#the only reason i hesitate to recommend it is the fact that the central plot with the main character involves incest and there are a lot of

[mikerickson]

They had, none of them, Harry suspected, asked to be there, grateful though they were. They were his human toys, taken from the dirty box on a whim, and could be thrust back into darkness and neglect just as casually if they somehow failed to interest or satisfy. It almost feels futile to attempt to write a review for this one, mostly because I already know I won't be able to completely convey just how deeply this book has affected me over the past few days. Yet I still feel compelled to at least try, to allow me to say 'goodbye' to these characters and move on if nothing else.

I came across this title on some recommendation list or another a while back, read the synopsis, took away "gay western romance" and said, "Sounds awesome, I'm in." But that's a gross oversimplification to the point of being misleading. I'd hesitate to call it a "western" because the first third of the book takes place in Edwardian London before jumping the pond and landing in the Saskatchewan frontier, and from that point on it's more focused on sustenance farming than anything with a 'cowboys and Indians' vibe. And "romance" doesn't feel like an apt descriptor either because the main love interest doesn't even appear until more than halfway through the book, and even then he's not given much 'screentime' for lack of a better word because the story isn't about him. Rather, it follows a central character and the key turning points of his life. The story begins with Harry, the protagonist, being transferred from a - frankly horrific - mental institution to a sort of experimental compound where other patients like him are free to roam without guards, circa 1919-ish. The altruistic psychologist who is running the place explains that he's trying a new approach to studying and helping those affected by mental illnesses, but everyone there is aware of the unspoken power dynamic. This doctor tries to help Harry overcome a mild bout of amnesia through hypnosis, and we as the reader learn his life's story that led up to that point, occasionally jumping back to the 'present' at the compound every few chapters or so. I loved Harry as a character, which is not something I would expect to say about someone who's introduced as effectively a spoiled trust fund baby who never had to work or make a hard decision in his life. But after an inciting incident forces him save face by going into the self-imposed exile of becoming a colonist in rural Canada, he bucks up and actually makes a go of it. He's horrible at it at first, of course, but I appreciated that the effort was made at all from someone you'd expect to give up at the first sign of struggle. It's been a long time since I've like a main character as much as this, and in fact, I liked every single named character in this book, even the obvious antagonist who periodically shows up like a hungry wolf, pacing and watching from just beyond the safety of the firelight. At no point was there a scene where a certain character appeared that had me enduring them and wanting to move on to the next; they all just worked for me. They're easily the reason why I got so invested and why their (sometimes tragic) fates keep resonating with me after putting the book down. This was a surprisingly atmospheric book. The isolation Harry experiences when he first arrives at his assigned plot of land in the middle of a cold prairie is palpable, and you feel just alone as he does when he realizes he's the only person around for miles. The constant descriptions of physical labor eventually become therapeutic (no doubt because I'm not the one doing it) and it's easy to forget that you've gone multiple pages without a single line of dialogue. But as Harry begins to venture beyond the limits of his property and meet his new neighbors, the locals are just as enamored with the newcomer with an English accent as he is with them and I quickly grew to enjoy them in kind. Ultimately when the romance proper begins, it was handled in such an unbelievably tender manner that it had me clutching my gay little heart multiple times. It wasn't graphic or salacious - what few sex scenes there were were sort of 'fast-forwarded' through, for which I'm strangely thankful - but rather it was a series of subtle actions that could be misconstrued as merely friendly if one didn't know how to read between the lines. A sort of relationship hiding in plain sight, in the face of a society that would neither accept nor understand it, carried out by characters who lacked the modern verbiage to accurately describe what they felt or why. This facet of the book was very humbling, and reminded me not to take for granted that not only am I able to live publicly with my own relationship, but that I possess the level of self-understanding to not feel conflicted about that aspect of myself. It could be argued that there was a happy ending, though it was ultimately a pyrrhic, costly victory to get to that point. I don't know that I'd consider the book as a whole to be particularly uplifting because there was a lot of hardship in the middle and end, but I absolutely don't regret giving this story my time. The very last scene of this book is one that I will remember for probably the rest of my life, and - acknowledging that it's still emotionally fresh for me - I don't know that I'll ever be able to recall it without choking up.        

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: Id: Invaded

Okay, what if we could catch serial killers by entering their subconscious minds (referred to as an Id-Well), where the amnesiac avatar of a investigator must search for clues while also solving a murder mystery created within the bounds of a fantastic, mind bending world? Isn’t that an amazing premise for a combination platformer/puzzle video game?

Anyways, Id: Invaded is an anime. The only major complaint I have is how I would much rather be playing it than watching the proceedings, which probably just means it’s got a good concept.

Uh… it’s a mystery show with a season long arc and character progression so… spoilers? It’s a good show if you’re into that stuff. Handles grit and mature themes well, but… well, mature themes and violent images abound. So be careful of that.

So that’s the spoiler warning.

After watching the first episode and learning the basic concept, two truths were immediately evident: the young-looking police girl (Koharu Hondomachi) hearing the exposition is going to kill someone so she’ll be a candidate to dive into the id-well, and the elderly director guy overseeing the project is 100% the big bad.

Still, just because a couple things are easily solved by knowledge of narratives doesn’t mean there aren’t surprises. Like trepanning is a plot-important element in this for… some reason… it gives a secondary character superpowers!

Don’t… don’t blindly emulate your media, kids.[1]

The first couple of episodes telegraph what elements to pay attention to pretty clearly. Hondomachi is wide-eyed and overly interested in the Id Well machinations, and asks about how one becomes a candidate for entering the machine, and doesn’t look put out by the need to be a killer.[2] She also headbutts a drill to assist in the capture of the first serial killer of the show, so she’s not hesitant to take extreme measures. Which leaves the question: will she kill with the intention of joining the Id Well delving team?

Meanwhile, Takuhiko Hayaseura appears only long enough to be marked as important, but he doesn’t take an active part in the plot. Then the mysterious John Walker Phantom appears with similar old man body language, those dots are connected and you just have to wait for the plot to catch up.

Finally, our protagonist, Narihisago, dwells on wanting to save the perpetual victim of these murder dinner parties he’s investigating, signalling that Kaeru is more than a prop of the gimmick. I didn’t have enough details to take a guess at what her larger role would be, so the reveal in the later episodes was a successful twist.

There is a small tragedy with the structure of the anime course. While I typically prefer the 12 to 24 episode style, as it allows for limits for the artists to work with (like a trellis), and means that the series maintains a consistent narrative without flailing about to maintain momentum until given permission to die, we occasionally get a show like Id: Invaded where the central gimmick lends itself so well to an episodic, killer of the week style stories that I just want to watch the variations and not care too much about the myth arc. Because it’s set to conclude with episode 13, the show can only play with the gimmick for about half the course before having to buckle down and start telling the larger narrative, leaving me yearning for more new id wells and mysteries.

If the show were twice as long, it would’ve been able to play with the gimmick more, and have space to flesh out the investigative team to have actually interesting characters.

The first episodes introduce six characters watching Narhisago and analyzing the world around him to deduce the actual identity of the serial killer, but they have very little dialogue outside of exposition, and their mystery is opaque to the viewer until they solve it. The team could’ve been cut in half without losing anything.

But if Id:Invaded had two cours to stretch out and tell stories, the investigation team could have subplots and character revealing dialogue. But there’s no space for them, so… lost potential.

In fact, if this story was told as a video game,[3] there’d be plenty of space for the Wellside team to have incidental dialogue to develop them. The audience/player can also get more direct satisfaction out of solving the gimmick of each Id-Well, as they get to directly utilize the solution to complete the level. If the hypothetical game takes a page from Pheonix Wright, which is the game I most mentally aligned with the show, there can also be a section after the level where the clues found within the level can be analyzed and the player gets to piece together who the killed is.

It’d be fun.

But… er… the actual story.

It’s fine. The characters make a lot about learning who this John Walker fellow is, but the obvious culprit is sitting right there, so the viewer is just patiently waiting for the characters to catch up, amusing themselves with the episodic portion of the story.

Then, a twist: they find the device used to enter Id-Wells within an Id-Well. So, what would happen if someone used it?

So our protagonist does, and finds himself seemingly back in the real world, though before the death of his wife and daughter. He can set right what once went wrong!

Although… he knows this can’t be real. He remembers everything that led him here, so surely this is permanent.

But what if it is?

First order of business: Narihisago sequence breaks and puts a stop to the serial killer who murdered his daughter early, the fight placing him in the hospital, where he finds… Kaeru? Except her name’s Kiki, and when she sleeps, those around her experience her dreams.

Dreams where she’s constantly getting murdered, often in very brutal fashion. Huh.

Despite the characters attempting to lean into the mysterious nature of the machine allowing them to place people into Id-Wells, I took it for granted and assumed it wouldn’t need explanation.

