#is that they need to produce TV good enough to bring in new subscribers. but which is consistently good enough from week to week to keep

[tomwambsmilk]

This is such a long post that nobody asked for but I've been seeing Discourse again...

I feel like something that’s missing in most of the discussions I’ve seen on Tumblr about how streaming companies like Netflix have changed TV production for the worse is the profit motive. Or at least, it’s misunderstood. For example, I see a lot of people complaining about how Netflix only considers a show worthwhile if a bunch of people binge it as soon as it comes in, which is true - but I don’t know that everyone understands why, and it's lead to a skewed perception of what's actually going on, and why various studios and platforms make the decisions that they do.

The thing about Netflix is that it’s a public company that's currently unprofitable - so, every single thing it does is oriented toward "growth" (gaining new subscribers). Every show they decide to invest in, they do so because they think it’ll make people who don’t have Netflix want to get Netflix. And if they launch a show, and a whole bunch of new people join the platform, AND their viewer data shows that this show received disproportionate viewership in the same month all those people joined the platform - then it was a good investment. The further out you go from the release, the less correlation there is between the viewership of a show and new subscribers, so the less those viewer numbers matter to them.

Additionally, people talking about the show is more valuable to them than people actually watching it, because people talking about the show gives them free word-of-mouth marketing. Once your friend has bought a Netflix subscription, Netflix doesn't care what they watch, or at what pace. So obviously, if you can make everyone feel like they need to watch the entire show RIGHT NOW because everyone is talking about it and they can't avoid spoilers, that's a much stronger marketing strategy than letting people watch at their own pace.

And that’s why seasons are so short - a longer season costs more money and won’t bring in any extra subscribers, so it's a bad investment. It’s also why Netflix shows tend to be cancelled after only a couple of seasons - if a show hasn’t brought in many new subscribers after the first two seasons, it’s not likely to do so in the future, and so it becomes a poor investment, regardless of how many people already on the platform love it. And even beloved shows like Stranger Things eventually reach a point where everyone who loves it is already on the platform, and even though it's still massively popular it's no longer profitable on the same scale.

All of this is to contrast with network TV, where the revenue comes from advertisers. The more eyeballs are on a show, the more money a network can charge for ad space during that show. So the more beloved a TV show is, the more episodes you want in a season; even if the quality of some of those episodes is poor because the creative team is overworked and underpaid (ie exploited), people will still tune in and you’ll still make money. And that’s also how you end up with shows of 10-15 seasons, even if the show starts to suck around season 8 or 10; as long as enough devoted fans are still watching the show, they can still charge mega ad dollars and make a lot of money. A long-running show with name recognition will make more money, even when it sucks, than an excellent brand-new show with no name recognition. It also means that shows that are self-contained “plot of the week” type shows do a LOT better than stories with season-long arcs, because those shows are more likely to attract casual viewers in addition to regular ones, and people are less likely to abandon the whole show if they miss an episode or two. Plus, if you don't need to worry about the order a season airs in, you can make a lot more money off of rerun adspace outside of the regular season.

And finally, growth looks different for a network. On Netflix, a single person can only provide a single unit of growth, because you're only going to purchase one subscription, so there's very little incentive for Netflix to cater to existing subscribers so long as the platform is 'good enough' for them to avoid cancelling. On the other hand, network growth is calculated based on viewership. So, let's say I watch "The Office" on NBC every week, and nothing else. And then one day, a friend tells me how much they love this other NBC show, "30 Rock", that's halfway through its second season, so I start watching that. That's growth for NBC! They can now charge a little bit more for ad space on 30 Rock than they could before - and it's happened without a whole new person needing to be introduced to their network. So there's a strong incentive to pay attention to what existing viewers want, rather than just focusing on what brings in new viewers. After all, not watching one specific show is a much easier decision than cancelling an entire platform subscription. (The downside of this is that network TV creators are far more beholden to the demands of the audience than a show on a platform like Netflix or HBO, and that can lead to sacrificing some creative integrity).

Overall my point is that the entire structure and shape of TV shows has ALWAYS been motivated by profit. That doesn’t mean the complaints about Netflix are invalid - they are VERY valid and I agree with most of them - but I think it’s important to diagnose the problem correctly: the people with the money to make a tv show are also usually the people who would like to make as much money as possible off your tv show, and will manipulate it accordingly. What’s the solution? I’m not sure, but pretending that these studios are making decisions based on “bad data” or “not understanding what people want” or just pure caprice is simply naive. Its not that they don't know what you want - they just don't care.

[dereksmcgrath]

I Am Continuing ‘Sunday Morning Manga’

And there are going to be some changes. 

I apologize for the slowdown on Sunday Morning Manga livestreams. I enjoy getting to talk about recently published manga chapters, so to keep the series going, I’m going to make some changes. 

Livestreams Will Continue

Livestreams will continue--when time is available. I think there is value to offering a more immediate response to new manga chapters as they come out on Sunday mornings, if just as a record, however imperfect and quickly produced, for how my opinion of a story shifts along with the story beats, cliffhangers, and moments of plot progression and character progression. 

A Political Diatribe

That’s not to ignore the flaws of livestreaming, however: I think we have seen enough in the last week that people reacting immediately without sufficient information is foolish.

I’m talking to you, the 24-hour cable channel hosts and the white privilege mob on the shitty bird app, all of you brain-dead wimps and traitors who want to bring back that fucking orange Nazi, that fucking orange fascist, that fucking dictator, and who refuse to do the work to inform the public that Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are the only viable option when voting in November, not only to continue the progress made on protecting the environment, expanding LGBTQ+ rights, and keeping this democracy alive, but also to prevent a fucking orange Nazi who led a goddamn insurrection from getting back into the White House so he can pollute our water, drive LGBTQ+ people into the closet, foster anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish hate, take away Social Security and Medicare, raise prices on all goods, and destroy not only this economy and this democracy but also all other nations and this entire planet. 

But there I go being political--and will keep being political. 

Campaign for Democrats at postcardstovoters.org, check voter registration at vote.org, and donate at actblue.com. 

Shifting to Podcasts and Video Essays

I think the livestreams have benefited from the pre-scripted segments I record live that reflect on what has happened up to that point in the manga. These pre-scripted segments deserve more care in editing, writing, and clarity, and they are more suited to the podcast and video essay formats. 

Therefore, moving forward, I’m going to gear Sunday Morning Manga towards two different structures: ongoing livestreams as time permits, and podcasts and video essays released whenever they are completed. 

These changes to Sunday Morning Manga will change the schedule for Patreon and public releases, although I hope the number of releases will increase. If I can’t do livestreams every Sunday morning, that means I can put in that time to sharing scripts in progress and edited audio segments to Patreon at the “behind the scenes” tier, and I can share completed podcasts and video essays early to the higher tier on Patreon before they come out publicly. And when I have a new podcast or essay out, I can do livestreams, whether for Patreon subscribers or publicly, as a question and answer session about the topic of discussion. 

Format Expansion

And by focusing podcasts and video essays on more scripted work, this also expands opportunities for what Sunday Morning Manga can discuss. 

Previous episodes have not all been live reactions to new manga chapters, especially on Sundays when there was literally no new chapter released. 

In previous episodes I have talked about certain anime as well as non-Japanese comics and animation, I’ve talked about teaching manga and anime, I devoted one October to Halloween-appropriate TV shows and films (and I want to keep doing so during future Octobers), I’ve talked about the need for a left-ward swing in United States and global politics if we are to continue to have these conversations about manga--there is a lot going on in each episode of Sunday Morning Manga aside from only the live reaction. 

What Topics Would You Like to Hear?

Because Sunday Morning Manga has and will be more than just live reactions to new manga chapters, what else would you enjoy in future podcasts and video essays? 

Would you like interviews with others who teach with comics? Would you like discussions about current anime episodes released, or retrospectives on popular or under-appreciated anime? Would you want to hear more about the history of topics covered in certain manga, even ones that I know next to nothing about but want to learn more about, such as rakugo in Akane-banashi? Or would you like me to track how techniques in character designs, paneling, and storytelling have changed in the course of a particular mangaka’s oeuvre? 

Let me know in the comments section or email me at derek.s.mcgrath@gmail.com. 

Bringing Back the Literary Survey Series

These changes to the release schedule of Sunday Morning Manga will also give me the time I have wanted to get back to sharing lesson plans and discussions about teaching, interpreting, and enjoying other literary works. It has been years since the last episode in my American Literature I survey series, which I am bringing back in podcast and video essay format, with livestreams following the release of each episode. The video essays will be on my YouTube; the podcasts will be in their own separate RSS feed, with early access to both on Patreon, but I will share a few of those episodes periodically in the Sunday Morning Manga feed for promotion or when they are particularly relevant to discussions about animation, comics, or topics similar to whatever manga I’m reading. 

The next episode in the American Literature I survey was supposed to be on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”--and in light of recent events, and our need to get Joe Biden and Democrats elected to the White House, Congress, and state legislatures and governor positions, talking about what “Brown” says in 2024 is vital. (Again: postcardstovoters.org, vote.org, actblue.com.)

Speaking of Politics… (Get Out the Vote for Biden and Democrats) 

These changes also mean that the podcast and video essay series for both Sunday Morning Manga and the literary surveys will continue to be political, will continue to respond to what we need to do to support Democrats against the ongoing threat of the bigoted, fascistic Republican Party, and will be featured as their own separate video essays and will be included as podcast episodes in the Sunday Morning Manga and American Literature I podcast feeds. (Because of how timely and important these segments will be to get out the vote for Biden and Democrats, these portions will be shared publicly and free and not behind any paywalls.) 

And because this, as with every election, is the most important one in our lives, this more flexible release schedule means that I will be using the time available to get out the vote for Joe Biden and other Democrats to take the White House, Congress, state legislatures, governor seats, school boards, judgeships, city councils, and mayoral seats. Campaign for Democrats at postcardstovoters.org, check voter registration at vote.org, and donate at actblue.com. 

