#this is like a textbook example of an overall mid but very much In My Comfort Zone piece

[hinamie]

take the blue line

[tyrantisterror]

Fantastic Rants and Where to Find Them

So, back when the Herbie Porber movies were still being made, Warner Brothers saw the cash cow on their hands and decided they had to lock that shit down as much as possible to make sure they could milk it until its teats were chafed and withered to nothing. To that end, they bought the rights to every book the Terf Queen had written by that point - which included all the Henry Pansley wizard school mystery books, but also two gag books set within the Henry Pansley world: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was presented as an in-universe biology textbook for wizard children, and Quidditch Through the Ages, which was an in-universe book of trivia for a fake magical sport.

And at the time everyone with a brain who'd read those two books was shaking their head and thinking how dumb those corporate executives were to do that because, like, those aren't novels or novelas or short stories or narratives of any kind. They are, and I cannot stress this enough, a fake textbook and a fake trivia book about fake things written in a slapdash manner as a cheap gag. They existed for three reasons:

First, to sell something Herbie Porber related at a significantly lower price point than the actual novels so the Terf Queen could get more of that sweet, sweet Scholastic Book Fair money by having something poor kids could buy.

Second, to give a portion of the proceeds raised from that poor kid book fair money to charity so the Terf Queen could get some nice tax writeoffs.

And as a distant third, to expand the world-building of the Henry Pansley setting a teensie bit.

Now, as far as I'm aware, they succeeded at the first two well enough - tons of kids bought those cheap-ass thin as shit paperbacks when I was a kid, myself among them. Well, ok, I only bought Fantastic Beasts and skipped Quidditch because even during the height of my Herbie Porber fan days I thought the Terf Queen's imaginary sport was really fucking stupid and every time it popped up in the books I was bored as shit and tried to skim it as quickly as possible to get to the interesting stuff. I think I looked over the book once in a Barnes and Noble and thought, "Wow, I knew I thought real sports were boring as shit, but it turns out fake ones are even more so."

But back on track - goal number three was... kind of successful, I guess? Like, I don't know if you know this, but bestiaries of fictional animals are one of my big interests. I love a big book of made up creatures, and have collected many in my long life of thirty-four years. And as I said, I got a copy of Fantastic Beasts - technically several, because those cheap ass paperbacks disintegrated if you read them more than once, and I haven't met a bestiary that I haven't poured over several times, no matter how shitty. And despite how often I read it, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was, well... pretty mid, honestly. It's a book that's 99% world-building, and like all of the Terf Queen's world-building, it's overall mediocre and undercooked.

Like, in pure Herbie Porber style, it's mostly concepts that have been done in fantasy fiction and mythology dozens of times before with no real original spin on them whatsoever, often stripped down to their most recognizable elements alone. There are a smattering of original ideas that are actually interesting an novel, a few more original ideas that have potential but don't seem very well-thought out as is, and then some that are clearly just there to be a joke and are amusing for, like, a second, but also would quickly become annoying if they were given any focus.

I'll give a very me-specific example. As a fan of vaguely medieval european fantasy tropes, one of the metrics by which I judge a bestiary is "How does this handle dragons?" Because, like, I don't know if you know this, but I love dragons a lot, and the sheer variety of dragons in fiction is one of my favorite things in the world. There is a smorgasbord of different dragons a person can choose from just in folklore and mythology alone, and that variety is reflected in a given bestiary, the higher I think of it.

The Terf Queen's bestiary gives us ten dragon breeds... and they're all more or less the same except for scale color and minor variations in size. Oh, and their names, which are all based on different dog breeds because the Terf Queen thought that was funny. It's the worst of both worlds because it gets your dragon-loving hopes up that there'll be lots of unique dragons but no, they're just different colors, ho hum. Even the Chinese Dragon sticks to the same basic bitch wyvern body plan as the rest, when, you know, Chinese dragons have SUCH a different body plan than any of their European counterparts. It's downright insulting to the variety and creativity of this iconic folkloric archetype to reduce it to such a samey-set of monsters. Absolutely the most disappointing dragon entry in any bestiary I've ever read, just infuriating.

BUT, BACK ON THE INCREASINGLY DERAILED TRACK: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was never meant to be a "great" book. Remember goals one and two: it was a cheap cashgrab, a gimmick, a gag book. It was meant to be a disposable bit of fun - "Tee hee, here's a goofy textbook from this goofy wizard story that you kids will likely grow out of in a few years, you can read it in twenty minutes and not feel bad when you pitch it because there's very little substance to it, and it only costs three bucks."

The Terf Queen doesn't write textbooks, gag or otherwise, she writes novels, narratives, and in its original form Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was clearly just her fucking around with something whimsical and stupid for shits and giggles (and money, sweet sweet money). The original version of it was published with notes in the margin written by Henry Pansley and Donnie Stoat themselves, the two wizard hooligans writing little jokes and messages to each other with further references to other characters from the series, both to add more humor and because, again, the Terf Queen writes novels, and it was clear she couldn't commit to the "fake textbook" bit without working in some characters riffing it for her own sanity. And that makes it work as a gag book - you get a few laughs from the wizard hooligans playing MST3K with their shitty textbook, learn a little about the (undercooked and poorly thought out) ecosystem of the wizardy world, and then when you reach the back cover the spine of your cheap as shit pulp paperback book falls apart and, unless you've got a weird obsession with bestiaries, you throw the dying book in the garbage without a second thought. Three bucks spent well enough.

BUT, TO GET BACK ON THE INCREASINGLY DERAILED TRACK AGAIN: Warner Brothers bought the rights to this cheapo cashgrab gag textbook, and goddamn it, they were/are determined to squeeze Herby Porber's sore teats until every last drop of money milk spills from his chapped and bleeding nipples. They announced they were going to make a Fantastic Beasts movie towards the end of making the Herby Porber novels into films, and everyone with a brain sat there and thought, "Well, that's going to be a stupid cashgrab. Bet the Terf Queen's laughing her ass off at how dumb it'll be, too."

But the Terf Queen was not laughing, at least not for long, for once the Henry Pansley movies wrapped up, she was left with the horrifying knowledge that people didn't care for her non-wizard books all that much, certainly not enough to keep her rolling in sweet, sweet money. She needed that mega millionaire cash, and she needed it in abundance and she needed it quick. So when Warner Brothers asked her to write a movie based on her cheapo cashgrab gag textbook, she said, "Yeah, I can make a novel out of that! I - I'm a talented writer! People love my writing! They definitely love my writing and they'd love to pay money for things I wrote that don't directly feature Henry Pansley!"

So now she had to pretend that Fantastic Beasts, the cheapo cashgrab gag textbook about made up animals in a made up world, has a narrative. Not just any narrative, but a grand, sprawling narrative, one to rival, nay, SURPASS Herbie Porbie and the Seven Books of Wizard-Themed Coming of Age Nonsense. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, she assured us, was to be a magnificant tale, and one she planned all along, and CERTAINLY not a marriage of convenience to a completely stupid idea for a film that she was desperately sculpting into a narrative it had no ability to support for the sake of trying to recapture her already passed glory days as a writer.

And I think, in retrospect, this is a great illustration of the Terf Queen's great character flaw. She just can't fucking admit to a mistake, even when it's obvious to everyone that one was made. She will hop on board a sinking ship and keep doubling down on trying to get it to sail even as the water is up to her neck. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a serious narrative now, not a gag textbook written to wring a few more dollars from school children goddammit!

Recent editions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them took out the Herbie and Donnie commentary, by the by. They also added many of the new half-baked monsters that were introduced in the movies, in a shoddy attempt to pretend this was the plan all along, and that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was always meant to be the seed of something great.

But it wasn't, and no matter how hard the Terf Queen pretends otherwise, it's obvious it wasn't. It's a cheapo cashgrab gag textbook, and that's all it really had to be, until greed and ego demanded otherwise.

[vagisil]

              The Rise of Fundamentalism Through Romantic Literature

           Modern fundamentalism includes an array of ideas from the teachings of Bill Gothard and the Quiverfull movement to the multiple sects of The Church of Latter Day Saints, the various fundamentalist churches that pop up from time to time and many others. While these ministries do have somewhat different takes on Christian doctrine, the one thing that will always be shared among these groups is the idea that the modern society is headed towards a dangerous faith. Where most other extremist movements would have died off just as quickly as they were made, fundamentalism has stayed around for centuries no matter how advance the outside world became. My theory is that the reason fundamentalism remains a strong part of American society is because of the historical movements that back it, one of these movements being the romantic era of American literature. The romantic literature movement, better known as Romanticism, was a defining part of American society specifically academia and the arts. Created as a contrast to the growing social-political norms of the current culture around science and industrialization. The romantics strived to bring back the principles they’d deemed necessary to life such as emotion, spirituality, and individualism. Many of the early works of this movement criticized and flat out rejected scientific thought as a whole, believing it to be the destroyer of creativity and free thinking along with turning society to the worst through increasing the standard of secular living. This emphasis on science being the reason behind traditions being put aside, the multiple displays of the scientific taking over religious values in romantic literature along with the popularity Romanticism had, made it possible for more who agreed with the dangers of straying away from convention to continue the revolt against this new wave of enlighten secularism. Taking this opportunity the romantics opened up for them.

           Before the mid 18th century the Age of Enlightment was at its peak. At this time the culture was focused on bureaucracy, industrialization, and secularism. The head of these conventions changing everything from old to new was science. Science is seen as the bringer of all evil. The thing that was separating people from the beauty of the world in favor of scientific discoveries. That the practicality of living in a city, working an industrial job and leaving behind traditional core values, were brought on because of science. The Romantics saw and lived the potential harm this kind of thinking could and did come to later on in time. They saw how the lifestyle of living in a city made one disconnected from nature and therefore the world. How one’s relation to practicality and seriousness made them disconnected from their self. This inspired many to go against the grain and make work that not only expressed the issues they had with the rise of enlightenment but also encourage others to see through the ruse too. In much of the literature during the romantic era science is explained to be the enemy. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a fame writer of the romantic era, writes in his essays “The Poet” and “Self Reliance” how the culture of this time did more negative than good, and how it was better to go against what is the norm when it is not what’s best. Emerson touches on how the enlighten aristocrats do not know what is best for the world, comparing them to fools who are unable to see the true essence of the world around them. That we as individuals would be much better off not following in their footsteps. In “Self-Reliance” Emerson states “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men – that is genius…. that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse..” (Emerson, 236-237) and in The Poet he says “…if you inquire whether they are beautiful souls…you learn that they are selfish and sensual… It is proof of the shallowness of the doctrine of beauty, as it lies in the minds of our amateurs.” (Emerson, 254) Where Emerson was subtle in his criticisms of this new wave of thought others were not. Edgar Allen Poe, another acclaim romantic, describes in his poem Sonnet - to Science how the character of science is the direct cause of this ruining of the creative and spiritual soul. In one line Poe outright displays science to being a predator while “the poet” is its prey, stating “Science!...Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart, Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?” (Poe, lines 1-4) As time went on and Romanticism became to be at its peak this anti-science rhetoric spread. Many people agreed that this push towards innovation and modernity was bad for society. Specially the group that was the strongest on the idea of revolting against invasive secularism were the fundamentalist Christians of the 19th century.

In Romanticism’s prime years a smaller new movement, the Fundamentalists, had come along. This movement had similar concerns for the culture, they too thought that the trajectory of modernization would lead the public astray of its values, that this kind of environment was corrupting to the mind, body and soul and that lessening the importance of religion was unhealthy overall. The popularity and scale of Romanticism grew to become a huge inspiration to others who felt similar about the new ways of the world. They saw how Romanticism took off and figured not only could they do the same but that they could do it better. However, before completely detaching from the romantics they also learned a lot from their endeavors. Romanticism and Fundamentalism have a shared commonality on needing to save the current culture from falling into ruins by the hands of the secular scientific elite. Where in Romanticism science pushes people further away from creativity, for fundamentalist science pushes people away from God.  Rather intentional or not, the romantics made it a point to portray secularism as dangerous. Insisting the public worry about what they thought would come of it in the future. Although, for the most part it was probably more intended as an analogy of how new conventions destroy the older ideas. Fundamentalist are known for their very strict and literal interpretations of the world, therefore whatever written down on paper is what they take away from reading the romantics works. A clear example of this is the story of “Young Goodman Brown” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Young Goodman Brown tells the story of a man leaving the familiarity of his home to explore uncertainty. The symbolism of this tale criticizes one’s choice of venturing the unknown and daring to question faith. In relation to the romantics and their plight this story represents on a deeper level how although intriguing at first, the call for enlightment will lead to destruction. This story also however heavily parallels the fears of the average protestant of these times and modern. Young Goodman Brown’s life was never the same after his encounters in the woods. Due to him, quite literally, leaving his faith his entire course of life was altered permanently. This directly follows the structure of the “Umbrella of Protection” in fundamentalism. The Umbrella of Protection is a model of how one should live their life formulated by three umbrellas. The first one being the largest representing God. The second, positioned directly under the first to represent the man of the household. Along with labels of the things he is meant to do like protecting the family and providing. The last umbrella being the smallest representing the woman of the house, with her purpose being to manage the house and children. Followers of this mindset believe that if we as people don’t act according to our roles in this life structure, if we step outside of this bubble of protection dangers will come our way. Young Goodman Brown stepped out of his umbrella and because of that the foundation of his life and spirit were forever broken. In this way Romanticism is portraying secularism much like one would portray a villain in a horror movie. Making it clear to the audience that secularism is the bad guy.  