Instead, we learn Kiki’s power is being exploited to enable the gimmick, which I should have seen coming considering how much the anime is built on women suffering.[4]

Eventually, Narihisago and Hondomachi (the girl who becomes a second Id-Well diver partway through) are able to use the time and space given in this recreated past to find a solid lead on who John Walker is. Just in time for the system to kick them out and for them to climb back out to actual reality.

Hayaseura, learning the jig is up, releases Kiki from the hidden chamber she’s been in, and lets her loose, where her powers rage out of control and pull everyone in the building into various Id-Wells.

He then goes to the chamber with the machines allowing the well-dives, and upon being confronted, he activates a machine to take him in as he shoots himself, intending to wreak havoc in the collective unconscious or whatever.

In hindsight, they probably could’ve just unplugged him and moved on to resolve the Kiki problem. Instead, our nominal[5] heroes follow him in for the final confrontation!

Then Covid-19 struck, and I had to wait three months for the final episode to get dubbed!

All my dubs are delayed. Which is fine. It’s fine and fair. I don’t want anyone to risk themselves just for my entertainment, but I’m allowed to be a little disappointed by fate.

So after a three month delay, I sit down to watch the final episode, not bothering to rewatch anything because I’ve waited three months and a not insignificant portion of my motivation was to just finish the dang thing.

The final episode was okay. The two detective characters work together to outwit John Walker, sending him to the time displaced universe via a machine in the Id-Well of someone who’s now dead.

Which… upon reflection, isn’t a permanent solution. Both Narihisago and Hondomachi went through that experience, and eventually got ejected to their original Id-Wells, and the death of an Id-Well’s owner doesn’t collapse the place (as proved by Hayaseura/John Walker using his own Id-Well to jump about despite being dead himself.

Outside the Id-Wells, the leader of the Wellside Team puts on a prototype suit version of the machine to attempt to get Kiki to stop making a mess of the building. He meets up with her, refuses to shoot her, and they all agree to put her back and maybe try and solve her problem.

So, at the end of the series, we’re mostly back where we started: using an applied phlebotinum girl to chase serial killers. Which keeps the premise open for a sequel,[6] but they’ll need to write a new overarching plot, as I don’t thinking curing Kiki’s dream projections lines up as a murder mystery. It’s possible, but I find it unlikely.

In the end, I enjoyed the show, and I’m glad I watched it. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a more obscure anime after getting through the Canon of the artform. Still, the amount of female characters suffering, to the point that the plot itself operates off a woman’s suffering is uncomfortable. If there is more, hopefully they can lean off that element.

Also, let me reiterate one last time how Id:Invaded would make a great video game. I buy that Visual Novel in a snap.

Kataal kataal.

-

[1] Not that kids should watch this one. [2] The reason for this limitation is not explained, and is likely unimportant. [3] A desire I wasn’t being facetious about. [4] Most of the murder victims are woman, and there’s a worrying tendency for the killer’s methods to be based on maiming. [5] All three are killers: one a serial killer killer, a second a killer due to self-defense, and the last just a straight serial killer who happened to be useful. [6] And, indeed, a manga continuation started at the same time as the show, so the premise lives.

[secretlyviola]

Wake Up, Girls!: the Black Sheep of Idol Anime and International Perceptions of the Japanese Idol Industry

Wake Up, Girls! as an anime is probably one of the best and most accurate representations of the real life Japanese idol industry that I've seen thus far. So much so that after completing it, while keeping the crude humor of the show in mind, I struggled with how it wasn't more popular both domestically in Japan and overseas where I live or why word wasn't spread about it more widely. Now, granting & considering the fact that the structure of the show is confusing (1 movie, a TV anime series, 2 more movies, and then the most recent 2nd season which concluded this past winter) I can understand why it has low viewership and interactions compared to other idol-related shows like the various Love Live! and Idolm@ster series that seem to be booming or at least doing better both domestically and overseas. With that in mind, I wished to do a bit more exploring into possible reasons other than these that would address some of its setbacks and at the same time encourage people to give the series a fair chance.

What's Missing?

The thing that I'm noticing most about the deficit in Wake Up Girls' (WUG's) interest mostly has to do with its promotional material.

To start, WUG does not have a mobile game like it's competitors; or rather it did and now will again after some time. The first game unfortunately failed due to possible competition from Love Live! and similar rhythm and gacha games releasing the same same year. The girls' characters do have a feature on a console game called Miracle Girls Festa which shares an engine with the Hatsune Miku Project Diva series. However, a new game involving WUG has not seen a release since then,(other than appearances in other games) which in the rat-race of mobile idol gacha games has put them at a stark disadvantage of the discovery and interaction of their characters. This is, however, on the horizon to change in the fall with the release of their newest mobile game. I'm not able to talk much on this as a data point simply because it isn't released and doesn't really have any gameplay other than a few promo videos.

The Show

Because of the gaming fallout, character discovery and building is almost solely reliant on watching the show. This can be both good and bad. Good, because the group's content is more centralized, but it can severely lack when it comes to more individualized interaction and selecting the all-too-well-known oshimen or "best girl"

The anime itself--as mentioned earlier--is very convoluted in its setup and crude in its initial delivery. If you miss the first movie and just start watching the first season, you can definitely watch the series, but details are a lot more well-rounded when you do watch it.

There are also two separate movies in between the most recent season that are helpful to watch, but that Crunchyroll does not have available for streaming as of writing this, which makes it a bit more complicated to watch without more details.

A general thing to keep in mind while watching is the amount of crude humor that develops throughout the movie and the first three episodes. Without giving too much away to the actual plot, there are themes of sexual exploitation that are present in the beginning of the show. I do see why this may turn some people off to the series since it persists for a majority of the beginning watch time, but I have a firm belief that it is worth pushing through and some parts of it even are good representations of how idols can be exploited in the industry. (It's not all just smiles and friendship!)

"But, why should I watch this?"

If you enjoy Asian idols of any form, I strongly believe it's worth your time. 

Or rather, I could just leave it at that but I know that lack of substance can make people hesitant to try something. So, here's a quick review from 1st movie to most recent season:

The first movie, Shichinin No Idol (Seven Idols, 七人のアイドル) covers the formation of the group through the small Sendai-based agency Green Leaves who sets off to make money by creating an idol group to rival popular powerhouse I-1 Club. (it's essentially this universe's equivalent to AKB48 and it's sister groups) The movie follows the recruiting of Yoshino Nanase, (Member Image Color: Light Blue) a former child model and the group's appointed leader, Miyu Okamoto, (Member Image Color: Orange) a local cafe maid, Minami Katayama, (Member Image Color: Yellow) a joyful and energetic girl who's recruited after winning a folk singing competition, Kaya Kikuma, (Member Image Color: Green) who quit her part-time job at a ramen shop, Nanami Hisami, (Member Image Color: Purple) who aspires to be a stage actress, Airi Hayashida, (Member Image Color: Navy) a timid girl who auditions for the group at the encouragement of her friend and the final member of the group, Mayu Shimada, (Member Image Color: Red) who happens to be a former I-1 Club core member or "center" in the idol world.

The following first tv-aired season covers the girls' activities after debut, inevitably leading to their participation in a high-profile idol competition though their national promotion and with help from a famous producer who wrote songs for I-1. The issues with Mayu's former association with I-1 Club complicate this, as the rivaling group is the host for the idol festival and a large amount of fans are present. How they overcome all of this really emphasizes the level of tribulation that real life idols go through in the industry to get discovered and recognized.

The next movies in between the 1st & 2nd season, Seishun no Kage (青春の影) and BEYOND THE BOTTOM follow a similar plot as the first season, except the girls are challenged with debut under a major agency and the complications that come with that, having to start over from zero, being a one-hit-wonder and do everything that comes with struggling after success, reflecting on the point that sometimes you have to look back to move forward.

The second tv-aired season has the girls moving into the same house and taking on more independent activities to boost the group's overall popularity for their national tour. The show takes a new art and staffing direction than the previous iteration and while doing this, in my humble opinion, retains what's good while cutting a lot of the crude humor that was, at times, unnecessary and honestly almost makes the amount of time building up to the season more worth it.

.~*~.

So is it all worth it? That's up for you to decide. I would personally put it on my top 10 essential anime to watch. While I can't really say it's my favorite, I definitely think that it should be taken for more than it's face value of just another idol anime with fan service. Overall, I can say that I'm glad I invested my time in this series and hope that others may do the same.

Epilogue: "So is there more than that?"

So I can say now that this blog post was actually in progress over a pretty long period of time, written on & off over a period of 7 months. In that time, a lot of things have happened, including the expansion of Wake Up, Girls' sister group, Run Girls, Run (RGR), the announcement of the upcoming mobile game, and--unfortunately--the announcement of the disbandment of the real-life counterpart of WUG, the singing seiyuu unit. (By the same name of course)

To speak briefly on them, the girls share the first name with their animated counterparts and have had group activities outside of the anime including singing for anime openings and endings. They perform both these songs and songs from the show at their concerts. The members each have their own activities outside of the group which includes voice work in other popular Japanese mobile games such as Fate: Grand Order, Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls, and Tokyo 7th Sisters. This disbandment is set to occur in March of 2019, so if you're going to be in Japan before or around that time, I'd recommend going to see them before time's up. Their live performances are definitely one of their strong points. If you can't make it before, then my point in this post still stands and I still firmly believe watching the show is something worthwhile even if it only changes peoples' perspectives a little.

