#On my own id probably watch a lot more history based stuff but this works too

[mrfoox]

Ok i do kinda love how me and mom have just resorted to watching documentaries whenever I come home to visit lmao

[thesublemon]

Favorite movies/tv shows of 2019, and why? (Also, I really like your posts and hope you post more stuff!

Thanks so much! More posts are incoming. And sorry for taking so very long to answer this.

To be honest, I don’t watch a ton of contemporary stuff. I tend to think it’s healthier to take advantage of the great wealth of great art (or weird-but-interesting art) made in all time periods than to focus on keeping up with the present. Not that I don’t watch any contemporary things, I just don’t prioritize it in any way. So this list isn’t based on me watching everything and then picking out the best. It’s based on me watching a few things and liking some of them. But I hope that even if this list isn’t any more interesting than a list of awards ceremony nominations, I might at least have something worthwhile to say about the things in question.

Recent TV:

(I’m cheating and including TV from 2017-2019 that I watched in the last year or two, or else the list would be pretty boring and short.)

Succession (2018-present) - Maybe my favorite of the shows on this list, which is surprising to me because it’s not the kind of show I normally like. I don’t tend to care about rich people being mean to each other, or art that is glossily timely. I don’t get off on seeing the private dramas of powerful, immoral people. What I like about Succession is the sense of fragility and desperation that infuses it. It’s about the human desire for these stable institutions—families, kings, corporations—and whether or not they’re actually stable, and whether or not they should be destabilized. The whole thing is just a wonderfully rich text that has been made with a lot of craft. It’s nice to know that there are people making art that is very much about the present, and has something interesting to say about it.

Fleabag (2016-present) - The second season has gotten a lot of deserved praise, so I’m not going to dwell on its merits. It’s a complex and often moving exploration of the nature of love, whether romantic, familial, physical or divine. What makes it a truly “mature” artistic work is the way that it knows what it’s about from the very beginning (“this is a love story”) and complicates that aboutness in every single episode. It’s actually interesting to compare to the first season, which lacks the same maturity. The first season is still worth watching, but it doesn’t really become clear what it’s about until the last second, when Fleabag gives her monologue in the cafe. You keep waiting for it to get to the point, instead of having a repeated sense of anticipation about the point and accompanying satisfaction every time the point-shoe drops.

Killing Eve (2018-present) - Solid entertainment. Had a bit too much of the “contemporary TV aesthetic” for me to really love. But I’d missed genuine originality and clever writing in thriller-type stories. So it’s got that going for it. (Trying to actually define the “contemporary TV aesthetic” is a problem for another post).

unREAL (2015-2018) - I only watched the first season, and don’t feel a need to watch the rest. People tell me the subsequent seasons aren’t very good anyhow. But it was doing some interesting things. Things to do with femininity, authenticity, performance and love, and the degree to which they interfere with each other. I’m planning on talking about it a bit more in a subsequent post, along with Fleabag and the movie Weekend.

Sharp Objects (2018) - Mainly watched this and unREAL because I wrote so much about Buffy season six in the last year, and I was curious about Marti Noxon’s other shows (She was the main showrunner for that season, and you can definitely tell. Unhealthy relationships, mental illness in women, rough sex, and ideas of performance seem to show up in a lot of her stuff.). She has an interesting tendency to choose “trashy” subjects, but with a refreshingly non-cute approach to the (mostly-heterosexual) female id that I respond to. I keep trying to figure out what quality Sharp Objects had that other recent art about “women being and feeling fucked up in an artistically exaggerated way” didn’t have. Things like Midsommar, The Favourite, or Gone Girl. None of which I liked. And I think it comes down to that lack of cuteness. Watching a female protagonist furtively masturbate over the memory of a murder-shack in a way that’s not about fetishizing her? Either for a male or female or political audience? It’s weirdly satisfying.

Euphoria (2019-present) - Only watched the first four episodes or so, and probably won’t watch the rest. But it was interesting to me as a pretty successful attempt to be blatantly zeitgeisty. I like its vision of contemporary life as something full of hyperstimulus (“euphoria,” get it?). Whether that’s the hyperstimulus of porn, love, attention, validation, or actual drugs. It didn’t seem to be a reactionary condemnation of all of the above, more just a depiction of it, but since I didn’t watch the whole thing I can’t comment on its attitude with certainty.

The Vietnam War (2017) - Excellent Ken Burns as usual. I appreciated the variety of perspectives he interviewed, and I appreciated the episode dedicated to Vietnam’s history before the war started. If there’s one thing that American schools suck at teaching about the Vietnam War, it’s the Vietnamese side of things. I’m not a historian so I can’t comment on how good the history in the series is. I’m sure there are important criticisms to make of it, and like all Ken Burns documentaries he uses emotional tactics to tell the story that can at times feel manipulative in a bad way. But as someone who always wanted a more in-depth, multi-sided understanding of the Vietnam War, but didn’t know where to start, I was very glad to have watched it.

Black Sails (2014-2017) - Still haven’t seen the last season. But after watching I was honestly surprised I hadn’t heard more people talking about it. Or maybe that’s just my fault for not keeping up with mainstream writing about culture. It had some fascinating themes about the nature and fragility of civilization, and I think it would be interesting to compare to Succession on that front. Black Sails features characters on the outskirts of society. Whereas Succession features characters at the center of society. But both are about the desperation for stability that leads people to make societies—and disrupt societies—in the first place.

Recent movies:

(Sticking just to 2019 this time)

Once Upon a Time In Hollywood - What I liked about this movie is that it felt like a movie. I left it feeling like I’d had a big old cineplex experience. Which was fitting, because the movie itself was about the big artificiality of film. Throughout, there is this contrast between real violence, and movie violence, and who has an understanding of them. Cliff Booth, as a stuntperson, has a “real” relationship to violence, while Rick Dalton, as an actor, does not. Cliff can cut through a cult’s fakeness, and knows to turn aside an offer of underage sex. But although Dalton does not understand authenticity, he does understand fakeness. The point of the teenage terrorists in the final act is that none of them understand either authenticity or fakeness. They don’t get that violence is real, and they don’t get that movies are fake, which leads them to being destroyed by their own movie-inspired violence. In typical Tarantino form, the movie does have a smug-feeling nyah-nyah attitude about this theme, a feeling of “you idiot loser generation, you don’t get the seriousness of violence and you also don’t get that movies are fucking fun.” But it was a theme I found interesting nonetheless.

Apollo 11 - Unequivocally loved the cinematography. Just completely aesthetically compelling to me on every level. I would have have watched an entire Koyannisqatsi devoted to it. But I feel sort of weird saying that I liked Apollo 11 as an example of contemporary movie-making, since all of that footage I loved was shot in 1969. Still, the contemporary aspect—ie, the editing—did a good job as well. Mostly because it gave the impression of staying out of the way, even though it must have been a significant effort to select and organize the footage. As well as doing animations, titling, etc. I liked that the patriotism and mythology of it was mostly just conveyed via actual soundbites from the time. And that the competent chatter of scientists was given much greater weight. I watched Free Solo the other day, a climbing documentary from 2018, and I liked it for similar reasons—the fact that the presentation gave the impression of staying out of the way of the content, despite being obviously edited.

Parasite - Pretty understandable to me that it just won Best Picture, since it’s one of the few movies from the last year that knew exactly what it was about and how to do it, and did it with unpretentious panache. I appreciated its highly cinematic use of imagery. Say, the contrast between the concrete architecture on the upper and lower levels of society— how in the upper level it’s high art, and on the lower level it’s an inhumane prison. Or the way that characters keep visually crossing lines. I was actually pretty relieved to see that Joon-ho made this movie, because I hated Snowpiercer, and kept thinking it would have been a thousand times better if it was a thousand times less metaphorical and just depicted a real-world instance of inequality in a heightened, artistic way. Which is exactly what Parasite is. In fact, I think it would be interestingly instructive to explore why Parasite succeeded in creating iconic-feeling metaphors for social inequality where Snowpiercer failed. I also appreciated its basic vision of inequality as something symbiotic, and therefore systemic, rather than a matter of mere oppression. You find yourself asking more interesting questions about how to deal with systems when you acknowledge that systems are systems, even absurd and mutable systems, in the first place. Where I think Parasite was weakest was in the pace of the storytelling. I felt myself repeatedly getting ahead of it—eg, once you realize the brother is going to get the sister a job, you’re just waiting for the movie to finish up situating the mother and father as well. Whereas I think the strongest storytelling is perfectly aware of when the audience will start anticipating something, and uses that anticipation to create complications and surprise.

An incomplete list of some other things I watched in 2019 below the cut…

Movies that I watched for the first time and liked a lot:

Brink of Life (1958), Abigail’s Party (1977), Vigil (1984), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Resolution (2012) / The Endless (2017), Jungle Fever (1991), Festen (1998)

Movies I saw for the first time that did things I found interesting:

The Devil’s Playground (1976), Skin Game (1971), The Reflecting Skin (1990), Straight Time (1978), Late Spring (1949), Iceman (1984), Hideous Kinky (1998), Bad Company (1972), Gozu (2003), Spring (2014), Jamón Jamón (1992), eXistenZ (1999), Bull Durham (1988), Carrie (1976), Swiss Army Man (2016), Tully (2018)

Movies I saw for the first time that I’d have to write specific pros and cons for:

Cape Fear (1991), Fury (2014), Cruel Intentions (1999), White Men Can’t Jump (1992), Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse (2018), The Deer Hunter (1978), Jennifer’s Body (2009), It (2017), The Favourite (2018)

Movies I rewatched and still loved:

Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), The Ring (2002), Do The Right Thing (1989), F for Fake (1973), Tampopo (1985), Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), Broadcast News (1987), Tangerine (2015), Weekend (2011), Conspiracy (2001), Bicycle Thieves (1948), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Thing (1982), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), The Hunger Games series (2012-2015)

Movies I rewatched and didn’t like as much:

Clue (1985), Before Midnight (2013), Vertigo (1958), Anchorman (2004)

[its-rockin-pete]

Thank You for Your Candor

Notes and Description

I feel like Peter didn't really have much of a history or backstory, so I decided to play around and make one up. I know that in the books, his father dies a different way, but I figured that since pretty much nothing I was writing was canon, I was allowed to change things up. I also didn't know his parent's names, I made them up. Anyway, I'd love feedback and thoughts! 

There are four chapters, so i’m gonna post the first two today and the other two tomorrow!

(Please keep in mind that I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet, I simply did my research online as well as based things off of the movies, so if I got any details wrong, I apologize! I think I did a pretty good job, but hey, I could be wrong.)

Chapter 1

Transfer

“You can’t stay here. I don’t care what your result was, you cannot stay here.”

Even though I knew what my mother had just said was true, I mean, how could I not be upset?

“Are you kidding? No, you know what, you’re right. I can’t stay here. Not with you constantly breathing down my back and bitching at me for no reason.”

I could really tell that I had just struck a nerve.

“Do you need to leave right now?”

I immediately got quiet. The fact that my mom seemingly wouldn’t care if I left the day before the ceremony hurt like a bitch.

“Peter Hayes, I don’t know what the hell happened, but the older you got, I began to realize that I raised a selfish, narcissistic, liar. A liar. You don’t belong here. I mean- You’re constantly getting into random fights, and you talk to me like I didn’t birth you and spend sixteen years of my life raising you. You got everything you ever wanted and needed growing up. I spoiled you and I tried my best to be a good mother, but according to you, I’ve failed.”

She’s never said things like this before- hearing her tell me how she honestly felt about me almost made me feel sick. I really didn’t know what to say. I wanted to apologize, but something inside of me made it impossible.

“Fine. Well, you’ll be happy to know that you won’t have to see my face again after tomorrow. Thanks for your honesty.”

I threw my jacket onto a kitchen chair and walked out of my own house like I was an unwelcome stranger. As I was on my way out, I heard my mom trying to apologize, but I quite frankly didn’t wanna hear it. There was no taking back what she said.

I hate to admit that she was right.

I wasn’t sure where I was going, but at the same time, I didn’t care. Nobody else cared, so why the hell should I? After about fifteen minutes of aimlessly walking around town though, I finally decided on a location. Headquarters.

Chapter 2

Big Small Talk

The doors were locked as expected, so I pulled out my pocket knife and got to work. It felt wrong, but it's not like I was planning on stealing anything. Unless of course, I changed my mind when I got inside. There's not much to steal anyway, just some files that nobody really cares about, books, and yeah, there are weapons stored on a few floors, but pretty much every faction has guns. Imagine all the cool shit you could steal from Erudite headquarters though- they're loaded with all sorts of serums and technology. Erudite has always been seen as a pretty shady faction though; but I mean, all the more reason to consider transferring, right?  Might as well get some excitement out of life. I can't fucking stand Abnegation, so there would be no way in hell I’d step foot there, and Amity definitely isn't for me. All that love and happiness bullshi-

“Come on, damn it!”

As I was thinking, I was doing a horrible job at maneuvering my pocket knife between the latch of the two doors due to my lack of focus.

"Need some help?"

I quickly pulled my knife from between the two doors and turned around to see who my witness was. 

It was Molly.

"What are you doing out here?"

She pulled out her ID card and swiped it in front of the scanner. "I was out on my porch smoking a cigarette and saw you headed this way." She pulled the door open and held it for me- "So I follow you. You're always up to no good…" she shook her head and playfully smirked, “Why are you here?”

She followed me inside as I began to look around, observing little details that I might not have before, like the way the light reflected off of the marble floors, or how high the ceilings actually were. Stupid stuff like that.

“I dunno. ‘Figured it couldn’t hurt to say goodbye.”

“You’re leaving?” She sounded surprised for some reason.

“You’re not?”

She followed me as I continued to look around, picking up a book and skimming a few pages.

“Of course I’m leaving… My folks gave me some long speech about how I should follow who I really am, which is so unlike them, but I guess parents just know when it comes to these things…”

I put the book back and continued walking- “I guess so.”

“How’s your mom handling all of this?”

“Really well actually.”

She looked at me and raised her eyebrows, pausing before speaking again. She was probably trying to figure out if I was bullshitting or not.

“Really? I would’ve thought that she’d be losing her ever-loving mind begging you to transfer.”

I smirked and tilted my head to look at her, “Me too. She really hasn’t even said much about the ceremony. She didn’t even ask about my aptitude test. All she said was that she wanted me to be happy.”

Lying as always. I feel like I was just trying to convince myself that that's what really happened.

“Huh… Sounds sus to me… You sure she’s not hiding anything from you?”

I paused having no idea where a thought like that would even come from. “...Like what?”

“I don’t know… Maybe she wants you to leave so you don’t dig up any dirt on her. Maybe she’s purposely giving you some slack to make you wanna transfer.”

I became suspicious of her little theory; it was a bit too specific for my liking.

“What are you talking about?”

She hesitated for a minute before saying anything else. The silence of the room made things even more tense.

“Don’t you think your father’s death seemed a little- strange? Nobody just ‘goes missing’ and turns up dead like that...”

I immediately turned to look at her head-on. “What?”

“N-nothing… Nevermind, I was just thinking-”

“Thinking what, that my mother is responsible for my father’s death? Are you kidding me? My mother is a lot of things, but she’s not a murderer.”

She looked at me with that stupid “I know you’re pissed, but I’m not backing down” face, but stayed silent.

“You know what? That's your problem, Molly, you're always sticking your nose into other people’s business. I don’t understand why it's so hard for you to just worry about your own problems and keep your stupid mouth shut.”

She gawked at me and scoffed- “You’re one to talk, you just never know when to stop! It’s not my fault that everyone but you knows that your crazy mom took a knife to your daddy’s chest.”

I instantly lost control of my temper and lunged at her, gripping the collar of her jacket in my fists and slamming her against a pillar.

“Say it again, I fucking dare you.”

She stared back at me showing no signs of fear- it honestly only pissed me off more.

“Can’t handle the truth, Hayes? You’re Candor-born, it should be in your blood, you fucking coward.” She elbowed me in the chest and I let go of her. I didn’t know what to think at this point. I didn’t know what to do. I just stared at the ground and listened to her footsteps against the marble floor as they became more distant.

“See you tomorrow, Big Man. Choose wisely.”

I watched her leave and not even bother to look back. She brought up my dad, called me a coward, and my mother a murderer, and didn’t even glance at me as she left. What a friend… I can't believe I used to have feelings for that.

I looked around and really started to think about what had just happened. What if Molly was right? I never really did get a true explanation for my father’s death. I was only eight when he died and I was simply told that he went missing, but when I got older, my mother explained to me that they found his body far outside of Candor territory. She called it a suicide.

My father, although he was mostly distant and cold, never seemed like the type of man who would just off himself like that. He was a powerful, brave, courageous, and loud personality. He was actually one of the big names in our faction. He kind of held things together alongside Jack- although, Jack had much more power than my father.

I stood there and continued to think, and suddenly I got an idea. A horrible, brilliant idea.

