#The narrative is not going to hold your hand and play tour guide and point out everything

[finisnihil]

“They finally made this theme more blatant-" Why does it need to be blatant. What's wrong with subtlety? Concepts can be underused but subtlety is not neglect.

Blaring all your concepts and themes is not good writing. It's so disruptive to a story's flow when the characters look off the screen to be like "See? This is the concept. The idea. The theme."

If you can feel the hand of the author becoming too heavy that's bad.

For example: I see people saying Azula's abuse in ATLA is more blatant in the live action and it's good because "it's being discussed more". It already was discussed at length. The show made it clear she was a victim at every turn, every behavior, every reaction, it came from a place of trauma. It was made clear that she was scared of ending up like Zuko because Zuko was an example of what would happen to her if she failed. When she says she's better than Zuko it wasn't just because she was raised to think hersef superior to him but because Zuko failed and failures get mutilated and exiled, failures are abandoned. In that final Agni Kai the music is morose and somber because this isnt some epic battle its a fucking tragedy, the burning out of "Ozai's brightest light" and Azula finally succumbing to her terror and trauma she was repressing now that her worst fears are realized. How can you see a fourteen year old girl chained to a sewer grate wailing and writhing and breathing fire desperately as unsympathetic? Even Katara and Zuko are horrified as to what has become of her.

The writers weren't looking us in the eye and saying "See? She's a victim too" when they wrote this, they weaved it in. They weaved it into her obsesison with symmetry, her extreme perfectionism, the way she talks about Ozai, the ways she calls herself a monster, her isolation from those with healthy home lives, all the ways she held herself together and ultimately all the cracks and seams that she shattered down when she fell apart. It did not need to be blatant to be clear.

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Mega review (chapters 131 - 148): Part 2  To the side, not the sidelines

A continuation of part 1 of the mega review.  This isn’t a narrative account, but rather a look at all the other groups and happenings around where the main battle is raging.

Heroism in all sizes

It’s like the end of the world.  City Z isn’t the first city to face near total devastation.  But City A was at least gone in a flash. People had almost no time to consider their imminent demise.  In City Z, the carnage has had time to build and to come from multiple directions.  From vampiric monster roots enveloping and sucking the lives out of inhabitants by the block. From powerful earthquakes splitting and even twisting the ground. From aerial bombardments of gigantic rubble and from the sea itself as the coastline is threatened by a chain of tsunamis.  Survivors aren’t bothering to try driving: it’s whatever you can carry as fast as you can.

Those who gave up their beds.  The Hero Hospital in City S has come to serve as an impromptu staging post for nearby heroes.  Like a middle finger stuck up at face of civilisation, the tower previously buried underground and its glowing red monster is just about visible from the hillsides of City S and draws heroes in like a beacon.  First Metal Bat,  then Mumen Rider, then the Tank Toppers, then the Blizzard Group, then all the other heroes hospitalised in the aftermath of either the Day of Chaos or Garou’s depredations discharge themselves against medical advice and run in to see who they can save.

just as well they all went -- the roads are so impassable and the situation so volatile that they’re literally the only rescue coming for hours if not days

Swept up in the mood, the martial artists were considering moving out too, only for Suiryu to pour cold water on the notion.  It has done me a world of good to see that Suiryu has been inspired by Max and Snek and not Saitama. He finally gets it that a hero is someone who has the courage to step into the path of danger because someone needs help, and not because they’re strong and think they’ll win.

No space for playing hero.  It’s very wise that Suiryu advised his fellow martial artists not to play hero.  If many have complained about how heroes seem to be blessed with life, no such protections are afforded to non-heroes. The people who went in alongside heroes have suffered grievously,  although those who have died did so bravely.

I have a one-person prayer circle going for Sekingar. I pray that ONE will choose to spare his fine non-hero one-eyed, single-handed ass.  I have come to like the guy and I’ve been impressed at how he has stayed calm when trapped in City Z,  succeeded in encouraging discouraged heroes and even asserting a genuine authority to guide Metal Bat and King. I don’t think there’s too many more like him in the executive of the Hero Association and think it’d be a shame if he didn’t bring his hard-won experiences back to guide them in what’s sure to be a crisis.

The king under the mountain

This arc has introduced us to a lot of concepts and players who are likely to have long-term effect on the world.  In this series of chapters, some of these ideas are developed further.

Came for the pussy, stayed for the tentacles. I’m sorry, I’m allowed one double entendre a week and I decided to curse you with it.  I wouldn’t have mentioned this but Drive Knight’s comings and goings are almost certainly going to be very plot-relevant later.   He was supposed to be gone with his prize of one Nyan, but then he saw the tower emerge and Psykos-Orochi wave tentacles skyward and as much as a cyborg with no discernable facial features can be said to yearn, he yearned. For a sample that is.

He stuck around as long as it took him to get a sample of Orochi and then he was gone, without so much as a ‘thank you for your help’.  At present, we’ll just have to see what this is all about later.

When the cat’s away the mice will play.  The only way to foment a world ending crisis is to have the guy who can squash it all and wonder what the fuss was about occupied elsewhere.  Through meeting Flashy Flash and getting a tour into the deepest reaches of the Monster Association thanks to Manako, and a couple of other things, Saitama is literally trapped in an alternative dimension. Although, being Saitama, if he felt a sense of urgency, he’d break back into the real world without a second thought.  Right now he’s curious,worried for his house, but mostly hungry.  Some curry would be nice.

The real question is how are the heroes going to hold out until Saitama arrives?  I’ve been touched by how genre-savvy Genos and King are about this. It’d be amusing if it weren’t so brutally true.

The formal establishment of extra-spatial dimensions as a feature not restricted to a few unusual individuals.   Phoenixman first got us learning about the idea of extra dimensions, in his case a private manifestation of his inner psyche.  Neither he nor Child Emperor physically moved.

Ninchirin introduces us to the idea of an extra-spatial dimension that physical objects can be stowed in and taken from.

But nothing takes it as far as ‘God’ with the existence of a pocket dimension with its own timeline that takes people in wholesale.  Whether a lot of time passes on the outside (as it does for Saitama and co) or no time passes (as it does for Psykos-Orochi) seems to depend on ‘His’ will. 

The formal establishment of ‘God’ as a singular being with a distinct personality.  Homeless Emperor first talked about ‘God’ as being a being who tasked him with eliminating humanity after he despaired of living as one.  Pyskos expands on that concept. She saw ‘God’ very differently, as a quasi-planetary being rather than as a vaguely humanoid one, but her experience of ‘Him’ as a being who bestowed power and a mission on her bears striking similarity to that of Homeless Emperor.

How people get to talk to ‘God’ becomes clear when we see Flashy Flash and Saitama accidentally summoning ‘Him’ via handling a box.  Which leads very naturally to elucidating some of the mystery of Blast. 

Finding out why Blast is still the number 1 hero.   If the likes of Tatsumaki leave us scratching our heads as to how any hero could outwork her in terms of facing monsters, Blast gives us an answer.  He specialises in dealing with non-physical threats, which he does by having some sort of dimension-hopping gizmo.  The black box he disposes of identical to that seen in Tatsumaki’s flashback, leading us naturally to think about what business the facility holding her was having with ‘Him.’   Webcomic readers see a gimme as well in the construction of the Ninja Village Flash hails from, along with Blast paying the ninjas a visit.

With Blast having taken Saitama and co out of reality, it’s going to be an unknown while before they pop back into it.

Sleeping is such a nice euphemism for dying

The principle of explosive growth through surviving situations that should have killed one is by this point a well-established mechanic within the story.  After seeing Phoenixman come back from the dead, it should perhaps not be a surprise to us that Orochi does the same.  In coming back, he’s evolved into a distributed form that can regrow after even extensive destruction and the consequences of his doing so are already covered in part 1 of this review.

Speaking of evolution, what about Garou? We left Garou buried under tons of rock in the wake of Tatsumaki lifting the base.  Yet again, he does not die -- thank you Darkshine for your anti blunt trauma vaccination -- and little by little, we see him dig himself out, and transforming himself as he goes as he dreams of a world in which he enforces peace but very unconventional means.

In retrospect, the sequence of Garou’s eyes closing in response to his humanising memory of Tareo is the most ominous as the eyes that open again have not a shred of humanity in them.

It reminds me a lot of what we saw happen to Gouketsu when the latter accepted a monster cell, his human eyes closing as a new set of monster ones opened.

At long last, Garou makes it back to the surface.  But what’s this?  Where’s the wise-cracking, judgemental little shit we love?  What is this near silent, befanged, clawed feral creature beating down on everything he sees? Oh dear.  He is not sleeping sweetly, dreaming pleasant dreams of a world perfectly obedient while he waits for the fist of some self-righteous prince to awaken him to his destiny.  Garou may perceive it as lapses in consciousness, but it’s the monster within eating him alive.  He’s dying. He is under real existential threat of being completely lost to monsterfication and how it is that he can save his humanity is a big point of interest. 

In his flawed way,  Bang is trying to get through to Garou.  I don’t hold out big prospects of him reaching him.  And if he does, I hold out even smaller prospects of him actually beating Garou.  Barring some interruption, we might be about to see the tragedy of a master beaten down by his student.

I’m going to leave this review here.  What comes next is all too soon going to change the status quo of the story, if not for the better, then certainly for the more eventful. 

[shereadsandwritesformelanin]

The Baker And Her Actor: part Vi [House Tours And Makeouts]

Parings: Chris Evans x Black!fem reader

Summary: You meet Chris while making a house delivery for the Evans. He can’t get you off his mind and to be honest neither can you.

Warnings: profanity and sexual content, but overall fluff.

Notes: I hope you guys enjoy! If you have any request be sure to send them my way!

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

-

“Jay! I’m packing the last of these thumbprint cokes and then I’ll send them your way, delivery is in thirty.” You shout tapping the box close.

Initially you and your team didn’t deliver but every since the incident with the Evans, you switched that narrative and it’s been bringing in a little bit for revenue for you all.

“Alright I’m just cleaning up back here.” Jay annouces

You pick up the boxes walking toward the back meeting jay who was occupied washing the sink load of dishes.

“Maybe I should help you with that.” You snicker placing the box on the counter slipping into dish gloves.

You both work in sync washing dishes silently until jay breaks the ice. “So how are you and Mr. famous?” He teases bumping your arm suggestively.

You let out a school girl giggle, heat rising to your cheeks again. “Well I think it’s going great. I mean it’s been a little rocky start with me being distant and Deacon now this whole NDA business. It’s been rough but I think we’re mellowing out.”

“Wait NDA?” Jay puzzled

You nodded confirming his question watching him almost stumble back in shock.

“Wow that’s kind of.”

“Yeah I know, but it’s for his protection.” You justify

“Okay, I just want my best girl safe.” He states bumping your hips with his.

“Enough about me what’s going on in your little love life? Any new hot guys.” You redirect

“Nope, becaus you’re stealing them all for yourself.” Jay teases twirling you around like a ballerina.

The laughter and playing continues until you hear the bell of the front door alarming someone was here.

“I thought we were closed.” Jay quips

“We are.” Taking off the dish gloves you slowly make your way over to a hidden cabinet grabbing a bat, prepared for anything.

This wouldn’t be the first time some crazy bostionain tried to attack your store and looks like it wouldn’t be the last.

You tip to the front of the folding doors peaking out just enough to see he floor plan serverying the lobby.

When you spot a familiar muscular figure standing in the corner eyeing the freshly baked donuts on display.

You let out a sigh of relief lowering the bat pushing the doors open.

“Chris? What are you doing.” You ask surveying his person

He did look good.

“I should ask you the same thing.” He states pointing to the rather large bat you held beside you.

“I thought you were a thief.’ You state. “Still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“Someone’s moody.” Chris teases

You poke your lips out giving him a sour eye roll.

“C’mere.” He almost whisper

The silk seduction in his voice was almost magnetic making you quite literally float over to him. Instantly.

You make your way over to him as he opens his arms wide for your embrace. You loved hugging Chris he was always so warm, and listening to his heartbeat was an experience. It was so different from anyone’s you’ve ever heard.

He places a gentle kiss on your temple, pulling you closer. “There something I actually wanted to ask you and bring you.” Chris whispers into your hairline.

You pull away from his chest looking up at him. He wasn’t too much taller than you but in the position he definitely towered you.

“What is it?” You question

“Well I wanted to know if you wanted to go on a indoor date?” Chris retorts to your question.

“Indoor date?”

“Basically a date indoors at my house, if you’re comfortable with that?” Chris says not sure if you’re okay with the idea.

“I’d love too. When?”

Chris breaks the embrace which had turned into a rocking session. “Tonight. I thought I’d come pick you up.” Chris confirms

“ I have to lock up that could take a while and Jay is still here I’m not -.”

“She’s good to go.’ Jay says peaking from the back. “Don’t worry perfectionists I’ll have this place spic and span for you, have fun.”

