#its about history and conflict and the myriad of experiences within them and your origins were the vehicle to explore it with companions

[hopeslastkiss]

started an elf mourn watch!Rook playthrough and it's occurred to me that maybe an orphan with unknown origins might want to seek out their kin and to connect to a heritage they were denied by circumstance. and on that journey of self-discovery they learn about a people defeated, impoverished and enslaved and vilified; scraps of history sewn together with hope and resilience but so much lost, so much destroyed and taken. who else could understand Rook's grief and horror and isolation but an ancient elf recently awoken to confront the same reality? the same oppression he fought against for millennia? once again, much to think about.

[your-turn-to-role]

new opinions of the cerberus assembly (etgw spoilers!!)

somewhat inspired by the conversations the other day, bc it’s reminded me i have a lot to say about these motherfuckers

let’s start with the obvious:

Master Trent Ikithon, Archmage of Civil Influence (Chaotic Evil Human)

Book Text: [Trent is respected as the acclaimed Propagandist of the empire and the third oldest member of the assembly. Once an instructor at the Soltryce Academy, he only returns every few years to collect young students for his experiments in the mental conditioning that he calls “awakening.” Many of these students go mad and are locked away, but those who endure become zealots for the assembly and join the Volstrucker, an elite group of arcane thugs commonly known as Scourgers, who perform the assembly’s dirtiest work under Trent’s direction.]

Most of this we knew. I hate this guy. Though, as a point of interest - Caleb’s for sure not the first person this has happened to. They account for a certain number of aspiring Volstrucker never completing the program, Caleb was just another statistic. Which means somewhere in Vergessen is a lot of other people with the same backstory who never managed to escape. That’s, something worth looking into, maybe.

Martinet Ludinus Da’leth, Archmage of Domestic Protections (Lawful Evil Elf)

[Ludinus is the oldest and only original member of the assembly, as well as the master of warfare and conflict. Charged with overhauling the military structure of the Dwendalian Empire, Ludinus directed the construction of the garrisons on the Xhorhasian border and often oversees their maintenance. He was one of the mages who survived the destruction of Molaesmyr and fled to Bysaes Tyl, but he saw the opportunity to achieve greatness within the empire and left his culture behind to continue his arcane pursuits. Wise, if emotionless, he bears a deep hatred for the Kryn Dynasty and spares no effort gathering information on their weaknesses and secrets. Ludinus spends most of his time developing arcane weapons of war and shoring up the military might of the empire, while subtly challenging the leadership of Crown Marshal Damurag.]

This guy’s old. That's the scariest thing about him really. Like, this guy's been in the empire since it was half its current size. This guy saw the destruction of Molaesmyr, and knew many of its residents. But he also rejected that society, purely for his own ends. He's at least 400 years old, more likely at least 500, and for the past 3-4 centuries has been focusing entirely on magic and warfare. That's a long time to hone those skills. Ludinus may say it's hard to compare power in the Assembly, but if I had to pick one of them for an end game boss, it would be him, no question. Trent's more of a wild card, sure, but he's only like 60, 70 years old. He's a baby compared to Da'leth. Keep an eye on this dude, and under no circumstances trust him.

Lady Vess de Rogna, Archmage of Antiquity (Neutral Evil Half-Elf)

[A public recluse for most of her life, Vess is both a brilliant mage and dedicated historian. She assumed this post after replacing her criminal predecessor, Lady Delilah Briarwood. As an instructor at the Soltryce Academy for over two decades, Vess has studied and unraveled a number of historical mysteries and pre-Calamity riddles — and hoarded some of the spoils for herself. Always eager to pursue forgotten lore and artifacts of eons past, Vess has been known to quietly vanish to Xhorhas for weeks at a time, returning with fewer guards and more uncovered secrets.]

Canon confirmation that this is who took over from Delilah Briarwood, and from what we’ve seen, they’re rather similar people. They're both scientists and historians, ruthlessly efficient, far more concerned with what they can learn and what they can do than what's good or safe for those around them. Liable to be found breaking the law in the name of science and progress. At least Vess has lasted longer than her predecessor.

Headmaster Oremid Hass, Archmage of Cultivation (Lawful Neutral Earth Genasi)

[The current headmaster of the Hall of Erudition in Zadash, Oremid is tasked with watching and grooming the next generation of mages and arcane specialists outside Rexxentrum. While he himself is a gentle soul who adores animals, he puts on the façade of a strict man with no sense of humor, which is further enhanced by the elemental influence of his earth genasi blood. He teaches students that failure is not an option, and that emotion is a barrier to one’s true ability. Equally feared, respected, and privately loathed by the students (and some instructors), Oremid personally dismisses those who break under his school’s curriculum and heaps joyous praise on those who endure their training.]

So, I've had teachers like this. And they stick in your mind, because, even a decade later, I still have a hard time getting over their instilled fear of failure. I can believe that, in general terms, Oremid's not a terrible person. I think he looks the other way on a lot of things, which precludes him from ever qualifying as good in my books, but he hasn't committed any major acts of torture or murder himself. Still though. You don't teach like that if you view your students as people. You teach like that if you view your students as potential assets. So like.... not as bad as some of his colleagues. Potentially someone they could work with if they had to. But still probably someone to stay away from.

Headmaster Zivan Margolin, Archmage of Conscription (Lawful Neutral Human)

[Zivan Margolin inherited the position of headmaster from his father, the late Jorma Margolin. Zivan has been the headmaster of the Soltryce Academy in Rexxentrum for nearly twenty years. Calm, patient, and quietly imposing, Zivan walks the halls of the Academy with a keen eye for talent. He is in charge of the curriculum and also watches for any latent powers that may be worth grooming as future allies of the assembly, dangers to be monitored, or prospective minds for Ikithon to conscribe into the Volstrucker. Zivan has rarely had the opportunity to demonstrate his full power, for he is typically busied with keeping the peace between the feuding members of the assembly. Those who have witnessed his true might, however, now know that his words are backed by some of the most powerful magics within the Cerberus Assembly.]

I think @lostsometime said it best, having the archmage of conscription be in charge of your elite magic school really sums up everything wrong with the empire. Like, if that's out in the open, your problems are unfixable. Get a new government. Jeez.

Master Doolan Tversky, Archmage of Dysology (Chaotic Neutral Gnome)

[The second-oldest member of the assembly, Doolan is in charge of the study and understanding of abnormal creatures and deviants of arcane creation that might threaten the empire’s way of life. She is an absentminded yet brilliant gnome who is obsessed with all beasts, aberrations, and creatures of legend. Doolan imports creatures from around the world to study, disassemble, and use in her attempts to revolutionize magical practices. She resents the Library of the Cobalt Soul, as her reputation has caused them to bar her from their facilities. She wishes to catalog the unstudied horrors of Xhorhas and has covertly obtained the services of the Myriad to retrieve new specimens.]

Now, Doolan is fascinating to me, not because I think she's a good person, but because she's just so delightfully weird. She's probably done some evil as fuck shit but she's also a gremlin of a gnome who loves weird fucked up arcane experiments and magical meteors that created eldritch ducks and all sorts of bizarre things like that. I'd love to see more of her, because there's always room in fantasy stories for more weird morally ambiguous old ladies who are banned from libraries on the grounds of "is about as likely to eat the books as she is to read them" and "last time we let her in here she somehow combined five forbidden rituals and created a new species of demon that haunts the halls of the rexxentrum archive spreading toxic slime everywhere and we can't figure out what it wants or how to make it go away".

Lord Athesias Uludan, Archmage of Diplomatic Union (Neutral Good Human)

[Athesias’s charm and bombastic personality serve him well as a diplomat. His duty is to foster a positive relationship with people of power both within and beyond the borders of the empire. He was originally one of the most effective instructors at the Soltryce Academy, but his penchant for spectacle and his rampant narcissism made him a difficult ally to trust with state secrets. When the office of Diplomatic Union opened, he was quickly and quietly reassigned. Athesias finds great pleasure in ruining or usurping the plans of his counterpart in the Crown’s employ, Emissary Lord Zeddan Graf.]

We’ve talked a bit about Uludan already - the Gilderoy Lockhart of the group for sure. Though I’m sure he has layers to him, so I’d be interested to find out what exactly they are.

And, saving the most interesting for last,

Baroness Jenna Iresor, Archmage of Industry (True Neutral Doppelganger)

[One of the younger members of the assembly, Jenna is known for her business acumen and her extravagant lifestyle. By hiding her nature as a doppelganger and using memory-altering magics at a young age to fabricate a false past, Jenna constructed her human persona from the ground up, leveraging her powers of deception to essentially write herself into history as a Clovis Concord expatriate. She helps oversee central guild business in Rexxentrum under Guildmaster Kai Arness, and helps Exchequer Aethia Drooze organize the collection of tithes through starostas across the empire.]

I am, insanely curious about how a doppelganger ended up in the Cerberus Assembly. She’s definitely ambitious for sure, doppelgangers already have a fair bit of innate magic - they’re natural shapeshifters and have a fair amount of psychic powers (like reading minds of anyone who happens to be near them), but to get here she had to be extremely committed. Which means she probably has plans for this position, or had plans that she’s already put into motion. Very interested what those are, especially for the archmage of industry.

[egdocument]

About the EvaGeeks wiki and why you shouldn't trust it, concerning mainly one user.

On the subject of EvaGeeks: Let’s talk about the manipulation of information on the wiki, and perpetuated “nastiness” on the forums that has persisted for several years now. THIS IS A MIRROR OF THIS GOOGLE DOCS FILE. (My twitter post.) You can share this post or the original document freely, use parts of it, etc. I want this document to simply serve as a warning to new Eva fans and those less familiar with EvaGeeks and their history - as well as an update for people who haven’t seen the current state of it.

NOTE: If you can’t read any of these images, these are Imgur albums containing all of the notable ones: https://imgur.com/a/z2mGvvX https://imgur.com/a/oAgufc3

The intent of this document is not to “take down” the wiki or forum, obviously. The intent is simply to inform people of the dangers of trusting this site with their Eva info. It might be the best we have but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve it. I would actually love to see a more community cultivated version of the site with less biased information, but I fear that will never happen. The anxieties of any one (or many) individual(s), which have prevented consistent change until now are well justified, and it is not within reason to blame the outsiders for never bothering to correct the myriad of issues with the wiki. Please extend kindness to other Eva fans and approach sites like EvaGeeks with the appropriate scrutiny, if you aren’t already. We’re divided enough as it is.

Before I begin, I must state: All of the information presented is publicly available, either through main pages, chat logs or history. And yes, the link to join the Discord server and verify the information given in this is publicly available too. I will not link it myself, as I want to avoid any possible harassment of the users I speak about here. Harassment is NEVER the answer in any kind of conflict. This behaviour I don’t believe can go unchecked, but that doesn’t mean the consequences of it should be any kind of conflict towards any user. I will be naming them here so you are aware, but I really do have to advise you, as a reminder, DO NOT HARASS OR ENGAGE WITH THEM. The rule of thumb is that these issues are more systematic than you might think, and blaming or taking it out on a singular person or even a whole group is never justified. Targeted harassment, even with reason, especially never helps to remedy an issue, because it forces the person to double down on their behaviour and beliefs. Causing unnecessary pain to a person is never okay, and the ‘offences’ committed here aren’t deserving of it in the first place. Please also consider the feelings of the people who use the server and EvaGeeks site; not everyone is your "enemy" or your "target" (and frankly, no-one should be) and despite the feelings echoed in this document, EG is not a monolith of a singular opinion or belief.

The purpose of this document is to inform people of the ways EvaGeeks fails objectivity and has existed to push narratives and exclude outsiders for far too long. With new people coming into the Eva fandom (and there of course being others who have been around for quite a while but just aren't aware) I feel like now is the best time I could write this.

As for what prompted this, an anonymous member of the Discord server contacted me regarding the behaviour of one particular user they were concerned about. Said user had expressed considerable bias in the past and was admitting to making large edits to pages on the wiki very recently, and the person who contacted me felt unequipped to bring the issue to light themselves.

A decent amount of this document will be dedicated to presenting said user's contributions - while I feel someone always had to address the EvaGeeks Problem at large, it doesn't help that this user has essentially incriminated himself here to expose the problem in its entirety. 

