#the ones who promote beauty standards are the average women with these accounts like I’m sorry but it’s wierd to have social media

[iceyrukia]

You know……the same women who complain about beauty standards and the objectification of women, the ones who go on about how women in Hollywood are forced to adhere to impossible demands based on their looks by ~powerful men~ - are the same ones who will make accounts dedicated to praising the looks of female celebrities and kiss the floor these women walk on- these liberal women legitimately think they have NOTHING to do with upholding beauty standards and when it’s time to talk about it they’ll deflect and act like men are solely the ones upholding it, even though so many women tacitly promote it in some way shape or form.

As long as women are constantly given VALIDATION, MONEY, PRAISE, “LOVE” and STATUS, why would things even change and what’s stopping your average everyday women or young girls from pursuing that high that performing femininity grants women in society? They’ve seen how society ( including other women) value pretty women despite all the fake body positivity and will pursue it even if they’ve read some feminist talking points on how harmful the gender role of femininity (and might even repeat these points themselves like a broken record within it sincerity) because what they gain is worth it even at a price. Women have the power to make it out of the patriarchy but it’s not gonna happen if the patriarchal ideal of what a women should be is praised.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Predictions. Most of these ‘problems’ are either not going to be problems or are things fans absolute do admit.

 The video starts off shooting itself in the foot by acknowledging some fans will admit there are problems but that there are those who won’t admit this.

First of all, that’s pretty redundant because...no shit of course there are. There are people who will still defend Game of Thrones as the best TV show ever and there are those who acknowledge the Sopranos (which is the ACTUAL best TV show ever) wasn’t flawless.

Second of all if the author acknowledges this fact then why bother labelling the video ‘fans’ without a qualifier? Just saying ‘fans’ means they are referring to ALL or at least MOST fans. Let’s see how much that holds up in the video.

 10: Constant Major events

Okay so right off the top I’m calling bullshit.

It’s not just that MOST fans absolutely call out the insufferable number of events Spider-Man characters get involved with (even if you exclude line-wide Marvel events like War of the Realms) it’s that if there exists a fan who will honestly defend this as NOT a problem I’ve never seen a hint of them and neither has anyone else I know.

More noticeably though...this isn’t a problem exclusive to Spider-Man, not even a little bit.

EVERY Marvel and DC franchise popular enough have overstuffed annual events. In the X-Men they are literally called X-overs. Avengers No Surrender. This has been happening since the 1990s and REALLY been happening since the late 2000s/early 2010s.

This isn’t a Spider-Man problem its a Marvel/DC problem.

“There is a concern that smaller scale stories don’t sell”

It’s not that smaller scale stories don’t sell it’s that bigger scale stories are more easily marketable in solicits and present ‘sexier’ ideas to the average reader and thus sell MORE!

Also Whilst Spider-Geddon was a huge sprawling plot that’s at odds with Spider-Man’s down to Earth nature, Peter Parker himself was barely involved in it. He battled Morlun in a zoo and that was basically it.

9: Silly villains

...oh dear...

Yes. It sure is a problem that across 55+ years there have been a lot of silly/bad villains like Clock King, Kiteman, Calandar Man and...oh I’m sorry those are all Batman villains!

It’s almost like EVERY superhero has loads of shitty villains if they last long enough or something.

More importantly...as if people friggin count EVERY villain.

You count the NOTABLE ones, the ones that are recurring or a major feature of major stories. And it’s of those guys that you judge a hero’s rogue’s gallery. So on balance Spider-Man has a GREAT rogue’s gallery and a better one than every other Marvel hero.

I mean Jesus Christ once you get passed Moonstone, Dracula and Madam Masque how many honestly good villains are there in Carol Danvers’, Blade’s or Iron Man’s rogues galleries? Two or three, four at a push?

Spidey has like 10 decent to great recurring villains. The Hell does it matter that he also punched Hypno Hustler once in the 1970s? THAT drags down the whole thing?

At least Spider-Man’s dumb or bad villains are memorable.

8: His place with the Avengers

This...is actually a very good point.

Well done WatchMojo...Too bad shittons of Spider-Man fans absolutely DO acknowledge this as a problem.

I don’t see anyone currently complaining that he isn’t a regular Avenger.

7: Immortal Aunt May

Okay for starters Aunt May already died and Peter wasn’t ‘devastated’. Sad, grieving sure but he handled it.

Second of all what is this ‘necessity to keep her around’?

There is no necessity. She serves no purpose if she’s alive and doesn’t know who he is.

As for us knowing May will never be allowed to die? We don’t know that because Marvel did kill her off and committed to that for a while.

But the biggest BS with this argument is that...what Spider-Man fans DON’T know this and WON’T admit this besides John Byne and his cronies?

6: His Way with women

“He’s just an all round terrible boyfriend”

Get fucked no he isn’t.

99% of the problems that stem from Peter as a romantic prospect for a woman are directly connected with his work as Spider-Man. Which is frankly not a million miles away from being a police officer, soldier and doctor combined. Notice how all of them tend to have romantic partners and indeed Peter HAS had successful romantic relationships. As have other superheroes.

You can’t just throw out ‘he’s just all round terrible’ and leave it at that.

“This everyman only dates women who look like supermodels”

Wow...that’s some grade A sexism right there and stupidity there.

Let’s ignore the fact that you could argue that some of the women Peter dates only look like supermodels due to artistic licence and that in universe they aren’t regarded as looking like that.

Let’s ignore the fact that Peter’s dated women who DON’T look like that.

Let’s even ignore the fact 99% of ALL women in comic books if taken at face value look traditionally glamorous and beautiful. Fuck in recent years even Aunt May has been drawn resembling Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren, women who look decidedly more glamorous and attractive for their age than most women in their demographic. She literally looks younger NOW than she did in the 1960s or even the 1990s!

Let’s ignore all that shit and dive a little deeper.

FIRST of all beauty is mostly in the eye of the beholder so ‘supermodel sexy’ is fairly arbitrary here.

Second of all, there is no life algorithm determining people of X level of attraction are unlikely to hook up with people of Y level of attraction and more likely to hook up with people of Z level of attraction.

Third of all by traditional standards of attraction Peter WOULD be appealing to a lot of women. He is himself fairly handsome in his facial features, his physique is obviously in great shape, he’s incredibly intelligent (in the 2010s in particular scientific acumen has been promoted as sexy) and he’s got a responsible and dependable personality, his problem is being too responsible if anything. He’s also fairly open minded, he got over his wife making more money than him fairly quickly, he was aokay with his wife going off to night clubs to party and dance with strangers and be the object of countless people’s sexual fantasies which a lot of men, even today wouldn’t feel totally comfortable with. If a woman knows he’s a superhero too my goodness that could be yet another major source of attraction. Not only could a woman find it very glamorous and find the secrecy and potential danger a turn on but like...friggin doctors and firefighters are routinely framed as the subjects of romantic or sexual fantasies for a lot of people. If you are a bona fide superhero that could easily dial up that kind of attraction to 11. This is to say nothing of the fact that some people find power a turn on and Peter unlike most people has very real physical power. In fact even if a woman doesn’t know he’s a superhero it’s entirely possible that they could pick up on the fact that he is powerful in some way and that could be a potential turn on.

I’m not saying any or all of those apply to every potential partner but it can for a lot of people.

Finally...are we really going to judge these characters on the basis of their looks as opposed to their personalities. Like it’d be more fair if Peter had dated an A-list actress, a high up in the Pentagon and a secret agent but not if he dated like 5 NYC dwelling working women who happened to be traditionally very attractive.

What makes this all worse is that the video is doubly wrong because not only is it not a real problem in the first place but it’s also something that an obnoxiously HUGE chunk of Spider-Man DO refer to (incorrectly) as a problem.

5: The constant attempts to make him the public enemy

This is another thing most fans DO agree is a problem...sort of. Because when the Hell was the last time Spider-Man was regarded as a wanted fugitive anyway? Zdarsky’s run in like 2017 maybe?

More poignantly the notion that the general public wouldn’t view Spider-Man as a vigilante because he’s not grim and gritty is asinine for several reasons.

To begin with he isn’t just a lunatic with guns or a a guy dressed as a bat he’s a bona fide super human entity and one who USED to be an entertainer of all things. That alone provides grounds for people to want to bring him in for taking the law into his own hands.

More importantly this video utterly omits ( in spite of SHOWING the panels proving it) that a huge reason people buy into the idea that Spider-Man should be brought in is because of Jameson’s slander campaign and propaganda against him.

The video isn’t even arguing that the fact that Spider-Man’s been proven innocent multiple times makes repeating him being wanted unbelievable, it’s literally saying any time that ever happened it was BS.

The Avengers comparison is a false equivalency too. Not only was Spidey NOT affiliated with the Avengers for most of his career thus the solidified public opinion of him wasn’t going to be as charitable as the Avengers’ was but more poignantly it ignores WHY the Avengers were more beloved.

Throughout their history the Avengers have either had highly respected members in their line up (like Captain goddam America living legend of WWII!) or had government ties which legitimized them and held them accountable to some degree. For a lot of their history they absolutely weren’t just a big gang of vigilante’s. And a lot of the Avengers didn’t even have secret identities unlike Spider-Man.

Also Jameson slandered them too when Spidey initially joined them so you know...affiliation don’t mean shit.

Finally the video claims that Jameson printing propaganda doesn’t make the public turning on him believable.

Wow...just...wow...

Okay so does Watchmojo know what propaganda is? Shaping the public opinion is literally the whole point of it! So Jameson making a lot of it, although it isn’t just Jameson MOST newspapers in NYC print Anti-Spider-Man stories, is very much making the public’s hatred of Spidey believable because it is shaping their views.

More importantly...has Watchmojo looked at the world right now?

I don’t want to turn this into a big ‘Trump is bad’ post but like...this is a guy who’s got a ridiculous laundry list of immoral, unethical, illegal and just shady shit to his name. And we all know about it. It’s practically shoved in our faces daily unless we actively avoid it.

And a HUGE chunk of America still supports the guy. A HUGE chunk of America swallows his lies and the lies of the people who support him and are on his side. And even if they don’t just swallow everything they contort it in their heads to be right or support him in spite of that stuff for whatever reason.

And he’s not the lone example of this in modern culture or in fact in the history of mankind. A LOT of people are sheep and A LOT of people in the masses will not look at things logically or make sound judgments based on facts but rather follow in lockstep with what most people feel led by a loud voice or at least believe what they want to believe.

And believing that mysterious entertainer who had amazing but creepy powers was in fact a creepy criminal and so says this rich successful man who’s not hiding behind a mask, with the guy he’s accusing never stepping forward to publicly defend himself or deny the accusations?

The masses AREN’T going to just buy that narrative?

Of course they are.

To quote Spider-Man 2002:

“The one thing they love more than a hero, is to see a hero fail, fall. Die trying. In spite of everything you’ve done for them eventually they will hate you.”

4: The refusal to let him age

Again 99% of ALL Spider-Man fans acknowledge this is a problem!

Not that the video gets it’s fact correct.

It seems to have used the Slott run as the foundation of the entire video which as anyone reading my blog for awhile should know, is a big mistake.

In SLOTT’s run Peter was a manchild for sure.

But he absolutely wasn’t in JMS’ run where his age wasn’t exactly pinned down but he acted like a late 20s/early 30s guy. Indeed  he was clearly aging and maturing up until like John Byrne showed up in the late 1990s and even then it wasn’t like he was consistently written to be 22.

More importantly if you were to hypothetically argue Peter was 22-25 forevermore then why is him always acting that way tantamount to making him a manchild? If he acted that way at age 35 sure, but if the idea is he’s 22 and acts 22 then there is no problem.

Not that that is what happened in BND and Slott’s run, I’m just saying.

3: The irreparable damage of One More Day

There are 2 ways to interpret this point.

a)      That OMD caused huge damage at which point what kind of crack is Watchmojo smoking if they think the people who DON’T admit this are anything but a tiny minority and even then they are the newbies who probably don’t know about OMD yet

b)      That everyone admits OMD was bad and damaging but that all/most fans won’t admit that the damage is beyond repair. At which point that’s bullshit because whilst most fans won’t admit that OMD’s damage is irreparable the reason most fans do not admit that is because it’s not true. OMD is 100% fixable it’s just ALLOWING it to be fixed thats the problem.

2: His finances

The only reason Doc Ock managed to be a hero and get a doctorate and found Parker Industries was a combination of bad writing and immorality.

Doc Ock went from not having a Master’s degree to earning a doctorate in under a year which is physically impossible!

He also founded and built up a whole company in that time too which is also physically impossible, there doesn’t exist enough time for this stuff to HAPPEN!

More importantly Doc Ock only managed to do all this through embezzling illegally acquired funds, neglecting his hero responsibilities (hence Norman Osborn was able to gain power!) and basically reusing work he’d already done when he earned his own doctorate.

Oh and let’s not forget Slott turned on the cheat codes for his pet character.

So Watchmojo are making a false equivalency in comparing Peter and Otto.

Peter hasn’t been able to get his finances in order because he never STOLE shittons of money and goods from people or engaged in criminal enterprises to build finances for himself.

He’s stuck trying his best to strike an impossible balance between a job that can allow him to afford the highly expensive life of an inner Manhattan resident, maintain his superhero equipment like expensive web-fluid, look after a family member (in a day and age long before a proper welfare system for healthcare) and have some semblance of a normal life to keep him sane and be a superhero at the same time.

He could NEVER maintain a 9-5 ever without major suspension of disbelief! Hence Slott had to give him a shitty fanfiction job with ‘choose your own hours’.

More importantly in Slott’s run pre-Superior Peter’s finances WERE in a very healthy state. He had to cheat to make it happen but he did it! But back then his Spidey expenses and all his other ones were totally covered.

As for whether Spider-Man fans admit this or not again, it’s not a case of the majority saying this because the discourse is way more all over the place on this topic. What is more poignant though is that MOST fans do make shitty Superior comparisons like the above.

1: His repeated failure to live by that one important rule

First of all Watchmojo misquotes the rule so not off to a great start here.

“Supposedly central to the character”????????? Did Tom Brevoort fund this video or something?

“Why doesn’t he apply this to all aspects of his life” He does. That’s the point. The responsibilities of normal life vs. superhero responsibilities. Hence the struggle in the early days was being a hero AND looking after his Aunt May.

And oh boy....pulling out the most infamous moment from the Clone Saga.

Real classy Watchmojo.

For real I’m honestly sick and disgusted of people pulling this scene out of context.

Now I wrote a long ass article dissecting that story/scene years ago so feel free to read that.

tl:dr version: Peter and Ben Reilly were stated to be out of control and not in their right minds. Peter had recently lost Aunt May, his parents and endured numerous immense stresses upon his psyche which had resulted in him having a mental breakdown.

He got better but very quickly thereafter endured more, perhaps even more severe mental stresses and traumas. People who endure breakdowns are unfortunately more vulnerable to further breakdowns so when someone who’s had a breakdown recently, then very recently recovered has inadequate time to heal and is hit in quick succession with traumatic experiences another breakdown is all but inevitable.

