#it is NOT that hard dawg just use the proper name.

[kayetra-spade-queen]

Time for another ramble.

This time, it's about Arjun, Prince of Bali. Some things that bothered me as an Indo.

Look, I know the show had long ended (with only 3 years of runtime and it has been 7 years since it had ended), but the show is surprisingly underwhelming, and I'm saying this as someone who used to watch some of the episodes that showed on TV (dubbed in Indo obv) when I was younger, and also as someone who's taken the time to watch the episodes in order or not.

Keep in mind, I'm not here to bash the show. I liked this show, because it's actually interesting if you actually took the time to enjoy it. It's just that my overanalyzing ass couldn't stfu, so that's why I'm whipping this up out of my ass. It's my job dawg- ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Names

They lack Indo names. Like, ok. Aci and Ayu are there, and ig Wangi is also there. But like how their names are pronounced are butchered, especially the twins, they're so Americanized in terms of their name pronunciation.

Tanya is questionable cuz that's not even an Indo name. Tanya in Indo means question, and idk wtf came over the king and queen's head thinking naming their child Question is a good idea.

Everyone else had Hindi names.

I'd propose alternative names for Wangi and Tanya (personally, the name Wangi, wrongly pronounced or otherwise is weird, just saying-).

Funnily enough, I've searched up Balinese names, and I read names are supposed to be given depending on their birth order.

Meaning, if Arjun isn't name the way he is, his name could be Wayan due to being a firstborn child.

Tanya could be named Ni Luh, as a firstborn daughter. Yes, she's a second born, which also give her the option of Ni Made. Honestly it depends, it could be either of them, but my point still stands.

And for Wangi, I'd give her the name Bunga instead, meaning flower.

Lack of Indo Language Overall

Look, I know it's an Indian cartoon, but if you're going to put a set in other places other than India, might as well do proper research.

Like, I get it, Balinese is especially a difficult language, and I understand as a Javanese and Maduranese who doesn't understand squat of Java at the slightest.

But at the very least, you could use normal Indo. But then again, I think they'll butcher pronunciation regardless if they did or not, looking how they ruined Aci and Ayu's name.

All I'm saying is that, yes, although the overall language use is Hindi, at the very least, use some Indo words in there, even if it's just a little bit. Music, clothing, and architecture isn't the only thing that should be shown, our language, the local or the country-wide one should be represented as well. But I guess it's hard given that there's literally no Indo person in their team.

I get that Arjun and Tanya are biracial, and Hindi also had the right to be represented even if the setting isn't at India. But my point still stands.

Arjun's Lack of Hair Care

Listen, Arjun probably had the most flawless hair known to mankind, and I think he knows it, so that's why he's embracing it. But the point is, similar way of how Bheem's dhoti never got in the way of his fighting, Arjun's hair also never got in the way of training and fighting.

Realistically, he'd tie it up so his hair won't block his view. But god forbid that times of he did get his eyes blocked from view, it won't because of his hair, more like it's from other things like blowing leaves and flying papers.

I would personally love to see more of Arjun looking like this more.

That hairstyle is equally gorgeous as his free hair. He'd still look girly either way lmfao.

Khojo

Look, he deserve his own column due to reasons.

First and foremost; he's a ginger, so are his father. Having a hair color other than black and brown in Asia is rather unusual unless his father had like a foreign lineage. Not to mention they're weirdly pale as well. I have red on my hair naturally, but he's literally just straight up ginger dawg-

And what is this obsession over getting rid of Arjun so Khojo could become prince instead? Like, I get that Arjun is an heir, but isn't usually if the heir couldn't take over or just no more at all, shouldn't the other borns took over instead? If in the events Arjun is to be eliminated, Tanya would be successor instead. Why would a Minister's kid be appointed as prince instead? Like, I don't know if it works like in other countries (I'm not familiar with Indo royal hierarchy system, much less Bali), but just saying that appointing someone who's not even part of the family as an heir when there's clearly someone else other than the initial heir who could take over and is part of the family.

Take is from Bheem for example; sure, he's not royalty and not even part of the royal family. But he was appointed as a substitute king for a while because both the king and the princess are absent. Bheem is appointed to be king because he's trusted and can protect the kingdom just fine.

Khojo is different, and even if scenario plays in a similar manner but still differs; like if the king and queen ceased to exist anymore, Arjun would assume the throne from the get-go despite how still very young he is. If Arjun is also ceased to exist, Tanya would assume the throne. There's literally no place for Khojo at all, and even if Tanya is also gone, I don't think Khojo or even any of the Ministers are gonna assume the throne regardless, especially Khojo's father. Khojo's father literally once planned of Arjun and Zimmbu's kidnapping and tiger-napping all for the sake of getting his son to the seat of prince, yet that is literally not how it works. Who would even trust the throne to him dawg?? Arjun isn't the only child royalty in the family, Tanya is still there. If Arjun is killed after he got kidnapped, she'll assume to be heir right away.

Oh, and he's trying so hard for Tanya, even though she's not interested. He's so desperate for what?

Now I'm moving onto something I don't really wanna bitch off of, just wanted to point things out and maybe throw some scenarios here and there because I think it's neat.

Arjun As A Girl In Disguise

Tell me if you see this pic out of context, you'd tell me whether this kid is a girl or a boy;

Anyways, my point is, if you give him more feminine clothes and he wears it, 100% he'd be mistaken as a girl. And if situation requires it, he'd effortlessly lie that he is a girl, and no one will suspect shit.

He's not even just androgynous anymore, he's straight up feminine, and I liked it that not all men should all look broad and jacked. They could be feminine asf and still look badass.

Both Arjun and Tanya Represents Arjuna of Mahabarata

Now, what do I mean by that?

We all know Arjuna's personality. Arjun had the exact same personality as Arjuna (hence literally being a spinoff version of Arjuna himself). From enjoying attention, how girls fall for them, even as wielding the same weapons (bow and arrow). I think Arjun represents Arjuna in the warfare aspect.

And where do Tanya fit into this?

See, Tanya is more artistic; she danced and done more things in the arts compared to when she actually did anything relating with combat (mentioning the times she once did archery and another episode where broke into Arjun's room with Wangi to get his weapons to train while Arjun is away). Tanya represents Arjuna who were taught and enjoys dancing and music aspect during the exile.

Now I just want answers to my questions;

Who tf is Sankat? Ik he's also a prince, but I can't tell if he's related to Arjun in some way (I don't understand Hindi)

Why is Wangi even in the forest?

Why is Wangi blue?

That's probably all. If there's more I want to talk about, I'll add it in a reblog.

[jojosleftyadventure]

Welcome!

About:

This is a blog for my Jojo fan part starting Joseph Joestar's severed left hand as the protagonist. There is no title yet, but I do have a basic outline for the plot.

Who is this hand guy?

This "hand guy" is named George Joestar III, but he prefers to go by his nickname, Joja. After plummeting to Earth, he landed right besides Joseph before being recovered to be reattached. This does not go as planned, as the bandaged limb started moving on its own. After spending time with his temporarily bedridden owner (Joseph), and Suzi Q, he learned to come to terms with his sentience and aspires to be a proper member of the Joestar family and Joseph's new (unorthodox) son.

How old is Joja?

While Joja is physically the same age as his father, and he was sorta "born" an adult. He doesn't really develop like a human would, though, as he has all of the memories of being Joseph's hand, but he only became sentient recently. It's like booting up a new computer with stuff from your old PC in its hard drive. I suppose it's just the nature of an artificial life like this?

Does he eat? Does he poop?

Yes and no. Joja is a being created via a cocktail of Hamon, weird pillar man bullshit, and Super Aja energy. So like, his body is really weird morphologically since he's a talking hand. Don't take it too seriously, Araki throws logic out the window and I will too.

How does Joja...do anything?

Joja gets around with a combo of crawling on his fingers, climbing, and using hamon to boost himself upwards. Trust him, he's a pretty talented little guy.

No, I mean, how can you make a fan part about a body part? What's wrong with you?

First, keep your pants on, second, I have a lovely laundry list of mental illnesses. You don't need to tell me I'm cringe or crazy, your mom told me that last night, now eat your vegetables, son.

Are you open to RP?

I'M A SLUT FOR RP, DAWG. This is also a bit of an ask blog too. Talk to my little boy!

Where does this take place on the timeline?

Joja was "born" February 28th, 1939 (Pisces baby!). This blog will primarily be set in like 1940, but if you have questions about him interacting with characters in the future, I can bend the rules a bit. (He, like Joseph, is alive in the Phantom Bloodverse up until Pucci did Pucci things, so he'd be familiar with the whole crew.)

Okay, how do family relations work out with Joja?

Grab some popcorn and take a seat. Basically, Joja is treated like a son by Joseph. I know that if your hand came to life and started talking, they would sort of genetically be your clone (like a twin brother or something), but in this world, Joja is one of Joseph's three kids. With that being the case, Holly is his baby sister and Suzi Q is sort of a mother figure to him. That also means that he is Jotaro's uncle and Jolyne's grunkle. As for Giorno... you do the math. I'm sorry I threw a hand-shaped monkey wrench into the Joestar family tree.

What about Josuke?

In this universe, Joseph has a better head on his shoulders and doesn't go around fucking Japanese college students (Without protection). Instead, Joja met Tomoko and really hit it off with her in Morioh. She's his wife! As for Josuke, Joseph is his surrogate father, on account of Joja lacking reproductive organs (since he's a hand).

Boy Reference

[th3okamid3mon]

The Lighthouse,  somehow charming to disturbing [SPOILERS]

What happens when you have 2 man inside an isolated house? NOTHING GOOD! NOTHING. GOOD. AT ALL! 

Sinopsis: 

2 lighthouse keepers are doing 4 weeks shift at an isolated and mysterious island in New England while fighting the desires to succumb into insanity. The tension between them grows as time passes, even though they can no longer decipher the time of day. 

Photography, sound and edition: 

BOI, WHERE DO I BEGIN!? OH I KNOW! THE CAMERA. The first thing that intrigue me about this movie is the black and white and that it´s shot in 1. 19:1 (For those who don´t know what that means, its the dimensions you see the movie, for example: a widescreen television in full hd would be 16:9). Seriously, this could possibly fool someone into thinking it´s an old movie, a literal movie from the 1930´s or 40´s. But NOPE! ITS FROM THIS CENTURY! BUT WAIT! THERE´S MORE! 

SO! It was shot using a Panavision Millenium XL2, which it still uses film. Some people think movies are shot with digital cameras now days and that film is completely obsolete. Well, a couple movies have been shot with film and in color. Film can and does have a really good quality, a lot of directors still like to use film to shoot the movies and then transfer the movie to digital. Some directors digitalize the movie, edits it and then imprints it in film! A mexican cinematographer called Gerardo Barroso explain in a conference in 2012 at the FIC UABC (International Film Festival UABC) how he does that because he liked the film more than the digital due to certain details it gives, specially to the colors and general shots, one of the movies shoot completely in film was 2011 Los Ultimos Cristeros. 2011. Let that sink in.  Back to The Lighthouse, this movie was film with Eastman Double X film, this type of film is only in black and white and they also used a custom filter to give the stylization you see here:

They also used a vintage , 1930´s Baltar Lens to give it more the old fashion movies style. This people went full on for the ¨super¨ old aesthetic. 

It looks completely like a 40´s or 50´s movie, but the sound gives it away as a modern film. The shots used were also kind of vintage or old; lots of use of closeups, really open general shots of the lighthouse and the sea, several shots to fill in the spots. Those filler shots are actually used for a very bad trip Robert Pattinson´s character has, imagining having sex with a mermaid and being tangled into octopus and then coming out of conscious not realizing whether he is in the past or in the present. 

The photography works really well in representation the absurdly, horrifying isolation the characters feel and the imagery becomes grotesque with the characters as they become even more aggressive and insane. 

One thing that isn´t as appreciated or doesn´t seem as appreciated is the sound design. Not only the music, all the sounds. The deafening sound of the alarm, the motor that powers the light, the sound of the waves as they turn from calm and relaxing to roaring with fury as if god himself was punishing this men for existing. Every single sound is done with care, nothing was out of place nor excessive. You could say certain sounds become annoying like the seagulls or the alarm but that´s the point. You are experiencing the same annoyances as the characters, you have to know what (at least one of them) they are going through in that isolated place. There´s nothing! Nothing. No other people. Only this old farty man and the seagulls and the sea. And when you are trapped for 4 weeks only listening to that, it can drive anyone insane. 

The editing is energetic, taking care of how every shot works for every moment. At the beginning there´s this unknowing feeling because we dont know the place, the character we follow (Robert Pattinson´s) is walking around, getting to know the place. We see it being a slow edit, it has slow moments, just getting used to the place. As time pass, we can see quicker shots, they dont stay in screen for a long time. There´s more cuts, quicker cuts. When you want a succumbing to insanity sensation of course you need the actors to act and the art design to be showing part of the story and the sound, but timing is important. if you leave a shot too long, it will mean something completely different. It was careful with each and every shot, and the timing was spot on, leaving just the appropriate amount of time to see what was going on and confuse the living shit out of everyone when the characters were tripping horribly. 

Art design:

Every department in a movie is highly important, in this case it was crucial. A lot of investigation must have been done to get the proper clothes, specially if it was gonna be filmed in black and white. You CANNOT use whatever clothes in whatever color, you have to make sure those colors aren´t too dark or too bright, if they are too dark there will be sub-exposure, if they are too bright there will be over exposure. It had to be in a specific palette to make sure the film doesnt fuck up. Not only did they had to search what kind of clothes were used in 1890, but also what the building was made of, the boats, the materials, the food, what did they eat? what did they drink? in what did they drink? HOW DID THEY GO TO THE BATHROOM? Everything was thought out. 

There were certain things like the make up or special effects that kind of confused me, it wasn´t until there was blood involve that caught my attention. In certain scenes the blood is in gray tones, but then when more blood is involve it turns into black, not dark gray, completely black. It strike me a lot. 