There is quite a bit of pretense I must discuss before I get into the subject of the wiki pages themselves. I suggest you read all of it; the start of the wiki section will be in heading text if you’d like to skip to it. I’m sure information on the biased editing of wiki pages is privy to anyone who has used the server or the site itself, but at the server’s current status of 60 entire members, I know not everyone has, or is aware of what the problem actually is. Please note that the person who contacted me has requested anonymity and I will be complying. I will not include screenshots of their conversation with me, and anything I quote from them will be paraphrased so nobody can go full Sherlock and analyse their typing patterns. It sounds silly and it’s probably just paranoia, but they shared my concern here. Any conflict we can prevent is for the best. EvaGeeks, of course, has a culture very much promoting the idea that it’s the “number 1 source for all things Eva”, and for English speaking fans it definitely is - you’d be surprised the amount of people who still, after all these years, think this site is consistently reputable. For the sake of context, I’m going to assume that you are not all that familiar with the site’s history or nature, so I’m going to provide a little bit of information about it for those without any first-hand experience. The forums in particular cultivate a very join-us-or-get-out type community, where those who dare to go against the grain get incentivised to leave the site; they’ll claim this isn’t the case if asked and obviously the site is NOT a hivemind but that doesn’t mean it’s not insular. I can vouch for myself and many others who refuse to go in more than a few threads for fear of discussion turning particularly nasty. Even the server member who came to me about this has stated they feel it “might not be a hivemind but it sure feels that way.” Silencing dissent, even when officially-backed, is part of their culture. You don’t have to personally harass everyone who has an opposing thought to you for it to not feel acceptable, you just need to have a history of mocking those who do. If you want some previous, notable cases of “discussion turning nasty”, here’s some off the top of my head: 1. The AWL Incident - In which ADV VA of Rei and director of EoE dub, Amanda Winn-Lee, joined the forums for discussion and was promptly harassed by a user. Most of these messages have been deleted but you can view what remains of her post history here.  2. Recently brought to my attention: upon beginning translation of the Episode 24 drafts, EG forum user LiLi was subjected to incentive to leave, mostly in the form of homophobic disgust in replies to her thread or others they were mentioned in. Any information that goes against the cultivated narrative, even when it is literally officially licensed content, is only ever considered with a degree of reluctance. The fact these drafts co-exist with other pages concerned with this episode is almost a miracle. You can find plenty of repeat instances of the above if you want to (more to do with homophobia and misogyny than outward hostility, but honestly it’s the same thing.) A look at basically any EvaGeeks thread concerning pairings or the female characters will unearth a variety of awful comments from many other users, not that that would be surprising to anyone who has spent more than two minutes in the fandom. Now, of course, that’s very relevant to the topic at hand even if it doesn’t seem to be. The EG wiki and forum have quite a bit of overlap and circular influence on each other as you’ll see later if you aren’t already aware of it. For a short summary before we jump into things and analyse our subject of the day, this essentially means that anyone with an opinion or information the majority doesn’t like will never get in a position good enough to edit the wiki and keep the edits there. This has resulted in many articles filled with conjecture and fan speculation that serve to shut down other viewpoints, whether it’s intentional or not.

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ON THE TOPIC OF THE EVAGEEKS WIKI

The issue surrounding homophobia and downplaying of references to LGB content in Eva, through proxy of fan-dictated content control and translation is not a new one by any stretch of the imagination. I'm sure you're all very well aware. It’s far from the only issue present in the fandom but it will be our subject of conversation today. Any ‘one instance’ of this persistent behaviour from Eva fans is never going to be enough to summarise how insurmountable it really is, though, so today I instead draw your attention to one user of the wiki who goes by the name of FelipeFritschF and his recent, frequent updates to pages concerning Nagisa Kaworu.

[TOPIC: FELIPEFRITSCHF]

I must reiterate here: although this document is mostly concerned with this user and will contain a number of receipts from various places, it is NOT supposed to function as a hit piece or inspire any kind of mob. Leave this guy the hell alone, just be aware that he’s the one making most of these changes and isn’t a particularly impartial party, to put things lightly.

Now, before we really get into things, it should be stated that the EvaGeeks wiki requires approval to get your edits there, as stated at the bottom of the homepage, here:

This means that anyone making consistent edits to the wiki has in fact been approved, and this isn’t the result of lack of maintenance.  

What you’ll find is that it is consistently Felipe making edits to the pages in question. Kaworu’s bio page, for example, is almost entirely edited by Felipe, which we can see from the “History” tab of the article.

This is barely half of his edits made in the last few days. Take a scroll through it yourself if you’re so inclined. This hilarious bit of waffle was added by Felipe a few days ago and since revised since by him, as shown here. 

(As an added bit of comedy, the man who decided to add in the Japanese in the first place apparently didn’t know the difference between 好意 (kindness, what Kaworu actually says) and 行為 (action). It’s been fixed since but I still think it’s quite funny.) Now, as anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Japanese knows, 好き is not actually a very ambiguous word at all. I think it goes without saying, though, and I’m not here to have an argument about translations with you all (for the record, Kanemitsu’s now scarily infamous translation of this scene is perfectly fine with me in a vacuum, it’s just literally everything else surrounding it that’s the problem. Also, regretfully, I will have to speak about this nonsense later when it becomes relevant.) I’m using this as an example instead, to show how utterly ridiculous this guy’s additions to these pages are. He’s not even making a point here. It keeps going past this excerpt, and I suggest you read the whole thing (Kaworu’s page is linked above.) The point of bringing this up - and when I eventually discuss the Netflix translation when it’s necessary - is not to complain about semantics, although I’d argue that’s what’s happening in these articles, honestly. It’s just helpful when proving the actual point of the editor being incredibly unreliable and biased in how he phrases and omits things.

On the page dedicated solely to Shinji and Kaworu’s relationship (which is basically identical to their section on Kaworu’s page as far as I can tell), we can see that Felipe has also edited this several times, and even credits himself with expanding the version on the Evangelion Fandom Wiki now copy and pasted back to EvaGeeks.

The kind of “discussion” (very much not discussion when added to a wiki page supposedly presented as factual information, is it, frankly?) would be fine if it was happening in the EvaGeeks forum itself (and happen does it ever, but that doesn’t change the inappropriateness of this particular behaviour.) What I find disturbing is that in the past few days, this user has gone out of his way to make some already worrying articles even worse, presumably in an attempt to silence discourse, or add more fuel to the flames, surrounding the new Netflix translation. He has a whole page on that one, too, one which is very up-to-date in some regards and not at all in others, despite only being added a few days before me compiling this information. Frankly, going through this whole page on its own is a huge waste of my time considering how BLATANT it is in its biases, but I’ll do it anyway. It IS only a Theory and Analysis page (which is essentially an EvaGeeks free-for-all), but I think it’s quite bothering that the site even allows Theory and Analysis pages that consider only one viewpoint and are written by one person. The forum, presumably, is connected to the site for a reason. 

I’m just going to link it here, for the sake of brevity. https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Kaworu%27s_lines_in_Episode_24 I suggest you read this before continuing. For a slight departure, the original theatrical Funimation dub of 3.0 is partially available for viewing online, although the audio is in cam quality so you may want headphones if you have plans to watch what’s there. The home media dub’s major changes are to issues with lore and localisation of jargon. While not directly mentioned in this article, it is implied from the subject that this is what it’s about; it’s been speculated that the very literal translation of Episode 24 in particular has come about due to Khara’s embarrassment with how Funimation’s theatrical dub of 3.0 handled Kaworu and Shinji’s relationship rather loosely. Despite these claims, every instance of the two sharing (honestly pretty awkward and unnecessary) flirtatious back-and-forths are still present in the home media version, barring an instance in the stargazing scene where Kaworu’s dialogue was translated even worse than it is in the final dub. If you don’t believe me, do the comparisons yourself. It may not be conclusive, but I think it puts mostly to death the rumour that “a Khara employee was there and saw how people laughed at the Kaworu and Shinji scenes and demanded it needed to be changed for the final release and now that’s being reflected on the new translation”, which is what it tends to boil down to. 

It also goes without saying that NO ONE PERSON is “the most qualified” (holy shit, is this entry not even bothering to hide how biased it is) to translate an entire TV show, let alone something like Evangelion. Let us not forget that Kanemitsu’s claims that he respects “ambiguity” are not even true to begin with. EvaGeeks itself is a shining example of Eva fans, of which Kanemitsu is one and this is even discussed in the article, not being impartial enough to be tasked with discussing Evangelion! (There is obviously issue with citing the ADV translation as a source of all truth; if you read further into the thread on my tweet [the kitchen scene in EoE], I provide extra context for those interested, which I am aware has been spread around Discord and other places without that context included. Of course, I’m not an unbiased source either as you can probably tell from my tweets nor am I claiming to be, so please feel free to discuss these things in other places if you want. I’ve just got the tweets I have on hand here. Sorry about that.) Next, the repeat claim that this is “Khara’s licensed translation and thus the most accurate version” is pretty obviously nonsense; I’m sure I don’t need to point out to the audience that Japanese companies meddling in localisation has ended poorly in the past, or that Khara uses questionable translations from the dubs of the Rebuild films on licensed merch from time-to-time, or that the translation was fairly obviously not overseen or even QA’d by anyone following Kanemitsu’s translation work judging from the myriad of grammatical errors, missing subtitles and overly literal, poor sounding phrasing present in the final work. (Do I need to source this? Just watch the damn thing.) It’s not even like the ways it was translated have been consistent through different versions on Netflix; some were translated from Kanemitsu’s English to other languages judging from the obvious mistakes being present in multiple tracks, and some were barely even translated at all - the Italian version, the dub of which is mysteriously now missing, was so bad people were commenting that it sounded like Shakespeare or that it was translated word for word from Japanese. I dunno about you, the reader, but something about “Khara only bothered to check very rigorously the English version for their specific requests with the translation” doesn’t sound like what really happened to me. It’s more like they’ve just sent a translator they have worked with before to work on a project of theirs. Apologies for engaging in speculation, but that’s all this whole article is anyway. It’s just something I noticed from skimming through the page, but I find it quite interesting that Felipe makes a blanket statement about the excerpts from Schizo and Prano “being wrongly attributed to Anno” and then the source he provides for that is just someone on the EvaGeeks forums saying the same thing with little proper sourcing, when that was never really the intent of their post anyway. An interview summary exists where Anno has stated he wrote both books himself, and if you haven’t seen it, here it is. It’s obviously flimsy at best, but Tokyo Otaku Mode is an officially licensed Evangelion distributor. If Felipe is going to parade around his love for the Very Official Khara Subtitles Of NGE he can at least extend the same gratitude to other forms of official information; I mean, frankly, this article is about as reputable as anything in the Netflix subtitles are.  Lastly, another thing I found quite interesting is his strange love for the ADV VHS subtitles. I really, really think this is obvious, but subtitles changed in later versions of the ADV release were changed because they were deemed incorrect. I don’t have sources for this so take it with an absolute grain of salt but I believe there’s even a commentary track on the Platinum release where the translator talks in depth about why she translated episode 24 as she did. It’s not exactly a better word than Kanemitsu’s, but if we’re considering translator’s word as law for whatever reason like Felipe is here, we might as well consider hers, too, right? Oh, and actually, have a look at the sources used on that article. Most of the sweeping statements he makes have absolutely no backing beyond what he’s piecing together from old and irrelevant interviews (when discussing the Netflix translation) as well as...linking Kanemitsu’s job history...I mean, sure, the guy is qualified, but do I really need to go over this again?

INTERMISSION: Speaking of sources, you might have noticed from perusing these articles yourself that EvaGeeks has a very low standard for sourcing to begin with, which is likely partially to blame for how things like these articles can even exist in their current forms in the first place. A site that doesn’t have such a lenient policy on sourcing, though, is Wikipedia. Felipe, of course, cannot stay within the confines of the fandom and has decided to have a go at providing some information to Kaworu’s actual Wikipedia page as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaworu_Nagisa&action=history Felipe is far less to blame for the state of Kaworu’s Wikipedia article, which is honestly pretty bad to begin with. There have been plenty of other people editing this one and the rather homophobic “Relationship with Shinji” part of the article has been present for a while before he started editing it. (The fact this article literally uses someone being explicitly homophobic as a source is not surprising for Eva fandom, but holy shit, am I disgusted every time I reopen this page. I'm not even going to bother figuring out who added that one.) I do wonder if his reasons for not desecrating this page the same way he has on EvaGeeks is because he knows it wouldn’t stay up for particularly long. Reminder that he is also the main editor of the same pages on the Evangelion Fandom Wiki, which is essentially a copy and paste of EvaGeeks. Of note is this little tidbit I found:

This is what Felipe then deleted, as this is apparently not relevant, despite literally being about Kaworu’s relationship with Shinji. I mean, I’m sure this could have been put in somewhere else and perhaps phrased a bit better, but why the hell would you outright delete that kind of information? It’s supposed to be a wiki, not your own personal opinion chamber. BTW, this is the thread post he links as a rebuttal to that person adding it, and it’s probably for the best it’s presented here with context: https://forum.evageeks.org/post/886380/NGE-Ep24-Script-First-and-Second-Drafts/#886380

He clearly thinks he has a point here, but I’m not sure what exactly he’s going for. Basically everything he’s saying is conjecture, and while I can kinda see where he’s coming from it sure does completely fail to address the intent as explained in this interview. “Read the whole interview” is very dismissive, especially when the interview in full doesn’t exactly contradict the initial point. It does say quite a bit, how he will disregard official information when his wiki articles themselves are full of nothing but rambling.

Here’s another relevant and quite funny Discord screenshot:

Felipe is making a pretty hypocritical statement here. I’m sure he does have a point - there’s probably been quite a bit of vandalism happening to these pages which isn’t exactly surprising (again, Eva fans are not often rational people, please be honest with ourselves). That being said, I think there’s a particular irony to the man who has written many very, very long paragraphs on the wiki pages he has control over trying to stop people from thinking there might be anything but “ambiguity” between a pair he doesn’t like.

