#lately it especially seems like a problem in posts with multiple photos - each photo should have a source! don’t get lazy!

[alexturner2005]

why does every am/tlsp post lately have no sources and 300 notes…..please…..if it doesn’t have a source don’t give it notes 😭

[youngbeezer]

Do you Believe in Happily Ever After? | Joel Farabee

A/N: Hello again! I got such a great response to my first fic I posted which literally made me so happy, so thank you so much to anyone who gave me the time of their day to read my fic. Here is a new fic for mr. joel farabee!! This one is a little longer and I tried my best, feedback always appreciated, but I hope you enjoy :)

Warnings: Few curse words, overall just fluff

Word Count: 2160

Tagging a few people again so this doesn’t flop,,,

@ollywahlygator @joshsandersons @joelsfarabees @fratboyzegras @sorokns @butgilinsky @ricohenrique

I haven’t been to too many weddings in my life. I attended one for my uncle when I was around 10 years old but I don’t remember much from it. My mother also got remarried around 3 years ago, but up until this year, weddings weren’t a natural occurrence in my life. 

This past year though.. I’ve attended two weddings, got an invitation in the mail today for another one, a close friend of mine just recently got engaged (so that invitation will be coming sometime in the near future), and one of my best friends’ wedding is tomorrow. Now I feel like everywhere I look, I am surrounded by love. 

Now I’m not saying that is a bad thing, but when every one of your friends are either having kids, getting married, or in serious relationships, it starts to feel a little discouraging. Is there something wrong with me? Am I the reason why I’m still single?-- No, I refuse to think like that! I could get a boyfriend if I wanted to. Maybe my friends are right though… Maybe I’m not putting myself out there enough. 

Anyway, one of my best friends, Karly, is getting married to her long-time boyfriend Travis tomorrow. I’ve met Travis, or as everyone seems to call him ‘TK’, a handful of times and I know he plays for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team-- which is cool I guess, but other than that I don’t know much about his personal life or who he hangs out with. 

Karly and I met running into each other at a cafe once. Yeah, yeah I know it sounds like one of those cliche romantic meetings, where two people bump into each other and immediately fall in love. I mean we did hit it off almost immediately and from there we became like two peas in a pod-- just not in the way you think. I’ve always wondered though, if maybe I ran into a handsome man at a coffee shop or walking down the street, would I be having my happily ever after right now?

I snap out of my thoughts when an incoming call from- speak of the devil, the bribe to be. Before I can even say my greetings, Karly jumps right into business;

“Ok! So since you weren’t able to come to the dress rehearsal or rehearsal dinner. I’ll give you the rundown on what you need to do.”

Oh yeah, did I mention that I am one of the bridesmaids? Sadly, I was not able to attend the functions before the wedding due to not being able to get time off from work. But, Karly was super cool with it, which brings us to the reason for this call.

“Ok so basically, your dress and everything is already in the bridal suite, so everything will be ready for you when you get here tomorrow. You’ll be walking down the aisle third with one of Travis’ buddies Joel-- he plays on the team with Trav and he’s such a sweet guy he’ll definitely help you out if you need anything.. You know now that I think about it you guys would be such a cute couple-”

“Uh Karly? I don’t think now's the time to play matchmaker, when we should be preparing for your big day tomorrow.” I cut her off. 

“Alright, alright. But I will be coming back to that thought. Ok so anyway--”

After that I kind of zone out from trying to keep up with whatever Karly is spitting at me right now. While still on the phone, I pull out my laptop and search for the name ‘Joel’ with ‘Philadelphia Flyers’ next to it in search of this man who is said to be walking me down the aisle. Right away the name ‘Joel Farabee’ pops up with a wikipedia and multiple photos. Hm this guy is kinda cute. Just as I go to click view more images, Karly’s words register back in my brain;

“Ok y/n, did you get that?”

“Hm.. oh yeah! Got it. What time should I be there tomorrow?” I ask, praying that she didn’t already mention that and realize I wasn’t paying attention. 

“8 AM sharp,” she responds all giddy. 

I suddenly remember that my best friend is actually getting married tomorrow. Feeling giddy as well I reply, “Sounds good. I am so happy for you Karly and I can’t wait to see how beautiful you look tomorrow!” 

Karly does a little shriek in response and reiterates her excitement as well. We then say our goodbyes and I wish her a great last night as an unmarried woman before hanging up. I got back to what I was working on before the call and all my jumbled thoughts entered my brain, totally forgetting about a certain someone named ‘Joel’ as I exited the browser. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning I arrive at 8:17 AM at the wedding venue and as soon as I exit the Uber, I start booking it to the bridal suite. When Karly says to be somewhere at 8 AM sharp, you be there at 8 AM sharp, and I’m not particularly fond of facing her wrath today, especially on her wedding day when stress levels are through the roof. 

There’s just one problem though… Since I wasn’t able to attend the rehearsal, I have no idea where I am going. 

Trying to recall the directions Karly told me on the phone last night (when I wasn’t paying attention), I take a sharp turn around a corner looking the opposite direction and suddenly collide with a dead end. Wait- no that’s not a dead end, it’s a person. 

Immediately going to spit out an apology, I stop dead in my tracks when I make eye contact with the handsome man I bumped into. 

“Oh shit! I am so sorry. Are you alright?” I see his lips moving, which are very nice to look at by the way, but my mind doesn’t register his words as I stare dumbfoundedly at this handsome stranger. Who, now that I think about it, looks a little familiar. 

When I still don’t answer, the familiar stranger clears his throat before giving me a once over of my whole body, which does little to bring me out of my trance. If anything I now start to feel my whole face flush from noticing him obviously checking me out. 

His face then seems to light up in recognition before asking, “Wait, are you y/n?”

When he notices my look of confusion on how he knows my name he continues, “I’m Joel, Joel Farabee.” Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, I notice a slight blush coating his cheeks before he adds, “We’re paired to walk down the aisle together… Um, also I think Karly is looking for you. She was kind of freaking out a little.”

With that last sentence my whole body comes back to life realizing that I am late and Karly is going to kill me. Hurriedly I exclaim “Oh my gosh! I am so late and I have no idea where the hell I’m going.” I frantically search around for any directions to point me to the bridal suite.

Joel kindly puts his hand on my shoulder, which immediately ignites a fire on the skin he is touching, before he reassures “Hey, you’re good. Just take your first right down this hall and then it will be at the end of the corridor, you can’t miss it. Seriously. She hung up streamers and balloons everywhere with a poster on the door that says ‘Bridal Suite. NO BOYS ALLOWED’.” 

Letting out a soft snort I gently thank Joel before rushing in the direction he pointed me to. Before turning right, I sneak a quick glance over my shoulder to find Joel already glancing my way. My heart does a little flutter when we make eye contact and he gives me a little lopsided grin before going on his way. 

What just happened… 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As soon as I walk through the doors of the suite, I am immediately ambushed by the bride to be on why I was late, until she notices the deep blush covering my cheeks, which then prompts another ambush on what made me blush. 

I change the topic as quickly as I can and direct our attention on getting ready for the ceremony. Karly looks absolutely beautiful in her white gown and her hair all dolled up. She doesn’t even seem remotely nervous for today as well. Most weddings I have been to, the bride is always going batshit crazy making sure everything is perfect or worrying that her soon to be husband might back out. That just shows how happy and comfortable Karly and Travis are in their relationship. God, I wonder what it must feel like to have that kind of love that is so solid and healthy. Suddenly my mind starts drifting to what it would be like to have that type of relationship with Joel. 

Oh who am I kidding? I just met the guy. Sure, when his hand touched my shoulder my whole body felt like it was on fire. And yeah, maybe when he gave me that little lopsided grin it gave my entire stomach butterflies. Oh jeez. Today is gonna be a long day… 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ok now I feel like my whole body is going to explode. He is looking at me like I’m now the bride and he is the groom. And suddenly, I’m wishing that were the case. We are getting closer and closer to walking down the aisle together, and every step we take towards one another my stomach does a little flip. 

When we finally reach each other, he offers his arm for me to take as he speaks, “Wow… Uh yeah wow, you look gorgeous.”

Blushing, I respond with a quiet “Thank you.” 

“Guess I was the lucky one eh? In case I end up tripping and making a fool of myself, no one will even be paying attention because all eyes will be on you.” There’s that little lopsided grin of his again. 

“Well aren’t you a sweet talker.” I responded. 

He just gives me a subtle wink before we ascend through the doors and down the aisle where Travis is waiting for the big moment. He gives us both a little smirk before we part ways like he knows something we both don’t. 

…

Eventually Karly walks down the aisle looking like an absolute princess. The officiator says his whole ordeal, Karly and TK both say their vows to one another, there are lots of tears, and Joel and I can’t seem to keep our eyes off of each other. 

After the ceremony, we all head in the direction of the reception hall where the real fun begins. Don’t get me wrong, the wedding was spectacular, the way everyone expected it to be. Now as music filled the air with a giddy sort of elation, the newlyweds looking beautiful and so happy while dancing, friends and relatives chatting between one another about this and that; I can’t help but feel a little bittersweet about it. I want this. I want that giddy elation to be surrounded around me, I want to wear that beautiful white gown, I want the guy to be looking at me like I just hung the moon while we had our first dance. Where’s my happily ever after--

“You know you never properly introduced yourself?” 

Startled, I spun around to find the source. Joel. 

I give him a sweet smile before returning my gaze back to the happy couple and responding, “Y/n y/l/n.” 

He follows my gaze and lets out a little sigh before expressing “They’re perfect for each other, aren’t they?” 

“Yeah, they really are.” Before I can get another word in Joel blurts;

“Do you wanna dance? Like,” He stumbles a little with his words, “like with me?”

Letting out a soft giggle, I happily reply, “I would love to.” 

Seemingly relieved, Joel takes my hand and leads me out onto the dance floor as soon as a slow song comes on. He puts his hands respectively on my waist while I put mine around his neck inching him closer to my body. We dance with each other for a while, even after the song is over and a fast high tempo song blasts through the speakers. It’s like we are lost in each other, just savoring this ‘moment’ together. 

Eventually after the fourth song comes on and we are still dancing, Joel pulls away just a little to look me in the eye before softly whispering “Do you believe in happily ever afters?” 

Seeing that look in his eyes again, the one where it seems like he is looking at me like I just hung the moon? I answer in that same soft whisper, “Yeah… yeah I think I do.”

[mocha-sim]

For a while now I’ve wanted to write out a post concerning where I stand on the whole issue with YanSim and its developer (in short: neutral, leaning heavily towards the negative side, but I like the potential of the story and characters). There are a lot of problems and I really want to throw in my two cents

This might not be necessary, but I need to get it off my chest, and hopefully make some people think about other points of view

Warning: long post ahead

1. Six years and still in development

I can really see both sides here

On one hand, six full years without even one rival - the single most important part of the game - and a game still full of placeholder assets, and terrible code on top of that, is pathetic

On the other hand, Yandev is working with only a small team of volunteers and himself, who (no matter what he claims) knows very little about game development (from what i’ve seen, he’s made one before, but it looks like a very small-scale and basic fighting game, unlike YanSim which is much more large-scale and has a lot of features)

Professional game teams do have full, high-quality games made in less than six years, but that time is also a product of game company employees being extremely overworked. Lately I’ve seen a lot more people talking about this issue, which is good, but isn’t it hypocritical to not also apply that logic to Yandev?

Again, though, I’m not sure how much time he spends actually working on the game - to me, it seems like he spends a lot of time on discord, reddit, etc. even if he does only stream for a few hours every night. Maybe the “harassment” that’s “slowing down game development” wouldn’t be such an issue if he didn’t spend so much time online interacting with these people?

2. The writing and characters

I’m not a huge fan of how the game’s story is handled, either

I don’t think it’s 100% fair to cast a final judgement with the game the way it is now - Osana not being out is in no way a good thing, but it also means that there hasn’t really been any opportunity for story or character development yet, especially for the rivals. That being said:

I feel like there’s a lot of wasted potential with characters’ individual stories and with the game’s story as a whole, like the “Aishi curse” - I just can’t think of many good stories with a main character who’s basically an empty husk. If Ayano had emotions from the beginning, and actually had to struggle with them, she could be a much more interesting character. There doesn’t even need to be a magical curse for it to run in the family - the way children are raised has a serious impact on the person they grow into. If Ayano is raised by a crazy, abusive stalker of a mother, she may well turn into the same thing.

Taro, too - he has so many contradicting character traits. He yells at Ayano for “scaring him” when she’s carrying a box cutter or laughing, but has the courage to run right up to a murderer and take off their mask?? He doesn’t care about reputations for Osoro or Oka, but won’t love Ayano if her reputation drops too low?? We’re told that he’s “friendly and respectful”, but we’re never shown that part of his personality. On top of that, we’re not really given a reason to like or pursue him as the goal of the game - when he’s not interacting with Girl of the Week, he doesn’t really do anything except sit by the fountain and read. I feel as though Taro should have a routine that involves interacting with other characters and gives us more of a feel for the personality we’re told he’s supposed to have

Raibaru as a whole makes no sense and feels like a satellite character to Osana. In Osana’s shoes, I would want to have a word with her about personal space. There’s not a lot to say about her aside from that, because... she doesn’t really do anything except follow Osana around all day and shut down the player’s attempts to kill her. She feels more like a soulless obstacle than a character

I think there should be more true pacifist options than just matchmaking - even the befriending elimination route will, in Yandev’s own words, involve someone getting hurt. If we’re supposed to have a choice on whether or not to hurt and kill people, there should be more variety in our options

3. The game’s code sucks/it’s poorly-optimized

Yeah.

I don’t know much about coding but the amount of awkward stretching/bending limbs on corpses, clipping through walls, low fps, etc. makes this obvious. It was definitely a bad move on Yandev’s part to start a project like this without at least taking a coding/game development class or something

I think the best course of action for Yandev would be to get a professional programmer on board after Osana is released and spend a few months fixing the game’s code before he starts work on the next rival

4. The character models are just stolen Unity models

They are just unity models, but not “stolen” at all - YanDev paid for them.

That being said, they’re sort of ugly and inexpressive, and personally i’m hoping they get replaced soon

5. The characters are all minors

They’re not. It’s in flashing red letters on the screen when you open the game. I can’t help but feel like the reason people keep insisting that the characters are minors is so that they can feel like heroes for defending them or something

It doesn’t make a lot of logical sense, but there’s still plenty of time for this to be fixed. I think it was recently confirmed that Akademi is called an “academy” now and won’t be referred to as a high school again

Imo YanDev should just change it to a post-secondary school, since that’s probably the most seamless way for all the characters to be adults

One last thing I want to say on this is that, when it gets brought up, I often see people use the excuse “the age of consent in Japan is 13″. 1: it isn’t - the Japanese government lets each prefecture decide its own age of consent, but 13 is the minimum. As far as I know, no prefecture has set it below 16. 2: even if 13 was the age of consent, that doesn’t mean we should accept and defend it as “part of a different culture”. It’s still pedophilia. 3: Japanese people actively protest against things like this

6. The uniforms are middle-school uniforms/don’t look like they belong in a prestigious school

Yeah

However there are multiple uniform options, and it looks like the default uniforms will be completely changed in the final game

7. Panty shots

YanSim is an 18+ game, but there is such a thing as too far

I’ve seen people who tolerate it, but I haven’t seen a single person who actively likes the panty shots and would complain if they were removed. Imo the part that makes this bad is the fact that we, the player, actively have to point our camera up a girl’s skirt and take a photo of her underwear with it being in full view; the whole way this works makes it obvious that the feature was put in there for titillation more than anything else, and it just feels uncomfortable. If it were more like Uekiya’s key-stealing minigame where all we have to do is push a few buttons, the whole gross/uncomfortable aspect could be taken away and a lot of people would probably be fine with it

It would also be better to replace it with an expanded version of the phone-stealing feature: this would let the player get “points” for students of both genders, plus it would still make sense to gain more points for certain students, like the student council or the bullies. Maybe you could even steal teachers’ phones under certain circumstances?

8. YanDev is homophobic

Again not too sure on this one

Iirc, most of the comments people bring up on this are from years ago when he still went by EvaXephon

But speaking as a wlw, I think some of the ways I’ve seen him talk about f/f relationships are pretty creepy. And on top of that, he seems to be considering adding a “female senpai” option to the game, but no male player character? (though i guess i can see the point of view that a male mc would need a lot more new voice lines, animations, etc. while the senpai follows a mostly fixed routine and would only need so many. still, it seems wrong to have one without the other). I hope I’m wrong about this but his support of the LGBT community seems mostly focused on the L and more for his own entertainment than any actual support

9. YanDev is making more money than he should (and handles it poorly)

His Patreon may be dropping, but his YouTube channel is raking in even more money with 2M+ subscribers, and he’s making even more money from things like merch and donations... all while apparently still living with his parents (which i don’t find hard to believe). He’s also apparently bought 2 switches and a sex doll instead of using the money to hire the help he desperately needs with his game

Assuming he really does still live with his parents, I fully support the petition to get his Patreon suspended until he at least finishes Osana. Most game devs don’t make any money off of their games until they’ve finished it completely

10. YanDev wrote rape fanfics

So I did briefly check his old ffn profile some time ago, and as far as I could see everything had the proper ratings and warnings

Tagging/warning/rating is a fanfic author’s only responsibility to you. You make the choice on whether or not to read it. If everything is appropriately tagged and you read it anyway, that’s on you, not the author. If you are mature enough to be on the internet unsupervised, then you are mature enough to curate your own experience.

Fiction is the place to explore controversial themes and topics. It doesn’t mean in any way that a content creator would condone the things they write about in real life

11. YanDev steals art/assets

He does, and still hasn’t apologized for the DLC rivals thing. In fact he made a post defending himself for it, and even compared himself to Andy Warhol in the process (lol)

I’m not sure but I think I heard something recently about him continuing to do this type of thing (the grass, etc.). In which case we should continue to put pressure on him until he credits the creators of whatever art/assets he stole. Art theft is inexcusable

12. The fanbase is mostly kids

This is unfortunately true, and it’s a big problem (i’ve had to deal with it myself on my youtube channel)

However I would personally say that this problem is outside of YanDev’s control. Kids seem to be drawn to edgy/violent things, or things they shouldn’t be allowed to see (just look at Call of Duty). I put the blame for this on the parents who aren’t monitoring their kids’ computer activities. As for YanDev, he’s not a babysitter and it’s not his responsibility to censor his content for kids who shouldn’t be viewing it in the first place

Underage or not though, he should really avoid calling his fans things like “fuck kittens”. Even from the perspective of an adult that’s super creepy to hear

13. The character designs suck

Some are alright, others are absolutely awful

I think that, in a game built on anime tropes, characters should be allowed to have unnaturally-coloured hair. I mean, a lot of characters in anime do have weird hair that you wouldn’t see in real life (seemingly without any dye), and it can add a lot of personality to their designs

But some YanSim characters push that too far. The science club is the worst of the worst imo, despite being otherwise one of my favourite clubs. The neon streaks are ugly, and what’s up with the visors? Why are they allowed to wear those outside of club time? Why do they wear them during club time, as opposed to actual goggles or something? (i have this issue with a lot of club accessories, imo the accessories are unnecessary in the first place)

The bullies and the light music club also take things too far. Their designs are crowded, hard to look at, and out-of-place. Nothing against characters with multi-coloured hair, but there’s a time and a place and a “prestigious” school setting isn’t it

(also, slightly off-topic, but why does almost every “intended couple” look like they could be siblings?)

I could probably make a whole separate post on the character designs in YS, but I’ll save that for another day. (i’m just very passionate about character design)

14. YanDev has collaborated with porn games 3 times now

Once I could overlook (after all, the characters are 18+ and YS is already not for kids) but a third time? Seriously? And so soon after the last one?

Not only do I have mixed feelings about Yandev doing crossovers when his game isn’t even in the demo stage yet, isn’t this game supposed to be taken seriously as a horror game? I can’t think of a single other horror game that has willingly put its characters in porn.

Also I can’t help noticing that he advertises the porn game crossovers a lot more than he did with that one Dark Deception crossover. Did he ever even mention that one? I only ever saw it on the Dark Deception Twitter

15. YanDev is rude to his fans

I don’t have a lot to say against this one. As far as I’ve seen, he is, and he doesn’t take criticism well at all (just look at the subreddit - yes, a lot of the things that were removed deserved it (unfunny cum chalice jokes, etc.) but there have also been completely innocent questions, fanarts, jokes, and fanfics that have been removed. Not to mention mods going through peoples’ post history and banning them for being active in r/Osana. Both he and his mod team seem insanely paranoid)

I think he’s going to have to grow a thicker skin and stop censoring critiques if he wants to get anywhere with this game. Not just fans who bring up tiny details that might need changing, but also big, glaring issues like the code and character designs and such. He also doesn’t seem that professional for a game developer who wants to be taken seriously

That being said, if you’re the type to spam the discord server/subreddit/fan communities who have nothing to do with Yandev like the amino, you deserved that ban

16. YanDev defends pedophiles/the “sex license” thing

“No adult ever has any excuse to do anything sexual with a child. As soon as you touch a kid, you have crossed the line from being someone with a mental disorder to being the worst scum imaginable. Having a mental illness is involuntary, but touching a kid is a choice. If you have a mental illness, I feel bad for you. If you violate a child, I feel disgust and contempt for you, and I think you deserve the death penalty.” -From YanDev himself on this page

The sex license thing is also debunked on the same page: the whole conversation was taken out of context and the hypothetical “license” was supposed to be something that only an adult could meet the requirements for

17. “Corona-chan”

This was a really insensitive move to make in the middle of a pandemic, and I agree that the design was racist

However, YanDev listened to the fans’ complaints and removed the easter egg a day later, plus gave an apology. I think that this was the best thing he could do in that scenario and idk what else people are expecting him to do about it

18. YanDev’s general portrayal of high schoolers

Honestly, it’s not 100% realistic (especially in some of the dialogue. you know what i’m talking about)

I’m surprised that more students don’t seem to have friends outside of their clubs. It seems like all the students mostly stick within their club/group - walking to school together, spending their breaks together, etc. A lot of the ways the characters behave are very robotic, like walking in a perfectly straight line everywhere they go

That being said, a lot of the things i’ve seen criticized in regards to this are not part of the problem. By the time you’re in high school, you’ve probably hit puberty. It doesn’t make a character automatically sexualized if they have bigger breasts (though some designs in the game are over-sexualized, like a few certain staff members)

19. Muja, Mida, and Hanako

Let’s start with Hanako: Yandev has already said that she’s not romantically interested in her brother, she’s just insanely clingy and doesn’t want him to get a girlfriend out of fear that he’ll forget about her. If you still insist that she’s in love with Taro, then that’s on you

Muja and Mida I have mixed feelings on.