I’m Keeping the Title Sunday Morning Manga (for Now)

What about the title of Sunday Morning Manga? I don’t want it to be an artifact title: I think it is catchy, I have stuck with this series for more than 70 episodes over two years now, new chapters in Shonen Jump come out on Sunday morning for live reactions--I don’t want to give up on that title. I do think it is too geared to just the Sunday morning releases from Shonen Jump, but I do think having livestreams at the time of official release is important for the sake of the atmosphere of just about everyone reacting at the same time to the same work of literature. 

For now, my solution is this: new podcasts and video essays of Sunday Morning Manga will premiere on Sundays as soon as they are done (with early release first on Patreon), and, schedule permitting, livestreams will follow later that same Sunday. This does mean releases will not be every single Sunday, but at least this will keep the time and date consistent until I find a better release schedule or a better title than Sunday Morning Manga. 

Thank You and Wrapping Up

Thank you to Patreon and Ko-fi contributors, and I welcome the feedback of contributors as well as the feedback of current and prospective listeners: please drop a comment or email me at derek.s.mcgrath@gmail.com.  Now I better get to work on writing, recording, and editing. As I say at the end of every Sunday Morning Manga, stay safe out there, people: make sure to mask up, get vaccinated, install adblockers, prevent artificial intelligence from stealing your work, register to vote, campaign against fascism and against war and against ethnic cleansing and against genocide and against terrorism, and learn and practice anti-bigotry. Have a good day. Bye.

[princessofprocrastination]

I Messed Up Didn’t I? (Dream)

MASTERLIST

pairing : dreamwastaken x singer!reader (angst) 

summary : after the breakup, he sees that you’re growing as a singer, while he’s suffering alone, but you don’t think that about him, seeing he’s growing on youtube. 

a/n : you’re replacing gwen in the voice! 

hey! this isn’t going to be the only part! stay tuned for more!

it ended after an argument. he was constantly on his computer, and would forget every important day. from your birthday, to your anniversaries, he forgot them all. 

he even would disregard it, saying it wasn’t important anyway, that everyday could be a special day. that hurt you a lot. you two have been together for a long time and you didn’t want to lose it. you couldn’t afford to lose him, not like this. 

sometimes it felt like he didn’t love you anymore, that he didn’t feel the same anymore. it hurt to see him on his phone, or on discord call with his friends. 

you thought his friends were amazing and supportive, but his friends took away your limited time together, and hurt like a bitch. 

at first, you were okay with his constant video games, knowing that’s his job now, and that he’s been supportive of you, and you should be supportive of him too. 

at first, it had been tough, you brought in the money, paid for the bills, bought groceries since you were making money through music. you weren’t stingy, you are totally fine with spending money for him, but it felt wrong at the same time. 

your mum always told you never settle for a guy, that he would do things for you if he wanted to. and that stuck to you, but you love dream, with everything in you. you couldn’t afford to leave him, to break this long time relationship. 

you two had been there for each other since the roots. and to see it crumble like this hurt a lot. 

he didn’t notice. he didn’t care enough to ask you how your day went anymore. he was too busy on his computer. 

you made the effort. you asked him the usual questions, to which he’s reply with a ‘’m fine’ or simply not answer. you brought him food whenever you notice he’s been skipping meals to sit on his desk. 

you got him a new monitor, gaming chair, a new desk. everything he could’ve ever wanted. if it made him happy, you’d buy it, even if it took time away from you together. 

he didn’t notice how you’re slipping away, barely talking to him, barely even sleeping on the same bed anymore. he didn’t notice the constant emails on your phone. or maybe he did, and he didn’t care. 

he didn’t notice that you two were basically living separate lives in the same house. he didn’t notice that you were thinking about leaving. 

it never occurred to dream that you’d snap one day, that you’d leave him. it never occurred to him that you’d buy your own house one day and leave him, alone in his house. 

it started small, you invited him to go to a dinner you had with your producers. he said he would left out, so you let him be, understanding it completely. 

then you’d ask multiple times for him to just get out of that chair and eat dinner with you, even if it’s just once. you told him you missed him, yet he still pushed you away. 

you didn’t understand where the relationship went wrong. you tried your best to work it out, talk it through, but it seemed like he didn’t even want it anymore, judging by the way he’s acting. 

he says it’s just a part of the relationship, getting comfortable. but you didn’t think getting comfortable meant that you both didn’t talk to each other all day. you didn’t want this type of comfortable. 

“just this once, let’s go get dinner. we can go eat at your favourite place.” you begged him. 

“no, i want to finish editing, can’t you go yourself, maybe bring me takeout?” he replies to you. 

“i could but i just want to spend time with you.” you begged again, almost whining. 

“just go, we spend so much time together anyway.” dream tells you, almost out of anger. 

“we haven-” you tried to say before getting cut off. 

“OMG JUST LEAVE, I’M STRESSED OUT RIGHT NOW, LEAVE” he screams at you. 

“i just-” you tried again, almost crying at that point. 

“LEAVE.” he scolded again. 

you left the room quietly, not wanting a screaming fest to start again. 

you sat on your shared bed. thinking about what went wrong. how did your relationship become this bad. 

you packed a bag. you didn’t care about your clothes, you could always buy new ones. you didn’t bother packing much, just the necessities. 

you walked out the door, grabbing your car keys on your way out. 

as you started you car, you sat there for a while. this was it huh? 

you told yourself that you made the right decision getting a house before this argument came.

you didn’t mean to hide it away from him, in fact, you wanted to bring it up during dinner, but since the dinner invitation didn’t work, you didn’t bother. 

the longer you drove, the more sad you became. tears trickled down your cheeks as you drove silently to a hotel before needing to sit a long drive from florida to california. 

you sat on the hotel bed, thinking about dream. you hated ending it this way. you didn’t even think this would end. you were planning to get married, for god’s sake. 

you cried even more thinking about it. 

you felt alone. but you knew you still had friends who supported you. but it felt like there was a void left unfilled after you left that house.

maybe it’s for the best. 

-

DREAM’S POV

i heard the door close. i heard it all. i heard her packing her stuff. but i don’t know why i didn’t stop her. i was too busy streaming. 

it didn’t hit me until a couple days later. and when the days came, it was too late. 

i knew i messed up. 

when i told george and sapnap, they were furious. they said they warned me before. they asked why i’m not looking for her. 

i told them it’s cause i knew you were no where near me. 

i knew i messed up. 

terribly. 

-

YOUR POV

months went by so quick.

the hold in your chest unhealed. but you knew you needed to get over it. 

you saw twitter, instagram, youtube. you saw that he had been blowing up. 

over 13 million subscribers. you were impressed. you were immensely proud of him. you wish you were there to celebrate it with him. but you weren’t. 

fortunately for you, months after you moved to california, you were offered to be a judge on the voice. 

you didn’t waste a second telling your team to say yes. you grew up watching the voice. and plus, you got to meet the john legend, kelly clarkson and blake sheldon. who would miss that opportunity. 

you spent a while trying to settle down in your new house. it was huge. huge for one person. but you needed it, the time alone. 

you liked it peaceful and quiet, it helped you heal slowly. it helped you to move on. 

you came out with a full album since then, which ended up being a hit. you were super grateful for the love you’ve been getting. 

now, you sat in one of the judges chairs for blind auditions. 

your hairstylist was making sure your hair was fully sprayed and looked good. you made small conversation with her, thanking her for making you look good for the camera. 

there was a camera for each judge. you looked into the one right in front of you and said. “holy shit i can’t believe i’m here.” 

john, who sat next to you laughed at your antics. you glanced at him and gave him a grin. 

“we’re ready.” the producer said to the judges, signaling that they were starting. 

audition after audition, you met amazing artists. 

“you’re amazing and i used my block on john for you. if you didn’t know, he’s a little scary when he’s competitive. i would love for you to be on my team.” you said to an amazing singer you turned your chair for. 

she sung an r&b song, to which got a four chair turn, but you were desperate. you needed her. 

“um, oh my god, this is hard.” she said to us, before choosing her mentor. 

kelly and blake chimed in, making her turn her head to look at them. 

“no. please, don’t listen or look at them, just me.” you said to her, practically begging. 

john laughed at this and said. “holy shit, you’re that desperate?” 

“yes, john, i love her.” you laughed along with the other two judges. 

“well-” the artist started. you crossed your fingers, hoping that she would pick you. you had a good chance as john was blocked. but kelly was good competition too, not counting out blake. 

“i pick.” she paused. 

“oh my god, spit it out already.” i screamed and laughed a little. 

“i pick y/n” she announced. 

“HOLY SHIT YES.” you stood from your chair and jumped a little, excited. 

“you losers.” you told the other three judges. 

“yeah, yeah, whatever,” kelly played along. 

-

blind auditions went along really smoothly. 

you’ve seen your face plastered all over the voice’s instagram and twitter. they even posted a clip of you being excited after getting picked as a mentor for the r&b artist. 

you were having a blast. your family from back home would facetime you and congratulate you or laugh at the stupid things you did on tv. 

what you didn’t know was that dream had seen them all. after all, he hadn’t paid attention to you before, why start now? your little jumps on your judge seat as you waited for the next audition. your little shouts to amazing singers auditioning. 

he was proud, to say the least. 

in this couple of months, he’d seen you grow into a young and successful woman. he was sad that he couldn’t be there to congratulate you through all your achievements. 

but that’s what he gets for abandoning his one and only love. 

at first, he didn’t even look into what you were doing. not until a few weeks after you left, george and sapnap had said something along the lines of your name and you being a judge on the voice. 

them two had been purposely teasing him. they knew that he treated you like absolute shit before you left and they made it a thing to make sure clay knew that. 

you weren’t in contact with dream for obvious reasons but you facetimed george and sapnap constantly, even before and after your shows. 

they had been through it all with you. since you were only a couple years older than nick, you two clicked well together, always talking about tiktok trends and the new lingo. but you don’t count off george for being one of your bestfriends. 

you actually had shown the camera once or twice when you facetimed george and sapnap. well, now the world knew that you three knew each other. they just didn’t know how you three met. 

twitter blew up with lots of hashatgs about you three, talking about ‘when worlds’ collide’.

you thought that was funny. they even asked you to link up and be friends with dream, who you knew was dream, but you’ve always ignored those types of comments. 

you saw the ship comments between you and george. you two would laugh it off and constantly say that you two are just friends. he’s your exes bestfriend, that would be awkward. 

dream saw it all, the facetime calls are all over the internet. your supporters were shocked to see that you knew each other. they didn’t know that dream and you knew each other though. 

he saw that you’ve been ignoring the comments to link up with him. his heart broke at that. but he deserved it. he ignored you for the longest time. now it’s your turn.

his heart broke at the shipping comments between you and george after knowing how often the facetime. 

dream knew he deserved it. he deserved all the pain coming to him. 

he felt grateful of his new, large following on the internet, but it felt like nothing compared to having you in his arms. why had he taken you for granted?

he was determined to see you again, to ask you to come back. he needed you. 

