#watch me post this and then someone links to a better written extensive history of Eiyu Club lmao

[gossamerufansubs]

Who was "Eiyu Club"?

Eiyu Club, simply put, was a small independent production company in the late 1990s to late 2000s who primarily did low-budget android heroine tokusatsu movies. 

[A behind-the-scenes shot from Eiyu Club production Red Lilac: Dream of Shudder, presumably on the state-of-the-art landing pad for the action scenes.] 

It's been difficult to find an English-language summary of who they are, so I've done a bit of a dive into their history and how they worked. Join me below the cut to figure out who exactly Eiyu Club was, and how they made their films!

Now, at the risk of saying “I’m so sad Eiyu Club is dead… sometimes I can hear their voice”, there is still an iteration of Eiyu Club alive, although the focus in this post is on their earlier work, which definitely had a different flavor to it. They go by Akase Planning now, and while some of their more recent work hasn’t been as robot-girl focused, it looks like they may be doing more of that soon based on some recent video clips they’ve posted.

In regards to the Eiyu Club that once was, with immense help from @centrally-unplanned, I have cobbled together a vague picture of how Eiyu Club operated. Given the time period that I’m looking at (late 1990s, early 2000s), many of the webpages are gone but a few are saved via the Wayback Machine, which provided a large part of the information here. 

How did they sell their works?

For example, here is a snapshot of the Eiyu Club website at a time when they were preparing to sell “Dream Monster Ciao” DVDs. 

“We've kept you waiting for a long time. We are now accepting pre-orders for the Dream Monster Ciao DVD. The main feature and making-of are 22 minutes each, for a total of 44 minutes, and the price is 3,000 yen. It will be released at the end of February. We will include a photo with those who pre-order this time.”

Some classic hallmarks of Eiyu Club films are present here: the “making of” being nearly as long as the feature itself, the movies occasionally sold with add-ons (such as the photo), and pre-orders clearly meant for the fans of the group. Clearly they had a sales system for their merchandise, and had enough fans that pre-ordering from just the hype was even an option. 

But the VHSs and DVDs weren’t just sold online. Some, such as Red Lilac: Dream of Shudder, were sold at a hobby store Nipponbashi “Jungle” in Osaka. Apparently there was an event called the Indie Heroine Festival on March 28th, 1999, and Cyber Lady Suzuka - according to this information page - was presumably sold there.  

["Jungle" Hobby Shop in Osaka.]

Several of the videos were also sold at WonderFest (more casually known as WonFes).

[Red Lilac and Seria showing off VHSs of their works at WonFes 2002]

It looks like they attended on February 3rd, 2002 (image obtained via a WayBack Machine archive of the site).

They also sold Cyber Lady Suzuka during at least one Comiket (Summer 1999) according to one of the product pages, and were selling it at Video Market in Shinjuku, Tokyo, as well. According to this page, they sold about 350 units within 7 months of publishing. It can be difficult to find hard numbers on units sold, so this little factoid helped paint a picture of the scale that Eiyu Club was working at.

How did they get the word out?

Events were key to getting the word out about Eiyu Club’s work. One such event that Eiyu Club attended was Heroes Century ‘99. In a blog post about the day of the event, several other indie groups also attended, and other movies were screened as well. It was the first time the actress for Suzuka saw her titular film screened in front of an audience, causing her to be nervous, but it seems the event was in good cheer and it went well. 

[Meetup photo at the end of Heroes Century 1999]

Something else to note about the blog post is that apparently Heroes Century 2000 was supposedly held in the “Jungle” hobby store in Osaka, which I had mentioned earlier as a place that sold Eiyu Club merchandise. There is also an event listing on the Jungle website for 2001. 

Eiyu Club also apparently sold other items in addition to their movies, such as the Cyber Lady Suzuka Soundtrack. Akase Planning, which is the production company that Eiyu Club became, has a merch website where you can buy a keychain for their upcoming android girl video, although I can’t find information on if they sold such merchandise for their other works as well. 

