#like my art has not improved or its degraded over the last year

[stressedjester]

Drawing has been so difficult for me lately. Kinda feel like all it does is stress me out when I try to draw

[oneknightlight]

Actually I’m going to make a list of things I’ve noticed since I genuinely started working on valuing my life, and started working on beating the self degrading thoughts, because this is important to future me and anyone who is healing from depression and needs a bit of hope:

(tw depression, recovering from it, brief mentions of loss of appetite. this is mostly positive and for my own documentation but still heed the tw)

(I started working on this seriously beginning of 2022, so this is a year of noticeable changes in chronological order)

I started getting sleep. Initially I still stayed up till 2-4 AM, but I’d still sleep more, and often fulfilling 8-9 hours, even if it meant I slept in real late.

My appetite became more stable. (My body began responding to the basic 3 meals and however many snacks you need kinda day)

Life started to feel real again, very very slowly. So slow I didn’t pick up on it initially but it was happening.

My creativity exploded through the roof, this was not slow, I woke up one day and my imagination had went back up my nose and into my brain.

I started engaging in media I loved again. And not in a ‘I’m doing this to take my mind off the horrors’ way, in a ‘I’m doing this because I love it AND it combats the horrors.’ Don’t get me wrong, this took work, as my mind has a tendency to wonder and dissociate.

The shame in nourishing my inner child is slowly fading, and with it I found two new loves: Deltarune and Gravity Falls

I started dabbling in art and cosplay again, going as far as to begin writing my own characters (something I would’ve n’er had the confidence to do a year ago)

Staying firm in my boundaries became habit and brought a certain strength with them.

My inner voice has softened its volume and sanded its rough edges.

I’ve found it now easy to provide my body with food and water.(again hard work but it was so worth it)

I began bodybuilding, not for fitness, but for my mental health, and it’s become a joy to me and has improved my mental health. I couldn’t have done this a year ago, I would’ve bullied myself out of it.

I reached out and apologized to many friends I’d abandoned wrongfully out of depressive thoughts.

I’ve learned how to stand up for myself, even if I can’t help but cry while doing it.

I’ve become a healthier person to be around.

I took my last breakup like a champ, allowed myself time to grieve then blocked them and moved forward.

I’ve managed to make significant progress sobering myself from self destructive habits.

I started posting my art online, albeit nerve-wracking.

I’m making good chips at completely repairing my sleep schedule.

I started taking steps toward getting my permit, I’m still working on it, driving scares the piss outta me, but I think eventually I’ll get there!

Im slowly picking film back up as a side hobby,

And I’m building a cosplay I’ve wanted to make since the game came out, but have chickened out of up until now. I’m going to face one of the biggest conventions in my area in this cosplay, something I would’ve hid from a year back.

It’s important to note this is a little over a year of progress and definitely wasn’t quick. A lot of these things I still am actively working on ! But how cool is that! Crawling up from the wreckage is possible even though it’s filled with the horrors and feels hopeless, it’s possible.

[midwestrecordcollector]

You Can’t Play The Covers

Recently, while I was aimlessly digging through my collection looking for something that would inspire me to toss it on the turntable, I stumbled upon this beauty of a Jazz Messengers lp. I think perhaps I bought it for cheap off of one of the ever-growing Facebook record selling groups for probably less than what it cost to ship it. In the now seventeen years of collecting records and the last nine of them being dedicated primarily to the niche madness that is jazz record collecting, this record conveys a very universal truth that any collector can agree upon: you’re going to find, and perhaps own some fucked up records. While the metrics used to determine what we will and won’t take home to cram inside our Ikea shelves are different for us all, the fact is we all have records that are rough.

Why is that? Why do we have varying amounts of damaged records in a hobby that glorifies the massive scores, dollar deals, and his resolution shots of decades old records that appear pristine like they were days old? Speaking for myself, I think it comes down to understanding my own small role in the world of collecting records. I see records that for lack of a better word has “lived” as well as been played and I see an artifact that needs to be preserved and perhaps improved in some way. I think destruction in its own depressing way shows beauty too. It’s the hard slap in the face that things will degrade and we are never going to own the perfect copy of every record and sometimes you just have to settle with knowing that your copy may get wind up like this one day. 

This Art Blakey and the Jazz “Mess” lp plays as good as a pristine copy, the vinyl is exceptionally clean, and if not for the insane amount of water damage to the cover it would a lp that I wouldn't be able to afford. Unless I was lucky enough to track down a cheap copy at a yard sale or maybe in a discarded Goodwill bin.

So with that I decided to call upon the Instagram community to add their own broken eggs to mine and make up a soufflé of destruction and they didn't disappoint. To see more beautiful destruction search #youcantplaythecovers on Instagram. Living in small town Iowa with no real record community to speak of I found it refreshing to see collectors from all over showing off some truly unique and damaged goods.

Thanks to everyone who contributed it really was a great thing to see and chuckle at all of the destructive reality we all bring home from diggin in the bins.

[baphomet-media]

Techno Ninjas - A Cyber Shadow Review

Genre: Action

Subgenre: 2D Platformer

Developer: Mechanical Head Studios

Publisher: Yacht Club Games

Platform(s): All current platforms, reviewed on Xbox Series X

Release Date: January 26th, 2021

Cyber Shadow burst onto the indie scene back in January to mostly positive feedback. Being published by Yacht Club (the developers of Shovel Knight) is enough of an endorsement for me, so I was excited to check it out when it launched on Game Pass. The game is a clear throwback to 80s titles such as Ninja Gaiden but with modern improvements (not to be confused with the other Ninja Gaiden-inspired game, The Messenger that was released a few years back). Does the game live up to the hype, or does it get stunlocked into a bottomless pit? Let’s find out.

Story

Cyber Shadow follows the titular Shadow, the last in a clan of ninjas who is revived in a cyborg body to avenge his clanmates and rescue his beloved master from the clutches of the evil Dr. Progen who overran Mekacity with robots and wiped out the ninja clan. On the surface, the story seems like your classic MegaMan-esque plot, but as the game goes along the player finds the spirits of fallen ninja, text journals, and flashbacks that really flesh out the world and add a lot of mystery. I was seriously impressed with how deep the game’s story was, for its medium, presenting easily-digestible story chunks that made you think about how everything tied together without being overlong and outstaying their welcome.

Along the way, you even learn more about Dr. Progen and why he’s doing what he’s doing. The game never excuses his actions, but definitely makes you feel like you understand his motives in a believable way.

Aside from that, there’s not much to say about the story! This is an action game, so the writing necessarily takes a back seat while still establishing the world and motivations.

Gameplay

Cyber Shadow is a platforming action game in the vein of classic Ninja Gaiden games from the NES days. The game is presented across a series of levels where the goal is to survive to the end and usually defeat a boss. Along the way, you’ll have to contend with various mechanical enemies, environmental hazards, bottomless or spiked pits, laser beams, toxic sludge, and more. It’s all pretty standard stuff, but don’t get complacent, as the game is quite challenging. Enemies are near constant, and spikes and pits mean instant death, so getting through levels requires precision and mastery of the game’s movement and combat mechanics. Fortunately, there are no lives or game overs. When you die, and you will die over and over, you merely go back to the last activated checkpoint and can immediately continue. This means that even though the game is challenging, you never feel like it’s impossible, and you can always keep trying. Additionally, the game lets you spend its currency on upgrading the checkpoints to allow them to completely refill your health and/or spirit gauge instead of only doing half, as well as dropping a bonus weapon. This allows you to make difficult sections slightly easier for yourself without completely spoiling the game’s challenge.

When you start out, Shadow only has the very basic techniques: running, jumping, and swinging his sword. At first, it seems frustrating that you can only attack in front of you, and it feels like being able to slash upward and crouch would be useful, but the game makes up for these in time. Soon you gain access to multiple special attacks that use your special gauge, such as shuriken projectile attacks, a burning uppercut that sends multiple projectiles upward, a dash attack that can one-hit KO weaker enemies in your path and propel you forward, a charge attack that can modify your other special attacks, and more. The shuriken is mostly situational, however all the other special attacks are highly useful, and the game actively rewards you for trying them out, as defeating enemies with special attacks is much more likely to drop special gauge refills, and with the dash attack it always does so. By the time you unlock the dash attack, it becomes an essential part of your moveset. One gripe I had with it, though, is that by default the binding for this ability is to double-tap the D pad in the direction you want to dash, which can be tricky to do in tight situations. Fortunately, the game allows you to remap the dash to the right bumper, which felt more natural for me. By the end of the game, you can constantly chain together dash attacks, double jumps, pogo attacks, and more to skillfully zip through the game’s later levels. This is a great example of the game making the player feel more powerful as they advance, making you feel like a true cyber ninja by the end.

The other main gameplay mechanic is bonus weapons. These are temporary upgrades such as a longer sword attack, an orbiting laser attack, a special gauge refill dispenser, and more that slightly augment your abilities. You can only have one at a time, and as you take damage the bonus weapons will degrade until after only a few hits they’re completely gone. I found these to be slightly useful, but mostly extraneous. They never felt like a tipping point between failure and success and were more distractions than anything.

Finally, the boss battles. About half your play time in Cyber Shadow will just be hammering away at bosses. Despite this, they never feel grueling or unfair, more, it’s just a matter of learning patterns and improving your skills to dodge their attacks and strike at just the right time. My favorite boss was the Mekadragon, a water-based boss which heavily reminds me of Serris from Metroid Fusion. Half of the challenge is just knocking down the whirligig robots in the boss arena to create temporary platforms for you to stand on just so that you can hit the boss.

Presentation

Cyber Shadow is a gorgeous 8Bit-inspired pixel art game that follows in the footsteps of similar games like Shovel Knight that present a modern take on 8bit visuals and music. Some of my favorite bits of art were some of the cutscene vignettes, which were highly detailed and expressive. The game’s music is a banger of heavy chiptunes that perfectly portray the dark and somber atmosphere juxtaposed with the bright and flashy 80s cyberpunk aesthetics.

Conclusion

Cyber Shadow is a quick but challenging game that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but does a great job at what it sets out to do, which is being a hard-but-fair throwback to retro titles, which I personally think blows them out of the water. If you’re a fan of retro-inspired games or just like a challenge, definitely give this game a shot. You won’t be let down.

Score: 8 / 10

[moogiwarah]

🐓

Hi! I want to have comprehensive list of the BL manga/manhwa etc. that I’ve read because I want to spread the love for this genre 💜.  This post is a list of works that I’ve read which is not in this page yet + my comments on each work. I hope some people will find something that they like here ^__^

🐣 All BL recs from me 

manhwa  🐓

💜 Never Understand

Yuri, one of the school's most handsome guys,and Jaerim, one of the school's ugliest, collide!...or don't they? Can't understand what's going on between these two! It's Out of Control! 

shounen-ai, completed, 87 chapters

THE STORY IS SOOOO GOOD. The art also improved by a lot upon reaching the later chapters. Jae-rim is dubbed as “ugly” (he’s a whole cutie tho) and I’m glad to see a non conventional character design for an MC! I highly recommend reading this!!  👌💯

Incorrigible 

A sequel to “Never Understand” which is focused on Cho Ayeon’s story after being free from Soyeon’s control.

yaoi, completed, 8 chapters

This has few chapters so maybe that explains the fast pacing. Nonetheless, it was a nice read, I have a really soft spot for Jae-rim so seeing his r-18 experiences with Yuri really got me ahkdjashdkajshd ;W;

💜 Dirty Vibrations

Best friends Yeong and Nohae thought it was a joke when they downloaded the infamous “cursed” app. It’s said to command the user to perform…sexual acts and punishes those who disobey or delete it. It started with making them kiss. When they disobeyed its order…the punishment was anything but a joke. 

yaoi, ongoing

This one is from Fujoking (author of Youjin)! In all honesty, I love this for its sex scenes. They are so well made, the art, the dialogue, the expressions, and just *chef’s kiss* 👌. When it comes to expressing sexual scenes in BL, my top authors would have to be Fujoking for manhwa and Zaria for manga.

💜 Paid

Executive director Heejae is nicknamed "Chaebol Prince" by the public. But his life is turned upside down when documents linking him to an embezzlement scheme are unexpectedly found by an accounting collegian Taekyung! So he pretends to have a crush on him, but.. Taekyung wants more than just flirting! 

yaoi, ongoing

This is another one from Fujoking! This has a heavier plot as compared to Dirty Vibrations, so you get amazing smut AND an engaging story! 

💜 On or Off

Yiyoung is building a startup with his college friends. They get a chance to present their proposal to SJ Corporation, one of the leading companies in the country. But in the meeting room he sees Kang Daehyung, the extremely handsome company big shot that's so very much his type, and Yiyoung's heart starts to race...! Can pretty-faced Yiyoung win both in love and his career? 

yaoi, ongoing

Okay this! It’s really funny and the pacing is nice and the characters are nice and the art is nice and the perfect mix of romance comedy and slice of life i just HUHDADKAJDHJK it’s rly a feel good read and both MCs are SO ATTRACTIVE.

Penthouse XXX

Siyeon, a contract killer, has declared a boycott on men after being screwed over by his ex. That is, until he moves into a penthouse owned by Taekyung, a rich heir with killer looks.

yaoi, completed, 49 chapters

It has meme worthy illustrations xD. The graphics are nice but I found Taekyung (one of the MCs) to be a little toxic. Also, some parts of the story were not wrapped up/discussed enough imo. But overall, it was a pleasant read.

Home Sweet Home

The last thing Jungyeon expected was for his mom to ask if she could remarry. The new man was kind, considerate, a perfect match for his mother but there’s a catch: he has a younger son. Sunwoo is an introvert. He’s shy and has trouble opening up to others, until he meets Jungyeon and finds himself opening up for the first time. As their parents get closer to marrying, they become close, too close, and that’s when Sunwoo learns Jungyeon is already seeing another man.

yaoi, completed, 57 chapters

I honestly don’t know why this has quite a low rating on mangago because I found it to be a good read! It’s like sitting through a romance-drama movie. I liked the ending and the relationship between the main couple.

K’s Secret

Employee Kim Doyoon has been working for 5 years. He has one secret that he can't tell anyone else - the fact that he's a half-vampire born between a human and a vampire.

yaoi, ongoing

The art is so good in the recent chapters ugh. Also the sex scenes are well made. The plot is a little unclear though, and I feel like the relationship of the two MCs are kinda forced and unnatural hahaskdhakjdh. Still reading it tho since it’s ongoing.

💜 I have a Boyfriend

Kang Hyeon Ho, who belongs in the university soccer team goes into a breadth class and encounters the person he went to middle school together with and was his first love, Han Gyeol. 

yaoi, completed, 44 chapters

THIS IS BASICALLY COLLEGE AU ROM COM ADDITIONAL TAG: FIRST LOVE AND IT’S AMAZING. Just a really well rounded story with the right amount of drama to bring out its slice of life  😭💘 Also, this is tagged as yaoi but the sex scenes were few and not that explicit.

💜 Voice of Love

After experiencing a traumatic incident involving a previous lover, Jiho is too afraid to tell his classmate Soohan that he likes him. Thankfully, Soohan can hear otherpeople's thoughts and asks him out first. But, as we all know, love isn't always that easy. Will Jiho and Soohan really get their happily ever after?

shounen-ai, completed, 37 chapters

Just a really cute story about mind reading and high school boys being in love. Ah, youth. This will make you feel good like ,,, awww young love :( <3

Base to Base

The elite Sung Moon High is fields one the country's top 5 high school baseball teams. Kim Soohyun was the ace pitcher of his middle school now started his first year at Moon high baseball team...since his beloved sunbae Choi Woojin(captain/catcher) is there....Kim Soohyun is an cutie puppy with stalker tendency exclusive for his beloved sunbae. 

shounen-ai, completed, 28 chapters

Sports manga/anime always had a little (or lots) of gay, well this one made it officially gay! A cute rom-com bUT I feel like the ending was rushed. I would have loved it if there was more, but nonetheless, a good read! :)

manga  🐓

💜 I Seriously Can’t Believe You  

"I don't think you've realized your true nature yet." That's what Kon tells Iida, the hottest guy at school, wondering how anyone could be so proper. As popular as he is, Iida doesn't seem interested in any of the girls who come after him. Kon and his buddies try to look into the matter by flipping a coin and having Kon approach him with his confession of love, just to see if he's really interested in guys. "I've... never looked at guys like that..." says Iida, falling for Kon's ruse. Kon takes him home, hoping to straighten out the misunderstanding, when Iida suddenly grabs him by the shoulder, and... A story about a mysterious hottie at school and a prince of a certain kind. 

yaoi, completed, 5 chapters

THIS IS FUNNY AND CUTE AND HOT AND SHORT BUT REALLY GOOD JUST READ IT YOU WONT REGRET IT!

