#i mainly kept it professional and productive

[somnolent-scout]

How was the meetup? I wanted to go but I couldn’t afford it

The TF2 Cosplay Community Meetup was pretty cool! We surprised everyone with Robin Atkin Downes as Medic!

The Meet the Mercs event? Absolutely FANTASTIC. We're definitely going forward with future events like this one.

[honeytonedhottie]

hyper girliness⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🎀

this post is just my take on what girliness is to me and how i incorporate it into my life bcuz its a lifestyle for me. being super feminine and feeling happy and beautiful in that way is how i choose to live and this post is just talking about how i go about that. ofc with anything that u consume. take what resonates with you and leave the rest but i hope you'll enjoy.

GIRLY MINDSET ;

i think of very highly of myself, like a princess. i did lots of self concept work to get my self concept to where it is now and i can confidently say that my self concept is just as flawless as i am. because i think so highly of myself, i treat myself accordingly. something that i reinforce in my thoughts is to treat myself like my favorite doll.

what does it mean to treat yourself like your favorite doll? PAMPER yourself, treat urself sweetly and preciously and your body and mind and soul will thank you tenfold. every investment that u put into urself whether its mental or physical will give you the highest ROI then anything else can because its YOU.

IN TOUCH WITH GIRLINESS ;

im rly in touch with my girliness when im practicing self care or doing something creative (like girlblogging for example) to me, femininity is expression and creativity and energy and beauty so anything that resonates with those four words is enriching my own girliness.

pampering and self care time every single day is a MUST

dancing or stretching

most tension for girls at least, is stored in ur hips, so whenever ur doing stretches or when u dance, i like to focus on my hips movements so that then i can release tension and let energy flow. doing so helps me to feel super in touch with my girliness and my femininity in general, so things like belly dancing and yoga.

PAMPERING ;

manis/pedis WEEKLY or every two weeks, u dont have to get them professionally done if u dont want to, but mainly focus on being well kept and well groomed and moisturized.

making sure my hair looks pretty and to my liking

being EXTRA during shower time ; using high quality and sweet smelling products, using body oils and body butters and lotions. taking bubble baths and using fancy bath milks and bubble bath.

GIRLY INCORPORATION ;

you can glamorize even the simplest of tasks by being super girly. here are some examples of incorporating girliness into mundane tasks. girliness is lots of ROMANTICIZATION

studying -> using cute stationary (mine are predominantly pink) decorated notes, cute study playlist (i listen to subliminals) keep an adorable space to study and wear a cute outfit

GIRLY CODE ;

being sweet and gentle with everyone (including urself) is SUCH a girly move and it makes u so pleasant and doll-like. theres no need to be nasty for no reason, cuz thats not hot. so mind ur p's and q's. say thank you, articulate ur feelings and ur thoughts. also, me saying making an effort to be nice is girly code does NOT mean that if someone is coming at u some kind of way that u shouldn't stand up for urself bcuz u absolutely should, but rly emphasize grace.

GIRLY ACCESSORIES ;

bracelets

anklets

purses

head bands

mini-skirts

on an ending note the main keys to girliness from my experience is all about how u treat urself, and that'll translate to how u treat others. and this post can serve as your reminder to pamper and spoil yourself bcuz u deserve it ✨

[hasufin]

State of failure

I am currently making hardtack.

This is a mistake. The year is 2023 and there is no good reason to make hardtack. The stuff is an inherently bad idea. There is no practical use for hardtack which is not met today by a product which is superior in every way.

Hardtack existed as a solution for a particular time and application: a way to create portable calories which did not require any cooking in situ, which could be transported in almost any condition, and could be stored for years at a time with no significant detriment.

Today, we have a great many options to meet these requirements. We have MREs. Canned foods. Dehydrated foods. UHT packaging. Freeze-drying. Energy bars. Every one of these options manage to be better-tasting, more nutritious, and just overall more pleasant than hardtack.

Throughout much of history, the idea of going an extended period of time without being able to cook at all would have been ridiculous. What could your circumstances be, that you could not, just once every few days, start a fire? and if you can start a fire you can, at minimum, make waybread. Which isn’t particularly pleasant, sure, but is worlds better than hardtack.

But for a certain period of time, hardtack was indeed the solution. it’s mostly synonymous with sailor’s food, but was also a significant part of a soldier’s diet; certain forms of the stuff, known as “hard biscuit” were used even through WWII. It does have its advantages, mainly in durability. Actually, that’s pretty much it. Hardtack, if kept dry and free of insects, will last pretty much indefinitely.

What, you may wonder, is hardtack?

Well. It’s basically the worst, most basic form of bread you can imagine. It’s unleavened and as dry as possible. It consists of nothing but flour and salt, with just enough water to form into a stiff dough, then baked and dried. That’s literally it.

The hardtack above used 2 cups of whole wheat flour (plus a bit more for the working surface), about a teaspoon of salt, and somewhere between 1/2 and 5/8 of a cup of water.

I combined the salt with the flour. Note - no fat, no sweetener, no flavoring, no leavening. Then, I added half a cup of water and proceeded to knead it. And knead it. And knead it some more. It is impossible to overknead hardtack, because it’s going to be indistinguishable from masonry no matter what you do.

Now, there is some skill to this. You’re up against two competing needs. First, you must make your hardtack as dry as possible. Water is your enemy. If there is water, it could mold, or grow bacteria, or fungus.

On the other hand, you want your dough to be completely smooth. Any seam or fold in the dough will become a crack. The biscuit may break apart; some mold spore or insect could get in.

So, while I started with half a cup of water, I found that amount inadequate and added a little bit of additional water to make it work into a smoother dough. As you can see, it still wasn’t perfectly smooth but I successfully incorporated all the flour.

Once I had a terribly stiff dough, I rolled it out on a floured surface. There’s plenty of leeway here on how you can do it - some people would simply take pieces of the dough and pat them flat. Especially into the 19th century, this could be done with machinery, to make very consistent biscuits. That’s actually pretty important, since sailors and soldiers would want to be sure they were getting a fair ration.

Personally, since I have round biscuit cutters, that’s what I did. This is the style largely favored by the British, to be packed in barrels for Naval usage. Americans tended to make squares or rectangles for most efficient packing in tins. If these were being made professionally, the biscuits would then be impressed with a seal, usually indicating the company which manufactured the biscuits.

The next, and more important, part is to poke holes in the biscuits. These are not for show: they are meant to release steam when the biscuits are baked. If there are no holes, steam may accumulate in pockets, resulting in bubbles. While this might yield a moderately more pleasant hardtack - one that can be more easily broken apart - it also makes it less durable and more prone to spoilage. The holes need to be poked all the way through, which isn’t quite how most such baking is done, but there is no elegance to hardtack.

Next is baking. To be honest, hardtack is not baked. It is sterilized and dried. The simplest method is to bake the biscuits in a low oven for many hours - four is typical, but sometimes the hardtack is baked several times, or overnight. It should be baked just hot enough to assure anything in the flour is killed, and for long enough to remove almost all moisture from the biscuits.