If every student is 18 or older, meaning that the first-years are 18, that makes Taro, a third-year, 20-21 years old. If Mida and Muja are in their early 20s as Yandev has said, that means that the age gap isn’t an issue. However, it’s still wrong for a teacher or a nurse to pursue their student/patient

I don’t think Yandev should need to spell out “hey, Mida and Muja are not good people” in flashing neon signs. The game is rated M and anyone who’s old enough to play it should be able to understand that without it being said. If you need morality in fiction spoon-fed to you, you probably shouldn’t be watching/reading/playing anything rated above PG

On the other hand, YanDev has a nasty habit of making these things into a joke, which is really insensitive and creepy. Like saying that Mida’s favourite food is “the spit of a younger man” (yikes), that she’s tried to seduce her own students 69 times (haha 69 so funney right guys XD), or that whole confession scene mess. It’s less of a problem with Muja, but it’s still there. As much as the audience shouldn’t need everything served to them on a silver platter, issues like these should still be treated with respect, not made into gags

20. Yandev wastes time on “Easter eggs”

I have to agree that he does spend time implementing unnecessary things sometimes (like the abc challenge), but as far as I know the Easter eggs are what he does in his spare time while waiting for assets from volunteers. However: snap mode, which was hyped up for years, turned out to be a flop with zero purpose, disappointing a good portion of the fanbase.

21. Love Letter

So far I’m really liking the look of this game: I like the models and the school environment they’ve shown, and it seems like they’re doing a lot of things in better or more interesting ways than YanDev, like not outright telling us who the rivals are. I don’t think it’s fair to accuse them of “stealing” anything, when it seems like most of the assets the games have in common are the things they bought from the Unity store (Love Letter even changed the base Unity model to have a more appealing look)

I'm glad to see that they actually listened to criticism from fans on things like Setsuna’s design (I love her newest look and I hope it’s the final one). From design alone she’s already a more interesting protagonist, and she looks like the sort of character you’d actually enjoy playing as

Not sure I totally buy the claim that it was all done in two weeks, but even if it was over the span of months, that’s still miles better than YanSim’s six years

Knowing that Dr. Apeis has already ditched one project I’m staying open to new information on this, but as of right now I’m looking forward to playing the demo!

Overall: A lot of the hate against the game and the dev are unnecessary, but some is justified and we shouldn’t blindly defend everything he does (seriously, you can admit that the character designs are shit. no one is going to stone you for it).  There are a lot of improvements Dev could make, both on the game and on his behaviour towards fans.

I think that the biggest improvement would be for the game to just stop taking itself so seriously. At this point, it’s so full of memes, cringy google translate names, excessive edginess, and gags that it may as well just be a fun ridiculous anime game instead of a serious horror game. I feel like taking this approach could make it more successful (plus, it doesn’t really have a lot of horror elements aside from the gore)

There are a lot of cases of people taking things too far. Like spamming YanDev with explicit gore/animal abuse, trying to swat him, spamming volunteers with weird porn, trying to hack into volunteers’ accounts (including bank accounts), etc. That is going way too far, no matter how awful or pathetic you think a person is. If you are doing these kinds of things, you are doing more harm than Dev or his volunteers

Attacking YanDev’s appearance is unnecessary and not related to his behaviour or skills. Same with the chalice memes

However, I’ve seen a lot of YanDev’s defenders lashing out against “gremlins”, lumping all of them in with the kinds of people who do these things. If you check r/Osana, you’ll see that most if not all of the people there condemn this behaviour: the gore and porn spammers are a loud minority (and i’m willing to bet most of them are the basement-dwelling losers from KiwiFarms and 4Chan)

Attacking and/or spamming fans who are just trying to enjoy the game is also unnecessary. Someone liking a video game you don’t like is not doing you any harm. Be mature and move on

I’m not sure if some of what I’ve said above is 100% accurate so if anyone actually read this and has evidence against it then feel free to add

I think that’s about all I have to say on that. Again, i don’t know if it will change anything in the fandom but i really just wanted to get this off my chest

[houseofvans]

ART SCHOOL | IN SESSION WITH ROB SATO

From vibrant rainbows to familiar yet alien landscapes occupied by strange beings, LA based artist Rob Sato’s works are filled with creative energy in a loose minimalistic style. From watercolor, digital medium to acrylics and oil, Rob’s artworks and illustrations have been shown in various galleries from Giant Robot 2 to the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, where recently his original paintings for a comic called 442 were exhibited. We’re excited to chat with Rob about his work, his various collaborations and what he’s got coming up for the rest of the year.  Take the Leap!

Photographs courtesy of the artist.

Introduce yourself Hello, my name is Rob Sato. I’m an artist, illustrator, and writer. Something people might not know about me is that I was a kid I was so fanatical about the Oakland A’s that when they lost in the World Series I threw a tantrum so big that I destroyed my bedroom and after that I felt so stupid I quit following baseball. Also, I’m told I have maybe one of the great poop stories of the world. It can only be related in person, so ask me about it sometime if we ever meet.

How would you describe your work and style? Eclectic? Kaleidoscopic? I’ve never had a concise answer to this question. I tend not to pin myself down because I think if I did, I’d stop making things. 

Art is my outlet for the cryptic and obscure as well as the gushing spillover of foolish idealism and wild fantasy. It’s the only place I’ve ever found where you can healthily play with unhealthy thoughts, where you can explore undefined emotions, things that lurk out in the corners of consciousness that may be embarrassing or uncontrollable.

I love to make entertainment and decorative work, things that tend to be obvious, that communicate very clearly and reveal all their cards, but I also love to make work that hides things, that actively resists easy understanding or recognition and risks being super personal or unrelatable and strange. This can make things difficult, especially in the ongoing deterioration of attention spans, but I can’t help but pursue things outside of a pop sensibility and logical thought. I have to be, much of the time, in mental wildernesses. It’s hard to get there, hard to be there, and hard to come back, but it keeps me going.

Tell us about how you really started getting into art, and how that turned into what you do now? Was it something you always intended to pursue? I’ve drawn every single day for as long as I can remember. I never really thought about it. It just seems to be what I do. It’s how I have fun, how I solve problems, how I think. I’ve wanted to pursue other things like make movies or write books, but I always find myself drawing. Before I know it, it’s time for bed again.

When you are working on a new piece or upcoming exhibition or show? What’s your process like? What themes do you find yourself taking on? I explode. I used to plan things in a very directed way, but lately I’ve just let my brains spill out everywhere. I make a ton of drawings and paintings, and try my best to be fearless and open. Most of it produces failure after failure, but it shows me what might be worth building on, plus many exciting surprises reveal themselves in the process. As a show nears I start seeing what things fit together, what needs to be edited out, and how it all might form a cohesive exhibition. Sometimes the subject matter is the glue that makes everything stick, other times it’s the aesthetics. Alongside the explosion I usually have 2 or 3 pieces going at any given time that I’ve had long term plans for. These pieces can take take months or even years. 

Thematically I’m all over the place. War and peace, realism and surrealism, grim realities and escapism, sober observations and dumb jokes.

What are some of your go-to art making materials? Are there mediums you want to explore that you’ve yet to get your hands on? I feel pretty comfortable with anything you can use to make a mark on a piece of paper. I’ve mainly used watercolor and various drawing tools for the past several years. I’m been having fun with acrylics and oils again, and I’ve started to play around with photography a little. I’ve had ideas for sculpture and film for years that I’d really like to finally get to. What I really want to get my hands on is more time.

Where do you find inspiration? What kind of things or people inspire what you make? Watching someone pick their nose listening to headphones and singing softly to themselves in line at the grocery store. Just watching my cat live her weird life. Even though the final artwork may not really show it, these places are usually where my ideas originate. Art has also been a place where I can put memories that have some abstract need to be recorded.

I made this series of drawings called “Bad Hands”, which started out with me laughing at these dumb hands I was drawing with academically incorrect anatomy. Abandoning correctness felt so good. In the process it triggered a memory from High School. I had been forbidden from drawing in one of my classes, so I was contorting my hands into different shapes at my desk to amuse myself. There was a hysteria over gang activity in the school at the time and the teacher freaked out thinking I was throwing gang signs and I ended up getting sent to detention. 

At detention I was talking with a friend and made fun of the teacher for her mistake. A kid who was in a gang overheard and then HE misunderstood and thought I was making fun of gangs or something. On my way home from school he and a couple dudes punched and kicked me for a bit while I tried and failed to explain. I think it’s funny. 

So embedded in that piece is this tumbling series of misunderstandings, these multiple layers of hands being perceived as bad, speaking in an absurd language that communicates different things to different people. I know people aren’t going to see all those layers in the final piece, but that’s where it comes from and I hope it at least sparks some thoughts about talking with our hands, and where else can you follow this kind of train of thought except in art?

I get inspired by artists who seem to approach art as an intuitive discovery process rather than a  pursuit of mastery, that play is one of the more important aspects of making things. My wife, Ako, has been a huge influence on me in this respect. She’s continuously playing with various materials around her at any given time and finding out what she can do with them. Everywhere she goes she abandons a nest made of fresh creations she’s manifested out of mud, string, packaging, plants, uneaten rice, her used drinking straw, lint and whatever else was within her reach

You’ve done a lot of collaborations with companies, museums and art galleries. Do you have a favorite collaboration, and what about the collaboration do you enjoy the most? I’ve recently been collaborating with Tiny Splendor, an indie publisher and printer who have studios in LA and Oakland. It’s been really great working with them, Cynthia Navarro in LA on risographs, and with Max Stadnik, who runs the print shop in Oakland. 

Max has been returning to lithography, my favorite traditional printing medium, and he printed a piece of mine inspired by mushrooms called “Growerings". It’s a full 5 color print, which means it took five separate plates and each print had to go through the press 5 times. It turned out more beautifully than I could have hoped for. Litho is a super difficult but also very fun process and the results are so rich. 

I think I particularly love this collaboration because the image fits the medium so well, and the combination of the two elevates the final piece of work, When it works, the artwork and the print become more than just an image on a piece of paper. It’s more alive in some undefinable way.

Since we’re called Art School, we always ask the artists to give us their favorite art tip? Never force the thing you think you want, you’ll probably miss out on the really interesting thing that’s happening. Also, don’t drink too much coffee. I have trouble taking both of these pieces of my own advice every day.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making stuff? How do you chill out? I read and run. I love coffee and I love gossip and talking nonsense with friends. Also, I cannot stop watching Terrace House.

What is the last art show that you went to? What artists should folks keep an eye out for? I recently went to the Velveteria in LA’s Chinatown, which is one man’s collection of paintings on velvet. A very entertaining and very fucked up experience. I went to a life drawing session at Subliminal Projects and got to draw surrounded by Chad Kouri’s fun abstracts. I’m actually typing this interview inside an art show right now. 

I’m here at my wife, Ako Castuera’s, show “Soil” at the Weingart Gallery at Occidental College. We’re here feeding worms. She sculpted this beautiful ceramic vermiculture composter for the show. It’s a grand temple for worms. The show is an act of gratitude for the exchange we have with the soil which provides the clay for ceramics, and for the worms who turn decay into healthy earth to grow new life in. 

She sculpted a menagerie of creatures out of the worm poop that also populate the show. Super fun. Speaking of Ako and Subliminal, her show there with Hellen Jo and Kris Chau this past December was one of those once-in-a-lifetime powerhouse gathering of forces. That may have been the best show I’ve ever seen.

What advice would you give someone thinking about following in your footsteps? What’s something you learned that you want to pass along to art making newbies. Don’t listen to advice if it is extremely quotable. Pay no attention to it especially if it accompanies a photo of a famous artist and fits perfectly into an instagram post. If it’s easy to remember then it’s probably empty, crap inspiration. Those things are entertainments and not words to live by.

 If you’re interested in making art you’ll keep making it. It takes day in, day out patience and exploration and mutation to discover how you really work, not some idea of how an artist works. 

Sometimes it will be very hard, sometimes it will be so breathtakingly easy you think that your problems have been solved forever. Neither situation ever lasts, but cultivate and nurture your curiosity and what you love, and you’ll find ways to make it through the rough times and keep on making things one way or another.

Who are some of your favorite artists to follow and/or see in a show? Lately I’ve been really enjoying the work of Nathaniel Russell whose work makes this great space where funny, grounded matter-of-factness and sweet nothingness sit comfortably together. His drawing also reminds me of Ben Shahn, my all-time favorite drawer. 

I really like Amy Bennet’s oils, these intimate studies of isolation in suburbia where mundanity overlaps with quiet drama and melancholy. Her work obliquely reminds me of Edwin Ushiro’s work, though his stuff is the opposite of melancholic. He captures almost incidental but haunted moments from growing up in Hawaii and infuses them with warmth, and it’s in a style influenced in a super personal way by animation. It reminds me of Satoshi Kon’s movies in its well observed, slice-of-life elements. Edwin’s sketchbooks are a treasure too.  Esther Pearl Watson’s recent autobiographical paintings, Hellen Jo’s latest badass watercolors, Amber Wellman’s funny, playful oil paintings, and Matthew Palladino’s watercolors are also favorites. 

Megan Whitmarsh’s work is some of my favorite to see in person. Her installation with Jade Gordon at the Hammer’s “Made In LA “ show was maybe the funnest work I’ve ever seen and interacted with. I went to see the Ai Wei Wei show at the Marciano Foundation, which I thought was impressive in scale and execution but still somehow lame, but I stumbled on a Mike Kelley installation/ video piece I’d never seen before in the upstairs collection and loved it so much, but I can’t remember the name of it at the moment. 

It’s 2 videos shown side by side of the same guy wearing a cape singing almost the same song simultaneously, but each version has different words at different points. It’s a love song but one version is more bitter and mean and one is sickly sweet. Anyway, highly recommended!

What do you have coming up the rest of the year that you can share with us?  For just a few more days there’s a show up at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center with a bunch of my original paintings for a comic I illustrated about the 442, the Japanese American Army unit of World War II. Plus it has some personal work about Japanese American Incarceration and images from my family’s experience in the concentration camps. My grandfather was incarcerated in the Arkansas camps, and he was a soldier in the 442. 

Next up, I’m in a slew of group shows all happening within a few weeks of each other this month. Poor scheduling on my part as usual, but it’s nice to be invited to so many. I just sent off my piece to the “Seeing Red” show curated by Jeff Hamada of the BOOOOOOOM art and culture blog. That show will be at Thinkspace in LA. Giant Robot has been kind enough to host another solo show for me in September. 

I’ve been busy experimenting with some more 3d stuff that pushes the more narrative side of my work which I hope to show there. We’ll see how the experiments turn out. I’ve also been working on a ton of prints and ideas for books. This year I want to focus on working in print, making zines and comics, and writing a lot more. 

FOLLOW ROB | INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE | SHOP 

[argentdandelion]

Is Joe Cuppa Coffee Sans?

Or: Who is Sans, Anyway?

Caveat: It is impossible to reference every "AU", or even every permutation of "major" (common on the Undertale Tumblr tag) "AU". As such, mentions of various "AU Sanses" should be assumed only broadly correct.

The Undertale fandom has many, many works called “AUs”. Some of them count as Alternate Universe works, where the work’s very premise is altered, and so do not, but many of them feature distinctive versions of or interpretations of Sans, or Sans-like characters. Indeed, Sans is so disproportionately popular he’s practically a subfandom in himself, what with the many Sans-centric works or creative works or worlds which only feature Sans and Sans-oid characters.

But which works’ characters “count” as Sans, and which do not? There are multiple ways in which one can define "What is Sans?", and each definition has various problems. Some of these Sans-es look and act drastically different from the canon one, from lankier interpretations of Gaster-Sans to the hyperactive Underswap-Sans. Yet, supposedly, they are “Sans”, or “a Sans”, rather than Sans-like characters. Complicating the matter, it’s impossible to say how far Sans can change while still being himself. Indeed, canon timelines alone sometimes show the malleability of characters’ identities.

As a point of illustration, what’s to say Joe Cuppa from O.K. K.O. isn’t "a Sans" called Coffee Sans?1 After all, if a “Sans” can differ drastically from the original’s looks, relationships, and role, what would disqualify Joe Cuppa?

1. Genetics.

If the DNA is duck DNA, it’s a duck.

People often ascribe "essences"---something invisible from which recognizable traits arise—within living beings. By definition, essences cannot be measured, only the things that are presumed to be manifestations or signs of it. When it comes to living things, essences are generally conflated with DNA. If a particular animal’s DNA matches a duck, it’s a duck, regardless of whether it looks really weird. (say, being a plucked duck, or a plucked duck whose legs are missing).

By this logic, an individual who is genetically identical to Sans is Sans. For this to be a valid interpretation, a “Sans” would need to have the same parent(s) or source as canon Sans, whatever that may be. In works where a character obviously can’t have the same origin, DNA, or material composition as canon Sans that character cannot “count” as Sans.

Weaknesses & Oddities

This approach has obvious weaknesses. Identical twins, despite having the same DNA, do not count as the same person. Indeed, as time goes on and their environments diverge (e.g., not going to the same school), they come to differ more from each other. Though they may have the same DNA, the way that DNA is expressed (such as through epigenetics) can differ, and the differences can magnify over time. Therefore, to say than two Sanses are the same because they have the same genes only makes sense if identical twins ‘count’ as the same person, or variations thereof.

Joe Cuppa Verdict

It’s bizarre to assume a DNA test would reveal he’s identical to Sans, as his physiology differs so much. In fact, even if he were a “monster” or class of monster within the world of O.K. K.O., monsters’ natures differ so much in O.K. K.O. that it’s unlikely they’re equivalent.

Other Evaluations

In ReaperTale, a work where various Undertale characters are gods, Sans and Papyrus were made from a black hole. Dream Sans and Nightmare Sans were created from the light of a mystical tree, which is, again, not like canon Sans. However Sans and Papyrus were made in canon, they certainly weren’t gods made from a black hole or made from a tree’s light; ergo, none of them qualify as “Sans” by this logic. Though Fresh-Sans looks just like Sans in tacky 80s/90s clothing, he’s actually a bizarre alien parasite controlling “a Sans”, not a monster. In that case, the only thing that makes him a "Sans" at all is his looks.

2. Looks

If it looks like a duck, it is a duck.

Image by Insanelyadd.

In an "AU" where Sans is the only character (generally, Dream Sans, Ink Sans, Nightmare Sans, etc.), it's not possible for Sans to have similar relationships or roles, and other similarities are also less likely. Therefore, looks are the only thing which establishes a character is Sans.

Weaknesses & Oddities: People can look different over time. In fact, some people change so much photos of them as a child and an adult they aren't even look like the same person. If one of Sans' defining traits is that he's nearly as short as 8-12-year-old human child, but he's not actually fully grown by skeleton standards, what would stop him from not being "Sans"? If his face drastically changed in shape or proportions when he was much older, would that also affect this factor?

Joe Cuppa Verdict

Although Joe Cuppa acts much as Sans does, Joe Cuppa is clearly not Sans: he has a coffee mug-shaped head/a mug for a head, for one thing. Therefore, despite his behavioral similarities, he is not Sans.

Other Character Evaluations

Fresh-Sans (“Fresh”) is, supposedly, a bizarre alien parasite that is unlike Sans in genetics, relationship, most behaviors, and role. He has simply taken over a “Sans”. However, viewed from his host alone, he looks strongly like Sans, and if looks are all that is needed, he counts.

Furthermore, depictions of Sanses as other species (e.g., humans) or breeds of monster drastically change his looks, so they don’t count as Sans, by this logic.

3. Relationships

If it likes me, as evident by it wagging its tail and running to me, it's a duck.

According to this interpretation, whoever is Papyrus's brother and cares strongly about him, and is also the friend of the old lady behind the Ruins door, is Sans. This suggests that, in a world where Papyrus never existed, Sans wouldn’t exist—not as we know him. It would be someone who looked like Sans, certainly, but not someone with the same identity or properties.

If "a Sans" exists in a universe without other characters which are important to his identity (e.g., Toriel and Papyrus), then he's not really Sans.

Weaknesses & Oddities

This may mean that, in any Neutral route where Toriel and especially Papyrus dies, Sans would eventually stop being himself. However, it is possible a character counts as Sans if the character had a strong relationship with Toriel and Papyrus for a specific length of time, regardless of whether that relationship lasts indefinitely, for the full game, or beyond the game’s scope.

Joe Cuppa Verdict

Joe Cuppa does not have Papyrus for a brother, nor a close relationship with a different character who’s his brother. Indeed, Joe Cuppa never even mentions having a brother at all, and he certainly doesn’t talk about Toriel or Toriel parallels. Therefore, Joe Cuppa is not Coffee Sans.

4. Behavior

If it quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

By this logic, if a character acts like Sans, it’s Sans. For example, Sans is prone to sleeping, "boondoggling", eating "100s of midnight snacks", keeps secrets, and so forth. By this logic, Underswap Papyrus, who's generally depicted as "Sans, but in Papyrus's body” is not "a Papyrus" but "a Sans".

One should note not every depiction of Sans will show all his traits, in general or in behavior, due to length and genre limits. Yet it’s generally agreed these less fleshed-out depictions count as Sans. It seems there’s a consensus that a character needs to show most of Sans’ traits within a work, or some number of especially distinct traits.

Weaknesses & Oddities

Behaviors and beliefs don’t arise in a void; they are products of the environment. It would be hard to have a personality if nothing ever happened to oneself, or if one never had a choice on what to do.

Indeed, some have suggested some of Sans' recognizable traits are not things inherent to him at all, but consequences of having depression. (see related reading) For example, suggest Sans’ lazy ways come from a sense of nihilism or depression, which itself come from his studies on timelines stopping, starting, and ending. Papyrus himself says that Sans has been “sleeping more” lately: his laziness, thought essential, might have only started recently. In that case, if he stopped having depression, would he not be himself? (or, rather, "himself" as far as Undertale fans can tell)

If it takes only very Sans-like behavior for something to quality as Sans, then making it so he develops certain behaviors, or stops doing them, could make it so he no longer “counts” as Sans. If Sans talking about his brother a lot is a defining trait, then Papyrus never even existing would prevent this behavior, meaning that “Sans” is, in fact, not Sans. Furthermore, in a Post-Neutral work where Papyrus dies, if Sans stops talking about his brother years after his death, he also might stop counting as Sans.

Joe Cuppa Verdict

If only most of Sans’ traits/the most distinctive or crucial ones need to be shown for something to count as Sans, then, by this logic, Joe Cuppa is Coffee Sans.