SPOILERY, IT INVOLVES PART OF THE END, SKIP IT IF YOU WANT: there´s a part where William Dafoe´s characters turns or is viewed as a octopus and starts spewing ink. Robert Pattinson´s Character is covered in blood as he hits this character and it looked grayish, but when he goes into the lighthouse his face is completely black. I don´t know if it was on purpose, i think it was part of his delusion and hallucination. It popped too much and it was almost out of nowhere. 

All and all, it was done amazingly, they did amazingly with the design of the house and the lighthouse. They dodge a bullet with the boat, i bet that would´ve been a lot more work to design or try to get. I mean, they still got a boat but they only did closeups and really limited view shots, there was no way you could see the boat completely and say if it was a modern model or an old model. The dirt and filthiness gross me out, i left the movie theater feeling filthy and gross, not only for how it looked but also for what I saw. 

Writing and Characters:

As I said before, the film has the vintage, oldy but goody look and aesthetic. That´s really clear, but you have no idea what I meant. They really went full on the look and the writing. Hearing this two actors talk reminds me so much of an old movie. They talk too much! They spew a lot of sentences that sometimes don´t mean much? I mean, William Dafoe´s character talks like a sailor, because he is one and talks with riddles or just rhymes sometimes. At first glance they dont mean much, but if you paid attention to all he says it´s all foreshadowing for the cruel and awful finale. 

The way they speak gets you back, it´s nothing you´ve heard before, by that I mean you would never hear anyone talk somehow like this. I dont think sailors talk like this anymore unless its for a gag. ¨Ya´hear?¨ ¨Ay, sir!¨ ¨YER A FILTHY BASTERD¨ ¨YER NOTHING BUT A DAWG¨. The accents gives a bit more of what era they are in, the writing itself does it though. 

Man, oh man! My filthy pair of sexually charged man. This two are GONE. Or at least William Dafoe´s is. You have an old, obsess man who loves the light and refers to it as his wife; he spews about his life in the sea and eventually you start to think whether that man is just bark and no bite or bite with no bark. Did I mention this man is hella superstitious? Thing he tells the other guy? ¨You better not mess with the ´gulls. They are the spirits of sailors died at sea¨.  He´s been alone for a while and his last second in command was described as dead and mad. HMMM.... Weird! And then you have the new second in command, new, responsible, hard working and has this mysterious vibe, something he is keeping to himself which is eating him from the inside out (if you get it, you get it). 

There´s not much you can decipher from this two. They start as just two man in a lighthouse, one is the boss the other a subordinate, nothing more nothing less. Then they become a bit more friendly to each other, but its more of a job friendly type of thing since it is a job they have to do. Tension begins to boil up when they discover they are alone and isolate for who knows how long due to the boat of provisions not coming after the 4 weeks. This characters dont develop much in the story and that´s fine. Both are not exactly thrilling, it´s what they do that becomes interesting. William Dafoe´s character is shown as gross, apathetic, strict and superstitious as well as stubborn but becomes a little more sympathetic. Why? Because we then know Robert Pattinson´s character a not more. He is (probably) a murderer, he took the lighthouse job with other name because he was a wanted man? and he was escaping his old life. He was already deranged when he got there, he had more probabilities of killing anyone. And then we discovered, the old man had killed before! So non of them are likeable, can be charismatic but not good at all. 

The plot is simple, the characters show emotions and certain 3Dimensionality but since they become even more of an asshole we kind of top caring about what happen to them. I guess the ending is more of delight to audience since we see them both get punish. Then again, I feel more bad about the old man than the new guy. He was an asshole in secret and ended up being an outed asshole. 

Conclusion: 

All and all, this movie is not for everyone. It has a nice pace and it´s interesting. The plot is simple, almost non-existent, what intrigues is the whole eeriness of the place and the situation that becomes super explosive really quick, it´s not a bad thing it´s more of a wake up alarm that hits you with a bat. It has quite the graphic imagery (sex, nudity, masturbation, animal killing in a VERY GRAPHIC AND HORRIFYING WAY, I HOPE IT WASN´T A REALLY ANIMAL MY GOD) that I dont think its for shock value, i think each have a reason to be and I understand it, it doesn´t mean it was shocking and disturbing though. Something I also didn´t expect was the chemistry between William Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, they work really well. Their acting was spot on and well done. Robert Pattinson has done other acting jobs, unfortunately some of those are from really bad movies which is a shame cause his acting is phenomenal. Thank god for this movie,  not to discredit Dafoe but the one shining is Pattinson. 

It is like a love letter to the film making from back in the old days, it could become a good stylization. A lot of movies with this old backgrounds are emerging and I dont see it as a bad thing though I can see it a bit of a problem. I feel it´s saying ¨The old days were better¨ but then again, what era hasn´t done that? Oh wait, the ones where vaccines didnt exist... In all seriousness, this could potentially inspire people to use the old gears or at least achieve this type of aesthetic to tell a story, it´s saying ¨IM NOT OBSOLETE YET, AND I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT¨ Film is an old material to use but it obviously shows it´s still kicking... for now. 

I do recommend it if you like thrillers, it is really eery, it is full of tension and gives you a weird claustrophobic and isolated sensation. 

NOTE: I´d say no minor should watch this, but I feel they would only want to watch it more, here i go though:  If you are a minor, SERIOUSLY, DONT. it depicts graphic deaths, graphic explicit sex scenes and general grossness, they were from the 1890, don´t expect them to be or act clean. I walk out of the movie theater feeling gross and dirty, never felt that way before after watching a movie like this one. 

Sincerely not delusional, TOD.

P.S: Watch kitten or dog videos to ease the utter disgust and disturb sensation of watching a man grab a bird from the throat and stomping it into a rock for at least 2 minutes straight. 

[bloojayoolie]

Bloods, Church, and Clock: LIG 70% 12:10 ADD MEMORY OPH ADD PHOTO SHARE THIS TRIBUTE JOSEPH A HELLER, JR 1937 - 2019 Obituary Obituary of Joseph A. Heller, Jr. Joe Heller made his last undignified and largely irreverent gesture on September 8, 2019, signing off on a life, in his words, "generally well lived and with few regrets." When the doctors confronted his daughters with the news last week that "your father is a very sick man," in unison they replied, "you have no idea." God thankfully broke the mold after Joe was born to the late Joseph Heller, Sr. and Ruth Marion (Clock) on January 24, 1937 in New Haven, CT. Being born during the depression shaped Joe's formative years and resulted in a lifetime of frugality, hoarding and cheap mischief, often at the expense of others. Being the eldest was a dubious task but he was up for the challenge and led and tortured his siblings througha childhood of obnoxious pranks, with his brother, Bob, generally serving as his wingman. Pat, Dick and Kathy were often on the receiving end of such lessons as "Ding Dong, Dogsh*t" and thwarting lunch thieves with laxative-laced chocolate cake and excrement meatloaf sandwiches. His mother was not immune to his pranks as he named his first dog, "Fart," so she would have to scream his name to come home if he wandered off. Joe started his long and illustrious career as a Library Assistant at Yale Law School Library alongside his father before hatching a plan with his lifelong buddies, Ronny Kaiser and Johnny Olson, to join the Navy and see the world together. Their plot was thwarted and the three were split up when Joe pulled the "long straw" and was assigned to a coveted base in Bermuda where he joined the "Seabees," Construction Battalion, and was appointed to the position of Construction Electrician's Mate 3rd class. His service to the country and community didn't end after his honorable discharge. Joe was a Town Constable, Volunteer Fireman and Ambulance Association member, Cross walk guard, Public Works Snow Plower and a proud member of the Antique Veterans organization. Joe was a self- taught chemist and worked at Cheeseborough- Ponds where he developed one of their first cosmetics' lines. There he met the love of his life, Irene, who was hoodwinked into thinking he was charming individual with decorum. Boy, was a she ever wrong. Joe embarrassed her daily with his mouth and choice of clothing. To this day we do not understand how he convinced our mother, an exceedingly proper woman and a pillar in her church, to sew and create the colorful costumes and props which he used for his antics. Growing up in Joe's household was never dull. If the old adage of "You only pull the hair of those you love" holds true, his three daughters were well loved. Joe was a frequent customer of the girls' beauty shops, allowing them to "do" his hair and apply make-up liberally. He lovingly assembled doll furniture and built thema play kitchen and forts in the back yard. During their formative years, Joe made sure that their moral fibers were enriched by both Archie Bunker and Benny Hill When they began dating, Joe would greet their dates by first running their license plates and checking for bald tires. If their vehicle passed inspection, they were invited into the house where shotguns, harpoons and sheep "nutters" were left clearly on display. After retiring from running Bombaci Fuel, he was perhaps, most well-known for his role as the Essex Town "Dawg Kecher." He refused to put any of his "prisoners" down and would look for the perfect homes for them. One of them was a repeat offender who he named "A**hole" because no owner would ever keep him for very long because he was, in fact, an daily a**hole. My Dad would take his buddy on rides in his van and they'd roam around town with the breeze blowing through both of their fur He never met a dog he didn't like, the same could not be said for the wanna-be blue bloods, snoots and summer barnacles that roamed about town. His words, not ours. Well maybe not exactly his words as those would been much more colorful. Joe was a frequent shopper at the Essex Dump and he left his family with a house full of crap, 300 pounds of birdseed and dead houseplants that they have no idea what to do with. If there was ever a treasure that he snatched out from under you among the mounds of junk, please wait the appropriate amount of time to contact the family to claim your loot. We're available tomorrow. Joe was also a consummate napper. There wasn't a road, restaurant or friend's house in Essex that he didn't fall asleep on or in. There wasn't an occasion too formal or an event too dour that Joe didn't interrupt with his apnea and voluminous snoring. Besides his beloved wife, Irene, and brother, Bobby, Joe was pre-deceased by his pet fish, Jack, who we found in the freezer last week. Left to squabble over his vast fortune, real estate holdings and "treasures" are his three daughters Michelle Heller (Andrew Bennett) of Newton, MA, Lisette Heller (Lenny Estelle) of Ivoryton, CT and Monique Heller (John Parnoff) of Old Lyme, CT. He relished his role as Papa and Grampa Joe to Zachary, Maxwell and Emily Bennett, Megan, Mackenzie and Ryan Korcak, and Giovanna and Mattea Parnoff and hopes that he taught at least one of them to cuss properly. Left with decades of fond and colorful memories are his siblings Pat Bedard of Madison, Richard (Pat) Heller of Oxford, and Kathy Heller of Killingworth, sisters-in-law, Kathy McGowan of Niantic and Diane Breslin of Killingworth, and 14 nieces and nephews. No flowers, please. The family is seeking donations to offset the expense of publishing an exceedingly long obituary which would have really pissed Joe off. Seriously, what would have made him the happiest is for you to go have a cup of coffee with a friend and bullsh*t about his antics or play a harmless prank on some unsuspecting sap. If we still haven't dissuaded you and you feel compelled to waste your hard-earned money to honor his memory, donations may be sent to: Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association, PO Box 667, Gulfport, MS 39502. A celebration of his life, with Joe laid out in all his glory, will be held on Thursday, September 12, at the Essex Fire Department, 11 Saybrook Road, from 4-7. A light dinner will be served as Joe felt no get-together was complete without food. None of his leftovers or kitchen concoctions will be pawned off on any unsuspecting guests. Feel free to be as late as you'd like as Joe was never on time for anything because of the aforementioned napping habits. Joe despised formality and stuffiness and would really be ticked off if you showed up in a suit. Dress comfortably. The family encourages you to don the most inappropriate T-Shirt that you are comfortable being seen in public with as Joe often did. Everybody has a Joe story and we'd love to hear them all. Joe faced his death and his mortality, as he did with his life, face on, often telling us that when he dropped dead to dig a hole in the back yard and just roll him in. Much to his disappointment, he will be properly interred with full military honors (and maybe Jack) next to his wife on Friday, September 13, at 10:00 am in Centerbrook Cemetery. The family is forever in debt to his neighbor, Barry Peterson, for all of his help in recent years. We couldn't have done it without you. Sorry, Mom, Lisette and I did the best we could to take care of him and keep him out of your hair as long as we could. Back in your court now. Add Condolence THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER GET DIRECTIONS VISITATION 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm Thursday, September 12, 2019 Essex Fire Company

[eng-hypnosismic]

[Eng sub/translation of Buster Bros!!! Drama Track 1]

Ichiro: What the hell, so much noise...and I’ve waited so long to read this new light novel.

Jiro: Niichan, are you making a new team? Please, let me join!

Saburo: Ichinii, sorry to bother you! If you let an idiot like Jiro into your team, you’ll ruin your reputation; so please, let me join no matter what! I’ll make your name great!

Jiro: Saburo! Who’re you calling an idiot? Say it one more time, I dare you.

Saburo: I’ll say it as many times as it takes to get it through your thick skull: you’re an idiot. So much so that you’ll even grab my collar while I’m still talking, like an idiot would.  

Jiro: You twisted little shit—let me teach you some manners for Ichinii’s sake.

Saburo: (sigh) Good grief...Ichinii, a moment, please? Seems like this idiot only matures in his body, not his head.

Ichiro: Oh, shut up. Aren’t I always telling you that brothers should get along? Anyhow, I’m not letting you guys join my team.

Jiro & Saburo: : Eh? Why not?!

Ichiro: Hypnosis Mic battles aren’t as easy as you might think.

Jiro:  But, if we were together— // Saburo: E-Even so...

[Phone rings]

Ichiro:(sigh) I’m gonna answer that. Be quiet.

Ichiro (on the phone): Hello? ...Oh it’s been a while, Ramuda, How’re you doing?    Haha, same as ever, I see. So? What can I do for you?  

Jiro (whisper): A runt like you couldn’t help Niichan even if you tried. He’s only rejecting us because of you! Niichan is so kind—he’s worried about a brat like you.