[thumbgarden]

Before planting, how to Revive a Dead Plant

We recommend buying saplings only from specialized nurseries. Even better, from those that have been operating in your town or regional center for several years and have a good reputation. Also, try to buy saplings that are zoned in your area and approved for local use.

But what about the situation where you buy a seemingly healthy seedling from a seller you don't know well and upon closer inspection, at home, you find that it is not so healthy? Can there be many seedlings that are not as healthy as they should be brought back to life?

Is it possible? We will tell you that before planting, how to Revive a Dead Plant here.

HOW TO CHOOSE AND WHERE TO BUY SEEDLINGS? Ideally, you should buy seedlings with a closed root system. They have the advantage that they can be grown all year round (in large sizes - even in winter) and in most cases, they are well developed: after all, they are not dug up for sale, they grow on their own, all the time in pots.

The main thing is to make sure that the seedlings have been growing in pots before you buy them, and not transplanted there a few months before the sale. The easiest way to do this is to gently grasp the trunk of the tree and pull the sapling as if you are trying to pull it out of the ground.

If the sapling has been growing in a pot, it will not be easy to pull out, but if it was recently planted there, it will be easy to pull out, and such a sapling should not be taken out.

Be prepared for the worst when buying seedlings in unfamiliar places. By the way, markets can also be called unfamiliar places: in fact, the seller who sold you a substandard seedling may not see you again. Sellers in the market tend to sell their goods faster and at higher prices, and they don't think about the consequences.

With this in mind, when buying saplings always check carefully: whether there are broken branches, whether the branches are not secured with wire, whether mud has been smeared from them (this also happens). Check the place of grafting, where there should not be a strong thickening, check the trunk - no hail, which has the appearance of small ulcers.

At the roots, you can gently poke a piece of bark underneath with your fingernail to reveal light green, vibrant tissue. Look at the roots, they should also be alive and resilient and white-green in color, but if they are brown, chances are they have started to die, and recovering them will be difficult if it can be done at all.

Do not choose large seedlings with strong crowns and few berries or fruits hanging on the branches. Keep in mind that the larger the seedling, the more difficult it will be to adapt to the new place, such large seedlings will be sick for a long time after transplanting, will throw off flowers and ovaries, and in the end, you will not gain in time, or even miscalculate. Unfortunately, buyers almost always want to buy big seedlings.

But buyers are getting smarter, and the market is full of tricks - if an adult sapling doesn't sell, we'll use it to make a seedling. All that is needed is a short pruning, leaving the thin branches and removing the thick ones.

Yes, such success can sometimes distinguish a young sapling from an adult one only by its roots, if the roots are hidden in a container? In general, it is always necessary to think and be smart, and not to take unnecessary risks.

But while we are off-topic, let's return to the issue of seedling revival, starting with reviving with water.

REJUVENATING SEEDLINGS WITH WATER Water is necessary for the proper functioning of all life on our planet, and sometimes it can really work miracles and revive people. Water can help and seedlings, and for this reason, it is best to use soft water, such as rainwater.

If you buy a sapling, bring it home and forget about it for a few days, or do not even dig it up, or realize that you bought half-dried planting material (which, by the way, is not uncommon), as soon as possible set aside a full pot or bucket of soft water at room temperature (rainwater, melted, settling for a few days) and submerge the sapling there so that its maximum weight is underwater for two or three days. Interestingly, this uncomplicated method can even restore saplings whose bark has begun to wrinkle.

This is the first and simplest option. It is a good option, but it does not give a 100% guarantee that the seedlings will be revived. In order to restore the seedling with more assurance, it is necessary to use a solution of camphor oil to restore it.

To prepare this solution, take 20 drops of camphor alcohol and dissolve it in one liter of water. Then pour this amount into a tub or bucket, where you leave your seedlings for a few days.

There is another variant of the solution for reviving dried seedlings - it is called "living water". To prepare living water, you need to take a tablespoon of urea, a tablespoon of calcium superphosphate, and a few drops of any growth stimulant - similar to those sold in ampoules. You first need to dilute it all in a bucket of water and then pour it into a larger container so that most of the seedlings will fit in.

This option is good because you can't wait three days from soaking seedlings to planting, usually 15-20 hours of resurrection is enough, after which the seedlings are safe to plant.

Do not forget that seedlings revived in this way must be planted only in loose, fertile, and moist soil, in fact in a nutritious slurry, watered well for the first month and not allowed to dry out the soil, only then they can adapt and start growing.

PRUNING FOR LIFE (YOUNG SEEDLINGS) If you buy a mature seedling only to find at home that some of its shoots and the top of the central stem have dried out, you should not hesitate to cut off these shoots and parts of the central conductor.

When cutting, try to cover a few millimeters of living tissue, and after cutting, make sure to protect the cut area with garden varnish or garden paint to prevent infection from entering through the cut, just as it would through an open gate.

If (after planting the seedling) the buds on it have not awakened and the buds start to wilt and dry out, there are two ways out - either dig up the seedling and just throw it away or take the risk and cut it backward, except for the stump 3-4inch(8-10 cm) high from the graft.

It is possible that the young shoots will start growing from dormant buds and the seedlings can come back to life. If this is the case, in the future you should monitor the growth and development of the buds in the remaining part of the seedling, selecting the strongest of them and growing as vertically as possible, the rest should be removed.

Subsequently, to avoid it being blown off by high winds until it becomes stronger, this bud should be tied to a support stake and sprouted from its side to form a crown.

SAVING DISEASED SEEDLINGS Besides the fact that seedlings may have dried out after purchase, they are often rotten or with mold, which is not easily noticed at the time of purchase: the seller can simply remove it periodically with a cloth, but instead of the moldy spot it will appear again in a few days. How to deal with such seedlings?

1. Black cancer Some gardeners, after buying seedlings, suddenly find brown marks on them, which is most likely the center of black cancer. This is a rather dangerous disease, so you can simply throw it away or cut it off (below these spots). As a result, you will get a severely shortened seedling, but it is alive and in the future, will most likely grow and develop well.

2. Bumps on the roots A closer look at the roots will reveal some thickening of the roots, which may be a sign of disease and therefore is not recommended for planting seedlings on plots. It is best to remove the thickened part, even if some of the roots must be cut off.

After cutting the thickening, the roots of the seedlings are necessarily immersed in a 3% liquid solution of Bordeaux mixture, then rinsed with water and immersed in a similar mixture of humus and clay (about 500 g) (with a few liters of water, 200 g of wood ash and a tablespoon of nitroaminophosca). After such a baptism of the root system, the seedlings can be safely planted in the ground.

In the case of seedlings of Acacia or Buckthorn, root growth and thickening should not bother you, their root thickening is caused by tubercle bacilli, which synthesize nitrogen and live in symbiosis with these crops (mutually beneficial coexistence).

DO I HAVE TO SAVE CUT SEEDLINGS? It happens from time to time that nurseries sell unconditioned planting material at a significant discount, for example, when such material is damaged during the digging process. Such seedlings usually have badly cut or torn roots and are actually sticking out of the stump. Is such a seedling worth taking? If you have free space and free time, then why not? We answer in no uncertain terms that it is worth it, but of course, you must be prepared in advance, as the seedlings may not survive.

Before planting, the stubs of such seedlings should be soaked in putty, and we recommend soaking seedlings whose roots have been cut short to remove the thickened parts. Next, the seedlings can be planted as usual, and then each of their shoots, including the central conductor, is shortened by exactly half.

During the first month after sowing, the seedlings should be watered daily, keeping the soil as moist as possible, but not over-watering. After a week, the seedlings should be fertilized by adding a tablespoon of nitroamine phosphate fertilizer under them, loosening the soil beforehand, and watering.

The only thing to do now is to observe the development of the seedlings: if the buds will bloom and the shoots will start to grow, this means that the root system is working and the seedlings will probably survive.

WHAT CAN ONE DO ABOUT DECAY? It often happens that seedlings brought by mail or from other areas become severely depleted during the journey and start to dry out, or even more often, start to simply rot due to overly careful packaging.

We have already talked about the revival of dried seedlings, but how to get rid of the rot (including seedlings purchased in nurseries)? Therefore, a good inspection should be performed after receiving seedlings. The presence of rot on the shoots and trunks can be done by pruning the shoots with rotten centers, scrubbing the centers with a wooden scraper, and then treating them with a 3% Bordeaux solution.

If there is rot on the roots, they can be cut off and this will also remove the center of the rot. If the rot has settled on the main roots and cannot be removed, they can be treated with a 3% solution of copper or iron alum.

