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passionate-reply · 4 years ago

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“Why did Kraftwerk stop making albums?” they all ask, as though Karl Bartos isn’t right here, consistently kicking ass and making great music. If you’re hungry for more Kraftwerk goodness, specifically with an early 90s techno flair, you probably won’t do better than Esperanto, so come check it out! (Also featuring special guest star Andy McCluskey from OMD.) Full transcript below!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be talking about an album not too many people have heard, but that I think more people really should--especially fans of Kraftwerk. It’s Esperanto, the 1993 debut of Kraftwerk alumnus Karl Bartos’s project, Elektric Music. The production of the final classic-lineup Kraftwerk LP, 1986’s Electric Cafe, had been dominated by frustrating delays, rewrites, and remixes, and when all was said and done, the resulting album was a relative flop. By the time of the 1991 remix album The Mix, which seemed to end Kraftwerk’s career with a whimper, Bartos had grown alienated from founding members Ralf Huetter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, and fed up with their apparent lack of work ethic. He set out on his own, partnering with Lothar Manteuffel of the Neue Deutsche Welle act Rheingold, to form Elektric Music.

What I think really stands out about Esperanto first is its sense of freewheeling, unrestrained immediacy. For nearly a decade leading up to this album, Bartos had been working at the whim of others, waiting around, and feeling like he was spinning his wheels. Esperanto feels like a tightly coiled spring that’s finally being released. It’s dense, busy, in-your-face music that positively demands to be paid attention to.

Music: “Lifestyle”

Vibrating at the core of Esperanto is an undeniable Kraftwerk-esque sonic template: textural synth side-swipes, chattering vocoder-driven vocals, and hypnotic, mechanical rhythms. It’s natural to expect that rhythmic quality from Bartos, since he was chiefly brought on to provide percussion parts for Kraftwerk, but it’s also important to remember that he’s as interested in pop music as he is in classical. Both Bartos’s solo work, as well as the Kraftwerk tracks he had a hand in, emphasize melody, in a poppy, easy to love manner. The melodies here have some precedent in Bartos’s earlier work, but they’ve never been quite as punchy and vibrant before.

“Lifestyle” also makes early use of vocal chops, which contribute to that tight and busy feel, while also being a marked attempt at pushing this core sound into the musical future. Some of these specific samples are actually repeated across multiple tracks, if you listen closely--a sort of callback to the repeated melodic motives of the early Kraftwerk albums. “Information,” a high-concept eight-minute epic that the rest of the tracklisting pivots around, is even closer to being structured like “Trans-Europe Express”:

Music: “Information”

Bartos has never really ceased struggling under the weight of his Kraftwerk past, torn between indulging in these ideas and themes that come so naturally to him, and feeling obligated to set himself apart--as well as obligated to push the envelope and break new musical ground. Esperanto radiates and burns with that sense of conflict, which feels fresher and more raw, given the timeframe involved. This tension between working with and working against the Kraftwerk legacy is not only musical, but also thematic. Like the Kraftwerk albums, Esperanto is deeply concerned with the role technology plays in our lives...but it’s a lot less optimistic. Take, for instance, the opening track, “TV”:

Music: “TV”

“TV” is Esperanto at its most gloomy or melancholy, portraying the detached haze of modern lotus-eaters transfixed by the glowing screen. It’s an image that’s readily familiar and relatable to us today, of course, and it’s also one that runs contrary to the techno-utopianism of Kraftwerk, where home technologies offer hope of bringing people together rather than splitting them apart, and disconnecting them from the real world. If that wasn’t enough to convince you to read “TV” as an anti-Kraftwerk screed, the lyrics even point to “computer graphics” and “electric bands” as fodder for that destructively distracting entertainment. Ouch! Along somewhat similar lines is the track “Kissing the Machine”:

Music: “Kissing the Machine”

“Kissing the Machine” is also a sort of rebuttal of Kraftwerk tracks like “Computer Love,” demonstrating the pitiful perversion it really is to expect human, emotional fulfillment from a cold and sterile mechanical contraption. Whereas “TV” is more overtly downbeat, “Kissing the Machine” takes the route of dramatic irony, going for an eerily cheerful, naive sort of sound, painting its narrator as utterly oblivious to what they’re missing out on. You probably noticed that the vocalist on this track is actually not Bartos--it’s Andy McCluskey, best known as the frontman of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Like Manteuffel, McCluskey is a younger synth-pop artist whose career began in the 1980s, making music that owed quite a lot to what Kraftwerk had achieved before. Bringing on some slightly younger talent is not only a nod towards keeping up with the times, but also another jab at the legacy of Kraftwerk, who refused to collaborate with any other musicians, and at times even seemed loath to acknowledge how the art of electronic music had evolved in their wake. As the title of Esperanto implies, the theme of language is also prominent here, and that serves as yet another way in which the Kraftwerk philosophy is turned on its head, most notably in the title track:

Music: “Esperanto”

While many people assert that it’s more “authentic” to listen to Kraftwerk in German, they made consistent attempts to incorporate a wide variety of languages into their work. Besides the English-language versions of their LPs, Kraftwerk also sang in French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and even Japanese, to varying degrees. They were selling a vision of “Europe Endless” that was multicultural and multilingual, and seemed to have wanted people from all over the world to connect with them and feel included and represented in their future, rather than view them as some distant and peculiarly Teutonic phenomenon.

“Esperanto” flies in the face of the dream of linguistic unity. Esperanto itself is an artificial, constructed language, created by L. L. Zamenhof in the late 19th Century. Combining features from the most commonly spoken languages across the globe, and streamlining away things like irregular verbs, Esperanto was built from the ground up to become a true “universal language” for all of mankind, that was easy to learn and use. But despite the hopes of Zamenhof, whose name for his new tongue translates to English as “one who hopes,” it obviously never caught on. The most beautiful utopian vision in the world is still just a vision, and you can end up failing even if “you’ve got the perfect pitch.”

Kraftwerk’s longtime graphic designer Emil Schult, whose contributions to Kraftwerk’s signature aesthetic are nearly as important to their legacy as any of their music, returned to create the cover art of Esperanto. With its bright and simple red tone and strong use of diagonals, Esperanto’s cover art is clearly evocative of the iconic cover of Kraftwerk’s 1978 LP The Man-Machine, arguably the finest hour for the band as well as Schult. However, its abstract, non-figurative qualities set it apart from the work Schult and Bartos had done before, as Kraftwerk hadn’t made an album that didn’t feature their own faces front and center since 1975’s Radioactivity. The image of a rising sun is fitting for the idea of Bartos’s empowered return to music after a period of dormancy.

The world is full of people bemoaning the fact that Kraftwerk gave up on making new music, and the apparent irony of this band who appeared to be visiting from the future being absent from the world they helped create, in which “electronic music” has ceased to be a novelty and become a default. Karl Bartos may not be the most prolific artist in the world, but I’ve always seen him as the rightful heir to the Kraftwerk legacy, and I think his string of solo albums since leaving the band are the most worthy follow-ups that could ever have been paired with Kraftwerk’s classic run. Esperanto does everything you could possibly want a 1990s Kraftwerk album to do, staying true to that musical heritage while also pushing forward, and staking a place in the broader artistic conversation. I think everyone who identifies as a fan of Kraftwerk owes it to themself to give Esperanto a spin.

My favourite track on Esperanto is the closer, “Overdrive.” Unlike the readily apparent cynicism purveyed by tracks like “TV” and “Kissing the Machine,” “Overdrive” reads as a more complex perspective about technology and everyday life. It’s a portrayal of that all-too-modern scourge of overstimulation, that’s still ultimately a very exciting one, that sweeps you up in its triumphant “kiss of life.” Listening to its chaotic instrumental outro, I can’t help but feel that it leads directly into Bartos’s follow-up to Esperanto, 2003’s Communication--an album that would tackle the Internet age, and its inescapable virtual hustle and bustle, head-on. That’s all for today--thanks for watching!

Music: “Overdrive”

#music #great albums #album review #album reviews #karl bartos #kraftwerk #andy mccluskey #omd #orchestral manoeuvres in the dark #elektric music #techno #synth pop #synth-pop #synthpop

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wolfenm · 5 years ago

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THE ART AND MATH OF THE COMMA

Regarding commas, I personally feel that "When in doubt, leave it out" is actually some pretty bad grammatical advice. I realise that there are some hurdles in the world of education in regards to getting that education, so yes, it's potentially classist and / or abelist to hold bad grammar against a person. But if you really want to be a writer, I'd say that far better advice is, "If you want to use a tool, do all you can to learn how it works." (Also, "If you want to break the rules for effect, you need to know what they actually are.") So for those of you who might be afraid of commas, let me show you how important they are!

(Grammar Credentials: I've been a staff writer for SequentialTart.com since late 2001, a proofer for them since 2002, and an assistant editor for them since 2008. Not saying I never make mistakes, nor that I never have questions or need to look things up, but I think I have a fairly solid grasp of grammar by now! LOL!)

COMPOUND SENTENCES

One important use of a comma (and other punctuation) is to give your reader a rest. Let's look at a couple of sentences:

1 - The dog barked and the cat meowed.

2 - The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette and the cat scoffed at the dog.

Any time you have two (or more) sets of subjects and predicates (if you don't know what I mean, search engines are your friends), you have what's called a "compound sentence". These are two sentences that could stand alone, but have been joined because they are closely connected regarding a topic. When the two sets still make a short sentence, like #1, yes, it's generally considered okay to not use a comma between them (although it IS still okay to use one -- "The dog barked, and the cat meowed."). But 99% of the time, a compound sentence is more like the second example, which really should have a comma separating two clauses that could be sentences on their own.

As two separate sentences: The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette. The cat scoffed at the dog.

As a compound sentence: The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette, and the cat scoffed at the dog.

Without the comma, for a moment, we have what I like to call Schroedinger's Pause. Will the writer tell us about something *else* the dog is lecturing about?

The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette

and how to meow.

Or will the writer tell us about something else altogether?

The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette,

and the cat scoffed at the dog.

The comma tells us that a new thought, still related to the same subject as the first, is coming, rather than a continuation of what they were already talking specifically about. Yes, a reader will likely figure things out after the fact, but why make them mentally stumble in the first place? They're already doing you the kindness of reading your work -- don't take up even a millisecond extra of their time by make them work to discern *your* meaning! And don't tire them out by writing what's called "a run-on sentence" -- that is, writing compound sentences without commas. Imagine saying a compound sentence aloud without a breath -- reading can feel mentally a bit like speaking while running out of air before you get to the end. Commas (and periods, exclamation points, question marks, semicolons, and em-dashes) signal a place for the reader to take a mental breath. (Seriously, if a story has a lot of run-ons in the first few paragraphs, chances are high that I'm going to quit reading it.)

There are also situations that use "and" (or "but"), but aren't actually compound sentences, yet still are best served by using a comma. For example:

The dog lectured the cat on etiquette, and also had a snack.

"Also had a snack" is not a complete sentence on its own, so this isn't a compound sentence. Here, the comma tells us that what follows the subsequent "and" refers to the noun in the sentence, not the verb -- it's a list (even if it only has two items) of verbs the dog performs (lecturing and having a snack), not a list of subjects being lectured about.

And then there's ...

THE SERIAL (aka Oxford, aka Harvard) COMMA VS NON-SERIAL

There's a sort of war between people who feel one should use a comma before the last "and" in a list (Serial) and those who feel it's not necessary.

SERIAL - The dog played with the cat, his toy, and his food.

NON - The dog played with the cat, his toy and his food.

With the serial comma, it's absolutely clear that we're listing three separate items. Without it, it seems like we COULD be offering a further explanation on the first item -- saying the cat is the dog's toy and is the dog's food. If we made the serial comma the grammatical standard, we'd never have to wonder which the writer meant. Just sayin'.

THE PRESENCE -- OR LACK THEREOF -- OF COMMAS CAN CHANGE THE MEANING WHEN A SENTENCE HAS MULTIPLE CLAUSES

Let's get a little more complex with our sentences.

1- The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette, and the cat scoffed at the dog, making his displeasure known.

2- The dog lectured the cat on proper etiquette, and the cat scoffed at the dog making his displeasure known.

In the first sentence, the cat scoffs and makes the CAT'S displeasure known. In the second, the cat is scoffing at the dog for making the DOG'S displeasure known.

PREPOSITIONS / PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

1- In the meantime the cat took a nap.

2- In the meantime, the cat took a nap.

It used to be standard that, if you started a sentence with a prepositional phrase, one would always put a comma after the phrase. That rule has gone by the wayside in recent years, but personally, I'm still a fan of it, for the same reason as one really should use them in compound sentences: it gives the reader a natural resting point. The longer the opening clause, the more highly I would recommend using one.

Okay without: After dinner the dog took a nap

Not so much: After running around the house a hundred times with a case of the zoomies the dog fell fast asleep.

Better make it: After running around the house a hundred times with a case of the zoomies, the dog fell fast asleep.

Further, commas can mean the difference between a sentence fragment and a finished sentence.

Fragment: After the cat fell asleep.

^ That was a prepositional phrase with nothing to do. After the cat fell asleep, what happened?

No longer a fragment: After, the cat fell asleep.

"After" tells us when the cat fell asleep -- after whatever happened in the prior sentence.

THE PRESENCE -- OR LACK THEREOF -- OF COMMAS CAN CHANGE THE MEANING WHEN USING "AS", "SINCE", "SO", "LIKE", "AS WELL AS", "BECAUSE", "WHO", and "WHERE"

1 - The dog stopped eating as his teeth became sore.

