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gandalfsdrawingblog · 5 months ago

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Why I decided to start drawing.

I'm a programmer by profession. I spent the last 6 years learning about computers, programming languages and such. I never considered myself a creative person, which is why any attempt at art I made before was either botched, I didn't like it, or has most of the process already done for me (as in, papercraft, where I just need to assemble the model and that's it).

Things changed a bit on April 2023, when I decided it would be fun to try and host a DnD campaing for my friends. I got to think for a while, and decided that ripping off the story line for Golden Sun, a relatively obscure game that none of my friends had played by then, could make for a good plot. It went great overall. Some more people joined with time, others left, but we're doing fine.

Last month the party finally reached Venus Lighthouse, and I was designing some encounters for the dungeon, drawing some maps and planning some puzzles. You know, the usual stuff.

I wanted to use one of the, in my opinion, most iconic monsters of the dungeon, which is the Stone Soldier (pic below). However, no such thing exists in official DnD material, which is why I resorted to homebrew something similar.

It wasn't the first time I did a homebrew monster, and it will certainly not be the last. I have the process outlined by now: conceptualize the idea of the monster (what it does, its abilities etc); translate that to a DnD statblock borrowing from other monsters with similar abilities, and then find an image to use as a token for the monster in the VTT.

It was the last part that got me. I couldn't just place the sprite from the games in the token, it would look awful having a 29x36 pixels image along my high resolution maps. It would suck. So the next step is to find a similar image, but how to do so when the god damn monster is a spiky ball with some long ass legs and a pair of angry eyes?

Google didn't help. Perhaps I couldn't find the proper terms to place in the search bar, but the results weren't to my liking. I then spent a while trying to use AI to generate a creature (which, I know it's bad, but then again, it's free and quick, I didn't want to bother), but the results were bad, the models didn't understand my petitions, and it felt soulless tbh.

Not having the time nor the willingness to commission someone for a silly drawing of a rock with feet, I gave up and decided that if internet couldn't draw the rock as good as I wanted, I would do it myself then.

I went and ordered a cheap tablet (Huion Inspiroy, for anyone interested), downloaded a drawing software and started playing around with tutorials to get myself used to it. When the tablet arrived, I got to follow some basics tutorials, drew some sketches and got comfortable with it.

After trying a while doing different stuff, I realized that if I wanted to learn to draw, I needed a more structured process than following 10 random "LEARN TO DRAW GOOD FAST NOW NOW NOW" youtube tutorials, and that's when I stumbled on the Drawabox online course.

I'm only really starting the course, I haven't even finished all of Lesson 0 yet, but the metodology of it and the fact that it encourages practice and play alongside actual homework and lessons sounded cool to me (that's what they call the 50% method). Also, the promise to be tasked with doing stuff that would feel way above my skill level sounded cool, which is why I decided to give it a try. Worst that can happen is I get bored and give up on it by week 2.

But who knows?

#my art #blog

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itsclydebitches · 3 years ago

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About crosshair. Again lol

Regardless of his scar not lining up with chip scar or the headaches or “soldiers follow orders” again. Or him without a chip being a liability to the empire. I just don’t buy his personality change in the end. I’m the pilot episode they hammered it over our heads it��s very unlike him to follow orders. He said himself “empire or republic, what’s the difference?” But now in the end he cares about the empire protecting the galaxy? Responds to hunter his choice is “soldiers follow orders”? Wtf, really? So he genuinely believes his only personality is being a soldier now? when it’s been established in both in cw and tbb that cf99, including crosshair only cared about completing the mission. I get that people change but not that abruptly especially if we are to believe techs “unyielding” description of him to be true. Echo is the one true soldier of the group. He keeps repeating to hunter “we are soldiers not smugglers”, “there is no other way than being soldiers” etc. but he is clearly loyal to the republic. And I never saw echo and crosshair to be similar in that

So yeah , I think it’s very out of character for crosshair to just see himself as soldier and being content with following order or being a pawn(which he must realize he is cause he’s not dumb) especially with his mega inflated sense of self importance. Just my two cents

Crosshair is a complicated character! There's a lot to discuss :D

That's a good point though. And yeah, as acknowledged the quick personality change could be chalked up to chip influence if it's still having some kind of impact... but if it's not, then what do we make of that?

Putting aside the "It's just bad writing" possibility, I think there's a key difference between not following orders and not being loyal to the organization giving those orders. They're not necessarily the same thing, though it's easy to lump the two together. Yeah, we see early on that the Bad Batch isn't known for doing things the "right" way. Rex and Jesse are pretty unsure about their methods when the Batch first shows up in TCW. In the pilot Tech has a line about how "We're more deviant than defective" emphasizing that they tend to do things differently. Crosshair's sudden willingness to follow orders to the letter, not just in spirit, is questioned during their time in the cell, etc. So yeah, they don't obey the rules, but I don't think that's because they're not loyal. They're not refusing orders because pff, screw the Republic/Empire, who cares about those guys. They're refusing orders because they recognize that their way of doing things—the unconventional methods that deviate from the standard clone playbook—is more likely to net them, and the Republic, a success. They seem to be against the Republic's rules because they want the Republic to succeed, recognizing that their way is the best way to get that. Wrecker takes great pride in their successful missions, keeping tally marks on their room's wall. Crosshair is constantly pointing out how the higher ups called them in because the Regs couldn't complete a mission, likewise emphasizing his pride in being needed. When Rex and Hunter finally start bonding, it's through Rex's decision to charge the droids head on, precisely like the Batch would, rather than following the "correct" strategy of carefully picking them off from the tree line. They bond over the understanding of, "Yes. This is the best way the Republic wins." Perhaps most significantly, the Batch was still willing to complete missions for the Empire up until they were ordered to kill civilians. Killing Jedi resulted in an acknowledgement of how messed up that was... but no solid intent to leave.

All of the above is important because it establishes the Batch's need to be loyal to something other than themselves. The kind of loyalty that is shown through intense, life-threatening acts of service. Hunter's line about them being loyal to each other rather than some Empire, while true, is a simplification. Their loyalty to the Republic and their loyalty to one another overlap in many, many significant ways, simply because the Batch was created for the Republic. They have literally spent their entire lives living, breathing, fighting, and almost dying for the Republic. Their core identities stem from the Republic's desires: skills they want them to cultivate and even personalities they want to foster, if Tech's theories are to be believed (that conversation with Wrecker in the mess hall). The loyalty the Batch feels, those bonds they formed over the years, stem entirely from completing missions for the Republic. Their love for one another is, at least at the start, a product of the Republic's desire for Good Soldiers. And yeah, they sometimes did things the Republic technically didn't like, but it was always in service of achieving the Republic's end goal, whatever that may have been. They were very good soldiers, just soldiers that understood the value of creative thinking. "You want me to reach this location? Of course! I'll reach it by cutting across the grass, despite you asking me to follow the path already laid out. But our goal and the Regs' goal is exactly the same: fulfill your mission. That's our purpose in this life."

And then the Republic became the Empire.

Every one of these characters has a need to serve some higher purpose, to complete missions for the benefit of another. Overlooking the very literal ways in which they may have been genetically predisposed towards this (like the chip), and the cultural brainwashing that went on the second they were born (this is your duty, this is your purpose, this is all you exist for), this is, simply put, all they've ever known. Though it's possible to walk away from that need, it's by no means easy. So what saves the majority of the Batch from falling into that "Republic, Empire, what's the difference?" thinking out of a need to serve someone?

Omega.

I think it's crucial that the second they abandon one mission—killing civilians for the Empire—there's already new mission waiting for them to focus on instead—rescue and protect Omega, indefinitely. That's Hunter's thinking. We're not going to do A, we're going do B instead. All they did was put that single-minded focus onto a new target, but the focus—the need—still exists. And we see that throughout the first season, where everything the Batch does is in service to Omega. Their life decisions revolve entirely around her, from very small things (here's your own room on the ship) to the much larger (we need to stay on the move to help you avoid bounty hunters, even if we may want to find someplace to stay). The purpose of a soldier has been mapped onto the purpose of a parent, with the new, ongoing goal being "Raise Child" as opposed to "Win War." Putting aside for the moment the fact that this is an action-adventure show and thus exciting plot has to happen, I think it's notable that no one suggests non-soldier-y things to help them make money. Tech isn't offering his intellect as an easy way to make credits, nor Wrecker his strength. No one is seriously thinking of a planet they could hide out on, even from bounty hunters, so as to raise Omega in peace. They are still, fundamentally, the people they were during the time of the Republic, people who need to fight for something. Literally fight. It's just now they're chaotically fulfilling missions for Cid so they can give Omega a halfway decent life, rather than chaotically fulfilling missions for a general so they can give the Republic a chance at winning the war.

Omega is the new focus, the new Republic stand-in, but what happens if she's not an option? (Would have been really interesting to see what the Batch did if she'd actually left with Cut.) Without the chip affecting his thoughts, I fully believe Crosshair would have left with the others. Why wouldn't he? That's his family and, per Hunter's orders, Omega is the new mission. But the chip ensured he missed that chance and by the time he came out of it (if he came out of it), it was too late. His squad was gone, they never came back, and Crosshair needs to find a new place in this galaxy, just like they did. Except his options are far more limited and suck a whole lot more. I can't recall anything that implies Crosshair thinks the Empire will save the galaxy, but he does think it's going to control it and he's looking for his own purpose in this new life. Why not find purpose in the winning side? He can serve the Empire just like they served the Republic. He can serve the Empire just like his squad now serves Omega. The need to belong somewhere, to have that larger goal, outweighs those pesky ethical issues, at least for now. Though to me the "Good soldiers follow orders" really, really still sounds like chip influence, it can also be read as a broader acknowledgment that yes, they are fundamentally soldiers and yes, they do need orders of one kind or another. They need that mission. That goal. That purpose. Someone who helps to guide them in this new, crazy galaxy. Yeah, they've always bent and gotten creative with the orders, but until 4/5ths of them left the Empire, they'd never ignored the orders as a whole. None of the Bad Batch went, "I'm not taking this mission because the Admiral was an asshole to us about it and I don't feel like it :/" They suck up all the hard parts—the awful treatment, the danger, the general difficulty—because they have a goal to fulfill. They live for having a goal, literally in the sense that this is what they were made for. The Bad Batch is still doing that with Cid, putting up with bad treatment, dangerous situations, and general difficulty because they have that larger goal of taking care of Omega. Crosshair missed out on that, so he latched onto the Empire instead. Which circles right back around to previous points that if the Batch had tried to rescue him and/or been more welcoming when offering his return, Crosshair likely would have joined in on the Omega mission too. It's the best new purpose for all of them.

Crosshair sees himself as a soldier because, right now, being a soldier of the Empire is the only way he can find the purpose and belonging that the rest of the Batch maintained with each other and Omega, back when he was left behind. No, he's not dumb, but the logistics of the situation outweigh his knowledge that things are far from perfect. Do we think the Batch doesn't also realize that Cid is continually taking advantage of them with 70/30 splits? Of course not. But they need a way to survive and, right now, this is it. Crosshair likewise recognizes that the Empire is treating him as a pawn—I think he was in denial prior to the bombing, but now he definitely knows—but what other option is there? Not his squad. As discussed, he feels strongly that he's no longer welcome with them, with good reason. The only other option is to go off on his own, something that's incredibly foreign to clones who were bred to serve that higher purpose alongside many, many brothers. Yes, we've seen one or two who manage that—like Cut—but they're the outliers. Rex found his new purpose fighting the Empire with Ahsoka. The Batch found their new purpose taking care of Omega with each other. Crosshair's new purpose is... nothing. Not unless he swallows down his misgivings (and his ego) and keeps serving the Empire until a better purpose comes along.