You nod at Jay mouthing thank you.

You run to grab your jacket and quickly check yourself in the bathroom. Fluffing your hair and checking your teeth once more.

You exit the bathroom meeting up with Chris who stands there looking sexy as ever his hand held out for you.

You two tangle hands seamlessly like your hands were made for each other.

“Bye jay!” You shout before leaving.

“Bye baby.”

-

“You sure do love blindfolding new.” You tease being careful where you stepped as Chris guided you through what seemed like a maze.

“Careful with your words baby.” Chris tested wanting to see your response.

Say something smart back, pussy.

“What, gonna the me you Christian Grey?” You tease still holding onto Chris for direction.

He erupted into his infamous belly laugh filling the room. “You wish.” He tempted the words rolling off his tounge so slick.

Lately this had been your dynamic. A lot of romance and fluff but a few sexual innuendos here and there.

Chris definitely wanted to have sex, considering the conversation popped up here and there, nothing too pressing.

You as well wanted to have sex with this god of a man that stood before you, but not just yet. You had to be sure this was something that could last.

-

Finally the two of you stop what seemed like a 5k marathon. Chris lets go of you hand moving behind you undoing the blindfold he so conviently had ready in hand.

One it dropped you were stunned by what was before you.

Lord this man was such a romantic.

It was a beautiful picnic set up that sat underneath an aging tree. There were various lights around glemimg brightly illuminating the picnic space and all around us. You noticed wine glasses and a bottle of rather expensive red wine.

“Shall we?” Chris ushers his hand on your lower back.

“We shall.’ You joke giggling slightly. “but first let me go to the ladies room and freshen up.”

Chris nods sitting down and getting comfortable on the set up he’d created outside for the two of you.

You walk back inside shutting the heavy sliding doors behind you.

This was your second time at Chris’s estate, but your first time inside. It smelled just like him, pinewood mixed with vanilla. A good mixture that intoxicated you.

You walk down the halls checking each room for the bathroom. You didn’t really know where you were going and you didn’t mind, you kind of just wanted to check his house out as well.

God Stop being weird y/n.

Fuck it.

Each door you opened was a different room perfectly designed and untouched.

You then come across a room that was much larger than the other ones that did seemed lived in.

The master.

Aka Chris’s room.

You marveled at how good it looked to be a man’s room. It was a mixture of navy blue accents and dark expensive ceador wood furniture. It was really nice.

You peaked into the room more shifting your head to the left to see more of his room without actually going in.

You smiled at the family portiats he had hung upon the wall. He looked so happy, you only wished to make him equally as happy.

“What are you doing.” Chris says interrupting your thoughts

You jump taking a step back, nervous about what to say. “Um— I just got lost and then I found this room, well your room and, I’m not really sure I’m so sorry.” You stammer attempting to muster up an excuse.

Chris’s gaze softens. Usually this would set off an immediate red flag for anyone else. But for some reason with you no matter how hard he searched you just never had any read flags. He felt how genuine and pure you were.

If it was anyone else the date would be over.

“That’s alright, lets go eat.” Chris speaks softly holding his hand out for you to grab.

You quickly shut his door running over to his hand intertwining his with yours.

-

“What’s one of your biggest fears?” Chris slurs taking a large sip of the wine you two basically had devoured.

Hiccuping you slowly think about your biggest fear. “Oh most definitely snakes, especially like anacondas.”

“That really can’t- can’t be it.” Chris stutters

Yep we were definitely drunk.

“It is I swear.’ You state drawing out the vowels in your words. “Can I ask you a question prettt boy?”

You were a little more flirty when you were drunk, hence why you didn’t get drunk.

“Hmm?” Chris hums eyelids sunken low

“Can you kiss me?”

Chris eyelids seemed to immediately peel up at your question. Without a moment to think he pulls you into him, slamming a rough kiss onto your lips. The impact causes you to fall backward with Chris right on top of you but your lips never leave one another’s.

Your lips move in perfect sync. Chris licks your bottom lip begging for permission which you grant. Your tounges battle for dominance, Chris soon winning.

Chris moves down to your neck sucking on every sweet spot causing little isolated moans to release from your lips. The two of you were only making out and he was causing more pleasure than any vibrator or set of fingers ever could.

Things we heating up, as Chris began to fondle with your breast still sucking on the delicate skin of your neck.

“Fuck.” You moan

Chris was definitely warming you up for what was to come, literally.

You felt his thick bulge against you wet core as he rocked his hips inbetween your legs. It would be premature to cum off dry humping and making out, but here you are.

You feel his thick fingers working there way down to your pants loop unhooking the button revealing your soaked underwear.

You hear Chris release a slow groan as he marveled over your aged underwear and soaking cunt.

You lock eyes with the beautiful man as he trails done your torso leaving soft kisses and slightly sucking on the skin making his way down to your heat.

You shift your weight, moan at every soft kiss he plants. At this point he could just look at you and you’d come undone.

“Chris please.” You beg for his lips to just touch her.

“Please what?” He growls teasing you while rubbing circles on your clit through your silk underwear.

“Huhh!’ You moan throwing your head back in pleasure. “Please, please eat me out.”

You can’t believe you just said that, it been years since anything but your fingers and toys had been down there. But god were you ready for his lips.

“Yes ma’am.” Chris growls tearing your underwear off and pushing you legs uptoward your head.

He places a small kiss on your clit causing you to shutter, slipping a finger into your pussy making you almost jump back in the instant pleasure.

He wraps his heavy tounge around your pink rosebud causes your eyes to roll back. He allowed his tounge to explore you, no stone unturned.

It hadn’t even been two minutes of his adventure down south and you and you were a shaking moaning mess. “Yes Chris like that, please give me more that feels amazing.” You whisper shout moans filling his backyard.

Your toes curled as you felt your high coming erupting in your pit. You reach down gribbing his hair pushing his face deeper inside your core, you felt the cold metal of his chain dangling against your asshole sending chills up your spine. Finally you came.

Releasing an almost ethereal pornstar moan, singing in pleasure. Your legs shook violently as you searched for anything to grip while riding out your high.

Still shaking Chris crawls up to your lips placing soft kisses on them, before scooping you up bridal style taking you inside.

Your orgasm was the perfect remedy for a hangover because you no longer felt even a little buzzed.

“Do you want a shower.” Chris whispers into your ear as he carried you into his room.

“Yes.” Was all you could fuster up to say your cunt still leaking in pleasure.

Chris gently places you on his bed. “I’ll get it started for you.” He walked away into his master bathroom you heard the shower start up presuming it was getting warm.

You sat on his bed reflecting on what had just happened.

You couldn’t understand how you’d gone from talking about your daily routines to Chris being in between your legs viscously eating away at your flower to you know sitting half naked on his bed.

Kiara is gonna love this story.

Chris comes out of the bathroom, digging into a his dressing pulling out a oversized white tee and a pair of drawstring Nike shorts.

“I hope this work for you, I don’t have any girl clothes.” He explains rubbing the back of your neck.

“They’re fine, you’ve done enough.” You smirk placing a kiss on his his temple

Walking over toward the bathroom shutting the door behind you.

Your whole shower was spent thinking about how you felt bad that you couldn’t pleasure Chris or he hadn’t allowed you to. It seemed like he wanted to make the pleasure all about you.

You turn off the shower stepping out, wrapping the towel around you body quickly slipping into the clothes Chris had given you.

When you came out he was perched against his headboard scrolling on his phone.

“Have a good shower?” He asks

“Yes.” You almost whisper. “Am I staying, or are you gonna take me home.?”

Chris shifts in his bed attention fully on you. “It’s up to you whatever makes you comfortable.”

Chris definitely wanted you to stay but it was your desicion.

“I’ll stay.” You state walking over to the bed Chris lifts the covers and you slid in stuffing your body next to Chris’s resting your head on his chest.

“Thank you for tonight.” You whisper into his ear placing a kiss on his chin.

“My pleasure.” He smirks kissing your lips once more before reaching to shut the lights off.

Chris hadn’t said it out loud but he was definitely falling for you, hard . He could see a life with you and that’s all he’s ever really wanted was the simple life.

“Goodnight y/n.” Chris whispers into the darkness

“Goodnight Chris.”

-

A/n: okay so bby just wrote her first smut peice and it was pretty filthy I’m my opinion, and our girl y/n just got some! But why wouldn’t Chris let her give him any??

Things are heating up for our pair!

If you like this make sure to heart it and reblog it would mean a lot + if you wanna see more of my writings check of my MASTERLIST‼️

Next chapter coming soon! So stay intouch.

-

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@toniilaney @angelicl-y

[qqueenofhades]

I love the term militant idealism from your last post. I wonder how you think about the ongoing removal of names on buildings and statues as Americans become woke about eugenics, systemic racism and sexism, and other fuck ups across white American history?

A couple years ago in August 2017, at the height of the furor over removing Confederate statues/imagery from public places, and after the Charlottesville white supremacist riots, I wrote this post in response to a similar question. It outlined extensively what the rationale for the “we should preserve history and keep those statues up!!!” defense is (i.e. racism and systematic amnesia). My position hasn’t changed much, and I think it demonstrates the depths of white fragility in this country and the utter inability of white Americans to think about what their history really consists of and what the construction of this geopolity has entailed, apart from all the fuzzy feel-good stuff and giant flags and slogans about Freedum!! and so forth. We… we realize that we live in a hyper-capitalist fasciso-patriotic militarized nightmare land, right? The giant flags and flyovers and the fact that the entire month of November in the National Football League is now “Salute to Service,” after they couldn’t stand one black man taking a knee for the national anthem? Where coaches wear camo on the sidelines and everyone acts like they actually give a crap about veterans aside from their use as convenient propaganda? We… we know this isn’t normal, right?

See, I do think there is a useful application and a genuine need for militant idealism. It just isn’t in throwing slogans or personal attacks at each other on the Twitter echo chamber, or any argument at all on social media about politics, culture, entertainment, fictional ships, etc. Most people picking fights on social media really aren’t doing a whole fuck of a lot of anything useful in the real world. The internet has brought a lot of use into our lives, and indeed we cannot function without it, which is a little terrifying (turn off the internet for 24 hours across the entire world and welp, nice knowing you civilization). But it’s also morphed into a giant, ravenous beast that you really, really have to approach with caution in a whole different way from the “oh no you might meet a pedophile” panics of the 90s. (And I mean, there are still trash men everywhere, so it’s just with extra Terrible now. Winning?) You are not going to change this overwhelming, violent, omnipresent system by holding hands, playing nice, and singing Kumbaya. Sometimes, a little violence and militancy is needed in return. You need to stand up and play hard and not back down. And since the general liberal ethos is that “violence is always bad!!!/if you use violence you’re Just As Bad As Them!!!”, that is cut off and stigmatized in the name of social order.

The thing is, this is the first time in American history that there has been even any kind of visible and sustained public debate on whether these things that we’ve just all gone with for so long are actually acceptable. That’s why we have “OK Boomer” and similar movements, because young people are taking a long hard look at what they’ve been left with and are understandably being like are you fucking kidding me. But as I have also been discussing, a certain subset of young people are also extremely insistent on having the Right Opinion and Only The Right Opinion, and that demonstrating any uncertainty or looking like they’re not sufficiently Woke is Unacceptable. This is why I can never get students to talk in class. They have been raised in a culture where they will be mercilessly punished for being Wrong, and it’s hard to conceptualize a space, i.e. a university classroom, where you’re allowed to start at zero and work your way up with dialogue and engagement. That just isn’t how it works anymore, and frankly, we have to blame social media for a lot of it. Especially when combined with CEOs (why yes, I am looking at you, Twitter not banning Nazis and just all of Mark Zuckerberg) who are more willing to cater to the alt-right in the name of “freedom” than to enforce any kind of standards for public discourse or try to tell 21st-century Americans that they can’t have something they want. Our society is built on the maxim that All Consumption Is Good Consumption, Consume More Now. And… that’s a problem.

I feel like I may be getting away from the point of what exactly you asked, but these things are all interconnected. If someone is going to actually translate internet outrage to real-world action, and actually put some skin in the game and fight against the terrifying normalization of these narratives: please. We need more people to do that. But real life is scary in a way that the internet isn’t. You might face immediate consequences for something. You might have someone tell you that you’re wrong and you can’t just block or mute them. How do you change someone’s mind without the two of you just yelling pithy, polarized slogans at each other? It’s fuckin’ hard work. So it’s easier to just retweet someone that you agree with, to other people who agree with you. And so the cycle goes.

Obviously, I 100% support any and all efforts to bring to the collective American conscience just how fucked up American history actually is. But I sometimes worry that the shortcomings in the methods used to do so make it easier for the tired old class of establishment bigots to dismiss as “snowflakes.” After all, I’ve just been ripping into the self-righteous infighting and tendency to rigid ideological purity and insularism in the left, and… what do we do about that? I don’t know. We can’t just immediately remove people from the entire contextualising framework in which they’ve grown up and made meaning and understood themselves. We can try to educate them, but presenting people who have already made up their minds with conflicting information really does not do much. It usually makes them double down on the positions they already hold, because they can feel unfairly victimized by the people who Just Don’t Get It. It can oftentimes feel hopeless, but we have to do it anyway.