💜 Yoru to Asa no Uta 

(Chapter 0) ; (Sequel)

Asaichi can't play any instruments, his voice is average, and he's only in the band for the girls and the sex. Plus, he's homophobic. For some reason, the new bassist is infatuated with him despite the treatment Asaichi gives him.

yaoi, completed, 1 + 8 + 8  = 16 chapters

It’s by Harada (author of ‘Yatamomo’ and ‘Color Recipe’) so expect dark themes. Trigger warning for rape. I suggest you skip the rape if you can’t handle it because this manga is so good. Its art and story (much like Harada’s other works) will really suck you in. This left a deep impression on me because the characters felt so alive. I respect Harada so much for that ability.

💜 Eigyou Nika!

Sakisaka, stationed in the second Sales Division, has an unrequited love for Toujou, his directing senpai. He had no intention of confessing his feelings. However, Toujou has been awfully touchy-feely lately… Is there a glimmer of hope? Please don’t let it be a misunderstanding! Which path will these vexing feelings flow down to?

yaoi, completed, 10 chapters

I had fun reading this because it’s so fluffy!! aaaAAAA I love friends to lovers and cuddling and the sweetness that comes from a relationship that is a more than friendship but less than lovers. A lighthearted read <3

💜 Mou Ichido, Nando Demo

On his way home from picking up a rings for himself and his lover, Fuji Takahiro is hit by a car. His resulting amnesia degrades his live-in lover Kotou Tarou to a mere flatmate, and a series of misunderstandings threatens to tear the couple apart. Tossed around by desperation and confusion, can Tarou and Takahiro rebuild their once blissful relationship? 

yaoi, completed, 11 chapters

This is like watching a really good mature drama. The characters feel real and the situations presented in the manga were also something one can easily imagine themselves being put into. A short and good read.

💜Ookami-kun wa Kowakunai

The world is filled with animals that can evolve into beastmen. There is a young and earnest wolf who was always mistaken for a showy person because of his flashy looks. The easily mistaken wolf has fallen for an attractive looking rabbit named Usami, who is cautious of carnivores.

yaoi, completed, 6 chapters

I mEAN,,, LOOK AT THEM!!! This is wholesome and very fluffy huhuhuhu no more words needed. A short and cute read! <3

💜Ookami He No Yomeiri

Kaede is a rabbit person chosen to be the 'bride' of a distinguished wolf family. Although he does not wish to marry a wolf, his family pleads for him to go so that they can have enough supplies to last for the next two years. However, how will his new husband act towards a little bunny rabbit stuck in the wolf's den?

yaoi, completed, 8 chapters

The art is good and the story is cute :((( They’re so cute aaaa I’m a sucker for grumpy looking x ray of sunshine it’s just uGH the contrast never gets old.

💜 Encirclement Love

Ryou had a sleepover and saw his friends - Issei and Tadahiro - kissing while they thought he was asleep. He asks them about it and feels betrayed as a childhood friend when they pretend nothing happened. Determined to catch them red-handed, Ryou ends up inside a closet with Issei's little brother - Yuusei -, who has a unexpected reaction to the situation.

yaoi, completed, 6 chapters

It’s basically four high school boys being horny. All four of them are friends and I find their dynamics really funny. Also, they’re all hOT 🥵 I had lots of fun reading this!

Mother’s Spirit

University employee Ryouichirou is ordered by the Chairman to take in an exchange student. That exchange student, Qaltaqa, is a native from a developing country who can't understand Japanese!! Though he is a warrior of his tribe and a man of great beauty, seeing him afraid of the phone and the TV, and even the toilet, Ryouichirou gets fed up… But while being called "Ryouichirou" in such a clumsy manner, he has a change of heart!?

yaoi, completed, 13 chapters

This is funny and interesting! A short read to boost your mood and get your yaoi fix ;D

Dakaretai Otoko Ichii Ni Odosarete Imasu 

Saijou Takato's 5 year reign as the "Most Huggable No. 1" has been snatched. Stealing his thunder is the newbie actor with a 3-year debut, Azumaya! Towards the stuffy hostile Takato, Azumaya's sincere sparkling smile starts to become effective. Even as Takato sets his alert level on MAX, Azumaya catches Takato in his shameful drunken state and uses it to blackmail him! In exchange for Azumaya's silence, Azumaya states, "Please let me hold you"'?! "Embrace me, who was the Most Huggable No.1? What the heck is he saying!" 

yaoi, ongoing

I remember dropping this because MC was obviously raped, but upon watching the first episode of the anime adaptation, they made the sex consensual (thank God) and the story is not so bad after all. I suggest skipping the first chapter altogether and just start off at episode 1 in the anime, then you can pick it up in the manga to see the explicit scenes xD

That’s it for now! Will continue updating in this tumblr acc. as I continue on reading more BL ehe. Hmu on my twt if u wanna talk about BL and/or anime and manga in general hehe. Love lots~ 💜🐓

[marshmallowgoop]

I can’t think of anyone else who does this kind of year-in-review compilation for writing, but I put one together for 2017 and would like to continue to do so. It’s just nice to get a sense of what I’ve accomplished in 12 months, especially when I feel that I haven’t accomplished much of anything.

Unlike last year, though, I’m including all kinds of writing I’ve done this time around. My non-fiction work is important to me, too.

Mental health talk and text versions of these snippets under the cut.

To cut right to the chase, 2018 was rough. No matter all my flowery pep talks trying to be positive and uplifting, my feelings of inadequacy skyrocketed. I drenched myself in my own self-depreciating “humor,” and I ridiculed my hopes and dreams. Every time I felt my work was poorly received, I’d tell myself, “Well, what did you think would happen? That people would actually like what you do?”

But I never wanted to stop “keeping on.” I wanted to continue what I loved no matter what, and I threw myself into my writing. There would be days where I wouldn’t eat or do anything else until I’d finished an essay. I spent practically the entire month of November sleeping on my couch because I never wanted to “go to bed” until I had written more, posted more, done more. My head became filled with a constant mantra of, “You’ll never be enough.”

And I wanted to prove myself wrong. I wanted to be something—even if that something was just being happy with myself. But all the proclamations that I’m “getting better!” and “improving so much!” never did much for my confidence. What good is progress, after all, if I still feel like I’m nowhere?

Still, I tried to be productive about my failure. So I wasn’t satisfied with what I was doing. What could I do to be satisfied? I took different approaches to my content. I asked for advice, opinions. But that feeling of being nothing remained.

And yet, I’d always say things like, “I’m okay. I’m just frustrated.” Or, “I felt better after I binged some Netflix, haha.” I wanted to be helpful, inspiring. I wanted to tell people that it’s hard, but it gets better. I wanted to come off as the happy person I so wish to be, and I felt guilty every time I revealed any of my insecurities. Nobody wants to hear that stuff. Everyone suffers. I’m not special.

So maybe that’s why I feel it’s important to say now that I’m not okay. I’m hurting. I’m in pain. There are times I hate myself so much that I can think of nothing but how I’m ugly both inside and out, that I’m selfish, ungrateful, a total bitch.

And I want to be better! Of course I do. And I want to continue to work to be better.

But right now? I’m not okay. And running away from that fact and trying to hide it won’t help me or anyone else.

It was a rough year. I feel I made a total fool of myself more times than I would care to admit. But I also created a lot of art. I shared a lot of art with the world.

And you know what? I am proud of myself. I did impact people with what I did. I answered over 100 asks! I added more than 17 pages to my “replies” tag! I’m not nothing, and I need to stop treating myself like I am!

On to a better, healthier 2019!

Texts

January

Yes, DARLING goes way further than I’m comfortable with, but in doing so, and in doing so seriously, it tells the viewer in no indirect terms that the relationship between Hiro and Zero Two isn’t a joke. This ain’t another Ryuko and Senketsu, where all the blatantly suggestive themes between a human and a non-human are easily neglected and there’s the insistence that the relationship is akin to that of a child and their parental figure (yuck), because unlike Ryuko and Senketsu, there is 1,000% the sense that this series intends for its leads to be like that. There’s practically no other way around it. Just look at the title.

DARLING also doesn’t seem to be following in the footsteps of a run-of-the-mill monster movie, either, where a relationship between a human and a non-human is treated as something terrifying. There have only been two episodes so far, but I would say that there is something genuine in the relationship between Hiro and Zero Two already.

February

So, I don’t have a “bad” section this week. While DARLING might have tonal problems as a whole, as far as “Your Thorn, My Badge” is concerned, there’s little to complain about. The episode is serious, and it stays serious. For the first time ever, there’s a distinct lack of gratuitous fanservice, and other issues that plague the show are also wonderfully absent. No awful cockpit set-up can be seen here, abuse from a woman isn’t depicted as funny, quirky, and cute, and what’s unsettling is portrayed as unsettling.

March

Senketsu’s story—intentionally or not—has easy parallels to stories of marginalization and “otherness.” Like Akira Fudo of Devilman, Senketsu has the body of a “monster” but the heart of a human, and consequently, he can’t fit well in either world. No matter how silly Kill la Kill is, there’s something incredibly worthwhile in a narrative where someone who feels worthless and as though they don’t belong anywhere finds love and comes to understand that they matter. The fact that Senketsu’s story gets so neglected is beyond disappointing for exactly this reason.

But the erasure is also disappointing because Senketsu’s story is plain good. Throwing out everything I just wrote, isn’t it sweet, for a girl to decide that she cares more for a kind, compassionate person than what anyone thinks of her for being with him? Isn’t it heartwarming, that she would push herself to be as strong as she can be to return him to full health when he’s injured? Isn’t it worthy of praise, that there’s the depiction of a relationship built on communication and respect between the two, without either of them unhealthily idolizing the other even though they are both among each other’s first friends, and where they openly discuss their thoughts and feelings and concerns together? Isn’t this all something to be celebrated?

April

To make matters worse, the almost-final version of the script (as included in The Complete Script Book) doesn’t even include that tiny moment of Ryuko’s grief in the end at all! To quote:

街(数ケ月後)

可愛い服を着てマコとデートしている流子。ソフトクリームを買おうとショップによる。そこにもう一人の手が伸びる。買っているのは皐月。彼女も私服だ。驚く流子とマコ。はにかむ皐月。三人、笑いあう。その姿は屈託のない１０代の少女だった。

Incredibly rough translation:

City (a few months later)

Mako wears cute clothes on her date with Ryuko. The two go to buy soft-serve ice cream. Another person’s hand extends, and it’s revealed that Satsuki is buying the ice cream for them. She’s wearing normal clothes, and Ryuko and Mako are amazed. Satsuki is shy. The three laugh together. It is the image of carefree teenage girls.

May

Of course, as I’ve said before, I do think it’s important to talk seriously about media, because media is important. Media constantly impacts and influences us. #TheDiscourse definitely has a place.

But the goal of these kinds of discussions should be to improve. We should strive for better and more inclusive media. We should strive for better and more inclusive fandom. When #TheDiscourse instead becomes more about who’s the most morally superior and who’s the most garbage, it’s failing at this goal. Instead of being about bettering our art, #TheDiscourse seems to, more often than not, be about bullying other people under the guise of righteousness. And it’s utterly repugnant.

June

But what bothers me most about the argument isn’t really the argument itself. What irks me more than anything else is how this widely held belief emphasizes a disheartening trend: whenever something as popular as Kill la Kill comes along, there’s perhaps an eagerness to accept some of the most negative interpretations possible, almost as if there’s a desire for something awful.

And, sure. Maybe I’m just “reacting in shock and horror” to interpretations that are separate from my own. It’s not like there’s anything inherently wrong with a negative view of a work. It’s not like any of my more positive readings are “more correct.” I can’t claim to “get” a piece of art more than anyone else does.

But I can’t help it. I wish things were different. I wish negative interpretations weren’t seen as “more valid” simply because they’re negative. I wish more people weren’t afraid to disagree with popular negative interpretations for fear of sounding like they’re “reacting in shock and horror,” as though there’s really something so wrong about being passionate about art and finding a negative interpretation of art to actually be negative in itself. I wish for more nuance. I wish for more discussion. 

July

I mean, just imagine this. You’re fighting a battle whose outcome will literally decide whether or not your entire planet explodes into a billion pieces in like two hours. It’s not only your life on the line. Everyone you care about have their lives on the line, too. 

To make matters worse, it ain’t going well for your side. You’ve been rendered basically immobile by a cheap attack from these world-destroying baddies… and so have all your allies. Things are looking pretty grim, to say the least.

And then one of your big-name enemies goes and does it. She laughs at your efforts and taunts you and—get this—she says something that totally insults your OTP.

Now, a normal person would probably not be thinking about OTPs during a fight to save the Earth from turning into confetti. 

A normal person is not Mako Mankanshoku.

August

But I find Grosz’s thesis compelling in regards to Kill la Kill because, in a lot of ways, Ryuko and Senketsu do rather embody typical positions of men and women in fictional stories both East and West… except, the roles are reversed. Ryuko is the unruly, aggressive, and hot-blooded protagonist just as a man often is, and Senketsu exhibits many traits that are traditionally associated with women; he’s sensitive, emotional, and a considerable worrywart. Further, while I find the term “love interest” both degrading and unfitting for Senketsu in a series that Word of God denies any romantic intention for, I have to admit that he fits many of the conventions. In an anime with a cast primarily composed of women, the fact that Senketsu is arguably coded as male makes him, just as the standard heteronormative “love interest,” the most narratively significant character of another gender in the show (for just a few other examples, see Ran from Detective Conan, Sam from Danny Phantom, Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon). Whether I’m watching an anime or an American cartoon, I don’t think I’d be too surprised to see a scenario like the one from the end of Kill la Kill’s thirteenth episode, where a man tells a woman that he’s afraid of losing control and needs her to be there for him so that he doesn’t.

September

The official website for Kill la Kill the Game: IF is now up.

As of this writing, the site details gameplay mechanics and other general information regarding the game. There are also short bios and new game-specific artwork provided for the four confirmed playable characters: Ryuko Matoi, Satsuki Kiryuin, Ira Gamagoori, and Uzu Sanageyama. The “Video” section features the trailer from Anime Expo 2018 and the original 30-second commercial (which now has English subtitles available).

The “Top” page also includes a link to the Arc System Works Event Portal Site, where any potential players can download a detailed Play Guide for the game. Additionally, the site provides a schedule for the upcoming showcase of Kill la Kill the Game: IF at Tokyo Game Show 2018:

October

She catches their reflection in the long mirrors that line the gym walls and asks how in the world it all works.

He does not know what she means.

She holds a hand to her hair. The strands are bright and red, leaping into the air like fire.

His voice is a low rumble. The sound fills her as though it is her own.

We are one now, he says. Your skin is my skin, and mine is yours.

The words remind her to once more return to herself.

But when she looks to the glass, she still sees him.

November

Gridman is also quite stunning from a directorial and visual standpoint. As I wrote up some notes for the premiere while waiting for my multiple-hours-delayed Greyhound bus (hey I can’t not recommend that service enough, but those of you who were in full-out cosplay at the station are so much stronger than me), I made sure to mention how much I enjoyed the focus on scenery and environments. A lot of anime will rely heavily on stale shot-reverse-shot conversations in which the characters hardly move, but Gridman mixes things up. When the characters talk, viewers get these wonderful glimpses of their world. Sometimes, you’ll hardly even see the characters at all! This choice feels so fresh and different, and I was particularly taken by how the opening moments of the show are just about entirely background shots.