#TBB #the bad batch #SW #Star Wars #mymetas

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alirhi · 3 years ago

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chapter 7 (the end? I'm not sure yet)

Title: Winter's Frost Chapter: 7/? Fandom: MCU Rating: R to be on the safe side Pairing: Loki/Bucky Summary: Loki never told anyone the real reason he became so obsessed with Midgard. Much better to let them think he wanted to hurt his brother than draw their attention to the one thing in the universe that makes the God of Mischief truly vulnerable.

WARNINGS: m/m, reference to rape Notes: since I don't read comic books and am a huge Loki (mythology) nerd, I'm pulling on some actual Norse mythology in this one. I've referenced Loki's shapeshifting/gender-bending abilities before, but here I go into something a bit more specific, and take a teensy bit of creative license in the process. so if you're reading and are like "wtf that didn't happen in the movies/comics!" that's because that's not the source material I was using.

The Bifrost was his last resort. The Destroyer had failed to even keep Thor in line or take out the bumbling idiots who didn't even know they were harboring HYDRA within their ranks. Loki had some power, but no allies, and it would take too long for him to ferret out every HYDRA operative hiding on Midgard, but if he could simply wipe SHIELD off the map, that seemed like a good start. But first he needed to know just how destructive the Bifrost really was. Could it be used for a surgical strike? Could he take out one building at a time, or would it truly destroy an entire planet?

Bucky would never forgive him if he destroyed his entire home world just to ensure that his captors were dead.

The obvious solution was, of course, a practice run. It was a good thing he had the perfect target in mind. He would destroy Jotunheim entirely, ensure there was no one left to avenge Laufey, and see how long it took to erase the planet from the cosmos. If the destruction took a while, if he could center it on one thing and have the damage radiate out from there, then after his cursed birthplace was eradicated, he could turn the Bifrost on SHIELD's headquarters. Then, all that remained was to go down, grab Bucky, and then come back and destroy the bunker in Siberia. There would be no more torture, no more Winter Soldiers. No more trauma for the man he loved.

Oh, who let bloody Thor out of his desert cell? The meathead always had to complicate everything. Loki lacked the time, and frankly the patience, to deal with his self-righteous adoptive brother's newfound life purpose, which seemed to be 'annoy Loki by any means necessary.' Not so new, then, he supposed. Simply a new method.

I don't have time for this, you oaf! "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim!"

For all that it lacked delicacy, he really felt this plan was a perfect win-win. His father would wake to find his oldest enemies eradicated, his heir apparent revealed as the reckless idiot Loki had always known him to be, and a new heir standing proud and ready to take his place. Bucky would be safe and sound, and since all of his friends and family were likely dead by now, there would be nothing to tie him to Midgard any longer. Perhaps he could be convinced, finally, to come home with him to Asgard and rule by his side. With Loki's shapeshifting power, they could even have a family. Hopefully Odin would stop keeping Loki's children as pets. Truth be told, he was still a little bitter about Sleipnir; unintentional though his conception had been, he was still Loki's son.

Even if Odin didn't see reason when it came to Thor, now that the idiot had fallen in love with a human of his own – after a weekend – that could at least pave the way for Loki to come forward about his own star-crossed love, and maybe be accepted at last. At the end of the day, he had no real interest in ruling Asgard, only stepping out of his brother's shadow and not facing ridicule for who his heart chose. He didn't even know anymore what he was more afraid of; Odin finding out he'd fallen for another man, or Odin finding out he'd fallen for a human.

"Loki, you can't kill an entire race!"

"Why not?" He laughed, though he was more confused than anything else. Since when did Thor care? "Oh, what is this newfound love for the Frost Giants? You could have killed them all with your bare hands!"

"I've changed."

In three days? He doubted it, but he supposed stranger things had happened. It didn't really matter; all he wanted in that moment was to prove to Thor, and to himself, that all his years of practice had meant something; that he was truly every bit the warrior his brother was. Mostly, though, he wanted to kill time and keep Thor from breaking through the ice barrier to stop the Bifrost. It was taking its sweet time tearing Jotunheim apart; that was frustrating with Thor there waiting to muck things up, but encouraging for his true purpose.

"Loki, this is madness!"

"Is it madness? Is it?!" You have no idea! "Come on, what happened on Earth that's turned you so soft?! Don't tell me it was that woman!" I've spent years mourning a love I built and cherished and could tell no one about, and you get to parade around proud as a peacock after spending three days with her?! That is madness!

The look on Thor's face told him everything he needed to know, and he almost vomited. It wasn't just the ridiculously brief time he'd spent with her; Thor could do no wrong in their father's eyes. Even if he marched right up to Odin and announced that he intended to marry this woman and make her his Queen, he would suffer no consequences. No one would dare to speak against the heir apparent; the witless wonder could have anything and everything he wanted! Meanwhile Loki was raped in the service of one of Odin's pettier schemes, and he was ridiculed as weak and a pitiful clown, the son he bore taken from him to be ridden into battle like he was little more than another expendable tool for Odin to use and discard.

The more he thought about how differently their father treated them, the more embarrassed he felt for having been surprised to learn he was adopted. Stolen, really; like everything else Odin thought might one day prove useful. And still, Loki loved him. Still, he looked up to Odin as a father and wanted his love and acceptance. Odin had tormented and humiliated him for most of his life, and Loki still wanted to make him proud. How pathetic.

He was too distracted; too lost in his own spiraling thoughts. Thor kept getting the upper hand, and it was only thanks to Loki's talent for illusion and duplicate-casting that he hadn't outright lost yet. At least he did have those things going for him.

"Enough!"

Damn. Too stunned by how hard he'd landed to move, he could only watch helplessly as his adoptive brother approached, certain Thor would kill him. Instead, he sat Mjolnir on Loki's chest. The blasted thing weighed a ton! He could feel it crushing his chest, preventing him from moving and making it harder and harder to breathe. The painful weight of it was too much to bear, but he refused to suffer in silence.

"Look at you," he taunted with what little breath he could muster. "The mighty Thor! With all your strength... And what good does it do you now, huh?!" He could swear the stupid hammer was getting heavier by the second. He could feel the weight of it cracking his ribs, and he winced, gasping for air.

"Do you hear me, brother? There's nothing you can do!"

And suddenly it was gone, and the bridge was shaking. Stunned, he lifted his head to look, and saw Mjolnir back in Thor's hand. "What are you doing?" No, no, NO! He sat up, horrified as he watched his brother smash his hammer down over and over again. "If you destroy the bridge, you'll never see her again!" I'll never see him again!

No, he couldn't let this happen! Never mind all his desperate half-thought-out plans to save Bucky and destroy HYDRA... He couldn't bear the thought of losing him forever! It'd been hard enough to go on living when he'd thought his beloved was dead; knowing he lived but was a helpless slave, alone with no one to protect him, to rescue him? Loki would rather die.

It hurt to move, but he had to get up. He had to stop Thor! If he destroyed the Bifrost, Bucky would be left alone in the clutches of his enemies forever!

The world was a blur for a moment. He was running at his brother, the bridge was shuddering beneath their feet, there was a blinding flash, and then suddenly Loki was dangling over an empty void, his only tether to solid ground his grip on the end of Odin's staff. Thor held the other end for dear life, though he, too, dangled precariously over open air. How had they not both fallen yet?

Odin. Odin was holding onto Thor to keep both of his sons from flying off into oblivion. Did he know what Loki had done? What he'd tried to do? Was he finally proud?

"I could have done it, Father! I could've done it! For you!" For Bucky... "For all of us!"

"No, Loki."

He didn't care. No matter what he did, Loki would never be good enough; would never be Thor's equal in their father's eyes. And worse, now his only link to Midgard and to the man he loved was gone. Now Loki didn't care. To Hell with them all.

A strange sense of peace, of surrender, came over him and, without a single thought nor care for what might happen, he let go. The sensation of falling with nowhere to land was strangely comforting. Perhaps the next life would be kinder to him than this one had been.

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#fanfiction #loki #bucky barnes #mcu #avengers #thor #captain america #winter soldier #m/m #loki/bucky #what do you think?#end it here or continue?#sebastian stan #tom hiddleston #winter's frost

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relatablegenzwriter · 4 years ago

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heya~ bit weird but do you have any advice for outlining? I always outline but half way through actually writing something I realise I've not thought of something (OTL) Thanks in advance!!

Advice on Outlining

I honestly never thought I’d see the day someone asked me for advice on outlining. When I was about ten and aiming to be the world’s youngest published novelist (lmao look how that turned out), everyone who knew me as a writer also knew that I would never, ever outline before I wrote something. I argued that it sucked all the fun out of writing. I couldn’t let my characters do whatever they wanted if I had to stick to a script. I would have to spend more time planning that I could’ve spent on actually writing my stories. I’d see all the gaps and places where my story was lacking in its plot. I’m not selling this outlining thing well, am I?

As I’ve written more, I’ve also warmed up to the idea of outlining. I’ll again preface this by saying I have never finished a novel, despite having started countless, so I can’t speak to how outlining has helped me throughout a project. But I do have a general sense of what works and what doesn’t, at least for me, so I’ll do what I can.

After some careful thought, here’s my advice on how to outline.

Don’t outline.

At least, not right away. I’ve found that I need to know my story, its characters, its ~vibes~, etc. before I can really make an accurate outline. A common concern with outlines is that you’ll make people do things out of character, or that the story won’t want to go in the direction you tell it to. Test out the waters a little bit first. Write that one scene that’s been in your head–you know which one I’m talking about–and figure out the style, the main characters, the mood, everything you really need to get the feel of your story. I like to write a bunch of beginnings, which can be helpful even if you don’t know where to start your story. Some people like to do character questionnaires so they know who they’re dealing with. Others will have that one scene that they think of when they think of their story, and will write that first to figure out where to go from there. There’s a lot of ways to warm up to the story, so play with a bunch of them and figure out what works for you. The point I’m trying to get across here is that you can’t successfully outline if you don’t know your story well enough. Fortunately, that’s an easy problem to fix.

What’s next?

That depends. If you look up “outlining methods”, you’ll find hundreds of lists, questionnaires, and weird diagrams that look like they came straight out of high school English class. There is no magical way to outline. With that being said, I’ll describe the way that I outline my work, and then add some general tips at the end.

2. The basics.

Trying to write out every little detail from the beginning will likely overwhelm you and create writer’s block before you’ve even started writing.

don't do that.

Instead, get your basics all in one place: who are your characters? Where is it set? What is the premise? Once you do that, make note of the events that you know will happen. “Lily dies”, “Sam and Evan kiss”, “Aiyana confronts her family”, etc. I sometimes like to fill this out on paper or on a whiteboard like a timeline. Otherwise, making a bulleted list in a digital document also works. The one thing I’d advise is not to make this kind of list on paper, because as you start to insert more events between others, it’ll start to get really crowded.

