#rather than just take five minutes to mark a ballot and THEN continue with all the rest of the stuff i'm sure you're doing

[cosmogyros]

I think the silliest thing to me about all those folks fervently advocating against voting is... even if everything they said were true, voting still wouldn't cause any harm. And it's easy. So why not do it?

Like, blah blah blah, conspiracy theories, psyops, "both parties are the same", doomerism and hopelessness, etc. – okay, fine. I could decide to believe in all of this shit AND still vote. And even from the worldview of someone who believes in all this shit... voting still wouldn't make things actively WORSE, right?

In fact it's kind of like a political version of Pascal's Wager (obligatory "I'm not Christian or even religious at all" disclaimer; it's just that anyone interested in philosophy knows about Pascal's Wager). Instead of picking a row here...

...You can pick a column, here:

So which column do you choose? Left or right?

[desertwhisperings]

A Series of Unlikely Events: Jeremy Corbyn & the General Election

Certain political trends mark this election out from those held in preceding decades. Five years of unpopular Coalition government, and then the Brexit referendum have altered the face of British politics. Political parties have risen and fallen, some have receded and others grown, and one party has utterly transformed itself. The stunning transformation of the Labour Party in the last 18 months has defied all predictions - and with Polling Day just over a week away, it may throw up one last dramatic surprise for the nation.

How much has happened in two years. Two years ago this month, defying the polls, David Cameron and the Conservatives managed to secure a Parliamentary majority with surprisingly little difficulty, throwing the Labour Party into a state of panic and doubt. One year ago next month, again defying nearly all predictions, the Leave side won the Brexit referendum with an indisputable majority, causing hysteria in international markets and a crash in the value of Sterling. And most shockingly, 6 months ago in early November, despite gag after gag, misstep after misstep, and a campaign overrun with controversy, voters in the United States delivered Donald Trump to the White House - it was a marginal victory at best, but one that shook international political assumptions, and possibly altered the face of politics in America.

But two years ago something else also happened, after a humiliating and decisive defeat in the 2015 General Election, a mood for change overtook the Labour Party. The 2008 financial crisis spelled an end to Blairite centrism (the party and its supporters had little patience left for under-regulated free market economics) and the soft centre-left politics of Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband were simply not cutting through - the political gulf between the two main parties had narrowed to such an extent that it was polish and personality, not policy, that came to decide elections.

Yet in the early summer of 2015, an unlikely figure of change emerged onto the national stage. Following the general election defeat Ed Miliband resigned and the party prepared for a leadership campaign, with the election scheduled for September that year. The usual former ministers and political careerists put themselves forward for the leadership, quickly assembling savvy PR teams, and drawing a coalition of support from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) to help them through the next 3 months of campaigning. It had become custom for the scant left wing of the party to put forward a candidate in Labour leadership elections (the left of the party numbers around 10% of the PLP - 20-25 MPs).1 This time it was long-time rebel and veteran backbench MP Jeremy Corbyn who stood to represent the left of the party - a largely unknown figure who had up until now remained on the fringes of his party, passionately campaigning for the causes he believed in. As Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and a founder of the Stop the War Coalition, Corbyn was always considered a controversial if principled figure, far from the mainstream yet a dependable campaigner for social justice and progressive politics. Corbyn managed to scrape his way onto the ballot, at the last minute, with nominations from MPs that didn’t support his campaign but wished to see a broad debate take place in the party (he needed 35 nominations - 15% of the PLP at the time - and he managed to secure 36 before the deadline).

With his place on the ballot secured, Corbyn aimed to shift the debate in Labour onto austerity politics and social/economic justice, at this early stage in the campaign he had no hope of winning, the main purpose of his campaign was to alter the political debate and bring left-wing policies into the mainstream. Yet the more party members and supporters saw of Corbyn, at hustings and on televised debates, flanked by his mainstream opponents, the more they liked what they saw. Corbyn represented a clean break from the legacy of New Labour and the Blair years - a break the party faithful were desperate for. That summer was one of political radicalism and renewal for the Labour Party, hundreds of thousands of people joined the party to take part in the vote (swelling it’s ranks to such a point that it became the largest political party in Europe), 2 and tens of thousands came out to hear Corbyn address rallies across the country. The mood in the Labour Party, and across the political left in the UK was filled with excitement and optimism in those summer months. All throughout the summer Corbyn’s support continued to build, until he surpassed every one of his mainstream rivals on the ballot. The man who had been given 200/1 odds on winning the leadership was now on course to win. And on September 12th 2015, win he did, and by a landslide none the less (securing 59% of the vote, and winning in every group - party members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters). A summer revolution had taken place, and the Labour party was now a changed entity.

But change is not always appreciated, and as soon as the result was announced a counter-revolution of sorts was already beginning. From the very start of his campaign it was clear Corbyn had minimal support in the PLP, now even as the results were being shared and supporters celebrated the unlikely victory, members of the shadow cabinet began publicly resigning. Those first two weeks were a complete PR disaster for Corbyn and his team, some of it admittedly was self-inflicted, and much of it not. Within hours of his election the British press was packed full of headlines, columns, and opinion pieces decrying the election, predicting the end of the Labour Party, and accusing Corbyn of every sin under the sun. Corbyn himself missed opportunities for a good first impression with the public, despite the media hostility, by not singing the national anthem at a remembrance event 3 days after his election, barely bowing at the war Cenotaph a couple of months later, and attending a private Stop the War Coalition dinner a month later (alienating much of his shadow cabinet in the process). All this amounted to a negative general perception developing around Mr. Corbyn in the early weeks after he became Leader of the Opposition. And so rather predictably, Labour was unable to make much progress in the polls during this period, dampening the hopes of many who believed Corbyn would renew the party and work to assemble a winning electoral coalition in the country under a new radical form of politics.

Over the following months the negative press coverage continued, splits in the broad and inclusive shadow cabinet, first appeared, and then grew, and as electoral tests approached - in the form of local elections in May and the EU referendum in June - Labour and Corbyn remained on the back foot, concentrating on retaining current support and votes rather than expanding electorally. And throughout this period the tension in the party continued to grow, after the shock result of the EU referendum Corbyn’s opponents in the party began to move, at first they demanded he resign - as David Cameron did in the early hours following the referendum - but having only been elected 9 months prior by a landslide, Corbyn refused to betray the hundreds of thousands who had placed their trust in him. Then there were mass resignations in the shadow cabinet led by shadow Foreign Secretary Hillary Benn - still Corbyn refused to go. Growing desperate, parliamentary opponents in the party began organising a coup against their leader, they pushed for a motion of no confidence in him at a PLP meeting - they won the secret ballot with a massive majority (with 75% of his MPs supporting the motion against him) - but Corbyn continued to brandish his mandate obtained from the half-a-million party membership less than a year ago. Finally his opponents succumbed to the pressure and decided to put up a candidate against him for the leadership (many knowing that it was unlikely for the party membership to unseat Corbyn in the upcoming contest, so soon after giving him a landslide victory). Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle made the first move, declaring her intention to stand against Corbyn in a leadership contest later that year - a couple of days later the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith also threw his hat in the ring. After significant debate the party decided that Corbyn, as current leader, did not need to secure MP/MEP nominations to be on the ballot - but the other two candidates did - Smith was able to gain a larger number of nominations and a week after entering the contest, Eagle withdrew in favour of Smith as the PLP ‘unity candidate’.

