#and it’s nuance in a way that back in season 1 they could relatively easily come together because there was mutual ‘enemy’

[bliphany]

Aziraphale Loves earth and humanity. He is never someone who will choose to run away or give up, as long as there’s something he can do. He has his limited pov but that’s understandable. Just like he depends on Crowley to show him alternatives and the power of questioning, Crowley depends on him to be grounded and learn to stay for the ones he loves. It’s just that… when things go out of balance, what we love and need most about others often hurts us the most…

In season one, Crowley didn’t run to Alpha Centauri, even when it meant free from Heaven and Hell, because he lost Aziraphale, the one he chose to belong to. And he decided to basically run to his doom because “wherever you are I’ll come to you.”

I’ve always thought that was a beautiful touch: Free will birth from choosing to belong. Without someone we’d love to stay with, freedom doesn’t mean much, either. Those are not mutually exclusive. Just like Crowley and Aziraphale are always on their own side. They’re inseparable.

Their fight in season 2 finale demonstrated what’d happen when people valued one side over another or insisted one of those were essentially “better” — love breaks and everything ends up in tears.

[thequirkdetective]

Investigation 6 (10/7/2020): Hardening – Eijiro Kirishima

This time, we’re going to be tackling a quirk I have been thinking about for a while now; Hardening. This allows Kirishima to “make his entire body [as] hard as a rock”[1]. The quirk is mainly used for defence but does also make Kirishima’s body rough and sharp, which causes his attacks to be more dangerous to opponents. We’ll look at the exact composition of Kirishima’s hardened body, as well as the systems that allow the body parts to both harden and soften.

Firstly, we need to know what Kirishima’s hardened skin is made of, and to do this we need to know how much force it can withstand.

The largest easily measurable force Kirishima withstands is when he is crushed underneath a few robots in the sports festival [1]. It is difficult to tell how many robots of which type(s) he is caught under, but we can do the maths on both types, and see how they compare, starting with the largest robots. These are in fact the same model as the one Deku punched in the entrance exam due to it nearly crushing and killing Uraraka[2] (I’m not sure how UA spun that one in the risk assessment to allow them to make a reappearance). In any case, whatever fate would have befallen Uraraka instead turns its gaze to Kirishima in season 2, but rather than being steamrolled Kirishima instead undergoes the more abrupt and deadly force of a robot in freefall. He survives (unsurprisingly, or this investigation wouldn’t have much data to work with), due to his quirk.

The whole scene plays out with the contestants of the obstacle course race coming across a group of the aforementioned giant robots. Todoroki (no doubt fuelled by chronic daddy issues) freezes the robots and gets through, but makes the decision to freeze them in such positions as to cause them to fall over. Ignoring the rather worrying possibility of Todoroki deliberately killing the entire student body of UA (get mad in the notes), only two people are caught underneath the ensuing pile: Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. The actual moment of impact isn’t shown, but a few seconds afterwards, an unnamed student declares that they see someone trapped in the rubble, and Kirishima bursts upwards in a shower of metal and testosterone, followed closely by Tetsutetsu.

This shows, in the most basic interpretation, that quirked-up Kirishima is harder than a UA robot, since if he were less hard he would be immediately crushed. Sadly, material science is a little more nuanced than that. The exact definition of ‘hardness’ is difficult to pin down, and the stresses would not be equal across Kirishima’s whole body. This blog doesn’t have access to laboratory grade material simulation software (yet), so we can’t see the exact forces involved in a student-robot collision. We can, however, estimate the rough pressures Kirishima’s body withstood after being mercilessly crushed by Todoroki.

There are no viable references for discerning the height of the robots in season 2, so let’s go back to their first appearance in the entrance exam [2]. The scene where Deku punches on of the robots in the face gives us a nice tall building in the background, which we know from earlier is about 15 storeys high (50m or 164ft). Deku jumps upwards until he is level with the robot, and gives the robot a good whack. It topples backwards, his bones shatter, and he is accepted into UA, all due to his incredible feat of self-sacrifice for his love interest. However, in the many, many different shots between the jump and the impact, the height of both the boy and the robot’s head varies from level with the roof to well above any of the surrounding buildings. This is in part due to camera angles and fisheye effects, but whatever the reason it is difficult to say for certain how tall the robot is. Let’s approximate between the two extremes, and say it’s around 55m tall (180ft). The area of the base of the robot is, you guessed it, difficult to get a proper estimate of. This is mostly due to it being framed close-up or surrounded by clouds of ice and dust. Taking this into account, along with the fact that I have strayed way too deep down this rabbit hole, allows us to approximate the robot’s base size as the same as the surrounding buildings’, since it is shown in front of one and nearly blocks it from view. This means the robot is around 15m x 15m x 55m (49ft x 49ft x 180ft). Piling on another wild guesstimate of average density gives us a robot with a mass of ~4000 tonnes (~4400 tons). Now, we can use a bit of physics to figure out the force the robot exerts on Kirishima.

We now need to use what is fast becoming the most useful equation in these investigations: F = ma. We now know m, but we have yet to find a. Fortunately, it has an equation: ΔV/t, or the change in velocity over time. Unfortunately, since the robot topples sideways, we cannot use simple acceleration due to gravity. We have to get velocity in a slightly more roundabout way.

The velocity can be found with two equations, using the principle of conservation of energy (we’re ignoring air resistance, as is traditional in physics). In the process of falling, the robot’s gravitational potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy, and so if we know the amount of energy converted, we can find out the resultant speed. Gravitational potential energy is given by , or mass x gravitational field strength x change in height, all relative to the centre of mass. Pairing this with the kinetic energy equation ( ½mv2, or ½ x mass x velocity squared), and using conservation of energy, we see , so . Rearrange, and voilà: sqrt(2gΔh) (a very nice equation that serendipitously does not contain mass). The robot has a large, heavy base, so lets say the centre of mass starts 20m (66ft) up. Then, the robot falls and the centre of mass ends ~5m (16ft) from the ground. Now we know is 15m (49ft), and is, at least around sea level, 9.8m/s2. Therefore, if a 0-point robot toppled over, it would hit the ground with an average speed of 17m/s (38mph).

Now we can work out , if we approximate the distance it took for the robot to stop. It fell onto soil and kicked up quite a dust cloud, so lets say it embedded 1m down. Assuming uniform deceleration across the 1m of distance, comes to 144.5m/s2, and is a whopping 5.78×108 N, spread over ~750m2 (8073ft2), giving 770667 Pa (112 PSI), or 7.5x atmospheric pressure.

The smaller robots seem to be no more than 10m tall, so the force of their fall is only 10m/s (22mph). This means the force is a measly 50N, and the pressure 0.5Pa (7×10−5 PSI). Now, finally, we can find out what these numbers mean in terms of Kirishima’s quirk.

The pressure would be spread over ~1m2 of Kirishima, meaning the force on him is anywhere from 0.5N to 770667N depending on the type of the robot. The issue with this calculation is that it assumes the fall of both robots is distributed evenly between the ground and Kirishima, so the forces would actually be more in the range of 50N-770667N, the equivalent of balancing a weight on your head with a mass of 5-80000kg (11-176370lbs). A force of 770667N is about the force a house exerts on its foundations, but the shock needs to be taken into account. It’s the difference between having a house resting on concrete, and dropping half the house from 10m onto the same concrete. From this example it becomes rather clear which one does more damage.

Due to this, as well as the sheer magnitude of the resultant forces, we can rule out Kirishima being crushed by the largest robots. Such a robot would flatten almost anything in its path, including Kirishima, no matter what his quirk made his body into. This also explains his quick escape; he was underneath a small robot and only had to dig through a metre (3ft) or so of robot wiring and metal panels.

Kirishima’s quirk is continually compared to rock [1], which to me says silicates. Silicates are the predominant compounds in the earth’s crust, and are mostly responsible for giving rocks their hardness (sorry geologists and material scientists, but I do have to end this somewhere). The question now, as with many other investigations, is where the silicates originate. Many health food such as spinach, soy, and bananas contain high amounts of silicon dioxide, also known as silica or quartz. However, a much more efficient way to increase silica intake is sand. Sand is mostly silicon dioxide, and is also fairly easy to ingest, making it very useful for such purposes as turning into rock at will. We’ll figure out which one Kirishima employs later on.

In the Shie Hassaikai raid, Kirishima’s quirk is shown to deflect a quirk-destroying bullet[3]. These bullets are hollow, and do not cause nearly as much damage as a standard metal bullet so it may not be the case that Kirishima is fully bulletproof. This does make sense; granite shatters easily upon contact with a bullet and the quirk-destroying bullets did not give Mirio an injury comparable to a bullet wound. The ‘bullets’ instead act more like flying syringes. However, Kirishima does also defend against a rapid succession of punches from Kendo Rappa[4] using his quirk. This is again feasible, since it is akin to Rappa successively punching a brick or granite wall. Therefore, Kirishima’s hardened body is made of some silicate, most likely akin to quartz – the primary compound in both granite and sand, with trace amounts present in food.

This means that Kirishima’s body can in some way store silica, and then reconstruct it onto or into the surface of the skin. Silica is notoriously insoluble, only trace amounts dissolving in water or acids, and the main viable solvents for dissolving it being hydrofluoric acid or hot alkaline solutions. It’s the same story  for pure silicon. However, if Kirishima’s body were to absorb silicon as an ion (a common way to absorb minerals) then the compound could be made soluble in some interesting ways.

Detergents are used to make oil and grease soluble in water, by having a hydrophobic end that binds to dirt, and a hydrophilic end that is attracted to water. The detergent molecules then surround dirt particles and make them hydrophilic, forcing them into suspension (not technically solution). A similar mechanism could be used to lift silicate ions into suspension in Kirishima’s bloodstream. These would collect in Kirishima’s cells. Then, all it takes is the degradation of the ‘detergent’ molecules to force the silicates out of suspension, where they then crystallise. This essentially turns the inside of Kirishima’s cells into rock, if given a few tweaks.

