#the wide range of environments is a factor as well because the animators could really play with them like they're in a playground

[shantechni]

Say what you want about S5, but you can't deny that they kept up the tradition of popping off with some of those fight scenes

[scripttorture]

ST speaking of Pathfinder they also have a literal god of torture named Zon-Kuthon and his portrayal is interesting. And bad, like it shows Paldiens considered hero’s on the setting being tourtoured and “turned” evil

So this isn’t really a question and I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to respond or not, but I thought it might be interesting to try and unpack the idea of a fantasy God of torture. The majority of the time these sorts of things in a fantasy setting are pretty simplistic torture apologia. And it sounds like that’s what’s going on in this game.

 Let’s explore the concept though.

 To start with I think a lot of fantasy pantheons function a little strangely. They often lack the multiple functions and overlap of domains that you see in polytheistic religions.

 Both Pan and Dionysus are Gods of agriculture. Both are associated with fertility. But they’re also distinct. Pan is rooted in wild places, mountains, ‘rustic’ music and sheep herding. Dionysus is rooted in orchards and vineyards. While he’s also about ritualised ‘insanity’ and release he’s fundamentally rooted in more ‘civilised’ places.

 This effects the associations and meanings of both deities.

 Note that the wide range of what these Gods represent tells you a fair bit about Ancient Greek society. The fact that we are talking about vineyards and mountains instantly tells you something about the landscape these people inhabited. It also tells you something about their associations with the environment: wild mountains, civilised orchards.

 The portrayal of these Gods might tell you something about how the Ancient Greeks thought of the people who inhabited these parts of the country. It tells you about their priorities. It tells you what they thought important, moving and vital enough to be deified.

 For a fictional society to have a God of torture implies that torture is a big part of public life. But if we’re approaching this sensibly it also leaves out a lot.

 We don’t know the nature of this God yet, because we haven’t defined the other parts of their realm, the other things they focus on. In the same way that we do not know the nature of Pan or Dionysus when we call them ‘Gods of agriculture.’

 So if we’re designing a fantasy God whose realm includes torture it’s worth asking what the important part of that is? It could be rooted in concepts of suffering, self sacrifice, heroism even. It could be rooted in concepts of ‘just’ authority and legal penalties. Some societies have treated pain as cleansing so that could be a factor. Some religions have used torture as part of their consistent oppression of minority faiths in an attempt to force conversions.

 Anybody mention the Spanish Inquisition?

 We could even take this in a completely different direction. For instance a group of people who have survived genocide, occupation, torture and have taken this into part of their identity and memory- For them a God whose realm includes torture might be about their past, about survival, about healing even or compassion.

 What I’m driving at here is that this idea does not have to be some ‘edgy’ or apologist set of stereotypes. It doesn’t have to be boring.

 Part of achieving that means thinking it through as a religion. Making sure it makes sense. And that means questioning what ‘torture’ means in a particular fictional society. And that can be all sorts of things! It can tend towards implying that this society has a lot of torture apologia, like associating torture with law and order, with protection. But it could also tend much more towards supporting survivors because it could be about the aftermath of torture, healing, recovery, living with mental illness.

 I write a lot of fantasy and I think about making fictional pantheons a fair bit.

 Long term readers will have seen pieces of the story with Ilāra, I came up with a pantheon for this story and several different denominations of the overarching religion.

 It’s an animist religion; they believe that everything has a soul, desires, purpose. A voice. A big part of the religion is trying to communicate with other things. There’s a big sense of things, natural features, animals, even occupations belonging to the realms of different Gods.

 And I bring this up because I think that, if I wanted to, I could put a lot of things to do with the aftermath of torture or supporting survivors in to the realm of two of these Gods.

 Here’s what I wrote as background cultural detail for them:

 ‘There was on the Path a fog and the Prophet entered. Grey with mould and spores and creeping things. Here He, withered to bone, wasted with what will come.

“What are you?” The Prophet said.

Gentle He said. “I am Rot. I am what comes to those gone so what is left may endure; you that would spend your time in comfort come first to me.”

And here the Prophet dwelled a time and learnt of the small things on which life is built. Called him Kindly and Charitable, the Lord whose realm is inescapable.

“Do not go on.” The Lord said. “For the Path is long and there is worse ahead.”

But on the Prophet went.

 There was on the Path a circle and the Prophet entered. Sharp and bright with thought, each breath a memory, each blink a dream. Here She, old as birth, grown ancient with all that is known.

“What are you?” The Prophet said.

Unsmiling She said. “I am Thought. I am what makes your boundaries as a circle holds sigils; you that would truly learn come first to me.”

And here the Prophet dwelled a time and learnt of limits. Called her Strength and Indomitable, the Crone whose realm marks our souls.

“Do not go on.” The Crone said. “For the Path is long and there is worse ahead.”

But on the Prophet went.’

 What I’m trying to convey here is that cultural associations are a vital part of world building. If we’re writing fantasy we can’t be sloppy with those associations. Consistency and inventiveness are what brings a fantasy culture to life.

 It wouldn’t be inconsistent for one of the cultures in this world to talk about survivors in relation to worship of the Crone. She is the mind, it’s natural that serious mental illness would fall into her domain. I could see her being associated with torture in some regions. In moving past it, in healing. Because the lasting effects fall squarely into her realm.

 I could also draw a connection to the Lord if I wanted to. Death is part of his domain and a place where torture is associated with execution could draw a natural link. He’s also a symbol of suffering and compassion, he’s the patron of doctors. So anyone intervening or attempting to help survivors might call on him. Survivors might call on him as well.

 Fantasy religions shouldn’t be flat. We’re trying to create different cultures and really bring them to life in the story. Religion should be a major part of that. The more we box ourselves into the stereotypes and associations of our own culture the more likely that our fantasy worlds are going to seem… typical.

 At its best fantasy challenges our perceptions of the world by showing us different worlds. For me personally the worst thing it can be is boring. It’s a stonking great challenge to ‘go big’.

 Think things through. Question how different features of a culture would impact each other. Try to create a truly different perspective of the world.

 And if you want to make a God of torture in a fantasy world think about what that means. What part of the subject relates to the God? What does it say about the culture and history of the world?

 Write torture apologist cultures in your world if you want to, remember that there’s a difference between writing apologist characters and an apologist story. Be inventive. Fantasy is a challenge to push your creativity. We can rise to it.

 I hope that helps :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

[scriptflorist]

Hi and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us writers!

I write about a near-apocalypse setting where the lands are barren and plants are getting rare. Gardening becomes an expensive hobby, and it is to become my MC's vice. What plants or flowers would you suggest my MC to nurture in their garden? Something with high endurance with low humus soil or low sunlight intake.

Florist’s usually don’t do a lot of planting, and if they do it’s almost always to make something pretty and not for gardening purposes. So humus seldom comes up for florists that don’t tend to plants outside their job, at least much less than pH-value and occasionally peat.

So let’s start with what humus is exactly, after all it is about the single most important soil component – even more important than organic matter. (Not to be confused with the food – hummus).

We are starting with all the things that are not humus.

Those bags labelled humus which can be bought at garden centres are no more than mislabelled compost, which probably has something to do with how in gardening and agriculture humus is sometimes used to described well-aged compost. To put it simply compost is slightly decomposed plant material that continues to decompose for years and most certainly not humus. A humus layer is also not humus. And while fulvic acid, humic acid and humin are sub-parts of humus they cannot be used as replacement words.

So what exactly is humus? In short humus is the leftover material from decomposed organic matter that can’t be used by plants or micro-organisms. Organic matter originates from dead plants and animals, and is something of an umbrella term for a wide range of molecules, for example starches, proteins, sugars and amino acids. All that decomposes and is broken down by micro-organisms (mostly fungi and bacteria). And when all the good stuff has been extracted by micro-organisms, so that at one point it can be used by plants again what’s left at the end when nothing else is left, that is humus. It’s exact composition differs depending on its materials.

What’s left over is mostly carbon and some nitrogen, but it can’t just decompose further. It does decompose further, however at the incredibly slow rate of up to a 100 years or more which makes it incredibly stable. A very simple explanation for why it is able to persist for that long is that it basically hides in soil particles, if humus does not do that it usually decomposes within 10 years. This less stable humus contains few plant nutrients but still keeps the soil structure intact.

Humus has three main functions. The first is to absorb water. Lots of water. Like up to 90% of its weight lots of water. The second is that it has what is called negative charge, which basically means it’s like a magnet for plant nutrients and doesn’t allow them to get washed away by rain. Which allows the plants to siphon out what they need, like it’s a slow acting natural fertiliser. The third is that humus improves aggregation, basically it gives soil the nice loose, crumbly texture that makes it really good for your character to dig their hands in. Humus also affects the bulk density.

Generally humus is understood to be the dark organic matter that’s left after decomposition did all it could, it’s what gives healthy soil its black colour.

The thing about humus is that science doesn’t really understand it and we have no exact scientific definition for humus. It’s understood that it’s complex, but it has no determinate shape, structure or quality. Because science does not fully understand humus, science said in 2015 that humus does not exist. The paper was only followed up by some articles talked about it in 2016 for all that I could find.

The basic point of the paper is that since science cannot really detect humus in the soil, but only after treating it with pH 13 in a lab the only real humus is man-made. And so it doesn’t exist. However we’re not here to answer that question, and while there might be something to it given that it appears scientists have been doubtful about humus since they started studying it, it also has to be said that this discovery changes virtually nothing from a gardening perspective. Soil still needs organic matter. – The question we are here to answer is how can there be low humus soil (if possible) and how does it affect planting things?

For arguments sake we are going to say the soil in your character’s garden is old enough to have passed the 100 year mark and any humus that may have accumulated in the past decades was less stable and has already broken down and the most organic matter it receives is the occasional dead rodent and some leaves the wind blew in. Let’s say it’s all that the moment your character decides to make it their garden. Whether they can actually plant anything now heavily depends on the soil structure, and their water and fertiliser supply.

Depending on the soil structure the first thing your character might have to do is actually treat the soil, by adding compost and organic matter. Or compost containing organic matter. How long that would take would depend on the conditions in which their compost is kept.

An apocalyptic setting certainly is not the ideal environment for such an endeavour, however knowing how humus is created it should not be impossible for your character. After all humans require plants to survive and feel good, so surely somewhere in their world there are some fallen leaves or dead plants and other types of organic matter. Something always ends up decomposing unless everything is vaporised.

Other than that they will need a steady supply of water since with little or no humus the soil will hold much less of it, which is an especially big problem for plants freshly put into the ground as they still need to grow proper roots. (This takes about 2-3 weeks on average, which is why planting close to winter even for hardy plants is not recommended). And they will need the fertiliser to make up for nutrient deficiencies in the soil.

Fertilisers generally are made up of the same three ingredients – N-P-K. Nitrogen, phosphate and potash (potassium carbonate). Each of them is responsible for different things and plants have different needs when it comes to the mixture, and though there are all purpose fertilisers the exact mix differs between brands. Your character should also keep a book or some other way for looking up and comparing plant afflictions, to most efficiently combat what they notice on their own plants.

With that said, this was a very long way of saying plants can handle low humus soil if well-taken care off and finding plants that need little to no sunlight should be the bigger factor when your character goes shopping.

