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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 5 years ago

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Speaking about disability in fiction, would you say Toph from a:tla is one of the best written disabled character? Is there anything that could've been improved about her character?

DEAR FUCKING GOD do I love Toph. I would humbly submit to have Lady Toph “The Blind Bandit” “The Runaway” “Greatest Earthbender of All Time” “Inventor of Metalbending” Beifong harvest my organs to achieve eternal life if such a thing were possible. There are a ton of things that Avatar: the Last Airbender does really well when characterizing Toph, and a few I wish they’d done differently. [PLEASE NOTE: I am nondisabled, so if I err, please tell me so.]

Is she one of the best-written disabled characters?

She’s certainly a damn cool character whose disability informs but does not define her. I can’t really say if she’s “the best” or one of, because I haven’t read everything, but I can say that I really like her.

First of all, her story is intersectional AS FUCK. Toph’s gender, her disability, and her social class are so inextricably linked that there’s no analyzing any single element in a vacuum. She’s all about being tough and independent. Partially that’s about being underestimated because of her disability. Partially that’s about being commodified because of her gender. Partially that’s about being privileged due to her upper-class upbringing. All three interact to inform her identity.

“Tales of Ba Sing Se” shows that blindness bars Toph from certain aspects of femininity — she can’t perform the traditional motions of making herself up, attracting young men, being pretty and delicate — which causes her to embrace a more accessible masculine identity. “The Runaway” shows that Toph enjoys femininity as well as masculinity, but that she struggles to build nurturing relationships when she’s concerned with appearing weak, and that that sometimes leads her to cross ethical boundaries. “The Chase” and “Bitter Work” are all about how Toph values her independence above all else — because she’s had to struggle against her gender and disability influencing others’ perceptions, but also because she’s had the privilege to avoid helping others due to her social class. In “The Ember Island Players” she loves being represented by a big tough strong man, but she also clearly associates masculinity with power in a way that becomes troubling when contrasted with Aang’s horror at being played by a woman. Etcetera.

Even the whole Earth Kingdom’s role as a sort of middle rung of imperialism – less powerful than the Fire Nation, more powerful than the Water Tribes and Air Nomads — informs both the relative strictness of its gender roles and the ability of individual Earth citizens to subvert those roles. Toph’s identity, like the identities of the other Avatar characters, is inextricably linked to her position in society.

Secondly, Toph has a lot of the features of a complex and agentic character, and her disability is neither ignored nor centralized. She’s often right, as when she becomes the first person to trust Zuko and the only person capable of making Aang an earthbender. She’s often wrong, as when she tries to justify theft with a “they started it” argument or belittles Sokka for being a non-bender. She’s often somewhere in between, as when she chooses to let Appa get taken by sandbenders in order to protect her friends or gets into screaming matches with Katara over matters of procedure.

There’s also the fact that Toph interacts with certain environments differently based on her blindness, drawing attention to (in)accessible aspects of those environments the others wouldn’t have necessarily noticed. She finds sand and wood flooring inconvenient, she hates navigating water and ice, and she initially avoids walking on metal. Although she’s not a big fan of flying, she mostly adapts as long as her friends actually remember that she can’t navigate when they’re on Appa’s saddle.

When conflicts do occur with the environment, Toph puts the onus on the environments and on other people to adapt or help her to adapt. She’s amused and annoyed when Sokka tries to fake correspondence between her and Katara, or stupidly asks why she doesn’t like libraries. She rips the bottoms off of her shoes. She calls attention to her inability to do things like scan the ground while flying when her friends are at risk of forgetting. She plays into others’ assumptions to try and get onto ferries or get away with breaking the law.

Another thing I like: the art style for Toph avoids the trap of “draw sighted person, change eye color, call it a day.” She doesn’t turn to face people most of the time when she’s talking to them, but also doesn’t seem totally clueless as to their relative locations. She gets the lay of the land by stomping her feet or pressing a hand against the ground, not turning to “look” in various directions. She doesn’t bother to keep her hair from blocking her eyes, because her bangs don’t interrupt any sight lines. She’s neither a comically blind character who apparently can’t navigate at all with sound or touch, nor a dramatic “blind” character whose every action comes off as those of a sighted character. Toph repeatedly mentions that she doesn’t get the value in sight, clapping back at the assumption that of course she’d want to be nondisabled.

[Image description: A screenshot from “The Chase,” which shows Toph shouting at Katara, with her face turned away from Katara. Toph is pointing in anger, making it clear that she’s addressing Katara and that she knows Katara’s location relative to herself based on Katara’s voice.]

One last small but important victory for Avatar: it passes the Fries Test. It has two or more disabled characters — I can explain why Zuko counts as disabled if anyone’s not sure — who survive to the end of the story without being cured, and who have their own narratives rather than existing primarily to educate nondisabled characters. As a bonus, they have at least one conversation with each other about something that isn’t disability-related. The Fries Test is meant to be a minimum standard for representation, much like the Bechdel Test, but it’s still nice to know that Avatar passes.

[Image description: A screenshot from “The Ember Island Players,” which shows Zuko and Toph sitting on the floor in a hallway of the theater, talking about the play and about Zuko’s uncle.]

Is there anything that could’ve been improved about her character?

If I ruled the world, or at least the Avatar writers’ room, I’d start with two changes. One’s small-ish, one’s big and controversial.

The small-ish change: tweak Toph’s narrative to make her earthbending super-abilities less directly counter to her blindness. As it is, she has shades of a superpowered supercrip: a disabled character from SF whose superpower primarily acts to nullify their disability, thereby giving them the lived experience of a nondisabled person for most or all of the narrative. Toph is definitely not an egregious example — she’s not Daredevil, who can use his superpowers to read handwritten papers, navigate unfamiliar environments, “feel” colors, detect tiny gestures, and shoot guns. She does embody experiences with blindness like disorientation when flying and frustration with hanging posters. She just also has several instances of not experiencing blindness when she (as she puts it) “sees with earthbending.” I’m not sure what that tweak would look like, precisely, but I’d like to see one all the same.