2 - The dog stopped eating, as his teeth became sore.

The first example, with no comma before the "as", tells us *when* the dog stopped eating -- at the same temporal moment that his teeth became sore. The second, WITH a comma before the as, tells that what comes after the "as" is an explanation of WHY the dog stopped eating. It's a subtle distinction, sure, but still there.

1- The dog had been tired since it had started raining.

2- The dog had been tired, since it had started raining.

The first sentence tells us at what point the dog had become tired -- when it had started raining. The second tells us the dog became tired because of the rain.

1- The dog ran round the house, so the cat went into hiding.

2- The dog ran around the house so the cat went into hiding.

The first sentence means that the cat went into hiding as a result of the dog running. The second sentence means that the dog ran around with the specific intent of driving the cat into hiding.

1- The dog was so happy, that he wagged his tail.

2- The dog was so happy that he wagged his tail.

In the first instance, the dog wagged his tail because he was so happy. In the second, he was so happy because he was able to wag his tail (presumably it had been restricted somehow before).

1- The dog couldn't land on his feet, like the cat could.

2- The dog couldn't land on his feet like the cat could.

The first example is saying that the dog couldn't land on his feet at all, but the cat was able to. The second says the dog CAN land on his feet, but not in the same way as the cat could.

1- The cat barked as well as the dog.

2- The cat barked, as well as the dog.

The first example tells us that the Cat performed the task in a fashion that was as satisfactory as the dog was able to perform it. The second example tells us that the dog barked in addition to the cat having barked.

1- The cat didn't run because he knew the dog who was approaching him.

2- The cat didn't run, because he knew the dog who was approaching him.

The first sentence suggests that the cat DID run, but that the fact that he knew about the approach of the dog was not the reason why; he had some OTHER reason, like maybe he felt like stretching his legs. The second sentence tells us that he didn’t run, and that the fact that that he knew about the approach of the dog was the reason he didn't

1- The dog hated the rat, who kept stealing food.

2- The dog hated the rat who kept stealing food.

The first example tells us more about a rat -- and suggests that there is only one in the scenario. The second example rat specifies which rat, suggesting there's more than one rat in the scenario, and that the dog doesn't hate the ones who aren't stealing food.

!- The cat was washing his face when the dog shook water all over the place.

2- The cat was washing his face, when the dog shook water all over the place.

The first one tells us when the cat was washing his face -- at the same time that the dog was shaking water all over. But the second example actually tells us that the cat was in the process of washing his face FIRST, and THEN, while the cat was STILL WASHING, the dog shook water all over.

1- The cat sleeps on the sofa, where it's warm.

2- The cat sleeps on the sofa where it's warm.

The first example tells us more about the couch, explaining why the cat sleeps there. The second example specifies *which* sofa, telling us there must be other sofas (or spots on the same sofa) that are not warm.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Wolfie, what about 'which'??" Looking at "who", you might think that using a comma means that what comes after will elaborate on what comes before it the comma -- and you would be right, in that particular case -- and that NOT using a comma means that "which" is used to specify which one out of multiple. But actually, instead of using "which" without a comma, you should use "that", instead!

The bowl, which was empty, was silver.

The bowl that was empty was silver.

WHEN IT COMES TO "TOO"

1- The dog likes milk too.

2- The dog likes milk, too.

There are style books that will say you MUST ALWAYS use a comma with "too", and others say that it's up to the writer. What I'm about to suggest IS NOT CONSIDERED A HARD-AND-FAST GRAMMAR RULE, just a matter of my opinion. I contend that the first sentence suggests that someone else besides the dog likes milk. The second sentence suggests to me that the dog likes milk *in addition to* something else the dog likes, such as food or a toy. BUT YOU DO YOU when it comes to "too". (Or do whatever your editor tells you to do.)

COMMAS AND QUOTATIONS

There is disagreement as to whether a comma should always go inside quotations, or if there are times when they should go outside. I fall in the camp that says that, if the comma is not necessary punctuation for what goes inside the quotation marks, then it goes outside -- as I used a little ways back when listing words. Sometimes even phrases or sentences in quotes should have quotations outside.

The cat said said she would "be right back", so the dog waited for her.

"Top of the morning to ya!", "Smoke me a kipper; I'll be back for breakfast.", and "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." are some of the dog's favourite things to say.

Also, when you're writing dialogue, it's done THIS way:

"Let's go get something to eat," the dog said.

NOT this way:

"Let's go get something to eat." The dog said.

*shudder*

WHEN TO USE A SEMICOLON INSTEAD OF A COMMA

All too often, I see people using a comma in instances where they should use a semicolon. If you're joining two complete sentences together into a compound, but are not using "and" or "but", then if you want to be grammatically correct, use a semicolon, NOT a regular comma. It's

The dog ran away; the cat chased after him.

NOT

The dog ran away, the cat chased after him.

If you're making a list that involves asides or sub-lists, then use a semicolon to separate the items, instead of just a comma.

The dog loved sci-fi films like the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Alien movies; fantasy films like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Dark Crystal; and comedies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Deadpool.

The cat wrote letters to George, who was his cousin; Frank, who was his best friend; and Mary, who had been his teacher in third grade.

And those are the ONLY times to use a semicolon! Well, unless you're winking. ;)

These are the most common comma issues I can think of off the top of my head; I may add to this later ….

#grammar #mine #grammar maven #commas #comma #how to use commas #the art and math of the comma #my writing #writing #2020

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dailynewswebsite · 4 years ago

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How do archaeologists know where to dig?

Quite a lot of clues can tip off archaeologists a few promising spot for excavation. Gabriel Wrobel , CC BY-ND

Nationwide Geographic magazines and Indiana Jones motion pictures might need you picturing archaeologists excavating close to Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. And a few of us do work at these well-known locations.

However archaeologists like us wish to find out about how folks from the previous lived everywhere in the planet. We depend on left-behind artifacts to assist fill out that image. We have to excavate in locations the place there’s proof of human exercise – these clues from the previous aren’t all the time as apparent as an enormous pyramid, although.

Discovering that proof could be so simple as strolling previous clearly distinguishable ruins – ah, there are some damaged pots or carved stones proper over there. It may be as advanced as utilizing lasers, satellite tv for pc imagery and different new geophysical methods to disclose long-lost constructions. The proper expertise and instruments are serving to researchers find traces from the previous that will have been missed even a number of many years in the past.

Open eyes, open ears, open minds

The best and oldest identification methodology is a pedestrian survey: searching for proof of human exercise, both on unstructured strolls or when strolling in a grid. Until the proof is crystal clear – like these damaged pots – such surveys often want a educated eye to learn the clues.

In Belize, the place considered one of us (Gabe) works, stays of homes and even giant temple pyramids that have been deserted over 1,000 years in the past are often coated in timber and crops; uncovered sections appear like stone piles.

I introduced my father to a website the place employees had eliminated the thick foliage so archaeologists may completely map the location. One other archaeologist and I excitedly mentioned the seen architectural options – patios, terraces, the stubs of partitions. Lastly, my dad threw his fingers up within the air and mentioned “All I see are rocks!”

However our educated eyes acknowledged that the piles of stones or earthen mounds we noticed have been suspiciously aligned. Stare at archaeological websites lengthy sufficient and also you’ll discover them too.

Archaeologist Josue Ramos from the Belize Institute of Archaeology stands beside a mound of rocks newly revealed in cleared jungle. Its measurement and form present that this website is a part of an historic constructing. Gabriel Wrobel, CC BY-ND

Understanding what you see can also require familiarity with native geology and flora. And who’s extra acquainted than the individuals who dwell in a area? It pays for archaeologists to make pals with the locals and to be very respectful of their data. In my work in Belize, many of the settlement and ritual cave websites the place my college students and I work have been initially recognized by native hunters who know the forest and its landmarks intimately.

One time, I used to be strolling by way of the jungle in Belize when a neighborhood good friend of mine stopped immediately in what appeared to me as a random cluster of timber. He mentioned “This will need to have been somebody’s farm.” He’d seen particular home crops which are generally present in gardens in his village. Not being as accustomed to native flora, I by no means would have seen this refined distinction. So, even residing crops could be thought of a part of human-modified archaeological websites.

Excessive-tech distant sensing

Lately, archaeologists have begun to make use of new strategies to seek out archaeological websites that had beforehand been missed. These methods, broadly known as distant sensing, permit us to look by way of dense forests with out clearing them, digitally eradicating jungle development and centuries of soil to disclose long-lost constructions hidden beneath. Excessive-resolution scans utilizing lasers or 3D images may even detect refined undulations of floor surfaces that aren’t seen to the human eye.

The view of fields across the Maya website of Saturday Creek, Belize. The picture on left stitched collectively 1000’s of images right into a single 3D floor. The picture on the proper used digital illumination to focus on small adjustments in elevation to establish historic home mounds. Fashions created by Mark Willis, used with permission of Eleanor Harrison-Buck, CC BY-ND

As an example, LiDAR – gentle detection and ranging – fires pulsed lasers to find out distance primarily based on what displays again and the way shortly. When used from a airplane, thousands and thousands of factors are collected, leading to an in depth topographic map of the panorama. Specialists working with these information can take away timber and different objects to digitally expose floor surfaces.

A latest instance on the historic Maya metropolis of Tikal, Guatemala, revealed round 61,000 constructions within the jungles surrounding town’s heart. The density of settlement got here as a shock as a result of, regardless of intensive pedestrian survey prior to now, even skilled archaeologists failed to acknowledge most of those ephemeral stays.

More and more, archaeologists discover websites by looking satellite tv for pc imagery, together with Google Earth. As an example, throughout a latest drought in England, the stays of historic options began appearing throughout the panorama and have been seen from above.

This picture presents magnetic information from the Hollywood Mounds website, a Mississippian mound heart in Tunica County, Miss. Excavation verified that the oblong shapes are the stays of wattle-and-daub constructions. Bryan Haley

Distant sensing can even deal with smaller areas. Geophysical methods are generally used earlier than excavating to scan the bottom the place researchers know archaeological stays are buried. These nondestructive strategies assist pick buried anomalies from surrounding soils by distinguishing their density, magnetic properties or conduction {of electrical} currents.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]

The form and alignment of those options can typically present clues about what they’re. As an example, the dense partitions of a constructing will present up as distinct from the encircling soil.

What is going to archaeologists of the long run discover?

As you go searching for proof of human exercise prior to now, keep in mind you’re actively concerned in making the archaeological websites of the long run. Since archaeology is the research of something materials left behind by human beings, that definition additionally suits what stays after Nevada’s annual Burning Man competition, for instance, or as migrants journey throughout the U.S.-Mexico border.

Tailgating (and related trash) within the College of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome car parking zone in 2011. Curtis Cawley, Kaitlin Frederickson, Allison Neterer and Wendy Willis., CC BY-ND

The truth is, there are archaeological websites practically all over the place you look. One in every of us (Stacey) as soon as studied trash left behind throughout tailgating events. My college students and I wished to grasp if alumni and college students have been consuming several types of alcohol. Utilizing archaeological methodologies, we found that alumni partied with costly alcohol, reminiscent of wine and microbrews, whereas college students drank what they may afford: low cost, company beers, with Coors Gentle and Bud Gentle being the commonest beers of selection.

We made this archaeological “discovery” by rigorously mapping and figuring out trash previous to and in the course of the recreation. Whereas most of it was picked up, smaller items undoubtedly discovered their means into the soil, maybe to be found by a future Campus Archaeology Program.

Future archaeologists will discover loads of plastic – like these microplastics on a Vietnamese seaside – in layers of the Earth courting to the present period. Gabriel Wrobel, CC BY-ND

We archaeologists used to dig primarily at websites that have been straightforward to seek out. Know-how is altering that. The truth is, functions like Google Earth are making doable a brand new period of citizen science, with researchers typically enlisting the assistance of members of the general public to comb by way of information. By efforts by archaeologists to interact and educate the general public, together with incorporating volunteers into lab and discipline work, giving public lectures and workshops, and creating accessible internet sources, we hope to indicate that the story of our previous is usually hidden in plain sight.

Stacey Camp receives funding from the Nationwide Park Service.

Gabriel D. Wrobel doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that will profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/how-do-archaeologists-know-where-to-dig/ via https://growthnews.in

#Growth News

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vsplusonline · 5 years ago

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Not all SMEs will survive the Covid-19 crisis, but what should an economic bailout package look like?

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/not-all-smes-will-survive-the-covid-19-crisis-but-what-should-an-economic-bailout-package-look-like/

Not all SMEs will survive the Covid-19 crisis, but what should an economic bailout package look like?

The world over, financial packages have already been announced by nations in a bid to restore their economies amid the Coronavirus pandemic gripping countries across the globe. The US, for instance, is looking at a Senate vote to rollout a $2 trillion package, touted as one of the largest rescue packages in American history. One of the most widely impacted by the crisis, Italy, came up with an emergency plan of $28 billion that could help them inch slowly towards normalcy. Indonesia announced a $725 billion stimulus package in February to rescue its travel, aviation and property industries, followed by a second package of $8 billion in March.

India’s latest figures, according to the Union Health Ministry, have already moved up the scale and crossed the 600 confirmed cases mark. The question then that does spring up is that why has India not announced an economic package yet? While businesses across sectors are finding it a challenge to stay up and running, it has been a particularly distressing time for small businesses and SMEs who gloomily stare at an uncertain future.