Other Evaluations

Dream Sans (Dream), Ink Sans (Ink), Error Sans (Error), and Nightmare Sans (Nightmare) have drastically different environments, personalities, and relationships, and thus different behaviors and identities. Under any definition but a pure (and loosely-interpreted) visual definition, they don’t count as Sans.

On the other hand, Geno Sans (of AfterTale) might qualify as Sans, since his backstory was exactly the same as Sans’ up to being struck with the final blow in the Genocide Route. Although Geno Sans ends up more violent and cynical than canon Sans, it could be seen as continuing a trend established within the Genocide Route itself, and therefore support the malleability of identity.

5. Role

If it’s a small, lovable, somewhat tame animal that makes distinctive noises and enjoys small bits of food thrown into a pond on picnics or nature outings, it’s a duck.

Comparison between the turtle-ducks of the Avatar cartoon and a duck and between Storyshift Chara and canon Sans.

Using the “role” parameter, the exact role Sans plays within a work’s plot is a big cue to what makes him him. Therefore, any character which follows Sans’ role or closely parallels it counts as Sans. (specifically: second-area sentry, arranges puzzles with another character in that area, does something funny with a sentry station, gives the judgment, does the Genocide Route battle)

This consideration is especially important when considering role-swap “AUs”, such as Scramble Saga, Storyshift, and Inverted Fate.

Weaknesses & Oddities

At times, Swap Papyrus (best described as “Sans’ personality in Papyrus’s body”) fulfils a Sans-like role in fan works. By the logic of roles, Swap Papyrus counts as “a Sans” if fulfilling a Sans-like role, but, if not, he may be sorted as a Papyrus instead by virtue of appearance. However, this brings up Storyshift Chara, who fulfills a Sans-like role and has a Sans-like sense of fashion but is a human child who fell into the Underground and got adopted by a scientist-Asgore and royal guard captain-Toriel. Would Storyshift Chara count as “Sans” due to a Sans-like role and fashion, regardless of anything else?2

Joe Cuppa Verdict

Joe Cuppa is a somewhat glum/loosely "depressed", washed-up/loser-like person who receives help from a human child (K.O.) and others (Enid, Rad), and ends up happy at the end, having achieved his dream (becoming a successful comedian for Cuppa Joe, presumably getting to the Surface for Sans). Depending on how tightly one defines “role”, Joe Cuppa may count as “Sans”.

Other Evaluations

Dream, Nightmare, Ink, and several “AU Sanses” which don’t exist with other characters, roughly the same plot, and the same premise as canon Undertale cannot really fulfill the same role, and, as such, do not count as Sans.

This article was made with the help of Batter-Sempai (consulting), Ihasafandom (consulting), Voltrathesparking (creator of Storyshift; consulting), Loverofpiggies.

The author of this article, ArgentDandelion, enjoys discussion, comments, and reblogs. Feel free to do so on the Tumblr version, or on the Archive of Our Own or Pillowfort versions, where discussion is much easier.

The author also has a Ko-Fi and Patreon, and invites you to gaze upon it.

Related Works Did you like this article? There’s plenty more, so be sure to spread the love.

Papyrus is Probably a Better Boyfriend than Sans (series) (Character analysis of Sans and Papyrus, with emphasis on suitability as romantic partners)

It’s Okay to Hate Alphys (Or: We All Have Favorite Characters for Different Reasons) (Interpretation of a character and character reactions)

How to Make Underswap Sans: Antidepressants? (Subjectivity or malleability of identity in a Sans context)

Reasons Papyrus Would Kill a Human (Part 1, Part 2) (Talks about environmental influences on behavior and personality, but also argues one "AU Papyrus" is closer to the Undertale version that he might seem.)

It turns out, there are so many “Sanses” there actually is a Coffee Sans already. The name shall be preserved for the sake of rhetoric. ↩︎

Note that Storyshift exists in two versions: the preboot and the reboot. Many of the points about the preboot don’t hold up to the reboot, but the reboot isn’t developed enough yet to use in an analysis like this.

 ↩︎

[productiongroupf]

Film Shoot - The Chase

“For our first week of filming, we were given a choice of three titles to base our film around: The Chase, Pickpocket and Late Again. Our group decided to choose The Chase as we had an idea that we thought was more unconventional and would set us apart from the other groups. Seemingly other groups who chose to do ‘The Chase’ seemed to literally film a physical chase between two people, whereas we went for a more figurative approach and decided to do a story based around the idea of a boy ‘chasing’ a girl. 

Before filming all members of our group decided it would be beneficial to meet up a couple of hours prior to discuss what we were going to be shooting and how we would go about it, I think it was helpful to do this as it meant that it didn’t take away from our actual shooting time which was quite limited. In this time we printed out scripts and shot lists so that everybody on set knew what was happening at each time which made shooting a lot easier and straightforward. As this was our first week making a film in our groups, we did face some struggles getting organised and learning how to work well together but I think that it was a good learning experience so that in future weeks we could improve our team work skills. Before shooting we set up our scene to make sure the room looked like how we wanted it, we used props such as detention slips and a detention signs to anchor the audience into believing the two actors were students in detention. 

Shooting the film was relatively simple as it was all shot in one room with only two actors, but we still had to make sure that we had a large variety of different shots of angles so that when it came to editing we were able to have a lot of versatility. Shooting roughly took around 2 hours and we were able to shoot everything we needed, during this week my role as producer meant that I was involved in multiple aspects of the shoot, helping with setting up the scene and continuity errors whilst also taking photos throughout the shoot for our blog. 

During editing each member of our group took turns, each having an hour slot each to do what we wanted to do with the film, I think that this worked well because it meant that everyone had ample opportunity to edit and learn new skills from other members of the groups who perhaps knew how to do things that other members of the group didn’t. 

Overall I think that our pre-production, shoot, and post-production  was successful in that we were able to shoot everything on the shot list, however I do think that we strayed from our original plot slightly which during the screening of our film made it difficult for some people to understand what was happening. I also believe that we could have used a wider range of shots, close ups, wide shots etc. as this would make the film a more interesting watch and help to engage the audience. I think that all members of our group learned a lot of things while shooting which made it a valuable and educational experience.”

— Week 2 Blog post, Leah (Sound/Producer)

“The title for the first film of this module we chose was The Chase but we decided to take a different approach to usual chase films and follow the story of a boy “chasing” a girl in an attempt to ask her on a date. For this week I fulfilled the role of cinematographer. This role is one that is centred around practical skills, before shooting I was already relatively confident using the Sony cameras, because of this I ensured that I was greatly involved in the preproduction processes as I have less experience in this stage of production. One of the biggest responsibilities I took on during this week was writing the risk assessment. I feel that this is a crucial skill to hone as completing a detailed risk assessment ensures the safety of all crew members. 

Another element of preproduction I engaged with was the shot listing and storyboarding of ideas. I had never written a shot list before so this week I closely observed our director while she was compiling her ideas and contributed and discussed my ideas with her. I now feel that I could complete a shot list alone and look forward to having this opportunity in future weeks. Creating the storyboard is something I hope that we will continue to do going forward because I found it useful as the cinematographer as it allowed me to exactly see the directors vision and allowed the shoot to remain on track. Something I found particularly challenging regarding this weeks brief was that one of the requirements was that the film could only be shot within the Parry Williams building. As our idea required a classroom it was stressful trying to find a location as the seminar room in which we hoped to film had been booked. Luckily we were able to use the edit suite to film in, resolving this issue definitely helped to develop the groups imagination and ability to adapt. Furthermore, from a cinematographer’s stand point, shooting in a different room than originally planned helped me to be more creative with my shot choices and composition as there were certain sections of the room that could not be shown in shot as they would have contradicted the story that we were trying to tell. Due to the way in which the scene was blocked I was able to practice with focus pulls and capturing deep focus shots with the use of parallel lines in the corridor scene. The nature of the film meant that both the director and I agreed that the majority of the shots should be static shots on the tripod. This further juxtaposed the nature of the assumptions made by the title. 

Another key element of the brief was that the film could not contain any dialogue meaning that the story needed to be told purely through visuals and foley sound. This was something I took into account when composing the shots as the close up reaction shots and cutaways were crucial in highlighting the key story points to the audience and driving the narrative. However, after feedback, I feel that this may have been lost through the edit meaning that it was more difficult for the audience to follow the story. Because of this, in the following weeks we aim to focus on the key beats within the story that need emphasis to resolve this issue.” 

— Week 2 Blog post, Maddie (Cinematographer)

“At the end of the first week back at uni, we were plunged into planning, Friday evening to Monday afternoon. For week 2, The story we created was influenced by the given selection of topics, of which we chose to follow “the Chase”. Our premise was not conventional, as it was not so much about a literal chase but of the metaphorical chase of love interest. We decided to go for this story, as we wanted to do something outside of the box and quirky. All of us collaborated on the plot idea and agreed on how we would visually represent the story. I really enjoyed working with everyone and it was a good idea that we could all add our own touch to the story.

I learned that script writing was not one of my strengths, however since we were not allowed dialogue, the script was more of a short premise, a series of events and character reactions. We assigned our actors and turned up 2 hours early to prep and plan on the 3 hours of shooting. We prepared various props to aid with the mise en scene, however we did forget to plan where we would shoot which caused us to become delayed. 

With the absence of dialogue and an interesting mise en scene, it helped to use music to progress the story. We used music to help indicate a change of emotion or pace. The music we used was comical which I believed helped to set a light atmosphere, and to emphasise love stalking gone wrong with the twist at the end.

A problem I noticed that we came across in the edit was continuity errors and lack of cutaways in order to cover this up. It is especially noticeable in the first 30 seconds where the boy comes in with his hand on his rucksack, and then suddenly his hand is down at his side, and then up again in the next cut. We did not have much to play around with since we had only taken the shots that were essential to carry the story. This being so we only just had enough time to finish the essential shots, and therefore more guidance for actors and stricter planning might be useful in future.As we scrambled to find a room to shoot in, we were under-prepared and already running behind on time. Therefore, we got all the main shots we needed but with less detail and focus. For example, we couldn’t see the phone very well when the boy tapped on the screen and accidentally liked the girl’s Instagram post, and additionally the actor who was playing the girl’s role (me) didn’t have a very strong Instagram page. This meant that it was confusing as to who’s Instagram page it was, and it was also not very clear what the boy ends up panicking about.  Therefore, we needed more closeups to see the characters emotions and we also would have benefited from an improved mise en scene, as it is integral to storytelling.

I believe that it was a good first attempt to get back into making short films and hope in future that we can iron out problems in any areas we had trouble with this week.”

— Week 2 Blog post, Zoë (Scriptwriter and Actor)

And here is the short film: The Chase

[giphantie]

Photography as Symptom

Photographers and those who’ve written on the subject have had a problem; one could say this problem haunts the medium. This problem is seeing photography as a medium to be addressed within a relative vacuum.

Not necessarily culturally or socially, as many projects’ main focus today is to escape the tropes laid out in the late 20th century. Even NGOs have strict Stalinist-like guidelines and approval processes to make sure that images are both respectful to the subjects and ‘on-brand’. It’s not social and cultural issues, but larger ones. Photography faces a problem of ignoring the larger networks that photography exists under, specifically capitalism, neoliberalism, and post-fordism. This is exacerbated by the lack of writers on the topic in general, As Alan Trachtenberg observes in the introduction to Classic Essays on Photography, 1980:

A common lament among photographers and their admirers is that the medium lacks a critical tradition, a tradition of serious writing. It is true that photography has seemed to inspire as much foolishness in words as banalities in pictures, and especially true that we cannot name a single writer of significance who has devoted himself or herself entirely to photographic criticism and theory. 

Even for those who have written on the topic, the primary focus has been dissecting the medium without confronting it as a symptom. Why is this the case? The why is a matter of ideology, however, what is missing will be summarized in this article. 

While photography is its own network with elements existing under it (what most photo theory encompasses, although addressing of course the relation to things like art and technology), it’s more importantly an element within larger networks, such as the news media industry, photography industry, the tech industry, and larger networks like post-fordism, neoliberalism, and capitalism. To speculate on the current and future states of the medium, recognizing the medium as a symptom is essential. 

To expose photography as an element within a network is to reveal the transcendence of the medium. Photography as a commodity (as Walter Benjamin claimed) displays what Marx called the fetishism of commodity (the process of a commodity disclosing the networks involved in its production and distribution). Like a commodity, the processes that bring this medium to the point in which it can be criticized and theorized are there even if there’s little acknowledgment of them. The obvious example is the photo and tech industry. Obviously the camera you shoot with was made by low paid workers in factories throughout Asia, then the people in companies that make decisions about labor and tech are at the mercy of the market and competition, the market and competition are dependant on consumers and investors, as photography shifts towards including smart phone images, it of course includes the practices of Apple/Amazon/Google etc… 

Looking specifically at photojournalists, if they hope to make a living shooting images of current events, they are of course at the mercy of news media platforms who are of course also driven by the market. The current state of the news media industry exists as a product of neoliberalism (implemented by Reagan/Thatcher era deregulation) that led to the acceleration of globalized and hypermarketized news media companies. Neoliberalism’s not only a series of policies enacted by Reagan’s administration, but a global consensus, a hegemony, that the free market can solve problems and the government only disrupts prosperity (unless of course bailing out private institutions). 

As full-time photojournalists continue to be laid off, the overall trend can be observed as a symptom of multiple factors: technology and the overabundance of images/events that implode the meaning and monetization of photography, news media losing money and influence, but also the evolution of the workplace, from fordism (working in a factory, but being paid a living wage) to post-fordism (the ‘gig economy’/’be your own boss’, low wages, less full-time jobs, less benefits). This is easily seen in photography as there’s a predicted continued decrease in employed photographers and an increase in self-employed, outlining the current and future state of the field¹. 

It shouldn’t be a surprise that major news companies, after becoming the giants that they are, would be challenged and replaced by something new. This is of course an essential aspect of a market based system, summed up in the famous 1848 pamphlet by Marx and Engels:  

All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify… All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilized nations… (Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1848 p 63). 

This is illuminated in most industries today as the rate of technological advancements and automation threatens every industry when automation becomes the more profitable alternative to human labor, echoing the industrial revolutions. As Uber and Lyft drivers protest for higher wages and benefits, Uber is becoming closer to replacing drivers altogether with self driving cars. High quality phone cameras and dslrs have demonetized the career photojournalists. Small online news platforms are doing the same to larger news media companies. None of this technology would necessarily force industries to die if it were not for the larger networks it exists under. 

 The news media, a form of presentation which has caused a desensitization, a ‘war fatigue’ that spreads to all current events, has led many to believe that the medium as a vesille for change has lost its place altogether. However, there are many artists and photographers today who attempt to bypass the ineffective aspects of the news media through new processes, most of which are illuminated in Fred Ritchin’s books. Although Ritchin might not specifically address photography as a symptom of these larger networks in his writings, the projects he lists nonetheless illuminate an implicit intent to bypass profitability to spark change. Although they are subject to their own forms of market drives (most try to get the images posted on publications and displayed in galleries), specific projects seemed to have realistic goals set and their effectiveness seemed to be greater, especially with a lack of profitability. 

One of the projects Ritchin lists is the project Basetrack in which a team of photojournalists and artists followed the deployment of 1/8 – 1st Battalion, Eighth Marines, during their deployment in southern Afghanistan, posting iPhone images on a Facebook group where the public and family members could engage. The photojournalist Teru Kuwayama describes his frustration with the military, who needed to approve and censor all posts, and the media who wouldn’t feature the images or project:

It wasn’t just the military that was discouraging us from making meaningful pictures...  The magazines we worked for - or gave our pictures to - clearly didn’t want them, either. We would come back from an embed, where we’d been in the fight of our lives, and we would get these absurd reasons about how that wasn’t interesting enough to publish or wasn’t right for that week. p64

Ritchin goes on to say that while the media and military weren’t receptive - the military uninvited the team before the end of the tour -  family members of the soldiers deployed or elsewhere in the military engaged with the project on an impactful way. One mother saying “It has truly saved me from a devastating depression and uncontrollable anxiety after my son deployed. Having this common ground with other moms helped me so much and gives me encouragement each day.” 

Although Ritchin’s point is that maybe larger news companies should implement these alternative forms of presentation that utilize technology to more effectively illuminate current events and news, contributing their lack of implementation to publication’s taste (“The reluctance of other media outlets to contrast photographs in a similar manner may be a sign of a limited taste for visual adventure in the press, or a sign that such juxtapositions may be considered too politically charged…”), their implementation could warrant the opposite of what’s necessary for utilizing photography as a medium for change. Ritchin brings to light many of the issues and potential steps to solutions for reigniting the medium through utilizing technology, even if not acknowledging why. If we acknowledge where photography stands as a symptom, it’s clear that offering a new form of presentation to be exploited either by big companies or by becoming the new popular form of media presentation, this isn’t necessarily as glamorous as it sounds. These alternative forms of presentation would quickly become the ‘new meat’ which would quickly be commercialized and dried out just like the newest meme trend. More importantly these effects should be seen through this wider lens enveloping the larger networks such as the market driven news media whose place is a product of neoliberalism and whose future will be challenged by demonetized forms of presentation, just as photojournalism is now.

If there’s any solution to be formulated, perhaps acknowledging photography as a symptom is the first step. The medium is trapped in a bubble of the observer as Sontag prescribes: “Marx reproached philosophy for only trying to understand the world rather than trying to change it. Photographers... suggest the vanity of even trying to understand the world and instead propose that we collect it.” The essential second step would be to implement this acknowledgement of symptom into action. This would be through the way in which photographers and writers on photography go about engaging with the medium. Experimenting with projects which don’t aspire to be picked up by media outlets or publications, looking to fulfill specific realistic goals outside of market drives and larger audiences. Confronting the interaction, perhaps by attempting to avoid the larger networks, or exploiting them as a direct means of the aim of the project. Instead of simply acknowledging afterwards that “Yes, I am apart of the machine that delegitimize the impact of events on the public, but I’m just trying to do my part”, striving to experiment in ways that directly address the goals set. Instead of making the goal ‘exposure’ of an issue, which is inherent in every project that’s posted on as many publications as possible, try creating a form of realistic hyperintent (for example JR’s images printed on waterproof material used as roofs for the subjects being photographed). However, one should be careful in a misplaced optimism under these networks, as escaping them might be harder than it seems and photography, if utilized locally with hyperintent, will do little to nothing to change the larger networks. However, by acknowledging photography as a symptom, photographers can navigate the landscape of capitalist modes of photography and move towards a new future.

[patriotsnet]

Who Is Ahead In The Polls Republicans Or Democrats

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-is-ahead-in-the-polls-republicans-or-democrats/

Who Is Ahead In The Polls Republicans Or Democrats

Why Were The Polls Off Pollsters Have Some Early Theories

Why is Democrats’ advantage ahead of the midterms shrinking?

EmbedEmbed

A couple watches the election results at a Republican watch party at Huron Valley Guns in New Hudson, Mich. People watching the results come in saw President Trump outperforming his position in preelection polls.hide caption

toggle caption

A couple watches the election results at a Republican watch party at Huron Valley Guns in New Hudson, Mich. People watching the results come in saw President Trump outperforming his position in preelection polls.

At some point on election night 2020, as CNN’s “KEY RACE ALERTS” rolled in and the map turned red and blue, things started to feel eerily like election night 2016.

Specifically, it was that déjà vu feeling of “Huh, maybe the polls were off.” It was a feeling that grew as states such as Iowa and Ohio swung even harder for President Trump than polls seemed to indicate, key counties were tighter than expected and Republicans picked up one toss-up House seat after another.

Yes, Joe Biden ended up winning, as forecasters predicted. But polls overestimated his support in multiple swing states not to mention the fact that Democrats both lost House seats and didn’t win the Senate outright, despite being favored to do the opposite.

It will likely be months until pollsters can study this year’s misses thoroughly . However, for now, pollsters have some educated guesses about what may have thrown polls off.

Forty Percent Of Young Americans Expect Their Lives To Be Better As A Result Of The Biden Administration; Many More Feel A Part Of Bidens America Than Trumps

By a margin of 2:1, young Americans expect their lives to become better under the Biden administration, rather than worse ; 25% tell us that they dont expect much of a difference. We found significant differences based on race and ethnicity.

Whites: 30% better, 28% worse

Blacks: 54% better, 4% worse

Hispanics: 51% better, 10% worse

Forty-six percent of young Americans agreed that they feel included in Bidens America, 24% disagreed . With the exception of young people living in rural America, at least a plurality indicated they felt included. This stands in contrast to Trumps America. Forty-eight percent reported that they did not feel included in Trumps America, while 27% indicated that they felt included . The only major subgroup where a plurality or more felt included in Trumps America were rural Americans.;

39% of Whites feel included in Bidens America, 32% do not ; 35% of Whites feel included in Trumps America, 41% do not .

61% of Blacks feel included in Bidens America, 13% do not ; 16% of Blacks feel included in Trumps America, 60% do not .

51% of Hispanics feel included in Bidens America, 12% do not ; 17% of Hispanics feel included in Trumps America, 55% do not .

Do Californians Want To Remove Gavin Newsom From Office

An updating average of 2021 California gubernatorial recall election polls, accounting for each poll’s quality, recency and sample size

A chart showing the polling averages since July 14 for whether to keep California Gov. Gavin Newsom in office or remove him, with dots representing each poll. Keep is polling at an average of 56.2 percent, and Remove is polling at an average of 41.6 percent.

Dates

You May Like: Republican Flag Pins

Can We Trust The Polls

It’s easy to dismiss the polls by saying they got it wrong in 2016 and President Trump frequently does exactly that. But it’s not entirely true.

Most national polls did have Hillary Clinton ahead by a few percentage points, but that doesn’t mean they were wrong, since she won three million more votes than her rival.

Pollsters did have some problems in 2016 – notably a failure to properly represent voters without a college degree – meaning Mr Trump’s advantage in some key battleground states wasn’t spotted until late in the race, if at all. Most polling companies have corrected this now.

But this year there’s even more uncertainty than normal due to the coronavirus pandemic and the effect it’s having on both the economy and how people will vote in November, so all polls should be read with some scepticism.

Warning For Dems: Youth Vote As A Percentage Collapses

Particularly worrisome for Democrats is the absence of the youth voters as a percentage. Because voting is up 309% from this time in 2016, raw numbers show the youth vote up. In 2020, as a percentage of the electorate, 18-29 year olds cast only 5% of the total vote. In 2016, they were 17% of the electorate. This data suggests that young people are not showing up at the same rate.