In this case Peter broke down when his entire sense of identity was shattered upon learning he was a clone and that this fact might have serious health risks for his pregnant wife and their unborn child, MJ herself even exclaimed ‘my baby’ upon learning Peter was a clone.

BTW when Ben Reilly initially learned he was a clone he wanted to die and contemplated suicide, and he hadn’t built as much of a life for himself as Peter had, he wasn’t an expenctant father or husband for instance.

Anyway this news broke an already severely vulnerable Peter and he attacked Ben Reilly.

In his blind rage Peter without realizing she was there lashed out at Mary Jane when she tried to stop him.

In other words Peter did not consciously, deliberately, in his right mind attack Mary Jane. He didn’t even properly register her presence

And NO, it’s a million miles from someone getting drunk and hitting their wife or getting angry or having long standing anger issues. Those are all things they have a degree of control over, they have the potential to recognize they have a problem and work on it or else not engage in substances or activities that would accentuate a problem or create a potentially toxic scenario.

In this specific case entirely external circumstances Peter had no say in occurred to shatter him  and THEN an accident occurred wherein MJ was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And then nothing like that ever happened again ever!

It was wrong, he should beg her forgivness on his knees and all that entails, but it was 100% NOT what Watchmojo paints it as. It’s irresponsible of them to have presented the scene out of context in fact.

Moving on...Peter is irresponsible because he’s allowed his loved ones to come to harm.

Er, Watchmojo sweetie that’s either because of

a)      Bad writing. Which we do not count in regards to our analysis of who the characters are, hence we don’t count OMD because it’s OUT of character or

b)      He’s human. Peter lives by great power and great responsibility but that isn’t the same thing as him being perfect. He can’t AVOID his loved ones coming to harm 100% of the time because he’s human.

To argue he could by not having them in his life is asinine because he NEEDS human companionship as we all do and the people who know his identity typically maintain a relationship with him nevertheless.

“He’s failed to learn from his past mistakes”

Remember all those criminals Spider-Man deliberately allowed to walk free out of pure selfish disinterest after that one time he did that in 1962?

How about all those times he used a singular webline to save falling people from bridges after that worked out well for him in 1972?

“Where was his great responsibility when he rewrote all of reality in OMD”

It wasn’t present because that was against his character...as mentioned earlier IN THIS VERY VIDEO!

“We aren’t asking for perfection”

And yet a 100% success rate of protecting his loved ones is demanded for him to have lived by Ben’s words even though in real life people can’t protect their loved ones from all forms of harm. I have relatives and family friends who lost their son in a tragic car accident when he was abroad. Are we sitting here saying they were ‘irresponsible’? If so fuck you.

Also...the root of this video is that these are things all/most fans won’t admit to.

As if 99.9% of fans don’t point out how hardcore out of character or irresponsible hitting MJ or making a Mephisto deal was FFS!

[the-serendipityblog-blog]

Instagram Without Moderation Is Unhealthy

You’re standing outside waiting for your ride to pick you up. They said they’d be there in five minutes. There’s no one you know around. What do you do?

a) Go to a random person and try to become their friend.

b) Pull out the book you’ve been reading.

c) Start scrolling through Instagram

Odds are, you chose C. (And if you didn’t then congratulations, you are in the minority.) In the twenty-first century, we humans have become so dependent on technology, maybe even addicted, and the worst one of them all is social media (in my opinion). At first, these websites and apps―Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.― were created so people could stay in touch with more distant friends and family whom they couldn’t visit as often. Nowadays, it is a tool for stalking, comparing, starting fights, inducing jealousy, causing insecurities, and a lot more. Here are some ways social media, specifically Instagram, do more harm than good. These are all things I know from my own experience, another person’s experience, or through research.

Lowers self-esteem. This one is quite obvious since many people have talked about and experienced this before, but it really is a big deal. This study shows that social media use and depression are highly correlated. You must know about all the Instagram models, who literally get paid just to be pretty. (Okay, that was kind of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.) They are usually making a cute pose by the beach in their $300 bikini, showing off their flawless curves and tan skin as the sunlight hits their face perfectly. A photo like this would earn them around $3,000 to $5,000. Of course, the average female does not look like this. A study done by Clark University states that women who looked at images of slender models “produced lower self-esteem and satisfaction with their weight as compared to women viewing more robust models”. Constantly being bombarded with these supposedly “perfect” images of women will influence us to believe that this is how we are supposed to look. If we do not size 00, weighing 90 pounds, donning clear and glowing skin, and flashing a pearly white smile, then we are doing something wrong. Basically, this creates a false definition of beauty. One must look exactly like the models or celebrities on Instagram, or they are not pretty. If we check Instagram right when we wake up, right before we go to bed, and any other extra time in the day, that’s a couple hundred photos per day. Out of those, if about half of them are pictures of “perfect girls” that’s a lot of negative influence. (Unless you’re like me and only follow meme pages.) It’s basically becoming ingrained into our heads how we are supposed to look. Every picture of a girl with unattainable beauty standards is a message that says, “Look at this beautiful girl. It sucks you don’t look like that. Guess you’re not pretty.” I can say from my personal experience that after scrolling through Instagram for a few hours, I definitely feel a lot more insecure and unhappy with my life. It is very unhealthy to feel forced to conform to these false standards.

Causes jealousy. Another negative thing about Instagram is that it causes jealousy. “I can’t believe she went to the Maldives over spring break” or “Why did she get more likes than me? I’m way prettier than her.” The thing about social media is that you can see what everyone else is doing, what they have, who they hang out with, etc. Without social media, there isn’t much of a way to know these things unless someone actually brags about it. That’s what social media is. It’s just a socially acceptable way to brag about what you have or pretend to have. Just because someone is wearing an expensive outfit doesn’t mean they’re rich. They could just be trying on clothes in the dressing room and taking in a selfie in it with no intention of actually buying it. Just because they are constantly posting pictures of them with other people doesn’t mean they are popular or they have a lot of friends. A lot of it is staged. Yes, there are some genuine people and posts on Instagram, but from my experience, I can say that they are a minority. It sort of reminds me of KUWTK. A reality show that isn’t actually “real”. They act like it’s real, but actually, a lot of it is staged for attention. They don’t show you everything, they only show you what they want you to see. And obviously who wouldn’t want other people to think they are popular, pretty, and rich. Of course, I would like it if people thought of me like that. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I am actually like that. When you go on Instagram and see everyone having an amazing time, portraying a perfect life, that doesn’t mean their whole life is perfect. They are just showing random glimpses of when it is. Seeing all these false perceptions of perfect lives makes you feel worse about your own, and jealous of everyone you know. “Everyone’s lives are amazing. My life totally sucks compared to that.” If people posted everything that happened in their life, and not just what they want you to see, it wouldn’t be anything to be jealous of at all. Not everyone will look cute right when they wake up. Not everyone gets to constantly travel over the world. Not everyone gets to wear designer clothes with professionally done makeup. Everyone has insecurities and hardships. Nobody’s life is perfect, no matter how perfect it may seem.

Provides a distraction. I’m very sure you all know about this one without me having to explain it. Instagram is a distraction. So is all social media. The constant notifications of likes, follows, comments, direct messages, and more, the constant thinking about what your next post is going to be, the application just sitting there, constantly bugging you like a scratch that needs to be itched. You know that horrible feeling of regret you feel after scrolling through your feed for hours when you’re supposed to be doing something else. I remember when I was in middle school, being new to Instagram, I would come home from school and spend several hours scrolling through my feed, explore page, and stalking other blogs until I felt groggy and my eyes burned, not even starting my homework until after dinner. Now, I rarely ever check it, and I rarely ever want to check it. Partially because I’ve had it for a long time and it’s not as new and exciting anymore, but also because I made a conscious effort to take a detox from it after realizing this is such a horrible way to spend so many hours of my life. Not only is Instagram a distraction, but it is a bad distraction. Hanging out with friends, for example, is a distraction, but it is a way better distraction than scrolling through confidence-reducing, insecurity-producing, jealousy-causing Instagram. It’s like a lose-lose situation. You’re wasting time and feeling worse about yourself.

Defined by a number. Nowadays, people’s worth is measured by numbers on Instagram. How popular you are depends on the number of followers you have, how pretty you are depends on the number of likes you get on a selfie, how amazing your life is determined by how often you post, and this is absolutely false. I know for a fact that at least two-thirds of my current Instagram followers are totally random people who don’t know me in real life. And only about 10 percent of my followers actually “like” my photos. Does that mean I’m unpopular or ugly? Not necessarily. People are constantly checking their photo right after posting it to see how many likes it received and deleting it if it doesn’t get enough. They try so hard to gain followers by asking random people to follow them for a follow back or promoting their account in the comment section of a popular photo. Have you ever looked at someone’s profile and thought “Wow they don’t have many followers. They must be a loser who doesn’t have any friends,” or do you think “Wow they don’t have many followers. They must not use Instagram very often.”? This shows that this fear of being judged by a number is an irrational thought that isn’t very true at all.

Creates pressure. I’ve already partially covered this topic in the previous four topics because they are all forms of pressure. When a person has an active personal Instagram account, they tend to feel obligated to post constantly and update their followers with their lives. Now, with Instagram stories, users can give hourly updates on what they’re doing, similar to Snapchat. While experiencing a fun event or going to an aesthetic or picturesque place, they feel pressured to take a good picture to post. I am so guilty of this. Every time I go anywhere that has potential to make a nice Instagram photo I suddenly feel stressed out because I feel as if I have a 100-point homework assignment to take an Instagram worthy photo in five minutes and if I am not able to, I feel really disappointed like I wasted my opportunity. I have been making a conscious effort lately to relax a little more when it comes to Instagram photos and not stress out so much about visiting a place without taking a photo. Sometimes it’s healthy to just live in the moment instead of worrying about documenting it.

Those were a few of the many reasons why excessive Instagramming is unhealthy. Don’t get me wrong―Instagram is a great tool and it’s totally okay use it regularly, but in excess, it can be harmful. Moderating how much time we spend on this app, and how much we let it and the people on it affect us can help Instagram be just an app and not a source of stress and unhappiness.

[matt-joseph-diaz-blog]

I’m so disappointed in what’s happening with mainstream body positivity.

There’s almost no way this won’t sound at least partly like the ravings of a twenty-something who’s salty that their instagram following seems to be in decline, but I want you to stick with me here.

I’ve been a part of the body positive movement for a few years now. After going viral in 2015 for making a video where I revealed the excess skin I had from losing nearly 300 pounds, I became a writer, public speaker and social media advocate for the importance of positive body image.

I’ve spoken at colleges and conferences all over the country, written pieces for multiple websites, met body positive advocates far more famous than me, and even spoke at an event for Seventeen Magazine at instagram headquarters.

Now, I need to make this clear: I still believe in the tenants and ideals of body positivity; more than ever in fact. What worries me is the direction the bopo movement is taking in the pursuit of public acceptance.

Like most radical ideologies that go mainstream, it had to be introduced in a more “approachable” form.

So this is something that really can’t be helped. When introducing an idea that completely opposes long held societal beliefs, you really have no choice other than to introduce it in a way “average people (typically meaning the type of person so unaffected by the issue that they have no knowledge of it)” will find palatable.

Obviously I’m writing pretty off-the-cuff here so I’m reaching for examples, but ones that come to mind are stuff like the original debut of Queer Eye, Will & Grace and RuPaul painting specific pictures of the queer community while introducing them as something the Straights™️ could be mostly comfortable with.

Rarely is this a conscious decision. Mainstream society lifts up the individuals and causes it finds different and powerful without being too challenging. Try and force the world to accept something too different, and it becomes offensive.

So what does this look like in the body positive movement?

I remember working at one of the biggest photo retouching companies in NYC during the early 2010s, when we first discovered that one of our clients, Aerie, would no longer be retouching the models in their lingerie ads.

This is indisputably a wonderful thing, and I hope it has inspired other companies to do the same thing. But while Aerie chose to forgo retouching its plus sized supermodels, they were, in fact, supermodels. The net was cast a bit wider, but these plus sized models still checked off a lot of the boxes we associate with the problematic societal beauty standard: all cis women, all “conventionally attractive,” and nearly entirely white.

This is what concerns me.

As someone who follows and is followed by a lot of prominent members of the bopo movement my instagram suggestions are littered with bopo accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers; and time and time again these popular accounts are professional models, cis, white, female and almost entirely plus sized by definition of how it’s seen in pop culture: meaning mostly thin with hips and breasts and ass.

Now, these bodies are just as valid as any other and deserve their time in the sun and to be celebrated. That isn’t up for debate. However, what appears to be happening is that an idea started as a a radical breaking of chains imposed on us by society has been morphed by popular culture into a shift of what we see as “acceptable.”

Basically, what started out as an attempt to dissolve the beauty standard has been turned into merely changing what the beauty standard is. That’s a problem.

There are so few men in the body positive movement.

There are a lot of reasons for this: Beauty standards are by and large more imposing and pressuring for women than men, toxic masculinity doesn’t allow for the vulnerability necessary to be part of the bopo movement, etc. However, if roughly half the population doesn’t step the fuck up and garner attention when they do, a massive aspect of the movement is never going to be acknowledged.

At the end of 2015 I was named one of the top 7 men to follow in the body positive movement by the wonderful Jes Baker, when I’d been an advocate for less than 9 months. Whenever I mention this I always joke that “it was a top 7 because they couldn’t find 10 men involved in the movement,” and it always rings a little true.

The body positive movement in mainstream media is overwhelmingly white.

...I really don’t have a great answer for this. There’s a lot of fucking white people, and if there’s one thing white people love, it’s other white people.

That isn’t for lack of trying, either. The bopo movement is rife with POCs that are celebrating their bodies and trying to empower others, but they get nowhere near the attention of the overwhelming number of whites. The racism inherent in our beauty standards already continue to hold true when moving into the bopo movement.

As a male-presenting latinx in the body positive movement, I don’t know if I’ve ever met another member of the community with even my low degree of online attention that checks both those boxes.

The trans/nb community mostly lacks representation in bopo as well.

This is similar to the issue of non-whiteness in body positivity. We already underrepresent those who aren’t cis in mainstream media, and when we do it’s either to commend how you can’t clearl tell that they aren’t cis, or to celebrate how “brave they are” for celebrating their own beauty despite how freakish society may continue to believe they look.

“Plus-sized” vs Fatness in bopo.

I’ve touched on this a bit already, but in the pursuit of making body positivity approachable it feels like “body positive” has come to mean “curvy, but definitely not fat” in a way that’s as toxic as it is ridiculous.

There have been times when I and people who have reached out to me have told me that they don’t feel like they fit into the body positive movement because they aren’t curvy enough. Body positivity doesn’t mean “hips, chest, but no stomach” in the way it’s so disproportionately portrayed, and “fat” isn’t a dirty word. Curvy people deserve to be body positive, and so do fat people, thin people, and everyone else on the spectrum.