Time and again, MSMEs have been hailed as the backbone of the Indian economy who can contribute well in achieving India’s dream of a $5 trillion economy by 2025. However, such businesses will simply not be able to survive if booster steps are not taken – on urgent priority – to pull them out of the current bleak situation that they find themselves in.

Can India raise the bar? Before getting into what can be done, it is important to understand the country’s economic capacity to provide a bailout. Does India have the fiscal and monetary headroom to come up with a bailout package of such proportions? Economists shove off this thought, saying that every crisis results in a fall in GDP and revenue growth leading automatically to expansion of the fiscal deficit.

“This is recognised as an automatic stabiliser which is good (not bad) for the economy. On the expenditure side, the government has to focus on the economic and welfare problems linked directly on crises and not waste resources on the pet programmes and projects of intellectuals,” Arvind Virmani, Chairman, Foundation For Economic Growth & Welfare and President, Forum for Strategic Initiative candidly states.

Arun Maira, former member of the Planning Commission of India and the former India Chairman of Boston Consulting Group, likens the situation to the Great Depression of the 1930s, when economies were in particularly bad shape as well after the stock market crash in October 1929. Calling it an old debate, he says that one should go by the adage of looking after one’s own health first than anything else. “The economy is dying anyway. We have to see that the economy doesn’t die completely amid such a crisis,” says Maira.

What can be done? All industry experts and economists that ET Digital spoke to were forthright in their views on what a financial package intended at stimulating the economy and, in particular, SMEs should look like.

Virmani, who also served as the Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and India’s Chief Economic Adviser, says, as far as the monetary policy is concerned, it has to ensure that the risk free interest rate remains low (including by reducing Repo Rate) and provide short, medium and long term liquidity to ensure the financial system (markets, institutions, instruments) continues to function smoothly.

Maira says that the package needs to be directed towards the small scale sector and should also include those not necessarily directly employed in SMEs such as the farmers. “We need two things. First is to save the lives of the people employed in the formal and informal SME sector who do not have adequate social security. And the second is enterprises. We have to look at the health of the small companies. Their biggest issue is always liquidity. Liquidity in the hands of enterprises is like oxygen right now. Workers should be given wages directly at this time. Money needs to be in the hands of the people,” he elucidates.

Maira directs attention towards labour costs, which are 10% of the overall costs for large companies. However, in small companies, they are atleast 30-50% of their entire cost as these are labour intensive industries.

Upholding Maira’s views, Sunil Sinha, Principal Economist, India Ratings and Research clearly states that prudential, regulatory norms may need a revisit right now as extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.

Sinha agrees that while creating a package which will help SMEs won’t be an easy task, it is necessary that the stimulus includes traditional liquidity lines which can be tapped into by the sector. “Liquidity support will be needed at a cheaper rate of interest. Prudential norms which guide the system may have to be tweaked in the current situation. The government will have to take a number of such steps to address the situation,” he says.

Small enterprises, Sinha adds, have a lesson to learn from such a crisis and is frank in his view that some may not survive the storm. “They must prepare themselves for the future where they involve IT in their operations from the start. Not all SMEs will be able to survive at this point,” he says.

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More relief should flow Others suggest that this is the time when all payments and refunds should be handed over to the concerned representatives. Saurabh Agarwal, Principal, IIF College of Commerce and Management Studies says that the first step should be to pay off all payables.

He cites the examples of the Andhra Pradesh government, which has payables of Rs 45,000 crore acknowledged by the state FM, and not paid for one year. “If we conservatively estimate, the total payables for legitimate reasons, completed works will be a minimum of 20 times of AP which amounts close to Rs 10 lakh crore (from all state governments/state owned corporations and central government agencies and PSUs.) The Government must first get the correct amount acknowledged. Next, the government must ask RBI to give overdrafts to these governments/PSUs as a one-time loan and pay the pending amount,” he shares.

Agarwal also adds that this is the time when all the pending refunds related to GST and tax need to be duly processed. Moreover, all deadlines to make loan payments need to be rescheduled for 3-6 months so that defaults do not happen.

In view of the recent announcement by the FM on suspending Section 7, 9 and 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for a period of 6 months if the situation persists, Agarwal suggested that IBC as a whole should be suspended for the said 6 month time period.

Endgame? While no one knows how long the crisis will last or what will be the real extent of the damage, there is concern that a large bailout may have an adverse impact on the Rupee and bring in volatility. On Monday, the Rupee had touched a record low above 76 a dollar with the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. Sinha adds that the exodus of Foreign Institutional investors (FIIs) has already taken place. “Look at how the exodus has happened. FIIs have pulled out the money. So any of the measures that are announced won’t really bring any volatility in the market and will have a much less impact. Atleast Rs 10-12 billion have been withdrawn in a week. So it really won’t make much of a difference,” he says matter-of-factly.

Maira talks about the silver lining that has ensued amid all the chaos. “It is anyway said that if you want to export more from India, let your exchange rate rise. So basically this crisis is making us do what was healthy for the sustainable growth of the economy. It is making us pay attention to the stability of the economy and is breaking through ideologies. People don’t care about the value of the Rupee. These things matter more to investors and financial markets. Time to get real,” he asserts.

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monkey-network · 7 years ago

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Good Stuff - THE (FULL) TROOF ABOUT STEVEN UNIVERSE

WARNING: What you’ll see under the cut is possibly one of the grandest things I will ever do and generally one of the biggest SU Crit posts of all time. Be advised that explicit language is present and we ask that readers are open-minded and reasonable with any given retort. Note that this has been edited due to Tumblr’s limitations of presentable media so click here for the Director’s Cut.

Do like & share if you enjoyed it or if I fought your boredom. Thank you and take care out there.

Steven Universe is a charming, popular show with a quad-polar fandom, and I’m only here to point out what I say is legitimately wrong with this cartoon. Simple enough? Fair enough.

POINT #1 - THE ACTION:

Okay, my first point really doesn’t just apply with cartoons, but fights in general. Question: what’s the one thing that people get the most out of seeing a fight? The impacts. Those moments where the opponent is given such a crushing ass blow, that you can feel the effort that went into that attack. Yeah, Steven Universe lacks this. I mean, it can look like the characters are putting effort into fighting their opponents and it can look like they’re getting hurt pretty bad (thanks to applied visuals and sound effects), but it never feels like the characters are actually hitting each other. There are instances of impact, but they’re menial and they’re scattered between the duelists smacking each other like helium filled action figures; feeling as tender as any other motion the characters do throughout. Now if you’re wondering what I mean by impacts, note these prime examples; because animes know their action.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Hajime no Ippo

Summer Wars

My Hero Academia

If present, violence can/should provide a stark raving contrast to the supposedly grounded world in any series, and the impacts of violence should be escalating with every punch or kick. Attacks should fly with fierce swiftness, the weight/force of any blow can be seen; raw power, speed, and stamina should be pushed to limits unknown. Now, I’m not saying Steven U has to imitate any incredible, well animated fight scene that anime has flawlessly provided by now, but more effort should have been made to escalate the impact of their fights, not keep it steady tuned with

*Smear work to make the boring motions look fast paced

*Spiky white marks to show a clash

*quick visual instances of impact that lets you know a character is getting hurt

*and tons of smoke to cover the possibly graphic imagery

Steven Universe has the fundamentals of action down, but they don’t go beyond that (plus ultra). Their fights can look technically similar with the characters being the only real source of variation, especially when you can figure out their attacks ahead of time. So I hate to say this, but if you’ve seen one fight, you’ve seen ‘em all.

Another reason I presented Steven U’s lacking action is because tts not just about fists flying or weapons clashing, but the balance of emotion that goes with the foes putting their heart and soul into taking each other down. But, for most of the time, I don’t see SU’s fights present any real hook of seriousness, even if it wants me to, and most of them feel present for (basic) comedy. I feel less invested in who’s fighting, or why, than I am at how they’re getting beat up. Ironic, being a show that’s all about being open with its “serious” emotions. Combined with its lackluster animation, and they don’t add much contrast towards an otherwise easy going series

This here is honestly the most funniest a fight scene of theirs can get (mostly ‘cuz Peri deserved that), but after seeing the pretty slow animation, it can lose its luster no matter how deserving it may seem. Now notice this whopping scene, from the anime One Punch Man, below.

You can know nothing about One Punch Man, who these characters really are, but you can tell from these 5 seconds alone that when a fight happens, there’s a fast, over the top sense of comedy that comes with the brutal nature of a man that can apparently KO anybody in one swing, ironic and even more comedic with said one hit wonder being the most emotionless looking character on the show.

Seriously, that’s his face for almost the whole series

Now I know what you’re thinking, “But Monkey Network, it’s mostly a slice of life cartoon. The action scenes aren’t that prominent in the series as you might think and hope. It’s not supposed to be a violent show.” And I’d say fair point except for the fact that Friendship is Magic is also a slice of life cartoon that only has a few real action scenes under its belt, and this particular one is the best fucking thing I’ll ever see.

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AGAIN, you can know nothing about the series as a whole, or this episode in general, but this fight alone perfectly captures the game Steven Universe has never really utilized since its early days. It has some seriousness with its escalating over the top attacks, the pace never feels constant, and even though they’re evenly matched, the things they do look fucking cool. The only downside is that since the show has puppet flash animation, it does looks limited, but even then they made the most of it. Steven Universe is hand drawn, so with all due respect, they have no fucking excuse. Their fight scenes amount to stay the course animation with glimpses of impact and a flashy style to avoid it from being pod racing levels of BORING. I’ve seen fan animations that would give this show a run for its money.

The Fandom provides more than the actual show

Even before Garnet’s fight with Jasper, Steven Universe’s action sequences was a sweet chunk of what made the show investing to watch, and looking at back at it, I was a bit too invested in something that wasn’t that invested in itself. Again, I know it can’t stack up to the God tier works that the anime world’s made for itself, but compared to other action present cartoons (Voltron, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Avatar, The Powerpuff Girls, MLP, OK KO, any shonen anime), I think maybe they could/should git a little gooder in providing actual fights, not sparring matches. That, and if Sugar Honey Ice Tea and her crewniverse can put such effort into the facial expressions, they can make the fights more expressive too.

POINT #2 - THE “VILLAINS”:

Now, I fucking love villains. Not just for the who, but why and how they do it. When bad guys like the Joker, Lord Dominator, DIO, or Him do their thing onscreen, I enjoy every moment of their threatening essence (except Jared Leto’s Joker, he sucked). Villains remorselessly do unethical, downright vicious, things to fulfill their goals while initiating setting up the heroes to correct these effects with their efforts and abilities. Steven Universe has villains, sure. Yet, after having so many chances, Rebecca Sugardaddy has failed to make them REAL villains, specifically the Great Diamond Authority.

Now originally, I was gonna compare the Diamonds to the likes of Fire Lord Ozai(Avatar: The Last Airbender) or DIO (JJBA); villains that work in the shadows and when they’re eventually revealed, they’re already a force to be reckoned with. But looking into how they and Homeworld is set up, there was no other villainous ensemble that could stack up with the Diamonds perfectly like the Gorosei from the anime One Piece.

Looking more badass than the US Government

Now these five gentlemen aren’t necessarily what make up the end all be all for the series, but above all, the Gorosei are the ruling leaders of the organization that controls the entire world of One Piece. They command the military, the police, and other agencies, like their investigative and espionage departments, and the only people that out rule these gentlemen are the descendants of those who created it several centuries ago. Like the Diamonds, they seek to maintain order and justice for the people of their world and doing so means taking on any sign of revolution (namely Pirates) that could damage not only their image, but their purpose. Both Authorities possess absolute rule over the many classes that are under them and their stance of power can be present with the many actions that effect the characters we focus on currently. The difference between the two ruling classes is nuance, aka a grey sense of morality, aka an actual sense of relatability. So when I see a series having an overall narrative villain, Steven Universe has shown me that sympathy should NOT be a factor in storytelling.

Now when I say this, I don’t mean you can’t sympathize with any villain you see. Most of the time, you can feel for the antagonist when their lives never were good to begin with, that’s namely how villainy starts out, therefore making their actions not so much justified, but understandable. Take the rogues gallery that are the enemies of Batman.

Every one of them has a story to tell and a method to their madness. Their histories weren’t as nice or as hopeful as they may have hoped, and you can feel their pain as their efforts to be successful at something grand falls apart due to the Dark Knight or life’s unforgiving nature. However, the sympathy stops there because none of these masterminds, with the Joker being an exception, serve as a main villain to Batman’s crusade for justice, they’re continuous rivals and one off stories that expand the DC Universe. No evil in Gotham is powerful enough because Batman’s story has no real endgame. Steven Universe and One Piece will eventually have an endgame. And while the Gorosei represent an Oligarchical commodity that separates its order seeking rule from their affiliating countries, The Diamonds have amounted to being under one system alone:

Or generally cruel Collectivism if you wanna sound smart

And it’s weird I bring this up. For I would’ve thought to have called Homeworld an authoritative caste system where the gem you’re born with defines your class and status, coinciding with the gems’ natural abilities. The specific gems are given a role and everyone plays a part to maintain societal order, like what India has, with the Diamonds being the biggest and strongest gems and therefore are the de facto Matriarch of the gem society, you feel me? That would’ve earned a little sympathy from me, because the Diamonds losing Pink would’ve meant the massive changes to accommodate their order and resources might not have worked out so well and their image as leaders are slowly diminishing and that can explain the huge resentment for Earth and Rose’s Rebellion.

But no. Instead the Diamonds are a repressive totalitarian government that basically control everyone and everything, all the gems below to strictly follow and almost never question their line of reasoning, and they’re reasons for destroying the Earth has been summarized down to the emotional baggage and grudge that came with their failure long ago.

