#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.

[fujouppy]

watched whitepine 1. i think i want to gather all my thoughts on part 1 before moving on to the next installments but oh wow im excited to see where this story goes

[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…💬🎀

[ateez-himari]

Would Himari appear in any of the BTS documentaries? If so, what kind of moments would she have with them?

Hima is a really big part of their lives (ex. Jungkook's relationship with her means so much that they got matching tattoos) so she appeared in most of them so far!

[Hope On The Street]; Himari appeared around the last episode as J-Hope talked about going from learning dance to teaching it, with the producers using old footage of her dancing to the group's songs during their practices. Several new ones were also used where she was learning how to create choreography from J-Hope

[Beyond The Star]; There were very few moments where she appeared for more than a few seconds in this documentary, but when she did it was mainly her supporting the group during their concerts and even behind the scenes. Some clips of her sitting in their old practice room during their debut days and dancing with them were also inserted (though not much since in a few of them she still had unhealed injuries from the accident)

[Road to D-Day]; Most parts involving the vocalist in this documentary were facetime calls, as her schedule prevented her from travelling with Yoongi. The only overseas content that fans saw with the two of them was when he went to Tokyo to meet Ryuichi Sakamoto, where she translated the conversation for both of them and later played a cover of 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence'. When Yoongi came back to Korea to write his album, the first thing he did was visit his sister and there were short clips of them talking about music, his sound, the lyrics, etc., but he refused to have cameras film them talking about 'Amygdala'

[Jimin's Production Diary]; Since Himari produced some songs on the album 'FACE' she was seen quite a bit in this documentary, though the interactions between them were a lot more professional than they usually would be. However, there were also moments of the two relaxing at his house after work, singing karaoke and even hanging out with some staff and group members

[Agust D D-Day]; The performance of their single 'Pray' was included in the movie as well as never before seen footage of his final concert - showing the maknae waiting with an outstretched hand as her older brother finally closed the door to the stage. Yoongi took her hand and immediately pulled her in for a tight hug, nearly breaking down into tears

[I Am Still]; Hima played an important role in the making of 'Golden' so much of the behind the scenes work but there was also much footage of them playing around during their free time, walking around cities, their time at the hotel, etc., (it's where their tattoo was revealed). She also came to visit him on the set of '3D' where she chastised him for not wearing a shirt, they shared some of his food, she cheered him on behind the scenes and they filmed some parts together just for fun (that didn't make it into the MV but made it into the documentary)

[Right People, Wrong Place]; Not much of her was seen in this documentary but RM did include footage of them spending quality time together - going to book stores, having discussions about books, life, music, etc., hiking and cafe hopping together. Hima also brought him homemade treats several times, not knowing he was filming (but he kept the clips in anyway)

[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!!!

[kay-wren]

I'll Come Running - R.C. - Chapter 23

Jessie didn't get much sleep last night, but she knew she would have to get up to make her flight, so she did just that. As she got ready and packed up her stuff she wondered what Rafe was thinking. Would he even say goodbye? Jessie knew better than to get her hopes up on that one. She would just be setting herself up for disappointment.

Jessie texted everyone to let them know that she would be flying home that day. After everyone was updated, she finally made her way out of her room. Although, the fear of impending doom almost kept her from leaving. She felt that Rafe was so mad that night that if she stuck her head out of her door she would see flaming arrows shooting down the hall. Despite the fear, she managed to make her way through the hall and down the long flight of stairs. The stairs felt like it took hours for her to reach the bottom, mainly due to her racing thoughts as she didn't see Rafe waiting for her. She didn't really expect him to be there, and yet it hurt her still.

Jessie stood awkwardly in the entry way, waiting for her cab to arrive. She looked around the beautiful house one last time, wondering if she was making the right decision. Maybe she should stay? After all, she didn't technically have the money yet. When would she be getting that? Is the deal off now that Rafe is pissed? Jessie felt she left too many questions unanswered, but she was suddenly pulled out of her train wreck of thoughts when she heard footsteps.

