#this set is ordered clockwise btw

[hadit93]

Hey there! Me again (sorry), with a follow up question to your last answer (thank you so much btw, I managed to find a PDF of a couple of the books you mentioned).

I'm a little confused as to where I should start in terms of practices such as the Middle Pillar and the LB/IRP? I've noticed that the books all advise the beginner to start with one of them before moving onto the next but they're inconsistent as to which one it should be.

Do you have any advice on this please?

Signed,

Slightly more confused but less overwhelmed Brit

One thing you are going to notice is that every person will recommend a different set of exercises in a different order. Even within magical orders there isn't really a standardised curriculum- every branch varies according to the experience of the people at the top.

I recommend beginning with the lesser ritual of the pentagram, in its banishing form primarily. Twice a day, sunrise and sunset preferably, but first thing in the morning and last thing at night will suffice. Do this for about a month, or until you feel you have gotten it memorised and can perform it fluidly.

After this I would then move on to the Middle Pillar ritual- make sure you also circulate the energy or ground it or use it in some way afterwards. Not all sources will include that information, but depending how sensitive you are you may not want to walk around with energy vibrating through the central channel. It can be used to fortify the aura/body of light.

To circulate I tend to move the energy clockwise with the breath, so down the right hand side with an out breath to the malkuth centre, then with the inhalation back to the crown centre. I do this 3-5 times. I then cycle it down the front and up the back. Then I wrap it around the body clockwise like a mummy to the top and see it explode back down to malkuth with the exhalation, then back up again. Then finally I drive it through the body directly up the central channel, into kether, explode (fortifying the aura as it travels back down to malkuth). After this I focus on the Tiphareth centre for a few deep breaths and end the exercise. Tiphareth is the balanced sephiroth and sphere in the body- the idea is balance with these rituals.

After this move on to experimenting with the lesser ritual of the pentagram in its invoking form. I personally think invoking really opens up the practitioner to awakening their psychic senses. You may find banishing falls to the way side a little. Most people recommend invoking in the morning and banishing at night. I say experiment and see what happens in your own case- this brings me to the last point.

Keeping a magical journal is imperative. You need to be recording how well you are performing these rituals, what effects you notice. both within the ritual and within your every day life. Then you can track trends and see what is working for you.

I have also written some blog posts that might help you:

This one is my post on the qabalistic cross section of the pentagram ritual.

This one is the pentagram ritual in theory.

This one is the pentagram ritual in practice.

[amphtaminedreams]

Relevant on the Runway in the Run Up to Fashion Week: F/W23 through to Pre-Fall 2024 & My Top 25 (Part 6)

-Susan Fang, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Tanya Taylor, top to bottom: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024, RTW S/S24, pre-fall 2024-

-top to bottom: The Attico RTW F/W23, RTW S/S24, resort 2024, Theory RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Tia Adeola RTW F/W23, S/S24, Tokyo James RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Torey Burch RTW F/W23, resort 2024, S/S24, Tomo Koizumi RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Trussardi RTW F/W23, Vera Wang RTW S/S24-

-Ulla Johnson, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, resort 2024-

-Valentino, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, haute couture S/S23, pre-fall 2023, haute couture F/W23-

-Versace, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2023-

-Victoria Beckham, clockwise L-R: resort 2024, RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, pre-fall 2023-

-L-R, top to bottom: Viktor & Rolf haute couture S/S23, F/W23, Vivetta RTW F/W23, pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S24-

-top to bottom: Viviano RTW F/W23, S/S24, We11done RTW S/S24-

-Vivienne Westwood, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-top to bottom: Wiederhoeft RTW F/W23, S/S24, Y/Project “ -

-Yohji Yamamoto, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Yuhan Wang, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Zimmerman, clockwise L-R: resort 2023, 2024, RTW S/S24, S/S23, F/W22-

-Zuhair Murad, top to bottom: haute couture S/S23, F/W23-

And that’s the lot! 

So to round it all up, here’s a quick recap of my standouts from the last year or so of collections, and what’s still on my mind to get me through this winter. 

It was hard to choose how many to limit myself to. A top 50? Too much, a whole post on its own. But a top 20? That’s not enough.

So signing off, in no particular order, here are my top 25 from F/W23 all the way up to S/S24, in time for the start of the FW24 collections we’ll be seeing over the next few weeks!

Schiaparelli EVERYTHING: Is it any surprise Schiaparelli is on the list? Alll the fashion girlies atm are obsessed with everything Schiaparelli does, and how could you not be? Daniel Roseberry’s designs are intricate, luxurious, dramatic, and consistently ahead of the game in terms of creativity. Nobody is doing it like him right now, and for that reason, his pieces are instantly recognisable.

-clockwise L-R: Schiaparelli RTW S/S24, haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Fendi haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Schiaparelli RTW F/W23-

2. Fendi Haute Couture F/W23 and S/S23: Fendi’s Haute Couture collections never disappoint me. Time and time again, Kim Jones offers us her elegant take on glitzy femininity, balancing glamour with soft, ethereal colour palettes, silhouettes and fabrics. This year, she’s given us the red carpet iteration of balletcore (which is an aesthetic I never saw coming or thought of but am obsessed with btw) and for that, I am forever thankful.

-clockwise L-R: Dilara Fındıkoğlu RTW F/W23, Ambush RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S23, S/S24, Chopona Lowena RTW S/S24, Di Petsa RTW S/S24, Roberto Cavalli RTW S/S24, Yuhan Wang RTW F/W23, Moschino RTW F/W23, Rave Review RTW S/S24, Yuhan Wang RTW S/S24, Roberto Cavalli RTW F/W23, Di Petsa RTW F/W23,  Ermanno Scervino RTW S/S24-

3. Dilara Fındıkoğlu RTW F/W23: Dilara’s ethereal, post-apocalyptic take on grunge delivers everyyy, singleee time! As if I didn’t wish I had Bella Hadid’s life enough already (minus having Yolanda “have a couple of almonds and chew them really well” Hadid as a mother), she then stepped out in that DF custom set and my envy increased tenfold.

4. Ambush EVERYTHING: The way Yoon Ahn’s styles the garments she designs under her label Ambush is the end result I’m trying to achieve whenever I actually make an effort in putting together an outfit these days, as rare as that is atm. Yes, at it’s core, the brand embraces a street wear-friendly version of the grunge aesthetic (I know, I use the word grunge to death but my love for that way of dressing will never die! I lived one full year in the 90s and I’m going to milk being a 90s baby only in the very literal sense for all it’s worth!) But through that lens Yoon plays with a number of other trends, from techwear to the academia-influenced styling craze, and has all that fun incorporating elements from those avenues, whilst retaining the edge that underlies her vision of the brand. The level of flexibility she manages to display without compromising the Ambush blueprint is exactly what makes Yoon’s collections a reliable source of outfit inspiration for those of us who have a strong attachment to one particular style but like to take cues from whichever other aesthetic is dominating the trend cycle at that moment too.

