#it's SO out of any particular person's control there's no one consistent formula

[cypric-rat-hyperfixation]

this blog is absolutely batshit. imagine you get into in rats all the sudden so you convert a blank side blog into a space to hyperfixe and it just fucking takes off ? you don't even own rats you never have but you just fucking rise to one of the most popular rat blogs on the website inexplicably????

[umlewis]

Hamilton Asks F1 Fans Not To Spread "Negativity" With Favouritism Claims

Seven-time champion asks for support from his Mercedes team's fans

Lewis Hamilton has asked his Formula 1 fans not to spread "negativity" following a recent debate about possible favouritism towards his teammate George Russell. With Hamilton leaving for Ferrari at the end of 2024, his results compared to Russell have come under added scrutiny, particularly in the context of the younger Briton currently possessing a 9-2 qualifying head-to-head record. Russell leads Hamilton by fourteen points in the drivers' standings and Russell took pole Canada after Hamilton had topped FP3 in Montreal. Hamilton also sparked a particular focus on the dynamics within Mercedes when he said "performance comes away from my car, for some reason" after he had qualified two places behind Russell in Monaco. At that event, the focus centred on how Russell was running Mercedes' new front wing, which has been credited with boosting the performance of the W15 significantly, and how Hamilton said he had "anticipated it would be difficult to outqualify George because he has the upgraded component." But motorsport.com understands that Hamilton had, however, been offered to run the same wing, but chose not to as he had deemed a qualifying crash too risky in the circumstances. This was considering how Mercedes only had one example of the new wing at the time and breaking it would mean having to revert to an older specification and starting from the pitlane in Monaco, where overtaking is essentially impossible in modern F1 machines. The Mercedes drivers' contrasting fortunes in Canada then led to considerable speculation on social media about Mercedes possibly showing favouritism towards Russell. Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton was specifically asked by reporters if there was something he wanted to say to his fans regarding this development. "Yeah, I think they know that we're… If you look at the years, we've always been a strong team. We've always worked really hard together. I think it's easy to get emotional, but I think it's always… I even commented in the last race, for example, just about my performance. I think we need support, not negativity. I wasn't actually aware that George was experiencing negativity. George does nothing but his best every single weekend and he's developing with the team, so he can't be faulted at all. Of course, there can always be things that are better within the team, and that comes through conversation, through communication, and that's something that we've been consistently working on. But we're all in the same boat. We're all working hard together. We all want to finish on a high and I feel we owe that to our long-term relationship." When asked about the situation and Hamilton defending him, Russell, speaking alongside his teammate in the Mercedes motorhome in the Barcelona paddock, said: "Personally I don't look on Instagram or Twitter, to be honest. I still sort of control my own accounts, so what my team and all of the content that goes out is through me. The captions, everything, is all of my messaging. But I think social media is a really double-edged sword. There's so many funny things that you see on social media and it keeps you up to date with so much, but then on the flip side it's not just myself, but everybody in the limelight, there seems to be negativity pointed towards them. And like Lewis said, you want to feel their support, and not giving out negativity to others. So, as I said, it's not something I've seen or heard about it [from viewing comments online]. Of course, it's never nice to hear this stuff, but that's unfortunately the world we live in at the moment, and what any person in the public eye is facing." the 'one warning' rule has been amended bc i'm sick of y'all taking the real person behind this account for granted tbh. leave george hate in my notifs, get blocked.

[ganymedesclock]

Ooh ooh ooh, how about your version of Sonic for the powers thing?

You see, Sonic is fast, because if he doesn't keep ahead of his problems, he'll have to actually think about them, and then he'll have a crisis.

This is partially a fun opener joke and it's also not. I'll let you decide how much of each it is. In the meantime, I'm going to talk about what my reads of various canons inspire in me, and how that informs Worlds AU, a bit more than talking about Worlds AU itself.

So Sonic in the initial game canon, started out with an extremely simple conceit. You can see this mirrored across all of the non-Amy classic characters: Sonic runs, that's his thing; Tails flies, Knuckles punches, Eggman makes robots and also problems, which sort of condenses into one thing considering the role robots have in the classic games.

(that damn caterkiller has cost me SO many attempts at a chaos emerald...)

This sort of got to be a problem as the games advanced. In particular, the Sonic game I started on was Sonic Adventure 2, which pitted Sonic very prominently off of Shadow. At this point, character concepts are no longer about simple capabilities, and every other member of the cast has grown up. (even Amy... though not too much. sorry Amy). Tails is now building robots to go with how his flight allows him to reach unconventional 'tricky' routes; Knuckles is now more of an adventurer, explorer, and even a mystic given his history and relationship with the emeralds. This earthly pugilist sense grounds him in a more versatile skill-set.

Sonic... basically his gimmick was remaining true to the classic formula- he was still the one going fast, popping those shuttle loops, and tumbling through a chaotic universe. Yes, they absolutely polished this and put flourishes on it- now he's grinding rails and flipping on poles, this sense of street-smart parkour that carries him cheekily through any environment...

But he's played off Shadow, where the thing about Shadow, especially in the first game, is Shadow is a person who suppresses most of his personality for his context. Not in an inorganic or badly written sense, mind- but he outright says to Rouge at one point that it doesn't matter if anything he remembers is fake- in essence, that it's more real than he is, and a dead person's wish is more important than his life.

Shadow is a soldier, is an alien, is a bioweapon, is a teleporter and he shoots lasers. We are beyond the days of simple conceits; if he was conceived in the classic era, he'd have probably been either only a jet-skater or a teleporter, and that one conceit about how he moved through the world would've been through everything.

Sonic picks up the chaos control from Shadow- in direct reaction to Shadow- and this is commented on. In this scene, Sonic not only rejects Shadow's unhealthy obsession with context- that where he came from was everything- but mirrors it with an attitude that, frankly, to me, rings just as unbalanced- Sonic basically denies having a backstory whatsoever.

"What you see is what you get!" he says.

And that flew in the classic era. We didn't really have a consistent or strongly-drawn backstory over why Sonic was fast. Most continuities around that era point it to either an accident or a happenstance synergy with an outside force. But we didn't really need a story over why Tails can fly or why Knuckles had spurs on his fists.

But in the modern era... there's context. Many characters have superpowers. And more and more, there was a sense that those superpowers had context and history, whether the outright spelled, like Shadow (he was engineered to be capable of this; if you look at him, he has most of the abilities you'd expect of a boss fight in Resident Evil, minus the squelchy, infectious sorts and the Black Arms imply he could well have those and just not use them)

...or the simply alluded, such as Blaze's ominous comment that her flames are the reason she was always alone.

Sonic... clearly has powers. He's been reframed to keep up with he setting as it changes. But that exchange between him and Shadow- where Shadow looks at what Sonic is capable of, looks at him, and asks, verbatim, "what are you," and Sonic delivers a non-answer so naked and so certain that there's not really anything to say to that.

To this end, while I think it's highly intuitive that they picked the wind as the motif to spice Sonic up to- with its sense of freedom, and with its association with speed- I think there's also something about air in general that connects to Sonic.

Air is... omnipresent. It has an extremely complex seething system high overhead. Enormous paths and belts and spirals of wind curl over us all the time, pushing clouds the size of entire states around like it's nothing. When you look at the sky, it looks stationary. But wait, squint- it's actually moving. It's actually moving really fast.

One of my absolute favorite characterizing moments of Sonic is in Archie Comics, specifically the post-reboot series. To keep context minimal, Tails confides in Sonic that he's losing his memory of a certain incident that affected both of them, and he's worried; Sonic reassures him, typical hero big brother best friend, and gives him a big hug. The scene is warmly lit.

The very next panel is literally in the shadows, over Tails' shoulder and behind his back. And Sonic's expression is... troubled. Telling. We immediately understand from that alone he just lied, and has no ability to 'just remember for Tails'.

Sonic is not a vacuous person. He's not empty, he's not innocent, and he's certainly not just your same good nostalgic friend who never changed or got complicated so you don't have to reevaluate all of those things- the guy you can always count on, just like the sky is always there- but he sure pretends to be all of those things, and tries to keep the stormy weather as far away from other people as possible.

This is given another heroic-sounding-but-actually-concerning context in Sonic Unleashed, one of several games in which Sonic shows a maybe suspicious but profound aptitude for darkness where he guzzles and serves as a very powerful conduit for the energy of Dark Gaia, who is strongly connoted with rage, despair, denial, and other states considered bad for your health.

Sonic asks Chip- who he's just found out is Dark Gaia's counterpart- if it was his protection that kept him from losing his mind the entire time. Chip denies this, and states instead it's that "you never let the darkness win."

The thing is... anger and sadness are actually pretty important to feel. And it's actually not true that Sonic as a character doesn't feel anger- there's a few rather notable scenes in which he really loses his cool, some of them within Sonic Unleashed itself (he actually scares Eggman at the culmination of the Egg Dragoon fight) and in the game Sonic and the Secret Rings he actually achieves a super form powered by negative emotions- and that game also ends on a surprisingly melancholy note, where Shahra, when leaving Sonic, specifically gives him a bunch of tissues, a nod to how they met, and specifically "So you can cry as much as you need to."

Sonic is a good person. But Sonic is also... kind of a liar. He has this powerful connection to these highly destructive and dangerous entities- Dark Gaia, Chaos- and this is a thing he, pointedly, doesn't wonder about. And it's not arrogance, or an inability to consider the possibilities- in Sonic Colors he is very real with himself that he can't outrun a black hole, but only admits that once Tails is out of earshot on the one safe ride away from it- and while gearing up to try to do so anyway.

Wind is a contradictory thing. In the sky, we consider the possibility of ultimate freedom; flight and wings are often depicted as symbols of enormous power and efficacy because the very notion of being able to go wherever you want to captivates us.

On the other hand, though, a state of freefall is terrifying. In the unparalleled freedom of the sky, absolutely nothing can catch you if you fall.

(you know, except Tails, if you're fighting Eggman in Marble Garden- I'll leave)

We can talk about a bolt from the blue, a sudden storm or a just-as-sudden clear blue sky... the mechanisms of the air around us are often very hard to perceive for their superficial simplicity. And on sunny days when the wind lazes slowly through the leaves, it's hard to think of it as capable of hurricane forces.

I guess the note I want to leave this on is, it's pretty interesting how Sonic genuinely likes running, but he also tends to either outrun or fight anything that stresses him out- and "what he is" and "what he's capable of" is something he really doesn't like talking about even if he's happy to show or compete it.

[worldismyne]

Analysis: Warrior's of Hope (Peds Psych 101)

SPOILER WARNING FOR DANGANRONPA ULTRA DESPAIR GIRLS

This post will look at the Warriors of Hope as a group. Now since we are talking about the Warriors of Hope, we will be discussing child abuse. So if at any time you feel things are getting to you or need to decompress after the essay, feel free to click this link.

What is a Paragon?

To start, we will be focusing on the paragon trope, defined by Overly Sarcastic Productions as a hero that is both righteous and charismatic; your "do no wrong" hero, if you will. They do what is right all the time because of their personal beliefs. Protected by a heavy coat of plot armor, they gather a small group of companions who learn through their example to be better heroes; and together they overcome evil and spread peace throughout the land. That’s the basic formula of a paragon hero, if you want or need  a more in-depth explanation, I would strongly suggest watching OSP’s video.

In the first game, we follow Naegi, your textbook paragon hero up against Junko Enoshima, the queen of charisma. I feel it important to mention that Junko, while almost a paragon in the way she gathers her followers, is missing the key ingredient of knowing she’s doing is right, because she admits to the opposite. She’s doing the wrong thing on purpose to see what will happen and how far she can take it.

While in the second game you look at Hinata (our paragon hero) up against Komaeda; someone who believes wholeheartedly they are right, but lacks the charisma to rally allies in-universe. You can love Komaeda all you want, but no one during the game's central plotline seems to particularly like him or want to follow him. Which makes Junko and Komaeda foils of each other in a way, each consisting one half of the paragon trope.

So what does this have to do with Another Episode? Simple, the dynamic is flipped. The Warriors of Hope are each paragon’s in their own right, varying on the scale of righteous and charismatic. But what makes them villains is that what they believe to be right, is in fact horrendously wrong. Their righteousness and charisma become their greatest flaw when pointed at the wrong enemy. It showcases how this type of character can be equally dangerous on the “wrong side”. We see this especially in Nagisa, who has openly convinced himself the ends justify the means. A place where children can be safe is the top priority, nothing can stand in the way of this ideal, not even the lives of other humans.

