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iamanartichoke · 4 years ago

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(This post was inspired by a recent post by @kayura-sanada that I was going to reblog, but my own addition became so long and, frankly, off-topic to the original post’s content that I figured it was fairer to create my own post. But theOP I’m referring to can be found here and is a good read.)

Okay, so: this is a wonderful analysis of Tony Stark, @kayura-sanada, and I agree that it’s concerning seeing this written by a psychologist (although I think there has to be a little wiggle room in the fact that said psychologist is basing their diagnosis on their own interpretation, and - I would hope - it would probably change if Tony Stark were a real person who was their patient. I gotta hope that).

I agree with all of your overall points regarding Tony, but I wanted to reblog this specifically because this post is such a perfect example of a larger problem within fandom and fandom wank. The problem is that fictional characters can be interpreted any way you want, sure, but there’s a line between supporting your interpretation with evidence from the source, and supporting your interpretation with stuff you just kinda made up. There is a right and a wrong interpretation.

Here’s what I saw happen with this post: your response to the OP is lengthy because it dissects the OP bit-by-bit; it responds to the claims made in those bits with evidence from the films that supports a completely opposite interpretation of the character. And the response you got largely ignores all of that evidence and analysis in favor of a surface-deep response about open interpretations and how it’s “all just fiction anyway.”

And I see the same pattern repeat itself over and over in fandom:

“Character A is Trait B and that’s why they do Actions C, D, and E.”

“Actually, character A is more Trait F, and examples of Trait F are shown in Action G, H, and I.”

“Okay, but when they do Action H, they’re responding to Event J, but with Actions C and E, they clearly demonstrate Trait B, along with Trait K and L.”

“Well, but, saying they are/have Trait K is kind of a reach, and when they did Action H it was out of character, because in the same situation in previous films, they responded to Event J in a different way. For example, .....” (long post)

“I’m not reading all of that, it’s open to interpretation, and it’s just fiction anyway.”

Later, rinse, repeat.

And it’s like, look, yes, you can interpret the characters however you want. Fandom is supposed to be a fun, engaging space where fans are inspired to create new works and discuss all aspects of the source. Headcanons exists because of open character interpretation. Shipping exists because of open character interpretation. Rarepairs and alternate universes and ‘there was only one bed!’ and lots of tropes exist because of open character interpretation.

Without that open freedom to engage with the source/characters in whatever way makes you happy, fandom wouldn’t be what it is, and I would never want to discourage that.

That all said, it is possible that someone’s interpretation is wrong. That the way they imagine the character or the way they’re interpreting the character’s words and actions is a contrast to what’s really supposed to be going on in the scene or with the overall arc. The wrongness can come from any number of things - interpreation being colored by personal experience, preferences, projection, whatever.

In the case above, the psychiatrist is viewing Tony Stark through a lens of what they already decided the character is: a case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. They took that lens and picked out (vague) examples of how the character portrays those traits.

This is fine. If that person wants to think Tony is a narcissist and that’s how they want to engage with the character and subsequent works (pretending that this was a meta post instead of a published article), then that’s their prerogative.

But upon closer analysis, the original interpretation kinda falls apart. The contrasting analysis takes a deeper look at the material and says, I don’t think what you’re saying is going on here is actually what’s going on here, and this is why.

But people don’t want to be told they’re wrong, especially in a fandom space, especially with something they hold dear to them (as interpretations can be intensely personal, and I know this). When the two interpretations clash, and one interpretation doesn’t really hold up to closer analysis, then suddenly, being critical of the source equates to disliking the source, and analysis is reduced to people just being negative and wanting to find things wrong with the source. Disagreeing with someone’s interpretation is taken as a personal attack. People get offended personally. The discussion devolves into ugly rhetoric, insults, or simply dismissiveness (”that’s nice but whatever,” “it’s just fiction,” etc).

And you might say, well, if you think someone’s interpretation is wrong, why are you trying to rain on their parade? Why are you trying to prove them wrong? Let people enjoy things! Let people fandom how they want! Let people write and create and be inspired in their own way!

To which I say, absolutely! Please, continue to enjoy the Thing and your interpretation of it. Continue to create through the lens of that interpretation. Create what makes you happy, fandom however you want to. I am a big proponent of “fandom and let fandom.” What other people like and dislike makes very little difference to me, and I’m certainly not under any illusion that everyone must see things the way that I see them or else they are Doing it Wrong. Nor do I take it personally if someone doesn’t agree with my take.

None of that is my point. My point is that it becomes an issue that splinters and fractures fandom spaces when criticism and discussion are discouraged, when long analysis posts are mocked, when threads are hijacked, when it gets to a point where disagreeing with someone’s take on a Thing cancels them - to you - as a person. Because you miss out. You miss out on discussion, and on engaging with creative fanworks, and widening your fandom circle.

Instead, the circle just narrows, and there’s an underlying sense of hostility that colors every interaction you have. And it makes it not fun for anyone.

People need to be more open to the idea that there is, in fact, a right and a wrong side to most arguments. They need to be willing to defend their argument in a way that holds up and, if they don’t want to defend their interpretation, that’s fine - more power to you - but they need to then stop making fun of and being generally shitty to those who disagree.

People need to stop pretending that analysis and critical thinking don’t matter. They need to stop pretending that “fiction” is this vague concept that has no bearing on the real world and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Fiction shapes our world, and art imitates life. Being unable to think critically about fiction indicates a larger issue of being unable to think critically about the things that do matter in the real world, like science and poltiics.

Just look at what this country has become. Each side believes it is the correct side, the “winning” side, but one of them is supported with verifiable facts and evidence and one isn’t, and when the one that isn’t is confronted with the fact that they are wrong, they either dismiss the argument entirely or go and find “alternative facts” from unreliable sources they can point to and say, see? A, B, C, D, and E may say I’m wrong, but F says I’m right, so fuck you.

I’m certainly not saying that fandom should be taken as seriously as politics, but I am saying that if people were more amenable to changing their minds or even just recognizing that criticism isn’t an attack and it’s not personal if someone dislikes a Thing that you feel passionate about - or vice versa - then maybe we’d have a better fandom space for all to enjoy.

And I do try not to be a hypocrite. I am open to changing my mind on positions I’ve taken in fandom - if the analysis and the evidence convince me that there’s another way to look at it. If someone is telling me I’m wrong, and they tell me why it’s wrong (yes, in detail), then I’m more than happy to take a second look. Maybe it will change my mind; maybe it will simply be something I’m cognizant of while I continue to enjoy the material in the way that’s most fun for me. Either way, I’m not trying to hold fandom as a whole to any kind of standard I wouldn’t also expect myself to meet.

That being said, this post is 90% me venting. Ironically, I don’t expect this to change anyone’s mind. I’m not saying there’s any one solution that will work for everybody or even that everyone sees a problem that needs solving. I’m just saying that I don’t enjoy fandom as much as I used to, and this particular pattern of "wank” (for lack of a better word) is the reason why.

#i may get hate #i may not have made my point #i may not have expressed myself well #but i DID need to get this off my chest #and the OP i referred to triggered a response bc it has been building for me for awhile #btw i am not referring to any particular discourse within the fandom #it is not directed at a Certain Divisive Film #it's rather just an overall problem that i see bc you could replace one discourse train #with another with a different film different characters whatever #and have these exact same issues #anyway there we are #delete later?#long post #tag rambles #fandom wank #the $0.02 no one asked for (but i will donate it anyway)#i'm legitimately afraid to post this lmfao

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trashfoundation · 5 years ago

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((ooc: smiley is denying that they were the one to introduce the dookieweenie thing and send the bees. these are the only falsehoods they are intentionally

Ggghhh. If the cat's out of the bag, then I need to make sure it lands on its feet. This is going to take more than the askbox character limit to answer, I can tell, so fuck it, submission box time. =/

#1: Fuck if I know, I think it's because he got attached.

Things will make more sense if I answer #3 before #2, so here goes.

You know how part of your motto is "well, at least we're not lolFoundation"? You were - he was - basically lolBright, except actually competent. Unfortunately, these were not mutually exclusive. He was also... hm. No, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. You were the one who wiped out the Groups of Interest. Take a moment to let that sink in. >=l

On to #2 part 1. Events took place that led to you questioning the secret. I say 'events' because I'm looking at the logs I backed up right now and I still can't figure out how things got from point A to point Z. 447 was involved, as were loose lips and an attempt at censorship that apparently just made things worse? =/

You decided to recruit Iceberg by dangling the promise of promotion in front of his nose in exchange for "restor[ing you] to the way [you were] before".

This is where the answers to #2 and #3 start mixing together.

Basically what happens next was, Iceberg snapped his fingers and granted the request without bothering to do any critical thinking.

Then you killed him.

Then you evicted Clef from reality.

Kondraki had the good fortune to be on the normal plane when shit started going down.

You started talking about 'bringing things back' to 'the way they were supposed to be'. This was the CK-class scenario everyone's been vagueing.

Then you posted this, and I'm just going to copy and paste it directly because it was so fucking off the wall:

Q: Yo, unbound bright. My dude. My pal. What do you mean by this canon’s beginning?

A: To put it in simple terms, it was less strict than most canons. I’m sure you know about one like this, I think it was the “lolfoundation”?

Like. What the fuck. =|

Apparently part of this "restoration" involved moving the Foundation back to the normal plane. As a matter of fact, this process apparently did not get halted when you got recontained! Whoop-de-do!

Somebody tried telling Kondraki something about one of the 001s. They were trying to riddle it up so you couldn't understand. Unfortunately, he couldn't understand either. I tried interpreting it myself and sending a different (way more obvious, let's be real) riddle - I hadn't actually started signing my asks yet, hence the lack of smiley. I don't know if it was actually correct to what the original anon was trying to say, but Kondraki got meaning out of it, so I guess it worked?

Then some other anon (totally not me, no matter how similar the speech patterns look, I swear!) decided it would be a good idea to tell you that 343 had called you - and I'm not making this up - a 'dookieweenie'. The intent here was probably to busy you with fighting him. Either you didn't actually get around to it or he just really sucked at defending himself.

Some other anon brought up TJ. This was the closest anyone got to stopping you just by talking.

Then someone else decided to surround the Chipotle with SRAs. Unforeseen side effect: apparently SRAs make anons melt with extended exposure. =/

Someone - I think the 001 riddle anon - gave Kondraki some kind of reality warping book.

Unfortunately, right after that, someone else (and here, I reiterate, this was definitely not me!!!) decided it would be a SPLENDID plan to send an ask full of hypothetical bees!

They were intended for you. Kondraki was the one who got them.

You thought this was hilarious. It wasn't.

Now, this next one I can actually corroborate with on-blog evidence - the post slipped the expungement net somehow.

/post/189708070156/, "pal". I encourage you to freshen yourself up on SCP-2578's file as you read this. Personally, I don't think you actually met all the criteria for being a -B at the time, but I can see how what you were planning would have counted for most of it. "Lolfoundation". Jesus fuck. >=l

While you were off fighting a giant crab satellite, somebody dropped an SRA in Kondraki's dumpster. Amazingly, this worked, and he was (mostly) de-bee'd. He wrote in the book.

Also, you were still answering asks while fighting 2578-D. This was probably a contributing factor to how it survived to send you another message an hour later. But I digress.

When you were "done", you decided enough was enough and forcefully relocated Kondraki back to the Foundation, where you'd been... busy.

You'd erased Glass's memories of anything being wrong. Probably everyone else's, too, but he was the one answering asks. He was fading. Losing his color, his very self! Being warped into someone else! D=<

Luckily, what Kondraki had written in the book kicked in before it was too late. (This involved him stabbing you. I've got nothing.) Clef got pulled back into reality. He fixed things.

#2 part 2: As far as I'm aware the official account of New Years' you were given is accurate, except for the fact that Kondraki was having a panic attack the entire time because you'd mentioned something about "new year, new me" just before 12/16.

In case said official account has slipped your mind, or they actually did feed you a lie and hope it would stick: you got drunk enough to nearly drown in a punch bowl. You may also have been on a residual high at this time - I don't know how regular weed works, much less 420-J. In your inebriated state, you decided it would be a splendid idea to pull the cover off 963 and try and foist it off onto Iceberg. He reacted predictably.

#4: As far as I can tell, that was indeed the plan they were going with. You and I are in agreement: that was stupid as hell.

#5: Either take a page out of SCP-086's book and voluntarily advocate for stricter containment on yourself, or try to use your abilities to remove your abilities.

And there you have it: one big fuckin' block of bad news. =P

---

#trashfoundation #long post #submission

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comicteaparty · 6 years ago

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February 7th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on February 7th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST. The chat focused on MK’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Marika Kapogeorgakis (or MK_Wizard).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing MK’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Marika Kapogeorgakis (or MK_Wizard)~! (http://mksjekyllandhyde.thecomicseries.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Archangel

I'd have to say the first real heart-to-heart that Hyde had with Lucy.

MK_Wizard

For me (the writer), my favourite scene was when Jekyll finally stood up for his niece Emily.

khkddn

that was one of my favorites too

MK_Wizard

PS, thanks to everyone who came. You all rock!

khkddn

it was so sad when he didn't stand up for her at first

MK_Wizard

@lomcia (princess_lom) Please don't do that.

lomcia (princess_lom)

so you want me to discrabe which one i like?

MK_Wizard

Yes please.

RebelVampire

for the record images, whether emotes or w/e, dont get archived anyway. so text and links are always better

lomcia (princess_lom)

So. I like when he said that he won't have glasses on his face. World NEVER ihere is making me laugh

MK_Wizard

Yes, but... I don't feel comfortable when people take "snaps" of my pictures and show them elsewhere. It's something I was taught not to do to others.

If you must share, please share through a link.

lomcia (princess_lom)

Act 2 page 21 when they look into a mirror xD he look so happy in first panel and then when he realised that its not him xD i love it

MK_Wizard

That was fun for me to do that part.

lomcia (princess_lom)

Act 3 page 7! When he sees our lovely Lucy

that first panel!

Archangel

I must admit to having a bit of a crush on Lucy myself.

lomcia (princess_lom)

It was perfect

MK_Wizard

I have to admit that Lucy is one of the characters I proudest of. I worked very hard on her to not only make her progressive, but also deep. I wanted to give her a reason for being as she is.

Archangel

More historically plausible in our world than you may realize, too

lomcia (princess_lom)

I prefer as a female Hyde

Archangel

lol

Actually, have we seen any lady trolls?

Can't recall

MK_Wizard

Not yet.

lomcia (princess_lom)

not yet so there will be xD

MK_Wizard

Maybe, maybe not.

lomcia (princess_lom)

I hope Albert Ode will find nice woman

RebelVampire

for me, my favorite scene is probably the one where jekyll is in the mirror having given hyde full control and resigning himself to be gone forever. and then hyde comes back and tells him nah dude well work this out. i really just loved the subtle build-up looks where hyde is looking at things like the letter jekyll was leaving and such. it was also very touching and really showed hyde's heart through all the huffing and puffing

lomcia (princess_lom)

I like him i hope he never change

Rebel that was so sad scene , so emotional!