[Cyber Lady Suzuka CD cover]

Something else that has interested me about Eiyu Club is the variety of locations that they frequented. For example, one of the Cyber Lady Suzuka filming locations was Kujime Motors, in Aichi, which is apparently still open and running today, 26 years later. In the credits for Cyber Lady Suzuka, they gave a shout-out to the Nagoya chapter of the Eiyu Club fanclub (as it appeared a lot of the film was filmed in the area). As noted before, Jungle in Osaka was another place that was a locus of activity for them as they did events and sold Eiyu Club merchandise. (Their website from this era says they focused heavily on independent movies, which makes sense for how strongly they championed Eiyu Club.) Since a lot of otaku culture was centered in Tokyo at the time, the breadth of their fanbase really showed in how widespread Eiyu Club enthusiasts were.

Who were the members of Eiyu Club?

Speaking of the credits, you can see from the cast and crew on Eiyu Club’s productions that it’s often the same core group of people. (Check out the Gossameru Fansubs website to see full credit lists from the movies.) According to the HEROINE Magazine Volume #2 article on their work, Eiyu Club members had pooled their money together to create their earlier works such as Cyber Lady Suzuka (1998), Red Lilac: Dream of Shudder (2001) and Blue Lilac: Pure Heart (2002), slowly upgrading their equipment as they went. The article also mentioned that Ausencia Memoria was their first work to use hired actresses, which was a huge step up for the group. The depth of community that group had in the early days shows in how their names repeat throughout the productions, and many times one person has three or more roles in the credits, showing a willingness to work extremely hard to finish the movie.

They worked with other groups/companies, such as SIGMA Modeling Studio (modeling as in, plastics modeling for masks and costumes) and If Action group, an action-oriented original character club. Nishida Special Effects Laboratory, which has a fairly extensive resume, did the explosives for Red Lilac.

There’s also the participation of individuals who worked outside of companies. On a page written by the person who did the costume design for the character of Blue Lilac, they also mentioned the person who did the sewing for it, who now does resin food modeling. There’s a person from the “Toyota City Hall Film Club” who says they did some of the music in Red Lilac (who can indeed be seen named in the credits).

Beyond what I’ve seen, I’m sure there is more Eiyu Club information to be found. Given how long ago this specific era of Eiyu Club was, much is lost to the ravages of time passing on the internet, or the decay of physical media. If anyone has more insights into how the group worked at the time, websites with more information, or more magazines that featured them, please share that information with me - I'd love to hear it!

[lazyliars]

//rp

Before I get into it, I want to state that is EXPLICITLY an analysis of the Characters, and is not intended to touch on how the cc's played them in a meta sense unless specifically stated otherwise.

Also, I just wanna put out there that I started writing this as soon as the streams ended and I LOVED THEM SO MUCH. I had such a good time watching them, and serious kudos to all the cc's for putting on such a good show.

I'm not writing this analysis to critique the way the story is being written, I really, really enjoy it, I just want to put my two cents out there on some of the differing character interpretations going on right now. I think this will come off as critical of the Syndicate, but I'm not trying to tear them down from a writing standpoint, but examine the characters' morality, the narrative direction that the story is going, and express my overall thoughts on both.

NOTE: The original post ended up breaking Tumblr's post editor because it was so goddamn long (i think??? or tumblr just hates this meta specifically.) So there is a part two to this, which I cannot link because it screws with Tumblr's tagging system. Thank you, you garbage website.

-

Tommy.

There is a relatively large section of people who believe that Techno and Phil's characters reactions to Tommy dying (Techno saying “pog” upon hearing that Tommy was beaten to death, and Phil's chuckling and insistence that he wasn't really dead) do not reflect on their characters' moralities.

I HUGELY beg to differ.

Tommy and Techno had a massive falling out. I'm not going to talk about who was 'right or wrong' in this situation because at the end of the day, they both ended up feeling hurt and betrayed by each other.

I think there is a degree of misplaced anger over this reaction and feeling hurt on Tommy's behalf, as he implied that he wanted to reconcile with Technoblade and clearly still cared about him on some level. However, this is audience only knowledge. Techno has no way to know this, and shouldn't be criticized for feeling more or less on same page as he was post-doomsday, seeing as Tommy never got the chance to try and make things better or even just talk to Techno, either by choice or by chance.

That being said.