As for those, here’s a list of some:

athyrium filix-femina

begonia x semperflorens-cultorum

hakonechloa

chaenomeles speciosa

cornus

heuchera

hydrangea

impatiens walleriana

lamiastrum galeobdolon

lamium purpureum

lamprocapnos spectabilis

mertensia virginica

pulmonaria

spathiphyllum cochlearispathum

tiarella cordifolia

vinca minor

– Mod Jana

Disclaimer

This blog is intended as writing advice only. This blog and its mods are not responsible for accidents, injuries or other consequences of using this advice for real world situations or in any way that said advice was not intended.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/what-is-humus/

https://www.gardenmyths.com/humus-does-not-exist-says-new-study/

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

https://www.greenviewfertilizer.com/articles/understanding-n-p-k

https://www.tipsbulletin.com/low-light-outdoor-plants/

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #355

“despite all my rage, i am still just a rat in a cage”

Have you ever shared a shower or bath with someone as an adult? No, only as a kid. What kind of pizza toppings do you like? Meats or jalapenos. When did you first take a shot of alcohol? Never, and I'm not interested. Did you babysit for money when you were in middle school? No. Who is your favorite band? How long have they been? Ozzy Osbourne, since middle school. Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? My old house, yes. Not the one I currently live in. Have you ever been to a spa? Only because my friend at the time took me. When talking on the phone, do you place it against your left or right ear? My right. What’s your favourite Lunchables meal? The nachos one. Do you like Bob Marley? NO. Omg his voice is awful. Have you ever eaten at Golden Corral? Yeah. I'm not a big fan. Do you sit and eat dinner at the same table with your family? We only ever do that if my sister is over (she comes for dinner once a week). Are you listening to any music right now? If so, what are you listening to? Yeah, Violet Orlandi's cover of "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by The Smashing Pumpkins. God she's so beautiful and talented and asdfjkaljddkfjlwkee FUCK I'm gay for her. Who was the last person to make you genuinely smile? Watching Mark. :') Is there something you want to say to someone but can’t/won’t? Yeah. Do you like men who have a sensitive side? Yes. Please be in touch with your emotions, for the love of God. Have you ever tried to get someone into a certain band/artist? Not persistently, no, but Mini is a case where me mentioning them enough got her to listen to them. Metallica, by the way. They're her favorite band because of mwah, haha. Have you ever carved you and someone else’s initials into a tree? It's possible, but I don't believe so. Do you like Dairy Queen? Love it. They're Oreo Cupfection thing is BOMB. Is there anyone you know with an amazing personal success story? Yes. I have a friend Shannen who first was a widely-recognized photographer in the state, and now she's a fashion designer (or something like that) up in New York. Is there a song in a different language that you can sing? A number of Rammstein songs. How do you feel about bands that use pyrotechnics in live concerts? So long they're well-made for safety reasons, I don't care much. They do seem a bit unnecessary, though; like just look at James Hetfield's accident that burned half his body because of standing in the wrong place. It seems easy to fuck up and get in a dangerous range. Ever fallen down a hole? No. Do you like bananas? Yeah. How long do you normally spend in the shower? Not even 10 minutes, usually. I've never understood how people can take such long showers. Have you ever been a featured member on any website? Yeah, on a Silent Hill fansite. Have you ever had any weird pets? Not by my standards. A ball python morph is as "weird" as it gets. Are you currently talking to/texting/instant messaging anyone? Nope. Have you ever experienced insomnia? Ugh, yes. I went through a horrible insomnia spell, and I still have an awful time trying to fall asleep. Do you like egg nog? Nooo. Would you ever wear Converse with a prom/formal dress? I'm not opposed to it, but realistically I'd probably wear something more traditionally suiting just because. Do you prefer hot chocolate with or without marshmallows? Without. How many different people of the opposite sex have you cried over? I've cried all the oceans over just one lol. Would you rather be a surgeon or mortician? Being a mortician actually doesn't sound awful, weird as it sounds. It sounds almost relaxing if I could just be alone with some music doing my job. Would rather be a musician or a painter? A painter. Would you rather write your own book or make your own movie? I'd love to write a book. At home, do you have a trampoline? No. When you are about to go to bed, do you put on some sort of noise? No. What is your favorite Christmas movie? Jim Carrey's How The Grinch Stole Christmas. And what about your favorite Christmas song? Probably "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" or whatever it's called. "Carol of the Bells" too, of course. What is your ultimate favorite stocking stuffer? Haha, okay so it seems to be an unspoken rule that Mom always gets us Slim Jims for our stockings, and that's obviously the best considering my sisters and I loooove them yet still don't buy them much. You're making me ready for Christmas, lol. After Halloween, do you sort out all of your candy into little piles? I did as a kid, and then my sisters and I would trade what we preferred. When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise faintly, or do you blast it? It's honestly pretty loud. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Cold pizza from dinner leftovers last night. What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet? Our late boxer mix, Cali. She was a big 'ole pup. Do you own any kind of helmet? No. Out of everything currently in your refrigerator, what food or drink is your favorite? Food: strawberries. Drink: Mountain Lightning. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? Either when I skinned my knees so deep that pus was visible, or when I fainted onto my chin and got a short, but very deep cut. Do you like the taste of cough syrup? No. What is something you like to have conversations about? I like talking about deep stuff, like where we came from, our unique feelings and beliefs, conspiracy theories and cryptids, mysterious stuff like that, too. And don't forget animals. And Mark, haha. What all is in the trunk of your car? I don't have a car, and I don't remember what's in Mom's trunk, even though I helped bring in groceries just the other day. Do you ever put fruit on your cereal? Ew, no. Is your heat or air conditioning currently on? Our AC is currently on because it's too damn hot. The weather here has been so up and down, it's wild. Have you ever fallen off of a horse? No. Which do you value more, your appearance or your intelligence? Honestly? I'd be dumber than I already am if it meant being happy with how I look, because my appearance now is a key factor to my depression. When was the last time you drove something other than a car or truck? Oh jeez... I have no idea. I don't think since I've driven a golf cart at someone's b-day party as a kid. Were your grandparents present when you were born? No. If you drink/smoke, how often do you do these things? I don't smoke, and I only have a drink or two very rarely, usually just on special occasions. What do you think of fast food? I like it way more than I wish I did. What website do you spend the most time on and why? YouTube, because I'm always listening to and/or watching something. What’s the most amount of time you’ve spent online? Is this usual for you? In one non-stop setting, I don't want to know. I pretty much only exist on the computer. When it comes to travel, what kinds of places intrigue you most? Mountainous, loads of nature, cooler/cold, mysterious locations... stuff like that. Do you think humans colonizing Mars is a good idea? Would you go, if you could? If we learn from our goddamn mistakes and not fuck up its environment, it could be healthy or even life-saving for humanity, but I'd prefer to stay on Earth as long as possible. What is the farthest you’ve walked in one day and what made you do it? I dunno, maybe at Disney World or something like that as a kid. What is something important that’s often on your mind lately? Physical health stuff. I'm worried about a lot of things relating to that. What about something unimportant, but you can’t stop thinking about it? I don't know about "unimportant," at least to me. Do you like oatmeal? If so, what kinds of things do you like in it? Yeah. I only really eat the cinnamon apple ones; I always use milk and sprinkle some sugar in there, and it's delicious. What was going on the last time you felt nostalgic? When Mom and I stopped at Jason's house to bring the family some treats following his mother's death. I stayed in the car and couldn't even look towards the house, but yeah. So many memories just stampeded me. How much attention do you pay to the movements of the stars and planets, and do you believe they influence anything? I pay zero attention to it; I don't believe they have influence over people in any way. What is the most difficult or involved video game you’ve ever played? I guess you could say World of Warcraft. It's definitely the most involved, like I've been playing it almost consistently since 2014, and I used to be in a Heroic raid team, which certainly wasn't easy. Then there's some achievements I busted my ass to get. Which accent do you find most sexy, alluring or appealing? British is where it's at. Which accent do you find most annoying, disturbing, or bothersome? Extremely Southern ones. Can you cry on cue? Is it any kind of useful? No. Does it take you a while to actually get jokes? Embarrassingly, it frequently does. Can you wear socks to bed or does it annoy you? Ugh, I could never. I hate the feeling of socks. Have you ever bleached your hair? By myself, no, but a professional has to dye it. Do you like jelly beans? They're okay. It really depends on the flavor, and even then I can't eat a lot of them. Do you have trouble sleeping when it’s storming? Yes, but not because it scares me, but rather that I'm just jumpy. Subtle thunder isn't so bad, and I LOVE the drone of heavy rain, but once you add booming thunder and strong flashes of lightning, it's too disruptive for me to fall asleep easily. Who was the last person you know that graduated? (high school or college) My not-so-little sister is just about to finish her Master's lakdsjfakwe I'm so proud of her. Were you happy or sad when you found out your babysitter was coming? I think I was always kinda bummed out, even though I liked my babysitters. I had horrible separation anxiety from my mom. Did you have a boyfriend in kindergarten? No, but I did have this one guy who'd been like obsessed with me since pre-k and would always chase me to hug and kiss me. In pre-k it was awful, but he still did it sometimes in kindergarten, despite the teachers getting on him about it. It's actually a memory I forgot for a very long time, like I think my brain tried to oppress it, and I wonder if it has anything to do with my fear of people standing behind me, men specifically, and being raped. Did you ever read the Magic Treehouse series? Oh yes, I was obsessed! Who was your best friend in elementary school? It jumped between Brianna, Kim, and Quiata. Did you ever watch The Land Before Time movies? YESSSSS. I even had the computer game. Did you collect anything when you were a kid? Stickers. I'd put them on my dresser everywhere to the point it was absolutely covered. Did you get an allowance? No. Not because my parents didn't want to or anything, but rather they couldn't afford allowances to three kids. Were you into American Girl dolls? Nah. I got one, but I think it was mostly so my sisters and I each had our own. Nicole, however, was sooooo into them. Were you friends with your childhood neighbors? Some, yeah, especially the boy down my street named D'Andre. We would hang out ALL the time, be it at each other's houses or just riding our bikes. He actually got married very recently and I'm so happy for him, ahhhhh!! What was your biggest fear when you were a kid? Thunderstorms. Did you ever play the "Reader Rabbit" computer games? Oh my god, YES. The one where you were hosting a surprise birthday party was my absolute favorite. Did your parents let you drink soda growing up? Yes. .-. What was your favorite kind of cake as a kid? Chocolate, of course.

[basia2002ib]

Profile & summary of my CAS

Learning outcomes

All in all I can say I achieved all learning outcomes. 

1. I identified own strengths and developed areas for growth. I got involved in activities that based on my prevailing skills but opened new ways to develop. Language can be deepened without limits; although I have got a certified C2 level in German I can still develop my skills and I continued to do so throughout my CAS.

2. I have undertaken a range of challenges, for instance passing a C2 exam in German seemed outlandish at first but then I got used to the idea and focused all my efforts to pursuing this goal. And I did it, even though it might seem abstract. I wanted to challenge myself to spice up my life a little bit and grow personally from the process. Now I can see a difference - my German language skills developed to such degree that when I am reading literature in German now I see an immense difference - now I can easily spot nuances and extract the deep meaning.

3. I initiated and planned CAS experiences thoroughly. I am a pragmatic person who tends to stick to the plan because it gives direction. CAS stages came naturally to me, I did not have to force them because they are inherent parts of planning process. My intellectual challenges undertaken in German - 2 competition and one language certificate required detailed planning for adequate preparation. Also my internship in the foundation required planning and time-management skills as I had to combine it with my various initiatives and rigorous IB programme. CAS stages were useful to plan my CAS project as well - I was in MUN staff, which means I coorganized WawMUN 2019.

4. Commitment and perseverance are prerequisite for success. I understand it therefore in every action I take these factors resonate. Otherwise I would accomplish my goals such as honours in German, I would not be able to play volleyball in the first-line up or I would not fulfill my demanding duties throughout my internship effectively. These are only examples of actions where I used my commitment and perseverance to succeed.

5. I saw benefits of working collaboratively during the WawMUN 2019 conference, which I organized as my CAS project but also in my internship in the foundation and my service as a student goverment vice president. In the student government we need to rely on one another and have each other’s back. We do share responsibilities to make sure nothing is neglected. We help each other and in case of emergency may replace one another either during a debate or while discussing issues with the head mistress. Throughout my internship I served as an assistant therefore I needed to adjust to the current responsibilities. I was instructed by more experienced employees all the way and assigned tasks. WawMUN conference is the biggest MUN in Poland therefore the organization process is complicated and required the division of tasks. If we did not trust each other and if we did not share responsibilities, the effect would not be so spectacular. The results showed the benefits of the team work from its best side.

6. I engaged with issues of gloabl significance throughout my CAS project which was co-organizing the MUN conference. Practising debating skills is crucial in today’s world and new generations of politicians have a chance to challenge their capabilities on the conference. The topics discussed in individual commitees touched upon issues of global significance. It is great to give my peers a chance to gain skills, delve into controversial subjects and defend their position. Some of them would probably pursue politics further in life; MUN conferences are truly inspirational in this respect.