In the case anyone reading has forgotten: the purpose of a wiki should be to provide unbiased information on the material it discusses. Obviously the repeating of “innocuous” statements about how “ambiguous” it all is, in the vain of EG’s now made fun of ‘we don’t know what he really meant by that’ and ‘why Kaworu is so intent for Shinji alone to have happiness remains a mystery’  are pretty obviously intended to downplay the very, very obvious “subtext” and leagues of official information provided.

It kinda goes without saying that WE CAN INFER THESE THINGS FROM THE ACTUAL INFORMATION ON THE WIKI, you don’t need to add a disclaimer to everything going “well we just don’t know what it means!” (even in instances when we do know what it means, but that’s almost besides the point). You don’t need to add in these statements, unless you’re trying to sway people into ignoring what's presented by the show. If you want people to draw their own conclusions, you are in fact capable of presenting information without commentary - in fact, that's kind of the whole point of a wiki. Yes, Eva is ambiguous at times, but talking down to people like they need this reminded to them constantly is an absolute waste of time and energy. It’s almost as if the editor has been trying to cultivate a narrative and has been getting away with it because you can’t really prove these statements are biased unless you do the research. (I mean, you can from context, but it certainly hasn’t done much to get them removed, has it?)

You can view the editing history of any given EvaGeeks article on their own pages if you want to see just how many times these things have been added in by Felipe. And obviously, no, it isn’t just his fault - there are other users, several, in fact, credited with the editing of these pages, many of the edits serving the same point as Felipe’s paragraphs on “ambiguity”. He’s just the most concrete example of a biased editor. Also, yes, I do recognise this has all happened within the few days post the release of Eva on Netflix and that it was likely prompted by that. But we know at least one of the mods is aware of it given how Felipe talks about it in the EvaGeeks Discord server. It’s also quite funny I’ve seen people linking these pages like they're some kind of "gotcha" in response to tweets discussing the new translation, as if they haven’t been invented out of thin air in the past few days.

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Now, frankly I’m sick of staring at EvaGeeks, and if you want any more information on these articles and others with instances of the same thing happening, you can have a look at it yourself.

Originally, this document contained far more screenshots from Felipe. My desire for this to not turn into a hit piece has lead me to remove a great deal of these messages. I do suggest, if you want to, you join the server and make your own conclusions. Even beyond what the member told me about I found myself agreeing with him fairly frequently when he was being reasonable - this doesn't change my concerns regarding the presentation of information on the wiki, though. The anonymous member was mostly concerned about this user having basically all the control over Kaworu's wiki articles, seeing as he has far too high of a stake in everything. Not all of these messages are inflammatory or even necessarily bad or wrong, but I find that to anyone privy to the “revelations” about the EvaGeeks Wiki here, they paint an interesting story, to say the least.

It’s starting to sound like he perhaps has just had some bad experiences. The following few messages are part of the same conversation.

I find it interesting how he flipflops from not understanding anything about the whole Eva Parallelism Theory Thing to suddenly being all for it when it concerns things not about the gay stuff.

Comments on how ‘manipulative’ Kaworu is

Because Kaworu is very pro instrumentality, and this definitely isn’t just a theory, I mean, it’s even talked about on the wiki, guys! (And I’m not even touching on the yes-men in this server.) Oh.

Oh no.

For the record, this page is clearly still under construction, and to point out any one thing about how bad it is would be essentially just poking a stick at a beehive. At least this one is so absolutely poorly phrased it’s doubtful anyone could mistake it for any kind of proper information. I also find it incredibly funny whenever pages on the wiki use the forum as a source. Relevant: Qmisato’s post on his defending of Shinji sexually assaulting Asuka: https://qmisato.tumblr.com/post/183082754484/yesterday-i-was-invited-to-evageeks-official

In response much later. I really can’t see it as being framed as “fun teenage romance”, also why is the word romance suddenly being used to talk about Asuka and Shinji after the whole debacle with Kaworu? He’s said before he doesn’t see Asuka and Shinji’s relationship as romantic, either (and GOOD! It’s not!)

(Also - it’s not sexual assault when Shinji tries to kiss Asuka in her sleep, but it IS when Kaworu does the exact same thing to Shinji? Make up your mind, dude.) Turning this sort of thing into Shipping Discourse is frankly not the right way to go about it, but it is perhaps notable that despite what Felipe says, he is in fact an Asushin shipper. (I don’t feel the need to post all these images in the document as its cluttered enough as it is.) At this point it’s rather adhom and I feel irrelevant but I do think it’s relevant that through all of Eva fandom, those who have the most issue “understanding” (more like accepting, I suppose) LGB subtext, are those who also are really attached to a fairly morally grey het pairing themselves. Again, seriously, there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of this and assuming the worst of someone because of the pairings they like isn’t my intent here, it’s more that I find this pattern has always been prevalent and it’s bothering me I’m seeing it STILL in 2019. ESPECIALLY from a wiki editor who inserts so much of that into his work on the site. 

  You’re probably sick of reading all of this (and I’m getting sick of writing it), so I’ll wrap up the part on Felipe quickly: Yes, I just dedicated several pages to screenshots of mostly innocuous (when considered out of context) stuff one guy had to say. I feel more obsessive than I’d like to admit, and frankly I have no business with this person. We’ve spoken twice on EvaGeeks threads if you can even call it speaking. This task was given to me by a member of the community who was concerned about his behaviour but didn’t want to publicise it themself and I feel a little out of my depth here. I at least hope we can come to the conclusion I wanted to here, that I fear may have been lost in this whole great mess of language - no one person should have THIS much sway over the state of a wiki that’s supposed to be impartial, especially when they have not been quiet with their biases in the first place, and it is the failure of everyone involved in the maintaining of the wiki itself that this sort of behaviour has been allowed in the first place. 

The guy can have whatever opinions and theories he wants, obviously. I don't give a shit; he's not even that bad compared to the grand majority of Eva fans to begin with. Don't think this document exists to "cancel" him or thoughtpolice, I truly, genuinely, do not care what is said inside this server anymore. It doesn't concern me. I mean, it's a fucking cartoon, for god's sake. This only becomes an issue when opinions are expressed on a wiki, for reasons I have reiterated many times now. EvaGeeks lacks the objectivity required to function as a wiki and I'm trying to make that clear. 

[ON THE TOPIC OF THE EVAGEEKS WIKI AND COMMUNITY IN GENERAL] As for who can edit the wiki and what they’re allowed to say: As you can see from the nature of people’s posts in this thread, you’re given access to do very specific things, and although I haven’t bothered going through the process myself (as I find it would be quite redundant, trying to fix such an inherently broken system), I’m guessing it’s very easy to get your edits reversed if you post anything they don’t like. Take that as conjecture of my own.

I have it in decent faith that the approval process involves whoever of the mod team is there at the time coming to an agreement based on people’s applications. Obviously this is a decent idea for a system, and I’m sure there are legitimate reasons as to why EG has to be locked down as much as it is; judging from the state of other fanon wikis I’ve seen there’s likely to be a decent amount of vandalism, especially in a fandom as passionate as Eva’s is. However, I think it’s fair to say that the complete restriction of updating these pages to those approved by a mod team who, while I’m sure are very reasonable people overall, certain individuals of which have displayed concerning behaviour and biases of their own in the server during my brief look around. I won’t be naming anyone in particular from the mod team as I don’t feel like I need to add any more targets of shame to this already horrifically negative document, but I have gotten the general impression (in case it needed confirmation, following the remaining of these specific changes on the wiki) that some mods, not all, aren’t the most nonpartisan individuals themselves. I do happen to be decent acquaintances with at least one of them so, again, please don’t consider this a personal attack.

My concern here plainly is that I don’t think a group of mods who have routinely failed to prevent events like the ones mentioned earlier, nor seem to have much of an issue with the myriad of examples of people being openly homophobic and misogynistic on their own forum are really in the position to be choosing who of the Privelleged Few get to control the Eva meta-narrative here. As I was writing this, I was alerted to the state of the primary Japanese Evangelion wiki as a source of cross referencing for what these things can look like if done right. If you take a moment to browse it, even if you don’t speak any Japanese and have to use an automatic translator it should be very obvious how something like this differs greatly from EvaGeeks. Kaworu’s page, for a relevant example, doesn’t have present any of the nonsense statements about ambiguity or overwritten descriptions of everything. The wiki respects the reader’s intelligence enough to know that it is, in fact, a wiki, and thus tries its best to be factual. His page is fairly decent in size and states things we know are fact rather than theory. There’s no attempt made to influence or confuse.

Oh, and just in case you think the mods aren’t actually active or present enough to know what Felipe is doing, his particularly awful page on Kaworu in episode 24 got a shoutout from the official Twitter account two days ago.  

If you are going to join the Discord server to verify things yourself* or do further digging, again, please be cautious of other users inside and do your best not to start anything. I am an occasional contributor to the forums and I’d prefer not to get my account flagged or to experience harassment myself, if any EvaGeeks members are still reading this document and disagree with my conclusions. I may not have posted much since I joined earlier this year, but despite everything I find the forums to be valuable for connecting with other fans and have enjoyed the positive feedback to my SIRP translation! Those who have spoken to me there have been very kind (including Felipe himself), and I must reiterate that this is not targeted at the whole site, or even at just Felipe. I simply believe there is more than enough evidence to suggest there have been consistent, systematic failures to recognise and correct the utter lack of objectivity present. I seriously don’t have any personal issues or beef with this guy, either. I wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t someone else who came to me about it.

*It should be noted that the person who spoke to me has pointed out certain members have been concerned about outsiders joining and screenshotting the chat. They may remove the public link to join if this document were to cause a huge issue. I will leave the server following the publication of this document and I have no plans to join again. I can’t speak for those who may join of their own accord but I do hope people have heeded the disclaimer I made initially.

Thankyou to all the people who have extended their own kindness and support during the creation of this document, to the anonymous person who tipped me off and the lovely Eva analysts I know for offering their own experiences with EvaGeeks and further supplementary information. If this whole document reads like the product of a bad mental health day, I guess it is. Also yes I know how hilarious it is that I’ve spent all this time creating what essentially amounts to an EVAGEEKS CALLOUT POST but I mean. Someone had to say it. Why not make an utter buffoon of myself in the process?

[satoshi-mochida]

Kadokawa Games will release God Wars: The Complete Legend for PC via Steam worldwide in June, the publisher announced.

The PC version will include new functions and features including mouse and keyboard support, the “Formation” function used to rearrange the alignment of characters in the Formation screen, and another function to automatically place the characters on the map screen.

Here are the details, via Kadokawa Games:

■ New Functions and Features

Below are the details of the improvements made in the PC version of God Wars: Future Past.

(1) Mouse and Keyboard Support

Playable with just a mouse and keyboard, the general control inputs of any PC.

—The status of a character is displayed when you move the mouse pointer over them in battle.

—A smooth page feed is possible by just dragging the scroll bar.

(2) “Formation” Function Added to Change the Order of the Party

This function has been added to Formation screen to rearrange the order of party members.

—The order of the characters can be changed at the top screen when you press the “Formation” button added to the left side of the screen.

—Characters placed on the left side of the Formation will be automatically placed on the battle map in order (explained below).

(3) Automatic Placement Function Added to the Map

At the start of each battle, the characters on the left side of the Formation are automatically and orderly placed on the map.

—For example, on a map which can deploy up to five characters, the characters from the left of the fifth character in the formation are automatically placed.

—Of course, you can rearrange the Formation and characters to be deployed after automatic placement.

Here is an overview of the game itself, via NIS America, which published the PlayStation 4, Switch, and PS Vita versions in the west:

About the Game

God Wars: The Complete Legend is a tactical RPG that explores the untold history of Japan through folklore and tactical combat. Gamers will experience the traditional stories of Japan’s origin through the lens of three warring nations, with a massive expanse of tactical options to develop their strategies from including a myriad of character classes and equipment within innovative and challenging stages.

God Wars: The Complete Legend will feature all of the content and DLC from God Wars: Future Past, as well as a brand-new character, Orihime, and the Legend of Yomi: a new dungeon that outlines the story of Kaguya over 50 stages! The Legend of Yomi includes the prince of Hyuga, Momotaro, his crew as playable characters, and multiple endings. God Wars: The Complete Legend also features quality of life changes that make God Wars: The Complete Legend the definitive release of the game. PS4 and PS Vita owners of God Wars: Future Past will be able to play the new Legend of Yomi DLC on PlayStation Network, as well as the quality of life updates.

About the Story

A long time ago, there was a beautiful land made up of three nations: Fuji, Izumo, and Hyuga. This land was called Mizuho. The people of Mizuho disliked conflict, honored their ancestral spirits, and lived in harmony with nature. However, over time, they began cultivating crops, forging and using metal, fighting wars, destroying nature, and neglecting to honor their ancestral spirits. In the meantime, various locations in Mizuho suffered from natural disasters like flooding, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. In order to stop a destructive eruption, the Queen of Mizuho, Tsukuyomi, sacrificed her beloved daughter Sakuya to the mountain, confined her other daughter Kaguya within a bamboo seal in case of future disasters, and then disappeared. Thirteen years later, Princess Kaguya has grown into a beautiful woman and her childhood friend, Kintaro, saves her during a riot. She rises against her “fate to be a sacrifice,” and in order to follow her own path, they both escape from Fuji and journey across Mizuho to discover the truth behind Tsukuyomi’s decision.