PART TWO!

[alexanderlee1012]

Reflections on Mulan

It took me a long time to cherish my Taiwanese-American heritage. Growing up in the United States, it wasn’t a facet of my identity that I attached any importance to. As a child, I even actively denied that part of me. Whenever my family went out to eat Chinese food, I threw a temper tantrum and would only eat if we stopped by fast food first. I didn’t bother speaking Chinese; I replied to my Mom’s Mandarin in English and I consistently repeated the entry level class for my Saturday Chinese-school until I was not compelled to go anymore. The only attempt to understand the vast history and traditions of my culture was acknowledging the bare minimum to profit off of the New Years. 

While there are many reasons for my delayed acceptance of my culture and identity, the portrayal of Asians in Western Society was definitely a significant factor. Similar to many young children, I was deeply impacted by television and movies. My weeks were organized by TV show airtimes and the few times I was able to go to the movies were momentous occasions. I idolized the heroes on screen, wishing to become just like them. However, what I saw on the screen never closely resembled me. Almost all Western media featured white protagonists, and in the few moments there was somebody of Chinese descent, they were essentially a one-dimensional caricature that was completely unrelatable (for men, choose either kung fu master or a super nerd, and for women, choose an exotic hypersexualized love interest or submissive wallflower). Many values are actively defined and imprinted at a societal level, and this one was no different. The messaging from Hollywood was loud and clear: there is nothing valuable about being Asian American; this culture only deserves to be simplified to basic tropes. 

To my delight, as my own relationship with my culture deepened and flourished over the decades, it seemed that the media’s portrayal of Asians were finally evolving as well. First starting on the fringes, with Asian-American content creators using new platforms such as YouTube to reach directly to their audience, then slowly creeping into the mainstream, with sitcoms and major blockbuster films. Finally, Asian-Americans can be cast as characters that were complex and interesting. Their only defining feature wasn’t just that they were Asian! Similar to white actors and actresses, it was just another part of their identity. Witnessing Asians star in these multifaceted roles has been amazing given how the landscape was just a few years prior. 

I also understand that at the end of the day media is a business, and for this movement to not be temporary, Asians need to throw their full support when these things happen. Personally, I watched Crazy Rich Asians four times (two times in theaters, once on a plane, and then renting again at home to show my mom), and I’ve been subscribed to Wong Fu’s Patreon ever since I’ve learned of it. So of course, given this momentous live-action remaking of Mulan, I’ve been at the edge of my seat, excited and ready to support. 

Especially given the cultural phenomenon that was Black Panther, I was ecstatic that Disney was going to take on Mulan again. While many were bemoaning the exclusion of Mushu, Shang and those classic songs, I actually grew more excited since the director stated that she made those decisions to be more faithful to the original legend. The anticipation kept growing and growing as the pandemic forcibly pushed back the release again and again. Until finally, this past Friday’s release on Disney+, where I eagerly paid the additional $30 premium access to be among the first to support the movie. 

My disappointment was immeasurable.

While there are many major flaws to dive deep into regarding this movie (especially the superpowers that weaken the narrative of a woman fighting to be seen as an equal in a patriarchal society), I wanted to spend some time to speak on some smaller details that yanked me out of the immersion by how grossly misrepresented it was. In life, it’s the small actions that build up to communicate your intent. Love is shown by showing care and consistency in the tiniest of details; however, in this case, the small details accumulated to disrespect and disregard instead. These cultural details clearly didn’t matter to the people designing this film.

Warning slight spoilers ahead, but nothing too major if you’re familiar with the story.

The villagers from Mulan’s hometown all lived together in a Tulou (土樓), a circular earthen hut that can house many families. However these buildings are a facet of the Hakka people living in Fujian originating from the 12th century. Mulan’s story takes place in the Northern Wei Dynasty; which occurs during 386 to 534 AD and is, as the name describes, in the northern part of China. Not only is it geographically inaccurate, but there is a time difference of 600+ years there! That would be akin to placing a modern skyscraper penthouse into the Renaissance.

As someone who is learning more about Chinese tea to connect to their culture, the teapot used during the matchmaking scene was equally jarring. The teapot was a Yokode kyusu, a teapot that has a side handle 90 degrees from the sprout. While Japanese tea culture was originally imported from China during the Song Dynasty, the cultures have significantly diverged. Each has their unique vessels, tools, and processing techniques worthy of celebrating (matcha vs pu’er, sencha vs oolong, yokode kyusu vs yixing). However, maybe to the creators of this movie, east Asian culture is just all the same to them. 

The phoenix was a central character in the movie, and to the chagrin of many fans of the original, Mushu’s replacement. As the Hua family’s ancestral guardian spirit, it provided a nice symbolism for Mulan, as her character’s male persona dies and she is reborn as Hua Mulan. What is egregious is that Phoenixes are not even an animal within Chinese folklore, that’s a Western (Greek) myth! While some may point out that there is a Chinese mythical bird called the Fenghuang (鳳凰), these are immortal birds that only choose to visit regions when there is peace and prosperity. What it definitely is NOT is a reincarnating bird leading warriors into the heat of battle. Sure, Fenghuang are genderfluid and that does match Mulan, but why was the only emphasized trait of the bird the aspect from Greek lore? Why bother taking out Mushu to be closer to the original if it’s replacement is a Western myth?

Finally, I have to bring up the obvious change in accents that happened when Mulan changed from a kid to an adult. Why cast a child actor with an American accent if the main character has a Chinese accent? There is no way that any other movie with a 200M+ budget would have allowed a white child actor to speak with an American accent, to then change it to a British accent when that character grew up and not even acknowledge it. Are we just supposed to be okay with it since they’re at least both Chinese looking?

No movie will ever be picture perfect in representing any culture, trade-offs are inevitable. However, I can’t see how those choices above added anything. Why would you make the villagers live in a Tulou? Was it critical to the plot? Every other Mulan adaptation is fine without a Greek Phoenix, why make it so necessary to this re-telling? Those small details exposed the attitude that I was all too familiar with growing up: who cares about representing actual Chinese culture?

After watching that movie, it felt as if the creative process was a room of white people gathered together, cherry-picking what fit their own narrative, sprinkling some Asian artifacts throughout, shrugging and saying to each other “That’s Chinese-y right? Good enough for me!” Imagine my lack of surprise when I checked to see that none of the screenwriters, producers or director had an Asian background. Chinese culture is the longest continuing culture in the world. It deserves to be shared for what it is (warts and all), not to be trivialized into a simplified palette that’s easiest to digest. Chinese representation in Western media should be about collaborating with us as peers, not to be used as a tool to extract the growing affluence of the Chinese and it’s diaspora.

I so badly wanted this to be a celebration, but now it’s a lose-lose situation. I wouldn’t want the younger version of me to watch this. It would have pushed me further away from my culture; I would either not relate to the characters alluding to “honor” every other sentence, or I would see that my culture isn’t worth even having just one person in this $200M major blockbuster film correct the gross cultural inaccuracies. On the other hand, I also don’t want critics to point at bad numbers and proclaim that Asian representation isn’t worth the investment. 

I just wish for us to be portrayed as who we truly are. 

[allisas]

[ Original Blog Post ]

THE SIMS 4 - ECO LIFESTYLE

TAKE SUSTAINABILITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN THE SIMS 4 ECO LIFESTYLE

Power up with renewable energy, vote to change, and go green.

Nestled up against a quarry by the water, Evergreen Harbor has a long history of natural beauty marred by pollution. Over the years, it has become… well, not so green at all. Smog and dirty air cloud the skies, junk has accumulated in empty lots, and trash litters the docks of the harbor—it’s maybe not the best fishing environment. But in The Sims™ 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack*, it’s up to your Sims to return it to its former glory! (Or they can just party it up in filthy style. We won’t judge!)

Move It, Move It

Sims arriving in Evergreen Harbor have their choice of three different neighborhoods. The community of Grims Quarry is best off, environmentally speaking, though grimy and cluttered with waste. Still, its clean air accentuates its appeal when compared to the middling Conifer Station and rundown Port Promise. Once Sims start making an effort, though, each of these neighborhoods transforms. Go all-in on the industrial-chic aesthetic by turning an old shipping container lot into your new home in Port Promise, or take a leisurely stroll atop of the old train station’s parkway in Conifer Station when Evergreen Harbor finally lives up to its name.

Sims also reap the rewards of living either the green or industrial lifestyle even beyond Evergreen Harbor. Check your impact in almost any neighborhood or world of your choosing—excluding Strangerville and Destination Worlds—or pause the eco-footprint effects from the game options menu. You decide where and when it matters to you.