Before planting, these seedlings can be soaked in "amphetamine stimulants" (some users use aspirin instead), for which we have given the recipe, or in a solution of any growth stimulant such as "phytohormone grower", etc. Growth stimulants will promote additional root formation.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY SAPLINGS? If you receive or purchase seedlings in late fall, it is best not to plant them at this time of year, but in the spring (especially for seedlings of drupe crops). In winter it is better to bury them in the ground, in a place free from mice, and accumulate enough snow. You can also store the seedlings in a basement at a temperature of about zero and fill the roots with damp but not wet sawdust.

If possible, try not to mail-order seedlings in winter and early spring, as they will freeze in winter and fall apart in spring, and then it will be impossible to revive them.

We hope you will find our advice useful. If you have your own experience with reviving seedlings, be sure to write in the comments; perhaps one of ThumbGarden's readers will make use of your advice.

#ThumbGarden #Plant #DeadPlant #Planting #Revive #BordeauxMixture #Tips #HowTo #Why #What #Seedlings #FlowerGarden #Garden #FlowerBed #OutdoorGarden #SmallSpaces #Hydroponics #Techniques #Inspired

Author: Ms.Geneva Link: https://www.thumbgarden.com/revive-a-dead-plant/ Source: ThumbGarden The copyright belongs to the author. For commercial reprints, please contact the author for authorization, and for non-commercial reprints, please indicate the source.

[kpopgerapitico]

EOYR 2017: K-Dramas Part 2

These dramas are good. With a capital G. I love them all very much. They may have problems, but I either don’t remember them, or I don’t care about them. Or the show was so good that I forgot about the downfalls.

These aren’t in an order (they are in my heart) because I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Quick Honorable Mentions: I decided to not include any drama specials/web dramas in the rest of this post, so I have to mention a few here instead.

My Runway:

In A Sentence: Body changing with models. That’s it, that’s the show

Steer Clear If: You require depth, because you will not find it.

Comments:

This drama is not deep or long, but it is sweet. It is a lollipop in drama form. It is a drama that is neither hard to follow or offensive. It also didn’t come out this year, but was released to Netflix this year, so this is the year I watched it in. It holds a spot close to my heart for being adorable and requiring no brain power, which sometimes is all I want from a drama.

Last Minute Romance:

In A Sentence: Baek Se’s bucket list includes dating an idol star . . . oh and she has 3 months to live.

Steer Clear If: This show depicts both cancer and depression. Both are treated respectfully (and often in a new way).

Comments:

This show gives me even more reason to love Han Seung Yeon. Also, this is a depiction of cancer I have NEVER seen in dramaland. It is both unerringly optimistic as well as realistic and grounded. The romance is sweet and understated. The main character dies (it’s not a spoiler, you know she has cancer in the first 5 minutes) and (this IS a spoiler) her boyfriend chooses to live his life and not be totally sad, and is successful. It is a refreshing take on a lot of common drama tropes that keeps you watching. The Romeo and Juliet speech is really good, and any scene with Han Seung Yeon (most of the scenes admittedly) are great as well. It is a worthy watch.

Individualist Ji-young:

In A Sentence: What happens when lonely people who don’t acknowledge that they’re lonely meet each other.

Steer Clear If: This deals with depression, and an almost sort of suicide attempt.

Comments:

This drama is the reason I refuse to give up on Gong Myung. Because he may keep choosing shitty drama after shitty drama, but this one shows that if you give him a character with a lot of charm, a little bit of depth, and the job to make puppy eyes at the lead, he will succeed. In spades. This drama also shows that you don’t have to be optimistic in your portrayal of depression in order to get a happy ending. I also love the fact that Ji Young gets to a better place with her depression (I hesitate to say she is better) post breakup. She is not saved by a man, she is forced onto a new path maybe, but the healing comes off screen and away from him.

Basically, watch more drama specials.

Now back to the long format.

Argon:

In A Sentence: They used to be the best news team, and maybe, they will be again.

Steer Clear If: You don’t like news shows. That’s it.

Comments:

Coming into this show, I had no expectations, except that it was one of the last things Kim Joo Hyuk did, and that I loved him in Like For Likes (and also Two Days One Night). This show was what I wanted Newsroom to be.

By having 8 episodes, Argon manages to avoid the downfall of so many news shows that get lost in the procedural nature of the show. Instead, every case feels important to the main plot, and every case feels important to the growth of the characters. The show is tightly paced without feeling rushed.

This show made me care about news that was either fake, or about people in a country far far away. It made me teary eyed both at the plots and emotions of the show as well as the fact that this role was so damn good for Kim Joo Hyuk, and I will never be able to see him in another like it in the future.

And that may have been the main reason that I cried during the last episode. That and everyone having some great successes. Or maybe just Kim Joo Hyuk walking out of a building, leaving Argon as well as the world.

Father Is Strange:

In A Sentence: A family lives their lives as a whole lot of normal people problems happen to them.

Steer Clear If: You cannot handle a long show. There are a LOT of episodes in this show.

Comments:

This was the first (and only) weekend drama I have ever watched, at the recommendation of Dramabeans’ javabeans. And I’m very glad that I listened. This show takes the tropes of a weekend drama, keeps the ones it likes and uses the ones that are annoying judiciously. The main characters are all deeply written, and often have equal amounts good and bad in their personalities. No one does something out of character, which was a rarity in the shows this year.

It was also a show that made me happy just while watching. It wasn’t groundbreaking. It wasn’t overly complicated. It didn’t try to be anything it wasn’t. Instead, it used stellar acting in nearly every role to convey a family faced with crisis after crisis who choose to stay together.

It is the supportive family that we all want. And yeah, everyone makes mistakes, including most of the members of this family, but that never makes them stop loving each other. For that alone it is worth watching.

Because This Is My First Life:

In A Sentence: The contract marriage show that is about so much more than just the relationships between 2 people.

Steer Clear If: I honestly don’t have any warnings about this show . . . Actually, that’s a lie. There is some noble idiocy sort of stuff that I am super tired of, but fits the story so it doesn’t bother me. It might bother you.

Comments:

There is a reason everyone loved this show. And the central relationship was only part of it. It had Lee Minki as a man who is un-apologetically different, un-apologetically weird, and makes very few changes to that personality over the course of the show. And for once, that isn’t bad, because his original personality is good, and it is more exposed than changed over the course of the show. And it has Jung So Min (in her second show of the list) as a woman who lives her life sort of floating along, accepting what happens to her, while also being smart enough to change what she thinks she can. The combination doesn’t seem like it will work, but it somehow works beautifully.

There is also the side relationship of the CEO and the friend, which does a wonderful job of showing what it means for a man to respect his partner, and just as importantly, for a woman to demand that respect.

There is also the side relationship of the friend and her long term boyfriend (another appearance for Kim Min Seok) that is heartbreakingly real. I especially liked how the show treated the final breakup, and how it forced the characters to confront their emotions instead of ignoring them.

It is a romance whose plot is nearly almost all the romance, which is where its strength lies. It doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t, and it manages to be stellar at what it is.

The Package: (my a little bit favorite)

In A Sentence: Everyone goes on vacation for different reason; some for love, some to run from love. (I know that’s vague. It’s intentional)

Steer Clear If: This show is sometimes slow in a contemplative sort of way. There is occasionally some tropes that the show doesn’t avoid so much as dives into head first.

Comments:

These is a pre-produced show. And because of that I had high expectations on the visual quality of the show. I had high expectations. They were shattered.

A significant portion of this show is a love letter to France. It is beautiful. The whole show is shot in tones, from the green of night to yellow tinted days in France, to blues in Korea (you could probably write a whole color theory essay on this show). It tells the visual part of the story so so damn well. From the location choices, to wardrobe, the whole show quietly excels at using the budget it got to full visual effect.

And that is a perfect adjective to describe the show: quiet. Instead of sticking to one point and hitting it over and over, it meanders between characters and side plots. It is rarely uproariously funny, or depressingly sad. It spends most of its time in the mundanity of stories and characters that feel so very real.

The whole cast is amazing, and does wonderful work in the wonderful roles. Instead of listing the actors, I’ll give some tropes without too many spoilers.

There is the elderly couple, the wife dying of cancer, the husband continuing to annoy her and everyone else on the trip.

There is the young couple, who are in and out of love (mostly out), and trying to figure out what to do.

There is the older man with the younger woman. And that is all I will tell you about them.

And there is the guy who was stood up at the terminal boarding the plane to Paris.

Oh, and the girl who never stopped running.

And that ensemble is the real reason the show excels. You may tune in every week to see how the romance is progressing, but for many episodes, it isn’t the most important thing happening. There is illness, and heartbreak, and anger. There is laughter, and joy, and love. I have cared more about other casts before, but I never cared for this many people all at once.

It is maybe the most satisfying show I watched this year. And one of the most underrated.

[oumakokichi]

What are your thoughts on Saiouma as a ship? I don't particularly like it because Ouma has to suffer with an unrequited love for a detective who doesn't come around to his way of thinking before he d i e s and also thought of him as a villain goddamn it saihara

Haha, I’m actually a pretty avid saiouma shipper—it’s myfavorite ship of any DR game, really. It’s one of those things where I canunderstand why it didn’t work out because of the problems that arise in canon,but I can’t help being particularly invested in all the potential it could havehad under different circumstances.