The summer of 2016 became a repeat of the summer of 2015 - Corbyn addressing massive rallies all across the country in support of his second leadership campaign in a year, and Owen Smith - trailing in the polls, and unable to match the passion and enthusiasm of Corbyn and his supporters - resorting to slogans and personality politics (he claimed to have no significant policy disagreements with Corbyn 3 - much to the dismay of his PLP backers, and incredulity of his opponents in the CLPs4 and party at large). In September as the contest came to a close a Corbyn victory was all but certain, the only question that remained was on the size of his new mandate. In an unprecedented endorsement of the current leader and his politics, Corbyn was returned to the leadership with an increased majority of 61% (despite attempts at voter suppression within the party).

After securing a second mandate with an increased landslide, opposition in the party against Corbyn quietened down significantly - critics now hoped that he would dig his own grave given enough time. Many prayed for an early general election to be called so that Corbyn could be defeated and consequently unseated sometime before 2020 - many were worried about the changes Corbyn would institute in the party if he was allowed to remain as leader in the long term, and some were desperate for time to ‘rebuild’ the party following Corbyn’s departure - after an early election - so that they could be ready for the election that would come after, in their minds a defeat in the short-term under Corbyn seemed a better prospect than one in the long-term under him in 2020.

On April 19 2017 their prayers were answered. After months of denying she would hold a ‘snap election’, citing the uncertainty and sensitivity surrounding Brexit talks, Prime Minister Theresa May performed the most consequential u-turn of the her career by announcing a snap general election in 7 weeks time. With unprecedented personal popularity ratings, and a 24 point poll lead over the Labour Party, the move, though Machiavellian, was rather expected and generally met with apathy or disdain in the wider public. The early campaign was rather pedestrian, characterised by empty slogans and tribal bickering between the parties, 3 weeks after the election announcement, local elections were held in England, Scotland and Wales, with the Conservatives making significant gains - with both Labour and UKIP losing hundreds of seats. At this stage things looked bleak for Labour, they were haemorrhaging support in their heartlands, and failing to gain support outside metropolitan urban areas. But with a month to go before Polling Day, Labour were yet to play their ace card. As the campaign progressed they crafted a simple and easily understandable election slogan - “For the Many Not the Few” - the phrase was plastered everywhere in their press conferences and national election literature, on battle buses and other paraphernalia, and mentioned often in speeches and comments by senior party figures. On May 16 (despite leaked drafts at the end of the previous week) Labour launched their manifesto, named after their election slogan - For the Many Not the Few - a radical and confident political platform that set out, fully costed, the ways in which a future Labour government would undo the problems caused by 7 years of Tory government, and set right the ills that have plagued British society for decades. It included an ambitious plan to set up a National Education Service, along the lines of the NHS, to abolish university tuition fees, to end zero-hour contracts, to build a million new homes - half of which would be allocated to social housing - within a 5 year parliament, introduce a living wage of at least £10 an hour, renationalise the rail network, lift the public sector pay cap - and invest hundreds of billions into the ageing and lagging infrastructure of the country. Such a radical, ambitious and optimistic manifesto demonstrated the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn’s determination to fundamentally alter the status quo, to rebuild public services, to support underserved communities and to promote social and economic justice across the country. For many Labour voters this manifesto represented the radical alternative they had sought in previous elections. Though some were critical of the document, for example, early after its launch some think tanks argued that under this manifesto Labour would continue with £7bn in Tory welfare cuts - but the more likely explanation for this particular issue is that Labour wanted a fully costed manifesto at this election, and therefore excluded certain commitments that could not be ‘pre-costed’ prior to the election. It seems very unlikely that a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn would proceed with £7Bn of welfare cuts.

In the week of the Labour manifesto launch, the Tory campaign suffered a massive set back - they launched their manifesto two days after Labour, with a commitment to pay for elderly social care from the assets (including their homes) of elderly patients after their death, with only the first £100,000 of their assets protected. This caused a massive backlash from carers who look after their elderly parents, and from the elderly themselves who worried that the vast majority of their assets (their children’s future inheritance) would be lost to social care costs. This proposal was soon dubbed the Dementia Tax, and it has caused the Tories endless trouble since it was announced in the Manifesto. The Monday following the failed manifesto launch, Theresa May, sensing the potential damage this policy could cause performed another u-turn, and announced that there would be a cap on social care costs (so that not all but £100,000 of a persons assets could be seized to pay for their social care), insisting that she wasn’t u-turning - despite no mention of such a cap in the manifesto, and Ministers the previous week arguing against a cap in the policy. That evening she took part in a leaders interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, where she looked ‘weak and wobbly’ when put under pressure over the policy. Later that evening a terrorist attack took place in Manchester, and campaigning was suspended for most of that week. By the end of that week polls were showing that Labour had cut the Tory lead down to 5-7%.

The following week a number of televised debates and interviews took place with the various party leaders, and in general Corbyn performed strongly on television when under pressure, and was able to connect with the audience, Theresa May refused to debate in her appearances and refused to appear at a debate, further undermining her claim of strong and stable leadership. And over the course of that week the polls further narrowed, with some reporting Tory leads of as little as 1-3%. Against all expectations it seemed like Jeremy Corbyn was turning this all around.

Now we are where we are. Another terrorist attack, this time in London (the third in the UK in less than 3 months) means national campaigning is suspended for a day, but with the election only days away there is still everything to play for. Labour has been gaining support, Corbyn gaining confidence and credibility, he has come a long way since June 2015 - from reluctant leadership candidate to potential prime minister, elected on a radical people-first manifesto. There seems to be hope in the air, or at least on Twitter.

As Polling Day approaches, the choice at this election is clear, 7 years of Tory rule has hurt the most vulnerable in society, it has pushed the National Health Service into crisis, forced students into immense debt, cajoled headteachers into begging parents for school funding, undermined our relationship with the rest of Europe and bought us little economic stability despite years of promises. The Labour Party represents the hopes of millions, and Jeremy Corbyn represents the future of the Labour Party - a party committed to social justice, equality, investment in people and places, international co-operation and peace, and a government For the Many Not the Few. Corbyn has overcome all the odds to make it this far, outdone all expectations for the election to be this close, if enough people harmed and betrayed under a Conservative government come out to vote on June 8th, he may yet prevail over the final hurdle and transform Britain in the interests of The Many.

1: In 2007, in the leadership election to replace outgoing party leader and Prime Minister Tony Blair, the left of the party supported John McDonnell (Jeremy Corbyn’s current Shadow Chancellor) in his attempt to win the leadership. McDonnell was ultimately unable to secure enough nominations from the PLP in order to make it onto the ballot (candidates needed nominations from 12.5% of the PLP in order to proceed to ballot in that election) and the overwhelming favourite Gordon Brown was elected unopposed.

In the 2010 leadership election, following Labour’s loss in the general election that year, and Gordon Brown’s subsequent resignation, the left supported Diane Abbot (Corbyn’s current Shadow Home Secretary) for the leadership of the party. She was able to secure 12.5% of PLP nominations (33 nominations this time due to the reduced number of Labour MPs returned to Parliament following the election) and made it onto the ballot box. She secured 7.42% of the total vote and was eliminated in the first round.