3. Fill in the rest!

Start to generate scenes and events that go between the ones you already have. Some things to consider:

what propels the story from point A to point B?

what needs to happen to further your characters’ arcs? (a follow up: do you know how you want your characters to grow throughout this story? what needs to happen in order for them to change?)

what could POSSIBLY happen?

is there a character who’s not doing enough yet who you want to give more attention to? something that’s not highlighted much in your list that you want to focus on more?

And essentially, you’ve made an outline! I know, so few steps. But this is actually going to take a while. This method may not work for you, and you’ll have to find other ones (that I’m not going into detail about because I don’t use them or know much about them). You’ll have to take some time to get to know your story. Step three WILL give you writer’s block, and as always you’ll be able to break through it, but don’t expect this process to be easy. But it is worth it!

And finally…

4. Change it.

Once you sit down to write your story, chances are you’ll run into a plothole, or something you want to do differently. You asked about this in your question, and all I can say is yes! You’re right! For my oldest WIP, which has been around for almost six years, I can recall four specific outline revisions where I wrote the whole outline again from scratch. (This particular WIP has given me SERIOUS trouble, so take my experience with a grain of salt.) What I can say is that every time you revise your outline, it will get stronger, you’ll know your story better, and you’ll have more opportunity to be creative and revisit your story. I don’t understand why it’s considered the norm to outline once and then move on with a project, when it should be perfectly acceptable to pause your writing, say “that doesn’t look right”, and outline the story again. Your story, especially in the early stages, is fluid! You’ll actually be surprised by how long it remains that way, too. Point is, it’s okay for things to come up in the writing that don’t make sense with the outline, as long as you’re willing to revisit your original plans and reassess. I haven’t seen this approach discussed much if at all, so there’s a very good chance I could simply be a very disorganized writer who hasn’t made much progress on her big projects. But there could also be some legitimacy to this word jumble, so take what you will from it.

5. Other outlining exercises…

Try to map out individual character arcs as part of your outlining. That way, you can make sure that their development lines up with the events in the story and the development of other characters.

If you’re a visual person, writing plot points on sticky notes and arranging them on a wall is very useful and also makes you feel like This Man.

Free write (no erasing!), by hand, a summary of your plot–no detailed prose or dialogue, just a straightforward description of what happens. If questions come up, write them into the outline and keep writing. Once you finish you can go back and highlight all the questions you wrote.

Speaking of questions: when one comes up, really dive into it. What I like to do is write the question on top of a piece of paper and make a bulleted list of all the possible answers. Dive deeper into the ones you like, maybe combine a few. You could also do one of those web diagram things (those ones that look like clouds) if you’re the diagram type.

As your outline evolves, reassess why each scene is there. If it’s only purpose is “I like writing it”, maybe it’s time to write it for you and cut it out of the story. (Side note: this still applies to That Scene. You know the one.)

Call someone and explain the plot to them. They don’t necessarily need to be a writer, just someone who’s willing to listen to you relay the plot of a whole story to them. They can give input if they like, but the purpose of this is for you to have to explain your plot to someone else. It’ll be more obvious to you when something doesn’t make sense or belong in the story if you’re explaining it to another person. Especially note any clarifying questions or moments of confusion that they have. If you don’t have a person willing to do this, record yourself talking about it to your phone/camera/tablet/computer.

Don’t be afraid of the dramatic. When you’re first coming up with an outline, you’re exploring ALL possibilities. Even if your answer to “How does Aoife end up at Shauna’s house?” ends up being “She took the bus” instead of “The mailman, who is actually her estranged uncle, kidnapped her from her home and hid her in Shauna’s basement because Shauna and her uncle were having an affair”. You get to be creative, have fun, and even if you take the more realistic route, you’re reaffirming that that’s the direction you want to take.

Best of luck to you!

#writing #writers #writing tips #outlining #answering asks #my advice posts

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beanenigma · 5 years ago

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Tips for people who like to write by hand

So you’re an old timey writer who enjoys the feeling of paper as you breathe life into a story? Or, like me, you can’t use your phone at school and just wants to get some writing done while math class bores the others?

Well, me too and I’ve come to your aid! I’ve done some pretty stupid things that costed me hours and hours of searching for lost scenes and struggling to find ideas I knew I’d written down so you don’t have to!

Find the right notebook for you

By experience, notebooks take a long time to be filled. In good nanowrimo times, I take from 6 to 8 months to finish one. So you’ll be stuck with this guy for a long time. Make sure to pick one that you like and is right for your needs. I, for example, prefer spiral notebooks. You can rip out pages if you need to (if you mess it up, if someone asks you for one, if you just need a page to write down a grocery list or something, etc) and you can put a pen on the spiral. I also like having a pocket to put pieces of ideas I have.

Some spooky stories about having the wrong notebook:

I got stuck with a brochure old planner for two years. My mom didn’t use it in the year it was meant for, so I thought oh, it’s free real estate. As it turns out, it had really small space between the lines, so the pages would take forever to fill, it had all those day and hour numbers and the paper was really thin. It was terrible and it made writing terrible. It would have been a thousand times better if I just spent a few bucks on a regular notebook.

More recently, I started using just the kind of notebook I like, a spiral notebook with a pocket. But I bought it a couple of years ago at a fandom event I attended and the cover was a personalized Divergent cover. At the time, I thought if was pretty cool and everyone would know the reference. But now it has aged so very poorly. The cover has blood all over it and it says “Faction Before Blood”. So now I’m scared to pull it out to write at uni and people will think I’m in a gang or something.

Number your pages

I know, it sounds like a lot of work. But you can get a notebook with pages already numbered, number it yourself or do it like I do and number it every 10 pages (just because it’s easier). If you don’t feel like doing all of this repetitive work, date your writing. It’s cool to see how much you progressed, how long you have been writing this project, when you had this idea, etc. One thing doesn’t have to exclude the other, but both methods serve the same purpose.

And this purpose is to help you get an idea of how much you write (and feel good about your progress) and to help you organize yourself on all you’ve been writing. Which takes us to the next tip.

Make the first page an index

Not only it will take the pressure off the first page, it will also help you so you don’t keep losing the awesome stuff you’re writing and forgetting it exists. Everytime you start a new scene or change projects, go to the index and write down the page or the date you started this new section. Since I number every ten pages, I find the first page with a number on it and start counting forward or back to the new page. But you can do it in any way that suits you.

Make a random idea page

It doesn’t have to be the second page (it usually isn’t for me), but it’s good to have one. Sometimes, in the middle of writing, you have that great idea for something you need to change on what you’ve already got, or you got a completely new insight. It’s good to have your idea page somewhere close you can just flip to, write it down and get right back to writing. And don’t go easy on that page! Write it diagonally, vertically, draw on it, anything. It’s just there to take out those ideas so you can take a look at it another time and not mess the flow you’re in right now.

Keep your enemies close. And your pen even closer!

You know your favorite bic friend? It has a secret weapon just for you to use. That little flap of the cap? Use it to keep your pen always close. I normally put it on the spiral of my notebook. But if you have a brochure, you can put it on the cover. Sometimes it damages it a bit, but it’s a good trade for having it always ready for action. If you use moleskine, I saw that they normally have designated pen places. If they don’t, I have a tip for it just under this one!

Take your time to find which kind of pen is your weapon of choice. Personally, I think nothing beats a black ballpoint pen. I know some people like fineliners for writing, but they make the other side of the paper all gross looking and I like to keep it clean. Plus, I write really small and fineliners often bleed in my handwriting. I took my time searching for my favorite brand and I settled on Molin ballpoint pens.

I would recommend buying your favorite pens in bulk. Nothing is worse than pen hunting around when you have an urgent idea. I bought 50 pens for super cheap and I stack them EVERYWHERE. In all my bags, in my sketchbooks, in my bullet journal, in my writing notebook, in my drawers, anywhere I think it will be easy to find one when I need it ( also giving some to my friends who keep stealing my pens).

Crafting the perfect notebook

You don’t have to be a crafter to modify your notebook to better suit you! Find a ribbon anywhere in the house. Cut it to be a little longer than the book. Tape that bad boy to the inside of the back cover and everytime you stop writing, put that ribbon on the page you stopped. This helps you not to get lost in your previous writing and get right back to business when you resume.

Also, if you really like that moleskine vibe but don’t have the cash, just get a regular clothing elastic, make cut it just the size of the notebook and glue both ends to the inner part of the back cover. There you go! Now you can close it (and keep it closed).

If you like post-its, you can take half of the block (or however many sheets you cant put in there and still close the notebook comfortably) and glue it to the inside part of the cover of your notebook so it will always be conveniently available for you.

If your notebook doesn’t have a place to put your pen on and you really don’t want to mess up the cover, you take a small elastic (smaller than the pen) and tape (or preferably glue it) it to the back part of the notebook with both ends inside. There! Ready for the trip! Speaking of which...

Always carry your notebook with you

You never know when inspiration is going to strike. In class. At the bank. In a mall. Whenever you have a little time, you can write something. Or just take a look at what you’ve done and feel good about it.

Not in the mood for writing? Edit. Reread what you’ve done and start finding what you want to change once you type it in. When doing this, don’t be scared to cross out entire sentences and rewriting them on top. If it starts getting too messy, go to a blank page and rewrite the scene and you think it should have been done the first time. It seems counter-intuitive in a copy+paste kind of age, but I assure you it is worth it.

Typing your work

This is one of the biggest reasons I love writing in pen and paper. When you type, your first round of editing is done!

Don’t zone out when typing. As I said, typing is your first round of editing. It is important to keep aware of all of the things you might have done wrong when writing. Some people say writing it on paper and then typing it is a waste of time. I say it saves time and lives.

Keep it loose!

Just because you are writing in an actual physical book, it doesn’t mean you are writing a actual physical book. This is still your notebook and these are still your notes. So don’t be afraid to get messy. Write things out of order (seriously, it’s okay to not go chronological. i know it’s hard). Outline. Sketch. Tip-ex the whole thing. Get post-its on it. Take notes. Make genealogical trees. Draw maps.

If you’re feeling down or uninspired, try very basic writing exercises: write what you see, what you feel, something to try and make you laugh or something to make someone cry. It’s your place to express yourself. And once you got those creative juices flowing, happy writing :)

I hope you enjoyed my tips and please, feel free to reblog this with your own tips and tricks. I’d love to hear them! And follow me for some more writing content!

#writing #writing advice #writeblr #handwriting #new writblr #new writeblr #writblr #writer #writing tips #new writers #writing inspiration #writers #writers on tumblr

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louistomlinsoncouk · 5 years ago

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Louis Tomlinson: ‘I Want To Be an Honest and Relatable Songwriter‘

The former One Direction member on his latest single ‘Kill My Mind,’ trusting his gut and finding his place in the industry

It’s Friday evening when Louis Tomlinson greets me with a, “Hi! How’s it going?” on call. The line is plagued by weekend excitement but also jitters.

The Doncaster native is not too far from home. Tomlinson is in rainy London (and mercifully seas away from the Mumbai rains), rehearsing for his upcoming set at the Coca-Cola Music Experience Festival in Madrid this coming week. Despite the weather, he’s rather cheery and listeners might be able to put their finger on why.

24 hours before our conversation, the British singer-songwriter had released the second single, “Kill My Mind,” off his upcoming debut LP (set to release in 2020). The song has been touted for its distinctive alternative pop-rock sound and is Tomlinson’s nod to finally embracing his own sonic identity.

