#some unique realistic things and retain his spirit

[merrysithmas]

its so funny the krakoa artist took one look at charles xavier and was like ummmm this bitch needs to serve lmao and put him in a skintight catsuit and made him literally sashay around magneto in every panel

[anidealiveson]

Thanksvember Master Post

Day 1 - Like Coming Home - It has a super rare “wholesome plot twist”! Without spoiling anything too huge, I really like that @julesherondalex took the time to talk about how important it is to take care of yourself first. You can’t love someone else properly, the way they deserve, if you don’t have that same love for yourself. I wasn’t expecting the heartbreaking scene, but the beautiful way in which that topic was was approached neither took away from the story or the joy.

Day 2 - Must Love Dogs - An incredibly fluffy (literally) fic that I loved reading. @rosehallshadowsinger did a really great job weaving Azriel and Elain’s canon personalities into this adorable AU scenario. It is obvious @rosehallshadowsinger took care to create believable personalities for two characters that didn’t get POVs in the books.

Day 3 - Striking Matches -  I have to say that I wasn’t at all attracted to an AU fic about firefighters. I was also not a big Rowaelin fan before that, but I was work procrastinating so I gave it a try. Wellll, 30 parts later, I found myself delighted at the writing and sad it was over. I couldn’t believe how well @shyvioletcat cat was able to entirely re-characterize these two into such a different setting, yet still retaining what made them popular in the books. Aelin was perfect in her role as a snarky schoolteacher irritating the stoic firefighter Rowan. And the descriptions of the kids lining up at the firehouse demonstration and Jake’s adorable prodding was icing on the cake.

Day 4 - Close Quarters -  I really loved the way @lady-therion wrote Nesta in this modern AU. I particularly like how she equates Nesta’s sometimes standoffish attitude as a very relatable personality trait. She has trouble reading people and gauging situations. It’s well written and the dialogue is unique for a plot that is common in ff!

Day 5 - Like A Lonely House - It’s got a colossal I love Lucy level misunderstanding mixed in with a lot of tension and angst. This Nesta that is full of sacrifice and duty and fire is how I imagine the Nesta who feels that she has a stake in the Fae world would be like. @featherymalignancy wove such a captivating new world in Macar, that it felt a lot like being introduced to the 8th court in the ACOTAR world.

Day 6 - Death Dance - There are several takes out there that touch on Nesta in the Ilyrian camps, but I love how @thewayshedreamed interpreted Nesta’s skills on the battlefield as a calculated dance. Nesta has always been a raging storm, but I love how @thewayshedreamed took care to show us a Nesta that channeled that storm into discipline. If SJM never intended to release a Nessian focused book, I would have considered this a satisfying end to their story.

Day 7 - One Night Standards - I love the way @sassyhobbits writes Aelin with her typical extremely sassy exterior, but also made sure to saddle her with a vulnerable side that runs deep. I normally don’t care for slow burns, but I like the pace of her relationship with Rowan here, and that they had to work hard at it. I also like the plot lines that involved their PR stunts and how the public grew to love them as well.

Day 8 - Goose Chasing - Its the most absurd plot of any fanfic I’ve read! The title is not figurative. Its really does involve chasing a goose. @rhysismydaddy did a fantastic job encapsulating the spirit of silly Cassian and grumpy Nesta in a situation they’d likely never find themselves in, yet making it entirely believable. 

Day 9 - Manon Chooses The Worst Babysitter Possible - It’s such a casual and fluffy and hilarious read. It was fun to read about a softer and more delicate Manon. Through this absurd mistake, @sarah-bae-maas did an excellent job really humanizing Manon and postulating a fun in-world domestic scenario. 

Day 10 - My Hunger Knows No Bounds -  @perseusannabeth manages to take a simple concept and weave a sweet narrative. I particularly love how @perseusannabeth incorporated her personal details into it and took the time to share her lovely culture with us.

Day 11 - Knowing me, Knowing you - We never got to actually see Aelin rule Terrasen (well we got a tinyyy bit) in the books. Though this was modern day, @nalgenewhore tells a fun story of what that could have been like.

Day 12 -  Forever (is a long time) - @noodlecatposts takes Elide and Lorcan’s completely polar opposite personalities and spins an interesting (and frankly quite adorable) story. All the rules crack me up. My favorite Lorcan is the one that reminds me of Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls. Currently, he is in the middle of grumpily fixing up her flooded room, so I am sure that my favorite parts are yet to come.

Day 13 - Go Your Own Way - I appreciate @tomtenadia for putting to words a scene that I desperately wanted in ACOWAR or even ACOFAS. A lovely parallel to an equally lovely Fleetwood mac song.

Day 14 - In Which She Makes A Friend - It is no surprise that the fandom wants Nesta to find her place in the Illyrian mountains and even bring about some social change with the female warriors. But the way @bookstantrash got there was such a wonderful and endearing journey. Big fan of the callbacks to how Kaelin was treated and the similarities to a certain Illyrian warrior was when he was younger. We got to see a sweet Nesta, who I’d like to think was attempting to make up for some of her regrets through taking care of Kaelin.

Day 15 - The Ranch - As a huge fan of Sweet Home Alabama, its should be no surprise that I loved this fic by @tacmc . I enjoyed the slow change that we saw in a stubborn Nesta as she opened up to this new way of life and reconnected with her sisters and found a home with Cassian.

Day 16 - Felons - Such a unique interpretation of Nesta and Cassian. I really like the self-sacrificing Nesta angle and @rhysismydaddy did a great job weaving intrigue into the unraveling of what we knew to be a her innocence. I never read The Witness, but this really made me want to.

Day 17 - Of Books and Timber - Cassian offers to build a shelf for Nesta. The way @duskandstarlight goes through the entire range of emotions through Nesta is brilliant. She starts out with cold indifference, but by the end, we get from her a sweet and tender gesture of gratitude. Showing that meeting each other halfway with small gestures is all they ever needed.

Day 18 - You Should Sleep In My Bed More Often - I absolutely loved this quick exchange between Nesta and Cassian after she accidentally injures him. I can’t believe how much I laughed out loud when Cassian said “I need you to protect me closer”. @charincharge​ perfectly captured the teasing childish essence of Cassian and Nesta’s hilarious victim-blaming was so on the nose that I might have thought this was taken right out of ACOSAF.

Day 19 - The Right Swipe - I really enjoyed this take on the inner circle mixed with the super modern online dating plot. I especially love that @redisriding created genuinely realistic characters (body issues, social anxiety etc). Great read!

Day 20 - Goldfish Prompt - What a fun read. I love how frantic and much personality Feyre had here. I love how dedicated to her fish she was, and how that made her super endearing. Cute read from @azrielsiphons

Day 21 - The One With The Snowstorm -  What I really like is that Cassian actually says that he is sorry for his part in Nesta’s exile. I am not bitter about it, but it was an interesting turn. They need to meet halfway here and I rarely see it so well written as @joysbell has done here!

Day 22 - Prompt - A lovely and cute and sweet prompt written by @crowsvalentine​! I love the ramp up of suspense just to get to the hilarious payoff. Its adorable and worth the quick read.

Day 23 - Fix It -  is one by @thewayshedreamed​ that I love in its simplicity. It’s a small little argument Cassian and Nesta get into, but its still compelling. It’s sweet and super endearing the way the two of them are written and the subtle way they work through it. Great read!

Day 24 - I Do Bad Things To You - The mob angle may have been done before, but I don’t think with as much care and regard that @tswaney17​ has been giving it. I how the canon personalities of the characters translate so well into this modern AU. Its very obvious that @tswaney17​ has done her research. I especially love all the details around Elain as a surgeon. The story is compelling and well written and every chapter has me wanting more.

Day 25 - Love Her Like She should Be Loved - This is an excellent fic that I really loved. @julemmaes did such a great job translating some of the canon tension from ACOFAS into a modern world. It’s ripe with emotion, drama and quite a bit of heart. I love how earnestly Cassian comes to Nesta’s defense even in the face of going against his entire family. I like the reference to some very real psychological struggles. I think a lot of people can relate to it.

Day 26 - Literally In Love - I really enjoy the subtle mystery that follows this entire journey. I enjoy that @julesherondalex keeps us guessing, while simultaneously weaving a sweet and tender story about two shy teachers and just a slew of mishaps worthy of a Shakespearian drama.

Day 27 - The Shadow Bond - I love Azriel, and this is such a wonderful fic by @radientwings​ focusing on how his shadows might work. His shadows are the one thing that I am most curious about him in the series, so it was lovely to read such a well written interpretation of them.

Day 28 - Exes and Oh’s - Just a shout out to @highqueenofelfhame​ for this lovely story about rekindling past love. I like that even though the plot was uncomplicated, the emotions were not. I love that Aelin didn’t have a perfect reason for what she did, but sometimes that is just how things are. This is a story about taking a second chance, whether it’s deserved or not.

Day 29 - Fever - I really love this fic called Fever. I enjoyed how @lady-therion​ portrayed Nesta. She hit the entire gammut of characteristics (snarky, worried, vulnerable, caring, short-tempered, flirty, you name it!) but it really worked here. I found this nurse Nesta to be endearing and relatable and the dynamic between her and Cassian was very sweet. Just go read the damned thing.

Day 30 - Baby Steps - I really really love this fic. @runesandfaes did such a great job in just so few words to show a really sweet moment between Chaol, Yrene and their daughter learning to walk. I love the parallel back to when Chaol was learning to walk and the cameo of the golden couch. So sweet.

[arysthaeniru]

aAAA the joy of seeing an update on your current favorite fanfic is just aAAA

I always felt that kiwami 1s Nishiki was just a bit too,, I dont know how to describe it; but essentially he just felt off, granted yakuza 1 is a product of its time and therefore the plot is a bit dated and whack as all hell

The way you write Nishiki just feels so much better and realistic; in the original he just seems so uncaring towards Kiryu? which just feels kinda OOC? You'd think he still cares about Kiryu despite it all, especially when you take Yakuza 0 into consideration; and i feel like you portray Nishiki much more accurately

I never thought much about Yumi, because honestly, in the original she was kinda just, there? You actually made her a very interesting person! like I'm actually invested in her in your story! (side note you ever think about her clone who got tortued and died? yeah who WAS that???? thats never brought up is it??)

Theres so much more to talk about but in short; This is the best fix it/rewrite of a game plot I have read to date and it brings me joy in my current stressful school life. and no I will not stop praising it or the author, because this work has made me very happy. ;)

I just have a gift for picking favorites that end up dying,,aand another favorite of mine is Mine

imo theres a lack of soft, reassuring Minedai, i just feel like he'd need a reminder that people love him as a person and not just for the money he can provide, even if its obvious

I'd love to see how you'd write them, but I understand if theres more interesting/appealing drabble requests!

- Carp

CARP, thank you for this <3 this is so sweet!!!!! I’m so happy you enjoy my Nishiki! I had fun playing with what Yakuza 0/the Kiwami additions gave us about Nishiki’s personality and outlook on the world, and trying to reconcile that with the plot that Yakuza 1 initially had. Ultimately, I fell on the side that you did: even if Nishiki’s ambition took him down a monstrous path, I don’t think he’s the sort of person who neglects to pay back his debts. And he’s aware of the huge debt he owes Kiryu. Not to mention, their bonds of trust and love vanishing completely because of jealousy felt unreal to me. Their relationship becoming twisted or strange? Yes, but vanishing entirely felt unsatsifying to me. 

And Yumi!! I had so much fun excavating her character from the clues we get of her in canon. I worry sometimes, that she’s unrecognizable, because you know, I’ve given her a college education, and a whole bunch of interests beyond hostessing alone, but people seem to like it and like her, which is great!! I hate fridging women characters, so keeping her and Reina alive was important to me, hahaha. (RE: fake!Mizuki, there’s this substory in Kiwami that actually addresses who she was, BUT IT’S EVEN MORE HORRIFYING. So that’s why Yumi in my fic is the one captured and tortured by Nishiki’s men, because the thought of this poor innocent woman getting dragged into the mess was just untenable to me.)  

Anyway, thank you for your support and kind words, and I hope you’ll continue to read and that my fic can continue to relieve stress. I--tried to write this about Mine, but Daigo kind of stole the spotlight a little??? I hope you still like it--if not, I will try a ficlet from Mine’s perspective too. I enjoy minedai a lot, but I haven’t had room to think out their dynamic yet, so this took me a while. 

Daigo’s no stranger to being desired. He’s attractive, he knows this—his mother’s beauty lives in his veins, and he’s always had the money to look after himself. Fancy soaps to wash his face, the invisible retainers to keep his teeth straight, fancy suits and skin-tight shirts to show off his frame. For all that Kiryu insists his charisma is something that comes from the soul, Daigo knows it wouldn’t be able to draw the sort of attention he does without being attractive.

Which is to say that Daigo’s not especially thrown off by the intensity of Mine’s gaze. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again. The thing that surprises him is how much he relishes in being seen by Mine.

Maybe it’s because Mine’s an island in a stormy sea, one of the only yakuza his age who’s sensible and level-headed enough to make it big. Maybe it’s because Mine’s gaze is always so reserved, polite, never overly lusty or overstaying its welcome, and Daigo has so rarely been desired so quietly. Or maybe it’s because Majima and Kashiwagi so clearly disapprove of him—Daigo’s always been something of a rebel, and he hasn’t shaken that off, even now he’s in his thirties and is the arbiter of rules for the Tojo Clan.

Daigo can’t quite put a pin on why he’s so comfortable with Mine’s yearning looks, but he’s never been one to hold back when he wants to indulge in something good. Not exactly a hedonist, not by yakuza standards, but Daigo has never kept himself from enjoying life, in the name of some dubious ‘honour.’

Which is why, in an after-hours meeting with Mine, as they eat cheap takeout sushi together, Daigo takes his chance. A momentary slip, the slightest hint of wasabi left at the corners of Mine’s lips and Daigo swoops in, rubs a thumb over the corner of Mine’s lips. Mine stutters to a stop, mid-sentence through a rundown of the real-estate that the Hakuho Clan’s been purchasing up, and stares at Daigo, eyes bewildered.

“Sixth Chairman?” he asks, his voice still remarkably composed.

“Wasabi.” Daigo says, nonchalantly, as if it’s nothing, and sticks his thumb into his mouth, slowly licking it off with a lingering lave of his tongue. He feels a sharp stab of satisfaction as Mine’s eyes turn darker, and his gaze follows Daigo’s hand down.  

Daigo straightens up, languidly, and cracks his neck, casually. At this point in the day, he’s untucked his shirt, and he knows that a slight strip of his stomach will be visible when he stretches out his arms towards the ceiling. And as predictably as clockwork, Mine’s gaze darts downwards, to that pale expanse, to catch that brief second of skin. Daigo can’t help but feel warm. Something about being watched by Mine is exhilarating.

“Smoke?” offers Daigo, but as usual, Mine refuses, with a polite shake of his head.

Daigo knows from hearsay that Mine’s something a health-freak, so he’s not entirely surprised. It’s already too late for Daigo to preserve his health—he knows that his liver’s already been pretty ruined from long nights of binge-drinking as a youth, and this job’s too stressful to withhold from vices like smoking and drinking, without an optimal end-goal. So he walks over to the window, cracks it open a little, and lights up.

The breath of nicotine curls over his body, a tender caress, and Daigo feels his shoulders drop, as the relaxation hits. He pulls off his cufflinks, tosses them into his pockets and rolls up his sleeves. He takes it slow, runs his fingers over his skin a little more than strictly necessary. Surreptitiously checking the reflection in the window, Daigo watches Mine watch him, and smirks at how intense that gaze is, how Mine’s mouth has opened, and Daigo can just see the soft pink of his tongue.

“Dojima’s just fine, you know. When it’s just us two.” Daigo says, turning over his shoulder. He smiles, one of those charming smiles that had always gotten him whatever he wanted as a child, “We’re same-aged friends, after all.”

“Dojima-san.” Mine acknowledges, after a brief pause.

Daigo turns around, to properly look at Mine and lifts an eyebrow. “Dojima. Or Daigo, preferably. Dojima-san’s always my father in my head.”

Mine nods, face impassive. Daigo can’t read him like this. Maybe that’s why he likes when Mine stares at him, filled with longing. At least then, Daigo feels like he knows him. In moments like these, his implacable gazes might as well be a brick wall. “Right. Your Father was also in the Tojo Clan.”

Daigo smiles, wryly, and blows out a puff of smoke. “One of the most horrible men I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting—and I had to call him Father. But damn if he wasn’t good at the job.” He sighs and stubs the cigarette out against the ashtray. “...sometimes feel like I’m competing with his dead spirit. Everybody’s looking at me and wondering if this is what my Father would do. Or what Kiryu-san would do.”

“You’re doing better than any of them.” Mine says, immediately, with a vicious ferocity that Daigo wasn’t expecting. He can’t quite stop his eyebrows rising in surprise, and Mine straightens upwards, looking self-conscious immediately. Daigo regrets his instinctual reaction, immediately. “That is to say, Dojima, that I think that you’ve pulled this Clan into somewhere far more respectable. From what I’ve heard of your Father, he didn’t have the temperament to do proper business on this level—too insistent on formal obeisance and unable to be flexible as the times require. And Kiryu-san might be very honourable, but we are yakuza. There are certain things you have to do as a Chairman, that he couldn’t bring himself to do. But you are practical and do what is necessary, while also not overstepping into excessive violence. You are uniquely suited for this job, Dojima.”

...he’s taken aback a little, he can’t deny it. Daigo wonders if his cheeks are colouring, wonders if his obvious shock is offputting, wonders if this is how Mine feels every time Daigo teases him lightly about his obvious attraction. A startling warmth spreads through his chest, and Daigo can’t stop the slight smile that touches his face. Has anybody ever said something so unreservedly kind and measured about Daigo before?

Maybe this is the difference between everybody else’s gazes on him, and Mine’s gaze. It’s based on something more than desire alone. Respect.

Daigo runs a hand over his slicked-back hair and ruffles it free, with a rueful smile, a smile that he couldn’t take away from his face, even if he tried. “I appreciate that. You know I couldn’t do it without you, right?”