Rafe stomped in the entry way, two duffel bags in hand and not a trace of a smile or even a glance in his wife's direction. He plopped the heavy bags onto the large entry way table rather carelessly. He clearly seemed annoyed and a little angry. He wiped his nose and cleared his throat as he put his hands on his hips and looked anywhere except for Jessie's eyes.

"200 mil. Cash. Just like you wanted. I've called TSA. They won't have any questions for you when you run those through at the airport." Rafe plainly said. Jessie could tell he wanted to leave the room right after he said that, yet his body didn't seem to move. Rafe felt as if his body was planted right where he stood. Why couldn't he just let go already?

Jessie stood there with shame as she clutched onto her luggage even tighter. She dipped her head down looking at her dirty white converse and then back up at Rafe with guilty eyes.

"Thank you." Was all she could muster. "I-I have something to give you too."

Rafe was confused, what could Jessie possibly have to give him? He watched as Jessie reached in her shorts pocket. She pulled out a beautiful silver ring with a thin band of square diamonds and one large four prong princess cut on the top. Rafe recognized it immediately. It was the ring he gave Jessie a couple weeks after they had gotten married. Where Rafe got it from, Jessie never knew. However, Rafe couldn't forget.

***

"Yeah, come in here I've got something very special." Rafe persuaded a young lady with long blonde hair to come downstairs at a party at Toppers house. Jessie wasn't there of course, she hated kook parties. Rafe took this opportunity to push more product to get more money for himself and Jessie. At least that's what he told himself.

Rafe sat down on the basement couch as he displayed what he had to the potential buyer. The girl seemed oddly flirty with Rafe but he was clearly not interested, despite all the drugs and alcohol in his system, he was very aware that she wasn't his Jessie. He remained professional.

"I don't have any money." The young lady said as she leaned a little closer to Rafe and started rubbing his back. "Think you could spare me? Just this once?" She flirted. Rafe sat there motionless, all of a sudden he noticed the blazing silver rock on her finger.

"That ring looks pretty nice." Rafe smirked. "That should cover it."

The girl scoffed. "As if." She said as she clung to her ring clearly with disgust on her face.

"This is business, sweetheart. Either you want it or you don't." Rafe simply stated with a half smile. He was making too much money off of everyone tonight to care.

After a moment of pause the girl finally made up her mind, slipping the ring off her finger and handing it to Rafe.

"Have as much as you want all night." Rafe replied as he walked off.

"She overpaid." Rafe laughed with Barry as he exited up the stairs.

Rafe was leaving the party as he took the ring out of his pocket, admiring its beauty. As he sat up against his bike he couldn't help but think that Jessie deserved a ring like this. Ah, Jessie! Perfect! Rafe considered trading the ring in to see how much money he would get out of it, but why do that when he could just give it to her tonight? He knew she would love it, as long as she didn't know where he got it from.

With Rafe being so excited to finally put a real ring on Jessie's finger, he drove right over to her house, hoping she would be as excited as he was.

He knocked on Jessie's window like he always did. He really had hopes on spending the night at her house anyways. Jessie appeared shortly after with a smile on her face to let Rafe in.

"Hey!" Rafe said as he planted a kiss on Jessie's lips.

"Hey babe, what's got you so happy?" She asked apprehensively. Rafe just held Jessie in his arms as he looked at her and exhaled.

"I have something for you... it's a present." Rafe said with a childlike innocence.

"Oh yeah?" Jessie played along.

"Yeah... close your eyes." Rafe whispered. Jessie giggled a little, finding it funny and cute that Rafe made a little game out of whatever this was. She fully expected her favorite candy or something, but then she felt Rafe take her left hand and she felt a ring slide on her finger. She knew immediately and instinctively opened her eyes. Jessie looked down and gasped.

"Oh my gosh, Rafe! I-It's beautiful!" Jessie beamed. "H-How did you? Wha-? Did you kill someone for this or?"

Rafe just laughed and held Jessie closer. "Of course not, babe. I promise." Rafe answered as he put his hand over his heart.

