#i was banned from answering questions in my english classes and talking with other kids because i was so “far ahead” of the other kids

[nanowrimo]

3 Writing Tips I Actually Use (And Give to My Students)

We all hear tons of advice, but how much is used by the advisor? In this blog post, middle grade author, teacher, and NaNo Camp Counselor Lisa Stringfellow offers 3 pieces of advice that she gives to her student...and actually uses.

Kids sometimes have the attitude that adults tend to give advice that they don’t follow themselves, and they're often right. “Do as I say, not as I do” is a saying that too often rings true. As a classroom teacher who is now an author, it was only a matter of time before one of my students asked me that all-important question: “Do you use any of the tips that we’ve talked about in class in your own writing?”

During the virtual launch of my debut middle grade fantasy A Comb of Wishes, dozens of my students joined me on Zoom and this question floated up through the chat like a challenge. They knew that I had started my novel as a NaNoWriMo project way back in 2013, and that I had written and revised the manuscript over several years. But in that public forum, they wanted to know the truth–and I was ready with an answer!

Here are three tips that I give with my middle school students AND actually use myself in my writing:

Take Risks…Don’t Judge

I share these words from author Julie Danneberg every year with my students before NaNoWriMo begins: “If you believe that everything you write must be good, you won’t be willing to write something bad. And if you aren’t willing to write something bad, then you won’t risk experimenting with something new, or playing around in a new way with something old.” Writers can be perfectionists and we are often our harshest critics. The problem is that ideas don’t flow from our brains, out our fingers, and onto the page polished and ready for publication. Nothing inhibits creativity, divergent thinking, and risk-taking more than premature self-judgment. There’s a reason “ban the inner editor” is a hallmark of NaNoWriMo. Let the words flow and be kind to yourself. Everyone’s first draft is…well, bad!

Finish First!

There is a time for revision, but that time is not until the writing is done. Even the most experienced writer has to put aside the urge to polish until they get all the words out. Otherwise, you can wind up in an endless cycle of revising and never get to the end of the draft. Sometimes, revision can be a form of procrastination. You don’t know what to write next, so you go back over what you’ve already written. A better plan–skip to the next part where you DO know what to write. No one said we have to write in order. Leave a comment or note about what needs to be added later, and keep plugging away.

Give Yourself Time

When we finish a piece of writing, our first instinct might be to go back to the beginning and start revising immediately. STOP! A better strategy is to put the piece aside. Depending on any deadlines or due dates, it might be for just a day, but if possible, a week or more is ideal. When working on something intently, time and mental distance can be our biggest ally in making revisions that matter. I often put aside my work for two weeks or more before coming back to it. What that gives me is the ability to look at it as a reader, and not the writer. Fresh eyes allow me to think about structure, language, and other elements of my work more critically.

Wrap Up

Moving from English teacher to author has shifted my perspective on writing and the creative process. If writing is a sport, I am no longer the fan trying to ref the game from the stands; I’m an athlete on the field. My students? They’re playing right beside me. Read your work aloud, Find other writers with whom to share your work. We can share with each other pieces of writing advice that come from trial and error and the process of creating something we’re proud of.

Lisa Stringfellow writes middle grade fiction and has a not-so-secret fondness for fantasy with a dark twist. Her debut fantasy A Comb of Wishes was selected as an ABA Indie Introduce Kids and Indie Next Kids title and is a 2022 Horn Book and Today Read With Jenna Jr. summer reading selection. A middle school teacher for over 28 years, she is passionate about engaging students in their learning through authentic writing experiences, such as the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program. Lisa lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her children and two bossy cats.

My Social Media

Both Twitter and IG: @EngageReaders

HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books

Twitter: @HarperChildrens and @QuillTreeBooks

IG: @HarperKids

Publication Date: February 8, 2022

[richincolor]

New Releases

A whole slew of books coming out this week, many we've been looking forward to for a while. I can't wait to add some of these to my TBR pile.

Perfectly Parvin (Perfectly Parvin #1) by Olivia Abtahi G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Parvin has just had her heart broken when she meets the cutest boy at her new high school, Matty Fumero–with an emphasis on fumero, because he might be the smoking hot cure to all of her boy troubles. If Parvin can get Matty to ask her to homecoming, she’s positive it will erase all the awful and embarrassing feelings He Who Will Not Be Named left her with after the summer. The only problem is Matty is definitely too cool for bassoon-playing, frizzy-haired, Cheeto-eating Parvin. Since being herself has not worked for her in the past (see aforementioned relationship), she decides that to be the girl who finally gets the guy, she should start acting like the women in her favorite rom-coms. Those girls aren’t loud, they certainly don’t cackle when they laugh, and they smile much more than they talk. Easy enough, right?

But as Parvin struggles through her parent-mandated Farsi lessons on the weekends, a budding friendship with a boy she can’t help but be her unfiltered self with, and dealing with the ramifications of the Muslim Ban on her family in Iran, she realizes that being herself might just be the perfect thing after all.

The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim Quill Tree Books

To cure her post–senior year slump, made worse by the loss of her aunt Sonia, Noreen is ready to follow her mom on a gap year trip to New Delhi, hoping India can lessen her grief and bring her voice back.

In the world’s most polluted city, Noreen soon meets kind, handsome Kabir, who introduces her to the wonders of this magical, complicated place. With Kabir’s help—plus Bollywood celebrities, fourteenth-century ruins, karaoke parties, and Sufi saints—Noreen begins to rediscover her joyful voice.

But when a family scandal erupts, Noreen and Kabir must face complicated questions in their own relationship: What does it mean to truly stand by someone—and what are the boundaries of love?

Check out Crystal's Review: The Marvelous Mirza Girls

Made in Korea by Sarah Suk Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.

Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…

What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.

Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.

But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean Flatiron Books

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity…and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.

In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.

Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after?

On the Hook by Francisco X. Stork Scholastic Press

Hector has always minded his own business, working hard to make his way to a better life someday. He’s the chess team champion, helps the family with his job at the grocery, and teaches his little sister to shoot hoops overhand.

Until Joey singles him out. Joey, whose older brother, Chavo, is head of the Discípulos gang, tells Hector that he’s going to kill him: maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And Hector, frozen with fear, does nothing. From that day forward, Hector’s death is hanging over his head every time he leaves the house. He tries to fade into the shadows – to drop off Joey’s radar – to become no one.

But when a fight between Chavo and Hector’s brother Fili escalates, Hector is left with no choice but to take a stand.

The violent confrontation will take Hector places he never expected, including a reform school where he has to live side-by-side with his enemy, Joey. It’s up to Hector to choose whether he’s going to lose himself to revenge or get back to the hard work of living.

Enduring Freedom by Jawad Arash & Trent Reedy Algonquin Young Readers

On September 11, 2001, the lives of two boys on opposite sides of the world are changed in an instant.

Baheer, a studious Afghan teen, sees his family’s life turned upside down when they lose their livelihood as war rocks the country.

A world away, Joe, a young American army private, has to put aside his dreams of becoming a journalist when he’s shipped out to Afghanistan.

When Joe’s unit arrives in Baheer’s town, Baheer is wary of the Americans, but sees an opportunity: Not only can he practice his English with the soldiers, his family can make money delivering their supplies. At first, Joe doesn’t trust Baheer, or any of the locals, but Baheer keeps showing up. As Joe and Baheer get to know each other, to see each other as individuals, they realize they have a lot more in common than they ever could have realized. But can they get past the deep differences in their lives and beliefs to become true friends and allies?

Off the Record by Camryn Garrett Knopf Books for Young Readers

Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she’s equal parts excited and scared, but also ready. She’s got this.

Soon Josie is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie’s world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn’t know whether she’s flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, the answer is clear: she’s in over her head.

One woman’s account leads to another and another. Josie wants to expose the man responsible, but she’s reluctant to speak up, unsure if this is her story to tell. What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead, but if Josie doesn’t step up, who will?

[expired-monster-craft-smp]

Vibes Dream SMP members give off (in my opinion)

Dream

Barked at people in high school ironically but it became unironic real quick

Can’t cook very well but is good with a knife, especially at a fast pace

One of those kids who either purposely spells the first word wrong in a spelling bee to just be done with it right away or tries the hardest and manages to win (there is no inbetween for this heathen)

Bites ice cream with his teeth

Has snorted pixie stix far too many times and sneezed blue after each time

Eats bananas with the peels

Wears mismatched socks

Has taken a bite out of a pool noodle because he liked the texture and impulsively bit it (ADHD things✨😌)

Walks around looking extremely high but he’s just spacin out and stuck in his head

Dreams (lmao) in Minecraft and video games in general

Will flirt with anything that moves but has no idea how to respond to compliments

Makes fun of himself first before anyone else can

Has eaten an orange peel and it wasn’t that bad in his humble opinion

Wears khaki shorts

Eats the wax part of the baby bell cheese

Doesn’t actually know what genre his music taste is cause he vibes to everything

Georgenotfound

Picks at the skin on his lip when it’s dry so it bleeds and he tries not to give in by licking his lips often enough to the point where it became a habit

Wears velcro shoes because he doesn’t feel like tying them (he knows how, he just doesn’t wanna do it)

Eats peanut butter straight from the jar

Makes that disgusting “ants on a log” thing (celery stick filled with peanut butter topped with a row of raisins)

Can’t drink milk plain, it’s gotta have some sort of flavour

Can draw a perfect straight line but his circles look Terrible

Eats cheez-its like cereal without milk

Loves making little noises so much like he walks around his house doin chores and he’s just goin “memememenownownwnkwkshskshkshskhs”

Hates wearing socks

Coloured his tongue with highlighters because they’re non-toxic

Constantly tapping his feet and hands to a song/beat playing in his head

I can’t imagine this man using a bike of any sort, so Imma say he doesn’t know how

Can’t be licked by dogs because he’s used to being licked by his cat so it makes him uncomfortable

Can actually sing pretty well but gets real nervous in front of people so he fucks it up

Sapnap

No idea how to cook anything other than Mac and cheese please help this man

Meows at cats because he wants to confuse them and laughs Way too hard when he does (his laugh is like sunshine so I’ll allow it)

Would be fantastic at braiding hair Idk why

Gives the BEST fuckin hugs EVER

When singing, he makes noises for the instrumental parts too

Wanted to play the drums at one point

Really likes pit bulls but he’s more of a cat person so he loves them from afar

Only vaguely knows how to shave his face properly without hurting himself

Opportunities for him come up out of pure luck but mans is skilled for them so it works out well almost Always

Used to or currently has a skateboard and isn’t too bad

ALWAYS has bruises appearing everywhere for no reason, he doesn’t even know where 90% of them are from

Calls his friends twinks to jokingly bully them and gets away with it because he himself is not a twink

Gets sudden bursts of energy in the middle of the night and just shimmies around a bit to try and deal with it

Favours spearmint over peppermint

Arsonist

Banned from three (3) Dave & Busters in Texas

Badboyhalo

Washes his hands after doing literally anything

Likes the bird exhibits at the zoo (specifically the penguins)

Very good at cooking, best at soups and stews

If he painted his nails they would definitely be a baby blue

Overthinks very simple things and it makes him look less smart than he actually is

Drinks tap water

Probably prefers whiskey over beer

Knows how to tap dance a bit

Surprisingly good at taking and handling shots

Steady hands

Adds extra chocolate to hot chocolate

Plays sudoku and is really really good at it (only uses pen when he plays)

Everytime he sees a Himalayan salt lamp he NEEDS to lick it despite knowing it’s very salty and he’ll pull a face afterwards

Not great at Rock Paper Scissors

Wears sunglasses inside for no reason at all, he just,,,Does

Still has a stuffed animal from childhood perched on his bed

Probably tried his hand at archery

Tommyinnit

He has no idea how to use a baby voice on children or animals, so he just talks to them normally

Wears socks to bed

His fingers are double jointed

Always starts twitching if he stays still for too long because he’s gotta move around

His shoes and have different laces and it bothers everyone but himself

Doodles on himself in class when he’s bored or not paying attention

Has really good hearing, both with pitch and volume

Can’t eat tomato’s by themselves, it’s either gotta be in sauce form or with something else

FUCKING LOVES STRING CHEESE

Terrible handwriting

Favourite part of a slice of bread is the crust

Wants to paint his nails black to be cool and edgy but his hands are far from steady and he has no clue how to paint nails

Pretty affectionate with close friends (like Tubbo and Wilbur) off stream/camera

He likes pears for some reason

Wilbur Soot

Is constantly having to decide between leaving his hair as is or shaving all of it off

He also thinks about adding some colour but never actually does

Most tea is gross to him

Everytime he puts a breath mint thats circular in his mouth, he pretends it’s a pill and he’s taking drugs because he thinks that’s funny

He does that vacant state as a joke but that really what he looks like when he’s spacing out

Likes to aggressively flirt with his male friends but if his female friends flirt with him, he gets a bit flustered

Has probably accidentally swallowed a guitar pick

Once drank two entire jars of pickle juice

Bonks his head on anything and everything

He has broken a pair of glasses by walking face first into a pole outside

Thinks kinetic sand is fun

Has passionate arguments with others about trivial and random topics like chicken feet

Can open a beer bottle with his teeth

Would accidentally pop and swallow a bracket if he had braces

Tubbo

Hates sharp cheddar cheese

Everytime he learns a new word it’s in every sentence he says for the next week or so

Ate candle wax for a dare once

Doesn’t know how to tie a tie and will probably never learn

Wanted to do ballet at one point but decided not to

He has eaten multiple flowers for absolutely no reason other than wanting to know how they taste

Starts vibrating if he’s too excited

Used to bite his nails

ABSOLUTELY DESPISES MUSTARD

Has eaten paper and says it doesn’t taste that bad

Enjoys telling his friends how much they mean to him (this has resulted in Tommy and Wilbur crying on a few seperate occasions)

Spaces out a lot and doesn’t often pay attention to his surroundings

Gets lost inside of Best Buy’s

Likes s’mores but doesn’t properly understand how to make them

Technoblade

Learned to cook purely out of spite and found it’s actually pretty fun

Constantly getting smacked in the face by trees when walking outside

Really likes apple pie

Everytime he looks at potatoes he thinks of all the hours he spent trying to win the potato war

Starts things as a joke and gets too into it

Doesn’t like the taste of most energy drinks

Has rubbed salt and lemon juice into an open wound to just,,see how it felt (he did it once and Hated it but did it again because he forgot what it felt like)

Sometimes hates how quiet he is because everyone he knows is loud and talks over him

Despite how he is portrayed in the Dream SMP, he is extremely loyal to his friends and would kill for them

Over seasons his food because he can’t taste it otherwise

Really good balance

Doesn’t like to wear bright colours, but still enjoys wearing colours

Good at knitting

Quackity

Actually fairly quiet when off camera

Will accidentally use Spanish grammar while speaking English sometimes

Country music confuses him

Doesn’t really like kids but they really like him

Can’t dance

Hardest drugs he’s ever done is second hand smoke from a cigarette and children’s Tylenol

His favourite jolly ranchers are the red and blue ones

He uses lighters as fidget toys basically

Will have a breakdown, take a bubble bath, and call himself the self care king

Dehydrated

Wants a pet rat but he already has a cat and doesn’t wanna risk anything

Constantly questions why his main source of income is playing Minecraft with two 16 year olds

Karl Jacobs

Probably ate a spider once

Would wear those socks that are like gloves for you feet where it separates all the toes

Eats ravioli straight from the can, cold

Can answer an incredibly complex math equation fairly easily but will stumble over 12x11

Loves kids so much and speaks to them in a soft voice

Tried making ramen in a coffee pot and broke it

Drinks 2 monster energy drinks a day on average

Likes to open walnuts with his teeth but doesn’t actually eat them

The embodiment of that one John Maulany joke where he says you could spill soup in his lap and HE’D apologize to YOU

Loves physical affection so so much!!!!