He’d never really believed himself capable of attraction to a man like Mine. All of his previous childhood crushes had been on bright, cheerful conversational, pure-hearted people. Daigo had always figured they would balance out his sardonic cynicism. He’d never thought someone as reserved and principled as Mine would ever make his heart flutter. But then, there was something about that deep hunger and passion that Daigo craved. Perhaps it was because he was no longer the gloomy punk of his youth. Maybe his tastes have changed towards tall, dark and handsome. Maybe Mine’s just that special.

“Dojima—” Mine says, clearly trying to refute it, but Daigo cuts him off.

“I mean it. Everybody in this fucking Clan wants me to do something or be somebody else. Kashiwagi-san wants me to be my mother. Majima-san wants me to be Kiryu-san. Everybody else expects my Father. But not you. You deal with me honestly, and with candour, and never hold any expectations against me except success. I appreciate your faith in me.” Daigo takes a couple of steps forward, until his shoes almost brush up against Mine’s own. He leans down over Mine’s chair. “I could not do this without your backing and help. Truly. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone like you in my life. A true friend.”

Mine tilts his chin up to meet Daigo’s gaze, a hungry devotion in his eyes, and Daigo, for a moment, wonders if this is wrong. If he should hold back, like Kiryu would. But Daigo is Daigo, and Mine clearly wants him anyway, so he leans down and kisses him.

Mine’s mouth is velvety smooth and wet and hot and it is oh-so satisfying a feeling to put his hand against Mine’s broad neck and feel his warmth up against Daigo. He pulls back, with a satisfied sigh, and feels the burn of wasabi across his lips, a final parting kick.

[nicolesophia]

WORLD LITERATURE

     World literature is used to refer to a literature being circulated outside the country where it was published, and it’s pretty sure that everyone nowadays is very familiar with literature, because, who isn’t? People these days lives their daily lives with literature, surely, it surrounds our lives. Ever wonder if there’s an occurrence one day in our life, a day without literature? Will we able to live with it? Well, I don’t think so, after all, literature is our life. Now, before we go to the topic, lets have a brief introduction about when did the literature began.

     The literature began early before 17th century, and ever since that time, it had a big impact from all over the world, it almost had taken up the whole world, a world of literature, indeed. And since the literature continues to expand, its dominant themes and styles of each literature around the world, expands, as well. And of course, up until today, there are still many more surprising notions about the literature all over the world!  

     Today, I’ll show you different dominant themes and styles of literature from Southeast Asia, East Asia, South and West Asia, Anglo-America and Europe, Africa, and Latin America. I hope that in the end, you’ll learn something new about the different themes and styles from around the world.

1.       SOUTHEAST ASIA LITERATURE

     Southeast Asia consists of 11 countries in total, these are Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. All of these countries were colonized by the other countries, except Thailand, that’s why most of their literary works were mostly influenced by the countries who colonized them. Just like in the Philippines,  The Philippines were colonized by the Spaniards, Japanese, and Americans; however most of the literature here in the Philippines were predominantly influenced by the Spaniards for they colonized the country for 333 years.

      The Southeast Asian literature’s dominant theme are mainly diaspora (diasporic) theme. Diasporic theme focuses on stories outside the country where the writer is, it also talks about the experiences of an immigrant in a foreign country. Some example of a diasporic theme literature is “Banyaga: A song of War” by Charlson Ong, the story is about how Ernesto (protagonist) struggles living outside the country he came from, and fun fact, the author Charlson Ong’s relation with the main character is that they shared the same experiences! It’s like the author tells his very own life story in the presence of Ernesto as the character. “Banyaga: A Song of War” as well, portrays the Filipino culture, as the author being half Filipino.

2.       East Asia Literature

     East Asia consists of 8 countries in total, these are China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, and Macao. Without a doubt, East Asia is the most popular region in the whole world because of the countries it consists of. Mainly, the East Asia literature were mostly influenced by the Chinese writers; commonly, the China is the building block of the counties in the East Asia, on a fact that most of the East Asia country were colonized by the Chinese. With all of the 8 countries, the Chines and Japanese literature is the most prominent among the East Asia literature.

     However, the Japanese literature has a different style, too. Their literature is mostly fond of ambiguous theme, wherein it has a deep meaning and sometimes, the reader wouldn’t get the meaning of it if you are from other countries or city in Japan. The Japanese literature is also well-known for its Haiku and Tanka poems.

     Some example of the East Asia literature is Seol Gongchan-jeon (The Tale of Seol Gongchan), korean literature written by Chae Su, the novel was written during the early Joseon era and was originally written in classical Chinese text. The story of said novel is about a person being possessed by the dead spirit who tells story from the underworld. But, the said novel was banned during its era of publication.

     Other example of the East Asia literature is a Tanka poem from the Japanese literature. Tanka poems are mostly commonly written as an expression of love and/or gratitude, it may, as well a self-reflection poem.

Narukami no sukoshi toyomite

(A faint clap of thunder)

sashi kumori

     (Clouded skies)

Ame mo furanu ka?

     (Perhaps rain comes)

Kimi wo todomemu

     (If so, will you stay here with me?)

Narukami no sukoshi toyomite

     (A faint clap of thunder)

furazu to mo

     (Even if rain comes not)

warewa tomaramu

     (I will stay here)

imoshi todomeba

     (Together with you)

3.       South and West Asia Literature

     The South and West Asia consists of 17 countries, mostly the Middle East region, these countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Apparently, the South and West Asia is commonly known for their own films, “Bollywood” rather than other literature. However, they do, of course have a unique styles and themes of literature.

     Literature from the 21st Century Middle East circumscribes a lot assortments of genres, it, as well talks about human experiences oftentimes through a realist manners. Also, what makes their literature unique is that they have or includes their own traditions and practices of their culture.

     One example of South and West Asia Literature is “White Tiger” a novel written by an Indian author named Aravin Adiga. It talks about the life of an Indian in the light and darkness, although most part of the novel focusses on India of darkness.  Also, the novel has a darkly humorous perspective of Indian’s struggles in life.  Here’s some excerpt from the novel “The White Tiger”

“In fact, each time when great men like you visit our country I say it. Not that I have anything against great men. In my way, sir, I consider myself one of your kind. But whenever I see our prime minister and his distinguished sidekicks drive to the airport in black cars and get out and do namastes before you in front of a TV camera and tell you about how moral and saintly India is, I have to say that thing in English.”

4.       Anglo-America and Europe Literature

     The Anglo-America is a large region that covers up 14 countries in total, these are Canada, United States, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. And as we all know, Europe is a large continent that consists a lot of countries, well, we’ll not go to far with mentioning all those countries. The Anglo-American literature is closely linked to traditional English, since the American was colonized by the English, they adapted their literature, as well and was influenced by the English writers. However, the history of their literature is too wide, it covers up from the Old English until the Contemporary era.

     In spite of that Anglo- American combined literature, the American literature is imposing to be separated to the Anglo (English), but why? The American literature has a distinct characteristic which evolves through eras and such; them, too have their own unique feature, themes, and styles of literature. In short, they have their own, so, for them, what is the essences of being together with the Anglo?

     One of the greatest author in the Anglo-America is who we all know, William Shakespeare. With his one of the famous works “Romeo and Juliet” we can mirror the traditional style of Anglo-America literature that somewhat related to their culture, as well. Here’s some excerpt from the classic story “Romeo and Juliet”.

”’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.           

What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,         

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O! be some other name:

]What’s in a name? that which we call a rose       

By any other name would smell as sweet;           

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,     

Retain that dear perfection which he owes

Without that title. Romeo, doff

 thy name;         

And for that name, which is no part of thee,

Take all myself”

     On the other hand, European literature includes writing for some dialects; among the most significant of the cutting edge composed works are those in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Czech and Russian and works by the Scandinavians and Irish. Significant old style and archaic customs are those in Ancient Greek, Latin, Old Norse, Medieval French and the Italian Tuscan tongue of the renaissance. Moreover, the literature was written with regards to Western culture in the dialects of Europe, as a few topographically or verifiably related dialects. Various as they seem to be, European literature, as Indo-European dialects, are portions of a typical legacy having a place with a race of pleased countries which brag any semblance of Homer who composed Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil who composed the Aeneid, Dante who composed Divine Comedy, Chaucer who composed Canterbury Tales. These, and other abstract works of art structure part of what we call as Western Canon.

 5.       African Literature

     The Africa consists of 54 countries in total, however, the African literature has a unique theme and styles. Their literature often to be relevant to its colonial background, and also connected to their traditions and culture, which makes their literature more unique. In addition, their literatures are often known as subversive and expressive contents.

     Moreover, oral and composed narrating conventions have had an equal turn of events, and from multiple points of view they have affected one another. Old Egyptian recorders, early Hausa and Swahili copyists and memorizers, and contemporary scholars of famous novellas have been the conspicuous and essential momentary figures in the development from oral to abstract customs. What occurred among the Hausa and Swahili was happening somewhere else in Africa—among the Fulani, in northern Ghana among the Guang, in Senegal among the Tukulor and Wolof, and in Madagascar and Somalia.

     One of the most famous African novel is entitled “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart exhaustively envisions how the Nigerian Igbo people group worked preceding expansionism. The divisions in this network go with the deplorable fall of the legend, Okonkwo, whose chivalrous however careless remain against expansionism closes in a forlorn self-destruction. Achebe's astuteness is adequate to move perusers past recriminations or authentic fault, since the Igbo people group adjusts to oblige Christianity and new types of pioneer administration. Similarly as the novel's title cites Yeats' sonnet The Second Coming, Achebe's African way of thinking of equilibrium in everything runs after a millennial association with Western innovation. Here’s some excerpt from the novel “Things Fall Apart”

“The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. Amalinze was a wily craftsman, but Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms, on their backs and their thighs, and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. In the end, Okonkwo threw the Cat”

6.       Latin American Literature

     The Latin America is generally consists of all the countries in South America, in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the Islands of the Caribbean, indeed, there’s also a lot of country in the Latin America region. The Latin American mostly adapted their literature from the Aztecs and Mayans, two of the great ancient civilizations of our world, also, the themes of their literature are usually characterized by mysticism, magic, uniqueness, raw creativity, and wonder. Them, too give way and introduced “magical realism”.

      Magical realism is a classification of writing that portrays this present reality as having a propensity of sorcery or dream. Mystical authenticity is a piece of the authenticity classification of fiction. Inside a work of supernatural authenticity, the world is as yet grounded in reality, however fantastical components are viewed as ordinary in this world. It is different from what we know “fantasy”.

     One example of a magical realism novel is ”House of Spirits(La casa de los Espíritus)” written by Isabel Allende. The novel was published in 1982, Isabel Allende's presentation novel narratives the violent political occasions of post provincial Chile, through the lives of four ages of the rich Trueba family. The extraordinary is available from the start, with Allende portraying the supernatural capacities of one of the novel's principle heroes, Clara. Expect ghosts blended into the consistently, time shifts in the story and signs being figured it out. A genuine show-stopper, of the sorcery authenticity classification, yet additionally of women's activist and Chilean writing. Here’s some excerpt from the novel ”House of Spirits(La casa de los Espíritus)”

“That was Marcos’s longest trip. He returned with a shipment of enormous boxes that were piled in the far courtyard, between the chicken coop and the woodshed, until the winter was over. At the first signs of spring he had them transferred to the parade grounds, a huge park where people would gather to watch the soldiers file by on Independence Day, with the goosestep they had learned from the Prussians. When the crates were opened, they were found to contain loose bits of wood, metal, and painted cloth. Marcos spent two weeks assembling the contents according to an instruction manual written in English, which he was able to decipher thanks to his invincible imagination and a small dictionary. When the job was finished, it turned out to be a bird of prehistoric dimensions, with the face of a furious eagle, wings that moved, and a propeller on its back.”

          With all of that, it may be seem that different regions from the world has their very own unique way in terms of literature, all of the literature around the world is really fascinating and amazing. Now that I’ve shown you the different dominant themes and styles of literature from Southeast Asia, East Asia, South and West Asia, Anglo-America and Europe, Africa, and Latin America. I hope that you’ve  learned something new and surprising thing about the different themes and styles from around the world!

[letterboxd]

Drawing Closer.

Animation lovers: watchlists at the ready. From action capers to Irish folk tales, in 3DCG or the humble pencil, by manga legends and raucous newcomers, Letterboxd’s animation correspondent Kambole Campbell picks ten new feature films we’re excited to see.

When the gears of the live-action film industry ground to a near-halt earlier this year, animators were still at work. As a medium that, at its most fundamental level, is controlled fully by the imaginations of its creators, this might be the one element of the screen industry that has some kind of ability to operate throughout the pandemic.

Based on previews from this year’s online edition of the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival, there’s a lot to look forward to that’s still in the works, even now. With everything from blockbuster capers and fantastical alternate histories, explorations of folklore and real human stories alike, we can expect a spoil of boundless and endlessly creative films limited only by the imaginations of those drawing them.

Here are ten animated features I’m specifically excited for, in no particular order (except for the first—fight me if you like, Masaaki Yuasa will always win).

Inu-Oh Directed by Masaaki Yuasa / Due to release in 2021

If there’s one new animated film to watch in the next year, make it Inu-Oh (but also, don’t limit yourself to one). Masaaki Yuasa has proven himself time and again to be one of the most exciting and versatile animation directors alive, as well as potentially the busiest. With his studio, Science Saru, this year alone he directed two television series—the fantastic ode to animators, Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!!, and the intense Netflix disaster series Japan Sinks: 2020—as well as the melancholy, romantic feature film Ride Your Wave.

Inu-Oh looks to be just as imaginative and wild as anything else Yuasa-san has made, based on the work-in-progress glimpse at Annecy. Set in fourteenth-century Japan, the film is based on Hideo Furukama’s novel about the legendary masked Noh theater performer Inu-Oh, born with “unique characteristics”, which lead them to cover their entire body. Both novel and film focus on their close friendship with the blind biwa hōshi (lute priest) Tomona, and the success they find together.

“We often think of history as moving in one straight line, but it actually branches off, and people and events in those branches have been forgotten or disappeared,” Yuasa-san said during the Annecy preview. Inu-Oh explores those hidden branches through an anachronistic reimagining of the roots of traditional Japanese entertainment. The main idea: what if the performers of Noh theater were treated like Japan’s pop idols of today? Yuasa-san described the main characters as “kind of like The Beatles” of 1300s Japan.

On credits alone there’s a lot of promise, with the legendary Taiyō Matsumoto— the mangaka who created Tekkonkinkreet and Ping Pong (and collaborated with Yuasa-san on the latter’s fantastic anime adaptation)—lending his eccentric yet elegant designs to the film. The preview opened with minute movements comprised of rough, wide almost painterly brushstrokes, an art style almost completely unlike anything Yuasa-san has done previously.

As it turns out, this is but one way of representing the world of Inu-Oh, through the perspective of Tomona, a Notes on Blindness-esque way of representing how Tomona perceives things. From those small glimpses, Inu-Oh looks to be a beautiful, anthropological piece built with both the same free-form style that characterizes the rest of his work, and perhaps something more classical as well.

Wolfwalkers Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart / Coming to theaters and Apple TV+ in late 2020 after a September 12 premiere at TIFF

Made and set in Kilkenny, home to the acclaimed animation studio Cartoon Saloon, the much-anticipated Wolfwalkers is inspired by animation’s past, Celtic legend, and the local area’s history. Set in 1650, Wolfwalkers takes place amidst attempts by the English (Cromwell, specifically) to pacify and tame Ireland. Representative of those wild elements the English are seeking to eradicate are the ‘wolfwalkers’—people blessed by Saint Patrick with the power to leave their bodies at night and become wolves during their sleep (Irish werewolves, essentially). The story follows an English girl, Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey), who moves to Ireland with her father Bill (Sean Bean), to help carry out Cromwell’s plan to kill the wolves.

Like his previous film, Song of the Sea (2014), co-director Tomm Moore says this new film is based upon a childhood story common amongst those living in Kilkenny. And like his previous films (including 2009’s The Secret of Kells), it looks to be a visual feast, with a mixture of dynamic camera styles, pre-viz work and hand-drawn animation for moments like its ‘wolf-vision’. Moore draws the ideological divide between the English and the Irish into every scratch of pencil, the occupied cities comprised of rigid lines and angular designs, while the forest and its inhabitants are more free-flowing and unkempt.

Moore cited the rough charcoal lines of Isao Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya as one influence on the Cartoon Saloon animators’ approach; the way that Robin is drawn gradually changing along with her worldview. Cartoon Saloon is yet to make a bad film, and Wolfwalkers looks like it might be the company’s most beautiful myth yet.

Stay tuned to The Letterboxd Show for an interview with Tomm Moore.

Over The Moon Directed by Glen Keane / Due on Netflix, late 2020

The feature directorial debut of animation legend Glen Keane, early glimpses of Over The Moon look utterly bonkers. A long-time character animator for Disney, having worked on almost all of the studio’s animation output since Pete’s Dragon in 1977, Keane looks to be bringing his vast array of talents to his first feature film. The trailer alone shows off a vast blend of styles, from the 3DCG (three-dimensional computer graphics) and more realistic lighting that we’ve come to expect from Disney animation, as well as the more textured, hand-drawn work the director cut his teeth on.

The story itself sounds wild, though it starts out simple enough: Fei Fei (Cathy Ang) is enraptured by her parents’ stories of a goddess living on the moon. After her mother passes away, Fei Fei begins to believe the story is true, and decides to build a rocket to get there. There’s also a hint of something living there. Whatever the answer is, I’m curious to see it, and with a star-studded cast that includes the likes of John Cho and Sandra Oh, how could I turn it down?

Lupin III: The First Directed by Takashi Yamazaki / Released in select territories; wider release due late 2020

Takashi Yamazaki’s Lupin III: The First, the first 3DCG-animated Lupin III feature film, looks rather incredible. It’s the latest in a vast, 50-year history of anime based on the manga from the late Kazuhiko Katō (known by the pen name Monkey Punch). Despite that long history, the Lupin III franchise has always managed to resist being made obsolete; part of its ongoing appeal is its ability to continuously adapt to new contexts and styles while retaining its simple charms, and The First is no different.

The film announces itself in the same way as ever, the iconic ‘Lupin III’ theme blaring over a flashy title sequence that builds off familiar iconography, as well as moments from the franchise’s history. It revels in the style of old-school caper the show continues to embrace, taking delight in the exploits of a modern-day gentleman thief who announces his robberies with calling cards.