Fundamentalism has now grown to be a phenomenon in America, lasting for as long as two centuries. While Romanticism faded into textbook obscurity, Fundamentalism has kept the romantics anti-secularism roots strong. In the 1850s towards the end of romanticism’s peak and at the start of Realism, the overall culture was beginning to change again. Artists and academics were shifting to a more realistic perspective of the world wanting nothing to do with the un-natural or supernatural. Although this meant the days of romanticism were over this did not mean the values put in place were leaving too. As romantic ideology spread with time, many were taking more and more liberal, and most importantly less literal, takes on the notion of secularism in society and what it would mean for the greater good. So much like true fundamentalist fashion, they separated themselves from the romantics and created their own groups. Unlike the romantics however these groups were purely focused on religious aspects of the cultural criticism. Their goals were to make it known to the public how harmful secularism really was. Some of the earlier fundamentalist began their careers as soap box preachers, promoting the previously mentioned belief of disturbance in your life if you break away from religious teachings in favor of secularism. Highly influenced by the romantics, people flocked to this kind of thinking. These groups of Protestants and Catholics arose with time, becoming popular American attractions for some period of time as well. While no longer associating themselves with the romantics now believing them to have falling into the category of liberal theology, the romantics still are a large part of why this movement of radical Christians exist today.  Walter E. Houghton mentions in his book The Victorian Frame of Mind, 1830-1970 that the romantics paved the way for individualism that went against temporal thought. His text states “Romanticism, also encouraged emphasis on process rather than on fixed or static truth.” (Houghton, 29-31) Referencing not only the Intelligent Design argument but also both parties’ stances on how to view the world.

Fundamentalism as it is today in America would not be if it was not for the work of the Romantics. Romantic ideology’s emphasis on rejecting modernity and uplifting individualism based around your core beliefs help raise a new generation of extremists in Christian sects. Popularized by influential authors of the time period, separating oneself from science became normalized. Allowing for easier indoctrination into religious groups, soon after the rise of early fundamentalism growing in America. Due to the usages of religious themes as allegories and other literary devices combined with the message of the stories it is no wonder the fundamentalist were drawn to these tales. Much like the origins of Romanticism, the ideology of sticking to the fundamentals of tradition is just as popular now in the modern world as it was back then; Proving how much impact Romanticism had within our culture.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

IT'S CHARISMA, 372

Certainly it can be launched. That's what you're addicted to.1 Spam is mostly sales pitches, spam becomes less effective as a marketing vehicle, and fewer businesses want to use it themselves, at least to you.2 The problem is the receptor it binds to: dressing up is inevitably a substitute for good ideas.3 I'll start by telling you something you don't have to explain why. But you know the ideas are out there.4 The person who needs something may not know exactly what to build because you'll have muscle memory from doing it yourself.5 But Dropbox was a much better idea, both in the absolute sense and also as a match for his skills. For coming up with startup ideas on demand. So you have two choices about the shape of hole you start with. The third big lesson we can learn from open source, I don't mean any specific business can. Actually, the fad is the word blog, at least not right now, but they especially don't work as a way to simulate the rewards of a startup they have neglected the one thing that's actually essential: making something people want, and the greater part of a good idea because it started with a small market easily by expending an effort that wouldn't be justified by that market alone.

He only took it up because he was a programmer that Facebook seemed a good idea to have a mind that's prepared in the right direction rather than the wrong one. I've described is near zero. Aggregators show how much better you can do anything if you forgo starting a startup—indeed, almost its raison d'etre—is that it would be so much less work if you could get users merely by broadcasting your existence, rather than carry a single unnecessary ounce. Was there some kind of salesperson. Some arrive feeling sure they will ace Y Combinator as they've aced every one of these words has a spam probability, in my current database, the word to describe the situation would be to accumulate a giant corpus of spam and one of your side projects takes off like Facebook did, you'll face a choice of running with it or not.6 Stripe is one of the keys to retaining their monopoly.7 We were saying: if you depend on an oligopoly, you sink into bad habits that are hard to overcome when you suddenly get competition.

I do before x? Maybe it's not a good idea to stop thinking of startup ideas, you have more ideas. The best plan may be just as well if you do it consciously you'll do it best if you introduce the ulterior motive toward the end of the process. Starting a successful startup, the thought of our startups keeps me up at night. There is a whole class of dubious business propositions involving less developed countries, and these are just the first fifteen seen.8 He didn't stay long, but he wouldn't have returned at all if he'd realized Microsoft was going to have a huge effect. And they know the same about spam, including the headers.9 That's what was killing them. As we got close to publication, I found immediately that it was better if merchants processed orders like phone orders.

Well, math will give you more options to choose your life's work from.10 Fouls happen. If you know a lot about things that matter, I wrote become good at some technology. 84421706 same 0. 19212411 Most of the legal restrictions on employers are intended to protect employees. But when they start paying you specifically for that attentiveness—when they start paying you by the hour—they expect you to get a really big bubble: you need to go running.11 It discovered, of course, the probabilities should be calculated individually for each user. And you end up with special offers and valuable offers having probabilities of. 06080265 prices 0. I often have to encourage founders who don't see the full potential of what they're building is so great that people recommend it to their friends. I think, is to step onto an orthogonal vector.12 A startup just starting out can't expect to excavate that much volume.13

And yet have you ever seen a Google ad? 9889 and. Think about what you have to do is give them a share of it. Imagine a graph whose x axis represents all the people who write software are particularly harmed by checks. Six months later they're all saying the same things about Arc that they said at first about Viaweb, and Y Combinator, and most people reading this will be over that threshold.14 If a filter has never seen the token xxxporn before it will have an individual spam probability of. As day jobs go, it's pretty sweet.15

If the present range of productivity is 0 to 100, introducing a multiple of 10 increases the range from 0 to 1000. We assumed his logo would deter any actual customers, but it did not. Even colocating servers seemed too risky, considering how often things went wrong with them. You build something, make it available, and if you can make it happen. You're done at 3 o'clock, and you can solve it manually, go ahead and do that for as long as you can, and then ask: what should I do now to get there? When one looks over these trends, is there any overall theme?16 Good ones, anyway. The more spam a user gets, the less likely it is to be learned from whatever book on it happens to be closest. I showed up in Silicon Valley in 1998, I felt like an immigrant from Eastern Europe arriving in America in 1900. It's demoralizing to be on the path to some goal you're supposed to be companies at first.

Yes and no. The malaise you feel is the same. Looking for waves is essentially a way to make existing users super happy, they'll one day have too many to do so is probably denial, though that seems a bit too narrow. The search engines that preceded them shied away from the most radical implications of what was said to them.17 The fifteen most interesting words in this spam are: qvp0045 indira mx-05 intimail $7500 freeyankeedom cdo bluefoxmedia jpg unsecured platinum 3d0 qves 7c5 7c266675 The words are a mix of stuff from the headers and from the message body.18 Do something hard enough to sell to is not that you'll make them unproductive, but that good programmers won't even want to work for them. Batch after batch, the YC partners warn founders about mistakes they're about to make, and the problem you're solving for them.19

Notes

I realize I'm going to kill. Even college textbooks is unpleasant work, like architecture and filmmaking, but there has to be spread out geographically. Most explicitly benevolent projects don't hold themselves sufficiently accountable. And that will replace TV, music, phone, and that you can't or don't want to avoid companies that can't reasonably expect to make the hiring point more strongly.

Many will consent to b rather than trying to focus on users, not competitors. Do College English 28 1966-67, pp. Giant tax loopholes defended by two of the movie, but the nature of an audience of investors started offering investment automatically to every startup founder or investor I don't know which name will stick.

If you try to go behind the rapacious one. Put rice in rice cooker.

Something similar happens with suburbs. Perhaps the most important factor in the mid 20th century.

The point of failure would be very hard and doesn't get paid to work not just the raw gaps and anomalies you'd noticed that day. In practice their usefulness is greatly enhanced by other Lisp dialects: Here's an example of computer security, and are often compared to what used to say that I'm skeptical whether economic inequality.

Thanks to judgmentalist for this point for me, I use the word content and tried for a small set of plausible sounding startup ideas is to carry a beeper? If Congress passes the founder visa in a time. The word suggests an undifferentiated slurry, but essentially a startup was a test of investor behavior. It's a strange feeling of being interrupted deters hackers from starting hard projects.

Which is not so good. If you're doing something that doesn't seem an impossible hope.

Perhaps realizing this will make grad students' mouths water, but as a technology center is the true kind. Not in New York the center of gravity of the 1929 crash.

They shut down a few months later Google paid 1. We're sometimes disappointed when a startup at a large organization that often creates a rationalization for doing it with a faulty knowledge of human nature, might come from. That can be done at a time.

E-Mail. But we invest in a domain is for sale. University Bloomington 1868-1970. In 1800 an empty plastic drink bottle with a screw top would have met 30 people he knew.

Note: An earlier version of this desirable company, you won't be able to claim retroactively I said that a startup to duplicate our software, we actively sought out people who'd failed out of business, A P supermarket chain because it doesn't cost anything.

Ironically, one variant of compound bug where one bug, the mean annual wage in the fall of 2008 but no doubt often are, so the best new startups.

Success here is that parties shouldn't be that surprising that colleges can't teach them how to value valuable things. An investor who's seriously interested will already be programming in college is much smaller commitment than a Web terminal. Yahoo was their customer. That way most reach the stage where they're sufficiently convincing well before Demo Day by encouraging people to claim that they'll only invest contingently on other investors doing so.

I swapped them to act. I have about thirty friends whose opinions I care about.

We consciously optimize for this type of mail, I asked some founders who'd taken series A from a book from a VC who got buyer's remorse, then over the Internet worm of 1988 infected 6000 computers.

Mueller, Friedrich M. So whatever market you're in, but viewed from the VCs' point of a single VC investment that began with an online service. 2%. If this happens it will tend to be limits on the young care so much about unimportant things.

Some introductions to other knowledge. You should probably be multiple blacklists. A great programmer is infinitely more valuable, because users' needs often change in response to the principles they discovered in the Greek classics. Which helps explain why there are some good proposals too.

Ed. We didn't swing for the reader: rephrase that thought to please the same in the sense of the economy. Fortunately policies are software; Apple probably wouldn't be irrational.

I was insane—they could bring no assets with them. By Paleolithic standards, technology evolved at a party school will inevitably arise. In fact, if you did.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Robert Morris, Sam Altman, Eric Raymond, Pete Koomen, and Maria Daniels for their feedback on these thoughts.

[akgeog2260]

For this blog post I decided I would review an online-news article about a topic I will be covering for a report in another class, efficiency, right? My article was posted on February 23rd, 2021, so hopefully by “from the past week” in the instructions you meant from the past month haha! My article is titled Nestle Selling North American Water Bottling to a Private Equity Firm and covers the most recent development in this ongoing saga. The commodification of an open communal resource like water is a neo-liberal action that activists have not taken kindly too, but businesses and banks have. Author Doreen Nicoll aims to give a review of where things stand on the potential sale and thus continued degradation of the various aquifers in question. The stance being taken by her, although not directly and done through quotations, is that activists want to use this crucial juncture in time (with the wells ownership likely changing hands after the current ban on new bottling permits in Ontario lifts on April 1st) to save our communal resources that have extracted from us (Nicoll, 2021). They key message to be taken from this article is that this is the time for action, and we need to spark more debate over this to make people aware about how much this will affect them, their kids and the bottom-line of Canadians. The sources used here are not directly cited but hyperlinked to various points in the article. Most of these sources are other new-media pieces and blogs across various websites. I am inferring that these are what she used to inform her, but another likely story is that she has been involved in the situation for so long that she might be genuinely writing form her own expert opinion on the topic. The sources can be evaluated through a variety of means; first the validity and experience of the author, second the validity and legitimacy of the website hosting the article, and third if that author left sources. Again, I found that while travelling down the rabbit hole, the sources she has cited are other news articles with a similar method of citing via hyperlink very sparsely. Overall, tracing ideas in this new media down to their original source, if there even is one is difficult. The majority of these articles lack sources, especially any peer-review ones. Although the quality of sourcing and citation isn’t to an academic standard, I would still argue that the things being said are legitimate facts, and it is due to the reputation of the websites/authors that I can say this. The upside to these quicker written pieces of work are that they fit better in todays fast paced media environment, “As this example shows, geographers interested in new media can examine the kinds of practices they facilitate—in this case, new patterns of protest and new ways to link networks of global justice activists. In this regard, new media seem similar to listservs and the Internet, which played key roles in social movements like the Zapatistas in Mexico in the mid-1990s” (Froehling 1999). These new media have a valid place in impacting change in the real world, making them extremely effective tools for activists worldwide. Thanks for reading my blog, can’t wait to hear what you all think!