The single’s release follows his August Teen Choice Award (Choice Song: Male Artist) win for “Two Of Us,” a pop ballad Tomlinson penned to remember his mum who passed away in 2016 after fighting cancer. He says, “I’m really excited to finally have ‘Kill My Mind’ out. It was really important for me [because] when I wrote the last song, it was quite emotionally heavy and I think it was quite important for me to put out a message that was fun, nostalgic and young.”

Life has a way of unearthing sounds from within we didn’t know were ready for the world and a couple of instances led Tomlinson to start making music that was true to him. One of these was meeting London producer Jamie Hartman. “Especially while I was starting my solo career (in 2016, post One Direction’s indefinite hiatus), I spent a lot of time working with different producers and there were a few people that I met that I thought were great, but I didn’t really think they understood me as an artist,” he shares. Tomlinson and Hartman clicked from the very first session. “I wanted to do something that’s fun, juvenile and uplifting, and I think we got that pinned in one night,” he shares.

For the five years (2010 -15) Tomlinson was a member of One Direction, he couldn’t have been more comfortable. But the last two years brought him to a crossroads, steering him on a path to finding his place in the industry as a solo artist. “I like the idea of finally finding my lane and feeling comfortable and confident about what I’m doing,” he says.

The 27-year-old has sure come a long way. From his British pop band days to his experiments with electronica and pop to finally settling into pop-rock with a northern English sound influenced by rock outfits such as Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and The Smiths, to name a few; there have been more than just the numerous world tours, records and awards to introspect on. “What’s being played on American radio at the moment is a little bit different; I don’t really understand some of those references of sound,” he says. He certainly likes what he hears on the radio; the tunes just don’t feel true to him as an artist. “I thought it was important for me to kind of stand strong and do what I love,” he says.

Tomlinson is excited to share his lyrics with the world; speaking on concepts and emanating from themes that we all have at some point voiced or shared. In general, listeners can expect tracks that follow the sonic imprint of the pop-punk “Miss You,” “Two Of Us” and “Kill My Mind.” More than anything, they can expect authenticity. “I just want to be an honest and relatable songwriter,” he says.

The upcoming yet-to-be titled LP is bound to pack quite a punch and will potentially span anywhere between 10 to 14 tracks; the number is nowhere near definite. Tomlinson says with a laugh, “Well, I think I’ve got a bit of a problem because I like value for money. So, I think there should be quite a few tracks on there. But I do think it’s also quality over quantity. So I haven’t quite decided yet.”

Tomlinson is already thinking ahead of the album. There’s a whirlwind of experiences to look forward to, especially with his first solo LP release. He’s teeming with exhilaration as he tells me about the upcoming live shows, the tour and of course, the fans. “When I’m writing the songs, I’m also writing them with the live show in mind, thinking that I need to write songs that are going to transform a live show and be exciting to watch and listen to,” he says. Then there’s the tour which he knows will influence him creatively. “My tour…that’s when I’m finally going to feel like I’ve started my career as a solo artist, when I can finally get on the road and tour those songs and feel the reaction from the fans, watch them singing my lyrics. It’s always very special,” he says. When the road is a silent companion and the grinding of the wheel on the tarmac is the only reminder of the world outside, the different cities, countries and cultures, they all find a home in Tomlinson’s pages. “There are times when you get lonely as well. So, I think it’s a really thought-provoking time and it’s always good for writing content,” he says.

India just might be on the tour map but nothing is set in place yet. “I’ve heard incredible things and the fans in India are incredible. So, I can’t wait to come out there and hopefully do a show. That would be amazing,” says the singer-songwriter with excitement that zaps through the line, palpable in its promise.

If the last nine years have taught the Doncaster-bred musician anything, it has been to pay keen attention to intuition. “What I’ve learned most after being in a job that’s as fast-paced and demanding as this, is to just trust your gut and sometimes, you know, sometimes people around you might not have the same feeling as you do, but you just gotta trust your gut always. Be brave and bold and make the right decisions,” he says.

There’s a method to the legacy he’s building; he just doesn’t know it yet. With him finding his sound and tapping into his faculties as a songwriter, Tomlinson is well on the way to realizing it. His debut album just might be a new beginning. “I don’t want to be defined as the guy who makes sad songs, I want to make people feel good about themselves,” he says.

#louis tomlinson #kill my mind promo #kmm: rolling stone india

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raiswanson · 5 years ago

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Character Ask Game

Tagged in by @etjwrites to answer some questions from this tag game, and like the overachiever I am.....I’m just going to answer them all. :D

Let’s interview Rewill shall we?

1) if they could choose a new name, what would they choose?

[Rewill leans forward and looks directly into the camera] How about one that the author can pronounce consistently. That sounds like fun.

2) what’s a surefire way of making them happy?

Lots of things make me happy. Game night, spending time with friends, going to the diner back on Victorious. Look, I know the food looks like absolute ass but it’s good, I promise, once you get past the chalkiness of the powdered eggs they aren’t so bad, and the ham isn’t really so tough once you get used to it--Okay why are you looking at me like that. Fine, no diner special for you then, judgeypants.

3) what’s a surefire way of making them sad?

Well...again, lots of things. The usual things, I suppose. People being rude or aggressive for no reason, looking at the state of things in the outside world, seeing things in the news about the cruise starship “accidents”...I don’t...really want to get into this subject, if that’s alright.

4) what do they do when they feel sad?

What, you mean other than cry my eyes out? I dunno, I guess I talk less? Jiy always says I veer between dead silence and doubling my sass, but I don’t really see it. I just mope around feeling miserable until I get out of my funk.

5) how do they choose their friends?

That’s easy. I look around for someone interesting and go “that one. I’m going to talk to that one” and then I hang around until my endless charm wins them over and can’t bear to be away from me. It’s what I did with Maika! [sound of a fist banging furiously on the interview window] She’s a work in progress. But I’ve almost got her, I can tell.

6) what kinds of food do they like?

I like what everyone refers to as “space trash”, but they’re just snobs. There’s nothing wrong with a good old fashioned hot dog from a food district stand, or a greasy burrito from a shady little joint in the back end of the manufacturing quarter, okay? Way out here in space the stuff you can get there is just as fresh as whatever you got at your fancy restaurant, and you can’t get that flavor anywhere else.

7) who is the person closest to them?

Jiy. We’ve been together since we were small, and we’ve been through a lot. We share...mostly everything, and what we don’t share the other can usually kind of sense?

8) what kinds of music do they listen to?

I like all sorts of music, but anything with energy you can dance a tango to has a special place in my heart. Personal sentiment, you understand. That and whatever’s going on with those old school scifi films. That electro...synth...thing. I love that.

9) if logistics and money weren’t an issue, what kind of animal would they keep as a pet? (includes fantastical animals like dragons as well btw)

Hmm. I might have said dragon before all of this started, but I think that might be disrespectful to Pry? I wouldn’t call him a pe-- [Rewill pauses, staring straight ahead, then turns to scowl at the door] I am not your pet, Pry, don’t be rud--Lok, I’m pretty happy with the android hounds I have back on the ship. They’re polite and don’t get sassy with me and I wouldn’t dream of anything else.

10) what does the landscape of their mind look like?

Uhhh, probably not a lot like most, considering all the hardware I’ve got in there. It varies between a blank dark space with floating thoughts, and a literal console screen full of memory folders and input/output and stuff. It depends.

11) why do they like themselves?

Because I’m awesome? I’m an absolute delight and joy to be around. I bring light to every room I enter, enthusiasm to every task, and my smile could power an entire field of solar panels. What’s not to like?

12) what do they dream of doing if they had anything and everything open to them?

I’ve always wanted to travel. Like, through space, I mean. I’ve always wanted to be out there, but first I had Jiy to look after, and then Mach’s crew had to stick to the area for obvious reasons...but I dunno. I want to go out and see what’s out there. Everything is so big. I want to explore it all.

13) what fashion choices do they make? do they go more for comfort or style?

I enjoy a blend of both. I like to look good, but it I can’t move around easily I won’t go for it. That’s why I usually for a nice spacer suit and a jacket, maybe a utility belt if I need to carry a few extra things. I don’t really understand the fashions on the colonies, and up on the stations it’s really just suits or absolutely wild eyesores. I just want to be able to do my job and not get my ten foot long train covered in every snaggly material under the sun caught on every door I try to walk through, you get me?

14) if they had to go somewhere without a map, what’s the likelihood that they would make it there without getting lost?

I’m pretty good with following directions without a visual aid. You kind of have to be in my line of work--if you sneak into a cruise ship to swipe something from the vault and pop out in a room full of guards, you don’t get very far, you know? I can find my way around. I’ve always had a good head for it.

15) what types of people do they attract?

People like me, I guess. People that have an inherent need to help out and stand up for the people around them. Oh, and smart-talkers. Can’t forget that. Everyone around me is always full of wisecracks. Seriously, they never stop. It’s always aimed at me, too. Help.

16) what types of people are they attracted to?

Well, looking at my track record, apparently that would be people that can beat me up and trash talk me while they do it, hahaha. But seriously, I think I just like people. It’s a problem. Jiy used to get really jealous until I convinced him I only had eyes for him~

17) what is their greatest fear?

Ah. Yeah. I suppose part of that’s already happened, so I guess...losing Jiy. I can’t even...imagine...what I’d do if that happened. Even after all the close calls we’ve had, just thinking about it makes it hard to breathe and sets my heart rate off, and--yep, there it goes, I’m seeing malfunction warnings now, what did I tell you?

18) what kinds of body modifications would they do if they could? (e.g. tattoos, dyeing hair, piercings, etc.)

Ahh, ha, yeah, I think I’ve had enough of those for a lifetime. Considering how much of my is either metal internally or something hooked through my skin, I’m about done with making personal tweaks. I used to have a few more tattoos before, but after I got the synthetic stuff I never really bothered to replace them. I’ve thought about it, but...eh?

19) what are they insecure about?

I think I come on a little strong sometimes? Sometimes I wonder if I’m pushing too hard and no one wants to speak up about it. Or that I’m speaking over people and not realizing it. I think I’ve spent half my life hearing Jiy tell me otherwise, but, I still wonder.

20) how do they treat people/beings who have less power than them?

Power is kind of hard to quantify, isn’t it? Someone less physically strong might be able to run me in circles with another method, and vice versa. Someone with political power can still be taken down if you play your cards right and sweep it out from under them. Erm. I guess what I’m trying to say is I wouldn’t really consider anyone as having “less” power than me, so I can’t really answer that question. I’d treat them like I treat anyone else, because that’s who they’d be. Just another person.

And the tag games tag list!! You can answer either a few of all of the questions, go nuts!!

#tag rai #I almost did this for a Seals babe but Rewill felt more fitting haha #gosh does this boy like to t a l k #what am I going to do with you Rewill. smh

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hlupdate · 5 years ago

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It’s Friday evening when Louis Tomlinson greets me with a, “Hi! How’s it going?” on call. The line is plagued by weekend excitement but also jitters.

#Louis tomlinson #kmm #090919

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louismartinblog · 5 years ago

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Life story in Sampoerna University thus far

My name is Louis Martin and I am born on the 12th of November, 2001. I went to kindergarten in a small local school called Kinderland in Muara Karang, North Jakarta. I, then went to Singapore International School (SIS) in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK), North Jakarta for grade 1 until grade 10. At grade 10, I completed my IGCSE O-levels in 2017 with 2 A*’s and 5 A’s.