[ssj4]

Sorry to bother you, but I keep seeing posts about a future Goten AU and I keep getting really curious! However, when I try to find links to anything about it I end up at some abandoned URLs.

SECOND TIME TRYING TO ANSWER THIS CAUSE MY IDIOT ASS FORGOT I HAD ONE TYPED OUT AND CLOSED EVERYTHING :)

some disclaimers im getting most of this from an old draft i had written about the au, i havent watched the specific scenes in dbz and dbs that these are based on in well over 2+ years so i dont remember the timeline of events that well so im sorry if some of it just straight up doesnt make sense lol

this whole thing did start out as an excuse to replace the romantic scenes with mai in dbs with goten actually so the truten themes are pretty significant but that aside future goten is a very good boy with a much different personality and outlook on things… much like how future trunks is compared to his main timeline counterpart :3c the whole thing was developed by me and my gf together and we never rly posted too much about it and the broken links you did end up finding were probably from like the one or two times we did but here u go im glad u asked 

I HOPE THE READ MORE LINK WORKS ON MOBILE IF NOT IM SORRY

the big change is it starts out with chi chi getting pregnant before goku dies of heart disease or whatever in the android saga instead of the cell saga, so even after he dies in that timeline she still has their 2nd son and he grows up in the future timeline with trunks.

when they were kids (like 10-15) goten was stronger than trunks just bc gohan and chi chi were there to teach him just a little bit. trunks and goten sparred a lot though so he was able to keep up but never really passed him. (that part isnt really important but i figured it was a nice detail that made sense)

thats when history of trunks comes into play, and they both get really serious about gohan training them. the scene in the movie where gohan knocks trunks out before flying off and getting killed is the same except now he just knocks out 2 kids instead of 1 i guess. 

i feel i gotta add that this au was created when the future trunks arc in dbs was airing, and mai was introduced as his love interest, and honestly in my opinion the scenes were written really well but i just wasnt digging the fact that before she was granted a younger appearance she was already middle aged, like she was old enough to be his mom if that makes sense. so it really isnt a dig on mai at all cause i love her and id die for her its just the romantic plot that i didnt like. so when that was airing i thought “WELL what if that was someone else” 

she’s still with them though in this timeline and she still has her younger appearance! 

the future timeline is still progressing the same as it did in canon, the androids still wrecked the place and no one was strong enough to do much about it so trunks is still set up with a time machine to meet with the other timeline. goten stays back and does his best to protect everyone while hes gone just in case

some stuff happens in between here but skip ahead to trunks coming back from the trip after the cell games i guess! lots of stuff happened obviously like trunks literally dying, spending years in the time chamber with his dad, meeting a whole gaggle of clowns that he’d only heard stories about, seeing gohan as a preteen. hes got a lot of stuff to share!!! now hes back and he can take care of the androids + cell + and goten can catch up and lifes pretty good over there! 😇

during the rebuilding period goten would spend a lot of time with chi-chi and ox-king and still slept over there occasionally which she really appreciated, and he invited trunks and bulma over there with him frequently.

despite this he wasnt present when she died as no one really expected goku black to wipe out the landscape so far from the city, but she and ox-king died along with more than half of the population. (ugh god im so sorry queen i love you😓)

as i said before mai is still here and she’s still the leader of the resistance!

events of future bulmas death is the same as well as mai originally intending to go with trunks when they meet up together in an abandoned building. goten is already there as the three of them rest up a bit and start making their way to capsule corp. goten was planning on staying behind anyways but he wanted to see the two of them off. when goku black interrupts them as they arrive, trunks and goten encourage mai to escape, seeing as she only has a gun and everyone already knows bullets arent gonna work. 

this scene is the same as it was in canon, where trunks tries to rush black but gets beaten quickly. mai trying to buy him time to let him escape is replaced with goten actually fighting him and taking a hit for trunks but getting knocked out as mai did. trunks under extreme stress from already losing his mom today assumes hes dead instantly, (he has dumb bitch disease, he didnt even check for a pulse in canon!🤔) and fires a masenko to escape into capsule on his own 

after trunks pops back in time and black is focused on searching for him, mai sneaks back in to retrieve goten (even though they told her to leave she really just ducked behind some rubble and stayed close, because she wasnt just gonna leave them!)

she takes him back to an underground bunker with other members of earths resistance and when he wakes up she tells him that trunks made it to the time machine and that hes presumably in the other timeline now. 

idk if yall remember it well but i rewatched some of the episodes just for this, and trunks in the main timeline believing goten was killed and mai is alone and he wont be able to get back is so sad. and when he spent that day with gohan and his family and cried thinking about how if black hadn’t have shown up, he couldve had a family too… he doesnt deserve to be this sad 😥

skip to when he’s finally able to get back home with goku and vegeta with him and they make their way to the bunker where he sees mai and goten together! the scene in canon where he rushes over and starts spilling his heart out is the same, with him telling goten he thought he died

they get a really sweet hug moment here when theyre both happy to see the other is still safe and it gives both goku and vegeta some Food For Thought, because goku actually didnt know there was a goten in this timeline, and he doesnt really recognize him at first. vegeta has the idea in his head that this is probably goten.

goten never really had any sort of real attachment to his dad. it makes sense hes never met him, hes only ever really heard about him through others, (his mom, his brother, trunks, and probably bulma has mentioned him as well) so he definitely knows OF him its just that, he doesnt know him. so when he sees the real goku standing there for once a lot of thoughts run though his mind, like, “that looks A LOT like goku black!” “thats definitely my old hairstyle” and “holy shit is that my dad?” but the first thing he actually says out loud is “Holy shit its goku orange” and vegeta really almost loses it because cause any doubt in his mind about this kid being related to kakarot just went right out the window cause only someone related to him would say that

and as you probably know a lot happens after that with them all finding a way to defeat zamasu but i dont want to include all of the rest when you can probably just interpret which scenes were changed  

ANYWAYS now instead of trunks surviving the apocalypse its trunks and goten surviving the apocalypse. thats why its not a really super romantic deal like Who has time for dates when goku black Might possibly be hiding in this abandoned olive garden?? so theyre just very close and privately affectionate

the ending where trunks and mai get to live in a new world with their counterparts is the same except gotens there with them of course, dbs left their ending pretty open 

so that takes care of the story changes, heres some additional details and information on gotens character in this au! 

heres his design, drawn by my girlfriend @ssj2 uwu !! 

he kept his natural hairstyle for a while, but i think he changed it sometime during the rebuilding period after the androids and just let it grow out a bunch. up until then he kept his natural style purely to honor the guy he’s heard so fondly of even if it brought him a lot of mixed feelings when people said he looks just like him. a really distinct feature about his new hairstyle is that the spikes look like horns and i love that a lot !!

and the shawl he wears was the same one chi chi wore 

some personality traits for future goten is that he has a habit of bottling up his negative emotions and has trouble taking care of himself, as hes always more focused on the well being of his loved ones. he can be mischievous and cocky but hes not overconfident (or he hasnt been since gohans death) however in some situations he can be charismatic and assertive which works really well imowhen their timeline is erased and theyre temporarily in the main timeline, goten gets to meet a bunch of people like gohan and his family, chi chi, and even his counterpart 

sorry if this post was messy i wasnt really sure how i wanted to make it look and im kinda bad at dumping information out so if any of its confusing just redirect me to it and ill try again gdjfksjdgsfk 😭❤

hmmm anyways thank u for reading!! its an au we made years ago and we love a lot and i hope u do too! be nice pls!! and send asks about it if you’d like cause its fun to think about! 

[y01te-moved]

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

i almost cant even count how many this is but im doing every single one anyways and you cant stop me despite the fact that this obviously took me ages to actually answer

1: if ur reading this ur legally obligated to follow max (sender of this ask) Right Now. Just Do It.

2: i think more ppl with my sense of humor should watch Spider Riders bc listen..  if somewhere along the line that show suddenly gained more popularity again in this fine year of 2019 id be both actually funny for once but also revolutionary. by all technicalities some of my hcs are fucking great but i dont think i could say a lot of them and even be comprehensible outside of orientation based ones that are just rlly controversial. granted im not even sure i could or would actually recommend the show to people cause its kinda dumb a lot of the time and also fairly long at least to my standards so its harder to finish unless ur like really invested in it :pensive:

3: also on that note the next time a horny person even THINKS about Corona im Going to break into their home and then break their knees. i hate that she has so much fanart thats basically just fetish art or otherwise managing to be nsfw in some way shes like 15 at best fuck off!! its rlly only a problem on like. deviantart but it still makes me die inside.

4: character development is hard i never actually keep my ideas and what i have written down on like.  my actual bios for everyone on the same pace so its a confusing mess and i wish i was better at combating that

5: anon and kanon r such good loids i wish people used them more but i think a part of the problem is that i dont always look That hard for things that use them ahdbsadgashdj

6: alex is the best sdv bachelor and im not accepting criticism on that notion. 2nd best would probably be like..  sam except i havent tried hard enough to be friends with him yet which i feel bad abt bc he seems nice

7: i miss the cracking open a cold one with the boys meme that was still one of my favorites

8: (goes BACK to thinking about SR shdfjds) the anime had no right having like so many characters base their ideals off of how brade used to be in the past and all those good takes on like not necessarily Having to resort to violence as the ultimate solution and all that good stuff just to be like, “surprise!! he actually IS still around! but also he’s going to be minimally helpful at all until the last few episodes and otherwise we’re going to make a ton of gags about him trying to hit on the like 2 girls in the team who are also like 15 while he ignores practically everyone else because thats funny!” im still so mad about it. he is the absolute worst and he has no rights. there was also so much potential they seemed like they could have used and were trying to hint at using in terms of further developing more important details about the history of the inner world or at least some of the things that had been going on well before hunter ever showed up and then they didn’t do anything but hint at the idea of brade having known hunter’s grandfather. but even that wasn’t 100% confirmed bc they dodged around it the one time they had hunter ask. its a mess.

9: my taste is so fucking weird and i hate it bc its mostly just, “oh yeah i heard abt this thing and it seems cool im hoping to start getting into it soon!” for most things that are actually cool or popular or all that and never actually get into it, but then i see smth dumb as shit that i know would probably make me look like an absolute fool for liking and im like, “oh yeah yknow what i can do this one” and then i do like it but i cant say much about it either cause i dont wanna look like.   a fool.

10: these have been depressing as fuck so im gonna lighten the mood and say that himbo is a fucking hilarious word and i love it

11: also axel (kh) is a himbo. why? he just is.

12: im also bad at character design i think bc i always worry that my characters look too similar in terms of hair style like all the time and idk if its rlly that bad or not jfhgkf.  that and like. so many of my characters just wear jeans and boots in terms of the lower half of their body its so unoriginal but it always works so well…

13: still disappointed in myself for having never 100%’d even 1 tlodw game. lunatic mode.. Difficult

14: i dont keep up with ace attorney fans but i hope everyone out there agrees that miles has peak vampire energies based on the way he dresses alone

15: re:zero fans have no rights only bc i only ever see ppl talking abt rem and ram like. wh..   was no one ever going to tell me about reinhard or was i just supposed to watch him get introduced in the first few eps and then fall in love w/him immediately before even finding out hes supposed to be a knight which makes him 20x better

16: leon and/or leonhart is like genuinely a good name idk why it just sounds rlly nice

17: ive had like so many technical difficulties with this site since trying to answer this i hate tumblr

18: im pretty sure im like. genuinely just gonna go mute or some shit one day cause honestly ive mostly only ever gotten worse and worse about not actually being able to say things even when i know exactly what thought im trying to say, both physically and like. online. its so weird i feel like i just cant say things. it may just be being self conscious but i restrict myself soo heavily and its WEIRD….  its like being trapped in ur thoughts and it sucks.  probably doesnt even actually mean all that much but it still makes it hard for me to accomplish anything ever which i hate.

19: despite all the titles like ssbu and all that existing for the switch i think id only want one to play the new(er) inside system games i havent had the chance to yet like the spinoff card game and rudymical and also brave dungeon but w/neville and klinsy and whoever else was dlc on that game cause obviously i own the 3ds port but also neville..  good…  i wanna see how she plays..

20: i miss when i could be passionate abt cave story it just makes me feel tired seeing it sometimes at this point but it also still holds a great significance to me so its just confusing and im not sure how i feel abt it

21: the SR novels were cowards only on account of not giving us any official design for petra but also for writing igneous like.  That.  novelverse igneous is just too bitter in general and like i get it but they couldve done a lot more with him even though he is still somewhat respectable in the end, granted its hard cause like holy shit hes so fucking mean to hunter literally who asked for that. im just glad the anime let him be somewhat more idk..  i guess sociable while still keeping a lot of the inherently essential aspects his personality had like his almost over the top loyalty to the prince and taking things like training/combat in general very seriously. its just good and animeverse igneous is so good id die for him thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[catching-up-on-comic-books]

Binge Reading Journal - November 13, 2018 - the tenth day of reading Marvel’s Dark Reign (Part 3)

Secret Invasion- Requiem

Now they reprint Court-Martial by Jim Shooter (boy genius writer), Bob Hall (an underrated penciler), Dan Green on inks and Janice Chiang on Letters. This story was first featured in Avengers #213 in 1981 featuring the smack heard ‘round the world.

Hank Pym, now working under the name of Yellowjacket, is standing in front of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. All in full uniform in their private mansion where no one can see, or get in or out. BUT this is a serious matter. Full uniform must be worn! Iron Man says that Cap has leveled some serious charges against Yellowjacket. Thor lets him know that if the accusations are true he will face formal court-martial! Thor wants the record to show that he and Iron Man are presiding as judges.....wait wait wait. These are just a bunch of dudes wearing really tight clothes in a swanky clubhouse. There’s no military sanction. Tony Stark is footing the bill (through the Maria Stark Foundation) so they can run around and smash things!

According to the Marvel Database, they’re a non-profit organization like the American Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity, recognized by the National Security Council of the US and the UN as a peacekeeping organization, ain’t nobody being court-martialed....pppsshhhh. Just be all like, “Hank you’re a jerk! Here are your things and go away.”

Well, these boys are going to go through this farce anyway. Cap states that the day before, during a mission where he was fighting a mysterious woman attacking Washington D.C. He managed to convince her to stop when Yellowjacket shot her in the back, which caused her to continue fighting. Iron Man asks for an explanation to which he has none. His own personal thoughts, legible in a bubble to the reader shows him thinking that he was a jerk and acted over eagerly to be the star on his first mission since rejoining the team.

Thor (who’s not really pretending at any of this because he actually is a Norse god) says they will convene for three days until the formal court-martial (hahahah) and suspends Hank until then so hand over your Avengers ID Card, Hank!

Hank pleads a little at this but Iron Man reminds him the rules, which he helped write, are firm on this.

I don’t think The Salvation Army has ever court-martialed anyone and they call themselves an army!

Janet is in the hallway outside the court-martial ichamber. Tigra asks why so down? Tigra, by the way is hanging from one of the rafters in the ceiling because it helps her relax. She wonders why Janet is so hung up on that strange guy anyway. Can we remind 2008 Future Tigra, who’s having Skrull-Hank babies, she thought Hank was strange in 1981?

Hank leaves the room and practically shoves Janet aside, telling her to leave him alone when she asks how he is. He immediately regrets it an apologizes before she walks away. She comes in for an embrace and say sweet consoling things to each other. TIgra doesn’t get it.

As the other founding members go their separate ways, each one remembers their own mistakes from the past.

Cap recalls when, during a heated battle against Nazi soldiers, he reacted to a noise behind him and instinctively threw his shield. It was a little girl, an orphan, collecting the brass shells for money. He barely missed hitting her when she bent down to pick up a shell. Cap realizes that he nearly made the same mistake as Hank.

Iron Man is going over Hank’s files and pictures, As a founding member his history is tied in closely with the Avengers’ history. However, Hank never really seemed to settle in, taking on guises such as Giant-Man and Goliath. Tony feels that Hank always felt outclassed by himself and Iron Man, so he’d leave the team to try to come up with some scientific breakthrough to prove himself. One of those wound up being Ultron, the Avengers’ greatest enemy. Then he had an accident in the lab which triggered a mental breakdown. That’s when he started calling himself Yellowjacket. However, the schizophrenia was cured (can’t be cured.)

Schizophrenia, and other mental disorders are a pulp fiction trope, used to explain away erratic behavior. It is usually used by writers with very little understanding of the actual condition. Actually, a rigorous new definition of schizophrenia was fashioned for the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition,'' or ''DSM-III,'' which was published by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980.

Nevertheless, Hank and Janet got married. As Iron Man continues reminiscing, he recalls how Ultron returned and forced him to create Jocasta from Janet’s brain waves. Iron Man wonders if Hank will ever stop looking for redemption. Is it fair to turn away from a friend who needs help, should he be punished for a mistake anyone of them could have made?

