#It's another to see things like that fully realized and contextualized etc

[itspileofgoodthings]

I’ve been thinking about it and musing on why Taylor criticism (and by this I mean actual legit Taylor articles and reviews by music journalists etc.) never rings true to me, even a lot of the good bits as well as the bad ones. And all personal feelings and authoritativeness aside, as much as I can put those away, I think it’s because she is the kind of artist whose supposed weaknesses are actually just strengths wrongly considered. Now it definitely depends on your point of view and I am not (at this moment) saying that everyone has to like her but I think it’s really true that the things she’s criticized for—and I use the word “criticize” in its softest way here as in flaws legitimately pointed out—are generally not contextualized correctly in all the strength of who Taylor is and so can never be 100% legitimate to me.

And there are a lot of examples for what I mean by this but for the purposes of this text post I’m only going to go with one and that is the criticism that her albums tend to be long-winded and that if she could just, juuuust pare it down a little, tighten it up, she could have something great. And I get it, I do. I understand the impulse to point to certain songs and say “we didn’t need this, it would be a tighter, more coherent album if she cut x and y”, I have on some occasions felt the same, but I can’t shake the deeper feeling that it’s actually not correct at all because it doesn’t take into account her prolific quality as a writer, the sheer amount of material that comes out of her and it doesn’t recognize her too-muchness as a piece of her gift, the thing that sets her apart and puts her on another level. Instead that criticism points to a deeper problem and one pertaining to a (human but flawed) impulse to control what we can’t understand. I fully believe that We, meaning the Culture, but specifically the Music Scene, would appreciate her even more if she wrote less. If, to choose one example, she went from Speak Now to 1989 to folklore instead of including Red and reputation and Lover in there too, she would be even more praised than she actually is. (And of course she is still very praised.) But if she showed up less, did less work, wrote less, we’d understand what we had or we’d think we did and we would feel able to praise with more completeness, without the endless caveats. We have this sense that those albums (or some combination of her albums) is superfluous not because it’s true and because there’s actually filler albums in there but because we don’t have time to properly understand her. She keeps contradicting us and surprising us, her work pouring from her in this endless flood and we can’t keep up and so we try to box her in and we hem and haw and a caveat even AS we love and praise her.

But that’s such a bad way to think about it! How lucky for us that Taylor is NOT more restrained! How beautiful it is that she has to have a song about every side and angle of her emotions and that she documents both her truthfully bratty sides AND her deep sides! She’s so so so much more human and compelling because she doesn’t “edit” herself the way that we would edit her. And I just think that criticism of Taylor is only valid if it comes from a heart that has made the conscious decision to trust Taylor as an artist more than an idealized version of her and relinquished desire to control her in any way. This takes guts and purpose and clear-sightedness, because she is a deceptive artist, one who is so much more than she first seems and when we start to realize this we push BACK against that, in almost a kind of panic. But she can take us so much farther than we know, to places we wouldn’t choose or would never see if we just LET HER, if we just let her sweep us away, instead of deciding where we draw our arbitrary lines about what she needs to do or not do to be good. That’s all.

[ais-n]

Why do Boyd/Hsin work? (anon ask)

I moved this ask over from a different place where the person sent a number of questions, as they were unable to get it to fit in tumblr’s space restrictions. In case they didn’t want their name known, I’m referring to them as an anon. But I thought they had good questions others may be curious about as well so I’ll be putting them (and the answers) over here.

ANON ASKED:

I think you mentioned somewhere that at some point during the writing process you guys thought that Boyd and Sin would fall for each other, and that’s how the idea was born. Why do you think, personally, that they fit so well as a couple, and what made you decide that they would fall for each other?

Yep, you remember correctly :) So basically we started ICoS just to fuck around, honestly, because we were bored. Because we didn’t figure it would become a thing, we thought that rather than wasting all our energy/motivation/excitement on character creation and some in depth setting on another world or something, we’d be best off doing something in our world, kind of our times, kind of dystopian, and then to pull in characters we had created for roleplaying games elsewhere that we didn’t get to play as fully as we wanted, or we thought would be fun to play more here.

Sin came from one game, Boyd from another. We knew Sin was going to be "Sonny’s” main character pretty early into it, if I recall correctly, but I didn’t know which of my characters I wanted to bring over. I initially threw out Boyd as an option because I thought the juxtaposition would be really funny, and because I liked him as a character but he barely got anywhere in the other rpg. (Lou came from that RPG too, btw, as did Vivienne and Cedrick of course)

The point at which we realized they would fall for each other was practically right away - we wrote like, I don’t even remember, 4 scenes or something? And already they were seeming like they had great chemistry and wanted to flirt and just somehow, bizarrely, felt like they would gravitate toward each other. 

I don’t know how to explain how we knew without probably sounding like a lunatic, but to me characters are people - and most of the time, I kind of take my cues from them as to what they think, what they would do, how they feel, etc. I know they aren’t real, I know they don’t exist in our world, but maybe I just get interested in the psychology of characters and because I’m an empathetic person, maybe I just naturally start thinking of them in terms of what they want and how that affects what I had thought I had planned for the story.

It was just one of those things where we realized as soon as we had those two characters in the same room as each other, as soon as we tried writing a scene that we had intended to establish them as partners who didn’t get along and who didn’t trust each other and who would never be particularly close, we realized both of them kept somehow responding to the other character in a way that showed they had chemistry and they would like each other. Maybe even love each other, given the chance.

So we started writing the story over again, reworking it this time with the knowledge that they wanted to be a thing, so now it would be a story with a romance, instead of just a story. But being that they were both super messed up, of course that whole journey to love in any way that’s even remotely healthy was a process in and of itself.

(Sorry for rehashing all that since you remember that - but wanted to say all that for anyone who hadn’t seen the context on the previous posts where I talked about that)

As for why they fit so well, honestly I think it’s because of their base characteristics and their default tendencies, and a lot of it too is their backgrounds. It seems like their backgrounds were made to create characters that fit each other so well as a result but that was totally a coincidence that they each already had backgrounds we’d individually decided which ended in life experiences forming the characteristics that drew each other to them.