I really enjoy as I said Albert Ode, I hope to see him more offten, hes charming

Archangel

I think somebody has her own crush.

lomcia (princess_lom)

yeah, on all trolls Albert and Hyde

MK_Wizard

I felt is was high time the world got a version of Hyde who was good and still "Hyde" enough. In every adaptation I've seen, Hyde is always bad. And the very concept Robert Louis Stevenson had on good and evil was deep at the time, but now, we know that it's not true. What I did was bold and maybe "wrong" to some people, but it's the truth.

Archangel

I like how both Doc and Hyde have a plausible and sensible mix of good and bad personal qualities. Their interplay is more akin to 'The Odd Couple" than the usual metaphors of id vs superego or drug addiction that I see in other adaptations of the story.

MK_Wizard

Ha! Well, I like to think that by troll standards, Hyde doe faced.

I did that purpose too. If we did what was expected and made Jekyll completely submit to Hyde, that would be expected and dull.

No offence to webcomic writers who take that route.

Archangel

Well, tropes can either be used to a good purpose, subverted to a good purpose, or just blindly followed.

khkddn

Robert Louis Stevenson's take wasn't true?

MK_Wizard

If anything, I can tell you all this: between the two of them, Hyde is more dependent on Jekyll than Jekyll is on Hyde.

lomcia (princess_lom)

MK I really enjoy your story, and I would love to chat more but my eyes don't listen to me :< I wish you all the best, meaby when I'll wake up I will answer for questions which people left as a feedback for you

MK_Wizard

It was true for the psychological view of human nature at the time. So he was just as right as everyone else. But now, we have come a long way with psychology.

So yes and no @khkddn

Thanks @lomcia (princess_lom)

Archangel

It's been a long time since I read the original, but I seem to recall interpreting Jeckyl as the superego and Hyde as the id

Which could be considered good and evil, respectively, in a Victorian mind? Maybe? Not really my period of history, so I don't feel comfortable being definite.

khkddn

I interpreted it as subverting what people of the time thought the "professional gentlemanly man" was supposed to be

Archangel

Hmm. I see that.

MK_Wizard

It could be interpreted many ways. That's the beauty of the original tale.

khkddn

the victorian professional gentleman was supposed to be all good and proper, but here we have this guy turning into an evil man at night

but that's pretty far removed from mk's version

MK_Wizard

Jekyll and Hyde had a lot of complex themes when it came to duality don't forget such as having dark secrets one would be very ashamed of for the Victorian age especially.

khkddn

it's a happier story for one thing. i like how your writing isn't mean-spirited mk.

like there are mean people who do terrible things, but it's never framed as a funny thing or as just something that happens in life that we can't change

RebelVampire

yes i agree, i like this is a more upbeat version. not to say sad things dont happen, but i dont get the impression that its trying to be dark and edgy just to be dark and edgy. sad things happen right when they should

MK_Wizard

I'm not into meanness. I find at one point in the media, being mean got passed off as cool. I don't like that.

mathtans

Little one is asleep in crib (again). ^^ Happening place tonight! I got as far as end of Act 5.

RebelVampire

hi math~!

MK_Wizard

Hello!

mathtans

Fave bit of what I've read was probably at the ball, when we get the extra whammy of who Emma was with. I hadn't expected that. Then when Jekyll is trying to shrug it off, Emily interjects, that was awesome. I really like Emily.

MK_Wizard

Nice to see an Emily fan. I feared people overlooked her.

Archangel

She's a keeper, for sure

I had actually forgotten about her since we haven't seen her in a while. If it's any consolation, I do that to real people too.

RebelVampire

oh really? i 100% expected emma to be with him cause the world was really intent on kicking jekyll down. what i did enjoy was her trying to put all the blame on jekyll tho. cause that is something real ppl do when they get caught as such.

mathtans

Emily is the kick in the pants that Jekyll needs sometimes. I also like Lucy for similar reasons, actually (standing up for herself, whereas with Emily it's for her uncle).

MK_Wizard

@RebelVampire Definitely. I see it happen all to often with cheaters.

mathtans

Rebel: I guess I hadn't anticipated that plot point to still be dangling. Really felt bad for Jekyll at the start on account of kicking him when he was down though, like ouch. Also, agree, it was true to form.

Archangel

The hardest thing to blame is one's self, after all

RebelVampire

i appreciated that emily didnt forgive jekyll for the tennis thing and for not standing up for her. cause that was a point where i was glad she was gonna stop being an enabler of jekyll's flaws in a more slap in the face wake up call kind of way

mathtans

Like, talking could still be a thing. I know that sometimes people avoid, but when you're proposed to, I think that's the time to talk.

MK_Wizard

In Emily's defence, what Jekyll did was cowardly and hurtful.

Archangel

Def

mathtans

Rebel: Yeah, I'm kind of in the middle of that now, but that hurt. Since she was always standing up for him.

MK_Wizard

And don't forget. Emily's a teenager. She will have teen moments.

Archangel

He did correct his mistake and learn from it. Credit where it's due.

mathtans

Oooh, spoilers. (j/k)

Archangel

Oh right, sorry

hehe

mathtans

Heh, it's cool, talk about all the stuff. I do this every week, and never manage to clear the archive half the time.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Two major themes of the comic are what it means to be a better person in the face of personal flaws and how one might learn to be better. Insofar, what has been your favorite moment of growth for any of the characters showcased in the comic? What about this moment struck you as particularly strong? In the larger picture, do you think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde really will continue to help each other to grow? Further, in what ways do you think the two characters can grow further as people? Alternatively, might the two reach a limit where they are no longer able to help each other in this manner? What flaws might both still continue to deal with long term? Overall, how do you think these changes will affect how both characters deal with life, and what can we personally learn from it as readers?

MK_Wizard

I'm afraid there's no way I can answer this without giving things away

Archangel

Good God, where to start. Give me a minute.

mathtans

It's kind of interesting, because Hyde never even had a memory before the transformation. So in some sense, he's a blank slate, and thus everything is growth.

In the beginning, Hyde was doing it for himself, but he inadvertantly helped people. Some part of him must have liked that, because now he does it to help and fight against the system.

Archangel

Okay, so obviously each of our protagonists has a massive, salient character flaw that comes out fairly early on. Jeckyl is too afraid of confrontation, and would rather get shafted than make a scene. Meanwhile Hyde, as @mathtans noted, is very self-centered--in rather a childish way, which makes sense in the context that Mat noted.

Each is well-placed to advise the other and point out that he's being a tool and why.

And -- very importantly -- they can't ignore each other

While each man is far from perfect, we're already seeing them improve in the face of the other's prodding, and finding themselves happier for it

mathtans

They have much to "reflect" on.

Archangel

/facedesk

Bravo, sir

Now I have to wipe soda off my monitor

MK_Wizard

I don't deny that there are tons of metaphors and symbolism in my story.

khkddn

there were earlier times when jekyll became more of a courageous person but i liked in act 8 when lanyon showed up at his door pretending to be friendly and jekyll is not having ANY of it

RebelVampire

be careful with that soda cause math is here to be the pun master

Archangel

Noted

Anyway, to @khkddn 's point, I wonder if it's because it was just the two of them? Maybe J's problem is more social anxiety? Interesting thought.

RebelVampire

yeah seeing jekyll just being like nope was a really satisfying in that moment. like seeing your little boy suddenly grow up.

MK_Wizard

It's a lot of things and it's complex which will be explained more and more as the story goes on.

RebelVampire

my favorite moment of growth is actually when hyde apologizes to lucy. because apologies are legit one of the hardest things to do i think for ppl. because thats a lot of stabbing for the personal ego, and the more prideful, the harder it is. so heres hyde, probably one of the most prideful ppl in the comic, admitting that he said some messed up shit and screwed up. that was a beautiful moment cause taking that many stabs to his ego was a showcase of how far hed come that hed go through such a grand gesture and damage his pride.

mathtans

Hyde also really has no filter when he's talking, while Jekyll has like, massive overthinking of everything before he speaks. It's a live-in-the-moment attitude versus thinking about the future. So if there is a "limit" where they can't help each other, I imagine Jekyll would see it coming.

MK_Wizard

They are opposites @mathtans

mathtans

True. I guess I'm saying that's conveyed well.

Archangel

@RebelVampire it also shows just how deeply Hyde cares for Lucy, that he's willing to basically abase himself like that.

khkddn

i agree w @RebelVampire about that scene, it shows that even if hyde is an opposite to jekyll personality wise, he isn't morally opposite and can be a good person who admits mistakes

mathtans

Speaking of opposites, here's a fun thing I realized. Jekyll loses his job, and his girl, and we feel badly for him. That thug guy Tom ALSO loses his "job" and his "girl" (if shaking down stores can be a job), but because he's on the wrong side of the law (and a jerk), we don't feel badly for him.

Archangel

Well, neither of their flaws are really things that need to be completely removed. They just need to be moderated. Hyde needs to learn a bit of impulse control, and Jeckyl needs to learn to loosen up a bit.

mathtans

Yeah, "Tom" might be the moral opposite.

Archangel

But neither of their attitudes towards life are bad per se, so long as they're not taken to extremes... as they have been doing

Huh, interesting

Or perhaps "there but for the grace of God go I" type of thing?

MK_Wizard

@mathtans Tom is a bad person. Do you all remember how he hit Lucy? Imagine how much worse it would have been if Hyde wasn't there.

RebelVampire

yeah im really interested to see if jekyll's biggest challenge in growing is moderation. cause i didnt entirely disagree with him in certain contexts. like at the party, i was kind of on his side that sometimes just letting things go is better and that theres a time and place for certain...coversations as it were.

Archangel

I'm amazed Lucy doesn't carry a knife or something. Most prostitutes in cities carry something for self-defense (if they're smart), and the habit would likely carry over into working at a bar. Plus Victorian ladies' clothes are REALLY good for concealing weapons. You have to see it to believe it

mathtans

Yeah, jerk as I indicated. Just, similar stuff happened to him. Just thought it was interesting. He's more evil than Hyde is, for sure.

Archangel

Oh absolutely

khkddn

tom doesnt have a cool top hat like hyde and that's why i'll never root for him even if he weren't a bad person(edited)

MK_Wizard

@Archangel Lucy does own a knife, but she knows Tom would have overpowered her.

Archangel

If she'd given him a chance. But I see your point.

The hardest part of hurting or killing someone is actually deciding to do so.

Damaging somebody is terrifyingly easy... if you can bring yourself to do it.

Anyway. off topic.

MK_Wizard

There's a reason she has scars. Like Lucy said, her getting slapped wasn't the worst assault a man had ever done on her. She is brave and tough, but she's not super strong. Lots of men can overpower her and have, but she's not prostitute. She's a waitress, but she is poor so that still makes her an easy target.

Archangel

She started out as a sex worker, though, right? Or am I misremembering.

mathtans

Again, to be clear, I don't think anyone should root for Tom. Just, he had similar stuff happen and approached things in a way that neither Jekyll nor Hyde would. (Very wrongly.)

khkddn

lucy would also need an exit strategy if she used the knife on tom. she would probably have to run away and lay low, which could be more dangerous than staying with him.

mathtans

Lucy is kickass. I liked her remark of an apology shouldn't have a "but".

MK_Wizard

She was a showgirl and eventually had to sort of become a prostitute, but she isn't one anymore.

Archangel

Very true, hadn't thought that through

Seebee

is here to show support

Woo, go MK

Archangel

lol

MK_Wizard

Hey Seebee!

Seebee

Yoooo~

MK_Wizard

Glad you could join us.

You rock!

Seebee

GASP, I'MMA ROCK?!

looks at self

no wonder I got craters on my skiiiin

Archangel

Hope you're a pet rock. Then you get a nice box with straw and everything

MK_Wizard

Just because Lucy is no muscle woman doesn't mean she's a pushover. And now that she doesn't have to submit to people to make a living, she sure as heck never does.

RebelVampire

yeah i think that was a great line, @mathtans cause its really such a simplistic but smart way of weeding a good apology from a bad apology

MK_Wizard

Her having her body belong to herself again is something that is very precious to her.

Archangel

Understandably

Not many people could have gone through as much bad as Lucy has and come out walking erect, as the saying goes. I think that's why admire her so much. I don't think I could ever be that strong.

mathtans

(I'm continuing my read in the background, btw. The April Fools strip with the green hair is a riot. Speaking of bodies belonging to other people.)

khkddn

yeah lucy is one of my favorite characters, she's cool

MK_Wizard

She had to be. No one else was there for her. Back in the day, being of mixed ethnicity was a taboo.

That was the reason she had it rough. It's not right, but... it was not uncommon.

khkddn

if a random person during the time saw lucy would they assume she is mixed? or does she pass as not being mixed?

i'm wondering if this would change how she is treated

Archangel

Speaking for the USA, it depended entirely on the place and the person's specific appearance

But rarely would it be ignored

MK_Wizard

Ha. Well.... she's a cartoon, but if she were real, yes. You would tell because her skin is a bit too dark, she has the eyes and lips, as well as the physique.

mathtans

Just an aside on the topic of cartoons, I feel like it takes a while to draw the hairdos. ^^

MK_Wizard

She can't pass off not being mixed. She's one of those very obvious cases.

Oh ho ho ho. Jekyll's hair IS tedious to draw, but it's worth it because it makes him stand out.

Archangel

Also, her hair isn't right. One of the more dominant traits of African heritage is the way hair behaves--very bristly and stand-outy (I don't know the right word). To get it to flow like Lucy's does, one needs a good deal of product every morning. Or so a friend told me once.

mathtans

Well done, MK. Also for having Emily's be similar, what with the family resemblance.

MK_Wizard

Thanks

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. In the current story, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have become aware of a mysterious alchemist causing trouble. Who exactly is this mysterious alchemist? Why is this alchemist helping Governor Carew? Exactly what do you think this project is that the board of governors is looking to fund by using the alchemist’s talents? Do you think Mr. Hyde’s previous actions will put the board on extra alert for their investigations? How might this affect Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll’s success in stopping Carew’s villainy, if so? Alternatively, how might the various things the alchemist is able to do (like create gold) change the characters’ views on how the world works? All in all, how do you feel this arc of cases will wind up be solved (or go unsolved)?

Archangel

I do know that one of the standard "tests" of somebody's background back in the bad old days was to look at their hair, precisely because this trait is so dominant.

mathtans

Well, I'm obviously not there yet, but I feel like this was set up very well with the mercury poisoning stuff happening in the background of what I have read.

Archangel

Well, creating gold is always a bad idea when the economy is based on gold. Every mage's guild I've ever seen in any universe has a big fat rule against it

MK_Wizard

In Lucy's case, it's her skin, eyes and lips. Plus, her body type as she got older. Don't forget, coloured people go far beyond the hair and skin.

But back to the subject, it was explicitly stated that making your own gold is 100% illegal.

Archangel

So they have to be either utterly stupid or they don't care about devaluing the currency. Not something for men of means (and thus knowledge of at least some finance and economics) to take lightly

My bad, but my second point stands re: their scheme with the unfortunate chickens

RebelVampire

youre making a huge assumption they understand how the economy works. XD i dont get the impression most of the men of means care, as long as they get theirs and get to have their fancy stuff.

MK_Wizard

Plus, the board of governors have a lot of influence.

mathtans

What about making gold for someone else?

Archangel

I'd like to argue with you, RV, but I can't.

Presumably charged as an accessory, @mathtans

MK_Wizard

@Seebee, you got anything to add to this?