7. One of the ethical issues I adressed during my activity as a student government vice president was the animal consumption. To relieve the environment, make my own step to reduce cruelty against animals, at least at the local level, I negotiated with the canteen supervisor to introduce vegan food. Unfortunately it was not possible to serve vegan dinners because of technical diffuculties but vegan sandwiches appeared in the canteen soon after our proposal. This is the way to satisfy needs of people on a plant-based diet but also a way to promote environmentally friendly food, with no associated cruelty.

Creativity

I love literature and foreign languages. Throughout my CAS, I combine this two effectively to follow both of my passions simultaneously. I read and write a lot in German and do far beyond what is required in my school. My goals in German are wide-ranging and not confined to my German B classes, but I challenged myslef to take part in competition and to read German literature. Once I have read “The Sorrows of Young Werther”, “Faust”, “The Visit”, “The Trial” in original and it commenced my relationship with German literature. I was captivated by it to such extent that I made a German classic “The Magic Mountain” the center of my Extended Essay. I also chose “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka to use in my oral exam. Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka are one of my favourite writers of all time and they allow me to trace different nuances of German language. Close analysis of these works of art should involve in my opinion delving into the original work. A valuable experience might be to compare it with the translation, which I did throughout my independent study.

My tangible achievements in German (the evidence for my skills) were: a C2 certificate in German, a disitinction in the translation contest “Juvenes Translatores” organized by the European Commision and a finalist title in the National German Olympiad. I reached my aforementioned goals in 2020. They involved CAS stages. 1. I investigated the area I wanted to deepen my skills in and specific aims I wanted to pursue and these were competitions in German. 2. I prepared my strategy, researched the most respectable competitions and exams I wanted to take part in, signed up for them and planned preparation which was necessary because of huge amounts of school work and limited free time. 3. I took specific action, exposed myself to the language days before the exam and throughout multiple months I was doing practice papers, reading and watching a lot. 4. I realized that by pursuing my passion in German and going beyond the curriculum I freed myself and could really delve into the language. The experience provided me with the sense of purpose - my life was not only concerned with my Diploma syllabus but I could get acquainted with literature and recognized the power of translation in terms of its strong influence on the reception of foreign texts. 

From then onward I worked to maintain my German on the same high level. I should not take it for granted - I am not a native speaker. My accomplishements required huge amounts of work and also talent but might disappear if not cared for properly.

Activity

In the course of my CAS journey I have been active in many disciplines. Sport is one of my few ways to unwind and stop stressing about reality. I think that the limited possibilities to practice sport were one of the major obstacles during the pandemic. I was deprived of my only way to switch off and relax. Before the pandemic I used to swim and play volleyball in a school team every week plus I attended 3 Physical Education classes per week. Now my prefered activities are not possible to pursue because of lockdown which entailed school, sport halls and swimming pool closures. Moreover I am concerned with the virus. At the start of 2020 we managed to take the fouth place in district-wide volleyball competition. My team and I wanted to improve next year but the pandemic unexpectedly shattered my plans. I am grateful, however, for having been given a chance to represent my school in the first line-up. Moreover, I would attend volleyball practice every Saturday.

My PE classes give me a chance to play volleyball, football or do fitness. I enjoy almost every activity that is physically demanding. And I am also great in sport which boosts my motivation. Beyond school, I used to exert myself a lot in swimming and have difficulties to find enjoyment in it. However, I am a really good swimmer and it strengthens my determination, improves posture and health.

Throughout the pandemic, I have been practising sport independently, as it is an extremely important part of my life. However, in the first lockdown in the spring I used to overexert myself doing long and intensive workouts every day on an empty stomach to the point when I got health problems. I had to give it up and switched to another physical activity, less demanding but equally fun: walking. Never before have I taken walks so often as during the pandemic. Now, in the winter lockdown I also go for a walk sometimes.

Service

I began my CAS journey in 2019 with giving tutoring to a primary school student from a underprivileged background. Teaching subjects I am comfortable in (English and German) and his improved grades were reasons for my satisfaction. It required a lot of patience and perseverance as it was extremely difficult to teach him something because firstly he lacked motivation and secondly he had difficulties memorizing. This made it a huge challenge but turned out to be rewarding.

The second half of my first IB year (2020) I sacrificed for my internship (voluntary work) in a foundation.  My scope of activity consisted in the cooperation with the Fundraising Director and the Spokeswoman of the foundation; I had duties related to fundraising and media such as: preparing summaries of the reports from humanitarian missions for fairs in Dubai, translating posts for English social media profiles, collecting data for media reports, translating official requests for the sponsorship, gathering contact details of potential sponsors i.e. big companies and Presidents of the biggest Polish cities, monitoring press mentions.

Throughout 2020 I have also been fulfilling duties of the student government vice president. My team was elected in February 2020 and until now (beginning of 2021) I hold this position. I resolve current problems with the head mistress, co-organize and participate in events e.g. open days, control social media, coordinate logistics. In March we attended an event for student governments across Warsaw. I also tried to organize the Physics conference with my 2 friends in my school but it was cancelled last-minute due to imposed school closure, one week before it was scheduled to take place. Everything had been arranged with lecturers and we had to cancel feeling miserable.

My wide range of CAS activities - other examples

Apart from my core activities which I described, I got involved in numerous other CAS experienced described on this blog. One of the most enriching ones was my participation in the process of creation of a book. I wrote my own essay to a book published this month by my former class teacher. I entitled my work: “School is people: about sparking authenticity and breaking patterns”. I also cooked a lot and published some of my recipes on the blog, wrote to my school newspaper, took part in environmental protests, wrote some poems, some diary entry, practiced Frech, including writing, took many beautiful photos on my trips abroad,... 

I also co-organized WawMUN2019 conference as my CAS project.

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 214

Don't Say I Didn't Warn You! I Am a Stressed Plant

It was a beautiful day in the garden. There was a slight breeze moving my petals and leaves and making them flip back and forth. I was watching the butterflies basking in the sun with open wings and enjoying the company of chirping birds. Their songs were so relaxing and soothing. I was very happy and thought that nothing could stress me out today. Oh well, I was wrong. It all started with a tiny microbe!

At the beginning, I really did not pay much attention to him. He was very small, almost invisible and harmless-looking. However, he started to reproduce all of a sudden. Now, there were billions of his copies on one of my leaves. Everything was happening so quickly. They were taking me over. Something had to be done urgently.

As plants, we cope with such environmental stresses everyday. If the stress factors affecting us are living organisms, such as bacteria, harmful insects, and weeds, we call those as biotic stresses. On the other hand, if we are exposed to drought, salinity, heat, cold, and deficiency or excess of a chemical in soil, those are abiotic stresses for us. Both biotic and abiotic stresses impair our growth and even lead to our death sometimes. Therefore, stress response mechanisms are very important for us. Unfortunately in the United States alone, crop losses due to plant pathogens amount to billions of dollars. As we are the main food resource for the humans and assigned for so many other important functions on earth by God, our health and productivity is taken very seriously by scientists. So, it is of great interest to them to find out how our defense responses against microbes work. If scientists learn what is going on when a plant is infected by pathogens thoroughly, they can introduce better resistance mechanisms into economically important crop plants via genetic engineering.

Oh “NO,” I am stressed!

Unlike animals, we are firmly attached to the ground so we can not escape from stress factors. However, thanks to God, we have fascinating defense mechanisms against environmental challenges. First of all, I need to know who this infectious agent (pathogen) is so that I can trigger a stress response mechanism against it. The interactions between me and these microbes are controlled by my receptor proteins and Pathogen-associated molecular patterns, or PAMPs, delivered by the pathogen. PAMPs help pathogen growth by suppressing my defenses and manipulating my metabolism.When I recognize a PAMP by my receptors, I activate a set of defense mechanisms known as the hypersensitive response (HR) to arrest and terminate pathogen growth before it terminates me. Just before or in conjunction with HR, I increase synthesis of several families of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins in my infected part.

Do you want to know what I do after I identify a pathogen? I bet you do, so I am going to tell you about the other components of my signal transduction cascade that is activated upon brutal attack of microbes. One of the early steps in this signaling cascade is the elevation of cellular calcium (Ca (2+)) levels mediated by my plasma membrane and channels such as cyclic nucleotide gated channels (CNGCs). After the initial Ca(2+) increase, I activate some of my calcium-binding proteins (calmodulin or CaM) and protein kinases, which modify other proteins by chemically adding phosphate groups to them, and ultimately I generate nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS function as signaling molecules that coordinate a wide range of diverse plant processes, such as growth, development, stress adaptation, and cell self-destruction (programmed cell death). However, the real reason I produce ROS under attack is to use them as local toxins to form unfavorable conditions for pathogen growth and reproduction. NO plays a key role in our immunity in synergy with ROS regulating responses that include defense gene expression and programmed cell death. As a result, I utilize both ROS and NO to say “NO” to the pathogens. Other important signaling molecules I utilize are salicylic acid and jasmonic acid. These essential plant hormones are chemical messengers that enable me to respond to my environment. Salicylic acid, SA, which is chemically similar to but not identical to the active component of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), is involved in the defense against pathogens that feed and reproduce on live host cells and activates signaling processes providing systemic acquired resistance, protecting the plant from further infection after an initial pathogen attack . On the other hand, jasmonic acid (JA) induces defense against pathogens that kill host cells for nutrition and reproduction. Another hormone in the complex cross talk of signaling pathways regulating my defense responses to microbial attack is ethylene, ET

Although, I have not even told you all the details, I bet you have started to think that all these signaling cascades, regulators, hormones, molecular patterns, and receptors are highly complicated. Do not worry; I am not planning to tell you all the molecular mechanism(s) and relevant pathways I execute during biotic stress responses. If I do, then what will the plant scientists who are interested in plant pathogen interactions do for the rest of their lives? Instead I am going to briefly describe to you what strategies I use to prevent the spread of infection that the small microbe started.

Initially, I build physical barriers around the infection by increasing my cuticle, a protective waxy covering, and cell wall thickness, and then I release antimicrobial compounds, such as phenolics and phytoalexins to the sites of invasion. However, this effort is usually not enough to stop the microbes. Therefore, most of the time, the cells in the local region surrounding the infection decide to commit suicide to limit the growth of the pathogen through programmed cell death, which is a highly coordinated and sophisticated phenomenon. This resembles to the firefighters’ strategy to put down a forest fire. Firefighters control flames by cutting down trees, clearing brush away from the existing edge of the fire. This way they can form borders to mitigate the forest fire.

While I am fighting the infection, I also try to confer a long-lasting protection against this pathogen. I send mobile signals like salicylic acid to activate defense responses in distal tissues in case a secondary pathogen attack might occur there. Salicylic acid also induces numerous genes that encode PR proteins with antimicrobial properties.

I have done all those things I have told you here and a lot more that are still undisclosed to humans in a really short time because it was a matter of “to be, or not to be.” After all that stress, I have won the battle against the microbe at least for now. I have gained a life experience and will defend myself better in the future. I am recovering, but unfortunately my leaf, where all that fighting happened, has a big lesion, an abnormal tissue, which was formed when my poor cells died during the attack.

As you can tell from my story, plants get stressed out too. However, we are not stressed due to problems at home, school, or work or spending time stuck in traffic. We deal with salinity, heavy metals, temperature, drought, lack of nutrition, herbivores (insects, mammals, etc.), and pathogens. Thanks to God that He gave us astonishingly complicated response mechanisms to resist all sorts of stresses to some extent, especially biotic stress. Otherwise, we might have become extinct. Can you imagine a world without us? You would have no more oxygen in the air, no more food for animals and humans, no more papers or books, no more clothes, no more furniture, no more blooming beautiful gardens, no more roses for your loved ones, and no more trees, which hold the soil in place so that wind and rain don’t cause severe erosion and destruction of homes for so many species. In addition, there will be fewer resources for drugs and dyes. Oh my God, you are the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful. Thank you that You created us, shaped us and gave us smell, taste, color, and resistance to stresses.

[shadowbroker]

Blue Blues

The name is not creative but its what you’ll have to live with. OF COURSE I have to the majority of this theory under a cut lest I gain the ire of those you have the unfortunate experience of following me (’: 

Let me say, this is all something my brain made up. It is in no way shape or form me trying to say, “this is canon!”. Honestly, I just miss taking things and turning them into reasonable arguments for fictional subjects because it brings me joy. I would hope that you read this for fun and not to debate me, because I do not debate on the internet if I don’t have to.