Saburo: (sigh) Oh, dear...your idiocy can’t be helped. I can only  pity you. Ichinii is kind, indeed, because he’s worried about someone as useless as you.

Ichiro(on the phone): See ya.

Ichiro: You’re fighting again just right after I told you not to. Listen to what I say, can you?

Jiro:  Well, Niichan, that’s ‘cuz—

Saburo:  B-but, Ichinii…

Ichiro: Jiro. Saburo. Don’t “cuz” and “but” me like a wimp. 　

Jiro & Saburo: (Shook)

Ichiro: You guys are always—

[Phone rings]

Ichiro: (sigh) Hello? There’s a whole bunch of rare callers today, huh...oh, no! It’s nothing! Just talking to myself. Long time no see, Jakurai-san. What’s up?

Ichiro(in the background): yep ,yep

Saburo: (whispering) It’s your fault Ichinii is upset. You better apologize to him.

Jiro: What the hell—why am I the one who has to apologize? It’s your fault, Saburo!

Saburo: (whispering) Be quiet! Ichinii is on the phone! Really, idiots just don’t know when to shut up.

Jiro: Is that the only word you know? I better not hear any complaints when I beat your ass!

Saburo: Ha! You only ever talk like a second-rate mook. I can’t help but laugh at how pathetic you are!

Jiro: I’ll send you flying!

Saburo: Come at me!

[Both got hit]

Ichiro:Cut the fucking crap already!

Jiro:  It hurts, Niichan...

Saburo: Uu…! Ichinii, so mean…!

Ichiro: You really want to be in my team so bad?

Jiro & Saburo: Naturally!

Ichiro: Well then, let me give you a test.

Jiro & Saburo: We’ll do anything!

Ichiro:Good. I have here two new requests; get it done for me.

Saburo: What kind of “request” is it?

Jiro:  No wonder you are a runt! Everything Niichan says is absolute. Don’t ask, just do everything you’re told and there won’t be a problem.

Ichiro:That’s enough, Jiro. I’m happy you trust me, but don’t trust me blindly. How many times do I have to tell you?

Jiro: Sorry, Niichan...

Saburo: Hahaha, stupid, you’re in trouble!

BB: Saburo, you too. How many times do I need to tell you before you learn how to respect your brother?

Saburo: S-Sorry, Ichinii...

Ichiro: (sigh) You two will be working for two of my ex-teammates: Amemura Ramuda and Jinguji Jakurai.

Jiro & Saburo : Former Dirty Dawg?!

Ichiro: That’s right. Jiro, you’ll be handling Jakurai-san’s case. His friend is worried about a stalker, so find this stalker girl and put an end to it. Here’s the info Jakurai-san knows about her. Start with these.

Jiro: Mhm! Roger that, Niichan!

Ichiro: I’m counting on you. Saburo, you’ll take care of Ramuda’s request. He wants more information on this guy Yumeno Gentaro, so dig up whatever dirt you can. Here’s his info.

Saburo: Ichinii, please leave it to me! I won’t disappoint you!

Ichiro: (laughs) Sure, I’m counting on you. If you can finish these requests, then maybe I’ll think about letting you two on the team.

Jiro & Saburo: (makes super happy and hopeful noise) I’m heading out!

Ichiro: Those guys’ cases are not easy to deal with at all. For sure they’ll come home crying unable to finish the job. It’d be nice if they’d give up just like that.

[some time later]

Jiro:  Niichan, I found the stalker lady Jakurai-san was looking for.

Saburo:  Ichinii, whatever Ramuda wants to know about Yumeno Gentarou, I got it.

Ichiro: Seriously? (unidentifiable noise)

Jiro: I was faster.

Saburo: I was faster.

Ichiro: I only sent you out today, and you’re already done?

Jiro & Saburo: MHM!

Ichiro: Well, let’s see what you got. You first, Jiro.

Jiro: That stalker woman he’s looking for is pretty dangerous. There have been reports of her going after several hosts in Kabuki-chou with a knife. The cops are after her, so she’s been hiding who-knows-where. It was difficult, but I got tipped that she’s staying in Room 1015 of some cheap motel on the outskirts of Shinjuku Division.

Ichiro: You found someone even the cops are still looking for?

Jiro:  Of course! I’m Niichan’s little brother after all! Even though I don’t have as many friends as you, I worked really hard to network with people from other divisions just like you did. This gangster guy from Shinjuku Division actually helped me out with his information agency.

Ichiro: Hahaha! Jiro, that’s awesome.  

(Jiro made happy noise, Saburo made jealous noise)

Saburo:Ichinii, may I report now?

Ichiro: Oh, yes please.

Saburo: I’ve organized all the information on Yumeno Gentaro here.

Ichiro: Holy shit! You gathered so much in just one day.

Saburo: It’s nothing, really! I just happened to find this stuff on the deep web. And, to be thorough, I met with one of Yumeno Gentaro’s acquaintances to factcheck. There’s no doubt about any of it!

Ichiro: Just by a glance I can already see all your main points sorted and organized clearly. It’s easy to read.   

Saburo: Um, could you, pat my...er, thank you very much!

Ichiro:(patta patta)  Saburo, good job.

Saburo: (satisfied noise)

Ichiro: Let me get these back to our clientele. Gimme a sec.

Jiro:  Well, then. Since my assignment was harder, I win.

Saburo: You’re kidding, right? I’m the winner here. My report was clear and organized, when you only gave him an oral report. I even gave him a proper evaluation of all my findings. This was a job; I obviously deserve more praise.

Jiro:  Ha, people who are less confident tend to speak more. Look at you, just chattering cuz you are afraid of losing to me.

Saburo: (slow clap) Hahaha, how imaginative. Kudos to that, Jiro. Have a round of applause.

Jiro:  Hahaha, Saburo, what a runt. Trying so hard it’s incredible, I just have to compliment you.

[cynical laughter and slow clap]

Ichiro: Wow, that’s great! You guys are applauding for each other, that’s how brothers are supposed to be. (pat heads/hug them both) You guys are growing up so fast. That’s my little brothers!

Saburo: It’s such a honor to be praised like that! ...Though it could be obvious, who’s the winner? Me or Jiro?

Jiro: Niichan, of course it’s me!

Ichiro: Winner? I never said anything like that.

Jiro & Saburo : Eh?

Ichiro: I only said I was testing you, not that it was a competition or anything.

Jiro:  Then, between us, who would you choose to join your team?

Ichiro: Oh, I see. I never thought of using these tasks to decide whatsoever. But well…

Saburo: But well…?

Ichiro: To be honest, I never expected that you two would be able to complete the mission. But you guys got it done with amazing speed.

(Blissful noises from Jiro and Saburo)

Ichiro:Therefore, I’m going to take you guys seriously. Take this.

Jiro:  Um, Ichinii, what’s this mic for ?

Ichiro: Show me your skills.

[Hypmic on sfx]

Saburo: Gotcha. Ichinii, please let me go first.

[Music starts]

Saburo:

Who are you calling “runt”   

It’s now or never

Don’t look down on the brat

My flow is the best

It’s true I am the youngest

But that’s just a matter of timing

Always looking up and up and up  

To Big Bro, let me be your back up

Hey it’s not fallacy

It’s reasoning

With me here,

No troubles come near  

[Music ends]

Ichiro: Good job. Those lyrics are just like you, Saburo.

Saburo: (gasp)

Jiro: Listen to mine next,  Niichan!

[Music]

Jiro:

Anytime Big bro needs a hand,

Will be there soon as I can

I shall be your lance  

Just gimme a chance

To prove to the world my stance

I know I am quite inexperienced I admit

But from now here, will make you proud in a bit

Check it, one-two-three-four (1)

I am Jiro the middle, the second son, the best son

[/Music]

Ichiro: Very powerful flow, and clean rhyme. I’m impressed.

Jiro: (happy noise)

Ichiro: It’s true you guys can rap, to some extent. However, Hypnosis Mic battles aren’t all fun and games. If you can withstand my own rap under the Hypnosis Mic, then I’ll let you on the team.

Jiro & Saburo : Yes!

[Hypmic sfx, music]

Ichiro:

Ai yo, what can’t be taken back (2)

That’s WORD

Spit it, the call of the soul

That’s WAR

Holding onto guns what can you change?

Taking whatever you want is good enough for you? You stupid? (3)

This is a new era in which

Believe in speech

And this mic to your eardrums it reach

Hypnotize  

Change the future with this rhyme,

get the world

Everybody raise your voice

[/music]

Jiro & Saburo: (suffering noises)

Jiro: That’s just like Niichan...since it’s us, he didn’t go at it full power, but it’s still so oppressive.

Saburo: Ichinii is just as strong as I expected…! But, that’s exactly why I want to become a man like him!

[hypmic off sfx]

Ichiro: I knew you guys still weren’t ready.

Ichiro: (shocked)

Jiro I was almost a goner...

Saburo:  I want to become a man like Ichinii.

Ichiro: hahahahahahaha

Jiro: T-This means...

Saburo: We can join the team?x

Ichiro:Nope, no way.

Jiro & Saburo: (shook)

Ichiro:As I said, if you can withstand it, I will be the one to invite you into the team.

Jiro & Saburo : (hopeful noises)

Ichiro: Jiro, Saburo. What do you think of making a team with me? Let’s change the world together.

Jiro & Saburo : Please take care of us!

One-two-three-four here in japanese is read as “Ichi-ni-no-san-shi” , which is a pun of Ichinii’s (big brother’s) praise/compliments

Og phrase is “吐いた唾は飲み込むな”, which literally translates to something like “you can’t drink what you spit”. Apparently it’s a line yakuza/delinquents use to diss opponents during fights. It a metaphor of how you can’t take back your words/actions, so be careful with what you say/do. Source:https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1190821391

Those two lines are directed at Samatoki I think. In Samatoki’s solo there were sounds of guns and also he said that he “takes/seizes whatever as long as he likes it”

[destressjournal]

DCOM Rankings #94: Zapped

Aaaaaaaand we’re back to cringey.

Hello everyone! I’m so happy I’m almost at 100 DCOMs and do my official final ranking of them. I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch all of them by the end of the month like I would like to, and frankly with the new DCOM coming out next Friday, I don’t know when it would be released on Disney+, or if I’m just gonna have to record it on Disney channel when it premieres. But yeah that’s the sucky part when you’re busy literally every weekend.

But that’s just logistics stuff. Let’s get into the meat of this really awkward thing…

So….this type of movie I doubt would release today. I know the movie is only 7 years old, but I think a lot has happened since then in terms of societal awareness of gender issues specifically. And the movie’s kind of promoting of casual sexism is something that DCOM’s like Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook Off, have been trying to discourage. This seems like a step backwards for Disney channel. Yes I know that Zoey learns her lesson in the end about how controlling boys is bad, but I think the lesson could have gone a bit deeper than just “don’t control people and let them be who they are” because that is almost too surface level. Like, I really hope by this point kids know that blatantly controlling people is bad….(however I know some people who haven’t learned that lesson so maybe I’m giving people too much credit).

But you can tell this was made for little girls who think their brothers or boy cousins or boys at school are icky and gross. I HATE these parts in the movie. Because it’s so over-the-top, gross out humor, for one. And two, people are people…? Anyone can be gross and disgusting and anyone can be clean. Guys don’t sit around and fart on each other all day, or stand around and do weird movements, like whoever directed this just said to all the male actors “just act as weird and gross as humanly possible” and that’s not normal…??? Especially at a high school.

What I’m trying to get at here is that the movie misses its own point. And the end lesson was so superficial that it just all fell apart. The lesson should have been : “we can’t put certain labels on people because they call themselves male. People may bother and annoy us but we can’t control them or make them do what we want. Anyone is capable of being anything, everyone has feelings, and we’re all humans with our own worries and fears and other feelings. Boys aren’t all fart robots and girls aren’t always proper, let’s stop putting people in boxes and try to address problems directly.” Zapped only managed to talk about the controlling piece, which did need to be talked about but they still use casual sexism at the end of the movie. It’s like…? What are kids going to take away from this movie..?

That was by far my biggest issue with this movie. The premise itself was fine ish, although for some people it may make them uncomfortable. At least the movie acknowledged that the ethics surrounding controlling people is questionable at best. But watching her yell into her phone “be clean” , “be quiet” “don’t be weird”, “dance better” etc. it’s just kind of hard to watch sometimes. I get it though, the movie is trying to say how this is a bad thing, it’s not promoting, but it’s assuming that little girls want to just control their siblings and the boys at school, and that’s kind of effed up. I just wish that the lesson packed more of a punch.

I have no qualms with any of the actors by the way. Zandaya is always a gem, and the supporting cast is amazing too! It’s the directing and the writing that disappoints me. Does everything have to be totally 100% realistic all the time? No of course not, but over the top acting, especially with the popular girls, was to me so effing annoying.

Okay, let’s talk about the characters. They were all…okay. None of them were my favorite, and if I really had to pick my favorite character…I guess it would be the parents? Idk they’re just so mature and loving and understanding of the new arrangement. The main character Zoey is fine…I guess…it’s just there’s not much to her except she’s a phone addict. Actually let’s talk about that for a second.

There’s another smaller lesson saying that you don’t need your phone, and she literally breaks her phone and throws it in the garbage. Ummmm, I take issue with this. First off while I agree that phone time should absolutely be limited, especially when you’re doing something social around people. In 2021 it’s basically become almost a necessity to have a smart device of some kind. Maybe not for kids, I agree, but I’m just saying this as a working adult. A lot of much needed things are on my phone, my email, my schedule, my goal trackers, my reminders, my alarms, my calendar invitations, is all there! And I can take it wherever I go. It’s so commonplace now that telling kids to break their phone and throw it away won’t do a ton of good today. Like I said, the movie was probably filmed in 2013, where iPhones were just starting to become commonplace.