If he moves his wrists in a certain way, they pop Really Loudly

Fantastic at making cookies

Fundy

Lowkey actually a furry but more on like, a cat boy level than fursuit level

Drives a Honda Civic

Likes ABBA

Adds parsley to almost anything he makes food-wise

Loves garlic bread so much, he’d commit a federal crime for it

Middle child vibes

Decent at skiing

Good at singing but isn’t terribly confident

Seems responsible at first glance but in reality he’s pretty chaotic and childish

Bad at spelling

Always cuts his nails way too short so they always feel weird/hurt

Likes bracelets and rings

Thinks pastel colours slap

JSchlatt

Despite the character he plays, he’s actually really sweet

He’s genuinely that cryptic off camera as he is on camera

Can cook but chooses not to most of the time

Would probably say “what pussy size you wear” to anyone who asks him to buy pads

Not actually as intimidating as he appears to be

Lowkey would fight a child

Shuts down when someone compliments him, often using aggression as a front because holy shit they just called him handsome and kind what the Fuck-

Jokingly says his license is suspended but in all actuality he never got his license in the first place

He has two (2) extra teeth but they don’t need to be removed so he kept them

Has a stick n poke of a stickman on his ankle he got in high school

Likes physics

This is already very long, and I still plan on adding more.

[armymaryoongi]

Chapter two: Sakura Handkerchief

pairing: min yoongi x reader

genre: fluff, slightly mature, historical au; king au

warning: none 

words count: 1k+

Note:  English is not my native language. (I’ve decided to change the title!)

(Names, places and incidents are just based on fiction)

masterlist / Ch.three

Summary: Just like any other kids, King Min Yoongi also has his own childhood memories but his involved a mystery girl who he met once and was known as his love at first sight. Will he gets any chance to meet her again? What will he does when he found her? Will the girl remember her too?

After that encounter with the mystery girl, the Crown Prince who never fails to show his playful side before has become such a moody boy. He didn’t eat much, sometimes the food on the plate left untouched. As usual, he will be excited for his next lesson with his scholar Kim but, he became a bit slow in catching up his lessons recently. In the blink of an eye, he became quite contrast from his previous attitude. His sudden burst of sadness has gained attention from people around him, moreover the Min couple.

“What has gotten into Yoongi recently? He looks cheerless.” the King tried to get some answers from the Queen, hoping she knows anything about their precious son. “I don’t know either. Min abruptly changed after the day he ran away from the palace. When I asked about it, Min just sealed his mouth.” Queen showed her concerns. “I miss his gummy smile.” she sighed slowly, looking out of the window. The Queen even commanded the Head Personal Guard and scholar Kim to check out the situation but it looked like they failed the mission.

The King said nothing to the Queen as he is well aware of how concern she is towards his son. “I think it’s better if we visit Min instead. I don’t want him to sink deeper with his untold thoughts.” the King rise from his current spot followed by the Queen.

The three Min just looked at each other. Nobody dares to move or talk. The situation in the Crown Prince’s chamber is too tense until the King himself couldn’t find the right words to start the conversation. As a mother to the Crown Prince, the Queen thought it was better if she asks him first. “Min, if you don’t mind, why don’t you spill your guts to us? We can’t bear to look at your current state.” she convinced her son to talk. Silently, she wiped her tears at the corner of her eyes.

Her action has attracted Min’s attention. He feels so awful as he looked at his mother. He never means to make anyone worried about him but he really can’t shake his mind off of the girl. He doesn’t know why such a mystery girl can give an impact on him. Oh, perhaps he is still far from mature. Needless to say, he scared to tell his parents about this matter as he knows who he is. As someone from the royal blood, he couldn’t choose his queen-to-be. Just like what his father told him, ‘We have rules to follow even though we don’t ought to’.

However, a light bulb went on his mind. Immediately, he pushed his table that has been occupied with his books to the side and startled his elders. “Father! Mother! I want to get married. Find me a wife!” his voice contains with excitement. The Min couple looked at each other with widening eyes. “Perhaps, this is what you have been thinking of lately?” the King knitted his brows again, wondering if his son spooks the truth. No answer left from Min Yoongi as he nodded his head as quick as a flash and widen his gummy smile that his mother insisted to see.

The Queen lets out a soft giggle, asked again and warned her child at the same time. Yoongi blinked his eyes twice as his mother sent out a warning. ‘Is this what I really want? Ah, just say yes. I really want to meet that girl again’ he bites his nail while giving a thought about his decision.

“Alright, if that what you want, Yoongi.” the King also chuckled. Yes, he was shocked with the sudden plea and somehow, he couldn’t believe his own child as Yoongi always acts like a little child even though he is fifteen years old. As a man who was a boy back then, he acknowledged there’s another thing that his child won’t share with them—his feelings, but he lets it pass for now. He determined that this Min will soon realise about his plea today.

A week after the discussion between the royal and the ministers, they have issued the news about the ban of marriage to the public. Mainly, the maidens will submit their names in the maiden list if they want to engage in the selection of the Crown Princess. This selection will give benefit to the maiden’s family as their social class and status will boost up to a higher rank.

“Hyung Sun! Let’s go..” Yoongi pulled his arm excitedly but the Head Personal Guard didn’t budge from his spot. “Your Highness, I think it’s so much better if we just stay here.” he gave his opinion respectably. Everyone in the palace knows that the Crown Prince is the most excited person when the palace announced to hold the selection. They all thought Min is genuinely ready to have a companion in his life but little did they know, Min Yoongi has another purpose. “Didn’t you agreed with my suggestion yesterday? I don’t care! We should go now.” he walked ahead as he couldn’t hold his patience anymore.

‘Here we go again.’ Hyung Sun palmed his face.

 Hyung Sun stayed alert at his surrounding, scared if the King or ministers caught him and the Crown Prince. He doesn’t know why Yoongi wanted to be here. Whereas, the blonde boy is still peeking inside the hall, trying his best to detect the girl he met at the market. Truthfully, it is prohibited for the Crown Prince to interfere with the selection but does this Min concerned about that? The answer is ‘no’. He will do anything to get what he wants.

The blank Min ignored the question and so on the answer Hyung Sun craved has left hanging. Instead, he bites his nail—a bad habit of him, “Based on what I have observed, it looks like she doesn’t belong here…Or..She is someone from here but she doesn’t want to take part in this selection?” the genius Min tried to make his own hypothesis. Hyung Sun looked at him expressionless as he can’t seem to process Yoongi’s statement. “Oh no! This can’t be..” in a flash, Min ran away, leaving the poor Hyung Sun alone.

“Mother!Mother!” he screamed loudly from the outside of Queen’s quarter before he went in. The Queen is in her chamber, getting ready to attend the first selection with the help of the Court Ladies. It startled her and the others but they ignored it as they know whose that voice belongs to. She just kept quiet and didn't look at him as she still busy prepared herself. “L-let’s cancel the selection.” his hand on his knees, tried to take a breath while voice out his words. “You want what?!” now the Queen let her anger took over herself.

After she sent out her Court Ladies from the Queen’s chamber, she asked Min to take a seat before give his full explanation. She commanded his son to speak  while looking at Yoongi with an intense gaze. “I-I have given another thought about this…And I think I am not..ready yet to have someone in my life. I’m beg-” The Queen showed a signal for Min to stop talking because she can’t keep up to listen anymore.

Yoongi hung his head low, well prepared to take another complaint from his mother. Sorrow ate him up as he felt his tears welled up in his black sharp eyes. How he wished he could turn back to two weeks ago. The Queen let a soft sighed escape her small mouth and watching her son with soft eyes. “Since this was the first selection, I will let this slip. Only this time. If you do this again, I’ll just carry on and refuse to take responsibility. Understand?’’ she told her son strictly. The blonde boy just nodded and slipped out after thanked his mother.

Hyung Sun kept glaring at the Crown Prince after they got back from the Queen’s quarter. Absolutely, he heard about the sudden cancellation by the royal palace and he has figured out the problem that Min Yoongi hiding from everyone especially his elders. Later, he found an encouragement inside him and call Yoongi who is sitting at the garden. “Your Highness, I know it’s rude for me to share my opinion with you.” the statement came out from his mouth in a whisper.

Yoongi said nothing but looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. “Prince, please assume this as a friend to friend advice as we have known each other a long time ago. I can sense that you already have a maiden in your heart and with a sudden announcement of selection, you hope to find her but turned out she’s not there in the hall. Meaning, she probably not someone from here.”

The prince nodded, wanted his Head Personal Guard to continue. “After this, you’ll get a tight schedule as you have many things to learn to prepare you as a King. If she has a noble fate, you’ll meet her again. Yes, she probably your first love at first sight but I suppose you to forget her.”

[tessatechaitea]

Kid Eternity #2

This cover says, "Don't look at who wrote it! Just look at how interesting these visuals are! Sucker."

In my review of Kid Eternity #1, I threw out a few theories on why Ann Nocenti's writing is so weird. After reading page one of this issue, I've thrown those theories out again but in a different way. That makes complete sense if you understand English idioms and also understand that everything Ann Nocenti writes is basically pre-trash.

This is page one of Kid Eternity #2 and it will probably get this review banned on Tumblr.

I have a new theory: Ann Nocenti asked what a Vertigo comic book should be and editor Tom Peyer probably joked, "They're mostly tits and profound nonsense." So Ann Nocenti's vagina gobbed in her underwear and she squealed with glee. "That's what I do!" she chortled merrily! I probably shouldn't abuse Ann Nocenti for writing things I don't understand. I have plenty of choices of other people to abuse for it: my elementary school teachers for not calling me out on doing just enough to get by; my junior high school teachers who let me get away with not putting any effort into big year-end projects (In science, we were supposed to make a stone age tool. I rubber glued a carved-to-a-shoddy point stick to another stick (which was worse than my friend Robert who put some pine needles into a split stick, calling the weapon "Ow"); in English, we had one project based on Romeo and Juliet (because all we did that quarter was watch and read various versions of the play) and I refused to do it because the teacher was wasting my time; in Computers, I found Dan Felipe's project, a trivia program, and I just copied it and used it for my own project (changing all the questions and line numbers and other things to make it seem like it wasn't plagiarized but, I mean, come on! In fairness to me, I only did it because the stupid fucking school changed computers halfway through the semester, dropping the TRS-80s for Apples and my project was relying on the Poke images of the TRS-80 to create an animated sequence)); my high school English teacher, Mr. Borror, for reading nearly everything I wrote in front of the class so that I began to think I was the wittiest fucker in Santa Clara High; my college teachers for some reason or another that allows me to not blame my own lack of ability; and probably my parents because if they were any good at their parental jobs, I wouldn't be writing a blog about comic books. In other words, I'm sure Ann Nocenti is a philosophical genius while I'm just a guy who blames everybody else for things I don't understand. Even if I truly felt Ann Nocenti was an underrated genius whose writings I'm incapable of parsing, I would never ask her to explain what she meant by this first page of Kid Eternity #2. I just wouldn't feel comfortable putting her on the spot like that. It's not up to the artist to explain their art to the foolish audience! Only the Christian Messiah bears that responsibility (and, let's face it, he wouldn't have had to explain every fucking parable if he'd been able to convince smarter people of his bullshit). So if it's up to me to interpret this first page gibber gabber, I suppose I should get to business. Or kill myself. I mean, killing myself would be easier and less painful. And I totally would kill myself before reading more Ann Nocenti comic books except I have plans to cut my toenails in a few months. Before I begin trying to understand this hogwash, I'd like to point out that if she'd written it as a sonnet, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I'd read it, think, "Yep, that's a sonnet!", nod my head in sage understanding, and then jerk off to the titties. But this is not a sonnet so it is not allowed to be obtuse simply for obtuseness' sake. So this fucking speech. First off, who is speaking? The serpent trying to fuck the naked lady? Is this the speech the serpent used on Eve to get her to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Although if that's the case, how would talking about Buddha convince Eve of anything? I'll assume the serpent is omniscient (because he may or may not be Satan, depending on what holy men or con artists you believe but certainly isn't Satan if you're simply going by the Book of Genesis. I bet the serpent was God doing one of those Zeus things minus the rape. Zeus loved to trick people so he could get laid; Yahweh tricks people to test their faith). I guess since she had yet to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (come on, God! That name is terrible), she wouldn't know what she doesn't know and can't defend against any nonsense the serpent spews at her. Let's assume the art goes with the speech and it's the serpent speaking. So why is "God in repair" and what the fuck does that mean? And why is it followed by the statement, "Why not call the wisest man a freak?" Does the snake only speak in non sequiturs? Was that a stupid question since I already know the snake's dialogue is being written by Ann Nocenti? It is kind of refreshing to see that her dialogue style never changed in thirty years. The shit the serpent says on this page could be nonsense spewed by Coil from Nocenti's New 52 Katana. You know what? I don't have to continue this because, in the end, it's just a carnival barker's pitch to get people to believe in the freaks in his freak show. He's all, "What's the difference between freaks and religion?!" That's not a riddle I have an answer for. The only religious joke I know is "What do Noah's Ark and The Bible have in common?" That might be a joke that was extant before I came up with it but I did come up with it on my own. And I think the answer is so obvious I would be insulting the intelligence of all four people reading this. Oh, and the snake trying to fuck the lady? It's a tattoo on the Tattooed Lady. The reason the comic begins in a circus freak show? Because Kid Eternity is the newest freak on display! The opening sideshow scene is just one of Kid Eternity's dreams. The demon angel babies get into Kid Eternity's dream and when he wakes up, they've tied his hair to the floor which totally has him trapped for like three panels. That was a close one! Kid Eternity decides he can't truly know what he's doing unless he utterly knows himself. So it's time to get his brain probed.

Let me guess: Carl will blather on about synchronicity and dreams while Freud tries to figure out how big Kid Eternity's penis is.

Carl doesn't initially discuss anything. He's just the straight man for Freud saying all the typical things you'd expect Freud to say: penis this, envy that, fuck your mom, kill your dad, more penises, many more penises, everything is penises. But then he comes on fast and furious with his archetypes and collective unconscious and human mythology stuff, all the biggest Carl Jung hits (aside from synchronicity but I'm sure he'll get around to that later. Ann Nocenti isn't going to miss showing the readers all the knowledge nuggets she mined to make her brain big). If only Nocenti would spend as much time writing the story as she spends making sure the readers know she knows a lot of shit then maybe I would have kept reading this comic book. Meanwhile, Zeus wanders around looking for somebody to trick fuck, Madame Blavatsky hunts down the next best burger before she slips back to the past, Beelzebub and Judas wander through Limbo, Jesus gets drunk and falls off a bar stool, and a phone yells at a woman. That all happens on one page to make sure the reader remembers other things are happening. But why does Ann Nocenti spend two panels of that dense page on Madame Blavatsky when she could have updated the reader on the non-X-File FBI agents who will probably hate fuck each other before the story ends? I also wanted an update on the Buddha Christ Trash Child. But no! Instead Nocenti just moves on to more of her proof that she's read all about Freud and Jung and totally understands the shallow top layer of their theories and philosophies. I don't mean to say I know any more than Ann Nocenti! But I understand how little I know of Freud and everything she's had him say are things everybody knows about Freud from all the dirty jokes about him: ids, supermen, parental relations, and phalli!

Oh, that's why we didn't get an update on the dense update page; Nocenti needed a full page to document the hate/fuck.

My new Ann Nocenti writing theory: Ann Nocenti has never had an original thought. She simply reads things, takes copious notes of bits and quotes she likes, and then shoves them sideways into whatever script she's currently writing. No wait. She does have original thoughts but they're almost not worth having. Like "everything in life is a prison" and then proving it by stating a few things about life that can be cell-like. It's profound in that way that things are profound when you're on acid. If you don't think about it, you can find yourself nodding along going, "Yeah! Yeah! Everything is a prison! Life is a fucking prison!" But if you do stop to think about it, it's like coming down off acid. You start to see how that thought you had about how the number three ties everything else in the universe together because of the way the corners meet didn't wasn't as mind blowing as it was six hours ago. Although the rant you went on about how pressing play on the VCR remote play the show and pressing pause pauses it but then to unpause it you have to hit pause again when you should really hit play was pretty fucking good. Speaking of acid, I'm two-thirds of the way through the acid documentary on Netflix and it's fucking fantastic. I wasn't really thinking a lot about it but I was nodding along going, "Yeah! Yeah! Everything they're saying about acid is absolutely spot on!" throughout. I actually had to take a break because it was making me too happy listening to all Sting and Carrie Fisher tell their acid stories. I don't know why I didn't just spend five paragraphs discussing why the FBI agents were playing Scrabble while they fucked. It's probably just one of Sean Phillips' kinks. Oh, maybe they were just playing Scrabble and not hate-fucking. It's hard to tell because on the next page, Jerry asks Val if they can finally fuck and Val is all, "You're a nerd!" Then she slits his throat. But then in the next panel, his throat isn't slit and he's all, "You feeling better?" And she's all, "Yeah!" So I don't know what the fuck is going on and I don't really care. I've still got like eight pages of this mess to get through and I'd rather just nod along than try to understand it. And then just like last issue, Ann Nocenti sputters out a bit of writing that I totally agree with because I've said basically the same thing before. About how every day, I fall in love with some person I see on the street because of the smallest of things. And then I love them forever.