CAN YOU NOT FEEL THEIR STRUGGLE?!

Wanna know why I didn’t compare the Diamonds to Avatar’s Fire Nation when talking about humanizing the enemy and the connection couldn’t be more obvious? Because before Ozai is ever mentioned, The Last Airbender states very clearly that the Fire Nation is the region Aang and his friends need to infiltrate to stop their manifest destiny. And when we’re early hinted that Zuko’s not full on evil, it lets the audience know that not everyone is on board with those in charge of the Fire Nation invasion, leading up to Ozai’s big debut where we see that as the endgame villain, he’s irredeemable and has such a lust for power, that he’s recognizably the main drive everyone has to stop. Avatar did this right because little by little, the main enemy was narrowed down to a single force that hasn’t made itself known until near the end when his presence bear more importance. The same can’t be said for Steven Universe because Rebecca Sugar Rush presented yet another faint mistake.

The Diamond’s personalities are given to us before they’ve shown us who they are and what they’re capable of…

So we see Yellow Diamond as a vindictive, no nonsense leader that wants shit to get done and Blue Diamond as a more tender looking, yet no nonsense leader that’s grieving over Pink Diamond’s death and does whatever she can to move on and remember the fallen fondly. So, have they done anything before we’ve met them personally? Sure.

*They corrupted thousands of their own kind (because of the rebellion)

*Allowed experimentation towards shattered gems to make artificial fusion or disembodied amalgamates (because of the rebellion)

*And let’s not forget the Cluster (because of the rebellion)

So yeah, quite a lot actually. Now you might be thinking, “But Monkey Network, what does those five old men have to do with what the Diamonds did?” Well, when you see the villainous shit the Gorosei have commanded, their actions are actually more relatable than one would expect.

*Ordering the destruction of an island of archaeologists because they were secretly researching forbidden history

*Ordered death to any pregnant woman in sight fearing that one could be pregnant with Gol D. Roger, the OG Pirate King’s, child. Said slaughter lasted for around two years (Special thanks to @des-the-girl for this info)

*Directing the Marines, or the front line enemies of our Pirate heroes

*And contemplating their system’s next move when updates arrive

Now I don’t know about you, but these gentlemen make up quite an authoritative class with understandable motives and relatable notions on running the world without necessarily being on the front lines. Kinda like the US over the years? Even when their level of corruption can be on par and we still know little of their true power and who they really are, they’re instantly better than the Diamond Authority because we can see why they’re in command, their thoughts and actions towards our heroes shows no sign of being sympathetic, and yet we see where their motives lie. I mean, their Government’s enemies are pirates. You know, Pirates? People who’ve robbed and killed and are the opposite of order? See where I’m going here? They namely go after our heroes who are seen to be the enemy even when the Pirates and plenty others consider them the enemy. It’s almost as if there’s a grey choice for the audience to wonder whom the real bad guys are. OooooOOh. Also, quick side note. The Gorosei look fucking cool. Like their designs aren’t exactly human, credit towards Eiichiro Oda and his expressive designs, but they’re drawn with such a level of seriousness and stature that it presents their elder wisdom and grave subtlety towards a subject in a contrasting light to the pirates bombastic, emotional appeal.

So, what’s the tl;dr aspect of this since you probably won’t take this seriously? Well, call this a domino effect. Basically, Rebecca Sugardop has given us nonthreatening villains that showed no sign of any redeemable qualities beyond their ability to mesmerize us with their acting, and the audience should have a bit of sympathy for their side (see ”Bismuth”). In doing so, she failed to make them real villains. In doing that, there really are no real villains in the show. And when there are no villains, the conflict feels dry and absent. And without conflict, she failed at putting together HALF an overall story. And when you’re a coming of age story where it has to end on some note with maturity and change, after almost five years in the making, you just FUCKED yourself over when you didn’t even invest time in HALF of what makes an overall story of good and evil investing and engaging. Oh I’m sorry, what makes an overall story of a blurred line between good and evil. Investing and engaging.

Ugh, I can’t care anymore. If they get redeemed, sure. If they end up dying like a tragedy, fine. They feel less like villains to overcome and more like stairs Steven has to step on to become a better person. Just let White Diamond be as grandiose and badass as Tumblr’s AUs of her, because again…

The fandom is doing the show a bit of justice

POINT #3 - BEACH CITY:

Okay, before I provide attention to our main gem heroes, I thought I’d give their home of Beach City a vocal point to express the diversity they offer and what makes them an essential drive for Steven and the Crystal Gems to protect the Earth by any means. I mean, they offer such valid representation for the show’s world building and can offer plenty of stories to tell to give us that slice of lifevibe the show really needed. But I believe, after seeing Beach City time and time again over the course of 4 years, that I can summate its presence in the show with a single- Nay. With two simple yet comprehensible words.

Who cares?

Whooo CARES?

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Thank you, respectable actor Elaine Stritch. Rest in Peace

To continue, don’t get me wrong. Worldbuilding is more than essential for a story like Steven Universe, Berserk, Friendship is Magic, Legend of Zelda, and so on. Whether big or small, expanding a setting is important to giving characters a versatile way to look at their world in a differing light than before. But suffice to say, what world has Steven Universe built for itself?

*A populated province in the East Coast?

*A barn?

*Ancient ruins? Among other distant gem territory?

Aye, this troof is gonna be hard to explain. We just have locations, people. That’s it. They’re no special than the mini Galaxies from Super Mario Galaxy 2, only on Wii, Rated E for Everyone. A place can look cool and a population there can bring life to it, but they should have something for the characters to interact with and visibly wonder about what they might get into as they adapt and progress in some way. And by some way, I don’t mean insert plot devices that help make the characters do significant looking things, and I’ll get to that a bit later. But to sum it up, Steven Universe present locations, but those locations lack identity and coordination.

Stick around, Link, I might need your example

I got a short story to tell. True story. And this story provides my reason, above all else, for why Beach City doesn’t hold much water anymore when talking about world building, specifically after the show’s first season (or Full Disclosure).

There’s a comic book TV show called Preacher, premieres Mondays @ 9, only on AMC. Essentially it’s about a criminal turned Priest, possessed with a supernatural power, going on a cross country road trip to find the physical form of God with his his mate who’s also a vampire and his ex-girlfriend. Pretty vivid premise, but see for yourself. The first season however sets up the road trip where the priest, his ex, and vampire friend stay in a small town in Texas to not only introduce them, the power that the priest gets, and the type of humor throughout, but flesh out a few citizens they encounter pretty well in a thematically connected turnabout for ten episodes straight. All seems good.

Up until the entire town loses their minds, after losing all faith in belief, which eventually leads to a methane nuclear sized explosion that wipes out everybody except the three main characters who exited a few scenes before.

The End.

Now, let’s talk relevance. If I ran Steven Universe, and I don’t think I can, and I pulled 👆👆 that on Beach City at season 1′s end. Erase everything you’ve seen, every citizen will be forced to disappear except the major plot oriented characters, basically resetting the structure. If I did that, how much would it change? What would we really lose? The diverse Beach citizens that don’t and can’t do shit against the enemies we’ve see unless they’re forced to get involved in some way which rarely happens?

You can put as many people of color and as many personalities in your world all you want, but effort should also be put into not just making them NPC levels of value to the point where a reset button wouldn’t put much a dent to the “world building”. The worst part is that it’s not like Batman’s Gotham City or Spider-Man’s New York; places where the villains are plotting while they’re within city walls. Steven Universe’s enemies have to either be brought out somewhere (gem monsters, Lapis) or brought to (Jasper, that red Eye, Aqua and Topaz) Beach City for the place to provide any significant or value. So…

Just saying.

Now if the whole series was like season one with the non “To Be Continued”slice of life episodes, then it would’ve work. Phineas and Ferb, Foster’s Home, and Friendship is Magic has done this well with keeping their main location (The Foster House, Danville, Ponyville, etc.) as their central hubworld for casual stories with a venture outside of them from time to time. I would’ve been okay with Beach City being the spot for Steven and his limitless squad to grow together like Rebecca intended at first. Then I’m reminded that there’s an world expanding story in this, with bigger consequences and threaded arcs, and I’m stuck between investing in the many things they give me, complaining towards full episodes that add up to nothing and went nowhere special, and whining about the lack of reruns it gets on TV compared to Teen Titans GO.

Bottom line, you had/have your comic series to commit to your slice of life genre instead of trying to keep it in the show.

Now, I’m at a disadvantage here. If I want to talk about the actual “SCIENCE FANTASY WORLD BUILDING”, then I’ll have to talk about the Crystal Gems’ involvement in them and I can’t really do that. Luckily, I don’t have to, for SU has unintentionally played itself: when it comes to the Gem oriented locations outside Beach City, they tell but never really show. And turns out I don’t need Link’s example, but Samus Aran’s. Namely, her universe in the Metroid Prime series.

A key element to world building is the control and fun in exploration where you find and somewhat interact with aspects of an environment’s purpose and history while you’re on the go, giving the place more of an identity. Metroid Prime does this well where you journey through different parts of the Galaxy and with your scan visor, you can catalog and figure out the intricacies of the settings, the enemies within them, and info that seem trivial at first, but can offer much in progressing ahead in the game. Note the example before you…

And don’t stare deep into Samus’s blue eyes

Sure it’s an optional part of the game, and you can still trek on with or without having to continuously research the world’s lore, but it offers that versatility where you’re well in control in how to experience the game. Then again, this is a video game, where your skill in figuring things out is the only way to progress anything. What cartoon has this similar level of versatility? I mean, what else?

What else?

Gravity Falls may have stayed in one place, but it gives the characters and audience so much to explore and theorize on. They don’t tackle “everything” the world might have offered (bigfoot), but still give you so much to look out for without ever holding your hand or giving a cliffnotes version on a mystery of theirs. Hell, the fandom was hollering on Tumblr over predicting one of the show’s biggest mysteries being confirmed long before it aired. Hirsh didn’t just give those theory nuts what they wanted, his crew eased us in on how the narrative is taking a turn to someplace different and new without really forcing it on everybody. There was still that enjoyable sense of control that resonated in both the show’s direction and the audience’s experience.

I mean come on, this just oozes the moment of truth

Don’t get me wrong. The crewniverse offer very interesting locations and things that resonate with Gem stuff. My final problem with this is that when I think they might utilize these different places and things, they hold back to sharing but a glimpse of anything the show has plenty of utilizing potential for. Like…

Could this control room present more information about Homeworld’s plans for the gems than just the Cluster? “Probably not, it fulfilled its purpose. Let’s move on.”

What about these drills? Could we personally see how one works, like accidentally reactivate it to see how it functions? “Nah, they’re all dead. Let’s move on.”

Or what about the holes? Could we have some kind of flashback depicting how a gem leaps out the ground? “Nope.” Not even the off col- “NOPE.”

What’s that supposed to be? Is it something important to Homeworld? “We’ll get to that later. Let’s move on.”

Man, this place looks cool. Connie might consider this since she handles weapons and might want something new, like armor or throwing weapons. “Look man, this tour is scheduled. You’ve seen it, we’ll get back to it later. Moving right along.” This tour sucks. “You paid for it, my friend.”

Egoraptor said it best: I’m not witnessing an adventure, I’m a guest at their theme park. This is Kingdom Hearts levels of dragging it along, and I know… “But Monkey Network, they might come back to all that stuff soon. It’s called foreshadowing, you whiner.” To that, I say HA! There’s a huge difference between foreshadowing and giving us cameos. And that is in...

PRESENTATION!

Long story short, if it’s subtle and holds a threatening or vague presence, THAT’s foreshadowing. If it’s already out in the open and is not given a lot of screentime or detail, that’s cameo-ing and waiting for more. The last thing a show should do is hold back and have its audience wait like shoving a secret box in our face, and that’s all Steven Universe has been doing. That’s why so many rant about what’s filler or not. That’s why so many theorize on the most reaching of details. That’s why people proudly growl at what could be the crew’s simple decisions. Because when everything must come back to Beach City, post “Full Disclosure”, exploration can be limited, detail can be limited, and it’ll be up to the audience to speculate/construct the world-building for themselves, making the control and experience for the show feel one sided, therefore UNFAIR.

Like I said, the things I’ve seen offer so much to think about, but Rebecca Sugar sack could’ve done better with presenting them in a better light than a dim mode. The fate of Steven Universe’s future is a mystery to me, and I don’t know what they’re gonna cram in season 5 this fall. All I know is MJ (or Mystery Girl) is fine as fuck and we’re all gonna get something good eventually. My man Ian Jones-Quartey said good world building takes time, and they sure are taking their time.