2: In previous Labour leadership elections voting was conducted through an electoral college with three distinct and equal electoral blocs accounting for a third of the vote each. The electoral college consisted of the following voting blocs, Labour MPs and MEPs, Labour Party Members, and members of affiliated trade unions. The most significant problem with this system was that many individuals, particularly Labour MPs, were able to vote up to three times (tripling the value of their vote), once as an MP/MEP, once as a party member, and again as a member of an affiliated trade union. In 2014, facing internal pressure from within the party Ed Miliband pushed through reforms to the voting system (Miliband beat his brother David to the leadership in 2010 through the backing of affiliated members despite losing among MPs & MEPs and party members), moving to a one member one vote system for any future elections. Under this reformed system a person is offered a single vote if they are a party member, a registered supporter (anyone can sign up as a registered supporter by paying a nominal fee) or an affiliated supporter registered through a trade union membership, no matter how many of those groups a person belongs to, they are entitled to a single vote. This simplified voting system, which allowed hundreds of thousands of enthused Corbyn supporters to join the party as registered supporters, contributed heavily to his success.

3: Smith claimed that the contest was not about policy, that he was a supporter of the new direction Corbyn had taken Labour, but that the contest was about leadership - and that Corbyn lacked the leadership needed to lead the party and win a general election.

4: Constituency Labour Party (CLP) the local Labour Party that exists in each one of the parliamentary constituencies in Britain and selects local candidates.

Sources & Further Reading:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/23/british-pound-given-boost-by-projected-remain-win-in-eu-referendum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_2015

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)_leadership_election,_2015

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Campaign_Group

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-trident-nuclear-weapons-cnd-clive-lewis-criticism-labour-leader-a7330946.html

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2014/mar/01/labour-votes-on-membershipunion-reforms-at-special-conference-politics-live-blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36647458

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36654418

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-open-up-24-point-10259681

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_local_elections,_2017

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2017/may/16/general-election-2017-labour-tax-plans-manifesto-politics-live?page=with:block-591ad7e0e4b0a8ea08b6e945#liveblog-navigation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39960311

[forexrupeesreal-blog]

How to Escape From Depression With Two Essential Steps

"Irene", a 59-year-old bereft grandma, came to see me since her little girl demanded. Irene had turned into a loner, seldom wandering outside her home. She had dropped all her congregation exercises and would not talk with relatives (other than "Debbie", the girl). The greater part of Irene's time was spent resting. Rather than strolling her pooch, Irene let it go around the back yard.

Anxiety and depression

Despite the fact that her dietary patterns had scarcely transformed, obviously this some time ago social, dynamic lady was discouraged. She disclosed to me that the antidepressants recommended by her family specialist just served to make her vibe to a greater degree a disappointment. Following 3 months the pills had not raised her state of mind. She felt vulnerable, miserable, unresponsive and alarmed.

Debbie, a medical caretaker, had turned out to be progressively stressed over her mom who now and again appeared to be an outsider to her. Debbie lives 3 hours from her mom. She induced Irene to look for help notwithstanding the medicinal consideration. The specialists had revealed to Irene that she would almost certainly be discouraged for quite a while - maybe uncertainly.

I advised her "Finding isn't fate".

At that point I made a couple of recommendations dependent on Michael Yapko's work: the answer for despondency is to change designs. Considering this I inquired as to whether she would, when daily, open her front entryway and venture outside for no less than five minutes.

Other "assignments" I proposed were:

for Irene to complete a spot of planting, for example, turning the dirt in her vegetable fix which she had disregarded amid her misery lack of concern. Close to 10 minutes per day except if she had a craving for accomplishing more in the greenhouse.

2 minutes per day to deal with old garments. This had been a volunteer action for Irene's congregation before discouragement struck.

When seven days to take the puppy for a walk, continuously expanding the separation as she felt proficient.

To telephone Debbie with an advancement report every day.

To make a rundown of loved ones to whom she "owed" a telephone call.

In spite of the fact that an individual can't "snap out" of sadness, taking activities, but little ones, starts up the way toward getting away from the limbs of unresponsiveness and misery incited by despondency.

I additionally urged Irene to talk about the energizer prescription the specialists had recommended, including approaching them for the rundown of conceivable symptoms. This rundown is required by law at whatever point a specialist or drug store hands over pills to a patient. Infrequently is this done. What's more, even rarer completes a specialist pay attention to a patient's worries. Irene, for example, got no reaction from her family specialist when she inquired as to whether her a sleeping disorder was declined by the dozing pill he'd recommended.

Since Debbie was available all through the session I enrolled her guide in helping her mom re-fortify her life. Despite the fact that Debbie is a therapeutically prepared individual she comprehends the points of confinement of prescription and the typical mix of disregard and obliviousness among specialists of the social, wholesome and mental variables that influence human wellbeing.

So she promptly consented to visit her mom as often as possible and to bring blessings, for example, a brilliant scarf, new lipstick, and treats for the canine.

There was no formal spellbinding. In any case, I explained EFT [Emotional Freedom Techniques] and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to Irene.

Advancement was fast once Irene enabled herself to think outside about the fate and-melancholy anticipations of the specialists. Simply venturing outside her cabin - and consequently challenging their expectations - started the way toward lessening the wretchedness.

Before long Irene started calling individuals she'd dismissed. Shockingly, they were upbeat to get notification from her. Likewise with the congregation attire gathering - they respected her back with energetic embraces. Inside 3 weeks Irene was by and by a functioning, enthusiastic individual as per Debbie.

What is wretchedness?

There are two noteworthy sorts of sadness: Reactive and Organic.

Receptive dejection emerges from an episode or a particular misfortune. For instance, your house being burned to the ground or your life partner biting the dust. Receptive dejection is self-restricting. That is, with or without treatment, it will end. Maybe inside weeks, maybe months, incidentally a year or more. Post pregnancy anxiety is a case of this time-restricted, self-consummation kind of melancholy.

Natural sadness emerges from inside. It can't be ascribed to a particular injury or misfortune. The standard treatment is prescription in light of the fact that the suspicion is that the discouraged individual has a 'substance unevenness'. Little consideration is paid to conceivable reasons for that unevenness - just to beat the lopsidedness with different synthetic concoctions.

One conceivable reason is being mishandled as a tyke, including being harassed. This can establish the framework for an ejection of misfortune and misery in grown-up life, especially in the event that you were manhandled by your mom.

Notwithstanding, psychotherapy and trance do help individuals escape sadness - with or without going with prescription. Undoubtedly, as indicated by ongoing issues of Skeptical Inquirer and Psychology Today magazines, half of the discouraged patients recommended antidepressants are not helped at all by the medications.

People shift in what they endure under the rubric 'wretchedness'. So it pursues coherently that treatment ought to be close to home, customized to the person.

Misery is regularly portrayed by:

laziness

expanded craving OR no hunger

unreasonable rest OR inadequate rest

defenselessness

sadness

pointlessness (particularly re blame)

poor cleanliness

outrage OR aloofness

self-appall

give up

dejection - yet evasion of other individuals

crying OR powerlessness to give tears a chance to stream

feeling unlovable

There are likenesses with melancholy to the attributes and treatment of tension.