The bigger change: I’d cast a different voice actor. Jessie Flower is, based on what little I can find on Wikipedia or IMDB, not blind or visually disabled. Disability rights activists are right now fighting hard against the trend of “cripping up,” wherein nondisabled actors use mimicry or makeup to pretend to have disabilities on TV and in the movies. Avatar doesn’t go that far, because it doesn’t have Jessie Flower onscreen in (for instance) contacts that mimic blindness. However, it nevertheless does not cast a blind actor for the role. The issue here is that disabled actors are almost never allowed to play nondisabled roles… and disabled actors are also almost never allowed to play disabled roles either. By failing to find a blind voice actor, the show denied that opportunity to a less-privileged talent.

The Guardian compares the issue to the way that cis actors of the wrong gender are too-often cast in trans roles, men used to play female characters onstage, and white actors used to play black characters in American movies. I never know how much those comparisons make sense, because among other things they completely ignore intersections of those identities. But I also think that it’s sometimes the best way to help people understand why excuses like “but it’s haaaaaaarrd to find blind female actors of Asian descent” don’t hold water.

And here’s where I go from “slightly controversial” to “extremely controversial” and might have to enter Witness Protection. Avatar is getting a live-action adaptation in a few months. I predict that it will cast a nondisabled actor to play Toph. And I predict that the same voices which (rightly!) raised such a cry against “racebent” white actors playing Aang and Katara will be completely silent on the topic of “abilitybent” actors playing Zuko and Toph. I’m saying this on Tumblr partially to get this statement out there:

I am an Avatar: the Last Airbender fan who will ONLY support the live-action show if it casts disabled actors to play disabled characters.

I’m saying it partially because I hope to be proven wrong, either because a blind actress will be cast as live-action Toph or at the very least because Avatar fans will object when a sighted actress is cast. I’m also saying it because I think that fans can and should protest responsibly when marginalized voices are erased by beloved works of fiction. Will casting a blind actress require more “work” to make the set accessible? Probably. Will casting a blind actress perhaps necessitate more CGI for fight scenes than using a sighted one? Maybe. Will it be worth it to cast a blind actress anyway, so that a girl with the lived experience of Toph can portray her on screen and actually get the chance to break into an industry that bars most blind girls from participating? YES.

#toph beifong #avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #nothing to do with animorphs #disability studies #disability representation #blindness #atla criticism #intersectional feminism #long post #atla meta #anonymous #asks

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hedwigstalons · 4 years ago

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SpaceBear - bit 4 (end)

So this has finally reached the end (for now). I will probably return to these precious babies at some point because the SpaceBear ship is just glorious.

Huge thanks to @willow-salix for naming this ship and for massive amounts of help in pulling this to some sort of conclusion.

Bit 1 is here, Bit 2 , Bit 3

Bit 4

The shamefaced pair trailed down to the kitchen after Scott, like condemned prisoners following behind their jailor who led them in stony silence. As if having big brother walk in on them hadn’t been bad enough he had stood there, tall and imposing in the doorway, waiting while discarded clothes were found and reclaimed. Despite all the times he’d changed in front of his brothers Alan had never felt more naked and exposed even though he had still been half dressed.

Entering the lower level of the villa they found the table all set, Virgil and Gordon already seated and staring hungrily at empty plates. The warm smells coming coming from the kitchen module were actually pretty good for a change although Alan wasn’t too sure he had much of an appetite any more.

“You’re late, boys. Now hurry up and wash your hands then you can help me carry over the dishes, I made the others wait for you.”

With a quick chorus of “Sorry Grandma” and “Sorry Mrs Tracy” the pair hurried over to the sink to get washed up while Scott headed back to his place at the table.

“I really shouldn’t have to send Scott to fetch you, you know,” Sally scolded. “I’d have thought after spending all day at the Expo you would have had enough of playing games. Never mind, you’re here now so we can get started.”

She hustled them about, setting them to ferrying the serving dishes over to the table where they were eagerly pounced upon by Gordon and Virgil. Scott was more reserved but she put it down to a tough day in the office, TI business was a necessary evil for him and he was often a little bit muted after a day stuck in a suit.

Once everyone had had a chance to load their plates, and the initial babble of conversation between those who weren’t privy to the scene in Alan’s bedroom had faded as eating took priority, Scott finally broke his silence, his words falling like lead. “So, when were you going to tell us?“ Walking in on his baby brother had come as something of a shock, Alan had been his responsibility for so long it was sometimes hard to accept that the kid he had taken custody of was growing up. It probably didn’t help matters that the other party was Brandon. He tolerated Brandon’s presence, mostly because he had been persuaded how good it was for Alan to have a friend outside the family, but the vlogger was definitely more worldly than his brother and preceded by a reputation that Scott did not approve of. His protective instincts had been ignited and right now he was wishing he’d followed his gut and kept Brandon away from the island.

Alan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He’d barely had time to come to terms with things himself and he and Brandon hadn’t actually got as far as defining what they were before giving in to their physical wants.

"Tell us what?” Virgil put down his fork and looked between his oldest and youngest brothers, Scott was radiating animosity and Alan looked nervous as hell.

“Alan and Brandon here have been getting a little up close and personal."

"Lighten up Scott, it was one kiss. You make it sound like the end of the world”

Scott had been expecting an answer but he hadn’t been expecting it to come from Gordon. “What do you mean ‘one kiss’? It’s a damn sight more than that."

Confusion reigned supreme on Gordon’s face. "No, it wasn’t. I saw the footage.”

“What footage? What are you on about Gords?” The question was low and threatening and Gordon found himself swallowing nervously despite having a pretty clear conscious for once.

“The Expo of course, what are you on about?”

“I just caught these two,” the words were spat with more force than was strictly necessary as Scott waved vaguely in the direction of Alan and Brandon, “fooling around in Alan’s room. Now what’s this about the Expo?” The pair in question were subjected to the full force of the Commander’s stare; Scott knew he was coming across as intimidating and probably overreacting but after a day spent examining share prices and and listening to market forecasts he was in no mood to be dealing with unexpected surprises.

“That was all my fault, Scott,” Brandon stammered. “I kinda got carried away with all the cameras there and surprised Alan, he…he had nothing to do with it.”