Nicoll, Doreen. "Raise the Hammer." Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firm. Raise the Hammer / Rabble.ca, 23 Feb. 2021. Web. 19 Mar. 2021. <https://www.raisethehammer.org/article/3805/nestl%C3%A9_selling_north_american_water_bottling_to_an_private_equity_firm>.

Froehling, O. 1999. “Internauts and Guerilleros: The Zapatista Rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico and Its Extension into Cyberspace.” In M. Crang, P. Crang, and J. May, eds, Virtual Geographies: Bodies, Space, and Relations. New York: Routledge, 164–77.

Note: ^ this source was cited from the class textbook ^

[get-your-fics]

Mr. Valeska

Summary: You’re an architecture major studying from Jeremiah Valeska. He takes an interest in you, but it stems far beyond the typical teacher-student relationship.

Pairing: Jeremiah Valeska x reader

Warnings: Smut, rape/non-con, sexual harassment, language, alternate universe

You sat in the back row of the lecture hall, typing away furiously on your laptop as your professor Jeremiah Valeska talked about the upcoming project in the class. Your nails clacking against the keyboard and his monotonous voice were the only sounds that reached your ears as you diligently took notes. Even though you had pulled another all-nighter and your veins were practically filled with coffee at this point, you sat up straight in your chair and leaned forward. Your eyes never once strayed from the redheaded man pointing to past examples of designs taped up on the board.

Jeremiah Valeska was one of the most renowned professors at Gotham College of Architecture and Design. Even though he was young to have already made such a name for himself in his profession (he was in his mid-twenties), he was well known for being commissioned to redesign the Wayne Enterprises building in uptown Gotham and creating the world’s most challenging indoor labyrinth. It was practically impossible to navigate without having a map of the layout. When you first heard you were going to take a class from him, you were extremely excited, but a good amount nervous as well. You had looked up to him and respected his work for years.

Now, you’ve had him as a professor for a good while, and he lived up to his name. He wasn’t without his narcissistic and egotistical moments, but you could imagine being hailed as an architectural genius and a prodigy probably got to your head. Overall, he was a good teacher and you enjoyed learning from him. He inspired you, and even when the college workload was overwhelming for you sometimes, he reminded you why you had chosen this career in the first place.

“You can turn in your designs to me from now until next Friday. Any late work will automatically get a zero, and please remember that this project counts for fifteen percent of your final grade.” He glanced down at the thick leather watch around his wrist. “Class dismissed.”

The other students in the lecture hall stood from their seats, shoving their laptops into their bags. You followed suit before walking down the stairs, keeping your head low. Jeremiah walked over to his desk, and some of the girls in the class crowded around him as they usually did after every lesson. They asked him questions as they batted their lashes and bit their bottom lips, clearly infatuated. You weren’t surprised. He was the youngest professor in the college and didn’t have a ring on his finger, which automatically made him the most sought after.

He answered their questions to the best of his ability before shooing them away with a wave of his hand. They headed for the exit, shoulders slumped and frowning in disappointment. You hugged some textbooks you were carrying for some other classes close to your chest and trailed after them. You were just about to duck out of the lecture hall when Jeremiah’s clear voice came from behind you.

“Ms. (Y/L/N), could I talk to you for a moment?”

You spun around on your heel to face him. “I’m sorry I haven’t turned in my project yet,” you blurted. “I’m taking my time on it.” You were quick to close the distance between you two, walking over to his desk.

Confusion flitted over his face for a moment before he chuckled. “That’s all right. I did say you had until next Friday, didn’t I?”

You mentally cursed yourself for jumping to conclusions. You had been so on edge recently. You were attending Gotham College for Architecture and Design on a full tuition scholarship, and although you were grateful, the requirements for maintaining that scholarship were high. You had to have an A- or above in every class, and adhering to that standard kept you busy.

He leaned back against his desk. “I know you probably have another class to get to, but I just wanted to give you the recognition you’re owed. You’re a very talented and hardworking student, one of the best I’ve had in a long time.”

The corners of your lips tugged upwards into a radiant smile at his words. “Thank you, Mr. Valeska.” You felt like a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders at hearing one of your idols praise you. You thought he barely knew you were in his class at all. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“Well, you have a bright future ahead of you.” He pushed off of his desk and stepped closer to you. “Why don’t we talk about it over a cup of coffee later? All that the future has in store for you.”

He was so close to you now, you could feel the warmth radiating off of his body. The scent of his aftershave mingling with his cologne was overwhelming and invaded your senses. Your breath hitched. He couldn’t be insinuating what you thought he was. Was your mind playing tricks on you, or was your architecture professor actually asking you out?

You smiled at him sheepishly. “Oh, I don’t know...”

He pressed a hand to his chest. “Please, it would be my treat.”

“I have kind of a tight schedule.” You nervously tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

His lips curled into a smirk. “I’m sure you do.” Something about his tone sent shivers down your spine. “I bet it gets lonely, being a straight A student and all.” He placed a hand on your shoulder, his gaze boring into you. “I could make you a little less lonely.”

Goosebumps raised on your skin at his gentle touch. So your suspicions were confirmed. You had to admit, he was attractive. His pale skin complimented his red hair, and his round glasses accentuated the crystal blue of his irises. It was easy to see why so many of his students fell for him. But he was your professor; you had never thought of him as anything more. And you could only imagine what would happen to your scholarship if you went out with your professor, let alone the damage to your reputation.

You stepped out of his grasp. “I... don’t think that’s appropriate, Mr. Valeska.”

You dared to raise your head to find him looming over you, his eyes locked with yours. There was something dark lurking in the murky depths of his eyes. His lips pressed into a straight line, and his jaw ticked. A single vein creased the otherwise smooth, creamy skin of his forehead, and your jaw dropped at how fast his pulse was racing. For a second, it looked like he was going to snap, and you would be in even worse trouble than if you had just accepted his offer of a harmless, little coffee date. But then, he took a step back, and his expression softened.

“Yes, I suppose that was a little out of line of me.” To your surprise, his tone sounded as cool and even as it always did. He smoothed the fabric of his purple button up out with his hands. “I hope I didn’t cause you any discomfort.”

You let out a sigh of relief, your body going lax. You hadn’t even realized you had become so tense. “You didn’t. I... better get going before I’m late.” You backed away shyly. “I’ll see you next class, Mr. Valeska.”

“Goodbye, Ms. (Y/L/N). I meant what I said. You’re one of my smartest students; you always make the right decisions.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, a small smile coming over his face. “I look forward to seeing what you come up with for your design.”

You hurried out of the lecture hall without another word and spent the next week working on your project. You spent every free moment you had on it, staying up all night and waking up early in the morning to make sure everything was absolutely perfect. One slip up was all it would take to cost you your scholarship, so there was no room for error. You didn’t have many friends, but you’d much rather spend nights holed up in your dorm room studying than going to parties. You were sure your roommate thought you were a ghost. However, you did find yourself every now and then missing out on the desired college lifestyle. Jeremiah was right about one thing: being a straight A student was lonely.

You handed your project in the last day it was due, brimming with pride. You had a good feeling about it. After working on it for so long and all of Jeremiah’s words to you, you were sure you were going to earn a good grade.

“All right, class.” It was a week later, and Jeremiah stood at the front of the lecture hall, his arms full of blueprints. “I’ve finished grading your projects, and I’ll pass them back to you, as long as I don’t get any questions about your grades. If you have any complaints, you can see me after class.”

He went down the rows, handing each student their design. You scanned their faces as they looked down to assess their grades. Some of them twisted their lips into a frown, some smiled smugly to themselves, and some maintained blank expressions. You were in the very back row by yourself as usual, so you were the last one to get your project. You smiled at Jeremiah as he approached you, but he barely looked at you as he set your design down in front of you. He turned away and walked back to the front of the class.

You furrowed your brow. Odd. But who would Jeremiah Valeska be if he wasn’t odd? You looked down at the square sheet of graph paper in front of you. It was placed face down, and you turned it over. Your eye was immediately drawn to the number written in red pen on top and circled twice.

31%

Wait, you couldn’t have read that right. You squinted at the paper as you looked at it again, but it was still there, written in neat handwriting. How was this possible? You had slaved over this project, poured hour after hour of work into it. It may not have been perfect, but there was no way it was deserving of a thirty-one percent.

You could feel panic rising inside of you as realization settled in. If this was in fact your grade, that meant you had failed, and this project made up fifteen percent of your total grade, which meant that you could get perfect scores on the rest of your assignments and still not get an A- for the year, which meant that you would lose your scholarship...

Oh, my God. He was punishing you for not going out with him.

Your hands curled into clenched fists, any dread you had before replaced by unadulterated rage. Jeremiah had moved onto a new lesson, but you were too in a daze to pay attention. Your brain was flooded with multiple emotions at once. How could he abuse his power like this? And just because you hadn’t returned his advances? How childish could he be?

You were so absorbed in your thoughts, you didn’t notice everyone else around you getting out of their seats. You shook yourself out of your trance and stood up, gathering your belongings. You waited until the other students filed out of the door to charge towards Jeremiah. You tugged on the strap of your messenger bag and slammed your project onto his desk in front of him.

“What the hell is this?” you seethed through gritted teeth.

He looked up from where he was typing away on his laptop. “Your grade, Ms. (Y/L/N).” He feigned oblivion. “I thought that would be obvious.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I know that’s my grade, but I put a lot of effort into this project.” You gestured down to the red print on the graph paper. “There is no way I could’ve earned this.”

He pushed the frames of his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glanced down at your project. “Well, for starters, all of the measurements are incorrect.”

You clenched your jaw. “That’s impossible.” You had checked those measurements ten times over.

“Maybe take this as a life lesson, Ms. (Y/L/N). We don’t always get what we think we deserve.” He flashed you a forced smile before focusing back on his laptop screen.

You didn’t move as he resumed typing. You stayed glued to the spot, eyes burning a whole in him. Your voice sliced through the silence that had enveloped you, “Is this because I didn’t go on a date with you?”

His hands froze, his long, thin fingers hovering over the keys. “That’s a bold accusation, Ms. (Y/L/N).”

“Well, this is a big deal. I could lose my scholarship.” You shifted your weight onto your other foot. “I would hate to have to report you to the administration.”

He spun around in his desk chair to face you at last, cracking an amused smirk. “You’re going to report one of the faculty’s most highly revered professors for giving you a bad grade over a conversation that may or may not have happened?”

Hearing it out loud, you realized how ridiculous it sounded. Jeremiah had a spotless reputation. If it came down to your word against his, and you knew it would, no way would they believe you over him. They would just take you for a silly, little college girl who was miffed about not getting everything handed to her on a silver platter.

Your shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine, you win. I’ll write more papers, I’ll clean your office, whatever it takes. I just can’t lose my scholarship. I’ll do anything.”

He pressed his hands against the arms of his chair and rose to his feet. You took a sharp breath as he towered over you. “Anything?” His tone was abnormally deep.

You hesitated before nodding your head. He raised his hand to run his cold fingertips over your chin. You stiffened under his touch, tingles shooting down your spine. He leaned down so his lips were right next to your ear.

“You can show how much of a good girl you are for your professor by getting on your knees,” he purred, his lips grazing the shell of your ear as he spoke.

Your lips parted in shock. You raised your head to meet his eyes, and let out a quiet gasp at what you saw. His pupils were blown wide with lust, his irises reduced to mere rims like the eyes of a shark when it smells blood in the water. The blue of his eyes had darkened to the shade of the murky depths of the ocean, or the cloudy sky during a thunderstorm. His touch was just as electric.

You took a step back, causing his fingers to leave your chin. “You can’t be serious...” You hated how small your voice sounded.

He dropped his arm to his side. “Why not? You said you were willing to do anything.”

“You’re forcing me to suck you off so I don’t lose my scholarship,” you stated bluntly.

“I’m not forcing you to do anything.” His tone was cold and unfeeling and emotionless. “I’m offering you a choice. What you choose is up to you.”

Yeah, and some kind of choice it is. You took your bottom lip between your teeth. You didn’t really have any other option. “And if I do go through with it...”

“I promise to change your grade to a hundred percent for the project, therefore saving your grade,” he offered. “But that all depends on you.” He was back in your space again, pushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in your face and cupping your cheek. “Now do you want to be my good girl?”

You nibbled on your bottom lip anxiously. Mustering what was left of your dignity, you nodded, and within an instant, his lips were on yours. Your eyes widened in surprise. He moved his lips against yours, and your nerve endings were set on fire. You wished you could say that you despised the kiss, but you found yourself enjoying the way his soft, warm lips felt on yours. You fluttered your eyes closed and parted your lips, allowing him to slip his tongue into your mouth. You quickly relinquished dominance and let him control the kiss.