I have opted for a compromise, in large part because I already had my dehydrator out. I baked the biscuits at 250°F for two hours, then transferred them to the dehydrator, where they are currently drying for.... well, until I decide to shut it off. Probably when I go to bed. Sadly, my dehydrator tops out at 160°F, which is 40°F too cool for proper sterilization. If it went up to 200°F, I could put the biscuits directly in there without needing the oven at all, but such was not to be.

So far, it smells surprisingly pleasant, and the one piece I have tasted confirms: it’s terribly bland, of course, lacking even the sourness of yeast. It’s also - as one could predict - quite hard, requiring prolonged dipping in tea to make it soft enough to bite. In short, the flavor is inoffensive while the texture is weaponizable.

I made this stuff knowing what it would be. I started out with the complete expectation that it would be akin to eating a roofing tile. Why do I do this?

Curiosity, I suppose. Now, sometimes I try to improve these historical recipes - I recognize the limitations under which they were made, and try to make them pleasant by adding spices and seasonings which were not available, applying techniques which would have been impractical, and adding fats and sugars which were uneconomical.

Not this recipe. You cannot improve hardtack without compromising its purpose. But I’d seen so many references to it, I knew I wanted to make it for myself, just to experience it.

I’m not going to share the stuff with my friends, though. Not anyone I want to keep as a friend, at any rate.

[chaifootsteps]

On the subject of “bad studios”… sorry this is a little long …

I wanna preface by saying I’m not trying to make excuses for studios nor am I trying to discredit or blame any victims of workplace neglect/abuse who have spoken out.

All that said I’ve seen a continuous trend that I feel I need to voice. And it’s mainly around two areas: 1. Folks not being aware of how a studio is being run and instead reacting to their personal perceptions, and 2. Workers expecting “too much” from a small studio.

In a perfect world, everyone would have all the access and money they need to treat their workers with complete and absolute stability and comfort. But we don’t live in that world.

For 1, especially if workers or critics do not have industry experience they can only react to their personal perceptions of events or assumptions. And we have a LOT of young green artists entering right now. Best comparison I can think is if a studio hires you as a contractor and then later you go on to say “they won’t even pay my medical bills and that’s wrong” it’s not “wrong”, that’s quite frankly the norm for contract work.

Does it suck that that’s the norm? Yes. Have the employers committed neglect by not including health insurance in contract work? No.

For 2, small studios have to cut a lot of corners due to their size and even if they don’t they simply cannot function like a big studio, they don’t have the resources to. This can result in a lot of poor choices in attempts to make up for that, and general workplace drama and stress, especially if they are trying to function like a big studio w/o the resources to do so. But if you as a worker know what to expect going in (that it’s not going to be a perfect experience at a small studio and chances are you can’t bank on it for genuine financial support) you’re more likely to avoid that drama/stress or at least be prepared for it.

All that said there’s definitely exceptions to these rules especially when a studio/higher ups at the studio are unprofessional and/or inexperienced. There’s simply a threshold that needs to be kept in mind of “is this to be expected” and “is there a pattern of problems.”

In a case like Glitch, we have some details coming out, so we can put our guard up and keep an eye out to see if worse details come out and a pattern forms.

In a case like Spindlehorse, we’ve had more than enough people speak up about working there that’s been a continual pattern. They could’ve been excused from some things their first few years getting their footing—but it’s been far too long and they should know better by now rather than continuing with obvious foundation issues.

In a case like Lackadaisy, we haven’t really seen any folks speak up about poor working conditions, but we have seen leaders who are very transparent, professional, and humble about the mistakes they’ve made/weaknesses they have and what they’re doing about them to improve.

Just wanted to share all that.

I think one very important thing people don't keep in mind is that not all indie studios are created equal. You've got productions like Far-Fetched and Monkey Wrench where every last cent the creators can possibly spare is going into it, and there's an expectation that pay is probably going to be low. There's Lackadaisy, which is a lot better off but still not exactly rolling in it, but extremely committed to doing right by its employees.

Then there's Spindlehorse and Glitch, which can absolutely afford to pay and treat their employees better, they just don't want to.

[wolvertooth]

share your silly billy headcanons

fuckkk i gotta think of some silly ones….

ok these arent all silly but. perhaps a bit billy.

Random Logan Headcanons;

i think logans got a real sweet tooth. but also just poor eating habits in general. like he’ll just eat tubs of icecream and call it dinner. its not really much of a headcanon ig, since its shown a couple times in canon….

ig a headcanon related to that would be that he has no fucking clue how to shop for groceries, mainly just eating whatevers around the xmansion or going to the gas station/corner store for snacks. if he went to an actual grocery store i feel like he’d get easily overwhelmed, overthink it, and get paranoid about people judging him(grocery shopping is peak Normal human behaviour and the standards are EXTREMELY HIGH). he also just hates shopping in general.

for a lot of things in his life he tends to settle for just surviving, not really having much care for the quality of his living conditions, just as long as theres somewhere to sleep n things to eat n alcohol to drink.

logan makes more animal noises when hes around his friends, and even more when hes alone. theyre basically vocal stims.

he talks/monologues to himself a lot. used to a lot more, but now its mostly when hes alone.

despite all the talk of needing to be more Man than Animal, he actually likes showing of his mutant abilities. like hes always up to arm wrestle, race someone, or do a cool trick with his claws. he’ll show off his healing factor too, ignoring the pain for pleasure of just getting a reaction out of someone, especially if hes doing a bit.

watches sports just to have some stimulation for his brain. he doesnt really have an interest in sports, but has picked up some context over just from watching it for so long that he knows the basics of whats going on. mostly comes in handy so he can have an excuse to yell at something. but honestly he’d probably even yell at a cooking show.

sleeps nude, mainly just a texture problem. he can sleep in terrible conditions when out on missions and stuff, but when at home he tries to have it as comfortable as possible.

reads a lot of books(again, as a way of keeping his brain stimulated) and leans towards more slice of life ones, as well as romance.

chews on his dogtags.

Random Victor Headcanons;

also makes animal noises as a vocal stim, but a lot of them are more involuntary. his meowing is also really high pitch compared to his regular speaking voice.

listens to music to keep his brain stimulated. loud stuff. he also gets some noise cancelling headphones at somepoint, and likes that they just look like regular headphones.

flicks his nails together as a stim.

a harmful stim he has is scratching himself, like long lines across anywhere on his skin.

he kept one of logans button up shirts after a fight one time, a super long time ago, and uses it as something to snuggle for comfort when he sleeps. side effect from this is that sometimes when fighting, logans scent will make him sleepy….

likes trench coats that have a fuck ton of pockets. he likes to be prepared, but also refuses to buy a handbag, so hes got all kinds of weird stuff in his pockets.

watches a lotttttt of tv. and movies. hes kind of a cinephile.

the reason his hair is so perfect all the time is that the healing factor applies to stuff like hair and nails as well. unlike logan(who uses a bunch of hair product daily) victor keeps his natural. he rarely even needs to brush it. he took to putting it up in a ponytail for when he needs to look more professional, since normally its fairly big and fluffy. he’ll sometimes put it up in a high ponytail or bun too, and occasionally add accessories n braids to it.

prefers hot showers/baths. also hangs out in his hot tub a lot. makes him feel clean.

huge wardrobe, all kinds of outfits. he tends to keep a lot of his clothes from over the decades, even if he doesnt wear them anymore.