That’s kind of the entire fucking point. You deserve to feel confident in your body, no matter what form it takes.

So, what do we do about it?

In early 2017, I was invited to visit Instagram headquarters to speak on a panel for the National Eating Disorder Association and Seventeen Magazine about the importance of body diversity. I was a last minute addition- I wasn’t invited until the week before the event.

It was a really cool opportunity and I was so honored to be a part of it. However, of the five people in the panel, I was the only one who wasn’t a mostly thin, white, cis woman.

A panel on the importance of body diversity. Five thin pretty white women and me, 6’5” lumbering queer male presenting nonbinary giant, Matt Diaz.

...I...

...fucking...

...what?

During the panel I was asked what I think is the most important thing we can do for the sake of body diversity. There was a group of college students that were invited to the event sitting in the front two row, and they were entirely people of color. And I know there’s no way I was this poetic off the cuff, but I remember saying something akin to:

“Stop waiting for someone to make you feel comfortable enough to be yourself. Be who you are, and force the rest of the world to catch up.”

Nobody is going to suddenly decide that we’re worth seeing. You’re basically going to have to drag people kicking and screaming into accepting you, and that fight has to become a key aspect of who you are.

If you plan on waiting until you see a prevalent body positive Instagram or tumblr user who looks like you before you express your own body positivity, you’re going to be waiting for the rest of your life.

Be that inspiration for someone else. Tell the world that you’re here and demand to be seen. Embrace and celebrate the people you see who deviate from the norm; promote them, talk about them, reblog them, and tell them how proud you are of them.

This is definitely starting to sound like I’m just trying to promote my own Instagram and shit (@mattjosephdiaz) but in all honesty, I don’t care if you don’t decide to follow me. I just want to leave you with something it took me too long to understand.

Your success in the body positive movement will never be about how many followers you get, or how many people tell you that you’ve changed their lives. Your success in this movement comes from learning to love yourself in every form you might take.

Sometimes, the only persons life you change is your own, and that’s more than enough.

[kingofthenorth49]

Enemy of the State

I woke up on November 4th allegedly an enemy of the people.

Now I didn’t do anything differently than I did on the 3rd, but that morning when I awoke I knew things were going to get weird based on what I was seeing in the media.

Now keep in mind I haven’t any trust in the mainstream media. Zero. None. Zilch. They have eroded that trust over the last decade or so for me, to the point I realize they are no longer news outlets, but rather 24 hour a day propaganda machines.

By now, many of you reading likely thought “Conspiracy theorist” or his tin foil hat is on too tight again. Didn’t you.

You don’t have to answer, I know that’s exactly what 50% of you are thinking as you read this. That’s how you have been programmed to think over the past 20 years, you are part of a cult you didn’t realize you had joined. Think about it. As North American’s (and I have to use that term because sitting here in Canada today my reference group is so enthralled with US politics they aren’t even watching what is going on in their own country) we are equally divided in our thinking.

And that is exactly what they want. A society divided is easier to conquer, and right now we are ripe for the picking. The last bastion against Marxism is fighting a death match I never believed I’d get to see during my short stint on this planet.

While the Coronavirus is real, the plandemic is not. It’s manufactured. I’m not talking about the virus, that’s beyond the edges of my aluminum chapeaux, I’m talking about the world’s approach to managing it. It’s all part of a plan to convert the world over to a One World Government.

Fear is the greatest motivator know to the human species and beyond. A field mouse being stalked by a hawk is acutely aware of everything going on around him as he literally runs for his life. Every action and reaction is measured against the knowledge that one wrong move and he becomes the object of desire of a stronger power. It’s the fight or flight response that has kept species alive for millions of years.

We’ve just had our fight response beaten out of us by those who wish to possess us, or rather possess the output of our labor.

Power is the drug of the greedy. Just look around you to see it. You only need look at the likes of Nancy Pelosi to see it. It’s for thee, but not for me. I say that a lot because I see it a lot. I see our elected officials set two levels of standards as they rule. One set of standards is for us, the working class, and the other set of standards are for them, the ruling class. Nancy’s trip to the beauty salon is one example that comes to mind. Let’s break it down for the people in the back.

For those who don’t know Nancy, she’s the 80+ year old speaker of the house, and one of the most powerful democrats in the United States. Nancy’s been in Washington a long time, she knows where the bodies are literally buried. She’s powerful, wealthy, and doesn’t give a rats-ass about you. She’s all about Nancy. So in the middle of this plandemic, Nancy needs to get her hair done for her next ice cream photo op and even though beauty salon’s are ordered closed under public health order, Nancy’s staff arrange for a salon to open to touch up the speakers locks.

Now as someone who cut their own hair for almost 3 months, I can understand the desire to have the professionals take care of things, but at the same time as a leader I understand the need to lead with integrity and not set a double standard. Nancy, not so much. Somehow a video gets released showing Nancy waltzing thought the salon between the shampoo and color, not only in direct contravention of the law shutting down these services, but sans face mask.

Now a little lapse in safety decorum amongst co-conspirators could be overlooked had it not been that Nancy had just days before been on the news berating the President for not wearing a mask and selfishly endangering the lives of others’. It was carried by every network for days.

Get it yet? It’s for thee, not for me. A double standard isn’t a double standard if your in power. They feel they are above the rest of us. But it gets worse.

When the mainstream media is forced to pick up the story a day later, the response from the Pelosi people is that Nancy was set up by the salon owner.

Are you fucking kidding me? This is how the 3rd most powerful leader in the United States responded to being caught in the act violating the very laws she enacted? The worst part of all of this was most of you all accepted it because it fit the narrative you’ve been programmed to accept. Be honest with yourself. You simply accepted that Nancy was the victim in this situation because Trump.

This is but one example of this type of entitlement. The Governor if Michigan’s husband got caught going boating during a lockdown. Prime Minster Trudeau got caught breaching ethics rules twice, and is under investigation for two more. No other sitting Prime Minister in the history of Canada has ever been chastised for lacking ethics except for the current returning resident of 22 Sussex Drive. They destroyed all the evidence of the WE scandal and it never really even made the news.

I’ll make you a bet right now, that if I refuse to pay my taxes this year, I’ll not collect $200 and I’ll go directly to jail. If you’ve ever stood before a judge accused of a crime, it’s the most sober humbling moment of your life. Our problem is getting them in front of one.

Am I making sense yet?

Hillary had a private email server. She deleted 30,000+ emails as Secretary of State. Her and her husband Bill made hundreds of millions of dollars as public officials. Bill raped a woman in Arkansas and paid her off with $400,000.00. But there’s no one holding them to account.

Barrack Obama and Eric Holder ran fast and furious. They put guns into the hands of drug cartels that eventually wound up back in the USA used to kill innocent Americans. Over a billion dollars in cash on pallets was flown to Iran in the middle of the night. But there were no scandals in his White House. Are you fucking kidding me? He used the intelligence community to spy on Trump’s campaign for Gawd’s sake, Richard Nixon had to resign as President for doing the same thing, does no one remember Watergate?

Jesus people, when will you wake the fuck up and realize you are being manipulated by those in positions of power. What is it going to take for people to stop accepting this type of behavior from those they entrust with the public purse and our freedoms.

I read The Rise of the 3rd Reich last year. It was a very sobering read to see how the Nazi party rose to power and committed atrocities against their fellow humans in the name of a better planet. I’ve seen images of the holocaust that sadden me to the very core of my being. I have always wondered how humans could treat each other like that, to strip people of their dignity, their world possessions, their families, and finally their very existence. And for what. For one persons hatred of another race. One person was able through persuasion to convince an entire population of a country to hate a group of people because they were different. They worked hard. They ran shops and factories. They worshipped together, they built strong communities. They gave back to their country and made is better. But because those in power despised them, they created hate against them and let the people turn on their fellow countrymen.

You all know the rest of the story.

Or at least I hope you do, because if you don’t, its going to happen again because it’s already happening the exact same way it did in the 1920’s in Germany. If you don’t believe me, read the book. Read the history of one example of how mankind is one of the ugliest species on the planet. Read about how they divided the country and made people hate the Jews. Hitler blamed the loss of the war, the economic downfall of Germany and the bad decisions of the Weimar Republic on Jewish capitalism. Does this sound familiar? It should.

Churchill said “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Now while he didn’t invent that quote, he certainly had reason to use it. As the one person who stood up against Hitler (Thank Gawd he did) he understood completely the threat to humanity that existed in the ideology of the Nazi party.

Fuck we are stupid. That all happened in our generational life time. Our grandparents fought in that war. Our communities lost thousands of good men and women to the effort to combat the rise of Marxism and hate and protect the world against the likes of Hilter, Stalin, and Lenin.

Yet here we are.

I woke up on November 4th to hear people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for a “Truth and Accountability commission” to ensure Trump and his supporters are held to account. The talking heads were spitting vitrol and hate against 72 Million Americans who voted for Trump. On example, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin tweeted that morning, “Any R now promoting rejection of an election or calling to not to follow the will of voters or making baseless allegations of fraud should never serve in office, join a corporate board, find a faculty position or be accepted into ‘polite’ society. We have a list.”

We have a list? Seriously?

Hitler had a list too.

While Trump should have had a filter between him and his twitter feed, the man did nothing to rise to the level of a dictator who had women stripped naked and shot in front of their children, before they were shot next. Are you kidding me? Are people really that stupid?

I lived in the USA during Trump’s four years. I also lived there during Obama’s eight. By any measurable metric Trump’s four years brought more prosperity to the average American than Obama’s double term, and even if you take the economy out of the equation, Trump still made life better through his approach to governance. He got three noble prize nominations for crying out loud

But no one sees that.

But this isn’t about Trump, it’s about us.

We are failing as citizens to hold our leaders to account, and when you fail to check power, well, you get what you deserve. Our leaders, both elected and self-appointed (Think Zuckerberg, Gates) are running amok and have contempt for we the people. I believe in the next 6 months those in power are going to use the pandemic as a tool to move their agenda forward and attempt to go full Marxism around the globe under the guise of a One World Government. We are already seeing our own governments in Canada moving towards that end, the death of Freedom of Speech is just one indicator. Don’t believe me? Prime Minister Trudeau recently told the country “Freedom of expression is not without limits. We do not have the right, for example, to shout ‘fire’ in a movie theatre crowded with people.”

Well dumbass, actually we do, or at least we did. The cornerstone of any free person is the right to say what ever he/she/(Insert your preferred pronoun here) wants. If you cannot say whatever you want, you are oppressed. It’s just that fucking simple. He was wrong, but he wasn’t apologetic about being wrong. He thinks he is right, and his ideology supports that, which is the ideology of the left. You can say whatever you want as long as it agrees with our ideology, otherwise we will cancel you. We will public shame you. Call you racist, a bigot, etc until you shut up.

This is where we are today, a society afraid to speak up in fear they will be cancelled, ridiculed, or shamed. This is right where they want us, in fear, alone, and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Wear your mask, stay home, be a good citizen. Make sure you keep an eye on your neighbor to ensure they are being good citizen’s too. After all, we are all in this together, at least until we aren’t.

Maybe I’m wrong, and I hope I am. Maybe AOC really meant those lists were to send out holiday cards thanking all those 72,000,000 American’s for doing their civic duty by voting for the person they best perceive to leader their collective ideals, to further democracy and make their country the best it can be.

It’s just too bad they picked the wrong horse.

Or did they. Will we ever know for sure? I doubt it.

In the end, a polite society who are open to freedom of speech, even if it flies in the face of our beliefs is critical to a progressive society. If we suppress thought, fail to encourage debate, and dismiss the ideas of differing opinions we will fail as a society, and when a democratic society fails, tyranny rises.

When tyranny rises, the cost to humanity is great. We cannot afford this journey again.

Anyway, I need to go spend some time with my dog. I’m pretty sure he’s a liberal, but I love him just the same. I feel the same way about my liberal friends, they just don’t drool on me as much.

Enjoy the day, but think about what you are willing to accept from our governments. If we remain quiet we have no one to blame but ourselves. Sometimes yelling fire means things are actually burning.

[broadwaybydesign]

Nothing In Our Way: Costuming “Allegiance”

It seems like every time I get an Ask, the musical finds its way to the top of my queue of shows to review. That’s fine by me! Today, I’m going to take a look at some of the costumes from the Broadway musical Allegiance, which had a short run on Broadway but lives on in the cultural conscience thanks to two cinematic productions. The costumes are rich and varied, and I think that looking at them offers a nice complement and contrast to the Bandstand costumes I reviewed early on in this blog’s existence.

First, a little bit of background. Allegiance is a musical that attempts to illuminate a tragic chapter of American history through the beauty of the stage musical. Based on the memories and life of actor and internet hero George Takei, it focuses on the experiences of Japanese-Americans who were interned during the Second World War, detained without charge or reason simply because of their Japanese ancestry. Some were Japanese immigrants to the United States, but many, like Mr. Takei, were born and raised right here in the U.S. Their story is tragic, but there is a kind of optimism that infuses the musical: the goal is not merely to inform the public about the terribleness of the internment camps, but to enable a dialogue and a reconciliation regarding one of the saddest chapters in our history. I really do recommend that you check it out if you haven’t had a chance; the music and lyrics are memorable and powerful in 1940s style, and the passion the cast has for their roles is blindingly apparent.

Allegiance is also the first major musical on Broadway to feature a predominantly Asian cast without resorting to tropes and stereotypes. Chief amongst their cast is powerhouse Lea Salonga, who was the first-ever Asian woman to win a Tony Award for acting and is a groundbreaker in so many ways. Mr Takei himself also takes the stage as the man whose memories inform the plot, and the supporting cast is skilled beyond measure.

The costumes themselves are fascinating, and the main thrust of today’s review and discussion now that I’ve offered a little bit of an entrée into the musical itself. Costume designer Alejo Vietti, best known for his work on Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, created some gorgeous pieces that absolutely fit the 1940s aesthetic of the musical. Rarely for me, I’m going to offer some commentary on both the women’s and men’s costumes this time around because I think they deserve to be considered together. Let’s take a look:

This still offers us a good starting point for looking at Mr Vietti’s costume design. Ms Salonga’s character, Kei Kimura, is seen speaking with her grandfather in this scene, played by Mr Takei. Her dress is vibrant and patterned with a kind of geometric design, with some additional detail work along the collar of the dress itself. When I look at the dress, the first thing that sticks out is that it’s functional rather than designed to be “sexy” or enhance attractiveness. That’s a hallmark of early 1940s and wartime design. Aside from couture, fashion for the masses was designed to be usable and without much in the way of adornment, allowing whatever pattern was chosen for the fabric to do much of the work. What I like about this dress is that the green-over-red feels a bit symbolic to me. I look at the pattern and I see blades of grass that have been cut down and are drifting in the wind, all over a dramatic red background. That feels to me like a good metaphor for internment itself: these people were uprooted and scattered amidst a background of war and fear. I’m not 100% sure that was Mr Vietti’s intent, but it’s one that I think can be easily read-in.