5. Chopona Lowena RTW S/S24: Cutesy ‘90s inspired grunge? Bloody love it. Which reminds me that I should reiterate, NO you don't get a pound every time I say grunge. Not in this economy:(

6. Di Petsa RTW F/W23 & S/S24: I was lucky enough to see a Di Petsa piece in person at the Design Museum’s Alexander McQueen sponsored REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion exhibition, and yes, it was as perfectly sculpted to the mannequin as her pieces are to the models who wear them on the runway IRL. Dimitra Petsa is a little bit of a genius I think. She’s so clearly fuelled by an appreciation of the divine feminine energy of women in the sense which we originally started using the term rather than the way we mostly use it now which is more often than not sardonically to justify our bedrotting days (which I’m totally on board with btw because performing femininity is fucking exhausting tehe), meaning her designs highlight the raw, stripped back power and beauty of the female body and everything it does without us even having to try. Di Petsa’s collections give the world a much needed reminder of the strength and grace of women whatever size or shape we are, and shows us that we don’t need to A). have some otherworldly power or B). Get a shit tonne of filler and plastic surgery to emulate the goddesses of both today’s and yesteryear’s standards.

7. Roberto Cavalli RTW F/W23 & S/S24: Fausto Puglisi treads carefully along the line separating bold and gaudy with his take on Cavalli but both the RTW collections were fucking phenomenal this year, taking it back to at a time when Coachella fashion was at the peak of cultural relevance, and what a TIME to be alive that was.

8. Yuhan Wang RTW F/W23 & S/S24: Take something bit granny chic, a bit little girlish, a couple of pieces from a motorcycle gang and throw it all together, and you get that signature Yuhan Wang look. To quote Liam Hess’ review for Vogue Runway of Yang’s RTW S/S24 collection: "Yuhan Wang’s vision of femininity may appear delicate on the surface, but it’s always undercut with something steelier and a little dangerous." Yah. He said it much better than I can. That's why he writes for Vogue and I talk to myself on here, lol.

9. Moschino RTW F/W23: Glitzy, opulent, old-Hollywood infused punk? Consider me obsessed.

10. Rave Review RTW S/S24: SoOoo glad to finally see a collection from the pioneers of chintzy grunge (I’m sorry but what other word can I use?!) on the runway. See, I make the distinction between Rave Review, Chopona Lowena and Yuhan Wang because Rave Review, in the best way possible, excel at a creating pre-loved feel to their collections. That isn’t to say it looks like the shit no one wants. It looks like the wardrobe of the coolest girl you know who can spend an afternoon browsing her local charity stores, the evening in front of her sewing machine, and by the morning can produce some up-cycled magic that you wish you had the talent to create yourself. I want to be that girl! I’m just a sewing machine and few decent charity shops in my local area short but trust and believe I’m working on it, lol!

11. Ermanno Scervino RTW S/S24: How very high-end LoveShackFancy of Ermanno Scervino to give us this Y2K style Bohemian dream and then refine it in line with the whole “stealth wealth/clean girl” minimalism craze that had such a chokehold over 2023 (and which I hope we leave behind, for the sake of its racist undertones if nothing else). Taken to either end of the spectrum, as in pink frilly floral overkill or an endless cycle of shapeless neutrals, I’m beginning to get a bit worn out with both but the meeting of the two here with the pops of colour in the embroidery was something magical, a beautiful partnership<3

-clockwise L-R: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024, RTW S/S24-

12. David Koma EVERYTHING: Beyond slept on and idk why! This man was behind Mugler for several years, which is one of my alll time favourite brands, and I think it’s safe to say a staple for many. So where is the buzz about his solo offering? Idk. It is strange because I feel like his collections share a lot of the attributes (y2k feel, hyper-feminine, sex appeal, a bit of edge, overall bit of a Bratz doll vibe if ygm?) as Blumarine and everyone is head over heels for that? So yeah, I truly don’t know. Maybe it’s not luxury enough? I’ve never really cared about that. You don’t get much more luxury than a Hermes Birkin and yet I think they’re dull as dishwater and no one can convince me otherwise regardless of how much a status symbol they’ve become. Maybe it’s my youth, maybe I’d feel differently if I too was a real housewife of Beverly Hills but yeah, give me David Koma over Hermes any day.

-clockwise L-R: Diesel resort 2024, pre-fall 2023, pre-fall 2024, RTW F/W23, S/S24-

13. Diesel EVERYTHING: Wow, Diesel must be the no.1 contender for fashion house comeback of the 2020s so far. And it’s what’s deserved for a name as cool as Diesel, I mean, it is so simple but so good!

As far as I’m concerned Diesel had been relegated to the leagues of the higher price mark section of the Next catalogue for the past decade and yet the past couple of fashion weeks their shows have arguably been amongst the most anticipated. I feel like I’ve said sexy biker grunge or some combination of these 3 words too many times in this post already but look, it’s kind of like the aspirational aesthetic of choice for me minus the sexy part and add in a girlier, more dainty strain of femininity instead bc I do not have the body nor the bone structure or the RHYTHM to have sex appeal. I was built with the body that’s giving little boy at its lowest possible weight and chubby baby at its highest so yay. The sexy thing isn't gonna happen for me, I’m at peace with that, lmao.

-clockwise L-R: Erdem pre-fall 2024, RTW S/S24, pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024-

14. Erdem EVERYTHING: Genuine question here, would Erdem Moralioglu's work be fitting of what Gen Z mean when they talk about whimsy goth or am I way off-base? Honestlyyy, I’m so out of the loop when it comes to this phenomenon of coding everything and idk if I like it because tbh, it seems like it’s only accelerated the pace of fast fashion. Once TikTok has put a label on aesthetic, it starts getting manufactured cheaply en masse and within a matter of weeks, everyone is fatigued and moves right onto the next craze of X/Y/Z “core”. Like apparently mob wife core is a thing now? Kill me FR. When I hear that all I think of is Teresa Giudice flipping a table and calling Danielle Staub "prostitution whore".

Sorry, I'm getting wildly off-topic here, back to whimsy goth…I don’t know what the TikTok/Pinterest certified cues for that vibe are, but within my understanding of the word, it’d be something like this? Because romantic, gothic, elegant, and eurgh, I hate this term, but also like, badass. Essentially, Erdem's dark dramatic touches constitute what I think of as the gothic part and the former adjectives contribute the whimsical part. Anyways, yah, sorry I had to say the word badass. I’m now thinking I could’ve more accurately summarised my understanding of whimsy goth by saying steampunk Disney princess, lol. It pained me to type especially because we don’t really say ass in England, but badARSE sounds really awkward and yeah, let's just move on...

-clockwise L-R: Zimmerman resort 2023, RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S24, resort 2024-

15. Zimmerman EVERYTHING: I feel like the two opposing sides of the coin representing my personal style are in such stark contrast to one another because yes, one the one hand, I will always be obsessed with that whole forbidden g-word ‘90s look but I also do adore the whole flower power vibe, and for me, Zimmerman does that perfectly. This is to say, essentially, it leans subtly enough in that direction that you can still imagine a Zimmerman dress looking gorgeous with a big, vintage oversized coat, clunky boots, and dark makeup if you get me? There is one particular FKA Twigs look I’m thinking of as I type this, iykyk. But yeah, I never don’t love a collection from them, hence the inclusion on this list!