Takeuchi mentions in the interviews that Gridman director Akira Amemiya is incredibly skilled at what he does, and everything in a cut—from objects to angles to facial expressions—all have meaning. I think I could definitely see that from episode 1, and it’s a real treat. That’s exactly what visual storytelling should be doing.

December

Jiro’s Mubyoshi is neat, but Ryuko’s? It’s sweet as all heck. No matter Houka’s complicated info dump about what she’s doing, the actual scene simply plays out like one of the purest expressions of love. There’s a reason that there’s nudity here, and it’s not for fanservice or titillation. It’s to signify the closeness of Ryuko and Senketsu in this moment—to say that, right here, the two of them are uniting as one.

And it’s beautiful. Intimate. Absolutely heartwarming. Ryuko openly shares a part of herself that even Senketsu hadn’t known before, and he adores it. He loves being with Ryuko so much. He loves her so much.

And Ryuko? Shy, closed-off, keeps-her-distance-even-from-her-family Ryuko? She’s completely unabashed. Senketsu has always paid attention to her pulse and breathing and so on and so forth, and she doesn’t even hesitate to reveal more. This is her sound, and she wants him to listen. She wants him to hear nothing else. She trusts him, fully and completely—and this trust is so breathtakingly powerful that Houka even unzips his hoodie in awe of it.

[madscientistjournal]

The Essence of Sprout

An essay by Professor Caldwell Mook, as told to Nick Morrish Art by Leigh Legler

It is not often that I agree to become personally involved in one of the scientific experiments that I am investigating. Generally, I prefer to observe and deride from a safe distance. However, Doctor Felix Happensnapper’s research into sensory enhancement intrigued me greatly.

Many years ago, as a callow youth living in rural England, I was persuaded to play in a village cricket match. I was allocated a fielding position close to the batsman; a position with the apt name of “silly mid-off.” After a while, I made the mistake of concentrating on a problem of mental calculus, rather than the game in progress. It was the turn of the rival team’s captain to bat. In response to some heckling from the crowd, he swung energetically at the ball which promptly struck me hard on the bridge of the nose.

Interestingly, before I passed out, I clearly recall being able to calculate the velocity and vector of the offending projectile with considerable accuracy.

When I came round, I had lost a large amount of blood and much of my sense of smell. My body efficiently replaced the missing blood cells, but my olfactory nerves were never the same again. I consider this to be a gross design flaw and were it possible, I would certainly have complained to the manufacturer.

Since this unfortunate incident, I have been unable to discern anything but the most pungent aromas and the strongest tastes. Over the last year, I have compensated for this by dining extensively on Goat Vindaloo, a fiery curry dish from south-east India, which even my acquaintances from the Indian sub-continent consider uncomfortably hot.

As much as I enjoy the sensory experience, my new diet has put something of a dampener on my social life, as the after-effects can put be somewhat off-putting to those with a normal sense of smell. I had been searching for a more convenient solution to my problem, so when I heard of Doctor Happensnapper’s work, I put aside my usual skepticism and offered myself as a subject for his experiments.

“We have developed efficient hearing aids, so why not scent aids, taste aids, or even touch aids?” he asked when we met at his Hampshire laboratory.

Although housed in a Victorian Gothic building studded with sinister-looking pinnacles and gloomy towers, the laboratory itself was perfectly clean and modern. I understand that the myriad spider’s webs in the foyer are merely there for effect.

“As you can see, I have been experimenting with a series of sprays, gels, injections, and electrical shock therapies to both enhance and degrade the efficacy of the sensory nerves.”

I am aware that electrical shock treatment is now considered the gold standard amongst para-rational medical practitioners such as Doctor Happensnapper. However, I suggested we begin with more conventional treatments, since their effects are usually temporary and are less likely to cause scarring or memory loss.

The doctor began by offering me a patent nasal spray which he said would fortify my damaged olfactory nerves. I tried it, and within a few minutes, I was able to detect the scent of new mown grass drifting in through an open window. I was delighted by this result and congratulated Doctor Happensnapper on his formulation.

Gradually, I began to detect more smells, both pleasant and unpleasant. The intensity of the experience increased exponentially, and I soon became aware of a strong odor of curry exuding from my skin.

I had for some time wondered if my personal hygiene was suffering due to my poor sense of smell, and I now had considerable evidence to support this hypothesis. I asked his assistant, Nurse Mundy, a large bearded gentleman with little discernable bedside manner, if there was a shower I could use. I followed his directions, but as soon as I entered the bathroom, I was overcome by the stench of chemicals, air fresheners, and drains and immediately passed out.

I awoke some hours later on a hospital bed. Doctor Happensnapper did not appear unduly concerned but made notes on my condition and agreed to use a lower dose next time. He suggested we move on to the sense of taste which, I found, had also diminished as a result of the accident.

Nurse Bundy applied several unpleasant tasting droplets on my tongue to collate what is commonly known as a taste map. From this, the doctor was able to deduce which areas required the most enhancement and which were working satisfactorily.

He produced a viscous gel, which the nurse spread over the relevant parts of my tongue. I suffered a certain gagging reflex, but the taste was not unduly unpleasant. Nurse Bundy then fed me small pieces of food, such as broccoli, chocolate, anchovies, and so on.

My experience of each flavor was indeed heightened, and my opinion of the doctor’s methods was somewhat restored. However, when the nurse returned an hour later to repeat the tests, I found that everything now unaccountably tasted of Brussels sprouts. Now I am not one of these people who detest the noble sprout, but the intensity of its bitter flavor soon overcame all others.

My distress was clearly evident to Nurse Bundy, who attempted to remove the gel with an electric toothbrush. Unfortunately, the spearmint flavoring of the anti-bacterial rinsing fluid only exacerbated the all-encompassing sprout sensation. Overwhelmed by this vegetable excess, my brain again decided that a brief period of unconsciousness was required.

However, when the nurse returned an hour later to repeat the tests, I found that everything now unaccountably tasted of Brussels sprouts.

Once I had recovered, Doctor Happensnapper returned, appearing even more excited by the results of this latest experiment.

“Do you not see what this means? If we can enhance the sprout reaction in a subject who has no aversion to its taste, then surely we can also reduce it in those to whom it is a complete anathema. The boon to mankind and also to my research budget could be immense. Imagine what the Brussels Sprout Growers Association would say if I could make their product universally acceptable.”

I consented to assisting him in his continued research, but only after a suitable fee was agreed, the amount of which I am not prepared to disclose. I was introduced to Doctor Happensnapper’s wife, Ingrid, a tall, emaciated-looking woman with disconcertingly hairy hands and a limited command of the English language. She distilled the essence of sprout from a large cast iron pot filled with the vegetable, which she had been stewing over an open fire.

Once the potion was ready, she wasted no time before passing it Nurse Bundy with a nervous wink and a grimace. The nurse began by applying a high-concentration Emla cream to my sprout taste receptors. He then administered several drops of essence of sprout to each side of my tongue and waited for it to take effect. The inhibiting cream certainly reduced the adverse reactions noted previously but on the left side only.

“I see you are uni-sprout intolerant,” explained the doctor. “You have a tongue asymmetry, which means that half your taste buds are more sensitive than the other half.”

He advised Nurse Bundy to double the strength of the cream applied to the right-hand side. Although I could now no longer feel large parts of my tongue, or my face for that matter, it did even out the taste sensations. However, I did not find essence of sprout any more pleasing to my taste.

It reminded me rather of the cabbage soup my grandmother used to make. Needless to say, visits to her house are not a fond childhood memory. As sad as I was to hear of her unfortunate accident with my nephew’s skateboard and the London Underground train, there was a part of me that was inappropriately overjoyed that I would never have to taste her cooking ever again.

I concluded that Doctor Happensnapper’s scheme to extort money from sprout farmers was doomed to failure. However, I decided not to mention this to him until I was certain his fee was securely in my bank account. I consider that his sense enhancement experiments may one day bear fruit, but I shall wait until his techniques are at a more mature stage of development before subjecting myself to Nurse Bundy’s tender ministrations once more.

On a positive note, my sense of taste remains somewhat improved. I have relinquished my Indian curry diet and have recently developed a fondness for Thai cuisine. I look forward to the renewal of various social relationships which have languished in recent months under the miasma of Goat Vindaloo.

Since the conclusion of my investigation, however, I have been unable to so much as look at a Brussels sprout without shuddering. In the autumn, I am seriously considering taking a sabbatical somewhere in the far east until Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other sprout-related festivities are safely in the past.

Professor Caldwell Mook holds the Mithering Chair of General Negativity at the University of Leeds, England. He specializes in pre-emptive risk analyses for technology that has yet to be invented. Professor Mook regularly offers discouragement and derision to scientists and engineers around the world.

Nick Morrish is an increasingly mad engineer who lives in Hampshire, England, where his eccentricities are considered quite normal. During a long and futile career, he has worked for a number of frankly certifiable, multinational companies. He clings to the last vestiges of sanity by writing serious and truthful stories about the nature of existence. Since no one else seems to observe truth in quite the same way, his work is often mistaken for satire or fantasy.

Leigh’s professional title is “illustrator,” but that’s just a nice word for “monster-maker,” in this case. More information about them can be found at http://leighlegler.carbonmade.com/.

“The Essence of Sprout” is © 2018 Nick Morrish Art accompanying story is © 2018 Leigh Legler

The Essence of Sprout was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal

[donnerpartyofone]

ramblings

honestly i hate it when people use this word in their content or URLs. i hate it as much and in the same way that i hate the overuse of the word “random”. both represent tactics designed to absolve the user of any obligation to communicate clearly, stand by their opinions, or otherwise allow that the things they choose to do and say and support are symptomatic of who they really are as an individual--as if the things that you engage with are just “something that happened”, like the weather, and there’s some separate secret “you” that has nothing to do with the waves of activity that appear to emanate from your person. not that everything has to be a manifesto, but constantly qualifying your every action or feeling as chaotic and indeterminate is insecure at best and fraudulent at worst. at any degree of severity, it is at the very least just fucking annoying.

but, i’m thinking about quitting tumblr again, and this line of thought could probably be safely categorized as a ramble. i mean i’ve been thinking about it for years, as much as anybody of my vintage does, although my ordinary complaints have just had to do with obnoxious technical and community issues. this net neutrality disaster is really pushing my buttons. can i really afford, mentally, to keep using a yahoo product? but the thing is, as soon as i think this, i’m assailed by internal synthetic echoes of the kinds of radical voices i’ve absorbed from tumblr itself. this is one of my worst personal problems, that i internalize other people’s voices with extreme success. so, as soon as i think about boycotting yahoo by leaving tumblr, i involuntarily imagine someone telling me that i’m an elitist pig for theatrically divorcing myself from a major corporation when many people, who are perhaps the most victimized by corporate behavior, can’t even choose to remove toxic corporate material from their lives, and that my empty gesture is even less than symbolic when i don’t know who picked the orange sitting on my desk and i’m typing this out using a slave-manufactured Apple product furnished by my employer who rather famously tortures its blue collar employees. this morning i was feeling good about using up leftovers for my lunch instead of letting them turn into climate-destroying food waste, until i thought about where the stray mayo packet i just used was going to wind up, and moreover where the plastic bag i used to tie up that trash was going to wind up, and what an asshole i was for thinking about how i can recycle the tin foil i wrapped my sandwich in when in fact recycling plants have been linked to cancer in their employees. i may have congratulated myself this morning for repairing my thrifted shoes with glue instead of throwing them out and replacing them, but the fact that they’re under my feet right now and for as long as i can keep them doesn’t affect the fact that some animal is going to be choking on them when i can no longer make use of them. so, the same internalized radical voice that calls me a huge piece of shit for participating in this or that march or protest, even though i do vote and i do put money toward needs and causes when i can, that voice is definitely here to tell me that dramatically leaving tumblr after seven years makes me at least as much of an asshole as does continuing to use it.

if you exist anywhere left of center lately, your available political energy is pretty routinely sapped by infighting that seems to insist that if your intentions as well as your strategies are not absolutely virginally pure, then you need to just shut the fuck up and pull on your hair shirt and bury yourself alive until a real rain comes to wash all the scum off the streets. it’s like, no progress shall be made until a progress arrives that simultaneously and equally improves all areas of life, leaving no remote potential for debate in its glistening wake. nothing you do matters because everything you do is evil and there is no shortage of people who can prove it to you. the cultural climate i live in has made me really adept at proving it to myself. like the second you think even of certain A list celebrities who use the rewards of their meteoric careers in order to give back to their communities, you can say, well, what’s the carbon footprint of one of their concerts? what’s the point of doing anything at all? it feels like there are really just two ways you can live your life: you can aim for self-actualization, which may do wonders for your personal identity but which seems to require constant material sacrifice on the part of everything around you, OR you can relegate yourself to some sort of extreme jainist existence in which you deprive yourself of every personal indulgence to the point that your individuality is so degraded that the question of the meaning of your life looms larger than ever in relief.

there’s also the question, as evidenced by all this leftist infighting, of who is even smart enough to think of as much as one thing to do that’s actually a good thing to do. even if i were to let go of my entire life as it is to commit myself puritanically to some cause, it seems like a sure thing that i’d pick the wrong cause, with a world of negative side effects for other causes. and on the general matter of choosing sides, i don’t even think i know what, like, anything is anymore. i saw this post float by the other day that said something about how sick the OP was of the fierce leftist protection of sexual predators, as if defending rapists were a popular tenant in left-of-center parties, and the post had tens of thousands of notes and i just couldn’t figure out what the fuck it was even referring to from real life. i understand that there’s a lot of talk about how, speaking in very limited terms, “democrats are as bad as republicans”, and i understand what that’s about structurally speaking, but as far as “left” and “right” goes it seems like the language has completely broken down to the point that it doesn’t even refer to anything anymore other than some almost facelessly broad ideas about whether you think the government should help you or leave you alone about X. maybe what i’m really trying to say here is just that i have no idea what the fuck anyone is talking about to the point that just being alive is like being permanently trapped in some foreign country without a single cent of local currency.

so anyway, once i’ve achieved a subterranean level of depression over the fucked up shit that happens as a direct result of every minute that i even exist on the planet earth, i ALSO start to collapse under the slings and arrows of another internalized voice, that of a shitheaded rightwing alpha dog who sees guilt as a symptom of extreme weakness, of useless fragility. and to some degree that’s true, if my main state of being is this dissolving soreness, then how could i possibly be effective even at something that appears to be “the right thing to do”? and moreover it’s like if every single thing i could conceivably do with my life is categorizable as “evil”, then “evil” ceases to be a worthwhile judgment to make and abide by. everything is nothing and nothing is everything so you might as well just do whatever you want, right? but of course that’s not acceptable because in doing whatever i want, with no regard for the worldly consequences, i still feel terrible. so to try to treat that condition, i for-just-one-instance choose to go to the tiny neighborhood grocer next door to the constantly-expanding chain store right next to him, and i remember to bring cloth reusable grocery bags, which of course i know will just be choking out flora and fauna after i’m dead or stopped using them, and then the radical leftist voice in my head berates me for just “doing good” as a hollow gesture designed to make myself feel and look better, and we’re back to everything is nothing and nothing is everything all over again.

and why even worry about this, or literally anything, when at any moment we’re all going to be bombed off the face of the planet because we’ve elected, seemingly for entertainment’s sake, this scandalous id monster who isn’t even a real politician? i’m running out of these daily pills that i need for some real dumbass reasons, and i need to make an appointment for my annual medical humiliation in order to get more of them, but it’s so hard to care. over the last several years i built up a certain amount of personal pride by “being brave” and submitting myself to normal adult maintenance routines, but the more of them i’ve been through, the more they just feel like some sort of kafkaesque ritual whose only result is its own existence. and if i’m just going to boil to death in the rising oceans anyway, why bother?

the most rational idea that my tiny shitty brain is able to come up with is that the best most of us can do is to just do what feels “right”, as often as is practically feasible. so i think, well, leaving tumblr would be a thing, even if it doesn’t make a real difference in real life, it would be something i did based on a feeling of at-least-vague altruism. but then i think of all my friends here, people who are remote and in bad spots in their lives who i can at monitor in some well-meaning way, and i think about my family members here and their excellent art projects that are facilitated by this place, and like doesn’t my thought process indicate that i think all of THOSE people are evil parasites too? i mean what is the ultimate extension of the logic i’m trying to employ here? when i think about that i feel like a bigger sack of shit than ever before. then i kind of start thinking about all the people in the history of my life who have openly categorized my depression, whatever its sources and symptoms at the time, as just me being a pill, being difficult, being negative, being counterproductive, looking for attention: the explicit or tacit response being, “why don’t you just _______?” but i don’t know what this ________ is that’s supposed to replace all my feelings and behavior. i guess that’s kind of the point of this whole thing, that i have no idea what the alternative is supposed to be, to all this, and how i can “just” do that instead.

so, maybe just because it’s something to do, i’m thinking of moving over to blogspot or something that makes me feel even slightly less complicit in the actions of these cartoon villains that run everything. i understand that if i do that, then i’ll be lucky to maintain relationships with even like ten of the people whose presence here i know and love. i assume i would just continue on as normal, although without the benefit of this often-amazing kaleidoscopic font of images and ideas, and the ability to glibly inject some “hilarious” thought of mine into other people’s uptake streams, and the surprise discovery of new and exciting people via the entropy that rules my dash. or maybe i won’t risk all that, and i’ll just sit tight right here, because what really would be the actual result of my bailing? maybe i’ll just delete this later today, when i’m feeling sufficiently embarrassed and overexposed about it. i guess i’m going to go spend money i don’t deserve to make on some stuff that i don’t need to have, in a place that damages the world when i have to live in both obvious and invisible ways, while i think it over, for the rest of my natural life. 