Hit the Dump(ster)

Need a TV, a table, or even a mattress? Check the dumpster! A lot of the things you find in the trash aren’t junk at all. That first-generation TV is a nostalgic but functional throwback! Sure, the mattress might have a coffee stain and a tear or two, but you can fix it up—or just use it as-is. And that singed oven is perfectly fine after you wipe it down. There’s no reason to buy new when you can basically furnish your house without spending a single Simoleon. Just make sure the dumpster’s not already occupied by any other Sims getting frisky…. You’ve been warned.

Waste Not, Want Not!

So, your Sim just bought a new couch and needs to get rid of the old one. You can sell it, of course, but why not turn it into something new? With the Recycler, you can break that old couch down into reusable components for your next invention. To get the rest of the materials, keep an eye out for Bits & Pieces while you’re scrounging around in the dumpster. Once you’ve collected enough, you can create your own items in the amazing new Fabricator!

You Have the Power

What power? The power of sustainable resources! Who do? You do! From wind turbines to solar panels, generate your own electricity at home. Whether you place them on your roof or in your yard, they offset your bills and take you off the grid—literally, they expand off-the-grid functionality. Sims might choose to gather their own water with a dew collector too. Who needs infrastructure now? Of course, you could always go for a traditional power generator if green energy isn’t your thing.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Explore two new careers in The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle. As a Civil Designer, it’s your job to fix this town up—with help, of course. Once you get your Eco Inventions up and running, your neighbors are sure to take notice. On the other hand, if you’re more of a creative soul, why not turn a profit on the stuff you’re making? Perhaps you’re a Fizzy Juicer, a furniture maker, or a candlemaker. Once you’ve gathered your resources, like ingredients or repurposed dyes, you can get to work and fill orders through the computer as a Freelance Crafter! You can also sell your goods with an Entrepreneur's Table at the Community Space on your own time

Come Together

Every week, you and your neighbors can vote on a Neighborhood Action Plan like funding Green Initiatives, supporting Self-Sufficiency, or encouraging Free Love. You can also designate a purpose for the Community Space. Transform it into a shared garden, a maker space, or a marketplace for everyone to enjoy. You get to build it in nearly any world in The Sims 4! Bring Sims together around vertical gardens and hydroponic planters in Brindleton Bay; learn from other craftspeople in the workshop of Willow Creek; or sell your goods and peruse other offerings at the market in Evergreen Harbor. It’s up to you—and your neighbors. Don’t forget to convince them to vote your way!

Bug Out

Bees aren’t the queen bees in The Sims 4 anymore (though they do produce wax!). The new Insect Farm introduces a plethora of bugs. While toddlers and children can play with grubs and crickets, bombardier beetles provide biofuel for the power generator. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, treat your Sims to a healthy, crunchy, protein-filled meal. Just don’t let them smile at anyone afterward or they might see beetle legs stuck in their teeth. Gross.

* * *

Preorder The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack today for Mac, PC, and Xbox One! You can start building your sustainable future on June 5, 2020, on those platforms and PlayStation®4, too!

Start thinking about your new eco projects with your fellow players on The Sims Forums; catch up with us on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok; like us on Facebook; and subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also sign up for The Sims 4 newsletter to get all the news as soon as it’s announced.

*Requires The Sims 4 game (sold separately) and all game updates to play. For PC/Mac, see minimum system requirements for this pack.

[theonyxpath]

Yes, that’s right, we actually do not have a Kickstarter running this week. Weird, huh?

Legendlore just wrapped up with a very strong (and unexpected but delightful) final 48 hours last week, and we have not yet launched the They Came From Beyond the Grave! KS.

So instead, let me tell you about the guy I illustrated for the cover shown above. In-universe (or Continuum), that’s Duke Rollo, the gonzo journalist/commentator of the TC: Aberrant setting.

But.

He’s also Justin Achilli, who originated the character and wrote both small Duke Rollo books – one for first edition Aberrant and now the book pictured for Trinity Continuum: Aberrant.

I originally pictured him as Justin appeared back then, piercings and all, and with a very gonzo attitude to life, and work, and especially after-hours playtime. The version above was drawn to still be the same character, but seasoned. More experienced, but still railing against the inequities of the TC: Aberrant world.

I bring this up because real-world Justin has amassed even more experience and knowledge since the WW days, and has explored game design in the electronic gaming sphere very successfully, and yet has never stopped applying what he has learned to TTRPGs, and specifically the World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade.

His experience with party deduction games led to his working with us on The Prince’s Gambit card game, for example. And his online design theory posts through the years are rife with game design theory that could be applied to electronic games, or right back in TTRPGs.

And in fact, he himself, is also right back in TTRPGs with last week’s announcement that Justin is the new Creative Lead for the WoD 5th Edition efforts over at Paradox!

Congrats, Justin!

Now, I have a long history with Justin, going back to when he was developing the RAGE card game at WW. (A “dragon biting some clown in half”, anybody?) He was developer and I was art director for years on VtM Revised, we worked on the late, lamented, WoD MMO together, and he was the first developer for V20, and then helmed many V20 books for Onyx Path.

And yet, even I really don’t know what he’s planning for V5. The Covid situation here and in Sweden, where Paradox is based, has complicated matters, so we’re still looking forward to what’s going to happen next.

As they say, more news when we have it!

Let the Streets Run Red art by Sam Denmark

Surely You Have Something Kickstarter-y?

OK. Fair enough, I hear ya!

You want to know more about They Came From Beyond the Grave!, especially since that’s going to be the subject of our next Kickstarter.

Well, it is the second game in the They Came From…! game line, and this time, rather than being based in the world of Sci-Fi movies of the 50s, TCFBtGrave! is set in two time periods favored by horror movies of the 60s and 70s: the Victorian Era and the late 60s into the 70s.

In fact, the game supports either era, or both with players swapping back and forth between the two. Hammer Horror is of course a huge influence, along with Roger Corman horror films, and even the Dark Shadows TV series.

Like TCFBtSea!, TCFBtGrave! uses the Storypath System plus Quip cards that allow players to contribute appropriate (or far more often extremely inappropriate) comments and dialogue that is often hilarious, but also can give mechanical benefits to the character. With the cards, the player doesn’t need to be funny, just how they use the quip.

Similarly, there are cards for filmic situations appropriate to the genre we’re emulating, like “The Devil Himself!”, or “Missing Scene” which allows for a miraculous escape that players can note as having happened during that scene. It was amazing, just a shame the scene is missing, but at least we’re all OK.

Honestly, we should have one titled “Christopher Lee’s Voice”, but that might be too powerful for players.

Keep an eye out on our social media as we continue to tease the game, and check out the actual play sessions that are available on our Twitch channel.

Pirates of Pugmire art by Pat McEvoy

Updates On Previous Mentions:

As I mentioned last week, we were looking to hire an out-of-house HR representative as a contact person for anyone with concerns on an HR level with Onyx Path. We indeed did hire Georgina who can be contacted at hr.onyxpath@gmail.com.

Scion Companion art by Shen Fei

Sorry to say it, but the pandemic is still affecting everyone – writers, printers, shippers – so while we are seeing some folks come back to business as sorta-normal, many others still can’t do that. Sometimes that’s our creators, and other times it’s our manufacturers and shippers. I’m currently waiting for at least five books worth of PoD proofs to get to me for approval so we can start selling them.

So, please hang in with us as we maneuver through this continuing alteration in our normal business practices. There’s a lot of things changing all across the world, and our little hobby isn’t in a bubble – and even if it was, we’re still going to be affected like I mention above. Just know that we are doing what we can to get you the materials so you can enjoy our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Kickstarter!

Next Up On Kickstarter: They Came From Beyond the Grave!

And keep your eyes open for:

Onyx Path Media!

This week: the Terrifically Terrible Trio chat about the Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention, and online TTRPG gaming in general!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

This week on Twitch, expect to see

V5 – Chicago by Night

Behind the Screen – Scion

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – They Came from Devil’s Reef!

Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale

Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous

Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds

Get watching for some fantastic insight into how to run these wonderful games and subscribe to us on Twitch, over at twitch.tv/theonyxpath

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

#OnyxPathCon | How to Write for TTRPGs [Panel]: https://youtu.be/UKmJQEhInP8

#OnyxPathCon | Consent & Safety Mechanics [Panel]: https://youtu.be/LljJV-TRLWA

Legendlore – The Metal Scourge: https://youtu.be/IrhhKnf6dHg

#OnyxPathCon | The Art of Onyx Path [Panel]:https://youtu.be/2mG_BqXzkfE

#OnyxPathCon | What’s Up with Onyx Path #2 [Panel]:https://youtu.be/GjukejNcCcc

#OnyxPathCon | Create Your Best Character [Panel]:https://youtu.be/UZIBL87hu6U

#OnyxPathCon | Onyx Pathcast Live [Panel]:https://youtu.be/XxNvUPUtC1o

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Did you miss Occultists Anonymous‘ last episodes of their excellent Mage: The Awakening chronicle? Here they are:

Episode 108: Car-V Heist While Songbird prepares for a dangerous summoning, Atratus and Wyrd hit the junkyards with an overly elaborate plan to make an overly elaborate gift. How very Mage of them… https://youtu.be/wSy3c74jkfM

Episode 109: Crown of Blood Wyrd and Atratus enjoy the joy of a well-made gift and the good vibes that comes with that. Songbird joins together with Hadramiel to summon an Angel of Death to anoint a Vampire Prince in power. https://youtu.be/QxB6Ml6uStY

The Botch Pit have released an excellent overview of Mage: The Awakening right here. Do give them a like and a subscribe: https://youtu.be/D-0O1Nun6NA

Systematic Understanding of Everything is a new Exalted Explainer Podcast by Exalted Dev Monica Speca and Exalted Writer Chazz Kellner that is breaking down Creation in 45 minute chunks in preparation for Exalted Essence.

Their most recent episode in on Creation and its history – https://anchor.fm/exaltcast/episodes/Trackless-Region-Navigation—What-is-Creation-eg2g9d

Get past episodes at http://www.exaltcast.com/

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, to celebrate the arrival of Justin Achilli, we present V5 Chicago By Night electronic wallpaper and V20 Lore of the Clans Storyteller’s Screen PDF files, both on DTRPG!

