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heraldofzaun · 3 years ago

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//Still lurking.

Some thoughts below the cut. A little melancholic. A little ranty. Many thoughts on how Viktor is perceived by the fandom at large. It got away from me.

I think I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but I have followers here and this is also a Viktor blog... I think it would be nice if people stopped making fun of Viktor’s accent - I saw T/BSkyen’s (I think that keeps me out of the tag) shorts video on Viktor, and it was disheartening that he chose to make fun of Viktor’s accent several times throughout a one-minute video. No other character with a hammy, over-the-top accent, as far I know, receives this treatment. No one makes fun of Caitlyn’s British accent in character analyses of her. No one makes fun of Fiora’s French accent in character analyses of her. (I just checked his videos on them, actually, and guess what - no mocking their accents by doing them! Although Fiora’s accent does get mentioned, at the least.)

Just... stop doing it? We know the accent is cartoonishly bad and not accurate to actual Russian accents at all. But why, specifically, are people - T/BSkyen, in this instance - compelled to make fun of Viktor by putting on an accent and saying “Get reed of all emotions“ and “GLORIOUS EVOLUTION” and “BEEP BOOP ROBOT BRAIN”? (The misspelling in the first is not mine. It is in the actual subtitles for the video.)

I mean, we all know that the answer is the fact that American (and other countries, but we can focus on America for now) media spent the Cold War convincing Americans that Russians and Eastern Europeans were mindless followers of ideology and/or Crazy Insane Scientists, instead of like... people with diverse thoughts and feelings who may or may not agree with their government, but like... I have to ask the rhetorical questions here because no one else is going to apparently. Anyways it’s 2021 stop conflating people and the governments they live under, I guess.

Anyways, also very disheartening that I just checked the pinned comment on that video and he is now saying that Viktor’s endpoint is the Battlecast universe, which is not a canon fact even in current lore. It’s an assumption. I can’t even say that Full Machine Viktor is Viktor’s endpoint, because that was retconned into being a janitor skin that randomly breaks into Spanish in the skin bio for a... “joke”? (Because that’s a cool thing to do. I’d ask how that got past anyone, but that’s a pointless question.) But Battlecast is not stated anywhere to be the end result of canonical Viktor, as far as I know. I suppose it’s not stated to not be the result, but... Like, what other character gets an AU skinline that people then say has to be their canonical endgoal when it is not said to be their canonical endgoal by any official source?

Quothe the loremaster... “The endpoint of Viktor's quest is the Battlecast universe. In case y'all forgot. Read between the lines of his stories even a little bit before stanning him, I'm begging you.”

The entirety of the pinned comment is frustrating. It is frustrating not only because it clashes entirely with the funny comical tone of the minute-long short, which also decides to yet again conflate transhumanism with being trans (we have heard my thoughts on this before. Please stop doing this), but because it is unfortunately true in aspects about current Viktor. He is really not a good man, even though you may be able to argue that Riot’s biased narrator choices mean that a canonical version of the Viktor-Jayce fight does not exist. (Because both lores tell their sides of the story. Biasedly.) But as the story stands, his character getting filled out didn’t make him more morally ambiguous than his original counterpart. The ambiguity that existed originally was due to us not knowing a lot about him and thus being able to interpret things the way we wished. (I’m sure that there is still room for interpretation in the new lore, but it seems lesser to me. Also, his color story is framed atrociously. It’s going for warm and fuzzy when the content of it is giving a kid drugs but this is a long enough post already...)

Riot does not know what to do with Viktor. They’re content to portray him as a Russian mad scientist and buffoon in LoR and in some other media, because... [gestures at the struck-out paragraph above]. But then they have his lore which... could be interesting, maybe, if it weren’t convinced that the way to tell a morally grey story is to have narrators more unreliable than a pull-start lawn mower. Like, they just don’t know what to do with him.

Any analysis of him needs to come with that caveat, not someone deciding that the best way to spent a minute of analysis is to make multiple jokes about Viktor’s accent being stereotypical via... feeding into it being stereotypical... and saying that transhumanism is related to trans rights in any inherent way.

Also, T/BSkyen says that Viktor only has an augmented hand and the third arm, which conveniently ignores the fact that Prototype is probably supposed to be taken as semi-canonical considering its name and the fact it was made when backstory-related skins were a more common thing. (And also because it hasn’t been retconned into being a janitor.) It also conveniently ignores the fact that Viktor’s lower legs clearly don’t look like armor on his model, but this is a side tangent that doesn’t really matter, so...

Whatever, right? I’ve clearly put more thought into this than League’s local loremaster put into that video and subsequent “no guys he really is a baddie stop stanning him and grow critical thinking skills” comment. Sorry if I sound jaded here or am taking this far too seriously or whatever, it’s just... man, it’s a lot. It makes trying to do my take in any public capacity feel kind of like shit, because it’s clear that the general perception of Viktor is currently 1) Haha Funny Accent Man, 2) Trans Rights!1!, and/or 3) He’s Evil :(, and it sucks. I already am writing for a niche audience who will accept a Viktor who never went to Piltover and who exists in old Zaun. I know that that’s niche. I’m okay with it being niche, I think.

But it sucks to build up all this character and do all this writing and try to... I don’t know, present a nuanced view of someone, and then just get another fucking joke about his accent or his design tropes or about what transhumanism is. Especially when those jokes are what people remember, right?

Sorry. This got whiny. But I think it explains why I’ve lost so much steam on writing our favorite Machine Herald, because stuff like this just keeps kind of... happening.

Thank you to the folks that send in anons about my analyses or who like my posts about my artistic endeavors or just... well, interact in general. It does mean a lot to me that you guys are invested enough to hang around and read 2k words of me doing the Pepe Silvia scene from Always Sunny as I connect dots that might not have been meant to be connected. It’s just hard to keep doing it, sometimes, and I guess this is one of those moments.

#out of augments

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onifere · 5 years ago

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An Idea on the Kwami Swap

Edited

After watching Reflekdoll, I realized that this episode is why I tend to resent shows that are made so their episodes could be watched in every order. Such a choice implies that plotlines must be extremely simple and easy to follow. By doing this, we lose many possibilities for important character development. And, I think with this episode, we did not lose an important possibility for Cat Noir's character development, but a critical one.

Reflekdoll was the perfect episode to show us that, yeah, as of how Cat Noir's currently acts in battles, Ladybug doesn't really need him. He's not that huge of a help. She could do without him. She could have saved Paris countless times without his help. I'd even say, if she really needed support, she just could have asked others miraculouses holders like Queen B(ee?) or Rena Rouge/Carapace without ever asking for Chat's help.

When I look back on Ladynoir's use of the Cat's Miraculous in Reflekdoll, she makes it looks so strong… Which it is! She uses it so well, that Reflekdoll basically gets pummelled and send in every direction. Compare that to Cat Noir's use of the miraculous’s powers, you would think that his miraculous's powers are on the same level of a support miraculouses (like Rena Rouge's, Carapace's etc). When it isn’t, no, it one of two most powerful miraculouses there is! And Plagg showed that when he destroyed a major part of Paris along with the Eifel Tower in “Style Queen”! Of course, you could say that it’s to not make Adrien OP, but I’d say not OP YET, as he would need training and all to master such a Cataclysm. Then we could have such uses of it. But the point stands, the cat miraculous is far stronger than what Adrien’s use allows. Marinette even at her kind of “beginner” level Ladybug does a much better use of her miraculous strengths and capacities.

It has always been obvious that Cat Noir's fighting style is reckless, almost as if he does this to "have fun". And it has been established many times that he acts with a selflessness that I’d qualify virtuous but too dangerous. (for me it’s the bioproduct of a lacking feeling of self-worth but we’re not going there yet!) So, it comes to no one's surprise that Adrien's use of the Cat's Miraculous is lacking in skill. As it doesn’t seem that he cares at being skilful. He sure wants to be helpful, yes, but it does not seem to translate in him making skilful use of his miraculous.

SO, to get back to Cat Noir's character development, this episode could have been perfect for him to see:

1) The Cat's Miraculous true strength when properly used.

2) Not how useless he is, but how more useful he could be.

And it would have been great if Adrien reacted to Ladybug doing so well as LadyNoire if not BETTER than him with some shame. You know, this feeling you have when you realize you’re nothing special, although you thought you were? Adrien realizing that, truly most of the time he is useless to Ladybug, as now he is showed by LadyNoire how much more useful he could be?

It could have been a great way to kick off Cat Noir's character development as he then tries to train himself, to stay more focused in battles, just to change for the better. For his Lady, for Paris.

And perhaps these changes could have helped Adrien in his daily life! In perhaps feeling less unimportant. (I get the feeling that Cat Noir acts the way he does because he feels as if it's not a big deal if something happens to him. Perhaps I’m wrong (again the idea of selflessness)). Perhaps such changes would help Adrien into realizing that "YES! I do matter.” "YES! People are interested in me!”, and "YES! My friends value me!”. And perhaps he wouldn’t have to be so huh… Lifeless? I also think it would make him less oblivious to how he is seen by others.

And even if it only helps Adrien as Cat Noir it would be something interesting, to see him try… And struggle! As such changes take time! It takes times changes, and some time you go back to your old ways without wanting to, so you keep fighting to maintain your progress. Of course, it shouldn’t change him too much. Keep him lively yet keep the puns and funny cat things for when the akuma is dealt with. A proof of his evolution, of him trying to mature.

NOW

COMPLETLY ANOTHER SUBJECT BUUUUUUT

AM I. THE ONLY ONE. WHO THINKS,

That the show would be all over better if the kwami swap was like, permanent? I mean, obviously the show was never built to unable such an important event. But imagine if it were… I see that swap moment as one that would have defined the show! Like One Piece’s two years’ time skip which served as a big step in the series! I see how us, fans, would call it “the great kwami swap” or some shit like that… I would be a point in the show when everything changes!