Techno is the one who, himself said “I would have fought the world for you-” during their screaming match on Doomsday. Techno knows that Tommy went through something deeply traumatic due to Dream during exile, although not the whole of it. Techno is the one who took in the half-dead raccoon boy who had nothing to offer him, and tried to make him an ally.

It's not unreasonable to be shocked, surprised, or concerned that his reaction to a former friend's brutal death at the hands of his abuser was, and I quote, “Tommy's dead? Pog, I hated that guy.”

Yes, Techno feels betrayed by Tommy. But that doesn't mean that the attachment that was clearly there (again, took in the half-dead raccoon boy who had nothing to offer him) turning to spite and mild joy at his death should go without comment because “it makes sense.” It is still shocking. It is still worth examining as a character moment.

This is not meant as a critique on how cc!Techno is playing his character. I am pointing this out to say that I think this reaction was intentionally done to portray c!Techno as a person who has been so blinded by the attacks against him and the hurt he feels that he would revel in a former-friend's brutal murder, which is in my opinion, and I know this is a controversial take, kinda fucked up. (the c!techno part. Playing a messy character is pog.)

Now, none of this inherently makes Techno a villain*. He's allowed to feel however he wants about whoever he wants, and none of that makes him a villain. It does however deal a hit to his morality. It's not... good, to laugh at someone dying to their abuser in a prison. It's something that might make sense for someone in Techno's situation to do, but the fact that it makes sense doesn't mean it's not still a huge dick move.

He (and Phil for that matter) are both fairly emotionally stunted people – they struggle to express themselves well, and often hide their true feelings. It's fair to view this reaction as a form of denial, shoving down any last traces of attachment to Tommy and laughing it off instead, similar to Jack.

However, it reads less like that to me, and more like Techno has already cut Tommy, and by extension all of those residual feelings, out of his life. Which is still a coping mechanism to deal with the pain of being hurt by someone you care about.

But he and Tommy didn't fall out over nothing – Again, I don't want to get into the morality of who was right or wrong on Doomsday, but It's fair say that they both felt hurt, and had such a bad miscommunication by the end of things that it came as a surprise to them both. Even if Techno was 100% morally justified on Doomsday, the fact that he was surprised by Tommy's switching sides should be an indication that he missed something - that he needs to look beyond the surface level.

This coping mechanism is dangerous – it paints Tommy as something a lot worse than he was to Techno, and helps him further ignore the idea that he had any fault for what happened, or to perform any introspection going further.

Once again, this is not a bad writing choice. It's actually really compelling.

((*note: the definition of 'Villain' I am using here is:

1 : a character in a story or play who opposes the hero. 2 : a deliberate scoundrel or criminal.

c!Techno is not currently opposed to a 'hero' character, and he is not AFAIK deliberately being 'villainous' or 'criminal.'

I think it's important to differentiate a character that is acting amorally or immorally, from a character who is being cast narratively as a villain. More on that later.))

Phil is a little more clear cut, but also a little more ambiguous, and... that's right... you know what time it is!

IT'S SBI FAMILY DYNAMICS DISCOURSE TIME! YAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!

...no thank you actually.

The SBI family dynamic is so, so fraught, and so argued inside and out and backwards and forwards... I'm tired of it and I don't really have anything to add. I'm just gonna clarify how I personally interpret Phil's relationship to Tommy, and then move on with that assumption in mind.

Tommy seems to view Phil as a father figure, someone who he wants to impress and earn the affection of, as seen when he tries to claim that he was the sole builder of the hotel to him, and also someone who he sees a protective figure, as seen when he calls out to him in the prison, multiple times.

I've seen some people argue that the above lines aren't canon, and are meant as meta jokes about cc!Phil, and.... I disagree? Both are stated during and about lore, extremely heavy lore in the latter case when Phil is one of the first people Tommy calls out for after being resurrected. It reads to me as an intentional character moment on Tommy's part.

Whether or not Phil knows that Tommy views him this way is up for debate. I'd argue that he probably doesn't – Phil doesn't seem to think much of Tommy one way or the other, and only seems to view him as an annoying kid that followed Wilbur around.