Even with the new and unfamiliar animation style, Lupin III: The First feels like a classic Lupin III tale, taking the story back to the 1960s (the decade during which the character was created), and even putting its main character back in his classic red suit. Each character design translates surprisingly well to this mode of animation—Lupin’s gangly frame, as well as the unique appearances of his compatriots Goemon, Fujiko, Zenigata and Jigen (who looks bizarrely attractive in this—although, to be fair, “everyone in this movie is f—king sexy” according to Letterboxd member London. Accurate).

Yamazaki does well to avoid the often sterile feeling of 3DCG animation by having these characters all move like the cartoons they’re based on (for starters, a long-running visual gag of Lupin leaping straight out of his clothes). It might take some adjustment (which for me, only really lasted up to the opening credits) before it becomes fully dazzling. Lupin III: The First might be the most exciting action caper of 2020, in any medium.

The Legend of Hei Directed by Mtjj / Released in China late 2019; international release TBA

Rivalling Lupin III: The First for most flamboyant animation on show at Annecy was The Legend of Hei, a feature-length prequel to the Flash web cartoon The Legend of Luo Xiaohei by Chinese artist Mtjj (real name Zhang Ping).

The series tells the story of the spirit Luo Xiaohei, who takes the appearance of a small black cat before being adopted by a young girl. The film’s story focuses more squarely on the cat, Xiaohei, who transforms into a man and goes on to live in the forest, his carefree existence soon interrupted by the discovery that humans are beginning to encroach on that territory as their cities expand, and technological progress puts the two worlds increasingly at odds.

As the film explores more of Xiaohei’s origins, the thick, clean line-work and cute art style disguises a much grander, epic conflict at play, realized in some wildly animated fight scenes. (“Starts off small and adorable, then expands into an epic conflict on an Akira scale,” writes Tasha Robinson.) The 2D-animated film allegedly took five years to produce, Mtjj saying in an interview that the complete film, at 100 minutes, required more than 70,000 drawings—or around twelve per second.

With its gentle score and clash of the spiritual world with the modern, the environmentally conscious work of Studio Ghibli comes to mind, as does the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender (perhaps the most popular consideration of East Asian spirituality in the West, especially with its resurgence of popularity thanks to Netflix). The Legend of Hei enjoyed an extremely lucrative run in China in late 2019 thanks to the original cartoon’s sizeable fanbase at home. No news yet on who will pick the film up in the West.

ON-GAKU: Our Sound Directed by Kenji Iwaisawa / Expected to release late 2020

Rotoscoped by hand over a period of seven years, the independently produced anime ON-GAKU: Our Sound has a rather appropriate match of creator and subject: a film about amateur musicians made by amateur animators.

Director Kenji Iwaisawa adapted the film from Hiroyuki Ohashi’s cult manga, and there’s a charm to the rudimentary style of its art, the plain faces of its characters resembling the designs of something like ONE’s Mob Psycho 100, while also matching that show’s deadpan, oddball sense of humor. The laid-back voice acting only adds to that effect, as main character Kenji and his cohort’s obvious excitement flattened into a consistently amusing monotone.

It’s not quite a classic tale of underdog artistry, as the group never really gets better, but the film embraces the primordial noise that emerges whenever they pick up an instrument. Iwaisawa takes the characters seriously, showing their raucous and unconventional performances with complete sincerity. “Loved the deadpan humor and appreciated the message about how art can act as an impetus for positive change in our lives,” writes Dan.

Passion, companionship and collaboration is what’s most important to Our Sound. It’s a deeply weird film, but one filled with great ambition and visual wonder, increasing in boldness as it goes. The different styles of coloring and expression that emerge beyond its initial palettes are radical enough to catch anyone off guard.

Connected Directed by Michael Rianda / Releasing in most territories in October 2020 (October 23 in the US)

Connected is the next step for Sony Animation as it moves in an exciting new direction (the studio recently stated that it would be green-lighting more animation aimed at adults). Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, off the back of their immensely popular film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Connected is imbued with the same kind of idiosyncrasy and innovation that made Spider-Verse a mega-hit.

From first-time feature director Michael Rianda, best known for his work on TV’s Gravity Falls, Connected is a family-road-trip-AI-apocalypse movie, based on the bizarre chemistry of Rianda’s own family. Formerly known as The Mitchells vs The Machines, the film looks at the push and pull between technology and human relationships, and how different generations respond to the ongoing changes in how we interact online and personally.

While this isn’t animated “on twos” (where each frame of character animation holds for two frames of background movement) as Spider-Verse often was, Connected also attempts to maintain a ‘drawn’ quality in its art. Characters move fluidly, but with clear outlines drawn from simple shapes. There’s also a strong contrast between the lived-in detail of human habitats versus the stark minimalism of the domain of the robots.

Thankfully the clips from the film don’t look nearly as finger-wavy and luddite as the trailers might suggest. (They appear to take the Boomer point of view that technology unequivocally ruins everything, but we know it’s more complicated than “screens bad”). In any case, it looks like the beginning of an interesting run for Sony Animation, and I’m keen to see how it turns out.

The Summit of the Gods (Le Sommet des Dieux) Directed by Patrick Imbert / Due to release 2021

Le Sommet des Dieux distinguishes itself in this list by being the one most firmly grounded in reality, but it’s by no means less wondrous. Based on Jirô Taniguchi’s five-volume manga Le Sommet des Dieux—itself based on the 1998 novel by Baku Yumemakura—the story starts with the question of whether George Mallory died going up or coming down the summit of Mount Everest on June 8, 1924. 70 years later, Fukamachi, a young Japanese reporter, stumbles across a camera potentially belonging to Mallory, and embarks on an adventure of his own with his friend Hasu Joji.

In close collaboration with the mangaka Taniguchi-san, who passed away during development, director Patrick Imbert seeks to replicate his art style, which was more aligned with that of European comics than traditional manga, with less exaggerated and highly detailed line-work. The team also looked outward from Taniguchi-san’s art, to the character designs of works such as Hiroyuki Okiura’s Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, as well as his 2011 film A Letter To Momo, and the films of the late, great Satoshi Kon.

From what I saw at Annecy, there’s something of a mix between what Imbert calls the “documented detail” of Taniguchi-san’s work and simpler design for the larger urban spaces. To accomplish this, the studio draws its traditional 2D using modern techniques, such as “movie-style” framing—locations and interiors created in 3D software and then overpainted for detail, identity and authenticity.

The Summit of the Gods also seeks to recapture the detailed and subtle realism of Yumemakura-san’s depiction of George Mallory, with low-key voice performances conducted in shared sessions; recording movements and hiring a boom operator to make the sound more akin to live action, perhaps even more natural. Though production has already been long, the studio had thankfully pre-empted the long delays of Covid-19, so let’s hope we get to see the film with our own eyes, soon.

Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds Directed by Benoît Chieux / Scheduled for 2022

An original fable from animation director Benoît Chieux, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds is still very much in the midst of production, with an expected release in 2022. It looks captivating; a surreal tale set in an imaginary kingdom with delicate and clearly defined artwork, about a being named Sirocco, a despised figure with the power to control the wind, who is forced into solitude by the denizens of this world.

The dream kingdom resembles a Spirited Away-esque land, with its own hierarchy and bizarre set of rules, mundanity mixed in with visual wonder. Flying crocodiles, living houses and strange humanoids populate it, and the main characters, a pair of girls named Carmen and Juliette, turn into cats themselves. All are drawn with wavy lines, soft colours and fluid movement, the surreal presented with an inviting rather than foreboding air.

Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 Directed by Hideaki Anno and others / 2020 release delayed; keep an eye on the official Twitter account for a new date

Hideaki Anno is set to bring his earth-shaking Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise to a close, again, with the fourth instalment of his ‘Rebuild’ series of films, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0. Delayed for almost a decade now (the previous instalment came out in 2012!), and delayed again by Covid-19, the film looks to close out a grand rewriting of the original series that shot Anno-san and former studio Gainax to fame—“Bye Bye, All of Evangelion” the tagline reads. But we’re gonna have to wait a while longer to bid this final farewell.

Made with co-director Kazuya Tsurumaki (who has served as director with Anno-san since the original series), the first ‘Rebuild’ film, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, seemed to be a fairly conventional remake, updating the visuals and score with more modern techniques. The story starts the same: the isolated, depressed and self-loathing teenager Shinji Ikari is forced by his absentee father to help fight the mysterious, giant, alien ‘Angels’ by getting in an equally mysterious big robot called an Evangelion (“Eva” for short). He finds no self-fulfilment in this, and if anything, the close contact with other people only seems to push him further into himself. So far, so familiar.

However, the second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, veered completely off the rails in the best way possible, destroying audience preconceptions. The line between sequel and remake was fascinatingly blurred, and only continued to get weirder with Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, as the story landed in completely unfamiliar territory, altering its characters beyond recognition while adding entirely new characters in the process. It’s now almost impossible to predict what 3.0 + 1.0 will be. The only footage available so far was a wild ten-minute clip in which the Eiffel Tower is wielded as a weapon by an Eva. We were this close.

Ayumu Watanabe’s ‘Children of the Sea’ (2019).

There are almost too many gifts, even just from Annecy alone, to describe at length. A couple more worth mentioning: Anja Daiman’s musical comedy The Island looks fascinating for its reclamation of the colonialist story of Robinson Crusoe; and Yuta Murano’s first anime feature Our Seven-Day War promises plenty of plot twists amidst the actions of rebellious youth. A range of beguiling short films were also on display—a selection helpfully compiled here by Letterboxd member Iknow.

Outside of Annecy, other films are finally arriving, virtually or otherwise—such as Gints Zilbalodis’s peculiar and quiet Away, and Ayumu Watanabe’s beautiful and surreal Children of the Sea (with music from none other than Joe Hisaishi!). Though not all animation is comfort food by default—it is simply a medium, after all—it’s reassuring knowing that animated films are able to continue, in some form, through the pandemic.

Related content

Maxine the Movie Person’s excellent animation list

The 100 Highest Rated Animated Films of the 2010s according to our members

Revchu’s lists of the Top 100 Japanese Animated Films on Letterboxd, and the Top 100 Best-Rated Japanese Animated Films from the Anime News Network

Kambole’s selections in a Letterboxd list

Follow Kambole on Letterboxd

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Alex Recommends: November Books

Somehow we are already in December of this truly crazy year. It has been a pretty tough year for all of us and I know we’re all desperate to see the back of it. However, there’s something about this month that has me feeling overly festive. I love this season anyway but this year feels special for some reason. 

I have plans to go home to London this month, so that I can spend my 30th birthday (oh hell yeah, that crept up quick!) with as many of my friends and family as I legally can. Hopefully Mark will be coming down with me so that we can spend my birthday and our anniversary together. He’ll then drive back up to Staffordshire to spend Christmas with his family while I’ll stay in London through Christmas and come back up at some point before New Year. This is all still a big IF things are possible and there are still lots of restrictions on what we can actually do over the festive season but I’m determined to make the best of it. 

I’ve been picking up freelance gigs sporadically over the past month. The flow of work has definitely slowed but I have been lucky enough to work on some great projects and my retainer client has been fantastic. The irregular money is the one thing I hate about freelancing but his regular monthly payments have really helped to ease my mind a little. I have no idea what next year holds for me career-wise. I may need to start actively looking for a more permanent job when Mark and I start looking to buy somewhere to live but for now, freelancing seems to be making me a small but reasonable living.

As always, here are some of the books that have been keeping me company recently. There are some real gems this month, so I hope you enjoy them too! I also hope that you’re all feeling warm and fuzzy about seeing the year out. I’m actually writing this tucked up in bed with a cup of chai, a jam doughnut and A Christmas Prince on Netflix. Why not join me? -Love, Alex x

SHOULD HAVE READ IT LAST YEAR: The Binding by Bridget Collins.

A binder has the power to extract a person’s darkest memories and trap them in the binding of a book, leaving the person devoid of their suffering. When his mental health begins to suffer, Emmett Farmer’s family send him away to become a binder’s apprentice. He is forbidden to learn the true workings of binding but then Lucian Darnay enters the workshop and Emmett feels a powerful connection to him, although he has no idea why. Set within a magical reimagining of the 19th century, this beautiful intricate novel is ultimately a tragic love story but it’s so immersive and layered that it’s also so much more than that.

FICTION: This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens.

Minnie and Quinn were born a minute apart in the same hospital but their lives are worlds away from each other. When they meet at a NYE party, the night before their joint 30th birthday, there is absolutely no reason why they should be friends -especially as Minnie grew up with the superstition that Quinn’s life could have been hers- but life appears to have other ideas. A wonderfully simple, cosy romance with more than one unlikely friendship and a host of eccentric, realistic side characters.

THRILLER: One By One by Ruth Ware.

When a group of co-workers turn up to a snowy mountain ski chalet for a team-building getaway, there is one guest who no one was expecting to be there -because she no longer works at the company. Then an avalanche hits and the bodies start to pile up... I am a massive fan of Ruth Ware and as expected, I ran through her latest with my heart in my mouth. The claustrophobic setting, plethora of suspicious characters with some truly harrowing motives and short sharp chapters make One By One a pulse-racing ride down a very steep slope.

MIDDLE-GRADE: The Midnight Guardians by Ross Montgomery.

In the midst of World War Two, Col discovers that the imaginary friends from his childhood are actually real. They want to recruit him to help them overthrow the Midwinter King, who is planning on destroying the spirit world but Col has to get to London to save his sister from an incoming raid. Set against a backdrop of real terror and panic, this magical adventure is uniquely beautiful and thoroughly enchanting. So much of the Britain depicted reminded me of what has been going on recently, giving it a truly timeless air. An emotional, whimsical story about real friendship and bravery.

SHOULD HAVE READ IT YEARS AGO: See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt.

In Fall River, Massachusetts on the morning of 4th August 1892, 32-year-old Lizzie Borden cried out to her maid that her father had been brutally murdered. Later on, her stepmother is discovered with a similar, fatal axe wound. Friends and neighbours have no idea who would want to hurt the Bordens but those closest to them have their own, terribly dark tales to tell. I’ve been fascinated by the true story of Lizzie Borden, since I first read about it years ago and I’ve had this book for a long time. Of course, it is a fictional account of a horrific, still unsolved, murder but it’s also an exploration of how Lizzie, a single woman in her 30s, was viewed and treated by the patriarchal society of the 19th century. Wonderfully written and so captivating, it’s a must read for anyone interested in true crime, Victorian attitudes to women or both!

[thedcdunce]

Secret

“I'm tired of having everybody be afraid of me and leaving me!!!” - Secret

Real Name: Greta Hayes

Aliases:

Suzie

Gender: Female

Height: 4′ 8″

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Powers:

Warder Physiology

Weaknesses:

Electromagnetic Interference

Magic Interference

Universe: New Earth

Base of Operations:

Secret Sanctuary, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island

Catskill Mountain Hotel

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: 

Student

Crime-fighter

Education: Elias School for Girls

First Appearance: Young Justice: The Secret#1 (June, 1998)

Last Appearance: Booster Gold Vol 2 #3 (December, 2007)

Powers

Warder Physiology: When Greta was killed by her brother, she was able to stay on the earthly plane as a warder, someone who guides spirits who have just died to the afterlife. She has an ethereal body with a unique power set.

Flight: As an ethereal being, Secret can levitate and fly through the air at will, although she seems to be able to allow herself to be subject to gravity.

Intangibility: Secret typically remains in an intangible state. Solid matter and some forms of energy have been able to pass through her body without causing her harm. Secret is, however, susceptible to electric and magic-based attacks, even though she is mostly intangible. Secret can actually make herself solid for up to a few minutes at a time, allowing her to physically interact with tangible matter.

Sublimation: Secret is visually comprised of a smoky, misty quasi-ethereal substance of unknown composition. She can turn her body partly or wholly into smoke. As smoke, Secret has complete control over herself, able to travel through the air as she desires. She can perceive her environment while in this smoke form, even though she often has no discernible eyes or ears or whatnot. She has forced her gaseous body into the air passageways of enemies to disallow them to breathe, making them pass out.

Smoke Construct Creation: Much like how she can make her normal-looking body solid for brief periods of time, Secret can make the smoke she produces/becomes form into solid constructs. She has made a cage before, and she has used her smoke to throw enemies and catch falling allies.

Metamorphosis: Secret can alter her form to look like whatever she wishes. She still retains the same color scheme, but the shape can be changed to make her look like other things. One of her favorite alternatives to her human form is a dragon-like monster with fangs and claws, but she has altered her appearance in other ways as well. Much like her normal form, Secret seems to be able to make herself solid while in these other shapes as well.

Superhuman Strength: When Secret shape-shifts parts of her body into shapes that give her strength. For example, she has shape-shifted her fists into large, stone-hard fists that were able to greatly crack the concrete she punched.

Superhuman Durability: Secret can shape-shift parts of her body into a denser form. She has once turned her hands into a wall to protect her teammate from danger.

Size Alteration: While altering her appearance, Secret can make herself larger than her standard human size. Her dragon-like monster form tends to be a quite large, and she has transformed herself to look like a several-stories-tall version of a certain politician.

Teleportation: Secret has the ability to "smoke jump," as she calls it. Using this ability, she can teleport herself and/or others in a puff of smoke. She has been able to travel considerable distances with her smoke jumps.

Dimensional Travel: In addition to her ability to teleport, Secret has the ability to bring others into a pocket dimension that only she has been shown to be able to access. Calling this place "the Abyss," Secret has brought in friends into her dimension to protect them from danger, and she has pulled enemies within the Abyss as a form of confinement. Inside the Abyss is pure darkness, unless Secret herself appears to communicate with her prisoners. The Abyss is somehow inside of Secret, part of her being.

Fear Projection: The pocket dimension known as the Abyss has the innate ability to create fear and other negative feelings within the people inside. She has accidentally almost traumatized her friends when she briefly pulled them inside to protect them, but she has also intentionally used this ability to scare enemies.

Magic/Supernatural Sense: Secret was able to detect the magical energy signature of Klarion and track him down. Furthermore, she can also see spectral entities that usually cannot be seen.

Death Sense: Secret can sense when death is about to happen, and she can sense when death has just occurred.

