#this podcast will be the one to teach me to draw hats

[art-o-gant]

i started anothjer podcast let s go

[sosation]

On the Passing of Michael Brooks

I only relatively recently became aware of Michael, less than a year ago. In that time he has impacted my life more than any other media personality, more than anyone I’ve never met.

Even though the first time I voted was for Obama in 2008, my political consciousness really began during my 2nd stint of college at UTA circa 2014/15. My history undergrad was waking me up to the power dynamics and hegemonic systems that exist in our society. I was beginning to understand geopolitics under the tutelage of Dr. Joyce Goldberg and getting really wrapped up in 20th century diplomacy. The Snowden leaks had happened and the Michael Brown demonstrations in Ferguson were drawing attention to the militarization of our police forces and their tactics on US citizens. I began to see capitalism as consisting of, and causing and contributing too, countless problems. Then, the 2016 election cycle stoked my already burning interests.

During this time, there was little “left-tube” to be found. Since 2012, streaming on our X Box has been my wife and I’s primary means of entertainment. Slowly more and more of our time was being spent on YouTube. The Young Turks was really the only progressive voice on Youtube, to my knowledge, at that time. (I wasn’t yet aware of Pakman, Kulinski, Seder and Brooks.) And even though they were my primary source of news, I wasn’t crazy about the hyperbolic presentation, Cenk’s ego, or some of the attitudes expressed by various hosts at various times. That being said, I learned a lot. I was exposed to many many great journalists and they certainly helped me solidify and articulate many of the arguments I had been thinking and feeling during this time. I even became a Texas Wolf-Pac Volunteer right after Trump’s election. 

I ended my bachelor’s and master’s programs under the Trump presidency. (May ‘17, Dec ‘18 respectively.) During this time I read and wrote more than I ever have in my life. Under Dr. Christopher Morris, Dr. Patryk Babiracki, and Dr. Pawel Goral, I read Marxist historical theory and studied the history of the Cold War  from the perspectives of the US, USSR and Europe. I also began watching less and less TYT and more Secular Talk, David Pakman, and David Doel. While these shows are great, there was little to no international perspectives or geopolitical discussions happening. (Doel being Canadian accounts for something but, IMO, anyone who lives in the 5 Eyes is hardly a non-western perspective and therefore significantly less valuable in regards to gaining the insight of the peripheries of the globe. As the hegemonic “leader” of the world, Canadians, New Zealanders, Aussies and Brits, can point and laugh at the US all they want but they are taking our lead-systematically and economically.That’s not to say that their perspective is unimportant, just not the same as those outside the western sphere) Furthermore, there is still even less of a historical perspective being represented in regards to current events anywhere on YouTube. No one seems to have a long dureé, an understanding of how history plays out- again and again, and how capitalism is responsible for much of our recent history. Marx did. Michael did. 

I began my teaching career in earnest last summer, 2019, as a Geography teacher. First time I’ve ever had a salary and the first time that I didn’t have to wear a hat (or hairnet) to work. My lunch was 2nd lunch, 12:35-1:15. Here in Texas, The Majority Report was live and it began showing up consistently on my youtube feed so I began watching them while I ate my sandwich and apple, before students from guitar club would show up for a quick lesson before 6th period. I had watched TMR before, particularly live streams on twitch during the first few primary debates this cycle. They reminded me a little too much of an east coast morning talk show for me to take them too seriously at first but I eventually began to see that while Sam is--well-- Sam, the others on the show had quite a lot to say and clear, logical and articulate reasons for their positions...especially this guy Michael. Once I heard that he had his own show it quickly became the most listened to podcast in my feed. (This in itself is no small feet. I’ve been listening to podcasts for hours a day (sometimes 8) since 2012. It, too, no doubt contributed to my education and understanding of our world during this same time period but that is another blog all itself.)

Michael was everything that I was looking for. He was unabashedly a Marxist. He was intelligent and enjoyed rigorous thinking and leftist theory. He was hilarious and did fantastic impressions. He also was compassionate, kind and empathetic. He was a humanist, in the truest sense of the word and he understood, and articulated to me, that Socialism is a humanist movement. After I became a patron, I once asked him on Discord what his credentials were and he said that his Bachelor’s was in International Relations, which explained so much. Again, he was the only media personality that I was aware of that was knowledgeable and curious about the same things I was. He understood history. He valued history and its importance, so much so that he dedicated a separate Sunday show just to “Illicit Histories” where he would invite Historians from all over the world to discuss leftist movements in their own countries and how we could apply those lessons here and vice versa. This was it. This is what was missing from our national discourse--an international perspective and voice, and a historical perspective and voice. Michael was both and he was damn good at it. 

The Michael Brooks Show was an inspiration. Michael, Matt Lech and David Griscom were smart, eloquent, young men who articulated the systemic failures of our time, who critically discussed and analyzed our current political discourse and who pondered possible solutions based in history. The guests of TMBS, the network Michael created, really were the shining feature. Ben Burgis, Artesia Balthrop, Molly Webster, Glenn Greenwald, Adolf Reed, President Lula De Silva, Slavoj Žižek , Noam Chomsky, Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Richard Wolff...the list goes on and on and on. These people brought so much insight to the state of our world. Professors, Journalists, people who have spent their lives working on the cause, a cause for a better future, one based in humanity and empathy. Michael was able to bring his own empathy for humanity into his interviews, asking thoughtful direct questions that got to the heart of the issue-- while simultaneously bringing levity to a serious topic by making jokes in the voice of Gandhi, Mandela, Obama, or Bernie, to name a few. He, fucking, got it man. He understood how the world was connected. He understood that we are ALL humans, and that we all deserve to be treated with dignity, and he understood that Marx was right about a ton of shit and he wasn’t scared to remind you of that. 

Michael, for me, was an exemplar. He was a role model. I looked up to him. I had no idea he was only 13 months older than me, I thought he was probably in his early 40’s just based on the amount of shit that he knew. My personal 10 year goal was to be on his show. I wanted to either become a writer or go back into academia. I even wrote into a show a couple of months back and asked him which was a better choice. He was honored to be asked such a heavy question but didn’t feel comfortable giving that kind of life advice and I don’t blame him. He recommended that I continue teaching high school if that’s what I enjoy doing, and I do, and I likely will. He has shown me how to speak up for ideals that are right, regardless of what people think. Like, I understood that in the abstract, but watching someone do it multiple times a week really put it in my head that I need to advocate for my position publicly. I tell people that I’m a marxist- which in Texas is unheard of, even among leftists. Mostly due to people not understanding labels and what that even means. So I tell them. Thanks to David’s weekly recommended readings I haven’t stopped reading leftist theory even though I finished grad school over a year and a half ago. If TMBS never existed I never would have had the opportunity to read any of that. 

My heart bleeds for Matt and David. I can’t imagine what they’re going though. I want them to continue, to keep the community alive in his name. But I completely understand if that is just too painful. 

I was thinking earlier, trying to find an appropriate historical comparison to his passing. There are many but as a North Texan, the one that I ended up landing on was the passing of Dimebag Darrell Abbot. He did a lot. He accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. He inspired many to do things like him. It was entirely unexpected and not one person, not one, has a bad thing to say about the guy. Dimebag was adored. He listened to people, strangers, fans. He was kind and open-hearted and treated everyone with respect. Which made it extra hard when he passed. The same can be said for Michael. For Michael, since Socialism is more than just music, he inspired us to educate ourselves, to ask questions, to remember the periphery-Latin America, Africa, and Asia,-- to remember history and value it, to be compassionate, to educate others and to be active in our own communities. 

He will be sorely missed. The one thing I keep telling myself is that his death has the potential to bring even more attention to his message-- to help further catapult this movement into something undeniable. To bring more awareness to how power works and to finally activate us to become, as Michael said at Harvard on Feb 1, 2020: machiavellian.

 “...we still have to put work into reminding everybody that (Dr. MLK Jr.) was on the left. He wasn’t a guy who came out once a year and said ‘everybody should treat each other nicely. ...The other thing I loved about this speech was he talked about the fallacy- that certain Christians misunderstand love as a seeding of power. And then Nietzsche came along and rejected christian morality because he thought it was denying someone’s vitality- the will to power in a healthy sense, and he said ‘Love without power is sentimental and anemic. And power without love is abusive and corrosive’ I’m paraphrasing. And that was when I saw, I thought, ‘well here, ok, we know the left-wing Dr. King. Well here is the machiavellian Dr King, and I love it.’ I want the left to have Machiavelli, so we can have the strategy, the ruthlessness, the clarity, to actually win these battles. And be ruthless with institutions. And then I want us to learn how to be really kind to each other, welcoming of a broad set, and actually have a movement that has the capacity to do that.”

Let’s do the best we can to make that happen. Educate yourself about power. Educate yourself about ideologies. Read Marx and Engels. Read Slavoj Žižek and Adolf Reed. Read Michaels book Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right. Don’t get caught up in identity politics. Never lose sight of class dynamics. Use this knowledge to educate others and make informed decisions. Register to vote. Run for office. Effectuate real change. Do the intellectual rigor that was happening on TMBS every week, multiple times a week. Thank you for all that you brought to us Michael, you will be sorely missed and I hope to see you at the clearing at the end of the path. 

Anthony Sosa

7-21-20

[deathsmallcaps]

July’s Story

My fifteenth Win A Commission contest is Crystal the Wise! If you would like to see my version, and see all my drawings together, please

There once was a gentleman who had quite a daughter. Whatever her teachers gave her to learn, she gobbled up. Foreign languages, geography, so—all were unspeakably easy for her. And mathematics! She could add up columns of figures far better than her father’s accountants could. Before long, she could have taken their place.

When Crystal (for so she was called) grew a bit older, the neighboring children came over to ask her to explain the problems their tutors had set. Soon everyone came to learn from her. In time, word of this reached the king. He wrote to the young woman, saying, “My son is nearly grown, but my daughter has trouble with her lessons, and needs a teacher who could make her understand. Will you come and stay with us for a few months?”

Crystal was delighted to do so. When she arrived at the palace, the king, queen, and princess greeted her warmly. The prince, however, sulked like a little child. He had offered to tutor the princess himself, but the king had said, “You’re too impatient. I have found someone else who can do a better job than you can.”

Over the next few weeks, the prince sat in the back of the classroom and contradicted Crystal whenever she spoke. His interruptions grew more and more frequent. Still, Crystal continued to teach, because she liked the little princess and wanted her to do well. Tired of being ignored, the prince stood up one day and said, “This isn’t how I learned it. Everything you’re teaching my sister is wrong.” Crystal walked right up and slapped him! After that, the prince kept away from her lessons.

When the time came for Crystal to leave, the prince went to his parents.

“I’m grateful for all Crystal taught me, and after all, she’s the cleverest woman in the kingdom. May I have your permission to marry her?” The king and queen eagerly agreed, and Crystal also accepted, figuring it was a good marriage. She hadn’t realized she was worth more. 

After the wedding, the prince took his bride to a secluded cottage deep in the forest. As she was changing into her nightclothes, he came in and said, “Well, Crystal, are you ready to apologize for slapping me?”

“Apologize? I was right to slap you! And I’ll do it again if you keep on about it.” Crystal didn’t enjoy violence but knew when to defend herself.

“Is that so?” the prince snarled. He and a couple servants dragged her down to the cellar, where he thrust her through a trapdoor, into a little cell under the floorboards. There was a bed and a table and almost nothing else. In the morning, he asked her if she’d changed her mind, but she said no. Every day he came down and demanded she repent. Every day she refused, despite knowing her chances of survival were diminishing rapidly in such a dangerous situation. She had tried to run away when he first grabbed her, but even her considerable talents were no match against ten armed men. 

Crystal grew weary of her imprisonment, but there was no way she would apologize. One day, she noticed a corner of her cell was blowing air, due to a spider’s web flying into her face. She blessed the spider for alerting her, tand investigated the hole. There, she discovered a rushing underground stream. She dug a hole big enough to squeeze through, and managed to swim all the way to her father’s house.

Her father was appalled to find out how she’d been treated. “I’ll see the king immediately.”

“Oh, no, don’t,” Crystal said. “Just dig a tunnel into my cell and bring me some decent food, and of course, my books. The prince only lowers bread and water.” And Crystal swam back to her cell with the prince none the wiser.

At last, he grew tired of her refusals and called down, “I’m going to Paris to enjoy myself. I’ll have a servant feed you while I’m having fun.”

“Go ahead,” she called back cheerfully. 

As soon as the prince had left, Crystal bribed the servant to stop lowering bread and water, telling him to lie to the prince should he come back. She ran to her father and, with plenty of money from him, hurried to Paris, formulating a brilliant plan to ruin him forever with her father. There she disguised herself as a girl named ‘Marie’ and bought a house next to her husband’s. 

She then forged a letter to the prince’s parents, explaining that ’Crystal’ had died en route to Paris, and that he was going to mourn for a while. Somewhere in the back of her head, she knew this was a dangerous course of action, and very unhealthy emotionally. But she was SO angry.

Then, each day, she drove out in her carriage behind four white horses. Her gown was thick with embroidery, and her fan was trimmed with delicate lace, and she adopted a beautiful Parisian accent. When the prince saw her, he was dazzled by her beauty, though he didn’t recognize her in Parisian fashions. He began courting her, and wedded ‘Marie’ inside a month, never mentioning, of course, that he had another wife back home. Nor did he notice her glittering intellect, and thought her a dumb but lovely creature.  Nine months later, she gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy. Since Crystal had learned a bit, she made the prince sign a contract, vowing the children would be his heirs. He signed it, thinking it would be invalid, for she had drawn it up herself and he thought her stupid. He was mistaken. 

Three years passed. Then the prince told her he had been summoned home, but didn’t tell her it was for a new marriage. He didn’t know that this third bride had been set up by Crystal’s father. Feeling bored with his (supposedly) new and beautiful wife, he agreed to return home and decided to leave Crystal and his children behind. 

Returning home, the prince hurried to the cottage but discovered the cell empty. The servant told him Crystal had died of loneliness, so the prince thought he was in the clear. 

His family got him all set up for the wedding, disallowing him to meet his match, claiming superstition. When the day finally came, he said the vows, and everyone cheered. He raised her veil, and saw Crystal grinning triumphantly back at him. His children toddled out from the audience, and he knew he was in trouble.

Stunned to see his triply-wed wife, the prince knelt down before the court and begged her forgiveness. But it turned out, she didn’t have to forgive him. 

Her father produced the contract proclaiming the children as the prince’s heirs and a written account of what had passed by Crystal verified by many sources, including the servant who was supposed to feed her. Disgusted by their son, the King and Queen banished him and stripped him of his personal land, money and title, immediately giving them to Crystal. She and her family promptly lived happily ever after. 

My Notes

Now, you may not have noticed, but this story? Extremely messed up. I mean, this woman is degraded and goes on the biggest revenge plot I’ve ever seen a female character do in a fairy tale. She even has revenge babies! They are going to have a pretty messed up childhood. 

Why did I choose Crystal the Wise? Well, for three reasons. 

One, I heard it on, you guessed it, the Myths and Legends podcast. I really liked his rendition, but I did NOT want to type the whole thing out (I did that with a different story of his that I’m going to give to a different little cousin). I found this version online. And this all happens in the story! Crystal is just that machiavellian, and I applaud her! I kind of wish she didn’t feel like she had to continue having relations with her abuser, or to change herself so completely, but she really hit him with the ol’ one-two, and I like it when people can dole out justice like that. Hopefully she had someone to talk to afterwards? Also its pretty problematic the King and Queen did not realize how much of a little creep they raised to be their heir. 

Two, I realized I hadn’t done a story from South America yet! I realize its definitely a more modern story, with less ties to the Native people of Chile (btw the royal family of Chile isn’t a real thing), but I really liked it. 

Three, I was looking up the Aymara people of Chile for unrelated reasons when I realized I would love to draw the women! I don’t know what the textile industry over there is like, but it must be pretty entrenched in the culture, because they have so many pretty patterns and colors in their everyday wear! Combined with the bowler hats (legend has it that a shipment of bowler hats made it to Chile just when they went out of style, so the haberdashers marketed them to women!) with all the lovely flowers added on, I was excited! So I wanted to draw an Aymara girl. 

Now that I’ve explained that, I’d like to explain my drawings. They weren’t as full of background as some of my other drawings, but trust me, I put a lot of effort into them! I had a kabillion reference pictures.

The title is not based off of any movie logo I’ve seen, for once. Rather, it is based a bit off of the ACDC logo. I was working one day, when someone with that logo on his shirt came up to the register. I was inspired! So I quickly sketched out a sort of geometric, sort of lightning-bolt-esque title in between customers. And I liked it!

The second picture, the slap, was a difficult one for me. It combined an unusual perspective, unusual clothing, and unusual face shapes for me. As you’ve seen with my art, and maybe with your own art, it is often very easy to have a character face you and not interact with another object or person, You can’t really have that happen with a slap. 

This story is supposed to be set in the early 1700s, when Paris was very in vogue. But as I really wanted to draw a modern Aymara woman, I did play little fast and loose with the fashion. There isn’t too many reference pictures for old Chilean fashion. I had to reach a little. Which led me to using a more European style of dress for the Prince. And this is the only time you get to see *Crystal dress in a way that is normal and comfortable to her. This is an important ‘theme’ of the story - sorry to go all English class on you!

*Just remembered that Crystal is not a very Spanish-sounding name. I’ve never found the story outside, even when I try to look it up in Spanish, so some part of me is worried that someone made it up and pretended it was Chilean. Please let me know if you find anything. 

Their faces are different than what I’ve drawn before. As you can see on the prince’s face, he has serious acne. I’m not trying to demonize acne, but I decided that he’s one of those boys who hates getting clean and despite literally everyone telling him so, will not stop touching his face and causing acne. I went through a stubborn phase like that. But I also wanted to show how young and already so privileged the guy is. I really wanted to make him annoying. Crystal also has a bit of acne, to show her youth, but what really makes her face different than my usual fare is the fact she has a mole, never gets to smile of joy in my illustrations, and she is plump. I have a tendency to draw skinny characters I’m trying to get rid of as an artist -  I want to be able to draw everyone, anyone. And i think she turned out quite pretty!

Third picture, the cave, was again sort of a challenge. I wasn’t sure at the beginning how to place Crystal so you could sort of see the hole that leads into her room, while also showing her climbing down and the underground waterways she is going to enter. And as you’ve might’ve seen before, when I draw caves and rocks, all I think of is really ‘geometry’ but in the way the guy in this meme thinks of aliens (look up history channel aliens if you don’t know).

But I guess I did it? As for Crystal, you can tell she’s uncomfortable, she’s skinnier in an unhealthy way and colder than before, her hair isn’t in the customary braids but in a crappy bun to keep it off her face, and her dress is in tatters. Not a happy camper, and understandably so.