So yes. We should take down statues of Confederate generals. This goes without saying. The “we shouldn’t pretend it never happened” defense is functional only to a point. As I said in the other post, Confederate statues can go into storage. They don’t have to be destroyed, if it’s really so vital that we keep them. But their enforced presence in public life is an act of white supremacist violence, and their defenders know it. Besides, how about, uh, we try goddamn being able to talk about what the Confederacy really stood for first, instead of clinging to it as a token that is specifically intended to deflect public debate or constructive discourse on the issue?

This also reminds me of the recent backlash happening on historic plantations in the South. These are often beautiful manor houses with grounds, and they are tourist attractions. They are also, brace yourself for grossness, popular locations for weddings. (I don’t know why, but White People.) The tour guides at these places have finally been empowered to talk somewhat more honestly about how all this beauty was built by slave labor, and white tourists hate it. They tie themselves into knots about how slavery wasn’t that bad or how the Civil War was about “states’ rights” or why are you bringing this up now, that was Just What Our Bad Ancestors Did. This… this is the level we are still at. It’s bad. The white tourists seem to feel that they can go to, again, a plantation in the South and just enjoy the beauty and not to be “forced” to hear about slavery. It spoils the illusion. They want to keep living this way, so they throw fits, and why shouldn’t they? The entire establishment of this country thus far has supported them. It threatens their whole identity. It must be destroyed. And I just… sigh.

Anyway. This has gotten away from me, and I’m still not sure if I answered your question. Sorry. But there you have it.

[humansofhds]

Naman Patel, MTS ’21

“It was beautiful to see my connection with Emerson, someone who intellectually influenced and inspired me to listen to my own light and make way for my own creative impulses. Then to end up in the institution that he attended, it comes full circle.”

Naman is a second-year master of theological studies candidate studying South Asian Post-Colonialism.

Emerson as a Guiding Light

I’m born of two Indian immigrants. They found their footing here in their early twenties and gave birth to me in New York and there I had a very interesting high school experience. That’s also the roots for my engagement with hip hop culture and black culture at large, because the school was split between an affluent white community and a black community and some brown kids. But, there was no place for me in the affluent white community, and I saw home and family among black kids who engaged with me, so rapping after school was the everyday.

I was really informed by the pressure that brown kids put on themselves about what they should do professionally, which is to become a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer—that standard narrative. For me, I was going to be a pharmaceutical patent attorney because I saw in the pharmacy industry a huge lie, so I thought it would be really cool to go in there and break it down.

Then at some point that stopped making sense to me, so I transferred to Brandeis University, and I did that because I took this course called “Death, War, and Terrorism.” I realized that school can be an experience where you are in a seminar, the teacher lectures, but asks a series of questions and forces you to think of things. This is very new when you’re coming from science because science is very pedagogical.

Right before, I read Emerson’s Self Reliance and some of Emerson’s other work and he was hugely influential to me. The one quote that sticks with me is that he draws out this scene where a baby conforms to no one, but all conform to it, so in a room full of adults, the adults will begin to crawl and prattle with toys. This image was really beautiful and to me at least, it could explain the way I could think about the attitude and direction of innovators today hold, who have the courage to go and do what they want in the way that a baby does.

So then at Brandeis, I start taking a lot of courses in the humanities. I still was studying science and biology. After Brandeis, I do immunology research at Harvard Medical School for two years, investigating alternative means to a standard cancer treatment. During this time, I can’t not be in a place where I can’t have discussions about post-colonial theory, or social sciences, or the humanities at large.

I find my way back because I’m a performing poet in the Cambridge area and after one of my performances I run into some kids who take interest in my poetry. So we strike a discussion and have things to talk about and things to relate to in terms of identity, in particular to South Asia. Then they say, yeah we go to HDS, and I have no idea what HDS is. I keep showing up to HDS and I keep hanging out with them.

One of my friends asked why don’t I apply here. I needed to finish up my research and then I could go to med school though, but then my friend says this. So then I take the GRE, I apply and then I get in to HDS, and I call my parents and tell them I’m not going to med school and then their life dissolves.

One thing that made it more difficult for them to say no to me going here instead of med school, was that the school graced me with a scholarship. So I’m really grateful for that because without that, perhaps it would have been harder for me to say no.

When I was taking German, I took it in the chapel where Emerson gave his speech and that’s when it really clicked to me that Emerson actually went to this school. It was beautiful to see my connection with Emerson, someone who intellectually influenced and inspired me to listen to my own light and make way for my own creative impulses. Then to end up in the institution that he attended, it comes full circle.

Integrating Science Into the Critique of British Epistemology

My study has to do with South Asian Post-Colonial Studies, but specifically I’m interested in the British epistemology of the subcontinent and India in particular, because for me, this is a way by looking at not only the knowledge they produced, but then the knowledge that the subcontinent inherited through the process of nationalism from the Europeans. It is a way to explain a lot of the crises we see in the subcontinent that deal with categories of ethnicity and religion.

This year has been really nice because I am producing a thesis, aggregating the evidence that supports this argument, but I’m taking it a step forward and saying that perhaps a way we can combat this pollutant epistemology is by generating and disseminating alternative knowledge through medias that people are engaging with heavily now, through YouTube and Instagram.

At what point do we have enough concepts that are robust enough to visualize what’s going on, that maybe we can address it? So the way that I think I will continue practicing science, from my Brandeis education, is in my approach is that I see a symptom of British epistemology, I can locate it, I can see how it continues to proliferate, and I can see that I can compete for the attention that it gets and I can compete with the determinative things that it does to nation states.

The Fruition of .1325

I’m an MC and my Instagram is filled with that content in particular. I produce hip hop and have a band called 1325. When I arrived in Boston after graduation to start my immunology research, the research just wasn’t enough and inside I had stories to tell, but I wasn’t adept at a form that I wanted to tell the stories in. I did enjoy writing, but I loved that in hip hop, you could supplement your narrative with extra dimensions, mainly of sound and time.

I had one friend at Brandeis who I used to dance with and who I found out was an incredible musician because I stalked him on YouTube. He was doing sets with Berklee and he was touring India. Afterwards, I kept poking him and he told me to hang out with his friend.

His friend Hani has a very interesting life of his own, but he just came back from Germany. He was supposed to apply to med school, but he just wanted to play piano so well that with piano he could fundamentally play any other instrument. So I just started hanging out with him a lot.

I learned how to rap in a live setting with him and we started performing at open mics and then Ulas, the kid who I was initially poking at, got involved and then we performed open mics. The year before last year, we were featured at an open mic and last year we were asked to perform at the MFA. This year I performed at Terminal 5 in NYC, which garnered 3,000 people and that was an amazing experience.

The band started because I had an interest, but mostly because I had a community that fostered it and encouraged it. On one hand I have the band, Hani and Ulas to thank and then similarly HDS seems like the same thing. You have this deep desire and sometimes you think you’re alone, but then you externalize this and it turns out that they want to hang out with you and then you get put into that space and you have the potential to excel if you want.

I often think about where and who I would be without HDS. HDS gave me the space to take the first step, just for more space and time and allowing for me to think and with other people who are thinking about such creative and tremendous levels.

Hip Hop as a Form of Narrative

Me being a hip hop artist ties into the dissemination aspect of my academic interests because I think historically hip hop and rap has been the means by which analytic critics have been able to compose their observations into songs that are received by people.

In the beginning, if you make your music about joy and it draws people, then they trust you. You can take liberties about what it is you’re saying to them, but if you do it from the onset, perhaps you might not get listened to. I don’t want to have the megaphone of do this and don’t do that because I don’t want to lose interest.

It’s very important that I’m appealing to a broader range of people because the music is giving joy, but it’s doing it on different terms that’s conscious of how something that is popular and that can be listened to all the time can have a substantial impact on how people are socialized. So in that sense I can compete with other popular music that’s also doing the same thing, but I can show that it doesn’t have to be an integral, essential component of it.

The other things that I’m trying to do in the music is that I’m rendering experiences and thoughts on my own. I’m very inspired by Jay-Z who very simply takes his same narrative and then re-renders it. The idea with poetry is that poetry is not necessarily innovative, it’s just taking tropes and redeploying them beautifully and more beautifully. The tropes that I’m giving a lot of weight to is about self-reliance, overcoming odds, compassion, being conscious, being empathetic.

I am working on celebratizing myself and becoming famous. I don’t think this is a matter of luck. I’ve looked at it enough to see that there are certain things you have to do and you do them and then you’re famous. I’m working on that with the purpose that be the mode in which I can disseminate knowledge. HDS has been an instrument to the realization of my dreams.

Interview and photos by Kaitlin Wheeler

[bilalicia]

Islamabad Tourist Spots

Travel

Travel to Islamabad:

If you are travelling to Pakistan, you will almost certainly pass through the Islamabad on your tour, especially if you are going to the north, where adventure awaits. A city like Islamabad may not be as interesting as the northern part of Pakistan, but with my ultimate guide in hand, you'll have a great time there while experiencing a side of Pakistan that you wouldn't see otherwise by visiting touristic places like the mountains.

MUST VISIT SPOTS!

In compared to the Lahore historical village or other old buddy, Karachi, Islamabad is rather a young metropolis. However, as it is the capital of the country, there are numerous locations in Islamabad to visit.

1: SHAH FAISAL MOSQUE

The Shah Faisal Mosque is Pakistan's largest mosque, named after Saudi King Faisal, who provided financial assistance for its development. Between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, it was also the world's biggest mosque. The lack of a domed construction, which is characteristic of mosques all around the world, is what makes this mosque really unusual. The mosque, designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay in 1986, resembles a tent erected in the desert, with four spires rising from each corner. The mosque can accommodate over 70,000 worshipers, with roughly 10,000 individuals seated in the central prayer area.

2: THE PAKISTAN MONUMENT Pakistan Monument, located on the western slopes of the Shakarparian Hills, is one of Islamabad's most well-known monuments. It has a distinctive architectural style that will capture your attention from the moment you walk in. Traditional Mughal architecture is included in the structure, which mimics petals. The national monument is historically significant since it represents the Pakistani people's togetherness. Many courageous men and women gave their life for the country's peace and togetherness. After you've finished viewing the monument, visit the adjacent Pakistan Monument Museum, where you can learn about the events of the Pakistan Movement via a collection of exhibits.

3: MARGALLA HILLS

                                                                                                                                  If you reside near the mountains, it goes without saying that you will want to spend some time by visiting them. Tourists visiting Islamabad and people who wish to view the wilderness up close have similar feelings. Hiking paths may be found all throughout the hills, and hikers frequently backpack through them at their leisure. Many types of birds make the hills home, making them excellent for bird watchers. Exploring the Margalla Hills is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that rewards you with panoramic views of Islamabad once you reach the summit.

4: MONAL RESTAURANT

                                                                                                                                 Monal restaurant, located a short climb upstream from Daman-e-Koh, is Islamabad's greatest restaurant, giving not only wonderful cuisine. Monal is well renowned for its Pakistani cuisine, which includes everything from pizza, and pasta to continental and oriental cuisine. Handi, Biryani, and a variety of barbecue meals are among the must-try menu items.

5: GOLRA SHARIF RAILWAY MUSEUM

                                                                                                                                 The British erected Golra Railway Station in 1882, and the Golra Sharif Railway Museum is a must-see for train enthusiasts. Even if you are not a die-hard train enthusiast and are just interested in the history of Pakistani railroads, you should visit the museum. There are many artefacts and memorabilia within that explain the narrative of how this method of transportation arrived to the country, with a focus on the British Raj era.

6: PAKISTAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Stop visit the Pakistan Museum of History to have a great time learning about earth sciences, zoology, and botany. Expect to see reproductions and skulls, among other things. The museum will also assist you in learning more about Pakistan's environment and palaeontology. Bring the youngsters along for an entertaining and instructive day

7: JINNAH SUPER MARKET

While Centaurus Mall is the greatest mall to visit in Islamabad during your stay, This Super Market in Sector F-7 Markaz is the best market for high-end products. It is round in form, having stores on both the inside and outside of the circle. This is the place to go for shopping in Islamabad. It has everything from branded apparel to fine restaurants and jewellery stores.

8: SHAH ALLAH DITTA CAVES

                                                                                                                                 You might want to put museums on hold for a bit and instead spend time outside. If you want to reconnect with nature in Islamabad, you have to visit this spot, which hase been around for millennia. Shah Allah Ditta is an old hamlet with several caverns thought to be utilised for meditation by monks. Relics from the Buddhist era can also be found here. You may marvel at the scenery of the surrounding hills in addition to the caverns.