Frequently neglected when managing uneasiness or dejection is nourishment. People fluctuate in their responses to explicit nourishments and fluids. Albeit the vast majority turn out to be increasingly discouraged when they devour liquor or take tranquilizes, some don't. Also, a few people flourish by eating turkey (for instance) while others feel horrendous a hour or so subsequent to eating it.

The best way to know which sustenances breath life into you and which (pardon the play on words) feed into making or developing discouragement is to analyze. Make notes on your responses to explicit sustenances.

Exercise is touted as a fix just for sorrow. It apparently "jump-starts the system" and hence enables the discouraged individual to feel physically better. All things considered, making any move, some activity is the way to settling melancholy.

That activity might be physical or it might be mental, or it might be both. It will be fruitful as long as it includes changing the discouraged individual's examples.

Marks have an awful propensity for adhering to an individual. When named as "discouraged" a sufferer will probably experience difficulty shucking off the name since companions, relatives and collaborators keep on partner the name with the individual - long after the gloom has lifted.

In this way, somebody named as "bi-polar" will be required to encounter misery at the lower end of their passionate crazy ride. Also, this regardless of the likelihood that it may not by any means exist. [Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 37, issue 5, p.38]. The therapist's book of scriptures [DSM - the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual] implies to group the horde of mental "illnesses" people are subject to endure. In actuality this summary of conclusion and hypothesis - in which the presence and side effects of maladies are casted a ballot upon - fulfills the need of the mind-specialists for their affectation at influencing their calling to appear as logical and proof based as genuine drug.

None of the many "ailments" in the DSM has an organic premise. What's more, the present version of (DSM-5) has been denounced as lacking legitimacy by the chief of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Disengagement is a continuous result of being discouraged. What's more, human contact a regular arrangement. Unexpectedly, the very activity that would support a discouraged individual, i.e., working with a skillful expert, is a standout amongst the most troublesome for the sufferer to achieve. It would require so much exertion and strength to get out and to trust in an advisor.

In any case, in the event that the sufferer can deal with some human contact, at that point, as Irene, the misery can be contained and vanquished.

Occasional wretchedness (which happens at the beginning of winter or on occasion of occasions) can be countered by enabling fake light or daylight to change an individual's despairing.

Contemplative people are not any more likely than outgoing individuals to endure with misery. It is even, maybe, harder for an ordinarily friendly individual to persevere through the hosing emotions and detachment.

In spite of the fact that a discouraged individual is probably not going to observe much in life to be entertaining, a standout amongst the most dominant enemy of misery exercises is chuckling. Along these lines, if the discouraged individual used to chuckle at specific sitcoms, or comic books, or YouTube recordings, it could be useful to endeavor re-pleasure in such activities.

Aside from utilizing TV for diversion, however, it's presumably best for a discouraged individual to abstain from sitting in front of the TV, particularly the news.

It merits the exertion for a discouraged individual to wash and dress. For some individuals simply the basic demonstration of sprinkling water all over lights up their temperament.

Craftsmanship - chiseling, water-shading, oil painting - can likewise be useful. This inventive activity can be helpful in itself. Combined with a workmanship advisor's knowledge it very well may be invigorating.

Hypnotherapy can be an advantageous guide, or a strategy in itself to free you from misery.

Job of trance in freeing you of sorrow

Similarly as with other crippling conditions, mesmerizing can be utilized to:

- get to the foundation of a sorrow (and obviously, manage that root)

- spur the discouraged individual to make a move

- urge the sufferer to change his or her examples of reasoning and doing.

- help the individuals who pursue a specialist's remedies for antidepressants to be agreeable.

[vitacalcio]

Landon Donovan's Indoor Soccer Debut with San Diego Sockers

Author: Jeff Carlisle

U.S. soccer correspondent

SAN DIEGO -- The play was vintage Landon Donovan. A right-footed pass took three defenders and the goalkeeper out of the play, allowing a teammate to score at the far post. The crowd roared, his teammates celebrated.

At which point, one could not help but notice the surroundings. The venue was not Dignity Health Sports Park, the renamed home of Donovan's beloved LA Galaxy. Nor was it any of the World Cup venues he has graced over the years. Rather, it was the 62-year-old Pechanga Arena -- formerly the San Diego Sports Arena -- a venue that, to put it kindly, is somewhat lacking in charm.

He had a couple of good early chances that were saved, but by the end, with a couple of fresh turf burns on his legs, he seemed content to provide cover defensively as fatigue set in.

"I got tired in the end, just like mentally," he told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview. "It's one thing to physically push through it, but mentally you get tired because there's so much going on. Even when you're on the bench there's so much going on that you have to stay tuned to, and I'm not mentally fit in that way. I haven't done this in a year. That piece of it is mentally tiring. I'm sure when I have time to go back and watch, I can learn from it, and it will be easier next time.

"I tried to make an impact in some ways. I tried to do a good job defensively and help out. That's not going to show up on a score sheet, but do things and try to help your team win. That's ingrained in me, that's something I'm proud of. I'd give myself a B on the night, and hopefully we get in the A's soon."

None of this was a surprise to Sockers head coach Phil Salvagio, a longtime veteran of the indoor game. He noted that it took Donovan two weeks before he scored a goal in practice, just two days before Friday's match, before adding that the U.S. soccer legend got his second a few minutes later.

"It's the indoor game," Salvagio said. "You think you're going to get a lot of touches. You know what? You saw a little bit that [Donovan] wasn't in the right spots at times. He's going to get it. He had a couple great opportunities on free kicks and power plays. It will come to him.

"Indoor, it takes a normal player about 40 games to get used to it and really know what is going on. There's a lot of strategy, you're changing in [shifts], how to change, when to change, all that is new. Who to mark up, when to mark up. And it's fast. It's end-to-end. If you make a mistake, the other team has a shot on goal."

The broader question centers on a familiar refrain concerning un-retirements: Why? Donovan does not need the money, although the $250,000 he will make between now and the end of the season in April, which is about five times what the next highest-paid player in the league earns, will not hurt.

Off the pitch, Donovan has certainly been busy. He has done broadcasting work and been involved in a bid to bring an MLS franchise to his new home city of San Diego; disappointment lingers that a ballot initiative to build a new stadium was defeated in favor of a competing stadium proposal.

"But I just felt sad for the soccer community [after Soccer City]. And then I came to realize, we have a great club here, a great franchise here. It's not what people expect when they think of soccer, but this is an entertaining, fun game. It's really fun for fans to come and check out. I think having the ability to stay involved is fun for me. And my family gets to come."

Taking in a Sockers game opens a window into a world not often seen, where grinding to grow the game by doing the jobs of two or three people is the norm. Salvagio is the team's former goalkeeper and owns a gym on the side, and the players are no less devoted, despite a total payroll of under $200,000, not counting Donovan.

On the roster, there is a considerable contingent from Mexico, many of whom will return to their home country at the end of the season, as well as several soccer lifers. Leading scorer Kraig Chiles, who spent a year playing for Chivas USA in 2008, doubles as director of coaching for area club Cardiff Mustangs, whose staff also includes Sockers Brian Farber, Eddie Velez, and Chad Haggerty.

San Diego had the best record in the league without Donovan, but outwardly there is no jealousy about his presence or paycheck, due to his professionalism and ability: "It's been exciting. There's been a boost of morale. A shot of energy across the team and the league in general," Chiles said.

