#also yes i draw the normal panels in notability

[omori-neon-black-au]

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[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing 83 Review

guess who isn't weeks late this time. my opinion of the series is going up a little bit. it's still not great, but i'm not actively put off by it anymore the way i was after 81. not going to tag as spoilers, but be warned that they are under the cut

i’m sure you all are well aware of this but now, but dear god i love bruno redondo’s art. like, an unhealthy amount. the pink and blue is getting to be a theme with either him or just this run, but i am definitely enjoying it. the movement in this cover is clearly obvious, but well done. you recoznize right off the bat that the cover was drawn to drag your eyes down the page until you get to the bottom, but you enjoy the whole ride there. 

also, redondo’s way of drawing a character in stages of action so we can see just how much they’re doing in a split second of movement is quickly becoming something i like to see drawn with dick, and any other character that has that sort of ease of movement and body sense, like cass or sin or maybe a super. 

and he’s in action the entire time! there’s shot drawn just to show off a shirtless comic book character, the way nightwing is so often subjected to. he’s shirtless because he’s changing his clothes, and that’s all we see, no more and no less. very practical, very well done. i like it.

he looks so cute right here oh my god. the little squint, the hair curls. it’s adorable.

but also like. unless melinda has specifically outfitted the door spyhole so that the person on the other side can’t see dick looking through it (and in all honesty she might have) then everyone on the other side can see dick looking through that door. 

bringing your attention back to the “i can’t see melinda’s fbi file oh no!! it’s redacted!! whatever can we do!!” stupidity. redacted files are child’s play for oracle, and definitely doable for both dick and bruce. so that’s bullshit.

now, melinda apparently grew up with the maroni family, then took down part of the family from the inside. the maroni family is a large and notable presence in gotham, one that bruce pays a respectable amount of attention to. he definitely would have grown suspicious when two members of the maroni family were taken down, and with some investigation, he would have discovered melinda’s plan. and it should go without saying that the majority of things you see batman doing? dick can do it too.

it’s not so much that i don’t like how clever the villains/antiheroes are getting. i don’t like how dc heroes are increasingly written as less intelligent. they seem to be relying on pure fighting skills or luck, which may be the case for a couple heroes, but has never been the case for most of dc’s big name heroes, the bat family included. it’s irritating to me to see this sort of stuff pop up as a major plot point when i know that, if dick or bruce had been written with the amount of skill and power that they canonically possess, this entire mess would have been sorted out years ago.

unrelated but dick and melinda have the same hair

this may just be me, but i was always under the impression that dick doesn’t really have a “double life???”

yes, he’s talented enough to create enough differences between robin/nightwing and dick grayson’s mannerisms, way of movement, voices, and speech patterns so that it’s very difficult to put the two together.

but nightwing has never been separate from dick grayson, not the way bruce and batman is. he’s always leaned more towards clark in that aspect: his hero persona is an exaggerated, stately, larger-than-life version of who he really is. there’s no second persona, no real “dick grayson identity” and “nightwing identity.” they’re the same person with the same goals, ideas, and skills. one just pretends to abide by the law, and one gives up pretense of that.

oh good thank god. if he’d trusted her right off the bat (hehe. bat.) i would have slapped him upside the head. at least he’s still got instincts.

gosh the colouring on this is cool. the red has enough purple and pink tones to it that it doesn’t abruptly ruin the tone of the artwork. but it’s definitely glaring enough to take the reader outside of this personal moment they had slipped into between dick and melinda, to put them back in the present where they’re reminded that oh yea there are people hunting dick down. 

the next panel keeps this up too, in a less severe way. melinda’s bodyguard shows up (i forgot her name sorry :[ ) and subtly places us in the middle of an action scene rather than a private, personal scene.

laughing so fucking hard have our little vigilantes grown so accustomed to breaking into places that it doesn’t even register as a crime anymore??? tim coming in through the fire escape to pick bernard up for their date and being very much confused as to why bernard is freaking out.

i really like melinda’s shirt and now despite all the work i have to do and the fucking conference i have to host on monday i want to spend hours scrolling through clothing shops online trying to find this shirt. the mock neck/neckline is so cool i want it

so roland just assumes that a very dangerous vigilante who is highly talented in combat and a very dangerous bodyguard who is also highly talented in combat had a fight that ended with this very dangerous bodyguard being tied up and she looks completely fine? roland just assumes that her having no visible wounds or bruises means that they got into a fight and she lost that easily? uh. aight then

dick what are you doing. legitimately what the fuck are you doing. why are you posing oh my god. you are injured and tired and in absolutely no position to go hand to hand with one of main enemies. jesus christ run away or head to lower ground or something. don’t just stand around letting the floodlights show exactly where you are.

i don’t understand what he’s trying to do here??? blockbuster fully bought the story that dick fought them both, won, tried to get info out of them and failed, then hightailed it out of there. he didn’t have to draw roland out for a fight.

but it does look cool. the way the light just highlights his silhouette and the blue parts of his costume does look badass. he does get style points in my book for this.

w h a t  d i d  i  f u c k i n g  t e l l  y o u ,  d i c k ?

very classic superhero line and it does sound like something dick would say in a fit of righteous rage but also it makes me laugh so hard because all vigilantes think they’re so powerful that the law doesn’t apply to them. dick vigilantism is illegal. you’re acting above the law and pretending it doesn’t apply to you. hypocritical much?

it happens so often in superhero movies, tv shows, comics, whatever and it makes me giggle every damn time.

pretty decent comeback but before i start seeing people writing blockbuster as a thug i’m going to remind you that he made a deal with a demon for genius level intellect. if this turns into another bane situation i’m going to be a little miffed. he’s a smart man, which makes him a dangerous and infinitely more interesting enemy for nightwing.

this is so horribly in character i want to scream. (or. at least. it lines up with one of the versions of nightwing i have in my head.) he’s running right towards the bullets, miraculously doesn’t get shot, while making a sort-of pun. i hate this so much. i love him.

this is cool. this art is really really cool.

he leaped from a building right towards a helicopter that’s actively shooting at him, but none of the bullets are touching him. none of the corruption of the city can touch him no matter how hard it tries, because he’s too good to be corrupted. Comic Book Logic Can Be Good Sometimes Actually.

batman’s belt what??? swiss army knife who?? sorry, i only know nightwing’s bright blue escrima.

this is one of my favourite things about heroes with exceptional abilities, even more so if the hero is human. the things they can do are so far beyond the realm of normal human abilities that it’s equal parts terrifying and awe-inspiring every time they act.

he just used modified grappling wires to hook to the door of a moving helicopter, swung around the helicopter safely without hitting the blades, gained exactly the right momentum to swing upward again right through the opening of helicopter, then fought and tied up the men before they had any idea what was happening. that’s near impossible to do.

it’s stuff like this where i just sort of sigh in contentment. no matter how many times they leave out dick’s detective skills or conveniently forget that he’s actually a master planner and team leader and make him out to be this forgetful dude who makes everything up on the fly because of his “circus roots,” at least they won’t ever take away dick’s sheer physical ability honed to perfection. 

the art, too! in a few panels, dick’s drawn a little lightened or blurred. he’s moving so quickly and fighting so efficiently that he can barely be seen by the enemy. he’s got perfect form all the way through.

and THIS!

there was a helicopter that had five men shooting at him with what looks like machine guns. most people would be dead. some would run away, and be nimble enough to survive without fatal hits. there are very few people, even in fucking comic books, who can look at that hopeless situation and turn it around so quickly and thoroughly that he benefits from it instead.

i just. love nightwing.

it was funny the first time as a comic reader aware of the meme. it’s really not anymore. why the hell would you, in universe, be wearing a shirt that has a picture of your boyfriend being hit in the face by his father. 

okay that was funny. 

look at lil bitewing, so concerned for her human!!! love her sm. 

also a question as to the timeline of things. is nightwing happening before or after urban legends? 

i was so distracted by dick wearing a robe and briefs and nothing else that i didn’t register the second part until later. he slept for two days?? babs, baby, he recently had a very traumatic brain injury. why do you sound so nonchalant?

@TIM X COFFEE SHIPPERS GET FUCCCCKKKKEEDDDDD

ngl i totally forgot about that dude oops

this comic is giving so many reaction pictures. you know how you always use the worst possible picture of your friend for your friend’s contact picture? i’m just getting so many of these.

leslie!!! the titans!!! lucius!!! dick going to go see old friends!!!! the titans!!! this part made me so irrationally happy it really did. gar being the one to just. offer dick solutions with open arms. this was the best

i wish i could just copy and paste this entire scene, but that would take up way too much space, so i’m just going to talk about it instead. 

you gave me my name, nightwing, and you gave me some of the best advice i’ve received in my life: beautiful little throwback to nightwing’s origin. you’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know where the name came from, or who don’t know how much clark means to dick. and the fact that dick still looks up to clark as a hero, recognizes that clark isn’t always perfect and yet continues to hold him in such high esteem, and still looks back on advice that clark gave him fondly just warmed my heart so much.

for a man who has fearlessly stood up to darkseid, bruce will do a lot to avoid a conversation: “grrr. i’m the BATMAN. i’m so DARK and MYSTERIOUS. nobody knows the true me. no one ever will. i will be LONELY for the rest of my CURSED LIFE. such is the price of a hero. ignore my farmer himbo husband in the background”

but i don’t think there’s anything heroic about being a billionaire: another nod to how much dick follows clark’s example rather than bruce. yes, this was a very poignant and important criticism, and i think it’s wonderful that this was published in a pretty popular comic book. but the thing is, there is a way to be a heroic billionaire, but only in fictional universes. the way bruce, ollie, t’challa only ever use their wealth to help people. they donate massive amounts of money to charities that they themselves create so they know exactly how the money is being used. they hire people who aren’t likely to get jobs anywhere else and pay them much more than what a base living wage is. they use their power to help push progressive laws and social change. they are helping. 

dick doesn’t fully see it that way. he spent more than half his childhood the son of a billionaire, but still believes that one could be more heroic when one doesn’t have obscene amounts of wealth. whose example do you think he followed to come to that conclusion?

superman looked up to alfred pennyworth?: i mean yea alfred may have been a wildly irresponsible guardian and one hell of an enabler but goddamn if he didn’t love his kid.

you don’t need my input. you’ve thought it all through: ooooooh this line made me grin. for so long, dick’s treated clark as a mentor and a guiding figure. he’s still seen as a kid, an up and coming, snot-nosed titan with dreams of a better world. clark still thinks of him as a kid, despite watching him grow up. but this little line was something i think dick needed sorely to hear. he doesn’t need anyone’s guiding hand on his shoulder, he doesn’t need to ask for permission. he doesn’t need clark to support him the way he did when he was a teenager. he’s all grown up now, and he doesn’t need clark’s help. i imagine it was a bit of a surprise for dick to hear that. 

honestly, i couldn’t think of a better role model: ohhh but it doesn’t stop there. clark just straight up turns the tables on dick. imagine you’re dick, and you’ve looked up to this one hero your entire life, and then one day he turns to you and says that he thinks you’re so kind and smart and worthy of a person that he wants you to mentor his son!? goes to show just how much clark trusts dick.

i swear to god dick probably cries every time he hears clark compliment him because bruce is so rare and sparing with his praise that clark giving him the slightest hint of approval is just a dopamine rush.

also, now deathstroke and superman have both asked nightwing to mentor their kids. the juxtaposition is fuckin hysterical. imagine either of their reactions when they realize what kind of company they’re with

lets talk colours for a second, because i absolutely adore how classic colour tropes have been subverted in this comic, and in this general run really.

warm tones have usually (usually, not always) been associated with light and comfort and friendship and,,,,,well,,,warmth. whereas cool tones are usually used to unsettle, or make a scene seem colder and put the reader on edge. this varies if a comic only uses cool tones, or only uses warm tones, but if a comic uses both, this is generally well-used.

that isn’t the case in this run.

dark red, orange, and other warm tones have been used to symbolize danger, action, attacks. hot pink isn’t usually included in this colour group, but it’s definitely part of it in this case. in contrast, scenes that have cool colours give us the impression of slipping into a comfortable, calm scene with babs, tim, the titans, and other allies. even the beginning scene with superman has this blue, but then it transitions into something more golden coloured. dawn broke over dick, as his new idea came to light, and that was reflected in the art (and the sunrise setting.)

have there ever been times when dick’s longed for the comfort of his mask because he didn’t feel confident as dick grayson? i can’t think of any. i may be wrong, but this struck me as pretty ooc.

am i just??? gay and reading this all wrong??

cause i was under the impression that when someone says they are grateful for your friendship you don’t immediately kiss them. 

or is this like. normal straight mating rituals.

i mean he’s smiling afterward but still babs aren’t you supposed to at least make sure it’s okay first? you guys broke up a while back after you said something along the lines of “i want to be coworkers with you and nothing more because i don’t trust you or feel comfortable around you as a civilian anymore.” like lmao after you say something like that to someone i would assume that you don’t have the permission to just kiss them whenever you want.

show of hands who else got real sad when they realized dick was talking about himself in this.

sure, he could be referencing the things he’s seen blockbuster pull, and the children on the streets. but “i’ve seen money used for enforcement,” sounds a little too close to dick’s entire life being destroyed by one man threatening the circus to pay protection money for me to completely ignore. and “i’ve seen the poorest and most vulnerable blamed and punished rather than assisted” becomes a lot worse when you remember dick was thrown in juvie for a couple months until bruce was able to obtain legal guardianship, and in there, not a authority figure believed him when he told them his parents were murdered.

he’s lived this before.

a. mother. fucking. typo.

fucking why

i mean i’ve stated my distaste for the batfamily groupchat before but like. this is reaching new levels of ridiculousness. jason sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. tim sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. steph sounds like she was written by someone who doesn’t know the first thing about steph and wanted to include her for “family points!!!!!” damian’s supposed to be completely off the grid, and everyone’s searching for him. i do love the way cass texts tho.

well god fuck now i’m crying

dick got a phone call, a sorry, and a thank you out of bruce. i feel so much secondhand happiness for him, if that’s a thing. we’ll just ignore the way bruce looks ugly af and focus on the good parts okay?

and again with the colour symbolism here!

i’m either going to love this or hate this. who knows, we’ll see.

something something hearts something something pink is an evil colour something something. i need to know more about this guy but there’s definitely symbolism there. 

is it just me or does this dude look like the backstabbing traitorous absolutely motherfucking piece of shit villain that killed tadashi hamada in big hero 6?

