#anyway if I was the evil big brother in 1984 this would be the founding logic I would use

[exciting]

I actively try to remember as little as possible from my neuroscience degree but one thing I DO remember is that research has suggested that your brain puts itself through a rinse cycle each night while you sleep to help with functioning or something idk but I guess what I’m saying is that in a literal sense, brain washing is actually a positive and necessary thing actually

[jazz-my-soul]

Hordak and Horde prime

You know i have been wondering about Horde prime and Hordak.

I was really amazed how Horde prime turned out to be. He is manipulative, menacing, his voice is slik and yet his words cut's so deep, while Hordak is hot tempered, he is very easy to read emotionaly, he lacks leadership and he mostly tries to mimic Horde prime when there are people near his presence.

However even tho Hordak has this traits so does Horde prime, i mean as they say "apple does not fall far from the tree".

Soon as things don't go as planned, Horde prime show's his "aggressive" side as "hot tempered".

Which i honestly loved to see. As much as i like clam villain's, it is pretty much clear that he isn't. Hordak is his "clone", the "defection" is more like am excuse when pretty much "Horde prime" is defective himself since he does not look similar to his clones at all.

Of course clones not looking similar to him is probably him "not wanting" to have anybody of his clones to have his advantages, i mean i think most of people noticed how suspicious it that he can make the EXACTLY same clones of himself but he only uses them when his vessel is about to fail him. He could have made his clones, exactly same as him but he won't because he is also paranoid like Hordak was in season 1, he dosen't like when he dosen't know what (his) or people in general think, what they are doing behind his back.

Also there are 2 more things

1. He as Hordak isn't exactly capable of fighting

2. He NEVER tries to fight She-ra in arm to arm combact. He never leaves his own room, since he uses his own clones who are in battefield as his own eys of sight. Only one time when he left his spaceship was to visit Hordak's outpost BUT even then he wasn't alone. He was with chipped Scorpia, which does say lot of things about him.

While he mocks others for showing emotions, he is also very easy to read just as Hordak is.

Horde prime is only confident when he is in his own ship, in his own sight of vision but when he isn't then we get to see his real side.

Paranoid, hot tempered, aggressive

Noelle said herself that she had inspiration from cultists, Horde prime's ship (inside of it) looks like space chruch (it looks amazing) but it does ring a bell. Honestly when i first seen Horde prime and his ideology, my first thought was "Was horde prime maybe inspired by book named 1984" or as second name of it "Big brother watches over you".

I found the scene where he was "impuring" Hordak interesting and kinda chilling when he was similing and saying "I'm sorry brother that you must feel this pain" while clones were repeating "Cast out the shadow's, bring universe to prime's light" which i loved (but tbh moment was a bit ruined when they started to cheering after the thing was done, i think as soon after Hordak step out of the of the pool, clones should just have stop saying anything and just stand up doing nothing but looking at Catra). But that just my nitpick really.

And now for last topic is more of how did exactly Horde prime came to be?

My first theory is that he was a experiment made my first ones, since that would kind of explain why he hates them, why he had tehnology similar as their's and how he even got to cloning. Because his origin needs to start from somewhere, in order to clone himself he needed tehnology and only people who had such powerful thenology at the time were first ones but that is just my theory.

Still i do wonder even tho Horde prime is well how he is, he see himself as a god, he see himself as justice and "destroyer of shadow's and evil" (per se) how his clones (wrong hordak and hordak) learned howto love?. As much as i like hordak and wrong hordak, it still does somewhat show that he would be capable of such feelings if he was provided to it (before). I'm not defending him or anything nor i'm trying to pity him but i just wonder about his origin. I don't think that all villain's should have sad origins but they are still his clones in end of the day or maybe he made them that way so that they are not in anyway's perfect as he is.

(1. Hordak realising his "love" for Entrapta)

(2. Is more of Hordak prime showing his insercuritys, fear and lack of understanding with slight of pressure)

(3. Hordak crying for a loss of a loved one)

Of course reason why i showed the second pic is well because Hordak prime is also a hypocrite as well. He is very much as i mentioned very easy to read emotionaly, almost easy as Hordak and Catra.

Hordak killing Horde prime was really satisfying

Entrapta to Hordak was his first friend and dare i say it a love interest, somebody who was easy and hard to speak to. Somebody who tried to communicate with him and seen him as an equal. Of course at first, he tried to use his apperance to scare her off or his "shouting" but as that didn't work he understood that he needs her for his plans, but slowly and surely he really needed her to be with him.