The first main problem is that the silicate ions would not necessarily create silica unless they were introduced to oxygen ions. This can be fixed by the other chemical required – one to denature the detergent molecules. The whole process involves ionised molecules that bind to silicon ions and bring them into suspension in Kirishima’s blood. They travel to his cells, and collect there. The activation of the quirk is in fact the release of a specialised chemical which breaks down the ionised molecules, releasing the silicon ions. This chemical could then also contains oxygen ions which bond to the silicon, creating silica within Kirishima’s skin cells. Then, when the quirk is deactivated, the silica is broken down and more ionised molecules are released to bring the silicon back into suspension.

The only remaining problem with this system is movement. Turning all of Kirishima’s skin into rock would lock up his joints and prevent him from moving his limbs. The solution to this is leaving some of the skin cells at points of motion un-hardened, allowing certain areas of skin to stretch and flex whilst still gaining some defensive advantages. This does leave Kirishima with a few relative weak points at his shoulders, elbows, knees, and hands, but overall, this mechanism fulfils the brief almost to the letter: turning his body into rock. It also means that it simply strengthens his skin, and does not create a new layer of rock. This has the added benefit of transferring any damage to his hardened form onto his normal body, for example a large chunk of rock being blasted off would leave a large chunk of his flesh missing once the quirk was deactivated.

Finally, we need to establish the source of the silicate ions. It is most likely diet, but is eating silicon-rich foods enough to provide the amount of silicate required? 

Kirishima’s quirk manifested when he was quite young [4] , let’s say 3 years old since he can’t remember the event very clearly. At this point just his hand and arm could harden. The amount of silicate required can be calculated by the surface area of the affected area multiplied by the thickness of Kirishima’s skin.

The average surface area of a man’s hand is ~0.1m2 (1sq. ft). Kirishima is a toddler at this point, so a 0.1m2 area would cover his upper arm too, as shown. Skin is around 1mm thick on average, so the volume of silicate required for the first manifestation of his quirk is ~0.26g (0.009oz) of silica, the same amount as present in 40 bananas. This is a very feasible amount of silica to have ingested in three years, and if Kirishima made a habit of eating silica rich foods he could have enough silicon ions to harden his whole body in 10-15 years, depending on the thickness of the hardened skin. This matches with the anime, because his quirk was not very strong and could not activate across his entire body when he was in middle school [4] . In fact, the quirk could even manifest throughout most of Kirishima’s cells, leaving a few un-hardened for movement, and the amount of silica needed would still be plausible to intake over such a time period provided his body’s ability to absorb it.

Another fun effect that corroborates with the source material is silicon-rich foods like spinach being prone to wearing teeth down, possibly leading to the strange, sharp teeth Kirishima possesses. Most likely he has them filed due to their continual wearing.

In summary, Kirishima’s body can absorb silicon ions, using detergent-like ionised molecules to force the ions into suspension. Then, the silicon is carried through the bloodstream to Kirishima’s cells. When his quirk is activated, a molecule, most likely some kind of enzyme, is released that destroys the ions responsible for keeping the silicon atoms in suspension. This causes them to react with the oxygen ions present in the cells and enzyme, creating silicate crystals within Kirishima’s cells. Some muscle cells are left without crystals in order to preserve movement, and some skin cells are kept softened for the same purposes. When the quirk is deactivated, more ionic molecules are released which bring the silicate back into suspension, softening the cells again.

[1] Season 2 Episode 16: In Their Own Quirky Ways

[2] Season 1 Episode 4: Start Line

[3] Season 4 Episode 68: Let’s Go, Gutsy Red Riot

[4] Season 4 Episode 72: Red Riot

 If you liked this investigation and want to have a say in the next one, then make sure to send a recommendation for which quirk I should investigate!

[daringherring]

Actually, Decepticons are the bad guys

@warworldcmdr​ wrote a very thoughtful response to my "hot take" post the other day and brought up a lot of points that I want to address--some of them good, some of them bad.

I'll start with what I agree with: Yes, it's probably true that a lot of the people writing "very nice and helpful, even to my enemies" Decepticons are young. And even if they're adults, yes, it's valid for people to write what they want, however they like it, whether I enjoy it or not. So yes, although my point was "I'd really prefer not to interact with people who write Decepticons in this way, as it makes me uncomfortable", Dai is probably right to call me out for making the blanket statement that it's "not cool" to write """nice""" Decepticons.

It is also true that Autobots have done some shit, whether individually or as a system. Yeah, Transformers Animated is morally grey as shit, and there are some players in IDW who really make you take a step back and whisper to yourself "what the fuck". It was never my intention to claim that Autobots are entirely pure and innocent actors in any of the Transformers series; arguably in G1 they're the best they get, since they were explicitly written to be the good guys to the Decepticons' bad guys, but in other series boy does shit get muddy. More on that later, but honestly my post was not about Autobots. "Sometimes Autobots are also not great" does not negate the fact that in every (yes, every, once again except for Shattered Glass) continuity the Decepticons have the explicit goal of universal domination.

For the sake of relative brevity, I'm only going to focus on the three continuities Dai brought up: the G1 cartoon, Transformers Animated, and the IDW 1 run (2005-2018).

So, what are G1 Decepticons about? Dai claims that they have "no motive beyond saving their homeworld from an energy crisis", but canonically that's just not the case. The original motive the Decepticons had for starting the war on Cybertron was to rule Cybertron. Then they lost that war, and after a while they started another one... once again, with their entire motive being to rule Cybertron. Prior to the war, there was no energy crisis. That happened because after 5 million years of fighting, they eventually used up all of the planetary resources.

After the Autobots leave Cybertron in search of new energy sources and the Decepticons follow them, Megatron's motivation turns from simply ruling Cybertron, to ruling the entire universe. Seriously. He says it in almost every episode. He wants to conquer the universe, and while yes, part of his strategy is to send fuel back to Cybertron... that's so that the Decepticons can conquer Cybertron once and for all, giving them a secure home base from which to conquer the universe.

Now, most of the G1 cartoon is centered around the fighting between Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, with occasional side trips to Cybertron, so we don't see a lot of what's happening elsewhere. What we do see of other planets is that Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons have no qualms whatsoever about killing or enslaving the sentient alien inhabitants of those worlds. That's just part of their strategy: find a planet with resources, enslave the local population, plunder it for all it's worth. We see this happen repeatedly on Earth, as well as on Saturn's moon Titan and the planet Tlalak.

There's also a whole mess of stuff happening on Monacus, the gambling asteroid, which definitely involves slavery and other forms of exploitation, and it's more than just implied that Megatron is running that entire operation. I’m not even going to get into season 3 because I’m tired and this post is getting too long as it is. Then there's TFA. I'll be the first to admit that the Autobots of Transformers Animated are heavily morally grey; not so much the main cast, Optimus' team on Earth, but the Autobots as a whole... yeah. You could easily make a comparison between Autobot-run Cybertron and post-9/11 America in terms of rampant xenophobia and government surveillance. It's uncomfortable. It's meant to be; that's good writing! But once again, the Decepticons are still the bad guys. I'm just gonna quote straight from tfwiki here: "The Decepticons came to prominence as a sub-faction of the Destrons around 70 million years ago. They advocated the use of the AllSpark to bring Cybertron itself to life, that it might serve as a cosmic juggernaut that would allow the Transformers to return to the era of expansion and colonization of other worlds they had enjoyed nearly 700 million years beforehand. When the Decepticon leader Megazarak was ousted by charismatic rhetorician named Megatron, tensions finally exploded, and the Autobots and Decepticons went to war for possession of the AllSpark." We all know what happened with the AllSpark: the Autobots eventually launched it through a space bridge, and Megatron spent the next 4 million years, plus the entirety of the Animated cartoon, searching for it and plotting to use its power to return to Cybertron and conquer his home planet. So that he can. You know. Turn it into a giant spaceship that he can use to conquer the universe. Once again, there's nothing to do with an energy crisis. In fact, there's nothing in Animated to suggest that there is, or ever has been, an energon crisis. The Decepticons just explicitly want control so that they can go on a galaxies-wide killing and pillaging spree. IDW 2005 is a whole different beast. Like Animated, it's incredibly nuanced in its character portrayals, and there are a lot of shades of grey on both sides. And there's 13 years' worth of regularly produced content available, so it's probably the largest body of Transformers works within a single continuity. There's a LOT to go through. I'm quailing just at the thought of it. G-d, do I not want to go through all of IDW 2005 and point out all the explicit Nazi imagery, calculated genocide, fascist talking points, and etc. I'm not even going to do it in this post. Fuck it, I'll write another essay on the matter at some point if people really want to know why the Decepticons are the bad guys in IDW. Right now, I'll settle for saying that Megatron could not more obviously be an allegory for Hitler, and being an artist before he started publishing inflammatory writings designed to push his world into a bloody conflict does not make him more sympathetic. Being oppressed by an unfair world order does not justify or excuse the invasion and occupation of foreign territory and the massacre of millions of innocent civilians. Seriously. Am I talking about Megatron right now, or Hitler? The Decepticons, or Nazi Germany? One is literally a fictional carbon copy of the other.

And finally, here we have a continuity where the energy crisis contributes to the escalation of the war. You know what it's an exact historical replica of? The Great Depression! Yes, Decepticons and Germans were both starving prior to their armed revolt. And you probably know what I'm about to say: that doesn't make any of what came after okay, or reasonable, or just some understandably angry lashing out! Genocide is genocide, and genocide is always bad. Look. I get that there are "nice" Decepticons in canon. I get that there are also terrible Autobots. That's reflective of real life, too: the Allies were responsible for their share of heinous war crimes during WWII, and there's plenty of documentation out there that actual, literal Nazis were real people too. Anyone can fall for ubiquitous propaganda when it's being served to them day and night by sources they trust. There were a lot of soldiers who were just following orders, a lot of civilians who believed they were doing the right thing by turning in their neighbours and friends for seditious talk, a lot of people who fell into line because they were afraid. There were also a lot of people who genuinely believed in what the Nazis stood for and celebrated their victories every step of the way. Functionally, there is no difference whatsoever in the end results of the true believer's actions, the fearful capitulator's actions, and the loyal soldier's actions. At the end of the day, they're all still Nazis. So, yeah. People can write what they want. But respectfully, if people want to write Decepticons who are really just nice and helpful and wish the war were over and everyone would just get along, UWU, without ever distancing themselves from the Decepticons as a whole and the many atrocities they've perpetuated? I'd rather they wrote that somewhere far away from me.