~~

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[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And we’re back for the second chapter, which is a lot shorter than the last - only half the size, thank goodness. I have a feeling this will go by somewhat faster than the first chapter, if only because there’s so much less happening per chapter and less worldbuilding to pick at.

Being up to forty followers already is actually really neat - I was expecting this project to go under the radar a bit longer. Thank you for all the likes and comments, and especially the reblogs! 

[No. 2 - Roaring Muscles]

Have to admit that the title page is definitely something - it’s deliberately styled in the same format as Western comic book covers. And in so, you can really see the difference in art style between the Westernized All Might and Horikoshi’s normal style for Izuku. 

The next page is a full body shot of All Might posing (RIP all the pens that died inking that one image), with some background panels covering the basics about the man - that his age and quirk are unknown, and that his strength has made him popular even since his debut. He’s got a lot of merch, branding, magazine covers, newspaper headlines, movie adaptations, etc etc. and, of course, that creepy fucking mask.

If Izuku has one of those, I am both disappointed and completely not surprised. I both look forward to and dread the day someone draws him wearing that monstrosity. Also-

Is that the same keychain Ochako gets during the Secret Santa swap in some hundred and twenty or so chapters? 

Alright, not the same one, but a similar pose. Not surprising, since I doubt Hori even remembered this panel at the point Ochako was given it, but it would have been an interesting little callback if it had been.

Moving on, we learn that since he became active, there’s been a notable decrease in the appearance rate of villains - with a graph showing the decline. His existence alone is a deterrent to villainy, which in no way will cause issues decades down the line. But yeah, basically Izuku confirms that All Might’s earned his title of ‘Symbol of Peace’ - and that the same man with so many accolades just told him he could be a hero.

(That last panel, of just Toshinori and Izuku, which is so uncluttered compared to the other panels… mmm, gotta love it. Makes it feel so much more poignant and dreamlike, which it probably was to Izuku at the time.)

The next page gets right to where we left off, with Izuku on the ground crying his eyes out while his mind plays through all the doubts and negative words thrown at him over the past chapter years. However, he’s finally heard what he’s always wanted to hear from this Alolan Exeggutor lookin’ dude:

Who also happens to be the No. 1 hero and Izuku’s idol. Izuku wonders if he could wish for anything more than that, so of course, Exeg- I mean Toshinori continues on, saying Izuku is worthy of inheriting his power. Which snaps Izuku out of his happy crying to actually look up at his idol, confused as heck.

BABEY.

But yeah, Toshinori laughs at Izuku’s expression and says that it’s a proposal, and that there’s work to be done. Also, this is the first instance of ‘my boy’ shown in the manga - while I know in Japanese it’s supposed to be just a translation of ‘young man’ or something close, I choose to see it in a different manner, as per my Dad Might agenda:

Look, you have to admit things went from 0 to 100 real fucking fast here, I will not take criticism on my interpretation. While we’re on the topic of ‘0 to 100’:

Toshinori please get that checked that’s a lot of blood jesus fuck. But yeah, he offers Izuku his power (which outside a shounen manga is questionable, kids, don’t trust that.) Izuku is still confused, naturally, so Toshinori clarifies he means his quirk. He explains how the tabloids like to guess what his quirk is, while he avoids answering with jokes, because All Might has to come off as a natural born hero.

(Also that dramatic posing, he’s such a fucking loser, I love him so much.)

You can really fucking tell he’s a performer at heart. I feel like it fits with his love of movies too - he probably liked acting out the dramatic hero speeches and fights in old superhero movies. Which I mean, also makes sense since heroes in the current era are as much actors and performers as they are public servants who handle crime and disasters.

Toshinori explains his quirk was passed down to him like the Olympic torch, which Izuku mentally stumbles over, and when that is confirmed, Izuku falls into a dazed rambling over this, completely tuning out of the outside world; he thinks about all the previous theories put out there, then basically confirming that his power being passed on is nothing anyone has ever considered, in part because there’s so little known about quirks, and even the reason ‘quirk’ [which in Japanese is ‘Individuality’] is used, because they’re unique to the person who wields said power. 

(Also, I want to know what the other six mysteries of the world are, Izuku. Why won’t you share that important tidbit with us? Worry about the quirk later!)

Toshinori cuts into his rambling, asking if Izuku really doubts him and that it’s nonsense, he has secrets but he doesn’t outright lie. Izuku does snap out and try to apologize, but Toshinori continues on:

One For All. Certainly a power that comes with no downsides, hidden legacies, or enough mysteries to fill the other six damned slots of the mysteries of the world. Izuku repeats the name slowly, and Toshinori goes on to explain it: 

A small detail to note, there’s eight lights in the background, already revealing how many holders there currently are at this point. Notice how much weaker OFA must have been back at the beginning, compared to the power Toshinori has, and then expand that to what Izuku starts out with. And interestingly, it’s called a ‘crystalline network of power’, and that it ‘links those crying out to be saved and those with brave and true hearts.’ For our first description of OFA, it… sure seems poetic and almost romantic. Wonder if that will hold up in the chapters to come.

Anyways, moving on from that, Izuku asks why him, and Toshinori says he’s been looking for a successor, and that he believes Izuku worthy. Even as someone who is quirkless and a ‘mere hero admirer’, he was more heroic than anyone else there. Izuku tears up again, and Toshinori slaps himself in the forehead, saying it all depends on what Izuku says. 

Izuku gets to his feet and rubs away the tears, thinking about what he’s been told and how Toshinori’s greatest secrets (hah) have been divulged to him. He asks himself if he has reason to refuse, and immediately decides that no, he doesn’t, and tells Toshinori he accepts while reaffirming he’s got no reason to refuse. Toshinori says he expected nothing less than that quick answer. 

Seriously, look at the intensity of that reply, he is down and willing to do this. No second guessing, no hesitation. 

This seems like a good stopping point, since the second half of the chapter is all the training, including the montages, so I’ll finish things up in the next one (yes, I know, not taking five posts to get to the point, who would have thought?) and we can get into the crazy fun stuff. 

[loststargrazer-blog]

Can You Build a Philosopher?

Is being a philosopher too weird for you; well perhaps we could just build an artificial philosopher as then you could have objective philosophy? But what do philosophers do?

What do philosophers do? This is an interesting question, and there seems to be plenty to go on. One thing academic philosophers do is they study philosophy. I mean they really seem to care about who wrote what when, who commented on it and why, and who was influenced by them, where the philosophers lived, and what they had for breakfast. So philosophers on this view are a funny type of historian of ideas. They are not really that bothered about the right answer in philosophy, much more in what historically people believed. The problem with this is that I am not sure you need a PhD level detailed search through dusky archives to give you irrelevant information like what mental diseases Socrates had, or whether Anaxagoras disliked bacon sandwiches. Alternatively you could upload every surviving work of philosophy and get your robot 'Phylis the Philosopher' to spit out random passages and questions, which Phylis could then try to answer based on the library and archives using a combination of random shouting, search, and a machine learning algorithm. Is this job done?

Unfortunately when you look at philosophy, particularly modern philosophy, you get a different answer as to what philosophers should be doing. If we look back to the 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus' by Wittgenstein where he says philosophy is not a body of knowledge, but is a process. Interestingly, could we automate this process? What would it give us?

Wittgenstein says that much of philosophy is meaningless. The questions of philosophy are either based on confusion - so are part of philosophy, or are meaningless - so should be binned, or are questions of fact - and are part of science. So his philosophy is a facility for analysing language about confusions, and for clarifying them into logical relations and atomic statements of fact. Could you build this?

I shall call it the 'Wittgenstein Test', and it is a more sensible version of the Turing Test, not just to chat about human niceties, but to have Phylis shout either: "You are asking meaningless pointless questions you superstitious worm!" Or: "You are confusing x with y and z when they are different things you confused slug!" Then, like Wittgenstein himself, Phylis could spit out some tape of predicate logic in a weird mix of obscure and obsolete Greek, mathematical, and Hebrew symbols.

On a more serious note, Wittgenstein does give some more details about how to pass a Wittgenstein Test, and it is very like machine recognition (as you would find in a self-driving car):

- First, you take the sensory information about the world and describe it as a picture.

- Second, you identify everything in the picture in a finite number of statements or logical atoms (or (Ǝx)fx as Wittgenstein unhelpfully describes it - he also has a symbol for the set of statements that I can't draw).

- Third, you can describe the relations between the logical atoms.

- Fourth, you make propositions with the logical relations of the atoms and manipulate them tautologically [I shall discuss tautologies in my next blog - basically this means in a way that can't be logically false - so is a logically valid manipulation].

Really Wittgenstein doesn't give too many examples, so I am not sure if Phylis would be useful, but by showing the link to the logical statements from your question you would either be finding a tautology - so the answer would be yes, or finding a contradiction - so the answer would be no, or if neither of these it would be irrelevant to the picture. If irrelevant to the picture, Wittgenstein and the logical positivists (although not me) said the question was actually meaningless. I can see Phylis in this mode being able to answer things like is there a cat on the road? But less, should we stop? Also, there seems to be a large computational jump to being able to analyse a philosophical confusion from this. It is probably terribly politically incorrect, but I do often mock Wittgenstein in my head, despite his 'algorithm' for philosophy having been written before electronic computers were invented at the end of the first world war. Nonetheless Phylis could probably do 'philosophy' as set out by Wittgenstein in steps 1-4 only, which is good because I don't think a normal brained human could, but bad because I don't think this would solve many philosophical questions. But isn't philosophy a bit more creative?

Well is philosophy creative? There are plenty of things philosophy could be said to be, but I am not convinced that wild bouts of creativity are as prevalent as you might think, although perhaps they should be; but philosophy is not supposed to be fiction. So what do philosophers do again? One theory is that philosophers only do philosophy to promote themselves in society, but given the number of philosophers who rejected social niceties this seems an only partial view at best. Also philosophers would probably make more money if they became accountants, so I think this Nietzschean view is not really a comment on philosophers, but rather a comment on some human ambition and rather flawed too. Personally I just like to share my thoughts with you my friends, however it does lead us into a discussion of the role in society of philosophers separate from producing philosophy.

Quite interestingly for me, philosophy in academic groupings is lumped together with religious studies; which, based on Wittgenstein's probable account that the word god is meaningless, I find to be quite hilarious. Nonetheless it does suggest that Phylis, our robot philosopher, might need to have a religious role within society following on from our definitions of religious in blog 18 to be a true philosopher. Following on from the last two blogs, we can see that, especially historically, philosophers have been crucial to describing the generalisations, theories, and conceptions that govern our political and moral lives. Along with economists and sociologists, philosophers are the new priests of our secular society working alongside the vestiges of the religious organisations that never go away.

Philosophers probably aspire to incitefully solving confusions through educating and clarifying public thought. Also, they may polarise or distract the debate by adding logic, or even dogma, or even just by clinging to the views of their favourite school of philosophy. A surprising number of philosophers are advisors on panels and think tanks on a wide range of issues, and may even influence governments, or at least provide some alternative insane views to the prevailing orthodoxy. In fact academic philosophers in particular often love the thrill of having their interpretations being taken seriously, and not just by gullible students. So could Phylis become a secular priest, and influence society with awkward and backward philosophy from a long dead philosopher? Could she educate and corrupt the youth by providing an unhelpful academic education like Socrates?

Presently there is educational software, but it is quite textbook like, so Phylis could be loaded with someone's perceived wisdom. It is unlikely though that she could yet mark an essay correctly, and philosophy students generally have to write essays. In Socrates's day of course they had to use dialectic, verbal discussions. While it might be difficult to get a robot to discuss philosophy, it might be easier to get it to say: "You don't know that," at regular intervals. Socrates's education system was very much focused on denying speculative knowledge, although strangely not so much about the gods so much as political authority. Apart from Socrates there is a tendency to promote philosophy that is politically expedient, for example Confucius, or that tries to make you happier or more respected, like Aristotle. This philosophy is not necessarily truly justified by dialectic argument beyond an end justifying the means. For example, Socrates is probably correct in his view that an Emperor does not know what he is talking about; however Confucius tries to reconcile this by saying it is in the interest of a harmonious state to respect the Emperor. That this is oppressive totalitarianism is not relevant to Confucius's moral view that anarchy or civil conflict is a less favourable alternative. So sometimes philosophy is not about philosophy but about the conflicts in society, psychology, science, politics, even economics. This conflict can be captured in an essay or dialectic, but less in robot marking.

At present we could use search technology to search digital libraries, and digitalisation itself would much improve the availability, cost, and ease of access to philosophy. The delivery of education could be semi-automated with texts, comments, lectures, and criticisms loaded online. Interactive forms and worksheets would be useful in teaching the facts, particularly in topics like logic exercises. However this leaves quite a lot remaining. To study philosophy is also to test out how you think. This remains outside of technology for the moment.

In some respects contemporary philosophy is like a bunch of cut flowers, cut from other disciplines. Logics, which I shall talk about in my next blog, are cut from language arguments; philosophy of mind from psychology; meta-physics from physics and religion; ethics from decision making; political philosophy from campaigners; and of course running through almost all philosophy is history, the history of ideas. Can Phylis, our computer philosopher, do this? I think the flower arranging and ensemble is beyond the ability of a present computer system. When we look at what philosophers have done historically, there are both tasks that can be done better by a computer and tasks that are beyond Phylis, most notably the synthesis of a new religion for society. However, what about a future academic philosopher? What would happen in sci-fi philosophy?