I think a better lesson here is that you don’t need to be glued to your phone 24/7. Take breaks, hang out and play with friends, go outside! And I think the lesson would have landed better if she used apps for other useless things besides the controlling device so that kids could be like ohhhhh I probably shouldn’t do that either. Social media was still pretty new at this point so I’m not surprised that this DCOM didn’t address it. But wow if anything social media is such a whirlpool of toxicity and I agree that you really don’t need it

Okay another rant about the lessons. Let’s skip to a different aspect of the movie I hate, the cringey ness and over the top acting. I know I already referenced it but the popular girl is a great actress but oh my god her character was wayyy too much for me. The aggressive hair flipping…ugh so annoying. And the side kick character that always backs up the popular girl. Like, no guys just stop. It’s cliche’s everywhere you go! Any scene they are together in just makes me wanna laugh it’s so ridiculous. And the boy sibling characters are also just one personality trait and that’a it…? I don’t even know all their names! That’s how little I cared about the characters. A lot of the cringiness also comes with the costume designs and fashion choices. So early 2010’s. Fedora hats have been out for so long now and I literally cringe when I see anyone wear one. It’s literally the mark of a cheese puff/Mountain Dew, “nice guy”.

I also didn’t like how the love interest just forgives Zoey at the end, like she didn’t do much to fix her mistake other than embarrass her self for like 1 minute and then say the release command. Like what she did was pretty damn bad, and the fact that she ordered him to kiss her! Like noooooo! this girl has control issues! he would’ve been my favorite character in the movie if he didn’t make that dumb choice but you always gotta have your romantic partner and your happy ending right???

Yeah this movie is just frustrating and cringey. for the most part. HOWEVER there were actually pockets of good scenes that saved this from being a D movie. (But it’s still a minus from me dawg). One of those scenes was where the dad and brothers fixed zoey’s music box, and how the dad mentioned how they worked really hard all day to put all the pieces back together. I thought that was really sweet! Another great scene happened between Zoey and the oldest brother around her age. She asked him for dating advice and he was really sincere and thoughtful in his response. AND I love that he point out that he has worries and insecurities too, just like anyone else. YAAASSSS. This dude plays all the right characters in these movies. The scenes with the mom are also pretty good, and the scenes with the love interest early on were also good. And I guess that’s what frustrates me the most, that this movie was capable of so much more than the final product. But they wanted to focus on silly gags and cringey hair flips instead.

So based on the previous paragraph I think you know what kind of grade I plan to give this movie. C- baby! I never wanna see this trash again. But I can’t deny there were good things about the movie too that I feel weird grading it a D. Who knows, I may change my mind later.

The next one I’ve heard the title before just from word of mouth. And it looks pretty “pixel perfect”-esque, so it’s likely I’ll be comparing the two in my next review. Can’t wait!

[amuelle]

And now ladies and gentleman for my next illusion I present…Privacy

“We (she was referring to herself and the other ladies in the office who don’t really want to be my friends but want to know my business) want to know who this new man of yours is.” I smiled. Then in her prim and proper voice she said “I think it’s weird not to have your boyfriend on social media.” It was an attempt to garner support for her statement. She was embarrassed and felt it necessary to double down. She had created this image of herself, like she had the cheat code to healthy relationships and a great part was due to her righteous nature. The girl who lost her virginity on her wedding night after a 3 year courtship. FOH!!! She was just like the rest of us, but now that she was on the other side, with ring and baby on the way. She had reinvent herself and threw subtle insults. I have great distain for such women.

Moments before she had asked why I don’t have Chocolate Daddy on any of my social media. I had replied quickly that it was because I was hiding things from him. I then burst into laughter and so did the other ladies as we stood huddled around a cake shaped like a sleeping baby. I have nothing against these office baby showers. They force us to mingle, regardless of how awkward the mingling is. Some of these girls aren’t here to make their money and leave (which irks me a little). They want to be ‘friends’ so they can give unsolicited advice and judge the few elements of your life you are willing to share. They need you to WANT to their acceptance and slate you for being antisocial like you owe them friendship just because they see you every day.

“It’s because you think it’s normal not to have privacy. Everyone thinks they should know everything about everyone’s life and it’s not normal. You might have known all the 700 people on your Facebook at some point but that doesn’t make you friends. Some of them you have on there just to make sure they catch the best photo shopped moments of your life.” I had gotten carried away and forgotten that most people don’t truly enjoy my brand of honesty and so an awkward silence fell until someone remarked about how delicious the pastries were. They really were fucking awesome and the conversation moved on.

I’ll admit her statement had caught me off guard. I had never considered why I really didn’t have him on my socials. There was no point now because the moment had passed. No one cared anymore. If I kept talking about it post pastries, I would seem like I was over explaining so I stopped talking about it and started THINKING about it…HARD! Yes 10% of me not having him was me hiding things from him. But I knew that wasn’t really IT. That couldn’t really be it, could it?

I want to talk about how secrecy and privacy are not the same thing. How setting clear boundaries can help you avoid running good things in your life because you only tell the people important to you. You know all that already. I should tell you why I really don’t have Chocolate Daddy on my socials….

Many of us have a false sense of entitlement to other people’s lives due to social media. We feel like we know this person through our interactions on these platforms. I feel this way about celebrities and distant acquaintances I connect with. I don’t personally know these people. You could swear we are best friends from reading our posts.  In my mind we could strike up a great conversation over wine but the truth is that is highly UNLIKELY!!! We are all carefully curating our lives on social media. The guard I have up is exactly the same guard other people have. We might kiki in the comments but we are STRANGERS.

The first and last time I ever spoke about the gentleman I’m seeing to someone who wasn’t in my inner circle I led the conversation with “I met someone and I think he is fantastic” after some fishing she got a name out of me and upon confirmation of his identity she proceeded to lay into me about things that I felt were not her place to say. Things even I would have had a hard time saying ALOUD. It’s not like she told me he was a thieving crack head with a harem of women. “I’m happy for you baby girl” would have sufficed but no, she dived in. I can’t fault her, perhaps those are the things she needs to hear when she meets someone new. We all do due diligence in different ways. For me, if the gay community can’t claim you and there is no other person who is in a relationship with you or thinks they are then we are good to go. That’s not how it works for everyone. Some people want, five years’ worth of bank statements, a profit and loss report and all the hoe files!

It wasn’t that she ruined it for me, she just reminded me that sharing can sometimes dilute an experience. Had I kept my big mouth shout I wouldn’t have been caught with my pants around my ankles. Sharing your life on social media (or with people in general) can put you in a compromising situation. It can have people who last spoke to you five millennia ago asking you about a boyfriend you broke up with a century ago and triggering old emotions. It can have a current boyfriend asking you why there are so many pictures of you with men he hasn’t met when you aren’t ready for him to meet your best Judies or road dawgs. It’s a glimpse into a life that isn’t a reality. A suitcase of memories and memes that aren’t necessarily a reflection of who this person knows. And because we give it so much weight, we can make things on social media true when they aren’t because…it must be true if it’s on Facebook.

It’s no secret, I think people are awful. It’s like letting people into your home when they have nothing to lose. They will take and break because hurting you won’t hurt them. They will sleep well after robbing you of your joy. (And now we begin our descent as I land the plane). So why the mystery about Chocolate Daddy? It’s really simple. I don’t want to share this piece of my life with anyone I can’t call at 4am in hysteria. Not everything warrants sharing it with people, especially because once it’s out there I can’t reclaim it. I can’t change my mind about if I want people to know or not once I have posted and tagged. Some people find the perfect rhythm and I’m happy for them but that’s not me. Its smoke and mirrors, carefully shot nondescript images of hands, shoes and tattoos for me and that’s how I like it. I like to know that for this part of my life is inaccessible to people whose intensions I cannot judge.

Most of us are secretly assholes on the inside. There is rarely a need for your secret asshole to surface unless someone pushes a boundary and you have to rebuttal. That said keep some pieces of you and your life to yourself and your inner circle so that the voices that you hear clearly are the ones that matter the most…

Bisou…bisou

[lauraramargosian]

Sundance 2020: Taylor Swift celebrates premiere at Eccles Theatre and more!

Sundance 2020: Taylor Swift celebrates premiere at Eccles Theatre.

View this post on Instagram

Miss Americana

January 31 on @netflixfilm

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jan 15, 2020 at 2:16pm PST

Park City, UT- The one, the only, Taylor Swift, Woman of the Decade spent time in Park City, Utah for Sundance 2020. Swift, whose documentary “Miss Americana,” premiered on opening night at the Eccles Theatre.

As always, Taylor Swift stopped to take a few selfies with her supportive fans. Doesn’t that go to show, she does appreciate those who support her?

Abuse within Hollywood is not a secret.

Although this may be false, in other situations and with different talent managers, agents, and employees, it does happen.

Label executives took advantage of Swift during a time she was growing and learning. On the other hand, Taylor has opened up about the abuse she has faced within the entertainment industry (as well as others).

Provided that it seems to have taken a lot of precious time away from Swift, including having freedom.

Most importantly, T-dawg was at an age where learning whether being respected or being liked was more important, frankly, that’s a lesson we all go through in life.

Instead of being herself, Swift was tossed around like a puppet and nobody should feel stricken by their own team.

Incredibly, despite being told how to live her life, who she could date, friends she could be seen with the public, whether she was to “too fat,” or “too skinny,” she triumphed.

“I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore. There’s nothing that feels better than this moment.” -Taylor Swift

Damn, she overcame and conquered, setting the perfect example for not only her family and friends but her fans. Instead of “reacting,” she spends time to write relatable hits for her personal healing as well as to teach her fans ‘, hey you’re not alone.’

In fact, many find it difficult to be happy because they wear their heart on their sleeve.

Important things we need for life happiness and how they could have affected Taylor Swift.

Beyond health, food, water and shelter come other needs which are important to leading a positive life where you feel in control, proud of yourself and gear you to succeed.

Friendship – It’s important to have friends, not just one but a handful that you can truly count on… especially when we aren’t feeling positive and life kicks us to the ground. Those executives affected Taylor Swift’s ability to trust, and while there’s not red ink that shares what they said, Swift shared just enough to show that she didn’t spend a lot of time with friends.

Intimacy – If there is no opportunity for friendship, how can one begin their journey from “puppy love,” to actually falling in love? No doubt, this one doesn’t need much explanation. As mentioned, Swift has always kept your love life a secret because of the harsh judgments. But how would it feel to not being to go out to eat at a local favorite?

The need for having control – Doesn’t it feel awful when life doesn’t deal you a hand which makes you feel completely panicked and worried? Imagine every decision you’ve had to make was being made by someone you work with, or worse, someone who has abused you in ways you don’t want to remember?

The need for creativity and challenges – One word sums this up, accomplishment. Doesn’t accomplishment feel amazing? For instance, how do you feel when you pay off student debt for your film class? That has to be the best feeling ever, especially after spending all that time with your creativity, putting magic on the big screen. Unfortunately, it’s likely many of Taylor Swifts moves when she broke out in 2006. The good news is Taylor took action and made creativity and challenges fun and exciting, just as she deserves. I mean, her freaking snake stage was absolutely amazing, as was her tour.

The need for one’s purpose meaning – Whoever you are, whatever you do for work, no matter where you live, people must find their purpose in order to be proud and share those stories to help others in the world attempting to find their meaning. What would it feel like if you were told what your purpose was, and how you should be showing it (their version of purpose and meaning)? That’s balls. Thankfully, Taylor Swift has found her purpose and meaning and she’s using her platform to help others heal and shine bright like a Diamond.

With that in mind, Taylor Swift came into the Hollywood spotlight as a novice, learning to explore every single corner of the industry… And all at the same time she beat down in order for higher-ups to “build her,” the way they wanted, rather than how she wanted…could you imagine?

Hell yes, she is now 30-years-old (“Thirty, flirty and thriving, lol.”) and spent more than enough time in the industry to know exactly who should and shouldn’t be in her life. Regardless of her status in the entertainment industry, those choices are hers, nobody has a right to tell another person how to live.

Further, a quote by Spike Milligan comes to mind:

“Money can’t buy friends, but you can get a better class of enemy.”

As well as a quote by Maya Angelou:

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”

Ultimately, that’s what Taylor has always strived to accomplish, she truly fought and succeeded.

Taylor Swift: Named Woman of The Decade, and how her speech was empowering.

Equally important, that doesn’t mean there are zero trials in life, money is a number, trials do not discriminate, nor can you buy or sell them, right?

So, when people ask ‘why are celebrities so depressed, they have everything?’ the proper response is “so do we,” in comparison, it’s not always greener on the other side, is it?

Taylor Swift arrives to the premiere of her Sundance documentary “Miss Americana.” Read Variety’s in-depth interview with Swift on why she decided to get political and stop being ‘polite at all costs’ https://t.co/lu9z92PMTJ pic.twitter.com/zwNdmZu0iK

— Variety (@Variety) January 24, 2020

To End, Sundance 2020 opened on a great note, as did this year for Taylor Swift.

Shout out to the whole team at Sundance, you guys all work so hard, from directors, producers, crew and talent.

Blessed be!

Sundance 2020: Taylor Swift – “Miss Americana”

Next: Taylor Swift and Jimmy Fallon

This hilarious moment when Taylor discovered Jimmy Fallon talked to her mom and got a hilarious home video.

The post Sundance 2020: Taylor Swift celebrates premiere at Eccles Theatre and more! appeared first on Positive Celebrity News and Gossip.

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[captaindoubled]

So I was thinking about the Virmire Survivor plot, how much I hate it on terms of weak story writing but also because it just doesn't make sense for Kaidan and Ashley to have to exact same reactions to Shepard asking them to join.

Bioware couldn't be bothered to remember that they are individual characters and so it came off as shit compared to the rest.

Liara and Wrex both says they couldn't join for very valid reasons that were really no different from Ash and Kaidan's. They missed Shep and all but they got shit to do without them. Life didn't stop moving when they died. Big difference tho is that A/K had the added bonus of almost disgust and distrust in Shep, which again, shit on both as characters.