Janet and Hank head home, Janet stopping to sign autographs for fans waiting outside the mansion, none recognizing Yellowjacket. They head to their residence in Cresskill, New Jersey. (Did he always live there? Should I redo my ant speed calculations from that earlier issue?) Ah wait, their butler and other staff greet Janet like she’s the Queen of England and Hank is something she stepped in. She’s the rich one, inherited her father’s wealth which he made from science, with all his alien teleportation stuff. Not a lot of scientists manage to get rich. Usually the career path of a scientist is to become tenured at a university, write a lot of books and speaking engagements, they manage to make a decent living. Usually they work for companies and universities collecting meager salaries for the opportunity to science.

If a scientist manages to discover something, and patent it and comes up with a practical use for it, then there is an opportunity to become rich from it. A couple of rich, like Craig Ventner. Dr. Ventner, much like Hank Pym, is a biotechnologist, biochemist and geneticist. He was involved in mapping the human genome. Then he founded, Celera Genomics, institute for Genomic Research and the J. Craig Ventner Institute and Human Longevity, Inc.

At Celera, Ventner and his colleagues completed sequencing the human genome (Ventner’s genome specifically) three years ahead of schedule, beating the government funded Human Genome Project (your taxes at work.) Ventner’s discoveries, patents and stock ownership in the companies he’s founded made him very rich. Forbes estimates that his net worth (as of 2017) based on his stakes on two of his startups is about $300 million.

It seems like taking some real world examples, there’s some untapped story ideas to mine; what did Janet Van Dyne’s father discover and patent that made him rich and how has it impacted the world; how can Pym cash in on his own discoveries (not to mention Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, etc.).

Janet tries to get Hank into the bedroom, but he takes the laboratory over the seductive advances of his wife.

Hank admits he hates going to the lab because it reminds him of his failures, except there is one success he’s had in the lab: Robotics (wait, no that never turns out well.

Cut to three days later, Tigra is asleep in her private quarters, Bob Hall draws her in the nude but all the naughty bits are tastefully covered. She wakes up to the sound of Jarvis approaching her door. Jim Shooter makes it a point to say she slipped on a satiny negligee. It’s like the only reason Tigra was created was to get some weird furry fantasy going for the readers. A startled Jarvis, who’s never owned a cat apparently or else he wouldn’t be surprised by her behavior, is presenting Tigra with her first weekly stipend check.

She is surprised to learn that the Avengers get paid a salary. He clarifies that it is a modest stipend to cover living expenses, which most Avengers traditionally refuse, he adds in a snidely way. Hmmmm. Let’s see....Black Panther is the king of his own country so mega-rich; Thor, Prince of Asgard, so rich he doesn’t even need money; Captain America, probably collecting a lot of military back pay. See, Jarvis, most Avengers refuse the stipend because they’re already rich; not because they are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

He continues to economically shame her by pointing out that those that do accept the stipend are the ones that live at the mansion and have no outside means of support. Tigra finally gets a chance to read it and notices it is for one thousand dollars. Which in 1983, like $2,534.53 today or $131, 795.56 a year. That is a pretty good haul on top of room and board for Tigra.

Jarvis reminds her that the court-martial is at four o’clock that day. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is making an excuse to leave a board meeting at Stark International Headquarters, because writers think the best way to show a busy CEO is at a board meeting (not true, board meetings occur maybe just once a year unless there is an emergency, trope alert)

Thor finishes up some surgery but leaves the cleaning up for his colleagues, who grouse at Blake leaving (oh, sorry at this time, Thor is still using the Don Blake alter ego) for them to clean up despite being the best surgeon ever.

Captain America, already in the Avengers library and in full uniform, is wondering if he will have the courage to look Hank in the eye even though it is the most difficult thing he’s ever done. More difficult than watching Bucky die on that rocket? More difficult than giving up your Captain America identity to become Nomad? Well, we all chose our own cross to bear.

Speaking of crosses to bear, a few hours earlier, Janet hasn’t seen Hank since they came home three days earlier. She decides to go check on him in the lab. Finding the door locked, she shrinks down and squeezes in to the door crack to discover Hank putting in the final touches of programming of the robot, which will allow it to target each Avenger by their brain waves. Which it does as o soon as it senses Jan in the room. Hank is infuriated, Accusing Jan of spying on him. Hank explains he has built a robot called Salvation 1 and she’s going to help him test it out. It grabs Jan but her sting is useless against it. He explains it is built out of Adamantium. Ok, so according to the Marvel Database:

Creating even a small amount of Adamantium is astronomically expensive, and only a few people know the complete formula. Adamantium is created by mixing certain chemical resins together. The exact composition of these resins is a closely guarded secret of the United States government. When these resins are mixed and kept at a temperature of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the resulting liquid can be cast or worked into a particular shape. After an eight minute 'flux period', the mixture sets and becomes solid regardless of temperature. Its molecular structure is extremely stable, and its shape can only be altered by precise molecular rearrangement.

So I don’t know how Hank had enough Adamantium lying around to build a 15 foot tall battle robot he just conceived three days prior. He designed Sal with a secret weak spot that will shut down the robot with one well-placed stinger shot, thus making him a hero when Sal attacks the Avengers. That’s the plan at least. But Janet won’t let him go through with it.

There it is.

On Jim Shooter’s website, he posted on March 29, 2011:

In that story (issue 213, I think), there is a scene in which Hank is supposed to have accidentally struck Jan while throwing his hands up in despair and frustration—making a sort of “get away from me” gesture while not looking at her.  Bob Hall, who had been taught by John Buscema to always go for the most extreme action, turned that into a right cross!  There was no time to have it redrawn, which, to this day has caused the tragic story of Hank Pym to be known as the “wife-beater” story.

So, henceforth Hank Pym is known as a wife beater.

Let’s cut to the court-martial proceedings. Captain America states his case: Yellowjacket shot a hostile in the back. Hank has never been know to act cowardly so the act was a case of misjudgment. It is tempting to write off as a mistake since any one of them can make the same error.

However, as an Avenger they cannot. An error by any one of them can result in the loss of lives. They have a tremendous responsibility and thus must judge themselves harshly.

I bet one can look back at previous issues of the Avengers, or Iron Man or Cap, or Thor and find situations and scenarios where they’ve all made costly mistakes like Hank Pym. Alas, this can’t turn into a retrospective of the Avengers.

Iron Man asks Hank how he pleads or if he wishes to defend himself. Hank pleads not guilty. His argument is that although his mistake may have seemed treacherous but he wondered if Cap ever considered treachery from the enemy. His actions may have actually saved lives! Perhaps because the enemy was a beautiful woman, perhaps Cap liked her! Like Liked her! That’s why Cap is upset, because Hank hurt her!

Everyone is feeling second-hand embarrassment at this point. Iron Man asks him to stop. Hank asks Janet to back up her story. She lowers her sunglasses and reveals a shiner. Thor is shocked, wondering if Hank actually hit her. Hank goes for the remote control to summon Salvation 1. Janet pleads to him to not do it.

Sal bursts through the wall (kind of hilariously, no disrespect to Bob Hall, but considering the statement Shooter made on his blog post, about Hall being trained by Buscema to always go for the drama, it kind of comes off as comedic. Iron Man being flipped upside down, Tigra kind of in a Bugs Bunny pose, Yellowjacket exclaiming “Ah!” In faux surprise.

When Thor strikes it with his Mjolnir without any effect, Janet let’s them know it’s made out of (very expensive and rare) Adamantium and Hank built it and designed it to destroy them. Hank realizes Sal is way too brutal and may actually defeat everyone. He goes for the super secret shut off switch but Sal throws him against the wall. Sal grabs Hank in his giant pincer claws, crushing him when Janet runs up and shoots the switch with her stinger, deactivating Salvation 1.

Hank, shamefully leaves.

[imjustthemechanic]

The Stone Knight

Part 1/? - Two Statues Part 2/? - A Curious Interview Part 3/? - John Doe Part 4/? - Escape Attempt Part 5/? - Making the News Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - More Impossible Part 8/? - The Shield Thieves Part 9/? - Reality Sinks In Part 10/? - Preparing a Quest Part 11/? - The Marvelous History of Sir Stephen Part 12/? - Uninvited Guests

Because clearly what our heroes need at this point is more nasty surprises.

Natasha had met Dr. Yancy Hughes once or twice at university events, and had seen her on the news when she was interviewed in connection with the criminal cases she'd worked on. The woman's maiden name was Chandraprakesh, and she joked that she'd married a man named Hughes deliberately to get rid of it. She was tiny and plump, with dark skin and thick black hair that made her pale green eyes all the more striking.

When the party arried, Dr. Hughes was in her lab giving some students advice on electrophoresis gels. She looked up and smiled at her guests and said, “forget something?”

“I'm sorry?” asked Nat.

“Well, you're back,” Dr. Hughes pointed out.

Nat could feel her stomach sink clear down to her toes. “Was I already here?” she asked. She'd seen Zola take her shape in Inverness. There was no reason why he couldn't do it again.

“Yeah, about twenty minutes ago,” said Dr. Hughes, confused. “Are you okay?”

“Didn't I tell you to ask me for ID?” Nat asked.

“I did!” Dr. Hughes said. “You showed me your driver's permit! It had the little chip on it and everything.”

Nat felt cold. Why hadn't she specified the type of identification? “That would be my Scotland driver's permit?” she asked. Those had a chip in them, like a credit card.

“Yes...” said Dr. Hughes uncertainly. Her students had set their gels down and were watching, curious what was going on.

Natasha pulled a passport-sized booklet out of her purse. “I'm a foreign resident on a teaching visa,” she said, opening the booklet to . “I travel constsantly. I have an international permit, not a Scottish one!”

“Then why did you show me a Scottish one?” asked Dr. Hughes.

“Because that wasn't me!” Nat said.

“It looked like you!” Dr. Hughes protested. “You had ID!”

“Never mind,” Natasha decided. If she tried to explain Dr. Hughes would probably think she was crazy. “Twenty minutes ago, you said. Did you give me the shield?”

“Of course not. Just a sample,” Dr. Hughes said, thoroughly confused. “You said you needed one to get a date from, and you took it from behind the big metal bit in the centre so that it wouldn't...” she stopped talking when she saw her guests' horrified expressions. “Well, where were you planning to take it from? That's the only spot that we can be sure doesn't have any blood on it.”

She didn't even have to explain, Nat thought. Hughes already thought she was crazy. She turned to her companions. “Spread out,” she ordered. “Look for... he won't be me anymore.” How did you recognize a shapeshifter? “Look for anybody suspicious. If you meet with another of our party and you're not sure it's really who it appears to be, the code word will be Volgograd.”

“Got it,” Carter nodded.

“Wait!” Dr. Hughes protested, as they all headed for the door again. “What's going on?”

“We don't know,” Nat replied, which was in a large measure still entirely honest.

At the front door of the Life Sciences building they split up. Carter crossed the street to check around Belmont Flats. Dr. Wilson went to circle the building, Sir Stephen went south to try the car park there, and Nat headed north to check the other lot, outside the Institute of Sport and Exercise. There were three rows of cars there, with three or four people currently getting in or out, or looking for something in the boot. Nat ran up and down the rows, checking back seats and looking at each person and what they were carrying. She got some odd stares, but didn't find anything.

Of course she didn't. Zola had been smart. He'd only taken what he needed, rather than the whole shield, and there was absolutely no reason why he should continue using Nat's appearance after he had what he'd come for. Any one of these people might be him, or they might all be totally uninvolved. Once he was gone, there was no way to ever find him again, and he had a twenty minute head start. He could be halfway to Ediburgh by now.

Several people were staring at Natasha from various corners of the car park. A young woman, all dressed up for some special occasion in a sky-blue sari that kept blowing in her face. A tall man in a dark suit and green tie, frowning in deep disapproval of whatever it was he thought she was doing. A couple of students who had just gotten out of their car, looking worried that they might have done something wrong. Nat sighed, gave them a halfhearted wave, and turned to trudge back to the Life Sciences building.

Dr. Hughes was waiting there. “I had a look around the building,” she said. “Some people said they'd seen you come and go earlier, but nobody saw anything they thought was weird.”

“Password,” Nat prompted.

“Huh? Oh. Volgograd,” said Hughes. “Seriously, what's happening here? Do you have an evil twin or something?”

“Would you believe me if I said yes?” asked Nat.

Hughes thought about it for a few moments. “Maybe?” she admitted.

The others drifted back, one by one, and each gave the password when Natasha demnded. They all looked deeply disheartened, and none of them had found a thing.

“We don't even know who to look for,” Carter said. “He could be anybody.”

“Um... I'm sorry?” Dr. Hughes offered. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not really,” Nat said. “Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. As far as you knew, you were giving it to me. I mean, I had ID and everything, right?” Technically, Dr. Hughes hadn't done anything wrong.

“I guess,” Dr. Hughes said uncertainly, and Nat knew it was going to spend days trying to think of what she could have done differently. Natasha didn't like seeing people feel guilty for things that weren't their fault – that was a waste of guilt in a world where people who did do awful things did them without a qualm.

The group went back to their car, but instead of getting in they stood there leaning on the vehicle, trying to figure out what to do next. This time, it was Dr. Wilson who took charge.

“All right, Sir Steve,” he said. “You obviously had to see this map at some point. What did it look like? Where did you think it was leading you?”

Could they figure out where the Grail was based on a verbal description of the map? That seemed unlikely – after all, at the time Sir Stephen had been turned to stone, or whatever it was that had happened, he still hadn't found it despite having the map itself.

“It was engraved on the back of a piece of blue-green stone, the upper surface of which was carved as an Egyptian scarab,” Sir Stephen explained. “Or so its keeper told me, at least. I do not personally know what sort of beetles they have in Egypt. Has anyone a quill and some vellum?”

Carter passed him a pen and a notepad without a word.

“There were thirteen marks, or so we believe,” Sir Stephen said, drawing dots on the paper. “The stone was quite damaged and it was hard to tell if some of them were intentional parts of the engraving. Twelve were in an oval, and the thirteenth was here.” He drew a rough ellipse of dots, and then one at what seemed to be one of the foci.

“That looks almost like an astronomical diagram,” Natasha observed. She'd seen drawings in textbooks that were supposed to be planetary orbits – according to Kepler's laws, those were ellipses with the sun at a focus. But Kepler hadn't come along until the seventeenth century, well after Sir Stephen's time. Not to mention a scarab signet, which was what Sir Stephen seemed to be describing, would already have been over a thousand years old by the time anybody gave it to him.

“What did you think it meant?” asked Dr. Wilson.

“Supposedly there were at one time six such scarabs,” Sir Stephen said, “which together made a map to where the sorcerer Hermes Trimegistus had hidden objects too powerful for any human being to use. The other five had been destroyed or lost, but this was passed down by the Magi. It looked to us like one of the circles of stones you find in the north.”

“Like the ones near Gran's place in the Orkneys!” DI Carter said. She studied the diagram a moment, then pulled out her phone. “Google Earth, don't fail me now!” she said, and began typing something in.

Sir Stephen and Dr. Wilson moved closer to look over her shoulder, but then Nat's own phone rang. She pulled it out to see who was calling, and found that it was Sue. Hopefully it was something important – Nat didn't have time for frivolous stuff right now. She stepped away from the group and put the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Natalie, oh, thank goodness!” said Sue. “Are you still on campus?”

“Yes,” said Nat. “I'm... I'm at Dr. Hughes' building. We're... trying to find an address,” she said, glancing at Carter and her google search.

“I need you up here in the office,” Sue said. “Quickly, please.”

“Why? What's going on?” asked Nat, as her imagination tossed out a dozen horrible possibilities. Was Zola in thre? Was a crazed gunman holding the department hostage? Had the row of fairy figurines Sue kept on the shelf above her desk come to life and started causing mischief? It didn't seem like today had room for anything else to go wrong, but at the same time, with the rules of the universe apparently out the window, the possibilities for what might go wrong were endless.

“Just come up,” Sue said. “Hurry!” And with that, she ended the call.

Nat groaned out loud.

“Now what's wrong?” asked Dr. Wilson.

At least he agreed with her that this was getting to be ridiculous. “I don't know, she wouldn't tell me,” said Nat. “Come with me, my office is this way.” She had a bad feeling about this, and wanted the others with her. That way if she ended up facing any more nonsense, she'd at least have somebody to share it with. She stuck her phone back in her purse, and took off at a fast walk across the campus.

The building was still standing – that was a good sign. Even so, Nat decided she couldn't risk taking the elevator and instead ran up the steps as fast as she could. Sir Stephen was right behind her, with Carter and Wilson bringing up the rear. The closer they got, the worse was Nat's sense of foreboding. What had been going on that Sue could make a phone call and ask her to come, but not tell her why? Nat thought back to the people she'd seen in the car park. Who had the man in the suit been? Was he involved in this? Was the woman in the sari really Zola in disguise?

By the time she reached the doors of the archaeology office, Nat was running. She burst into the room, startling Sue, who jumped up from her desk with a hand over her heart.

“Oh, it's only you, Natalie,” she said.