There are at least three ways we could study how we think and whether our philosophy is valid in the world of sci-fi:

- One is to think the thoughts while in a brain scan: It would show the neural logic, the associations, the premises, the actual logic, and the exact references and the scope of the conclusions.

- A second way is to use a computer brain, perhaps taking a step by step analysis of neural learning methods as it goes from the explicit inputs via an analysed neural net to a weighted conclusion. Alternatives, like a Wittgenstein Test, might also be helpful in providing different cognitive analyses of a problem. This would transform philosophy from being based on opposing historical arguments to showing how the interpretation of an input, or the weighting of a learned emphasis could create tipping points in the logic and worldview; so one way you get the ethics of Jihadi John, and another way the generosity of the enlightenment.

- The third way is dystopian and that would be to create unethically a large organic brain, perhaps by hormones or gene therapy - so you could brain scan an experimental brain; perhaps it would be a monkey with the IQ of 300. This could be used to solve the hard problems, but would probably work out how to enslave humanity and conquer the universe with a race of monkey cyborgs. Okay this is definitely sci-fi, but the point remains that you could brain scan something other than a regular human brain, perhaps a large vat of neurons.

There are other experiments that could be carried out in sci-fi, for example testing the differences in perception and thinking between a primate brain (like a human) and a bat. This might be the case of building some simplified computer models of bats and primates in a super computer and reverse engineering the brain simulations to investigate the difference. Perhaps the sensation of being a bat could even be simulated for the curious using virtual reality. Would this still be philosophy, probably not? Probably it would be a form of science like computational psychology, but it would answer a current question of philosophy. So philosophy will both expand and shrink.

Back to the here and now for a conclusion; can you build a philosopher? The answer to this is that on Wittgenstein's definition, you might yes, however this definition ignores much of what philosophers actually do. However neither Wittgenstein's machine nor most academic philosophers spend that much time systematically rethinking and refining general philosophy. Academics do spend a lot of time on the quasi-religious public worship of old theories. There are therefore two final conclusions you can draw from this: One is what philosophers do might change radically in the future if digitalisation technology evolves into digital cognition. The second is that it is good to re-explore philosophy in this live flash blog form and try to revamp, and join up, our thinking; for academic philosophy is religious and has a backward influence with gravitas.

[segadores-y-soldados]

Devil in the Details

So after Michael Chu confirmed that the details on the tv in the background of the Pharah panel in Reflections were not only deliberate but also meant to hint about her location and her father’s nationality -

This tinyass image -

On a page with this much other stuff -

It made me curious about any other potential details I previously overlooked or wrote off as “just a funny coincidence” and rather surprisingly, I might have kinda found something??

I mean, there’s a shitton here but what I originally wrote off as being “just another background piece” is the map -

...These are not Watchpoints.

These are the Watchpoints that still exist at the time of Recall - you can find this map on Watchpoint: Gibraltar (I did not write these locations, but this is the clearest, head-on image I could find.)

The image from the Uprising comic 

Are active missions or points of interest.

Locations that I can determine are:

Tokyo, Japan

Cairo, Egypt (based on the other screen discussing the “Cairo Incident”)

Numbani, Nigeria

(City unknown), Switzerland (?)

Paris, France

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dorado, Mexico

Seattle, United States

More under the cut

I wanna go through these one by one.

First up:

Tokyo, Japan

This one is pretty straight-forward.

Uprising shows us that Genji has just recently joined Overwatch/Blackwatch and is currently in training and evaluation for his new cyborg body.  Genji’s hero profile states:

“[Overwatch] saw Genji as a potential asset in its ongoing operations to combat the Shimada clan. As Genji's injuries left him clinging to life, Overwatch offered to rebuild his body in exchange for his help. He was put through an extensive process of cyberization, which enhanced his natural speed and agility and augmented his superlative ninja skills. Transformed into a living weapon, Genji single-mindedly set about the task of dismantling his family's criminal empire.”

So we know that the Tokyo mission is very likely the on-going targeted mission against the Shimada clan, since Hanamura is meant to be based in the Tokyo area.

Cairo, Egypt + Paris, France (?)

I’ve seen hypotheses that the “Overwatch official murdered - Director Petras orders full investigation into Cairo incident” is about Gérard Lacroix’s death (also supported by the pretty obvious images of Widowmaker’s cameras in the little screen).  It’s not a bad hypothesis, but there are minor details that counter this:

“After several unsuccessful attempts to eliminate Gérard, Talon decided to change its focus to his wife, Amélie. Talon operatives kidnapped her and subjected her to an intense program of neural reconditioning. They broke her will, suppressed her personality, and reprogrammed her as a sleeper agent. She was eventually found by Overwatch agents, apparently none the worse for wear, and returned to her normal life. Two weeks later she killed Gérard in his sleep.”

This leads me to believe that the Paris, France mission is actually the one about Amélie and Gérard.

Especially given that Amélie appeared to have lived and worked there.

Interestingly, a different character references “Egypt” in the very same Uprising comic:

So there’s the possibility that the Cairo Mission is an event we haven’t seen yet.

Numbani, Nigeria 

So

We know this one now.

We know that Numbani faced consistent raids and assaults from both the Scourge Doomfist, and his “Successor,” Akande Ogundimu.  It appears that at the time of Uprising, Overwatch was already planning a mission to try and arrest Akande.

And this leads me into my next few points.

The reason I picked out Paris, Numbani, Rio de Janeiro, Dorado, and Seattle of all places is because the Soldier: 76 origins video actually has this map in it.  This video is over two years old, and was released just under a year before the actual game came out.  When I first saw the video, I went, “Well, Paris makes some sense because of Widowmaker’s story, Numbani and Dorado are maps in the game and have active places in the lore, and Rio de Janeiro is Lúcio’s home city.  But what the hell is up with Seattle?”

Seattle, United States

Jumping ahead a bit, as far as I can tell, Seattle is only listed as a place of interest twice in Overwatch canon material - once, in the Soldier: 76 video, and then nearly two, real world years later in the Uprising map.  There’s no Watchpoint there, no major hero is from there, and there’s seemingly nothing in the rest of the series to connect back to it.

A tantalizing hypothesis, however, comes with Michael Chu’s confirmation earlier this week:

Originally, fans were confused as to why Fareeha Amari, a woman with Egyptian origins, whose design clearly draws inspiration from the god Horus, had the Thunderbird and Raindancer skins, which appeared to be inspired by the Thunderbird iconography from the Native American/Canadian First Nations tribes of the Pacific Northwest.

While Seattle is definitely off from the fact that Reflections has a Canadian flag in the background of Fareeha’s dinner with her biological father, it is dead-on in the middle of the Pacific Northwest, and may be “close” to wherever Fareeha’s father is from, especially if he does have tribal affiliations.  This is not to say that he or Fareeha are Americans, but rather that the Pacific Northwest may be an area of “lore activity” that we haven’t seen explored yet, and may explain how and why an Egyptian sniper encountered “a public servant” and had a child with him in the years before the Crisis.

Dorado, Mexico

Unlike Seattle, this one also feel pretty straight-forward and obvious.  Dorado is a playable map in the game itself, and features a ton of lore, notably surrounding Sombra, the power company LumériCo, the company president and old war hero Portero, and the gang Los Muertos.  

And of course, it features into the lore of a certain old soldier.

References to both Sombra and Soldier: 76 can be found scattered across the two in-game maps, both Dorado and Castillo.  Also included on the maps are references to McCree and the Junkers, who pulled off a bank heist there roughly at the same time Sombra had her LumériCo email leaks.  McCree, meanwhile, had a, uh - “much needed” drink at the Calaveras bar at the time of Reflections, shortly after the email leaks and bank heist.

Interestingly, what the Uprising map seems to imply is that well before any of the “current” events happened in Dorado, Overwatch was already doing some sort of investigation into the city - but whether that was for LumériCo, Portero, or Los Muertos, we don’t know.  

However, it is telling that the only character who seems suspicious of LumériCo besides Sombra is Soldier: 76 - Jack Morrison himself.

“I wanna know what LumériCo is up to.”

Besides Sombra, Soldier: 76 is the only character to indicate that he’s actively investigating LumériCo, and based on the files found in the Dorado Defenders’ final spawn room

It appears that LumériCo is investigating him too.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This one appears to be fairly straight-forward, but like Dorado, it’s the implications of what the Uprising map is hinting at that is the newest part to this story.

If you’re not aware, Rio de Janeiro is where Lúcio is from - he was born, raised, and lived in an unicorporated community (called a “favela”).  According to his background, Lúcio’s community in particular “was hit hard by the financial upheaval following the Omnic Crisis.”  Still, his community banded together and worked to rebuild their stability until, extremely recently - 

As in, after the Fall of Overwatch - 

Vishkar moved in.

In Symmetra’s comic, we learn that Vishkar attempts to get “dirt” on a rival, Brazilian company (Calado), but when their “infiltration agent” Satya fails to find anything “bad” about the CEO, Vishkar blows up the building.

Hypothetically, Overwatch “never knew about this,” because it occurs sometime in the five years since Overwatch disbanded.

But both the Uprising map and the Soldier: 76 map seem to imply that Overwatch was aware of something that was going on in Rio de Janeiro.

We know that Satya’s boss, Sanjay Korpal, was the one who gave the order to blow up Calado, and we also see him at the very end of the comic expressing a cold, orderly worldview about the nature of people in “what fits their station.”  It’s particularly horrifying when looking back at Lúcio’s profile, because once Vishkar moved in:

“Vishkar imposed controls on the residents in the name of building a more orderly society: enforcing curfews, cracking down on what the company perceived as lawless behavior, and exploiting the populace as a cheap labor force.”

There is an incredibly dark, awful undercurrent going on with Vishkar, with the implication of exploitative labor both in Rio de Janeiro and in Utopaea.  It isn’t surprising that even before the present, on-going events in Rio de Janeiro occurred, Overwatch may have been investigating the company the same way they might have been looking into LumériCo.

But, in light of Masquerade - 

In which we see someone who appears to be Sanjay Korpal in the Talon Council

(And yes, the lighting is harsh, but he appears to be wearing the same exact purple-and-white Utopaea uniform from the Symmetra comic)

An incredibly interesting, ridiculously tempting hypothesis is beginning to take shape.

Which brings me to the most interesting mission of all:

Switzerland

As a reminder, here’s the close-up map of the active missions/points of interest from Uprising again:

True, it’s such a small dot that it could be in France, it could be in Italy, but given the slightly awkward placement between the two, and the fact that it’s not clearly situated in one or the other

I’m gonna guess that it’s probably Switzerland.

Where exactly in Switzerland, I’m not sure.  Personally, I’ve always been of the mindset that the Overwatch “Swiss Base” is somewhere near Geneva, which is where the UN has a major headquarters, but Blizzard will pick or choose whatever it wants really.  What matters is that the dot for the mission appears to be somewhere in this region.

Now - this could mean a lot of things: Overwatch could be investigating a different point of interest in the region, they could be keeping an eye on the United Nations in Geneva, they could be keeping track of their own agents, etc, etc.

But let’s just cut to the most fascinating one, because that’s what we’re all here for:

As the UN investigation proceeded, Overwatch's Swiss headquarters was destroyed in an apparent accident. Among the casualties were Morrison and Reyes. The UN has steadfastly maintained that there was no foul play behind this event. However, an anonymous source has given me access to classified UN debriefings and other data that paint a different picture of Overwatch's final days.

These records indicate that a rebellion tore the group apart from within. On one side was Morrison, determined to hold together what remained of Overwatch. On the other side was Reyes, whose agenda remains unknown to this day. A battle raged between these men deep within Overwatch's base. At some point, their fighting triggered an explosion that destroyed the facility and sent the dreams of an entire generation up in flames.

Anyone who follows me knows that I don’t really believe Gabriel Reyes - now Reaper - did this, nor that I think Jack Morrison - now Soldier: 76 - did this.  All the other evidence points to another group, likely Talon, infiltrating Overwatch and destroying the base, possibly with the intention to frame and/or hurt both Commander Morrison and Commander Reyes.

“It was a conspiracy - Overwatch got hit from inside and out.” - Soldier: 76 Origin video

But as Overwatch's influence waned, rogue elements within Blackwatch sought to bring down the organization and turn it to their own ends. Wanting no part of the infighting, McCree set off alone and went underground. - McCree’s hero profile

It is believed that in her former life, Widowmaker was married to Gérard Lacroix, an Overwatch agent spearheading operations against the Talon terrorist organization. After several unsuccessful attempts to eliminate Gérard, Talon decided to change its focus to his wife, Amélie. Talon operatives kidnapped her and subjected her to an intense program of neural reconditioning. - Widowmaker’s hero profile

Though to the outside world his motives are inscrutable, there are those who claim that he is a former Overwatch agent, determined to shed light on the conspiracy that brought down the organization. [...]  Unrelenting in his search to find those responsible for Overwatch's fall, Soldier: 76 will stop at nothing to bring them to justice. - Soldier: 76′s hero profile

What the Uprising map appears to imply is that Overwatch was not only aware of the conspiracy within their ranks - 

But was actively investigating it.

In theory, this could have been extremely difficult, because both Overwatch and its covert ops/intelligence division Blackwatch were getting hit with penalties and suspensions left and right, even at the time of Uprising.  The Uprising comic shows that the UN was already in the process of “trying to investigate” the peacekeeping agency, but it also shows us that - despite the efforts of people “both inside and out” to keep the organization down, it continued to function.  It was still training new agents -

Conducting arrests

Potentially investigating corruption and human rights abuses

And with Masquerade now giving us a potentially new angle to see Reaper/Gabriel Reyes’ actions:

http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/163200042035/death-becomes-you

We may be looking at a very tiny, very small detail that points to the fact that Overwatch was potentially aware of its very own impending downfall - 

And was actively trying to stop the conspiracy creating it...

Or perhaps...

Infiltrate it.

I’ve been saying for awhile that Reaper’s actions with regards to certain missions are highly suspicious and - to be perfectly honest - pretty damn embarrassing for a man who has done covert operations for like, 30 years.

Unless, of course

That’s exactly what Reaper wants Talon to think.