My story isn't as good but I once fell in love walking through the airport in Minneapolis. I was passing by an attractive woman and she was gazing off somewhere as I looked at her face. She was coming up on my right and then I glanced down at her breasts and back up at her face. And that was the moment she noticed me, as I glanced from her breasts to her face. And, catching me, she smiled and laughed and kept on walking. And I still love her to this day.

And for this page alone, I forgive all of Ann Nocenti's past (future?) transgressions and find myself eager to read Kid Eternity #3. Oh wait. I still have a few pages left in this piece of crap. I read a lot of books in college that I sometimes still say are my favorite books but I should probably just say they stuck with me because I know which books are almost always in my top five and a lot of the ones in college aren't those. But Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence always stuck with me. It's possible that I completely missed the message of the novel but to me, the book was about how true love only exists when it's unrequited. Archer Day-Lewis doesn't love Ellen Pfeifer more than May Ryder for any other reason than that she was the one he didn't marry. It seemed to me that Wharton was trying to portray how hard love is and true, phenomenal love only exists in the imagination. Only a love we can imagine can remain magical. Only when we love an object, or the imaginary person we've placed on a pedestal, can we evade disappointment in the reality and flaws of another actual human being. Being in love with Ellen Pfeifer was easy because she wasn't there for all those years. There were no fights or disappointments or multiple times accidentally walking in on her taking a huge shit. She was pure and beautiful and imaginary. But then again, maybe that wasn't the point of the book at all. I was young and romantic at the time and I still absolutely loved the women I'd had unrequited crushes on in junior high and high school while my college relationship was slowly circling the drain due to personality conflicts. But not due to sex. The sex was fucking great! Anyway, Freud and Jung decide Kid Eternity is in denial and they leave. Hemlock and Dog spread some new reality across the world via a computer virus. Madame Blavatsky starts making time go backwards, probably so she can vomit up all the Twinkies she ate and eat them again with their delicious creamy filling. And the devil and Judas wind up in a bar in Limbo with Jesus to make plans for Kid Eternity. There's probably a lot more going on but there'd be too much for me to process even if it wasn't confused by Nocenti's writing style. No wonder I gave up on this book after three issues. There's no way by the third issue I could remember anything that was going on, if I even understood it the month prior. Kid Eternity #2 Rating: C-. A confusing mess that's about 90% Ann Nocenti just vomiting out things she's read. Even the things that, with the benefit of the doubt, I want to believe sprang from her own philosophical musings, I can't bring myself to absolutely believe it. I feel like every thought and piece of dialogue she's placed in this story just came from piles of notebooks filled with notes she's made while reading other people's works. It's practically a collage of philosophical ideas and moral musings pulled from myriad sources and shoved into a Kid Eternity framework "written" by Ann Nocenti. Which could explain Nocenti's penchant for stilted dialogue. If she were making up all the character's thoughts, the dialogue would flow from one character to the next. But when each character can only respond with some profound thought Nocenti read elsewhere, it comes across like a ransom note, each word cut from the mind of somebody else and pasted as a reply to another bit cut from some other thinker, no relation existing between the two thoughts except the proximity relationship Nocenti has given them.

[anon-sloot]

HERO- Bakugo/OC

This is an oc/Bakugo (somewhat) slow burn fanfic. I hope y’all like it but I haven’t written on here yet so I’m a little nervous on how this’ll turn out😬 I hope y’all like it as much as I do tho💜

Also the word count is like 2,000+ish

Warning (s): cursing, slight mentions of underage breaking small laws, angst, possible blood, fluff, and smut(not till the later chapters though)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1

I tugged down at the stupidly short green uniform skirt I’m forced to wear while I attend this dreadful school. Okay the school wasn’t entirely that bad, but it just wasn’t home. Looking down at the rest of the ensemble, I internally groan. Along with the hideous green skirt, I also had a white long sleeve button up with a grey blazer that had green stripes around the wrist, and a red tie that I was seriously considering on tightening to put me out of my misery. Giving up on the idea, I sighed, and slowly just made my way to my assigned class.

“1-C, 1-B, ah! Finally!” I whispered to myself under my breath as I finally stood in front of a large brown door that read ‘1-A’ on it, printed in large red block letters.

‘Lets just get this over with Korrie.’ I encouraged to myself, but it failed miserably. I don’t care about U.A., I don’t care about being in a new hero course, again, I just want to go back home to the states. Back to what I am used to, back to my friends and family. But I know that will never happen, not until the threat was eliminated. 

See, I am originally from the United States, and I’m from a powerful Pro-Hero family. My mother and father were tied for second place powerful. Their hero names are ‘Void Step’ (my father’s hero name, quirk- Teleportation) and ‘Sweet Speaker’ (mothers hero name, quirk- Persuasion). Thankfully Japan wasn’t one of those countries that kept up with most of U.S drama. That’s why I was sent here, apparently four of the biggest villain groups banned together with the ideals of wiping out all heroes, everywhere, who’s called ‘The Order of Fury’, and they are insanely dangerous. So dangerous that my parents had to send me here. They didn’t want me getting caught in the crossfire and possibly getting killed. I wasn’t skilled enough to help out so I’m continuing my schooling here until I get my certification of becoming a hero and then I’m taking the next plane out of this country and go help my parents. Well, they didn’t know of the last part. They think that I’m here to complete the three years at U.A. high, but I plan to book it back home after I get my license.

The door was suddenly opened, and there was a man, dressed in all black except for his scarf…ribbons? Well, whatever it was, it was wrapped around his neck, black hair coming down a little past his shoulders, and partially covering his face, but from what I could see, he had a scar underneath his right eye, speaking of, they looked very, very tired.

Standing my ground, not showing how much he scared me just now, I left my face blank before remembering the proper greetings in Japan. Bowing at the waist I greeted my teacher in a respectful manner after I came in the room.

“Sensei Aizawa. My name is Korrie, just Korrie. I am your new transfer student from the United States.” Straightening my back up, I eyed the teacher, completely ignoring the students. I wasn’t here to make friends. Like I said before, I was here to get my hero license. I needed to go back home. My parents needed me.

“No last name?” I shook my head in response, I mean of course I had a last name, it was Carter, but it wasn’t information for the class. The only people who knew my true identity were Principal Nezu and Recovery Girl. They are the only ones my parents trusted enough to tell. All I need is someone in Japan finding out who I really am and then come after me. So that means I have to lay low for a while.

“Well then class, welcome your new classmate. Since she has already introduced herself there’s no need for me to repeat it. You all have ears.” My eyes slightly widened at his laid back, almost tired behavior. When I was researching the schools in Japan, they were so formal and seemed so strict, but this wasn’t the case at all. I mean I have been to Japan numerous times just because I loved the culture so I knew a bit of Japanese and popular dishes, but I’ve never spent so much time here at once before.

When I finally turned to face the class I saw that there were suddenly twenty pairs of eyes on me. Well, I believe there were twenty. There was an invisible girl in the front of the class and so she could have been looking anywhere. But if we were going to be honest she was probably looking at me like all of the other students.

First, it was silent, then BOOM! Questions were being fired at me left and right.

“What kind of quirk do you have?” A green haired boy with curious filled green eyes with a notebook out and ready asked while his hand was still in the air, as if I were the teacher and I was going to call on him.

“Are you deaf? Why don’t you talk?” A kid with blond hair with a little black lightning strike going through it, asked me dumbly.

“Kaminari, she wouldn’t be able to talk if she was deaf you dumbass.” A deep voice caught my attention, the boy with said voice had blond spiky hair, red eyes, and a scowl that looks permanently etched onto his lips.

“What’s it like in the United States?” A sweet voice called out, taking my attention off the scowling boy, when I found the owner of the voice, she had short brown hair and big brown eyes that sparkled in awe. After about a minute more of this went on, and once they realized that I wasn’t going to talk, they started to simmer down, but apparently it wasn’t quick enough for Mr. Aizawa.

“Quiet!” He warned through clenched teeth. “You are all already giving me a migraine. Korrie, if you want to answer their questions you can, if not then there’s an open seat in the back for you, which means no more pestering her in class.” Mr. Aizawa meant that last part for the rest of the class. Nodding at him, I kept my head high as I walked to the back of the class, ignoring the classes stares. Mostly ignoring those intense red eyes as I passed his desk and sat directly behind him.

Like I said, I wasn’t here to make friends. And with that final thought, I listened for the rest of the lesson, and before I knew it, the bell rang signaling for lunch.

 ***************************************************************************

For lunch, instead of eating in the cafeteria, I grabbed my food and headed back outside and found a large sturdy tree to eat underneath.

“Finally, some piece and quiet.” I moaned out. Ignoring the food, I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and my lighter. Yea, I know, it’s not smart to be smoking on campus, but I started this nasty habit in middle school, and sadly it turned into a necessity.

Sticking the cancer stick between my lips, my eyes flicked around to make sure no one can see me, and when I decided the coast was clear, my thumb flicked down on the lighter producing a small flame. Dragging harshly on the butt of the cigarette, I pocketed the lighter, and left out a sigh as smoke left my lips. No shame, I can’t help it.

“You know you’re not supposed to have those things on campus. Or even off campus. Those are illegal to minors, dumbass.” An angry voice came out of nowhere, but I ignored them. They’ll go away eventually. They all do. So, I continued to lazily supply myself with some much deserved nicotine.

“HEY! I’m talking to you idiot!” Just then the blonde kid with the red eyes from my homeroom class was in front of me, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed, looking extremely pissed off.

“I. Don’t. Care.” I said, staring directly into his eyes as I go to take another hit. But before the little stub could reach my lips, he slapped it to the ground.

“I said, you’re not supposed to be smoking on fucking campus, America.” He was talking to me but all I could do was look at the burnt-out cig on the ground, and anger surged through my body. How dare he bother me, how dare he? We don’t even fucking know each other.

Slowly, I looked up from the ground, to the angry blonde-haired boy in front of me.

“Listen here, Japan, it look’s like we started off on the wrong foot,” standing up, while he stood his ground, still not saying a word, I held my hand out, facing his body, “my name is Korrie, and you are to never come near me again.” And with that, for the first time since I landed in Japan, I used my quirk. Feeling electricity shoot through my body, I imagined it as if it was part of me, and grabbing on to the boy in front of me, and slowly lifting him up.

“HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? LET GO OF ME OR I’LL KILL YOU!” He screamed at me. Snorting in defiance, I pressed him up against the tree, an invisible force holding him hostage.

“It’s called ‘Telekinesis’, I basically and move/control things with my mind.” I said dully. He continued to scream profanities at me as I walked closer to him, but when I was standing right in front of him, he quieted down, seeing what I was doing. With my hand still out, as if I was the one holding him there, I got so close I could smell caramel and his minty breath as it wafted over my face, and looked at him straight in the eyes.

“I am not here to make friends, enemies, or anything in between. I am here to finish my schooling and get my heroes license. After that I’ll be out of here so fast it’ll make your head spin, so you stay away from me, I’ll stay away from you and we both will be happy. Good? Good.” I stated. Releasing my hold on him, I heard him drop to the ground. I grabbed by bag and started to walk away, completely forgetting to grab my lunch as well.

All of a sudden, my back heated up to an uncomfortable temperature.

“Fuck!” I cursed out in English. An explosion hit my back, but only enough power to knock me off my feet, not enough to actually cause me any harm.

Feeling my power kick in I was on sensory overload, my hearing, sight and smell all increased with the amount of adrenaline pumping through my body. On my hands and knees from the force, I took a deep breath to steady my breathing when I felt a presence behind me.

The smell of burning caramel assaulted my nose as I grabbed the hand that was coming for me with my mind, and twisted it behind the assailants back. Hearing the small grunt of discomfort, I knew I got the kid where I wanted them.

Standing up I turned around to be face to face with familiar vermillion eyes, and a deep frown on the boys lips.

“LISTEN HERE YOU FRIZZ BALL, YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET MESSING WITH ME YA HEAR!?” He shouted at me, little explosions going off at the palm of his hands. He looked like he could get out of my hold if he really wanted to by sending another blast my way and weakening my hold on him, but seeing how he doesn’t know the full extent of my power, he was smart enough to hold back.

“Or what? Are you going to tickle me again with those cute blasts of yours? Before you attack me, remember why you’re here; to be a hero. So start acting like one, stop yelling all the time and don’t attack- a poor girl.” I mocked the last part. “Oh, and another thing, the names Korrie, not ‘Frizz Ball’, don’t forget it. Okay blondie?” I warned. Releasing my him from my hold, I started to turn and walk away, thinking about how much training I needed to do so I can finally get out of here.

“You’re talking all this crap about why I’m here or whatever, but what about you huh? You come in here thinking that you own the damn fucking place, and if something doesn’t go your way you get pissed. I don’t know what type of damn hero you think you’re going to be but it’s not going to be a fucking good one if you keep going down this path.” I stopped dead in my tracks, barely moving a muscle, hardly breathing.

Striking me right in the heart, pain webbed its way through my body, and my throat felt like it was going to close up. My knee’s grew weak thinking about how my parents looked at me when I was boarding the plane to go to Japan. I didn’t want to go and neither did they, but they wanted to best for me and I knew in order for them to do their jobs correctly, I had to leave. I had to be safe. Because in order for them to not get hurt, I had to go because I was a liability in the end. I couldn’t help anyone. At least not in this situation. And that’s what hurt me the most.

“You don’t know anything.” I walked away with that vague statement still lingering in the air, not even turning around to look at the mystery boy who’s name I have yet to find out. I didn’t want him to see the shame in my eyes and the pain I was feeling right then.

[rilenerocks]

The other day I exchanged messages with a friend I’ve never seen. We met in an online Merkel Cell cancer support group. Her husband was a decade younger than Michael when he was diagnosed with Merkel, in his early fifties. The course of his disease was short, less than a year and a half from discovery to death. I got banned from that support group after being in it for a little over a week. I was bringing up questions about emotional issues rather than just talking about the nuts and bolts of the disease and its possible treatments. After I was kicked out, this friend begged the administrators for my email address and we’ve been corresponding ever since. The anniversary of her husband’s death was last week and I always check in with her on that day. I expressed my hope that she was getting along well and had found some space for small joys in her life. When she answered, I felt like she was troubled by her current emotional state. She wrote that we’d both had wonderful experiences in our marriages but that now we had to learn how to live again in real time. That caught me up short.

Live in real time? I’ve been living about as hard in real time as a person can, in my opinion. Since Michael’s death, I’ve traveled alone several times, organized my 50th high school reunion and seen my favorite tennis player, Roger Federer, twice in real life tournaments for the very first time. I’ve been to half a dozen music concerts from John Prine to Pete Yorn to Janis Ian and Paul McCartney, among others.

I swim five days a week. I go to movies and have joined a book club. I’m going to serve on my city’s historic preservation committee. I’ve taken a number of classes, had both my knees replaced and knocked many items off my to-do  list. Isn’t this living in real time? I think what she meant was that my constant emotional engagement with Michael means I’m living in the past. But that’s simply not true for me. Our long and deep emotional connection is still alive in me. He’s only been gone a tiny percentage of the time we were together. And he’s not going anywhere, not out of my head or my heart or my soul.