Conventions!

Though dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s what’s left of our current list of upcoming conventions (and really, we’re just waiting for this last one to be cancelled even though it’s Nov/Dec). Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with:

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Anima

M20 Technocracy Operative’s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)

Redlines

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

CtL 2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Second Draft

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)

The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Development

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Manuscript Approval

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Post-Approval Development

Editing

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)

Post-Editing Development

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Indexing

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

Tales of Aquatic Terror – Handed off to Meredith to AD.

WoD Ghost Hunters (KS) – KS assets wrapped up.

Aberrant – AD’d. Checking with Gunship.

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Mummy 2

Deviant

Legendlore – KS running.

Technocracy Reloaded (KS)

Cults of the Blood God – Rolling along.

Scion: Dragon (KS) – Waiting on art notes.

Masks of the Mythos (KS) – Getting the cover art going.

Scion: Demigod (KS) – Art rolling. KS assets AD’d.

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) – Prepping KS assets.

TC: Adventure! (KS) – Shen Fei cover art finished by end of the month.

Geist: One Foot In the Grave – AD’d.

In Layout

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad

Vigil Watch

TC Aeon Terra Firma

V5 Let the Streets Run Red – continued working it.

Pugmire Adventure – small project, knocking the layout together.

Scion Titanomachy

Proofing

Trinity Aeon Jumpstart – Errata gathering.

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Page XXs.

Contagion Chronicle – Backer PDF out to backers, closing errata.

Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs

Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)

Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)

Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet

Scion Companion – Inputting changes from devs.

At Press

TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – PoD files uploaded.

TCFBTS Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Press proofs signed off on, PoD files uploaded.

Creature Collection 5e – PoD proof ordered. Traditional files sent to printer.

Pirates of Pugmire – Files at press. PoD proofs ordered.

Pirates of Pugmire Screen – Files at press.

Pugmire Buried Bones – PoD proof ordered.

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition Dark Eras Compilation – Uploading PoD file.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

I’d really like to get back to needing to pull wacky things that happened on this date, but we need to celebrate the life of a towering giant in his field. Ennio Morricone, one of the greatest film composers, has left this earth he brought so much magic and passion and joy to. The Untouchables. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The Mission. Once Upon A Time In the West. His film scores were the background music I played while illustrating all the way back to high school, and as late as two weeks ago I asked Alexa to “Play Ennio Morriconi music” as I wrote that week’s MMN blog. Not only was he a genius in composing instrumental scores, but he was willing to incorporate single instruments, or non-instruments, or inserted choral sections, or even compose an entire theme using fart sounds. Maybe not to everyone’s tastes, that last example, but my point is, he stretched what could be done with musical scores with a deft hand and a genius’s ear. His like will not be heard again.

[writingdotcoffee]

#113: Is It Worth It?

It’s almost 2 A.M. The pale blue glow of your laptop’s screen is the only light in the room. Your eyes are closing, but you won’t let them. You need 271 more words. Briefly, you consider leaving that for tomorrow. But that would bring your word goal up to 1,271. Besides, you borrowed two hours from tomorrow already. Sigh. Things aren’t looking great.

Writing is hard. Writing is also time-consuming—if you want to finish anything that is. In this post, I would like to bring more attention to an area that I feel isn’t talked about enough—the opportunity cost of writing books.

When starting a new project or even a career as a writer, we tend to set our eyes at the ultimate destination. We think about the finished book, the stellar reviews and sold-out book signings. We tend to think less about what it will cost to get there. And yes, there’s always a price.

Let’s say that a novel might take you about 1,000 hours of work to complete—roughly 2 hours every day for two years. What else could you accomplish in that time? What are you potentially giving up to write that book?

Could you become pretty good at painting or producing music? Maybe you could find a better job or switch careers. Maybe you could exercise more or spend more time with your friends and family. You could start a business, trade bitcoin, watch more TV or just read more books. You could do anything. Why write?

I’m not trying to persuade you to give up—not at all. But asking this question once in a while helps to put things in perspective. I’m a massive fan of digital painting and photography. I also like playing music. And even though I dabble at those from time to time, I’m fully aware that I will never get very far in those pursuits given my current set of priorities.

In the end, life is a trade-off. You won’t be able to do everything. Whatever you choose to do, you won’t know the alternative. Thinking about the opportunity costs is an excellent way of making sure that you keep heading in the right direction.

Writing is hard. It takes a lot of time. But is it worth it? You’re the only one that can answer that.

What I Am Reading?

I’m about half-way through Nir Eyal’s Hooked. It does have some overlap with other books on habits that I’ve read in the past (Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGoniall), but I don’t mind that. It’s good to return to those things once in a while. This one focuses on habits through the lens of developing products which I find fascinating, given we’re living our lives surrounded by addictive products that are fighting ruthless battles for a sliver of our attention (and cash).

Nir published Indistractable recently which provides perhaps an antidote against the techniques described in Hooked. I received it in the post today and am looking forward to reading it!

Want More?

My email subscribers receive a notification when I publish these posts along with a few things I found interesting or helpful on the literary internet every week. Click the link below to join the club.

SUBSCRIBE

(I won’t spam you or pass your email to a third party. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Past Editions

#112: NaNoWriMo for the Rest of Us, October 2019

#111: Practicing Writing Without Actually Writing, October 2019

#110: Writing Against the Odds, September 2019

#109: New Things Coming, September 2019

#108: Keeping At It, September 2019

[commercialequipmentrepair41-blog]

Electronic Equipment Repair - Can You Truly Fix It?

Commercial Kitchen Repair Atlanta

Yes it's true if you wished to. Everyone has their passion since when they are young and some start to understand it at the later era. There are many kinds of attention and passions such as desired to be a singer, dancer, artist, lawyer, physician, police, scientist and so forth. But in the following report, I am talking about the passion of the electronics. When you are certain that electronic equipment is your area which you're likely to venture in, then do everything you can to acquire the necessary understanding about electronics-look past the dollar signs. Find a job you are enthusiastic about and you'll increase your chances of having a lengthy and successful career.

Commercial Refrigeration Repair Atlanta

Don't give into pressure from parents or other forces or base your choice on the money will make. You may get a great paying job but you may not always be joyful. If your work does not fit your values, interests and personality, it will not be long before you feel the strain. You will need the passion in you to keep yourself going on bad days.

Sometimes being passionate about your livelihood is not good enough. You should consistently plan and prepare yourself to ensure your technical skills and abilities are on par with your career ambitions. Let's take this for example, if you would like to be a good digital repairer, you need to keep ahead of the learning curve and update yourself on new technical difficulties.

Ok, let us come back the subject of"You can do all sorts of electronic equipment repair". Why I wish to bring up the term"Passion" because only passion which can allow you to fix the equipment. Passion in you will tell you to not give up and continue to obtain the answers for the digital problems. Passion in you may drive you to a higher level of learning and comprehension of electronic equipment troubleshooting. Passion in you which motivates you to come out with new ideas of fixing and passion in you will help to lead you on what will be the upcoming steps you should make.

If you don't have the enthusiasm for electronics, I guess you will discover this informative article boring and instantly leave this article as quickly as I sent it to youpersonally. Well, I hope you're not because I assumed you adore electronics otherwise you wouldn't have subscribed to become the ERG member.

First you have to know how to assess and measure digital components. There's not any point for you even if you could able to identify the faulty circuit from the equipment if you don't know how to assess and measure basic electronic components. Assuming you've got locate the perpendicular segment was at fault causing one flat line in the display, but since you are weak in analyzing electronic elements, voltage checking or perhaps scope probing, your portion of able to repair the Monitor is high. To be able to overcome this issue, you must be able to check and check digital components correctly by doing lots of technical evaluation and read more info about electronic components either from the fix books or on the net. You must pass this test first before going farther. Once you had grasped the methods of correctly analyzing electronic components, you've won 50% of the conflict.

Secondly, regardless of what type of electronics you're fixing it will always start from"how this electronics works". If you don't understand how the equipment function or work, you will have the drawback and may completely can't fix it. Have a look at this example, if the Monitor problem is at the flat section and you also conclude that the challenge is at the vertical segment, you'll lost countless hours looking for the faulty parts where really the caused of the dilemma is in the horizontal segment. To put it differently, if you don't know how digital equipment works you won't know at where you want to start the repair.

This situation happened quite common to newcomers where they just started out in the repair area. To be able to address this problem, get the digital board back home or whatever place you find convenience where you can gradually analyse the electronic circuits. Ask yourself these questions such as"why this board have to have the optoisolator from the energy supply"? Is the optoisolator functions are for overvoltage or overcurrent protection and etc? What is the part number of this optoisolator? What is within this optoisolator and how to try it to confirm whether it is good or bad? What would happen if the optoisolator developed a short circuit? Will it cause the power source to shutdown, produce low electricity or even power blink?

Hope you get exactly what I mean. By asking questions yourself, you are actually training your mind to understand more about electronics (in the above situation is the optoisolator). Using this manner on other parts of the circuits in the board and I'm sure one day that you will definitely truly understand the electronics that you are trying to fix. If you can't find the reply, refer to electronics publications, digital repair forum or just surf the internet from other search engine (we've got google.com, yahoo.com, msn.com, ask.com and etc) to get the response you want.

Third, you need a schematic diagram to back upon what you are trying to understand on that specific electronic equipment. If you want to understand how LCD Monitor functions then you should buy or download free LCD Monitor schematic diagram and start to practice how each of the circuits functions. Break the circuits into various sections so we have the power supply segment, inverter, LCD panel, mainboard and etc.. Study and understand each one of those circuits and start to ask questions as explained in the above. Likewise, this example is applicable to you if you want to repair Plasma or LCD TV or whatever electronics.