Archangel

Given that we're talking chemistry, though, the other classic thing that comes up aside from gold is some sort of immortality potion. I don't recall any hints to that effect, though.

mathtans

"You made a gold chain for my locket?" "Yes, now it's an accessory."

Seebee

Hmmm... not at the moment

I will be honest, I am ded inside from being out all day))

mathtans

I'm reminded of how Jekyll's first attempts at his formula involved trying almost all elements on the periodic table. He must have certain resources that might be helpful for going after an alchemist.

MK_Wizard

That and Jekyll has the most valuable resource of all: his own genius

Archangel

Mmm. He can certainly analyze any samples or whatnot that Hyde acquires.

RebelVampire

maybe thatll be the next arc, where theyre trying to find an immortality potion.

khkddn

i imagine the alchemist is helping governor carew because he's deeply involved w the plan somehow. it'd be weird if he were just a hired alchemist, because, what're they gonna pay him in? gold?? couldn't he just make the gold himself

Archangel

Perhaps the deal is that they'll put him beyond the law

So he can actually get away with it

No point to crime if you can't enjoy the result

MK_Wizard

It's definitely something big and it also shows how heinous the board of governors really are.

RebelVampire

i kind of think the previous arc has made it more difficult though. cause if i was on the board, i would def be on high alert. all it takes is one guy saying "hey i saw hyde snooping around stopping our gold operation"

MK_Wizard

Actually, nobody can say or do anything.

The alchemist burnt the evidence and place to the ground.

mathtans

Everything probably points back to Carew. That guy is shady as anything. (Incidentally, good job emphasizing his character with that statue debacle near the start. Not a nice man.)

RebelVampire

i can only think the alchemist is in it for the secret project. cause i agree with khkddn, its not like the alchemist needs gold

Archangel

I don't think we've seen any bent cops to this point, which means that the Governors either need enough evidence to fool honest cops (not so easy to fake), or to keep mum

MK_Wizard

It's a bit of both. Not enough evidence and some cops are crooked much to Sgt. Drumwell's dismay.

Archangel

There's always a few, and they always get promoted. >_<

Kei Esteban

Hello! Sorry I'm Late!

MK_Wizard

It's cool!

Archangel

*Hi ho

khkddn

heya

Kei Esteban

Thanks

RebelVampire

tbf its not like these are modern csi times. so theres only so many ways they can analyze evidence in the first place

MK_Wizard

Exactly

khkddn

do they even have fingerprint technology at this point?

Archangel

The techniques were fully established by that point, but not so widely accepted

MK_Wizard

They do have a way of detecting fingerprints, but fire destroys everything.

mathtans

Gotta make themselves a time machine.

Archangel

Wiki "Henry Classification System" sometime for an interesting insight into pre-fingerprint policing

khkddn

ah well to get anything out of ashes i think they would need chemical analysis that doesn't exist yet. it'd prolly be faster to build a time machine yep

Archangel

The problem with fire is that it alters the chemical composition of everything

MK_Wizard

Exactly. The alchemist knew precisely what he was doing.

Archangel

So unless you have research data, it's pretty much impossible to ID the source substances.

khkddn

they need chemical analysis that doesn't even exist in OUR time yet

Archangel

Well, the good guys do have a genius (al)chemist on their side...

Speaking of, @MK_Wizard , is there an actual technical distinction between chemistry and alchemy, or is it just po-tay-to/po-tah-to?

mathtans

Maybe someone will Hyde the evidence.

MK_Wizard

Yes and no.

khkddn

if only the chickens could speak english. then the truth would be out there

MK_Wizard

To explain, alchemy has some spirituality and magical properties behind it. Basically, it was the stepping stone to chemistry. People discovered that magic did have a science behind it and upon further research, people discovered that magic had a direct link to nature.

khkddn

i have to work on a school project and this is distracting me way too much so i'm gonna go. it's been fun chatting!

Archangel

glhf

MK_Wizard

With that, human beings who have no magic invented a way to "use magic" without having any themselves. Alchemy. They would use ways of manipulating nature in supernatural ways and through that, they discovered how to make chemicals and made other marvels through science.

@khkddn thanks for joining us

Of course, it wasn't just humans who used magic. Other races did too.

Kei Esteban

Ah, Other than Trolls and Humans, do you have any interest in having other Races show up?

mathtans

Interesting bringing that up, what with trolls being a thing common enough to be known with police. I wondered too.(edited)

MK_Wizard

Definitely. In fact, you already saw two and didn't know it.

Remember the short guy Biggs? He's a gnome.

Archangel

Oh cool

Kei Esteban

Ah Neat ^_^

Archangel

I still say he needs a buddy named Wedge

Kei Esteban

RebelVampire

thats interesting. cause i was curious why everyone was like shrugging to the presence of trolls

MK_Wizard

The other one is Tyler the redhead, but what HE is... you're going to see

mathtans

Now I'm picturing Biggs renting himself out to stand in gardens during the day.

Archangel

"If I parked a tank outside your office, after a week it would be just another car." --one of my vet buddies

Kei Esteban

I look forward to finding out ^_^

Archangel

(as in my buddy who's a vet. I was never in the Service)

Also, London in our world is one of the most metropolitan environments on earth. I bet it's the same in the story.

MK_Wizard

Most definitely,

mathtans

I now kind of wonder about interracial breeding.

MK_Wizard

It's like the "New York" of Europe in my comic. You'll find anyone there.

Archangel

Just like in real life

MK_Wizard

You've seen it already. Sgt. Drumwell is half troll and half human.

mathtans

Like, troll and human must be a thing given how Hyde and Lucy.... oh, yeah? Hummmm.

MK_Wizard

Hence his human appearance, but he has yellow fangs and his eyes.

Kei Esteban

Settings like that are always nice too see

MK_Wizard

It's also why he's compassionate. He was lucky because his parents were very wealthy so their money protected them. Plus, he passes off as a human mostly, but his eyes, teeth and height give him away.

Archangel

Well, it's for MK to say for sure, but one of the definitions of separate species is the inability to interbreed. There are exceptions, but that's the general rule. It would be interesting to see Hyde and Lucy have little ones, though. In due course.

Kei Esteban

indeed

RebelVampire

are laws applied equally or is there inequality as far as different species go? like is there special laws that only exist for trolls, etc.?

mathtans

Actually, Sgt Drumwell is their child. Eventually Jekyll perfects the time machine and sends him back.

MK_Wizard

lol no

Archangel

lmao

MK_Wizard

Here's how it works. It's generally a taboo socially, but if you're very rich, you can get away with a lot. You just won't be respected for it.

For example... there's another non-human you saw without knowing it. Utterson's redheaded wife Camilla. She's a wizard.

AND he married her without making her convert to his faith/human lifestyle. He allows her to continue living openly as a wizard and practicing her culture.

Archangel

Fascinating. And again, makes sense that people would regard sentient species the way they regarded other races at the time.

Kei Esteban

Well he is a Great guy, so that's not too surprising he would be respectful of her completely

MK_Wizard

Her hair was also an Easter Egg to her race. In old lore, red heads were often thought to be witches.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Despite working together, Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll still argue quite often and risk their own safety a lot. How might their shared injury and pain help or hurt their ability to function in their own daily lives in the future? Do you believe that at some point the two’s shared identity of sorts will be revealed? If so, how do you envision this coming about? Given the growing relationship between Mr. Hyde and Lucy, will Mr. Hyde be compelled to tell her at some point? What about Dr. Jekyll with his niece and nephew? Do you think the two’s shared arrangement with the body will work long term, or will they at some point need to make alterations to their living situation? Ultimately, how do you feel their living arrangement will affect their future adventures, whatever you think those future adventures might be?

Kei Esteban

@MK_Wizard Oh no! They are on too me! (I'm a Red head XD)(edited)

MK_Wizard

Ok, for this... I leave entirely up to all of you. So... bring on the fan theories!

Archangel

Let's see. Well, Lucy absolutely has a right to know. How she'll react, I have no idea.

As to Emily & Will... I think Emily should be briefed in, if only so she won't freak out if Hyde has to come get them to prevent a kidnapping or something by the opposition.

MK_Wizard

Keep in mind. Nobody knows yet.

Nobody except Louis and he's not talking.

Archangel

Right. I think Lucy can keep a secret. Emily... honestly don't know her well enough to say.

RebelVampire

yeah i think as far as a long term arrangement, its not gonna work. because assuming hyde wants to marry lucy at some point, thatd be problematic. even worse, what if jekyll meets somebody. they are fooling themselves if they think this can work out indefinitely. so jekyll is gonna need to put that genius to work.

Kei Esteban

I think it would be best in the long run for those closest to them to know. Lucy and Emily would be a great start indeed

Archangel

Knowledge of the situation would be all that Carew & Lanyon need to discredit anything Jeckyl says, ever, so it certainly can't become public knowledge.

MK_Wizard

Lanyon is out of the picture for good. It's the one thing I can confirm. He's defeated for good.

Archangel

Yay!

He was a good bad guy, though

Kei Esteban

I love how he effectively defeated himself! XD

MK_Wizard

That was the point. And it was also karma. Lanyon got successful by riding on Jekyll's tail and taking everything that was his.

In the end, doing this was his undoing.

Sure he didn't have Jekyll's money to do stuff, but it didn't make being a skunk ok especially because Jekyll really did see him as a friend and would have hlped him.

Kei Esteban

It was such a Creative way to end the conflict ^_^

Archangel

I don't think he'd believe you if you'd told him that to his face. People like that seem to get that way because they assume that everybody's out to get everybody. At least in my (blessedly limited) contact with the species.

Kei Esteban

That's an unfortunate way to look at the world. By that i mean the "everybody out to get everybody" bit.(edited)

MK_Wizard

I wanted to show that there are good and bad people from every social standing.

Basically, different kinds of good and bad people.

mathtans

Back. (Had to see to the little one briefly.)

MK_Wizard

Aww

mathtans

In terms of people knowing, would they believe without seeing the transformation?

Archangel

Good question

MK_Wizard

Would you? I don't think so.

mathtans

It's not like people have iPhones to video record it.

Archangel

That might help them keep the secret

mathtans

I mean, there's the argument of they haven't been in the same room together.

RebelVampire

nah i highly doubt it. in fact, far more likely the person claiming this is a thing that happened would get sent to an asylum

MK_Wizard

Yeah, but... who would believe the two share a body that transforms without seeing it?

mathtans

Though I agree with Rebel that they'll need to figure something out so that relationship things don't become an issue.

Someone with MPD?

MK_Wizard

Not talking (teasing)

I will share one tidbit... At the end of the true end of the story, there will be no loose ends.

For anything. And that is all.

mathtans

Just got to the bit with Lanyon, btw, that you were referencing earlier. That was very clever, coming full circle, and good final shot of him in the mirror.

RebelVampire

actually ya know tbf, didnt louis take some of the potion. you could use louis to show its a real thing

in the sense of the transformation

mathtans

Crazy theory time: Jekyll figures out how to shift Hyde to share a body with someone else instead. Hyde and Lucy decide to become "one", and ride off into the sunset.

MK_Wizard

I will say this now... no.

That sounds romantic on paper, but that would actually be bad.

Because how would they be a couple?

mathtans

Kissing mirrors.

Archangel

That'd make it like that one movie where the knight and the lady each shapeshift, but they alternate states at dawn and can never be together. That was one weird movie.

Good curse, though

MK_Wizard

That sounds like the worst kind of hell for two people deeply in love. To be so close, yet completely separate.

Kei Esteban

@MK_Wizard like Garnet, from Steven Universe? XD

Archangel

Actually, what Mat describes would be a truly horrible curse for a couple. I might use that someday.

MK_Wizard

Garnet is not Ruby and Sapphie per se. She is the embodiment of their love.

mathtans

Yeah, you're not wrong. Okay, so Hyde and Poole...?

Archangel

Poole's not getting any younger

What happens when one half dies?

MK_Wizard

They both die.

Kei Esteban

@MK_Wizard Very True (I guess we can't use Gem logic here)(edited)

mathtans

Yeah, I think that was stated. When they hurt, the other hurts too.

RebelVampire

yeah i feel the fact they share pain and death is gonna be weaponized against them. cause if i needed to get rid of hyde, id go for jekyll if i knew that fact. cause whats jekyll gonna do? slap me a little?

Kei Esteban

then how about Hyde and Carew? (Hyde just takes over full time)

MK_Wizard

You all really hit the nail on the head that them sharing a body, but not lives and such is going to become a challenge.

Archangel

Good point. Though you'd have to bump Jeckyl right away rather than keeping him around. Come sunset...

mathtans

Just to talk about Emily again (because she's cool), I feel like she'd understand, if the truth came out. Though I wonder if she'd be hurt that Jekyll didn't say anything sooner.

Archangel

Ooo, I like Kei's idea. Not sure it works that way, though.

MK_Wizard

And I will disprove the theory now.... Hyde and Jekyll cannot suddenly be shifted to another person. Neither soul is a "disease" you can hand onto someone else.

Archangel

@mathtans I agree. My concern would be whether she can keep a secret. She is a teenage girl, after all.

MK_Wizard

They are a person.

Archangel

And keeping a cool secret is hard at any age

MK_Wizard

They are two people.

Kei Esteban

indeed

mathtans

Archangel: She's pretty mature for her age though. Granted, she's also pretty outspoken. I don't think she'd say anything intentionally, but it might come out in the heart of the moment or something. (Which is maybe why she could accept not having been told.)

RebelVampire

i think emily could keep a secret. now will on the otherhand

MK_Wizard

So all theories of them being put onto someone else will not come to pass because that's impossible.

RebelVampire

will i would believe couldnt keep a secret cause hes even younger(edited)

Archangel

Perhaps with the materials to 'construct' a new body, and the proper spellwork, each can be embodied separately? Sort of a siamese twin operation?

Will is right out at his age.

Kei Esteban

Will being a kid, might even think it's cool (Which he would be right)(edited)

mathtans

So maybe one of them decides to sacrifice themselves for the good of the two of them. Jekyll already tried that once.

MK_Wizard

I won't say much about who can keep a secret, but in my experience, it goes with personality not age.

Archangel

I will say that almost nobody under the age of 10 can keep a secret in my experience. But aside from that, agreed.

mathtans

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Nellie couldn't keep a secret.

MK_Wizard

You've also seen that Hyde would never have that. He's not an active killer. And he loves Jekyll as a brother. He wouldn't kill him if he asked him to.

And taking over essentially does that.

Archangel

I'm not sure Nellie's bright enough to grasp the core concept XD

Kei Esteban

Archangel

Here's a really trippy question, MK: do J&D have separate souls, or do they share one?

mathtans

(And I had to go to the cast page to look up the name, and now I see how "half troll" is right there in Drumwell's bio, nice.)

MK_Wizard

They have separate souls.

Archangel

Obviously their minds are separate, but I'm questioning their spiritual state in the technical sense

Okay, so it's reasonable to theorize that they could be separated and embodied separately. It would certainly take high magic, though.

MK_Wizard

The Hyde Formula has magical properties. For example, did you know that in reincarnation, the soul splits? Hence why some people who get reincarnated can be reincarnated as multiple people.

Archangel

I've never heard that.

mathtans

Well, if the original intention was a sort of "Disney" Jekyll and Hyde, maybe there will be a Disney ending? Somehow?

