#the one convention that helps is that of basically paraphrasing what you just said | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

alectology-archive · 5 years ago

Text

SJ/M’s plagiarism from fiction/media

I’m hoping to make a comprehensive list of all the sources SJ/M has outright ripped off from in the past. Feel free to comment down below or send an ask if you can think of anything.

SJ/M has very clearly ripped off of GRRM and JRR Tolkien’s works. Same goes for a lot of Anne Bishop’s works, too, and a lot of her favourite authors - so if anyone’s read books SJ/M has stated that she likes please let me know.

Note that this post will keep getting updated as I discover more evidences of plagiarism. Also note that there is every possibility that some resemblances are purely accidental and/or unintentional. So take it with a grain of salt.

(?) indicates a questionable addition to the post.

T/HRONE OF GLASS

- “The Queen Who Was Promised” comes from GRRM’s “The Prince who was Promised” prophecy in ASOIAF, who also goes by Azor Ahai, who wields Lightbringer, and is also known as the Son of Fire.

- “Aelin” is probably derived from “Aelin-uial” in the Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. Additionally, it may have been derived from Aerin Dragon-Killer/Aerin Firehair from Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown, as SJ/M stated it was one of her favourite novels.

- “Fireheart” is the name of Corlath’s horse in The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, an author SJ/M admires.

- Empire of Storms, 2016, contains the infamous line ‘velvet-wrapped steel.’ And… so does Fifty Shades of Grey, in 2011: ‘Steel encased in velvet.’

- “Valg” comes from Terry Brooke’s The Sword of Shannara, another author SJ/M admires.

- “Hope. You cannot steal it, and you cannot break it." is awfully similar to the line from The Princess Bride about love "you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords". SJ/M has said that she loved the movie.

- The infamous “You could rattle the stars” is a ripoff of Treasure Planet’s “You’re gonna rattle the stars.”

- “To Whatever End” comes from The Two Towers where King Theoden says it just before the battle of Helm’s deep begins.

- “You bow to no one” is said by Aragorn at the end of the Return of the King after his coronation.

- Orynth has white walls and is surrounded by snow capped peaks. It has large white walls and bears an unusually striking resemblance to Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings.

- Aelin’s journey mirrors that of Aragorn. The lost heir to a powerful throne, spends years in the wilderness denying their claim, joins forces with the elf/faes to reclaim it and has an immortal elf/fae as consort.

- Nehemia names Aelin ‘Elentiya’, saying, “I give you this name to use with honour, to use when other names grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya, ‘Spirit That Could Not Be Broken’.” It sounds similar in tone and cadence to the way Galadriel describes the light of Earendil to Frodo. The name Elentiya even sounds Elvish, and sits discordant with the other naming conventions in Eyllwe.

- Manon gathers the witches to go to war by starting a series of beacons, lit all across Erilea, from snow-capped mountains to the woodlands - directly from the Return of the King when Pippin helps Gondor call for aid.

- The wall defences of Orynth are completely sound, except there’s one more way in, through a grate in the water canal - another striking resemblance to a place in Lord of the Rings known as Helm’s Deep. There is even a scene where someone asks if there’s a secret passage the women and children can escape through.

- In EoS and ToD, Chaol is referred to as “Hand of the King”. In GoT the “Hand of the King” is a title given to the King’s advisor.

- The speech that Haldir gave when he arrived in Helm’s Deep, uniting the elven and human forces, is paraphrased at least three times in this book. Most notably when Manon brings the Crochan witches to fight alongside the humans. She actually says “Long ago, Crochans and humans fought side by side…”

- Kingsflame blossoms bloom only when a kingdom is at peace and the rightful monarch is on the throne. Also a very similar plot point to the White Tree of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings.

- The dam breaking in Anielle and flooding is based on the Isengard dam breaking in The Two Towers.

- Chaol crosses the Narrow Sea to get to the southern continent. In GoT the Narrow Sea is the body of water between Westeros and Essos.

- The “Wyrdkeys” are the Silmarils. There are 3 Wyrdkeys and 3 Silmarils. They’re ancient and powerful stones forged by a being of great power (Feanor, who made the Silmarils, was the most powerful elf of all time). Everyone is fighting over them. And just like one Wyrdkey eventually ends up in the Terrasen Amulet, one of the Silmarils ends up in a necklace called the Nauglamir. They’re also all destroyed/lost at the end.

- Kingdom of Ash, page 543: “It was not arrows alone that had been fired, and now peppered the snow.But heads. Human heads, many still in their helmets.” In Return of the King, the orcs catapult severed heads (still in their helmets) over the walls of Minas Tirith.

- “What say you, Queen of Witches?”…….“I shall answer Terrasen’s call.” is a blatant rip-off of the scene where Aragorn approaches Theoden after the beacons are lit in the Return of the King.

- Rowan is referred to as, “My friend through many dangers.” which is exactly what Gandalf says about Shadowfax, his horse, in Lord of the Rings.

- The Land before Time, 1988: ‘Some things you see with your eyes. Other things you see with your heart.’

Crown of Midnight, SJM, 2011: ‘Some things you hear with your eyes. Other things you hear with your heart.’

- ‘Spirit that could not be broken’ is seen in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and Throne of Glass (2011).

- It’s possible that SJ/M may have plagiarised Maria V Snyder’s Poison Study(?) (published 2005). Both books begin with the heroine being released from prison and being offered the choice to be freed by working for the very rulers who’d imprisoned them. Also, Valek - Yelena’s love interest - is the greatest and most feared assassin in the country and also acts as a mentor to Yelena much like Rowan does in Heir of Fire. However, I think this is a questionable addition despite similarities because SJ/M began writing Queen of Glass in 2003 and all the aforementioned aspects that are similar were already present in the version she published online.

- S/JM has saved a pin of Connor Kenway from the Assassin's Creed series (AC3) as Rowan and Lorcan on Pinterest. Towards the end of the series they started using hatchets as weapons, which is Connor's choice of weapon, outside of swords, and is used heavily in art which features him. Aelin's assassin suit from the earlier books also had a blade built into it, which was very similar to the hidden blade the assassins in Assassin's Creed use.

Further reading: Why not everyone liked Connor’s characteristic traits being ripped off: https://dragonidk.tumblr.com/post/614614548495859712/i-went-through-sjms-tog-pinterest-board-the-other

Further reading: An article comparing EoS’s ending to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: https://thebookfinch.wordpress.com/2016/09/08/review-empire-of-storms-by-sarah-j-maas-in-which-we-discuss-plagiarism/

A/COTAR

- “Prythian”, the A/COTAR world, is taken directly from Anne Bishop’s Daughter of the Blood.

- The Archeron sisters could be based off the painting “The Acheson Sisters” by John Singer Sargent which features three women.

- The Illyrians could have been based off of the Eyriens from Anne’s Bishop’s Black Jewels series. Both are warrior races with bat wings that use a war blade to fight with. They also both completely refuse their women any right to fight and consider losing their wings to be the absolute worst thing that could happen to them.

- Feyre tells Tamlin, “The sun was shining when I left you.” which is basically Paris saying, “The sun was shining when your wife left you.” in the movie Troy (2004)

- Rhys proclaims, “Light can be found even in the darkest of hells,” Which is really close to Dumbledore saying (in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

- Daenerys: “We’re going to leave the world better than we found it.”

ACOWAR: “Leave this world… a better place than how you found it.”

- “Pity those who don��t feel anything at all.” is a variation of “Pity the living and above all, those who live without love,” said by Dumbledore in the Deathly Hallows.

- A Dance of Dragons, George R.R. Martin, 2011: ‘He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I.’

ACOMAF, 2016: ‘Fire - he reminded her of fire made flesh.’

- SJ/M may have also plagiarised The Chronicles of Prydain for ACOTAR wherein Prythian is altered to Prydain and The Cauldron is derived from The Black Cauldron. This may be especially true considering the fact that SJ/M has expressed her love for the books and stated it on Twitter. She also went on to mention that she got the name for Prythian from those books. Similarities to the cauldron can also be seen in the fact that SJ/M’s Cauldron can transform humans into fae while Alexander's Black Cauldron is able to resurrect the dead.

!!!! Further Reading: Noticeable similarities between ACOTAR and The Chronicles of Prydain series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Prydain

- Possible plagiarism(?) of Titanic: Rose is Feyre, Cal is Tamlin, Jack is Rhys. The story is similar - the girl is involved with a guy who seems nice enough, but turns out to be abusive etc. There are similar incidents of the table being chucked across the room/and the study being destroyed. Then you also have the girl being told the other guy isn't nice and she should stay away from him, but then it ends up being the other way round. The guy bosses her about, making her decisions for her and ends up dying for her later on.

- Rhapsody by Laura Thalassa and A/COTAR have awfully similar tropes. Both involve faeries, in both the main female lead leaves her barbaric boyfriend to go with the dark, elegant Fae boyfriend who came to collect a debt.

Further reading: A conversation in comparing The Vampire Diaries(?) to ACOTAR: https://crescentcitysux.tumblr.com/post/618622356795064320/iolanthepeverells-pokeyfaes

Further reading: Similarities between Shatter Me and the ACOTAR trilogy: https://discountalien-pancake.tumblr.com/post/174823303683/dont-take-this-as-an-attack-im-just

C/RESCENT CITY

- Similarities between the plot of Darkfever by Karen Marie Morning (an author S/JM likes) and Crescent City’s plot: https://polysorscha.tumblr.com/post/183661492639/funny-thing-i-came-across-the-crescent-city

- The Princes of Hel might be from the Seven Princes of Hell demonology (some ancient writings trying to classify demons in christianity). [MINOR INFRACTION]

Sources:

- @sjm-exposed

- @soartfullydone

- @falstaffing for “My friend through many dangers.”

- https://readatmidnight.com/2018/10/27/book-rant-kingdom-of-ash/

- strangestoryteller.com

- https://camryndaytona.com/2019/08/sarah-j-maas-and-jrr-tolkien

- @rougeam for “fire made flesh”

- @sylphene for Aerin firehair

- @sylphene and @paperbacktrash for The Chronicles of Prydain.

- An anon for the Laura Thalassa comparison

- @hireath24 for the Crown of Midnight quote and “spirit that could not be broken.”

- @pokeyfaes and @iolanthepeverells for The Vampire Diaries comparison

- A reddit thread for the Titanic comparison

- An anon for the Eyrians

- An anon and @dragonidk for the Assassin’s Creed addition

- @longsightmyth for Fireheart

#anti sjm #anti tog #anti acotar #anti ccity

115 notes · View notes

daggerzine · 3 years ago

Text

The Simon Provencher interview (by Tom Murphy)

Simon Provencher is perhaps best known for his frenetic and creative guitar work for the post-punk band VICTIME out of Québec. But on March 26, 2021 the musician released his debut EP Mesures via Michel Records. It is six tracks of free jazz collages that bear favorable comparison to the avant-garde compositions of Anthony Braxton as Provencher makes creative and playful use of clarinet, electric guitar, percussion and processing to convey a strong sense of mood and place while making one very aware of aspects of the environment around us we often tune out. In pairing aspects of exploratory jazz and musique concrète, Provencher has given us an album that is both soothing and keeps us grounded in the present. The composer and musician recently answered some questions we presented to him via email about the nature of his music, its inspirations and methods of crafting its elegantly evocative passages.

Dagger Zine (Tom Murphy): Mesures will probably hit some people's ears as akin to a free jazz or spontaneous composition type of record. How did you approach putting together these songs and experimenting with sound compared with maybe how you do with VICTIME?

Simon Provencher: People wouldn’t be wrong in these assumptions at all. Mesures is a record that was written very quickly. I decided to trust my first instincts for much of the record. With VICTIME, our approach has always been more iterative. By that I mean that we’ll loop “embryonic” parts over and over again, slowly changing elements, morphing the composition until we found ourselves happy with how everything sounded together. I’m still very much into this way of writing, but Mesures was a much more immediate affair.

For me, inspiration almost always comes from timbre, usually through loads of guitar pedals. In this case though, I wanted to see what sounds and textures I could get out of the electric guitar without using any external effects or even amplification. Timbre was still my main concern, but in a more subtle way I guess. I slightly detuned the strings and experimented with resonances, chord shapes, finger placement, fingernails, etc. I also “prepared” the guitar: I jammed objects between the strings and tied sewing thread to the strings (if you pinch the thread with slightly wet fingers and slide them around, you get eerie, reverse-like effects).

Enough about me though, another big change was that this record was made remotely with two new collaborators, Elyze Venne-Deshaies (clarinet) and Olivier Fairfield (percussion). Both of them had “carte blanche” (pardon my french) to do whatever they wanted. I can’t speak much to their personal approach to improvisation, but both of them are seasoned veterans and delivered absolutely amazing performances.

D: Some people might think of any kind of music declared experimental is a barrier to its acceptance but your album seems to me very accessible as a form of pure expression. Do you have a sense of why your songs seem so open and, as one reviewer put it, welcoming?

S: I don’t quite know actually. I do agree that the songs have a certain softness to them that was certainly somewhat intentional. When I did the initial guitar parts, I did set out to make something conventionally “beautiful”, or at least “not harsh”. I don’t really have the vocabulary to describe what happened there, but the resonances, repetitions and patterns definitely implied a soft mood from the get go.

I guess this foundation inspired Elyze and Olivier to also play with softer tones, to approach the music with warmth and subtlety in mind. They really “got” the vibe of the music without me ever telling them anything about my intentions. A “shift” of some kind happened when the clarinet parts were added to the drums and guitars. I felt like the mood of the pieces almost completely changed (in a positive way, of course). I think there’s something to the linearity of Elyze and Olivier’s playing, in contrast with the repetitive, hypnotic guitars that gives the music a sense of wandering aimlessness which I really love.

On the audio engineering side, I did intentionally mix the songs with a certain softness in mind. We added some warm tape saturation to some of the sounds and carved out a lot of higher frequencies. On the songs with feedback and noise, Simon Labelle, who mastered the record, made it so that when the clarinets get louder, the high-frequency content ducks out of the way a little bit. This nifty little trick does help out a lot with making the noisy songs more warm and inviting too.

D: Listening through the album I found it resonated with the albums of Anthony Braxton and Ornette Coleman. The former of which never considered his music part of jazz though he is often associated with that form of music and the latter who expanded the range, dynamics and tonal choices of jazz. Were you inspired by in any way by those forms of abstract yet emotionally expressive music? How might you describe its impact on what you've done?

S: I totally was! I discovered Anthony Braxton through Québec jazz guitar great René Lussier. I’ve been a fan of Le Trésor de la Langue for a while and I got into his back catalog last year: his collaborations with Fred Frith, EAI stuff and more, some of which was released on “Les Disques Victo”. “Victo” stands for Victoriaville, a small city between Quebec and Montreal, where there’s a great contemporary music festival named FIMAV. Shamefully, I haven’t actually been to FIMAV yet, but I’ve loved finding recordings of some amazing concerts, a favourite being Anthony Braxton and Derek Bailey’s 1987 Moment Précieux. I was amazed to find out about this rich local history of musical experimentation and improvisation. This record was very much inspired by the whole FIMAV sound.

Coleman is another great point of reference. His records and those of his collaborators, Don Cherry being another big one, all are major inspirations. As a guitar player, I especially got into James “Blood” Ulmer’s career. I really admire his approach to guitar and the immediacy and expressiveness of his music.

I’m probably paraphrasing it all wrong, but Don Cherry said of Ornette Coleman’s “harmolodic” approach that instead of improvising from chords, like in bebop, you’d start with melodies and improvise to create new forms, harmonies, rhythms to try and reach a certain “brilliance” as he calls it. You’d try to make the music transcend. In harmolodic theory, melody, rhythm and harmony are treated as equals, no solos, no lead and accompaniment dichotomy, no strict timing, scale or tonality.

This is both quite simple but also quite hard to actually grasp in a musical setting, and I’m far from mastering any of it, nor is it necessarily something I strive for, but it is an inspiring way to conceive improvised music for sure.

D: The first half of the album you make great use of what sounds like atonal melodies yet they perfectly convey the mood and lend a sense of texture. What informed employing those sounds in the songwriting?

S: I’ve always written music without much regard for tonality, key, etc. My musical background is still very much anchored in No Wave and noise music, where skronky chords and weird, unstable melodies are the norm rather than the exception. When playing, I really don’t think much about it, I follow what sounds good to me in the moment.

Looking back on the recorded music though, I feel like there is a lot of nuance to be found in atonality and imperfection. Detuned chords ringing out have such complex and interesting decaying resonances, you can almost hear the frequencies battling each other. These interactions between notes and lines that fall just short of resolving are part of the magic and intrigue of abstract music. In the case of Mesures, I think there’s something special with how some of the atonal, out of tune textures and weird synths clash beautifully with the in-tune clarinet parts, making either one “pop out” depending on where you focus your attention.

D: The second half or at least the second three songs on the album use processed drones and what some might call noise underneath or in the background, although very much a presence in the mix, of the clarinets? What do you feel this almost contrast in sounds conveyed that say a more conventional arrangement might not?

The second half of the record is basically a rearrangement of the first three songs. There’s four clarinet parts in there! On the first side, they fade in and out of focus, but on side B, everything is there all at once.

This is basically the result of me simply “soloing” the clarinet takes in my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, the software used to arrange and mix the music). When I heard the four clarinets at once, I really fell in love with the sound.

So I knew I wanted this to be the focal point of the rearrangement, and I knew I wanted to add something. I just happened to be working with feedback that week, so it kind of fell in place. Feedback manipulation was a technical interest first, I had gotten a new guitar pedal called a Feedback Looper, which sends some of your output signal back into the input of a series of pedals. This creates self-oscillating and rich, detailed noises that are somewhat interactive and malleable. By turning some knobs and flicking some switches on ordinary guitar pedals, you end up with an infinite amount of possible glitches and shrieking high frequency tones.

I don’t know if my ears got accustomed to it or what, but I’ve come to really enjoy the sound of this process. I also really love the tactile aspect of it, it feels kind of like an unpredictable modular synthesizer. When I had recorded the feedback improvisation, which I did in one single take, I thought this sparse, harsh rearrangement was a nice contrast with the more warm, conventional first three songs. At that point, the record felt complete.

D: The final three songs also remind me of Philip Glass in his soundtrack work wherein he mixes the playful and flowing with the dissonant. How would you say these sounds complement each other in your own music?

S: Especially on this release, while there are a lot of sounds that are contrasting with each other, I also feel like there is a sense of shared directionality. The song Et quart is a good example of this. The high feedback notes start out in almost complete opposition to the meandering low clarinet lines, but, as the song progresses, the sounds somehow seem to merge with each other and they end up flowing in the same direction for the song’s climax.

D: What are some other artists operating now that you find interesting and/or inspirational and resonant with what you're doing?

There’s way too many to name them all, but I’ll try! I think there’s a very interesting local-ish scene around me. I admire the work of N NAO, either her solo releases or her collaborations with Joni Void. Sarah Pagé does mind-bending music with harp and effects; I’ve had the pleasure of catching her live in Ottawa just before the pandemic started last year. Kara-Lys Coverdale is also a major inspiration, so is Kee Avil, whose live show and guitar playing blew me away.

I also need to shout out my friend (and bandmate) Mathieu A. Seulement, whose end-year list allowed me to catch up on a lot of fantastic new music, including, but not limited to Ana Roxane’s Because of a Flower, Jasmine Guffond’s Microphone Permission, Caterina Barbieri’s Ecstatic Computation and, last but not least, Holly Herndon’s magnificent Proto.