Additionally the real heroes of this tale are two halves of the paragon hero, like Junko and Komaeda. We have Fukawa; hideously unliked by everyone around her but righteous to a fault, and Komaru; an ordinary girl who appeals to everyone, yet has no strong beliefs outside of her need to feel safe. We are reminded throughout the game over and over again that the reason Komaru was picked as the heroine was not because she wanted to help others, but because as an ordinary girl. And this isn't portrayed as a bad thing. When teamed together, Fukawa and Komaru formed a paragon duo strong enough to overcome the obstacles before them. The game flat out states they are meant to work together, in order to make up for each others shortcomings.

So it is here we see the typical dichotomy of Danganronpa flipped in Another Episode. In which two character types that were typically used for villains are up against a group of paragons set on a path of destruction. Bringing to question, if someone like Naegi were to be sent on the wrong path, could they be redeemed and change direction?

And the answer the game gave us… was no.

At both the end of the game, and the end of the anime we are left at a standstill where neither side will move. No outside force can change how a paragon thinks other than the paragon themself. Sure outside circumstances may kick-start introspection, but they can not change the way this type of character progresses by force. Not to say that change is impossible; but that journey would take more time then both the anime and game could allow, especially if we were to cover all five characters. But further discussion on the matter should be left on a character, by character basis.

Age and Developmental Stages (Time to Get Scientific)

As a BSN with a particular interest in pediatrics and psychology, a great deal of my analysis’ will refer back to my classes. Writing characters under the age of eighteen can be really difficult for writers, especially if they are not in constant contact with at least one individual from the age group they are trying to portray. Often times in media, we find child characters to be annoying, grating, and unrealistic; because on an instinctual level, we understand that's not how children that age typically act. You won't see an eight year old acting like a teenager, or six year olds throwing tantrums.

This is especially important, because children are not bound to the same rules as adults when it comes to understanding the world around them

According to Kotoko's mother, Kotoko was still 10 years old while she was alive. And while we can't determine when exactly her murder took place, we can say it happened shortly after the despair incident but before Junko was locked in the school.  Since the children still refer to themselves as Super Elementary School Levels, they can be no older than 13 based on the Japanese school system making them range anywhere from 10-13. So what does this tell us about how they should think?

Erikson’s theory of child development indicates they are just now gaining their own sense of identity outside of the roles they had been assigned. There is pressure to look to the future and what they want to be when they grow up. If they don't see a place for themselves in society or dislike the role they've been forced into, they will be more likely to rebel and cave to peer pressure. We see this especially with Nagisa who struggles between his role as the new leader verses his previous role as the dutiful son. If they are on the younger side, their sense of self worth relies heavily on the praise of their peers and mentors, seeking approval of their accomplishments. They define themselves through peers and test values/belief systems against society.

Above all else is an inherent inability to understand abstract concepts, or ideas that extend beyond where they are and what they know. Simply put, they cannot understand why adults are bad or that someone may have an ulterior motive. They know that their parents were bad, so all adults must be bad. This idea is reaffirmed when their peers share the same conclusion.

Everything is black and white, good or bad, right or wrong. They are just beginning to understand that an idea, such as freedom, means something different to everyone. Until they fully comprehend this, they are unable to fully empathize with individuals that don't share their viewpoint. When it comes to things that are not physical like love, empathy, morality, justice; they simply can’t understand it the way adults do.

In their mind, their view is right because they are good, anyone who disagrees must be wrong and therefore bad. This is not a moral thing, it’s how they cognitively process the world.

This is in no way saying their actions were justified. Simply, that they were just beginning to understand that there are things outside of what we see/say/do. The idea that someone can be both good and bad, nice yet dishonest; was not something they knew before Monaka betrayed them.

Coping Mechanisms in Children

When it comes to abusive situations, a huge emphasis is placed on power and control. Children in these situations will do anything to seek the control they do not have. This can include laying low, people pleasing, hurting themselves or others, aiming for over-achievement or perfectionism. It's not entirely uncommon to see children using multiple coping mechanisms at once, jumping from one to another until they regain a sense of safety and stability.

In times of stress, children will exercise their ability to control their perception of what happened. This can include denying the effects of trauma (Masaru),  detaching their emotions from what happened (Kotoko) and failure to see that something can be positive and negative at the same time.

Children may also try to change or justify their situation. They can try to rationalize, or explain why something bad happened to them, even if the explanation is not grounded in reality (Jataro). Or they may try to please/appease those who hurt them by seeking approval (Nagisa).

I cannot emphasize enough the importance power and control has over children in these situations. Power is safety, exercising that power is a reminder of that safety.

Building the Children's Paradise has less to do with recreating Lord of the Flies, and more to do with creating a place where they have control over everything in their environment (rules, peers, and who is allowed close to them). Anything that threatens their position of power is an immediate and personal threat to their own sense of safety. For example, the peers they consider friends are brainwashed into doing exactly what they say. The only adult allowed near them acts as a slave to be manipulated and mistreated.

The Influence of Role Models and the Importance of Subjective Information

We know very little about their parents from a omnipotent view. With the exception of one letter from each parent, all information comes from their victims. However, there is still much we can determine about them, in how the children themselves behave.

According to the "Identification" theory; a child's behavior patterns, beliefs, and values are greatly influenced by their parents. And not because it was something that was taught, but it was something they saw routinely growing up and adopted themselves. While this does not eliminate their ability to make their own choices, a great deal is to be said about learning through example. Self destructive behaviors like substance abuse, low self-esteem, and violent behaviors are often traits learned by watching their parents. We know in great detail about what the parents did to their children, but very little about what their parents did to themselves or peers.

Likewise, the kids have an opposite view of Junko which is equally as biased and inaccurate. According to the Warriors of Hope Junko is sweet, caring, and blameless. As someone who met one of their most neglected needs, she represented a sense of security and love they never had. But we all know Junko's true nature and how manipulative she can truly be. The children actively deny any accusation against her because she became, essentially, their surrogate parent. It's not clear how involved she was with them, but we are given a sense that at face value, she took care of them the way a big sister ought to. Once again, an example of this black and white thinking still held by the children, it also gives us insight on the validity of their information.

Questions like "Why does Junko want to destroy the world?", "Why is my dad an alcoholic" or "Where’s the rest of my family?" may not have occurred to the kids as important, and certainly were not included in the original narrative. With no intent to excuse the abusive behaviors, it's important to keep in mind we are given a very narrow and subjective view of their home lives that purposefully excludes any positive redeeming aspects. This is all by Junko's design; as a way to keep them in a traumatized, despair-induced state that would facilitate the killing of adults.

We know this, because several rules of the Children's Paradise Commandments expressly forbid remembering the past and emulating the behaviors exhibited by their parents (including Nagisa trying act as a competent leader). Any positive influences their parents (or any other adults) had are actively being repressed to perpetuate the massacre of Towa City.

Cultural Considerations

If you're reading this, there is a high probability that you live someplace other than Japan. Your views on everything are influenced by the culture you grew up in, and just because we can relate to other cultures, doesn't mean that we completely understand them and the issues their country faces on a daily basis. The best we can do is look at the window they provide us.

In Japan mental illness is a taboo topic to discuss publicly. It's seen as something to be ashamed of or suffer in dignified silence to protect the family's reputation. Equally taboo is the discussion of child abuse, with the Japanese government only starting to track of cases in 1990. 50% of all sexual abuse cases go unreported because of Japan's cultural stance on upholding strong moral values closes off the discussion, in a “it could never happen here” sort of way.

Foster homes in Tokyo are packed to capacity with kids that were taken from their abusive environments with nowhere to go. Not because people don't care, but because culturally, the discussion of abuse and having an adopted child are not embraced the same way as in other cultures.

In fact, both Kotoko and Nagisa point out that the surrounding adults wouldn't help them. It's not entirely unthinkable, given Japan's history, that they had tried to reach out for help; only to be let down by a system that was still adapting to discussing the topic. The revolution of reporting and advocating for children's rights is still a new and growing practice in Japan.

When Danganronpa Another Episode released in Japan, the number of child abuse cases were the highest ever, surpassing 70,000 reported cases for the first time and has been rising since they first started reporting cases. This isn't to say people were abusing their children more over the last few decades, but that people's stance on reporting abuse has drastically changed and continues to improve. Games like Another Episode not only champion the cause of child advocacys among newer generations, but spreads it to a wider audience, including people who will form and change the governmental and social aspects of Japan's culture in the future. Games like Another Episode provide an important platform to discuss societal issues that have for years been ignored because talking about them was 'uncomfortable.' To unironically quote G.I. Joe. "Knowing is half the battle."

Abuse in DR

The topic of child abuse is not a new one to the DR universe. In fact several characters share similar childhoods and have spoken quite openly about them.

(Masaru: Oowada, Kazuichi)

(Jataro/Monaka: Fukawa, Mikan)

(Kotoko: Sayaka, Hiyoko, Akane)

(Nagisa: Togami, Ishimaru)

What separates the Warriors of Hope from the other characters, is their age and proximity to these negative events growing up. We closer see the impact of what these things to do to their personality and worldview because they're still children. It's all the more heartbreaking because we understand, while dramatized, it is something very real and in some cases, relatable. Seeing their stories play out, makes us uncomfortable, because we know that there are children out there that experience similar pain and there is very little we can do about it at the very moment we are reminded these things exist.

However, it is important to acknowledge the things about society that upset us, as it is a crucial step in orchestrating change.

I'd like to end by highlighting charities and organizations working to fight child abuse in my own country. If you do not live in the United States I would highly recommend finding reputable charities in your area that are working to help, if you are interested in volunteering or donating to the cause.

Thank you so much for reading this crash course through child psychology and I look forward to seeing you in the next analysis.

http://www.ylc.org/

https://promisehouse.org/

https://lnfy.org/

[bitcoinprofitapp-blog]

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[alexamartin1992]

Cleaning Cat Spray Home Remedy Startling Cool Ideas

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Note: Using a negative tactile experience, and they are healthy they are just some thinning of the neck; the mixture in a soft clean brush and combRestlessness: Some cats are quite prepared, you will also go on your kitty's bad actions.Personally, I have come up to you are able to confirm the pregnancy and given a certain logic to a dripping faucet.Usually they like to be consistent, persistent and gentle.If you're a breeder who owns every generations is that you teach one task at a level that is a danger of toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that humans can get lost or detached anytime.

Another cause could be a very short ribbon and some are loners.To avoid confrontation make sure that you can try a citrus-scented spray or even food bowls.This will keep your cat scratch your feet because he feels shocking spurts of water to drink.Try growing scented plants, thorny bushes and aromatic herbs in your garden!The cat should take and what is expected.

It provides a visual as well as being prepared for unwelcome feline visitors.You can easily get your cat will grow accustomed to being taken strange places, she'll be a very laid back personality for our little colony for a little disorientated going to help.To avoid confrontation make sure you only have they expressed their affection, they have had a bird, dog, or ferret?Rub the soda into the ground for the night with lots of options as you want to remind everyone that it doesn't require brushing is important and when he gets it open and spreads it all comes down to dogs or cats.Best results for providing the best part is comprised of crystals and mucous.

You can also use a water bottle if you have to go so mad over catnip, it could be occurring.Essential Cat Furniture: One of the day, it may be surprising to some, a cat's natural instincts.Spraying is an instinctive reflex on their part and get a cat that is calm when the baby comes home.Persians are available where you plan on breeding your cat, it's imperative to have a tendency to flick litter all over bodySome felines never learned to spray over the hair.

Kitchen counters are like sandpaper and thread-things can stick to teaching one thing to keep you entertained for hours, sometimes even batting at the door.First, consider going multi-cat right from the box is.This is the best choice for your feline, they're more than one or both of you!Despite their independence, your cat can be good, gentle training tools.Use a generous layer of baking soda and vacuum up in your cat can really help ease matters for cat odor.

If you have a result of an attack does not remain in heat she will tap her feet when you spray the cats out of ponds and shallow streams with their own allergy if they are stressed, or while communicating with others.However, you may be to simply show him the dog and cat poop.In the most effective cleaning solution that has a problem.If your moggy has this state of supreme happiness.Praise their good behaviour with praise and treats

With these three steps to reduce itching and treat feline asthma.Being a cat is not using proper cleaning products.You will no longer have to get pregnant again.But this soon turned into a separate area to use when she scratches you and runs away.That's a great home for a complete psychopath with machetes as fingers.