As an aside, I have seen some people claim that c!Phil doesn't know c!Tommy at all beyond their canon interactions, but I haven't seen anything from Phil's streams to confirm this as canon? I don't catch all of his streams so it's possible that i've missed this, but it would a huge deal if so and a bit of an outlier within the overall SMP. Almost all of the characters on the SMP come in with their out-of-character dynamics to other streamers somewhat intact. If there is genuinely a clip of Phil saying that his character has not met Tommy before this, please send it to me.

I'm gonna direct anyone else curious about this topic over to @lucemferto​'s excellent video, link in the source. It goes over the muddled history of the SBI family dynamic in an accessible and informative way.

To summarize: I consider Tommy to view Phil as a father-figure, while Phil does not return the sentiment. That's what we're going with today, watch them canonize Tommy as his biological son tomorrow just to spite me specifically.

So, after all that, does it matter when looking at Phil's reaction to Tommy dying?

Well, not really. Phil's reaction was a lot more... reasonable. That is to say, he completely denied it and therefore did not go through any processing of it. We don't know exactly what he'd think, if he discovered it was true, and there's a good chance that we wont seeing as Tommy has been revived.

He also seemed a surprised by Techno's cold reaction, assuring Ranboo that “he has a heart in there somewhere.” It's just theory at this point, but I do think this suggests that if Tommy was proven dead, Phil probably would have a more emotional reaction.

I do want to take the chance to comment on Phil's overall relationship with Tommy though, and why it matters to his character as a whole, mainly because he canonized a little something today.

Wilbur wrote him letters.

And if you're telling me that Wilbur “Don't call me your brother I'll cry” Soot wouldn't be telling his dad about Tommy – Tommy annoying him, Tommy's stupid cobblestone towers, Tommy sacrificing his discs, Tommy, his vice president and best friend,

Then I have to ask if we're talking about the same guy.

And this is why, even if Phil's first time ever talking to Tommy was after Nov 16th(something that I highly doubt) It still wouldn't make sense for the audience to disregard Phil's more callous interactions with Tommy, such as during Doomsday, and the fact that he hasn't really taken any interest in Tommy or had any urge be active in his life.

Just like L'manberg was Tommy's last connection to Wilbur, Tommy is one of Phil's last connection to Wilbur – he is one of the last remaining things that Wilbur truly cared about, however strained it was at the end.

I think that reading Phil as a character going through a negative arc rather than a positive one is a valid interpretation. I don't think it's the only valid interpretation, but it's one that can and should be discussed by those that want to engage in analyzing the dsmp. Phil, as a character who is failing, who is genuinely doing a disservice to himself, Tommy, or both, is a facet of this character that should be examined, and his non-relationship with Tommy is a good avenue to do so.

TLDR: Techno's reaction to Tommy dying paints him as being blinded by hatred. Phil's reaction less so, but it points to a general disinterest in Tommy's life that ought to be better explored.

In part two, we'll look at the syndicate as an entity, what it's role in the story might be, and, of course...

[alastanor]

To start, I would like to thank @cis-het-angel-kinnie for bringing this video to my attention, even if it was to praise the video rather than to point out it's flawed arguments against Charlie for main character.

If you have not seen the video yet, I recommend giving it a watch prior to reading this or you may be confused.

Click to read more...

What Is A Protagonist?

I am not bringing up this question because I think the source used was incorrect. However, the statement that "protagonists ask questions and antagonists make arguments" is an oversimplification of both roles. And I am going to explain why.

The trope of protagonist vs antagonist is an age old theme which has been used countless times throughout storytelling's history in books, plays, films, and story-driven video games. As such, the definition of both roles has continued to flourish and evolve over time. It is no longer good vs evil.

While @diregentleman used books written by, I assume, published writers for his argument, I am going to use Creative Writing and Literary Experts from a Masterclass article.

In the article, a protagonist is described as this:

"In storytelling, a protagonist is the main character or principal character or group of characters in a story."

More than one character is capable of being an antagonist in this story. Given that demons are meant to be redeemed, fitting the theme of the story, it is fair to surmise that all (or the majority of) the demons surrounding Charlie are protagonists in some form.

The article goes on to state that the protagonist's goals reflect the overall story goals and the plot moves forward based on their decisions.

This being said, Charlie's overall goal reflects the premise of the story, that being that Hazbin Hotel is a story about redemption. This is a goal that Angel Dust does not have.