The Crystal given to him from her was his first gift and even when he thought that she left him, even then he held onto it.

Of course i still do think that Hordak needs to be in kind of punisment for his actions but if Entrapta stays with him, i think that his future looks faithful or at least something worth living for.

[aimmakesmaniacs]

The Other Five Shelves

All the Novels on My Bookcase

I used to read, like, ten books a day (okay, not really, but I read a fxck ton). I would come home from the library with a tote bag full of chapter books that I’d read all the way through before that little due date came up. And I’d try almost anything, as long as it was fiction!

These days, I’m much pickier. And I certainly don’t have as much time as I once did.

There was a time I thought I’d have a huge library of my very own chapter books, as thick as they could be!

I have four fxckin’ shelves of solid fiction that I will probably stick with ‘til the end of my days. The other is full of photo albums my grandmother made each year for me.

I dunno. As I got older, what I enjoyed in stories changed drastically. Not that it’s a bad thing, it just makes it harder for me to find stuff that I’ll actually like.

The genres I stick to the most are Science Fiction and Mystery. And the Classics have intrigued me, too! Everything else seems to have become repetitive or boring to me. But, hey, if there’s a really good book out there, don’t hesitate to recommend it to me! I will certainly give it a try.

Anyway, lemme show you each shelf.

(Photo albums by my grandmother)

(Left to Right: Republic, The Purgatorio, The Paradiso, The Constitution of the United States of America and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers, H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Collection, The Complete Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Tales of Norse Mythology, Stephen King: Three Novels, Great Horror Stories, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Interpretation of Dreams, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories, The Scarlet Letter, Crime and Punishment, The House of the Dead and Poor Folk, Notes from Underground, The Double and Other Stories, Letters from the Earth, The Essential Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Inferno, The Brothers Karamazov, The Possessed, The Idiot)

(Left to Right: Bone, From Holmes to Sherlock, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, The Great Detective, Dust and Shadow, Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences, The Dark Fantastic, The Sherlock Holmes Handbook, Old Path White Clouds, The Murder of Mary Russell, Moriarty, Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, The Big Four, Death in the Clouds, Evil Under the Sun, The Clocks, Taken at the Flood, Murder on the Orient Express, The A.B.C Murders, And Then There Were None, The Pale Horse, Cat Among the Pigeons, The Secrets of Eastcliff-By-The-Sea, Jackaby, Beastly Bones, Ghostly Echoes, The Girl from the Sea, Hooky, Displacement, Ichiro, Teen Titans: Beast Boy)

(Left to Right: The Target Storybook, The Four Agreements, Zeno and the Tortoise, 30-Second Philosophies, 30-Second Psychology, The Time Traveler’s Almanac, The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, What’s a Cook to Do?, Foundation Trilogy, Dune, 1984, I, Robot, If the Walls Could Speak, The Ninja Defense, The Imaginary Corpse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Doctor Sleep, Apt Pupil, The Body, The Mist, Pet Sematary, The Alienist, In a Dark, Dark Wood, Bird Box, The Da Vinci Code, Neverwhere, American Gods, Good Omens, The Martian Chronicles)

(Left to Right: Neuromancer, Japanese Legends and Folklore, The Setting Sun, No Longer Human, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, Starting Point, Turning Point, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, Closed Casket, The Fifth Heart, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings)

Sorry that these shelves are not as organized as my manga ones, they come in all different shapes and sizes. I’m hoping to organize these soon.

Since these are the few novels I actually have, I’ve read most of them over and over. They have been properly loved! If you have any questions or remarks on any of these books, I will be happy to hear them! I’d love to talk about plots and characters with someone. Suggestions are more than welcome, as well!

I do have one more shelf left to show you guys, so I’ll post about it soon. For now, let’s get back to the manga part!

[shieldofrohan]

Since you're my fount of hope in these dark days, I would love to hear your speculation on Bran. Will he lose himself to become the 3ER? Or will he still be Bran? How would he be perceived by the Westerosi? Are they in awe of him? Or will they be suspicious of his abilities? Will Bran want to be king? Or just agrees to serve the people? Why would he choose Tyrion as hand? Or was that just fan service? You don't need to answer all of those, I'd just love any of your thoughts on his endgame!