Key Features

A Tale Steeped in Japanese Tradition – Step into Japan as you have never before seen it, and discover the wonder that has captivated orators, storytellers, and generations of people. Discover their stories, and meet the Myriad gods.

A Wealth of Customization and Tactics – Customize 14 playable characters from more than 30 classes with 400+ skills and more than 250 unique pieces of equipment as you mold your party to face each new challenge.

Visuals from Another Age – Inspired by traditional Japanese ink painting and wood carving art, the artwork of God Wars will transport players to an age filled with mythology and wonder.

The Complete Legend – Experience over 100 hours of new content in the Legend of Yomi, as well as the complete story from God Wars: Future Past, including all of its DLC, and updates to the game’s mechanics to perfect your strategy!

Here are the required specifications for the PC version:

OS

Minimum Requirements: Windows 10 / 8 / 7

Recommended Specifications: Windows 10 / 8 / 7

Processor

Minimum Requirements: Core2 Duo 2.60 Ghz

Recommended Specifications: Core i5-2500 3.30 GHz

Memory

Minimum Requirements: 2 GB RAM

Recommended Specifications: 4 GB RAM

Graphics

Minimum Requirements: GeForce 9500 GT

Recommended Specifications: GeForce GTS 450

DirectX

Minimum Requirements: Version 9.0c

Recommended Specifications: Version 9.0c

Storage

Minimum Requirements: 4 GB available

Recommended Specifications: 4 GB available

Sound Card

Minimum Requirements: On-board chipset

Recommended Specifications: On-board chipset

Here are two new artworks:

Finally, watch the trailer for the PC version below.

[thegoodleague]

What is the EndoCannabinoid system

In at this time's weight aware world persons are all the time looking out for a brand new miracle weight reduction tablet or drug that may assist them shortly and safely slim down with out disagreeable unwanted effects. One of many newest and most promising to hit the European market is Acomplia, also referred to as Rimonabant. In scientific trials performed over a yr a 3rd of overweight sufferers misplaced ten % of their physique weight, whereas two thirds misplaced over 5 % of their physique weight. These compelling outcomes recommend this exceptional new product could be the burden loss tablet pissed off dieters have been ready for, and for these struggling to lose giant quantities of weight it would even be a lifesaver. What is the EndoCannabinoid system

Not like different weight reduction tablets which often suppress the urge for food by the usage of stimulants similar to caffeine or ephedrine, usually leading to undesirable unwanted effects, Acomplia suppresses the urge for food by instantly appearing on the Endocannabinoid system, the a part of the mind which is liable for the urge to overeat. By the way additionally it is liable for the urge to smoke which suggests Acomplia may additionally be a brand new device to assist people give up. This promising new drug has additionally been proven to enhance insulin sensitivity and enhance HDL ldl cholesterol (the great ldl cholesterol) so its advantages could nicely prolong past simply weight reduction; it may doubtlessly be a brand new weapon within the conflict towards sort 2 diabetes, liver illness and even coronary heart illness that are all lethal issues ensuing from weight problems.

Though it's pending approval within the USA it's broadly accessible for buy over the web by abroad distributors and it's anticipated to be authorised very quickly beneath the identify Zimulti. People who're struggling to lose giant quantities of weight and are considering surgical procedure or different drastic means may wish to think about it as a substitute. Negative effects have been proven to be minimal in comparison with different weight reduction tablets and its outcomes have been clinically confirmed. Observe up research have additionally proven that people who took the tablets for a yr after the preliminary exams stored the burden off. It delivers what different merchandise solely promise, everlasting weight reduction, and it's the solely weight reduction tablet of its type in the marketplace at this time.

Learn More

Along with life-style adjustments and train Acomplia exhibits indicators of being an awesome device to not solely assist obese individuals lose the surplus kilos, but additionally as a precious weapon within the conflict towards many weight associated diseases similar to coronary heart illness and diabetes. Being significantly obese isn't just a matter of trying unattractive in a washing swimsuit; it is doubtlessly lethal, and it is an issue that must be addressed. In case you are bored with fat burners that fail to reside as much as their guarantees and wish to lose the burden and hold it off for good this may be the miracle you will have been ready for. Do not wait, drop extra pounds now and (and eternally) with Acomplia.

Anxiousness dysfunction is a prevalent psychological sickness characterised by idiopathic fears, worries, impulsive conduct and plenty of extra. There are many sub-types similar to social phobia, OCD, generalized nervousness dysfunction and panic dysfunction, which manifest themselves in various signs (with a substantial overlap), however all of them steadily reply to a standard remedy. How does the mind precisely evoke nervousness and whether or not it originates from a standard trigger is left to dialogue, nonetheless there have been proposed quite a few theories upon which many types of remedy are primarily based:

1. Train - Performing aeorobic bodily actions has been proposed to activate the endocannabinoid system leading to a so known as runner's excessive. Binding of anandamide to its corresponding receptor websites can result in ache aid and temper enhancement. Moreover does train promote neuronal development throughout the mind. This neurotrophic impact may be appreciated by many as nervousness/melancholy usually lead to elevated cortisol ranges (hypercortisolemia), which has a neurotoxic impact in extra.

2. Weight loss plan - Consuming extra of sugars will lead to speedy temper biking: you may expertise a brief aid by consuming one thing candy, however know that it will not final lengthy and sure emphasize melancholy due to the distinction it may induce. Consuming espresso can also be one thing to think about avoiding because it prompts adrenergic receptor websites (alpha 1 and a couple of), agonists at alpha 1 (similar to espresso) have been proven to induce anxiogenic results in topics. Adhering to protein wealthy meals with an ample carbohydrate consumption is suggested.

Related Links:

https://www.healthline.com/health/endocannabinoid-system

https://www.jyi.org/2018-june/2018/6/1/the-endocannabinoid-system-our-universal-regulator

Three. Dietary supplements - It has been lengthy thought that psychiatric issues come up from the scarcity of neurotransmitters/neuromodulators working our brains. This and potential regional malfunctions (cingular cortex, amygdala, substantia nigra and many others.) are the doubtless criminals implicated in a big selection of psychological issues. All of those require correct enzymes, proteins and different substances to function accurately. Subsequently supplementing your self with nutritional vitamins (B and C largely) and Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium, Omega-Three, Lecithin and others may show helpful by eliminating potential deficiencies, which may be including to and even be the only real reason behind the dysfunction.

four. Medicine - Prescription remedy is a standard accent of many psychiatric sufferers. The spectrum of accessible anxiolytics is reasonably large, providing totally different approaches involving totally different pharmacodynamics. The etiology of an nervousness dysfunction isn't similar amongst all victims, opposite to what many psychiatrists and physicians assume, making selecting the right tablet a matter of experimentation. The intricacy and heterogenity of our central nervous system don't allow for generalizations: e.g your nervousness may emanate from a vitamin deficiency whereas my nervousness ca be a results of receptor hyper-sensitivity. Subsequently beginning with an choice presenting the most effective facet impact to efficacy ratio is suggested.

5. Meditation - Practices similar to meditation have been revealed to help the expansion of grey matter, construction related to intelligence, and convey extra order right into a dysfunction by enhancing focusing and choice making abilities. Meditating every day for 10-20 minutes will allow your thoughts to relaxation and make amends to the plaguing dysfunction. Moreover a way as such permits one to research the sources of misery and makes a dysfunction extra accessible for corrections.

These are solely few practices utilized by myriad nervousness victims to fight their signs. The effectivity of every of those approaches will differ amongst people primarily due to subjective causes similar to etiology of the dysfunction and private psychology. Nonetheless by combining a number of approaches (not by carrying them out concurrently, however in a sequence and steadily) you'll maximize the potential good points. Moreover some strategies may work in a synergy similar to train and supplementation: the train will increase consumption and utilization of ions,minerals,nutritional vitamins and different bodily fuels so supplementation of those will improve the impact of train.

To be concise: due to discrepant dysfunction etiologies the person is suggested to experiment with totally different strategies and if potential co-administer them to attain a extra vital symptom discount.

Related Topics:

Benefits Of CBD Oil

history of Cannabis

[pokemonruby]

waking up with amnesia au / soulmates au for sormik?

YO i finally finished this (idk why it took me 5 whole days i apologize) and i think it turned out p good! if this gets notes i may upload it on ao3 heh heh. anywho rip mobile users since this is way longer than what a “short story” should be oops.

Those bright, viridescent eyes were unmistakable to the time-honored Seraph; they were once–scarcely seven-hundred eons prior to this abrupt confrontation–illuminated by a sense of resolution to liberate those tainted individuals from the malevolence which infested them like an unfaltering virus. Those unaware were enchanted by its deadly spell and transformed into monstrous forms without hope of returning to humankind; however, he blazed throughout the kingdom whilst accompanied by the Ceremonial Sword, gnarled by the blue-ish flames of purity–the “Shepherd”, is whom they referred to this courageous man as within his uncharted past. In accordance to that legendary title blessed upon him by the Five Lords who govern this realm, he was entitled to shoulder the burdens of a wholehearted hero and consequently sacrifice his entire being to ensure a future of peacefulness for his treasured ones–for all of Glenwood, and beyond. Alas, the Shepherd was guided to a deep and long-established slumber that many foresaw he’d never wake from; to never be wreathed in those smiles, comparable to a pasture filled with untold sunflowers. Now, Mikleo beheld his dearest companion (whom was identical to his original statute; notwithstanding of the minor wreckage which embellished his chestnut-colored locks, for they were within the midst of a decaying temple) as if those centuries hadn’t transpired at all; it felt dreamlike, and he floundered to restrain the sobs of wholehearted joy. Even whilst time has relentlessly tore them apart from one another, the feelings Mikleo possessed for him refused to waver–the love for Sorey.

….However, Sorey’s angelic gaze lacked a sense of familiarity toward the elder individual–perhaps, it was in consequence to the effect these unbounded centuries bestowed upon Mikleo; for instance, his hair, which was decorated by the fragments of the purest snow to a common mortal’s eyes, has become rather unshorn and was positioned into a sturdy ponytail. Or, how the admittedly “inexperienced” demeanor he wore throughout their fabled journey was substituted for one of an adult matureness–after all, upon the departures of his closest allies (those whom were acquainted with humankind, such as Sorey and even Rose eventually fell victim to the accursed, short lifespans these delicate creatures are imparted with) Mikleo’s world was encountered by a drastic and unwilling change; he felt obligated to ward off the tears, so his fellow Seraphim wouldn’t fear for him, nor his banishment into an ocean of eternal loneliness–there were a myriad of occasions where he vowed he’d drown, for the surface was no longer within his wounded sights. No, it wasn’t acceptable that Sorey–the person whom he’s regarded so highly, like he were a deity, since their childhood, could simply disremember him like he were but an hallucination from a distant past….Right?

Mikleo’s clothed finger-tips were enclosed around the younger individual’s like indestructible binds, and his once, sophisticated gaze became lachrymose due to his desperation and woe–the Shepherd was taken by surprise of how tightly they squeezed his callused palms; regardless of that, he maintained a curious silence upon the greeting of each of their eyes, like he were waiting for those passionate words to spill from his quivering lips. “….Sorey,” he croaked–it was as if Glenwood, or rather, the whole universe was deteriorating all around them and this sentence was the conclusion of their lives; these intense feelings he must convey to Sorey, or the claws of malevolence may imprison him within a cage without a keyhole or possible escape route. Perhaps, it was too theatrical for his tastes–however, for centuries has Mikleo believed his sincerest, and most beloved companion may never witness the magnificent light a new dawn ever again; his aspirations and hopes reduced to a mere erection of ash. His voice was gentler than a rabbit’s footsteps amongst a snowfield, threatening to collapse at any given moment–he abhorred how his weaknesses were disclosed before Sorey within this fragile moment, for this was meant as a heartwarming reunion between the pair; that is, if the former possessed any recollection of his childhood love. “….it’s me, Mikleo. Please, tell me that you remember….at least a little? I….I understood the risks when you decided to sacrifice yourself for the greater good, but if you were truly reincarnated as a member of my race, then….you couldn’t have forgotten about your dearest friend, right?….Right?”