Last picture, Crystal’s wedding dress, was sort of hard in a different way, again! I decided early on I wanted to base her dress off of Elizabeth’s wedding dress from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. But I had to draw that while Crystal was holding her two kids on her hips, and smirking. I think I managed it, though. I think it’s interesting to note that the look epitomizes the kind of person she had to emulate while tricking the prince; a meek, european-mimicking little wifey. Totally different than the person she really is, the person she is illustrated to be in the first picture. 

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed that! Another problematic story will be the one for next month! Thanks for reading!

@boopboopboopbadoop​

[twistednuns]

October 2020

To buttress - increase the strength of or justification for; reinforce / to mollycoddle - to give someone too much care or protection. 

A letter from Nina. One of those weird internet connections. Not my first one, certainly not my last one.

Frank’s DnD backstory reads quite insightful/poetic to me as he has taken so much from his life. He might have done it without intent but it’s quite obvious to me. I’ve agreed to make a character sketch for him. I’m looking forward to the challenge but I’m also afraid of starting the project because obviously I want it to be perfect. Anyway so the other night I sat at his kitchen table and started drawing a facial composite for his goliath. Lots of sketches actually with him giving me some prompts and ideas. I think he loved watching me do my magic. What a peaceful moment.

Applause from some students. Simply for entering the room. They must really hate their English teacher, eh?

I’ve started forming the habit of drawing tarot cards on a full moon and new moon night. It helps me set an intention for the following two weeks. So on the first of October I drew the Queen of Wands to represent me and I’m loving it. It’s the perfect choice.

The fabric dyeing process for the Plot exhibition at Haus der Kunst

Inviting warmth into my life. Wearing appropriately warm clothing. Even hats. Drinking tea all the time. Turning the heating on even though it’s only September. Warm breakfast. Ayurveda inspiration. Hot baths. Thinking about buying an electric heating blanket for my bed.So far I’ve been taking a hot water bottle to bed with me pretty much every night.

Finding one of those Barts woolly animal hats online. This one came with tigers. And the seller sent me a cherry marzipan teabag. I enjoyed it on a cold and rainy Saturday morning.

FAQ: The Status of the Shits Women Have Left to Give

Reading the final scenes of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy. I actually took the wrong bus one evening and ended up in front of one of the Pinakotheken instead of Villa Stuck. I must have been quite immersed. I’m very happy with the ending. I mean, the main character is walking around the house barefoot with the smell of fresh paint following her, her hair loose. What a wonderful image.

The wind blowing through the maple trees outside my living room window. I’m just going to quote a Wikipedia article to explain what happened next: The distinctive fruits are called samaras, “maple keys”, “helicopters”, “whirlybirds” or “polynoses”. These seeds occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a “nutlet” attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. People often call them “helicopters” due to the way that they spin as they fall. During World War II, the US Army developed a special airdrop supply carrier that could carry up to 65 pounds (29 kg) of supplies and was based on the maple seed.

Monsieur Wiener - I’ve paid him a visit when I had problems with my analogue Pentax camera!

I don’t know why but one dark Friday evening I slipped into the empty church at Odeonsplatz. I loved the peaceful atmosphere, the specific smell and the red church candles flickering.

I loved meeting Flo. We had such a great time, constantly joking, talking about this and that. Sailor Mercury, Hades, our family. His wink. He said that I had been exactly right but in the end apparently I wasn’t. It stung because he had been one of the rare guys in the last months (years, actually) I actually liked. Oh well. I guess it wasn’t meant to be after all. This is what the Universe had to say about it the other day: There are no accidents. If it’s appeared on your life’s radar, this is why: to teach you that dreams come true; to reveal that you have the power to fix what’s broken and heal what hurts; to catapult you beyond seeing with just your physical senses; and to lift the veils that have kept you from seeing that you’re already the person you dreamed you’d become.

Videos of Marno and Erin together. Also: she is so freakin’ beautiful as a marauder.

A surprise call from Ann-Katrin.

Sweet chai tea with milk.

The bright moonlight making the neighbours’ roof look like fish scales.

Forensic linguistics. I listened to a podcast episode about the Unabomber who was only discovered after his brother had noticed some stylistic irregularities in his manifesto. You can’t eat your cake and have it too.

Autumn leaves. Especially when it’s just the outer leaves turning red or yellow while the rest of the foliage is still green.

Sitting next to my ten-year-old student Ella on the bus on our way home on a Friday afternoon. She’s a very chatty Gemini and even though her self-importance and constant talking can be quite annoying I’ve kinda taken a liking to her.

A bunch of Alstroemeria in my dark green glass vase on the desk. A pretty image.

I still appreciate how beautiful my LuLuLemon thermos bottle is after all this time.

I should probably mention my new hair (extensions). Well, it looks absolutely gorgeous from the front. But I already know that I won’t get them again because you can see the glue in a few places, it’s quite hard, often painful and feels unnatural. And of course it’s much too expensive.

Baby carrots with King hummus.

My lunch dates with Becky.

Making my favourite sour thai curry. With rice noodles. And peanuts and cilantro. Yum.

Starting to work on a big soapstone sculpture. It’s going to be a hand! I love it when I have a group of calm students. It allows me to work on a project with them.

Making delicious pumpkin lasagna.

Visiting Manu’s mum. Making plum dumplings together. A fun afternoon in their kitchen.

A very cosy Sunday. Waking up at 5:30am. Watching Practical Magic in bed. Having a slice of pumpkin lasagna for breakfast. A sudden urge to get out, dressing up to keep out the cold, going out, early, streetlights still on. A walk through the woods. I loved how calm everything was. Being out before all the others had a chance to disturb the stillness with their kids and dogs and bicycles. Making lebkuchen. Lots of pecans. Having a nap. Writing a letter. Drawing weird mushrooms and bugs.

Autumnal smells. The moist smell of the forest ground, mushrooms, the smell of chimneys on a cold Sunday morning. Incense, gingerbread spices. Facial oil with lavender and iris. Roasted pecans.

A crafty day. I made a haunted house, some ghosts, spiders, bats, skulls and pumpkins out of paper.

Schlurp.

Meeting Frank in front of Residenztheater. The whole square was empty, he was the only person there. Waiting for me. Looking up to the opera roof. What an impressive building.

Talking about living life in story mode and action mode. I feel so stuck in action mode at the moment and desperately want to switch to story mode. Fantasy, magic, coincidences and meaning.

Spicy pumpkin recipes in the current issue of Schrot und Korn.

Rice and hazelnut milk as a bedtime treat.

Collecting autumn leaves. Chestnuts, acorns, feathers, beechnuts. Making a little autumnal alter with some crystals.

Thursday mornings. So much time for myself. Lots of tea, warm breakfast.

Treating myself to massages and nice facial creams and serums. Ya Yah is such a gifted person. I love her massages the most. The other day I also got a facial for the first time in many many years. It was nice to be wrapped in an extremely fluffy blanket. When the bright lights were on I could see different colours after closing my eyes and imagined being at a tropical beach. Unintentional ASMR sounds from the rubber gloves. Cosy.

Spicy winter tea in my new thermos bottle. The steam swirling up from my favourite mug (the moon phase mug I bough in Canada).

Buying cheap sparkly stickers, washi tape and stamps. Just because.

Pecan nuts are the BEST. Crazy delicious.

Porridge with coconut milk and mango for breakfast. Persimmons. Candles in the morning.

Gloomy twilight. The dark hour right before sunset/sunrise. Spooky black silhouettes against the ink blue or greyish white sky. Fairy lights. Memories of spending Halloween at Greyfriar’s Kirkyard in Edinburgh.

Finding yet another woolly hat for my collection. This time with pheasants.

Deltavenus’ Instagram feed.

Cutting open a fresh lime.

Happily singing along to my two favourite mantras (Jai Mata Kali / Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha) while making apple galette. Trying to harmonise in different ways.

A very surprising call from Claudia. She ended up in my kitchen, drinking half a bottle of wine.

A lovely Sunday with Sash. A walk through the English garden.   Watching the waterfall, falling leaves, backlit by the afternoon sunlight. Haus der Kunst. Getting in for free (art teacher bonus). I really liked the Michael Armitage exhibition and the enormous dyed curtains in the hall. Franz Erhard Walther’s Dust of Stars autobiography was impressive as well. I just ordered the book online; I’m looking forward to reading it. We also had a drink at Goldene Bar and enjoyed a late lunch at Baoz Bar.

Becky leaving me a lovely note and an English magazine on my desk.

Fink’s Knödelstube with Lena and Sash. We had 13 different kinds of dumplings. Heavenly delicious.

I came to realise that mornings are my favourite time of the day. I love gloomy, dark sunrises and my usual productivity highs.

Writing limericks with the kids.

Getting lost in the woods after dark which might not look like a good think at first glance but I uncovered a little secret - some bee hives I had never seen before!

A mild obsession with The Corrs’ song Old Town. I didn’t even know where it came from. It’s not a song I’ve ever actively listened to.

Learning about sesame plants. Another one of those plants I expected to look completely different.

I can smell mushrooms. On Saturday morning I went to the forest again early in the morning and whenever I would get a whiff of mushrooms and look down there they were.

Dog owners wishing me a good morning on my walk. Interestingly only men, the women tend to ignore me.

Wicked! - Modern Art’s Interest in the Occult. Learning about Leonora Carrington.

James’ chameleons in art class. He drew one representing each of his family members. He was the one licking a bat. Bold.

Buying far too many books. But I found out that Naomi Novik just published a new novel about a school of magic. And within two days I came across the writer Ursula K. Le Guin three times so I took it as a sign and got one of her books as well.

Prepare for the Roaring Twenties - The human desire to socialize will survive the pandemic.

A deep talk session with Jonathan about getting old, having children, self-worth, dating, obeying rules.

Finding my favourite pair of jeans on Kleiderkreisel for a fraction of the original price. And a baseball jacket with a Strange Ladies Society print on the back.

A walk in the forest before work. Something I’ve never done before I think. So good for my nerves, really.

The art of decision-making.

Joy praising me for my authoritative voice (effectively making the fifth-graders do what I want).

Decorating the classroom with the fifth-graders. I love my haunted house on the window pane, their lovely spiders, ghosts and bats. I should probably mention that our class mascot is a cute spider named Crawley so we’re all quite into spooky stuff. On the last day before the holidays we all showed up in costumes, played a Halloween quiz, listened to creepy music and I brought some candy, too. Fun!

Meeting the gang on Halloween. Japanese-inspired dinner and a board game.

[houseofvans]

ART SCHOOL | INTERVIEW WITH JUSTINE JONES

Baltimore based artist and illustrator Justine Jones creates her vein of psychedelic fantasy horror drawings–filled with tiny black lines and an occasional pop of bright colors–which have been featured on the covers of Kobold Press and Warlock magazine. Using the hashtag #VisibleWomen to amplify the voices and portfolios of women comic artists, Justine has be able to do more illustrative work and character design. We’re excited to find out more about Justine’s artistic journey, her love of role-playing games, comics, art, her influences and much more. . .  Take the leap! 

Photography courtesy of the artist. 

Introduce yourself?    Hi, I’m Justine!  I’ve lived in Baltimore Maryland for the past decade and currently live in a small apartment downtown with my partner and my shiba inu Mo, who is a cool and grumpy guy.

How would you describe your work to someone who is just coming across it? I used to call it storybook surrealism, but now I guess it’s more like psychedelic fantasy horror?  Monsters and Wizards.  Lots of tiny black lines, sometimes with lots of bright intense colors.

How did you start from doodling and drawing to what you do now? I feel like it sort of happened organically.  When I was younger, I would do just pencil drawings, and then in my late teens, I got more into using micron pens.  I didn’t really discover color until a few years ago, so I’m a huge color noob.  I think a lot of it also came from working in comic shops for years and going to conventions.  Seeing all of these amazing artists grow, and thinking hey, I could maybe also do that! I first started with t-shirt designs because it just seemed really fun, and I used to have a really hard time selling prints.  People don’t need more prints, but they can always use clothes!  Now i’m getting more into illustrative work and character design, and I’m loving it!

Who and what were some of your early artistic influences? When I was a baby, my dad hung an Aubrey Beardsley print over my crib.  My mom thought it would make me deranged, and maybe it did, but it also made me love ink work and Art Nouveau style haha.  I was obsessed with sword and sorcery stuff and loooved cartoons like He-Man and She-ra, and later, Pirates of Darkwater. I also spent a lot of time in elementary school copying sexy comic book ladies from 90s comics, and I know that is pretty far from what I do now, but it’s honestly how I learned to draw.  I also copied a lot from children’s storybooks when I was little.  

What are some things that inspire the drawings you make? What are some of your favorite creatures and beings you like to explore in your art? Video games are a huge inspiration to me, from SNES JRPGs, to games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne.  Also folklore and mythology from around the world, and fantasy artwork from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.  Basically anything fantasy.  My favorite things to draw are wizards and monsters.  I love body horror, anything disgusting and beautiful at the same time.  I take a lot of inspiration from Manga, like Berserk, or anything Junji Ito.  I’ve done a lot of Illustrations for Clark Ashton Smith stories, which I find endlessly inspiring, visually.  Just like, fantasy/ sci fi/ dying earth type stuff.

When did you start collaborating with Kobold Press on creating some awesome fantasy art covers for their publications?  I remember getting the email from them when I was on the way to Necronomicon Providence in 2017.  I thiiiink they found my stuff through the visible women hashtag on twitter?  I was very excited because I owned some of their adventures from back in the day when I played Pathfinder!!  Plus, I have always always wanted to draw things for table top RPGs, so it’s been really cool to actually do it! The Warlock mag that I’ve been doing covers for is awesome because it’s going for an old school DND vibe, but it’s all things that are made for 5th edition.  You can get it on their patreon, and I hiiiighly recommend it to anyone who plays 5e dnd!!  

Take us through your artistic process? What’s a typical day in the studio like? Haha extremely chaotic!  I don’t even have a real set workspace, which I really need to change, I just draw where ever. Just chill out, listen to music or a podcast, and draw.  If I’m further along in a drawing and don’t need to focus so much, I’ll watch movies or video gameπ– let’s plays while I’m drawing.  I also love to listen to/ watch things that are in theme with what I’m drawing, to give me some inspiration.  I try to go to coffee shops to change things up sometimes!  Basically I just do a bunch of sketches until something materializes, and then I will just slowly refine the sketch.  I guess it’s not that exciting, but it’s cool to see the first sketch and the finished product because in my head, the sketch always looked like the finished product, but when you go back to look at it, it’s usually just indecipherable scribbles.

What are your essential art tools and materials? 90% of my art is just done using a .05 mechanical pencil and micron pens.  I also draw everything on smooth bristol.  If I have time and want to make my lines super crisp before I scan them in, i will use a light box.   Then for color, I generally use Kyle T Webster brushes in Photoshop with my Wacom tablet.   If I’m on the go, I like to draw things in Procreate on my iPad Pro, but I’m definitely not as good at doing detailed lines digitally.  

What do you do when you’re not drawing or working on projects? How do you unplug? Haha, I wish I ever truly unplugged, I think my brain is now melded into the internet!  But mostly I love to play video games.  JRPGs and anything From Software/ Soulsborne (currently obsessed with Sekiro!)  I also love comics and manga.  I’ve been reading The Girl From the Other Side, which is a beautiful dark fairytale Manga by Nagabe.  I also just got one called Witch Hat Atelier, which has the most amazing art! My partner also owns an insane amount of board games, so we play a lot of those.  I’m obsessed with coffee, and work part time at a coffee shop, and my favorite thing in the world to do is eat good food.    

What has been the most challenging project you’ve worked on? How did you overcome those obstacles and what did you take away from it? I made a kind of cosmic horror short story in mini comic form last year for SPX, I had very little time,  and it was my first time actually writing a story/ dialogue to go with my pictures.  It was insanely challenging.  I ended up with a finished product that I’m really proud of and that I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on.  I think it really drove home the fact that I just need to stick with things and finish them, even if I don’t feel like they’re perfect.  I’m never going to have the time that I want, and I’m never going to feel like anything is perfect.  I can still make a great thing!  

What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps and pursue art? Don’t spend 4 years doing nothing, but playing World of Warcraft (Or doooo?).  Uhhh, believe in yourself.  Be nice to other artists.  Draw all the time! Immerse yourself in things that inspire you!  Also, like I said before, things don’t need to be perfect.  Let go of perfect, because sometimes it’s an unattainable ideal.  Just do as good as you can, and don’t beat yourself up so much!  I’m horrible at advice!!!

What’s your best Art School tip that you want to share with folks?   Haha, I moved to Baltimore to go to MICA like, 14 years ago, and then realized I was poor, and would never be able to go to MICA… sooo… I never went to real art school.  I wanted to go so bad, and I still wish I’d had that experience, but I want other people who can’t afford it to know that you don’t NEED it.  Things are a bit harder, but you can find so much free info online if you have the drive, you can teach yourself so many things.  Don’t get discouraged just because art school isn’t gonna happen for you.

What are your favorite style of VANS? I love my lavender/ sea fog Authentic Vans, because they basically go with anything, but I am always eyeing those Sk8-His.

Anything you can share that is coming up?   Ahhhh, I have some realllly cool things that I can’t share yet, but just everyone keep an eye out (It will be very exciting, i swear)!!  As for things I can share, I’m working on some new t-shirt designs, and another comic, and also plan on drawing some more cool wizards in my spare time.   So if you wanna see some cool wizards, uhhh, come to my Instagram–you guys!  Let’s hang out and look at wizards.  And talk about wizards.  And if you don’t like wizards well, don’t come I guess.

FOLLOW JUSTINE: INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE | TWITTER | STORE 

[wehavethoughts]

WeHaveMods!

By now you know that WeHaveThoughts! So, allow us to introduce who we are! 

TideMod

Hello, TideMod here! I’m a recent PhD grad who is just a huge nerd about SciFi/Fantasy (SFF) media of all kinds. Most of my reviews will fall under the very broad SFF umbrella, with a focus on movies and TV shows. I will occasionally branch out and review media set in the real world, but don’t hold your breath. The media I review will be rated out of 5 waves:

with one wave meaning that the media offended me greatly and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and five waves indicating that, as far as I can judge, it was perfect in every way. 

I love media that prioritizes diversity and creative world-building. Dragons, pirates, and complex magic systems will automatically add at least half a wave because I just love them so much. I am always a sucker for happy endings, so I will very rarely rate ‘grimdark’ or hopeless media highly. 

And before you ask: No! My PhD is not in anything remotely related to Media Studies! I’m a scientist with way too many thoughts!

PodMod

Hi! I'm PodMod! After being lovingly appointed 'Podcast Queen' by my loved ones, I'm excited to share podcast reviews with WHT! My rating system will be 'hot mics' on a scale of 1-5, with 5 hot mics being terrific, and 1 hot mic being poor. My reviews will focus on content, host, information, and delivery. Please note: Sound quality is important, but if a podcast rates highly in other areas, poor sound quality will not factor in as weightily in their review. 