I, then, went to apply at Sampoerna University in Pancoran, South Jakarta. I applied for a scholarship program, in which I got a 25% scholarship as an engineering student, specifically as a Mechanical Engineering student. I spent 2 years in engineering major, learning mostly the general subjects and occasional engineering courses each semester (2 semesters a year). After 2.5 years (5 semesters), I decided to switch majors to VCD ( Visual Communication Design) as I felt more appropriate in that field.

I have a very strong interest in Engineering as I grew up with stuff like lego and robotics. Ever since I was small, I had a very strong fascination on how things around us, such as cars, computers and any machinery functions or work. This was one of the main reasons I enrolled to the Engineering major but I was heartbroken when the engineering courses were almost all theory and very little practicality, the last semester of being in the engineering major was the most dreadful, as it was all theory and logic based courses, excluding one which was physics lab which was also dreadful as it is basically the same as doing highschool science lab procedures, very cut and dried.

The best engineering course I’ve taken was the Introduction to Engineering course, where we learn about the ethics of being an engineer and conduct experiments where we have free reign on picking the subject we would like to conduct the experiment on. I took this course on the very first semester and gave me high hopes for the Engineering course but that light slowly died down as time passes. After 4 semesters, I lost nearly all my motivation to even attend class and nearly broke as it was so boring with all the theory, one after another. I tried to hold out and manage to pass all classes until the last semester of engineering course, I saw the projects of the Visual Communication Design students and decided that it was time I moved as I knew that Engineering courses are not for me and that the projects I’ve seen seems very nice and hearing the way of studying from the students in that field is nice.

After thinking about it for a long while, I wanted to do digital arts as a major and since the university doesn’t offer specific design courses, such as animation or arts. I went for Visual Communication Design which is the general study of anything in the digital design industry. I changed my major with approval from my academic advisor and head of both the Mechanical Engineering study program and Visual Communication Design study program, alongside the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology.

The reason I wanted to join this major is because I would consider myself a more of an art or creative guy. As written previously in paragraph 3, I grew up with lego and robotics. In addition to that, I play music and draw a lot, me drawing, playing the piano and building lego has sparked a lot of creativity in me the past decade. I want to join visual communication design as I would like to show my creations, may it be original or inspired by other creators or influences.

Entering my first semester in the new major, I have a lot more free time as I have passed my general courses from my time in the engineering major and I enjoy my time in the new major as there’s a lot more practicality involved. I was relatively nervous as I am a senior going into the same course as freshmen but, after the class, I realised most of them are of the same age as me since I joined this university, 2 years younger than I should be.

In this semester, I took 2 classes that had prerequisites which I haven’t taken and so I attend the class but would not be graded in the final report, the 2 classes were Introduction of Online Publishing and Perception Analysis and Creation. To be honest, even though the semester was a short one with a lot of time constraints, I had a lot of fun in the class and the lecturers are really great as they gave me feedback despite me being someone who would eventually retake the class again as I will not be graded.

There is just one small concern that I find in this major, which is that I notice that I have to change a little bit as my methods of coming up with a design is too unorganised as I tend to sketch my ideas immediately as it flows through me. I was told numerous times by some of the lecturers there that I should construct a mind map or make points on what my design would be like so that I have a clear vision of it.

Overall, I think switching majors is a good choice, although leaving the engineering field pains me, I would much rather be in this major than engineering. It offers more practicality and also does not blurt out with too much theory that it will desensitise me. I have no problem with workload as long as there is practicality involved.

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walterdehn3-blog · 6 years ago

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chrismerle · 6 years ago

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OKAY NOW IT’S DONE time for my thoughts, the least spoiler-y part of all my rambling

gameplay: A +. seriously, there are not a lot of games where I’ll contemplate going back once the story is done solely because they’re fun to play. for this one? I will probably wind up playing it more tomorrow just to keep filling in the map and doing side quests. combat is smooth and easy to pull off even when it requires multiple buttons. web-swinging is possibly the best game mechanic I’ve ever experienced. like, I don’t like flight or gliding in games, but I very willingly spent this whole damn game playing The Floor Is Lava until putting my boots on the ground was mandatory. it was good enough that I only used fast travel twice, and one of those times was required by the game tutorial (the other time was because Spidey on the subway is funny as hell). granted, I do still have my complaints. maybe I was just doing it wrong (I was probably doing it wrong), but dodging felt a bit wonky. for a lot of higher tier baddies and bosses, they attacked in volleys, so if you didn’t hammer on the dodge button until your thumb fell off then you were going to take two or three hits or more even if you dodged the initial strike. at higher difficulties, Spidey’s really only got three or four hits in him. also landing could be a bit of an ordeal. I can’t count the amount of times I vaulted straight over a roof I was supposed to land on, back and forth, several times. luckily, you were incapable of accidentally launching yourself to your death, as even jumping off of skyscrapers just resulted in Spidey doing a tuck-and-roll and bouncing to his feet on the ground below. and I wasn’t a huge fan of the stealth mechanics. don’t get me wrong, I loved MJ and Miles, but I’m generally more of a fan of very fast-paced gameplay, and the stealth sections were very slow.

boss fights: on the whole I liked them, but they weren’t perfect. most of them were some variation of ‘do this, kick in face, dodge, repeat half a dozen times, you win.’ it got a little old. especially since, for most of them, the pattern was ‘run/swing/dodge in circles, web up enemy, kick them in the face, retreat, repeat.’ still, it’s a minor complaint. Shocker escaped the pattern. Electro and Vulture were both in an area conducive to swinging the whole time, which made it more exciting. and while Scorpion followed the pattern, Rhino definitely did not, and having to keep an eye on both of them and their methods of defeat kept it interesting. unfortunately, while fighting Mister Negative on the train was entertaining, his later fight felt a bit generic. and the first stage of Doc Ock’s fight was yet another round of ‘run in circles, web, kick, retreat,’ with an added periodic AoE attack that was super annoying and the loss of the ability to customize how you fight. the second stage makes up for it, though, but I’m always a sucker for an overly emotional slug-fest.

interface: not much to say here. it looks clean. it’s pretty well organized. there’s a lot of variation in how you can do things. it’s pretty intuitive, when it comes to upgrading. the map is functional. it’s nothing groundbreaking, but it does its job well and won’t make you rip your hair out.

visuals: the animation was beautiful. fluid. natural. filled with detail and care. the settings were great. for the most part, the people looked great but, and I’m still not letting this go, for whatever reason damn near every character model had eyes too big for their faces. I was legitimately glad that most of the cast wore masks because the ET eyes were genuinely creepy. like, if it had been a stylistic choice, sure, but eyes aside the people were basically photo-realistic. and anytime a photograph showed up, it looked super uncanny. but really, those are basically my only gripes about the visuals. as an added bonus, whatever suit you wear shows wear-and-tear when Spidey gets the shit kicked out of him, which is a nice, unexpected touch.

story/writing: I am so glad this was not another Spidey origin. I have seen too much of the Spidey origin. you have seen too much of the Spidey origin. we have all seen too much of the Spidey origin. I’m not even giving the MCU a pass here: we didn’t see Holland Peter get bit, but he was in every other way a stumbling newbie. so the fact that he’s already been Spidey for 8 years at the start of the game? I am all for it. and I’m glad it was its own thing. it didn’t try to ape the comics. it’s attempting to be its own universe, rather than trying to retell the movies or 616, and it’s compelling as hell to boot in the creative liberties its taken. the dialogue is spot on. this has become my quintessential Peter Parker. you spend the vast majority of the game with him, and you will love him by the end. he’s an endearing wise-ass with a guilt complex the size of Manhattan, and if you are prone to feelings of ‘I like to watch my faves suffer’ or if you enjoy feeling like you want to wrap a character in a blanket, then Pete has got you covered. and while the side villains are a bit neglected, the main villains are definitely not. you know they’re doing bad things, but you can see the twisted logic in it. you can follow the paths their thoughts took to get them where they are, and you can realize that in a twisted way, it all makes sense. and it’s a little chilling. and there were just...so many small moments that made it great. Spidey teaching Miles how to throw a punch, Pete damn near crying when Aunt May gives him money after he gets evicted, the way everyone staying at the homeless shelter is so familiar with Pete so you know he volunteers there a lot, the way civilians react when Spidey’s close by. the world feels just lived in enough to make you care. even the characters who don’t have much to them are still enjoyable. a lot of the villains that show up don’t have much to them. I’ll be upfront about that. they show up. they snark. they fight. they get their asses kicked. but the ways they interact with each other and the details you find in the background still manage to make them compelling. I think it all works well together whether you’re new to the Spidey mythos or not. if this is your first exposure to Spidey, then parts of it may genuinely shock you, and I want you to have that experience. if you already have some idea of the Spidey story, then you get this pit in your stomach as you realize certain things that are going to happen later and then hope to god they don’t. as an admitted nerd, I was very much in camp ‘oh please no.’ but still, it managed to pleasantly surprise me. the writers knew what they were doing. there were aspects I was geared up to complain about--the argument Pete and MJ have for a good portion of the middle of the story, foremost among them--because in the hands of any hack, they would be unbearable Hallmark-esque cliches, and...they weren’t. instead of having some ungodly Third Act Misunderstanding, things I ordinarily would have taken issue with got addressed in ways that made sense. the wind got taken out of my sails on a few occasions, and I was happy for it to happen. my only real gripe is small, and it’s that we don’t really know what happened to Mister Negative. like, did he die? did he get sent back to prison? did they just leave him on the floor? what happened there?

voice acting: someone give Yuri Lowenthal a medal, he was fucking spectacular you see what i did there? eh? eh? but really, every voice was great. Pete was the joking wise-ass who cares too much for his own good that we all love. Otto was the right amount of long-sufferingly paternal. May was an authority figure you wanted to listen to while simultaneously wanting to shake her. Miles was an endearing puppy. MJ was...also kind of a puppy, but a more excited one. JJJ was JJJ. no one’s performance was grating. no one was phoning it in.

aaaand...yeah. I think that covers all of it. I had a good time. maybe I’ll even buy the DLC.

#spiderman #elsa liveblogs nonsense #long post

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chennee26 · 4 years ago

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Amazon Prime Video Redesign— a UX case study

The ChallengeCOMPETITOR RESEARCH:

Although 41% of 18–29 years in Northern America are subscribed or have access to Amazon Prime Video, the most popular video streaming service “based on share of audience demand for digital originals worldwide in the 1st and 3rd quarters of 2019” is Netflix.

— Statista

With the rise of streaming services changing how people watch TV, creating a great product that subscribers can use is pivotal. Amazon Prime joined the video streaming game in 2006 ranks second in the most used streaming services. With an astonishing 96.5 million viewers, Prime Video has nearly 53% penetration rate in the market.

Prime Video provides access to streaming content (including Prime Originals), renting content, buying content and purchasing add-on subscriptions. As a Prime Video subscriber, I decided to study, research and redesign the product to develop my UI/ UX skills.

Statista

The goal of this project is to create a seamless redesign based on the needs of current users, while also working through the design process.

I also want to challenge myself by designing in accordance with my design principles: Understanding, Usability, Accessibility, Empathy, Consistency and Beauty.