“Hmm,” Scott frowned, not missing the slight shift in movement that suggested Alan had grasped Brandon’s hand under the table or the grateful look Brandon shot him in response; it was a show of unity he hadn’t expected. “That doesn’t make it any better.” He reached up and activated his comm “Come in Thunderbird Five, I’ve got a job for you.”

“What is it, Scott?” the missing sibling popped into being via the nearest holoprojector, looking puzzled at being summoned.

“I need you to go through the footage from the Expo Alan went to. You might need to do some damage limitation.”

“Uh, okay. Are you going to give me a clue what I’m looking for?”

“Oh I think you’ll know when you see it.”

“FAB.” The slightly puzzled Space Monitor winked out of existence as the link was cut.

Knowing that John was dealing with whatever had happened at the Expo, and taking Gordon’s lack of concern over the footage as a sign that whatever had been caught on film wasn’t too major, Scott focussed his attention back on the unhappy couple.

“So is this serious between you or what?”

The tension between oldest and youngest was palpable. Alan licked his lips nervously, trying to work out how to phrase things and desperately wishing there wasn’t such an audience as all eyes turned towards him. Was it serious? Was Brandon his boyfriend now? He certainly knew what he wanted it to be.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Brandon had cut in before he had the chance to answer, giving Alan’s hand a reassuring squeeze at the same time. This time it was Alan giving Brandon the grateful look; he knew how hard it was to face up to Scott when he got like this.

"Well I think it’s great, honey,” Grandma stepped in, giving Scott a brief warning look that clearly said the interrogation was over before turning her attention on the new couple. “Hey, maybe you can come on a double date with me and Kip.” She knew Scott had to get whatever concerns he had out of his system but his attitude needed keeping in check. This was meant to be a nice family dinner after all.

“Ewww, Grandma!” Alan exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, I’m only messing with you. I wouldn’t want any of you boys along anyway, it might cramp my style.” She winked at Alan, causing him to shudder. “Now will someone pass me those bread rolls, I’m hungry.”

The meal passed in relative normality after that although the oldest and youngest brothers ate barely a fraction of their usual portion. Alan’s stomach was still in knots and he could only pick at his food while Scott was obviously still brooding but with Grandma giving her seal of approval any further discussions of Alan and Brandon’s fledgling relationship were clearly off limits.

Mostly off limits. Alan knew the silence from Scott was too good to last.

“Virgil, I’m going to need you to have a talk with Alan and Brandon after dinner.” While he might not like the idea of his baby brother having anything that even remotely resembled a sex life he had to accept that this was a likely progression. He would be failing in his duty if he didn’t make sure the couple went into this with their eyes open but same sex relationships were outside his personal realm of experience, hence calling on his next in line.

“Huh, what about?” Virgil looked up from his plate, he was far less bothered than Scott about the whole situation and wasn’t too sure what else there was to discuss.

“Alan. And Brandon." Scott gave his brother a pointed look.

Virgil’s brow furrowed in confusion before realisation hit. "Oh, right, couple stuff. Really though Scott the rules aren’t any different just cos it’s a guy, but sure I’ll talk to them."

Alan wanted the ground to swallow him up and he could feel the rising blush creeping towards his ears. He could not believe this was happening. He wasn’t completely clueless on the facts of life and Brandon definitely wasn’t. To make matters worse Gordon was grinning like a Cheshire cat at the prospect, probably thinking up his own contributions Alan suspected.

"Really, it’s okay, we’re good.” Feeling the discomfort radiating off of Alan, Brandon tried to ward Virgil off.

“Oh no,” Virgil smirked, although to Brandon the look seemed vaguely reminiscent of a shark circling its prey, “if you intend to be involved with my little brother we are definitely going to talk.”

“Grandma, is this really necessary?” Alan tried to appeal to the one person who he thought he could count on as an ally.

“Actually dear, I’m with your brothers on this one. Now if everyone’s finished I’ve got some jobs I want to do. Gordon, can you give me a hand please, I’ve got some boxes I want shifting.” She knew she wouldn’t be able to persuade Scott to leave but she could at least take some of the pressure off the situation.

The aquanaut grimaced but knew better to disobey. Much as it would have been fun to watch Alan squirm he knew his Grandma was deliberately giving the others space; two big brothers was more than enough for Alan to be dealing with and Virgil would stop Scott from going overboard. Anyways, he could impart his worldly wisdom any time he fancied grossing his brother out.

With Gordon and Grandma out the way a heavy silence settled over the table. Scott was still radiating animosity and the attitude was starting to bug Virgil. So what if Scott wasn’t a fan of Brandon? Alan obviously was and if the feeling was mutual who was he to get in their way. He took a sip of his water and waited for Scott to say something but Scott had evidently decided it was all on him now. He cleared his throat.

“Now I don’t know what the pair of you have been getting up to, and to be honest I don’t want to know, but if you two are now an item there are some ground rules you need to follow. Alan, you have a lock on your bedroom door, I suggest you start using it. Brandon, whenever you stay over there will be a guest room for you as normal; it’s up to the pair of you if you use it but it’s there.”

“Now I don’t think…” Scott tried to butt in but Virgil cut him off. If big brother was going to pass the buck on anything that wasn’t strictly hetero then he could keep his mouth shut for the moment. And anyway, Virgil thought, Scott was a hypocrite. He could well remember Scott’s own early forays into the world of dating which had started far earlier than Alan’s.

“No, Scott. Alan not a kid any more and neither is Brandon. I don’t want them to feel like they need to sneak around and neither do I want to barge in on anything. Or have you forgotten how many times I had to cover for you or come up with some excuse to keep Dad out of wherever you’d chosen to mess around with your latest squeeze?” Once he was satisfied that there would be no more interruptions he turned back to Alan and Brandon. “Now judging from the way Scott here has decided to drag me into all this I guess things have already started getting pretty physical between the two of you.” Alan didn’t think it was possible to sink any lower in his seat but he tried. “Now there are only two rules but they are absolutely non-negotiable. Firstly, if you choose to go that far, you always use protection. You have no excuse not to, there is always a stock in the cabinet in the infirmary, just make a note on the pharmacy order if supplies are running low. And secondly, you do not do anything that you aren’t both wholly comfortable with. You always check the other person is happy and if either of you want to stop at any point you stop. Oh, and Brandon, if you dare hurt my little brother I personally know of at least 6 ravines where you could have a very convincing accident.“

Once Virgil had said his piece Scott launched in again, mostly about not broadcasting everything about their lives to the public or splashing it all over the vlog. It was a request the pair happily agreed to; Alan wasn’t keen on the idea of navigating life with Bradon in front of millions of viewers and Brandon felt like he would have agreed to anything if it meant being able to get away from the combined force of Tracys one and two.