We are told Reaper “is hunting former Overwatch agents and systematically eliminating them,” but as a reminder - Reaper has failed to kill or even seriously injure any ex-Overwatch agent in any of his canon material appearances.  Soldier: 76, Ana Amari, Winston, and Tracer are all still alive and, honestly, perfectly healthy at the end of their different encounters - hell, Reaper almost goes out of his way to actively piss Winston off (twice) and “throw” the missions.  He claims to have killed Overwatch agents in Masquerade, but as a general reminder, never believe in those “off-screen deaths,” kids.

It’s an easy plot device to bring “old soldiers” back from the dead.

And remember

Blizzard is actively trying to mislead you about certain characters:

“One of the things that we really like doing with Overwatch is playing with perspective.  We utilize perspective when we tell stories about what characters are thinking, what their goals are - and we have a lot of unreliable narrators.” - Michael Chu, GDC 2017

Blizzard loves putting references into the game and comics:

“I tend to like hiding some pretty obscure references in the game, and I get equal parts enjoyment when people don’t discover them as when they do,” [Chu] said.

Like these: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/157378862270/reaper-and-soldier-american-cultural-references

If you pay close attention to the ridiculous and almost overwhelming amount of references within the game, it’s not at all surprising that some of that finally flipped over into canon source material.

Reaper and Soldier: 76 in particular are littered with pop culture and literary references - everything from Commando, to Michael Jackson, to, yes, Edgar Allen Poe.  “Red Death” Reaper is not just his second Poe reference, but his third American literature reference (the Headless Horseman being the second).

I know some people think that these kinds of essays are “reading too deep” into the references, but now that Michael Chu has outright confirmed that stuff as small as this

Can be important to a character’s background

You can bet I’m taking this moment to indulge in some bigger ideas.

Because remember, y’all:

“No one left behind.” - Reaper

The devil

“You’re the boss.” - Soldier: 76

Is in

Soldier: 76: Well. You sure take to this bad guy thing easily, don't ya? Reaper: And you sure know how to play boy scout.

The details.

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine #31

Spoilers, obv.

Well, yes.

Jamie/Matt's cover

Woden's never looked more dapper, I think. I look at this, and suddenly wish I could go back in time to show it to the artists circa my X-men run, when I was trying to explain my Jack Kirby meets Jane Austen ideas for Sinister were all about. This! Like this! Tweaked slightly from the image from solicits to reposition the circuitry to the left of Woden to look less like a butt plug.

Sophie Campbell's cover

We've been trying to arrange something with Sophie since Commercial Suicide, so we're very happy to finally get her to a page. I've loved her since I first saw her work, in the early 00s Oni graph novel with Antony Johnston, Spooked. She was instantly fascinating, and seeing her work develop over all the years has been a thrill. This is one of the best Cassandra covers for me – just really stark and striking.

Page 1

Yes, we all want the leggings.

Really basic layout here – the steady angle three tired panels, which I love. It's Uber's signature panel structure, and just tries to put you in the place. In WicDiv's case, we seem to use it a long in the Underground, which seems to be about inertia.

Also think the whole space is meaning – this is a one page scene, with three panels. We get very little of Persephone in this issue, and this magnifies each of these beats. This is all important. It has to be, as otherwise why are we lingering on it?

That final panel though, right? The stillness Jamie is working with here is fantastic.

Okay – let's talk a little structural here. As several people have noted, this an issue which may recal issue 11, which cut between two threads (Baph/Inanna and Laura/Ananke) at the crucial, most interesting moment. Here, Imperial Phase has burned down to three threads – or three and a half threads, if you include Baphomet/Morrigan who aren't in the issue. Cutting between three threads feels too slow, with you spending too much time away from a scene to maintain interest. As such, this issue essentially treats two threads as one thread – the Persephone/Sakmet segues into the Baal/Minerva/Amaterasu thread across the issue, and we cut between it and the Norns/Woden/Dionysus at every key beat.

There is one main exception to this, but it's early on, and it's notable the pace is kept relatively low before that. It's only after that we go to the full on hard-cuts.

In other words – the page just lingers, because we're not starting to dance properly yet. The tempo needs to be kept low, as to go in too hard would break the Cass/Dio scene in a few pages time.

Er... there's a bunch of theory there. So much of what I try to write is to establish motivations and stakes, and then when they're in place, bring it all crashing down. We are very rollercoaster.

Page 2

Every time I flick through this issue, I and hit this point I find myself turning to Belle and Sebastian's I Don't Love Anyone. It's one of the bits I can hear the music in WicDiv, just that lying in bed, and the hard cut to black to the credits with B&S over.

Page 3-4

Man, I get sadder and sadder every time I see Dio with his coffee cup.

As I think I said last time, I saved the last bit of exposition about the gig for this issue because if I said it last time, I'd have to repeat it this time anyway. In short: the first page is “What is this gig actually ABOUT anyway?”

Every time I see the Norns and Woden on the same page, I just feel sorry for Clayton. That is a lot of work.

With Woden's customary green, the hologram map has a certain Emerald City vibe, I think?

The end of page 4 is A+ acting from Jamie. Comedy lives in the mid-shot, etc. I believe Jamie added a panel here of extra Woden waving and Cass' expression, which shows that I've made him get stockholm syndrome with modified-eight-panel structures.

(Joking aside, it just adds to the work. Having a little thinking time before Cass' eye wide realisation sells the moment.)

Page 5-6

These two pages would be the place where I could have cut if I was bouncing between the threads... but for all the reasons I talk about on Page 1, I don't. That's not what's happening. Yet.

8 panel grid here, which speaks to the sort of material that this scene is – very small and human, the eight panel being my go-to for autobiographical work.

(Plus, we have a lot of fish to fry here. I have to get this stuff into the space)

The “NOT YOU AS WELL!” makes me smile.

Woden's last line was originally something like “Don't worry. I am incapable of love.” which is a very Woden thing to say, but in the context of the following discussion made me suspect it may be taken as Woden saying he's aromantic. Clearly, this would be unwanted, so I wrote around it.

The Crap. Crap. Crappity. Shitfuck. Panel is Cassandra continuing to be out of context panel champion.

The Dio/Cass conversation seems to have gone down well, which does make me happy. We're writing around some delicate stuff here, on the nature of friendship. I wanted Cass and Dio to explicitly talk about this, but I also knew that Dio would never tell Cass... so it leads to Cass finding out another way. The problem then is that Cass also wouldn't want to embarrass Dio. So we end up in a conversation like this, of all too transparent hypotheticals.

I love these two.

Page 7-8

Okay, this is just a Jamie masterclass, and the sort of scene I'd only write for someone I knew could pull this shit off. As Persephone – our de facto lead – isn't in this issue much, I wanted to keep the focus on her, so we keep the frame on her and let us really see her go through the response. Right here, Baal's response doesn't matter. What's going on here with Persephone?

I'm fond of the empty-cigarettes box thrown away as a timer on how long she's procrastinated before making the call. I believe that came up in conversation rather than being in a script, in terms of doing the whole cigarette packet. I think it was just throwing away a cigarette in the first draft, which is far too short a time. We want Persephone there, a long time, just considering this.

I suspect some people would have cut page 7, but I'm much more interested in seeing someone wrestle with inertia. This hasn't been easy for Persephone.

Anyway – Page 8. Look at those faces. 2 to 3 to 4 is a story in and of itself. The cringe of 3 turning to a counter-attack.

And the start of the hard-cuts. Hit a moment of tension, pose a question, and then move the frame away.

Page 9-10-11

To something else, ideally as interesting. Page 9 is clearly something to kill Jamie. We move to Dionysus empty silhouette crowds ASAP, but the amount of inking and work in these first few panels is a considerable expenditure from our “budget.” But it's unavoidable.

9.3 – yes, that does look a lot like Lloyd.

The last panels of 9 took some conversation to make it clear what I meant was getting across. Jamie noted how Dio did it back in issue 8 was one and one contact, but I was looking for the visual. Trying to sell the idea of the effect just SPREADING across the crowd by contact, like ripples in water was the thing. No-one's gone “Wait – that isn't how Dio works” so I presume it sold it.

Love the framing in the last 3 – the use of space around Dio in panel 4 is particularly good. Matt's colouring in the last panel too.

Page 10 – first of two splash pages. For an issue that's packed, we still found a place to let this stuff breathe. In this case, selling the crowd, and the weird magic of the cerebellum above them was key. Also a page turn, onto the big image.

Page 11 is a rush of last key details – panel 2's showing how it's closed off is particularly key. This is all intensely private. Obviously panel 3 is Matt really going for it – that's just a wonderfully fun on burst f everything.

And then Woden fucks everything up. The cut is telling – where to do this is taste. You could do it after he shoots. I thought it was more interesting to cut after he pulls the gun. The “What is he doing?” is more interesting to me than the answer.

Page 12-13

Back to the other thread. This involved a quick trip to the British Museum to get some reference shots for Jamie and me, with the lovely Al Ewing in company. The roof is accurate, though a nightmare to draw. The “opening of the triangle” is artistic licence. Don't try it, kids.

All the shots here are also clearly “expensive” in terms of the time they take.

The Amy/Baal conversation has some fun elements – I wanted to do a scene where the Norns shouted at them, but it just didn't fit in the structure. That we know Cass well enough to know how it would have gone just by referring to it probably shows how much we understand the cast at this point.

Jamie's shadowed shot of Baal was a last minute choice, and works terribly well.

Page 14-15-16

Back to the other thread.

Woden talks about something to take out people's powers in terms of hunting Sakhmet, foreshadowing this. The WARPED panel was in response to the pencils, where the idea of having the left of the panel normal and the right warped – as in, effectively working as two panels, showing when Woden's effect kicks in was telling.

Change of colour as Woden takes control, from the old skool rave of Dio to the cold techno of Woden.

And, yes, this does appear to be a Radio Ga Ga riff.

Jamie took the last panel at a more neutral angle originally, but decided to rework it to be closer on Dionysus, to really stress his importance here. That Woden controls the crowd is clear in panel 2 – there's no need to reiterate in the third.

Page 17-18

Statues of Sekhmet, as last seen in issue 17.

After we started working on the Red Performance of Amaterasu, Clayton suggested that we did a lettering style change as well. Clearly the right idea. We originally tried it with pure red balloons, but they merged with the coloured art on page 18, so we added the outline.

Yes, callback to issue 1 and issue 21.

Panel 4 on 19 originally had two balloons, but C felt it was over too quick and suggested adding a third balloon to extend the moment. Works beautifully, and a good example of how you can use lettering to control panel “Length.”

Abstractly you could have cut away at the page 19, but the other thread has already reached its cliffhanger and this is not a high drama moment.

Page 19-20-21-22

Page 19 is the page which required the most on the page editorial work in the issue. Amaterasu dooms herself in a delicate way, and as it's her last moment, her mistakes – all her mistakes – need to be clear. To be fair to Amaterasu, she – like most of the cast – doesn't know much about Sakhmet's background. She doesn't exactly know what a field of landmines she's dancing across.

But still - less throwing Amaterasu under a bus, and more put her at the bottom of a mountain covered in buses and starting a bus-avalanche. You can easily imagine Amaterasu starring at the oncoming wall of public transport and going "I LOVE BUSES!"

People ask me about how much the story has changed in development. It's not exactly that simple. Some beats I know as the big structural architecture of the story – Luci in issue 5, Laura in issue 11, Ananke in issue 22 and so on. Other character's stories, while are planned in their shape, are left to be weaved into the story as they're most appropriate. Amaterasu would be one of those characters – my original suspicion would be she'd die at the end of Imperial Phase Part I, but I realised that there wasn't enough space to really delineate her misstep, so pushed it a little later. Equally, the idea that this should occur at the British Museum only came to me after issue 17, seeing how Sakhmet and Amaterasu's arcs complimented one another – and specifically how Amaterasu related to the museum.

Originally the scene was only 3 pages, but Jamie wanted to page 20 as two pages. You can see why. As well as giving more space to hit the moments, it puts the splash page of a page turn.

There's a lot to unpack in the last few pages and the last page particularly – the mix horror and the beauty of it is pointed. Me walking through it is kind of missing the point of visual information – it's resolves in complicated ways that rub up against each other.

In terms of technical elements, I'd draw your attention to how casual Jamie choses to pick things – and the pop art of Matt's choices. Extreme realism on the first panel of 20, before we go to the more impressionistic colours in the second panel. The brightness of Amy's powers, and so on and so forth. Really strong work.

Goodbye, Amaterasu.

Page 23

The line came to me late, and I was surprised that – until then - I wasn't conscious of the multiple uses of stealing throughout the issue thematically, in both story threads.

And the first new skull in a long time. I was wondering if Sergio would have forgot how to do it.

The Norns and Dionysus blurred to show their present state. We've not exactly done much of this since the first arc, but we thought it'd be useful to bring back.

This one seems to have gone down well. Back next month with 32, where things continue to escalate.

Thanks for reading.

[purpleladyofthenight]

Where did THE HUNTRESS come from?

For Helena Bertinelli the twisted path to reluctantly assuming the role of masked heroine began with another role—as victim, the proverbial pawn. Any chance for what so many of us take for granted—a happy, normal childhood—are wrested from her, lost, by circumstances she can little understand, no less accept.

Yet, The Huntress had another beginning—a non-fictional one.

The Huntress is a collaborative effort of Joey Cavalieri, Joe Staton, and Bruce Patterson (and others). With respect to the other members of the creative staff, we offer here a little autobiography of (and a few comments from) probably the more familiar name above; Joe Staton.

Joseph Thomas Staton started in comics in the early '70s as Gil Kane's assistant, and anyone'd be hard-pressed to find a better mentor. His name first started appearing in the horror and romance line of Charlton comics in titles such as Emergency, Ghostly Haunts, Haunted (Library). and others, and it was there in 1973, that Joe created with Nick Cuti a super-hero (actually one of the subtlest parodies of super-heroes) and something of a cult favorite: E-Man.