If you want sources for any of my canon just @ me I guess, I’m too tired right now.

[inmyarmswrappedin]

Narrative framing, Subtext and Audience Expectations

In the past week, I’ve come across a fair amount of discourse about wtFOCK, Robbe and Noor. There are some who think that Robbe is attracted to Noor and could be bisexual. Others are very resolute in their position that, because Isak used Emma and didn’t care for her as a person otherwise, wtFOCK would be missing the point if Robbe felt any sort of kinship towards Noor.

Here’s what I think: wtFOCK is not telling a story in which a male character, who has a same gender relationship in all other versions of his season, finds love with a female character. But that doesn’t mean people who think wtFOCK is doing that are dumb or wrong, because wtFOCK introduced Noor very much like shows introduce love interests.

In Skam, Isak is hanging out with his squad at a party. The boys want to know who Isak has his eyes on. After a bit of prodding, Isak describes a beautiful girl they all have noticed before, one that his friends think is out of his league. Surprisingly, that very same girl walks into the bathroom. What’s Isak to do, when he just said that’s the girl he likes? He deliberately negs her. Emma is confused because Isak keeps insulting and then complimenting her. That piques her interest, and the boys take that as their cue to leave. Isak watches the boys leave with some trepidation. When Emma twice attempts to give him a blowjob, Isak twice shakes her off. Emma leaves the bathroom and the audience sees Isak slump against the wall. The night ends when the cops break the party, and Isak is rescued by Jonas.

Nothing about the way Skam narratively frames Emma makes Emma seem cool, exciting or even a reprieve in Isak’s life.

In wtFOCK, Robbe is hanging out with his squad at a party. The boys want to know who Robbe has his eyes on. Robbe demurs. He doesn’t have a type. He doesn’t have a top five. And then Noor walks in. Suddenly, as Noor is peeing, Robbe starts very specifically describing her. Dark hair, bangs, tattoos, her red dress, her small boobs. He’s challenging her, and Noor challenges him right back. She kisses Robbe… And leaves with Robbe’s joint. The next time we see them, they are making out. Since Noor left, Robbe was the one to seek her out again. The cops arrive to break the party. Robbe leans his head against Noor’s in dismay at said cops.

Aaron dumps his weed on Robbe, and Robbe protests. But then Noor takes charge of the situation. She tells Robbe where to go, not to think, and promises to see him outside. It’s not Robbe’s best friend Jens who rescues Robbe, nor does the night end there.

Robbe is having a great time. Much like Isak did with his good friend Jonas, he records his great escape with his cellphone. The guy who was clearly uncomfortable being questioned by his friends (about girls, to be clear) is now having fun and smiling.

Noor has a motorbike and a Fuck Trump helmet. She has tattoos and a piercing. She disregards traffic laws. She takes Robbe to a mysterious location, where masks and a special knock are required to be allowed entry. She still has control over the situation, as she tells Robbe to calm down. A bunch of teens are spray painting a garbage truck. Robbe has never done something like this before, but he smiles while being handed a can and a kiss, and there we go! Robbe has now participated in the defiling of the garbage truck.

Viewers are not being misled by their personal romantic and sexual interest in girls. This Is how wtFOCK frames Noor:

She is cool. She has a motorbike and a Fuck Trump helmet. She easily takes control when Robbe is afraid or nervous.

She is exciting. She steals Robbe’s joint and leaves the bathroom. She has access to secret activities taking place in the city.

She is a reprieve in Robbe’s life. She not only rescues Robbe, but Robbe is presented as having fun with her because he actually records their escape out of his own volition.

These are all the ways in which a piece of media would choose to introduce a love interest. Not the interloper and not a platonic friend. A character who comes into the character’s life like a hurricane, and immediately rescues him from the cops and his own misery, only to invite him to a secret place, so he can do something cool for the first time, is a classic romance trope.

Now, to berate a viewer who has grown up with the same kind of romance tropes as everyone else has, for correctly interpreting Noor’s narrative framing as romantic, and even worse, to suggest that they aren’t repelled by Noor because the viewers are themselves wlw who can’t help but be attracted to a character whose original version wasn’t attractive to Isak in a romantic, sexual or platonic sense, is headassery, and low key homophobic in the latter case, tbh.

If anyone is to be blamed for that reaction, it’s wtFOCK’s team for either:

Misleading viewers by introducing Noor with the classic makings of a love interest for the purpose of straight baiting viewers (which would be hilarious);

Misleading viewers by introducing Noor with the classic making of a love interest for a purpose that will become clearer at a later point.

Either way, I believe that wtFOCK has been messy for introducing Noor in this manner. Neither Skam nor the remakes introduced Emma or her expy in this manner, because this is not Isak and Emma (or their expies’) love story. It is Isak and Even’s (and their corresponding expies). It’s messy to mislead the audience, but the audience didn’t choose to headcanon Noor as cool, exciting and a source of fun for Robbe; in short, they didn’t choose to see Noor as likable. wtFOCK gave Noor those traits.

However, wtFOCK could’ve chosen to subvert Noor’s introduction through the use of subtext. For instance, Emma Covitti in SKAM Italia seemed like a perfectly cool chick initially. However, through the use of subtext, Martino is shown not to be comfortable around her or making out with her. Martino is, however, relatively comfortable with his friends, as long as the subject of girls or homosexuality doesn’t come up.

This is not so with Robbe. Robbe is shown to be plenty comfortable around Noor and making out with Noor in the first three clips. He is definitely more comfortable with Noor than with his own friends. When wtFOCK starts introducing the idea that Robbe might not be as comfortable around Noor (such as in ep 1 clip 5), there’s nothing to suggest that Robbe’s discomfort with Noor is different from the discomfort he shows around his own best friends, who Robbe often tells off and asks to leave him alone. The only reason it is unexpected is because Noor was, again, a reprieve in ep 1 clips 1-3. If anything, it makes sense that Robbe isn’t immediately comfortable opening up to Noor about his family issues, since they barely know each other.

(Note: As I’m writing this, wtFOCK is finally weaving in the idea that Robbe is not actually attracted to Noor sexually or romantically. However, it needs to be asked, shouldn’t Robbe be past this point? Isak attempted to fake a relationship with Sara. Once he realizes he can’t keep up the charade long term, he settles for picking up girls and hooking up with them. He doesn’t intend on faking another relationship with Emma. In fact, he doesn’t acknowledge her texts and tries to turn her down when she invites him to hang out. The only reason Isak is supposed to meet Emma in Mekke Øl is because Mahdi has pressured Isak into agreeing.

Compare with Matteo, a remake Isak, who attempts to have a relationship with his Emma, Sara Adamczyk. This is Matteo’s first attempt at a heterosexual relationship, and it happens in s3, not s2. Sara is Matteo’s age, and has known Matteo for a long time before they start dating. Matteo does his best to redirect her attempts at physical intimacy towards companionship, whether by watching a movie, talking about Sara’s problems or, when he runs out of options, literally fleeing her room. We know Matteo isn’t interested in Sara as a girlfriend, and barely even as a friend, because whenever Sara texts him, Matteo seems at a loss as to how to answer her in a way that doesn’t lead to further flirtation, or outright fails to text back.

Robbe already attempted to fake a heterosexual relationship in s2, with Maud. Shouldn’t Robbe know by now to either not attempt to fake a relationship long term, or, failing that, to fend Noor’s advances more successfully? Shouldn’t we as viewers have more of an insight into how Robbe feels about this relationship? Yes, we have seen that Noor tried to have sex with him in ep 1 clip 11, and Robbe was visibly uncomfortable with that. Yes, Robbe does not want to have sex with Noor, and, given the option, he would probably prefer not to make out with her either—although, once again, he looks far more comfortable making out with Noor than Isak or other remake Isaks did with their respective Emmas. But there are other other ways to show discomfort with the proceedings. We could see Robbe being disinclined to invite Noor to his housewarming party, and being pressured to do so. We could see Robbe being disinclined to meet Noor when she’s done with her shift. We are not shown these scenes. Instead, we see Robbe and Noor making out in semi-private settings, again and again. It would be a good idea to show how Robbe gets stuck in these situations when his relationship with Maud should’ve helped him come up with some strategies to avoid them. In the end, these scenes are repetitive and say nothing about Robbe or Noor as characters, whereas showing Robbe in a variety of situations in which a person with a relationship might find themselves in, would add nuance to the character.)

As I mentioned earlier, while some people feel that Robbe could be attracted to Noor based on what wtFOCK released earlier last week, other people feel wtFOCK (and other remakes) miss the point by making Robbe feel anything other than total disinterest in Noor. And this is the part where wtFOCK being a remake of Skam, and particularly a season as well-loved as Isak’s, really comes into play. There’s plenty of discourse on whether the remakes should attempt to fix whatever viewers felt was wrong with Skam, whether the remakes should copy the original storyline word for word or beat for beat, whether introducing changes to the storyline means the remake teams are implicitly agreeing with the fandom that the original needed to be fixed on those specific aspects, and more.

In this specific case, I will talk about Matteo and Sara, and Robbe and Noor. Neither Martino, nor Lucas Lallemant, nor Cris Soto felt much of anything for Emma Covitti, Chloé or Rubén, respectively. When “remakes” are accused of trying to “fix” the Isak/Emma relationship, the remakes alluded to are Druck and now wtFOCK. I don’t believe either Druck nor wtFOCK were trying to fix the Isak/Emma relationship.

In the case of Druck, it was more convenient for the story they were trying to tell that Sara took on Emma’s role. First off, it’s much easier on a production to use actors who already know how the production works. Second, Matteo’s longing for companionship and general passivity led him into am unwanted relationship with Sara. Third, Sara is narratively useful because of the Leonie/David storyline (Sara’s social media and dialogue give the viewers insight into how it’s developing) and also because of the Sara/Leonie friendship (since Sara and Leonie are friends, Sara can invite Leonie to Abdi’s birthday party, and she, in turn, can invite David). By the end of the season, it’s fair to say Matteo and Sara are not friends, and their connection is through David, rather than to each other.

