#netflix z nation

[urmom973729]

If you like realistic disaster shows, multi POV stories, or zombies, PLEASE treat yourself to watching Black Summer. It's THE BEST zombie TV show that nobody is watching. A prequel to Z Natiom with a Netflix budget!!!!

unfortunately, I'll admit, the 3rd season was cancelled by netflix (of course) but I firmly believe that show should be watched for the PURE QUALITY ‼️‼️‼️

[helmstone]

Gen Z doesn't watch much broadcast TV

Gen Z doesn't watch much broadcast TV

Ofcom has published its Media Nation report for 2023, and it should come as no surprise to read how Gen Z prefers not to watch linear TV (in the UK) with under 50% tuning in weekly. YouTube is the big winner and Smart TVs the device of choice. You can read Ofcom’s summary here, and see how big events (coronations, sport…) still bring audiences together. Other observations include radio listening…

[raatart]

a complete boycott list in alphabetical order

a complete list of companies / brands / franchises to boycott in support of palestine that i have been working on putting together for a while now.

remember to support your local businesses

stand with palestine against genocide

(Food & Beverages)

A

Activia

Acqua Panna

Akmina

Absolute Vodka

Algida

A&W

Aquafina

Alpro

Actimel

B

Burger King

Baskin Robbins

Ben & Jerry's

Bugles

Betty Crocker

Badoit

Becel

C

Coca Cola

Costa Coffee

Cadbury

Cheerios

Cheetos

Campbells

Calve

Cappy

Chiquita

D

Dominos

Dasani

Dunkin' Donuts

Doritos

Dr Pepper

Danone

Dolcela

Damla

Dogadan

E

Evian

Eden

F

Fanta

Frito-lay

Fruit by the Foot Roll Ups

Falim

Fresca

G

Gatorade

Greggs

H

Hardees

Haagen Dazs

Heinz Ketchup

Hershey's

Hard Rock Cafe

Heinz

I

Innocent

Israeli Fruits & Vegetables

J

Jacob's

Jaffa

K

KitKat

KFC

Kbueno

Kraft Mac & Cheese

Kellogg's

Kraft

L

Lipton

Lays

M

McDonald's

Mars

Marks & Spencers

Maggi

Marila

Monster

Mountain Dew

Mehadrin

Minute Maid

Milk Bar

M&M's

Magnum Ice Cream

Milka Chocolates

N

Nestle

Nestle Cereals

Nescafe

Nesquik

Nespresso

Nido

Nutella

Nature Valley

Nestle Milo

Nestle Carnation

Nestle Coffee Mate

Nestle Nestum

Nimbooz

Nestea

O

Orea

Original Shredded Wheat

P

Papa John's

Pepsi

Pringles

Pizza Hut

Perrier

Pillsbury

Popeyes

Pretty a Manager

Pure Life

Powerade

Popup Bagels

Q

Quality Street

Quaker

R

Redbull

Ruffles

S

Starbucks

Subway

Smartwater

Sweetgreen

Snickers

Sprite

Sabra

Sunkist

Strauss

Smarties

S.pellegrino

Schweppes

Sana

Sirma

Sara Lee

T

Toblerone

Tang

Twix

Tesco

Tropicana

U

V

Vittle

Volvic

W

Wall's

Walmart

Walkers

Wrigley's

X

Y

Z

7Up

(Clothing)

A

America Eagle

Adidas

Alo

Adina Eden Jewelry

B

C

Converse

Calvin Klein

Cat

Castro

D

Drew

Diesel

E

F

G

Good American

GAP

H

H&M

I

J

K

Kamili

L

Levi's

Lumberjack

M

Mango

N

Nike

O

Oasis

P

Puma

Q

R

River Island

S

Skims

Skinny Dip

St. Mark

Style Nadia

T

Timberland

U

V

Victoria's Secret

Vakko

W

We Wore That

Wyeth

X

Y

Z

Zara

(Beauty)

A

Aveda

Amika

Avon

Aussie

Aveeno

Always

Aesop

Ahava

B

Bobbi Brown

Blistex

Bath & Body Works

Britney Spears Fragrance

Becca

Biotherm

Beauty Blender

C

Clinique

Covergirl

Colgate

Calgon

Camay

CeraVe

Christina Aguilera Perfumes

Clean & Clear

Crest

CND

Cacharel

D

Dr. Jart+

Dove

Dettol

Darphin Paris

Dark & Lovely

E

Essie

Elidor

F

Fenty Beauty

Fair & Lovely

G

Garnier

Gillette

Glam Glow

H

Honest Beauty

Haci Sakir

Herbal Essences

Head & Shoulders

Hugo Boss

I

J

Jo Malone

Johnson & Johnsom

K

Kerastase

Kiehl's

Kylie Cosmetics

Kylie Skin

Kotex

L

L'Oreal

Lacome

La Roche-Posey

Lifebuoy

Lux

Lubiderm

M

Maybelline

MAC

Moroccan Oil

Maui

Matrix

Max Factor

N

Nyx

Neutrogena

Nivea

Nature's Beauty

Niely

O

Olay

Origins

Orkid

Oral-B

Oax

P

Pepsodent

Pantene

Q

R

Revlon

Rimmel

Rexona

Rhode

S

Summer Fridays

Schick

Smashbox

Sephora

Sensodyne

Skinceuticals

Skin Better Science

T

The Body Shop

Too Faced Cosmetics

The Ordinary

Tom Ford Beauty

Tampax

Takami

U

Urban Decay

Ulta Beauty

V

Vichy

Vaseline

Veet

W

X

Y

Yes to

Yuesai

Z

(Luxury)