Saihara’s lack of understanding can be frustrating,certainly, but it’s also something that’s necessary from a plot perspective.Kodaka so obviously wanted to craft Ouma into a “catbox” character, someonewhose intentions and motivations were kept secret to the end, in order to giveplayers a reason to go back and replay the game and try to pick up hints theymight not have noticed before.

Ouma himself wanted to remain an enigma to the very end. It’snot entirely Saihara’s fault that he couldn’t crack the “mystey” that Ouma was,when Ouma himself was making it so intentionally difficult for him.

Not only that but I think I’m used to just a whole differentlevel of frustratingly incompetent and dense protagonists thanks to Umineko.Umineko is a very similar work tondrv3; both are extremely meta, both deal with the issue of finding a middleground between “gentle lies” and “painful truths,” and both feature a centralcharacter who sets themselves up to be the “evil villain” despite actually havinggood intentions at heart.

But Umineko’s protagonist, Battler, is so… so much morefrustrating to deal with than Saihara. In my opinion, anyway. There’s also sortof an issue I have with Battler’s character being written super inconsistentlyacross 8 different episodes, where Saihara doesn’t suffer from that same issuesince he’s only in the one game.

Like Battler’s struggle to understand Beato and her game,Saihara doesn’t quite realize what Ouma was really like or what he was tryingto tell him about “lies” and “fiction” until it’s far too late—but unlikeBattler, there’s a whole lot less trading of insults and berating Ouma onSaihara’s end. Saihara does genuinely try to be patient with Ouma, up untilChapter 4. Saihara’s patience reaches its end there; in my opinion, he’s completely in the right for putting hisfoot down.

Ouma crossed a line with his behavior, and was pushing waytoo hard to try and make Saihara ally with him. It’s a fact that Saihara couldn’tafford to trust everyone blindly, that his job as the detective required him todoubt and suspect people. But it’s also a fact that Ouma was at the extreme endof paranoia, moreso in Chapter 4 after his tentative attempt at forging analliance was crushed so thoroughly by Miu’s attempt to kill him. Ouma was acynic and was absolutely ruthless in his attempt to teach the group that the “truth”they all wanted so badly was a horrible, awful thing. Saihara not standing forthat kind of behavior and telling Ouma off for it at the end of the chapter 4trial is well-deserved, because Ouma neededthat wake-up call.

It is, of course, more frustrating after that point thatSaihara doesn’t really spend a lot of time dwelling on Ouma or the things hesaid to him in Chapter 4 after they more than find enough evidence to provethat Ouma was never actually evil—that he, in fact, was the person mostresponsible for keeping them all alive and that he sacrificed himself for theirsakes when he didn’t have to.

But again, I attribute that to Kodaka’s attempt to keep Ouma’s“catbox” intact; if Saihara had gone pondering Ouma’s character too much andrevealed everything about him by Chapter 6, there’d be almost no incentive forthe player to go back and replay the game themselves to figure things out.Ndrv3 is a game that challenges its players to think, speculate, and theorizeas much as they can. While I don’t doubt Kodaka will probably hand out ananswer sheet of sorts in the future to the questions we have now, it’s clearthat he wants us all to stew on things for the time being. And that’d beimpossible with our detective spilling the beans and handing the answer out ona silver platter.

I’m satisfied that at the very end, I think Saihara reallydid, truly understand Ouma as a person. The answer he reaches, about how there’sno “correct answer” between truth and lies, about how lies can be used to helpand comfort people in the same way that the truth can be used to hurt people,is exactly what Ouma wanted them all to realize so much. Lies were Ouma’s ownsource of comfort, something he had to rely on because he couldn’t trust almostanything about himself or take anything at all for a fact.

Saihara failed to grasp that worldview at first, because hisentire character is one concerned with pursuing the truth. A detective’s rolein any mystery, ever, is to expose the truth in its entirety. But this isexactly what causes Saihara so much fear and hesitation. He has a naturalcuriosity and a genuine, honest-to-god talent for finding the truth. But healso wants to bury his head in the sand until everything goes away. He doesn’twant to be responsible for exposing people’s secrets, but he also doesn’tbelieve that lying is the answer either—until the end when he realizes theequal value that both lies and truths hold. His character development isextremely tied to the lessons Ouma teaches him, both in the main plot and inhis FTEs.

I really love saiouma as a ship because I feel like thepotential for a deeper understanding and acceptance of one another was alwaysthere—it’s just not something permitted by the main plot. Between the fact thatOuma was deeply paranoid and distrustful thanks to the killing game, and thefact that Saihara was far too hesitant and weak to come to a full understandingof things until much later, there were too many factors preventing Ouma fromever really genuinely reaching out, or letting himself be reached out to.

But that’s exactly why his prison mode ending is sosatisfying. Without the killing ever actually starting up, Ouma’s paranoiasubsides noticeably. He’s still cautious, still inclined to doubt and distrust—buthe’s not nearly as unshakable in his cynicism. He doesn’t know any of them, butsince no one actually becomes a murderer, he’s okay with letting his guarddown, even if it’s just slightly.

When Saihara expresses genuine interest in “getting to knowthe real him” by his final prison mode event, Ouma actually allows him to reach out, and says thathe wants Saihara to “stay by his side” even after they leave the school. And Saiharathinks to himself that even if Ouma still needs to rely on lies, because that’sthe kind of person he is, he’s sure that Ouma “can’t lie about the warmth ofhis hand.” He has a whole inner monologue about wanting to hold Ouma’s hand sothat he won’t need to lie as much, basically.

And it’s really sweet and genuinely touching. There is somuch hand imagery between the two of them, so much talk about reaching out andbeing reached out to. In the main plot of ndrv3, reaching out was animpossibility, but it could work so well under other, better circumstances, inmy opinion anyway.

Anyway, this is all just my take on it. Saiouma might not beeveryone’s preference as a ship, but it’s still one of my favorites personally!Reading Umineko and seeing Beato’s love for Battler constantly hinted andalluded to long before it was actually revealed in later episodes reminded mequite a lot of the ways in which Ouma acts around Saihara before dropping theconfession reveal in Chapter 4, so that probably contributed quite a bit to myenjoyment of it. I’d still highly recommend reading Umineko to anyone whoenjoyed ndrv3, actually.

Ouma’s feelings for Saihara are an important part of hischaracter as a whole, contributing both to his motivations to help him grow anddevelop as a person, as well as his frustration, both at Saihara’s failure tounderstand his hints all the time and at himself for letting his emotions getin the way of his logic. It’s okay if people do or don’t want to interpretSaihara as potentially reciprocating those emotions under other circumstances—Ijust find their dynamic incredibly interesting, and the potential forimprovement and growth on both sides is something I really like in my ships.

Thank you for asking, anon!

[yesperfectcollectionfire-blog]

What is the Best Gift for the fan of Angel Beats?

It is hard to prepare a gift for your anime lover friend, right? I guess most of us have suffered a lot from this problems. If you happened to have friends who love the anime Angel Beats most, this article will help you a lot. Let's give a brief introduction to this anime firstly.

Angel Beats!  is a multimedia project consisting of an anime series, a manga series, 4-panel comic strips and a novel. The anime series acts as the central plot source for the remaining material, while the mini-novel and manga act as an expansion to the series as prequel and adaptation-expansion respectively.

  The story was originally conceived by Jun Maeda, who also wrote the screenplay, with original character design by Na-Ga; both Maeda and Na-Ga are from the visual novel brand Key known for producing such titles as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. Key is working in collaboration with ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine to produce the project. The series began airing in Japan on April 3, 2010. Two manga series and a series of illustrated short stories based on Maeda's original concept are serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine. Jun Maeda is also responsible for writing the successful anime "Charlotte."

The story of 

Angel Beats!

 takes place primarily at a high school complex set in the afterlife, with a majority of the population consisting of high school students. Here, they learn to give up any lingering attachments they still have from life before finally going to their next life. While injuries acquired at the time of death are gone, those in the afterlife school can still feel pain or other things as they did when they were alive, as well as dying again, only to awaken with no injuries several minutes later. Also, unlike in other portrayals of the afterlife, people still feel the necessities of a normal person, including hunger and need of sleep.

Angel Beats shifts moods from being upbeat and funny to being very sad about halfway through the series. If you like drama, then stick with the show. It also has, in my opinion, a beautiful soundtrack. Personally, the reason I watched Angel Beats is for the soundtrack (although there are many more reasons I like it now that I have already seen it). If you dislike drama/tragedy, you should drop the series, but it is generally a fan favorite. The fact that it is so popular is in itself a reason not to drop it. Also, it's only 7 more episodes, and that only takes about 2 hours.