16. Jacquemus RTW F/W23: Speaking of clunky boots…Can you IMAGINE one of the little white dresses from this collection with some black platform Doc Martens and a black velvet choker or corsage? Like to reference Courtney Love for what is probably the millionth time, this would be the dream outfit inspired by her, however much of a groupie that makes me sound.

On a side note, Jacquemus’ S/S24 collection only came out, like, last week which is why it wasn’t included in the post but I can’t lie…it is a hugeee step down from this. The disappointment echoes my feelings the new Gucci collection, only I guess I can hold onto the hope this is just a meh year for Jacquemus rather than the loss of another absolutely legendary creative spark. Yeah, Alessandro Michele I miss u xx

-top to bottom: Le Fame pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S24-

17. Le Fame EVERYTHING: I only found out about Le Fame, Miss Sohee, Sultry Virgin etc. through HF Twitter (yeah, X is never catching on) and I feel indignant that only a handful of those are on Vogue Runway. Look when it comes to my A-Zs, if I find anything I like in a collection, I will include it, even if it’s nothing groundbreaking in my eyes. Because range, you know? But amongst the standouts from a collection, the rest can be really fucking drab, and yet the brand makes the top of the Vogue feed regardless, purely based on reputation. Yet Le Fame gets tumbleweeds. Where is the justice for Shanghai Fashion Week? ALL the non-western centric fashion weeks for that matter. WHY has ShuShu/Tong only just got a place on the Vogue Runway archive? I mean, it’s bad all round but the erasure of Shanghai FW in particular bothers me because western fashion is so clearly influenced by East Asian fashion and atm it’s just like we capitalise on it without paying our dues (shocker).

-clockwise L-R: Rahul Mishra haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Giambattista Valli haute couture F/W23, S/S23-

18. Rahul Mishra Haute Couture S/S23 & F/W23: Whilst we're on the topic, thank god for HF Twitter for alerting me to yet another designer ignored until very recently by Western fashion critics. Don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of Elie Saab as much as the next girly girl but every collection lately has been more of the same, risk-free and repetitive. You look at Rahul Mishra, and instantly, you can see just how much work and passion goes into his designs. The end results are that these dresses are utterly ETHEREAL. I have been seeing more talk about RM lately and his collections have recently started being covered by Vogue. I hope this acknowledgment continues!

19. Giambattista Valli Haute Couture F/W23 & S/S23: The princessiest (yeah, that’s a word now) of princess dresses. OFC GV makes it on this list. For the sake of my inner child, if not anything else, who thought that a job in the fashion industry was actually achievable and that wearing a dress like this one day was within my reach. The little me who didn’t know what nepotism even meant, this is for you.

20. Selkie RTW S/S24: So I wouldn’t usually include Selkie in a fashion week post as maybe, for reasons stemming from my own prejudices, I assume anything I have ever been able to afford at any point in my life does not count as high fashion. But the Selkie show for this season, imo, truly epitomised what is supposed to be the whole point of fashion which is to translate our inner beauty to outer beauty on our own terms, in a way that makes us feel empowered and the most magnificent version of ourselves. Selkie speaks to the playful feminine spirit within me, and to see women of all sizes, ethnicities, ages, and abilities looking absolutely enchanting made me feel hopeful for a day when I don’t still feel like the only version of myself that is worthy of being “perceived” (lmao) is the one who still owned that beautiful, tiny Selkie dress, who has to punish and deprive their body to fit into it! Seeing this runway on Twitter gave me a degree of faith that this future where I feel confident and comfortable in my recovered body does exist. So yeah. I had to include it here:)

-top to bottom: Shushu/Tong RTW S/S24, F/W23-

21. Shushu/Tong RTW F/23 & S/S24: I hate to introduce new material at such a late stage but I was choosing my favourite looks from ShuShu/Tong’s S/S24 collection and just thought, I want more! So I did some Googling and managed to find the F/W23 collection too! And it’s just as stunning as S/S24. This is why it’s such a calamity that we don’t get more Shanghai FW coverage, I s2g.

-clockwise L-R: Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW S/S24, Cult Gaia resort 2024, Dominnico RTW F/W23, Zuhair Murad haute couture F/W23-

22. Zuhair Murad Haute Couture F/W23: Okay so obvs the S/S23 couture collection was gorg and lush too buut holy shit, the gothic touches of F/W23 took things to another level for me!

23. Dominnico RTW F/W23: If Sam Levinson decides to have Maddy Perez go through a kawaii-influenced cyberpunk phase and then become a dominatrix in season 3 of Euphoria (and let’s be real, equally nonsensical things have happened on that show), this is what her character should be wearing in keeping with her personal style. Niche, I know. Just please, for the love of god, make her come of age first. I have no time for that man’s insistence on sexualising minors. Justice for Barbie Ferrera and Kat Hernandez, honestly.

24. Cult Gaia Resort 2024: Is it…mermaid core?

And lastly…

25. Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW S/S24: He made layers SEXY.

Honourable mentions go to a few brands I plan to focus on anyway over my next couple of posts (another In the Front Row at…kinda post, and also little 2023 Pt.2 Recap) so I won’t go overboard yapping on about them here too, but to summarise a few points:

I was pleasantly surprised by Maria Grazia Chiurui’s work at Dior this past year? IDK if it’s just that my expectations of Dior based on the collections we’ve seen over the previous few years have set the bar really low, but almost all of it was super pretty. Maria has garnered a reputation for being all quantity and no quality, which is fair enough, however I truly think we saw both this year. So maybe this is all to say…Dior gets the Most Improved award?

Alessandro Michele’s final Gucci RTW collection was full of showstoppers and honestly, I don’t know how Sabato De Sarno is supposed to follow on from that. His Gucci S/S24 was nice enough and probably more in keeping with the brand's old school aesthetic but the character Alessandro brought to the brand is gone and I feel like a little part of me has died along with that. I don’t know what to feel because his version of the brand is the brand in my eyes, at this point, like he resuscitated it and nourished it and got people excited enough about it to reestablish Gucci's place at the precipice of high fashion, and yet seeing S/S24 I feel that artistic flair is gone. If I’m being optimistic, maybe De Sarno is just playing the long game and that, in going back to basics, his aim is to create a point of reference he can build upon over time to develop his own equally bold vision of luxury. Let’s say Sabato De Sarno gets the Person I Most Hope Will Improve award.

Finally, in the absence of Michele’s Gucci and on the back of another year of incredible collections, I think I can finally say…Rokh, you’re my new number one.

To conclude, though, that’s enough from me! I’ve already done way too much chatting shite for a photo post. If I start talking about anything else now, it’ll surely end up as some rant about the state of the world which will inevitably be coming soon, anyway, so for now all I have to say is 1. Free Palestine and 2. I hope anyone reading this is doing otherwise okay notwithstanding the horrific levels of injustice occurring, i.e the abhorrent displays of solidarity with a government perpetrating war crimes by many Western “democratic" leaders. Even when we knew they were awful before, seeing this situation play out is devastating. Be kind to yourself. All we can do some days is get by and that’s okay. To exist in a place where our lives are not constantly at threat is in itself a beautiful thing that everyone deserves, and I know most of us appreciate that and want that for everyone else too.