“I–….I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t remember anything besides my own name; I was guided to these ruins by a voice, per se, and you had nearly fallen so–woah, are you alright?” The teardrops were cascading down the elder Seraph’s face like a rapid waterfall; his cheeks had grown embarrassingly flushed, his weaknesses disclosed before the eyes of the muddled Sorey, whose garmented hand was lightly rest upon the other’s twitching shoulder-blade. It was heartbreaking to witness Mikleo, an individual that oft concealed his sadness for the benefit of his friends–so they wouldn’t fret over his welfare like you would a small child, and hence the melancholic dews were restrained beneath an impenetrable fortress none shall enter. A response was unneeded for Mikleo’s fingers to latch onto the spine of the younger man and subsequently, encountered the midst of Sorey’s chest with his nose; thus, his despairing whimpers were muffled and all Sorey could perform was gawk, open-mouthed. However, hands of an unadulterated warmth were bestowed upon Mikleo’s own vertebrae–they belonged to none but his dear friend, he understood; even if time itself had seized the Shepherd’s core memories, his kindness refused to simply fade….that’s the discrete trait which constructs whom Sorey is as a person, after all. However….

He doesn’t remember me. I should have expected it–after all, it’s rare for those reincarnated as Seraphim to evoke memories of their past lives; however, that sliver of fate was by my side throughout these seven-hundred or so years I’ve endured, merely waiting for him to return. Authentic words were impractical for Mikleo whilst his own vocal cords were sabotaged by a chain of relentless weeping–it felt like he were choking on his own tears, this lamentable reunion but a grim reminder of the centuries he spent isolated due to these conflicting emotions; unable to converse with Lailah, or Edna, or Zaveid–they remained in that distant past of theirs, wherein they journeyed throughout Glenwood with aspirations for a brighter future, how the Shepherd so earnestly called for his name upon their entrance in newfangled lands. For they were raised in the forsaken mountainous region with little to no knowledge of the outermost world, of the many wonders which lied throughout the kingdoms prepared for their vehement eyes to uncover. Regrettably had this hero’s magnificent tale entombed into the sands of time and thus, Mikleo could only reminisce of those peaceful days whilst accompanied by a woeful expression. His grip on the younger man’s garments tightened, if at all possible–it’s ascertain that his knuckles were painted with a qualmish hue of white. At the very least, I should be grateful he’s come back to me. Even….whilst he’s forgotten everything about me, that doesn’t mean I’m alone anymore….Someone, please tell me that I’m right. That he won’t leave me again!

“Sorey, pl….please….”

“Huh?”

It’d be unsurprising for Mikleo’s own dignity to vanish by now, for his dearest was faced with such a weak side to himself–these interminable tears which decorated both the Earth beneath and his pale-colored garbs; this was the rare case wherein this blatant humiliation has not bestowed such redness upon his cheeks, rather shattered the nerves of all those surrounding him. Nonetheless, he mustered the courage to properly encounter Sorey’s concerned gaze–they were as gorgeous as he recalled, like a twosome of exquisite emeralds harvested from the depths of an ancient mine.  "Don–….don’t….go, Sorey.“ Mikleo murmured, for his voice was comparable to that of the fragilest pieces of glassware; if proper heedfulness wasn’t exercised, it may crumble at any given moment. Fleetingly, his eyelashes had birthed a few droplets which collapsed upon each of Sorey’s thighs–his expression had shifted abruptly within that small second, from confusion to a recognizable sense of melancholy–it encouraged his palms of an unearthly gentleness to comb through Mikleo’s tousled locks. ”….I….I couldn’t bear to experience that loneliness ever again, so I’m begging that you’d never leave my side. I’ve spent nearly a thousand years waiting for you, Sorey….even if I’m a mere stranger to you now, please promise me that one thing. For a life without you….is completely empty.“

                                                        –

”….Mikleo, this novel you composed is beyond fantastic–it’s almost like I’m walking through history itself! The legend of the renowned “Shepherd” whom brandished a sword and swept throughout these lands to liberate those tainted by the malevolence….it’s unbelievable that you had once accompanied this hero on their journey, and were able to behold these manifesting fables from the past! I….I can’t help but be envious.“ It’s apparent those dreadful centuries have purloined the memories from the days of yore wherein Sorey and his companions once roamed across the kingdoms to establish a never-ending harmony, however none of the influential forces within realm could possibly deprive him of his overwhelming passion–it twinkled through his pair of gem-like eyes, which engendered a minor chuckle from Mikleo, whose hands were preoccupied with the kettle in another section of the makeshift home; it was their temporary resting area until they proceeded with their runic discoveries. To separate Sorey from the thick-paged tome may prove to be challenging, for his attention was glued to it like his eternal lifespan depended on it for nourishment–needless to say, the mature Seraph hadn’t anticipated for such unabating praise. Eventually, Sorey’s smile had descended slightly and the object was gently closed, thereafter placing it upon the nearest table. He continued, although with a softer tone. ”….You mistook me for the Shepherd, didn’t you? That time ago, when we encountered one another within the profundity of those magnificent ruins….you latched onto me and cried your heart out, Mikleo. I wanted to help, but….all I could do was say that you’ll reunite with them one day–that “goodbyes” don’t simply last forever. Like me, perhaps….they’ll be reincarnated as a kin of the Seraphim and hopefully maintain some recollection of their former life.“

”….Yes, I hope so too. Sor–I mean, my dearest friend, risked everything to ensure peace would finally overrun the kingdoms of Hyland and Rolance, perhaps beyond. After all, the responsibilities of a Shepherd don’t merely lie with those closest to them–rather, they are burdened with the entire world upon their shoulders. However, the beginning of our great journey attempted to forge distance between us for they presumed I….hadn’t wished for such a future alongside them, and that I should pursue my own aspirations after we were freed from Zenrus’s domain. How hilariously wrong they were, for….my dream was always to remain by their side, even if the malevolence tore us apart time after time. Bittersweet, if you ask me.“ Mirth embellished the smile resting upon Mikleo’s features as he accessed the living-space which detained the younger individual; his fingers were preoccupied with a duo of teacups, which emitted the fresh and captivating aroma of the greenish beverages. The tray was deposited onto the table neighboring the legendary novel; the cover was shrouded in an abundance of dust in consequence to the hundreds of years since it was published for both Seraphim and humankind to peruse. It’s the very connection Sorey once yearned for between the two races, for the latter was incarcerated behind a wall of transparency and unnumbered folklore or myths–it was Mikleo’s duty to uphold those aspirations of his, he decided. Softer, he continued. ”….Alas, they selflessly pursued a journey that few may return from unscathed; I’ve waited for hi–them for centuries upon centuries, and….it’s a challenge not to lose hope, especially when it’s not guaranteed their memories shall resurface. However, Sorey….I do appreciate your words, regardless of whether the person I’m searching for may truly come back to me, or not. Thank you….“

”….There’s no need to thank me, Mikleo; I’m just grateful to know a person as kind-hearted as you. It may sound cliché, but….it’s almost like a “red string of fate” brought us together, you know? I mean, for months had I wandered throughout this kingdom attempting to unearth my purpose–the fellow Seraphim wouldn’t even glance in my direction, nor would they provide any assistance to somebody without memories a whole. It was….lonely, needless to say.“ Briefly had the former Shepherd paused his statement to place the teacup closest to bridge of his lower lip, and the aforementioned pleasant aroma infiltrated his nostrils like a harmonious breeze–the taste itself was comparable as it kissed Sorey’s tongue, which encouraged him to drone quietly and smile in Mikleo’s direction, as if bestowing upon him silent applause for the delectable beverage. ”….Then, Mikleo….I met you, and abruptly had that loneliness of mine perish into nothingness–one could say our encounter was predestined, even. Or, perhaps your eloquent writing has inspired me to believe such a concept. Either way, I’m glad I was reincarnated as a member of the Seraphim–or else I’d never be able to spark a conversation with you, as a common human. Still, I wish my memories weren’t such a blurr….Who was I within my past life, exactly? Hopefully, one of these days….I’ll be able to discover that truth.“

I know you will, Sorey–after all, you’re still as much of an idealist as you were centuries ago. Naturally were those words not mentioned orally in consequence to the unawareness of their everlasting bond, imprisoned within those memories Sorey has implored so eagerly for–however, the elder one was incapable of suppressing the wistfulness which shaped upon his expression through a pair of half-lidded eyes and the gentlest smile; Mikleo was positive it would ultimately disenthrall and give birth to his less desirable state, still haunted by the weaknesses he exposed to his former companion upon their one-sided reunion. Instead, a sigh was exaggerated and Mikleo spoke with his traditional forte; composed, however the remedy was also flecked by a sense of derision. ”….Well, I plan to journey throughout the continent in search for new material for my forthcoming book; the “Legends of the Shepherd, the Four Trials”–it’s something you’ll enjoy, I’m sure. Many had advocated the possibilities of a Seraph’s memories returning if they were to revisit locations they were accustomed to as a human, and henceforth, I’d….make no objections if you were to accompany me on my quest, per se–“ The remainder of his sentence was left unspoken for fingers were abruptly captured by the starry-eyed Sorey–previously, the teacup was deposited haphazardly upon the ligneous platter and threatened to collapse with the smallest movement. Fleetingly, Mikleo’s heartbeat had frolicked due to the action; he’s nearly disremembered of the warmth which envelops Sorey like sunlight, the discrete trait that impelled the snow-haired man to fall so hopelessly for him. "S-Sorey….?”

“….I’m never going to abandon you, Mikleo–that’s the decision I’ve come to, and one I shall not back out on. Alright?” His benevolent words enforced the grin to manifest upon Sorey’s features and thereafter, ushered his elder friend onto both feet to continue with his previous statement, whilst their palms were strengthened into a study grip–much to the discernible embarrassment of Mikleo, who was peppered by the vibrant hue of crimson from front to earlobes. It was extraordinary how a simple gesture could cast an unconquerable flame to engulf his heart, like Sorey’s appearance alone had torn these passionate feelings asunder–the impulse to lure him into an everlasting kiss, to fasten the bond severed by the ruthless centuries which purloined Sorey’s golden memories. Fleetingly, Mikleo vowed their lips establish contact between one another until the former Shepherd released the fingers and took a step back. “….Now, c'mon–let’s forget about this solemn atmosphere and investigate some more ruins–ah, the Ruins of Marlind are nearby, right? I wanna go!” Starry-eyed again; it appeared the childishness he possessed as a human refused to disappear as well–after all, it wouldn’t be “Sorey” if not for the existence of antiquated civilizations and relics of an era beyond their imaginations. However, this had influenced the small laughter to escape Mikleo’s pursed mouth, and he answered with the gentlest nod. Sorey’s eyes shined brighter, if at all possible. “….Woo-hoo! I can’t wait to explore every inch of this realm with you, Mikleo! It’ll be like a new adventure, you know?”

“….Very well, Sorey.” And thank you.

For them to arrive within the aforementioned town of Marlind would require a handful of days, and therefore had Mikleo prepared for the forthcoming journey by organizing a satchel filled with certain necessities–such as spare garments and ingredients for dishes that appealed to Sorey’s discrete taste (it’s acknowledged that Seraphim needn’t fret over satisfying their non-existent ravenousness, however they have grown accustomed to humankind’s lifestyle and hence, they follow through with it). Earnestly had the previous Shepherd awaited for his companion neighboring the entrance of the dilapidated establishment, whilst he released a sequence of enthusiastic drones and tapped the back of his heel against the ligneous floorboard beneath. The door was unlatched upon Mikleo’s emergence from the living-room and subsequently, their departure from the forsaken cottage within the midst of the greenwood kindle the beginning of the “adventure” Sorey had yearned for. The breeze of a midsummer caressed his spine like an elegant melody–one, in which, he’s grown accustomed to, for the young Seraph’s expression was conquered by a mammoth grin; it radiated brighter than that of diamonds, Mikleo thoughtlessly noted. Ahead, a cliff embellished by the wildflowers of indigo and paler hues had tempted the duo toward it, or rather….to disclose the magnificent lands which co-existed all around them, an enchantment which Sorey fell victim too. Undoubtedly, the world had transformed during the near millennium wherein he was imprisoned by the depths of slumber–however, its beauty never faded once; Mikleo knew that personally, for he’s braved several lifespans of traveling across each kingdom to preserve the dream he’s always shared with Sorey. Yes, to ensure the legacy of “Shepherd Sorey” is kept alive by protecting this realm he treasured so much with all of his strength. Mikleo’s gaze was summoned by the mountains which lied in the distance and enwrapped by the firmament’s mist–it was comparable to a wondrous piece of artwork, and a smile briefly manifested upon his rose-kissed features. “….Isn’t it amazing, Mikleo?” He overheard Sorey murmur.

“….It truly is, Sorey.”

Thereafter, Mikleo’s eyes were imparted upon the sun’s embodiment who continued to observe the infinite grasslands encompassing them–unbeknownst to Sorey, he resembled that of a champion who’s returned from a long-established battleground and stood upon this ledge like he’s triumphed over hundreds of them. Although he was no longer chaperoned by that sword which liberates those haunted by the malevolence, his courageousness lived on within the generations of new Shepherds whom fight on behalf of his legacy. However, not once had Mikleo allied himself with those aspiring heroes–after all, he’s always waited for the return of he, whom he referred to as his “one and only”–the individual who brightened the world of desolation that has erected around him with a mere smile. It’s doubtful whether Sorey shall achieve his memories of the grand adventure he, as well as his legion of close companions, once embarked on–let alone, the childhood he and Mikleo spent together, investigating relics from a bygone time and thus, heeding the morals inscribed into the “Celestial Record”. Regardless, they were still attached to one another by some divine force….perhaps, the reddened knot Sorey had formerly described to him? Either way, fate itself has already prophesied this pair would remain together until the conclusion of time–as Seraphim, it wasn’t an impossible feat. The emotions which flourished within Mikleo needn’t be returned by the younger one, for he simply didn’t wish to collapse into that void of loneliness again–his heart, however, spoke differently; the three-worded concept that has danced alongside him since his initial encounter with Sorey.