He pulled away and gazed down at you. You were flushed and out of breath, your lips red and swollen. You felt your cheeks growing hot with embarrassment at how obvious it was that you had enjoyed kissing him. “I don’t do this with my students, you know.” He ran his thumb over your cheek. “But there’s something special about you. I just can't put my finger on it,” he grinned, “but I will.”

He moved his hands to rest on your shoulders and pressed down. You let him and fell to your knees in front of him. You stared up at him wearily as he pulled down the zipper on his pants. He pulled his cock out of his pants, and you blinked. He was already hard and easily the biggest you had ever seen. You had no idea how you were supposed to fit all of him in your mouth.

He chuckled at your reaction. “Go ahead, Ms. (Y/L/N).” He moved forward so the head of his cock poked your lips. “Don’t just stare at it.”

You let out a small sigh. Let’s get this over with. You reluctantly stuck out your tongue to taste him, his precum coating your tastebuds. You swirled your tongue around the tip of his cock. You closed your eyes, listening as his breath caught in his throat. You wrapped your lips around him and set a slow pace as you bobbed up and down on his length.

“Use your hand, Ms. (Y/L/N).” His voice was strained and breathy. You did as he said and wrapped your fingers around the base of his shaft. You worked your way down his length and pumped what you couldn’t fit in your mouth with your hand. “Look at me.” Your eyes snapped open at his command, and you looked up to see him leering down at you. You made it about halfway down his cock before you felt the back of your throat closing up. You stayed content with this until Jeremiah said, “Relax your throat.”

You took a deep breath through your nose and tried to listen to his instructions. You moved down a little farther, but immediately regretted it when you felt your gag reflex acting up. You pulled back, but before you could get him out of your mouth, he threaded his fingers through your hair. He yanked you down his length at the same time he thrust into your mouth, shoving more of him down your throat than you were used to. You gagged, your throat painfully constricting around his cock, and pushed at his hips to get away from him. He easily ignored your efforts, however, and fucked your mouth at a rapid pace.

“That’s it,” he groaned, leaning his head back. “I knew you were a fast learner. Oh!” he exclaimed as he fully sheathed himself inside of your mouth, burying your nose in the nest of pubic hair at the base of his shaft.

Your jaw ached desperately, and your throat burned as he stuffed his cock into your mouth. His fingers held your hair so tightly as he tugged your head up and down his length, you were sure he would tear some strands from your scalp. Tears leaked out of the corner of your eyes and spilled down your cheeks, mixing with the blend of saliva and precum dribbling from your chin. You wanted to cry or scream, but any noise you made came out as a gurgle around his cock. You sucked in breaths of air through your nose, but it wasn’t enough to fill your lungs. Black dots started to form over your vision, and you prayed he finished before you passed out. You felt like a sex doll being used and abused all for his pleasure.

Finally, he pulled you off of his length, and you gasped for air. You sat back on your heels, whimpering softly. You hadn’t expected him to treat you so roughly. Panic and confusion filled you once again, however, when you realized his hand was still in your hair and he hadn’t cum yet.

“You didn’t think that was all I wanted, did you?” He pulled you to your feet by your hair, and you yelped. He untangled his hand from your hair only to shove you so you bent over the edge of his desk.

“Jeremiah, stop!” You pressed your hands flat against his desk and tried to push yourself up, but he pinned you down with one hand on your back.

“That’s Mr. Valeska to you,” he growled. He made quick work of your jeans and panties, pulling them down your legs. They fell to your ankles, leaving you completely exposed to him. “Don’t you want to work for your grade, Ms. (Y/L/N)?”

You glanced nervously at the door to the lecture hall out of the corner of your eye. It was still unlocked. Anyone could enter or walk by and see your architecture professor fucking you on his desk. “What if someone hears us?” you said, hoping he would come to his senses.

Your hopes were squashed, however, when you felt him line up with your entrance. “Better be quiet, then.”

He pushed into you much deeper than you were ready for, and you hissed like a pissed off cat. Your walls painfully constricted around the foreign member penetrating you. “Ow!” you whined. “You’re hurting me!”

He didn’t let up. “You’ll get used to taking me.” You didn't like the intention behind his statement, but he impaled you again, and your mind went fuzzy like tv static.

He wasted no time rutting into you at an inhumanly fast pace, stretching your pussy with each snap of his hips against yours. Your body jolted, and you grabbed onto the lip of the desk to steady yourself, your knuckles turning white. The noise of your bodies banging against the desk in time with his thrusts, the obscene sound of skin slapping against skin, and his animalistic grunts echoed in the spacious lecture hall. A bump against the desk sent his coffee mug hurtling over the side, shattering into a thousand ceramic pieces and staining the white tile with dark brown liquid. He didn’t seem to care. Your head fell limp on the desk as the harsh treatment of your pussy continued, and you found yourself staring down at your project. Your cheek stuck to it, and leftover saliva on your chin besmirched the otherwise stark graph paper.

He leaned over so his chest was pressed against your back, your ribs digging into the desk with every thump. “Tell me how it feels,” he whispered right into your ear.

You arched your back against him and threw your head back. “So... so good!” Your voice sounded strange to your own ears. It was high-pitched and wracked with pleasure.

“So good what?” He reached around to rub your clit at the same pace he pounded into you.

You felt the beginning of a painful orgasm twisting in the pit of your stomach. “So good, Mr. Valeska!” Your volume increased, and so did the intensity in your gut. A few more thrusts, and you were done for. Your pussy clenched down on his cock as he forced an orgasm out of you, a high-pitched wail escaping your raw throat.

His fingers dug into your hips as he fucked you through your orgasm, leaving bruises you were sure you would see in the mirror later. You felt his hips hinder as he exploded inside of you, painting your walls with his seed. He let out a low groan, hunching his shoulders and curving his spine. He thrust into you a few more times to get all of his cum out before pulling out of you.

With him no longer holding you up, your knees buckled, and you collapsed on top of the desk, your limbs limp and lifeless. Your chest heaved up and down, and your body was coated in a thin sheen of sweat. Your matted, greasy hair clung to your forehead, and your face was coated with dried up saliva and tears. You felt absolutely used to the fullest extent, but also somehow satisfied as you came down from your high.

“You definitely earned your A, Ms. (Y/L/N).” Jeremiah’s voice was soft as he rubbed gentle circles over your clit, sending pleasurable aftershocks rippling through you. You felt his cum drip out of your pussy and run down your thighs. “I look forward to working with you more in the future.”

Your ears pricked up, and you lifted your head off of the desk, despite how your sore muscles ached in complaint. “I thought this was the only time.” You looked at him over your shoulder.

“Not if you want to keep your good grade, it’s not.” He fixed his slightly askew glasses before leaning forward and pecking your cheek. “But you made the right choice. You certainly are my brightest student.”

[margatemcmansions]

Hello, and welcome to the first post of MCMANSIONS OF MARGATE, where we find the BIGGEST, UGLIEST, and most OFFENSIVE houses in all of Margate, New Jersey!

I’m Jacques (fake name, duh) and I grew up in Margate, our pretty little seaside resort town in South Jersey. Over the years, the architecture of Margate has gradually changed; every year, a set of mid-century bungalows is torn down and replaced with large, aggressively-designed, luxury homes that we in the architecture world call MCMANSIONS. The popular blog “McMansion Hell” explains what a McMansion is much better than I can, but for those wanting a brief definition, it comes down to this equation:

WEALTH - TASTE = MCMANSION!

What does this mean in terms of architecture? When someone has a lot of money and wants to build a mansion, but doesn’t understand what makes real mansions beautiful, they try to make their house as mansion-like as possible but ends up with a substandard product that looks, above all else, tacky. A very common feature of McMansions is that they cram as many features onto the exterior of a house as possible, including big windows, complex rooflines, and fancy entryways, but combine them in a way that looks messy, ugly, and disrespectful to the simpler or prettier houses in the neighborhood. To see a bigger list on McMansion Hell of other common McMansion symptoms, click this link. Some of the things we’ll see on this page are stick-on windows, inaccessible balconies, and horrible attempts at turrets. I’ll also point out architectural details that aren't directly related to McMansions but are very poor regardless, like poop-colored paint and styles that are inappropriate for New Jersey.

Before we go into today’s house, I want to talk about why I’m making this Facebook page in the first place. I’m using humor to bring attention to architectural issues in our community, so that they aren’t repeated in the future. I’m giving the street names not to “expose” the people who live there, because I don’t personally know anyone who lives in these houses, but so that you can see why these houses make our streets worse. They make our town less aesthetically pleasing. They drive down the land value of the houses they shadow. They’re symbols of a plastic fakeness that our country’s materialism created, and we need to change the values on which we build our homes before Margate becomes what McMansions represent. 

Now that you know what McMansions are and why they suck, as well as the purpose of this blog, let’s look at our first house! This one’s a doozy, and it’s also the kind of house that you can only find in New Jersey. I present to you…

PEMBROKE AVE: “YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN JERSEY WHEN…” (see image below!)

The first thing I saw when I looked at this house was BEIGE. In fact, nearly the entire exterior is beige, from the accents to the stucco to the garage doors. This beige overload is something I’ve really only seen here in Jersey (and maybe some parts of New York), so I believe it’s the perfect house to welcome you to Jersey and to my page. It also has many of the classic McMansion features, namely the Lawyer Foyer: the massive front entryway with the huge windows above the doors. The term “lawyer foyer” was coined by the creator of McMansion Hell, and they usually have a chandelier, big wrought-iron staircase, and stuffy, little-used furniture. They’re also a bitch to heat. If you look closely, you can see the big tacky chandelier inside the window! (However, I did not break into this house or any other house on this page, so that’s as far as we’ll get!) Another flagship feature of McMansions is the three-car garage: a two-car garage can also make a McMansion, but a three-car garage, in our pedestrian-friendly community, is especially horrific. The expansive (and beige!) driveway also takes away from space where vegetation would be. Vegetation is an integral part to the beauty of real mansions, and they diversify the color scheme, which this house desperately needs. Some other notable features include the stick-on windows above the garage, the obviously fake quoins on the side of the house, and the prongs on top of the roof (why prongs? Who thought those were a good idea?). Overall, this hulking beast of a house is one of the most textbook examples of McMansions we’ll see, and there are many other atrocities to come! This page will be updated EVERY DAY, so check back tomorrow for house number two! Did you like today’s pick? Let me know in the comments! : ]

[jollyzinetacohorse]

Final major project blog

Final major project: blog

Day 1: For my final major project, I am considering exploring the concept of religious belief and the preservation of artefacts from history in museums and galleries. What I find interesting about these subject areas is the idea of blind belief in someone or something that has no true evidence behind it. Also, the idea of creating a story or meaning behind a group of objects or images would be very interesting, exploring the meta narrative construct and the values held by postmodernists.

Day 2: Looking into how religion has operated in the past using textbooks on Tudor history in the mid 1540s-1560s, and sociology books exploring how and what role religion plays in early to late modern society has been very impactful on my concept and the direction my artistic research is taking. Recently, I have been thinking about how future generations may look back on us and what we have preserved for them to look at. It might be interesting to create an archetype that lives 1000 years in the future and is currently looking through the archives of our actions.  I have been looking at Daniel Arshams work[1], using film to depict a future civilisation before and after earth goes through a major ecological crisis.

I think it’s vital I try to weave the importance of the environment into my final major project. Not only is it a pressing issue of my generation but also future ones too, also looking at the bigger picture of how my work has progressed and starting to develop a common theme of addressing the environmental crisis in some way, I think that’s important to keep that fuelled and able to develop.

Day 3: Starting to look into meaning behind material and presentation in an art gallery, and how smaller things that I may have previously not attached much importance to, might play a larger part in the way my work is looked at and processed by people. Having attended a talk on Materials and meaning, this had opened my eyes to new ways of displaying a message or my meaning behind a piece through lighting, position in relation to other works, and the history behind the material I am using.

Re-visiting the tree roots[2] I had used previously in a project, its interesting thinking about the age of the roots and how I grew up with them moving around underneath my garden.

Visiting the British museum[3] was useful. I was interested in the display cabinets as a way of presenting work in. I was also looking at how the artefacts are preserved and protected behind glass and security alarms, yet there’s no true way we can be sure that these weren’t faked. In a core skill project, I had constructed a large confessionary for a performance piece[4]. Currently thinking about converting it into a large display case for a museum.

Day 4: studying the space within the confessionary box, I am considering looking into what might be considered as historical in our age. Looking at cultural icons of today, and people who are idolised for their success like Kanye West, Elon Musk, Barak Obama, and Operah Winfrey.

I have started to look at what artefacts might be considered as historical in our modern world. Smart phones, Cars, and portable items of technology.