With that, I’ll say goodbye and will be posting again soon.

Lauren x

[noirbriar]

Qingyaji & Longyequ things

So this has been bugging me a long long time and I probably will get flak for this post but I am still putting this info dump and attaching some theories of mine regarding the movies from all the resources we got. Including speculation of the sequel at the end. Before you hit me yes, I read,listen and do speak chinese. (not A grade but I passed anw *flicks report books away*) and a pathetic amount of japanese. Ready for word dump? Scroll on. 1) Dong Tu / Eastern Realm Remember when Qing Ming was asked by his master to head to dong tu? Qing Ming lives on Dong Dao or Eastern Isle.Why go east?? This.THIS. I had to search up abit and translation was not good because dong tu didn’t mean east literally.And they should have probably came up with a better term in movie script. Its an old old label for china and was also used the Journey to the West to label the country as its in the east region. *facepalm* 2)The directional gods  The main crux of QYJ. And before I start I’m going to list them clockwise. Black Tortoise / north  Azure Dragon / east Vermillion Bird / south White Tiger / west there’s a fifth but its not commonly used Yellow Dragon OR in japanese its 黄竜 (おうりゅう), representing the emperor in the centre although the japanese believed the centre represents the concept of void. Got it? Now I add the cities in QYJ in pinyin and their translation and where the characters are from north / Bei Du / Northern City / Boya east / Dong Dao / Eastern Isle / Qing Ming south / Nan Jiang / Southern Territory / A-Long (Longye) west / Xi Yu / Western Region / Hong Zhi (the dead monk in case you forgot) But in movie that the order of duty became this. north / Black Tortoise / Boya east / Azure Dragon / Qing Ming south / Vermillion Bird / He Shouyue  Boya west / White Tiger / A-Long (Longye) Alot on the chinese fandom and I believe that they each represent region they came from as its more logical to protect their land first rather than the main problem of the snake (remember early on when they plotted and were sus of each other.) while western fans believe its by drawing lots as Qing ming said he was unlucky to get Qinglong. Or was this a ploy He Shouyue and for his scheme? This was not clarified in the movie.So do what you will with the knowledge. 3)Qing Ming, Boya and Fox Demons Not in movie but mentioned. And here I will use both jp/chi names. Before that I want to say that in the novel or historical Boya/Hiromasa DID NOT have a beef with foxes. 

Foxes/Kitsune in japan are not as damned as their chinese counterpart. They are even honoured and prayed for business and agriculture in Inari Shrines.This begin sometime in Heian era where Seimei and Hiromasa was born in. Minamoto no Hiromasa was actually a noble, an official and part of the royal family.He is also master in Court music or gagaku. Titbit: Rajoumon and Suzakumon were locations where he received his popular instruments fue/flute and biwa. (This biwa was mentioned in movie!Yes the one poor Killing Stone stole.) The were the head and tail of Suzaku avenue in the old capital city.Why I mentioned this, because I want to point out Boya’s ties to the Vermillion Bird or in japanese,Suzaku.You link it? You link it. Qing Ming/Seimei was rumoured to be half Fox. His mom is Kuzu no Ha. The white fox of Shinoda.She married Abe no Yasuna who saved her. Although she left as her identity as a fox was revealed.Or in some, was found out by young Seimei. In the movie, she was hunted down and left Qing Ming behind.Although her love is evident and remained to her husband and son. Her shrine irl is said where people pray for children as well  In the old onmyouji movies, he is iconic for his ritual/court dances or bugaku (done only by nobles) also btw Seimei has his own shrine and its small but lovely See how I mentioned one was good in music and another in dance. mmm yes. heh. BUT. Historically. These two had nothing to do with each other. At all. And also. Hiromasa was born AD 918, Seimei AD 921.  Now imagine Boya being the older one and Qing Ming younger haha. 4)Setting of Movie The director only confirmed it as a fantasy timeline while artwise they set it around second dynasty(??)( I can’t find the video but was one where they discuss architecture in movie). However a popular theory I found was its set in Late Tang dynasty in Wu Zetian’s era where economy and trade (silk road, maritime) was booming in her rule.  However.Seimei and Hiromasa in Heian era meant its during China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom Period.After Tang Dynasty. Part of why I believe in qingyaji qingming and dong dao have their own court as much as other regions are their own cities/country because simply out of repect to the author,a japanese. (also a japanese composer) and also why he is dressed in japanese court wear.and why he needs to return dong dao. Do what you will with this. 5)A-long / longye / Longyequ things Or Takiyasha hime.Who was stripped of her title and escaped execution and later dabbled in onmyoudo and black magic and...frogs.And her goal was to gain the throne. This popular folklore and also been written by Yumemakura Sensei in the novels but I need check its contents (why is onmyouji novels only in jp and chi QAQ) Very very close to the bare minimal summary we got of Longyequ. Where officials are targeted and murdered.A revolt by the Southern Territory army 10 years ago.  And remember who is also a noble? Boya/Hiromasa. IS THIS WHY OUR POOR BOY IS GETTING HURT? So this is about it that I have in my half asleep brain. Take my findings with a pinch of salt while we await for longyequ! now i will yeet myself out.

[volfoss]

thoguhts on some of my favorite images

First one is vibes, not cursed, second one is mildly cursed but like only 2/10 (going in clockwise order btw), 3rd one is baby 0/10 (cursed vibes 0, angel vibes 10/10), last one is dad joke vibes 0/10 cursed, altogether a nice set of images!

[doktorpeace]

🖊 please introduce us to Erato, I know they're in a masks campaign but I have no idea what else

Oh, gosh, I feel like I talk about them too much as is but I can’t say I’m not glad to have the excuse. This is gonna be really long cause tbh I’m just gonna dump like, a bunch of their lore lmao.

Erato is my Masks: A New Generation character in a campaign being played alongside @twerkyvulture (As Amanda ‘Megafauna’ Ghorbani, The Transformed) @draayder (as Josephine ‘Rattlesnake’ Short, The Reformed) @spitblaze (as Les ‘Void’ Hawking, The Doomed) @heedra (as Enid ‘Frag Beetle’ Day, The Scion) and @skarchomp (as Parker ‘Cobalt’ Andrews, The Legacy) with @dykeceratops as our GM. The current arc features @mechanicalriddle as Zoe, The Nova as a guest member. Here’s a group shot done by @tredlocity. Clockwise from the top left: Cobalt in blue, Erato in the track suit, Les in the cloak, Zoe with the mismatched eyes, Enid’s the big robot, Amanda’s got the scales and claws, and Josephine’s got the mask and tonfa.