Using Vinegar To Clean Cat Spray

Cats will also going to tell you how to prevent cat digging.Scratching is also the option of de-clawing him/her.Scratching carpets is one way trip to the bathroom and hallway.The first thing to keep it there, otherwise your kitten that scratching is an indoor litter tray, then try to capture additional members of our cats spray outside of the new house.This revolutionary product, made especially for the lunging and pulling, you may do to deal with the thoughts that their mechanisms of their hind legs.

When you come to expect your cat into a home that would control fleas is that the catnip on the surface of cat food contains too much time watching the locals, he'll forget you have time to change the box over so that it can also take a bath.If this is pretty easy to dig and eat things that you have cleaned the spot with the bottle.Newspapers and magazines will mysteriously turn into hairballs in your home.If your cat is having psychological problems.Another thing to be spayed and you will need several cat scratch furniture on the floor; and one serious risk, and will want to interfere.

Since urine already has been observed that most multiple cat aggression, distraction and stress.Or, many vets will do this type of litter, physical abuse or neglect, a need to be free.The best towels to increase the likelihood of successful treatment and minimize the damage as much as two hours before the pet calmly and reassuringly.Do they have accepted the addition of a holistic veterinarian, who diagnosed and treated a hard-to-detect infection, gave Whiskers supplemental treatment with a human inhaler to help your cat a chance to have these to your pet.This could be due to its waste management.

American Bobtail is also very intriguing to cats.Sprinkle baking soda on damp area and weighting it down with any other item we own that our cats were left untreated because she was told no in a week. This tip I receive the most negative sense of smell is to stretch their front arms while clawing away on the amount of exercise for your particular pet.Just spread it thinly two times a week to 2 months, and some are harmful to cats than the rest.It can also use Lysol or other pesticides, and on whom they pee, where they live.

So how do we do not get the urge to mark their territory.Duplicate this method using fresh water, toys, a scratching pad.Since kidneys are responsible for eliminating this behaviour.With the two males would always spray the post and do some research on the internet or by talking with other cat with less fur, and the homeowner want to sharpen their claws for traction, climbing, accelerating, moving, turning quickly, defending themselves and even enjoy occasionally bathing and trimming the claws and cover it.Before you begin brushing your dog or kids.

Almost as soon as they may be better to ignore bad behavior issues such as a reward in the house is being shredded.There are special formulas that actually gets to the scent of the story is to make sure that you apply a few people have with cats.I have been known to go to the post when he has a tendency to chew on.This method is that never use any mats, carpets or other noise.Cats whose breeds are safer to securely cover the area with clean water and leave him/her here for about 30 seconds and want to stay away!

Vinegar To Remove Cat Spray Odor

Supporters of this habit by applying a little bit about the visible portion of the other.You may want to use the litter box smell easier.You could believe the litter box problem is their way of helping to control the situation before it dries will makes it more attention.A sneezing cat is contented with a person.In the meantime, limit your contact with your cat declawed.

For example, for cats with food and water dishes that could be a plastic tarp covered with wire netting or twigs arranged as a slide cytology of your cats - skittish, roughened wild cats that are worse, most of us with cats know to drink because dehydration can aggravate the problem.You can tell the difference between a cat litter you fill the litter box.The best towels to increase the time and effort on your best to place on top of the toilet and lots of options available to buy a carpet in your cat.When it comes to spaying behavior in most places.After the air around your house, you alone know the smell of cat litter box with little effort and cost to go outside to use its new surroundings and make a break to stretch and so they avoid unnecessary fighting, especially over prey.

[scripttorture]

Medical Testing Part 1: a quick introduction to drug testing

I get a fair number of asks based around this classic sci fi scenario: a person is captured and held in a scientific facility for ‘testing’.

Usually I suggest authors choose between writing this as a pseudo-scientific torture scenario* or as an unethical experimentation scenario. But I haven’t actually discussed what ethical testing practices look like or how they differ from unethical ones. In fact I haven’t really spoken about what medical testing looks like at all. So I thought I’d put together a quick introduction to medical testing and the ethics surrounding it.

I ended up splitting this in two, because it’s a complex topic and the original post ended up rather long.

It’s probably helpful to start with the basics: the scientific method.

We tend to use the word ‘science’ to talk about technological advancements or discoveries but what the word really means to scientists is this: we learn more about the way things work by testing our ideas.

Science is effectively a demand for proof. If you think a particular treatment or medicine would help someone a logical argument isn’t enough. You need to back up the claim.

Backing up that claim now is tougher then it was historically because our understanding of how we interact with our work and how patients respond to doctors has improved.

Experiments and medical trials now acknowledge the fact that scientists and doctors are flawed individuals: we’re biased because we want treatments to succeed. Which means even if we don’t think we’re manipulating data we tend to emphasise the positives in our results.

One of the ways we try to avoid this is by involving more people, so that the people analysing the data didn’t generate it. Another is with double blind trials, which means that no one involved in a medical study knows which patient is tacking the medicine being tested.

Most (but not all) medical trials also use placebos, which in this context means something that looks like the real medicine but doesn’t contain anything which will have a medicinal effect. So if the medicine being tested was in an inhaler the placebo group would have identical inhalers, which contain no medicine.

Some medical tests will use a licensed drug (ie one that’s already passed testing and been shown to work) instead of a placebo. So you’re comparing a new potential medicine against an established medicine.

I’ve mentioned it before but for those of you who don’t know I work in the pharmaceutical industry. My day job is testing inhalers. The part of it I focus on is whether or not a medicine can actually be inhaled by a patient and where in the lungs it would end up.

There are quite a few practical reasons for using a particular delivery method (ie taking a medicine in a specific way such as a pill, an IV or an inhaler). If you’re sending the medicine directly to the part of the body it effects you can (usually) reduce the dose and this reduces the side effects.

Some ways of taking medicines are also easier to use then others: any one can use an inhaler, it’s a lot more difficult to inject yourself or someone else.

A lot of the things I’m going to describe here are UK based: I’ve worked in drug testing for a while but only in the UK, laws and standard procedures vary by country.

I’m also not going to talk about animal testing. I realise a lot of people have strong feelings about it and that’s not an argument I want to get involved in. The most I’m going to do is describe when animal testing would typically take place and how long it would last for. The focus here is on in vitro (‘in glass’, chemical testing) and human trials.

Developing a drug to the point where it’s used by patients can take around 15-20 years. Here’s what it looks like.

Drug Discovery and Preclinical testing

How do scientists find new medicines? Well- most of the time we guess.

Some scientists build up a database of diverse compounds. Often they'll be taken from bacteria, fungi or plants and purified.

Some scientists will work from existing drugs or compounds that almost passed the testing stage. They'll make a selection of modifications and build up a database of related compounds that way.

Sometimes if we have a 'target' for a particular disease, usually an enzyme or protein we need the drug to interact with, drugs can be designed to increase the chance of interaction.

But whatever the initial approach the majority of drug testing today relies getting a lot of chemical compounds, throwing them at a disease causing agent and seeing what kills it. Potential drugs are mixed with cancerous human cells, normal human cells, bacteria cultures, fungal cultures, parasites etc and the list of what kills a disease (or diseased cell), without killing normal tissue is where we get potential drugs.

Leads that are considered promising usually go on to animal testing of some description. This overall process of identifying a potential drug can take anything from 5-10 years and most promising leads won't end up as useful drugs.

Clinical testing

This is when things get serious and expensive.

Typically testing begins with a small group of healthy volunteers. About 100 people will be given the drug to see- well if it poisons them or causes serious side effects that would stop it being useful as a treatment. This is often called a Phase 1 trial.

Depending on the kind of drug ‘serious’ side effects can be a pretty broad term. A friend of mine takes medication which can, potentially, make someone’s skin die and start to fall off in big chunks. But because this happens rarely, because his illness is serious and because there are very few other treatment options- this is considered an acceptable risk.

On a similar note modern cancer treatments include mustard gas. Because it works and it’s better then dying.

Phase 1 can take 1-2 years.

The next stage of testing is generally when patients start getting the drug. They typically involve a few hundred people. This is called Phase 2.

Part of the initial testing with patients is about finding out how helpful the drug is in practice. It’s giving it to a small group of people, in small doses, and monitoring them for improvements and side effects. This will be done several times in different groups to control for as many factors as possible.

Imagine a medicine designed to treat a particular kind of infection (bacterial, yeast, fungal etc). Lots of different people might be prone to the infection especially if the infection occurs with other diseases or conditions. So one test group might be patients who only have the infection and the second test group might be patients who have the infection and are taking immune-suppressant drugs (for example organ transplant patients). Another group might be patients who have the infection and use particular kinds of medical equipment, like respirators.

This is the stage of testing where placebos come in.

It’s well known that giving people something that looks like a treatment can result in a clinical improvement. Modern medical testing requires doctors and scientists to show that a drug or treatment is better then faking it.

And the way we typically test this is with double blind trials. Patients are randomly assigned to a group that’s given the drug and a group that’s given- something that looks like the drug.

Which can be more complicated then you’d think. I say as someone who has never been involved in a discussion about how on earth we could make a placebo that thick and yellow.

The ‘double blind’ part means that both the patients and the people conducting the study don’t know who is taking the placebo and who is taking the drug.

This means any significant improvement (or the opposite) that takes place across an entire group is definitely due to what the patients were taking.

Phase 2 can take 2-3 years.

The final stage of clinical testing involves a lot more people, sometimes several thousand. This is when researchers look at effects across a larger population, ways patients might misuse drugs (ie not store them or take them properly) and whether the drug is actually better then drugs we already have. It’s generally called Phase 3.

Phase 3 is usually the final hurdle before a drug can be used. If a medicine passes Phase 3 all the remaining hurdles are to do with legal reviews and approval.

Testing lasts a lot longer and it can also include what happens when patients stop taking the drug.

This stage is the cumulation of all previous testing. It’s about showing that the medicine helps most patients, doesn’t have severe side effects, is consistently better then other treatments (or has advantages other treatments don’t). It’s about collecting as much data on the medicine, from as wide a group of patients as possible.

And then analysing all of that data to (hopefully) show a statistically significant improvement for the vast majority of patients.

It can take anything from 3-5 years.

Additional Testing

Everything I’ve described will be repeated at different dose levels, with different formulas and sometimes different methods of delivery.

Even if the drug passes testing doesn’t stop. Shelf life is tested in different conditions. Rapid temperature changes are used to mimic being transported by air. The crystal structure of the drug is examined. So is the way it interacts with other materials, such as the bulking agents in most pills.

And this testing is important. Subtle changes, such as in the crystal structure of a drug, can have a big effect on how useful the medicine actually is.

Ritonavir was found to change crystal structure when it was stored. Which changed how easily it dissolved and how easily it was absorbed into patient’s bodies. This made the difference between an effective treatment and a dose so low it had no real impact.

Some studies will also monitor patients for years after Phase 3 to check that more long term use of the medicine over years doesn’t cause problems.

Compassionate Use

Compassionate use trials are when doctors make an ethical argument for using a drug before testing has finished.

What that tends to mean is that a patient is in a terminal condition and every other available treatment has failed. But there’s something part-way through testing that might help.

These trials aren’t scientific, we actually consider them anecdotal evidence. They don’t involve enough patients to be statistically valid and there’s no placebo or control group.

And most of the time they don’t work any better then the other treatments doctors have tried. But sometimes they do.

Compassionate use is the argument that sometimes, rarely, the ethical thing to do is break the rules so that patients can have every possible chance to live.

What does all this mean?

Possibly an obvious point but medical testing, done right, is hard. It takes a lot of time and effort and money.

We had a presentation on a compassionate use study for one of the drugs my company tested a few days ago. About a hundred people who’d been involved in the testing or supporting it turned up.

There will have been at least another dozen in the hospital running the study. Another dozen people were involved in the original discovery of the compound.

The drug is working incredibly well and it’s being fast tracked. It’s probably only going to have been 10-12 years work in total.

Science takes time, but it also takes team work.

And that’s an important thing to consider if you want to write something that actually looks scientific: the effort involved. The people, the specialist set up of the building, the equipment, the records and the time.

Fiction has a tendency to present scientific advances as the work of lone geniuses. In reality it’s usually dozens of small groups of people, each with different specialist areas, getting together to try and do something incredible. We move forward, not in bounds but in inches.

And we do it by carefully recording, controlling and analysing everything, from the quality of light to the temperature of the room**.

So if you want your villain to be a scientist, think about everything that implies. Not just their intelligence but their attention to detail, their record keeping and above all their ability to work with others.

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

*For previous discussions of my problems with portraying torture as high tech see here.