[sparklyshakespeare]

Hey, kinda serious question but you do playacting for a living right? What was your process to get there? Did you major in theatre? Did you have connections? What is the field like? Competition? How talented do you have to be? etc. etc.

HIII i would LOVE to answer this question!!

to start with, i’m actually still in high school!!! i’m a sophomore :-) i’ve been doing theatre since i was 3, professionally since i was 6!

basically everyone in my chosen family is a theatre person/met my family through theatre, so i was kinda sorta indoctrinated into it in a way?! my mom and god-mom put me and my god-cousin in a like acting workshop for babies thing and i LOVED it and the rest is history! our old house had essentially a stage in the parlor and i’d get up there and belt out the shrek soundtrack <3

my mom was a theatre professor/director (and is a playwright now!) and one of her old co-workers was holding auditions for a professional production of annie. i did NOT get cast in that, but they ended up calling me in to audition for the children’s ensemble in a production of evita! i did get cast in that :-) and came back to the same theatre to do carousel the next summer

from there, i kept auditioning professionally while doing theatre camps/pay-to-plays, etc. and while i don’t think these are necessary (you’re probablyyy better off getting training from an individual vocal/acting coach), they are SO MUCH FUN and definitely helped me to get comfortable auditioning/going in front of an audience!

i took a year off to focus on film, and then when i was 11 i ended up booking my first professional LEAD lead in Fun Home <3 it was an incredible experience, and i even got nominated for my city’s version of the Tony’s which was such a freaking honor 🥹

then covid hit. womp womp! but i was able to still do some virtual professional theatre, and it was incredibly nice to have 2 years off to focus on my training! unfourtnately i did in fact receive a visit from the puberty fairy over this time, so i found myself suddenly unable to play the roles/sing the songs i had before. this was a huuuge struggle and left me a lil confused & upset for a while - i thought i was stuck not being able to work until i was an adult. too old for the kid roles and too young for the adult ones!!!

i ended up being lucky enough to work mainly backstage for 1/2 a season (after volunteering with the director i worked for at a theatre summer camp for itty bitties) which was super fun! that same director then cast me in an ensemble/understudying role, and that ensemble/understudy role led to me booking great comet!

TO SUMMARIZE (sorry i love to talk!!)

1. see the long wordyyy post above :)

2. still in HS, but i’ll probably end up majoring in either acting or musical theatre!

3. yes kinda sorta! but most of the connections i made through working on other shows - my biggest piece of advice is BE KIND to everyone, spread some sparkle wherever you go, and that hard work/compassion will always get you far

4. in my city, it’s definitely a tight-knit community and once you’re in you’re in! we’re all friends which is a very lovely thing, though i think it can be hard to break into. keep auditioning for everything you can!!!

5. honestly hard for me to speak on this one because most of the time i’m not competing with adults for lead roles! i will say (even though it’s a teeny bit trite) what’s yours won’t miss you - if a director has a certain vision no matter HOWW talented you are you won’t get cast if you don’t fit it, it’s not personal! everyone has their own niche and it’s perfect and unique as it is <3 there are roles that you’ll be the absolute perfect fit for!!!!

6. this is a HARD one! the idea of talent is so objective i’m not sure if i’m qualified to speak on it, but i will say there are definitely some skills that will help you!

- a VERY basic understanding of how to read music

- being able to play an instrument :)

- being able to pick up choreography fast enough that you could learn a 32 count for an audition

- the true and genuine belief that you are ENOUGH and loved, and that your talent shines in all you do

if you have any more questions lmk!! happy to ramble (and talk about myself 😇:P) whenever it’s wanted!!!

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E02: The Corbomite Maneuver

Original Thoughts

"Boring. Is this gonna be like the Star Trek movie curse? Where every odd numbered episode is meh at best and stupid at worse, while all the even numbered episodes are at least interesting? All I remember after watching it is that they dealt with an alien force that originally looked like a Rubix Cube without the squares. Oh and the voice of Ted Cassidy, that was nice~ But yeah, otherwise it was boring. Not unwatchable, but forgettable, 2/5."

(Original Post)

Rewatch Thoughts

The only thing meh at best and stupid at worst is that opinion. Shame on you Callie from two years ago! Also, I kept calling it 'Corbonite Maneuver' for some reason. Whoops.

Okay really, I think the reason that I felt that way was because I was watching the show in the order they had it on streaming. In other words, the airing order, not the production order. Thus, when compared to episodes like The Naked Time and The Enemy Within which were pretty intense episodes, this one came off as slow and uneventful in comparison. Had I watched it in production order, this would have been first after the two pilot episodes and I likely wouldn't have had as much of an issue with it. I'd have probably still found it boring, but it wouldn't feel as big of a letdown as the first time.

But here we are two years later. I had watched the episode again in-between then and now and had come around to it. It's funny how different your perception can be after you go back after watching the whole series through. The Man Trap is a great example, but we'll get there later. I'd already done some meta analysis on the episode, so feel free to check that out. It's mainly a McKirk post analyzing how their professional relationship can conflict as well as their personal relationship that I feel is especially vital in this episode. I'm probably gonna give it a do-over on my main blog down the line. But I'll give the abridged version of it and my other thoughts here.

As far as the episode itself goes, it's still not my favorite by any means, but I wouldn't rank it as low as I did originally. Watching it as a series premiere, this one does the job perfectly. It establishes our captain, the main crew members we'll be seeing, and what we can expect from the show. It may seem a bit, for lack of a better word, cheap to a modern audience. But I can imagine had this aired properly, this would have wowed the audiences of the 60's. There's also some legitimate tension about how Kirk was going to pull them out of this mess and with how rather... harsh and stressed he was, it shows that for all his flaws, he is very much an effective captain.

Kirk having problems isn't a bad thing either. There's plenty of growth for him as a captain. Here we see him stressed, demanding, and pushing things way too hard. He demands simulations to be conducted while the ship is still being repaired AND while the officers are still getting their wits together. It's especially clear with navigator Bailey, who is barely holding himself together. He's tense, uncertain, eventually freezes up and later has a full-on breakdown from all the stress and fear. McCoy even tries to get Kirk to see this and quit pushing too hard, but Kirk is incapable of doing so at this moment. This may be the Enterprise's first major crisis since Kirk became captain, and thus everything is on his shoulders. He's stressed. His stress is causing everyone else stress as he's trying to figure out what to do. By the end, he manages to effectively get them out of danger with both his bluff about corbomite and then leading the crew to breaking from the tractor beam.

And in the end, it's clear that Kirk isn't a bad guy. He is very much devoted to the mission of discovering new worlds and new life. Even after everything, he chooses to help Balok when the distress signal goes out and tries to make things up to bailey by letting him be the first along with himself and McCoy to have the first encounter. Which leads to bailey essentially becoming their ambassador... which whether letting him stay maybe wasn't the best idea, but he saw that Bailey wanted to do it and allowed it. And at the end of the day, that is their mission. To exchange information and cultures with other worlds.