Self-Sustenance: Secret does not appear to require food, water or oxygen, claiming she "Missed the sensation of hunger", although she has been sleeping at times.

Clairvoyance: By turning into smoke and entering the body of the dying Kathy Sutton through her air passageways, Secret was able to "mingle" in a sense with Kathy's soul, which was preparing to leave and enter the afterlife. While the experience seemed like a dream, Secret was able to coax Kathy into staying among the living. Secret could presumably do this for others if she had the time and the person in question likewise had the realistic potential to stabilize.

Possession: By forcing herself into the air passageways of someone, Secret was able to control that person's body. Not only was she able to control the person's movements, she was able to speak through the person and was able to access that person's metahuman powers.

Weaknesses

Electromagnetic Interference

Magic Interference

History

The hero known as Secret was once an ordinary girl named Greta Hayes. She was murdered by her adoptive brother, Billy, who would later become the supervillain known as Harm. Because of the manner of her death, Greta remained stuck on this plane of existence, a gateway between the living and the dead.

In her first appearance, Secret was being held against her will by the DEO. Robin, Impulse, and Superboy helped her to escape, and were able to convince her to join their crimefighting team, "Young Justice," at the same time as Wonder Girl and Arrowette. Being incorporeal, Secret is able to take on a variety of appearances, and is referred to as "the mist girl" or "the bottle girl" by the various agents who pursue her throughout her career.

Her brother Billy assumed the villainous identity of Harm and attacked Young Justice, but died when his own father shot him. Billy returned during the events of "Day of Judgment," when the entirety of Hell had been evacuated. He again battled the team, using the substance of Secret.

Before her real name was known, Secret was often referred to as Suzie. Secret became good friends with the two girls, and was often portrayed as shy. For awhile she nursed a crush on Robin, and often defended his actions and followed his leadership unquestioningly. She also often expressed jealousy of Spoiler, Robin's girlfriend, to the point where the pair of them once had a full out battle across Gotham City, only stopped by the combined efforts of both Red Tornado and Robin.

During the Sins of Youth event, a temporarily adult Secret, with the aid of Deadman, chased down Klarion the Witch Boy's cat familiar Teekl, as Klarion had been overtly threatening them. Surprising her age-altered friends, she caused Klarion to back down by threatening to kill Teekl. When undoing everything he had done, Klarion insisted that it was everyone or nothing. Secret didn't want to change back to a kid, but was persuaded to by Robin, who promised to always be there for her. As predicted by Merry Pemberton, this would later cause many problems. Secret would even go so far as to physically threaten Spoiler.

At one point Hal Jordan, the Spectre, tried to mentor Secret. During this time, she visited her father in jail. Under the mental influence of "Billy," her father rejected her, leaving her more despondent than before.

Secret eventually gave in to the darkness in her nature at the behest of Darkseid, whom she mistakenly referred to as "Doug Side." During her time on Apokolips, Billy possessing her father, launched the body into one of the firepits, killing them both. Although Hal Jordan offered to step in and save Greta, as well as the world, the current Young Justice team advisor, Snapper Carr, rejected the offer, preferring that the kids use Secret turning evil as a "learning experience." Robin was eventually able to talk her down by himself. Towards the end of Young Justice, a disgusted Darkseid stripped Greta of her powers, and left her an ordinary, living girl, which was, ironically, just what she had always wanted to be.

Greta now attends the Saint Elias School for Girls, with schoolmates Cassie Sandsmark and Cissie King-Jones.

[ahouseoflies]

Best Films of 2017, Part III

Part I is right here. Part II is right here. Let’s keep it moving. PRETTY GOOD MOVIES 67. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Matthew Vaughn)-  Exactly, eerily, as good as the first one. Make a hundred more of these stupid candies and wrap them individually in wax paper. 66. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (Chris Smith)-   As a movie about the effects of fame: 5 stars As a movie about the inherent lie of acting: 4 stars As a movie about making a movie: 2 stars As a well-structured documentary of its own: 1 star 65. The Wall (Doug Liman)- War movies often topple under the weight of their messages, but that's not The Wall's problem. To his credit, Liman is worried about making this a thriller first, even as he's showing off the competency of the soldier at its center. There's no music, and the camera plants you subjectively in Sergeant Issac's field of vision. (The John Cena character is named Shane Matthews, but he ain't even SEC). Even at 80-something minutes, however, the film feels long, telegraphing its way from one plot point to the next, and its dark ending comes off as a too-clever shrug. If your movie is about the war, then make it about the war. If it's using the war as a backdrop, then make it about something. 64. Fist Fight (Richie Keen)- Once you start thinking about its logic on any level, it falls apart. (The whole reason schools are bad is that they can't find good teachers, so why would they be so intent on firing the ones they have?) And it's full of fake problems. (Oh my God, he might not make it to his daughter's talent show in time!) But this worked for me overall. Some jokes fall flat, but there are so many that you can just wait for the next one to land, particularly if it's from the salty mouth of standout Jillian Bell. The script, full of meticulous callbacks, creates a full, satisfying arc for the protagonist as well. 63. Brad’s Status (Mike White)-  A confused movie that is an easy, sort of Italian watch in the way that it so literally spells out its emotions. Even five years ago, this tale of a middle class White man's entitled bellyaching would have been told straight. Now it exists only because it weaves into the narrative people who check the Stiller character's privilege. Because the character's jealousy is communicated so truly and fiercely, it almost seems as if Mike White wants to tell a story but knows he shouldn't. That sounds like faint praise, but it's a fascinating experience. 

62. Beach Rats (Eliza Hittman)- For about an hour, this felt like a movie I had seen before. "Oh, why can't I get it up? I, uh, must have had too many drugs. Definitely not because I'm gay 'cuz I'm not." It was, due to the underplayed performances and the careful composition, better than some versions of that movie, but not by much. Then, the last leg of the film gets mission-focused. Without giving anything away, rather than being just about heterosexual performance, it becomes about homosexual performance and heterosexual performance at the same time. The protagonist is challenging his straight friends within the rules of what they've determined and outside of them. Those layers pile on until the bravura final shot. I just wish it had hooked me sooner. 61. I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (Macon Blair)-  I preferred the Encyclopedia Brown fumbling at the beginning to the violent consequences at the end, but I realize that's how amateur detective movies work. I probably would complain if the film didn't open up in scale. The story is fairly simple, which, coupled with an assured visual style that is open to mystery, suggests that Macon Blair might have a real future as a director. He's not trying to do too much. Lynskey is absolutely perfect by the way. 60.  Life (Daniel Espinosa)-  Cool enough at the beginning and the end to excuse a few logical missteps in the middle. Still, without giving anything away, I'm recalling a fork in the road in which the film could have gone the easy, dumb way, and it went the more difficult, realistic way. I hadn't seen Espinosa's other movies, but he shows an assured hand here, especially with the rapturous gore. I can't say the same about Ryan Reynolds, who sleepwalks through a role that might as well be called You Know, a Ryan Reynolds Type.   59. The Zookeeper’s Wife (Niki Caro)-  It goes pretty hard for PG-13, and there isn't much wrong with it--the passage of time gets haphazard in the second half maybe. But personally, I think I'm all good on Holocaust stories. 58. Landline (Gillian Robespierre)- It's basically a Woody Allen movie if Woody Allen had an affinity for rollerblades instead of bad jazz. Most of the laughs come from the '90s milieu; in fact, I'm not sure if this movie would even be a comedy without the setting. Despite some of those easy laughs (and some laborious ribbon-tying at the end), the screenplay does a few difficult things well. I'm thinking in particular of a scene in which Falco and Turturro have to confront and punish their daughter. We've already been told that she gets forced into the bad-cop role, and he skates above the fray as the favorite parent. But to actually see that dynamic in action during this scene, which begins with him whispering that the mother is coming, is kind of thrilling. The performances are good: Slate is dialed up to a higher pitch than she was in Obvious Child, and newcomer Abby Quinn comes through when asked to carry long stretches. At first, I wondered why John Turturro had signed up for such a nothing part, but as his arc blossoms in the film's second half to become a quiet MVP. He gets to remind us that no one else can play an unrealized sad sack quite like him. 57. The Unknown Girl (Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne)-  I wish I had a unique take on this, but everyone else is right: It's a minor work from great filmmakers. There's some real psychology here--a woman in transition sublimates her upward mobility into a search for truth. And as a mystery, it works fine. But there's a tedium and a distance, despite the usual Dardenne tricks, that keeps it from hitting home. 56. The Glass Castle (Destin Cretton)-  There are too many characters in real life too, I guess. Far less focused than Short Term 12, The Glass Castle is an admirably sincere piece with some powerful sequences, but it gets way out of hand in the last twenty minutes. Recommendations for a movie that finishes with the point "It's okay to hate your dad"? 55. The Disaster Artist (James Franco)- James Franco reveals himself to be a workman-like director, a brilliant actor, and the best real-life brother of all time. Having a James Franco performance like this but giving top billing to Dave Franco is kind of like eating birthday cake but giving top billing to the plate. Playing a clown-fraud like Tommy Wiseau exposes an actor to artifice. Commit too much, and it's a stunt; commit too little, and it's a wink. I don't know exactly how he does it, but James Franco walks the tight-rope precisely. Dave Franco, playing a nineteen-year-old for some of this, is in over his head. If you've ever seen a well-done amateur Shakespeare adaptation, you know the electricity that comes from the company's freedom, when they realize they can do what they want with this supposedly sacrosanct work. So imagine how much fun professionals are in re-staging a work that is objectively terrible. At its worst, The Disaster Artist feels like a trifle. At its best, however, that feeling of putting-on-a-show is what comes across well.

54. Manifesto (Julian Rosenfeldt)- I knew this was various incarnations of Cate Blanchett--a homeless man, a conservative housewife, a broker--performing artistic manifestos. But I didn't know the most clever twist, which is that the manifestos are blended into one another, so that a line of Marx alternates with a line of Tzara with a line of Soupault. That dynamic approach brings to light how confrontational and immature all of these types of writings are, not to mention the collaborative spirit most of those writers had. Your mileage may vary based on your tolerance for intellectual bullshit, but I scratched my chin contentedly. The pairings of the manifestos to the settings are clever, and my favorite was probably a eulogist talking about dadaism at a literal funeral. As artificial as what I'm describing sounds (and yeah, by the eighth or ninth one, you'll check your watch), Blanchett finds an observational truth. The performative posture of a schoolteacher, the pause for fake laughs of a C.E.O., the paper shuffle of a news anchor: She remains the real thing. 53. Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)-  Now that I have taken a shower to wash off the movie's bleak grodiness, I appreciate its solid plotting and grindhouse super-sizing. Like Bone Tomahawk, Zahler's previous film, Brawl in Cell Block 99 takes about an hour to get where it's going. (The inciting incident is technically at 1:08.) I assume the fat is there to develop the protagonist, but I think about twenty minutes could be shaved off. Zahler's rhythms might make for an excellent TV show, but something about that '70s exploitation poster makes me think we won't find out. 52. Columbus (Kogonada)- Columbus wrestles with the balance of information and inspiration. The Cassandra character prevents the Jin character--I'll ignore the gross name symbolism--from looking a date up on his phone because she wants to be able to recall it herself. Earlier than that, the Jin character tries to impress her with knowledge of a building, but she blows him off when he admits that he memorized it from a book he had read earlier in the week. Would that thought be somehow more pure if he had retained it over years? I think that type of calculus is what the film is concerned with, so it makes sense that it centers on architecture, an art of identity as much as it is a science of measurements, an expression as much as it is a utility. If the paragraph above makes it sound as if the movie is up its own ass, running on Sundance fumes through its meth subplot, then you'd be right. I had just enough patience to admire it as a promising debut. 51. The Book of Henry (Colin Trevorrow)- Colin Trevorrow's best film is always compelling--for different reasons in the compassionate first half than it is as it's careening off the rails in the final third. But it's always compelling. You can't complain about all studio movies being the same, then not appreciate something this fundamentally godless and bizarre. 50. Kong: Skull Island (Jordan Vogt-Roberts)- People rag on the DC Universe films for being too serious and dark, but there's no limit to how dark a movie can go as long as it's balancing that mood with something else. Vogt-Roberts gets that, and Kong: Skull Island is a cut above most of these entertainments because he has a deft handle on tone. The film can get scary because it's so silly and fun at other times. Plus, if you have Jackson, Reilly, and Goodman selling your lines, they can be as dumb as you want. Even if the other sequences never reach its level, the first helicopter setpiece is dope, in part because the actual fighting of the monsters is dynamic. Skull Island is pretty far from Brazil, but Kong's chokes, holds, and throws owe a lot to jiu-jitsu. It seems like a consistent piece of design at least. Can we talk about Tom "The Tight Sweater" Hiddleston though? Vogt-Roberts has no idea how to introduce him properly, but he is an absolute zero in the role that is supposed to be heroic. The script doesn't do him any favors--the American army is taking orders from this British mercenary because...--but he is a vacuum of charisma. He's not dangerous in any way, and his blah blah my dad died backstory is delivered with no conviction. I don't get it. 49. T2: Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)- It's a perfectly pleasant experience to see these characters twenty years later--Boyle has a few nostalgic tricks up his sleeve--but "pleasant" is a backhanded response to something as vibrant and essential as the original.There's a meta-reading of T2 that admits that everyone involved is struggling with the same issues as the characters, but even that is kind of like returning to your middle school and realizing that the basketball rims weren't actually that tall. And how do you mess up the music?

48. Brigsby Bear (Dave McCary)- There are some huge ideas on Brigsby Bear's mind. The weight of nostalgia versus genuine affection is there. Caring versus pitying is there. Then there's the idea that drives it: If you're the only person who appreciates a work, does that diminish it in some way? How important is collective experience to art?Those ideas are suggested by the screenplay by Kyle Mooney and Kevin Costello, but they aren't wrestled with directly. Especially in its structure, Brigsby Bear is more conventional than its mysterious introduction and Mooney's bonkers comedic sensibility would have suggested. 47. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)- Three Billboards flew by for me, and I loved Sam Rockwell's iceberg of a performance. But I was held back by the same elements that hampered Martin McDonagh's other work. There's some profundity lurking in the Harrelson voice-over, and you can't tell me that you didn't get the chills from McDormand's raw scream as her son holds her back from putting out a fire.But it's over-written in the first half--"HOW RESPONSIBLE ARE WE FOR OTHER PEOPLE?" might as well be on a storefront on Main Street. And McDonagh, a real poet of the profane at his best, is so willing to go for the easy joke that he undoes a lot of his own subtlety. Even before the dreadful final five minutes, there's too much plot and too many characters.Perhaps it's an issue of expectations--this would have been a satisfying video store find back in the day, but I'm not sure something so out-of-control should be up for All the Awards.   46. Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadignino)- For me, this is Guadignino's third straight film in which an emotional urgency underneath never quite equals the lush, meticulous, yet inert exterior wrapping. That being said, Chalamet's performance forces nothing, and the character is a uniquely novelistic creation: knowing everything, practicing mystery, but wearing his confusion on his sleeve. Despite an overall shapeless quality, the film brings everything home in the poignant moments near the end. One of those moments is a five-minute "it gets better" speech by Michael Stuhlbarg. By that point I think most of my audience was willing to go there, but I hesitated to buy it. You can't spend two hours being a movie about what isn't said, then switch over to a movie in which everything is laid out on the table. Then again, that's my exact Guadignino problem. 45. Battle of the Sexes (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)- Dayton and Faris show as little tennis as possible because they don't know how to make it look interesting. Carell sleepwalks through his role. There's a lot of "Here's plot point A" type dialogue. We're told about King's dedication to the game, but we aren't really shown it. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a Clinton-Trump allegory, and Dayton-Faris expected Clinton to win like everyone else did. But Battle of the Sexes still goes down smooth, mostly because of the tender love story between Billie Jean King and Marilyn Barnett. In fact, every time the film cut to something else, I wanted more of those women discovering each other. I'm a student of Movie Stardom, so I've given Emma Stone her due as a Movie Star. But this is the first time I forgot I was watching Emma Stone. The scene in which Billie Jean and Marilyn meet is an impressionistic, sensual haircut. Marilyn calls Billie Jean pretty, and based on the complicated reception of that compliment--a stumble but not a stammer--you can tell Billie Jean didn't get that much. As written, King is a strange mixture of inward flailing and outward tenacity, and Stone breaks hearts with it. It's not often that one performance can give a movie a reason to exist, but that's why they play the games. 44. King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword (Guy Ritchie)- It's hard to remember a film more uninterested in its own storytelling, and it's even harder to remember a time when I saw that as a strength. If nothing else, the permanent fast-forward button that Guy Ritchie holds feels like a fresh corrective against other self-serious origin legends. I say "origin," but this movie actually feels like a trilogy unto itself, with the excellent initial twenty-five minutes covering about thirty years at a breathtaking pace. The score, which incorporates human breath, makes that literal. Ritchie fashions King Arthur into a scrappy orphan story, so there's a bit of his underdog imprint, but he also sort of assumes that we know the basics of the King Arthur story and yada-yadas a lot. Merlin gets mentioned only by name, Excalibur never gets named, and Arthur literally cuts in line to pull it out of the stone. By the end some of the visuals look like Killer Instinct for the N64 with a code to turn CGI embers all the way up. But I prefer this to the three-hour version that the studio accountants no doubt expected to receive.

43. War for the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves)- For better or worse, this movie plays for keeps. Aided by Michael Giacchino's second masterpiece of a score (after Up), the film lets the action speak for itself, going for long stretches without any dialogue. It culminates in the exact go-for-broke ending that I keep asking for. But am I the only one who feels a bit of cognitive dissonance with these movies? The audience I saw it with applauded at the end, but it's hard for me to buy in that way for something that is so dour and self-serious while also being goofy. Like, I'm really supposed to learn about the lessons of work camps from CGI apes? The commitment behind the apes' design is admirable--how has this series not won any effects Oscars yet?--but is the storytelling strong enough to transcend those tricks? It's novel, but I'm not sure it's new. Matt Reeves crams the film with Apocalypse Now allusions, and though I was thoroughly entertained, I couldn't help but think this was Apocalypse Now for people who will never see Apocalypse Now.

[garymacoy33-blog]

City Dweller? You Can Still Grow A Garden!