"[Donovan's] just another guy on the team," forward Brian Farber said. "There's nothing crazy. The vibe is we want him to fit in; he's fitting in. Just try to make him feel normal. But at the same we know what this is, who he is and what he is. We're not dumb, we're not blind. We love the fact that he's signed here with us."

In the Sockers locker room before kickoff, Donovan is as engaged as anyone, studying Salvagio's tactical plan on the whiteboard, asking questions and conversing with Chiles and goalkeeper Boris Pardo about the team's approach.

A four-goal flurry in the second period -- including a Donovan-assisted goal on a power play to Brandon Escoto -- stakes the Sockers to a 5-1 halftime lead. A Tacoma comeback in the second half falls short, which means San Diego extends its winning streak to 11 games and remains comfortably on top of the MASL's Pacific Division.

Even if Donovan did not play his best on this night and notwithstanding his undoubted financial rewards, there is something endearing about this particular un-retirement. In most instances, a player returns because he or she missed the bright lights and buzz of playing at the highest level.

While that might have been true for some of Donovan's past comebacks, this one feels different and not just because the indoor game is several levels below where he played earlier in his career. This one feels as if it has more giving than taking and is driven by a desire to grow the game.

"There are so many little pockets of the country that love soccer and don't have the opportunity to have an MLS team, or even a USL team," Donovan said. "Now, with the rise of soccer, there are USL 2 teams, there are PDL teams, NPSL teams, teams that matter in communities. For fans, that's their pro team. It's awesome to be able to give that to this community. It's awesome -- and it's not all because of me -- to put 8,000 people in the stands to give these guys the opportunity to play in front of that. They never get that. All of that I think helps soccer get better."

When asked if he thinks he will continue playing after this year, Donovan laughs.

"Haven't you learned you don't know what the [heck] is going to happen with me?" he says. "We'll see how it goes. I'm excited about it. If I keep feeling good about it, and they want me around, we'll see. It's another cool experience."

[its-just-like-the-movies]

Personal Ballot for 2017: Score, Costume Design, Production Design, Visual Effects, and Makeup

Hi all! I’ve begun the slow but steady process of writing out paragraph-long entires for my favorites of 2017 in 20 categories. I pray it’ll all be up by this time in April, if not before then, and the long list without write-ups is definitely susceptible to changes (for instance, Get Out is very likely to take the slot in Score that I’ve given to writing about Dawson City: Frozen Time), but there’s no time like the present to write about last year’s movies. So, without further ado, here are my five nominees (plus a few runners-up) in these five categories.

Best Original Score

Dawson City: Frozen Time, Alex Somers - It’d be hard, if not unbearable, for any kind of film to evoke a sense of awe in the miracle of its own existence. Imagine most films trying to do this for their entire hour and forty minute run time and not trying to bash your head in. But Dawson City: Frozen time pulls it off gloriously, partially because the film builds such a convincing case that the survival of its subject - hundreds of rolls of silent film footage previously thought lost recovered in 1978 - is a genuinely impressive achievement borne mostly from dumb luck, but also because it does a great job flexing its central themes and melodies to suit the tone of its current scene. The score isn’t derived from period tunes, instead taking on ethereal and atmospheric qualities that never tilts into opera, guiding us through complex histories in Dawson City. Yes, there’s a lot of awe, but also panic and terror and discovery, keying in to the developments of the town through its relationship to cinema, helping us grasp the idea that immortality and survival itself is so precarious under circumstances like these. In large part, the work here reminded me of what Angelo Badalamenti’s score accomplished for Twin Peaks - using emotional and mood-appropriate chords to guide us through heady, unusual material

Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer - More wall-to-wall scoring, though almost the inverse goal of what Dawson City: Frozen Time is attempting to do. Here the primary objective is delineating between all manner of suspense and fear as Dunkirk’s characters try to survive amidst their own inhospitable conditions. And since those characters are so intentionally blank, his score basically acts like a piece of opera music, a series movements charting the story more than an accompaniment or accent on the film’s scenes. Hope is strung out as chances for escape seem more and more dire, but the score lets the men’s belief that they will be rescued hit as passionately as their fears that whatever latest hell has sprung out of the sky will surely kill them this time. It also has the sense to submerge itself, adding quieter tensions to downbeats as the characters wait for danger to return and search for means to avoid it. Zimmer runs a decathlon based in exhaustion and the very real possibility that these men will die without growing stale or overbearing, keeping the terror lodged in our guts like a bullet.

Good Time, Oneohtrix Point Never - So accomplished in its sonic textures and moods that calling it exhilarating feels like I’m just scratching the surface. With its reprisals of 80’s synth and electronica, Oneohtrix Point Never’s score maintains all kinds of tensions as the film’s narrative barrels forward. From the opening heist that’s doomed to go wrong (and does, spectacularly so) to scenes of the people orbiting Connie getting trampled as collateral damage, the score finds ways to maintain tension in downbeats while ratcheting it up when necessary, flexing and stretching its motifs to flesh out the psychology of the film’s characters. Buries itself deeply under the audience’s skin without falling prey to any of the pitfalls its musical style entails, and manages to be completely enthralling while fitting perfectly into Good Time’s grotty aesthetic.

The Lost City of Z, Christopher Spelman - Admittedly, I’m unfamiliar enough with the pieces Christopher Spelman cribbed from for his score here to have known off the bat that some of his operatic flourishes were actually operas. So, maybe not 100% original. But! It’s still pretty original, and smartly incorporates works from other composers that fully contribute to the already-operatic nature of his score for Z. Throughout, Spelman avoids accenting obvious rises or falls in the narrative in favor of applying a continuous sense of motion, suggesting simultaneous beginnings and endings without pointing where it could all be going. This simultaneity also allows for the score to play to multiple moods and ideas at once, like the melancholy inside a joyous reunion between husband and wife, or finding a great discovery pointing towards an unknown civilization you have no tools to investigate. Just as Percy’s relationship to the jungles, to glory, and to enlightenment all change in themselves and become more enmeshed in each other, Spelman’s score helps us track these shifting mental and emotional pathways in him and his companions.

Wonderstruck, Carter Burwell - Like everyone in Wonderstruck, Burwell has to communicate between two time periods using totally disparate musical eras while including melodies and tunes that can work for both protagonists. He also has the additional challenge of scoring Rose’s scenes like a silent film, complimenting Millicent Simmonds’s performance without overshadowing her own subtle work. And, without succumbing to period clichés or overplaying the ��wonder” in Wonderstruck, Burrell delightfully meets the challenges of the film on both sides. He gives both the 20’s silent pastiche and 70’s funk modern accents, keeping in tune with what’s dangerous about this adventure as much as what’s exciting and exhilarating about it. Wonderstruck indeed.

Best Costume Design

I, Tonya, Jennifer Johnson - Who’s to say about degree of difficulty when having such publicly available/iconic outfits as reference for its real person lead character to wear, but that doesn’t mean Jennifer Johnson’s recreations of Tonya’s outfits are completely dazzling to look at. She’s completely in key with the gaudy charm behind Tonya’s costumes, making them convincingly homemade and lower-class rather than using nicer fabric to beef up their dazzle. That energy is given to the background skaters, though when Tonya starts getting “nicer” outfits she still lets the costume retain their unsightly flair. Supporting characters are dressed in broad, colorful strokes that invoke character details without tilting into caricature. Julianne Nicholson’s coach get lots of soft floral prints, while LaVona always seems to have different versions of the same fur-trimmed coat, blossoming into the pelt she’s wearing in her interview scenes. Tailored to accentuate Janney’s imposing height, their length and flatness makes her look even more physically imposing than she already is. The sweaters Jeff wears are more form fitting than the ones Shawn does, but they’re both cozy-looking and character appropriate. A color ensemble of looks that fits the colorful ensemble of characters.