So, for example, Sin doesn’t trust almost anyone in the beginning of the series; he’s used to being used, he’s cynical, he kind of hates people, and he just doesn’t have much faith in humanity or humans because people have shown him time and time again that they will turn on him if given the chance, or they don’t really see him as a person, or they do but he can’t help feeling like they have an ulterior motive in it all. Then Boyd comes along, and he doesn’t have an ulterior motive whatsoever; he just genuinely does not have any preconceived judgment of Hsin, he doesn’t care either way about him at first, he doesn’t treat him like shit like so many other people have Hsin’s whole life. He just kind of treats him like a person, for good and for bad. Which means they have arguments and they have good moments. They find they have similarities in some things and are way different in other.

I think it’s the fact that Boyd was willing to judge Sin on Sin’s actual actions and actual words instead of basing things on fears, rumors, or the like, that over time made Sin realize Boyd was different. Similarly, how Boyd stood up for Sin even at his own personal detriment, when no one else had in quite the same way. The fact that Boyd cared so little for himself he was even perfectly comfortable sacrificing himself for Sin’s benefit even when they weren’t friends. I think that the fact that Boyd didn’t give a shit about anything, that he only was interested in seeing Sin for who Sin was and not what everyone thought him to be, was something that really spoke to Sin and helped him slowly come out of his shell. And made him feel comfortable starting to trust others on his own terms, and even fall in love, and feel safe doing so in the long run. 

As for Boyd, he also was used to a certain treatment in his life, which was at times indifferent, at other times even cruel. He was used to people judging him by his looks, his family, all sorts of things. He was used to people hurting him. And he was used to losing the only people who had cared about him. He was, in short, used to suffering. He just wanted to die and be done with it all.

Similar to how Boyd didn’t judge Sin for what others judged him as, Sin didn’t seem to treat Boyd the way he was used to - or at least, not for the same reasons. Over time, it let him feel like it was okay to be himself; that he wasn’t inherently wrong for being born, or for how he was born, or for being alive until now. I think for Boyd the fact that Sin was so ridiculously strong and powerful was a relief; it made him feel, on some level, that he wouldn’t break and destroy and kill Sin just by being in his life, the way he felt he had for his dad and Lou. 

In the end, I think they both just happened to be the right kind of person to make the other person feel like it was safe to slowly grow into who they were at the core of themselves without all the trauma of the past being the only thing that dictated their present. They each ended up being the right collection of characteristics to let the other person feel loved, and feel safe loving in return.

Of course, because of all that trauma and everything else contextually in their lives, the process of coming to that realization was a long one, and had a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of unhealthy behavior along the way. They aren’t always the healthiest for each other as they grow, but I do think they were what each other needed to, in the very long run, trust in the world to some extent, and through that learn to trust in themselves.

[edwad]

a while ago you talked about grounding foucault through Marx could u elaborate on what that entails and like how to read shit through a lens that doesn't fully agree with the text at hand if that makes sense?

i mean in a sense it’s a lot like what marx does with hegel. marx knows that hegel is “wrong” in a sense, but one of marxs primary concerns that runs throughout his life’s work is a kind of sensitivity to the constitution of thought. for him, hegel isn’t merely “wrong”, he’s also onto something. the problem is that he has eternalized what marx sees as a historically specific dynamic which is unique to capital itself (the subject-substance of hegel’s geist parallels marxs notion of capital as a self-moving substance, the value-logic’s automatic subject, etc). to put it another way, hegel’s conception of history is, for marx, historically specific, both in its context as a theory but also in its content as a dynamic (which is bound up with its context).

this is what i mean by “grounding”, where a theorist/theory is interrogated and contextualized in this sense. for marx, this is what the critique of political economy is all about. sure, the political economists are “wrong”, but he also says that their one-sidedness expresses something socially valid and therefore objective. the important thing to realize is that wrong ideas come from somewhere and, in grappling with real conditions, can’t help but simultaneously carry a bit of truth, or a “rational kernel” as marx famously said about hegel.

in the case of foucault, i think he gets some things wrong and it sometimes leads to a messy theorization, but that at the end of the day he’s still grappling with the same world that you and i are living in. when read through/grounded by marx in this way, his analysis is adequate/useful and the potential for appropriating many of those insights becomes less problematic in terms of overall coherence.

[momestuck]

Oh, yeah, any thoughts on woke boy Dave? Personally I kinda identified a lot with him. In Meat he is very concerned in making the world better and being 'woke', but is also sometimes dismissive of trolls issues without noticing. As someone who realized a lot of my past is kinda shitty and now try to understand better things like identity politics and the economy, while also know I still understand jack shit about those things and that my attempts to be better might be more performative than real

yeah that’s an interesting angle on Dave.

imo he comes across as believable and like, someone who is ‘sincerely well-meaning’ in a genuine, not after-the-fact excuse sense. the trolls in this function much more as a race metaphor than something closer to my experience, but what I appreciated in this was that Dave was still Dave - able to like, be a dork, make jokes and so on - and like, even when he ran his mouth and then kept digging, it was very clear that he was approaching it differently from someone like Jane. though idk, if i was karkat, i might find the jokes about how The Economy is more important than Jane’s troll eugenics a little frustrating!

it’s all a very contextual thing I guess, of having enough understanding of another person and your relationship with them that you know what kind of thing is ok between you, which is of course shaped by things like class, race, gender etc.

i think, between this and like, how various characters respond to Roxy transitioning, the story is musing a lot on like, the process of becoming ‘politically conscious’ in various ways - in part on like, how that divides a friendship group. V retweeted an interesting thread that argues that a lot of the characters’ misery is due to their unwillingness to face up to conflicts, both personal and political (or when the two conflict).

i guess it’s about an experience a lot of us have had - of a close-knit friendship group drifting apart - and one major reason for that is people developing different politics. that’s what it’s very directly talking about, once you look past all the silly bullshit about cake-based labour camps. dave sees the trolls as fully distinct, realised people, and even when he says stupid shit, he understands enough and is there when it counts. jane does not.