[thefutureisplywoodbikes]

Harte Rates, 2020, #1

I have watched some films.  Here are the films I have watched.

1. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - 8/10

Good cast.  Good fun.  Does well with it’s budget, sparingly employing effective special effects and makes good use of the mockumentary format.  Liked it, but didn’t love it.

2. Manhattan Baby (1982) - 5/10 This was originally planned to be one of Fulci’s most expensive films but having had it’s budget cut in half during production what you get is a fairly pedestrian disappointment.  Some good photography and a smattering of half-decent effects work suggests that things could have been better had the producers not fucked him over, but ultimately it’s a pretty forgettable affair.  (As evidenced by the fact I can’t really remember what happened)

3. My Cousin Vinny (1992) - 8/10

Not sure if it was watching Home Alone and The Irishman at the tail-end of last year that prompted me to re-watch this, but fondly remembering it from my childhood I wanted to see how it held up.  It holds up well.  Yes, it’s implausibly plotted, but it’s sharply scripted the result is an amiable romp with some great performances, not least Marisa Tomei’s Oscar winning performance as the titular Vinny’s long-suffering but supportive fiancee.

4. Little Women (2019) - 8/10

My first trip to the cinema this year and a very pleasant way to start; this was a welcome antidote to the gloom and horror that 2020 was offering up in the real world.  It’s a refreshingly nice film.  It reminded me a bit of Terms of Endearment but less overtly sentimental.  Good performances all round from a strong ensemble, with Florence Pugh and Saoirse Ronan standing out as especially accomplished.  Timothy Chalomet is also good and avoids being annoying with a character that easily could be.  Less immediately likeable than Ladybird for me, the film is smartly constructed and directed with assurance and restraint and a good eye for colour.  Well worth a look.

5. It's My Turn (1980) - 5/10

I mostly watched this because this it was a 1980 film featuring Michael Douglas and Charles Grodin that I’d never heard of and because I sometimes like to watch obscure stuff I’m not invested in to fall asleep to.  It’s not exceptional but it has it’s moments and by focussing on the male stars to start I’ve done it a bit of a disservice.  Jill Clayburn, whose name I know but am otherwise largely unfamiliar with, is the real star of the show.  Directed by Claudia Weill from a script by Eleanor Bergstein (who’d go on to write Dirty Dancing) you get a refreshingly nuanced and complex take on the romantic comedy with an intelligent and accomplished woman (Clayburn plays a Maths professor) at it’s centre and, like watching Varda (though to a far lesser extent) you are reminded of how much more interesting things can be when women are able to be in control of telling their own stories.  The plot’s mediocre and there’s too much music throughout, but the script has some decent moments and there’s more emotional maturity at play in how it handles it’s relationships than you tend to see in mainstream cinema.  It’s certainly not great but might it satisfy your curiosity if you keep your expectations low.

6. La Dolce Vita (1960) - 9/10

Unquestionably a masterpiece, but having seen 8 1/2 last year it’s hard not to look at this as to some extent a rehearsal for that film, which has a more even tone and benefits from the director’s injection of self reproach and whimsical humour.  There’s still lot’s to love here though and i found myself checking off traces of it’s influence in much that has come since; Antonioni’s depiction of Rome in L’Eclisse, the depth of contrast and camera movements of Cuaron’s Roma, Altman’s drifting focus and, seemingly, the entire basis of Sorrentino’s career.  (That last part may be unfair, I’ve only seen The Great Beauty and Youth)  It also seems to me to be in part a check to the romanticised depiction of Rome that featured in Roman Holiday, where the paparazzo and exploitative reporter are loveable rogues (and American ex-pats) who ultimately comport themselves honourably.   Fellini’s Rome, while still bristling and bursting with glamour is far more cut-throat.  Structured over 7 days in the life of Mastroianni’s jaded journalist, the film largely luxuriates in the heady Cosmopolitan glitz of life among the rich and famous in 60′s Rome the film also ventures to some surprisingly dark places and though repeat viewings may change my mind, it felt it little uneven in tone on this viewing.  Also, while the film features a parade of great actresses it doesn’t really give them much to do other than present themselves for adoration and/or degradation, something that 8 1/2 also improves on (though arguably marginally)

7. Motel Hell (1980) - 6.5/10

A better than average little 80′s horror with competent direction, some visual flair in it’s use of colour and it’s tongue in it’s cheek.  Oh and a chainsaw battle, if that sort of thing floats your boat.

8. Daisies (1966) 10/10

Fucking magnificent.  An anarchic, inventive delight full of charm, wit and compelling imagery.

9. Five Fingers of Death (1972) - 6/10

Aka King Boxer.  I thought I’d seen this before but I’m not sure I had.  It’s decent enough; it’s better plotted/paced than a lot of kung fu films, if you’re not already a fan though I’m not sure this’ll convert you.

10. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) - 9/10

Burt Lancaster shines as the black-hearted Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker manipulating Tony Curtis’s press agent into a downward spiral of dark deeds in pursuit of J.J.’s favour.  Blackly cynical, it sits well along-side Billy Wilder’s Ace In The Hole and the aforementioned La Dolce Vita for the disdain it shows toward the less scrupulous side of the journalistic trade, and has a wonderfully mean script full of barbed jibes and menace.  Also of note is the beautifully textured photography of pioneering cinematographer James Wong Howe, who also shot Hud and Seconds among many, many other films.  It’s a shame more contemporary films don’t portray the rich and powerful with as much unashamed venom as this delivers.

11. Who Saw Her Die? (1972) - 6.5/10

A better than average Giallo; the plot’s still clunky and overcomplicated but the imagery is good, there’s some decent stunts and effects and there’s a great score by Ennio Morricone that elevates it.

12. El Topo (1970) - 8/10

I last saw this many years ago as a midnight movie and fell asleep for an uncertain amount of time in the middle so it was nice to see it in full.  Actually, nice probably isn’t the word.  While there’s amazing imagery and a grand meandering and maniacal story, the massive quantity of dead animals that feature in the film (and were killed exclusively for it’s aesthetic) dampened my enthusiasm somewhat for it’s artful expression.  There’s some amazing scenes and the idiosyncratic allure of Jodorowsky persist, but I’m in large part glad they don’t make ‘em like they used to.  The Dance of Reality is a far friendlier and engaging showcase for his creative spirit, as is the excellent documentary Jodorosky’s Dune

13. Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010) -  8/10

A solid little documentary about one of cinema’s greatest cinematographers.  The man whose technicolor wizardry was instrumental in bringing the Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus to life.  Also shot The African Queen and Rambo: First Blood Part II.  Well worth a watch to spark or rekindle enthusiasm for catching up with Powell and Pressburger if nothing else.

14. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) - 9/10

An infectiously gleeful musical, where even a slightly baffling subplot about a serial killer doesn’t manage to dampen the mood.  Wonderfully colourful, what it might slightly lack in choreographic finesse it more than makes up for with gallic charm and sly artful direction that teases and tortures its audience with the knowledge that it possesses and the characters do not.

15. Winter Light (1963) - 10/10

81 bleak beautiful minutes of gorgeously shot, pristinely directed cinema.  Devilishly well written and wonderfully acted (Gunnar Björnstrand and Ingrid Thulin are particularly excellent) you get a similar sense of the philosophical and theological searching you get with Nuri Bilge Ceylan delivered in a fraction of the time. 

16.  F/X2 (1991) - 5/10

Somehow they managed to make a sequel more ridiculous than F/X Murder by Illusion.  A sillier re-run of the original has Bryan Brown returning as “Rollie” Tyler and managing to foil corrupt cops and mafia henchmen with the questionable aid of Bryan Dennehy’s detective ineptitude and a bunch of McGuyver style bullshit.  Also, overlong.  No-one needs 109 minutes of this.  It saddens me somewhat that this was directed by Richard Franklin, whose 1981 film Roadgames is a taut little Ozsploitation delight.  Watch that instead.

Right think that’ll do.  See you in a couple of weeks.  (*fingers crossed*)

[terribleco]

The History Of Covpark

I recently put together a blog post for the War Memorial Ramp Renovation campaign, where I explained my history with Covpark and what improvement to the skatepark would mean for Coventry. Off the back of that, I thought it would make sense to post a revised history of the skatepark which (for anyone who cares) gives more context into how it came to be, and how it got to the point where we have a huge campaign to renovate the skatepark.

Note: A lot of this information is anecdotal, shared throughout the scene over the past 20 years. This is pieced together from those involved with the build as well as anyone involved in the campaign to improve the skatepark. 

Part 1: The Build

The War Memorial Park skatepark was built in 2001 by Bendcrete. As far as I can tell, the design for the skatepark is a cookie cutter pre-fab design that came from a catalogue - Bendcrete specialised primarily in pre-fabricated ramps throughout the 2000's and other examples of their ramps can be found in Wyken and Holbrooks. They built ramps like this to keep costs down and undercut prices from better park builders of the time like Wheelscape and Gravity. The downside of building ramps this way is they can easily become uneven, causing lips between ramp joints, and the pre-fab parts don't leave much room for interesting, quirky obstacles (which in general usually attract skaters from miles around).

Upon its initial build, the skatepark was well utilised on account of it being the only skatepark in the city, and because skateboarders were desperate for places to skate. The concrete park was a replacement for a temporary set of wooden ramps which were in the tennis court next to the skatepark's eventual location - the wooden ramps were poor quality, which ended up getting trashed because they couldn't withstand the weight of people doing tricks on them. 

During the build, the council had planned for the park to be a long strip of tarmac with a metal bank at the end. This was the result of an expensive consultation period where they went to nearby primary schools and quizzed kids who didn't skate on what they wanted to ride. This design was scrapped when Jim The Skin got involved and convinced the council that what they had planned sounded terrible, and a concrete skatepark was the only option. 

Steve Spain, another Coventry OG Skater, came up with new designs for the concrete park which would provide something affordable but interesting. He still has the physical model of these designs! Eventually the council went with Bendcrete's pre-fab design and build (stealing some minor ideas from Steve's design, but executing them poorly - e.g the moulded tacos that join the 4ft quarter pipes to the flatbanks). 

In executing what was meant to be a cookie cutter design Bendcrete made some bizarre mistakes with spacing and dimensions. Funboxes were not aligned correctly with nearby quarters, meaning you had to carve to skate in a straight line. Quarters and flatbanks ended up being half their intended width in some cases. The mini ramp walls ended up being slightly too close together, creating a tight mini ramp which could be a bit of a chore to skate.

The council shelled out cash for an overpriced fence which would delaminate speeding boards. I had more boards wrecked by that fence than I can remember. Rumours suggest the fence cost half the budget of the whole build.

The changes made by Bendcrete/Coventry City Council caused a lot of frustration in the skate scene to the point that locals spray painted Mickey Mouse stencils all over the skatepark upon its opening as a statement for how the build had been mismanaged and the wrong people had been given a say on the final design. 

Part 2: The Scene

Despite the build problems, the park encouraged kids in the area to start skating. A lot of locals in the younger generation of the time spent every waking hour at the park learning to skate. The scene eventually grew and a large crew of skaters local to the park spilled out into the city centre. This blog started at Covpark as a way to document what was going on down there and the skatepark was the start of a larger connection between all of the skaters in the city.

It quickly became obvious that Covpark wasn't the best skatepark in the world, but the scene was very active down there. For a long time it was the centre of Coventry's skate scene before the skatepark eventually began to degrade and build issues made it harder to skate. 

In 2006 the Karma team visited for a demo, and Vans held a skate competition there. Pro skaters invited to both events were not impressed with the skatepark at all. Coventry City Council held a competition at Covpark as part of the Godiva festival one year, and the whole vibe was just lame and disingenuous - the announcer tried to act like he was one of the locals and knew who everyone was but it quickly became obvious that, just like the skatepark, people outside of the scene had been brought in to do something with skateboarding. 

This prompted me to organise my own competition called Covpark Combat, with the first one happening a month after the council one. The vibe was way more fun and chilled out, and we did some silly stuff like a skateboard demo derby that became a staple of the competition for years after. 

We ran 5 of these before the council got wind of it and demanded we go through them and run it as a proper event with health and safety and other bullshit that just wasn't in keeping with the spirit of the event. On some occasions we had pro skateboarders turn up to compete like (Team GB Olympic Skater) Alex Decunha, and we got sponsorship from Ride, Vans, Two Seasons and Decimal Skateshop. The competition even got advertised by Sidewalk on their website and forum one year.

On the BMX side, the popularity of BMX brought the Backyard Jam to Coventry in the late 2000's, where BMX legend Ruben Alcantara turned up to Covpark and performed some mind-blowing tricks - he managed to hit up stalls on the back rail of the mini ramp, which was a definite NBD, and completely insane to see. BMX riders were invited to later iterations of Covpark Combat, which was symbolic of the close scene down the skatepark at the time.

Part 3: The Campaign

In 2010, after almost 10 years of the skatepark being installed, the local scene was getting frustrated. We had seen a decade of growth, with skateboarding growing in popularity, and skateparks increasing in quality. The 2000's saw a wealth of new skateparks being built as the UK scene grew and skateboarding became cemented as part of UK youth culture. Skateparks like Stoke Plaza appeared showing huge, near endless opportunities for tricks and lines. Varieties of obstacles in these parks made Covpark's design flaws obvious, and Coventry skateboarders were annoyed that they had to travel to get to amazing skateparks. 

I started a campaign to improve Covpark - fuelled by the build flaws mentioned earlier. Ramps at the park were sinking, causing unsafe lips, joints were becoming exposed, the ground was rough as the aggregate started to wear and the stones in the concrete mix became exposed. 

I met with council employees who looked at these flaws and admitted they had no idea this was a problem for skateboards. Bendcrete reps came down and suggested fixes for the build quality, some expensive, some cheap - the council took the cheap options. At my request Gravity were brought in to provide designs for a possible full extension/rebuild - with little funds available this fell apart, and Gravity instead came in to do the repairs Bendcrete had quoted us for. 

In the years that followed it quickly became apparent that a Covpark extension or rebuild was unlikely to happen without a serious rethink in strategy. With little help from the council, and a lack of guidance to help us raise the funds for an outdoor park, a few of us regrouped and changed course. We ignored Covpark to concentrate on an indoor park idea - an idea that Lucas Healey would pick up years later and would eventually evolve into The Coventry Skatepark Project.