1.Angel Beats DVD

Price: About $15

This gift must be the cheapest one, you can buy it at the local store or online shipping store, no Angel Beats anime fans can resist such a gift I think. After celebrating his birthday and return back home, you can accompany her to watch this Angel Beats DVD together at night, isn't it amazing?

2.Angel Beats PVC Figure

Price: About $20-30

I am not sure if you can buy it locally, but I have seen many online stores have these kinds of Angel Beats PVC Figure on sale. Different posture, different size, different materials are available, you can choose wahtever you like. This gift is fit for girls and students who can place it on the desk.

3.Angel Beats T-shirt

Price: About $100-150

A little expensive than expected, but this gift is very intimate and you can wear it in summer hot days. Meanwhile, you announce the fact to  the public that I AM A BIG FAN OF Angel Beats.

4. Angel Beats cosplay costume

Price:$60-150

There are various cosplay costumes of the angel beats with different materials and styles, so the price gap large. If there is any comic-con around the corner, please do not hesitate to buy this Angel Beats cosplay costume for your friends, she will much more appreciate and enjoy a great fun at the con.

.

5. Angel Beats dakimakura body pillow

Price $35-65

Compared with all the gifts above, the Angel Beats dakimakura body pillow is highly recommended. Firstly of all, it is very practical, everyone needs a pillow to sleep with at night. Secondly, it is very creative, there are thousands of anime characters on the market for you to choose from, even you can choose your own favorite character to have it print. At last, it is durable and long-lasting, movie and comic con last for less than a day, but an anime dakimakura pillow can accompany you for a long time, when you feel alone when you sleep, when you miss your anime character, it is always there!

All in all, anime dakimakura pillows is one of the best birthday gifts for you anime friends if you have no idea which one he likes, why not try these cute and sexy anime dakimakura pillows? Coosfly has more than one thousand kinds of anime pillow for your choice, take it home now！

[panic-house-genshou-blog]

Twelve Angry Men

The concept of communication entails a variety of approaches and has its basis on behaviors and implication of various models and theories. The frame work of communication is based on the interface between different parties involved in the communication process. The focus in this discussion relates to interpersonal communication in the context of the film analyzed and its social relevance. The concept of interpersonal communication incorporates the study of various aspects essential in interrelations and the processes of instructional association. The interpersonal mode of communication can either be based on the direct or indirect type of communication procedure. The film Twelve Angry Men presents a suitable platform on which the analysis of interpersonal communication as a fundamental aspect in the communication process will be based. The major objective for undertaking the analysis of this film is to establish a relationship between communication models and theories to works of literature. Most of these models and aspects have been illustrated in the film to highlight the degree of influence that most of these theories and models have on the communication process and more specifically the process of interpersonal communication.

Attitude Change and Persuasion

The art of persuasion is based on attitude and is an essential aspect of the absorbing nature of “the movie, the Twelve Angry Men.” Persuasion can be defined as a process through which attitudes are informed. Basing on the definition provided by social psychologists Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, persuasion is based on two specific concepts including; peripheral and central. The fact that there is an integral part played by the art of persuasion in the plot of “12 Angry Men,” the following theories and models can be applied. The principle mechanism on which persuasion is applied is when someone can be influenced by the power of argument through carefully thinking about a given commutation. The approach taken by Fonda and the reserved businessman in regard to change in attitude has its basis on the central route.  The manner in which Fonda makes an appeal for the innocence of the accused followed a well thought and elicited angle. His points are stipulated by use of empirical evidence and in so doing ends up swaying the other jurors. There were a lot of sheds of the central route to the argument characterizing the approach adopted by Fonda. In the same manner, the businessman makes the utilization of his stoic and equally inductive personality to come up with a coherent and logically based argument with facts at its core.  The business man just like Fonda makes an attempt to use the central route to persuasion in bid to change attitudes. In the same way, the foreign juror petitions the central route in the course of persuasion when trying to advocate for “going deeper,” while referring to fact examination. On the other hand, the peripheral style of persuasion is defined by shallow indicators in which the argument is surrounded. This is as opposed to arguments a based on the validity of the facts of the argument. In regard to the film, this route of persuasion is taken by the sickly man who makes attempts to urge the other jurors to interpret the attitudes on the basis of peripheral moral ethnic as well as tribal cues. In the end, when shunned by his fellow jurors, the sickly man persuades his associates to condemn the man because; in his opinion everyone knows the manner of behavior of these African Americans. He contends that they are all the same. He says they are all liars, thieves and drunkards”. By using such non-factual, social indicators, the sick man makes the utilization of the peripheral route to persuade and change attitudes.

The attitude and persuasion theories are both apparent in the film the “Twelve Angry Men”. The plot underlines the peripheral and centrally based theories in relation to the modification in attitude while attaching credibility to the impact that the source theory has in the art of persuasion in intrapersonal communication.

Self-disclosure

Self-disclosure is an important aspect of the concept of communication particularly as reflected in the theory of social penetration. Self disclosure is a gradual process in regard to the interaction levels and can vary basing on the degree of closeness an individual has in a given relationship. The concept entails the expression of the manner of feeling of an individual, the ideas as well as experiences that one has in regard to the past, present as well as the future.  Self disclosure as a feature of communication inspires compassion, adoration and concern for others. The film under analysis is made up various scenes where this specific aspect of interpersonal communication has been illustrated. This aspect is majorly seen in the conversations occurring between the jury members. One is able to provide a description of the personalities of the judges on the basis of their intercourse. An example relate to when the Foreman makes a revelation of himself to the viewers as quite a formal person though not that predominantly intelligent. This is illustrated by his statement in Act 1 where he utters that “Its’ all right; you can now handle this in any particular you want to want. He further goes on to say that he implies that that he will not be making any rules. He says that if it’s going to be discussed first, then a vote can be cast and that that is one way. The other way is that the vote can be cast as of the very moment to ascertain what the stand is”.

Group Process

It is recommended that the jury environment should be made up of a small group status. Relating to the way that the Twelve Angry men have collectively assembled themselves in a direct public interface in quest of a decision; they fit the definition of a small group. There are several theories and concepts of group performance which apply in the film; the “Twelve Angry Men”. Such theories like Social facilitation and social loafing are evidently being applied within the film. According to the social facilitation theory, the presence of others makes the performance of a particularly difficult task undertaking quite difficult and yet enhances the accomplishment of the easier tasks. In the film, a humble man with obvious profound intellect is mystified and hesitant when faced by the group for an assessment of his reason and judgment. This timorous colleague, a banker by profession is only able to establish his intellect at a later time in the film. However while under scrutiny in the attendance and under the examination of by the group, he is not able to present a feasible, well-argued reply to his associate juror’s inquires. In particular, this man crumples in the midst or in the face of the scrutiny of others, demonstrating the evaluation apprehension theory which is a constituent of social facilitation.

Rhetorical Sensitivity

Rhetorical sensitivity is a fundamental component in the process of effective communication. For that reason therefore, if the most suitable skills of communication are to be developed, they must be built on the paradigm of change in the manner of perception. This manner of change has its basis on the reaction of the audience and places very careful attention on the thoughts and feelings of the audience. Additionally, its main purpose is to steer clear of pessimistic condemnation that may affect the viewers negatively. Various scenes in the film have been used by the script writer to feature and expound on various themes. Despite the charges facing the boy, some of the jurors are incredibly devoted not to offend the boy or his family. For example, the eighth juror does not want to consider the guilt of the teenager. "It is not easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first" uttered the eighth juror in Act 1. This exhibits that there is sympathizing and considering with people's emotions. He does not look to be bothered with his choice of rejecting the innocence of this young man. He asserts this when he says “that is old enough”. The innocent little nineteen year old lad stabbed his own father four inches deep into his chest. They confirmed it a dozen ways . He employs sarcasm to the teenager convict and hardly listens to the other jurors.

Role Taking

The concept of role taking in regard to the communication process involves associating with some other person’s position in the course of interaction. In such a scenario, the communicator puts themselves in the listener’s situation to ensure that there is an effective and proficient delivery of the message anticipated. Such an attribute of interface is manifest within the movie’s greater part of the scenes. To come up with the most viable decision, the jury members make arguments in their presentations with the situation of the boy in mind.  They take time to make an analysis of the facts that surround the charges faced by the boy to be in position to make the just judgment in relation to the case. A case in point relates to the contention of the eighth jury who while, arguing the clumsiness of the information provided by the old woman, he states that “perhaps she candidly thought she did see the boy murder her father. I pronounce that she saw just a blur” (Act 1). According to this statement, it’s evident that the juror puts himself in the position of the woman to be able to discount the information that supports her claims.

Conclusions

Interpersonal communication is a very crucial factor within communication and it is affected by various aspects. From this movie, it is shown that there is a fundamental role played by interpersonal communication within the community. Interpersonal communication assesses a number of factors that include respecting and listening to leader, engaging in decision making, determining relationships between people and also compelling people to take a stand. Besides it is influenced by diverse aspects including hostility which affects the manner in which people communicate. On the basis of what is shown in the movie, it’s obvious that interpersonal communication plays a huge role in the manner that people associate with each other in the community and thereby an important factor in the communication process.