(of course, as a story about the rise of fascism, ‘because one of the 12 gods won an election’ isn’t a very compelling reason for ‘why fascism happens’! but it’s not really about being ‘sociologically true’ - rather, the world is an emotional canvas that reflects the wills of the gods. interpersonal conflict becomes a literal war.)

after we’ve seen characters like Kankri (in Homestuck proper), and Zebruh (in Friendsim), for whom pseudo-leftist politics are an entirely disingenuous cover which they use to at best annoy and at worst exploit people, it’s good to have a character who is sincerely ‘working on it’.

[ddrkirbyisq]

Life has just been chugging along, it seems.  Nothing spectacular has been happening, but that's not a bad thing really at all.

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Crunchyroll Expo 2019 happened and I stopped by on Saturday to hang out, walk around, and go to some things that seemed interesting.  I got to go see the premiere of the first two episodes of Season 3 of Chihayafuru which actually ended up being a highlight of the entire thing, I had no idea I was going to enjoy it that much!  That moment near the end when _____ finished playing their match and thought to themselves _________ and the other member on their team suddenly realized _________, omg, that really really got to me for some reason.  So yeah, that was great!  Makes me want to rewatch the first two seasons at some point, especially to refresh my memory about all of the other more minor characters that I completely forgot about, haha...oh!  And I just remembered that there's a live action movie series as well...maybe I'll give that a watch too =X

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I bought and played through all of Mega Man 11!  I pulled the trigger after watching some reviews and such and since it was on sale on Steam.

I ended up enjoying it quite nicely!  It's a nice blend of old and new as far as Mega Man goes.  The thing with Mega Man is that the old tried and true formula is really just great at its core -- running and jumping and shooting.....more running and jumping and shooting....it's just good 2D platforming at its finest and I've always been a huge fan of it.  That said there ARE already a ton of classic Mega Man games out there, so as much as I'd love more games in the vein of Mega Man 9 and 10 (which were faithful to the NES series) (various fangames also exist, some of which I've played through), I will say that the fresh coat of paint that Mega Man 11 offers does make a lot of sense.

The graphics were pretty decent and I didn't mind the 2.5D much at all!  Unlike a certain other popular game pretty much everything was very readable -- just look at the screenshot above and how obvious it is that the yellow center pieces of each gear are in the foreground, while the rest of the gear is in the background.  One thing I thought looked a little odd were the "fuzziness" of the black outlines on the cel shading, but maybe I should chalk that up to me playing on a monitor with only 1280x1024 resolution?  Perhaps it looks better with a higher pixel density, but maybe rendering thin outlines is just not a strong point of the cel shaded look.

The bosses were pretty well designed -- they had a lot of personality, both in their animations and voice acting (I played only with the Japanese VA).

Maybe I was a bit biased after watching a video analyzing the level design, but I really did appreciate the designs of most of the stages and how they made for interesting progressions despite only using a few unique elements per stage.  It felt like they really made the most of many (perhaps not all, but many) of the different "gimmicks" they introduced in each stage, and that sort of clean, logical, and pleasant progression reminded me a little bit of Celeste.

The main "new mechanic" of MM11 is the "double gear system", which allows you to get a temporary limited boost to your power or slow down time for a bit.  It was an interesting concept, and actually played out pretty neatly in practice a few times -- those moments when you activate the both (double) gears at once for a last-ditch attempt to beat a miniboss and then finish the fight at low health.

However, one of my complaints about all of these "extra" 2D platforming abilities -- whether it be special weapons in mega man, additional items in shovel knight, or even magic spells in hollow knight -- is that they tend to provide a sort of frantic decision paralysis in the moment while you're in the middle of an intense fight or platforming section.

The issue is that platforming and jumping around and shooting and all of these things already occupies so much of your brainspace in terms of attention required, that it's really hard to also add in the double gear system and trying to use the different special weapons and all of those things.

Now that I'm writing about this, it really gets me thinking about 2D platformer ability design.  I know that other people might really enjoy switching between different weapons during the middle of a Mega Man level, but I've always found it to be cumbersome, and a weak point of the series for me personally -- I always Buster my way through most of the stages unless there's something particularly well suited for a particular weapon (e.g. a tricky room, a platform that I need to air-dash too, etc).

There are multiple reasons for this:

- Weapons have limited ammo available (whereas the mega buster has unlimited ammo), so you naturally want to conserve them for situations where you actually NEED them.

- In addition, the bosses at the end of each stage typically have a significant weakness to a single weapon, and you don't know what it is ahead of time.  Since the boss battle can be one of the most difficult parts of the entire stage, this incentivizes you to save all of your ammo for the boss.  Again, you don't know which weapon type you'll need, and frequently you'll need all of the ammo of that type to beat the boss.

- Switching weapons requires either opening up the menu -- which is awkward in terms of game flow -- or quick-toggling via the right analog stick or the shoulder buttons.  The right analog stick selection is actually great, but there aren't enough opportunities to really =practice= mapping each direction to a weapon in order for it to become second nature.  Because of this, switching weapons requires you to stop and think about which weapon you want to use, figure out which direction to press in order to switch, THEN go about using the weapon.

So even though I thought Mega Man 11's eight special weapons were GREAT in their variety and design (you could tell they each would be useful in very different cases), I didn't find myself using them much outside of boss and miniboss battles.

I know this is part of Mega Man's fundamental core design, so I don't really blame Capcom for not iterating on it, but I do wonder if perhaps a different mechanic for boss weapons would work a little better.

If you look at abilities in Metroidvania games, you'll see that they fall into two different groups:

Some abilities fit very naturally into gameplay and you find yourself using them again and again very naturally.

The most common way for abilities to fall into this category is for them to just be upgrades to your existing powers.  Get a main weapon upgrade?  You're automatically using it all the time.