With the campaign for improvement dwindling, Covpark was abandoned by the skate scene with only a few locals like Joxa and Nich Horishny skating the place regularly. The scene evolved and The Herbert Art Gallery became the heart of the scene for most people - most street skaters pretty much got everything they needed from the city centre, and if you preferred transition, the sessions usually ended up at Holbrooks, or further afield. The lack of a good skatepark fractured the scene as it grew and as I got older I started to recognise less and less of the local skaters. The scene was still thriving, but with no central location for all disciplines of skater it was splintered.

Part 4: The Next Generation 

In 2018, after 15 years of operation, The Terrible Company celebrated its 15th birthday at Covpark with a big session reminiscent of the skatepark's early days. Despite the high turnout, the park's flaws remained glaringly obvious to everyone who attended.

Last year the War Memorial Ramp Renovation Campaign started - ran by local kids who skated the park along with their parents (some of whom were already involved with the Cov Skatepark Project). Almost 10 years after the campaign for improvement started, and almost 20 years after the park was first built, the campaign aims to completely rebuild the skatepark from scratch to provide the kind of facility that should have existed there from the start. 

[siva3155]

300+ TOP NUTRITION Interview Questions and Answers

NUTRITION Interview Questions for freshers experienced :-

1. Are tablet excipients, binders or fillers good or bad? It depends. Some excipients, binders or fillers are bad, because they can contribute to unwanted reactions in some people. Others are neutral (meaning they are neither digested nor absorbed), but they improve tablet function by ensuring it breaks down when it supposed to. The highest quality ingredients in a nutritional supplement could be useless if the tablet doesn't disintegrate properly, or crumbles in the bottle. It is also important to remember that excipients can be made of natural, vegetable materials that are unlikely to contribute to any health problems of the patient, or they can be made from other chemicals that may cause problems for some people. Artificial colors, dyes, preservatives or coating agents have been implicated for years as possible concerns. A reputable company producing high quality nutritional supplements will exercise great care in the selection of tableting agents to ensure consistent quality throughout the product, not just in the raw material selection. 2. What do tablet binders and fillers do? Binders and fillers are used during the tableting process to ensure that the tablet sticks together properly rather than crumbling in the bottle. For example, some vitamins are oils and others are powders. Binders, fillers and excipients help ensure the bulk powder flows smoothly through the equipment without caking or gumming, and helps make sure the tablet size and hardness are consistent. 3. What are tablet excipients? Tablet excipients are agents used during the tableting process to help the powder flow through the equipment without sticking, or to improve the tablets' consistency, compressibility, or other desired characteristics. 4. Why are tablet excipients necessary? Tableting agents and excipients are required to ensure quality control in the tablet-manufacturing process. Tableting is part art and part science. Knowing how even small differences in temperature and humidity will affect the tableting process requires years of experience to develop. Tablet excipients help ensure that the bulk powder flows smoothly through the equipment, and that the tablets are of the right consistency so they will break down in your body as predicted. 5. Are capsules better than tablets? Capsules have some advantages in certain uses, but tablets have proven advantageous in others. For example, capsules increase the cost to the end user, it generally takes more capsules to contain the nutrients found in tablets, if the bottle is allowed to get too warm the capsules can melt or stick together, and the capsules have to be digested (broken down) before the nutrients inside can be released. On the "plus" side, capsules are generally easier to swallow, you can't tablet a liquid (which thus MUST be in capsules), and capsules can be made opaque to protect delicate and easily-lost nutrients (such as CQ 10). A reputable company will not be tied exclusively to capsules OR tablets, but will select the delivery method that is most appropriate to the nutrient and the marketplace, considering all variables in the selection process. 6. What is stearic acid and from what is it derived? Stearic acid is an essential saturated fatty acid that is found in all vegetable, seed, nut and animal oils. Although stearic acid can be from several sources, the most common source in better quality nutritional supplements is vegetable stearic acid. 7. Why is stearic acid used in tablet manufacturing? During tablet manufacturing certain substance such as stearic acid are use to help powders flow smoothly through the tableting machines and to help the tablets hold their shape. Stearic acid is an ideal fatty acid to use because it is naturally occurring in food, is inert and therefore does not interfere with the proper utilization or absorption of the active ingredients in the tablet. 8. Does stearic acid interfere with the absorption of vitamins and minerals? No. There is no evidence that stearic acid, in the levels used in tablet manufacturing, in any way interferes with or blocks breakdown and absorption of nutrients. Remember that the amount of stearic acid used in a tablet is much less than would be obtained from a salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing. (Olive oil is a source of stearic acid). 9. What does bioavailability mean? Bioavailability refers to the potential a product has to be absorbed into the bloodstream and have the desired impact on the consumer. In other words, a product with very high quality raw materials but is made in such a way that the tablet doesn't break down properly would have low bioavailability and would thus not do the patient any good. Disintegration time is an example of a test that measures aspects of bioavailability; it is the time it takes under controlled conditions for a tablet to break down completely. If a supplement breaks down when it is supposed to, there is a greater likelihood that it will be absorbed into the 10. Why do some supplements cost more than others that look like they contain the same ingredients? Simply looking at the ingredients does not necessarily provide enough information to assess value. For example, the same amount of elemental calcium can be found as, among others, citrate or carbonate, but have significantly different absorption dynamics. Carbonates are much cheaper, and so are often used by supplement manufacturers, even though the more expensive citrates are better absorbed. Frequently, higher quality comes with a higher price.

NUTRITION Interview Questions 11. Is it OK to take vitamins after their expiration date? No. While vitamins generally do not deteriorate into something harmful or toxic over time, it is possible for the potency to diminish as time passes. The expiration date is there to ensure that you are getting the freshest products, with the highest possible quality and potency. To get the results you are seeking, it is best not to take a supplement that has gone past its expiration date. 12. How long do vitamins last? The Therapeutic Goods Administration dictates that if supplement manufacturers list an expiration date on their products, they must maintain records that prove that the products contain what the labels state, at expiration. This is because, like everything else, vitamins have a "lifespan." While they are generally quite stable, especially when kept away from direct sunlight and high temperatures, there may be a gradual loss of potency over time. A reputable company will slightly "overfill" their supplements, meaning that they put enough of each nutrient in the tablet to compensate for any loss of potency over time. A two-year expiration date means that the company is certifying that the product will continue to meet or exceed label claim for two years from the date of manufacture. 13. Why do vitamin supplements have expiration dates? As the tablets become exposed to sunlight, oxygen and moisture, vitamins may gradually lose potency. Although they do not become "toxic" or harmful, they may not provide the results the practitioner and consumer depend upon. In order to set expiration dates, the manufacturer must perform stability tests showing how much degradation of the product occurs over time, and put in enough of the raw material to compensate for any lost potency. Expiration dates ensure that the product will provide consistent results. 14. What are slow or time released tablets? Time-release or slow-release tablets are manufactured in such a way that they release their contents in the digestive tract over time rather than all at once. This can be accomplished by a variety of methods. One method is called "enteric coating," where the nutrient is coated with a substance that won't break down in the stomach but will in the small intestine. Another method coats the nutrients with a substance that will be slowly digested, so that the nutrients are gradually released. Both of these (and other) methods can be useful, but care must be exercised in the manufacturing process to ensure the desired results. 15. When should I stop taking the vitamins recommended by my healthcare provider? You should continue to take the supplements recommended by your healthcare provider until they instruct you to change dosage or stop taking them. 16. Should I take the vitamins in the morning or at night? To date, no specific research has been that definitively answer that question, although arguments could be made to support taking supplements in the morning, at night, or even for other times (such as at mealtime, for instance). The most important step is to take them. 18. Can I hurt myself by overdosing on vitamins? Everything has a range of safety, which also means that there is a potential (however small) that enough could be taken to become harmful. For example, even water and sunlight, which are essential for life, can become harmful if taken in extremely large quantities or for too long a time. In the case of most vitamins, the amounts used in supplements have been shown in repeated studies to be very safe. But because there is the possibility of taking "too much of a good thing," it is important to discuss with your healthcare provider ALL supplements (and the amounts of each) you are taking, so your specific health goals can be properly met. 20. Why would herbs be supplied in combination blends? Historically, the people who studied, catalogued and used herbs in treating people would use them in combinations. Traditional herbalists knew which combinations of herbs, when prepared in certain ways, would yield the results they were interested in. An herbalist would take several different plants, prepare them together as a tea, poultice, blend of dried powders, etc. and administer them. Drawing on this rich history of application improves can improve the successes of modern treatments as well. 21. What makes urine change color when I take a multivitamin? Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) causes urine to become a bright yellow when consumed in relatively high amounts. 22. Can I still take vitamins if I have a cold or flu? While preventing illness is where nutritional supplements and herbs have been shown to have their best effects, it is certainly helpful to continue on your supplement program when sick; in fact, the added stresses of fighting an infection significantly increase your body's nutritional requirements. Continue taking your supplements until advised to stop or change dosages by your healthcare provider. 23. Can I still take vitamins if I am involved with a detoxification program? Detoxification is a complex, energy-demanding process. The hundreds of different enzymes and biochemical pathways involved in detoxification require the presence of specific vitamins and minerals in order to function optimally. Additionally, research has shown that the process of detoxification can be compromised by insufficient energy reserves in the form of readily available calories. It is important to discuss your specific nutrition requirements with your healthcare provider, especially during detoxification programs. 24. Should I take extra antioxidants if I am working out? Exercise increases the flow of blood to the muscles, to deliver more oxygen and other nutrients. As oxygen usage increases, so does the production of free radicals. Since antioxidants help protect against the damage caused by free radicals, it would be sensible to increase your body's supply of antioxidants. The important first step in doing so is to eat a diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, since that is where many of the antioxidants are found in the first place. A good, broad-based nutritional supplement may be helpful in filling in any gaps in your diet, but should never be used instead of eating a healthy diet. Remember to always discuss your nutritional supplement use with your healthcare provider. 25. Will I destroy any of the properties in a tablet if I crush it? Generally, no. Sometimes crushing a tablet and sprinkling the powder on apple sauce or some other food helps those who have difficulty swallowing tablets. The only exception to this is if the supplement is enteric coated to allow it remain intact in the stomach and break down in the small intestine. Crushing the tablet may reduce the amount of the nutrient that gets into the bloodstream, so if you have any questions about this please be sure and discuss them with your healthcare provider on your next visit. 26. What if I find a tablet in my stool? That means that the tablet did not break down during the digestive process, and the nutrients in the tablet were not absorbed. A well-manufactured tablet should break down within 20 or 30 minutes after you swallow it. Reputable companies routinely perform disintegration tests on tablets during manufacturing to ensure they meet appropriate standards. 27. When should a child take vitamins? Both children and adults should always strive to eat a healthy diet, full of various different naturally colorful vegetables and fruits (it is the substances that give color to our food that often contain the greatest value!) A nutritional supplement should be taken to improve the overall value of the diet, not to replace the necessity of healthy dietary choices. But because in our hectic lifestyle many people cannot, or do not make the healthiest choices, a basic nutritional supplement targeted towards children's increased nutritional needs makes good nutritional "insurance." 28. Should an infant take Acidophilus? I have heard they should only take Bifidus? While it is true that bifidobacterium lactis is commonly found in the digestive tract of healthy infants, remember that there are hundreds of different bacteria strains in a healthy digestive tract. Different strains such as Lactobacillus acidophilus may provide specific and desired health benefits and could be part of your healthcare provider's strategy. Be sure and discuss this with your nutritionally-oriented health care practitioner. 29. What vitamins, minerals or herbs might be recommended for anxiety? Many nutrients have been shown to be helpful during times of anxiety, both to help you cope with anxiety and also to offset the increased nutritional demands on your body due to stress. The first place to begin is to make sure your diet has plenty of vegetables and fruit, preferably fresh. (These provide high nutritional value with low calories.) Beyond that, herbs such as St. John's Wort have been shown in scientific research to be helpful, but before you take any herbs or vitamins for anxiety, be sure and discuss them with your healthcare provider. 31. I have heard that human strains of probiotics are the best. Is that true? Partly. While it is true that the most beneficial probiotics (friendly bacteria) can be isolated from humans' digestive tracts, certainly not all strains found there are healthful. In the womb, the baby's digestive tract is virtually sterile; the bacteria that will grow there following birth are due to exposure from the mother in the birth canal or at the breast during breast-feeding. Historically, our diet has contained additional sources of probiotics, including yogurt, buttermilk, fermented cheeses and even sauerkraut. So-called "human strains" of probiotics did not originate in humans therefore, but came originally from consuming them as part of a healthy diet. There are hundreds of different strains of bacteria living in the colon of a healthy person. Some of them confer benefits to humans, others are potentially harmful, and some can be either. A better question would be to determine the potential the specific strains of bacteria in question have for providing reliable and consistent health benefits. 32. What are colloidal minerals? A "colloid" is a chemical description of a gel-like suspension. Therefore, colloidal minerals would be a blend of minerals found in some form of suspension or solution. Generally, commercially-available colloidal minerals are produced from mining ancient sea beds, and then mixing the mined minerals with water or other fluid to hold them in solution. While these products provide a large number of minerals, there is no credible scientific evidence to support marketing claims for superior absorption or bioavailability. They may even contain relatively high levels of unwanted minerals such as aluminum, lead or mercury (which of course are naturally occurring), or of other contaminants. 33. What is myo-inositol, and how does it differ from regular inositol? Myo-inositol is one of eight naturally occurring forms that make up the nutrient inositol. Each one has a slightly different shape and are individually referred to as isomers. The myo-inositol isomer is the most abundant form found in the central nervous system, where it can be converted into phosphatidyl inositol, a second messenger neurotransmitters. Inositol is the term used to describe the entire group of isomers together. 34. What is MSM? Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a highly biologically valuable source of sulfur. Sulfur is important for joint tissue support, however, other nutrients are also supportive of joint health. Along with MSM there are a number of supportive nutrients including glucosamine, chondroitin, vitamins C and E, and specific amino acids. While optimal joint support must start with a healthy and varied diet, nutritional supplements may be useful. However, it is important that your healthcare provider be aware of ALL supplements, herbs or medicines you are taking. 35. What is the glycemic index? The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of foods on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Glucose is given a relative number of 100 to provide a baseline to which all others can be compared. For example, an apple has a glycemic index of 38 which is less than half that of glucose, but higher than soybeans (which have a glycemic index of 18). Other common foods and their corresponding glycemic indices are Corn Flakes (84), dark rye bread (80), and bananas (54). 36. What makes amino acid chelated minerals better than other types of minerals? In order to be absorbed, minerals, whether from foods or in supplements, have to be combined with a "carrier" molecule. When this molecule is a fragment of protein (an amino acid), and the mineral-amino acid compound forms a stable molecule, it is referred to as an amino acid chelate. Because the body is very efficient at absorbing amino acids, chelated minerals are more easily transported across the intestinal wall than are non-chelated minerals. 37. What does porcine mean? Porcine means derived from pig. 38. Where is the best source of bovine raw glandulars? Glandular materials start out as healthy (or unhealthy) as the animals from which they are made. For this reason, all reputable processors of glandular concentrates will use only USDA-inspected animals as the original source. The highest quality glandular materials will be made from animals grown in a healthier environment. New Zealand beef cattle make the best source of bovine glandular concentrates, because they are free-range rather than lot-raised, and fed pasture grasses and hay rather than cattle feed. Additionally, New Zealand is one of the only countries in the world considered completely free of BSE (mad cow disease) and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). 39. What is BSE and how can I prevent exposure to it? Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also called "mad cow disease" is a fatal neurological disease in cows though to be caused by consuming contaminated animal feed. Some countries have included in the feed given to cattle, ground up animal parts including brains and nervous systems of animals killed for food. Some of these animals had early stages BSE, and the infectious agent was passed on to the animals who consumed the feed. There is now evidence that some people who ate the meat from animals infected with BSE became infected themselves. Nearly 100 people have now died from what are now called "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies" (TSEs) believed to have been caused by eating BSE-contaminated beef. 40. What could be used as an alternative to salt? In what capacity? Flavoring? Preservation? De-icing? Most people use a variety of herbs and spices to help reduce the salt in their diets. 41. What is nonessinetial amino acids? What is carbohydrates? These are minerals to give you energy. They can be found in grain type of foods. Ex: Cereal - That's why you should eat breakfast! Others: Rice, Crackers, etc. 42. What is carbohydrates? What is cat grass? Cat Oat Grass and Cat Wheat Grass are cereal grasses. The oat grass is widely cultivated for its edible seeds. Our popular breakfast oat cereals and wheat cereals are made from the seeds of these plants! The wheat grass is also widely cultivated for its commercially important grain.Athletes and other health conscious people have made juicing the wheat grass very popular. They drink the wheat juice for its high concentrated levels of vitamins and minerals. The vitamins and minerals in the grass improve your cat's overall health. 43. How do i convert KCAL to calorie? KCAL simply means kilocalorie. The prefix "kilo" means 1000. Therefore, a KCAL or kilocalorie is simply 1000 calories. 44. What is braunsweiger? Pork liver sausage. (although only about 10-20 % of the sausage is actually pork liver). I've seen people refer to duck liver as liverwurst. I've used liverwurst and braunsweiger interchangeably my whole life, but I understand that braunsweiger is the more spreadable form and used primarily in the US. 45. Which vitamins do bananas contain? Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B9 & C bananas are a good source of potassium as well, vitamin K, you should eat one every day for good cardiac health. 46. Which meal should be your largest? Breakfast, most likely, given that you've just gone almost a half day without food. Really though, simply eating good food whenever you're hungry and stopping when you're not, even if that means eating 5 or 6 times a day, isprobably better. People get so caught up chunking their eating times into 3s that they may have an urge to overeat since "it'll be several hours until I can eat again!" Just chose to eat in a way that lets you stay un-hungry all the time without ever overeating. 47. What foods can help you grow? Aside from normal, healthy foods, it's not as though there are any super foods that will allow you to grow taller than you normally would. 48. nonessinetial amino acids? Nonessential amino acid is an amino acid which can be synthesized by an organism and thus need not be supplied in the diet. 49. What is food preservation? Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent food borne illness while maintainingnutritional value, density, texture and flavor. 50. What are things that make you sick when eaten? Most household cleaning products have chemicals that will make you vomit when swallowed. This is a safety precaution to prevent you from consuming enough of the product to harm you. 51. What is an example of phagocytosis? phagocytosis occurs in our body when some foreign particle enters inside it, our white blood cells engulf it, and then digest it. it is also how some microorganisms like ameoba get thier food. Can you drink isopropyl alcohol? You can drink anything, really. YOu can drink gasoline if you want. Although there is probably a great deal of liquids out there you may want to shy away from... 52. What foods have serotonin? Serotonin itself isn't in food. It's a neurotransmitterreleased into the synapse and bloodstream. However, certain foods cause serotonin to be released like candy, cereal and pasta. Anything with plenty of carbohydrates will increase serotonin levels. However, the effects won't last long, maybe only 2-3 hours. 53. How many cups are in a can of coca cola? 8 oz = 1 cup. 12 oz= 1.5 cups. 54. How many meals are recomended to keep healthy? Even the term "meal" seems a bit unwarranted for most events. If I have a granola bar and a fruit shake around 3pm, is that a "meal"? What if I go browse the web for an hour, then come back and have a sandwich with some milk- is that a continuation of the granola/shake meal, another meal, a snack, are both snacks-is there any reason to care? No. Focus on eating right and eating when you're hungry. The rest should take care of itself. 55. What brand of milk has lactobacilliacidophilus? Knudsen sells a 2% milk labeled "sweet acidophilus." Other fat-content levels might also be available from that label. The product is available at Albertson's groceries in Southern California. NUTRITION Questions and Answers pdf Download Read the full article