So what can you expect to be reviewed? If you were hoping for a more centrist approach, you will be disappointed to know that there will be no reviews of podcasts such as 'Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs' or 'The Rush Limbaugh Morning Update'. If the podcast is at all conservative or too centrist, it is automatically disqualified from review.

What you CAN expect are reviews of podcasts that promote empathy, education, humor, and intersectionality, and of course, true crime podcasts (with the stipulation that the podcast host(s) speak respectfully about the victims and survivors). ;) I'm excited to share reviews to podcasts that make us better and more thoughtful individuals and inhabitants of our little planet.

CinniMod

Hi! I enjoy exploring the world through food and working with new spices. For the past two years, I have attempted at least one new recipe a month.  

My reviews will mainly feature recipes that I have tried, and will include notes on any alterations I may make. Some dishes are meant to be an all-day affair, while others are a weeknight dinner. I love making both! The time it takes to complete the recipe will generally not factor into the overall rating. 

My rating system will be out of five cinnamon rolls. Five cinnamon rolls indicate that the end result is well worth the effort, the recipe was easy to follow, and I’ll make it again. One cinnamon roll means that the end result was unsalvageable and/or the recipe was difficult to follow.

DogMod

Hi there, I'm DogMod, an eclectic lover of content, including cartoons, documentaries, fiction novels, and comics. Only the tastiest of media will do for me and I cannot wait to share with you the best tastes and worst wastes of the web, written word, and streaming services. My reviews will be rated in tastiness, as in, "in short, this book was delectable, a mega'tasty treat of literary delight. A super fine 5 out of 5 Tasty." Or, "this book would have been better off if it would have just stayed a tree. At least then you might get something tasty like maple syrup, or a hickory nut out of it. 0 out of 5 Tasty, and God help anyone who ever has to read this.” Let's get lapping up the best and forgetting the rest- together!

MargeMod

I have retired after nearly 40 years in public service. I come from a large extended family and have been a hospice volunteer for approximately 10 years. I have always enjoyed reading and was raised in a home with loads of books (Thanks, Mom) and a stern attitude for "wasting my time by sitting around" (Come on, Dad).  My life journey is movement toward happiness for myself and those around me.

My reviews will be on a variety of books relating to: Encouragement; Answering life's little and big questions; Self-help; and an occasional straight-forward Murder Mystery.

I will have only 3 rating categories: 

A sprout is the lowest rating and it will indicate that the author did not capture my interest and I will not be looking for more work by that author. A single flower means that I enjoyed the book and will probably look for other works by this author. A full bouquet indicates that I loved the book, will definitely look for more works by this author, and highly recommend that you read it. Highest reviews will go to books that teach me something, are humorous, and/or hold my interest. I dislike violence against innocents, topics I can’t relate to, and when I can’t figure out what the heck the author is trying to say.

DesignMod

Welcome to my digital space centered on interior design! I’m DesignMod, your humble host on a journey thinking through the material aesthetics of our living spaces. On this page, we’ll discuss books found in the interior design or home organizing sections of your library. My goal is to identify which books encourage personal creativity and expression, and offer insightful guidance that is accessible to all people. 

I also hope to curate a collection that strays away from the typical audience of this genre: rich, white, Christian women. These types of books are --for many reasons-- marketed to people who have time and money, who are culturally shaped to express themselves within the domestic space, yet in a way that also insists upon pleasing visitors and guests. I hope to open the discussion of interior design to all audiences, because I think that being mindful of our living spaces will make us all happier and more peaceful when we interact in the world and with people around us.

I will rate these literatures on a scale of one to six geese. One goose could mean that the book: isn’t worth your while in terms of style, is incredibly illegible or hard to understand, is classist or inconsiderate of lower socio-economic classes, or simply isn’t what it says it is. The prize of six geese will be awarded only the most stellar books, those that inspire genuine creativity, offer insightful advice and knowledge, are written for the proletariat, and actually are fun to read.

I, DesignMod, have a Masters degree in cultural studies --she’s verbose. My goal is to write a blog with accessible yet articulate information on how we learn how to take care of our living spaces. I enjoy tending to my plants, drawing kawaii illustrations, learning languages, and thinking critically about the world. My favorite animal is a seal (aka water doggo), and I also very much love pelicans, hippos, elephants, and puppy angels (especially pit bulls and other thicc bois and girls.)

Icon Credits from the Noun Project:

Wave by Nawicon

Podcast by Jejen Juliansyah Nur Agung 

Cinnamon Roll by Kaylen Yul Lee

Teeth Biting Tongue by Vectors Point

Sprout by Jae Deasigner 

Flower by Hat-Tech

Bouquet by Vectors Point

Goose by Tatyana

[hennyjolzen]

by PAM GROSSMAN May 30, 2019

Pam Grossman is the author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power.

Witches have always walked among us, populating societies and storyscapes across the globe for thousands of years. From Circe to Hermione, from Morgan le Fay to Marie Laveau, the witch has long existed in the tales we tell about ladies with strange powers that can harm or heal. And although people of all genders have been considered witches, it is a word that is now usually associated with women.

Throughout most of history, she has been someone to fear, an uncanny Other who threatens our safety or manipulates reality for her own mercurial purposes. She’s a pariah, a persona non grata, a bogeywoman to defeat and discard. Though she has often been deemed a destructive entity, in actuality a witchy woman has historically been far more susceptible to attack than an inflictor of violence herself. As with other “terrifying” outsiders, she occupies a paradoxical role in cultural consciousness as both vicious aggressor and vulnerable prey.

Over the past 150 years or so, however, the witch has done another magic trick, by turning from a fright into a figure of inspiration. She is now as likely to be the heroine of your favorite TV show as she is its villain. She might show up in the form of your Wiccan coworker, or the beloved musician who gives off a sorceress vibe in videos or onstage.

There is also a chance that she is you, and that “witch” is an identity you have taken upon yourself for any number of reasons — heartfelt or flippant, public or private.

Today, more women than ever are choosing the way of the witch, whether literally or symbolically. They’re floating down catwalks and sidewalks in gauzy black clothing and adorning themselves with Pinterest-worthy pentagrams and crystals. They’re filling up movie theaters to watch witchy films, and gathering in back rooms and backyards to do rituals, consult tarot cards and set life-altering intentions. They’re marching in the streets with HEX THE PATRIARCHY placards and casting spells each month to try to constrain the commander-in-chief. Year after year, articles keep proclaiming, “It’s the Season of the Witch!” as journalists try to wrap their heads around the mushrooming witch “trend.”

And all of this begs the question: Why?

Why do witches matter? Why are they seemingly everywhere right now? What, exactly, are they? (And why the hell won’t they go away?)

I get asked such things over and over, and you would think that after a lifetime of studying and writing about witches, as well as hosting a witch-themed podcast and being a practitioner of witchcraft myself, my answers would be succinct.

In fact, I find that the more I work with the witch, the more complex she becomes. Hers is a slippery spirit: try to pin her down, and she’ll only recede further into the deep, dark wood.

I do know this for sure though: show me your witches, and I’ll show you your feelings about women. The fact that the resurgence of feminism and the popularity of the witch are ascending at the same time is no coincidence: the two are reflections of each other.

That said, this current Witch Wave is nothing new. I was a teen in the 1990s, the decade that brought us such pop-occulture as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and The Craft, not to mention riot grrrls and third-wave feminists who taught me that female power could come in a variety of colors and sexualities. I learned that women could lead a revolution while wearing lipstick and combat boots — and sometimes even a cloak.

But my own witchly awakening came at an even earlier age.

Morganville, New Jersey, where I was raised, was a solidly suburban town, but it retained enough natural land features back then to still feel a little bit scruffy in spots. We had a small patch of woods in our backyard that abutted a horse farm, and the two were separated by a wisp of running water that we could cross via a plank of wood. In one corner of the yard, a giant puddle would form whenever it rained, surrounded by a border of ferns. My older sister, Emily, and I called this spot our Magical Place. That it would vanish and then reappear only added to its mystery. It was a portal to the unknown.

These woods are where I first remember doing magic — entering that state of deep play where imaginative action becomes reality. I would spend hours out there, creating rituals with rocks and sticks, drawing secret symbols in the dirt, losing all track of time. It was a space that felt holy and wild, yet still strangely safe.

As we age, we’re supposed to stop filling our heads with such “nonsense.” Unicorns are to be traded in for Barbie dolls (though both are mythical creatures, to be sure). We lose our tooth fairies, walk away from our wizards. Dragons get slain on the altar of youth.

Most kids grow out of their “magic phase.” I grew further into mine.

My grandma Trudy was a librarian at the West Long Branch Library, which meant I got to spend many an afternoon lurking between the 001.9 and 135 Dewey decimal–sections, reading about Bigfoot and dream interpretation and Nostradamus. I spent countless hours in my room, learning about witches and goddesses, and I loved anything by authors like George MacDonald, Roald Dahl, and Michael Ende — writers fluent in the language of enchantment. Books were my broomstick. They allowed me to fly to other realms where anything was possible.

Though fictional witches were my first guides, I soon discovered that magic was something real people could do. I started frequenting new age shops and experimenting with mass-market paperback spell books from the mall. I was raised Jewish but found myself attracted to belief systems that felt more individualized and mystical and that fully honored the feminine. Eventually I found my way to modern Paganism, a self-directed spiritual path that sustains me to this day. I’m not unique in this trajectory of pivoting away from organized religion and toward something more personal: as of September 2017, more than a quarter of U.S. adults — 27% — now say that they think of themselves as spiritual but not religious, according to Pew Research Center.

Now, I identify both as a witch and with the archetype of the witch overall, and I use the term fluidly. At any given time, I might use the word witch to signify my spiritual beliefs, my supernatural interests or my role as an unapologetically complex, dynamic female in a world that prefers its women to be smiling and still. I use it with equal parts sincerity and salt: with a bow to a rich and often painful history of worldwide witchcraft, and a wink to other members of our not-so-secret society of people who fight from the fringes for the liberty to be our weirdest and most wondrous selves. Magic is made in the margins.

To be clear: you don’t have to practice witchcraft or any other alternative form of spirituality to awaken your own inner witch. You may feel attracted to her symbolism, her style or her stories but are not about to rush out to buy a cauldron or go sing songs to the sky. Maybe you’re more of a nasty woman than a devotee of the Goddess. That’s perfectly fine: the witch belongs to you too.

I remain more convinced than ever that the concept of the witch endures because she transcends literalism and because she has so many dark and sparkling things to teach us. Many people get fixated on the “truth” of the witch, and numerous fine history books attempt to tackle the topic from the angle of so-called factuality. Did people actually believe in magic? They most certainly did and still do. Were the thousands of victims who were killed in the 16th- and 17th-century witch hunts actually witches themselves? Most likely not. Are witches real? Why, yes, you’re reading the words of one. All of these things are true.

But whether or not there were actually women and men who practiced witchcraft in Rome or Lancashire or Salem, say, is less interesting to me than the fact that the idea of witches has remained so evocative and influential and so, well, bewitching in the first place.

In other words, the fact and the fiction of the witch are inextricably linked. Each informs the other and always has. I’m fascinated by how one archetype can encompass so many different facets. The witch is a notorious shape-shifter, and she comes in many guises:

A hag in a pointy hat, cackling madly as she boils a pot of bones.

A scarlet-lipped seductress slipping a potion into the drink of her unsuspecting paramour.

A cross-dressing French revolutionary who hears the voices of angels and saints.

A perfectly coifed suburban housewife, twitching her nose to change her circumstances at will, despite her husband’s protests.

A woman dancing in New York City’s Central Park with her coven to mark the change of the seasons or a new lunar phase.

The witch has a green face and a fleet of flying monkeys. She wears scarves and leather and lace.

She lives in Africa; on the island of Aeaea; in a tower; in a chicken-leg hut; in Peoria, Illinois.

She lurks in the forests of fairy tales, in the gilded frames of paintings, in the plotlines of sitcoms and YA novels, and between the bars of ghostly blues songs.

She is solitary.

She comes in threes.

She’s a member of a coven.

Sometimes she’s a he.

She is stunning, she is hideous, she is insidious, she is ubiquitous.

She is our downfall. She is our deliverance.

Our witches say as much about us as they do about anything else — for better and for worse.

More than anything, though, the witch is a shining and shadowy symbol of female power and a force for subverting the status quo. No matter what form she takes, she remains an electric source of magical agitation that we can all plug into whenever we need a high-voltage charge.

She is also a vessel that contains our conflicting feelings about female power: our fear of it, our desire for it and our hope that it can — and will — grow stronger, despite the flames that are thrown at it.

Whether the witch is depicted as villainous or valorous, she is always a figure of freedom — both its loss and its gain. She is perhaps the only female archetype who is an independent operator. Virgins, whores, daughters, mothers, wives — each of these is defined by whom she is sleeping with or not, the care that she is giving or that is given to her, or some sort of symbiotic debt that she must eventually pay.

The witch owes nothing. That is what makes her dangerous. And that is what makes her divine.

Witches have power on their own terms. They have agency. They create. They praise. They commune with the spiritual realm, freely and free of any mediator.

They metamorphose, and they make things happen. They are change agents whose primary purpose is to transform the world as it is into the world they would like it to be.

This is also why being called a witch and calling oneself a witch are usually two vastly different experiences. In the first case, it’s often an act of degradation, an attack against a perceived threat.

The second is an act of reclamation, an expression of autonomy and pride. Both of these aspects of the archetype are important to keep in mind. They may seem like contradictions, but there is much to glean from their interplay.

The witch is the ultimate feminist icon because she is a fully rounded symbol of female oppression and liberation. She shows us how to tap into our own might and magic, despite the many who try to strip us of our power.

We need her now more than ever.

[sunfish999]

Types of People, Kpop ver.

tag yourself haha enjoy

BTS

enjoy Starbucks, typically get an Americano. actually like snakes and most animals. read fantasy romance novels, and that goes for movies as well. when gardening, they prefer flowers, and like the aesthetic of a color scheme. “I’m in love with Khalid”. yellow walls, acrylic paints on wood. starry nights and writing fanfiction at 4:30am. can be bossy but is logical and fair when making decisions. screams at the tv during sports games.

BAP

stealing roses from a neighbors garden. passionate about anything they set their minds to. is sort of basic but in a cute way. lying in bed all day, quilts made by a grandmother. orange lotus soap with a basil scent. writing song lyrics or sheet music, playing the ukelele painted with flowers by your best friend. listens to depressing emo music but somehow it motivates them. cliche daydreams about crushes, can’t get over them even after being rejected. frilly socks and black tights. chipped purple nail polish. 

VIXX 

very sweet, into astrology. carries a picture of their little nephew in a leather wallet. clear phone case with the space gray iphone 8. likes holding hands with family members, friends, and lovers. lives near the ocean and always has sand between their toes. salty hair. a fresh, lemon scent with a hint of lavender. prefers pinterest over tumblr. “Jon Bellion is SO underrated”. very organized but has lots of things. black doc martens with doodles in gel pen. carries unscented chapstick everywhere.  

MONSTA X

tries to be an emo kid but really isn’t. has a lot of money but saves it all for ‘charity’ or ‘college’. aces school but always sleeps in class. mcdonalds all the way. laying in the grass on a sunny day. has some acne but is beautiful anyway. your average alternative music taste. down to earth, grows vegetables for their families. upside down herbs hanging from the kitchen window. is super athletic and most likely plays basketball. really good hearing but can’t see for shit. round glasses that are mismatched. 

EXO

singing in the shower, loudly, along with the music on your ipod. brushing your teeth with kids crest toothpaste. lives in jumpsuits and denim jackets. no one knows but they hate the dark. horror movies ftw. an entire shelf in their bedroom is dedicated to plushies. “yes i have to stand on this chair to take a picture of my food”. family camping trips every summer. plays the clarinet and looks forward to band camp. blasts lofi chill hop music whenever they’re in need of inspiration. pretty hands, no piercings. lives for doing anything with other people, will never hesitate to help out someone in need. 

SHINEE 

super nostalgic, keeps a memory box and still talks to childhood friends. That One Mom Friend. wants to major in psychology. keeps a dream journal and has a tumblr dedicated to psychic research. talks to their dog more than people. huge fluffy white comforter. listens to country music. likes the moments when it’s raining but the sun is out, and most wait for a rainbow but it never appears. doodles on your arms in crayola markers. cheetah print parkas are the way to go in winter. could be in a roller derby or bowling league. 

GOT7 

opening a window during a thunderstorm and just listening. forgetting to write in their diary. pressed wildflowers that are ugly to some but pretty to them. black fountain pens and nothing else. brings a smoothie to class every morning but never forgets fries at lunch. indie music is their jam. covers up the dark circles under their eyes with concealer, since they stay up until 3am. sleeping in super late on weekends and finally feeling refreshed. star of the soccer team and the lead role in the school musical. clumsy but charming. love at first sight. 

NCT 

making pinterest foodie recipes. prints out wikihow pages and keeps them in a notebook with them at all times. could read steven king at night without getting scared. screeches at jump scares but cradles spiders. is the world flat? probably does ballet or works out 24/7. keeps potted plants on their windowsill but can’t figure out why they keep dying. never turns the fan on while showering and then draws figures on the glass. drake is my spirit animal. phone is always at 80% but they never bring a charger anywhere. makes you go on the biggest ride at amusement parks or the biggest slide at waterparks. risk-takers and daredevils. 

BIGBANG 

ironically, watches the big bang theory. and the office. and parks and rec. along with friends. they really enjoy buttery popcorn but skip the salt. listens to 80s music. just above passing grades, hate attention. likes drawing with charcoal on big sketchpads. backhugs for their lover, kisses that send shivers up your spine. silver ring on their middle finger, wears a plaid fannypack everywhere. loves making jokes and is a living meme. lives on a large campus at the uni, works out with friends and is enemies with their roommate. eyebrow piercings and no-makeup makeup. carries a water bottle everywhere. 

DAY6 

works hard in school and their grades reflect that. has social anxiety but no one knows. pretty posters tacked on the walls. graffiti on the bathroom stalls and on train cars. champion chalk artist. always gets ice cream in a dish. two spoons, they love to share. sitting on the roof of a skyscraper and looking at how awake the city is. thrift store shopping. loves reading biographies and watching documentaries. listens to classic rock. 

TWICE

a cat fanatic. watches sherlock, doctor who, and supernatural. is a total geek. makes theories on every tv show ever. can’t fall asleep at night thinking about government conspiracies. gasps when people say they haven’t watched every star wars or read harry potter. “you mean to tell me you don’t know who BILBO BAGGINS is??” stargazing on the roof of your house. spilling tea on your sweater but just shrugging it off. will probably be a best selling author one day. smiles and says ‘have a great day!’ to everyone they see. the guardians of the galaxy soundtrack is everything anyone ever needed.