Hello again @esther-dot .Thanks for your ask. I’m glad that you found some hope in my ramblings. When it comes to the fiction, I turn out to be an optimist I guess. And tbh I refuse to believe that the ending of Asioaf will be nihilistic so I’m trying to make sense with everything we got. 

To be fair... I’m not the best person to talk about Bran or his journey and arc. I love that sweet boy but I’m definitely not a Bran expert. But I’ll share my thoughts anyway.. :)

- Will he lose himself to become the 3EC? Or will he still be Bran? 

Maybe at first, a little. I always consider the journeys of Stark kids as parallels. Because even GRRM makes a point about those kids:

“The kids [Sansa, Arya, and Bran] are a huge part of the story, in many ways the central part of the story.’’ -GRRM

Sansa loses herself to be Alayne in Vale, Arya becomes No One slowly. But these are their masks that they have to put on to survive. These masks are their lessons and in the future these lessons will help them. But in the end we know that Sansa and Arya will return to their own selves. That’s why I believe that Bran will be Bran in the end. But this doesn’t mean that those masks will leave them for good. No. These masks will become parts of them but not entirely them. So I’m expecting a less robotic Bran with 3EC’s powers. But we still don’t know the basics of his powers very well. Maybe they will be less effective when he’ll end up in the South. 

- How would he be perceived by the Westerosi? Are they in awe of him? Or will they be suspicious of his abilities?

Asoiaf is a poitical fantasy series. Westeros is a political place. So I can’t imagine the people/lords of Westeros rooting for a leader with such abilities. Which lord would want a king who can see what’s happening in his castle? This is 1984 Westeros Edition, if you ask me... 

Yes we -as readers- might know that Bran is a good kid and he would never use his powers for evil etc. But why would the lords of Westeros put their faith in him? My only guess is that Bran will save Westeros from a great deal and people/lords of Westeros will cheer for him. But still Frodo saved Middle-Earth but they didn’t choose him as a King. Give Bran some medal and be done with it. 

The show made him a great candidate for a King because he can’t have kids so when he dies they will choose a new King. This is absurd. This will only cause more games between kingdoms, therefore more wars. Westeros suffered enough from these games and wars and what they need now is “stability”. They need to know who will come after Bran so they can sleep in peace at nights. 

So why Bran? 

- Will Bran want to be king? Or just agrees to serve the people? 

Bran is a little boy and he is a Stark. I can’t imagine him being thrilled with becoming a southern King. He will definitely agree to this to serve Westeros. I tried to explain why King Bran doesn’t make sense politically. The boy has no claim after all. Why him and not Podrick? My guess is: they will need Bran’s abilities. But a KING with such abilities sounds dystopic. Because Kings have powers over the states/kingdoms etc. BUT having a SYMBOLIC LEADER with such powers might not be bad. 

My head canon is: Bran will be a higher authority like United Nations. 

These kind of authorities can only exist as long as the countries show their consent and agreement. UN’s main purpose is keeping the peace between countries. This is how I imagine Bran’s reign will be. Bran will be a figure to keep the peace in Westeros after all those wars. Westeros won’t see him as another King but they will seek his guidance to keep the relations between kingdoms smooth. They will bring their disputes to him and he will serve them justice and solutions because he will know all the facts... But Bran himself will have no agenda. He will serve the 6 Kingdoms not the other way around. (Btw I kind of believe that there will no 6Kingdoms and with Bran’s guidance they will declare their own independence one by one, so Bran will guide them during this time of separation. Oh la la... let’s go back to the Westeros before the Targaryens :) ) 

I realize that my HC has flaws but still it is better than having a BIG BROTHER  WHO IS WATCHING YOU. 

My other HC for having Bran as a King instead of Jon Snow -who has at least a little claim over Iron Throne (I believe that Targaryens have no longer claim but still without a Baratheon at least Jon has some claim)- is inspired by this meta: https://butterflies-dragons.tumblr.com/post/151643925209/were-all-just-songs-in-the-end-if-we-are-lucky .