Nat looked around. Nothing was obviously out of place. The only other person presentwas a man with shaggy graying hair who'd been helping himself to coffee when Nat's entry surprised him, too. Everything appeared to be normal... which made Natasha's spirits sink yet further as she realized she'd been tricked again. Zola wasn't in here. More likely he was the one who'd made the call, mimicking Sue's voice the way he'd mimicked the reporter's when he called Dr. Wilson – and now Nat and the others were here while he escaped the campus.

Or perhaps not, because as soon as Sue had recovered from her surprise, she gave Nat a beaming smile. “Surprise!” she said.

She was looking at the man with the coffee. Puzzled, Nat followed her gaze.

“Hi, Ginger Snap,” said the man. He was not quite six feet tall, dressed in a camo-green down jacket over a sweater with a patterned yoke, and a pair of aged jeans. Though in his late sixties, he still had all his hair, and his eyes were pale blue, like Natasha's own – and he was holding out his left arm, the one he wasn't using to hold a paper coffee cup, as if he were expecting a hug.

Nat took a step backward, feeling sick. She knew who he looked like he was – she had a reasonably clear mental picture of the man – but he didn't exist. He existed even less than Sir Stephen of Rogsey existed. Sir Stephen was presumably a fourteenth-century compilation of earlier legends that probably had some basis in history, however unrecognizable that might be after three centuries of retelling. Allen Rushman, on the other hand, was somebody Natasha herself had made up out of whole cloth, to add some flavour to her biography.

She'd just about managed to cope with Sir Stephen, but how was she supposed to deal with her fictional father, standing in front of her in the flesh?

[general-du-vallon]

Okie dokie, a long post about Commodities. This is not rigorous scholarship, history is not my field, I knew nothing about this subject before, really. It’s just a quick google. So, without further ado. 

“Well, there was this one time I dropped anchor near a small island called Gorée…”

Gorée Island is a small island off the coast of Senegal which played a part in the transatlantic slave trade. The House of Slaves and the Door of No Return, now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in the 18th century. There are so many different estimations of how many people passed through Gorée and different analyses on how important it was to the trade. However, it is important now, and now is when the series was made. It’s a name that carries connotations of not only the lives directly affected by the slave trade then but the continuing repercussions that we’re still seeing and still understanding. There’s an annual festival, “a way to use art and culture to remember [the sad page in history] and to unite the island's diaspora… it is not enough to remember the past, but that it must be used to build a better future in which communities can grow closer to eliminate all forms of discrimination”, (Augustin Senghor, the mayor of Gorée Island, speaking in 2010 about the festival). The Facebook page for the festival says

“Le Gorée Diaspora Festival est un ciment fédérateur entre la Communauté Sénégalaise à travers Gorée et l’ensemble des visages et voix de la diaspora Africaine s’engageant à « rectifier voire inverser les conséquences négatives de l’esclavage et du lourd tribu payé par le continent noir et ses enfants sous le vocable de Renaissance Africaine qui englobe la notion de Développement que l’Afrique n’a pu connaître du fait, justement, de l’esclavage”

I don’t speak French but I can translate a little… the Gorée Diaspora festival is… something about unifying the Senegalese communities through different voices…. Something about reversing and counteracting the consequences of the slave trade, something about a heavy tribute (price?) paid by the ‘children’ of the continent and the diaspora, and includes ideas about the development that Africa could not know because of the slave trade. My dudes, je ne parle pas Francais, so do correct me or translate better.

The Gorée Institute promotes culture and arts in Africa and in 2015 (I think) they ran a poetry residency on the island that aimed “to reignite a literary tradition that has begun to fade, and to help promote arts, culture, and freedom of expression as intrinsically effective methods of fostering open societies in the region”

 How to Fall in Love with an African City

by Gbenga Adesina, a 24-year-old poet from Nigeria

 In time, you too will come to learn dear friend, the soft rustle,

Soft whoosh of affection for a city like a lover like a love song: Nairobi, Abuja, Dakar

throbbing in your ribs: Accra, Harare, Port Novo, carving a place for themselves, to nestle

In spite of yourself in the jar

of things you call loved.

 I know eyes have their own memories and fears

and you come here seeking only the darkness you’ve been

promised. But come again to Abidjan friend, come to Yamoussoukro, come

to Kigali, to Luanda, to Lagos, where the city vowels sing to you, sing to you.

Sidewalks that are nations on their own. Yellow buses that write you into a story

Wi-Fi spots and shopping malls and smiles that warm your arms and strangers that become

friends in an instant. Grilled meats that introduce your tongue to you.

 In time, you too will come to learn dear friend, the soft rustle, soft

Whoosh of affection for a city like a lover like a love song: Nairobi, Abuja, Kigali,

Dakar throbbing in your ribs. What it means for a city to hold you by the hands

and love you and lead you to places you’ve never been inside yourself

again and again at the junction of laughter.

  Ok. So, these are a few facts I’ve come up with after a quick Google around, and a few things that are coming out of Gorée today. Back to the series, Bonnaire name drops an island that would have already been involved in the slave trade in the 17th century. The thing about the transatlantic trade was that even when not trading people, trade was deeply involved in slaving. The transatlantic triangle meant that cargo was being shipped to pay for slaves and nurture ties in Africa and supply the colonial settlements, a cargo of people was then shipped to the Americas, then the produce of the Americas was shipped to Europe. Paul Munier, as a trader, was as implicated in the trade as Bonnaire, just a different side of the triangle. His cargo might not have been people, but it would have been from the Americas and in all probability produced by the people taken on Bonnaire’s slave ships. The name-drop, then, is suggestive of the slave trade and brings up a whole host of connotations and connections.

I suppose it was probably put in to suggest to an audience that Bonnaire is a slaver, as a ‘clue’. I think it works beyond that, though. It is also, because of what the island is now, suggestive of a diaspora, and the series brings in Samara, and Porthos, people who are perhaps part of a diaspora (I am not naming Sylvie because her story never brushes on her… what is it Bonnaire calls it? Ah. Here we go: “ancestry”). I don’t know what else is within that allusion, probably many things, but I just wanted to pick up the casual reference and think about it.

http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/goree-island-home-door-no-return (basic info about the island from an American site. I looked at a lot of sources but this seems the most straightforward)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/world/africa/19ndiaye.html (an article about Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, curator of the House of Slaves, from 2009 after he died)

https://www.voanews.com/a/goree-island-festival-celebrates-african-diversity-107230813/130315.html (quote from Augustin Senghor)

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GoreeDiasporaFestival/about/?ref=page_internal (facebook ‘about’ page)

www.goreeinstitut.org (Gorée Institure’s page, in French)

https://afrolegends.com/2016/07/27/reclaiming-african-history-goree-and-the-slave-trade-in-senegal/ (another page about Gorée and reclamation)

 “A calabash. Grows all over West Africa.”

I just want to quickly pick up on this allusion, mostly because it is used to make musical instruments and you know, I like music. So. I’m just gonna share a couple of things I found. The first is a page from RCIP-CHIN [a Canadian… it’s in French again, CHIN stands for Canadian Heritage Information Network, it’s a heritage site basically I think], a teaching page aimed at children about traditional calabash objects from Senegal, so stuff made from calabash, from a region that we know Bonnaire visited.

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitLo.do?method=preview&lang=EN&id=10659

 The Kora is an instrument made from the calabash, so here are two videos of kora music,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEoMz79NT60 I don’t know this one I got it by googling, it’s called  ‘KORA TRIO SENEGAL Konzert Rote Fabrik Zürich’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig91Z0-rBfo this one is Sona Jobarteh and band, it says it’s music from West Africa.

 Also just a thing from a quick google, A Drunken Ode on an Ashanti Calabash, based on Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn, because, you know, how awesome is that?

You bald head crackpot of an unworshipped gourd

Owner of sweet whine, lined with alternate this chord

What incense wafts incessant on your inside

What merry joys accompany your company.

What brave brow, what bold curve

Hairless rim-head, competitor of shaved eggshells

Afraid to touch the earth but on your belly.

 Glass wine is sweet, but gourd wine is sweeter

Funeral wine, party wine, you hold them better

What a roll you make on your underbelly

When rocking here this way and that

What browned fare, what fair brow

What endless, gaping gap on your inside

Forever open to wine and air.

 Pour me a drink, pour me two

Which are sipped ‘pon suppers supped

Momentous joy for a dugout unleaked

What thin wall, what thick skin

What strong ethers of spirits reek

Shanty half body of insipid taste.

Sleeping is truth, and truth sleeping

Let me now lie and tomorrow waste

https://afrilingual.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/drunken-ode-on-an-ashanti-calabash/

 “A bottle of rumbullion. The colonists make it out of sugar molasses, so potent they call it kill devil”

Last allusion I’m picking up, I swear, and again I’ll be quick about it. John J. McCusker says that “rum and molasses early became strategic items in the vital trade with the West Indies, being readily available and readily acceptable returns for colonial goods shipped there. The distilling of rum from molasses created a substantial colonial industry, employing local capital, management skills, and labor[sic]”. Bonnaire’s rum is again just an indication of both his trade and the deeper implications. Rum is a ‘commodity’ (a word McCusker uses over and over that I can’t hear without wincing anymore) that was used substantially in the transantlantic trade. Again, the commodities and luxuries that Bonnaire is shipping, his cargo, is all implicated in the slave trade and, again, I want to point out Paul Munier as a trader who might not actively be a slaver but is still part of the slave trade.

 The Rum Trade and the Balance of Payments of the Thirteen Continental Colonies, 1650-1775

Author(s): John J. McCusker

Source: The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 30, No. 1, The Tasks of Economic History(Mar., 1970), pp. 244-247

Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2116737

Accessed: 26-10-2017 20:35 UTC

[sorry, I’m sure there are other more accessible sources on the rum trade and its parallels/uses in the slave trade, but I have google fatigue. The article is focussed on economy and is numbers and ledgers and is only really relevant to show how rum was used by the colonists in the slave trade]

https://www.thoughtco.com/triangle-trade-104592 [oh, here’s another source, and this one talks about the triangle as well]

FINALLY I want to just mention how confused I am by Louis and Richelieu and their conversation about the navy. I always read that as the French didn’t have a navy, and had a trade agreement with Spain about exploration/colonisation. I can’t find any evidence for this, however, and in fact Richelieu pretty much is the source of the modern French navy; he built the damn thing. And in terms of colonization, while it seems to be true that the French in 1630 were only just starting really, they WERE starting. Richelieu [historical type not Capaldi] went on to colonize the Antilles, and the French navy took Gorée from the Dutch in… 1677. David Gegus says that “for the little-studied seventeenth century, some data recently uncovered by Clarence Munford and others are combined with material from older works by Elizabeth Donnan, Abdoulaye Ly, and John Barbot. The compilers note, however, ‘much of the seventeenth century French traffic is missing.’ A large part of France's slave trading was then clandestine, conducted by interlopers challenging royal monopoly companies”. Which seems to fit in with Bonnaire’s position with the court. Richelieu actually set up a Company of San-Christophe with an explorer called Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc in approx. 1626 (“I found myself my own little utopia, a little piece of heaven called San Christophe”). [‘San-Christophe’ is ‘Saint Kitts’]. The company failed, d’Esnambuc died, Richelieu set up the Company of One Hundred Associates instead and they colonised Canada, the Antilles, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Belain_d%27Esnambuc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_One_Hundred_Associates

  And for those who like academical journalies and JSTOR:

Hausa Calabash Decoration

Author(s): Judith Perani

Source: African Arts, Vol. 19, No. 3 (May, 1986), pp. 45-47+82-83

Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3336411

 In the Shadow of the Castle: (Trans)Nationalism, African American Tourism, and GoréeIsland

Author(s): Salamishah Tillet

Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 40, No. 4, Writing Slavery in(to) the AfricanDiaspora (Winter, 2009), pp. 122-141

Published by: Indiana University Press

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40468165

Accessed: 26-10-2017 18:30 UTC

 The French Slave Trade: An Overview

Author(s): David Geggus

Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on theTransatlantic Slave Trade (Jan., 2001), pp. 119-138

Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2674421

  Mercantilism as a Factor in Richelieu's Policy of National Interests

Author(s): Franklin Charles Palm

Source: Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Dec., 1924), pp. 650-664

Published by: The Academy of Political Science

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2142344

  The French Slave Trade: An Overview

Author(s): David Geggus

Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on theTransatlantic Slave Trade (Jan., 2001), pp. 119-138

Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2674421

 Scientific travel in the Atlantic world: the French expedition to Gorée and the Antilles,1681-1683

Author(s): NICHOLAS DEW

Source: The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 43, No. 1 (March 2010), pp. 1-17

Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The British Society for theHistory of Science

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40731001

[marblefeet08-blog]

Chef Summit 2018

FTC Disclaimer:  This trip was sponsored by Certified Angus Beef® Brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC.  All opinions are my own.

Earlier this month Alexis and I were thrilled to attend Chef Summit 2018 at the Certified Angus Beef® Brand's Culinary Center.  Chefs from all over North America came to

get hands-on butchery lessons and break down a side of beef,

see the level of dedication and care that goes into producing the Best Angus Beef, and

gain a better appreciation of under-utilized cuts to use for delicious and profitable menu items.

Here is some of the fun that David Dial (Spiced...One Dash At A Time), Cindy Kerschner (Cindy's Recipes and Writings), Alexis and I had while getting to learn side-by-side with the chefs. 

Day 1

The first day was a reception followed by a dinner prepared by the talented chefs of the Culinary Center. 

Because the event started in the early evening, Alexis and I drove up instead of flying.  This allowed us to enjoy a casual drive through the slightly mountainous Kentucky/Tennessee border, rolling horse country of Kentucky, and the bucolic countryside of Ohio.

Tara opened the event with a session about the history of the brand.  Fun Fact: The Certified Angus Beef® Brand all started because a rancher got a flavorless, tough steak at a restaurant.

The brand began as a desire to foster quality beef.  This program was built on a foundation of quality specifications formulated by a meat scientist.  To this day, quality is the key to their pull-through marketing strategy.

Waste not, want not.  The chefs use trimmings from the Meat Lab to create tasty beef sausages. The tasso is a beefy spin on a spicy Cajun ham that we have made at home, and it was my favorite of the bunch.

Melon wrapped with cured beef - the salty and sweet combo worked well together. 

Shut the front door!  Poke-style cap steak on taro chips.  The very rare cap steak was lightly coated with an array of Asian flavors, and the crisp chip brought the texture.  This was my favorite dish of the appetizers, and I'd love to serve this at an Eggfest or cooking demo.

The Culinary Center's Lead Chef, Ashley Breneman (Cutthroat Kitchen, Chopped Grill Masters Napa, and Master Chef), talks us through the variety of dishes that they created for us.

Shaved Teres Major Flatbread would be a fun shared appetizer or an entree.

Pasta made with a luscious smoked chuck roll that was straight up comfort food.

The real show stopper, for me at least, was the Osso Buco-style Beef Short Ribs. I love beef short ribs anyway, but the presentation just makes it that much better. These were fan-freaking-tastic.

After dinner, Matt Shoup and I checked out the Culinary Center's dry aging and meat curing cabinet. They are lucky we brought our small car and not our truck or this cabinet "might have disappeared".

That's the funky stuff!  There was some 55 day dry aged beef in here.

Day 2

We hit the ground running in the Meat Lab the next morning.  I've gotten to experience the Meat Lab once before for Grill Talk but we were only breaking down primals then.  This time we were breaking down a half steer.  

I don't mean that we watched someone break down a half steer.  Each team of 4 or 5 people had our own side of beef to butcher. 

Ain't no party like a Meat Lab party.

The morning session opened with The Science Behind The Sizzle™, explaining how each of the 10 science-based specifications ensures a flavorful eating experience.

I harp on the 10 Science-Based Specifications because they are the important difference between Certified Angus Beef® Brand and other Angus brands.

Then the fun really kicked in! Diana Clark, Meat Scientist, took us through breaking down a side of beef, step-by-step.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated.  What's the best way to get over being intimidated?

To get over intimidation, you jump right in when they ask for a volunteer during the demonstration. And as fate would have it, I got to saw off the bone-in brisket.  I love brisket. 

I did that!  Can you see the brisket flat and point layered in there between the bones and fat? I have to say this gave me a better appreciation for and understanding of that glorious cut of beef.

David Dial got right in there too.

As soon as they showed us a step, we would go back and repeat (or attempt to repeat) that step on our steer.

At the lunch break, I was able to "IRL meet" Chef Gavin Pinto.  One of Chef Gavin's many roles is hosting Certified Angus Beef® Brand's Facebook Live videos like this one about smoking beef.

One of our lunch recipes was Shredded Certified Angus Beef® Chuck Roll Philly Cheesesteak with Parmesan Truffle Fries. 

I was a big fan of the chuck roll this weekend after having it in three different dishes.  It's like a cross between brisket and chuck roast. Beefy, tender, and luscious.

Asian Zing Stir Fry using Certified Angus Beef® Clod with Steamed Rice and Stir-Fry Veggies.