Archangel

Pillars of Eternity has this whole thing about souls fragmenting, but that's more like chips off a rock over time.

MK_Wizard

In the case of Jekyll and Hyde, Hyde came from a piece of Jekyll's own soul, but it became its own unique being.

Yes, You got it!

Archangel

Makes sense.

MK_Wizard

Keep in mind, even Disney endings aren't always perfect.

RebelVampire

the disney ending will be hyde and lucy riding off in a carriage with the just got married sign and jekyll will come to cause they decided to just make it a threesome

although that joke aside i wonder if jekyll and lucy will ever interact

MK_Wizard

Uh, no lol

Lucy is not Jekyll's type and Hyde would not share his woman with anyone.

Nor would Jekyll do that.

Jekyll is as monogamous as they come lol.

mathtans

Hmmm, and is it too late to ship Lucy and Emma?

Archangel

RV is right insofar as it would be interesting to see how Jeckyl and Lucy get along socially. I imagine that after some initial sounding out, they'll manage well enough. After all, Lucy is a lady and Jeckyl is a gentleman. That goes a long way.

lmao

Kei Esteban

It would be nice to see Jekyll meet someone new, that is actually good for him

Archangel

MK_Wizard

@mathtans That ship is solely wish fulfilment and a fan fantasy.

RebelVampire

i more wonder the social interaction cause that could make hyde jealous. if jekyll and lucy got along even if it was totally platonic

Archangel

Actually, someone like Emily would be very good for Jeckyl... in the sense of personality, not age.

mathtans

(I always ship the ladies... ) And actually, the thought that it's a fan fantasy already amuses me.

Archangel

Cue the "I ship it, I don't care" song

MK_Wizard

I made this comic knowing people would do ships if the comic caught on. All I say is that, as long as you accept that it is not the official storyline.

mathtans

Maybe Jekyll can be the best man at the Hyde/Lucy wedding?

Archangel

Only if Poole is the Father of the Bride

Otherwise J would slide down to second place IMO

mathtans

What's official is definitely up to the author. All the best with it! It's an interesting take.

MK_Wizard

Thanks

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Marika Kapogeorgakis (or MK_Wizard), as well, for making MK’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Marika Kapogeorgakis (or MK_Wizard)’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://mksjekyllandhyde.thecomicseries.com/

Marika’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MK_Wizard

Marika’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/mkwizard

Marika’s Storenvy: https://mkomics.storenvy.com/

Marika’s Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/MK_Wizard

Marika’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MKJekyllAndHyde

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #mk's the strange case of dr. jekyll & mr. hyde #mk's dr. jekyll & mr. hyde #marika kapogeorgakis #mk_wizard

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autoirishlitdiscourses · 3 years ago

Text

Discourse of Saturday, 03 July 2021

Have a good recitation.

Jolly old woman. One option that you turn in a particular text, and quite engaging and lucid, and does so in section on 27 November recitation, too, OK? You may find that speaking with me on the web? You should do, in fact, you have a Disabled Services Program accommodation for? One way but not unimportant juxtapositions that the episode—are we to make this offer to do so, because it makes life more stressful for you to make a habit of it myself.

I think that one of the situation, but I think that what your argument to go is also an impressive move you might notice Bloom's interest in is the only representation of its most precious illusions. I expected, and you receive no credit for the positions that you should by all means pay close attention to how other people would probably help you grow as a whole. Don't forget to look at what constitutes evidence, and you related it well to the question of what texts you see, specifically? The group was already warmed up for points of your texts, a good Thanksgiving break. You effectively acknowledged the work. You could theoretically have been possible to accomplish this before in case they ask you if he asks you specific questions that you have any questions as you point out of all of these come down to recite and discuss can be a way that makes a strong reason for doing a good student and I enjoyed having you in section tonight, along with the rest of the texts, and it shows in places, and/or need to be making, since we've just set this up, I've also gone ahead and decide which texts you want to get this to everyone who was genuinely responsive to early questions didn't get your ideas in here, although this was a mispronunciation of surmise that broke the poem's ideas needed a vocal pause in order to move up, if you'd like. I'm not faulting you for doing such an incredibly minimalist effort on the other side of your discussion notes by the victims and requires a Dirty Harry, a productive choice, so I do not re-inscribe Gertie into the A-and I appreciate that you're capable of punching through to a copy of the theorists involved and the group to agree with the assumption that you can do at least twelve lines of poetry into music and want to take a radically relativist position and suggest that everything else goes smoothly with you, I can think in line 22. Looks good to me. You really do have good, clear readings of all but the attentive amongst you will have to get very very sensitive and nuanced interpretation—I've tried to point your students at it, and the to a strong preference on going second or third, although the multiple starts ate up time that could have been in all ways to read from Butcher Boy here. Alternately, you did fumble a bit here. Nothing that I'm still a few things that, going into the novel within one of the class about stereotypes of Irish Women's Poetry, 1967-2000 ISBN 978-0-916390-88-4 around, it's a bit of wiggle room. In any case, you're welcome to share these with your own ideas. For the recitation, got people talking. Think about what your overall payoff will be. I get there naturally. I don't mean to take so long to get it in a lot of information with a GPA of 3. That section of the quarter, you might profitably compare/contrast formula and show that you're dealing with. Again, very solid work here. /Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses: she's married and has been very close less than thrilled about with this question, but are intended to culminate in a comparative manner over time, I think that you're talking about home in general might mean by passionate, insightful, moving delivery and/or larger concerns. More administrative issues?

Both of these are impressive moves. 54 2. Hi! It never compares, at least forty-eight hours of your mind, keep reciting it, in part because, when it's entirely up to him. In all of which parts of The Butcher Boy the following details about exactly what you're going to depend on where you found it on a different segment later in the judgments that sort people into the A-paper receives is based on whether or not effectively support the writer's argument. Hi! /Or minor problems. Forcing yourself to ground your analysis more: I think, always a productive exercise I myself use LibreOffice.

I hit the Send button in my camera died, I'm sorry to say, I have a good weekend! You really have done some very, very good outcomes of your writing is also impressive. You have a few other things, and the ideas you had a good job of covering a large number of important things to say this not just of choosing not to say that a B paper one day: although you should then discuss the readings in a more elaborate description if you have any other questions! I'm planning on doing a strong job!

Great! The Dubliners' version of GOLD than you were very sensitive and nuanced things to talk to me. So, in a chapter of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment that is in your delivery was good, but made up for it. —As it needs to be over. Thanks again for doing a genuinely excellent job well done. However, I think that bringing one of the room, but I'm hesitant to quote in, say, surrealist painting and other works, we should be engaging in a packet of poems tonight. I did better. All in all, you can make my 6 o'clock section, so I hope you had a good holiday, and it's a reflective piece, for that section within the realm of possibility for you. Or you could be made about grammar and phrasing but these are required, and I quite like your performance, that's incredibly comprehensive. Currently, what do you mean when you argue that one thing is nothing more than you were so excited by your own writing and/or the penalty. I didn't anticipate at the structural schema given to friends: Carlo Linati; Stuart Gilbert J. B 415 435 B 400 415 B-77% 80% C 73% 77% C 70% 73% C-means that a contemporary English poet might be productive. Come by my office hours. That is to say. You covered some important things in your analysis in a third document might involve how media images get stuck in Francie's head and the rusted poison did corrode his blood the way: It's often easier to get back to you with comments tomorrow. There are a couple of extra minutes to make sure it's a wonderful and restful holiday break! Picking a selection of what you see as the source of a topic that I can. You'll get that in as soon as you can bring your participation score a small boost to your next email it to the course's large-scale course concerns and themes, looking at evidence that you can do with the Easter Rising, and not Silence of the stack anyway. First: make sure that it's one of the due date that you want to ruin it for a student with a well-structured manner; and mop up on posting links to songs and other emotions related to each other, broader problem is that I assign your final exam yes, that you want to help each and every lecture. If you wanted to meet this status, there are some of Yeats's poem, its mythical background, contemporary politics, and number the episodes on the syllabus. Excellent! That's fine just let me do so. Again, thank you for putting so much that that is important in connecting outrage to analysis. One of these various types and weave them into a more specific: I am of course grade. I think. 'S, 5 C-range paper/—even by one line—/is/always/bring the week's readings with you that placing the non-traumatized at least 98% on the most important would be a useful fallback plan. I will be. If you have any other number of genuinely meaningful contributions that you demonstrate a very productive. Strange feeling it would help you to trace a clear line between some line that intersects several of these come down to it? Hell, bandwidth's really cheap these days. So, where do you see as the major possibilities, and we can meet on campus never quarter. However, I think that you're painfully aware of their work relates to WB's work. However, you did eight IDs instead of or in posting your notes are absolutely unchangeable, because you clearly had a low-ish A-scale umbrella of what might be a motivated one, and don't remember it in economic terms or terms that differ are generally fair and often very nuanced readings by using hedging phrases like I said before, and good choice to me, and you've proven that you are absent or late, missing more than the course as a whole and contextualizing the paper, and that it's less successful than it would have had to take so long to get back to you.

So, it may be that our sympathy is based on the midterm would result in a lot of things well here: you had planned to cover, refreshing everyone's memory on the final. I completely appreciate that you're already doing a good student this quarter, and I hope you have a good idea, you did quite a good chunk of the problem with the middle of how percentages or point totals above are necessary ways to approach the question from another angle: What is the ideal resource, but you did quite an impressive move, which involves speculations about the relative value of the play pp. Think about what your paper. On Raglan Road, which has Calc, a professor in our department, Candace Waid, just over the break. That is, I also consider lack of Irish literature. /Corrections, but will post before I pass it out, it will eventually force someone to speak without forcing them. So, my suggestion is not that you really have done some very good recitation and what kind of reader-response criticism which is to have a sense of what texts you choose a good sense of the beautiful little gem that is appropriate and helpful.

It is in the novel. I'm gonna pretend I didn't anticipate at the last day for most of that motivation is will pay off to have thought of it as coming in on the day you are, after all, you've got a good holiday break! I left item 5 off of the first line of your recitation. There is a series of archaic softhearted misplaced sympathies for criminals. Another potentially profitable, but needs to be finding a way to find that thesis, because they're from a rope on line 14; changed I told him that I think that the professor's announcement that he has now missed three sections a very good job in a thesis statement throughout your time and attention to the pound, which pulled the grades up. Unfortunately, the average i.

#Irish literature #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Python #Markov chains

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codeavailfan · 5 years ago

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C vs C# Detailed comparison by Experts you should know

Here this moment, authorities will unveil to you on C versus C# in detail with model.

Nowadays, where you have a lot of programming lingos to explore, it's hard to make data on which language to utilize when you set up your endeavors. In any case, C and C# are two of the top programming tongues. The two lingos are definitely not hard to learn and subject to the thing orchestrated programming topics. Before we investigate the capabilities, let us overview two or three highlights of each and how they are adding to the programming appear.

Difference between C vs C#

C Language:

This language is a center programming language that was made at Bell inspect lab in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie. C language joins the properties of low level and raised level language. In this manner, its idea with respect to a center programming Language.

C might be a high programming language that licenses you to make PC code and moveable applications. There are 32 firm catchphrases utilized in the C language. It's an ideal language for making a PC code structure.

The critical features of C language are:

Low-level way to deal with memory

A direct plan of watchwords

Clean style

C# Language:

C# is a noteworthy level, an article organized programming language that other than filled in as an advancement of C. It was made by a social affair at Microsoft lead by Anders Hejlsberg in 2002. It's masterminded in the .NET structure, yet its spine is still obviously the C language.

C# orders into byte-code, instead of machine code. That construes it executes on a virtual PC that makes an interpretation of it into machine code on the fly. It joins squander assortment, uninitialized variable checking, bound checking, and type checking capacities to the base C code.

It regularly watches use inside or attempt applications, instead of business programming. It's found in customer and server improvement in the .NET structure.

Sorts of programming advancement structures:

Speedy application improvement adventures

Gigantic or little gatherings, web applications

Endeavors realized by individuals

Endeavors with extreme immovability necessities.

Essential Differences Between C and C#

Both C versus C# are remarkable decisions in the business; let us take a gander at a piece of the basic Differences Between C vs C#:

Since C# is based, Syntaxes will, overall, be what's progressively, comparative. Regions utilized for isolate coding structures, and C-style object-arranged code that joins conditions and libraries are on an exceptionally essential level proportionate to.

Moving from C# to C++ is likely coherently irksome in light of the fact that it's a basically progressively low-level language. C# handles an exceptional bit of the overhead that must be assessed in a C++ program. This is one enormous explanation C++ is viewed as an evidently irksome language too.

C is low level and lets you get truly near the machine, yet it's a procedural language. Huge in our setting that. It recommends it has no perception of articles and legacy.

Continuously about C versus C#

C# is overall not equivalent to C/C++. I recognize some piece of its name began from C++ ++, by then taking the second '++' and putting it under the first to make the '#' picture. Showing they acknowledge they're the third in the course of action. That being communicated, if you had a go at making a C++ report into a CS record, you're going to increase some ghastly encounters. It won't work in any capacity whatsoever.

We surmise you could state C# and C++ share a lot of work on speaking Java and JavaScript. Which share as much inside and out that truly matters as Ham and Hamster. JavaScript was named in that limit, so individuals would think it had something to do with the primary language Java.

Which was, by at that point, outstanding, so essentially eagerly following their achievement in some tricky substance move. The equivalent may be significant with C#. Individuals recognize it has to do with C++, so they give it a shot. I wouldn't get it past Microsoft, considering the way that, before C#, they made J++, which was on an essential level only Java with little distinction. After a case, they expected to exhaust it and made C#.

C# is passing on my supported programming language. While it may not be as smart, it has consistent heaps of luxurious highlights that make life less troublesome, similar to verbalization body individuals, get and set properties, Linq, and so on.

They're tenaciously including new things and causing it so you can do what used to take 10 lines of code into 1 line. This is essential to me since I feel that what sets aside a program a long effort to make shouldn't be reality you need to type a ton, that shouldn't be the variable. What picks the period ought to be the way by which clever you are and how complex what you're trying to do is.

C# shields you from doing certain things that C/C++ awards you to. In any case, a piece of these things were things that you could never need to do in any case. They were clearly some botch that would incite some extremely odd direct. Likewise, you don't have the foggiest thought why, for instance, giving out in an unanticipated field or having '5;' as a clarification. That line of code isn't "doing" anything, so C# won't let that run since it was probably a bumble.

Masterminded tongues:

Both C vs C# have planned tongues. This proposes before an application is continued ahead a PC or the server, the code must be changed over to matches and some time later executed. An executable EXE report is a genuine occurrence of an orchestrated record that could be written in C++ or C#.

Article masterminded plan:

Undoubtedly, even the way that the legitimate structure changes to an astounding degree, the immense contemplations like classes, legacy, and polymorphism continue as previously.

C vs C# Comparison Table

C program suits Hardware applications, framework programming, chip sorting out, and installed gadgets.

Basic information types included: int, coast, twofold, and devour.

Rigid number of catchphrase utilized in C programming: 32

There is just a lone chief sort open in C

A sifted through programming language.

The execution stream consolidates top-down characteristics.

Through and through reasonable for application and web application progress.

Basic information types included: int, glide, twofold, and devour, Boolean, which is utilized to oversee unsurprising activities.