A

B

C

Chanel

D

E

Estee Lauder

F

G

Georgio Armani

H

I

J

K

L

LVMH

Louis Vuitton

La Mer

Lavs

Le Labo

M

Mugler

Maison Margiela

N

O

P

Prada

Q

R

Raplh Lauren

S

T

Tiffany & Co.

Tom Ford

Tommy Hilfiger

U

V

Valentino

W

X

Y

Yves Saint Laurent

Z

(Tech & Entertainment)

A

Aol

Amazon

AirBnB

Apple

B

BBC

Buxton

Barbie

Booking.com

C

CNN

D

Disney+

Dell

E

Energizer

F

Ford

Fiverr

G

Galaxy

H

HP

Hyundai

Hulu

I

IBM

Intel

J

K

L

Lego

M

Motorola

Movenpick

Mattel

Microsoft

N

National Geographic

Nokia

Netflix

O

Oracle

Oxi

P

Philips

Q

R

Rolls Royce

S

Siemens

Sodastream

T

Toys R Us

U

V

Volvo

Valvoline

W

Wix

X

Y

Z

(Other)

A

Axa

Ariel

Aero

Ambi Pur

Airwick

Aroma

AVC

Amway

Ace Hardware

Andrex

American Express

B

Bounty

Black & Decker

Bonux

Bref

Braun

Benadryl

Band-aid

Barclays

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Better Help

C

Caltex

Chevron

Culligan

Citi Bank

Chicco

Cravola

Clearblue

Capital One

D

Dash

Drynites

Dosmestos

Doona

E

Expedia

F

Finish

Febreeze

Fixodent

Fairy

G

Goop

Gerber

Gys

H

HSBC

Huggies

Hayat

I

Imodium

J

JCB

K

Kimberly-Clark

Kleenex

L

Lion

Little Swimmers

Lenor

M

Mr Muscle

Minidou

Monsanto

N

Nicorette

O

Omo

P

Pampers

Purina Felix

Payoneer

Palmolive

Protex

Pull-ups

P&G

Prima

Pril

Paramount Pictures

Q

R

Rejoice

Rinso

Rogaine

S

Signal

Sensus

Sudafed

T

Tide

U

Unilever

Us Cellular

V

Vim

Vanish

Vicks

W

X

Y

Yumus

Z

(Places)

A

B

C

D

Disney

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

(People)

A

Ashley Tisdale

Amy Schumer

Andy Beshear

B

Bono

Ben Savage

Bella Thorne

Beyonce

C

Chris Evans

Claire Holt

Ciara

Chris Rock

Chris Pine

D

Demi Lovato

Dwayne Johnson

DJ Khaled

E

Eva Longoria

F

G

Gal Gadot

H

I

Ian Somerhalder

J

Jamie Lee Curtis

James Maslow

Justin Bieber

Jennifer Aniston

Jaclyn Hill

Jack Harlow

Jordan Peele

Joseph Quinn

Jack Black

K

Kylie Jenner

Kim Kardashian

Kris Jenner

Kerry Washington

Katie Perry

Karlie Kloss

Khloe Kardashian

Kat Graham

Kendall Jenner

Kourtney Kardashian

L

Lebron James

Lana Condor

Lana Del Rey

M

Millie Bobby Brown

Malala

Mindy Kaling

Mark Hamill

Madonna

N

NFL

Nina Dobrev

Natalie Portman

Nabela

Nicole Richie

Noah Schnapp

O

Octovia Spencer

P

Perez Hilton

Paul Wesley

Phoebe Tonkin

Pia Mia

P!nk

Q

R

Ronaldinho

Rihanna

S

Sofia Richie

Shaquir O'neal

Selena Gomez

T

Tara Strong

Taika Waititi

Taylor Swift

Tyler Perry

U

Usher

U2

V

Vanessa Hudgens

Viola Davis

W

X

Y

Z

[eretzyisrael]

 Opinion

By MICHAEL KAYE   Published: FEBRUARY 28, 2024 03:04 THE WRITER speaks at a marketing conference in New York City wearing a #EndJewHatred T-shirt.(photo credit: COURTESY MICHAEL KAYE)

It’s been almost five months since October 7, a day that completely changed the lives of more than 15 million Jews around the world. But the aftermath of the attack is still present, months later. In many ways, it feels as though this nightmare just happened, while at other moments, it’s hard to remember what life was like before that day of terror.