I REITERATE, I DO NOT tout this as canon or aim to disprove any current existing theories on the topic. This is legitimately just something I thought about yesterday coupled with an urge to write it out and this is the result.

Anyways.... lets get to it!

I think a good place to start is the color analogous scale. Which if you’re down for definitions; analogous colors are colors are groups of three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, and a tertiary. In these terms the analogous colors would be something of this nature:

The reason I mentioned this first because I’m running on a Consistent Structured Pigmentation Factor through this theory, something I’m applying my my own wish and will as a factor. In my made up definition I have applied this because I believe in standard pigmentation and albinism in asari, the structured undertones cause by their interactions with eezo stands regardless. Though the colors may vary on the surface, in this pigmentation structure the undertones are a persistent factor.

I frame this as a reason to why in particular lighting, regardless of the coloration of the lighting, some skin can present odd or off colors to what we believe we see in game. Like the Aria is blue or purple argument (the curses of purgatory lights). Or even why Liara’s skin sometimes seems like a very light shade of blue and other times a much darker one. 

Next would be the major factors to consider here and they are:

Genetics

Environment

Diet

In order of which has the most to least impact, but I will be delving into this in a longstanding overall effect manner that would have these all having some form of impact and designating a color. So, let us uh… face dive (in)!

Bigger Picture

The most prominent factor, (genetics and biological makeup) one that I cannot necessarily explain without some knowledge of how biological pigments effect living creatures on the earth, I couldn’t tackle. I used a simplified site to reference for basic info on general terms on pigmentation in human and animals because most of that I explain is more conjecture in a factual sense, and more fun to just infer on a personal sense. So, some relevant factors;

“Melanin is the main pigment found in mammals. It is responsible for the color of hair and fur. There are different types of melanin (eumelanin and pheomelanin), and they produce a huge color range, from black to sandy to red.”

 “Fireflies and bacteria emit light in the form of bioluminescence. Luciferins are a class of light-emitting biological substance found in these organisms.”

“Although animals do manufacture their own melanin, they can’t make many other pigments. Plants, however, can produce a range of pigments, so many animals are colored by what they eat.”

“Plant pigments exist in a wide variety of forms, some with highly complex and large structures. Over 600 naturally occurring carotenoid structures have been identified, as well as over 7,000 flavonoids, including over 500 anthocyanins […] Biological pigments such as chlorophyll are colored organic molecules which owe their color to the presence of unsaturated bonds.”

Chlorophylls (Green), Carotenoids(Orange/Red/Yellow), Flavonoids(Blue/Purple/Red), and Betalains (Red/Purple/Yellow/Orange), are all pigment producing cells within plant life on earth.

And the most prominent thing that I think is worth noting to emphasize the main structural difference here (If we let go of the “hehe alien lady blue ooga booga color wheel fun to pick”) is that “most animals are unable to make green and blue pigments. Most of their green and blue colors are created through structural effects” and “Structural color is the result of selective reflection or iridescence, usually because of multilayer structures. Pigment color differs from structural color in that it is the same for all viewing angles. Some colors are a combination of pigment, structural color, and diet.” And these are shared in a way to also aid in my  Consistent Structured Pigmentation Factor.

With that in consideration (and I think the end of what I will take from this oddly simplified website of condense information) there are things to consider in terms of flora and fauna on Thessia to help my theory here and the factor and effects of long term eezo exposure (and genetic modification by the Protheans). And there will absolutely be a little bit of some “Asari albinism” in the mix, which I don’t believe is necessarily one color but a range of greyscale colors (ill have examples (: ).

Then the base of this pyramid, Thessia Flora and Eezo. Its canon, in game that asari must, in a long term sense, consume eezo infused foods or take supplements because it is essential to what they would consider a healthy diet (explain in andromeda more prominently than in the trilogy- specifically Peebee). That, considered, means that the foundation of this coloration starts with that. Though, I do not believe it is a necessarily HUGE factor in asari skin color, I do not think it should be discounted.

I also, personally, do not really subscribe to the notion that asari are 100% mammals necessarily because of their reproduction methods, lack of hair, and a type electromagnetic propensity exemplified in biotics. If a coconut is not considered a mammal, neither should asari.

First, I don’t believe the color range of asari plant life is limited so the same pigments—however I instead support an idea that most fauna to wildlife that have a blue-purple color range and hue act as a sign or message to animals of the possibility of eezo infusion.

A quick thing:

“Element Zero, also known as "eezo", is a rare material that, when subjected to an electrical current, releases dark energy which can be manipulated into a mass effect field, raising or lowering the mass of all objects within that field. A positive current increases mass, a negative current decrease it.”

Together I surmise that, though the color range of flora is still very wide, the colors presented have different meaning on Thessia than they do on earth, more specifically the blue/purple pigmentation.

An example: there are 2 types of plants on Thessia, both are considered fruit bearing plants. One plant grows berries that have red/purple undertones and the other has pigmentation like that of a lemon. In this theory, without any other knowledge, the red/purple would present more probably to eat purely based off pigmentation and the underlying thought that wildlife and sentient life must consume a level of eezo infused foods to maintain a healthy diet on Thessia.

I had to add: “Though plants don’t have a nervous system like animals, plants do have the necessary electrical, biochemical, and cellular components indicative of a neural network, albeit a relatively simple one.”

Cause if plants retain a electrical network, even if it is a minor one, it would react with the eezo, not enough to implement a change in mass, but enough to effect color. And for reference, Eezo is naturally blue:

So the level of electrical activity in the plant combined with pigmentation cells that interact with these electrical nuances could be why there is not only a range of color, but act as a natural signal to wildlife (like flowers attracting bees with pretty colors) what can supply the necessary supplements needed.

Which lead me over to wildlife, and the asari themselves. Though I expect wild life to have different color blood, but I’m running off the assumption that most animals (not including insects) have blue blood on Thessia the same way that most animals on earth have red blood because I assume the compound in these lifeforms that transport oxygen is common on Thessia.

Which brings me full circle to - “plants, however, can produce a range of pigments, so many animals are colored by what they eat.” And that is mimicked on Thessia. That many animals can consume various plants (and may not necessarily pick up the pigment, i.e. like mammals), I believe blue and various shades and structural colors within the red-purple-blue color range are very prominent.

I think that’s all I can say on that so I’m moving on to melanin in asari. NOW, I’m not saying I believe that “melanin” is the exact “factor” in the genetic make-up in asari that begets this reasoning, but I am using it as if it is, because it probably, on some level, exists to not only produce pigment but to act as natural protection against the sun. PLUS melanin creates the dark browns and reds and such of skin and fur, and with the blue tones… I’ll just call it “Blue Melanin” for now.

This is not the full range but the range but one ill use for my theory:

Though if we ignore lighting (these are not in any particular order” the prominent color shown in game is various shades of blue (and some others but I will get there). But here’s a pure color example:

With undertones from the analogous tones I mentioned at the beginning that begets the uniqueness of each blue because, Tevos blue is not the same as Atheyta blue which is not the same as Tela blue with the aid on not only the prominent skin color but its additional undertones.

Anyways, the combination of environment and melanin dictate long standing colors of skin. The darker pigments in more tropical locations and lighter pigments closer the cooler poles of the planets (much like our skin color range).

I don’t think I really need to say more on that front. Like, if an asari’s heritage if from a group of tropical island dwellers, their skin tone, could have any of the base 3 colors but would be much darker.

“Base 3 colors? But you haven’t even mentioned that!” YOURE RIGHT, and here is what I am saying. In this color range I have shared, I believe that there are 3 main color pigments to asari skin, that is the purple, blue, and then teal. I think all asari skin is on some level in those three colors either accentuated my mating with similar colors or by being altered on the scale by finding mates with different colored skin. And as human skin, I believe that there can be differing levels of melanin in each based of centuries of genetic evolution.

A side note: I think asari before Protheans did not have such prominent color pigmentation in their skin but actually had more muted versions of blue. But when undergoing genetic modification for an affinity for biotics, it had its own effect on their skin pigmentation.

I think I've covered most of what I'm thinking here and I actually am on 5 pages (WORD says so) I want to add on a 

BONUS ROUND: ALBANISM – exemplified by these two:

I would theorize that albanism in asari is more common in ardat-yakshi (though not necessarily prominent) and that it presents itself not in a similar color but in a grey scale range based on the color scale I gave earlier and is less just black and white because of the consistency in undertones that give these unique shades of grey.

With the same wiggle room to be darker or lighter. Where the lack of melanin often is reduced to just white or pale in earth terms, I think blue melanin doesn’t present itself as white but various dark and light shades of grey because a deficit of the color blue. and the white or black tones come from the corresponding lightness (morinth) or darkness (kurin) of their skin tone. 

So unlike standard human albinism which is simply a lack of melanin, but that albinism in asari in reference to blue melanin is the lack or deficiency of the color blue because of a different neural interaction with those cells and nodes in the skin that effect biotics. In tandem, i think this can also either severely increase or decrease biotic potential.

Of note, I'm not saying that an asari that chooses not to grow their biotics are potentially an albino, because their choice does not impact biotic potential. But that albinism directly impacts biotic potential to an extreme extent and the coloration is an visual representation of this neural relationship.

NOW…. Don’t think that I’m saying that if an asari is “grey” or a tone of it, that she is more likely to be perceived as an ardat-yakshi, but more so, that I think the factor itself is rare and the genetic uniqueness and interaction with biotics that ardat-yakshi have, it felt like it would make more sense.

I also don’t believe that the “pureblood” thing necessarily has commonality. I feel like the underlying belief is that if an asari mates with a different species it can be exemplified in the tones of their skin. I don’t believe that. I think it can, but I don’t believe that it is the prominent factor in the genetic makeup.

For Example, I do not think that id an asari that is a darker shade of blue mates with a hanar, that their kid will be purple or have pink undertones. But I do believe their skin pigmentation will get lighter because DNA mapping because no genetic information is taken from the partner, but the body rather attempts to imitate what is read and can only really use the genetic material of the mother. So, if the mind reads a pink pigment, but there isn’t a genetic line of code that can imitate that, it will do what it can to recreate it, thus making the skin lighter for the offspring.

Uhhhh and that’s all I got. In my document I reached…. 7 pages… the outro being the 7th page so it doesnt really count. so if you made it here. You just read a 6 page theory on asari skin pigmentation…. Wow. Jesus. 

If you have thoughts, comments, criticism, I’m chill to read it, its always interesting to see others opinions. Especially if it makes sense (I’m 1 brain cell).

Thanks for the read homies.

[scripttorture]

Would there be any tell tale signs that someone is a torturer? One of my characters friends have been taken away and they're convinced they're being tortured and plan to take the torturer out, obviously killing someone on an assumption is bad (that'll be made clear in the story) but what is the likelyhood that she would guess right based off actions? Not as an excuse to her actions but just so I can write her thought processes a little clearer and as accurate as possible

There isn’t enough research for me to give you a definitive answer here. If there are tell-tale signs then- the little bit of research we have so far hasn’t clearly identified them.

 I can’t say that there aren’t any tell-tale signs. The truth is we don’t know enough. We don’t know enough about who is vulnerable to ‘recruitment’, what the long term effects look like or long term rehabilitation.

 I can talk about what we know about the general mind set, justifications torturers use and the effects torture has on them. I think that would help your story.

 But in my opinion- I don’t think you can tell based on a person’s actions. Unless the action in question is literally witnessing them torturing someone.

 In these sorts of environments- your character would find a lot of people who voice support for torture, or apathy over whether or not it occurs. That does not necessarily mean the apologist has or will torture someone.

 The mental health problems torturers are vulnerable to occur naturally in the population for a wide number of reasons. And in groups like soldiers and police officers they could well be symptoms of other kinds of trauma.

 There are records of some torturers abusing their families. But it’s unclear how often this happens and plenty of abusers are not torturers.

 Personally- I am very dubious about the idea of someone looking at a person’s behaviour and assuming they can ‘tell’ their crimes as a result. I’m not dubious about it as a fictional idea, story wise it does have a lot of potential.