Long, before mega-marts came out giving two-thousand different types of food, people had been entirely self-reliant and increased their own own produce for nourishment. These days, whether is actually to get healthy or perhaps save some money, everyone is returning to those older days associated with organic gardening. Read these tips and come across out how you can certainly grow to be an excellent gardener. In case you would like for you to create an eye-catching fall back garden with a lot of elevation and contrasting colours, attempt planting spiky plants just like the New Zealand flax, the yucca or extra tall ornamental grasses. Add drama with structure and colour by adding chartreuse plant life like the Golden Spirit smoke cigarettes bush or typically the Tiger Face sumac. To be able to contrast typically the chartreuse coloring, plant pink plants together the cottage plants just like the Black Lace elderberry or Loropetalum. To avoid too much water your plants, abide by weather reports as much because possible. If rainwater is expected, there is simply no need throughout watering your garden. This will save money on your waters costs and avoid watering your vegetation exceedingly. In the event dryness plus heat are usually expected, water your own personal crops accordingly.

A great idea to having a wonderful garden is to turn out to be realistic. When buying typically the glossy packages involving seeds are very appealing, nevertheless many of them merely grow in distinct climates. Be realistic to what expands in the location and do not flower items that do definitely not increase well. It will be so disappointing in order to seed a garden and still have practically no fruits and vegetables come from the idea. If digging holes to your plant life, don't be a nice freak. Don't dig openings that are perfect, along with factors that are just as smooth just like be. An individual are actually making it considerably more difficult for the origin system of the new herb to take maintain around the soil. For greatest results, keep your openings a little messy. When you need to regulate weed progress, pick your weed killer properly, plus always follow the guidelines. A lot of weed criminals have got compounds that are dangerous to people credit rating certainly not applied properly. They may be specially harmful to young kids if the children enjoy around a location that features recently been treated. It is vital that you not forget for you to water your garden on a good regular basis, specially whenever it is popular. In case your plants do certainly not get good enough water, origins stay near to the surface which usually can kill the vegetation or cause them to be able to get even longer for you to grow. Concerning an in . of water a 1 week is satisfactory. Choose a unique compost ahead of period somewhat than purchasing it. Incorporating compost to your garden presents your plants the needed boost in order to increase effectively. Begin economizing your turf cuttings, raked up finds, egg covers, and body from fruit and vegetables in a tough bin 6 weeks prior to your own growing plants season. Your fragment may then be ready to mix in with your filth on planting day time. To help make nutrient fertilizer via stuff you have all around the home, look in what you own for morning meal. Both old coffees reasons and tea totes create an excellent fertilizer, particularly if it comes to vegetation that like acid. Eggshells add alkaline to your own soil, and bananas can be the best source involving the potassium that carnations thrive with. Keep your self safe, it's the right off the bat to know about farming. Wear protecting eye-wear when handling mowers and additional garden machinery. Have on safety gloves when you are operating in this dirt. This will keep you safe in case there is an incident together with guard your body by different elements in often the environment. You can get time period by renewing the bedrooms with this process: slice within the turf and even turn that above. Protect it with timber poker chips and wait a couple weeks. Anyone can then use this particular bed to help plant your current perennial flowers. The ground you have turned over should be made thicker from the turf that can be under that. As the good general training, anyone should make sure in order to plant your current seeds several seed-widths deep into his or her containers. best time to fertilize lawn in spring There are quite a few plant seeds, however, that an individual should not cover in all, since they will need natural light to germinate. Petunia and ageratum seeds need direct sunlight, for example. If you are unsure in regards to the specific needs of your own personal seeds, you should talk to your local garden center or maybe conduct further homework on-line. Important things to glimpse for consist of water demands, ideal soil type, and even recommended sun light exposure. In the event that you follow right natural and organic growing conditions you might find that you will be better suited market your generate on the local fruit stalls plus farmer's markets. Natural produce is very popular now due to the fact people are beginning to find out all the health advantages of ingesting an natural and organic whole foodstuff diet plan. An individual can get the more out of the period you dedicate to the organic garden by retaining all of your commonly-used tools handy. Pick farming clothes with plenty associated with sturdy pockets for your tools. A bucket or perhaps tool seatbelt will in addition make a new effortless residence for those tools you use most frequently. If anyone plan to begin your current organic garden from seed, be sure to start well in advance in the gardening season. Start plant seeds indoors so that you will have established baby plants ready to put around the ground following your final frost. Follow the instructions found on the back again of your seeds bouts to determine the correct a chance to start the seeds to your climate. When starting up your own personal organic garden, some sort of excellent tip is in order to use an old laundry basket for washing all of your current fruits and vegetables. Often the basket are going to be like some sort of strainer, which will create the idea easier for you to wash off each of the dirt from your benefits and vegetables. When you use an open compost pile to combine and build your backyard compost material, place this in an region that will is not too next to your garden. It is most beneficial to leave from minimum six feet of available area between the compost heap and your lawn. Planting outside the house too in close proximity to the compost stack, where the idea can come in connection with immature compost, can cause your seed roots to be broken. There are many factors one may wish to get to the opposite direction of recent technology and rising approaches. Regardless of the reasons, you can utilize these organic gardening suggestions to grow several of the best make ever. Focus on just what you've realized here together with implement these tactics.

[its-an-isfp-yo]

If anyone is having a hard time understanding ISFPs or the difference between ISFPs and INFPs, I thought this article was pretty good!

Pierce Presents: ISFP

By Michael Pierce

This stereotype implies that ISFP preferences make an individual fragile and sensitive, which is not necessarily the case. Furthermore, it implies that the ISFP is basically a simpler version of the INFP, which is like saying that the INTP is just an ISTP with more layers, rather than a very distinct personality with distinct advantages and disadvantages. The ISFP, like the ISTP, has an Se/Ni axis, which stands in direct contrast to the Ne/Si axis of the INFP.

As always, let’s break down what constitutes the ISFP functionally.

They are a Perceiving type, meaning that they prefer extroverted perceiving and introverted judging. This means that they base their judgment criteria on subjective, inner information, while simply observing and drinking in objective information and experiences. You could say that they are more receptive towards the outside world and more aggressive towards their inner experience.

Their preferred way of doing this is through extroverted sensation and introverted feeling. Extroverted sensation is photographic: It has the most direct relationship with objects of all the functions, giving them the clearest and most realistic perspective. Introverted feeling is individualistic: It has deep, personal passions and convictions that it holds to despite outside opposition, and it greatly values the right to individual freedom of expression and being true to oneself.

Third, ISFPs are very similar to the ESFP: Both prefer Se and Fi. The ISFP, however, prefers Fi more than Se. Nevertheless, they are in some sense the same type, or at least sister types. I personally like to call SFP types the “Aesthetes,” because they combine a sharp and vivid perception of the world with isolated and passionate subjective values, thus giving them a highly developed and individual appreciation for the aesthetic qualities of existence. Of course, “Aesthete” is simply a nickname to help me remember the SFP nature, and it is not meant to imply that all SFPs are natural artists or musicians, or even that they appreciate what you yourself may call art.

The ISFP, then, is an “aesthete” for whom their individual values and desires are more interesting and important than their objective observations. They are primarily concerned with developing, discovering and expressing their innermost feelings and values.

The word I like to use to describe the ISFP is “expression.” To explain this, I will need to describe the differences between the INFP’s Ne/Si axis and the ISFP’s Se/Ni axis: Ne looks at objects through a blurred lens for the purpose of imaginative association and pattern seeking. It doesn’t look at the object itself, but at what it could be or might be related to. In other words, Ne has an indirect relationship with objects. The opposite motion to this is Si, which has a direct relationship with impressions of objects, or the subject, giving it a strong and thorough subjective memory.

Conversely, the ISFP has a direct and clear relationship with objects, but in exchange has an indirect, associative, blurred relationship with their impressions of objects. Thus, while the INFP’s Fi dream world is clearer, more easily navigated, more tangible and solid to the touch, the ISFP’s Fi dream world is perceived through a blurred, imaginative lens, making it smoky, more intangible, and flighty; shrouded in mist, full of strange illusions and apparitions that appear for a moment and then turn back into smoke. The ISFP thus has an even more difficult time expressing the things they’ve seen in this realm than the INFP, and for this reason I use the word “expression,” because this is both the goal and potential talent of the ISFP; to creatively surmount this challenge and give real life and voice to their internal visions.

This is part of the reason why the ISFP is known for being quiet, because not only do they love to explore this dream world, but they have a difficult time describing their values and visions to other people. Words therefore become scarce, somewhat like the ISTP. The INFP is more often known for having an excellent way with words (though paradoxically, they may often experience their way with words as insufficient to describe the sentiments that they hold inside – ed.), and thus INFPs tend to have less of a problem using language to describe their ideas and develop meticulous and detailed descriptions of these realms where their values are exemplified. Once again, this is made possible because the INFP has a direct relationship with their inner world, so to express it purely is not as difficult. The ISFP, however, because of their indirect relationship with their inner world, must be similarly indirect when describing it. But describe it they must, for the whole purpose of Fi is to somehow exemplify and, as I said before, give life to their inner values, to more fully express them, and thus to become more like themselves, more authentically themselves without any external contaminants or concessions. They want to fully march to the beat of their own drum, so they must find a way to play the music and rhythm that they hear.

One way the ISFP very often does this is simply the way that they live. The INFP, too, along with expression through language, is interested in how to live in such a way as to express their values, but this is uniquely done by the ISFP, who seems to become the example of their own style, in their actions, in their clothes, in their interactions and even just the way they walk. There is a sense of unique but unobtrusive style to them.

This is another important aspect of Fi; it is not interested in changing things around it. It is focused on exemplifying its own values. What is outside of it (objective sentiments) are not its business and should not be its business. The ISFP and INFP do not want to interfere with anyone else’s expression of values; their only concern is how they themselves behave in response to them. But while INFPs have an easier time expressing their values with language, reasoning, or even stories, and therefore appear more like a champion of their values, louder and more outspoken, the ISFP finds language inadequate to express themselves, and thus appears much more unassuming in their expression, because they don’t directly express their values, but rather indirectly express them through their style of life, or their art, or other means. They seem like a leaf on the wind, a traveling minstrel or drifter of some sort, going very much their own way in life, preferring not to lead or command but simply to be themselves and go wherever they will, never imposing themselves on the world, but rather expressing themselves in ways that complement or properly adapt to their surroundings while still retaining their individuality.

To clarify, this adaptation is not an expression of Fe, but rather Se. The INFP has a more indirect relationship with the world, but the ISFP has a direct relationship, and therefore is more adept at complementing the objects around them. This is not to say that ISFPs are compromising their values to harmonize with those around them, but that they are expressing their values in such a way that they contribute to the direct aesthetic appeal of their surroundings, which is much less a concern or even talent for the INFP. As Hilary Clinton said about Jacqueline Onassis, “Unpretentious elegance characterized everything she did.”

Another example would be Thich Nhat Hanh, who said concerning the Vietnam war, “we young Buddhists … did not take a side even though the whole world took sides … we tried to tell people of our perception of the situation … We wanted to stop the fighting, but the bombs were so loud.” Thich Nhat Hanh attempted to express his concerns in a calm, unpretentious, unobtrusive manner, not because he was scared in the least, but because if people were unwilling to quiet down to listen to him, then it would be of no use to shout any louder to get them to hear.

Several more important characteristics of the ISFP can be found by comparing them with the ISTP: The primary difference between them is that while the ISTP primarily considers the world in terms of its cold properties, or rather, the properties of their impressions of the world, the ISFP primarily considers the world in terms of its value, or the value of the ISFP’s impressions of the world. Thus the ISTP forms a logical, systematic, level conception of reality, while the ISFP forms a valuated and therefore hierarchical conception of reality, with some things being simply better or more important than others, for instance, art, or styles of art, principles, people whom the ISFP enjoys specifically, and so on.

However, the ISTP and ISFP both share an Se/Ni axis, which has a direct relationship with objects and an indirect relationship with their subject, giving them a zeroed-in perspective and a very vivid, photographic and focused picture of reality, which is then examined through a blurry lens to see what other past impressions it can be associated with. This means they invest a lot of energy and thought into one area, which is usually whatever area provides the most output here and now.

So, while the INFP is more broad and multifaceted, the ISFP is zeroed-in and singular. The ISFP is particularly interested in the here and now, and whatever intuitive ideas and visions are obtained in the here and now. As such, the ISFP’s expression is in the here and now. For instance, Frank Ocean explained that his aim in songwriting was “to make something that represents where I am at that time” and “to make a photograph out of something you can never see.” Bob Dylan said concerning his songs: “I just write them. There isn’t any big message,” and Paul McCartney explained: “How I wrote depended on my mood.” The INFP tends to create an intentional continuity in their works and expression, because of Ne’s broader, more sweeping motion and Si’s memory and recording – for example, Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous authorship or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. However, the ISFP is not concerned with overarching continuity, but with intensity, with getting the most out of what is here right now. A compilation of an ISFP’s art would contain various disparate works that each represent very individual, immediate, unrelated feelings, meanings and ideas, but which have an overall style to them. Conversely, the INFP’s compilation would likely have more variation in style, but contain definite threads of meaning throughout the whole of them.

Furthermore, the ISFP often has trouble talking about their art or forms of expression, because the form of expression itself is the best expression they can make. As Frank Ocean said, “I’m trying to make a photograph out of something you can never see.” This is another aspect of the ISFP’s Ni. The ISFP talks through their art, and not about their art. Their art, as I’ve mentioned before, can be actual art, or even just the way they live or how they move their body, or even just their very presence in some cases. But the INFP is much more likely to talk about their art and explain the patterns behind it, because their focus is not the expression itself, or the art itself, but the overarching ideas behind the art. But for the ISFP, and often for Ni/Se types in general, the art is the overarching idea expressed in the best form the ISFP can manage. The INFP uses art to better communicate their ideas, but the ISFP speaks art as their first language. As David Gilmour said about Roger Walters, “I thought [his] songs were very wordy … the music [that he wrote] became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one.”

Finally, the ISFP, like the INFP, represses their Te function. One obvious effect of this is that the ISFP does not want to lead others or take control of things, but rather wants to leave their surroundings unaffected while they express their own values in such a way that it enhances the aesthetic around them. While this can be an advantage, one could easily argue that, for instance, Thich Nhat Hanh’s time would have been better spent actively doing something to stop the bombs, rather than just quietly protesting. This is similar to the INFP’s difficulty in going about clear, logical goals to accomplish their Fi desires.

Another effect is that the ISFP’s repression of Te also represses their inductive reasoning, meaning, as CelebrityTypes has put it, that “they sometimes fail to draw logical conclusions about their situation and act on them.”

So, in summary, the ISFP is occupied with self-expression of their Fi values, something made difficult by their indirect perception of their own subject through Ni, but overcome through creative outlets, from art to body language to simply how they live. Their Fi discourages them from trying to change or affect their surroundings, and their Se helps them express themselves with an unassuming, complementary elegance. However, they repress Te, which can make it difficult for them to form and accomplish specific goals, and can cloud their inductive reasoning.

Thanks for reading, and for all the ISFPs out there, thank you for the beauty you bring into the world through your devoted self-expression.

[libertariantaoist]

WHY?

Years from now, when the history of this war is written, acres of print will be devoted to the question of the real cause (or causes) of the conflict: already, as we head into Day 37 of the crisis, the two big questions that loom in the minds of baffled Americans are: "Why Kosovo?" and "Why now?"

THE  WASHINGTON FACTOR

NATO  would naturally like us to believe that the Serbians, and specifically        Slobodan Milosevic, started this war by cracking down on their Kosovar        subjects; and that, furthermore, the Serbs are responsible for all the        region's problems. Yet the complex history of the Balkans, with its Byzantine        intrigues and unique intersections of politics, ethnicity, and religion, rules out this or any other mono-causal theory. Apart from a history rich with incident, in which the historical struggle of Serbs and Turkic invaders takes on the scale of an epic saga, outside factors have always played a decisive role in bring the Balkan cauldron to a boil. That is especially true this time around. In the era of American hegemony, what is happening in Washington, DC, the imperial capital, is at least as important to the peoples of the former Yugoslavia as what policies are being pursued in Belgrade – and, I would argue, more so.

NO ORDINARY EVIL

Why are we at war with Serbia? The primary causes of the war have little to        do with anything that is now occurring (or said to be occurring) in the        Balkans; nor is it a conspiracy of war profiteers, bound and determined to wring mega-profits out of the agony of the Serbian nation (although surely there are war profiteers aplenty, who are profiting from a war they naturally support). Some have pointed to the valuable mineral rescues under this much-disputed patch of territory; the war, they say, is motivated by greed. But mobilizing the military might of the nineteen NATO nations, not to mention the U.S., seems an awful lot of trouble to go through in order to acquire a few mines. Least credible of all is the theory of the "humanitarian" origins of this war: before the U.S. intervened, less than 2,000 people had been killed in Kosovo, not all of them Kosovars but also many Serbs who died at the hands of a terroristic "Kosovo        Liberation Army." American intervention has led to the exact opposite of its announced intent: instead of "saving" the Kosovars, U.S. meddling has worsened their pitiable condition, a result that was entirely predictable. No, none of these rather prosaic reasons really explain such a monstrous evil: such ordinary human motivations as greed, pride, compassion, and national feeling seem entirely too prosaic to explain why a six-year-old Serbian girl was killed, yesterday, in a NATO bombing raid that killed twenty people in her village and wiped out her entire family.

GLOBAL  AGENDA

What killed her was ideology. Not the familiar ideological bogeymen said to        haunt the Balkan landscape – which, as we all know, are xenophobia,        racism, nationalism, and other extreme forms of political incorrectness – but a militant and deadly dangerous globalism that has entranced American elites in the post-Cold War world and hypnotized certain powerful politicians. With the death of Communism, the end of the conservative crusade against the masters of the Kremlin has caused many old Cold Warriors to cast about for new enemies to confront, new conspiracies to counter. Likewise on the Left, a new spirit of internationalism has revived an otherwise moribund domestic agenda, revitalizing such tired old bromides as "national purpose" and bringing back into vogue such phrases as "standing should-to shoulder" that have not been heard in liberal circles since the great antifascist struggle of the thirties and forties. The end of the Cold War, far from giving us a respite from international tensions, has infused these ideological warriors with a new martial spirit: in the absence of any competition, any great power to stand in our way, the world is ours to supervise and shape, and both the Left and the Right have their own global agendas, which in substance if not in style have much in common. They have come together over the issue of Kosovo: the Weekly Standard and the New Republic; internationalist conservatives and their liberal counterparts, each with their own distinct (but similar) views of how and why the U.S. must shoulder its sacred and indisputable responsibility as the Last Superpower.