LOONA 

has a favorite poet. cringes at their freshman year GPA of 3.7. listens to podcasts. carries around an almost ripped rucksack so stuffed with books it’s a miracle it hasn’t burst yet. wants to major in philosophy but minor in math. works in a cafe that sells pastries. studies while perched on cushions that cover the floor of their room. falls asleep in random places. owns a pet bird. sings while baking cookies and played the flute in seventh grade. is fluent in french. 

BLACKPINK 

is into photography. annoys a lot of people but doesn’t let it bother them. smells like sweet perfume. idolizes Audrey Hepburn and owns a book about elegance. it’s on their coffee table. likes vintage hats and wears lace bralettes under everything. owns a record player that continuously plays classic piano records from goodwill. feels like they were born in the wrong generation. tries to capture their emotions with a camera. picks daisies and is an expert at making flower crowns.

RED VELVET 

has a sweet tooth. likes cookies and cakes and candies. desperately wants to travel to london. has an art instagram where they post calligraphy. plays card games every saturday. mornings in the saddle and stroking their horse. collects the eggs from their chickens each morning to make omelets. has quote decals on their walls. dazzling white smile and red lipstick. works as a nanny for the kids down the street. is always tired. listens to slow love songs and teaches ballroom dancing and waltzes. 

F(X)

is cool and they know it. pulls all nighters with ease, handles alcohol well. takes risks only because they have nothing to lose. is dissatisfied with life. predicted their own death and has written their will already. sells old notes and tests to younger students, as well as being an irish literature tutor. likes reading shakespeare. is the heartthrob of the school. stares out the window during class but can answer whatever question the teacher asks. ripped jeans and fishnets is a winning combination. is a black belt in taekwondo. only ever drinks hot chocolate. 

i don’t even know what half of these mean but tag yourself lmao this took years its 3:01am 

[covenshadowwitch]

Miraculous Journey PT.1

Gabrielle slowly wakes up from her sleep, feeling a nudge. She looks at the older gentleman she’s sitting next to. 

“We are landing soon,” He tells her with a smile. 

“Oh, thank you,” Gabrielle smiles.

She places her seat up and puts her tray up. She looks out the window, looking at the clouds and the city that is below her. 

‘A new start.’

Gabrielle Rosalin, 14 years old, is moving to Paris to live with her older cousin and her girlfriend. Her parents thought it would be best fir the shy teenager to move in with her cousin after everything that has happened. The plane soon lands and everyone prepares to disembark the plane. There are groans and sighs from people after sitting for 15 plus hours. Once she is off the plane, Gabrielle turns airplane mode off and sees a text from her cousin Stephanie. 

‘Hey, we are by the baggage claim for the flight from JFK.’

‘KK, be there soon,’ Gabrielle replies.

Gabrielle heads towards baggage claim, she sighs hoping this will be better than her last few schools. She looks at her phone to see notifications from Facepage, she opens them to see her “friends” partying back in America. She rolls her eyes and puts her phone away as she comes up on the baggage claim. She grabs her suit case and duffel bag and looks for her cousin. Upon seeing her, Gabrielle smiles and walks up to her and her girlfriend. 

“Bonjour Gabrielle,” Stephanie, her cousin, greets with a smile. 

“Bonjour Stephanie,” Gabrielle smiles back.

“Gabrielle, this is Jasmine, my girlfriend.”

“Hi Gabrielle, it is nice to meet you. You can call me Jamie.”

“Nice to meet you too Jamie,” Gabrielle says.

“Let’s head home, Gabrielle has a big day tomorrow,” Stephanie says. 

Jamie and Gabrielle nod their heads and head off to the car, once everything is in the car they head off to the house/business. Jamie is a florist and has her own shop, Stephanie has a little corner where she sells her art and paints sometimes. Stephanie is now a painter for a children’s museum and makes good money. Also, Gabrielle’s parents’ will be sending some money for the care of the 14 year old. Once they arrive, Jamie parks the car in the back and they head up to the penthouse. They show Gabrielle around before showing her, her new room. 

“Oh. My. God!” Gabrielle gasps. 

Her new room is 3 times bigger than her old one and is in the best french style and walls are purple. She runs around looking at her reading/writing/drawing area, desk/loft bed and so much more. She squeals and smiles. 

“Like it?” Stephanie snickers.

“Like it? I love it!” Gabrielle exclaims. 

“Well, we will leave you to unpack,” Jamie says. “We will call you when dinner is ready.” 

Gabrielle nods and begins to unpack her clothes, shoes, books, journals and so much more. While she is unpacking, Gabrielle is listening to a French podcast that teaches the language. It has been going well since her mother taught her some French and she took it back in America for a few years. When she is done unpacking, Jamie calls her to dinner. Jamie explains the school, College Francoise Dupont, and how everything works. Gabrielle nods and soon showers and goes to bed, praying for a better life. 

-----------At the school---------------

Gabrielle grips her journal close to her chest, fear flowing through her body. What if she doesn’t make friends? What if....it happens again? She takes a deep breath and heads to the principle’s office to get her schedule. He tells her that she can always come to his office if she ever needs help, even with the littlest thing. Gabrielle nods and heads off to her first class, her heart sinks when all eyes look at her when she opens the door.

“Everyone, this is the new student that I informed you about,” Miss Bustier tells the class with cheer. “Please tell everyone your name.” 

Gabrielle walks up to the front and looks at everyone, a slight blush on her face. 

“Ah, I.....I’m Gabrielle Rosalin,” Gabrielle says shyly. 

“Gabrielle transferred from America,” Miss Bustier tells the class, “Please welcome her and help her adjust to her new home.”

Everyone says hello and tells her their names, she smiles back at everyone as she moves her bangs behind her ear.

“Why don’t you go to the back, behind Kim and Max,” Miss Bustier tells her. 

“Um....actually...it is hard for me to focus when I...sit in the back,” Gabrielle tells Miss Bustier.

“I see, Chloe, please move to the back.”

“Say what!?” Chloe yells.

Miss Bustier just gives her a look and Chloe growls as she snaps her fingers. Sabrina begins to gather both of their belongings to move to the back.

“Just Chloe,” Miss Bustier tells them. 

“But I need-!” Chloe starts.

“Just Chloe,” Miss Bustier repeats. 

Chloe glares at Gabrielle as she grabs her things and sits in the back alone. Gabrielle takes her seat next to Sabrina, she gives her a smile and they both focus on the board. They are all given partner work, Sabrina is surprised that Gabrielle actually helps her on the work and knows a lot about Edger Allen Poe. As the class goes on, the alarm goes off and everyone begins to hide, leaving a confused Gabrielle. Sabrina and Kim grab her and they hide. 

“What is going on?” Gabrielle questions. 

“An Akuma!” Mylene tells her. 

“Akuma?” Gabrielle says confused. 

Alya goes to grab Nino but instead grabs Gabrielle’s arm and pulls her to help her record the fight. Gabrielle follows her, with no choice, with a confused look on her face. 

“Nino! Isn’t this amazing!” Alya asks as she records Chat Noir and Ladybug fight the akuma. 

“I guess it is, but I’m not Nino,” Gabrielle says making Alya look at her in shock.

“Oh my god! I am so sor-”

“Alya! Move!” Gabrielle yells, tacking the blogger to the ground as the Akuma’s attack just misses them. 

“You two should get out of here!” Chat Noir yells to them.

“But my blog!” Alya argues. 

“Alya, he is right,” Gabrielle says, grabbing the broken street sign. “It is not safe here.” 

“I need the footage!” Alya defends. 

“Then get behind the dang car!” Gabrielle yells. 

“Gabrielle! Look out!” Ladybug calls. 

Gabrielle looks up to see the Akuma coming at her pretty fast, she gulps but soon holds the sign like a bat. When he is closer, she swings the sign and hits the Akuma in the side, making him hit the ground to the left of her. Ladybug and Chat Noir use this to take his hat and destroys it to let the butterfly free. Ladybug purifies it and fixes all of the damage. 

“Pound it,” Chat and Lady say, fist bumping. 

“Gabrielle....that was amazing!” Alya says, running to her friend. “You have a mean swing! I am so happy I got that on camera!” 

Gabrielle nervously laughs as the two heroes walk up to the two, Alya immediately asks them questions as she records. They answer vaguely before turning to Gabrielle. 

“We want to thank you for helping us in the battle,” Ladybug says. “That was a good hit you did and it certainly helped us get the hat the akuma was in.”

“Oh! Y-you’re welcome Ladybug,” Gabrielle blushes. 

“It was certainly amazing to see a citizen help us and others,” Chat Noir says, kissing Gabrielle’s hand. “It was nice to meet you purrincess.”

Gabrielle blushes more, unable to speak as the heroes take off. Alya smirks as she goes up to her, her phone still up and recording.

“Oh~ What was that? Does my American friend have a crush on a certain Feline hero?” Alya teases.

“N-no! I just met him Alya!” Gabrielle argues. “Please stop recording!” 

Alya laughs as she stops recording, the two laugh and talk as they return to the school despite it being over thanks to the attack. 

Gabrielle smiles more as Sabrina asks her to hang out so they can get to know one another more and she can help Gabrielle catch up on the work. Things are finally looking up for her!

[kingofthewhatpod]

Fanfic Friday #2: The Watchers

Apologies that this one came out late.... I’m going to try and do better in the future, promise!

Alright, so what did Curtis and I review this week? The escape from Loguetown, Luffy vs Smoker (and Buggy, sorta- he was there but not a huge focus), Zoro vs Tashigi, and the introduction of Dragon. We also have that sick new intro from Gold Roger himself (and of course, my fanfic need not adhere to current canon, er... the canon that we have already reviewed)

And of course, Dragon is the most interesting out of those, so let's focus on him (with certain restrictions. I certainly know more about Dragon than I let on in the podcast episode, and in retrospect, the narrative I spin here hits awfully close to the truth in certain regards, but I’m a man of my word and this is what I came up with on a deadline). Curtis speculated there was something weird about those marks on the side of his face, and he interfered for *some reason* before Smoker could defeat Luffy, shortly after Luffy was saved from death

So I'm thinking... some sort of religion or ideological faction. The people in this group would wear the cloaks, have matching tattoos, take on code names like "Dragon" and "Wolf" and "Black Smoke." Also they have a band that's pretty metal.

Why would Luffy, a pirate, interest a group of religious people? (Let's call them... the Watchers, for reason I'll get into in a sec) Because lightning struck the very execution platform Luffy was on just before he was about to be beheaded. So Dragon believes Luffy was "chosen."

This also ties in to the question Curtis asked that one time, "What's fate got to do with anything?" Maybe that's where Luffy's scar came from- some other brush with death. Maybe Luffy's the luckiest guy alive, and part of that luck means accidentally winning over this faction

Why are they called the Watchers? Well, because Dragon's timing was just too darn convenient for me. Either Oda knows what he's doing and did this on purpose (*cough cough* this is the correct answer), or this was sloppy writing and my fanfic can fix it.

So the idea is that the Watchers send their members to different islands. Places of historical importance, places from which lots of rumors originate, places of cultural significance and scientific or philosophical advancement.

And they're there to ensure the "natural" course of history continues on its way. Because what are the marines at this point in the story? Corrupt, incompetent, power hungry, and greedy (see Axe hand Morgan, Fullbody, and Nezumi as examples)

So the actions of the marines must further this corruption. So the watchers are enemies of the marines who believe in divine intervention, and Loguetown, being the birthplace of Gold Roger is under their watch

Now, what would this mean for the future of the series? It would mean Luffy would probably receive help from them in the future, given that they see him as chosen by divinity. But if Smoker really is that determined to capture Luffy... maybe he'll uncover their organization

Which, I guess, are the Watchers a secret group or are they well known? Hmm. Maybe the group as a whole is secret, but Dragon isn't very good at concealing himself. I like that. This is my fanfic and I make up the rules.

So anyways, Smoker gets stronger by facing these enemies (the same way Luffy gets stronger from each opponent he topples), which means that by the time he shows up again, he'll be even tougher and Luffy won't have the aid of these mysterious forces.

meanwhile BECAUSE FANFICTION and BECAUSE ANIME, maybe the Watchers could help Luffy and co get stronger in some way, so when the time comes the Straw Hat pirates won't have to rely on a mysterious man who quotes the former King of the Pirates. maybe like a sick sword for Zoro, or a more effective weapon for Usopp, or maybe just.... like a gun for Nami! Luffy could get a sort of sensei character who tries to teach him some awesome new punching techniques but here's the part where humor kicks in....

Luffy says no. Luffy is completely uncaring about this Watcher agenda, and they seem to want to distract him from his true quest. And also maybe the sensei type character annoys him, or maybe Luffy is so sure in his own strength, why would he need to rely on this other guy?

But, being as how this is a series that relies a lot on humor and stubborn personalities, the sensei shows up on ocassion anyways. Luffy would be all "butt out, I can handle this!" While this other guy was cracking their knuckles and getting ready to fight.

(a bit like this famous scene, actually. Darn I’m just recycling ideas left and right)

And it turns out Luffy does sort of learn from this new ally without meaning to. Just from fighting side by side they begin to develop trust and Luffy sees minor ways to hit harder and such, and maybe he even begrudginly allows this new ally to help the next time Smoker pops up

That about wraps up all the thoughts I had on this Friday evening- I really hope it wasn't completely awful to read. I'll spend a little more time at the drawing board for next week and come up with something even more spectacular. This has been another Fanfiction Friday. Hopefully next week I’ll do something a little more original

[downwithpeople]

Pro-Tips For GMing

Or: Angus Teaches You To Be An Awesome Gamemaster As someone who's been playing/running RPGs and been enmeshed in the culture for the better part of a decade it's great to see so many new people getting into the hobby thanks to streams and podcasts. As the guy who's been the go-to gamemaster in most of my groups, I want to help demystify that role and encourage more players to step up to the plate and actually run games. Being the GM means taking on more responsibility at the table but it's an extremely rewarding experience and much less daunting than it might appear to be. I've put together this collection of my personal tips for running games. This is system-agnostic and is less to do with the nitty-gritty of actually preparing for the game. Instead, these are just some of the principles I recommend following as the GM. Keep these in mind and I guarantee your players will be back for session after session. Summarised: Be extremely familiar with the rules. Steal everything that isn’t nailed down. Ask lots of questions. Tell the truth and be informative. Put the PCs and their related NPCs ahead of your own. Allow the players’ actions to drive the story. Be flexible. Say Yes Or Roll The Dice. Have fun.

Be extremely familiar with the rules. The GM is the referee of the game, and that requires a higher level of rules mastery than the players. Of course, I would encourage everyone to understand as much as they can about every system they play, but it's a key part of the role for the GM. Read the rulesbooks exhaustively. Go online and find people talking about your game to see what advice they have to give. When necessary, change the rules to better suit the game you want to play. You don't need to have everything memorised, but if you make a rules mistake you should own up to it next session.

Steal everything that isn't nailed down. Be really lazy. See something you like in a piece of media? Put that in your game. You're not bound by copyright laws, so there's no need to be super-original. If you want the Starks to be living in Minas Tirith alongside the Grey Wardens in your game, absolutely do that and even change the names if you're feeling fancy. Steal entire plots. This goes double if you know that your players aren't familiar with the work you're plagiarising. Be straightforward and open with your players. During character creation and at the start of the first session, the very first thing you should do is tell your players about the game. Be straight-up about it. If you have interested players you've probably given them the elevator pitch for your game, so now's the time to expand on that and get them really hyped. Give them an outline on things like the genre of the game, the tone you're aiming for and the kind of characters they'll be playing. Answer their questions and encourage them to ask more. If there's any boundaries you want to set for the content of the game, set them.

Be a fan of the player characters. Love them like you love your players. Get hyped up about them and about their possibilities. They are, after all, the main characters of your story. If you're an artist, draw them. If you have disposable income, commission others to draw them. Your players will love you for it. I've had players write 'fanfic' about their characters and set up Pinterest boards and aesthetic blogs for them and if yours do that, check those out. Talk to your players about their characters and flesh them out together. Ask lots of questions. Both in and out of the game, never stop asking the players questions about things. Ask the players about their characters' families, their hopes and dreams, their favourite foods and colours. This isn't just limited to their characters either. Let them make decisions about the world they're playing in and let them see those decisions affect the game. If you're playing in a pre-made setting like the Forgotten Realms a lot of the big questions might already be answered but hey, you can change those too. Tell the truth and be informative. Tell the absolute truth. It's fine to mislead and misdirect, but if your players want to know something be forthcoming with that information. Whatever details they ask for (that their characters could feasibly know), hand them over. Sometimes people become attracted to the idea of doing a bait-and-switch on their players and suddenly changing major details in the game as a cheap gotcha, but it's better to be honest in all your dealings.

Put the PCs and their related NPCs ahead of your own. What does this mean? Make sure that the PCs and the side-characters that are important to them are the focus of your story. Keep them alive. Your NPCs on the other hand, treat them like garbage. Let the players massacre them. Resist the temptation to save them when the players make an effort to kill them. Don't lavish the kind of attention on them that you should be saving for the PCs. If you feel the need to do that, try writing a novel about them instead. Allow the players’ actions to drive the story. As I said before, the PCs are the protagonists. They're the movers and shakers in your game, the ones who make things happen. When they commit to a course of action, you want to follow that and see where it goes. Do this even when it tampers with your carefully-laid plans. Personally speaking? I try to plan for as little as possible and encourage the players to be a proactive force in the world. The former is optional (you might love drawing maps as much as I hate it) but you should always try to do the latter. Related to that: Be flexible. I guarantee you one thing, your players will come up with solutions to problems that you would never have imagined in a million years. They will one-hit your epic boss, they will use the abilities of their characters in wild ways. Even if they're not doing that, they'll do other things to surprise you like becoming intensely interested in the personal history of some random in your story. Get ready to improvise and if you're absolutely stumped, don't be afraid to say 'Hey guys, you really surprised me there so give me 20 minutes or something to unfuck this.' Say Yes Or Roll The Dice. This is a classic aphorism in gaming that essentially means that when a player wants to do something, you should generally let them do it. If you don't want to give it to them so easy, make them roll for it first so that they really have to commit to it. If they ask you the kind of leading question that sounds like they're putting together a plan, absolutely say yes and find out what happens next. Do they want to know if the room they're in has high gothic arches? It didn't before, but it does now. You want to be saying 'yes' or 'yes, but' twice as much as you say 'no'. Have fun. Have fun! This is a game after all, and you're playing it too even if you're following different rules. Being a GM doesn't mean putting everyone else's enjoyment above your own. If you're not enjoying the game, talk to the players and figure out what you need to do to change it. Try a different game, or let someone else put on the GM hat for a while. And when they do, direct them to this guide!

[the-a-factor-fs-blog]

Kiss & Cry - Episode 2

Welcome to the second Episode of “Kiss & Cry”, Max Ambesi’s latest podcasts series.