To get back to Erato specifically though they’re an Anti Metahuman/Metahuman Suppression Weapon created by the in universe tech group Wright Industries, founded by Ingrid Day, Enid’s mom. They’re generally stronger, faster, and more durable than humans and can copy the superpowers of others for 5-10 minutes by touching them thanks to what is basically a meta-stem cell transplant interacting with other parts of their systems. (Also, I 100% swear to god that I did not consider ‘Robot Hero Who Copies The Powers Of Others’ is literally fucking Mega Man despite loving Mega Man a ton until after I had hashed out the concept with my GM’s assistance. Only once Abby said ‘oh like mega man’ I was like ‘wait, shit’.) I’ll tell you some about them as a person before unloading their history onto you, lol. Being an android built for combat and kept in an underground research lab, kept on a rigid schedule, constantly taking tests, physical, mental, written, oral, ethical, etc. etc. etc. and under constant supervision Erato lacked for real interactive experience before the campaign started only really ever getting to takl with authority figures and their sisters. They were very passive and observational, owing in part to their power set requiring a lot of adaptation to make the most of. They’re naive and very bad at exercising discretion in decision making, sometimes they overstep boundaries when talking with people without meaning to, and they’re really emotional! They have trouble dealing with strong emotions cause they haven’t managed to discover coping mechanisms that work well for them, they tend to get angry kind of easily and need time to blow off steam. But they’re also very genuine, honest, and well meaning. They are almost never mean, rude, or snippy, they do their best to do well by others, and have a strong sense of justice paired with a deep distrust and dislike of the current legal system in universe. This is in part due to the conditions of their creation (and in part because the intent behind it was kind of right!) and in part due to Enid’s life being threatened by a representative of the state while they and their teammates were in jail after being arrested following a huge brawl with an anti-methuman terrorist group. They’re also very willing to put forth the effort to improve as a person and to mend relationship wounds, almost always apologizing first to Enid when they fight and genuinely trying to work in advice and feedback they get from others, which they often get from Les and Parker. They’re also relatively educated, from the tests of their creators, from home and public schooling, from personal research, but that doesn’t undo their naivety. They also just straight up lack some very basic and/or common sense knowledge. Like, they don’t know what a bear is. Why would you teach a battle android working in a densely populated, extremely built up city about wild animals? All in all they’re kind of inexperienced and immature and make mistakes a lot but they’re (usually) very willing to admit their mistakes and to try and improve and get better. They genuinely and truly want what’s best for others and are learning to value them self as much as their teammates. They’ve also taken it upon them self to start doing humanitarian work in their free time over the summer. In a fight Erato is adaptive and quick witted but tends to put themself in more danger than is necessary. They also sometimes use more extreme force than the others believe is called for, but after the first time they did they and Parker had a real heart to heart about it, Les helped Erato learn and practice some coping, centering, behaviors they could do even under pressure and Erato did their best to adapt. That said they Fucking Hate The Keeper So God Damned Much Because Of How Much Suffering He’s Caused Their Friends And How Much Danger He Presents And Would Kill Him With No Remorse. So they don’t intend to apologize for ripping his arms off whatsoever. They and their sisters, collectively known as The Muse Units, were made to work as a group and as a proof of concept that atomized units could replace traditional police for use against metahuman criminals and to slowly phase out The Registry, the legal department which handles general metahuman based laws. If successful the units could be mass produced and improved upon, rapidly replacing current, error prone, law enforcement. At the time of their development, between late 1999 for blueprint drafting and until mid 2002 when the project was shut down, they were the cutting edge for AI development aided in no small part by Ingrid’s technokinetic powers allowing her to make advancements few others could. (As a note Erato’s body was finished being built in early 2001 but their unique personhood didn’t really come to fruition until February 18th, 2002, so that’s what I consider their ‘birthday’.) Ultimately, however, while a few of the Muses excelled some did not perform to expectations, the project fell behind schedule, investors lost interest, and a minor scandal involving a casualty happened, resulting in the project being shut down. The Muses were placed in indefinite storage, the data gained from their short existence used on other projects such and some of the tech advancements used to inform future decisions by the company. And it would have stayed that way, if not for the fact that in 2018 Ingrid Day was revealed to be The Locust in a conflict where Enid tried to defend her against a militia group who had been hired to take her down, being shot and presumably killed in the process. As The Locust she had been terrorizing Boston for over a decade trying to take it over and being involved in the deaths of over 70 people. (Which irl btw would make her like, the 8th most prolific confirmed serial killer of all time, Yikes!) Wright Industries, desperately needing to prove their hard stance against metahuman criminals and needing a PR stunt to deflect from their connection to their former CEO re-awakened Erato. They weren’t the most powerful or best performing of the Muses, but they were above average, obedient, and had an easy enough to monitor and control power set with little risk for property damage to boot, the perfect choice. Erato then took to the streets of Boston acting basically as a vigilante, following orders, stopping minor crimes, and sometimes working alongside the police. They attracted the attention of The Viceroy, a semi-retired 56 year old hero who never registered in spite of it being compulsory legally. They both have the ability to copy the powers of others, though he can just by sight, and he has body elasticity too. These make him durable and extremely adaptable, add to that his detective skills and he’s something of a local Boston legend. He took them in as his Protégé. Though they remained distant for quite some time with Erato still coming and going between his place and Wright Industries, having promised not to reveal his assistance to the doctors who Erato reported their work to. It was this way for about a year and a half before the campaign started and Erato began living with Viceroy full time, no longer wanting to go back to Wright Industries as they began to think more independently and consider what they wanted for them self more. During this time Erato had chance encounters with each of the other characters a few times as they also did minor vigilante work, peaking with a villain who is a member of Superhuman, an extremist pro-metahuman group, attacked the school that Josephine, Les, and Amanda all attend. After that incident Erato was prompted by Viceroy to contact each of these other young potential heroes to form a team, The Upstarts. Additionally during this time Viceroy took in Enid who had been abandoned by her biological father and had been getting bounced around foster care. Over time the three of them have become kind of a weird family, living in a warehouse full of cats with a couple of bedrooms grafted on and an ultra secret basement lair underneath full of advanced stuff Viceroy makes. Though Erato and Enid have definitely had their ups and down, more recently in the story (and we’ve been doing this campaign for well over a year now) they’ve been putting in serious effort to better their relationship and be good adoptive siblings to one another. I love their relationship a lot, they’re good kids.

That gets us up to the start of the campaign but hoo boy, I’ve been writing for like, an hour now. Since then Erato’s helped take down a nazi-aligned terrorist organization, they’ve got a boyfriend in their teammate, Les, and they’ve made friends outside of their core group of teammates. They’ve also enrolled in school doing well on some classes and poorly in others, namely learning how to Code and Woodworking. Currently they’re at a sleep away summer camp for superpowered kids called Camp Justice, about 10 miles outside of Boston. They really, really hate it there. Constant supervision, being made to do tests, things scheduled out against their will, inability to leave the area? Yeah that certainly reminds them of something. The difference between it and school, which does share these features, is they wanted to go to school. They very much Did Not want to go to camp. As a result they’re finally going to have to start facing the trauma they’ve got from their origin and also actually tell the others other than Les and Amanda about their sisters. Whiiiiich...Enid saw one of them disassembled and showed off in parts at a school science fair display set up by Wright Industries to gauge interest in students. And she hasn’t mentioned this to Erato...for 4 months Uh Oh! Lastly, here’s my tag I use mostly for art I make of them, it includes some texts posts and picrew dumps too though, lol. Feel free to look!