But that seems to be a point of contention in regard to how people are “supposed” to be after a death. Michael isn’t in my way in terms of daily life. I am. He doesn’t interfere with what I do. He didn’t when he was alive either. And that’s the way it is.  I thought to myself, this exchange is another case of more and less, the story of my life. I am always talking about the things which are “more” while many around me could do with a little “less.”

I certainly know more now about lots of things than I ever have  in my life. And that “knowing” is not yet close to its endpoint. I’m learning every day. I’ve always been learning. I’m motivated. As long as my brain is healthy I expect I’ll continue increasing my stash of both useful and useless facts and ideas. I retain volumes of it, stuffed in the corners of my mind. And I like to talk about it all. In traditional terms that seems ok. Certain areas of my conversation are acceptable. For example there are topics which are nice and neutral. There’s gardening. Sometimes there’s politics, although I can’t say I’m exactly neutral in that regard. But there’s  school.  This fall I’m taking three classes. One is about current affairs in the Horn of Africa about which I know very little. Another focuses on Persia and Rome and will feature readings from Herodotus. I’ve always wanted to read Herodotus, especially after watching the smolderingly sexy Ralph Fiennes carrying around a battered leather copy of his histories in the film The English Patient. The third is about early Scottish history. I know a little bit about that, but after watching the Outlander television series with the equally smoldering Sam Heughan, (who just happens to look like my husband when he was young,) I figured it couldn’t hurt to learn more. I’m a curious mixture of intellectual and pop culture knowledge – I can disappear into the classics world and pop back into current entertainment pretty seamlessly.

I was taking biology classes for a time during the past couple of years. Another socially acceptable conversation topic. But the science class offerings this fall weren’t that interesting to me this semester and frankly, I’ve got enough cancer stuff happening in real life without exploring more theory right now. Fucking cancer. I know several people who are actively engaged in their cancers, some of which are new and others which are old pals that lay dormant for a long time before reappearing in new places to create havoc. Now I’m moving into the “more” arena. This is where things get uncomfortable in my world. For example,  I think that the majority of people who live for a long while will get cancer. We actually have it every day, mutations that crop up at the genetic level but are squashed and eliminated by healthy immune systems. That is, until the mutations get tougher or the immune system gets weaker. After all my years of reading, that’s what I’ve concluded. Some treatments buy time. Others are still primitive. You don’t get to know whose body will react poorly or positively to what is attempted. Until there are wholly individual treatments that’s the way it’ll be. So where does that take me? I try to be a helper and do what I can for those I know.

I think about myself too. I have no idea when my turn might come. I think a lot about the advocacy I was able to provide for my family and most especially my husband. Will I be able to advocate well for myself if necessary? That’s one question I have no answers for at this point. I think about this stuff a lot and I try talking about it but my kids don’t like it and some friends are taken aback. They say what I know they intend to be nice, defusing comments that move rapidly away from the morbid topics. I guess that having thought about death for all the years during Michael’s illness, coupled with my longheld death anxiety from my childhood, as I watched my mom go in and out of hospitals, has locked me into what some think is the morbid side of life. To me it’s more practical than morbid. But it’s one of “those” topics that I tend to bring up that is off-putting to a lot of people. When I talk about it I’m not sad or scared or maudlin. I’m just wondering. Death is something that will happen to everyone and pondering it doesn’t stop me from living a reasonably positive daily life. But the death arena fits into the “too much” category.

The issue of my feeling Michael’s presence so often is another “more” topic. I guess it makes some people uncomfortable. Maybe they think I’m nuts. Maybe they think I’m not living a healthy life. I don’t view other people’s opinions as my problem. I’m open to sharing but am also aware that red flags pop up when I start waxing eloquent about my “ghost.” I can feel that it’s time to move on to something else, a subject more palatable for whomever is the listener.  It seems that I’ve always brought up issues that no one wants to talk about. Michael used to say that if I would only be quiet about certain topics life would be perfect. But I never believed anything was really perfect. Rather, I thought that if you kept working on problems or disturbing ideas like death, or basically anything that caused people psychological discomfort, that the process itself was almost more important than the end goal. I really enjoy thinking and discussing and sorting through virtually everything. I always thought that the more I knew about any issue, the better off I’d be. Michael, more reserved and less prone to the deep inward dives I do, loved me enough to go outside his comfort zone, sometimes kicking and screaming, into places he’d rather have ignored. In the end these explorations brought us incredibly close and gave us the stamina to go through our personal challenge that ended with his death. But what’s perfectly clear to me is that a lot of people prefer doing with less of these internal explorations into what I think are life’s and death’s fascinating mysteries. So when I bluntly bring up one of the off-limits topics, I’ll often feel the invisible hand up in my face and I know I’m supposed to be quiet. Despite the fact that I think we humans share a considerable amount of commonality in life’s essential business, talking about those things out loud just doesn’t happen enough for my taste.

There are all kinds of self-help books and advice websites about virtually everything. But say I decide to open up a sex conversation? Lots of people cut me off fast. I want to talk about how dreadful it feels for me to acknowledge that this most essential part of my life is over. I know that because I’m completely uninterested in being with anyone but Michael. But my drive isn’t dead. I’m going to miss intimacy and kissing and being touched in the way you build with bonds with another person for as long as I remain cognitive. But that’s a “less” conversation. I often wonder what other people feel and if they’re still sexually engaged but I rarely talk about this stuff because it feels like I’m crossing a social boundary line. Maybe I am.

I just think there’s comfort in sharing information and feelings that to me, must be widespread across our species. Am I outrageous? I guess some people might think that. But to me, I’m just myself. I’m still struggling with the separateness that I feel when shut down by the unwritten rules of social exchange. I just can’t stand all these implicit boundaries. Still, I have to live in the culture I occupy so I mostly abide them. More and less. Death and illness and sex are apparently for my private ruminations except for a very few people who accept me for who I am. With the others I guess I can talk about taxes and the weather. I’m glad I still feel Michael so strongly inside me. I can still talk to him about anything and he knows I’m living in real time. With a vengeance. Another thing he always told me was that he thought I was very polite to ask him his opinion on an issue when we both knew I would do exactly what I wanted to no matter what he thought. Still valid. Ultimately, I really don’t care what anyone thinks about my choices. But I’m pretty sure they’d like them if they gave me a chance to say more.

More and Less The other day I exchanged messages with a friend I’ve never seen. We met in an online Merkel Cell cancer support group.

[thumper-darling]

Yo those Q's are cute will u do me a solid and do all of them?

1. what colors are in your room?

Dark orange, cream, and gold

2. who was your favorite school teacher?

Basically every English teacher I’ve ever had. 

3. what are some passions of yours?

Writing, reading, watching films, eating sushi, and being around the people that I love 

4. when you drink coffee, do you like it black or with cream and sugar?

already answered in a separate post

5. are you self-conscious about anything? if so, what?

e v e r y t h i n g 

6. do you have any tips for self-love?

already answered in a separate post

7. do you have any stuffed animals? Do you name them?

I have a stuffed rabbit and a stuffed fox. The rabbit is named Alice and the fox is named Cadence.

8. do you like drawing or painting more?

doodling is where it’s at 

9. how do you sleep?

not well

10. what are some things that always make you smile?

already answered in a previous post

11. living in the city, mountains, small town, or out in the middle of nowhere?

city living is where it’s at 

12. what's your dream house?

A really cozy apartment or a loft? that’d be fun. Or a colonial fashion house with a yellow exterior and cobblestone accents. 

13. how many pets do you wish to have?

3. I have my dog now, but I also want a german shepherd and a calico cat. 

14. have you ever dyed your hair? do you want to? what color?

lol yeah, I’ve had almost every damn shade of red and then got too tired of doing that so now it’s just dark brown. I wouldn’t mind dying it some sort of turquoise or emerald green? That’d be fun 

15. what's your opinion on keeping a diary?

It’s great for looking back on the good times 

16. what's your opinion on keeping an art journal?

HONESTLY they’re beautiful and I encourage everyone to try to have some form of creative outlets

17. any art tips?

You are asking the w r o n g person my dude

18. talk about a moment where time stopped

time is an illusion anyways so why does it matter?

19. do you keep playlists for your music?

HECK YES I’m honestly a whore for sectioning songs off into playlists

20. is there anyone out there that you trust with your life?

Idk, my sister?

21. are you your number one priority?

N O 

22. do you always type correctly or do you make millions of typos?

Not usually unless it’s my annoying sister or somebody that is bothering me 

23. recommend some music!!

Daft Punk Boys by Bad Suns

Growing Up by Phil Good

Helena Beat by Foster The People 

24. are your nails perfectly painted, chipped, or plain?

P L A I N 

25. do you believe in wishing on a shooting star?

For sure, but I’m not sure it actually does any good 

26. did you see the eclipse? describe it!!

no :’) 

27. tell us what you love about nature

It’s spontaneity and damn are trees pretty

28. who are you? describe yourself!

My name is Becca, I’m 17, a hufflepuff & a scorpio. I’m allergic to seafood, and bunnies, but I love both soooo. My favorite childhood movie is All Dogs Go To Heaven and my favorite Superhero is Spider-dude. 

29. what type of music do you like, and why?

Alternative/ Indie pop 

30. what's your favorite clothing store? why do you love it so much?

Charlotte Russe because it has high quality clothes in my sizes 

31. thrift stores or name brand stores?

Both? 

32. do you like wearing your s.o clothes?

BITCH WHAT SIGNIFICANT OTHER :’) 

   yes

33. when did you start tumblr? why did you decide to?

because I wanted to get to the source of da memes 

34. what's your face care routine?

try not to cry when I look in the mirror :’) , and if I do cry I use my tears as a moisturizer 

35. freckles or dimples?

F R E C K L E S 

36. name something you think should be banned from the universe

Tronald J. Dump 

37. tell us something you did as a kid that you loved

I loved to catch frogs and I read a lot of books homie 

38. mom or dad?

mom 

39. do you buy expensive things just for the aesthetic or do you actually use everything you buy?

I literally don’t use any of the things I buy except for clothes damn I have a problem 

40. tell us about something you're strongly opinionated about

I already answered this in a previous post

41. do you take peoples advice or do you have to figure things out yourself?

I ask for advice from multiple people, and then I sort of find a part of all the advice that has common ground and try to apply it to my situation 

42. bra or no bra?

no bra 

43. would you rather be cute or comfy?

HONESTLY COMFY IS CUTE SO HECK OFF 

44. tell us about a moment in your life where everything went just perfect

I don’t remember 

45. do you believe in anything? aliens? god? bigfoot?

I’m a Sasquatch bitch. Also, aliens are out there soooo 

46. how much water do you drink a day?

Not enough @doctormelapples

47. how do you feel about your natural hair?

I miss it. I used to have some curls in my hair, but I dyed it so much that the texture of my hair changed a bit. 

48. what does the sky look like right now? clear? cloudy? pink? blue? rainy?

It’s a very light blue with some spaced out cloud placement 

49. would you be a prince or a king? princess or a queen?

None of the above, that’s too much pressure 

50. tell us about your favorite outfit!

Off the shoulder gray knit sweater with black ripped jeans

51. name a few things you love about yourself

My eyes, my freckles, my humor, my creativity, and my determination 

52. are you open-minded?

Yeah my dude 

53. do you judge? could someone come to you in any situation they're in and you not judge them?

I really try not to be a judgmental person, but everyone has flaws and it’s definitely one of those things that I’m working on. 

54. do you like planning ahead?

I HAVE TO 

55. tell us how you feel about school

stop

56. talk about your first pet

A small orange cat named Angel. She was satan i swear to god 

57. chocolate or strawberry milk?

chocolate 

58. were you/are you in a fandom? if so, what?

A GOOD AMOUNT 

59. spotify, pandora, or itunes?

I’m a spotify kinda bitch 

60. favorite disney princess movie?

The Princess and The Frog 

61. favorite disney movie

Bolt 

62. what's a subject that you think people don't talk about enough?

English 

63. how long does it take you to let your phone update?

Idk, 20 minutes? 

64. describe the fifth picture on your phone!

A blurry tree with string lights hanging from the branches. Taken at 2:04 am, August 16th, 2017 

65. favorite movie and why?

I hate this question because I am a film enthusiast and honestly I love too many movies for such different reasons 

66. do you watch studio ghibli? what's the first one you saw? what's your favorite one?

Not really, I just never got into studio ghibli movies 

67. you're home alone. describe how the setting is. music? what kind of music? tv on? what show?

Music: loud

TV: on

Movies: playing

bra: off

Food: eaten 

68. how often do you say "i love you"?

Too much and not enough 

69. do you have any weird things you obsess over?

p e n c i l s 

70. do you like being single or do you wish you had a partner?

depends on the day idk

71. what's the last drink you had?

a caramel macchiato 

72. talk about the easiest person to talk to

she’s a real ass bitch and all around classy gal 

73. give us some of your favorite blogs!

@doctormelapples, @parkersenses

74. if you could have one wish, what would it be?

Wish for free college and a successful future thx

75. do you sing in the shower?

It’s best for everyone if they never know 

76. how often do you shave? or do you wax? or do you not shave?

I shave according to my outfit choice 

77. tell us about a habit you wish you could stop

I wish I could stop tapping on everything 

78. do you listen to your own advice?

No, I’m not a stable person thx 4 asking 

79. do you love yourself? if not, are you trying to?

It’s a work in progress

80. tell us about your favorite halloween!! what did you dress up as? did you get a lot of candy?

When I was younger I used to have these poppin halloween parties and one year I had a haunted house and dressed up as a haunted doll it was fun tis all 

Also, I was late to my own party 

81. first memory that pops in your head, talk about it.

First day of school in my junior year. I was late and have been late every first day since then.

82. how are you? what are you feeling? how has your week gone?

I think things are going well 

83. rant.

It’s almost impossible for me to rant? So thank you, but no thank you 

84. do you worry about something a lot? if so, what?

Already answered in a previous post 

85. do you think long distance works?

I’m sure it works for the right people 

86. would you date someone younger than you? older than you?

Yeah, I don’t really mind dating a bit out of my age range as long as our mentality matches?

87. name some people you'd love to meet

Tom Holland thx 

88. what were some things you were scared of as a kid?

My older sister’s scream mask and knives 

89. tell us about your favorite birthday

My friends surprised me with a birthday cake and a bunch of presents during my school lunch and the cafeteria sang to me?? I had v good friends. 

90. how is high school?

It was definitely a journey 

91. tell us the worst pick-up line you've ever heard

None of them because I have never had a pick-up line used on me. ehhhhh 

92. every been groped or catcalled? how'd it make you feel? what did you do?

People can be disgusting and they don’t understand that your body isn’t there just for them to touch, so fuck that person who thought it was 

93. opinion of feminism?

F E M I N I S M IS THE F U T U R E 

94. tell us about a time you got embarrassed

Today in class when I was late :’) 

95. ever had a pregnancy scare? tell us about it!

jinkies 

96. tell us about your best friend

All she talks about water but it’s okay because she’s pure and beautiful

97. what's your opinion on planning your life out?

I mean, it’s nice and extremely helpful to have a timeline or a potential outline for how you want your life to turn out. But don’t expect everything to go according to plan?? Like, just leave a bit of wiggle room in your future for unexpected adventures. :) 

98. describe what you think afterlife is like

energy cannot be created nor destroyed 

99. talking on the phone or texting?

Talking on the phone because I’m lame as heck over text 

100. how do you feel about the way most teachers treat students?

alReADy ANswerEd in a PREviOus PosT 

101. what's a word you use more than others?

H E C K

heck

heckin

hecking 

[captainlenfan]

New Post has been published on http://websiteshop.network/episode-437-qa-with-robb-and-nicki-30/

Episode 437 – Q&A with Robb and Nicki #30

http://robbwolf.com/2019/07/26/episode-437-qa-with-robb-and-nicki-30/

We’re at it again with Episode 437, Q&A #30!

Submit your own questions for the podcast at: https://robbwolf.com/contact/submit-a-question-for-the-podcast/

If you want to see the video for this podcast, be sure to check out our YouTube channel.