@butterflies-dragons wrote a lovely Jonsa meta about Jenny and Duncan. Duncan refuses the crown to be with his love. We can be sure of that Sansa will never want to come back to King’s Landing or leaving Winterfell again. So I’m imagining a Jon who refuses the crown and leaves it to his brother/cousin so he can be with her in the North. Also look at this:

Aemon chose to go to the Wall and join the Night's Watch for fear that he might be used in a plot to usurp his brother, King Aegon V Targaryen. The king provided Aemon with an "honor guard" (emptying the dungeons) to take the vows of the Watch with him. Among them were Brynden Rivers, who later went on to become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and many of the Raven's Teeth. Aegon's friend, Ser Duncan the Tall, accompanied the new recruits aboard the Golden Dragon on the way to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.[18][19]

The names are very interesting. (Aemon/Jon, Duncan/Jon, Brynden aka 3EC/Bran) There were some theories about Jon’s Targaryen name being Aemon too btw. But just not that. Jon’s own story is very similar to Aemon too. So in my HC Jon is Aemon and Duncan for the sake of Bran and Sansa. 

I’m not going to talk about Jonsa anymore in this HC because your ask was not about them. :) 

So I tried to come up with a way to make King Bran more logical. But still I’m not very satisfied and we desperately need the books for the Bran’s ending. 

- Why would he choose Tyrion as hand? Or was that just fan service? 

I DON’T KNOW!!! 

Hand Tyrion makes zeros sense and I’m going to lose my f*cking mind. I mean what makes Tyrion so special? Is he the only one who can manage to be Hand?? My only guess is that Tyrion will be very helpful against the Dragons and Dany. That’s it. 

I talked about my The Final Battle in Trident headcanon before. Maybe after the fall of King’s Landing Tyrion will offer his help to North in this final battle and he will be very helpful therefore he will be pardoned. He won’t be executed or exiled but he will be forgotten in time. His name will have no place in the history. And this will be his punishment. 

Tyrion is a main character and Grrm said that main characters’ ending won’t be very different. So I can’t call his ending fan service. But still the plot in the books will be very different. And Grrm loves that f*cker so I’m ready for that kind of a ending for Tyrion. I HATE EVERYTHING! 

Well... That’s all I can say about your questions. Like I said I’m still not sure about Bran and Tyrion’s arcs and endings. I’m totally not a Bran or Tyrion expert. So I hope my answer was not very stupid or disappointing. 

Thanks again for your ask. Let me know your thoughts. :) 

[gracewithducks]

Not Easily Broken (Ecclesiastes 3:16, 4:1, 9-12)

A note: This is an unpolished draft of the sermon I intended to preach on July 29, 2018. However, I was called away due to a family emergency; I sent the message to a colleague who had agreed to care for my congregation in my absence. Though not as pulled together as I’d like it to be, I still am sharing my reflections on community and relationship in Ecclesiastes, as they are important in our conversations about wisdom and how we might live faithfully – together.

  I’ve recently gotten back into an old hobby of mine: thanks to my daughters, I’ve rediscovered the joy of origami. Actually, I think I had a book growing up called “The Joy of Origami.” For those of you who may be a bit rusty on your Japanese papercraft, “origami” is an art form where you take a single square of paper and fold it into something new: a kite, a dog, an elephant, a peace crane – really, the possibilities are endless. I will say that treasure boxes, dragons, and t-rexes are very popular at the Desotell house right now.

 I’m enjoying getting back into origami, and watching my daughters fall in love with the magic of paper folding, too – although as Michaela will tell you, it’s an art form that takes precision and patience, and it’s very common to hear us remind each other, when we’re getting frustrated, that “it’s just paper.” Because like anything else, there is a learning curve; like just about anything else, there are easy projects – and there are harder ones.

 And there are times, when you’ve started out folding a 6 inch square of paper, and you’re on step 52, there are times when it just seems impossible to fold the paper any more.

 When I was growing up, I remember being told that it’s impossible to fold a piece of paper more than seven times – well, to fold it in half, anyway. The reason is because the paper gets smaller, and thicker, with each fold: at the beginning you’re folding a single layer of paper, no problem, but by the time you’ve fold it seven times, you’re now trying to fold sixty-four layers of paper in half.

 Try it sometimes. It’s exactly as difficult as you’d think. I try to remember that, when I’m fighting with that little origami square.

 I don’t know if you remember MythBusters – it was a great show on the Discovery Channel, where they would test popular myths, like the one about folding a piece of paper more than seven times. What they found is, when you start with a plain piece of paper, yeah, seven folds is about all you can get. But the MythBusters wanted to think bigger: so they got themselves a piece of paper the size of a football field.

 The first fold was tricky, because a piece of paper the size of a football field, with even a slight breeze, pretty much turns into a gigantic paper sail. As they folded, though, the paper got thicker, heavier, and smaller – until finally the team achieved the elusive and mythical eighth fold.