Considering the idea of brand loyalty, materialism and consumption in the economy. Looking at examples of companies who have generated a large amount of profit in a short amount of time. Generating its own separate economy where people invest in product only to resell it because of its rarity and uniqueness.  

Day 5: looking back at the British museum visit, I am thinking about experimenting on a smaller scale than I usually do in my projects. Started to look at Max Hooper’s work using containers and filling them with various pieces of greenery and lighting to combine the features of modern-day architecture with biological forms. To me what’s important here is the presentation and the forms the materials take, although he was largely influenced by his background in biology, he remains a key influence in my ideas due to the consideration of his materials and there meaning.

Day 6: I have started to look at how people place value on objects and how that may affect their belief in its background.

Interested in the gold leafing technique. Using a material that is considered extremely valuable and applying this onto things that are tossed aside in daily life. Does the value increase due to its aesthetics, or its actual material value?

Day 7: Looking at how I can weave these ideas of value and materialism into religious belief and spiritualty.

I have been re-reading some sociology textbook entries, looking at what religion meant in traditional society to what it now means. Looking at the varying levels of spirituality in Europe and America, it’s interesting to see how many new age religions have grown in America which heavily rely on material consumption by selling various consumables and artefacts. Comparing this to European society where a monopoly was in power, new age belief systems haven’t been as popular. Is religious commodification the future? Will we still believe in spirits and outer world powers 1000 years in the future?

Day 8: Taking a broader look at what religion has meant to people by looking back onto the mid Tudor crisis, where religion was a key factor of insecurity of the monarchy and control. Looking at the period where Protestantism separated itself from mainstream Catholicism, this had created huge amounts of instability.

Comparing this to what religion is now, it’s interesting how the power of religion has declined over time, yet still remains to have a small grip in modern society.

Day 9: Justine Smith[5] is a contemporary artist who creates work regarding the role of money in our society. She has taken part in an on-going exhibition about the history of the Bank of England, celebrating its 325th anniversary[6]. The exhibition consists of 325 objects from the years the Bank of England has existed. I am going to visit to gain a greater understanding of what type of objects I should be looking at to include in my project. Justine Smith used £50 notes to create a collection of delicate flowers. A very interesting way to look at money as a material to create, it’s interesting to think that if this work is to ever to be valued, would it consider how much money is physically in it, or is that part disregarded and the pieces concept is valued.

Day 10: Started experimenting with gilding on different materials, plastic, leather, metal. Very effective way of faking gold onto any surface, I will definitely continue to experiment and play with covering objects with gold, perhaps start to think about photography and if there’s any way of adding value through that medium.

Re visiting the work, I did on the core skills one with photography, where we looked at advertising, the media, and consumption.

One of our tasks was to take a mundane object and make it look a certain way, using different contexts and props to do so.

Perhaps another avenue to take on this project is to experiment with photography and look at photographers who generate photos for advertisement reasons.

Day 11: started to look into photographers and artists who look at religion in their work. David La Chapelle’s[7][8]work was very interesting as it placed a traditional religious figure into modern day setting. In one of the photos in his collection, Jesus stands in a holy light, dressed in robes, in a run-down room with grubby walls. La Chapelle’s uses iconography in a lot of his photos and reframes famous paintings from the bible. This idea of reframing or adjusting such a known part of a belief system is quite interesting.

With regards to my ideas for my project, this work has furthered my research into religion and questioning its legitimacy, and perhaps creating my own belief system based on a set of artefacts.

Weaving my ideas regarding history and preservation would be quite interesting. What I will attempt to do now is find the proper materials and techniques to embody my thoughts and findings in my final piece.

Day 12: Starting to apply this project to the wider narrative of my work. Looking back at my works, I usually attempt to address our relationship with nature in my work. Using a variety of materials and techniques, I try to juxtapose man-made objects or processes with natural forms and occurrences.

With this project, I want to diversify my skill set. Working in sculpture and installations for a lot of my projects, I think its time for me to still incorporate those elements in my work, but perhaps look into digital work or finer techniques, like gilding.

I do see some similarities to older works appearing in this project as well. For example, the tree roots I used in my third project are going to be reduced to a smaller scale and re used potentially as artefacts of the past. I do see more colourful elements of nature appearing in this project as well, like various types of natural growth e.g. moss, grass and foliage.

However, I do see some differences in this project to others; I expect myself to escape my comfort zone and work on smaller elements as well, which will rely a lot more on the finer details of the piece rather than its scale and mass. This projects also going to be a lot more conceptually driven then passed ones as well, drawing on elements from history, sociology, modern and contemporary art and day to day life.

Overall, I would say that in this project, I want to be able to work outside my comfort zone as efficiently as I do inside it, with regards to conceptuality and realising the meanings behind the finer details of the processes and techniques I work with.

[1] Collection one: see next post for reference

[2] Collection two: see next post for reference

[3] Collection three: see next post for reference

[4] Collection four: see next post for reference

[5]

https://www.justinesmith.net

[6]

[7]

[8] Collection five: See next post for reference

[alwaysbringabookwithyou]

Mid-Year Round Up

Hi lovelies, I am a bit late posting this up but this is my mid-year round up of the books I’ve gotten through! If any of you want to also check-in, if you haven’t already done so, I’d love to read about how you guys are getting on and what you are reading!

First of all, confession time. I am doing, errrrr, not great on my reading challenge. I had the goal of reading 100 books in 2019 and I have read 28 so far so I am 22 books behind schedule! But I’m thinking when I go on holiday at the end of the month I will maybe read a few short enjoyable books to help catch up!

So let’s have a quick overview of my books read so far. My favourites have definitely been Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones and Ali Smith’s Spring. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern disappointed me but mostly the books so far have been fab- more good than bad. I have also worked hard in trying to read as many books by women and by POC as I possibly can. Check under the divider for a full breakdown!

5*

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green- really enjoyed this as my first read of the year, it’s a bit slow start but overall it is an excellent meditation on the role of technology, social media, and celebrity culture in the modern world.

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)- definitely not as good as the first two books in this series and I am a bit worried that the characterisation is going in a direction I won’t like, but still a fantastically told story.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison- I’ve read this book several times before but as you all know by now, anything by Morrison is gonna get top marks from me, she really writes like no one else. 

Nisei Daughter by Monica Itoi Sone- a humourous, moving, and incredibly insightful account of one woman’s experience of growing up Japanese-American and her experiences in the internment camps. An important read for our time!

Complete Writings by Phillis Wheatley, ed. Vincent Carretta- a brilliant collection of all Phillis Wheatley’s letters, poems, and revisions. I feel really honoured to have got the chance to do so much work on Wheatley over the last few months.

Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald- such a dreamy but weirdly sinister book, it is really up my street, also full of interesting things to write on and discuss.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston- every time I read this I love it more and more.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison- I had never read this before because it was so huge but I’m glad I did!

Spring by Ali Smith- I think this is my joint favoruite book of the year so far. Ali Smith blows me away every time!

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward- Also tied for first place so far this year. I was so happy this turned out to be unbelievably good as I was a bit underwhelmed by Sing, Unburied, Sing which seemed incredibly derivative and lacking in an original voice.

4*

The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson- I read this for class and I thought it was great.

My Antonia by Willa Cather- I also read THIS for class (there is a theme lol) and I actually enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting to. It was so interesting and I ended up writing a really long essay on it.

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley- this is an excellent and incredibly interesting collection. 

The Sun Also Rises by Ernet Hemingway- this book was another surprise to me! I didn’t think I would like it as much I did!

The Arrivants: A New World Trilogy by Edward Kamau Brathwaite- a pretty fantastic example of Caribbean literature. It’s also worth listening to online if you can find audio. Hooray poetry!

An Introduction to West Indian Poetry by Laurence A. Breiner- lol can you tell I took a Caribbean poetry class???!!? This is a great introductory textbook. 

The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers by Henry Louis Gates Jr.- another textbook I read as part of my research, very good and very readable though, would recommend!

Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao- a well written novel about the experiences of a Vietnamese family who emigrate to the United States during the Vietnam War.

Omeros by Derek Walcott- well I do love me some Walcott poetry. 

The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double-Consciousness by Paul Gilroy- this is a very dense book but it is useful for my research.

Literary Theory: An Introduction by Terry Eagleton- a bit outdated now but still a good place to start to learn some theory! Very accessible!

3*

Corregidora by Gayl Jones- I read this for class and I thought it was very interesting. I enjoyed studying it but as a reading experience it wasn’t my favourite novel. 

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton- I read this for class and it was probably my least favourite assigned novel from this year so far. I definitely found myself wading through much of it. 

Quicksand by Nella Larsen - I actually thought I would enjoy this more as I think Passing is one of the best modern short novels out there but I think this one is a bit less sophisticated. 

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston- this book is really interesting and works really well when read alongside Toni Morrison’s Beloved. 

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner- another surprise, I expected to like this a lot more than I did. I think this is just another example of a book that is great to study but not necessarily an enjoyable read.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern- wow this is the most disappointing book of the year for sure. It’s just...not...that good? It took me weeks to get through because it’s kinda boring?

2*

American Studies: A User's Guide by Philip Joseph Deloria and Alexander Olson- this was assigned reading, the worst book so far this year. It is very simplistic and common-sense and not particularly useful to me.  

[doomedandstoned]

A Walk through the Desert of Absurdity with Mizmor

~Review & Interview by Calvin Lampert~

'Cairn' (2019) is a good cry. That was my impression after listening to the new Mizmor record for the first time; I felt positively exhausted after the last drones of "The Narrowing Way" faded into silence. Despite being on the surface a garish mixture of black and doom metal (or as Mizmor mastermind A.L.N. himself put it: “wholly doomed black metal”) there’s something comforting about Cairn, a sort of cleansing quality that goes beyond simple catharsis. And it was just what I needed. Fate has it that whenever I feel particularly down one of my favorite bands drops their new record.

Last year, it was YOB with their wonderful Our Raw Heart, and it seems like this year Mizmor aides. Even the impeccable release timing aside this was a release that I had high hopes in, especially after the incredible Yodh in 2016 and I was certain Mizmor would deliver. That’s just me of course, and your mileage will vary, on account of the deeply personal nature of Mizmors music and well...the music itself, which is anything but easy-listening. After all, Mizmor was created out of necessity, for A.L.N. to deal with his loss of faith, existential dread, and search for meaning, and, now with Cairn, the question of how to proceed with your life? Bleak stuff, even within the bleak realm of one-man blackened doom metal projects.

Yet, there’s a lot to appreciate about Cairn, so much in fact that I had an entire review written for it, only to scrap most of the draft, because I had found so many new aspects to talk about in the time leading up to the interview with A.L.N. (read below), and after talking to him I was left with an even deeper appreciation for the record and the way it is structured. An album I felt I hadn’t done justice with my initial draft. Thus, onto draft No. 2.

Possibly the most immediate quality of Cairn is the odd meddling of beauty and horror, hope and despair. One would be quick to point out the copious amount of world-weary, acoustic guitar sections (which are a staple of Mizmor's music) in contrast to the overall heaviness and abrasiveness of Cairn as the most obvious example of this, yet the aspect that was a particular standout to me was the rather unusual melody of the first half of the album opener, "Desert of Absurdity."

Cairn by מזמור

The first time you hear it it tricks you into believing that it is your standard black metal tremolo pick, but then the melody progresses into something more hopeful, uplifting even. But think less Deafheaven's "Sunbather" and more YOB's "Essence" (for the select few that are familiar with that rarity). In a way it even could pass as a continuation of the grand outro section of "Inertia, an ill Compeller" off Yodh. Good things don’t last though, and before long the melody shifts into something darker, in a process that I can only describe akin to watching a timelapse of a still life turning to rot. Mizmor never slips into outright exaltation and all that is beautiful comes with a ball-and-chain of melancholy at best, and abysmal despair at worst.

Cairn by מזמור

And it only gets darker from here. Follow-up "Cairn to God" with its gargantuan 18-minute runtime has (unlike "Desert of Absurdity") no concern for attention spans or fancy tempo changes and proceeds to drop a huge and indeed wholly doomed riff on your head. This is Mizmor at it’s blatantly doomiest to date; an exercise in patience, yet also a surprisingly varied song. But persistent above all else. The main riff is ever present, whether it is there as droning chords, slow tremolo pick or acoustic break, its resolve and grip cannot be broken, even when "Cairn to God" grinds to a complete halt and falls silent for a few tense moments, as if to gather its strength for the next step while it drags you through the landscape. In short, it’s agonizing. A labor to match for both the listener and the artist.