[wellpersonsblog]

Neighborhood Workout: The Travel Bug

One of the reasons we often work in mini-circuits is that they’re easier to keep track of while you’re doing them. It’s simpler, logistically speaking: you (often) require access to less of a spread of equipment. Plus, when there are fewer exercises, you get finished sooner, at least with that part, which can be emotionally heartening. Don’t overlook heartening.

But…sometimes you want it in one fell swoop. All in a take. You want to know what’s coming, see what’s coming, add it to the list and just work through it all at once. Then be done with it.

A risk you run with an eight-exercise circuit is wandering: It can be tough to keep track of what exercise you’re on. It can help to, if you’re able, set up your stations in some manner of order (so that you may move clockwise throughout, for example).

Personally, I lost the plot this fine Wednesday. Took a quick timeout to tell Zoey not to bark at a neighbor dog (Zoey, why?) and never quite found my way back to order. This happened, at least a little bit, to a couple of us, but I was perfectly pleased doing extra side shuffles (Julie added some flair to these), extra deep step-ups (with an emphasis on the step down portion, as discussed in this week’s Try-This Tuesday), and I always forget how absolutely breathless the box dance step makes me. Bopping around. Wandering. Wondering.

With regard to the box dance step, light feet makes for heavy cardio. This was a magnificent day. God I love workout group.

For the deep step-ups, make sure you cement control over your entire range of motion, and stay within that range (whatever that is right now).

The sumo stiff-legged deadlift is a weird one you won’t see much of, but my goodness, the things it does to a person’s hamstrings, plus I enjoy the way you can — as you can with regular sumo deadlifts — play with the width and angle of your feet, see what happens in your bod, see what feels good and right to you on that day.

Seek work in your glutes and hamstrings, and I believe you will find it.

We tried a version of the kettlebell bench press that Travis brought in from Elsbeth Vaino (<3), a single-arm version where only your shoulder blades are propped up on the end of a bench, and you’re bridging to horizontal with your torso, feet firmly on the ground and buns squeezed firmly together to create a platform to push from (you totally bench with your butt, btw).

I’ve included a double press below, and one where your body is all the way on the bench, but feel free to swap it out for the shimmied-down version, single-arm version. Just make sure to add a second station. (Travis pointed out it’s much more challenging single armed, and it is, because you’re doing your best not to topple off the bench. Lastly, if you feel like upping the ante even further, try a bottoms-up version (just start light, bottoms-up moves like a much different animal).

Onto the workout! And, if you’d prefer less travel, feel free to split up this circuit into minis.

The Travel Bug

Suggested Work-to-Rest Ratio: 35:25 Suggested rounds: 4 Equipment: Kettlebells

1) Kettlebell Sumo Stiff-Legged Deadlift 2) Side Shuffle 3) Bodyweight Deep Step-Up (Left) 4) Bodyweight Deep Step-Up (Right 5) Double Kettlebell Bench Press 6) Seesaw Row 7) Knee-Toward-Elbow Plank 8) Box Dance Step

Kettlebell Sumo Stiff-Legged Deadlift

Place a kettlebell on the floor between your feet and stand over it with a wide stance — feet about a shoulder and a half to two shoulder-widths apart, and turned out slightly. (A good width for you is when your shins are vertical when your hands are gripping the kettlebell.)

Push your butt backward to hinge at the hips and slightly bend your knees until you grip the the kettlebell handle with both hands.

Keep your back flat and push the floor away to stand up with the weight, keeping your upper arms close to your sides during the ascent.

Stand tall with your shoulders back and your chest up at lockout. Return the kettlebell to its starting position between your feet on the ground and repeat.

Side Shuffle

Stand with feet shoulder-width distance apart. Lower yourself into an athletic stance by pushing your hips back, while keeping your chest up and raising your slightly arms in front of you with elbows bent to about 90-degrees.

From this position, initiate movement by leaning to one side without twisting your head or chest. As you lean, quickly side step in that same direction while keeping your toes pointed forward.

Continue sidestepping, without letting your feet come together to touch.

Travel the distance you prefer, then reverse directions.

Bodyweight Deep Step-Up

Select a box height that you can comfortably step up onto. You’ll begin the exercise from the top of the box, at least at first, to work on a controlled descent.

Using one foot to boost you atop the box, position your whole foot on the box, heel included. Shift your weight onto that foot almost entirely, and keep it that way throughout the lift. (This will help you resist the urge to push off with your back leg as much at the bottom, and will help you build more control through the full range of motion.)

Grounding down through the foot to remain on the box, slowly lower your torso back and downward, reaching backward with the other foot and maintaining full control over the motion. When the ball of your back foot reaches the ground, keep descending into a deep-for-you lunge position.

Reverse the movement, smoothly rise to a standing position again at the top of the box.

Repeat for the desired number of repetitions before switching legs.

Double Kettlebell Floor Press

To start, lie on the floor and roll to one side to spoon the kettlebell. Grab the bell first with the lower hand, and then roll onto your back with the weight just above you. (If the kettlebell is on your right side, you will grab it first with your right hand.).

To grab the other kettlebell, roll to your other side while keeping the first kettlebell pinned to your chest. After grabbing the other kettlebell, you can then roll back to your back. (Alternatively, while seated between the kettlebells, you can heft the weights up onto your lap and then lie back while controlling the weights at your chest.)

Position your upper arms on the floor and close to your body, bending at the elbows so the kettlebells are over your chest.

Press the kettlebells straight up, keeping your elbows close to your body and not letting the weights stray outward.

Lower your arms with control until the backs of your arms reach the floor, then repeat.

To “ditch” the kettlebells, lower the weights until the backs of your arms are on the floor and then let the weights tip forward to the floor. This will protect your shoulders and elbows. Then simply sit up without the weights in your hands.

Kettlebell Seesaw Row 

Suitcase deadlift or otherwise pick up two kettelbells (or two dumbbells, or whatever).

Hinge forward from the hips approximately 45 degrees while staying wide across the chest, letting the weights hang down toward the floor. Make sure you’re sitting back strong in your hips, glutes, and hamstrings, rather than depending on the strength endurance of your lower back. This is your starting position.

Keeping your elbow no more than 30 degrees out from your body and your shoulders down and away from your ears, pull one kettlebell up toward your rib cage using the muscles of your upper back.

As you return that weight to the start position, simultaneously row the other upward so that they pass in midair.

Bodyweight Knee-Toward-Elbow Plank 

Start in a straight-arm plank position with your body elevated between your hands and toes.

While holding this position, lift one leg and draw the knee up and around toward the elbow on the same side.

Lower your leg and return to the starting plank position. Repeat on the opposite side, bringing the opposite knee to elbow. Alternate legs to complete the set.

Box Dance Step

Stand in front of a box, and rest one foot lightly on it. Lean slightly forward, but don’t put weight on the box.