I am not fluent in Hebrew. I do not wear a kippah. I have almost 30 tattoos. I am not your stereotypical Jew, but I have become a proud Jewish activist. But October 7 changed me, as it did many others. Who I was before is someone I can never be again. I cannot be complicit or silent. I donate to the Anti-Defamation League; I speak at conferences wearing an #EndJewHatred T-shirt; I never leave home without Jewish-themed jewelry; and I use my social media platforms to discuss the rising antisemitism on college campuses across the United States and around the world.

As someone who was educated at a Jewish school and learned about the Holocaust, I am no stranger to antisemitism or the dangerous impact it can have. My earliest memories include being taught by my parents to be proud but quiet about my Judaism, having swastikas carved on my school playground, being immediately evacuated on September 11, and always leaving my Star of David at home when traveling. 

During my childhood and teenage years, I heard from and met many Holocaust survivors, including Elie Wiesel. I listened to their stories about how the world remained silent.

Today, it feels like the beginning of a second Holocaust. That is why I cannot remain silent.

A scary time to be Jewish

For this Jewish New Yorker, it’s a scary time to be Jewish. The American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America report found that 93% of American Jews surveyed think antisemitism is a problem in the United States and 86% believe antisemitism in the country has increased over the past five years. 

In November, I attended the March for Israel in Washington. Around me were Jewish people from Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Diego, and Queens. A man from Brooklyn put tefillin (phylacteries) on me; it was the first time I had worn tefillin in almost 20 years. I even got to meet Julia Haart and Miriam Haart from Netflix’s My Unorthodox Life, who grew up in a religious community not too far from me. While there, I realized this gathering had the most Jews I’ve been around since I was in Israel in 2006. It was the safest I had felt in years. But there were also allies, including Congressman Ritchie Torres and CNN contributor Van Jones. That day reminded me of why I am proud to be Jewish and why I cannot be silent about my Judaism any longer.

Since October 7, I have lost hundreds of followers on social media. I have received anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages, even threats. But I am not alone. The AJC found that six in 10 people have come across antisemitic content online, and 78% of American Jews feel less safe as Jews in the United States since that horrific day.

To many of us, the current climate feels different. We’re feeling angry, confused, and isolated. In my lifetime, I have watched the nation unite after domestic and foreign terrorist attacks, social justice actions, and wars. Rarely, outside of politics, have I seen us this divided: the Jewish community against everyone else. Overnight, people who had never spoken about any Middle Eastern wars became experts on the conflict. Disinformation spread like wildfire across social media, and much of it felt aimed at damaging or discrediting Jews and Zionists. Almost immediately after October 7, it was not only taboo to express sympathy for the Israelis who were captured or murdered; it was discouraged and forbidden, often met with attacks, both physical and verbal.

BUT THROUGH these painful months, there have also been glimmers of light.

During this period of mourning, I have watched people of all backgrounds come together – to educate, to grieve, to hope, and to pray. A Christian connection on social media thanked me for sharing educational resources. Jewish friends from elementary school and high school reached out. A Muslim friend held my hand as I cried, and another has been checking on me periodically for months. These are the moments I have chosen to cling to.

Our future is not where one side loses and another wins. It’s where we all unite.

The writer is an award-winning communications strategist, data storyteller, purpose-driven marketer, and educator based in New York City. He often speaks about antisemitism, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice issues.

[ruvviks]

// favorite female character poll.

tagged by; @elgaravel, thank you so much!!

tagging; anyone who wants to do this, i think i'm late to the party so i have no idea who has already done this ;_;

rules: make a poll of your favourite female characters (no limits - as many or as little as you want) and see which your followers like the most!

[natlacentral]

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Crown Prince Dallas Liu Had Elliott Smith on his Zuko Playlist

With the Netflix show officially renewed for two more seasons, the actor talks to GQ about his personal style, his cult series PEN15, and bending lightning.

Before he found his calling, Avatar: The Last Airbender star Dallas Liu considered becoming a stuntman. But when Liu was only 12 years old, his soon-to-be manager discovered his competition videos on YouTube and asked him if he'd ever thought about acting. The answer was yes: “Martial arts had definitely inspired me to become an actor, because of the performance aspect of it,” Liu tells GQ from his home in California.

Now, at 22, Liu’s credits include a Gen-Z cult comedy (PEN15) and a high-profile Marvel film (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.) He’s been able to channel his eclectic background to play the complicated villain at the center of the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, Fire Nation royal Prince Zuko.

A few weeks before Netflix announced that Avatar had been renewed for a second and third season, Liu talked to GQ about how playing Prince Zuko changed him, his love of A24 films, and the Pen15 renaissance.

Were there any Avatar scenes that you were really excited to film?

All of the flashbacks. All of episode six was super fun, but specifically the scene between Aang and Zuko in that shed after an escape. And then, when Zuko sort of blows up at Zhao, at the fight at the Northern Water tribe.

The writers had given me a lot of good stuff to work with, and so I was just happy that in our show Zuko gets a character arc. In the first season of the animated series, he’s sort of one-note and quite melodramatic in each scene—he's sort of being repetitive about his motives. [But] he was always my favorite character as a kid. I just loved Zuko. Being able to play him was a dream come true.

I saw in another interview that you said that it was great to humanize him. Was there anything that you kind of discovered about yourself through playing Zuko, because he's such a complicated character?