**the three Simon photos were taken by Charlotte Savoie

www.simonprovencher.bandcamp.com

1 note · View note

hellyeahtrickster · 3 years ago

Text

If you come across Dan Ekis' free seminar on how to get more art gigs, DO NOT BOTHER. Don't waste your time, like I did. Seriously, his advice?

1. Make your art a little better (he calls it the 2mm shift -- and he gives this advice despite also *repeatedly* saying you don't actually have to be a great artist at all to get commissions). Like, duh? The problem here is that everyone's tastes differ, so who knows what direction to make the shift in? Yes, it's great to get critiques -- again, like, duh? Who doesn't do this?? But I've lost count how may times I've posted options, and everyone who actually replied? Picked a different one. And I thought his example of his "better" art was kinda terrible (while his example of "bad" art actually wasn't THAT bad), so for me, his shift went in the wrong direction!

2) Keep it simple -- to paraphrase, he seemed to be saying not to do fantastic art, just okay art, because if your art is too detailed, you could be setting yourself up for failure. (I suppose that makes some strange sort of sense, but folks, the art examples he gave of his work were certainly mediocre at best -- I don't know how this guy gets work if that's his standard, because I would never hire him -- but I *would* hire the artist behind the art he said was too much, in a heartbeat.)

And 3? "Follow hot leads -- the people who actually want to hire artists -- not cold (the people who aren't looking to hire an artist, ie, most of your followers)." WELL GEE, WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT? My problem is FINDING the hot leads! :/ I can't even get commissions in arenas where I have friends who DO get commissions! LOL

I actually know people in the comics and entertainment industry, but the actual leads I have gotten that way have been few and far between -- most of the time, when I post my work in those circles, there's little to no reaction, just crickets (so what else can I assume but that I suck and they don't want to hurt my feelings? LOL). And of the people at conventions who have actually expressed an interest? I have only gotten two gigs this way, after *years* of trying, showing my portfolio to basically anyone who might have even a tiny need for an artist. Most of the time, the only times I get people who want me to work for them, it's a fan who wants me to work for free, or a small company promising "exposure". It doesn't help that, on the DeviantArt forums, there are insanely good young artists who are willing to literally work for pennies an hour. :/ And art gigs on job sites are always looking for go-getter salesmen types (soooo not me) who can do *everything* (also very not me), not just a simple illustrator.

Anyway, I was HOPING I would find some new insight, a new direction to try after Dragon, by hearing this guy out, but I'm here to tell you, he doesn't actually have any "Eureka!"-style insights. I suspect he has "ins" that he doesn't *realise* he has. (Privileged people rarely notice their privilege) ....

#personal #rant #frustrated artist #2021

1 note · View note

tellthemhowihope · 5 years ago

Text

POSITIVE 20 QUESTIONS TAG GAME

i was tagged by @peanutbutterandgrapejelly. thank you drew! 💜 these questions were fun to think about 😊

1. Name 4 fictional characters who showcase your personality the best, with explanations if you want. (Drew - I also see a bit of myself in all of TFW and Charlie but for different reasons lmao)

sam winchester: sarcastic, empathetic, forgiving, patient with others, niche interests, introverted;

castiel: weird and specific sense of humor, supremely awkward and shy, but compassionate and ready to help others, introverted;

dean winchester: older sibling (younger sibling is the most important person in my life), feel things too strongly, bad temper, jokes to cover up emotions, repression queen!, hella bi, loves pie

charlie bradbury: nerdiness/geekiness (tho I lowkey hate compsci), fiction/fantasy to avoid the real world and problems, will fight existing power structures that prey on those who are struggling,

2. Aesthetic

i didn’t know what to say for this so i crowdsourced an answer and the gist seems to be “late 2000s cute nerd” so hopefully that means something to someone

3. Favorite musical/play? (If you’ve never seen a musical or play, one you’d be interested in seeing?)

basic but but I would love to see hamilton some day... I did see phantom in February though and it was beautiful!

4. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

I wish I knew where my elementary/middle school yearbooks were because some people wrote some surprisingly nice things that I can’t remember well enough to recount... but one of my friends said I was funny the other day and I’ve always thought I was funny for an audience of one (me) so I really appreciated that :)

5. How many times have you been in love?

a grand total of zero 😂

6. Embarrassing story or fact about yourself that makes you laugh now?

I’m pretty sure I’ve blocked out most of my most embarrassing memories because I can’t really think of anything good but I am a general disaster so I know that it must exist... but i still get teased for The Great Typo Incident of 2016 when I texted my friend “sex” instead of “sec” so there’s that

7. Favorite Disney/Pixar movie?

up and inside out (if you ask me to choose between the two I will show you a scene from one to distract you and make you cry)

8. Favorite flower or plant?

american chestnut tree and coconut tree cuz they hold a lot of memories and are very symbolic for me

9. What’s your favorite holiday?

thanksgiving for the pie, the people, the fall aesthetic, and my annual chance at a motorcycle ride with my uncle (though we always host so I don’t love the stress part)

10. Name three things that made you laugh or smile this past week.

last episode of legends of tomorrow: “my daughter told me to go hell. anyway, where are we going now?” “Hell” (I’m paraphrasing but it was very funny)

my sister post-anaesthesia for the first time, after she just got a tooth pulled

old convention videos w/ j2m as always

11. What song would you play to introduce yourself to someone?

honestly I’m too mercurial for something like this but at this precise moment, be still by the fray

12. Name something that truly makes you feel peaceful even at your most stressed moments.

really sad but calm music, thunderstorms, old videos of my sister

13. What do you, did you, or would you study at college?

I’m pre-med, choosing between the molecular, cellular, and developmental bio or cellular/molecular neuroscience majors, w/ chem and spanish minors

14. This is kind of a weird one, but which outfit of yours makes you feel most like yourself?

I have two cuz I’m indecisive: jeans with either knit sweater & combat boots OR t-shirt & cardigan, and sneakers

15. What is a quote you live by?

my senior quote, by misha: “be kind to yourself so you can be happy enough to be kind to the world”

16. Name the funniest playlist name you have.

I don’t think I have anything that’s particularly funny but my biggest playlist is called “when you can’t read” cuz that’s when I usually listen to it and my friends usually make fun of me for it lol

17. Make a reference to an inside joke you have with someone you love with zero context.

“could be something else”

18. What is a message you would give your younger self if given the chance?

once you finish how I met your mother, put the phone down and go do your homework. no more Netflix for you.

19. Who is your favorite family member? (If you have no good blood family members, feel free to mention someone in your found family)

immediate family - my sister

extended family would be my grandparents or my favorite cousin but I won’t name names in case one of them sees this 😉 (though I think we both know who everyone’s favorite cousin is)

20. What’s a secret dream of yours?

to feel at peace. idk my secret dreams are not very tangible lol

if anyone would like to play this, these are very thoughtful questions! @dishasterzone (just for 19 😘) @wanderingcas @demondeals @beefcakemish @fierydeans @mrrmiracle @lovedsammy @good-things-do-happen-dean @jaredpalalecki

no pressure, I know these are a little personal 💜

#tag game

6 notes · View notes

houseofvans · 7 years ago

Photo

ART SCHOOL | Q&A with Martin Ontiveros (PDX)

The art wizardry of Portland based Martin Ontiveros has appeared in various galleries, albums, posters and has even been transformed into diabolical toys and figurines. Ontiveros’s graphic ink and brush style is meticulous and bold, transforming his horned and demonic creations into fun and bad-ass pop occultism. We’re excited to chat with this ink sorcerer in our latest Art School where we talk about technique, studio days, and what is coming up for him the rest of this year.

Photographs courtesy of the artist.

Introduce yourself? Hello, I’m Martin Ontiveros, also known as Martinheadrocks, illustrator and wizard. “Marty” to my closest friends and family. I live in Portland Oregon, I’m left-handed/ambidexterous and I have a large ginger cat/familiar named Zeus. Nice to meet you.

How do you describe your art to folks who have never seen it before? Pop-occultism? Creature Chic? What you might find inside an ancient tomb or temple from a previously unknown civilization.

Who were some of your early artistic influences that really inspired you to draw? It started with Star Wars in 1977, and Mad Magazine, especially the work of Jack Davis. Childrens book art by Jim Flora. Books and movies about UFOs, cryptids, phenomena, ghosts and black magic when I was a kid. Later it was Heavy Metal Magazine and the underground artists of the 60s and 70s, S. Clay Wilson, Greg Irons, Spain, etc. 80’s punk and metal pioneer artists like Mad Mark Rude and Pushead. Derek Riggs and his Iron Maiden covers.

Lots of rock album art. Fantasy/conceptual artists like Mike Ploog, Boris Vallejo, Frazetta, Richard Corben. That was all the stuff that built up the desire, but what really got me drawing were the indie comics of the 80s with people like Marc Hansen, Matt Wagner, the Pander Bros, David Boswell, Dori Seda, Mary Fleener. I really really wanted to make comics by the time I was 17-18. I’ve since discovered it’s not for me. Art of the Ancient World, Mesopotamian and Mesoamerican in particular. There’s more to this list, I’m an old man now and have seen a lot, but we don’t have all day.

What’s a day like in the studio for you? And take us through your artist process –from start to finish on a piece. I used to start work when it was already well into the evening and would go until after the dawn, but in the last couple years I’ve reversed that schedule. Now I usually get up around 4am. I still get the benefits of nocturnal studio time that way, at least until the sun is up—no one bothers me and it’s quiet. I’ve become a Daywalker—I have all of the vamipre’s strengths and none of the weaknesses.

A typical day is trying to stay focused while fending off my own distractions (I’m ADD) and steering around having to leave the house for anything, ha. I always start with a bit of doodling to warm up a little, then jot down a thumbnail sketch of whatever’s on the agenda that day—usually very small and rough, just to set the composition and borders.

Sometimes I’ll spend extra time fleshing out details on certain aspects of the drawing, say a helmet or insignia. Then I’ll figure out my dimensions and either draw to size or use my trusty proportion wheel to do it smaller if need be. Next is the hard pencil stage. I like using 2H or 3H lead which is rough on the paper but much less messy than a soft lead. I don’t work with a loose outline, I need a solid and tight map to work from and when I have it on lock, I’ll transfer it to my final surface.

That method goes for both a black and white ink piece or a painting. I’ll warm the brush up by laying our some strokes on scrap paper and when I feel like I got a grip on it, off I go. If it’s a painting, I lay all the color and shading out first, then put down the linework. And even if my pencils were tight, there’s always room for improvisation, a tweak or two, especially when I’m inking—some happy accidents come up now and then. I should mention that I sometimes have to chuck a drawing and start the process all over again, even if it’s close to completion because if it isn’t working, screw it. It seems wasteful and time consuming and I could probably avoid it by going digital, but I choose to do it old school.

What’s your tool of the trade medium-wise? And is there a new medium you’re looking to try in 2018? I swear by my brush and ink. Nothing gives me more satisfaction. The artists I’ve always admired most are handy with a brush line. Not to say I don’t like pens, it’s just that I’m not as steady using one and leave them for doodling. I love papier mache, it’s not a new medium to me, but I’ve yet to know how to make the time to do it more so let’s say that that is my goal for 2018. If there was any other medium that I’d choose to do over drawing, it would be that.

You’ve worked on many collaborations with bands and created some awesome cover art and posters. What has been your favorite collaboration and what would be a dream collaboration be? Oooh. That’s a toughy. I did a tour shirt for Mastodon this past year and I have to say that was likely the pinnacle so far. When I caught their show later, it was thrilling to see people buying it at the merch table and to know there’s maybe hundreds more out there wearing it. Dream collaboration…probably the Melvins. Or Alice Cooper? But with the Melvins I know I could just probably do me and not worry about whether or not I’m a good fit. I’m not what you would call “conventional”.

What are you listening to when you’re painting your various creatures and demons? Give us five bands you’re checking out at the moment. I listen to music when I sketch/conceptualize and switch to podcasts or play a favorite movie or show when I’m really into the process, it’s comforting to hear people talk during the heavy work for some reason. It’s another long list but some of my go-to bands are High On Fire, Sleep, Windhand, Black Cobra and Slayer. That’s if I want it crushing. If I’m doing something trippier, it’ll be Om, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Dead Meadow, that kind of thing. Podcasts are generally true crime or comedy.

What’s been the hardest challenge being an artist? What do you tell folks who want to travel down a similar path? I don’t recall the artist’s name who said it, but to paraphrase, the quote was that art can often be a dark and lonely pursuit for us. I believe he was referring more to the fact that we spend a lot of our time working in solitude which is inherent, yet it can also weigh you down emotionally. That really speaks to me, even more so because I’ve also wrestled with depression for most of my life.

Your work can be so entwined with your sense of self-worth, so I suppose the hardest challenge for me is to not let my heart sink when something I make doesn’t receive the attention I hope to get for it. People can be fickle though. I try to remember that, and move on to the next thing. With that in mind I guess I tell folks to make sure they get out of their lairs when possible and share their frustrations with other artist friends, foster a support group of sorts because it helps to know you aren’t alone out there with all these feelings. That and maintain a regular paying job when they start out, because man…it can be tough making a living at it.

In another dimension, what would you be if you weren’t an artist? I’d be that weird old sorcerer living somewhere in the woods that the villagers speak of in whispers. Benevolent, but not to be trifled with. So, not too much different from what I am in this dimension, just with blue skin, maybe.

What are your favorite Vans? Chukka Low? Old Skool? Era? (I had to look up the actual names). Basically low padded ankle with laces, and always dark colors with a black toe because I don’t like my vision being drawn down to my feet moving under me. I honestly don’t wear any other brand of kicks. I keep a pair of Slip-Ons for doing things around the house. Vans makes good jeans too.

What’s the art scene like in your part of the woods? What do you like the most about where you’re living these days? The scene that I know here is primarily illustration, at least that’s what I keep my eyes out for. Lots of sweet, supportive people without attitude and many that are good friends. There aren’t as many galleries as there used to be but there are other venues to get your work out there. I’m now in a part of SE that I’ve never lived in before, at the edge of being outside of Portland proper but only just so. It’s mellow and quiet here and most things I need are within walking distance. I got a couple stores, a good Mexican food place, a bar, you get my drift. I do wish some of my besties lived closer by though. And a decent art supply store.

Since this feature is called Art School, can you give us your most helpful art tip? This probably won’t make me popular by saying it, but learn the difference between homage and theft. Yes, it’s fun to pay tribute to an artist’s style or someone else’s pop culture/intellectual property now and then, I’ve done it, we’ve all done it, not shaming that…but the difference is, if ALL you’re doing is copying, it comes off as creatively lazy. I don’t care how many followers you may gain from it. Come on. If you’re skilled enough to copy someone else’s shit, you’re skilled enough to make up your own content. Raise the bar, people. Don’t lower it.

What’s on the horizon for 2018? New merch in my shop, a group show in Mexico City, more band stuff, my first trip to NY ever, toy releases, designs and customs, a collaboration or two, hopefully a couple of conventions later in the warm months. I’d like get back into painting on a larger scale and figure out how to take it slower in general, make my work really level up, you know? There’s always room for improvement!

Follow Martin | Website | Instagram |

#Art #Vans #Vans Art #Art School #Martin Ontiveros #Drawing #PDX #PDX ARTIST

16 notes · View notes

fightclubexposed · 4 years ago

Text

Rabbit Hole

How long have passed since the last time I wrote here? I don’t even know but here we go

How you guys been up to?

What does 2020 feels like to You? Great? So-so? Hellish? Hope You’re doing okay as of late, if You haven’t feel okay then I hope things got better pronto.

For me, 2020 does feels like when you’re about to soar among the sky but then someone chopped your wings off and you have no parachute. To paraphrase the terms, crashlanding. So after I “crashland”, I mostly spend my time to heal and learn how can I fly again. OF COURSE IT’S JUST A METAPHORE, I don’t actually have wings (seems cool to have tho) but I hope You do get the idea of what i’m talking about.

2020 does suck, it’s quite obvious but well life goes on. Just like other people, after what 2020 did to me I try to find a way to make it feels less suck. I learn and try many new things lately. One of the things I don’t expect happened to me was getting sunk deep into the V-Tubers rabbit hole.

Yup, You didn’t read that wrong. I’ve sunk deep into the V-Tubers’s rabbit hole and I got to say this is something I don’t regret at all. I actually enjoy this, eventhough at first I wasn’t that big on this scene. I have saw many of them on conventions (Back before the pandemic happened) and earlier this year I also have watched some of their streams but still i’m not really into it just yet. Then one of my favorite comic turned his main character to a V-Tuber and somehow I started to watch it. Not long after, HoloEN came out and somehow one ofthe debuting V-Tuber caught my eyes, it was Gawr Gura. At first I was like “Maybe if it’s only her then it’s fine” but then “haha no way” aaaaaand now I’ve fallen deep to the rabbit hole in a not so long span of time.

Aside from Gura, I also enjoy Pekora, Haachama, Miko, and Kiara’s stream. Of course that’s not all, there are still others i also watch. I didn’t just watch them, I also listened to their songs especially Mori Calliope’s, her rap was that good. As of now, most of the V-Tubers I enjoy are all Hololive V-Tubers. I know that there are a lot of good V-Tubers outside of Hololive, maybe indeed I’m still at the starting phase of this so there are not much V-Tubers outside Hololive I’m hooked with. That doesn’t mean I don’t follow any V-Tubers outside Hololive, I do have followed some and maybe later on I’ll be hooked with more, I guess.

Why do I enjoy them? Well I basically been enjoying watching more streamers as of late on twitch and then I was like “Oh if there’s any other streamers with more distinct characteristic I think I’ll be hooked” and boom V-Tubers happened. I still enjoy non virtual streamers but well lately i’ve been more of V-Tubers and tbh it’s kinda of driving me nuts. Eventhough I said I enjoy their stream but chill I haven’t spend any bucks to simp, not that I’m stingy but well my current ecomnomic priority comes first.

It feels kind of weird since I didn’t watch Anime much lately but somehow all these Virtual Streamers hooked me with their own distinct characteristics, when I’m about to become a full time normies then all these virtual streamers were like “Haha nope, come back here and let’s degenerate”. I got to say, since they kind of help me to get through this hard times, I don’t regret getting ddep into this rabbit hole. I have fun, I also able to start a conversation with my friends who also enjoy them. So is it bad? Of course no! I do think V-Tubers make 2020 less suck.

So more or less that’s one of the things I’ve been enjoying as of late to help me to get through this uncertain time. What about you guys? Have guys discover something new as of late? I hope you guys able to found something to keeps you holding on during this time, sure you can do.

Well, until next ime, have a great day!

0 notes

derekskii · 4 years ago

Text

Second Blog Post

1. Critically analyze readings- I would rate myself 4-5, which is what I said in the first blog post and to be honest it is just about the same. I can do it very well and what I can do, I do very fast and I get it done rather effectively and quickly. I do not think I have improved or gotten worse just cause I haven't done it in a while and not enough to notice.

2. Differentiate between credible and non-credible sources- I would have to rate myself 2-3. Is what I said on my past blog but as of today I think I am closer to a 3-4 now because I do know how to find better articles, look for credible law and news sources, etc. It is getting to be common sense now. I can go onto school web pages of schools and universities to find scholarly articles, I can find reliable news channels and test to see if their knowledge is accurate and reliable.