 I’m dubious about showing it as successful because- that sort of thinking is tangentially tied to torture in real life. This assumption of guilt is used to justify torture in real life. Especially when the victim is an ethnic minority or mentally ill.

 Let’s start with the simpler stuff: the long term symptoms torturers have are broadly the same as the ones survivors have.

 My impression is that torturers typically have less severe symptoms then survivors but this is not always the case. I usually recommend that writers pick a smaller range of symptoms for torturers then survivors (I think I usually say 1-3, but I do vary that if there are other traumatising factors in the story). As with any other kind of trauma symptom it’s impossible to predict which individual will develop which symptoms, so I recommend picking symptoms you feel fit the character and story best.

 Which brings us to the thornier issue of how torturers justify and relate to their crimes.

 Please remember that I’m not a mental health professional. I will try to make it clear when I am giving my opinion or the impressions I get from reading interviews verses assessments professionals have made.

 I don’t really see any marked difference in the arguments torturers make compared to torture apologists generally. If anything my impression is that torturers make less sophisticated versions of the same basic arguments.

 Torturers generally claim that torture ‘works’, either as a deterrent or as a way for obtaining accurate information. This is demonstrably false.

 I am honestly not sure whether most torturers believe it. My impression, based on the interview transcripts I’ve read, is that a lot of torturers are dense and somewhat self-deluded. I think it’s possible that some of them do genuinely believe it, despite their own experience.

 Torturers will often try to argue that they ‘had’ to commit their crimes and that it was ultimately in service of a greater good. The ‘logic’ is that if torture works the way they think it does (which it does not) then they ‘preventing’, terrorism, rebellion, animal poaching etc, and this justifies the harm they cause.

 This is more or less exactly the same argument that torture apologists often fall back on. The rhetoric that the ends justify the means- even if the means can not possibly lead to the end they’re arguing for.

 Another apologist argument that torturers commonly use is the idea that their victims deserved it.

 They emphasise that their victims were criminals, terrorists, homeless, ‘dangerous’ minorities, queer people- or any group that is pushed to the margins of society. They try to reframe their abuse as a heroic act and to reframe any arguments objecting to it as in support of crime, terrorism etc.

 Sironi, a professional who spent much of her career treating torturers, has said that they seem to have a lot of difficulty accepting the magnitude of what they’ve done. They downplay the harm they caused victims and underestimate the damage they did.

 It’s- difficult to describe what this looks like though because they do generally recognise that they’ve caused a lot of harm. I suppose the best way to describe it is a sort of self-pitying focus: torturers are much more likely to emphasise the problems torture has caused them then they are to show genuine sympathy for their victims. The impression I get from interviews is that they know they’ve caused harm but don’t really want to think about it too much.

 Perhaps the scale of it is overwhelming.

 To my knowledge there hasn’t been an indepth study examining things like socio-economic background in torturers.

 Anecdotally they are usually men, but this may be because discrimination against women makes it harder for them to join the organisations torturers are in. If there are less women in the military and police then for purely statistical reasons more torturers in those groups would be men.

 Rejali’s assessment was that they are often seen as loyal to the state/government they serve. Again this may be more to do with recruitment then anything else.

 As for their general mindset-

 My own impression is that they don’t re-adjust to society well.

 This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re violent. In fact I haven’t seen anything to say conclusively that they remain violent or aggressive after leaving the organisation they tortured for.

 But they struggle to come to terms with their mental health problems. They often seem to resist attempts to treat or address them.

 They struggle to keep down normal jobs. They struggle to access educational opportunities. They struggle to keep up relationships with their previous friends and family, they often don’t seem to develop new relationships at all.

 They’re profoundly isolated individuals. They’re generally quite seriously ill and they’re usually almost completely unsupported.

 The organisations that they tortured for- tend to get rid of them. Either when they reach the point of collapse due to mental health problems or when they decide torturers are a liability. The second option often seems to mean they’re killed.

 Here’s the thing though: from the outside without further evidence all of this can look very much like a trauma survivor.

 A trauma survivor who is also an apologist asshole, but a trauma survivor nonetheless.

 If you want your character to be right in their assessment then I’d suggest combining all of these with observation and survivor accounts. If other survivors have consistently pointed out a particular individual or group then it’s more likely they’ll be torturers. An individual who spends a lot of time at work with, or was trained by, a known torturer is more likely to be a torturer themselves.

 But this is definitely not fool proof.

 If you want your character to be wrong then keep in mind all the people that could fit the above description without necessarily being guilty of much besides- being wrong, possibly ill and a bit of a bastard.

 You might find the appendices to The Wretched of The Earth helpful. Particularly the notes on the two (very different) torturers and the torturer’s daughter.

 I hope this helps. :)

Availableon Wordpress.

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[puppyexpressions]

Dog Digestive System Basics — How Long Does it Take for a Dog to Digest Food?

Most dog owners don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their own digestive processes, much less the basics of the dog digestive system. The only times we really engage with the dog digestive system are when we feed our dogs and when we trot them out to eliminate their waste. But what happens to a dog’s kibble or canned food from the time it enters their gaping maws to when it passes out the other end? How long does it take for a dog to digest food? If you were to hazard a guess, you could probably name the major stops along the route in the dog digestive system.

Food enters through the mouth and slides down the esophagus on its way to the stomach. From there, it takes in the sights of the small and large intestines before departing the body. If that seems too simple, it is! The dog digestive system involves a staggering number of organs, fluids and enzymes, all playing their roles to convert food into usable energy. Whatever is left over, as surplus to requirements, is expelled through the anus in the form of feces.

Let’s take a closer look at the dog digestive system and answer the following questions along the way:

Basics of the dog digestive system

Part 1: From mouth to stomach

The front end of the dog digestive system encompasses the mouth, esophagus, stomach and small intestine. Dog digestion begins almost immediately with saliva in the mouth. You may have wondered why dog tongues are so slobbery. Since they spend less time chewing food than humans tend to, all of that saliva kickstarts the process of breaking down and coating food particles for smoother passage through the esophagus. The esophagus is heavily muscled, actively pushing food into the stomach.

Part 2: A fantastic journey through the small intestine

A dog’s stomach is a super-acidic environment, which is useful for opportunistic omnivores, helping them more easily digest things like bone and raw meat. Yes! Dogs can digest bones! At this stop in the dog digestive system, solid food is rendered into a substance called chyme, which is made up of food, water and acid. All food — from your Michelin 3-star-rated fine cuisine, to your dog’s canned chunks or dry kibble — ends up as this highly acidic gloop. As this chyme proceeds into the small intestine, the real work of digestion — the isolation of nutrients that can be used by the body— is done.

There are three parts of food’s journey through the small intestine. In the first part, the duodenum, chyme is treated with enzymes and hormones from the liver and pancreas, which reduce the acid level of the chyme. The gloop is now prepared to have the rest of its nutrients extracted and absorbed. This happens in the second part of the small intestine, which is called the jejunum. This part of a dog’s small intestine is basically covered in little probes, which, like fly paper, pick up and absorb useful nutrients into the bloodstream.

Part 3: The large intestine and waste removal

The final part of the small intestine is the ileum, which absorbs whatever nutrients remain. By this point, the once-acidic chyme gloop is now a sort of thicker pasty substance. You’d be surprised how little of the food you or your dog eats is actually used by your body. Did you ever wonder why the dog digestive system produces so much poop? It’s because the actual nutrients — proteins, vitamins, fats and so on — that your dog’s body can utilize are miniscule in proportion to the physical volume of most dog food.

How long is this part of the dog digestive system? It varies by size. If you stretched out a dog’s small intestine, it would be nearly three times as long as the dog. The back end of a dog’s GI tract is fairly short by comparison, just over a foot long, give or take, depending on the dog. Its primary components are the large intestine and the anus. The large intestine is basically a water remover and garbage compactor. Having spent the first half of its journey being mashed up, dissolved and sifted, any parts of a dog’s meal that cannot be used is treated by bacteria, and reconstituted into a solid package we call dog poop.

Assorted questions about the dog digestive system!

Now, let’s answer some common questions about the dog digestive tract.

How long does food stay in a dog’s stomach?

Though dogs are omnivores, they are opportunistic ones. That means that while they can eat almost anything, the dog digestive system can’t break down and utilize everything. Animals like humans or cows, to name two, have GI tracts made to process plant matter. As a result, their intestines are much longer and more drawn out than those of dogs. Since cows depend on vegetable matter, they even get extra compartments in their stomach, and can regurgitate food to chew and digest it fully.

A dog digestive system, depending more on meat proteins, is much more efficient. Depending on its digestibility, food can stay in a dog’s stomach much longer than either a human or a cow. If the meal is not strictly meat, comprising a variety of vegetable, grains and proteins, it will have vacated the stomach completely in 12 hours after eating. Compare that to four to five hours in a normal adult human.

Where does digestion actually take place in the dog digestive system?

As you may have gleaned from tracing food’s intricate journey from the food bowl in your kitchen to the poop bag in the dog park, the multiple processes of the dog digestive system means that it does not happen in one spot. From the moment comestibles come in contact with teeth and saliva in the mouth, digestion is happening.

A dog digestive system is just that: a system, and digestion takes place at every point along the course. Food is disassembled in a variety of ways, physically and nutritionally, from the mouth to the stomach. The majority of its conversion into absorbable nutrients happens in the small intestine, and digestion is only complete when your dog assumes the familiar position for excreting waste.

How long does it take for a dog to digest food?

Finally, the question about the dog digestive system that got us started. Unfortunately, there’s no set answer! So many variables are involved, that even in a perfectly healthy dog, the time to digest a single meal can be dramatically different. Does your dog drink enough water? That has an effect on digestion time as well. Large dog breeds take significantly longer to digest food than small ones.

Is your dog sedentary, spending most of the day on the couch? Does the dog get a couple of walks a day? Dog exercise has a definite impact on motility, or the way that the muscles of the dog digestive system propel food through the process. Total time from entry to exit depends on a wide range of factors, from the size of the dog to the quality of the food. Wet food takes less time to digest than dry kibble. Speaking very broadly, operating at optimum efficiency, a dog can process a can of wet food in as few as four hours, while the same amount of dry food can take eight hours to make the same journey!

[theorynexus]

59:  The Continuing Adventures of Dave and Roxy, as well as the concerns assailing them.

Yay, the Charleston!   (Boo the fact that if Jake’s targeted by a sniper, Dave can’t so easily react by slowing down time and tackling him out of the way, or whatever!)

***sagenods, despite never having had anything like his own experience, myself***

It’s good to see that in quantifiable terms, there. Also good to see Dave’s awkward insecurity on the matter never faded away during those recognition stages. It makes it at least 1000% funnier. Ask Colonel Sassacre.

HA!   Also:  I love to see that paranoia in action, ramping up the comedy value even more and legitimizing my previous statement that this was funny, which some people would consider incredibly rude, probably! It is also interesting to think of the fact that the 30-70% enumeration suggests he goes back and forth as far as which of the two sexes he is apparently considering legitimate “targets” of his interest (troll biology/sexuality didn’t cease to be probably quite different from human reproductive systems, or anything, and Calliope/cherubs in general may very well be hermaphroditic either in a simultaneous or sequential manner, so I obviously have to recognize them here).  Obviously, there’s also the possibility he’s just not thinking of such other sexes due to is human upbringing on earth, were intersex members of society are relatively rare, and thus the idea that there are only two sexes tends to widely be embraced by (most, but increasingly not all) members of the Western society/civilization he dwelt in. I don’t blame him for his upbringing: everyone brings their own baggage into their later life.

Yeah... the Stralondes bring some interesting genetic factors to the table. I am not sure how much that actually directly influences things. Part of the issue is probably Bro’s impact on his life, which exposed Dave to a great deal of sexual material and almost undeniably stunted his growth in weird ways.   (Note: I do not suggest that his apparent self-labeled bisexuality is a result of his growth being stunted, regardless of the fact that one’s early life does indeed have an impact on one’s later identity; rather, I am merely suggesting that Bro’s influences, while dramatically increasing his capacity for survival in SBURB, and thus technically being instrumental to everything that followed, gave him psychological issues which everyone must admit made him struggle quite a bit over the years.   It may be likely that he would have developed the same sexual dispositions regardless of the scars Bro inflicted on him [both emotional and physical], but we can never truly know, for Time is weird: issues are entangled.)