Yeah, since he’s so complex, playing him opened up my heart while I was off-set. When I had originally arrived in Vancouver to work on the show, I was similar to Zuko in that I was very narrow-minded in what I wanted to do, in terms of how I wanted to be an actor on set. I thought this was my one opportunity in life to prove to the people that I have a spot in this industry.

I was like, I'm focused on my work, do my job, go home, rest, and just take care of myself. And throughout that process, that's what it feels like with Zuko and Iroh. Zuko is like, "I'm just going to capture the Avatar, and then return them to my father and then I get to go home." And we see that that's not the case.

There are so many things that are involved in this journey that Zuko and Iroh go on, and something that I felt was my relationship with the other cast members and with the crew members started to grow. I found myself wanting to open up my heart and share this experience with them, and share all the love that I had inside of me that I had been trying to hold back on.

If you were not playing a character from the Fire Nation, what powers would you want to have personally?

Oh, it still definitely would be fire. It’s the most aesthetically-pleasing one in my opinion. In the world of Avatar, you can start to manipulate other elements once you become a master of that base one, and I think lightning is something that I've always thought would be super cool to bend. I think fire represents me, my heart.

What's your Zodiac sign?

I'm a Leo.

That adds up.

Wait, why?

Leo is a fire sign!

Oh, yeah, that's true!

Have you seen the TikToks about the Pen15 renaissance?

During my time shooting it, Pen15 was still blowing up. It's been on this continuous rise, which I'm so happy because that show—now it's really, really popular. But at the time, it was so underrated. I was still tapping into a younger version of myself on that series. But [for Avatar] I took inspiration from watching Maya and Anna act out as kids, for Zuko being an innocent child himself in the war meetings, in that first scene with Uncle Iroh in episode six.

I mean, you were still a kid. You were 16. That's a child.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I guess it's a lot closer to Zuko, and that he doesn't think he is.

Did you really shave your head for this, or did you do a bald cap?

Given that we were trying to stay faithful to the original and what it represented in the show, I thought it was extremely important for me to shave my head. I had a choice. I won't get into what it represents so much, but you get to see a little bit in some of the Avatar lore that exists outside of our series. But it gets you into character so much because it pisses you off so badly every morning. Waking up on the weekends when I'm not working and I just want to go out, I have to throw on a beanie. But waking up and staring at myself—This is my life now, this is who I am—I think it certainly got me into character very easily.

I really liked your red velvet suit at the premiere. How has your style evolved from your younger years to now?

My mom has always been my biggest fashion influence. She's the one who sort of turned me into this picky critic when it comes to outfits and clothes. Even when I was younger, I wouldn't ever let her pick out my outfits. And because I didn't let that happen, I ended up looking really stupid and goofy a lot of the time.

But I think everyone starts in sneakers—very common, especially for guys. You start with basketball shoes, and then you transition into Jordans, and then you transition into some form of streetwear after that. And at that point, you could go, I think, either into this world of vintage or archive clothing, or obviously, people love designer clothing and mixing up that world of streetwear with that.

But for me, I think I just really elevated basics. My style has just become less about brands, obviously, and more about quality. I'm 22 now, so I'm paying for all of this stuff myself. So I'm like, is this worth it? Am I going to be fine without this? On carpets for the Avatar premiere, I wanted to go all out. When I'm in real life, I just stick to all black and different shades of gray.

Did you make a playlist for Zuko, his character to get into character?

I did, but at some point, I stopped using it just because I sort of found my groove from the character. But some artists that were in there were Elliot Smith and Duster.

Which Elliot Smith songs did you put on there?

“Between the Bars.” And just all of his most popular stuff for sure, because especially “Between the Bars” relates to some part of Zuko's life, whether it was his actual scar banishment or catching the Avatar.

Are there any genres you want to dabble in next?

I honestly love drama so much. Obviously, the new Dune film just came out and I just love Denis [Villeneuve]. Every actor, I feel like can agree with me on [that]—and that we want to do an A24 film. But honestly, I'm still just trying to take any work that I can get, because I do want to show my range as an actor. I'd love to work with Willem Defoe on something, that'd be cool. So, just projects that are grounded, but have a stylistic element that separates it from Hollywood blockbusters.

[sonofjeddah]

Thank You, Peter Cullen, from Saudi Arabia

On December 17, voice actor Peter Cullen received Life Time Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for his contributions towards character development through voice acting

He is a legend for every Transformers fan out there (including me and many like me in Saudi Arabia) for being the voice of Optimus Prime. He has been the voice of the Autobot leader since the time when Hasbro partnered with Marvel to produce Transformers content in the form of comics and animated series (with Sunbow Productions)

Transformers' Saudi fandom first came across their content in 1989 as a VHS 📼 (sold by Almansour Video). The title of it was:

This was a pivotal moment. Not only were the kids introduced to one of Hasbro's most successful franchises but they would also learn that sometimes, even the good guys end up dead in their quest for justice and freedom. The scenes of Optimus Prime's death in this feature shook the kids down to the core. I still get teary-eyed when I see Prime on his deathbed saying:

"Do not grieve. Soon...I will be one with the Matrix"

This scene and the dialogues within, the conveying of emotions by Peter Cullen made the kids fans of Optimus for decades to come. But this wasn't the first time kids in Saudi Arabia came across Cullen's work

In 1979, a Hanna Barbera animated series slowly made its way to Saudi TV around 1982 and continued till '85. The series was Mighty Man and Yukk, a story of a superhero and his ugly dog (weird plot, I know) and in it, Peter Cullen and his long-time colleague, as well as friend Frank Welker, were the main voice actors with Cullen being Mighty Man while Welker being Yukk. Suffice it to say that it was one of the most popular animated series in the country but we never paid attention to credits since we were mostly school-going kids in KG or Primary at max

But what it did was introduce us to Cullen's voice acting before we actually came to know his name later in life

While today's generation of Millenials to Gen Z might know him from the latest Transformers productions in Hollywood, on Netflix, or video games, we the 80s fandom will always remember Peter Cullen for Mighty Man and Transformers, even though his body of work goes back to Sonny and Cher show and covers even children's features like Winnie the Pooh in which he voiced Eeyore

I hope one day we get to host him in Jeddah

FUN FACT: Peter Cullen is also the voice behind Ironhide in the Transformers G1 animated series

[heavenboy09]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To 1 Of The Most Unique & Quirky But So Dark & Kooky Unforgettable Dark Haired Child Star Actress Of The 90's 👩🏻🖤🇮🇹

Born On February 12th,1980

She is an American actress known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge. Ricci works mostly in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box-office hits. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Starring In Roles at a Early age that were mostly Unusual Characters with a Dark Edge.

Ricci made her film debut at the age of nine in Mermaids (1990), which was followed by a breakout role as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family (1991). Subsequent roles in Casper and Now and Then (both 1995) established her as a teen idol. At 17, she moved into adult-oriented independent projects such as The Ice Storm (1997), Buffalo '66, The Opposite of Sex, Pecker (all 1998), Prozac Nation (2001), Pumpkin (2002), and Monster (2003).

On television, Ricci played Liza Bump on the fifth and final season of Ally McBeal (2002) and had a guest role on Grey's Anatomy in 2006, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. She also starred on ABC's Pan Am (2011–2012), produced and starred in the series The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015) and Z: The Beginning of Everything (2017), and appeared as Marilyn Thornhill on the first season of Netflix's Wednesday in 2022. Ricci has played Misty Quigley on Showtime's Yellowjackets since 2021, receiving nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She voiced Catwoman / Selina Kyle in the animated series Batman: Caped Crusader (2024).

In 2010, Ricci made her Broadway debut in the Donald Margulies play Time Stands Still. She is the national spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

Please Wish This Magnificent Dark Raven Haired Child Star Actress 👩🏻🖤🇮🇹Of The 90's & 1 Of My Top 5 Celebrity Crushes Growing Up, A Very Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

You Know Her Since She A Kid Acting The Best Of The Best Movies Of The 90's

You Seen Her Grow Up & Become a Recognizable Face & Voice In Every Form Of Hollywood Mainstream Entertainment

& She was & Still Is So Fine & Kooky But Oh So Spooky & I Loved Her Since 95

The 1 & The Only

MS. CHRISTINA RICCI 👩🏻🖤🇮🇹 Christina Ricci

Happy 45th Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To You Ms. Ricci 👩🏻🖤🇮🇹 & Here's To Many More Years To Come

#ChristinaRicci #WednesdayAddams #HarveyKat #MistyQuigley #MarilynThornhill #TheAddamsFamily #Casper #YellowJackets #Wednesday

[nickmillermit]

What can home theaters teach us about CX?

Can I share a secret with you? Well, I'm a bit of an audiophile -- which is the snobby way of saying that I really like high-end (see: expensive) audio gear. Whether I'm strolling to class listening on my Sennheiser cans, at home A/B testing my Fender CS 1963 Strat through a pair of Amplified Nation and Dr. Z cabinets, or just sitting on my couch watching Netflix at my home theater...I like to listen, a lot, and I like to listen LOUDLY.

But you know what I don't like? Like, really, really don't like? The process of buying this very gear that I love so much. In fact, I get anxiety just thinking about trying to mix and match speaker impedance levels, amplifier power ratings, and frequency response curves. Even worse is when the damn package finally shows up at my door and I find myself in a labyrinth of instruction manuals, cable snakes, and an array of switches or vaguely named controls that look like the cockpit of 747.

As Adam Richardson says in his HBR article on customer journeys, this experience should be "plug and play" but in reality is more "plug and pray." But why does the experience for such amazing products often suck?

The concept of mapping out a customer's journey from "cradle to grave" is something that many businesses are either A) not doing, or B) not good at doing. As the global economy has turned decidedly digital, many e-commerce providers have seemingly focused on selling top-tier products at the expense of creating world-class experiences. Whether it be due to cost compression, commoditization, increased competition, more efficient buying processes, or none or all of these things, the customer is the one suffering from a worsening experience.