By seeing Marinette with Plagg and Adrien’s with Tikki, I was quite taken aback to see how they look so much more… Compatible?

To me Plagg and Marinette, Tikki and Adrien, both are better matches. To me, it seems like these matches “push out” something from the characters themselves. They feel more natural. A good step, taken, in the right direction. The next evolution. I personally have never been happier to see Marinette fight as LadyNoire! It looked as if she was born to be Ladynoire and her interactions with Plagg, it looked they'd be a greater harmony between the two! And again, to me she acted freer than ever, and was even more performant.

I think that Plagg would be a better influence for Marinette as he always looks like he's the "cool" dude going with the flow? I'd see him cheering Marinette on, pushing her to be freer minded, less stressed (as he’d teach to care less about trivial things that don’t matter), open her up to new possibilities. His "Everythin's fine, man…" attitude feels like it would be a much better help on the long term for Marinette.

Edit: Plagg’s influence would be even better as he’d teach her to “Go for it” something that is indispensable for a designer/artist, you know? Not being afraid to show your work, not being afraid to be more “aggressive” even more creative perhaps?! Like he would tell her, encourage her to go wild as fuck and even if her art/sketch would not amount to any creations it would be experiences that shape her? He would push her to try everything!

For Adrien and Tikki, the connection seemed much more subtle yet as good as Marinette’s and Plagg’s connection. Both having soft personalities, both being kind of reserved and quiet/calm. (even tho Tikki is far more optimistic and uplifted than Adrien). Basically, being permanently Mister Bug, we would start to see an Adrien whom starts kind of dumb and useless. Yet he would not give up. (He would be kind of “meh” in the start as there is a lot of work to do but hey! With experience it would come, and he would then one day surpass Marinette’s Ladybug (as Ladynoire would Surpass Adrien’s Cat Noir).

And same for Ladynoire’s better use/compatibility of the cat’s miraculous! It seemed bizarre how it felt more right for me to see Adrien as Mister Bug. (it might all come down to my preferences) The fact that he guessed he’d get a mirror is for me proof he used a kind of logic that we never saw Marinette use. She almost always receives her lucky charms and appears dumbfounded for a second, then looks everywhere on how to use it. But Adrien guessed what he would get. He didn’t know how to use it, and acted dumb because It’s his first time, but also (I think!) because he didn’t want to put in the effort of thinking (again, his recklessness is showing). And AGAIN, throughout the fight against Reflekdoll he was acting recklessly, like he does as Cat Noir. (well yeah, duh.) Swinging his yo-yo like a moron. (Nobody should mock him for that as Marinette’s own beginnings with the yo-yo weren’t glorious either).

I was talking about how it would have been cool for Adrien to have with this episode the start of an arc where he questions his usefulness in battles and how he wants to get better, how he wants to be of greater importance in fighting Akumas with Ladybug, but hey! Being Mister Bug would solve all these problems! As Cat Noir's problems for me all boil down to a lack of focus, lack of self-worth = "doesn't matter what happens to me she got this" kind of crap.

So being Mister Bug would make him more patient, focused, on the lookout for details, would make him think more, be more aware of his surroundings and the people around him. It would fix his self-worth issues! Not like the lack of self-worthiness is Adrien’s defining trait, but it would surely help! Moreover, I feel like Adrien would be better off with Tikki as a kwami as she could provide a sort of replacement for motherly care/attention that Adrien seems to lack and seek, making him feel more balanced, important, secure. And he would feel more useful, he would feel necessary (closing the arc to him feeling useless in battles. AGAIN, I must stress this he could start to feel useless, train as chat noir, yet his training makes him more useful, true but he’d want to be even more useful, he would want to feel necessary, there is nothing wrong about wanting to be necessary.) (I say that, because in Reflekdoll he seemed so happy, no fond to catch & release the akuma. Like “YES, the fight is over thanks to me purifying the little bug) like it was really cute, HE was really cute gimme a break xD)

There are holes in my ideas of course, but I think these holes could be patched, but looking how the show is made it’s clearly impossible. As of how I see it, it all comes down to how the show was written (duh) and prepared. Now, it’s obvious they don’t want to pull off this “permanent kwami swap” but they simply… Can’t… Such a swap should have been prepared… Prepared from the start as "THE Great Miraculous Swap". They would have made the swap the result of a long arc for both Ladybug and Cat Noir. And of course, the show should just have been named: "Miraculous', not "Miraculous Ladybug" or "Miraculous tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" so they would have been no problems with such a swap (with the title I mean) .

The idea of a swap could have been the result of a long arc. I can see this arc taking place over the three first seasons of the show! Being a long, slow realization that something is off, that “Maybe, things would be better if I… Changed?” as the two realize that the problem lies within them… The third season would have been about the two characters understanding that perhaps, all would be better if they were to just, swap kwamis and miraculouses. But much m, they would understand that the swap IS needed. More than being needed, the permanent swap could have opened the gates for deep character development. We could have explored their fear regarding things changing so greatly, their apprehension over “What is the public going to think, they’re going to get confused!” (it would be Marinette that would worry over that.), or the “Would I be a better Mister Bug/LadyNoir that I am Cat Noir/Ladybug?” Moreover, they could have used the idea of the miraculous swap to deepens the two heroes relationship with master Fu as they would tell him how they feel, their struggle with their hero purpose/identity. He’d try to help them but to no avail.

Reflekdoll could have been a first taste of such an idea. I see the episode light the little of spark of “Yep, it feels right, better, can’t go around it now… We need to do it.”. Especially for Marinette as she would have felt freer as Lady noire. Losing her apprehensions “This isn’t so bad…” and Adrien as Mister Bug would have felt kind of dumb and rather weak but being Mister bug would have still felt righter than being Cat Noir. He wouldn’t know why, but he would feel as if things were in a better order (don’t get me started on how we could have seen then resent the idea to give back the other’s miraculous, HMMPF.THE.ANGST.). And the part that “Historically women are better with the Ladybug miraculous and men with the cat miraculous could have been challenged etc! And you know, the fear of the routine, what you’re accustomed to disappearing etc…

Then, we’d have tearful goodbyes with their first kwamis as it’s a chapter of their lives that ends, just like real life! You make great friends, but even though you are great friends you sometimes need to let go and let the wind of time blow… Which they would have done by saying goodbye to their first kwamis and embracing the next chapter it would have been so deep! (and since Adrienette is probably endgame they would still have endend back together so…) The show could have been themed over growing up, realization, big changes and just the way teen just mature, by making those big changes. And with that the greater problems would have been fixed already, the three first season Adrien would have spent time with Plagg, Marinette with Tikki and they would both have learned from their first kwamis, then they swap and realize how right it feels to be the other!

We could have had an even better team! Them understanding each other! Helping each other just after the miraculous swap by giving each other tips in the middle of fights, not sending each other jabs like Ladynoire did to mister bug (although because of how the current show handled its narrative, it is understandable that Marinette jabs a Mister bug being like “ain’t that easy, uh bitch?”) and even think of the possibilities! What about the others in the team thinking that things were better before? (Like Queen B(ee?), Carapace, Rena Rouge, Viperion thinking that Ladybug was better than Mister bug and the swap was foolish etc it could have created tension, made possible important character interactions, development etc!) And to people who really want a Ladybug and a Cat Noir, the show could have been shaped to Star with Ladynoir and Mister Bug then swap! (although I personally find it better to go from Ladybug/Cat Noir to LadyNoir/Mister Bug (because the connections between the new bearers and their new kwamis feels more right to me). But again, the show was never built so it could plan, even handle such an event. To me it’s a shame…

Finally, I must stress that they would still both learn from their time as Cat Noir/Ladybug! They would have developed and grown but not as much with their second miraculous. I certainly wouldn’t want the show to play the first assignment as a plain mistake/waste of time, make it feel needed, and make sure the two characters remember this time of their life as them learning, figuring stuff out as best as they can, don’t make them bitter over “lost time”!

I only wish it was this way, just because to me, the character and their struggle would have felt more real… But the show was made this way, who cares? Not me, I’m sure I can find many swap AU on the internet! (And I’m Looking for it now :} )

#reflekdoll #mister bug #ladynoir #ml spoilers #ml spoiler #ladybug #cat noir #kwami swap #ladynoire #lady noire #mr bug

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adityatodi · 5 years ago

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New Orleans

October 6, 2019 Sunday

On my way back to Boston from New Orleans.

I arrived in New Orleans late Thursday night (midnight) on the same flight as Angel Saez. We took an Uber to our AirBnB in the French district.

Friday morning started with breakfast at Bear Cat Café with Ben, his wife Ilkania, Akash, Dana, Jaclyn and her boyfriend Blake, Rebecca, Macy and Kumiko. The huge portion sizes served as a welcome to the city. We then headed to the Whitney Plantation to get a tour of the plantation and learn about the history of the plantation and more about slavery. Some of my takeaways/learnings:

Often when we think of slavery, we think of slaves working in plantation or house maids. But system of slavery also included skilled Black labor and craftsmen whose stories are often not ones told

The first form of dehumanization in this whole process was stripping the recently arrived Africans of their African name and giving them French name

While in 1808 Trans-Atlantic slave trade ended, it continued to flourish within US boundaries until 1864 and beyond

When we talk about colonialism, often large portions of blame is assigned to British. Why do we not put same blame on the French, Belgian or the Portugese, who were actually the ones who were “pioneers” of Trans-Atlantic slave trade

Often times when we talk about humans doing bad things to other humans the reference is Holocaust. Slavery was brutal, why are these analogies not made—because they are Black lives?