Dirk, you named yourself after a Platonic work!   How can you not understand how great and important relationships which reach to the point of bonds between souls and transcend the physicality of sexual relations can be?!?!?!

GAH, I just... sometimes, you really can’t expect reasonable thoughts from this guy, can you?

On the other hand, let’s just all take a moment to celebrate the irony of “... even my harshest critics would never accuse me of such cruelty” from Dirk Strider. Best. Fricking. bundle of words that ever emerged from his mouth, probably.

I would argue that even without the opposition, displays of gender are by no means culturally vestigial in the same way that fashion generally is not. It’s a direct reflection of the soul, projected outward.  (Like a person’s hat, or shirt. [Dirk having a hat on his shirt was not just a reflection of the fact that he was “kid bro,” or whatever, but was actually an early suggestion of his Heart aspect.]) Obviously, this is limited by the resources, imagination, and environment/occupation of the individual involved, and there are in fact numerous things which are more important for a person in reality, but that doesn’t mean that it’s something to be dismissed like that altogether.

***cough projected future dramatic irony, cough***   Also ironic insofar as I am not 100% sure he actually cares about Roxy’s identity/gender issues so much as he might find them annoying and boring to be dragged through. Somewhat ironic+hilarious for a fellow Heart player to find this kind of thing unbearable, if so.   Maybe it’s just the Prince in him.

It is good of you to be concerned for her well-being, I suppose. Considering it is your own identity that is at issue, here, I would suggest you hold a little more weight, but regardless, this is good.  As for the matter of your transformation and dissatisfaction with your hair as it is now:  I suppose Dave’s step by step relation of his own journey as made quite an impression on you.   Hopefully, you do not feel jealous, but rather, patiently continue to contemplate your own path and, as Alt!Calliope suggests you might think, head toward a more potent and firm+real understanding of your own identity+self.  It is okay to be uncertain and questioning, for now.  I’m sure the shakiness of first steps will give way to confidence naturally in due time. These things are not easy, obviously, but reaching out to someone who’s had similar struggles is a good choice: it will likely make things easier, especially since he’s someone you can dependably put your trust in, despite his flippant, awkward attitude in general. (Also: on a more abstract note, it is interesting to see Roxy ascribing meaninglessness to her hair choice, and expressing lack of understanding on her identity issues. Very tight writing, on Hussie’s part, making the kids reflect their aspects and struggle so keenly with things relating to them.)

Given the fact that Cherubs naturally have very violent sex and spend eons before their first (and only?) sexual encounter, that’s not really much of an insult, if “virgin” should ever be considered one to begin with.  Pompous is definitely more accurate and applicable, though. Also:  Hooray, actually saying things, and getting the size of his text back again! (I am not actually really cheering for Dirk so much as I am finding it interesting for the sake of the ongoing conflict acting as an undercurrent to the storytelling, right now. It’s truly fascinating to see two narrators fighting amongst themselves like this! )

Everything about this (especially Alt!Calliope’s confidence and her “’human tanties’” line) is incredibly amusing. I love it.

Lil Cal might beg to differ. But that is a complicated tangent which does not deal with this version of Dirk directly.     (Preemptive Edit:  Also funny because of the fact that Doc Scratch is literally a walking, talking puppet with a Dirk inside.)

Yes, justifying toying with your friends because you know them and have investment in their lives therefore is indeed very logical, reasonable, and highly rational of you to do. Thank you for this brilliant insight into the human condition.

Oh, so this is now a reference to the Charles Whitman shootings at the University of Texas?   That is a very interesting and curious choice to portray Dirk’s derangement with, especially considering the earlier statement about Dirk knowing solitude in a similar manner to Alt!Calliope’s own knowledge of it.    (Almost appropriate, considering she basically destroyed the fabric of Paradox Space to kill her brother in cold blood [the way revenge and Eternity are best served], but I guess this is a digression~)

I wonder if he really intends this, or if it is in fact a ruse in order to time things perfectly such that he can in fact shoot Alt!Calliope in Jade’s body without her initially expecting it. Particularly since, if I am thinking of the correct gun, it actually shoots portals that allow for ridiculously long range shots that would normally be impossible.

Wow, that is cold, Alt!Calliope, throwing Rose under the bus like that.   Also:  I suddenly have “ Do the impossible, see the invisible. Row! Row! Fight the power! Touch the untouchable, break the unbreakable. Row! Row! Fight the power!” playing in my head, as if this were a flash animation. That thought process really puts things in perspective, if this is supposed to be  (at least to him) a tale of Dirk fighting against causality and the will of Paradox Space to make things become irrelevant and to fade out of perception.

Guaranteed to blow [somebody’s] mind.

She warned you about---

History repeating itself.

Such anime. Such wonders.  Man, this is really fricking interesting, seeing Dirk and Calliope actually going at it on a twinned physical and metaphysical battlefield!   It’s like we’re finally being shown a cherub predomination contest in action!    (I wonder if Alt!Calliope will eventually fall into caliginous attraction for him. This would be quite amusing.)

Wow, that was probably a bad move taken at an inopportune time. The question is: Is she forced to make that by laws of narrative relevance, or is it a purposeful decision on her part to spitefully turn away from him, despite the likely imminent consequences. On the other hand: This could be a very powerful and shrewd tactic on her part to recruit Dave to serve her purposes. Given his presence at the event, he could either intercept Dirk (I almost called him Bro-- gah!) or save Jake, if led properly. If she is particularly spiteful, she could use him as a sacrificial piece and have him take the bullet instead of Jake, which could be very, very painful to Dirk.

Huh. Despite Terezi’s comment about onions not making people cry, Trolls are inherently averse to them in the same way that dogs are to chocolate, huh? Also, people are Ogres, and Homestuck is Shrek. This is definitely the unadulterated truth. Additionally:   Pffft.  It seems that the idea that the Green Sun Black Hole’s presence making Roxy’s own void less effective for everyone might be true!   Or, alternatively, Dave just knows enough to make the guess. Or both, possibly.

Pffft. She’s oblivious to her own inscrutability!   Perfect. XD That said: YES!   HECK YES!  HECK FRICKING YES, ROXY SHADES!!!   :’D (Oh, and shades are a symbol of the Void [not just because they keep out light, but because they block the eyes, which are symbolic of Light and Heart, but more importantly for this, Light], the same way that alcohol and oceans are. Somewhat surprising that she didn’t have a pair of them already, at this point, if we’re being totally honest.)

Yeah, if it was not obvious that the method of Alt!Calliope informing Dave of this threat would be subtle like that rather than a direct statement/command, then I don’t know what is obvious to you guys.

This, psychologically+sociologically, makes a great deal of sense, considering humans seem to have a natural propensity for feeling distasteful towards some sort of “other,” regardless of what it is. Thus, there’s a double-edged sword involved, quite logically, and somewhat saddeningly, to the otherwise open and accepting mentality that humans seem to have socially adopted in their new environment.       At the same time, the way that this is delivered is horribly hilarious (tragi-comically so), and I’m barely sorry that I find that to be the case.

Yes. Yes, it was cute, indeed. Sad to see it go, somewhat.  But his question is incredibly silly and very awkward, just as is natural for Dave. Thus, I find it acceptable and in-character, not insulting or narrow-minded, as some might.

***laughs alongside them, for indeed, this has all become quite funny, despite the fact that it is a “distaction [sic.]” from the seriousness at hand***

FRICKING...  DANGIT, ALT!CALLIOPE, IF THIS TURNS OUT THE WAY YOUR WORDING IMPLIES IT WILL, I SWEAR...!!!

Okay, so you seem to have just used it as a convenient threat, and worded things such that he had time that he didn’t necessarily clearly have in order to basically take two actions instead of one.   (His jump to save Karkat could have cost Jake his life, or Dave his.)

As I was going to say, but was prevented from doing due to a belief that it would be better to include these lines too:   His statement about her being right about many things clearly, while initially making it seem that he was indeed going to take the shot, heroic death chance or no, almost certainly ensures that this is actually a subterfuge on his part (similar to but a reversal of Caliborn replacing the hats on the king and queen: in this case, he is switching his OPPONENT’s chess pieces’ appearances, making her think he’s targeting one, but is actually going for the other, more crucial target [as should be obvious, given the thematic similarities between Dirk and Caliborn, and the tendency of events in Paradox Space to rhyme with one another]).

Check.

Indeed, indeed. Alt!Calliope senses a similar pattern, quite sensibly, which is fitting with her role as Muse, and her understanding of it. Unfortunately, while she picked up correctly one one such similarity/resonance, it seems she’s missed some others.   I do appreciate this comment on immortality, though. I had not actually thought about that, and this makes his potential actions somewhat more benign. (Not that it would render his later actions as such.)

I really fricking appreciate the “no guts no glory” comment coming right before this extremely gutsy reveal on his part. By saying as such, he could easily be ruining his plan, but he just goes ahead and says it anyway. XD BEAUTIFUL writing, right there.

It was less intelligent of him to narrate his own action so long-windedly, but completely in-character.  It gave her the time required to interject like that. That said: I bet he’s going to fire via voice command or something like that.

And THAT, my friends, is why you don’t underestimate your opponents, and you should not announce your belief in the futility of their actions to their faces like a stereotypical villain would!   Also:  WILLPOWER!!!

...   Yet this does not end the page, and despite the fact that it would be a magnificent point to end the post, I will not do so.  I will first say that I was almost certain Dirk was actually in fact successfully hiding something from her when he was messing with his equipment/tech there [and great foresight on his part, to think this far ahead, by the way], and secondly, shall end the post with the actual page’s ending:

I appreciate his continued devotion to realism in sound effects and whatnot.

To be fair, he could be using that term technically and literally, here, but I also very much do believe that he was not, which is unfortunate. v.v Thus, Alt!Calliope’s question is quite valid.   Though my guess is that Dirk’s response will be something along the lines of, “She chose death and you over life with me.”  This might make her a “bitch” in the same way that men in prison who are raped are reported to be one, rather than the typical insulting-particularly-to-women version of the phrase. Regardless, this is uncalled for. ~~~ It is nice to see the fact that Alt!Calliope’s text is getting smaller, now, by the way.

I don’t appreciate this mockery/show boating. It’s quite abrasive and distasteful. I do see it as being rather in-line with what I’d imagine his character would do, given the frustrating situation he was previously put in, though. Also:  This very much resembles what happened when he was first suppressed. There is much hilarity to be found in that, all things considered. Alt!Calliope was definitely a bit more benign in some ways and objective (most of the time), but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some major similarities between narrators. Additionally:   I do quite love this example of narrative vs. physical action.  I only remember Caliborn/LE and Hussie ever engaging in that sort of contest before.  Well... you could say that there were a few examples of it with the Exiles and Kids/Trolls (like what Bec did to PM’s station, or Sollux’s defense against CD), but they don’t really feel like they were quiiitee substantive enough to count. Regardless!: Very refreshing and interesting, this style of conflict is! Thanks, AH! ... Buuuut there is just a liiitttle tiny bit left over on the page to comment on, so I’ll get to that.  (Oh, also, I totally imagine Jade falling asleep in the classic manner she used to before entering the session, just slumping over with her hands splayed out under her~)

Okaaayyy... if you say so. The fact that tranquilizers can be lethal in doses that are too high does not jive well with your uncertainty, though.   Oh, and also:  WHAAAAT?!  You’re going to leave?!  This is a completely unexpected---   Okay, I can’t and won’t keep up that charade when admittedly the couple of pages I read of Homestuck^2 before freaking out and stopping showed a weird-shaped ship that looked vaguely like a flying fish.    I had tried to forget about that, but the memory suddenly rushed back to me as I read that bit of narration.

Ehh?   Is this suggesting that the Candy epilogue is chiefly narrated by Alt!Calliope?   I mean... it would sortof work out logically, given her very pro-Free Will stance, and the association of Calliope with preferring Candy as food... .