Richardson's take on the use of customer journey maps to improve the end-to-end experience therefore hits home for me. The essence of it all is simple: understanding the step-by-step saga customers endure, often represented visually, from the initial allure of product research through the maze of its acquisition and implementation/setup, to the eventual daily use and beyond. This journey, ideally, should be a seamless adventure with proper customer support at key junctures.

Retailers and manufacturers, let me be loud and clear: you need to embed the customer's voice and experience into every product and process. This isn't just about solving problems -- it's about anticipating them, and designing experiences that preempt confusion and frustration. Next time you start creating a new product, take the time to interview customers, understand their journeys, and learn what it's like to research, purchase, use, and maintain or repair your items. All that's at stake is your entire brand.

As someone who lives and breathes for the joys of experiencing high-fi sound, I dream of a day when the end-to-end process of setting up my sound systems is as smooth as Stevie Wonder. Let's just hope the industry is listening....

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

I decided to ask around on all the fish/ocean blogs I follow: how do you learn more about the ocean?? I love the ocean and I really wanna learn more about my favorite sea creatures and beyond but I have no idea how to get started. Are there documentaries or shows your recommend? How do you go about doing research for fun (the American school system has failed me, go figure)? How do you even remember it all? I crave to learn but where I could possibly start is as vast as the ocean itself.

What a fun question! It is admittedly a bit difficult to go back to the beginning of my ocean-learning days, since I can't remember a time when I wasn't super into water and aquatic things, but I'll try! I think I started learning about oceans through books, I'd read and borrow a lot of fish and marine biology books at the library. I think they're the very best place to look to at first if you struggle with the paralysis of having too many things to do or too many places to look from! Libraries are really good sources of information, but unlike the internet, the resources are finite in some way, they're on physical paper, and tied to the place itself (until you take them home of course!), which at least to me makes it easier to start looking for what I want to know more about. Libraries make it easier for me to read things too, I get very distracted at home. Only when I am in the peace and quiet in between the bookshelves can I focus!

Another place that was no doubt a source of learning for me was natural history museums and aquariums. I was (..am) obsessed with the Finnish Museum of Natural History specifically, it was a must-visit every time we went to the capital city area up until the pandemic. Aquariums we went to less so, but the education they provide there is a gem! Sometimes you can even talk to an employee if you're lucky enough and learn extra bits of information about things. Not always free like libraries, but worth a shot if you get the opportunities to visit.

I've also watched and still watch marine/freshwater life documentaries and other educational shows! Usually I'd opportunistically go and watch them whenever one popped up on the TV, instead of going out to find them myself. This, and the fact that it's been many years since I saw some, I can't recall many of the names of the documentaries I've seen! There were some about dolphins and their fascinating behaviour and hunting habits, and this cool documentary series that divided its episodes into two parts with pure opposite climates and cultures with opposite lifestyles, but I can't seem to find the ones I'm thinking of!!! ...Ah, well. I can recommend you Planet Earth (2006), The Blue Planet (2001) and Blue Planet II (2017) from BBC, and Life on Our Planet (2023) which I'm currently watching on Netflix! Secrets of the Whales (2021) from National Geographic I didn't quite finish but it was still quite interesting, focuses on four species of whales.

As for doing my research... well, once I was old enough to get on the internet and I was super duper fixated on a specific species of animal or a group of animals, I'd do this thing where I look up the animal's name and slowly start going through every website that popped up, in order, bookmarking the websites with the most or most interesting information. I still do it. I don't know if it's the "correct" way, could there even be a correct way..? I doubt it, and it does give you many sources to reference with each other! I also like to look through videos of these animals, but, that's probably a given. If you're looking for fish info specifically, I like to fall back on FishBase, SeriouslyFish and A-Z Animals when I'm unsure about something (besides checking multiple sources), as far as I know they're trustworthy.

When it comes to remembering, I unfortunately cannot offer you any tips! I am fortunate in that I have naturally good memory and absorb information with relative ease, so I don't really have any tips for remembering things... though I do like to sort large batches of information into charts, like how I did when I was learning to take care of my shrimp! I looked through several websites and collected the suggested parameters from each, and compared them with each other. I did the same thing when I was making my informational comic about bigfin squids, I collected the depths and places in which squids were spotted in into charts. Perhaps that is helpful in some way!

So! TL;DR, libraries, documentaries, museums, aquariums, just plain old internet research. I hope this helps you in some way!!! <33 Well wishes from the fishes!

[tachvintlogic]

Can I hear about your Zuko Li story?

-Faer

I wrote it *check the date created on the document* 2 years ago. I think it was around the time that Atla was getting a renaissance because the animated show was on Netflix. It's about a man and a woman who are regulars at the Pao Family Tea House, the first tea shop Iroh and Zuko worked at in Ba Sing Sei.

They speculate about the origin of Iroh Mushi and Zuko Li and how they ended up here when they're clearly ethnically Fire Nation based on their eye color. Their theory is very plausible with the information they have. Only dialogue is written, with letters to denote who's talking.

This snippet is about half of it.