9: DAMAN-E-KOH

While many might argue that they are the same, Daman-e-Koh, translated into ‘foothills’, is actually a viewing point on Margalla Hills, from where you can get a fabulous bird’s eye view of the entire town spread out in front of you. The beautiful Faisal Mosque is also visible from here. You can choose to visit the point while you hike through Margalla Hills.

10: GIGA MALL

You have to visit the Giga Mall. Giga Mall is located on the top of Pakistan's main GT road and is home to some of Pakistan's biggest brands. Giga Mall offers a range of retail centres, food stores, play areas, a food court, an ample parking and a theatre, as well as other high-end malls

FOODS YOU HAVE TO TRY :

1.THIN CRUST PIZZA FROM PIZZA ORIGINALE

         They provide the finest, most crispy and leanest, thin-crust pizza in town, and the extremely varied menu is different from other pizza locations.

2.CHELO KEBAB FROM OMER KHAYYAM

Chelo Kebab's Omar Khayyam is one of the city's most famous meals. This Iranian site is a religious classic with a little fidelity. It must provide you with the finest kebabs, hands down. Although the presentation doesn't seem as good, it's Chelo Kebab, which is a deadly combo for you paired with doogh.

3. HALWA POORI FROM CHATTA’S

Chatta’s is known and loved for its authentic desi breakfast by all residents of the capital. Their Halwa Poori paired with a good old sweet Lassi will rejuvenate your insides and prepare you for a long day of touring.  

Islamabad is a beautiful town with a varied variety of locations to explore and taste foods that will leave you with really nice memories when walking into the heart of Pakistan.

[thefoolsloop]

But for your husband, he is noble, wise, judicious: SNM Shanghai, show no. 2

**(Spoilers for Nurse and male new character loops; but, again, not for any 1:1s. The Nurse’s loop can have a lot of interaction in it, so I have tried to be vague about this, except where necessary to convey the intensity of the loop. As before, I’ve changed the order of scenes in each loop, and tried to be suggestive of the content, rather than descriptive. However, the new story can’t really be discussed without giving away some of the basic content, so once again I apologise if I spoil anything. If you think you’re going to Shanghai soon, I would wait on reading this write-up until you’ve seen the show at least once. Otherwise, continue and enjoy.

PS I’m trying to keep these write-ups to below 2,000 words. It’s not going well.)**

I knew the pain was coming.

When I went to New York to see SNM in 2015, the pain began on day 2 and intensified to a crippling level on day 3. I figured the pattern would be much the same in Shanghai, and so it proved. No one knows what causes my migraines, but fatigue appears to be a significant factor. Jetlag, stress, and a self-guided walking tour through the French Concession, all put a pressure on my body that forced it to the point of rebellion. STOP. REST. NOW.

But not quite now. The pain is brewing, but I think I can make it through a show. I’ve not yet seen Miranda’s Nurse and, although the Nurse in New York was a loop I could take or leave (its development from loop to loop is fascinating, but there’s an awful lot of downtime in between), I just know Miranda will do something special with it. (As it turns out, I am not to be disappointed.)

But first, the ballroom, just to see who’s there. Some potentially interesting performers to follow but Sam is not present tonight, and there’s no one whom I can’t safely save until later. So I climb four flights of stairs, and find myself in the hospital ward.

There she is, a mere scattering of white masks in attendance. She and the Matron (Tang Tingting, known among the cast as “Tangtang”, so that’s how I’ll refer to her) are busy. They are folding bedsheets, and this goes on for a while: stretching, folding. I’m conflicted: on the one hand, this is not scintillating viewing, though it’s arguably marginally more engaging than the top of the Nurse’s loop in New York. On the other hand, I’m with Miranda, and I would watch Miranda read out a telephone directory. In fact, I would watch Miranda read a telephone directory to herself. Why? Because she would find a way to make it gripping.

(Let my praise of Miranda not obscure my admiration for Tangtang. Her performance as the Matron is a masterclass in subtlety. Of all the Chinese cast, she is one of the highlights.)

So these sheets are being folded and it’s mildly diverting, until I realise that they’re being folded into a shape. A very familiar shape. A shape which represents one of the themes which runs through the Shanghai show, and whose significance is so far lost on me. The sanction on spoilers prevents me saying more, but this is a subject I’m keen to pursue with fans and cast as much as I can, because it’s absent from New York and its presence here in China seems utterly incongruous.

But now it’s time to move, because the room is suddenly filling with characters, and the new scene I caught a glimpse of yesterday is gearing up. It’s a scene I can’t watch (especially with a migraine slowly burgeoning), so I leave the room until it’s over. When I go back in, I’m faced with a tableau of devastation and tragedy, and it’s clear this is one of the must-see moments of the new production. Sadly, for me, it’s a must-not-see, or I shall end up in a real hospital.

**SPOILER FOR 1:1 SELECTION (BUT NOT THE 1:1 CONTENT)**

Omar is here, his storyline having been recast to incorporate the new events. He leads the entire company to a small room, where he selects for a 1:1. To my surprise, though, it’s not a 1:1 with him. It appears to be a 1:1 with the Nurse. Gah, an opportunity lost. OK, next loop maybe.

**(SPOILER ENDS)**

Omar leaves the room, locks the door and pockets the key with an air of finality. He seems satisfied, smug even. He strides off, followers in tow. I’m left on my own, waiting for Miranda to finish her 1:1. But she emerges sooner than I expect, and from a different door. We’re alone together in the corridor. She pauses, looks at me. Her stare is direct, challenging; her expression disdainful. The flicker of recognition I caught yesterday in the ballroom has disappeared. There is no flirty witch tonight. Then she hands me the towels she’s carrying, tilts her head as if to say, “come on, then”, and leads the way back to the hospital.

From that moment on, she owns me. Every action I take is dictated by her whim. We proceed through a series of interactions (moving beds, hanging up jackets, holding things), no doubt mundane to watch for those not involved; but for me it’s a series of duties I must carry out perfectly for fear of punishment. No matter what I do, she seems dissatisfied; not once does her expression alter from contempt, bordering on disgust. The impression given is that she didn’t want this job, she didn’t ask to do this job, and since I’m here I might as well make it easier on her - but I shouldn’t expect any thanks. Only a few times does her aura change: the table dance, the 1:1s (yes, more than one), a new scene with the new characters.

(A brief digression on this new scene: it’s utterly beautiful and charming. Everything I found wanting in SNM New York is present in this scene: compassion, affection, gentleness, beauty. One of the highlights of the Shanghai show, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I only wish I was at liberty to tell you what it is.)

(Miranda’s Nurse, taken from the show programme. I’ve not been able to find this at a higher resolution, would be grateful if anyone can supply it.)

She fills out a medical form, tears it off, hands it to me. I don’t know what to do with it. For several minutes I walk around holding this bloody piece of paper, trying to perform the interactions with one hand. Eventually she turns away, and with relief I fold it and put it into my back pocket. As I’m doing so, she turns back to me and presents me with her medical bag. My hands are full. Another white mask steps in and opens it. She glares at me with a look bordering on hatred. You had one job… Despite this I appear to be forgiven, as she delivers me both 1:1s (I was going to say more about them - without spoilers - but things written in print cannot be erased; let’s just say Miranda put a lot of trust in me).

Miranda’s table dance deserves singling out. As with her Sexy Witch bar dance, the control she has, the range of expression she displays, the almost inhuman ability she has to defy gravity with her body (imagine raising your entire body from flat on your back to a 45-degree angle without the use of your hands, then returning to horizontal - I mean, just try it), the risks she takes, the total dedication and immersion into character she has… it is almost impossible to describe a Miranda solo without finding the words inadequate. You simply have to see it.

As I’m watching her perform this dance, her left shoe flies off. She finishes the routine, slides to the end of the table, lands directly next to me, fixes me with that look of stricture, and holds up a finger. “Wait!” her eyes say. She dips to the floor and slides the shoe on, dextrously tying the laces, as if this was all carefully rehearsed. I know it’s not, and I fear she’ll miss her next cue, but all is well - it takes mere seconds. Then, as if rewarding me for waiting, she hauls me off to a 1:1.

I stick loyally with her (she gives me no choice) until the beautiful new scene I mentioned earlier. Since Ben is involved in this scene, however, and since I haven’t seen this story in full, I decide to follow him from this point (thereby spoiling Miranda’s plans for me, as she reveals a few days later - but more on that in another write-up).

Ben’s character - is it sufficiently common knowledge yet that we can safely refer to him as the Husband? - is utterly lovable. A well-meaning man, constantly at the mercy of people who manipulate and beguile him, his intense good nature shines through his narrative thread. Eager to please, he finds himself tricked, seduced, bullied, pressured and ultimately almost destroyed by the forces around him. He’s the only Husband I spent time with on this trip, so I can’t say how the others played him, but after his cynical, snarling, despairing Conrad in TDM this is a major departure and testimony to his versatility as a performer. Ben’s interplay with Omar is one of the highlights of the show; the former naive, vulnerable, trying to do his best; the latter manipulative, cruel, tyrannical and two-faced. Again, how other performers present this two-hander I can’t say, but these two old friends (who would rarely if ever have shared a scene in TDM) are right on each other’s wavelength.

I’ll say more about them in my next write-up, which starts with Omar, but Ben’s Husband loop gives me good insight into the new story, which has a charming narrative thread and a beautiful, heartbreaking final scene - to say nothing of THAT scene which everyone’s talking about, which I can’t witness, but which sounds like the kind of jaw-dropping, mind-expanding experience Punchdrunk prides itself on (oh, and there’s also another new scene which I’ll cover in the next show’s write-up). I do wonder why something like this couldn’t have been incorporated into New York - might yet be - but that’s for a different post.

I feel bad not giving Ben as much time in this report as I’ve given Miranda. But there’s too much about the new story I can’t reveal, and my relationship with Ben throughout the loop is distant and observational, not collaborative like with Miranda.

With those loops over, I wander the space looking for something to catch my imagination. I catch a few moments of Omagbitse’s Bald Witch, who is powerful, bordering on terrifying, with a rawness and vividness arguably missing from other interpretations. But I lose her in the crowd, and it’s time to move on.

The pain in my head isn’t getting any better. I try to spend some time with the Porter, hoping I can sit on one of the chairs in the lobby and catch a break, but he’s never there when I wander through. The crowds are getting tiresome, and I only catch glimpses of scenes from behind people’s heads. Eventually I calculate that the Nurse’s loop must be coming towards its conclusion. I find the Nurse and the Matron together upstairs. Like the evil twins in The Shining, they march in lockstep through the corridors and rooms, as if on a mission. When they get to the Macbeths’ suite they take advantage of their employers’ sudden absence in a way I won’t reveal but which is very amusing. Then they tidy up in conspiratorial fashion, as if aware all this is going to be played out again tomorrow. Finally they turn and look at the audience.

I’ve positioned myself for a final moment with Miranda, but it’s Tangtang who catches my eye. She takes me down through the crowds to watch the finale, then escorts me silently to the Manderley, where we part company without a word. Her bearing is quietly controlled, her face as impassive as her co-conspirator. In New York the Nurse and Matron seemed to be long-lost sisters eventually finding each other; in Shanghai their relationship seems much more equal, more like co-workers engaged in pulling the strings of the top floor activities.

My head is throbbing dangerously, and I’m wondering how much of tomorrow I’m going to lose to my illness. I bid my fellow westerners goodnight. But on leaving I find myself in the company of Omar and Fania, and they are so delightful and engaging that I lose another hour in conversation. Omar in particular is a mine of information about TDM, about Punchdrunk-style performance and about his experiences as the Fool, obviously a subject close to my heart. By the time I’m in bed it’s gone midnight and I have lost any chance of seeing any of Shanghai tomorrow. But: for two days with Miranda, and more besides? Worth the sacrifice.

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/battlefield-vs-single-player-stories-are-the-right-way-to-do-war-games/

Battlefield V's single-player stories are the right way to do war games

Part of The Verge holiday 2018 gaming guide

Fighting Nazis is timely again, and yet Battlefield’s return to World War II feels ill-advised. Endless war has taken a toll on this series, and the generals need a new strategy.

I’ll start with some praise. Despite its flaws, Battlefield V is a breathtakingly cinematic game, and it has all of the relentless chaos that fans expect. In my experience playing a press preview of the game, there were only a few bugs (mostly funny ones, like corpses wobbling in midair), and the game retains the series’s recent level of polish. Control inputs feel tight and fluid, everything looks really nice, and the user interface is better than ever, which are all real accomplishments. Battlefield V is an unquestionably well-crafted object.

But as I was thinking about this review, I could not escape a strange feeling. I’ve now been playing Battlefield since 2002. I’ve spent thousands of hours playing these games: it’s a weird fact that’s difficult to reconcile with my personal identity as an adult. A past self decided to love these games, and now I’m cursed by my mastery of them. At this point, it’s hard to tell whether I’m playing for enjoyment or routine.