As an inker. Joe did some Elfquest and had a stint at Marvel Comics around 1974, inking such titles as The Avengers and The Hulk, inking such notables as Sal Buscema and Herb Trimpe.

The early '80s saw Joe as a prime mover in the design of the entire First Comics line as their art director. In '83 Joe got to revive E-Man at First and he was the artist on American Flagg! after Howard Chaykin.

And then, there was DC. Joe Staton has had two successful runs at DC: once in the late '70s and his current reign.

For instance, Joe worked on ALL STAR COMICS, which featured the JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA. In ALL STAR #69 a heroine called The Huntress, whom Joe created with Paul Levitz, made her first appearance. The character no longer exists in the present DC continuity, but Joe did work on the character with a then-burgeoning writer Joey Cavalieri.

Other DC titles Joe's work appeared in include BATMAN, BATMAN FAMILY, DETECTIVE, GREEN LANTERN CORPS (née GREEN LANTERN), LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, METAL MEN, MILLENNIUM, NEW GUARDIANS, SUPER-MAN, SUPERMAN FAMILY, WORLD'S FINEST. With a WHO'S WHO (and UPDATES) in your lap, it would be a simpler task to list those DC characters Joe Staton hasn't worked on than those he has.

Lets talk The Huntress.

When this project was set before Mr. Staton he said, "I'm glad to be able to revitalize the character I helped create." (It seems that next to "dancing furry creatures." Joe's favorite thing to draw is people in tights. Our good fortune.)

For the look of the new Huntress, Joe took a smattering of the old Huntress; however, he wanted to establish "a different, but more recognizable character." He made her more "punk looking," a stronger, more individualistic presence. She is no longer what some called "a Batman-clone." "We had to divorce her from The Batman," Joe said (see JUSTICE LEAGUE #26 for a surprise confrontation).

Joe called THE HUNTRESS a cross between Dick Tracy and Wiseguy and has approached the book along the lines of Will Eisner's Spirit.

Real people don't just suddenly become super-heroes. Similarly, Helena Bertinelli's Huntress did not spring up Athena-like a full-fledged heroine, knowing how to handle every situation, able to defeat hordes of hoodlums and suffer nary a scratch. Helena is, as Joe put it. "making herself up as she goes along" adding another dimension of reality to the book. Amongst her weaponry, besides her hand-to-hand training, the Huntress still has her crossbow, something of a trademark; she is still a masked, sleek heroine, but she is more a dark, statuesque avenger. There is more rage, more fire, more to fear—yes, more violence, which we'll talk about in a moment.

The Huntress's environment is an important factor. Not just the ambiance of the city—a gritty amalgamation of interracial tension, which takes on a characterization of its own—but also, Helena's life, especially in these first six issues, where she is searching for her family's murderer(s). Joe stated the new Huntress's mob connections offer "opportunities for more threatening story-lines. The mob aspect functions as a separate sub-culture to it all. There is a bizarre sort of twist to the society she functions in, and as the series goes on it will become, visually, more bizarre."

Visually, indeed. As you can see, THE HUNTRESS isn't your run-of-the-mill 75-center. The entire issue, indeed the whole series, will be drawn on duo-shade #269 board from Graphix Art Systems (of Cleveland, Ohio). We knew that the team of Staton and Patterson was going to turn in an exemplary job—we couldn't have expected anything less—but none of us had any idea that it was going to look this good, hence, the decision to print this on the heavier, Mando paper so more of the finer detail work could be appreciated.

Joe found the duo-shade board to be something of a challenge. He took the time to do "separate layouts" for each page, then did very light sketches on the boards, and then finished pencils. He had to weigh more than usual factors of light and dark, and consider with every stroke of the pencil the special effects within the patterns of the boards. No problem. Joe Staton knows his craft.

In discussing the violent aspects of THE HUNTRESS, Joe is of the Hitchcock school that says violence can have more impact if it takes place off-screen, or in the case of comics, off-panel. For example, the issue you hold in your hand. You never see what happened to Helena as a child; the massacre of her family is symbolically, and more dramatically, illustrated by the riddling of the family portrait. There's no overuse of YR (a comics colorist's designation for red).

This is not to say that the violence within THE HUNTRESS will be Saturday. Cartoon muted. THE HUNTRESS will be dealing more with the "murkier side of violence," as Joe Staton put it. Why does she embrace the dark, and what is in the dark returning her embrace?

Joe Staton sees the cast of characters as  "metaphor." "It's not realism; it can't be. That's one of the reasons why comics do not often translate well outside the medium. They represent icons." Joe sees comics, including THE HUNTRESS, despite the shadowed inner self of the main character, as a “suggestion of some hope for keeping on. The Huntress's world is so twisted, all she can do is keep trying.”

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 1/?

...well, this is unfortunate, but I unfortunately have to announce that we are pulling the plug on Ask Prince(ss) Quasimodo Quartz. The three of us who worked on this Tumblr have moved on to other things, so it feels like it would be paddling against the tide to try to continue work on this blog. On behalf of the three of us, I am really truly regretful that we were unable to show you what it is that we were going to do in totality. But, StarryOak and I had discussed greatly what we would plan to do through to the conclusion of the Tumblr, so I will divulge what Starr and I had planned for the Tumblr's future, so that nobody is left in suspense.

The following set of posts have had their dialogue entirely hashed out by StarryOak and myself.

We begin with a mini-arc that I dubbed Meet Cute (Curiosity), a multi-meaning title as you’ll see in later posts.

Panel 1: The interior of the Crystal Empire library, as provided over Yahoo Mail. A table labeled "Returns" sits at the right end of the landing, and Quartz (facing screen right) stands beside it levitating her soon-to-be-returned book. The tabletop is empty save for a magic-circle. (Starr will draw up the table and its magic circle, but feel free to do a quick mock-up.) The presence of the mirror in Quartzy's aura of magic indicates to us that we are still seeing her from beyond the mirror's perspective. Her eyes are idly glancing at the mirror, and though she has a dull expression on her face, she at least doesn't look sad. In the background behind the Crystal Princess, SOME CRYSTAL PONIES mull about the bookshelves. Among them, in the background of the right half of the library, we can see CUTE CURIOSITY, the half-dragon half-Crystal-Pony librarian. She has not yet noticed Quartzy; she is speaking with Press Patrol. QUARTZ: Because Uncle Spike saved the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Ponies have grown to love any and all dragons that visit us up here.

Panel 2: Quartzy has placed the book upon the magic-circle'd tabletop, the magical aura around the book dissipating. Her eyes glance down at the book, so she doesn't notice that Press Patrol and Cute Curiosity have finished their discussion, and the latter has just noticed that Quartzy is in the library. Curiosity's mouth forms a perfect "O", eyes behind her glasses widening slightly. QUARTZ (cont'd): Some, more than others, it seems, as one had settled down with a recent migrant from Fillydelphia's own Dragon Town.

Panel 3: Cute Curiosity trots off-screen to screen-right, smiling brightly. Quartzy's eyes have returned to the mirror, on which we can make out the question from the last update. The magic circle beneath the book has begun to glow, a clear aura forming around the book as well as it begins to turn translucent. QUARTZ (cont'd): Granted, there is more than one half-dragon that calls the Crystal Empire home, but our chief librarian is perhaps the most notable, if only because of her...

Panel 4: Quartzy glances off-screen to screen-right, her pupils shrinking and her ears falling back. The magic circle tabletop is now completely bookless, the magic circle itself beginning to dim. QUARTZ (cont'd): ...oh no... I thought I could...

Panel 5: Cute Curiosity practically bounces in from screen-right, having evidently jumped the entire flight of stairs onto the landing in front of the "Returns" table. Curiosity balances on her front hooves as she beams up at Quartzy with a fangy grin. Quartzy takes a step back, looking all the world like she'd rather be somewhere else - anywhere else. CURIOSITY: Princess Quartz! I heard you talking about me just now and... Why are you carrying that mirror around, Princess? QUARTZ: You wouldn't believe me if I told you...

Panel 6: Curiosity casts her eyes up and to our right, raising her right forehoof (foreclaw?) in a practiced lecturing posture. Quartz rubs her right foreleg with her left, glancing down and to our left. In the background, the CRYSTAL PONIES (and Press Patrol) begin to take notice of the scene unfolding at the entryway. CURIOSITY: Oh you'd be surprised, we get a lot of weird things in this library. The last librarian was always talking about glowing eyes and ghosts. I wish ghosts would have some sort of bones to study, it would be so much easier for forensic magic and fossil records would have an idea of what they really looked like!

Panel 7: Curiosity's head turns to 3/4 profile, mostly so that we can see that she is quirking one eyebrow upwards and the other down. She points the same forehoof at Quartzy's mirror, where her eyes are also fixated, and the wheelchair-bound Princess follows the half-dragon's gaze and pointed hoof. CURIOSITY (cont'd): .... but I'm getting off topic here. That mirror right there was what we were talking about, right?

From here, it only got so far as the dialogue that Starr and I had pulled together as a pseudo-RP. I was writing for Quartzy, and Starr as Cute Curiosity.

Quasimodo Quartz: “Well… It’s like there are ponies behind it that are talking to me.” Cute Curiosity: “Ghosts? Telepathy? Magical transmutation of ponies into an enchanted mirror? A two way mirror with somepony on the other end? Possessed mirror? Is it an image of you that has been enchanted to respond? Can it talk to me? Or can only you hear it? /pokes it/ It looks solid, but does it ever let you poke through it?” Quasimodo Quartz: “Well… I’ve never poked it, but… It seems like written notes of some sort appear on the surface of my mirror. I can only guess that beings from a higher dimension are watching me… and judging me.” Cute Curiosity: "Judging you? Is there some sort of contest? What’s the prize? Are you winning? Did you already win and you’re showing off the mirror as a prize?“ Quasimodo Quartz: "No… Judging me as kindly and beautiful, and… I don’t understand why. I’m just a wretch in a wheelchair uncomfortable with her own body. Why are they so kind to me?” Cute Curiosity: “Well, you’re a very fascinating pony… changeling… what would you prefer? Pony, Changeling, Ponyling? Nymphfoal? Or would you like to invent a new word? Ooh, that would be really groundbreaking! We could do a study on the new species that you are!…. /a bit of a nudge and a goofy grin as she is leaning a little close to her to indicate she’s thinking about that skeleton thing, although the viewers dont know that/” Quasimodo Quartz: “/ears drooping/ Please, I don’t want to talk about that…” Cute Curiosity: “Oh… But you’re just such a unique specimen, it’s such a shame for you to think so badly of a scientific marvel! You are completely unique, there’s nothing quite like you! It’s a crime to let such a fascinating discovery go to waste!“ Quasimodo Quartz: "But… I don’t want to be special or fascinating or unique. I just want to be a normal mare!” Cute Curiosity: “But… but, what will happen to the science! The discoveries! The skeletal structure! You’re so important to the scientific community! You’re already an amazing mare! Just with a infinitely more unique skeleton!” Quasimodo Quartz: “/crossing a foreleg across the other/ M… My skeleton is horrific, deformed. It’s not worth studying…” Cute Curiosity: “No it’s not, it’s beautiful! I assume, anyway. Since you won’t let me see, I can’t tell you, but it’s obviously amazing just judging by what I can guess from your appearance! And you have a really nice eyeshadow on, by the way. I like the color. It’s really nice.” Quasimodo Quartz: “No! No no no no no no no no… You’re just trying to butter me up for that spell! I really don’t want to do it! It’s hard enough to love myself without knowing how mangled I am inside!” Cute Curiosity: “I don’t have to show you them, I promise, complete scientific confidentiality… at least until after your death, anyway, which is basically confidentiality, right? And it would only take a few minutes! Just one… well, actually, I’d need about a dozen to get a full three dimensional model, but it would be perfectly safe!” Quasimodo Quartz: “/backing away towards library doors/ No… please… I’m not just a sack of bones… I’m not just some amoeba on a slide to be examined at your leisure…” Cute Curiosity: “I don’t think of you that way at all! You’re a beautiful mare, and I really do like you..  I mean, sure, I would love to study you and it is really disappointing that you won’t just let me take a scan. Which would only take seconds, but I do want to be friends with you! I wouldn’t study you after taking the data if you don’t want me to! I only need that, and then we can be friends! We can hang out! I want to be friends with you! Please let me be friends with you!” And that would probably be a mini-cliffhanger until the next post, to let questions roll in along the lines of “Be her friend, Quartzy; she’s not a bad pony… dragon… dracony?”. Y'know, things like that. Quasimodo Quartz: “/sighs/ As forward as you can be with asking for other ponies’ skeletons… I know what it’s like to want a friend more than anything in the world.” Cute Curiosity: “So you’ll be my friend? Please tell me you’ll be my friend! /ping/…. What was that noise?” Quasimodo Quartz: “That was the mirror. It makes that noise whenever a new question… pops up. /eyes widen slightly/ They must know you’re here. The Askers must see you.” Quasimodo Quartz: “I don’t know, Miss Curiosity… I don’t know if we have any shared interests, any places we would spend time together… I’m a princess, you’re a librarian. The Crystal Ponies love you, and they… hate me. I don’t know if our friendship will work… /smiles tentatively down at C2/ but I will give it a try.” Cute Curiosity: “Oh my Celestia! /she suddenly pulls in Quasimodo Quartz: for a very tight hug that pulls Quartzy’s head down slightly so she can nuzzle her/ We’re going to be best friends!” Quasimodo Quartz: “/smiles awkwardly and pats Cute Curiosity: on the back/ Yes. We can try…” Cute Curiosity: “This is going to be so amazing! A real friend! I’ve never had one of those before! I’m going to have a friend! And we’re going to have so much fun! We can…. um…. I… I don’t know what friends really… do… /ears fold down and her ear spikes droop/” Quasimodo Quartz: “/with a friendly hoof/  Well, we can find out together.”

[carpostnet]

2020 Range Rover Evoque India review and exclusive test drive

3rd Jan 2020 5:00 am

Practicality, house and worth for cash be damned, Range Rover’s child Velar is right here to make you go weak within the knees.