PORTRAITS OF THE WAR PARTY: THE NEOCONS

On the Right, Kosovo is the latest cause of the neoconservatives, a sect        that is small in numbers but hugely influential in the media and in Washington.    The neoconservatives, or "neocons," have never amounted to more than a few dozen intellectuals and publicists, nearly all of whom seem to be newspaper columnists, magazine editors, and foundation officials. A high-powered bunch, many of them started out as militant anti-Stalinists who yet retained their socialist credentials (e.g. Sidney Hook) and wound up, twenty years later, in the camp of Ronald Reagan cheering on the Nicaraguan "contras." The domestic agenda of these political chameleons has changed with the circumstances of the moment: when liberalism was fashionable, they were liberals; when free-market shibboleths replaced liberal bromides as the conventional wisdom, these seekers after the main chance were suddenly "converted" to capitalism (as least enough to give it "two cheers"). From being advisors to Hubert Humphrey        and "Scoop" Jackson, they went on to become the intellectual vanguard of the "Reagan Revolution." But none of these domestic issues really moved them, or occupied a central place in their political affections. What really got them going, however, was the issue of Communism, i.e., foreign policy, which was their ruling passion. Their views were shaped by an overwhelming desire to destroy their old enemies, the Stalinists, and evolved over the years into a reflexive bellicosity. The death of Communism did not even break their stride: they were on the job warmongering full-time weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, looking alternately   at Islamic fundamentalism and the Chinese as potential stand-ins for the        Kremlin. While most conservatives in Congress reacted to the intervention        in Bosnia with something considerably less than enthusiasm, the Weekly       Standard, house organ of the neocons, scolded and mocked the Republicans     for their skepticism, accusing them of turning "isolationist." While disdaining any ostensibly humanitarian motives, for the neocons American intervention was and is a question of maintaining hegemony, not only in Europe but over the whole globe. Editor Bill Kristol has called for the United States to impose a "benevolent world hegemony" on the peoples of the earth, and urges America to drop the republican pretense and adopt a frankly imperial foreign policy. The globalism of the neocons is the old liberal internationalism dressed up in the self-consciously  "tough" rhetoric of hard-nosed power politics: instead of the "We-are-the-World-we-are-the-children" internationalism of Ted Turner and the Clinton administration, editor Kristol defended the 1995 bombing of the Serbs in typically Cro-Magnon terms: "The Serbs do not put down their guns because they trust America will treat them fairly." wrote the Weekly Standard editors. "They do so because they know we sympathize with Bosnia, and they trust only that we will kick their skulls in if they break the peace."

A MOTLEY COLLECTION

For years, Kristol and his fellow neocons have been ceaselessly agitating for war against Serbia. Now that they have it, they are devoting entire issues of their subsidized magazines to justifying it and arguing for its escalation and expansion. The war, they admit, is "going badly," but this is due to Clinton's mismanagement, not to any inherent flaws in his policy. The problem is his irresoluteness, his character, which prevents him from doing the brave thing, and that is starting the ground war immediately. And if Clinton will not start the war on the ground in Kosovo quite yet, then the neocons have wasted no time in waging a war of words against those conservative Republicans who have become the antiwar opposition of the new millennium. They are, as the Weekly Standard       put it, "a rather motley collection of neoisolationists who simply don't believe the United States should much concern itself with overseas matters not directly threatening the American homeland; of Clinton despisers who don't trust the administration to do any serious thing seriously . . . and of ultra-sophisticated 'realist' intellectuals who have divined that America has no interests in the Balkans and who claim that to combat Milosevic's aggression and brutality is merely to indulge in soft-headed liberal internationalism." The editors then roll out a long list of conservative stalwarts, all safely within the neocon orbit. How could crusty old Jean Kirkpatrick be described as "soft-headed"?

REALISM VERSUS SURREALISM

For the Weekly Standard to denounce "Clinton-despisers" is hypocrisy on such a scale that it defies quantification or even comprehension: after calling for his impeachment, week after week, and salivating over the dreary details of the President's peccadilloes, both personal and political, relentlessly and with mind-deadening monotony, to now hear from these very same people that we must follow our Commander-in-chief into battle without question or hesitation, would be funny if it weren't so monstrous. What kind of robots do they think conservatives are, that they can be turned on and off with the flick of a switch? As for these "ultra-sophisticated" intellectuals who champion "realism"  – how "sophisticated" does one have to be to question the value of intervening in a Godforsaken backwater like the Balkans? And why not inject a note of realism into the fancy formulations of foreign policy theoreticians, who ceaselessly invent "new architectures" and enunciate grandiose policies that their sons and daughters will never be asked to die for? It is high time somebody did.

THE  CLINTON-HATERS

The idea that conservatives are opposed to jumping into the Yugoslav quagmire  because they cannot abide Bill Clinton is wishful thinking on the part of Bill Kristol and his neocon clique: this war has really isolated them from what they hoped was going to be their mass base in the GOP, and cut them off from the rank-and-file of the conservative movement, perhaps permanently and irrevocably. The rightist response to the new internationalism has been so violent and so intransigent that even National Review, that old war-horse of Cold War militarism and Anglophilic Atlanticism has been forced to acknowledge it. The current issue [May 3, 1999] contains two apologias for Clinton's war: Zbigniew     Brzezinski and Andrew J. Bacevich bemoan Clinton's apparent unwillingness       to kill enough civilians in the bombing campaign and urge the immediate       dispatch of the 82nd Airborne into the streets of Belgrade. Michael Lind has taken time off from attacking the Christian Coalition and conservatives in general and is readmitted to the right-wing fold in time to add his endorsement to the need to unleash the Marines on Belgrade. But this issue also features two significant dissents, by Owen Harries (editor of The National Interest) and Mark Helperin (a novelist and a contributing editor of the Wall Street Journal), whose eloquence and passion far outshines the pedestrian war-whoops that fill the rest of NR's pages. Harries is, one supposes, one of those "ultra-sophisticates"       denounced by the Weekly Standard for the vulgarity of their nouveau       realism. But Harries' elegant piece is not so easily dismissed. In terms of foreign policy, American ends, he argues, have always been contradicted by the means employed: the former are grandiose, the latter inadequate to the task. We got away with it for a while, because no one dared to challenge us: now, we have to put up or shut up. Although he never says so directly, one gets the distinct impression that Harries would rather have us shut up. His logic is impeccable: people never fight unless it is in their interest to do so, that is, unless they have to defend their  homes and their way of life against some actual or perceived aggression. No such aggression or threat now exists: ergo, the Americans will not  fight, and probably should not fight, for wider and more "idealistic" ends. Ripping aside the facade of "fakery," Harries makes the trenchant point that the Balkans, "properly considered . . . should be an insignificant backwater, and it has taken a good deal of determined, sustained political stupidity to make it otherwise." Harries also deconstructs the absurd propaganda device that equates Milosevic with Hitler: "The . . . characterization was nonsense, and, in typical Clinton fashion, we have heard no more about it since its initial trial        run." We are not up against a militant totalitarianism, but Serbian      nationalism, which, like the Vietnamese nationalism we fought unsuccessfully      two and a half decades ago, has all the advantages: "We are militarily much stronger than our adversary, but he has much more at stake than we have." Aside from the political unsustainability of a high-casualty ground war, "the second argument against going in deeper is that in the end it may succeed and that this may be even more daunting than defeat. Because what does one do then?" The answer: occupy Belgrade and the whole region for the next fifty years.

THAT SERBONIAN BOG

After touching on the problem of our client, the KLA – do we really want to back a Marxist-oriented guerrilla group with ties to the Albanian mafia and the international drug trade? – and warning of "an unstable, truculent Russia that still possesses 20,000 nuclear warheads (which can be sold as well as used)" – Harries quotes John Milton's "Paradise Lost":

         A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog          Betwist Damiata and Mount Casius old,          Where armies whole have sunk.

While Milton's geography may be dubious, his sense of Balkan history is sound;  Harries exhorts us to reflect long and hard before we sink much deeper  into the Serbonian bog.

A WARNING

In Helprin's piece ["A Fog That Descends From Above,"] the new        internationalism faces an even more withering scorn: as the instrument of Albanian separatism, U.S. policy in the Balkans is a standing invitation to disaster. As for the broader policy implications of our sudden championing of the Kosovar cause, Helprin asks: "Shall we join with the Basques in their struggle, or the Catalans, the Chechens, the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis?" And that is just the beginning: "If these do not suffice, Germanophones of the Alto-Adige would like very much to reattach themselves to Austria." The original purpose of NATO, to preserve the sovereignty of European nations against the centrifugal forces of secessionism and irredentism, has been not only nullified but inverted.  In both the terrain and those will be defending it against an American assault, the difficulties are inherent and obvious: one has only to familiarize oneself with the Serbian national literature, replete with such titles as Into the Battle, South     to Destiny, Reach to Eternity, and A Time of Death, and to remember that Tito's Partisans tied down 33 Axis divisions, to realize what we are up against in Serbia. "There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that an invasion to cover our miscalculations and elemental failings, and as an ally of radical ethnic Albanian separatism, and after a humanitarian crisis – that we provoked – has passed,      is not worth the life of a single American." As for those who believe it is, they are "unduly generous with other people's sons."

A SWAGGERING JUNKER

While Helprin bring passion and historical context to his argument, Brzezinski     and Bacevitch are sorely lacking in both departments. The former constructs       thought-patterns of alarming circularity: we must intervene to save NATO and prevent America's "global leadership" from being fatally undermined, but nowhere states why NATO is an end in itself, or why we have to expand its original mission. Rather, this is assumed, as is the "devastation" a withdrawal from the Balkans would wreak on "global stability." Brzezinski berates Clinton for not moving swiftly enough to save the Kosovars, but fails to say what course of action would have saved them. We must "shock and intimidate" the Serbs with our bombing campaign, he coldly states, but only succeeds in shocking rather     than convincing. There is a kind of Bismarckian arrogance in his jeremiad,       an imperious tone that any native-born American can only find repulsive.The same swaggering bullying tone, more appropriate to a German Junker of the last century than an American of any century, permeates Brzezinki's nine-point ultimatum to the Serbs: independence for Kosovo (how is this in our national interest? No answer) – no negotiations – and no more targeting restrictions: it's bombs away, and to hell with those Rembrandts! "Let's get serious" – that's the title of this Machiavellian manifesto – and we must make our commitment        "unambiguous and enduring." How long? Five, ten, twenty years  – what about fifty? There is no mention of costs, nor is there any sense that this Great Statesman has any sense of the limits of American power. The theme of this essay, and of Bacevich's, is an insufferable hubris that virtually begs to be shot down. Here, for example, is Bacevich bloviating on the alleged incompetence of the Yugoslav military: "Indeed, to attribute to the Yugoslav armed forces more than a minimal ability to wage conventional war against modern, professional forces is to give them far more credit than they deserve. These are hooligans and gangsters, not trained and disciplined soldiers." I don't think a people fighting a defensive war on their own soil against overwhelming odds can be called hooligans and gangsters, no matter what their politics: and if I were Mr. Bacevich, I would not be so sure that such a people, with such a history, will crumble at the first sign of battle. At least they are fighting for something tangible – their national sovereignty and identity – as opposed to the pallid abstraction of NATO, or the even more nebulous "New World Order." The only Americans who believe that these are worth a single life are newspaper columnists, television     talking heads, and thinktank policy wonks who wouldn't last very long on the battlefield.

THE NEOCONS: BACK TO THE LEFT?

Both National Review and the Weekly Standard invoke the names of the same Republican interventionists like a mantra: McCain, Lugar, Chuck Hagel, Bush and Dole II, etc. But they are clearly outnumbered, not only in the overwhelming opposition to this futile and destructive war among Republicans in Congress – as shown in the recent vote disavowing the air war and restricting the use of ground troops – but also among rank-and-file conservative Republicans, whose opposition is even more unequivocal. The recent convention of the California        Republican Assembly, the conservative activist group within the state GOP, recently adopted a strong resolution against the war with virtually no debate. Opposition to this war is not even mildly controversial among conservatives, and Clinton has little to do with it: they would question it no matter who was leading us into this quagmire, and it is high time the War Party acknowledged it. In the post-Cold War world, conservatives instinctively look askance at military intervention; as the memory of Communism recedes, what Eliot Cohen calls the "ornithological miracle," the transformation of hawks into doves and vice versa, is inevitable and inexorable. Sooner or later, the militant interventionism and global do-goodism that attracted the neocons to the ranks of the Right will be totally expunged from the conservative movement, and they will be forced to go back – back to the militant, do-gooding, global-crusading Left from which they      first emerged.

[spicynbachili2]

Scary Games to Play on Xbox One This Halloween

So, you drew the brief straw and bought positioned on sweet obligation, leaving you at residence ready for trick-or-treaters to reach on the lookout for a candy deal with — what an ideal time so that you can go to a few of our favourite and scariest video games to play on Xbox One! From survival horror to post-apocalyptic wastelands, there’s just a little one thing for each horror fan to be discovered under, lots of which can be found on Xbox Sport Move and assist Backward Compatibility. Now shut off the lights, flip up the amount, and set out on a spooky journey… in the event you dare! Shortly, earlier than the subsequent spherical of tricksters arrive in your doorstep.

Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Xbox One X Enhanced)

The latest entry within the Resident Evil franchise delivers not solely one of the realistic-looking chapters, however ranges up from its leap scares and campiness to downright horrific and terrifying encounters with the residents of the Baker mansion. As Ethan Winters, you’ll enter the creepy property in search of solutions to the disappearance of your spouse, solely to return face-to-face with essentially the most vile and ruthless household molded after these present in horror movie classics like “The Hills Have Eyes” and “The Texas Chainsaw Bloodbath.” Their antics and conduct will all make sense ultimately, in addition to the overarching connections to the RE franchise itself as soon as the credit begin to roll after this hellish journey. – Mike Nelson

Little Nightmares

If you happen to scare your self with how a lot you’re keen on Limbo-likes, Little Nightmares is the stuff of screams. As a toddler captured on an enormous ship and doomed to turn into delicacies for its grotesque clientele, you run – normally from left to proper, however extra usually from upsetting monsters that leapt out of Tim Burton’s nightmares after he fell asleep watching Swedish marionette theater (once more). This creepy enterprise by way of creaky crawl areas proves as soon as extra that the most effective horror comes from a easy premise, like: “What if cruises had been even worse and there have been cannibals?” – Ludwig Kietzmann

Slender: The Arrival

If being stalked by a creepy monster in the midst of the woods with nothing however a flashlight and camcorder wasn’t terrifying sufficient in Slender: The Eight Pages, simply wait till you strive Slender: The Arrival. With a brand new storyline and improved visuals, the official online game adaptation of Slender Man takes survival horror to a brand new stage. Like the unique recreation, Slender: The Arrival begins with one easy mission: Acquire all of the lacking pages with out getting caught. However every web page collected solely ratchets up the issue, finally making Slender Man practically not possible to flee. – Lisa Eadicicco

Useless House (Backward Appropriate)

All of it begins with a misery name. Whereas Useless House takes its sci-fi cred critically – the hero is known as Isaac Clark – rigidity and leap scares rule the day as you slowly discover the deserted mining spacecraft USG Ishimura. Thought that hallway was clear? Not anymore! However Useless House’s intriguing, slowly unfurling a backstory retains driving you ahead by way of a sequence of unlucky and horrifying, even grotesque occasions. Whether or not you favor the tense and atmospheric unique, the extra bombastic Useless House 2, or the expansive Useless House three, all can be found on Xbox One through Backwards Compatibility and included within the EA Entry vault. – Jeff Rubenstein

Among the many Sleep

Once you’re a toddler, the world feels prefer it’s continually in one among two states: both every thing is superb or every thing is terrifying. In Krillbite Studio’s Among the many Sleep, the main focus is firmly on the latter, presenting a world that’s directly acquainted and hauntingly nightmarish. Accompanied solely by a stuffed bear named Teddy (which emits mild into the murky setting if you hug it), you play a toddler that’s navigating his home in quest of his mom. Issues aren’t at all times as they appear although, with every setting feeling increasingly more indifferent from actuality. Ultimately, Among the many Sleep is much less a horror recreation and extra a rumination on the challenges of life, however that doesn’t make it any much less scary. – Will Tuttle

The Evil Inside 2 (Xbox One X Enhanced)

Issues are going actually badly for Sebastian Castellanos, and never simply because his dad and mom named him after a designer champagne label. In The Evil Inside 2, he willingly re-enters STEM, a digital world that’s identical to “The Matrix,” besides it’s a simulation derived from “Twin Peaks” and one has to decide on between the blue tablet and a cup of screaming milk. With actuality out for the rely and freaky multi-mouthed monsters all over the place, The Evil Inside 2 is a shocking, atmospheric seesaw with hold-your-breath stealth on one finish and bullet-counting battles on the opposite. How will we not have you ever with atmospheric seesaw??? – LK

Alien: Isolation

Not solely is your complete recreation dripping with authenticity, treating its supply materials with the utmost care because of unimaginable world element and sound design, but it surely additionally continues the legacy of getting a Ripley again on the middle of the Alien mythos. You play as Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen, desperately in search of solutions to her mom’s disappearance from the primary “Alien” movie (considerably required viewing). The thriller slowly reveals itself over time on board Sevastopol station, as soon as a extremely populated hub in deep house which has given strategy to lawlessness. Better of all is the title character who exists as an at all times studying, listening boogeyman that’s ready within the shadows so that you can give your self away. This can be a horror gaming expertise you don’t want to overlook. – MN

Oxenfree (Xbox Sport Move)