It’s at least comforting to play the same game over and over, as the movements become rote. It’s nice when the body and a task become the same thing. (I think this is how games like Battlefield become so abstract: after a while, you’re not holding a gun or fighting Nazis; you’re just responding to patterns and using your limbs effectively.) But this familiarity can also be alienating. A few hours into my multiplayer tour, as the rest of the world faded to the background, I had a genuine out-of-body experience. It was like watching a phantom version of a younger self charging an enemy flag. The sameness of it all made me feel like a passenger. My Battlefield exploits now read more like The Myth of Sisyphus than a medal of honor citation.

Despite my optimism for big changes to the series, developer DICE bluffed its hand. The game’s “Grand Operations” mode strings together multiday battles that are supposed to have continuity, but the consequences of winning or losing a match are minor, like adding a little bit of time to the next round. You have to squint to see how Grand Operations differs from the 16-year-old Conquest mode, and other modes like Breakthrough and Domination don’t offer meaningfully different experiences. Battlefield V’s multiplayer is essentially a lot of the same chaos: capture a point, drive a tank, fly a plane, die, repeat. Character customization and progression are tedious and don’t add much to the experience, though I wholeheartedly welcome EA’s confident turn toward inclusiveness. Ultimately, Battlefield is still rock-paper-scissors with explosions — something with exciting moments, but no sense of accomplishment. At least they’re really nice explosions.

As multiplayer shooters are rapidly evolving with the emergence of differentiated battle royale games, Battlefield is no longer an FPS bellwether. I’ve been playing another recently released WWII game, Post Scriptum, which is made by a team of people who, incidentally, started as Battlefield 2 modders. If Battlefield V is a glistening statue, Post Scriptum is a pile of rocks. It’s buggy, clunky, and only for people with the patience for an early access game that might never be finished. It’s also one of the most memorable shooters I’ve played in a while, with moments that I want to run to tell my friends about.

Post Scriptum is a shooter that lets you do things other than shooting, which I think ought to be the future of every multiplayer game with guns. Its clever trick is using the stakes and atmosphere of a war game to make the non-shooting activities feel genuinely rewarding. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with playing Post Scriptum as Euro Truck Simulator: World War II. As a logistics truck driver, I can ferry supplies to the front line while getting shot at, which lets me be a part of the deadly spectacle of a large-scale battle without killing people. Playing music out of my truck over the game’s local chat is met with laughs and appreciation. It’s something I simply can’t find in a Battlefield game. It’s weird. It’s fun. It makes me smile. I just wish it was made by the artists at DICE.

And then there’s Battlefield V’s single-player campaign, which really surprised me. The “War Stories” format, introduced in 2016’s Battlefield 1, is the smartest attempt at single-player storytelling in war games that I’ve seen. I just wish DICE had made more of them. There are only three war stories to play in Battlefield V, with a fourth coming in December. (Battlefield 1 had six.) Each story takes about an hour to complete, and while they’re hampered by forgettable action sequences, laughable NPC intelligence, and formulaic set pieces, the format still feels like something with great potential.

Instead of playing an untouchable hero who inexplicably massacres hordes of enemies like in so many other shooters, these short stories allow you to be a vulnerable part of war’s death machine, which feels more authentic than getting the costumes right. Battlefield V’s opening sequence achieves this feeling to stunning effect. When you start the game, you jump between characters in rapid succession, often taking the place of someone who just killed you and continuing the fight from their perspective. The opening whisks you from a nighttime raid to a desert ambush and huge aerial battle. I wish the entire game had been like this.

The War Stories format also cleverly echoes the intangible experience of hearing real war stories told, which often walk the line between real historical accounts and tales stretched tall by time. I was impressed by one Battlefield V story about two brothers from West Africa who were sent to France to fight for a colonial power whose land they had never seen. After native French soldiers took their guns and handed them shovels, they had to overcome the racism of their allies before being allowed to achieve glory in battle — only to see themselves erased from history in the story’s epilogue. It’s a tight and powerful single-player story that’s wrapped in the modern context of a veteran reflecting on his long-secret contribution to history. I wanted more like it.

The “Tirailleur” story could have been the model for a deeply felt war game that elevates neglected heroes into popular historical canon. We’ve had decades of interactive Clint Eastwood movies, and so I appreciate DICE’s attempt to break away from tried-and-true narratives, even if it’s clumsy about expressing them in gameplay. I just wish these stories were the centerpiece of a more complete game, not a context wrapper for multiplayer deathmatches.

If the next Battlefield game only has a collection of untold war stories, I don’t think I’ll miss its multiplayer spectacle. After 16 years, I’m ready for my own war story to end and for others to begin.

Battlefield V is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

The Verge holiday 2018 gaming guide

September 9

Donut County is a game about swallowing Los Angeles and realizing you’re an asshole

Dragon Quest XI review (PS4, PC)

Dragon Quest’s creator doesn’t want to stop working anytime soon

Marvel’s Spider-Man review (PS4)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Destiny 2: Forsaken review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit review (Switch)

Nintendo’s new Xenoblade expansion eases players into the daunting world of RPGs

Life is Strange 2 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

October 9

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Super Mario Party review (Switch)

428: Shibuya Scramble is the best crime book you’ll ever read on your PS4

The World Ends With You review (Switch)

Return of the Obra Dinn review (PC)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Red Dead Redemption 2 review (PS4, Xbox)

Red Dead Redemption 2 improves some of my favorite parts of The Witcher 3

This queer horror game forces you to literally tear yourself apart

November 9

With Diablo III and Dark Souls for Switch, you never have to leave the dungeon

Déraciné review (PSVR)

Tetris Effect review (PS4, PSVR)

Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s trippy new take on Tetris will put you in the zone

Tetris Effect is perfect for people overwhelmed by modern video games

Hitman 2 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

How Hitman 2’s developers turned its gigantic levels into ever-evolving playgrounds

Sean Bean is excited to see how he dies in Hitman 2

Fallout 76 journal: an ongoing exploration of post-apocalyptic West Virginia

November, continued 3

Pokémon: Let’s Go review (Switch)

Pokémon: Let’s Go is the perfect way to introduce kids to the series

Pokémon: Let’s Go is a ‘starting point for the next 20 years of Pokémon’

December 1

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s single-player mode shines on the Switch

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/20/18103432/battlefield-v-review-single-player-battle-gameplay-combat-story-video-game

[sinceileftyoublog]

Joe Cardamone Interview: Unconscious Personas

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The Icarus Line has died, but Joe Cardamone has moved on. The influential L.A. post-hardcore band effectively disbanded, the now-late Allen DeGuzman stricken with cancer and Cardamone having gone on Scott Weiland’s fatal tour. Cardamone’s adopted a new auteur persona with his Holy War project, a collection of songs and film. If you’re an Icarus Line fan, Holy War may come as an aesthetic surprise. Though the band’s final album All Things Under Heaven sported some deep vocal modulation, Holy War goes all-out with the effects, predominantly auto-tune on Cardmone’s vocals. Yet, the project is a logical continuation, as he’s always told stories stylized and seedy and honest. The fascinating listen is bound to be divisive among fans and non-fans.

Cardamone responded to questions about the mixtape, released today, over email.

Since I Left You: Why did you decide to release a film to coincide with the release of the mixtape?

Joe Cardamone: The film is just another arm of one body. Where the lyrics and music stop, the film picks up. At some point music started to feel incomplete to the picture that was trying to be made, so I extended the expression to film and clothing. The film also ends up holding hands a little bit for an uninitiated audience. Perhaps a little sugar to take the medicine. The Holy War collection was always more than just a collection of songs.

SILY: Do you think someone can watch or listen to one without the other?

JC: Yeah, for sure they can. All pieces are designed to be standalone as much as they are part of a whole. Every frame is a picture.

SILY: Why do you call Holy War a mixtape instead of an album?

JC: IDK. Probably because it is a mixtape. Those songs were curated from about 60 finished works. So this collection is more of a playlist from a large body of unreleased material. Also, the fact that the initial release has been for free lands it in mixtape territory.

SILY: "Took the Money" introduces an aesthetic choice on the album: the use of autotune on your voice. What made you want to process your voice throughout the album?

JC: [There are two] main reasons I went this way. First is I am a fan of a lot of autotune music--Ye’, Carti, Thugger...they turned it into something artful and valid for me. Secondly, this was just the utilitarian choice because it helped set my voice into the synthetics and samples that largely make up Holy War. Some people may be put off by this choice, but for me, it was exciting to use contemporary sounds towards my ends.

SILY: What were some of your aesthetic inspirations here?

JC: In general, the sound of hip hop and R&B radio were a large inspiration and have always been. I just allowed myself to lean into it more this time. David Lynch is there somewhere. Harmony Korine. I don't know--I hate references. I feel like they rob work of whatever makes it good. The largest inspiration has been the life I lead, the story I am trying to tell, the picture. Filling a void in culture that I need to activate.

SILY: How much do the lyrics of Holy War directly reference your life experience of the last few years?

JC: The lyrics are direct distillations of my experiences or those of the people close to me. I don't really have another way to write in music. In film or other fiction, its much easier to premeditate and craft narratives that exist out of reality. In music, I am tethered to my emotions, so they usually call the shots.

SILY: How does "Irate Amputee" fit within the album? Would you consider it an interlude?

JC: It fits right there in the middle somewhere. That is actually one of my favorite tracks on the whole thing. I don't see it as an interlude. I see it as a chance to be true to where good music is going. It's nostalgic and in the moment at the same time. Multiple perspectives playing. I like the idea of music telling the story that time is more elastic than we can conceive.

SILY: From what point of view do you sing on "Deadbeats"?

JC: “Deadbeats” has a little multiple personalities going down. A protagonist observer walking through an Illuminati sex party.

SILY: Are you adopting a persona on the entire album?

JC: Not that I am completely aware of, but it very well could be the case. A lot of my decisions are made subconsciously because I trust it to guide me toward good shit.

SILY: "Let's Pretend Again" seems to be the most instrumentally minimal song on the album, letting your voice be front and center. Would you say it's the emotional centerpiece of the record?

JC: A good deal of loss surrounds the project in my personal life. Just trying to be honest with myself out loud was a chore enough to get a vocal down on some of these cuts. A good portion of the vocal performances are the first time I had ever sang the words and melody. There were other tracks that live in the same room as pretend but for some reason that one came into focus slightly more than the rest. Yeah, it could be a centerpiece if you think so.

SILY: "Chasin Bentley" consists of an obscured voice and a (presumably fake) interview about the project. But is this what you're really trying to say about the project?

JC: It's me as Beetlejuice, I think. Not entirely sure about that. I think there might be a sliver of truth in there. Why not?

SILY: Are you going to be playing these songs live?

JC: I have been here and there. The live aspect of this music has been a transformative experience for me and has changed my perspective on what it means to be a performer. I really lived in a rigid universe prior to the task of taking these shits on stage. It's been liberating and frightening.

SILY: What's next for you?

JC: I am rounding the year off with a few more performances around the world and starting to open the books on a new collection.

[emmaall]

We were so hungry I totally forgot to snag a picture before the meal, but gosh darn it if I didn’t get one after!

A little fuzzy headed but eager to explore we headed out to figure out what Dublin had to offer, particularly in terms of food. Turns out the airplane meal and a Guinness upon arrival wasn’t enough to hold us over. We were happy to see that everywhere we planned on visiting within Dublin was easily within walking distance away from our Airbnb, so we didn’t have to worry about accidentally dozing off on a bus! We had a few hours before we planned to be at the Guinness factory so we decided to map out where we needed to be the next day. By total coincidence my cousin Grace and her friend were going to be exploring Dublin the next day as well, since we were going to meet up for the Trinity and Book of Kells tour we decided to head to Trinity College and figure what time we could go on a tour. We stopped along the way…pretty much in the first pub we could find for a burger and a little coffee to keep us awake.

The day was a little dreary but we were lucky in that there was no rain, though we weren’t brave enough (foolhardy enough?) to leave our rain jackets behind. I’m pretty sure we ended up circling the grounds of Trinity two or three times before we realized where exactly we were. Which was exactly why we decided to walk to Trinity, we could get good and lost today and it wouldn’t be an issue, but if we got lost when we were trying to meet up with Grace it could cut into some solid lunching time. We got the info we needed about tours and spent some time exploring Trinity on our own.

  My picture poem

I am a total sucker for a tour any time of day, but I will say stumbling along blindly helps you to find things you never would have guessed existed. We spent a little bit of time in a photo exhibit featuring pictures that looked like they were from the 1950s and just as we were about to head over to the Guinness Factory we found the Science Gallery. At the time we did not know it was the Science Gallery and to be honest right now I’m only guessing by looking at the map. There is a chance it was a science exhibit in some other building we happened to walk into because we were trying to find a bathroom. I’m so glad we wandered in though because it was such a cool exhibit. There were little robots that were constantly trying to get away from each other, big robots that mirrored your movement, a robot piano that played a duet with whatever you were playing, and a camera that instead of taking your picture when you clicked the button printed out a poem. The poetry was a little rough but for a camera I’d say it did a pretty darn good job!