The Lost City of Z, Sonia Grande - Can we just take a second and appreciate how gorgeously dressed Sienna Miller is at all times in this movie? Decked in full-body dresses, gloves, and glorious hats, her looks are eye-catching and elegant without calling attention to themselves or immobilizing her. All the outfits of the explorers look suitable to their environment and grow convincingly tattered as their expedition continues, and Grande  avoids exoticizing the Indian tribes while keeping them specific. More than that, the line about Percy only seeing the lack of medals on his uniform at the opening ball helps clue us in to how the film will insert character details through the baubles they’re wearing, such as the medals decked on the men’s breasts and the jungle-themes ascots Percy begins wearing after coming home from his second trip. Unshowy, unfussy period costuming that’s executed to a tee. Bonus points for the soldier’s uniforms, the fortune teller, and all the suits of the menfolk.

Personal Shopper, Jurgen Doerig - Gives Phantom Thread a real run for its money as the 2017 feature whose central character’s life revolves most around their film’s outfits. Maureen’s near-invisible boss sure is fashionable, with a taste for chic (sorry Reynolds) and, to put it lightly, suggestive outfits. We certainly get some idea of what Kyra is like through the dresses and accessories Maureen picks for her, and it’s almost a plot point that this woman is so unconcerned with her employees that she’d hire a personal shopper that’s also her size. But damn does Stewart wear those outfits well, using them to bolster Maureen’s self confidence as she enjoys the high of those incredible dresses, doing a better job expressing character via fashion show than Jackie. Just as amazing is the character’s own outfits, layers of sweaters and t-shirts underneath the same leather jacket, somehow a coherent look despite clearly being thrown on at the last minute, or at least chosen for function and comfort when sleeping in them over appearance. A sturdy collection of outfits that all reveal something different about the woman wearing them.

Phantom Thread, Mark Bridges - Look, all I’m saying is that I was a woman of means in 50’s London, I’d hire Reynolds Woodcock to make as much of my wardrobe as possible. Every outfit he designs for his clients is completely ravishing, but also somewhat regal and ornate, giving the House of Woodcock a rigid style that’s so far away from chic it’s understandably becoming outdated. It’s a portfolio anyone would be proud to hang their hat on, and Mark Bridges gives equal attention to what the three main players in this game are wearing. Cyril’s black-on-black-on-black looks are too modern in their elegant simplicity to have been made by her brother. He also makes repeat looks count for a lot, as when Alma goes to the New Year’s party - whose other attendees have their own, distinctive style - wearing that green and yellow dress Reynolds made so early in their amorphous relationship. The film simply wouldn’t work if Bridges wasn’t at the top of his game, and he hits a bullseye with every look.

Roman J. Israel, Esq., Francine Jamison-Tanchuck - From the start, Roman’s outfits are noticeably out of place next to the other lawyers we see, not just because the fabric is considerably cheaper but because they don’t seem quite tailored to his size. But they also seem pretty comfortable, and pieces like his magenta suit help him stand out next to the other members of the law firm he’s reluctantly sucked into. After acquiring a good bit of money through illicit means, his new and expensive outfits lose some of that individuality as he gets more in line with a cynical version of the law firm even as it changes itself to meet Roman’s idealism. As the head of that law firm Colin Farrell’s suits are tailored as fine as he is, even accentuating his fineness, while he and his associates go through the exercise of sporting “personalized” ties. The outfits of Carmen Ejogo’s activist leader are believably thrift store but as casually elegant and quietly worn as she is, and it’s exciting to examine the array of protesters meeting with her to see who’s wearing the same kinds of clothing or the imitative, expensive versions of it. Every costume pulls double duty, importing narrative significance and unexpected fashionability to story that didn’t seem to invite it on its face.

Best Production Design

Blade Runner 2049, Dennis Gasner - How can one call something unshowy even if so much of the film seems devoted to showing of its technical elements? My biggest complaint with Blade Runner 2049 is how so many scenes start at the earliest possible moment only to end as late as possible. In moments like K walking past those broken statues of giant, nude women, it seems as though the scenes have no point except to gawk at the physical environments and design elements that Dennis Gassner created. But damn if the sets aren’t something to marvel at. Not only that, but the flat, gray, angular style of these buildings and drawers and junk-sorting tables look as though they were designed with only function and space-saving in mind. Yes, the casino an important character has been hiding out at for decades is very much old and abandoned in the middle of nowhere, but it has round(!) tables, and the remains of some kind of charisma that would’ve made customers spark to the place if it was an active business. The roundness of there and Dr. Stelline’s lab stands out in contrast to practical flatness of everywhere else the film has taken us. Gassner finds a way to make 2049’s sets absolutely stunning, utterly serving the film’s story and the characters inhabiting those spaces without courting tropes of outright dystopia or any obvious visual charisma to make them easy eye-candy.

It, Claude Paré - Repeat watches of It have keyed me in to the criticism that the film suffers a real trade-off between scene-by-scene conceits being fully realized while larger ideas about growing up and more aggressive King themes aren’t so much left for the audience to fill in as much as avoided or vaguely implied. But even as the film petters out, the production design remains indelible and attentive in every scene. The kids’ rooms are  individualized with clutter and personal objects - love the circus wallpaper in Georgie’s room - and Pennywise’s lair feels like its own, unique haunted house, even into the sewers. Derry itself is believably 80’s, grounding the town and playing to its normalcy rather than a rotting host for an unspeakable evil it’s turning a blind eye too. But the real achievement here are the film’s props, from the MISSING CHILD posters piled on top of each other to the history book Ben reads at the library about the Easter tragedy, evoking a bloody and haunted history even as the town continues to ignore it, brutally emblematized in the endless tower of mementos in the sewer. Bonus points for the army of clown dolls and the dummy in the coffin Richie encounters.

mother!, Philip Messina - Right off the bat mother! wins points for creating a house that’s convincingly rustic while also balancing ornate flourishes. It’s big but internally coherent, and has a creepy basement without being a creepy house, though it certainly suits the spooky atmosphere and unraveling narrative Aronofsky is going for. But the real kicker comes in the second act, as the house grows and devolves into a place of worship and war in honor of Him and his poetry. The transformation of so many rooms into war zones and actual altars is utterly remarkable and unfussily done despite the immense work it must have taken. It even looks as well-made as it should given the short, dream logic time frame that all of this is occuring in within the film, as though a stage crew is swapping out sets with every new scene of a play, wrecking this carefully built world in only a matter of minutes. Perhaps the least showy and most immaculately constructed part of an aggressively combative film.