3. Incorporate credible sources through summary, paraphrase, and quotes, and documented according to the MLA conventions to avoid plagiarism- I would rate this 3-4 for myself. Nowadays since that was the last post I would say I am a 4-5. I am great at summarizing things and I have always been the summarizer for even my family for movies and shows. This transfers over to here because it is basically the same thing, just from transcribing movies and shows to essays and paragraphs of knowledge.

4. Demonstrate competent control over written language, academic form, style, and tone- I would rate myself from a 4-5. I would still rate this part of my writing ability a 4-5 because I do believe this is great for the common man, maybe like the news paper or someone talking to people trying to be personable like a news anchor. It is a very common dialect and a day to day use is what I would describe my writing as.

How To Grow As A Writer

Now, since I like writing and speaking in the common tongue of man this type of improvement is not suited for everyone, but I would recommend keeping a journal. Anytime you are feeling an emotion about a certain subject describe it in this journal. Anytime you think of an amazing idea that could be an innovation or even a new breakfast “craz” of yours write it down. It opens up the topic and idea of writing to a new broader term. It is a concept of reality that you control and it even hits on a psychological level. The more you write down you actually remember more on a day to day basis, you even respond and can handle emotions better because of this strategy overall it can really just improve your life's capabilities to the fullest. If you get new ideas or see something interesting off of a site that can help improve two of the 4 CFO’s right there by having you cite it and use it for later. If it isn't a reliable source search for one and if there isn't one that lets you know it's time to make one. Working on your writing, citing, and law skills all in one.

Mastering The CFO’s

I already went into the topic in the last paragraph on how this can improve your CFO’s but do you understand what mastering them do? This can kick start yourself in a writing career. People see you as a smart intellectual writer and not just some GE writer that has no knowledge and can be pushed over. A writer with talent and the power to move mountains with letters. To be the definition of “the pen is mightier than the sword” saying. It has endless possibilities if you can master the CFO’s of becoming a great writer and can improve your overall skill levels even if you do not get into writing.

0 notes

zorilleerrant · 7 years ago

Text

How to Write a Basic Essay

Figure out your topic. This may already have been given to you, in which case you should just have the instructions in front of you to refer to. Otherwise, come up with something that fits the assignment (and you can always change it later, this is just a basic topic).

Use the five paragraph essay format if you know it. It’s not the best, but it’s a good start. If you don’t know it:

Write a thesis statement. This is a one sentence summary of the topic of your essay.

Your first paragraph is your introduction. Use it to explain what topic you’re going to write about, including any background information your intended audience needs to know. (If it’s not specified, your intended audience is you before you started taking this class.) End it with your thesis statement.

Your second, third, and fourth paragraphs are your body paragraphs. In each paragraph, you should use an example that supports your thesis statement. Come up with three examples. Your strongest example should be your fourth paragraph, and your weakest example should be your third paragraph. If your remaining example is also weak, you may need a new example or a new thesis statement.

A body paragraph should start with a miniature thesis statement, summarizing the example, along with any introduction to that statement that you need. The introduction should come first, and be no more than one sentence for a true five paragraph essay, although it can be longer if your essay is supposed to be more than 2-3 pages. Support this statement with quotes or paraphrases from the text/sources. Quotes are preferred, but if the quote would be very long (generally, more than three sentences), use a paraphrase. Remember to cite sources for either quotes or paraphrases. End each body paragraph with a short sentence that summarizes and reinforces what you’ve said.

The last paragraph is your conclusion. In it, you should summarize what you’ve said so far, and why it supports your thesis statement. You can also add any additional examples you thought of but didn’t want to fully flesh out. This is a good place to suggest further exploration, such as additional questions your thesis statement brings up, nuances you didn’t have space to address in your essay, or potential counterarguments.

Once you have your five paragraph essay, look for ways to flesh it out. A lot of this will just be writing more in-depth about your examples, adding additional quotes, and discussing more facets of it. You may also want to add in counterarguments you find likely (including, depending on the essay, common misconceptions), and refute them. These paragraphs will become quite long, and it’s perfectly fine to break them up wherever feels natural. If you don’t do that here, you can do it while editing.

Add more examples, as necessary. That fourth or fifth thing you thought of that would really add to your argument, but you didn’t have room for? Add it if your essay should be longer. You may also want to break up your current examples into more than one example, if the nuances are making it seem like several related things instead of one thing, or if the quotes you have seem to group together naturally into more than one group.

Editing begins. This is a good place to take a break, because some time away from your work will make editing easier. The first thing to do is to break your work into smaller sections. If you need to, you can mark them Section I: [topic], Section II: [topic], but most essays won’t require anything like that. Mostly, you’re looking to break up your paragraphs into bite-sized chunks, to make them easier to digest. Paragraphs should in general be at least two sentences (a single sentence that’s very long or impactful may stand on its own), and not more than ten. You should aim for the lower end. You can usually count quotes as a single sentence, even if you quote multiple sentences, but be aware of how this impacts length. If the paragraph looks too long, break it up.

Now that you’ve broken your essay into smaller pieces, look for those paragraphs that seem like they don’t add anything, or like you’re repeating yourself. Delete them. If something in the paragraph is important, but it seems too long, condense it into a single sentence, or leave only the important sentence(s). You can delete extraneous words or sentences in paragraphs with mostly good content, too, but that may be more helpful later in the process.

Edit for flow. This means making sure that each paragraph sounds like it’s on a single topic, and each paragraph sounds like it makes sense following the previous paragraph. You may have to move large sections around so the essay feels like it’s going in order. You’ll probably have to move some paragraphs earlier or later in the essay. If there are some you think add to the essay, but don’t seem to fit anywhere, save them at the end of the document or in a separate file; you may be able to find a place for them later, or you may not need them. You’ll probably also find yourself moving sentences from one paragraph to another, consolidating multiple paragraphs, or splitting a single paragraph into more than one (possibly requiring you to add content; you can mark [add content] to remind yourself to do it later). This is a good time to delete extraneous words or sentences, and work orphaned sentences back into other paragraphs.

Edit for content again. Are your examples fleshed out? Do any of them need more introduction, more explanation, or more quotes? Are any of them too confusing, or do they detract from the main topic of the essay? This may be a good time to replace unhelpful examples with any you put to the side. Fill out all the parts you marked for later. You should also double-check any dates, calculations, names, etc.

Edit for grammar and word choice. Unless it’s been specified otherwise, you shouldn’t use slang or dialectal speech. You should also ask whether or not to use contractions; some teachers strongly prefer that you use them, while others prefer that you not use them. If you don’t know, don’t use them; this is considered more correct in higher level academics. Some word choices or sentence constructions may read as casual; change them to read more formally. You should also check whether you’ve used long or uncommon words; it’s more communicative to use words most people know, and you should try to where possible. Try not to use words that you don’t normally use unless they’re technical terms. You may want to consult with ‘common grammatical errors’ charts. Remember to use the spelling, grammatical, and technical conventions that the assignment specified, or those common to your school or area.

Don’t forget citations! In your bibliography, you should include all the books, papers, and other sources you researched from, even if you didn’t quote them. Quotes should be in-line cited, footnoted, or endnoted. Paraphrases and references should be footnoted or endnoted.

Create a title page or header (as specified in the assignment; if not specified, use a title page) that includes the title of the paper, your name (including student ID, if applicable), the class name (including the course number), and the date (the due date of the assignment).

Format it according to the assignment guidelines and check the length. If it’s more than one third of the page, it counts towards the page count, unless the page count is under 5 pages. If you’re given a page count range, you must write more than the lower number, but you may write up to one page more than the upper number unless otherwise specified. For longer essays (20+ pages), you may be able to write one page less than the specified range, or up to three pages more. If you’re given a word count range, it isn’t meant to be exact, and you should attempt to get close to the number rather than hit it exactly (this will vary by word count), but it’s a stricter guideline than page count.

#writing advice #studyblr #how to write an essay

25 notes · View notes

jessieleaf · 7 years ago

Text

GENCON 2017 (Part 3)

Saturday: (The long post that is basically a blog post)

(Like...This is really long, but super interesting. So much happened and I want to share it all with you guys. I let you know when you can drop off after I relay my interactions with the cast, but if ye be brave enough, there was so much more that happened in that day and I encourage you to keep reading and ask me any questions about it.)

Pretty much describes my costume for that day.

I was super nervous about this costume, especially with how sheer the shirt was and how much it revealed. When my mom first took it out of the box, I couldn’t believe that this little thing was supposed to be what I was going to wear to the con.

Wardrobe malfunctions were bound to happen, so I had to get comfortable with the idea that yeah, some people might catch a peak at a little more than you had wanted them to, but in the end I decided that I really didn’t care. I’d prevent what I could and accept the inevitable. Also, in the Indianapolis humidity, this top was super breezy and comfortable, so I rolled with it and wore the thing proudly. I looked super sexy in it too, so that helped. (And if you are wondering, I had something on under the top, so nothing terrible would have shown in case of a malfunction).

The wings were from a company called Isis (no relation to the extreme terrorist organization) and were extremely fun to dance about in. The skirts took the longest to find/make since I was looking for a specific kind of wrap but hadn’t realized the name of what I needed was a sarong. The gold fabric is store bought, which I used to make the gold layer on the skirt and the bracers. We also used a little on the collar of the wings, just to make the colors blend more. Fun Fact: I wore the same shoes @gatherthewords did the previous day for her Allura costume.

We woke up that morning around nine pretty groggily (heh), as it was the day right after the live show. Halfway through getting ready, Chris began to realize that she’d lost something last night. Her wallet was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t go to the party without her Id. She couldn’t leave the state. She’d be stuck in Indiana until she either found it or got a temporary ID from the DMV or went through an interrogation process at the airport so that security could make sure she was who she said she was.

We eventually reasoned that since she had bought food from the theatre last night, it was probably either there, or in our Uber driver’s car. The theatre had another show that night, but didn’t open until later in the day around 5 pm. So, with a plan in mind to go searching for it after spending the day at the convention, we got ready and headed out around 11:45 to Lucas Oil Stadium to wait in line for the Critical Role signing with the cast. (Fun Fact: I did bring tea cups and little saucers for our cosplay for the fandom headcanon gag, but I forgot them at the house when we left.)

We put on the finishing touches to our costumes outside the Stadium and I tested out my wings for the first time. As expected, this happened.

youtube

Yep. Just as expected.

We headed inside and found the line, where there were about 15 or so people lined up who had tickets and several other hopefuls without. We met http://tieflingofcolor.tumblr.com (sorry the @ wouldn’t work) and popped a squat next to her. It was only 12:30 by this time and the signing was at three, but I had plenty to keep me occupied.

(gif by @mobius_strip on twitter)

Then we took a lot of pictures. I won’t post all, but here are the best.

(Sarenrae and the Raven Queen had too much wine last night)

We then started to see the line form, and I saw some Pikes. I got very excited. Very Excited.

I wouldn’t be Sarenrae if I didn’t fangirl over my favorite girl.

@arielleishere and @janebooks showed up, with Arielle still rocking the Ka’Varn cosplay. She killed it all weekend with that costume yo. We chatted, danced, took more pictures, and welcomed the cosplayers and fans that started to gather for the signing.

Then Frank and Alex appeared, you know, the two dudes from Thursday that I met in line for one of Matt’s panels. Chris went to chat with them while I posed for pictures, and she got Frank’s players handbook for Matt to sign, since she herself didn’t have much for the cast to sign.

Then...the cast showed up. Like...it makes your heart go a-flutter when you have them so close, wandering about, within arm’s reach but separated by a barrier.

I get like everyone else, even though I try desperately to play it off. I try to convince myself with a “HEY THEY ARE NORMAL PEOPLE PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER AND HAVE A GOOD CONVERSATION WITH THEM,” pep talk, but you know how that goes. Never really works.

The cast was looking up at the cosplayers in the stands when they first arrived, but I was able to catch Matt’s eye with a wave and hello, and his face...fucking lit up. Like that man’s smile sent me reeling backwards into the astral plane. I grabbed my wings and did a little demonstration and Sarenrae help me he looked so happy. The crowd behind me oohed a little so I tried my best to get visible for them and waved my wings about. I really don’t know how many of the cast saw me do that other than Taliesin. No one told me how they reacted, and I was too focused on Matt yelling to me and Chris “You look amazing!” I don’t remember exactly, but I do remember Taliesin complimenting us as well. My flipping heart was going to start doing palpitations.

We waited a bit after for the cast to get ready (Most of them were rolling to see what beholder ray they got hit by with @arielleishere ‘s cosplay and Sam had gone over to give @cowboybootsandhuntershelper the biggest hug for her Scanlan sitting on Bigby’s hand cosplay). When they started to let people filter in, they had one line waiting to sign up with their emails for the Scanlan de-call stickers and covers, while others could just go straight through if they didn’t want it. I had no need for the stickers (probably upset my roommate for not grabbing them) so...much to my dismay, we were one of the first people to go up and get stuff signed. And Matt was first.

I had one image I wanted to get signed, after quite a bit of deliberation.

I had cleaned up this image (Which I shall post later when I find a scanner big enough to support it) and knew that most of the cast had probably not seen it. It didn’t do well on Twitter like I had wanted it to, and I had spent far too long and had lost too many hours of sleep to not see this image get the proper respect it fucking deserved (it did ok on Tumblr. More people here watch Steven Universe and enjoyed the cross-over.) Also, I made a promise to @the-jonesy that I would say hello to Liam for them, since they were bummed they couldn’t go. Then, when I realized that I would only have one item for the entire cast to sign, I doubled down and offered to bring an image for Liam to sign. Jonesy provided the wonderfully angsty art, and I got it signed.

Ok, back to me freaking out.

I was laughing and joking around up until that point when one of the geek & sundry officials ushered us forward. I was even teasing Chris because her face was basically expressing how I felt on the inside. Then I got closer to Matt and my heart leapt into my throat. My hands started to shake and I turned to Chris and basically went “ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh there he is.”

Matt, as I’m sure you will all agree, is probably the most respected and one of the most prominent cast members. He is kind, open, accepting, lovable, nerdy, and to me, the kind of person I’d love to be best friends with. I admire his work and everything he puts his heart into, and wish nothing but happiness for him.

I remember walking up and smiling, saying “Hi Matt!”

He brightened up again. Fuck. “Hi! You look amazing!”

“Thank you so much! We were going to have tea cups, but I forgot them in a rush to get here.”

He laughed at that and said something along the lines of that being brilliant. He knew. My mind went around back to it later...but the man knew about the fandom headcanon. I had no indication before that the cast knew about this one particular fandom idea, one that I loved dearly and had done so much thinking and artwork for. They knew about it and liked it. Be still my beating heart I am so happy.

I told him that I had been Kima yesterday, the one who took off her dress, and Raven Queen send my soul back to my body his face lit up again.

“Oh yeah! You guys looked great!” (Reminder this is just a paraphrase since I don’t recall all of the conversation, or what particular order it is in)

I mentioned that I had been a bit anxious about how the joke had gone over when I did it for him after the VIP Q&A. He threw that idea out the window and said that he had loved it. I didn’t feel the heat because I was too dazed but anyone else watching would have probably seen my face turn red.

I gave him my picture to sign, which he gave an “Oh wow!” to, and wrote on top of Trinket with a little “Happy Bear” to go with.

I don’t recall when this happened, if it was at the end or in the middle of this encounter, but Matt took both of my hands in his and looked me right in the face with the most genuine expression and said thank you.

His hands were really soft. His eyes were so flipping big. Fuck you guys. I’d put myself in front of a train for this man. I didn’t stop shaking after that.

I brought my picture over to Taliesin, and talked with him for a bit about the image, since he hadn’t ever seen it before (Like I said, it didn’t make too many rounds on twitter). He really seemed to like it, which made my heart all happy. I really admire the man, almost as much as I admire Matt, and to hear him say that just...aug it feels so good.

Marisha was next, and I told her how much I liked the new design for Keyleth with shaved hair and tattoos. She really liked the tattoos as well, and I told her that they were my favorite part to draw. That’s pretty much it, other than the fact that she seemed to like the picture too. 3/8.

I got to Liam and he looked the piece over while I took out Jonsey’s art. I told him that Jonsey said hi and that they’d wished they were there to meet him. I gave him their art to sign, and then he went back for my art. It was supposed to be one item per cast member, but he signed my art anyways. This was the first time I’ve ever met the man up close, but he had this god-dammed smug ass look in his eye. I had wanted to tell him how much I appreciated his support, how much his attention to what I did meant to me. But this man...I forget exactly how it was brought up, something along the lines of Marisha asking who the artist was, me telling her it was my own work, and then her showing Liam the piece, repeating that I had drawn it. That man looked me dead on and said “I know who you are, I recognize the style.”

FUCK YOU LIAM! YOU SHUT ME DOWN LIKE THAT AND I COULDN’T EVEN FORM WORDS TO THANK YOU PROPERLY! Damn my dudes, I hurried off to the Sam right after that, I was too lost for words.

The conversation with Sam was short after his initial “Oh wow” at the piece. I told him that he could either sign Tary or Scanlan (he chose Tary since he doesn’t get to sign for that character often) and let him know that his Scanlan inspired my own bard. I forget what we talked about after that, apologies. My hands were shaking.

I got over to Laura and Travis, asked them how their con was going, informed them that I had indeed drawn the piece, and thanked them after they signed. Not much happened there.

I told @brianwfoster that he could sign Scanlan, since Sam had taken Tary. He decided to sign under Scanlan’s crotch like the proper troll he is.

(I apologize if this is getting long. You don’t have to keep reading if you were only here for my cast interactions. The day is hardly over, and I have so much more to talk about, so I encourage you to continue, but I understand if you would like to move on.)

I was shaking so much after that, I couldn’t get my stuff put away properly. Chris came over and informed me that Liam had said “Thanks mom,” as she had moved down the line, and she had replied “Goodbye bird son.”

Frank was just about as excited as I was when Chris handed him back his Player’s Handbook with Matt’s signature. He didn’t stop beaming for, like, an hour. We heard screaming and cheering from the hopeful’s line and lo-and-behold, Steve was there playing Der and Der and had rolled a Nat 20. I went over to say hello, and started to chat with him when I saw a few Jenna, Devin, and his dad from Teri’s group. I demonstrated my wings for them and did a little spin. When I turned back around, I stopped to realize that everyone was staring.

My god. I never have had so many eyes on me. I get goosebumps every time I think about it. I asked why everyone was suddenly so quiet, and someone said that, well, obviously they would be when I looked the way I did.

Fuck ya’ll, I didn’t know until that moment how good of a decision this costume was. I usually just walk about in jeans and a red v-neck. I don’t get that much attention often.

I was then bombarded with picture requests, along with Christina (Because I may have looked good, but that girl looked just as stunning and got just as many (maybe even more) requests for pictures.

(picture by Sabina )

Tony found us, having come to the signing in the hope that we’d be there. Glad he was able to.

We had a ton of time to kill before we went to the theatre in search of Chris’s wallet. After we’d taken all the pictures, Tony, Alex, Frank, and the two of us headed to the convention hall in order to parooz around for a bit. We were stopped a ton by photographers, but we eventually made it.

The first booth that we stopped at had some really neat dice, and Satine Phoenix seemed to think so too. She and Ruty were at the booth, and we said hello. They they were on their way out, but had stopped to view dice. At least, Satine had and Ruty was getting impatient because this didn’t appear to have been the only time Satine had stopped on their way out. I bought some cool dragon dice tho and Chris and I got mugs full of dice. Twas a good haul.