Not to say they couldn't worry that Shep was a clone. On the contrary, that's a pretty solid question and should have been a major source of personal conflict for the Shep dawg anyway. (You know, maybe instead of being just a self sacrificing hero, the idea that they aren't even the real Shepard makes it easier to throw life and limb into a cluster fuck of black holes, ya know, bit more depth and growth there). But they should have been given their own individual spin is all.

Spit balling but just to improve it:

Ashley, no matter what you do or say can't be recruited in ME2, while, depending on how you played in ME1, you got a shot in recruiting Kaiden.

Why?

Ashley's backstory makes sense for her lack of recruitment chances, not just to join Shepard but to leave the Alliance, to be absolutely believable. She's trying her damnest to rebuild the Williams name in the Alliance after her grandfather's surrender to the turians. And she feels like she has to make up for that. After being part of the group that saved the Citadel, and moving up in the ranks, there is no question: she would be absolutely against the idea of throwing that away to join up with Cerberus under their flag.

She also has 4 sisters to take care of that's she's raised most of their life and her own. I can not see her willingly joining onto a suicide mission when she does have family back home that she feels need her protection as their big sister. And def that should be a conversation prompt that comes up if you bring Miranda to the Horizon mission in order to give Miranda something to chew on later for her loyalty mission and help push her away from Cerberus faster.

For ME2, it would be one of those all roads lead to one point things for her, matter how pro or anti alien you push her in conversation either. She's a locked out squad mate in ME2.

Kaidan on the other hand, I could see that as something that can happen. Kaidan doesn't have the same pro alliance loyalty as Ashely does. And even if Kaidan is super pro alliance loyalty, his blood will literally never been as blue and silver and Ashley's. Also Kaidan's biotic school was not Cerberus run so that distrust of Cerberus other than past mission stuff shouldn't out way his trust in Shepard. The biotic school fact tho should def should be a dialogue prompt if Jack joins that mission, same way as Miranda, for something to chew on later.  In ME1, the same way you can either confirm Ashley's alien Bias or make her deal with them, you can push Kaidan into more xenophobic views too. This could be def a reason why he could be recruitable but even if that wasn't, Kaidan's a pretty loyal guy. To people, not groups per say. They could def play on that and make it so that his loyalty to Shepard and choices you the player made in ME1 can effect the chance to get him as a squad mate. Like a strong red or blue Shepard in the previous games makes this path easier. If Shepard was wish washy in the middle, then Kaidan wouldn't follow them because they didn't hold strongly enough to their guns to be someone Kaidan could drop their life for, or him to join in on a suicide mission for. (Hard Blue Shepard and non Xenophobic Kaidan or Hard Red Shepard and Xenophobic Kaidan) If you can pass those checks, you get a bonus squad mate but also Shepard gets a chance for closure that they didn't lose  as much as they thought in their death. And that worry of being a clone, at least in ME2, is lesser.

Even more changes to give A/K their own personal stories. Different locations!

Ashley can stay on Horizon to protect a settlement of folk because she's fucking tank of a woman. She's be a good fit to help protect folk like that because in the previous game she had armor stats higher than Wrex sometimes and he's a fucking Krogan.

Kaidan can go to a different colony for a different function. Maybe a research group in need of smaller, localized protection within the building. He's a biotic and a strong one but story wise he's still an L2. Sending him off the bumble snatch west fuck alone is just bad on the writing part because if he strained himself protecting folk without proper medical help, there goes Kaidan. Even if that doesn't happen, you gotta write with the possibility that it could.

You can't send someone in a snake pit, have them walk through fine and then don't acknowledge the danger of the situation because you didn't think of a scenario of where they got bit.

Ashley being a literal tank puts her in danger from the collectors because she can't punch and shoot the paralyzing bugs away. But she's got all those bunkers to get in. She's a good solider she'll be in danger but it doesn't kill her.

Kaidan in the other hand has a mega advantage considering biotic shields main plot device used to get through the fucking swarm in the end.

(Hell, Kaidan throwing up a shield bubble during that mission at any point would have been a bad ass way to introduce the concept early without saying it. Something that, in an Ashley play through, doesn't happen and puts back that how the fuck do we get past the swarm in the end. It makes the game slightly different and changes the difficulty a bit and make your choices really matter in ways other than characters you get. )  

Just, he needs something else make it so he's in danger but doesn't KO him permanently. Also it gives Kaidan his own story line.

Because tbh, the Virmire Survivor plot sounds like it was written for a Male Shep who romanced Ashley so they banked on her sticking around. Or at the very least, a Male Shep player who at some point romanced Ashley or Liara (because Bioware pushed hard on that Liara romance) so again just having to account for the fact she'd be the most likely one alive out of Kaidan or Ashley. The stuff Ashley does makes sense, what she's doing and her even being sent out to a piss hole terminus system because of her name makes sense as a sort of punishment. I don't even like Kaidan that much but, while Ash's actions may seem like dick moves in ME2 they are understandable to her character backstory, Kaidan's make no fucking sense to him as a person and only make him look like an ass.

Now in ME3 though they could have flipped the script.

Ashley and Kaidan both go on the mission with Shepard to Mars Ashley and Kaidan having wildly different ideas on who Shep is.

Why?

Because of how non Shepard centric most of the plot of ME2 was. I enjoy the fuck out of ME2 for the same reason I love Dragon Age 2 (and I'll fight you on this game). You have to be emotionally invested in the growth of your team mates in order to make it through that last mission with them. It's very squad centric and forming that bond as a team I love that in story with a group dynamic element. The Citadel DLC in ME3 was peak that and the little moments just in ME3  they expanded on were even better.

But ME2 was missing something that DA2 had.

Moments devoted to the player character. In DA2, who you were as Hawke changed your party dynamic from the start and set up the pin of Hawke being a centric figure in the narrative of the story. If you were a Mage, say fuck off to your Mage sister. And if you weren't, bye bro. You picked who you wanted to be tacked on to in order to work in Kirkwall, your choices to take your brother or sister to the deep roads decided their life or death and subsequently, was also dependent on if you picked Anders as well. Your character's emotional investment for their family, can fuck up their life, and hurt their mother if done wrong but still lose that party member done right. But at least you still get letters from your sibling if you can keep them alive.

Then there is the plot line about the mother's boyfriend and her subsequent death that came in the form of small but in your face fetch missions. Like say what you want about that game, but at least all the little things you did to get gold in the first act built up and grew into their own stories across the next two acts. You feel a lot more for Hawke, understanding who Hawke is, what they are going through, each act taking away family members one by one until it is just Hawke in a mansion alone. But you walk around the house and touch things, books Varric recommended, wine and a mask that remind them of Fenris and their morbid sense of humor, Anders manifestos all over the damn place, and Isabela's dick scribbles all over the place. So even when you have that moment where Hawke can't go in their mother's room, the house still has family and love in it. It's fucking noice! 👌🏿👌🏿

Mass Effect 2 was one mission after the other for Shep to do but nothing really to grow as a character. And while you were out there getting folk, the game doesn't really stop to make them moments that Shep can relate to other than throwing a bone to the previous game. Por ejemplo:

Garrus and his missions. It is rightfully framed around Garrus' pain and loss of not just Shepard, but his life back home, his team, and his future. Getting through to him in one way or another is important for the mission but there isn't a moment of humanizing for Shep in it. If Shepard's backstory was Sole Survivor, Shep should have had a dialogue option to bringing that up and talk to Garrus to work through that pain. It brings Shepard the character, not just Shepard the player' character, back to the forefront. Like I said about Shep maybe being a clone should have been the major source of emotional conflict for Shep in ME2. It would have made moments where Shep has to be a person and relate to their squad mates as that person and not just the beacon of hope leader. You are going into a suicide mission and you barely get to know Shep's feelings on it aside from pissed off and "Duty".

Other moments could have been: Earth/Colonist Shep relating to Tali on the loss of their parents. Shepard talking to Thane about their own death and mortality. Sole Survivor Shep having major disadvantage on Grunt's loyalty mission. Moments where Shepard talks about their lack of a father in any bg with Jacob or even, for god honest Christ sake mention that Anderson played that role and a father that gave you DNA doesn't have to be your dad. You can find someone else. (Which could have set up for Jacob finding a mentor in ME3 but we aren't gonna talk about that 😤😤) Spacer Shep relating to Grunt and even envying the fact Grunt finds a place among the Urdnots when Shep never had a home planet to call home and all that. A Ruthless Shep or War Hero Shep having major conflicts with Mordin's mission because both Mordin and dude that worked under him thought they were doing was right by it was also a terrible path. I could go on! But the point is, ME1 gave the player little moments to have their back stories mean something and be specific to the player, even if it was one or two of them.

ME2, they were background hum on radios that you can ignore or just not pay attention to because you got fucking lost on Omega for the 10th time.

But why would all this matter in a Kaidan/Ashley story line?

Because they could have serviced as their loyalty mission but in different games. For Kaidan it would have been in ME2 and literally the boss battle before the boss battle. Joker has his own shit going on in ME2 (which I enjoyed the fuck out of) so someone has to be that ultimate question asker, are you the real Shepard? If Shep couldn't show they were the real Shepard, Kaidan isn't loyal. He doesn't die, he'd be the one life guaranteed character but it would fuck over your playthrough of ME3 if you can't convince him otherwise. You can be pissy, mad Shepard and not provide proof because who does Kaidan think he is? Loyalty failed. You can be emotionally detached soldier Shep and never had those moments. Loyalty failed. If you can't just gain the loyalty of enough members of your crew?? Failed! Who's Shepard if not the ultimate commander. If Shep can't get folks loyal to their cause, fucking that ain't Shepard. Least not in Kaidan's head. And as the player, now your thrown for a loop wondering the same thing going into a suicide mission! Imagine having to play the game and remember who Shepard is! Not just paragon or renegade pointed checks but actually Shep the character! What Shepard you made in ME1, why you chose that backstory and how it relates to the character you created and the folks around them. That would have been epic. Hell, it could have been put in that Kaidan only gets a partial loyalty and that's as high as you can get. Because Kaidan is still in mourning for Shepard and no matter how much like Shepard you are, it isn't enough to convince him that his friend is back!

Going into ME3, Ashley could still very much think that Shepard is a clone and doesn't have those major moments to test for herself if Shep is real or not before the robot rock misfortune. So in ME3, now Ashley is going to go through the same moments like Kaidan where observing and wondering if Shepard is real or not. There can be moments where how you acted toward folks in the loyalty mission comes into play in her decision. And since ME3 let your squad mates piss off to do what they wanted, moments where you go the hospital for example and find Garrus sitting with Ash and talking, but stopping when you enter the room, would create heart pounding suspense. Because since Ashley wasn't on the Normandy in the last hypothetical better Virmire Survivor plot, you don't know it's a loyalty check until it's the Udina show down. The part where Shepard insists they are the real Shep and not Cerberus and telling the truth is undercut by the fact Ashley (or Kaidan in the boring bad Virmire Plot as well) never got to check on if Shep was Shep, in just a really more complex paragon/renegade check. Give Ash a chance to check Shepard and also make the player play the Shep they created!

Again, Kaidan can have an entirely different show down point. Hell, he can have Udina and Ashley something else, just give their characters moments where they are doing something different if they are following the sameish plot line.

If you recruited Kaidan but failed his loyalty, you're fucked. You got the advantage of having an extra squad mate in ME2 so not that advantage is a disadvantage. Because if you failed his loyalty out right, you are probably going to have to shoot him or fuck over the mission . Same way there is jack shit you can do other than some complicated duck and dodge maneuvers with Wrex if you betray him and don't cure the genophage. If your at passed or in the hypothetical, just partial passed a Kaidan loyalty in 3, Shep has an easier time and doesn't have a moment of stand off at all. If you already paid your dues once, you don't have to do it again.

But even if you don't recruit Kaidan, you probably shouldn't have to go through so many hoops just because of Kaidan's character. The only way you get screwed in the end is if you don't play true to your character Shepard but insist on having him in ME2.

Again: just spit balling and the ideas can probably use some polishing on their own and I somehow ended up taking about another major flaw in Mass Effect but it's all good.

Because the major point is: the Virmire plot should have still let Kaidan and Ashley play their own characters and have their choices make sense, and also instead of just making the Virmire Survivor plot a thing that happened where you get characters one or character two, they serve as a check for your character to play true to who they are.

Because unlike the dragon age franchise, Shep is the main through line of that trilogy so there had gotta make the stories connect not just by the main lead but how they interact with the world.

Games like that came from the table top esk mechanics. You can modify your stats over time and make up for short comings and balance stuff out, but you gotta play the character you made.

Story wise, the fact that I can make a Ruthless Colonist Shepard and end with the franchise with them having more Paragon points than sin is fun and good Meta story telling for me and my fic purposes, but I should have had more resistance in game. I should have had the hardest time recruiting any sort of Batarians aid. The fact that I blew up the relay in the dlc and killed even more Batarians should have just sealed my fucking fate with them.

There is a moment in the Omega DLC that is my absolute favorite where if your Shep is an engineer, you can disable that barrier with no fucking problem at all with only the snuggest of comments. It is, out of all the moments in the game probably my favorite. Because that was my first Shep before I really got into the fandom and found out that Vanguard was actually the fandom favorite class. Most people didn't even pick engineer, biotic mains were the thing and there were like 3ish in the game. I didn't even play a biotic until my next run with a new Shep just to see what those powers were all about. But there were folks that I talked to that played and didn't know in the you could hack and fuck over mechs and how much fun that was for me.

I really like when choices like that, especially ones that are supposed to just matter in combat, work their way back into the story.

Because even though it was a choice I made for my Shep, it was so little, I barely remembered it was important to her backstory just the same as her being sole survivor and a spacer.  I made me wish there were more times where the fact my Shep was an Engineer came into play with hacking mechanics in the game. She could have bypassed them entirely or had a slightly easier game compared to other classes.

Joker is thick and thin loyal but he spends most of his time at the front of the ship.  The first characters you fight with on a team are Ashley and Kaidan (Jenkins) and their characters, Shepard, Ashley and Kaidan, should really connect more story wise.