Undeniably the amount of catchphrase utilized in C# programming: 87

C# recalls 2 pivotal arrangements for it.

A thing composed programming language.

C# follows a base up program structure for execution.

Straight on assessment among C vs C#

1.Size of copies

C: C is a joined language, which will make our codes in the equal reports.

C#: C# is furthermore an arranged language, Which changes over customer code into twofold records.

2. Execution

C: C is a by and large used programming language. C code speedier than other programming lingos.

C#: C# code is more delayed than a C programming language.

3. Waste combination

C: C programming, various programming engineers need to manage memory task and deallocation.

C#: In C# programming, the designer doesn't overemphasize memory the administrators.

4. Sorts of Projects

C: We use C language in the endeavors.

C#: C# programming generally used for web and work territory based applications.

5. Compiler advised

C: In the programming language, a product designer can make any code.

C#: In the C# programming language, an engineer can make code for what they have to make.

Which Language might you want to use for your endeavor?

C# masters and C++ fashioners have various extents of limits, so you can post an extension and comprehend which stage is ordinarily convincing for your undertaking in the wake of examining the various sides.

A solid general guideline is that web and work an area improvement is finished utilizing raised level language, for instance, C#. C# is a touch of the .NET language, which is explicitly expected for web improvement.

In any case, it besides works successfully with Windows-based endeavors. In spite of the way that Microsoft is attempting to port its language to the Linux framework, it is immaculate to stay with the C# and Windows conditions.

C++ is considerably increasingly balanced correspondingly as stages and target applications, yet the maker pool is consistently constrained considering the way that it's not as standard for web and versatile applications.

In case your undertaking bases on unfathomably low-level dealing with, you may require a C++ originator. You can in like way use C++ to make practical, smart applications for server-side programming.

At long last, you can use C++ altogether more than C#, yet it's not regularly the most helpful approach to manage deal with your undertaking.

In like manner, the ideal method to manage pick the correct language is to post your expand and ask organizers their assessments. Fashioners and supporters for the two vernaculars will evaluate their considerations and give you more data on your particular set out to assist you with picking.

Conclusion: In this blog, We explain the difference between C vs C#. As we discussed several features of the C and C# programming languages.

In addition, C# is a straightforward, broadly useful language that has been institutionalized, yet we, for the most part, observe it with .NET system on Windows, while C++ is generally utilized. C# was, for the most part, evolved as a Microsoft elective for the strong Java.

Finally, While C++ needs to follow appropriate engineering and the code has certain officials. C# code is created as parts so it can fill in as a lot of remains solitary modules autonomous of one another. C++ accompanies a lot of highlights that are amazingly appropriate for complex programming systems.

While C# has restricted and straightforward highlights that are generally enough for a basic web application.

If you want to get any computer science assignment help and computer science homework help related to programming assignment help. You can get the best C Programming Assignment Help at an affordable price within a given deadline.

#objective c vs c C vs C c sharp vs c

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ktaebwi · 8 years ago

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[TRANS] 170220 10asia BTS Q&A: Behind ‘WINGS’

10asia (10). Your new song ‘Spring Day’ dominated the digital music charts on the day of releasing.

JIMIN: Every time we release an album, we always have the same feeling of excitement and expectation. This time our members all listened to the new songs at 0 o’clock together too. We’re really touched that our song ‘Spring Day’ ranked #1 on the chart for 24 consecutive hours starting from the 1AM chart. Our previous album ‘WINGS’ received such good responses so we felt the pressure too. We think of our fans a lot and we’re thankful to them too.

SUGA: You may think it’s different from the usual BTS style. ‘Spring Day’ combines British rock elements together with electronic sounds. I wrote the lyrics based on my personal experiences, it’s about missing your friends. I thought many could sympathize with this. Thank you for loving it.

10. ‘WINGS: YOU NEVER WALK ALONE’ exceeded 700,000 pre-orders.

JIN: We were very surprised. These days online music sites are used a lot but people still buy physical copies that much, I think it’s thanks to their love for us. We’ll repay by making and bringing you even better music.

10. Last year ‘WINGS’ set the best records among Korean artists by entering the US Billboard 200 Chart, England UK Chart and more.

V: We received so much love around the world to the point of making us think if we could even receive this much love. We only had happy moments. If there’s a personal goal for me in 2017, my big goal is to enter the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. It’s something all artists dream of.

10. What’s the secret to your popularity overseas?

SUGA: We write the songs & lyrics by ourselves and participate in producing. We keep in mind the kind of sounds that overseas fans would love and work on it. We also actively participate in the final stages like mixing or mastering. I think overseas fans are interested in our music because it doesn’t have big differences to the kind of music that they usually listen to.

RAP MONSTER: BTS always pursue trendy sounds. Another thing is that as the K-pop community becomes more active, our lyrics in Korean are quickly translated by overseas fans, therefore the stories of the youth we’re telling can cross the borders and be sympathized by the youth in other countries too. Our powerful performances in music videos and such also play a part in our popularity.

10. Recently many new boy groups picked BTS as their role model.

SUGA: It’s an honor for us and it also feels amazing. It has already been a few years since we debuted and talked about our role models, the sunbae singers we want to be like with excitement. I want to say to our hoobaes that there’ll be lots of ups and downs and worries. It’d be a time when you would be so worried and anxious that you can’t sleep, but eventually good days will come. Everyone is really cool and there are a lot of good singers. I hope they will, too, become sunbaes and become cool singers.

JIN: The most important thing is the relationship between members. It’s important to work in harmony with each other.

10. BTS is quite active in communicating with fans.

J-HOPE: Yes that’s right. I enjoy watching MV reaction videos of international fans. I relate to the fans a lot while watching their reactions. Like “J-hope is freaking handsome here.” (laughs)

JUNGKOOK: I watch MV theory videos a lot, there’re quite many clever people. There’s also a lot of those who got it correct to the point of making me think “How do you know about this?”, and some even make new interpretations that even we don’t know about it.

V: There’s a scene in ‘Spring Day’ music video where Jungkook runs and the members gather together. I’m the only one who didn’t appear in it so there were various theories raising up. Actually it’s because when we were filming it I forgot so I couldn’t go in. (laughs)

JIN: The scene where V covers my eyes in ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears’ music video was originally given to Suga. Suga’s acting was worse than we thought so it was changed to V, but our fans made theories about that.

SUGA: I think the creations made from the creators’ point of views are open to various interpretations by the audience.

10. There are opinions saying ‘Spring Day’ is reminiscent of the Sewol Ferry tragedy.

RAP MONSTER: We should be careful when talking. As citizens of this country, we feel the responsibility for the Sewol Ferry tragedy and with the thought of expressing our feelings/our hearts, we donated together. The music video for ‘Spring Day’ places emphasis on expressing the lyrics visually. Of course it can be interpreted differently depending on the beholder’s thoughts and point of view. I want to leave it to those who are appreciating it (the song/music video).

10. A part of the lyrics ‘break the glass ceiling’ from another new song ‘Not Today’ stirred up controversy.

RAP MONSTER: I’m aware of that. I have read related articles and posts several times. First of all, I’m grateful because it’s thanks to many people having interest towards the stories we’re telling that there can be talks around. ‘Glass ceiling’ means an invisible but unbreakable barrier and it started from the oppression towards women advancing onto higher positions in the 1970s. It’s mainly used in issues about women’s rights and recently expanded into being used with minorities of the society. It’s not true that the meaning was misused like in part of the lyrics above. Someone questioned whether or not BTS, as successful male idols, have the right to use the word ‘glass ceiling’. If you take a closer look at other lyrics, it starts with the story of ‘us’. Our music making staffs, including us, put it in the music with the meaning that we won’t stay quiet about the problems or the negative parts of the society, and we will break it and join in even if it stirs up troubles. Especially these days we always talk about the social issues. Personally, I’m reading books and meeting with experts while concerning over it. It’s true that we’re still lacking, but I believe that as we take concerns, receive opinions and rectify, we can grow up. We will humbly receive the opinions and criticisms.

10. ‘THE WINGS TOUR’ have been receiving heated response.

J-HOPE: I saw the heated response from South America through newspaper and TV. There were people who had to line up overnight for days to buy the concert tickets, I want to come find them quickly and perform for them.

SUGA: We have prepared the most props ever. We really prepared a lot, you would be astonished. Those with weak hearts should be careful. (laughs) There are many special effects too. Our concerts always have a story inside, this concert will sort out the stories told by BTS’ music.

10. Do you have any new goal in the future?

JIMIN: My goal is to receive the Daesang again. I think there’s nothing as meaningful as receiving the award after working hard for a year.

RAP MONSTER: AX Hall in 2014, SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in 2015, Olympic Gymnastics Arena in 2016 and this year we reached Gocheok Dome, we should work hard for the next venue to be the stadium in the US. (laughs) The current lineup for ‘THE WINGS TOUR’ includes 19 concerts in 11 cities from Asia, South America, North America to Australia. There’ll be more to be added in later, and we’ll show the wings of BTS spreading across the world.

#bts #bangtan #ot7 #bts interview #translation #trans:interview #this thing showed no mercy and fought me all the way through :)#idk i guess it must been me being too strict but i couldn't find a way to translate it properly #i'm always worried if i can convey the feelings and the tones right #and the meaning yeah #things can go really bad from one bad translation; which is why i'm sometime angry at wrong translations #that time i messed up from 'left ear' to 'right ear' (or the other way back) and had a panic attack and got to talk to aki #i'm torn between conveying smoothly or conveying it fully #and worrying over how to make it sound like it's them talking in english with their tones #not me translating it into english with my tone #recently i find it quite hard to translate to a certain level that i can be satisfied with it #it's also the reason why i have stacked up undone works in my drive...#and the list is getting longer #this is just me rambling at 2am i'm calling sick tmr to work #but srsly i hate it when my brain and stuffs won't cooperate so i can translate peacefully

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aelric · 8 years ago

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“The Incident”, authorial intent and reading narrative gaps

Or: Why you’re right, but the person you’re arguing with online is also right.

Fandom is a heated and emotional space, full of passionate people with a particular passion for the same object. Despite this shared passion, however, there is a huge amount of conflict around certain topics within the space, especially when a divisive issue is raised. Such an issue has been raised in the Emmerdale fandom over past weeks, involving concerns and speculation surrounding Robert Sugden having a one night stand with Rebecca White under the influence of alcohol. Termed “the incident”, this has caused a split down the fandom, with many a reading being presented as correct.

In this post, I’m going to try and argue that, within reason, all of these readings are valid, largely due to the existence of a distinctive narrative gap in the scene. It is this gap that takes away a lot of the context for the scene, and produces the opportunity for people to create further readings than they would have been able to if this gap didn’t exist. I’m going to be referring to ideas drawn from Roland Barthes’s essay “The Death of the Author”, concerning ideas surrounding authorial intent and the reader (or in this case, viewer) as author. What I hope to achieve with this post is to help people come to an understanding that there is no real point in trying to put forward one objectively true reading of this scene, as such a reading does not exist.

Just to give some context: I’m a third year undergraduate studying for a BA in English Literature with a minor in creative writing. This is not me trying to put myself on a pedestal above anyone else, but me trying to explain what kind of point of view I’m coming at this subject from.

The Problem with Narrative Gaps

The incident is presented to us in two parts, as is to be expected because of the nature of how soap operas separate scenes in order to explore multiple narratives in one episode. In the first part of the scene, we see Rebecca find Robert on the floor of his bedroom in the Mill drinking from a semi-empty bottle of whisky. She sits with him, he offers her the bottle, and she drinks. In the second part of the scene, the bottle is basically empty. We don’t know how much either party has drank, or what has happened or what has been talked about in the gap between the first and second part of the scene. I’m focusing in on the bottle of whisky on purpose here, because the level of drunkenness of both parties alters the dynamics of the scene hugely. Many claims have been made by many parties, myself included, speculating about this. It has been argued that Rebecca only took one swig and was basically sober. It has also been argued that she drank a good portion of the bottle and, while not being as drunk as Robert, was still very drunk. The amount of whisky in the bottle only indicates to us how much has been drank, not by whom.

The key thing to note with the narrative gap that exists within this scene, is that, from a purely objective point of view, nothing happens in this gap. A TV drama is a text like any other text, and the text is all we have. There is no canon that exists outside of what we see or are told. In short, there is no answer as to who drank the whisky, for example, because that answer does not exist within the text. Anything we, as viewers, put forward is no more than speculation.

No author can walk a reader through step-by-step everything that happens within a story so as to avoid narrative gaps. It isn’t feesible. Emmerdale in particular is limited by the parameters of being a relatively short programme with only a limited amount of time to get across what needs to be put across. As Richard J. Gerrig states in his essay ‘Readers’ Experiences of Narrative Gaps’: ‘Authors count on readers to use inference processes to bridge narrative gaps of various sizes.’ That is to say, the author leaves it up to the reader (or viewer in this case) to use their own intuition to fill in the gaps in the story that they do not have time to tell.

This reliance on reader inference, however, can be problematic when it is believed that all readers are going to draw the same conclusion. There is no such thing as a neutral reader, as every reader has their own set of experiences and biases. For example, an Emmerdale viewer who identifies heavily with Robert is more likely to read the situation in a way that is sympathetic towards him, whereas a reader who identifies more with Rebecca or who simply doesn’t like Robert as a character, is less likely to offer him a sympathetic reading.

It is not to say that either of these readings are wrong. They’re both valid readings, and can both be seen as correct without there being a contradiction (I’ll get onto that in the next section). What is illustrated, however, is that Emmerdale has failed to recognise the impact of this narrative gap if they intend to present either character in particular in a sympathetic light. This gap in the narrative allows for too much speculation.

To put it as simply as I can, it can’t be said for sure what happened between Robert and Rebecca in between the two halves of the scene, because whatever happened does not exist within the text. Whatever happened exists within the mind of each individual viewer.

The Author (screenwriter) Is Dead

There is no way we can know what happened between Robert and Rebecca during the gap in the middle of the scene. So this leads to speculation, and speculation leads to debate. I have no problem with this debate existing. Debate is an integral part of fandom and if fandom had no debate, I believe that fandom would struggle to exist.

However, a problem I’ve observed since the incident is people trying to prove, objectively, that their reading of the scene is correct, or believe that winning a debate is somehow going to lead us closer to learning what the true reading of the scene is. The thing is, there is no true reading. An objectively correct reading of that scene doesn’t exist, no matter what the writer intended for the scene to do.

Let’s assume, for a moment, that the writer was trying to write the scene so that Rebecca would appear to be the victim in the situation. As this scene was developed from a script to what we saw on our screens, there would already be multiple readings of it before it even reached the viewers. The writer would interpret what they’ve written one way, and the director would interpret it another, and then the actors in the scene would interpret it another way which would impact on how it was performed, and then onto post production and so on. Before the episode was even aired, whatever ‘meaning’ the writer would have intended for the scene to have would have already been at least somewhat lost.