 They didn’t stop there; they brought in a steamroller and a forklift, and managed – with a lot of pressure and a lot of patience – to fold the paper in half a ninth time, and a tenth, and finally, eleven times.[1]

 The theory goes, then, if you have a big enough piece of paper, and enough patience and pressure, you can fold that paper as many times as you want. Although, if you folded your paper in half 103 times, it would end up 93 billion light-years across… larger than the observable universe.

 A single sheet of paper, by itself, is a weak and fragile thing. But put a few layers or sheets of paper together, and it’s just about impossible to tear – and you’ll need a steamroller to convince it to bend.

 Or, as Ecclesiastes puts it, “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”

 Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is, in many ways, very similar to 1 Corinthians 13: chances are, if you’ve heard it before, you’ve heard it at a wedding. After all, the message seems appropriate for a wedding ceremony:

 “Two are better than one…

For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to the one who is alone and falls down and has no one to help.

Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?

Though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one.

A threefold cord is not easily broken.”

 It’s a beautiful bit of imagery… and though we don’t often have to worry about huddling for warmth at night or withstanding bandits alongside the road, it’s still a beautiful thing to celebrate two people who are committing to be there for one another, to help one another, to lift each other up, to stand alongside one another when the trials come.

 It’s a beautiful reading for a wedding ceremony – except, much like Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians, it’s not about marriage at all. “Love is patient, love is kind; love doesn’t keep score, but forgives, and delights in the truth” – that was Paul’s advice for how we all should live together. And here in Ecclesiastes, the Teacher is lifting up the value of any trusted relationship – of a friend, a sibling, a parent, a neighbor, or yes, a spouse – someone who can be trusted, someone who can be counted on, someone who will be with you through thick and thin, who will lift you when you’re struggling and who counts on you to do the same.

 There is value in having an ally. There is strength that comes from knowing that you are not alone.

 It’s why infants long to be held, and why we all instinctively look for a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold during the hard times. It’s why we share our lives, why we pray for one another, why we keep caring even when we’re powerless to make it better: because even that caring, matters. Sometimes, when we can’t hold on any more – someone else holds on to us, they hold on for us, and that’s the thread that gets us through.

 Relationship, support – dare I say love – is a powerful thing. It’s why doctors expect better outcomes for patients with a strong support system. It’s why people who have close relationships, and people who are a part of a community – whether it’s a book club, basketball team, or bible study – it’s why those people tend to be happier and healthier than their counterparts. It’s why even having a pet for companionship can give you strength and a reason to get through the day. And it’s why even a smile or a kind word from a stranger, even that small recognition, that small kindness, sometimes can be the thing that gives you hope and buoys you up and helps you make it through.

 There is value in having an ally, in knowing that you are not alone.

 But I don’t want us to forget that this beautiful and powerful depiction of strength in relationship - not only is it not about marriage, but it’s actually embedded in a thread of reflection on the reality of injustice in the world.

 The Teacher observes, “I saw… that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well… Again, I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. [Behold], the tears of the oppressed – with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power – with no one to comfort them.”

 The oppressed cry out, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have power – but they, too, are isolated and alone.

 This is, perhaps, one of the roots of evil in the world: we have cut ourselves off from one another; we have dedicated our lives to finding the power that comes with money or position, and we have forgotten the power that comes in relationship. We have forgotten what matters most; we have forgotten that – we are not, in fact, in competition for limited resources, but we belong to one another, and there is so much power when we come together as one.

 I recently reread George Orwell’s novel 1984. Orwell paints a world where power is maintained through a constant campaign of hatred: the elite few have discovered that, if they can stir up and maintain in the masses of people a hatred of a common enemy, then those people will never turn against or question those few in power. And that power is ultimate, power so supreme that history is rewritten, that people can be erased, that the truth can be manipulated and changed – and if Big Brother tells you that today, two and two make five, you nod and say, of course, it has always been so.

 It’s a scary novel to revisit, especially in these days of “fake news” where contradictions and falsehoods abound. In the world of 1984, an elite 2% hold all the power and make all the decisions, while the common people, the vast majority of the nation, 85% of the people – the common people live and die with no money, no voice, no hope. The hero looks around, in one of his moments of clarity, and realizes: everything could change – the only way everything could chance – is if the common people come together, if they organize, if they recognize their numbers and find their strength.