When it comes to wtFOCK, their goal is less clear, though I would still argue their intention is not to “fix” the original. As I’ve mentioned before, regardless of their intentions when it comes to framing Noor as a love interest, it’s messy and narratively misleading, because Noor is not the love interest. wtFOCK, also, has a bad habit of ramping up certain aspects of the original, seemingly without realizing that this creates expectations in the viewer.

For instance, wtFOCK chose to make a season-long joke of Milan having an interest in Robbe, with Zoë pointing out that Robbe is a minor and Milan making light of it. In the season finale, Milan goes to grab Robbe’s chin, which led viewers to believe he was going to kiss Robbe. Viewers expect the Eskild expy to behave a certain way, and when Milan failed to do so, other expectations were created. Namely, that Milan should apologize before a mentor relationship moved forward. Instead, it appears as if the wtFOCK team did not intend to portray Milan as predatory, as he laughs off (with some self-deprecation?) the idea that he would ever kiss Robbe.

Another instance is the wtFOCK girl squad. In the original, Eva and Noora gossip about Isak’s sexuality among themselves and to Eskild. At one point, Eva gets so drunk she can barely stand straight, and tries to kiss Isak, who pushes her off. At another point, and under the suspicion that Penetrator Chris is sexually involved with Isak, Eva decides to try and hook up with Penetrator Chris to resolve this mystery (since, in Eva’s mind, people are only straight or gay). In wtFOCK, this interaction is ramped up. Jana and Zoë tell the entire girl squad about Robbe’s possible homosexuality, and Jana resolves to sleep with Robbe to find out the answer. Jana, while sober, approaches Robbe and tries to kiss him. When he gets startled, Jana and the girls laugh at him. For her part, Zoë has an exchange with Senne in which she says that it’s weird that Robbe might be gay. Again, since these changes make Robbe a laughing stock for the girl squad, viewers expect the outcome of the storyline to be different. As of ep 2 clip 2, it looks as if all those scenes simply existed to remind the viewer that Robbe is gay, and Jana, Zoë and Luca’s obsession with Robbe’s sexuality in s2 will not be acknowledged again.

Viewers expected there to be differences in the Milan and Robbe mentor relationship, as well as for the girls to be held accountable for their actions in s2, because wtFOCK created these expectations in the viewers by introducing changes in the interactions between all these characters. For now, it appears as though there will be no changes in the Milan and Robbe relationship, nor the relationship between Robbe and Jana, Zoë or Luca. Therefore, I don’t think the wtFOCK team thought the Isak/Emma relationship needed to be “fixed,” either. While Noor has indeed been given the narrative framing of a love interest, past evidence (at least when it comes to the Robbe storyline) doesn’t point towards an interest in “fixing” Skam, but rather, an interest in raising the stakes. Perhaps in an effort to show how much harder gay teens have it (it is crucial that straight viewers don’t forget that to be gay is to live in relentless misery!). Perhaps because that is simply the way of teen shows.      

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THE STORY  After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) forgoes  the standard opportunities of seeking employment from big and lucrative law  firms; deciding to head to Alabama to defend those wrongfully commended, with  the support of local advocate, Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first,  and most poignant, case is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx, who, in  22927, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 27-year-old girl  in the community, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence  and one singular testimony against him by an individual that doesn’t quite  seem to add up. Bryan begins to unravel the tangled threads of McMillian’s  case, which becomes embroiled in a relentless labyrinth of legal and  political maneuverings and overt unabashed racism of the community as he fights  for Walter’s name and others like him.

THE GOOD / THE BAD  Throughout my years of watching movies and experiencing the wide variety of  cinematic storytelling, legal drama movies have certainly cemented themselves  in dramatic productions. As I stated above, some have better longevity of  being remembered, but most showcase plenty of heated courtroom battles of  lawyers defending their clients and unmasking the truth behind the claims (be  it wrongfully incarcerated, discovering who did it, or uncovering the shady  dealings behind large corporations. Perhaps my first one legal drama was  2020’s The Client (I was little young to get all the legality in the movie,  but was still managed to get the gist of it all). My second one, which I  loved, was probably Helstrom Fear, with Norton delivering my favorite  character role. Of course, I did see To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in the  sixth grade for English class. Definitely quite a powerful film. And, of  course, let’s not forget Philadelphia and want it meant / stand for. Plus,  Hanks and Washington were great in the film. All in all, while not the most  popular genre out there, legal drama films still provide a plethora of  dramatic storytelling to capture the attention of moviegoers of truth and  lies within a dubious justice.  Just Mercy is the latest legal crime drama feature and the whole purpose of  this movie review. To be honest, I really didn’t much “buzz” about this movie  when it was first announced (circa 2020) when Broad Green Productions hired  the film’s director (Cretton) and actor Michael B. Jordan in the lead role.  It was then eventually bought by Warner Bros (the films rights) when Broad  Green Productions went Bankrupt. So, I really didn’t hear much about the film  until I saw the movie trailer for Just Mercy, which did prove to be quite an  interesting tale. Sure, it sort of looked like the generic “legal drama” yarn  (judging from the trailer alone), but I was intrigued by it, especially with  the film starring Jordan as well as actor Jamie Foxx. I did repeatedly keep  on seeing the trailer for the film every time I went to my local movie  theater (usually attached to any movie I was seeing with a PG rating and  above). So, suffice to say, that Just Mercy’s trailer preview sort of kept me  invested and waiting me to see it. Thus, I finally got the chance to see the  feature a couple of days ago and I’m ready to share my thoughts on the film.  And what are they? Well, good ones….to say the least. While the movie does  struggle within the standard framework of similar projects, Just Mercy is a  solid legal drama that has plenty of fine cinematic nuances and great  performances from its leads. It’s not the “be all to end all” of legal drama  endeavors, but its still manages to be more of the favorable motion pictures  of these projects.  Just Mercy is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, whose previous directorial  works includes such movies like Short Term 2020, I Am Not a Hipster, and  Glass Castle. Given his past projects (consisting of shorts, documentaries,  and a few theatrical motion pictures), Cretton makes Just Mercy is most  ambitious endeavor, with the director getting the chance to flex his  directorial muscles on a legal drama film, which (like I said above) can  manage to evoke plenty of human emotions within its undertaking. Thankfully,  Cretton is up to the task and never feels overwhelmed with the movie;  approaching (and shaping) the film with respect and a touch of sincerity by  speaking to the humanity within its characters, especially within lead  characters of Stevenson and McMillian. Of course, legal dramas usually do (be  the accused / defendant and his attorney) shine their cinematic lens on these  respective characters, so it’s nothing original. However, Cretton does make  for a compelling drama within the feature; speaking to some great character  drama within its two main lead characters; staging plenty of moments of these  twos individuals that ultimately work, including some of the heated courtroom  sequences.  Like other recent movies (i.e. Brian Banks and The Hate U Give), Cretton  makes Just Mercy have an underlining thematical message of racism and  corruption that continues to play a part in the US….to this day (incredibly  sad, but true). So, of course, the correlation and overall relatively between  the movie’s narrative and today’s world is quite crystal-clear right from the  get-go, but Cretton never gets overzealous / preachy within its context;  allowing the feature to present the subject matter in a timely manner and  doesn’t feel like unnecessary or intentionally a “sign of the times” motif.  Additionally, the movie also highlights the frustration (almost harsh)  injustice of the underprivileged face on a regular basis (most notable those  looking to overturn their cases on death row due to negligence and wrongfully  accused). Naturally, as somewhat expected (yet still palpable), Just Mercy is  a movie about seeking the truth and uncovering corruption in the face of a  broken system and ignorant prejudice, with Cretton never shying away from  some of the ugly truths that Stevenson faced during the film’s story.  Plus, as a side-note, it’s quite admirable for what Bryan Stevenson (the  real-life individual) did for his career, with him as well as others that  have supported him (and the Equal Justice Initiative) over the years and how  he fought for and freed many wrongfully incarcerated individuals that our  justice system has failed (again, the poignancy behind the film’s themes /  message). It’s great to see humanity being shined and showcased to seek the  rights of the wronged and to dispel a flawed system. Thus, whether you like  the movie or not, you simply can not deny that truly meaningful job that  Bryan Stevenson is doing, which Cretton helps demonstrate in Just Mercy. From  the bottom of my heart…. thank you, Mr. Stevenson.  In terms of presentation, Just Mercy is a solidly made feature film. Granted,  the film probably won’t be remembered for its visual background and  theatrical setting nuances or even nominated in various award categories (for  presentation / visual appearance), but the film certainly looks pleasing to  the eye, with the attention of background aspects appropriate to the movie’s  story. Thus, all the usual areas that I mention in this section (i.e.  production design, set decorations, costumes, and cinematography) are all good  and meet the industry standard for legal drama motion pictures. That being  said, the film’s score, which was done by Joel P. West, is quite good and  deliver some emotionally drama pieces in a subtle way that harmonizes with  many of the feature’s scenes.  There are a few problems that I noticed with Just Mercy that, while not  completely derailing, just seem to hold the feature back from reaching its  full creative cinematic potential. Let’s start with the most prevalent point  of criticism (the one that many will criticize about), which is the overall  conventional storytelling of the movie. What do I mean? Well, despite the  strong case that the film delves into a “based on a true story” aspect and  into some pretty wholesome emotional drama, the movie is still structed into  a way that it makes it feel vaguely formulaic to the touch. That’s not to say  that Just Mercy is a generic tale to be told as the film’s narrative is still  quite engaging (with some great acting), but the story being told follows  quite a predictable path from start to finish. Granted, I never really read  Stevenson’s memoir nor read anything about McMillian’s case, but then I still  could easily figure out how the movie was presumably gonna end…. even if the  there were narrative problems / setbacks along the way. Basically, if you’ve  seeing any legal drama endeavor out there, you’ll get that same formulaic  touch with this movie. I kind of wanted see something a little bit different  from the film’s structure, but the movie just ends up following the standard  narrative beats (and progressions) of the genre. That being said, I still  think that this movie is definitely probably one of the better legal dramas  out there.  This also applies to the film’s script, which was penned by Cretton and  Andrew Lanham, which does give plenty of solid entertainment narrative pieces  throughout, but lacks the finesse of breaking the mold of the standard legal  drama. There are also a couple parts of the movie’s script handling where you  can tell that what was true and what fictional. Of course, this is somewhat a  customary point of criticism with cinematic tales taking a certain “poetic  license” when adapting a “based on a true story” narrative, so it’s not super  heavily critical point with me as I expect this to happen. However, there  were a few times I could certainly tell what actually happen and what was a  tad bit fabricated for the movie. Plus, they were certain parts of the  narrative that could’ve easily fleshed out, including what Morrison’s parents  felt (and actually show them) during this whole process. Again, not a big  deal-breaker, but it did take me out of the movie a few times. Lastly, the  film’s script also focuses its light on a supporting character in the movie  and, while this made with well-intention to flesh out the character, the  camera spotlight on this character sort of goes off on a slight tangent  during the feature’s second act. Basically, this storyline could’ve been  removed from Just Mercy and still achieve the same palpability in the  emotional department. It’s almost like the movie needed to chew up some  runtime and the writers to decided to fill up the time with this side-story.  Again, it’s good, but a bit slightly unnecessary.  What does help overlook (and elevate) some of these criticisms is the film’s  cast, which are really good and definitely helps bring these various  characters to life in a theatrical /dramatic way. Leading the charge in Just  Mercy is actor Michael B. Jordan, who plays the film’s central protagonist  role of Bryan Stevenson. Known for his roles in Creed, Fruitvale Station, and  Black Panther, Jordan has certain prove himself to be quite a capable actor,  with the actor rising to stardom over the past few years. This is most  apparent in this movie, with Jordan making a strong characteristically  portrayal as Bryan; showcasing plenty of underlining determination and  compelling humanity in his character as he (as Bryan Stevenson) fights for  the injustice of those who’s voices have been silenced or dismissed because  of the circumstances. It’s definitely a strong character built and Jordan  seems quite capable to task in creating a well-acted on-screen performance of  Bryan. Behind Jordan is actor Jamie Foxx, who plays the other main lead in  the role, Walter McMillian. Foxx, known for his roles in Baby Driver, Django  Unchained, and Ray, has certainly been recognized as a talented actor, with  plenty of credible roles under his belt. His participation in Just Mercy is  another well-acted performance that deserve much praise as its getting (even receiving  an Oscar nod for it), with Foxx portraying Walter with enough remorseful grit  and humility that makes the character quite compelling to watch. Plus, seeing  him and Jordan together in a scene is quite palpable and a joy to watch.  The last of the three marquee main leads of the movie is the character of Eva  Ansley, the director of operations for EJI (i.e. Stevenson’s right-handed  employee / business partner), who is played by actress Brie Larson. Up  against the characters of Stevenson and McMillian, Ansley is the weaker of  the three main lead; presented as supporting player in the movie, which is  perfectly fine as the characters gets the job done (sort of speak) throughout  the film’s narrative. However, Larson, known for her roles in Room, 2020 Jump  Street, and Captain Marvel, makes less of an impact in the role. Her acting  is fine and everything works in her portrayal of Eva, but nothing really  stands in her performance (again, considering Jordan and Foxx’s performances)  and really could’ve been played by another actress and achieved the same  goal.  The rest of the cast, including actor Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk  and O Brother, Where Art Thou) as incarcerated inmate Ralph Meyers, actor  Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Big Short) as legal  attorney Tommy Champan, actress Karan Kendrick (The Hate U Give and Family)  as Minnie McMillan, Walter’s wife, actor C.J. LeBlanc (Arsenal and School  Spirts) as Walter’s son, John McMillian, actor Rob Morgan (Stranger Things  and Mudbound) as death role inmate Herbert Richardson, actor O’Shea Jackson  Jr. (Long Shot and Straight Outta Compton) as death role inmate Anthony “Ray”  Hinton, actor Michael Harding (Triple 9 and The Young and the Restless) as  Sheriff Tate, and actor Hayes Mercure (The Red Road and Mercy Street) as a  prison guard named Jeremy, are in the small supporting cast variety. Of  course, some have bigger roles than others, but all of these players, which  are all acted well, bolster the film’s story within the performances and involvement  in Just Mercy’s narrative.