I hate the Virmire plot so much because it takes two very important characters to Shepard and makes them 1D dlc characters and so only after you go through all the same checks and balances and gun point and yelling do you have moments to bond again in ME3 as individual like before. It's sad. And should have been ingrained in the plot before. Hell! Liara gets a whole dlc where you and her can talk about wtf happened while also doing shit again together. Fucking Ash and Kaidan get a letter and a big middle finger till 3 where they spend 1/3rd tof the game in a coma.

They would have been a good reminder that Shepard is who you made them in 1, the Shepard they remembered and loved and mourned and for the rest of the game, that's the Shepard you play. You could have not done that, just to see if the grass is greener on the other side, but there should have been a punishment system them. And they would have been a great checks and balances system to put it.

[ramblinganthropologist]

Writober 2019 - 13 (Flashback)

Summary: Casey Finnegan has a... weird deck. Ok, it’s full of fae. How the hell did that happen?

Also, introducing my new Yu-Gi-Oh! OCs. Well, one isn’t mine. The rest are! They have their own weird little story we’ve jokingly called Yu-Gi-Oh! GT (because more letters is more fun). 

---

New pack day; aka, Armageddon itself.

I don't think you should try it today, my dear.

Judging from the line in front of the school store that morning, that was a no. The sea of red and blue coats only convinced Casey to turn around and head to class early instead. After all, the only thing waiting for her there would be a haze of carnage itself.

Never let it be said that duelists turned up an opportunity to load their decks.

It's no big deal, nothing interesting in there for you anyway~

The fox was back, half there and half not, walking beside her. Sometimes it rode on her shoulder, but it preferred to walk today. As always, its jewel colored pink eyes were focused on her. It never stopped watching her.

She was used to it.

Casey kept her eye on the hallway as she walked, side-stepping to avoid one of her fellow first years. “Oh, really?”

Yes, I didn't feel like finding anything for you this morning. You kept me up last night studying you know.

“I have a test at fourth period I didn't feel ready for.”

I don't even know why they have classes here. A proper school would focus on dueling alone.

Well, nobody had ever said Philadelphia Duel Academy was a 'proper' school. Really, it was just a tiny section of a much larger institution that had more or less let it start there. Unlike most dueling schools, they had academic classes – like the one she had a test in later that morning.

Had she ever mentioned English wasn't one of her better subjects?

“Casey, over here!”

“You're about to wipe out, C-dawg!”

Two voices in unison caused the young duelist to pick up her head. She saw two people waiting for her at the entrance to her morning class, both wearing the green of the larger school's general education department. She picked up her pace to meet them, the back of her hoodie flying in the wind as she ran. They didn't call her the red flash for nothing – when she booked it, she booked it.

One of them, a smaller boy with glasses named Jake, nodded as she caught up to them. “Were you at the pack rush?”

“Course not, she doesn't look beat to hell.” Jame, the other person, wore the same look as always when anyone brought up anything other than casual duels for fun. “Unless you got there early, C-dawg?”

She shook her head as they walked in to find their seats. “No, I woke up late because I was studying for English. Looks like I'm out of luck this month.”

Her deck box rubbed up against her seat as she sat down. “Oh well, from what it sounds like I wouldn't have had much luck anyway.”

No, you wouldn't have. We're quite happy here.

And that was her deck chiming in, always at the back of her mind. At best, they could be a little prickly when she suggested changing some cards out. At worst... well, it gave her a headache just thinking about it. Unlike most duelists, she didn't have an unlimited say. Call it more of a... negotiation, really.

Because that's what you should do with the fae: negotiate with them. She HAD said English was her worst class after all.

Jake sat down next to her, while Jame sought the seat in front to complete their small triangle. Nobody else was in the room – they were taking their time getting to class or the bus had broken down or something. Gen eds tended to have to deal with that stuff – not the duel side. They were stuck there.

“So... your deck doesn't want to make any changes again?” Jake's voice held the tone that he still didn't believe her. It was ok; nobody really did. “Can't you just tell them what to do?”

Sure, but you know what happens then.

Casey winced at the thought. “No. It's one of the rules.”

So many rules that it was a wonder she remembered them at all. But she did – they were her silver-clad code to life and dueling, had been for years. Honestly, it was hard to remember life without them, or when they had really started.

…

It had to have been when she was little...

---

“Winged Dragon, Direct attack!”

And that was the end of that duel. She'd lost... again.

9 year old Casey Finnegan wiped the tears from her eyes as the older boys went away laughing, congratulating the leader on his flawless victory over the class's favorite punching bag. She picked herself up out of the dirt, dusting herself off as she went. Her cards had scattered from the final attack, so she bent to pick them up.

She had really tried that time too...

“I'm sorry, everyone. Maybe next time.” Casey hugged her deck close and slid it back into the box on her leg. She started her walk home, head hung low. The sun was starting to set over her small West Virginian town, and night would be falling soon. The only thing waiting for her at home was homework and a quiet night. No friends to call her to break the silence.

Nobody wanted to be friends with the class weirdo. It only got them hurt.

Her small house was alive, however. She could hear her mother in the kitchen the moment she opened the front door. The noise brought a smile to her face as she hung up her jacket and went to the source of the sound.

“Oh, you're home! Good, I'm making chicken.”

Her mother was a small woman, made smaller as she hunched over the stove. During the day she was a hair stylist at a place in town – at night she studied while keeping an eye on her only daughter. Apart from the green eyes, they didn't really look much alike. Unfortunately, Casey took after her father in that regard.

“Awesome!” Casey cocked her eyebrow at the sight of the small envelope on the kitchen table. It had a few international stamps and looked like it had been through the wringer. “Hey... what's that?”

Her mother turned away from the stove. “Oh, it's for you. I think your father sent it.”

She was smiling, but there was a sadness in her eyes. The thought of accepting something from him made Casey's hand itch, but she had been taught never to be rude when it came to presents. So, she took the envelope with the promise of checking it out later.

Later came after dinner and homework, when she was alone in her room with the door closed. The envelope indeed came from Ireland, but the return address had the wrong name. It was an Aoife O'Reilly sending the note, her handwriting neat and precise.

“How'd she get my address?” Casey tilted her head to the side. “And it's not like it's my birthday or anything... why send me something?”

It wasn't like she talked with her half sister or anything – the older girl had never seemed to want to make contact. Even if she did, her mother wouldn't have allowed it. Whatever was inside, she must have wanted to send it badly to risk the wrath of the woman Casey called the harpie. Who was she to deny that?

So she opened the envelope. A few thin pieces of cardboard slipped from the opening and fell to the floor face down in front of her. Immediately, Casey recognized them as Duel Monster cards. Even though they came from across the sea, they still had the same backs.

“Huh? How does she know I duel?”

The answer came from the paper that had been placed inside the envelope. It was a letter, neatly written out in the same hand that had addressed the envelope. Cursive; Casey's worst nightmare. Still, she managed to read it eventually.

Dear Casey,

I hope this letter finds you well. My apologies for not sending this in time for your birthday, but the post wouldn't cooperate. I hope the contents inside make up for my error.

Consider this a few years' birthday gift. I have heard from father that you have begun dueling, so I thought this appropriate. These cards came from my own deck, but I believe they will serve you well. Listen to them, and you will find the key.

Good luck dueling, and may the cards guide you.

Sincerely,

Aoife

“She sounds like a million years old. Who calls their dad father anyway?” Casey shook her head as she shook the envelope out. Altogether, there were five cards on her bedroom floor. “Well... let's see what she gave me.”

Her hand reached out for the first card and turned it over. On the front, the picture of a grinning fox spirit frolicked among ancient stones and towering trees. Its pink eyes focused straight at her as she read its name.

“Fox Fae?”

Now, now, honey. No need to be so- you're not Aoife.

Casey blinked in surprise as her room disappeared around her. She was now sitting in a ring of stones, just as ancient and weathered as the ones on the card. Soft lights glowed all around her, and a thick fog rolled at her feet. Wherever she was, she wasn't home.

“What the...”

“Now, that's my question.”

She looked over at the closest stone. Sitting there was a small fox with bright pink eyes, tail flicking. It hopped off the rock and walked towards her, stopping a few feet from where she was sitting. Those eyes focused straight at her, burning a hole through her. It was looking for something.

“Huh?”

It sighed – actually sighed! “You're not very bright, are you? I asked where Aoife was.”

“Oh, uh... in Ireland?” Casey cocked her head to the side. “Sorry, how do you know Aoife?”

The fox's tail twitched as it circled her, still speaking. “We had something of an arrangement, one she broke. If she hadn't sealed the damn envelope with iron and bound me up, I'd be collecting the terms. I knew she was quick, but...”

It stopped in front of her, eyes still glowing. As Casey glanced around, she felt something deep stir in her stomach. Old stories her mother told her at bedtime from her father's homeland flooded into her memories. Never enter a fae ring, they said, and never make bargains with the fae.

They just hadn't mentioned the fae looked like stuffed animals.

The fox seemed to grin. “Oh, so you know what I am?”

“Kind of... you're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be.” She stiffened. “I'm not eating or drinking anything so you can't keep me here!”

Her host laughed, which definitely did not sound like a fox. Instead, it reminded her of a man on helium. She would have laughed, but that was rude. Casey knew enough about the fae to avoid doing that. After all, she had school in the morning.

“Oh, you are a clever one.” That tail twitched. “Not that I have anything to offer. Damn card's rather barren.”

The fox hopped back on the stone, pink eyes glittering. “You are an interesting one, dear. Care to show me that pretty eye of yours?”

A harsh wind blew, and Casey felt her hair lift from the left side of her face. That eye, unlike her regular green one, was the same shade of pink as the fox's. It was why she tried to hard to hide the damn thing: people kept calling it weird.

Fox laughter filled the ring. “Of course, you're his bastard! I remember the old hag complaining about you.”

It was suddenly almost in her lap, pawing her face gently. “What a dear, fae marked and everything. You must unnerve everyone you come across. I bet you're lonely.”

Casey's stomach dropped at the touch. This was the part where the fae bargained for her soul. But she didn't have anything to give it – it didn't know her name, she hadn't eaten, nor had she accepted anything. Without that, it didn't have a furry leg to stand on.

“I'm fine. I just need to get home.”

Was it just her imagination, or did the fox look sad? Its ears drooped a little, like it was disappointed in her. But it didn't move; the damn thing stayed in her lap like it was a puppy. Well, if evolution was right, she was pretty sure it was in the same niche. Sometimes she fell asleep in science class.

“Right, yes... I suppose I'll stay here.”

Casey shot it a blank look. “You can't guilt me into accepting an agreement. If you're stuck here, you did it to yourself.”

She stood, shaking the fox from her lap. “Anyway, I need to get home. I have class in the morning and we have a math test.”

The fox raced towards her as she walked towards the edge of the ring. Before she broke, it planted itself firmly at the barrier. Once again, her stomach dropped. If it was riddles, she was screwed. Why had she never tried to learn any?

Oh yeah, she never thought she'd be trying to avoid dealing with the fae in goddamn West Virginia of all places!

“I'm not trying to get anything from you, I promise!”

Its voice lowered. “I... it's lonely in this card. Without someone to talk to, I'll vanish.”

And that was her problem?

Still, the fox kept talking. “I do want to make an... arrangement. I don't want your soul or your service, though.”

Casey would have kicked it, but hitting animals was rude. Besides, something in her gut had shifted. She didn't trust the fae in front of her, but it was telling the truth in what it said. Whatever it wanted, she wasn't going to be trapped there.

Still... “No funny business. I don't eat anything, tell you anything, or agree to stay here. And forget about switching places!”

The fox winced a little. “I see you've heard the stories.”

It reached out a paw. “You duel, yes? I am... part of a deck that could be powerful in the right hands. We're a tricky bunch, though. I can't guarantee we won't mess with you while you play.”

Then why the hell would she accept it? Casey might have wanted better cards, but she knew a raw deal when she saw one. Problem was, the fox was blocking her way out. Unless she listened, she was stuck there.

Damn, it had beat her there.

“That seems dumb. Why should I accept?”

Pink eyes were on her. “Because if you get it right, nobody can stop you.”

Its tail flicked. “Those who can walk the edge of a blade fear no man, no card. The power that comes with that is enormous.”

Casey swallowed hard. “And... what do I have to give up in exchange?”

There was no such thing as a free ride, after all. That was doubled when it came to the fair folk. For not the first time since she had entered the ring, Casey wished she had some iron on her to drive the fox away. Now she was going to pay for it.

“Well, like I said. We tend to become a little... mischievous. Some hands might not come out the way you want. Depends on the mood.” The fox was smiling, and it wasn't a good look. “But isn't that true for any duel?”

They added, almost as an aside. “And of course, no iron, and some other rules we can-”

Casey held up her hand. “I don't agree to any rules until we discuss them beforehand. You could slip anything in. This deal would be this  right now.”

The fox winced at her interrupt. “Damn, you are smart.”

Part of her knew she was being foolish, but deep down in her gut her curiosity was winning out. Something about this was promising, even if it was the worst decision she had ever made. No doubt she would come to regret it.

But... well, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to win more. It was hard to come up with a good deck with whatever she scrounged up from booster packs with her allowance. It would only get worse the higher she went.

So... a deal with the fae it was.

“Alright. You can stay with me.”

The pink eyes glowed. “Excellent. We have a duel. Pleasure to work with you, my dear. Now, let's get out of here.”

The next thing she knew, she was back in her room in the same position she had been in. Now all the cards were flipped up – one other monster, and then a ritual summon card, a trap, and a field spell. They all seemed to glitter in the light as she picked them up to examine them. Powerful; they tingle in her fingers.

You'll have to find more, but that shouldn't be a problem.

“Huh?”

Look down, my dear. I'm right there. Plus, a little something so you don't forget our agreement.