I love you, Sorey. Those feelings of mine won’t change in a hundred years, nor a thousand. You may have forgotten all that we’ve braved through together–from the good, and the bad, but….I’m not afraid to forge new memories with you, my dearest. After all, our journey….it never truly ended, did it?

“….Let’s set off for Marlind now, Sorey.”

[guildofbookworkers-blog]

Coming soon to a mailbox near you…

What an odd-duck community we are:  students and practitioners of the book crafts, devoted to a centuries-old technology and the arts that adorn and grow out of it, even as the twenty-first century’s information crackles through the very ether.  New portals and modes of communication are burgeoning around us, and this Guild of Book Workers blog is one of them, offering us a new opportunity to increase our contact and conversation with each other, encouraging us to further exchanges of ideas.

Amid all this humming activity, what more bold communication experiment could we imagine than re-envisioning an actual print journal?  A deliver-it-by-mail, pull-it-from-the-mailbox, hold-it-in-your-hands, turn-the-pages, good old-fashioned booklike sort of thing.  It almost seems crazy.  And yet, we’re committed to the physical book for a host of reasons, all of which are up for lots and lots of animated discussion of the old-fashioned sort (phone conversations) and the older-fashioned sort (letters) and the newfangled sort (online) and the oldest-fashioned sort of all (talking).

Here, on this blog, the newfangled joins hands with the classic.  Any day now, Guild of Book Workers members will open their mailboxes and find a copy of the newly redesigned, reconceived Journal.  (Not a member?  Order a copy here, or better still, join here!) Look at it, read it at your leisure, mull it over, then discuss it.  That’s the best part of the experiment:  It doesn’t end with the printed page.  It only begins there.  It continues here with your comments.  Future posts will invite conversation about particular articles; right now we want to hear anything and everything you have to say about this issue.

Cara Schlesinger, Editor

Table of Contents

The Education of Daniel Kelm / by Alegria Barclay, with a gallery of bindings and artist’s books by Daniel Kelm

Daniel Kelm is best known for his innovative and thought-provoking artist books.  However, he is as talented a teacher as he is an artist.  And as a man of myriad talents, he has devoted his life to sharing his passion with others.

Mary Crease Sears: A Complete Bookbinder / by Kristin Parker

Mary Crease Sears was a Boston bookbinder, active from about 1900, taking commissions until her death in 1938. Almost nothing has been written about her in the surveys about bookbinding history in America. Attention was paid to women bookbinders through the annual Expositions held in various cities, implying that bookbinding at the turn of the century straddled the line between fine art and industry. Do we know little about Sears because she chose to concentrate on individual commissions, rather than publishers bindings, which were produced in quantity?

Ergonomics and Injury Prevention in the Book and Paper Lab / by Douglas Sanders and Nicole Wolfersberger

Book and paper conservators complete their work with small and precise tools performing detailed, repetitive tasks.  The tools are tailored to the job, rather than to the physical needs of the worker.  This, combined with problematic workspace and poor posture and work habits, may contribute to repetitive strain injuries that, if left unchecked, can become more and more serious with time.  But the causes of repetitive strain injuries in the book and paper lab can be identified, and the effects can be curbed.

The Pilgrimage: Journey to a World of Books in Spain / by Wilfredo A. Geigel

Serious bibliophiles or booklovers should travel to Spain for a visit to its archives and libraries at least once in their lifetime with no less devotion than that of the Muslims in their required visit to Mecca as prescribed by Islamic law. The trove of magnificent manuscripts and printed works preserved in the Spanish institutions is emblematic of the artistic and cultural richness of the Iberian Peninsula, a feat that is difficult to equate or surpass by many other countries.

Der Pressbengel/The Bone Folder: A Dialogue Between an Aesthetically-Inclined Bibliophile and a Well-Versed-In-All-Aspects-of-the-Craft Bookbinder by Ernst Collin / Translated and introduced by Peter D. Verheyen

Der Pressbengel, by Ernst Collin, was originally published in German in 1922.  This is its first translation into English. Conceived as a dialogue between a bibliophile and a master bookbinder on all aspects of the bookbinding craft as well as specific techniques, the text also addresses the conflicts between quality and cost and matters of good taste. An introduction by the translator discusses the historical context of the decline of formal training, a trend that continues today.

Where Does the Catalog Go?  Surveys of Old Printed Books, What We Can Learn from Them, and Why They Matter / by Matthew Davis

There is a danger in approaching electronic versions of early printed texts in the same way we might a modern text: Early hand-printed books often contained multiple errors that were corrected throughout the print run.  If these works are digitized, readers and scholars may run the risk of mistaking any single electronic version as authoritative.  The case of the 1679 Works of that Famous English Poet, Mr. Edmund Spenser shows why comparison of the errors in all available copies of a text is necessary before authoritative status can be determined.

Exploring the Book(Cases): The Art of Books, Museums, and Digital Culture / by Courtney Weida

Artists’ books are a unique metaphorical threshold between text/narrative and image/object with rich poetic, visual, and tactile content. Within the context of a museum, these handcrafted and handheld artifacts of material culture offer a window into the potentialities and problems of the book arts, particularly in the overlapping contexts of digital culture.

Accordion and Tunnel Books: Twenty Years of Exploration and Constructing a Tunnel Book / by Randolph Huebsch

Accordion and tunnel books are centuries-old structures whose basic simplicity allows for wide and playful experimentation. Book artists are increasingly exploring these forms, drawing on methods from etching to cut paper to photocopying and beyond, and ranging in size from a single sheet of paper to larger-than-life interactive sculptural works.  The possibilities arising from the combination of panels, accordion strips, and hinges are endless.

[rightsidenews]

6 Powerful Ways to Reclaim Your Identity From Identity Politics

Ash Sharp Editor

#WhiteLivesMatter is a Bad Idea.

In its modern incarnation, Identity Politics is a reductive collectivist tactic to quickly form ingroup/outgroup biases.

What I mean by this is that by accepting the Neo-Marxist concepts of the progressive stack and Oppression Theory, we begin to align ourselves with people ideologically similar to ourselves- and in ways that would have been impossible until now.

A fragmented sense of self is inevitable.

As I described in my piece on Neo-Marxism, the replacement for God, country or kinship is now the nebulous ‘diversity’. The perennial opponent will forever be the White, as white is not diverse. White is blank. White represents hegemony, in countries where the population is mostly White, and the colonialist/slaver to all peoples who are not White. White is a perfect boogeyman.

We live in an age where identity politics is so pernicious that it has even fed back into the prevailing liberal culture. Where for some decades the dominant social meme has been an individualistic one, now it appears that collectivism is to strangle that dream.

Munroe Bergdorf is not a victim of racism. She is a perpetrator of it. So pernicious is Neo-Marxist ideology in Britain that a Transsexual mixed race person can go on to statefunded TV and call white people the most destructive force on Earth. Imagine, a TV station funded mostly by white people and broadcasting to white people is to tell them they are inherently racist. It is an Original Sin. She tells us this bravely, as she says

“that if the United Kingdom took her oppression seriously, she would be listened to and taken seriously, rather than ridiculed or threatened with death.”

It’s almost like there’s an agenda at play here. I agree that no-one should be threatened with death unless they are actively trying to kill or otherwise harm people in the most heinous fashion, but this does not mean that anyone should take her seriously either. This is particularly true when Britain is one of, if not the most, least racist countries on Earth.

Ms Bergdorf will wait a long time for Whites to acknowledge their guilt under these circumstances. While a majority of White America now think discrimination against Whites exists, we are faced with a conundrum. If feelings are as useful as facts, and Whites are now feeling oppressed, it behooves the Neo-Marxists to Listen and Believe their stories of oppression. This would require Neo-Marxists to be logically consistent- so don’t bet on it happening anytime soon.

Instead, the Neo-Marxists would claim that White Privilege is protection enough, and sorry, you don’t get to play Identity Politics in the 2017 season. Try again next year. Unfortunately for them, there is no barrier to entering the field, bar the willingness to be called a racist for doing so. Seeing as ideologues like Ms Bergdorf call all White people racist by default, by birth and by culture, can we say that we are surprised by the rise in popularity of White identitarian movements?

More to the point, can we now see that the Classical Liberal foundations of what we consider to be modern Western civilisation are all too easily subverted by collectivists?

In troubled times it is natural for one to look for strength in numbers, for the easy camaraderie of similar interests- to reject the individualistic goal of the liberal society. This is true of all of us. In such times, it falls to the leadership of nations to provide what they are put in power to provide; a path. A goal. Reassurance that our values are defended from those who would corrupt them or overthrow them for their own anti-democratic interests.

Here’s how to utterly fail to do that.

This is Theresa May, the leader of the Conservatives in Britain. She talks in vague terms about vision, plans, and British values, while defining none of these things and doing nothing except crushing the life out of my country by having no sense of direction and trying to pander to groups who despise everything that she stands for.

It is this utter failure of centrist parties like the Conservatives in the UK and both sides of Congress in the US that allows identitarianism to flourish.

What shapes our identity? Is race a factor? Only if you are not White. It’s OK for everyone, except Whites. That’s fine, according to Neo-Marxist philosophy, because whites are the de-facto oppressors, purely based on the colour of their skin. Tell that to the Tutsis.

We must accept that there is a racial element to culture. It is evident that this is true in that most country and western singers are white, while most hip-hop artists are black. It follows that people of all ethnic backgrounds appreciate the art and music of other cultures, as evidenced by hip-hop now being more popular than rock music. It is evident again in that Americans define themselves as ‘Ethnicity + American’.

Good talk.

If we can understand such a simple corollary, then we also understand that there is a racial element to national identity too. As a mongrel Briton of no particularly unique origin, I have had the fortune to experience as an outsider the cultures of my friends in Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire and the Midlands, all of which have varying elements of their unique ethnic histories. As a foreigner in other lands, I have noticed the racial and ethnic influences on other countries, from North Africa and the Middle East to my wife’s homeland of Poland and our current home of Spain. The beauty for me has been in recognising the differences and the commonalities inherent within our cultures- this is how we are able to live in peace with our neighbours, to understand that their goals are not ours, but we can avoid conflict nonetheless, through dialogue.

We are distinct peoples. It is the valuing of people that leads me to reject mindless multiculturalism as proposed by the leftist. For all Mr Trudeau of Ottawa likes to bleat about it,** ‘value pluralism’** does not sell well to the public, and never has.

‘Life may be seen through many windows, none of them necessarily clear or opaque, less or more distorting than any of the others’. ~ Isaiah Berlin.

You might understand this as cultural relativism. There is no truth, only opinion.

I reject this.

In this mindset, all cultures are equal from all positions. Your love for your Italian culture (for example) should be worth no more to you than my British. The flaw here is obvious. You have far more kinship with Italy than the UK, so the only way for you to consider our cultures equal in your heart is for me to force you to do so.

This milquetoast approach to differences in cultures is driven by a desire to protect society from racism, but in fact, only promotes it. I am forbidden from thinking less of your culture, but in order to treat all cultures with equal respect as I would my own, I must compare them. In the comparison, I can clearly see that the culinary arts of Italy far outstrip those of my country. Perhaps I become jealous of this. I can also see that my people have been better at making reliable automobiles than yours, and have a less corrupt government (just about). Perhaps I commit the sin of Pride.

“Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words” (Gen 37:8)

Even as someone without faith, the Biblical story of Joseph is a clear example of where Mankind still lives.

The point is in comparison we recognise the differences that, instead of celebrating, we are simply not allowed to think about, and so leave us sinful.

I deliberately used two European nations here to illuminate for you how difficult this is even without the addition of racial politics. Cheerfully, Liberal philosophy agree with me.

“Their liberalism forces them to call any doubts about human equality a result of irrational bias. Yet their connoisseurship [of diversity] forces them to realise that most of the globe’s inhabitants do not believe in equality, that such a belief is a Western eccentricity. Since they think it would be shockingly ethnocentric to say ‘So what? We Western liberals do believe in it, and so much the better for us’, they are stuck.” ~ Richard Rorty

It is not to say that a person from one culture is beholden to that culture for all time. We see the evidence of people adopting new cultural norms in second-generation immigrants and what the left sneeringly calls cultural appropriation. We also see the failure of integration and the pastiche of mocking other cultures for their difference.

It is possible for people to integrate and become part of cultures that are not their own. It is possible to appreciate other cultures without cheapening them. This is the same issue. If we accept that cultures have a racial element to them, and this element is indelible, can a case be made for a protectionist attitude towards the rights of native people?