To move the large pieces of beef around, the Meat Lab utilizes a ceiling mounted rail system of suspended hooks.

Diana watching some of her students practicing what she demonstrated.

The class is an experience in understanding where the individual cuts come from and how its location affects the taste, tenderness, and appearance of the beef.  An example of this would be how the chuck eye and rib eye are right next to each other, so the chuck eye is close to the same palatability of the ribeye but usually at a much cheaper price.

First, look at the marbling of this skirt steak!  Second, did you know that the skirt steak is the steers diaphragm? 

Two of my teammates, Matt and JJ, fabricating smaller cuts.

Matt did the Osso Buco treatment to our beef ribs.  I can't wait to try this at home and create a recipe with it.  

After a long day in the Meat Lab, we were treated to dinner at The City Square Steakhouse.

Day 3

The third day started bright and early....well at least early, I'm not sure how bright I was...at Atterholt Farms.  This family farm owned by two brothers is a seed stock program (breeding for other ranches) with 50-80 head depending on the time of year.

This farm has 700 acres for the cattle, feed hay farming, and crops such as soybean and corn.

We learned that raising cattle to earn the Certified Angus Beef® Brand designation is no accident.  I was amazed at the planning and forethought that goes into it. The Atterholts start with artificial insemination.  Here's the quick takes of what I learned about that process:

Ranchers get a bull semen catalog that lists statistics about prospective bulls and their expected progeny differences.  This lets them select the ideal bull for meeting the 10 specifications.

Bull semen costs about $20 a vial which is good for one attempt.

Bull semen can be frozen and lasts indefinitely so it is possible to breed using semen from a champion steer that has been dead for years and years.

The Atterholt's success rate with A.I. is about 60%.  

They target the same calving date each year (during January - March) so about 285 days prior to the cow's last calving date, they attempt the A.I.

The month after A.I. attempts, any cows that go into heat (meaning A.I. didn't take) are placed with a "clean up" bull to attempt normal insemination.

Page from a bull semen catalog. It's kind of like Match.com for cattle.

The tag on the ear has 3 numbers.  The large middle number is the cow's ID# with the first number being the last digit of the year the cow was born (in this case, 2015) and the next three digits are just the order of birth, so this was the 25th calf in 2015.  The top number is the mother's ID# and the bottom is the birthdate.

Expected Progeny Differences are statistics that let the rancher know the genetic worth of a prospective bull and the probable traits of its offspring.

The calf on the left is Ferdinand.  He is a "bottle calf" meaning his mother rejected him and wouldn't care for him so the Atterholts had to bottle feed him, requiring a lot more resources and effort.  Murphy, the dog, loves Ferdinand.

This shot was taken in June....not February.  It was just a cold snap.

After the ranch, the chefs had a session on marketing while we bloggers got a tour of the facilities.

Certified Angus Beef® Brand headquarters has a wonderful set up for their photography and video productions.  The prop closet alone is a food blogger's dream.  

They have kitchens every time that you turn around.  I think they had a total of 4? This is the kitchen that they use for their FB Live videos.

I found out that the Certified Angus Beef® Brand is a great employer to work for.  They have an onsite physician, psychologist, and a lawyer for the staff to utilize for their personal needs! I was seriously impressed.

G-schedules are specifications set out by premium brands for the USDA graders to determine if the beef they are examining meets the premium brand's requirements. There are hundreds of them.  Certified Angus Beef® Brand's schedule is Schedule G-1 because they were the first such program in the country.

Me, Alexis, David, and Cindy in one of the many kitchens.

Cook-off

The last part of the event was the cook-off using the 5 teams.  We had to pick one of the cuts that we trimmed out on Day 2.

Scoring was based on taste, texture, appearance, presentation, and cost-effectiveness.  You also got bonus points for using more obscure cuts of beef.  We went with the mock tender.

We had access to farm fresh produce and anything in the pantries and freezers.

I was on a super-talented team, it was fun just getting to watch them in action and help out. Jorge, Matt, and JJ were rock stars.  I need to learn to cook with their speed and efficiency.

With 5 cook teams, you can imagine the kitchens were crazy busy.

Alexis shredded smoked chuck roll for her team's dish.

We used the mock tender for this Cuban-style tartare with a red-eye gravy aioli, crispy fried potatoes, a sous vide egg, and blue corn Johnny cakes.

I forget the description for this one but I know that it used the inside skirt steak

Smoked chuck roll ragu.  They smoked the chuck roll for 4 hours and then braised it to finish.  This was my personal favorite of throwdown recipes.

Thin sliced coulotte, blackberries, radish, fennell and Fresno chiles. 

The winning dish was Soy Braised Beef Belly Bao Buns with Pickled Cucumbers and Onions.

Here is the costing sheet for our dish.  You can see how using these lesser known cuts really boosts the profitability of a menu item.  Use beef tenderloin instead and you have a much different bottom line.

Before we knew it, the Chef Summit was over and it was time to bid the Culinary Center farewell.

Source: http://www.nibblemethis.com/2018/06/chef-summit-2018.html

[tariqk]

So every time I hear a dude1 bring up the specter of a super-intelligent artificial intelligence, I roll my eyes, but this current bout of wight hand-wringing has gotten me wondering if these dudes are just blowing smoke at our faces to distract us from the real issue.

Cut for some angry ranting (and footnotes, because nothing feels better than angry research!) about this subject.

Like, do I care about superintelligent Strong AI? Not particularly, for the following reasons:

Strong AI takes a lot of effort for questionable results

I think it's pretty self-evident that intelligence doesn't self-organize by you just mashing as many processing units as you can into some kind of platform, and you can get a mind. You kind of can't. At this point, jamming as many neurons as possible into a skull will just leave you with a mass of neurons and not a brain, and jamming more memristors or whatever it is that you're using for computation won't give you a brain. Or maybe it will, but that's like the beginning. You still need to train that brain, so unless you can tell me that that's been automated and that neural networks are training themselves, what's the problem? Yes, deep learning systems are outperforming humans (slightly) on tasks that were previously the province of human minds2, but right now? It's not self-directed. And yes, that's something you can do.

But the basic argument here isn't that it won't be hard to do, because it is! It's hard to do, it costs money and time, and your final result is...?

If you were going to say, “something very much like a human mind, but better”, I'm going to stop you there for a minute, and have you reconsider. You want to create an entity that has it's own volition, it's own motivations, be essentially a person... because...? You want to exploit that entity? How are you going to make it do what you want?

Let's be real here. There's a difference between “getting work done faster and more effectively” and “creating workers to exploit”. And that difference is huge. Like, one is focused on results, the other is something we've never really done before, and frankly, the idea is horrifying, from an ethical, legal and financial perspective. You're talking the mother of all liability suits, here. Or the beginnings of an atrocity. If we're talking about minds that can be killed with a switch3, created to... work tirelessly for you?

That's slavery. That's horrifying. And you want to work towards it, when the cost of being found out, or your workers demanding to be treated like people, is likely too high, and the ethical and legal cost of creating new minds might be astronomical...?

Why4?

More importantly, who the fuck would want to finance this5?

Super-intelligence may actually be impossible

Okay, let's say, because we don't really know, and it's totally plausible, that instead of aiming to create Strong AI, you focus your efforts on Weak, specialized AI, without a sense of self, that aren't people, because the ethical concerns are horrifying bad and you don't want that sort of legal and moral entanglement. And yet it happens anyway, because the space between what you're doing and Strong AI might be so porous and thin that one day they just break through.

Okay, congratulations in creating a person. Also, my condolences to your legal and ethical entanglements.

Are we doomed, though? Probably not.

Like, Robin Hanson kind of covered this in The Betterness Explosion, so I'll just quote the relevant section:

After all, we seem to have little reason to expect there is a useful grand unified theory of betterness to discover, beyond what we already know. “Betterness” seems mostly a concept about us and what we want – why should it correspond to something out there about which we can make powerful discoveries?

But a bunch of smart well-meaning folks actually do worry about a scenario that seems pretty close to this one. Except they talk about “intelligence” instead of “betterness.”

Considering the fact that our history of intelligence is not only incoherent but also indefensible, because intelligence was never seen as something to strive for, but used to exclude and murder, the fact is that well, there isn't a theory of intelligence that could be used to, I don't know, build a damn machine?

I'm remembering a time when people were buzzing about AIXI, which, well, for one thing, it's not computable6, and for another, why?

Like, end of the day, the reasoning behind artificial general intelligence is that you want to resolve AI-complete and AI-hard problems like computer vision, language translation, image classification... but if you look at the stuff that's happening in Weak AI research, that's already happening. You don't need to make smart people to solve these problem. You don't even need people.

The problem with artificial intelligence isn't the AI itself, but the people who own the AI

Basically.

Like, do I give a shit that we'll end up making people? No. because, do you know how fraught it is to actually make people the natural way?

They're expected to have rights, and you're responsible for them because you made them, and it opens the world up to this whole universe of liability that you really ought not to get into unless you really want to.

And if that happens, so what? What, they're going to destroy humanity? There are already human beings dying by the busload because there are human beings who already don't give a shit about other human beings... so what if they're replaced by not humans? Are those human beings getting killed not going to get more killed? Not particularly.

The only people who are terrified are the ones who worry that what they've visited upon the poor and the not-white and the not-abled will happen upon them, and let's be honest: if their track record for treating sapient beings is of any indication, the day that fucking happens is the day that they had it fucking coming.

Like, as if Mark Zuckenberg, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, Travis Kalanick or any Silicon Valley puke gives a flying fuck about algorithms they use to fuck people over... but they're trying to get us to care about systems that go out of their control?

Mmm-hmm, yeah, okay. Sure. Sort out your own fucking problems, assholes.

And it is a dude, and usually a white one at that ↩︎

I really need to recommend Károly Zsolnai-Fehér's YouTube channel, because not only is his channel full of insightful (and accessible!) videos on not just artificial intelligence research, but also other things, but he delivers it in this really charming way that I find very enjoyable. ↩︎

Oh, okay! You can restart them from their last state. Great, so it's not a switch to murder sapient beings, it's a switch to imprison them indefinitely. WOW THAT SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER (it does not). ↩︎

Seriously, why the fuck, though? We already have people tirelessly advocating for the rights of non-human beings, and the thought of having another corporation, or some rich bastard like Elon Musk, creating his own fucking slaves... like, yes, we do, as a society immersed in a racist capitalist system, tolerate slavery, we just don't call it that, we spend endless amounts of time working so that less people don't get outraged about that, but can you imagine when they do? You wouldn't only be fighting against your workers, but all of these angry people who've found out that you're keeping slaves in the basement. ↩︎

I'll be fair: in this age of Trump? Maybe there are sick fucks who'd want to do this. That's depressing to behold. ↩︎

Based on this thread on Stack Exchange, it's like… basically abstract everything that's difficult about AGI and push it to computing? That's fucking lazy. I mean, as it defines the universe of possibility great, but doesn't make it any easier to make AGI, and it might not even be the final form of what might eventually be AI as people? ↩︎

[encchantress]

so this guide is going to be a very very basic overview of what it’s like to WORK AT DISNEY WORLD (pt. 1)! i have a somewhat in depth knowledge of the process and what it’s actually like to be working there because i worked there doing the college program for 5 months. this will be a v v basic overview though and maybe if i feel like it, i’ll do a college program version as well, but here it is!! please like or reblog if you found this helpful!!

AFTER YOU’RE HIRED!

i only know about how you get hired via the disney college program so i’m going to gloss over that, though i will say that for the dcp you apply online, have a web interview, then a phone interview and then you find out whether or not you join the cast!!

CASTING!!!! i know for the dcp we didn’t know what role we had and what location we were going to be at until we got there, but i can’t speak for normal disney cast members. all i know is that no matter what you’ll end up at the casting building at downtown disney to get your assignment and scan fingerprints and all that!!

TRADITIONS!!!! god i’m so lit just thinking about it. traditions is the day that you’re called in to learn all about the history of disney and hear a bunch of stories about how disney has touched the lives of so many. it’s business casual, and disney is VERY strict about this. i watched a girl take off her lipstick bc a cast member told her it was too bright. basically you go to disney university and you get told a bunch of heart-warming stuff, you do some trivia and earn some figurines if you answer correctly, and there’s a box sitting in the middle of your table the whole time which you aren’t allowed to open until the end. they take you to magic kingdom and they have you wear these headsets that don’t rly work and they take you backstage through the tunnels and up into some part of magic and you just like observe what’s going on and you learn about some of the neato things you only get to learn as a cast member. then you go back to Disney University and mickey mouse himself comes to give you your name tag. of course, at the end, you get to open the box and there’s your very own pair of mickey ears waiting inside. it’s honestly life changing. 

okay, so after you have to go through this thing called operations. basically you go to DU and you’re split up into groups based on your role. your roles include:

food and beverage (quick service or full service)

retail (bibbidi bobbidi boutique/floral/merchandise/vacation planner)

entertainment (character performer/character attendant/costuming)

lodging (bell services/front desk/housekeeper)

recreation (children’s activities/lifeguard/recreation attractions)

operations (attractions/custodial/photopass)

and basically what you do in ops is you spend a full day taking a bunch of internet quizzes about personal safety, osha standards, and how to handle situations like unattended suspicious bags and lost children (although at disney they don’t say they’re lost children they say they have lost parents)

i’m gonna be honest, it’s real boring. like 90% of my day was spent trying not to fall asleep. but something else important to disney that you learn during ops are THE FOUR KEYS! The Four Keys are how Disney moderates how they’re doing as a business. The Four Keys are as followed:

SAFETY

COURTESY

EFFICIENCY

SHOW

you will get tested on these often. 

**quick note about safety. disney’s slogan for being safe while on property is “SAFE-D BEGINS WITH ME!” every cast member makes so many dick jokes using that phrase. please do it it’s so funny.**

then once you’re done with ops you’re typically sent for costuming which i’ll get into a little bit later probably bc there’s not rly that much to say on it right now other than like, just do a quick google to find out what your character will be wearing for wherever they work.

STARTING WORK!

so depending on which park you’re assigned to work (note: you will not park hop unless you’re deployed or you pick up shifts. pick one park and stick to it.) you have an orientation day. each park has a cutesy name for it 

DAKlimation (disney’s animal kingdom)

once upon a time (magic kingdom)

discovery day (epcot)

on with the show (hollywood studios)

this is basically a full day of walking around the parks, learning some of the secrets behind the theming and getting accustomed to the backstage areas. you also might ride a ride if you’re lucky (we rode kilimanjaro safaris at DAK). then you’ll start your on the job training. this can range from a week to two weeks depending and at the end of training you are tested on your knowledge of all the skills you learned during training. ((if anyone is interested in lifeguarding or quick service specifically pls don’t hesitate to ask!)) and through all this training you get to wear a cute little “earning my ears” sticker on your name tag!!

ROLES!!

honestly you can do a quick google about any of the roles above, but pls feel free to ask me questions too bc i know a lot about qsfb, lifeguarding, merch and character performer especially. i’m just going to highlight some common misconceptions (imo) below.

character performer: OKAY SO THIS IS WHERE I GET REAL NITPICKY!!! this paragraph is gonna be long so settle in. to be a character performer YOU HAVE TO GO TO AN AUDITION. and let me tell you, it is not easy. it is very likely that if you are a character performer you have auditioned a very good number of times bc disney is so specific in what they’re looking for. and character performer isn’t just someone in a costume or a lookalike. it extends to parades, shows, and even street performers like the citizens of hollywood in hollywood studios. 

there are a few different types of auditions too. they have character performer auditions where they are just generally looking for performers, but they can pull you aside for lookalikes. in character performer auditions you do a parade dance that increases in difficulty the further you go along if you haven’t been cut. in lookalike auditions you literally go into a room in groups of 50 and smile at a man for like 5 seconds and then they cut based off of that. ((if anyone wants a more detailed guide on this i can do it bc i have auditioned for disney 5 times doing both kinds of auditions))

height ranges!!!! this is also a huge thing for me bc some of yall stay trying to play like a 5′7″ bitch as tinkerbell. disney is usually pretty good about sticking to particular height rangers for costumed and face characters. 

most princesses are within the 5′4″-5′7″ range. alice and wendy are usually between 4′10″-5′2″. most costumed characters with the exclusion of most villains and goofy are between 4′11″-5′4″. 5′4″ is definitely at the v top of the height range though and might be pushing it tbh. these are all based on what i know to be true myself having met a shit ton of princesses and character performers, but there are deviants for sure. basically don’t use taylor swift as an fc for alice. cool??? cool.

quick service food and beverage: once you’re in a restaurant you typically stay there. although qsfb can also extend to outdoor vending (odv) in which case you would rotate from cart to cart (they’re the ones that sell the mickey bars and pretzels n shit), but if you work in a restaurant you typically don’t switch between that and odv. 