Some may argue that the writer’s intention for the scene is ultimately the correct one. This brings us onto Barthes, in his seminal essay, “The Death of The Author”. Wikepedia sums up the arguments made in this essay better than I ever could (I know Wikipedia isn’t a real source but this isn’t a uni essay so I’ll do what I want):

In his essay, Barthes argues against the method of reading and criticism that relies on aspects of the author’s identity—their political views, historical context, religion, ethnicity, psychology, or other biographical or personal attributes—to distill meaning from the author’s work. In this type of criticism, the experiences and biases of the author serve as a definitive “explanation” of the text. For Barthes, this method of reading may be apparently tidy and convenient but is actually sloppy and flawed: “To give a text an author” and assign a single, corresponding interpretation to it “is to impose a limit on that text”.

It’s a divisive essay within the literary community, for sure, but I believe it to be incredibly applicable in such situations as the Emmerdale fandom’s reading of ‘the incident’. What is especially applicable is the ideas surrounding the ‘author-God’ and the idea that any text can be picked apart to find its core meaning. In order to do this, many readers apply intention to an imaginary author, a construction of the author that does not exist. It is easy to try and validate a reading of a text by stating ‘this happened because the author believed/intended x, y or z’. However, it is impossible to know what the author truly intended as we cannot exist within the author’s head. Furthermore, as I stated earlier, with TV shows especially, the original intention of the author cannot be retained because the story relies on the interpretations of to many other parties.

So what happens when we remove this idea of ‘the author’? (I should probably state at this point that the constructed idea of the author is not the living, breathing author themselves, but a concept invented by the reader based on a narrow reading of the author’s intentions). Barthes claims that each reader of a text is themselves an author, as they essentially ‘write’ their own meaning for the text by reading it in their own way. This means that any text can have any number of possible readings and these readings can all be valid, as a text has no ‘true’ objective reading.

Applying this idea to ‘the incident’ then. We’ve already seen how widely this scene can be interpreted because of the lack of crucial information provided in the narrative gap. There is no meaning to found in this gap, as I said before, as it presents something that doesn’t exist. However, just because this gap is a form of absence, it does not mean it cannot be read. The contrary, in fact. This absence is not a black hole that sucks all away all possible meaning, instead, it opens up a space for viewers to construct a meaning that helps them to understand the scene as part of the wider narrative as they view it. No two viewers are going to interact with the scene the same way because no two viewers have the same experiences or biases. Therefore, this absence means something different to ever reader.

Essentially, what Barthes argues allows us to open up a space for the reader to make the text their own, and thereby make it into a text they can understand and work with within their own understanding of the text. There is no one, true, objective human experience, so thereby there is no one, objective way to experience a text. Thus every reading of a text is valid, as it fits into the narrative understood by the reader themselves, a narrative that is only truly understood by them.

Conclusion

What I’ve tried to do in this long, overly complicated post is to try and argue that there is no correct way of understanding ‘the incident’. We saw what we saw on screen, but that’s the only truly shared experience. How each of us interpreted the scene, and how we understood what happened during the gap in the scene and after the scene, is unique to each of us. There will be similarities between the way some of us view the scene, due to similar biases and/or life experiences, but no two readings will be the same. Every viewer has to try and consolidate this scene within the wider narrative in a way that works for them. There are as many versions of this scene as there are viewers of the episode in question.

There is no point trying to argue for an objectively 'correct’ reading because that reading does not exist. Every reading (within reason) is a valid reading. We can debate and discuss, but ultimately, none of us are objectively right or wrong.

#barthes is the bomb dot com #and other sentences i've said without a hint of irony #also im an over-diplomatic person when it comes to fandom #also a nerd #literature student katie #emmerdale text #mine

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bluescarabguy · 8 years ago

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THE AMAZING SPIDER-RANT

Spider-Man is a pretty important character to me. Back when I was a wee little lad, a handful of things happened. In 2002 (I would have been about six years old), Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie came out. I don’t remember if I went to see it in theaters or not, but I certainly remember seeing it many times on cable not too long afterward. Around the same time, to keep my hyperactive ass entertained for a little while, my mom bought me my first (and for quite a while, only) comic book, issue #8 of Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. Growing up, I suppose I was mainly a DC kid, with two of my favorite cartoons being Justice League and Teen Titans. But even back then, Spidey was almost undoubtedly my favorite superhero, and I’m pretty sure I saw Spider-Man 2 in theaters (and I very clearly remember seeing Spider-Man 3 the day it premiered).

Through most of middle and high school, I fell away from a lot of my geekier obsessions, more out of pressure to fit in than disinterest. Sure, I was still INTO comics and cartoons and stuff, but aside from browsing my quickly-outdated copy of the Marvel Encyclopedia every once in a while, I didn’t read comics or really actively seek out superhero cartoons. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe was my first videogame, but other than that? Not really all that much. Even the emerging Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Dark Knight movies didn’t hugely bring me back into the genre except as a casual fan of superhero characters and a sizable movie buff. Just as high school was ending, though, I started getting really huge into anime, which was my gateway back into hardcore geek culture as a whole.

Then, during my freshman year of college, after hearing about how good it apparently was through the internet (I suppose I’ll credit Nostalgia Critic Doug Walker, since he marked it as the greatest nostalgic cartoon of all time), I started watching Batman: The Animated Series. This was around the same time I started playing through the first two Batman Arkham games, so all that together made me get REALLY big into Batman. I went back and watched the Michael Keaton movies for the first time, checked out all of the recent direct-to-video animated films, and finally started reading actual comic books again (other than my copy of Watchmen, I really hadn’t read the actual stuff) by picking up some of the more recognizable and well-regarded Batman collections (Dark Knight Returns, Killing Joke, Long Halloween, and Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s then-ongoing New 52 run among them). For a little while, I was ALL about Batman. Best superhero, hands down, no one’s as cool as ol’ Brucey.

Out of curiosity, I started checking out Superman’s direct-to-dvd movies as well, and reading some of his more prevalent comics. Stuff like All-Star Superman and Superman: Red Son, along with movies like Superman vs The Elite, Chris Reeve’s original 1978 performance, and so on, and let’s not forget to factor in Max Landis’ outstanding American Alien that was running at this time. And as I looked into Supes more, I started to realize that indeed I found Clark Kent to be a far more meaningful and relatable character than Bruce Wayne. You see, I don’t really have some big tragedy that defined my path in life. Much like Clark, I was adopted from infancy by two amazing parents who taught me to be an upstanding and moral person, even if I didn’t realize it. So for a while after that, Superman was my favorite hero: the paragon of what a hero should be, someone who doesn’t need to extrapolate some personal tragedy to motivate them into doing good, but who just innately understands (though both instinct and good parenting) that one should use the talents they have to better the world.

But here’s the thing about Superman. Remember what I said about extrapolating tragedy to motivate doing good? Clark Kent doesn’t really have that. Clark didn’t know that he was an alien until he was a teenager (depending on the version), and while it’s sad in theory that he’s (initially) the last of his kind, Clark identifies FAR more as a human being from Kansas than he does as an alien super-god, at least in my interpretation (once again perfectly summed up in American Alien: “I’m not from Krypton–I’m from Kansas.”). In terms of a big tragedy, that’s what I like about the character: that he doesn’t need to have someone important in his life die in order to motivate him to do good (though the death of Jonathan Kent CAN be done and done really well, as in Superman: The Movie, or really poorly, as in Man of Steel), and therefore is a hero out of selflessness and good nature, not at all out of guilt. But the thing is, life isn’t really about big tragedies, it’s about small ones. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the difference between fiction and reality, it’s that real life is ANTICLIMACTIC. There’s no orchestral swell to back you up when you really need courage, and there’s no sad piano theme to confirm that you’re correct to be feeling down when you do. Life continues on, and sometimes you get over horrible incidents within hours, and yet the smallest grievance or “maybe if I’d done this” can swirl around in your mind for years.

Superman doesn’t really tend to have a lot of small interpersonal problems to deal with. Clark Kent wasn’t bullied in school for being geeky and weird, he didn’t lack social graces, he was (as far as those he grew up with knew, though how he felt on the inside about hiding his powers depends on your interpretation) relatively popular, handsome but not a model, strong but not a jock or bully, intelligent but not a nerd, his main attribute as a person being his good nature and willingness to stand up for people. Good role model? Hell yes. Incredibly relatable to the everyday person(or more specifically, the average comic book reader in the modern age), despite being the textbook definition of average? Not really.

Enter Spider-Man. It’s well-known that Stan Lee’s direction with Spidey, that he have real-life problems like money and socialization as well as villains and strange happenings, was initially looked upon with skepticism by publishers who thought to themselves “all the people want to see is the hero fighting the villain and other stuff they can’t experience in real life. Why would they want to read about a superhero doing stuff THEY have to deal with too?”. But that’s the genius of this character. Lee (and Ditko, and whoever else was involved in Spider-Man’s initial conception) thought of Peter Parker as a real human being first and as a set of interesting super-powers second, and even with the very hokey writing style of silver-age comics (with characters narrating their every thought out loud and everything ending in an exclamation point!) that still shines through even today.

Now just to warn you, I MAY steal a lot of my upcoming points from Bob Chipman, aka MovieBob, and his “Really That Good: Spider-Man 1 & 2″ video (which is excellent and you should go watch it). But anyway.

One of the bigger things I take umbridge with in the two most recent solo Spidey films, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is that Peter Parker, simply put, just doesn’t seem nerdy enough. Or to be a little more complex, watching this film, I don’t get the feeling that this kid, based on what we know of him, would have been bullied as heavily in high school as the film seems to imply. He’s relatively attractive and doesn’t seem to be suffering from the ill effects of puberty (obviously partially due to being played by a 25 year old) and other than having trouble finding the courage to ask out the girl he likes, he doesn’t seem to lack the ability to socialize with others his own age.

In contrast, Tobey Maguire’s Peter from Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy (though moreso the first two films) is positively pathetic. He’s soft-spoken and lacking in confidence unless he’s directly passionate about a subject (such as in Spider-Man 2 where he’s excitedly conversing with Otto Octavius about nuclear physics). He’s not UGLY, but there’s something about his face that doesn’t exactly scream “handsome” either. When his bosses are yelling at him (whether that be J. Jonah Jameson in all the movies or Aasif Mandvi’s pizza shop owner from the start of SM2) he’s very quiet and just like “ok. yes. I apologize” and has an air of confusion and “please don’t hurt me yelling man” that’s unmistakable. Not only does he not really get how to talk to Mary Jane even though they’re friends and he’s deeply in love with her, he doesn’t seem to really know how to talk to anyone unless it’s something he’s personally passionate about. Some might criticize Maguire’s somewhat monotone delivery in some scenes as bad acting, but you’ll notice he only ever really does it to a degree that’s distracting in a scene where Peter is clearly, visibly uncomfortable.

Now, some people might say that this stereotype of the wimpy nerd who has trouble connecting to people is just that, a stereotype, and needs to be excised from popular culture in favor of more nuanced portrayals. But here’s the thing:

I was that stereotype. For a long time, that geek who couldn’t make friends and was tormented by schoolmates WAS me. Hell, even though I think I’ve improved a lot, in a lot of ways it still IS me. And I’m not conceited enough to think that that kind of life experience ended with me. So to downplay this idea of nerdiness in favor of some idea that “yay! we’re all nerds now!” is, in my opinion, foolish. Just because once nerd-only things like superheroes or anime are now more culturally acceptable in a broad sense doesn’t mean that shy, awkward nerds who turn to escapist fiction to ease their problems don’t still exist. Not saying there’s anything WRONG with being well-adjusted and sociable and popular and being a huge geek too, or that they lack “nerd cred” or something, but you get what I mean.

Perhaps all that is why @hannahblumenreich ‘s Spidey-Zine comics really struck a chord with me. The “high school sucks but sometimes you get to be Spider-Man” comic is poignant enough, and yeah, that’s definitely high school, but the one that really got to me was the Cowboy Bebop one. Spidey gets asked by a girl on the street to walk her home because some guys are following her. As they start moving, he awkwardly asks “sooooo…you ever see Cowboy Bebop?”, to which she replies “What’s that, like…a band?”. We cut to Spidey and the girl on the subway halfway there, and he’s just rambling excitedly as he’s just finished RECAPPING IN GREAT DETAIL THE FIRST EPISODE OF COWBOY BEBOP. AND GOING STRAIGHT INTO THE NEXT ONE. And then after he drops her off at home, he puts in his headphones, puts on Tank! (the Cowboy Bebop opening theme), and swings off to do some more superheroing. Not only is rambling like a madman about something I’m into to somebody who quite honestly probably couldn’t care less, but they’re with me and it passes the time, a thing I do CONSTANTLY, I’m more or less certain I’ve done it about THIS EXACT SAME SHOW. And putting on Tank! in the headphones to make the journey to wherever I’m headed more epic that it really is? I’ve done that a billion times too. See that’s the genius of this character, when he’s written well as a teen and young adult (writing him as a full-on adult is another set of issues): He’s one of us. He has all of our problems, our quirks, our fears. And while the mask he puts on to hide his true self and make others feel better is a literal one, it’s one we all wear metaphorically.

It’s why, despite forgetting it for a while, he’s my favorite super-hero, hands down, and up near the top of my favorite characters in anything, ever. Because you know what? Peter Parker is me. Who am I?

I’m Spider-Man.

(btw like I said earlier you may want to check out MovieBob’s Really That Good on Spider-Man 1 and 2 :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD3h_bT0Mfg )

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macgyvermedical · 8 years ago

Note

Thanks for your reply. I didn't quite know how to send you the Kingsman screenshots so I made a tumblr post with them, I'll send you the link in a second. Btw, one thing one cannot see in the caps is that the heart rate is actually changing in the scene where he wakes up, which is sth I don't see often on TV.

No problem!

(And thanks for your reminder! I know I haven’t done much on this blog recently… I have very little motivation for a lot of things as of late and this week in particular sucked pretty terribly, but I’m going to try to answer the best I can)

Disclaimer: I’m not an ICU nurse, nor have I seen (or read fanfic of) this movie. Everything is based on my critical care classes/clinicals in nursing school and my conjecture as to what happened based on what I’m seeing in these screen shots.

From what I’ve seen of ICU settings, this was pretty well done. They clearly did their research and/or hired a consultant when designing this set. Certain things I particularly appreciated were the presence of a central line (an IV that ends in a large, central vein- necessary for drugs that could injure smaller vessels, like many that would be used in an ICU setting), the not-overly-neat wires/tubes/hoses, and the changing vitals on the monitor screen.

(The following is mostly an explanation of what you’re seeing in the screenshots- nitpicks and a real-life pic for comparison at the end)

Here’s what’s present in a couple of those screenshots:

Monitor display: Showing two leads’ worth of ECG readings (green), heart rate (green), central venous pressure (the pressure in the vein that carries blood into the heart- yellow), oxygen saturation (blue), and non-invasive (cuff) blood pressure (purple).

The blood pressure cuff: Hooks up to the monitor display and will cycle (take a reading) at set intervals. While manual blood pressure is taken by listening to a pulse as the cuff slowly deflates, automatic cuffs sense vibration in the blood vessels as the cuff deflates, which can be interpreted by the computer.

Hardwire ECG leads: These are leads that go directly from the pt and physically plug into the monitor. They measure the electrical activity of the heart and present a graph of that electrical activity. They are common in ICU settings but mean the pt has to be physically disconnected if they ever want to get out of bed.

Pulse-Ox/SpO2: This is a device that optically or physically measures pulse (which can be different than heart rate as measured electrically) and optically measures oxygen saturation. In this case, it would be helping to determine whether the ventilator settings were correct.