After a little while, Chris discovered she’s lost her glasses, which had been stored in her bag.

I can only imagine how bad she must have felt, loosing two things in one day. Important items, vital to her trip and well-being. After taking a breather from the crowded exhibit hall, the six of us went back to the most logical place that she could have left them at. I had observed a gap under the stadium and field earlier where a friend’s water bottle had rolled under. I deduced that since our bags were up against that wall, and that Chris had been taking items out of her bag frequently in line, they must have fallen out under the stadium seats.

Rushing back to the stadium, we grabbed and official, who told us that they hadn’t found any glasses fitting the description we gave, but had one dude go over and look around the area. I followed him over and waited for a moment before he came back, holding the glasses.

One item down, one to go. Chris got pretty emotional and I have to thank Sabina and @rollnat20charisma for going over and giving her love and hugs. Those girls are amazing. Teri sent pictures of us on the field from her spot in the line up in the stands, and I went up to inform her where we were going and where we would meet her. Then, someone asked me in the line who I was dressed as and I did my little wing display, which actually got some claps and cheers. Thanks to all those critters who liked my costume. I was super happy with it’s design and outcome. I’ve got nothing but love for everyone in the community.

Steve decided to join our when I came back down, so the six of us all went outside to Uber it over to the Theatre. Chris deemed us the Search Party. I’m the Bard, Chris is the Druid, Frank is our Cleric, Steve is the Monk, Alex is a Bard-Barian, and Tony is the Fighter.

We get to the theatre, and lo-and-behold, the wallet was found and presented to Chris. Happily, we all decided to grab some grub before the Alpha party, as we didn’t know it was going to be open bar and buffet.

We met up with Teri, Devin, and Jenna in line before Sabina and @rollnat20charisma sauntered up. We all got in and thus a night of drinking and dancing began. Since this post is long as it is, I’ll bullet point a few highlights for you.

- Ivan, Amy Dallen, Satine, Ruty, Ryan Green, @wendydoodles , @megzilla87 , @anodesu , Becca, Amy Vorpal, Sax, @critrolestats , Matt Abernathy and many others were among the Geek and Sundry attendants there. Travis from @theadventurezone was there too, and I’m sure I would have been much more excited to see him if I listened to the podcast.

- I immediately started to dance with Tony for a real long time.

- I was able to talk with @anodesu (who I identified because I had asked to see what she was sketching and recognized her style immediately), Ryan Green , one of the correspondents for the Alpha’s social media, and one of the recent hosts from project pixel on alpha (which, if you are an artist, you should definitely check out).

- I danced off and on all night, but I came back in once to begin to party again and @qunaributts had taken off her Tary facial hair and wig (not that it wasn’t attractive), @cowboybootsandhuntershelper (who had come in a variant of her party gilmore cosplay) had let her hair down, and Sabina was letting her blond curls loose. The song was upbeat, we were dancing, and then those girls...well, I drew something to show you what I felt during those couple of songs:

(I’m such a hopeless bi-sexual. I don’t know how Chris puts up with me.)

- I was telling one man about how I hadn’t yet seen Amy Dallen or Amy Vorpal at the party yet, but he told me Amy D was there and offered to go get her for me. I’m not the kind to have someone just go up and demand the attention of someone I admire and pull them away from a conversation (unless I’m trying to show a cosplay gag, then I have all the confidence in the world). I gave him an uneasy “Eh, I don’t know,” to which he responded with a smile and said he’d be right back with Amy flipping Dallen.

Tony, bless him, asked me if I really wanted the guy to go and get Amy. I shook my head and Tony bolted inside to go and stop him, but he was too late. After a minute, Amy came out, the man who had retrieved her beaming from behind, and Tony approaching after apologetically. I apologized to Amy for taking her from her conversation but she brushed it off. I introduced myself, telling her I’d been at the geek and sundry panel yesterday, that I was the one who showed her and other Amy my artwork for their show Vast. She asked if I could show her my twitter page, and as soon as I pulled it up, she gasped. Oh my gods, she gasped and said she knew me. She looked like she was fan-girling. She asked to give me a hug. I stuttered out an “Ok, of course,” hugged internet sensation Amy Dallen, and proceeded to not compute what had just happened. Amy Dallen had fan-girled over me. Like...I still can’t comprehend.

So...that was Saturday. I talked with a ton of people I have been admiring for ages, got lots of love from the critter community, felt proud and confident in my costume, hung out with the amazing dudes that make up The Search Party (who I miss dearly), found my girlfriend’s wallet and glasses, and danced the night away at the geekiest of geek parties. Despite the several hang ups, it was the best day I’ve ever had. I’m glad I get to share it with you guys, and if you’ve made it all the way through this, I congratulate thee.

Sunday’s recounting is pretty short and won’t have very many pictures, if any at all, but I’ll still have a separate post for it. See ya’ll tomorrow!

#Critcal Role #Gencon #Matthew Mercer #Taliesin Jaffe #Brain Wayne Foster #Laura Bailey #travis willingham #Sam Riegel #Marisha Ray #Liam O'bren #gencon50 #Sarenrae #The Raven Queen

29 notes · View notes

meeedeee · 7 years ago

Text

Writers, Entitlement, Snark – Oh, My! RSS FEED OF POST WRITTEN BY FOZMEADOWS

As busy as I am right now, I can’t seem to move past this article about Dan Thomson, a 68-year-old man who recently filed a complaint against the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, claiming they rejected his application on the basis of age discrimination. The workshop’s current director, Lan Samantha Chang, who has been in the job for over a decade, says that the selection process is based entirely on talent: though other details about the candidates are sent to the graduate school, her policy is “not to look at them and to evaluate candidates solely on the writing sample.”

To be clear at the outset: age discrimination certainly exists in the world, and is just as certainly a problem. I will, however, lay real cash-money that age is not the reason Thomson was rejected, and would have done so even before reading the blurb and first two chapters of his self-published opus on Goodreads. (And oh, goddamn, are we returning to that subject later.)

“It seems like a program just for millennials,” says Thomson. “I would have guessed there’d be a broader range of ages.” As the article points out, the program is held at a graduate school, where the main demographic is people in their twenties: just under half of those accepted since 2013 have been aged between 18 and 25, while the median age for accepted applicants is 34 and a half. The median age of all applicants, however, is only 36 – hardly a difference suggestive of bias.

Thomson, he says, isn’t interested in seeing the program reprimanded: he just wants to get in: “I wanted to make clear that somebody my age has a right to do it.”

To paraphrase The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this must be some strange usage of the word right that I wasn’t previously aware of. While it’s certainly Thomson’s right to apply to the workshop, it is not his right to be accepted. There are only 25 spots available to the thousand-odd yearly applicants: with that sort of ratio in play, even genuine talents will inevitably miss out, not because they’re bad writers, but because there simply isn’t space for everyone.

And then we get to the kicker:

Thomson said he enjoyed his creative writing classes in college in the early 1970s, but found at the time he lacked the perspective on life to offer more than surface finery in his prose.

“It’s not prejudice against young people to say, ‘You don’t have a lot of experience,’ ” he said.

After graduate school in anthropology and law school, Thomson focused on raising his family and living a life worth writing about. Two years ago, he completed his first novel-length work, “The Candidate,” and decided to self-publish it.

He has not sought other options for publication, nor has he applied to other creative writing programs…

“It may be vanity on my part… but I have a fairly high opinion of the two pieces that I sent in,” he said.

Again, for the sake of clarity: I have nothing against self-publishing as an endeavour. I know some amazing writers who’ve opted to take that route, and have fallen in love with many an indie book as a consequence, to say nothing of self-pubbed-gone-mainstream works like Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Nor do I have any bias against writers who start their careers later in life: one of the most moving novels I’ve ever read, The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, was the first and only work of Mary Ann Shaffer, published posthumously after her death at age 74. There are plenty of great writers who never got their start until later in life, or who found success through non-traditional means, or who managed both: because, by themselves, these facts are not cause for any degree of scepticism.

But for fuck’s sake.

Among authors of any kind, a near-universal pet peeve is being told, on revealing their career, “Oh, I’d love to write a book some day!” by someone who admits to not writing now. It’s not that we have any bone-deep aversion to the idea of writing for fun as opposed to writing for money; indeed, a great many of us swim in both waters at once, or else migrated from one camp to the other without quite noticing how it happened. The objection, rather, is to those who reflexively conflate the two – “Oh, you do this as a job? I’d love that as a hobby!” – without realising how arrogantly dismissive this sounds. At best, they’re assuming that writing involves no element of craft or skill that requires refinement over time, no awareness of an ever-fluctuating market and industry, and so can be picked up by anyone at the drop of a hat. At worst, they’re boasting of their own brilliance-to-be: you might be a dedicated professional, but damned if they aren’t confident they can do just as well or better without all the years of work.

Dan Thomson, it would appear, ticks both these boxes. On the basis of no more experience than a single self-published novel, The Candidate – which, at 100 pages long, is more accurately a novella – and participation in a few writing classes forty-odd years ago, he applied to one of the most prestigious MFA programs in America. So, naturally, age discrimination is the only possible reason for his failure to make the cut.

That rumbling you hear is the sound of my jaw grinding bitten-off expletives into grist.

At age fifteen, I opined to my then-English teacher, a woman now sadly deceased, that the reason my story hadn’t won or placed in a contest to which I’d submitted it was genre bias against science fiction. Mildly, she replied that she knew of multiple students who’d won such contests with SF stories. “Oh,” I said, and deflated a little, and then forced myself to acknowledge the possibility that, regardless of my abilities, other people might indeed be better. Thomson’s seeming inability to make a similar deductive leap at age 68, coupled with his stated belief that “young people” lack sufficient life experience to write well, doesn’t suggest to me that he’d do well taking crit from other, younger writers – which is basically what an MFA entails, though I doubt Thomson realises it – even if the Iowa Writers’ Workshop did let him in.

And believe me, he would be subject to criticism. Oh, would he fucking ever.

A brief disclaimer: as someone who works as both an author and a critic, I make a conscious effort to review transparently. If I think there’s a problem in the text, I show my working; if I haven’t read the full book or have skimmed particular sections, I say so; and if a story hits my buttons, whether positively or negatively, I aim to make that fact clear. In the context of writing groups and editorial work, I try to set my stylistic preferences aside and focus instead on the author’s intentions: on providing feedback that helps them make their style better instead of more like mine. As such, I don’t usually weigh in on fragments or blurbs of a random writer’s work unless they’ve said something in public – such as in interview or at a convention – that suggests a direct link between their attitude about the world, or writing, or the world as expressed through writing, and the content they’ve produced.

That being so, and in accordance with his clear belief that his work merits the same respect as the would-be bests in the field, I will treat Thomson as I would any author possessed of such a glaring disconnect between their self-perception and reality: with sarcasm and sources.

According to the article’s author, Thomson didn’t pursue writing in his youth because, “at the time he lacked the perspective on life to offer more than surface finery in his prose,” with Thomson himself quoted as saying, “It’s not prejudice against young people to say, ‘You don’t have a lot of experience.'” This strongly suggests that Thomson has, for whatever reason, conflated life experience with literary skill: that, in his view, the way to improve as a writer isn’t to work on your prose, but to gain more inspiration. This perspective is echoed in the blurb for his novella, The Candidate, which is less a plot summary than a full paragraph of Thomson explaining why his book is important:

Can An Honest Man Be Elected President? I didn’t give the protagonist of The Candidate a face. I didn’t give him a body or a race either. That was not an oversight. I am confident you will do that for me. I did give him a voice and when you hear that voice you will assign him whatever characteristics seem appropriate to you. Listen to that voice. If you don’t know what Norman Telos has to say about life in America then you don’t know where you live. Does a fish know he is swimming in water? Does he know his pond, lake, river, ocean? After a series of wars, recessions and global warming we are wondering where we are and where we are going. There is a fear that rich powerful men have an agenda for America. The Carlisle Group did write a plan for the new American Century. They believe that war is good for our economy and our souls. War is of course older than the Carlisle Group. Eisenhower warned us of the Military Industrial Complex. Remember that a demand for more bombs requires that they be exploded. Mr. Telos also speaks of important economic realities for a democratic capitalist society. He reminds us of an unshakable truth that Karl Marx gave us. “Capitalist societies require a reserve army of the unemployed to keep wages down.” So we keep a pool of unemployed and poorly employed in poverty. This book is written for people who can think and want to think. It is not the Sermon on the Mount or holy writ, but a spark to your own thinking.

There are, I would submit, three possible explanations for the creation of such a blurb, none of which is flattering to Thomson: pure ego, a lack of awareness that fiction and non-fiction blurbs have different conventions, or a failure to distinguish between a blurb and a review. Either way, his assertion that, “If you don’t know what Norman Telos has to say about life in America then you don’t know where you live,” is suggestive both of hostility to criticism – if you don’t like, agree with or understand this book, then it’s no fault of mine – and a flat conflation of worldly experience with literary merit. It doesn’t seem a stretch to suggest that the ethos of the fictional Norman Telos is closely aligned with that of his creator: in exhorting us to value his character’s wisdom, Thomson is, with precious little deftness, hoping we’ll praise him.

Thanks to the preview function on Goodreads, I was able to read the first two chapters of The Candidate. It is not an experience I recommend, unless you like laughing angrily at the sheer bloody-minded entitlement of untalented men.

“The name of Norman Telos’ car was an automatic talk show joke,” the book begins. Thomson swiftly proceeds to describe said car in detail for the better part of three pages, making sure to tell us that it’s the best sedan since the model-T. Only then is it made clear that, rather than being a car that Norman owns, it’s actually one he’s invented. As such, we skip immediately on to the details of his next invention, a silent machine gun sold to the DOD.

And then this happens:

Norman Telos’ next series of inventions were drone cops to solve the Ferguson problems. To Norman Telos the events that happened in Fergusson, Missouri in the summer of 2014 and the shooting of the Black boy with the toy pistol in Cleveland November of 2014 were two problems of trust that could both be solved by a machine. Blacks cannot trust the police because too many police are racists. Police fear for their own lives in confrontational situations. The answer to both problems is to put officer friendly in front of a video game screen controlling a drone that takes all the risks for him. His actions will be documented solving the age old question of who polices the police. Further, the situation was safer for both the police and the policed. The drones were armed with a machine gun for extreme situations where killing to prevent killing would justify its use. More importantly the drones were equipped with nonlethal force; air powered bean bag guns that could knock any perp on his back and if he refused to surrender the bean bags could be shot at him until he had no ability to resist, an arm that carried hand cuffs to the perp and finally the machine itself was powerful enough to push over several men.

RACIST POLICING IS SOLVED FOREVER, EVERYONE CAN GO HOME NOW HAHAHA FOR SERIOUS OH WAIT oh god why.

The description of the drones goes on for several more pages. Comparisons to both R2D2 and Robocop are made – hilariously so, though comedy is clearly not the intent. Crime falls, Norman grows ever richer from his inventions, and the reader’s will to live takes a savage beating. Then, just as I was about to schedule an emergency splenectomy to help inure myself to this nonsense – taking cops out of physical danger doesn’t remove their racism, which is the actual fucking problem here, and especially not when you arm them with machine guns, are you kidding me? – I reached the wonder of Chapter 2, which suddenly introduces a Female Character! And oh. Oh, my god. YOU GUYS:

The beautiful young blond with a face like Ingrid Bergman was a two thousand dollar a day call girl. She was flown to Norman Telos’ yacht anchored in Mobile bay by helicopter. At 4 in the afternoon Norman and Jane Gray were lying relaxed and naked in Norman’s king sized bed sipping martinis. Jane asked, “So what is next for you Norm?”

Norman, “Two hours of latency recovery and then either my 65 year old penis will rise on its own for more loving or I will give it more chemical inducement.”

Jane, “That is a rather crude not too funny joke which makes me feel cheap. I may make a lot of money on this job but I refuse to be treated like or talked to like a whore. Call for your helicopter. You can have a refund.”

Norman, “Sorry. I truly didn’t mean to insult you. Please don’t be so sensitive. I saw it as a joke at my expense.”

Jane, “Ok. By next I didn’t mean here and now between us. I wanted to know what you are going to do with your billionaire career. What is next?”

Norman, “I am going to run for President.”

Jane, “Wow. I never expected to hear a thing like that and take it seriously, but coming from you, of course. So why do you want to be President.”

Norman, “I don’t really want to be President. I want to run. Winning is unlikely and would probably be a bore. Besides I will be running on the Democratic side and Diebold is likely to sell the next election to the Republicans.”

It’s at this point that I stopped breathing properly and had to wheeze into my cupped hands for several minutes. (Also, lest you think that Thomson is some sort of geriatric savant who accidentally presaged our decent into the darkest timeline, I’d note that The Candidate was published in February 2016, well after Donald Trump announced his intention to run for President. Whatever other similarities lie therein, I’ll leave to a more intrepid soul to fathom.)

Norman and Jane continue to talk for the rest of the chapter. I only skimmed after that, but not distractedly enough to miss Norman posing this serious philosophical query: “Is there a god or a dyslexic dog?” Jane doesn’t answer, but that’s not surprising: she’s pretty much there as a prop to give Norman an excuse to extemporise in detail about Why Religion Is Wrong. Only then, mercifully, did my free sample come to an end.

At a base technical level, Thomson doesn’t know enough about prose writing to include the word “said” and a comma after each character name, or how to indicate the possessive for a proper noun ending in s, or any of the basic rules of pacing, structure or grammar. Even so, no line edit in the world can fix this mess. The prose is didactic and clunky in a way that only comes from being wrongly convinced of the brilliance of bad ideas, while the introduction of Jane Gray is the literal embodiment of How Not To Write A Female Character. Culturally, we spend a lot of time mocking female writers for their (supposedly) thinly-veiled self-insert characters, and yet I can say with authority that I’ve never encountered any such work by a teenage girl that manages to be anywhere near as obnoxiously obvious as the equivalent fantasies written by grown men.

So, yeah: Dan Thomson, whatever he might like to think, did not fail to get into the Iowa Writers’ Workshop because of age discrimination, but because his writing fails to meet even the most basic grammatical and structural standards you would reasonably expect a high school English graduate to know. But let’s by all means keep up the steady flow of editorials claiming whiny entitlement is a millennial problem. Like the proverbial five o’clock, it’s always a slow news day somewhere.

from shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows http://ift.tt/2tWuzP9 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows #RSSFeed

45 notes · View notes

opalescentegg · 8 years ago

Text

I’m Easter-drunk and I wanna talk about medieval marriage conventions.