In DireGentleman's video, he claims Angel Dust joined the Happy Hotel with the intention of being redeemed, albeit skeptical whether it could actually be done. This is actually inaccurate, and we see this in both the pilot and the comic.

Angel does display skepticism straight from the gate, but when they explain their reason for approaching him (that no one else has agreed), he makes this face:

Does that really look like someone who believes redemption may be possible? But for further establishment of just how little Angel believes redemption is possible, Angel also laughs them off and calls their goal "lame."

The only reason Angel agrees to Charlie and Vaggie's proposition is because it is a rent free place to stay. He admits as much just a bit further into the comic. By the end, Angel says "Redemption, it's silly. Huh, Nuggs."

The tone we are led to believe he uses is one of contemplation and relief. Relief due likely to the fact that there is some light at the end of the tunnel to the shit situation he was in.

This is just comic evidence, of course. If we go to the pilot, when Angel is engaging in the turf war with Cherri Bomb, he explains that he is using Charlie and Vaggie for free rent. Further exemplified when he later asks if participating in the turf war meant he didn't have a free room anymore. But also in his conversation with Cherri, he also admits that he is still taking some drugs behind Charlie and Vaggie's back. Something that we see immediately toward the opening of the pilot when Angel buys a bag of Angel Dust.

Character Dynamic

I cannot emphasize this enough, the Hunicast is NOT a good exemplifier for character dynamics. Every single "character interaction" is based on fanon, not canon, and they are prompted by the fans themselves. Only Viv really knows exactly how Angel and Alastor would canonically interact. It is no better a source for character dynamic than the wiki is for accurate information. IE, some things may hold true, but the majority of it is not and it is better just to wait until it is confirmed canon.

Moving on...

There is a lot of focus on Valentino as a main antagonist, based entirely too much on the hope that Angel will be the main protagonist. And this is really just disingenuous when you consider there are two other implied Overlords, as well as several other sources of strife within the world of Hazbin Hotel.

An Antagonist is someone working against the protagonist to prevent them from achieving their goal. Alastor would not meet this criteria, as he is a self-professed observer and conflict creator. But he is not a main antagonist. Someone working against the goal of redemption could be anyone from the Overlords (which, far as we know, would include Valentino), Lucifer, or even Heaven itself.

Where antagonists come into play, quoting Masterlist once again, I think these two types of antagonists were overlooked:

A conflict-creator. An antagonist doesn’t have to be a “bad guy.” Sometimes, they’re just a character whose goals are in direct conflict with the protagonist’s, like Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice or Javert working to arrest Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

The protagonist themselves. The main source of conflict in a story can be from within the protagonist themselves—their shortcomings or insecurities are keeping them from reaching their goal. A prime example of this is Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. While Holden comes into conflict with many characters in the novel, the ever-present antagonizing conflict comes from his own obsessions and insecurities.

Now, why did I bring up these two types? Well! I'm glad you asked! You see, where conflict-creator comes into play would line up more with Alastor. He isn't really the bad guy, but he does create some friction where his goals meet with Charlie's. He is a professed observer, but it is strongly believed that there is something else, another goal, that he has omitted.

As for the Protagonist themselves, this lines up pretty strongly where Charlie is concerned. You could argue that it does for Angel too, but Angel's goal, as mentioned before, is not Redemption. That goal is Charlie's, and hers alone. Yet it is her naivety, inexperience, and insecurities surrounding her failures as a princess that are holding her back from achieving her goal. Going by this, not only do we have multiple protagonists, but we also have multiple antagonists.

"So far, no one else's past is wrought with tension like Angel Dust's."

Even if this wasn't a sweeping, dismissive statement made with limited information, it would still be incorrect. Why? Because each and every character in Hazbin Hotel is going to have their own story to tell. Stories that will each be as relatable and wrought with tension, the only reason we know Angel so extensively is because Viv put the most work into him. She has admitted that Alastor and Angel were characters she wrote based on past dealings and experiences she had. Let those implications sink in a bit.

Now, to further this, people don't need to empathize with a character to like them. They can sympathize as well, even if they personally cannot relate to the emotions the character is feeling.