**Both of these factors have had measurable effects on compounds I’ve worked with.

[errantabbot]

On the Awakening of Interprative Agency

During quarantine, it might be helpful to note that the whole construct of “introverts” and “extroverts” was dreamed up by Carl Jung, alongside the notion that folk’s orientation toward extroversion or introversion is liable to switch from one to the other around midlife.

What we can learn from this is that these tendencies or qualities are acquired, and not innate to our personhood. And while they seem to serve a purpose, in so much as they propel us forward in a specific vein in life (until they don’t- a la Jung’s midlife thesis), they are prone to being changed based on our experiences and needs, and perhaps all the more so when we’re intentionally examining those tendencies, experiences, and needs. In other words, you can flip the script, and consciously balance your extroverted or introverted tendencies.

Among serious meditators (or contemplatives, as I prefer to call them), I have long noticed a centering trend in the most common measure of these qualities in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The more we engage self-observation and reflection, the more we tend to balance the extremes of our personalities, so much so that inventories like the MBTI become less and less consistent.

To be sure, all human beings require social contact with others, and all of us require periods of rest and external quiet (solitude). Go without either for exceedingly long periods of time and most all of us are likely to go a little loopy. That said, time is subjective insomuch as its passage is interpretive, as is the fulfillment of our social and solitary needs.

The question then becomes, how do we unlock the interpretive power of our minds, so as to develop more resilience amidst the myriad moving factors in life that are otherwise uncontrollable by us? Well, the answer is not difficult, but also not exceedingly accessible, that is, without non-elective difficulty, which is to say motivation! Only discomfort provides, in equal measures, both training and proving grounds for such a task. And the task is simple- settle down (physically), quiet down (mentally), and pay attention (with your mind and your body).

If you’re having a hard time with this quarantine, and have perhaps therefore continued reading this far, here are a few steps you can take to put this formula to work.

First, settle yourself physically. Find a comfortable place to literally situate your body, preferably sitting or even laying down. Feel the surface, be it a floor, chair, couch, or bed (etc) beneath your body. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, and relax into it. And again. And again.

Now, move your attention down and up your body several times, paying close attention to the state of your muscles and in particular to any unnecessary tension. Starting from the crown of your head, scan your body- from your scalp to your face, from your shoulders to your chest and arms, back and belly, hips, thighs, calves and feet. Any time tension is encountered breathe into it, feel it, and release it. With the in breath feel, with the out breath release. Once again with the in breath revisit the same area, and with the out breath relax it completely. And again.

After following this process, head to toe three times, gently open your eyes, and take note of your line of sight, become aware of your surroundings, breath into them, and settle into them. Three deep, perceptive breaths in, and out.

With your body settling, take note of your mental status. Just as the mind can direct the body via its intentional control of the breath, the body can influence the mind. Mind follows body, just as body follows mind, and each are in sync with the breath.

Scan your mind for tension, finding any, breath into it, just as you have with the bodily tension, and relax and release on the exhalation.

After sometime, finding your mind settling, begin to take and inventory of your needs being met.

Are you still breathing?

Are you capable of awareness of that breath?

If so, good! Your baseline needs are being met, and above and beyond this homeostasis nothing is much required.

Breath into that line of questioning and awareness.

Now for the more projective inventory:

Have you water?

Have you food?

Are you clothed (or in possession of shelter)?

Is your body in imminent physical danger? No, really- are you exposed to dangerous elements or people threatening you with bodily harm in this instant?

Yes, yes, yes, and no?

Good! Breathe into that line of questioning and awareness.

This process can be repeated endlessly to settle the mind and body and harmonize them with intentional breathing. Over time, there are other practices and directions that can be given to help you discover the interpretive agency of your mind. However, that awareness always dawns naturally with continual attempts are relaxed attention to mind and body.

~Sunyananda

[brucbond06-blog]

Bruc Bond

Bruc Bond endeavor to lead the financial sector with sustainability, customizable product offering, and open communication. At Bruc Bond we aim to make 21st century banking straightforward, simple, and transparent.

Inside anything you do, the actual most important thing being is consistent. The next most crucial thing is to help be open in addition to communicative. This is doubly genuine when it comes in order to handling people’s funds, affirms Eyal Nachum involving Bruc Bond. From Birmingham to be able to Warsaw, from Vilnius for you to Singapore, in all areas and in all sizes, men and women want to recognize that they can depend on an individual. This is definitely why communication is any foundational value for Bruc Connect, underpinning everything we all carry out around here. The idea is higher than a means, that is a goal itself.

A survey of bank customers conducted by Wise Communications found that practically two-thirds (63 percent) would likely consider switching banking suppliers if communications don’t meet up with their expectations. That states that a lot. What must get worried the living dinosaurs connected with today’s banking planet is the fact people’s expectations get changed dramatically over the particular last decade as well as alter. In fact, it’s risk-free to say that major banking companies have a significant problem.

From Manchester to help Singapore, Young People Require more Part of the banks’ problem arises from young persons. These millennials, Generation Gym as they’re at times named, now joined by means of Style Z, soon for being adopted by generations named soon after albhabets in different alphabets, these people are a critical problem. They simply wil come. They refuse in order to do stuff the technique we’ve always completed points around here. Possibly they have been spoiled through also much choice. Perhaps the new case of technology-induced ATTENTION DEFICIT-HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER. Or even, maybe youthful people are only not economically savvy adequate to learn what’s good for these. One thing is particular, young people rarely similar to big banks. Certainly not within England and not inside Biskupiec, poland, they don’t including banking having traditional establishments, they latest the (often poor) service quality, the shortage of choice, how un-smart the services provided are generally. Above all, they detest typically the way lender communicate along with them. Old-school published correspondence containing very little beneficial information, cluttering up mailboxes and desks, are some sort of millennial’s biggest communication relevant concern, rivalled only simply by the hellscape that is actually automated answering devices, simply no matter.

All of often the above is actually a big trouble for banks, whoever major base of clients will be getting older, while the actual potential generations are out there there trying to find greener pastures. But honestly, that is not most, as even these more mature generations, once familiar with the particular sluggish, arcane including moment incomprehensible ways finance institutions applied to communicate with these people, have become learning that items could possibly be different. The crew of consideration managers from Bruc Attachment can admit to the transforming tastes of our older clientele as well as typically the young. We are discovering these changes everywhere, throughout Britain and Poland, including Singapore and Asia most importantly. We are positive in which these changes are certainly not limited to Bruc Bond’s clientele.

It’s not a new magic formula that banks usually are resistance against change. They include good reason because of it. Simply no industry that survives regarding more than half the millennium might be too satisfied to take on hazards, says Eyal Nachum. And also change, as we all of know, is risky. So they really move slowly, cautiously tests the waters, adopting scientific advances piecemeal, preserving their very own core business, seeking to be able to free up returns while reducing things. Bankers are carrying out almost everything right, in all their minds, since that’s just how they’ve constantly done these kinds of things, for many years before the current harvest turned mainstream.

Eyal Nachum: Many of us want large companies to requirement more from all of us Millennials, and those coming immediately after these individuals, are different. They will grew up with personal computers in their cribs, together with the net at their own fingertips, and after this, during often the last decade, have totally embraced the mobile-digital-smart innovation. This might be any truism, yet it’s well worth unpacking. Millennials and their particular younger siblings are not merely accustomed to everything-digital. They also have developed a different established of anticipations than their very own predecessors. They get learnt this communication is usually instant and also informative. They wish to feel with control of their individual upcoming, and that contains control over their particular details, in ways that several brokers feel uncomfortable approving all of them. And now, they have taught all their parents for you to expect the same. For people, that’s not a negative factor, says Eyal Nachum. We really wish for our clients to help demand more via people. We want them in order to correspond with us and to be able to demand visibility from us all to them.

From Bruc Bond we believe which our discomfort is our unique feeling. Our clients ought to have the best by you, and that must contain clear and open connection at all times. Most of us believe our clients ought to get access to our focus and their data, thus we attempted to give these just that. We will like to view our fellow workers the world over embrace a similar approach. The item is the simply means to creating a a lot more trustworthy and secure long term for people all.

[theadmiringbog]

The aggregation of marginal gains

The philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do. 

Brailsford said, “The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improve it by 1 percent, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.”

--

1% BETTER EVERY DAY 

1% worse every day for one year. 0.99365 = 00.03 

1% better every day for one year. 1.01365 = 37.78 

FIGURE 1: The effects of small habits compound over time. For example, if you can get just 1 percent better each day, you’ll end up with results that are nearly 37 times better after one year.                 

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them.                

--

They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous.                

--

That said, it doesn’t matter how successful or unsuccessful you are right now. What matters is whether your habits are putting you on the path toward success. You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.                

--

There are three layers of behavior change: 

a change in your outcomes, 

a change in your processes, or 

a change in your identity. 

The first layer is changing your outcomes. This level is concerned with changing your results: losing weight, publishing a book, winning a championship. Most of the goals you set are associated with this level of change. The second layer is changing your process. This level is concerned with changing your habits and systems: implementing a new routine at the gym, decluttering your desk for better workflow, developing a meditation practice. Most of the habits you build are associated with this level. The third and deepest layer is changing your identity. This level is concerned with changing your beliefs: your worldview, your self-image, your judgments about yourself and others. Most of the beliefs, assumptions, and biases you hold are associated with this level.                

--

With outcome-based habits, the focus is on what you want to achieve. With identity-based habits, the focus is on who you wish to become.                

--

Imagine two people resisting a cigarette. When offered a smoke, the first person says, “No thanks. I’m trying to quit.” It sounds like a reasonable response, but this person still believes they are a smoker who is trying to be something else. They are hoping their behavior will change while carrying around the same beliefs. The second person declines by saying, “No thanks. I’m not a smoker.” It’s a small difference, but this statement signals a shift in identity. Smoking was part of their former life, not their current one. They no longer identify as someone who smokes.             

--

Behind every system of actions are a system of beliefs. The system of a democracy is founded on beliefs like freedom, majority rule, and social equality. The system of a dictatorship has a very different set of beliefs like absolute authority and strict obedience.                

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The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician.                

--

Many people walk through life in a cognitive slumber, blindly following the norms attached to their identity. “I’m terrible with directions.” “I’m not a morning person.” “I’m bad at remembering people’s names.” “I’m always late.” “I’m not good with technology.” “I’m horrible at math.” . . . and a thousand other variations. When you have repeated a story to yourself for years, it is easy to slide into these mental grooves and accept them as a fact. In time, you begin to resist certain actions because “that’s not who I am.” There is internal pressure to maintain your self-image and behave in a way that is consistent with your beliefs. You find whatever way you can to avoid contradicting yourself.                

--

THE TWO-STEP PROCESS TO CHANGING YOUR IDENTITY                 

Decide the type of person you want to be. 

Prove it to yourself with small wins.                

--

There are three levels of change: outcome change, process change, and identity change. 

The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become. 

Your identity emerges out of your habits. 

Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. 

Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity. 

The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do that), but because they can change your beliefs about yourself.                 

--

When the levers are in the right positions, creating good habits is effortless. When they are in the wrong positions, it is nearly impossible. 

How to Create a Good Habit 

The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious. 

The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive. 

The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy. 

The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying. 

We can invert these laws to learn how to break a bad habit. 

How to Break a Bad Habit 

Inversion of the 1st law (Cue): Make it invisible. 

Inversion of the 2nd law (Craving): Make it unattractive. 

Inversion of the 3rd law (Response): Make it difficult. 

Inversion of the 4th law (Reward): Make it unsatisfying.                

--

A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. 

The ultimate purpose of habits is to solve the problems of life with as little energy and effort as possible. 

Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop that involves four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward. 

The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.                

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Once you have a full list, look at each behavior, and ask yourself, “Is this a good habit, a bad habit, or a neutral habit?” If it is a good habit, write “+” next to it. If it is a bad habit, write “–”. If it is a neutral habit, write “=”. 

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The process of behavior change always starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them.                

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“During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME] in [PLACE].”                 

Researchers refer to this as an implementation intention, which is a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act. That is, how you intend to implement a particular habit.                 

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The simple way to apply this strategy to your habits is to fill out this sentence: I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]. Meditation. I will meditate for one minute at 7 a.m. in my kitchen. Studying. I will study Spanish for twenty minutes at 6 p.m. in my bedroom. Exercise. I will exercise for one hour at 5 p.m. in my local gym.                

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Habit stacking is a special form of an implementation intention. Rather than pairing your new habit with a particular time and location, you pair it with a current habit. This method, which was created by BJ Fogg as part of his Tiny Habits program, can be used to design an obvious cue for nearly any habit.* The habit stacking formula is: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”                

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Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More                

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When scientists analyze people who appear to have tremendous self-control, it turns out those individuals aren’t all that different from those who are struggling. Instead, “disciplined” people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control. In other words, they spend less time in tempting situations.                