Contrast that with Mr Takei’s costume in this scene. While costuming men is often a more simple affair, here the sweater offers a stoic and staid look. This is an older gentleman, confounded by the conditions in which he has been placed, but not modifying his outlook in the slightest. The sweater is a simple design, with a gray-blue plaid, blue sleeves, and a blue hem. It’s dark to fit the tone of the musical, but also shows a pride of appearance for the character himself. In contrast to Kei, Ojii-Chan (George Takei) is somber and more conservative, a relic of another generation. The costuming choice made by Mr Vietti accounts for that, and it’s a nice touch.

Part of the theme of the trauma of internment comes from the fact that these were everyday Americans uprooted under spurious pretenses, but who complied because they were told to by a government they still felt some measure of loyalty to. That comes out in some of the costume choices that concern the move towards the internment camps themselves:

Mr Vietti has gone the historically accurate route here. When Japanese-Americans were interned, they treated it with dignity that, frankly, I doubt most Americans could muster today. They put on their traveling clothes, as seen here, and complied peacefully; they may not have had the choice, but the compliance and willingness to trust this was a temporary horror is one of the things that I think makes their story one of true bravery. Here, we see the Kimura family on their way to internment and they’re dressed as...if they were going on a family vacation. Ms Salonga’s dress and coat are immaculate in a beautiful shade of brown (for the coat) and purple (for the underlying dress). Mr Takei (sporting the tag that internment victims were required to have on their clothing during the transit process) is in muted shades again, this time with a more functional jacket than the sweater in the previous still. Telly Leung (as Sam Kimura) is dressed as your average young man in the 1940s would be dressed, right down to the athletic, letterman-style jacket in shades of blue and gray.

I haven’t talked much about color palates on the blog, but I’ll throw a quick comment out here. Ms Salonga has the softest palate, with complementary colors that come together to make for a visually appealing look. Mr Takei is a much more stark palate, with grays and blacks predominating to add to the feeling of betrayal and bewilderment that his character no doubt feels at this moment. Mr Leung’s wardrobe, on the other hand, mixes the two previous palates: the beautiful blue contrasts with the starkness of the gray, giving some sense of mixed feelings and mixed emotions from the character--and that’s definitely an interesting thing to behold.

This is not a musical that lacks for color, either; take a look at this scene from a dance held at the internment camp where the Kimura family is forced to reside:

I absolutely love these costumes because they infuse a musical that is dark in tone and theme with some vibrancy and really stand out. People had to make their own light in the darkness, to borrow a cliched phrase, and one of the ways to do that was by continuing to dress as they might have when they were free Americans. The dresses on each of the women are bright and lively, and the patterns add a sense of fun and whimsy to the scene. That was absolutely an intentional decision on the part of the costume designer. Notice the starkness of the scene and set design, with the foreboding structure of the camp as the background. But this is a dance, a social event put on by the community that formed within the camp itself. When you are in the worst of circumstances, sometimes you try and build a little joy into it, and that’s not a bad thing to do in order to cope with tragedy.

The purple family predominates in this still and in these dresses. There are reddish-purples, a violet, and even a darker purple, all of which bring out the festive nature of the scene itself. The men are costumed in relatively formal attire, vests and sport coats and formal slacks, and it really adds to the scene itself. This is one of those areas where costuming can really change a production. These are people trying to inject some enjoyment and normality into a daily life that is anything but normal. The clothes they wear help to put them in the right frame of mind to do just that.

As I always do with my full musical reviews, I want to look at a couple of the leading lady’s costumes in a bit more detail. Lea Salonga is (personal opinion!) one of the prettiest women to grace the Broadway stage, and brings with that beauty a sense of gravity and dignity that not every actress is capable of bringing to a role; in that sense, I would put her in a category with greats like Audra McDonald or Bernadette Peters. Mr Vietti clearly had his work cut out for him in constructing and designing costumes to fit the actress’ talent and skill, and I think that he succeeded. Let’s take a closer look:

This is one of the chief promotional images for the musical, and the costume is classic 1940s design. Ms Salonga is outfitted in a plain, navy blue skirt that is formed by straight lines and rests close to her legs without being form-fitting. The blouse itself is a cream color that contrasts nicely, with a series of brown buttons in the front that match the simple, thin brown belt at the waist. But it’s the pattern on the blouse that I find most attractive. A series of small, even dainty blue flowers is replicated throughout the blouse, with even smaller flowers throughout the collar.

I really like the look of this, and one of the metrics I use for “everyday” costumes is whether or not I can envision women I know who lived through the era of a musical being able to pluck it out of their closet. This design by Mr Vietti definitely fits that standard to a T. I could very easily see my grandmother wearing an outfit like this, especially in her early working days. It’s feminine without being saccharine, it’s functional without being unpleasant to look at, and it’s professional without being boring. Those are not easy needles to thread!

Before I close the review, there is one more costume Ms Salonga wears that I want to take a look at. It’s the one she wears for her closing number and for her bows, and it returns to the purple family that I mentioned earlier. Plum is not a color that I associate with being used overly much on Broadway, and so that makes it all the more special here:

The color alone is visually stunning, and even in a lineup for bows, it stands out in all the right ways. It’s dark, it’s sumptuous, and it’s rich. The fabric itself is almost satiny, and it flows in a way that many of the costumes in this particular production were not designed to do, adding an element to its uniqueness. But it’s the jacket that goes as the top of this dress that really makes me enjoy and admire the costume. There’s an element of power and agency that it brings to the character and to Ms Salonga that many of the other costumes have not, despite being beautifully designed. This jacket feels like a more feminine, very early version of some of the power suit designs that I have reviewed for other productions.

The cut of the jacket is smooth and elegant, and the triple buttons are large and impressive, acting as a kind of adornment to the jacket itself. There is also a little bit of detail work--just a hint--on the shoulders to the side of the lapels. That’s a neat addition that helps this costume to pop a little bit more, and it makes it easily my favorite entry in Ms Salonga’s Allegiance wardrobe.

On the whole, I like the costume designs Mr Vietti put out for Allegiance. They’re classic and fit the time period really well, and because it’s an original musical, he has set the tone for any future productions or revivals should they occur. I think it’s a pity that the musical did not last longer on Broadway, but I am hopeful that L.A. audiences (who may have a stronger emotional pull to the subject of the musical) will appreciate it the way that its East Coast fans do, and that a national tour will be in the offing at some point. This is an important musical, with important and beautiful costumes, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to review it.

That wraps up my review of Allegiance, which I was very happy to have jump the queue. Remember: if you have a favorite musical you want me to take a look at, feel free to pop a suggestion in the Ask box or send me a message here or on my main account. I can’t make guarantees, but so far I’ve been able to hit a few fan and reader favorites and I will always try my best!

Stay tuned for more costume reviews towards the weekend, dear readers!

[innercomputerface-blog]

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[hotspreadpage]

Reddit for Marketing? Hell No, Except in This One Case

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about Reddit for this very site. Before it published, I was sure it was going to be my Best Post Ever. I cleared my morning to handle the massive influx of comments.

Crickets.

Netting just over 400 shares, it was – by CMI’s standards – a dud.

I’ve since learned that confessing my undying love of Reddit to non-redditors creeps people out. Reddit has a strange and even repellant interface, though its engineers are working on a friendlier site redesign now. And when Reddit makes the news, it’s usually a story about the site’s trolls or less attractive underbelly (such as when redditors harassed innocent bystanders after the Boston Marathon bombing, implying they might be the bomber based on appearance alone).

If you’re not currently using Reddit, I’m going to try to convince you to change your ways. But before I do, here’s a Reddit 101 for those of you not familiar with the site.

What is Reddit?

Reddit is a collection of thousands of subreddits, communities built around a particular topic or idea. Some subreddits (called “subs”) are massive in size and scope (r/technology), while others can be pretty arcane (r/overlanding).

If you have a hobby, there’s a subreddit for that. If you have a problem, there’s a subreddit to help you cope. And there are thousands of subreddits devoted to things you didn’t know you wanted to know about (but do!), such as r/accidentalrenaissance or r/AnimalsBeingJerks. Each subreddit has its own rules, moderators, and vibe based on the people who subscribe to it.

Each subreddit has its own rules, moderators, and vibe based on the people who subscribe. @clare_mcd #Reddit Click To Tweet

If you visit the site when you’re not signed in to a Reddit account, your “front page” will be a collection of popular posts from across the site – and that’s what usually turns new visitors off. As a little experiment, I took a peek at the top few posts on “popular” to see what a non-user would encounter when visiting Reddit for the first time (timestamp: 3:20 pm on 4/24/18). Let’s just say the editors of this blog would not allow me to post what I saw.

To understand why Reddit is awesome, you need to open an account. Without one, your view will default to what is interesting to the average user (my guess: a 20-year-old guy, living at home, eating Hot Pockets). Once you have an account, you can choose subs to join and customize what you see on your front page. That means fewer pictures from r/aww and r/BikiniBottomTwitter, and more posts from the communities you enjoy. Whenever I hear people say, “I don’t get it,” it’s because they haven’t joined subs that interest them.

To understand why @reddit is awesome, you need to open an account. @clare_mcd Read more>> Click To Tweet

Reddit for Marketing? Tempting …

We’ve gathered here, however, not to talk about Reddit in general but to explain Reddit for marketing. I find it fascinating that most content marketers don’t understand just how popular Reddit really is. 

The numbers speak for themselves. A list of the top websites in the world, compiled by Alexa, shows Reddit comes in sixth, just behind Wikipedia. (Alexa’s rank is calculated using a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews over the trailing 3 months.) Even more amazing? Reddit’s average for daily time on site is more than 15 minutes, crushing the sites above it in the rankings, including Facebook and YouTube.

Of the top websites in the world, @reddit comes in 6th behind @Wikipedia via @AlexaInternet. Read more>> Click To Tweet

  In the last 30 days, Reddit had nearly 60 million unique visitors from the U.S. alone, more than 1 billion visits, and over 8 billion pageviews. Holy cr@p; that’s a lot.

And Alexa confirms what I knew already from hanging around on Reddit: The audience skews young, male, and more educated than the average Internet user. (Individual subreddits differ significantly, of course.)

If Reddit’s audience is so massive and engaged, why don’t we hear marketers talking about it?

The #Reddit audience is massive, but it's hard for marketers to make inroads, says @clare_mcd. @AlexaInternet Click To Tweet

But it’s fraught with peril

So far, it’s been exceedingly hard for marketers to make any inroads on Reddit – and that’s good.

Reddit (warning: massive generalization incoming) thinks of itself as different and better than more brazenly commercial sites like Facebook. There’s a knee-jerk suspicion of anything promotional or covertly self-interested in large part because the culture values the community over the commodity. That means marketers who go on Reddit to plug a product or idea are verbally disemboweled. There are legendary cases of famous people doing Reddit for AMAs (“Ask Me Anything” interviews) and bombing terrifically because they just didn’t understand the community’s unwritten rules. (You can read about some of these bombs in my earlier post.)

Marketers who go on @reddit to plug a product or idea are verbally disemboweled. @clare_mcd #socialmedia Click To Tweet

Reddit has tried recently to push marketers into sponsored content, though I’m not convinced that’s working out well either.

A few weeks ago, QuickBooks organized a sponsored AMA with Julie Gordon White, an author and speaker who specializes in women entrepreneurs. There wasn’t anything wrong with the attempt; Julie seems like a likeable and interesting woman, and the microsite created by QuickBooks was decent. But with a measly three upvotes after three days, it’s clear something wasn’t clicking. (The conversation thread on the AMA was also fairly anemic, through no fault of Julie’s.)

The right way to use Reddit for marketing

Therein lies the big problem: On a site where all users are anonymized (which tends to embolden snarky behavior) and where there’s a general disdain for marketing, what’s the role for marketers?

What’s our role on a site like #reddit, where there’s general disdain for #marketing, asks @clare_mcd. Click To Tweet

The answer: Research, young grasshopper.

Reddit is a veritable gold mine of information relevant to your area of expertise, your audience, and your business. The number of subreddits on Reddit is so vast, it���s impossible NOT to find a community that matches your audience and its interests. Are your buyers statisticians? Hang out on r/AskStatistics, r/badstats, r/dataisbeautiful, and r/samplesize. Do you need to attract young programmers to your company? Why not join r/learnprogramming, r/programming and r/machinelearning? Interested in launching a new recipe microsite (poor timing .. but OK!)? Check out the most popular content on r/GifRecipes.

No matter what community you join, you can sort posts in a dozen ways to find the information you need. The best way to check and see if a sub is right for you is to sort by “Top – All Time.” You’ll quickly see what the community is all about.

And outside of the subs that match up with your business audience, you’ll find other cool subs to satisfy your learning needs:

To find new ideas about visualizing information and creating infographics, try r/Infographics, r/visualization, and r/dataisbeautiful

To find out how to untether yourself from your desk and work remotely from beautiful locales around the world, try r/digitalnomad

To brainstorm social and search ideas with others on the frontline, try r/socialmedia and r/seo

To keep tabs on emerging ideas and novel tech applications, try r/technology, r/Futurology, and r/tech

To brighten your life (there’s absolutely no professional reason to visit this sub), try r/reallifedoodles

The most important rule to observe

If you’re visiting a sub because it’s interesting from a marketing perspective rather than from a personal perspective, it’s best to keep your mouth shut. Listen without speaking (or typing).

If you really can’t help yourself and need to share something (whether a post or a comment), I advise you to:

Hang out as a subscriber for a while before you share

Read the sub’s guidelines in the righthand sidebar to ensure that you’re not running afoul of the rules

Keep your mouth shut in #reddit subs until you read the guidelines, says @clare_mcd. Click To Tweet

Surprising rewards

If I still haven’t convinced you to road-test Reddit, consider this: When you join a community, there’s often a subtext or inside joke that you only understand after logging some time there. And much of my insider knowledge bleeds out into the real world ­– whether it’s understanding the subtext of my kids’ conversations or getting the joke in Twitter conversations. It’s as if Reddit is a middle-aged mom code-breaking tool to help me understand my older kids.

Just the other day I told my 18-year-old son to be careful driving that night because … you know… 420. His eyes widened into white orbs of surprise. My response?

“Reddit, honey.”

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

The post Reddit for Marketing? Hell No, Except in This One Case appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

Reddit for Marketing? Hell No, Except in This One Case syndicated from https://hotspread.wordpress.com

[placetobenation]

“The revolutionary force for over 50 years in sports entertainment” was a clever tag line used in the mid 90s before every WWF show. For most United States wrestling fans that are still alive, it is a way of life. Greater by the day is the lack of variance in the answer of what wrestling an individual grew up on. For better or worse, WWE has been the standard bearer. Throughout that rich history, performers ranging from Nature Boys to Undertakers have graced the squared circle. Foreign legends have had extended runs and some of the most iconic figures in pro wrestling history have been aces of the promotion reaching unequivocal mainstream pop culture heights in the world of wrestling.