The day was starting to catch up with us and we were getting a bit tired but the prospect of having a Guinness at the actual Guinness factory cheered us up enough to keep us trekking forward. We did slightly miscalculate the walk and ended up dragging our feet a bit when we got to Guinness. We were so happy to be there though! We wandered around the exhibits in a bit of a daze. It’s so important to keep moving the first day you land somewhere to stave off jet lag…but I don’t remember half as much of the Guinness factory as I’d like to. I’ll simply have to go back.

  The Essence of Tourism

While we were walking around the exhibit that shows how the beer actually gets made we started chatting with a fellow American who was interested in what I knew about hops. I’d worked on a hops farm for a summer and was able to give a few fun facts that the exhibit glazed over. (Like how hostile hops are…those plants will give you the biggest welts if they touch your skin!) By the time we got to the very visually appealing water exhibit dad and I remembered that we were on vacation and wanted to get some pictures while we were there. Our new friend was still standing right next to us so we asked him if he didn’t mind snagging our picture. I think just as he was taking the picture he noticed his group and got distracted because he handed the camera back and disappeared. We looked at the photo and our heads didn’t quite make the cut. In his defense we didn’t specify that our heads should be in the picture.

Our favorite exhibits were probably the various ads Guinness has used throughout the years. The bicycling fish was endearing in a slightly creepy but lovable enough sort of way and the “tick followed tock followed tick” exhibit was incredibly dramatic. It was pretty fascinating to walk through the ad exhibit and see not only how Guinness has changed its advertising throughout time, but to really see how advertising itself has changed and evolved. Though, I suppose it could be said that advertising is often just one part of the narrative that is dragging us along to evolutionarily…it really depends upon whether or not you’re talking to someone who works in advertising!

Dad smelling and tasting some Guinness!

After the ads we waited in line for the Tasting Room which I will always remember as the smelling room. It was a completely white room with four basins that each a different aroma of Guinness coming out of them. After taking time to understand which part of Guinness created that particular scent/flavor we all got a tiny glass of Guinness and went into a separate room where there was a bell just waiting to be rung. To be completely honest my brain was fuzzy and my feet were tired at this point so I can’t remember if historically they rang the bell when their shift was over or if they rang the bell when the brew was done, but I do remember hearing that I could ring the bell. I am a huge fan of audience participation and have the special skill of shooting my hand up faster than anyone else even when I’m so jet lagged I don’t know what day it is and I’m holding a Guinness. What I’m saying is I got to ring the bell. Our tasting guide was not so impressed by my bell ringing abilities but I stand by my decision to ring it in a tasteful manner. Someone’s got to make headway in breaking the loud American tourist stereo type.

In the Gravity Bar with Guinness in hand!

After the tasting we could have stood in another line to learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and walk away with a certificate. We were in a bit of a daze and ready for a Guinness and the line looked long. We decided that the perfect Guinness pouring class would half to wait until the next time we were in Dublin and headed up to the Gravity Bar. It is exactly as cool as the name makes it sound. It’s a room at the top of the building with a 360 view of Dublin and a bar right in the middle. Of course it is a popular destination and dad and I had to do some serious hovering before we were able to find our own little cocktail table. We were more than happy to share it with a couple that was from California and clearly trying to scout out a table with less success than we’d had. Feeling refreshed from our Guinness and new friends, we headed down to the gift shop to make our first official touristy purchases and then headed back to the Airbnb to finally fall asleep.

  In this weeks Throwback Thursday we rewarded ourselves in the battle against jet lag with a Guinness at the Gravity Bar! A little fuzzy headed but eager to explore we headed out to figure out what Dublin had to offer, particularly in terms of food.

[emmyewesseyesee]

ema – extraordinary musical ambassador(s)

2017′s largely been a year of eclectic and fun live music for me – some 40+ gigs this year in fact – and the first week of october was particularly hectic with four in just five days. set on the middle wednesday was the mighty ema (aka erika m. anderson) rising high between the suburban grizzly bear at the start of the week and the northern litany and intrepid superorganism towards the end.

i’d last seen ema at the garage some three years ago and in the flesh she remains a truly spellbinding performer with her mesmeric presence just about managing to stave off any sense of apprehension or gawky self consciousness at having to perform her most assured and provocative manifesto of arresting noise and evocative message to the next room full of darkened strangers.

this time out, it’s a manifesto newly empowered by latest album, exile in the outer ring, a most incisive, striking and thought-provoking commentary on the politically and socially disenfranchised who find themselves not only on the fringes but also somehow vilified in a trump-electing yet rejecting america. the album is brooding, sinister, angry, staggeringly well observed and disarmingly humbling and empathetic in its stark portrayal and analysis of the people and circumstances faced in this outer ring – it rightly takes the lion’s share of the main set and will undoubtedly prove to be one of my top three albums of 2017 as it’s a truly epic and incredibly moving piece of work.

as if to highlight ema’s own triumph of temerity over timidity and her smart knack of narratively juxtaposing herself and her surroundings, the set itself opens with the woozily somber introspection of “where the darkness began” before giving way to the more transient who-care nihilism of “i wanna destroy”. in addition, both album and performance succeed in comprehensively spanning all viewpoints from me to you, them to us, the individual, the collective, the cause and the consequence, both instinct and impact and plenty in between, demonstrating an incredibly deft and attuned ability to position herself as first, second and third person subject, narrator and observer with equal aplomb. whether presenting her own demons or others’ struggles, anderson’s delivery comes across as utterly genuine, compelling and convincing, her sympathetic instrumentation and eloquent intonation allowing the listener to truly confront these observations, opinions, sentiments and sensations themselves for real.

for those open-minded and willing enough to listen and learn, this range and voracity of storytelling make for a most insightful, instructive, educational and evocative experience, with ema your generous teacher, your (very) high priestess and on-stage sage, your guide and mentor through her suburban sprawl. she takes her time, she provides succinct explanations with clarity and patience, she uses both smart metaphor and personal case study as support material, and thereby captivates her audience with consummate vigour, rigour and revelation.

aside from her sheer musical and oratory prowess, one thing you notice about anderson is how she views herself as part of the societal mainframe while challenging us all to confront our own opinions, prejudices, responsibilities and actions. it’s this precise and perceptive addition of perspective that gives such power and authority to her words. moreover, in a world where we increasingly look to define ourselves purely by the relativity of what we definitely (and defiantly) are not, and rush to castigate anyone who might dare to proffer any outspoken opinion of their own (never once pausing a moment to consider any context or circumstance which may have led to another person’s view), it’s refreshing to hear from someone who is not only confident enough to express their own innermost feelings and thoughts, but humble, compassionate and ultimately interested and invested enough to consider the reasons why others might think, feel and do the things that they do.

a case for the extraordinary musical ambassador…

it was probably a combination of ema’s erudite ability to engage her audience in such a way alongside my own general disdain for the current state of social and political debate in the world right now (plus a couple of cheeky ciders) that prompted this post and the idea of anderson and other touring musicians in the role of extraordinary musical ambassador.

as the wonderfully discerning comedian daniel kitson has previously proposed, we tend as a species to “live in our lives” yet merely to “exist in the world”, with those occasions where our lives “bump into each other” becoming evermore fleeting as we prefer instead to ignore one another via our head-down hand-helds while frequently resorting to the self-same devices to frequently lambast  and knee-jerk pronounce on each other without the slightest rhyme, reason, respect or reflection – increasingly “because i can, i will, and everyone else is doing it, so i’m clearly definitely right”. against such a backdrop of reactionary venom and pervasive outrage, it’s little surprise that our capacity for debate has atrophied to such primitive, divisive, vitriolic and downright offensive levels.

sadly faced with this combination of ignorant hostility and stubborn intransigence, our respective positions become yet more entrenched, our resolve yet steelier, our denial of any potential evidence to the contrary utterly impenetrable, as we resort to playground name-calling and abusive undermining from the relative comfort of our blinkered, fortified, self-serving echo-chambers. we function as if the world exists in spite of us, as if we’re merely its disgruntled (and no doubt delayed – yet again, dammit!) passengers, firing off our “the service on this planet is an absolute disgrace!” volleys with impunity in the vain hope that they’ll make things better. they won’t. and in the meantime, we’ve lost or simply chosen to dispense with the patience,  diplomacy, wisdom, tolerance and understanding to see things from a different point of view.

i remember barack obama’s farewell address with great fondness, not least because amidst all the wailing and gnashing of teeth at the election outcome, he rose above it with his signature statesmanship, calm, generosity and class. i also remember it for his most valuable and seemingly prescient closing warnings and calls-to-action: firstly he called for the upholding of healthy debate and positive discourse to engaging with those with different viewpoints and ideas, warning of the dangers of “corrosive political dialogue” and the “alienation” of certain portions of the country that might hold contrary beliefs; secondly, he spoke of the importance of participation, face-to-face dialogue and action in really making a difference.

“if you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking with one of them in real life”

yet one year on from that speech with the incoming administration having been largely built on the flimsy foundations of brash platitudes, fake-news rhetoric and late-night tweets, one might argue that the populous or democratic opposition has singularly failed to heed his advice, falling instead for this meagre bait and the seductive lure of each chance to be indignant, outraged and contemptuous anew via the same shallow, inciteful and anonymous channels, without taking the time to find out more or engage in any form of constructive or meaningful debate. this breeds stasis and increasing mistrust, whereas if we truly desire change, ultimately we have to play our part, to get involved, to listen and learn and engage – on other people’s terms – because real change demands this of us.

in the meantime, our inaugural extraordinary musical ambassador has taken it upon herself to present a thoroughly honest, engaging and affecting expression on the state of the forgotten in this suburban exile, and taken it out on tour to share with the world at large – no doubt including those more liberal hand-wringers who inhabit their own outer ring of the disunited states within their bubble of blissful ignorance, assumed superiority, and implicit disdain for those less fortunate at the beating heart of the country. she has listened to her surroundings, looked inside her heart, offered up her views, and generously shared her words and song and ideas to many people around the world.

why we need them more than ever…

in assessing this vital contribution, i’d go as far as to say that our extraordinary musical ambassadors are largely better equipped than most of our elected officials to provide this level of insight in appraising the pervading human condition and its relative health, happiness, misery or hardship.

where our politicians tend to fear and avoid ‘the great unwashed’, our emas will tend to operate at at the coal-face, down at the underbelly, amongst the misfits, the disenfranchised, the creators, the passionate, the young and importantly (and perhaps fortunately) the future shapers of our planet, even throwing  themselves directly into their arms with implicit trust in their heartfelt connection and fervent support. they enjoy a healthy and emotional dialogue with their audiences, often meeting them face-to-face before or after the gig to share stories, trade wares and touch lives. of course, the higher echelons of rockstar might look to build walls of protective entourage around them, but deep down these emas and their followers thrive on human connection and the vital intersection of people, ideas, creativity, emotion and exchange.

but perhaps the most telling credentials that our extraordinary musical ambassadors possess are actually the ambassadorial requirements of frequent travel and non-judgemental tolerance to go with this innate approachability and exchange. on tour, they will often arrive in a town overnight, spend the next day fast-experiencing it (often via the social network suggestions of its residents), give themselves and their ideas over to its people that evening, before late-night / early-morning disembarkation for the next far-flung destination. they land, they assimilate, they propagate daily, soaking each new experience up like a sponge to inform their wider perspectives and incorporate into their future art and exchange. indeed, they witness such diversity and warmth from such a wide range of people (admittedly connected through their love of the artist) and locations that it gives them an unprecedented view of the state of society at large and an unrivalled ability to understand the populous’s pervading themes, assess the relative mood and circumstances of countries and individual towns within those countries, and share ideas and inspiration quickly and emotionally around the globe – in person.

in a world where we are increasingly and immediately connected to this rich tapestry of interrelated experience, we somehow find ourselves strangely lacking in empathy towards those elements of it that we simply cannot abide. it seems counter-intuitive: to be better connected and yet lesser connected than ever before. perhaps then it is time for these extraordinary musical ambassadors to set the example not only to the populous but to the powers-that-be for a progressive culture that is far more humble, inspiring, empowering, embracing, connected, exchanging and conversing rather than one based on bluster, fear, rhetoric, difference, control, division and greed. and if music can teach us anything, it must surely be to listen, to accept, to enjoy, to share, to get involved, to see things from a different point-of-view and try to understand. so get amongst it, listen to something new, and reach out to other people, because they might like what you hear. after all, true progress can only be achieved by improving our connections, expanding our horizons, and better understanding and appreciating each other. we all need to take responsibility for that.

if you’ve made it this far, thank you for your patience in reading these rather expansive words. as a reward, i’ll leave you with a couple of tracks from exile in the outer ring below: the delicately moving elemental dismantling of “blood and chalk” and the disturbingly pounding menace of “breathalyzer”. as a bonus, should you wish to listen to a track from each of the artists whose gigs i’ve attended this year, you can do so courtesy of emm-yew-ess-eye-see's 2017 live playlist here. enjoy!

ps thank you and credits to andré haberman for the ema gig photos for neølyd (münchen, sep. 2017)

[sportinnovation]

Does Rory McIlroy need a change of approach?