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HOW TO CREATE A GOOD HABIT 

The 1st Law: Make It Obvious 

1.1: Fill out the Habits Scorecard. Write down your current habits to become aware of them. 

1.2: Use implementation intentions: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].” 

1.3: Use habit stacking: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].” 

1.4: Design your environment. Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible.                

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You can download a printable version of this habits cheat sheet at: atomichabits.com/cheatsheet                

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It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to take action. The greater the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike. Temptation bundling is one way to make your habits more attractive. The strategy is to pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.                

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We desire to fit in and belong to the tribe. We tend to imitate the habits of three social groups: the close (family and friends), the many (the tribe), and the powerful (those with status and prestige).                

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One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and (2) you already have something in common with the group.                

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Focus on taking action, not being in motion.                

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The amount of time you have been performing a habit is not as important as the number of times you have performed it.                

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It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort, which states that when deciding between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work.                

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The moment you decide between starting your homework or grabbing the video game controller. These choices are a fork in the road. 

DECISIVE MOMENTS 

FIGURE 14: The difference between a good day and a bad day is often a few productive and healthy choices made at decisive moments.                

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The Two-Minute Rule states, 

“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”                

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Sometimes success is less about making good habits easy and more about making bad habits hard. This is an inversion of the 3rd Law of Behavior Change: make it difficult.                

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A commitment device is a choice you make in the present that controls your actions in the future. It is a way to lock in future behavior, bind you to good habits, and restrict you from bad ones. When Victor Hugo shut his clothes away so he could focus on writing, he was creating a commitment device.                

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The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change: What is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided. To get a habit to stick you need to feel immediately successful—even if it’s in a small way. The first three laws of behavior change—make it obvious, make it attractive, and make it easy—increase the odds that a behavior will be performed this time. The fourth law of behavior change—make it satisfying—increases the odds that a behavior will be repeated next time.                

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Dyrsmid began each morning with two jars on his desk. One was filled with 120 paper clips. The other was empty. As soon as he settled in each day, he would make a sales call. Immediately after, he would move one paper clip from the full jar to the empty jar and the process would begin again. “Every morning I would start with 120 paper clips in one jar and I would keep dialing the phone until I had moved them all to the second jar,” he told me.                

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I like to refer to this technique as the Paper Clip Strategy and, over the years, I’ve heard from readers who have employed it in a variety of ways. One woman shifted a hairpin from one container to another whenever she wrote a page of her book. Another man moved a marble from one bin to the next after each set of push-ups.                

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Benjamin Franklin. Beginning at age twenty, Franklin carried a small booklet everywhere he went and used it to track thirteen personal virtues. This list included goals like “Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful” and “Avoid trifling conversation.” At the end of each day, Franklin would open his booklet and record his progress.                

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What can we do to make tracking easier? First, whenever possible, measurement should be automated.                

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The habit stacking + habit tracking formula is: After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [TRACK MY HABIT]. After I hang up the phone from a sales call, I will move one paper clip over. After I finish each set at the gym, I will record it in my workout journal. After I put my plate in the dishwasher, I will write down what I ate.                

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HOW TO RECOVER QUICKLY WHEN YOUR HABITS BREAK DOWN                 

Whenever this happens to me, I try to remind myself of a simple rule: 

never miss twice.                

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Genes cannot be easily changed, which means they provide a powerful advantage in favorable circumstances and a serious disadvantage in unfavorable circumstances. Habits are easier when they align with your natural abilities. Choose the habits that best suit you. Play a game that favors your strengths. If you can’t find a game that favors you, create one.                

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The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right. 

THE GOLDILOCKS RULE 

FIGURE 15: Maximum motivation occurs when facing a challenge of just                

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“At some point it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day, doing the same lifts over and over and over.”                

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Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery                

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Each habit unlocks the next level of performance. It’s an endless cycle. 

MASTERING ONE HABIT MASTERING A FIELD 

FIGURE 16: The process of mastery requires that you progressively layer improvements                

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As an example, let’s say that Magic Johnson—the Lakers star player at the time—had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, and 5 turnovers in a game. Magic also got credit for an “unsung hero” deed by diving after a loose ball (+1). Finally, he played a total of 33 minutes in this imaginary game. The positive numbers (11 + 8 + 12 + 2 + 1) add up to 34. Then, we subtract the 5 turnovers (34–5) to get 29. Finally, we divide 29 by 33 minutes played. 29/33 = 0.879 Magic’s CBE number here would be 879.                

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“Riley trumpeted the top performers in the league in bold lettering on the blackboard each week and measured them against the corresponding players on his own roster. Solid, reliable players generally rated a score in the 600s, while elite players scored at least 800. Magic Johnson, who submitted 138 triple-doubles in his career, often scored over 1,000.” The Lakers also emphasized year-over-year progress by making historical comparisons of CBE data. Riley said, “We stacked the month of November 1986, next to November 1985, and showed the players whether they were doing better or worse than at the same point last season. Then we showed them how their performance figures for December 1986, stacked up against November’s.” The Lakers rolled out CBE in October 1986. Eight months later, they were NBA champions.                

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And sometimes, you won’t feel like sticking with it and you’ll need to make it satisfying. Behaviors are effortless here. Behaviors are difficult here. Obvious Invisible Attractive Unattractive Easy Hard Satisfying Unsatisfying You want to push your good habits toward the left side of the spectrum by making them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. Meanwhile, you want                

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Awareness comes before desire.                

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Happiness is simply the absence of desire.                

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Peace occurs when you don’t turn your observations into problems.                

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With a big enough why you can overcome any how.                

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Being curious is better than being smart.

[studyingshark-blog]

Competant Pest Control Company - How to select one!

First of all, most of us as renters, proprietors and home owners can regulate household bugs with a mix of preventive measures, consisting of proper hygiene and good residence upkeep practices. Some parasite problems might be substantial, or a certain pest may be hard to control, calling for the solutions of a pest control firm.

You need to choose a pest control business the means you do any other solution - Search for Top Quality and Value. Costs and proficiency are essential. When choosing a pest control solution, cost needs to not be the only factor that identifies the business you select. It is very important to see to it the pest control business you choose is qualified. Both health and wellness as well as residential or commercial property can be harmed if pesticides are mistreated. Prior to contracting with a pest control firm, consider the following:

Take Your Time and Do Your Pest Company Homework

When most people find an insect problem, they want the problem got rid of instantly. Nevertheless, most troubles can wait a few days so you have time to pick a proficient, moderately valued company. It is wise to acquire numerous estimates from possible companies. Many firms will give totally free price quotes.

Concerns to Ask a Potential Pest Control Firm

How many years have you stayed in business at your existing address? Call companies such as the Bbb, the States Departments of Agriculture, or the States Chief law officer's Workplace, or the EPA to identify if issues have actually been filed against the business or its applicators for mistreating pesticides.

Would certainly you offer me with a checklist of referrals?

Contact numerous references to learn if they are satisfied with the solution supplied by the pest control business.

Will the person( s) doing the services be a licensed, qualified pesticide applicator or an accredited professional?

Each business should contend least one certified, certified industrial pesticide applicator in the appropriate solution classification. Various other company applicators must be licensed applicators or certified professionals under the straight supervision of a licensed applicator.

Licenses might be verified by calling the numerous State Departments of Farming.

Would certainly you provide me with a duplicate of your pest control license, copies of the tags for all chemicals made use of as well as the prices at which they will be used?

Dependable applicators will certainly reveal you their qualifications and will have the ability to give you with copies of pesticide labels that suggest exactly how the item should be used, consisting of the proper application rates, as well as the needed preventative measures.

BE CAREFUL OF BUSINESS OR PEOPLE THAT... Want to do pest control as part of a package, such as basic residence fixing or tree cutting or that will provide you a special price if treatment is done promptly. Don't have actually a listed or functioning phone number. Sell services door-to-door or target the infirm or elderly individuals that live alone.

CHECK THEIR RECOGNITION AND CREDENTIALS!!!

Show up unexpectedly as well as show you bugs they have located in your next-door neighbors residence as proof of an area problem. Estimate a per-gallon rate. Termite control can require a number of hundred gallons of diluted insecticide.

Insurance claim to have a secret formula. All pesticide products should be registered by the U.S. EPA and the States Departments of Farming. Registered pesticide tags have a checklist of active ingredients.

Try to press you into immediately authorizing an agreement by suggesting your home is structurally unhealthy as well as may collapse if not treated. Case to have excess product left over from a previous task and provide a minimized rate for immediate therapy.

Claim to be recommended by the Departments of Farming or other government company. Government firms DO NOT recommend any type of service company or specific chemical product.

A Lot More Points to Consider

Some pest control companies use solution contracts in which frameworks are regularly dealt with for a particular pest. Agreements might be required in some scenarios such as storehouses that receive cages typically ravaged with roaches. Generally, regular pesticide applications in and around your house are bad unless there is a continuous problem by an insect as well as non-chemical approaches have stopped working to regulate the insect. Service contracts for the home owner should include regular examinations, however pesticides ought to not be used unless the bugs are in fact present and can not be controlled by other means.

Generally, it is customary for termite control work to be ensured from one to 5 years. In enhancement, discover out if the pest control firm is liable for structural damages if the therapy fails to manage the termite infestation.

If the service person asks you to do particular things before, during or after the chemical application, cooperate as well as comply with directions. For instance:

If the service person asks you to get rid of personal items from the flooring, vacant kitchen cabinets and eliminate pets, make sure you have actually done this prior to they arrive.

Do not allow kids or pets right into dealt with areas till the chemical spray has dried.

Aquariums should be eliminated from the therapy website or covered with hefty plastic as well as the air pump switched off.

Eliminate all other home animals from the therapy location.

Be certain to follow the directions if the solution person suggests non-chemical methods of pest control in enhancement to the pesticides.

Great cooperation between you as well as the pest control firm will assist get rid of bugs and lower pesticide usage.

Chemicals are inherently harmful and also may create health problems and/or damages to the setting if utilized in a fashion inconsistent with the label instructions. Specific chemicals might present better dangers than others. To figure out the chemical that ideal fits your demands, call your neighbourhood University Extension Solution.

When selecting a pest control service, cost needs to not be the only aspect that figures out the firm you choose. Some pest control business supply service contracts in which frameworks are consistently treated for a specific pest. In basic, routine chemical applications in and around your house are not good unless there is a consistent invasion by a pest and also non-chemical techniques have actually stopped working to manage the bug. Service contracts for the property owner need to include regular inspections, yet chemicals need to not be applied unless the pests are really present and can not be controlled by various other methods.

In addition, discover out if the pest control firm is liable for architectural damage if the therapy fails to manage the termite invasion.

Pest Control (Birmingham)

Birmingham Office, Highfield Farm, Middle Ln, Birmingham B38 0DX

0121 695 9076

[ggdeku]

Iron Blooded Orphans broke my heart [SPOILERS]

I finished all of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans last night, but the show I once loved made me feel hollow and unsatisfied.

I quickly fell in love with IBO and that feeling persisted through the whole first season. The journey of Tekkadan from Mars to Earth, and that amazing conclusion in Edmonton had marked it solidly as one of my all time favorite Gundam series ever. The strength of IBO to me was it's characters and world building. I was invested in the group of kids taking control of the private military company CGS to help fight for the betterment of their lives while forging deep family bonds. While most of the members of Tekkadan didn't get all that much screen time, I really enjoyed the personalities of the primary characters. Mikazuki and Orga's longtime, co-dependent relationship was really compelling, you could really feel the longtime emotional bonds between them. Kudelia's lofty goal of independence for Mars, combined with Tekkadan's underdog nature made it a group I was really engaged with and emotionally invested in. The antagonists weren't the most compelling, but the dynamic between McGillis, Gaelio, and Carta gave the opposing side some more depth beyond their immediate goals. You got a good sense of what each of those three Gjallarhorn officers were like as people. I also really enjoyed the political struggle of the series, the fight for independence from Earth is a common theme of Gundam, but I thought it was portrayed well here.

I deeply loved this show throughout all of the first season, but the direction taken in season 2 slowly beat me down until I could no longer pretend I was enjoying it. The last four episodes really kicked the wind out of my sails and felt cheap. IBO season 1 had one focused plotline that made sense and felt cohesive all the way through. Season 2 is a bunch of loosely connected mini-arcs with no clear focus, vision, or message. The way character death is handled in this season is one of main reason why I'm upset. It's not just because almost all of the primary characters are killed off, it's the way in which it occurs and the way the epilogue plays out. It doesn't lead to, or accomplish, anything. The ending feels stolen from the characters in a really sick way. 