WORLD SHOWCASE @ EPCOT: if you’re in the world showcase, the people that work in the different countries are usually authentically from there. it would be very, very rare to have a white/european person working at one of the restaurants in mexico. i’ve honestly never met someone who wasn’t from their assigned country that worked there. i’m speaking specifically about the world showcase and not any other part of epcot. many world showcase cast members are part of the cultural representative program which means they come for 12 months and they work in either the world showcase in epcot, animal kingdom, animal kingdom lodge, or international guest relations/greeter roles. basically, if you’re gonna have your character work in a world showcase pavilion, make them from that country pls. 

attractions: if you work attractions, you are most likely not just working at one ride for your entire life. for example: in adventureland in magic kingdom, those attractions workers work aladdin’s magic carpet ride, the enchanted tiki room, swiss family robinson treehouse and anything else in the area. basically if a land or a certain area within the park has the same costume, you’re working all of it so i’d familiarize yourself with just how many attractions your character might be working. 

**quick note again: not every job is within a disney park. you may get a job at disney springs, water parks, or resorts!!!**

WORK THINGS!!!

when you’re working, disney has you on a strict points system. if you’re late to work, they dock you half a point. if you miss your shift/call out, they dock you a point. if you get 3 points within 30 days you get what’s called a reprimand. and this is not good my friends. you get 3 reprimands within 3 months and you’re out. like out out. like turn in your blue card and get out. you can get authorized days off or (ADO’s) but you have to request off like crazy early or get someone to take your shift. 

ahh!!! blue cards!!!! your blue card, or blue ID, is what identifies you as a cast member at disney. it’s also what you flash to bypass paying for parking, and it’s what gets you through the gates to get you backstage at disney. you don’t have it, you’re fucked basically. blue IDs also get you discounts on merchandise and food at some QSFB restaurants.

MAIN GATES!!!! your key to the kingdom!!! your maingate is your entry pass to all the parks. it serves as a park hopper. you also get 3 guest passes which, depending on if you’re a cp, part time or full time has so many passes on it for whomever you wish to bring with you into the parks. 

you answer to two people while you work at disney. your coordinators and your leaders. your coordinators are out on stage with you and there’s usually like 2-4 of them depending on how large your location is. they’re who you ask for help in a pinch. your leaders are like your managers. they give you a briefing in the morning before you open, they make tough calls, and they have to ability to smooth over almost any situation effortlessly. if you have a reeeeally angry guest, you better call ur leader. 

when you’re not on stage, you are backstage. i literally cannot stress this enough. if you’re on break you should not be seen or heard. there are break rooms for every section of each park and if you’re not on your feet, you’re back there. they’re not nice. they’re small, crowded, and usually smell. there are larger cafeterias within every park though (at DAK ours was called PRIDE ROCK) but they’re usually quite a walk depending on where you work.

BREAKS!!! if you’re working at disney that means you’re typically spending 6+ hours on your feet and however long your shift is is how long your break is. 6 hour shift?? you’ve probably got one 15 min break. 8 hours?? prolly one 30 min. break. 10 hours??? that’s when you get the hour long break.  oh also that 10 hour shift you were scheduled for?? it just turned into a 13 hour shift thanks to a force extend. you’re welcome. but you’re in luck!!! sometimes you get an early release or an ER!!! that’s when they don’t need you so they’re like fuck it go home. 

oh also everything is in military time.

GLOSSARY (terms cast members use a lot)

cast members - if you work for the walt disney company you are a cast member, not an employee 

DU - disney university (yes it exists and it’s fuckin baller on the inside)

company d - this is a store inside disney university. it’s where you can get exclusive cast merch and also you can buy your discounted party tickets there

cast connections - ok this is honestly disney’s best kept secret. cast connections is this huge store where u can buy so much shit for like 75% off. they even have a small grocery section where everything is hella cheap. you have to be cast to buy shit.

costuming - where you go to get your costumes duh. there’s one at every park, but magic kingdom’s is at west clock.

west clock - ok so basically not all mk cast is allowed to park in the parking lot like at other parks so there’s this thing called west clock that has a huge parking lot and it’s where disney university and magic king costuming is. you go to west clock and then take a bus to get to magic.

tunnels/utilidor - backstage at MK consists of the utilidors or tunnels as they’re often called. MK is the only park with tunnels and they’re fuckin extensive. there are colored lines on the walls that can direct you to where you need to go, but it’s still confusing as hell.

qsfb/fsfb - quick service/full service food and beverage

merch - merchandise

odv - outdoor vending

stands west/stands east - a variation of working merchandise in the parks. you work at the small stands instead of the shops

four keys card - if a fellow cast member or guest thinks you’ve successfully exemplified the four keys, they give you a four keys card. this is for recognition and it also takes a point off of your record.

MK - magic kingdom

DAK - disney’s animal kingdom

DHS - disney’s hollywood studios

CP - college program

ER - early release

force extend - when they fucking extend your shift without asking u

ADO - authorized day off

deployed - sometimes you get asked to work in a different park for a few days or weeks, they call this being deployed.

on stage - when you’re on the job in front of guests

backstage - the areas where you can’t be seen by guests

guests - not customers, guests.

honestly there’s probably so much more i need to cover, but that’s just a lil taste of what it’s like to work at disney. i might add onto this later or just make a second guide. if you have any questions about anything specific, the disney college program, qsfb or animal kingdom rly let me know bc i know the most about those things, but i’m knowledgeable in A LOT of other stuff too. 

[ask-the-amazing-helix]

just to warn you this ones a long one but i hope you still give it a shot and enjoy the story but yay lore, thats right im actually capable of that, if you like my art or the story please leave a like and consider reblogging it just takes a sec and lets me know what you all think.

anyways story stuff below the break, also sorry if its a little sloppy i suck at writing but if theres anything you curious about please feel free to send an ask anytime)

Eco and Helix walked through the school, Eco pointing out some of the rooms as they walked to help him learn the layout of the school

Eco: aaand here we are this is Professor Gages class, she teaches the science and stuff behind magic so she studies all sorts of magic to learn about how it works and stuff.

Professor Gage was reading a book and upon hearing Eco approach she closed the book and watched them come in

Gage: Hello miss Weaver i’m surprised to see you at school so early, should we be worried?

Gage chuckled and eco stuck her tongue out

Eco: ha ha very funny but no i met this dude yesterday while chasing bonebutt..

Gage cut her off

Gage: miss Weaver we’ve been through this you need to leave him to the authorities the canterlot reaper is very dangerous and to be avoided NOT pursued.

Eco scoffed and rolled her eyes

Eco: yeah yeah i know but i heard i scream and i wanted to help... i totally wasn't already searching for him... but uhh its ok he got away before i got there anyways, this dude scared him off and hes a mancer and hes comming to this school soon and he needs to get good fast and I WANNA SEE HIS FAMILIAR... buut he doen’t know anything about stuff so i thought id bring him to you...oh yeah his names Helix by the way

Helix just stared as Eco said all that in a single breath leaving her to catch her breath at the moment

Gage: a mancer huh? i’ve been very eager to meet more after my chats with Eco here, what kind of mancer are you?

Helix: uh yeah i didn't really know about any of this till a couple months ago, i just studied magic trying to learn anything i could, but i’ve always learned fire and water magic pretty easily and a couple months ago i was returning some books to the ponyville library and one of them was about pyromancy. that’s actually what led to me applying here after finding out i was a pyromancer twilight wanted me to come here to improve my magic so she could learn more about pyromancy and not long after that we found out i also know hydromancy.

Gages eyes lit up at hearing that

Gage: pyromancy AND hydromancy? well thats very interesting, well at least your name makes more sense now.

Helix gave her a confused look

Helix: makes sense? i’m not even sure what it means is it like an element thing or something?

Gage: no, i suppose technically you're name should be double helix for it to fit in that sense. a helix is a spiral or a vortex, so your cutie mark is kind of like a double helix but no by makes sense i meant it as in its like a yin yang spiral... if that makes sense. a yin yang is kind of like a balance between good and evil which is perfect because of pyromancy being dark magic and i suppose hyromancy would be considered holy magic since its based on purity. oh this will be soo fun i’ve never been about to personally study dark magic before

Eco: yeah its that cool your’e like some anime dude, i bet you got a troubled past and hey you even got the hair

Helixs eyes widened and jaw dropped 

Helix: whoa whoa whoa wait dark magic? no that’s not right dark magic is like you know dark, its evil, im not evil.

he just stood there eyes frozen in shock as Gage continued

Gage: no no no dark magic isnt ‘evil’ its just dangerous and can corrupt your mind if you are not careful but so are a lot of things we still use like money its only dangerous if you’re careless with it. but yes pyromancy is dark magic... hmm maybe it would be simpler if i just explain where mancies came from.

you seen over a thousand years ago after the princesses celestia and luna took over after helping protect the newly founded equestria the sisters took it upon themselves to aid the ponies in any way they could to help them build the world we know today as the rulers. they didn't take over to control everything no they took over to protect everything. you wont find it in any books i probably shouldn't say this but i just find it so interesting but the sisters weren't born alicorns, one was a unicorn and the other a pegasi, and through using the elements of harmony they were granted immense power thus making them alicorns to accommodate that power.

after they took over princess celestia took over all matters of politics and public relations due to her inexperience with magic and princess luna took over security with her new power to ensure everyponies safety but luna wasn't just content with that. she didn’t want to just protect them she wanted to help them grow so she actually created hydromancy and terramancy to help with farming and to heal the sick and injured and after that she created geomancy due to its versatility and then gaiamancy later to help the ponies protect themselves when a neighboring nation attempted to invade.

sadly despite everything princess luna had done princess celestia had a natural charisma and between that and luna doing so much of her work behind the scenes the ponies of equestria favored celestia over her and every day it gnawed at her mind till eventually the darkness in her heart took over turning her into nightmare moon but things weren't as cut and dry as most history books claim.

according to several texts i’ve found that had nearly been lost to time the princesses didnt just fight no no no there was actually a war that broke out, some texts refer to it as the lunar rebellion others called it the dark ages. the war waged for years, how many exactly i still have no idea but it had to of lasted several years at least and it ultimately ended in the finally battle we know in the stories that led celestia to sealing luna away on the moon for the next thousand years.

during the war however the mancies took a crucial role as they were the most advanced magic of that era so with that in mind nightmare moon created two more mancies before she was finally stopped, pyromancy was made as a weapon to counter the healing of hydromancy and necromancy was created to keep nightmare moons arm fighting so long as her nightmare generals lived.

so in your case your cutie mark resembling a yin yang could be considered an example of balance between good and evil, or a double helix of light and dark.

so how much have you learned on your own so far? i cant wait to study you i have so many questions.

helix just stood there still in shock having a hard time taking everything in

Gage: Helix?

Eco: i think you fried him prof you got too wordy and blew his mind i think

eco poked helix a couple times

Eco: welp this isn't going anywhere for a while i’m gonna go play outside

Gage: you know very well classes will be starting soon

Eco: i know and class sucks. im just taking recess early

Gage: this isn't elementary school we don’t have recess

before she could finish eco was already gone so she looked back at helix

Gage: hmm i should probably take you to the nurses office so i can finish preparing todays lesson.

[readbookywooks]