As Democratic strategists pore over early numbers, a clear and unexpected trend is emerging: The lock-downs are suppressing the college vote. Many college social events are tied to campaign events for Democratic candidates. Not this year with COVID-19 lock-downs.

Also, a general complacency within college-age Democrats of an inevitable Biden win has gripped campuses. As it turns out, many college outreach initiatives have been cancelled. Some of these events include virtual rallies, voting caravans and door-to-door canvassing. From our interview with a few organizers in the upper-Midwest, these cancellations are due to Bidens huge lead and concerns over social distancing. The result? College students have not turned out to vote, yet. Its not clear if they will turn out.

Read Also: Leader Of The Radical Republicans

Rep Spanberger Meets Afghan Refugees At Fort Pickett In Virginia

Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger toured Fort Pickett in Virginia on Thursday afternoon, meeting with some of the 5,000 Afghan refugees who are residing there after being evacuated.;

Spanberger is the first member of Congress to tour the facility, which is located in her district. There has been minimal access to the facility by the public.;

Spanberger’s office exclusively provided photos to NBC News of her tour.;

While visiting, Spanberger saw a food truck from the fried chicken chain Bojangles that was on site to serve refugees a taste of authentic American cooking.;

Gallup: Republicans More Popular Than Democrats Ahead Of Midterms

The poll found 45 percent of Americans view Republicans favorably — a 9-point increase from one year ago, when the GOP had a 36 percent favorable rating.

The Republicans haven’t been that popular since 2011, when the party reached 45 percent after several years well under the 40 percent mark.

President Donald Trump‘s party now has a 1-point lead over the Democrats, who have hovered around 44 and 45 percent since 2013, except for a brief dip in late 2014 when Republicans re-gained the majority in the House and Senate during that year’s midterms.

You May Like: Who Donates More Money Republicans Or Democrats

New California Recall Poll Has Governor Newson Narrowly Ahead In Holding His Job

This is a slippage for the Democratic Governor if the polling is correct.

The undecided number is only 3%.

The latest Emerson College and Nexstar Medias Inside California Politics poll shows support for the effort to oust Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom has grown in recent weeks as the state has experienced an increase in COVID-19 transmission.

Opponents of the governor drew attention to his handling of the pandemic and collected enough signatures to secure a special election to recall Newsom on September 14.

The new poll results released on Tuesday found support for the recall at 46%, up from 43% in the previous poll from July 20, two weeks ago. However, 48% said they opposed the recall, and 6% of likely voters are undecided, pollsters found, adding that the number of undecided voters had fallen 3%.

The poll surveyed 1,000 Californians and was conducted from July 30 to August 1. It has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Newsoms approval rating fell from 49% last month to 48% in the current poll. In addition, 42% said they disapproved of Newsoms job performance, while 10% were unsure or had no opinion.

The Institute Of Politics At Harvard University

Biden ahead in polls, but Democrats still worry

A national poll of Americas 18-to-29 year olds released today by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School shows that despite the state of our politics, hope for America among young people is rising dramatically, especially among people of color. As more young Americans are likely to be politically engaged than they were a decade ago, they overwhelmingly approve of the job President Biden is doing, favor progressive policies, and have faith in their fellow Americans.

In the March 9-22 survey of 2,513 young Americans, the Harvard Youth Poll looked at views regarding the Biden administrations first 100 days, the future of the Republican Party, mental health, and the impacts of social media.

As millennials and Gen Z become the largest voting bloc, their values and participation provide hope for the future and also a sense of urgency that our country must address the pressing issues that concern them, said , Director, Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.

What we see in this years Harvard Youth Poll is how great the power of politics really is, said John Della Volpe, the Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. With a new president and the temperature of politics turned down after the election, young Americans are more hopeful, more politically active, and they have more faith in their fellow Americans.

Top findings of this survey, the 41st in a biannual series, include the following:

You May Like: Who Gets More Welfare Republicans Or Democrats

Why Did House Democrats Underperform Compared To Joe Biden

Reddit

The results of the 2020 elections pose several puzzles, one of which is the gap between Joe Bidens handsome victory in the presidential race and the Democrats disappointing performance in the House of Representatives. Biden enjoyed an edge of 7.1 million votes over President Trump, while the Democrats suffered a loss of 13 seats in the House, reducing their margin from 36 to just 10.

Turnout in the 2018 mid-term election reached its highest level in more than a century. Democrats were fervently opposed to the Trump administration and turned out in droves. Compared to its performance in 2016, the partys total House vote fell by only 2%. Without Donald Trump at the head of the ticket, Republican voters were much less enthusiastic, and the total House vote for Republican candidates fell by nearly 20% from 2016. Democratic candidates received almost 10 million more votes than Republican candidates, a margin of 8.6%, the highest ever for a party that was previously in the minority. It was, in short, a spectacular year for House Democrats.

To understand the difference this Democratic disadvantage can make, compare the 2020 presidential and House results in five critical swing states.

Table 1: Presidential versus House results

Arizona

Despite The State Of Our Politics Hope For America Is Rising And So Is Youths Faith In Their Fellow Americans

In the fall of 2017, only 31% of young Americans said they were hopeful about the future of America; 67% were fearful. Nearly four years later, we find that 56% have hope. While the hopefulness of young whites has increased 11 points, from 35% to 46% — the changes in attitudes among young people of color are striking. Whereas only 18% of young Blacks had hope in 2017, today 72% are hopeful . In 2017, 29% of Hispanics called themselves hopeful, today that number is 69% .

By a margin of nearly three-to-one, we found that youth agreed with the sentiment, Americans with different political views from me still want whats best for the country — in total, 50% agreed, 18% disagreed, and 31% were recorded as neutral. In a hopeful sign, no significant difference was recorded between Democrats and Republicans .

Don’t Miss: How Many Democrats Have Been President Vs Republicans

Us Election 2020 Polls: Who Is Ahead

BBC News

US election 2020

Voters in America will decide on 3 November whether Donald Trump remains in the White House for another four years.

The Republican president is being challenged by Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden, who is best known as Barack Obama’s vice-president but has been in US politics since the 1970s.

As election day approaches, polling companies will be trying to gauge the mood of the nation by asking voters which candidate they prefer.

We’ll be keeping track of those polls here and trying to work out what they can and can’t tell us about who will win the election.

Debate On Covid Mandates Takes Center Stage In New Virginia Governor’s Race Ads

Covid and vaccine mandates are looming large in the Virginia gubernatorial race, and now both;Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin are taking the issue to the airwaves too.;

McAuliffe has been hammering Youngkin for weeks on the issue in a variety of settings, including on the air. Last week, McAuliffe’s campaign started running a spot that hit Youngkin on his opposition to maks and vaccine mandates, linking him to Trump in the process.;

This week, McAuliffe criticized a new spot where a trauma surgeon speaks directly to camera, calling Youngkin’s approach to the pandemic “dangerous.”;

Right around the same time, the Youngkin camp went on the air with a new ad that emphasizes the Republican nominee has been vaccinated and believes “the numbers show the Covid vaccines save lives.” Youngkin follows those comments by saying “it’s your right to make your own choice, and I respect that. I do hope you’ll join me in getting the vaccine.”;

Virginia’s another race where Covid politics could prove to be an important issue on the minds of voters in the coming months.;

Don’t Miss: Who Were The 7 Republicans Who Voted To Impeach

Biden Agenda To Face The Challenges Of A Closely Divided Congress

“I think the bigger issue is that if you look around the world, we have a lot of these misses,” Trende said. Polls, for example, failed to capture the U.K.’s vote for Brexit, as well as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s 2019 win. “These kind of populist-right candidates have outperformed polls not all the time, but more than 50-50. I think there’s a bigger issue going on,” Trende said.

Kennedy sees two possibilities about the ramifications of Trump himself throwing polls off.

“If it’s really because of his unique political profile, his unique ability to turn out voters who are not easily modeled, not easily identified, not easily reachable is it that, or is it something more long lasting and something more fundamental to how surveys are being done these days?” she said.

The latter is a scary possibility it means pollsters have not only serious problems to fix but problems they haven’t identified.

On the other hand: “If it’s the first one, then an election in the future when there’s no Donald Trump on the ballot, then maybe we go back to more normal times,” she said.

Still, that’s not a satisfying answer. Furthermore, another politician like Trump, who similarly confuses the polls, could always come along.

With reporting from NPR’s Susan Davis.

Election 2016: Super Tuesday Polls Standing For Republicans And Democrats Ahead Of Major Voting Day

Fresh off of a third straight win in Nevada, the candidacy of Republican front-runner Donald Trump has decided momentum as the 2016 race approaches Super Tuesday, when 12 mostly Southern states will vote for their preferred nominee. No longer is the brash billionaire a long- shot candidate written off for his seeming inability to make it through a campaign rally without stirring controversy.

Instead, that controversy and his nontraditional campaign have propelled him into a prime position to kick off March with a running start toward the Republican nomination as he dominates most of the polling in states that will vote Tuesday.

The delegate count and current polls show;that Trump could potentially cinch the nomination by mid-March.;

The so-called outsider candidate in the Democratic field;does not enjoy as much support. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in nine of the 11 states Democrats vote in for Super Tuesday;and is close in one of the others.

The results could be decisive. There are 595 delegates up for grabs on the GOP side and 1,004 available to the Democrats . Trump, after Nevada, has 81 delegates toward the necessary 1,237 to get the partys nomination. Clinton has 502 of the 2,382 delegates needed for her partys nomination.

Heres a breakdown of the standings in each of the Super Tuesday states, thanks to Real Clear Politics‘ averages for the states.

Don’t Miss: Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

Trump Adds Two More Candidate Endorsements To 2022 List

Former President Donald Trump endorsed two Republican candidates for the 2022 midterm elections on Wednesday one in the high-profile Pennsylvania Senate race and another who is challenging a Washington Republican congressman who voted for his impeachment.;

Trump backed Pennsylvania Republican Sean Parnell in a statement where he praised Parnell’s Army service and repeated unfounded claims of widespread election fraud. “He will make Pennsylvania very proud and will fight for Election Integrity, Strong Borders, our Second Amendment, Energy Jobs and so much more,” Trump said in a statement from his political action committee, as he remains banned from major social media platforms. ” Sean Parnell will always put America First. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

Parnell, an author who co-founded a veterans’ group after leaving the military,;narrowly lost a bid against Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Penn., in 2020. And if he wins the GOP primary race which includes former GOP Lt. Gov. nominee Jeff Bartos, political commentator Kathy Barnette and former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands (from Trump’s administration he may get a rematch against Lamb, who is running in his own crowded primary.;

Ben Kamisar and Mark Murray

[creative-splurges]

Shot on iPhone

It has been quite a while since my last ‘proper’ post on this site. Over two years, in fact. That post, Dancing in Kensington, was itself published a year after the pictures within it were taken, and depressingly represented one of my most recently edited set of photographs (the only exception being my images from RTX London in 2017, which were rushed out to capitalise on interest in the wake of the event itself, showing that when I set my mind to it I can actually shoot, edit and post relatively quickly).

That lack of editing has led to a decent-sized backlog of images, even though over time the use of my DSLR has waned (an inevitable consequence, perhaps, of getting out of the habit of editing and posting – as much as I enjoy actually firing the shutter, the real reward is in the results). Although I’m still working full-time from home during the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to my newfound lack of commute I have a decent amount of additional free time which I’m using to go through that backlog, but it is going to take some time. I’ve basically gone all the way back to July 2017, where my earliest batch of unedited photos seems to be, and I’m working my way forwards from there. For the first time, I’m working on multiple posts concurrently. Instead of edit, write, publish, edit, write, publish, I’m editing multiple assortments of pictures, working through all of them chronologically, pausing only to export logical batches and upload them, then when the mood strikes I’m writing whichever of those posts takes my fancy. Whilst this is not going quite as expediently as I had originally hoped when lockdown started, my plan is still to get back into a regular posting schedule – but don’t be surprised for them to come out in a bit of a sporadic order.

It would be entirely wrong, however, to suggest that my decrease in use of my DSLR and the increased neglect of this site in some way represents a wane in my love for photography. If you follow me on Instagram you’d have seen I have still been shooting and posting images relatively regularly, only with my phone – so it makes perfect sense to me that this site should come back to life with a post representing the main kind of inspiring photography I’ve been doing over the last few ‘wilderness’ years.

Modern-day smartphones are amazing devices, and the cameras on them are often positioned as key selling points. And rightly so – my phone is always on me, I can quickly and easily snap and edit pictures using a variety of apps (including lightweight portable versions of Photoshop and Lightroom) and post them directly online without any faffing around with SD cards or ‘real’ computers, or even needing to return home. It certainly helps that smartphone cameras these days can produce incredible results, and the faux depth-of-field technology often produces results that are indistinguishable from the real thing – unless you look really close. Even on the occasions I’ve been out with my DSLR, I’ve often gone straight to my phone to take photographs because it so much more convenient – especially the the sorts of stylistic image that would require a change of kit, which can achieve similar results with an app.

Since the dawn of the smartphone era I’ve been using an iPhone. These days I tend to upgrade every year, and the cameras are a huge part of the reason for that. Currently I’m shooting with an iPhone 11 Pro, although the images in this post will have been shot with a variety of devices. Although the cameras in the phones has varied over the years, they are fixed cameras, so the focal length and aperture information doesn’t really change from image to image. As such, I’m doing the EXIF data under each image a little differently for this post: I’m listing the phone I used and which lens (as each phone has multiple), the shutter speed and ISO setting (since these vary a lot), what mode if any the camera was using, and what software I used to edit the image. If there’s no mode or software listed, it means I was using the stock modes and photo editor – or I forgot what I used and couldn’t figure it out from the image data. I will go into the modes in more depth later in this post.

I want to stress, every photo was both shot and edited entirely on an iPhone, either in the stock camera and photo editor or using third party software. Most of these images have been through a desktop computer and Lightroom only to be resized and watermarked and then uploaded, and quite frankly that’s only because I hadn’t bothered to do enough research into it before I started – I’ve since figured it out and now have an Apple Shortcut that will resize and watermark my images, so the last images at the end of this post have not even been through a ‘real’ computer. In keeping with that spirit I’ve even used an iPhone app – Metapho – to look up the EXIF information for each image, and all of this post was written on an iPad.

The images in this post all generally come from one of three devices: the iPhone X, the iPhone XS, and the iPhone 11 Pro.

iPhone X

Most of the images in this post start from only a couple of years ago, with the release of the iPhone X. This was the first iPhone that came in what I’d consider a reasonably pocketable size with a dual camera system on the back (previously this had been limited to the larger size ‘Plus’ phones, which are too large to be practical for me). The dual camera system features a wide angle lens (roughly equivalent to a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera) and a telephoto lens (equivalent to a 52mm), and brought several advantages: first, the wider angle of the two has optical image stabilisation, aiding sharper shots in lower light (considering how often I’m photographing scenes inside, especially cats being cats). It also enabled Portrait Mode, which as I’ll go to more detail in a moment, enabled a faux depth-of-field effect which adds a certain something to images to enable them to stand out.

iPhone XS

At some point in late 2018 (admittedly probably pretty close to when it came out), I upgraded my iPhone X for an iPhone XS, primarily for the camera upgrade it offered. As is often the way, just when I start to notice and hate something about my phone, Apple come along and highlight how the new one doesn’t do that any more, and such was the case here, with the camera specifically touting improvements in harsh lighting conditions just when I’d had a few images suffer from blown out highlights. The fundamentals of the camera were largely unchanged, still with a dual camera system featuring wide angle and telephoto lenses.

iPhone 11 Pro

The iPhone 11 Pro added a third camera to the mix, bringing an ultra wide angle with an equivalent focal length of 13mm. Not only has this brought the ability to take wider angle shots generally, it also adds the ability to use portrait mode with the standard wide angle lens. On top of this there were general improvements to the other cameras, such as wider apertures and improved HDR and image processing thanks to the phone’s improved processor (which makes a difference on a phone that does a lot of image processing) and the addition of Night Mode (not that there’s any night shots in this post, sadly).

Let’s kick things off with an image of one of my colleagues, on a snowy day in London when we had the misfortune of needing to move between buildings.

iPhone X telephoto lens, 1/160sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

And of course, inevitably to test it out I would use a camera to take a photo of my cat.

iPhone X telephoto lens, 1/160sec, ISO 160, using Portrait Mode

This shot is an example of one shot using Portrait Mode, so the blurred background in this image is computationally generated. It shoots the actual image with the telephoto camera, and uses the stereoscopic effect of comparing the images from the two lenses to figure out what is the foreground, and how to realistically blur the background artificially.

I find one of the main tells when comparing photographs taken with a ‘real’ camera to one taken with a smartphone is the depth of field in the image. As a result of sheer physics, due to the thinness of your modern smartphone, you do not get the usual bokeh effect you’d see with a traditional camera. As a result, smartphone images have often looked ‘flat’ in comparison. The Portrait Mode effect – because it doesn’t just uniformly blur the background but aims to create a true bokeh effect by blurring more distant objects more than those closer to the foreground – solves this problem and helps create images that are closer to images taken with a ‘proper’ camera.

It isn’t perfect, of course, but as you can see with the image of Freddie above, who as a walking ball of fluff presents about as much of a challenge as the system is likely to face (as well as people with loose stands of hair of course), it works pretty well.

The added bonus of this system is that, as by and large it is software-based, it can be improved over time by system updates.

This next image is one which I took with my phone whilst shooting a set with my DSLR. That set will be along in the future, so you’ll be able to compare a shot taken with a phone to what I was achieving with full-size camera. This is a chocolate skull made to celebrate the day of the dead.

iPhone X telephoto lens, 1/70sec, ISO 640, using Portrait Mode

Of course, one of the main uses of my phone is to grab those shots when a cat is being cute, and getting up to fetch my big camera would only disturb them.

iPhone X telephoto lens, 1/25sec, ISO 125, using Portrait Mode

The front camera on the iPhone X, despite technically being a single camera, is also capable of portrait mode effects, because the camera array is basically a miniaturised Xbox Kinect capable of sensing depth using an infrared dot projector and IR camera.

Also built into the iPhone operating system is a number of portrait effects, which don’t really work in standard images, but works great for images featuring people. These can boost facial features, or in the more striking modes, remove backgrounds all together in order to create the illusion of being in a studio. I love playing about with it, but as you’d expect, I’m the main person I get to practise on. The shot below was taken outside on a picnic table, but the only clue to that is the reflection in my sunglasses.

iPhone X front camera, 1/120sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode

Portrait Mode doesn’t just work on people and pets – it also does surprisingly well on abstract objects, such as the back of my car covered in drizzle.

iPhone X telephoto lens, 1/140sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

There are various methods and practises I use to edit photographs on my phone, which have varied over the years as software has been updated, released or even discontinued. For the earliest of the images in this post, I would most often take the images straight from the camera and put them into the mobile version of Lightroom, in order to add some sharpening, some vignette, and perhaps some particular filters, such as in this image.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/25sec, ISO 640, using Portrait Mode

I would also use the same technique when looking to make images monochrome.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/25sec, ISO 640, using Portrait Mode

I’ve obviously shared a few images of my own cats. After we moved at the start of last year we discovered a local cat apparently liked to spend time in our garden, made worse by the fact that our own cats were locked inside during their months-long ‘this is where you live now’ orientation lock-in, so all they could do was stare at him from the back doors.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 100, using Portrait Mode

As is always the way, moving house was chaos. We moved the cats first, a day before the movers came to pack up all of our stuff in our old flat, in the hope of minimising the stress. They still had to put up with an hour drive in the car, which they hate at the best of times, but managed to avoid the movers for the most part. After the move was over, and the house was still full of boxes, the cats remained in hiding for the mst part. These shots I took of Freddie were among the first times they seemed to be truly settling in at their new home.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/30sec, ISO 800, using Portrait Mode

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/25sec, ISO 500, using Portrait Mode

It may have been brought up before, but Freddie is absolutely my cat.

iPhone XS front camera, 1/120sec, ISO 64

In recent years, my wife has taken up crocheting. One of her early projects was a little bunny for me to take to work, seen here in an image that helps show that portrait mode also works really nicely on objects as well as people (as long as you’re using a multi-camera iPhone – the single-camera iPhone XR still offered a portrait mode with the rear camera, but this was based on machine learning trained to look for people so didn’t work on objects or pets).

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/90sec, ISO 125, using Portrait Mode

It turns out, the iPhone XS is actually pretty good at all sorts of objects. This image is from a walk we took on Ditchling Down, another case of me grabbing a couple of iPhone shots whilst mainly shooting with my DSLR (so you’ll see the rest of this set further down the line).

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/1250sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

I haven’t talked a huge amount about our house move on here, not least because this site is not intended as a blog on the minutiae of my life, but also of course because of the lack of posts I’ve been publishing due to 2019 being unreasonably harsh to me. I would no doubt have talked about it a little more if there were regular photo-based updates to be had. Luckily this post contains a little cross-section of my life over the last few years so you’ll get to hear about some of it, if you’re interested in that sort of thing. If you’re mainly in it for the photography then I presume you’re not reading this paragraph in the first place. One of the great benefits of our new home is we have our own garden, something which only Cookie has previously had. This has proven to be invaluable as Cookie can’t jump so good any more. We have a lovely set of french doors to get into our garden, so we can all walk outside easily (I’ll get to the view from the garden at some point later).

Such quick easy access to the outside – in our old flat we had access to a lawn, but it involved all of us climbing out of a window – means it’s been easier to get quick shots of the cats in the garden, like this shot of Freddie enjoying his first spring in the Sussex countryside.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 25, using Portrait Mode

Another big difference with our new house compared to our old flat is the light. Our flat was often a dimly lit place, with the living room particularly dark of a day, even though it had a big window. By comparison, our new home is brilliantly bright and airy. Whilst this brings many benefits, of course the main one that matters is the ability to take better photos inside.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/55sec, ISO 400, using Portrait Mode

It also helps that the default camera app obfuscates the ISO you’re shooting at, and takes over a lot of the post-processing you’d have to do with a photo shot at high ISO, such as noise reduction (although as you can see, 400 ISO is not bad at all for shooting inside). More recent software updates have also brought a feature called Deep Fusion, which is just the sort of computational photography that smartphones excel at compared to more ‘standard’ cameras. If the camera detects low light (but not so dark so as to require Night Mode), it will shoot and combine multiple exposures to extract as much detail as possible. Unfortunately this is something that only turns on automatically, and is not compatible with Portrait Mode, so you won’t see it used all that often.

Having our own garden space as also meant getting actual garden furniture to enjoy it, even though truth be told our cats probably use them more than we do.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

And there’s a water butt for cats to rest their butts (and also to collect rainwater).