Why are the rebellions that slaves fought, e.g. there was one in 1811, not given the same heroic importance as the Revolutionary Wars for American Independence?

After the tour we head to the historic Café Du Monde to get coffee and the delicious beignets. Walk around the area, head home to do some work, drinks at Cane and Table and 3-course dinner at Sylvain. We then go to a bar playing Jazz on Frenchmen street (really good music), then a handful of us (Kumiko, Dana, Liz, Akash, Zubby and I) go bar hopping along Bourbon Street.

Saturday morning starts with brunch at Ruby Slipper with people in my AirBnB (Kuba, his girlfriend, Tory, Claire, Graciela, Eren and Katie). I then join a group from the other AirBnB to do a walking tour concentrating on the musical and artistic history of New Orleans. Thankfully the weather is bearable and not too hot. The guide carried a speaker and iPad with him to show us pictures and take us through the evolution of music starting with Armstrong Park dedicated to Louis Armstrong. I had first heard of Armstrong in college when I heard “What a Wonderful World” and was blown away by the melody and the tune. Some learnings

Urban slavery was different than rural slavery (e.g. plantation). In New Orleans given the influence of the Catholic Church, Sunday was a holiday for all including the enslaved. There were Sunday market gatherings at Congo Square where enslaved people could buy and trade for money it this became a step towards emancipation

Jazz originates from the confluence of traditional European music, particularly brass band with the Afro beats that African slaves brought with them

Armstrong received very little formal music education. It was a total of 18 months that he spent in jail because of firing blank bullets during a celebration when he was 11. In a crazy coincidence, his first wife dies of a heart attack while playing the piano at Armstrong’s funeral

After the tour we walk around, go to a café and then I head to the AirBnB to get some work done. At 7:45 Zubby, Kumiko and I go to the Spotted Cat Bar on Frenchmen street to hear some jazz. This was certainly the highlight of my trip. It’s a small bar and we’re all gathered around the stage. The band of 7 plays amazing amazing jazz—probably the best live jazz performance I’ve heard. Band name—Panaroma Jazz Band. The vibe of being in this small bar in New Orleans, drinking beer and chilling with a couple of friends on a wonderful evening with great music. This is the sort of stuff one imagines doing in New Orleans and I’m glad I got to do this. Zubby and I then head to get some Cajun food at Pierre Maspero’s. We strike a deep conversation on race, sexuality, and how often times those who complain of being oppressed are oppressors in other situations. After our meal we find ourselves walking back to Frenchmen street and somehow end up doing Karaoke on the way and improvising and just having a great time singing, making things up, being complimented by passerby’s on our skills, goofing around. The karaoke session continues at the AirBnB with the culmination of Louis Armstrong’s “What a wonderful world”. Ah! Grateful for such moments of pure joy. Zubby has an early morning flight so he heads to bed. I head out to Blue Nile to join a few others who are there. Some more jazz performance and back home for the night.

Sunday morning—late wake up, pack-up and get ready. Brunch at Satsuma Café and then I go to explore the WWII Museum. Takeaway/Learnings/Thoughts:

WWII was framed as a fight for democracy and democratic ideals. If today the US does not stand up and defend these ideals abroad, can one not say that WWII was fought in vain

Good to see a portion of the museum devoted to Japanese internment and the treatment of African Americans as second class citizen along with Native Americans and Latinos. However, the section seemed very small and I would have liked they spent more time talking about the implications of war on minorities

• I was able to better understand the significance of D-Day and the heroic efforts of the troops to capture Normandy. I especially enjoyed learning about the detailed deceptions that were devised to trick Nazi Germany to believing that the Allied Troops would instead attack Calais. The sheer number of tanks, planes, ships, boats and troops used for this battle was mind blowing

I found myself eager to see how this museum would talk about the dropping of the atomic bombs especially since the Hiroshima Peace Museum left a lasting memory on me. I was disappointed (but also not shocked) that only a very small small portion is devoted to it. Basic narrative---the Japanese were not willing to surrender->Americans dropped the first bomb->Japanese still not willing to surrender->Americans drop second bomb->Japanese finally surrender->Pictures of some devastating effects of the bomb->This evil was used to stop a greater evil of losing more people through conventional fighting

This narrative and the fact that the human impact and after affect of the dropping of the nuclear bomb was not covered thoroughly left me deeply frustrated. You have devoted 90% of the museum on technicalities, on how brutal war was for soldiers, how industry and Americans mobilized to fight the war, but how the f*** can you not talk about the bombing in a more sensitive way. War is not glorious. Let’s engage with this issue

Would Americans have given it more of a thought if they had the option to drop the atomic bomb on the German population? Of course, definitely yes. Because these were “Japs” who are supposed to be brutal and animal-like according to all the propaganda you spread, you find ways to justify killing civilian population and use mathematical logic of numbers to explain a war crime. Had Germany dropped nuclear bomb on U.S. cities and lost war, would the planners and executors of it not been tried for such an atrocity? Of course they would have. F*** this sh** and this convoluted logic. The U.S. needs to issue a blanket apology for what they did. It is a war crime and the American leaders who made this decision should have been tried—yes Truman should have been tried.

Step back. New Orleans.

Glad I came for this trip and was able to see this part of the U.S. Amazing food and music—such a touristy New Orleans thing to say. But honestly, that evening in the Spotted Cat bar was magical!

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thesocietymag · 3 years ago

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Arcade Fire - We [Album Review]

Arcade Fire’s advent in the mid-noughties promised continued adulation for culturally significant indie-rock. Over the last decade or so, the music industry has witnessed blurring of the lines between various genres (no complaints there). Some artists faded to being fond memories of the past (while still being relevant to the ardent), and others adapted to, and adopted change quite well. Of course, it is a given that taste in music is subjective – there’s always the debate between “more of the same” and “growth and evolution”. Whatever the case was, Arcade Fire found themselves in the second bucket – growing and evolving, adapting to change, and adopting new sounds. Some praised them for their experiments with new sounds, while many others, music critics even, panned it. But even as their last two albums explored the new sounds of avant-garde-rock-disco, funk, reggae, electro, synthpop and a myriad of other styles peppered across both, they continued their social commentary on matters culturally significant to the modern day. It may be a bit blunt to say that Arcade Fire's new album is yet another treatise on the malaise and mundanity of modern life and the eventual apocalypse that looms around it, but that is mostly what the album is about. And that’s perfectly fine – because someone should be singing about stuff like this!

The new album, “We” has about 10 songs (mixed as 7 on physical formats). On my music library, this album sits as an 8-tracker.

Age Of Anxiety - 10/10 The album begins with a sort of post-pandemic panic - “It's the age of doubt, and I doubt we'll figure it out.” Interestingly, the entire album was actually written pre-Covid. So any themes about anxiety, despair, and loss are purely coincidental. Age Of Anxiety makes a bold statement and sets the tone for the album. There's drama, intimate vocals, sonic layers that reveal themselves slowly. I did not expect the transition at 3:11. I would have liked the second half of the song to go on for at least 2 minutes more than it did.

Rabbit Hole - 10/10 Sorry Win & co., I just had to get rid of the Age Of Anxiety II bit from the title. Theme aside, both songs work perfectly as independent songs and don’t need a reference to each other. Rabbit Hole was an instant favourite for me! While the first song sounded like it picked up from where their 4th album Reflektor left off, this song definitely picks up where the last album Everything Now left off. (Sidenote: Reflektor might just be my favourite Arcade Fire album. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed Everything Now as well.) The call and response between Win and Régine in the opening lines is cleverly executed! Sonically, there's so much going on. On their recent albums, their brilliant lyrical themes, their undying penchant for drama in music, and their larger-than-stadium-melodies, have been accompanied by brilliant production. Songs like the last one and this show how well-produced songs can go on for over 5 minutes without letting you lose attention. Sod the streaming-era-norms; give us more 5-6 minute glorious anthems like these.

End Of The Empire - 9/10 So... the physical formats list this 4-part epic as one song and the digital format splits this into two. I definitely preferred the split in the digital format. Last Dance (i.e. Part 1) and Last Round (i.e. Part 2) are gorgeous atmospheric numbers! Leave A Light On (Part 3) feels like an outro to the main song - where it should end. But Arcade Fire seemed to think otherwise and segued the next part into this. Thankfully, I have access to some very good sound editing software and some mad skills at making/editing music. So I was able to separate the next part of the song from these 3 without compromising parts of both. While speaking about the first 3 parts, Win said "It's easy to interpret everything as being about the present, and I think there's an element of that, but I think you're trying to pick up on smoke signals. To me, the end of the empire isn't about now, it's about the future. It's about what's coming".

Sagittarius A - 8/10 This song is Part 4 of End Of The Empire on the physical formats. However, this does feel like a different song altogether. Apparently the first 3 parts were finished and then they worked on the fourth. I didn’t need to read the Apple Music interview to figure that out. The sequencing felt like an afterthought - which IMHO was unnecessary. That said, the song definitely has the apocalypse-theme. The lines “I unsubscribe” and “F*** season five” seem to hint that modern life has been sucked into the black mirror, infinite content etc., much like Sagittarius A (the black hole at the center of our galaxy) is slowly devouring the milky way. But there also seem to be some hints of catharsis in acceptance of an end. The song is beautifully written - heavy, but beautiful! "Midway through life, Virgil (of Dante's Inferno) said let's take a ride. You'll need a divine guide 'Cause this inferno's hyperdrive." "One Christ child and one on the way, Why don't we name her Sagittarius A." "And the space where they say Heaven is has gone away." "We'll see one day what's on the other side." This song could have been a whole lot more dramatic than it was - which really feels like a missed opportunity. Maybe they will release a stand-alone beefed up edit of this song in the future.