Quickly hop up and switch the positioning of your feet in midair. You should end up with the opposite foot on the box.

As soon as you land, immediately jump and switch again.

Keep alternating legs.

The post Neighborhood Workout: The Travel Bug appeared first on Unapologetically Strong.

First found here: Neighborhood Workout: The Travel Bug

[centralparkpawsblog]

Dog Whistles: How and Why to Use Them

https://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/dog-1340327_1280-300x200.jpg

When a neighbor (and good friend) of mine got her first puppy years ago, I was able to to help her out with tips on both leash training as well as crate training which my friend and her new pooch, aptly named Bob Barker, were able to master in no time.

The feeling of pride those accomplishments instilled in us didn’t last too long. Neither of us were prepared for the insanity of him barking throughout the night.

When you’ve lost sleep night after night because your new puppy or your neighbor’s dog barks all night long, it’s the worst. There’s not much you won’t do for some relief. Most people start out with a quick Google search.

Do this and you will find plenty of results that talk about checking local laws and city ordinances. You will unfortunately also find plenty of creeps encouraging varying ranges of violence against the dog.

I was looking for a solution that fell somewhere on the spectrum between murder and a lawsuit. Dog whistles to the rescue!

What is a Dog Whistle Used For and Other FAQs

The purpose of this device is usually either to get a dog’s attention, for behavior modification, or for training purposes. They are a great training tool for both dog owners and exhausted neighbors.

These handy training whistles are also sometimes referred to as a silent whistle or a Galton’s whistle, invented in 1876 by Sir Francis Galton who did experiments on the range of frequencies that could be heard by different animals.

So How Does a Dog Whistle Work?

Because a dog can hear at higher frequencies than humans can, you will only hear a quiet hissing sound when a high pitch dog whistle is blown. The pooch should have no difficulty hearing the sound when you blow one of these “silent” whistles.

How the dog responds to the high-frequency whistle depends on how you have trained them to respond.  You can’t just take the whistle out of the package, give it a good toot, and expect miraculous behavior out of the dog instantly.

If you find something that works that quickly for training, please contact me immediately.

No, seriously. Please help me. Training isn’t always my strong suit (obviously).

Do Dog Whistles Hurt Puppy’s Ears?

Did you know they make ear protection for dogs? How adorable are these doggy ear muffs?

Let’s say you’re watching a football game on TV, and you hear the ref blow the whistle. Probably didn’t hurt your ears, right? Now imagine the ref is inches from your face blowing that same whistle.

Depending on the whistle itself and how hard it is blown, the result could range anywhere from annoying and unpleasant to downright painful and damage causing. It’s the same for dogs when it comes to silent whistles.

Can’t I Just Use a “Regular” Whistle to Train My Puppy?

Sure, if you want annoy the heck out of every human within a mile of you. Silent whistles gained popularity for a reason. You need to use a whistle that will capture the attention of the dog, not the neighbors.

Can People or Other Animals Hear Dog Whistles?

Whether or not people or other animals can hear dog whistles depends on the frequency of the sound of the individual dog whistle being used.  People can generally hear within the range of 64-23,000 Hz, and most dog whistles are at a frequency above what humans can hear.  A dog’s hearing ranges from 67-45,000 Hz, as compared to the bat who comes in at 2,000-110,000.  He has heard ALL your dirty, little secrets.

Species Approximate Range (Hz)  human 64-23,000 dog 67-45,000 cat 45-64,000 horse 55-33,500 sheep 100-30,000 mouse 1,000-91,000 ferret 16-44,000 bat 2,000-110,000 beluga whale 1,000-123,000 elephant 16-12,000 goldfish 20-3,000 tree frog 50-4,000 parakeet 200-8,500 owl 200-12,000 chicken 125-2,000

Source

Can a Dog That is Deaf Hear a Dog Whistle?

The answer to that depends on the extent of the hearing loss and what range of the dog’s hearing is gone. Your best bet would be to try an adjustable dog whistle so you can play with different frequencies until you find the one that gets your pet’s attention.

If that doesn’t work out, you could try a special vibration collar designed for dogs who are deaf for getting their attention. They still be trained commands with the use of hand signals. Like the silent whistles, the collars aren’t a magic fix. They must be used in conjunction with proper training. 

Different Types of Dog Whistles

There are many different types of dog whistles on the market today that produce different fixed sound frequencies, and there are also dog whistles that are adjustable as well as electronic options.

Electronic Dog Whistles

There are currently several different types of electronic dog whistles available for purchase. I’ve never used one and it’s hard for me to tell based off of the reviews how well the products do or don’t work. The lung powered whistles have all got a comparable amount of negative reviews online.

I attribute this to the fact that some people don’t seem to understand that it takes more than just sounding a whistle to make an animal do what you want it to do. There has to be some silent whistle training in order for the product to work.

Or if you are feeling adventurous, you could always try your hand at constructing a homemade electronic dog whistle.

There are many devices purporting to be an electronic dog repellent or a bark silencer (this one is my favorite). There are some that claim they will stop dogs from fighting and barking. Without the proper training in conjunction with the use of the whistle, all it can do is provide a temporary distraction at best, and even that depends on the dog’s level of aggression.

Again, no magical quick fixes exist when it comes to pet behavior. It’s only consistent training that will get you where you want to be.

Dog Whistle Apps

You can also use your smartphone to download apps that make the sound of a dog whistle.

Much like both the lung powered whistles and the electronic ones, the dog whistle apps available have mixed reviews. And much like both of the other categories of whistles, I say it’s because people aren’t using them in conjunction with proper training. Dog whistles are a training tool, not a magic wand.

Fixed Frequency Dog Whistles

Acme 110.5 Frequency Dog Whistle

The Acme 110.5 Frequency was the first dog whistle I ever purchased for myself.  It’s what’s known as a fixed frequency whistle. All you do is put it to your lips and blow. Nothing to adjust or tighten.  Perfect for a first-timer.

Personally, I love the fun colors they come in.  Having a lanyard is nice, too, especially when you’re trying to hang onto a large dog and palm your treat stash while blowing your whistle, doing a handstand, and juggling knives.

BTW, mine was purple.

Acme 211.5 Frequency Dog Whistle

I also have owned the Acme 211.5 Frequency whistle. I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two personally. But then again, I don’t hear quite as well as my dogs do. The main difference between this one and the model shown above is that the frequency the whistle sounds at is at a slightly different fixed rate.

This seemingly minor difference between the whistles can have a big impact on how effective it is on Fido.

Different breeds of dogs have different hearing abilities. Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, poodles, and cocker spaniels rank among the breeds with the best hearing capabilities.

There are many factors other than breed that can affect a dog’s auditory range. Much like in humans, ear damage from loud sounds or trauma, as well as things like deterioration from age can play a factor as well.

And don’t forget about the ones who just have selective hearing.

Adjustable Dog Whistles

This adorable little adjustable dog whistle is around the size of your pinky (well, maybe not YOUR pinky, unless your pinky is average to smallish in size.)

The metal pitch rod lets you change the frequency easily by tightening or loosening the rod. The frequency range this produces seems to work well for most dogs.