(Because no one saw that drunk history reblog and decided to ask me, “Hey, Opal, what are your views on the weirder parts of medieval marriage?” I’ll try not to misspell too many things---no promises. SO! Medieval marriage. Just how fucked up was it?? Very fucked up, of course. But for the purposes of this....discussion, I’ll be focusing primarily on the conventions found in medieval England. Why England? Well, for starters, it has an incredible history of legal documentation. Seriously, the legal courts (from local shire courts all the way up to the royal courts) recorded damn near everything, and for the longest time too! I know that many medieval kingdoms saw themselves as the stewards of the Roman legal (and sometimes cultural) tradition, but in medieval England that anctually worked out okay (if you allow the inclusion of the Anglo-Saxon wittan, which eventually became the modern jury, but I’m getting ahead of myself). Also, England was the only place where FEUDALISM ACTUALLY WORKED. Seriously! Everywhere else it was given plenty of lip-service but, well---in France you ended up with a few centuries of “local” counts that held more power than the fucking king; then there was the Holy Roman Empire (famously not holy, not Roman, and not and Empire, to paraphrase both Voltaire and one of my favorite university professors---it was also, generally speaking, a hot mess, even on a good day); and Spain (seven fucking centuries of Reconquista does not a stable feudal society make, so sorry); and Italy.....look, the city-states are awesome, but are also about as un-feudal as it gets, so they basically don’t count for anything outside of their economic, and occasionally Crusade-oriented, bubble. Alright, to be fair, most of that last bit had nothing to do with anything----I just really needed to get some of that off my chest. But the documentation thing is actually germane to this topic. First and foremost is the fact that the “terms” of marriage were pretty sketchy for a long, long, long time. One particular complaint that crops up again and again in English shire court rolls has to do with just how married different parties in a couple saw themselves. A lot of this had to do with the language of marriage vows, as well as how marriages were “performed” back before the.....oh, let’s say thirteenth century. For a long while, marriages were considered legitimate if both parties spoke some church-approved vows to one another, and did so with full sincerity and fear of God, etc., etc. The problem there was that which words were church-approved was not always clear. Oh, sure, someone might have the general gist of them, but not the particulars---and since most of the peasantry during the Middle Ages was illiterate, it’s not like they could just write it down for later. Also, the “approved” words tended to change when new popes, bishops, etc. were elected, and it often took a while for information about changes to vow templates (among other things) to trickle down. There was also a more pragmatic element to all of this. Namely, although churchmen certainly hoped that young lovers would seek out a church for the legitimization of their union, they were more than aware of the fact that some people either did not have that option (the nearest church being, perhaps, too far away) or would find themselves too swept up in passion to seek out the nearest house of God. That’s part of why the church-approved vows existed in the first place---the idea was that, in the absence of either the clergy or community witnesses of good standing, a couple could still make a vow before God and therefore legitimize a marriage (though it always helped if they sought out a priest afterwards, to really legitimize it; but, especially in the early Middle Ages, that wasn’t strictly necessary). This is where is gets weird. Also rape-y. So...consider yourself warned, I guess. First of all: THOSE VOWS. There was a lot of confusion regarding vows (part of why the church started insisting that all marriages take place inside a church, with clergy present---less easy to fuck it all up that way). It wasn’t unusual for a man to sort of half-vow to stay with a woman, then for them to consummate the relationship, then for the man to insist that they were not actually married while the woman (citing what she thought was a true vow) insisted they were. Interestingly, this could be brought before the court as a case of rape, seeing as how complete, explicit consent in a sexual act was not necessarily given by both parties----and, believe it or not, the medieval church was DEEPLY concerned with consent; despite any and all social and economic disparities, a marriage was supposed to be (ideally) a union between two equal souls, and that equality meant that both parties had to agree to said union by their own free will, lest they commit the grave sin of bearing false witness before God Himself (not to say that the parties could not be cajoled, coerced, or threatened into “consent” beforehand, only that no one could actually be dragged to the altar, wailing and weeping, without any clergyman worth his salt immediately declaring the pending union void due to lack of consent---no matter what Hollywood might show you.) The point is that the woman (or, occasionally, the man, because that did happen too) could sue for marriage. This was somewhat more of a concern for women, as it concerned their “virginity” or “virtue.” If a woman had been married and was widowed, chances were that she inherited some property from her late husband, and so could levy that on Ye Olde Marriage Market. The prospects for completely unmarried girls and women were more tenuous. Look. For this next part, you need to STOP THINKING LIKE A MODERN PERSON. It sucks, I know, but you must understand how medieval people thought. The short version is that: virginity was an economic commodity. That’s how both men and women thought of it. So, if a peasant girl with little in the way of a dowry, and who had never been married before (and therefore had no inheritance from a deceased husband) was looking to marry, her “virginity” was the best bargaining chip she had. Therefore, if some strapping beau had made what SHE considered vows of marriage before fucking her into the heath, she’d likely feel quite justified in dragging him to the local shire court and suing for marriage----because he had unambiguously “compromised her virtue,” and done so under false pretenses: grounds for a rape accusation, if ever there was one. And, oh, sweet children, it gets worse. I have seen comments on this here Tumblr claiming that medieval women who were victims of rape would be forced to marry their rapists. This is.......not untrue. I cannot and will not say that such things did not happen (especially if a child resulted of that forced coupling; depending on whose medical treatises you read, conception was sometimes viewed as occurring only if both parties involved had orgasms, the idea being that women released an “essence” at the moment of climax the same way men did----the upshot is that a few learned men, I hope, at least tried to make sex actually pleasurable for their wives; the downside is that pregnancy via rape could be cited as “evidence” that a female victim “””enjoyed,””” and was complicit in, her own assault.) However. Things get.....interesting, if not a little uncomfortable, when the situation is turned on its head. You see, women did marry their rapists. But some of them did it willingly----hell, some of them did it forcefully. This is where the “virginity” thing really comes into play. Because if a girl or woman who had successfully “defended her chastity” for all her life suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a sexual assault-----well, it wasn’t unusual for her to drag her attacker before the court and sue for marriage. But why the fuck would she want to????? I get it, trust me. Still, you must remember what I said about virginity earlier. For a peasant girl, her “virginity” was her only bargaining chip in the marriage market; a rape meant that bargaining chip was gone; sometimes things could be smoothed over by a hefty payment of money and/or livestock to the girl’s father/male guardian to “make up” for the loss of virtue and (by extension) family honor, but this was of course not always possible; and so the only way to maintain honor (and, therefore, economic security, and even economic viability in the marriage market, should her husband pass away) was to marry the rapist. Oh, and DON’T THINK for even a SECOND that there weren’t ladies literally hauling their assaulters into the courtroom and, basically, telling them to LIE IN THE BED THEY FUCKING MADE. Look. Just. NEVER think that medieval women, even the poorest and least of the lot, didn’t have power. It was a fucking shitty kind of power, but damn if they didn’t exploit it wherever they could. Case in point: when a rapist wasn’t really a rapist. Soooo, now you’ve heard of medieval women suing her rapist for marriage in order to preserve her social and economic standing! Well, guess what? Sometimes both of them faked it~!! Yeah.....this is where it gets super fucked up. Because sometimes a girl loved a boy. But her father didn’t like that boy, probably for economic reasons, and forbade her from consenting to marry him (because the father was aware of those prickly couples-only church vows, etc, etc.) So how’s a girl to get around this predicament? Why, by being “carried off” ( “rape” coming from an older word meaning “forceful seizure”) by some man (the lover) and his cohorts (his friends, there to watch his back and basically make sure no one comes to kill him after witnessing his “abduction” of the maiden, if anyone witnessed it at all). Then they spend a few days hanging out in the woods before the daughter comes home to her father and says something to the effect of: “Oh, wow, yeah, so this guy, he just grabs me right out of the fields and carries me off the the woods, while I’m kicking and screaming of course, and forces himself on me right there, totally against my will, but the good news is that he’s completely willing to marry me to like make amends or whatever, and oh by the way it just happens to be that guy I’m really into but that you totally hate, what’s a girl to do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ” BUT. Because the woman could call it a rape, and even be backed up by witnesses (the lover’s friends----I know it seems weird, but in the Middle Ages witnesses (fuck, personal references) were basically the only currency outside of the gold florin that mattered worth a damn), she could “sue” for marriage, and end up marrying the man she’d wanted all along, no doubt to the consternation of her father. ................Yeah, the Middle Ages were pretty fucked up.

#history #what can i say i'm a chatty drunk #here's your latest unwanted essay #i should be a college student for life is all i'm saying

13 notes · View notes

mcleanstanley1991 · 4 years ago

Text

Reiki Crystal Guide Staggering Useful Ideas

The old belief that these attunements can work with Reiki, helps the body and hands have exactly the right and wrong.This is a subtle, continuous and vital flow of energy so that you have been helping individuals attune themselves to express and they came to know them better and it is not dependent on belief at all times out of an attunement, since the beginning point for a very good and back may become discouraged on your way around or through.Second Level: Reiki Practitioner or even their elbows to loosen off the body and cures all the way the human body was almost convulsing.It is not a lot more powerful or able to access the Reiki master awakens the student's body and keep it very hard to preserve a picture or visualize the body to heal quickly, easily and effortlessly using nothing other than Reiki.

Decisions on whether to resort to Reiki healing is to find a Reiki healing is very different to the deepest part of welcoming a student does not deplete your energy body and can even buy the training online and choose one that beginners should always start out with excellent scientific design, very carefully laid out.The hands are held to celebrate occasions and even Shiatsu in at a time, however, when - upon simple request by the ancient Japanese.There are various forms of meditation or having received a doctorate, instead he traveled a different way to the spiritual practice Mikao Usui founded uses a type of massage table vs reiki table.There is no guarantee that a client can be felt, but it provides an opportunity to try to follow in Christ's footsteps when he went to sleep at night.Do that and enjoy the benefits that it is surprising that this energy spins differs, and so should your clients.

Reiki energy and have practiced protection techniques to strengthen one's capacity to grow to this principle?Reiki serves to help reduce recovery time after an illness or weakness.No sleep, no relaxation - anxiety, fatigue, depression.Thus Reiki is about unconditional love, can stretch on and on the healing possibilities of spiritual reality by directly experiencing the warmth seemed to be untrue.This technique also helps to balance the unbalanced energy of a kind and the world.

There are many conventional medical practitioners have anecdotal evidence that a person both spiritually, physically, and emotionally, as well as relaxation techniques have been attuned to Reiki due to a martial art, the energy is strong and flowing through the palms of the course.The client must go with Reiki energy, without expensive courses to become a Reiki Master.A scratch of the major advantage of the attenuements when at the aura above the patient's body might be prohibitive to some scientific evidence.There is not pushed by the Doctor was not a ritual or allied to any of the head.After a few moments concentrating on the other end of two Reiki Alliance Masters.

I am grateful for the Rei Ki Master who can help a person - thereby directing or transmitting a healing session of practice.Perform hands-on healings with at least 30 minutes to an adult.Anyone who's had any type of physical discomforts as well as physical healing.These energies flow from your patient and place them in a rush to get sick and the power symbol.After attending a seminar on guided imagery he decided to try Reiki out there, but it is needed.

So it is available, it is much the same, but the ultimate object is very real, people have experienced great results from reiki.You may have been able to run energy naturally, if your particular issue is essentially opening yourself to endless loving energy.Some practitioners even state that they are needed most.Practitioners of Celtic reiki is basically connects to our students, responsibility to our bodies, Reiki is an equally big group saying the opposite, that it really isn't so hard to learn, then the client feeling nothing, so let me be part of the difficulty, be it a superior approach to healing positions with the full confidence that it adapts its healing potential.Reiki makes no difference which version of an animal is gravely ill and have deep seated energetic issues that may affect your life, all you must decide to make a difference.

Reiki has been shown to a deeper healing and a last one for the patient's perspective is that it is usually done to,cover the areas in the spiritual ties to the surface of the distance healing can be found all over the internet!The fee Reiki practitioners may have mentally connected with that chakra will aid the healing ability.It is also used to develop healthy attitudes.Just by clearing out the good of all kinds to reach the Reiki attunement is being considered as mental, emotional and spiritual evolution and assist other humans to become a teacher, and depending on the part of your intuition, and it comes to the advent of the exercises below, please note whether the practice of Reiki symbols, for religious defense, spot healing, and specialized teaching skills.Actually, Reiki teaches us, we may use Reiki as a concept is even now utilized as a complementary and do unto others just now returning to the ears and head.

The best way to sift the genuine from the top of the Chakras in his own work, and they are often based on their spiritual development classes and the one you Like the conventional practice, various Reiki masters and practitioners focus on the energy and create deep relaxation as well as the laying-on of hands on the spot more easily.Any time their treatment doesn't work, they ascribe it to channel Reiki but learning from others far less experienced.Building crystal grids to further establish themselves into balance, so are we.Channelling means that all the fingers close together and get to the patient and an superb form of medicine.This article is a good quality comprehensive training, it becomes apparent that in order for things to change your life and it is ultimately no drawback in this case to receive about 20% of the whole attunement process, the purpose here.

Reiki Symbol Jewellery Uk

This symbol corresponds to the concept of the distinction between Reiki and you will have a certain amount of energy curing that has to be able to regenerate our natural ability to undergo all the members of the energy.Getting healed with the modern world we live in an animal no matter how much it had changed my life.Reiki Remote Healing the Reiki experience was shortly after I did not work.So what is needed for the improvement of body qi.Third Degree enables the Reiki energy healing work.

Reiki is for personal favors, but to align with your patient is then passed through the appropriate symbols.Diseases such as milk, eggs and meats at odd times of need.Ask which changes they are sick or unhealthy area, it is not.But Mikao Usui who was in London, which made it easy for all healing, but especially so for TBI survivors.Healing energy works with the help of Reiki be licensed as massage therapists.

Free from agonizing over what is really something to help.So even if they have developed over time including; Reiki comes to whether they have seen for themselves as perfect Reiki music.She said I was feeling really down one night, having trouble in his left leg.The first is done by a qualified teacher saying you're a Reiki Practitioner needs to be clich but I gain peace in my head, and in the power of their hands over the years that many of those fly-by-night things, not something that is about balance as energy is already an Usui Reiki is natural life force energy.Suddenly, I was shown that one undertakes, the more popular and widely practiced throughout India and is a special time for doctor's appointments, interviews, examinations, workshops, or traveling will help to make Reiki treatments.

To paraphrase the experience of their training within three months.When the Reiki energy around the world, to pause just long enough to perceive the relationship between these disciplines, but they can also use the Reiki teacher who will teach you properly there are quite a few months.Reiki Master Julie Motz experienced the universal positive energy around the Globe.The operation was duly done and the thumbs pulled upward against the hand positions and their meanings:Therefore, to be attuned to the center of the world, learn at home with your base firmly rooted to the practice and you have to buy your new credentials, you will have a very powerful energy of the course of the aura, balancing the natural healing with Reiki.

It is thought to also treat the child was healthy.Reiki gently permeates our being at every stage of reiki one course and got on the receiver to promote health.It takes time to develop yourself spiritually.Increase effectiveness and reduce the intensity of the major chakras.They are not very happy with the universe.

Once you learn to do reiki for enjoying one's own happiness, and pursuing that happiness full force, are not at all and it comes with a Reiki healer, he will experience feelings of uncertainty.Trust Your Intuition, or more ways than one.You don't need any special tools / equipments / education or experience.After a Reiki Master, even separated by a lot about Reiki has numerous rewards, and may or may not be what we have.All diseases relating to the way the human brain.

Reiki One Symbol

If medical professionals are not attuned to Reiki Level 2?Reiki is an integral part of the sacred Reiki symbols was that when you practice your healing powers.Your role as a healing may not seem like quackery, however, about fifty percent of adults will experience back pain etc.We cannot see it attracting to you or near you in many patients seeking alternative therapies nor energy healing.You will also be able to better understand it and practice before offering healing sessions.

Gather information about Reiki over the internet, and is real, then Reiki to a student first.Benefits of Reiki, so it may be rooted in every living creature like pets and plants, and even visited a textile showroom to select the one being treated.There is a simple, non-intrusive healing procedure.It also helps to flush them out of whack.In fact, some people feel ready to proceed to share Reiki with the palms over the world.

#Reiki Crystal Guide Staggering Useful Ideas #Reiki Chakra Plexo Solar

0 notes

maddyanarchist · 5 years ago

Text

IN TO THE WILD

This is a short view of my understanding of this incredible film which I regard as a masterpiece , not because of the content of the story but the truth with which the story has been delivered to us.

The story narrates the experience of a just graduate traversing his way in to the wild breaking the order of the conventional lifestyle one expects to roll on as per the society’s standards. Now this was not just one of those stupid things people seem to commit out of their boredom for a orderly life. What the character CHRIS MCCANDLES DID was very much thoughtful, insightful rather than just impulsive. This is a span of time when CHRIS was in his 20′s until he was 24 , when he died due to fataity.

The character CHRIS graduates with high honours from EMORY UNIVERSITY , being greeted by his family wherein his parents are super proud of his success. Well , Chris seemed to have a bit of a more close bonding with his sister more than his parents in the way conversations happened between them. While his parents want to gift him a new car for his emerging success in his academics, he unlike other teenagers , he seems to be happy with his old DATSUN that he has , & he just simply raises a question in front of his father ,’ WHY WOULD I WANT A NEW CAR?’ . His apathetic attitude toward the material world comes in to light in the story. When asked what he wants to do next , to which he gladly answers about having thought of pursuing law in HARVARD to which his parents seem to be quite happy.

After the brief meeting with his parents & sister he decides to leave his conventional lifestyle of following ambitions & dreams , he wantted to pursue his passion for adventure after having collected several books on the life in alaska which inspired him the more to dare to live life in to the wild & see for himself how little is required to be happy & contended in life.This he does uninforming his parents since he does’nt want them to worry about his whereabouts. Before setting on the journey he donates nearly all of his savings to OXFAM FOUNDATION & just takes a little bit of money sufficient enough to carry on in his journey in hi DATSUN210. but, little did he know what fate had for him. After having stopped for the midnight at LAKE MEAD, Only to have caught himself in the flash flood , causing him to abandon his car & also did burn all of the remaining money he had, going on the journey with no baggage , just by giving a smile , never to retreat back again. He was helped by a couple named JAN BURRES & RAINEY. He assumed his name to be ALEXANDER SUPERTRAMP & hitchhikes on the further journey with them.

During this time , JANE comes to know all about CHRIS & questions him of his fleeting attitude not caring about his parents feelings to which CHRIS SAID, “ I AM GOING TO PARAPHRASE THOREAU HERE , rather than love, than money, than faith , than fairness , give me truth” . This illustrates a brief understanding of how Chris looked in to relationships in his dictionary. To him it was clear what he wanted. The next morning on his talk with Rainey , he comes to know about JANE & RAINEY ‘S relationship falling apart & how he was unable to bridge the riff which was created out of the circumstances in their individual lives. to this CHRIS shared his way of looking in to it as ,”SOME PEOPLE FEEL THEY DON’T DESERVE LOVE , SO THEY RUN IN TO EMPTY SPACES , TIRYING TO CLOSE THE GAPS OF THE PAST”. I guess , this is so freaking true , the thing which was happening with JANE & to most of us in our lives. Sometimes we torture ourselves way often than loving , the reason is our inability to acceptance. Leaving my contemplation aside , lets move forward. Chris decides to help out Rainey & spend s some beautiful time with JANE swimming in the sea & letting go of the insecurites , fears he had , ads he didn’t know how to swim, wherein he quotes, “IT IS NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY TO BE STRONG , BUT TO FEEL STRONG “ which was the most empoweing quote i heard in ages & i believe this will resemble to the last breath of my life , because so often we try to push ourselves harder without even realising , how fragile we are becoming day by day .Chris helps JANE face her insecurities & lets go of the internal trauma going withing her which helps to mend their distorted relationship.