If we take the position that the Western nations for all their myriad flaws are in fact the pinnacle of human civilisation thus far, and we accept that the national identities of these countries to some extent is based on the ethnic history and cultures of the inhabitants; then we must understand that the same protectionism that we would willingly extend to indigenous peoples in cultures that are not advanced as our own must equally apply to ourselves.

My detractors on this point need only look at the numbers of non-Westerners who wish to live here to see the truth of my words.

The Neo-Marxist will also point out that the West was won by conquest. There is no shying away from this. Similarly, we cannot go back. The sins of the White man are only more deleterious than those of other nations because of the fortune of the West’s success. Europeans were privileged enough to have suitable geography, climate and resources to grow rapidly in terms of technology. For example, the United Kingdom would never have dominated the world for so long if she were a landlocked country. The United States possesses gigantic resources that have been useful at every stage of development. The same cannot be said for the African nations, who despite having huge supplies of rare metals have been either unable to extract them until the advent of strip mining late 20th Century. A solid analogy is that you cannot ride a zebra into war. A city-state protected on all sides by mountains and the sea is perfect for the development of philosophy.

My point is that for all the West’s conquering, we have been a product of our environments in exactly the same way as every other culture. This includes the development of the collectivist ideologies proposed by Black Lives Matter and other Neo-Marxist groups and the Far Right. Yes, Europeans nearly destroyed the world with war, but they also saved it. As we approach Remembrance Sunday, when the United Kingdom honours the dead of World War I, it is always a time to reflect and to remind ourselves that no ideology works perfectly. And some ideas are worth going to war for.

We can only hope that under similar circumstances to our forefathers we would show the same integrity, sacrifice and courage. Lest we forget.

When we take their example, we illuminate something surprising. It appears that the liberal values of Lockean individual freedom that today are enshrined in our liberal democracies are not incompatible with national identity. You don’t even have to be a flag-waving patriot of your nation to understand the deep kinship with the members of your nation that transcends ethnicity. Even so far as to recognise the unique brotherhood of members of your own people- and as a Brit, I absolutely recognise our flaws too. (This being said, contrary to what you have heard, our dental schools are actually pretty good.)

Harking back to the example of The Greatest Generation is likely to get me dog-piled for glorifying racists. Well, so what. I’m not an extremist by any measure, but I can rely on Progressive darling Deeray Mckesson of Black Lives Matter to show me what one actually looks like.

Which non-profits would those be, Deeray?

It’s ok to be an identity extremist if you are Black.

Here is my intent with this piece, which I fear is a little clumsy. I wish us to start the reclamation of our collective identities from those who wish to divide and rule. To truly make our nations great again requires an understanding and respect for the nation in which we live. I do not believe that this is necessarily a racial or ethnic issue- although as I stated above, culture and therefore nationhood have a significant racial element that cannot be denied. Therefore, to preserve national identity, there must also be an understanding of preserving racial identity, should one wish to do so. This is a hard duality to grasp, and no doubt those on the Alt-Right will tell me this is impossible, the dream of a fool.

Maybe it is.

I still contend that there must be a way to recognise the role of Identity Politics without succumbing to ethnonationalism or to the postmodern dissection of every value we hold dear.

When people tell me that the UK is a racist country, I feel anger for I know this not to be true. I imagine for my American readers you feel the same when you are told America Was Never Great. For me, as an immigrant in Spain, it is my pleasure and honour to learn the ways of this country and her people. In doing so, I accept my role as a foreigner in their lands and acquiesce to the democratic will of the Spanish. In such a way, I am simultaneously an immigrant and a Spanish patriot. This is my concession to the identity politics of the Neo-Marxist. I lovingly accept my British heritage, my Wife’s Polish history and great culture, and the over-arching suzerainty of España for all matters pertaining to my domestic day to day life. I do not vote here. I pay taxes. The direction of Spain is for the Spanish- even when there are current events that cause me great concern.

Are Identity Politics and Individualism Mutually Exclusive?

European people over the last century have been stripped of the rights of group interest. Rules are different today of different races, and it has not passed unnoticed. If there is a population of westerners obeying the liberal ‘rules’ of fairness and equal opportunity, and migrants of collectively conscious individuals competing, one side is inevitably going to lose, given enough time.

The problem is not one of a clash of races. It is one of the Neoliberal economic demands for unending growth leading to an economic need for economic migrants. As victims of a flawed system, identitarian ideologies are at loggerheads. Through diversity quotas and affirmative action, the well-meaning liberal societies of the West have fallen into a trap. We have become prey to a culturally relativistic system that enacts policies literally entitled Replacement Migration. One does not even have to be an identitarian to understand that concept. Our populations are ageing.

And yet, the birth rate is negative for indigenous Britons.

Rather than consider that perhaps it is the economic system itself that requires modification, our rulers have decided that demographic change is entirely separate from culture, and unlimited migration can be advocated for so long as the taxation levels do not fall. All evidence shows this to be wrong.

We can see this well in the post-war creation of the state of Israel. In the following few years, the Jewish populations of almost all other Middle Eastern countries dropped to near zero. Where did all these Jews go? To Israel. Their absence in countries like Algeria or Iran is noticeable, and surely had an effect on the culture of those countries. You could even say the formation of Israel itself is the example of what mass migration to a region can do to the culture of that region- where once the British Empire curated a Palestinian Protectorate, a backwater colony with little tactical value beyond the Biblical, today stands one of the most advanced nations on Earth. This is, unfortunately, a far better situation than the West finds itself in today.

We are being replaced by immigrants who do not share the cultural values of the West and do not care to grant Western nations thanks or consideration. Under such circumstances that are probably understood by the Alt-Right better than most because they care more about race politics than you do, it is no surprise that their ideology is growing. Those of us who are not on the Alt-Right would do well to pay attention to their concerns. Turning a blind eye will not save us.

Individual rights are amazing. Collectivist power smashes these rights to pieces unless those rights are met by an equally powerful collective consciousness that considers the rights of the individual to be paramount. The answer to this paradox is the key to defusing the inherent violence of tribalism. The answer is the key to Making America Great Again. It is what was understood by our ancestors when facing fascism in Europe- collectively, the free world took up arms.

Today, to preserve these nations and ideals, immigration, as it stands, cannot continue. The globalist agenda must be resisted, and for this at least we can hope that we are on the right track with the election of President Trump, Brexit and other anti-globalist movements. How do we ameliorate the concern of the Alt-Right concerning replacement migration? Should we even try?

It is hard to engage the Alt-Right on the topic when their answer is the practical or philosophical Ethnostate, which they correctly claim is a term that can be applied to many nations that exist today. This concept is so unwieldy that there is no consensus on how such a state would be achieved. My suspicion with the Alt-Right is that even with a total moratorium on migration, it would never be enough. Preservation of personal choice entails that we are also free to take part in the dreaded miscegenation. The Alt-Right are free to disapprove, but they are not free to force us to not race mix.

Even so, all humans feel a shared kinship with people of the same race. It’s a normal reaction that we all experience. Regardless what race we are, there is an innate bond at some level which manifests itself in an in-group preference for those who are like ourselves. The Neo-Marxists call this phenomena unconscious bias when white people do it. It might charitably be considered ethnic nepotism when minorities do the same.

When Black people manifest racial identity, its decolonisation. It’s a black pride. It’s a positive identity to possess.

When White people manifest racial identity, it’s supremacy. It’s Racist. White pride does not exist because ‘White’ isn’t a race in the same way that ‘Black’ is, because of Slavery/Colonialism, delete as appropriate.

The entire concept of a hierarchy of the races- which is what Privilege Theory proposes- is simultaneously insane and damaging. Insane, because while there are clear biological differences between the races, the social construct of race that is endorsed by both Neo Marxists and Alt-Right is built on sand.

One side claims that white people are privileged by default. This is codified language. What this means, and is only now being admitted by Neo-Marxists, is that Whites are racist. All Whites are racist because White society is racist. Whites, therefore, have inherent advantages just for being White. Whites are a monolithic superpower which literally kills people of colour by their existence.

A racist idea which simultaneously demonises one race and infantilises the other.

Because it is now unacceptable to challenge such narrative without being considered to be a racist by leftist ideologues means that all of us are racists by default, merely for existing. Under such circumstances, we can think ourselves incredibly fortunate that the Alt-Right has not found high-quality intellectual leadership who would capitalise on what is a gift to race-realists.

For example- let us pick any innocuous event. A person has an interview but does not get the job. Depending on the races of the interviewee and the successful candidate this is either an example of White supremacy or an overbearing nanny state; unless both candidates are non-White. Even then, the Blacker-than-Thou woke intellectuals of the Left trying to figure out who is most oppressed can tie themselves in knots.

We must be as the sword of Alexander the Great. To the Extremes of the Alt-Right, to fail to accept their doctrine is to be labelled a cuckservative even if you are fully #MAGA aware. To the left… well, to fail to accept their racist doctrine is to become a racist. These albatrosses when hung from your neck remove the possibility of nuance, and prevent adherents from countenancing the explanations that do not pass through the ideological lens. Like a piece of tinted glass through which only certain light waves can pass, when you are obsessed with race, race is at the root of everything.

How to Win the Game of Identity Politics

1. Retain your individuality.

Regardless of how alluring collectivism can be, recognise that it is ultimately counter-productive to our culture. Because you and I share a nationality or ethnicity does not mean we must be friends. Our individual and often conflicting goals in the world must be prioritised while recognising that threats to the rights of the individual by collectivists require a collective response.

2. Accept that groups act in group conscious ways.

Politicians understand that pandering to minority interests is usually effective, provided it can be conducted in secret. This is why Clinton ultimately scuttled her own campaign by pushing so far with identity politics that the majority of the United States utterly rejected her proposal. In the United Kingdom we see the example of Islamic groups voting in blocks, organised through mosques and the inward looking and unintegrated cultures they serve. The Muslim interest is served by their community organisers, who pressure politicians to serve their interests above those of the majority, in return for guaranteeing their votes. In this collectivist fashion, an organised minority interest group can project far greater power than a disorganised majority.

3. Confront the dominant paradigm that promotes the idea of White people possessing no inherent culture.

The Neo-Marxists say Whites have no culture, but also that Whiteness is toxic. Reject this racism with all your heart.** All lives do matter. **The broad family of European Culture and her descendants is just as valid a culture as that of La Raza or the African Diaspora.

4. Resist the demands of supremacists.

Neo-Marxists and Globalists push demands for open borders. White supremacists demand closed borders and an insulated society. Both are extremist positions, and we must recognise them to be so. It is easy to see that the white supremacist position is such, but how much harder it is to make the case that replacement migration is a racist policy. It takes time, and knowledge that you must acquire yourself.

5. Take interest in your culture.

It is incoherent to listen to Neo-Marxists who cry about historical slavery or the oppression of women while simultaneously heeding their whinings about cultural appropriation. You have a culture, wherever you are from. Unless that culture is, for example, promoting the genital mutilation of infants, child marriage or the subjugation of women, feel free to be proud of your culture.

It feels crazy that I have to write that knowing it is now a controversial statement.

6. Accept that extremists will always hate you.

Nazi, bigot, cuckservative, alt-lite. This is a culturally conditioned response. The Neo-Marxist, inherently opposed to the concept of nationhood or tradition, is ever on the lookout for something to call Adolf the Destroyer. The ideals of what we call the greatest generation were to some extent nationalist, and in good faith. Today, those same men and women would be considered evil. Nationalism is not inherently an awful concept, nor is racial identity. That the Second World War was fought by Nationalists on all sides is of little interest to historical revisionists who wish to extrapolate National-Socialism and apply it as a critique of all concepts of national identity. Resist this if you wish your nation to survive.

In Conclusion

As men of the West and the inheritors of Western Civilisation it is my contention that we are faced with the grave consequences of replacement migration. We must accept this reality if we live in an evidence-based reality at all- that we are able to reject the fearful and regressive concept of an ethnostate.It does not have to be so. We do not have to fall as the Alt-Right tells us Western nations must fall if they do not adopt their answers to incredibly complex questions.

That being said, we do need to begin putting the interests of Western nations ahead of those of other countries, as other countries and peoples put their interests ahead of ours. This is by no means a unique idea of my own. It is one that dates back to the Founding Fathers and beyond. I beg your indulgence for quoting so much of Samuel Adams, but I cannot break up such masterful prose in good conscience.

The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule.

In the state of nature, men may, as the patriarchs did, employ hired servants for the defence of their lives, liberties, and property; and they should pay them reasonable wages. Government was instituted for the purposes of common defence, and those who hold the reins of government have an equitable, natural right to an honourable support from the same principle that “ the labourer is worthy of his hire.” But then the same community which they serve ought to be the assessors of their pay. Governors have no right to seek and take what they please; by this, instead of being content with the station assigned them, that of honourable servants of the society, they would soon become absolute masters, despots, and tyrants. Hence, as a private man has a right to say what wages he will give in his private affairs, so has a community to determine what they will give and grant of their substance for the administration of public affairs. And, in both cases, more are ready to offer their service at the proposed and stipulated price than are able and willing to perform their duty.

In short, it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or any number of men, at the entering into society, to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights; when the grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property. If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.