When they were finally released from their lecture Alan and Brandon fled back to the sanctuary of Alan’s room. Alan clicked the lock into place behind them; still a bit shaky after the ordeal at dinner it wasn’t that he was in the mood to continue where they left off, more that he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any more rules or advice from the family, well meant or otherwise.

Brandon climbed up onto the bed and sat up against the wall, resting his forearms on drawn up knees. “Man, Scott was like, so intense and boy I do not want to go piss off Virg, I used to think he was the soft one but I kinda think he scares me more than Scott. Are your family always this extreme?”

“Yeah, sorry, they can get a little over protective sometime. You do know Virgil was joking about the ravines, right?”

“Right,” Brandon looked like he wasn’t wholly convinced though. “Just as well I like living life on the edge. Always be extreme and all that.”

“Were you alright with what they said, about not putting stuff about us out on your vlog?”

“Well clips with you or your brothers in already get 30% more views, think of the ratings.”

“Brandon!”

“Relax Alan. No cameras, no clips. I don’t have to put everything about me online and I don’t want to. The media, well, you’ve seen how it can chew you up and spit you out and I don’t want to do anything that could hurt you.”

Brandon patted the bed and Alan responded to the invitation. He climbed into the gap between Brandon’s legs and settled his back against Brandon’s chest, feeling a slight thrill as warm arms circled round him in a gentle hug. This was a side to Brandon that was rarely seen, a softer, gentler, more serious side that was at odds with the carefully curated persona of the Bear.

As Alan’s weight settled comfortably back against him, the smaller form cocooned by his own slightly taller frame, Brandon felt luckier than he had done in a long time. Alan wasn’t what would normally be considered his type, not if the string of conquests behind him was anything to go by, but there was something about the young Thunderbird with his raw and open honesty that had Brandon craving more than a quick fling. There was a connection he’d never felt with anyone else before and he made a sincere and silent promise to look after the man who had first welcomed him into his life and his family and then invited him a step further into his heart.

He didn’t know if this would be a forever thing but he did know he was grateful for the chance to try, the chance to prove that he could be more than just a jackass pulling stunts for the cameras. There was something about Alan, nestled comfortably against him like a puzzle piece where he had drifted off to sleep half way through a movie, that gave him a feeling of deep contentment and he dropped a gentle kiss onto the slumbering head beside him. Commitment had never been on his radar before, uncomplicated fun was more his usual style, but this was different; a relationship to be explored slowly at whatever pace Alan felt comfortable with and if that meant starting off with movie nights punctuated by tentative kisses, well, he was happy to go along with that.

-FIN-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds 2015 #SpaceBear #rare pair #Alan Tracy #Brandon Berrenger

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kiingocreative · 4 years ago

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The Structure of Story is available for preorder on Amazon! Check it out at https://kiingo.co/preorder or the link in our bio.

In his book Scriptshadow Secrets, Carson Reeves lays out 8 ingredients that he believes serve as the backbone of a great character. The 8 elements are "root-for-ability", a fatal flaw, relationships, backstory, life goal (i.e. your character's dream), secrets, quirks and characteristics, and essence.

One of the first tasks of a story is getting the audience connected to the central character. If we don't care about the character, we don't care what happens to them, and consequently we don't care about the rest of the story. This is what Carson Reeves calls "root-for-ability." Reeves says, "You have to give us a reason to root for them. This is one of the primary mistakes beginners make. … If we like your character, we’ll want to follow him. For example, you can make your character selfless (e.g. Forrest Gump), you can make your character love their son unconditionally (e.g. Liar Liar), you can make your character brave (e.g. Jake Sulley from Avatar). Once we like a character, we’ll root for that character."

The next element is to give your character a weakness. Reeves says, "A fatal flaw is your character’s defining weakness, the thing that’s held him back his entire life, and when it comes down to it, the thing that makes him human. Sure, your character may be battling the bad guys, but he’ll be way more interesting if he’s battling something inside himself as well. In the movie Up In The Air, George Clooney's fatal flaw was his inability to connect with others. That's why it was so easy for him to fire people. … Once you establish a fatal flaw, you can execute your character’s transformation over the course of the story, culminating in them overcoming that flaw."

Stories aren't just about characters, however, they're also about relationships. Reeves says, "One of the easiest ways to explore a character is through the people around him, or more specifically, via the relationships he engages in. Now remember, perfect relationships are boring. So the trick is to build a problem into every relationship so that you have something that needs to be resolved by the end of the movie. If you do this right, your audience will want to stick around to see if the characters overcome their issues with one another."

One way to make a character more vulnerable or in-depth is to give them a backstory. "One of the tricks to making characters feel real is convincing the reader that they existed before the script began. That’s backstory. It’s the character’s entire life leading up to the moment where your story begins. There’s a catch, however: all backstory in your screenplay must be story-relevant. In other words, backstory should only be revealed if it relates to important plot points in your movie. … In the movie Good Will Hunting, Will reveals to Sean (Robin Williams) that his dad used to beat him. The reason this backstory is revealed is because Will must face it later in order to overcome his flaw (he’s afraid to open himself up to others)."

Carson Reeves also suggests that we consider the character's life goal or dream. He says, "If you really want insight into who a person is, ask them what their life goal is - what they want to do more than anything in the world. This information often defines a person (just like wanting to be a successful screenwriter defines you!). Forrest Gump wants to be with Jenny. Lester Burnham wants to feel free again. Marty McFly wants to be a rock star. This won’t always come up in the script (I don’t know what Ferris Bueller’s life goal was), but even if it doesn’t get mentioned, you, the writer, should know it, as it will inform many of your hero’s choices."