  Show Notes:

  1. Fitbit Sleep Tracking [1:35]

Jay says:

G’Day Robb, love your work. I took a break from your podcast to learn computer programming and am now back because I’m stressed and my desk bound body is broken. Glad to be back and see you’ve figured out your keto problems when bonking during class. I’ve signed up to your keto master class so fingers crossed.

I have a somewhat basic question about sleep.

My Fitbit says I slept 7 hours with 1 hour awake. I don’t remember waking and there are up to 30 a night of these tiny ‘awake’ periods. I do sometimes toss and turn to get into comfortable positions. My partner says I’m asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow. So I think I’m sleeping ok.

Should I think about this as 8 hours sleep or 7? I tend to wake up energised when my Fitbit says 6hrs 30 mins + 1 hour awake…. So thinking this is equivalent to standard 7-8 hours per night. When I push for Fitbit to say 8 hours then I’m very lethargic when I wake. But it’s probably then like 9 hours which could be ‘over sleeping’ for me.

Anyway, love the work you two are doing. I miss the Q&As with Greg but love the new format.

Anyway, fangirling from Australia. My question can probably be answered by Google but I’m sure you’ll be able to cut through the interjunks.

All the best – Jay

  2. Palate Fatigue & Food Burnout [8:11]

Maria says:

Hi, Robb and Nikki, I was wondering if you can address palate fatigue. For some reason, I tend to be the kind of person that needs to have a lot of something and then don’t want it anymore and have to switch. Before, I was into avocados and sardines, all the time, and now it is eggs and bacon. It is almost as if my body is asking for these foods at certain times. Thank you!

  3. Protein Toxicity and the Carnivore Diet [12:22]

Jesse says:

Hey Robb,

In WTE you briefly mention (p. 27) that humans cannot consume more than 35% of their calories from protein before suffering from protein toxicity. The carnivore diet has recently gotten some publicity and seems to have some anecdotal success for folks with stubborn autoimmunity issues. Do you think following a carnivorous diet carries a high risk of suffering from protein toxicity? And would we be able to look for evidence of protein toxicity in kidney function testing?

Best,

Jesse

  4. Waking Up From Hunger While In Ketosis [17:55]

Justin says:

Dear Robb,

I’m a huge fan of the pod and your work. 

For the past two months, I’ve been following a keto eating plan (I weigh all food and track macros – I’m usually hitting 40g net carbs, 90-100g protein, and somewhere between 235g-270g fat, for a total of roughly 3,000-3,500 calories per day).  I’m a 30 y/o male, 5’9. I usually eat 3-4 meals/day with no snacks. I currently weigh 156lb and am about 16% body fat (I did a BodPod when I was a few pounds lighter and was at 14.5%). In terms of exercise, I usually go to the gym 3x/week and do some combination of squats, deadlifts, press, and bench press.  As an example of where I’m currently at with strength, I do 4 sets of 5 repetitions (2 min rest periods) 205 pounds on squats. 

My question is this: when I try to cut calories down by 300-500 (I’d like to get to 12% body fat), I wake up in the middle of the night hungry.  I feel like I keep hearing on various podcasts and books that I read that in a state of keto, hunger should be significantly blunted and this shouldn’t really be an issue.  But I feel like if I don’t go to sleep pretty full, I wake up in the middle of the night. I know sleep is critically important, so this seems like a problem. If I eat enough to sleep through the night, I can maintain the same weight but really struggle to lose weight.  I’ve done self-experiments to make sure I’m not waking up due to stress, noise, etc., and have isolated that my sleep is almost completely correlated with my hunger levels. I wanted to ask for your guidance because I imagine other people might struggle with a similar issue – I know many people who do well with hunger during the day, but not so well at night.  Some things I’ve wondered about is if I’m overtraining or if there’s some sort of other physiological issue I need to attend to. Maybe I’m not understanding keto properly, but I feel like with my macro breakdown I should be able to comfortably go 12-16 hours without eating? Or, is the ability to go prolonged periods without food less about eating and more about individual differences?

Thanks for all of the amazing work that you do. 

Justin

  5. Fasting For Skinny Dudes [23:50]

Brett says:

Hi. Robb and Nicki…

Fasting for overweight or normal weight people has been well covered. Is there any benefit to underweight guys fasting in an effort to add mass? I’m 6’3” and 165lbs, 37 years old. I can eat whatever I want in whatever quantities I want and my weight never changes. I would like to be heavier. I’ve tried weight programs and I tone up ok but it’s rare to add more than 5lbs. The minute I stop the program I’m instantly back to 165. Everything else you always talk about like diet, sleep, stress is already dialed in

    Where you can find us:

  Submit questions for the podcast: https://robbwolf.com/contact/submit-a-question-for-the-podcast/

  Transcript:

Download a copy of the transcript here (PDF)

Robb: Well, howdy, wife, how are you?

Nicki: I’m great. How are you?

Robb: Good. It’s a quiet house.

Nicki: It is. The kids are swimming.

Robb: The dog is-

Nicki: The dog-

Robb: At grandpa’s house.

Nicki: At grandpa’s.

Robb: Nice.

Nicki: We’re alone.

Robb: Man, we’re home alone, and we’re podcasting instead of doing naughty things. Geez. What’s up with us? Anything new or … This may be the last podcast we do from Reno?

Nicki: I think we’re going to try to get another-

Robb: Might sneak in one more?

Nicki: One or two, yeah.

Robb: Okay, oh yeah. Okay.

Nicki: Yes.

Robb: Okay.

Nicki: Okay.

Robb: All righty. So, anything else you want to update people on, or we just jump right in to …

Nicki: I think we’re jumping in.

Robb: The good stuff, okay.

Nicki: Yeah, yeah. Let’s see. We have a question on Fitbit sleep tracking from Jay. He says, “G’day, Rob. G’day, G’day, Rob, love your work. I took a break from your podcast to learn computer programming and am now back because I’m stressed and my desk bound body is broken. Glad to be back and see you figured out your Keto problems when bonking during class. I’ve signed up to your Keto master class, so fingers crossed.”

Nicki: That sentence didn’t really quite make sense to me.

Robb: He’s Australian, I mean English is a second language so yeah.

Nicki: “I have a somewhat basic question about sleep. My Fitbit says I slept seven hours with one hour awake. I don’t remember waking and there are up 30 a night of these tiny awake periods. I do sometimes toss and turn to get into comfortable positions. My partner says I’m asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow, so I think I’m sleeping okay. Should I think about this as eight hours of sleep or seven? I tend to wake up energized when my Fitbit says six hours and thirty minutes plus one hour awake. So, thinking this is equivalent to a standard seven to eight hours per night.

Nicki: When I push for Fitbit to say eight hours then I’m very lethargic when I wake but it’s probably then like nine hours, which could be oversleeping for me. Anyway, love the work you two are doing and miss the Q&A’s with Greg.” I miss Greg too.

Robb: We need to spend more time with Greg.

Nicki: We do.

Robb: We should just have a Greg guest retrospective-

Nicki: We should.

Robb: Just get him on the show, Q&A fired at Greg and just shoot the breeze.

Nicki: We should.

Robb: Yeah.

Nicki: Let’s definitely do that.

Robb: Yeah.

Nicki: Okay, “But love the new format. Anyway, fangirling from Australia. My question can probably be answered by Google, but I’m sure you’ll be able to cut through the inter-junks. All the best, Jay.”

Robb: Well, Google might have banned the information at this point. You never really know, but you know, this is interesting stuff, and I’ve used a number of wearables like Oura Ring, Fitbit. I dig all of them. All of them are really cool and at the end of the day, all of them made me a little bit crazy and I ended up discontinuing using them.

Robb: And, one of the things that made me the craziest was the sleep piece because it just didn’t really matter what else in the rest of my life that I did, it always said that my sleep was kind of marginal, my HRV was kind of like, “Ah, you’re kind of ready but not really ready.” I had a real problem with sleep latency because I’ll get in bed and read and it would-

Nicki: Yeah, it was like it was tracking, it was saying that you had a …

Robb: Yeah, difficulty falling asleep and so I would take-

Nicki: But you were awake reading.

Robb: Right. Right, so I’ve just found some challenges with this stuff and I think this is where … And, Jay lays it out pretty well. If you’re feeling good, you know, I think that these wearables are really beneficial for establishing a baseline, and then if something changes, good or bad, then we can kind of look at that as a little bit of a compass guidepost, but at some point it’s almost like you’re drowning in information and I don’t know that it’s doing you more good, because it just kind of is what it is.

Nicki: And, Tyler Cartwright shared an article with us about some sort of study that was done where people who are tracking sleep, I don’t remember if it mentioned the specific device, but there’s like a placebo effect. So, if you wake and your thing says that you’ve slept like crap then people tended to feel …

Robb: Worse.

Nicki: Worse.

Robb: Yeah.

Nicki: Even if-

Robb: I remember that.

Nicki: And, so it was basically saying because some of this technology is not as refined or as … If it’s not actually reporting accurately, it could be causing you to feel worse even though maybe you slept fine.

Robb: Just fine, yeah. That’s what the researchers did is they were doing an actual sleep study, which is much more involved. And so, they would actually send them sometimes false information on the day when they … And then, conversely, on days when they actually kind of slept like shit, they would say, “You’re ready to go, Tiger.” And the person was like, “Okay, I’m ready to go.” You know?

Robb: And, so, this is where some of this stuff, it’s just … We’re kind of drowning in information, and I think to some degree just waking up and looking around and like, “Ah, how do I feel today?” And you go poo and it’s like, “Oh, that was formed and I didn’t need like an armload of toilet paper.”

Robb: Like, these kind of pretty objective metrics of just feeling are rather powerful. It’s reminiscent, it’s an old book at this point, but Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. He went into great detail talking about how though even though we’ve increased the information we have, like looking at MRIs and stuff like that, we have all this additional information. And we were just talking to our friend, Dr. Jim Greenwald, the other day who’s a retired orthopedic surgeon. He feels like MRIs have pushed orthopedic surgery backwards and there’s a whole host of reasons why, but the information that one obtains from a really thorough physical, according to Dr. Greenwald, and just listening to the patient, tells you so much about what’s going on and like, is surgery really an option, let’s do all this physical therapy and stretching and stuff like that.

Robb: But it’s virtually everything on an MRI that’s like, “Yep, you’ve got some sort of pathology.” You know? Because we just get down so granular, but it’s not actually better informing what we’re doing, and I think that there’s a certain element of this with the wearables scene, which … Well, probably somebody will want to hang me out to dry because these wearable companies make a ton of money and I do think that they have great application. I think that more, if you’re really burning the candle at both ends, like if I had something like this in my 20’s, it would’ve probably been good, because I was trying to murder myself with exercise and short sleep and everything.

Robb: That would have been a really beneficial thing for me, I think, getting that objective feedback of, “Okay, you’ve got three reds in a row, you’ve got to slow down.” But I know that was probably like the longest answer to something that could have been rather concise. Getting back to this, but I think, Jay, I wouldn’t worry what the hours are. I would just, if you enjoy wearing it, use it as a baseline, then that way if anything changes, then you can always refer back to the baseline but then beyond that, how do you look, how do you feel, how do you perform? I think those are really powerful metrics.

Nicki: All right. Our next question is from Maria on pallet fatigue. “Hi Robb and Nicki, I was wondering if you can address pallet fatigue? For some reason I tend to be the kind of person that needs to have a lot of something and then I don’t want it anymore and have to switch. Before, I was in to avocados and sardines all the time and now it is eggs and bacon. It’s almost as if my body is asking for these foods at certain times. Thank you.”

Robb: So, good question. Pallet fatigue is different. This is almost like, it sounds like burning out.

Nicki: Burning out, yeah.

Robb: Out, on stuff, you know.

Nicki: Eating it too much.

Robb: Man I-

Nicki: You did it with sardines.

Robb: I did it with sardines. Man, I used to love sardines and then there was just one day … I think…

Nicki: You were eating them for breakfast, you would have them in your backpack, you’d take them in your office.

Robb: I had sardines. Breakfast and lunch and traveling and everything. I think I got a can that was off one time, and I was kind of sick from it, or my body finally … I need to be hungry to eat sardines at this point, or I need to do magic in dressing them up.

Robb: But pallet fatigue really has to do with the … A meal kind of experience. So, if you’re eating a lot of something, then eventually, even it’s a very good something, you will get bored of it, and this is the sensory specific pallet fatigue.

Nicki: At the one sitting.

Robb: At that one sitting. And this is where if we have food that is wide in variety of textures and flavors and scents and whatnot, then we can override that pallet fatigue signal. Interestingly, we just had a person reach out to me, have not been able to talk to her yet, but she used to work for the biggest food manufacturers around developing seasoning strategies and pallet fatigue bypassing algorithms.

Robb: So, there’s actual computer algorithms for figuring out how to make food more addictive. And this is, not to drag this out into the weeds, but this is some of the stuff that makes me a little crazy with the Layne Norton’s, the Alan Aragon folks. They do some good work, but they will get into a pissing match about this study says that fructose is not a problem.

Robb: It’s like, okay. We have some people out there that are misrepresenting the metabolic consequences of fructose. Check. Great. You guys have set us straight on that. Now, what does this mean and what is the relevance there when we’re talking about people eating processed food? People don’t sit and eat plain fructose. They eat these highly complex, super engineered flavor combinations that no joke … It was fascinating. This email is fascinating. We’re going to have, even though I’m not really doing much in the way of interviews anymore, I’m going to do some interviews in the future, and this gal is going to be one of them, where she’s like, “You were bang on with Wired to Eat. Like, there is a really highly refined understanding, like the Doritos roulette example that I’ve talked about. There’s a super high, refined understanding about how to engineer foods to be hyper-palatable and effectively addictive. And having pissing matches about that. Like, fructose versus this versus that, and ignoring this topic of palate fatigue and how you can bypass that is really missing the boat for people. And man, I don’t know if my salty palmer is kicking in or what.

Robb: That was about as far a field from what Maria had asked. But Maria, again, palate fatigue … This sounds like she’s just experienced some burnout.

Nicki: So, she’s just wondering if she’s just burning out. She’s eating the same thing for too much and …

Robb: Yeah, yeah.

Nicki: And is her body asking for these foods or she’s just …

Robb: I don’t know, man.

Nicki: Reaching a-

Robb: My body would tell me to ask for cookie dough ice cream all the time. So, I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe. Some of that stuff, it … People are like, “The innate wisdom of the body.” And you know, sometimes it’s like, oh, I just want a piece of fruit. And so, I don’t know. Maybe that’s the innate wisdom of body. But more often than not, it’s kind of like, man that Twix. Or, you know, [inaudible 00:11:22] be pretty amazing. So, I don’t know. I don’t know.

Nicki: Okay.

Robb: But you can absolutely burn yourself out on something.

Nicki: On …

Robb: Yeah, yeah.

Nicki: Too much. All right. Our next question is from Jessie on protein toxicity and the carnivore diet. “Robb, in Wired to Eat, you briefly mention on page 27 that humans can not consume more than 35% of their calories from protein before suffering from protein toxicity. The carnivore diet has recently gotten some publicity, and seems to have some anecdotal success for folks with stubborn autoimmunity issues. Do you think following a carnivorous diet carries a high risk of suffering from protein toxicity, and would we be able to look for evidence of protein toxicity in kidney function testing?”

Robb: So, I’ll answer the last one first. The protein toxicity is not a kidney issue. It’s a liver issue. It’s you need substrates other than protein to deal with the ammonia and nitrogen-based bi-products of protein metabolism. And in general, humans seem to hit about 35, maybe some populations as high as 40% of their total calories can come from protein, and then beyond that, we have rabbit starvation. You were reading a book that was talking about [crosstalk 00:12:40].

Nicki: We called it trout starvation.

Robb: Trout starvation, which I had never heard of.

Nicki: I’m blanking on the book, but yeah.

Robb: Similar deal where people were eating exceptionally lean proteins and ultimately ending up with problems, because they had no other substrates in their … It would be hard as hell to do this, because the experience of protein toxicity is very uncomfortable, and the main desire that you have is to eat something other than protein. The only reason why people get into these scenarios is that they literally have no other options or-

Nicki: In the wilderness.

Robb: Yeah, yeah. And-

Nicki: And isn’t it because those types of things like rabbits and trout are very-

Robb: Very lean.