 But they never do. They are so blinded by the propaganda, blinded by hatred, blinded by their own suffering and fear. And so it is that change doesn’t come.

 There is power when we realize we belong to one another. There is strength in numbers. But coming together, so often, is easier said than done.

 Back in the 1950s, a psychologist named Solomon Asch did a series of experiments testing this phenomenon. Asch asked a group of individuals, strangers, to look at a line, and then to tell him which of three other lines was the same length as the first. It was supposedly a test of “perception,” and the answers were painfully obvious.

 But the thing is, everybody but one person in each group were actors. And after a few rounds, those actors were all instructed to give the wrong answer – the same wrong answer, over and over again. And the question was, would the one other person, the one real subject in the study, would they have the courage to go against the tide and give the obvious right answer, even when no one else did.

 Almost 4 times out of 10, people changed their answers; though they could clearly see the truth, they chose to easiest route, the less uncomfortable path of conformity, and they gave the same answer as everyone else – even knowing that it was obviously wrong. And across several rounds, ¾ of the participants gave at least one answer they knew to be wrong.

 And what’s especially curious is that, afterwards, many of those participants were convinced that the group had given the right answer. They allowed their own memory, their own perception, to be distorted by the pressure of the people around them.[2]

 It’s hard to speak the truth, when you’re the only one. Even in a small group of strangers, behind closed doors, with people you will never see again, it’s hard to speak up, and it’s hard to stand out.

 And it’s terrifying, isn’t it? Because this experiment has been repeated, in a variety of forms, over the decades – and the results have stayed the same. This, friends, is how history gets rewritten, how fake news becomes the gospel truth. This is how prejudice and injustice continue, even among people who are otherwise honest and educated and kind. Community pressure is a powerful thing, and it’s hard to stand up for what’s right when you have to stand alone.

 But the researchers have also found something encouraging. If there is just one other person in the room who is willing to go against the flow, just one other person who speaks up and tells the truth – then participants will almost always answer correctly. Let me say that again: the presence of just one other person who is willing to say what you yourself believe is right, even if that person is a stranger, even if that person is outnumbered by lies – the presence of just one other truthteller makes it easier for us to also stay true.

 And so we come back again to the words of Ecclesiastes:

 “Two are better than one… if they fall, one will lift the other up… And though one might prevail against one, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not easily broken.”

 When we are facing up to falsehoods, when we are confronting injustice, when we are standing against prejudice and hatred, there is power in standing together. There is strength in knowing that we are not alone.

 It’s why God set out to create a family, to establish a people, that together they might be a blessing. It’s why Jesus didn’t just call individuals; he created a community. And it’s why we still need each other, if we are going to bless and change the world today.

 A single sheet of paper is easily bent and torn. But put a few sheets together, and it takes a steamroller to get them to turn. May we never underestimate the strength that we have, when we remember  that we belong to one another. May we never forget that, together, we have the strength to withstand the pressures around us – and in turn, together, we can make a better world.

    [1] http://www.mythbusterstheexhibition.com/try-this-at-home/try-this-entry/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments

[generallyspecificblog]

  I watched episodes 1 & 2 of the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix this weekend, its been a long time coming. I’ve been waiting patiently for this season since the last one ended. The show grew on me in a big way, i did not like it initially. Something about it is mysterious and innocent and this season looks to have more of a suspenseful and scary vibe. I’ve only watched two episodes thus far so this is an incomplete project but I felt I needed to write about it because i haven’t blogged a long one in a few days. What follows are my hot takes, conspiracy theories, and honorable mentions of “Stranger Things” Season 2.

Ah, the ’80’s, things were slower back then i’m sure, i wouldn’t know though because i was -10 in 1980. The fact that in one of the opening scenes the boys are scrambling for quarters to go play arcade games just tells me that those were the good days. Reminds me of the movie/documentary, “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”, if you haven’t seen that i suggest that you stop reading this blog and go watch that documentary, you will not be let down, you will also have your masculinity tested by a man named Billy Mitchell. Also that is probably the only time i’ll suggest that you stop reading the blog so you know its worth it. Anyways, quarters are king and Mike robs Nancy of her piggy bank which i think is just great, but also i feel like Nancy is a bit too old for a piggy bank.