If you missed first Episode, you can catch up with it here (x)

In this second Episode, Max chatted about various topics with Angelo Dolfini (former Figure Skating Italian Champion, Tech Specialist and now Figure Skating Coach, plus Technical Analyst for Italian Eurosport), while Alessandro Genuzio acted only as host.

This second podcast is 116.08 minutes long, and it’s available to be listened in Italian here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talk-sport/puntata-2

In the following translation, (M) indicates when M. Ambesi is speaking, (A) indicates when A. Dolfini is speaking, (H) when the Host, A. Genuzio, intervenes.

Translated by The-A-Factor Team. Please do not repost without permission.

Table of Content:

Nebelhorn Trophy Results, Olympic Qualification & Judges’ draw for Pyeongchang.

Fantasy Skating - Pick your Skater.

Junior Grand Prix

A New Scoring System? Yes, but it must be done rationally

Programs’ Comparison: Yuzuru Hanyu’s and Shoma Uno’s Short Program

Various Q&A from listeners

[T/n: This translation starts at 4:45. In the first minutes, Genuzio thanks listeners for the feedback over last episode, introduce Max and Angelo and lists the topics covered in this episode]

Part 1: Nebelhorn Trophy

Analysis and talks over Nebelhorn Trophy, Olympic Qualification and Judges’ draw for Olympics.

Credits to Hiro Yoshida

(H): Let’s start with Nebelhorn Trophy, a competition that didn’t reserve huge surprises. We posted qualification tables and spots earned by various nations on the “Pattinaggio - Figure Skating” Facebook group. Italy qualified [in the men’s discipline] (t/n: spots for other disciplines were already assured from Worlds), and the the few unexpected results came from the ladies’ competition.

(M): Yes, Italian skaters did very well. Between Helsinki, where the World Championships were held, and Oberstdorf, the host city of the Nebelhorn Trophy, they brought home the best they could achieve: two spots in Pairs, Ice Dance and Ladies, one spot in Men. It was impossible to do more than this.

Rizzo did well, he managed to skate again on the same level he showed at the Lombardia Trophy. A solid triple Axel, good triple-triple combinations, and he went over 220 points. We don’t know yet who will be the Italian skater to join the Olympic team, but for sure, Matteo Rizzo - with his results in Bergamo and Oberstdorf - put together a lot of points [t/n Italian Olympic Team will be decided based on national ranking. The Italian National Ranking is calculated by summing up the best scores in different competitions, as detailed by Federation guidelines], it will be hard for others to surpass him. I’d say that 70%, he will be the Italian men’s single skater who is going to Pyeongchang and I think it’s a good thing, since he is 360° a product of the Italian figure skating world. He grew up on bread and figure skating [t/n “Crescere a pane e pattinaggio”, an Italian figure of speech to say figure skating - in this instance - was as important to his growth as food is], his parents did make figure skating history in Ice Dance in Italy as coaches. We should never forget they coached Italian ice dancers to win Junior Grand Prix Final. (Italian) Ice Dance is often applauded for the results it achieved in recent years, but we should remember that Ice Dance has always had quite an important history, and results of good caliber as well, in the past. And Rizzo’s family gave a lot to Ice Dance. Matteo skates in the singles and he has been improving exponentially compared to the last season. The Matteo Rizzo we saw at Bergamo and at Oberstdorf is not the same skater we saw last season. I do believe he is a skater who can bring some good results to Italy, since a skater who is consistently scoring over 220 points can be in the top 10 at the European Championships. And if he grows a quid more, he can aim for something better. I admit I didn’t expect him to grow so much, so fast, so hats off to him.

(A): Yes, really impressive competitions, especially at Nebelhorn. Cold numbers aside, he faced a significant pressure: the prize was important, the average level - low/average level, let me say so - is becoming higher and higher and the competition is becoming greater and from more and more countries. So it was really tough to conquer this spot, and Matteo kept calm, plus his technical skills and his improvements on consistency in the triple Axel, an element he was already able to rotate, but that is becoming a focal point of his skating. He is also a skater that has always had skating skills of good quality. After all, he followed in his parents’ footsteps, as you recall. Ice dance coaches who can teach a lot about this topic. Their achievements are important – Max, you told about their success with the juniors and maybe some of those couples have split, but some then went on to achieve important results in seniors, too: with other coaches, maybe, but it’s still meaningful what you said. And I do believe, too, that Italy couldn’t have gotten [more spots] than it did.

It’s also fair what you pointed out about Matteo. He is really 100% a product of Italian skating, and that’s different from many of his predecessors, because we have had quite a few “imported” skaters, some who did give us prestigious results - I’m thinking mainly about Samuel Contesti, in recent times - but I think you are right, he is the favourite to get on the Olympic team at the moment.

(H): Let’s revisit which other nations qualified for the Olympics and with how many spots.

(M): Data is easily found on the net on many specialized website, but let’s sum up. Top federations will be there with numerous delegates, as always. Russia will have three pairs, as is customary; two ice dance couples and that’s news because it is usually a full three set at the Championships, but ice dance in Russia is going through a difficult time and it is behind others. Then, there will be two men’s single skaters and obviously three amongst ladies, where Russia is the dominant player right now. If Russia could also list junior girls not yet eligible amongst seniors, it would probably monopolize the first five or six positions. There’s a technical supremacy and, to bridge the gap, it’s quite tough for the others.

(A): It’s one of those cases where the rule of “3 spots max” is constricting for them.

(M): Without a doubt. Then, Canada: the biggest delegation with three ladies, three pairs, three ice dance couples, but only two men. Just by a point, because USA got the better of Canada by one point. The USA that will have three skaters in the men’s and the ladies’ - three spots gained “somehow”, let’s say: because frankly I do think that Karen Chen has been extremely helped in the last World Championships compared to what she did on the ice. Personal opinion, but looking again at her jumps, I think it’s easy to see why I’m saying this.

(A): An opinion that can be shared. Let’s say that before Helsinki, three spots were to be expected in the ladies, but in light of what happened, men were the ones who rightfully gained those three spots, where they pulled off half a miracle to bring home the full result.

(M): Exactly, then they will have three ice dance couples, a discipline in which they are the benchmark right now, in juniors too. And then only one pair. That’s the biggest news.

(A): And quite an uproar.

(M): Yes, uproar. One pair did finish in the top 10, but it wasn’t enough. At Helsinki, 16 spots for pairs were granted and a second spot for USA would have been the 17th one. In other words: only one spot. The first time since - I’m going by memory here - the Chamonix Olympics in 1924. A catastrophe. It must be said that there are several pairs skating for the USA, but only one is really competitive, no more.

(A): Yes, it must be said. There have been many changes, many couples splitting - which is quite normal in the USA - but (for one reason or another), it’s a discipline in which they are struggling. Not that it is a discipline that brought the USA many big results either.

(M) Exactly. Then, back to the Nebelhorn Trophy itself: in my opinion, the biggest surprise was Galustyan not qualifying (for the Olympics) among ladies.

(A): It caused quite a stir. A fair result that didn’t give any room for debate. She did quite a good comeback in the free skate, but she was really behind after the short program - only 15th - and that was really a surprise.

(M): She may be saved since Kazakhstan may not be able to fill both spots and, in that case, Galustyan is the first alternate. But between underrotated jumps and some void moments in the performance, this talented skater is struggling a lot. Surprise Number Two, instead, for Czech pair Duskova/Bidar. They risked not qualifying, and they now have to thank Didier Gailhaguet, head of the French federation, who decided not to bring two pairs to Korea, maybe because the other ones wouldn’t be eligible. Anyway, France did free up one spot and Duskova/Bidar were the last pair to qualify. Soundly defeated by the Australian pair, Alexandrovskaya/Windsor, who went over 190 points - a threshold reached by not so many couples. The North Koreans, too, did very well and skated at a good level. And then, everything else went according to plan. The Austrian pair went through, an experienced couple,  Ziegler/Kiefer, who already took part in the 2014 Olympic Games; they did especially well in the short program, with a clean performance, which is not something that happens often for them. They are a couple with potential on side-by-side jumps and throws, but they often make some errors due to the big risks they take. And then Israelis, Connors/Krasnopolski: at the second international competition together, they managed to score an Israeli national record: the first Israeli pair to go over 170 points, although they are both from the USA, going above all expectations and defeating Duskova/Bidar, who are considered one of the pairs to watch for the future.

(A): Yeah, (regarding Duskova/Bidar), it has been a surprise, that performance, it has been a surprise, that result. They brought home the qualification, but not in a way that anybody expected. Anyway, in the end, those qualified for the Olympics are the same that we could have predicted.

Of course the final result at Nebelhorn is not the same as the pairs you listed, because we have amongst them, also pairs from countries that have already qualified. There were two German pairs, for example. This can also upset the balance a bit: less now with the COP Scoring System than before (with 6.0), but I wouldn’t find it a stupid idea to allow only nations that need to qualify to compete at the Qualification Event. Yes, the others get points for the Challenger Series, but they could create some distortion in this kind of “mixed standings”: with some of the skaters trying to qualify relegated to different skating groups than they would have been otherwise.

(M): Which is what happened in various competitions. Especially in the pairs: you pointed out the two German pairs, there was also a Russian one. Speaking of which, Savchenko/Massot and Tarasova/Morozov are both top-tier Pairs: a fine contest between them. The Russians won, but if we speak about potential, the Germans (even if none of them is actually born in Germany) impressed more.

(A): [laughing] Indeed… maybe one of their coaches, or maybe not. But we can consider Alyona an adopted German since she moved to Germany many years ago and she has been competing for Germany for a long time. For Massot, it’s a bit different; in any case, they both are aces and they have, indeed, noteworthy potential: they showed that in many occasions. That throw triple Axel is a great risk, they got -3 with the fall at Nebelhorn, but should they complete it, it’s going to be a powerful weapon. They are working on this element and it does show.

(M): In my opinion, with a clean throw triple Axel, they are unbeatable. Also because it is perfectly incorporated in their program.

(A): And this is the biggest news, compared to last season.

(M): I do believe it’s basically news for any of the pairs who have tried a throw triple Axel or quad in the discipline, so far. Maybe the throw quad Salchow done by Sui/Han, could be considered the same. Although the success rate for it has always been very low. Savchenko/Massot’s success rate on the throw triple Axel is low as well, but the quality on the way they go for this element is something never seen before. The jump’s parabole is bigger and for the way they are going into it, if they land it, they may bring home the Base Value and +3 on GOE, and if that happens, the gap with other pairs is going to be significant.

(A): Yes, they can really get a lot of points, and they can also try it in a short program [t/n contrary to throw quads], so the throw triple Axel may be a key to winning. What you said about the jump’s parabole is true; we must also say that any jump with a bigger parabole increases the quality, but it also makes it a riskier jump and lowers the success rate: we saw the same happening with throw quads, for example. The best success rate on throw quads has always been on jumps that are “more vertical”, with slower speed on entry, and I’m thinking about both Canadians Duhamel/Radford and Russians Kavaguti/Smirnov.

(M): And usually, they aren’t elements really incorporated into the choreography either.

(A): No, they aren’t. The two things often go hand-in-hand. To enter a jump with slower speed is often due to a more telegraphed entry, in which skaters wait for the jump and slow down.

(M): About ice dance, instead, British couple Coomes/Buckland prevailed with no contest. They are not newcomers, they have been sidelined for a long time due to a series of serious injuries for Coomes. They left a good impression and if we look at other international competitions, with the exception of Virtue/Moir, their own score is on the same level as other top competitors.

I’d like to remark on how Igor Shpilband managed to qualify three other different couples, to add to those already qualified after Helsinki. Maybe we will go deeper into this topic about coaches and judges in ice dance in another episode. Zueva and he can count on many countries and many couples right now. It could be a point of strength. We’ll speak about it.

Among ladies, I’d like to point out Alexia Paganini’s performance. She is a skater born and raised in the USA - she trained at Hackensack, where Morozov worked, or still works there part-time, too. Morozov, who is Alexia’s choreographer. Her father is Italian-Swiss while her mother is Dutch. She has three different passports and opted to represent Switzerland. Without even forcing too much, she got to 155 points. Let’s take notice: this is a girl who normally completes triple-triple combos in practice, even though she didn’t go for it at the Nebelhorn in her free program: she went for double Lutz - triple Toe Loop, and if you go for a triple after a Lutz, it means that you usually manage to complete the combo, [3Lz3T]. In practice, she works from time to time also on the quad Salchow, and in the European field - if she will go on - she can make a difference in the next few years because if you take out the Russians, there’s a lot of space to come through.

(A): The battle for top 10 will be tough, but with a triple-triple combo and a solid Rittberger, as she has shown she can do, with good levels on spins and steps, which she already has, she can put down her cards. It would be important for the Swiss movement to find a good skater to pull the rest of the movement up. After the golden age with Lambiel and Sarah Meier, Switzerland is now in a slump in all disciplines. Historically, it’s been stronger in singles, and it always struggled more in pairs.

(M): And same in ice dance. Probably also because the number of skaters is quite low and because, for Ice Dance, tradition is very important. In Italy, we do have a tradition in the discipline, and in the last twenty years - even more than twenty years - important results came through, we will see if this tradition can go on since the top Ice Dance couples are all quite old [in figure skating terms].

(A): This is another interesting topic to cover. For sure, Italy did create a movement, a prestigious school, there are several good coaches and staff and teams that can follow and bring an Ice Dance couple to the top, all the way to win World Championships. Something that happened a couple of times, which is an extraordinary result [for Italy], so this helps. There’s a structure, there’s a basis, there’s a know-how. Then you also need athletes, and right now, they are trying to find the right couples on which to bet for the future. There are several young couples, but probably the one with a little bit more has yet to be found or decided upon. We’ll see in the future, it will be, for sure, an interesting challenge.

(M): Important thing. At the end of the Nebelhorn competitions, the judges’ draw for the Olympics has been held, so we now know which countries will possibly be represented on the panel.

Canada and China got the full haul. They will have the chance to be on the panel in all disciplines. Let’s remember, 13 countries have been drawn, but the panel is composed by nine judges and the actual and final draw for each event will be done right before the start. Canada and China also have a judge in all programs for Team Event. They’ve been quite lucky with the draw. Of course, a judge is supposed to be super-partes [t/n impartial].

(A): [laughs] Yes, of course, a judge should always judge based on what happens on the ice, but we can safely say that in our sport it’s better to have a judge [of your own nationality] on the panel than to not have it if you are competing for something big – let’s not bury our heads into the sand. Then yes, there are many judges and, in the end, the athletes’ performance will make the difference. That said, all nations that can have a judge in the discipline(s) where they are more of a medal contender, are in a position of strength. For China, for example, pairs and maybe men’s, even if that is a bit harder.

(M): And I’d say also for the Team Event. From simulations done after Worlds, China would top USA. Of course, such simulations need to be taken with a grain of salt, considering the Team Event format, but it still means China has quite good cards to play. Italy was quite unlucky because only one judge has been drawn, in Ice Dance. Italy also has a judge in Pairs, but it was a given since there are less than 13 Nations in competition. And yes, Italy is probably stronger in Ice Dance compared to other disciplines right now, but the draw could have been better. In the Team Event, 0 out of 4.

(A): Pity, because Italy can do well in the Team Event. To do well and to medal are different things, but it would be a prestigious result to reach a good final position.

(M): In the Team Event, Russia is left with only one judge. Russia is the defending champion, it won quite convincingly in Sochi. It will be a lot harder to win in Pyeongchang, where Canada seems to be the heavy favourite. Let’s see. On paper, there are four teams that can medal: Canada and Russia for gold, China and USA for bronze. The other Nations are quite behind. Japan is very strong in singles, but it struggles in other disciplines. It can defend itself in Ice Dance, it has no weapon in Pairs.

(A): That’s their problem. They can do extremely well in Ladies and Men, but it could be insufficient. And to be honest, it’s fair that way. If it’s a team competition on four disciplines, the most complete teams are the ones upfront. You are right, Canada and Russia seem to have a gear more compared to the others. I think the battle for gold will be between them, with Canada being the runaway favorites. They are well covered, with champions in all disciplines.

(M): To close this part, I’ll answer a question I’ve been asked by many about the Team Event. The question is easy: “Which countries will take part in the Team Event?”

Eight are practically already in: for some of them, they have yet to reach mathematical certainty, but it’s just formality. Big Four aside - Canada, Russia, USA and China - there are: Germany, Italy, France and Japan. Japan didn’t qualify for Pairs, but it will be able to put a pair couple in the Team Event. For the final two spots, it’s an open battle. Right now, qualification ranking says Spain is in the 9th position, but there’s a problem. Spain qualified only in the men’s and Ice Dance. Rules say that you can only add one other discipline for the Team Event.

(A): I’d say Ladies more than Pairs…

(M): I don’t really know, to be honest. The Spanish pair who competed first at Lombardia and then at Nebelhorn did skate quite well, going over 140. I don’t see anyone in the ladies being able to do the same. That said, I do think it’s in ISU’s interest not to see Spain in the Team Event. Of course, for a country, it is not mandatory to take part in the competition. It can also declined the invitation and decide to focus only on the traditional disciplines. After Spain (in actual Ranking), there is South Korea, which could put out a full Team in the same way as Japan, through the so-called “3+1” rule since Korea didn’t qualify in Pairs. And then Israel, Czech Republic and Australia follow.

It’s obvious that for the ISU, the best scenario would be Korea and Australia: you’d cover four continents, and you’d also have the hosting nation, but it’s not that easy for that to happen.

(A): We can consider the Team Event as a format that is still in the works. It made its debut for the first time in Sochi, so there are still some mechanism to oil. The truth is, there are only a few nations that can really guarantee a team that’s high-level in all disciplines. You can count them on one hand, and we can proudly say that Italy is among them, even if a step behind those fighting for a medal - four years ago, chances to grab a medal were not so distant; it will be way harder next year; anyway, it’s quite tough to put together ten different nations that can take part in the competition according to the actual rules.

Part 2: Fantasy Skating

Let’s play and create your own Ice Dance and Pairs Couple.

(H): I shall throw out a provocation. Earlier [and in the first episode], you talked about how there is a certain transfer market in figure skating, and how in certain countries, it is easier to obtain citizenship. If you had your own nation with infinite funds to create a new couple, who would you pick for Dance and Pairs?

(M): A provocation indeed, a question like this could make people among our listeners riot. I’ll go first… but let me think a bit about it… Ice Dance, the benchmark among men are Guillerme Cizeron, an exceptional skater, and I’d say Moir, Scott Moir, another outstanding skater. To pick the lady, it becomes harder. In my opinion, there are more high-level men than women, right now. Personal opinion. I really like Madison Chock, for example.

(A): Same for me. I do agree, Madison Chock is a high-quality skater, and we remarked more than once how, probably, her partner is not up to her standards.