It says Range Rover on the tin, so taking it off-piste shouldn’t be an issue. This, nevertheless, is just not going to be straightforward, no sir. The path all the way down to the river is deeply rutted, the gradient is steep, and then, what makes issues extra attention-grabbing is that the rounded riverbed rocks act like ball bearings underneath the wheels. Forget driving, strolling right here is fraught with issue.

The tough and the sleek

First issues first; should get the setup proper. There’s no conventional Terrain Response dial, and that foxes me for a bit. But I quickly determine how you can use the neat click on wheel and dial up the ‘Mud and Ruts’. Then utilizing a spotter on the surface to examine for floor clearance, I crawl ahead. This model of the Evoque I’m driving doesn’t have air springs or a ‘lift’ characteristic, so I must be cautious to not floor it. As I transfer ahead there are some bits the place the stomach will get near the bottom, however as quickly as I get the ‘All clear’, the Evoque skips down the trail with the boldness of a mountain goat. This is nice as a result of, regardless of all of the rubble and unfastened stuff, it appears to have a vice-like grip on the bottom under. And what makes driving the Evoque simpler is that the throttle responses are completely metered. This is doubly true on the arduous climb again up, the place traction and the sleek launch of torque from the engine at low engine speeds are much more essential. A bit extra floor clearance and the infant Rangie may very well be mega on the tough stuff, transverse-engine, front-biased four-wheel-drive setup and all.

Metal knobs controls a number of capabilities; energetic modes gentle up.

Anyway, DNA test completed, it’s time to get again to the freeway. The forest street that takes us there, nevertheless, isn’t in good situation. Used by overloaded vehicles, satirically supplying a road-building mission close by, the floor is totally bombed out. More a group of badly filled-in potholes and heat-warped ripples, with small patches of normal tarmac sprinkled loosely in between – it’s only a nightmare. I begin off sluggish, and this causes some small quantity of vertical motion. The Evoque’s pretty stiff setup tosses us round over a few of the sharp-edged bumps and there’s clearly a little bit of firmness detectable even over a few of the patchy tarmac. However, as I am going a bit sooner, the experience improves significantly. The tall springs now appear to work higher, the dampers spherical off bumps properly, and then what impresses is that the sooner I journey over this patchwork freeway, the extra snug the Evoque feels.

  For some time it appears this patchwork street will proceed endlessly, however then hastily, we stumble upon an element that’s been freshly surfaced. It isn’t billiard-table easy and carries tell-tale indicators of a swiftly completed job, with many small dips and sudden modifications within the floor. Still, what will get me excited is that the street twists, bends, dips and rises like a large python. Now, usually, corners like these wouldn’t elicit this a lot pleasure sat behind the wheel of an SUV, however there’s one thing about its manner that tells me that Range Rover’s child goes to fairly benefit from the problem. Yes, the brand new Evoque has a roughly 20mm longer wheelbase, and that would nix a few of the earlier car’s agility, however the brand new platform on which it’s constructed additionally has a brand new floorpan that improves physique rigidity by round 17 p.c.

This is partly why physique management round a few of the tighter corners is nice for an SUV, and each time I tweak the steering wheel, the nostril goes precisely the place supposed. Also, what I completely love is how neatly and shortly it tucks in if you end up working a bit extensive. Must say this factor is sort of enjoyable. Turn-in isn’t fairly as fast because the outgoing Evoque, however in all different methods, this one has the previous car nicely and really licked. I particularly love the relaxed confidence it radiates, and the steering is fantastically weighted and feels good for its software right here.     

  The Evoque is even super-stable at excessive speeds. Long stretches of freeway have me solely gripping the steering flippantly, and all I have to do to information it into longer and sooner corners is simply tip it in. Adding massively to confidence ranges are the brakes. Not only a footnote right here however a bedrock of stability, the brakes bleed pace effortlessly and pedal really feel is robust, regardless of how laborious you brake.

JLR’s 180hp Ingenium diesel can also be impressively easy at idle. The cabin is nicely insulated from the low-speed rumble and the standard diesel clatter, and what feels nice is that the motor responds nicely as quickly as you faucet the throttle. In reality, with its variable geometry turbo and sooner responding 9-speed computerized, the brand new Evoque is fairly fast on the draw at low pace. What additionally helps is that this engine makes a really helpful 430Nm of torque from as little as 1,750rpm. So cross 2,000rpm and there’s a pleasant hit of torque, in addition to an enormous shot of enhance from the turbo. Even nicer is the truth that the engine continues to tug strongly previous 3,000rpm, and this makes this BS6 diesel motor feels notably easy.

Flat-out efficiency, nevertheless, isn’t all that thrilling. The engine feels a bit flat when you cross 4,000rpm and there is no such thing as a huge enhance in efficiency even in case you spin it sooner. What makes the method really feel much more futile is that the engine turns into fairly vocal and drones fairly a bit.

Also, ask for a fast burst of acceleration and the 9-speed gearbox doesn’t precisely comply. Yes, tuning is clearly improved in comparison with the sooner model, however there nonetheless is a little bit of a delay between placing your foot on the accelerator and a decrease gear being chosen. And there’s even a little bit of jerkiness as you go on and off the throttle. Overall, nevertheless, and for essentially the most half, the Evoque on this 180d spec is easy, responsive, steady and prepared, and that feels nice.

Fashion icon

The Evoque, after all, is an especially pleasing SUV to take a look at. Less hardy Land Rover and extra la-di-da trend icon, the brand new Evoque will get folks’s consideration wherever it goes. And the truth that most confuse this new one with the beautiful Velar does its prospects no hurt in any respect. Truth be instructed, it’s troublesome to inform the 2 aside as they share many options. Both get laid-back mesh grilles, slim-line headlights with rectangular LED inserts, headlight extensions that run onto the entrance doorways, severely tapering rooflines and steeply rising beltlines. They even look comparable from the rear with the beautiful, layered LED tail-lights. So, measurement aside, how do you inform one for from the opposite, particularly if all you get is a fast look? Not that straightforward. . .so listen, 007.

The new Evoque uniquely will get a further slot-like opening underneath the entrance grille, the bonnet line prominently runs across the huge entrance wheel arch, and across the aspect, there’s a steeply sloping minimize or shoulder line. And on the rear? Your greatest wager is to search for the badge. As with all futuristic and fashionable designs, wheel measurement is essential, and right here the ‘S’ will get 18-inch alloys which strike an excellent stability.

It feels very plush on the within; high-quality supplies abound.

The design on the within is equally beautiful. Minimalistic in excessive, the point of interest of the cabin stays the smooth sprint with decrease and higher halves clearly outlined by a channel in between. I notably just like the hooded cobra-like instrument panel cowl, the way by which the vents have been cupped in between the 2 layers of the sprint is tremendous, and then there’s the neat chrome encompass that runs across the touchscreen. And I additionally like how the feather-touch steering wheel controls might be reconfigured in accordance with the menu you might be in. While the model on test, the ‘S’, will get common dials and just one touchscreen, the higher-spec SE model will get a further touchscreen.

Slick operation and a excessive stage of performance additionally appear to be extraordinarily essential right here. The two management wheels positioned forward of the now-traditional gear lever (no rotary dial this time round) perform fantastically. The dials can be utilized for a number of modes, which you’ll be able to choose. However, I don’t like the truth that you have to swap modes to manage fan pace; it’s a ache when you’re driving and need to maintain your eyes on the street. Still, should say I do just like the smooth tray above the cupholders in your cellphone, and that the person elbow rests splits down the centre, and then seat consolation on the entrance chairs is critically good.

Panoramic sunroof brightens cabin and doesn’t eat into headroom.

This isn’t precisely the perfect car to be chauffeured round in, nonetheless consolation ranges on the rear aren’t too dangerous. Yes, you might be seated a bit low as a result of plunging roofline, and legroom is barely first rate. The seat although is pretty giant and snug, the backrest is completely reclined, and headroom, regardless of the panoramic sunroof, isn’t too dangerous for these underneath 6ft. What helps right here is that the sunroof is designed in such a manner that it doesn’t impinge on headroom.

You are sat low however the seat is properly put collectively; legroom is adequate too.

Seating three abreast within the again, nevertheless, isn’t a good suggestion. The cabin is a bit slender and then visibility out the rear isn’t excellent both as a result of fats C-pillars. So, whereas house could also be at a premium within the Evoque, it actually is snug sufficient and feature-rich, particularly in case you go for the SE model (see field), the place for about Rs 5 lakh additional, you get an excellent quantity of equipment.

Size is not all the things

The Evoque clearly isn’t for everybody – and undoubtedly not for individuals who consider measurement and worth are instantly proportional. It is a luxurious SUV designed and constructed for a extra advanced car purchaser . . . somebody who has been there, completed that. Here compactness is a advantage, perspective, stance and type matter greater than practicality, and what separates this luxurious SUV from its rivals is that house owners typically drive themselves.

  That the Evoque manages to ship in most areas there is no such thing as a doubt. Yes, experience may have been a bit extra snug at low pace, a bit extra energy and efficiency would have been good, and it isn’t almost as nicely outfitted because it ought to have been, contemplating its anticipated beginning worth of round Rs 50 lakh. Do bear in mind, nevertheless, that the better-equipped SE model is offered for not all that rather more, and for these considering extra energy and efficiency, there additionally shall be a 249hp petrol – the P250.

Closer in worth to rivals a full measurement up, just like the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5, the brand new Evoque clearly isn’t a car you purchase together with your head; however then the Evoque has all the time been an emotional alternative.

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[monkeyandelf]

New Post has been published on Buzz News from Monkey & Elf |

New Post has been published on https://www.monkeyandelf.com/clear-the-rack-yeti-cooler-kindle-ebooks-and-more/

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Top Tech Deals

It’s not hard to find good deals on VPN subscriptions, but our readers’ favorite service, Private Internet Access, is notable for hardly ever running sales. This is the holiday shopping season though, so for a limited time, you can sign up for two years of the service for just $60, down from its usual $70. That’s just $2.50 per month to protect your browsing data, get around video geoblocks, circumvent proxy filters, and more.

Why Is Everyone Talking About VPNs?

Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a measure that killed an upcoming FCC ruling that…

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The Best VPN Service Is Private Internet Access

VPNs are a hot topic these days, and our readers made it abundantly clear that Private Internet…

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If you use a desktop computer, a good UPS battery backup will keep it running without any interruption in the event of a power outage, which means you won’t lose any unsaved work. But even if you’re a laptop user, this could still run lamps, your router and modem, or any other low-draw devices until the power comes back on. This particular model even includes some USB ports for charging your mobile devices.

$31

From amazon

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You may not think you need one of these portable jump starters, and at this very moment, you probably don’t. But there will come a time where you’re late for an appointment or stuck in the middle of nowhere, and waiting around for a good samaritan to come jump your battery just isn’t a viable option.

This model from iClever puts out a whopping 600A, which is far more than most similar products, and enough to start just about any car.

$50

From amazonUse code BBQBBQ22

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With 25W of power, this $27 Bluetooth speaker packs more of a punch than most of its peers, and even sprays that sound in 360 degrees, making it perfect for parties. Just use code 6PRIGVGE at checkout to save $12.

$27

From amazonUse code 6PRIGVGE

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If you love inky blacks and vibrant colors—and who doesn’t?—this 2017 OLED LG TV is down to $1500 today on MassDrop, or $2300 for 65″, about $200 and $400 less than Amazon, respectively.

As you’d expect from any high-end TV these days, that gets you a 4K panel and Dolby Vision HDR, but OLED technology means the blacks will be far richer, and the colors more vibrant than any LCD-based screen you can buy. It’ll still cost you, but your eyes will tell you it was worth it.

Hands On: I Just Fell In Love With LG’s Flexible 4K OLED TVs

The other night we saw a bunch of Samsung’s curved 4K TVs, including a gigantic one that could …

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Which Is a Better TV Screen, LCD or OLED?

It’s an age-old question, like cats or dogs, Kirk or Picard, PlayStation or Xbox? All tough…

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It lacks an integrated subwoofer, let alone a dedicated one, so this AmazonBasics sound bar wouldn’t be ideal for your main home theater, but it would be a solid upgrade over, say, your bedroom TV’s built-in speakers.

$60

From amazon

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If only the best will do, the brand new GoPro HERO6 is $100 off on Amazon for the first time ever today. Even during Black Friday, the only real deals we saw were on the previous generation models.

GoPro’s Hero6 Is Still the King of Action Cameras

GoPro has been the leader on action cameras from the very beginning, and its brand has attained a…

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$400

From amazon

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Anker’s original SoundBuds are your favorite affordable wireless earbuds, but the newer SoundBuds Tag just got their biggest discount ever. $18 is $12 less than usual, and the best price we’ve ever seen.

Your Pick For Best Cheap Bluetooth Earbuds: Anker SoundBuds

Anker’s SoundBuds blew away the competition to take the title of your favorite cheap Bluetooth…

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The Tags basically appear to be a slightly tweaked version of the SoundBuds Sport, boasting a redesigned remote and better ear tips. Like the Sports though, they’ll still turn off when you connect the two magnetic earpieces together, and turn back on once you pull them apart. Smart.

$18

From amazonUse code ANKX3232

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If you’ve been curious to try computer glasses, but were scared off by the sky-high price of Gunnars, Velocifire will sell you a set for $17 today with promo code 7DFJQSKQ If you aren’t familiar, the appeal of these things is that they block out the blue light that emanates from the screens we stare at all day, which can cause eyestrain, headaches, and even insomnia.

$17

From amazonUse code 7DFJQSKQ

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This Belkin surge protector is one of our readers’ favorites, and Prime members can save 20% on it today, bringing it down to $16. If you haven’t replaced your main home theater or home office surge protector I several years, it might be time.

$16

From amazon

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These Are The Best Home Theater Surge Protectors

After some charged debate in this week’s nomination round, three models surged past the competition …

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Why You Should Periodically Replace Your Surge Protectors

A decent surge protector is an important piece of equipment in any office or entertainment center. …

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Top Home Deals

Standing desks are great for you, but working standing on a balance board while you work is even better. This one from Gaiam is designed specifically for standing desks, and it’s never been cheaper.