We do a lot of good character establishing. We have Kirk of course, but McCoy also gets it really well. He puts off a red alert to finish Kirk's physical while he has the chance, showing that he's a doctor before all else. He's frequently trying to guide Jim to take notice of the crew's mental state while also trying to ease Kirk's own state. He provokes an argument with Kirk regarding Bailey's breakdown despite the fact they're potentially minutes away from death, which is what gets Kirk to actually snap. He had no problem talking back to the captian, even threatening to report him to his face, but considering he chose to do so at the worst moment shows a level of short-sightedness when focused on a certain thing. For a guy who didn't get any top billing until Season 2, they clearly knew that DeForest Kelley as McCoy was gonna be a stand-out and indeed he was.

It also establishes Kirk and McCoy's relationship really well from the get-go. While them having an argument like this is rare, it shows how it can happen. You could even say that they both learn from it and try to be more understanding of each other's concerns and position later. It doesn't always work, but it's a step in the right direction. And they both know their fault and apologize. You can tell that even this early on, they have a close bond. Kirk noticeably eases up and opens up around McCoy moreso than anyone else, aside from a little with Spock. He's not even using Bones yet, but that could be because he's trying to be the professional captain, but after this eases up on that. Really, I could go on all day about these two, but again that's for my main blog. But with how major their relationship truly is and how it often gets overshadowed by Kirk/Spock and Spock/McCoy, it's nice to see it so early on and done so well.

Aside from that, there isn't much more to say. It's a good episode. Not great, but nowhere near as bad as I made it out in my original watchthrough. Spock doesn't have a lot for me to go over aside from being established as the logical second-in-command. The little scene where McCoy says he'd love to teach Spock poker is cute though, and outright hilarious considering how they interact later. But hey gotta start somewhere haha. Overall, it's a good episode. It isn't great, but as an introduction to ST, the cast, and the show's purpose? It nails it perfectly and was enjoyable. It certainly wasn't boring or forgettable this time around.

Oh and because I'm an animation nerd, hearing Ted Cassidy (most well known as Lurch in The Addams Family and various animation roles) as Balok was still an utter joy~!

Original Ranking: 2/5

Rewatch Ranking: 6/10

[My TOS Reviews]

[TOS S1 Reviews]

[Next Review]

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Wrestling’s Bad Boys : The Story of The nWo and The Monday Night Wars

During the 1990s , Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation and Ted Turner’s World Championship were in competition with each other to see which shows could get better ratings, this was called ‘ The Monday Night Wars ’. In 1993 , Ted Turner appointed a former wrestling commentator named Eric Bischoff ask executive producer of WCW. Bischoff took the failing promotion and turned it around by having creative and financial control. His vision was to turn from a Southern wrestling company to a modernized one that he knew people would tune in and watch. In order to do this, Bischoff eliminated a lot of Southern accents on commentary, increased the production value , avoided house shows with no income , and increased the number of big Pay-Per-Views for the company. He even recruited big names in the business such as Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage.

In 1995, Bischoff wanted to compete with the WWF. He met with Ted Turner to see what he could do to compete with WWF RAW. Thus, Turner approved his idea and Monday Nitro was born. The inaugural episode of the show debuted on September 4,1995 and this kicked off the Monday Night War, and both companies battled for viewers and high ratings each week. Between 1995 and 1996, both the WWF and WCW would take turns beating each other in TV ratings. Nevertheless, WCW would be on top for 83 weeks.

The reason that WCW stayed on top of the ratings war in 1996 , was the rise of a new faction and storyline. This faction would come to be known as the New World Order ( nWo). The storyline started out with The Outsiders , Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash , leaving the WWF to come to Monday Nitro. People thought they were there on behalf of Vince McMahon to get a proxy war started. The Outsiders stated they would soon be joined by a third man. Therefore , the third man was revealed to be Hulk Hogan. Monday Nitro was always live while WWF RAW would alternate between live shows and taped shows. With this storyline , Bischoff hoped to get to WCW’s 18 to 35 year old range for their programming. Alongside the main booker for the promotion, Kevin Sullivan , Bischoff did so by using real names and edgier gimmicks. For example, Sting , one of the most popular stars of WCW went from colorful face paint to a look inspired by the movie , The Crow. They also added a new division to the show, the Cruiserweight division.

For the nWo , Eric Bischoff was influenced by NJPW when he attended their Battle Formation show in Japan in 1996.

During the nWo Invasion storyline , Eric Bischoff would be attacked by The Outsiders at Bash At The Beach in 1996. Hall and Nash kept teasing their third man during the attack as well. Nevertheless, Bischoff soon joined the group as their manager after Rowdy Roddy Piper revealed him to be the mystery new member of the group. Scott Hall called Bischoff’s gimmick , ‘ Eazy E ’. Bischoff also had a talk show similar to The Tonight Show , with Miss Elizabeth being his co host. The downfall of the promotion came in 1998 when WWF rebranded with the Attitude Era and took the top spot in the ratings. Soon, the nWo broke off into a few different groups. And the end of WCW came when Vince Russo replaced Bischoff and Vince McMahon purchasing the company.

Eric Bischoff now has a podcast called 83 weeks and a show called Wise Choices. Bischoff was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 and the nWo was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020.

My Final Thoughts:

The Monday Night Wars will always be one of my favorite things to talk about when it comes to professional wrestling. I was born in 1997 during it. I also absolutely love the nWo because they were different. They made it cool to be the bad guy. I probably would’ve mainly watched WCW just so I could cheer them on. Eric Bischoff is one of the most iconic names in wrestling history. To me , he changed the game when WCW had its rebrand. He’s also a major reason I became a manager. I study him all of the time. I even bought an nWo shirt because I’m a big fan. I’ll always be nWo 4 Life!

Love You All,

- Kay

[txt-yuki]

Yuki's Background

disclaimer: like always this is all purely fiction. although i'm writing my oc as mina's younger sister, i know absolutely nothing about twice's mina's family, so anything i'm writing about the family in this is purely to help build my character's personality.

mentions: toxic relationships and depression

↳ Childhood:

she was born in San Antonio, Texas, United States before moving to japan when she was toddler with her family

growing up she kind of felt like an outcast in the family

she was always being compared to her siblings and their achievements especially to her sister

so she was always trying to be the perfect daughter and attempted to overachieve in everything she did

even though she was constantly pitted against her sister, the two are very close

she has done ballet for 8 years

she was often bullied in school for her height and leaky body

when she was 14 she began a relationship w/ a fellow high school student in japan

however the relationship was extremely toxic

the guy was very controlling and made her insecure about her image

though the relationship ended, it still left an impact on her mentally as she developed depression