Casey looked down to see there was a pendant now hanging from her neck, silvery with a red stone set in the center. It tingled as she held it, but it didn't seem like it was stuck there. At least with other cursed necklaces, she couldn't take them off.

The fox was smiling at her from the paper. Clearly, their deal had been made. And oh, did she had a funny feeling about that as she deposited her new cards on her bedside table to examine in the morning. Why did she get the feeling this was going to be a bad idea?

---

“Casey, you ok?”

Casey blinked, coming back to earth. A few minutes had passed, judging from the clock on the wall. Jame and Jake both looked concerned as she came back to herself, realizing she had spaced out once again.

Whoops.

She shook her head, red hair flying. “Yeah... guess I spaced out.”

“Yo, blood sugar is no joke. You better be eating, C-dawg.”

Now more students were coming in, green gen-eds mostly, but there were one or two red dueling class students with them. Judging from the looks on their faces, they hadn't gotten what they wanted from their deck pulls.

Aren't you glad you avoided that, my dear?

Her necklace tingled pleasantly as she heard her fox whisper in her ear. Maybe she wasn't the only one getting denied good pulls that day.

“That's rude, you know.”

Oh, I just moved some packs around for the fun of it. Nobody got hurt~

Casey shook her head as she settled in to wait for class to start. If that was there idea of fun, her dueling lessons in the afternoon were going to be a real treat. Hopefully someone had gotten a good card, or it would be an all out riot.

Why had she made a deal with the fae again? Oh right, the winning thing... damn her 9 year old brain.

[pcmobilezone]

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X Review

It’s been a long time coming -- seriously, how long have we all waited on this moment? The moment that AMD would release a performance series processor with increased IPC that can match up and battle with that blue colored company. Well, the wait is over and we’ll be using some proverbial wording today. It is March 2nd and, yes, it is a hard launch thus Ryzen 7 is available starting today. The eagle has landed and we’re very happy to present you guys with our first Ryzen review. Zen was initially the development codename for the new architecture, and as such we should probably drop that name immediately and move to Ryzen. Well, actually I need to elaborate even a little more -- to make matters a little more complicated, the codename for today's released 8-cores (16 threads) processor is in fact "Summit Ridge". AMD Ryzen 7 8-Core Processor Die As you guys have learned over the past few months, the 8-core Summit Ridge processor series from AMD is also the first Ryzen based product series released to the desktop consumer market. The architecture has been fabbed at a more efficient and optimized 14 nanometer FinFET process, rather than the 32 nm and 28 nm processes of previous AMD FX CPUs and AMD APUs, respectively. AMD's processors and APUs over the years have run their course really, for the gamer and more mainstream PC aficionado the older FX and APU series simply lack in raw processor performance compared to what the competition has been offering. We discussed it many times in the reviews, but if you compared an Intel processor core and an AMD processor core and clocked them at the very same frequency, Intel was almost half faster. The effect of that phenomenon showed in the less optimized and threaded applications, many games are a good example here. Today's tested product is to deliver, per CPU core, more than 40 percent improvement in instructions per clock cycle over the previous generation cores and will come to market first in an 8-cores, 16-threads system-on-chip for desktops, and that my friends is Summit Ridge. The new "Summit Ridge" Zen family will use the unified AM4 socket. Ryzen, and in particular today "Summit Ridge" is the high-end desktop (HEDT) product.

We have seen a lot of info go viral over the past few weeks, but I stated it many times, the initial product launch will entail only this 8-core part, followed in Q2 2017 by six and four core processors. Much like the competition AMD will be selling Ryzen in product stacks, low-end, mid-range and high-end much like Intel's Core i3, i5 and i7 series. Earlier on referred to as SR7, SR5 and SR3, matching up with Summit Ridge (SR) and thus a performance segment denominator. But then Summit Ridge from the new Zen architecture was named Ryzen, and hence one more change in naming has now been made. You will see Ryzen series 3, 5 and 7 processors. It’s plain and simple, and as always that works out the best to understand product positioning, we’ll go into more detail on the next few pages, of course.

The Ryzen series 7 processors are spicy, eight core processors at very attractive pricing combined with an IPC increase of roughly 52%. They come with four integer units, two address generation units and four floating point units, the decoder can decode four instructions per clock cycle. L1 data cache size is 32 KiB and 64 KiB for instructions, the L2 cache size is a whopping 512 KiB per core. Two of the floating point units are adders, two are multipliers. One unit that holds four processors is a CCX (core complex). Ryzen 7 is an 8-core processor series and thus that means 2 CCXs x 8 MB (L3) + 8 x 512 KB (L2) = 20 MB in total for L2 and L3 caches. These numbers sound familiar, eh (Intel)? Today is obviously not just about the processors, au contraire Mon ami, you are going to need a new motherboard as well of course.

Product Showcase

Alright, it's time for some photos. We received a Ryzen 7 1800X processor. As you can see, these are retail samples and thus not vanilla picked ones, retail versions. Once you have one in your hand you realize these are a little heavy. They should be with eight properly functioning and fast cores.

The Ryzen 7 1800X processor clocks in at a base-clock of 3.6 GHz, yet can Turbo to 4.0 GHz depending on load levels versus active threads; this eight core processor will be threaded to sixteen threads. Given it's an 8-core architecture, AMD is really nicely managing that clock frequency.

It's a powerful puppy, I'll give you that. The final sales price is just as powerful at just under 499 USD per flagship processor. Let me also remind you that the Ryzen 7 1700 costs only 349 USD and the 1700X 399 USD.

Yep, that really is a Noctua cooler with a black fan ;-)

It Takes Two: The Chipset(s)

AMD sold its chipset division I think two years ago already, a new processor series will need a new chipset as the motherboard needs an infrastructure as well. This has been outsourced and at launch you will see multiple product stacked motherboard chipsets. For Ryzen, you probably want a high-end / enthusiast class chipset with lots of features and tweaking options, this will be the X370 chipset that goes along with the launch of the processor series release. At launch there should be at least a dozen or so choices available. X370 will give home to the new socket AM4 and will provide high-frequency DDR4 memory support (as well as all other modern usual suspects like USB 3.1 gen 2, SATA Express, as well as NVMe protocol based M.2 support and surely PCI-Express Gen 3.0). At launch, over 82 motherboards will be released by several partners. Bear in mind that there will be multiple chipsets, for Socket AM4 namely the X370, B350, A320, X300 and A300.

RYZEN Processor Series

We’ll start off first with the naming. You all know the upcoming AMD processor as ZEN. That is a codename for the new architecture, and as such AMD figured they need a proper final name for the product series. However with ZEN pretty much sticking in everybody’s mind, AMD made the rather sensible decision to name Zen to something similar sounding? Yes, the Zen and thus Summit Ridge product series officially will be named AMD RYZEN, kind of extrapolated from "risen" I guess. Today we start off with the 8-core RYZEN processors. We’ve seen engineering samples at work, we have been testing ever since a few days ago and yes... it is looks good and probably could be as good as what Intel has to offer. In fact, let me call it impressive even. Compared to an 8-core Intel Core i7-6900K processor the RYZEN engineering sample is pretty darn fast alright. Ryzen will launch with three primary 8-core models with others like 6 and 4 cores to follow. When time passes there will be three tiers with the Ryzen 3, 5 and 7 denominators comparable to Core i3, i5 and i7 for the Ryzen product range. AMD in the first phase will launch with three SKUs, the AMD Ryzen R7 1700, AMD Ryzen R7 1700X and AMD Ryzen R7 1800X. You guys have already seen the models being announced, and we explained the numbers and prices as well. Let me first make clear that ALL Ryzen processor are unlocked, that’s Ryzen 3, 5 and 7. The motherboards need a chipset that is unlocked as well though, but the B250 and X370 series are covering all of that.

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X - 499 USD

AMD Ryzen R7 1800X is the flagship processor and it has 8 cores with 16 threads, in fact all Ryzen processors have this core/thread ratio. The Ryzen 7 1800X processor will get an impressive boost frequency of 4.00 GHz, the base-clock is 3.6 GHz base clock. Depending on your choice in cooling, XFR will kick in and bring it to 4.1 GHz, maybe even higher on a single thread. XFR (extended frequency range) by the way is a technology that uses hundreds of sensors inside the processor. If the registers on thermals and such are within certain thresholds it can further boost the turbo frequency above the default spec available. So it’ll give you a performance boost based on proper cooling. We’ll talk a little more about it later on in the article though. The X in the Ryzen 7 1800X refers to a better yielded processor (could tweak better), a higher base and boost frequency and yeah, simply is a binned processor (thus tested and selected from good to great). This processor has a terrifically rated 95 Watt TDP. A similar 8-core Intel CPU would cost you about 1,200 USD, the price for this flagship Ryzen R7 1800X processor is 499 USD/Euro ex VAT. This is an unlocked (multiplier) processor, in fact all Ryzen processors are unlocked.

AMD Ryzen 7 1700X - 399 USD

The next AMD Ryzen in line would be the R7 1700X, this dawg once again gets 8 cores and 16 threads but this time the turbo and base clock sit 200 MHz lower compared to the 1800X. But that means a turbo frequency of 3.80 GHz. Yes, this is pretty much the same processor, just with a lower base at 3.4 GHz and turbo frequency and yes, a lower price as you just shaved off 100 bucks.

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 - 329 USD

The lowest SKU AMD R7 is the Ryzen 1700, and actually I am the most excited about this product as it would be a terrific processor for gamers at a shocking price of just 329 USD. Again, you'll receive an 8 core and 16 threads processor. This time at a turbo frequency of 3.70 GHz and a base clock frequency set at 3.0 GHz. That lower base clock helps you with your energy consumption as a very notable attribute is that this processor is rated at a 65W TDP whereas the other two would be 95 Watt parts. Again, eight cores / 16 threads boosting to 3.7 GHz at 65 Watts for 329 USD. This might become one of the most popular processors ever.

So the above three processors will launch initially. All these processors will fit Socket AM4 and thus you can use the same motherboard. The AMD Ryzen 7 1700 will be bundled with a Wraith Spire 95W cooler. The other two are not bundled with a cooler. We’d recommend you to look at a nice LCS kit or some sort of cooling from Noctua, as a little extra cooling performance can do magic to your boost frequency.

Ryzen 5 Processors

There is more in the pipeline. In the second half of 2017 AMD is going to introduce four core Ryzen 3 processors. However, in the 2ndquarter of 2017 you will already see six-core / twelve thread parts. These will initially launch as the Ryzen 5 series. The Ryzen 5 1600X will thus be 6c/12t, yet it is going to be a spicy processor as we have been able to confirm the base and boost clock frequency already. That boost is 4.0 GHz with a seriously proper 3.6 GHz base clock frequency. The prices have not been confirmed just yet but we expect this SKU to hover in the 260 USD space. Another six core 12-threaded part will be the Ryzen 5 1500X. This processor will occupy the sub 250 USD space, again with pretty impressive clock frequencies, 3.5 GHz for the base clock and still a really proper 3.7 GHz boost clock. Again, the 6-core SKUs will be released in the second quarter of this year. Below I’ve compiled a chart overview of the processors that have been or are to be released. The greyed out ones are unconfirmed, yet an indication of what is to be released.

Processor model

Cores/Threads

L3 Cache

TDP

Base

Turbo

Unlocked

Price

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 8/16 16 MB 95 W 3.6 GHz 4.0 GHz Yes $499 AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 8/16 16 MB 95 W 3.4 GHz 3.8 GHz Yes $399 AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8/16 16 MB 65 W 3.0 GHz 3.7 GHz Yes $349 AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6/12 Release Q2 16 MB 95 W 3.6 GHz 4.0 GHz Yes $259 AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 6/12 Release Q2 16 MB 65 W 3.5 GHz 3.7 GHz Yes $229 AMD Ryzen 5 1400X 4/8 8 MB 65 W 3.5 GHz 3.9 GHz Yes $199 AMD Ryzen 5 1300 4/8 8 MB 65 W 3.2 GHz 3.5 GHz Yes $175 AMD Ryzen 3 1200X 4/4 8 MB 65 W 3.4 GHz 3.8 GHz Yes $149 AMD Ryzen 3 1100 4/4 8 MB 65 W 3.2 GHz 3.5 GHz Yes $129

In the above table you can see the launch SKUs as well as an overview of what to expect in the coming months processor wise, it is going to be a busy year with AMD processor reviews alright. You will have noticed that some models end with an X, while others do not. It remains simple, the X models are a little more special in the sense that they will have a higher base and boost clock frequency as well as an increased XFR range. We'll talk a little more about XFR (Extended Frequency Range) on the next page but basically look at it as a bit of an extra on top of the boost. Also, all X model processors are binned. This means that the processors are tested on ASIC quality and then sorted from good to better and often will clock higher on the XFR range and yes, X models could be / should be more easy to tweak as well.

20 MB L2+L3 Cache

The RYZEN caches, we already spilled the beans on that one but initially all we got was the number which is 20 MB (for an 8-core processor) for the L2 and L3 cache, and that matches what we have discussed numerous times.

The 8-core part with two four core CCU units aka Summit Ridge aka RYZEN in the end get a L1 data cache size of 32 KiB, a L1 instruction cache size of 64 KiB and then a L2 cache size of 512 KiB per core.

L1 8 x 32 Kb Data

L1 8 x 64 Kb Instruction

L2 8 x 512 Kbytes

L3 2 x 8 Mbytes L3

So that is 8 x 512 KB (L2) + 2 x 8 MB (L3) = 20 MB in total for caches, again one clustered Core Complex Unit holds four processor cores. The L2 and L3 caches are similar in size compared to the Intel Core i7-6900K. The processor has dual channel DDR4 support (up-to 3200MHz), AVX2, AES, FMA3, AMD-V SSE 4.1 and 4.2 instruction sets etc. The bus frequency is 100 MHz multiplied by whatever the processor fires off at it. Ryzen is built with a 14nm FinFET fab node, this greatly helps where AMD is with the performance and power consumption. For the transistor aficionados, the number is 4.90 Billion of them.