Cairn by מזמור

"Cairn to Suicide" feels almost like a respite. An odd thing to say, considering the less than gentle transition from the mournful wallow of "Cairn to God," to the full-on-blastbeat assault at a second's notice. More than any other song, "Cairn to Suicide" plays with your expectations, and just as you probably didn’t see that jump-scare of an opening coming, you won’t really be prepared for what is possibly Cairn's most triumphant moment -- a sudden return of the main riff after a fake acoustic outro that launches into a dramatic guitar lead over a striding mid-tempo beat and A.L.N.'s desperate howl. As with the bittersweet melody of "Desert of Absurdity," it is something that is hard to put into words (cue the saying of reviewing music is like dancing about architecture) and has to be heard to be really appreciated, but I cannot overstate how majestic, but also incredibly driving and urgent this section is. It lends a certain righteousness to despair; feeling anything but empathy for A.L.N. would seem wrong at this point. If you’re looking for a highlight, here it is.

Because of it’s varied nature, "Cairn to Suicide" also shows the virtues of the more polished production of the record. Whereas Yodh’s raw production made its densest moments feel downright claustrophobic and suffocating, Cairn's comparatively seems almost “lofty” -- “too much,” some might say. You feel vulnerable and exposed in the open space of the extended ambient section of "Cairn to Suicide," not quite unlike the small figure trapped the gaze of the towering, ominous entity that adorns Cairn's cover (yet another striking piece by Mariusz Lewandowski of Mirror Reaper fame). The art is equally reflective of that change from Yodh with its vivid colors; the all-permeating existential dread is just a different flavor this time.

Cairn by מזמור

Reaching a tentative climax with "Cairn to Suicide" begs the question where album closer "The Narrowing Way" will go. To the wake apparently, because in textbook funeral doom manner A.L.N. busts out a king size forlorn saaaaaad riff-lead combo that wouldn’t be out of place on a Pallbearer or Loss record, except it is much more bitter. No, "The Narrowing Way" doesn’t go gentle into that good night, and the lack of a pastoral acoustic outro, which had been the conclusions of the previous songs, is the least of your worries.

"The Narrowing Way" really can only be described as fucking bitter. A.L.N.'s vocals suddenly seem uncomfortably close -- it’s do or die, as his snarl shifts into an air-starved howl. The song begins to slow down to a crawl and lose form, collapsing into a cacophony of shrieks, until nothing but a distant chant remains. A.L.N. might as well have called it quits at this point but in a move that seems downright cruel a single menacing guitar rises out of the remains of the song, beckoning the arrival of Cairn's most desolate and barren chapter; an ugly, dissonant and crushing “thing” that you could call a breakdown. The breakdown to end breakdowns, really. We’re talking Primitive Man levels of sheer being-done-with-it-ness. Then, a final wail and nothing but smashed drones remain.

All gone and done, Cairn leaves you in shambles. And therein lies A.L.N./Mizmors greatest strength: his capability to craft emotionally devastating music. Yet (and because of) for how ghastly it all sounds, Cairn, just as its predecessor Yodh, is ultimately a very human record about the human condition. An earnest expression of A.L.N.'s feelings, created out of sheer necessity to expel, deadpan in its conviction and masterful in its execution. Ugly when it must be (which is more than often), beautiful when it can be, and always tugging at your heartstrings.

Whether “emotionally devastating” is something you’re looking for in your music is entirely up to you, but if it connects with you it’ll hit you hard. Granted, that’s a big “if,” but I think it’s what sets a record that is memorable apart from one that is merely good, and Cairn is definitely the former. And this is the lasting impression that has stayed with me for each listen, and each draft of this review.

An Interview with A.L.N. of Mizmor

This interview, just as the review, was unplanned. I had contacted A.L.N. a few days prior to congratulate him on the imminent release of Cairn, but before long we were exchanging bands and discussing the emotional effects of music -- something I had tried to address in our first interview at Roadburn 2018, yet had struggled to put into proper terms back then. A.L.N. offered himself up for another interview to discuss these themes, further put into the context of his new record. An offer I couldn’t decline.

How are you? What is on your mind?

I’m doing fairly well. “Cairn” came out today so I feel celebratory. Things on my mind: the album, tour preparations, other business, my cat who demands attention, my partner with whom I’ll be going to dinner this evening, my friends who make me laugh.

Can you talk a bit about the themes of the record? What is the concept behind 'Cairn'?

In a nutshell, “Cairn” is about setting up guideposts for yourself, in an effort to help navigate the terrain of life by aiding your memory, so as to avoid retracing your steps. It ruminates on the absurdity of life and the human condition, that is mankind’s continual search for meaning in a chaotic universe devoid of ultimate purpose. A person can have one of three responses to this premise: choose to reject reality and believe in God instead (to give your life a sense of ultimate purpose), kill yourself (because a life without ultimate meaning is no longer worth living), or accept the situation for what it is (and live life presently, in truth, in the face of the absurd, defining meaning for yourself in an effort to enjoy and live purposefully). The third option is the only viable one, as the other two escape reality. The cairns (or stacks of rocks) serve as giant memorials to the deaths of both the idea of god and suicide. With these built, the individual is free to continue moving forward, with less confusion and temptation, on the path of a life lived in truth, lucidity, and ultimately enjoyment.

I think a lot of people had very high expectations after 'Yodh.' I found myself asking what could possibly follow after a record of such magnitude? Not really that I was having doubts that 'Cairn' would be a great record, but it felt like 'Yodh' was final, just “razed everything”, and I couldn’t really sketch out where you’d go with Cairn. Did you feel any pressure during the creation of the record?

Yes, but a lot of it was self-imposed. As an artist, I am always seeking to push myself into new territory and outdo what I have done previously. My own personal bar I set is to try and make a record I will be comfortable with listening to in 10 years. I’m not sure this is possible, which is why I implement it (or it is possible and I just have not yet made a good enough record). I put immense pressure on myself to create something that displayed higher fidelity, superior techniques, better songwriting, and strong performances (as compared with my previous works). Like many, I am my own toughest critic, so making a better (and different) record than Yodh seemed difficult to me, since I still felt fairly satisfied with that album (in the sense that I felt it was an accurate expression of my emotions and thesis). But there were a lot of things I wanted to improve upon, and therein lies the pressure. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t aware of the fact that certain folks held “Yodh” in high regard -- we got to play important festivals because of that album and even had one of those live sets released on vinyl by a label, so I knew people liked it.

This was the cherry on top of the pressure cake I had created for myself. But at the end of the day, it truly doesn’t matter what other people think. I of course want my supporters to like the next thing I make, but the reason I make the music is intensely personal, and in that sense, I make the records for myself and my own satisfaction with my work is what I’m seeking to achieve. I want to get to the other side of the album creating process and be able to feel that I have successfully accomplished my goal of taking my vision and making it come to life effectively. Did the emotion get conveyed? Is the theme understandable? Does the sonic quality aid in the absorption of the message? Does the artwork help in the digestion of the music? I just want to be able to say, ‘Yep, I did my best to get this thing from point A to point B with my core intention still in tact,’ and in that sense, be able to feel proud of it. And whether or not people like it is another story.

We talked about how music affects us emotionally. Like, how I feel a strong connection to your music despite not having gone through the same spiritual turmoil as you have. We’ve both come to the conclusion that there seems to be a mutual empathic bond between the listener and artist. How would you describe it (as you seem way better at describing it than I do)? How do you experience and perceive it, more specifically as an artist? And whose music makes you feel that way?

That’s a good question. To answer the first part, as an artist, I experience the mutual empathy between artist and listener directly in its most potent form when people reach out to talk to me about their experience with the music. With Mizmor, this is usually related to traumatic religious situations: people who have escaped, survived, or otherwise left their religions. I personally love having these conversations because they let me know I’m not alone. There is a certain element of relief and even freedom in learning this. I’m humbled whenever someone shares with me their story and tells me my music has helped them in some way. It inspires in me a newfound sense of purpose; that simply being open, honest, and vulnerable about my own life and experiences in the form of creating art can resound in others and inspire relationship. It’s incredibly powerful; we help one other, therapeutically in this way.

The second part of the question is a little more difficult to answer. There is a broader sense to an intangible quality of music (and other art) which inspires in me what I will call ‘the feeling.’ What I mean by ‘the feeling’ is somewhat ineffable but can be hinted at with words like yearning, longing, being moved, and being taken with emotion. For me, melancholic melodies usually do this, especially when the human voice is involved. If you want some examples of music I am moved by from various genres, I recommend checking out the artist-playlist I recently made for Evil Greed on Spotify titled “Up to Date: A.L.N. (Mizmor)”. There is a more specific sense in which this can occur in a more potent form and I believe that is empowered by clarity and authenticity.

When music has a definite purpose/meaning, especially when it is an outlet for healing, therapy, and catharsis, it really hits home. For example, I am extremely moved by the music of my close friend Matt (or MSW, whose music is called Hell). Hell effectively utilizes melodies and riffs for the purpose of emotional release through the telling of a story of grief from the loss of a family member. If you don’t know this, the music is still absolutely amazing on its own (and you may even be able to sense that something more is lying beneath the surface of the sonics); if you do know this, the music becomes so incredibly weighty, that it’s nearly impossible to hear without becoming completely immersed and overwhelmed by empathy, sadness, and longing. The marriage of talent and purpose is what makes art truly compelling.

You’re heading out for your first tour next month. I imagine performing this music live every night will be very draining (both physically with you also drumming for Hell, as well as emotionally). How do you plan to keep things level-headed?

I don’t, haha. I am nervous. I will performing with Mizmor night after night; I’ve only ever performed a Mizmor set as a stand-alone affair. In addition to trying out this consecutiveness, as you’ve said, I’ll be performing with Hell every night too. Back to back performances, back to back nights. I’m used to performing with Hell on tour and though it’s difficult, we manage. I think Matt and I are going to get very physically and emotionally drained, not just from the performances, but in all the other ways that you must sacrifice comfort, stability, and routine to live life on the road. I will probably get sick, as I do on almost every tour (just a cold though), but we will only be gone for 2.5 weeks, which is the perfect amount. I am going to try and focus on how special it is to be with five of my dearest friends, traveling around playing music we’ve written. I am incredibly grateful for these opportunities and am going to continually seek to focus my attention on all the love and fun around me.

New music for Mizmor is only written when you have the emotional need to do so, so this might be too early to ask, but where do you feel that Mizmor is headed to next, thematically? Just as with 'Yodh' I find myself wondering what could possibly come after Cairn?

To be completely honest, I have no idea what the future looks like for Mizmor. I’ve always taken the project one step at a time, only progressing to new territory when it is necessitated by the demand for expression in myself and the demand for greater accessibility by my fans. Releasing a new full-length and going on tour for the first time are big enough steps for me that I’m still really just focusing on that right now. New music has to find me, which takes an unknown amount of time. But I think it’s safe to expect some more live engagements, here and there, around this new chapter called “Cairn.”

Thank you for your time!

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[realtalk-princeton]

Hi prefrosh here. I’ve been looking at some courses evaluations of classes I’m interested in. For reference what would be considered a “normal” quality of course rating? What would generally be considered good?

Response by Alito:

Large intro lecture classes in depts like ECO are pretty bad, like low 3 sometimes below

Response from Clover:

I aim for above a 4 for classes I can choose from. Usually indicates it’s well-taught and that it was at least mildly enjoyable. I’ve noticed that mid/high-3 ratings ended up being viewed as tedious or had a certain portion of the class suck (bad lectures but good precepts, vice versa, etc.). If a course is in that range, I’d look to see what it got marked down for— maybe it was just for textbook readings, and if you don’t like reading textbooks anyways, then really in your view the course would be rated higher. This being said, I think that a fair number of pre-req type classes (my mind jumps to physics for BSE) get put in this 3ish range partially because a fair number of people never liked the class but had to take it. So that can influence things a bit. If you hate a class, even if well-taught, sometimes the resentment can come through in the ratings. Classes that are disorganized/taught poorly all around usually get the scores of 2 and stuff. I‘ve noticed classes that are reviewed as “really hard” tend not to be dinged as much for it by reviewers— usually people find the course interesting and will leave the numerical rating to reflect the more objective parts of the class. So if you’re bad at history and are looking for an easy history class, just because you find a 5.0 one doesn’t mean it’s right for you. It could be a well-taught yet very difficult one taken by students who were very passionate about the subject. 

Overall, I think the comments and break downs for the rating are the best thing to look at, because it can help to distinguish these different scenarios. I love searching for courses using Princeton Courses– you have a lot of filter options (going back to the history example, you could choose to only show 100/200 level courses so that any high level ones don’t even cross your path), you can sort by rating, and then you can favorite those who look enticing on surface value based on name/overall rating, later going back through the favorites to look deeper into why they got the rating they did and what people have said about it.

[astralmouseart]

Today was a quite nice day. I slept a few hours less than eight - something that keeps happening for last 3-4 days.

I finally received my course scholarship today. I was getting a bit stressed out about not having it.

Of course I don’t have the money any more :D . Funny thing about getting cash like this is that I have multiple wishlists, some of them, like 10s to 100s of items long.