The Lost City of Z, Jean-Vincent Puzos - Yes, a lot of the action takes place in the lush jungles of the Amazonia. But those jungles are believably rendered at every step of the way, teeming with life without falling into exoticism. And the manufactured majesty of the “natural” doesn’t diminish the quality of the homes and communities we get to see. It’s fascinating to see the homes of the colonizers living in those jungles, sturdily made outposts with surreal flourishes and decadent wealth pouring from its most scourigible parts. There’s also the communities built by the Indians that Percy encounters, each clearly their own tribe, as well as the attention paid to wartime trenches and the grand mansions and meeting places of the Explorer’s Guild. The homes he returns to after every journey help illustrate his growing obsession with Zed and his shifting place in English society, going from an upscale house with vine-covered exteriors and leaf-print wallpaper in the bedroom to a cottage practically drowning in the trees surrounding it.

Wonderstruck, Mark Friedberg - Between his miraculous outings with Todd Haynes on Far From Heaven, Mildred Pierce, and now with Wonderstruck, plus his gargantuan work on Synecdoche, New York, can someone please get Mark Friedberg a Wikipedia page? Hell, his work on Wonderstruck alone should’ve qualified him for that, let alone any awards recognition at all. There’s more applause here for deeply specific bedrooms and homes, but there’s even greater praise for the attention he gives to shops and museum dioramas and the way he, along with every other technician, juggles making aesthetics 50 years apart internally cohesive while finding avenues for both timelines to speak to each other, even outside of shared locations. Friedberg may even have a greater challenge in including objects older than both time periods, like the book advertising the Cabinet of Wonders or the impersonal but captivating dioramas and galleries inside the museum of natural history. But damn does he pull it all off, ending the film with its richest achievement in the deeply personal map that this mysterious father of Ben’s created, a diorama that’s as much a diary, and a story told with non-diegetic sets.

Best Visual Effects

Blade Runner 2049, John Nelson and Co. - Easily the film that has been in every incarnation of this category since I first saw it, and the one I’ve had the hardest time starting a write-up about beyond asking “How did they do it?!?!?!”. But reader, I have to ask. The blending of CGI landscapes with the film’s already-impressive production design is smooth and unobtrusive. Joi, in all her incarnations, is a pretty incredible achievement. Fluctuating in transparency and functionality, moving in and out of spaces and characters, in skyscraper and human-sized incarnations, the character is fascinating to watch, the constant reminder that she’s an object making Ana de Armas’s warm, emotionally rich and humanizing performance all the more interesting. Dr. Ana’s Stelline’s manufactured memories coming together is practically a short film onto itself, and the ghostly singing holograms are as affecting as the decrepit casino Deckard himself haunts. Consistently breathtaking work that keeps finding new ways to surprise you.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Christopher Townsend and Co. - I’m still amazed by how fully I’ve come around to Marvel’s side after their 2017 output, but without a doubt I’m still most impressed by the visual style and deliciously saturated color palette that Guardians so perfectly manages. Without ever tipping over into Wonderland garishness, the film indulges in practically every color imaginable in creating its sets and environments and weapons. The hot, neon pink of Yondu’s whistling spear-thing is easily my favorite, as is the blueness of the sky and orangeness of the ground as Gamora sits outside after fighting with Peter, completely unaware of Nebula soaring behind her. Meanwhile, the creation of Ego’s planet and his palace is a truly massive achievement, as are the dioramas detailing his long, hilariously sexy travails across the universe. And they find a way to make Kurt Russell young again without creeping into the uncanny valley. Yes, there’s that one effect in the big climactic fight that weirdly makes it look like Ego and Peter are apparating at each other like in the Harry Potter films, but it’s only a slight bump in a film that’s otherwise full of visual wit and bursting to the brim with as much color as possible, practically daring you to look at it and not enjoy yourself.

It, Nicholas Brooks and Co. - It’s absolutely ridiculous that the campaign team for Warner Bros. couldn’t even muscle It into the VFX shortlist. If repeat watches have cooled me on Bill Skarsgård’s performance, the graphic impact of Pennywise still hits as hard as that first showing in a packed theater. The many ways that Pennywise contorts his limbs, changes size, takes on new and equally terrifying forms, are as terrifying to me as they are to the kids. Seeing him unwind from that fridge to scare Eddie is still one of the most indelible sights of the year, as is his Meshes of the Afternoon arm reaching out for Georgie. Bonus points for the detail given to the dead kids, particularly the headless Easter Egg casualty and Betty Ripsom.

mother!, Tamriko Bardadze and Co. - Compared to the scale some of these other teams are operating on, I keep thinking of mother!’s achievements as being somehow smaller. Effects like the burning wound on the floor where a man is killed, the blood from the dying man himself, the beating heart of the house, that pulsing, spindly Thing hiding in a toilet, all are brief but completely impactful. But then I think back to larger spectacles like the house beginning to rot when Lawrence’s character is at her most distressed, the occasionally barren and occasionally lush Outside we get only glimpses of. Then, even bigger spectacles, like every single way that her house is blown apart, and the charred but living and talking body of a character who has instigated its greatest destruction, and I have a hard time calling its achievements small in any way. Supporting, maybe, but as fully realized as it needs to be, and as mad as everything else that mother! is doing.

War for the Planet of the Apes, Joe Letteri and Co. - I’ll admit upfront there’s a ceiling to how much I can be in awe of a third incarnation of digitally remastered apes, the look of each film improving with technological advances even if I don’t see anything as inherently “new” here as some of my other nominees. But even with that caveat in place, there’s no question that the apes have never looked better. Compare the trailer for Rise in 2011 to what we get in War, and it’s even more obvious how much effort the VFX team has put into making Caesar and his tribe look as realistic as possible. Their faces have never been so expressive; their fur looks so real you could practically touch it, or at least imagine how it feels and smells as they hop between increasingly inhospitable ecosystems, caked in snow and mud and dirt and blood. Even if I’m not as wild about the series as its most ardent fans, their adoration is completely earned with the knowledge that this trilogy has gone out with its most auspicious technological achievement to date.

Best Makeup

Atomic Blonde, Paul Pattinson - A shout out first to the wonderful styling of the minor characters, from the punk hackers working under Bill Skarsgård (and Skarsgård himself) to the functional Russian antagonists, individualizing members on both sides where it counts while knowing who to keep relatively anonymous, even after repeat viewings. John Goodman and Eddie Marsan stand out among the suits dealing with this case, though all the mysterious officials wandering around the story are fantastically groomed. James McAvoy seems to have lost all morality along with his hair, legible as either “disastrous” or still pretty foxy, depending on who’s asking. Still what most interests me are the wigs that Charlize Theron and Sofia Boutella’s characters wear throughout the film, wigs that are undeniably wigs to the audience that are treated like actual haircuts in the film. Both of them, Charlize especially, wear the kind of wigs that spies would usually wear to disguise themselves as other people, something only highlighted in how the actual wigs Lorraine wears seem more plausible as real haircuts than her typical bleach-blonde cut. It’s the first real sign that everyone in Atomic Blonde is playing more roles than they let on, and that the film is willing to be far more ambitious than you’d expect from the setup.