Fourth, investing in you-Invest on your own. Notice that the first rule of investment is not"invest in your company" or whatever else other than yourself. While investing and reinvesting into your fixing company is important, investing on your own is the very first priority of investment. As soon as I said,"invest in yourself", I truly meant that you should invest in your education (electronics courses), testing gear, digital repair publications (possibly eBooks or bodily books as long as the data are extremely helpful), schematic diagrams, tools and other essential things making yourself better than you were yesterday. I think that by not investing in yourself by saving the little money you've actually had robs you of your specialized knowledge (that you ought to know) or maybe financial freedom! Why allow the excuse of not having money steal your technical knowledge (that you ought to add more) out of you? From the technical line, one ought to have to go forward and not backward or"still" for such a long time. That type of"still" mindset not only didn't bring improvement to your technical knowledge but also your life.

[commercialequipmentrepair5s-blog]

Electronic Equipment Repair - Can You Really Fix It?

Commercial Refrigeration Repair Atlanta

Electronic equipment repair? Yes it is true when you wished to. Everyone has their fire because when they're young and a few start to know it in the later era. There are several sorts of attention and passions like wanted to be a singer, dancer, artist, lawyer, physician, police, scientist and so forth. But in the following article, I am talking about the passion of the electronic equipment. Once you're certain that electronics is your field which you're likely to venture into, then do everything you can to acquire the essential understanding about electronics-look beyond the dollar signs. Find a job you're enthusiastic about and you'll increase your chances of having a lengthy and productive career.

Commercial Kitchen Repair Atlanta

Do not give into pressure from parents or other forces or base your choice on the cash will make. You might find a great paying job but you may not always be happy. If your work does not match your values, interests and personality, it won't be long until you're feeling the strain. You need the passion in you to keep yourself going on bad days.

Occasionally being passionate in your livelihood isn't good enough. You should always plan and prepare to ensure your technical skills and skills are on par with your career ambitions. Let us take this for example, if you want to be a good digital repairer, then you need to stay ahead of the learning curve and update yourself on new technical issues.

Ok, let's return the subject of"You can do all kinds of electronic equipment repair". Why I wish to bring up the word"Passion" because only fire that could help you to fix the equipment. Passion in you will tell you not to give up and continue to find the answers for the digital problems. Passion in you will induce you to even a greater degree of learning and comprehension of electronic equipment troubleshooting. Passion in you that motivates you to develop new ideas of repairing and passion in you will help to guide you on what are the next steps that you should make.

If you don't have the enthusiasm for electronic equipment, I guess you'll find this article boring and immediately depart this article as quickly as I shipped it to youpersonally. Well, I hope you're not because I assumed you love electronics otherwise you wouldn't have subscribed to develop into the ERG member.

First you have to understand how to assess and quantify electronic components. There is no point for you even if you managed to spot the faulty circuit from the gear if you don't understand how to assess and measure basic electronic components. Assuming you've got locate that the perpendicular section was at fault causing one horizontal line in the screen, but because you are weak in testing electronic components, voltage assessing or even scope probing, your portion of able to repair the Monitor is high. To be able to overcome this problem, you must be able to check and check electronic components accurately by performing tons of technical evaluation and read more info about electronics either from the fix books or from the net. You have to pass this test first before going farther. Once you'd grasped the techniques of accurately testing electronic components, you've won 50% of the battle.

Secondly, no matter what kind of electronics you are repairing it will always begin from"how this electronics works". If you do not know how the equipment function or work, you will have the disadvantage and may fully can not repair it. Take a look at this example, if the Monitor difficulty is in the horizontal section and you conclude that the challenge is at the vertical section, you may lost countless of hours looking for the faulty parts where actually the caused of this problem is at the horizontal section. To put it differently, if you don't understand how digital equipment works you won't know at where you want to begin the repair.

This situation happened very common to beginners where they just started out in the repair field. In order to solve this problem, get the digital board back house or whatever place you find convenience where you can slowly analyse the digital circuits. Ask yourself these questions such as"why this board need to have the optoisolator from the energy supply"? Is the optoisolator functions are for overvoltage or overcurrent protection and etc? What's the part number of this optoisolator? What is within this optoisolator and the best way to try it to confirm whether it is bad or good? What would happen if the optoisolator developed a brief circuit? Will it cause the power source to shutdown, produce low electricity or even electricity blink?

Hope you get exactly what I mean. By asking questions yourself, you're really training your brain to understand more about electronic equipment (in the above case is the optoisolator). Employing this way on other parts of the circuits at the board and I am sure one day you will definitely really understand the electronic equipment that you are attempting to repair. If you can not find the answer, refer to electronics books, email repair forum or simply surf the net from other search engine (we have google.com, yahoo.com, msn.com, ask.com and etc) to get the answer you want.

Third, you need a schematic diagram to back upon what it is you're trying to know on that particular electronic equipment. If you would like to understand how LCD Monitor works then you need to buy or download free LCD Monitor schematic diagram and start to practice how all those circuits functions. Divide the circuits into various sections thus we've got the power supply section, inverter, LCD panel, mainboard and etc.. Study and understand all one of these circuits and begin to ask questions as explained in the above. Similarly, this instance is applicable to you in the event that you want to repair mobile or LCD TV or whatever electronics.

Fourth, investing in you-Invest on your own. Observe that the first rule of investment isn't"invest in your company" or anything else other than yourself. While investing and reinvesting to your repairing company is important, investing in yourself is the first priority of investment. You might ask"What to invest in yourself"? When I said,"invest in yourself", I really meant that you ought to invest in your education (electronics classes ), testing gear, digital repair publications (either eBooks or bodily publications provided that the information are extremely helpful), schematic diagrams, tools and other essential matters making yourself better than you were yesterday. I think that by not investing on your own by conserving the little money you have actually had robs you of your technical understanding (that you should know) or even financial independence! Why allow the excuse of not having cash steal your technical knowledge (that you should add more) out of you? From the specialized line, an individual ought to need to go forward rather than backward or"still" for such a very long time. That kind of"nevertheless" mindset not only did not bring progress to your technical understanding but also your life.

There was an expression that I found it to be accurate -"There are three Kinds of persons on Earth:

First-The one that make things happen.

Second- The one who wait for things to happen

Third- The one who does not understand what happen.

I need that you aren't in the next group. You should be at the first class in which you make things happen and not to await things to happen. Make your decision today as to not wait for things to take place. If you discovered that there are websites selling information like the training manuals, schematic diagrams or even fix tips that can help you to understand more about the electronic equipment you're repairing then buy it. Let me tell you another fact is that"nobody will walk into you and explain to you the way this or that works in full particulars" you just need to make things happen by finding your own answers from the information you had purchased. How many times have you post queries in the repair forum and you didn't get the answer? If you are the one in the next category (wait for things to happen) I can guarantee that even after many years in the electronic repair line you will still loose out to a newcomer with the mindset of making things happen. Those novices have the mindset of moving forward, invest (time and money), never give up, and willing to learn.

[arabellaflynn]

I am so fucking over this plague thing. More accurately, I am so fucking over everybody being paranoid of this plague thing. Leaving the house isn't giving me panic attacks because of covid, it's because of all the goddamned people.

Look. I understand why people are afraid. When covid goes bad, it can go really bad, like 'intensive care with invasive ventilation' bad. It's just that this amount of fear is incompatible with also getting on with your life in any meaningful way, not to mention it's out of proportion with reality. Hospitalization rates of people with a confirmed case of COVID-19 (so, not counting people who never bothered to get tested, or people who have been exposed and fought the virus off, or people who have never been exposed) is about 82 per 100,000, or 0.082%. Condoms, when used properly, have about a 2% failure rate. If you trust in condoms to keep you childfree, you can trust reasonable, non-paranoid precautions to keep you from dying of covid.

If you catch covid, and you're an otherwise healthy non-elderly person, your experience is overwhelmingly likely to be like the one I had with chicken pox. I was born in 1981, so my prime years as a disease vector were before the varicella zoster vaccine. I caught chicken pox when I was 8 or 9. It blew. I was off school for two weeks, and I spent every moment of that itching like a motherfucker. But, like 59,999 out of 60,000 chicken pox sufferers, I got over it, and I'm still here. This doesn't mean that it's pointless to try to avoid catching it, and it definitely doesn't argue in favor of holding "chicken pox parties" so you can give it to other people on purpose. That's just idiocy. But it does mean that going to Howard Hughes-esque lengths in order to avoid ever coming into contact with it is maybe a little bit of an overreaction.

"Flatten the curve" was never meant to keep us all from catching COVID-19. The novel coronavirus is now endemic in the human population. Everyone is going to get this. Probably not every few months, like rhinovirus-driven colds, but more like pre-vaccine influenza, where if you had common sense and a bit of luck, you'd have a sucky few weeks once or twice a decade. The idea behind "flatten the curve" was to keep everyone from catching it at the same time, so that the number of cases that did need hospitalization never exceeded the number of available hospital beds. Believe it or not the news did explain that part, in tiny words, but everyone seems to have forgotten.

I had to hike into the next town over to pick up some stuff the other day. One of my roommates gawped in horror when I mentioned that I only wear a mask when around people. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires face coverings when indoors or when maintaining a distance of at least six feet from other people is impractical. That's fair; those are the circumstances under which cloth masks impede the spread of droplet-borne viral illnesses, be they COVID-19 or some other crap you've picked up. I had a mask, because I was going to talk to another human, and a good chunk of my route went through a populated area where I was likely to meet other people on the sidewalk. But a good chunk of my route also went through parks and quiet suburbs. I was outdoors, a place with notoriously good ventilation, and it was easy to stay 10+ feet away from the few people I saw. Under those conditions, masks have no effect. As long as you handle them by the ear pieces -- because you have been breathing damp schmutz all over the face part -- you can in fact take them off to cool down and breathe, and re-set them when you see people approaching again.