Hmm. This further supports that notion. Iiiif that is the case, Dirk stands as the proxy for LE/Caliborn even moreso than otherwise was clearly the case.  In retrospect, this makes it pretty gosh darned funny that his head got chopped off along with Jack English and Jack Noir (who, holding English’s “lordly sceptre,” and holding reign over the Felt, was OBVIOUSLY an English stand-in, as well  [I still giggle at his sudden use of it like a horse {hitcher} in the middle of the fight]).       Very, veeeeerrry interesting. ~~~ I wonder if Dirk was testing the idea of interjecting himself back into the narrative when he said, “Jake’s ass is mine,” twice, earlier. Oh, and credit to Forgotten Homestuck Facts for the pic compilation, earlier. 

[auromeatde-blog]

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Meat has been in the diet for since the emergence of mankind and a large number of people round the world eat meat on a regular basis. In this article I want to examine whether meat eating is good for our health and what effect meat consumption has on the environment.

Some facts about meat: Meat is generally defined as being the tissues from the muscle of animals. For the purposes of this article I'm sticking to poultry and the meat from mammals such as cows, pigs and sheep.

Red or white. Red meat is meat that contains more myoglobin, a molecule that contains iron which gives it its red colour. It is red when raw and not white when cooked. Generally red meat has been given a bad press with reported links with cancer and raised cholesterol. However the evidence behind these links is weak and eating meat on a regular basis will be healthy for most people, as long as the rest of the diet is healthy. In fact red meat with its higher levels of iron is likely to improve the health of most people, especially women of reproductive age who lose a lot of blood. On top of the iron boost, red meat generally contains more zinc and vitamin B12 than the white meat in chicken and turkey. Having looked at the data across a number of important vitamins and minerals, beef and lamb will give more nutritional value pound for pound than chicken and pork. However be aware that most of the nutritional value is in the lean cuts and not in the fat. It is also likely that if the animal was given a good life then the quality of its meat will be better.

Domestic or wild. The meat of wild animals virtually always contain proportionately less fat and more protein than that of their domestic counterparts. In many species there is more polyunsaturated fat in the wild population and in particular more of the healthy omega 3 fats. When it comes to vitamins and minerals it is harder to see a consistent pattern of difference. It would be safe to assume that eating wild meat offers more nutritional value than the equivalent domestic meat. The reason for this is partly because the wild animals are more active and therefore have a healthier proportion of protein to fat. The other is that they will eat more omega 3 fats. Omega 3 fats are found in greater amounts in wild plants than in domesticated plants given to domestic animals in their feed.

Meat and Health

The upside: Meat contains a bucket load of nutrients that are vital for our well being. Some of the following nutrients are found in significant quantities in meat:

Protein in the form of whole protein. Whole protein contains the full range of amino acids that make up proteins. This is important as it is possible to have health problems if one of the 8-10 essential amino acids is in short supply.

Iron in the form of heme iron which is more easy for us to absorb than iron contained in plants such as spinach. The iron in plants can be anywhere from 2-10 times harder to absorb than heme iron.

B vitamins are found in good amounts and these are vital for health with low levels being associated with mental illness and low energy. One of the B vitamins, B12 is unique to animal sources and so is a big issue for vegans.

Calcium and vitamins D and A are found in good quantities in meat and especially liver. These are vital for the health of our skeleton, and for health in general.

Carnitine is a chemical found in meat and in our bodies that helps us burn fat. By eating meat we get more of it. There is good evidence that it can improve fertility, especially in males. It is also often linked with increased due to its fat burning abilities. Evidence for this isn't so clear cut though.

Despite a reputation for containing unhealthy fat, a lot of fat in meat is both essential and good for health. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are both present in all meat.

The controversy: Meat gets a bad press from many quarters on the basis that it can be bad for health. Much of the criticism is not backed up by firm evidence however. Some of the main issues are:

Cholesterol content is high in many meats. However, the idea that dietary cholesterol is a factor in heart disease is plain wrong. Blood cholesterol levels are closely controlled by the liver, and excess in the diet will rarely lead to excess in the blood. Also there is increasing evidence that cholesterol levels need to be at what many consider a "high level" for optimum health. This concept that a high level of cholesterol in the blood is between 200-250mg/dL has come about as a result of drug companies efforts to justify an ever widening prescription rates for their profitable drugs known as statins.

Saturated fat content in meat is also often quite high, although you may be surprised to learn that the healthy monounsaturated fat that people associate with olive oil, is found in larger amounts in most meat than is saturated fat. However, while there is some evidence that a large intake of saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol levels, there is not much good evidence that links meat consumption with either heart disease or an increased likelihood of death.

Meat, and especially intake of red meat has been linked with various cancers. However it is important to realise that the studies that find these links, like many in nutritional science are epidemiological. These epidemiological studies use large groups of people in their studies. So far so good. However with such large groups, or cohorts as they are often called, it is impossible to control confounding factors. One example in the case of red meat is that with all the bad press it gets many health conscious people eat less of it. These health conscious people are unlikely to smoke, take drugs or overconsume alcohol. Is it any surprise therefore, when a large study of red meat consumption finds that those eating most of it, get a few more cases of certain types of cancer? More meaningful are tightly controlled studies where other variables, such as smoking can be eliminated by selecting study participants carefully. These more rigorous studies have not found links between red meat consumption and cancer.

The downside: However there are some aspects of meat that could be a concern for health. These are:

Use of antibiotics. The presence of antibiotics in the meat we eat undoubtedly reduces the risk of food borne infection and poisoning. However it has also led to the evolution of superbugs, that are resistant to most antibiotics. It is surely better for animals to be given more space so they can avoid living among the excrement of themselves and potentially sick animals, rather than use drugs to counter these problems.

Use of growth hormones. Growth hormones are used widely in the North American feedlots, although they are banned in the EU. It is commonly assumed that hormones are broken down during the digestive process and therefore cannot cause any effects in humans. However, intact proteins and lipids do survive into the intestines, where a proportion can be absorbed intact through the walls of the intestines into the blood. Once absorbed it only takes a very small level of hormones to produce an effect, and it was evidence of hormonal disruption in a number of human populations that caused the EU to ban growth hormones in meat1.

Processing of meat via smoking or additives, such as preservatives and dyes. The epidemiological evidence that smoked foods can be bad for health has more merit than the case against red meat. Studies using more specific populations with fewer confounding factors point to a link between excessive smoked food consumption and some cancers such as stomach cancer. As with many things it is probably a case of eating these products in moderation rather than eliminating them altogether.

In summary eating meat is healthy for most people. Most of the scary headlines you come across about the need to cut down on meat consumption are not founded on strong evidence. Let's face it, many sub populations of human beings, over many millennia, have successfully lived on little other than meat and thrived. Equally, it is true that other populations have survived with very little meat, especially in some tropical areas. However meat is a high quality nutritional food and to eliminate it completely can sometime cause nutritional deficiencies.

Meat and endurance exercise.

As a general rule carbohydrates are needed both before and during long endurance workouts. By long I mean of over 90 minutes duration. However it is not just your reserves of carbohydrate energy, called glycogen, that you use up during endurance exercise. You also use up protein from your muscles and immune cells, as well as essential fats from hormones and damaged cells. Many vitamins and minerals can be depleted after a long workout also through sweat and urine. Where does meat come into all this?

Meat for recovery: Well meat, as mentioned above contains some good quantities of certain nutrients that can really help an athlete recover from long and hard endurance sessions. A number of minerals are lost during long hard endurance sessions. The main ones are Magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, calcium and chromium. Magnesium is lost in sweat and urine. Meat is not the best source for magnesium however. Zinc also is lost through sweat and urine and meat is one of the best ways of recouping this loss quickly. Iron is perhaps the best known of the minerals that can be lost, especially during long distance runs as blood cells rupture and the iron they contain is then lost in urine. Meat again is one of the best ways of recovering the iron.

So while it is possible to be a successful athlete and avoid meat altogether, it is certainly the case that meat can be a quick way to regain key nutrients that are depleted during long endurance exercise.

Meat and weight: If you are concerned with weight management, then meat is not a major problem. It does not cause weight gain easily and is pretty effective at shutting down the appetite before too much is eaten. In fact for many people eating only a little meat introducing more meat is often a useful way of reducing weight.

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[ezatluba]

Wildlife and livestock a risk factor in future pandemics, say studiesThis article is more than 2 months old

Researchers said risk factors also include human encroachment on wildlife habitats

Natalie Grover

Jul 2021 

The risk of pathogens spilling over from wildlife trade and farmed animals into humans should be key considerations in efforts to prevent the next pandemic, research suggests.

Researchers have been assessing the risks of the different ways that disease-causing organisms jump from animals to humans in an effort to characterise and address the risk of the next pandemic.

In a study published in the journal Biological Reviews, University of Cambridge scientists found that while the risk of another pandemic cannot be eliminated, systemic changes in the way we interact with animals, in general, could substantially minimise the probability.

The risks are not just linked to exotic wild animals, they caution. “There’s a natural tendency, particularly in the western world, to imagine that this has nothing to do with us. It’s something remote and exotic … something that someone else has been doing,” said the study’s lead author Dr Silviu Petrovan, a veterinarian and wildlife expert at Cambridge. “I suppose what most people have in their minds is not the venison that they buy in Waitrose – which, of course, is wildlife – but rather something altogether more exotic.”

Although the consumption of exotic wild animals is a piece of the puzzle, the study found that other key pandemic risk factors include wildlife farming and trade; livestock; international trade of exotic animals for pets; and human encroachment of wildlife habitats.

A separate study has worked on quantifying this risk, in particular looking at how viruses make the leap from mammals to humans. This is of key interest given that most emerging infections are more likely to be viral with origins in mammal species, according to the analysis led by scientists from The Nature Conservancy and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) in India.

The analysis compared the association of 226 viruses known to cause diseases in humans (or zoonotic diseases) across more than 800 mammal species. It found that mammals used in wildlife trade had the highest proportion of so-called zoonotic viruses at about 75%. But non-traded wild mammals were not far behind at 63%, with domesticated mammals at 51%, the researchers wrote in the journal Current Biology.

Dr Shivaprakash Nagaraju, the lead author of the second study, from The Nature Conservancy, said although domestic and non-traded animals are a concern, traded wildlife appears to carry the biggest pathogenic load and should be prioritised in efforts to prevent the next infectious disease pandemic.

While previous research has identified rodents and bats as key species for disease transmission, Nagaraju and colleagues found that primates and hoofed animals such as deer and antelope pose a greater risk to human health.

So how to address this panacea of zoonotic risk? The potential solutions are wide-ranging in terms of their expense and ease of implementation and must be contextualised in terms of geography, culture and people’s livelihoods, researchers from both studies said.

Cambridge researchers conducted a scan of published research and guidance, the experience of experts and practitioners, and brainstormed to compile a list of 161 options to confront this risk. Some interventions are relatively simple, such as encouraging farmers to keep animals away from people, separating wild animals from domesticated ones, and ensuring that people who work in slaughterhouses are given adequate PPE.

But others, such as improving animal health on farms by limiting stocking densities, enhancing biosecurity and surveillance measures as well as reducing the consumption of animal products, are far costlier to implement.

“There are plenty of things that actually are really not that difficult to implement but which could make enormous gains in terms of making us more secure,” said Petrovan. “But speaking of cost, look at the cost of the current [Covid] crisis. The cost has been catastrophic, both in terms of human life and human suffering but also economic. Therefore, it makes sense for us to start looking more carefully at what we do.”

Addressing wildlife trade will address only a part of the problem, added Nagaraju. “Ultimately what is very important here is that the consumer mindset should change – because consumers are the ones who created this demand. Unless we change our lifestyle, this is kind of a never-ending story.”

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Cotton or Polycotton Fabric

When shopping for clothes, consumers are presented with a wide range to choose from. The combination of fabrics, styles, and different manufacturers can make the choice a daunting one. Two of the more popular fabrics for clothes are 100% cotton fabric and polycotton fabric. But which is the best choice? In short, that depends on what the buyer is looking for.

So, what are the differences between 100% cotton and poly-cotton blend fabrics? To start with, a poly-cotton blend is just what its name suggests: a fabric that is made up of cotton and polyester fibers. The ratio varies, with 65% cotton and 35% polyester being the most common. 50/50 blends are also easily found. The blend is designed to afford the advantages of both the cotton and polyester fibers into one fabric.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of cotton?