My roles during this project were: UI/ UX Designer, Product Designer and User Researcher. The tools used during this project were: Figma, Framer

Survey

I decided to start with a survey to quickly find out the characteristics, motivation and demographics of streaming users. I sent out a survey containing 15 questions. The survey results helped to provide qualitative data that will help me validate the hypothesis that I form.

Some of the insights gained from the survey were:

81.8% of users use mobile and laptop/computers as their preferred method of streaming (with Tv/games devices at 72.7%).

Netflix and BBC iPlayer are the most popular streaming services used by users. Netflix is used by 90.1% of users.

90.9% of users stream content by themselves, 27.3% stream with a partner, 18.2% stream with friends or family.

Only 18.2% of users use the X-Ray feature, 9.1% read reviews left by other users, 0% write reviews & 63.6% use subtitles.

Interview

After the survey, I decided to conduct a set of interviews to further understand the user and their experience of Prime Video and streaming in general. For the interviews, I spoke to users of the ages 18–24. I set out with the goal to find out motivations, likes and frustrations the users face when using Prime Video and other streaming services.

To help me analyse the data from the Interviews and Surveys, I created an Affinity Map to help me draw out Pain Points.

Key Insights

When I asked users to describe their Amazon Prime Video experience, the 3 most common adjectives used were:

“Convenient, Good and Entertaining. ”

Other insights gathered from the interviews include:

Insight 1

Most users stated their dislike for the current Prime Video interface. Users expressed the layout to be confusing and hard to figure out ( approx. 55% of users surveyed found the layout to be slightly easy or not easy).

Insight 2

Users struggle to find tailored content. The mentioned how the navigation is confusing. 72.7% of users spent more than 3 minutes finding something to watch. freedom of choice etc

Insight 3

Users really enjoy the wide variety of content and features such as X-Ray and Reviews, however, there is a disparity between liking and use of the features.

Insight 4

Users struggle to distinguish non-prime content from prime content. They wish to have a clearer way to separate content that is for rent/purchase and free prime content.

The Final Product : Home page

On the Home Page, I started by changing the information cards from a landscape view to portrait. I decided to change this in order to allow users to view more content on a single page. Through my research, I found that the average user spends 3 mins searching and scrolling for something to watch. Viewing more options on a single page may reduce endless scrolling. To make the new cards interactive, there is a description overlay to give further information about the highlighted show.

To further combat the issue of finding content, I created an interactive scroll feature at the top of the page. Users are able to scroll and select a genre.

Users find it hard to distinguish prime content. To solve this issue, I moved the prime video bar to the bottom of an information square. By making it wider and longer, I aimed to make it easier for all users to see and recognise.

The Search Page features changes to the way users can filter results. The original page required scrolling down for a while before getting to the last search filter. After researching how to design effective search filters, I decided to change all the filter categories into boxes with drop-down options. This aids the user in filtering out the multiple search results; so they can find what they want faster.

The search bar was also changed to allow users to select actors related to their search. This actor in results in the search bar, help the user find what they are looking for.

Finally, I changed the results page into box results to allow more results to be seen on a single screen.

_____ I have added the option for both night and day mode to suit the user’s preference but this mockup continues in night mode.

I wanted to stick to Amazon’s main colours of course and incorporate the light blue in minor ways. I added the hearts onto the movie posters so that users could easily save items for later.

I also used the blue to indicate how far along a user is in any given film or TV show so that they can clearly see this without having to scroll too far down and continue where they left off.

One of the difficult things about using Prime Video is that it’s hard to find the content you would like to watch later so at the bottom of the screen is a heart icon which represents all the items saved for later and the placement makes it easily accessible on every screen.

USER FEEDBACK:

Once I had finished design I posted it on twitter!

Usually I would have sought detailed feedback from a tester group, make the necessary changes based on what they said before publicly launching a product but as I said, this was just a fun challenge! Let me know what you think!

Conclusion

This was a very challenging design but I really wanted to focus on improving the experience of the users I researched. By designing small but useful features, I believe that the user would have a more engaging and enjoyable experience. I’m grateful that I was able to creatively push myself and develop my user-centred design thinking skills. Amazon Prime Video is a great streaming site with a vast library. In the future, I am excited to see how Amazon can implement AI to tailor the users Prime Video experience.

Thank you for reading!

#ux #uxdesign #Amazonprime #uiux

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artdjgblog · 4 years ago

Photo

Innerview: Effie Lin / DPI Magazine (Taiwan)

November 2009 - January 2010

Photo: DJG (2009) by Cayla Kennedy (Age 5)

Note: Interview for a magazine feature.

01) What is your philosophy in your art world? I have to be a human first and a maker of things second. Sometimes the two court together really well. Sometimes they pick fights and choose sides. I sort of have a get up and go method and plan to always be working on my life and work, and to my best ability, given the resources at hand. It’s not that I have a complete lack of care, responsibility or feel disenfranchised or on the outskirts. Though, I do have my moments. Even in bad moments, when it’s probably not a good idea for me to be around me, I try to eventually spin a positive from that experience. They can be the most crucial moments as I learn a great deal once I get beyond their borders. I think that’s part of the process. Process is a big deal and we’re all a part of it. And there is such a thing as bad process equaling a positive in life and work. All I know is that I need to be honest and pure with how I speak inside and outside of the work I am putting on and off the table. Anyway, I’m not really a grouch or a slouch in both areas of life and art, but it is a constant work in progress. I think that thinking too much about it, or the idea of it in the larger spectrum, can become damaging, unhealthy and grow bean stocks further from the truth. Though, I might add that I understand how hard it can be to keep from big ideas and big thinking, it is. I like where it is that I’m at right now and it all stacks up to here. I just need to be making things until I move on to something else. And that something else will probably involve making things too. I love what I do. There is a bigger component to the little pictures that I’m here presenting. I just need to keep up and in the know of the tip toes and perhaps leave some behind in the only way I can try, that means being something like me. 02) What is your favorite medium and why? I feel that maintaining and manhandling a single medium would be quite overwhelming. I admire those that can do it, and do it skillfully. Not that I’m a special breed, but I don’t understand how some people can milk the same cow every day, for years. Every day is a little different inside and out and that fuels my mood of operation. I think that I suppose there is a definition when one looks at the work I’m doing, and the way I go about it, to easily pin me to a favorite medium. I like to use my hands and things around me to tell my stories. But, I don’t know much other than the day-to-day as my mind and energy wanders much on the map. I wake up and see what weather we’ve got. I believe much of it comes from growing up on a farm and spending a lot of time alone. A lot of people think that time is at a stand-still on the country clock. It wasn’t for me as there wasn’t really a cap on the kind of external culture and entertainment I could in-take and fuse with country living inside and out. Everything was a big pot of soup for me and it still is. I was always doing something and I still am. I also watched my Grandma make a lot of things by hand, and although not really an “artist”, she’s been a big influence on the work I’m doing. Another thing, I can’t be as involved with my work when there is a computer screen barrier involved. I can use a computer, but it is only like a nail gun to me. In my college studies while struggling with the introductory marriage of technology and design, I almost quit completely. Funny, before even getting on a computer I naively claimed to tech-savvy peers, “I am going to take the route that doesn’t employ computers.” Anyway, computers are cool and all but it is not how I like to really play. It didn’t help that around this time in my early 20s, I also had doubts about my artistic talent and identity. I also never felt comfortable visiting the design firms of my possible “future”. Some people find a home in them, but I couldn’t and wanted to be in a sense, a stay at home mother to my art. So, these factors led me to re-learn and go back to being a kid locked up inside and/or getting that kid to come back out…becoming an adult can be crippling. I started putting my identity back in the work at this time by leaving my human elements and story behind. I was also exposed to new kinds of external stimulus with art and culture and that helped me see things better too. I eventually had a calling to do my own thing completely, dropped out of school, moved to a big city and mixed it all together. Cities are big cooking pots anyway. But, on a personal level, I’m not done cooking yet. I’m kind of “mild” right now compared to most. I’m just one more guy carving a name on the cinder block and trying to pay the bills. 03) Could you talk about the exhibition post of “Showing My Sheep”? Could you talk about your creating concept? I was born and raised on a farm. We raised sheep and showed sheep at county fairs. I used to have a basketball court shared with the sheep lot. As a youngster I spent some time wanting to be a farmer and in many ways now I kind of am. I’d like to live on a farm again someday, mostly for quiet space, to have more animals and to have a big barn I can work in. I did my first retrospective art exhibition called “Showing My Sheep” after five years of working on my art odyssey. Yeah, that’s not a long time for a life or career overview, but it was important for me to show my whole flock of work together like that and up to that point. And in truth, a 5 year old sheep is middle age. The image on the exhibition poster is a quick scribble of me (or something like me) in sheep’s carcass/dress. I’ve always wondered silly about sheep walking upright and maybe a bit of my love of Gary Larson “The Far Side” comics is shining through just a bit too? But, there is more to this one as it is a tribute to my upbringing as it represents my sheepish nature and approach mixed with the “wolf in dress” image that I think we all catch and can’t catch up with, at least every now and again (notice the front legs and how they are also a wolf snout?). Another idea in this sheep image is how zombie-like an artist, anyone for that matter, slaves to their nature. I rummage a lot of thrift shops for unique papers and board game “play cards” to print on. Paper can add another dimension to something like a poster, in this case adding to the idea of the game of life and art I play. The board game this paper came from is called “Facts in Five: The Game of Knowledge”, thus adding to all the pieces of art and life that added up to the making of my 5 year retrospective. There is also the handwriting element of an anonymous other’s involvement that I find fascinating. Plus, there is the “grid” pattern that reflects a panel fence to keep the sheep in and out…breaking fences, doing my own thing, so to speak. If you squint you might even see sheep pellets, or what I used to refer to as M&M’s, as they would make for an interesting game of basketball. Did you get all that? There are lots going on in this one. Almost another 5 years after that exhibition and I wonder if I’m nearing the end…hmmm. You never know. 04) Which one of your work is your favorite? Or which one made you spend the most time and effort? What’s message you would like to convey through this work?? Favorite Work: My favorite piece of personal art was stolen at an exhibition in late 2004. It is the only thing of mine that wasn’t/isn’t documented (scanned, photographed) and I can’t recreate it. It is a simple little broken pen scribble drawing of a mentally handicapped water bison. His name is Mortimer. I made him in a couple minutes while on hold on the phone with the phone company. I busted a pen and let the ink spill. I’ve tried other drawings like it, but they turn out different. I have a lot of favorite works, but that one is the winner and loser. Time & Effort: I don’t think you really need “time” or “effort” to make something stick or feel, or even get something done. In fact, once I’m in the creative moment there is no such thing as “time” and “effort”. If you do something enough and love it, then it becomes another extension and you’re a paint brush for something bigger. Though, the words do become tangible when “life” stuff is thrown into the mix. This can’t be denied. Due to my so far 8 year schedule of day jobs, night jobs, marriage and the general day-to-day, I’ve always worked fairly fast and in small slots of time and many things at once, lots of things. It’s as much mental and military discipline as it is anything else and I just go for it. If it ever starts to feel like a chore, I try to take a short break or study up in other areas. If it ever becomes a chore out of my grasp, I’ll find something else to do completely. It can be struggling at times, but there is something good about the “life” stuff that I feed from. It can add fuel to the fire and makes me realize that I’m not always first in line. Sometimes it can be rough sitting on my hands while at the day job, but I’ll make up for it. In truth, there are never enough resources for the things I’d like to leave behind before I’m called quits. But, I sure try to make the best of “time” and “effort” while I’m here. I’ve made many posters and I love the fact that the poster has a shorter shelf live than something like the CD. I like experimenting with posters because if it gets swatted down, it only lived for a couple weeks and another will come along. They are kind of like flies. At three to five sessions, I try to court CD packages a lot longer. There are instances when an image instantly clicks in my mind when I’m told of an upcoming CD and that’s the final product, but most of the time I have to make them incubate and mature. I’ve always been fascinated with productivity and the human mind and mood, at least in my path. I often look at my timeline of work, wondering how different some of the things would have turned out had I did them on another day or even a minute later than I did them. The past few years, my music design output has shrunk some. I reached a certain point after 2006 to where I realized I needed to step back. I still do a few music projects here and there, but mostly just make a lot of visual art for myself. Which, I’ve always teetered on visual art. Maybe I’m trying to make up for Mortimer? I did start something different for me and in a medium that I’d love to pursue more. It wasn’t until this year (2009) that something really consumed me and that was a music video. It has been a great thing for me to be more patient with a project. Now, that’s a whole different extra innings of “time” and “effort”. 05) Which one of CD cover/album artwork is your favorite or make you really proud of? What is the concept? Could you talk about your creating process? Did you listening to the music when you working? I’ve been asked this question a lot. I always answer with: “Whatever Makes You Happy” by The Elevator Division. It’s something to feel proud when you accomplish anything, but even more when it is all done and duplicated by hand in one night. 250 CD packages were made out of hand-cut cardboard, spray paint, stencils, rubber stamps and glued inserts. The concept is a hand shooting off a missile finger. The music themes revolve around relationships on and off the battlefields of life and war and the cover image relays the idea of shooting off one’s options, as in, “Whatever Makes You Happy”. Conceptually (design-wise), it might be the best thing I’ve got in me and inspiration came at the last minute before production and during a great Midwest thunderstorm. Upon the last spray of paint in my basement (yes, I was stupid enough then to spray paint in an unventilated basement), there was a crack of lightning and I flew upstairs and out the door of my home and slid down the well-watered front lawn and into the gutter of the street with red spray paint all over me. The squatters on the porch at the supposed drug house across the street got a kick out it. It was a massive affair and I swore I wouldn’t do it again and then I did a near repeat 4 years later for another band, but not all in one night. I swore I wouldn’t do that again-again and then I kind of did it again two years later. So, I must be due up for another one soon. In the case of The Elevator Division, the band lived with me and practiced nearly every day directly outside my basement studio door at our home. There were several bands that this happened with. I usually don’t listen to albums that I’m designing very much and I rarely listen to them after they are a finished product. This is especially so when it is blasted in the flesh right next to me. 06) Why is sound/music important to our life? What is the most important for designing the album/CD cover? I’m not a fan of a lot of “noise”, but I like sound and I love music and I like some noise music. I love the idea and image of the album cover and making an album “feel” on the outside and giving it an identity. I find I have a detachment from the music and the memories when it is fused in our current in-between stage right now of technology and mp3 land. Even if they have a digital image shroud, they lack a hard identity to me as they float out in space and it makes me a little sad. I prefer a physical collection/body of music, with identity. I don’t want to get too far into this topic and I’ll add that both formats have their good and bad. And I love walking to and from work with a pocket overflowing with Bruce Springsteen songs (I have the records at home too). Along the same lines, I think that the idea of “cover art” or something physical isn’t going to die 100%, at least not in my lifetime. I do hope it doesn’t get even more eclectic-expensive like it kind of is looking. I love album art and I can’t really afford it. I just remember one of my earliest memories being the apple on records by The Beatles. That was/is important to me. I bit that apple and it has been good to me for 30 years now. 07) What had been the most challenging thing to you in art world, and how did you overcome it? I think I have challenges and things to overcome and then I tune into the news or watch certain documentary films. I realize there is nothing for me to complain about after that. Of course there are some personal issues that challenge me and my little world. A major one of is overcoming some of my social phobia. It’s made me who I am and probably factors to why I make the way I make, but it has kept me from getting in the ball game as much as I probably should have. Though, what is “probably should have”? Technology makes great networking devices, and is “the now”, but at the same time I always feel so exhausted and behind with it. I also don’t have resources to keep up with it (money, time and mind) but I’m trying bit by bit. Another thing I’ve always carried a heavy lump with is a day job. But, it’s the only way for me to stay afloat. Every year I spend more money than I make with art (currently, I have 24 cents in my DJG Pay Pal account). One way to overcome this is to stop entering high-cost art and design competitions, which was one way of being social with a lot of people. Well, from a global publishing stand point. Competition fees are rising so much these days. Another challenge is the business end of the art. I stink at business. Though, a lot of that has to do with not having enough time and not being the best at problem solving and math, plus always being broke. And I would rather just make more art. I’m a happy camper though and constantly doing my thing. 08) What are your future goals in the art world? Naturally, anyone who feels they’re sitting on something at home is going to set their sights on doing their own thing full-time and for full-time income. But, even if I never get there, I will be punching my own time card in some form or another. I’ll find peace. I’ll always be working on something and working on myself. I could easily keep my head down all day, dragging my wagon (and I kind of do), but I love the idea of sharing my work on a larger, global scale too. It is global on the internet, yet I easily butt heads with technology as it can get quite beastly. But, I appreciate it greatly as even a decade ago you probably wouldn’t have found out about me to get an interview like this. Thank you! I’ve met a lot of my initial goals and it’s easy to sit here and think about tomorrow but I need to work out today to make it there. I’d love to eventually put out an officially published book or lots of them (any bidders?). I plan to start with some handmade ones very soon. I’ll also finally be selling things on my web site soon. I’m currently working towards a 10 year retrospective show of my time in Kansas City, MO USA. I plan to show everything. Also, I will be working on more and more visual art in the coming year. I’d love to exhibit my physical work in more nooks and crannies of the world. I’ve been fortunate to do this a little bit, but nothing on a massive scale. I love the idea of ideas and imagery inspiring people. I also love the idea of relaying an interpretation of the world, while we’re all down here in this together. It’s kind of neat to think I’m leaving a little trail behind in this way and sharing that. Though, I’m not so confident art can change the world on a large platform, I do think it can help a little bit. Even if that means muscling up a smile that you can say was honestly spent. -djg