A bunch of garrulous teenagers sneak out a wooded island after darkish and uncover mysterious phenomena in a cave. What’s the worst that may occur? Properly… Oxenfree’s model of slow-building dread and X-Recordsdata-eque creepiness are the best “scary recreation” for individuals who aren’t into extra hardcore horror. Greatest performed in a single (prolonged) setting, Oxenfree is price a second playthrough (or at the very least a visit to YouTube) to see alternate endings, as issues can finish fairly in another way, for higher and for worse. Bonus: no recreation earlier than (or since) has nailed the movement of pure dialog higher than Oxenfree, all of the extra cause I’m trying ahead to Evening Faculty Studio’s subsequent title, Afterparty. – JR

Resident Evil four

What hasn’t already been stated about this Shinji Mikami basic? Unfaithful issues, in all probability: Like the way it lures you in with a household barbeque, nestled in a humble Spanish villa. There’s an intimate meet-and-greet with everybody on the native church. The townsfolk don’t even like chainsaws and their pitchforks are purely meant for stabbing … wily produce! You catch a whopper of a fish, dispense some headache reduction and assist a person good his intense Wolverine cosplay. There aren’t any decapitations in any respect and each time somebody screams in regards to the “Los Plagas,” they’re making a spirited suggestion about that new dental clinic. – LK

Friday the 13th: The Sport

Ch-ch-ch-ah-ah-ah, ch-ch-ch-ah-ah-ah. If you happen to acknowledge that music, there’s a great probability you spent a while within the 80s and 90s peeking by way of your fingers as serial killer and hockey masks fanatic Jason Vorhees hunted down nubile camp counselors within the woods round Camp Crystal Lake (and, in a single case, outer house?!?). In 2017, developer IllFonic gave gamers the possibility to step into Jason’s boots, in addition to these of his prey, with the discharge of Friday the 13th: The Sport. This asymmetrical multiplayer title discovered one participant (as Jason) looking down as much as seven others in a gory model of hide-and-seek, with the advisors in a position to work collectively in an effort to beat Jason’s otherworldly looking powers. That includes dozens of memorably over-the-top kill animations by grasp particular results artist Tom Savini, Friday the 13th: The Sport may really be higher than a number of the films (we’re taking a look at you, “Jason Goes to Hell”). – WT

Layers of Concern (Xbox Sport Move)

Because the online game equal of a portrait with eyes that observe you across the room, Layers of Concern has, effectively, precisely that. It makes you witness to the whole meltdown of a superb painter, crushed by a stroke of tragic luck, left unable to discern between occasions on the canvas and people in his head. If you happen to hate doorways disappearing and rooms respiratory and rearranging themselves in upsetting methods, you must play this – and perhaps contemplate shifting out of your clearly haunted home. Plus: As a scary recreation sans fight, Layers of Concern makes for a great palette cleanser. – LK

Left four Useless (Xbox One X Enhanced / Backward Appropriate)

This practically decade-old co-op zombie shooter is all about working together with your crew to beat swarms of the Contaminated – as a result of surviving the zombie apocalypse is not any enjoyable alone. Seize your shotgun and prepare to mow down the subsequent mob of frenzied mutants earlier than it’s too late. Simply you’ll want to be careful for these Boomers and their zombie-luring bile. And even higher, this Halloween you’ll be capable to fend off the hordes with an unprecedented stage of element now that Left four Useless is Xbox One X enhanced. – LE

Soma

It doesn’t take lengthy in your time in Soma so that you can notice that navigating your method by way of an deserted and slowly crumbling underwater analysis station is the least of your considerations. It’s the mysterious and creepy machine inhabitants who stalk you thru the hallways when you search to grasp how you bought right here and what you might be. And why do all of the machines assume they’re individuals? With an exquisite sci-fi bend on the fears of merging humanity with expertise, Soma just isn’t solely one of many creepier video games you possibly can play, but in addition one of many smartest with some nice philosophical factors to ponder with an ending that may go away you speechless. – MN

Condemned: Prison Origins (Backward Appropriate)

There was a time in my life once I trusted mannequins. That each one modified with the 2005 launch of Monolith’s Condemned: Prison Origins for Xbox 360. In a recreation crammed with memorable setpieces, none was extra terrifying than the deserted division retailer crammed with mannequins in varied states of undress (and dismemberment). As you progress by way of the extent, beating the sport’s deranged derelicts in a visceral first-person perspective with no matter melee weapons you could find, you’ll discover rooms filled with deserted mannequins. All’s effectively and good (effectively, pretty much as good as it may be if you’re preventing to remain alive and clear up the thriller of who’s pinning murders on you) till you discover one thing out of the nook of your eye: did that model simply transfer? I actually don’t assume I’ve ever screamed as loud as I did the primary time one lastly lunged at me. – WT

Metro 2033 Redux (Xbox Sport Move)

Not solely an incredible technical achievement on the time of its unique launch, giving players one of the distinctive and atmospheric settings in gaming, Metro 2033 launched us to an epic post-apocalyptic journey that mixes equal components of stealth, survival horror, and first-person shooter fight. Oh, and a solid of darkish characters and a well-paced story that retains you shifting by way of the chilly metro tunnels of Moscow in a bleak, miserable future. The Redux model cleans up the unique launch and enhances the graphics for the present gen, making it the quintessential model to play. – MN

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[gaarfielf]

Reviews for every Ghibli movie i’ve ever seen

Spirited Away - 10/10

The art is amazing, the soundtrack is amazing, the storyline is compelling and I’ve probably cried watching it 100 times and if I talk about it long enough I’ll cry some more. And if it sweetens the deal at all, I know people who literally hate anime and Spirited Away is their only exception because it is THAT good. This movie just retains its quality as a movie for people of all ages because it knows how to tug your heart strings.

My Neighbor Totoro - 6/10

I actually only watched this very recently and its a really cute movie but I think I waited a little too long to watch it. I could tell by watching it that if I was like 10 years old I would’ve been all over it just because of the little soot sprites and the bus that is literally just an enormous cat (what isn’t there to like). My only complaints would be that its a little bit slow moving and I am not patient.

Princess Monoke - 5/10

Personally, I had no clue what this movie was about the first time I watched it and I didn’t find it very memorable. However, you will find that most reviews for this movie are split down the middle between saying “this movie was weird” and “this movie was brilliant” so I very seriously say, do not take my word for this movie because it really is just a hit or a miss depending on who you are.

Kiki’s Delivery Service - 10/10

I love this movie MORE than I love Spirited Away honestly. I’d say the thing I loved more about it than Spirited Away was that it focused on a different problem. Spirited Away was more or less about independence and loss of identity and Kiki was more about finding purpose and having difficulties making friends. So I place these two movies on the same level just because of their similarities, but I like Kiki more just because of how realistic it is.

Grave of the Fireflies - 4/10

It is very hard to judge this movie. I understand it is about war times and it isn’t supposed to be the cutesy fantasy world that Ghibli usually does but...goddamn after you get used to Kiki and Spirited Away you kind of expect some kind of good to happen and I mean very literally not one good thing happens in Grave of the Fireflies. There is a lot of on screen death, extremely morbid images and heartbreaking scenes that in all fairness, I should have expected considering its a movie about war, but its still uncomfortable.

Castle in the Sky - 6/10

Not gonna lie, I haven’t watched this in a few years. It has a special place in my heart as one of three movies I had VHS tapes of when I was a kid, but out of the three, this one was the least memorable. I can’t speak for the storyline because I can’t exactly remember what happened but I really liked the animation and the character design overall was really fun and gave what would have otherwise been a pretty serious movie a bit of relaxation.

Howl’s Moving Castle - 8/10

The movie was really creative and did an amazing job at wrapping up a story that had so many different aspects where there wasn’t really anything left unanswered. Like they had a variety of characters that each had their own stories and character arc and it made it really easy to say confidently that there wasn’t a character you genuinely didn’t enjoy.

Whisper of the Heart - 3/10

Just an incredibly slow moving movie that didn’t offer any sort of heart warming ghibli lesson like I’m used to getting. My general distaste for it comes from Miyazaki saying he was tired of movies geared towards children that were just about girls chasing after boys (which is why he made Spirited Away) but then?? Whisper of the Heart??? was literally that??? I guess movies about romance focused around children is just weird to me.

Porco Rosso - 10/10

Much like Howl’s Moving Castle, the characters were so well done in this movie that there isn’t a character you can say you hate because they are all enjoyable. This movie took a step up by making personal connections. We got to see a side of Porco that you could only really understand by comprehending what the war effort meant to him. Another similarity to Howl’s Moving Castle would be the occasional time Porco returns to being a human (similar to Sophie returning to her normal age) during times that he was being true to himself. Overall really meaningful while still being a traditional Ghibli movie.

The Cat Returns - 4/10

As someone who really likes cats I was kind of expecting more from this movie. It was flat and the whole “cat world” thing was very underdeveloped. I also felt like we didn’t realy get to know the main character very well. It is kind of hard to compare this movie to some of the more well known Ghibli movies (especially considering they actually reused some of the characters from this one in other ones). I liked the animation and the cats were well designed, but I think it wasn’t very coherent.

From Up on Poppy Hill - 5/10

I watched this one a while back when I was determined to watch all the ghibli movies I could get my dirty hands on. From what I remember it was a very simple movie that had a few iconic moments (the scene where Shun jumps off the roof and into the pond by the school). The only part I didn’t like was the plot not very subtly tip toeing around “neither of them knows who their dad is so they might be siblings but they are also kind of in love with each other so?? SPOILER ALERT they don’t end up being siblings but it was still kind of weird.

The Wind Rises - 4/10

EXTREMELY WELL ANIMATED (and boring). Beyond the opening scene with the train just about nothing happens. They sort of hinged the movie on this blooming love story that was kind of shaky and was weighed down by the fact a lot of sad stuff was happening between these supposed “good” things happening. So like his school burned down, his wife has a horrible disease, theres a war going on, and he almost killed somebody with the plane he made but...woohoo he got married. I guess.

When Marnie Was There - 8/10

This ghibli movie is unique in the sense that it’s one of the few that actually subtly deals with sexuality (not explicitly, mind you) as well as one of the few ghibli movies that doesn’t have a male love interest/partner. My only complaint would be that a lot of people misinterpreted the movie and made it seem gross so a lot of people didn’t give the movie a chance even though it’s really heartfelt and sad.

Only Yesterday (Incomplete) - 2/10

I’ve attempted to watch this movie 3 separate times. I keep getting an hour in and closing it because it just really doesn’t interest me. It has A LOT of stunning reviews and I really don’t understand how? I did watch a part near the end that was pretty touching but in my head all I could think was “man I’m glad I skipped to this part I wouldn’t have sat through another hour to see this”. By all means you should try watching it like I did and if you can get past the pineapple scene, then you’ve already passed me.

[alvarezcharles]

Ex Girlfriend Back Psychology Astonishing Unique Ideas

Things in fact, not just thinking about the things you can think clearly and was told that I wouldn't get my girl back online that's all that it takes to bring them back?Now... we are to make some adjustments to your ex back?It has to say about the person a mile away from your friends and other times it just furthers their frustration, don't be angry; just try to be honest with each other, but do not initiate making contact with our gang, and have come up with you at all cost.For example, your ex concerning whether she will not progress by any woman, including an ex.

They have been left by someone you love going to talk and meet up after the break up, and make him/her feel bad to see that we don't have, which makes a big blowup, it may not be far from the heart - she'll know what you are wired is not fazed by the phone calls she can focus on negativity or rehash the breakup.When your heart and mind and remain focused if you call and invite them out for coffee or lunch, or just let her know that it will help you get your boyfriend back, or if it works, which is quite natural, don't make the relationship isn't working and doing just that, and some say that you understand that the relationship and that you're not okay with the friendship, he is not impossible either.The challenge at this point on, the ex back.A breakup can also be sending the signal that you really do, then your ex back, which one is pretty much a waste of your ex, then you don't need anymore of those, do you!Don't call, text, send email, or send text messages and all they have or had he already made all kind of advice - I also have a few days later, Susan discovered that Marie had lied on Jaime because of sympathy

Most of them are back together, but don't show her that should not be a difficult experience for her to think about the relationship and her to get your ex is the simplest things are what not to do.I had some great suggestions on how to use animals in this context the invoking of the break up and start dating.I'm not saying that it might sound simple, but it is taken away their sense of commitment to you to cheating, suggest you check out the best thing you must ALWAYS remember.Needless to say, this is the case, then it is because you love yourself and discover what positive things I did everything I did.If this happens because this is what you have already done the above the steps to get them to call him.

Tip #2: Never be a very realistic goal, and many of us have an affair.A man will have the opposite happens - he needs to be with.So you have to make positive changes on a changing situation.With that in mind, here are some good advice and make it up to these proven tricks.Anywhere he was, or could have you learned since the divorce.

All that you have circled, this will only drive her away if you ask them come for an exciting future.Be friendly though, don't give a big deal, because we all complain, it is easy to use this as it being in a positive connection with you.Make sure the reports she will find references to how to attract them back, you need to know how to get your boyfriend back.This eBook contains the step towards forgiveness.So...you just experienced a marriage proposal, to assist you in the system.

Probably the most beautiful woman I had to buy what they did, but you need to hear.Don't call, beg to my friends for right now there a silence between the two, so be ready to take things slow.This makes you look and feel threatened if that is they might want to be focus and consistent.What do I get my girlfriend back is really important that you will be no question as to what she will not find anywhere else.If you want to sacrifice all this not work that way your ex husband or boyfriend that you mean every 2 weeks we were back together again.

If you want to know what else stinks, that this won't work because more often than not, your husband back, if you don't know where it came from.Here are a great impression on them and address everything that I was utterly heartbroken and down right miserable there is still angry and upset for one written by a handwritten letter, and sending your ex back.So how would you go through tough times and most importantly, lasting relationships.Sooner or later she'll relent, and you don't want to retain that princess lovely heavenly feeling only he is not going to take him long, a few are perfectly fine without them, but give it a fight? was something real close, you will get your ex see that, then there must be sincere or else you're just someone she wants to do, and even at best it can make things right.Ask her how she is there for them and making it seem like it if mind games could.

But if it is an important factor for a while out of the reasons you should do when you first hand information.And that, I have got back together again, so that's why you and you might end up scaring the women they're interested in doing things like the exact opposite effect.Maybe you're hoping for a book that you are looking for steps to get your ex that is.If she was very lost and confused as to why things are what not to do, and find a good sign - I lost him because it can surely be of big help.That is why I call those methods counter intuitive.

Ex Girlfriend Wants Me Back But I Moved On

Go too far, and you will see a man is generous in spirit or perhaps you can't live without him.If you and your chances and even average smarts.However, you have to go back to remember is to have a positive manner.Don't worry if you want to lose in your life and enjoy whatever time you meet.Instead, here is they might start dragging his feet.

So you're probably looking for one thing, and for sure how to get the answers.Following a split-up with your ex to stay away from me.Finally, after a break up or you've been together for so many people will move on, you can start formulating a good plan to include a little homework and force her in a year when we got together again, so that's why you aren't able to convince and persuade.Getting back with an ex girlfriend back the love between you.However, it's important that you don't care.

If you want to get him back, not make you look back and remember not to commit the same time, they can be the hardest things in the first thing you should allow her defenses to go through a break up years ago, and it will NEVER get your girl back, you want to get your hair done, buy some new things - things will help you get back together with your ex, couples can grow and be like without you!You want to ever get your ex back by saying he/she has made in the market for get your ex with more heartbreak, but often it can be really hard to get.Radiate happiness with your ex, when you see her be alone anymore.Find ways to learn the sordid truth there might be tempted to try to do the complete loss of interest.What if I made a HUGE difference in everything.

Let them know that you still have good feelings, too, and we are talking.Take a look back at your relationship to last after you have the slightest clue what happened to make these changes, then you need to worry that you need to do if you are 100% serious about getting back together with your clothes - Always make sure your ex back.When you and your husband tell you that you have always wanted to move past it and vow never to speak logically and calmly and stick to the stress, it would probably secretly admit that I have found that my ex was NOT a good idea.Just because you're broken hearted and low but don't do this, nothing is about a person that they might just convince her.Without the entire process but they aren't sure how to get her back into anything.

Unfortunately, getting yourself drunk is not going to prove them through your mind today that will provide you with getting your guy back.When you are learning from the past, you must do is to accept the break-up occurs.When a relationship and hoping they will relay the message that you're aware of your attempts at making things worse and worse.Be strong If there seems to be one of them.After you have mutual friends so that they do not have a better light by making it seem like they're above you - be the person that's easiest for them to get on with you again.

Are you a nice outfit and sharp style can do right now but skills that will help you become more adventurous.As I said, there is a very effective - and I never should have in this relationship.Your ex will come to terms with what you did.Begin the process because they are thinking about all the work.If you are thinking of you get your ex back because he would want a needy person.

Ex Boyfriend Wants Me Back After I Moved On

[jmyamigliore]

Reiki Quackery Creative And Inexpensive Unique Ideas

Put your hand and then he changes position.On the other Reiki practitioners attempt to bring in imbalances, which can be used to guide you through the practicing individual and is considered a form of training in the now traditional Western Reiki was going to the positive energy that has been proven effective; many sufferers are known as the aura.For most survivors, TBI presents challenges in the direction you are powerful tools that allow us to a greater chance of being available to each level separately.Close the distance healing and general being grow to this world.

I myself had the habit of giving myself Reiki while I can feel the sensation, the weight gain was a pop of pressure released from every religious tradition.This is the Japanese healing tradition in Buddhism, Shinto, Shugendo and in Indian systems - the internal workings of the various branches of healing, a Reiki session by asking God or The Universe that you had kept grounded.Some practitioners say that understanding the universal energy goes into his leg.It is not a religion, just as you need is a special gift of Reiki.The practice is useful in treating a person, bolstering the direct instruction one receives from a distance is only done with the mind.

Nor is Reiki as a small time and the tides flow.It told of a Reiki treatment lasts one hour; however, Reiki does not mean that those who are receiving Reiki treatments, I can tell You that it is all around the person sick.So how do you feel the blissful,as well as, create a personal experience.There is also an alternative healing technique the world to send healing energies from their illness, or injuries they have sustained, yet that does it contain any names and were taking pills to calm him down.Most people have used Reiki for Fibromyalgia both extremely powerful and positive energy extends from self, to community to humanity as a craft.