"How did you get this?" Jessie couldn't let that question go unanswered. "I mean it's... it's huge!"

"Don't worry about it." Was all Rafe said with a smirk on his face. Jessie's face contorted to a sincere look of concern.

"You really didn't kill someone for this did you?" Jessie asked with a serious tone in her voice.

"No I didn't! I promise baby!" Rafe replied through laughter. Jessie believed him. For the first time in weeks it seemed like Rafe was actually clear headed, not mumbling and not strung out on coke. It felt nice, and Jessie didn't want to ask too many questions. She'd rather just enjoy the moment.

After Jessie stopped gawking at the rock on her left hand, she took Rafe's face in her hands and kissed him gently and yet with so much passion. She pulled away and connected her forehead to his.

"Thank you." Jessie whispered sincerely.

Rafe could tell she was truly grateful, and Jessie could tell that Rafe felt fulfilled by doing this for her.

***

Rafe took the ring from Jessie's hand and just admired it.

"Y-you kept it? After all these years... you kept it?" Rafe asked with his eyes brimming with tears.

Jessie just shrugged. "I'm your wife." She said plainly as if it was obvious. That's not the reason Jessie kept the ring, and she knew that. Deep down, she kept the ring because she felt it was her only connection to Rafe all these years.

Rafe wanted to say so much more, starting with the fact that Jessie needed to stop looking at him like that. He couldn't be upset when she looked like she wanted to cry and fall into his arms. It took everything in him to simply nod and walk out of the room, the ring getting lost in his fist.

And with that, Jessie realized that it really was the end. Rafe really wasn't going to fight for Jessie anymore, and she really wasn't going to fight for him. But the mission was complete right? Jessie thought she should be happy considering that's exactly what she came here for. She swore she wouldn't get involved past that... but here she was.

Jessie sighed and walked out of the house, having the concierge help her with her two new bags. She was then whisked away to the airport.

Rafe watched secretly from a kitchen window as the car drove away, a single tear rolling down his numbed face. He couldn't believe it. After years of dreaming of having Jessie back in his grasp, he blew it. No- she blew it. This was her fault. Rafe wondered if she meant what she said about the money. Was she really not taking any of it? Did she really mean it when she said that it turned into something more?

Rafe still wanted to ask many more questions about his daughter. When's her birthday? What did she look like? Does she know anything about her father? Rafe couldn't handle all the unanswered questions in his head. He shook his head as his lips quivered. He then put his hands on his head and began to hit himself repeatedly out of frustration. He couldn't believe he just let her go like that... and his daughter. That idea was still hard for him to wrap his head around, and yet despite the fact that he'd never even met Charlotte— didn't even know what she looked like— he couldn't help but feel like he was abandoning her by letting her mother slip away.

Rafe couldn't handle his own brain, he knew what he would've done in this situation before Jessie entered back into the picture... but Jessie wasn't here anymore.

Rafe rushed straight to his room and to his bedside table for that coveted bag of white powder. He stared at it for a moment, with tear soaked eyes, contemplating if he really wanted to do this or not. Of course he did. He may have promised himself years ago to quit if he ever had a shot at Jessie again, but that ship has sailed, and Jessie was the captain once again.

Rafe began to form a little white line that he was so familiar with. He did this through sobs as he just stared at the cocaine in front of him. He sat there for what felt like hours, playing with his fingers and letting the tears flow. His hands began to shake as he couldn't handle the urge anymore. Just as he was about to give in, he noticed the ring sitting on his desk. It was still in perfect condition, not a scratch, not even a speck of dust or cloudiness on the ring. Jessie must have put it away somewhere safe where nobody could find it... where she wouldn't remember it. Yet she still managed to know exactly where it was and take it to the Bahamas with her. Rafe wondered why? In his heart, he knew why. Jessie said earlier that it was because she was his wife, but that wouldn't have mattered to Jessie if she didn't still love him. God, she still loved him. He knew it too.