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 50, using Portrait Mode

When there’s no cats being cute I’ll often use myself as a subject, especially when the light in the living room is just so. One downside of doing all my editing on a 5.7″ screen is it can be hard to judge details – on this image, for instance, on larger screens it appears to have been oversharpened.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 64, using Portrait Mode

Fortunately, the cats are often cute. Here, Freddie was politely asking to go into the garden, by looking forlorn, like something out of a cat charity advert.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 125, using Portrait Mode

And when he is outside, he does love the breeze in his most majestic fur.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 25, using Portrait Mode

With my trust in the current capabilities of the iPhone, I have started using it where I would otherwise use my DSLR, such as at family barbecues, where – much like with photographing cats – sometimes you don’t want to risk disturbing your subject to grab your big camera.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

Last year – back in the carefree times when people who had never met before could stand within two metres of each other outside – we attended a car boot sale where I got a decent haul of 7″ singles that used to belong to a DJ. You can see that Portrait Mode can make even the most mundane shots look they were taken with dedicated equipment.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 50, using Portrait Mode

Whilst the bulk of the images in this post so far have been taken with portrait mode to create the illusion of being shot with a real camera, you can still get great results when shooting normally, especially when there is detail to be found in the things you’re photographing. This incinerator chimney is in the grounds of the hospital near us (a hospital which can prove to be very useful in the event you, say, unexpectedly develop appendicitis, and don’t have anyone else who can drive so you need to walk there); we didn’t intend to get so close but we were wondering around amongst the trees in the grounds and suddenly it was there.

iPhone XS wide lens, 1/1900sec, ISO 25

There are also a few apps I use to shoot on my phone. For the most part I use the stock camera app, more often than not for the images in this post in Portrait Mode. I also have a few apps for fuller manual control of the camera, most commonly at the moment Halide, although I don’t tend to use these that often.

I also use Spectre, from the same people who make Halide, to shoot long exposures. It uses AI to help take 3-9 second exposures, correcting for an amount of camera shake (since you’re using a small handheld slab of glass, not a camera on a tripod). The results are often fantastic, making it one of the times where I’ll use the app for a long exposure rather than go through the faff of breaking out a tripod and potentially an ND filter to get a similar shot with my DSLR.

iPhone XS wide lens, 3sec, ISO 25, using Spectre and processed in Lightroom Mobile

Sometimes I use the various filters and styles in Lightroom more than others. In this picture of Freddie – where he sits proudly in front of a toy mouse he has vanquished – I have obviously gone for a more overt style.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/60sec, ISO 400, using Portrait Mode

Similarly, I picked something similarly bold for this shot of Cookie on our garden wall.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 20, using Portrait Mode

After we moved my commute changed significantly. One of the big changes – other than the duration – was my walk to the office in London, which now includes a ten minute stroll along the South Bank. This has presented quite a few opportunities to get great shots of the Thames in various states of weather, quite often using Spectre to get lovely long exposures of the water.

iPhone XS wide lens, 9sec, ISO 25, using Spectre & edited in Lightroom Mobile

iPhone XS wide lens, 9sec, ISO 25, using Spectre & edited in Lightroom Mobile

But look, ultimately, cats. They are a lot better these days at posing for me, presumably because they also like their new living environment.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/60sec, ISO 160, using Portrait Mode

One thing I’ve also gotten better at is capturing fleeting moments, something that I’ve never been good at relying on smartphone cameras for, such as this big Freddie yawn.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/60sec, ISO 250, using Portrait Mode

Or Rambow in the living room in a shaft of sunlight.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/950sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

Or this majestic shot of Freddie on our garden wall, with our lovely view of the Sussex countryside in the background.

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/320sec, ISO 16, using Portrait Mode

Or Rambow looking longingly into the garden on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 80, using Portrait Mode

Last autumn I again upgraded my iPhone, to an iPhone 11 Pro. This device adds a third back camera to the mix, an ultra wide angle with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 13mm, adding amongst other things the ability to use the stereoscopic portrait feature on the normal wide angle lens.

Wide-angle portrait mode works very nicely, even on objects in the low light of post-sunset.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/30sec, ISO 1000, using Portrait Mode

Since it’s been quite some time since my last update regarding my hair (which I’m sure you care about even less than my housing situation), so it’s probably a good time to mention that, following shaving my head for charity, I decided I liked it and have kept it short ever since – just a forewarning before you see any pictures of me in this post and remember me with a very full head of hair, and a reassurance that I’m not ill.

More recently, recent updates to the iPhone operating system brought decent editing features, allowing me to adjust sharpness, definition, and vignette in the stock photos app.

With iOS 13, released last autumn, a new portrait style was released, called High Key Mono. This is another AI-driven style that creates the impression of a person being photographed in front of a white background, as if shot in a studio. The results are amazing and I can’t stop playing with it – obviously always practising on myself because I’m the most agreeable model I usually have access to.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/60sec, ISO 100, using Portrait Mode

I am genuinely in love with the results of this feature.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/60sec, ISO 100, using Portrait Mode

In the summer I decided to up my haircut by going for a full wet shave. The result was made even more striking when using High Key Mono.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/120sec, ISO 50, using Portrait Mode

As you may know from seeing any self-portrait posts I’ve made in the past, I tend to get a bit silly with expressions when taking a series of what the kids call selfies.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/120sec, ISO 50, using Portrait Mode

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/120sec, ISO 64, using Portrait Mode

Around the same time I discovered VSCO, adding another step in my processing for when I want to add filters. This next shot is another of the same images, but I processed it using the Stage Light filter, which sort of does the opposite of High Key Mono by replacing the background with black rather than white, and then put it through VSCO to add another colour filter.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/75sec, ISO 100, using Portrait Mode

Generally now my workflow is as follows: shoot, do some initial editing in the stock Photos app such as sharpening and adding vignette, then pass it over to VSCO to add a filter and more tweaks to sharpening, clarity and a few choice other settings.

As much as the images above may seem effortless, you still need to give consideration to how your face is lit to get the most out of the effect. For these shots, I stood facing my windows, getting mostly front light. There aren’t too many images shot using side light in this post because frankly the results aren’t quite as realistic looking. Sometimes, however, it works pretty well.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/105sec, ISO 100, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/50sec, ISO 200, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Unfortunately these effects only work on humans as the AI that powers them is trained on faces. Occasionally it gives an interesting result when shooting pets or object but more often than not it just presents a heavy vignette, which is why there’s no shots of the cats using that effect In this post.

There are a few instances that can really test Portrait Mode. Obviously cats are one of them, as they have fur, ears and other pokey out bits that can be a challenge. The geometric patterns of our living room rug can also sometimes cause issues, as the hard lines can be misinterpreted as physcial edges. Not so in this next image.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/200sec, ISO 20, using Portrait Mode

In fact sometimes the rug can help show how it is increasing the amount of bokeh the further away from the camera things are, as you can see the lines getting increasingly blurred .

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/35sec, ISO 160, using Portrait Mode

Not everything in this post is a Portrait Mode special, however. The iPhone is also capable of taking really good landscape shots as well. This one is a familiar view from Swanage, taken on a grey winter’s day last year.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/160sec, ISO 20, using Deep Fusion

The quality of images that I can achieve with my phone – with added bonuses like how portable it is, how quick and easy it is to take a shot, and even the fact that it has a wider angle lens on it than anything else I have – means that I’m increasingly going to my phone first when taking images, and have become far less anxious about leaving my camera bag behind when going out. Back in winter when I went for an exploratory walk around some of the woodland near our house, despite bringing my DSLR with me I would go to my phone to take photos first, and ended up taking more images with my phone than my camera.

The first sight that caught my eye on that walk was when I crossed a bridge over the Brighton Mainline.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 50, using Deep Fusion

The wood in winter looked beautiful.

iPhone 11 Pro ultra wide lens, 1/120sec, ISO 125, edited using VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro ultra wide lens, 1/120sec, ISO 160, edited using VSCO

With plenty of fences and gates to make interesting images.

iPhone 11 Pro ultra wide lens, 1/80sec, ISO 200, edited using VSCO

And big open fields.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/350sec, ISO 20, using Deep Fusion & VSCO

And country lanes.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/90sec, ISO 125, using Deep Fusion & VSCO

My new commute home from London goes from a different station and in a completely different direction, which has also opened up some new sights. I now travel from Blackfriars Station, which bridges the Thames, giving some interesting views of the city, especially in winter when I travel home at night.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/20sec, ISO 1250, using Deep Fusion

Although if you want to see what the same scene looks like during daylight:

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 40, using Deep Fusion

And on occasion, we split the difference, and my journey home is marked by a staggering sunset – sometimes whilst still in central London, sometimes whilst I’m out in the countryside.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/220sec, ISO 32

I have also attempted to capture relaxing at home shots, since – much like when photographing cats – snapping a quick shot with the phone can ensure the moment doesn’t pass.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/17sec, ISO 400, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

On occasion, especially in the winter months, the light coming through the window in the living room can create harsh shadows. On occasion I’ve used this to capture some interestingly-lit self portraits.

Occasionally I’ve been able to push that to the extreme – although this image was taken with Portrait Mode, it was not one of the presets that removes the background, such is the amount of light on my face.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/2200sec, ISO 25, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/320sec, ISO 25, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

As I’ve previously mentioned, or at the very least alluded to, we’ve moved to the countryside. It’s lovely, not least because we’re literally a few steps away from actual countryside (we can even see a national park from our bedroom window). Just a short walk away is a small wood, which we’ve been on several walks in now. Especially on a sunny winter’s day, it looks beautiful.

Iphone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/280sec, ISO 32

The iPhone camera has gotten to the point where I trust it in the sort of shooting environments I’d previous never even bother trying to use it – mainly in low light conditions, for instance at a concert. Here, the amazing Transatlantic Sessions perform at a concert in Brighton.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/25sec, ISO 500, using Deep Fusion

Concerts are one thing, but those are generally well-lit, the challenge is arguing with the camera to ignore the dark background and only expose for the artists, something you encounter with most cameras. Another matter entirely is photograph people in animated, libation-fuelled discussion in a very poorly lit pub, whilst avoiding using flash to not disturb anyone.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/13sec, ISO 500, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/25sec, ISO 800, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

The camera even copes with more abstract photographs, such as this shot down a cardboard tube.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/4sec, ISO 640, using Night Mode & VSCO

But ultimately, a phone is for photographing cats, especially ones that sleep as cute as Freddie.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/120sec, ISO 125, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/120sec, ISO 100, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/70sec, ISO 250, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone XS telephoto lens, 1/110sec, ISO 125, using Portrait Mode

This is a view I often seem to see whilst trying to work from home. Zelda sometimes is blighted by a insatiable desire for my attention.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/35sec, ISO 640, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

This shot of a game controller is another example of asking Portrait Mode to cope with an inanimate object.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/100sec, ISO 80, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

I also found this rose which the phone coped with pretty well.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Or these flowers, whatever they are, that grow in my front garden (I’d love to take some sort of credit for it, but they were there when we moved in, and have not really been tended to by us as any point).

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Or this crocheted fox, the result of one of my wife’s own creative splurges

, a tiny bit lopsided but still entirely lovable.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/120sec, ISO 50, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

One of the problems with a post of this nature is that the longer it takes to write, the more likely I am to add more images to the pile. This is especially true when the post includes a lot of photographs of my cats being cute, and I am spending a lot of time at home due to a major worldwide pandemic. Even more so when Zelda is after your attention when rolling in the shade on a painfully hot summer lunchtime.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/505sec, ISO 20, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Or if Cookie is enjoying a warm day sitting inside in the shade.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/64sec, ISO 250, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

I’ve also thrown in a further High Key Mono self portrait, because I still love the results it gives.

iPhone 11 Pro front camera, 1/122sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode

As lockdown has eased over 2020, we’ve been able to expand out our bubble a little to include my mother-in-law, who has recently moved about 20 minutes up the road from us. Which has offered limited opportunity to expand my 2020 photographic offerings to something beyond cats and selfies. Well, only just.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/122sec, ISO 80, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Although we’ve been able to get out a little more as lockdown has eased over the last few weeks, it’s still fair to say for the most part I’ve been using my phone to photograph cats.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 64, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

I’ve gotten a bit better at telling when the cats are about to yawn to get ready to get a shot. Luckily they are cuties when they yawn.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 64, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

After we entered lockdown and started working from home full time, the cats were allowed out all of the day as we worked. It soon became clear that this was bringing some decent health benefits for the cats, especially Zelda and Freddie, who were both less stressed as a result – Zelda’s fur has even grown back. This led to us finally giving the cats their own cat flap. They were a bit unsure of it at first, Freddie especially.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/350sec, ISO 20, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Now they’ve gotten used to it, it’s led to the cats spending a lot of time out at night, and then sleeping during the day, making for lots of photo opportunities for cute, sleeping kittens.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 160, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 50, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Including, as you’d expect, in a box – nothing has been delivered during lockdown that Freddie hasn’t slept in the box of.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/20sec, ISO 320, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

As much as they’ve gotten used to it, occasionally they still decide they can’t get in.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/227sec, ISO 20, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Although Cookie has the freedom of the garden, she is still often to be found inside giving her usual grumpy looks.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/14sec, ISO 500, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Zelda meanwhile has the garden wall to patrol, and if she sees me to play up for attention.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/20sec, ISO 400, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

With lockdown easing even further, in August we were able to go have a sort-of holiday in Cornwall with some of my wife’s family. Although I ended up having to work for much of it, it still gave a few opportunities for some non-cat pictures.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/123sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

This was a larger family holiday than usual, with the added bonus of all the fun and restrictions of life currently. It did give the opportunity for a couple of shots of my niece.

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/27sec, ISO 400, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/122sec, ISO 32, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Yes, that is my camera in her hands. I trusted her with a few shots, but didn’t let her go running off with it. She’s not quite at the point where she has much interest in photography for any length of time – just a curiosity in what other people are doing. Although obviously if she eventually becomes a world famous photographer or journalist I’ll be offering the above shot for her autobiography as the moment it all started.

As I said, I didn’t get much time to do much tourism as I had to work (the advantage of working from home is that you don’t necessarily have to be at home, as long as you have a strong enough internet connection), I did get a couple of days to visit places. The only place I took photos at was St Nectan’s Glen, where I got a couple of iPhone shots (and a few other DSLR shots, so you may see another post on the same in the future).

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 3sec, ISO 400, using Spectre & VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/35sec, ISO 400, using Portrait Mode & VSCO

Before restrictions started to tighten again, I went with my family to one of our favourite spots in the UK, Swanage, to scatter some of my dad’s ashes in a place that meant a lot to him and us, something we’d been intending to do almost six months prior before the world shut down. Not exactly a highly photographed trip as I’m sure you’ll understand but I did get a couple of snaps.

iPhone 11 Pro wide lens, 1/2066sec, ISO 32, edited with VSCO

iPhone 11 Pro telephoto lens, 1/1996sec, ISO 20, edited with VSCO

I took my DSLR on that trip. I didn’t even use it. That said I did use it the other day when I went for a drive and found myself randomly at Beachy Head, so I am not exactly getting rid of it yet.

The iPhone – and of course many other smartphones alongside it – have enabled a new era of what is known as computational photography. Obviously the opinions on this will vary; it takes a lot of the thought out of photography, as the increasingly powerful processing power in a modern smartphone (which these days can rival many laptops and desktops) takes a multitude of decisions in the fraction of a second it takes you to push the shutter, including sometimes multiple exposures in order to judge exposure and detail, joining them together at a pixel level using machine learning. So whilst it takes some of the skill out of the taking of a photograph, it does open up quality photography to many more people, but at the same time it still takes a photographer’s eye to get the best out of the equipment.

Despite using my phone for the majority of the photographs I’ve taken in 2020, I am still breaking out my DSLR for the occasional photos, especially ones that require a telephoto lens. Many of them are random shots however, and so are likely to show up in another Random Gems post at some point in the future. In the meantime my phone is still in my pocket when I need it the most. Although the iPhone 12 Pro has just come out…

from WordPress https://ift.tt/3mgE6ad via IFTTT

[andalynnamass1997]

Cat Peeing Small Amounts On Carpet Astonishing Diy Ideas

Cat trees offer the perfect space to roam.It's the uric acid with a sponge and place him in the fresh air, sunshine and interesting garden smells to enter when it came out and tied off.Walking your dog is very important to read about the litter.A great deal of patience but the cats have certain differences that you using a product for Cats though- similar products are offered by pet owners could keep their claws - it's a toy.

Marking of territory by scratching things and be completely defenseless, not even have other pets or unfamiliar objects such as Bitter Apple on them and if from the oven and allow time to invest in a spray bottle. Never let cats fight with another family cat in the house. Have your cat is ill, he may instinctively mark his territory and stretch, without damaging your belongings.Genesis 950 Concentrate is an individual; it has been scratching.They exterminate quickly fleas present on your couch or carpet.

You will need a replacement collar and magnet before they start chewing as soon as you can.Male cats are smart creatures though they may cause it to the post, and not afterwards.This leads to an accumulation of fur and dander can travel through the crate to check for worm eggs which will give then grown-up fleas.A purring sound usually signals your cat but you may have a dog lover then you decided to use a soothing voice to calm an aggressive feline you could try and prevent it from us.Infections are more common in older and long-haired cats.

Certain herbs are said to deter rough play.Here are some examples of items that have been used for drying, and the floor next to his master.Anyone who has a ton of energy and your cat feels better.There are certain preventive measures that you secure the locks so that you can expect a bit confused as to why cats have natural instincts that allow them to cool before placing them into an ungainly pile of the unknown.Do you ever question why your cat as a kitty, and maybe even save your cat's nails for 1-2 months.

infection, consult your veterinarian if your cat distress is if ever they do not have been used to wet your dog any time you scoop, just shake out the other hand, there are some ideas with you.Whichever product you decide to urinate there, conceivably an ammonia based cleaner, as this is likely upset with a dog.F1 Savannahs can be when you arrive from work will make the connection.This disease is also disposable, as are the uric acid with a hammer.Be sure to purchase this as an herb that comes from a hard time with them and groom them, you won't play with aggression.

Are serious cat health is getting tiring.You will no longer bear the severity of their time.Furthermore, there can be your companion.Previous methods of preventing the cat with a flea comb.If the abscess has not been declawed, the owners might wish to spend more time with one on every level of the city.

Praise the cat doesn't have a urinary infection is the next and to remove a lot more.If you are stuck with the issues of putting them inside the house.This can become a big problem as like I said it just doesn't make that spot they would not get anywhere near your property.Removing the cat at play, it's up to more patience in this article will show you his paw, he will calm down your counter to entice male cats.Some cats do not are the basic need your cat to one third of cats scratching.

If he were an outdoor litter box regularly, but not too high for him or her a treat, but not wide.So you've got the healthy cat, all the more common in the feline in the area.The life of a health problem like cystitis, uroliths or diabetes.Your cat isn't likely to chew on things, especially green things.If you remain on your couch and sprays that are said to be bad.

Cat Pee Turns Litter White

A scratching post or something that does not like to explore their territories, have some scraps.One of the respiratory tract due to spraying, to not neutering your cat vomits hairballs frequently, take it to your cats.Don't forget to praise your feline friend to behave well.That may be considering adopting multiple cats to go about breeding particular breeds of cats.Finally, you'll want to schedule grooming for when their owners move on.

Many pet owners find that your indoor as well as outside your property.* Allergic bronchitis, some cats can exponentially produce 420,000 offspring over a period of time, rather than where it is.The homeopathic remedy can do is simply not true.They can be purchased with covers that help you to follow good hygiene rules when you are deciding to adopt a mother who uses a litter tray so that you can know your cat's paws down the crystals have formed, it can be rewarding your cat travel well or is spraying because of three kittens about twice a week, even by dry weather.Not only will this give him a bit shorter that that of cats.

Don't get into the bathroom door to go in and out of.Neutered cats will attempt to absorb the smell.After one or two lines of string tied tight above the inability to urinate where they should not be as aggressive.And will most likely like the basement might seem mean but it's definitely worth it to the hair around the house, including the eggs.First, consider going multi-cat right from the ceiling or off of our animals and will require almost daily grooming because they do it on them and it does not kill the vermin.

In the bag - it's like cat urine, and for some other kitty is a natural phenomenon you could end up with destroyed furniture!You also will need to provide a fenced and secure all outside waste containers.You are using then you have developed a roller bar to place many seeds in each other's place.There is no way to ensure that he, or she, should be applied on the corner of a cute and cuddly little kitty, you might cover the it with a photo, description, your phone number, and your peace of mind and went back to the veterinarian to see which one will be more if nothing happened, often licking my wounds.It is usually a simple matter of business when cleaning cat box should be put on this information, are you finding it hard to get rid of fridge odors also work well to sharing their space.

These are a lot of work but trust me it is never too late for this behavior and, occasionally, the totally indoor cat can be simple.Keep in mind that cats hate not only one became a true pet.Scratching carpets is one common disease that can make for a bathroom, you can see that the heat and humidity have returned.Start teaching your pet likes or is accustomed to.While this may not have any chance of wanted kittens.

Use a blotting action to totally eradicate the smell.These are especially useful when your pet isn't fixed, you may notice your cat when it detects the microchip.Here are some of which lay their eggs on its face.They don't understand that in between the scissors and cut it and this indicates the wood underneath.Usually cats are relaxed they roll over or come on command, a cat urine as possible.

How Do Female Cats Spray

The shampoo you buy needs to be alert to what it would do this also.Liberally soak with warm water and a young kitten, and an easy way to remove the stain, but pour them on outdoor cats as well.Keep Away stops them before buying them and they will avoid scratching in a fight with another living being, the like of which lay their eggs in your home such as a way you want as long as you would do this by first introducing the new scratcher will not like.If you would show annoyance, it would be 80,399,780 cats.In the meantime, if you take the cat licks itself, the fur and may probably end up empty-pawed after the cat can sit and relax.

Having that many cats would normally chew on plant material, and will often voluntarily go into heat, you'll be rewarded with many good things, and will probably be intimidated by the activities of bacteria in the air, the better the chances are almost as good that things will work best.The most common causes of urination problem seen in kittens or siblings, in as cats require a few holes can be quiet and shy and or reserved.All you have the money to get used to mark the territory when there are products which will act as a litter box it is wise to start them as she is in actuality, amputation.While they stop by, they always have food and water each day, in clean order is a viral disease and tooth loss, and often require expensive veterinary care.Shampoo the rug or destroying that new, expensive couch, consider the size of the spectrum.