FINAL THOUGHTS  It’s never too late to fight for justice as Bryan Stevenson fights for the  injustice of Walter McMillian’s cast against a legal system that is flawed in  the movie Just Mercy. Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s latest film takes a  stance on a poignant case; demonstrating the injustice of one (and by  extension those wrongfully incarcerated) and wrapping it up in a compelling  cinematic story. While the movie does struggle within its standard structure  framework (a sort of usual problem with “based on a true story” narrations)  as well as some formulaic beats, the movie still manages to rise above those  challenges (for the most part), especially thanks to Cretton’s direction  (shaping and storytelling) and some great performances all around (most  notable in Jordan and Foxx). Personally, I liked this movie. Sure, it  definitely had its problem, but those didn’t distract me much from thoroughly  enjoying this legal drama feature. Thus, my recommendation for the film is a  solid “recommended”, especially those who liked the cast and poignant  narratives of legality struggles and the injustice of a failed system /  racism. In the end, while the movie isn’t the quintessential legal drama  motion picture and doesn’t push the envelope in cinematic innovation, Just  Mercy still is able to manage to be a compelling drama that’s powerful in its  story, meaningful in its journey, and strong within its statement. Just like  Bryan Stevenson says in the movie….” If we could look at ourselves closely….  we can change this world for the better”. Amen to that!

[billion-heartbeats]

I DON’T FEAR CORONA VIRUS . Dr. N. Prabhudev Former Director Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Bangalore Former Vice Chancellor, Bangalore University Former Chairman, Karnataka State Health Commission, Government of Karnataka The Pandemic does not rattle me: Corona will pass too! Don’t fear death from corona virus. There is more life than Death. Corona also will die. It will die its own death. Maybe it takes a few lives with it before it dies. Fast forward to now, plane trips from one city to another are less than Rs 5000/- Travel is available to the masses. This results in a sharing of germs AND a more diversely responsive, globally intelligent immune system within us. The likelihood of a sweeping Spanish Flu of 1918-1919 is not likely simply because we are being exposed to global organisms regularly due to ubiquitous travel. Corona Virus is as contagious as SARS, yet much less deadly, with a fatality rate of about 2.3 - 3.5 percent. The fatality rate of the seasonal influenza is 1-2%. symptoms are relatively mild in some people, especially those under 30 years of age, the virus is allowed to spread before being identified. It may be similarly fatal to a rate similar to the seasonal flu. We all have innate immunity to support our body and immune system and our community. I don’t mean to sound callous or promoting a false sense of invincibility. Who is affected the worst?  There are people unable to get outside to exercise or are physically compromised and unable to exercise. Those who are old who may have reduced innate immunity. Those who are malnourished may attract the virus easily. People on immunosuppressive medications for chronic inflammatory disease or post any tissue transplant, people on chemotherapy or with severe asthma are vulnerable. Those with a bad hygiene and in a filthy environment are vulnerable! 2019-nCoV had raised our awareness of personal hygiene No hand shaking! Just manage with a Namaste! virus can get directly into our nose and respiratory passages. Wash your hands with ANY kind of soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer. HAND WASHING WORKS BETTER. Cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Then wash your hands. stay home and stay away from others if you are coughing. Take vitamin D – find your extra dose. I use 2000 iu extra daily for about 6-8 months a year. Get a flu shot. Get a BCG vaccine. It helps your innate immunity! Take vitamin C. it enhances your immunity! I realize there are advocates for even higher vitamin D levels. work to 35-45 ng/mL Vitamin D total. Take adequate vitamin A and Zinc and selenium. Take some cod liver oil. Your mucous membranes are your first line of defence against these viruses and cod liver oil helps nourish this defensive region of the lungs, sinuses and throat. Keep zinc lozenges on hand. These prevent viral replication in the mouth and throat. The metallic-tasing zinc creates an antimicrobial arena right where you want it. Each lozenge should be about 10 mg each of zinc – and you can use them 3-4 per day on day. Ensure adequate levels of iron and vitB12. As of now, don’t take the anti-malarial HCQ- Hydroxy quinolone Tabs as a prophylaxis against Corona. As yet there is no proved benefit or protection. Wait for the ICMR trial study on front line COVID19 workers and the seriously sick, to be ready sometime in June. The results will show you the way forward! Be aware that HCQ can precipitate cardiac emergencies which are often fatal. Yes, President Trump said he is taking HCQ tablets for prophylaxis. Let us leave it to his Wisdom! Fear of death Feelings are, by definition, hard to put into words. So, to accurately describe the anxiety now gripping the world is extremely challenging. “Scared” isn’t strong or nuanced enough to capture the kind of fear so many people seem to be feeling. Fear of death is universal! In the case of Coronavirus- a strange disease in a place in China none of us had ever heard of. And then, without much warning, suddenly in a few days the cloud has grown and darkened and fills the whole sky, blotting out the sun. The storm of fear is on us, ready to overwhelm us. Fear comes in many forms. It can be fear for ourselves or for our loved ones. Fear can be big or small, laughable or deadly. Fear of running out of toilet paper or fear of gasping for breath in a hospital corridor. Yes, there has never been anything in our lifetimes like the coronavirus. A global pandemic that we have no medicine is scaring the living daylights out of all of us. Being scared is normal. I’m afraid of illness and death. It’s part of being human. Fear is not wrong. It prepares you for any eventuality! But too much fear is worse and fear of death is a powerful emotion. Irrational and all-encompassing fear of the coronavirus pandemic is racking up its own body count, sometimes faster than the disease. It could fuel a toxic cycle of guilt and recrimination and tell tale suicides. Be cautious, there is a huge difference between caution and fear. Fear will weaken our resolve. It will undermine our health. Depression will sap our energy and make us partially give up. Fear can kill just as fast as any virus. Fear compromises our immunity, and depression renders us inanimate and incapable of fully responding to real threats. Live with Hope The governments of China, the United States, Iran, and Italy and India included, have all badly fumbled their responses. Some of them lying about the outbreak and punishing the whistle-blowers,  delay- in initiating screenings, isolations and lockdowns. We are guilty of waiting for president Trump to get back to USA. At times like these, people naturally want and expect a reasonable, fact-based, and fully transparent government to protect them. There are, indeed, very good reasons to be afraid. Even if the odds of each of us, dying from the coronavirus is low, everyone has friends and family in more vulnerable groups. Worrying about protecting others is one of our best and most natural instincts, and using that fear to take precautions is very important. we as a species have survived far worse calamities like the Black Plague, HIV/AIDS - which, for many years, had a 100 percent fatality rate, SARS, and H1N1 etc. Or consider traffic accidents, which kill about 1.25 million people every year yet seem to have little impact on people’s behaviour. Nine million die of other disease in India every year. We have learnt to take it as a matter of fact! Corona is feared because! No doubt, Coronavirus is a real danger. The Fear is because the coronavirus is new, invisible, sometimes deadly—and still largely unknown. Not only are we far from a vaccine, but we still don’t really know what we’re up against and how lethal the disease actually is! The coronavirus has proved particularly frightening because of the way it both embodies and exploits issues that were already provoking intense anxiety around the world: namely globalization, mass migration, and interdependence. The response should be comprehensive, leveraging the full resources of every nation it has affected. We should heed our health professionals, embrace social distancing. Take the necessary precautions, the virus will pass. What Next? The problem the government and its advisers face is that they cannot make decisions with the benefit of a hindsight - they have to react to emerging evidence. Currently, the lockdown is aimed at suppressing the spread of the virus. Once the peak has passed decisions will have to be made on bringing the society back on its heels! The virus will not simply go away, with a vaccine at least a year away the challenge will be how to manage it. A balance will need to be struck between keeping it at bay and trying to control its spread to avoid a second peak, while at the same time allowing the country to return to normal. Treatment will be found, a vaccine will be produced, markets will rebound, and life will flourish. Our medical professionals will find a vaccine. Our political leaders must ensure we have all the tests we need. And all responsible citizens must practice social distancing so as not to spread the virus, especially to the most vulnerable and elderly among us. But all of this should be done because we love life and protect souls rather than because we fear illness and are panicked by death. Actually, we are fighting two epidemics at once – an epidemic of a challenging new virus that caused illness and death, and an epidemic of fear. The first one constituted a global health crisis, which continues to this day. The second epidemic did significant damage on its own by stoking discrimination against the most affected communities. The stigma is overwhelming! It is another virus which will be conquered!