So the boys (Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin) rally at the local arcade room, Those for sure were only around for laundering money i imagine, and get to playing. At some point Will hears something and wanders off and somehow he is pulled into the upside-down place, his home pretty much the whole 1st season, and sees a dark sky with red lightning and a shadow demon thing with tornadoes for arms and then snaps out of it. First off i would like to say that i do not completely understand what the show writers are going for with the existence of the “Upside-down” place. I guess the easiest way to explain it is an alternate dimension that’s evil and terrible, but i just don’t know how it all works. I will admit that i think that if i were to somehow be instantly teleported to a place like that, i would for sure only be able to cry and close my eyes until i inevitably died because that place, and that monster thing seem completely terrifying. With all of that being said i think that calling it “The Upside-Down Place” is a rookie move and who ever came up with it needs to go to prison. It’s like calling it “Creepy Avenue” or “Elm Street”, how about a better name for the place that your main characters fear and where pure evil resides. As a matter of fact i will no longer refer to it as the “Upside-down” place and from here on out it will be called the “Thunderdome” or “Satans Basement” or “Oklahoma” ANYTHING but “Upside-down” place.  So, Will snaps out of it somehow and his excuse to his friend for being outside is that he needed some air, I found that funny because this show is set in the 80’s and no chance kids were as messed up and snowflakey as they are now. “Needing some air” in the 80’s was just something you said when you wanted your 3rd cigarette from your 2nd pack of the day, i assume. Be more dramatic Will.

The cameos in these first two episodes were very interesting and i didn’t hate them, i’d actually be excited if they all stayed on as regulars. First we have Brett Gelman playing Murray Bauman, aparrently some kind of private investigator with suspicion of Russian assistance in the events that transpired last season. Gelman is killing it lately with the cameos and honestly is just a really funny guy, i will never forget him in The Other Guys as the Arnold Palmer obsessed wanna-be swinger who begs Will Ferrels character to bang his wife.

Next and my favorite so far is the incomparable Mikey Walsh, the lovable Samwise Gamgee, Rudy HIMSELF, Sean Astin playing Bob “The Brain” Newby. Sean Astin is top 10 in my favorite actors, all around good dude, and just as lovable as they get. His character in Stranger Things is Joyce Byers’ new love interest it seems, and he does a fantastic job. The dynamic between him and Joyce is weird but i am fully invested after 2 episodes. Sean Astin nerding out about video cameras and radio shack is grade-a television folks.

Other than that there is a new pair of sibling characters in the show, Billy and Maxine AKA MadMax, that i just don’t know about yet. Billy is an absolute psychopath that resembles a younger Zac Efron who is fond of younger Zac Efrons who drives like a bat outta hell. This Billy dude is like a cross between Kurt Cobain on a bender and Jack Nicholson from The Shining. Pure crazy, but an entertaining character. His sister, i’m assuming, Maxine (or Max as she so rudely corrected the zany teacher at the school) is a very boyish little girl who is apparently good at arcade games and skateboarding, possessing some of the same crazy traits as her aforementioned brother. Some subtle yet understandable misogyny is featured in a scene where the boys are spying on her and say something along the lines of “girls cant play video games”. There is a new psychiatrist guy that talks to Will too but he is very boring and on the bad guys side so i don’t particularly care for him. Out of the new characters i mentioned above i would rank them accordingly: 1. Bob 2. Murray 3. Billy 4. Maxine 956. Doctor Boring D.O.

As for our returning characters a lot has changed in good ole Hawkins and its nearing the one year anniversary of the finale of last season some time around Halloween, obviously. The iconic Reagan Bush ’84 Campaign signs make an appearance in these episodes a couple of times in peoples yards and i love it, shout out Rowdy Gentleman.  The boys are still up to their nerdy shenanigans riding around on bikes and talking on their giant walkie-talkies. An exciting part is that they dress up as Ghostbusters for Halloween and being the season is set in 1984 i give 1,000 kudos to the kids for being such trailblazing fans of the film, and 2,000 kudos to their parents for making the costumes from scratch. There is a pretty comical argument between Mike and Lucas on who gets to be Venkman, Bill Murrays character, with an awkward reference to the only black Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore played by Ernie Hudson, being lame because he was late to the team.

  Mike is emotionally invested in 2 boxes of toys for some reason and misses the hell out of his superhuman girlfriend, 11, just being an emo little baby pretty much the whole time. Will and Mike make some weird pact while trick-or-treating where Mike says “If you’re weird, I’m Weird” kind of like Ryan Gossling does in the Notebook (If you’re a bird, I’m a bird). Lucas and Dustin fight over who is gonna date Maxine.