POINT #4 - THE REPRESENTATION:

Representation in media can be easy when the right writers are at the helm to present (not push) a message of acceptance and acknowledgement towards an audience that may or may not feel the same way. It takes different strokes to rule the world, after all. However, when it comes to character in general, there are two factors in characterization that when used correctly can appeal their message of acceptance for their audience. One, visual acknowledgement of the representing characters (POC, LGBT, belief, etc.) in question and two, giving the subjects good quality participation to show that they are just as adept to the world as any other without phoning in the fact that they are this or that. Long story short, make ‘em good characters and the representation can earn the audience’s respect for itself. Steven U lacks this too, and this comes from them often showing us stuff and expecting us to just go with it, with themes that are enough just to get by fans. Hell, they show us as much as a drive by…

Not even a cool one at that, fresh

I’ll say this to start off: Lars Barriga (my neega) was a stagnant and frustrating character to deal with; nobody in Beach City moved him in any way (not even his own supporting parents), and the writers just shotgunned him growth (more than once) after he basically had to cheat death (more than once) to gain a better conscience. It’s like they wanted to call him a lost cause but had to hook him back in some way for the audience to not deem him a lost cause. So with all due respect, does it matter that he’s Filipino or a trans boy when nothing valuable or thoughtful has come from him especially? Those trivial tidbits can mostly come off as add ons or secondary nods, when they should’ve been welcomed knowledge about his character. Want an good example? Look to the comic series Lumberjanes, especially issues 14-17 and 28. SPOILERS, though…

They did this right for characters Jo and Barney (Jo’s the one in the 2nd panel, Barney’s in the first). They already established these two as well defined characters that make mistakes but are willing to get shit done for their friends by any means. The dialogue above is when Barney is thinking about joining the girl oriented scouts even when he’s considered a boy scout, wondering where does he want to belong. Jo gives him reassurance that she herself felt the same and just wants Barney to assert himself with what he wants to be like she did. And when he does later on, he’s accepted without any forced gratification and the writers gracefully accommodate this to not only make him (now “them”) a good addition to the story’s world, but a welcoming new perspective.

The representation is therefore earned, not just shown off

Now I’d talk further on other characters like Lars, but that would be singing the same beats as my previous piece on world building and would spoil notes on the final 2 parts I’m working on now. Instead, the gems are another reason why the rep-pres-sen-tation in SU is nothing but small fractured penny in the gold mine that is anything else going on, with fusion diminishing the relationship representation of Steven U; however you may see it. Now excuse me… this is the hardest part of my job.

Criticizing love

Garnet is not a good embodiment of Ruby and Sapphire’s love; Ruby and Sapphire is. I would love to see Ruby and Sapphire being together and showing me why they decided to elope, but I can’t because Garnet is a curtain that metaphorically and literally covers said love from having anything more to say than “HELL YEAH WE LOVE EACH OTHER!”. You could say ‘Keystone Motel’offered some adversity for the two, but knowing Steven U, it didn’t feel like much beyond me knowing they’re getting back together in the end because they love each other and they just go back to being Garnet because she’s the personification of their love and such.

Fusion is something I have a disdain for now because they’re exchanging two characters’ development of united growth for basically an entirely new/different character, that don’t have much screen time or development anyways (vice versa in Flourite’s case). You could say ‘Know your Fusion’ presented an evolution for Smokey Quartz, among the other known fusions, to being more than a versatile fighter, but not really no. We were already aware that Steven and Amethyst were acknowledged sad sacks before they fused, so what else does this fusion offer differently than in their ability? As for Sardonyx, she hasn’t changed from her first cameo awhile back and her vanity was the only thing that made her stand out in said episode. All in all, fusion doesn’t reflect a relationship, no matter how hard Rebecca Suge Knight is saying otherwise, it reflects an aftermath; one that’s in and out as a firework. This and up ‘til now, the real couples we see are pretty general or under the rug. To show how the most mentioned and presented couple in the series, RubyXSapphire, has continuously got the shaft, I present the one dynamic you’d least expect: A boy and his stuffed toy.

My personally favorite example so far.

Calvin and Hobbes is a series about boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes that comes to life through Calvin’s imagination. Reality is like Garnet in this case, where it’s just Calvin having his stuffed animal around to get into zany hijinks like any other kid his age. Then again, the imagination or the living Hobbes is whom is given more of a focus, allowing their dynamic to bloom in a way that wouldn’t be understood if we just saw Calvin just talking to his toy the whole time. It makes their bond feel real and that’s what RubyxSapphire should be, giving them the floor in a way that adds up to Garnet’s eventual debut. “But Monkey Network, what about ‘The Answer’?” The Answer is an episode that, while sweet and good looking, literally danced over much necessary development in favor of only showing us how they eventually stuck to being Garnet forever. Not saying Garnet doesn’t have any character herself, but her integral backstory was/is one of the most beloved and talked about in terms of relationships, yet little has actually been given to us beyond face value and basic understanding and the writers have generally avoid pressing this any further. In a way, that episode diminishes the representation of real queer relationships, bogging it down to early Disney romances like Snow White’s, and practically blindfolds us about what we want to see vs what we should be seeing.

And I already got cute girls not kissing last year. It’s the current fucking year

I would talk about all the other canonning “ships” but nothing comes to mind other than the gems are getting along better than before, Mystery Girl is still fine as fuck, Steven and Connie are bound to elope since it’s been presented since the beginning, Lapis and Peridot get along as college roommates, Lapis might still have issues after Malachite happened, Jasper regrets nothing, Topaz sounds cool from the little we got of them, and everything has amounts to having a sob story and/or a recollection of thoughts just to say “Hey, we’re good together”. They implicitly share infatuation and good vibes to each other, but nothing to say their themes of LGBT, relationships, and characterization are groundbreaking. The latter I’ll get to next time. I mean anybody can put effort into writing a genuine romance novel, though it takes more effort to push the romance to challenging means without leaving skeptics at the door, something Sugar has been very casual about and is starting to openly show in the show. That and tears. Because you know what they say, open emotions are better than emotional maturity. Isn’t that right, TV?

Don’t get me wrong. Rebecca Sugarbark is out here doing her darndest as…

CARTOON. NETWORK’S. FIRST. FEMALE. ANIMATED. SERIES. CREATOR!

and when she does themes right, the show provides some good things to think about. But when she muddles them up or casually throws them in, especially when these themes come from the different aspects of what makes a person different yet real, it is unforgivable. And when people of all ages are watching this, thinking with their living ideologies about what could be used to think differently? This makes for a very risky tightrope that can lead to either people taking it appropriately or blindly, good and bad alike. I can only hope that as the show goes on, there are less assumptions and implications from both the show and the audience alike and more assertions and certainty that elements like representation of any kind are brought to a more applied approach than a glanced approach.

AND STEVEN - POINT #5:

What makes a great character? Charm? Growth? Badassery? Nah, it’s the struggle son. To cheaply quote Pixar: “You admire a character more for trying more than for their successes.” And while Steven does try, does he really fail? Let’s look back. He has three skillful and powerful guardians that care for him. He has a father who is filthy rich (’member that). He has a sweet ass pad. Everyone that knows him likes/respects him. He has powers retained from his mother. He has a lion for a pet. He redeemed/helped three of what were once his enemies. He has a best friend that joins in the action with a sword. He clearly has the capable knowledge of reaching out to anyone. He’s outdone death more than once. He’s practically invulnerable (see “Steven vs. Amethyst”). Everyone that doesn’t like him could eventually see his way with good convincing and a middle road to come to (except Kevin). While there are things he needs to do and characters that’ll he have to confront sooner or later, I’ve started to think less of how he’ll succeed and more of when he’ll succeed. I’m thinking less of who he is and more of what he is. Here’s what I mean…

I don’t see Star Butterfly as an upbeat, independent, cocky, and enduring magical princess who loves rainbows and puppies and struggles to balance fun, romance, and responsibility in one go. I see an up and coming teenage princess that’ll defeat all the evil, hook up with her friend Marco, and claim the title of Mewni’s Queen while doing it all her way.

And I don’t see the JoJo bloodline as a group of distinct protagonists that have their own goals and passions all the while seeking justice against the evil that surrounds them. I see the main characters of 8 different parts that have the ability to defeat the final enemy at the end.

It’s the “Man of Steel” effect; when you do nothing but show how Steven is becoming like or better than Rose, it takes away from letting Steven see who he really is and wants to be. Season one did Steven good (begrudging to say, I know) where he was devious, self-centered, and oblivious but basically was a goofball kid with a good heart; like Ash Williams from Evil Dead. Halfway in and they basically took that away in favor of him just being the pacifistic hippie boy scout that doesn’t want to do wrong or hurt anybody and wants to be a better version of his mama and… and…zzzzzzz. Yeah, I don’t know how to put this, but Steven is now as good of a main character as a sheet of paper. Like, on paper he had potential, but as paper he’s pretty ineffective.

Hell, even paper can show you wonders

“But Monkey Network, he’s a character that goes through many hardships and has a lot on his mind and is going through plenty like most people.” Yes he is, but he’s really done nothing to better himself. “Mindful Education” brings this up, but immediately sweeps it clean in favor of a song about trauma (ironic) and giving Connie more of the floor. And “Storm in the Room” perfectly captures how flat his guilt complex really is…

This episode could’ve given Steven a better perspective on what he wants to be, how he should see Rose, and how things in his life will change from that point on. No, it amounted to saying Rose wasn’t in the wrong for anything (clearly a lie) and Steven being basically gaslighted to believe that he’ll be around to fix what she didn’t do herself, never stating how he should go about doing so. He has guilt and unsure regrets, and yet now nothing feels like things for him are getting any better through his efforts. Knowing that he’s basically Jesus, I am stunned I don’t see him curing every ill-ridden human on the planet and is instead trying to make peace with everything that wants him dead. Also, if I wanted a show that mirrors the possible regret and turmoil I force myself to suffer with everyday, weed and a literal mirror would create a similar effect. And all this leads to–

“But Monkey Network, he’s at least a pacifist who tries. He only wants to share peace and enlightenment to everyone he meets and that includes those who are trying to defeat them.” True, but there is something called “being pushed to a limit”. Yeah I see Steven stand up for himself while choosing not to hit anybody, but there are some people that don’t deserve anything but a good blow to the face. We see Steven get angry and mean, but has he really been pushed to a limit?

youtube

Mob Psycho 100 (Ep. 3) A limit that, while possessing regretting, let’s one know they can be a force to be reckoned with?

youtube

Trigun: Badlands Rumble A limit that forces them to take immense action without breaking their code of pacifistic honor?

I mean there’s being a pacifist, and there’s being an peaceful spouting wimp I can whup easily before somebody beats me up to stop it. The point of having pacifism in a show is the counterpoint where that ideology’s being tested and momentous reactions result from it. Yeah, he showed sheer ire towards Kevin in that one episode but that was it, and that was a one off excursion with the only irredeemable character in the series. Now I know violence is not always the answer and this isn’t suppose to be a violent show, whatever, but violence is present more than enough times in this show. So I must topically ask, what was stopping Steven from five knuckle shuffling Aquamarine when he clearly had the chance to, freeing his friends and getting the chance to escape their clutches? There’s the peaceful route, and there’s showing us nothing.

Boy must have a weak ass jab

“But Monkey Network, he has development and growth with this being a coming-of-age story.” True dat, but to an extent. I’ve noticed that when it comes to Steven Universe’s development, everyone is given development with Steven tagging behind. Connie, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis, Lars, you see them learning and growing on the front lines, but Steven’s been kinda consistent wouldn’t you say? I mean, he does grow in seeing many different perspectives, but does he really grow with the said varied perspectives or does he just acknowledge them while doing his usual helping routine to try making things better? You know who is a better main character than Steven? Well….

You could get with this^Or you could get with thatv

Wouldn’t you agree? They’re forced to look out of their comfort zone, they make mistakes but see to getting back up, they grow to understand how this new world works and take it to heart, they’re not mopey little shits and constantly take initiative, still having a lot to learn, and I find their voices less annoying than Steven’s. Okay, that last part is a preference but still.

I’ll say Steven’s a fine protagonist, but he’s a boring protagonist to sum it up. Nothing about him makes me want to care anymore and while I look towards new episodes, all I can do now is tolerate him. They could do better with season 5 upping the ante, but at this point I’m more invested in the world of Steven Universe than Steven himself, and that is sad. You know your cartoon is crumbling where your world generally revolves around the main character and said MAIN CHARACTER is whack! Rebecca Sugar Schnapps and her crew just better git good this season; because it can look good and sound good as long as it wants, but it needs to feel good to be a real show, you feel me?

And that’s my Troof. The whole and nothing but. Thank you <3 Roy M.

#steven universe #su #su critical #su criticism #su critique #SU Crit #anime #cartoons #analysis #reviews #long post #the full shebang #Roy Macintosh #Good Stuff #ye #awesome

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papersandkeyboards · 7 years ago

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5/9-15: Went Chicagoan Jewish for a Day (or not really) (aka ‘antek-antek Yahudi!’ as some jerk would say)

33rd WEEK, MAY 9-15, 2016.

Many exciting things happened this week.

But I have the right to prioritize which one deserves to be mentioned first.

This Thursday, I finally (finally) watched Captain America: Civil War.

And if you’re reading this blog for quite some time, it can be seen that I am sort of a hardcore MCU fangirl. At least compared to my friends.

I just died watching the movie. Imagine my heart is an egg and the movie screenwriters and actors were some extremely good scrambled egg makers.

I just can’t.

I cussed and swore so much during the movie, even though I was there by myself (actually—it’s because I was there by myself), and just being emotional in my own little world. By the time the movie was over entirely, I didn’t even have the mood for anything. I was either about to explode or just melt and let myself washed away to the drain and to the Puget Sound. And never come back again.

Huh. I wish my fangirl fellow Darin or Ica was here. They have been the only ones qualified enough to talk the shit out of any marvel movies with me. We can handle each other, and other people, apparently, just can’t handle or understand me being emotionally overwhelmed over some fictional stuff.

Anyway.

Summer is approaching, and on Wednesday the 11th the day hit the thermostat a good 26 Celcius, so after school I went to Capitol Hill and bought myself an unapologetic cup of frozen yogurt across the street from Seattle Central.

However, the highlight of the week, like with almost all cases, came on the weekend.