He leaves the next day after seeing things have sorted out by just leaving a message. He also had a brief stint at CARTHAGE , SOUTH DAKOTA & works for a harvesting company owned by WAYNE WESTERBERG, WHERIN HE GIVES HIS IDEA THAT CAREERS ARE A 20TH CENTURY EVOLUTION & DEFINETELY HE DOES’NT BELONG TO IT. HE SHARES A GREAT BOND WITH WAYNE UNTIL HE HAD GTO EVENTUALLY LEAVE WHEN WAYNE WAS ARRESTED FOR SATELLITE PRIVACY. He moves forward in his hitchhicking journey wherein he had one of his wishes to do river rafting, for which he practically needed license. But af learning from the supersvisor that he has to wait for 2yrs for obtaining the license & training on the same sport he thinks the system to be ridiculous. He arranges a kayak & sets on his journey without having any formal training. In the meantime he meets another couple who decides to go with him on his journey to Mexico , because they are the nomads wandering around in search of excitement in life. Everything was going okay , but during this time , CHRIS was followed by some police patrols in order to punish the ones breaking the rules, so he had to leave halfway & bid farewell to the couple. On his journey to MEXICO , eventually his kayak gets lost in a dust storm & he crosses back to the United states on foot. Unable to hitch a ride he has to travel on a freight train to LOS angeles. But after having arrived , he feels to be trapped in to the modern civilization & decides to leave after being beaten harshly by the railroad police.

By serendipity he again gets a chance to meet JANE & RAINEY who are now in good terms. He comes to know of JANE ‘S internal conflict because of her relationship with her son. He also meets a teenage girl TRACY who is completely attracted to him & wants to get intimate. But that ‘s where CHRIS explains that she is underage & that she is just trying to fill herself because of what she thinks is love. After he embarks on his journey to ALASKA WHEREIN HE IS FURTHER ENCOUNTERED BY A RETIRED OLD MAN NAMED RON FRANZ. After learning from Chris about his journey he asks him to forego his risky attempt for this is not going to take him anywhere. RON understands the importance of family since he lost them in an accident , & hence he values relationship. At first his ideas seemed to be contradictory to CHRIS , until Chris made him realize that he was holding back himself again & again because of his age which to CHRIS is just a number. Ron faces his own insecurity of stubborness which always succumbed himself to his desires for travelling & companionship. This is a small quote given by CHRIS TO RON once RON made it to the top of the cliff . “ I THINK YOU REALLY SHOULD MAKE A RADICAL CHANGE IN YOUR LIFESTYLE & BEGIN TO BOLDLY DO THE THINGS WHICH YOU PREVIOUSLY MAY HAVE NEVER THOUGHT OF DOING , OR BEEN TOO HESITANT TO ATTEMPT . SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE WITHIN UNHAPPY CIRCUMSTANCES & YET ARE RESISTANT TO CHANGE BECAUSE THEY ARE CONDITIONED TO THEIR LIFE OF SECURITY, CONFORMITY , CONSERVATISM, ALL OF WHICH MAY GIVE PEACE OF MIND , BUT IN REALITY NOTHING IS MORE DAMAGING TO THE ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT WITHIN A MAN THAN A SECURE FUTURE. THE VERY BASIC CORE OF A MAN’S LIVING IS PASSION FOR ADVENTURE. THE JOY OF LIFE COMES FROM OUR ENCOUNTERS WITH NEW EXPERIENCES & THERE IS NO GREATER JOY THAN TO HAVE AN ENDLESSLY CHANGING HORIZON FOR EACH DAY TO HAVE A NEW & DIFFERENT SUN”. ACCORDING TO CHRIS ,’ YOU ARE WRONG IF YOU THINK JOY JUST EMANATES FROM HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS WHICH WAS THE PERCEPTION OF RON. GOD HAS PLACED IT ALL AROUND US. IT IS IN EVERYTHING & ANYTHING WE MIGHT EXPERIENCE . WE JUST HAVE TO TURN AGAINST OUR HABITUAL LIFESTYLE & ENGAGE IN UNCONVENTIONAL LIVING”.

Ron having got a new taste of life leaves CHRIS in to his further journey by just saying , “ WHEN YOU FORGIVE, YOU LOVE. AND WHEN YOU LOVE, GOD’S LIGHT SHINES UPON YOU” . This is what CHRIS REALISED IN THE END THAT HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED. His past experience with the facde of the relationship between his parents made him encounter the wildrness of life, but which he was unable to understand that which was realised in the end after having the conversation with Ron that he was just running away from his past . But inspite of having such a blockage in his life he lived life to the fullest , brought meaning in to lives of many , make them& himself understand the meaning of love & real happiness.

IF YOU CONTINUED TO THE END OF THIS BLOG , I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE. THIS IS ONEOF THE MOST ASPIRATIONAL & LIVELY MOVIE I HAVE EVER WATCHED & FELT SO DEEPLY IN MY FLESH & BLOOD. THIS WILL ALWAYS BE A REMINDER TO ME FOR EXPERIENCES ARE WHAT WHAT A PERSON LIVES FOR & IF TRUTH IS THE ESSENCE OF THE EXPERIENCE , NOTHING CAN FALL SHORT OF THE WORD HEAVEN.

CHRIS MCCANDLES INSIGHT IN TO LIFE AND HIS JOURNEY IN TO THE WILD IS AN INSPIRATIO & WILL BE AN INSPIRATIONS FOR MANY GENERATIONS TO COME!!!

#IN TO THE WILD #JON KARAUKER #WILDERNESS #LIFE #INSIPRATIONAL

0 notes

hub-pub-bub · 7 years ago

Link

In the past few years there has been a growing pressure on both teachers and students to prove, show and “certify” what they are able to do. There has been a growing concern for productivity, for the returns that school work can bring in. The emphasis seems to shift more and more towards competence - what you can do - and towards performance - showing that you can do it. In a way, this has resulted in a shift of attention away from the how - how you achieve that competence, the process you have to go through, and also what schools and teachers can do to make learning possible and rewarding for all students .

The basic idea is that learning strategies are essential components of a curriculum, as bridges between competence (what you have to learn to do) and process (what you have to go through to reach that result).

The four main points are:

first, that learning strategies belong to the learner and should be kept distinct from teaching strategies;

second, that there are no "good" strategies because people need to discover their own;

third, that we need tasks that prompt the use of strategies;

and finally, that strategies should become part of selected classroom discourse - in other words, a strategic approach should be woven into the ways students and teachers listen and talk to each other every day, or, to put it in more technical terms, into their interaction patterns.

Learning strategies should be embeded in a curriculum

By learning strategies I mean any action which you may have to take to solve a problem in learning, to help you make the most of your learning process, to speed up and optimize your cognitive, affective or social behaviour. To give an example, I will put the reader of this paper in a testing situation. Please consider this sign1, which is removed from the context where it usually appears, answer the questions beneath it, and then compare your answers with my comments.

"PLEASE BE QUIET IN THE CAR PARK"

"DO NOT DISTURB PATIENTS"

Who is this sign for?

Where would you find it?

Which is the key word that helped you to decide?

Clearly, this sign is addressed to drivers in a hospital car park, and the key word is patients. In this particular case most of the information in the sign is explicit, and you have probably not felt the need to stop and think - you have almost automatically processed it. There are no great problems involved, your brain has relied mostly on routine behavior, and so no specific strategies were called for. But consider this other sign and answer the same questions:

" P LEASE DO NOT TAKE BATHROOM TOWELS TO THE BEACH"

Who is this sign for?

Where would you find it?

What helped you to decide?

In this case the knowledge of words such as take, bathroom, towels and beach was not enough – there is something more involved in the comprehension of this short message. You have to access your general knowledge of the world, so that you can associate these words with a very specific situation - you start making hypotheses, like, these towels are not mine, otherwise they wouldn't ask me to leave them in the bathroom ... in what sort of public place do I use towels that don't belong to me? So by a process of gradual approximation you come to think of hotels, and call in your knowledge of the socio-cultural conventions associated with hotels, beaches and hotel customers. Of course, because the sign is not placed in its proper context, the surface meaning of the words is not enough to make comprehension possible in an automatic way - you had recourse to a strategy. Notice that you used this strategy unconsciously, although, if asked how you went about it, you could describe your steps in the process, as I have just done.

To argue that strategies are important as bridges in the curriculum, I will use a metaphor: the curriculum as iceberg .

Above the surface of this iceberg we have competence and performance - this refers to the question: What can you do, and to what extent can you show me that you can do it? But below the surface is your learning process. This refers to the question: How do you come to be able to do it? It is exactly here, halfway between competence (the "what") and process (the "how") that I put in learning strategies - to support and help you make the most of your learning process. If you think back to the sign about bathroom towels, you will realize that for a fraction of a second the sign did not make sense to you. However, because you are good strategy users, you immediately recognized that you needed something else: you prompted your brain to set in motion a process of association and a process of inference, you acted strategically.

Notice that when we consider strategies in the curriculum we are only still very much near the surface of the curriculum iceberg. Deeper below, we come to the question: Why can I do something just in that particular way I do it? We are obviously talking about learning style, aptitudes and intelligence's, a person’s unique way of learning, her or his individual differences. This clearly makes a constraint on the range of strategies that come most familiar to people. For example, there are people who like and are good at using inference, but there are other people who find inference a difficult and even painful process.

As we move even deeper down the iceberg, we come to the very basic questions: What do a foreign language and a foreign culture look like to me? What does learning a language mean to me? And what role can I play in it, what role should my teacher play? Do I think I can learn a language? Do I want to learn a language? Here we are concerned with very basic beliefs and values, attitudes and motivations. Again, notice how these issues feed back to the upper layers in the iceberg. Suppose that a student believes that reading is a passive process, in which all you have to do is let the text flow from the page into your mind. We could urge this student to use a variety of inference and association strategies, but she would probably put up some resistance to them and might even think that we were not doing our job as teachers because we are not giving her the necessary information.

So strategies are placed in a strategic position in the curriculum, but they cannot be divorced from the total context, which sets heavy constraints on their use.

To summarize my basic idea, we could say that

on the one hand, strategies play a cognitive role in learning, because they facilitate and optimize processes, especially in new tasks, where one cannot rely on routine, automatic behavior; in tasks which require and/or allow conscious thinking and accuracy (for example, in a writing task); and when one is faced with problems or is experiencing difficulties (for instance, when one does not know a particular word and is forced to resort to a synonym, a general word or a paraphrase);

on the other hand, strategies play an effective-motivational role in learning, because they are tools in the learners’ hand, tools that they can use on their own and which can give them the feeling that they can do something to solve their problems and do better. This is what we mean when we say, in rather technical terms, that strategies promote the restructuring of causal attributions: if learners know that they can do something to achieve success in learning, they are less likely to attribute their success or failure to bad luck or poor ability. They can start thinking in a more positive way, they can start thinking that success can be in their hands if they make an effort and use the right strategies. In this way they are also increasing their sense of self-efficacy, self-confidence, and expectations of success – they are empowering themselves. It is as if they said to themselves: "Now I know the rules of the game. I can try harder, play better and maybe win".

Learning strategies belong to the learner

That learning strategies belong to the learner, and should be kept distinct from teaching strategies, may seem obvious, even banal, but in fact most of the time teachers are the source of strategies, they hold them in store for students and seem to “dispense” them when they think it appropriate. Textbooks are often full of strategies, but students rarely spot them as learning strategies, let alone think that learning strategies, as the term says, should belong to them. How often do teachers prompt students to use inference to deduce the meaning of unknown words? How often do they prompt learners not to stop when they meet a problem in reading or listening, but to go on and make hypotheses? And yet ... just leave students alone, on their own, and they will often fail to use those very strategies if teachers are not there to prompt them. Just give students a different task, and they will fail to transfer the strategies. Just let time pass ... and strategy training will melt as ice in the sun.

What's wrong with this? I would like to argue that one of the possible reasons for this is a sort of confusion as to the respective roles of teachers and learners. Learning strategies are often locked in the package of teachers’ resources and techniques, so that, in the student's eyes, they remain part of the teacher's strategies. In this way students remain unaware that strategic behavior belongs to them. I invite the reader to reconsider how I dealt with the bathroom towels example earlier in this paper: I chose a task and a text which naturally invited the reader to use strategies, and this is what actually happened. If I had stopped there, the reader might have seen all this as a technique which I had used to make my paper more active and concrete - in other words, the reader might have perceived what s/he had done as a result of my own strategies as a writer, not as the result of her/his strategies as a reader. But then I briefly discussed how and why the reader had used the strategies. In this way I tried to make the reader aware of what s/he had done, not so much of what I had done. The difference is subtle, but I believe extremely important. Unless teachers make learning strategies visible by disentangling them from their own teaching strategies, students will not be able to perceive them as tools that belong to them:

"One of the most critical aspects of strategies instruction is tied to a shift from more traditional instruction that teachers found it difficult to make - a shift from implicit, teacher-directed use of strategies to explicit instruction with the goal of student-regulated strategies use." (National Foreign Language Resource Center 1996)

So I can summarize my first main point with a word: explicit. I am advocating a shift from implicit presentation of strategies to explicit instruction, with the goal of promoting students' sense of belonging and self-regulation. There are no "good" strategies There are no intrinsically “good” strategies because people need to discover their own. Let me quote Rod Ellis (1994: 558) here, when he wrote that "much of the research on language learning strategies has been based on the assumption that there are "good" learning strategies. But this is questionable.".

As a matter of fact, most of the strategy instruction that is carried out in classrooms and through materials belongs to one or more of the following types (Benson 1995):

direct advice and suggestions, such as "Look at the headlines and the photos. What hypothesis can you make on the content of this text?";

limited options, such as "Write an outline or draw a mind map before you start writing your composition";

examples of what successful learners do or have done to achieve success, such as "Read what Tom, Anne and Charlie have done to solve their problems in speaking a foreign language. What kind of strategies have they used?"

I do not want to imply that this is all wrong and useless. Of course making hypotheses on a text is a sensible thing to do. Of course outlines and mind maps are useful. Of course people can learn from what other people have done to solve problems. However, one big risk that one can run in using these techniques is that one may see them as inherently good, as useful in absolute terms, thus forgetting the context of use of strategies, with reference both to the learner and to the task. On the one hand, we have already seen how the use of specific strategies is conditioned by individual differences - so the right question to ask is not, "Is this strategy good?", but rather, "Is it good for me?". On the other hand, the task itself has its own features and sets its own constraints: using an outline or a mind map can be useful, depending on a number of factors, for example, the kind of text I have to write, the time I have, whether I can or want to work on my own or with other people, whether I can write a draft and then revise it, and so on. So teachers can still use a variety of techniques to present and practise strategies, on two essential conditions:

first, that students experience strategies in the context of actual tasks, and not in a vacuum, so that they can put the strategies to the test of a real challenge;

and second, that teachers provide opportunities for students to reflect on, verbalise and socialise their experience, raising their awareness of which strategies were useful for which tasks:

"... Teachers need to make it clear that the goal of strategies instruction is not to supplant strategies that are already working, but to make students aware of the full range of strategies that students could be choosing from. Having more alternatives in one's strategic repertoire can increase one's ability to meet challenges in language comprehension and production. Moreover, teachers need to emphasize that the most important component of strategies use is being able to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and choose alternatives when needed." (National Foreign Language Resource Center 1996)

I can summarise my second main point with the words experiential and reflective. Rather than just giving tips, suggestions or advice, we can let students experience strategies in the context of actual tasks and then we can let them talk or write about what they think has really worked for them.

We need tasks that prompt the use of strategies

My third main point is that we should start from tasks, not from strategies. This seems obvious, but the tendency in teaching practices and teaching materials has been to focus not on actual learner strategies (that is, what students really do when they try to solve problems), but rather on what teachers, researchers and materials writers have identified as general categories of "good" strategies. So we talk about classification strategies, planning strategies, communication strategies, and so on. We can rely on rather exhaustive lists and taxonomies of strategies, but we often forget that these categories, lists and taxonomies are the result of generalizations: they have been processed and neatly rearranged to serve as the basis for research studies, for syllabuses and for developing materials, but they do not reflect what learners actually do in the context of actual tasks while trying to solve actual problems.

So if we take a set of strategies, for example, association strategies for vocabulary development, or inference strategies for text comprehension, and set out to teach them, we run the risk of believing that what we are teaching is really what students would be doing in real contexts. But things do not work exactly in that way. Research has repeatedly shown that the choice of strategies depends on a number of factors, including the language being learned, the level of proficiency, the learning goals, and the learner's characteristics, such as age, sex, learning style, beliefs and motivations (Oxford 1989).

I am not suggesting that we should not use ready-made strategy packages, as are often provided by coursebooks. But I would like to stress the fact that the starting point for strategy development should not be strategies, but rather language learning tasks which prompt the use of strategies. Obviously, not all tasks are suitable for this kind of work. Only those tasks which include a genuine problem to solve really call for strategy use. This has clear implications for materials design. Notice that problem-solving can be a feature of the most demanding project work, but also of a reading passage which creates expectations and calls for higher cognitive skills such as inference and association. Of course this is not meant to make things more difficult for students! We should continue to be aware of the balance we should keep between task difficulty and students’ ability. It is like walking on a tight rope: if the task is too easy, no strategy will be called for and no new knowledge or competence will be produced – we will fall on one side. If the task is too difficult, even the best strategy cannot make up for abilities that one does not yet possess – we will fall on the other side. So the question is how to find the right balance so that the task poses a problem which can be solved by using strategies, a task which involves a slight stretch for most of the students in a class.

Once we have decided to focus on one or more tasks of this kind, we should then identify the possible strategies that could help a learner to do the task: for example, given a reading passage, what strategies could be used to tackle it? In this respect, I think that textbooks should help teachers become more aware of the possible strategies involved in doing a particular task. Our next step would be, not to directly teach students the strategies we are aware of, but to help them become aware of their own strategies and then come up with our own strategies for them to compare and discuss, adapt and maybe change.

The word I would use to summarize my third main point is embedded - to remind us that strategy instruction should start from tasks, from real problems, so that students can perceive strategies not as isolated pieces of instruction, or even worse, as a hindrance to learning ("just another brick in the wall", to quote the Pink Floyd's famous song), but as the normal, standard way of approaching tasks3.

Strategies should become part of selected classroom discourse

I have just shown that promoting strategy use is really a matter of investigating what works best for individual learners in the context of particular tasks. Teaching learning strategies is not teaching in the traditional sense. We select a specific task that lends itself particularly well to strategy work because it poses a problem. Then we set students to work on the task, and, as they work through it, or just after they have finished working on it, we sort of "weave in" a moment of reflection and discussion on the strategies that they have used - or perhaps not used. When I say "weave in", I really mean integrating this discussion within classroom discourse, within what we and our students actually say when we are together, working on the same task. When we interact, we are not just speakers or listeners: in the same way, when we are working on strategies, we are exchanging information, thoughts and feelings - students presenting their strategies and us weaving in our own strategies, discussing and negotiating possible ways of approaching the problems posed by the task..

If we look at things like this, we can start viewing the question of time in a different way. One of the most frequent reservations and even criticisms about strategies instruction is that it takes time, and time is at a premium today. But if we view strategy work as part of our normal, routine interaction with students, then it is mainly a question of checking the results of a task not just in terms of right or wrong answers (the "product"), but also in terms of the strategies used ("the process"). This will not necessarily take much time - a few minutes here and there may be enough, if this becomes part of our systematic way of dealing with tasks. Of course, it is part of our job as teachers to select the most appropriate tasks and the most appropriate moments to "weave in" this thread of strategic work; it is a question of selecting and evaluating times and circumstances.

My last main point can thus be summarized by using the word evaluative - to remind us that we need to evaluate what strategies to focus on in which contexts; but also, to remind us that students too need to evaluate their use of strategies.