[entergamingxp]

the making of an ‘impossible’ port • Eurogamer.net

It began with Doom 2016 – a Switch port so ambitious, it simply didn’t seem possible. However, since then, a procession of technologically ambitious current-gen console titles have migrated onto the Nintendo console hybrid, culminating in the arrival of the wonderful Metro Redux from 4A Games – highly impressive conversions and perhaps the closest, most authentic first-person shooter ports we’ve seen. So what’s the secret? How do developers manage to achieve such impressive results from five-year-old Nvidia mobile hardware?

“At first, I did have really big concerns performance-wise,” admits 4A’s chief technical officer, Oles Shishkovstov. “You know, going from base PS4/Xbox One with approximately six and a half or seven CPU cores running at 1.6 GHz to 1.75GHz down to only three cores at 1.0GHz sounds scary. The GPU was fine, as graphics can be scaled up and down much easier than, for example, game simulation code.”

The results of the conversion work are certainly impressive bearing in mind the yawning gap in CPU specs. 4A started out by translating over the existing Metro Redux games from PS4 and Xbox One (and to stress the point, Switch doesn’t get last-gen ports here), a process the 4A team carried out very quickly, but this early version of the game could only manage frame-rates of around seven to 15 frames per second. The games were entirely CPU-bound.

Halving the target frame-rate from the PS4 and Xbox One’s 60fps down to 30fps was required before the task of optimising systems began. “First, we backported some optimisations from Exodus to the Redux codebase,” Shishkovstov explains. “Then we focused on animation processing on the high level and on extracting ILP (instruction-level parallelism) out of the A57 on the low level – down to assembly. The low level optimizations alone got us to an unstable 30Hz when we were not GPU bound. Then the bone LODding arrived – the CPU [issue] was ‘solved’ even with some headroom necessary for stable framerate.”

Everything you need to know about the Switch versions of Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light. Impressive stuff!

Explained like that, 4A’s solution to the Switch’s CPU limitation seems fairly straightforward but the process of coding at the assembly level – literally the native language of the Switch ARM Cortex-A57 CPU cluster – can’t have been a walk in the park. Animation sucks up a lot of processor cycles, so the idea of adding level of detail (LOD) transitions to the system makes a lot of sense.

After this, 4A moved on to GPU optimisations, and it all began with the choice of graphics API. The firm has a long history of supporting the most performant, low-level APIs, with Metro Exodus running on DX11, DX12, Vulkan and GNM across its various multi-platform releases. Switch itself supports OpenGL and Vulkan, but for optimal performance, 4A chose the API developed by Nvidia itself for best performance on Switch.

“NVN is is lowest possible graphics API on NX,” explains Shishkovstov. “CPU overhead is negligible, in most cases that’s just a few DWORDs written to the GPU command buffer. It is well-designed, clean and exposes everything the hardware is capable of. Much better than Vulkan, for example.”

And it’s here where we’re especially interested in how Switch delivers so much from so little. When the Nintendo hardware was first announced, our only experience of the Tegra X1 processor came from the Shield Android TV, where last-gen console conversions typically under-performed. It seems that NVN really makes a key difference here, with 4A suggesting that it gives direct access to the Nvidia Maxwell architecture. So what Maxwell features are used in Metro Redux?

“I am not sure I can talk that about, but we use all of them it seems,” explains Shishkovstov. “Much of our GPU optimisations were focused on reducing memory bandwidth/off-chip traffic. For example, NVN exposes a lot of controls for memory compression, tile cache behavior and binning, memory layout and aliasing. For example, the straight immediate mode rendering is only used during g-buffer creation and shadow map rendering. Every other pass, including forward rendering and deferred lighting uses binning rasteriser with different settings for tile cache.”

In common with a lot of games of this generation, Metro Redux also sees the developer make the jump to using temporal super-sampling – or temporal super resolution, as 4A calls it. The idea is very straightforward. Traditional super-sampling is the process of rendering at a higher-than-native resolution, before downsampling to the developer’s chosen pixel-count. TSR is the same basic idea, except additional detail is gleaned from past frames instead. The technology is being used extensively in improving smartphone camera quality, but outside of games, there are other uses too.

“That’s a well-known FBI solution for reading car plate numbers from the space satellites,” says Oles Shishkovstov. “The problem is it is extremely texture sampling and math heavy for the Switch’s GPU. We have to derive something which is much cheaper and without major quality compromises. It wasn’t easy. I spent more than a month on that – it seems like Maxwell GPU ISA is my native language now.

“The end result takes approximately 2ms at 1080p with only nine texture samples and tricky math. It also does anti-aliasing as a byproduct. When pushed way to hard (it happens in 1080p) the algorithm still produces pixel perfect edges and sharp texture details and only AA quality somewhat degrades – but that is barely visible even for the trained eye.”

Using temporal super resolution, Shishkovstov reckons that the concept of native resolution rendering as we know it isn’t particularly relevant, which raises some interesting questions. Look back at our analysis and you’ll see that we were able to pull a few pixel counts from individual frames. However, it’s games like this, Modern Warfare 2019 and many others that are making us consider new techniques of getting some kind of measure on image quality. Redux on Switch doesn’t look as clean as the PS4 version, but if we pull a like-for-like image of Metro from the locked 720p of the last-gen versions, image quality is on another level.

Whether you’re docked or running in handheld mode, the accumulated output is 1080p or 720p respectively, but the clarity of the image does adjust, according to content. In terms of overall clarity, the technique chosen does look especially impressive when played portably, which raises the question of how 4A scaled the game across docked and handheld modes.

“Going docked you get 2x faster-clocked GPU but only moderately more bandwidth, so it is not magically 2x faster at all, but still considerably faster,” explains Shishkovstov. “That allowed us, for example, to render per-pixel velocities for more objects resulting in slightly more correct TSR and AA. In handheld mode we only draw velocity for HUD/weapon – that’s all we can afford.

4A Games’ Metro Exodus is a simply phenomenal experience. With its supported for ray traced global illumination, this is a very forward-looking game.

“Also, Redux content was lacking geometry LODs for a lot of meshes. As the art team was busy with Exodus’ (huge) DLCs – we programmatically generated missing ones. Both docked and handheld use original PS4/X1 geometry, but handheld uses more aggressive LOD switching, although it is barely noticeable on a small screen. From the user/gamer point of view, handheld is always 720p, docked is always 1080p, otherwise they are the same.”

What’s also impressive about the Metro Redux port is its sheer consistency in maintaining its target 30fps frame-rate. It’s an important point to make because whether we’re talking about the id Tech 6 conversions, The Witcher 3, Warframe or most of the other ‘impossible ports’ to the Switch, it’s rare that you find a consistent performance level.

“I am glad we hit a consistent 30fps,” shares Shishkovstov. “The only way to hit close to 60 would be to run two render-frames per one simulation frame, at radically reduced quality and inconsistent input lag. That’s not the price I want to pay. Running at 30fps allowed no quality compromises – even the material and lighting shaders are exactly the same as PS4 and Xbox One.”

As for how the game runs so doggedly at 30fps, 4A puts it down to over-optimisation. “Even without any TSR, the game keeps producing consistent 30fps at 720p in handheld mode in over 99 per cent of frames across the whole game. TSR is more [useful] for 1080p/docked mode.”

With continued rumours of improved Switch hardware in development, I thought it would be interesting to see where Nintendo and Nvidia might choose to innovate. After all, a lot of the success of PlayStation 4’s design comes from Sony shifting focus and taking onboard developer feedback.

“Since we are generally CPU bound, additional cores would definitely be on the list. Bandwidth and GPU power never hurts either,” offers Shishkovstov. Putting CPU power at the forefront may sound surprising, but graphics scale much more easily than the core game code – and in our Switch overclocking tests, ramping up CPU frequency proved more impactful on many games than up-clocking the graphics core.

And while we’re on the subject of new hardware, what about the next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft? Developers are under NDA, so can’t talk about the technical specifics of the hardware. However, key aspects of the new machines are public knowledge – such as the fact that both PS5 and Xbox Series X feature hardware accelerated support in the GPU for real-time ray tracing.

“We are fully into ray tracing, dropping old-school codepath/techniques completely,” reveals Shishkovstov – and in terms of how RT has evolved since Metro Exodus? “Internally we experimented a lot, and with spectacular results so far. You will need to wait to see what we implement into our future projects.”

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/02/the-making-of-an-impossible-port-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-making-of-an-impossible-port-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 338: SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor (1992)

          SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor

United States

Tsunami Production (developer), ASCII Entertainment Software (publisher)

Released 1992 for DOS

Date Started: 27 July 2019

I was recently reminded of a nine-year old entry in which I remarked on the considerable variances in spell systems between fantasy RPGs. A lot of the stuff I said in the first year of blogging was ignorant nonsense, but this entry holds up. My thesis was that while many CRPGs may offer near-identical experiences when it comes to character attributes, equipment, NPC interactions, and combat, their approaches to magic are so variable as to almost be a fingerprint. “Fully describe the magic system of any game,” I said, “and there’s a decent chance that your description applies only to that game, or at least only to games in that series.” I then analyzed a number of categories in which spell systems varied.

              The Ultima series was a good title to encapsulate the argument because it doesn’t even maintain spell consistency within the series. Every entry is unique. I think the series reached its apex in Ultima V, which featured the “syllable” system as well as the reagent system. I call it the apex, but the system was also full of unrealized potential. There were a couple of unlisted spells that you could figure out if you understood the logic behind syllables and reagents, but otherwise the spells were mostly handed to you in a spellbook. I’d like to see the same system in which the player has to figure out almost every spell, and moreover can create some fantastic combinations. If in Ultima V, KAL XEN summoned a creature and VAS FLAM created a great ball of fire, I don’t see why KAL VAS XEN FLAM wouldn’t summon a great creature of fire.

           I agree that neither “accomplishment” nor “danger” seem like this guy’s strong suits.

            One thing that never makes sense to me about spells in Dungeons and Dragons settings is how relentlessly predictable they are. It makes no sense that if a mage can summon a fireball, he can only summon an enormous fireball that covers a 69-square area and does deadly damage to everyone within it. Once you know how to pull fire out of thin air, you ought to be able to figure out how to halve or double the recipe. A lot of other games give you the ability to vary the intensity of a spell without having to change to a completely different spell. This was one area in which Disciples of Steel improved upon the Gold Box engine.

           SpellCraft offers a little of what I’m looking for in both areas. Its spells are created like recipes–a combination of “aspect” items (not unlike Elvira II in this regard), ingredients, and magic words, some of which can be varied to produce different effects. I’m a little hesitant to call the system exactly what I’m looking for because I don’t think there’s a lot of logic to the aspects and ingredients. But it may be that I just haven’t experienced the system long enough yet.

              A few hours?! The tailwinds were kind this day.

            SpellCraft was conceived by Joseph Ybarra, the Electronic Arts executive who had produced the first Bard’s Tale games, Starflight, and Legacy of the Ancients (among others). In between presiding over the last days of Infocom (1988-1990) and taking a producer role at 3DO (1995), Ybarra ran his own company, drawing in Karl Buiter, creator of Sentinel Worlds and Hard Nova. Most references to Ybarra’s company call it Ybarra Productions, and indeed that’s the title the team used for Shadow of Yserbius (1993) and Alien Legacy (1994), but for a while at the beginning he must have flirted with “Tsunami Productions.” Anyway, SpellCraft seems to be a completely original conception; I can find nothing like it in Ybarra’s history nor the histories of any of the programmers.         

The manual features one of the worst-written backstories that we’ve encountered in a long time. (The manual is otherwise okay.) I’d blame Karl Buiter of “You beat me?!…I am destroyed” fame, but he’s not credited on the manual. I spent a few paragraphs trying to deconstruct how bad it is, and why it’s bad, but it was taking so long I may actually save it for an entire entry. I invite you to click on that link, go to Page 6, and make any sense of it. This is the type of manual that could only have gotten past the production standards of a Japanese company running an American office.

           Security tightened after it became a UNESCO site.

             The upshot is that magic was around on Earth for a long time, but its abuses led some wizards to create (or move to) the separate realm of Valoria. While the use of magic in “Terra” dwindled to weak cantrips and soothsaying, in Valoria wizards wielded devastating power and warred among themselves for centuries. Eventually, they came together in a Council of the Wise and elected a Magister to lead them, and war settled down into healthy competitions instead of all-out slaughter.        