(M): Then, Tessa Virtue is for sure a skater you’d gladly look at. The strength of the Virtue/Moir partnership is this incredible chemistry born and nurtured over so many years they spent next to each other. Tessa Virtue has a scenic presence that’s so much above anyone else amongst her peers. But I’m still at a loss as to giving a female name for Dance. And back to Italy, Luca Lanotte is also an amazing skater.

(A): No doubt.

(M): He is not that far from Cizeron or Moir. But if I have to pick a woman… I’m really struggling. I don’t know, Angelo, you try, now.

(A): It’s true, it’s true. I’d say Madison Chock, as you said as well. Then, it’s also true that there are some couples who are already “all-stars”, like Virtue/Moir. Ilinykh/Katsalapov could have become another one, had they not split. Katsalapov is another exceptional dancer, the problem is he is quite prone to mistakes, so probably I wouldn’t pick him, but if we are speaking of pure talent, there are not many above him.

Among ladies… it also depends on what kind of couple you want to create. Madison Chock would be ideal with some kind of partners. With a Poje, you could put him next to one of those Russian ladies, with a significant physical impact, and you could make a high-level couple there too. But probably, Sinitsina, others like her and so on – they still lack a bit of charisma, compared to a real ace, so it’s harder to come up with a name. We mentioned Cizeron and not Gabriella, but she is very good, too. She is often forgotten, but her quality is incredible, too.

Not to say that it’s not enough to find quality skaters, you also need to put together skaters that can work with each other, and here topic becomes even harder.

(M): I agree about Papadakis, because to keep up with Cizeron, you need someone that is not so far behind him.

Pairs… Good question… To put together the perfect couple is hard also because of the different body types of different skaters. For example, if we pick Sui/Han, I think that he is amazing.

(A): But with whom can you pair him off?

(M): With her, stop.

(A): Exactly. Maybe with Alyona, since she is quite petite, too, and Han Cong is not very tall and he’s also quite slim.

(M): Look, if I have to name a woman, I say Ksenia Stolbova, when she is healthy.

(A): Probably, I’d still pick Savchenko. If I have to be honest, I also like Sui Wenjing a lot, but what’s the problem there: maybe you wouldn’t pick her since she is weaker on side-by-side jumps. On SBS jumps, Stolbova is one of the strongest ones, and Duhamel, too.

(M): Well, Meagan has been the last Canadian skater to win a Junior Grand Prix stage in the ladies. We have to go back ages, but that’s proof of her prowess as an athlete, even in the singles.

(A): Meagan’s constraint is that probably she isn’t the best interpreter in the field.

(M): Yes, I agree with you. Among men, who are the others? Also for what we were saying about body traits… Bruno Massot has quality to put out.

(A): Massot, then Zhang Hao’s great experience, but we have some limits on skating quality - which is high, but not the best - and interpretation, there.

We ignored the Frenchies, who are doing really well, Vanessa and Morgan both.

(M): Both of them are good single skaters, with a good career in other disciplines. A couple that has been growing up exponentially since they started working with John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana. They are a couple who can aim to medal at the Olympics.

(A): They are really growing a lot. So far they displayed their best at the last European Championships, but they showed great things at the Worlds as well. They need to find some consistency: if they nail two programs in the same competition, they can put pressure on many others.

(M): Exactly. And that’s all for this question.

Part 3: Junior Grand Prix

Analysis and Recap of Junior Grand Prix. [t/n Please note the podcast had been recorded before Poland event]

Credits to ISU

(H): Let’s make a quick recap on the Junior Grand Prix

(M): Right. Well, what can we say? Eteri Tutberidze’s winning streak got interrupted, as her pupil Anastasia Tarakanova completely bombed the free skate after a good short program – by the way the event was held in Zagreb in a very important venue that had hosted some big events over the last few years. Anastasia was betrayed by her most impressive element, the triple Lutz - she’s one of those girls who could really manage another turn on that jump, that says it all - and she had a bit of a meltdown. It happens, she’s not the most consistent, and obviously she may still need some time to physically adjust to new training methods, since she only recently changed coaching team. She ended up in 3rd place, qualified for the GPF, and now she’ll have time to prepare for that event in all tranquility. Surprise, surprise – it was a skater from Saint Petersburg who won the competition, Sofia Samodurova who has all the pros and cons of Saint Petersburg’s athletes. Right, Angelo? (A): Yeah, good jumping technique, but less completeness in skating, less refinement in the programs, and overall less extreme program construction, with less triples in the second half. A more traditional philosophy, in contrast to what we’re used to getting from Tutberidze’s students.

(M): So this makes eight wins in a row for Russia in junior ladies, a record shared with the USA, although we have to go back ten years maybe, when Wagner and Nagasu were juniors. We’ll see if Russia can add another victory in Gdansk this weekend, they’re sending two strong girls both coached by Tutberidze there. Obviously with more careful planning, there could have been five Russian ladies in the final, although nothing is set yet. Of course, right now, Russia has a disarming number of strong skaters, but there are some skaters who can compete with them, like Japan’s Rika Kihira who has a triple Axel, or even some Koreans. (A): Yeah, why not. In Croatia, we saw Young You at her international junior debut and she’s a skater we’ve been monitoring closely for quite some time: she had a fairly good long program and overall her debut was positive. She’s not the only one, there are other skaters, both Korean and Japanese, who can give the Russian girls a good run for their money. Eunsoo Lim did very well at Cup of Austria for instance, I was quite impressed. (M): Indeed, she has great flow, skates full-rink, has big jumps, but compared to the top Russian girls, her programs are emptier. Nevertheless, she has great potential. (A): I agree. Even physically, she’s already very tall, almost through puberty, she doesn’t have that “little girl” body type we see sometimes with some Russian girls. So this is a good sign already for her future development as a skater.

(M): In men’s, Krasnozhon did pretty well, he’s Russian through and through but he competes for the USA. He tried the quad Loop again and, in my opinion, it was round, but it was marked as under-rotated. Let’s remark that no European skater has ever landed a quad Loop, should Krasnozhon make it... well he would be ratified as an American skater even if he has a totally different background. Pay attention to the next event for junior men. Matteo Rizzo will be there, and judging from his competitions up until now, he could aim at the podium. Getting 220 points in a JGP allows you to climb on the podium and, depending on the event, you can even win the competition. Next, he will be in Egna, home event, and if he still has energy left, he could even aim at qualifying for the final, which would be a historical result for Italy. It’s not an impossible goal to be honest, but a lot will depend on how much mental energy he has left after two big competitions at the beginning of the season. (A): Undoubtedly. The Olympic qualifying event especially can definitely drain a lot of mental energy from an athlete. On the other hand, the fact that he did so well at Nebelhorn – earning a spot for the Olympics – could fire him up even more, so let’s wait and see what happens. Certainly the fact that we’re here discussing about his possible qualification for GPF is another proof of this skater’s improvement. He’s still very young but he’s already the present of Italian men’s figure skating, rather than the future.

Part 4: A New Scoring System?

Further Analysis on Proposed Scoring System Modification

(H): “Well, it’s time to get to the third part of this podcast, which is about this attempt to reform the scoring system. It contemplates the possibility of having separate medals for the short and the free program, and a medal for the overall competition, kind of like for roller-skating, where there is still compulsory figures and there are medals for both that and the free program. The one who has the highest combined score is then crowned world champion. I would like to hear what you think about this, whether it could help make competitions more spectacular, by reducing the differences between skaters’ scores, or if  we’d end up seeing skaters focus only on one part of the competition.

(M): To put it frankly, we could do without that. Skating has a long history; true, once we had three programs and now we have two - and for some disciplines, it’s a crime, see ice dance. Eliminating the compulsory dance impoverished it a bit, but this is just my opinion; we’ll talk more about ice dance next week. Figure skating competitions revolve around both the short and the free programs and I think we should keep going like this: with the overall score counting for one medal. I don’t see why we should make all these changes. If there are, or there will be, athletes who can jump quads that perfectly fit the choreography, who can be the best on spins, and be the best artistically, well, may they win gold medals. I don’t see why we should revolutionize this sport.

(A): To be honest, before thinking about revolutionizing the sport, we should be clear on which direction we want to take it. There have been changes – as you reminded us: there was no short program once upon a time, but compulsory figures instead, and then the free. Then, they introduced the short program and eliminated the compulsory figures. The men’s free program once lasted five minutes, while now it lasts four and a half, and they want to make it last four by eliminating one jumping pass… there are many ideas around, but I honestly think that, while this new scoring system would revolutionize figure skating, I’d let people who watch skating judge whether it is for the best or not. Some of the skaters that we are able to watch these days truly are amazing champions, stars of the sport, who truly shine bright. I don’t think now is the right time to change the system so thoroughly – this is my opinion. Now, it’s true that some changes here and there might be necessary, we’ve talked more than once about that; like, for example, the coefficient factors for PCS. That would be one change to make without completely revolutionizing the entire system. I don’t know regarding the medals. Like Max said, there’s the short and the free programs, but one medal.

(M): Absolutely. Let’s get to the point about factorization. I believe the best thing would be to raise the coefficient factors: for ladies and pairs it could be raised to 0,9 for the short and 1,8 for the free, to push them “artistically” and to keep up with the technical progress. For men, it could be 1,2 for the short program, to get to a max of 60 PCS, and 2,4 in the free, with a max score of 120. That said, and I don’t want to repeat myself, that doesn’t mean that if you do four quads you should get 9’s from the judges, because PCS shouldn’t be scored based on that.

(A): Yes. The scoring system is an instrument, given to the judges, and I’d rather say that it’s how it is used that could decide in which direction the sport might go. Overall, the current scoring system provides the means to do a thorough evaluation [of the skater], by taking into account many details and different features of our sport. It’s clear that when we come across a homogenization of the marks – you get 9’s by jumping quads, and if you get one 9, you’ll probably get all 9s in PCS – then that’s proof that the problem isn’t the system itself, but how it is used. We could probably give some thought to that, while changing the coefficient factors seems necessary, since we are reaching higher and higher scores on the TES. It’s true that we are applying this [the new hypothetical coefficient factors] to the top 5-6 skaters, while we also need to think how that would affect the others and analyze the situation.

(M): Well, if they keep scoring them like they do now, the answer is: there would be no change; you’d only have more balance between the TES and PCS scores. It’s clear that if they paid more attention to details and diversified the marks for PCS, there would be some change. It’s possible that an excellent skater when it comes to skating skills – so quality, fluidity, edges, etc - even worth 9 or 9.5, could get 6.5 in transitions. It’s not a crime. While now, it’s the norm that whoever receives one high mark then receives systematic high marks on everything else. Which is the system’s weakest point. Maybe there would be less discussions by actually diversifying those marks.

(A): Yes, that’s a possibility. But it isn’t so easily regulated; you can get there by having more precise and educated judges. Then that becomes the key point.

(H): It would become quite incredible, to say that someone is world champion of the short program, someone the world champion of the free, and at the end of the day, everyone’s a world champion. It could be confusing. And really – Max is familiar with a similar situation – that’s what happened in luge, in which new medals were introduced just so that other nations get medals.

(A): Yes, well truthfully, to give more medals would please many people, but it would be against the nature of figure skating.

(M): I repeat, history comes first. You don’t throw away a century of history like that. Okay, there are two programs now and not three, perfect, but that’s how skating works. It’s beautiful like this. And the scoring system could work if everything was actually applied as it should be. I believe we could keep going like this for another hundred years.”

(A): It would be great, and interesting. Overall, I agree.

Part 5: Programs Comparison

An Analysis of Yuzuru Hanyu’s and Shoma Uno’s Short Program, plus some other considerations about other top-contenders.

Original Photos from japantimes

[t/n “solo jump” has been used whenever Max said “solo jump preceded by steps/choreographical movements”]

(H): Well, after this let’s get to the next part on our list, which is probably one of the most hyped topics since we’ll try to compare two great athletes [t/n literal: esthete] of the men’s field: Uno and Hanyu. I’d say it wouldn’t be a problem to say that Hanyu is a world champion when it comes to the short, the free program or overall, I guess. [t/n: reference to part 4 discussion]

(M): Well, let’s not forget that it’s  possible for Hanyu, Uno, or Nathan Chen, Patrick Chan, etc, to bomb a program. The competition is made of two programs, though. In this case, we’ll talk about their short programs, since both Hanyu and Uno had a great debut this season. Hanyu broke the world record [in the short] during a competition in the Challenger Series, held in Montreal, Canada, while Uno got a new personal best at the Lombardia Trophy – a very high score, comparable to the one he got at Worlds last season. First substantial difference: Shoma Uno showed us his final layout. It’s an ambitious program, with two quads: 4F for the solo jump that must be preceded by steps or connecting movements  - and a 4t3t combo in the second half of the program, a news compared to last season. It’s clear that he wanted to have a more difficult program (compared to precedent season). Hanyu didn’t show his final layout. He had a 4S as the solo jump at Montreal, while in practice he does that program with a 4Lz or a 4Lo as the solo jump.  During shows held just after the World Team Trophy – so in April or May – he performed his current short program with 4lo as the solo jump. We’ll see what he decides in the end; Angelo, you have quite a clear opinion about this, don’t you?

(A): Yes. I believe, as I did last year already, that, all in all, with 4S, 4T3T and 3A, he racks up even more points than if he does a 4lo. And the fact that he did break a new world record at ACI with 4S is partial proof of what I was saying. It’s true that with a good 4Lo, the BV would be higher, and that he has been able to land that jump and receive positive GOE for it, but maybe he is able to be more relaxed with the 4S. It’s a more solid jump, and one that he does consistently with better quality [than the Loop], but we will see whether he changes this layout for the Olympics, to risk more in order to have a higher BV. I believe that even with this layout, his short program is the one to beat.

(M): And why it’s the best short program? Because Yuzuru can get nine more points on his jumping passes alone, by receiving a consistent +3 on those elements, because of how he executes them. We’ll say more by taking the differences [between him and Shoma] into account, but well, he executes the solo jump with a spread eagle before and after it, the 3A coming from a back counter and the 4T3T combo from a 3-turn sequence, which is the entry of his 3F in the free program. Those are jumps with extremely difficult entries, perfectly executed, and that fit into the choreography in such a way that they almost look like triples, since they are done with so much quality that makes you forget that he’s doing four rotations. There lies the difference. Shoma has improved his 3A with time – an element that he started to execute quite late… not that he’s old in any way now, but he struggled with the 3A so much during his junior career, he didn’t even try it for some time – and at the moment, the Axel is the element he has with the most quality, in terms of Grade of Execution. He can’t keep up with Yuzuru Hanyu when it comes to the solo jump and the combo, instead.

(A): Yes, pretty much like everybody. As a matter of fact, in the short program, Hanyu is truly unbeatable for everyone – if he doesn’t fall – and we even said so many times during our commentary on Eurosport. Because even if the men’s field has many great athletes at the moment,  he’s the only one who can execute a 3A and both quads – [the solo one] coming from steps and the combo – with difficult entries. He’s the only one whose program has all these elements that fit into the choreography, and a very complex one at that. When it comes to transitions, Hanyu’s short program is on another level. It’s really unmatched. It really is better than the others, by a mile. We are comparing it now with Shoma Uno’s short program, which may be the third - if not the second - in terms of difficulty and complexity of the elements planned, and yet the difference is noteworthy. For example, the step before the 4F is barely there. The 3A is executed from a spread eagle, which is easier than Hanyu’s back counter; and Hanyu even has a complex exit from the jump, which he connects very well with the rest of the program. And even when it comes to the combo, Hanyu has a difficult entry before the 4T3T. So his short program truly is the most complex, and it has been like this for the last three, four, even five seasons. Because of this, it’s very difficult to do better than Hanyu, and that’s why I think that, overall, even with a 4S, he would be the favourite in the short program – clean performance versus clean performance, of course.

(M): That said, Hanyu often struggled in the short program last year. Although that was a very complex short.

(A): With the Rittberger, though.

(M): Yes, with the Rittberger as the first jump. Still, it was a very difficult short program, with a different music.

(A): True, it had a very fast rhythm.

(M): “It was still a spectacular short program, potentially the best of the season. He didn’t manage to achieve the same scores he got with the program that allowed him to break the world record once again in Montreal. The one thing that Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno have in common is the fact that they both put the combo in the second half of the program; they’re getting more and more extreme in their choices. As I said, Yuzuru Hanyu practices the program with Lutz and Rittberger as the first jump. I wouldn’t even be all that surprised if he had the idea – if he chose the 4S instead of the 4Lo – of doing all the jumps in the second half. Let’s not forget that one of his fundamental points this season – both in practice and competition – is the 4S3T combo, that is planned after 2’20” in the free skate. So it wouldn’t be a problem even in the second half of a short program. In the free skate,  the plan is to execute two 4T in the second half; historically, the two 3A have always been in the second half, too. If 1 plus 1 is equal 2, I wouldn’t rule out the option to do everything in the second half - Tutberidze style - if the 4S becomes the choice for the solo jump.

(A): Although, it would be quite difficult. It would mean they’d have to redo the choreography and all in all, they decided to repeat this program in order to focus on technical progress, without having to use too much time to learn a new one. This choice has its positive and negative aspects.

(M): Even though, as you said, with the current layout – 4S as the first jump, 4T3T in the second half – he is already impossible to beat. Because, maybe, only the best Patrick Chan can reach Yuzuru Hanyu’s quality. But Chan has some problems when it comes to certain jumps, especially the 3A and the 4S, which would be the solo jump to be executed from steps.

(A): In fact, in a free program it is different. The program is longer, you have more time [t/n: Angelo is pointing out that in the FS, Patrick Chan can better hide his weaker transitions into jumps, exploiting the longer duration to make all other parts of his skating shine], even if having two 3A is a choice that doesn’t really help him. It would be difficult for him to have a difficult entry before the 3A; it would be good already if he could execute it well with an easier entry or even with a long set up, compared to other athletes we have seen, the Japanese in particular. So even the best actual Patrick Chan can’t have a short program with the same complexity and intricacy as Hanyu. I really think that Hanyu has a huge, huge gap and advantage on everyone else in the short program. We’ll see what he decides, but for me, he does have a big margin on others even with this layout, with the 4S in the first half. And he has this advantage because he gets 112 and nobody else has even reached 110 yet. Then, of course, this is all in theory and they still all need to skate; but on paper that is what I see.

(M): Yes. To get back to the comparison between Uno and Hanyu, we have to say that one of Uno’s biggest strengths is his mastery over upper body movements. He’s one of the top three skaters in the world, maybe even more, when it comes to that. And that’s where he makes a difference. It must be said, he’s also trying to improve when it comes to one-foot skating too, compared to the past.”