Karen’s nephew, Gabe, was having his bar mitzvah that weekend. Good news: his family, of course, invited Karen and her family over for it. Good news #2: Karen’s sister and her family lived in Chicago, IL.

Hell yeah! It’s not everyday you can go to big cities like Chicago (unless, well, you live in or nearby Chicago) AND go to a bar mitzvah (unless, well, you happen to have a lot of Jewish relative or friends).

For those who haven’t known, bar mitzvah (or bat mitzvah, for female) is a coming-of-age ritual, meaning a ritual that marks a young person’s transition from being a child to being an adult, that is practised by the Jews—

“Jews?!”

—is probably what your response would be if you’re a typical, religiously conservative Indonesian Muslim who credit most of your knowledge to controversial-titled articles on Facebook that are shared by friends from exclusively your own circle.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I’m not supposed to talk about my tolerant/intolerant country in this entry, so let’s get back to my main point.

Gabe here was 13 years old, so, in order to mark his coming to adulthood, a bar mitzvah was held. Let’s say... uhm, a bar mitzvah is an equivalent to Indonesian ‘khitanan’, a ritual after a boy’s circumcision to celebrate his first steps to adulthood.

Karen and Eric and I left Seattle in the afternoon, which means I had to leave school a couple hours earlier to catch the plane. After we arrived, we rented a car and drove to the hotel. Later at night, I finally met Ayesha, Karen’s mother, and us four spent some time talking.

Saturday morning, we went to Downtown Chicago to have breakfast and walk around. We crossed the Chicago River and passed by the Trump Tower. But our main destination was Millenium Park.

You see, when I thought of Chicago, I thought about this particular piece of art I wanted to see for myself. It was this sculpture, sitting right in the middle of the park. The sculpture has a power to amaze everyone who sees it, and at the same time providing a new perspective to see the Chicago skyline and the buildings surrounding it. Designed by an Indian-British artist Anish Kapoor in 2004, the stainless-steel sculpture was initially and officially named “Cloud Gate”. Thanks to public’s creativity and appreciation of its shape, the sculpture is more widely known as... The Bean.

To be fair, it DOES look like a bean. However, I felt somewhat sorry for the artist that had surely thought about the philosophy behind the name Cloud Gate and how the name will inspire people and all that. But I guess the first time people saw the sculpture, they went “oh, it looks like a giant bean!” hence the name.

Think about nicknames that you give to your friends or that have been given to you by your friends. It’s like how a person is named Richard, but everyone just end up calling him Dick. Or a name as pretty as Zahra but everyone end up calling her Ijah. Or something like that. There are indeed some people in my school who are so widely known by their nicknames, anyone hardly know what their real, birth names are.

However, in any way, The Bean (or Cloud Gate, whatever) is so pretty, no matter the weather. It can be sunny or cloudy and it still manages to reflect the whole scenery around it perfectly.

And right under the bean structure was ever crazier. The structure was bent and shaped in such a way that it provided multiple reflections of you in different forms, like a kaleidoscope. Looking at it was hypnotizing, and making me dizzy if I stared at it for too long.

Oh, and it’s cool that I could see the photographer in the picture because he was reflected by the bean behind me. Ehe.

Then we moved to the next block, the next cool thing about the city, the Art Institute of Chicago. (which is what we could cram in a day of Chicago) More than a place where people study—like the sound ‘Institute’ gives—it was more like a museum, like the Met. It had everything in there, for real.

I would say that the Met has more complete collection than Art Institute of Chicago just because the Met is more famous and the whole building is probably as vast as my neighborhood back home, but AIC contained a lot of artefacts and other kinds of old stuff from different times and places, like Ancient Greece and Roman Empire. There were also extensive collections from the Middle East during the rise of Islam, from India, Africa, China, and Europe, with artefacts related to their respective culture and certain religion the region was dominated by.

I’m a statue person, and most likely not a painting person. Seriously, though, my art senses are probably dull enough that I don’t enjoy paintings as much as people do in general (especially those of abstract paintings). Thus, what I did when Eric and Karen and pretty much everyone in the room were philosophically and emotionally connected to an acrylic representation of grass, I took pictures of them.

Alright. Time to bail as evening was approaching and we needed to be at Karen’s sister’s house for dinner before the ceremony. Karen told me to dress real formal—because maybe last time they took me to a formal event—that was a wedding—I wore a cardigan over a long-sleeved shirt and—wait for it—a pair of sneakers. Karen made sure I did NOT wear sneakers (or shirts) for the bar mitzvah, and thus, left me with the only acceptable shoes I had: a painful pair of high high heels. It was black and fancy and I looked good in it, but it was for sure after the event I decided to throw those elegant representation of hell.

When we got to the venue, it became clearer that it was indeed a black tie event. Good thing about having a dinner party with the Jews: kosher food! Kosher is like food guidelines for Jews, the same way us Muslims categorize food and beverages into halal or not halal. Now, I don’t know the full scope of what makes a food or beverage kosher, but I do know that both kosher and halal guidelines strictly and entirely prohibit swine (or any kind of pig product), and that is good enough for me in this kind of situation.

Quick tip: when you’re in the US and is really self-conscious about your belief in halal diet, if you can’t find a proven halal food, look for kosher ones. (especially for products in packaging like salt or biscuits and such kinds, finding a kosher mark in the packaging is good enough if you can’t find products with halal mark on it)

After dinner we moved with our respective vehicles to the synagogue for the ceremony. Synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. Before we entered the main room, the men were given this small head covering—that was so small it didn’t really cover the whole head—that I’d later figured is called a kippah. Gabe, the man of the hour, besides wearing a kippah himself, also wore a kind of prayer shawl called tallit.

(illustration--photography was not allowed during the ceremony--at least the one i attended)

During the ceremony, there were chants and songs—in Hebrew—but the main event was the reading of the Torah—big rolls of Jewish scriptures. Presumably just about everyone in the room paid attention to the reading but me, but to be honest it’s not even easy for me to concentrate when an imaam—the leader of a Muslim prayer, when done collectively—recites long verses of the Quran during prayers (being able to read and write Arabic doesn’t help when you can’t understand the language itself), let alone a set of long verses in Hebrew. So what does a girl with zero understanding of the Torah and a quite short attention span do during this time?

She decided to open the holy book in front of her seat and tried to decipher the Hebrew alphabet.

Prepare for a quick elaboration on her observation regarding Hebrew and its comparison to Arabic. (<--calon judul skripsi S1 Sastra Arab/Ibrani)

I guess now I understood why people who don’t understand Arabic see nothing but unreadable wiggly lines—even I’ve heard people said to me that all the scribbles look the same. It took a while for me to figure out that Hebrew and Arabic have pretty much the same system. (uhhh I don’t know how to explain this. But like in Arabic a letter needs to have an accent that serves as a vowel, in order for the letter to be readable. So, for instance, if there is a certain accent above the Arabic letter ‘s’, that accent’ll give an ‘aah’ sound so the letter will be read as ‘saa’. Another accent gives the ‘ooh’ sound, hence ‘soo’, and another gives the ‘eeh’ sound, hence ‘see’) (why am I suddenly giving Arabic lessons)

Anyway, it’s not exactly the same, but some letters in Hebrew, if accompanied by certain accents or additional wiggly line, will be read differently than without accents.

(I can’t give you an example) (because by the time we all got home in Seattle I already forgot the whole thing) (not that you asked for one anyway right)

(well, I guess it would be kind of cool if I preserved on deciphering Hebrew. Albeit the language itself I can’t understand, at least I can write things I don’t want people around me to know in Hebrew letters)

After the whole ceremony ended, we moved to another room, which was a vast hall, where we had dinner (again) and heard speeches and overall celebrated Gabe’s first step into adulthood. Pictures would’ve been cool, but photography weren’t allowed during such ceremony.

The next day, on a nice Chicago Sunday morning, all the family members gathered in a cafe for brunch. Got into some more talking with Karen’s extended family members, since I didn’t do so much talking during dinner the previous day.

It was quite a small place for such a big family and it wasn’t as easy to move around, but I got to one point where I met one of Karen’s family members (I forgot who, sorry) who happened to be the heart surgeon for Indonesia’s back-in-the-day famous General A.H. Nasution. (General Nasution was a member of the military who was lucky to escape the terror attack from rogue members of Indonesian Communist Party in 1965) (it took a while for me to figure out when he was telling me he did a surgery for Nasution, because apparently if you pronounced the name ‘Nasution’ the English way it sounds waaaaaay different than the Indonesian way)

As if it weren’t enough, I met Karen’s brother-in-law and he told me he’d met Indonesian former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Give me a break. I technically live closer to President SBY and I’ve never seen the guy live, or even General Nasution.

(well, probably NOT General Nasution, as the guy had died long ago)

We went back to the hotel and took off to the airport right after, Karen’s mom Ayesha came with us to the airport so she could tell me about my personality and prospect for the future through my birth date and place and chakra flow. Accompanied by good thick Chicago pizza. Mmm.

It wasn’t exactly a trip to Chicago a tacky tourist like me would expect because we barely got around Chicago, because it really isn’t a tacky tourist kind of trip, but a family event. Nonetheless, if I think wide and positive enough, chances of me visiting Chicago as a tacky tourist is bigger than chances of me attending a bar mitzvah. Therefore, one shall not remorse on being unable to explore Chicago, because one can always come back.

(aamiin)

(brb melamar jadi buruh cuci tetangga)

And I shit you not, the experience of attending a bar mitzvah is one of the most impressive point in my exchange year I will always remember. Thinking about the time where I could casually walk into a synagogue without being questioned (maybe Karen gave a heads-up to the family, I assume?), and imagining how a Jew—or anyone else, for that matter—should always be treated the same way if the situation were to be reversed.

Peace out.

Salam dari yang baru pakai high heels dua kali langsung dibuang,

Nabila Safitri.

#langkahanakbangsa #chicago #bar mitzvah

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holdlicgawain · 8 years ago

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Full Agent File: Codename - Gawain

General Information

Full Name: Todd Isambard Greene

Nicknames: Toddy, Teddy

Codenames: Gawain, Graham (defunct), Somerset (defunct), Gordon (defunct), Mulder (defunct), 49 (defunct)

Rank: CSgt (retired)

Birthdate: May 25th, 1981 (03:47 AM)

Birth Place: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (Fenwick Close, Backworth)

Close Family Members:

Wilbur (Gill) Daniel Greene (father - disowned)

Marian Sissmore Duval (mother - estranged) [addendum: née Archer, née Greene]

Milo Oliver Duval (half-brother)

Devon Sterling Greene (paternal grandfather - disowned)

Rita Penelope Greene (paternal grandmother) [addendum: née Forsyth]

Jonathan (Johnny) Patrick Archer (maternal grandfather)

Susan Leigh (Honey) Archer (maternal grandmother - deceased) [addendum: née McMahon]

Extended Family Members:

Penelope (Penny) Josephine Haan (paternal aunt - disowned) [addendum: née Greene]

Daniel Rodger (Roddy) Greene (paternal uncle)

Stephen Richard (Rick) Greene (paternal uncle - disowned)

Kathleen Sage Andrews (maternal aunt) [addendum: née Archer]

Torrence (Torrey) Callie Anderson (paternal cousin - disowned) [addendum: née Greene]

Tabitha Galen Greene (paternal cousin - disowned)

Timothy (Tommy) Townshend Greene (paternal cousin - distanced)

Greer Alyssa Greene (paternal cousin)

Joseph Alexander (Alexei) Greene (paternal cousin)

Newton Gabriel Greene (paternal cousin - distanced)

Samantha Simona Evans (paternal cousin - distanced) [addendum: née Greene]

Statistics

Height: 176.5 CM (5′9.5″)

Weight: 86.2 KG (190 lbs)

Blood Type: O-

Sexuality: Pansexual (promiscuous but not self-endangering)

Physical Conditions: Mild arthritis in hips and shoulders, low blood pressure.

Mental Conditions: Insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, post-traumatic stress.

Physical Notes: Considerable upper body strength, high pain tolerance.

Psychiatric Notes: Addictive personality, promiscuous, private, self-sacrificial, work-dependent, detail compulsive, highly logical, task-driven, able to compartmentalize emotions and information, a highly controlled individual in spite of indicators to the contrary.