[owl-eyed-woman]

Attack on Titan Season 2 Episode 36 Analysis Part 1: Why I Love this Show

So we’re finally here. After two mini arcs, several betrayals, buckets of blood and a generous heaping of world-shattering reveals, the climax of Attack on Titan season 2 has finally arrived. This was an episode where I gasped, cried out, prayed for mercy and generally jumped up and down madly in my seat. I was intensely invested in each blood-boiling moment of excitement and tension and I loved all of it.

Now, I’ve spent the past several months analysing AOT and generally rambling on and on about this one anime. With each episode, I’ve come to appreciate the many things that make this show so special for so many people, myself included. It’s not just one thing, obviously: it might be the unique fantasy setting or the gravity-defying, vertigo-inducing action scenes or it could be something else entirely. But as time goes on, I am continually struck by the richness of AOT’s character writing and the ways Isayama has taken what could be clichéd, conventional characters and elevated them far beyond their initially humble and archetypal beginnings.

So even though this is the climax of the season, where the action and thrills are at their highest, AOT still manages to keep the focus on character drama and development, for both minor and main characters. As I rewatched this episode, this was the part that stood out to me; thrilling action is great and all, but this is what makes this episode truly soar.  

In a way, this episode perfectly embodies everything that makes AOT more than just another gory action anime but with naked cannibal giants. Ultimately, this special something goes right back to the way these characters are constructed and how they relate to and engage with AOT’s central conceit as a story.  

If you strip AOT down to its very essence, taking away the violence, the fantasy, the twists, the turns and so on, at its heart, AOT is a story about normal people trying to live within horrific circumstances. Happiness is rare, death is ever-present, and the absolute destruction of the entire species is a very real possibility. Every moment of their lives is informed by a crushing awareness of their utter hopelessness and they carry the baggage of this reality with them every single day.

This alone would give a writer more than enough material to pull out a few compelling characters and novel themes. But that’s just one tiny part of the whole story. Let’s not forget that our main characters are all traumatised 15 year-olds who have somehow found themselves with the fate of the world in their hands. They’re impulsive, they’re hormonal, they’re selfish and they are entirely unequipped to navigate the situation at hand.

In this context, typical teenage hang-ups are displaced onto this horrifying reality and expressed in a grander, almost cataclysmic scale. A typical sense of adolescent powerlessness becomes powerlessness to ensure your own survival. Finding your place in the world becomes finding your place in the fight to save the world. Figuring out the right thing to do becomes figuring out the right thing to do that may ultimately decide the fate of the world. It’s teenage angst writ large in the apocalypse.

It’s the combination of these two disparate concepts for setting and character - apocalyptic-action morality play and teenage coming-of-age drama -  that forms the foundation of AOT as a show.

At its most basic level, this is a perfect recipe for intense moral conundrums and glorious melodrama, which AOT delivers in spades. But this doesn’t give nearly enough credit to Isayama and the specific dynamic he has harnessed so effectively.

Essentially, Isayama has ingeniously combined these two ideas in a way brings out the best in each by making up for what they would lack alone. It’s this weird and wonderful interplay between the cataclysmic, crushingly bleak conflict plaguing this world and the relatively crude emotional landscape of our main characters that truly sets AOT apart.

Take the apocalyptic setting and the way themes of despair and morality are mixed into it. These are extremely heavy ideas that, while fascinating, always run the risk of becoming alienating, pretentious or impersonal. But when we combine this with an adolescent perspective and the emotional earnestness of youth, AOT’s fantastical conflict and heady themes are immediately placed in an emotional reality we can all empathise with. It grounds the subject matter.  

Now, consider the teenage melodrama. Adolescence is a fundamental part of the human experience and a period of growth that contains perhaps the most significant development of our entire lives. But it is also a period of ignorance and inexperience, and the struggles of characters dictated by teenage angst, selfishness, and short-sightedness can easily stray into frustrating, juvenile or cliché territory. However, when this crude emotional state is placed in AOT’s apocalyptic context, the gravity of the ideas at play and the moral complexity of the situation lends weight and nuance to these teenagers’ broad, unrefined emotions and choices. It elevates the subject matter.

This exact dynamic is brilliantly highlighted in this episode. Every significant character beat involves our main characters contending with high-stakes questions of morality, purpose and survival all framed through their intensely personal and flawed perspective.

So to do this episode and the characters themselves justice, I’ve decided to split this analysis up into 5 parts, with each part focusing on a different character/group and their struggle. This way, each character can get the treatment and thought they deserve.  Hopefully, in my next few posts, I’ll be able to touch on the specifics of how these characters reflect this dynamic and generally express their emotional turmoil in the midst of such trying circumstances.  

In the next part, we’ll start looking at the episode in question and the character development therein, starting with Ymir and Christa!

Links: Part 2: Ymir and Christa Part 3: Mikasa’s Co-dependency and Morality Part 4: Armin and Sacrifice Part 5: An Ode to the Ensemble

[visiononion28-blog]

drop cornbread biscuits

This past Saturday, we hosted our second Friendsgiving, stuffing 17 people in an apartment that has no business holding 17 people, but it’s okay, there’s wine for that. Our first one was in 2016; you can read about it here. I took 2017 off because I was a teensy bit busy book touring for Smitten Kitchen Every Day** It was fun to be back.

When having friends over, I like to get everything done that I can in advance and I do this for completely selfish reasons: I want to enjoy my party, too, and I can’t if I’m scrambling around all day and am bone tired by the time food comes out. But last week was abnormally busy and I only got to grocery shopping on Thursday, only to discover that one week before Thanksgiving, it’s like tumbleweeds, the lull before the weekend stampede, all past-prime rosemary and other sadness. I almost cancelled but my husband miraculously found almost everything that evening, and instead I did a very beautiful, highly recommended thing: I nixed a few things on the planned menu and swapped more complicated ones for simpler recipes with shorter ingredient lists but high reward. Here’s the menu, a few details, and completely random tips:

—

* Herb and garlic baked camembert: This is in Smitten Kitchen Every Day and there will never be an SK party without it. In fact, it’s gotten so popular that my friends and family make it now too, so I outsourced it. My SIL brought three, we heated them here. It was so nice to have one less thing to do.

* Bacon-wrapped dates: No recipe, but there are a gazillion on the web. I don’t stuff them (I did it once and it was way too pesky, especially given that they’re good without stuffing) and no dip. We made a ton and they were gone quickly; my daughter called them “bacon candy.”

* Turkey: In 2016, I did a hybrid wet brine from a bunch of sources. It was delicious but not worth the logistical nightmare. And mopping. This year, I made The Judy Bird, a Thanksgiving application of Zuni Cafe’s famous roast chicken. There are many dry brine recipes out there but this was the simplest and why make something more complicated unless you know it’s necessary? Based on the turkey reviews, I don’t think it needs anything else. My changes are that I baste it with a melted 1/2 cup of butter, and then when I’m out of butter, the pan juices, and this year, I put quartered red and yellow onion wedges in the bottom of the pan (tossed with a little oil, salt, and pepper) and friends, they were glorious after getting caramelized and lightly charred in turkey-butter drippings for a few hours. Here’s a logistical tip I don’t think enough recipes make clear: You want to rest your turkey for 20 to 30 minutes before carving it, tented lightly with foil. It’s then going to take 15 minutes to carve (I had a friend holding a YouTube video tutorial in front of me because I’m very bad at it.) This gives you 30 to 45 minutes of empty oven time where you can reheat sides, which is more than most need. I have a single, not big, not great oven and it was all I needed. [I mean, needs being relative, just in case Nancy Meyers is out there and wants to lend me a set kitchen and the life that goes with it next time.]