Unfortunately, the testing of atomic bombs in the 1940s on Terra happened to coincide with some powerful magic rituals in Valoria, with the result that a major rift opened between the two worlds. Here, the manual transitions to the game’s opening segments, though imperfectly because in-game screens say the rift is “tiny” and it was discovered recently. (Fortunately, the in-game text seems to have been penned by someone more competent than the manual backstory author.) The Magister, Garwayen, suggested that the council close the rift so that “our worlds would not come into conflict,” but the rest of the council–six wizards aligned to different “colleges” of magic–voted to enlarge it so they could conquer Terra. As if this wasn’t bad enough, Garwayen thinks that enlarging the rift will damage the “very fabric of reality” and thus potentially destroy both realms.

             Yeah, we’ll see how your “Fireball” spells perform against our ballistic missiles.

            Garwayen, “old and feeble” and unable to stop his six colleagues, looked for someone “born under the same conjunction of stars” who could absorb his magic. He found the answer in Robert Garwin, an American with “a modest life of no great accomplishment and no great danger.” Garwin unexpectedly receives a ticket to England from his “Uncle Gar” with the promise of an inheritance on the other end. Following “Gar’s” instructions, Garwin flies to Heathrow, rents a car, drives to Stonehenge, gets teleported to Valoria, and soon finds himself Garwayen’s apprentice.

              The images are now in sync with the text.

             The player’s first choice is to pick a primary college of magic from among the classic four elements. Irene happened to be walking by as the choice was presented to me, and I decide to test the depth of my knowledge of my wife by giving the options to her. The issue was never what element she’d choose (fire), or how she’d make the choice (“Fire! Fire! Fire!” with a manic gleam in her eye) but whether she’d even let me finish reading the sentence before giving her answer. She had just come home from battling tourist traffic along the coast, so I’m proud to say that she did not.

                        The game eases you into its conventions with a few tutorials, starting with the creation of the first spell. In my case, it was “Fire Barrier,” a defensive spell. Creating a spell requires first selecting its “aspect” from among 48 potential objects you can collect. You then have to choose how many of that aspect to use in the spell’s creation, plus how many standard ingredients–powders, stones, candles, and jewels–will also go into it. Finally, you associate a “magic word” with the spell, which is really just a textual representation of the spell level. The first level of fire-based spells are all LUX, for instance.

          Mixing a new spell.

        You get these recipes from a variety of sources, including arcane hints in the manual and NPC dialogue, but in this case Garwayen just told me what ingredients to use.

              Garwayen explains where to find information about spells.

          Once the spell is created, you have to go to your spellbook to mix any number of iterations of the spell, capped by how many ingredients you have on-hand. You can also make modifications, by adding more of some ingredients, thus hoping to vary the spell’s power or effects. Whether this works or not is governed by the “elasticity” of the ingredients, which you’re told during the initial spell’s creation.

          A full description of the spell accompanies its creation.

         A spellbook that came with the game seems to have blanks for all possible spells, plus partial information for a lot of them. I imagined that the player is meant to fill in these blanks as he discovers new spells, so that’s what I started doing. I’m not sure that the “aspects” make any logical sense. Each is a physical object but has an “aspect of” something else. For instance, a fishook has an “aspect of pinpricks” which kind-of makes sense, but the domino mask as the “aspect of falling birds,” which makes no sense at all.

            God damn those shriners!

         Garwayen then dropped a surprise in telling me that the various wizards won’t be defeatable with magic. For that, I’ll need a regular weapon. He gave me a Sword of Striking to use, then tossed me into the Earth Domain to check it out.

        When you’re on a mission in Valoria, the interface changes to an axonometric window with environmental objects, enemies, and treasure chests. The numberpad moves the character, the function keys select spells, and the ENTER key casts them. The SPACE bar cycles the bottom-left window through a couple of options, including character statistics and a map. All of these actions have mouse alternatives. I feel like the graphics, good in the rest of the game, degrade significantly in the exploration window.

              Enemies–in this case, something that looks like an orc–head for you the moment that they see you. Unfortunately, physical combat is pretty pathetic. You simply adopt a combat posture with a single keystroke and the game fights for you. If you hit any other key while in combat, you return to a non-combat posture. A single “life” bar indicates both health and spell points. It recharges relatively quickly as you walk about the environment. An early-game character can’t defeat more than one enemy on a single health bar, but you can defeat one, then run around before engaging the next. (In the early game, at least, the character moves faster than enemies.) 

             I send a fireball streaking towards an orcish creature in the Earth Domain. A chest is available for pickup to my south.

          Enemies drop bags of items (spell aspects and ingredients) when defeated. Chests scattered about the world deliver these in greater volume. When you’ve defeated all the enemies and collected all the chests, you return to your home base–a “Stone Circle” that has its own health bar for reasons that must become apparent later–via a keystroke.           

I ran three practice missions fighting orcs before Garwayen decided we’d better move on. He had me create a “Fireball” spell (red fez aspect, three powders, six candles) and then sent me to fight more orcs. I used the spell for a couple of them, but I defeated most in combat to conserve ingredients.

           Logging the “Star Healing” spell in the spellbook.

          For the next spell, he wanted me to create something called “Star Heal,” from the “ether” college, but he would only tell me that the “aspect grows naturally” and that the “proportions for the spell are one and three.” I consulted the spellbook and found only one “personal modifier” spell with 1 of one thing (the aspect) and 3 of the other (stones). Of aspects that “grow naturally,” I only had garlic and onions. Garlic and 3 stones turned out to be the answer.

           A map of Terra shows me the magic hot spots. I guess Oceania doesn’t have any.

         At this point, the game took an odd turn, as Garwayen sent me back to Terra to purchase some more ingredients–particularly two vials of white liquid. I was presented with a world map, $20,000 cash, a pomegranate, and the ability to travel to Salem, Massachusetts (USA); Teotihuacan, Mexico; Pompeii, Italy; and back to Stonehenge. Each one-way ticket cost at least a few hundred dollars. At each location, I could talk to an NPC and buy or sell ingredients from him.

            Trading ingredients.

         Stonehenge’s NPC was a hippie named David Greenbriar who wanted a magic pomegranate so much he was willing to pay $10,000, so that bolstered my initial funds. In Salem, I made contact with Selina, a guide at the Witch Museum (this was accompanied by what I can attest is a real photo of Salem’s Washington Square), who told me to return if I ever found the Book of Witches. In Teotihuacan, a medicine woman promised to teach me a new magic word if I brought back an opal from the Fire Domain. Pompeii’s NPC was an English tourist interested in ancient artifacts. In each location, I bought 5 of any ingredient they were selling that I didn’t have. I still had over $27,000 when I returned to Stonehenge, so maybe I was a bit conservative on my first trip.

          I think I might have met this NPC in real life.

            (Aside: As a former resident of Salem who really got into the history of the city, I don’t care for it when movies, television shows, books, and games suggest that the city was ever the site of any “real” magic and witchcraft. I have a particular distaste for the choice of the Salem Police Department to put a classic witch-on-a-broomstick on its departmental patch. Between 1692 and 1693, twenty residents of Salem were executed on false accusations of witchcraft, and I feel like it insults their memory to suggest that the accusations were anything but unfounded hysteria. I do appreciate, however, how the various museums of the city use the “witch” title to lure in tourists–but then give them a sober account of a tragic history.)

          The session wrapped up with the creation of a new spell called “Steam Vapor” that required me to interpret a clue from a quote in the manual. After that, I got access to my workshop, where I can create and modify spells.

          This is a pretty sweet pad.

         Looking into the mirror in the workshop shows character statistics and inventory. It suggests among other things that I will eventually find other weapons and armor upgrades plus various magic “totems.” My maximum health has doubled (from 50 to 100) since I started the game; I don’t know if this is the result of solving missions, defeating enemies, or both. Either way, it counts as a sort-of character development that qualifies the game as an RPG. I assume my attack and defense scores can also increase.

           The “character sheet.”

            Two subsequent missions took me to the Air Domain and the Fire Domain. The Air Domain looked like it was covered in snow, though it was supposed to be clouds, and stepping off the clouds results in instant death. The Fire Domain cracked me up because it’s just like the Earth Domain except all the trees are on fire and the lakes and rivers have lava instead of water. How did the trees grow there in the first place? The Fire Domain had more orcish monsters, but the Air Domain gave me phantom-like air creatures. These enemies have been easy enough to defeat with my sword so far. I assume that changes.

         The Fire Domain is serious about its theme.

          Both of the areas had special large chests to find. One had the Teotihuacan woman’s fire opal; the other had 12 bottles of green liquid and 14 jewels. The green liquid is apparently the base of a powerful mind magic spell, but Garwayen says I need someone on Earth to give me the magic word first.

            Fighting ghostlike creatures in the Air Domain. The game notes that this mission has 3 enemies, 1 large chest, and 1 small chest left to find.

         I like the spell creation system and the hub-and-mission approach. Jetting around the real world is weird but inoffensive. I look forward to seeing how SpellCraft develops. I’m glad I didn’t reject it.

     Time so far: 3 hours

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-338-spellcraft-aspects-of-valor-1992/

[sailorrrvenus]

The Move to Mirrorless From DSLRs

Back in May of last year, I finally made the move and got myself an a7 III. I had wanted a Sony body for quite some time but was hesitant to switch. Before getting into my long-term review, I’ll first explain what made me make the switch.

When I sold my original Canon 6D, I was left to use my M5 for a little over a month. During that time, I grew to prefer the EVF. I loved the ability to always see my exposure before I took the shot, rather than chimping after. This is also possible by shooting in live view on a DSLR. Although I personally find when holding it in this way, it reduces my steadiness.

The Canon EOS 6D Mark II

On the Canon M5, you have the option of shooting in AI Servo with continuous focus (the equivalent to AF-C on Sony). I found I had a lot more keepers as critical focus was obtained with almost every shot. Dual Pixel AF (DPAF) is really fast and accurate which honestly made me wonder at times if I even needed to get the 6D Mark II.

Due to the low light performance not being as good as a full frame sensor, I went forward and got the 6D Mark II. It was a great improvement over the 6D in terms of features, but it just didn’t feel like the body I wanted. I really missed the features mirrorless has to offer but I also wanted a full frame sensor. This is where the Sony comes in.

Originally I had hoped to add the Sony a7R III to my kit but due to its high price, saving was taking a long time. In my personal opinion, the a7R series was always more appealing than the A7 series. Older bodies such as the a7II seemed a bit more lackluster in comparison. I would say with the series 3 bodies, this perception definitely changed. The Sony a7 III’s release meant there was something that had the features and quality of the a7R series but at a much lower price.

The temptation of the a7 III finally got to be too much so I decided to sell my Canon 6D Mark II. I’ve had the Sony for over 6 months now and it has been an interesting journey. I had certain expectations when I first switched and they have changed over the past few months. Here is a review of sorts to share my experience with the Sony system.

Build

This is something I wouldn’t usually focus on but since this is a completely different body to what I’m used to, I think it’s worth a mention. A lot of people tend to portray Sony bodies as these more fragile pieces of equipment that don’t have the same sturdiness as a rugged DSLR. From hands-on tests that you can find on YouTube, they don’t have the same degree of weather sealing but can still withstand certain conditions. As someone who babies their gear, I’m unable to say how well it withstands abuse. I do know that it feels very solid in the hand.

The Sony Alpha a7 III

There are a few things I quite like about the a7 III in comparison to my Canon bodies which are small but I see as being a nice touch. The first is the hot shoe cover. A hotshoe cover was included on my Canon M5 but sadly not on the 6D2. It’s a very small item and that probably costs a few cents to make but isn’t included with DSLRs. I was happy to see this when I first unboxed my Sony a7 III. The other thing I have grown to love about Sony Bodies is their custom buttons. I originally thought they were unnecessary but it makes changing settings so much easier.

Now comes to my main and only real disappointment. The rear LCD screen. The Canon M5 has a vari-angle display which is quite handy, but not as great as the fully articulating screen (like on the Canon 6D Mark II). In comes the Sony a7 III which does have a vari-angle screen, but sadly it isn’t able to reach all the angles that the Canon M5 is able to. The rear screen doesn’t appear to have the same quality either. This is definitely a disappointment but not a deal breaker as I got this body to use the EVF.

Sony a7 III + Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.8 – ISO 100 – 1/3rd sec

An articulating screen does have its advantages outside of vlogging for those that seem doubtful. In many of my still life photos, I hold items in the background such as fairy lights to create bokeh. With the articulating screen, I could simply turn it around and see what I was doing rather than guessing like I do on the a7 III.

There is also the added advantage of being able to hold the camera at high or low angles without having to kneel down. A solution to this issue would be the Play Memories app which is available on Android and iOS. I have tried this before and it does work. I still prefer having the articulating screen on-camera.

Autofocus

This was a topic that I couldn’t go into much detail up until a few months ago. This was due to the lack of native lenses in my kit. For the majority of my time with the a7 III, I have been using my Canon lenses adapted with the Sigma MC-11. This changed recently when I decided to sell off some of my Canon lenses and replace them with native options. I’ll now break this autofocus section down into two sections: native lenses and adapted lenses.

Sony a7 III + Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS @ f/5.6 – 1/60th – ISO 200

Adapted Lenses

As mentioned before, I chose the Sigma MC-11 as my adapter due to two reasons. The first reason being the price compared to the Metabones adapter which appears to be the most popular. I had 4 Canon EF lenses, the 16-35mm f/4L IS, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS, Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG. Two of these lenses, the 35mm and 85mm primes, I planned to swap with native options within a month. The remaining two lenses were mostly used in manual focus and didn’t require AF for their applications. Because of this, I wasn’t too concerned with AF accuracy. These factors led me to choose the MC-11 which honestly performed better than I expected. My impressions with each lens are as follows.

Canon 16-35mm f/4L IS. I don’t use this lens or do long exposures as much these days but when I did use this lens, I had no performance issues. It is commonly reported that when using Ultra Wide Angle lenses via an adapter, it can cause the image to be soft in the extreme corners.

I personally did not notice any degradation in image quality but I did find AF to be not as responsive in AF-S and AF-C. Considering this lens is mostly used in manual focus on a tripod, I never found it to be a deterrent to using this lens. Also to clarify, when I say that the AF is less responsive, it is maybe a tiny bit slower compared to my native lenses but definitely not unusable or any major issues.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS. This is another lens that is almost always used in manual focus. In the times I have tried using the AF simply to obtain focus for my product shots, it has been accurate and decently fast. I only used the lens in AF-S and when I did try AF-C as few times it did have more issues obtaining focus. Image quality wise I had no issue with this lens.

Sony a7 III + Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS @ f/4 – ISO 100 – 1/5th

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS. I think it is fair to say that up until now, this lens has been my all time favorite. Despite this strong love and attachment for this lens, I was ready to sell it in exchange for the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art in native E mount.

The 35 Art’s release date kept getting pushed back which resulted in the Canon being used more. This turned out to be a good thing. The performance was so good and I was so happy with it I canceled my preorder for the Art lens and decided to stick with it. Image quality wise, I found this lens to perform even better than on my DSLRs due to the fact I didn’t have to worry about AFMA (autofocus micro adjust).

I never got to try the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 as I sold it just before I received the Sony. It was another lens that I really loved but due to the f/1.4 aperture and being a Sigma lens in general, I wanted something smaller that I could easily carry around without breaking my arm and back. This now leads me into the next section of the autofocus performance.

Native Lenses

For this section, I will just give my general perspective on the native Sony options that I own. The three lenses that I currently own are the

Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD

Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 G Macro OSS

I have owned the 85mm the longest and the 90mm for only a few days but all 3 lenses have performed excellently in my usage. For the times that I have taken portraits, Eye AF has been super fast and accurate. It’s also worth mentioning that Eye AF does appear to work at a greater distance with native lenses compared to adapted.

Sony a7 III + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8 – ISO 160 – 1/100th – 50mm

For general shooting, I use Wide Area with AF-C. This usually focuses on the spot I want. In instances it doesn’t, I just use the touch and drag AF feature to highlight what I want in focus. Personally, I found the touch and drag AF to be more responsive on the Canon EOS M5 but it still works how I need it to.