Note that some abilities are not "direct" upgrades but natural and very obvious extensions of existing powers.  A doublejump ability, for example, is very straightforward to grok.  The speed booster upgrade in Super Metroid is the same way -- there's nothing complicated about how to activate it, you just keep running.

Another common way for abilities to fall into this category is for them to be required to be used very very commonly.  The morph ball in Metroid falls into this category -- you use it soooooo often that it becomes second nature for you to use it again and again and again.

Other abilities don't really become part of your regular rotation.  They're either too situational, difficult to use, have a cost associated with them, etc.

The X-Ray scope in super metroid sort of falls into this.  Not only does the X-Ray scope stop all of your momentum, but you often don't really =know= when and where you need to use it.  So oftentimes your only choice is to go through the entire world pausing every so often to x-ray scope......but nobody does that because that would take foreeevvverr.

Most of the attack spells in Hollow Knight tend to fall into this category.  Not only do they require mana to use (mana which could be used for healing instead!), but there aren't a lot of enemies where using a certain magic attack is required or even significantly recommended over just using your sword.

The good thing about the offensive spells in Hollow Knight, though, is that they're very easy to execute, like the special moves in the Smash Bros series: Button press gives you a fireball.  Up + button press gives you an upwards attack.  Down + button press gives you a dive.  Very intuitive.  So even though I never really ended up using most of these most of the time, they're still easy to remember.

Perhaps that's really the key -- the control scheme associated with the abilities.  The WORST way to add a new ability is to simply add a new button or key for every single ability you gain.  There are some games where at the end of the game literally every button on the controller performs a different action: Jump, Attack, Sprint, Dash, Glide, Special Move 1, Teleport, ....

So maybe =intuitive button combos= and =contextual actions= are the way to go.  That still doesn't fix the problem of having limited ammo though.

What about something like this?

Every time you beat a robot master, you unlock a new ability.  These abilities have various intuitive input commands, for example:

Jump + Attack (while in the air): Performs a mid-air forward dash with a sword slice.

Special button + no direction: Creates an energy shield around you that absorbs enemy projectiles.  The next time you press the special button, the shield fires in the direction that you are holding (or facing)

Special button + either side: Shoots a boomerang in the direction that you're facing.  It has some tracking ability, which means you can direct it upwards or downwards by jumping before or after the shot.

Special button + down: Sends an energy bolt downwards.  When it reaches the ground, it splits into two energy balls that travel along the ground until hitting an enemy.

Special button (while mega buster is fully charged): 

Button combinations and contextual actions are used to help your muscle memory instead of forcing the player to memorize the arbitrary position of each of 8 different weapons.

These abilities all draw from a =shared ammo pool=, encouraging you to choose the ability that best fits the situation.

The shared ammo pool replenishes every time you die.  Normally Mega Man weapons encourage you to AVOID using them carelessly, because if you use up ammo on a boss and then die, you're left in a worse situation than you started with -- having to face the same boss battle, but with less ammo available.

In addition, the shared ammo pool also replenishes through normal gameplay, via something like:

- Gradual replenishment over time

- Replenishes with each enemy destroyed

- Replenishes via random pickups from enemies and scattered around the level.  There's also a large pickup before each boss.

The point is to encourage the regular use of these weapons as the situation demands, rather than incentivize saving ammo for the very end.  You need the player to become comfortable with using each of these abilities and the only way to really do this is to incentivize them to use them repeatedly.

So I dunno, maybe that's not a perfect solution.  But I do feel like there is a lot of room for experimentation and iteration here.

One thing that Mega Man 11 DID do right was giving rush coil/rush jet it's own button.  Woo!!!

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Have been continuing to drill puyo transitions -- I've gotten sort of comfortable with the sandwich transition and am now trying to wrap my head around GTR.  Building the GTR core is ok, but I find myself having trouble finding the right forms to work on both the first and second floor simultaneously with GTR since it's only 3 tall and I don't yet have a handle on managing color conflicts.

[bodybuildin9-blog]

Are you currently a Real Bodybuilder or even Just the Wannabee?

bodybuilding Nearly every bodybuilder which i possess ever met views on their own “Hard-core” or the the majority of dedicated, knowledgeable, or toughest training athlete in the actual gym. On the 20 many years I have spent within the sport I have already been asked often what really does it really take in order to achieve success in the sports activity? My solution might shock you however let me personally tell you it’s any question surely have to request themselves. What’s more may be the answer you give your self displays whether you’re some sort of Real Strength athlete or Simply another Wannabee!

bodybuilding

The majority of mags, scientists, and competitor’s tend to be quick to point out inherited genes as the deciding element. While on the surface area there appears to be some reality to this whenever a individual looks deeper in to the activity this is not always the situation. In fact within every contest We have actually competed in, or perhaps viewed I have rarely observed the person with the particular best genetics succeed typically the show.

I asked my buddy, legendary bodybuilding coach Jeff Abel the same issue as to what he believes can make a correct bodybuilder effective, and Scott’s answer had been pretty fast. He summed it up in a single word… “Heart”.

Now Martin offers trained over two hundred entitled winners on almost all amounts from amateurs’ up to be able to Olympia contenders such as personally to a National Name as well as a new birth into the Mister. Universe contest. He’s additionally had the opportunity for you to work with often the largest range of personalities, genes, and mental aptitudes therefore his opinion carries the large amount of weight.

I have a tendency to agree with David. From my own encounter training thousands of body building around the world Personally i think the real successes are usually always the actual guys/gals who else understand that muscle building provides more to do there is no benefits going on inside the particular mind compared to anything otherwise.

Winning Comes In Numerous Forms

Winning and achievement come in many types and thus many people associate a trophy or any title with accomplishment. Thinking about how many of typically the best professional and novice muscle growth in the globe have serious health issues as well as rather chaotic individual life it’s hard to associate success with their expert position or their drug-swollen body. That being stated, there are a fistful of experts who convey the attitudes of genuine bodybuilding but are definitely couple of and far between.