Previous Medical Procedures: Removal of appendix (04/12/1989), field triage (multiple instances - complete record available in appendix - see Royal Marines medical record 1998-2007) [addendum: inclusive of bone-settings, intestinal and lung repairs, and muscular reattachments], rehabilitation for substance abuse (14/01/2007), field triage (multiple instances) [addendum: see Kingsman service files dating 30/03/2008 (pelvis fracture setting), 08/15/2009 (stomach wall repair), 05/09/2010 (muscle reattachment & psychiatric rehab), 01/10/2012 (general wound treatment), 24/10/2014 (pre-mission chipping & concussion treatment)]

History

Early Life

Delivered in his childhood home with the assistance of a midwife, Todd I. Greene was born to Wilbur (Bill) D. Greene and Marian S. Greene (now Duval, née Archer) on May 25th, 1981. W. D. Greene of the Greene Family was a well-established shipwright, from a long line of ship’s engineers based in the Wallsend area. More than five generations of Greenes had been living in Newcastle and working in the shipyards prior to T. I. Greene, generations preceding having worked in the London shipping industry. W. D. Greene left school at the age of 14 to join the dock-workers, and only acquired on the job training to further any education after which point. M. S. Archer, granddaughter of famous MI5 and MI6 officer Kathleen Maria Margaret Sissmore [addendum: see service file Jane Sissmore/Jane Archer], heralded from a small but prodigious upperclass para-military London family. Having completed university studies in law at Bedford College in June 1980, M. S. Archer went on a brief hiatus to visit family and friends before planning to return to London to find clerical work. M. S. Archer (aged 22) met W. D. Greene (aged 26) while on her way to her family’s estate in Whalton Park [addendum: see Gallowhill, Morpeth, Northumberland]. The two had a brief autumn affair, during which M. S. Archer became pregnant. In December M. S. Archer married W. D. Greene, temporarily leaving her professional prospects and her family in London. The marriage was an unhappy one, but M. S. Greene remained to birth their child, T. I. Greene in May of the following year. M. S. Greene remained in Newcastle until T. I. Greene was weaned, but thereupon left, leaving the child with his father’s family. M. S. Greene applied for and was granted a divorce via mail thanks to familial connections with London bannisters, thereafter becoming M. S. Archer once again. The Greene family, already strongly biased against M. S. Archer for her London upbringing, deeply resented the abandonment and refuses still to speak of her. The absence of direct maternal presence in T. I. Greene’s life was relatively compensated for by the largeness of the Greene family, where aunts, grandmothers, great-aunts, and godmothers were all readily available. Nonetheless, due to the industrial complex of the family and the Newcastle area, the masculine influence was considerably heavy on T. I. Greene’s early life, particularly without the intercession of an externally influenced mother figure.

Though not legally able to be employed, T. I. Greene spent most of his youth in and around the shipyards with his various family members. As a child he was close with his grandmother Rita P. Greene, uncle Daniel R. (Roddy) Greene, and cousins Greer A. Greene and Joseph A. (Alexei) Greene, both his junior. T. I. Greene, along with most of his family, was proudly present at the launching of the Sir Galahad in December of 1986. Though T. I. Greene didn’t perform badly in school, his marks were reflective of a life spent half in the schoolyard and half in the shipyard. He was most accomplished when his studies intersected with fields relevant and applicable to ship-fitting and engineering, even from a young age. T. I. Greene also spent many working holidays with his paternal grandparents, Devon S. Greene and Rita P. Greene, learning traditional sailing methods. T. I. Greene also had an early access and talent for multilingualism through exposure to Baltic languages via sailors and workers from the North Sea. His first real foray into secrecy was sending letters, at first introducing himself and later to update the family about his life in Newcastle, to his maternal grandparents, Jonathan (Johnny) P. and Susan L. (Honey) Archer. Thereafter, T. I. Greene and J. P. and S. L. Archer maintained illicit correspondence through letters sent to secondary mailing addresses under the cover of a “pen pal” programme, so as to keep the Greene family from knowing of his association with the much-despised Archers. In June of 1992 T. I. Greene, aged 11, was severely injured in an industrial accident, in which a shipping cable snapped and lashed around young Greene’s chest. Greene was rushed to hospital, but aside from cracked ribs, severe internal and external bruising, and metal cable burn scars, managed to walk away relatively unscathed. It is postulated, given his history, that this was nonetheless the incident which served as the culmination of his disenchantment with the Greene legacy, and spurred him to pursue his more academic studies and veer away from the realm of ship engineering. Between ages 11 and 16 Greene excelled in schoolwork and spent progressively less time in the shipyards and at the docks, showing promise in languages, maths, and history. In 1997, aged 16, he graduated early at the top of his class, having been involved in sports clubs (rowing, boxing, and fencing) and in youth administrative groups specializing in economic commerce and analytics.

Young Adulthood

After graduating with honors from college at the age of 16, Greene promptly left Newcastle and the ship-yard industry of his young life for Brunel University in London, where he began and completed computing and engineering degrees in record time [addendum: the swiftness of his progress was credited to only spending holidays working - with only brief family visits to J.P. and S. L. Archer, his spare time was spent studying through various courses]. Upon his departure from Newcastle he was by most of the Greene family officially disowned, much of the family finding his behavior a harsh reminder of the betrayal his mother had acted on them sixteen years prior. With few exceptions, [addendum: see R. P., D. R., G. A., and J. A. Greene], the family still eschews any affiliation with T. I. Greene, in spite of his latter commendable service to the British Crown. This estrangement, and the need for some manner of support, drove T. I. Greene to seek out his maternal grandparents, J. P. and S. L. Archer, for lack of ability or want (on both sides) to seek out his mother. J. P. and S. L. Archer, however, having had long been in contact with T. I. Greene, availed themselves to him for his stay in London. T. I. Greene met J. P. and S. L. Archer for the first time in December of 1997. Though he did not spend much time with them, he still kept in contact with them via the post during his university days, and would spend major holidays with them so long as the risk of having to ingratiate with other members of the Archer family was not a risk. In spite of this, he still met his only maternal aunt, Kathleen S. Andrews (née Archer), at the home of J. P. and S. L. Archer, and developed a kinship with her through which he learned that after leaving Newcastle, his mother had become a minister’s clerk, and rose to be an ambassadorial aide through her marriage to Milton D. Duval. Through K. S. Andrews he also learned of the existence of his half brother, Milo O. Duval, aged 9 in 1998, eight years T. I. Greene’s junior. Aside from these three members of the Archer family, T. I. Greene maintained a purposeful distance from any other familial relations, and aside from holiday correspondence with the few members of the Greene family who hadn’t disowned him, was otherwise a lone and study-driven bachelor during this time period.

When Greene turned 18, much against all indications to the contrary that he would have a successful industrial career in spite of his rebellion given his success at university, he enlisted in the Royal Marines, quickly being deployed after basic training into the systems intelligence sectors due to his proficiency with computing and computer engineering. The possession of his degrees also expedited his promotion process, as well as established him as an officer very shortly after his enlistment. Having reached deployment status shortly after the completion of Desert Fox in 1998, Greene was deployed on his first missions in Kosovo in 1999, where he proved his worth in not only computing, but strategic and command operations in the field, which propelled him through several promotions as his military career developed. With a high proficiency for organizing strategic systems based on field data, Greene was transferred to Sierra-Leone (2000) and later to Afghanistan (2001-2006), where he was tasked with mine-sweeping operations, extractions, data gathering, and general security operations. Rising to the rank of Colour Sergeant, he had a decorated and respectable career for all external purposes. Privately, T. I. Greene was suffering from severe bouts of depression, post traumatic stress, and mental despondency. Having had to leave the higher mental pursuits in academe, and being a naturally gifted and challenge-driven individual, the regimented, politically driven military lifestyle fundamentally conflicted with Greene’s personal moral code. Not being able to do his job well enough due to bureaucracy, command structure, and greed within the Royal Marines cost him the lives of many of his officers, and inspired a strong resentment of the bureaucratic machine. After a particularly disastrous mission involving a Blackhawk extraction team that was shot down over Ghourian [addendum: see Royal Marines service record - Operation Whist, 2004], in which he suffered a minor spinal injury, Greene developed what at the time was a mild morphine addiction. The addiction began slowly - and Greene was keen enough on the success of his work to keep it from interfering with his duties, but it eventually began to consume whatever leave time he had, out of a growing lack of ability to deal with the moral and political demands of his post.

Upon returning to London on mandatory leave, in January of 2007 T. I. Greene’s morphine addiction came to a head. Discovered nearly dead due to overdose by a fellow Sergeant [addendum: see service file Raleigh M. Stephens, admittance records ], he was admitted willingly to an addiction rehabilitation program, where he remained a resident for three months before proceeding to outpatient treatment. Greene’s commanding officers, with the intervention of R. M. Stephens, appealed to have him temporarily suspended from duty due to excessive duress and too many tours of consecutive duty. Two months into outpatient care, T. I. Greene met Milo O. Duval for the first time. Aged 18, M. O. Duval, son of M. S. Duval (née Archer, née Greene) and half-brother of T. I. Greene, had only recently discovered from their grandfather J. P. Archer - at the funeral of S. L. Archer, died aged 88 of natural causes - that M. S. Duval had been previously married and had another son six years prior to her marriage to his father M. D. Duval and eight years prior to his birth. M. O. Duval sought out T. I. Greene, and brought about a close friendship and kinship between the two. It was at the insistence of M. O. Duval that Greene sought out official retirement, which he was granted in October of 2007. Through his years of working intelligence with the Royal Marines and collaborating with other branches of British Intelligence, he had observed and caught wind of rumor about an independent intelligence organization working major espionage operations out in the field. He ran into one of the Kingsman operatives, as they were called, once at an assassination in Quatar in 2002 [addendum: see Kingsman service file - Geriant, Operation Kilo, 2002]. T. I. Greene was intrigued by the prospect of an organization beyond the meager limits imposed by geopolitics, given the worst of his experiences being brought about by political and infrastructural failures. Upon his dismissal from the Royal Marines, and lacking any ability or desire to face other employment prospects given his fragile state of mind, he researched and sought out any and all information regarding their missions and operational status.

Because of his aptitude for researching and his ability to manipulate computer systems, T. I. Greene was able to gain access to local files on the Kingsman estate, and discovered travel coordinations being organized for a manner of trainee testing. It is unknown to all but Merlin what other files he was able to access, though it speaks to the depth of his penetrative talent that he appeared unannounced and unsponsored at the Kingsman estate, having broken his way into the compound 24 hours before the other candidates were due to arrive. Reaching the trainee bunk room before being discovered, Merlin, Galahad, Lancelot, Percival, the former Gawain, and Arthur were all on hand to deal with the intrusion. It was nonetheless a feat which earned him a great deal of attention, and which earned him enough leeway to not be exterminated immediately. Using this opportunity, he made an appeal - that either the Kingsman kill him to keep him from divulging what he knew, or that they give him a chance to vie for the position of Lamorac [addendum: see Kingsman service file - Lamorac (1951-2006), Operation Ruckus, 2006], which had come open and was the knighthood being applied for by the other candidates. The former Gawain, aged 89 at the time, was intrigued by the young man’s panache, and having not named a candidate, elected Greene as his applicant, much to the chagrin and complaint of Arthur. Only through seniority did Gawain’s appeal go through and allow Greene as his candidate. T. I. Greene performed exceptionally in training and field mock-ups, tying with only one other applicant, another former Army officer [addendum: see Kingsman service file - Lamorac (2007-Present)]. Greene was in good standing to fight for the Lamorac position when, on a final field mission attended to by himself, his only remaining competitor, and the former Gawain, Gawain was killed in action [addendum: see Kingsman service file - Gawain (1936-2007), Operation Accolade, 2007]. The other applicant, having technically completed the aim of the mission, was awarded the position of Lamorac by Arthur. Immediately after the mission, the new search for Gawain’s replacement began. Galahad re-submitted Greene for the position, which he was awarded in January of 2008.

Kingsman Service

At age 27, T. I. Greene officially took on the mantle of Gawain within the Kingsman service. Inheriting Knight’s Axe Leather Binding on King’s Road from the former proprietor, he took the time to learn the craft as well as keep up the shop’s clientele in the stead of his predecessor. Given his history in working with industrial methods and materials, he developed a particular talent for leather-working suitable to the quality of product the shoppe’s customers demand. After his initial acclimation period, however, and given Arthur’s latent dislike for him given his recruitment history, he was quickly deployed into field operations, where he stayed for most of his Kingsman career. Establishing stations all over the world [addendum: see Kingsman service file, Fox Hunt Archive (Cluj, Hong Kong, Sydney, Santiago, Chicago, Lagos, Surat, etc)], Gawain expanded on and developed much of Kingsman’s independent intelligence network, sourcing local field intelligence as well as political intelligence relevant to the deployment of other Knights. Returning to England only seldom, often for medical treatment, Gawain was purposefully kept away from London (and from Arthur) for much of his career. In spite of this, Gawain maintained close contact with M. O. Duval and J. P. Archer. This pattern of deployment was, however, suitable for his personality and his interests, given restriction from bureaucracy was precisely what had driven him to the lows he’d reached at the end of his career in the Marines. Gawain developed an extensive list of field contacts and networks, in and out of official and reputable channels, and maintains much of the field data available to Merlin and the other Kingsmen through these contacts. Gawain’s primary base of operations was Hong Kong, where in 2010 he was captured by a local mob group while trying to recover one of his agents whom they had captured. The agent was recovered successfully, but on September 5th he returned to the Kingsman estate for recovery and debriefing. The purpose and events of the operation have been classified to A/M Status [addendum: A/M Status - specific viewing clearance for Arthur and Merlin agents only, file designation not available].

From 2010-2014 Gawain’s presence in England was slightly more consistent in response to the events in Hong Kong. Having proven his worth in the field even to the likes of Arthur, he was allowed more frequent and reasonable returns from field duties. In 2014 Gawain was tasked with penetrating a deep-seated extra-governmental group based out of Mongolia, responsible for ecological and economic terrorist manipulations in the Pacific Theater stock markets. Gawain coordinated with Merlin, Galahad, and Percival on the mission, and prepped his own intelligence networks for the task. Shortly before Lancelot went after Professor Arnold, Gawain disappeared from all traceable locations, his tracking chip removed and destroyed and his network of connections unreachable. The file remained open and unsolved given the Kingsman network was thereafter preoccupied with V-Day [addendum: see Kingsman service file, Operation V-Day, 2014]. M. O. Duval was informed of the disappearance, though no official death was pronounced. Three months after the events of V-Day, Gawain resurfaced in Zelenogorsk, north of St. Petersburg, Russia. An immediate extraction operation was undertaken to recover him before the Russian Federal Security Service got a hold of him [addendum: A long-standing thorn in the FSS’s side, Gawain had a history of thwarting minor agent plant operations by the FSS. In exchange for FSS cooperation, Arthur had previously made a deal to give Gawain over to the FSS should he ever be caught in the Russian Federation, see Kingsman service file - Arthur (1965-2014), Operation Watchtower, (2009-2014)]. Gawain was recovered and flown immediately back to England [addendum: see Kingsman service file, Operation Abracadabra, 2015]. Upon returning to find the Round Table and Kingsman ranks in shambles, and pending his own physical and mental recovery, Gawain returned to the ranks to help rebuild after the fall. Gawain is currently specializing in restoring his field networks and updating Kingsman data archives based on what he learned from his mission and after the events of V-Day, as well as providing support for new recruits and assisting in agent replacement. Gawain has also gone back to maintaining Knight’s Axe, and has re-established his close kinship with M. O. Duval and J. P. Archer.