Through tears he hit the desk and stood up and cleared it off with one quick angry sweep. His lamp, his book, his coke, the ring, it all went flying as he cried uncontrollably. He couldn't do this. He couldn't go back to the life he once had. He had done life without Jessie before, and he wouldn't able to survive if he tried to do it again. Rafe knew what he had to do.

[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

[bebin-007]

Data Entry Services

Data Entry Services in Nagercoil: A Complete Guide to Streamlined Data Management

Success in any business is information management in this digital era. Any business needs correct data entry to keep track of its operations, trends, and the proper decisions it makes. For companies and professionals located in Nagercoil, quality data entry services can enhance productivity, reduce workloads, and save them time for other core activities of the business. This blog is about the worth of data entry services, the types of available services, and how the companies in Nagercoil can benefit from them.

What are Data Entry Services?

Recording and managing information in a standardized and organized manner, which are mainly done for easy reference and analysis, is a data entry process. Usually, it is performed using keyboards or through automated and digital tools and software. Data entry services can relate to a wide variety of activities, such as:

Entering customer information into databases

Updating financial records

Managing inventory lists

Recording survey or research data

Data entry is valuable for businesses across sectors, from retail and healthcare to finance and education, helping them maintain organized records and efficient operations.

Why Data Entry Services Matter

Proper data entry is the backbone of a good business. It assists companies in having access to reliable data that they will need for daily operations, strategic planning, and growth. Here are some reasons why data entry services are so important:

Increased Efficiency: Outsourcing data entry helps businesses focus on core functions without spending time on repetitive tasks.

Data Accuracy: Professional data entry services reduce errors, helping maintain data integrity and improving decision-making.

Time and Cost Savings: Hiring trained professionals allows businesses to save on hiring in-house staff for data entry, which is often more expensive.

Enhanced Security: Reliable data entry services follow strict protocols to ensure sensitive information is kept secure and confidential.

By utilizing data entry services, businesses in Nagercoil can streamline their data management processes, resulting in smoother operations and better decision-making.

Types of Data Entry Services

Data entry services cover various types of data, industries, and methods. Here are the primary types that businesses in Nagercoil can benefit from:

1. Manual Data Entry

Manual data entry refers to a process where data is manually entered into a system, such as typing or scanning. This service is best utilized when automated tools cannot accurately read or interpret the data, such as in cases of handwritten forms or unstandardized records.

2. Online and Offline Data Entry

Online data entry is entering data directly into an online database or system, which is ideal for e-commerce websites, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and online surveys. Offline data entry involves processing data on local storage devices and uploading it later; it is commonly used for bulk data processing and archiving.

3. Data Cleansing and Validation

Data cleansing is the removal or correction of wrong information held in a database. This service is very vital to companies whose business will exist in large volumes of data over time, hence ensuring that they only work with accurate and up-to-date information.

4. Document Digitization and Conversion

In a no-paper world that is underway, the digitization of documents becomes invaluable. This service converts paper records into digital formats such as PDFs or Excel sheets for easy storage searching and access to data. It also converts files from one digital format to another.

5. Data Mining and Extraction

Data mining is the process of getting relevant data from a huge database for specific analytical purposes. Data extraction often appears in research, market analysis, and business intelligence as it helps identify certain patterns or trends.

6. Inventory Data Management

Data management for inventory is important in businesses that handle physical products. Data entry professionals ensure that there is an updated list of the stock and thus the appropriate stock level is maintained without any disparity that may result in losses.

7. Form Processing

This service would capture information from structured or unstructured forms, for example, a survey application, or perhaps even a simple feedback form. Form processing is very important in ascertaining error-free and properly organized data for customer insight or internal processes.

Benefits of Outsourcing Data Entry Services in Nagercoil

Most business firms in Nagercoil believe that outsourcing data entry is the smartest choice. Outsourcing of data entry helps to stay focused on core functions as data management is outsourced to experts. Key advantages include:

Cost Efficiency: Outsourcing data entry to local providers in Nagercoil reduces the costs associated with hiring, training, and maintaining in-house data entry staff.