That is the money shot right there, eh?

CPU-Z Screenshots & System

And here we have CPU-Z screenshots of the Ryzen 7 processor seated, armed, ready and waiting in the motherboard, let's have a look. So, that's all looking alright. If interested, you can download CPU-Z here.

Power Consumption

In an IDLE state, a PC (motherboard / processor / GTX 1080 / memory / SSD) consumes roughly 50 Watts. This number depends and will vary per motherboard (added ICs / controllers / wifi / bluetooth) and PSU (efficiency). Keep in mind that we measure the ENTIRE PC, not just the processor's power consumption. Your average PC can differ from our numbers if you add optical drives, HDDs, soundcards etc.

    I want to make it very clear that power consumption measurements will differ per PC and setup. Your attached components use power but your motherboard can also have additional ICs installed like an audio controller, 3rd party chips, network controllers, extra SATA controllers, extra USB controllers, and so on. These parts all consume power, so these results are a subjective indication. Next to that, we stress all CPU cores 100% and thus show peak power consumption. Unless you transcode video with the right software your average power consumption will be much lower.

Overall stress/load temperatures are very nice with temps at the ~70 C marker peaks (with a simple heat-pipe based Noctua U12S SE AM4 cooler). These, of course, are default results and not tweaked. The processor idles at roughly 45 to 50 Degrees C. Again, we used the AMD review kit supplied Noctua cooler here for cooling. We also received a liquid cooling kit (Predator 240 from EK) which we will use in the overclocking segment. That unit keeps the cores chilled at roughly 65 Degrees C under stress and being tweaked. Overall we are very happy with the temperature results here.

Overclocking

With so many cores in the system we cannot resist overclocking. We're keeping things relatively simple. We need to take a couple of steps if we want to overclock. First tip, always invest in good hardware by the way (MOBO/PSU/Memory/Cooling), the cheaper motherboards often are not well tuned for enthusiast overclocking. Also get yourself a good power supply and proper processor cooling. Overclocking with any 8 or more core processor (doesn't matter if that is Intel or AMD) is far more difficult than you expect it to be. Both brands end in the 4.2, maybe 4.3 range, again that is similar with Intel processors as well.

A bit of a mess, but that's what an overclocking table should look like ;-) We use the new Ryzen compatatible EK Predator 240 here.

Overclocking 8-cores on a high clock frequency is a tough job, but can be managed relatively easily from the BIOS. You can also use AMD's software tool of course. The Ryzen 7 1800X has a base clock of 3.6 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.0 GHz. During our measurements by trial and error we found that at 1.375~1.425 Volts you will end up at roughly 4.1~4.2 GHz (that is on all eight cores!). And yes, that is not a lot over the default Turbo, but again this is 8-cores!

BIOS Overclocking

The Guru3D reader-base overclocks mostly from the BIOS to try and find the maximum stable limit. The generic overclock procedure for multiplier based overclocking is as follows:

Leave base clock (bus) for what it is right now (100 MHz)

Set the per core multiplier at a maximum of your liking:

Example 1: 100MHz x 42 = 4200 MHz

Example 2: 125MHz x 33 = 4125 MHz

Increase CPU voltage; though setting AUTO should work fine. Start at 1.350 volts and work your way upwards into a state of equilibrium in perf and cooling temps.

Make sure your processor is properly cooled as adding voltage = more heat

Save and Exit BIOS / uEFI

Now, with the ASUS motherboards you'll have tweaked options available at the press of a button. To set the processor to 4 GHz (all 8-cores) just go to the Extreme Tweaker menu and select your profile. You can now hit save and exit and you are done. Basically this just sets the multiplier at 40 and disables XFR etc. This setting was 100% stable.

Ryzen likes memory bandwidth, so with this dual-channel setup we really can recommend higher frequency memory like the 3000 MHz kit used. Most motherboard partners will label this as XMP, but since that is an Intel branded name for pre-defined SPD memory profiles just go to the Ai overclock tuner and select a D.O.C.P stage. Standard will activate the memory tweak at close to 3000 MHz.

Once you've applied this your DIMM voltage should have increased to 1.35 Volts (if not set it manually as we really can recommend that as stable voltage). You can also find the recommended DDR4 voltage on the sticker of your DIMM modules alongside all optimal timings. Also in DRAM timing control you will notice the most important memory timings preconfigured. If your memory should not be compatible, you can of course simply enter them manually as well and not use the D.O.C.P profile.

Now... have a peek at the screenshot below:

Here is an example at 4125 MHz

With the limited time available we tried some overclocking. We can boot into Windows and run a simple test at 4200 MHz just fine. Yet we need additional tweaking to be 100% stable and to be able to benchmark intensively. We dropped to 4.1 GHz on all eight cores. With the ASUS board we can advise you to leave CPU voltage at AUTO. With the EK PRedator 240 Liquid cooling kit we hover in the 65 Degrees C range under full load.

Our ease of overclocking tip: in our findings the more widespread, stable and acceptable overclock is 4.1 GHz on all 8 cores with voltage set to auto. This does apply to the ASUS HERO motherboard we used. That number seems to be the sweet spot that I'd like to recommend to you. Overclocking however always varies per system, PC, ASIC quality, cooling and sure... a bit of luck as well.

Power Consumption

Back to that tweak; adding that some extra voltage on the CPU for the OC also has an adverse effect on the overall energy consumption. Under stress and overclocked we all of a sudden use roughly 200 Watts under full processor load. That is power consumption for the whole PC measured at the wall socket side including a GeForce GTX 1080 in idle and the Predator 240 liquid cooling kit (yes pumps and fans eat power as well). All characteristics we observe, measure and see look pretty similar to the 8-core 6900K in terms of heat, power consumption and clock frequency wise.

The Final Words

It’s been a long time coming for AMD. The past year or four have been pretty dramatic for the company. They have been unable to keep up with market milking Intel in terms of per core performance, and then the economy collapsed as well. Ryzen, however, brings AMD back to the table, and they have a strong hand to deal. The introduced processors have been nothing short of impressive looking at them from any perspective. That will bring much needed competition back into the game. Even today at launch, AMD will introduce a processor that can compete with Intel’s 8-core 6900K processor for less than half the price of what Intel is asking. Not just that, Intel is charging an arm and a leg for their motherboard chipsets hence the artificially inflated high prices. There's where AMD will make a difference as well. It's all more fair. So thanks to AMD, that means 8-core is going mainstream, and that opens up a plethora of possibilities for developers and game designers if the market slowly moves to more cores that are properly fast as well. Thing is though, Intel remains the top dawg in this arena, they can answer to anything that AMD has to offer and they do have a little more flexibility in terms of clock frequencies. None the less, with the Ryzen series processors AMD offers close to equal raw processor performance and sometimes even faster performance, for far better prices.

[button color="red" size="medium" link="http://amzn.to/2nHaTXC" icon="" target="true"]Get AMD Ryzen 7 1800X From Amazon[/button]

Source: AMD, guru3d

original Post Here: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X Review

[lauraramargosian]

Justin Bieber: How he got to the top and his present influence! 

Justin Bieber: How he got to the top and his present influence!

Photo by: Lisa Rose/NBC

Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube. That’s no secret.

YouTube has always been filled with a lot of talent. It’s a playground where children, teenagers, and adults are featured showing their talents in hopes of becoming discovered by talent managers. And there are a handful of celebrities that have been discovered online including Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes (Vine), Kate Upton, Darren Criss, Colbie Callait (Myspace), Bo Burham and Tori Kelly.

Usher discovered Justin Bieber after he started posting videos on YouTube at just 12-years-old. And all the homemade videos showed Justin’s skills.

https://positivecelebrity.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/With-You-Chris-Brown-Cover-Justin-singing.mp4

https://positivecelebrity.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Cry-me-a-River-Justin-Timberlake-cover-Justin-singing-Justin-Bieber.mp4

There are people in the world who like to say “it was just given to him,” but those people are wrong. Bieber had to work hard to make it in the industry. And if you took a moment to think about what it takes to actually survive, you would likely become tired just thinking about all the steps, all the practice, all the classes, all the learning and all the performances one has to take upon themselves to rise to Justin Bieber’s level.

When Justin Bieber was 15-years-old he opened up about the process.

“It had a hundred views, then a thousand views, then ten thousand views, so I just kept posting more videos and more videos,” Justin, told ABC. “Eventually, I got found by my manager who flew me to Atlanta to meet Usher.”

https://positivecelebrity.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/U-Got-it-bad-by-Usher-Justin-singing-TO-USHER.mp4

https://positivecelebrity.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Justin-flirting-with-Esmée-Denters-Justin-Singing.mp4

Justin was so good Usher had to fight to keep him because he was wanted by Justin Timberlake. And the bidding war for his beautiful voice began. Usher ended up winning and Beibs was signed to Def Jam Recordings.

Justin was raised by his mother Pattie Mallette in Ontario, Canada. His mother was modest, single and strong. She was always encouraging Justin to exercise his personality. Whether it was banging on pots and pans or singing along to Boyz II Men. He was destined for this journey.

Justin Bieber and Usher

But this journey was never about “becoming famous and living in a big mansion.” Yea, those are the perks. But Justin wanted to change the world for the better. And as many have seen, he’s worked hard to make sure his family, friends, and fans know how thankful he is that they stood by his side encouraging him to never give up on goals.

It was a dream when he was young.

“It still feels like a dream, like right now it feels like I’m in a dream. I’m starting to realize this is crazy. I used to listen to the radio and hear other people, and now I listen to it and hear myself. It’s crazy.”

And it’s still a dream now, those feelings never fade. Anytime a celebrity releases new music, the feeling of hearing yourself on the radio is overwhelming with the appreciation of family, friends, fans and hard work.

Pattie Mallette always knew that Justin was talented. And she wanted to make sure he knew he could achieve anything he wanted in life.

“I’ve always known he was talented. I just didn’t know what he would do with it. He had a few drum lessons but he didn’t have any guitar lessons, piano lessons or singing lessons. And, you know, we just sort of hung out and played music around the house.”

She even said there were times when he was “tired.”

“I just take it one day at a time,” Mallette said. “And if he’s over-tired, and I feel like there is too much pressure on him, we scale back and we cancel some things. We just take it one day at a time and try to get some proper rest and try to get used to staying in different hotel rooms.”

Whether you like Justin Bieber or not, ask yourself does that sound easy to you? Could you do it?

Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube

Usher knew that time for rest was rare. There was little time for rest and a lot of time to keep Justin working hard.

“It’s really up to him. How badly do you want it. The moment that I want it more than you do, it’s over. So my advice is to enjoy it while you got it. Make the best of it and be fruitful. You have to be a sponge, wherever you are, soak up everything and reproduce something incredible.”

Justin wanted more than anything to reach his biggest dreams. He never wanted to give up and he continued to work hard in and out of the studio. It felt good and it was fun for him.

“It all feels good. I’ve practiced my signature since I was like 6 years old.”

Imagine that, practicing your signature because you knew in your heart that there was more for you, that God had a plan.

As with anyone chasing their dreams, there’s always a backup plan. Justin didn’t know what was going to happen in his future. In fact, he always thought he would be a hockey player.

“I thought I was going to be a hockey player, so I used to do, ‘Justin Bieber, No. 6.’ I dropped the six. I put a heart a lot of times,” He revealed, “for the girls.”

Cute, huh?

Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube, yes.. But he has proven himself from day 1. He’s not a lazy artist, there’s no doubt.

Justin friggin’ Bieber everybody, this was his journey, a journey filled with constant work and little time for rest. Nearly any celebrity can tell you “it’s a lot of work,” and they aren’t lying.

Justin eventually dropped his début album “My World,” which hit stores and sold quickly. Then he had a calendar packed with performances, interviews, meet and greets and (you guessed it) back in the studio for more music.

Bieber Fever never died nor did all of his real Beliebers who stood by his side from the time he was 15-years-old. We all grew, we all got older and we all learned from the Biebs.

https://positivecelebrity.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Star-of-Stratford-Canada-Justin-Bieber-before-he-was-famous.mp4

In the present, Justin has continued to work hard, perform and center God in his world. After all, God gave him a gift he could never take for granted. He’s given back to the world, he takes pictures with fans on days off, he works hard on new music, videos and being himself.

So, if you think that Justin was “chosen,” and he didn’t have to work hard, you’re wrong. He worked hard from the time he could show creativity. Nobody knew that banging on pots and pans would lead him to become this generation’s “prince of pop.”

But what we do know, he’s a fantastic influence, he has a huge heart and he never stopped, he didn’t stop for one moment, he never took time for himself to celebrate all the money he has, he doesn’t show off, he gives, he revisits the stairs where he used to play for change and blesses those young kids doing it now, just like he did at one time.

Justin Bieber earned his name and his fame. While it’s not always greener on the other side, he still manages to find happiness in things we all do, play hockey, soccer and go to church. It’s pretty safe to say, he’s a truly talented and loving man.

Haters will hate but real family, friends, and fans will always stand by your side. And that’s basically all he pays attention to these days.

J-dawg, great job on keeping up the hard work, slowing down when you by including your hobbies. Beyond that thank you for still taking pictures with your Beliebers during down times. They know you aren’t paid and that it’s “your off-time.” And you still take that out of your day. Time is irreplaceable and you always show the love. You’re an amazing dude, with talent and you’re Christlike. That’s exactly what this world needs.

What do you think about how Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below. And if you’re enjoying our stories, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. That way you can stay up-to-date on the latest positive celebrity gossip and entertainment news.

Blessed be.

Justin Bieber was found on Youtube but his journey was led by God!

Justin Bieber & BloodPop® – Friends [Official Audio]

Justin Bieber – Mark My Words (PURPOSE : The Movement)

Justin Bieber – Mark My Words (PURPOSE : The Movement)

  The post Justin Bieber: How he got to the top and his present influence!  appeared first on Celebrity News | Positive Celebrity Gossip | Laurara Monique.

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