With such a large history to play with, discovering the beauty of Bob Backlund’s charisma or the connection of Bruno Sammartino to the MSG crowd was a new development throughout this project similar to rewatching The Godfather and On the Waterfront to rediscover the genius of Marlon Brando. WWE may not have always been YOUR promotion but for the better part of 50 years, it was THE promotion in the United States and transformed the pro wrestling landscape. This project serves to praise the individuals that best helped shape the vision of Vince McMahon Sr. and Jr. Place to be Nation is proud to present to you a ranking of the Greatest WWE Wrestlers Ever.

– Chad Campbell

Note: Every wrestler who received at least one vote will be recognized in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to Place to Be Nation as we reveal all of the honorable mentions right through the cream of the crop.

331. Uncle Elmer Total Points: 1 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 100 High Vote: 100 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Glenn Butler

Key Matches & Moments:  Married Joyce Stazko on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event; Wrestled at WrestleMania 2; Left the company

Staff Thoughts:  For a man who was perpetually eating from a bucket labeled “Uncle Elmer’s fried pig parts,” he certainly waddled his way into our (one person’s) hearts in his brief WWF tenure. Perhaps he set the template for such guys as Henry Godwinn and… Phineas Godwinn? Perhaps we’re reading too much into the 331st ranked wrestler.

From the Voters: “Now someone back me up on Uncle Elmer!” – Glenn Butler, May 28, 2017

330. Arnold Skaaland Total Points: 1 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 100 High Vote: 100 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

Key Matches & Moments: Throwing the towel in ending Bob Backlund’s title reign in 1983; Getting murdered by Bob Backlund in 1994; Jobbing to Mr.Fuji in the 70s; Going 7-1-1 against Boris Malenko

Staff Thoughts: He was never a huge star to the level of a Bruno Sammartino or Santino Marella but Skaaland was a decent hand who could fill in at a moment’s notice for the bigger stars of his era. Perhaps better remembered for his managerial run accounts for his singular vote in our top 100.

From the Voters: “The Golden Boy! Never seen a single match, but he is a useless manager on every level.” – David Bayens  September 10, 2017

“He was the greatest jobber ever in WWE, imo.” – Lee Wes September 19, 2017

329. Adam Bomb Total Points: 1 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 100 High Vote: 100 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Neil Trama

Key Matches & Moments: Was prematurely declared the winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble by Vince McMahon; Last Man eliminated from his team at the 1993 Survivor Series; House show series of casket matches with the Undertaker; Return as one half of KroniK is as loathed today as it was then

Staff Thoughts: Adam Bomb was a million dollar body with a ten cent pun for a name. Without the gimmick, Bryan Clarke may have reached higher heights, as is he’s little more than a very wet man with awesome contact lenses. Within a year he was being crushed by Earthquake, which should tell you all you need to know about his standing in the company. Still a fun and memorable personality though.

From the Voters: “He has white teeth. And was in KroniK” – Will Olsen, December 9, 2017

“Are we all forgetting his part in the Giant Gonzales face turn?!?!?!?” – Lee Wes, December 28, 2017

328. Dory Funk Jr. Total Points: 2 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 99 High Vote: 99 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Andrew Lacelle

Key Matches & Moments: Teamed with brother Terry against Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog in one of the better matches at WrestleMania 2; Teamed with fake brother Jimmy Jack which much less impressive results; Appeared at the 1996 Royal Rumble where he was NOT called a youngster by any of the commentators.

Staff Thoughts: Very short tenure, which is a shame as the team with Terry was quite fun to watch. Just when they were on the verge of what could have been an all time title feud with the British Bulldogs, Terry bolted and left him stranded. His showing in the 96 Rumble was impressive despite Dory looking like a depressed elk.

From the Voters: “No one wrote a damn thing about Dory Funk Jr. in the eight months the comments were active.” – Aaron George, January 2 2018

327. Max Moon Total Points: 3 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 98 High Vote: 98 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: Participated in the 1993 Royal Rumble; Beat enhancement talent; Colorful suit that possibly inspired Fatu’s “Make A Difference “ jacket in the mid-nineties.

Staff Thoughts: Perhaps someone’s vanity pick?

From the Voters: “I might have him as my vanity #100 for Mike Quackenbush.” – Henry Rivers November 23, 2017

326. Steve Blackman Total Points: 4 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 99 High Vote: 99 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Microstatistics; Mr.P

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted jumping out of the crowd to help Vader; Participated in the much “loved” Brawl for All; Was Shane McMahon’s surrogate against Stone Cold Steve Austin at King of the Ring 1999; Solid feud with Ken Shamrock throughout the summer of 1999; Had a tremendous hardcore title run in the year 2000 including dropping Shane McMahon to his death at SummerSlam 2000

Staff Thoughts: The Lethal Weapon was a mid-card staple throughout the Attitude era. While never the greatest in-ring technician he thrived in the plunder-filled Hardcore division. Said Hardcore division helped him revitalize his career after the Head Cheese incident of 2000. Could he smile? Nope. Did his music make you want to get up and dance? Absolutely! Sadly the beating of those frantic drums are what comes to mind when we think of Blackman rather than his swift kicks and karate sticks.

From the Voters: “If this was a list of legit tough guys in WWF history, he’d be a top 10 easily. However, his career was not memorable at all. Not on my list.” – Brian Bayless, June 2, 2017

“One of the most underrated entrance themes of all time” – Chris Manning, June 3, 2017

325. Kelly Kelly Total Points: 4 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 97 High Vote: 97 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

Key Matches & Moments: Won three years in a row at Survivor Series from 2007-2009; Had a decent series of matches against Beth Phoenix that polarized fans, including a victory at the 2011 Survivor Series.

Staff Thoughts: Beginning her career as simple eye candy whose entire gimmick was taking her clothes off, Kelly Kelly worked hard to improve throughout her six year WWE career. Was she the greatest diva of all time? Nope. Was she the worst? Far from it. Did she have the most awkward way of holding her arms in the air. You bet she did. Good or bad, she was the cornerstone of the diva’s division for an extended period of time.

From the Voters: “Kelly Kelly is no laughing matter gents. Definitely not a joke, I’m considering her along with a whole bunch of women, and I’m happy to get into them if people are skeptical. She’s better and has a better body of work than someone like, say, Ivory. Or Chyna ffs.” – Stacey O’Loughlin, May 31, 2017

“Yelled more than Mike Sharpe.” – Greg Phillips, June 1, 2017

324. Little Tokyo Total Points: 5 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 98.5 High Vote: 98 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Good Ol’ Will From Texas

Key Matches & Moments: The HUGE six man tag from WrestleMania III; A Phoenix house show in 1986 that Will saw live

Staff Thoughts: Perhaps the most talented of the little people, and always up for a fun outing. Will forever be remembered for the great revolt of 1987 against the monster King Kong Bundy. Sadly hurt by only totaling about 80 WWF matches over a fifteen year career.

From the Voters: “I loved watching him at a Phoenix house show in 1986.” – Good Ol’ Will From Texas, May 31, 2017

323. Samu Total Points: 5 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 96 High Vote: 96 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Dean Coles

Key Matches & Moments: Helped the Tag Team Champion Wild Samoans as “Samula” filling in for an injured Sika in 1983; Fought Bob Backlund once; Solid matchup with The Steiner Brothers at WrestleMania IX; Very consistent as part of the Headshrinker team; With Fatu, defeated the Quebecers to become WWF Tag Team Champions; In January 1994 was part of a gang beating/attempted murder; Later returned and threatened Fatu to stop making a difference

Staff Thoughts: The Headshrinkers were a beacon of light in a tag division living in the shadows of Money, Inc. Fatu gets all the credit though which explains Samu at the bottom of this pit. I can’t imagine he deserves to be this low but by the same token I couldn’t believe he rolled around in a ring full of food with Bastion Booger in 1993 either.

From the Voters: “Samu is not nominated, but was voted for. (Ed. note: Samu was subsequently nominated.)” Steven Graham, December 21, 2017

322. Lelani Kai Total Points: 5 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 96 High Vote: 96 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Nate Milton

Key Matches & Moments: Former WWF Women’s Champion; Was part of the groundbreaking WrestleMania match that included Cindy Lauper; Was one half of the daring and incredible sexy Glamour Girls; Was dragged back into the promotion to put over Alundra Blayze at WrestleMania X

Staff Thoughts: Was an afterthought in the groundbreaking WrestleMania match that included Cindy Lauper. The fifth most important woman in the match and one of them was David Wolfe! And she was the champion! She just always felt like someone they would drag out to to get beaten by the better talent. Richter, the Bomb Angels, Judy Martin, I’m surprised Stephanie McMahon hasn’t bashed her brains in yet. The Glamour Girl costumes were a poor man’s Killer Bees, which were already a poor man’s bees.

From the Voters: “Just not enough to be on the right side of the pay winda.” – Jeffrey Thomas, June 2, 2017

321: Warlord Total Points: 5 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 98.5 High Vote: 97 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Karl Grant

Key Matches & Moments: One half of the Powers of Pain, along with Barbarian from 1988 until the team split in 1990; At the 1988 Survivor Series the team was the sole survivor of the tag team elimination match, eliminating Demolition in the process when Mr. Fuji turned on the Tag Team Champions, siding with the POP; Was eliminated from the 1989 Royal Rumble in two seconds by Hulk Hogan, a record that stood for 20 years; Warlord’s contract was sold to Slick upon the POP split; Had a good feud with the British Bulldog peaking with a match at WrestleMania VII

Staff Thoughts: Warlord had a great look with his jacked physique, Road Warrior-light face paint and hair style and, later, the Phantom of the Opera tribute mask and W staff. He wasn’t the smoothest in the ring, and the Powers of Pain had a mostly unmemorable run, but the feud and WrestleMania match with British Bulldog are both quite good.

From the Voters: “Great look, not much else. His matches with Bulldog were ok.” – Ben Morse, June 7, 2017

“Like an action figure come to life but with stiffer arms.”- Neema Parvini, June 15, 2017

320. Hakushi Total Points: 7 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 94 High Vote: 94 Low Vote: 94 High Voter: Mike Rudh

Key Matches & Moments: In Your House #1 and Monday Night Raw matches with Bret Hart; Sneaky solid match with the 1-2-3 Kid at SummerSlam 95; Bringing great dishonor to his family by covering himself with Tattoos

Staff Thoughts: Sadly a guy a little ahead of his time. Once he got through Bret Hart and 1-2-3 Kid there was hardly anyone for him to work with at the time. King Kong Bundy would have squished him, Mabel would have squashed him and Yokozuna would have probably befriended him based on one of them being Japanese. A sorely underused exciting presence on a roster clearly lacking them at the time.

From the Voters: “I really liked him as a kid as I’d never seen wrestling like that before, but even his IYH match with Bret doesn’t hold up, and he wasn’t around long enough to warrant consideration.” – Adam Russell,  July 9, 2017

“Nah not around long enough. Though I love his Match with 1-2-3 Kid in the opener of SummerSlam 95.” – Jay Hinchey, May 30, 2017

319. Hans Mortier Total Points: 8 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 93 High Vote: 93 Low Vote: 93 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: Feuded with Bruno Sammartino in 60s; In the 70s was known as Lord Charles Montague despite having zero knowledge of Romeo, Juliet or the Capulets

Staff Thoughts: A competent hand who held down feuds with Bruno Sammartino and Bobo Brazil throughout the sixties.

From the Voters: “Who?” – Aaron George, January 2, 2018

318. Haiti Kid Total Points: 8 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 98.3 High Vote: 97 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Good Ol’ Will From Texas

Key Matches & Moments: Appeared at WrestleMania 2 in as the Ludmilla to Mr.T’s Ivan Drago; Was also part of the great King Kong Bundy revolt of 1987

Staff Thoughts: Haiti Kid was always good for a fun matchup in the undercard and was a surprisingly decent mat wrestler as well. He will forever be known as the one that King Kong Bundy didn’t kill.

From the Voters: “I’m not sure if he makes anyone’s top 100, but the unintentional comedy of him sitting on Gorilla Monsoon’s lap for an interview in 1986 might be the best part of the WM2 build.” – Steve Bennett, May 29, 2017

“This is a joke correct?” – Eric Boyd, May 30, 2017

317. Kota Ibushi Total Points: 9 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 92 High Vote: 92 Low Vote: 92 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: Kota Ibushi participated in the Cruiserweight Classic in the summer of 2016, losing in the semifinals to eventual winner T.J. Perkins; He teamed with Perkins in the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in NXT, falling to Sanity in the second round

Staff Thoughts: Kota Ibushi is a great wrestler, with the bulk of his work elsewhere.

From the Voters: “When Kota Ibushi obtained the three votes necessary to gain eligibility for this project, it was the culmination of Henry Rivers’ boyhood dream, resulting in the posting of the Shawn Michaels video in Ibushi’s comments thread on December 8, 2017.” – From the Editors

316. Virgil Total Points: 9 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 98 High Vote: 95 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: ElliottPWO

Key Matches & Moments: Virgil served as the bodyguard to the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, where he was repeatedly humiliated by DiBiase and beat up by babyfaces looking for revenge on his Ted; Eventually growing tired of DiBiase’s mistreatment he turned on The Million Dollar Man hitting him with the Million Dollar Belt at the 1991 Royal Rumble; This sparked a hot feud where Virgil defeated DiBiase via countout at WrestleMania VII and eventual won the Million Dollar Belt from him at SummerSlam; He continued with the company until 1994

Staff Thoughts: Virgil was an important part of the Million Dollar Man act, and generated sympathy, resulting in his babyface turn being white-hot. Fans were solidly behind Virgil and the pop when he wins the Million Dollar Belt is huge and a great feel good moment. He was never great in the ring, but wasn’t supposed to be originally as he wasn’t trained as a wrestler. Today he is an advocate of meat sauce and other fine delicacies.

From the Voters: “Olive Garden Hall of Famer.”- Greg Diener, June 3, 2017

315. Bushwhacker Butch Total Points: 9 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 92 High Vote: 92 Low Vote: 92 High Voter: Jason Fastkade

Key Matches & Moments: The lesser-worker of a legendarily popular and commercial tag team, Butch will be most remembered for the Bushwhacker walk, his action figure with movable arms, being featured on children’s bed sheets and a guest spot on TV’s Family Matters; Oh, he’s a Hall of Famer, too

Staff Thoughts: It is no secret that the Bushwhackers were workrate champions in the ring, but their schtick was super memorable and they knew how to brawl. Multiple kids on the block growing up had the action figure, and to this day, nerds in wrestling crowds do the Bushwhacker walk. Throw traditional wrestling out the window and have fun.

From the Voters: “The Bushwhackers were awesome in their role, and pass the non-fan test with flying colors. I have a friend I got into wrestling around 2006 and the only people she knew right off from the 80s were Hulk Hogan, Macho Man & The Bushwhackers. If they could be ranked as a tag team act, they’d get strong consideration from me, but either guy by himself? Not even close.” – James Proffitt

314. Tony Parisi/Tony Pugliese Total Points: 10 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 91 High Vote: 91 Low Vote: 91 High Voter: Timothy Drake

Key Matches & Moments: Read our Lee Wes’ thoughts below

Staff Thoughts: Not even going to pretend here.