Associated with course, you might have all types of guys/gals in often the gym creating a host associated with reasons why these people have not stuck with their diet plan, followed through on their own coaching schedule, and just not created the benefits they desire. Although each cases represent opposite finishes of the extreme; everybody suits somewhere in among and many continue to be remaining asking the question… Exactly what makes a “True Weight lifter? ”

While everyone possesses to look for the answer for themself, my very own definition of Correct Bodybuilding is actually significantly various than “The Hardcore” Edition portrayed in the leading Magazines. Although at 1 time We aspired to help be like the “gargantuan” individuals who grace the actual webpages of the publications, I had a big change regarding heart once I actually arrived at the National Championship Degree. Here’s why.

Drug PACKED Bodybuilding - The Quick Track to Self Damage

You see I recognized nearly the entire competing bodybuilding picture had practically nothing to do along with “Real Bodybuilding”. In reality it was a lot more like entire body destruction. Many of these types of sports athletes I was contending with and also against, experienced become consumed through the wish to build massive muscle tissue and resorted to utilizing massive amount of medicines that harmed their wellness. While their particular physiques along with muscles are impressive, they will had built all of them in the cost of their very own health and fitness as well because the personal lives.

Personally, i consider this to become a psychological current condition of illness similar to anorexia, or maybe obsessive-compulsive disorder and certainly a few psychologists have tagged the problem “Muscle Dysmorphia”. Several “hardcore” bodybuilders have turn out to be so enthusiastic about competitions, muscle size, excess fat levels, diet programs, etc. that each other element of their lifestyles features shrunk smaller after that all their testes on a ten-year cycle.

I know exactly how this particular dysfunctional psychology may restrict one’s life simply because with regard to 10 years My spouse and i went down which route. Fortunately, I switched the particular corner and saw “the light” so to talk, and acknowledged that generally there was a lot much more alive than a 20-inch arm. I realize how typically the pressures of fitness quality lead some sportsmen in order to turn to drug utilization. We are not condoning often the take action however I basically recognize just how athletes justify drug use and obtain caught in the “machine” of high performance sports activities.

Even though it seems things are generally getting even worse in the actual athletic world instead of much better with the increase inside amount of high profile some athletes testing good for medication use; In my opinion the improved awareness of what is heading on in sports will certainly eventually change the training course of athletics, including exactly what I call the particular come back to True Bodybuilding.

Do not Play Russian Roulette Together with your Health

Now what’s actually crazier than taking medications for athletic performance, will be the sheer number of people, who utilize bodybuilding drug treatments thinking this a brief cut to an amazing physique. Countless scores involving young men and ladies throughout bodybuilding are the hassle any kind of number of drugs to be able to change the look of them.

These misdirected individuals who frequently buy these drugs within the subterranean market from “dubious resources, ” are actively playing Ruskies roulette with their well being. Often these drugs usually are fake, veterinarian, or “home made” drugs not designed for human consumption.

Many connected with these men/women delusively think they will quit using drugs once they include that extra inch to their own hands or lose that will following percentage of body fat. The moment they stop typically the prescription drugs, the muscles tend to be gone, the fat returns, and they begin searching for the next “fix”. This sets a aggresive cycle of enslavement towards the drugs, as the person offers unconsciously linked medicines to some better physique in addition to constructed a reliance upon them to enhance the beauty appearance of the body.

There is no benefits worse is the fact that ever period of drugs problems often the delicate balance inside the body’s biochemistry, making it more difficult to improve, as nicely as setting yourself upward for problems in the actual future. 1 only provides too look into the rate associated with top specialist and beginner bodybuilders that are dying ahead of time or getting severe condition to demonstrate the real cost of short-sighted considering.

True bodybuilding is regarding self-improvement. Building muscles, dropping extra fat, and shaping as well as determining the physique, are usually more concerning expressing one’s essence as compared to an total outcome.

Everybody’s perfect physical structure is a little little bit various and the only determine that matters could be the one particular looking back toward you with the mirror. Interestingly, just what one sees in the particular reflection has more for you to do with this program within one’s head compared to true-image reflected in the hand mirror.

When Sport Becomes Artwork

I feel that virtually any time a human quest reaches its highest contact form it becomes art. Skill goes beyond boundaries, both private as well as cultural, and are not able to be described by typically the traditional linear types of pondering popularized by popular tradition. Titles, measurements, awards, or even even social approval usually do not reflect one’s inner trip or personal experience and also expression.

Definitions or perception systems have no inbuilt which means other than precisely what is ascribed for them through various social organizations. Curiously, each social team may ascribe a very diverse value on any provided topic, and each party tends to think that the opinion is the proper one.

Art transcends most of these standard descriptions and delivers a feeling or a good feelings that is difficult to contextualize together with terms. It is this fact that makes art interesting. Quite often a certain effectiveness in the subject material will be essential to fully value the knowledge. In some other words, the more somebody gets familiar with some sort of subject, in this situation within your body, the more a single can recognize, professional, achievement, or the artistic.

Viewing Tom Platz blast away 20 plus reps using 500 pounds goes past actual physical accomplishment. The procedure becomes artwork. Another instance would be a soccer receiver diving through often the air flow, to catch a new move with one hands, between two defenders, whilst at the same time dragging both ft prior to flying out regarding bounds. These occasions or perhaps events go method over and above the physical accomplishments or maybe quantitative description.

These types of “defining moments” are what exactly large numbers of viewers watch regarding every day in sports. The actual event is generally a stage in which presents a chance for the actual athlete to surpasse the particular normal definitions of their particular selected sport. The point is, in order intended for a great athlete to acquire to the “sporting promised-land”, or at least typically the emphasize reel, years involving practice, downfalls, unseen times, victories, along with defeats have got all been component in addition to parcel to the “defining moment”.

What is that that forces someone to help “be all they are able to be”? What is the “X-factor” this drives people in order to break earlier limits connected with the past? Whilst it is hard to contextualize the utilization of what makes the person a genuine bodybuilder, just one only needs to look from the Special Olympics to obtain a deeper understanding of often the difference in between real players vs. “wannabee” pretenders.