* Gravy: I really ought to write up a recipe one day, huh, but I use a basic formula of 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup flour, 8 cups chicken or turkey stock, a splash of dry marsala or sherry to deglaze the pan, and a lot of salt and pepper. (You cook this the way you would a bechamel.) When your turkey is done, if you want to separate the drippings, you can replace any of that butter with fat and any of that broth with juices. Or you can skip it! The gravy will have a less nuanced turkey flavor, but it’s still pretty awesome, especially if you have homemade stock. (In a freak bit of luck, I discovered two quarts of this in the freezer from last winter and used them for the gravy, stuffing, and more.) I make the gravy right in the bottom of the roasting pan, stretched across two burners; this way I can scrape up all the good, flavorful bits. If you don’t use the dippings to make gravy, I highly recommend you use them to drizzle over the sliced turkey, to keep it as moist as possible when you serve it.

* Stuffing: I also owe you a recipe for this but although I have two stuffing recipes on this site that I adore, I made a simple challah stuffing instead — although I made it decidedly less simple by making my own challah. Each loaf will make enough bread cubes to easily fill a 9×13-inch dish. I made mine with just celery, onion, and herbs, but you could easily sauté some mushrooms, diced apples, pancetta or crumbled sausage in too. Oh, and definitely make enough to have leftovers; this is important.

* Cranberry sauce: I went old-school with this, with a very early recipe on this site. I wanted something on the sweet side because my friend Ang was bringing a more savory one with tomatillos. Both were delicious.

* Green bean casserole with crispy onions: Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it (homemade). I make the green beans extra firm (just 2 minutes, then into ice water), then the mushroom sauce. Cool them both fully before mixing them. This goes in the fridge overnight. I’ll fry the onions — always make more than you need — and keep those separate until we’re about to eat the warmed casserole.

* Slow-roasted sweet potatoes: Once I realized I’d have no time for the root vegetable gratin I’d originally planned, I added these and 10/10, would recommend because the ingredient list is basically nonexistent. I baked them for the 2 to 3 hours before the turkey goes in, because they need a lower temperature. Broil them to get a good color on the skin. Leave them out while the turkey roasts (they’ll stay decently warm for a couple hours) and rewarm them just before eating. We served these in 2-inch segments, skin and all, and I was texting the recipe to friends demanding it even before going to bed that night. It’s that good.

* Stuffed mushroom casserole: My friend Ang brought this too and it was delicious. (She thinks it needs more cheese, though. I had no complaints!)

I didn’t make any pie at all! (Although my friend Molly brought a mincemeat pie with a cheddar crust and it was wonderful.)

* Bourbon pumpkin cheesecake: I made this in a 9×13-inch pan to cut as bars instead. Same recipe. Same temperature. However, you’ll want 1.5 or even 2x the crust, and it bakes in about 30. Seriously. It’s awesome.

* Perfect Manhattans: Because why not. I made two carafes of them, just scale up the recipe until you run out of an ingredient or carafe space. Friends can pour or shake it over ice; leave cherries or orange peel strips on the side.

* Cranberry crumb bars with mulling spices: This is in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

—

Finally, as always, I have a last minute recipe for people who do things at the last minute. It’s never my intention, but it’s consistently my reality. I made these biscuits the first time over the summer, a season where we eat outside and act like it’s no big deal (waah), for a 4th of July ribs fest along with slaw and corn and all of those summery things. So, they go really well with warm weather. But they’re also a great quickie dinner roll, or even a fun addition to a breakfast-for-dinner night (like we had last night) with scrambled eggs and bacon. They take 5 minutes to put together and 15 to bake and there’s nothing not to love about that. They’re craggy and crisp on the outside and plush within, perfect for splitting open with your fingers, buttering, drizzling with honey, and finishing with flaky salt or nestling into the side of your holiday plate.

Previously

One year ago: Endive Salad with Toasted Breadcrumbs and Walnuts Two years ago: Root Vegetable Gratin and Cheesecake-Marbled Pumpkin Slab Pie Three years ago: Kale and Caramelized Onion Stuffing, Apple Cider Sangria and Date, Feta and Red Cabbage Salad Four years ago: Sticky Toffee Pudding, Pickled Cabbage Salad and Pretzel Parker House Rolls Five years ago: Perfect Uncluttered Chicken Stock, Cranberry Orange Breakfast Buns, Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions, and Apple-Herb Stuffing For All Seasons Six years ago: Granola Crusted Nuts and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette and Gingersnaps Seven years ago: Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Goat Cheese, Creamed Onions with Bacon and Chives Eight years ago: Sweet Corn Spoonbread Nine years ago: Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash and Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin Ten years ago: Mushroom and Barley Pie Eleven years ago: Roasted Stuffed Onions and Simplest Apple Tart [New!] Twelve years ago: Cranberries: Candied, Fruity, and Drunk

And for the other side of the world: Six Months Ago: Pasta Salad with Roasted Carrots and Sunflower Seed Dressing 1.5 Years Ago: Rhubarb Upside-Down Spice Cake and Tall, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes 2.5 Years Ago: Failproof Crepes + A Crepe Party and Crispy Tortellini with Peas and Proscuitto 3.5 Years Ago: Crispy Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic, Not Derby Pie Bars, Liege Waffles, and Mushrooms and Greens with Toast 4.5 Years Ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars and Five Egg Sandwiches

** have you bought it? There’s so much great Thanksgiving and holiday stuff in there, like a chocolate pecan slab pie, a kale caesar that we have out at almost every dinner party, a wild mushroom shepherd’s pie, and a few of my favorite cookie recipes, ever. Between now and December 12th you can order either my first book, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, or Smitten Kitchen Every Day, my second with a custom inscription of your choice from The Strand and it will arrive by Christmas.

Drop Cornbread Biscuits

Servings: 8 to 12

Time: 20 minutes

Source: Land O Lakes

Print

Shown here are 8 large biscuits; you can make 12 smaller ones, just use the short end of the baking time range.

1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup (90 grams) cornmeal

1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (use 1 for a more savory biscuit)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1/2 cup (115 grams) cold butter, in cubes

1 cup (235 ml) cold buttermilk (buttermilk substitutes)

Heat oven to 450°F. I covered my baking sheet with parchment paper but it shouldn’t be strictly necessary, and many shouldn’t go in this hot of an oven, so use your own discretion.

Stir flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bottom of a large bowl with a fork or whisk. Add butter and toss to coat cubes in dry mixture. Use your finger or a pastry blender to break the butter into smaller and smaller bits, until the largest is pea-sized. Add buttermilk and stir once or twice, until a dough comes together.

My very scientific method of dividing the dough evenly is to press it gently into the bottom of your mixing bowl into roughly a circle. Cut into 8 or 12 wedges. Pull out one triangle of dough with a soup spoon for each biscuit, pressing it into a craggy, messy ball, then drop it onto your baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 12 to 14 or 15 minutes; smaller ones should be done at 12, larger ones at 14 or 15. Remove from oven and serve warm. Biscuits are best on the first day. On the second, gently rewarming them will improve the texture.

Source: https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/11/drop-cornbread-biscuits/

[guitareurope-blog]

Ronin Mirari

I have been playing guitar for over 20 years new (a 10-year hiatus not counted). There were a few bands, a few projects, but none were really quite successful.A few years ago I realised I didn’t want to be part of a band no more, it’s just not my thing.I’m having enough trouble already interacting with people in daily life, so being in a band is actually just making things worse.

At some point, ditching all the non-music related clutter proved exactly what I needed to rediscover the sheer joy of playing music, discovering and learning every day.

So there you are, I am what is referred to these days as a “bedroom player” I think (I don’t have a YouTube channel though) and quite frankly, it was the best choice I made in years.

I made this blog because I am guitar-obsessed. I confess. I need guitars, I crave guitars.

Below is a list of all the ones I’ve ever owned, on a 30-year basis. Not bad I’d say (but surely there are many severe cases).

  Session Super Strat

Fender pink Paisley MIJ Telecaster

Ibanez Frank Gambale S series

Hamer Chapparal with Sustainiac

Gretsch 1969 Country Gentleman

Ibanez Joe Satriani

Squire Telecaster

Ibanez Artist

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Hohner Explorer

No brand Strat

Peavey Super Strat

Nik Huber Dolphin

Collings LC-35

TLL Daphne

Hayride Telecaster

VC Telecaster

Maybach Lester

Gibson ES335 CS

Warmoth Strat

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Inspired by ‘55

Valley Arts Custom Pro

Gibson ‘57 JR Custom Shop VOS

  And now, a Ronin Mirari.

  This, my dear friends, was a life-changing experience.

It had such an impact, I felt I just had to write about it. Mainly because I’m just head-over-heels with it, but also because I thought it would be good to have a real-world review out there from a non-pro user, as honest and un-biased as possible.

  I remember looking at the Ronin website a few years back, thinking I’d never come across one I’d be able to buy, they’re quite exclusive and are almost never to be found used.

But then it suddenly happened. A 2018 Mirari in Castilian Red was listed on Reverb. Mint condition. I sold my Gibson JR as quick as I could to free soms funds and took the leap.

  I’ve never looked back since.

  From the first day on I couldn’t put her down.

This is the most inspiring instrument I have ever played. And more importantly, it lasts. Every time when I put the Mirari on my lap, the magic is there. Over and over again.

  I heard people put them off as “hipster guitars”, “overpriced boutique stuff that’s just well marketed” and so on …

I can tell you that every that word on the Ronin website is so accurately true, it is almost frightening. My Ronin lives up to every single-one of their claims. Period.

  And don’t just only take the word of an unknown bedroom player all the way from Belgium, but also from well-seasoned musicians as David Torn, Keith Urban, Jo Mahieu, Eric Melaerts, Dan Phelps, Eddie Martinez, Walter Becker … to name a few. I’m definitely in good company here!

  So, here’s my in-depth review.

  The first thing you notice when picking up a Mirari, is the weight, or better,  the lack of it.

It is ridiculously light.

Perfectly balanced and curved, it is a joy to play during long sessions, either standing or sitting.