[moviesbarelyreviewed]

The Best of 2017

So it’s been two years since my last post on this here blog. There are may and varied reasons for this, but I won’t bore you by getting into them. What’s important is that I’ve still been seeing movies, still been thinking about them, and still been telling everyone I know to see the ones I love. And so I hope that this post will get this blog back in business, though I hesitate to make any promises, given that I am now a first-year law student, meaning that a) There’s a very good chance I won’t have the time to keep up with this blog and b) I’ve learned that making promises can sometimes inadvertently bind you in an irrevocable contract, which could prove very costly for me down the road (don’t ask me how, I still don’t understand contracts). 

Nevertheless, it’s the end of the year, so I’ve made my list of the year’s best films, and I want to share it with you all. As always, I couldn’t see every movie that came out this year. I used to say that I was only an amateur film critic of dubious reputation and professionalism, but I’m not sure I can claim even that title at this point (see: it’s been two years since my last post). So before you all start banging down my doors, complaining that I left your favorite film off my list (this has never happened, but I like to imagine that I’m important enough to where it would), I’ll note up front that I have not seen The Last Jedi, I, Tonya, The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, and whatever film you’re thinking of right now, probably. But with that being said, I’ve seen many of the year’s big contenders (shoutout to a/perture Cinema in Winston-Salem, NC, for allowing me the opportunity to see some smaller films that I couldn’t catch in any other theater) and I feel comfortable in saying that this is a fairly comprehensive list. Like in the past, I start the list with number 11, because there was just one film I couldn’t leave out.

11. Raw (Julia Ducournau). I really think that we’re living in a golden age for horror films, and if you don’t believe me, well, note that the first three films on my list are all horror movies. The first is Raw, an ice-cool, coming-of-age shocker from French director Julia DuCournau. I feel confident in recommending most of the other films on my list to just about any moviegoer out there, but I can’t say the same for Raw. This is, quite simply, not a film for everyone, which is completely fine. The story follows teenage vegan Justine (Garance Marillier), who goes away to veterinary school and is forced to eat meat as part of a hazing ritual during her first week. The new taste opens Justine up to some other... new tastes, though I hesitate to say more for fear of spoilers. Suffice it to say, this movie has at least three of the most memorable scenes of the year. You can probably guess from this description alone that squeamish viewers need not apply. But those who can stomach the story’s taboo twists will find an intelligent, sensitive, and provocative tale, solidified by a killer soundtrack and a fearless central performance from Marillier.

10. Happy Death Day (Christopher Landon). There’s something to be said for a movie that is impeccably crafted, brilliantly acted, and profoundly impactful. But there’s also something to be said for a movie that isn’t any of those things, but is still fun as heck. Happy Death Day, the horror-thriller from director Christopher Landon, certainly falls into the latter category, but I think it more than deserves a spot on this list. Making a great genre film is often harder than making a great original film, because most everyone who sees genre films is familiar with their tropes and not looking for something they’ve already seen before. Happy Death Day manages to rise above those genre pitfalls, however, primarily due to its central gimmick which, albeit, it apes from films like Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow, and even this year’s Before I Fall. Newcomer Jessica Rothe stars as Tree, who begins the movie as an obnoxious, stuck-up mean girl. We know, of course, that she is about to learn some important lessons. Unfortunately for Tree, though, she has to learn those lessons by, well, being murdered.... a lot, until she is able to uncover the identity of her masked killer. Like the aforementioned Edge of Tomorrow, Happy Death Day wisely doesn’t take itself too seriously and has a lot of fun with its circular time structure. Indeed, I found myself laughing throughout this movie, because it’s just such a blast to watch. Even though some of its third-act twists are utterly ridiculous, it doesn’t matter because the movie has already strapped you into its roller coaster ride long before. And as far as roller coasters go, this movie is as breathless as they come.

9. Get Out (Jordan Peele). Get Out is unquestionably one of the defining movies of 2017. Even though it came out in the first quarter of the year, it has stayed in the minds of moviegoers and critics alike, which alone is a tremendous accomplishment for director Jordan Peele. If you still haven’t seen Peele’s twisted tale of a black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who finds himself enduring figurative (and possibly literal) hell while spending a weekend with the parents (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams), you’re in for a truly original, unforgettable experience. Sure, the shocks and twists are effective, but what takes this movie beyond the level of a traditional genre film is its button-pushing topicality. Chances are it’ll make you squirm long before its supernatural scares come. It’s no wonder that it’s the movie everyone has been talking about for months on end.

8. Wind River (Taylor Sheridan). Director Taylor Sheridan made a huge splash just last year with his screenplay for the unlikely Best Picture nominee, Hell or High Water, and with Wind River, his directorial debut, he deserves to make an even bigger one. Like Hell or High Water, Wind River is a neo-western, though not a conventional one. It’s set on an Indian reservation in Wyoming, where wildlife tracker Corey Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is the only white man for miles, a fact which plays both a provocative and potentially problematic role in the movie’s plot. When a young Indian girl from the area is brutally murdered, Corey is called upon by FBI agent Jane Banner (the excellent Elizabeth Olsen), a city-slicker who is out of place on the reservation, to say the least, to help her navigate the community and investigate the crime, a task which eventually forces Corey to exercise some painful demons from his past. Although there is a hint of white saviorism in how the plot unravels, the movie’s lasting message is a poignant and pressing one about the current state of Native Americans in our country. Sheridan deserves a lot of credit for telling a little-told story with grit and honesty, and the actors certainly do their part as well, particularly the great Native American actor Gil Birmingham (who was brilliant as Jeff Bridges’ partner in Hell or High Water) as the father of the murdered girl.

7. The Lego Batman Movie (Chris McKay). I honestly didn’t think I could love 2015′s The Lego Movie any more... and then I saw the Lego Batman Movie. Despite a new director and the element of surprise having worn off, Chris McKay’s follow-up to The Lego Movie somehow reaches the impossibly high bar set by its predecessor. It does so mainly by not deviating from what made the first movie so successful: quirky characters, fast-paced humor, and beautifully detailed Lego environments. Will Arnett reprises his role from the original as a particularly narcissistic Batman, trying to protect Gotham from the likes of the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate), Bane (Doug Benson), and many more, all while trying to deal with Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), the teenage orphan that he has accidentally adopted. As in the first film, there are as many jokes for adults as there for kids, and as in the first film, the movie has a heartfelt message at the core of its kicky and occasionally silly goings-on. There may come a point when these Lego movies wear out there welcome... but we’re not there yet. 

6. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan). So apparently some people thought Dunkirk was boring? I must confess, I am in the exact opposite camp. I was completely riveted by Christopher Nolan’s often unbearably intense war epic. Like most of Nolan’s movies, Dunkirk doesn’t spoon-feed its audience by dumbing things down. Instead, we’re expected to sift through the movie’s huge cast of characters and occasionally confusing time structure with little help from the filmmakers, which I, for one appreciated. But even if you can’t get your mind around everything going on in the film, it’s hard not to surrender to its incredibly immersive effect. I’ve rarely felt so embroiled in the goings-on of a movie as I did when watching Dunkirk. It proves that there are still many great war stories to be told, and many great directors willing to breathe new life into history.

5. Baby Driver (Edgar Wright). Like the Simon and Garfunkel song from which it takes its title, Baby Driver is as slick, cool, and effortless as movies come. Director Edgar Wright has yet to make a bad movie and, in Baby Driver, he borrows much of the visual panache and witty dialogue displayed in his great 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but this time targets it at... those of you who probably thought you were too cool to see a movie like Scott Pilgrim. Cool is something this movie certainly doesn’t lack. For those who haven’t seen it, Baby Driver is the story of a teenager named Baby (Ansel Elgort), who supports himself and the old man (CJ Jones) he shares an apartment with by working as a getaway driver for a band of bank robbers (Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Eiza Gonzalez are the robbers, Kevin Spacey is their leader). But when Baby falls for a good-hearted waitress (Lily James), he’s forced to choose between her or his wayward lifestyle.... which of course isn’t as simple as it sounds. As you might expect, Baby Driver has some truly epic action sequences, but what really gives it added style points is its brilliant use of music. Baby syncs all of his getaway drives up to classic rock songs and, as a result, the movie is a sort of musical-action hybrid rarely seen on the big screen. It needs no saying that the songs, from Queen’s “Brighton Rock” to Focus’s “Hocus Pocus”, are all perfectly chosen for their particular moments. No one else today is making movies like Edgar Wright. But they should be.