3 Buttercup's eyes reflect the faint glow of the safety light over the door as he lies in the crook of Prim's arm, back on the job, protecting her from the night. She's snuggled close to my mother. Asleep, they look just as they did the morning of the reaping that landed me in my first Games. I have a bed to myself because I'm recuperating and because no one can sleep with me anyway, what with the nightmares and the thrashing around. After tossing and turning for hours, I finally accept that it will be a wakeful night. Under Buttercup's watchful eye, I tiptoe across the cold tiled floor to the dresser. The middle drawer contains my government-issued clothes. Everyone wears the same gray pants and shirt, the shirt tucked in at the waist. Underneath the clothes, I keep the few items I had on me when I was lifted from the arena. My mockingjay pin. Peeta's token, the gold locket with photos of my mother and Prim and Gale inside. A silver parachute that holds a spile for tapping trees, and the pearl Peeta gave me a few hours before I blew out the force field. District 13 confiscated my tube of skin ointment for use in the hospital, and my bow and arrows because only guards have clearance to carry weapons. They're in safekeeping in the armory. I feel around for the parachute and slide my fingers inside until they close around the pearl. I sit back on my bed cross-legged and find myself rubbing the smooth iridescent surface of the pearl back and forth against my lips. For some reason, it's soothing. A cool kiss from the giver himself. "Katniss?" Prim whispers. She's awake, peering at me through the darkness. "What's wrong?" "Nothing. Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." It's automatic. Shutting Prim and my mother out of things to shield them. Careful not to rouse my mother, Prim eases herself from the bed, scoops up Buttercup, and sits beside me. She touches the hand that has curled around the pearl. "You're cold." Taking a spare blanket from the foot of the bed, she wraps it around all three of us, enveloping me in her warmth and Buttercup's furry heat as well. "You could tell me, you know. I'm good at keeping secrets. Even from Mother." She's really gone, then. The little girl with the back of her shirt sticking out like a duck tail, the one who needed help reaching the dishes, and who begged to see the frosted cakes in the bakery window. Time and tragedy have forced her to grow too quickly, at least for my taste, into a young woman who stitches bleeding wounds and knows our mother can hear only so much. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to agree to be the Mockingjay," I tell her. "Because you want to or because you feel forced into it?" she asks. I laugh a little. "Both, I guess. No, I want to. I have to, if it will help the rebels defeat Snow." I squeeze the pearl more tightly in my fist. "It's just...Peeta. I'm afraid if we do win, the rebels will execute him as a traitor." Prim thinks this over. "Katniss, I don't think you understand how important you are to the cause. Important people usually get what they want. If you want to keep Peeta safe from the rebels, you can." I guess I'm important. They went to a lot of trouble to rescue me. They took me to 12. "You mean...I could demand that they give Peeta immunity? And they'd have to agree to it?" "I think you could demand almost anything and they'd have to agree to it." Prim wrinkles her brow. "Only how do you know they'll keep their word?" I remember all of the lies Haymitch told Peeta and me to get us to do what he wanted. What's to keep the rebels from reneging on the deal? A verbal promise behind closed doors, even a statement written on paper - these could easily evaporate after the war. Their existence or validity denied. Any witnesses in Command will be worthless. In fact, they'd probably be the ones writing out Peeta's death warrant. I'll need a much larger pool of witnesses. I'll need everyone I can get. "It will have to be public," I say. Buttercup gives a flick of his tail that I take as agreement. "I'll make Coin announce it in front of the entire population of Thirteen." Prim smiles. "Oh, that's good. It's not a guarantee, but it will be much harder for them to back out of their promise." I feel the kind of relief that follows an actual solution. "I should wake you up more often, little duck." "I wish you would," says Prim. She gives me a kiss. "Try and sleep now, all right?" And I do. In the morning, I see that 7:00 - Breakfast is directly followed by 7:30 - Command , which is fine since I may as well start the ball rolling. At the dining hall, I flash my schedule, which includes some kind of ID number, in front of a sensor. As I slide my tray along the metal shelf before the vats of food, I see breakfast is its usual dependable self - a bowl of hot grain, a cup of milk, and a small scoop of fruit or vegetables. Today, mashed turnips. All of it comes from 13's underground farms. I sit at the table assigned to the Everdeens and the Hawthornes and some other refugees, and shovel my food down, wishing for seconds, but there are never seconds here. They have nutrition down to a science. You leave with enough calories to take you to the next meal, no more, no less. Serving size is based on your age, height, body type, health, and amount of physical labor required by your schedule. The people from 12 are already getting slightly larger portions than the natives of 13 in an effort to bring us up to weight. I guess bony soldiers tire too quickly. It's working, though. In just a month, we're starting to look healthier, particularly the kids. Gale sets his tray beside me and I try not to stare at his turnips too pathetically, because I really want more, and he's already too quick to slip me his food. Even though I turn my attention to neatly folding my napkin, a spoonful of turnips slops into my bowl. "You've got to stop that," I say. But since I'm already scooping up the stuff, it's not too convincing. "Really. It's probably illegal or something." They have very strict rules about food. For instance, if you don't finish something and want to save it for later, you can't take it from the dining hall. Apparently, in the early days, there was some incident of food hoarding. For a couple of people like Gale and me, who've been in charge of our families' food supply for years, it doesn't sit well. We know how to be hungry, but not how to be told how to handle what provisions we have. In some ways, District 13 is even more controlling than the Capitol. "What can they do? They've already got my communicuff," says Gale. As I scrape my bowl clean, I have an inspiration. "Hey, maybe I should make that a condition of being the Mockingjay." "That I can feed you turnips?" he says. "No, that we can hunt." That gets his attention. "We'd have to give everything to the kitchen. But still, we could..." I don't have to finish because he knows. We could be aboveground. Out in the woods. We could be ourselves again. "Do it," he says. "Now's the time. You could ask for the moon and they'd have to find some way to get it." He doesn't know that I'm already asking for the moon by demanding they spare Peeta's life. Before I can decide whether or not to tell him, a bell signals the end of our eating shift. The thought of facing Coin alone makes me nervous. "What are you scheduled for?" Gale checks his arm. "Nuclear History class. Where, by the way, your absence has been noted." "I have to go to Command. Come with me?" I ask. "All right. But they might throw me out after yesterday." As we go to drop off our trays, he says, "You know, you better put Buttercup on your list of demands, too. I don't think the concept of useless pets is well known here." "Oh, they'll find him a job. Tattoo it on his paw every morning," I say. But I make a mental note to include him for Prim's sake. By the time we get to Command, Coin, Plutarch, and all their people have already assembled. The sight of Gale raises some eyebrows, but no one throws him out. My mental notes have become too jumbled, so I ask for a piece of paper and a pencil right off. My apparent interest in the proceedings - the first I've shown since I've been here - takes them by surprise. Several looks are exchanged. Probably they had some extra-special lecture planned for me. But instead, Coin personally hands me the supplies, and everyone waits in silence while I sit at the table and scrawl out my list.Buttercup. Hunting. Peeta's immunity. Announced in public. This is it. Probably my only chance to bargain.Think. What else do you want? I feel him, standing at my shoulder.Gale , I add to the list. I don't think I can do this without him. The headache's coming on and my thoughts begin to tangle. I shut my eyes and start to recite silently. My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I escaped. The Capitol hates me. Peeta was taken prisoner. He is alive. He is a traitor but alive. I have to keep him alive.... The list. It still seems too small. I should try to think bigger, beyond our current situation where I am of the utmost importance, to the future where I may be worth nothing. Shouldn't I be asking for more? For my family? For the remainder of my people? My skin itches with the ashes of the dead. I feel the sickening impact of the skull against my shoe. The scent of blood and roses stings my nose. The pencil moves across the page on its own. I open my eyes and see the wobbly letters.I KILL SNOW. If he's captured, I want the privilege. Plutarch gives a discreet cough. "About done there?" I glance up and notice the clock. I've been sitting here for twenty minutes. Finnick isn't the only one with attention problems. "Yeah," I say. My voice sounds hoarse, so I clear my throat. "Yeah, so this is the deal. I'll be your Mockingjay." I wait so they can make their sounds of relief, congratulate, slap one another on the back. Coin stays as impassive as ever, watching me, unimpressed. "But I have some conditions." I smooth out the list and begin. "My family gets to keep our cat." My tiniest request sets off an argument. The Capitol rebels see this as a nonissue - of course, I can keep my pet - while those from 13 spell out what extreme difficulties this presents. Finally it's worked out that we'll be moved to the top level, which has the luxury of an eight-inch window aboveground. Buttercup may come and go to do his business. He will be expected to feed himself. If he misses curfew, he will be locked out. If he causes any security problems, he'll be shot immediately. That sounds okay. Not so different from how he's been living since we left. Except for the shooting part. If he looks too thin, I can slip him a few entrails, provided my next request is allowed. "I want to hunt. With Gale. Out in the woods," I say. This gives everyone pause. "We won't go far. We'll use our own bows. You can have the meat for the kitchen," adds Gale. I hurry on before they can say no. "It's just...I can't breathe shut up here like a...I would get better, faster, if...I could hunt." Plutarch begins to explain the drawbacks here - the dangers, the extra security, the risk of injury - but Coin cuts him off. "No. Let them. Give them two hours a day, deducted from their training time. A quarter-mile radius. With communication units and tracker anklets. What's next?" I skim my list. "Gale. I'll need him with me to do this." "With you how? Off camera? By your side at all times? Do you want him presented as your new lover?" Coin asks. She hasn't said this with any particular malice - quite the contrary, her words are very matter-of-fact. But my mouth still drops open in shock. "What?" "I think we should continue the current romance. A quick defection from Peeta could cause the audience to lose sympathy for her," says Plutarch. "Especially since they think she's pregnant with his child." "Agreed. So, on-screen, Gale can simply be portrayed as a fellow rebel. Is that all right?" says Coin. I just stare at her. She repeats herself impatiently. "For Gale. Will that be sufficient?" "We can always work him in as your cousin," says Fulvia. "We're not cousins," Gale and I say together. "Right, but we should probably keep that up for appearances' sake on camera," says Plutarch. "Off camera, he's all yours. Anything else?" I'm rattled by the turn in the conversation. The implications that I could so readily dispose of Peeta, that I'm in love with Gale, that the whole thing has been an act. My cheeks begin to burn. The very notion that I'm devoting any thought to who I want presented as my lover, given our current circumstances, is demeaning. I let my anger propel me into my greatest demand. "When the war is over, if we've won, Peeta will be pardoned." Dead silence. I feel Gale's body tense. I guess I should have told him before, but I wasn't sure how he'd respond. Not when it involved Peeta. "No form of punishment will be inflicted," I continue. A new thought occurs to me. "The same goes for the other captured tributes, Johanna and Enobaria." Frankly, I don't care about Enobaria, the vicious District 2 tribute. In fact, I dislike her, but it seems wrong to leave her out. "No," says Coin flatly. "Yes," I shoot back. "It's not their fault you abandoned them in the arena. Who knows what the Capitol's doing to them?" "They'll be tried with other war criminals and treated as the tribunal sees fit," she says. "They'll be granted immunity!" I feel myself rising from my chair, my voice full and resonant. "You will personally pledge this in front of the entire population of District Thirteen and the remainder of Twelve. Soon. Today. It will be recorded for future generations. You will hold yourself and your government responsible for their safety, or you'll find yourself another Mockingjay!" My words hang in the air for a long moment. "That's her!" I hear Fulvia hiss to Plutarch. "Right there. With the costume, gunfire in the background, just a hint of smoke." "Yes, that's what we want," says Plutarch under his breath. I want to glare at them, but I feel it would be a mistake to turn my attention from Coin. I can see her tallying the cost of my ultimatum, weighing it against my possible worth. "What do you say, President?" asks Plutarch. "You could issue an official pardon, given the circumstances. The boy...he's not even of age." "All right," Coin says finally. "But you'd better perform." "I'll perform when you've made the announcement," I say. "Call a national security assembly during Reflection today," she orders. "I'll make the announcement then. Is there anything left on your list, Katniss?" My paper's crumpled into a ball in my right fist. I flatten the sheet against the table and read the rickety letters. "Just one more thing. I kill Snow." For the first time ever, I see the hint of a smile on the president's lips. "When the time comes, I'll flip you for it." Maybe she's right. I certainly don't have the sole claim against Snow's life. And I think I can count on her getting the job done. "Fair enough." Coin's eyes have flickered to her arm, the clock. She, too, has a schedule to adhere to. "I'll leave her in your hands, then, Plutarch." She exits the room, followed by her team, leaving only Plutarch, Fulvia, Gale, and myself. "Excellent. Excellent." Plutarch sinks down, elbows on the table, rubbing his eyes. "You know what I miss? More than anything? Coffee. I ask you, would it be so unthinkable to have something to wash down the gruel and turnips?" "We didn't think it would be quite so rigid here," Fulvia explains to us as she massages Plutarch's shoulders. "Not in the higher ranks." "Or at least there'd be the option of a little side action," says Plutarch. "I mean, even Twelve had a black market, right?" "Yeah, the Hob," says Gale. "It's where we traded." "There, you see? And look how moral you two are! Virtually incorruptible." Plutarch sighs. "Oh, well, wars don't last forever. So, glad to have you on the team." He reaches a hand out to the side, where Fulvia is already extending a large sketchbook bound in black leather. "You know in general what we're asking of you, Katniss. I'm aware you have mixed feelings about participating. I hope this will help." Plutarch slides the sketchbook across to me. For a moment, I look at it suspiciously. Then curiosity gets the better of me. I open the cover to find a picture of myself, standing straight and strong, in a black uniform. Only one person could have designed the outfit, at first glance utterly utilitarian, at second a work of art. The swoop of the helmet, the curve to the breastplate, the slight fullness of the sleeves that allows the white folds under the arms to show. In his hands, I am again a mockingjay. "Cinna," I whisper. "Yes. He made me promise not to show you this book until you'd decided to be the Mockingjay on your own. Believe me, I was very tempted," says Plutarch. "Go on. Flip through." I turn the pages slowly, seeing each detail of the uniform. The carefully tailored layers of body armor, the hidden weapons in the boots and belt, the special reinforcements over my heart. On the final page, under a sketch of my mockingjay pin, Cinna's written, I'm still betting on you. "When did he..." My voice fails me. "Let's see. Well, after the Quarter Quell announcement. A few weeks before the Games maybe? There are not only the sketches. We have your uniforms. Oh, and Beetee's got something really special waiting for you down in the armory. I won't spoil it by hinting," says Plutarch. "You're going to be the best-dressed rebel in history," says Gale with a smile. Suddenly, I realize he's been holding out on me. Like Cinna, he's wanted me to make this decision all along. "Our plan is to launch an Airtime Assault," says Plutarch. "To make a series of what we call propos - which is short for 'propaganda spots' - featuring you, and broadcast them to the entire population of Panem." "How? The Capitol has sole control of the broadcasts," says Gale. "But we have Beetee. About ten years ago, he essentially redesigned the underground network that transmits all the programming. He thinks there's a reasonable chance it can be done. Of course, we'll need something to air. So, Katniss, the studio awaits your pleasure." Plutarch turns to his assistant. "Fulvia?" "Plutarch and I have been talking about how on earth we can pull this off. We think that it might be best to build you, our rebel leader, from the outside...in. That is to say, let's find the most stunning Mockingjay look possible, and then work your personality up to deserving it!" she says brightly. "You already have her uniform," says Gale. "Yes, but is she scarred and bloody? Is she glowing with the fire of rebellion? Just how grimy can we make her without disgusting people? At any rate, she has to be something. I mean, obviously this" - Fulvia moves in on me quickly, framing my face with her hands - "won't cut it." I jerk my head back reflexively but she's already busy gathering her things. "So, with that in mind, we have another little surprise for you. Come, come." Fulvia gives us a wave, and Gale and I follow her and Plutarch out into the hall. "So well intended, and yet so insulting," Gale whispers in my ear. "Welcome to the Capitol," I mouth back. But Fulvia's words have no effect on me. I wrap my arms tightly around the sketchbook and allow myself to feel hopeful. This must be the right decision. If Cinna wanted it. We board an elevator, and Plutarch checks his notes. "Let's see. It's Compartment Three-Nine-Oh-Eight." He presses a button marked 39 , but nothing happens. "You must have to key it," says Fulvia. Plutarch pulls a key attached to a thin chain from under his shirt and inserts it into a slot I hadn't noticed before. The doors slide shut. "Ah, there we are." The elevator descends ten, twenty, thirty-plus levels, farther down than I even knew District 13 went. It opens on a wide white corridor lined with red doors, which look almost decorative compared to the gray ones on the upper floors. Each is plainly marked with a number 3901, 3902, 3903 ... As we step out, I glance behind me to watch the elevator close and see a metallic grate slide into place over the regular doors. When I turn, a guard has materialized from one of the rooms at the far end of the corridor. A door swings silently shut behind him as he strides toward us. Plutarch moves to meet him, raising a hand in greeting, and the rest of us follow behind him. Something feels very wrong down here. It's more than the reinforced elevator, or the claustrophobia of being so far underground, or the caustic smell of antiseptic. One look at Gale's face and I can tell he senses it as well. "Good morning, we were just looking for - " Plutarch begins. "You have the wrong floor," says the guard abruptly. "Really?" Plutarch double-checks his notes. "I've got Three-Nine-Oh-Eight written right here. I wonder if you could just give a call up to - " "I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave now. Assignment discrepancies can be addressed at the Head Office," says the guard. It's right ahead of us. Compartment 3908. Just a few steps away. The door - in fact, all the doors - seem incomplete. No knobs. They must swing free on hinges like the one the guard appeared through. "Where is that again?" asks Fulvia. "You'll find the Head Office on Level Seven," says the guard, extending his arms to corral us back to the elevator. From behind door 3908 comes a sound. Just a tiny whimper. Like something a cowed dog might make to avoid being struck, only all too human and familiar. My eyes meet Gale's for just a moment, but it's long enough for two people who operate the way we do. I let Cinna's sketchbook fall at the guard's feet with a loud bang. A second after he leans down to retrieve it, Gale leans down, too, intentionally bumping heads. "Oh, I'm sorry," he says with a light laugh, catching the guard's arms as if to steady himself, turning him slightly away from me. That's my chance. I dart around the distracted guard, push open the door marked 3908 , and find them. Half-naked, bruised, and shackled to the wall. My prep team.

[salfordelim]

This is the first of what will be a weekly communication. We don’t want it to be too long, and we do want it to be helpful and interesting, a place where we hear from each other.

It’ll have 4 basic sections: a reflective piece from Neil; an interview, a podcast or something similar; room for news; links to websites that might be helpful/interesting.

Please do get involved – if you find things or want to contribute – contact Neil who will be responsible for the content.

If you have problems connecting with anything we link to – then contact Phil.

If there are things that have upset you and you want to rant at someone – see Ian 😉.

When an Earworm

You know you have an earworm when you find yourself repeating a piece of music long after it is playing. I’ve had mine since last July. I heard this song by Frank Turner:

This is how it begins:

History’s been leaning on me lately I can feel the future breathing down my neck And all the things I thought were true When I was young, and you were too Turned out to be broken And I don’t know what comes next

In a world that has decided That it’s going to lose its mind Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind …

(you can read the lyrics here: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107859571744/)

It’s that last line that kept going through my head and wouldn’t leave. And it still won’t. It feels more relevant than ever.

When things are uncertain and we panic, or when we feel under stress, one of the first things that goes is our kindness.

1. Be kind to yourself

Over the next weeks some of you will have some bad days. You’ll might feel depressed, lonely, bored or just angry at a new group of people: #coronidiots. They are the ones who when told to stay home, think it doesn’t apply to them and carry on regardless.

There will be days when you just have to say to yourself: ‘yep, it’s rubbish!’. There are days when deep sighs might be in plentiful supply. You’re in good company, David was there as well (Psalm 5):

Listen to my words, O Lord,     consider my sighing.

2  Listen to my cry for help,     my King and my God,     for to you I pray.

3 Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;     morning by morning I lay my requests before you     and wait expectantly.

2. Be kind to those with you

If you are at home with your family a lot more than usually, you might need to discover deep wells of kindness. When I saw this it made me laugh a lot:

Here’s the thing: the folks that are with you – they are also going to have bad days. They may even find it difficult having you around all the time! ‘Normal life’ might have actually cushioned you against some of the trickier things about your relationships. That’s why you need to choose to be kind. To your spouses – choose to love them through this time. Kindness is not about feeling – it’s about the nitty gritty concrete actions. Act with kindness and see what happens to feelings.

And if you have kids around – be kind to them. Some of them have had a rubbish end to their school term, and in some cases school life. They will be bored at times. They will be frustrated. They will want to be in front of a screen more than you might want them to be. Before letting go at them – take a breath – and be kind.

3. Be kind to those around you

There will be ways to help others in days to come – and some of you might be involved. But watch out for neighbours. Contact them and see if they are ok. They may be. It’s worth an ask. Just be kind.

It’s the fruit of the Spirit stuff (Galatians 5:22). It’s the overflow of the life of God at work in you. Let it flow.

News

Everyone in the church has been ‘put’ into a Connect Group. This is not the same as the Connect meal groups! These are new groups just for this time when we can’t meet together.

If anyone has been missed – it will be a mistake. Please let Neil know.

Our hope is that these groups can be places where you can share news – and some of that would be great to go into this section of the newsletter. So let us know!

Watch

Each week we will have a chance to link to an interview with someone in church or maybe some of us waffling away together. We have a number of folks who are working in health care. Kate is one of our doctors and so I asked her if we could get to know her a bit more to begin this series.

Links

These are some resources that you might find helpful.

I am constantly in awe at the material produced by the folks at The Bible Project. They explain complicated things really well. And they do so in short bursts. Brilliant. If you have time to while away you could trawl through this site and it would be time well spent.

Visit ‘The Bible Project’

Charlie’s offered this: Here is a new series (The Chosen) that I would recommend for your list of ‘things to watch and do’.

It comes as an app that you download, rather than being through Netflix etc. It is events in the life of Jesus from the perspective of different disciples and is faithful to the text.

Visit ‘The Chosen’

If you have little people in your household, Jemma suggested Awesome Cutlery.

If you have children this will be brilliant. (If you don’t have children it will still be brilliant, but maybe not as engaging) Samuel loves Awesome Cutlery – crazy, zany and bible based brilliance.

Visit ‘Awesome Cutlery’

You probably have your own fave go-to-places. Let Neil know and we will share them far and wide!