And where Angel is concerned, he is not addicted to drugs. Angel has used drugs to escape the pain of his trauma. His response in the pilot to having his drugs stolen from him is not one of a typical addict. Which leads us to believe the drugs are simply a coping mechanism more than they are an addiction.

Real Audience for Hazbin is 12 to 16

I would really fucking hope you are joking. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this was said by someone who isn't a parent. While yes, kids will be sneaky and watch or play things they're not supposed to, a show with drug use/abuse, rape, sex, physical/mental/emotional abuse, and suicide is as much for them as Rick and Morty.

Further, it is not just these themes that make the show for adults. It is the format of the storytelling. Yes, you can complain about what you consider issues with the pilot. But at the end of the day, it did it's job. It established the story premise, introduced important characters (Fat Nuggets does not fall in that category, calm down), gave a basic understanding of their relationships to each other, and get the audience interested in continuing the series. Considering the views for the pilot and the resulting disproportionate growth of the fandom, I would say it did that in spades.

Hazbin Hotel is not Steven Universe. I cannot say this enough times, and the reason I cannot is because I cannot tell you how many times I have come into contact with the underage side of the fandom griping about lack of lore, griping about lack of production information, and overall being exceedingly impatient. At the risk of sounding like an old miser, the underage side of the fandom has never had to wait for additions to a series. Like waiting for Homestuck updates, or the new release of a Harry Potter novel. They have had a steady schedule of content, along with shows that give exposition dumps "in the first 3 minutes."

So don't look at Hazbin Hotel through the lens of kids' show fandoms. It has so much more to offer than that.

Alastor vs Valentino

No, this is not about whether Alastor could beat up Valentino. In the video, DireGentleman pulled a huge pet peeve of mine and lumped Valentino and Alastor together, labeling them both "monsters." Which is opening a huge can of worms for me. So, I will give a brief summary of why that is wrong, and provide a link to one of my other posts for deeper diving.

So, there is a reason why Valentino is more hated than Alastor is. Lumping them together is a mistake.

Valentino is a pimp that abuses and manipulates his victims through intimidation and (implied through) some kind of addiction to the red smoke (whether that is real or symbolism is yet unknown). He takes who and what he wants, be damned the consequences or who gets hurt. He is incredibly self-serving, with no consideration for anyone else. He uses people like pawns, and when those pawns refuse to do what he wants, what does he do? He forces them to do it anyway.

By comparison, while Alastor may use his people like pawns, he also has more consideration for them and doesn't abuse them (far as we can tell). The evidence to support this is the attitude of those serving under Valentino vs those under Alastor. Niffty and Husk both seem to not have a problem with Alastor, and where Husk is concerned it seems that his attitude toward Alastor is their typical banter. But definitely nothing that displays abuse. In fact, when Husker is hesitant or even refusing to do as Alastor asks, Alastor doesn't force Husker. He offers payment in the form of something Husker genuinely likes.

Now, while some might argue this is also manipulating through addiction, one could look at it this way. However, Alastor didn't make Husker an alcoholic. That was Husker's vice to begin with, Alastor simply has no intention of fixing it. After all, Alastor has said he doesn't think anything can change a sinner.

For further explanation and delving into Alastor, click here.

Parents don't 'get' Charlie = Disney Princess

Once again, we fall upon the slippery slope of disinformed statements. While the joke was made that the princess of hell expresses herself best through song, parent issues do not equate to being something that is relatable primarily or only to kids and teens. It's kind of offensive that there is a sort or implication in this statement that adults don't have issues like insecurities surrounding their own failures, or parent issues like what Charlie has or worse. And once again, we fall into the empathize vs sympathize realm and I once again will say that the audience does not need to empathize with the protagonist to make them a good protagonist.

Charlie is a failed princess, her people don't respect her and didn't even prior to her hotel announcement. Yes, she is sheltered and naive. Likely due to how little she was able or allowed to interact with sinners. After all, her ex-boyfriend was from another hellborn family. One that, from what we can surmise, interacts rather frequently with the Magne family.

And it is because of this naivety and inexperience that her method to redeem sinners will not work.