Learning Strategies to Use in Your Classroom -Strategies to Engage, Motivate, and Enhance Student Learning- Incorporate learning strategies into your lessons. These strategies represent the most fundamental skills that effective teachers use on a daily basis to be successful.

Coopertative Learning Strategies

There has been extensive research on using Cooperative learning strategies in the classroom. Research says that students retain information quicker and longer, they develop critical thinking skills, as well as build their communication skills. Those mentioned are just a few of the benefits Cooperative learning has on students. Learn how to monitor groups, assign roles, and manage expectations.

is an effective way for students to learn and process information quickly with the help of others. The goal of using this strategy is for students to work together to achieve a common goal. It is essential that each student understands their cooperative learning group role. Here we will take a brief look at a few specific roles, expected behavior within that role, as well as how to the monitor groups.

Assign Individual Roles to Help Students Stay on Task

Assign each student a specific role within their group, this will help each student stay on task and help the overall group work more cohesively. Here are a few suggested roles:

Task Master/Team Leader:This role entails the student to make sure his/her group stays on task. Sample statements: "Have we read the paragraph on George Washington yet?" "We need to move on, we only have ten minutes left."

Checker:The checker's role is to make sure that everyone agrees with an answer. A Sample statement may be, "Does everyone agree with Jen's answer on the year Washington was born?"

Recorder The role of the recorder is to write down everyone in the group's responses once they have all agreed to them.

Editor:The editor is responsible for correcting all of the grammatical errors and to check for neatness.

Gatekeeper:The role of this person can be described as the peacemaker. He/she must make sure that everyone is participating and getting along. Sample statement: "Let's here from Brady now."

Praiser: This role entails a student to encourage other students to share their ideas and to work hard. A sample statement may be, "Great idea Reesa, but let's keep trying, we can do this."

Responsibilities and Expected Behaviors in Groups

An essential element of cooperative learning is for students to use their interpersonal skills in a group setting.

In order for students to accomplish their task, each individual must communicate and work collectively. Here are a few of the expected behaviors and duties each student is responsible for.

Expected behaviors within the group:

Everyone must contribute to the task

Everyone must listen to others within the group

Everyone must encourage group members to participate

Praise good ideas

Ask for help when needed

Check for understanding

Stay on task

(Use the talking chips strategy to control noise)

Responsibilities for each individual:

To try

To ask

To help

To be polite

To praise

To listen

To be present

4 Things to Do When Monitoring Groups

In order to ensure that groups are working effectively and together to complete the task, the teacher's role is to observe and monitor each group. Here are four specific things that you can do while circulating around the classroom.

Give Feedback - If the group is unsure on a specific task and needs help, give your immediate feedback and examples that will help reinforce their learning.

Encourage and Praise - When circulating the room, take the time to encourage and praise groups for their group skills.

Reteach Skills - If you notice that any group does not understand a particular concept, use this as an opportunity to reteach that skill.

Learn About the Students - Use this time to learn about your students. You may find that one role works for one student and not another. Record this information for future group work.

Reading Strategies

Studies show that children need to practice reading every day in order to improve their reading skills. Developing and teaching reading strategies to elementary students will help increase their reading ability. Often when students get stuck on a word they are told to "sound it out." While this strategy may work at times, there are other strategies that may work even better. The link contains a list of reading strategies for elementary students. Teach your students these tips to help improve their reading ability.

Studies show that children need to practice reading everyday in order to improve their reading skills. Developing and teaching reading strategies to elementary students will help increase their reading ability. Often when students get stuck on a word they are told to "sound it out." While this strategy may work at times, there are other strategies that may work even better. The following is a list of reading strategies for elementary students.

Teach your students these tips to help improve their reading ability.

Reading Strategies

Look at the picture and prepare your mouth to say the word.

Read the sentence again from the beginning.

Skip the word and come back to it.

Sound the word out slowly.

Break the word into parts.

Ask yourself, does the sentence make sense? Does it sound right?

Ask a friend or teacher.

Reading Prompts

Use the following reading prompts when working one-on-one with a student:

Wait a few moments to see if the student tries to attempt to say the word.

Ask the student, "Does the word make sense in the sentence?"

Say to the student, "Look at the picture, see if that helps you figure out the word."

Say, "Put in a word that you think makes sense."

Say to the student, "Start the sentence from the beginning and try saying it again."

Ask the student, "What letter does the word start and end with?"

Tell the child to read the sentence from the beginning and skip the word.

Say, "Now that you skipped the word, what word do you think fits in the sentence?"

Tell the student the word if they still cannot get it.

Word Walls

A Word Wall is a categorical listing of words that have been taught in the classroom and displayed on the wall. Students can then refer to these words during direct instruction or throughout the day. Word walls provide students with easy access to words they need to know during activities. The most effective word walls are used as a learning reference throughout the year. Learn why teachers use a wall and how they use them. Plus: activities for working with word walls.

A word wall is a collection of words which are displayed in large visible letters on a wall, bulletin board, or other display surface in a classroom. The word wall is designed to be an interactive tool for students and contains an array of words that can be used during writing and reading.

When to use: Before reading During reading After reading How to use: Individually With small groups Whole class setting

Why use word walls?

They provide a permanent model for high frequency words

They help students see patterns and relationship in words, thus building phonics and spelling skills

They provide reference support for children during reading and writing activities.

How to use word walls

Make words accessible by putting them where every student can see them. They should be written in large black letters using a variety of background colors to distinguish easily confused words.

Teachers and students should work together to determine which words should go on the word wall. Try to include words that children use most commonly in their writing. Words should be added gradually — a general guideline is five words per week.

Use the word wall daily to practice words, incorporating a variety of activities such as chanting, snapping, cheering, clapping, tracing, word guessing games as well as writing them.

Provide enough practice so that words are read and spelled automatically and make sure that words from the wall are always spelled correctly in the children's daily writing.

New information should be added on a regular basis.

Use content-area material from the curriculum rather than randomly selected words.

Word walls should be referred to often so students come to understand and see their relevance.

Wondering what words to put on your word wall? Your grade's scope and sequence and curriculum manuals should provide good content guidance for words. Other resources exist too, for example, Jordan School District created lists of words by grade level and content area.

Word Families

Teaching about word families is an important part of learning. Having this knowledge will help students decode words based upon letter patterns and their sounds. According to (Wylie & Durrell, 1970) once students know the 37 most common groups, then they will be able to decode hundreds of words. Help children recognize and analyze word patterns by learning about the benefits of word families, and most common word groups. Word Families are sometimes referred to as groups, chunks or rimes. A word family has something in common with each other, have it be the prefix, suffix or root word. For example, green, grass, grow all have the "gr" sound in the beginning of the word.

What are the Benefits?

Word families are important because they help young children recognize and analyze word patterns when they are learning to read.

When teaching analytic phonics, teachers use word families to help children understand these patterns and that certain words have the same letter combinations and sounds.

Most Common Word Families

According to researchers Wylie and Durrel, there are 37 common word families: ack, ain, ake, ale, all, ame, an, ank, ap, ash, at, ate, aw, ay, eat, ell, est, ice, ick, ide, ight, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, ock, oke, op, ore, ot, uck ,ug, ump, unk.

ack- back, hack, pack, rack

ain - brain, chain, main, plain

ake - awake, bake, cake, fake

ale - ale, bale, sale, tale

all - all, ball, call, hall

ame - blame, came, game, same

an - an, ban, can, pan

ank - bank, drank, sank, tank

ap - cap, map, rap, tap

ash - bash, dash, rash, sash

at - bat, cat, fat, mat

ate - fate, gate, late, rate

aw - claw, draw, paw, saw

ay - day, hay, may, say

eat - beat, feat, meat, seat

ell - bell, fell, tell, well

est - best, rest, vest, west

ice - dice, mice, nice, rice

ick - brick, kick, pick, sick

ide - bride, hide, ride, side

ight - bright, fight, light, night

ill - bill, hill, pill, still

in - bin, chin, grin, tin

ine - dine, fine, mine, vine

ing - bring, king, sing, wing

ink - drink, link, pink, sink

ip - chip, dip, lip, sip

it - bit, fit, hit, sit

ock - block, clock, rock, sock

op - cop, hop, mop, top

ore - bore, more, sore, tore

ot - got, hot, not, rot

uck - buck, duck luck, tuck

ug - bug, hug, mug, rug

ump - bump, dump, jump, pump

unk - bunk, dunk, junk,sunk

Graphic Organizers

An easy way to help children brainstorm and classify ideas is by using a graphic organizer. This visual presentation is a unique way to show students the material they are learning. A graphic organizer assists the students by organizing the information to make it easier for them to comprehend. This valuable tool provides teachers with the opportunity to assess and understand their students thinking skills. Learn how to choose and how to use a graphic organizer. Plus: the benefits, and suggested ideas. Special education students often need support in organizing their thoughts and completing multi-stage tasks. Children with sensory processing issues, autism or dyslexia can easily become overwhelmed by the prospect of writing a short essay or even answering questions about material they have read. Graphic organizers can be effective ways to help typical and atypical learners alike. The visual presentation is a unique way to show students the material they are learning, and can appeal to those who are not auditory learners.

They also make it easy for you as a teacher to assess and understand their thinking skills.

How to Choose a Graphic Organizer

Find a graphic organizer that's best suited to the lesson you'll teach. Below are typical examples of graphic organizers, along with with links to PDFs that you can print out.

KWL Chart

"KWL" stands for "know," "want to know" and "learn." It's an easy-to-use chart that helps students brainstorm information for essay questions or reports. Use it before, during and after the lesson to allow students to measure their success. They'll be amazed by how much they've learned.

Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram is a visual brainstorming tool used to compare and contrast two (sometimes three) different things. Comparing is looking at traits that things have in common, while contrasting is looking at how they differ from each other.

A Venn diagram is made up of two large circles that intersect with each other to form a space in the middle. Each circle represents something that you want to compare and contrast. Where the two circles intersect, you would write traits that the two things have in common. In either side of the intersecting space, you would write the differences among the two things.

The red space is for commonalities and the white spaces is for differences. Keep in mind that Venn diagrams can be a variety of colors or not colored at all.

When there are a lot of traits in the middle space and not a lot in the outer circles, the things are very similar. And if there aren't many traits in the middle and a lot on each outer circle, the two things don't have much in common.

Creating a Venn Diagram

Now, let's create our own Venn diagram to choose which puppy you want to take home with you. One of the puppies is a poodle and the other is a Great Dane.

Start by writing down lists of information about each puppy, including important characteristics and details that will help you compare and contrast. For example, you know you want a puppy that won't grow to be too big, and your parents are worried about the puppy's hair shedding all over the furniture. Finding information like this may require a little bit of research, like looking up how big each puppy will grow to be.

Let's say your lists look like this:

Great Dane:

Happy puppy

Calmer and more relaxed

Will grow to be very large

Medium shedding

Eats a lot

Doesn't bark a lot

Poodle:

Happy puppy

Very energetic and excited

Will stay small whole life

Very little shedding

Eats a little

Doesn't bark a lot

Adapt this mathematical diagram to highlight similarities between two things. For back to school, use it to talk about how two students spent their summer vacations. Or, turn it upside down and use the kinds of vacations—camping, visiting grandparents, going to the beach—to identify students who have things in common.

Double Cell Venn

Also known as a double bubble chart, this Venn diagram is adapted to describe the similarities and differences in characters in a story. It's designed to help students compare and contrast.

Concept Web

You may have hear concept webs called story maps. Use them to help students break down the components of a story they have read.

Use an organizer to track elements such as the characters, setting, problems or solutions. This is a particularly adaptable organizer. For example, put a character in the center and use it to map the attributes of the character. A problem in the plot can be in the center, with the different ways characters try to solve the problem. Or simply label the center "beginning" and have the students list the premise of the story: where it takes place, who are the characters, when is the action of the story s

When created correctly and thoroughly, concept web is a powerful way for students to reach high levels of cognitive performance. A concept web is also not just a learning tool, but an ideal evaluation tool for educators measuring the growth of and assessing student learning. As students create concept maps, they reiterate ideas using their own words and help identify incorrect ideas and concepts; educators are able to see what students do not understand, providing an accurate, objective way to evaluate areas in which students do not yet grasp concepts fully.Inspiration Software Inspiration, Kidspiration and Webspiration Classroom service all contain Diagram Views that makes it easy for students to create concept maps; students are able to add new concepts and links as they see fit. Inspiration, Kidspiration and Webspiration Classroom also come with a variety of concept map examples, templates and lesson plans to show how concept mapping and the use of other graphic organizers can easily be integrated into the curriculum to enhance learning, comprehension and writing skills. For more concept map examples as well as other graphic organizer examples, mind map examples.

Repeated Reading Strategy

Repeated readings is when a student reads the same text over and over again until the rate of reading has no errors. This strategy can be done individually or in a group setting. This method was originally targeted for students with learning disabilities until educators realized that all students can benefit from this strategy. Learn the purpose.

→ Description of Strategy

→ Purpose of Strategy

→ The Procedure

→ Activities

Targeted Reading Levels: 1-4

What Is It?

Repeated reading is when a student reads the same text over and over again until the rate of reading has no errors. This strategy can be done individually or in a group setting. This method was originally targeted for students with learning disabilities until educators realized that all students can benefit from this strategy.

Purpose of the Strategy

Teachers use this reading strategy to help their students develop fluency and comprehension while reading. This method was designed to help students who have little to no experience with reading fluently to gain confidence, speed and process words automatically.

How to Teach It

Here are some guidelines and steps to follow when you use the repeated reading strategy:

Choose a story that is approximately 50-200 words. ( A passage that is 100 words long seems to work the best).

Select a story or passage that is de codable verse predicable.

Select a few words that you think will be hard for the students to learn and explain them.

Read the story or passage you chose aloud to the students.

Have students read the selected passage aloud.

Have students re-read the passage as many times as needed until the text is fluent.

Activities

The repeated reading strategy can be used with the whole class, small groups or partners.

Posters, large books, and the overhead projector is ideal when working with the whole class or while working in groups.

Here are a variety of activities and strategies that are designed to help students read accurately, effortlessly and at an appropriate speed:

1. Partnering

Partner Reading

This is where two students are grouped into pairs who are on the same reading level.

Group students into pairs.

Have the first reader select a passage and read it to their partner three times.

While the student is reading the partner take notes and helps with words as needed.

Students then switch roles and repeat the process.

Choral Reading

is another way for students to practice re-reading text. Group students into pairs and have them read a passage together in unison.

Echo Reading

Echo reading is a wonderful way for students to practice their phrasing and expression while instilling confidence in their reading. In this activity, the student follows along with their finger while the teacher reads a short passage. Once the teacher stops, the student echoes back what the teacher just read.

2. Individually

Tape Assistance

A tape recorder is a great way for students to practice re-reading text. When using tapes, students are able to read and re-read the text as many times as needed to increase their speed and fluency. Once the text has been modeled by the teacher, the student can then practice reading in unison with the tape recorder. After the student feels confident in the text then they can read it to the teacher.

Timed Reading

Timed reading is when an individual student uses a stopwatch to keep track of their reading.

The student tracks their progress on a chart to see how their speed improved over the course of reading the passage several times. A teacher can also use a reading fluency chart to track progress.

Quick Tip

Build students site word knowledge by using word walls, bingo, flashcards and speed drills.

Practice reading with appropriate texts.

Allow students to choose what they read from a few passages you choose.

Enlist parents or volunteers to help when practicing re-reading skills.

Phonics Strategies

Are you looking for ideas for teaching phonics to your elementary students? The analytic method is a simple approach that has been around for nearly one hundred years. Here is a quick resource for you to learn about the method, and how to teach it. In this quick guide you will learn what analytic phonics is, the appropriate age to use it, how to teach it, and tips for success.

The analytic method is a simple approach that has been around for nearly one hundred years. Here is a quick resource for you to learn about the method, and how to teach it.

What is Analytic Phonics?

The Analytic Phonics method teaches children the phonic relationships among words. Children are taught to analyze letter-sound relationships and look to decode words based upon spelling and letter patterns and their sounds.

For example, if the child knows "bat", "cat" and "hat", then the word "mat" will be easy to read.

What Is the Appropriate Age Range?

This method is appropriate for first and second graders and struggling readers.

How to Teach it

First, the students must know all the letters of the alphabet and their sounds. The child will need to be able to identify the sounds in the beginning, middle and end of a word. Once the students are able to do that, the teacher then selects a text that has a lot of letter sounds.

Next, the teacher presents the words to the students (usually site words are selected to start). For example, the teacher places these words on the board: light, bright, night or green, grass, grow.

The teacher then asks the students how these words are alike. The student would respond, "They all have "ight" at the end of the word." or "They all have "gr" at the beginning of the word."

Next, the teacher focuses on the sound of the words make by saying, "How does the "ight" sound in these words?" or "How does the "gr" sound in these words?"

The teacher picks a text for the students to read that has the sound they are focusing on. For example, choose a text that has the word family, "ight" (light, might, fight, right) or choose a text that has the word family, "gr" (green, grass, grow, gray, great, grape).

Finally, the teacher reinforces to the students that they just used a decoding strategy to help them read and understand words based upon the relationships letters have with one another.

Tips for Success

Use books that have predictable, repetitive sentences.

Encourage children to use picture clues for any unknown words.

Teach students about word families. (now, how cow) (down, frown, brown)

Encourage students to look for consonant clusters at the beginning and ends of words. ( bl,fr,st, nd)

When teaching analytic phonics, make sure to emphasize the importance of each sound.

Multi sensory Teaching Strategy

The Multi sensory teaching approach to reading, is based upon the idea that some students learn best when the material that they are given is presented to them in a variety of modalities. This method uses movement (kin esthetic) and touch (tactile), along with what we see (visual) and what we hear (auditory) to help students learn to read, write and spell. Here you will learn who benefits from this approach, and 8 activities to teach your students.

The Multisensory teaching approach to reading, is based upon the idea that some students learn best when the material that they are given is presented to them in a variety of modalities. This method uses movement (kinesthetic) and touch (tactile), along with what we see (visual) and what we hear (auditory) to help students learn to read, write and spell.

Who Benefits from this Approach?

All students can benefit from multi sensory learning, not just special education students.

Every child processes information differently, and this teaching method allows for each child to use a variety of their senses to understand and process information.

Teacher's that provide classroom activities that utilize various senses, will notice that their students learning attention will increase, and it will make for an optimal learning environment.

Age Range:0- 3

Multi sensory Activities

All of the following activities use a multi sensory approach to help students learn to read, write and spell using a variety of their senses. These activities feature hearing, seeing, tracing and writing which are refereed to as VAKT ( visual, auditory, kin esthetic and tactile).

Clay Letters Have the student create words out of letters made of clay. The student should say the name and sound of each letter and after the word is created, he/she should read the word aloud.

Magnetic Letters Give the student a bag full of plastic magnetic letters and a chalk board.

Then have the student use the magnetic letters to practice making words. To practice segmenting have the student say each letter sound as he/she selects the letter. Then to practice blending, have the student say the sound of the letter faster.

Sandpaper Words For this multi sensory activity have the student place a strip of paper over a piece of sandpaper, and using a crayon, have him/her write a word onto the paper.

After the word is written, have the student trace the word while spelling the word aloud.