Characters can be made far more interesting when they've got a secret to keep. Reeves says, "The secrets we keep define our private side, the side we don’t allow the world to see. This side is often more interesting than the side people do see, which is the reason you should know your characters’ secrets. In some cases, these secrets will define a character (maybe they’re a killer) and in others, it will haunt them … I’m not sure you can write an interesting character if you don’t know their secrets. Michael Fassbender’s character in Shame hides his sex addiction. Cole in The Sixth Sense hides his ability to see dead people. Lizbeth Salander from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo hides the way she obtains information (via hacking). Secrets are like the jalapeño poppers of character depth: they can really spice things up."

Does your character have any quirks or vices or odd personality traits? Reeves says, "The Joker always licks his lips. The Terminator always wears a leather jacket. Hancock always drinks. Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) in Meet The Parents loves cats. One of the big problems I see with amateur characters is that they don’t stick out. There’s nothing memorable about them. A common reason for this is that the writer never adds those eccentricities, those details, those final touches that make a character rise above the page. Granted, this stuff is icing on the cake, but cake is pretty boring without icing."

And lastly Carson Reeves asks us to define our character's "essence." Reeves says, "Essence is the least definable trait there is, and yet the most important in bringing your character to life. In my experience, you find essence by figuring out your character’s life story. Where they grew up, their relationship with their parents, their high school experience, when they lost their virginity, their financial status, their vices, their social status, the most influential relationships in their lives, their favorite things to do, their least favorite things to do, what they were doing two weeks before your story began. You want to know your character’s life JUST AS WELL as you know your best friend’s life, because it’s only when you know every crevice of your character that you can make them act, speak and feel like a real-life individual."

#writingtips #creative writing #screenwriting #writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writerblr #writing advice #writing community #writing resources

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spaceexp · 5 years ago

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Get your ticket to the Moon: Europe’s lunar lander for science and more

ESA - European Space Agency patch. May 30, 2020 Development of Europe’s first ever lunar lander was agreed upon by ESA Member States in 2019 and now ESA is seeking your ideas for science and robotic missions on the Moon.

Destination Moon

Set to launch on an Ariane 64 rocket later this decade and return to the Moon on a regular basis, the large lander will provide unprecedented opportunities for science and robotics on the lunar surface and your mission could be one of the first.

Artist's view of the configuration of Ariane 6 using four boosters (A64)

The call for ideas comes hot on the heels of ESA signing an agreement to start building the third European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis programme. This module will drive the spacecraft that ferries the next astronauts to the Moon. Repeat trips to the Moon The European-led large lunar lander programme provides autonomous access to the Moon, delivering 1.5 tonnes of material from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana – this is roughly the weight of a hippopotamus.

European Large Logistic Lander approaching Moon

The programme, currently known as the European Large Logistics Lander or EL3 for short, is designed to incorporate different types of uncrewed missions, from supply runs for Artemis astronauts, to stand-alone robotic science and technology demonstration missions and even a lunar return mission to bring samples to laboratories on Earth.

Destination: Moon

“This European lander will be able to access locations all over the Moon from the equator to the poles, from the near side to the far side, opening up tremendous opportunities to deliver science, research technology and infrastructure,” says ESA’s Exploration science and research coordinator James Carpenter, “developing this capability is a hugely important strategic step for Europe. It will allow us to take a lead in future robotic missions and support international activities at the Moon’s surface.” The best of all worlds Now that ESA has defined the hardware, launch and operations side for this unique European programme, the agency is looking for outstanding mission ideas that could be delivered by the European Large Logistics Lander. Examples of what could be proposed include robotic exploration of lunar caves, telescopes on the far side of the Moon, searching for water ice or producing useable products from resources on the Moon.

Moon

“We are asking the best minds to submit ideas for this programme as we explore our Solar System in collaboration with scientists, engineers, industry, and companies,” James continues, “we really want to extend this call for ideas outside the realm of the usual space players, considering all aspects of lunar exploration.” The lunar lander programme is not a one-shot mission but promises regular launches starting in the later part of this decade and continuing into the 2030s.

European Large Logistic Lander unloading cargo

We are looking for ideas that align with ESA’s strategy for exploration to inspire, create new knowledge, grow international cooperation and create economic growth and industrial competitiveness.

Human spaceflight and robotic exploration future

Any company, organisation or person can submit their ideas for the EL3 programme. Details and information on how to apply are available here. The deadline for submissions is 3 July 2020: https://ideas.esa.int/servlet/hype/IMT?documentTableId=45087607022749715&userAction=Browse&templateName=&documentId=7257e8d165a32b877027ebfc5e67d8d9 Related article: Third European Service Module for mission to land astronauts on the Moon https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/third-european-service-module-for.html Related links: Human and Robotic Exploration: http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration Science & Exploration: http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration Images, Videos, Text, Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)/D. Ducros/L. Parmitano/T. Pesquet/ATG-Medialab. Best regards, Orbiter.ch Full article

#space #science

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amandacooperkf · 1 month ago

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Leadership is about how we ACT. A - Being...

Leadership is about how we ACT. A - Being authentic C - Making a connection T - Giving others a taste of who we are In his newest book, "Love, Hope & Leadership: A Special Edition", Korn Ferry's Gary Burnison offers an inspiring collection of reflections, perspectives, and pivot points that capture the moment and define how we live and lead today. Click the link to get your copy. https://krnfy.bz/3xZNcUu

Leadership is about how we ACT. A - Being...

Korn Ferry Connect

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mmatkf · 6 months ago

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Leadership is all about how we ACT. Korn...

Leadership is all about how we ACT. Korn Ferry's Gary Burnison offers an inspiring collection of reflections, perspectives, and pivot points that capture the moment and define how we live and lead today. Click the link to get your copy of "Love, Hope, & Leadership: A Special Edition." https://krnfy.bz/3xZNcUu #KornFerry

Leadership is all about how we ACT. Korn...

Korn Ferry Connect

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halbanese1 · 4 months ago

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Leadership is about how we ACT. A - Being...

Korn Ferry Connect

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friendship-korea-japan · 4 years ago

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8.6. Road network covered all over Korea

Question 8: About the shift of Korea › 6. Road network covered all over Korea

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8.6. Road network covered all over Korea

While there were hardly any roads in the Joseon period, a road network was built across Korea under Japanese rule.