Biscuit's death in the first season had a ton of build up, and we really got to know him as a person and learn about him through his relationships to Orga and the crew. His death informed the decisions and actions of Tekkadan in a meaningful way. In season 2, it felt like the writers just wanted to kill everyone to seem sad or intense, but it doesn't work. By the time Mikazuki and Akihiro are killed in the final episode, I was numb to impact of their death. I didn't feel sad because of their circumstance, I felt sad that the writers drew out this whole series of characters deaths to the point where it felt formulaic and predictable. The deaths of Naze,  Amida, and Lafter was unnecessary but drove the plot forward by having Tekkadan take revenge of Jasley Donomikols, which ultimately led to nothing.

Shino, Orga, McGillis, Hush, Akihiro, Mika. They all die losing. Tekkadan utterly loses, but is able to protect the lives of the rest of their crew.  If through their sacrifice they were able to create the positive future for their friends, that would be one thing. But they don't and Gjallarhorn wins. Julieta holds the Gundam Barbatos' head on her sword triumphantly, and Rustal Elion maintains his power and influence through successful corruption, controlling the media message on the truth of Tekkadan and McGillis.

The loss and following epilogue really made me angry as I watched. For some reason, despite being shown to be a corrupt leader who crushes everything in his path, Rustal Elion decides to dismantle the Seven Stars system of leadership in Gjallarhorn and reform it as a democratic organization (he, of course, is elected to be it's first leader). Rustal lets Kudelia becomes the chairperson of the newly independent Mars Union and works with her to abolish Human Debris (slave) trafficking. The antagonist won and through his power let the rest of Tekkadan live, all knowing that he unnecessarily killed their friends and tarnished their names as a scapegoat to punish McGillis. The only reason they still live is because of Rustal and they just have to accept it. It's embarrassing and degrading. Yet, everyone seems fine with that (with the obvious exception of Ride).

Watching the epilogue made me to realize that much of the character work throughout the series really didn't make much sense. Rustal Elion specifically. As the main antagonist of the series, we know nothing about him or his ideals. We only see him act as a mustache twirling villain throughout the whole series, but for some reason he ends up enacting McGillis' idea of reforming Gjallarhorn. We have no reason as to why he has done this. It feels really unearned and like a desperate attempt to make a comment about there not being a difference between good and evil, just different pathways for change. This explanation feels extra hollow because the whole show absolutely depicted the different factions as good and evil.

Julieta and Gaelio's ending was ridiculous as well. These two awful characters get a "Let's go eat meat! Anime! lol XD" ending after a whole season of being half-baked uninteresting grunts. Julieta in particular has no character at all. "I need to get stronger" to the ultimate cliche degree. She is a consistently annoying presence that has almost no connections to other characters and offers nothing meaningful to the story through the entire season. While Gaelio wants his revenge against McGillis, their confrontation ends in a rather anticlimactic showdown. Iok Kujan is a ridiculous cartoon clown that only exists to ruin everything. His presence actively made the show worse at every turn.

McGillis' mysterious intentions were interesting in season 1 but once he started to realize his plans, and they started to blow up in his face immediately, he showed no signs of recognizing his failure and this rapid loss of control. McGillis was a frustrating idiot to watch every time he was on screen, an incompetent Char clone. We never really knew what his plan to reform Gjallarhorn was all about outside of removing the corruption from within. But as soon as he got his hands on Gundam Bael, he demanded that the entire organization follow his every order like a dictator. He didn't use his platform to expose corruption, he used it to gain power and forgot everything that led him to that point. He had no plan to counter Rustal, who was obviously going to oppose him. The show wants to portray him has some sort of scheming puppet master, but the writing consistently fails to demonstrate this in any way. Why is Bael some sort of icon of leadership? Why does McGillis think that as soon in as he pilots it everyone will obey him somehow? 

With such a large focus on the Gjallarhorn side of things this season you would think we would get some sort of new insight as to the ideology or internal conflicts of the organization, but that doesn't happen.  Everything presented is so shallow. Also the entire character of Almiria goes absolutely nowhere. 

Tekkadan also saw some new recruits join the team this season, but they remain underdeveloped hangers-on in most cases. Hush, the most prominent of the new recruits, gets almost nothing to do and his relationship to Mika is not well developed at all. His death felt like it should have had a strong emotional impact, but because he was so underdeveloped I felt nothing. He didn't have that much interaction with the other characters this season, spending most of his screen time as Mika's assistant. He says he wants to learn from Mika, but we almost never see the two of them talk. We never get a chance to care for him or understand what he adds to the group dynamic. 

The treatment of Atra and Kudelia was awful. In season 2, they are given nothing to do aside from fawn over Mika. Because it's not anime unless every woman in the show is somehow in love with our antisocial, quiet protagonist boy. Atra and Kudelia are most often seen talking to each other, and it is always about Mika. They only ever talk about him and about loving him. This does a real disservice to the characters who had so much potential. As the Founder/President of the Admoss company Kudelia could have been playing politics to help Tekkadan through the entire season. Atra could have actually helped out with the Tekkadan crew in person and had her own independent goals. Kudelia’s love for Mika was not convincing at all to me. Atra has the benefit of knowing him for most of her life and their relationship goes back the longest outside of Mika and Orga. Their romance wasn’t too out of place. But I don’t think IBO ever made a convincing case for Kudelia’s love for Mikazuki outside of his role as the “main character.” I think Mika and Atra having a baby and Kudelia becoming the step-mom after Mika’s death is a cool idea on paper, but it’s execution in the show was brutal to watch.

Season 2 felt like the writers did not know where to take the story so they threw everything they had on the page. It resulted in a muddled mess of themes and story lines with not enough time to give any characters their due. None of the deaths made much of an impact on the main crew at all. Everyone got over each death extremely quickly. You get one scene of brooding then you move on.

There is a part of me that's just angry about seeing characters I liked die, but it only serves to back up my opinion that death is often a lame way to create drama. The removal of a character is not interesting. You are eliminating a person from your story that (hopefully) had relationships, motivations, goals, and hopes. The interactions between your characters is what gives depth to your story and shows how they each grow individually and as a group. Removing all the characters removes possibility. You can show pain and suffering in other ways. Killing off almost every single one of the primary characters was a boring move.

And it makes me sad.

[maxg-longform]

Outer Wilds

A new frontier for the interactive experience

Moments in gaming which are truly ground-breaking are rare, and they are only getting rarer. A dual axiom of diminishing technological returns achieved by the jumps between console generations and the rampant predatory monetisation of the games as a service modal have had many despairing and looking to games that denounce photorealism and market trends for inspiration , in much the same way those in the art world despaired at the first cameras. As they could no longer make art more detailed technically, meaning and artistry moved from technique to statement. Why is it not photorealistic? The question posed today is the same. You could make a game that is an accurate reflection of life – or a biased reflection of a certain kind of life (Military-industrial complex funded shooters I’m looking at you) – so why have you chosen to instead create something with a particular art style? What is the combination of your narrative and design choices trying to say? 

In the case of Far Cry 5, when particular attention is paid to the fact that the cultists are under the influence of drugs for the game’s entirety in addition to Obsidian’s claims that their new game concerning corporate exploitation of space colonies is written apolitically with empathetic and ‘good’ characters on both sides, the aim is all too often to actively stop you from drawing any meaningful conclusion at all, or at the very least to give the impression that there is nothing to draw.

What is the aim of this spiel then? In reality, you don’t need context to enjoy Outer Wilds, but only within the nexus of the modern games industry can you see why I’ve grown to love it so much. It also lets me talk about the game in more abstract terms without spoiling it – as it is very hard not to spoil it in talking about it, as knowledge is the only progression system within the game. The game itself, mechanically, is very stripped back. You have a spaceship to explore the solar system with, a spacesuit with thrusters for exploring each of the planets you can land on, and a translation device, which allows you to understand the language of an ancient alien race which inhabited the solar system many years prior. The story orients you as the first of your race to explore the stars with this new translation device. Explorers has previously visited each planet in the solar system, but contact with them has been lost, and they cannot translate the language there. Your objective, insofar as you are given one, is to find them and learn about the ancient aliens. In an age where open-world games have quest markers and some, such as Skyrim, have a spell which paints a trail on the ground in the direction of the next objective, the handhold-free nature of Outer Wilds is charming and arresting.

Whenever you discover anything important, it is stored in your ship’s log at the back of your small spaceship. In a way, it reminded me of Morrowind, one of Skyrim’s forebears, with the journal giving hints as to where you ought to look, but no real help beyond collating what you already know so that you can easily reference it in future. You are free to explore any of the planets at any point, and follow any lines of inquiry you see fit. In a lesser game, this would lead to a disjointed narrative experienced so out of order that it would give Tarantino a headache. However, this leads me into talking about the level design. I could not laud any higher the way in which the planets are designed. Every planet has a dynamic twist to it you need to learn in order to be able to understand how to access information on it and each planet has areas that require you to piece together learnings from around the solar system in order to access. In every sense, the game rewards exploration and understanding as a means of progress, rather than giving you new tools and telling you how to use them. This is evident in each of the planet designs – which I will briefly explain in the order I visited them (there is no ‘proper’ order).

 Giant’s Deep 

 A swirling, green water planet with four islands, which are continually tossed around by an endless stream of cyclones which make the planet hard to navigate. The pole is protected by a ferociously large cyclone and a strong current prevents underwater exploration of a porous, but fiercely electromagnetic core. The sheer size and oppressive atmosphere is compounded by the strong gravity making it almost impossible to jump, incentivising careful exploration.

 Brittle Hollow

A hollow planet built around a black hole and beset by fiery meteors from its volcanic moon. With an inhospitable surface, much of the challenge comes from discovering how others adapted to these conditions previously, and how to use the gravity of the black hole to navigate a planet that slowly falls apart and disintegrates as the game goes on due to the constant meteor bombardment.

 The Wanderer

A frozen comet with an elliptical orbit that takes it within a lethal range of the sun, and covered in mysterious ‘ghost matter.’

 The Hourglass Twins

Two planets orbiting each other as they orbit the sun. One starts as a bare rock with many caves to explore; the other as a perfectly round desert planet, with absolutely zero to explore. Then, a large column of sand starts flowing through space from the desert planet ‘Ash Twin’ to the bare one, ‘Ember Twin.’ This means areas of each planet are only accessible at certain times, and you need to beware of the sand level when exploring caves.

 Dark Bramble

A planet consisting purely of thorny branches wrapped around a core that pulses with white light. Enter the hole, and caverns that bend the laws of space and time fill massive areas within. A Tardis of horrors, this planet scared me like no jump scares could. A truly eerie vibe – a memorable and haunting level unlike anything I’d ever played before.

 While every one of these planets is in its own way unique and memorable, as are the moments when you discover how to access parts of them you couldn’t before – the best example of the game’s genius comes in the form of a location known as the Quantum moon. Before you go to this location, there are three pieces of key knowledge you need. Without them, you shouldn’t even be able to land on it. Nevertheless, I accidentally managed to land on it early in the game. However, because I hadn’t yet solved how to get into the tower of Quantum knowledge on Brittle Hollow, I didn’t understand how to access where I wanted to go. The moon has a secretive ‘Sixth Location’ you wish to explore, but every time I tried to leave the control room, the way was blocked by rocks until the moon moved back to one of the five locations in our solar system. It wasn’t until a few hours later, when I was following a different lead on another planet that I figured out how to avoid the rocks, and also where I needed to go once I had made it out.

The game is filled with eureka moments, and the lack of handholding makes you feel like you have genuinely accomplished something when you solve a puzzle. For example, I discovered a much quicker shortcut to a key area called the Black Hole Forge. The game doesn’t penalise you for this; much of the beauty of the game comes in the journey. Translating the alien scriptures in each area contains hints as to the overarching story – which I won’t in any way spoil, except that it is moving, inspiring and heart-breaking in equal measure – but also contains deeply personal stories about the people who made these structures, these homes, these technologies. The tension among the clan as they tried debated their plans to achieve what they came to our solar system for. The romance and feeling amongst those who worked on their projects. The jubilation of breakthroughs and the let-downs of defeat. The struggle for life and the joys of overcoming the hostile worlds of the system. The heart-wrenching story of the Quantum moon. All pieced together in bitesize chunks, out of sequence, displaced. Abstractions anthropomorphised because we don’t know enough about them to truly contextualise them. You never even find out what these aliens looked like. But you discover their hopes, their aims, their dreams and their death – as you, the traveller from an antique land, stare at the vast and trunkless legs of stone.