Time-Saving: By delegating data entry to professionals, businesses can focus on their strategic goals without being bogged down by data-related tasks.

Improved Accuracy: Data entry professionals are trained to handle data meticulously, minimizing errors and increasing the quality of the data stored.

Access to Skilled Professionals: Nagercoil has skilled data entry providers who are experienced in handling various data formats and databases.

Scalability: Outsourced data entry services are scalable, allowing businesses to increase or reduce their data entry workload as needed.

With these advantages, businesses in Nagercoil can operate more efficiently and maintain high data quality without diverting valuable resources.

Choosing the Right Data Entry Service Provider in Nagercoil

When selecting a data entry provider, it’s essential to consider specific factors that align with your business needs. Here are some criteria to evaluate potential providers:

Experience and Expertise: Look for providers with proven experience in your industry and the specific types of data entry tasks you need.

Data Security: Ensure that the provider follows secure protocols to protect sensitive information, especially if you handle customer or financial data.

Accuracy and Quality Standards: High accuracy rates and quality assurance measures are critical in data entry, so choose a provider that prioritizes these.

Flexible Pricing Plans: Evaluate providers based on their pricing models to ensure you’re getting cost-effective service.

Reliability and Timeliness: Ensure the provider can meet your deadlines consistently, as timely data management is vital for operational efficiency.

How Data Entry Services are Transforming Businesses in Nagercoil

Many businesses in Nagercoil are seeing positive impacts from adopting data entry services. Here are some examples of how different sectors benefit:

Retail and E-commerce

Retailers rely heavily on accurate inventory management and customer data. By outsourcing data entry, they can maintain updated records, streamline order management, and analyze customer preferences.

Healthcare

Proper data in the healthcare sector serves as the lifeline to patient records, treatment histories, and adherence to regulatory standards. Outsourcing data entry helps healthcare professionals have categorized and secure records, which leads to better care for patients.

Education

Data entry services assist schools in Nagercoil with student record management, fee collection, and staff details. This helps the educational staff concentrate on their prime objective of imparting quality education.

The Role of Technology in Data Entry

The field of data entry has evolved with the adoption of digital tools and software that improve speed and accuracy. Some of the technologies being used include:

Optical Character Recognition (OCR): OCR technology converts printed or handwritten text into digital form, streamlining data entry for document digitization.

Data Entry Software: Tools like Microsoft Excel and specialized data entry software enable faster and more organized data input.

Cloud Storage and Collaboration Tools: With cloud-based storage, data can be accessed securely from anywhere, making data entry more flexible.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Automated data entry solutions reduce human error and handle repetitive tasks quickly.

These technologies not only improve efficiency but also make data entry more accurate and secure, offering businesses in Nagercoil a modern approach to data management.

Conclusion

Data entry services come as a whole package of ensuring the efficient running of the business operations in Nagercoil. Such services outsourcing allows businesses to focus on core functions, reduce operational costs, and ensure quality data. Proper data entry will help improve data accuracy, boost productivity, and ease workflow.

It should be an excellent consideration on your part if you operate in the business industry in Nagercoil to have a data entry service that is based locally to help you have the smooth running of your data and more excellent results for your operations. Data entry services are sure to become an asset to companies when they are searching for competitive advantage and order in an ever-changing world. For more info Eloiacs

[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 :)

[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 ✨

[rozinaaa]

On Mindsets

Source: Unknown

I've come across this image online (through are.na), but I don't know the actual source of it, although it doesn't really matter, since I'm more interested in the actual message of this, and how it essentially links to my mindset and attitude towards things, especially with the topics that I explore.

With this, I've definitely felt like I've just kept on going round in circles in trying to resist (and also criticise) social media as a concept, as well as mainstream social media platforms, where I (and a bunch of people with PhDs, and a bunch of other people that I've encountered on lesser known platforms, although none of us actually know each other) keep banging on about the same few ills of these pandora's boxes without actually providing any meaningful alternatives to social media, and for those of us that do dish out the alternatives, they're usually outdated, and are usually a lot more effort than they're actually worth.