----------

“Tea here is so good. Tea in the lower Ring has been sorely lacking until Mushi started here.” w

“Yes, his son Li is such a nice boy, too.” m

“Oh no, Li isn’t his son, he’s his nephew.” w

“Hmm, where are his parents then?” m

“Well, his parents probably… didn’t make it here. Refugees. You know how it is.” w

“Oh. Oh dear. …Do… do you think maybe it has something to do with Li’s scar?” m

“It seems likely. It was probably from a firebender.” w

“Hmm, actually speaking of firebenders, don’t you think that Li kind of looks like one? I mean, he doesn’t look like he was from the earth kingdom.” m

“Well that may be true…” w

“Shh! He’s coming.” m

“Here is your tea sir and ma’am.” z

“…” w

“…Well, those are definitely fire nation yellow eyes.” m

“Is it just me, or does his scar look like a palm?” w

“You think so?” m

“Yes. It looks like some firebender had a flame in their hand, and pressed it against his face, and just… held it there.” w

“Oh my, that sounds awful, why would—oh. Oh no.” m

“What is it?” w

“If I’m right, Li isn’t from the Fire Nation. But… I think his father is. Maybe a soldier got a little handsy while raiding a village and, well, Li is unfortunate enough to take after his father. Or his mother. It could be his mother, but if it was, he’d probably be in the Fire Nation and not here.” m

“You think his father did that to him?” w

“Instead of leaving his bastard child running around looking like him? He was probably trying to kill poor Li, and his mother didn’t survive” m

“And now her brother is the only family he has left.”  w

“Exactly.” m

“…” w

“Actually, that theory doesn’t make sense. Because Mushi also looks of Fire Nation origin. Never mind.” M

“Oh no, that actually also works.” W

“Really?” m

“Yes. Think about it. A fire nation soldier found out about his bastard child. He goes to the mother’s house, kills her, and is going to kill her son by burning his face. How does Li survive? The only way that makes sense is if someone was there to stop him, like, say, a fellow soldier. His brother even. Mushi sees Li, realizes that’s his brother’s son, and stops his brother from killing the boy. He deserts the army in disgust and decides to raise poor Li himself.” w

“You know that actually sounds plausible. Maybe we should ask…” m

“Oh no. I doubt they’re comfortable talking about it. I wouldn’t want to intrude.” w

“Yes of course." M

[vro0m]

You were there during the aftermath of 2021. From what I get from the veterans it was hell.

Me I'm kinda new to the fandom. See,I knew about Lewis in about 2017-2018 because I was following Jourdan Dunn and Olivier Rousteing (Balmain) on Insta , and there was this Balmain campaign. So I saw him and let me be real, he looked like that typical lightskin man who is a fuckboy, party like Neymar, is toxic and will live you wahala back, front, left, right, up down and center. So it was a pass.

Then comes I think the time around may 2022 i got interested in knowing who is Lewis Hamilton. Prior to that some aesthetic blog non F1 related blog that were my mutuals and could not name one F1 driver beside him, so in my head this was already a fine fine boy.

I am going to be honest with you I'm not a Lewis fan because of F1 but because of his influence outside of F1 (things like his Tommy gig, Balmain, his appearances in celebrity events like the Met Gala). The main reason I became a fan is because he is handsome and dress well and is an A-list celebrity, so even if you think Formula 1 is a brand of baby food, you know who that man is. Plus as a Black woman I gotta support the only Black man in the sport, so.

But again I joined F1blr in 2022. And let me tell you: it was a mess. Drama everywhere, fandoms war everywhere, racism everywhere and on top of that I do not even understand how a car works! It made me feel like I was Beyoncé and Jay Z had just cheated on me: the fandom was giving me chest pain because I had to defend a 37 years old man's legacy to strangers who had babies with their fave driver in delululand.

Fortunately for me, I remembered that blocking people and filtering tags is something. So now my experience is enjoyable. Also, when and why did you become a Lewis fan (si tu en es une, parce que je viens de me rappeler que tu parles français et que j'aurais juste pu écrire en français dès le début 😩)

Sorry pour le long pavé là

Yeah but comme ça tout le monde comprend c'est plus convivial mdr

Okay so here's how it came to be for me. I was watching My next guest needs no introduction with David Letterman on Netflix in 2019. Loving it. Season 2 episode 3 was Tiffany Haddish. I was getting close to the end of the episode, so I took a peek at who's next. "Lewis Hamilton". 🤔 sounds vaguely familiar, I'm like who's that. Read the summary : "World champion Formula One driver..." I go : "aww no fuck that who cares about Formula One". But I'm nothing if not curious. I didn't know who Tiffany Haddish was either. I still watched. I still learnt. I still enjoyed. I think "whatever, if it's boring I'll skip it". It wasn't boring.

First of all same as you he got my attention because he's hot. No way around it. Second of all he got my attention because he explains F1 isn't just sitting in a car, that it's super hard, that it's an actual sport. Third of all he got my attention because he was endearing af. He talks excitedly and knows his shit. He takes David Letterman for a ride and they break a car. He makes his dad stand up from his seat in the audience so everyone can applaud him for everything he did for his son. (Gifs : 1 - 2 - 3) I'm like seriously : WHO'S THAT.