From the Voters: “Started WWWF in ’66 as a cousin to Bruno, won the US tag titles in ’66 with Johnny Valentine from the Millers resulting in Valentine turning heel on Parisi. Won the belts back from Smasher Sloan & the Baron in ’67 with the help of Spiros Arion. Parisi held them for six months, with Arnold Skaaland filling in as co-holder of the belt when Arion left the country for several months. He later won the WWWF World tag titles with Gino Brito in ’75, defeating the Blackjacks, and holding the belts for six months before dropping them to Big John Studd & Killer Kowalski. In ’76, he headlined MSG with Bruno, defeating Ivan Koloff & Superstar Billy Graham. When the International title was restarted in ’82, Parisi was the inaugural champion, before losing to his former tag partner Gino Brito who lost it to Tatsumi Fujinami.” – Lee Wes, September 29, 2017

“Anybody got any handy links though?” – Lee Wes, September 29, 2017

313. Tyler Breeze Total Points: 12 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 95 High Vote: 91 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: Tyler Breeze was a mainstay on the NXT roster from the character’s debut in 2013 until his call-up to the main roster in 2015; During his time in NXT, he feuded with Tyson Kidd, Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville, challenging for the NXT title at NXT Takeover: Fatal Four-Way; Competed against Jushin Thunder Liger at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, losing to the Japanese legend; Debuted on the main roster in the fall of 2015, where he feuded with Dolph Ziggler for the remainder of the year, before going on a long losing streak to start 2016; Went on to form the Breezango team and hone his detective skills on the Fashion Files

Staff Thoughts: Tyler Breeze was a perfectly servicable upper-midcarder in NXT to trot out for a title match, though I never bought him as a serious threat. He had good matches with other good workers in NXT. Didn’t do much on the main roster until teamed with Breezango for the Fashion Files vignettes.

From the Voters: “Had a great run in NXT putting on top notch matches with the likes of Sami Zayn, Tyson Kidd, and Adrian Neville. Stalled out initially on the main roster, but his Fashion Police teaming with Fandango may be the most watchable thing on WWE TV right now. He needs a bit more to make the list, though.”- Ben Morse, June 9, 2017

312. Scotty Too Hotty Total Points: 13 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 94.5 High Vote: 90 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Pete Schirmacher

Key Matches & Moments: Scott Taylor debuted as part of the WWF’s plans to reboot their light heavyweight division in 1997, but floundered until teaming with Brian Christopher as Too Much and later Too Cool; The Scotty Too Hotty persona as part of Too Cool led to a very popular tag team act and eventually three person stable with Rikishi; Too Cool later won the tag team titles from Edge and Christian in 2000; Held the Smackdown tag titles with Rikishi in 2004; Feuded with Dean Malenko over the light heavyweight title winning it in 2000 before dropping it back to Malenko; They battled for the Light Heavyweight belt again at Backlash 2000 in what is considered a hidden gem of a match; Scotty remained with the company until 2007

Staff Thoughts: Too Cool was a fun mid-card act, and  the spot in the Rumble where Rikishi clotheslined Scotty and Grandmaster out after their dance was great. The worm was a ridiculous but unique and very over finisher. The Dean Malenko match is a hidden gem and Too Cool was a fun part of the late Attitude Era. Scotty was always a solid to good worker that shockingly stuck around until 2007.

From the Voters: “I think Scotty was better than Grandmasta. Longer tenure, had a legit ****+ ppv match with Malenko, and had one of the most over finishers of the Attitude Era. That having been said, I’m still not listing him.” – Neil Trama, June 2, 2017

311. Mil Mascaras Total Points: 14 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 87 High Vote: 87 Low Vote: 87 High Voter: Robert Silva

Key Matches & Moments: Appeared in more than 80 WWWF/WWF matches between 1972 and 1987 and in the 1997 Royal Rumble, where he eliminated himself; Fought several stars of that era at Madison Square Garden and elsewhere, participating in numerous battle royals and challenged Don Muraco for the Intercontinental Title

Staff Thoughts: Mil Mascaras has been vilified for his selfishness in the ring by Mick Foley, Chris Jericho and JBL, and his record in WWWF/WWF matches seems to be about as free of jobbing as you can get. If there are good matches, they are hidden indeed. He did have a remarkably long career, is a legend in Mexico and is a WWE Hall of Famer.

From the Voters: “Fuck Mil Mascaras.”- Aaron George, January 2, 2018

“Justin you need to stop posting these things when your drunk.” – Nicholas Lawrence, June 17, 2017

310. Bruiser Brody Total Points: 17 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 84 High Vote: 84 Low Vote: 84 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: Bruiser Brody wrestled in more than 25 matches for the WWWF in 1976 and 1977; Challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title four times, including in a Texas Death Match in Madison Square Garden.

Staff Thoughts: Bruiser Brody was known to draw crowds wherever he went, though most of his work took place outside WWE. Your mileage may vary on his brawling style.

From the Voters: “Call me Bloody Brody Head.” – Jordan Duncan, December 31, 2005

309. Great Khali Total Points: 17 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 92.5 High Vote: 85 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Chris Jordan

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted in 2006 and immediately feuded with and defeated the Undertaker: Appeared on SmackDown, RAW and ECW in 2006-2007, and feuded with John Cena over the WWE title; Won the World Heavyweight title in 2007 in a battle royal and held the belt for about two months; Became a comedy act with the Khali Kiss Cam; Competed in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX; Returned in 2017 to aid Jinder Mahal in his Punjabi Prison title defense

Staff Thoughts: He’s very large and was with the company for a long time. With the positives out of the way, he may be the worst wrestler many have ever seen, with every movement looking wooden and unnatural.

From the Voters: “So bad that I felt sorry for him being out there. Didn’t seem to have a clue what he was doing, where he was or how he got there. I’d rather just pretend he never existed.” – Adam Russell, July 10, 2017

308. Berzerker Total Points: 17 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 95.3 High Vote: 86 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Andy LaBar

Key Matches & Moments: HUSS HUSS HUSS; Had excellent matches with British Bulldog, Greg Valentine, Mr. Perfect and was a highlight in battle royals; Rarely got off the bottom of the card, but tried to stab the Undertaker with his sword and won most matches via throwing his opponent to the outside for a countout

Staff Thoughts: Berzerker is so much more than a jobber, usually working squash matches and rarely getting pinned cleaned, but never getting truly pushed. Going back and watching Berzerker matches is a blast, they are quick and full of power moves. He was way more agile than others his size and had the best finisher of all time (throwing people out of the ring).

From the Voters: “I love the idea that he would win all of his matches by countout. They should have done a Goldberg like winning streak with that bit. The only storyline I remember is the time he tried to stab Undertaker with a sword. He is not making my list.” – Michael DeDamos, June 26, 2017

“Berzerker rules.” – Andy LaBar, January 5, 2018

307. Edouard Carpentier Total Points: 19 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 82 High Vote: 82 Low Vote: 82 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: Main eventer for Capitol when the WWWF was created; Had three WWWF title shots against Buddy Rogers

Staff Thoughts: We will defer to Lee Wes write up on the Facebook page listed below.

From the Voters: “Former NWA World champion, was a main eventer in Capitol when WWWF was created, main eventing against the likes of Killer Kowalski and Hans Mortier. Had 3 WWWF title shots against Buddy Rogers. Teamed with Bruno against the Kangaroos. Returned in ’67/’68 defeating the likes of Tank Morgan and Luke Graham. Teamed with Bruno in Philly against Monsoon & Prof. Toru Tanaka. Went to a 20-min time limit draw with the Sheik at MSG. Defeated Gorilla Monsoon in singles matches. Lost to Virgil the Kentucky Butcher (AMAZING worker John Quinn) at MSG to set up Quinn’s match with Bruno. Defeated George Steele at MSG in July ’68. Beat Killer Kowalski in Boston in ’73. Returned for a match at MSG in ’75. Worked two tv tapings in 1985. His final match was the Legends battle royal in ’87.” – Lee Wes, November 26, 2017

306. Melina Total Points: 19 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 91.5 High Vote: 87 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Microstatistics

Key Matches & Moments: Melina debuted as manager of MNM in 2005 and was known for doing splits as part of her entrance; Managed MNM to the WWE Tag Team championship three times; Involved in an angle with Mick Foley joining the Kiss My Ass Club to save Melina’s job, only to have her turn on him and fire him anyway; About the same time she developed the primal scream that we all know and love; Won the Women’s Championship three times and the Divas Championship twice; She remained with the company until 2011

Staff Thoughts: She may be remembered for her entrance far more than any particular match or feud. She was an important part of the MNM act. Solid run against all the divas of the era and was multi-time champion. Not the best diva, not the worst. That scream would peel paint off walls.

From the Voters: “I think she was better than many of her peers (Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle), but wildly overrated and never really put together a convincing body of work. Great entrance, somewhat memorable character, but that’s it.” – Greg Phillips, June 1, 2017

“I think she is ok. Not list worthy. That flexibility, tho.” – Jason Sherman, June 1, 2017

305. Test Total Points: 19 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 94.67 High Vote: 93 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Ian Goldsworthy

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted in 1998 as “The Corporation’s Hired Gun�� before being removed from the group in 1999 and joining the short-lived Union; Had an on-screen romantic relationship with Stephanie McMahon that led to the “Love Her or Leave Her” match vs. Shane McMahon at SummerSlam 1999; Formed the T&A tag team with Albert; Won the Hardcore Championship twice and later won the European Championship, which he lost to Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania X-7; Featured part of the Invasion angle, turning on the WWF and siding with The Alliance; Teamed with Booker T to win both the WWF and WCW tag team titles and won the Intercontinental Title; Part of the Un-Americans stable with Christian, Lance Storm and later William Regal, before being paired with Stacy Kiebler, dubbing his fans the “Testicles” and teaming with Scott Steiner; Returned in 2006 as part of the ECW brand

Staff Thoughts: There was a time following the Stephanie McMahon angle and the Shane McMahon match that many thought Test could become a top star. But that was the highlight of his career, although it seemed he was poised for something again with the Invasion and having immunity from being fired for a year. Of course, they dropped that angle and didn’t have any follow-up, which was a problem for Test throughout his career. At the same time, he never did much with any opportunities he was given and is a sad case of potential never fully realized, and yet another wrestler gone too soon.

From the Voters: “He lived off potential. If he could have been a main eventer, he would have been; they gave him enough chances. Sadly never put it all together.” – Ben Morse, June 9 2017

304. Tyson Kidd Total Points: 19 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 96.25 High Vote: 89 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWas

Key Matches & Moments: Helped “Uncle” Bret Hart beat up an old man at WrestleMania XXVI; With partner David Hart Smith captured the unified WWE Tag Team Title; Had a stellar year in NXT including main eventing NXT Takeover against Neville

Staff Thoughts: This small headed competitor was unfortunately just finding his stride on the main roster when he was sidelined with a likely career ending injury after a match with Samoa Joe. He was coming into his own with cats and facts which were a wonderful contrast to his stoic partner Cesaro. Without his NXT run it’s doubtful he receives any votes.

From the Voters: “Tyson has to be the most underrated WWE wrestler. A great NXT run with awesome matches with Zayn, Cesaro & Neville. He has many sneaky great matches against Rey Mysterio from Superstars, Christian ECW & the great triple threat match from Smackdown with Dolph & Cesaro. He formed the best tag team in around 5 years with Cesaro. As wrestler he is incredible smooth & along with AJ has the best execution. Great combination of High Flying & Technical wrestling” –  Hasan Mulla, June 6, 2017

303. Damien Sandow Total Points: 20 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 91 High Vote: 90 Low Vote: 92 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as Idol Stevens, one half of the Teacher’s Pets and feuded with London and Kendrick in 2006; Returned in 2012 as Damien Sandow, the intellectual savior of the unwashed masses; Formed the Rhodes Scholars tag team with Cody Rhodes; Sandow threw Rhodes off the ladder to win the 2013 Money in the Bank however he failed in his Money in the Bank cash-in against John Cena; Began a gimmick as a comic impersonator, eventually leading to an alliance with The Miz and his evolution into Damien Mizdow; He and Miz won the tag team titles in 2014, before splitting because Miz felt Mizdow was upstaging him

Staff Thoughts: Great character work and was always over and never booked to go anywhere.

From the Voters: “Wasted opportunity by WWE to capitalize on his talents. Whenever he did get a chance to show his skills, he proved that he was entertaining and deserved a better push from the company. He’s on my list but probably very low due to limited exposure.”- Dennis Nunez, May 29, 2017

302. Butch Reed Total Points: 21 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 90.5 High Vote: 90 Low Vote: 91 High Voter: Jesse

Key Matches & Moments: Beat the living shit out of Koko B Ware at WrestleMania III; Part of Andre The Giant’s winning team at the inaugural Survivor Series; Participated in the WWF Championship tournament at WrestleMania IV, bowing out in the first round to eventual winner Randy Savage; Along with Slick and The One Man Gang beat the living shit out of Superstar Billy Graham, pleasing fans throughout the four corners of the Earth

Staff Thoughts: Butch Reed felt like the perfect dance partner for the Doctor of Style. He was cut, solid in ring and had ludicrous blonde hair. His run was quiet and uneventful for the most part, but still Reed could always be counted on for a solid match in the lower midcard. If the legend is true he should have been the IC champion but thankfully we got eighteen god damn months of Honky Tonk Man instead. Damn you Butch Reed. Damn you to Hell.

From the Voters: “Just watched a Prime Time match between Reed and Hillbilly Jim. That was… unimpressive on many levels.” – Steven Joseph Ferrari, May 30, 2017

“No shot for me. I like Reed a ton especially in Mid South vs Flair but his WWF run was pretty poor. I couldn’t even fathom what his top performance was.” – Chad Campbell, May 29, 2017

301. Brian Knobbs Total Points: 21 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 80 High Vote: 80 Low Vote: 80 High Voter: ElliottPWO

Key Matches & Moments: Along with Jerry Sags stole Power & Glory’s spot at WrestleMania 7 and went on to defeat the Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Team Titles; Got demolished along with Sags by the Legion of Doom at SummerSlam 91; At WrestleMania was insulted by Ray Combs and humiliated in an eight man tag team match; Turned face and as a consequence made the world a worse place

Staff Thoughts: Knobbs was the “personality” of the Nasty Boys who were a middling team during their WWF tenure. Their matches were fun yet unspectacular. Pity City might be the reason the tag division died a slow death in the early 90s. It’s a good thing he came to the WWF though, it was there he met Hulk Hogan, who used Knobbs as a contrast to pick up chicks for years.