4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh). If you’ve ever seen one of Martin McDonagh’s films (or plays for that matter), you’ll know that the man likes his humor as black as coal. Three Billboards, his latest, certainly doesn’t deviate from this trend, but it also has an emotional heft and modern-day relevance that perhaps In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths lacked. The rather clumsily titled film is set in a small Missouri town where Mildred (Frances McDormand) has recently lost her daughter to a brutal rape and murder that has left the community shaken. Frustrated by the perceived lack of effort in investigating the crime on the part of the local police, Mildred buys three large billboards on the edge of town and arranges for three different, but all damning messages to be painted on each (the most pointed of all reads “How come, Chief Willoughby”). But Mildred’s bold act doesn’t win the favor from the townsfolk that one might expect. That’s because the chief of police (Woody Harrelson) is a universally-admired family man, who is seen as the misplaced object of Mildred’s ire. Complicating matters even further is racist, firebrand cop Jason Dixon (the always incredible Sam Rockwell), who threatens to send Mildred over the edge with his untamed aggression. For my money, this is the best acted movie of the year. No one in the rich ensemble, which also includes John Hawkes, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones, and Peter Dinklage, gives anything but their best. Even more impressive is McDonagh’s screenplay which is both brutally funny and brutally sad. His characters are some of the most believably complex I’ve seen in a long time. The moral ambiguity that all of their actions are subject to is not unlike real life itself. As much as I’ve enjoyed McDonagh’s films in the best, Three Billboards is an exciting step forward for a director already near the top of his game.

3. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig). Come on, you guys new this would be on here. I mean, seriously, it’s a coming-of-age dramedy directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Saoirse Ronan. I don’t think I could write a better sentence than that if I tried. Now sure, I’m a sucker for these types of movies, but I think the overwhelming critical acclaim for Lady Bird (peep that Rotten Tomatoes score) proves that, at least this time, my hype for this movie is justified. To be fair, I think Lady Bird does lack the intense emotional impact of a film like The Perks of Being a Wallflower or The Spectacular Now, which keeps it from being a complete home run for me, but that’s probably by design. Yes, the movie is profound and often moving, but it’s also funny and whimsical in ways that those movies aren’t. Indeed, it has a lot of the quirky, shaggydog charm we’ve seen in recent films starring Gerwig, like Frances Ha or Mistress America. This time, though, it’s Ronan who stands in for Gerwig and, if there was any doubt beforehand, she proves that she’s the finest actress of this generation. And yeah, she’s only 23. Her performance here as Lady Bird, a strong-willed teen clashing with her parents (beautifully played by Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts), while experiencing her first relationships (Lucas Hedges and, later, Timothee Chalamet play her suitors), is yet another peerless turn in a career already chock full of them. Although I think Frances McDormand, in the above mentioned Three Billboards, gives arguably a better performance than Ronan, I’m rooting for Ronan to get the Oscar, because it’s long overdue. And that’s really all there is to say about Lady Bird. This wise, funny film hits basically no wrong notes and, though it’s hard to imagine how Gerwig will top this one, I can’t wait to see her try in the future. 

2. The Disaster Artist (James Franco). The Disaster Artist is my favorite film of the year, but, for reasons I will explain shortly, I went with a different film at the top of this list. As for James Franco’s hilarious and inspiring film, however, I simply couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The Disaster Artist, based on the book by Greg Sestero, is the scarcely believable, but undeniably true story of Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), a bizarre man from some unknown Eastern European country (though he swears he was born in New Orleans), who sounds like Dracula and looks like the lead singer of a death metal band, and his 2003 film “The Room” which has become a cult classic of Rocky Horror proportions, primarily because it may well be the single worst film ever made (though don’t tell Wiseau). The Disaster Artist also tells us the story of Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), Tommy’s friend and roommate who starred alongside Wiseau in The Room. Like Tommy, Greg is an aspiring actor, but unlike Wiseau, he’s a clean-cut, all-American guy that seems to have at least a little bit of acting talent. The Franco brothers strike a great dynamic in their scenes together, but the real highlight of this movie is its depiction of the filming of “The Room.” If you’ve seen “The Room,” which I had, I think you can appreciate these scenes even more, but even if you haven’t, there’s much to laugh, gasp, and marvel at. The real achievement of The Disaster Artist, though, is the way it rewrites this narrative. Though there are a lot of laughs at his expense, Wiseau is an oddly inspiring figure, a man who, despite what everyone told him, had a dream and achieved that dream with nothing but a lot of passion (and, ok, a lot of cash that we still aren’t really sure of the source of). That’s a story we can all relate to.

1. The Florida Project (Sean Baker). The Disaster Artist, like I said, is my favorite film of 2017. The Florida Project, at least at this point, falls just short of that title because I’m still on the fence about the ending of Sean Baker’s film. I’ve gone back and forth on how I feel about it, but I think I need to see it again to truly decide. Nevertheless, I think the fact that I’m still thinking about this film, which I saw months ago, speaks to its power, and that’s why I’m choosing it as the best movie of 2017. The tale of Moonee (the delightful Brooklynne Prince), a mischievous 6 year old, and her mother Hailee (newcomer Bria Vinaite, in a stunningly brilliant performance) is an uncompromising look at poverty in America that still brims with vitality in every shot. Much is owed as well to the work of director Sean Baker, who brings the kitschy motel where Hailee and Moonee live, to life, in eye-popping color. And let’s not forget Willem Defoe’s lovely, warm-hearted performance as Bobby, who runs the motel and gives Moonee and Hailee break after break, despite his best instincts. The Florida Project will put you through the emotional ringer, especially in its climax, but the thing which struck me the most is how true this film is. It’s as essential as it is gripping, giving a voice to a group of people who are rarely heard from in today’s political landscape. And despite its unflinching realism, the movie is ultimately hopeful, and fully invested in the very premise that explains why movies endure into 2017: a little imagination can make anything seem possible. In 2017, I think that’s a lesson we all can all take heart in.

-PSH

[afoolsingenuity]

Deja Vu // The Rephaim Series–Paula Weston

As some of you may remember, I was struggling to find a way to feature books I have loved and reread. Especially those books I’ve already reviewed here on the blog. Even if it was a few years ago. You all said I could review again if I wanted to and that’s great. Glad to be reminded we are a non-judgmental bunch of folks in the book blogging community. I thought about re-reviewing but that’s not really what I want. I’ve done that. I don’t want to repeat myself, that’s boring (although, I do it a lot). So, instead, I am trying to create a new feature. A feature where I get a sense of deja vu about books I’ve reread.

Now, you will need to bear with me with these posts and I am still not completely certain how I will implement it. I don’t have a set format and I totally don’t know where the post will take me as I write it. You’ll have to give me hints and tips at the end.

The Book(s): The Rephaim Series –Paula Weston

Original Review: Here posted 10th September 2015

My Rating: (it hasn’t changed)

How Do My Opinions Hold Up After A Year And A Half?

I will begin this with my original thoughts and what I agree with. After a slightly cringe-worthy reread (you read through and edit for a reason, some of those sentences don’t make sense!) I have to say I really do agree with my original review. I may have only really focused on the first book as too many comments on the other three really risk spoilers but I still strongly agree. The best comment I made was that Hush Hush and Fallen should have tried to be more like the Rephaim books and less like Twilight because it’s extremely accurate and also it made me smile.

I agree with all of my comments, really. It’s strange to see my thoughts repeated when it’s been so long since I originally wrote them. It’s like when you see someone else write a review on a book you loved and you feel like hugging the screen because they have fully encapsulated your thoughts to a tee. It’s like that, only less coherent.

Has Anything Changed?

One thing I did notice is that my focus seemed to change between my first read and my reread. In my original review I was flailing over the friendship between Gaby and Maggie. I even call their friendship one of the highlights of the series. Whilst I did love their close friendship it was never my focus during my reread. In fact, I hadn’t really give it a thought. Instead, it was all about the romance and Gaby and Rafa (Rafa, who is probably my only book boyfriend ever) and they were what I was flailing about in my reread. Reading my original thoughts I don’t disagree that I loved the friendship aspect of the series. I loved the friendship between Maggie and Gaby. It’s the central part of a lot of the books. Gaby makes decisions based on making sure she keeps Maggie safe and Maggie totally doesn’t freak out at Gaby being this totally awesome fighting machine. Or about demons. Girl has staying power. True friend!

I do find it strange that my focus differs between my readings, though, and I think it’s very much to do with the type of reader I am from now and then. Whilst romance has always been a thing I’ve enjoyed it’s only within the past year or two I’ve fully embraced romance everywhere because I am a hardcore card-carrying romance reader. I mean, I like to think me embracing romance began when I started this blog but I think I was still hesitant. Instead, I focused on friendships and story and all of that and yes those things were brilliant in the book but damn that romance! I do love a slow burn romance which spans on entire series.

Basically, looking back at my original review I agree 100% with those thoughts. I am even shocked to remember that the first time I read the series I binge read and almost fell into a reading slump and the same can be said the second time around. It seems, whilst many things change when it comes to our reading tastes and bookish trends, many things also stay the same. In this case, The Rephaim series by Paula Weston is still an absolute favourite of mine and will be for a long time to come, I think. It had romance and friendship and an action-packed plot and I simply cannot recommend it enough.

Have you read this series? What did you think? And isn’t it strange you focus on different things when reading as time passes? It is certainly true when it comes to different genres but I never noticed during a reread before.

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