The Lightning - 7/10 This feels a bit like Arcade fire on auto-pilot. I really like both parts of the song (and yes, I merged them into one), but there's very little that this song offers that they haven't already done multiple times in the past. I can imagine this going down as very well in a live setting. The transition between the two parts is nice.

Lookout Kid - 8/10 (with no Unconditional I in the title) is a much-needed breezy number after the raucous few minutes on the last song. From this point, the album sounds like it is heading back to the Reflektor / Everything Now soundscape. The "do-do-de-do" is infectious! I found myself do-do-doing much after the song was done. Apparently this song was written for Win and Régine's son so he learns "to have a thick skin and to just really be able to take a hit and have some fortitude". Even before I read the Apple Music interview, it felt like a personal song to Win - which it turned out to be.

Race And Religion - 10/10 (with no Unconditional II in the title) sounds like belongs on Reflektor. And I didn't need to see the credits to see Peter Gabriel's involvement. Even before his ad-libs, I thought this was heavily influenced by Peter Gabriel's sound. Also, this is one of those songs with Régine in the front and centre. I love the 80′s influence on their art-rock - I would love to hear more of this in the future. The song references an actual signpost at the intersection of Race Street and Religious Street in New Orleans where Win and Régine live. There’s simplicity in the lyrics - suggesting a united humanity, regardless of race and religion.

We - 8/10 This post-apocalyptic love song is an atmospheric number that serves as a brilliant closer to the record. There lyrics are simple but have a deep impact. “Already know I. I wanna know We.” Apparently, the song (and album) borrows it’s title from the 1921 sci-fi novel of the same name by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

Album Rating: 4.4/5

Overall, the album definitely feels greater than the sum of it’s parts. While many songs sound great individually, the album sounds even better when listened to in one go. I’ve played the album multiple times since it’s release, and I think I will continue to play it for years to come. Unlike many fans and critics, I won’t call this album a return-to-form, as I don’t think there has been a dip in the quality of their music yet. Well done, Arcade Fire! Keep the good tunes coming.

Stream on - Spotify, Apple Music

Buy from - HDTracks, Qobuz, Official Store

Review by Saint King

#Arcade Fire #We #review #music #2022 #Pascal Gabriel #album

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jhgraham · 7 years ago

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How does Han react when Leia catches him watching her? Does Leia allow herself to secretly be thrilled?

Haha...how does Han react? Let’s put it this way...Han Solo didn’t just yank the Falcon out from under Lando’s nose. He won that ship, fair and square, in part by perfecting the consummate Sabacc face. He’s an artist at deflection, a master of the bluff, and he doesn’t limit that skill to playing cards.

The way Han and Leia look at each other is a fascinating study in evolution, imho. In the early days, Han is all cocky bravado around Leia, all of-course-she’s-checking-me-out-I’m-a- gorgeous-guy-why-wouldn’t-she. He’s seen the look of desire on women before, and returned that look to his fair share in return. But none of his past dalliances prepared him for the way that Leia Organa looks at him. At first, she looks at him as though she doesn’t quite know what to make of him. After all, he’s a mercurial, satiric, inveterate scoundrel with an agenda of his own and no time for anyone else’s. He takes orders from just one person: him.

Or so he’d like everyone to believe.

Leia isn’t falling for that, you see. As time wears on, it’s like Leia begins to see right through him to the man he is underneath, to the mushy centre hidden beneath the “that’s it, I’m leaving” bluster and the mask of false apathy he wears to remain stalwartly uninvolved. He becomes powerless to hide around her anymore, lets his defenses down...and the first time Leia looks at him with those dark eyes of hers reflecting the light of his desire for her, it’s damn near his undoing.

And is Leia secretly thrilled that Han is looking at her? You bet your sweet bippy, she is. At first, she tells herself that little jolt of electricity that fires through every nerve when he looks at her is just her physical self needing attention and release...but there’s more, especially when he lets her peek behind the curtain and see who he really is. Something about Han gives her the freedom to be herself. Not only does he make her feel safe and secure, he makes her feel wanted and desired as well. If only he could commit...if only he would stay. Maybe in time, he will...maybe in time, their relationship could be so much more.

And so the looks continue, lingering longer and warming to the boiling point...until it all goes tits-up on Ord Mantell.

Speaking of looks..just watch the scene in the command centre on Hoth. Watch the tiny flick of Han’s eyes down and to the left when he first approaches Leia...it’s that moment when he’s steeling himself, when he can barely bring himself to meet her gaze, that is so very telling. How Han really feels about Leia is written all over his face right there, in that moment. He knows how he feels about her, and hopes like hell that she feels the same about him, but he also knows he has to leave her in order to keep her safe. He approaches her with a hopeful hesitation, shields down, looking for a sign; something, anything to make him fight to survive, to confirm that she wants him to come back to her as much as he wants to return. But Leia’s still in a state of high alert where Han is concerned, and after the weeks of icy silence interspersed with heated exchanges of bitter, scathing words that passed between them in the wake of Ord Mantell, she isn’t about to lower her defenses quite so readily. Then watch Han’s entire demeanour shift when she responds to his overture with a terse, “that’s right.” His old, familiar mask falls into place, the walls go up, and defensive, dismissive Han is back. It’s one of my favourite moments in ESB, and fascinating to watch, I think.

When the last of their mutual defenses finally give enroute to Bespin, the way she looks at him shakes him to the very core, because alongside the fire of desire in her eyes is the light of something else—understanding, and acceptance. For the first time, someone sees him...not just a mercenary smuggler, not an Imperial deserter or a Rebel sympathizer who refuses to commit...and he sees her as well. She’s more than a princess, more than a Rebel leader, more than anything he could ever hope for. For a few glorious weeks, he’s just Han and she’s Leia, a woman he loves and whom by some miracle loves him in return.

I hope that somewhere in all of that rambling, I’ve answered your question! Sorry for the long-winded answer; (a) I don’t think I’m capable of giving short answers, and (b) it’s where my head went tonight!

Thanks for the ask, lovely anonymous friend.

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jamesharringtoncreativeworks · 7 years ago

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Anyone who’s followed me for the last few months knows that I was anxiously awaiting this game. My wife and I demoed it at PAX East, and we were excited to finally get our hands on a copy.

So where did this all start for me? Well… actually when I was following what was going on with hilariously comical #FreedomForTay movement, someone posted this video and likened it to what was happening to Microsoft’s Tay AI. (Read more here.)

This trailer was incredibly well done, despite only being PS3 level graphics. You legitimately felt for Kara here to the point of almost having tears in your eyes. I was immediately hooked and started looking more into what this was about. I found out that it was a very early trailer for Detroit Become Human and I wanted to know more.

Well… the more I found out, the more interested I became and I really started getting into it when this extremely controversial trailer came out:

You really got to hand it to the PR people on this one. They really know how to get you hooked.

So for months and months I waited. Until finally last week… that glorious day happened! Detroit Become Human came out and my reserved copy was ready to be picked up!

I immediately ran out and grabbed my copy. I popped it into our PS4 and my wife and I began the game.

The opening scene deals with Connor, a special ‘prototype’ android that has been issued to the police department. His job is to talk down another android that has apparently gone insane, killed its master, and taken the daughter hostage. This was the demo we played at PAX. Well… we knew how our decisions went last time (not so well) and we wanted to try for a better outcome, so we made a few different decisions, sure enough… something totally different happened.

That’s how this whole game works. Detroit Become Human is more of an interactive movie than an actual game… and when I say interactive… I mean you really can’t be much more immersive than the game is. Even the title screen interacts with you by giving you your own virtual android to assist you with getting started… for a while anyway.

However, I’m getting ahead of myself…

The game takes place in Detroit (obviously) of the Future, 2038 to be exact. There, people are out of work, neighborhoods are crumbling, drugs are rampant, and automation is replacing skilled and unskilled labor.

… in other words, Detroit hasn’t really changed at all in twenty years.

Sorry… back on topic. The story revolves around three androids:

Markus: A caretaker for artist facing the end of his days.

Kara: Another caretaker, this time for a child, Alice, and her drug addict, out of work, father.

Connor: A by-the-book police android who’s thrown in with a broken down cop who’s more often found at the bottom of a bottle of booze than actually in his office.

The story revolves around the evolution of the three characters and the choices they make. What happens to each character lands solely in your lap. If one or more character dies, the game does not end. The story simply continues without that character.

I really don’t want to give too much away, but I really preferred Kara’s story above all the others. Her struggle with keeping young Alice alive and happy while coming to terms with her own identity and finding her place was profound.

Markus’ story I found somewhat predictable. He’s an android who worked for an ‘enlightened’ artist who encouraged the android to cut his own path. Markus then, through a series of events that are not of his own making, becomes the leader of a revolution. After a few bad decisions, I didn’t like where this character was going and sought to kill him off… that might have been a mistake… It turns out, he’s a fairly integral part of the struggle for civil rights and losing him… has repercussions that are felt pretty strongly by the end of the game.

Connor… I’m not going to lie, I do love this one. If you like Lethal Weapon, his interactions with the other cop are pretty enjoyable. It’s a pretty standard buddy cop story, but it’s fun in its own way.

As I said, the story revolves around these three characters and the decisions you make will affect the lives of everyone around. One thing I will say about this game is that it get’s unexpectedly dark… I mean really dark. Murder, sexual assault, drug use, child abuse, domestic violence, and even genocide, are all potential themes in your story. Not all of them are avoidable. That is not a criticism, by the way, if you’re going to go dark, you should go all the way and this game very vividly shows the ramification of such themes.

So is this game everything I was hoping it would be?

Yes. The replay value is through the roof, it’s not an action game where you go around shooting and killing people. You’re essentially watching a movie when options come up on the screen, and allow you to choose what decision a character makes.