The only issue with this type of whistle, besides being easy to lose (as well as a choking hazard for some dogs) because of its size, is that it might take a bit of trial and error before you get the whistle adjusted to the pitch your dog will respond to. Once you find it, setting the frequency of your adjustable dog whistle is easy though.

  This one is an adjustable whistle with a locking nut on a chain. Very biker chic. I dig it.  But like I said, if your dog doesn’t listen to your verbal commands, he’s probably not going to respond to you making a sound with a whistle either, no matter how cool it looks. 

    How to Adjust a Dog Whistle

To adjust the frequency your silent whistle makes when blown, simply twist the pitch rod slightly. Turning the pitch rod counter-clockwise will result in a higher pitch and clock-wise yields a lower pitch.

Once you’re satisfied with the frequency you’ve adjusted to, secure the pitch rod locknut. Easy as pie!

  How to Use a Dog Whistle Properly

It might seem like it would be simple enough to use a dog whistle properly. You just blown in it, right? Sorry to say you’re going to have to put in just a little work than that in order to condition a dog to respond to the silent whistle.

This article from Psychology Today also discusses the need to incorporate proper training with the use of a dog whistle.

Conclusion: Do Silent Dog Whistles Really Work?

I credit the basic dog whistle for helping me shut my neighbor’s dog up. It took many nights of effort on both our parts. Imagine me, if you will, standing in my backyard in my PJs at 2:00 a.m. tossing treats over the fence to Bob Barker while tooting on my whistle.

There is no whistle that can magically stop a dog from barking

Long story short, it eventually worked beautifully to quiet the pup down. It simply took a bit of reinforcement training to go along with the use of the whistle.

Over the years I’ve found it to be quite a helpful tool when to use in training a dog for a great variety of things.

Dog whistles: I approve this product.

The post Dog Whistles: How and Why to Use Them appeared first on Central Park Paws.

from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-training-tips/dog-whistle-training-stops-barking/

[pkansa]

I have been interested in what moVas have been creating since I first came across them a few years back.  They’ve had a variety of interesting designs, though most have been along the same sort of military / dive-inspired sorts of watches (with a few wilder forays in their Exotica lineup).  Their latest watch, the moVas Empire 1, takes things in a distinctly more architectural direction.

In fact, this is a literal thing, as the brand states the design for the watch is pulled from the HSCB building in Hong Kong.  I’ll leave it to those more familiar with the building to call out whether or not the interpretation rings true.  For me, I’m just digging on the look.

First off, let’s talk about the 37mm titanium case.  With a 40mm lug-to-lug dimension, this is a tidily compact watch.  Past that, this case is so unlike anything that has come from moVas (at least to my memory), I just plain like it.  You’ve got a simple silhouette that is spiced up with some curves and machining, and then you of course have those mechanical fasteners right up front as well (which also, btw, seem like a nightmare for a neatnik to keep clean).

So, this is a very compact watch (under 8mm thick) so one might wonder what movement makes it all possible.  Well, given that moVas stands for “Movements of Asia”, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s a Seagull movement ticking away, the caliber 2661.  All the specs for the movement are listed below.  I’ve not experienced this particular movement, so I can’t speak as to reliability on it.

On the dial side, you’ve got things that are transparent and slightly skeletonize, which makes for an interesting look.  I’m a fan of when numerals look to float a bit, and that is definitely going on here.  I’m less a fan of seeing all the dates on a date wheel, but such is life. At least it’s made up for with a lumed outline on the date window, no?

At a pre-order price of $2,300, the moVas Empire 1 is certainly not an impulse buy.  If you do pick up one of the (50) examples being created, though, you’ll have a unique look that none of your buddies are going to have.  And hey, with that titanium and sapphire, this is a tough, lightweight watch that will hold up to whatever you can throw at it.  movaswatches.com

Watch Overview

Brand & Model: moVas Empire 1

Price: $2,300 (pre-order) / $2,550 (MSRP)

Who we think it might be for:  You want something different from the norm, but have not dug the squared-circle aesthetic moVas has espoused in the past (though, it shows up in that crown a bit)

Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen? Tough call – I like the look, but the transparent dial might end up in the “dislike” column after some time with it

If I could make one design suggestion, it would be:  Perhaps a much less translucent (or even solid) dial option?

What spoke to me the most about this watch:  It’s got to be that case.

Tech Specs from moVas

Case: Grade 2 Aeronautical Grade titanium with multi- finishing (tri-toned), shot peened midcase, brushed and polished top and bottom plate. Case is 37mm across excluding crown, 42mm with crown. 40mm lug hole- lug hole. 7.8mm height.

Caseback: Exhibition caseback in Grade 2 Aeronautical Grade titanium and 1mm thick colourless sapphire with deep etching, shot peened recessed surface and polished raised numerals/ characters. Numbered 01-50.

Crown: Screw-down crown to set time and day/ date in polished and blasted black zirconium. First click to set date (anti-clockwise). Second click to set time.

Glass: 1mm thick double domed american sourced scratch resistant colourless sapphire. Single Anti Reflective coating applied internally. 1mm thick flat american sourced scratch resistant colourless sapphire for caseback.

Movement: Produced by Tianjin Seagull Watch Co. Ltd. Caliber 2661. 26 Jewels, beating at 28800bph, 45H Power Reserve,  featuring customised skeleton date disc at 6H. Customised skeleton rotor in deep blasted and black PVD and signed in gold filled etching. Main plates perlaged and rhodium plating. Antishock protection system on balance wheel. Hackable.

Dial: Skeleton embossed  in semi-gloss matt black, Gloss black rounded square motif rehaut with C1 white printed lume.

Hands: Faceted 3 sided Brass hands plated silver, polished sides and brushed centre with C3 Superluminova lume.

Strap/ Bracelet:  Genuine lizard strap in black and grey stitching. Double sided  and dark grey/ black nitrite rubber strap. Watch accepts 24mm wide straps.

Buckle:  moVas Super Buckle in full titanium, brushed/ polished and blasted etching. Deep engraved logo on top.

Water Resistance: 10atm.

Power Reserve: 45 hours, fully wound.

Warranty: 2 year.

Buildings, watches, and the new moVas Empire 1 #preorder #over$1000 #architectural I have been interested in what moVas have been creating since I first came across them a few years back.  

[dieswaytoofast]

° Most of the world - counterclockwise

° Japan and Taiwan - clockwise (°)

° Middle-east - somewhere in the middle 😇

The possible reason seems to be script direction - both of the lines, and the characters themselves. For example, Chinese has a quite strict clockwise stroke-ordering system. 

BTW, this data comes from Google's "Quick, Draw!" where users have 20 seconds to draw stuff (Horse! House! Hand!). And, in case you're wondering,_of course_ this was all about gathering data for #DeepLearning - about how humans draw (°°) 

(°) and, maybe China, though this data set doesn't show it (#GoogeBan). However, a study from 1985 - https://goo.gl/zasDbs - seems to concur... 

(°°) Quick, Draw! - https://quickdraw.withgoogle.com. And, the dataset now has around 50M images 😱