Our guy Will, who spent the majority of last season in the Thunderdome, has turned into a monster in the eyes of the kids at school. He gets bullied a bit, being called “Zombie Boy” and getting notes put in his locker saying the same thing, thank god Twitter or Facebook didn’t exist back then or this dude would of 13 Reasons Why’d his way through the rest of this season, probably. He takes it with stride though, animating his new nickname pretty artistically, wouldn’t be surprised if he creates a comic book about his Zombie alter ego and becomes a millionaire.

Steve and Nancy are still an item, probably my second favorite couple behind Johnathan and crippling loneliness. Nancy has become annoying because out of the clouds she starts actually caring that her friend Barb is dead, probably because she feels guilty, i mean you’d have to be an idiot to not blame Nancy for the demise of our homely heroine, Barb. There is a scene where Nancy and Steve go have dinner with Barbs parents and enjoy some KFC #fingerlickingood. Barbs parents are delusional at this point, in denial that Barb is dead. They are not in good health, mainly because of the fried chicken, and have plans to sell their home to fund a wild goose chase led by the wacky ex-journalist, P.I. Bauman. That should be successful. R.I.P Barb. Some how Steve has become more likable. Probably because of his hair which has some how become bigger, the higher the hair the closer to heaven, i see you Steve. Nancy and Steve go to a Halloween party together where she gets tipsy on some jungle juice, or as the raging toga bro, who is later seen yakking his brains out, calls it, “Pure Fuel”. Nancy, in typical white girl wasted fashion, says “bullshit” 9 million times after getting a cup of hunch punch spilled on her and brings up the past (Her and Steve basically murdering Barb, gone but never forgotten). Surprisingly Steve peaces out instead of taking advantage of Nancy like he did last season. Johnathan, in typical lonely guy fashion, swoops in like a sad pigeon and saves the day by taking her home and tucking her in. I feel it is necessary to say that i think Johnathan looks like an anorexic Bill Hader from SNL and i hope other people see that too.

  My favorite character, 11, or Elle as Chief Hopper adorably calls her, has taken up residence in a cabin out in the sticks. Chief Hopper is my 2nd favorite character in the show and he has become some type of father figure to 11 letting her stay in his cabin and is keeping her safe from the Russians or whoever is trying to get her. 11 is still a super hero and controls stuff with her mind. She has grown her hair out lookin like a jerry curl gettin real high up there, watch out Steve. Hopper is still whippin around in that dope ass Trailblazer and totin that 6-shooter like a rootin tootin cowboy, they should call him Sheriff instead of Chief. The interaction between Sheriff Hopper and 11 is perfect and comical. 11 is still very robot-like and says “five one five” instead of 5:15 at one point alluding that she hasn’t become much more normal than the first season. There are a few flashbacks to season one including one where 11 is breaking through some gooey womb-like substance out of Thunderdome and it reminds me of Jim Carrey being born from a rhino in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. In another scene 11 kills and begins to cook a squirrel to eat and then beams it at some hunter dudes face in the woods because i guess that’s what Russian cyborgs do. Sheriff Hopper misses hanging out with Elle for Halloween and that broke my heart, do better man.

As usual the soundtrack for the show is the absolute best, the beginning credit song that sounds like Daft Punk time traveled back to the 80’s is up there with Game of Thrones intro song. So far the show is fantastic and there are a lot more witty references and noteworthy things to say but i have just realized that i have written 2,000+ words and most of this was just mindless stammering on and so with that i give my superlatives and predictions thus-far:

Most likely to die alone: Jonathan Byers

Worst Father of the Year: Sheriff Hopper

Most likely to Smash for sure: Hopper and Joyce

Most Improved: Barb

Best Hair: Steve

Probably Gonna Finish Last: Bob “The Brain” Newby

Most Athletic: The Bike Boys

Life of the Party: Yoga bro

Most Likely to Become President: Reagan Bush ’84

Biggest Twist: Barb is alive!

Token Black Guy: Lucas

Least Likely to do Anything, Ever: The dumb psychiatrist guy

Most likely to end up in jail or an insane asylum probably: Billy

Most Likely To Confuse The Millennium Falcon with the Starship Enterprise: My Fiance while watching the show with me.

      Stranger Things: Season 2 Return of Barb, Maybe. I watched episodes 1 & 2 of the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix this weekend, its been a long time coming.