Nicki: Lean proteins.

Robb: Yeah, yeah. And so, even if you were to eat something like rabbit or trout, that’s why you eat the brains and the innards, and you know, you’re trying to just get every little bit of fat out of them, and what not. And so, I’m a fan of the carnivore diet. I don’t think it’s the first place for everybody to start, but man. The results that people are getting in this kind of autoimmune scene are really impressive. And so, I’m optimistic about where this will go. I would actually not be surprised at all if some iteration of a carnivore intervention ends up proving to be more efficacious than autoimmune paleo, and I’m the person who came up with the term autoimmune paleo. I’m the first person to write about it, publish it in a book, and really coin the term.

Robb: So, you know, as much as AIP has helped people, I would not be surprised if carnivore ends up befitting more people when it’s all said and done, for a whole host of reasons. But someone would just need to be in very difficult situation to induce a state of protein toxicity.

Nicki: Well, because people on the carnivore diet are eating rib eyes, and they have lots of fat, and-

Robb: That-

Nicki: Other cuts of meat that there’s a significant amount of fat in there.

Robb: Yeah, yeah. Or … And or they’re adding some additional fat to it, and stuff like that, so yeah.

Nicki: Okay.

Robb: Yeah, yeah.

Nicki: So, because of that, they’re not hitting this-

Robb: They’re … When you do kind of a breakdown, usually people are right at 30 to 35% of calories from protein, yeah. And this is one of the interesting things, like the Inuit, some of their gene alterations. Like, they don’t really generally enter ketosis. They seem to more directly mobilize fatty acids. But it’s an interesting adaptation, even though the Inuit are held us as an example of ketogenic culture. Biology decided that it was more efficacious, more survival advantage to create these gene alterations that there’s actually a very high infant mortality rate from low blood sugar. You know, in that very early period right after birth, which most babies are in ketosis, but different arctic-based populations may not even be able to enter that. But the two adaptations that they seem to be better at, their protein threshold may be as high as like 40 to 45%. So, there may be a couple of percentage points higher on the ability to handle protein.

Robb: And then also, in lieu of producing ketone bodies, they’re better at direct mobilization of fatty acids for energy. So, it’s an interesting adaption. Even Loren Cordain’s early work kind of suggested that human … Maybe the default mode for humans is kind of bumping up against that protein threshold consistently. And it’s just because there’s all kinds of, you know, mythology around this stuff. And yes, humans ancestrally were big game hunters and bigger game was fatter, but there’s kind of a reality that … I’ve actually lived as a hunter gatherer for a period of time, you know? And it’s like …

Nicki: Eight days. Start. 10 days.

Robb: Fucking calories are hard to come by, you know? And you eat kind of whatever you can get your hands on, and yeah. I don’t want to belabor that too much.

Nicki: I just remember picking you up from the airport and you did not look like my husband. You were so skinny.

Robb: Dude, I was skinny. Yeah.

Nicki: It was only like 10 days since I dropped you off, and you were emaciated.

Robb: 20 pounds lighter. Yeah, yeah.

Nicki: All righty. Our next question is from Justin. “Waking up from hunger while in ketosis. Dear Rob, I’m a huge fan of the pod and your work. For the past few months, I’ve been following a keto eating plan. I weigh all food and track macros, and I’m usually hitting 40 grams of net carbs, 90 to 100 grams of protein, and somewhere between 235 to 270 grams of fat for a total of roughly 3000 to 3500 calories per day. I’m a 30 year old male, 5 foot nine. I usually eat three to four meals per day with no snacks. I currently weigh 156, and I’m about 16% body fat. I did a bod pod when I was a few pounds later and was at 14.5%. In terms of exercise, I usually go to the gym three times a week and do some combination of squats, deadlift press, and bench press. As an example of where I am currently at with strength, I do four sets of five reps, two minute rest periods, with 205 pounds on squats.

Nicki: So, my question is this. When I try to cut calories down by about three to 500 calories, because I’d like to get to 12% body fat, I wake up in the middle of the night hungry. I feel like I keep hearing on various podcasts and books that I read that in a state of keto, hunger should be significantly blunted, and this shouldn’t really be an issue. But I feel like if I don’t go to sleep pretty full, I wake up in the middle of the night. I know sleep is critically important, so this seems like a problem.

Nicki: If I eat enough to sleep through the night, I can maintain the same weight but really struggle to lose weight. I’ve done self experiments to make sure I’m not waking up due to stress, noise, et cetera, and have isolated that my sleep is almost completely correlated with my hunger levels. I wanted to ask for your guidance, because I imagine other people might struggle with a similar issue. I know many people who do well with hunger during the day, but not so well at night. Some things I’ve wondered about is if I’m over-training, or if there’s some sort of other physiological issue I need to attend to. Maybe I’m not understanding keto properly, but I feel like with my macro breakdown, I should be able to comfortably go 12 to 16 hours without eating. Or is the ability to go prolonged periods without food less about eating and more about individual differences? Thank you for all the amazing work that you do. Justin.”

Robb: Man. Lot of good stuff in there. One thing that leaps out to me is the 90 to 100 grams of protein I think is way to low.

Nicki: Yeah.

Robb: For 100-

Nicki: I mean, I am more like 120 grams of protein, and-

Robb: Yeah.

Nicki: I’m smaller.

Robb: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, that definitely leaps out at me, and some very smart people, far smarter than myself, ranging from Paul Jaminet to Chris Masterjohn, have noted, and they really get in the biochemistry at a pretty high level, so you could do some following up on this, but they make the case that if you’re reasonably active and keto, and they’ll make the case that you shouldn’t be keto if you’re reasonably active. So, that’s a whole other aside. But they make the case that if you’re going to be active and you’re going to be keto, you need more protein. And that’s just alpha omega, done.

Robb: We’ve seen with keto gains, we’ve seen with the carnivore diet, which we were just kind of talking about in the previous question a little bit, when people eat at higher protein levels, they do then tend to get better satiety, and there also tends to be more of a ability to recover from training and stuff like that. Part of what’s going on, and one of the benefits that’s interesting, is glycogen can be restored, liver in and muscle glycogen can and will be restored from protein breakdowns in many corners of the keto-sphere, people are terrified by that. And if you have epilepsy, if you’re using keto as a cancer adjuvant or something like that, then there’s reason for it.

Robb: For body composition and weight loss, it’s a disastrous deal to drop protein, because people end up hungry, and then they need to eat a lot of either fat or carbs. And it’s very easy to overeat.

Nicki: Because I feel like 3000 to 3500 calories is also high for-

Robb: Correct.

Nicki: A five foot nine-

Robb: Yeah.

Nicki: 156 pound guy. So, if he upped his protein significantly, his fat would probably come down a little bit.

Robb: Yeah, I would get the protein up to at least 150 grams per day, and …

Nicki: Maybe plug your numbers into the keto gains macro nutrient calculator-

Robb: Yeah. And select…

Nicki: And see what that spits out.

Robb: For the recommended level, and maybe … So, if you use the keto gains macro nutrient calculator, it will default to .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, or you can toggle use keto gains recommended, which is 1.0 grams per pound of lean body mass, and/or you could adjust it for 1.2 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. I would tweak it to the 1.2 grams. So, I would up your protein, and adjust all the other macros appropriately based off the … What that spits out. I would also make really certain that you’re getting adequate electrolytes. Shameless plug for Element, but this is another one of those things that if the electrolyte balance is off and sodium is too low-

Nicki: You can be hungry.

Robb: You can be hungry, you can get an adrenocortical response. So, those are the two big things that I would really look at is upping protein and really weighing and measuring your electrolytes. Tracking it in MyFitnessPal or something like that to make certain that you’re at least getting five grams of sodium per day. And then if you’re eating largely whole, unprocessed foods, the magnesium and potassium should take care of itself. But I’ll be kind of shocked if you don’t see improvements off that.

Robb: But if you don’t, it could also be a case where keto is just not a good fit. Maybe a little bit of carbs in the mix would be a better option.

Nicki: Okay. So, Justin, please let us know.

Robb: Yeah, let us know. Follow up on that.

Nicki: Try that, up the protein, and then let us know how you do. Okay, our final question for this week is from Brett, and his question is on fasting for skinny dudes. “Hi Robb and Nicki. Fasting for overweight or normal people has been well covered. Is there any benefit to underweight guys fasting in an effort to add mass? I am six foot three, 165 pounds, 37 years old. I can eat whatever I want in whatever quantities I want, and my weight never changes. I would like to be heavier. I’ve tried weight programs and I tone up okay, but it’s rare to add more than five pounds. The minute I stop the program, I’m instantly back to 165. Everything else you always talk about like diet, sleep, and stress is already dialed in.”

Robb: Man. There are some folks that advocate fasting as kind of a means to lean body mass gain. The literature on it doesn’t really paint it in a super favorable light. I … This was kind of my problem. I enjoyed power lifting, but my body just desperately likes being about 165 to 170 pounds. Even getting up to about 175, which if I get up to 175 from lifting and not just being fat, then I look pretty good. And if I start getting 180, 185, I look big, you know? I have kind of small bone structure, I guess-

Nicki: It’s like the big arms when you walked to the coffee shop when I first met you.

Robb: It’s like the big arms when I swept you off your feet on our first meeting. Exactly. Shout out to Carla Mack around that. But the bastard of this thing is I would eat and eat. I mean, like six meals a day. Big meals. Felt disgusting. You know? And I would get busy, go on a trip, whatever it was, and I would lose 10 pounds just almost instantly. And so, it’s … I think there is some degree of a set point for people, and there’s just kind of a reality that you know, for some people, muscle mass gain is easier. Again, this is one of these things, Brett doesn’t … Does he mention? 37 years old?

Robb: I would get androgen levels checked and make sure that testosterone, estrogen, sex hormone binding, globulin. We’ve covered this in a previous podcast. And this is something that we’re going to dig into later in some more depth, like really understanding what your hormonal profile means and what to do about it if it’s not kind of at an optimized level.

Robb: If that’s not optimized, then the anabolic stimulus from the food and the training is going to be poultry. So, you’re just kind of peeing in the wind with that. So, that would be the couple of things that I would think about. I would look at androgens and see what testosterone and that whole gamete of things looks like. I would … And then if that looks pretty good or depending on what you want to do, even then though, there’s just … Gaining muscular weight is tough for a lot of people.

Nicki: Right. So, it seems like fasting is not a good option for adding mass and like fasting…

Robb: Fasting is definitely not a good option. Yeah. I mean, at least just do three meals a day. If you want to do a little time restricted feeding, that’s great. There does seem to be some literature that suggests eating more calories earlier in the day. Bill Lagakos has talked about this at nauseum. That seems good, and it seems like kind of a no downside deal, because you could just eat huge breakfast, big lunch, small dinner. Try to stick them a little tighter together, and there seems to be some legit body composition improvements, metabolic improvements, and it should kind of stack the deck favorably for muscle mass gain, and you’re getting a little bit of that sirtuin type signaling that’s associating with fasting, ketosis, and all that stuff.

Robb: But yeah. As a baseline, getting back to the actual question asked, fasting is probably not a great idea in this case. I know there’s examples of people who do it, but it just sounds like Brett has a tough time gaining muscle mass, and so, I think depriving his body of anabolic signal from protein for extended periods is probably not a great idea for improving muscle muss and body composition.

Nicki: Okay. That’s our last question for this week.

Robb: Sweet. Okay.

Nicki: Let’s see. If you … Or as always, submit questions at robbwolf.com on the contact page, and let’s see, we drip these questions out each week on Instagram, so make you’re following at dasrobbwolf. What else?

Robb: We still have some stuff over at YouTube. They haven’t taken that down yet either. So, yeah. Yeah.

Nicki: I think that’s it.

Robb: Okay.

Nicki: We’ll catch you guys next week.

Robb: Take care everybody.

Nicki: Bye.

Keto Masterclass

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[recentanimenews]

Lacing up My Running Shoes: Revisiting My Journey to Be the Very Best This Pokémon Day!

Come one, come all! It's that exciting time of the year where fans come together to celebrate the love of their beloved series: Pokémon! Pokémon Day is here once more, and fans all over have been getting ready to join in the festivities through various activities, like playing some of the classic games, sharing some Pokémon-themed baked goods with friends, or watching countless episodes of the anime all day long. Some fans have even started fun initiatives, like the #PokemonDayCountdown challenge on Instagram, where fans shared pictures of their collection while answering questions like "Which Pokémon spinoff game is your favorite?", "What's your favorite Pokémon merch?" and more!

      Today is a day to rejoice in your love for this wonderful series that took the world by storm on February 27, 1996. Do you remember how your first Pokémon journey got started? I remember mine quite clearly! It was a Sunday, a day where my family and I went to the local mall to check out what was new, rent a few movies and games, and maybe be lucky enough to be able to get something cool. I wanted to see about getting a game for my Game Boy, since I had beaten the few I had over and over until I had the games memorized. After pleading to my dad, we headed towards Toys "R" Us (still incredibly sad that these stores are no more!) to check all the newest titles. It was there where a particular game caught my eye.

    "Whoa, that dragon is SO COOL!," I thought as I kept starting at Pokémon Red's cover. Even as I browsed all the other games, I kept coming back to the one with the cool dragon. "Are you sure you want that one?," my dad asked. "You're going to be playing it for a long time until you can get another game." I don't know why, but I didn't hesitate, and picked the card for the game to head over to the cashier. Having no idea of what I've gotten myself into, I blindly dove right into the world of Pokémon.

    "Wow, this is weird," is something I remembered thinking as I was first playing Pokémon Red, because I thought it was going to be a more action-based game rather than what it actually was: an RPG, a genre I wasn't familiar with at all. "This is going to be a bit hard..." Slowly learning that RPGs were heavier on text than most other games, the difficulty of understanding the English language crept in. Back then, I didn't really know English that well (Spanish is my first language), so my reading comprehension of the language wasn't particularly great, and the classes offered at school certainly didn't help me out, since they barely covered the basics. But I didn't let that stop me from playing and delving deeper into the game! I grabbed an English-Spanish dictionary, and whenever a word I wasn't familiar with appeared, I looked it up and made note of it as I played. I was determined and invested to understand this game no matter what!

    Ah yes, the moment I was waiting for, choosing my very first Pokémon! The cool fire dragon called my name, so naturally I chose Charmander, but I won't lie, I was tempted by the cute water turtle named Squirtle. Ready to set off on a grand new adventure, Blue was quick to throwdown, and it was then that the thought of "This game doesn't pull its punches" crossed my mind. But even with this being my first exploration of RPGs, my first Pokémon battle ended up in a victory and my Charmander leveled up! The more one battled, the more experience Pokémon earned and new and stronger moves would be unlocked. I found myself quickly addicted to this system as I sought to make my Charmander the strongest Charmander there ever was!

    "Gotta Catch 'Em All" was printed on the game's box and I learned why: there were way more Pokémon than just Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur out there. And I made it my mission to catch every single one of them. I was instantly addicted with collecting as many Pokémon as I could find, and leveling them all. That's right, I leveled up ALL of my Pokémon to level 100! I left no stone unturned in this game! I'd play the game well into the night when I was supposed to be sleeping until my Game Boy's batteries ran out. My constant talking about Pokémon got a few of my friends interested and they too went on their own Pokémon journeys!

    With a group of friends and classmates with both Red and Blue versions, our collections would fill rather quickly as we brought our Game Boys and Link Cables to trade Pokémon. We managed to cause quite a ruckus at school with heated competitive Pokémon battles that we got Game Boys banned... but we still met up in less populated areas of the school or wait until after school to trade and battle, so it wasn't a problem. "Esos pokemones están arruinando sus vidas!," our teacher would often say, detailing on and on how these games would ruin our lives and not give us a better future, and so on. Pretty sure you all know we didn't listen to any of that, and kept our Pokémon antics going!

      What's funny about what that teacher said is that it wasn't true at all; it was the complete opposite! Remember that I mentioned the bit about not knowing English that well? Through checking the words I didn't recognize, writing them down and reading through as I played Pokémon Red, my English started to improve, and it showed in my homework and test scores. The same thing went for most of the other kids who played the game! The reason why the Pokémon series is so dear to me and why Pokémon Red is one of my favorite games ever is because it provided a gateway for me to better understand the English language. And that's a gift that I carry to this very day. 