↳ Predebut/Trainee Period:

she was also scouted by JYP along with her sister in 2013 but her parents didn’t want her to be a trainee at such a young age so she didn't join her sister in auditioning

however in 2015, she got permission from her parents to audition for jyp through the online auditions with the promise of continuing school in korea if she got in

she went through jyp's online auditions and passed w/ shinee's selene 6.23

missing her opportunity to join sixteen the survival show that created twice, she joined produce 101 along side w/ now soloist somi

she ended up placing 2nd on the show and debuted w/ i.o.i in 2016

after i.o.i disbanded in 2017, she only stay w/ jyp for a couple more months before deciding to leave the company

her departure from the company was mainly bc of mistreatment

she was limited in showcasing her true talent and her music creativity bc she was a foreigner

she was scouted by staff from Big Hit when she was leaving school

she initially thought the person was a stalker and avoided them but the scouter kept coming back and she eventually realized it was a recruiter

she was scouted by multiple agency's including SM and YG

but she ultimately decided to join BigHit since she was a huge fan BTS and was promise more freedom in music production

she was originally suppose to debut with a girl group but in early 2018 hybe suddenly decided to have her debut with txt since she had already build a friendship with some of the members

↳ Debut:

when it was announced she’d be debuting with tomorrow x together, it was a big deal and many people were excited about it

no one knew what happen to her after she it was announce she terminated her contract with jyp and her fanbase had been anticipated her debut

she has been praise for by many professionals for being an all rounder idol

bae yoon-jeong mention that yuki has developed much fluidity in her dancing, meaning she can smoothly transition from one movement to another throughout your dance moves

she has been commended for her producing music for a variety of music genre

[saskiamcc]

Mr Balloonhead Man - Shoot day 3

16/03/2024

This day was the most difficult day to plan as we had quite a lot of locations with not the most amount of time. I realised when we were doing a rough schedule that this was a big day for the rugby and in hindsight I should have kept this in mind when planning which days we were going to shoot. This meant that we had to be extra careful with safety as when it gets later in the day, the streets will be much busier and on top of that, we need to be careful not to get faces of members of the public in the film as that requires extra permission. This day was mainly for the montage scene of Mr Balloonhead Man walking around the city, so we needed to be as efficient as possible to get the shots we needed.

We started the day off pretty early as I wanted to get some shots when the streets would be as empty as possible. We met at unit base with our skeleton crew - Duncan, Gus, Lachlan, Jack, Gaby, India and our actor Lev. We had planned to have a few extras for this shoot, so for our first shot of the day, we called Alex, our head of post-production sound to be our man on the bike. We did a few takes of this and managed to finally get a shot we were happy with. This shot took longer than we'd hoped due to members of the public walking by quite a lot.

Next we moved on to the shot of the Bam. For this we were initially going to cast Fionntán, however Duncan and I noticed that Fionntán had already been in shots in the house as he was the 'father', so Lachlan, our 1st AD, stepped in to help and he was absolutely brilliant.

Our next shot required two extras who I had cast quite early on into the project. Two regulars from my old work, Ronnie and Michael, had expressed interest in being in our film, so I cast them as the men judging Mr Balloonhead Man as he walked down the street. I left set to collect them from The Scotsman's Lounge, about 15 minutes away. During this time, the crew reshot the scene where Mr Balloonhead Man leaves the flat as we realised that continuity wise, the weather was different from the day we shot it. Despite Ronnie and Michael not being professional actors, they absolutely smashed it and it looked really authentic, I am really excited to show them how it turned out.

Our sound team getting 'ambience noise'

Lev was scheduled to leave set early as they had an audition later in the day, so while Duncan and the rest of the crew did some traffic shots by a tunnel facing the royal mile, India, Lev and I took a few photos of Lev in costume before letting releasing Lev for the day.

The last two shots we needed was Mr Balloonhead Man on the bus, and the shots of the balloon flying in the sky. For this we needed to cut the amount of crew down even more as getting on a bus with a big film crew was bound to attract too much attention. Here, I split the team into two, one to get footage of the bus, and one to collect a helium balloon from Ali's Cave on Lothian Road. Duncan, Jack and I went to Ali's Cave, while the rest hopped on a bus and got the footage we needed. I kept in constant contact with Lachlan to ensure everything was alright and it all went well!

After this shot was done, everyone headed to a hill while India met me back at the flat to start packing the equipment we didn't need up. I finished up the call sheet and ensured to check all the equipment was there before packing it all up and organising what we needed for tomorrow's shoot.

When everyone arrived back, I did a little debrief and welfare check to make sure everyone was alright and not too tired and sent everyone on their way for the day to rest for tomorrow's shoot. Overall, today was fantastic and I am so proud of everyone for being so professional and working really well to get the hard day done!

To end the day, Duncan, Gus, Lachlan and I met Fionntán to watch the big rugby game together :)

[christmascocos2023]

Thursday 10th August

Well woke to another beautifully warm and breezy day. The temperature only changes by a few degrees between day and night (26 to 23) humidity this morning is 80% but the trade winds are making it feel pleasant and are gentle not howling. I kept the aircon on overnight mainly because of the humidity, used earplugs to avoid noise distractions and had a generous glass red with dinner. Result was an excellent sleep and I am back on track😁. It is so relaxing sitting on my balcony/veranda looking at the sea in such lovely weather. Although not sure I would enjoy the wet when Chris told me it is 110%humidity and average 2 metres rain (last year they got 5 1/2 metre!)

Yesterday I asked about playing golf (the course is lovely and worth just walking if don’t play). You can hire clubs and pay course fee at Tourist bureau but there is no buggy. I was too tired yesterday to follow it up but will go back today and feel what the weight of the bag is and use that to determine if I play. Will hopefully also go and spend some time at a couple of the places Chris showed me yesterday and get some photos. Today I am on a Nature walk with Chris and some others for about 4 hrs which will make up for my rather sedentary past few days. They do get mossies here but they don’t carry any of the usual tropical diseases they do on the tropical mainland. No snakes I think he said but lots crabs!

COMMENT: although this is an island and hence you would expect lots beaches there is in fact very few due to the land dropping off in vertical limestone cliffs to the ocean. There are 2 beaches on one side but very rough this time year and best swim is near the main settlement at Flying Fish Cove. It is not a particularly inviting area surrounded by the working harbour and reef. It has a fairly high salt content I was told so floating is easy😁.Although it is a snorkelling paradise and fairly shallow. The other surprise for an island is that fish is not available in large amounts as it can only be caught by line fishing. There is no professional fisheries.

Other surprising thing was NBN which I mentioned earlier. I am going to make the most of internet and mobile coverage here (no data on your mobile though as apparently it is only 2 or 3g here). Once at Cocos (this Tuesday) there is no mobile coverage and only odd Wifi hotspots on the island. So no posts etc!

Also if you think Australia Post is slow on the mainland it is diabolical here. The tourist bureau told me a postcard posted Priority post from here will take 3 weeks to Perth and 6 weeks normal post if you are lucky😏.

Water here is fine to drink but the calcium levels must be high as you can see the build up on everything and very quick build up. Also like all seaside places they are always chasing metal and wood damage from salt.

You could be living in Asia with a few expatriates around rather than an Australian territory. Everything about the place is Asian influence from the style of shops, food, product,odd roads tha run in strange places with potholes and dust and hearing Asian languages.