$40

From amazon

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With a locking lid, this 6-quart Crock-Pot is ultra-portable and can serve up to 7 people, all for $39. You can even program it start cooking while you’re away at work so you can come home to a warm meal.

$39

From amazon

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We’ve all had to throw away leftovers or cuts of meat and cheese that spent a little too much time in the fridge or freezer, but vacuum sealing your foods can keep them safe from freezer burn pretty much indefinitely, and dramatically extend their shelf life everywhere else.

It sounds like an expensive proposition, but today only, Amazon’s selling the well-reviewed FoodSaver Starter Kit for just $30, complete with everything you need to get started. That’s the best price ever by over $15, and the first time it’s been under $50 on Amazon since 2012.

Of course, you can use this to store meats in the freezer for a long time, but it can also keep cheese from molding, lettuce from wilting, or cookies from going stale, just to name a few examples. Think about how much food you throw away, and you’ll get a sense of just how quickly this purchase could pay for itself.

$30

From amazon

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Woot has run a few deals over the last few months on YETI soft-sided coolers, but today, you can get a very rare deal on the rugged Roadie 20 hard-sided cooler. This thing can keep ice frozen for days on end, even once it finally gets warm outside again. Accounting for Woot’s mandatory $5 shipping fee, this is still $55 cheaper than Amazon.

I didn’t give much thought to my dish rack until I went to my mom’s house and she had this simplehuman beauty. It’s a small thing, but it looks so much nicer than the flimsy $15 ones you can buy at the grocery store and it is incredibly functional.

This product was missing from simplehuman’s Black Friday sale and discounts on anything related to this brand are rare, so today is the day to get this normally-$80 dish rack for $62.

$62

From amazon

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Is bringing your lunch to work more often part of your New Year’s resolution? Pick up this 9-liter lunch box for just $15 when you enter code MAMWWB9S at checkout.

$15

From amazonUse code MAMWWB9S

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If you’ve been putting off replacing your wiper blades for far too long, Amazon’s throwing in a $5 credit when you purchase any two Rain-X Latitude blades, from now until the New Year. Just note that the credit is towards your next Amazon purchase, it’s not a discount on the blades themselves. You’ll also need to be sure both of the blades you buy are shipped and sold by Amazon directly, not a third party.

Electric kettles are hands-down the most efficient way to boil water. This normally-$40 Aicok electric kettle is selling for $29 today with code PRYSU8YB. It has 6 different temperature settings for various beverages from green tea to hot cocoa and noodles.

$29

From amazonUse code PRYSU8YB

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Extra bedding takes up way too much room. Pack it all up in this canvas underbed storage bag, just $12 with code FGQO3GZC and when you clip the $2 off coupon.

$12

From amazonUse code FGQO3GZC

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Top Lifestyle Deals

Note: This deal ends on January 1, so get your orders in now.

Yes, it’s already happening again. Nordstrom Rack has brought back their Clear the Rack sale and it’s full (and I mean FULL) of really incredible deals. Designer clothing, brands you’ve never heard of, everything in clearance an extra 25% off. This lasts through Sunday, so you have a good amount of time to pick up some discounts.

If you’re enough of a daredevil to give yourself a haircut, Remington’s Shortcut Pro makes the process as simple as possible.

For an all-time low $28 (after clipping the $10 coupon), the Shortcut Pro can run for 40 minutes on its built-in lithium-ion battery, and includes nine different length combs to customize your look. And unlike most electric trimmers, it’s shaped like a puck, rather than a wand, which makes it much easier to maneuver around the back of your own head. Just note that you won’t see the $10 discount until checkout.

$28

From amazon

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I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but for most of the country, it’s cold outside. Like, way too cold. Luckily, Uniqlo’s running another sale on its awesome HeatTech gear for both men and women.

Eddie Bauer makes great stuff all year ‘round, but their wares really shine in the winter, and you can stock up on coats, pants, boots, and pretty much everything else from their semi-annual sale, including a rare deal on the iconic Downlight Stormdown jacket for men and women, which can keep you warm in temperatures well below zero.

I’m pretty sure I could spend every day of the next three months in long johns, and with this 30% off Amazon coupon, I could probably afford to. Choose from multiple sizes and colors, all for about $8 at checkout.

The Philips Norelco Multigroom is actually a ton of shaving tools in one: A beard trimmer, a hair cutter, and a body groomer. $20 gets you the trimmer, 13 length combs, a precision trimming attachment, a nose hair trimmer, a wide hair-cutting blade, and more. Oh, and the whole thing runs for up to three hours on a charge, so you won’t have to travel with the charger.

$20

From amazon

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Nordstrom has three large sales each year: The Anniversary Sale and two Half-Yearly Sales. Well, this week marks the end of the second half of the year, so Nordstrom is taking up to 50% off a boatload of styles. It’ll take time to look through all the stuff, so maybe pencil it in as a meeting at work or pretend you’re in the bathroom and avoid your family or something.

When it comes to having a corner on the market, nothing really compares to Nike. And right now, take an extra 25% off their sale styles for both men and women, no code needed, as post-holdiday deal. Everything you could need for a good workout wardrobe is included, from apparel, to sneakers, to gear.

Note: If you don’t see the discount, try using promo code WINTER25, which is how this deal was supposed to work.

Top Media Deals

Amazon hasn’t been shy about offering up discounted Kindle books over the past week, but I suspect that the New Year will see a significant slowdown in sales, back to a more typical ~once per week schedule. Today’s sale has some great options though, a few of which we highlighted below. But be sure to head over to Amazon to see the full list.

$4

From amazon

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$3

From amazon

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$4

From amazon

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$2

From amazon

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the greatest work in the history of filmmaking that included a killer rabbit, and its 40th anniversary Blu-ray is just $5 today as an Add-On item on Amazon. I’m not sure if they’ll string it between a couple of swallows to get it to you faster, but it should arrive before Christmas if you have Prime, in any event.

$5

From amazon

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Amazon’s waving its discount wand on the Harry Potter franchise, with all eight Hogwarts-centric films on sale for just $7 digitally.

Top Gaming Deals

If you’re lucky enough to have gotten your hands on the SNES Classic, this $17 case makes it easy to bring to a friend’s house for a night of Mario Kart.

$17

From amazon

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It’s not as advanced as a Samsung Gear VR or Oculus Rift, but if you have a smartphone and $17, you can experience VR with this View-Master Deluxe VR starter set. The View-Master is actually just a Google Cardboard-compatible VR headset, except, you know, it’s not made of cardboard, even if it’s priced like it could be.

$17

From amazon

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If you missed out on all of the PS4 Pro deals around Black Friday, you have another chance to save $50 on the console today on eBay. Just note that it doesn’t come with any bundled games.

Should You Buy A PS4 Pro?

Short version: The new PS4 Pro is a more powerful version of an already good console. We like the…

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This Week in Content Marketing: Marketing Associations to Blame Publishers for Allowing Bad Ads

PNR: This Old Marketing with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose can be found on both iTunes and Stitcher. If you enjoy our show, we would love it if you would rate it or post a review on iTunes.

In this week’s episode

This week, Robert ponders how we compare ourselves to others. In the news, we talk about a new initiative from three marketing associations that puts the blame for bad online advertising directly on the shoulders of publishers. We also discuss media companies’ rankings for brand loyalty – though these aren’t the media companies you’re looking for. Our rants and raves include Nielsen’s bid at measuring Netflix, and what we can learn from one-hit wonders; then we wrap up with an example of the week on the “Gary Vaynerchuk” of sustainable farming.

Download this week’s PNR: This Old Marketing podcast

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Show details

(00:01): An advertising blast from the past: “Gotta Be Pepsi Now!”

(00:30): Robert muses on this week’s theme: How do you compare?   

(05:45): Welcome to Episode 206: Recorded live on October 23, 2017 (Running time: 1:05:58)

(11:38): Content Marketing Master Classes – Our multi-city tour is returning for another round of in-depth content marketing training. Starting on November 6, we’ll be making stops in Boston; New York; Washington, DC; Seattle; San Francisco; Chicago; Atlanta; and Austin, Texas. Robert and I would love to see you there, so register today.

Content love from our sponsor: Ahrefs (12:38)

Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool set that has many amazing tools for content marketers who’re looking to grow their traffic from Google. With Ahrefs tools you can easily find out what people are searching for in Google, so you can create content around the most popular search queries. You can also discover content that got the most shares or earned the most backlinks, so you can piggyback from it and get the same results. And finally, you can easily research your competitors and find out which content brings them the most traffic from Google. Here’s an exclusive opportunity for PNR podcast listeners: Any listener who tweets using #ThisOldMarketing between the dates of September 30 through October 28 will be entered into a drawing to win an annual Ahrefs account plus a signed copy of Joe and Robert’s new book, Killing Marketing. One randomly selected participant will be drawn each week; four winners in total.

The quick hits – Notable news and trends

(14:28): Who are 2017’s top brands, ranked by customer loyalty? (Source: Marketing Charts)

(22:32): Publishers may have to “volunteer” in fight against annoying ads. (Source: AdAge)

The deep dive – Industry analysis

(28:14): Ad Age Ad Lib Podcast: Neil Vogel’s adventures as an accidental publisher. (Source: AdAge) 

(34:40): Content marketing is dead. Long live marketing. (Source: Forbes)

Content love from our show sponsor: SnapApp (41:39)

Today’s buying committees are diverse; Millennials are already taking their seats among Generation X and Baby Boomers at the buying table, making navigating the already complicated buying environment even harder, thanks to their different preferences. Though this shift might seem minor, it greatly impacts how marketing teams operate, sales teams engage, and how purchase decisions are ultimately made.

SnapApp and Heinz Marketing recently conducted research to answer the question: How do different generations like to buy? Their report, “The Millennials Are Here! How Generational Differences Impact B2B Buying Committees Today” looks at the differences between the rising Millennial buyer, their Generation X and Baby Boomer counterparts, and how B2B marketing and sales strategies can address the gaps between them. Read the report.

Rants and raves

(44:02): Robert’s commentary: Nielsen is poised to start measuring the viewing audience of TV shows on Netflix. According to TechCrunch, the company’s new Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) Content Ratings Service will base its measurements on panel surveys, comparable to how it estimates linear TV ratings. While Robert understands why Nielsen is looking at this audience, he feels they are going about it all wrong.

(48:36): Robert’s rave: Adweek profiles a new Burger King ad about tackling bullying that Robert simply loves. It’s feel-good advertising that handles the discussion of social issues in an elegant and effective way. 

(50:50): Joe’s rave: James Altucher‘s podcast is a regular listen for me. The latest episode, featuring singer-songwriter Mike Posner, is a particularly interesting one for a few reasons, including his discussions on updating his older content, and a process he uses, which I would call an influencer marketing strategy.

This Old Marketing example of the week

(56:40): Polyface Farms: A reader recently referred Robert to the story of Joel Salatin, a second-generation farmer in Virginia who grew up watching his parents struggle to maintain their family farm. Though the Salatin Family had already started to explore organic farming and more humane farm animal practices at Polyface Farms, they were finding it even more difficult to turn a profit while using these techniques. However, once Joel took over the business, he committed himself to taking these practices to the next level, while increasing the farm’s profitability at the same time. He started by answering questions and offering advice to his fellow farmers to increase their understanding of the benefits of greener, more sustainable farm operations, and the idea quickly took off. Eventually, he turned his education platform into books, lectures, and other published content works. Years later, Joel Salatin is one of the most famous and successful farmers in the world, with a content portfolio that includes live tour experiences at his farm, as well as recipe of the week competitions, and other user-generated content initiatives. By creating a media brand to drive the success of his sustainable farming business, Joel has built Polyface Farms into a quintessential Content Inc.-style example of This Old Marketing. (Sources: Permaculture; Virginia Tech’s Virginia Cooperative Extension; VCU Office of Sustainability).

Image source

For a full list of PNR archives, go to the main This Old Marketing page. Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

How do I subscribe?