From the Voters: “Jerry Saggs >>> Brian Knobs. Saggs was a fucking nut in there.” – Martin Boulevard, May 29, 2017

“Mildly entertaining but nope.” – Will Gentler, May 29, 2017

300. Nunzio Total Points: 23 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 78 High Vote: 78 Low Vote: 78 High Voter: David Carli

Key Matches & Moments: Nunzio debuted in 2002 as Jamie Noble’s cousin, but soon formed the WWE version of the Full Blooded Italians with Johnny the Bull and Chuck Palumbo; Moved onto the cruiserweight division, winning the Cruiserweight title twice; Nunzio reverted to his Little Guido character on the 2005 ECW One Night Stand PPV and later during the ECW reboot, reforming the FBI with Tony Mamaluke and Trinity

Staff Thoughts: Good worker and solid hand in cruiserweight and tag team matches at a time when WWE cared little about either division (which is pretty much true for most of the company history.) He was in good company, as it seemed like the entire early 2000s cruiserweights had good, forgettable matches to fill TV and had better runs elsewhere.

From the Voters: “I love Nunzio. A definite sentimental favourite. But I can’t think of a single memorable match or moment from his WWE run, nor was he ever really over.” – Adam Russell, July 18, 2017

299. S.D. Jones Total Points: 23 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 93.3 High Vote: 85 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Scott Criscuolo

Key Matches & Moments: Special Delivery Jones wrestled over 1,200 matches for the WWWF/WWF losing the majority, but making heels look strong in the process; Was a mainstay of TV tapings and MSG shows, often facing incoming heels with bright futures; Tag team partner of Andre the Giant when Big John Studd and Ken Patera cut his hair; Appeared on the initial WrestleMania card facing King Kong Bundy, losing in in “nine seconds.”

Staff Thoughts: One of the more well-known jobbers in company history, filling the role of making the incoming heels look good. But S.D.’s greatest claims to fame are the loss to Bundy at WrestleMania and having an LJN action figure for reasons that still aren’t clear to anyone. In terms of jobbers, you could do worse.

From the Voters: “S.D. Jones’ LJN figure sucked from a practical standpoint. Can’t do nuthin with those arms!” – Aaron George, October 10, 2017

“You could pin his shoulders to the mat, though!” – Chris Jordan, October 10, 2017

298. Jazz Total Points: 24 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 77 High Vote: 77 Low Vote: 77 High Voter: Ash

Key Matches & Moments: Jazz was a mainstay of the women’s division, including memorable matches with Trish Stratus; Held the WWE Women’s Championship twice, successfully defending her title in a three-way against Trish and Lita at WrestleMania X8, and challenged Trish and Victoria at WrestleMania the next year

Staff Thoughts: Jazz stood out from the rest of the women’s division at the time with her power moves and had some good matches with other good workers like Trish Stratus and Victoria. She fell short of some of the other women of the era in character work and the women’s matches were rarely given time to really get going.

From the Voters: “‘The bitch is back, and the bitch is black’. It was a memorable little run, but nowhere near enough to even be considered.” – Adam Russell, July 9, 2017

297. El Torito Total Points: 24 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 93 High Vote: 86 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: The highlight of El Torito’s WWE tenure was the WeeLC match where he defeated Hornswoggle in the pre-show of Extreme Rules 2014 in what was considered one of the greatest pre-show matches ever; Appeared as the mascot of Los Matadores and appeared in about 70 matches, many with Los Matadores

Staff Thoughts: The WeeLC match is great and if you have a midget quota he’s as good as any and has better matches than most in his division (or all in WWE).

From the Voters: “El Torito and Hornswoggle vs. Slater Gater, WeeLC. Never forget.” – Henry Rivers, June 14, 2017

296. Jason Jordan Total Points: 25 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 76 High Vote: 76 Low Vote: 76 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: Formed many mismatched teams in NXT before being graced with the blessing that is Chad Gable; Winning the NXT Tag Team Titles from the Revival at NXT Takeover Dallas; Flopping on the main roster as Sharmell T’s illegetimate child

Staff Thoughts: Jason Jordan was a spectacular hot tag guy in his team with Chad Gable but unfortunately has floundered in virtually every other role. Still, the matches with the Revival are spectacular in no small part thanks to him. Has the potential to be great in the ring if he could only shake a horrid case of RockyMaiviaitis.

From the Voters: “Has to have an amazing next six months since I like his NXT tag work. Been a nothing act since on SmackDown. Will go on with Gable or not at all.” – Good Ol’ Will From Texas, May 30, 2017 (Ed. note: “He didn’t.”)

295. Bushwhacker Luke Total Points: 26 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 88 High Vote: 85 Low Vote: 91 High Voter: Blaise Perrone

Key Matches & Moments: By 2017 standards, spent years sexually harassing fans in the front rows of shows; Watched as cousin Butch shamelessly sexaully assaulted Jacques Rougeau at WrestleMania 5; Was fun

Staff Thoughts: Twelve spots ahead of Butch?

From the Voters: “His most memorable moment is the ’91 Rumble, so…” Jeremy Ray, June 1, 2017

“Was Jameson Jameson’s first name or Jameson’s last name?” – Greg Phillips, June 1, 2017

294. Dick Togo Total Points: 26 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 88 High Vote: 77 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Microstatistics

Key Matches & Moments: Had a series of fun matches as part of Kai En Tai; Aided in attempted genital severing in the summer of 1998; Inspired Kevin Owens’ ring gear

Staff Thoughts: Dick Togo was great but wasn’t around long enough while being hampered with a comedy gimmick. To this day he reminds some of a shorter, angrier Tomohiro Ishiii.

From the Voters: “What Jinder was in 2012, Togo was in 1998. Pure mush. See ya, Dick!” – Jason Greenhouse, May 29, 2017

“Kaientai sucked. Come on.” – Eric Boyd, May 29, 2017

293. Tyler Bate Total Points: 26 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 92.3 High Vote: 85 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: James

Key Matches & Moments: Breakout star of the U.K Tournament earlier this year, which he won in a tremendous match against Pete Dunne; All of his matches in the Tournament were highlights and he was very over as a babyface during the tournament; Bate and Dunn went on to top themselves in a rematch for the U.K. Title at NXT Takeover: Chicago in a show-stealing MOTYC

Staff Thoughts: Tyler Bate has delivered in every bout with WWE, and if he had more matches on his resume, no doubt he’d be higher. He stood out in the U.K. tournament working great as a babyface (better than most in the WWE stateside). Both matches with Pete Dunne were as tremendous as Bate’s mustache.

From the Voters: “His match at Takeover: Chicago could be a MOTY candidate. Having said that, the resume is too small.” – Scott Criscuolo, June 7, 2017

292. Mike Sharpe Total Points: 28 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 91.667 High Vote: 87 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Ray Miller

Key Matches & Moments: Canada’s greatest athlete was a fixture as enhancement talent from 198 to 1995; His matches consisted of him yelling throughout before ending flat on his back; He somehow overcame the mysterious arm injury he was nursing for years to challenge Bob Backlund for the WWF title in 1983, although shockingly, he was defeated and would never hold a title for the promotion

Staff Thoughts: Yelled a lot throughout his matches, which he always lost (at least after 1983 or so). May have passed along whatever contagious degenerative arm condition he had to Owen Hart, but I’m not a doctor so can neither confirm nor deny. One of the more well-know jobbers of the 80s and early 90s.

From the Voters: “If there is a discussion thread open for Iron Mike Sharpe, I cannot find it as I write this summary.” – Tyler Kelley, January 5, 2017.

291. Tatsumi Fujnami Total Points: 29 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 86.5 High Vote: 75 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Microstatistics

Key Matches & Moments: Defeated Jose Estrada for the WWWF Junior Heavyweight Title; Beat noted asshole Chavo Guerrero for that same title in 1980; CRUSHED Gino Brito to win the WWWF International title in 198; Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 and NOT just because they wanted to put in a Japanese guy

Staff Thoughts: While his appearances were sporadic he still managed to stick around for about seven years and was a highlight to most cards he was on. Come on now, how much more do you want me to say about this guy?

From the Voters: “7-year WWE career, WWF International Heavyweight champ and WWWF Junior Heavyweight champ. WWE HoF class of 2015.” – Les Wes, October 7, 2017

290. Luke Graham Total Points: 32 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank: 69 High Vote: 69 Low Vote: 69 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: Teamed with brother Jerry Graham to win the WWWF US Tag titles in 1964; Along with Tarzan Tyler were the first WWWF Tag Team Champions in 1971; In the late 70s and eary 80s feuded with the likes of Andre The Giant and LEGEND Dino Bravo

Staff Thoughts: Crazy Luke Graham was an important cog in the development of tag team wrestling for the WWWF.

From the Voters: “I would like to second the nomination for Luke Graham.” – Lee Wes, September 5, 2017

289. Paul Roma Total Points: 33 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 90 High Vote: 84 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: Andy Atherton

Key Matches & Moments: One half of both the Young Stallions and Power & Glory, both had their moments in high profile matches; The Young Stallions twice defeated the Hart Foundation, once in a non-title shocking reverse decision win and later by disqualification and also defeated Demolition; Were also were one of the surviving teams in the initial Survivor Series tag team elimination match; Power & Glory were best known for their cool PowerPlex finisher and for defeating the Rockers at SummerSlam 1990

Staff Thoughts: Paul Roma was part of two interesting tag teams that could have been bigger than they wound up being. The PowerPlex was a cool finisher. Still Roma could never put it all together to rise above second-tier tag team with upside.

From the Voters: “I might like Hercules better.” – Good Ol’ Will From Texas, June 1, 2017

288. Jerry Sags Total Points: 36 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 83 High Vote: 79 Low Vote: 87 High Voter: ElliottPWO

Key Matches & Moments: Sags was half of the Nasty Boys, who were one of the primary tag teams of the early 90s, for better or worse; Won the tag team titles from the Hart Foundation at WrestleMania VII and held them until SummerSlam 1991, losing to the Legion of Doom

Staff Thoughts: The Nasty Boys had some good brawls elsewhere, but you can have their WWF run. Sags may have been the workhorse of the team (that is damning with faint praise) but the team pretty much took the tag division to pity city.

From the Voters: “Jerry Sags? Yes, he does.” – Todd Weber, May 30, 2017

287. Jinder Mahal Total Points: 36 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 89 High Vote: 76 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Chris Jordan

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as the Marcus Licinius Crassus to The Great Khali’s Antoninus; Formed the jobber group 3MB as the “funny” one; Took some time off and upon return was inexplicably given a six month reign as WWE champion; Had the honor of jobbing and bowing to Triple H in his “home” country

Staff Thoughts: On a show with AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Rusev and Mojo Rawley THIS is the guy they tasked with carrying the main events for most of 2017. Not only did he make Smackdown feel interminable but he may have also killed the push of sure fire star Shinsuke Nakamura. We would love to joke more about this entry but it makes us too sad. Corporate greed over artistic accomplishment. Greed that didn’t even pay off as they had to cancel one of their India shows due to poor attendance. Who knew that putting a turban on a Canadian, making him the biggest coward/asshole on TV and declaring him a “Modern Day Maharajah” didn’t electrify the Indian people.

From the Voters: “Fuck you pal.” – Vince McMahon, November 7, 2017

286. Judy Martin Total Points: 37 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 82.5 High Vote: 66 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Jamie McGleave

Key Matches & Moments: Judy Martin challenged Wendi Richter for the women’s title early in her career but is best known as one-half of the Glamour Girls; Along with tag team partner Lelani Kai, were part of the women’s elimination match at the initial Survivor Series, losing to Fabulous Moolah’s team; Feuded with the Jumping Bomb Angels for much of 1988, staging some of the best women’s matches the company had seen and would see for decades to come, including a two out of three falls match at the first Royal Rumble in 1988; Also attempted to murder Desiree Petersen in Madison Square Garden in 1985

Staff Thoughts: Track down any Glamour Girls and Jumping Bomb Angels match you can find.

From the Voters: “Incredibly underrated. Was able to keep up with the Jumping Bomb Angels too. Don’t know if she makes the list but people should check out her matches.” – Brian Bayless, May 30, 2017

285. Tommy Dreamer Total Points: 38 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 82 High Vote: 64 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Tommy Dreamer was brought into the Invasion angle as part of whatever bastardized version of ECW joined forces with the shell of the bastardized version of WCW to form the most intimidating wrestling stable name, The Alliance; Later found his niche on RAW by eating food off the floor and drinking the Undertaker’s chew spit; Was crucial to WWE re-launching the ECW brand, wrestling in the main event of the 2005 One Night Stand and being involved in the hottest angle and one of the best matches in 2006 when he teamed with Terry Funk and Beullah to take on Mick Foley, Edge and Lita; Dreamer’s name and reputation with ECW fans was an important component to WWE relaunching the ECW brand; Won the ECW championship at Extreme Rules 2009

Staff Thoughts: The heart and soul of ECW was valuable whenever WWE wanted to gain any credibility with former ECW fans, for the One Night Stand PPVs or the “brand re-launch.” The match vs. Mick Foley, Edge and Lita is must-see and probably the highlight of his WWE career, though he also made his WWECW title win compelling by saying he’d retire if he didn’t win the title. Since WWE was never committed to the spirit of ECW, Dreamer’s moments were few and far between despite his surprisingly long tenure. Good matches were even rarer, unless he could get involved in a chaotic brawl. And don’t get us started on the gross-out contest era of RAW.

From the Voters: “He’ll probably sneak on near the bottom of my list. His Hardcore/IC unification match against RVD on Raw in 2002 was pretty fun, as was a Singapore Cane match with Stevie Richards around the same time.” – Stephen Brogee, June 19, 2017

284. Sable Total Points: 38 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 82 High Vote: 70 Low Vote: 94 High Voter: Brad Faulk

Key Matches & Moments: Sable was one of the most over acts in 1998-1999; Teamed with Marc Mero in a WrestleMania XIV to defeat Goldust and Marlena; Overshadowed Mero leading to a feud that led to Mero pretending to lay down for Sable before pinning her; Led to the debut of Edge as Sable’s mystery partner for a match vs. Mero and Jacqueline; Won a bikini contest she won at Fully Loaded 1998 when her bikini consisted of body paint over her two most prominent assets; First diva to pose for Playboy, which was certainly influential and started a trend for future divas; Returned to WWE in 2003-2004 and was involved in a variety of angles with McMahons and the divas of the day

Staff Thoughts: One of the hottest stars of the Attitude Era, due to her huge boobs, posing for Playboy and her remarkably clutch ability in bikini contests. In a shocking development, bikini contests judged by applause from crowds of teen and twenty year old predominantly male audiences tend to favor attractive women with big boobs who show a lot of skin. And that’s Sable’s starpower in a nutshell, although she did garner sympathy in the Mero feud.

From the Voters: “The worst kind of stripper… no soul, all makeup.” – Good Ol’ Will From Texas, June 2, 2017

“The Big Show… Sable… AND ME!” – JT Rozzero, January 5, 2017

283. Stevie Richards Total Points: 38 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 88.3 High Vote: 79 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Rory McNamara

Key Matches & Moments: Meandered with a tag team with Blue Meanie, including the making of the Blonde Bytch project and impersonating other wrestlers, before forming the Right to Censor.; Best known for the RTC and their annoying entrance music and heat generation; Staple of the Hardcore division and a 22-time champion, before taking on the Stevie Night Heat gimmick proclaiming himself the GM of Heat; Formed an alliance with Victoria where he served as her manager/valet; Reformed the Blue World Order as part of the ECW reboots at the One Night Stand PPV and continued with the gimmick

Staff Thoughts: Threw himself into everything he did, making some potential shit entertaining.