Roads are basic infrastructure that constitutes the basis of national administration. As seen from the proverb “All roads lead to Rome”, the Roman Empire built an excellent network of roads across the Empire and used them for daily state management and response to emergencies. From this perspective, we examined the conditions of roads in the final years of the Joseon era.

Below are descriptions on roads in Korea and her Neighbours in the order of appearance.

[ All sorts of arrangements are made for getting up to the capital by "road." There is, properly speaking, no road, but the word serves.]

The route described above is the main road that linked Chemulpo (Incheon) and the capital Seoul, and therefore it should have been the best made in Korea. However, its conditions were such that Isabella Bird went so far as to say, “There is, properly speaking, no road”.

On pages 169 and 173 of the Japanese version (pages 128 and 131 of the original version) of Korea and Her Neighbours, Isabella Bird describes what she experienced on her way from Seoul to Wonsan. She travelled on a violent-tempered Korean pony.

[ The roads, […] are simply infamous. There are few made roads, […]. In most cases, they are merely paths worn by the passage of animals and men into some degree of legibility. Many of the streams are unbridged, and most of the bridges, the roadways of which are only of twigs and sod, […]. Among the mountains, roads are frequently nothing else than boulder-strewn torrent beds, […]. These infamous bridle tracks, of which I have had extensive experience, are one of the great hindrances to the development of Korea. […] After crossing the Paik-yang Kang, there 162 yards wide and 16 feet deep, by a ferry boat of remarkably ingenious construction, rendered necessary by the fact that the long bridge over the broad stream was in ruins, and that the appropriation for its reconstruction had been diverted by the local officials to their own enrichment, […]

The roads in Korea had become so dilapidated that even on main roads it was impossible to cross bridges without anxiety. Moreover, she pointed out that the terrible road conditions were one of the great hindrances to the development of Korea.

While the money for the reconstruction of broken bridges had been diverted by local officers to their own enrichment, no one was blamed for it.

We would like to quote below the essential part of the descriptions in “Section I. Remoteness of the Civil Engineering Administration” and “Section II. Road Repair”, “Chapter XII. Civil Engineering”, Annals of the Government-General of Korea 1941.

[ In Korea, there were almost no roads in the past that would really deserve the name, and therefore it was almost impossible that they would contribute to the promotion of human culture and economic development.

Under these circumstances, the Road Regulation was established in 1915. According to it, the roads were classified into the following four categories: first-class roads (with the effective width of 7 meters or more), second-grade roads (effective width: 5.5 meters or more), third-grade roads (effective width: 4 meters or more) and non-graded roads, thus covering the road network across Korea. Twenty years later, as the situation no longer responded to the needs of the time, the Korea Road Act was enforced in December 1938, in which the basis of road administration was established by defining how the approbation and management of roads was to be done, how the restrictions would be applied to the surrounding zones and how the costs should be shared. In addition, the roads were divided into national, provincial, urban (bu) and municipal (eup) roads. According to this classification, the Government-General of Korea was responsible for the management of national roads, while the governors of the provinces were in charge of provincial roads, while metropolitan roads should be managed by the mayors of the urban areas (bu) (including the conservation, maintenance and cost allocation).

As of the end of 1939, there were 92 national roads with total length of 12,274 kilometers, forming the main road network across Korea. The total length of the 659 provincial roads amounted to 18,375 kilometers. The expenses were paid from the budget of the Government- General.]

That was how the road network was built all over the Korean Peninsula with the planning, guidance and budget of the Government-General.

While the Joseon government had let the roads go to ruin for 500 years, due to which the roads were in such conditions that people even considered that there were almost no roads in Korea, the improvement, repair and construction of roads were promoted during the period of 29 years from 1910 to 1939, leading to the construction of a total of 30,000 kilometers of roads all over Korea.

As it would be impossible for Japanese people to build 30,000 kilometers of roads in total on their own even with the help of the mechanization of civil engineering work, we could presume that many Korean people fully contributed to such works.

#Joseon #Korea #about south korea #history of korea #korea-japan

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hoodpimple5 · 4 years ago

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dustedmagazine · 5 years ago

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Dust Volume 6, Number 2

Grisha Shakhnes

Time for another collection of short, sharp reviews, covering a gamut of styles. Our most tireless contributor, Bill Meyer, turned in a record eight Dusts this time, so if you like jazz, improv and experimental music, this is your edition. Other writers included Ray Garraty, Jennifer Kelly, Justin Cober-Lake, Tim Clarke and Ian Mathers.

Max B — House Money (Self-released)

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Max B is doing 75 years in prison, yet before his bid he recorded a lot of music to be used by trusted collaborators. Last year’s Coke Wave 5 with French Montana felt authentic enough to be confused with Max’s pre-prison mixtapes, only a bit more polished. This new EP is no less wave-y and goofy, but too many guest verses dilute the fun. If French, with whom Max B recorded a lot of mixtapes together, seems like a natural collaborator, the rest of the guests are an uneasy fit. House Money is a Frankenstein-y affair exactly because Max himself wouldn’t invite them to his booth (not that they are lousy talents, they are just on a different frequency with Max B). It is probably mixed and produced by someone who thought that these collaborators would attract additional audience, yet the result is the opposite: Max B’s fans would feel alienated by impostors in his own domain.

Ray Garraty

Jeb Bishop / Jaap Blonk / Weasel Walter / Damon Smith — JaJeWeDa (Balance Point Acoustics)

Pioneer Works Vol. 1 BPA 19 by JeJaWeDa (Jeb Bishop / Jaap Blonk / Weasel Walter / Damon Smith)

No matter how big the stage they occupy, it isn’t big enough for Jaap Blonk and Weasel Walter. Both men are masters of strategic exaggeration. Put them together and a clash is inevitable. Blonk not only spews sound poetry like a symphony of pan-lingual news broadcasts and surreptitiously recorded mouthwash experiments, he manipulates electronics with a video game controller that looks especially ridiculous in his gangly hands. Walter mugs and wallops, each movement lunging simultaneously at your ears and your funny bone. Perhaps you’re wondering, “isn’t this a record review? How will these visual descriptions clue me into the sound?” Play this record and you will know. And you will also marvel at the way bassist Damon Smith and trombonist Jeb Bishop balance the other half of the band’s nuttiness with seriousness so unfailing, you might put your money on them against Roscoe Mitchell in a game of poker.