Negatives…

Well… when I say the game is immersive, I MEAN IT’S IMMERSIVE! You’re going to spend early parts of the game cleaning house, making dinner, doing laundry, and pushing an old man’s wheelchair. It’s definitely slow-moving at first and will lose some audience members with a shorter attention span.

Other than that, I was a little disappointed in how little the stories appear to interact… at least on my first playthrough. The most interaction I saw between Connor and Kara was when Connor looked oddly at Alice from across a room and when he Connor chased them across a street.

I expected their stories to be a little more intertwined, and maybe they are, but my first story was a fairly dark one that ended with android genocide and only Kara getting away unscathed.

So what’s my final judgment?

Detroit Become Human is awesome. The graphics are great, it’s got a great cast! The music is wonderful, the character development is excellent, and though initially slow-moving, the game’s storyline sucks you in and really makes you want to see what comes next.

So my overall score is going to be a 8.5 out of 10. Buy this game and try it out if you love a good story! You’ll love it!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

[email protected]

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note: If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

My Initial Thoughts on Detroit Become Human Anyone who's followed me for the last few months knows that I was anxiously awaiting this game.

#Detroit Become Human #fantasy #Playstation #Quantic Dream #review #video games

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atarimcgregor · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on The Last Jedi

I‘ve written something like this about the last two Star Wars movies, and The Last Jedi is just about the most talked about, controversial one yet, so, of course I‘m going to have some thoughts on it. (And there are spoilers).

The good

While I didn‘t completely hate the „remake-ness“ of TFA, I‘m very happy that it didn‘t continue with this one. The Last Jedi has a lot of elements based on ESB and RotJ but it‘s more like echoes than repetition – there are always twists to it. I think The Last Jedi actually even strengthens TFA through this. It’s a natural evolution of the series’ themes. TFA was all about the new standing in the shadow of the (glorious) old – and the repetition and nostalgia worked in service of that. And The Last Jedi is all about rising out of that shadow – and the twists on the familiar there are similarly in service of that. It‘s very meta. And pretty smart. Thematically speaking, The Last Jedi is probably the strongest movie of the franchise – though it isn‘t flawless in that regard (it has some mixed messages).

Some characters were notably improved. With introductions out of the way, they were able to dive deeper into some of them. Luke was a standout. Mark Hamill finally got to really prove himself as an actor. Leia was a badass… even though that space scene could have been done better. Poe was improved and got nice flaws and character growth. With Rey, I actually did kind of buy that Mary Sue argument in TFA but thought she was much better in this one. She didn‘t really have any real flaws in TFA but The Last Jedi revealed a depth to her that I now see in retrospect was already there in TFA. And I love her origin. I completely disagree with anyone who’s upset about it. It makes her character better and it makes the universe better.

I loved the use of color. That salt planet was probably the most beautiful location in the series’ history.

I didn’t mind the humor. I actually thought it worked better than it did in TFA.

The bad

The Finn story was definitely the weakest one. I don‘t agree that it was pointless, though. It had character development and fit in with the themes. But it definitely dragged. Had some corny parts as well.

The Yoda part had me thinking: „Am I watching fan-fiction right now?“

What I probably disliked the most was Snoke. I thought Snoke was a bad character in TFA because he was too much like the Emperor, but I was very open to the idea that they’d redeem him through something interesting they had planned for the next movies. But now it’s obvious that he was never anything more than a plot device. They just needed an “Emperor 2” to throw out the window. And I think it’s frankly inexcusable that they didn’t give any explanation for him. I’ve seen a lot of people justifying it with “Hey, we didn’t know anything about the Emperor either” and that’s… bullshit. Star Wars was largely a blank slate then. Since then, the world’s been pretty well fleshed out. We now know there were a thousand years of peace before the movies and that the Sith (which we can assume are the only skilled dark side users) were only ever two at a time. The Sith got wiped out and then this ancient, powerful, evil force user shows up and it’s not clear who he is, where he comes from or why he’s showing up now. And then, poof, he’s gone forever. It seems completely obvious to me that this character demands an explanation. This is a gigantic, unignorable plot hole, as far as I’m concerned.

Continuing from Snoke: The same basically goes for the First Order. It’s very unbelievable, even by Star Wars standards, that this terrorist cell would have the resources they do. I let it go in the last one because I was hoping there’d be some explanation for it in the sequels, but no. The government has at least thousands of planets worth of tax money and are still easily crushed by them. This does actually take me somewhat out of these movies. A few lines of explanation would have done wonders.

Perhaps the most important negative aspect I can think of, though, which I’m seriously grappling with right now, is that I’m not sure this movie should exist. The Last Jedi is such a viciously iconoclastic movie. A kick in the gut of the fans of the original ones. It’s the most downer epilogue possible for what is probably the most beloved film franchise of all time. Why do it? I know it works thematically, but I’m still not sure those artistic reasons are sufficient enough. Why does the past actually need to be killed? If it was so important to raise the new Star Wars out of the shadow of the originals, another way to do it would have been to just tell a completely unrelated story. Have it take place 100 years after RotJ, for example. But, of course, people want to see the original characters returning. And if that’s the decision they went with, can they allow themselves to treat them this way? A lot of this seems needlessly cruel. I’m very unsure whether the existence of these new movies is - as overly dramatic as it sounds - morally defensible.

Other thoughts

I somehow managed to completely avoid anything about the movie until the screening. I mean I literally didn’t see a single trailer or TV spot, promotional pictures or anything. I saw like five stills online which told me nothing. It was hard work and I doubt I’ll be able to repeat it for the next one. In the days before seeing the movie I tried to think of what I could reasonably expect to happen in it based on what I knew and all I got was “Rey and Luke will be on that island for probably at least the first third and she’ll probably get trained by him.”

I‘m sort of a prequel apologist and genuinely like the expansion of the universe the prequels brought with them. When watching the sequels, knowing the filmmakers are likely only basing them on the original trilogy, I‘m always looking to see if there’s also something there from the prequels. So far it’s been very, very little. In The Last Jedi, it’s mostly tiny things, such as Luke referring to the Emperor as „Darth Sidious.“ The biggest thing that might be inspired by the prequels is the idea of the Jedi being worthless failures. That seems like a logical continuation of ideas introduced in the prequels.

A horrifying thought that went through my mind while watching the movie was: “Oh, my god. Is… is Reylo canon?” I’ve been pretty vocal with my dislike of that ship, but now I almost feel like apologizing. I didn’t think in a million years there was anything actually to it.

Elaborating on my Reylo hate: I feel like a lot of people, both in real life and the characters in the movies, fail to recognize just how bad Kylo Ren is. He’s basically a genocidal mass murderer. He’s responsible for at least millions of deaths, possibly billions. He might be worse than any people in our actual history. I think it’s actually kind of hilarious that the characters in the movies are always trying to “save him” or believe he can be “redeemed.” If there was any logic to it, then even if he went over to the good side, he’d rightfully be tried in the Star Wars equivalent of the Hague court for crimes against humanity (for lack of a better word) and given just about the maximum sentence.

A lot of people have been complaining about the force being too powerful in this one, and not in line with what we’ve seen before. That’s probably correct, but it didn’t bother me at all for a specific reason. I’m likely completely wrong about it, because no one else seems to have understood it that way, but while watching it I thought the island was a force enhancing location. I figured the Jedi chose it for their temple because it… amplified things. And that was also the reason that dark hole was there. I thought Luke had Rey sit on that rock because it was a particularly force sensitive spot. It’s at least a nice way to ignore a plot hole.

Any fan theories about the kid at the end are dumb. It‘s just a thematic thing.

On that note: I‘m pretty sure J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson have very different ideas about storytelling which probably don‘t mesh all that well together. Abrams seems to be all about the big questions and mysteries. Johnson seems much more focused on the actual closed work and the emotion within it. That seems to have created some plot discrepancy which will hopefully somehow come together in a satisfying way in Episode IX.

Characters I’d like to see show up in the next one: 1) Lando. But I don’t see it happening. Why would he wait so long to join the Resistence? He could probably only logically have appeared in the first two movies. Though I completely understand why that didn’t happen, it would have been too many characters demanding attention. 2) Phasma. Just because of how ridiculous it would be. 3) The Raid guys from TFA. Because they were criminally underused. And I think we didn’t actually see most of them getting killed, sooo…

#Star Wars #Star Wars: The Last Jedi #The Last Jedi #Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi #Thoughts

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hong-kong-art-man · 5 years ago

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THE GLORIOUS HISTORY OF VOICE DUBBING IN HONG KONG——BY MASTER TING YU, BORN IN 1934

One of the acclaimed contemporary composers is Arvo Pärt, from Estonia. He delights us with music played by a wide range of instruments. He however said, “The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all.” Words mean more than facial expressions but it takes a human voice to infuse words with greater power. I would like to use this article to make a salute to the most respectable voice dubbing master in Hong Kong Mr. Ting Yu(丁羽) who was born in September 1934 and is still fit and cheerful.

Ting told me, “I was born in Hong Kong and lived on Prince Edward Road. My father used to be a high-level official of the customs department. He quitted government job and set up 4 hotels. His 10 kids fell asleep every night with a full belly and happy heart. Wing Fong(榮芳) Coffee Shop in Kowloon City was close to Prince Edward Road and it was a hang around place of the movie stars. There, I came to know a director Wu Pang(胡鵬) and scriptwriter Wong Fung(王風). At eighteen, I finished my high school and got no job in the backward 1950s of Hong Kong. Wu and Wong offered me the role of a eunuch in a film. As I was considered educated in those days, I worked my way up to become a production assistant and later assistant director apart from acting.”

“In the 60s, I worked in Shaw Brothers Studio and voice dubbing for films was my specialty. I was approached by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited(TVB) around 1967 and they asked me to be their first Dubbing Department manager. A married man wanted stability and such stability could be traded off against my dream to be a film director. As a result, I have been enjoying my dubbing and ‘subbing’ business in a dark room from the 60s until now for over 50 years. I said ‘subbing’ because in a foreign motion picture, the actor did not speak Chinese and so I ‘acted’ for him vocally in the film.”

A successful man always feels changes and turns them as an opportunity. After working in TVB for some years, Ting finally established his own voice dubbing company in 1973 because the 1970s showed signs of upsurge in films locally made. The pleasure of a peak is when Hong Kong produced more than 300 films a year in the 90s.

Ting explained, “There were 3 causes of the economic boom of dubbing business. Chinese films were made either in the national language of Mandarin or local dialect of Cantonese used in Hong Kong. To satisfy the different market needs of the Chinese in Asia, we had to translate and dub films into either language. Also, the live recording equipment and technology of the old days were not good and any ‘Cut’ shouted by the director would stop all and the shot had to be re-done. The ‘smartest’ way was to shoot a film without voice live recording (called MOS, or Omitting Sound Recording) and to dub the film afterwards. Let me give you an example: 2 days of shooting with sound live recording could be reduced to only 6 to 7 hours when they had adopted MOS.”

“Lastly, popularity made some film stars as busy as a bee. They got no time to practise the dialogue well during shooting. They therefore used an artist of similar voice quality to dub for them at the post-production stage of the film. Jackie Chan(成龍) was one of them.”

I was in an inquisitive mood, “Master Ting, what are the different generations of dubbing artists in Hong Kong?” Ting responded, “There are basically 3 generations. In the 50s to 60s, some stars came from the North China and could not speak Cantonese. So, it was devised that another artist would stand by at the shooting location. She read the lines of the film script aloud while the star was acting and ‘lip imitating’ her, so as to satisfy the need for live recording at that time. This is the crudest form of dubbing.”

“In the 70s & 80s, we got only analog editing technology but no digital signals. In order to edit the soundtrack of a motion picture conveniently, every dubbing session was about one minute without any interruption. The dubbing artist had to memorize the lines of a script for that one minute. To make it worse, the artists in the 70s were unable to hear their own recording simultaneously with the dubbing due to technical limitations. The artists could not afford any mistake for the one minute.”

“Now, we live in a digital age. All have become too easy for a dubbing artist. He can stop and dub it again at any second. The remaining challenge is only his voice acting skills. Lack of emotion or style may be a problem for many young dubbing artists.”

I asked Ting for his past 60 years contributions to the dubbing world, what he could remember most. Ting smiled, “In the early years when we dubbed foreign films, like the Japanese ones, there was often no script provided to us. The written instructions given to us were very simple and they just told us what a scene was roughly all about. So, we just improvised the dialogues ourselves. We really had fun since we could be as creative as we wanted to be. However, we got into big trouble when the film was a detective story and every line of conversation might imply a hint solving the criminal case.”

We cannot recognize a dubbing artist’s face. It is only after hearing his or her voice that we realize who they are. Master Ting Yu is one of such unsung heroes. They were the hidden daisies among the roses and the stars which broke at the dawn in the glorious evolutions of Hong Kong Hollywood since 1940s.

#Ting Yu #Arvo Pärt #Wu Pang #Wong Fung #Shaw Brothers Studio #TVB #Wing Fong Coffee Shop #Voice Dubbing in Hong Kong #Analog #Ditigal #Omitting Sound Recording

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airoasis · 5 years ago

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Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/questions-no-one-knows-the-answers-to-full-version-2/

Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

On a typical day at college, unending hours are spent learning the solutions to questions, but correct now, we will do the opposite. We’ll center of attention on questions the place you cannot study the answers due to the fact they’re unknown. I used to puzzle about a lot of things as a boy, for instance: What would it not suppose wish to be a dog? Do fish believe affliction? How about bugs? Was the big Bang just an accident? And is there a God? And if that is so, how are we so sure that it’s a He and no longer a She? Why accomplish that many harmless people and animals suffer horrible things? Is there really a plan for my existence? Is the long run yet to be written, or is it already written and we just are not able to see it? But then, do i have free will? I imply, who am I anyway? Am I only a organic desktop? But then, why am I aware? What’s attention? Will robots emerge as mindful someday? I imply, I type of assumed that some day i might be informed the solutions to all these questions.Any person must recognize, correct? Bet what? No person is aware of. Most of those questions puzzle me extra now than ever. However diving into them is unique considering the fact that it takes you to the brink of skills, and also you certainly not know what you’ll to find there. So, two questions that no person on the planet is aware of the answer to. (track) regularly after I’m on an extended airplane flight, I gaze out at all these mountains and deserts and take a look at to get my head round how monstrous our Earth is.And then I bear in mind that there is an object we see everyday that would actually match a million Earths inside it: the sun. It appears impossibly enormous. But in the first-rate scheme of matters, it is a pinprick, one of about four hundred billion stars within the Milky method galaxy, which you will discover on a clear night as a light white mist stretched throughout the sky. And it gets worse. There are might be a hundred billion galaxies detectable by using our telescopes. So if every star used to be the scale of a single grain of sand, simply the Milky method has adequate stars to fill a 30-foot by means of 30-foot stretch of seashore three feet deep with sand.And the whole Earth doesn’t have adequate beaches to represent the celebrities within the total universe. This type of seashore would continue for literally enormous quantities of hundreds of thousands of miles. Holy Stephen Hawking, that is a lot of stars. But he and other physicists now feel in a reality that is unimaginably higher nonetheless. I imply, first of all, the one hundred billion galaxies inside variety of our telescopes are probably a minuscule fraction of the total. House itself is increasing at an accelerating p.C.. The vast majority of the galaxies are setting apart from us so rapid that light from them could in no way reach us. Nonetheless, our bodily reality here on earth is intimately linked to those far-off, invisible galaxies. We can consider of them as part of our universe. They make up a single, enormous edifice obeying the same physical laws and all produced from the identical forms of atoms, electrons, protons, quarks, neutrinos, that make up you and me.Nonetheless, contemporary theories in physics, including one known as string idea, are actually telling us there would be countless different universes built on different varieties of particles, with distinctive residences, obeying specific legal guidelines. Most of these universes might under no circumstances help existence, and would flash in and out of existence in a nanosecond. But nevertheless, mixed, they make up a vast multiverse of possible universes in as much as eleven dimensions, presenting wonders past our wildest creativeness. The leading variation of string thought predicts a multiverse made from 10 to the five hundred universes. That’s a one adopted by 500 zeros, a number so gigantic that if every atom in our observable universe had its own universe, and all the atoms in all those universes each had their possess universe, and also you repeated that for two more cycles, you’d nonetheless be at a tiny fraction of the complete, particularly, one trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillionth. (Laughter) however even that number is minuscule compared to an extra number: infinity. Some physicists consider the distance-time continuum is literally infinite and that it includes an infinite number of so-called pocket universes with varying residences.How’s your mind doing? Quantum idea provides a whole new wrinkle. I imply, the speculation’s been verified actual past all doubt, however deciphering it’s baffling, and some physicists believe which you can only un-baffle it if you imagine that colossal numbers of parallel universes are being spawned each second, and lots of of these universes would truely be very like the arena we’re in, would include multiple copies of you. In one such universe, you’d graduate with honors and marry the character of your dreams, and in one more, now not a lot. Good, there are nonetheless some scientists who would say, hogwash. The one meaningful answer to the question of how many universes there are is one. Just one universe. And a few philosophers and mystics could argue that even our own universe is an illusion. So, as you will find, right now there is no contract on this question, now not even close. All we all know is the answer is someplace between zero and infinity. Well, i assume we know one thing more. This can be a lovely cool time to be studying physics. We simply maybe present process the largest paradigm shift in abilities that humanity has ever visible. (song) someplace in the market in that colossal universe there must undoubtedly be countless other planets teeming with life.But why do not we see any evidence of it? Well, this is the noted question asked by Enrico Fermi in 1950: where is each person? Conspiracy theorists declare that UFOs are journeying all the time and the experiences are just being included up, however honestly, they don’t seem to be very convincing. But that leaves a real riddle. In the past yr, the Kepler area observatory has found 1000s of planets simply around regional stars. And in case you extrapolate that knowledge, it appears like there might be half a thousand billion planets just in our own galaxy. If anyone in 10,000 has stipulations that would aid a form of existence, that’s still 50 million viable existence-harboring planets right here within the Milky method. So here’s the riddle: our Earth failed to kind until about 9 billion years after the massive Bang.Numerous other planets in our galaxy will have to have formed earlier, and given existence a danger to get underway billions, or without doubt many hundreds of thousands of years earlier than happened on this planet. If only a few of them had spawned smart existence and started growing technologies, these applied sciences would have had millions of years to grow in complexity and vigor. On this planet, we now have obvious how dramatically science can accelerate in simply one hundred years. In thousands of years, an sensible alien civilization would readily have spread out across the galaxy, possibly growing big power-harvesting artifacts or fleets of colonizing spaceships or glorious artistic endeavors that fill the night sky. At the very least, you’d think they’d be revealing their presence, intentionally or otherwise, by way of electromagnetic alerts of 1 style or one more. And but we see no convincing proof of any of it. Why? Good, there are countless feasible solutions, some of them relatively dark. Possibly a single, superintelligent civilization has certainly taken over the galaxy and has imposed strict radio silence considering the fact that it can be paranoid of any talents competitors. It can be simply sitting there competent to obliterate some thing that becomes a hazard.Or probably they’re now not that wise, or maybe the evolution of an intelligence able of constructing sophisticated science is a long way rarer than we’ve got assumed. In any case, it is handiest occurred as soon as on the planet in 4 billion years. Probably even that used to be highly fortunate. Maybe we are the primary such civilization in our galaxy. Or, might be civilization contains with it the seeds of its own destruction by way of the lack of ability to control the technologies it creates. But there are countless more hopeful solutions. For a begin, we’re no longer watching that tough, and we’re spending a pitiful sum of money on it. Handiest a tiny fraction of the celebrities in our galaxy have rather been checked out intently for signs of intriguing signals. And maybe we’re no longer looking the correct manner. Possibly as civilizations increase, they swiftly detect communique technologies some distance extra refined and useful than electromagnetic waves. Perhaps all the action takes location inside the mysterious just lately discovered darkish topic, or darkish power, that appear to account for most of the universe’s mass.Or, possibly we’re watching on the fallacious scale. Possibly smart civilizations come to realize that lifestyles is finally simply problematic patterns of information interacting with each and every different in a gorgeous manner, and that that may occur more effectively at a small scale. So, simply as on this planet, clunky stereo techniques have contracted to beautiful, tiny iPods, possibly clever lifestyles itself, with the intention to curb its footprint on the atmosphere, has turned itself microscopic. So the sunlight procedure maybe teeming with aliens, and we’re just now not noticing them. Perhaps the very ideas in our heads are a type of alien existence. Well, k, that is a crazy inspiration. The aliens made me say it. However it’s cool that recommendations do appear to have a existence all of their possess and that they outlive their creators. Probably organic lifestyles is only a passing segment. Well, inside the subsequent 15 years, we might begin seeing actual spectroscopic understanding from promising neighborhood planets so one can expose simply how existence-friendly they probably.And in the meantime, SETI, the seek for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is now releasing its data to the general public in order that hundreds of thousands of citizen scientists, might be together with you, can convey the vigor of the gang to become a member of the search. And here on earth, effective experiments are being accomplished to try to create lifestyles from scratch, life that might be very specific from the DNA varieties we all know. All of this will help us fully grasp whether the universe is teeming with life or whether or not, indeed, it’s simply us.Either answer, in its possess way, is awe-inspiring, in view that even though we are on my own, the truth that we feel and dream and ask these questions would but end up one of the vital principal info about the universe. And i’ve one other piece of fine information for you. The search for abilities and working out not ever gets stupid. It would not. It’s genuinely the opposite. The extra you realize, the extra amazing the arena seems. And it is the crazy potentialities, the unanswered questions, that pull us ahead.So stay curious. .

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years ago

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Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/questions-no-one-knows-the-answers-to-full-version-2/

Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

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zenbabytravel · 6 years ago

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Cirque du Soleil is back at Royal Albert Hall with a roar! Totem is 2019 London’s evolution themed extravaganza, from amphibians to beach posers, Amerindians and modern Europeans cliches, turbulent oceans fusing with volcanoes and becoming green lands, tribal flying becoming a space odyssey. Our Totem Cirque du Soleil review can not be anything but glorious, for 2 hours I oscillated between goosebumps, laughing and transported on far away lands and ancient times; whilst my 5 years old watched in awe at his favourite themes such as lava, fish, space and flying. Totem Cirque du Soleil London brings 2 hours of pure magic where human boundaries are constantly challenged and pushed.

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Cirque du Soleil is back at the Hall with a roar 🔥 #Totem explores humankind ties to nature and dreams of water, sky and fire 💙 Pure magic and sheer art 💙 Review coming shortly on the blog Second #CirqueduSoleil for me in a month, feeling so spoilt, thank you so much for the #invite! 🥂 Fabulous #londonshow #kensingtonmums #londonshows #kensingtonkids #CulturedKids #kensingtonart #RoyalAlbertHall #rah #totemshow #londonwithkids #culturevulture #totemcirquedusoleil

A post shared by Zenbabytravel (@zenbabytravel) on Jan 23, 2019 at 3:04pm PST

There’s a giant, skeleton-like acrobatics structure and a magic bridge that unfurls into different shapes, with stunningly real projections of lapping water and darting surround sound merging into a full sensory rush.

We found the transitions between set pieces seamlessly done and the acts beautifully varied: between gravity defying amphibians or Bollywood inspired heroes; fun acts with cultural stereotypes including apes, early humans and a puffed-up businessmen hilarious but super skilled; tensioned acts where we just watched in awe and terror roller skaters spinning and whirling at heart stopping speeds; Italian and Spanish boys; primal passions and primary skills.

vid_20190123_193752-mp4

vid_20190123_212740-mp4

vid_20190123_201014-mp4

vid_20190123_212011-mp4

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Totem Cirque du Soleil London brings the spectacle to an exquisite level and as always The Royal Albert Hall is the most magnificent and gracious setting for this visual and audio feast.

It’s been the second Cirque du Soleil for me in 2 weeks as no Vegas trip is complete without seeing one! So feeling utterly spoilt and very grateful! Last year the 5 years old (well technically 4 back then) watched Ovo in awe for his first time, but Totem Cirque du Soleil Royal Albert Hall he reckoned it’s even more amazing! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Totem Cirque du Soleil London has magic and primary passions, spirituality, love, trust and mischief – a glorious rollercoaster starting from water and ending in water- metaphors after metaphors, humankind constantly challenging and transcending their context and limits in a show of pure magic and sheer art.

PS: Thanks so much for the invite! Pleasure as always to feature the iconic Royal Abert Hall and Totem Cirque du Soleil review has been a delight!

Totem Cirque du Soleil review Cirque du Soleil is back at Royal Albert Hall with a roar! Totem is 2019 London’s evolution themed extravaganza, from amphibians to beach posers, Amerindians and modern Europeans cliches, turbulent oceans fusing with volcanoes and becoming green lands, tribal flying becoming a space odyssey.

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elwickosnr-blog · 6 years ago

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Kojima’s evolution of Ludonarrative Dissonance

In gaming circles Hideo Kojima is something of a living god, founder of Kojima Productions Co and the master-mind behind the Metal Gear Solid titles, P.T and much anticipated Death Stranding(1). Narrative to me is more than just the story being told but holds somewhat of a complexity or reference to the perspective and intended meaning intended by the storyteller. John Hartley recognizes that narrative is comprised of two distinct facets. The plot, in which the characters are generally issued a problem. Surmising that they will inevitably overcome in the conclusion of the piece. The second facet the choice or presentation, essentially how the story unravels(2). Always hoping to intrigue the audience and keep them guessing, not to give anything away. Video games like any other media show their true genius when combining these elements in an eloquent way to give deeper subjective meaning to the artwork.

Clint Hocking the creative director of Ubisoft coined the term Ludonarrative Dissonance in terms to video games(3). Fundamentally the idea that quite often in video games the players actions don’t particularly match up with the narrative unfurling in the cutscenes or even cues within the game. He critiques Bioshock’s narrative for saying ‘it is best to do what is best for me without consideration of others’ while simultaneously the game mechanics rely on you helping others in order to progress in the game. Which in retrospect was what lost my appeal early on playing the game myself which I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Now Hideo Kojima is no blind fool when it comes to metatextuality and often in his games there is more than meets the eye within the story. The emergent narrative of P.T(Playable Teaser) was ground-breaking in its use of complex interactive game mechanics to build a story which made the few jump-scares feel all the more immersive. Some might say the looping of the level played over and over again placed some sort of hidden metaphor to his own plight of being constrained to years of punching out Metal Gear titles for Konami. Leaving many gamers feeling sorely cheated when the subsequent Silent Hills was axed from Konami’s line-up due to a falling out between the artist and the studio.

It was a glorious swan song though his crowning jewel of the Metal Gear series, the last project of which he works alongside Konami. The series had always circled around the stereotypical action hero of Solid Snake and his father Boss Rife, often an epigram to the portrayal of masculinity in popular culture(4). In this last title though he jests a remark towards this newly termed buzz word of ludonarrative dissonance. His games being referred to as such at times. Particularly its main character Solid Snake who is portrayed as someone who laughs in the face of danger, even going at far as to state.

“I never felt truly alive unless I was staring death in the face.”

Whereas the game mechanics mostly circling around gameplay which very much relies and encourages stealth as a successful path for missions. Or for another example the ‘Cogs’ (badies) whose ‘rah-rah kill them’ demeanour is subverted by the fact they cower for cover at the sign of any serious altercation(5).

Spoiler alert. He exercises superb non-linear narrative to subdue the often employed ‘immersive’ element in gameplay of character customization to full effect, to not only tell the story but enhance it with metatextual meaning. Character customization is often used in video games as an easy design mechanism to impede contrast to player behaviour going against the narrative. As after all the player is playing themselves after creating their own character. Although deepness of the character constructed by the narrative is fatally impacted with less substantial and concrete character traits to tie into the narrative.

Now the story starts with our well acquainted protagonist of Boss having awoken from a coma. The doctor proclaims to him that in order to hide from his enemies he must undertake plastic surgery. So begins, your standard player customization mode to choose how you now want his face to look. Enter ex machina. The hospital is attacked! Before your surgeon can operate you are hastily whisked away to safety by another bandaged comrade, completely disregarding all the time spent on choosing the designs to what face you decided on. Leaving you to play out the game with the same familiar face of Boss..

It is not until later in the game however that you are then returned to the start mission. Subsequently discovering that when escaping the hospital your bandaged rescuer was in fact the character customization that you designed at the start of the game. Revealing to you the truth of the narrative. You haven't been playing as Boss the entire game but in fact a double with enough plastic surgery to appear like him. While your rescuer genuinely was Boss disguised as your character. Having already had the plastic surgery himself. A plot twist nobody saw coming but nonetheless a testament to Kojima’s narrative talent and skill.

So what can we take away from this. I personally learnt that narrative in games is a complex beast. Like most media it features a protagonist. Perils which they must overcome. Not all games follow a non-linear narrative path but it is an excellent tool for expanding understanding to points which are better left unexplained till the crescendo. The biggest aspect though is that the players own gameplay and the mechanics of the game is an integral facet to the narrative. Unlike film the story exists in an interactive world and the mechanics can either add to or attract to the identity of the game. Kojima has taken this fatal flaw to games and turned it on it’s head to make it one of the games strengths.

youtube

1)http://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/

2)http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Media_and_Free_Culture/Communication_Culture_and_Media_Studies-John_Hartley.pdf

3)https://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing/2007/10/ludonarrative-d.html

4)https://www.destructoid.com/--319785.phtml

5)http://www.thegamecritique.com/recent-posts/in-defense-of-ludonarrative-dissonance/2283/

6)https://www.bradford-city-of-film.com/metal-gear-solid-creator-hideo-kojima-receives-bradford-city-of-film-cinematography-award/

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zeroviraluniverse-blog · 7 years ago

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Mark Nicholas: Cricket isn't ready for the grave just yet

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/mark-nicholas-cricket-isnt-ready-for-the-grave-just-yet/

Mark Nicholas: Cricket isn't ready for the grave just yet

Forms of cricket were played in medieval times – a shepherd with his stick, stone and wicket gate. Much of the game’s terminology has its root in the old Anglo-Saxon names for various bits of equipment used by shepherds; thus, the “wicket” surely came from the wicket gates used for penning the sheep, and the “bail” must derive from the bail slid to secure that gate. Possibly the name “cricket” derives from the “crook” carried by shepherds.

The historians, to whom we are all indebted, have reported clear evidence of organised cricket being played in the south of England since the early days of the 18th century “to give amusement and provide diversion from agricultural life”. Sunday was rest day and country people gathered on the village greens to begin a long association with the game, albeit a very different one from today.

Initially, cricket was played low to the ground, with underarm bowling aimed at two stumps that were no more than shin- to knee height, topped by a single bail. The bat was curved at the bottom – like a hockey stick – to deal with the scooting hand-bound leather ball. In the days before rollers and mowers, pitches were impossibly uneven and scores, recorded by notching a stick, were extremely low.

The laws of the “Noble Game of Cricket” were drawn up as “Articles of Agreement” in 1744 by landlords who had become fascinated by the opportunity to gamble on matches played by a combination of aristocracy and work hands. The articles laid down the distance between the two wicket ends, the width of the bat, the approximate weight and dimension of the ball, and the measurement of the two creases. It was around this time that the physical stymie of fielders by batsmen was banned, to prevent the punch-ups that ensued when the stakes were high. (Imagine the sight of Virat Kohli barging down Kagiso Rabada as he is about to catch him!)

“The concern for today’s cricket is that bat overruns ball; that the balance of the two needs to be the one constant essential. As an ideal that is right, but the game is inherently weighted in favour of batsmen, it just is”

Hambledon in Hampshire is said to have been the first club. The men who drank together in the Bat and Ball pub also played together, being able collectively to beat any other group of cricketers in the land. In 1775 a tight match went in favour of Hambledon because the Kent bowler, “Lumpy” Stevens, bowled so straight at Hambledon’s last man in, John Small, that the ball went through the two stumps on numerous occasions and Small therefore survived to see the winning runs hit at the other end. After which, a third stump was added to the wicket.

By the start of the 19th century, Hambledon had lost something of its magic. Instead, the Marylebone Cricket Club, formed by the body of men in and around London who had written the Laws of the Game, was making a name for itself at Thomas Lord’s first ground, just a mile or two from where Lord eventually settled in St John’s Wood. The establishment of the railways opened up industrial England and interest in the game soon spread. William Clarke, another publican, set up a travelling group of professionals from Nottinghamshire, who made tidy sums across the country from the 1840s onwards. One of these was John Wisden, whose famous Almanack is considered the game’s bible to this day.

From this point, cricket moved very quickly. Pitches had improved with machinery, and overarm bowling had been mastered, particularly through the skills of spin and cut. By the time George Parr took a team to Canada in 1859, the game was fast going international and England was no longer the sole stakeholder. Indeed, in 1877, the first Test match was played in Melbourne, between Australia and England. Charles Bannerman’s unbeaten 165 gave Australia a famous win and triggered the long and often controversial rivalry between the two nations.

In many ways, the game looked much as it does today. First-class records began in 1864; the Ashes in 1882, after the famous obituary written in “affectionate memory” of English cricket appeared in the Sporting Times. Grand personalities began to attract a fan base of sorts, and first among them, of course, was WG Grace. This huge man bestrode both the amateur and professional games in England, while also travelling frequently to Australia – not least for a special series of matches conceived by Lord Sheffield, a tour from which was derived the Sheffield Shield.

The shiver of expectation: every time the likes of Buttler and Maxwell come to the wicket in the shorter formats, they send currents through the crowd Getty Images

Australia’s renaissance period at the turn of the century included many players of great colour and character, though none quite had the charismatic genius of Victor Trumper. CB Fry once said that Trumper appeared to have “three strokes for every ball”, and other phrases used to describe his play included “sheer mastery”, “amazing brilliance” and “unrivalled skill”. He died young, in 1915, of Bright’s disease, aged 37. The news briefly broke the trail of wartime headlines throughout the Commonwealth.

The period from the late 1800s to the First World War is often referred to as the Golden Age – as much for the increasing wealth, growing opportunities for travel and generally high confidence of the countries in the British Empire as for the cricket they played. If Trumper was the Australian gift to the age, so Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji was an Indian jewel in England’s crown. “Ranji” had arrived in England to attend Cambridge University in 1888. He was just 16 years old and did not immediately suggest batting immortality. In his final year, however, he made runs and attracted interest from Sussex, for whom he then excelled. Intially, MCC ruled against an Indian representing England, but the more practical approach of the men in the north of country ensured he was chosen for his first Test, against the Australians in Manchester in 1896. In those days Test teams were chosen by the hosts of the match, and Lancashire saw Ranji’s huge commercial value. He made 62 and 154 not out, and though England narrowly lost a fine match, Ranji won hearts across the land.

His virtuoso batting was a revelation, especially off the back foot, and his origination of shots – not least the leg glance – quite remarkable. These were glorious days for batsmen, as equipment improved and advanced preparation of pitches made for relatively even and certainly faster surfaces. Writing in the early 1920s HS Altham observed: “Neither excellence of pitches not weakness of attack can supply an adequate explanation of what, to my thinking, is the outstanding feature of English cricket at this time – the superiority of bat over ball… There are aggressive batsmen playing, men who would never surrender the initiative to the bowler. On flat wickets the great majority of leading batsmen have no use for the short backlift… they are masters of the drive.” And said Harry, “the cut is not yet d mod “! These are words of almost 100 years ago.

All of which preamble leads to watching Glenn Maxwell, Jos Buttler and others over these past weeks. Strokeplay today is original, strong, supple and remarkably well coordinated. The speed of conception and execution at times defies belief. Batsmen are free to score, rather than obliged to survive. You might think the spectators had seen enough to be blase, but the shiver of expectation is there from the moment each of the short-form “moderns” makes his way to the wicket. The split seconds at which they strike bring a fizz of electricity into the air – Buttler using his amazingly flexible and powerful wrists to hit a yorker over mid-off for six, or Maxwell screwing his hands and arms inside out to scythe a perfectly good full-length delivery into the tiniest gap between the point and cover boundary rider for four.

“We may worry for the elegance of the cover drive and wonder about the lost outswinger but there will be other joys to reflect upon”

The concern for today’s cricket is that bat overruns ball; that the balance of the two needs to be the one constant essential. As an ideal that is right, but the game is inherently weighted in favour of batsmen, it just is. And yet bowlers have always found a way – think Bodyline; Ramadhin, Valentine and the Indian spinners of the 70s; West Indies from 1976 to 1995; reverse swing; the rebirth of wristspin; the doosra, the DRS, and now the weird and wonderful variations of pace and cut that give succour to the leather-flinger in his four-over allowance.

Cricket has always reinvented itself in one way or another and ridden mighty storms. It will almost certainly do so again. In fact, we could argue that the speed of evolution between 1860, say, and 1900 was similar to the period of breakneck change that began with World Series Cricket in late 1977 and continues apace now. Pitches are certainly flatter, a reason perhaps for scores being higher, run rates faster, bowlers more diverse in their skills (if no faster in the delivery of them) and fielders more athletic and entertaining.

Back in the late 1800s the game reacted to the social biography of the day: in reach, format and method. This was the first sign that cricket was to evolve alongside the way people used their time. T20 is a natural extension of life today – communication, travel, food, recreation, etc. In the 1970s, one-day cricket was to some the perceived threat, the monster that would, at best, push Test cricket towards something less artistic and fulfilling, or at worst, wipe it out. It was a 60-over game then – yes, 60 overs per side was once the zeitgeist – and seen as loose, destructured, commercial, and at the behest of the television god. As it turned out, one-day cricket brought the best out of Test cricket, making it a puzzle that, if less cerebral, is more dynamic and result-driven than ever before.

And guess what, T20 has brought the best out of one-day cricket, which is having a little revival in the affections of players, administrators and fans. The next thing for one-day cricket is better scheduling of fewer matches, tighter rules and much, much more promotion. Most of all, it needs context in the form of a league system that sets up qualification and seeding for World Cups.

We must trust the resilience of cricket and have faith in this ability for reinvention. We may worry for the elegance of the cover drive and wonder about the lost outswinger but there will be other joys to reflect upon, and frankly, so long as the young remain starry-eyed at Buttler and Maxwell and company, the legacy of Grace, Trumper and Ranjitsinhji will not have been wasted.

#Cricket

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