#innerviews

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jonathanalumbaugh · 7 years ago

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Weekly Digest

Dec 9, 2017, 2nd issue.

A roundup of stuff I consumed this week. Topics this week leaned heavily towards design, design thinking, with a smattering of research methods-related articles.

Read

5 Prototyping lessons from a BMX backflip

The false art of the feed has been deconstructed before (see: the excellent recent expose by The New Yorker’s Rachel Monroe that reveals the depressing reality behind the bohemian #vanlife movement), but less has been said about the deeper effects it’s had on our collective mental health. For designers and other people who work digitally, the so-called “internet effect” goes particularly deep, but just how deep, and what that might mean for our waking life is hard to tell at this point.

10 Creative Women Reveal Their Deepest Feelings in RoAndCo’s New Romance Journal—Here’s What We Learned

Echo’s voice-activated features are great for seniors with dementia:

Instantly answers questions, like “what day is it?” or “what time is it?” — it’s a machine, so it will never get annoyed or frustrated!

Plays music and read audiobooks and the news — no need to fuss with complicated controls

Looks up information about anything — like, “what’s playing on TV tonight?”

AMAZON ECHO FOR DEMENTIA: TECHNOLOGY FOR SENIORS

[Mies Van Der Rohe,] pioneer of modernism discusses the Bauhaus as well as his own individual work, all of it interesting to anyone with an inclination toward midcentury European-American architecture and design, none of it ultimately more relevant than the final words the master speaks: "I don't want to be interesting. I want to be good."

An Oral History of the Bauhaus: Hear Rare Interviews (in English) with Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe & More

Persuasion is at the core of norm creation, emergence of collective action, and solutions to ‘tragedy of the commons’ problems. In this paper, we show that the directionality of friendship ties affect the extent to which individuals can influence the behavior of each other. Moreover, we find that people are typically poor at perceiving the directionality of their friendship ties and that this can significantly limit their ability to engage in cooperative arrangements. This could lead to failures in establishing compatible norms, acting together, finding compromise solutions, and persuading others to act. We then suggest strategies to overcome this limitation by using two topological characteristics of the perceived friendship network. The findings of this paper have significant consequences for designing interventions that seek to harness social influence for collective action.

Are You Your Friends’ Friend? Poor Perception of Friendship Ties Limits the Ability to Promote Behavioral Change

Creation knows no multitasking.

Before I Begin

For decades, policymakers have been concerned that poor people will waste free money by using it on cigarettes and alcohol. A report on the perception of stakeholders in Kenya about such programs found a “widespread belief that cash transfers would either be abused or misdirected in alcohol consumption and other non-essential forms of consumption.”

The opposite is true, according to a recently published research paper(paywall) by David Evans of the World Bank and Anna Popova of Stanford University.

Definitive data on what poor people buy when they’re just given cash

Some blame human beings’ basic optimism, if not egocentrism, for the disconnect between perceived and actual friendships. Others point to a misunderstanding of the very notion of friendship in an age when “friend” is used as a verb, and social inclusion and exclusion are as easy as a swipe or a tap on a smartphone screen. It’s a concern because the authenticity of one’s relationships has an enormous impact on one’s health and well-being...

[Ronald Sharp] recalled the many hours he spent in engrossing conversation with his friend Eudora Welty, who was known not only for her Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction but also for her capacity for friendship. Together they edited “The Norton Book of Friendship,” an anthology of works on the topic. “The notion of doing nothing but spending time in each other’s company has, in a way, become a lost art,” replaced by volleys of texts and tweets, Mr. Sharp said. “People are so eager to maximize efficiency of relationships that they have lost touch with what it is to be a friend.”

Do Your Friends Actually Like You?

Dina D. Pomeranz tweet

The next step is this: you have to commit to make a proportional investment in corrective action at every level of the analysis. So, in the example above, we'd have to take five corrective actions...

Because the most common problems keep recurring, your prevention efforts are automatically focused on the 20% of your product that needs the most help. That's also the same 20% that causes you to waste the most time. So five whys pays for itself awfully fast, and it makes life noticeably better almost right away. All you have to do is get started.

Five Whys

We started with a simple wiki page with a few bullet points of things that new engineers had tripped over recently. As we kept doing root cause analysis, the list grew. In response to Five Whys that noticed that not all new engineers were reading the list, we expanded it into a new engineer curriculum. Soon, each new engineer was assigned a mentor, and we made it part of the mentor’s job to teach the curriculum. Over time, we also made investments in making it easier to get a new engineer set up with their private sandbox, and even dealt with how to make sure they’d have a machine on their desk when they started. The net effect of all this was to make new engineers incredibly productive right away – in most cases, we’d have them deliver code to production on their very first day. We never set out to build a world-class engineering-training process. Five Whys simply helped us eliminate tons of waste by building one.

How to conduct a Five Whys root cause analysis

On social media, it is easy to mistake popularity for credibility, and that is exactly what the fakers are hoping for. To most people, a Twitter account with tens of thousands of followers is an easy-to-read indication of personal success and good reputation, a little like hundreds of good reviews on Yelp or a long line outside a restaurant.