Bill Meyer

Ben Carey — Antimatter (Hospital Hill)

ANTIMATTER by Ben Carey

Sydney-based electronic musician Ben Carey played saxophone before he took on modular synthesizers. This may explain the quivering, palpable presence of the sounds he devises; he makes static pulse and shake like swollen lips engaged in the act of vocalizing. His deployments of attenuated tones, sudden swells, and insistent chimes are discontinuous and episodic, but also quite thoughtfully planned out. Both the sudden shifts and the long considerations of discrete elements feel as essential as the unforgettable bridge in a bubblegum cart hit, and the qualities of the sounds Carey ponders amply reward the attention required to follow their shifts in and out of audibility and back and forth across the stereo spectrum. If you’re inclined to get well acquainted with Antimatter, consider springing for the LP. Since both Carey and his label are situated in Australia, it might take some looking and spending, but Rashad Becker’s cut and the 45-rpm playing speed guarantee maximum presence.

Bill Meyer

John Chantler — Tomorrow Is Too Late (Room40)

Tomorrow Is Too Late by John Chantler

From the pig’s ass on the sleeve to the titles of the album’s two tracks, John Chantler’s Tomorrow is Too Late promises to deal with endings. But when you put the record on, you find yourself adrift in events that defy linear description, let alone the definition of a final point. Oh, sure, both of them end, but they don’t spend the time leading up to those terminations making sure that you know where they’re going. The title track was commissioned for the 2018 iteration of the French electronic music institution INA GRM’s Présences Électronique festival, and most of its sounds were obtained from a François Coupigny synthesizer that is over 50 years old. Rare earl synths are like worlds unto themselves, and the listener is adrift with Chantler as he invites sounds to converge, dispel, and recongregate in winking, restless masses. On “We’re Always at the End,” the electronic sound convergence make way for a pipe organ, which coheres into a solid sonic presence, but when it disappears, the piece does not. This is music to inhabit, over and over again.

Bill Meyer

Richard Dawson — 2020 (Weird World)

2020 by Richard Dawson

This sixth full-length from cult songwriter Richard Dawson unspools like a series of linked short stories, the characters sharing a blighted, latter-day English backdrop and perhaps avoiding one another’s eyes as they pass on the streets. Sung in Dawson’s wavery tenor — with flights up into a very uncertain falsetto — and backed with the most straightforward of rock-ish instrumental arrangements, the songs flourish in their specificity. The metal-riffing “Jogging,” for instance, tells the story of a mid-life crisis with startling exact-ness, an ex-school counselor, laid off and too anxious to leave the house, advised by a doctor to take up jogging. The story is told first person, in the most straightforward way possible, with minimal embellishments. If it weren’t for the crashing guitar chords, the squiggly lines of synth, you might be listening to a friend over coffee. The scenarios are mostly dreary, of people stuck in soul-sucking jobs, in towns where things go wrong through neglect and inertia. Yet, once in a while the sun comes piercing through, and life, however stunted and bare and grey, turns ever so slightly hopeful. I’ll leave you with verse from lacerating “The Queen’s Head.”

“The guy from the vape shop Ferrying his chocolate labs Waves to us cheerily From a leaky kayak ‘I've lost everything apart from what counts’ Pointing to his dogs and then at his heart.”

Now that’s a pre-chorus.

Jennifer Kelly

Frank Denyer — The Boundaries of Intimacy (Another Timbre)

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On The Boundaries of Intimacy, composer Frank Denyer explores volume dropped to a soft level. The approach produces a sort of intimacy, nearly everything sounds hushed, although it remains unclear whether, as listeners, we're leaning into a confidant or cupping our hand to a wall to eavesdrop. Regardless of our position as listeners, Denyer continues his work with unpredictable instrumentation, highlighting sneh and koto playing in various places (including two version of a koto piece), and combining flute and electronics for a strange tonal study called “Beyond the Boundaries of Intimacy.” When he works with a more traditional set of instruments, as on “String Quartet,” the ostensibly comfortable sounds become unfamiliar, an experienced aided by Denyer's play with dynamics, turning from a crescendo to a near disappearance. Denyer presents those sorts of challenges across these pieces (written over the past 40 years). He requires attentive, patient listening, but rewards it with unsettling experiences.

Justin Cober-Lake

Avram Fefer Quartet—Testament (Clean Feed)

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This record is credited to the Avram Fefer Quartet, and it’s true that the Brooklyn-based alto and tenor saxophone wrote the tunes and leads the band. But he’s not necessarily the guy you will listen to every time that you play it. Not that there’s anything wrong with Fefer’s playing, which combines Sonny Rollins’ muscularity with an affinity for bold melodies rooted equally in soul jazz and West African pop music. He’s got ideas, emotion and chops to spare. But damn, what a band! Fefer and bassist Eric Revis have an association going back to the 1990s; no matter which way the music rolls, the foundation is solid. Drummer Chad Taylor is a regular member of a trio with Fefer and Revis which made a couple records a decade or so back, and he’s also a member of bands led by Revis and guitarist Marc Ribot. Taylor never misses a chance to turn the music up a little closer to a boil, and the blues-rooted tone that Ribot favors here adds steely sentiment to the blues, mass to the Afrobeat repetitions, and confident complexity to the free interludes in this music. So, if your attention wavers from the saxophone for a second, it’s probably because you’re listening to how one of his accompanists is playing off of another one. Wotta band!

Bill Meyer

Roc Marciano — Marcielago (Self-released)

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In “Saw” Roc Marciano says, “Sometimes I pinch myself in disbelief,” referring to a level of fame he’s achieved after 20 years in the rap game. The listeners are pinching themselves as well, but for a different reason: Marciano doesn’t repeat himself. Roc Marci works with his lyrics on two levels: line by line as well as bar by bar. As defined by Marci, his songs are “poetry over beats.”Marcielago is a quieter effort, closer to Rosebudd’s Revenge 1 and 2, than to 2018’s KAOS and Behold a Dark Horse. To rephrase the poet himself, on Marcielago he’s more like a pimp than a mack. The standout here is “Ephesians” which starts with early electronica and then explodes into a full-scale attack. Marci’s long time collaborator Ka spits here a verse which does an impossible thing: Marciano is murdered on his own turf.