We all know that Rory McIlroy’s should convert more birdie chances, but his approach play is arguably of greater concern.

Some ideas are hard to shake out of your head. Commentators laud Jordan Spieth’s brilliance with the short stick while disregarding the fact that his 2017 putting statistics are pretty ordinary. We have it in our heads that Zach Johnson is a very short hitter and that Phil Mickelson is a Houdini of the greens, yet Johnson drives the ball 287 yards on average and Mickelson doesn’t rank among the top 40 tour players in scrambling.

We also have our preconceived notions about Rory McIlroy. People are beguiled by the almost impossible mix of grace and power, of piercing long irons spiking by the flagstick. When the spirit moves him, he is unbeatable, we say, but his temperament lets him down. We talk of mental lapses and putting collapses, yet the statistics offer a much less theatrical portrait of his game.

For good reason, his long game continues to inspire awe. He may not split fairways like the Furyks or Funks of this world, but a 320-yard driving average has helped him to the number one spot in total driving on the PGA Tour this season. 

The rest of his stats after are less easy to pin down (except maybe for his outstanding bunker play). Take McIlroy’s putting for example. The standard narrative is that he is a streaky putter - superb on occasion, but unreliable after a few slip by.

Putting into perspective

Clearly, putting is not his strength, but it is not nearly as flaky as some presume. Of the 202 players listed on the PGA Tour putting stats, McIlroy is 131st in strokes gained, which means his putting costs him 0.077 strokes against the field per round. So, hardly debilitating. And some of his numbers actually compare well against the field. He is 42nd in putts per GIR, his overall putting average is 42nd, and his 41.08% one-putt average places him 39th on tour in that category.

For the most part, his putting is solid if unspectacular. In the jitteriest of categories - the 4-8 foot range - he places 42nd, with 71.72% of putts made. However, once you start entering mid range, McIlroy’s numbers dwindle rapidly. He is 199th in 10-15 footers made and 118th in 15-20 footers converted.

“No player is expected to consistently drain putts from longer range, but McIlroy’s putting seldom delivers him from difficulty.”

When it comes to long range putting, it is worth comparing his numbers to this year’s four major winners. In the 11 PGA Tour events McIlroy has played during 2017, he has made just 10 putts of longer than 20 feet (including an impressive eight from more than 25 feet). However, in that same time frame, US PGA champion Justin Thomas holed 15, Brooks Koepka holed more than double his tally with 21, and British Open champion Jordan Spieth holed 30 - three times McIlroy’s total. The Ulster-man may have holed three more long-range putts than Masters champion Sergio Garcia, but the Spaniard is infamously shaky on the greens. No player is expected to consistently drain putts from longer range, but McIlroy’s putting seldom delivers him from difficulty.

And it’s not just that McIlroy’s failure to convert mid- and long-range birdie chances that holds him back. He also suffers at the hands of another momentum killer: the three-putt. He is 127th on Tour in three-putt avoidance at 3.27% (the same number as Sergio Garcia) while Spieth is 20th, Thomas is 65th, and Koepka is 97th.

Marry the solid short putting to the slack longer efforts and we see that McIlroy’s putting is average. He hasn’t endured the cold-bladed torture of Adam Scott, Lee Westwood, and Sergio Garcia at major championships. You simply cannot win four majors unless you putt very well some of the time. However, there can be little doubt that McIlroy needs to work harder than his rivals to make birdies at the moment. He needs to drive the ball farther and drop approaches within eight feet to win tournaments.

Therein lies the second problem.

Ironing out the glitches?

If pressed, we could all summon the following image in our minds: McIlroy carves an approach shot that touches the clouds. As the ball spikes from the heavens, he holds his finish for a moment before twirling the club in his hands as the ball dances by the flag-stick.

This is McIlroy the ball-striker supreme - the one we watched from doughy curliness to gym-cut icon. However, a glance at his approach shot statistics this season reflects a different picture, for this year he has struggled awfully from 50-175 yards out.

On first glance at the figures, everything seems fine. McIlroy is 31st in strokes gained for approaches to the green, picking up almost half a shot on the field per round. However, when you take away the approach shots for which he is roundly lauded - the mid- and long irons - we see that his numbers are strikingly poor. 

The odd thing is, he is more accurate with many of his mid-irons than he is with his wedges  

When faced with shots of between 50 and 75 yards, he puts the ball 18’6” from the hole on average - generally outside birdie range and good enough only for 131st place among his peers. Admittedly, he is in 11th place for shots from 75-100 yards, but when you look at his approach play from 100-175 yards, you can really see why he didn’t come close to winning a major this year.  

On average, his shots from 100-125 yards finished 21’6” from the cup, those from 125-150 yards were 29’10” away, and 150-175 yard efforts sat 29’3” from the hole. When measured against his fellow tour pros, these numbers were only good enough for 150th, 202nd, and 159th place respectively.

When you scan the results of his approach play from the rough, the figures go from the sublime to the bleak - in an upside down sort of way. From 200-225 yards off the fluffier lies, McIlroy muscles the ball to within 30’9” on average - better than anyone on tour. The odd thing is, he is more accurate with many of his mid-irons than he is with his wedges. For example, his pitches from 75-100 yards finish 30’5” from the cup, only four inches closer than his efforts of up to 150 yards farther away.  

Shouldering the blame

This startling lack of consistency could be down to several factors. Firstly, McIlroy has been suffering from periodic left rhomboid spasms this season. He has been slow to blame his lack of sharpness on this ailment, but it would have affected the amount of time spent honing his technique on the range.

The second factor could merely be a matter of technique. At the USPGA, McIlroy was second in driving distance but 74th out of 75 players from 50-125 yards. His length off the tee puts him in positions other players dream about, but this advantage comes to nothing with such ragged approach play. If you put the ball as close from 225 yards as you do from 75 yards (from the rough), then something must be wrong - and the man himself mentioned as much. In a recent Sky Sports interview, McIlroy mentioned that his wedge technique needs tweaking and that he needs to control his ball flight better.

A third factor is the caddy situation. Rightly or wrongly, several golf writers and pundits have questioned JP Fitzgerald’s credentials for years. They believe a better caddy would save McIlroy shots; and without jumping to too many conclusions, the statistics indicate areas where a new caddy could make a difference.

The most obvious area is in reading the greens. McIlroy’s poor conversion rate from 10-20 feet cannot purely be a technical issue. Perhaps with a fresh pair of eyes, McIlroy will deliver better results on the greens. After all, his brief stint with putting guru Dave Stockton coincided with an immediate uptick in his putting. 

Another area of potential improvement is course management. We always marvel at McIlroy’s distance off the tee, yet he only hits 55% of fairways and is 100th in proximity to the hole after his approaches. Could he be guided around the course better? How much of his errant iron-play is down to poor club selection? Are there times he should be convinced not to take on a low percentage carry over water onto a postage stamp green?  

At this point it should be noted that McIlroy’s stroke average for the year is 69.050, placing him second on tour; so he’s clearly not far off competing at the pointy end of the biggest events. That said, he also has zero wins to his name in 2017. 

McIlroy says he will defend the FedEx Cup despite the nagging injury and temporary caddy situation. Maybe we will see sudden improvements in his mid-range putting and the sharpness returning to his wedge play. However, unless at least one of these glitches is fixed, then we won’t see him lifting a trophy by the end of the season.  

*Image: WikiCommons/TourProGolfClubs

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Golf -- The Open -- Jordan Spieth wipes absent the uncertainties in Royal Birkdale rainstorm

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Golf -- The Open -- Jordan Spieth wipes absent the uncertainties in Royal Birkdale rainstorm

SOUTHPORT, England – The surprising way he shed the 2016 Masters and the psychoanalysis of how Jordan Spieth could possibly triumph over such a devastating defeat was drowned out like the British rainstorm he knowledgeable Friday.

Spieth by no means could quite wash absent the thoughts, but he’s performed his finest to place the worst day of his job at the rear of him. He included two around the world victories past calendar year, and has posted two additional in 2017.

And now he is contending in a big championship once more.

Spieth experienced long gone four majors since the Masters meltdown without having staying a issue, his two big titles in 2015 a memory. Due to the fact his ball two times splashed in Rae’s Creek at Augusta Nationwide, Spieth found himself generally discouraged in the game’s greatest tournaments.

But Thursday’s bogey-totally free 65 adopted by a identified 69 in tough weather on Friday at Royal Troon has him atop the leaderboard at the 146th Open by two shots over Matt Kuchar.

And he’s again where he belongs, performing Jordan Spieth points like chipping in for a par, producing extensive birdie putts and coming up with a clutch eagle.

Get dates, Tv set plan, information coverage, dwell scores and final results on ESPN for The Open at Royal Birkdale.

“Very satisfying,” claimed Spieth, who is taking part in in his fifth Open, his finest end staying lacking a playoff by a stroke two years back at St. Andrews. “We appear to be to have grinded it out. I do not know if we’d be in any greater score if I was on the other side of the draw. You just do not know where your breaks drop and where they do not.

“My persistence wore a little bit skinny about the transform, but I was ready to regroup. And that chip-in [at the tenth] was enormous for par.”

Spieth has unfairly been portrayed as a person who performs nicely only when he tends to make a ton of putts. It is a bogus narrative that puppies Spieth, just one that could be seen as an insult to his competitive take care of, his capacity to struggle through adverse problems, the unrelenting wish to just will the golfing ball into the gap.

In truth of the matter, Spieth has played nicely in 2017 despite not producing sufficient putts. It is the just one element of his match that he details to as holding him again even although he’s received two times on the PGA Tour this season.

For illustration, Spieth potential customers the PGA Tour in strokes attain/approach to the environmentally friendly — the portion of the match where he is typically cited as staying sub-standard. On Friday during the second spherical of The Open, he stiffed his approach at the par-three twelfth in setting up an quick birdie.

A further illustration: Spieth is a so-so 36th on the PGA Tour in strokes received placing. On Friday, he skipped a three-footer for par on the sixteenth gap, a putt he ought to have designed and just one you’d assume him to gap — especially offered all the communicate about how he tends to make all the things.

Jordan Spieth showed contact, talent and resilience in carding a 69 to get the outright guide right after Round two at The Open. AP Photo/Alastair Grant

And so it goes. Spieth is primary The Open at the midway level, and it is really a small little bit of all the things that has him on top. He strike just 5 fairways and only 8 of eighteen greens but desired just twenty five putts.

A a few-gap extend starting up at the tenth is what designed his spherical on Friday.

With the weather turning weak, Spieth was in issues at the par-four tenth and was off the environmentally friendly in three shots. He then chipped in for par. At the par-four eleventh, he holed just one of individuals extensive birdie putts he’s develop into renowned for, a 30-footer. And at the par-three twelfth, he knocked his tee shot to a several feet.

He played individuals holes in two underneath and took the guide, conquering a bogey at the 13th gap by holing an eagle putt at the 15th.

“I absolutely experienced reminiscences of my initial two rounds of the Masters [2015, which Spieth received] with him,” claimed defending Open champion Henrik Stenson, who played with Spieth during the initial two rounds right here as nicely. “He could possibly not have played as nicely tee to environmentally friendly, but his flagstick has been doing the job very a lot the same way. He is designed a large amount of putts, momentum-vital putts for par. And designed some big types for birdies, some extensive types and mid-assortment types. Absolutely his placing has been on this 7 days and that’s why he’s in the guide for positive.

“I absolutely assume he’s the gentleman to defeat over the weekend if he retains on placing like that.”

Stenson pointed out, on the other hand, that what he did from the tenth to the twelfth holes was not all about placing. And it was a big portion of the match for Spieth.

“To chip in for par right after staying in issues two times on ten, then he holes a 35-footer across the environmentally friendly on 11 and then he hits it stiff on the subsequent,” Stenson claimed. “That could have been a few or four shots distinctive over individuals a few holes. If it is really your 7 days, you require just one of individuals momentum-keepers. He certainly bought that with the chip-in and walks absent two underneath on individuals a few. I absolutely see him staying hazardous over the weekend.”

There are nevertheless two rounds to go. He is bought scrappy Matt Kuchar chasing him, as nicely as regional favourite Ian Poulter and U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. Rory McIlroy, with some renewed self-confidence right after a strong 68 that was just one of just seven scores in the 60s, is just 5 strokes again.