The particular Special Olympians: The Greatest Example of Athletic Nature

The athletes who contend in the Special Olympics do this with a nature that in lots of ways demonstrates the actual highest ideals associated with athleticism. Although these mentally and physically questioned individuals may not crack world records, or show up on the front web page from the sports section regarding the newspapers, they show the power of our spirit. These remarkable men and women compete with a wholesomeness, commitment, and determination which encourage anyone and every person. It is this intangible spirit that comes through inside that propels every person to be able to greatness as well as is the secret for you to personal accomplishment.

“Wannabee’s” carry out activities for the beauty, the particular prestige, or to get narcissistic pride. Sometimes these kinds of activities manifest out involving a low self-pride. My partner and i can’t tell you the number of 250lb bodybuilders I get fulfilled who “thought that they were small”, or precisely how many stunningly gorgeous health and fitness girls complain they are “too fat”. To me all these athletes represent the most severe in the sport, and also toss a negative picture to the actual sports athletes (bodybuilders) who workday inside and day out, to help simply improve the bodily appearance of their Personal.

Wannabee’s swagger around typically the gyms like peacocks, many people put down the achievements of others, make explanations for their own weak points along with exaggerate their personal accomplishments. Quite simply they state “I am any “bodybuilder” or “I’m Hardcore” and so on but their ideas connected with self-image is completely identified by what they notice inside the mirror or exactly what the range reads. Frequently the self-image associated with Wannabee’s are extremely distorted in addition to borders on delusion.

Whenever you let anything define a person, whether it’s your work, your own sport, or some sort of relationship, you are able to bet an individual have a “wannabee” as well as distorted belief system which will invariably lead to issues at some point. Often times the idea takes a crash for the bottom of society having somewhat painful consequences for the individuals to experience a new “Reality Check”.

Self Enhancement is a Essence of Actual Muscle building

The real strength athlete recognizes that will Bodybuilding is usually something that they are doing, not really something that they are generally. There exists a big difference involving these two pictures regarding self because the very first definition limits oneself or even what one can end up being, as the second opens way up the possibility of a larger Self or broader description on one’s Self.

The utilization of Real Bodybuilding is merely the pursuit of self-improvement via physical activity in which enhances the advancement as well as function of the actual human body. This pursuit can easily lead to the much deeper awareness of the inner or perhaps subtle workings involving one’s own existence. We think Expenses Pearl possesses summed upward better when compared with anyone else in often the name of his the most hot seller reliable muscle building book “Keys in order to the Internal Universe”.

In order to further illustrate the stage from a more severe perspective, I will make use of this illustration. Some body-builders come to myself and also say I am exercising my legs as tough as can but Me not puking from models. Can you show us how to teach thus hard that I puke?

Could sounds ridiculous, this specific type of mindset will persist inside on your body. Puking from a set is usually times viewed as any logo of honor or maybe pleasant achievement in the actual “Bodybuilding Brotherhood”. This kind of mentality is just what features kept the amazing strength of bodybuilding away coming from the general public along with transformed a positive web form of personal expression in to a “narcissistic, engage, anti-social, cult-like, behavior relegated to be able to the “lunatic fringe”.

Several companies create ads with this whole behavior by glorifying pain, suffering, and showing imagery of a 250lb guy standing over some sort of bucket or perhaps a pool connected with vomit on the ground. While many individuals in community might be horrified or ashamed by such a image, numerous in the muscle building world accept it, determining greatness, as well as achievement along with the process of throwing up.

As bizarre as the item noises, the above situation is illustrative of the way the act is frequently combined up with the purpose in the individual. This is definitely a very slim collection of consciousness but an essential one to understand this one’s bodybuilding pursuits usually are to be crowned together with success.

Heart is actually wherever someone pushes them selves for you to the limits of their very own real being. Any particular person; who assessments themselves frequently, with weight lifting to enhance their body, is a new real weight lifter. Real Within your body takes cardiovascular and that has nothing to perform using how big a person is, just how much they along with, or the amount of titles these people have won.

Genuine within your body is about the quest of self.

It’s the method to express oneself although enhancing health, your recognition, as well as your self-esteem. Real reliable muscle building helps you to synchronize the Thoughts, Body, in addition to Soul link and improves every factor of one’s life. A fresh phenomenal tool for do it yourself -improvement and self-discovery. Following a lifetime of lifting anyone can nevertheless learn some thing new about oneself as well as you can still increase.

That is Real Bodybuilding!

[alekseiw-blog]

DANM #6 Memories, Podcasts, and Fences

What’s So Bad About Being a Replicant Podcast:

This week I listened to a short podcast discussing the origin of memory and its importance in regard to a person’s identity. The discussion focused mostly on the presence of “prosthetic memory” in works of fiction such as Blade Runner. Two speakers were involved, the host, Brooke Gladstone, and a guest, Alison Landsberg.

The key question that is discussed during the podcast is: how important is the origin of a person’s memories? When discussing prosthetic memory, what we are talking about is a type of memory that is implanted in a person. It is not actually a memory that a person lived through, but they are led to believe that they have. Considering that these memories are not real, what does that mean for the person’s identity?

In a sense, I believe that the origin of a memory means very little to a person’s identity. As both speakers explain, it is our actions that define our identity. Of course, our memories can affect our actions, but as beings with a conscious, we are always the one who can decide how to act upon these memories or actions. Interestingly, I don’t think it would be wrong to believe that all our memories our prosthetic in a way. I don’t think it is impossible to objectively remember events that have occurred in our lives. We usually tend to embellish our achievement, and worsen our failures. Our emotions and feelings affect the way we remember our lives. Thus, no memories can remain fully unaltered or even remembered.