And, I repeat, I'm nothing if not curious so I think "eh, I guess I don't know shit about F1 and it's not what I thought. Maybe I should watch a race." Pour mourir moins con, comme on dit. So I look it up. When's the next race. Oh this sunday. I'm not very busy on sundays. Where can I watch it. Oh they broadcast it on national tv for free. How convenient.

I watch the race. Here I am almost 4 years later. I came for Lewis, I stayed, extremely weirdly, for the sport.

[dropintomanga]

I'm Happy for One Piece Fans

It's an understatement to say that this is a great time to be a One Piece fan in the West.

From One Piece Film Red ads taking over Times Square in 2022 to Monkey D. Luffy getting his own balloon for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City to the National Football League even doing a collaboration with the franchise for one of their games, this has been an incredible journey for a series that struggled to break through in my part of the world for a long time.

And let's not forget about the live-action Netflix adaptation which doesn't suck!

I think back to when I started this blog back in 2010, Naruto and BLEACH got most fans' attention compared to One Piece. I never really gave One Piece a chance because everyone around me was either a Naruto or BLEACH fan. Plus there were other series like Death Note that took center stage.

I mostly wrote about Naruto and BLEACH characters. However, I did write this post in 2011 about One Piece's popularity among adults in Japan. It's one of my most-read posts to this day.

While I wrote in the post that I started after a big time-skip, I gave up afterwards after several chapters. The series didn't stick with me.

I wonder what happened in the last 3-4 years that made One Piece finally blow up in America. 10 years ago, One Piece probably sold alright here, but nothing compared to the other mainstream shonen titles. Over the past 2-3 years and despite being now over 100 volumes, One Piece is now placing in top 20 manga charts in sales consistently.

And then I read about the Wano Country arc. It also helped that the Viz Shonen Jump app was starting to slowly take off around 2019 when they decided to have chapters released the same day as Japan. So now, everyone can get in on the fun. Fans got the see the events of Wano play out over time. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic helped as everyone bought manga and watched anime to kill time.

But I still feel it mostly has to do with what went happened in Wano. I decided to research the arc and I was left with this.

1.) The longest arc ever in the series.

2.) A lot of significant stuff happened.

3.) Gear 5. 'Nuff said.

4.) Luffy is literally one step away from becoming the King of the Pirates.

I did hear that Wano was probably a homage to Japan, so adding a sense of Eastern flair to a mostly Western theme (pirates) helps.

I give props to the fans who stuck with the series and have felt ignored until these past few years. They did their best to promote One Piece even if it fell on a bunch of deaf ears at times. I personally know people who swore by One Piece since the start. To see it now as big as Dragon Ball Z in America in 2023 is incredible.

The One Piece community deserves this. Patience truly is a virtue here and it was rewarded. I can't wait to see what Eiichiro Oda, Toei Animation and Bandai will do next for you guys for the potential endgame.

[chaisshitposts]

hii!

do you have any show recs? preferably any that arent centred around romance

hmm... what kinda shows are we talkin' about, anonnie? cause I mean, I got quite a lot of anime recommendations and beyond. Oh and I don't have cable... heh I watch lots of comedy, action, angst, mystery, and borderline psychotic stuff sooOoOOOoO 🚶I mean I can give a few rn off the top of my head

for anime -> JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Magic & Muscles, Zom 100, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., Demon Slayer... I can't think of anymore 😭

western shows -> Z Nation, iZombie, Black Mirror these are all on Netflix. Adventure time, Fiona and Cake, Regular Show, Chowder, The Misadventures of Flapjack, Courage the Cowardly Dog (I watch a lot of animated shows... I can't help it, they're comforting)

k-dramas -> Uncanny Encounters (super good, a second season just dropped and it's on Netflix), All of Us Are Dead (also on Netflix), HOME (absolutely one of my top tens and it's so fuckin' good it's also on Netflix, I think it's based on a webtoon) I can't even think of any other K-Dramas without romance cry bc that's all I watch

[qualitytrees]

Top Nine People You Want to Get to Know Better

thanks @underthepiano for the tag <3

favorite color: green. specifically olive, but I like all the different shades/variations except for the super bright eyestrain-y ones

currently reading: the red badge of courage by stephen crane. I'm into history, especially military history, so, as one of the first modern american war novels, it has been on my list for a while

last series: z nation. started it cause my ex showed it to me when we were dating ~two years ago and only just got around to finishing it earlier this year cause it was about to be taken off of netflix

last song: nochentera by vicco

sweet, savory, or spicy? savory

currently working on: duolingo spanish streak (17 days, lol). all the bs that comes with being the training officer at my volunteer agency (I love the place, I promise, but there is so much that we don't have a process for/policy on or is stright up missing, alas, we eat the elephant one bite at a time). going back to school this fall, hopefully (dropped out in my early 20s and I'm praying I have the maturity to make it this time). all the job applications that come with being a newly certified paramedic

tagging, only if yall want to: @go-sullivan @kasadilla11 @oldtshirtsouls @risingatlas @sandstonesunspear @avidreaderffn

+ any mutuals I have forgotten (my memory is swiss cheese)