Apparently the average age of visitors is mid 60’s which they hypothesise is because it is expensive to come and to live, there are no adventurous sport or activity beloved of younger people other than diving and snorkeling both of which can be expensive and no real beaches or surfing etc that would justify the expense. No clubs or night life .Also most people haven’t heard of the islands.

PM(I wrote a lot but lost it to the universe so here we go again)

Just got back from the Nature Tour. We had over 4hrs walking in the forrest at different locations and seeing and hearing about the fauna and flora. Specifically blue,red and Robber crabs(called coconut crabs some places), various birds,scorpions (whose bite can cause extreme pain for 3hrs to 3 weeks I think he said. We didn’t see them just heard but scarily they have been found in shoes and laundry baskets so not always in the forrest). I also need to correct a couple of erroneous pieces of info I gave. There is one venomous snake but can’t bite humans as it can’t get its mouth open enough to inject venom. Also the bird with the split tail is a Frigate bird.

We also went on a great board walk that took us view what seemed to be an endless coastline of blowholes. Pretty scary when you hear this sudden huge roar and then the geyser even when you know they are there. Just unpredictable. When I can I will download a whole lot of photos but even here with some WIFI I am not able to reliably load photos. All other nature related information has gone out of my head! I don’t seem to remember it as well as I do social history😁.

[sizwemanyoni]

WEEKLY BLOG

Client centeredness

This is an approach which includes and demands patient and family involvement in care decisions as well as respect for their opinions, open communication, and a comfortable care setting. This is client- centered approach which strives and promotes inclusivity of the client in intervention, decision making, choice of service and problem solving.

When referring to client centered care, it involves making them feel heard and knowing exactly what is important to the client. Breithart D. (2020). Your patients have likely seen a variety of healthcare professionals before making their way to you. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to make your patient feel heard. Meeting my client for the first time I took my time to hear from the client, I wanted to know what the client’s major problem is and what exactly is important for the client at the time. Although I noticed this seemed to be inconsequential in a world where a variety of health professionals are seeing the client are seeking productivity and getting the job done. However, when I kept pushing this and implemented my intervention according to the client’s perspective, I yielded good results and I was able to improve her condition.

Regarding my first intervention session I was not able to link my aims to the session and this is mainly because of lack of planning and implementation of intervention. Tackett B. (2023). Interventions may fail for many reasons, including:

Being improperly prepared. Without proper planning, there are many things that can go wrong during an intervention

What I have learnt from this experience is from me to thoroughly analyse the session. Firstly, I have to look at the significance of the activity to the client, does it help me achieve my aims and how is it achieving my aims. Going forward I have to use the activity analysis, look at the steps and check if the client can perform the activity and improve her client factors.

My supervisor noted lack of handling and physical assistance. I was lacking in handling as I did not improve the client’s posture as she was performing the activity. I should have assisted client verbally or physically straighten her back with was bent forwards. This is the reason why I did not achieve my aim in terms of improving her muscular endurance.

-My supervisor also noted that the session was mostly silent. I should be more presentative and interactive during the session as this creates an open space and helps client build up more confidence and self- esteem.

-The supervisor also mentioned the client was compensating during the session and I should have moved the chair backwards and ensure she is not holding or stabilizing on anything. Once more this speaks to implementation of handling principles. A small 2019 study Trusted Source of healthy college students found that a forward head posture decreases the lower thorax (mid-spine) mobility, leading to decreased respiratory function.

The more you lean forward, the more head weight and strain you exert on your spine. The effect can be dramatic. Maintaining this abnormal will result to decreased physical (muscular) and psychological endurance.

How does feedback change my intervention for next week?

My next sessions will be quite different as a result of what I've learned from my sessions and feedback from supervisor. I will be more focused on the client's ability to reach the highest level of independence. My sessions will be associated to the physiotherapists' and occupational therapists' treatment plans so that I may collaborate with them on attaining the common objective. I will have detailed session summaries and integrate therapy philosophies to my secondary goals.

[cansofttechnologies-blog]

Orchid Medical: The Best Botox in New Westminster

Botox in New Westminster has been kept as a beauty secret for a while now, but it's time to let the cat out of the bag! 

Botox is an effective treatment for damaged hair that helps to restore its shine and reduce split ends. At Orchid Medical, they offer the best Botox treatment in New Westminster to help revitalize your hair and make it less frizzy. It's a chemical-free process that's been recommended by many stylists, so why not give it a try? 

Keep reading to learn more about this amazing beauty secret in New Westminster!

What is Botox?

Botox treatment is a procedure used to improve the appearance of hair, mainly by reducing frizz and split ends. It is a non-invasive procedure, meaning it does not involve chemicals and is much safer than other hair treatments. 

Botox treatment is offered in New Westminster at Orchid Medical, the premier destination for all things beauty. With experienced technicians and top-of-the-line products, Orchid Medical provides the best Botox treatment in New Westminster. 

Botox treatment works by injecting a protein-based solution into the scalp. This solution helps to reduce breakage, add shine, and improve overall hair health. The protein-based solution also helps to restore the hair’s natural balance, making it look healthy and vibrant. 

What are the benefits of Botox treatment?

Botox treatment in New Westminster is quickly becoming one of the most popular hair treatments, due to its many benefits. Here are just a few of the advantages of using New Westminster Botox:

Helps restore hair's natural shine and vitality

Reduces frizz and split ends

Chemical-free, making it safe and gentle on the scalp

Protects hair from further damage

Hair becomes easier to manage and style

Deeply nourishes and moisturizes the scalp and hair

Can help improve the overall condition of hair

How often should I get Botox treatment?

When it comes to the frequency of Botox treatment, the amount of time between treatments will depend on your hair type, lifestyle, and desired results. Generally, New Westminster Botox treatments should be repeated every four to six months to maintain the shine and smoothness of your hair.

However, if your hair is dry, damaged, or has frequent styling, you may need to repeat the treatment more frequently than this. The good news is that at Orchid Medical in New Westminster, we offer special packages that can help make Botox treatment more affordable. This allows you to maintain the condition of your hair without breaking the bank!

How much does Botox treatment cost?

The cost of Botox treatment in New Westminster depends on the area being treated, the amount of product used, and the number of treatments required. Generally speaking, Botox treatment prices range from $200 to $700 per session but can vary depending on the severity of damage and the expertise of the practitioner. 

At Orchid Medical, New Westminster Botox treatments are reasonably priced and are tailored to your individual needs. For more information about pricing, please contact us to book a free consultation.

Why Orchid Medical is the best place for Botox treatment?

When it comes to the best Botox treatment in New Westminster, there is no better place than Orchid Medical. Their professional team of experts is highly trained in delivering the latest advancements in Botox treatments and ensuring each client receives a personalized approach to their desired results. Their commitment to providing the highest quality of service has earned them an outstanding reputation in New Westminster Botox services.

At Orchid Medical, they use the latest technological advancements to ensure that every client gets the best results possible. They employ only certified professionals who are highly experienced in the field of Botox treatment. This ensures that clients receive the most up-to-date treatments, tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, Orchid Medical offers competitive rates for its services, making it an affordable option for those seeking to restore their hair’s natural beauty. 