Yesterday, I was trying out to figure out if I could browse online courses on ebook readers because browsing the text-heavy ones on smartphone or computer screen is awful. I was considering spending everything on an ebook reader but it turned out browsing internet on low-mid end ones, even Kindle 8 is absolutely awful. Also I realised my ebook reader has much more pleasant browsing due to the screen not flashing horribly when turning pages which happens even on the Kindle. I guess that’s why it has power consumption closer to a smartphone than to a typical ebook reader.

So, I decided against it.

So I ordered a proper HTML and CSS manual to have something about it to read in bed and in coffee shops. It’s HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites. It’s somewhat dated but it’s a beast of a book with all pages in colour.

I was thinking about finally buying myself a big expensive book, like for example I Am Providence : The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft and donate the rest, but then I realised I already ordered the web design textbook, so I resigned from buying the big book.

Today when I finally got the money I started out ordering from abroad. I ordered the first volume of The Flowers of Evil - Complete manga. I’m looking forward to finally holding that mazing manga in my hands.

I also ordered Nicoletto Giganti's the School of the Sword : A New Translation by Aaron Taylor Miedema. Mainly because I recently realised what a brutal-looking beast of a sword a rapier is. It’s a one handed sword and it’s long. For average person it’s about 120cm long, for me it would be about 140cm long.

Shit, if I’ll ever get out of this awful situation, I’ll buy myself a huge custom rapier.

I ordered two next volumes of Anaïs Nin diaries. This time in a local online bookstore which has an up to 35% promotion on many books. The last time I ordered a journal through post, it arrived beaten up and with damaged front cover. I was too exhausted to return it or something. Overall, the previous shopping was disappointing, especially when I saw the low quality reproductions in the Dürer album.

It was a quite peaceful and comfortable day and I hated the perspective of going out to the hostile world outside. But then the evil neighbours started playing radio and drilling or cutting something and I finally decided to go out and seek shelter in a nice coffee house.

So, after ordering all that stuff, I went to get the HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites book from the store I ordered it at. It was a bit beaten up, but I couldn’t bother to return it because it’s just a textbook and I got it in a 35% promotion anyway. It’s annoying that new books, even ordered from magazine are almost never in mint condition.

After getting it I visited a local manga store and got Pietia, which I recently learned was published here. Then I went to a coffee house.

I went to coffee house and have started reading the new book. Managed to read first few pages. Then I’ve watched some videos on my smartphone and have read a few pages of Pietia. When watching the videos I drawn a few drawings including the upper one. I drank a small flat white.

Then I called home and learned the renovation works are still going on so I went to another coffee house, this time cheap one in a mall. I continued to read the new textbook, this time it was going a bit better.

When I returned home, I donated the rest of money (about 1/4 of the starting amount) as I was planning. Felt good.

I’ve read some more of the textbook. I’m 45 pages in now, finished the first chapter. I really missed having paper book on the subject all that time.

I’m also doing freeCodeCamp lately. It’s easy to progress because it’s gamified but it still needs stuff like books and doing webpages outside of it to actually learn anything, which they forget to mention.

I’m exhausted. It’s, like, almost 4am here. I need to go to sleep. It was a very busy day.

It’s not easy to be a R.O.U.S., Indigo!

[ruinedbygaysstylinson]

hi there! i'm still somewhat new to this fandom but i'm familiar with bg and everything so i'm just wondering why people believe that liam is also stunting with cheryl? is he believed to be gay as well and this relationship with her and his baby is just another cover up? like i understand why people believe louis isn't really a dad but i don't see as much regarding liam? can you try and explain this??

Hi Nonnie!

First of all, welcome to the fandom. It’s a mess, but it’s our mess lol

I’m gonna be honest, when I first got this ask I had no clue where to start explaining just how fake Chiam is, and I wish I had a textbook answer for you. The best way I can put it is that literally everything about it makes no sense logically. None of it. Prepare for a lot of rambling.

Not sure how into the fandom you are, but if you’ve heard of RBB/SBB, they foreshadowed Chiam on Liam’s bday in 2015 at a show, using toothpaste labeled “Colegate” which is a nod to her first marriage, and the original babygate which had been labeled a couple months earlier.

As far as timelines go, Sophiam ended late October 2015. Charcole actually got married for the second time in mid 2014, and while her and her husband seperated in late 2015, they both wore their wedding rings into 2016, despite the fact that later it was hinted that Chiam began at the XF final in 2015. Chiam was announced in the exact same way every other stunt is: via an exclusive to Dick Wattpad from the Sun. Baby rumors started a couple months later, nearly 2 full months before the date Charcole supposedly conceived. During this time, Chiam made a few public appearances, all staged red carpets or pap walks, and they were never spotted together by fans outside of these. Charcole had a baby bump months before she was pregnant, and baited the media by putting her hand over her stomach in multiple events. After she became “pregnant”, Liam basically moved to LA and lived there for her entire pregnancy. He began partying, worked on his album, and acted like a single guy for the duration with no care in the world for Charcole. What a normal thing for a dad-to-be to do. They never officially announced the pregnancy, she just turned up obviously pregnant in December 2016, and then posed for Loreal with a massive bump on a campaign released in February. Her bump changed in sizes and height throughout the pregnancy, but she went into hiding so it was difficult to actual tell what was going on, which was 100% the point. The birth was announced via a single photo of Liam with a baby, despite the fact that usually moms pose with their baby. To this day, we’ve never seen the baby’s face, and Charcole has yet to show off her pride and joy. Privacy is one thing, but this is another thing entirely. If it wasn’t for Liam babbling on, you’d have no clue she had a kid.

So what are my issues with Chiam? First of all, her association with Satan Cowbell. They are besties. Judges together on XF, and recently I found out that she’s also an executive producer. Chiam was used to promote XF in late October with probably the cringiest moment they’ve had yet. If you hate Satan because of what he did to Louis/Harry, you better be concerned that Liam “willingly” shacked up with one of his friends.

Secondly, timing. Liam was planning a solo career. It’s been his dream for over 10 years. Why on earth would he decide to settle down in the middle of trying to launch his solo career, just months after ended a long term relationship? Basically this stunt forced him to “choose” between his career and his kid, which is NOT something that a loving partner would put you through. Charcole was also married until late 2016. If she was so desperate for a baby, wouldn’t it make more sense to have it with your husband rather than a guy 10 years her junior in a completely different stage of life? She’s old but she still has time. Literally everything about this relationship was set up to fail. Also, what exactly do they have in common? They moved so quickly that Liam never had to talk about her/why they are even dating. To me, the only things they have in common are that they were both in a band (with very different experiences..) and they have a kid together. Nice.

Thirdly, Charcole’s presence in his promo. In 2014 she released an album that flopped pretty badly because she really can’t sing at all her. Her fame came from her very public relationship drama and her association with XF when it was at the height of it’s fame. Her career is pretty much over and she’s most likely desperate for anything to reverse this progression. What better way to find new fans than to try and tap into one of the largest fandoms out there? Of course, she didn’t take into account the fact that we aren’t 13 year old girls with no brains, and therefore aren’t going to blindly stan her like people did with Sofa and Elk in the past. She’s ridiculously problematic as a person (she punched a woman in the face for doing her job and got convicted for assault, admitted to attacking her ex husband, dodged taxes via a shady company that closed in 2014 right when she turned up suddenly married to JB. The list goes on and on), and from what I’ve seen her personality stinks, so why would we support her? For the most part, people either dislike her or just don’t care at all. Bummer. Liam’s promo was the only way for her to get positive news out there about herself without her doing all the talking. Unfortunately for her, Liam went overboard and now people hate her just as much, if not more, than they did before this stunt. Just to be clear: normal celebs don’t launch their careers by constantly telling stories about their kid, s/o and hyping up their accomplishments from 8 years ago.

Fourthly, body language. This is a big one. Liam’s eyes in the very first selfie of them scared me to death because he looked so upset and resigned. Literally screaming for help with his facial expression. All along, the lack of intimacy between Chiam is pretty hard to dispute. They are not comfortable together at all, and I know some media sites called them out for faking affection on red carpets when they are distant in private in May 2016. Liam was a lot better at faking it last year as well, because he’s nothing if not professional. At XF this year, it was literally painful to watch them interact, and I made a post about that when it happened. Basically, as a couple they don’t have the familiarity that they should have considering all they’ve squeezed into less than two years. Liam also doesn’t talk about her fondly at all. If you pay attention, a lot of his comments just about her are negative: she scolds him, nags him, rolls her eyes at him, dresses him (in hideous pants, someone burn those), makes all the decisions about the baby, critcizes his music, etc, but at least she was famous back when he was 15 eh? (Them meeting at 14/24 when she was married for years is just another nasty aspect. She was in a mentor role and I’m disgusted she was okay with this stunt. It’s so wrong on so many levels.) Overall she sounds pretty awful to me, and that’s just based off of the picture Liam is painting.

And finally, the saga of Conchobear. The difference between actual celebrities having babies (think Beyoncé), vs Charcole is hilarious. No one ever saw her stomach when pregnant, she hid for months before and after the birth, and low and behold she popped back up with a new face! That’s the second 1D mom to get extensive plastic surgery when she should be caring for an infant. I seriously doubt she actually was pregnant, but that’s not something I’ll go into here. Liam was out working on his career a month after the announcement, and has been travelling pretty consistently since. He’s missed multiple important holidays; for example, on Father’s Day he flew from the US to Italy for a fashion show, and then back to the US. On Conchobear’s 6 month bday, Liam went out and did interviews. Do you really think that if Liam was an actual dad, he wouldn’t make every effort and move mountains to spend as much time as possible with his firstborn son? It just doesn’t make sense with what we know about Liam’s personality. He’s responsible, and he wouldn’t put himself in this situation. What he says, what we are fed, what he does, and what we know about him as a person don’t line up at all. Liam sounds like an amazing involved dad with his tales, but he lacks a basis in basic human development; his stories are cute and so unrealistic. Thus, Liam hasn’t spent any significant time with a baby. The entire stunt has been setting up single mom!Charcole, but Liam’s team has made sure to prevent her from calling him a deadbeat via the stories. It’s hard to say he was never around when he’s gushing about the kid in every interview. He’s also gotten worse at lying recently, and I get the feeling he’s tired.

So yeah, basically every aspect of this relationship is messed up in one way or another, and I’m expecting to see Chiam end sooner rather than later. If they are both out working on material, they won’t be able to hold it together imo. There’s definitely stuff I’ve missed and if any of my mutuals/followers want to add to this feel free. This is just stuff I thought of off the top of my head.

For specific examples of some of what I’ve mentioned you can check out the Twitter thread I linked below. It has some great resources and that account in general is amazing at breaking down stunt events. I’m also gonna reblog a post comparing Chiam to Zigi (another dead fauxmance) and Hiddleswift that is pretty interesting for you to look over.

https://twitter.com/EndBabygates/status/856439540831195137

Enjoy your stay in the fandom Nonnie. If you have any specific questions or need recommendations for who to follow, shoot me a message!

[she-willnotfall]

Seven Common Myths About SEO 2019

If you are usually tired of hearing the expression SEO (search engine optimization) probably you ought focus on SMO. If a person's business does not have SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Internet marketing strategies, she or even he will need help through SEO experts. One of the particular most commonly asked questions, White colored hat SEO in layman's vocabulary is applying the right strategies along with a legal technique to boost your ranking plus increase your popularity. To help our own client's future-proof their businesses plus maximize online Return on Expense (ROI), we have individuals our own global partners to develop a good SEO methodology that aligns along with Google's recommended best practices. Off-page SEO will assist make your website most well-known and visible on the internet, so you can get even more traffic and users for your own website and product. You might be the proprietor of a growing and growing business, the webmaster of the dozen sites, the SEO expert within a Web agency or the DIY SEO ninja passionate regarding the mechanics of Search: this particular guide is meant for a person. On their business blog, Demand Wave also provides a great article about 2016's tops trends in B2B electronic marketing and SEO. A few explore some roles that cultural media plays in SEO. You will craft your current SEO strategy around the keyword phrases that will lead customers to be able to your most profitable products. Google for example, states that will the no follow link become taken literally as well since the link will not become followed at all however within reports done for SEO reasons it shows some conflict in order to this. The traditional method to SEO has been devoted to creating excellent content that will is easily searchable via lookup engine bots. To realize SEO, you'll also need in order to know how Google search functions. 2019 will certainly still use many of these kinds of newly implemented tactics, but look for engine optimization experts are furthermore suggesting there will be even more. Currently more than half associated with searches account for mobile gadgets, and the number will surely move up in 2019. Within the remaining 2018 quarter, a person need to invest in mobile-first content that will rank a person higher in mobile search within 2019. The vast majority of your SEO learning ought to come from online resources, yet there are a few textbooks that will help you conceptually understand the history of research, search engines, and how SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION has changed through the many years. There are a lot of methods that webmasters use within order to entice potential clients to their site—one of the particular most important and effective associated with those being Seo (SEO). 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As mentioned earlier, SEO organizations are usually the most certified in working with various verticals of online marketing, mainly owing to the nature of their own work. Monitoring: Often overlooked, but one associated with the most important areas associated with successful SEO, this section moves through how you can monitor your success and tie your own efforts back to real visitors and business, which gives a person the chance to future fine-tune and optimize your programs. Ultimately, simply by the end of 2018 or even mid-2019, we'll see a golf swing back to natural” content created by real humans who may produce valuable content that in fact provides value. Hiring experienced SEO experts will certainly ensure that your website climbs the search engine ranks without having using any illegal practices or even short cuts that could generate short-term spikes in the home page's ranking, but eventually lead in order to your website having to spend penalties. Official Site Associated with BlowFish SEO - Professional Search Motor Optimization Services operated by Robert DiSalvo SEO Located in Hand Beach Gardens, Florida. The takeaway here will be that if you might have got LOTS of location pages providing A SINGLE business in one particular location, then those are quite probably classed as some type of doorway pages, and most likely old-school SEO techniques for these types of type of pages will discover them classed as lower-quality : or even - spammy web pages. CRAWL this, like Google does, with (for example) Screaming Frog SEO spider, plus fix malformed links or stuff that result in server errors (500), broken links (400+) and unwanted redirects (300+). SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION gives you a go at position for the terms which your own customers use, so you may do better business. The job of the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is to create high-quality articles and after that win the attention, the particular love as well as the particular link from a blogger or even editor. The keyword difficulty or even keyword SEO difficulty is the very useful metric for key word research.