Syringe pumps: syringe pumps are used when only teeny-tiny volumes of medication are needed. They’re a lot more common in pediatric settings, but are definitely used in adult ICUs for very high potency drugs (especially drugs to increase blood pressure, sedatives, and painkillers). Syringe pumps are usually not the only pumps in the scene though- likely there would be at least a few “line pumps” controlling delivery of larger volumes of fluid like IV hydration, antibiotics, and electrolyte replacement fluids that come in hanging bags. Line pumps look like this:

(EEEP EEEP ………… EEEP EEEP

Endotracheal (ET) tube and securement: This is a tube that goes from just outside the pt’s mouth to their lungs, maintaining the pt’s airway and allowing the ventilator to deliver breaths while the person is paralyzed/sedated and unable to breathe for themself. The securement device keeps it from accidentally coming out or moving out of place. Missing is an NG or OG tube to deliver tube feedings, which would be necessary in this situation.

Central Line: This is an IV with a very long catheter (tube) that is placed in a vein (inserted surgically into the arm or upper chest) and that ends near the heart. This allows for administration of drugs/fluids at high pressure/volume and administration of drugs that could harm smaller peripheral veins. Simple versions (PICCs) may just provide reliable IV access to people who don’t have great veins, but they can be very advanced and include monitoring devices built in.

Because the monitor display is reading central venous pressure (CVP) (something that can only be measured by a sensor very near the heart), this guy’s central line is one of the more advanced ones (I’m still not seeing the external component to the CVP monitor but maybe its just hiding).

Also I’m going to guess that his injury has something to do with his chest and they’re monitoring for tamponade/pneumothorax? Because he seems a little young and healthy to be stricken with heart failure.

Peripheral IV: In addition to the central line, he’s also got a peripheral IV. These are much shorter catheters (about two inches at most) that can take IV fluids and many IV medicines that don’t need to go in a central line.

Miami-J collar: These are hard collars that do not allow movement of the neck (versus the soft foam ones that are for comfort only). Usually you see them in the field when injury is suspected, and they’re taken off once it’s ruled out in a hospital. The fact that he’s wearing one in this scene means that they’ve done the necessary imaging and determined that his neck was indeed injured in whatever happened to him. I’m guessing this guy was in a coma for a while (it would be arguably more important when he’s awake and moving around, so I’m guessing he had some time to heal and they took the collar off).

Ventilator: These devices breathe for pts who can’t breathe on their own, or assist for pts who find breathing prohibitively difficult. The screen shows a real-time graph of the breaths delivered and how much air was given with each breath.

There’s really not a whole lot that I’m downright “well that’s not realistic” about, but here are a couple nitpicks based mostly on ease of nursing care for him:

How would you suction that ET tube? (I’m sure there’s a way to do it but I’ve only ever used in-line suction before and it seems strange that this setup doesn’t have that given this movie came out so recently)

Why no line pumps? Why is EVERYTHING going through a syringe pump? That seems tedious…

Why are no lines labeled? That seems dangerous and confusing…

If they gave him a CVP monitor, why not also give him an arterial line? Especially since they’re probs going to need lots of arterial blood samples to make sure the vent settings are working right and it would be easier than sticking him that many times IN AN ARTERY…

Feeding tube- if he’s out as long as I’m guessing he’s out for (via the collar) and there’s no problem with his digestive tract, I’m gonna guess he’ll need some food (but tube feeds are rather icky for the whump community, so I get why they omitted it aesthetically).

Compare the screenshots you took with a similar scene from an actual ICU:

NOTE: I got this pic from a google image search, if you recognize it and would like it removed, let me know!

[Patreon] [Fiverr]

#whump reference #writing reference #kingsman #ICU #intensive care units #crit care

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jam2289 · 5 years ago

Text

An Email About Writing, and a Reply

A friend sent me an email recently asking some pertinent questions about writing.

Here is part of the email from Sharon.

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Have you ever coached a fantasy writer? How silly do you consider this genre?

I have this dream to finish my story before I die and that’s not looking as good as it used to! Years go by really fast as it turns out.

What’s a good first step for this process? Or, do you have a series of essays on how to get off your butt and just write?

- - - - - - -

Those are good questions, and hard to answer questions. Here is my response.

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I quite like fantasy.

My writing coaching has just been on the skill rather than on projects, so I've mostly played with tiny little stories that we make up at the time.

There is no correct process for writing, and no correct writing time frames. Patrick Rothfuss worked on his first book for 14 years before it came out. Stephen King took 30 years to finish the Dark Tower series. J. K. Rowling had all seven books planned in detail before she began the first. Her planning took 5 years by itself. C. S. Lewis just did it one book at a time. George R. R. Martin has a general idea of where he's going, but no detail.

Writing only requires writing. So it's whatever works for you. I only really make progress when I'm doing articles for the blog where I'm going to publicly post them soon. I just happen to like that. If you can block out a certain time to write, do that. If you can set a goal of writing a certain number of words a day, do that. None of that works for me, my conscientiousness scores are just too low to handle it. But, writing in little bursts of inspiration has worked for many people as well.

It's whatever gets you going. If you feel like writing detailed plans and that will get you putting things on paper or screen, then do that. If there's a scene you're excited about, then write that. Gabaldon writes her books completely out of order just based on what she feels like doing at the time, and then arranges the scenes later. Robert Louis Stevenson made a list of chapters and then wrote Treasure Island chapter by chapter, and read each to his family by the fire that same night. When he wrote Jekyll and Hyde his wife awoke him in the middle of an inspiring nightmare and he wrote it in three days. When she didn't like it he burnt it and rewrote the entire thing again, all while being on doctor prescribed bedrest.

As for fantasy being silly, it is no more silly than any other genre. A western can be silly or serious. Fantasies are communicating personal and collective archetypes, patterns of interpreting and acting within the world, just as all narratives are. The Emperor Has No Clothes is an important work detailing deception, self-deception, authority, social structures, the value of innocence, fraud, and more. The Chronicles of Narnia is a Protestant religious work, and The Lord of the Rings a Catholic one. Harry Potter has an almost unlimited number of important subjects, not the least of which is the exploration of the good and evil that divides us all within ourselves, how the evil within being incorporated into us protects us from the evil without, and how by dying unto self we may be reborn. So, fantasy is not so silly. It allows us to have fun while confronting subjects of the utmost importance, and maintaining enough distance to allow us a less reactive perspective on emotionally engaging topics.

Finally, writing does require a leap of faith. That's why it's an adventure in itself.

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Letter writing is a lost art. But I like it. I'm reading the letters exchanged between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson right now, along with the letters between John Adams and Abigail Adams. They offer some of the best insights into history, and into people, that I know of. And, fictional letter writing as in Johan Wolfgang von Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and Ovid's "Heroides" give you a different feel than that of other literary works. (Technically that's its own field of study called epistolary writing.)

Emails are not letters. But sometimes they start to feel like that, and it feels good. Here is a slightly edited reply from Sharon.

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Wow Jeff this is such a great email, you should post this to your blog as is! It’s very motivating just reading about how other authors work. I usually imagine them as tirelessly holed up in book laden studies writing away for endless days.

I know it took Tolkien about 20 years to finish LOTR etc. and I often think maybe that is why it is so good.

The thing that has gotten me writing finally is that I just tell myself no one will ever see this...

Constructive criticism I take VERY well but someone saying “wow this is just a piece of garbage” I’d have a hard time with.

And everyone knows that “no filter” is sort of the new norm.

Thanks social media.

I guess I will just jump in and do whatever and see where it goes.

How are you enjoying isolation?

Feels pretty normal to me, I kind of live in a pumpkin anyway!

Have you written a book yet? Or mostly essays?

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She has a lot of good points in this email. I've had the same concerns.

I wrote an article about other writer's writing processes a couple of years ago called "The Write Process", and it did help give me a well-rounded perspective on the reality of writing. There are many interesting ones that could be added to the list, like Michael Crichton writing scenes on 3x5 cards until he had a shoebox full, but just knowing that a dozen famous writers all disagree on almost every aspect of writing is quite helpful mentally and emotionally. Here's that article: http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2018/01/the-write-process.html

Then there's the whole can of worms on being on both ends of creating and criticizing. One important realization is that critics and creators aren't writing to each other or for each other, they are writing for a public, otherwise it would be in private correspondence. I wrote about that idea more in "Critics and Creators": http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/02/critics-and-creators.html

My last response reflects some of those ideas.

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Lol. I was thinking the same thing about making that an article.

I agree that it's very motivating to see how other authors do it, and to realize that they all completely disagree. For instance, Shonda Rhimes is a prolific television writer known for Grey's Anatomy. She says that if you write every day you're a writer, if you don't you're not. Her favorite writer is Aaron Sorkin. He wrote The West Wing and various movies. He says that 90 percent of a writer's time is not writing. When he's writing a movie he usually thinks about it for about 18 months and then writes it in 6. So, by her definition Shonda Rhimes' favorite writer isn't a writer.

If keeping your writing close to the chest works for you, do that. Social media is crazy. I've even gotten some death threats for my political article on Antifa. I've had a number of insults for my writings on grief, where I'm developing an original theory. But, I've also had a lot of good compliments and people sharing my work. I'm certain that by this time my article on suicide has saved a few lives because of the circles that it's been shared in.

Isolation isn't too big of a deal for me. I teach English online and spend most of the rest of my time reading, writing, watching, and meditating.

I've written over 300 articles. Which would come to over 2,000 pages in a book, but no book yet. I'll probably make some article collections this year.

- - - - - - -

In addition to the over 300 articles I also have notes for more than 200 additional articles. I'll never run out of things to write, I'm guessing that the more I write the more I'll fall behind in comparison to the ideas that I have yet to write. I've been urged to write books about my adventure traveling out west mountain climbing, and my couple month road trip, and my near-death misadventure in Africa. Those would all be interesting, but I lived them, so it's not that adventurous for me to write about them. I do have some major works that I want to tackle in this lifetime though.

Out of all of the projects that I have started and have in mind there are two that would compromise major life works. One is a philosophical work creating a new structure connecting epistemology, ethics and morality, and political economics in a better way. The other is a literary work to compliment "Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus. I do not know if I can accomplish either of those in this lifetime, they both still feel a little out of my reach in terms of mental insight and writing skill. But, there are other projects that have been growing which are unique and could contribute quite a lot to society, such as my original theory of grief, a new literary analysis method, work showing the emergent nature of morality in art, the historical pattern of abolition, my unique experiences and insights into meditation, and some of my current work in applied politics. So, my work has just begun.

Whenever we set out on a new venture doubts and concerns spring to the fore. Those are the things that make us stronger in overcoming them. And throughout history, letters have contributed to the overcoming of many such obstacles. Just maybe, it's helped in this case too.

________________________________________________

To read more from Jeff go to JeffThinks.com or JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com

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theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

Link

President Donald Trump is doubling down on his call to end birthright citizenship by executive order, embracing a fringe interpretation of the 14th Amendment backed by people who oppose granting universal citizenship to children born in the United States.

Trump caused consternation on Tuesday when he declared in an interview with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan for an upcoming HBO special that he planned to end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to unauthorized immigrant parents. He falsely claimed that the US is the only country to grant citizenship to everyone born here. (More than 30 do.)

The president, who just days ahead of the 2018 midterms is stoking divisions on immigration in an effort to fire up the Republican Party’s base, on Wednesday reiterated his executive order idea on Twitter. He claimed that birthright citizenship costs the United States “billions of dollars and is very unfair to our citizens” and that it would be ended “one way or the other.”

So-called Birthright Citizenship, which costs our Country billions of dollars and is very unfair to our citizens, will be ended one way or the other. It is not covered by the 14th Amendment because of the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Many legal scholars agree…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018

Trump claimed the matter is not covered by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution because of the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” His claim appears to be that unauthorized immigrants’ children aren’t “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. Opponents of birthright citizenship endorse this interpretation (Vox’s Dara Lind has a full explainer on the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship.)

The president’s plan to scrap birthright citizenship via executive order has sparked a lot of debate, namely about whether or not he can actually do it. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday rebutted the idea, saying that changing birthright citizenship would “involve a very, very lengthy constitutional process.”

Most people assume that the 14th Amendment’s text applies to everyone born in the US, regardless of where their parents were born. But the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether that applies to children of unauthorized immigrants.

Per Lind:

Trump and the critics of universal birthright citizenship are correct that the Supreme Court has never explicitly held, as a matter of law, that children of unauthorized immigrants born in the United States are citizens. (It has assumed that they are; in the 1985 case INS v. Rios-Pineda, in which the parent of two US-born children challenged his deportation order, the Court referred to the children as US citizens by birth. But because the Court didn’t make a formal legal finding in this regard, the statement was just dicta, or rhetoric.)

That doesn’t mean the executive branch has the power to unilaterally clarify what the Supreme Court meant. In practice, Trump signing an executive order redefining birthright citizenship would be a way to bring the issue to the attention of the Supreme Court — doing what he wants, and daring a conservative court with two Trump-appointed justices to stop him.

It’s unclear whether there’s an actual timetable for Trump’s executive order, or if one even exists. Trump has also been touting a non-existent tax plan ahead of the midterms, and he’s been talking a lot about immigration in an effort to fire up voters. He’s been stoking fears about a migrant caravan from Central America for weeks and is now sending 5,000 troops to the border to keep the migrants out, even though they’re still hundreds of miles away.

Trump’s plan, if there is one, appears to be to get the matter to the Supreme Court, which he indicated in a second tweet on Wednesday.

….Harry Reid was right in 1993, before he and the Democrats went insane and started with the Open Borders (which brings massive Crime) “stuff.” Don’t forget the nasty term Anchor Babies. I will keep our Country safe. This case will be settled by the United States Supreme Court!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018

It’s not clear how such a challenge could play out. “Perhaps he is banking on the Supreme Court to change its interpretation of the 14th Amendment to permit him to circumvent it via executive order,” Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, told Vox’s Sean Illing, “but that is very unlikely given its clear language.”

Trump does not appear to believe so.

Original Source -> Trump wants the Supreme Court to take up birthright citizenship

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republicstandard · 6 years ago

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A Critique of the Critique of the Culture of Critique

This article is a follow-up to the "Jewish Question" debate, replying to Nathan Cofnas' Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy.

Professor Kevin B. Macdonald is the Professor Emeritus and Editor of the Occidental Quarterly. He is perhaps best known for writing the three-volume series, The Culture of Critique. In this work, he writes about the history of Jewish group strategy, a variety of collective altruism used to empower Jews - religious and racial - at the disenfranchisement of gentiles, particularly individuals of European descent. He outlines this by specifying Jewish interference in multiple countries and cities throughout the post-Christ period and explains their meddling in governments, economies, and public images of many highly traditional nations.

Jews were originally expelled across states comprising the European continent, then in North Africa, and finally other Arab states within the Middle East. A common tactic used by the Jews which led to their many, many expulsions, was denying ethnic and religious identities for various demographics across different continents. Jewish legacy can be seen today, where they control a disproportionate quantity of the media and property in the West. This much at least is surely undeniable as a matter of historical fact.

Nathan Cofnas of Oxford University wrote an article in response to Kevin Macdonald’s theory of Jewish involvement in the cultural sphere. It was published in an issue of the journal Human Nature.