Orchid Medical understands that clients want to know that their treatments are safe and will not cause any unwanted side effects. That is why they offer a comprehensive list of products that are proven to be safe for human use. Moreover, the team at Orchid Medical will carefully evaluate each patient’s individual needs before suggesting the right Botox treatment for them. This ensures that the results are exactly what the client was expecting.

At Orchid Medical, clients can rest assured knowing they are receiving the best possible Botox treatment in New Westminster. With a team of dedicated professionals, modern technology, and affordable prices, they are sure to provide the results clients are looking for.

Conclusion

When it comes to restoring the shine and strength of damaged hair, nothing beats Botox treatment in New Westminster. Botox is a chemical-free treatment that helps reduce split ends and makes hair less frizzy. It also helps promote healthy growth and encourages strong, beautiful hair. 

For the best New Westminster Botox treatment, Orchid Medical is the place to go. Their experienced stylists offer top-notch treatments and provide customers with the results they desire. So if you’re looking to improve the condition of your hair, don’t hesitate to give Botox treatment a try.

[elegantbarbarianengineer]

Fantastic Ways To Update Your Kitchen

The goal is to take this collection of boxes and bring them together to make a gorgeous piece of integrated furnishings. More frequently than not, the space itself does not have those attributes.

When you stroll into a cooking area, what's one of the first things you notice? The cabinets. Weaved into the interior style and function of the space, these essential storage systems cover the walls of your kitchen area and can have a significant impact on the aesthetic appeal of the space. When your cooking area cabinets begin to look run down, it can affect the whole appearance of the space and, in many cases, even impede the function of your cabinets.

However if your cabinets aren't that old or their issues are mainly cosmetic, there are a few steps you can take to refresh the look and function of your kitchen area without entirely replacing them. If you're considering a cooking area refresh or perhaps an overall remodelling, one of the first tasks of any kitchen remodel is to get an idea of what's out there.

Ways To Update Kitchen Cabinets Without Replacing Them

Some reoccured quickly, while others are more ageless. What you choose need to depend upon what you like, in addition to your budget plan. After all, if you're on a tight budget plan, you may wish to select something that won't head out of design rapidly and keep an eye out of date in a year or more.

|

How Can I Update My Kitchen Cabinets Without Replacing Them?

For real wood cabinets, utilize an oil-soap wood cleaner and carefully wipe down the cabinets with a rag. Laminate cabinets are less sensitive, so you can use a versatile cleaner.

Wipe down the racks and drawers inside of the cabinets to get rid of spills, spots and crumbs that have actually collected from the food and meals kept inside. Enable the cabinets to dry entirely before returning the contents to their correct location.

Affordable Ways To Redo Kitchen Cabinets

Take a look at a few of our finest DIY cabinet refresh concepts for ways to upgrade an out-of-date cooking area without breaking the bank. Cleaning cabinets is very important, however a fresh coat of paint can do marvels for your cabinets, specifically if your objective is to brighten or update your kitchen in a cost-efficient method.

Once again, prior to tackling this job, make sure to study the product of your cabinets and do your research study for the best paint type. It's also a great concept to verify that your cabinets are structurally sound before you go through the expenditure and effort to paint them. One error homeowners frequently make is assuming that you can paint cabinets the exact same way you 'd paint a wall.

How To Update Cabinets

To paint cabinets appropriately, you'll need to pick the right type of paint. There's a continuous debate over whether oil-based or latex paint is much better for cabinets. Latex paint drys faster and is easier to keep tidy, but it takes longer to treat, suggesting your cabinets will be more prone to damage for the very first couple of weeks after you've painted them.

No matter which paint you pick, make certain to do your research and select the paint that will be best for your kitchen area and your know-how before you start. Effectively painting kitchen cabinets likewise needs the right tools. Professional painters suggest using a sprayer for cabinets since it produces a smoother, more even coat.

Kitchen Cabinet Updates

While this process often requires expert maintenance, your cabinets will look good as brand-new when the task is total. This option will likewise help you achieve a high-end, personalized appearance to your cabinets, immediately enhancing the space's appeal. One of the excellent features of this alternative is that you'll most likely just require to do the faces of the cabinets to get the most out of this refresh.

But if your cabinet doors didn't have hardware before or you're trying to find something a little more dramatic, you can choose something that covers the old holes or use a template to direct the drilling of brand-new holes. Nevertheless, simply as with painting or staining existing cabinets, including brand-new hardware will not assist if your kitchen cabinetry remains in poor condition.

Is It Time To Update Your Kitchen?

Practice grabbing them simply like you would in the kitchen area. Does it feel strong enough to stand up to consistent usage for years to come? Make sure that the hardware you like will be useful to use every single day.

When you include an island to a cooking area, it can draw the cooking area's layout together while also providing additional storage area that might be lacking in your existing cabinets. In some cases homeowners presume that the only way they can include a cooking area island to an existing style is to discover one that matches their cabinets.

How Can I Update My Kitchen Cabinets Without Replacing Them?

Older custom cabinets were built to last, but even solid wood doesn't keep its integrity permanently. If you own a home with old kitchen cabinetry and it's revealing its age, then it might be time to replace it altogether. For brand-new, replacement cabinet doors, drawer fronts, drawer boxes and all of your cabinet redesigning needs, turn to the leaders in the cooking area cabinetry market.

|

Budget Friendly Ideas To Brighten Up Your Kitchen

Initially, paint the cabinet your wanted background color and let dry. Tape a stencil in location on the door. (We used the "You're a Star" tile stencil, $16, Royal Styles.) If you're working with a door that has a recessed panel, you might require to cut the stencil to fit.

As you make the angled cuts, keep in mind that every other area of banding will be entering the opposite instructions. Set up the areas of banding, making sure to differ the colors and types of wood in your design. Utilize an iron to adhere the pieces one at a timeor remove the adhesive backing and stick between the lines.

Updating Kitchen Cabinets

Paint the exposed squares black, covering every other row, and wait up until the paint has actually dried to get rid of the tape. Next, tape the squares in between the black ones on the same row and paint them gray. Repeat this painting process on the 2nd vertical column from the. For the remaining rows, tape around each square that lines up horizontally with a black square; paint these exposed squares gray.

When the paint is dry, cut a piece of scrap wallpaper to fit the recessed panel.

Ways Freshly Painted Cabinets Transform Your Kitchen

Make certain to element in the size of the 4 embellishments for the corners. Use a miter box to cut the molding strips to size. Paint the cabinet, molding, and embellishments the exact same color. When dry, use wood glue.

For an antiqued appearance, blend a paint wash to develop a distressed finish. Use electrical tape and bright paint to produce a design that truly pops. Start with a skim coat of white paint, then apply electrical tape to the door in a lattice style. Tape on the vertical and horizontal lines first prior to intersecting them with diagonals.

