsung’s case are including their S-Pen to push people to use it more (and to also compete with the iPad Pro which does not include the Apple Pencil).

I remember getting the Nexus 7 back in 2012 and it was the best thing ever and back then, I was using the Galaxy Nexus as primary phone and that only had a 4.65-inch display but now I’m using a Google Pixel XL (which has a 5.5-inch screen) alongside my Nexus 6 which has a 5.96-inch screen and I don’t see the need for me to buy another tablet, especially since I replaced my original Nexus 7 with the newer Nexus 7 (2013) and that crapped out on me.

I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 and it’s easily become one of my favourite Android tablets in recent years, apart from a few minor annoyances.

Design & Hardware

The most prominent feature on the Galaxy Tab S3 is the display which is a 9.7-inch Super AMOLED QXGA screen with a resolution of 2049 x 1536. It’s a beautiful display to look at and videos especially look great on it. The display on the Tab S3 also has support for HDR video, so it’s basically futureproof in the display department.

The design of the tablet reflects some of Samsung’s new design language for their Galaxy S phones with an all-metal and glass body. On the front of the device, below the screen is the fingerprint sensor which for the most part, worked well but there was a few times when it would not recognize my finger.

One thing to point out is that the tablet was designed to be used in portrait mode and when looking at the device head-on, it looks like stretched out Galaxy S7, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

The left side of the device, is where you’ll find the connectors for the optional keyboard case. On the right side, you’ll find the power/lock button along with the volume rocker and the microSD card slot (which supports up to 256GB).

The bottom of the device is where you’ll find the headphone jack and the USB Type-C port (which supports Samsung’s fast charging) which is not centred like on other Samsung device.

The Tab S3 is the first Samsung tablet with quad-stereo speakers that were tuned by AKG by Harman. The speakers do sound great on the Tab S3, especially when watching videos.

Inside the Tab S3, it’s being powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor (the same that was used in the Galaxy S7 last year). I had no issues with performance on the Tab S3,  it could easily keep up, especially with having multiple apps open or even having two apps open at the same time. You’ll also find 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage plus a microSD card slot.

The tablet has a 6,000mAh battery and in my testing, the Tab S3 was able to last all-day on single charge. My typical day consisted of watching a few YouTube videos, some drawing and reading the news.

The Tab S3 also comes with a refined S-Pen which has a 0.7mm tip and increased pressure sensitivity. The S-Pen is probably my favourite feature of this device because I’m one of those people who like to draw and drawing digitally on a tablet like the Tab S3, makes it so much easier to share my drawings when I’m done.

My only gripe, is that I wish there was an easier way to carry the S-Pen with the Tab S3, there’s not slot for it to go into, like on the Galaxy Note lineup and there are magnets on the left side of the device but they’re not strong enough to hold the S-Pen.

I was also able to test out the keyboard case for the Tab S3 and while it was an easy way to keep the tablet protected and a place to keep the S-Pen, the actual keyboard was only average. The keys had good travel but it was very cramped and uncomfortable to type on. There are some keys that aren’t really necessary, like the Language button.

The Tab S3 keyboard cover also makes a great stand for the tablet, even if you don’t use the keyboard portion that often. The cover only had one angle to put that table at but I wish there was at least one more.

All of this comes at a cost, the Tab S3 retails for $799 CAD and is available in two colours, black and silver and each will come with S-Pen that matches the colour of the device (and FYI, only the back of the tablet is a different colour, the front is black). The keyboard case for the Tab S3 costs an additional $130 CAD. The Tab S3 can be purchased from Best Buy, Walmart, Costco and Staples.

Software

The Tab S3 is running Android 7.0 Nougat with Samsung’s TouchWiz. There are some material design-esque elements this latest version of TouchWiz but they’re hardly noticeable. This version of TouchWiz is somewhat toned down but to the point that it’s basically a Nexus or what HTC has done with their latest version of Sense on the HTC 10.