The Death of Louis XIV, Antoine Mancini and Lluís Soriano - There are wigs, and then there’s the magnificence resting on Louis XIV’s head, some kind of lion’s mane passing for a cloud that, like the king, is ready to float off to the beyond at any moment. The gradation of his physical health is the spectacle the whole film is premised upon, and it wouldn’t work if the makeup team wasn’t doing their job so marvelously, oscillating between wilting wigs, full white wigs, or unbelievable and youthful brown wigs. His physical decline is more subtly rendered than my comments on his hairdo let on, and the gangrenous splotch on his leg is appropriate unsettling. Equal attention is given not just to Louis but also to his aides, consorts, and doctors, delineating who is and isn’t bothering to maintain appearances while tending to their king. The Sun God is disintegrating before their eyes, everyone doing their damndest to keep him alive, and still some people have the time to put on makeup and maintain their wigs? Every look is utterly in tune with Serra’s unusual tone and wildly ambitious aesthetic, across a whole host of characters.

The Lost City of Z, Juanita Santamaria - Boy are Charlie Hunnam and Sienna Miller put together with period appropriate glamour that could easily pass for movie-star shine. Robert Pattinson’s facial hair is wildly unkempt but still well-trimmed and completely convincing, far more than whatever died on Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo’s faces in Foxcatcher. Even better is watching the wear and tear of the jungle taking hold of these men’s bodies, smearing them with dirt and sweat, as well as the infections ravaging their bodies, appropriately painful-looking and and revolting without overdoing it The various menfolk of the Adventurers guild are properly groomed and shaved, and the multiple native tribes are given individualizing looks that avoid broad caricature or blurring them all into one large, amorphous tribe. And all of them are gracefully aged as the film progresses, which is frankly as tough an object to find in most movies as a lost civilization.

Phantom Thread, No Credited Head - There’s been a lot of well-earned praise about how gorgeous Phantom Thread is, from its costumes to its cinematography to that ornate, endless house. But how about a round of applause for how stunning those actors look? Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville are immaculately assembled, from their hair (his naturally graying, hers a wonderfully dyed dark brown) to his eyebrows to her lipstick, all without covering up the age and weariness on their faces. Both look a little gaunt around the edges. Vicky Krieps gets that no-makeup makeup look too, with no attempts to make her look more conventionally or exotically pretty, keeping her gorgeous and comparatively plain next to the other models and muses of Reynolds’s that we see. The background players are given their fair share of attention too, but there’s no denying the main attractions here.

Wonder, Arjen Tutien - Much in the same way that Wonder is a tougher film than I expected but still a remarkably sweet one, I admire the way that the rendering of Tremblay’s disfigurement neither overdoes the surgical scars and deformities nor softens them to the point of being “cute” or “cool”. There’s plenty of room for Tremblay to give a performance underneath all that makeup without simultaneously flaunting the fact that Tremblay is acting under all that makeup the way Darkest Hour so frequently does. The makeup team also does right by the rest of the cast, especially in giving Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson careworn, normal-parent looks better than most films with superstars in those roles manage to pull off. It neither condescends to the normalcy of the characters nor sneaking in ways to remind us that hey, isn’t Julia Roberts friggin’ beautiful. Maybe not as ambitious as Darkest Hour or It, but it’s more consistent across a host of characters while perfectly managing a tricky central character than both films are without showing off or dropping the ball, nailing its assigned tasks to a perfect tee.

[edge-hill-university]

The ‘X’ Factor

There’s not much you can do in just five minutes. You could take a shower, perhaps, make a cuppa, hard-boil an egg. If you were being a bit more productive you could run a reasonable mile, but it would by no means be world-beating. If you really wanted to make a difference, however, you could register to vote in the upcoming General Election, and contribute to the maintenance of the UK’s democratic tradition. Which sounds pretty impressive for five minutes online.

But you’ve only got a few days left to sign up. Monday 22nd May, 11.59pm sees the end of voter registration for June’s General Election.  

Why bother, you may ask, nothing really changes. And this may appear to be true, but it may also be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’t vote, why should parties develop policies that appeal to you (ignoring little things like neglect of governmental responsibility in favour of political expediency, but let’s not go there today)?

But is it fair to blame low registration on student apathy? Ben (above) is a second year student studying History with Politics, and the President of Edge Hill’s Politics Society. He has an alternative perspective:

“Young people tend to get a lot of criticism regarding their lack of formal enfranchisement, due to the low levels of voter registration. I feel this criticism is undeserved. We’re actually very politically active outside of voting. There isn't a day goes by where I don't see a petition on Facebook or Twitter. My friends went to Liverpool recently for the 'Take Back the Night' initiative, designed to keep women safe when they go out to clubs and bars.”

So it would seem that students are perhaps being given a bad rap, supporting worthy causes because they see positive outcomes, rather than getting their hands dirty in mainstream politics, where they feel nothing much changes. Ben is not letting politicians off the hook so easily, though:

“I think more blame should be given to politicians who are simply not trying to communicate with our age groups. It’s been left to the Politics Society and the Student Union to do a job that politicians should be doing - getting young people to register.”

And Paula Keaveney, Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Politics at Edge Hill, thinks there may be other reasons why the younger generation fail to make a greater impact:

“Some young people vote and some don't. One theory has it that people are more likely to vote when they are settled somewhere and have a stake in the community.  If young people are at the stage in their lives where they are moving a lot and haven't put down roots, this may make them less likely to turn out.  The knock on here is around simply not knowing where the polling station is or which council to register with (electoral registration is done at local council level).”

Let’s turn this theory on its head, and spread the message: have your say in the future of the UK at a crucial time in UK and global politics - register to vote.  It takes five minutes – all you need is your National Insurance number.

And if you do register, what are you looking for in a party manifesto?

Carl studies Law and Politics at Edge Hill, and admits to being put off by the “overly adversial approach” of modern politics in the UK. That aside, his two key issue are “education, as I had a really poor one”, and healthcare and the NHS, which saved the lives of both him and his mum.

Ben thinks the election will be all about Brexit, but “[Theresa May’s] vision of Brexit, in my opinion, is not the Brexit that lecturers want, students want, or universities want. Losing EU money is going to make the quality of education decline, and cause our tuition fees to rise, and when [students] complain, we will continue to be disregarded because 'kids don't vote'.”

It sounds like politicians may have their work cut out in convincing a sceptical young audience, although the media and polling companies have already marked this election down as an overwhelming victory for the Conservatives.

But maybe a set of policies that inspire enough young people to register and vote could swing things.  In a twelve-month period that has seen huge upsets at the ballot box, who is brave enough to bet their house on a particular result?

The Labour Party, under the Marmite leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, has produced what it calls a “manifesto for all generations”, which includes pledges to renationalise the railways and water supply, and to raise taxes in order to put more money into the NHS, scrapping tuition fees and building more houses.  Some of that will be music to young people’s ears.  

The Tories have claimed Labour’s policies are not properly costed, while announcing an expansion of workers’ rights and capping energy prices, and making securing a proper mandate from the British electorate to take the UK into the Brexit negotiations a priority.

The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, propose a “rent-to-buy” scheme for first-time homeowners, votes at 16, the return of housing benefit for 18- to 21-year-olds, discounted bus travel, and £7bn for schools and colleges. They’re also the only major party looking to reverse the EU Referendum decision and rescind Article 50, 

Do any of these policies inspire you? If you want to have your say, then get online, spend five minutes registering (and finding out where your polling station is, of course – don’t fall at the final hurdle). Then have an election night party – it’s almost as much fun as Eurovision. 

And if you’re still not sure where to register, here’s that address one more time, with feeling:

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Read Paula Keaveney’s election blog

Listen to Paula discuss Theresa May’s shoe collection and the Labout manifesto leak