Ways Freshly Painted Cabinets Transform Your Kitchen

Applying cork to a door is an excellent way to conceal even major imperfections. Plus, you'll have an useful place for notes, lists, and dishes. To attain this kitchen area cabinet update, cut self-adhesive cork paper to fit the door panel, remove the backing, and press the cork to adhere.

With time, wood cabinets can start to fade and look used, painting them can provide an entire new lease of life and change the whole appearance of your cooking area. When painting your cabinets it is best to utilize a water and grease resistant paint regarding avoid splash marks on the doors.

Is It Time To Update Your Kitchen?

Another popular method to change the appearance of your cabinets is to wrap them, the most common product used to do this is vinyl. Vinyl is a terrific option for a number of factors, one being that it is available in lots of various finishes such as high gloss, wood impact, matte and textured or patterned.

There are many different designs of molding, and it can be easily installed to include character to your cupboards. The strips of wood are generally fixed with nails but can also be secured with adhesive. This suggests that it can likewise be gotten rid of simply as easily as it was set up, making it a perfect option for individuals searching for a non-permanent cabinet upgrade.

Easy Kitchen Updates That Anyone Can Do

For blocked kitchen areas that feel a little confined, you may wish to think about removing your cabinet doors. Switching to an open shelving design will truly open your whole cooking area making it seem larger. This is likewise a very easy procedure and can be achieved with your common family tools.

This developed in function will help with the functionality of your kitchen. Roll out racks make browsing for tupperware, pots, and whatever else you might have saved away, a lot easier. And maneuvering through your kitchen area will be a breeze with these added racks. Adding a layer of paint to your kitchen cabinets can change the entire appearance of your cooking area, and it's incredibly simple to do.

[stormingthebeach]

Year 10

I think about this blog often. I always tell myself that I'm going to write in it, but then I don't. Maybe it's because the longer I've been in LA, the harder it is to celebrate the little things that used to excite me. I've finally become an old and jaded writer. Dreams do come true. Lolz.

The world is still weird. The pandemic is still winding down although things have felt normalish for a while. It just took Kevin McCarthy eleven voting sessions to become Speaker of the House. And, I've been back at my day job full-ish time since April with a boss who adds too much stress to my life.

After two years of consistent writing during the pandemic, going back into the office felt like a death sentence.

While at home from March of 2020 until April of 2022, I wrote four feature scripts, each of them significantly better than the last. The last three that I wrote all received high placements in multiple screenwriting contests. Eff yeah ;)

And the short film I was belly aching about in my last post? We finished it. We submitted to seventeen film festivals, we were "official selections" in seven of those, and we won awards at three of them. I still look back at the experience as being a pain in the ass, mainly because of egos (mine included), but I can't help but feel like this short film is a success and the experience I gained will stick with me for my entire career.

But since going back into the office, my productivity has plummeted. Work stress was consuming me. I've had way fewer hours in the week to write. And I honestly thought that I would have found a way out of the rat race before I was supposed to go back into the office. I was feeling pretty rough.

And then a new idea hit me and I started writing.

I submitted my first draft to a professional reader and right out of the gate, the notes were stellar. Lots of problems, sure, but this script was FUN. Writing the next four drafts felt really natural. Every new idea fit well. The story kept getting smoother. My third act came together perfectly. Fingers-freakin-crossed.

The last half of 2022 was very special. I had two of my LA best friends have bachelor parties and get married. And all four of those events were a blast. One guy is a writer and the other is an executive. Both two of my closest friends, both of them very well connected.

I made friends/ became closer with a handful of producers, writers, directors, and a guy who recently sold a script for seven figures. And you bet your sweet ass I asked every one of them to read my latest.

As I kept giving this script out, it felt like the notes were all saying the same thing in a different way. It boiled down to, "Why is your main character going on this adventure?" It's a question that needs to be answered, but I had so much trouble answering it.

And then one day it clicked. My character was presented this adventure and he took it on without thinking twice. No debate. No inner dialogue about IF this is what he wants to do. He just did it because he "should" do it.

Now, I've felt like a misfit for pretty much all of my life. (Me and every other person in LA, amiright?) With therapy I realized that I was living a life of "shoulds" rather than "wants". Over the last few years I've been quieting the "shoulds" and paying more attention to what I want. It hasn't been easy, but it's been worth it.

What clicked for me is that I never wrote the scene where my main character says "Yes, I choose to do this." He was simply presented with a challenge and simply went along with it. Assessing the situation, weighing the pros and cons, and then making the decision to move forward is what shows character. And I had left that part out.

Through different experiences in life, I often find myself in survival mode. I've made rash decisions based on fear. And it's never worked out for me. The idea of deciding "is this something I actually want to do, and why?" is something I'm still becoming comfortable with.

All of this is to say that my characters often find themselves in the same dilemma. So, why is my main character going on this adventure? Because he wants to. And now that I know WHY he wants to, I'm able to show that on the page.

The very first contest I submitted my latest script to, it placed THIRD OVERALL out of over twelve-hundred other scripts. As I'm writing this, I really want to express how happy I am, but I'm just a jaded old writer. What makes me happy is that it's a step in the right direction. The top five are called "winners", so it's the first screenplay contest I've "won", and I'm already past it.

My friendships with my LA friends has grown to a point where our little group feels like a family. And that's led me to other industry connections that feel really supportive.

My connections are growing. My skill is progressing. I'm officially an award winning screenwriter and filmmaker. And this latest script feels special-special.

Ten years in. I'm not where I want to be yet. But I'm fucking grinding.

[tomcalvinfilm]

Film Craft Discipline Crit

Film Craft Discipline Crit

First off I want to say I've had a great time on this set, its been a blast to work with this crew, out communication and connection really was amazing throughout the whole process.

one of the main critiques I picked up on was my shot choices that seemed to take us out of the film language that I was introducing to the audience, this was mainly broken when using the wide shot, using a different shot would have been less disrupting for the viewer and would have kept them gripped. The main reason for this wide was due to performance, when deciding what shots I was putting in I first went through either it would work with continuity, then I went onto what type of shot I was looking for and finally would decide between what take of that shot I wanted for performance. As I went on I had to make certain decisions to fit with the style of performance that sam wanted. When considering our work flow I think it was very professional in how it functioned and I hope sam found working with me to be a good flow, I first started with many different types of timelines for him to look and from that we started on fine tuning. I was a very cathartic experience as I have been very worried that I wasn’t up to the task when it came to editing film but this showed me that I was able to. When working with sam what we did was check in every few days and would point stuff out that wasn’t quite working and try and think of some suggestions to try for the next one. Beth has also been the backbone of this whole production, she is an incredible producer who I would love to work with on any production, especially when it came to when I was editing she was always about if I needed a quick decision on something but she also kept me going mentally, she could tell when I was burnt out and would send me to get food or sit down and have a chat about something other than work.

One of the other things was the sound being a bit uneven with its levels but this was due to the harsh conditions rowen had to record in, there was a lot of noises within that house and sound travels a lot within it, but he didn’t an incredible job when it came to making it sound good and taking all the humming and background noises out.

The over arching thing I took away from this was that as a group we all worked very well together and it showed when watching this piece and that the short choices to go to the wide broke some peoples perception of the film.