Ray Garraty

Machtelinckx / Badenhorst / Cools / Gouband — Porous Structures (Aspen Edities)

porous structures by Machtelinckx/Badenhorst/Cools/Gouband

This quartet comprises two steel-stringed acoustic guitarists, one percussionist prone to placing stones on his drums, and one clarinet and a saxophone player who likes to sing. The album’s title implies permeability, and the music delivers by creating the impression of actions happen in different places at the same time. Ruben Machtelinckx and Bert Cools’ guitars create structures made of slow-moving, finger-picked patterns. Toma Gouband and Joachim Badenhorst often sound like they are playing in some resonant space outside of the guitars’ sanctuary, where their sounds can spread a halo of echo around and occasionally blow through the dry, close-miked string sounds. The former’s rattling rocks create more texture than motion; the latter’s distant croons and spare tones create a sense of distance. In their own quiet way, these musicians have arrived at a sound that can’t be mistaken for anyone else’s.

Bill Meyer

Salim Nourallah — Jesus of Sad (Palo Santo)

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The narrators of Salim Nourallah's songs don't often find things going so well. Nourallah's taken that point to its logical conclusion on new EP Jesus of Sad. Rather than indulging depressive tendencies, though, the songwriter brings his sense of humor for a parodic take. “So, you think you've suffered?” he sings to open the disc. “I sip the tears of the world from my coffee cup.” The hyperbole might immediately develops his exaggerated character. Accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Billy Harvey, Nourallah moves on to “Born with a Broken Heart,” a funky number owing something to Soul Coughing while providing one of the best bass lines in his catalog. The cut's full of wit while addressing serious questions about faith, gender equality, and more.

“This Doesn't Feel like Peace, Love, or Understanding” (the second track here to echo a Nick Lowe title) sounds like quintessential Nourallah, with a pop-rock sound that would have fit on any of his last few records and a relatable sentiment conveyed in smart lyrics. Two versions of “Misanthrope” close out the disc. Nourallah co-wrote the song with Rhett Miller, but here he turns away from the Old 97's' bouncy version (called“She Hates Everyone”). Nourallah slows it down, building complex feelings; he can't fully enjoy his strange love now under his anxiety about the future. It closes the EP well, being yet more honest emotion that manages to misdirect and complicate things, the true heart covered by the knowing satire of “Jesus of Sad.”

Justin Cober-Lake

Parashi—Tape From Oort Cloud (Sedimental/Skell)

When a record provokes images of a Captain Beefheart lyric turned inside out, you know its makers are on to something. The squelchy sounds that usher in “The Vanishing Coast,” which is the first of this LP’s four tracks, does not bring to mind synthesizers, even though that’s what Mike Griffin (that’s Mr. Parashi to you) probably used some time them. Nor does it bring to mind someone else’s record. Rather, I hear the words “slow and bulbous” as the music sinks slowly into its own swampy stealth. “Broadcast Failures” leaves even those alinear coordinates behind as it pings its way woozily into the depths. The titular malfunctions might be echoed calls which fail to distract the sonar-like main body of sound, or the squashed, distant carousel that follows. Or maybe it doesn’t. File this under best practice befuddlement, but be sure to tape a bookmark to the plastic outer sleeve to remind yourself of the necessity of playing it.

Bill Meyer

Tom Redwood — The Glue (self released)

The Glue by Tom Redwood

With The Glue, his fourth album, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Tom Redwood has tapped into a rewarding strain of country/folk that pulls hard on traditional roots, while adding a knowing wink, flowing performances, and plenty of tuneful song craft. As in Jim O’Rourke’s beloved series of Drag City albums, the music-making is taken seriously but is undercut by self-deprecating humor. On “Easy Love” Redwood sings, “When I was young I was easy loving / But now that I’m old, I’m not so dumb,” and on the title track he makes a playful reference to “round, gorgeous thighs.” He’s not afraid to play it straight, though, such as on the haunting “Cold Mother Night,” and reflective closer “Shut the Door.” There’s superb lap steel playing by Kier Stevens, smart counterpoint on guitar and “cheesy keys” from producer Matt Walker, and ethereal backing vocals from Rosie Luby, which contrasts nicely with Redwood’s aw-shucks delivery.

Tim Clarke

Grisha Shakhnes — Being There (Unfathomless)

being there by grisha shakhnes

Being There presents the listener with a document of actor, action and the arena in which the former enacts the latter. Essentially, Grisha Shakhnes recorded himself recording and recorded the room in which he was recording. Sometimes a recording device filters the subjects of his inquiry on the way to the recorder; while the sounds were captured by a Zoom digital recorded, some of them went through a Rvox reel-to-reel tape deck along the way. Equipped with the knowledge that you’re hearing Shakhnes making recordings, you quickly find yourself making decisions about what sounds to follow, and then dealing with the consequences of the choices you made as your act of following draws you into the chain of events that made the album in the first place. You are present with Shakhnes, sharing in the creation of Being There.

Bill Meyer

Six by Seven — Dream On (Cargo)

D R E A M . O N by six by seven

One of the great shoulda beens of 1990s British rock (on the other side of the Atlantic, it’s doubtful anyone not reading something like the NME at the time would have heard much of them), Six by Seven are also one of the few from that era to keep going in a way that’s not just repeating old glories. Now almost entirely just frontman Chris Olley (his son Charlie drums here, but otherwise it’s a solo show) you wouldn’t guess it from the massive, warmly analogue psychedelic/motorik drones and drifts here. Stylistically speaking, Olley can be a restless guy, never really revisiting the glory of Six by Seven’s first three albums (what you might call their classic period, and well worth checking out) but also covering an astonishing breadth during the years since. The recent Dream On is as good a place to dip into his stream of work as any, boasting three massive soundscapes (the best of which might be “And No One Knows Your Name” as well as briefer, dreamier song like “Hey Kid” and the title track. Both his muse and the demands of making music your day job keep Olley forever moving, though — even writing up this release was marked by the appearance of a double album-length Dream On 2, so anyone on Olley’s wavelength can expect a lot to keep up with.

Ian Mathers

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