During the podcast, Alison Landsberg states something along the lines of: ‘A man is defined by his actions, but whether those actions are based on actual or prosthetic memories doesn’t matter’ and later ‘What is more important is the use of memories rather than if they are real’ (I am paraphrasing both these quotes). I was thinking about this and even as I am writing this, my opinion always changes. I established that our memories can and will affect our actions. We are bound by our memories and because they hold such power over us and our actions, there is comfort in knowing we are completely ourselves; that we are not manipulated by some third party. That because our memories are our own, our actions are our own. The origin of our memories is important because, in the instance of its implementation, it can reshape our identity. If in our real life, we had been a good person, but then all those memories are erased and replaced with those of a bad person, how can we not expect our identity not to change. And even if we have the power of decision, our actions are continuously affected by our memories.

It seems like the last two paragraphs I wrote contradict each other. I believe that to be true. I think discussing memories and identity is especially complicated as there are many facets to the conversation. I believe it to be true that our actions are what defines our identity. But often times, our actions are defined by our memories. Whether the memories are real or not has little bearing on one’s identity. But by focusing on this point in, especially in relation to replicants (or beings that did not have memories to begin with) it somewhat ignores the ethical question of implanting and altering memories as discussed in my last paragraph. A memory, whether it be real or not, will affect someone’s actions with the same amount of power.

There are other works of fiction that I believe deal with this idea of prosthetic memory well such as, Shutter Island, Prey (2016), and Silent Hill 2. 

Charlie Rose Podcast Roundtable 

Charlies Rose and his guests, Alex Bloomberg, Andy Bowers, Jad Abumrad, and Paula Szuchamn, all sat around a roundtable to discuss the podcasts medium and its relevance within modern society. To preface this, I barely listen to podcasts. The few I do listen to are the Easy Allies podcast and Frame Trap which both are produced by EasyAllies. I think the reason why I gravitate towards both these podcasts and have a hard time getting into others is for reasons the panel actually get to. 

Podcast have risen in popularity due to its new-found accessibility. Its presence on mobile devices has enabled a whole new category of people to access to this content. As the panel suggests, listening to podcasts is something that can also easily be done. You can do it while you are commuting, eating, resting etc. There are so many opportunities for someone to listen to a podcast. As one guests suggests, it is one of the rare things you can do on your phone without actually having to look at your phone. However, another thing you can do on your phone without looking at it is listening to music. That is an activity I partake in a lot. Similar to a podcast, it helps me fill a lot of down time. I listen to music when going to school, in between classes, while eating, if I need a break, and even in the shower. Music is a big part of life and I wouldn’t give it up easily. During the talk, Rose asks if podcasts have taken away from other forms of media (specifically in regards to the audience). All panelists agree that it hasn’t; that podcasts are on a separate wave length. But I disagree, for me listening to a podcast means I am not listening to music. The time I would dedicate to a podcast would be the same time I dedicate to music. 

The two podcasts that I listen to are directly related to video games and the video game industry, my current field of work. In one of the podcast, the panel discusses current events within the industry and give their opinions on it. In the second (and much more informal one), they discuss the games they’ve played and whether or not they enjoyed them. Another reason I listen to those podcasts is because I really like the people hosting them. I want to hear their opinions. Charlie Rose and his guests are absolutely right when they state that podcasts feel intimate and they let listeners feel close to the hosts, as if they are friends. 

I can understand why podcasts are so successful. As we have said, they are intimate, and it gives a feeling of companionship. Podcasts don’t necessarily have to be the news or current events. They can also be used to tell stories, which is another way to attract new audiences. Good characters and intrigue are proven components to get people hooked on your narrative. This is why true crime podcasts like Serial have seen such success. 

I can’t deny the popularity of the podcasts medium. In fact I am glad it is so popular. If it brings distraction and enjoyment to millions of people, that is a good thing. And I can respect the time, effort, and skill put into developing and producing a good podcast. It’s just something I am not really into.

 Good Fences Make Good Neighbors 

I remember seeing Ai Weiwei’s arch being built for the public exhibition Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. At the time, I remember not thinking much of it. I just assumed they were working on something for an event or holiday (similar to the tree they set up around the time of Christmas). It was only once I was told about it during DANM that I realized its significance. Still to this day, I wonder if I would have ever realized on my own that the arch was part of an art exhibition create d by Ai Weiwei. Recently, during my subway commutes I saw ads for the exhibition in the subway cars. When seeing them now, I know what they are advertising, but again, I wonder if I would have been able to make the connection. 

A few days ago, some friends and I were walking by washing square park. It had been a while since they had been in this area. Consequently, they had not seen the Ai Weiwei arch yet. Upon seeing it, they were quite surprised and intrigued. Like someone had done for me before, I let them know that this was a part of a larger public exhibition created by Ai Weiwei. To my knowledge, it is interesting that there is no information regarding the exhibit next to the exhibition pieces. Without the prior knowledge, it becomes impossible to know what this installation is a part of. In a sense, this gives the viewer the freedom to create their own narrative surrounding the work. Something else I have been thinking about is the concept of sharing and its relevance within this piece. I wonder if the lack of contextualization of the work was to enable a sharing of information between the viewers. That communication would happen between viewers. We would explain and learn the significance of the work from each other. This could bring attention to the importance of communication and freedom of speech. 

Ai Weiwei’s arch is quite a stunning piece of design. The use of orthogonal bars creates this very ordered environment. But of course, it is also very reminiscent of a fence or even prison. It’s location under the actual arch of Washington Square Park also makes it seem it is meant to block our entry. The somewhat randomly cut and disorganized tube that pierces through the middle of the Weiwei arch symbolizes a manmade tunnel. It’s an escape route that breaks through the bars. As we walk through, we see our distorted image, unclear as to what the other side holds for us. 

When I think of the concept of fences, it doesn’t usually connote something positive. I see it usually as a means to imprison or to keep out. The fences implemented by Ai Weiwei at the cooper union seem to fit both those ideas. The Cooper Union Building boldly displays on its façade the words “To Science and Art”. This is immediately contrasted by the impenetrable fences placed in front of the building’s windows and entrances. Like in an authoritarian regime, it signifies a denial of access to art and science. Moreover, the advancements made in art and science are hidden away behind these fences. We are unable to know what they are used for and by whom. What these fences evoke in relation to their placement is rather unsettling.