  What about you? How did your Pokémon journey get started? What is one Pokémon moment you'll never forget as you played your first game? Tell us all about it in the comments as we celebrate Pokémon Day! Have an excellent day, champs in the making! 

----

Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[businessguide12-blog]

A Secret Storytelling Weapon For Your Business - Tips by Matthew Luhn

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A Secret Storytelling Weapon For Your Business - Tips by Matthew Luhn

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Matthew after he gave his speech at the combined stage of Filmteractive and UX Poland in Warsaw last year. In his lecture “The Power of Story,” he talked about how we can use storytelling in business in order to build better brand communication and influence the brand’s audiences, as well as how to combine two seemingly separate worlds – fantasy and business—to win over the hearts of clients and engage them in a dialogue with a firm. I have further explored this topic during my interview with Matthew Luhn—writer, story consultant, and speaker.

Matthew Luhn: So we’re going to talk about story for business.

Edyta Kowal: Yeah, exactly. First of all, thank you for your speech because it was really cool and I’ve heard from my friends that they loved it, and I loved it too. I’m really impressed by the way you tell stories.

ML: I better do that or I’d be in trouble [laughs].

EK: It’s really cool, because Polish speakers often can’t do that, I think. And it’s sad. But that brings me to the first question: how to become a famous keynote speaker? You started as a Disney animator, and now you’re this guy who teaches people all over the world about storytelling. Does it take some special exercises, or…?

ML: Well, you know, it’s funny because I haven’t been called a famous speaker before, uhm… I would say that I… I’ve always been someone who kind of speaks from my heart and I did grow up with a family that were definitely good at being storytellers and sharing some funny and sad moments that were happening in their lives. So, I think I was surrounded by people who were comfortable with telling stories. So that’s the first thing. But I would say that when I was a kid, you see, my mom was in Germany, right? And so when my mom came to the States, she did not speak any English. This was early 1970s; everyone in Germany speaks English right now. When I was a little kid I had speech problems. By the time I was in school and I was 10 years old, I had to go to speech therapy, because I was at difficult time speaking in front of people, and I would get words mixed up, and then I became very insecure, so whenever I was asked to go up in front of class to talk or do a report I would turn right red. And it was even worse because my cheeks were very “German-red,” you know, the red things here [pointing to his cheeks]. It probably was because when I started working at Pixar, on Toy Story, you have to go in front of everybody and you have to pitch a story to people at the company. You have the director, Steve Jobs, the ambassador… And then on top of that I had all those pimples—I had really bad acne… But you know what? You do that a thousand times, you end up stopping fearing. And then, when I would be asked to do things like this, I first off get to know the topic well. And when you do anything thousands and thousands of times, you start to become more comfortable, and then you start to really, let’s say… You test out certain things on the audience to see how they react. And then you’re like, “Oh, I’m not going to do that next time,” or “I’m going to add something new this time.” And so, yes, the answer is—practice.

EK: Okay, but how many times, I’m curious, you repeat your speech before going in front of the audience?

ML: I’ve given this talk a couple of times, so when I first started giving these kinds of talks, I would sit in the hotel bathroom and I would put a chair in front of the mirror where the sink is, and I would put a timer on the sink and I time myself. Like yesterday, there was no clock, they told me I had 45 minutes and when I walked off stage and I looked on the clock in the back of the stage—it was 45 minutes. Because I’ve done it so many times, practiced it. But the thing is that while I give it, I know that sometimes the audiences are different so I may have to talk about something, to elaborate on something, or leave something out. So I always have to change it a little bit, also to make it greater for me. But I do realize that there are certain stories out there that would connect to the people all around the world. That no matter what culture, age or gender, it’s universal. So, those are my little tricks.

EK: Do you think that everybody can learn how to tell a great story—as good as you do?

ML: I think you can get better at it. And, you see, when we were all little kids, like when we were all five years old, everybody (for the most part) was comfortable being an artist and being a storyteller, and singing and dancing. When we were about 4–5 years old. There’s something that happens that once we get into school, things start to become competitive. And you start to see that someone else draws better than you, or writes better then you. And so you say “I’m not an artist, I’m not a writer,” and then you stop. It’s because of the fear of failure that you start shutting down your natural gift of being a greater person. So I feel that everybody has a natural gift inside, but there are people that never gave it up, and so they’ve had all these years to practice.

But one of the things I do is I have this little tool that I use that helps people to be able to get better at storytelling. And it takes them back to how they told stories when they were kids with “Once upon a time…,” and “every day…,” and “and then one day…,” and what I do is I say that everyone’s a storyteller, you just have to follow these, right? And so, you can end up creating a story, and all you have to do is just answer each one of these questions and continue it. Each one of these little statements forces us to have a beginning and an end. You see, “Once upon a time,” and “Every day” and “Until one day,” that’s Act One. And because of that because of Act One there is an Act Two, and then “Until finally,” and “Since that day” and there’s Act Three, and the moral of the story is the theme.

EK: Okay, so here we have the perfect structure of a story.

ML: Right there. And it doesn’t scare a person, because they’re like, “I remember, this is like when you tell a story when you’re a kid.”

EK: You’re a consultant for filmmakers, but also for businesspeople. Do you teach them in the same way as filmmakers?

ML: So, then when you use this and you say, “OK, how can we tell the story of our company?” And you say, “Once upon a time there was an athlete whose name was Adi Dassler, and every day he would love to do sports and compete, until one day he was trying to help another athlete who wanted to run faster. So he figured out a way to put spikes on the bottom of his running shoes, and because of that other athletes came to Adi Dassler—“How can you help me to perform better in my sport, not just running—perhaps football?” And because of that, Adi Dassler continued. He started a company that helped build products to make people perform better at sports. And because of that he ended up partnering with his brother, who was very passionate about fashion, until finally they created their company—Adidas. And since that day, they have made shoes and products for people to be creative on and off the field. And the moral of the story is “When you follow something you’re passionate about, you can make a great company.”

EK: Is it the story you’ve came up with for Adidas?

ML: I do work for them a lot. So what I do is I will use this and companies should use this to be able to tell the story of their founder and how the company was started. You could also use this to tell a story around the product, let’s say a shoe. Well, how can you tell a story about a shoe? When you look at a shoe you want to connect it to a person, because the shoe is a tool that should be able to help a person to become a better athlete or feel more confident about themselves. So, I’ll tell you one more story: “Once upon a time, there was a 20-year old girl in the U.S. called Katherine Switzer. And every day she loved to run. Until one day, she wanted to win a race that women were banned to run in, it’s called the Boston Marathon. Because of that in 1967, she decided, ‘I’m going to sneak into the Boston Marathon race.’ And because of that the referees and the judges tried to push her out—physically push her out of the race. And because of that she continued to run it, she had some of the other people who were running in the race that were her friends pushing the judges and the referees away until finally she finished the race. And since that day the Boston Marathon race is for all genders, and also the races in the United States and in other parts of the world are not just for men. They can be for anybody. And the moral of the story is that competitive sports should be for everybody. And the shoes that she wore during that race were her favorite shoes, a pair of Adidas shoes. See? That’s what I do.

EK: You said that once upon a time your father wanted to become a Disney animator but then he saw you make a couple of drawings of him and so he decided that you will live his dreams and become a Disney animator. How did this animation adventure help you become this guy you are today?

ML: Well, you know what, I started off with a family that was all about business. We sold toys, but it was about business. And then I was this kid who wanted to make movies and draw, I still am, but through working in film and TV I realized this could be for anybody, not just for entertainment but for business. My family had toy stores, which they still do. Another one just opened up this month. And so my job in the toy store is to create the experience, the feeling. How to get people into the store when they walk down the street. What’s the hook? What do they see in the window, the sign, what music do they hear coming out of the store so they’d go, “Let’s go in this store,” right? And then, once they get in the store, what kind of experience do you create in the store, from the things they see, the music they’re listening to, what they smell, what they get to touch, to what stories they get to read on the walls. To make them think: “Oh, I though all stores are the same, like Toys’R’Us, but this is making me feel different about what a toy store could be like.” And it’s authentic because up on the wall is the story of Jeffrey’s Toys, all the way back to the 1940s, and they’re making a connection with the toys because they’re like, “I used to have that toy,” and then they feel good because we have a popcorn machine, and it’s making popcorn (everybody loves the smell of popcorn). And they love the music because the music is like Pixar music and cartoon music playing, and all of the sudden they feel good, and when you feel good you buy things. It’s not a trick.

EK: You did it again, you used some patterns to tell another story and here is my next question for you – can you use these patterns with businesspeople and brands too?

ML: Absolutely. You know, when you decide which shoes to buy, and you’re looking at different shoe brands like Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, or New Balance. They’re all, you know, about the same amount, and then the reason why you buy a particular pair of shoes is because they make you feel a certain way. Either I like all the history of the company, I like the sports figures that are behind it, or the entertainers that are advertising the shoe. The main reason why you buy a product is because it makes you feel a certain way. That feeling is a story. A story being told through the history of the shoe, the brand, the people who made it. And people, especially from Europe, when they see a Nike shoe, they’re like, “That’s United States, that’s like Michael Jordan, it’s basketball which is very much from the States—If I wear that, I’m walking around with a little bit of the good parts of the U.S.” There’s a story being told. And with Adidas, the story being told is—it’s multigenerational, it’s the oldest shoe, sports shoe, right? It’s not just for sport, it’s for entertainment. It’s like everything from Run-D.M.C. to Kanye West, Thrill Williams. This is the same thing that happens when you buy a car, same thing that happens when you buy a computer, or if you’re a businessperson and you want to get people to give you money to make your startup company. And you go to a meeting with investors and you’re one of twenty different companies that are going to come and ask for money. Where are you going to make yourself memorable from the twenty other companies that are going to pitch? It’s going to be your story, your company story, your brand story that is going to be memorable. And if you just share with them how much money they’re going to make, that would be forgettable. You want to be able to seal the deal by making a personal connection with them. Personal touch. And we all know that we like to work with people that we like, we like working at a company that we feel proud about – that’s important to us. And when they also end up paying you well, it’s the bonus. But that is what great storytelling does. Can you tell about your journey? Why did you want to start the company? Like Adi Dassler? Can you tell how your product is going to change people’s lives? Like with Katherine Switzer and the Boston Marathon? And then the final thing I use storytelling for is to paint a picture of what a person’s life would be like if they decided to invest in your company or buy your product. What will their life be like? How will they be changed? And that’s when you end up sharing with them how much better their lives are going to be, how they will be more successful, happier, everything, if they end up investing in your company or you as a person if they hire you.

EK: Can I get a better job by being a better storyteller?

ML: Absolutely you can. I mean, storytelling is about educating people with information, it’s about entertaining people, but most importantly is about inspiring. And when you tell a memorable personal story you end up inspiring people and they want you around. They want to be a part of that story.

EK: You mentioned being proud of your company. Imagine you’re a great company with a great story behind, and you hire Matthew Luhn to learn how to tell that story better to the world. And you have employees, you have people working with you. How to engage other people in the company in telling that story together with you?

ML: Well, the first thing you need to do is you have got to make sure that everybody knows what the company is about. In eight seconds, can you describe what the company is doing? Take Tesla for example. What they’re doing, in eight seconds, is that they’re trying to create fossil fuel-free vehicles that look cool, and I think that’s it. What if a company could create fossil fuel-free vehicles that looked cool? That’s what the company is all about. Can you describe in eight seconds what is your company all about? And if you can do that then everybody at the company will be like, “I know what my company is about.” And then the next step is, can you describe what your job is within the company? See, a lot of times people feel disconnected from where they work because they don’t really know what their company is doing, they’re big-purpose and making the world a better place. They don’t really know what their job is within the company. They’re like, “I know I do human resources,” or “I’m a programmer,” but what they don’t know is how to answer a simple question of “Why am I really here?” And if you don’t know what your company story is or you don’t know your story within the company, or how your things are changing people, then all of the sudden you’re just coming in to get a paycheck. And then all of the sudden your heart is not into the job, and when you have a bunch of employees like that, your company has no direction and no heart. So what I do is, when I’m trying to get all the employees to be working together and be productive and happy, I make sure that everybody knows what the story of the company is, why they’re there and how they’re going to change the world. I know it sounds very simple, but it does take a storyteller sometimes to help remind them. And so I would go to a lot of companies to help clarify what their company does, what people do at the company, and how they’re going to change the world.

EK: Have you ever had a tough case, a company that you weren’t able to help or that one that didn’t end up using your advice on how to tell their story?

ML: A lot of times companies call me in to help them, and I’ll work all day with them or a couple of weeks with them to help them do this, then it’s up to them if they decide to stick to it. Or they have me come in to make sure they’re on the right track. Adidas has done a great job. I came in and started to work with them a year and a half ago and their stock just doubled last year. It’s because their story, of their company and their products, is starting to resonate with people. They’re just not trying to be Nike, what their story is, in eight seconds, that what if there was a shoe and apparel company that helped you to be the most creative you can be on and off the field. Not just a as sports person, but in all aspects of life. That’s what their story is now. And now everybody knows that and they can have better time understating what their job is at Adidas.

EK: And that was an example of a success story.

ML: Now, I would say that a lot of times, companies – especially the ones that have been around for a long time—have a little bit of a harder time saying, “Let’s do something new.” Like BMW. They’ve been around a long time, they’re very successful, so they are thinking, “Why should we change?” But the thing is that technologies change, the environment changes, things change in our social environment, and you need to make sure that you are adapting, that you’re innovating. So you just say to yourself, “We’re going to keep making diesel vehicles.” And now Germany is like banning diesel. And now BMW is like having to figure out, “Do we make electric cars when they’ve been laughing at Tesla; that will never pay off!” And now they are kind of shitting their pants. When you get to this place where you start saying, “No, we’ve never done it that way before”—that’s bad. You need to constantly be adapting and innovating. And to be able to do that you need to be constantly coming back and asking yourself, “What is the story of our company? What is our vision? What is the story of our people within the company? What is the story behind our product (even a car)?

EK: When you run a company, what is the right moment to think about this kind of strategy? About storytelling?

ML: I’d say that definitely before people start asking for it, this is when you want to innovate. You want to start seeing if you’re starting to get locked in to certain patterns. So, at Pixar Toy Story was very successful. It’s a “buddy” story. You must have seen some buddy stories: two characters that hate each other at the beginning of the story, they get stuck with each other in Act Two and have to work together and then in Act Three they become best friends. Like half of the movies every year in the whole world are buddy stories, right? So Toy Story was successful, but then there were another buddy story, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo, and Cars. And at the Studio we were like, “We are starting to make a formula, we are making almost all buddy stories. We better do something different before people start saying to us, “Guys, all your films are the same.” So that’s when we started making films like The Incredibles, which was not a buddy story. Or we started doing things like Inside Out where there was no traditional villain. You have to constantly be forcing yourself to take chances, to take risks that may fail in order to be a truly creative company. And this is not just for entertainment, it’s for business as well. So when Adidas decided, “We are going to end up making shoes that are not going to be connected to an athlete,” like Kanye West with the yeezy shoe which is the most popular shoe this year, people would say this is crazy: “Who’s going to buy a shoe for like a thousand bucks?” But the thing is that, to be a truly creative company, you need to be disruptive. And when you just say, “I’m going to copy what other companies are doing; I’m just going to blend in”—you are not being disruptive, you are just doing what everybody else is doing. You need to take risks. Risks are scary, especially for big companies. They don’t want to lose their image that they’ve worked so hard building. Or all of their money stored in their treasure pile. But if you don’t do this, slowly your company is going to go from successful to just now doing this, a slow death. You need to constantly be reinventing yourself.

EK: Speaking about image and about my target group, PR professionals. Polish PR pros are now speaking very loudly about how they’ve engaged in content marketing. They want to be closer to it, but I have an impression that they’re not creating any content at all. But they’re trying to show that content marketing is what they’ve been doing all the time. Would you have any tips for them?.