Said roommate wears a mask from the instant she exits the front door to the very moment she gets back in. Even when walking the dog in our wide-open neighborhood, where there is so little traffic you can dodge the other dog-walkers and joggers by walking down the middle of the street if you want. The neighbor kids bike and play games in the road all the time. You can wear a mask under those conditions if you want to, but I can't. I already have a hard enough time not being able to breathe when exerting myself in hot, humid weather. At that point, it's not doing anything physical. Its sole purpose is to act as a talisman to allay your own anxiety about all things covid. Not just anxieties about catching it, but anxieties about not displaying the correct amount of conformity and community-mindedness. I'm not really surprised; virtue signalling is something of a local sport. But that is what's going on. 

Another roommate has taken to disinfecting all the groceries. He started out using wipes but then we ran out, so now he's just got a spray bottle of Clorox and water sitting on the kitchen windowsill. I have politely gone along with this for the most part, but I also intercept my own deliveries, lest he get it into his head to bleach my raw produce. Dr Fauci does not bleach his groceries; I know, because Colbert was a wiseass and asked him on national TV. It's possible to get covid from contaminated surfaces in the same way it's possible to get herpes from a toilet seat, in the sense that it doesn't contradict any known laws of physics, but it's so unlikely that if you can actually demonstrate that it happened you will get written up as a case study. And frankly it doesn't matter what kind of terrifying things are on the outside of your packages as long as you wash your hands.

For those of you who do not have a psychiatric diagnosis, this is what's called an anxiety spiral. Something makes you anxious and you start to see it in terms of risks to your safety, so naturally your response is to start thinking about how to avoid it. You make a plan. But then you start noticing that your plan may not reduce that risk to zero, or may present risks of its own, so you make a second-order plan to plaster over those. But then that plan has holes, so then you need a third-order plan, and so on and so forth quite literally ad infinitum if you can keep it up that long, or until you decompensate rather spectacularly if you can't. The less reliable, concrete information you have about what's going to happen, the worse it gets. If you let it continue to the point of pathology -- which I am starting to see among the general population -- you eventually dig yourself in so deep that you can't get groceries without involving a contingency plan in case of nuclear first-strike from Canada. This, understandably, fucks up your life. I've seen this both first-hand in my own brain, and in being raised by a woman who suffered from such a massive unacknowledged anxiety disorder that she blocked off the front windows of the house for fear that someone walking down the street outside might see that she had the living room lights on.

Your risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, now that it exists, is not zero. It will never be zero. A vaccine will not bring it down to zero. Technically, your risk of contracting smallpox is also not zero, because there are still a few vials of it lying around somewhere. Your risk of unintentionally spreading it -- which is what the cloth masks are meant to do; if it's not an N95 mask it does nothing to keep you from catching it -- is therefore also not zero. But there comes a point where it is low enough, and you have to just accept that it exists as part of the background chance that you might get run over by a car or fall in the shower or discover an anaphylactic allergy the hard way or keel over from an undetected aneurysm or any of the other ways you can die without warning.

The BLM protesters are doing it right, I think. That's an important thing that has to get done, so they're doing it. They're spending hours in a large crowd of people, so they try to keep a 6' distance and wear a mask, because that's not always feasible. You can't let your fear immobilize you, and there is a finite level to which you can let that fear prompt you to make yourself uncomfortable. Risk tolerance differs from person to person. My housemates are welcome to freak out over the idea of taking the trash out without a mask; I'm not, and I'm not putting one on to spend two minutes out in the side yard at midnight.

And anyone who froths over "kids these days" referring to it as "the 'rona" can cool their jets. This is basically a pandemic tradition. You get a shot every year so you don't catch "the 'flu" -- which, yes, was how it was typographically styled in 1917-19 -- so shut the fuck up.

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[beggarwaste9-blog]

Agen Judi Bola

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Whenever you choose to begin some sort of website, be certain the fact that the topic is something which you find engaging plus that ignites your want to share with other individuals. Writing the content connected with your blog will consider several hours each 7 days. You want to get certain that you own a enthusiasm for the subject. Bandar Judi Online several photographs in your posts. Situs Judi Online Terbaik The strength of a well-chosen image to provide interest and clarity to the subject matter can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your writing. Which is definitely true with some sort of blog. Graphics can share a prosperity of data, especially that which words cannot adequately identify. For that reason, make sure images can be included as substantially as you possibly can. Stay away from using blog models which might be similar to MySpace. 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Judi Online Indonesia Judi Slot Terpercaya a good few of blog articles that you keep inside a special file intended for emergency employ. Use them all when you are ill, or perhaps have some some other scenario the fact that prevents an individual from having the time or perhaps energy to compose quality content. Doing so can provide your readers along with regularity, while allowing a person time for you to deal with your own situation. Judi Slot the particular traffic that your internet site are getting is going to be able to come from search motors for example Yahoo, Google or even Msn. Knowing how to help use SEO tools will help you to have a higher ranked webpage which will bring much more viewers. You will know how to use the proper keywords and where for you to put them for the many success. Agen Bandar Bola observe now, blogging can enhance the online experience with regard to people to your web page and will therefore, create often the desired results of increased sales. 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[open2020fan]

dresses and shoes while its men includes trainers

athletes urged to rethink nike ties Please see ourPrivacy Noticefor details of your data protection rightsThank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee our privacy noticeCould not subscribe, try again laterInvalid EmailOnline retailer ASOS has become the latest store to launch its summer sale, with customers now able to get up to half price off hundreds of items.The sale includes a wide selection of products with its women section featuring swimwear, dresses and shoes while its men includes trainers, watches and jeans.Stand out offers include the Pitusa Bali Warp Beach Dress was 116 now 69.50, ASOS Design scuba asymmetric ruffle front midi dress was 58 now 29, Call It Spring Nydeladda Red Flatform Sliders was 48.99 now 24 and the ALDO All Over Sequin Cross Body Bag with Floral Gem Embellishment was 55 now 33.ASOS has even included some of the biggest sports brands in its sale too such as Adidas and Nike.The sale isn expected to be running for long, so anyone looking to make the most of the savings will need to be quick.Read MoreShopping deals in June 2018What's OnallMost ReadMost RecentEmpire TheatreBianca Del Rio to bring her UK tour to Liverpool next month here's how to get ticketsThe It's Jester Joke Tour heads to the UK this SeptemberFood DrinkLook inside Dirty O'Sheas on Seel StreetLiverpool barsLook inside Dirty O'Sheas the Irish bar opening inside Seel Street's former Empire nightclubThe Seel Street building is open after being closed for two yearsthings to do kidsBlackpool Illuminations switch on 2019: start times, line up, parking and moreThere will be a Coronation Street star on hand to turn on this year's lightsLiverpool City CentreTSB confirmed to be replacing Yankee Candle in Liverpool city centreThe store closed unexpectedly in December 2018Most ReadMost RecentLiverpool FCLiverpool players past and present show support for Luis Enrique after tragic loss of nine year old daughterThe footballing world voiced their support for the former Barcelona manager after his nine year old daughter passed away following a battle with bone cancerLiverpool FCMoment ex Liverpool player Dean Saunders tells police: "I've had one pint"Footage shows an officer tell the TV pundit: "Your driving is atrocious. 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[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Hallmark Networks' Chief Isn't Worried About Netflix's Push Into Holiday Movies

(Photographed by Jai Lennard - Bill Abbott was photographed Nov. 19 in his New York office.)

11/29/2018 by Michael O'Connell

"This is the content that you turn on when you want to get away from the noise and hysteria," top programmer Bill Abbott says, while also explaining why Hallmark — despite its "cheesy" stereotype — continues to increase its volume of Christmas movies (37 this year alone) and his networks' response to diversity problems.

Like Santa Claus in a C-suite, Crown Family Media Networks' Bill Abbott dictates how more than 72 million viewers will spend their holidays from his 22nd-floor office in midtown Manhattan. The schedule of the annual TV movie fest Countdown to Christmas, which runs on Hallmark channels through November and December, is detailed in red and green marker on a dry erase board — boasting 37 new titles for 2018, such as A Shoe Addict's Christmas and Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe. Call them cheesy if you must, but premiere telecasts alone are averaging audiences of more than 4 million this year.

After two decades at the cable arm of the privately owned greeting-card behemoth, half of which he's spent as president and CEO, the 56-year-old exec bucks cable trends with linear growth, a burgeoning SVOD service that just topped 500,000 subscribers and annual revenue now approaching a half-billion dollars. A handful of original drama series carry the load, but it's Christmas when Hallmark is No. 1 most nights on cable. In the midst of the holiday crunch, the married father of four — who still lives in his native Long Island with two dogs and "several cats" — acknowledges that Netflix is encroaching on his telepic turf. He does not seem terribly concerned, however.

Are you still increasing the volume of Christmas movies each year?

Yes. Twenty-two will air on Hallmark Channel and 15 on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Every one of those undergoes a thorough evaluation through the entire creative process. If one doesn't live up to what we believe our viewers' expectations are, we'll shelve it and we won't air it.

How often do you shelve a movie?

It happens a couple of times a year. I'm reluctant to use the word, but there was a certain cheesiness that went arm in arm with some of what we produced. We've worked hard to eliminate those stereotypical elements that prevented the content from rising to the level of popularity that it's since reached. If you disappoint viewers one week, it's very hard to get them back the second week. Relatively speaking, I would think that it's an equal financial hit to not picking up a pilot to series.

And how much of the annual budget goes to Christmas movies?

It's about 35 percent. We're very consistent with the model for our original productions. We believe that we can make a great movie for a certain amount, and we don't need to spend double, triple or quadruple to make it high quality. We're primarily driven by our ad sales, and our ad sales is fortunately humming along at a high growth rate.

When did you nail this model?

I would say that in 2014 we began to look at our content differently. We started Crown Media Family Productions, and that's allowed us to own the rights to many of the movies that we produce — not only domestically but internationally and for digital.

Hallmark has been criticized for how white its programming has been, but there's noticeably more inclusivity in this year's films. Is it a strong enough response?