[thishari-blog]

Comm(unity)?

I had barely jumped out of the taxi when the door slammed shut. In this moment a ‘fight-or-flight’ response kicked in and I desperately wanted to flee…far, far away! This was the ‘dodgy-est’ place I had ever been to and I was all alone. But there was no turning back now!

I began walking wearily down a steep, rubbish filled path to my client’s home. The dank smell of sewage engulfed my nostrils. I pulled my bag closer to my side and clutched it tighter every time someone was approaching…young, old, big or small, I would cringe a little more inside…’ please don’t steal anything, please don’t steal anything’ I would chant in my head. I made sure my cell phone was out of plain sight but still within reach…who knew if I needed to use it to call for help? My limited isiZulu vocab came into immediate effect, “Sawubona” I greeted with as pleasant a smile as I could muster-hoping this would help ‘break the ice’ and stop them from gawking at me at that moment, Michael Jackson’s song popped into my head.  (“…I always feel like somebody’s watching me…”). Have they never seen an Indian person before? Is it because I am a young female? Were they looking at me with curiosity, confusion (why was an Indian girl traversing their community) or was it just disgust? I finally reached my client’s home. I began knocking on the tin door, I wasn’t sure what to expect! The lyrics of a song by Sting began to play in my head “I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien” but now I was an “Indian girl in their town”, I felt deeply uncomfortable. But when the door opened, a wave of relief washed over me when I was greeted with a kind smile. Without hesitation the young lady invited me into her home…no introduction necessary.  Her hospitality was overwhelming. This family that was barely making ends meet was offering me tea and biscuits. Only upon introduction, had I been made aware that the young lady was just a neighbour who was looking after my elderly client whilst her daughter was at work. This would never happen in my community!

This stark contrast between my ‘urban’ community and this rural community completely thwarted the misconceptions and prejudices I had. I was taking offence to their ogling and strange looks but did they notice that I was clutching mercilessly onto my belongings? Surely this was insulting to them! Just as I had my misconceptions and prejudices about this community and its members, I’m sure they have these same prejudices and misconceptions about me and my community.  I don’t believe these prejudices will ‘disappear’ anytime soon but this doesn’t mean that it has to be as deeply rooted as it still is. This ‘awakening’ as I like to call it, has made realize that I need to “be the change you want to see in the world”- Mahatma Gandhi, in order to ensure that I don’t let prejudice’s and biases impact my perceptions of people and the world at large- and this is especially important for me, as an Occupational Therapy student who will be encountering people from many walks of life.

I also couldn’t believe how ignorant I was! I was freaking out about being in this supposedly poverty stricken and crime ridden place but I would never have let someone into my home without knowing who they were. And if someone ‘strange’/ ‘out of place’ had to walk into my community, it would be breaking news on my community’s Whatsapp group! Another thing that I had noticed was that roughly 95% (in my opinion) of the homes that I had visited had no locks on their front gates (yup, I could just unhook/slide the gate open!)….so much for the crime?! In comparison, my community (located in an ‘urban’ area) is riddled with crime. It is unlikely to pass a home that isn’t fully kitted with all the available high-tech security gadgets. In terms of the poverty, yes, I agree poverty in this community is rife… but not everyone appears to be ‘suffering’. This may be a controversial statement but in my opinion, in rural communities wealth is expressed via interconnectedness and unity whereas wealth in urban areas is associated more with monetary worth.

This then made me question… does Ubuntu exist in all communities or is it just a beautiful word that we all allude to when it suits us.  

When I think about the term Ubuntu, I automatically picture an ‘ideal’ world in which all people of all ages, ethnicity’s, genders and socio-economic backgrounds are united and live and work together harmoniously. I think about interdependence, being created and connected by community.  My experiences within the community (for example the hospitality, camaraderie) and the unity that is apparent matches this ‘ideal’ picture. So, does Ubuntu exists within my urban community?

Although my community doesn’t display camaraderie as overtly as it is displayed in more rural communities, we still function well as a community and when issues arise within the community, the unity becomes more apparent. For example, when an elderly man went missing, community members’ united in search for the man who was later found safe and well. (Facebook Post https://www.facebook.com/LaLuciaCommunity/) It’s still sad that only once an issue arises, the unity within my community is seen. In my opinion, although Ubuntu is evident in all communities, it is also contextual factors (cultural, social, economic etc.) that influence the extent to which Ubuntu is truly practiced.

Over the past few weeks, whilst being in the community, I have personally experienced Ubuntu in action. For example, within my practical group, although the 3 other members and I didn’t really associate with each other prior to being ‘forced’ into a group on this practical block, we have all established and are continuing to establish a bond. Every day I learn something new about myself and others because of my interactions with them which have and will continue to shape who I am as an OT and as a person.

“…The ability to give to others To reach out to those in need And to respect those around To understand that in order to move on We must do so together, and in doing so Realise that we are who have become to be Because of those surrounding us…”

– Ubuntu

Everyday my opinions and views about the community, and a ‘rural’ community in general, are being challenged. Through this experience, I have learnt and am learning so much about myself as a person and the ‘world’ outside the ‘cushy bubble’ in which I was born and raised and I can’t wait to see where this comm(unity) journey takes me…

References/links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reverend-william-e-flippin-jr/ubuntu-applying-african-p_b_1243904.html

(n.d.). DailyGood: News That Inspires.

Gandhi's 10 Rules for Changing the World, by Henrik Edberg.

Retrieved April 26, 2017, from

http://www.dailygood.org/story/466/gandhi-s-10-rules-for-changing-the-world-henrik-edberg/

(n.d.). Scribbled Verse | Raw & Unedited Scribbles by Afzal Moolla.

Retrieved April 24, 2017, from

http://afzalmoolla.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/ubuntu1.jpg

(n.d.). News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition | The Guardian.

The question: What does ubuntu really mean? | Global | The Guardian.

Retrieved April 25, 2017, from

http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2006/sep/29/features11.g2