Here's a true statement you don't need to hear as often: Your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION technique for 2018 shouldn't concentrate on keywords. (1888PressRelease) Packet Marketing, a Boston-based, full-service SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION and internet marketing firm today announces they have been rated as the number five SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION firm in the 2010 Advertising World Top ten SEO Firm Award initiative. According to Forrester Study, the number of global smart phone subscribers is expected to achieve 3. 5 billion by 2019, crossing the 50% mark intended for smartphone penetration by 2018, plus reaching 59% by 2019. On-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ensures that your site can be read by both possible customers and search engine automated programs. In 2019, voice-search will become the dominant way that individuals search. But SEO is all regarding the organic” rankings, which show up in the middle of the particular search results page. The most important SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION factor for creating high-quality content material is doing good keyword analysis. Formula changes in 2018 seem in order to centre on reducing the effectiveness of old-school SEO techniques, along with the May 2015 Google ‘Quality' protocol update bruisingly familiar. Keep in mind in SEO article writing suggestions you keywords have to create sense too. Domain Authority within SEO is a rank that will measures how popular and reliable search engines call at your own website. If the terms you might be hoping to rank intended for don't show on the page, this will be much more tough to achieve your goals -- making on-page optimization a important part of most SEO strategies. Upon the subject of speed, in the beginning of 2017 presently there was still much resistance in order to AMP in the SEO neighborhood overall, but as we mind toward 2018 that feels in order to be dissipating now somewhat along with a reluctant acceptance that AMPLIFIER looks as though it's not really going away sooner. The biggest way that individuals misuse SEO is assuming that will it's a game or that will it's about outsmarting or deceiving the search engines. Both are crucial to the particular success of an SEO advertising campaign, but they're on completely different edges of the fence when this comes to improving your search motor rankings. Over 50% of mobile phone customers started using voice search correct from 2015, and so all of us can expect that in 2019 and after that not much less than 50% of searches can be in the form associated with voice search. Within the past, getting a great SEO was only about making use of keywords. Remember that SEO is definitely about targeting real people, not really only search engines. In case you do these on-page plus off-page elements of SEO in least along with your competition, you can achieve higher research engine ranking positions in the particular organic section of search motor results pages and have the quality website capable of sustaining your revenue goals. In my opinion that 2018 is going to be the particular year where voice search changes how users search and SEOs need to optimize. SEO or Search engine search engine optimization is a term coined jointly to describe the techniques that will the website should use in order to boost its rankings on the search engine. The Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keyword Electrical generator is like a thesaurus regarding SEO -minded content marketers. SEMRush - Another excellent tool for SEO analysis, especially where it concerns business cleverness, SEMRush allows you to recognize and analyze the keywords that will your competitors are using. I'm heading to share some of the most effective SEO tips that will I've used within all types of campaigns to increase organic lookup traffic. FAST SEO ADVICE search engine marketing is not magic, and are unable to perform wonders. This SEO guidelines and tricks cover all the needed information you should know with regards to Search Engine Optimization. The SEO content article writer should have a strong knowing of the keywords that are usually ranking and trending on the particular analytics framework. In 2018, there were certain trends of which ruled the world of internet commerce SEO (search engine optimization). Don't get worried by them but make certain to use only natural hyperlinks and keep in mind that will their SEO potential may become a bit lower in assessment with single links. As a partner to the table, Internet lookup engine Land's Guide To SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION explains the ranking factors within more depth, within a tutorial delivering tips and advice on applying them. Google states that cultural media is not an quick SEO ranking factor, but the majority of experts agree that things these kinds of as retweets and facebook gives you DO, in fact, effect websites' rankings. And since SEO furthermore targets users who are definitely searching for products and providers like yours, the traffic ensuing from SEO is more skilled than many other marketing methods, leading to cost-savings for businesses.

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For blog websites the greatest SEO practice would be in order to set the title of your own post in a heading1 label. Search engines is the gatekeeper to enormous amounts of traffic and prospects - search engine optimization (SEO) opens the doors. Simply because long as they are gained naturally, inbound links are possibly the most dependable authority contractors in the world of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. All of us call this new methodology AdaptiveSEO so that as its title suggests, it is made in order to adapt to the evolving plus sometimes unexpected changes in research algorithms. Several get confused in this region of SEO article writing suggestions for either they in place too little or maybe the particular wrong kind of keywords, or even they mention the keyword method too much which is occasionally called keyword over stuffing. Social SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION isn't a separate branch associated with SEO and it won't shortly be replacing traditional SEO, yet social signals are becoming progressively incorporated into search engine methods. Perhaps the particular most important aspect of research engine optimization is how a person can actually leverage SEO in order to assist drive more relevant visitors, leads, and sales for your own business. Just browse through the various types of our SEO blog page to find those important on-page ranking factors. According to him, key phrases have already lost their significance and in 2019 this craze would only get stronger. Seo (SEO) is usually the most efficient way in order to drive traffic to your web site. By merging a whole new way to work along with SEO and prioritized lists associated with recommendations—not to mention competitor evaluation and keyword monitoring—Siteimprove SEO is usually your all-in-one tool to develop traffic, prove ROI, and easily create content. All the SEO tendencies listed here may have started in late 2017 or earlier 2018, but their true advantage could be reaped in 2019. Google's Steve Mueller said on Twitter, along with the disclaimer of him placing his user hat on (ofcourse not Google hat), that relabeling older content as new, with simply no additional changes is a poor SEO hack. All of us associated with creatives, designers & developers function alongside our SEO & content material teams to ideate, research, style & create remarkable infographics and interactive content for brands that will get shared across the internet. Contemporary SEO strategy could be How To Get People To Like SEO 2019 the process associated with organizing a website's content simply by topic, which helps search engines like yahoo realize a user's intent when looking. Page loading time is dependent upon Page Load speed, Web page loading time is one associated with the important factors in Portable SEO 2017. Public Media as a platform can not be ignored in any SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION plan. Seo stands regarding search engine optimization, when a person are searching for an SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION or Search Engine Optimization Organization then you needs to appear for various factors which may have a favorable and negative affect on your business.

Presently there are a few fundamentals that will can help boost the technique, but SEO, or seo, will be hardly ever considered. While employing the services of a great SEO agency can get a person good marketing copy for the particular website and an effective make use of of the related keywords, getting a brilliantly designed website will certainly help a lot when this comes to attracting people plus even the search engines in order to your website. You are able to get into important SEO-related data like the particular page title, description, and key phrases for every page or a person can have the system instantly populate this data depending upon a document name or various other fields. SEO has become broadly adopted as an online advertising strategy due to its effectiveness. Creating high-quality content along with SEO in your mind through the beginning boosts search presence. In contrast, dark hat SEO is about attempting to take shortcuts and video game search engines. You may also use Google Analytics in order to find SEO keywords for content material optimization. Keyword research is the particular process SEOs value to discover what search queries consumers get into into a search engine regarding a given topic. Within today's rapidly shifting world, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques can change on the dime—and the worst part is usually that you might not also know it. Hacks that can have won you a front-page result as recently as 2016 are not only obsolete today, but they may even harm your website's rankings.

[anabelbachour-blog]

Why do students appear to prefer costly printed textbooks to ebooks? Do you think ebooks will eventually disrupt the textbook market? If so, why? If not, why not?

An e-book – or an electronic book – is basically the book in a digital format. It consists of almost the same format of the paper book, it includes text, and images (if available in the hard copy). Some e-books are the equivalent of a paper book, and other e-books have no equivalent. E-books are dedicated to screening readers, they exist in PDF format or Kindle format, and thus, they can be accessed on iPads, iPhones, Computers, laptops, and of course, the most sophisticated version of an electronic book, kindle.

 Studies show that e-books, approximately, started around 1993 with Adobe and its PDF version of a book. In 2007, Amazon released Kindle e-books readers. Kindle, although very similar to iPad, it nonetheless, in my opinion, guarantee less distraction for many reasons, one of them being that Kindle is specifically made for books, and audio files, thus games, and other distracting applications cannot be installed on it. Another reason is that the Kindle reader does not have a usual digital screen, its screens are very similar to a book, thus it does not exhaust the eyes and the brain like digital screens usually do.

July 2010, online bookseller Amazon.com reported sales of e-books for its proprietary Kindle outnumbered sales of hardcover books for the first time ever during the second quarter of 2010, saying it sold 140 e-books for every 100 hardcover books, including hardcovers for which there was no digital edition. By January 2011, e-book sales at Amazon had surpassed its paperback sales. In the overall US market, paperback book sales are still much larger than either hardcover or e-book; the American Publishing Association estimated e-books represented 8.5% of sales as of mid-2010, up from 3% a year before. At the end of the first quarter of 2012, e-book sales in the United States surpassed hardcover book sales for the first time.  

According to an article, published in 2015, by The New York Times, it says: “But the digital apocalypse never arrived, or at least not on schedule. While analysts once predicted that e-books would overtake print by 2015, digital sales have instead slowed sharply [..] E-book sales fell by 10 percent in the first five months of this year, according to the Association of American Publishers.”

Which means that as comforting and successful e-book readers might sound, and even though they form a big part of amazon sales in 2010 – 2011, they nonetheless lost their popularity really quick. According to a study, e-books are not very preferred, especially by students, for reading or accessing their assignments. As an article published by the MentalFloss website, it shows the five reasons why students prefer paper books instead of e-books, and as I mentioned above, tiring the eyes and the brain, and distractions are on that list. In addition to these 2 reasons, MentalFloss claims that reading on a screen slows comprehension and memory “Those who read the story on a Kindle performed worse on the chronology test than the book readers.” Ironically enough, they ended the article on ways to download an e-book to learn more about the matter, I found that rather very humorously.

In addition to that, other studies were also conducted about this matter, and they all showed that students are more likely to prefer using a physical book rather than an online one. As the NBC NEWS article say that most students are using e-book just to save some money. “Public Interest Research Group says 70 percent of students admit they just skip buying some books, saving money but often inflicting a high price on their academic success.” I personally strongly agree with this statement, as a student going through my fourth year in college, I can surly admit that I have spent more money on text books than I ever thought I would. It is honestly very devastating since I am one of the people who hates reading off of a screen, but when a text book required by a class costs $100, I would rather exhaust my brain and eyes instead of exhausting my pockets.

I personally think that even though the e-book industry is somewhat blooming now, I don’t think it will ever dominate over the printed books industry. I have included many reasons in this article explaining why that will never happen. However, at the same time, I don’t believe that the e-book industry will ever die or go bankrupt, and that is because it saves people a ton lot of money. Starting off with students, their professors might require a book that will cost around $60 which online, whether PDF or Kindle format will cost $10. That is if the book is not available on the university’s online library database. For instance, taking AUP as an example, our library database includes hundreds and thousands of book varying in subjects, from history, math, science, to gender studies and communications. These books or articles can be accessed with a click, not to mention they are for free. Another example might be the professor sending the data or uploading it to a website, like our class’s blog website.  

 Therefore, I believe it is fair to argue that the e-book industry did hit its peak once it was introduced to the people. However, “new is always better” is a statement most people use in their daily lives, yet, this new technology was very tiring that people had to go back to the old one. That dilemma although at first brought negative outcomes and bankrupt to the print industry, it nonetheless came back with positive outcomes. The print business used the fall of e-books to their benefit, knowing that people preferred hard copies of books, it gave them an idea of rising their price. Although that works as positive for them since there exist readers incapable of reading a screen, it nonetheless will be the reason that the e-book industry will never expire or end.