And finally…

Don’t forget to join us for our online service this Sunday at 10.30am: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/836810848 (Meeting ID: 836 810 848)

[jodyedgarus]

MLB Is Increasingly A Father-Son Game

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Within a 30-foot radius in the Toronto Blue Jays’ cramped spring training clubhouse are locker spaces adorned with the nameplates Guerrero, Biggio and Bichette. Any baseball fan of the 1990s and early 2000s would recognize these surnames: Vladimir Guerrero, Craig Biggio and Dante Bichette combined for 20 All-Star Game appearances across two decades. But these lockers belong to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette, who have combined for zero big-league at-bats to date. They are on the cusp of the majors, prospects invited to camp in the sleepy Gulf Coast town of Dunedin, Florida.

But expectations are high for the Blue Jays’ young trio. Guerrero is the No. 1 prospect in the game according to most evaluators. Bichette is considered a top 20 prospect. And Biggio dramatically elevated his prospect status last season. Another son of a former big leaguer, pitcher Mark Leiter Jr., was also in the clubhouse before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Second-generation prospects are not limited to the Toronto system, either. ESPN’s Keith Law has San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., another legacy, as the game’s No. 1 prospect, while Pittsburgh’s Ke’Bryan Hayes — son of Charlie — is also a top 20 prospect. And numerous legacy prospects are or will soon be contributing to their big-league clubs: Adalberto Mondesi (son of Raul) is expected to be in the Royals’ starting lineup, Lance McCullers Jr. is a fixture in the Astros’ rotation when healthy, and slugger Cody Bellinger (son of Clay) has already earned an All-Star nod for the Dodgers.

If it seems like the kids of former big leaguers are taking over the sport this spring, it’s because they kind of are — they’re making the majors at rates far greater than the general population.

Whether it’s Guerrero, Bichette, Biggio or another prospect, the next child of a major leaguer to reach the majors will set a record for legacy debuts in a single decade. Entering 2019, the 2010s (44 debuts) are tied with the 1990s for most such debuts, according to Baseball-Reference.com data analyzed by FiveThirtyEight. The share of debuts by sons of major leaguers this decade is the second-highest on record (2.1 percent), and could perhaps challenge the 1990s record (2.3 percent) by the close of the season.

But it’s how the progeny of former players are reaching the pinnacle of the sport, and at increasing numbers, that is misunderstood.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions,” said Zach Schonbrun, author of the “Performance Cortex: How Neuroscience Is Redefining Athletic Genius.” “Everyone thinks two great athletes are going to come together and they are going to have a kid, and that kid is automatically going to become a superstar. It’s not so easy.”

Imitation game

When Cavan Biggio and his brother, Conor (who was drafted by the Astros in 2015), were in elementary school, Craig Biggio picked them up from school when the Astros were at home. They traveled straight to Minute Maid Park for the Astros’ pre-game batting practice. During games, Cavan and Conor didn’t spend their time in the family section; rather, they confined themselves to the Astros’ concrete bunker of a batting cage in the bowels of the stadium. They would hit off the tee and play games in the space, only vacating it if an Astros bench player came to get ready for a pinch-hitting at-bat. They observed the swings and collected the balls swatted into the nylon netting. The only other time they would pause is to watch their dad’s at-bats when their attention turned to the bubble-screen TV attached above cage.

Like his dad, Cavan has a two-handed finish in his swing. This is not a coincidence. “The only thing he would say to me, mechanically, was ‘Two-handed finish, two-handed finish,’” Cavan said. “I still hear it today ‘Two-handed finish’ OK. I know [Dad]. I got it.”

He’s not alone in mimicking what made his dad so successful. The swing of Bo Bichette is also similar to his father’s.

Another look at Dante Bichette's swing mechanics next to his son, #BlueJays prospect, Bo Bichette. #MiLB @2080ball pic.twitter.com/w0xelhaKAA

— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) May 13, 2017

Vlad Jr.? Like father, like son:

It’s not just at the plate, too. In Pirates camp, Hayes is renowned for his defensive ability at third base. “My mom says that our mannerisms on defense, the way we stand and stuff like that, are exactly the same,” Hayes said.

Driveline Baseball’s Kyle Boddy studies athletic movement patterns and is on the vanguard of player development in baseball. In speaking with Boddy for reporting on the “The MVP Machine,” he said the greatest advantage in being the son of a major leaguer is in mimicking movement patterns. After all, early-life imitation is key in motor learning. He cited the throwing motion of Astros’ McCullers Jr., which closely resembles that of his father’s.

Lance McCullers, Sr., Mechanics comparison side by side with @LMcCullers43 [H/T @sung_minkim ] pic.twitter.com/S0VWnoQvJG

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 14, 2017

Boddy suspects the children of major leaguers succeed at abnormally high rates. With the available data it’s difficult to know exactly how their success rate compares to the general population, but there are suggestions that it’s far better.

The proportion of U.S. high school players compared to domestic-born major leaguers has stayed more or less the same. In every year since 1978, there have been almost exactly 500 high school players in the country for every one U.S.-born major leaguer, according to Baseball-Reference.com and National Federation of State High School Associations data. That’s a success rate of about 0.2 percent. We don’t know the total number of major league progeny playing baseball, so we can’t make a direct comparison. But, over the last 30 years, the sons of majors leaguers have accounted for 2 percent of all debuts, and that number has gradually risen throughout the game’s history.1

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Hayes’ pedigree played a role in moving him up their draft board, selecting him in the first round in 2015. Huntington is also confident the Blue Jays are “baking in” legacy considerations to their evaluation sauce.

“There’s a lot to be said for seeing how things are done at the highest level whether it’s motor learning or whether it’s how people carry themselves,” Huntington said. “They see the drive, the work ethic it takes.”

What’s also interesting about Hayes, Biggio and Bichette is not just what they observed but how they were taught.

“I never really worked on mechanics,” saya Hayes about his father’s tutelage. “ At a young age, I just kinda learned the right movement, the fundamental stuff.”

Said Bichette: “We didn’t do a lot of drills.”

Boddy is wary of burdening pitchers with too many internal cues. Similarly, Schonbrun says implicit learning is the most effective way to acquire a skill.\

“Ken Griffey Sr. probably didn’t show his son how to wiggle his bat and find that perfect arc for his swing,” Schonbrun says. “I’m guessing he probably told Ken Jr. ‘Here’s how you should get from A to B,’ and Ken developed that swing on his own. … In a lot of ways, that’s a better way for the brain to learn rather than following really detailed explicit instruction.”

‘Specialization’ is not a dirty word

A common experience shared by Biggio, Bichette and Hayes is that they all grew up with a batting cage in their backyards. They all had access to travel baseball, equipment and facilities. Tim Lee, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, believes that those factors are perhaps the greatest advantage in having a professional athlete for a parent.

“The relationship of the model to the learner is one of the important moderating variables in observational learning,” Lee told FiveThirtyEight. “My hunch, however, is that this plays a far less important role than does the availability of practice facilities and instructional opportunities.”

While those spaces speak to the financial edge that also comes with being the son of a big leaguer, the cages, lessons and tools allowed them to be exposed to not just high-level motor patterns but enabled them to log thousands upon thousands of reps.

In the backyard of their Houston home, Hayes estimates he took “anywhere from 400 to 500 swings a day.”

Said Bichette of life in the backyard swing incubator: “At one point in my life we would go into cage and count at least 200 swings.”

For his fielding work, Biggio said his dad taught him to throw a lacrosse ball off a wall to create unusual hops to improve his hands. Hayes was also taught the practice and still tosses a lacrosse ball off of a wall when killing time in the hallways of minor league clubhouses. It’s one reason he projects as having a 70-grade glove on the 20-to-80 scouting scale.

When Bichette was a freshman in high school, he was also an excellent tennis player, but his parents urged him to choose one sport. Dante Bichette understood the importance of specialization.

While there has been research and concern about sports specialization leading to injury and burnout, Schonbrun notes it’s difficult to excel without it. Florida State professor Anders Ericsson attempted to quantify the hours of specialization needed to become an expert in 1993, which Malcolm Gladwell later dubbed the 10,000-hour rule in his book “Outliers.” Schonbrun said specialization is “necessary.”

“From a cognitive and neurological standpoint, the more you can focus on one task, the more practice that goes into it, the better you are going to be,” Schonbrun said.

Baseball-Reference.com‘s database contains father-son pairs to play in the majors but it does not include minor league family history or other family connections. That means the advantage in growing up around the game is probably even more considerable than we’re showing here. Consider the case of another consensus top-five prospect this spring, a player who could be the next teenager to reach the majors: Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco.

While he seems like a natural, dominating older competition at age 17 last summer, he is also the youngest of three brothers — each named Wander Franco — who each play in the Giants organization. His father, another Wander Franco, pitched in the minor leagues. His uncles Willy and Erick Aybar played in the majors. His neighbor growing up in the Dominican city of Bani was Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez.

Franco IV was exposed to elite-level motor patterns when he was young, but he was also around people obsessed with baseball. There was a dry river bed near his neighborhood in Bani and that became their ballpark. They used whatever scrap they could find to create bases. They wound up a sock to use as a ball.

“It was all games, every day,” Franco told FiveThirtyEight through an interpreter.

The Rays gave Franco, the No. 1 international prospect in 2017, a $3.85 million bonus. “One of the things that helped us get comfortable with that level of investment was that he had grown up around the game,” said Chaim Bloom, the Rays’ vice president of baseball operations. “You see a lot of guys who have a tremendous amount of skill but don’t know how to apply it on a baseball field. The way that Wander was able to do that as an amateur was really, really rare.”

Franco might seem like a natural, but his story might be more about nurture than nature.

Genes do play a role in success, of course. Bichette said the “bat speed” he shares with his father cannot be taught. Biggio says he has better than 20-20 vision and so does his brother and father. There are things Guerrero Jr. does with that bat that are assuredly tied to genetics.

But in some ways they are all lesser athletes than their fathers. Biggio is not nearly as fast as his father. Guerrero Jr. is not built like his father listed at a 6-2, 250 pounds, where his father was 6-3, 235. As a shortstop, Bichette has a much smaller frame than his father, who was a slugging corner outfielder.

While they are the sons of former professional athletes, there are more talented natural athletes that never reach the major leaguers. Their advantages go beyond genetics, and for a variety of reasons, the advantage of being the son of a major leaguer is growing.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mlb-is-increasingly-a-father-son-game/

[topicprinter]

If you're a non US entrepreneur (with no Social Security Number) trying to process credit card payments with Stripe, receive Amazon payouts to a non-supported country, or just hold & spend USD personally without restrictions - here's how I solved a few big pain points for myself & opened a USD bank account (business + personal) as well as a US credit card. ​Context/why I did this: I'm a digital nomad, Aussie, living in Panama, with companies in Hong Kong & the US. I need to regularly make USD payments to Europe, China, the US, the Philippines, and more.  International banking is one of my biggest challenges personally, as a traveller + for my businesses. ​NOTE - I'm not in a position to answer any questions about the tax implications of doing this. Just wanted to share this info as it took me a lot of trial and error to work this stuff out.​This is a summary of my notes. I also made a video explaining in more detail:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlgtDj8mnCo​This is for you if -  Individuals:    You want to receive and send a lot of US dollars    Your banks back home aren’t very good.    You want a US credit card    You aren’t a US resident and you don’t have a Social Security  Number (SSN)​Businesses:    You want to start an online business    You want access to US banking facilities, Amazon FBA payments (but you're not on the supported countries list), payment processors like Stripe, etc    You want a US credit card​This is probably not for you if:You haven't already experienced this painYou already have a business setup + accounts that are working fine for youYou're looking to 'hide money' or avoid taxes​Part  1: Open a PERSONAL US bank account without SSNEasiest option: Transferwise Borderless AccountI am loving Transferwise at the moment & they are doing great things to make cross-border banking easier. The (very rough) gist of how it works in the back end is they match cross-border transactions as much as possible with a reverse transaction so no money actually has to "cross borders" - which cuts down on fees. They are a "Money Service Business" and NOT a full service bank - but the borderless account will (in most cases) give you proper bank account details for receiving money. Advantages:NO NEED to visit the USThe best for international payments – lowest feesReal local bank accounts for major currencies USD, AUD, NZD,  GBP, EURAbility to send payments in most other currenciesNo SSN requiredDisadvantages:Sometimes significant transfer limitations depending on your country of residence & country you want to send money to. Examples: Panama resident does not get real USD bank details, Transferwise does not send money to Colombia, etcNo credit card availableDebit card only available in some countriesNot a fully featured bankHow to open a USD borderless account with Transferwise:Go to transferwise.com (10 minutes)Identity verification - passport + proof of address (3-5 days)Add bank accounts as needed​Better option: Visit a real bank in the USAdvantages:Real bank account from a real bankAbility to get debit & credit cards​Disadvantages:Must visit the US in personMay have to visit multiple banks and/or branches to be successful​How to open a personal US bank account without SSN:Note - There's no legal requirement to have a SSN to open a US bank account. It's all up to the individual bank and branch policy. (Source: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-i-get-a-checking-account-without-a-social-security-number-en-929/)Go to the US, in personTry any of these banks: Bank of America, TD Bank, Wells Fargo (and potentially others, but these are the ones I have seen recommended as being the easiest)Go to a branch & ask to open a checking accountProvide your passport & second form of ID    Requirements vary by bank & branch – just go and ask    You may need to go to multiple branchesYou need a US mailing address to receive your cards    Airbnb works, ask your host    Friends or acquaintancesThe bank will open your account on the spotAfter 7 days you will receive your bank cards in the mail​Getting a Personal US credit card as a NON-US RESIDENT.You actually have two obstacles here:No SSN / ITINNo Credit historyI believe it is possible to get an ITIN as a workaround but I did not get one, nor look into this further. 1. Find credit card issuers that DO NOT REQUIRE A SSN:I found this list of credit card issuers and their requirements for SSN. Again, there is no legal requirement to have this. (source: https://wallethub.com/best-credit-card-without-ssn/)American Express: SSN, ITIN or PassportBank of America: SSN, ITIN or PassportCitibank: SSN, ITIN or Passport (select cards only)Chase: SSN* Capital One: SSN or ITINU.S. Bank: SSN or ITIN (secured cards only)Discover: SSNWells Fargo: SSN or ITIN (secured cards only)Barclaycard: SSNSynchrony Bank: SSNUSAA: SSNSo - pick one of the providers on the list that does not require a SSN - AMEX, BoA, or Citibank.​2. Finding credit cards from those issuers that DO NOT REQUIRE  CREDIT HISTORYSource: https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/no-credit/A quick search narrowed it down to my personal pick - Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card:No annual fee1.5% reward points on purchasesNo foreign transaction feeBank of America will easily open a bank account for you without SSN as well. I believe you could also try the American Express Blue credit card.​How to open a US credit card without SSN and no credit history:Ask in the branch while you are opening a bank accountAnswer standard questions about your personal income, etc. You will either get approved/disapproved on the spot, or have to wait 7 days for a credit check\Wait 7 days to receive your card at your US mailing addressIt is possible they will reject you for the first credit card, but offer a secured credit card - you just need to put money on this first & it functions in the same way. This will also build your credit history so your choice of options expands down the line (6-12 months).​Part 2: Open a business bank account  without SSNEasiest option: Transferwise Borderless  AccountExactly the same process as for individuals (above)Register as your business incorporated in your home countryBe aware of the country-specific limitations (check with Transferwise for your exact situation)Bonus: easily create new Borderless bank accounts for each Amazon marketplace (Euros, GBP, etc)Alternative easy option: World FirstPretty much the same as TransferwiseFees are roughly equivalent​Opening a REAL business bank account / credit cardYou CANNOT open a corporate bank account or credit card for a foreign-owned company in the US. But your foreign entity can own a US entity...​You need:US entity (LLC) + US mailing addressEIN​1. Register a US LLCChoose a state based on cost, privacy, annual filing requirements (Best options: Wyoming, New Mexico)Find an incorporation agent + registered agent (I used wyomingagents.com to do both)Cost = $150Time = a few daysNow you have a US LLC + a registered address​2. Get an EIN (Employer Identification Number)You need this to sign up for banking, payment systems, taxes etc​1. Fill out SS4 form:https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdfhttps://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-ss-4Detailed instructions on filling out the form: https://www.llcuniversity.com/irs/how-to-apply-for-ein-without-ssn/​2. Fax the form in to the IRS (1-855-641-6935)Any fax number works (US or non-US)I used efax.com​3. Wait 7 daysIRS will return the form with your EIN on it in about 7 days.Then a final confirmation letter will go to your registered business address after 3 weeks.Cost = freeTime = approx. 7 daysNow you have your EIN​3. Keep in mind your LLC annual obligations:IRS 5472 – April 15 each yearState-specific requirements (In Wyoming: annual report 1 year after formation)Registered agent fee​4. Open the bank account / credit cardFollow earlier instructions as per individualsBring your EIN & company docs with you as well as personal passport & IDAs the owner of the LLC you are still limited to banks that don’t require a SSNNeither you or the LLC have credit historyIf you can’t get a normal credit card straight away you may need to get a secured credit card first​That's about it. One more option for debit cards: Payoneer. I have no experience with this so won't talk about it.You're done! Last step – enjoy banking in the land of the free :)​​