100% cotton is a fully breathable fabric, which means that it can be cooler to wear in hot conditions. However, as the thickness increases, the breathability decreases. 100% cotton tends to rip and wear out easily, depending on the weave. Cotton canvas is a very durable and abrasion-resistant fabric, but it is very thick and heavy. In regards to safety, cotton fibers that have not been treated for fire resistance will tend to burn away where polyester will melt. As a natural fiber, 100% cotton garments also tend to be a bit more expensive than their synthetic counterparts.

Polyester has an equal number of advantages and disadvantages as cotton

Polyester does not breathe and has a tendency to stick to the skin once perspiration begins. In regard to durability, polyester is a more elastic fiber and therefore tends to be tear resistant. However, it does not tend to be as abrasion-resistant as cotton canvas. As polyester is not dependent upon the forces of nature for a successful harvest, it is usually considerably cheaper than 100% cotton.

A fabric made from a polycotton blend combines the strengths of the two fibers. Polycotton garments are breathable, tear-resistant, and can be fashioned into abrasion-resistant fabrics, like canvas. While not as inexpensive as pure polyester, polycotton blends do tend to cost less than comparable garments made of 100% cotton and they provide much more comfort. The previously mentioned 65/35 blend of cotton and polyester is the most popular for work garments, particularly because of price, durability and a larger color selection is available for purchase. When shopping for work garments, the choice between 100% cotton and polycotton blends depends largely on the work environment and personal preference. If employees work indoors around machinery, the tear-resistance of polycotton may be favorable. If the work is in an outdoor setting, particularly in hot climates, 100% cotton fabric could be the better choice. Before deciding, make sure to take all environmental factors into consideration.

It is the intention of this article to help shed some light on the different types of fabric characteristics of 100% cotton and poly cotton fabric. We are hoping to share our thoughts with you in order for you to make a more informed decision when choosing the fabric type for your garments.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s the difference between water-resistant and water-repellent or between water-repellent and waterproof or between water-resistant and waterproof textiles and clothing, you’ve come to the right place.

The main function of outdoor clothing is to provide protection against environmental factors. In a wet environment, the basic requirement for clothing is to keep the wearer dry. Therefore, the outer layer of your clothing, as well as your gloves or mitts, need to resist moisture. But what are the main terms regarding this? What do they really mean? Is there any difference between them? If so, what’s the difference? Here, we’ll try to answer these and many other questions regarding water-repellent, water-resistant, and waterproof fabrics and clothing.

In contact with water, water-repellent materials form beads on the outside that can be easily removed from the fabric surface. This means that water can’t easily penetrate the material; however, for longer contact with water or with a higher pressure difference, the material will absorb water. Water-repellent fabrics are often compact textile structures or common materials treated with hydrophobic chemicals. Although water-resistant and water-repellent are often used interchangeably, there’s a difference as water-resistant fabrics will resist wetting by water for longer. Waterproofing of a material is defined as the property of a material not to be penetrated by fluids, i.e. a waterproof material must be impervious to water.

Tencel fabric is a popular fabric of choice for eco-conscious clothing brands. It’s light and versatile, and used in everything from casual wear to underwear to activewear. But what impact does it have on people, the planet, and animals? Is Tencel ethical and sustainable? We’ve put together a cheatsheet to help demystify this fabric and put the power back in your hands. Tencel is a type of rayon, like viscose and modal. These cellulose fibres are all made in a similar way: by dissolving wood pulp and using a special drying process called spinning. Before drying, the wood chips are mixed with a solvent to produce a wet mixture. This mixture is then pushed through small holes to form threads, chemically treated, then the lengths of fibre are spun into yarn and woven into cloth.

Table linen fabric is a fabric that can be reused, including tablecloths, napkins, placemats, table skirts and napkins.

Table napkins are a small piece of table linen that is used to wipe the mouth and to cover the lap in order to protect clothing or place mats, which serve as a table linen for an individual place setting. Linen napkins, especially those with a vibrant color, are often used to transform a table from the ordinary to special.

A tablecloth is used to cover a table. They can be ornamental coverings, as well as a provider of protection from scratches and stains. Other tablecloths are designed to be spread on a dining table before laying out tableware and food. Tablecloths are standard covering for a restaurant dining table and in many homeowners formal dinner tables and are often high quality, bright white linen or cotton cloth. Some of the most popular types of tablecloth fabric include cotton, polyester and linen tablecloths. Polyester tablecloths are easy to wipe down and clean and are often found in casual dining restaurants.

Lightweight cotton fabrics come in a variety of weights from sheer to semi-sheer. You can see lines from the cutting table (or your hand) underneath the sheer fabric. This means fashionable sheer cotton dresses must be lined with lining fabric. They can also be worn with a camisole or an underbody. Not all lightweight kinds of cotton are sheer. Some darker and/or printed fabrics go with regular lingerie.

Fabrics like cotton gauze and cotton voile fold nicely and make airy dresses with a drapery. A gauze also has some crinkle to it so it is often used for making tunics, tops, swimsuit cover-ups etc. Cotton lawn fabrics are a little more of semi-sheer, closer to opaque. Liberty is probably the most popular and favourite brand. They are super soft and really wearable especially after being washed.

High thread count Egyptian cotton bedding sheets fabric is a very popular item in the luxury bedding category recently. Fabric thread counts have spiraled to dizzying heights, and now range from 180 to 1500. Traditional wisdom counsels that fabric increases in softness as thread count increases, so shoppers gravitate toward high numbers when making their final purchasing decision. However, the rules for determining quality fabrics in the marketplace has changed. You can no longer make an apple-to-apple comparison between two bed sheet sets based strictly on thread count numbers.

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My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 8 Review: Match 3 Conclusion

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This My Hero Academia review contains spoilers.

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 8

“Raise the temperature higher. I can go higher. Burn myself! In order to become who I want to be!”

My Hero Academia season 5 has worked very hard to showcase the wide range of characters that compose Classes A and B, especially some of the more obscure or forgotten heroes. This season caters towards perpetual combat, but part of the reason that these clashes are so successful is because everyone has trained hard and improved upon their base skills, only the audience isn’t privy to how exactly these heroes have upped their games. 

My Hero Academia could have easily devoted some introductory episodes on this material, but the mystery factor has become a very exciting element to this season. Each episode from this season has featured some sort of surprise reveal about a character’s new abilities, but “Match 3 Conclusion” makes these secret hero improvements its priority in a fantastic episode that never slows down and marks the highlight of the season. 

Unsurprisingly, “Match 3 Conclusion” finishes off the third battle of the Joint Training Arc that kicked off in the previous episode. These episodes may be two halves of the same whole, but they couldn’t be more different in terms of their pacing and scope. This is a deliriously busy episode that crams in too much action, if anything. Something that “Match 3 Conclusion” underscores is that all of the Class A students in this fight are important and play a factor in the outcome, but it’s Tenya Iida and Shoto Todoroki that really get to prove their leadership abilities here. Both of these characters have been some of the dominant members of the 1-A Class in the past, but it’s literally been seasons since they’ve been integral to the main conflict at hand. 

Iida quickly rises to the occasion and debuts his new Recipro Turbo ability, which increases his speed to even higher levels of ridiculousness. Midoriya makes an offhand remark that Iida is now faster than Gran Torino, which is a pretty significant claim, if true. All of the theatrics around Iida’s new speed look stunning and the animation as well as the choreography around these sequences is perfect. The sequences gain an extra level of fluidity and the actions occasionally get ahead of the frames, as if the show itself can’t keep up with Iida’s new speed. 

Iida’s new super move allows him to intervene in Ojiro’s battle and dominate the battlefield, but he’s not the only one that’s come to play with new tricks. “Match 3 Conclusion” generates some effective suspense over the nature of everyone’s new abilities, when they’ll reveal themselves, and if there’s a deeper strategy to them beyond their surface level purpose. It’s a smart way to make the established powers of the Class A students feel as new as Class B’s Quirks, many of which are being seen for the first time.

Previous matches from the Joint Training Arc have featured a domino effect as different heroes rise to the challenge once their teammates get defeated. “Match 3 Conclusion” adopts a more thrilling structure where Iida’s fight against Kaibara happens concurrently with Todoroki’s war with Tetsutetsu, as well as Shoji’s duel with Pony Tsunotori. This approach means that there’s never really a dull moment in this episode as each of these battles intercut with each other. It’s all action and the lack of filler is a welcome alternative to the emptier first half of this battle from the previous episode. It’s also harder to predict the outcome of all of this since Class A and B’s teammates are divided and pursue different, independent strategies.

Read more

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A consistent strength of this season of My Hero Academia is how every pairing between Class A and B students has featured an especially inspired clash of complimentary or contradictory Quirks. In this case, Tetstutetsu specifically targets Todoroki because of the intense temperature-based training that he’s put himself through that ideally removes all of Todoroki’s usual advantages. This initially seems to work as Tetsutetsu pushes through Todoroki’s attacks, but is actually able to grow stronger when his steel exterior becomes burning hot after it’s heated up by Todoroki’s attacks. This turns into a twisted endurance contest, which is how battles have typically gone through these two characters in the past, even if it hasn’t been against each other. 

There are clear stakes here, but the fight between these two is just gorgeous on a visual level. All of the episodes that feature Todoroki’s Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk are typically impressive in their execution, but “Match 3 Conclusion” is by far the most extreme example. Moments from Todoroki’s battle honestly look like they’re from a TRIGGER production as the heat rages on and an atypical color palette compliments the fiery and heightened atmosphere. The final minutes of the episode go for broke in this department as an avalanche of Quirks advances on everyone and the environment melts into a sprawling mess. 

Tetsutetsu’s dedication to grow stronger is highly admirable, but it’s hard to not get excited for Todoroki once he unleashes new temperatures to his abilities, which freaking melts Tetsutetsu’s steel into a molten mess. They both don’t hold back from each other here and it’s quite endearing that they later throw so much respect towards each other post-battle. They’re left with a stronger bond than before rather than a brewing rivalry. 

The Joint Training Arc is really putting in the work that in a season or two, every Class A hero could be out in the world and partners with someone from Class B and it’d feel like a completely natural progression of the series. My Hero Academia also doesn’t get enough credit for how substantial and satisfying Shoto’s development has been throughout the series and it’s definitely possible to view this series through the lens that the Todoroki family are actually the real main characters.

The final act of this fight is such a treat once everyone’s conflicts overlap. Pont Tsunotori becomes Class B’s breakout MVP and her encounter with Shoji is more of My Hero Academia at its smartest. Shoji literally has eyes on the back of his head that prevent a sneaky horn projectile from Pony. Once Juzo Honenuki’s Softening Quirk gets added to the mix, the perfect Quirk cocktail exists for all hell to break loose. This brilliant climax is fast, but it contains some of the best action that the series has ever done. Everyone is at their best, yet a Rube Goldberg-esque series of events simultaneously takes out nearly everyone from both teams. The chase element at the end where Iida runs for his life is so damn cool and helps Iida truly shine before the battle concludes. 

Perhaps the most surprising development in “Match 3 Conclusion” is that time is the biggest enemy. The match is deemed a tie in the end once the clock runs out and the majority of both teams are unconscious, but not in the designated jails. Characters remark that this conclusion is extremely disappointing, but it’s arguably the best and most suspenseful match of the whole season so far. It’s an excellent demonstration of the power of teamwork and how much extra momentum can be added to a fight when it features the right combination of elements. Todoroki and Tetsutetsu both prove to their classmates how much they’ve grown, but every member of these teams gets to be the hero at some point during this exercise. 

“Match 3 Conclusion” is My Hero Academia at its very best and a testament to how creativity and the right characters can still make a friendly match as exciting as any fight against a top villain. There’s little to criticize this episode on, but it’s worth noting that the season is now a third over and it’s been very focused on just the competition. 

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Other important elements like Midoriya’s connection with the previous One For All bearers, or the situation with Hawks and Dabi, have receded into the background perhaps more than people expected, but will surely become important again before the season is over. This isn’t necessarily problematic when the level of action is as challenging and thoughtful as what takes place in “Match 3 Conclusion.” Bakugo finally gets to show off what he’s been up to in the next match, which hopefully means that the most extreme battles are still yet to come.

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