But Spieth is where we bought used to viewing him. This is the twelfth time he’s led right after a spherical of a big likely again to Masters and U.S. Open wins of two years back. And it is really tricky not to like him now.

“Anytime you happen to be in the past team on a weekend in a big, you get anxious,” Spieth claimed. “And I’ll be emotion it this weekend a little bit. But I take pleasure in it because as extensive as I approach it positively and recognize that this is what you want to sense because you happen to be in the position you want to be in, then the much easier it is to strike strong shots and to make strong rounds.”

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  Marlins Park prepares for marquee MLB All-Star events, with attendance expected to exceed 110,000 fans, according to the Miami Herald. The host MLB team also reports that the MLB FanFest at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which began “Friday and runs through Tuesday, has already sold more than 100,000 passes combined.” The Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game itself are “each likely to draw crowds at or near the facility’s attendance record for baseball (37,446) set during March’s World Baseball Classic game” between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. The club also reports that the MLB Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game, the "first big events of the weekend held Sunday at Marlins Park, have sold upwards of 30,000 tickets. A scan of secondary ticketing sites reveals that Tuesday’s game in Miami is the least expensive ASG ticket in the past few years. The average ticket price is $550, a 31% drop ($253) from last year’s game in San Diego and a 62% drop ($885) from the 2013 contest at Citi Field. Miami is well-versed in mega-events, of course, and the city’s/Marlins’ thorough planning on security, traffic flow, parking, and crowd-pleasing entertainment reflects just that.

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti could likely commiserate right now on one major aspect of hosting a mega event – not controlling the timing. As the Miami Herald notes, "After waiting more than two decades, South Florida is finally hosting the All-Star Game that was promised to it in 1995." Then-MLB Commissioner Bud Selig awarded the 2000 All-Star Game to South Florida that year. But in 1998, the year after the Marlins won their first World Series, the league changed course and awarded the game to the Braves' Turner Field, saying that South Florida "needed a new stadium in order to host the event." The Marlins "could have hosted last year’s All-Star Game," but it went instead to San Diego’s Petco Park. Says Marlins President David Samson, "We switched with San Diego due to booking issues…We agreed, and I’m so glad we did.” Likewise, all indicators point to Los Angeles having to wait four years longer than desired to host its next Olympic Games, as Paris will likely get the nod for 2024. As Florida native and now Los Angeles resident Tom Petty says, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

As the fortnight enters its second week, Wimbledon is considering fining players after seeing an alarming amount of retirements in the first round of this year’s tournament. According to Reuters, Centre Court fans endured back-to-back walk-offs in matches featuring Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The retirees, Martin Kilzan and Alexandr Dolgopolov, were both speculated to have been injured coming into their first round matches, but stuck it out to at least be guaranteed “roughly $45,000” in prize money. In the tournament’s first day alone, seven players threw in the towel partway through their match. Wimbledon is now considering “implementing a new rule to deter injured players from stepping on to” the court. "On the ATP level...if you can't play, you still get your prize money twice in the year,” said Federer. “Maybe the grand slams should adopt some of that, then maybe we would eliminate half of the players [who turn up injured].” If anyone can make this happen, it’s Federer, a global leader who always considers the “little guy” despite his record 18 Grand Slam titles.

Qatar’s World Cup plans could face a major roadblock in the near future. According to the London Telegraph, “a number of firms working on Qatar World Cup projects are drawing up contingency plans” in the case that political sanctions are not lifted on the Middle Eastern country. Beyond the eight brand new state-of-the-art soccer stadiums that need to be built in the next five years, Qatar needs a new metro system for the capital city Doha “and 60,000 hotel rooms” – no small task. Both British and American firms have played large roles in Qatar’s plans thus far, “including star architects Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects, who have designed a venue each, historic engineer Arup and U.S. program managers CH2M and Aecom.” This is just another on a long list of issues that have plagued Qatar ever since it was awarded the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, alongside concerns about bribery, human rights violations, and the heat. In fact, it’s still not inconceivable that FIFA will elect to hold the event elsewhere at the 11th hour.

When it comes to winning a bid to host the Olympics, public support plays a crucial role. And Los Angeles has just that. According to a new IOC-funded research report shared by SportsBusiness Journal, the LA 2024 bid has more public support than Paris’s bid. The report notes that “78% of L.A. residents said they support the effort to host the Games, with only 8% opposed.” On the other hand, Paris has support from only 63% of its population, with another 23% opposing the bid. These surveys further explain the dwindling number of major Western cities willing to host the costly Games. And “Paris’ higher opposition could be problematic for the IOC, which has seen numerous American and European bids die in the face of local political objections and is keen to put the politics of bids to the side.” In light of the limited interest among qualified hosts and the ever-escalating costs, this coming week’s verification that both the 2024 and 2028 Games will be awarded in September is looking like a solid win for the IOC, regardless of which city comes first.

This year’s Open Championship will feature a notable shift, but not one that comes on the course. According to ForTheWin.com, the 2017 Open Championship will “award the prize fund in U.S. dollars in recognition of the fact that it is the most widely adopted currency for prize money in golf.” Brexit is considered to have played a big role in this decision with the ensuing weakening of the British Pound. Many players are not happy with this shift because being paid in pounds as opposed to dollars typically means more prize money due to the exchange rate. “In 2007, for example, when the GBP/USD exchange rate tipped over 2 GBP per $1, winning the British Open was the most lucrative prize of the four majors.” This year, the exchange rate stands at “1.2 GBP per $1. The British Open winner received less than any other major winner in 2016,” and this year appears to follow the same narrative. Whether counted in dollars or pounds, this year’s winner stands to receive a record $1,845,000 – hardly pocket change in any nation.

As the European Tour and select American events look at format changes geared to attracting younger fans, a successful golf company is pioneering a new way of getting millennial consumers engaged. With 16 years of consecutive growth, Global Value Commerce is benefiting from double-digit sales increase year over year (15%), totaling nearly $60 million in transactions yearly. While many golf retailers are losing money or going out of business altogether – witness TaylorMade, GolfSmith, and Nike – GlobalGolf.com is thriving as a secondary market expert providing name brand equipment such as Callaway, Cobra, and Titleist at discounted prices. Backed by the PGA Value Guide, consumers new to the game know they’re getting quality clubs at the best prices. GlobalGolf.com has capitalized on millennials and consumers looking for the sweet spot between quality and affordability. Since the 2009 market crash, consumers’ “deal” mentalities have allowed companies like Nordstrom Rack, Aldi, and Off Fifth (Saks) to develop and enjoy substantial growth, just like GlobalGolf.com has done in the golf space.

NHL free agents are starting to follow the lead of their NBA counterparts when it comes to free agency decisions. According to the Chicago Tribune, NHL free agents are now picking their preferred destination over taking more money from a less-preferred team. The most recent examples of this include Brian Campbell and Patrick Sharp passing up on more money these past two summers to join the Chicago Blackhawks, while “Joe Thornton could’ve gotten a multiyear deal from someone but wanted to stay with the San Jose Sharks.” New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk ultimately elected to sign with the club on a shorter, less-lucrative deal than what another team offered because the opportunity to play for the Rangers gives him the chance to “fulfill a lifelong dream” of chasing the Stanley Cup in New York. This is a new trend in the NHL and should only continue to escalate going forward.

Longtime MLB umpire Angel Hernandez has sued the league, alleging racial discrimination. According to the L.A. Times, Hernandez, who has umped for almost 25 years, is claiming that MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre “has a history of animosity towards [Hernandez] stemming from Torre’s time as manager of thex New York Yankees.” Hernandez cites the fact that he has not been assigned to many World Series games coupled with not being promoted to crew chief. The ump was born in Cuba and now lives in Florida. Specifically, the lawsuit “alleges violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Ohio state laws.” MLB has not issued a comment thus far; however skeptics surrounding the issue are noting that Hernandez “seems to see something nobody else does” in his claims against Torre. With the possible exception of Derek Jeter and Big Papi, perhaps no one in present day baseball is revered more than Torre – expect extra scrutiny as the courts take up the matter.

“Horns up, Limes in!” That’s the new campaign being rolled out by Corona Extra to celebrate being named the official sponsor of the University of Texas Longhorns. According to kvue.com, the campaign will be visible all around Texas’ DKR Stadium at home football games this coming season. The move for Corona marks yet another massive step toward marketing the beer in American sports, as this five-year deal makes “Corona the first imported beer brand to partner with a university in the United States.” Expanding on Corona’s longstanding ties in soccer and boxing, the company is making a push into collegiate football by partnering with one of the country’s leading programs. “There really isn’t anything more emblematic of the state of Texas than the storied history of the four-time football national champion Texas Longhorns,” said John Alvarado, VP of Marketing for Corona Extra. “Corona is honored to be a part of the legendary Longhorns lore.” Tellingly, according to multiple sources, in-stadium alcohol sales earned the university $1.8 million in 2016. No surprise they are partnering with a growing beer brand.

Superstar forward Lionel Messi will stay put in Barcelona until at least 2021 after re-signing with the La Liga and European powerhouse. According to Bleacher Report, Messi’s current contract was set to end next summer and Barca has been intent on resigning him for some time. Messi’s new four-year deal is reportedly worth an astounding “£500,000 per week,” while also giving him an additional £43.8 million “renewal premium.” The new deal sees Messi’s release clause jump up to $340 million; the contract is expected to be finalized and signed within the coming weeks after initial terms were agreed on in principal between both sides. Club President Josep Maria Bartomeu “personally took charge of the negotiations” when doubts began to circled regarding Messi’s future with his childhood club. Messi follows the footsteps of his fellow strikers Neymar and Luis Suarez in “committing his future to the club.” Messi is such a hero to Barca fans that any complaints about him earning more each week than most Spaniards will earn in a lifetime, in a nation where unemployment is continually high, are never more than murmurs.

Together, NASCAR drivers seem to agree about wanting more merchandise income, with many drivers not even making six figures from merchandise sales. According to NBCSports.com, under the current NASCAR deal with Fanatics, teams only get 9% of merchandise revenue, which is typically “divvied into thirds between the team, driver and sponsor,” contributing greatly to the small amount of total merchandise-related income drivers see at the end of the day. Under terms of the 10-year deal, Fanatics takes 75% of the revenue – admittedly lopsided terms. When NASCAR’s merchandising boom was at its "peak more than a decade ago, a top star’s revenue share hovered" at $3-4 million annually. But now their merchandise income "isn’t commensurate with the biggest stars in dirt-track racing,” and most of the sport’s biggest stars are struggling to pull in $1 million of merchandise income now. Perhaps the NASCAR drivers should hire Josep Maria Bartomeu

The Toronto Raptors are now the ninth NBA team to sign a jersey patch sponsorship for this coming season after inking Sun Life to a three-year deal. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the Toronto-based company will have a patch with “the anchor of a CSR program promoting diabetes awareness and prevention.” Financials are reported to be valued at C$5 million annually, which is right on par with some of the other NBA jersey patch sponsorship deals that have been signed thus far. Expanding beyond just the jersey patch, “The deal includes rights with the group benefits, life insurance and retirement planning portions of the insurance/financial services categories, along with courtside signage, along with digital and social ad inventory for Sun Life.” Sun Life has been an official sponsor of the Raptors for four years now, but this new deal escalates the company’s involvement with the team. Sun Life didn’t last long as a stadium sponsor in elder-leaning Miami – let’s see if the company’s retirement products gain more traction in their home market.

New pro sports arenas and stadiums aim to “wow” fans, and the Milwaukee Bucks hope to do just that with their new facility. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the “Panorama Club” is set to be one of the key features of the team’s new arena. Fans will get a catwalk-high view of the entire court from the club, which presents the team with yet “another sponsorship or naming rights opportunity” and even “perhaps a bidding war.” Bucks President Peter Feigin said a deal of “several million dollars over a seven- to 10-year term” was likely for what he called a “branding opportunity.” The name the club holds right now is merely a placeholder until the right sponsor comes knocking at the Bucks’ door. At capacity, the club can hold 500-600 people and will allow fans a dual view of both the court and the new entertainment district the team plans to build to the east of the arena. Just look at the move as a new kind of “sponsor density” – the Bucks are not only building out, they’re building up.

On the heels of Amazon’s massive deal to acquire Whole Foods, the online conglomerate has now signed a new deal with France’s National Basketball League, the LNB. According to Le Parisien, the three-year deal between the LNB and Amazon will see a new online store for French clubs’ gear being sold. LNB President Alain Béral said, “We wanted to develop our digital presence, and after discussions, we are celebrating an association with a great company.” This comes as the first official partnership that Amazon has struck with a professional sports league, though the company does have a presence in digital sports streaming that is only continuing to grow. Starting in September, “all club products” of the French league will be available online for fans to buy around the world. While basketball continues to grow internationally, it’s clear this deal would have never happened without the blueprint created by the NBA many years ago.