We fell into a pattern of going back to the same people and didn't necessarily look outside the box. Producing movies in Canada, which is where the majority of our productions are made, did not help the cause. It's something that was on our radar long before we were taking criticism. But it's been fun to work with so many different talented, diverse actors who do bring something very different to the table. We feel very good about our slate this season.

Who do you consider your biggest competitor?

At this point, it's Lifetime — just given the volume of production and the target demographic. Moving forward, Netflix is investing quite a bit of money in content. Amazon as well.

Do you feel nervous about Netflix's move into the holiday movie space?

The brand is our differentiator. Our focus is in creating an experience where you can turn the TV on, feel comfortable and cook, decorate or do something holiday-related and that puts you in the spirit. There's no question that they're a huge competitor. And they've had a lot of success. But we believe that the way we create our content and the way we brand our experience is a completely different proposition.

Your slate of original series does incredibly well, but they lack the pop culture cachet that many lesser-watched cable shows get. Does that bother you?

We take note of that every week, and we find it very frustrating. I don't think that we get the type of recognition that we frankly deserve. We feel badly for our producers and talent who work so hard to create content that's viewed so widely and yet doesn't get nominated. A show like Chesapeake Shores, for example, is always in the top 10 on cable. It's not necessarily water-cooler talk on Monday morning in Los Angeles and New York, but in many other parts of the country, these are the dominant shows.

A lot of broadcasters took stock after the 2016 election. What's been your response?

We view ourselves as completely apolitical, so we don't really look to the tone of the country for how to program. Our goal is always to be more positive, to connect people. Regardless of where your political allegiances lie, this is the content that you turn on when you want to get away from the noise and the hysteria. I don't think you could correlate, which many people have tried to, the success of our channel with the election. That said, it certainly doesn't hurt when the tone is so negative — and "negative" is not a strong enough word.

Is there still room for library deals on Hallmark?

We're relying a lot less on our licensed series. That will continue to be the case over time. It's not necessarily a flip of the switch one day and they all disappear. On Netflix, as I understand it, the highest-rated content is Friends, Grey's Anatomy and The Office. The reality is that there is always going to be a place for classic content.

Like Murder, She Wrote?

Yes. (Laughs.) We have it on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, and it still performs remarkably well. It's a timeless, well-constructed mystery, and the performances are spectacular.

A lot of people probably want to know how you spend the holidays.

Recovering from 37 movies!

(Tara Ziemba/Getty Images - Abbott, at a 2018 event with programming exec vp Michelle Vicary, is passionate about shows that promote animal adoption.)

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hallmark-networks-chief-holiday-films-netflix-competition-1163954

[perfectirishgifts]

Garrett Marcantel’s ‘12th Date Of Christmas’ Is Here, And What He’s Learned Is To Live Without Labels

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/garrett-marcantels-12th-date-of-christmas-is-here-and-what-hes-learned-is-to-live-without-labels/

Garrett Marcantel’s ‘12th Date Of Christmas’ Is Here, And What He’s Learned Is To Live Without Labels

Garrett Marcantel appears in HBO Max’s 12 Dates of Christmas and is a real estate agent in New York … [] City.

Subscribers to HBO Max receive an early holiday present to open and binge tonight: the final three episodes of the reality rom-com series 12 Dates of Christmas.

Jilly Pearce, executive vice president of the production company, Objective Media, told Deadline this time last year that 12 Dates of Christmas would be a “romantic, fun and feel-good dating show, with a difference.” That difference is Garrett Marcantel, a gay man set on a mission to find love in a faraway fantasy setting.

Producers plucked Marcantel and two other attractive young singles from their lives in the U.S. and placed them in an Austrian winter wonderland.

It’s reality TV, but the stars of this show aren’t secluded in a rose-festooned California mansion, stranded on a tropical Pacific island or trapped on a TV studio backlot; An actual castle is the playground for these hopeless romantics looking for that special someone to bring home for the holidays.

For those new to the series, which dropped on Thanksgiving, Marcantel, Faith Fernandez and Chad Savage met for the first time in episode one inside the castle’s huge banquet hall, crowded with Christmas trees.

From left to right, Garrett Marcantel, Faith Fernandez and Chad Savage meet in the castle on the … [] series premiere of 12 Dates of Christmas, titled, “Meet, Sleigh, Love.”

Fernandez and Savage are straight, and over the series’ run, each of the three reality stars meet potential partners on festive dates that send them ice skating, on sleigh rides, hosting ugly sweater parties, après-ski activities and enjoying hot toddies after a fun day in the snow. And of course, since this is reality TV, there are “twists and turns.”

“This was a huge learning process for me,” Marcantel, 29, said in a phone interview. The Louisiana native is a New York City-based real estate agent and developer who came out five years ago. It’s an historic bit of casting, believed to be the first time that a gay lead stars in a mainstream dating competition on a major network or streaming service. But Marcantel said he had no idea what he was in for, until nearly the last minute.

Garrett Marcantel on 12 Dates of Christmas.

“I found out that I was a lead just before arriving to the castle,” he said. “I was thrown into a situation where it really tested my character, and what I thought I would want in a relationship with another person.”

Marcantel said he likes to be open minded when it comes to opportunities, even this one.

“When I was asked to be on the show, I thought that it could be a really unique opportunity to potentially capture a love story that could be cherished and shared, even when I am an old person.”

Without giving away any spoilers, Marcantel said meeting his reality co-stars while shooting the first episode burst his “gay bubble.”

“Meeting Faith and Chad was kind of an introduction back into the straight community,” said Marcantel, who’s been living in New York City the last five years. “I pretty much lived in a gay bubble. I was excited to see how straights date, to be honest. It was quite entertaining to see Chad get so excited with every single girl that was introduced to him, and then to see Faith’s love journey. She really fought to to keep a special connection that she found in the castle.”

From left to right, Garrett Marcantel, Faith Fernandez, Chad Savage of 12 Dates of Christmas.

Prior to coming out in 2015, Marcantel studied natural resource management and geology while attending college in Salt Lake City, Utah, a progressive city which he called “a place of refuge” to help him figure out his sexualtity.

Growing up Roman Catholic in Lake Charles, a very conservative, industrial town on Louisiana’s Gulf coast, was arduous for Marcantel, he said. His ancestors settled the state back in the 1700s, so both faith and tradition were drilled into him from an early age. But something else was on his mind: boys.

“I knew I was gay since I was, I think like nine or 10 years old. I was really young,” said Marcantel. ”The hard thing was, I didn’t have any anyone to talk with about this; There just weren’t any resources. Being a kid in the ‘90s in Louisiana, I was all alone.” He battled depression throughout his childhood, he said, and got away first chance he could, upon graduating high school.

“I just wanted freedom; just to feel free,” he said. “And the only place that I really felt that was in nature. So, I chose the University of Utah because it was right in the heart of the mountains, and I could ski. I just really kind of wanted to be in a place that was completely different than Louisiana.”

Garrett Marcantel

The scenery had changed, but Marcantel hadn’t. He struggled resolving his desires with his upbringing and was confused by the young men he dated, who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

“My time in Salt Lake was more or less a battle for me, and I was also going through that with these Mormon boys as well,” he said. “It was this confusing, difficult road and I was intimidated by some of the members of our community that were out and living their best life, because it was also against the the way that I was taught. That time was more or less a war, as I wrestled with the question: ‘Am I truly going to get to a place of freedom?’ I did not know how to get there, so that was a very difficult time.”

Following college, Marcantel “stuck to the nature route,” working as a park ranger in a cave system and in Yellowstone National Park as well as in the Grand Canyon area.

That certainly was different from where he was raised along the Gulf of Mexico, but nothing could be more different than where he landed next.

“New York, it’s in my blood, and I don’t think I could ever leave now that I’m in New York,” said Marcantel. “New York was the place that I say really allowed me to be me, for the first time. I lived in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It’s a very open, artistic neighborhood.

Although he dated in Utah, Marcantel was not out until he moved to New York City five years ago. “In my first year in New York, I started going on dates and I realized that at point, if I wanted to fall in love with someone, then I needed, I owed it to myself, to come out to my family.

The openness of the LGBTQ community helped guide him to a place he described as “sexual freedom.”

“I had enough confidence that I was able to make the trek back down to Louisiana and finally be honest with my family about my experience,” he said. Their initial reaction was shock, “And there were tears involved.”

His mother had the hardest time, and asked him to be patient with her. “She was on a new path that she didn’t necessarily see me on; she had a vision of me marrying a woman and having a traditional life,” said Marcantel. “It was kind of like a death had occurred and and she just had to process it.” Ultimately, he said his mother did just that, and embraced him.

One of the still uncharted journeys for many in the LGBTQ community is something Marcantel said he is “comfortable with:” dating people who identify as transgender.

That isn’t something that came up on 12 Dates of Christmas, or on any reality dating series, so far. But Marcantel said he’s no stranger to the trans community and is open to dating trans people.

“It’s a personal experience I had, and it showed me that I’m also on the spectrum of fluidity,” he said. “I think people love labels and stereotypes. And I think that we as humans are much more complex than what those stereotypes and labels are, the ones that get put on us.”

Marcantel told this story that raised his awareness of who he is, and his own feelings:

“My one crush on a girl in high school in Louisiana was from my cross-country team. We went to a couple of school dances. She actually fully transitioned to a man after college. When I heard of his transition I wanted to reach out and congratulate him. It was then to my surprise that, yes I was still physically attracted to them, and even more so than I was in high school. He seemed very happy, and had a boyfriend, so I left it at the congratulations.

“That showed me, though, that I physically wasn’t opposed to the option of dating someone trans. We did have a special unspoken connection when we were younger, as we were both in the closet. We never spoke about it, since we were living in such a conservative environment, but this experience made me feel more comfortable with the idea of dating trans in the future.”

Who will Marcantel wind up bringing home to Louisiana? The series 12 Dates of Christmas is now streaming on HBO Max.

Garrett Marcantel on a date in 12 Dates of Christmas on HBO Max.

From Diversity & Inclusion in Perfectirishgifts