(A): He’s working on that; he was quite criticized in the past because of how much he relied on two-footed skating – criticism that has even more ground because of how he skates: he executes crossovers by constantly keeping both his feet on the ice, which is neither nice to see, nor a sign of flawless technique. That’s his skating style, though. Anyway, he manages to have good fluidity and speed. He’s trying to work on this by doing more on one foot, we can see that in the short program. Then he does the 3A from a spread eagle, which is done on both feet, but it is still a spectacular and difficult entry. The step sequence is beautiful with many changes of pace. Yuzuru’s one is spectacular, too – truly masterful and always on the note. The comparison is interesting, they both have two beautiful programs. Then we have their music choices: exceptional music for Hanyu with Chopin, even though we’ve already heard it before, because it is an old program; a new choice for Shoma Uno, but new only for him, because it is – how do I say it – quite a commercial choice, let’s say.

(M): Definitely a commercial choice if we are speaking in terms of the figure skating world. Winter from Four Seasons has been used quite a lot, not necessarily just in the men’s field – and it’s debatable if the best programs using it are from the men’s discipline.

(A): True. It’s always a beautiful piece, but undeniably a choice that is – I don’t want to say banal here – a bit predictable for me.

(M): Let’s say it is a classical “Olympic season” choice.

(A): “Yes, a cautious choice, let’s say that.

(M): A choice taken to have less risks and to avoid the kind of artistic license that might not be completely understood by the judges. See Yuzuru Hanyu’s short program last season. I repeat, it was a gem for its complexity and intricacy, but it probably didn’t receive the scores it could have received, for what he expressed on the ice.

(A): Yeah, in the end, it wasn’t rewarded as it could have been, and probably those scores gave Hanyu food for thought, if we leave aside how he didn’t always perform it at his best.

(M): I think you explained it pretty much perfectly: Yuzuru Hanyu has already won the Olympics once, and he wants to defend his title – something that hasn’t been achieved in quite some time, since we have to go back to Dick Button’s wins in 1948 and 1952 . Before then, winning twice was the norm; Karl Schafer did it…

(A): We’re going back to the stone age of figure skating there, to mythical athletes.

(M): Exactly. To be able to defend the Olympic title would be something incredible and Yuzuru decided to use old programs to focus on the technical side and to push himself to the limit because of this. It’s clear that he plans to put five quads in his final free skate layout – and four different types of quads – plus two 3A’s. All of this in order to have seven elements out of eight that could receive three additional points through GOE.

(A): Incredible.

(M): “We’d have to bring up Nathan Chen to find something more extreme than that; as Nathan Chen probably plans to have eight elements that could get three additional points. And then, it’s true that there’s bad blood between Nathan Chen and the 3A, but he has shown that he can do five different quads before: he has already done them in competition and he has gotten positive GOE for them.

(A): Flip, Lutz, Toe Loop, Salchow and Rittberger. All the quads, Axel aside.

(M): Exactly. So with five quads, he could have eight elements that might receive three additional points through GOE. He could repeat 4F and 4T and then do one 3A at the end. We’re talking about something incredible, that until three years ago nobody would have even imagined. But that’s something we can think about now, because Nathan Chen can do five different quads.

(A): It’s also true that this implies taking lots of risks. We have to say that doing such a program requires amazing physical and mental conditions. We’ve already talked a bit about this before, and maybe this should give us some pause for thought, because it’s true that we are seeing more and more difficult programs in the men’s field, with difficult elements done right at the end of the program. Physical training has become pivotal. I mean, even in a terrible free skate like Hanyu’s at ACI – same competition in which he broke the world record in the short program – he had a lot of mistakes and didn’t skate well, but still, the last jump of that free was a 4T. The last jump. Mistakes aside, even the fact that he thought of doing 4T as the last jumping pass is incredible. This is proof  that physical training is pivotal when it comes to trying programs like these, with seven or eight elements that are either quads or triple Axels.

(M): And before closing this part, the most impressive thing about Yuzuru Hanyu is the quality of his other elements as well. It’s this quality that allows him to reach PCS scores that almost nobody else has ever reached in history. We’d have to bring up Patrick Chan, Javier Fernandez at his very best… Shoma Uno is closing the gap – truthfully, he had a higher PCS score than Hanyu at Lombardia in the free. And when we talk of revolutionizing the system, we also come to realize that these athletes, who can jump quads, are also the best in the artistic side. At this point, our conclusion is that there’s nothing to change. Clearly, there are some skaters who are getting close to reaching the best possible combination of art and technique. I used for Hanyu the phrase, “technical omnipotence meets the best artistic quality”, but this is starting to be true, on a lesser level, for others as well. It is difficult for ISU to say “Let’s change” – what can they change? In the end, even if they limited the number of quads, the same athletes would win.

(A): Right, because they have the complete package. If Hanyu or Chan or Fernandez with less quads would be beaten in all competitions by another skater with some quality, but still less artistic quality than them, like Boyang Jin for example, then I’d say that the system is being pushed only in one direction. But that’s not how things are going, because the ones who are winning are also skaters with great artistic quality and the complete package, on spins and other elements as well. These are the ones who win, so all in all, we have to admit that this system produced five/six amazing champions in the men’s field. Incredible.

(M): That said, Boyang Jin is a skater with good quality in terms of skating. I invite whoever is listening to look at the lower half of his body and see what he does with his feet.  He can improve a lot when it comes to upper body movement for sure, but Boyang Jin is a great skater.

(A): Another proof of what we were saying.

Part 6: Q&A Session

Max and Angelo answer to (some) of the various questions received.

(H): Alright, let’s read some questions from our listeners. First question <<What do you think of Cain/Leduc’s program?>>

(M): This is a provocation come on… I think the next step will be using music like “Anton aus Tyrol” by DJ Ötzi or what? Diana Ross… that’s to say their music choice is quite brave. Jokes aside, I like their free, it’s 100% adrenaline from start to finish and Ashley Cain really gives her all on the ice. The music is from “The Great Gatsby” movie soundtrack and it’s really pushing them to skate at 100 km/h, except for the middle part that has a slower tempo. Surely, when skated clean, it will be spectacular. Moreover, they really improved a lot on the technical side and there’s a reason for that: they started a collaboration with Nina Mozer. In fact, there’s more quality on lifts and other pairs elements, and they also have some strong weapons on side by side jumps, so in my opinion they can improve even more. I think the question was more a provocation on their music choice though, what do you think Angelo? (A): Yes, even if it’s not too extreme I mean it’s the Great Gatsby, we have already had skaters using this soundtrack, but maybe this kind of choice stands out more in pairs, as we’re used to a different concept of a pair’s program.

(H): Ok, second question <<Could you compare Medvedeva’s SP at Nepela with Osmond’s at Autumn Classic?>>

(M): Mh… Well there’s a different philosophy behind those two programs to begin with: Medvedeva’s has all her jumps in the second half, while Osmond’s is a bit more traditional. On the other hand, Osmond goes for Lutz and Flip, while Medvedeva has Flip and Loop. Pros and cons of both skaters are always the same: I think Osmond’s Lutz and Flip both, although improved with time, have a rather flat edge on the takeoff, so for me, they’re not +3-worthy. Medvedeva has a smarter approach: she knows the grade of execution is what makes the difference right now, so she leaves Lutz aside as it’s never been her forte, and goes for the Loop - Medvedeva’s Loop is among the top 3 in the world right now, she even does it with both arms up now - and the Flip. In my opinion, Medvedeva’s SP is still highly superior in terms of transitions compared to Osmond’s, because each movement is studied to impress the judges and make sure her PCS benefits from it. (A): Yes, the way it’s built is almost “scientific” in its excessive care to every detail. Also, Medvedeva’s skating is really rich, with difficult transitions, but if you look really carefully at what makes her stand out among the others is her ability to link each jump to the rest of the choreography, particularly the exits of the jumps. In this she’s really the number one in the World and it’s not even up for debate. Leaving the Lutz out of the SP is a smart choice, I agree with her, even analyzing what she did in the free program at Nepela, because she had an edge call there on the Lutz. (M): Yes, although that Lutz is now in the second half of her free, she used to have it in the first half until last year, so she may need some adjustment. Basically, in this free program Evgenia only has a double Axel in the first half, all the rest is in the second half. She’s pushing herself harder because she sees the competition on her ice rink, as Zagitova easily jumps two double Axels and seven triples in the second half of her free and right now she’s technically superior.

Back to Osmond, even though we’ve been promoting her for so many years, I think she’s still a cut below Medvedeva, even on PCS.

(A): Well maybe on Interpretation, she could be better, but Evgenia is improving a lot. On Composition… it’s trickier. Transitions, it’s not up for debate. Skating Skills, it may depend on one’s taste because they have two completely different styles. Osmond has powerful skating, with great speed, sure, but I was rewatching Evgenia at Nepela and she has a great ability to accelerate, her knees are bent, she has great quality indeed, so in my opinion she wins this one too. (M): It’s interesting to point out that when Medvedeva won Junior Worlds, she didn’t have this quality in her skating; the one that really stood out in that competition was Higuchi, who skated two times faster than the others. Anyways, to close this topic, the real difference between these two is consistency, as Osmond’s biggest problem is managing two double Axels and seven triples in her long program.

(H): Let’s move on to the third question <<Max, if you were her coach, how would you set Carolina’s free program layout? Would you risk with 3F3T or would you go for 3T3T? What’s her current choreography lacking?>>

(M): Mh… we can really talk a lot on this one! I think I’d follow this reasoning: if they decide to go for 3F3T in the SP, because the success rate is high in training, then they should do the same in the free program, as you must consider this skater’s own characteristics, her age - by the way she’ll be 31 at the next Olympics, you need to go back to 1924 Olympic Games to find a medalist over 30 years of age – Ethel Muckelt if I remember correctly. Let’s go back to Kostner and her programs though, she’s a skater from another era honestly. She grew up under another system and if you compare her programs to Trusova - currently the top junior lady - you can see the difference in the sport itself. And when I made that example of giving 9.5 in Skating Skills and 6.5 in Transitions I was referring first and foremost to Kostner. (A): Yes, certainly there are athletes for whom it is easier to tell the difference between the various components and Carolina’s case is emblematic. On Skating Skill, Interpretation, charisma, she’s currently on another level compared to the others. Mostly on Interpretation. On Skating Skills, it’s a bit more complex now, but even watching from home, you can focus on the blade and see how tilted it is on the ice and how deep the edge is. That is a sign of great quality. Nevertheless, it’s true that right now there’s a big gap on Transitions between her and some of her competitors. (M): On Skating Skills, the main difference between old Kostner and today’s Kostner is the ice coverage of her skating, and her jumps are smaller too. I repeat, it’s a 31 year-old skater we’re talking about here [t/n So it’s normal some of her best traits are no longer as good as when she was younger]. Back to the layout, I think it’s best to have the same triple-triple combination in both programs. The difference in base value between a Toe Loop and a Flip is only one point, so you could get it back with a higher grade of execution on a 3T3T, same as Daleman does, for instance. I think that’s a strategy that could work for her, but then again, to answer this question properly, we should see what she does in training everyday, because if the success rate on 3F3T is above 80%, then she should definitely go with that one. Yes, she’d be behind many of her competitors on TES, but then she can make up the gap with PCS and especially on the components in which she’s better than the others. She could get a high PCS even if she were judged more accurately according to what really happens on the ice, plus the scoring system would certainly look more believable. The real problem is in the free skate, because I have yet to see a triple Lutz from her since her comeback, so in the free, in my opinion, she should go for two double Axels and six triples. So, if you go for 3T3T, your choices are narrower: you can put out two Axels, a triple Salchow, but then you have to try two Flips and a Loop and it gets quite demanding. If you go for 3F3T instead, you could try a solo triple Toe Loop in the second half. It’s not really easy, Mishin and his team who see her everyday would know better. At Lombardia Trophy, the plan was 3F3T, then 3F, 3Lo, and 3T as the first solo triple jump in the second half. It’s a plausible choice in my opinion. That 2A-1Lo-2S confuses me a bit though, probably it’s an emergency plan in case she misses the opening combination.

(A): Yes, I thought so too. If she misses her opening triple-triple, she could recover the sixth planned triple with 2A-1Lo-3S, that could be her plan B in case she misses the 3T on her 3F3T. (M): Anyways, pristine clean Kostner can get up to 75 points in a short program, and in a free skate with clean 2+6, she could get around 135/140 points so it’s still a highly competitive total score. The problem is that probably you will need 220 points to medal at the Olympics. That said, I believe Kostner’s plan is to be competitive at the Olympics and maybe skate her free in the last group, proving she’s probably the most enduring skater ever. Our biggest regret is not having seen 15-year-old Kostner competing with today’s young talents, born and bred under the new scoring system - mind you, at that age, she had no problem jumping 3Lz3T, 3F3Lo, 3Lo3Lo. She was somewhat in the wrong place at the wrong time, but alas, history can’t be changed. It’s obvious that today, she can’t challenge those combinations, but aside from that, it’s difficult to rival her competitors on GOE too. Today we see Rippons and Tanos everywhere, one can like it or not, but the judges must reward those difficult variations. To close the topic, Carolina is a skater from another era with all the pros and cons that comes with it. Asada struggled too until she retired, Kim wouldn’t even medal probably because it’s a different sport than the one she used to dominate. (A): Yeah, many things have changed: grade of execution, consistency, number of triples, distribution of the jumps, etc. (M): Summing up: I don’t have a solid answer to the question. If 3F3T is good, then she should go for it, moreso because winning or losing in this season won’t change anything of what she has already accomplished in this sport.

(H): Back to music with this question <<What do you think about Virtue/Moir’s Short Dance music choice?>>

(M): Woah… Ok, I think Rumba is more difficult than last season’s pattern dance, and this means the Short Dance will play a huge role in deciding the medals, in my opinion. That said, I believe the repertoire on Rumba is really so vast, it makes little sense to me that they are picking such extreme songs. I’d like to wait and see what happens at Finlandia Trophy, but if I had to judge based on what I saw up until now, I think Virtue/Moir are still above the rest on the SD. Remember these two grew up with compulsory dance, so it’s obvious they are superior to the rest on pattern dance. Other teams can try to impress the judges with something else, but as of now Virtue/Moir’s SD is the best one. Music choice is intriguing for sure, I would have picked something more classic, but it’s my personal taste, and I’m a bit conservative on certain aspects. (A): Yeah, but to tell the truth, this is not a specific case, it’s more of a general trend. We’ve heard so many rearranged pieces rather than original Rumba music, which of course could displease traditionalists like you - let’s remember that pattern dance comes from compulsory dance, which in turn was an attempt to replicate ballroom dancing on the ice, so there’s a big musical repertoire to choose from. On the other hand, maybe all in all, Virtue/Moir’s choice isn’t really one of the worst we’ve seen, and the program itself is beautiful, so the music doesn’t impact the quality of their Short Dance at all, in my opinion. We’ve seen much more debatable choices.

(M): Undoubtedly. For those of you who don’t know, Virtue/Moir picked three big classic rock hits: “Sympathy for the devil” by The Rolling Stones, “Hotel California” by Eagles, and “Oye como va” by Santana. The layout is the same as last season, with pattern dance at the beginning, and it’s a very smart choice that makes a big difference.

(H): I see the Virtue/Moir topic is going strong, so here’s our last question for tonight <<Who do you like more between Virtue/Moir and Davis/White?>>

(M): Ehhh… very difficult question. They’re two very different teams, even if there’s a school of thought, which I’m not a part of, that claims Zueva’s ice dance teams ruined the sport. I absolutely don’t agree with it, and I think both teams have very strong and peculiar characteristics. We’re talking about four great skaters, I mean Charlie White could do wonders even with hockey skates on.

(A): I agree, an absolute genius of the blade, doesn’t matter which blade it is. (M): I must say that in 2014, Davis/White had an edge over Virtue/Moir and, as scores showed, they were close to perfection. In other times, with other pattern dances, Virtue/Moir were superior, it was an amazing duel. Although young Davis/White were way behind Virtue/Moir, but with time and work - and thanks to the fact that they have trained together in the first half of their career - they improved a lot. We often remark on Charlie White’s ability, but Meryl Davis is equally amazing, because you must be incredibly good to be able to keep up with Charlie’s speed across the ice. (A): I think you mentioned a crucial point: Davis/White’s huge improvement over the years. In my opinion, that’s what makes them stand out, they lived in Virtue/Moir’s shadow for years, but with hard work, they were able to turn their career upside down, they closed the gap with them, they surpassed their long-time rivals, and they never looked back. (M): I have to say sometimes, I hear people saying “Papadakis/Cizeron are so young, they’ll be the youngest ice dance team to win the Olympics etc..” and first of all, they have yet to win the Olympics, but most importantly, it seems everyone forgot Tessa Virtue wasn’t even 21 yet when she won in Vancouver, let’s remember that please! (A): We could add that probably Virtue/Moir had more class, overall. (M): Yes, that’s where Tessa shines, we often remark upon that, and we’ve often described her as “ethereal.” If we consider carriage, presence, and class, she’s really superior to the rest. Then of course, her partner is the fiercest of competitors, he would have probably taken up wrestling or something like that if he weren’t a skater. They’re really a match made in heaven, and probably they’ll end up married for real, we never really understood what the deal was there…

And here you are the full translation of the second podcast.

As it happened in this episode, Max & Angelo will answer to questions in next one, too. So if you have any, you’d like to ask them, just drop it in our inbox.

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Game Grumps Live: Salt Lake City (Review)

My siblings and I got the extraordinary opportunity to see Game Grumps Live! In Salt Lake City on July 15, 2017, at Rockwell @The Complex. We had general admission seating. Here are my thoughts and recommendations!

(Note: This post contains pics but they are bad pics. My apologies. My phone’s focus could not keep up with the frenzy.)

Show Rundown:

They started off with Vernon coming on-stage and greeting the crowd....

...and picking an audience member who is “So good at Super Mario Bros. they could play it with their eyes closed” to...play it with their eyes closed.

(Vernon placing a Sonic hat over the lucky participant’s eyes so he can’t see.)

He then asked the crowd to shout instructions (Mainly “JUMP!”) at the participant at the right times. This made for 10 minutes of amusing intro to hype us up. BUT THEN...VERNON LED US IN THE “HEY I’M GRUMP” INTRO...AND THEN THERE WAS A DEAFENING ROAR…

(The blur here is a perfect representation of the chaos that ensued) ...Arin and Dan EXPLODED ONTO THE STAGE AND THERE WAS NO MERCY FROM THE CROWD.

(Seriously though it’s hard to get good pics when you’re short and the crowd has no chill.) The Game Grumps were on the scene and gave us a hearty hello!

(*Hushed screaming* THERRRE THEY ARRRRRREEEE) The bulk part of the show was an interactive Mario Party 10 game. Arin picked Peach (of course) and Dan picked Yoshi. They then split the crowd into two and had the crowd pick players 3 and 4. 3 picked Waluigi, and 4 (my team) picked Toad.