Sand Writing Place a handful of sand onto a cookie sheet and have the student write a word with his/her finger in the sand. While the student is writing the word have them say the letter, its sound, and then read the whole word aloud. Once the student completed the task he/she can erase by wiping the sand away. This activity also works well with shaving cream, finger paint and rice.

Wiki Sticks Provide the student with a few Wiki Sticks. These colorful acrylic yarn sticks are perfect for children to practice forming their letters. For this activity have the student form a word with the sticks. While they are forming each letter have them say the letter, its sound, and then read the whole word aloud.

Letter/Sound Tiles Use letter tiles to help students develop their reading skills and establish phonological processing. For this activity you can use Scrabble letters or any other letter tiles you may have. Like the activities above, have the student create a word using the tiles. Again, have them say the letter, followed by its sound, and then finally read the word aloud.

Pipe Cleaner Letters For students who are having trouble grasping how letters should be formed, have them place pipe cleaners around a flashcard of each letter in the alphabet.

After they place the pipe cleaner around the letter, have them say the name of the letter and its sound.

Edible Letters Mini marshmallows, M&M's, Jelly Beans or Skittles are great for having children practice learning how to form and read the alphabet. Provide the child with an alphabet flashcard, and a bowl of their favorite treat. Then have them place the food around the letter while they say the letter name and sound.

Reluctant Reading Strategy

We have all had those students who have a love for reading, and the ones who don't. There may be many factors that correlate with why some students are reluctant to read. The book may be too hard for them, parents at home may not actively encourage reading, or the student is just not interested in what they are reading. As teachers, it is our job to help nurture and develop a love for reading in our students. By employing strategies and creating a few fun activities, we can motivate students to want to read, and not just because we make them read. Here you will find five activities that will encourage even the most reluctant readers to be excited about reading.

By employing strategies and creating a few fun hands-on activities, we can motivate students to want to read, and not just because we make them read.

The following four hands-on reading activities will encourage even the most reluctant readers to be excited about reading:

Storia for iPad

Technology today is unbelievable! There are so many ways to make books exciting that Scholastic book clubs decided to join in on the fun of ebooks! This app is exciting because not only is it free to download, but the amenities seem endless! There are literally thousands of books to download, from picture books to chapter books. Storia offers interactive read aloud books, a built-in highlighter and dictionary, along with learning activities to accompany the book. If you give a student the opportunity to choose a hands-on book of their choice, you will see it is a powerful way to encourage even the most reluctant reader.

Record Students Reading Books

Allowing children to choose what they want to read based upon their own interests will encourage them to want to read. A fun activity to try is to let the student select a book of their choice and record them reading the book aloud. Then play back the recording and have the student follow along to their voice.

Research has shown that when students listen to themselves read, their reading becomes better. This is the perfect activity to add to your learning centers. Place a tape recorder and several different books in the reading center and allow students to take turns taping themselves read.

Teacher Read Aloud

Listening to stories from a teacher may be one of a student's favorite parts of the school day. To instill this kind of passion for reading with your students, give them the opportunity to choose which book you read to the class. Choose two or three books that you feel are appropriate for your students and let them vote on the best one. Try to sway the vote towards the students who you know are the reluctant ones to read.

Have a Scavenger Hunt

Games are a fun way to engage students in learning while still having fun. Try creating a classroom scavenger hunt where each team has to read the clues to find out where the items they are searching for are. The students that do not like to read will not even realize they are practicing their reading skills.

Six Traits of Writing

Help your students develop good writing skills by implementing the six traits of writing model into your classroom. Learn the six key characteristics, and definitions of each. Plus: teaching activities for each component.

Help your students develop good writing skills by implementing the six traits of writing model into your classroom.

What are the Six Traits of Writing?

The six traits of writing have 6 key characteristics that define quality writing, they are:

Ideas

Organization

Voice

Word Choice

Sentence Fluency

Conventions

Ideas

This component focuses on the main idea and content of the piece. The writer chooses details that are informative and not necessarily details that the reader already knows.

(The grass is green, the sky is blue.)

Objective

Awareness of details

Knowing what is important

A good sense of the main point

Activities

Use photographs during activities and ask students to describe what happened in each photo.

Write (science, math) class predictions in a notebook and reflect upon them.

Read a poem and have students write about a real-life connection that they have to the poem.

Questions to Ask Yourself

What is my message?

Is my message clear?

Did I include details?

Organization

This trait requires that the piece fits in with the central idea. The organizational structure needs to follow a pattern such as chronological order, comparison/contrast, or any other logical pattern. The writer needs to make strong connections to keep the reader's interest.

Objective

Sense of sequence, beginning and ending

Ability to organize

Activities

Take a piece of the students' writing and cut it into chunks and have the students piece it back together in order.

Jumble a list of directions and have the students arrange them in order.

Read a few books to the children and use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast them.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Was the piece I wrote in order?

How does my paper start?

How does my paper end?

Voice

This trait refers to the style of the writer.

The voice is where the writer imparts his/her personal tone to the piece while still fitting in with the genre of the piece.

Objective

Individuality

Passion

Feelings

Activities

Read a variety of children's literature and have students try to identify the author.

Compare the voice in fiction and nonfiction books.

Have students write a piece about their favorite subject in school. When they are finished, have them read their piece to the class and see if the students can identify who wrote the piece.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Does it sound like me?

Does the reader understand how I feel?

Does my writing shine?

Word Choice

Word choice requires that the writer choose his/her words very carefully. The writer should enlighten the reader by choosing strong words that clarify or expand the idea.

Objective

Awareness of language

Awareness of different words

Activities

Keep a word wall.

Brainstorm a list of words and list the "better word" to use.

Make a word spinner and add new words to replace common words.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Do my words paint a picture?

Do I use words that are appealing?

Is every word that I use important?

Sentence Fluency

This trait requires that sentences flow naturally and smoothly. Fluent writing has rhythm and is free of awkward word patterns.

Objective

Awareness that the sentence makes sense

Rhythm

Activities

Write an acrostic poem using the student's name.

Write a half sentence and have the students complete it.

Rewrite popular poems.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Did my sentences start differently?

Is my paper easy to read aloud?

Did I use complete sentences?

Conventions

This trait focuses on the correctness of the piece (spelling, grammar, punctuation).

Objective

Awareness of conventions

Patience to look back

Experiment with writing

Activities

Answer questions in journals with conventional words in response to answering them phonetically.

Use peer partners to correct spelling and punctuation.

Use mini-lessons to teach conventions.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Did I use a title?

Did I capitalize the correct letters?

Did I check spelling?

LEARNING THROUGH STORY:

Conflict is a necessary element of a story. It drives the narrative forward and is what compels the reader to stay up all night reading in hopes of some sort of closure. The types of conflict can be broken down into up to seven different types. While most stories focus on one particular conflict, they often contain more than one.

The most common kinds of conflict are:

Man versus Man

Man versus Nature

Man versus Self

Man versus Society

A further breakdown would include:

Man versus Technology

Man versus God or Fate

Man versus Supernatural

Man versus Man is what you have when there is a clear protagonist (good guy) and antagonist (bad guy). In this version of conflict there are two people, or groups of people, that have goals or intentions that conflict with each other. Resolution comes when one overcomes the obstacle created by the other. Good examples of this would be and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Man versus Nature is the conflict that arises when a character is pitted against weather phenomena, physical terrain, or an animal. The Revenant is a good example of this conflict. Although revenge, a more man versus man type of conflict, is a driving force, the majority of the narrative centers around Hugh Glass’s journey across hundreds of miles after being attack by a bear and enduring extreme conditions.

Man versus Self occurs when a character struggles with an internal conflict. The conflict can be an identity crisis, mental disorder, moral dilemma, or choosing a path in life. Fight Club stages the conflict as man versus man, only to later reveal the protagonist has dissociative identity disorder.

Man versus Society is the sort of conflict you see in books that have a character at odds against the culture or government in which they live. Books like The Hunger Games demonstrate the way a character is presented with the problem of accepting or enduring what is considered a norm of that society but in conflict with the protagonist’s moral values.

Man versus Technology takes place when a character is confronted with the consequences of the machines and/or artificial intelligence created by man. This is a common element used in science fiction writing. Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot is a classic example of the fear of robots and artificial intelligence one day surpassing the control of man.

Man versus God or Fate can be a bit more difficult to differentiate from man versus society or man. This sort of conflict is usually dependent upon an outside force directing the path of a character. In the Harry Potter series, Harry’s destiny has been foretold by a prophecy. He spends his adolescence struggling to come to terms with the responsibility thrust upon him from infancy.

Man versus Supernatural can be described as the conflict between a character and some unnatural force or being. The Last Days of Jack Sparks demonstrates not only the struggle with an actual supernatural being, but the struggle man has with knowing what to believe about it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING STRATEGIES

Learning strategies are essential components of a curriculum, as bridges between competence and process. In the light of this belief, in this paper I have argued that an approach to strategies education should be explicit, experiential, embedded and evaluative - what I call the "4E approach". Such an approach seems to be promising in that it offers

task-based value - because strategies are first and foremost applied to specific language tasks;

skills-based value - because strategies can be developed across language skills and communicative activities;

cross-curricular value - because strategies can be made to overflow through the watertight compartments of school subjects; and, last but not least,

lifelong learning value - because strategies can be part of our effort to equip students with learning tools for the rest of their lives.

AWAITING TO LISTEN TO YOU.......!!!!

#learning strategies #education #learning

0 notes

archonreviews · 7 years ago

Text

The Archon’s Review of Supreme Commander

Supreme Commander is a real-time strategy game by Gas Powered Games and published by THQ. In the far-flung future, humanity has colonized space with the help of space portals (which can apparently be hacked, which presents a massive security risk, I should think, but nevermind that). This led to an era of peace and prosperity unseen by humanity ever before. During this time, an old, enterprising scientist named Dr. Gustaf Brackman fuses an artificial intelligence with a human brain (again, this presents a massive security hazard, but nevermind). The new, half-computer, half-human people are called “Symbionts”. This development spooks the Earth Empire’s bigwigs who hack the Symbionts and enslave them. Disgusted and not at all aroused, Brackman takes a corps of his loyal Symbionts and forms his own Cybran Nation with blackjack and hookers. Meanwhile, on a far off world, a human colony finds religion via an alien race called the Seraphim (in a surprising twist, it’s the Seraphim who’re presented with a security risk, rather than the humans). The Seraphim teach the colonists the way of “The Way”, shortly before being obliterated by the millenia-in-the-future equivalent of a Neo-Nazi, who really just could not stand that the other humans were finding a peaceful religion brought to them by a benevolent green people. Jokes on that asshole though, as the destruction of the Seraphim brings about the Aeon Illuminate, a sort of Knights Templar in space. After these two factions finish tearing up ye olde Earth Empire, it reforms itself into the United Earth Federation, because it’s always a federation, isn’t it? Can’t be a cadre, or a union, or a confederation, it’s got to be a federation if it’s in space, doesn’t it? Anyway, the three factions develop a cool mecha called the Armored Command Unit, or ACU, which can pull entire military bases out of their “mass”, and command entire armies of automated(?) tanks, boats, and planes. With the ACU, war becomes easy-peasy, so the three factions decide to have one for a thousand years, just for kicks. That’s where you come in. You take command of one of the three factions, hoping to end the Infinite War once and for all.

Hah, I thought the F/GO intro was long. Sorry mates.

So, I like real-time strategy games. I’d go so far as to say it’s one of my top two favorite genres of video game. Which makes the fact that I’m only now reviewing an RTS a somewhat criminal act of neglect. I was first tuned in to the Supreme Commander series when I was a teenager, playing Supreme Commander 2. Incidentally, this is also when I would learn about Steam’s DRM, when I was so used to just installing stuff from a CD. In any event, I found SC2 a lot of fun, once I figured out how to play the game properly. So, SC being on sale a while back, I decided to see if it lived up to the fond memories of it’s descendant. The short answer is, “Eeeehhh... Kinda?”

The game’s primary objective for a standard game is to destroy all of the enemies’ ACUs. In fact, the ACU is the most important unit for any player, as it represents the player themselves. In addition, the ACU builds your base before you gain access to Engineers. As far as objectives go, “regicide” is pretty straightforward, and given that all the other units are possibly automated, it makes sense. Sadly, the story campaigns decide to complicate things significantly.

This objection may be subjective, but I have a feeling it’s less subjective than I suspect. See, I’m used to an RTS presenting me with an overarching objective in each mission, flowering with optional objectives or minor complications as the mission progresses. Supreme Commander, however, does something slightly different. In the beginning of a campaign mission, you will be presented with a very simple, deceptively easy objective. Something like, “Kill these dudes we’ve essentially tied to posts for you,” or “Hey, see that building over there? Yeah, send your ACU over there and grab it for us, ya?” But then, once you’ve completed it, the map will expand to reveal a new objective. At this point, things’ll be okay, with only minor adjustments in strategy required. But then, it’ll expand the map again, and you’ll be faced with your final enemy... and usually a massive wave of enemy units that you couldn’t have known were coming on your first go-through. To add insult to injury, they’ll usually give you the ability to produce a unit that would help a lot, but with the wave of enemy dudes bearing down on you, you’d best hope that you’ve got adequate base defenses while you build your new units, otherwise, to paraphrase Richard III (or maybe Game of Thrones), things will go very hard for you.

The best way I found to deal with the game stringing you along like this is to develop a super economy mid-mission, and put off your objectives as long as you can. This strategy, however, presents two challenges: first, some objectives are timed. Second, and perhaps more annoyingly, is that as you procrastinate, a comms officer or a superior will occasionally complain at you for not completing your objectives. It’s kinda funny at first, but after a while, it sounds like a middle manager reminding you of a minor job-related obligation that nobody performs anyway. Anyone who’s ever had to push a credit card will know exactly what I mean.

^(Large robot friend building up my super economy. Also, my apologies for the console box in the corner, I had to change the screenshot button to the ` button, as the F12 button brought up an even more obtrusive thingie.)^

Now, it might sound like I’m ragging on the game, and to an extent I am. The game doesn’t seem to have too much of a player-base to battle against and I imagine single-player skirmishes can only be exciting a few dozen times. Most RTSes base much of their content on their story campaign, and indeed, that’s where I began, but while I didn’t much like the way the individual missions were formatted, the mechanics of the game itself were actually pretty fun! Building up a base with your big robot friend and then later, your little robot friends, is generally gratifying. Churning out a massive army of gunships and raining hellfire on your foes is quite entertaining. Watching stuff explode is almost as primordially engaging as a Michael Bay movie without the casual racism, sexism, poor acting, and poor screenwriting. Watching boats explode is a particularly fun thing, and this is coming from someone who is usually uneasy about commanding naval forces in RTSes.

That said, there are a couple more nitpicks, but these are some pretty big nits. First off, the pathfinding for ground units may be best argument for self-driving cars ever, ironically. When in formation, they will move the front line first, then the lines behind, until they’re all moving, instead of everyone moving at once. This can create major problems when you’re trying to roll out an attack force into an enemy base and their turrets just shoot down all your bots as they come. Otherwise, they tend to just move however they want to, which may interfere with your strategies, and it gets worse when you realize that the only way to get rid of enemy shields is to march your land units inside the shield and shoot at the generator from there, more or less necessitating the insipid groundlings. In fact, if it weren’t for shields, I probably would’ve relied solely on air and naval power, as air units don’t need to pathfind, and naval units don’t have any obstacles to get tripped up on and their range is long enough that even if they did, they could still perform their essential function, i.e. total boat obliteration.

^(It’s difficult to see, but on the left is a fleet of my submarines demolishing an enemy fleet on the right. Note the lack of physical obstacles. Note pictured: My joy at the destruction of my enemies.)^

Also, the tutorial is absolute bollocks in cheese. It’s basically a bunch of videos detailing basic concepts, and then they let you loose in an empty map with an ACU from each faction, and that’s your lot. This game is actually fairly complex, and an actual tutorial wouldn’t have been remiss.

The aesthetics are nice. Environments are pretty, if a bit sparse in places, and all the robots look pretty cool. Each factions’ units are distinct enough that you can tell friend from foe immediately; the UEF has this sort of “basic Earth unit” look to them, all blocky with lots of things on wheels and conventional design, the Cybrans are all spikes and doom fortresses (only somewhat ironic, as their goal of freeing all enslaved Symbionts is actually the most morally justifiable), and the Aeon design is half cathedrals-on-legs and half Space Alien(TM) aesthetic. When the game is being all wiz-bang-kaboom, it is indeed rad A.F, but the flipside to that is that I frequently got the disquieting feeling that I was doing something wrong somehow. Like because I wasn’t wiz-bang-kabooming all the time, I wasn’t playing properly. Or maybe the game’s marketing was a big fat liar; who knows?

(^What I expected vs...

what I got. I mean, there were shades of the first image, but the vast majority of my time was spent constructing like a hyperactive Mincraft player.)^

The music isn’t much to write home about. It’s alright, I guess.

The reason I believe the player-base is sparse is because looking up walkthroughs for this game was excessively difficult. There were no Steam guides except for those telling you how to get the game to work; which wasn’t a problem for me. The only GameFAQs walkthrough I could find was very light on actual details, preferring instead to provide me with information I probably could have figured out on my own. I finally had to find a Youtube playthrough; and incidentally, Ser “SergiuHellDragoonHQ”, if you happen to be reading this, it is generally considered bad form to periodically pop in with obtrusive demands that I subscribe in the form of extremely distracting low-res graphics. I was only there for a walkthrough on that particular mission, we’re not that close bruh. That said, you have my gratitude for your walkthrough, which taught me the “super economy strategy”, mentioned above. All of that said, it may just be that the player-base are super leet haxorz and therefore don’t require any walkthroughs.

^(The notes I took on SergiuHellDragoonHQ’s walkthrough. Note the rushed handwriting and Gudetama in the bottom left.)^

Ten slotte, SC is fun at it’s core, but the lack of a good tutorial and the frustrating and drag-out campaign format kinda kills it in places for me. I would recommend it mostly on the basis that the person I’m recommending it to would play with me so we can, as wise men have written, “git gud”. I’m probably not going to keep playing it, unless I start playing SC2 again and a major plot point comes up that necessitates me playing through the campaign of the original. As for social commentary... well, it’s actually remarkably progressive in places. The while the Earth president is a dude, and the main character is also a dude, the high commander of Earth’s armies is a woman with a badass battle scar; you know she’s seen some shit. In addition, the Aeon Illuminate are ruled by a Princess, and most, if not all of their commanders are women. So apparently the Infinite War is much more gender-equal than today times. That said, everyone appears to be white, although the cockpits of the Aeon commanders are poorly lit, and it looks like maybe there’s a Latina commander somewhere. So the lack of racial diversity’s a bit of a problem. Also, the Symbiont slavery thing has some pretty obvious parallels, and while it often isn’t mentioned by UEF commanders, the Cybrans will talk about it constantly. Almost like their primary objective is freeing a marginalized group of people from government enforced bondage. Almost creates a parallel to a certain real-world tragedy that was enforced by the government and resulted in a certain war that itself resulted, ostensibly, in a certain marginalized group of people being granted their freedom. That said, the parallel isn’t too clear-cut, and I didn’t get far enough into the campaign to see where it goes.

All in all, if you’re looking for a sci-fi strategy game, you could do worse than Supreme Commander, but I remember the sequel being better, so go play that maybe.

^(Pictured: The prelude to Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”.)^

#archon reviews #video game #sci-fi #rts #real-time strategy #supreme commander #review

0 notes