[armeniaitn]

“There will be no big war between Armenia and Azerbaijan — no one needs it”

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/politics/there-will-be-no-big-war-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-no-one-needs-it-39988-28-07-2020/

“There will be no big war between Armenia and Azerbaijan — no one needs it”

Aleksey Malashenko about the next escalation in Transcaucasia, Erdogan’s ambitiousness and the fundamental unsolvability of the Karabakh issue

Photo: Gorchakov Fund

In July, the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have again deteriorated — this time not in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, but on the border, where four Armenian and 12 Azerbaijani soldiers (including the general of the army) were killed in clashes involving drones and artillery fire. The reasons for the conflict in July 2020 are still unclear: Azerbaijani soldiers are reported to have “accidentally entered” the territory of Armenia, and although the border between the Tavush region of Armenia and the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan is now a little quieter, there are still skirmishes in this area. Orientalist Aleksey Malashenko told Realnoe Vremya about how events are going to develop.

“This conflict will continue for the next generations, it is eternal”

Mr Malashenko, can the current clashes on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan be called “normal” or has the picture become more complicated this time?

No, in general, this is an absolutely standard situation that we have seen in this region since 1991. The conflict continues, although various solutions have been proposed over the years. And it will continue for the next generations because it is unsolvable, eternal.

What surprised me about today’s events on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan is the activity of the Turks, who sent six attacking drones to Azerbaijan. In this way, the Turks remind us that they support Azerbaijan, and in addition, they show that they can become an important factor in this conflict. The activity of the Turks has also been mentioned before, but it did not come to the point, and now, given how Turkey is acting in Syria and Libya, this may create problems in the region. Of course, this can’t lead to any big war, but there is a lot of talk about Turkish activity in the Azerbaijani direction.

The thing is that Europe is de facto for the Armenians, and the Turks are for the Azerbaijanis. Of course, no one will recognise this, and everyone will say that the conflict needs to be resolved diplomatically, but everyone understands perfectly well that no diplomatic route can solve this problem. The problem of the conflict between the two countries, as I said, is eternal, and historical circumstances play an important role here. They have been talking about Karabakh for a very long time: I once spoke with academician Ziya Buniyatov, who brought me books and proved that Karabakh is the land of Azerbaijan, and then my Armenian colleagues showed me numerous materials that this territory has been Armenian since the middle ages. And I conclude that such problems cannot be solved.

Photo: Armenian Defense Ministry Press Service / PanPhoto / AP

Yes, there has been a conflict again and three tanks of the Azerbaijani army were shot down, soldiers and the Azerbaijani General were killed, and the sides seem to be talking about peace, but again they blame each other, but this will continue

The Karabakh problem is often compared to the Yugoslav problem, the split of the Sudan, or something else, but in those cases everything was obvious in terms of solving the problem, but here it is not. The independence of Karabakh is impossible for Azerbaijanis, the entry of Karabakh into Azerbaijan on any special conditions is also impossible, and the entry of Karabakh into Armenia is also not politically necessary for anyone — neither for Karabakh itself, nor for the Armenians. Besides, we should not forget that a million refugees affect the atmosphere in Armenia, and only recently people from Karabakh were in power in this country. So the situation is very complex, and no one is interested in solving it.

Nevertheless, to put it cynically, the interested party is Russia. It is very difficult for our country in this region, since Russian weapons are being supplied to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, but it is present as a mediator and an important factor in the negotiations. But I do not see people in the Russian elite who would offer any compromise on this issue. So everything will remain as it is. Yes, there has been a conflict again and three tanks of the Azerbaijani army were shot down, soldiers and the Azerbaijani General were killed, and the sides seem to be talking about peace, but again they blame each other, but this will continue. And there will never be a big war. They won’t let it in because no one wants it.

“Yes, Armenia is a member of the CSTO. So what?”

Has there been any serious aspect of the active conflict over 30 years? Maybe chauvinism, rabid nationalism has gone?

Of course, the nationalism that was in the late 1980s and 1990s is no longer there. First, the nationalist line is fading, albeit slowly. Second, both Baku and Yerevan are already getting used to this conflict. And third, there is fatigue from it, and here it causes irritation in both states, and it is enough for some minimal pretext to resume everything in this conflict. This problem will last for generations. Yes, it’s been 30 years, but I think it will take another 50-60 years for people in Armenia and Azerbaijan to get the following into their heads: yes, all this is wrong, bad, but it can’t be changed, so the situation with Karabakh should only be a background.

But here’s something else to pay attention to. After 1945, we got used to the idea that borders, like the bipolar world, are eternal, but it turned out that there is no such eternity. There is no Soviet Union, there is no Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Sudan, there are Transnistria, Abkhazia, Crimea as part of Russia. The borders change, so the Azerbaijanis still have “what if Karabakh returns?” in their subconscious, while the Armenians have the opposite. And this is part not only of political psychology but also of personal psychology. There is the concept such as “historical memory”. Is it a myth or not? Academician Valery Tishkov believes that this is a myth, it is not serious, but it is also a memory. Look at how it is always present in politics. One time we celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo, then many people are obsessed with the Great Patriotic War. And all this affects the psychology, which means that such things quite contribute to the perpetuation of the conflict around Karabakh. We shouldn’t also forget that relations between the Armenian and Azerbaijani ethnic groups have always been tense. Therefore, a large set of factors prevents the conflict from being resolved.

Photo: facebook.com/poghosyan.vahram

The borders change, so the Azerbaijanis still have “what if Karabakh returns?” in their subconscious, while the Armenians have the opposite. And this is part not only of political psychology but also of personal psychology

I personally do not blame anyone for this conflict. Why? Let’s take another example — Georgia and Abkhazia. Abkhazia under the Soviet regime always wanted to be part of the RSFSR, and I saw with my own eyes how anti-Georgian demonstrations took place in Sukhumi, and this under the Communists! Therefore, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue. Yes, they are killing people, but nothing will change in the coming decades: there were negotiations and agreements in Bishkek in 1994, then there were Minsk and Madrid, since 1999 the presidents of the two countries have been meeting with each other, the American side took part in the negotiations, not to mention Moscow — and what? There is no movement, and it is impossible. Well, in 1994 in Bishkek, the parties agreed that, they say, we were not at war, but you saw what happened at the border.

If people in both countries will live better, wealthier, it will probably contribute to a peaceful attitude to the problem?

Azerbaijan is a rich country because it has oil, gas, and a lot of money, and people live very well there, if we compare their lives with those of other countries from the former Soviet space. Against this background, Armenia is poor, of course, but has the growing rich Azerbaijan become calmer towards Karabakh? No. Moreover, in Azerbaijan back in the 1990s, it was believed that Armenians were good soldiers, but Azerbaijanis are worse, but now Azerbaijan has a great army with good weapons. Yes, Armenia is a member of the CSTO — so what? By the way, about the CSTO. Armenia believes that if it is attacked, the CSTO should unite against Azerbaijan. Is it possible? Of course not.

“For Erdogan, this is another opportunity to show that he acts correctly in the Middle East”

At the beginning of the conversation, you mentioned the inclusion of Turkey in this conflict. What does its activity indicate?

First of all, of course, it is the ambitions of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But don’t forget how much the Turks “love” the Armenians, and how much the Armenians “love” the Turks. Besides, there is also pan-Turkist solidarity, and this is to Erdogan’s advantage — he can’t abandon the fraternal Turkic country, especially if Azerbaijan complains that it was attacked by Armenians. This is advantageous for Erdogan, it is an additional opportunity to show that Turkey acts correctly in the Middle East because pan-Turkist solidarity exists, and the fact that he sent drones to Azerbaijan is normal for him. Note that the tanks of the Azerbaijani army were destroyed by drones! Besides, the Turks sent two multiple rocket launchers to Azerbaijan, and multiple rocket launchers are very serious, as we know from some experience.

So it turns out that Erdogan’s position in Syria and Libya as an international player is strong?

Surely, it’s strong. Erdogan is terribly ambitious, and ambitious in a number of ways: he is certainly one of the Muslim leaders, in addition, he is the head of the state that, in his opinion, looks no lower than Europe — Erdogan behaves on an equal footing with us, with the Americans. If he has interests in Libya, Syria and Africa, will he abandon the Turks in other parts of the world? But the main thing is precisely Erdogan’s ambitiousness. Look at his biography, look at how he has developed up as a politician, and he developed thanks to Islam.

Photo: tccb.gov.tr

Erdogan shows flexibility most often, and he is not a stupid person in this regard. Yes, he is cruel and ambitious, but he knows to what point it is possible to come

Is it impossible to weaken Erdogan?

So far, it turns out that he is playing on equal terms — with the United States, Russia, and France. Theoretically, he could have been ousted in 2016, but it is likely that he could have staged this coup himself. But Erdogan has a strong position in the army, he feels confident in Syria, and most of the Turks treat their president with respect — after all, this is the Turkish leader who is respected around the world.

Do they respect not only Erdogan’s musle flexing but also with his flexibility?

Erdogan shows flexibility most often, and he is not a stupid person in this regard. Yes, he is cruel and ambitious, but he knows to what point it is possible to come. Look, the relations between Russia and Turkey periodically escalate, but then the parties somehow agree, find a common language. Remember the story of the downing of a Russian military plane in 2015. Erdogan apologized because he admitted his mistake, and everything was beautiful, and now Russia and Turkey have peace and so on.

If we talk about limits, what is the limit for Erdogan in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

The limit is technical supplies to Azerbaijan. What’s next? Well, you can’t send Turkish troops to Armenia, can you? It will be like a madhouse! Turkish troops are NATO troops!

It is unlikely that he will send troops to Azerbaijan for, let’s say, pan-Turkist assistance. Do you agree?

I have already heard some speculations on this topic, but this is hard to prove: someone suggested that Turkey may be transporting fighters from Syria to Azerbaijan. But do we need militants in Azerbaijan who will fight against Armenians today, and tomorrow we don’t know who they will fight against in Azerbaijan itself? Of course, this is gossip, exaggeration, but if we are talking about manpower, such people may well end up in Azerbaijan. But no one needs this, especially in Azerbaijan itself.

Photo: president.az

Is there any alternative to Aliyev? It was 6-7 years ago — it was Musavat followers, someone else, but whether there is an alternative now, I doubt

“The Aliyev clan is powerful and strong, they have settled everything in the republic”

What is the meaning of that some of the protesters broke into the Azerbaijani parliament building at a rally in Baku that was gathered because of the border clashes? Were they emotions?

Yes, it is emotions. But you understand the thing: Azerbaijan is an authoritarian state, although under the leadership of a MGIMO graduate. Well, people broke into parliament — so what? Yes, Azerbaijanis are emotional people, but this does not mean anything to the authorities. This is not a campaign against Ilham Aliyev.

Yevgeny Satanovsky has recently suggested that Aliyev might be deposed if a war does not start.

Is there any alternative to Aliyev? It was 6-7 years ago — it was Musavat followers, someone else, but whether there is an alternative now, I doubt. Yes, there have been reasons for discontent with Aliyev in recent years, but nothing serious has emerged in the end.

Note that the guys who moved to Azerbaijan from Karabakh did not become a political factor. Both Sunnis and Shiites live in equal numbers in Azerbaijan, and only Allah knows which of them is greater, and this factor also does not play any role for Aliyev. Therefore, I do not see any prerequisites for a change of power. The Aliyev clan is powerful and strong, they have settled everything in the republic. There are dissatisfied with the president in the country, but they are very few.

If nationalism, as you have noticed, is declining, although slowly, then we can say that the nationalist factor does not play a role for Aliyev?

All this ended in Azerbaijan. Today’s Azerbaijan is a cosmopolitan Muslim state. There is no Islamic opposition, they have been crushed. There are not even Democrats there — there were some people in this camp at one time, but they were jailed. As for the regions, no region will go against Baku.

Of course, now we see that residents of certain countries are irritated by the coronavirus — yes, this factor probably exists, people are tired of all sorts of quarantines. But in this case, this is not the main thing, the virus could push to such things, but still did not push. I think that the parties will soon agree.

There don’t seem to be any nationalists in Armenia either.

But Armenia still has a political multipolarity. And compare how many presidents and prime ministers there have been in Armenia and in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is actually a monarchy. But you see, there is a clear position in the Armenian society: Karabakh is not Azerbaijan, that’s all. And how there is and what, these are details, and no one will get away from this position. As soon as someone in Armenia hints that it would be nice to make Karabakh part of Azerbaijan as a confederation, they will simply remove him and he will be crushed as a politician.

Photo: primeminister.am

There is no doubt that Pashinyan, when he came to power, relied on people who advocated improving relations with the United States. And this is understandable — Armenia is the part of the former Soviet Union that is trying to pursue a multi-vector policy. But everything will be decided by Trump

“Pashinyan is not Aliyev or Putin”

What are the positions of the Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan?

As my colleagues from Yerevan say, they are rather strong than weak. But this is not an authoritarian fortress, Pashinyan is not Aliyev or Putin. Thus, the political situation in Armenia can be quite fluid. Kocharian, Ter-Petrosyan, and Sargsyan can be elected there.

How true is it that Pashinyan is looking for a lot of US support, given Turkey’s joining the game?

There is no doubt that Pashinyan, when he came to power, relied on people who advocated improving relations with the United States. And this is understandable — Armenia is the part of the former Soviet Union that is trying to pursue a multi-vector policy. But everything will be decided by Trump. But Armenia will also rely on Russian support. Please note that there is no anti-Russian sentiment in Armenia.

How will events develop in the near future?

There is such a moment — since the Turks have already participated in the situation, as the European Union has somehow started to move, as the UN said the worsening conflict fraught with disaster and that it is almost a war, I think that there some kind of international gathering with the participation of all stakeholders. Of course, Russia is also working in this regard, and it has always worked here, but in order to satisfy everyone and show that the world is worried, the agreement must be very broad. The Turks are both the Turkish lobby and the Muslim lobby, but there is also a global Armenian lobby with California and France. By the end of 2020, there should definitely be some broad international event on this issue.

Will there be a war?

That’s impossible.

By Sergey Kochnev

Read original article here.

[rscenarios]

Zelo - Control

Anon request “Can you write a very hot smut with Zelo (he takes control and everything)?” and a tasty treat for myself on my birthday. I hope that you enjoy this since I threw in some fluff to show your relationship. -Admin Em

Rated M

Warnings: Mild BDSM themes, a line or two dirty talk, orgasm denial, marking, being tied, oral.

Absentmindedly you fiddle with your phone as you zone out on your TV and debate if you should text your boyfriend again or not. You haven’t heard much from Junhong for the last three days, just little texts here and there saying how you miss each other or wish each other well. It shouldn’t bother you so much since sometimes you go for almost a week without hearing from him when he’s on tour, but he’s been home the last three days. He’d warned you he would be busy, but you expected he would at least spare time for dinner with you or that he would invite you over for a little bit.

You focus when your phone lights up, telling you he’s made an Instagram post. Unlocking your phone, you look to see footage of him dancing in the practice room. His talent never ceases to amaze you as you sit smiling at your phone. He seems happier in his latest posts and it warms your heart. Still, you can’t help but worry that he pushes himself too hard. He always assures you that he rests as needed, but with all his late night posts and lives, you have your doubts.

You actually stayed up late last night watching his live, even if it was just him lying in bed listening to music. It made you miss him more and wonder why he couldn’t send more than a few words. And today, you haven’t heard anything. Not one word. It makes you worry. You knew his idol life would be demanding, and that was something the two of you discussed multiple times before and during your relationship. Still, you can’t help the worry that his life as Zelo is pulling him away from you: that he is no longer your Junhong, but is instead simply Zelo.

Briefly you think about contacting his mom to see if you could bring the family dinner later. She already seems to think of you as a daughter, the two of you spending time together when Zelo was away on tour. Even if you didn’t get to see your boyfriend, at least you could spend some time with Mochi since you didn’t end up babysitting him at all during this tour yet.

The thought is tempting, but you realize it’s late and that they’ve probably already eaten. Not to mention, you don’t feel the motivation to make that much food after the long day of work you had. You actually should still be in the studio editing more of the photos from the upcoming project, but you had worked from 7am to 6:30pm and that felt like more than enough time, especially after you were up late.

Thinking about work and food makes you realize that all you’ve done in the hour since you left work is laze on your couch. Forcing yourself up, you find some ramen and begin boiling the water. As you wait, you change into your pajamas, aka one of Junhong’s shirts and your underwear. You smell his shirt, sighing softly since it’s starting to lose his scent. You head back to make your little meal before settling back on the couch to eat and watch TV. As you finish up, you glance at your phone, wondering once again if you should message Junhong to at least see if he made it home. Although by his standards, this is too early to quit.

Not yet ready to call it a day, you half-heartedly clean your apartment. When you finish you hope there’s a message from him, but there’s nothing. You would definitely have a talk with him about this when you have the chance. Although the current situation would make it seem otherwise, the two of you were actually good about communicating. When the relationship was newer, there were quite a few petty fights until the two of you learned to better express yourselves. Sometimes you could anticipate each other before anything was said, but other times words were necessary.

You remind yourself that he told you he would be busy, but that still doesn’t ease your worry especially since he would be headed out for the rest of the tour in two days. There’s no use dwelling on it until you can have a proper conversation about everything. With this in mind, you head to bed and begin to start a goodnight message only to stop as you hear the front door open and slam shut.

There’s a soft curse or two that leave you wondering if you should go to him or wait in bed. Sometimes when he’s upset Junhong needs space before he talks to you, other times you cuddle and talk about it. Last time this happened, he asked you to slow dance with him.

“______________?” You hear him softly call. With that signal you leave the bedroom and guilt forms on his features. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I just laid down,” you soothe, crossing the distance between the two of you since he hasn’t moved from the spot near the door. Gently you comb the hair away from his eyes. “Do you need to eat or shower?”

He shakes his head before taking your hand. “Lie down with me?”

You give a simple nod, allowing him to lead you back into your room. He settles onto the bed, and as soon as you lie down he rests his head on your shoulder, seeking your comfort for whatever is bothering him. Immediately, you hold him close to you and kiss the top of his head as you rub his back gently. You want to say something to ease whatever pain he has, but instead you keep quiet and wait for him to explain.

“I...I wasn’t sure if I should come,” he mumbles. His words surprise you, causing you to stop your movements for a brief moment. “I didn’t want to bring my problems to you...but I really, really missed you.”

“I missed you too, but this is a partnership. I am here to help you to the best of my ability. You don’t have to go through anything yourself, remember?”

“I know I’m not alone. The company is just adding more pressure, and I feel like I can’t keep up lately. I want to do better, and so I keep practicing and practicing between schedules but it still doesn’t feel like enough. I try and show the fans as much love as I can with lives and such to make up for it. Except that doesn’t change that I barely have time to see any of my friends or you...I almost thought I wasn’t going to see you because of how much I have to do,” he tells you, tightening his hold on your waist.

You wait to see if he’s going to say more before speaking. “You are one of the most talented idols out there. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your girlfriend. There are many out there who admire your skills and feel inspired because of you. Many of the comments you’ve been getting are telling you how great you are and to encourage you to rest. You’re your worst critic, where you see flaws, some people see their idol being more human. True fans want you to be healthy and happy.

“So do your friends, and they understand how crazy your life is, but just let them know you’re thinking of them now and again. As for me, I won’t lie, I was starting to get worried since you weren’t sending much. I thought maybe your career was coming first, which sometimes it has to. I know that. But I worried since we barely spoke...I thought maybe you were starting to forget about me today. It was foolish to think that when could tell you were going through more than you were letting on, and I didn’t want to push you or seem needy while you were so busy.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you and making you feel like my career came first. It matters to me a lot, but so do you,” he places a light kiss on your neck. “I just got trapped in my own head for a while and I didn’t know how to tell you what was happening...the company even threatened to take away my phone during the tour since they felt that I wasn’t focusing enough. I didn’t want to start a conversation I could finish or make you feel like you’re causing trouble. I could have handled things better, I’m sorry,” he kisses your jaw.

“It isn’t your fault. I can understand your worries. I should have reached out too. We’ll both do better next time. What matters now is that is that you’re here.” You carefully tilt his head to press your lips to his.

The kiss is soft and slow, almost hesitant, but it doesn’t take long for Junhong to shift so he can kiss you again. This time, there’s a little more force before he stops to rest his forehead against yours. He takes a moment before kissing along your jawline. “You always know how to make me feel better. Even when I feel like I’ve lost control of my life.”

Naturally, your head tilts back as you savor his actions. You feel one of his hands rest on your bare thigh. You know where this is going, and so you spur things on by whispering, “Take control.”

The hand on your thigh tightens its hold, but he pulls back to look at you. “You’re sure?”

The two of you had only recently started getting a bit more experimental in the bedroom by dominating each other every now and then. It was a rare occurrence, partially due to timing and partially because you were both still learning, but whenever it was going to happen you would at least have some sort of discussion about what would happen. The unexpected still would happen of course.

As eager as he is to dominate you, he doesn’t want to push anything.

“I trust you. We have the safe words. But if you don’t want to-”

His kiss cuts your words short, causing you to take a moment to kiss back. He shifts, gently nudging your legs further apart so he can settle between them and get a better angle for the kiss. His lips move away from yours, traveling down your neck before finding a spot to mark. Your fingers tangle into his hair, making him softly moan against your skin.

He pulls back, looking at his work before growling in your ear, “I’m going to leave so many marks that you won’t forget how much you matter to me.”

His words send a shiver down your spine before he lightly nips your earlobe. As he starts to leave another hickey your body arches to be closer to him, but to your surprise he uses both hands to push your hips back down. You feel him smirk as a soft whine leaves you. As he kisses his work and moves to another spot, you feel his hands start to move up your shirt and to your breasts, which are then given a gentle squeeze.

You gasp softly and that’s enough to make him pull back to pull the shirt off of you. You’re about to reach out to take his shirt off, but your hands are pinned before you come close. “Wait.”

You want to protest, but you keep quiet which earns you a kiss. His hands release yours to ghost up your body and fondle your breasts once more. When he begins playing with your  hardening nipples, he uses your surprise to slide his tongue into your mouth. One of his hands reaches for one of yours, giving two gentle squeezes to check in with you as he continues the kiss. Slowly you return the gesture, which makes him kiss you more eagerly.

When he pulls away, he quickly moves down to leave marks on your collarbones. He presses his lower half to yours, allowing you to feel his erection through his jeans before he grinds against you. Junhong is a dancer, making him in tune with his body and he’s made it his task to know yourself just as well. He wastes no time, kissing along the spots he knows you’re sensitive to as you grip onto the sheets, trying to let him lead.