And since the Tab S3 comes with an S-Pen, there are some software tweaks like Air Command which can do things like create a note, smart select items on-screen or even write on the screen or just add your favourite shortcut.

The Tab S3 also comes with a few pre-installed Samsung apps like Samsung Note, Galaxy Apps, Samsung Flow and their own Email and Internet apps. The device also has a few Microsoft apps pre-installed like Word, Excel and OneDrive. I didn’t find myself using any of the pre-installed apps other than Samsung Notes to test out the capabilities of the S-Pen.

The Samsung Notes app can be a great starting app for drawing with the S-Pen but I would recommend using an app called MediaBang Paint, which is like an Android version of Photoshop and Illustrator. You have access to different tools like multiple brushes (some of which are behind a pay wall) and the ability to layer. The app does have a few ads but nothing too intrusive.

These are some of the drawings I created using the Galaxy Tab S3 and the MediaBang Paint app.

Since Samsung designed the tablet to be used in portrait, it can be difficult when using it in landscape, like some apps (like Samsung’s pre-installed apps, would only work in portrait mode). Android has had a lack of tablet apps for a long time and now is no different. Apps do support tablets but there are some apps that will automatically turn to portrait even though the Tab S3 is meant to be in landscape.

By using the Samsung on-screen keyboard, you have the option to input text via writing it with the S-Pen, which can make it easier and difficult at the same time.

One feature that the Tab S3 has borrowed from the deceased Galaxy Note 7, is the ability to take Screen Off Memos, so you can quickly write down notes using the S-Pen.

It didn’t use this feature that often, partly because I was using the Tab S3 with keyboard cover and that encloses the tablet, so I would first need to open the cover, then take out the S-Pen out of its holder on the keyboard case, and then I would be able to take a Screen-Off memo.

Samsung has had split-screen multitasking on their devices since the days of the Galaxy Note series. You can have two windows open at once and they can be resized or swapped. Quite a few apps are supported and it’s not just the Samsung ones that are. And if an app doesn’t support split-screen multitasking, it will tell you.

  Camera

The rear-facing camera on the Tab S3 is 13-megapixels and is able to record video up to 4K at 30fps. I’m not a big believer in using a tablet as a camera, the camera on the Tab S3 is good, but it’s not Google Pixel or Galaxy S8 camera quality. The front-facing camera is 5-megapixels and if you’re using the tablet for video calls, both camera will get the job done.

Just like other tablets, cameras on them aren’t that great and shouldn’t be used that often. You don’t want to be that guy who uses their tablet to take photos. Use your smartphone or a dedicated camera instead of using a tablet to take pictures.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a great Android tablet, which has a great screen, awesome speakers and a fun to use stylus, then look no further than the Galaxy Tab S3. But if you’re looking for something to do more than just tablet things like media consumption, then you should look somewhere else (like a Surface Pro or a laptop).

With the current state of the Canadian dollar, it has made the price of the Tab S3 much expensive, the tablet is $799 CAD. And that’s a lot for an Android tablet, especially if you already have a tablet or you own a smartphone that has a giant screen. I like that Samsung included their S-Pen but if you were to add on the keyboard case for another $130 CAD or even the Book Case cover for $90 CAD, you’re looking at almost $900 CAD plus taxes which could put it close to almost $1000 CAD.

The Tab S3 would be much more appealing if it was sold for a lower price (especially in Canada), if it was $500-600 CAD and if Android tablets weren’t on the decline, I would recommend it even more.

Pros

Beautiful display

Nice design

Solid performance

Great speakers

Fun and easy to use S-Pen

Excellent battery life

Cons

Expensive

Lack of proper tablet support for apps

TouchWiz issues

Fingerprint magnet

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Review: Samsung’s best tablet yet The tablet is market is in a weird place right now, they’re not flying off the shelves like they did back in 2011 but somehow, Apple still manages to sell millions of iPads each year.