They had hype chants all prepared for us (“WA-LU-I-GI” *THREE CLAPS* and “GO TOAD”) and told us to hype and cheer as much as possible. They played the game and at each mini game they brought up audience members to play for their respective teams, each time asking their names and asking them for silly hype phrases (Like “What’s your favorite pasta?”) or insults to the other team. There was also dabbing and occasional shenanigans from Dan and Arin. (One of my favorite moments was Dan doing some ridiculous dance/posing at the crowd. Arin asked “What the f*** are you doing, Dan?” and Dan responded with “I”m appealing to the crowd! For Star Points!” XD <3 )

At the conclusion of the game, TEAM TOAD WON!! GO TOAD!!!!! *Deafening roar*

Afterwards they opened it up for questions for about 20 min. (The game went kind of long.) Then they had to bid us goodbye!! Sad!! :(

Thoughts:

I was SUPER hyped to see these guys. Like, really really hyped. It’s still surreal to me that I saw them in person, but at the same time, it’s like “OMG I know these guys.” Mostly, I’m just really glad I got to see them.

The show was fun, but halfway through I realized something: I wasn’t laughing.

Sure, I was cheering and screaming along with everyone else, but I didn’t feel like I was witnessing a live episode of Game Grumps like I had expected. It felt more like a sporting event than a comedy show. It was only really fun if you were one of the people picked to go on stage with the Grumps. Once I realized this I was really disappointed that this was all I had come to see, and hoped in vain that they would play another game afterward. This is more disappointing when you consider how these guys really are very talented performers and improv artists. I paid to go see them and I didn’t get much of that at all. Mostly people just trying to soak in their 3 minutes of fame. (Which admittedly I’d have done too.) I’ve heard that they’ve played Mario Maker at other shows and I really wish they’d have done that instead. I would recommend that if you are ho-hum about going to see them live that you definitely keep this in consideration. (Also, bring earplugs to protect your hearing.)

The Q&A was actually a bit more enjoyable in some aspects, even though I didn’t get a chance to ask a question. I was surprised that the questions asked were pretty quality. (They said at the start, No “Can I get a selfie/hug?” questions, and only one person asked a “Monkey” question, like “Can you say/do X.”) I’ll go over notable questions in a later section. I don’t regret going to see them, but I’m still disappointed I didn’t get exactly what I thought I paid for. (And drove 6 hours and paid for a hotel for.) If you’re a huge fan though, I probably don’t have to tell you that it’s worth it anyway. :)

The Venue:

I will be issuing a complaint with The Complex. We stood in line in 100+ degree weather for over an hour (on top of the hours we’d already spent wandering the outdoor mall) with the comfort that we would soon be in an air conditioned building...except it wasn’t. I had confirmed with The Complex ahead of time that seats would definitely be put out, but I had not at all expected or thought to ask about the air conditioning. It shouldn’t be unreasonable to expect an event venue to be able to cool their crowd, right? I’m not sure if it’s the unexpectedly hot temperatures, the fact that the smoke patio door was open the whole time, or a crowd larger than expected, but it it was sweltering in there and I found myself using my hand fan the entire time, and it wasn’t much help. I do not find this acceptable and I would not consider going to an event there again for this reason. (At least not in the summer, jeez.)

BONUS: Notable Questions and Answers!

Will we ever have an episode of “Dad Grumps”? After a roaring audience chant of “A-VI, A-VI”, Dan said Avi (his dad) has been warming up a little more to the idea of being on the show in some capacity. He doesn’t want to be on camera but he *may* consider doing a podcast interview similar to the interview Dan did with his grandma.

Are the Grumps ever going to finish “A Link Between Worlds?”

They are apparently waiting on a custom controller being built for Dan’s enormous thumbs. They are hoping this will happen, though.

Will there ever be a three-way Game Grumps episode featuring Jontron?

There was a loud roar at this question, mostly “YEEEAH!” BUT there were definitely some audible “Boos.” They have considered it in the past but after...recent events…(Google it if you don’t know)...it’s leaning toward a strong “No.” I got the impression that this wasn’t an outright “No,” but my guess is it’s going to be hard to see how Jon’s reputation erodes or blows over in the next few years.

Has Arin taught Dan how to draw yet? This is a reference to “Super Mario Galaxy: Part 69″ where Dan mentioned how he couldn’t draw and Arin mentioned how he could possibly teach him. They said this has not happened as of yet. The crowd then proceeded to chant “DOODLE DUDES,” and Arin, surprised, said that having Dan on an episode of Doodle Doods could possibly happen, and if it does, we have Salt Lake to thank for it. :)

That’s it for now! Please let me know if you find my review useful, helpful, entertaining, or if you were also there, accurate. :) Thanks!

[marco42james]

5 Mistakes Teachers Make the First Week of School and How to Fix Them

Linda Kardamis on episode 218 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Linda Kardamis @LindaKardamis shares five mistakes teachers make the first week of school. Remember that January is a fantastic time to “reboot.” So, if you made one of these mistakes, work to start over and correct those mistakes. This is the number three episode of 2017.

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Listen Now

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Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

5 Mistakes Teachers Make the First Week of School

[Recording starts 0:00:00]

VICKI: So today we’re talking about five mistakes that teachers make the first week of school with Linda Kardamis @LindaKardamis from Teach 4 the Heart. And I have to give a hat tip to my friends at Sherwood Christian Academy because they told me about Linda.

So Linda, let me understand and help all of us understand, what are the five mistakes that we do not want to make that first week of school?

Mistake #1: Forgetting How Important the First Week Is

LINDA: That first week of school is so important and that first mistake is just that, the first mistake is not realizing how important the first week of school is. So sometimes you just think, “Oh, I’m going to jump in, I’m going to be excited” but you don’t realize how important it is to set aside time to really teach your procedures, to establish structure and really make sure that you have all your docs in a row. Because if you make mistakes that first week of school it can really derail the rest of your year but if you start out right it’s really powerful.

VICKI: It is so much and it is very important how you start. I want somebody to go home and talk about my class the first day because that’s one of the only time parents will say, “Hey, what classes do you like.”

TIP: Work to be memorable. If you want some of my procedures, read Tips on Starting the School Year. Also, our guest, Linda Kardamis, has a Back to School Webinar to check out.

MISTAKE #2: Expecting Good Procedures to “Just Happen”

VICKI: It’s usually what did you do wrong. Okay, what’s the second one?

LINDA: The second one is expecting good procedures to just happen. Sometimes teachers make two mistakes underneath this one, sometimes we don’t think through our procedures, so we just think, “Oh, we’ll just go to the restroom” without thinking, “Okay, I need a plan for how we’re going to go to the restroom.” The other mistake is just tell your students your procedures. So instead of you just tell them, okay, here’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to pass in our papers. Instead, you actually have to practice it with them.

And I take it a little further, I say don’t just practice. If someone does something when you’re practicing it kindly correct them, be very encouraging and then have them redo the part that went wrong. And if you do that then your students will have amazing procedures.

[00:02:00]

It will take time in the beginning but it will pay off the whole rest of the year.

VICKI: And my sister who was a teacher for many years said you can never be tougher than you are that first week. And that’s really the time we’re trying to teach, isn’t it?

LINDA: Yes, exactly.

Two tips here:

Think through procedures

Help students practice procedures consistently, especially at the beginning of the year

Mistake #3: Letting the Little Things “Go”

VICKI: Okay, what’s our third?

LINDA: The third one kind of goes along with what you just said. It’s letting little things go. And I did this my first year especially, I didn’t really know how to deal with issues. Honestly I had good intentions, I didn’t want to whack kids on the head for just talking out loud or having their head down or something little like that. but what I did instead is I did nothing, I didn’t say anything, I just let it all go. And what happened was those little problems don’t stay little. They started growing because students thought, “She doesn’t really mean what she says. She says to do this but nothing happens when I don’t”

And so I learned to address small issues the first week of school. And I learned that that doesn’t mean you have to give a consequence but it does mean you have to address it. So even something really simple like, “Greg, we don’t run in the classroom, please step back outside and come in calmly.” Just addressing them instead of letting them go is huge because it’s sends a strong message to our students that procedures matter, we mean what we say and we’re here to focus and learn.

VICKI: And procedures actually give us a lot of freedom to be creative. Because I know if I didn’t have my procedures in my classroom I would be focusing on the little things and not being able to do these other exciting things, you know?

LINDA: Right. And I really believe that those first few weeks of school, if you can focus and put on the work of establishing the procedures, establishing structure, then you’re able to do fun stuff the whole rest of the year whereas if you sometimes jump in on the fun stuff before you have your procedures established, then it’s like a right the whole year and you’re not able to do as much as you want to do. Then you can do, like you said, so many fun things you can do with your class.

[00:04:00]

Work to establish the procedures and practice the procedures. Sometimes the little things can become much larger if not addressed at the beginning.

Mistake #4: Worrying too Much About Being Liked

VICKI: Okay, what’s our fourth?

LINDA: Number four is worrying about being liked. I mean, we all like to be liked but do we worry about it. And if we let that desire drive our decisions we’re going to set ourselves up for trouble and ironically our students often end up not respecting us and not liking us. So I like to think of it in this way, instead of trying to be a student’s friend, strive to be a mentor. So instead of thinking yourself as a friend, think of a mentor. Because a mentor doesn’t let things go, they have higher expectations, they’re pulling their students up. So you can be both kind and firm, personable but not a pushover, understanding, kind, compassionate but you deal with issues.1

And when you’re that type of teacher you gain their respect and they actually often even end up liking you.

VICKI: I always tell my students you’re going to thank me when you’re 23. That is my goal. That’s when I want them to like me. Not now, because they’re kids and I love them. But kids are kids. Even us adults we make mistakes. And I love the idea of redemptive teaching, of trying to help kids to be able to turnaround that attitude. And also, though, if look at Hattie’s research, the number one thing is teacher expectations.

I was telling somebody the other day. If a teacher says these kids can’t learn go ahead and take them out of the classroom and don’t even waste your year because whatever the teacher believes is what they’re going to receive from those kids.

READ: Hattie’s Relative Influences – “Teacher Estimates of Achievement” are at the top! And remember, you have to have strong expectations of achievement of both your students AND your ability to teach them. What kind of year do you EXPECT to have? Work on your expectations before you show up for work. Your expectations work for you far more than you can understand. If you can raise your expectations, you can raise achievement.

This is especially important for students in poverty. Listen to Dr. Anael Alston about Poverty and the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations.

Mistake #5: Not Being Prepared

VICKI: Okay, what’s the fifth?

LINDA: The last one is just not being prepared. Do you know what you’re going to do when a student blurts out an answer, then they get up and wander around the room, if they use profanity or any other classroom issue. My first year I didn’t have a plan and because I didn’t I lacked confidence. And so, when these things inevitably came up I did nothing and we already talked about when we did nothing.

So, it really helps to have a plan ahead of time. I even recommend writing it down. And you will talk to other teachers, read blogs, do whatever you need to do but come up with a plan, even if it’s not the best plan in the world it’s better than no plan because if you have no plan at all you’re going to freeze and not know what to do. But if you have a plan it will really help your confidence and your students will be able to see that.

[00:06:00]

Vicki asks Linda about a plan Vicki has to make this year: Students talking when others are talking

VICKI: And you know, I feel like I have a plan for almost everything but I’m going to give you one of my problems. So I love having classroom conversations but when the kids get excited they over-talk each other and then sometimes they’ll even do it to me. And I teach older kids so the stuff that works with elementary kids is kind of demeaning for the older kids. So, Linda, do you have an idea for me?

LINDA: When the students are talking they start talking over the top of each other?

VICKI: Yeah, they’ll start talking over the top of each other and then if I don’t stop it then they’ll do it to me and I just can’t stand it because I feel like each person needs an opportunity to be heard. Sometimes your extroverts will do this more often than your introverts and it can really make it difficult for those introverts to be heard.

LINDA: Yes. Well, one thing that comes to mind is – Michael Hyatt talk about this all the time and he has the rule and it’s just we have one conversation. He does this even at his dinner table. And obviously this does take a lot of teaching of the procedure but he just basically says we always have one conversation, in other words one person is talking. If someone else is talking, kind of just teaching them to let the other person finish first. And just not to break into those side conversations.

READ: How to Have Better Dinner Conversations

LINDA: Because I know that’s where often where things happen is two students will start talking on the side and then they’ll draw someone else in and like you said, soon everyone is having side conversations. But if you kind of create that expectation that we’re having one conversation, everyone participates in the one conversation and not the side conversations maybe that will help a little bit, I’m not sure. That’s how best I can come with on the top of my head.

VICKI: I know. And I sprung that on her. But this is just one example of many of the awesome things you can get from Teach 4 the Heart. http://teach4theheart.com/

We’re going to include in the show notes a full webinar that you do, Linda, one the five mistakes teachers make the first week of school.

[00:08:00]

LINDA: Yeah. If you go to teach4theheart.com/backtoschooltraining you will be able to sign up for this training. There’ll actually be a video [replay] so you can watch it on your own time and get all your tips. We just go into this in much more detail and then we talk about how to correct them and how to start the school year right.

VICKI: Teachers, get out there and be remarkable and don’t make these mistakes. So I’ve gotten some great advice and I even got some advice for the thing I’m studying on this summer which is – I love this, I love Michael Hyatt too, having one conversation. I really like that. And that will be on my list. And you can see how all of us have something that we need to improve on every year. It’s part of being remarkable, it’s part of improving.

LINDA: Absolutely.

[End of Audio 0:08:43]

Bio as submitted

Linda Kardamis provides practical advice and Biblical encouragement for Christian teachers on her website Teach 4 the Heart (http://teach4theheart.com/). She is also the author of Create Your Dream Classroom (http://teach4theheart.com/dreamclassroom) and the creator of Classroom Management 101 (http://teach4theheart.com/cm101) and Teach Uplifted (http://teachuplifted.com).

Blog: http://teach4theheart.com/

Twitter: @LindaKardamis

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post 5 Mistakes Teachers Make the First Week of School and How to Fix Them appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e218/

[zipgrowth]

Judge, Jury and Education Startups: Reflections From the SXSW EDU Launch Competition

All the world’s a stage when you’re a startup, and life becomes a pitch in front of investors, advisers, reporters, partners and potential acquirers.

Those hats were represented in the panel of judges at this week’s SXSW EDU Launch Competition, which included Bridget Burns, executive director of the University Innovation Alliance; Vince Chan, co-founder at Creta Ventures; Jonathan Rochelle, product management director at Google for Education; and your correspondent.

The annual tradition dates back to 2012, and features early-stage companies showing off the latest efforts to solve intractable problems across the education landscape. Eight startups took the stage this year.

Over the years I have attended dozens of demo days and exhibitions, and slogged through what already feels like a lifetime of pitches in my inbox. Yet this was my first time participating as a judge, a role that forced me to pay extra close attention.

Some things were once simpler: Edtech pitches used to concentrate on either the K-12 or higher education market. Others, like the repackaging of buzzwords and branding tactics, stay the same. And ageless problems, like helping kids read and pay for college, remain in need of solutions.

Here are my reflections from playing edtech judge for a morning.

Education Is Encompassing Everything

“So where’s the education in this?”

That’s the question that Google’s Rochelle posed to Chelsea Sprayregen, CEO of Pie for Providers—and not because the startup’s name sounds like food. The company offers a suite of administrative software to help daycare providers execute a variety of tasks, from managing government subsidies to financial bookkeeping.

It was an honest, earnest question—but one that raised broader questions about whether there’s a meaningful distinction between childcare and education. Certainly they overlap; few would deny that childcare services make an impact on a child’s development.

It’s a gray area that education funders, including government agencies and venture capitalists, are increasingly dabbling in. Investors at another SXSW EDU session noted that, since 2016, government spending on these programs has increased 17 percent, and private funding has risen 12 percent.

Questions similar to Rochelle’s surface in my mind when it comes to hiring and recruiting tools. That’s what UpKey pitched—a service that helps students build stronger resumes and “connects them to employers looking for students with grit,” according to its flyer. The emergence of these tools in “edtech” reflects the belief that perhaps the most tangible and important benefit of education may be to get a good job.

AI Is the New ‘Adaptive’

“Adaptive” and “personalized” were once ubiquitous in pitches and press releases. The new magic these days is artificial intelligence, or AI. Call it what you want. But rare is the company that takes care to explain how those technologies actually work in their products.

The first question I asked went to Mark Angel, CEO of Amira Learning, about how the AI works in his company’s reading-assistant tool. While it’s unrealistic to dive into details about algorithms and machine learning within the 5 minutes allowed for Q&A, he did at least articulate a mechanism for how the tool collects and labels data, and uses that data to continually train and fine-tune its system. (I often refer to this piece as a primer of questions to ask about AI.)

Another “AI-powered” startup present was ROYBI, which is developing a machine learning-powered robot companion for children. The company claimed it is capable of a wide range of things, from conversing with toddlers and teaching languages and “STEAM” concepts, to being able to react to their emotions and send progress reports to parents. It was a long list of checkboxes for a product that’s still in development.

Not All Ideas Translate

Ideas that sound like viable businesses in one part of the world may not translate as well to others. That was one of the challenges that emerged in the pitch for SoroTouch, which offers an app and also runs tutoring centers that teach the abacus method to do calculations. (The method is apparently very effective.) According to the company’s founder, the tool is popular among the many cram schools that dot Japan, where the company is based.

But in front of a panel of U.S. judges, the value of calculations and cram schools seemed to miss the mark. As a Kumon alumnus, I certainly appreciate all the practical use cases for quick mental calculations (especially when it comes time to split the dinner bill). When it comes to math education, however, the trend is focusing on deeper conceptual understanding and application to real-world problems. As math reformer Conrad Wolfram suggests, why not let computers handle the computations?

The ‘X’ for ‘Y’

“Netflix for education.” “Uber for tutors.” It’s a common and catchy marketing tactic to align one’s service with a popular brand. It can be risky as well. “Facebook for education” just doesn’t evoke the same fuzzy feelings as it used to.

That pitching tactic remains alive and well. At the competition was Caribu, which billed itself as a “FaceTime meets podcast” service that aims to help to connect parents and children via an interactive video call for reading and drawing activities. Think live screen-sharing with digital books that one can also doodle on. There was also Giide, which its founders described as podcasts for professional learning. “Learning must be reshaped to fit our lifestyle,” so goes the company’s flyer, which presumably means listening to a lot of bite-sized audio lessons on the go.

Still Trying to Afford College

Money talks, and when it comes to the cost of higher education, the issue still screams for attention and solutions. Edmit, which provides tools to help students and families research higher-ed costs and find financial aid opportunities, won the Launch competition. The startup claims it can provide more accurate cost estimates based on personal, geographical and publicly available data sets. It all sounded enticing enough to get Bridget Burns to ask: “Why hasn’t the College Board acquired you?”

Judge, Jury and Education Startups: Reflections From the SXSW EDU Launch Competition published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness