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tiesandtea · 4 years ago

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Mr. Lazy – fanzine interview with Alan Fisher, December 2004

intrepid suede globetrotters elina and sirje conducted this interview with alan fisher, the man about whom songs like "lazy", "high rising", "beautiful loser" and, according to the man himself, "the most of the others as well" have been written. (editor's note: not to suggest that alcohol played any part in this q&a session, but it did take place in alan's local. oh, and in other locations in the uk, plus morocco & finland, in both oral & written forms. anyway, surely worth all the so-called trouble.) no animals, be they cats or terrapins, were harmed during this interview, but a considerable amount of wine bottles did get destroyed.

how long have you known brett? where did you grow up?

i have known brett since i was 16/17 – near on 20 years now. i grew up in sussex, near haywards heath.

how does it feel that so many of brett’s lyrics are about you? (did you ever get the feeling that brett was just kind of observing you or waiting around for you to do something flamboyant so that he could write about it?)

it’s very flattering to know that some lyrics are about me. however i was never aware of brett observing me purposely to get lyrics or ideas for songs. it’s funny because there are so many songs that are very personal to me, and you think some part of the song is about you, and they are not. over the years many friends who have been in close contact with brett and the music think that songs are about them, because of various lyrical content. i think brett has ability to take elements from friends’ lives or chapters and create a story blended together, a fusion of characters in one song. i remember when i heard “the big time” and the last line – “now we’re in the big time and you’re in the way” i was extremely put out, i took it very personally. i thought it referred to me, but luckily it didn’t. however i’m pleased to say that my favourite song has to be “lazy”. the original version i think went like this – “here they come with their make up on as lovely as the birds come and see them” which i think is very beautiful. which changed to “here they come gone 7 am bla bla bla”, which was about being up all night, then putting on make up so as to hide the effects of being on a bender, and going down to off-license to buy cornflakes and bottles of red wine.

what was the best experience traveling with suede? (what happened in las vegas?)

difficult question, as i’ve had many amazing experiences on tour with suede. two very contrasting escapades were one journey in japan, and one on the west coast of america. brett and myself had the fortunate experience of visiting a buddhist temple in japan called the “moss gardens”. we visited a temple that was so beautiful and peaceful, and the entire gardens were immersed in moss with beautiful ponds and waterfalls. we sat in the temple and wrote a mantra admist buddhist chanting, which i believe influenced the song “introducing the band”. the other experience was a trip to la, san francisco and las vegas. i seem to remember i hadn’t been to bed for a few days, and when i was there i didn’t sleep much for various reasons. we stayed at a friend’s house in beverly hills called michiko, a house of pure opulence, with plenty of alcohol and other fineries. i seem to remember that towards the end (in vegas) brett wouldn’t let me sleep – just more alcohol. and i think that when i went to bed brett checked to make sure i was alive.

what will/do you miss the most about suede?

the thing i miss the most about suede is being around when a great song is created. i’d come home and brett would say “i’ve got it.”, some missing song on the album and consequently we would stay up night after night listening to the same song over and over – the poor neighbours.

at what part of his career was brett at his happiest?

when he was writing happy songs. actually i don’t think brett ever made happy songs. only joking! i don’t know when brett was actually the happiest. i think maybe when the band first started and the first album came out, that’s when he realised his dreams were coming true.

has brett being famous ever bothered you?

brett being famous has never bothered me; in fact it’s been quite a relief; it’s taken the limelight away from me.

fame can and has certainly changed many people who obtain it. how do you think it's affected brett over the years? has it affected your friendship?

i don’t think fame has changed brett’s fundamental characteristics, obviously it has shaped his life aspects like walking down the street, or having a drink in pub. i think living with me for so long has definitely fucked him up.

is there a lot of divergence between brett's public persona and the man underneath it all?

not really. he’s the same complex, passionate and artistic character at home and on stage, i don’t know about the bedroom though!!

how were the new band members really welcomed?

some dreadful, unmentionable initiation ceremonies.

was brett & bernard getting back together a surprise for you? how do you like the new material? how about brett’s solo material?

not really; they had a magic chemistry together that never really fulfilled its potential. and the new stuff is absolutely great! wait and see!!

what's all this about brett meditating? it was mentioned in the love & poison book.

i haven’t actually read love & poison, which is extremely lame of me, eventually i will. however, i think brett has some interest in meditating, maybe from visiting japan’s buddhist temples and being influenced by their way of living, zen and all that.

is brett good at pub quizzes?

brett, i could imagine, is very good at pub quizzes if he entered them. they have a quiz at our local pub, i think brett and mat osman entered once, and came a very admirable second place, which is no mean feat, because it’s a very professional affair in that establishment.

have there been times when brett did something you wish he hadn't? musical decisions or anything.

i can’t think of anything that resembles a mistake or regret in terms of musical direction. over the years, artists are faced with monumental decisions to make in terms of artistic development; single releases; band commitment and general themes for the forthcoming albums. however, i think brett has the ability to listen to other people’s opinions as well as his own, to come up with the best viable decision. considering the turbulent times of drug taking and various band members coming and going, i don’t think he’s done too badly.

how posh is brett?

how posh is brett – what a strange question – in fact the hardest one i’ve ever been asked! – not at all. crikey, well for somebody that came from a council house and bought second hand records/clothes. he now drinks tea at 4 o’clock in proper bone china tea cups – doesn’t get any posher than that. oh! and he has a butler called jessica rabbit.

does he watch sports on tv?

well it has to be football, brett hates posh sports like cricket & rugby (un)like me. he is very obsessive over the england football team, ipswich and manchester united (because that’s my team, and i always cry when they lose).

what's brett's best quality?

brett’s best quality is having good taste in friends and good taste in music, i.e., suede.

and his worst?

i can’t think of his worst qualities, but i remember the worst thing living with him, he would always become too comfortable on the sofa which would mean i would have to rewind the suede demos and go out and get another bottle of wine from the off-license.

we're sorry this is all about suede/brett... when we start an alan fanzine we’ll interview you about yourself... ok?

ok.

tell us a secret

my favourite colour is black.

how much do suede lie in the interviews? (if you read them)

i’m too busy to read suede interviews, i’ve got my own press cuttings to examine.

what do you think brett would have become without suede?

i’m sure it would have only been with some musical compaction. however, our living arrangements would have resembled something out of “the servant”.

what about you? how much has suede affected you?

suede were the most important thing in my life. as my girlfriend just put it a moment ago whilst i was writing this, it’s like going out with three people: her, me and suede. as i tell her, it could have been worse: i could have been friends with ronan keating.

do you love us? what do you think of suede fans in general? a lovely bunch on whole, or have you had some harrowing experiences with obsessed loonies?

well, i’m a suede fan myself, so i would have to say they are great. obsessed loonies? i am one; i have been stalking brett for 20 years, but he doesn’t realise.

there are lots of mentions of yours and brett's drug use in l&p. is this an accurate characterization of the state of affairs or did it get glammed up a bit for press?

it’s all a myth, i once smoked a joint with brett, it was really far out man! oh, and i snorted some glue at a dinner party once, it was so chic.

tell us something about suede that we don't know.

they are a figment of your imagination!!

tell us something about brett that we don't know.

i know something extremely juicy, real top gossip. but you’re going to have to wait to see whether he meets my blackmail demands.

if you were an animal, what kind of animal would he be? what kind of animal would brett be?

brett refers to me as an electrocuted rabbit, something similar to the mad hatter in alice in wonderland. i think brett would be a very feline cat.

speaking of cats, they tend to go missing, don’t they?

we had a cat called meisk – when brett was on tour it went missing. when i found it on the street, i thought it had a cold because it had a funny meow – it turned out to be the wrong cat. i remember brett was extremely pissed off. we had another cat called sphinx that was an incredibly lively character, it had a long run up – then produced its claws and wham!!

have you ever been arrested?

yes! on several occasions, on suspicion of being sinister and bad influence on society.

dave thompson’s yet-to-be-published suede-book, an armchair guide to suede, includes this:

"‘young men’ developed out of lyrics written for a joke band, the bruisers, that anderson, his flatmate alan and a hairdresser friend named gary hatched one evening;"

can you tell us anything more about this?

after one crazy night early in the morning we had this inspiration to form a band based on idea of national front skinheads with the title song “british bulldog”. brett and gary were both very amusing and inventive with songs like “santa ain’t a wanker” etc.

besides that, have you ever been musically inclined or in a band yourself?

after hearing brett playing an instrument called the melodica, something like a mouth organ with a pipe attached to it, waking me every morning, it put me off music for life.

what other music are you into besides suede?

sigue sigue sputnik and mozart.

have you and brett ever had a fist fight? have you ever fought over who does the shopping or cleans the toilet or whose dirty plates are in the sink?

we have never had a fist fight in 20 years. however, we once had a duel at sunrise over who was the vainest.

that’s it then. say something nice. or mean. whatever you like. thanks!

stop asking me questions about brett, and more about myself!

Source: Pornographic & Tragic, the official Suede fanzine, issue 2 (December 2004).

#suede #this is actually a great & fun read

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auburnfamilynews · 4 years ago

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Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Time to Barn Hard

Here we go... With under 24 hours until the kickoff of Auburn’s 2020 season, the luminaries here at College & Magnolia offer their sage opinions on what Tiger fans will see tomorrow afternoon. Most of us see a close contest destined to give us that all too familiar fall Saturday heartburn but there are a few brave souls who are prepared to barn hard no matter what.

Auburn (-7.5) vs Kentucky (O/U 49.5)

2019 Auburn fans won’t recognize 2020 Auburn. Bo Nix is going to take a huge leap forward. His receivers are healthy for game one. Our fearless leader has finally found someone he trusts enough to manage playcalling duties. The defense will reload with All-Conference (and maybe All-American) talent. A talented (and deep!) group of hard-hitting running backs. Pre-season optimism has overwhelmed pre-game jitters for me. Look for Chad Morris to show off all his weapons Saturday. He has a tendency to put up a lot of points in his first game at a new school. Brace yourselves, Wildcats. Let’s barn hard, yall.

Auburn 48

Kentucky 14

-Josh Dub

I was talking with a friend of my wife’s the other day and she asked how I thought Auburn would do. I was raised by an old school Auburn fan who taught me to sandbag and say that we were just hoping that everyone buckled their chin straps correctly and that they just had fun out there. That was met with my wife telling her, I always do this. I responded by saying that I just lower the bar so that, when they win by 40 in a game I don’t expect, I get the rush of being a kid again and genuinely happy when Auburn wins.

That said! HERE WE GO!

Auburn has got stars everywhere on the outside and in the backfield but a bunch of green horns on the starting line on offense, so IF Chad Morris (or Gus if he is still calling the plays) can use quick screens and....this route called a slant...to hide the fact that the Auburn offensive line will look a lot like the French army circa 1938, then they might buy a few chances for Anders to kick some field goals.

On defense, you don’t lose D Brown and Marlon and get better. You probably don’t maintain the production you had last year on the D-Line. You can get back there, but that takes time and experience. That said, I am a bit more bullish on the defense as a whole. There is a ton of talent to go around on the line and the secondary and the Linebackers may be the best in the conference. Once again, the defense will keep Auburn in every game for the most part. And that new line will be tested against a really well coached, running offense that Kentucky brings to the Plains.

I love what Mark Stoops has been able to build in Lexington, and sort of done what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa State, that team you just don’t want to see cause they are scrappy and will take advantage of your mistakes. On the betting lines, I am staying away from this one with spendy cashy monies but with fakey non-existant moneies, I love the Cats getting a touchdown and a hook because I see this one being in the 3-4 range with Auburn probably winning, just based on history and going with my heart, but I could totally see Kentucky pulling this off as well.

Gimme Auburn over Kentucky 27-24 and the defense had to get a late stop to seal this one away. Nothing like a late missed FG to start that stomach ulcer.

(betting pick: UK and the points, Over at 51)

-Drew Mac

Auburn *should* win this game. Auburn *should* have the talent advantage. But hey, this is 2020. Who knows what havoc Covid will have wrought on install for any given team.

That being said, I trust Bo Nix’s development as a true sophomore. I think this Auburn team, while still going through some growing pains, will finally start to hit on explosive plays with a veteran WR corps. This Kentucky defense is not the one that one 10 games two years ago.

The only way things go sideways is if the retooled defensive line can’t stop the Kentucky ground game, which is an extremely valid concern. The Wildcats have three returning backs who combined for 1,900 yards and 18 TDs while sharing the spotlight with Lynn Bowden Jr last year, and Terry Wilson is no slouch. I think the Auburn linebackers are going to have to earn their keep as best LB group in the SEC here in week 1.

Auburn takes this one with some big plays through the air and a defense that bucks up in the second half. 27-13 Auburn.

-Ryan Sterritt

I’m a huge proponent of playing a patsy in week 1. In a normal season fall camp doesn’t really give a complete picture of how an offensive line communicates in real time, how well the quarterback has his timing down with his receivers, if the tailback has fumbling problems, mike linebacker being able to switch the defensive alignment based on tendencies, etc. etc. But if you can’t play a patsy I’m a huge proponent of playing a top 10 team who will keep you engaged without distractions leading up to kickoff and will tell you so much about where you can go from here. What you don’t want is a trap game in week 1.

Folks what we have here is a trap game in week 1.

We’re 14 points better than Kentucky. I genuinely believe that. Talent wise and coaching we’re at least 2 scores better than this football team at home. And it does not matter one bit thanks to COVID.

I am so concerned over what we’re going to look like out there considering how many guys were held out at various points of our extended fall camp thanks to COVID. Which wouldn’t be as big of a deal in a normal year, even though it would still be a big deal, but OH YEAH WE HAD NO SPRING PRACTICE. So in keeping with my tradition of being absolutely God awful at Barnin’ Hard, this tiger ain’t changing his stripes for this one.

Keys to victory:

- Stop a Kentucky ground attack with a defensive line that is fully capable of plugging the gaps and have your linebackers make plays in space. This will only work if our corners, who will be in a lot of one on one situations, make plays. Jaylin Simpson is the guy that will get picked on, and this is a fine opportunity for the redshirt freshman to get thrown into the deep end to see if he’ll sink or swim in his first meaningful snaps. If he can hold his own, we’re in good shape.

- Establish an intermediate passing attack early in this game. Keep their defense off balance early on the offensive script and allow Bo Nix and an offensive line that will struggle but has a higher ceiling than that of the last 2 seasons gain some confidence early.

- Get the fastest player in all of college football 10 touches/targets for the day. This one may appear in all 10 entries of “Keys to Victory” for our schedule this year. Scheme to get Anthony Schwartz the ball in multiple ways. And then scheme off of it to get other players in positions to be in favorable coverages.

- Rotate your running backs in a way that makes sense instead of giving the “guy with the hot hand” 25 carries. This running back room is deeper and more talented than it has been since the healthy parts of 2016/2017 for Pettway and KJ. Give these guys a chance to punish Kentucky’s defense with fresh legs for 4 quarters. Make them hate playing us.

- Oh, and finally, get some sound sleep and show up alert for an 11 AM kickoff. I don’t need to explain to any of you why this is obviously something we should all worry over.

All in all I think being at home does matter, despite 20,000 people in the stands. Traveling in these uncertain times has to account for something, right?

Auburn 27 Kentucky 21

-Josh Black

If the first few weeks of football are any indication, I’m expecting some low scoring sloppy games on Saturday. And while Auburn’s rivals have essentially “warmup games” to start their season, Auburn will play another ranked opponent in Week 1. That’s JABA right?

Anyways, I’m really excited to see this group of Running Backs led by Captain Shaun Shivers this season. I’m really excited to see Shaun get the opportunity to start and it’ll be interesting to see how many carries he and the rest of the RBs get on Saturday. This is an experienced receiving corps too led by Seth Williams, “Flash” Anthony Schwartz and veteran Eli Stove.

The biggest question to me (other than the offensive line) will be the defensive line as it’s hard replacing Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson. And we can all hope for better O-Line play this season and a more mature Bo Nix as he enters Year 2 as the starting QB.

As I said earlier, I’m thinking this is a low-scoring game and I’m a bit concerned about this one, with the 11AM kick and all but I’ll take Auburn in a close one.

Auburn 17 Kentucky 14

-Will McLaughlin

I firmly believe Auburn has a significant talent advantage at the skill positions in this matchup. Yes the Cats have an athletic QB, a strong stable of backs, intriguing WRs and a surprisingly good secondary but across the board I’ll take Auburn. However, it won’t matter if the Tigers lose the line of scrimmage battle which is way more likely than any of us wanna imagine.

As you have probably read, heard, seen by now, Kentucky has one of the best offensive lines in the country. This isn’t a group made up of 3-star kids with heart. Left tackle Landon Young was a 5-star recruit. Center Drake Jackson was a 4-star ranked as a top 150 player. Future NFLer Darian Kinnard was a 4-star recruit as well. This is both an experienced AND talented front who enjoy physically beating the hell out of their opponents. Everyone in the world knew that a run play was likely coming last fall and it rarely mattered. While I trust Rodney Garner & Kevin Steele to rebuild this front 4 for the Tigers, I am concerned about them being ready to go week 1. Even with Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson last year, Oregon pushed around the Tigers for one half. This UK OL is of the same calibre and it wouldn’t shock me if they came out the gate with similar success.

Then there’s the other side of the ball where the UK return plenty of experience of a solid front 7. However, they were actually pretty porous against the run last fall allowing over 5 yards a carry against SEC competition. The problem is I am not sure if Auburn is ready to take advantage. In most years, when I see a defense susceptible to the run, I expect an AU victory that borders on dominant. I just don’t know if the Tigers though will be ready to go on Saturday.

That’s why Anders Carlson will be the x-factor. I think Auburn’s offense will look disjointed but generate enough explosive plays to get into UK territory consistently. They don’t put the ball in the end zone as much as we would like but Anders knocks through 4 big kicks. The defense rebounds from a rough first quarter to limit the UK offense to only 2 touchdowns on the day. Auburn recovers a late onside kick to escape with a hard won victory.

Auburn 26 Kentucky 20

-AU Nerd

Auburn at 11am.

Auburn in season openers.

Auburn as favorites vs hungry teams.

Yuck. I am finding it hard to Barn as hard...——record scratch—-

(The boys are back in town starts playing)

Just kidding!

The Boys are back!

Guys we are gonna kill em.

Auburn 34- Kats 24

-Son of Crow

Most of the time I have some idea of what to expect. There’s a gut feeling, an inkling, an intuition. Even days when I publicly avow a big win, and we end up losing, I realize that I knew it deep in my soul. This time, I have nothing. I guess that’s what 2020 will do to a man. I can’t pick this game with my heart or my gut, so I have to go with the limited knowledge that we’ve been able to glean from the practice fields. Somehow, Gus has kept it tighter than usual this season. He’s keeping spies, leaks, and COVID out of the fold.

It’s not a big secret that Auburn’s level of talent is superior across the board, but Kentucky might have the mix of experience to go along with its skill to make this a very scary opening contest. We’ve heard that the Wildcats’ lines are both going to be solid, and that gives us a flashback of what the Oregon offense was able to do for about a half last year in Arlington. Auburn can’t afford a slow start on Saturday, because we’ll be breaking in a new offensive line. Now, that might not be the worst thing in the world — our line last year was nothing much to write home about — but they started to get better down the stretch. That said, this year’s group might be more maulers than linemen. Sometimes you just need some dudes being guys up front to push people around. We might have that, thus the run game could come to life with a much more talented group in the backfield. Not to mention, Bo Nix’s sophomore development with a true quarterback coach could be something unparalleled.

Kentucky will give us a fight, but there’s no way I’m picking us to lose this game. It’ll probably be close, and uncomfortably so for a while I’d wager. Still, the home “crowd” and the overall talent win out in the end. I think someone else mentioned Anders Carlson being a weapon in this one, and I agree. I think he hits 3 kicks and Auburn scores 3 touchdowns. Tigers 30-21.

-Jack Condon

In our preseason predictions I pegged this as one of the three games that Auburn could lose, and had it at the top of my list as the one I’m most worried about. That may seem weird, but we really just have no clue how any team, including our own is going to look on Saturday. We’ve all seen how bad some of these other teams already playing have looked, and I guess people think that there’s no way their own team could look that bad, but I’m not so sure. That said, I believe this Auburn team has all the components necessary to be better than last season and thus easily handle a Kentucky team that is, well they’re Kentucky. The new look offense should give an older, more seasoned Bo Nix a chance to throw some higher percentage passes, we have an SEC caliber stable of running backs for the first time in a couple of seasons, and presumably a fully healthy group of receivers. The new-look offensive line doesn’t concern me at all, because, well, I’ve lived through the last two seasons. At this point Kevin Steele and co. have earned my utmost confidence that the defense will pick up right where they left off.

Tigers 37 - Cats 12

-AU Chief

Man alive I wish I wasn’t so worried about this. Kentucky is well coached. They know what they are, and they don’t try to do things outside their comfort zone. Their strengths could cause problems for us. And yet, Auburn has more talent. 2020 is going to be a weird year, but I think having better athletes is going to win out more often than not, because teams are going to have to keep things simple. I like everything I’m hearing out of fall camp. I still don’t know about that line though. I could see a backdoor cover for UK where Auburn has to recover an onside kick to clinch things. I could see a front door cover for Auburn putting the game away late. I’ll stay on the safe side.

Auburn 24

Kentucky 17

(Auburn wins, UK covers; under)

-James Jones

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darisu-chan · 6 years ago

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Wait, why do you think Kim/Ron was better handled that Starco? They seem very similar if anything Starco has had more shippy moments

Oh boy.

I swore I wasn’t going to write an analysis for Kim Possible ever, but were we go!

Kim and Ron were friends for many, many years. They met in preschool and, ever since, they were extremely close. And, although the show portrays Ron as being just Kim’s sidekick, it’s clear he means so much more to her, in which is eventually reveald to be true during the movie special “A Sitch in Time” when Shego realizes the best way to win against Kim is if she separates her from Ron. During that movie we also catch glimpses of their relationship through the years, and how strong it really is. Note that though they’re super close, neither says that they’re like siblings. They just say they’re best friends. In fact, in one of the Christmas episodes, Kim kisses Ron’s cheek since they’re both under the mistletoe, and honestly Kim gave him a flirty look and Ron seemed to enjoy the kiss.

Kim and Ron had crushes throughout the show, with Ron having way more than Kim. The only two real love interests they had were Josh Mankey (Ron made fun of his name all the time), Zita and Yori. It’s never really clear if Kim and Josh actually dated, although Josh seemed interested. The same can be said of Zita and Ron. It kinda looked like they were going somewhere, and then nothing. However, let’s note that in season 3 only Yori makes an appeareance, showing clear interest in Ron, who remained pretty much oblivious lol.

Anyway. So, season 3 pretty much was a game changer. This is when the show actually starts exploring the nature of their feelings. In “Emotion Sickness” there’s a device that controls emotions which happens to make Kim fall in love with Ron. In this episode they also kiss for the first time. Ron thought about dating Kim, since he really thought she’d fallen for him for real. He realizes he’s not ready to date her. He breaks up with Kim, who gets really sad, until the device is removed. However, later on in the season they seem flirty with each other, different than before. Things that wouldn’t have needed explanation before, like Kim taking Ron as her plus one for her cousin’s wedding, and so on implied that there was something going on there. It didn’t need to be explicit for the audience to notice. I mean, guys, ten year old me noticed. I’m sure if you guys rewatch as adults, you too will get it.

Anyway, so “So the Drama” aired at the end of season 3, and this is the movie special which made them canon. What happened here? Kim wanted to finally date someone, and she happened to meet a guy by the name Eric, who was suave, cool, confident and straightforward, so she jumped into the opportunity of dating him. She wasn’t in love with him as much as she was infatuated. And because she was so hung up on Eric, she started ignoring Ron. Now, as for Ron, he was the one which rejected the idea of being with Kim earlier that season, or school year in show time. However, the moment Kim met Eric, he started getting incredibly jealous, specially when he was getting ignored by his best friend. It actually took a while for Ron to understand why he was jealous, and later one he comes to the conclusion that he does have feelings for Kim. And it isn’t anything new. They were always there inside of him, but they weren’t clear until he saw Kim apparently fall for someone else. Anyway, Ron’s despair actually is the reason why he noticed there was trouble. He goes to prom to get Kim. Eric is very dismissing with him, but Kim believes Ron, which is to show she still held Ron’s opinion higher than the new boy. The movie goes on, turns out Drakken was the one behind all the chaos, and Eric was actually a synthodrone created by Drakken. Kim and Ron get captured and Kim’s upset after realizing Eric was deceiving her all along. Ron attempts to cheer her up, saying they still can defeat Drakken, and that she will find the right guy. Kim asks him if there’s a guy for her out there, and Ron replies that there might be one out there. Then, he pauses and adds “or in here.” And since he indirectly confessed to her, Kim finally notices Ron. It’s done in a subtle way but it’s very telling. This gives Kim the confidence to break free and take down Drakken. After defeating Drakken, it is Kim who asks Ron to return to the prom, and they enter while holding hands. The other students look at them and Bonnie, who had been saying since season 1 they were probably dating, exclaims “Ha! It finally happened! Kim’s dating that loser!” (I’m paraphrasing here but I’m pretty sure she said something along these lines). They all cheer, meaning they had been shipping them for forever. A slow dance song starts (“Could It Be”), and Rufus pushes them to dance. As they dance, they progressively get closer until they stop dancing, they look at each other with lovesick expressions, their foreheads touch, and they kiss. Their expressions are very important, because you see all that they’re feeling at the moment. It’s a very beautiful scene. Also the lyrics of the song, sang by Christy Carlson, Kim’s VA fit them perfectly.

So, they kiss and that’s the end of the special.

“So the Drama” was supposed to be the finale, but Disney gave us a final season. And I believe season 4 is the game changer for me in terms of other pairings. In season 4 we actually get to see Kim and Ron in a romantic relationship and what that entails. Hell, the first episode is about Ron being insecure because he’s dating the Kim Possible and he doesn’t compare. He lies to join the football team, only to discover he’s actually very good at running and he earns the position as running-back. Other instances are Kim discussing with Ron that now that they’re dating they should go out on real dates and not keep going to Bueno Nacho all the time. Ron in one episode tells Kim she can be a model because she’s so beautiful. Kim helps Ron when his parents just decide to adopt a baby out of the blue, which greatly upsets him. In that same episode, Kim gets jealous that Yori seems interested in Ron and has to make it clear she’s his girlfriend. And so on. We see them kissing more than once. During the final special, which is about them graduating high school, Ron expresses that he’s afraid something will change in their relationship if they go to different universities. I really liked their development during the special, and at the end they both know they’ll be alright, no matter what happens.

Let’s compare them to Starco.

First of all, the only relationship drama they faced was on the special “So the Drama” and it was used as a device to get them together. They had crushes. Ron more than Kim, actually, but even then, it was obvious their friendship was more important. Besides, they were supportive of each other’s crushes (unless it was Ron liking Bonnie that one episode). When Ron faced jealousy it was honestly after a whole season of development. It was only natural they would date, honestly.

Secondly, Kim and Ron being together was always shown as a positive thing. They never brought pain to each other. Just Ron being jealous during the movie, and that was quickly resolved. And although they claimed they wouldn’t date, after rewatching you get it was just denial lol. But, it was fine, because again, even if they had other friends, other relationships, they were shown to be very important to one another.

Thirdly, they got a whole season to show how their relationship had progressed from friendship to romance. I’m not saying their friendship wasn’t important, but it was definitely very interesting to see that development, and it gave us loads of shipping moments that Starco won’t get. True, KP as a show got very lucky to be renewed for one more season, and if that hadn’t happened, this series would’ve joined the many, many others in which the characters end up together until the very end. However, it goes to show how great the reception was of that finale, which left people wanting for more, and Disney delivered. Doubt it’s gonna happen in SVtFoE. I mean, I’d love it if it got renewed, but it’s very unlikely. Specially since it is the fourth season. KP only had 3, so it was far easier to make another one.

Also, this whole dramatic tension was accompanied with the plot. Granted, KP didn’t have much lore and plot points to tie down, except for Ron’s monkey powers, which without the final season, they would’ve never been fully explained. But it was still nice how this romantic aspect was as important as Drakken’s domination plans. In SVtFoE, it’s honestly felt lately that the opposite is true. With so much lore and plot points to take care of, the romantic aspect of the show seems as if it’s only stalling what truly matters. It hinders the story instead of elevating it, and fans are getting tired of it.

As you can see, the couples might be similar in terms of “best friends who fall in love” but are actually very different.

If Starco becomes canon at the end, instead of being a satisfying moment as it was in KP, it’s gonna be a tired “this pairing really did get drag down until the end, huh”

The show has of yet to show Starco as a positive pairing compared to Tomstar and Kellco, since all they bring to each other is heartbreak when it comes to romance. Kim and Ron were good for each other, because their relationship was freaking strong. Time and time again we were shown why they worked great together. And that there was nothing that could come between their bond. When it comes to Starco, yeah, things have gotten in the way of their relationship. Marco, instead of working as the male lead like Ron did, has been reduced to secondary character for most of season 3 and what we’ve seen of season 4, being replaced by Tom, who’s had way more development than Marco. Star seems to be taking one step forward and two steps backward. Instead of growing organically, they just keep hurting each other, and keep blaming other factors for their growing feelings. Notice Ron didn’t run from his feelings once he discovered them. Neither did Kim in the end. Marco and Star have. Multiple times.

And yeah, Star and Marco are younger than Kim and Ron. By “So the Drama”, they were 17, and Star and Marco are 15. There’s still much left for them to mature. But I just feel that their feelings, the curse, and them dating other people could have been handled much differently.

Tell me what’s the point of making Marco date another girl on the last season?

Or what’s the point of dragging those relationships until the very end?

No matter when Tomstar and Kellco break up, it’s still going to feel as if Star and Marco got together too soon, given the state of things, no matter if they get together during the final minute or so of the show. Which, let’s be honest, the final episode is called “Cleaved”, they’re gonna kiss during the final few seconds as a way of showing them getting together. I have absolutely no expectations of Starco becoming canon anytime sooner.

At this point, I’m tired of all the romance. I’m tired of the shippy episodes. I’m tired of the writers of the show making their relationship more of a mess than it was before. I’m hoping Marco returns to Earth or whatever for a while just so that the boy can finally get the development he needs, away from Star. As for Star, well, there are many things going on for her, let’s hope she solves them.

Hope this long analysis cleared things up for you, anon.

#starco #kim possible #ron stoppable #kim x ron #ron x kim

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kvjff-blog · 5 years ago

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Joshua Ojonuba

Professor Robert Lunday

ENGL 1301

10 October 2019

The Beautiful Game

Two sprained wrists, at least four ankle sprains, couple of cuts and at least a dozen splinters: those are just some of my injuries over the last six or so years of playing competitive soccer. My injuries are on the minor side as many others suffer worse injuries that often require surgeries and months of physical therapy. Professional soccer is played by approximately two hundred and fifty million players in over two hundred countries and dependencies all around the world, making it the world's most popular sport. This does not include the millions more who play for fun, in semi pro clubs, and in amateur leagues all across the world. It would be almost impossible to imagine the amount of injuries they sustain as well as the extent of them. Seeing as the consequences and pain are so substantial, the question as to why so many people like myself play and get influenced by this sport on such a grand scale. The answer is: I don’t know, I don’t think anyone know to be fair. We all just play no matter the cost; the game is all. I remember reading an article about Ada Hegerberg, who is regarded as one of if not the best women’s soccer players alive. In the article she was asked why she even played since she had opted to sit out the women’s world cup for her country. She responded, "Playing football can be damn harsh, but every day is a fight.” reading this the first time I thought to myself, if it is as harsh as you say why not just quit playing? As I look back now I am able reflect on her statement, and I realize that we are similar. Never once while I played did I think about quitting, through the many injuries, through the long draining practices, through the failures and let downs, I fought through. Like Ada and many others I kept on going necessarily because I wanted to but more so because I had to; quitting never seemed like an option as least not one that crossed my mind.

Soccer has been a major factor in my life probably ever since I was a little baby especially after experiencing the major soccer atmosphere in Lagos, Nigeria, where I was born and raised. In fact my earliest memory of the sport was maybe in 2006 during the world cup. It was the qualification stages against Angola, and Nigeria desperately needed a win to qualify for the most famous and prestigious tournament in all of sporting history. When I was a kid in Nigeria, power outages were extremely common as Nigeria was and still is going through a power supply crisis. So it came as no surprise when suddenly in the middle of the game there was a power outage. Because this was an everyday occurrence we had a phase for it - “down nepa”, and when the lights would come back up we would yell “up nepa”. I had never witnessed a sense of community like I saw that day. As soon as the power went out, we immediately rushed out to the industrial generator out back like we always do. After about five minutes of tussling with the generator, struggling, trying to get it started, there was finally a spark visible through the window of the back room. By this time there had been a crowd formed behind us, seemingly the entire neighborhood was behind us cheering at the sight of light. Apparently we were the only household with enough gasoline to power their generator. “Ta lo fe wo ball”, my aunt said in her native Yoruba; she was asking who was ready to watch some ball or football. Which brings me to the question of why it’s called soccer in the U.S.A instead of football like it is everywhere else in the world, it’s like Americans always have to one up everyone else; anyway, I digress. Seeing as we were the only household with power and our TV was definitely not big enough for the magnitude of people that had now gathered expecting a game of soccer. Luckily one of the families in the neighborhood had a flat screen which in retrospect could not have been very big but it was definitely bigger than anything we or anyone within maybe the next three miles did. With our always reliable generator and the newly found TV, we were all ready to witness Nigeria do us proud and make it to the world cup for another year in a row. Even though the rest of the game was boring and disappointing with Nigeria losing one to zero to an admittedly much stronger and experienced squad in Angola, the moment of community and coming together is what makes it a memorable. Year after year, game after game, support poured in from all over the neighborhood. Nigeria vs. Ghana, Nigeria vs. Argentina, Nigeria vs. Brazil, Nigeria vs. Mexico, every lost seemly just as enjoyable as a win. These are the memories that I’ll keep forever, the memories of love, joy, peace and innocence during a time that would otherwise be considered bad or at the very least not ideal.

There is a famous quote that I along with numerous other soccer fans have heard that goes “you play soccer anywhere, you play soccer everywhere” the phase actually says “football” but for the purposes of this we’ll say soccer. The game is simple, right? Score and do not get scored on. The Truth is: yes, it is simple; but the difficult part is what’s left unsaid, the little things that make the game just so beautiful. The buildup, the passionate moments, the joy, the rivalries; these are all things that every fan and player all across the world can relate to. They have been numerous stories of soccer saving communities and bringing people together because as they say no matter how you’re raised or what culture you subscribe to, just like people are people soccer is soccer always. I remember reading a story about one of my favorite soccer players ever, Didier Drogba; unfortunately people from Africa are used to hearing stories of and even experiencing war or civil unrest. Even with him being from the Ivory Coast, where they had gone through extreme civil unrest, he was always representing his home country. "Come to Abidjan, Alex. You will not be disappointed.” he was quoted as saying to a reporter asking about his native country. Civil war had been happening for five years in the ivory coast when, right after leading his nation to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany back in October 2005, he picked up a microphone given to him by a reporter in the dressing room and, surrounded by his team-mates, he fell to his knees live on national television. He begged both fighting sides to lay down their guns and, within a week, his wish had been granted. "It was just something I did instinctively," he said. "All the players hated what was happening to our country and reaching the World Cup was the perfect emotional wave on which to ride." Didier Drogba proved exactly what I have been saying about the power and passion soccer brings into the lives of its fans. In front of everyone in the world and his native people, he got on his knees and pleaded for peace. I can’t think of any other sports that could possibly do that, five years of deadly civil war, ended just like that. As a fellow African watching this unfold on TV, this further inspired me as well as other young African kids to play.

In 2011, when I moved to Houston, I went from merely watching soccer being played to actually playing it. Besides the occasional after school sessions of just the kicking of a peeled over leathery ball, I was never able to fully experience the true essence of the sport. Because not only was it hard to find a suitable environment to play but finding a ball was also almost always impossible as well. Going into middle school I knew that although we did not have a proper team I wanted to be a soccer player, if not professional (I knew at this point I surely could not be a professional player) then at least I could be competitive within the local club or school scene. After I somehow survived three long years in middle school without a sport to play it was finally high school and I would get a chance to play. Quotes like Tony Adams’ - “Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they will remember the name on the back” played back over and over in my head. At the time it almost seemed like making my high school JV b team was at all comparable to the years of years he spent on top of the sport.

Who is Tony Adams, you may ask? Well my dear, dear reader, Tony Adams is without a doubt the best captain arsenal football club has ever seen in all its 133 years of being a top tier team. He was not only one of the reasons I became an arsenal fan but he influenced almost every part of my soccer career. I found myself studying almost everything he did in his prime, looking to emulate even the slightest bit of success from his greatness. I guess looking back now I think it’s clear to me that I desperately wanted to become someone better than I was. Someone more confident, more secure, maybe even just someone different than I was. I essentially tried copying every aspect of his playing style, even incorporating his celebrations as well. If I’m being honest I still sometimes have that feeling of wanting to be someone else other than myself, although not as much as I used to. Honestly I believe playing competitively really forced me to legitimately discover who I was and be comfortable as myself. That being one of many reasons why I would recommend everyone participating in some kind of sport or physical activity. Not to mention the atmosphere and relationships I created along the way.

I find that there is a certain unique sense of community with soccer that just isn’t present in any other activity on the planet, or at least not one I have participated in. Now I do not claim to be some sort of super athletic multi-sport champion but I have played my share of sports and been in quite a few communities. I have played basketball and football, been involved in concert band, art club and even science club. In my humble opinion, in terms of love and support expressed in each community they all pale in comparison to this beautiful beautiful game. In fact the only good comparison that I’ve found seems to be within the jujutsu and kickboxing community which oddly enough is less violence orientated as you would think by just taking a glance in. predictably I have been enjoying the martial arts mainly for the community to the point where it has begun to be almost a religion like soccer was and still is.

Soccer or football (as it’s more commonly called in other countries) is of course a way of life in almost every country all over the world, but more than that I would say it is a religion of sorts. The U.S. is one of the very few places soccer is not hallowed so it is perfectly understandable that some people do not understand the extent of the love people have for this sport. This is the part where I would try drawing a connection to another sport, American football or baseball maybe? Truth is I would hesitate to compare soccer worldwide to any sport as a matter of fact, not just popular American sports. In my experience American football and baseball defiantly have an extremely loyal fan base, but the fans are naturally fickle at times even sometimes changing and switching over between teams. However soccer fans, real soccer fans at least, are often born into their respective team and stay loyal all the way till death. Just like any other religion switching over to another religion (or club in this case) is highly frowned upon and potentially even dangerous. Like most all religions throughout the history mankind, intense rivalries are an ever present theme usually dependent on proximity to the rival club as well as any minor disagreements that may or may not have occur somewhere buried deep in the history of both clubs. As an arsenal fan, of course I despise our rival club, the Tottenham Hotspur, although I will admitted that there are a couple of Tottenham players I enjoy watching and sometimes even root for. I think the first time I ever thought of soccer as like a religion was when I randomly ran into a you tube video comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two players widely considered two of the best to ever play. The video creator spends the beginning portion of the video comparing both their stats for the past 12 years as well as their respected following. He then goes on for what seemed like eternity talking about sportsmanship and how well they have both individually represented the sport. Finally, at the end of the video, he comes up with the conclusion that although the two players are absolutely the best to ever lace up their boots and step onto the field, Messi is the greatest. In his words, “Messi in all his glory is the God of football, with Ronaldo sharing his glory as Jesus or Muhammad”. This seems to have stuck in my subconscious, only revealing itself now after a couple of years after going mainly unnoticed by me at the time.

Before I started writing this memoir I would have never thought that I had this much to say about soccer especially since it is not as much a part of my life as it’s been in the past. I guess in a lot of ways I have changed and evolve into what I would consider a better, more self-actualized version of myself. With that being said, I think it makes sense that soccer isn’t as important to me; it has served its purpose in my life and I’m sure it will continue to. I am forever grateful to this beautiful game and all the wonderful memoirs it brought into my life.

Afterword.

The honest truth is at the beginning of this memoir I was not really going to try as hard as I maybe could have. I was procrastinating, only waiting till the last minute to finish each installments that was due. I think I was thinking about it just as a class project I just had to get done instead of an interest project. After the turning in the first installment of this memoir and getting back the feedback, I began using my free time to write and combine the texts. It is amazing how much I've retained over my many years of playing and watching soccer. it was really interesting bringing back the memories and ideas I had lodged somewhere in my mind. I think by actually caring about this project and the subject, I was able to not only dive deeper but also articulate better.

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erhiem · 3 years ago

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TV review as Nish Kumar’s topical show finds a new home on Dave

Looks like it never went away… After being dumped by the BBC as a move to appease Conservative critics, The Mash Report has resurfaced on Dave with a new name, Late Night Mash . Of course, the irony is that Dave’s parent company, UKTV, is wholly owned by BBC Studios.

Aside from the new graphics and a slightly different set up, almost everything was the same, from the rent to the newsdesk, Rachel Parris being the best thing at it.

In his opening monologue, host Nish Kumar begins the episode by joking about the cancellation controversy: ‘Like the Taliban, despite popular demand, we are back.

Yes, that’s right, I am Nish Kumar and I was canceled by BBC. And like everyone else who’s been “canceled,” I’ve got a new television show on a different channel and I’m more untraceable than ever. Think of me as Brown Lawrence Fox, not because we are similar but mainly because I think he would really hate her.’

Fox replied on Twitter this morning, ‘So happy to mention you in my first monologue, my brother from another mother!’

But you might be able to detect a hint of sarcasm, as Awakened Anti-Warrior said: ‘I hope this show is as successful as your previous show. Which I am sure it will be.’ This is followed by an emoji with folded hands praying.

Kumar’s jokes about his new home continued with remarks that the BBC usually shows Dave ‘without first canceling’ – before referring to the broadcaster losing Taskmaster. “We are really looking forward to making this show a success on Dave, which means I am coming to Channel 4 in two years,” he said.

And later, Paris, above, read a fake tweet that read: ‘Congratulations on Dave’s move from the BBC. I recently got divorced and moved out of the family home to bedsit. You get used to it.’

Otherwise business went on as normal, which is either good news or disappointing, depending on your view of the original. Or, let’s face it, your voting intentions.

But Late Night Mash faces an uphill battle on two fronts. First, trying to be sarcastic about a government that is really beyond satire, seeing as how incompetence has become commonplace. When any litany of ministerial failures committed every week has no results, it seems impotent to point them out with a raised eyebrow.

The other left is leaving Twitter behind. Most of the attitudes and opinions seen on last night’s show have been filling their target audience timelines for months, fueled by the fact that there’s been a year’s worth of news since the last BBC episode. But at times, last night’s installment felt like another echo chamber as it followed a news agenda of Brexit-extreme food shortages, football fans protesting players for taking a knee, or Dominic Raab. In the absence of Kabul had fallen.

In such cases, Kumar can come across as smug, especially in his mid-show monologues that go beyond comedy. He’s aware of this fact, and downplays it a bit — there were a lot of jokes on last night’s show about him losing his virginity of late — but it’s all the more effective when Paris happily patronizes him. Makes fun of him in a tone of voice.

But even though the topics may sound familiar, the great writing team brings up some new things about them,

In any case, sarcasm doesn’t always have to haunt the establishment; It can also simply serve to vent frustrations, to reassure people that they are not alone in their frustration or anger at the state of things. And that is perhaps the strength of Late Night Mash, as a rallying point for dissent.

Even token right-winger Geoff Norcott, above, was largely in line. In one of the more amusing segments, he fails to call youth ‘wok snowflakes’ as convention dictates, instead pointing out how tough a pandemic Generation Z is… and now with added horror. that Michael Gove can turn into their nightclub.

In news headlines read by Steve Ann Allen, Ellie Taylor offers some edgy one-liners and a touch of absurdity to change the tone. The sketches they lead are sometimes poor, but kudos for getting the phrase ’30-Minute Anal Tongue’ on TV, delivered with Taylor’s perfectly articulate Queen’s English.

But in a huge editing slip, somehow the same joke was used twice without anyone noticing. Allen said in two separate bulletins, ‘Arsehol who got up before 6 a.m. and feels the need to tell everyone about it. That same editor might want to dial back the laugh track, which often felt intrusive here.

Meanwhile, the most significant change – increasing the show to an hour so as to maximize the number of commercials – was a stretch. But the success of Late Night Mash can be measured not only by how many people watch the entire show, but by the reach on social media. It is a format that is cut into short clips and hopefully goes viral.

That – as well as team politics – is probably why Late Night Mash isn’t too far from accepted wisdom. But more edge and stunning angles won’t go wrong.

• Late Night Mash is now available on UKTV Play.

review date: 3 September 2021 reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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The post Late Night Mash : Review 2021 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide appeared first on Spicy Celebrity News.

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gordonwilliamsweb · 4 years ago

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What Covid Means for the Athlete’s Heart

For sports fans across the country, the resumption of the regular sports calendar has signaled another step toward post-pandemic normality. But for the athletes participating in professional, collegiate, high school or even recreational sports, significant unanswered questions remain about the aftereffects of a covid infection.

This story also ran on ESPN. It can be republished for free.

Chief among those is whether the coronavirus can damage their hearts, putting them at risk for lifelong complications and death. Preliminary data from early in the pandemic suggested that as many as 1 in 5 people with covid-19 could end up with heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, which has been linked to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death.

Screening studies conducted by college athletic programs over the past year have generally found lower numbers. But these studies have been too small to provide an accurate measure of how likely athletes are to develop heart problems after covid, and how serious those heart issues may be.

Without definitive data, concerns arose that returning to play too soon could expose thousands of athletes to serious cardiac complications. On the other hand, if concerns proved overblown, the testing protocols could unfairly keep athletes out of competition and subject them to needless testing and treatment.

“The last thing we want is to miss people that we potentially could have detected, and have that result in bad outcomes — in particular, the sudden death of a young athlete,” said Dr. Matthew Martinez, director of sports cardiology at Atlantic Health’s Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey and an adviser to several professional sports leagues. “But we also need to look at the flip side and the potential negatives of overtesting.”

With millions of Americans playing high school, college, professional or master’s level sports, even a low rate of complications could result in significant numbers of affected athletes. And that could prompt a thorny discussion of how to balance the risk of a small percentage of players who could be in danger against the continuation of sports competition as we know it.

Limited Impact on Pro Sports

Data released from professional sports leagues in early March provided at least some reassurance that the problem may not be as great as initially feared. Pro athletes playing football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey were screened for heart problems before returning from covid infections. The players underwent an electrical test of their heart rhythms, a blood test that checks for heart damage and an ultrasound exam of their hearts. Out of 789 athletes screened, 30 showed some cardiac abnormality in those initial tests and were referred for a cardiac MRI to provide a better picture of their heart. Five of those, less than 1% of athletes screened, showed inflammation of the heart that sidelined them for the remainder of their seasons.

The researchers compiling the data did not name the players, although some have disclosed their own diagnoses. Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez returned to the mound this spring after missing the 2020 season following his covid and myocarditis diagnoses. Similarly, Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney was close to returning from a foot injury when he was diagnosed with myocarditis in November.

In the college ranks, many assumed Keyontae Johnson — a 21-year-old forward on the University of Florida men’s basketball team who collapsed on the court in December, months after contracting covid — might have developed myocarditis. The Gainesville Sun reported that month he had been diagnosed with myocarditis, but his family issued a statement in February saying the incident was not covid-related and declined to release additional details.

Consequences Still Unclear

Doctors still don’t know how significant those MRI findings of myocarditis may be for athletes. Tests looking for rare medical events often generate more false positives than true positives. And without comparing the results with those of athletes who didn’t have covid, it is hard to determine what changes to attribute to the virus — or what may just be an effect of athletic training or other causes.

Training significantly changes athletes’ hearts, and what might look concerning in another patient could be perfectly normal for an elite athlete. Many endurance athletes, for example, have larger than average left ventricles and pump out a lower percentage of blood with each contraction. That would be a warning sign for patients who aren’t highly trained athletes.

“You can definitely have what we call the gray zone, where extreme forms of athletic cardiac remodeling can actually look a little bit like pathology,” said Dr. Jonathan Kim, a sports cardiologist at Emory University in Atlanta. “Covid has introduced a new challenge to this. Is it because they’re a cross-country runner or is it because they just had covid?”

Moreover, myocarditis is generally diagnosed based on symptoms — chest pain, shortness of breath, heart muscle weakness or electrical dysfunction — and then confirmed by MRI. It isn’t clear whether MRI findings that look like myocarditis in the absence of those symptoms are just as concerning.

“They have normal physical exams. They have normal cardiograms. Nothing else is going on,” said Dr. Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at Northwestern University and editor of JAMA Cardiology. “But when you order an MRI as part of a research study, you start seeing very subtle changes, because the MRI is very sensitive.”

Were they finding “abnormalities” simply because they were looking? Even in patients who die of covid, the rate of myocarditis is very low, Bonow said.

“So what’s going on with the athletes? Is it something related to the fact that they had an infection, or is it something which is very nonspecific, related to covid but not damage to the heart?” he said. “There’s still a great deal of uncertainty.”

Sports cardiologists involved in the pro sports data collection and in writing screening guidelines for athletes said the fact that players were able to resume their seasons without serious heart complications suggests the initial concern was overblown. Of the players who had mild or asymptomatic cases of covid, none was ultimately found to have myocarditis, and none experienced ongoing heart complications through 2020. Many completed their 2020 season and have already started their next one.

“We overcalled it,” Martinez said. “It shows what our guidelines reflected: The prevalence of cardiac disease in this condition is unusual in the athletic population.”

Falling Through the Cracks

Those screening guidelines, published by a group of leading sports cardiologists in October, call for cardiac tests only for athletes with moderate or severe covid symptoms. Athletes with asymptomatic cases or those with mild symptoms that have gone away can return to play without the additional testing. The National Federation of State High School Associations and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have put out similar guidelines for high school athletes.

But that approach would not flag players such as Demi Washington.

Washington, a 19-year old sophomore on Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team, had a rather mild case of covid. She had shared a meal with two teammates, one of whom later turned out to be infected. Seven days into a two-week quarantine in a hotel off campus, Washington also tested positive, and had to isolate with a stuffy nose for an additional 10 days. She waited for her symptoms to get worse, but they never did.

“It felt like allergies,” she said.

But when her symptoms cleared and she returned to practice, the university required her to undergo several tests to ensure the virus had not affected her heart. The initial tests raised no concerns. An MRI, though, showed acute myocarditis.

Her season was over, but, more importantly, Washington, an athlete in prime physical condition, faced the possibility of losing her life. She learned about Hank Gathers, a 23-year-old Loyola Marymount basketball star who collapsed during a game in 1990 and died within hours. His autopsy confirmed an enlarged heart and myocarditis.

“That really put me on the edge of my seat,” Washington said. “I was like, ‘OK, I have to take this seriously, because I don’t want to end up like that.’”

For months, she had to keep her heart rate under 110 beats per minute. Before, she ran 5 miles a day. With the myocarditis diagnosis, she had to wear a heart monitor, and even a brisk walk could push her above that threshold.

“One time I was walking to the gym and I might have been walking a little fast,” Washington recalled. “My chest got really, really tight.”

By mid-January, however, another MRI showed the inflammation had cleared, and she has since resumed working out.

“I’m so grateful that Vanderbilt does the MRI, because without it, there’s no telling what could have happened,” she said.

She wondered how many other athletes have been playing with myocarditis and didn’t know it.

Cases like Washington’s raise questions about how aggressively to screen. Her condition was found only because Vanderbilt took a much more conservative approach than that recommended by current guidelines: It screened all athletes with cardiac MRIs after they had covid, regardless of the severity of their symptoms or their initial cardiac tests.

Of the 59 athletes screened post-covid, the university found two with signs of myocarditis. That’s just over 3%.

“Is the current rate of myocarditis that we’re seeing high enough to warrant ongoing cardiovascular screening?” asked Dr. Daniel Clark, a Vanderbilt sports cardiologist and lead author of an analysis of the school’s screening efforts. “Five percent is too much to ignore, in my opinion, but what is our societal threshold for not screening highly competitive athletes for myocarditis?”

Even though myocarditis is rare, studies have found that noncovid-related myocarditis causes up to 9% of sudden cardiac deaths among athletes, said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, director of the University of Washington Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology, who advises the NCAA on cardiac issues. Thus covid adds a new risk. The NCAA alone reports more than 480,000 athletes. To provide a sense of scale: If all of them got covid and even 1% were at risk of heart problems, that’s 4,800 athletes.

Waiting for More Data

Doctors are now waiting for the release of data pooled from thousands of college athletes screened after having covid last year. The American Heart Association and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have created a national registry to track covid cases and heart disease in NCAA athletes, with more than 3,000 athletes enrolled, while the Big Ten conference is running its own registry.

That registry data may eventually help parse who is most at risk for heart complications, target who needs to be screened and improve the reliability of the tests. Doctors may discover that some symptoms are better indicators of risk than others. And down the road, genetic testing or other types of tests could identify who is most vulnerable.

But will smaller schools have the resources and know-how to screen all their athletes?

“How about all the junior colleges, all the Division III programs, the Division II programs?” Martinez said. “A lot of them are saying, ‘Look, forget it. If we have do all this extra testing, we can’t do it.’”

He said the new pro sports data should reassure those colleges and even high schools, because the vast majority of young, healthy athletes who contract covid generally have mild or asymptomatic infections, and won’t need further testing.

The same guidelines apply to recreational athletes. Those with mild or asymptomatic covid can slowly resume exercising once their symptoms resolve without much concern. Those with moderate or severe cases should talk to their doctors before returning to sports.

Concerns for Small Schools

Large, wealthy universities like Vanderbilt have cutting-edge medical facilities with the resources and expertise to properly interpret cardiac MRIs. Smaller schools could struggle to get their athletes screened.

“There’s only a small number of centers around the country that have the true expertise to be able to effectively do cardiac MRIs on athletes,” said Dr. Dermot Phelan, a sports cardiologist with Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. “And the reality is that those systems are already stretched trying to deal with normal clinical data. If we were to add a huge population of athletes on top of that, I think we would stretch the medical system significantly.”

Some schools with limited resources for testing could decide to bench athletes recovering from moderate or severe covid rather than risk a devastating event. Others could allow athletes to resume playing once they’ve recovered, and then monitor them for signs of cardiac complications. Many NCAA schools added automated external defibrillators after Gathers’ death in case an athlete collapses during a game or practice.

“You think about all the 100,000 high school athletes out there whose parents are concerned: Do they even have access to anyone who knows something about this? On the other hand, they’re younger people who don’t get really sick with covid,” said Dr. James Udelson, a cardiologist with Tufts Medical Center in Boston. “There’s a concern about how much we don’t know.”

Legal Issues

Some schools may also worry about the liability of allowing players to return after a covid infection if they can’t get the proper cardiac screening.

“No matter what precautions a college or university takes in that regard, they can always be sued,” said Richard Giller, an attorney with the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm in Los Angeles. “The real question is, do they have liability? I think that’s going to depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is who recommended that student athletes who contracted covid-19 return to play.”

He recommends that colleges not rely solely on doctors affiliated with the university but have student athletes see their own private physicians to make return-to-play decisions. Teams may also ask players to sign waivers to the effect that if they return to play after a covid infection, they might face cardiac complications.

Some colleges asked students to sign waivers absolving the school if a player contracted covid. But the NCAA ruled that schools couldn’t make those waivers a requirement to play.

Doctors don’t know what might happen over the long run. With barely a year’s worth of experience with covid, it’s not clear whether the myocarditis seen on MRIs will resolve quickly, or whether there might be lingering effects that cause complications years later.

That leaves many concerned about what we still don’t know about covid and the athlete’s heart, as well as the handful of cases that might elude detection.

“You can take a cohort of athletes and put them through every single cardiac test and come out the other end, and one of them will die someday,” Phelan said. “The reality is there’s nothing we can do to be 100% guaranteed.”

ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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stephenmccull · 4 years ago

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What Covid Means for the Athlete’s Heart

This story also ran on ESPN. It can be republished for free.

Limited Impact on Pro Sports

Consequences Still Unclear

Were they finding “abnormalities” simply because they were looking? Even in patients who die of covid, the rate of myocarditis is very low, Bonow said.

“We overcalled it,” Martinez said. “It shows what our guidelines reflected: The prevalence of cardiac disease in this condition is unusual in the athletic population.”

Falling Through the Cracks

But that approach would not flag players such as Demi Washington.

“It felt like allergies,” she said.

“That really put me on the edge of my seat,” Washington said. “I was like, ‘OK, I have to take this seriously, because I don’t want to end up like that.’”

“One time I was walking to the gym and I might have been walking a little fast,” Washington recalled. “My chest got really, really tight.”

By mid-January, however, another MRI showed the inflammation had cleared, and she has since resumed working out.

“I’m so grateful that Vanderbilt does the MRI, because without it, there’s no telling what could have happened,” she said.

She wondered how many other athletes have been playing with myocarditis and didn’t know it.

Of the 59 athletes screened post-covid, the university found two with signs of myocarditis. That’s just over 3%.

Waiting for More Data

But will smaller schools have the resources and know-how to screen all their athletes?

Concerns for Small Schools

Legal Issues

Some schools may also worry about the liability of allowing players to return after a covid infection if they can’t get the proper cardiac screening.

Some colleges asked students to sign waivers absolving the school if a player contracted covid. But the NCAA ruled that schools couldn’t make those waivers a requirement to play.

That leaves many concerned about what we still don’t know about covid and the athlete’s heart, as well as the handful of cases that might elude detection.

ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

What Covid Means for the Athlete’s Heart published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

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samibetache2000 · 4 years ago

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How Streaming services and youtube are taking over modern day tv:

I mean when was the last time you turned on your tv, I mean it’s probably on all day every day right but are you watching actual tv and unless your over fifty I think theres a big chance the answer is no.

When I ask someone what they’re watching on there tv there answer is simply Netflix or Youtube or something other streaming platform but what exactly is Netflix and let’s actually take a second to look at its dominance.

Netflix is an American streaming platform founded in 1997 in Scotts valley, California by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, on this platform there is a enormous library of films, series’s and Netflix original’s.

Its available worldwide bar a few countries due to political reasons, grossing 24.96 billion dollars last year with around 203 million paying users that’s about the entire population of England, France and Germany combined, if we keep it uk focused with the population of 66 million in that figure 15 million have a paid Netflix account averaging 1/4.5 people which is crazy considering that most people share accounts too.

The reason for Netflix’s dominance in my opinion is due to many things, the interface is so easy to navigate giving you genres and recommendations based on previously watched content and also a simple search bar, the variety of content is unmatched from kids to +18 movies and series’s available in a multitude of different languages and also translation and subtitles on almost everything.

And in my opinion the main reason for there success is there Netflix originals as there only available to watch on Netflix, the success of shows such as Stranger Things, 13 reasons why, black mirror, You, Money Heist (La Casa de papel) …. Etc makes a Netflix subscription a must have.

However Netflix although currently unmatched are starting to face stiff competition form the likes of Amazon Prime and Disney+, Amazon prime might sound confusing as Amazon is usually the delivery service and prime being the option for next day delivery however in recent years they begun taking there streaming service seriously also by making amazon exclusive Films and Series’s and securing the rights to hundreds of popular movies and elite shows like Vikings.

Disney+ however is a relatively new streaming service which was only launched 15 months ago and has already amassed a whopping 95 million paid subscribers which is almost half of what Netflix has despite Netflix being 21 years older, and this success is due to the fact everyone loves Disney and is also the parent company of two of the most popular franchises in TV history in Start Wars and Marvel, and they started of right with a Star Wars exclusive in the Mandalorian and now debuted one of three marvel tv shows announced in Wanda Vision on top of that they have every Disney movie ever made which includes some of the biggest movies of all time like Frozen, Home Alone and Cars. If I has to bet on any service dethroning Netflix at the top Disney+ is definitely the one.

The only thing that is really going for “Normal TV” at the moment is live sports as personally for me it’s the only reason I have actual channels, and that probably explains why the TV right for live sports are so expensive, some of the numbers are stupid.

Just from UK based Sky and BT alone pay over three billion pounds a season for rights to showcase there matches and the premier league are believed to actually bank 5.5 billion globally when you include other companies, ESPN pay the NFL 1.9 billion dollars a season for there rights, with ESPN, ABC, and Turner Sports paying 2.7 billion dollars a year for the NBA.

No tv shows or anything else on TV even comes close to these figures and that’s why I think that if it wasn’t for live sports “Normal TV” would be dead.

Even networks like BBC and ITV have realised this starting there own streaming services in BBC iPlayer and ITV HUB respectively showcasing all there programs on there essentially for free however to access the BBC iPlayer you need to have paid the £165 tv license fee however, even a 5 year old can get around by literally just lying when they ask as theres no verification process whatsoever.

The major issue approaching for “Normal TV” is that even Live sports are realising this and are looking into streaming services with many already making the switch, think of WWE despite having multi billion dollar deals with USA network and FOX respectively there main shows are all shown on the WWE network from there pay per views to there documentaries to a library of classic event and matches and guess what its been extremely successful for them and you can’t be surprised, with 1.5 million paid subscribers and an annual revenue in the millions.

UFC are also trying something similar with UFC fight pass broadcasting lots of different fighting promotions and also a library similar to WWE’s where you get historic fights and events and anything fighting related you want to watch really.

However most of the UFC pay per views are actually on another streaming service and probably the most successful sport streaming service in the US in ESPN+ with 11.5 million paid subscribers funny enough also owned by Disney, ESPN+ showcases live UFC PPV events for a discounted price, live Major League Baseball, Major league soccer, National hockey league and much more.

Another thriving sports service is DAZN which is currently the main destination if you’re looking for boxing as its become the main sponsor and partner of Match room Boxing showcasing fights like Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz jr in over 200 countries worldwide, DAZN also shows tons of other sports including Football, Cricket and basketball making it a way more diverse platform then ESPN+ however is lacking the big brand behind it.

This leads to another blow to “Normal TV” as it brings the slow death of PPV, pay per view is a service where a spectator can purchase events to view privately whilst the broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it.

However PPV is dying as it’s always been expensive paying around £40-£90 per event however nowadays that’s no longer the case for example WWE pay per views happen once a month however if you have the WWE Network you watch the PPV for free so instead of paying around £50 for the event, you pay £9.99 for the monthly subscription.

Same thing goes with boxing as most fight are on DAZN or ESPN+ so why would you pay for the PPV instead of $19.99 or $4.99 respectively.

The only ones that really still use the PPV system is The UFC but like I mentioned before with ESPN+ you get a discount, however UFC president Dana White has spoke multiple times about making UFC PPV’s fight pass exclusive.

Now lets move on to the holy grail of them all and that’s YouTube, and why is that you may ask ? Well simply because it’s free you don’t have to pay a penny to watch youtube, well you do sit through a few Add’s here and there however you get the watch all your favourite content for free.

Well I highly doubt it but if you’ve never heard of Youtube, it’s an online video sharing platform owned by google and the second most visited website in the world, its available worldwide bar a few countries again for political reasons with an estimated 2 billion daily users grossing around 15 billion dollars a year Available content includes video clips, TV show clips, music videos, short and documentary films, audio recordings, movie trailers, live streams, video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.

Basically it has everything you need and more, and the impact it has on this generation is immense you can just pick up a camera talk and upload it and have the Internet do the rest, it helps as its an easy way to exercise freedom of speech by sharing political views.

Kids nowadays don’t re want to watch TV they would rather watch they’re favourite YouTuber, they grow up idolising people like KSI, Pewdiepie, and Ssniperwolf. These you-tubers literally have the power to influence a generation as people who consider themselves fans would do anything for them.

Unfortunately sometimes they take it too far like back in 2019 PewDiePie was battling it out with T-series on youtube for the n*1 subscribed YouTube channel But what happen next can never be expected a terrorist unleashed fire on a mosque killing 50 people and writing subscribe to PewDiePie on the wall, the Terrorist was definitely an Islamophobe but he thought it would be a good idea to help PewDiePie as he knew that this would generate lots of attention and bring lots of light on PewDiePie’s channel.

PewDiePie later condemned his actions describing it as a terrible incident that he prays never happens again and essentially gave up on the battle with T series and stoped the subscribe to PewDiePie meme.

Another incident where fans have got out of hand is with popular YouTuber Roman Atwood where he’s had to deal with a stalker for years and even had to get the FBI involved As the stalker Would threaten him and his family, change there mail address, Hack into the security cameras and take pictures and send them to the family and even call in a false Bomb threat to a family funeral.

However YouTubers still have the power To manipulate and influence certain things by Just shining a light on them they can increase the value and inflate a certain market. And example of this is when YouTuber Logan Paul who has recently been making Pokémon content where he opens 22-year-old packs which are worth a ton of money to try and pack certain rare Pokémon cards and the rarest of them cards is a PSA 10 1st edition base set Charizard and before Logan Paul Was doing the Pokémon stuff a Charizard was worth around $250,000 however now a Charizard is worth around 3 quarters of a $1 million. And all type of Pokémon prices have gone up, he has basically made Pokémon popular again and it seems to be the talk of YouTube.

YouTube, Netflix and all other streaming services have really killed off classic TV And they have way more influence than classical TV ever had and the scary thing is this is just the beginning.

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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There is no competition between Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona has always been one of Lionel Messi’s biggest supporters, despite what fans might want you to think.

For the first time in his career, Lionel Messi will play against Napoli, which means one of the most pointless and frustrating conversations in world football will be revived: comparing Messi to Diego Maradona.

Young Messi was one in a long line of talented Argentineans who were branded as the next Maradona. As it so happened, Messi and Maradona also looked and played eerily similar. But where the other next Maradonas largely failed to live up to the comparison, Messi has become perhaps the greatest player of all time.

Messi’s accomplishments are overwhelming, but Maradona is as close to a god as any human can be to Napoli and Argentina fans, and many football fans at large. Messi has bested Maradona in all statistical categories and combined trophies, yet Maradona still has him beat in World Cup victories and the weight of his myth — a myth founded on his incredible on-field exploits, and elevated by his (sometimes tragic) persona.

Maradona was, and is, unapologetically himself, outspoken and combative, for better or worse. He’s a fighter, where Messi for so long was denigrated as too quiet, too meek. Someone with little to no personality. Messi simply likes to play football, which is not a crime, but because of his reserved nature, Maradona seemingly appeals to more people on a personal level.

The differences between the two men are clear. Yet, even now, when Messi has done so much to earn his place atop the game, Maradona still looms over him. Whatever Messi does, he can’t seem to match his compatriot. It’s not simply a question of whether he will ever win a World Cup, though remains the Barcelona man’s biggest fault. Messi is fighting against the idea of Maradona, rather than the tangible person.

Nevermind that Messi’s career dominates Maradona’s in terms of league championships. Because Messi didn’t win those titles by dragging a middling team across the finish line, detractors still argue Maradona was more impressive in this regard. There’s always a way to use the former Napoli star to discredit Messi.

This conflict over who is “greater” has seemingly put the two at odds throughout Messi’s career. Maradona is often one of the loudest voices when it comes to criticizing Messi and his performances. One of his most scathing opinions came in 2018. Argentina failed once again in the World Cup, and Maradona said Messi was not a leader:

”We shouldn’t deify Messi any longer. He’s Messi when he plays for Barcelona. Messi is Messi when he wears that shirt, and he’s another Messi with Argentina,” Maradona told Fox Sports. “He’s a great player but he’s not a leader. It’s useless trying to make a leader out of a man who goes to the toilet 20 times before a game.”

One’s reaction to criticisms against Messi reflects an agenda. Those who love Messi see Maradona as an old, jealous has-been. To those on the other end, Messi isn’t as great as he’s made out to be, and Maradona’s words are proof. And because the two are compared so often, Maradona has had a lot of opportunities to talk about Messi over the years.

Yet, what is constantly left out of the conversation about the two is the fact Maradona has also been one of Messi’s biggest supporters. In 2009, after Messi came second in voting for Best Player in the World, Maradona said he didn’t want Messi to be the new Maradona; he instead hoped Messi would become better:

”Messi the new Maradona? I hope so, in fact I want him to become even better than me,” Maradona said in an interview with Inter Channel. “Everyone will benefit if he does.”

When Messi was under pressure to impress in the 2010 World Cup and Maradona was the manager of Argentina, Maradona made his supposed enemy the team captain. When Messi was criticized by Argentina’s fitness coach in that same tournament and was said to be underperforming, Maradona shot back, saying: “If Messi is having a bad run then let him continue with that bad run, because I’m extremely pleased with Messi’s performances.”

When Messi announced his retirement from the national team in 2016, Maradona openly begged him to stick with Argentina, saying:

“Messi was abandoned and I don’t want to abandon him. That’s why I want to talk to him, to fight against all those who abandoned him.”

A year later, while saying he believed Messi was better than Cristiano Ronaldo, Maradona also declared that Messi not winning a World Cup shouldn’t matter to his legacy as one of the best to ever play:

”Between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, I choose Messi, of course! But he’s not that far from Cristiano Ronaldo,” Maradona told TyC Sports. “I do not remember having seen Lionel Messi play badly once in his career. He has always given a lot to football, even if no one can win a competition on his own and his failure at the World Cup does not change anything.”

A month before those fiery comments about Messi not being a leader in 2018, Maradona came to his defense after he retired from the national team. He not only defended Messi’s decision, but criticized detractors, like the Argentine Football Federation and Messi’s teammates, for putting too much burden on one player and failing to defend him:

“That’s why I am telling him not to come back and take all of the blame. We will mourn him because there is no other player like him, but just as Messi falls, so does the AFA,” Maradona told Infobae. “It is very easy to say that Messi is to blame, but they are going to kill the kid. And this kills me because if there are comrades who really love Messi, they should have come out and defended him, not press silence.”

Maradona loves to talk, and among his criticisms of Messi he has also shown he is as big a fan as anyone else. Even as their relationship has become distant, Maradona couldn’t resist complimenting Messi while saying he hopes Napoli wins their Champions League match:

“He must continue his career and his life knowing that he is the best football player today. I enjoyed watching Leo with Argentina in every game.”

Maradona’s support for Messi makes the manufactured conflict around the two even more tiresome. It’s not Maradona the person who is burdening Messi, but the image of him created by those who want to use the former Napoli star as an instrument against another generational superstar.

The Barcelona and Napoli match will be dominated by the idea that Messi is playing against Maradona’s legacy, which is an unfortunate reduction of the two players who are tremendous in their individual ways, and who have become immortal through football. It is a fictional clash that has little to do with their real selves as two people who, deep down, seem to admire each other more than fans and media want to admit.

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jbuffyangel · 8 years ago

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Arrow Moves To Thursdays

Woke up to this article today and my TL looked like:

Arrow is moving to Thursday nights at 9 pm next fall for their sixth season. Reactions varied from chill to... not. Do I think this is a bad thing? No, I don’t.

Allow me to preface this post by saying this: I’ve been talking about Arrow’s ratings and The CW network since I started this blog. Long before there was ever a ratings drop, my opinion was that The CW has a different business model than the other networks. If you cannot accept that The CW’s profitability is not based on live ratings, then this is not the blog for you. You don’t have to take my word for it. Stephen Amell confirmed it at HVFF Chicago. Mark Pedowitz has spoken about it. I’ve done my research on this folks. They are structured differently than the Big Four. It’s just facts. (X)

Yes, I was surprised by the move mostly because I had grown complacent about Arrow on Wednesday night. Wasn’t expecting it. I am no expert, but I’m happy to share my thoughts. I’ll talk about what I like about the move. Then we’ll shift to concerns.

What I Like

The 9 pm slot

Praise Jesus! We are on at a later time. THIS IS FABULOUS. Arrow has always been a darker and grittier show, especially when you compare it to The Flash and Supergirl. A 9 pm slot loosens the grip Broadcasting Standards and Practices has on the show. It can be more violent and sexier simply because the kiddos go to bed. I sincerely hope Arrow is able to push the envelope more, even if it’s ever so slightly.

Supernatural Pairing

I do not watch Supernatural, but I am THRILLED Arrow was paired with it. These shows were paired before (2015 Arrow S4/Supernatural S11) and I believe it was successful. Supernatural and Arrow have very similar demographics, so they’ve always seemed like a natural fit to me.

Honestly, how The CW pairs their shows has always been quite a head scratcher to me. Arrow and Frequency? HUH? The pairings for next year’s fall line up feel the most logical in years. The only one I’m really side eyeing is Valor after Supergirl (Really?). All the other show pairings feel similar in demographic and content, which just makes more sense to me if you are trying to maintain/build on audiences.

Supernatural is a strong show. It’s been on 12 years. It’s moved 8 times. I think if God invented an 8th day and The CW moved it there but didn’t tell a soul, the Supernatural fans would find it. This fandom is as loyal as they get. Their ratings have held pretty steady over the course of 12 seasons, which in of itself is impressive. A move is always tough on any television show, simply because your audience needs to follow it to the new night. So, I am extremely happy Arrow’s lead in is an anchor show for the network, who has already proven themselves on Thursday nights, and comes with a built in audience that is similar to Arrow’s.

Thursday Night

This is primarily for selfish reasons. I teach faith formation on Wednesday nights, but I am wide open on Thursdays. So, Arrow on Thursdays just works better for my schedule. lol I can live tweet more.

The Concerns

This Is Us

Yes, I am well aware that This Is Us is moving to Thursdays at 9 pm. This seemed to be the primary concern. That the live ratings mammoth that is This Is Us will send Arrow into a ratings death spiral and it will get canceled. Sigh. No. Just... no.

Name one show on The CW that is in the ballpark of This Is Us numbers? Name one show on The CW that is in the live ratings ballpark of any show that airs on the Big Four? See, this is where this whole “How in holy Moses is The CW profitable?” question really starts to matter. It doesn’t matter what show The CW puts in that time slot. They’ll all get creamed. lol The CW isn’t concerned about Arrow going head to head with This Is Us. They don’t operate on a mano e mano strategy for live ratings... because they lose.

This Is Us has to prove successful on Thursday. There can be a tendency for hit pilot shows to suffer a sophomore slump in ratings. This Is Us is moving to the toughest night on television. It has the break to contend with too when NBC starts airing football. I’m not really worried about any of this. I think This Is Us will do great and kick serious ass. I’m expecting every show that goes up against it will take a live ratings hit.

Is This Is Us going to take enough of Arrow’s viewers to send it into some ratings death spiral so The CW is forced to cancel because it’s become abysmally unprofitable? Doubtful.

I do think the shows target different demos as Mark Pedowitz said. Now before you start screaming at me, “I WATCH THIS IS US AND ARROW” that’s great. So do I. I love them both. Except, I’m not a Nielson family so it doesn’t really matter that I watch both.

The CW’s demographic is primarily female. The reasons why Arrow and The Flash were so appealing to to The CW was because it allowed them to branch into the other half of the population more - the male demo. That’s who The CW needed to target for their market to grow. Now, before you start screaming at me, “WOMEN WATCH ARROW AND MEN WATCH THIS IS US” yes thank you. I am aware. I am quite sure This Is Us will take some of Arrow’s audience, but this is not new territory for me. Blindspot was up against Arrow this year. It had to lose some audience to Blindspot given how similar the demos are. I’m not certain the demos are as different as Pedowitz claims, but he’s probably got numbers I don’t. The question is how much will This Is Us take? That is the X factor. I don’t have male/female demographics on either show, so how the shift all shakes out is unknowable. Am I worried? NO.

As I discussed in my most recent ratings post, I don’t know what the live ratings/profitability ratio is for The CW but even with a 30% drop in ratings Arrow is nowhere near their danger zone. The Originals is averaging a .30. It’s going into Season 5. Reign was at the same average when it was renewed for a fourth and final season. We've got a long ways to go. Arrow is still the #4 performer for the network.

The CW is focused on streaming. Netflix kids. That's where they make their money. The more seasons they have to sell to Netflix the more money they get to make. This includes complete series that viewers can binge start to finish. They also want their series to hit 88-100 episodes. They aren't trying to make money off the live broadcast run. They are focused on syndication deals. Arrow has a syndication deal with TNT. This all means The CW is focused on LONGEVITY.

Even if This Is Us sends Arrow into another ratings dive – I don’t think it goes anywhere. Stephen Amell is signed for 7 seasons. I feel confident we’re going 7 folks. Whether or not we go longer remains to be seen, but I think that has a lot more to do with Stephen Amell than it does with This Is Us. If Arrow ends in S7, I'm not remotely prepared to call that a series failure. Nor should you.

The CW is trying to kill Arrow

There seems to be a concern that The CW is trying to kill Arrow by moving it to Thursday and putting it up against This Is Us.

Thursday is not the night shows go to die. That would be Friday. (Jen pats Blindspot). Although, even that mentality is starting to change. I think The CW would rather move a low rated show to Friday, especially if it has a loyal fanbase and strong social media presence, instead of cancel it. Friday keeps many shows alive, which means more streaming opportunities!

I guess the thinking on this one is because Arrow suffered a 30% drop The CW wants to cancel it and this is how they push it out. Again, I disagree. This is The CW not Fox. They try to keep series going, not intentionally torpedo them.

Also, Marc confirmed that their streaming is UP. So, it’s possible whatever loss Arrow is suffering in live they are making it up in streaming. The audience is just shifting. We don't have any specific numbers, but for all we know, this could be a wash. My bet is The CW is nowhere near as unhappy with Arrow's numbers as people presume they are. Especially, if their numbers are up in the medium The CW is TARGETING.

Thursday

So why is Arrow getting moved off its comfortable Wednesday night show to one of the toughest nights in TV?

The Vampire Diaries was The CW's Thursday solid 8 pm performer for years. They've always struggled to find a solid 9 pm. Nikita, The Secret Circle, Beauty and the Beast, Reign, The Originals, Riverdale – none of them cut it. Then once TVD moved to Fridays, Legends of Tomorrow failed to gain traction in TVD's old spot. You know what's moved back and forth to Thursdays a lot over the years? SUPERNATURAL. Something I noticed - each one of these failed Thursday night shows were pretty buzzy their first season. Arrow generates buzz.

Look guys, they had to put something there. The CW doesn't have a lot of new shows this season which means one of the returning series has to move to fill up the slots. Supernatural proved successful this year on Thursdays. So, if you look at the board – Arrow makes the most sense to pair with it. Also, after 5 seasons, Arrow is still one of their strongest performing series (#4 ain't bad). I think The CW put two of the longest running series, with a loyal fan base, to a night where they've been looking for two solid performers for awhile.

I also don't think WHEN The CW schedules their shows matters as much as other networks because, you guessed it, streaming.

That said, Arrow did suffer a 30% drop this year. That's not insignificant. Meanwhile, Supernatural had a minimal drop. Maybe the time has come for Arrow to stop being the lead in series and get a little support. I'm okay with that. Its certainly carried their own weight.

Why not just put Supernatural on Wednesday like they did last year? Well, that still leaves Thursday as wildly problematic, but maybe the answer is Fox? Fox went with soapier programming this year on Wednesday with Empire and Star. So, I think The CW answered with Riverdale and The Dynasty reboot. That’s that's just a guess though. I also think they wanted a new night for Riverdale. They seem invested in that series, the network just made an Archie comics deal, and probably wanted to find a more successful night for it than Thursday. Supergirl is a solid Monday performer. The Flash/LOT pairing is working great on Tuesday. That leaves Wednesday. And... Arrow suffered a drop. The door was open.

Supernatural makes a bad lead in

Ehh... I just disagree with this. 12 years is a long time and I don't have enough knowledge about Supernatural. I certainly understand if fans prefer Supernatural at 9 pm, but I think it has switched between 8 and 9 just as much as it has moved nights. I think Riverdale was sighted as this example. Honestly, I think that has more to do with my previous complaint about The CW's penchant for terrible pairing. What on earth do Riverdale and Supernatural have in common? I’m not surprised the audience didn’t carry over. I don't lay the blame at Supernatural's door. I stand by my positives for Supernatural being the lead in.

The Crossover

This move breaks up the crossover. Honestly, I don’t think a network can plan their entire schedule around one episode a year. Also, I think the fanbases for the DC shows are pretty loyal. They’ll follow the crossover conclusion to Arrow on Thursday night. I don’t see a day drastically changing numbers, but I guess we’ll see. Even still, one episode a season does not make.

I'm sure I've missed other concerns, but I took my best shot. My advice would be to stop worrying about Arrow's cancellation and just enjoy the show - no matter what night it is on.

#arrow #arrow season 6 #arrow ratings #arrow production notes

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bravetemptation · 8 years ago

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Let me break it down for ya

Ok this is a very touchy subject for a lot of people, so I'm gonna try to do this without stepping on any toes too much. Liam's dad announcement. People have so many opinions it's hard to keep up, but the three main ones I'm seeing are this: 1. If he's happy, let him be happy, it's his kid 2. It's not real because Ziam is real 3. It's just like Louis and Freddie and that whole mess. Ok let's start with number 3. I'm going to make a list of the things that happened starting at the announcement of the pregnancy until the day of birth for both, just to get it out there so there is no confusion or skipping out on info. Louis and BG 1.0 -announcement was made at a weird time, never mentioned Briana before this other than a random article in like...March, before they'd even "met" -Louis made no efforts to claim paternity -August 3/4-GMA interview where subject was first broached in public. Louis made the 😑face, said thanks, still no confirmation. -awkward pics of Briana at O2 all four nights showing wavering size in bump, no consistency. -pictures of Briana and fam at Christmas, awkward football bump pic. *note: Briana had no weight gain anywhere and began getting plastic surgery in October or November, which is something forbidden to women who are pregnant* -(at this point, Louis has not mentioned it again, has blacklisted the topic in interviews, and has never once uttered the words "I am a father" or "Briana") -Louis was never spotted with her and almost never spent time in the same country or city as Briana during the entire pregnancy -January (which, after the VERY FIRST mention of said pregnancy, which was in March of the previous year, making the pregnancy time around 10/11 months) Briana "gives birth" -the birth date is ambiguous, cybergranny says it's the 20th, Briana says 21st, Louis tweets "baby born yesterday" on the 23rd, which means 22nd. -names are flying (about ten names in total, ranging from Sydney Rain to John to Conchobar, pronounced Connor (What the actual f) -picture on IG to confirm confirm birth and "paternity", it is discovered that the picture is photoshopped by the observation of missing tattoos, a weird ear shape, and an odd leg shape) -none of the other boys commented on this announcement (only interaction was Niall five months later with Freddie Son™) ***along with all this, the concept of the warning selfie was started by Louis himself, each selfie representing the same tired, unhappy face that preceded any news of this baby or his "parents", we have Billboard actually POSTING the theory that Louis is not the father, and a lot of questions among the general public*** We will stop there because it only gets crazier. But there's Louis. Now let's go to Liam. (This will be a bit different because, since I didn't follow the whole thing, im going off of what I was told and what I saw/experienced) Liam and BG 2.0 (?) -at the time the pregnancy was talked about, Cheryl had already been discussing artificial insemination to get pregnant (this was before Liam was in the picture) -when the rumors began, they had been dating for roughly three months -rumors continued to be rumors, no true bump pictures appearing until (I believe) September or October, where it was clear by the weight gain in the face and stomach that she was indeed pregnant (though no confirmation was made -Liam spent nearly no time in the same country as Cheryl, leaving for months at a time to work on various projects -rumors of the birth having already happened began in (I believe) January, but quickly squashed when Cheryl did her L'Oréal commercial, still very much pregnant -both Liam and Cheryl went mia at the beginning of March -Baby announcement made on March 25th, date of birth was March 22nd, announcement via IG by both Liam and Cheryl -announcement was very clear from both of them; this was THEIR child, THEIR baby -picture was a picture of a Polaroid, so in this case, there was no way to tell if it was photoshopped. -baby unnamed as of the post, only one name thrown around (Bruce) -the entire idea of the pregnancy wasn't thrown around for jokes in the media, but was kept as just rumors -so far, none of the boys have commented So. Looking at these two situations just with this information here, which I have tried to make as accurate as I can, the situations are VASTLY different, not only in the way they were presented to the public, but how they were handled by the two boys themselves. In my opinion, even with the small group of similarities, they cannot be compared so directly as some are trying to do. Now, going to number 2 (the existence/nonexistence of Ziam) this is something I try to avoid. You can look at both situations, ships aside, and see whether one is fake or not. Now to number 1. As far as we can see, if we look at what we were presented with (and this is just one way to look at it), Louis' situation was most definitely 100% fake and an absolute mess. Louis was never happy about it, even after the kid was born and he "claimed paternity". Liam's was handled with much more dignity and respect in the media, and therefore, came out looking a lot more believable to us as fans/GP. Liam has always seemed happy about it, and here I'm going off of his pictures at events with Cheryl while pregnant, and his post about being a father. It is easy, however, to fake happiness, which we have seen many times before from all of the boys, not just Louis and Liam. Every way of thinking about this is valid. I don't think we can take anything said about these boys without a grain of salt (thanks management for screwing them over again and again). As I said, since the situations cannot directly be compared (via the list I made, which contains facts only, not opinions or theories),there shouldn't be people who believe that the baby isn't Liam's (or that believe in Ziam and therefore don't think it's Liam's) telling Larries (or people who believe that Louis' situation is faked) that they're being hypocritical. It's happening anyway, but it shouldn't be. Different situations, different opinions. However, it isn't just facts that matter in these situations. It's how you view these boys. It's us going off of what we've seen these boys do, how they've acted towards fans and the public in the face of everything they've gone through. But, of course, an opinion cannot go off of just this. Everything has to be taken into account. Believe what you want to believe. My belief is that that baby is more than likely Cheryl's ex-husbands or just simply artificial insemination, as discussed. I do not think Liam had a kid with her. You don't have to agree with me, but opinions are allowed to be had and respect is something I'd like to have. Thank you for your time, and I'm sorry if I missed anything extremely important in those lists

#rant #Liam is a dad?#take all this with a grain of salt #I'm not perfect I many have missed something sorryyyyy #I don't think the kid is Liam's but you know #opinions are opinions

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seven-oomen · 5 years ago

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So today’s moments of random thoughts (and attempts at including links) are brought to you by the fact that today they replaced the back office computer at work that controls the store’s music, so it was uncomfortably silent for several hours, meaning that my brain suddenly had to provide the soundtrack again, and that’s always a total craps shoot. Will it be 48 hours straight of “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”? Will it be some surreal all day medley of AC/DC, Rihanna, and the South Park version of “Pokerface”? Will it be a non-stop Disney sing-a-long? Who knows? Everyday is an adventure with an ADD brain jukebox.

One of today’s tracks of choice was “Little Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, a favorite since long before I was old enough to understand the implications or subtext. And since you enjoyed the last terrible porn scenario so much, why not throw out another classic? Because there is NO WAY they haven’t done this one. Like. Just no way. Oh no, will the brave and daring young hunter woodsman manage to subdue the wily Alpha wolf, or will poor innocent Omega Riding Hood be devoured by the lustful lupine? (I think the only correct answer here is yes to both.) And because part of me wondered if such a thing even existed (I just had to know if I could bring in the plaid), I searched Google and found this (for a more casual approach) or this (for if they’re feeling fancy) for Noah, preferably paired with some tall black combat boots, perhaps (also, just saying, both would be a great option for a chase night). For “Grandma”, I was thinking something along these lines (theoretically demure, yet also highlighting the collar bones, especially if unbuttoned slightly and allowed to slide off one shoulder. Perhaps in the blue to bring out his eyes. XD ) because it comes across innocent in all the ways Peter would very much not be at that point. All Chris would really need is his tightest jeans, deepest v’d henley, and maybe a nice denim or suede trucker jacket. (Have I spent WAY too much time thinking about this? Probably, but in my defense it kept me from snapping at all the idiots out without masks who refused to properly distance. So.) And because why the hell, not, I haven’t confused my Google search enough yet, here’s a couple of options for Chris that are a little more classy, as far as such a thing can apply to an outfit like this. I mean if the other two are getting nice, quality outfits in that scenario, dammit he deserves the same.

Oh, and to briefly segue it back towards the more serious (and god, I really hope this comes out the way I mean it to, I am legit terrible at trying to word stuff like this), I would just like to say that frankly this version of how the physical/biological/however you want to phrase it aspects of the male/female vs alpha/omega spectrums play out makes so much more sense than a majority of the a/b/o I’ve seen. I may not read it often, but I’ve been in fandom too long (and in a few too many small ones) not to have read a fair amount. There have been a number of times where I just end up going “…his body has/did what now?…" Whereas with yours it’s just like "oh, cool, that makes total sense”. It’s natural, logical, and easy to understand, unlike my first few experiences back in the day when I kept having to Google the whole Omegaverse concept (a TERRIBLE idea, btw) to try and figure out how things worked. So, yeah, I, at least, am a fan of this variation/interpretation/whatever.

Anyway…having hopefully managed to avoid cramming my whole entire foot into my mouth, would you care for some more assorted headcanons? Maybe one day Stiles and Noah are in the attic working on sorting and organizing some things (Stiles is about 14 or 15 at this point), and after going through a couple boxes of Claudia’s sketchbooks, he finds one that contains a few mangled pairs of fishnets, a mesh shirt or two, maybe a pair of extremely short black cutoffs, some studded bracelets and collars, and he’s just like “man, Mom was a little more hardcore than I would have guessed." After a couple moments of pointed silence, Noah finally offers ”…that’s not your Mom’s stuff, Stiles" while very determinedly not looking his son’s direction. Cue a hysterical sequence of microexpressions of shock and horror contorting Stiles’ face, culminating in a brief full body flail and ending with him shaking his head with all the intense desperation of someone trying to clear an Etch-A-Sketch, before he just quietly goes back to sorting through the other boxes and they just never speak of it again. Alternately, I would accept this same scenario for Chris and Allison (thinking the box had belonged to Kate), because I feel she would have the next best reaction faces to Stiles (less grimacing, but more internal screaming), with basically the same end result. Or perhaps both had an incident like this, and they use it as some sort of bonding moment. They’re an odd family after all.

Don’t think I didn’t notice that the preview changed again. Just going straight for the feels this time, huh? God, poor Peter. I feel so bad that he’s missing out on all the cuddles (familial and romantic), but I’m sure they’ll all be more than willing to make it up to him later. Really hope he was doing that super speed thing on the way back to the hospital, or the Sheriff’s station might get some strange reports of a naked man running through neighborhoods.

On the subject of the kids and education, I would vote BioChem for Allison. It would be useful in learning about all the stuff hunters use, and figuring out ways to combat them, as well as potentially offering some overlap with Lydia’s degree.

I’d vote Criminal Law for Jackson. It would be both a nod to his adoptive dad in the show having been the D.A. and offer a connection to the traditions of the family he’s just now learning about. And I suspect that it’s entirely possible that if Stiles went after a Criminal Justice degree (or similar, I’m not entirely sure what it would be called), they’d likely have some overlapping classes, which would just piss Stiles all the hell off. So win-win, really.

I think Malia could do really well with either type of Engineering. I want to lean more towards Mechanical, particularly for the auto repair aspect, but part of me really wants Electrical for the Ant-Man connection (speaking of high Intelligence, low Wisdom…) I think she would hate it while she was getting the degree (WHY DID NO ONE WARN ME THERE’D BE SO MUCH MATH???!!!), she’d be so proud once she’d graduated. I feel like I could see Derek partnering with her on the shop (he’s working on a Master’s in Business. Anything Law just felt too close to what he’d lost, but he also couldn’t bear to stray too far. So, business. Eventually I think he’d join in with the artsy side of the family and go after a degree in Design, so he could help build up the shop that way, as well.)

Totally agree on the other two. I can also totally see Kira and Malia coaching some sort of intramural sport for kids one day. Soccer (football), Little League, Lacrosse, doesn’t matter which. They absolutely love it, and the kids love them (they totally get the smaller Pack kids involved, too). Eventually they talk Isaac into creating a team for some of his kids that are looking to socialize more (they make sure that the experience is 100% positive for any of them that play. They refuse to tolerate any bullying or poor sportsmanship of any kind.)

Hmm…not sure about the others, either, but I like the idea of Boyd ending up as a professor of Mythology and Folklore. He was the one that actually thought about whether he wanted the bite, and whether it would be worth it in the long run. He seemed the most interested in the reality of being a werewolf. I can see him learning as much as he can about the supernatural from Peter and Noah (and some of the other side of things from Chris), and utilizing that in getting his degree (and eventual Doctorate). And let’s face it, after dealing with the Pack’s shenanigans over the years, college kids aren’t intimidating in the slightest.

And before I forget, may I just say that “People buy it because it’s Tumblr, why wouldn’t two gay dads run a wolf rescue?” had me laughing so hard I started snorting. Moving on; I know you recently shared a post that featured shots from the episode where Stiles gets his dad drunk to distract him from reopening the Hale case (I have Opinions about that black shirt, and how disappointed I was that it Never Showed Up Again, so I notice when it pops up in Tumblrs I check, okay? Don’t judge me.), and some of the other blogs I try to keep up with have shared some pics of J.R. in glasses, and now I can’t help but wonder if that becomes like a Thing for Peter at some point. Like, once they start to get a little older (once Chris has grown out his beard again, and maybe Noah has retired [my uncle was a cop and retired in like his mid-forties, I think] and started letting his hair get just a bit shaggy again) and his husbands start occasionally wearing glasses for reading, or fine detail work, etc. (I would not judge him if it did, because, uh…, hard same. I blame too many years of anime.) Like, they slip them on and his brain just immediately starts going to more terrible porn scenarios. Stern librarian, called to the principal/headmaster’s office, courtroom shenanigans. Actually, if Peter is supposed to have been a lawyer they probably do that one anyway. The Prosecution and the Defense take turns attempting to sway the Judge/Jury Foreman in their favor. Who is who just depends on their mood at the time, and who feels willing to put on a suit (god help Peter if he gets both his mates in well cut suits and at their persuasive best. He can barely keep it together long enough to stay halfway in character. They are fully aware of their power, and file the information away for use in anniversary/graduation/other celebratory settings.) Wow…that kinda got away from me. Again.

Anyway, I tried to do the reader poll thing, hope my responses went through/made sense. Hope the assorted links I’ve attempted work, I’ve never tried adding them to something before. I probably still have the tabs open if I need to try again, unless my computer randomly decides to close them, which I have had it occasionally do. Glad that you are feeling somewhat better, and that it doesn’t appear to be anything serious (and possibly even somewhat positive, in the long run, at least? If it’s a sign of things trying to heal?) Sorry in advance if some of this makes assisting customers difficult tomorrow. XD I feel like it should just be implicit, like my brain just compels it’s own warning in general.

I think I’ve read through this at least ten times because it’s just so good. I don’t really have the energy to reply to everything, but I do want to leave you with some headcanons of my own.

Mainly Hogwarts houses:

Ravenclaw: Lydia, Melissa, Natalie, Julio, Stiles

Gryffindor: Noah, Derek, Kira, Allison, Boyd

Hufflepuff: Scott, Chris, Jordan, Ben, Isaac

Slytherin: Malia, Jackson, Peter, Danny, Erica

Ben’s super cute playfulness as a wolf pup

Peter definitely wears a pair of wolf ears during sex, although he’s a little sad that he can’t mark up Chris and Noah as he used to. He liked to bite hard and draw blood, but with him as an Alpha, that’s just not an option anymore. Although there are plenty of other ways he can mark them up and he enjoys finding new ways. Even if they’re not as visual and permanent.

Peter also makes time for each of his kids and enjoys being a father. He revels in the role and loves reading bedtime stories to his younger kids, PTA meetings (he rises to the top of the rank really quickly, starts a turf war with a Karen but gets backed up by Mack’s mom. So it’s all cool.) And With his older kids he finds new ways to guide them through life as young adults. He’s there for every homework assignment, every break-up, every report card, and all the little moments he’s had to miss out on.

Also when Noah is pregnant, he’s closely monitored by Melissa and his licensed midwife. (He’s given birth to Malia and Stiles at home, he’s planning to do it again. Chris too, only has had homebirths, although Ben had to be rushed to the hospital because the doofus swallowed amniotic fluid during birth and turned blue after ten minutes. (Which is based on a true story, my brother had that complication after homebirth. Homebirths are very common in my country which is why I put them in my fics.)) And Peter and Chris go into protective overdrive. He keeps working for as long as he can but at four months pregnant with twins, he has to take a step back and only work desk duty until he’s 7.5 months along. He takes some time off after that and gets time to recuperate and rest.

Chris for his last pregnancy also chooses to have a homebirth, Julio comes to work for him to do his arms deals and meetups while Chris takes a step back and works from his office until the day he goes into labor. And even then he’s still trying to get this deal done while breathing through contractions.

Also, imagine Peter getting to experience both of his mates being pregnant again. I like to imagine the smile on his face when he hears the heartbeats for the first time, how he just knows when his mates are pregnant, he recognizes the scent change now. He knows Chris is pregnant before Chris does. With Noah it’s a bit more of a tie since Noah can pick up the twins’ energy signatures and heartbeat at 4-5 weeks. Which is when the scent change happens.

I imagine the three of them curled up together after the youngest has been born, all tuckered out and completely passed out. The new baby curled up in the cosleeper next to the bed. Malia sneaks in without waking her dad and starts snapping pictures for the family album. And at one point during the night, Ben and the youngest twins end up sleeping in their parents’ bed as well. It becomes a routine until Ben is ten and generally likes to sleep alone. (Unless he’s upset, then he comes running.)

Also, the mere image of Chris wearing glasses and Noah wearing his police sunglasses (or regular glasses), like yes, sign me up. Also, Peter shows solidarity and starts wearing glasses later in life too. Which doesn’t only do wonders for their sex life (though that was never bad, to begin with) but also every single parent at Ben’s high school and the twins’ elementary school suddenly have the hots for the three extremely hot dilfs.

It also helps with getting justice for Ben when his son is being bullied at school and Chris has to convince Peter not to kill anyone, Noah shows off the sheriff’s badge and starts suggesting a few things, and Chris likes to remind people that his son (Jackson) is now the youngest DA in the country and works from Beacon Hills and his other son (Stiles) is now an FBI agent who certainly wouldn’t mind digging into the past of whoever is bullying his little brother. (Not that he ever has to get that far, usually he smiles warmly and charms the principal or the teacher with his trademark smile and within a day Ben’s bullies are disciplined by the school.)

I have no idea where I’m going anymore as I’m pretty tired at this point. But these were stuck in my head and I had to share.

(Once again, I adore every single headcanon you’ve send me. <3)

#ben says stuff #once upon a time comments #submission

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ibilenews · 5 years ago

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In the absence of sports, what are Chinese sports writers doing?

BEIJING, April 7, 2020 – When Wuhan announced lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Winter Youth Olympics closing ceremony was on going, the Olympic flame was extinguishing, and this is where the dark time of global sports industry began.

As the first country affected by the virus, China suspended all sports matches and events soon after January 23, sports facilities like gyms and ski resorts were closed too.

Those sudden changes broke the routine of sports writers in China firstly. Situation got worse when the COVID-19 virus spread globally during March, leaving a world with no football, basketball, skiing and whatever sports events, affecting sports journalism in all five continents eventually.

Under this situation, sports writers still have work to do as so many unprecedented things happened like the postponement of 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But of course, there are extraordinary changes and challenges of reporting sports in this sport-absence period.

As an international media institution, China’s Xinhua News Agency sends sports writers all over the world. Just like their counterparts, the pandemic has greatly influenced Xinhua sports writers’ working methods.

From sport to what’s beyond sport

“The common sports news are about sports events and athletes, when there’s none, I decided to focus on how the society has changed without sport,” said Liu Yang, a Xinhua Sports writer based in Berlin.

Liu wrote more than 30,000 words during March, the first month that mass sports events paused in Germany, he said he wrote even a little more than his ordinary amount.

There are lots of interesting topics in his article, for example a story about some German lower league football club presell wurst & beer ticket in their online “virtual fans bar” in order to struggle out of financial crisis.

Chinese audience, as well as Liu himself, probably would pay little attention to such lower football leagues if all the top clubs and athletes were on their normal track.

However, with those articles, Chinese audience could understand how important the grassroots football club and fans bar is to the Germans, which truly gives an insight into sports culture.

“COVID-19 paused almost everything in sports, therefore the recovering process is worth recording too,” Liu shared another opinion.

Similar with Liu, Xinhua sports writers based at home have paid a lot of attention to the “recovery” process too.

As the virus is gradually under control in China, recent reports from Shanghai municipality city and Heilongjiang province showed some optimistic signs that basketball courts, badminton gyms and ski resorts are going to be refilled by people.

Those Xinhua sports writers made a field visit to such reopened sports facilities, through which they got deeper understanding of how the virus has hurt to sports industry.

From face-to-face to phone interview

When the whole society is under quarantine, face-to-face interview are extremely difficult, creating a critical difficulty for journalists.

Although journalists can reach sources through phone calls or video chats. However, the basic problem is how to get those phone numbers? Then, how to get trust from the person on the other end of wire?

“Phone interview was always the Plan B for me, for sure you can’t expect it as smooth as the feeling when talking face-to-face, but it’s almost the only option now,” said Xinhua sports writer Lin Deren.

Lin admitted that this method works well when contacting persons that already know him, “but obviously it needs more work for the ‘cold start’.”

“Anyway, I still kept my patience and hope finally it can work out,” said Lin.

Some technical accident may happen during the phone interview too, for example the high failure risk when using the same smart phone to make interview call and voice recording at the same time.

Although there are so many difficulties in phone interview, but for Ji Ye who specialized in Olympic news, the IOC’s recent two tele media conferences provided remarkable opportunities for him.

“Based in Beijing, I couldn’t attend the IOC media conference before, the only way to cover those conferences was by watching videos after it had been held. During this special period, IOC decided to hold media conference by telephone, thus give me chances to truly get involved in it,” said Ji Ye.

It still takes time for him to get familiar with this new form of media conference. In the first conference, approximately 400 journalists were competing for few chances to raise questions to IOC President Thomas Bach, Ji Ye wasn’t get selected.

“The fierce competition was not beyond my estimation and of course I had strong will to ask President Bach, so I kept dialing the ‘*’+‘1’ to request question from the very start. I guess all the journalists from 5 continents were doing the same thing like me.”

Ji Ye said he got smart in the second conference. Prior the conference he sent a question list to Mark Adams, the IOC spokesperson who conducted that meeting.

“Mark knows my name, by sending this email to him, I recalled his impression on me and showed him I have valuable questions, so I got selected.”

Ji Ye also pointed out that with hundreds of journalists from different countries raising questions together, he could better understand the global concern of the Olympics.

“It should be an advantage, which provides me a great variety of reporting angles,” said Ji Ye.

Be Innovative, Keep Studying

During this difficult time, some innovations are happening in Xinhua Sports, one of the remarkable action is the wide collection of Users Generated Content (UGC).

Having estimated the difficulties in producing video content on site due to the nationwide quarantine, Xinhua Sports launched a program to collect some famous athletes’ in-door fitness video, which they shoot by themselves, the program has already expanded to ordinary people recently.

The regular cover of E-games and virtual reality sports competitions has also been added into report routine.

“E-games have barely been influenced by the pandemic, and I can’t ignore some competitions like shooting embracing some virtual reality features during this special period,” said Wang Meng, a Xinhua sports writer who is the major follower of the E-sports field.

The virtual reality reinforced Shooting competition was held on April 2 in different training facilities and live-streamed together by an online broadcasting platform, the athletes’ real time bio-data was provided, thus their stress level could be showed to spectators.

Locked by the global COVID-19 outbreak, it’s a relative leisure time for sports writers who were always on their way to the next interview. Also, it’s a good time for learning something new.

Wang Meng said she resumed learning Japanese recently. For sports writers, one optimistic side of the postponement of Tokyo 2020 is they may get more time to acquire that language.

Remote education methods are also being utilized to share the recent thinking and experience of sports issues.

Lin Deren joined the first AIPS Young Reporters e-College course on April 2, in which the former director of Marketing / Broadcast Rights IOC, Michael Payne, talked about marketing and the future of Tokyo 2020.

“It’s really convenient to do such international group discussing and learning through internet, the remote course is a great attempt to gather our sports writers worldwide in this difficult period,” said Lin.

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creativedesignkc · 7 years ago

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Effective Copy Writing - Month 4

I’m finishing up “Effective Copy Writing” and the fourth month of my Media Design MFA program. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this class, copywriting was a concept that was foreign to me. After I found out what it was, I didn’t feel any more secure. And I was worried about going into a class that was unfamiliar to me.

Week 1

4.1.1 Mastery

I struggled to comprehend copywriting and what I was writing about as I worked through my first essay. Ultimately, I read through chapter 9 in the Felton text, “Advertising: Concept and Copy” three or four times before I was able to start writing, making Felton’s statement “As we’ve seen, before you ever write a word of copy, you need to understand the overall voice and stance of the brand”, relatable (Felton, 2013).

4.1.2 Project

My first project required that I find five compelling headlines that inspired me and explain why each of them is successful. Since we I had been compiling my swipe file, I had a good selection of print ads and was able to make my choice from my collection.

4.1.3 Discussion

This section was when I had the opportunity to select a non-profit to work with for the duration of this class. I chose the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) because I believe this is an extremely important cause that is often overlooked and underfunded. I know how destructive domestic violence is to lives and that it can be difficult to get help. The exercise for this section included finding two print ads from competing non-profits and explain how they fit into Settle and Alreck’s “15 Catalog of Needs”.

Week 2

4.2.2 Project

This assignment required me to create two target audience personas. I researched domestic violence to get a better picture of those who are victims. With 1 in 3 women experiencing physical domestic violence in their lifetime, it’s clear that domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. I wanted to create two personas that would be very different. I used two income demographics -- $53,000 and $400,000 to show that income doesn’t insulate you. I created two personas with lives that were seemingly put together and full, to show the insidiousness of domestic violence. Understanding who these personas are helps create the brand’s voice, which in turn, gives way to a clearer campaign message. Once I created my personas, I was able to narrow my focus and create my testimonial campaigns.

4.2.1 Mastery

I started this week by reading Chapter 19, Testimonials: The Power of Personality in the Felton text. I also watched Developing Ideas and Design Concepts with Craig Smallish and chapters one and three from the video tutorial, Designing a Print Ad with Craig Smallish. There was a lot of information in these videos and reading. The assignment was to sketch six concepts in the form of testimonial ads. I reviewed the reading assignments and my swipe file for inspiration. Felton said ��No matter what you’re selling, someone can testify for it. And since people find other people more fascinating than they do anything else, why not use them?” (Felton, 2013, p. 241), making testimonials an ideal type of advertising campaign.

The image of x-rayed broken bones is a reoccurring theme throughout the print ads of the competitors of the NNEDV; and I wanted to use this opportunity to use statistics, ones that are not well known, but need to be shared. I believe an image of a broken bone would be powerful and would leave a lasting impact.

The second print ad depicts a man holding a sign that reads “I hit my wife because it makes me feel like a man” was inspired by the current fad of shame signs. These shame signs are frequently seen on kids and pets for everyone to see, and everyone has an opinion. My thought process was that it would be a powerful image to see a man wearing a shame sign, admitting to hitting his wife, and saying he does it because it makes him feel like a man.

The third print ad is a two-part ad, the first is the image of a couple getting married and the second is of a casket. I was inspired by the serendipitous invitation to a friend’s wedding, and at the same time, the cold, hard statistic “3 women are murdered every day by their current or former male partner” (Zahn, 2003), was at the other end of the spectrum; one was so light and happy, and the other so heavy and dark.

The fourth print ad showing a football was inspired by and designed after the next print ad, it was a natural progression. I’ve read too many articles about athletes who are given a slap on the wrist for a crime because they are athletes, there are too many instances where groups of people are above the law. I strongly believe this needs to change; this is also part of my inspiration.

The fifth print ad was actually designed before the fourth print ad. I am a big baseball fan; I was inspired for the design of this ad one evening while I was watching a game. I see baseball players doing charity work throughout their communities; they are great leaders. I think that using baseball could be a powerful theme in a print ad.

The last print ad was inspired by reading some of the statistics and information about domestic violence. It reminded me of being a child and pulling the petals off of a flower and attributing a “he loves me, he loves me not” to every other petal, with the last one dictating what the outcome was. This print ad was meant to depict the phrases that are said to this victim that tear her down, and she may not even realize what’s happening.

For this assignment, I had to choose six different voices that I felt were best representative of the sketch and testimonial.

The next part of the assignment was to choose three of the six sketches to turn into comps. “When you’re sitting there writing those hundred headlines, you’re running techniques through your head like beads on the rosary, whether you know it or not. You’re turning phrases around, searching for synonyms, trying to say something paradoxically or in a hipper tone of voice, trying—one way or another—to get words to bump into each other and release some energy” (Felton, 2013, p. 195). I couldn’t have said it better, this is how I feel my design process works a lot of the time, but it doesn’t work on paper for me.

I selected Sketch #2 (man with sign), #3 (wedding/casket), and #6 (flower petals). Felton said to “Always ask yourself, what is the highest possible benefit I can claim for this product? And realize that such ladder climbing is smart” (Felton, 2013. p. 23). So, I chose these sketches because I felt I had more I could do with them; they were the three that inspired me the most; they were the three I believed would connect the best with the targeted audience.

1. My #3 concept was a complete package inspiration. The headline came to me first, with a concept for the sketch immediately behind. It came to me so quickly that I had to stop what I was doing and put everything onto paper. I researched domestic violence statistics and found one that would be relevant and used that for the body copy. I searched Google for images, with the appropriate copyright usage rights, of a couple getting married and another of a casket, or something similar.

2. I ended up making changes to Sketch #6. I searched for and used the face of a woman, and I placed the demeaning phrases all around her, implying these are the thoughts that are going through her head. An abused woman who’s experienced gaslighting often feels confusion and is unsure of her own mind; she may even rationalize an abusive situation by saying “But he never hits me.” The body copy is a soft statement about domestic violence not always being physical.

3. The headline for Sketch #2 was part of the shame-sign sketch concept, with a handwritten sign reading “I hit my wife because it makes me feel like a man.” I researched and found two relevant statistics and used them for the headline and body copy. I also did an image search and found a picture of a man, with proper copyright usage rights.

4.3.1 Mastery

This assignment required me to make revisions to my testimonial ads. I made an appointment with Dr. Rogalle and collaborated with her about my ads and changes I needed to make to them.

Print Ad #1: I replaced the original, faded images to a different, full-color picture. As part of a collection, this ad needed to be full color, and not faded. I found a picture of a newly married couple holding hands. I created a photograph size image of this and created a tearing effect and separated the two halves to emphasize the irreparable break in the bond that had been created. I changed the fonts and the font-size to emphasize hierarchy and create a visual flow. I added additional facts as well as the official NNEDV logo.

Print Ad #2: I changed the placement of the image to the upper right corner because the image had the top of her head cut off. It also created an asymmetrical balance that allowed the phrases to be placed in black space instead of on her face. I changed the fonts and font-size to create a cohesive set of fonts and a visual hierarchy to guide the eyes through the ad. I added the official logo, a lighter color at the bottom of the page for contrast, and additional facts to the ad.

Print Ad #3: I changed my image from a muscular model-type man to a headshot of an everyday man. I placed this image in the upper right corner, in the same design as print ad #2; this changed the layout of the ad. I also changed the fonts and font-size, creating a visual hierarchy and a font group that works together. I added the official logo, and a lighter color to the bottom of the page, to add contrast.

As I finish the last bits of my Effective Copy Writing class, I would be remiss if I didn’t list a few of the things I learned this month that I will take with me as I finish my degree and throughout my career.

· I learned how to evaluate and identify print ads and determine how they fit into one or more of the categories from Settle and Alreck’s 15 Catalog of Needs. I also learned that when we design print ads, it’s important to refer back to the persona and determine what needs they want to be met; using that information will assure a successful advertising campaign.

· I learned the importance of creating a persona prior to starting the design phase of the advertising campaign. I learned that having an effective persona will simplify the process of creating the voice of the ad and create the ideal brand identity. It will help create a successful campaign.

· I learned about font hierarchy, pairing fonts, and using Adobe to test fonts to see how they look together before using them in a project. I also learned about image placement and balance in an ad using symmetry.

· I learned about creating taglines, ways to make them more effective, and small how small changes can make a difference in a tagline being successful.

It’s been a great month. I learned more about advertising than I ever thought I wanted to know. I used to think it was scary, but now it seems like something I could do.

Thanks for a great class!

Felton, G. (2013). Advertising Concept and Copy(Vol. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780393733921). New York, New York, USA: W. W. Norton & Company.

Zahn, M. A. (2003). Intimate Partner Homicide. National Institute of Justice Journal, Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000250.pdf.

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mancitynoise · 7 years ago

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There is a contradiction at the heart of long distance fandom that is difficult to square. On the one hand should you support a club situated hundreds of miles away or in another country entirely you are open to all manner of lazy accusations that place your authenticity in doubt and if your team happens to be successful then those accusations become outright dismissive. You are a ‘glory-hunter’. To the particularly callous you are a ‘plastic’.

Yet the very same reasons why long distance support is looked down on from some quarters can just as easily be regarded as being thoroughly commendable. The responsibility of following a particular team was not bestowed upon that person either through family inheritance or locality. There is no obligation to display such loyalty. A long distance fan chooses to sacrifice his or her sanity at the altar of that side. They choose to have their sleep pattern knocked sideways to stream a game in the middle of the night. They choose to endure the slings and arrows that come from a club allegiance and all while feeling frustratingly disconnected due to geography.

And when that supporter goes the extra thousand miles and attends the matches any prejudices they encounter is surely all the more erroneous.

Malcy began supporting Manchester City in the early 90s after going to university in the area. For 20-plus years he was a season ticket holder who would travel down from Scotland for every home game and moving to Sweden six years ago wasn’t going to deter him from watching his beloved blues. Which means that these days his regular trips to the Etihad necessitates flights – including transfers – and sometimes a sleep-over on his friend’s sofa and for all this it’s rare that he will see any change from five hundred quid.

For such devotion to the cause it is not uncommon however to have his credibility as a City fan questioned.

“I sometimes get asked “are you one of the new fans?” by blues or fans of other clubs, probably because of my lack of Mancunian accent. It doesn’t take long to put that one to bed though.”

Conversations with Liverpool, Manchester United and City fans based in Ireland meanwhile reveal a similar breakdown of cost, time and inconvenience that amounts to heroic dedication. Countless hours of travel, hotel stays, and wallet-shrinking fortunes being spent is the norm and that’s before we get to rearranged kick-off times throwing days of careful organisation into expensive disarray.

In the hyper-opinionated orbit of modern football there are a great many aspects that confound but perhaps nowhere is sheer unfairness more evident than in the negative perception reserved for overseas supporters such as the above. Liverpool are mocked for hosting a number of Scandinavian fans while Reds from across the world are derided as being ‘day-trippers’ for flying over to Old Trafford and so often the originator of the belittlement is less familiar with the ground in question but simply lives closer to it.

In researching this article discussions took place on social media and across various forums and though it was almost entirely civilised and respectful. Here, without any judgement whatsoever, are some of the more disparaging comments posted concerning long distance fans:

“Anyone who ‘chooses’ a team isn’t a real fan, more a customer.”

“I just can’t get my head around supporting a team you have no connection to that play miles away just because they were winning things when you grew up. Surely the bond you have with your football club stems from local pride?”

“The difference between a lad from Hull supporting Liverpool and a Thai supporters group that are mocked on social media is simply distance.”

“I detest what I call glory hunting fans from different places who have no connection what so ever to the team they’re supporting. I’ve no time at all for cockney reds and northeast folk supporting Liverpool.”

It should be noted that the vast majority of respondents wholeheartedly appreciated the sacrifices and commitment undertaken to support a club from afar but equally perhaps it is all too easy to pigeonhole the more sceptical as being prejudiced in some way. The global branding of the Premier League has resulted in genuine causes for resentment emerging from localised support as tickets become scarcer to secure not to mention the widely held suspicion that clubs now prioritise overseas fans due to their propensity to spend more.

It can be immensely annoying too, no matter how you feel on the subject matter, to see your club mocked with a hackneyed stereotype from a rival fan whose Twitter bio and location suggests that the misnomer has been sourced second-hand and from a position of ignorance.

Countering this, several long distance fans were keen to point out how extremely lucky local supporters are to have the ground on their doorstep requiring the minimum of effort to watch their team in action. Granted this additionally makes derby defeats all the more visceral and harder to endure on a Monday morning should you live in the area but it also follows that those who reside elsewhere have less rivals to gloat to in the workplace following a derby win. As Felix from Germany puts it – “I always have to celebrate alone and I have no person to share my passion in real life”.

It is unquestionably a huge boon to feel emotionally connected within a club’s catchment area and more so to be able to get home in time for the X-Factor after a Saturday kick-off. Others meanwhile begin car journeys that don’t end past midnight, or head for the airport, or go back to bed for a couple of hours prior to feeling like a zombie for the next 24 – and all while feeling detached again from their obsession and relying on the internet for vicarious connection.

In wrestling this topic down, that appears to be the nub of the issue: local fans should feel fortunate to reside in the same postcode as their heroes, with all the benefits that brings, only some do not. Some instead feel entitled.

Sadly this entitlement is becoming more prevalent largely due to the aforementioned global branding of the game and social media making a big world smaller. It has even made itself known at games with Manchester City supporters recently turning on their own at Chelsea asking ‘where have all the Mancs gone?’

At that match Stuart from Hampshire was accosted by a fellow blue outside the stadium who demanded to know how he’d accrued the necessary loyalty points for a ticket given that he had no northern accent.

Our attitude towards long distance fans used to be so different back in the day when it was commonplace for supporter’s groups visiting from overseas to be paraded on the pitch prior to kick-off and given hearty applause for their dedication. Now resentment seems to be increasingly on the rise.

Surely though such exclusivity has no place in a modern game that has a significant impact far beyond injury updates in local newspapers and office one-upmanship. In writing this a quote from The Stone Roses’ singer Ian Brown kept coming to mind – It is not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at: and if you’re chewing your fingernails down to the quick at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon you’re a fan regardless of location.

The sentiments of Cliff from America linger. “I am in California and I feel Manchester City fans in Manchester might be a bit more connected then me by going to the games. But I live and die with every win or loss. I bleed Blue and am clued in on everything City.”

Another comment, this time from a forum, also resonates – “How lucky you are to fall out of bed and stroll up to our ground when you feel like it and sneeringly dismiss those of us not blessed to be born within peeing distance of the pitch.”

#FootballFanCast #News

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