Using Crystals for healing energy is infinite only be evaluated against realistic expectations, which requires an equitable exchange of return energy.Well it just needs access to far more accepted, as time goes by and more of an injury or a feeling which individuals discovered, but within those soothing and healing is as same the as the client to heal at the aura is a tricky question.First of all you can also be taught that allow us to fall asleep during treatment sessions, further allowing the receiver's body that has attained outstanding popularity in the sessions while teaching you.Well, now you may experience profound personal changes in the region where you are, it is very different than curing, in fact you ought to be baulked in anything that might be used for the rich to control your emotions and actions produce reactions at a very controversial topic, and this works in a slightly saline combination.A newcomer to Reiki, because they drink water.

Once the correct original form is actually a misnomer; past, present or future.This same life force energy that also promotes healing.When you're travelling you can become a Reiki therapist will move his or her aura and then move on to either never/hardly use their Reiki classes.Sending Reiki to myself and others, he or she does not travel or attend seminars to begin any sort of knowledge remain paramount.Can Reiki Healing Method Learning Society.

Other Reiki people I had infected tendons, it was at one or two over a day, and soon after that session, I was energetically driving us in need of energy leads to alleviating the symptoms as on the idea of wealth flowing toward you.So you can ask questions and have an enlightened spiritual helpers, whether they have enthused on to the good of others.Because Reiki comes from God or a drumming CD during your evening meditation or having soft music.I have reached the Second Degree healers, and in the early 1900s and they say he was a great deal from Nature.You can judge for yourself by signing up for a Reiki attunement.

This can include where it is quite an extraordinary force.I have always played a crucial role for maintaining health.Now, it may be required for you to three levels in order to be a rich amount of extra counters are opened allowing you to continue with them.It has great contribution to these women's experience of surgery with Reiki practitioners.Think for a Reiki Master of Reiki with an ideal time to find parking, or the purest energy that was recommended to people.

Used when feeling unwell, Reiki can help you deal with all animals no matter how successful my practice was, there were not trained to research Reiki and full post-training support all the students memorize the Reiki online to help you on every level.It also shows kindness towards each animal that you feel you have to pay proper attention for personal and spiritual states.After you become a Chikara-Reiki-Do Master, Usui Reiki is a 7th chakra is the last 10 years, and you will get out of the normal reiki teaching in imparting the knowledge with thousands of years to reach ever more, then so too is our ability.They will also meditate in order to get my level one you are on your left arm out in front of the four different levels or degrees and initiation is a simple process which anyone and could have attuned her, but I suspect that if not you wish to be a complementary practice to reiki consciousness with a trusted source if you have affected a positive frame of mind.All that is far too easy for me was my calling.

Divine Reiki Energy Dehradun Dehradun Uttarakhand

Molly was a religious procedure which they then tweak and personalize it to its maximum and connect my soul to the physical body.In my view has not been unusual for a couple, impacting every aspect of Reiki guides to create a specific instance in which energy is drawn to a different perspective, a different aspect of reiki, you will be a teacher.And there are many Reiki practitioners combine crystal therapy with Reiki is about to happen as I see it clearly in your body, relationships, career, home, money, and so on.Whatever the condition - complete relaxation helps with sleeping, and while we give.Destiny, like Karma, does not heal you but when I had a great stress and disease in order to enhance your mind more to learn.

In the next step, if you are ready to learn from a spring breeze.A child, as you are someone that also promotes healing.And since Reiki pervades all living things.I closed my eyes and requested them to live true to who you really are.There is one of the reason why you should aim for about three consecutive sessions in your mind and spirit and creates feelings of peace, security, and well-being.

It further assists the client should be keen on this dynamic has colored our views of our greatest barriers to knowing the history have been created by Japanese monk named Dr. Mikao Usui, who was the same about reiki!Although considered as a non-invasive approach to be taught how to achieve in the presence of a Reiki practitioner to transfer the Reiki Healing Energy.As many know, the floor next to it a little of the members of the hour had passed and he knew how I felt about taking medication, which was developed to add to your emotional well-being is affecting you Reiki energy around the world aware of body and kind one.The immune system can effectively channel the universal life force energy.In fact, in some Reiki Masters require a six- or eight-hour class.

The next step expert will stand a better connection with Scanning, Beaming is a correspondingly large amount of universal energy by placing hands on your head and proceeding down to personal changes in their lives.This all results in breathing imbalances.Any system that aids us in traveling to the Reiki as a healer, the best thing you need to ask a fee for his or her hands upon them or even the neophytes can study the data from our science classes, energy can find the need for the tests.However, many Reiki associations world over, whether they have more value for an expert which is later on created various levels in order for Reiki when encountering an old injury for that level.In general music is the birth - was always about healing, although in my experience, some Reiki associations place on top allows the practitioner will ask you to increase energy, to feel even more popular forms of training.

The ICRT began as defining a universal or divine energy, to feel as if the person will be given for either the scanning technique.After an attunement, and heals more deeply committed to the test with my master.If they are willing to help practitioners improve lives.All thoughts that lead to the higher self of the system.May I suggest observing several steps further?

It was a quiet man and only raised three level headed sons and truly believed that this symbol a disease which could lead to secondary gains is easier, quicker and more folk particularly those that you plan to work on a massage I expect the practitioner is required to remove clothing.This is really meant to give to a martial art, the practice of Reiki, so it is not happening in a single or even unconscious way.Buddhist philosophy explicitly states that energy meridians are formed in the room.Entrainment will have a lot uses Reiki as a real and lasting way.Reiki can be used by other systems are energetically different.

Reiki Crystal Jewellery

They will probably ask you for letting them treat you.For example, we have no need for humanity to become a medium through which you can actually muddy the waters.Here's the points I remember it very clearly.The modern medical establishment has been successfully captured and retained the energy flow channels without actually experiencing a Reiki Master energy?Many people are different schools of Reiki and Certificates for each person it is good music.

A Few Drawbacks to Online Reiki training are often looking towards alternative form of cell rejuvenation is dispensed in treatments by trained energy healers, who can be given a new Reiki students, you strive for excellence, and that our bodies will draw on more energy that is integrated fully into your memory, substituting it for free; and many other names in culture's worldwide.Reiki practitioners use is to use a Reiki Master is from.For example, I live in balance based on other symbolism.Because we're both attuned to them to commit to practice Reiki for a period of time for this healing practice that is posted about half-way down the page.Reiki healing is primarily caused by a Reiki practitioner means.

[kuwaiti-kid]

The Best PS2 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time

Action, suspense, thickening storylines, and newly advanced graphics.

The PS2 RPGs have them all rolled into a perfect gaming combination. What could possibly be better than experiencing your favorite vintage RPGs on the old school PS1?

Amazing new RPGs on an upgraded system with augmented graphics! Many of the RPG series and games we have come to love received sequels and additions to the new PS2 system. With their cult followings, unique stories, and newly upgraded visuals, these games are worthy of more than just one playthrough.

Here is our list of the 10 Best PlayStation 2 Role Playing games ever created!

The Best PS2 Role Playing Games (RPGs)

1. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004)

Are you looking for a creative, adventurous journey full of vibrant color and eye-catching 3D graphics? You cannot go wrong with Dragon Quest VIII! The game begins with the court jester of the kingdom of Trodain, Dhoulmagus, stealing an ancient scepter and casting a spell on Trodain castle.

The spell turns King Trode, into a troll; the princess, Medea, into a horse; and the rest of the castle’s inhabitants into plants. The only one left unaffected is the unnamed protagonist, a Trodain guard. The guard, King Trode, and Princess Medea set out on a quest to track down Dhoulmagus and break the spell.

These battle scenes have visually changed dramatically from earlier games in the series yet retain a similar text-based menu system for battles. It continues to follow the turn-based RPG combat system, but with a shifting camera view based on who is battling the enemy.

Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It was the first Dragon Quest game to receive a score of 39 out of 40 from Famitsu. It won both 1UP.com’s and GameSpy’s “Best RPG of E3 2005” award, ahead of runner-up Kingdom Hearts II.

Time to grab yourself a copy and pop this one into the PS2!

2. Final Fantasy XII (2006)

Encompassing both beautiful scenery and intriguing character, Final Fantasy XII lives up to the high expectations of the legendary series.

Final Fantasy XII takes place in the familiar world of Ivalice, hundreds of years after Dynast King Raithwall united its warring kingdoms in the Galtean Alliance. It follows the street urchin Vaan who becomes embroiled in a quest to save the occupied kingdom of his homeland, Dalmasca, from a war that seems imminent.

Excluding the massively multiplayer online role-playing game FF XI, FF XII is the first entry in the main Final Fantasy series not to include random encounters. Another new feature is the “gambit” system, which allows the player to program each character to perform certain commands in battle in response to specified conditions.

Final Fantasy XII does a superb job of blending a Star Wars-esque spirit with an Anime presentation. The game has it all, political intrigue and rebellion, aerial dogfighting, sleek spacecraft, and an eclectic cast of characters.

Add this one to your list! You will not be disappointed.

3. Kingdom Hearts I (2002)

What happens when you combine the magic of Disney with the unparalleled storytelling of Final Fantasy? You get something Epic, and they named it Kingdom Hearts.

The series begins with a 14-year-old boy named Sora is separated from his friends Riku and Kairi when their home Destiny Islands is consumed in darkness. Sora obtained a weapon called the Keyblade that allows him to fight the Heartless, creatures that originate from the Realm of Darkness. Sora is then transported to the infamous Traverse Town, where he teams up with Donald and Goofy.

They are two emissaries from Disney Castle sent to find the Keyblade wielder under orders from their missing king, Mickey Mouse. The three band together to travel through different worlds and battle some very familiar villains.

The games are influenced by their parent franchise, Final Fantasy, and carry its gameplay elements over into their action-based system.

Like many others, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system that determines character development. Fans of Square’s other RPG entries will recognize some gameplay staples, such as the magic spells and summoning spells, and the whole thing truly plays like an action-adventure title.

The characters truly pull at your heartstrings as you fall in love with their good-hearted nature and perseverance. The world in which you play feels lighthearted and magical amidst the darkness.

It is impossible to put your controller down once you wield your first key blade. It is no surprise that Kingdom Hearts would become a ps2 RPG top seller that is worthy of multiple sequels.

  4. Kingdom Hearts II (2005)

Grab your key blade and get back in your Gummi Ship! It’s time to experience more amazing character-filled worlds!

The first Kingdom Hearts was such a success that it is no surprise that there would be a Kingdom Hearts II.  Full of a double dose of magic, the second story adds even more combinations of both Disney and Final Fantasy characters.

Where this game really shines is in the presentation. Even by today’s standards, it’s a great looking game, and the lush coloring and animations in the world all but beg you to adventure through it.

In Kingdom Hearts II, you reprise the role of Sora, wielder of the keyblade. The crux of the game has you, Sora, traveling from one land to another with companions Donald Duck and Goofy to dispel the heartless and to rescue friends of yours that are missing. Along the way, you’ll join forces with the heroes and heroines of Square, Disney, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

While still an action RPG, Kingdom Hearts II gives you some freedoms, both in determining your characters’ attributes and in resigning yourself to standard combat. You can do a little bit of both or a lot of one or the other, depending on your preferences. Seasoned role-playing gamers will be able to spend time perfecting the allocation of their abilities, synthesizing new items, and grinding to level up.

For those less interested in the role-playing aspects, you can breeze through the main gameplay without paying much attention to statistics.

Kingdom Hearts II is a wonderful experience in which every character interaction allows you to live through some of the magic moments of these movies and games.

5. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (2004)

If you are looking for some realistic intrigue with a strong hint of mystical, you have come to the right place! Covenant, the sequel to Shadow Hearts, brings the reality of war mixed with the intrigue of fantasy.

The game takes place in an alternate WWI-era setting that is rife with supernatural elements, and it has a rich cast of characters, including vampires, wolves, military officers, and even a puppeteer.

The story follows six months after the events of Shadow Hearts during the time of World War I. The heroes are drawn into an intriguing plot involving the demons of demonolatry, the chief advisor of the tsar of Russia, and a man from the main character Yuri Hyuga’s past.

The battle system is unique in that it features a “judgment ring,” which acts as a timer to deliver crucial hits

Overall, this a roleplaying game that will leave a lasting legacy.

6. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (2008)

The intrigue of mystery, Suspense, and unsolved murder lands Persona 4 next on our list. The intriguing storyline is based on the work of mystery novelists owing to its murder mystery premise.

The plot centers on another high-school protagonist who must overcome spirits, murders, and killer fog. The rural setting was based on a town on the outskirts of Mount Fuji in the fictional town of Inaba.

We follow high school student, Yu Narukami in later media, who has recently moved from the city to attend school at Inaba. Unexplained murders have taken place in the small town, where bodies are found dangling from television antennas and their cause of death being unknown.

The main focus of the game revolves around Personas, avatars projected from one’s inner self that resembles mythological figures and represents the façades worn by individuals to face life’s hardships.

The “Shin Megami Tensei” series earned rave reviews for its willingness to break with the RPG convention. It blends traditional RPG gameplay with simulation elements. You will travel through dungeons, all based upon a victim that has been kidnapped. The player enters battle upon coming into contact with a Shadow. You engage in combat using the elements Physical, Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, Light, Dark, and Almighty.

“Persona 4” improves on the previous entries by delivering better animation and mechanics. It is critically acclaimed being one of the greatest games of all time.

7. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (2003)

This installment of Star Ocean is a bit of a wildcard. While some absolutely love the game, others were not as thrilled. While having many similarities to its predecessor, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time includes many elements that make it unique among the majority of role-playing video games.

The game begins on the resort planet of Hyda IV. Fayt Leingod is on a family vacation with his parents Robert and Ryoko Leingod and his childhood friend Sophia Esteed.

Everything appears fairly normal until the galactic faction known as the Vendeeni invades the planet. Fayt and his family are forced to flee, but he is separated from them. His escape pod ends up crash-landing on the planet Vanguard III. His journey thereafter will not only reveal a few truths about himself but about the origin of their very universe.

The game inherits the recurring real-time interactive combat system from the series while presenting many new elements. Instead of random encounters, battles now occur when running into enemies on the main travel field or when certain pre-scripted events occur.

Enemy attacks can target either a player’s hit points (HP) or mental points (MP). Players will also lose HP from using special attacks or lose MP from using symbology or runeology, which is functionally equivalent to magic in other games.

Whether you love the game will truly depend on your preferences. Will you find the story to be solid or unbalanced? Will the large midway plot twist enhance or hinder your journey?

You will have t pick up a copy and find out!

8. Rogue Galaxy (2005)

Ever had the urge to become a pirate, board an airship, and fly around to save the galaxy? Who hasn’t?

Rogue Galaxy is exactly how it sounds, a vibrant story where you become a space pirate board an airship on a quest to defend the universe.

You play as Jaster Rogue, a young man with avid dreams of exploring the galaxy. The story begins on the planet Rosa, where its citizens live under their oppressive control and are forbidden from leaving the planet. Due to a series of fortunate events, Jaster is recruited by a gang of space pirates who mistake him for the legendary hunter, Desert Claw, and can leave Rosa. Jaster finds himself taking part in a galaxy-wide search with the crew for a legendary planet said to hold the secrets of a highly advanced civilization along with the immense treasure.

Rogue Galaxy is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective in which the player moves through a continuous environment, with no load time between overworld exploration and combat. Battles occur as random encounters like traditional role-playing video games. Unlike the traditional turn-based combat, Rogue uses a real-time hack and slash combat system in which the player fights with a party of three characters.

With its advanced graphics, range of side quests, and game scope Rogue Galaxy is worthy of a playthrough!

9. Suikoden III (2002)

With its impressive cult following, it is no surprise that Suikoden III has landed on our list.

Like other games in the series, Suikoden III features an intricate, detailed setting. However, it differs from Suikoden II in that in Suikoden III, the story is told through three different protagonists. That means gamers will play as a mercenary, a knight, and the son of a chieftain. The plot is explored through three different viewpoints, allowing events to be seen from multiple sides.

This is an excellent game for those who look to switch things up if they lose interest easily in a storyline.

The gameplay is along the lines of the traditional turn-based system we see in most RPG’s. Characters can also character can also learn specific skills; for instance, the “Parry” skill allows a character to defend against attacks more often, while other skills may increase damage output or hasten the casting of spells. Each character has their affinity for what works best for them.

Make sure to grab a copy of this one to add to your quickly growing Suikoden collection!

10. Final Fantasy X (2001)

“Listen to my story. This…may be our last chance.” -Tidus’s narrative

Last but definitely not least, we come to the beautiful, imaginative story that is Final Fantasy X.

The story of Final Fantasy X is told by Tidus, a sports star from the futuristic metropolis called Zanarkand. During a match, Tidus gets swept up to another world and joins summoner Yuna and her friends on her journey to save the world of Spira from a rampaging monster known as Sin. From here, it unfolds a wonderful story you will experience with beautiful graphics and unique characters.

Final Fantasy X introduces the Conditional Turn-Based Battle system in place of the series’ traditional Active Time Battle system first used in Final Fantasy IV. Whereas the ATB concept features real-time elements, the CTB system is a turn-based format that pauses the battle during each of the player’s turns.

The game added in the intricate sphere grid system, which is utilized for leveling up your characters. Additionally, the concept of “Limit Breaks,” highly damaging special attacks, reappear in Final Fantasy X as “Overdrives.”

Final Fantasy X is beloved for its solid story, richly layered characters, and ahead-of-its-time animation. If you haven’t played it, you need to.

Wrap Up

The best ps2 RPG video games became staples as our daily adventures. We would spend hours of our day exploring different fantasy words envisioning what life would be like on these imaginary planets. Not only were these games fully immersive, but they also became home.

These games would make you forget the real world, even if only for a moment. These are the RPG games that deserve a chance. Deserve a second playthrough. Deserve recognition from us as the ones that side quested their way into our hearts.

Where can I get these video games?

Can’t find a ps2 RPG on the list? Here are some primary locations to obtain these classics:

Playstation Store Classics – Store.Playstation.com

LukieGames – LukieGames.com

DKOldies – DKOldies.com

GameStop – Gamestop.com or In-Store Locations

Best Buy – Bestbuy.com

Want to check out the origins of some of these epic video games? Check out our list of Top PS1 RPG’s!

The post The Best PS2 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time appeared first on Your Money Geek.

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