How to become internet famous for $68

It’s important designers aren’t the only people in the product organization to feel responsible for the user experience. I’ve made it a point to work with our field team to get more employees visiting clinics, and looking into ways to make patient stories and issues known throughout the company. I love having a team of engineers who will often jump in and defend our user before I’m even aware of an issue (one developer, in particular, handled a lot of debates against requests for a particular modal, dubbed by him: “the nuclear option.” Knowing he was there to defend the user, I didn’t even need to get involved.)

Interviews aren’t the only way to gain empathy

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

Pareto Principle

"I think harm reduction is not giving up on people," said Goulão. "I think it is respecting their timings and assuming that even if someone is still using drugs, that person deserves the investment of the state in order to have a better and longer life."

Portugal’s Example: What Happened After It Decriminalized All Drugs, From Weed to Heroin

The 5 Whys Process We Use to Understand the Root of Any Problem

People are “groupish,” and we tend to form groups automatically. Some have argued that this is due in large part to humans’ tribal past and evolutionary development. Regardless of why we are this way, the descriptive truth is that this is how we are.

The Office Finale’s ‘Miraculous’ Quote — The Scientific Truth Behind It

We share stuff that ignores wider realities, selectively shares information, or is just an outright falsehood. The misinformation is so rampant that the Washington Post stopped publishing its internet fact-checking column because people didn’t seem to care if stuff was true.

The “Other Side” Is Not Dumb

Providing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to women in rural Pakistan who were suffering from perinatal depression has had persistent positive effects on their mental health, their parenting behaviour and their financial empowerment seven years later.

TREATING MATERNAL DEPRESSION: Evidence of the impact on mental health, parenting, financial autonomy and child development

One useful technique is to map ideas on a risk/reward space. Those that score high on both risk and reward are considered moonshots, the high potential ideas. Ideas low on both risk and reward are safe bets. Moving along ideas in the different quadrants of the risk/reward space (with the possible of exception of high risk/low reward) preserves innovation potential.

When brainstorming fails, throw an imaginary cat

Last month, the Pew Research Center released a study showing that nearly a third of those who went to graduate or professional school have “down the line” liberal views on social, economic and environmental matters, whereas this is true for just one in 10 Americans generally. An additional quarter of postgrads have mostly liberal views. These numbers reflect drastic change: While professionals have been in the Democratic column for a while, in 1994 only 7 percent of postgrads held consistently liberal political opinions.

Why Are the Highly Educated So Liberal?

A wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. The use of the term "wicked" here has come to denote resistance to resolution, rather than evil. Another definition is "a problem whose social complexity means that it has no determinable stopping point". Moreover, because of hard interdependencies, the effort to fix one part of a wicked problem may open or create other problems.

Wicked problem

Looked at

Satire and Social Activism Come Alive in Images of Death

Watched

youtube

How small a hole can a mouse get through? Experiments.

vimeo

Mies Van Der Rohe - Architecture as language

youtube

Mouse trap maze experiments

youtube

Pride and Prejudice, Antidote and Antivenom

youtube

See How Easily a Rat Can Wriggle Up Your Toilet | National Geographic

Free stuff

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thebestintoronto · 5 years ago

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How to Spend Two Perfect Days in Toronto, Ontario

Toronto is among my top 5 favored cities worldwide. Yeah, seriously-- I enjoy Toronto! I have checked out Toronto two times, and also on both trips I just spent about two days in the city. 2 days is enough to fall for this Canadian city!

Toronto is not always a breathtaking city in the sense of conventional metropolitan elegance neither is it a city made for visitor attractions. What truly attracts attention about Toronto is that it is a city that has a solid local color as well as an apparent heart-- two top qualities that would certainly endear me to any type of city!

There are a few reasons I enjoy Toronto a lot are:

Variety: I enjoy that you can walk the city as well as see a lot of different types of individuals, restaurants, and also cultures all existing together. Toronto is well known for this variety and it really feels very concrete when you are traveling there.

Thriving Small Business: You can walk along one street, like Queen Road for example, as well as see shop after store after store, all seemingly doing quite well. There is such an imaginative and also unique array of organisations, as well as I like that there is a minimal company visibility in heart of Toronto.

Delicious Food: No surprise as to why I love this, however Toronto has a remarkable cooking scene. Although they aren't Michelin approved, they should be! There are absolutely some James Beard as well as Michelin quality places in the city, as well as fantastic food vehicles and also hole in the wall areas.

After raving concerning Toronto upon my return from my 2nd visit to Canada's largest city, I really felt influenced to create a 2 day overview to exploring all the best that Toronto has to supply. I hope this influences other folks to see Toronto and also spen 2 ideal days discover this incredible city.

Early Morning: St Lawrence Market & Distillery Area

Begin your first day in Toronto with some fantastic food choices in a historic building at St Lawrence Market. A perfect location to choose a small group of individuals with different tastes, this 208 years of age market attributes over 100 different neighborhood food, drink, and also handicraft manufacturers. Lots of them use samples and you can buy baked goods and also snacks to sustain your stroll! Please note that the market is closed on Mondays.

From the marketplace, walk through Parliament Square Park until you hit your following stop-- the Distillery Area. This tiny neighborhood southeast of downtown Toronto is likewise a historical area of the city with roots going back to 1832 when the Gooderham and Worts Distillery was founded right here. At the time, it was just one of the biggest distilleries on the planet, and also spanned throughout the 13 acre location. Today, you can still see the heritage buildings from the Victorian period with contemporary companies as well as restaurants constructed inside the brick city.

In the Distillery Area, you can easily spend a few hrs consuming as well as discovering! A few spots that I recommend looking into inside the area are Deciem, an irregular beauty firm that is all about self-love, City of Angels, an adorable bohemian design females's clothes and also boutique, and also Biltmore, a spacious vintage as well as brand-new furnishings shop with one-of-a-kind products to find.

Afternoon: Walk the Areas

For me, this is the most effective part of Toronto is all the neighborhoods. Like Chicago, it is a city of communities and the "downtown" location is clean and sterile compared to the vibrancy of the individual areas. Maybe I connect with this a lot since it resembles Chicago. The downtown is meh, while the areas really reveal the lifeline of the city.

Over the 5 days that I have spent in Toronto, I invested a bulk of those simply straying around in the neighborhoods of this city. I would generally have a few locations in mind, like a store or restaurant that I wanted to check out, which would lead my general direction but I left myself lots of time to find things along the way.

Use comfy shoes since you'll be doing a great deal of strolling on this part of your 2 days in Toronto. There are a number of awesome roads to enjoy that period numerous neighborhoods, yet I could suggest beginning with King Road West, Queen Street West, Dundas Street West or College Road West. All of these streets provide a flourishing neighborhood boutique and restaurant scenes with stops every few store fronts to explore! If you're trying to find more details recommendations, I did an entire different blog post regarding purchasing in Toronto!

Night: Food Adventures

Toronto is a city with a severe cravings. The food scene right here is prospering as well as if they were Michelin approved, I guarantee there would be several Michelin star eateries. The diversity of food alternatives here is astonishing as well as I pinned far more dining establishments on my customized Google Map than I might ever before have gotten to in 48 hours in Toronto.

Despite which sort of food you remain in the mood for, Toronto has it. Because there are many areas to discover, I advise "bourdaining" which is my term for trying one dish at a great deal different places in honor of Anthony Bourdain's style of eating. By doing this, you can attempt a couple of restaurants around the city without filling up too much. Toronto is a large city, yet I located that it isn't huge on appointments. There are locations that take reservations in advance, yet I discovered most of the time I simply walked in as well as place my name on a list. As such, it is probably clever to eat in a smaller sized group of 4 or much less individuals.

Early Morning: Graffiti Street and also Downtown

Never ever one to refuse a great road art scene, I would advise beginning your 2nd day in Toronto discovering the famed Graffiti Street in the facility of the city. Specifically as it appears, this alley that runs behind Queen Street West has lots of graffiti and also road art. It uses a vivid explosion of creative thinking from neighborhood and global road musicians. It changes every few months, so what you see on one browse through might be completely various the following time!

From graffiti alley, you can continue walking eastern to midtown Toronto. If you get parched on the stroll, stop in at Dineen Coffee Co or get hold of a bite to eat at the historical Queen Mother Cafe. In main Toronto, you can locate the 'grammable Toronto sign, municipal government, Cloud Gardens, and also Yonge-Dundas Square. If you have any hockey fans in your traveling group, the Hockey Hall of Fame is likewise located in midtown Toronto.

Mid-day: Kensington Market

Simply north of Chinatown in main Toronto is Kensington Market. This walkable bohemian community feels like a hipster territory in Toronto that attracts young artists and travelers to its indie stores, classic boutiques, and arts areas. Similar to the Distillery Area, this historical little location has gorgeous (and vibrant!) Victorian houses that make it a fantastic area to invest a couple of hours simply straying around.

My preferred part of this neighborhood was all the vintage shops! Cinderella Vintage, Nerve My Love and also SubRosa were all terrific places to dig for old treasures. There are plenty of other amazing shops to explore in this field as well, like Cocktail Shop where you can discover all kind of awesome glass wares, devices and also books for your next at-home cocktail party!

There are GREAT DEALS OF food stalls, international dining establishments and coffee shops to drop in as you walk. There are additionally some great eating places and wine bars if you're really feeling elegant! A couple of places of note are Blackbird Bakeshop wherefore might be Toronto's ideal bread, Otto's Doner for 'grammable German street food, Wanda's Castle in the air for a wonderful or tasty bite of pie and Grey Gardens for a stylish glass of white wine.

Evening: Sundown Sights & Mixed Drink Adventures

Prior to leaving Kensington Market, grab some products to make yourself a little sundown picnic. As a waterfront city, Toronto has some gorgeous sky line viewing places and no time is better to appreciate Toronto's cityscape than sunset. For the very best views of the sky line, head to either Trillium Park or Jennifer Kateryna Koval's'kyj Park on the east or west sides of the city. Or if you're more of a rooftop individual, have a look at the elegant Roof Bar at the Broadview Resort, SOCO's Roof or the trendy Ritz Bar for incredible skyline views with delicious alcoholic drinks.

After the sunlight decreases, it is time to delight in another incredible part of Toronto's cooking scene-- alcoholic drinks! Like many various other cities around North America, Toronto is experiencing a resurgence of regional distillers and mixologists collaborating to revitalize the art of cocktail production. Civil Liberties, a bespoke cocktail bar is a great location to start. The bartenders will ask you concerning your alcohol choices as well as taste profile, and after that make a customized drink to suit your taste!

The relaxing and vivid Rhum Edge is an additional excellent spot, where you can try slushies or icy exotic drinks. For something a little unique, head to the Lockhart, a Harry Potter themed bar that is cranking out some seriously excellent cocktails all influenced by characters or events from the books.

48 hours in Toronto is a terrific method to start discovering this city, however there are still a lot of neighborhoods I have not been to and so several restaurants I have not eaten at. With so much to supply and discover, I understand that I will be returning to Toronto again in the future.

The post “ How to Spend Two Perfect Days in Toronto, Ontario “ was appeared first on TRAVERSE by Megan Arz

Vitamin Therapy Toronto - The IV Lounge

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