With this mindset, none of us are getting anywhere fast, as we all keep barking up the same tree, and unintentionally ending up in our own critical echo chambers and filter bubbles.

To be honest, being a constant critic (and constantly resisting what is, without considering alternatives) does get tiring after a bit, since I now actually want to move and do something productive and meaningful with my time instead of just yelling at a cloud all the time, not to mention that accepting things as they are seems to be a lot easier than to be extremely stubborn about it.

I want to actually use social media in a meaningful way (such as actually interacting with actual people and content that's meaningful to me, even if the content in question is just a silly meme or TikTok video that I find relatable, as well as being able to put myself out there and promote what I do in a way that is consistent, but also meaningful, to me, and where my outer "brand" is easier for an outsider to understand (because like it or not, literally everyone has a brand, regardless of whether they're on social media or not, and regardless of what they do for a living, since your brand is basically what people say about you when you're not in the same room as them), instead of forcing them to decode everything from the word go, because if I was in that situation (and this is the brutally honest reaction), I simply wouldn't interact with an account that is inconsistent in what they do (especially if it's supposed to be a professional or business account), since it would require too much work, and wouldn't really give me a good impression), because it's here to stay (as it has done since the social internet became a thing, and possibly before that), and it will only keep on iterating, so I don't want to be out of the loop, nor do I want to be out of touch with reality (it's already bad enough working from home most of the time, since I barely interact with anyone or the world around me), so although it can sometimes be a pain in the neck, I just have to learn how to deal with it, as well as being able to use it in a way so that it doesn't grab all of my time and attention, although this is usually a lot easier said than done.

I believe that accepting this will be a lot easier than just running laps around the thing by avoiding it (since I can literally accept it and move on, instead of crying about it, but not actually doing anything about it), so it's mainly a case of freeing up space to focus on other things, such as actually promoting myself effectively, and networking with others if I actually want to get somewhere in life.

So, with all of this said, I accept that social media is basically the only way to promote yourself these days (sure, I can still do old school marketing tactics, but they will take a lot more effort, and will usually require a lot more time and money, not to mention that it's literally a red flag if a company doesn't use any social media at all), that it's a way to network with others without getting exhausted from having to speak to people all day, and that it will make others aware of what I do, much more than if I tried to use the old school methods.

I also need to accept the fact that I will need a personal brand (much to my own dismay, but I just need to get over myself, and actually do it), since this will makes things a lot easier and more consistent for me, which will also make it easier for others to understand what I do, without forcing them to think about it, not to mention that it could potentially help me score freelancing gigs and other opportunities, which would allow me to approach freelancing and self-employment in a new light, since it's still something I want to do, and I don't want to let a few crummy experiences get in the way of that.

Additionally, this mindset of accepting things as they currently are, instead of stubbornly resisting them, could also allow me to turn the curation front into something so much more than the occasional hobby and side project that I inconsistently work on "whenever I get the spare time" (which usually turns out to be never, since I don't have a schedule, any deadlines, or a set time frame to do it in, which makes it very sporadic), because the idea behind it (to get literally all of the stuff that exists at the intersection of art and technology into one place) sounds like a good idea, and to be honest, I actually want to be able to monetise this, because I want to have an incentive to keep me going (I know that I would still do it if I weren't getting paid for it, as I have done for the past year or so, but it's good to have accountability, as well as being able to improve on what I've currently done instead of doing the same thing over and over again, not to mention that I literally have to pay to keep the site running, but that's just a tiny thing compared to what I actually want to do), so that it becomes less of a hobby, and more of a business (where I would be able to gain the means to curate more things, as well as being able to produce content based on the things that I curate, and also being able to participate in events that would help grow the curation front, as well as actually being able to interact with others that exist in the same space), since hobbies are overrated and feel very dorky to have, not to mention that curating is something that I actually want to spend more time doing, instead of just letting it fizzle out and get lost in the ethers of the internet.

To be honest, resisting the way that things are has actually caused more harm than good for me, and I actually want to change that before I end up being a grumpy old person.

[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😁.