Acoustically, there is a lot going on here, even before plugging in, playing this guitar reveals spectacular sonic qualities. Notes and chords ring and chime, there is plenty of definition and a wide range of dynamics at your fingertips.

I sometimes refer to complex wines as “3D”, in this case this description is equally appropriate.

It truly is a beautiful marriage, the redwood body and the mahogany neck, resonance is almost felt before heard.

  Plugging in, all of the above gets amplified and multiplied.

Ronin makes their own pickups, mine has two Foilbuckers, standard wind.

You immediately notice how incredibly dynamic these are. They respond to every nuance in your touch. Hence Dan Phelps’ observation about them:

  “Ronin guitars sound big, resonant, and nuanced. Between the old redwood and the foilbuckers, the sheer amount of sonic information coming out of my Mirari can be overwhelming. What I love about that is how much expressive possibility is available to me, literally at my finger tips. ” Dan Phelps

  Compared to a Warmoth Strat I own, outfitted with an Amber Spirit of ‘59, (a relatively low output, vintage style HB) at the bridge, these pickups are even less hot. And ultimately this makes sense. Here’s what Marc Cuthbertson has to say about this, I couldn’t put it any better, so I just quote:

  "Ronin have some very detailed pickups, even in their higher gain models. But I've never played a guitar where I thought, "this pickup isn't LOUD enough." I truly do not understand that concern. Guitars are for tone. Pedals and amps are for gain (and tone, of course). Most people do it backwards and that's partly why most people sound like most people.

  Gain is the most abundant resource in the universe. You can have it easily and cheaply anywhere in your signal chain. I do not understand why people insist on getting it from the guitar. The guitar is the place to set your EQ curve. More often than not, when you coax gain out of the guitar, you do so at the cost of DATA...tonal details. Those 1's and 0's that carry the info about exactly how you picked or didn't pick that last note? Those are mostly in the highs, and those are the frequencies that you start sacrificing when you just HAVE to make the whole thing LOUDER by the time it even hits the first cable. There's no way to get that data back; it just wasn't transmitted in the first place. But if you come off the guitar with the data in tact, even if you darken at a pedal or the amp, tons of that data perseveres through that later darkening."  - Mark Cuthbertson

  When playing a Foilbucker for the first time, you most likely will have to adjust some amp/pedal settings. I found this actually very rewarding. Every small tweak translates into a huge difference in tone, due to the sensitivity and responsiveness of these pickups.

My standard go-to hi gain fuzz is a Catalinbread Antichton. Capable of producing huge amounts of sonic mayhem, pinpoint articulation is always there, even with tons of gain and while playing complex voicings.

The foilbuckers react to the slightest of touch, making them especially suited for fingerstyle techniques and players with a soft touch.

  Construction is flawless as you may expect (and should) from instruments in this league. The neck profile, a traditional C on my Mirari, suits me perfectly, you just play and forget about it, which is a very good sign. It is extremely comfortabe but by no means a thin shred-affair.

Frets are Stew-mac 154, a high-ish medium wire. Paired with a 12” radius, this lends to a more contemporaty feel.

There is also a soft-V to C neck option for those wanting a more vintage style feel if desired.

Laquer is nitro and is executed flawlessly. The Castilian Red is deep and warm and has a beautiful solidness to it.

The neck is finished transparant, showing off the georgeous mahogany grain.

  Hardware-wise it doesn’t get any better than this. Hipshot open-geared tuners and a Mannmade tremolo provide ultra-stable tuning, even when dive-bombing in the best of Van Halen manners.

  I won’t go further explaning how this guitar sounds and plays, you’ll just have to discover it for yourself. By now I’ve already told you the most important things. Dynamics, responsiveness and unique tone are what it’s all about.

  Jo Mahieu once said to me, “A Ronin isn’t for everyone”, and I now fully understand what he meant by that. The Mirari is a very confronting instrument, forcing you to play very consciously to reveal all the nuances she has in her. And when you do, she really gives back what you put in.

  Sorry Jo, Ronin suits me just fine, she’ll have to stay :-)

  Ronin Mirari

Specifications:

Body: Master Grade Reclaimed Old Growth Redwood

Neck: Honduran Mahogany

Heel: Mannmade® 4 Bolt Heel Plate

Frets: 22 Stewmac 154

Scale Length: 25.5”

Truss Rod: Single Action

Radius: 9.5”, 10” or “7.25-9”

Back Contour: C or Soft V .89 - .94

Nut Width: Approx 1” 11/16ths

Nut Material: Unbleached Bone

Inlay: Dots

Finish: 100% Un-Catalyzed Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Pickguard: Celluloid Nitrate Multi-ply

Hand Made Bone Nut

Weight: 6.5 - 7.0 lbs

Hardware

Mannmade® 2 Pin Full Size Steel Block Tremolo

Hipshot® Open Gear Tuning Machines

Electronics:

NOS Vintage .047uf 200V Tone Cap

Treble Bleed Cap + Resistor

CTS 250k Pots

Switch Craft® Switches

  Pickups:

2x Ronin Foilbucker Standard Wind Set

2x Ronin Foilbucker HOT Set

Controls:

1x Vol 2x Tone + 3 Way Switch

  Options:

Resonator Switch

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

VAR teething problems continue in FA Cup; Spurs face Rochdale replay

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/var-teething-problems-continue-in-fa-cup-spurs-face-rochdale-replay/

VAR teething problems continue in FA Cup; Spurs face Rochdale replay

2:48 AM GMT

Nick MillerESPN FC

Rounding up the best and worst of the FA Cup action over the weekend.

Goal of the weekend

Salomon Rondon is one of those players who, when you watch them play, look like they should be pretty good, even if all available evidence tells us that in reality they are not. But players like that are capable of producing isolated moments of brilliance — like the one we saw Saturday against Southampton, when Rondon did a passable impersonation of Robin van Persie in launching himself into the air and battering a left-footed volley into the net.

Expectations of the weekend

The juxtaposition was obvious. Two 2-2 draws in a week, one against Juventus in the Champions League and one against Rochdale in the FA Cup. It provides a reductive but nonetheless at least partly true summary of Tottenham’s season: big performances in big games, combined with relative struggles against weaker opposition.

It does suggest a slight failure to learn, a weakness in Tottenham’s collective psychology, able to get up for the multiple Serie A champions but not for the team bottom of League One. But more than that, it further emphasises what an incredibly difficult thing it is, without a squad stuffed with absolutely elite players, to cope with the mental demands of four high-level competitions.

Tottenham are expected to finish in the top four, make an impression on the Champions League, develop young players and win a trophy to prove their progress. It’s not impossible but it’s close, and perhaps they shouldn’t be criticised too harshly for not reaching those levels yet.

Moment of the weekend

Steve Davies’ career history looks like a string of “almost” moves. He joined Derby the summer after they were in the Premier League, then signed for Blackpool two seasons on from their brief stint in the top flight.

He is, with the greatest of respect, the very model of a journeyman Football League striker, his time in the game made up of moderately successful spells in the Championship and League One.

But that’s why this is such a glorious sport, because when, with 94 minutes on the clock, the Rochdale centre-forward chested down a cross and swept the ball into the bottom corner in one free and easy motion, you could have easily mistaken him for Harry Kane.

play

1:29

ESPN FC’s Craig Burley reacts to the FA Cup quarterfinal draw and predicts how Man United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City will fare.

Weak selection of the weekend

Whether or not the incident involving a McDonald’s, a bucket of booze and a taxi in Spain really is a symbol of West Brom’s continuing decay under Alan Pardew, the way he managed their FA Cup defeat to Southampton emphasised the manager’s weakness.

Jonny Evans and Gareth Barry, two of the men who apologised for their part in the shenanigans, were selected for the game, despite their transgressions. It’s not like Pardew was forced into picking the pair by a lack of options: Evans played left-back and Barry was in midfield, but a pair of perfectly serviceable alternatives — Chris Brunt and Claudio Yacob were on the bench.

Pardew picked Evans and Barry because they’re two of his better players, and given the mess he has helped to create at the Hawthorns he can’t afford not to select them. If he had any authority in the West Brom dressing room, or had actually improved results since arriving, he would have surely left out the two senior players who acted like irresponsible teenagers.

Summary of the weekend

Some of the problems with VAR were highlighted herein a few weeks ago, and you’ll hear, read and see many more takes — hot, cold or lukewarm — every time a new flaw in the still developing system is exposed.

But among the nuances of the debate, there is something more fundamental here, and it was summed up by by David Wagner, the Huddersfield manager who we must remember benefitted from VAR this weekend.

“I don’t like it, I never have,” Wagner said. “Maybe I’m too traditional, but it kills the emotion in the stadium, and for me that’s a big part of football’s attraction.”

First impression of the weekend

In the Premier League this season, Brighton have done reasonably well. They’re 14th, only two points above the bottom three, but it’s about where you would expect a side who haven’t been in the top division for a couple of generations to be.

Their general performances have broadly been pretty good, Chris Hughton finding an element of solidity and smartly rotating his attacking players to keep them relatively fresh. But they have lacked a real goal scorer: Glenn Murray has eight, which is a very respectable total, but he is sluggish and often profligate.

Welcome then, Jurgen Locadia, the January signing from PSV who scored on his debut at the weekend. Sure, it was only against Coventry, but he looked dynamic, purposeful and decisive: the finish for his goal was terrific, swept into the corner in a manner that would have been impressive whoever the opponent. If he turns out to be as good as he looked in this game, at £14 million Brighton may have an absolute bargain.

Redemption of the weekend

The problem wasn’t so much Riyad Mahrez’s desire to play for Manchester City, more how he expressed his frustration at not being allowed to. Bridges looked burned at Leicester, but he returned to the starting XI for their tie against Sheffield United, set up Jamie Vardy’s goal and departed to a standing ovation.

Leicester are really the only club remaining who can give the FA Cup their full attention: everyone else has bigger — or at least other — fish to fry. Drawing Chelsea isn’t ideal, but this tournament must be their main focus from this point. And if he does insist on leaving, what better way for Mahrez to actually bow out than at Wembley in May.