From the Voters: “I want to rate him, I just don’t think the meat is on the bone. Good character and great team player, but he never got the changes he deserved. One of the biggest “what might have been” guys of his era.” – Dylan Hales, July 11, 2017

282. Bobby Duncum Total Points: 38 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 88.3 High Vote: 79 Low Vote: 94 High Voter: Grady Blount

Key Matches & Moments: Was a regular challenger to both Bob Backlund for the World title and Pat Patterson for the Intercontinental Title.

Staff Thoughts: While a frequent challenger to Bob Backlund and Pat Patterson, he was never able to match the high match quality that other Backlund and Patterson opponents did.

From the Voters: “Bobby Duncum is not nominated, but was voted for. (Ed. note: Duncum was subsequently nominated.)”” – Steven Graham, December 22, 2017

281. Albert Total Points: 38 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 88.3 High Vote: 71 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Ash

Key Matches & Moments: Amongst the best tattoo artist/piercing specialist to convert to a wrestler; Was in a number of uninteresting groups like T&A, X-Factor and his team with Scotty Too Hotty as the Hip Hop Hippo; The most significant accomplishment of his career was having a very good match with Kane, which might be the best singles match of both their WWE careers; Returned to WWE in 2012 as Lord Tensai, which was a thing

Staff Thoughts: Kane and Albert having good matches together remains one of the great mysteries of our time to be studied by wrestling-obsessed scholars. Whether the reasons were some type off chemical reaction from the residual formaldehyde fumes from the fire that killed Kane’s parents interacting with Albert’s back hair, or simply a rare on night for both performers, we may never know.

From the Voters: “It was always the same guy just with more or less hair on his back. Another guy for me who was around too long in the early 2000s. Always a channel changer. He was also colossal flopped as Tensai. Within six months he was back to dancing.” – Aaron George, June 2, 2017

280. Terry Taylor Total Points: 40 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 81 High Vote: 62 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Beat a bunch of the regular jobbers of the 1980s; Was the first eliminated in the 1988 Survivor Series main event; Worked the ‘89 and ‘90 Royal Rumble and Survivor Series; Beat Bobby Heenan in 30 seconds at WrestleMania V; Had a rooster-styled haircut and clucked liked a damn chicken

Staff Thoughts: “Red Rooster” Terry Taylor, despite being a long-time wrestler, trainer and stalwart of both the NWA and WWF did not even get the required nominations to be a part of this project, and yet he was voted on twice. Generally considered one of the most boring wrestlers on the planet and someone who loved to bury talented folks backstage with NXT, Taylor actually agreed to play the role of Red Rooster in WWF, one of the worst gimmicks of all time.

From the Voters: “Cluck, cluck, you suck, pal.” – Vince McMahon, March 30, 1990 (probably)

279. Noriyo Tateno Total Points: 40 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 87.7 High Vote: 74 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: ElliottPWO

Key Matches & Moments: As part of the Jumping Bomb Angels, worked only 61 matches total between 1987-1988, all but two solely against the Glamour Girls, Judy Martin and Leilani Kail Had a memorable match at the 1987 Survivor Series, won the WWF Women’s Tag Team title once

Staff Thoughts: Though the list of accomplishments and variety of opponents is slim, Noriyo Tateno and Itzuki Yamazaki were nevertheless voted on due to high match quality and lasting influence. The Jumping Bomb Angels worked at an in-ring pace that was rarely seen in the ring in 1987, by men or women. Almost any match with the Glamour Girls is enjoyable if not outright good, but 11/87 MSG and 3/88 Boston Garden are both 4+ star classics, despite being seeing by so few.

From the Voters: “I love the Jumping Bomb Angels!” – Jeff Machado, December 15, 2017

278. Itsuki Yamazaki Total Points: 41 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 87.3 High Vote: 73 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: ElliottPWO

Key Matches & Moments: See Above

Staff Thoughts: The Jumping Bomb Angels also had a killer entrance theme.

From the Voters: Pardon my ignorance, but one of the Bomb Angels?” – Will Gertler, May 30, 2017

277. Killer Khan Total Points: 41 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank:87.3 High Vote: 74 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Kris Zellner

Key Matches & Moments: Feuded with Bob Backlund over the WWF title and Pedro Morales over the Intercontinental title in 1980; His most well-known feud was with Andre the Giant, where he broke the Giant’s ankle in a match in 1981, leading to a Mongolian Stretcher Match in November 1981 in Philadelphia; Made a brief return to the company in 1987 feuding with Outback Jack and challenging Hulk Hogan for the belt on house shows

Staff Thoughts: Always looked like a monster, and was very believable in the role. The Andre the Giant feud was one of the best WWF feuds of the early 80s and won the Observer feud of the year in 1981.

From the Voters: “Andre and Backlund matches were good, and he was a very solid worker. I don’t think that alone gets him past some of his contemporaries to the next phase for me though.” – Brad Woodling, May 30, 2017

276. Jacqueline Total Points: 42 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank:59 High Vote: 59 Low Vote: 59 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Involved in no less than two (2) nipple violations in the nipple filled attitude era; Helped establish the newly formed Women’s division in the late nineties; Was a founding member of the Pretty Mean Sisters whose primary job was interfering in matches and sexually humiliating Shawn Stasis; Won WWE Cruiserweight Title during a feud with the Chavo Guerreros

Staff Thoughts: Jacqueline was the legit wrestler that helped Sable get over and become the face of women’s wrestling for a while. A steady mainstay in the division she acted as gatekeeper for many years before quietly entering retirement. Was tremendous as Marc Mero’s second and fun as the third Acolyte. Sadly despite her immense talent was always put aside for the models that would populate the division as the 2000s went on.

From the Voters: “I second/third noms for Jacqueline, Jazz, Melina, Michelle McCool, Natalya, Ken Kennedy.” – Stacey O’Laughlin May 30th 2017

275. Kalisto Total Points: 43 Total Ballots: 1 Average Rank:58 High Vote: 58 Low Vote: 58 High Voter: Karl Grant

Key Matches & Moments: LUCHA! LUCHA! LUCHA! Formed a kickass team with Sin Cara and won the NXT Tag Team titles, finally ending the Ascension’s reign; Defeated Alberto Del Rio for the US title and enjoy relative success in rematches; Best singles match may be the pre show match with Ryback at WrestleMania 32; Has recently joined the cruiserweight division where success has varied

Staff Thoughts: Rey Mysterio without the physical charisma of Rey. LUCHA! LUCHA! LUCHA! Very strong in ring performer who is usually regulated to sub ten minute matches. LUCHA! LUCHA! LUCHA! chant does nothing but make me want to leave my family. His push was probably abruptly ended when he imploded trying to cut a promo on Talking Smack. Nobody took Rusev’s accolade like Kalisto. Like he was bent in fucking half.

From the Voters: “He’s enjoyable, but he’s like a poor man’s Rey Mysterio.” – Michael Schoen, June 1, 2017

“He was, then they turned him into a poor man’s Rellik, and now a poor man’s Drago” – Eric Miller, June 5, 2017

“Unfortunately, this guy works for a company run by folks who do not completely understand the nature of smaller guys and the lucha-ish style. Probably out of my list.” – Will Olson, June 1, 2017

Stay tuned for more in the coming days!

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Reddit for Marketing? Hell No, Except in This One Case

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about Reddit for this very site. Before it published, I was sure it was going to be my Best Post Ever. I cleared my morning to handle the massive influx of comments.

Crickets.

Netting just over 400 shares, it was – by CMI’s standards – a dud.

I’ve since learned that confessing my undying love of Reddit to non-redditors creeps people out. Reddit has a strange and even repellant interface, though its engineers are working on a friendlier site redesign now. And when Reddit makes the news, it’s usually a story about the site’s trolls or less attractive underbelly (such as when redditors harassed innocent bystanders after the Boston Marathon bombing, implying they might be the bomber based on appearance alone).

If you’re not currently using Reddit, I’m going to try to convince you to change your ways. But before I do, here’s a Reddit 101 for those of you not familiar with the site.

What is Reddit?

Reddit is a collection of thousands of subreddits, communities built around a particular topic or idea. Some subreddits (called “subs”) are massive in size and scope (r/technology), while others can be pretty arcane (r/overlanding).

If you have a hobby, there’s a subreddit for that. If you have a problem, there’s a subreddit to help you cope. And there are thousands of subreddits devoted to things you didn’t know you wanted to know about (but do!), such as r/accidentalrenaissance or r/AnimalsBeingJerks. Each subreddit has its own rules, moderators, and vibe based on the people who subscribe to it.

Each subreddit has its own rules, moderators, and vibe based on the people who subscribe. @clare_mcd #Reddit Click To Tweet

If you visit the site when you’re not signed in to a Reddit account, your “front page” will be a collection of popular posts from across the site – and that’s what usually turns new visitors off. As a little experiment, I took a peek at the top few posts on “popular” to see what a non-user would encounter when visiting Reddit for the first time (timestamp: 3:20 pm on 4/24/18). Let’s just say the editors of this blog would not allow me to post what I saw.

To understand why Reddit is awesome, you need to open an account. Without one, your view will default to what is interesting to the average user (my guess: a 20-year-old guy, living at home, eating Hot Pockets). Once you have an account, you can choose subs to join and customize what you see on your front page. That means fewer pictures from r/aww and r/BikiniBottomTwitter, and more posts from the communities you enjoy. Whenever I hear people say, “I don’t get it,” it’s because they haven’t joined subs that interest them.

To understand why @reddit is awesome, you need to open an account. @clare_mcd Read more>> Click To Tweet

Reddit for Marketing? Tempting …

We’ve gathered here, however, not to talk about Reddit in general but to explain Reddit for marketing. I find it fascinating that most content marketers don’t understand just how popular Reddit really is. 

The numbers speak for themselves. A list of the top websites in the world, compiled by Alexa, shows Reddit comes in sixth, just behind Wikipedia. (Alexa’s rank is calculated using a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews over the trailing 3 months.) Even more amazing? Reddit’s average for daily time on site is more than 15 minutes, crushing the sites above it in the rankings, including Facebook and YouTube.

Of the top websites in the world, @reddit comes in 6th behind @Wikipedia via @AlexaInternet. Read more>> Click To Tweet

  In the last 30 days, Reddit had nearly 60 million unique visitors from the U.S. alone, more than 1 billion visits, and over 8 billion pageviews. Holy cr@p; that’s a lot.

And Alexa confirms what I knew already from hanging around on Reddit: The audience skews young, male, and more educated than the average Internet user. (Individual subreddits differ significantly, of course.)

If Reddit’s audience is so massive and engaged, why don’t we hear marketers talking about it?

The #Reddit audience is massive, but it's hard for marketers to make inroads, says @clare_mcd. @AlexaInternet Click To Tweet

But it’s fraught with peril

So far, it’s been exceedingly hard for marketers to make any inroads on Reddit – and that’s good.

Reddit (warning: massive generalization incoming) thinks of itself as different and better than more brazenly commercial sites like Facebook. There’s a knee-jerk suspicion of anything promotional or covertly self-interested in large part because the culture values the community over the commodity. That means marketers who go on Reddit to plug a product or idea are verbally disemboweled. There are legendary cases of famous people doing Reddit for AMAs (“Ask Me Anything” interviews) and bombing terrifically because they just didn’t understand the community’s unwritten rules. (You can read about some of these bombs in my earlier post.)

Marketers who go on @reddit to plug a product or idea are verbally disemboweled. @clare_mcd #socialmedia Click To Tweet

Reddit has tried recently to push marketers into sponsored content, though I’m not convinced that’s working out well either.

A few weeks ago, QuickBooks organized a sponsored AMA with Julie Gordon White, an author and speaker who specializes in women entrepreneurs. There wasn’t anything wrong with the attempt; Julie seems like a likeable and interesting woman, and the microsite created by QuickBooks was decent. But with a measly three upvotes after three days, it’s clear something wasn’t clicking. (The conversation thread on the AMA was also fairly anemic, through no fault of Julie’s.)

The right way to use Reddit for marketing

Therein lies the big problem: On a site where all users are anonymized (which tends to embolden snarky behavior) and where there’s a general disdain for marketing, what’s the role for marketers?

What’s our role on a site like #reddit, where there’s general disdain for #marketing, asks @clare_mcd. Click To Tweet

The answer: Research, young grasshopper.

Reddit is a veritable gold mine of information relevant to your area of expertise, your audience, and your business. The number of subreddits on Reddit is so vast, it’s impossible NOT to find a community that matches your audience and its interests. Are your buyers statisticians? Hang out on r/AskStatistics, r/badstats, r/dataisbeautiful, and r/samplesize. Do you need to attract young programmers to your company? Why not join r/learnprogramming, r/programming and r/machinelearning? Interested in launching a new recipe microsite (poor timing .. but OK!)? Check out the most popular content on r/GifRecipes.

No matter what community you join, you can sort posts in a dozen ways to find the information you need. The best way to check and see if a sub is right for you is to sort by “Top – All Time.” You’ll quickly see what the community is all about.

And outside of the subs that match up with your business audience, you’ll find other cool subs to satisfy your learning needs:

To find new ideas about visualizing information and creating infographics, try r/Infographics, r/visualization, and r/dataisbeautiful

To find out how to untether yourself from your desk and work remotely from beautiful locales around the world, try r/digitalnomad

To brainstorm social and search ideas with others on the frontline, try r/socialmedia and r/seo

To keep tabs on emerging ideas and novel tech applications, try r/technology, r/Futurology, and r/tech

To brighten your life (there’s absolutely no professional reason to visit this sub), try r/reallifedoodles

The most important rule to observe

If you’re visiting a sub because it’s interesting from a marketing perspective rather than from a personal perspective, it’s best to keep your mouth shut. Listen without speaking (or typing).

If you really can’t help yourself and need to share something (whether a post or a comment), I advise you to:

Hang out as a subscriber for a while before you share

Read the sub’s guidelines in the righthand sidebar to ensure that you’re not running afoul of the rules

Keep your mouth shut in #reddit subs until you read the guidelines, says @clare_mcd. Click To Tweet

Surprising rewards

If I still haven’t convinced you to road-test Reddit, consider this: When you join a community, there’s often a subtext or inside joke that you only understand after logging some time there. And much of my insider knowledge bleeds out into the real world ­– whether it’s understanding the subtext of my kids’ conversations or getting the joke in Twitter conversations. It’s as if Reddit is a middle-aged mom code-breaking tool to help me understand my older kids.

Just the other day I told my 18-year-old son to be careful driving that night because … you know… 420. His eyes widened into white orbs of surprise. My response?

“Reddit, honey.”

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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