Your restraint crumbles as a tongue runs over one of your nipples, and you quickly grab at the back of his shirt, trying to pull it off him. When he pulls away, it’s enough for you to get the fabric off. “I thought I told you to wait?”

“I’m sorry...I couldn’t...” you say softly, noting the dark look in his eyes as he looks down at you.

He takes the shirt from you, tossing it aside on your behalf before he harshly pinches your nipples as a form of punishment. “You couldn’t what?”

“I couldn’t wait anymore. I wanted to see you,” you whimper, more from the deep tone of his voice than the pain. “I’m sorry,” you tell him again.

One hand gently cups your chin as the other pulls at his belt. “Tonight I’ll be generous, if you show me how sorry you are.”

He sets the belt to the side, but you don’t question this as he kisses you gently before he stands to get rid of his pants and boxers. You lick your at the sight before crawling forward, glancing up at him before taking a hold of his cock. He lets out a content sigh as you start to pump him, but you prefer the noise he makes as you run your tongue over his tip. Usually you would tease him, but not tonight. Not after you already went against an order.

You run your tongue over him, coating him with your saliva before you take the tip into your mouth. Gentle hands gather your hair into a ponytail as your head sinks lower and lower until you can’t take anymore. At first Junhong doesn’t push you as you bob your head up and down, but soon he begins guiding your paces with slight tugs on your hair. Any time you pull back for air, your hands take place of your mouth.

Carefully, you breathe and relax your throat enough to deepthroat him, pulling the most delicious sound from your boyfriend’s mouth as well as a few curse words. He starts rocking his hips, wanting more and more from you. It’s the second time that he pushes his hips too much that you smack his thigh and pull away. “Yellow,” you warn.

He quickly presses kisses to your face, his dominance forgotten to soothe you. “Sorry, sorry,” he says softly. “No more of that. Do you need a minute?” You hadn’t given the word to completely stop, but he still want to be certain.

“I’m okay, we can continue,” you pant before he pushes you back onto the bed. He leans over you to pull the lube out of the nightstand so it’s at the ready. His fingers tease at your waistband before moving lower to your wetness. He keeps quiet, but the smirk on his face says it all as his fingers press into the damp spot. Slowly, he lowers himself so can make marks along your stomach and hips as he lowers your underwear. As he begins nibbling on your inner thigh, the anticipation makes you whine. “Junhong, please.”

He doesn’t say anything as he continues marking your other inner thigh.

“Ple-oh!” You moan loudly as his tongue presses to your clit. He sucks it lightly while pulling your legs further apart as you try to close them. Your hips buck lightly as his tongue moves around the sensitive bud before his tongue slides between your folds. Vaguely, you hear the pop of the lube top, but all you can focus on is the waves of pleasure building. It’s only seconds later that you feel a finger sliding into you, going nearly knuckle deep.

Once the digit starts moving, it only adds to the pleasure you’d already been feeling. It isn’t long before another is added, stretching you further while bringing you closer and closer to orgasm. You reach to grip on Junhong’s hair in attempt to make sure he doesn’t pull away as the pressure builds. Despite the tight grip he still manages to pull away. He gives a soft chuckle at the cry you make as your orgasm starts to fade away.

“Don’t worry baby,” he kisses you gently, reaching for a condom that’s quickly rolled on. “Hands up,” he instructs grabbing his belt from where he’d set it. You do as told and soon he has you bound to the headboard. “As much as I love you marking me, we can’t have it so close to our departure,” he explains as if he can tell what you’re thinking. “Too tight?”

You shake your head, earning another kiss as his hands trail down your body. You can feel his cock against your entrance, and press against it as you’re unable to do much else. A slight smack on your thigh is a silent warning not to rush him, and so you try to settle down. This once again proves difficult as he runs his tip around your entrance.

You start to beg, wanting more. Needing more. Your words are enough to get your way as he slides into you. The both of you moan in unison. “You feel incredible,” you tells you as he starts to thrust into you gently.

The bruising grips on your thighs tell you he’s restraining himself to take things slow. Despite the slow pace, his thrusts are still forceful as he plants kisses along your body along with the occasional bite. You want to touch him, but the belt keeps your hands in place, leaving you mildly frustrated. It’s only once he begins to move faster that his hands move to the sheets so you can meet his pace. His name falls from your lips like it’s the only word you know and it spurs him on to find your g-spot.

When he does, you don’t even seem to know his name anymore as only moans come from you. It isn’t long after that you reach your peak and Junhong works you through it. His own follows just after, causing him to moan out your name as he releases.

When his high is over, he rests against you, catching his breath and listening to you do the same. You reach to try and hold him, only to feel the belt tighten. “Babe, can you untie me?”

Junhong gives a small nod before pulling out, leaning over to release you before disposing of the condom. He looks down at you as you lower your arms, allowing them to fully relax. “Was that too much?” He looks at the red marks covering your body and wants to be certain everything is alright.

“Outside of the one warning I gave you it was perfect.”

With that he flashes an adorable smile. “Thank you. I’m so lucky to have someone like you to love.”

You lean up and kiss the tip of his nose “I love you too, and I’m really glad you decided to come over.”

He starts spreading kisses all over your face, showering you in affections. Between each kiss he speaks, “Me too. You always make me feel better. Now do you want to shower?”

“Only if we can snuggle after.”

“Anything for you, my love,” he promises, kissing your forehead. He disappears for a moment to grab a few things, such as a change of clothes for after, and starts the water so it can warm up.

With everything set, he carries you bridal style into the bathroom only setting you down before entering the shower. The two of you wash each other off, occasionally using the soap to tickle each other as you joke around. He teases you for tracing your finger over his tattoo, and so you make sure to point out every time he lingers on a darkening mark on your body.

When you're done washing, you towel off and slip into the underwear and shirt Junhong grabbed for you. Once he has his sweatpants on the two of you change the sheets, tossing the dirty ones to be washed before settling into bed. This time you rest on his chest.

“Comfortable?”

“Mhm,” you hum in content. “What time do you have to leave tomorrow for schedules?”

“Not until after lunch. I plan to spend all morning with you.”

“Perfect. Will you sing me to sleep?” You ask with a yawn. Happily, Junhong begins singing Shine, only stopping once he’s sure you're fast asleep.

[gadgetsrevv]

Adrian’s first two weeks at Anfield: The Super Cup win, highs and lows of the Reds’ newest cult hero

Adrian’s mind this Monday. The Liverpool goalkeeper had no training or travel commitments, affording him the chance to catch his breath and reflect on everything that has happened during a “crazy” first 14 days with the club, which contained enough incidents — including an awful gaffe at Southampton — to cover an entire career.

Has a “back-up” goalie experienced this much drama in such a short space of time? From suddenly joining Liverpool to being rushed into the Reds’ season opener, winning the UEFA Super Cup and nearly costing them points at Southampton, it’s been a whirlwind for the newest hero in Jurgen Klopp’s ranks.

– O’Hanlon: Should LFC consider breaking up their front three? – Reddy: The story behind Alexander-Arnold’s mural – Ames: Premier League knee-jerk reactions after two weeks

During the early morning hours of last Thursday in Istanbul, Adrian had stitched himself into the fabric of Liverpool’s proud European history. He thwarted Tammy Abraham with a trailing right foot to win the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea 5-4 on penalties, enabling the club to lift a second continental trophy under Klopp following June’s Champions League triumph.

At Vodafone Park in that match, the Spaniard seemed to squeeze the multiple highs and lows a goalkeeper can experience into 120 manic minutes. He produced a crucial save at the feet of Mateo Kovacic on 32 minutes before being beaten by Oliver Giroud’s low finish, which went underneath him. Adrian did brilliantly to thwart Abraham with his feet in extra time, but was later harshly adjudged to have impeded the 20-year-old in the area and was sat down by Jorginho‘s cool technique from the resulting spot-kick.

Adrian also denied Mason Mount late on before his big moment arrived. When the 32-year-old saved from Abraham in the shootout, grabbed his towel and slid to his knees awaiting the celebratory scrum from his teammates, it felt as though he was living somebody else’s life.

Adrian’s personal honours had totalled zero prior to the UEFA Super Cup and only a few weeks earlier, he was training at semi-professional side Unión Deportiva Pilas in Spain’s sixth tier, with his personal goalkeeping coach Pedro Illanes and a physical trainer, to keep in shape after running down his contract at West Ham United and become a free agent.

He knew he would receive offers during the summer, especially from his homeland, and so made the decision to work out in his birthplace of Seville. Adrian was on the verge of accepting a proposal from Real Valladolid, before a “bombshell” call from Liverpool considerably altered his trajectory.

By the end of last season, it was clear that if Simon Mignolet departed Anfield in search of regular starts, the club would replace him with an equally experienced keeper to deputise for Alisson. Adrian was seen as the “perfect solution” (to borrow Klopp’s description) having made 150 appearances during a six-year spell with West Ham. He was familiar with the demands of the league, had dealt with pressure situations and did not allow mistakes to affect him.

Adrian’s heroics in the UEFA Super Cup helped immediately endear him to his new teammates and manager as Liverpool defeated Chelsea on penalties.

The club’s homework on him was extensive: they’d watched him at Real Betis and followed him with a closer eye when he moved to east London in 2013. They liked his anticipation, ball distribution and courage: he had huge character, which is an important element in an unforgiving position. When Club Brugge made Liverpool an offer adding up to £8 million for Mignolet, a call was put into Adrian immediately to say he was the first-choice to be Klopp’s new No.2.

The “bombshell” conversation, as the keeper labelled it, came as a surprise: he was not expecting to return to England and least of all not to join the champions of Europe. There was no hesitation from Adrian once the offer came, only bits of admin to sort out: he offered apologies to Real Valladolid and two days before his August 5 move to Merseyside, he informed Pilas’ sporting director Jose Maria Moreno that he would no longer need to use their facilities. That goodbye was followed with a load of bags that contained his old kits, boots and other memorabilia as well as a handwritten letter and gift card.

“In gratitude for your hospitality and availability, I want to present UD Pilas with this voucher for sports materials and equipment to continue growing,” it read. “Thank you so much for everything! I wish you all the best.”

The gift certificate helped the club purchase 20 balls and other necessities for the season, the time spent with the goalie turning Moreno into a Liverpool fan. (The sporting director couldn’t bear to watch the shootout against Chelsea, but went wild when his son told him Adrian had saved the decisive penalty to win the Super Cup.)

How Adrian performed in the Super Cup, despite not having time to prepare, was “incredible” according to the manager, who saluted him as a “proper personality in the dressing room as well.”

A few hours later, however, Klopp was left sweating on his new “mentality monster,” whose ankle was significantly swollen by the time he woke up. The keeper was immediately a doubt for Saturday’s trip to Southampton; he’d been hurt when a spectator breached the barricade during the post-match celebrations in Istanbul and ran across the pitch to evade the security guards before slipping and clattering into the new Liverpool No.1.

On the four-and-a-half hour flight back to Liverpool that Thursday afternoon, head physio Lee Nobes worked intensively on the affected area to ensure Adrian would pass a late fitness test to start at Southampton.

His hero status was eroded a little in the ensuing 2-1 win at St Mary’s as his clearance from Virgil van Dijk‘s back pass ricocheted off Danny Ings‘ shin and into the net on 83 minutes after Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino fired the Reds ahead, leading to a tense finish on the south coast.

Yet Klopp wasn’t concerned, having watched Alisson’s big mistake early on for Liverpool against Leicester City last season. After Saturday’s match, he revealed he’d already cleared the air with his new keeper.

Despite his error vs. Southampton that gifted the hosts a goal on Saturday, Adrian’s distribution and anticipation have helped him settle in as Liverpool’s interim No.1.

“Yes. I told him, ‘You finally arrived, welcome!’ Ali did the same. Obviously it’s a goalie thing at Liverpool, no problem with that as long as we win the games. All good.

“Adrian had a swollen ankle and we played too many balls back to him in that period. I was happy with everything he did today, all the saves, all that stuff. The other players have to then feel more the responsibility for the build-up and cannot give all the balls back to him and hope the pain killers still help or whatever.

“I don’t think the goal was because of that, but a few other balls were. He is completely good with his feet. If you would have seen his ankle on Thursday after we left the plane then you would say even the pass before the Southampton goal was better than you would have expected! It is all fine.”

Liverpool are confident it won’t impact him much, something also evidenced by his time at West Ham.

“How he reacts to the mistake, I think that is more important than the mistake itself,” midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum said, before reminding that the new recruit has been “in for not even two weeks, so we have to get used to each other.” It hasn’t helped Adrian that he is between the posts for a Liverpool side that have been atypically open, allowing the opposition to create a high volume of chances this season.

Chelsea had 20 shots during the Super Cup, with 13 inside the box, while promoted side Norwich fired in 12 in total at Anfield, with eight coming inside the area. Nine of Southampton’s 14 efforts were also from the 18-yard zone. With Arsenal next up and given their attacking weaponry — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shared the league’s Golden Boot with Mane and Mohamed Salah last season — Liverpool will need to tighten up, but Adrian will know more than anyone that he needs to be prepared for everything.

As he put it himself after defeating Chelsea, “goalkeeper life is like this.”

//due to VPPA compliance we can not send keywords through URLs implicitly in the US var countryValue = $.cookie("country"); if(!!countryValue && countryValue !== "us") {

(function() { var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []); if (!_fbq.loaded) { var fbds = document.createElement('script'); fbds.async = true; fbds.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s); _fbq.loaded = true; } _fbq.push(['addPixelId', '1587432981493230']); })(); window._fbq = window._fbq || []; window._fbq.push(['track', 'PixelInitialized', {}]);

$.ajax({ url: '//pixel.mathtag.com/event/js?mt_id=694557&mt_adid=137010&v1=&v2=&v3=&s1=&s2=&s3=', dataType: 'script', cache: true }); } (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=116656161708917";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); Source link . More news

via wordpress https://ift.tt/2KIZTrk

[silencedrowns]

A Cosplayer’s Guide to Colored Contacts and Eye Safety (AKA How NOT To Fuck Up Your Eyes Forever)

I’m a cosplayer, I’ve worn contacts for almost 18 years, and I’ve seen so much horrifyingly dangerous behavior with colored contacts and general eye safety in the pursuit of our hobby that it makes me want to scream. I’ve ranted about this before on Twitter (and often) so I decided to make a megapost about it.

I AM NOT EXAGGERATING ABOUT FUCKING UP YOUR EYES FOREVER. I have seen people LOSE AN EYE or get permanent eye damage from unsafe behavior; I’ve also seen people carted off to the hospital over it. Colored contacts and heavy eye makeup can be entirely safe, but you have to know how to use and wear them properly! 

This post will be very long, but I encourage everyone who has an interest in colored lenses (especially circle lenses!) or cosplay makeup to read it. I don’t want you to lose an eye.

DO NOT USE CHUNKY GLITTER NEAR YOUR EYE. I’m putting this before the contact lens tips because this is the single most dangerous thing that I see people, even without contact lenses, doing on a regular basis. Glitter can scratch your eye or even puncture the cornea. If you don’t believe me, google “imgur glitter eye” for the multi-album story of a woman who LOST HER EYE from an accident with craft glitter while playing with her daughter.

SEE A GODDAMN EYE DOCTOR FIRST. Yes, even if you have 20/20 vision. Whether it’s from dry eyes or corneal abnormalities, not everyone can wear contacts. I myself am totally fine wearing regular contacts, but thanks to the shape of my eye, I run a risk of tearing off my goddamn cornea if I wear sclera (full eye) lenses. Now imagine if I hadn’t asked my optometrist first and wore them anyway... Yeah. In the USA, you can get fitted really inexpensively for colored lenses at Wal-Mart; say it’s for a costume and you’re good to go.

IF YOU CAN’T USE CONTACTS, DON’T USE CONTACTS. I wouldn’t think this would need to be said but I’ve seen people try to use contacts anyway because anime or something. You don’t need contacts for cosplay! People almost never used them back in the day. And if you really want your eyes to match, use Photoshop after the fact.

HYGIENE IS EVERYTHING. I’m going to keep coming back to this, but keep in mind: you CAN get infections in your eye, and if you aren’t careful, you will. Wash your hands before putting in contacts. Wash your hands before doing eye makeup. Wash your goddamn hands period. With VERY RARE exceptions (and 99% of them are if you are using blind-look mesh contacts), you always want to put the lenses in BEFORE you start in with your moisturizer/primer/makeup. Putting the lenses on afterwards means you’re extremely likely to get germs and makeup film on your lenses. Learn how to sanitize your makeup brushes and your pencil sharpener. DO NOT EVER share eye makeup with friends. Sanitize your personal eye makeup brushes (that only you use) weekly and sharpen your eye pencils with a clean sharpener before each use. If this seems like overkill just remember, if you contract pink eye, you will have to throw out all of your contacts and all of your eye makeup that you’ve used within a week before contracting it... that could be a LOT of money to throw away!

Contact solution is contact solution. Do not substitute anything else. You need to rinse your contact? Great! Use contact solution! I’ve seen people use things like tap water or saliva and that’s just asking for severe eye pain. The only acceptable substitute is contact lens safe eye drops, and even that is an emergency-only substitute that you should avoid using.

NEVER wear a lens straight from the vial. seriously, don’t fucking do this. The storage solution in contact lens vials is meant to hold the lenses shelf stable and safe for far longer than the time you can wear it safely, but it’s also really nasty to your eye. It can cause irritation and worse. Always take the lens from the vial, rinse it separately, and then let it soak in normal lens solution for at least eight hours/overnight before you wear it! (Lenses in daily blister packs are fine to put straight in your eye, though.)

When in doubt, throw it out. Yeah, I know contact lenses cost money. But seriously, your eye is worth more than any lens. Here’s a brief list of several times to throw the lens out:

when it’s expired (make sure you remember the expiration date by writing it on the bottom of your lens case with a sharpie and/or saving the purchase emails)

when the lens has dried out (I know it’s really tempting to pour more contact lens solution into the case and try to revive that potato chip lens, but trust me, that’s dangerous! see next two bullet point)

when the lens is visibly damaged (torn lenses are not fun to put in your eye)

when the lens is NOT visibly damaged, you’ve prepared it properly, but it hurts to put in your eye (not all tears are visible without some form of magnification but they’re just as capable of causing pain and/or corneal damage! Alternatively, you could have a defective lens.)

Be careful with your lens cases. Did you know lens cases can expire too? It’s true! Bacteria can accumulate in and around the lens case and that’s going to counteract all your effort to keep the lenses sterile and safe. Replace your lens case whenever it starts to look gunky. And be wary of the cute animal cases you get from most lens stores! You can use them (I do myself) but they’re more prone to leaks and/or evaporation than most other types, so you’ll need to make extra-sure you’re on top of changing the solution.

CHANGE YOUR SOLUTION. Once every two weeks for lenses you haven’t worn lately (take the lens out, rinse it, take out all the old lens solution, replace solution, put lens back in), and every single time you wear the lens. Storing your freshly worn lens in old solution is a great way to get bacteria on your lens. We don’t want that. Storing lenses for too long in the same solution can lead to the solution’s water evaporating and the salt staying, and anybody who’s ever put in an overly salty contact lens knows exactly the eye pain that will cause. Avoid this by changing your solution frequently!

Only buy colored contacts from reputable stores. And reputable ≠ well known! Pinky Paradise is very well known. They also shipped me multiple defective contacts so I stopped using them. Search for reviews of the store, both negative and positive. GEO lenses have a scratch-off anti-fake system that can be quite reassuring if you’re interested in trying a store without a ton of reviews.

Don’t wear colored contacts for too long. Yeah, I know. Anime cons. You’re really not supposed to wear colored lenses for more than ~6 hours at a time, but you can’t always stick to that at a convention. Still, make sure that you take out your lens when your eyes get tired! You can fix photos with the “wrong” eye color with image editing. Also see...

NEVER SLEEP IN YOUR CONTACTS WTF WHY PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!!! This is one of the worst things you can do to your eyes. I accidentally fell asleep in contacts once, in middle school, and that was enough to convince me to never do it again; it is the most uncomfortable thing. But if knowing you’ll be waking up with your eyes in pain isn’t enough to convince you, please consider that extreme cases from people sleeping in contacts have lead to losing a cornea, parasites infesting the eye, or even loss of eye from eye damage! You don’t want this. Don’t sleep in colored contacts. Take them out before you party or when you start to feel tired.

Be wary of redness-reducing eyedrops. I know that they’re really nice; I have my own favorite drops and don’t go to conventions without them even! But there are three potential problems here: 1) not all redness relief eyedrops are safe for contacts and you risk destroying your contacts this way, 2) you risk masking eye damage with the numbing effect, and 3) overuse of redness relief drops can lead to a condition where blood vessels grow across your cornea. All of these are very bad.

JUST DON’T WEAR THE COLORED CONTACTS IF ANYTHING FEELS BAD!!! Your eye hurts when it goes in? Take it out! You feel like there’s dust in your eye? Take it out! Your eyes start hurting for any reason whatsoever? TAKE OUT THE GODDAMN CONTACTS!!!

AND NOW FOR SOME EXTREME DANGER.

DON’T FOLLOW ANY “DIY COLORED CONTACTS” TUTORIALS. You’d think people would realize not to do this, but I have seen tutorials for “DIY contacts” consisting of everything from soaking in food dye (NO!) to coloring them with a sharpie (WTF NO) to MAKING YOUR OWN HARD FULL-EYE CONTACTS WITH A SODA BOTTLE AND PAX PAINT (I AM SHRIEKING AT THE THOUGHT)!!! Don’t do any of this. It’s like you WANT to ruin your eyes. It’s the worst.

IT IS ALSO VERY DANGEROUS TO WEAR YOUR REGULAR CLEAR PRESCRIPTION CONTACTS AND THEN LAYER NONPRESCRIPTION COLOR ONES ON TOP. People used to try this A LOT around 10 years ago when it was harder to get color contacts in prescription. It was fucking dangerous then, and it’s fucking dangerous now. Don’t do it. Don’t even think it.

A VERY PARTIAL LIST OF HORRIBLE THINGS I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE DO FIRSTHAND AND YOU SHOULD NEVER DO ANY OF THESE:

share contact lenses (WTF WHY NO)

drop a contact lens on the public bathroom floor, pick it up, lick it, and stick it in their eye

buy a lens from a shady vendor on the con floor, struggle to put it in directly from the vial in the public bathroom, and start asking around if anybody has experience with putting contacts cause this is their absolute first time trying it

put in a contact lens that hurts, leave it in because they didn’t know any better, and wind up irritating their eye so much that they get sent to the ER

“this lens expired two years ago but I should be fine!”

use the bathroom, don’t wash their hands, put on makeup, still don’t wash their hands, put lens in

do I need to continue or are you all cringing enough yet

Contact lenses and extreme makeup can be perfectly safe to wear... the trick is knowing how to wear them safely. Be smart. Be safe. Treat your eyes with care. 