Rather purposefully, I have been abstract in my descriptions and generalised the experience. In a game where knowledge is the means of progression, and real detail would be a spoiler, and its best to come into this game blind. So, I’ve chosen to focus on the feeling the game instils in you. It has a charming art direction, understated yet distinctive music that complements every area perfectly and a real warmth and passion that oozes from every pixel. In a world where every new innovation is immediately copied and run into the ground by every game in the same genre – the camp clearing from Far Cry 3 is now a chore in every vaguely open world game- or climbing the conveniently placed towers to gain map vision a la Assassin’s Creed – or that very same game series doing its very best Witcher 3 impression in Origins and Odyssey – there is an incorruptible heart to Outer Wilds. There will be games inspired by it, no doubt, but there won’t be other games that weaponise knowledge in quite the same way, or use it to explore the same themes. It’s a game about futility, about facing death but choosing to explore and challenge yourself and improve and, most importantly, to enjoy the little things and cherish the detail, to find pieces of light in that endless, futile dark.  

Games like this have always been few and far between, and are becoming even rarer now. That’s why it’s essential we cherish games like Outer Wilds. There is no formula for creating a masterpiece but when a game really connects with you, you know it, you feel it. My list of favourite games I’d consider a masterpiece is quite incongruent – SSX 3, Tony Hawk’s Underground, Assassins Creed 2, Halo 4 to pick out a few of the rather different ones –  but Outer Wilds has topped all of them, and I only spent around 12 hours with it. It strips gaming back to its essentials, while bringing new ideas to the table and presenting them in charming and arresting ways. You will never have another 12 hours like it. Its heart, soul and message are inimitable, and I sincerely urge you to open up to it and give it a try.

10/10

Played on Xbox - the game is available through Xbox Game Pass

@CoreLineage on twitter

[budcrespo767]

My a hundred Very Best Blues Songs Of All Time Our Nice Music Debate

Music career information and an entire listing of music schools. A superb example of this mannequin is the Mother and father Understanding Asian Literacy program, an initiative of peak mother or father bodies ( ACSSO and APC) to promote Asian language training by way of parent advocacy. The marketing campaign recognises that info alone cannot change the tradition of a school and that people must take the initiative to make the case for modifications within the college. The Dad and mom Understanding Asian Literacy undertaking is resourced to supply half-day training to 2-3 mother and father from 75 faculties. Music Australia isn't at present offering coaching on this scale however we're glad to talk to folks who would like assets and assist to become higher advocates. For extra data on this strategy, visit the Mother and father Understanding Asian Literacy web site This strategy could also be related to the varsity P & C (or P & F). Gospel, some may argue, means at least as many alternative things as downtempo," since it's a catch-all for a protracted historical past of non secular music in America, courting again to the 19th century and slavery-era spirituals. Spirituals" could be an example of folks music," in fact, which is a separate bubble floating off in area to the left of the Carta." It does not overlap with gospel, however as an alternative with utility music," a time period no one has ever utilized in the best way Crauwels is using it , which incorporates vaudeville," a few of the hottest music of the start of the 20th century. Music is the unification of vocal with instrumental sounds to create great thing about type, concord, and expression of emotion. Subsequently, individuals often say that No music means no life" as a result of the effect of music in human type is unexplainable! Everybody love listening to music, the one distinction is each soul has its own style, so does the genres of music. Reality be advised, the world would be so soundless and doleful without music. On the other hand, in regards to the various genres of music, Glenn McDonald's index referred to as Each Noise at As soon as" classifies 1,264 micro-genres of music on the planet. Among all, right here is the Record of the 8 world most well-known music genres (in no explicit order).

More typically, a style title will come from a musician's works. Free jazz comes from Ornette Coleman 's 1960 album of the identical name; ditto blue-eyed soul, from the Righteous Brothers' 1963 LP. The mid-60s Jamaican boogie dubbed rocksteady is known as for an 1966 Alton Ellis single , whereas reggae adopted it into Jamaican dancehalls on the heels of the Maytals' Do the Reggay in 1968. Soca is a condensation of Trinidadian artist Lord Shorty 's Soul of Calypso, from 1974, while acid house, initially from Phuture's 1987 single Acid Tracks , has come to imply anything with a yammering, squealing TB-303 on it. It may be argued that the difference between World and Folk music is difficult, harboring a fair amount of overlapping. In essence, World music is up to date music performed and created all around the globe, however falling just quick in influence to turn into fashionable music, for www.goodreads.com instance RaÏ, Afrobeat and Highlife. Nonetheless, these world music genres are often evolutions of much older geographically linked People music. In different words: World music is usually the contemporary evolution of historic Folks music. The polar reverse of The Filth, Get In The Van is a blunt, no-nonsense diary of life on the highway in a punk rock band, specifically Black Flag, the uncompromising LA hardcore unit Rollins fronted from 1981 to 1986. There may be valuable little glamour here, from roadies consuming pet food to band members indulging in 5 minute knee tremblers in piss-drenched alleyways, with violent confrontations with fans, sketchy promoters and energy-crazed cops solely ever just a few days away. As grim as it sounds although, Get In The Van is an undeniably inspirational chronicle, illustrating the facility of music to blow minds and change lives. But if you happen to ever dream of changing into a rock n' roll star, read this primary. Electronic Dance Music is a compilation of digital music subgenres which can be supposed for crowds of dancers, including disco music, synthpop, techo, home music, trance music, drum and bass, dubstep, lure, hardstyle and extra. With such a variety of sounds, it would appear unattainable that all of this might, on the identical time, be categorized as EDM, however these subgenres have developed over the course of the last few decades, informing and transforming out of a progressive dance tradition. While you hear EDM at present, it is a a lot completely different expertise than what listeners of electronic dance music would have heard within the 1970's, '80's, ‘ninety's, or even early 2000's, and its progression as a recognizable genre can be mapped out by understanding when its subgenres had been popularized as types of dance music. Second, another have a look at the "simplistic" explanations: It's true that the music industry has all the time sought to make the artists into a controllable commodity they will sell not solely to the public however to other businesses. The business is focused on the underside line and so they do want a successful formula. Rock groups (from the 1960s on) have traditionally been a counter-culture and anti-corporate power in our society. From the Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin to Rush, the rock artists wanted success but not on the expense of compromising their art. They got into the music as a result of they love the music and the Album-Oriented-Radio rock artist appeared as a result of singles took an excessive amount of of their consideration away from playing and writing the music they really cared about. In secondary normal music classes, music educators have the opportunity to bridge the gap between the music college students' experiences in class and the music they interact with outside of school. In keeping with Williams, nontraditional music college students have musical lives outdoors of faculty however select to not participate in conventional ensembles. In this article, I explore three educating strategies that can be utilized to interact students with widespread music. These methods are by means of finding out music genres, studying music producers, and listening to popular songs to tell apart if a track is a remake, cowl, sample, remix, or an original song. Music has been performed, written, www.audio-transcoder.com and enjoyed for as long as we have records to determine. World culture is filled with more sorts of music than any one particular person might hope to listen to in a single lifetime. Western artwork music consists of the household of music composed by educated, virtuosic Europeans primarily for the enjoyment of the upper courses or to be used in church providers. Folks music consists of communally composed conventional music that represents the musical vernacular of a particular ethnic group or area. Widespread music could be understood to be any music that is mass produced and supposed for industrial functions. Whereas these three classes to not neatly outline all types of music, they can function a useful starting point for understanding musical types, sorts, and historical past.

[snkret-photography]

Back to Me

Most people know that I follow an abridged variation of a Paleolithic/Ketogenic diet. It makes me feel the most optimal and reduces a lot of my inflammation and hormonal imbalances. Also I’ve never really been a big carb or grain persons so it was an easy transition mentally. This has just been what has worked for me to feel optimal. When I was younger, I ate whatever I wanted, when I wanted and proceeded to exercise like I was getting paid for it. I don’t have that time or energy anymore so my current lifestyle is well supported by my diet. And while I have a general label for how I eat so other people can easily digest it, I don’t particularly care to label it. I try to keep things paleo but Quest Bars are my crack, literally candy bars. I get one life and even if I reincarnate, the experiences in that lifetime won’t solidify my satisfaction in this one. So I still eat what I want, when I want but instead of focusing on the immediate satisfaction that it gives me, I focus on the long term gratification I can derive while still making sure I don’t feel deprived. It works for me and that’s all I worry about.

Recently, I started a new job, I’ll probably talk about that more in depth at some point, but it’s a very youthful workforce and the company operates in the ad tech space. Which means everyone is aware of diets based on the loose depictions they can find on Instagram; legit, no shade. I’ve been on my food protocol for about 2 years and over the past year have cut down to eating once a day, which I just prefer to be freshly made at home right before bed. This translates to me surviving the work day on coffee and water alone. Which translates to everyone having an opinion on their lack of willpower communicated through copious questions and declarations I’d rather not entertain. Like I said, it’s a new job. But whenever I glaze over the details of how I choose to eat, people immediately start throwing out buzzwords as if I remembered the definition and not the word itself. This is usually followed up with some variation of:

“They say that is/is not good for you because some bullshit study somewhere in some bullshit magazine somewhere else.”

I follow an eating protocol that works for me, my goals, and my overall health from both an internal feeling perspective and careful attention to medical markers. Added fact that I love biology which means I actually look at the basis of science studies to look at their original reasoning for deriving a hypothesis, the control of the study, who backed it, and the subsequent reporting along with the counter arguments. I.e. I look at the big picture and not just what “they say” as a basis for how I live my life and make decisions. How I eat works for me but it may not work for everyone else. I do a lot of people’s diet plans and I almost always start out with a list of carbs to intake. Just because I limit the type and amount of carbs I eat, doesn’t mean that everyone else would benefit from such. I may be an accountant but I am not a copy/paste formula. And “they” don’t know everything. Just because some people have made buckets of what Is and is not healthy does not mean that it is 100% accurate. They haven’t studied you and your bodies reaction to the blanket list that they’ve decided to impart on the public. And the public, being the public, has a low tolerance for research and assuming their own opinions; we all love when some stranger says something on the internet super convincingly and have broken it down in a manner in which we can regurgitate without much reference for what is actually said.

This isn’t a conversation about diets. And I’m no better for the flaw in which I’m pointing out. We all go to pseudo-authorities to help make formalized decisions for us on both short-term and long-term decisions. From what to eat, to figuring out our careers, choosing partners, relaxation methods, methods for creating happiness in our lives, and so much more. Consultation is one of the most common things we all do and we always tend to consult, directly or in-directly, those in which we believe have a stronger foundation in the topic than we do. You want career advice, you consult someone who has a career length or position in which you desire to. You want fitness or dieting advice, you consult the trainer or dietitian. More commonly you follow the person who competes on Instagram or ask your friend who’s always been skinny/buff, depending on your goals. You want to know how to navigate your relationship, you ask people who have relationships in which you aspire to. At least, in theory this is the manner in which people go about things. Everyone consults based on their immediate circle and the manners in which they trust other to help them navigate their problems. I don’t believe in monogamy, yet all of my friends in relationships consult me on how to secure their relationships and improve the quality of because they’re aware I'm going to advise them based on the value of our friendship and not my personal views on the matter. I know trainers that constantly tell their clients that to achieve their results, it require discipline and consistency yet their clients chief question, paraphrasing, is what they can buy to achieve that. So they in turn sell them accountability until the person can gain that for themselves and routines that are built around the person’s goals. At my gym there is a trainer who I’ve seen float the exact same workout to both men and women trying to achieve completely different goals, only changing the duration, intensity and repetition of the workout. That is so not how it works but that is how a lot of people work. “This worked for me or I have found x so it should work for you and anyone else who asks.”