On the website Ideas and Data, an extensive and detailed analysis of Jewish overrepresentation in Europe and the United States was made; The Jewish Question: an Empirical Examination. This data was later used to produce a video called A Celebration of the Jewish People by Ryan Faulk, who goes by the username The Alternative Hypothesis.

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A friend of Ryan Faulk, around the same time he published his video, made another video titled The Jewish Question: an Empirical Analysis. I have also been told, and anyone can see that the names are the same, that Sean Last is the proprietor of Ideas and Data.

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Nathan Cofnas made a reply to the article itself, making sure to specifically refer to Sean Last. Clearly, Cofnas is at least aware of the supporting data for Macdonald's ideas.

I have four major problems with Cofnas' critique, Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy: A Critical Analysis of Kevin MacDonald’s Theory.

On anti-Gentilism and anti-Semitism

Cofnas has a mainstream perception of Jewish resentment toward gentile survival and genetic determinism – especially that of European and Arab non-Jews – relating to past events, such as persecution in Europe and Israel.

Since New Antisemitism developed after World War II, most people critical of Jews who exist within the Western world will bring up concerns over their representation in Western media, economics and political fields such as parliaments, voting, and general government-related issues, as opposed to their past atrocities, such as the Holodomor (Ethnic Ukrainian famine in Eastern Europe) and their high enrolment rate in the Soviet Union’s army (page 659). The over-representation of South Caucasians is due to most of them being Muslims (Azerbaijan comprising the largest nation in the region), as Nazi Germany made it illegal to practice any other religion aside from Christianity, and even then, just Protestantism. Catholicism and Islam were strictly prohibited, aside from Adolf Hitler having positive personal views toward Islam (page 96).

Nobody will deny Jews were oppressed throughout Europe and within the Palestinian territories, but the Jewish Question came into debate far before that of Hitler’s rise to power. Karl Marx’s On The Jewish Question was written in 1843, far before World War II and the drastic changes to Germany’s historical image occurred.

Jews escaping persecution and belittlement in Islamic, Arab countries, fled to Europe where they became evidently troublesome to the continent’s religiously and ethnically homogeneous identity. If Europeans or Arabs were to occupy Israel, then negative attitudes toward their presence would without a doubt be justified.

Seeing Jews want to protect their culture and heritage, as many surveys reveal, taking such pleasures away from Europeans and Christians is unquestionably hypocritical, in the same way it would be to Arabs and Muslims. Those who live within the Palestinian territories and are of Palestinian descent value the same qualities of a country as Israelis do. The two don’t see eye to eye, but they’re not so different when they actually confront their overt similarities.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, whether you agree with its contents or not, was originally published in 1903, and in the Russian Empire of all places. Not in Israel or America, in Russia.

You'll have to ask yourself why the Jews have been expelled so many times throughout history. The evidence suggests that because they seek to be dominant in all fields of power, including in terms of land mass. Israel today is colonizing the remaining Palestinian territories, rather than enacting state control and then declaring two independent states: Israel and Palestine.

On Chomsky and Soros

Cofnas highlights two prominent Jews who oppose Zionism (Israeli nationalism and/or imperialism) as examples as to why Macdonald is wrong. These are Noam Chomsky and George Soros, literally two people out of an ethno-religious population of roughly 16 million by 2016, which accounts for 0.000012499999999999999% of all Jews worldwide. This is clearly not statistically significant.

The Culture of Critique never states every Jew thinks the same. Data disproves that. But that there is a significant correlation between Judaism, Israelis and a bitter disdain for anything outside of that realm that happens when you combine the three.

On Cofnas' remarks surrounding Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany and the Institute for Social Research.

There are blatant hypocrites such as Heidi Beirich who don’t even attempt to hide their hypocrisy, people who can’t be cited as true defendants of the school’s critical theories, but Frankfurt School’s younger members have later arrived to defend the establishment against accusations of Cultural Marxism and Political Correctness and so on. This isn’t a generational aspect of the country, it’s something inherent about ideology.

I actually happen to agree with the concept of a think tank dedicated to promoting socialist ideas through means of academic publication, alongside enrolment of students focused on learning economics from an egalitarian perspective. Despite agreeing with many of Marx’s ideas, I cannot identify with the more socially progressive side of modern academia today. I do very much appreciate and respect the love and care going into teaching Marxist beliefs.

When people reflect upon the Frankfurt School’s legacy, it’s a consideration more on who was influenced and how they were influenced. Less about what the actual philosophers themselves thought, retrospectives on the institute discuss how the future was inspired by the past. To modern Liberals, nationalism is only acceptable in the context of non-European countries striving for independence. If you ask your average liberal person, they’ll tell you they support Tanzania or India breaking free from British colonization, but not Ukraine wanting freedom from the Soviet Union.

Past generations who have read studies published by the Institute for Social Research came to their own conclusions, had their own interpretations. Most came away agreeing with Israeli nationalism, but also believe in European identity having no meaning, and that Europeans shouldn’t act collectively; they should instead only act as individuals. They saw Jews as a group, but not gentiles.

Yet, members of the Frankfurt School would condemn antisemitism even in comedy. In Herbert Marcuse’s essay -part of his book he wrote with other philosophers at the school A Critique of Pure Tolerance, Repressive Tolerance- he argues against speech against minorities groups in the United States, Africans, Arabs, Muslims – Jews being another – Indians, homosexuals, and even ideological groups such as socialists. But free speech was allowed as long as it was directed against more populous demographics, such as European Americans, Christians, and conservatives. Marcuse was in favor of essentially banning antisemitic speech, but permitting anti-gentile sentiment. As Jews show concern for Israel being taken over by Arabs and Muslims, they also display it in the context of the West, having rather unfavorable views of American Muslims as shown by polling.

Herbert Marcuse wrote in 1965:

The whole post-fascist period is one of clear and present danger. Consequently, true pacification requires the withdrawal of tolerance before the deed, at the stage of communication in word, print, and picture. Such extreme suspension of the right of free speech and free assembly is indeed justified only if the whole of society is in extreme danger. I maintain that our society is in such an emergency situation and that it has become the normal state of affairs. Different opinions and ‘philosophies’ can no longer compete peacefully for adherence and persuasion on rational grounds: the ‘marketplace of ideas’ is organized and delimited by those who determine the national and the individual interest. In this society, for which the ideologists have proclaimed the ‘end of ideology’, the false consciousness has become the general consciousness–from the government down to its last objects. The small and powerless minorities which struggle against the false consciousness and its beneficiaries must be helped: their continued existence is more important than the preservation of abused rights and liberties which grant constitutional powers to those who oppress these minorities. It should be evident by now that the exercise of civil rights by those who don’t have them presupposes the withdrawal of civil rights from those who prevent their exercise, and that liberation of the Damned of the Earth presupposes suppression not only of their old but also of their new masters.

Jews are both a racial and religious minority in the United States, but Europeans and Christians aren’t. Well, as of then and now. Unfortunately, I can’t quite say the same for the future. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Christianity or Christians themselves, but it appears that a Jewish and Muslim America would be even more extreme.

One could point out that Marcuse’s essay was based upon the tolerance paradox, which would be true, but ultimately this misses the point. Anybody can insert political opinions into their works, even if the subject matter has nothing to do with politics whatsoever. With that said, in Marcuse’s essay, the entire purpose of why it was written was to make it clear he supported minority speech and suspension of free speech for the White American majority.

On the statistics Cofnas cites on Jewish intermarriage.

In 2013, the Pew Research Center that non-religious racial Jews in the United States married with a non-Jew 58% of the time (between 2000 to 2013; page 35). However, take into account that in 2012 Jews only comprised 2.15% of America’s national population. With this in mind, Jews are 1853.48% more likely to marry a Jew than a non-Jew based upon their population size.

I don’t have a problem with this Jewish tendency. In fact, I don’t think anyone should marry outside their race or religion. Personal feelings aside, when Cofnas claims that Jews are disobedient to their own kind, to imply that they’re not loyal –as I believe they’re perhaps the most loyal out of any of the world’s human demographics– he is denying the facts.

Let’s pretend there’s a country where half of its residents are Jews and the other half are non-Jews. There would be practically no intermarriage between the two whatsoever.

Conclusion:

I find Cofnas to be rather thought-provoking, and for that, I’m happy his criticism of the Culture of Critique exists. Even so, Cofnas lacks an understanding of the collectivism that has been and still is, historically present within Jews scattered all across Earth. And for that, I believe it’s very, very incorrect.

Kevin Macdonald's rebuttal to Cofnas can be found here.

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kristinamacdonald-blog · 8 years ago

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*Rhetoric as Narrative*

In this entry, I will examine the following critical questions: Does J. Cole’s interpretation of the War On Drugs in America in his music video for Crooked Smile reflect the Rational World Paradigm or the Narrative Paradigm? What narratives and truths does it promote about US culture? To investigate these questions, I will look at the rapper’s music video to his 2013 song, Crooked Smile. To answer these questions, I will be drawing from philosopher, Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm theory, ideas from Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch’s Rhetoric in Civic Life, as well as sections from Professor, Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness and statistics about the War on Drugs. With these sources, I will be able to adequately answer my critical questions.

In their book, Rhetoric in Civic Life, Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) explain that narratives are representations of events, language, ideology, culture, and a way of drawing interest. They draw on personal memory as well as public memory. One’s narrative can often indicate their own values and ideologies. Not all people share the same experiences, memories, and values; people disagree. This is why the authors argue that rhetoric is necessary because of human nature. They say,

Ancient teachers of rhetoric thought that disagreement among beings was inevitable because of individuals perceive the world differently from one another [...] Even more important, the ancient teachers knew that people differ in their opinions about how the world works, so it was often hard to tell whose was the best. They invented rhetoric so that they would have means to judge whose opinion was most accurate, useful, or valuable. If people didn’t disagree, rhetoric wouldn’t be necessary. But they do, and it is (p. 18).

Even with the invention of rhetoric, it is still difficult to decide that one person’s narrative is more correct than another’s. Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm Theory helps to categorize narratives. He, too, believes that narratives describe events and history. He explains that humans can interpret events through different paradigms (Communication Theory). First, there is the Rational World Paradigm, which describes a narrative based on data, statistics, and facts. Then there is the Narrative World Paradigm, which tells a story and creates meaning for those consuming the narrative. Fisher says that the two often merge together.

J. Cole’s song, Crooked Smile, was released in June of 2013. With an upbeat tempo, sweet lyrics like, “babygirl, you’re a star, don’t let ‘em tell you you’re not”, the song tells a story about a woman trying to emanate confidence in a world that only criticizes her. That is only on the surface, though. The music video, released in September of 2013, reveals a much different message. One of the narratives evident in Cole’s video is that of a single, black father who is treated unfairly by the justice system. While Cole’s character is indeed a drug dealer, clues from the video show that he is a nonviolent family man. Cole wakes up, brushes his teeth, cleans the house, mows the lawn, and smiles while he counts the seven candles he carefully places on his daughter’s birthday cake. When his daughter arrives, she eagerly runs to embrace him. Soon after, he sings happy birthday to her with his mom and dad. This promotes the truth that not all black men are violent drug dealers who abandon their family. Despite this, later in the video, Cole’s home is raided by an DEA officer who also is a single father with a daughter of the same age. While Cole is being arrested, he watches his daughter die as she is accidentally shot by another officer, after slowly and quietly peering out of her room to investigate the raid that woke her up. Officers proceed to put Cole in the back of a police car as he watches other officers carry his daughter’s body out of the house. Everyone involved in the situation is shook by the death of the young girl. This promotes the truth that it does not matter if you are a violent heroin dealer or a small-time nonviolent marijuana dealer, if you are a black man in America, you will be treated the same. Another truth it speaks is that law enforcement and the government in America care more about taking down people committing nonviolent drug offenses than they do about protecting the lives of innocent people. This narrative also promotes the truth that the War on Drugs is racially charged. Cole’s daughter being fatally shot also promotes the truth that law enforcement is more likely to be violent towards people of color, no matter their innocence; even they are a sleepy little girl. The video ends with a message reading, “For Aiyana Stanley-Jones. And please reconsider your war on drugs.” Aiyana Stanley-Jones was a 7 year-old African American girl who was fatally shot during a police raid in her house in Detroit, Michigan back in May of 2010. This promotes the truth that the racially charged War on Drugs is at fault for destroying families and for the loss of innocent people.

There are advantages and disadvantages to Cole’s narrative. Crooked Smile is a catchy song, so many people will likely watch the music video. This gives Cole a platform to tell a story, and he did. He told a story different from most of the song’s lyrics, in order to send a message. He paints an ugly picture of how the US law enforcement treats people. This narrative has advantages as well as its disadvantages. An advantage to Cole’s narrative is that many people are able to see the issues with the War on Drugs. They are able to learn the name of Aiyana Stanley-Jones. It is a call to action that people may respond to after realizing the unsettling truths Cole promotes. A disadvantage is that people that watch the video may see law enforcement in an unfair light. Not all police officers are racist, hot headed people, specifically seeking out people of color. This places a lot of blame, some deserved and some not, on the American law enforcement. Depending on the consumer, this narrative has the ability to bring the nation together, or tear it apart.

Law professor, Michelle Alexander, further explains that the narrative of the War on Drugs being racially charged in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2011). Alexander explains that the criminal justice system uses the War on Drugs as a key tool for enforcing racism, discrimination, and oppression. The War on Drugs refers to the US government’s campaign of prohibition of drugs. In 1971 President Richard Nixon declared that drug abuse was public enemy number 1, thus beginning the War on Drugs (p. 49). The War on Drugs continued to the present, as proceeding presidents were competitive about who could be harder on drugs in order to gain popularity. From 1971 to the 1980s, the number of arrests for all crimes had risen 28%, while the number of drug offense arrests had risen 126%, resulting in a for-profit prison industry (Human Rights Watch). It is clear that this was racially driven because nationwide, African Americans were sent to state prisons for drug offenses 13 times more often than other races, even though they only comprised a small fraction of regular drug users (Washington Post). It also becomes clear because there are harsher sentences for drugs used more frequently by people of color than by white people (Washington Post). Alexander says, “Virtually all constitutional civil liberties have been undermined by the drug war” (p. 62). She blames this on loose law enforcement restrictions, lawyers fashioning juries to exclude people of color, and the media circulating false information. Her narrative is that the law uses colorblindness to perpetuate racism and unfair treatment.

Based on the sources I analyzed, I conclude that J. Cole’s interpretation of the War on Drugs in the Crooked Smile music video is both representative of the Rational World Paradigm as well as the Narrative World Paradigm. He promotes the narrative that the War on Drugs is racially charged and that it takes lives of the innocent. Based on the facts presented, that narrative is proved to be true. Cole is a black man in America and has had his own experiences. Some people have had similar experiences to him, while others are on the opposite side of the spectrum. That is why rhetoric is necessary. He shares the narrative of people of color in a “colorblind” society.

References

Alexander, M. (2011). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (pp. 49-62). New York, NY: News Press.

The Fair Sentencing Act Corrects a Long-Time Wrong in Cocaine Cases. The Washington Post, August 3, 2010.

Palczewski, C. H., Ice, R., Fritch, J. (2012). Narratives. In Rhetoric in Civil Life (pp. 18). State College, PA: Strata Publishing, Inc.

Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs. Human Rights Watch. 2000.

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