ML: Well, I would say, going back to the roots of storytelling, of what makes a great story, and I would imagine that even in a newsmagazine, you always want to make sure that you have a hero and a goal, and a set of obstacles, and how they were changed. I’d imagine you need that in every news story. I know people want to sell magazines and all that but you still need to put a good story in it. I would imagine everybody working at a newspaper or magazine should have a good sense of storytelling and know the basics of not just writing and dialoguing and that stuff but how to craft a good story, I imagine that would be important. You guys can always call me up if you’d like [laughs]. You know, some of my favorite instructors and teachers that I have learned from about storytelling are people like Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell is great in a way that he has put together all the universal themes of stories people have been telling to each other for thousands of years. He’s great. Also looking at not just great directors and writers but at people who are great at teaching it, like David Mamet. He has written a lot of great books on how to write. Those are the people that I’m always learning from. But there does come a point where you just need to write and to learn from your mistakes. Just know that practice will make you better.

EK: In one of your interviews you said you felt like a “story prophet.” What is the most difficult thing about being a story prophet?

ML: Well, I would say that it’s important in every industry to make sure that you’re sharing what you have learned to be able to help people. I think it’s very bad when, as an artist or an inventor, or someone in business, you learn things and you just keep it to yourself. Pixar has done very well and The Simpsons have done very well, especially the early part of both of those companies, and I want to share what I’ve learned with people. To be able to help them be able to do whatever job they do better, for entertainment or business. The difficult thing with that is that everybody wants me to come out and do talks and share all that and I need to make sure that I still give myself time to continue to create. It’s important that I’m teaching and sharing it with people, but I don’t want to stop creating myself. I want to still continue to do things, the only problem is that there’s only so many hours in a day and I’m working on a couple of movies with studios that I’m a part creator of and I also have three children and a wife, so the biggest challenge for me is time.

EK: But you don’t drink four bottles of wine every night…

ML: No, I’m a very busy, very “German-work-ethic” kind of person so I’m very smart about using the time I have. So I do most of my writing on scripts in airplanes, I use that as my writing time, so then when I’m with my family it’s just family time. So, that’s the challenge for me.

EK: I’m glad that you said that you’re still doing a lot of animation work and staying on top of things in your field because I think that many people who are experts at the beginning and then become keynote speakers finally stop doing what they’ve been all along. And people end up hearing speeches from the same Coca-Cola guy about all the cool things he was doing in the 1960s.

ML: Yeah, that could be a dangerous thing because it can make you rest on your laurels, just talking about the things that you’ve done. I think for me, that’s why I’m trying to do both of them: I’m working on films that are going to come out and teaching still, because I do love to travel, I won’t lie. I love going to new places and meeting new people. But I’m still an artist, I’m still a creative person, I can’t stop doing that or a part of me would die.

EK: What will you be doing in 10 years?

ML: What I think I would like to do is I want to continue to be working in film or TV, I want to continue working on things that have a good story, I don’t know if they’re going to be family entertainment or if it would be more selective but I do know that whatever I’ll be doing in 10 years, it’s going to be something creative. And I will be working until the day I die. I will never be retiring because that sounds really boring. And I hope that I will be able to do this with my family somehow, that I can work them into that.

EK: So a family-run creative business then…

ML: Well, my wife is still at Pixar, she’s been there 10 years and she’s also a writer and a story artist. We do the same job. And it would be fun if we ended up creating something together as a team. That could be fun.

EK: Can’t wait for the results. Fingers crossed! Thank you very much.

ML: My pleasure.

Source

How To Turn “Once Upon a Time” Into A Secret Storytelling Weapon For Your Business

[johnheintz]

Research is Transforming 6th Grade Educaction

Paris has some great schools. An American friend of mine lives near the Bastille with her French husband and two primary school-aged kids. She likes her kids’ school. But she still wants to move her family back to the US when they get to high school.

They want an American high school experience. The allure of US high schools isn’t math, science or history. It isn’t academic, college and career preparation. The Paris parents want cheerleading, prom, homecoming, football games, school spirit and sports. In other words, they want the comprehensive US high school experience, which isn’t offered in a French system that focuses almost exclusively on academics. 

School-aged kids’ parents disagree with me all the time on how much schools have changed. I’ve worked with many public, private and parochial, secondary and higher education institutions in three states and five countries, and I’ve advised parents, teachers and leaders. Helping my friends navigate schools is rewarding. They are passionate about their choices, and I know that those choices matter. I listen to them talk about conversations about whether it’s better to learn physics before biology, the best novels to introduce to teens, the value of studying abroad in China or Argentina and whether private school is worth the cost. We typically do not disagree about extra-curriculars like prom and sports, so when I heard my friends in France say they wanted to move back to the United States for high school extra-curricular like sports, a light bulb clicked on.

Many of the parents I advise spend their days working in data rich environments where their jobs often revolve around their ability to analyze and act not on emotion but on verifiable information. It seems reasonable that for one of the biggest decisions of their lives, these parents would rely on fairly detailed research and data, quantitative and qualitative, to support their decisions about where to send their kids all day every day for nearly two decades.

Decisions about schools aren’t made that way. When it comes to choosing schools, most parents go with their gut. Choosing a school based on cheerleading and prom exposes deeper assumptions about how schools work- or don’t work. 

Parents generally hold that schools haven’t changed much, and the popular literature saying schools look today like they did in the 195s is generally accurate. Even if parents notice minor changes, they simultaneously dismiss those changes as insignificant and conclude that what was good enough for them is good enough for their kids. When I try to persuade them that school today is fundamentally different, I usually fail. 

Schools are different because increased competition for selective college spots, including from international students and especially competitive children from China which topped 300,000 this year. 

Schools are different because of increased student stress due to the increased competition, which even parents who retreat to the safe suburbs can’t avoid. The competition is all the more cut-throat given increased academic accountability from accurate new assessments that mercilessly sort students leaving little room for consideration whether a child is nice. When I was in school, being nice was at least as important as performing well. Those days are over. 

Schools are different because of macroeconomic issues that have created a wildly different world. It’s unclear what work students will be doing in the future, so schools have a hard time creating highly targeted programs. 

Higher education costs continue to increase disproportionately to the economy overall. There are increasingly vocal questions about whether the big student loans for the big degrees are worth it. Even as the economy improves, there is  the concern that salaries are not increasing at pace with increasing education costs, and children turning 25 in 2050 will very likely have a lower quality of living than today, if they haven’t already.s

The evidence I give for a fundamentally different approach to school doesn’t move them. Parents seem incapable of handling bad prospects and/or are hold such romanticized views of their school days. They are blind to the coming tsunami. They speak positively of their kids’ schools, and most of their evidence, from what I can tell, comes from comparisons about their school experience, which just isn’t applicable in this global market.  

Just yesterday, a teacher spoke with a father in China who complained about his daughter’s experience at school. He remembered getting an assignment on Romeo and Juliet in tenth grade, and the fact that his daughter got a shorter Shakespeare assignment with more online analytical work was a negative sign to him. 

Parents send their kids to school thinking what their children experience is fundamentally similar to their own childhood experience. I’m gentle with those parents because they aren’t running schools, and they don’t understand how different schooling looks every day on the ground. I also let them go because I figure it doesn’t matter too much. I know parents are the central educators in their children’s lives but also am comfortable letting them stay in their lane, parenting while I stay in my lane, running schools. Today, I realized the problem with that argument. I arrived today at the best example of how schools have fundamentally changed. 

It’s research. 

Twenty years ago, most high school English classes taught research in high school when seniors did “the research paper.” Today, students would think it’s a joke to wait until twelfth grade to introduce research. Why? Students in third grade and earlier perform research every day, multiple times per day far more rapidly than any twelfth grader of the past. 

It’s old news saying that the internet has changed everything. It means a world-sized asteroid collision for schooling. A totally new approach to teaching and learning is needed that embraces these changes, yet most schools are plugging away at practices and pedagogies they’ve been doing for decades. Many are banning technology, sending their kids ever further into the Twilight Zone where students as young as 10 are asking why they can’t look up the answer on their phones. 

What needs to be updated? 

Research needs to be taught directly and at a much earlier age than high school. The curricular plan need to be comprehensive and discuss reliability of sources and how to give credit where credit it due. 

Research need to be taught by whatever means necessary. Students in Shanghai research on their phones. Why? It’s easier to have Virtual Private Networks, big business in China, on one device, and students often can’t afford big fancy computers. They are masters of working with thumb-typing, and, as I was amazed to learn early, they know where to find everything. 

Students need to be encouraged to do it with fast processors, fast internet and good online support. This is a hole-in-the-wall-like idea is that kids will research and learn on their own. It’s not forcing them to rifle through piles of papers in the controlled stacks of books in the Harvard Library. Every kid every day already researches information. They want to do this, so channeling this positive energy toward more productive directions is a great idea. 

Schools and universities are not gate holders to information. All the information out there is easily available. Schools that don’t take advantage of this by telling students not to use tech are ignoring reality and will soon become unable to function. 

Plagiarism. Traditional schools are futilely trying to control this tsunami of information and research by making increasingly tough rules against plagiarism. This is misinformed. Tech an opportunity for teaching and learning, not a time to legislate rules. 

Parents of little kids need to understand this and a get on board. If you as a parent think your kid will get the same education you got, you’re not only wrong, your expectation is hurting your child. Parents need to  advocate for things to look like they did when the way information was introduced in the past is gone, now and forever. 

Schools must commit to teaching skills. This has been true for decades and has been repeatedly highlighted in the research literature. With easy access to info, it’s more crucial today than ever to have the skills to manage it. In 1993 when I started teaching, I had colleagues who said all students must know Death of a Salesman or Moby Dick. Today naming a single text as a source of all good is insufficient. Content is more important than ever, but the curating function of schools is decreasingly necessary. Young students research constantly now. They instantly look up up everything they don’t know. If I give them Moby Dick, they will read the summary online before the book. There is no point to stopping it. We need to teach to it. Students need the skills to know those online summaries are woefully insufficient to provide them with the content they, themselves, need and want.

Schools can try to require kids to reading certain content and take away tech to avoid temptation, but if the kids don’t support it, it’s a short-term ”solution.“ All that matters now is giving students ownership of the content they find, read and ultimately respect. The content that motivates and garners their respect they will read, and that content will change their minds and expose them to culture. Schools ignoring that little kids are researching are missing this.

Sadly most schools are missing this because of parents. Parents aren’t the only ones who think their own education is good enough for today’s youth, but they are the most powerful ones. Parents still control more of their children’s education than a school ever could. When parents come to see how fundamentally schooling has changed - regardless whether parents think they are sending their kids to a “traditional” school or not - then schools will have the latitude to fundamentally change how they approach reading, writing, research and, most imperatively, learning.  

[ashtchau-blog]

Notebook 2

Ashley Chau

ETHN 2

Mondays @ 3 pm

York 3050A

Olivia Quintanilla

Notebook 2

For my second notebook, I’ve decided try making my “object” more broad in order to make it more focused (I know, this sounds completely contradictory. Allow me to explain, though.) As I mentioned in my previous notebook, I’d also given thought to writing about my dad for this notebook, notebook 2. I then realized, why couldn’t I write about them both, about both of their experiences; detail-wise they were completely different, but generally speaking they both encompass the course theme of “War and the Figure of the Refugee”. In order to better focus on the theme of “War and the Figure of the Refugee”, the national bind of citizenship, and the interplay of race, class, religion, and sexuality in shaping both my parents’ experiences as immigrants/refugees in America, I would like to include my dad’s story in this on-going reflective project. Essentially I’d like to talk about “the Figure of the Refugee” and provide specific examples, namely my parents, to better illustrate my intent/ideas.

The transnational context that surround both my parents’ stories are essentially the same. They both fled their respective birth nations (My mom fled from Cambodia, my dad from Vietnam) during the Cambodian Genocide and Vietnam War, respectively. Their parents fled, hoping to build a better/safer life for their children. Like many refugee families, they had only heard of the haven that was the United States of America. Never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that they would be sponsored by American families and allowed to build anew their lives in a foreign land from which they’d only heard tales of how benevolent, friendly, and humanitarian its citizens were.

Before I begin to analyze my chosen theme, my object’s national bind, and its inherent intersectionality, I must remember to recount my dad’s story. My dad, the third oldest of six, grew up in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The son of a pilot in the Southern Vietnamese Air Force (Anti-communists), he had it relatively easier than my mom. I’m not going to go into too much detail about his life prior to he and his family having to flee the South as it fell to the North (April 30th, 1975), but because my grandpa was a part of the Southern Vietnamese Air Force, my dad and his family were guaranteed an escape by cargo plane. He often recounts how in the middle of the night my grandma rushed to assemble her five (My youngest aunt was not yet born) children and pack one pair of clothes, not knowing what exactly was going to happen to them besides knowing that they had to escape or face the unimaginable (Being a military family, they most likely wouldn’t be let off so easily. Placement in a re-education camp was not likely.) Add on the fact that my grandpa would not be joining them, but would meet up with them in Guam. The cargo plane had no actual seats, being a cargo plane, with people packed in like sardines and made to stand for the entirety of the flight, from Vietnam to Guam (Approx. 5 hours). At one point in time, I’m not sure when/where, but my dad says he recalls devouring a package of rations meant for those in the U.S. military (crackers, mashed potatoes, etc.), and thinking it tasted so unbelievably good at the time. He says he probably thought so because 1. He was a young, famished child, 2. He had never had American food before and was in awe. He recalls how generous and kind the people of the U.S. were to offer their food and help in a time when his family needed it the most.

After spending three weeks in Guam, my dad and his family were flown to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas where a family sponsored their immigration to the U.S. It was from then on that my dad began the story of his U.S. citizenship. From learning English, to dealing with racism and bullying as an elementary schooler; having to pick strawberries in the fields and work odd jobs as a highschooler to graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Fullerton, my dad’s road to living the American dream became possible because the U.S. as a nation believed in humanity and the promise of those seeking a better, safer life within its borders. Like many who seek U.S. Citizenship today, my dad was not wealthy and could not offer much as a young refugee, except the promise of becoming a law-abiding, contributing, proud citizen that would one day “pay back” the kindness that this country has shown him. The beauty of the United States is its compassion and openness to people from different walks of life. Currently, a large portion of the U.S. populace is seeing an unprecedented and alarming shift in attitude towards foreigners/refugees/immigrants, no thanks to the current president’s astonishingly rash and dangerous ban on Muslims/individuals from certain majority-Muslim countries, even those that have valid greencards. Contrast this new “policy” to the treatment of refugees like my parents, not so long ago in U.S. history. What has changed? This question is not easily answered, but it’s important that we don’t regress and find ourselves in the modern equivalent of Nazi Germany.

Race, class, religion, and sexuality definitely shaped both my parents’ experiences as refugees/immigrants in the U.S. It is without a doubt that because my parents were Asian (generally seen as submissive and non-violent, easily directed/supervised), impoverished (they arrived in the U.S. with basically nothing except the clothes off their backs, at the mercy of their sponsor families), were determined to follow a religion that didn’t seemingly pose a threat to the American way of life (compare this to the current sentiment towards Muslims) or determined to be religiously moldable (my dad has mentioned that he remembers being made to go to church on Sundays with his sponsor family), and heterosexual (had they been homosexual, their acceptance into society would have been more difficult), their path to citizenship may be seen as less wrought with obstacles and hardships as some people’s paths today. I’d like to debunk that myth. My parents didn’t have it easy. They came here knowing no English whatsoever. They enduring daily bullying and racist comments from kids who’d never seen a “chink” before. They had their fair share of physical encounters with kids who messed with them or their siblings, which obviously meant that “[the bullies] messed with all of [my aunts/uncles]”. Working as highschoolers at donut shops, newspaper companies, and all other sorts of odd jobs just to help out their parents, it wasn’t easy.

A C5 cargo plane, similar to the one that my dad’s family stood in while escaping from Vietnam to Guam: 

Example of the type of military food my dad recalls tasted “so good” as a child/refugee:

Sources:

My dad

http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from-guam-to-vietnam

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2263

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meal,_Combat,_Individual_ration

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3Z3sU0rPDkg/maxresdefault