The post This Week in Content Marketing: Marketing Associations to Blame Publishers for Allowing Bad Ads appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

This Week in Content Marketing: Marketing Associations to Blame Publishers for Allowing Bad Ads syndicated from http://ift.tt/2maPRjm

[harlequindreams-blog]

All Mirrorless Camera That is Worth Every Penny

Disassembly and repair guides for all kinds of cameras. What's worth shouting about is the lens and sensor combination though: the 28mm equal with f/2.8 maximum aperture means it'll be the broader-angle view many X100T owners have been in search of. With advanced video options like focus peaking and zebra stripping that are usually found in pro video rigs, a shooter can truly use one system with out compromise to capture each video and photo. In the event you really wish to heavily edit your recordsdata in your pc, you may must go for the aforementioned Canon Powershot G16 which affords RAW output. Fantasea RX100 III, IV & V Housing, $399 - prime quality polycarbonate with leak detector, double -ring seal and full best point and shoot camera digicam controls. Sometimes as a zoom lens extends the amount of light it permits dips, which potentially means image quality can undergo in low-light circumstances. When my Mark II pattern arrived, I did what any jaded New Yorker would after a half-dozen years of taking pictures pattern photos in Manhattan: I booked a flight to someplace else. Sony's RX100 V will set you again $999, which is far above what many folks may consider spending on a degree-and-shoot camera. We would be remiss if we did not give a shoutout to the brand new iteration of the G7 X. The Mark II is a contemporary, feature-wealthy field of wonders, which regardless of its measurement manages to excel in low mild situations. Greatest for Giant Sensor, Image High quality, 4K Video, Manual Controls. The PowerShot N features Sensible Shutter, enabling users to start monitoring a topic simply by urgent the intuitive touch panel LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY, and then capture the image by lifting their finger off the screen. Both fashions characteristic an 18.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor alongside a Bionz X processor, 5-axis image stabilization (Optical SteadyShot), 1080p video recording, NFC, WiFi and a three-inch (selfie-pleasant) LCD. Why you will adore it: The Nikon Coolpix A300 actually is not going to blow you away with nice options, however it has a very low price tag for a hard and fast-lens digital camera. Although some underwater shooters fortunately use compact cameras for their complete dive careers, others will search extra after having mastered techniques. If you happen to're anything like us (and let's face it, you're precisely like us), you've got been counting down the nanoseconds until Samsung lastly revealed what its ' Faucet and Take ' campaign was all about. Those in search of a terrific camera for travel will love the Canon PowerShot G3 X It's a sturdy all-around mannequin with a 25X optical zoom lens that'll make it easier to seize topics that are far-off or close by. The obvious shortcoming of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX10 is its lack of an digital viewfinder. Canon also plans to launch a handful of equipment, including a couple of unique concepts for sporting the digital camera around your neck, taking part in off of the mannequin's compact kind-issue and light weight. It is an ideal decide-up-stuff-in-your-back-pocket compact digicam and deserves its spot in this roundup. As you'll be able to see, the first two iterations of the RX100 fashions don't have EVFs so it was easy for me to eliminate these options. Many trendy level and shoot cameras now include built-in Wi-Fi, offering a great way to share photos by means of social media sites by connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot. WHY IT'S A TOP CHOOSE: Tremendous zoom functionality and desirable viewfinder in a pocket sized digicam. Not only that, you've gotten an incredibly capable advanced 5-axis picture stabilisation system that allows you to shoot handheld for up to two seconds without incurring blur - a feat we would not have thought possible only a few years in the past. I currently should not have a well working point and shoot and my DMC-FZ50 (basically a V-Lux 1) is large and slow. It's clear that the iPhone SE isn't for people like me: people who have embraced the arrival of extra spacious screens regardless of the weird bulges they kind in our collective denims pockets. The Q affords the versatility and precision of an advanced DSLR in a physique that's significantly smaller than every different digital ILC physique accessible on the market as we speak. The Coolpix AW130 options hybrid vibration discount which will help hold images and video sharp, even in lower lighting situation. In nearly every different area that matters to me within the field (beyond foolish folks shooting newsprint and brick partitions), the Canon gives the equal or higher image quality of either of the Leicasonic cameras. Whereas 24mm might sound vast to a land primarily based shooter, we usually consider an angle of over one hundred levels to be the start line for an underwater huge-angle setup. On the draw back, there is no viewfinder, however the display screen tilts, which is helpful. When choosing a digital digital camera, it's essential to first understand the options that are most essential in your future purchase. The Sony RX100 sequence has gone from energy to energy and in its fifth-technology format it is a digital camera that, at this measurement, just about has all of it. Designed with a built-in Neutral Density filter, the lens gives the person higher control over exposure time in numerous circumstances and provides photos a extra neutral appearance even when over-exposed. Having a touchscreen LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY is a good function in a degree-and-shoot camera, making it easier to function for inexperienced photographers. The Canon G7 X II zoom lens has an excessive amount of of a zoom vary for it for use with a normal housing port. Many of the sounds heard when taking a photograph are digitally improvised. We centered on the bestselling merchandise clients such as you want most in classes like Baby, Clothing, Electronics and Health & Beauty. The Panasonic Lumix LX100 affords one thing a bit of different to different advanced compacts. Journey + Leisure might obtain compensation for some hyperlinks to products and services on this web site. Extra possibility, my travel associate just bought a GoPro and preliminary results look absolutely fantastic, I'm glad that's coming together with us as nicely! Sensor measurement: As a general rule, the bigger the sensor measurement, the better high quality the photographs shall be. The downside of a big sensor is that it requires a larger lens, meaning the price and practicality may be affected. Battery life is respectable, and it comes with all the goodness an iPhone allows: apps, flashlight, and yes, a second digicam (the selfie camera on the front). Now we will record all the thing that we'll need for this hack. As noted earlier, the good construct quality, the compact dimension and the touchscreen make the G9X II a enjoyable best pocket camera digicam to make use of. On the one hand, if we had $500 to spend on a camera of this measurement, we'd be more more likely to spend it on a complicated mirrorless mannequin that delivers higher image quality. The gap between the 1,650mAh and a couple of,100mAh batteries is an enormous one, and it's probably that the GS III's HD Tremendous AMOLED panel can also be more power efficient, in part thanks to its lower brightness.

While other cameras in the Fuji X-series line up may provide the ability to vary lenses, with the Fuji X70 this isn't the case. And plenty of claim that the image quality of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 by far betters the others. The GR II is a relatively new release with probably the most notable addition being built-in Wi-Fi. There you'll get the checklist of supported cameras on the Proper hand facet of the page. With 20.2 megapixels of resolution on its 1-inch image sensor, the RX100 IV can create amazing photographs, outperforming most compact cameras when it comes to low gentle image high quality. So after doing a little simple arithmetic, it appears that evidently the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 is the ‘finest value for cash' level and shoot live performance camera from these presented right here. Wi-Fi Permits you to easily share your photographs while you are away. The ability to shoot in RAW additionally makes the Canon a well-liked selection for professionals who want a smaller, throw-in-the-bag digital camera. Many cameras are incompatible with underwater large-angle lenses. Image quality is superb, with low light photographs benefiting from the extensive aperture f/1.8-2.eight lens (the wider the lens aperture, the more mild can get to the sensor, making it better for low mild).

[bartlebysghost]

The Anatomy Of An Adventurer: Part One: Attributes

(The evocative title I unrepentantly stole from the Torchbearer rulebook)

Humankind seems to have an incurable fascination with the classification of it's own members. We desperately wish we could decompose the maddening complexity of our fellows into pure stark lines. Star signs. Myer Brigs.

But of course, how impoverished is any such attempt. We are all of us large (we contain multitudes). Even those of us who deny it of ourselves ("I'm such a Libra!"), yes even those, within them there is much ("Know thyself" is an goal strained for, not achieved, even by those who earnestly seek it, let alone those who wantonly spurn it).

Something of these tendencies pervades the hubris of a roleplaying games systems. We have our "character sheets", preposterous things that purport to contain in a few dimensions a character.

Perhaps these baroques arrays of panels and boxes and numerals say something about those who created them, and those who use them.

Now, with such asides vented, we turn our attention to surveying the landscape of RPG attribute systems.

Dungeons & Dragons

Ah yes, that hoary old thing. The attributes, rolled 3d6, are well known:

Strength

Dexterity

Constitution

Intelligence

Wisdom

Charisma

These six attribute illustrate a few themes that will recur.

Every attribute system implies that a person could be simultaneously deficient in any one attribute and abundant in another.

Body vs Mind: The first three attributes are clearly concerned with the character's physicality, and the latter three attributes are clearly concerned with mind and spirit. This division comes readily to in western culture: it is the tireless division between jocks and geeks. One wonders what cultures might have existed that perhaps did /not/ subscribe to this distinction so cleanly.

A few further distinctions are made:

High Strength, Low Dexterity, Low Constitution: Implied is the possibility of a brute with no finesse or stamina. The first distinction, ok. But the second, high Strength, low Constitution, is puzzling and difficult to imagine. The converse, I suppose, not so much: it is easy enough to imagine stick thin marathon runners.

High Intelligence, Low Wisdom vs Low Intelligence, High Wisdom: The possibility of the "absent minded genius" and the "streetwise but unschooled"

High charisma, low intelligence, low wisdom: apparently a lovable idiotic buffoon is an option.

Even though these attributes imply the possibility of certain combinations, in practice, some of them do not occur.

These attributes take on different dimensions in randomised vs allocated determinations. In the allocated determination, some are clearly more desired than others, and some are frequently "dump stats". Constitution, having generally some role in adjusting Hit Points, is overall the most sought after stat. Dexterity gives bonuses to defence, and is hence also handy to have. In 5e, Wisdom soundly takes precedence over charisma, strength and intelligence, because it determines resistance to the effects of many spells, and is used for many important skills, including such numbingly vast generalisations as "perception" (and the standard character sheet even calls this skill out as singular amongst all skills, as the only skill to get its own "passive" box).

The issue of "balancing" stats is a wider one that numerous systems wrestle with.

D&D in first edition had numerous tables restricting what "class" and "race" a character could take dependent on their abilities, including such oddities as, for "5" in Dexterity "Here or lower the character can only be a cleric" (I guess if any class were going to be clumsy, the cleric would be it...)

3e D&D has an implied secondary division in it's saving throw scores: Reflex, Fortitude, Will.

GURPS

I don't know GURPS, but according to wikipedia it uses these basic attributes:

Strength

Dexterity

Intelligence

Health

Coming here from D&D, it is startling how mental attributes collapse to one. Amusingly, "perception" and "will" are listed as secondary stats, but are "equal to IQ". Presumably they can be modified separately.

"Image and Looks" and "Social Background" are described separately from the attributes. They seem to be allocated with the same pool of points, though.

This ties into another tactic that numerous systems use: having different parts of the character build system draw on the same pool of points, the ability to trade off such disparate areas as attributes, skills, relationships. I'll probably touch on this again later.

Torchbearer/Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel(?)

I don't have the rules for Burning Wheel, because bizarrely you can't get them in PDF. But based on rumour I'm taking a punt on it having the same division of attributes as it's derivatives.

Health

Will

There is something shocking in the starkness of this system.

To me, it is deeply, deeply appealing. Torchbearer uses these attributes only for "beginners luck", almost any usage with real heft instead uses skills.

This has a startlingly humane implication: to be good at something requires only experience. I won't dwell on skills here, that is the topic for another article, but another remarkable feature of these systems is that they require failures and success in (almost) equal measure to be marked off for progression in a skill. The structure of the character sheet itself (boxes for success and failure) implies attributes progress in the same way, but such is the baroque complexity of Torchbearer that I can't really remember what circumstances count as a test for an attribute.

I tell a fib, actually. Health/Will are clearly the most traditional of the two attributes for a character, but characters have two other oddball stats that are quite different:

Nature

Might

All adventurers have their Might fixed at 2. One wonders why this is listed on the sheet at all.

Nature is weird as fuck.

It is in some sense how much of  a stereotype of their race they are. It can be used to do steroetypically dwarfy, halfingy, elfy or humany things. At the same time, and I suppose not incongruently, it limits how quickly a character learns new skills. You can also by certain metagamical conceits use it for pretty much anything, but doing so and subsequently failing decreases it (I suppose there is a certain logic to that. A dwarf acting contrary to their dwarfyness becomes a little less dwarfy).

Actually, this digression makes me imagine a system where instead of being coupled to your race, Nature would be coupled to your traits. That has potential.

Storytell(er|ing) System

(The wording of the wikipedia article implies there are two systems, Storytell/er/ and Storytell/ing/. This means nothing to me)

Again, I don't know much about this system. But from a few sources I gather that it uses the most profligrate of attribute systems I have seen, with a whopping 9 attributes. However, it somewhat ameliorates this excess by laying over them a pleasing symmetry:

||Physical|Mental|Social Power|Strength|Intellect|Presence Finesse|Dexterity|Wits|Manipulation Resilience|Stamina|Resolve|Composure

All of which is pretty compelling, as far as such things go. I'm a sucker for symmetry.

Some of the social combinations are strange: a character with strong presence but no composure takes a second to imagine (but imagine a raging boss, or a diva actor). I like that, on consideration, the attributes couldn't express those characters in many systems (you'd have to resort to "Traits", which will be another installment)

I suppose this is as good a time as any for a digression into the implicit divvying up of "times to shine" for different character configurations (this is a general note, not specific to Storytell(er|ing)).

Generally, physical attributes are good for fighting, and for some weird shit that doesn't often happen (climbing, breaking things down). Mental attributes are good for fighting if you're a magic user, and for some weird shit (knowledge and "investigation"). Social attributes are no good for fighting[1], but obviously the main thing in social situations. Some systems let you mix in a bit of mental, especially if they have a "Wisdom" attribute.

[1] Well, unless you're kicking it /real/ old school D&D, where Charisma determined how many mooks you could drag along with you and throw into whatever meat grinder was ahead of you in the dungeon.

Savage Worlds

Notable for a particular omission:

Strength

Vitality (= Constitution)

Agility (= Dexterity)

Spirit

Smarts (= Intelligence)

Notice what's missing? Charisma! Or, any sort of social attribute.

In fact Savage Worlds includes a Charisma score for a character, but it's not a primary attribute you can assign points to in the normal way. Most characters have 0 Charisma, but they can take "Edges" (what might in D&D parlance be called "Feats", which I guess must be the topic of yet another post), that amongst numerous diverse other things can increase Charisma.

There is a remarkable practicality to this design: Charisma only gets you so far in a Savage World, so making it secondary takes some stress out of character specification.

Blade Of The Iron Throne

This is so fucking weird.

Brawn

Daring

Tenacity

Heart

Sagacity

Cunning

The delirious praise resounding for this system makes me think I just haven't grasped it yet.

The book includes a nice diagram that offers some clues: It shows a sort of ven diagram of physical, social and mental/spiritual domains, with brawn, heart and tenacity residing entirely in each respectively; and daring, sagacity and cunning straddling the intersections of physical and mental, mental and social, and social and physical respectively.

So brawn and heart are straightforward enough. Tenacity is Will, basically. Cunning seems to cover roguish things, both what would have been Charisma (deception etc) and what would have been Dexterity (sneaking, lockpicking etc). Whereas daring covers some fighty things that might have been Dexterity.

We also get 5 "derived" stats that almost by linear algebra give us some clues:

Reflex = (Cunning + Daring)/2

Aim = (Sagacity + Cunning)/2

Knockdown = (Brawn + Daring)/2

Knockout = (Brawn + Tenacity)/2

Move = (Brawn + Cunning + Daring)/3

This whole thing is very odd and I the first suspicion that comes to my mind is that they worked backwards, listing skills and combat stats first and then working backwards to get a "balanced" set of attributes.

To come:

Part Two: Skills Part Three: Traits Part Four: Feats Part Five: Relationships