Recently I have been trying to use AF-S more as continuous focus isn’t really needed in situations there isn’t any movement. While testing this method, I found AF-C to be faster to obtain critical focus. It also makes up for any movement between when you obtain focus and press the shutter. Flexible Spot M is another mode I tried with good results. The joystick works well and makes it quick to change points but I still prefer wide with touch and drag.

I haven’t done much low light shooting with the a7 III but with the small amount I have shot, it has done well. In saying this, you need to watch your exposure as this body does not feature stop down focusing. For those who aren’t familiar with the term or feature, I will give a brief explanation. If your lens has a wide max aperture of say f/1.8 but you are shooting at f/4 in low light, your camera will open the aperture to its widest value to let in more light. Once it obtains critical focus it stops the aperture back down before taking the picture. This is mostly beneficial in low light and if you are like me and almost always shoot wide open, you won’t notice much of a difference.

Sony a7 III + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8 – ISO 1000 – 1/50th – 28mm

Overall I would definitely say I am happy with the AF performance of this Sony body. My type of shooting doesn’t really require tracking or anything too complex but for my uses it definitely exceeds expectations.

Image Quality

I could go on and on about how good this sensor is and how much dynamic range it has but I believe actions speak louder than words. In saying that, here are some examples of what you can do with the amazing sensor on the Sony a7 III. For the first image, you can see it is very flat straight out of camera (SOOC). I shot it like this just as a test to see how the camera handles when I expose for the highlights instead of the shadows.

Below is another example which surprised me a bit more. With the sun setting on the in the horizon, I wasn’t able to capture this scene with an even exposure. I thought I would try exposing the way I did and see what was recoverable in Lightroom. In post I managed to pull the shadows by several stops until the exposure was even. I was quite surprised to see that there was virtually no noise or quality loss from shooting his way.

This, of course, is very subjective and there have been images that I have pushed the shadows by 1 stop and seen a lot of color noise. No sensor is perfect and this is certainly no exception. I personally find there are times you need to adjust your shooting and editing style when using a different sensor.

At first, I tried to shoot exposing for the highlights as many people do. The majority of images taken this way turned out well, although I do find it to be a more difficult way of editing compared to what I’m used to.

Sony a7 III + Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS @ f/8 – 64 sec – ISO 100

What I do if I’m in a situation that has too much dynamic range for an even exposure is I’ll expose somewhere in the middle. As an example, the highlights will be 1-2 stops overexposed which will result in the shadows being underexposed by one stop rather than two. I feel this produces a cleaner image compared to exposing for one or the other. This is also a bit subjective as with some situations I may decide to bracket the images. For example, in cityscapes I’ll do one exposure for the sky, another for the actual buildings and another for the foreground which is often water.

There have been some instances that I found a single exposure had enough dynamic range and produced better results than the bracketed image. In saying this, I’m sure someone with better processing skills could probably make the bracketed images work better.

In terms of high ISO use, I have been happy with the performance. There was a time where I would always be at ISO 800 or higher, but I don’t go out at night as much these days which means I’m using my camera at lower ISOs. Below is an example of an image at ISO 6400 which I find to be more than acceptable in terms of noise.

Sony a7 III + Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8 – ISO 6400 – 1/400 sec

To summarize everything, the sensor on the Sony a7 III is certainly impressive in many situations. Would I say it’s the be all end all and highly superior to sensors from other brands? No, it is not. If I were to switch back to the Canon 6D Mark II, I would undoubtedly miss all the features this body has to offer but I’m confident I could still produce quality images I’m happy with.

When reviewing images from this sensor against other manufacturers, you won’t see any major difference in most situations if the camera is in the right hands. This is the same for most bodies and specs should never be the deciding factor in your choice of camera, real-world use should be.

Sony Ecosystem

Back in May when I got this body I was sure that I would be keeping all my Canon lenses. I planned to run dual brand kits and get the EOS R once released. Since then I have started to really enjoy the Sony system. As a whole, it has its strengths and weakness, but no brand is perfect. Although I would say I still prefer the lenses Canon has to offer, Sony has some very appealing options like the Sony 85mm f/1.8, Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, and the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. I can see myself sticking with Sony for a very long time to come.

Below are images I have taken using with the Sony a7 III. Thanks for reading!

About the author: Daniel Lee is a photography enthusiast based in Perth, Western Australia. He started with film photography in high school before jumping into digital photography in recent years. You can find more of his work and writing on his website, blog, Instagram, 500px, Flickr, and Tumblr. This article was also published here.

source https://petapixel.com/2019/01/11/the-move-to-mirrorless-from-dslrs/

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The Move to Mirrorless From DSLRs

Back in May of last year, I finally made the move and got myself an a7 III. I had wanted a Sony body for quite some time but was hesitant to switch. Before getting into my long-term review, I’ll first explain what made me make the switch.

When I sold my original Canon 6D, I was left to use my M5 for a little over a month. During that time, I grew to prefer the EVF. I loved the ability to always see my exposure before I took the shot, rather than chimping after. This is also possible by shooting in live view on a DSLR. Although I personally find when holding it in this way, it reduces my steadiness.

The Canon EOS 6D Mark II

On the Canon M5, you have the option of shooting in AI Servo with continuous focus (the equivalent to AF-C on Sony). I found I had a lot more keepers as critical focus was obtained with almost every shot. Dual Pixel AF (DPAF) is really fast and accurate which honestly made me wonder at times if I even needed to get the 6D Mark II.

Due to the low light performance not being as good as a full frame sensor, I went forward and got the 6D Mark II. It was a great improvement over the 6D in terms of features, but it just didn’t feel like the body I wanted. I really missed the features mirrorless has to offer but I also wanted a full frame sensor. This is where the Sony comes in.

Originally I had hoped to add the Sony a7R III to my kit but due to its high price, saving was taking a long time. In my personal opinion, the a7R series was always more appealing than the A7 series. Older bodies such as the a7II seemed a bit more lackluster in comparison. I would say with the series 3 bodies, this perception definitely changed. The Sony a7 III’s release meant there was something that had the features and quality of the a7R series but at a much lower price.

The temptation of the a7 III finally got to be too much so I decided to sell my Canon 6D Mark II. I’ve had the Sony for over 6 months now and it has been an interesting journey. I had certain expectations when I first switched and they have changed over the past few months. Here is a review of sorts to share my experience with the Sony system.

Build

This is something I wouldn’t usually focus on but since this is a completely different body to what I’m used to, I think it’s worth a mention. A lot of people tend to portray Sony bodies as these more fragile pieces of equipment that don’t have the same sturdiness as a rugged DSLR. From hands-on tests that you can find on YouTube, they don’t have the same degree of weather sealing but can still withstand certain conditions. As someone who babies their gear, I’m unable to say how well it withstands abuse. I do know that it feels very solid in the hand.

The Sony Alpha a7 III

There are a few things I quite like about the a7 III in comparison to my Canon bodies which are small but I see as being a nice touch. The first is the hot shoe cover. A hotshoe cover was included on my Canon M5 but sadly not on the 6D2. It’s a very small item and that probably costs a few cents to make but isn’t included with DSLRs. I was happy to see this when I first unboxed my Sony a7 III. The other thing I have grown to love about Sony Bodies is their custom buttons. I originally thought they were unnecessary but it makes changing settings so much easier.

Now comes to my main and only real disappointment. The rear LCD screen. The Canon M5 has a vari-angle display which is quite handy, but not as great as the fully articulating screen (like on the Canon 6D Mark II). In comes the Sony a7 III which does have a vari-angle screen, but sadly it isn’t able to reach all the angles that the Canon M5 is able to. The rear screen doesn’t appear to have the same quality either. This is definitely a disappointment but not a deal breaker as I got this body to use the EVF.

Sony a7 III + Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.8 – ISO 100 – 1/3rd sec

An articulating screen does have its advantages outside of vlogging for those that seem doubtful. In many of my still life photos, I hold items in the background such as fairy lights to create bokeh. With the articulating screen, I could simply turn it around and see what I was doing rather than guessing like I do on the a7 III.

There is also the added advantage of being able to hold the camera at high or low angles without having to kneel down. A solution to this issue would be the Play Memories app which is available on Android and iOS. I have tried this before and it does work. I still prefer having the articulating screen on-camera.

Autofocus

This was a topic that I couldn’t go into much detail up until a few months ago. This was due to the lack of native lenses in my kit. For the majority of my time with the a7 III, I have been using my Canon lenses adapted with the Sigma MC-11. This changed recently when I decided to sell off some of my Canon lenses and replace them with native options. I’ll now break this autofocus section down into two sections: native lenses and adapted lenses.

Sony a7 III + Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS @ f/5.6 – 1/60th – ISO 200

Adapted Lenses

As mentioned before, I chose the Sigma MC-11 as my adapter due to two reasons. The first reason being the price compared to the Metabones adapter which appears to be the most popular. I had 4 Canon EF lenses, the 16-35mm f/4L IS, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS, Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG. Two of these lenses, the 35mm and 85mm primes, I planned to swap with native options within a month. The remaining two lenses were mostly used in manual focus and didn’t require AF for their applications. Because of this, I wasn’t too concerned with AF accuracy. These factors led me to choose the MC-11 which honestly performed better than I expected. My impressions with each lens are as follows.

Canon 16-35mm f/4L IS. I don’t use this lens or do long exposures as much these days but when I did use this lens, I had no performance issues. It is commonly reported that when using Ultra Wide Angle lenses via an adapter, it can cause the image to be soft in the extreme corners.

I personally did not notice any degradation in image quality but I did find AF to be not as responsive in AF-S and AF-C. Considering this lens is mostly used in manual focus on a tripod, I never found it to be a deterrent to using this lens. Also to clarify, when I say that the AF is less responsive, it is maybe a tiny bit slower compared to my native lenses but definitely not unusable or any major issues.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS. This is another lens that is almost always used in manual focus. In the times I have tried using the AF simply to obtain focus for my product shots, it has been accurate and decently fast. I only used the lens in AF-S and when I did try AF-C as few times it did have more issues obtaining focus. Image quality wise I had no issue with this lens.

Sony a7 III + Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS @ f/4 – ISO 100 – 1/5th

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS. I think it is fair to say that up until now, this lens has been my all time favorite. Despite this strong love and attachment for this lens, I was ready to sell it in exchange for the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art in native E mount.

The 35 Art’s release date kept getting pushed back which resulted in the Canon being used more. This turned out to be a good thing. The performance was so good and I was so happy with it I canceled my preorder for the Art lens and decided to stick with it. Image quality wise, I found this lens to perform even better than on my DSLRs due to the fact I didn’t have to worry about AFMA (autofocus micro adjust).

I never got to try the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 as I sold it just before I received the Sony. It was another lens that I really loved but due to the f/1.4 aperture and being a Sigma lens in general, I wanted something smaller that I could easily carry around without breaking my arm and back. This now leads me into the next section of the autofocus performance.

Native Lenses

For this section, I will just give my general perspective on the native Sony options that I own. The three lenses that I currently own are the

Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD

Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 G Macro OSS

I have owned the 85mm the longest and the 90mm for only a few days but all 3 lenses have performed excellently in my usage. For the times that I have taken portraits, Eye AF has been super fast and accurate. It’s also worth mentioning that Eye AF does appear to work at a greater distance with native lenses compared to adapted.

Sony a7 III + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8 – ISO 160 – 1/100th – 50mm

For general shooting, I use Wide Area with AF-C. This usually focuses on the spot I want. In instances it doesn’t, I just use the touch and drag AF feature to highlight what I want in focus. Personally, I found the touch and drag AF to be more responsive on the Canon EOS M5 but it still works how I need it to.

Recently I have been trying to use AF-S more as continuous focus isn’t really needed in situations there isn’t any movement. While testing this method, I found AF-C to be faster to obtain critical focus. It also makes up for any movement between when you obtain focus and press the shutter. Flexible Spot M is another mode I tried with good results. The joystick works well and makes it quick to change points but I still prefer wide with touch and drag.

I haven’t done much low light shooting with the a7 III but with the small amount I have shot, it has done well. In saying this, you need to watch your exposure as this body does not feature stop down focusing. For those who aren’t familiar with the term or feature, I will give a brief explanation. If your lens has a wide max aperture of say f/1.8 but you are shooting at f/4 in low light, your camera will open the aperture to its widest value to let in more light. Once it obtains critical focus it stops the aperture back down before taking the picture. This is mostly beneficial in low light and if you are like me and almost always shoot wide open, you won’t notice much of a difference.

Sony a7 III + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8 – ISO 1000 – 1/50th – 28mm

Overall I would definitely say I am happy with the AF performance of this Sony body. My type of shooting doesn’t really require tracking or anything too complex but for my uses it definitely exceeds expectations.

Image Quality

I could go on and on about how good this sensor is and how much dynamic range it has but I believe actions speak louder than words. In saying that, here are some examples of what you can do with the amazing sensor on the Sony a7 III. For the first image, you can see it is very flat straight out of camera (SOOC). I shot it like this just as a test to see how the camera handles when I expose for the highlights instead of the shadows.

Below is another example which surprised me a bit more. With the sun setting on the in the horizon, I wasn’t able to capture this scene with an even exposure. I thought I would try exposing the way I did and see what was recoverable in Lightroom. In post I managed to pull the shadows by several stops until the exposure was even. I was quite surprised to see that there was virtually no noise or quality loss from shooting his way.

This, of course, is very subjective and there have been images that I have pushed the shadows by 1 stop and seen a lot of color noise. No sensor is perfect and this is certainly no exception. I personally find there are times you need to adjust your shooting and editing style when using a different sensor.

At first, I tried to shoot exposing for the highlights as many people do. The majority of images taken this way turned out well, although I do find it to be a more difficult way of editing compared to what I’m used to.

Sony a7 III + Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS @ f/8 – 64 sec – ISO 100

What I do if I’m in a situation that has too much dynamic range for an even exposure is I’ll expose somewhere in the middle. As an example, the highlights will be 1-2 stops overexposed which will result in the shadows being underexposed by one stop rather than two. I feel this produces a cleaner image compared to exposing for one or the other. This is also a bit subjective as with some situations I may decide to bracket the images. For example, in cityscapes I’ll do one exposure for the sky, another for the actual buildings and another for the foreground which is often water.

There have been some instances that I found a single exposure had enough dynamic range and produced better results than the bracketed image. In saying this, I’m sure someone with better processing skills could probably make the bracketed images work better.

In terms of high ISO use, I have been happy with the performance. There was a time where I would always be at ISO 800 or higher, but I don’t go out at night as much these days which means I’m using my camera at lower ISOs. Below is an example of an image at ISO 6400 which I find to be more than acceptable in terms of noise.

Sony a7 III + Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8 – ISO 6400 – 1/400 sec

To summarize everything, the sensor on the Sony a7 III is certainly impressive in many situations. Would I say it’s the be all end all and highly superior to sensors from other brands? No, it is not. If I were to switch back to the Canon 6D Mark II, I would undoubtedly miss all the features this body has to offer but I’m confident I could still produce quality images I’m happy with.

When reviewing images from this sensor against other manufacturers, you won’t see any major difference in most situations if the camera is in the right hands. This is the same for most bodies and specs should never be the deciding factor in your choice of camera, real-world use should be.

Sony Ecosystem

Back in May when I got this body I was sure that I would be keeping all my Canon lenses. I planned to run dual brand kits and get the EOS R once released. Since then I have started to really enjoy the Sony system. As a whole, it has its strengths and weakness, but no brand is perfect. Although I would say I still prefer the lenses Canon has to offer, Sony has some very appealing options like the Sony 85mm f/1.8, Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, and the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. I can see myself sticking with Sony for a very long time to come.

Below are images I have taken using with the Sony a7 III. Thanks for reading!

About the author: Daniel Lee is a photography enthusiast based in Perth, Western Australia. He started with film photography in high school before jumping into digital photography in recent years. You can find more of his work and writing on his website, blog, Instagram, 500px, Flickr, and Tumblr. This article was also published here.

from Photography News https://petapixel.com/2019/01/11/the-move-to-mirrorless-from-dslrs/