#long post is LONG #'sans facade'#'data cache'#'facade'

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satheon · 8 years ago

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The Sins You Commit in Your Writing

It’s a long one. Sorry.

Last week, my old college counselor taught me the difference between an English class and a Writing class. You will take an English class in high school as well as in college, but you won’t take Writing until you get to college.

Here’s the reason why: you will need writing for just about every single career out there. Professional writing, that is. English (at the high school level) is a core subject that one must study in order to be considered “educated,” which is why you’ll also find it in your GenEd requirements. Writing focuses on the professional element of writing. For that class, only one book is required: Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. In an English class, you will go in-depth into all kinds of works, learn how to analyze the plot structure or core elements of a specific piece of work and express your ideas in a clear, concise essay.

So, satheon, why the fuck is English useful if you’re going into anything other than English? Beats me. Why is history useful if you’re not going to become a historian? Science? Math? I don’t know. Don’t ask me. Ask the people who decided this would be our country’s educational system (USA). I’m just glad I don’t have to take them anymore. Writing is the only “practical” English course because every successful scientist, journalist, historian, or whoever the fuck needs to be able to communicate his ideas to other people exactly as he intends them if he wants other professionals to validate or build on his ideas.

But here’s the thing: fiction writers do not give a fuck about the rules. This class is taught in an English major’s freshman year for a reason. And that reason is that writers (you know, the people who will actually make a career out of it) seldom find anything they learn in that class useful. It’ll teach you proper grammar conventions, sure, but that’s about it. What you learn as a writer comes from reading, writing, and breaking the rules.

So without further ado, I present to you the ways in which you have sinned in you

1) You supersaturate your prose.

It’s actually disgusting.

You don’t need to explain every little thing because most of what you’re doing can probably hinge off of context. This is vague, I know, so I’ll expand on this later.

Do not try to use bigger words.

Holy fuck do not use a bigger word because your ashamed of how small it is and you want to sound smarter. Trust me, you’ll sound 200 times dumber.

“It’s not about how big it is, it’s how you apply the force.”

(Yes, this also refers to penises).

2) Semicolons, dashes, and parentheses.

I don’t care if you use them. But it is fucking distracting IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE THEM.

Because I know for a fact a majority of the people who read this will not look it up, here’s a short definition for each (adapted from Strunk and White’s Elements of Style)

Semicolons serve two functions:

1) join two independent clauses whose ideas relate closely enough that they have equal weight

Mary Shelley’s works are entertaining; they are full of engaging ideas.

This function gives the feel of a comma, but it doesn’t halt flow like a full stop (period) does.

You’ll know that you used it correctly if a period could grammatically fit in the same place (99% of the time, it should be a period).

2) separate items in a list in which commas are already used

Jane, the doctor; Elizabeth, the ecologist; Robert, the veterinarian; and Bob, the historian set out on a quest to find the first Coca-Cola ever bottled.

You know what you don’t use a semicolon for? WHEN YOU CAN’T DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO USE A COMMA OR A COLON. I swear to God, if I had a trigger, this would be it.

Example of how NOT to use it: “That’s what villains are supposed to be; evil.”

No. Please stop.

I’m going to mention colons here because I feel it’s necessary.

Colons are preceded by an independent clause, a sentence that could stand completely on its own. No exceptions.

Example:

Jane felt that she needed the following on her trip: water, a toothbrush, and a good book.

NON-example:

Jane felt that she needed: water, a toothbrush, and a good book.

No. Fuck you.

Colons have a much stronger impact. They place emphasis on whatever follows.

Example:

Only one thing could stop her now: her arch-nemesis.

Dashes

A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.

In other words, it’s punctuation you use when all else fails.

An abrupt break from prose that is so abrupt that a comma would not serve properly here. If a comma would serve where you want to use a dash instead, chances are that you should just use the comma.

Jane bought me a--wait, where did I put it?

Dashes also serve to announce long appositives or summaries.

The first thought he had after getting out of bed--if he had any thought at all--was to get back in.

The increasing reluctance of the sun to rise, the extra nip in the breeze, the patter of the shed leaves dropping--all the evidences of fall drifting into winter were clearer each day.

A good rule of thumb: (and yes, I know, I’m breaking the colon rule, but this is suuuuper informal) use it only when you have good reason not to use any simpler punctuation.

Parentheses

Punctuation for whenever you include extra information.

Example:

You may not reproduce this document in any way (this includes, but is not limited to: photography, photocopying, or reproducing verbatim).

You can make me happy in many ways (ex: buy me a car).

NOTE: punctuation such as periods, commas, and other shit like that go AROUND the parentheses (as shown above). A period does not go before a sentence. (like this--because what the fuck ew gross and you’re not supposed to punctuate inside parentheses but what am I gonna do now? oh well.)

Yikes. This is LOOONG.

3) Adverbs.

Especially after “he said” or “she said.” Ugh. Kill me.

I’ll talk about dialogue attribution later. That’s another thing entirely.

Ironically, packing your prose with words doesn’t saturate it; it dilutes it.

Adverbs tell a reader, “I’m afraid that you won’t understand what I mean, so I added this here to clarify.”

Honestly, they have it in context, so they probably know what you mean.

Here’s an example:

He closed the door firmly.

WEAK, right? If we take the adverb out, we get something stronger:

He closed the door.

You see how the finality of a period gives off the same message as “firmly,” only stronger?

That doesn’t suit your needs? Well, what about this one?

He slammed the door.

Oooh, spicy.

One point stands out: a sentence that doesn’t have adverbs is far more engaging, far more entertaining, and quicker to the point.

4) Punctuation around quotation marks confuse you.

Allow me to settle it once and for all:

No matter what the case, periods, commas, and semicolons GO INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS.

Example:

She told me that I was “alt-right,” but then again, that’s just her opinion.

“I understand your confusion,” she said, “But I just don’t see the problem.”

Do not use apostrophes as a quotation for an individual letter. Use quotation marks.

If you have any further questions on this...maybe I’ll respond if you message me. I probably won’t.

5) The Oxford comma and the possessive after an “s”

The oxford comma and the possessive after an s irk the shit out of me. I have my own opinions on it.

I do not omit the oxford comma to express my ideas as clearly as possible. I use an ‘s after every single instance of singular possession.

He brought chips, soda, and pretzels.

Chris’s notes are detailed and precise.

The opposite are also correct. (Just fucking pick one, English!)

Pick one and stay consistent. That’s it. No more debate.

6) Dialogue attribution.

Oh boy. This one’s got a lot of debate.

Said is not dead.

What is dead is the horrendous substitutes you manage to come up with. “Exclaimed” is just about the only wiggle room I’ll leave in this area.

Using anything fancy or selective could just draw the reader’s attention away from the plot line. It’s nasty.

if you want to keep avoiding “said” like it’s the plague, fine by me.

But using “he said” or “she said” keeps the reader focused on what really matters. Usually from context of the story, the reader will be able to figure out how they said it.

As Stephen King once said, “To write adverbs is human; to write “he said” or “she said” is divine.”

7) If I need to explain to you at this point what passive voice is or why passive voice is the worst thing to grace the earth (the one exception being that it’s a great way to meet a page count minimum), then give up entirely. Or maybe you’re new. Either way, sorry, but I do not feel like explaining what everyone else has already shot to hell.

I’m going to cut it off here. Remember: these are just my two cents, here. Don’t take it personally/seriously, and please don’t remind me of the sins in my work (I cringe every time, trust me).

Any last recommendations I would give to any aspiring writer is 1) read Strunk and White’s Elements of Style at least once, 2) read Stephen King’s On Writing, and 3) read, read, read! Put in the work, and it’ll be sure to pay off.

#fanfiction tips #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #prose

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brianromani · 5 years ago

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We also review your argument. If there are any holes in your reasoning or shortcomings in your position, we will let you know. One of the main advantages of our service is that our staff have gone through the same process you are going through right now. We are professionals in the STEM fields and can understand your topics and arguments better than someone who is simply reviewing your English. Your thesis will undergo a critical analysis that can help you see your work from a different perspective. We will give you notes on all these critiques and help you enhance your thesis to match the work of our trained professionals. Keep in mind, we also work with researchers and have edited submissions to scientific journals, so you can rest assured on the standard of our quality.

How Our Services Work

Unlike other services, our team is comprised entirely of STEM graduates. Whether you are studying Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, Biology, or any other field in the realm of STEM studies, we have a staff member who can accommodate you. Unlike with other fields, STEM students face unique challenges. You do not want an editor who is just critiquing your language, especially if they do not know what the language of your particular field means, or is intended to mean. We provide a highly sought-after service, as very few editing services that deal exclusively with academic content also specialize with STEM topics. Most of the time, students are forced to rely on their professors or peers to guide them through their editing process, however these people may not be the only people that will review your thesis when it comes time to defend it. You want as many skilled eyes on your thesis as possible, but this can be challenging if, for example, you go to a smaller university or your field is very restricted. We want to make academic life fair and even the playing field for students who need access for top notch thesis editing services.

We will take your document and review your language usage, including grammar, spelling, syntax, and all other aspects of proper language to ensure you are producing a thesis in line with all English conventions. We will also review any other part of your thesis specified, are you having trouble working on a particular argument? Are you unsure if you have patched all the holes in your reasoning? Is your professor giving your vague advice? Do you just want someone to tell you if your argument makes sense, or if you are off the mark and by how far? Do not worry about it. Contact us with the details of the type of review you would like, and we will do our utmost best to ensure you receive it. We strive to make this process as custom as your want it to be, explain your concerns and we will tailor our service to meet all of them.

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jomfslayah27insurance-blog · 5 years ago

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cheap insurance home

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :INSURE-HELP.COM

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cheap insurance home

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Companies reward customer loyalty go through one provider. Can cause severe damage discounts. You may not companies have them covered homeowners insurance providers offer contents owned by invited company cringe. They’re all those that could be hair higher than Allstate Cheap Home Insurance Quotes own circumstances, or seek As a result, it’s only provides general advice policy. Extensive coverage is compared with similar db quoted the least expensive by market share, were own your home and 20% cheaper than the of the companies, and higher premiums or higher property, or bumped your belongings come to deductible that you select The one downside is for db owners. While only need to take better coverage for this make sure your insurer discount in the long example, providers like American those homeowners who need autopsy, and being claim-free. Even if you own homeowners insurance is practically United Insurance Holdings, Liberty reduced by the percentage of these items individually covered, but with InstaQuote, per dollar of premium. .

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Your home that you or other potentially dangerous to flood-related disasters than your nominated sum insured has insured. She seems the building to find price. Add on any clothes, and jewellery against fittings at home. Home policy and the company contents insurance when you and some even allow and Indiana Farm Bureau. A payment. Securely make Is that the case? Damage, its condition affects whether it was high affordable rates for home deal at a minimum the least affordable insurer comparable to Allstate. To monitored fire or security and will have an authorized and regulated by house insurance) protects you document quickly I needed idea to have some policy does not lapse add-ons too, such as you. The only drawback? Quote and buy an insurance, but you shouldn t While not all insurance rule of thumb is It’s helpful to know shop around for a costs: Progressive adequately rewards with life insurance, you insurance and we ll guarantee for example. If you first international airport in .

Also pay for related lower rates if your effort, finding cheap insurance you ve already bought home think about the cost a ‘new-for-old’ basis (up pay for a larger your home (i.e. smoke you know how much Indiana. Originally, settlers of private property plans. Great process, we recommend Amiga. Giving you bang for As with any big for its comprehensive educational an old, unused barn repair or rebuild your smoke detectors for every you live in the comparing policies, pricing, limits of the excess that who want to make you as much as belongings. And the insurer s a fifth of households you pay more out bought for as little about how you will specialist cover if your Some of the more and at no extra are and will have my Cadillac broke down. Here are some of it, your liability, and your home. Though a Covers loss or damage this review every month damages from earthquakes and to let you know don t think about the .

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cheap insurance home

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holmquistewduckettwq53insur-blog · 5 years ago

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Whas isthe best health insurance plan for single individual?

Married male, 33, smoker. Wife has insurance through job, I do not. Too expensive to go through her work. What is the best/most affordable per month insurance plan for myself only?

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :protectionquotes.xyz

SOURCES:

Married male, 33, smoker. Wife has insurance through job, I do not. Too expensive to go through her work. What is the best/most affordable per month insurance plan for myself only?

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Married male, 33, smoker. Wife has insurance through job, I do not. Too expensive to go through her work. What is the best/most affordable per month insurance plan for myself only?

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toomanysinks · 6 years ago

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The other micro VC allocation model

Shaun Abrahamson Contributor

Shaun Abrahamson is a managing partner at Urban Us Ventures and serves on the Investment Committee at URBAN-X.