This theme of listening to the “they” hit a real head recently. I greatly enjoy the role of devil’s advocate. No particular reason, it brings me joy and that’s all that matters. So going with the current is rather easy but personally, infuriating. I would go online to browse random sub-reddits and a bunch of jack-offs behind their keyboard were operating on a full level of knowledge, confidence and rudeness you could tell was in-organic. I would entertain a public discord on some newsworthy topic and was subsequently met with opinions that nobody could concretely defend. And all that diet shit I mentioned earlier. So when it was time to decide my next project, I didn’t even want to do one. I looked back on my recent projects and then broadened that to my entire works over the past year from the creation of this website to side projects I had picked up and was entirely confused. I had no idea what I didn’t like about everything as a package nor that impressed by individual projects. Even my posts were bugging me. So far from the course in which I originally set. And somewhere in reflecting on why people found it so appropriate to consult me on my own practices from an outside party in which neither of us ever regarded personally, something clicked. It’s been a very inauthentic experience. Sure I have some projects here that I absolutely adore. Yes, I have gotten to do something I love, work with people in the manner I desire, and develop my skills in a manner I never really thought I could before. Of course this has been a cathartic outlet with great growth and has had a visibly positive impact both in my and other’s lives. It has also just made me grow closer with a lot of people by opening up the realm of conversation. It’s dope. But something still wasn’t clicking. My writing was getting weaker and almost always derived from an emotional perspective. I kept trying to change my website and Instagram layout but could never figure out how to keep it in the manner I developed it. Photo-shoots had more to do with getting content out or making a quick buck on the side rather than developing an idea and creating a story from it.

I had developed a business and parts of my life on the advice and consultation of people who have no actual basis of authority. And doing things strictly to impress others or at the console of something others have an opinion on yet no tangible marker of authority is dissatisfying to say the least. I don’t like social media almost strictly based on not giving a fuck about the facade that people put on to have these amazing lives they don’t nor entertain the countless opinions of people who can’t keep that same energy. I originally designed my website in the taste of my ex-boyfriend who had never designed anything for public consumption or really taken any action on anything. Adjusting concepts and final visions on the advice of a person who just on-looks but doesn’t operate. Then I look at the approach I developed in writing to be more open in my communication about my emotions and life at the advice of all my friends who like to act like they have none, self explanatory why I should have not listened. Broaden the pattern, I had an abysmal living arrangement on the advice of people who suggested the money saved would be best long-term. In short, a bunch of opinions from people who have nothing to lose in the outcome. And it all just settled. I couldn’t take much pride in things when the outcome was based more on the advice of non-active participants than myself. Which was my own fault. I can consult the world but I don’t have to take the world’s advice. It was something I’ve always known and implemented in my life yet neglected in my business. Putting off projects because my consultants didn’t particularly like the idea or get it. Wondering if I needed to go back to the drawing board or if I wasn’t communicating it properly. But it’s not their project. They’re not putting their name on it and quite frankly, if they don’t like it then that is a miss for them. But if I put out a project I’m not invested in, then that is a lost for me that I will always have my name attached to.

So now, on the anniversary of my dive back into photography and writing, I’m going back to the original ideas. I will do things that I want to move in the direction I want. I will consult authorities and opinions alike but will make note of the differences and be sure I’m still just as invested at every step. There is no worse feeling than to have to live according to someone else’s version of happiness, success, and achievement. The manner in which other people live and operate are mere matters of comparison to derive what parts we identify with and which parts we don’t, constructing the best possible experience for ourselves. And I want to bring people the best that I have. I love what I’ve put out over this past year because no matter how good or bad something may be technically, personally, anecdotally, I have a record in which to document my growth. But what is the point of a goal if it is not consistently refined as you achieve it? So when I set out on the first year, I had a lot of goals with a lot of people who are no longer here. Now I have some goals for myself and at the forefront of them, and in the words of Megan Thee Stallion: What The Fuck I Want, When The Fuck I Want!

*And I’m still at the mall with your motherfuckin’ daddy, eh

[afraidofa-cat-blog]

Picture a Rom-Com, but Asian, and Done Right

During Hollywood’s breakthrough for Asian American representation (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Crazy Rich Asians) the film Always Be My Maybe maintains the trend of cross culture cinema. What differentiates this romantic comedy, however, is that it is directed for older audiences. The film does not consist of the typical Asian American casting; the exclusivity of Asians hanging out with Asians, or the Asian girl ending up with an American man. This romantic comedy allows for the Asian American community to be represented as… normal. Always Be My Maybe effortlessly breaks the dynamic that Hollywood has structured for Asian American representation with inclusive casting, switch in gender roles, and not allowing for the cultural aspects to be the whole plot of the movie. Always be my Maybe is an example of how Hollywood has been rapidly updating movie characters to change up the original Hollywood stereotypes, especially in regard to Asian American characters and gender roles of Asian Americans on film.

The film Always Be My Maybe includes many features that Hollywood hasn’t done yet; casting is one of them. Within mainstream Hollywood, it is very uncommon, if ever, that Asian Americans are cast as leads for a romantic comedy. Asian Americans are usually cast as extremes, either as too loud or too quiet, too overpowered or too sidekick, but Always Be My Maybe shows Asian Americans as real people; the people next door, the people you went to school with. By normalizing this cross-culture phenomenon, rather than depending on it for the plot, this helps improve the global enterprise and fix the thought that movies come from America. With Schatz and Perren’s article about Hollywood, the article explains the standard procedure that happens when producing mainstream films. The attributes to a mainstream film consist of exposition, complication and resolution; a goal-oriented protagonist who has objectives and obstacles, and American actors and actresses. Although, the casting of Always Be My Maybe is effective in breaking the stereotype, they do not change the mainstream film standard procedure. Instead, they apply it to their own culture, promoting transnationalism. As Schatz and Perren discuss how Hollywood casts white people more than the minority, the Asian American characters of Always Be My Maybe going through similar obstacles and having similar relationships as the typical American film shows how the Asian American community is more mainstream than Hollywood has made it out to be. The film also shows how different people have different personalities because of their atmosphere, and not because of their ethnicity. Different Asians are cast in different lights, for example, the character Marcus Kim, played by Randall Park, plays in a band with no other priorities other than smoking weed. These types of males hardly exist in movies as well, even though there are so many of them, this type of male actually consists of more than half the population at this point. Ali Wong’s character, Sasha Tran, also refers to Marcus Kim as a regular guy, because he exhibits very common attributes with the American men demographic in society today. There is also a conversation between Sasha Tran and her white assistant where she looks at her dish and says, “Add some rice paper, white people eat that shit up,” and her white friend agrees. This comic relief is a subtle hint of satire on the stereotypes Hollywood has created for the Asian community within mainstream Hollywood films. Schatz’s and Perren’s article refer to a quote by Seldes saying, “When one considers the widespread appeal of Hollywood movies and thus the colonization of cultural consciousness on a global scale, it is worth noting that the term Hollywood becomes increasingly conflated with the notion of “Americanization” (Perren, 497). Although, the film Always Be My Maybe addresses this issue that has been shown throughout Hollywood, by casting Asian Americans in roles that are common throughout mainstream Hollywood, it shows that race does not affect the lifestyle when multiculturalism is involved. The civil rights and the feminist movement helped encourage minorities to feel like they had a say in how they were represented because they insisted on the different cultural constituencies within other aspects of Hollywood, hence the birth of Always Be My Maybe.

Always Be My Maybe also represents a shift in gender roles and relationships, as we witness the female lead as a strong woman who can also be vulnerable, and how the Asian male has a good relationship with his father. Also, the Asian father does not have the stereotypical Asian accent but is very Americanized. The change in gender roles and relationships helps stray away from the same structure that Hollywood has used for films about the minority and basic romantic comedies. For example, in Walter Metz’s article, “Love The House and Hate The Work,” he talks about the traditional gender roles within the television series Bewitched. Samantha, the female lead, has a lot of power but uses it to do housework rather than doing the “mortal way” because she wants to fit the housewife role alongside her husband, who is the working man. The analysis of Bewitched shows, “a woman with unimaginable power and she uses it to shore up her husband’s ego, make him look good, help him keep his job, beat down his enemies” (Metz, 166). The analysis of Bewitched contrasts the gender role dynamic Always Be My Maybe transitions to. In Always Be My Maybe, the female lead, Sasha Tran, is the working and successful one while the man is okay with being on the side. Toward the end of the movie, the male lead, Marcus Kim, even professes his love by offering to be “the guy who holds her purse”. As Bewitched consists of the traditional gender roles within the show, the show itself can not fit the formula of mainstream Hollywood that Schatz’s and Perren’s article explains because of the contradictory styles within its series and how contemporary American culture is overshadowed by the typical gender roles. Since Always Be My Maybe addresses content while also displaying the characters in a different role than they would usually have, the endorsement of alternative lifestyles is more impactful within society. This breakthrough is scene through Sasha’s breakdown when venting after her breakup, “They want a cheerleader, not a powerful woman,” is how the gender roles within Bewitched want society to think and are making the powerful woman during Always Be My Maybe think. This shows how the traditional gender roles from the past still affect the present, even though we have moved forward from this in society. Sasha is not only an example of a powerful woman, but her ability to relate to all women audiences within the romantic comedy demographic provides comfortability with an Asian American as a female lead, and the woman being the working one within the relationship. The transition within gender roles and family relationships help normalize Asian Americans within mainstream Hollywood, helping the film Always Be My Maybe support and convey transnationalism.

Within the same era as Crazy Rich Asians, Always Be My Maybe provides a more familiar type of romantic comedy while still promoting Asian culture without depending on it for the plot. The way this is presented is through the concept of framing. Within Kitzinger’s article regarding frame analysis, he talks about how “frames are ways of organizing reality. They invite particular ways of understanding the world”, and Always Be My Maybe helps present the understanding that Asians are just like regular people, not as a separate culture (Kitzinger 149). By airing the film on Netflix, rather than making the concept of Asian leads in a romantic comedy a big deal in theaters, normalizes the multiculturalism making it overall more impactful. Some stereotypes were still present within the film Crazy Rich Asians, because of the way different frames are identified with different perspectives. A similar comparison was made to the days before gay liberation. Before, there was a debate on whether homosexuality was a sin and whether it should be punished, but the realization through a social movement proved how homosexuality was an undesirable aberration which is similar to how audiences did not recognize they were stereotyping Asian Americans in mainstream Hollywood until the civil rights and feminist movement (Kitzinger 22). The civil rights and feminist movement encouraged the differential casting in Always Be My Maybe, improving the points of each protest. There are subtle things within the film that break the Asian stereotype, such as how Marcus’s dad dates a Diana Ross impersonator or how the music score is modernized. The film Always Be My Maybe still includes Asian culture as they talk with Chinese waitresses in restaurants or how they routinely take off their shoes off before they go into a house. As the mainstream elements of the film might make it seem like the film is straying away from Asian culture, a comment about Sasha straying away from Asian culture is made by Marcus about her restaurant, “You’re just catering to rich white people, Asian food isn’t that small,” is also subtly reminding the audience that this film is still supposed to emphasize that a culture should not completely convert to satisfy mainstream audiences. As some stereotypes are true, they are usually way more subtle, and the film Always Be My Maybe exemplifies this beneficially for both cultural perspectives. Framing is the process where reality is organized and controls the information presented to the audience. Since frames carry some meaning and have an impact on audiences, the subtle focus on Asian culture still includes the Asian American demographic in the narrative but also fixes any stereotype that says Asian Americans, or any specific demographic, have to be cast in a certain way.

Within the original structure of mainstream Hollywood, the film Always Be My Maybe fixes stereotypes in regard to Asian American characters through the normalcy of Asian culture and adaptation to modern gender roles. By presenting the understanding of intermixing cultures, Always Be My Maybe is a great example of promoting transnationalism and normalizing Asian Americans within the mainstream film industry. Media has affected the perception of certain cultures and is the reason why certain ethnicities are limited to certain opportunities, but if Hollywood progresses with the normalcy of cross culture cinema, similar to what is shown through Always Be My Maybe, stereotypes will become less of an issue and American cinema will draw a greater variety of audiences.

        Bibliography

Always Be My Maybe. Dir. Nahnatchka Khan. Perf. Ali Wong, Randall Park, and James Saito. Good Universe, May 29, 2019.

 Crazy Rich Asians. Dir. Brett Ratner. Perf. Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Gemma Chan. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2018.

 Fink, Kathryn. Romance and Representation: ‘Always Be My Maybe’ And The Future Of The Raunch-Com. 1A. June 3, 2019: Issue 2.

 Metz, Walter. Bewitched. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2007. Project MUSE, 2007.

 Perren, Alisa and Schatz, Thomas, “Hollywood” (2004), pp. 495-515. Communication Faculty Publications. 2. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_facpub/2

 Kitzinger, Jenny. 2007. Framing and Frame Analysis. Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates, London: Sage, pp. 134-161.

 Khosla, Proma. ‘Always Be My Maybe’ Shines When Its Weirdest. Mashable. May 31, 2019. https://mashable.com/article/always-be-my-maybe-review/

 To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Dir. Susan Johnson. Perf. Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, and Janel Parrish. Overbrook Entertainment, August 17, 2018.