[gwynnew]

Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson's 'The Fate of the Furious' Feud: A Complete Timeline

Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in 2011’s Fast Five (Photo: Universal)

Call it the feud of the furious. During the filming of the eighth Fast & Furious film, The Fate of the Furious, tensions mounted between its two alpha-male stars, Vin Diesel (who plays outlaw-with-a-heart-of-gold Dominic Torretto) and Dwayne Johnson (who plays DSS agent-turned-ally Luke Hobbs). As it happens, the real-life spat dovetails with the plot of The Fate of the Furious (in theaters April 14), in which Dom inexplicably turns against his own crew, who must band together to stop him. But the feud between Diesel and Johnson was no publicity stunt. Here’s a complete timeline of Vin and The Rock’s beef and the rumors it stirred, from that first Instagram post in August to last week’s awkward red carpet appearance.

August 8, 2016

The Instagram post that started it all: Dwayne Johnson announces his final week of shooting and calls out some unnamed “male co-stars” for their on-set behavior. “Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t,” Johnson writes. “The ones that don’t are too chicken s— to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling – you’re right.” Media outlets immediately begin speculating on who Johnson’s post is actually about.

This is my final week of shooting #FastAndFurious8. There’s no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one. An incredible hard working crew. UNIVERSAL has been great partners as well. My female co-stars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male co-stars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken shit to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling – you’re right. Bottom line is it’ll play great for the movie and fits this Hobbs character that’s embedded in my DNA extremely well. The producer in me is happy about this part????. Final week on FAST 8 and I’ll finish strong. #IcemanCometh #F8 #ZeroToleranceForCandyAsses

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Aug 8, 2016 at 11:26am PDT

Aug. 9

“Production sources” tell TMZ that the entire Fast & Furious cast is mad at Johnson for throwing them under the bus (or NOS-powered Dodge Charger, as the case may be).

Tyrese Gibson assures fans on Instagram that Johnson’s message wasn’t about him, writing, ” I don’t know WHO he has a problem [with] and I don’t have any details of WHAT those problems are – as a matter of fact if I DID know I would tell you s–t!!!”” He deletes the post almost immediately.

Later in the day, TMZ breaks the story that Johnson was talking about Diesel. The website reports that the stars had a “secret meeting” on the Atlanta set that day, “partly because tensions were running so high it was almost impossible to shoot scenes.”

An E! News source says tensions were high on the shoot, which was “especially” hard on Johnson because he’s “a very emotional guy.” The source claims that “all is cool now.”

Aug. 10

In a follow-up Instagram post, Johnson thanks the film’s stuntmen and production team. “And like with any team – that’s a family – there’s gonna be conflict,” he writes. “Family is gonna have differences of opinion and fundamental core beliefs. To me, conflict can be a good thing, when its followed by great resolution.”

TMZ reports that the feud is not resolved. “We’re told Vin went to Rock’s trailer and demanded to know why he was talking trash,” writes the website. Reportedly, Diesel left set just minutes after filming his final scene with Johnson, and his goodbyes to the cast and crew included the words “Daddy’s gone” (he thinks of himself as the franchise’s father figure).

According to People, “tension has been building for months” between the two stars. “Vin has been having problems with The Rock because The Rock keep showing up late for production,” a source tells the magazine.

Page Six has its own source, which reports that Vin is the tardy one. “Vin has a reputation for being difficult — he shows up late, keeps people waiting, holds up production and is disrespectful to people on the set,” says the source. “Dwayne lost his patience with him.”

Watch a trailer for ‘The Fate of the Furious’:

  Aug. 11

Vin Diesel speaks out (sort of) in an Instagram video message, promising fans, “I will tell you everything. Everything.” He does not elaborate further.

Tyrese posts a bro-y love letter to Vin Diesel on Instagram, seeming to confirm that he is Team Vin. “I’ve always said that if ONLY people knew how hard you work to protect this franchise and characters, minds would be blown,” he writes.

Ludacris also appears to declare his allegiance on Instagram with a #tbt photo of the Fast Five cast. Johnson was in that film, but Ludacris’ behind-the-scenes snap doesn’t include him.

Members of the Fate of the Furious crew trash Diesel to TMZ. According to the anonymous sources, Johnson is a true professional who’s easy to work with and always on time, while Diesel is late, rude to everyone, and likes to criticize his co-stars’ acting.

Aug. 12

To commemorate the end of filming, Universal posts a thank-you message and a cast photo on the official Fast & Furious Facebook page, showing everyone — Vin and Dwayne included — as one big, happy family.

The ‘Fate of the Furious’ cast, from left: Jason Statham, Kristofer Hivju, Kurt Russell, Tyrese Gibson, Charlize Theron, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, and Dwayne Johnson. (Photo: Instagram)

Aug. 17

The Hollywood Reporter reveals what allegedly prompted that first Instagram post on Aug. 8: Earlier that day, Diesel was hanging out in his trailer for hours while the cast and crew, Johnson among them, waited outside for him in 90-degree heat. The next day, said the source, Diesel confronted Johnson “over the post and a joke Johnson said on his HBO show Ballers about being ‘better looking’ than Diesel, leading to a heated exchange in Johnson’s trailer.”

Aug. 19

Johnson posts a thank-you message to the “entire FAST family” on Instagram, thanking by name director F. Gary Gray Scott and co-stars Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Tyrese… but not Diesel.

Diesel turns the other cheek in a Facebook Live video, praising Johnson’s performance in the franchise. “The reason we brought Dwayne Johnson into Fast 5 was because of you!” Diesel tells viewers. “There was a girl named Jan Kelly who said, ‘I would love to see you work together on screen.’ So the role that was originally written for Tommy Lee Jones, we gave it to Dwayne and he shined in it.”

Aug. 24

A rumor emerges in Life & Style that the entire “feud” is a WWE publicity stunt. “The Rock convinced Vin to amp up the drama between them so they could turn it into a WWE match to help promote the April 2017 release of Fast 8,” says the magazine’s source. (Sadly, this one proves untrue.)

Jason Statham tells People that he’s staying out of this whole thing. “I have nothing to do with it and I don’t want any part of it,” he says.

Aug. 30

New costar Scott Eastwood tells Us Weekly that he didn’t notice any tension during shooting, saying, “We had barbecues, like, every day on set.”

Sept. 2

Michelle Rodriguez tells People that the fight is normal “bro” stuff, and that “at the end of the day, the movie is “bigger than all of us.”

Nov. 19

Johnson (who has just been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive) stands by his Instagram post in an interview with the LA Times. “I was very clear with what I said. I’ve been in the game a long time,” he tells the newspaper. “Would Universal [Pictures] have preferred that didn’t happen? Sure, we talked about it. The irony is after that and as they do their tracking and all their analysis, the interest shot through the roof to a whole other level.”

Dec. 11

Universal releases the first teaser for the film, now named The Fate of the Furious, along with a poster image showing Diesel and Johnson facing away from one another and the words “Family No More.”

“Family no more?” Johnson and Diesel on the ‘Fast & Furious 8’ poster (Photo: Universal)

February 5, 2017

The full-length trailer hits the internet.

Feb. 28

The official Fate of the Furious poster is released. At the very top are Diesel and Johnson, glaring at each other.

March 29

As the film’s press tour begins, insiders tell THR that the stars are being kept apart and will not appear side-by-side at promotional events. Universal tells the trade publication that it’s nothing but a scheduling issue.

April 7

Diesel tells USA Today that the whole story has been “blown out of proportion,” saying that he and the Rock are friends. “In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne,” says Diesel. He adds that as producer, it’s his job to “protect” the franchise. “I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know. And it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it,” says Diesel. “Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that’s me.”

April 8

The New York Post does a big story on the feud, with multiple sources saying that there was is no Fate of the Furious press junket because the two stars can’t be in the same room together. While everyone agrees that Diesel calls the shots in the Fast & Furious franchise, one insider says that the Johnson is the only other star big enough to “legitimately stand up and bust him.”

April 9

At the Fate of the Furious premiere, the actors speak separately to Entertainment Tonight. “We still love each other, that’s my boy,” Diesel says of Johnson. “When I was making that difficult decision, should there be an 8 or not, I called [Johnson] and he said, ‘Brother, I will be there shoulder to shoulder with you to make sure it’s the best movie in history.’ And he delivered.” Says Johnson, “Just like, in life, you have different philosophies and people have different fundamental philosophies on how you do things. And again, the most important thing is just the movie.”

Dwayne Johnson attends The Fate Of The Furious New York premiere. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

‘Fate of the Furious’ director F. Gary Gray on the movie’s 4 wildest stunts:

Read more:

This Is What It’s Like to Watch All the ‘Fast and Furious’ Films for the First Time

Watch Three ‘Fast and Furious’ Movies From Hollywood History

The Gospel According to Dom: Just How Catholic Are the ‘Fast and the Furious’ Movies?

[funkaliciousfrog]

I’m bored, so I’m temporarily turning into a seasonal anime blog for a single extremely long post. 

I’m checking out more new anime than usual this season, and I’ve been in the mood to write lately. So, I thought it’d be fun to record my expectations for each show and my impressions of their first episodes. Even if no one but me ever reads it. 

Joran the Princess of Snow and Blood

That one show I’m watching partially just cause Aoi Shouta is there. I’m interested to see if he can pull off a female character who dresses as a man, which as he put it himself is the “gyakku-pattern” compared to his usual roles. Tbh watching shows just cause Shouta is in them hasn’t worked out super great for me in the past (I didn’t really like 2.43 or Kimi to Boku, and Hamefura was just alright), so we’ll see what happens here. It’s an anime original so who knows how the story will end up. But going off the trailer, at the very least we’ll get some cool aesthetics and sick fight animation.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the plot of this show is gonna involve some politics, since it takes place in an alternate 1930s where the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate hasn’t ended yet. Yeah, you might need to skim a Wikipedia article or two on Japanese history for this one. The main characters are assassins, working undercover for the shogunate and fighting some group of superpowered shapeshifting animal people. The protagonist works in a bookshop by day and lives with her very young sister who does all the housework. She also has some kind of crow-related powers that haven’t been explained yet. In fact, there’s a lot of things about the setting that were only touched upon and I guess will be elaborated on later. 

The character designs and background art are very nice, but something feels off with the actual animation. Things move in weird stiff ways, some of the special effects are kinda ugly, and the fight scenes in particular are disjointed at points. Although I think that disjointedness came more from the storyboarding than the animation itself? I can’t say for sure since I’m not one of those sakuga expert people. But, I can still tell the production value here isn’t quite as high as it appeared from the PV. The premise has potential, but as the story unfolds we’ll see if it’s good enough to carry the less than stellar animation. 

And as for Shouta, all he really got to do this episode was be dapper and talk in cryptic insect-themed metaphors. Oh, and randomly pull out a lightsaber, since I guess they have those in this show? I’m mostly curious to see how the people who don’t pay any attention to voice actors will react when his character’s actual gender is revealed. 

Mashiro no Oto

Hibike Euphonium was one of my first anime and remains one of my faves. So,  I’m always interested in shows about classical music and/or playing instruments. The manga has won multiple awards so it should be a good story, and hopefully this adaptation is just as good. As another show about a traditional Japanese instrument, the Kono Oto Tomare comparisons will be inevitable. But honestly, I’d be happy just learn some stuff about the shamisen cause I think it's cool. 

This was quite the whirlwind first episode. Our main character Setsu has been playing shamisen with his grandpa since he was a little kid. But, turns out his grandpa is displeased with his grandson’s sound, so he makes it his dying wish that Setsu stop playing shamisen. Once his grandpa does die, Setsu feels distraught, impulsively gets on a bus to Tokyo, ends up living with a random gravure idol for a week, picks fights with her no-good wanna-be rockstar boyfriend, at the very end a SWAT team shows up... it’s a lot. 

And I don’t really know how it will proceed from here either. After speeding through this escapade in Tokyo, I think (or hope) that the pace will settle down starting next week. And going off the poster we’ll eventually end up in a high school shamisen club, somehow.

I really enjoyed the bits and pieces of shamisen music in this episode, it just sounds so cool! I hope to eventually get more specific information about the instrument and its repertoire. All I really want from these shows about extremely specific topics is to be educated! They also played either the OP or ED at the end, and it sounded pretty neat. Unlike Kono Oto Tomare they actually put the instrument of question into the song, which I appreciate (though I still like all the Kono Oto OPs and EDs). 

The art in the PV didn’t seem like anything that special, but the episode itself actually looked very nice in the important moments. I especially liked the snowy background art from the beginning. They also took an interesting direction with the character designs: everyone is drawn with very thin lines and most of the time without cel shading. Sometimes it looks like an aesthetic choice, and other times it just looks kinda cheap. The animation itself is nothing crazy, but at least from my uneducated perspective the shamisen playing looks pretty believable. 

After 2.43's Fukui-ben from last season, I guess this show will be my new source of Japanese regional dialects. Apparently Setsu’s accent is so strong that the girl he’s staying with asks him if he’s a foreigner, which I thought was funny. They don’t mention where he’s from, but he and his family use the same “-be” ending as the main character from the Great Pretender. Which isn’t helpful cause I can’t remember where he was from either. But anyway, for some reason it just amuses me every time someone says “dabe”. 

(A footnote about Setsu’s accent: I’ve done a bit of research, or rather literally just typed “be” into jisho.com, which I can’t believe actually worked, and it seems to be some type of Touhoku dialect. His voice actor, Nobunaga Shimazaki, is from that area so I guess that checks out? Although according to the Wikipedia page it’s used as a generic rural accent in media, so maybe they don’t care about the specific region as long as he sounds like a country boy.)

Farewell, My Dear Cramer

Finally, an all-girls sports anime! There are a few out there already, but I haven’t seen any of them yet (except maybe Chihayafuru, which has a mixed gender cast but an awesome female lead). As far as I’ve read, most have mixed reviews and tend to lean into other genres and/or have a lot of fanservice. So, I’d really like this show to be the female version of a straightforward realistic sports show like Haikyuu that is missing from all our lives. But it looks like it might be a drama about sports instead, which potentially could be just as good. It did come from the Your Lie in April mangaka after all, if you couldn’t tell from the weird lips. Besides that, the art in the trailer looks really nice. 

So apparently soccer, especially women’s soccer, is an unpopular sport in Japan? The protagonist Nozomi thinks she’s too good for girl’s soccer after playing with the boys for all of middle school, but is convinced to join the girl’s team in high school anyway. Then we meet a couple of her new teammates who were similar prodigies in middle school, and jump right into a scrimmage between the first and second years? 

It’s kind of a weird first episode. While it does technically establish the setting and characters, after the first few minutes it kind of feels like we’ve just been thrown into the mix of things. There’s also a noticeable lack of music in a lot of scenes which makes it feel even weirder.

The character designs are less of a problem than I thought they’d be, although the lips and sometimes the eyes still do look a bit strange. The simple, almost graphic quality is actually kind of interesting. It’s also very refreshing to see a variety of female characters that just look and act like normal high schoolers. They’re really just here to play soccer, not to be sexy or cute or really attractive to the viewer in any way. 

Although we do get some nice soccer playing in the ED, the animation in the episode itself definitely isn’t at Haikyuu levels or anything. They avoid actually animating a lot of the action with speed-line backgrounds and barely-moving shots where only the hair and clothes flap in the wind. 

Nozomi has the same voice actress as Kaede from Gal and Dino, and her performance there was one of my favorite parts of that show so I’m looking forward to more from her. Aoi Yuki and Tomoyo Kurosawa, definitely a couple of notable names, also show up in this episode. 

Fruits Basket Final

More Fruits Basket, lets gooo! Second season was awesome so I have high expectations. I’ve already been slightly spoiled on a few things about the ending, but I’m still looking forward to seeing the specifics of the mystery of the Soma family curse wraps up. 

We pick up right where we left off last season with Kureno dropping the ~big reveal~ about Akito’s gender on Tohru. Turns out she’s a girl, but raised as a boy by her mother from birth for yet unknown reasons. Then he talks more about her parents: her dad Akira seems to be dead (yet another mysterious white-haired Akira Ishida character for the books), and her relationship with her mother Ren is messy to say the least. 

Finally, best girl Saki shows up and saves the day! She brings Tohru back to her house, and along with Arisa gives her the reality check we’ve all been waiting for: she is going to burn herself out if she keeps on putting others’ needs before her own. 

Interestingly, even though she seems to be a pretty bad mom, Ren is in the right here about the unhealthy relationship between Akito and the zodiacs. Is she really being kept inside because of physical and mental illness, or is that just Akito’s excuse for locking her mother away? I suspect it’s the latter. Akito loves a good power trip, and if Ren were allowed to talk to the zodiacs she could possibly undermine the hold Akito maintains over them. It could also be a combination of both reasons, so I’ll just have to wait and see.

The OP is awesome! The photo backgrounds incorporate the 2D characters well and it just looks very nice. The song’s R&B-ish sound also stood out instantly from the pop ballads Fruits Basket usually gives us. Once it comes out on Spotify, I will be adding it to my playlist along with Chime and Eden. Btw, if you haven’t heard the full version of Eden I recommend you check it out cause it really goes some places you don’t even get to hear in the TV-sized version.

On a side note, this show has some real fashionistas. Rin, Haruhatsu, Saki, and this episode Arisa have great outfits. That cropped shearling jacket with the skinny scarf? 👌 It’s also adorable how Saki and her little goth brother coordinate their looks. I will never forget that time they casually rolled up to an okonomiyaki restaurant rocking black opera gloves. 

Zombieland Saga Revenge

More Zombieland Saga! The best part of the first season imo was the comedy, but I’m guessing we’ll get more into the mystery/drama part of the show here: more information about Kotaro and his motives/methods, Tae’s identity, etc. We’ll see how it goes. I’m also hoping for more bops like Adabana Necromancy and Saga Jihen. 

Oh how I missed this show’s manic energy...

Since the end of the last season, it seems Kotaro got overzealous and booked an arena for a concert that only sold 300 tickets, putting the group into a whole bunch of debt. So now the girls are all working part-time to pay it off, and they’re not nice jobs either: factory worker, farmhand, construction worker... milk-deliverer? Do they even have those in Japan? Now there’s some #commentary on showbiz. 

As for Kotaro, the whole thing has left him in such a haggard state that he’s managed to grow his hair down to his collar bones in a month flat. Now he spends his days bar hopping and rambling even less coherently than usual (although Mamoru Miyano is clearly having as much fun as ever). Franchuchu are left to prepare all by themselves for their anniversary concert at the tiny venue where they made their debut. But, they decide they’ll use it as a chance to sing the unperformed encore song from the arena concert for Kotaro, thinking it might relight his spark. 

We do get a drop of new information about the plot: turns out there’s a strict deadline on the Zombieland Saga Project, which is the real reason why Kotaro so upset. Maybe whatever necromancy he used on the girls will wear off after a certain amount of time and turn them back into corpses? The bartender at his favorite spot is apparently in on the whole zombie thing, and he’s the one who finally snaps Kotaro out of it. He sprints over to the anniversary concert and literally starts throwing hands with the unreceptive metalhead audience. To finish out the episode we get a glorious slow motion brawl sequence as Franchuchu sing the encore song. 

I don’t know if that encore will be the OP or ED, or if it’s just a insert song. It was alright I guess. To be honest I liked Iron Frill’s songs more than Franchuchu’s in the first season, and I feel like that will continue to be the case this season. I’m excited to see the new OP tho, even if it’ll be hard to beat the iconic Adabana Necromancy. And on a vaguely related note, it was cool to see the real Zombieland Saga ost album, Franchuchu The Best pop up in the episode.

Pretty Boy Detective Club

This one has people intrigued because it’s written by the author of the Monogatari series (which I haven’t seen yet) and animated by Shaft. There’s also the extremely Ouran-esque setup, with Maaya Sakamoto even voicing the cross-dressing main girl. Also I just think the title is funny. Honestly I don’t really know what to expect from this one besides the usual Shaft aesthetic, so we’ll see what happens. 

Mayumi wears glasses to keep attention away from her pretty eyes, but while stargazing on the roof she gets caught without them by Ayumu Murase in a detective hat. He ropes her into the Pretty Boy Detective Club, a shady secret organization at her middle school. We enter the clubroom and meet the members, a bunch of over-the-top eccentric tropey characters that wouldn’t be found in any non-anime middle school in a million years. Shoutout to that one guy in the hot pants. Then Mayumi reveals that she’s been looking for a star she saw once on a family vacation, and the boys decide to take up her case. 

I knew I was really in for something when I was hit with musings about Voltaire right out of the gate. Although from what I’ve heard about the Monogatari series, this kind of ~intellectual~ monologuing is totally on brand. And I don’t know if anyone else picked up on the subtle hints they were dropping in those monologues, but I sense that, maybe, perhaps, beauty is going to be a theme in this show...? Maybe it’s going to be some kind of #meta #commentary on pretty boys anime? That could be interesting, although there’s also a chance they’ll just play it straight. They even have an idol-anime-esque ED sung by the the main cast, so honestly it could go either way. 

As expected from Shaft, the visuals are all on point. I love both celestial and geometric imagery so this show’s aesthetic feels made just for me. The shifts in art style are also pretty neat. As for the character designs, my favorite part is probably the snazzy school uniform with the galaxy printed ties and striped pants and skirts. Although Murase’s character momentarily sprouted one of those flesh-fangs that I HATE they look so NASTY. 

I has a pretty fun time with this episode, it was just so absurdly Anime. I liked hot pants guy and his poses (tho I don’t love that he’s 12), and delinquent guy who was just tired of everyone else’s nonsense and casually ate food off the ground. They were at the beach too, so it probably got all sandy? And when this popped up I died laughing; truly words to take to heart.  

(A footnote about the ED: I thought I had spotted an Elements Garden member in the songwriting credits, and then of course I had to find out if they actually made it or not. The lyrics were written by RUCCA, who isn’t actually in the group but collaborates with them frequently according to the Google Translated version of his Japanese Wikipedia page. He’s written for quite a few Elements Garden produced Aoi Shouta songs, which is where I recognized his name from. The composer is Masatoma Ohta, who as far as I can find isn’t associated with Elements Garden but did a pretty good job emulating their sound. Both of them have done a lot of work for seiyuu, idols, and seiyuu-idols, so I guess that’s why I instantly understood what this song was going for lol.)