-Samuel Adams

Do we consider the integrity of our national identities an essential natural right? I suggest that we should- no, I demand that we do so. Moreover, I know that there are many people in many lands who agree with Samuel Adams on this. This is why the #MAGA movement exists: because humans of many creeds understand that the transcendent freedom of man must be protected by a secure national identity.

As Adams warned us against, there are political actors who would defraud us and inflict fear upon us so that they may strip us of our indelible right to our national identities. Our cultures are not for sale, cry the Neo-Marxists at Hallowe’en, or whenever the latest Pixar movie comes out.

Do ghosts have white privilege?

Just so. And neither is our culture for sale. More than the reductive and infantile chants of ‘Blood and Soil’ are our nations. Our freedoms are the gift of God Almighty, and the globalists who obey only neoliberal capitalism, Neo-Marxists who wish to control every aspect of society so that none can speak their mind must be repelled. To the Alt-Right I say; I understand your concerns but I disagree with your tactics and your predictions. We in the West might yet reach a day where I am proven wrong and the Alt-Right can laugh in my face, but it is not today.

A free society, in which no person is experiencing unjust treatment and fundamental equality of opportunity is prevalent can still contain racial consciousness. It is evident that imperfect societies such as hours already contain these attitudes. Right now, we are considering that love for one’s own people is a racist attitude; provided you is White. At the core, this is the imbalance in our liberal democracies that leads to Whites affiliating with racial interest groups. It must end.

The Neo-Marxists do not understand that an oppressive system will always fail. We see this with every previous totalitarian society in history, and let us make no bones- **what the Neo-Marxist requires is an oppressive and totalitarian society. **If we are a free society, we cannot permit, for whatever reason, one race to be prohibited from overtly considering their racial interests to be paramount.

What I mean by this: you can stop the cringeworthy Nazi-LARPing at Murfreesboro by understanding that even Neo-Nazis have rights. This is how we de-radicalise the Alt-Right; by understanding that they’re not wrong about some of their concerns.

The consequences of ignoring this truth will be far-reaching. While our ideals may be towards individual freedoms, the collectivist ideologies are growing. The consequence of burying our heads in the sand will be great bloodshed- either as the state reminds us of what true oppressive power looks like, or as racial identitarian and Neo-Marxist groups go to war in the street.

In summary, when we accept that the very framework of working class White culture has been stripped by the predatory aspects of neoliberal capitalism we can see how we have arrived at an identitarian response from the same group. Migration, diminished financial security and rising house prices affect all working class people the most, regardless of race. We should neither dismiss nor be surprised by the rise of White identity politics to fill the void left by conventional politics.

How we move forward at this point has the potential to define a generation.

http://bit.ly/2Cb3WZX

[guildofbookworkers-blog]

Coming soon to a mailbox near you…

What an odd-duck community we are:  students and practitioners of the book crafts, devoted to a centuries-old technology and the arts that adorn and grow out of it, even as the twenty-first century’s information crackles through the very ether.  New portals and modes of communication are burgeoning around us, and this Guild of Book Workers blog is one of them, offering us a new opportunity to increase our contact and conversation with each other, encouraging us to further exchanges of ideas.

Amid all this humming activity, what more bold communication experiment could we imagine than re-envisioning an actual print journal?  A deliver-it-by-mail, pull-it-from-the-mailbox, hold-it-in-your-hands, turn-the-pages, good old-fashioned booklike sort of thing.  It almost seems crazy.  And yet, we’re committed to the physical book for a host of reasons, all of which are up for lots and lots of animated discussion of the old-fashioned sort (phone conversations) and the older-fashioned sort (letters) and the newfangled sort (online) and the oldest-fashioned sort of all (talking).

Here, on this blog, the newfangled joins hands with the classic.  Any day now, Guild of Book Workers members will open their mailboxes and find a copy of the newly redesigned, reconceived Journal.  (Not a member?  Order a copy here, or better still, join here!) Look at it, read it at your leisure, mull it over, then discuss it.  That’s the best part of the experiment:  It doesn’t end with the printed page.  It only begins there.  It continues here with your comments.  Future posts will invite conversation about particular articles; right now we want to hear anything and everything you have to say about this issue.

Cara Schlesinger, Editor

Table of Contents

The Education of Daniel Kelm / by Alegria Barclay, with a gallery of bindings and artist’s books by Daniel Kelm

Daniel Kelm is best known for his innovative and thought-provoking artist books.  However, he is as talented a teacher as he is an artist.  And as a man of myriad talents, he has devoted his life to sharing his passion with others.

Mary Crease Sears: A Complete Bookbinder / by Kristin Parker

Mary Crease Sears was a Boston bookbinder, active from about 1900, taking commissions until her death in 1938. Almost nothing has been written about her in the surveys about bookbinding history in America. Attention was paid to women bookbinders through the annual Expositions held in various cities, implying that bookbinding at the turn of the century straddled the line between fine art and industry. Do we know little about Sears because she chose to concentrate on individual commissions, rather than publishers bindings, which were produced in quantity?

Ergonomics and Injury Prevention in the Book and Paper Lab / by Douglas Sanders and Nicole Wolfersberger

Book and paper conservators complete their work with small and precise tools performing detailed, repetitive tasks.  The tools are tailored to the job, rather than to the physical needs of the worker.  This, combined with problematic workspace and poor posture and work habits, may contribute to repetitive strain injuries that, if left unchecked, can become more and more serious with time.  But the causes of repetitive strain injuries in the book and paper lab can be identified, and the effects can be curbed.

The Pilgrimage: Journey to a World of Books in Spain / by Wilfredo A. Geigel

Serious bibliophiles or booklovers should travel to Spain for a visit to its archives and libraries at least once in their lifetime with no less devotion than that of the Muslims in their required visit to Mecca as prescribed by Islamic law. The trove of magnificent manuscripts and printed works preserved in the Spanish institutions is emblematic of the artistic and cultural richness of the Iberian Peninsula, a feat that is difficult to equate or surpass by many other countries.

Der Pressbengel/The Bone Folder: A Dialogue Between an Aesthetically-Inclined Bibliophile and a Well-Versed-In-All-Aspects-of-the-Craft Bookbinder by Ernst Collin / Translated and introduced by Peter D. Verheyen

Der Pressbengel, by Ernst Collin, was originally published in German in 1922.  This is its first translation into English. Conceived as a dialogue between a bibliophile and a master bookbinder on all aspects of the bookbinding craft as well as specific techniques, the text also addresses the conflicts between quality and cost and matters of good taste. An introduction by the translator discusses the historical context of the decline of formal training, a trend that continues today.

Where Does the Catalog Go?  Surveys of Old Printed Books, What We Can Learn from Them, and Why They Matter / by Matthew Davis

There is a danger in approaching electronic versions of early printed texts in the same way we might a modern text: Early hand-printed books often contained multiple errors that were corrected throughout the print run.  If these works are digitized, readers and scholars may run the risk of mistaking any single electronic version as authoritative.  The case of the 1679 Works of that Famous English Poet, Mr. Edmund Spenser shows why comparison of the errors in all available copies of a text is necessary before authoritative status can be determined.

Exploring the Book(Cases): The Art of Books, Museums, and Digital Culture / by Courtney Weida

Artists’ books are a unique metaphorical threshold between text/narrative and image/object with rich poetic, visual, and tactile content. Within the context of a museum, these handcrafted and handheld artifacts of material culture offer a window into the potentialities and problems of the book arts, particularly in the overlapping contexts of digital culture.

Accordion and Tunnel Books: Twenty Years of Exploration and Constructing a Tunnel Book / by Randolph Huebsch

Accordion and tunnel books are centuries-old structures whose basic simplicity allows for wide and playful experimentation. Book artists are increasingly exploring these forms, drawing on methods from etching to cut paper to photocopying and beyond, and ranging in size from a single sheet of paper to larger-than-life interactive sculptural works.  The possibilities arising from the combination of panels, accordion strips, and hinges are endless.

[guildofbookworkers-blog]

Coming soon to a mailbox near you…

What an odd-duck community we are:  students and practitioners of the book crafts, devoted to a centuries-old technology and the arts that adorn and grow out of it, even as the twenty-first century’s information crackles through the very ether.  New portals and modes of communication are burgeoning around us, and this Guild of Book Workers blog is one of them, offering us a new opportunity to increase our contact and conversation with each other, encouraging us to further exchanges of ideas.

Amid all this humming activity, what more bold communication experiment could we imagine than re-envisioning an actual print journal?  A deliver-it-by-mail, pull-it-from-the-mailbox, hold-it-in-your-hands, turn-the-pages, good old-fashioned booklike sort of thing.  It almost seems crazy.  And yet, we’re committed to the physical book for a host of reasons, all of which are up for lots and lots of animated discussion of the old-fashioned sort (phone conversations) and the older-fashioned sort (letters) and the newfangled sort (online) and the oldest-fashioned sort of all (talking).

Here, on this blog, the newfangled joins hands with the classic.  Any day now, Guild of Book Workers members will open their mailboxes and find a copy of the newly redesigned, reconceived Journal.  (Not a member?  Order a copy here, or better still, join here!) Look at it, read it at your leisure, mull it over, then discuss it.  That’s the best part of the experiment:  It doesn’t end with the printed page.  It only begins there.  It continues here with your comments.  Future posts will invite conversation about particular articles; right now we want to hear anything and everything you have to say about this issue.

Cara Schlesinger, Editor

Table of Contents

The Education of Daniel Kelm / by Alegria Barclay, with a gallery of bindings and artist’s books by Daniel Kelm

Daniel Kelm is best known for his innovative and thought-provoking artist books.  However, he is as talented a teacher as he is an artist.  And as a man of myriad talents, he has devoted his life to sharing his passion with others.

Mary Crease Sears: A Complete Bookbinder / by Kristin Parker

Mary Crease Sears was a Boston bookbinder, active from about 1900, taking commissions until her death in 1938. Almost nothing has been written about her in the surveys about bookbinding history in America. Attention was paid to women bookbinders through the annual Expositions held in various cities, implying that bookbinding at the turn of the century straddled the line between fine art and industry. Do we know little about Sears because she chose to concentrate on individual commissions, rather than publishers bindings, which were produced in quantity?

Ergonomics and Injury Prevention in the Book and Paper Lab / by Douglas Sanders and Nicole Wolfersberger

Book and paper conservators complete their work with small and precise tools performing detailed, repetitive tasks.  The tools are tailored to the job, rather than to the physical needs of the worker.  This, combined with problematic workspace and poor posture and work habits, may contribute to repetitive strain injuries that, if left unchecked, can become more and more serious with time.  But the causes of repetitive strain injuries in the book and paper lab can be identified, and the effects can be curbed.

The Pilgrimage: Journey to a World of Books in Spain / by Wilfredo A. Geigel

Serious bibliophiles or booklovers should travel to Spain for a visit to its archives and libraries at least once in their lifetime with no less devotion than that of the Muslims in their required visit to Mecca as prescribed by Islamic law. The trove of magnificent manuscripts and printed works preserved in the Spanish institutions is emblematic of the artistic and cultural richness of the Iberian Peninsula, a feat that is difficult to equate or surpass by many other countries.

Der Pressbengel/The Bone Folder: A Dialogue Between an Aesthetically-Inclined Bibliophile and a Well-Versed-In-All-Aspects-of-the-Craft Bookbinder by Ernst Collin / Translated and introduced by Peter D. Verheyen

Der Pressbengel, by Ernst Collin, was originally published in German in 1922.  This is its first translation into English. Conceived as a dialogue between a bibliophile and a master bookbinder on all aspects of the bookbinding craft as well as specific techniques, the text also addresses the conflicts between quality and cost and matters of good taste. An introduction by the translator discusses the historical context of the decline of formal training, a trend that continues today.

Where Does the Catalog Go?  Surveys of Old Printed Books, What We Can Learn from Them, and Why They Matter / by Matthew Davis

There is a danger in approaching electronic versions of early printed texts in the same way we might a modern text: Early hand-printed books often contained multiple errors that were corrected throughout the print run.  If these works are digitized, readers and scholars may run the risk of mistaking any single electronic version as authoritative.  The case of the 1679 Works of that Famous English Poet, Mr. Edmund Spenser shows why comparison of the errors in all available copies of a text is necessary before authoritative status can be determined.

Exploring the Book(Cases): The Art of Books, Museums, and Digital Culture / by Courtney Weida

Artists’ books are a unique metaphorical threshold between text/narrative and image/object with rich poetic, visual, and tactile content. Within the context of a museum, these handcrafted and handheld artifacts of material culture offer a window into the potentialities and problems of the book arts, particularly in the overlapping contexts of digital culture.

Accordion and Tunnel Books: Twenty Years of Exploration and Constructing a Tunnel Book / by Randolph Huebsch

Accordion and tunnel books are centuries-old structures whose basic simplicity allows for wide and playful experimentation. Book artists are increasingly exploring these forms, drawing on methods from etching to cut paper to photocopying and beyond, and ranging in size from a single sheet of paper to larger-than-life interactive sculptural works.  The possibilities arising from the combination of panels, accordion strips, and hinges are endless.