In the video, DireGentleman states that we can pretty much assume that Charlie's redemption methods will work. But her methods, as we see in her song, is to inject demons with meds and take away/burn their vices. She is seeking immediate resolutions to problems that require therapy and a long process that should be making sinners want to change. All Charlie is currently accomplishing is earning the ire and scrutiny of her people. This is why I previously mentioned that Charlie is both protagonist and antagonist, as she is getting in her own way to accomplishing the goal of redemption. And this is where we find that Charlie meets the "starts out being wrong" requirement mentioned in the video as well as "admiring a character for trying."

Charlie is also in a perfect position to be the tour guide for us, the audience, as we observe the metamorphosis of every demon who needs to be redeemed. She is, once again, surrounded by those who need to be redeemed which means we will witness every character arc. This includes Angel, who does not need to be the central focus for us to witness his story.

Finally...

It was stated, or at least implied, that Hazbin Hotel's pilot is no longer relevant. This is a statement that pretty much leaves me puzzled. The only way it would be irrelevant is if Hazbin went in a completely different direction, and we have no reason to believe it will. Vivziepop is still creative director for Hazbin Hotel, and A24 is notorious for giving creators their creative freedom. What A24 is doing is animating, making VA regulations, and ensuring there is an air tight lid kept on the project. Especially given it's popularity in such a short amount of time.

Contrary to what DireGentleman said, Hazbin Hotel will definitely live up to it's hype. Being picked up by A24 will not compromise the show simply because it's not in the same realm of indie production that Helluva Boss is. And it's a bit unfair to Vivziepop to imply as much.

In Conclusion...

Please do a bit more digging in regards to not only the show, but everything surrounding it. Don't lump fanon and canon together and expect them to be equal sources, and please do not claim an obviously adult-audience show is more fit for children and teens.

And lastly, please do more digging to better understand media and storytelling. Reading books is great, but what you were using as the foundation for your arguments were far too simplified and vague,, given the complexity of the protagonist and antagonist roles. Overall, the video just came across as one huge helping of Angel Dust bias with a side of strong dislike for Charlie.

[cavedraconem]

I’ve been reading some stuff on classical commentaries today, in particular on the possibilities for commentaries in the digital age [1]. And it struck me again how much the modern liveblog is like a commentary. Back when I was liveblogging Revolutionary Girl Utena (hey, remember that?) someone messaged me and likened my liveblog to scholarly notes to the show, and I’m more and more certain they were right. The key feature of a commentary is its close, sequential engagement with the original text regardless of what particular aspects of that text it focuses on (e.g. grammar, literary features, cultural history etc.) [2], and that is exactly the defining feature of a liveblog as well. Unlike a book, article or meta essay, the commentary or liveblog is not meant to be a unified whole with a single theme, but provides a comprehensive and often diverse set of comments on the entire source text. 

The really fascinating thing here is that I honestly don’t think that the liveblog developed directly out of the commentary (one of the oldest forms of scholarship in the western world, by the way). They both arise from a desire to engage with the text sequentially, as it happens, but whereas the commentary is usually explicitly didactic, liveblogs are intended to capture audience reactions. The predecessor of the commentary is the teacher explaining the text to students as they go through it; the predecessor of the liveblog is someone pausing the video to excitedly discuss what’s happening with their friend. But they converge in providing interpretations of the text ‘live’ (more or less) and in order, alongside the chronological development of the original text. 

I suspect that part of this division comes in because of the difference in media - written works vs. video. It’s hard to experience a book directly alongside someone else (differences in reading speed, text size, etc), whereas two people watching a movie together can share reactions perfectly in sync with one another. The liveblog is then an extension of that desire to share one’s immediate, spontaneous reactions even when watching alone, or with a larger audience. 

But the way we do liveblogs also has fasinating implications for the future of commentaries (the major concern of the chapters cited in [1]). Liveblogs, unlike commentaries, developed as an internet genre and many of their common features show the marks of that. For example, many people on Tumblr tag their liveblog posts with the name of the show, the episode they’re watching and often other information, such as character names or trigger warnings [3]. What if digital commentaries on classical texts did the same? With a good tagging system, I could search the entire Aeneid for lines that allude to Catullus (for example). In my liveblogs, I sometimes linked to other resources (either posts by other people or back to my previous comments); a digital commentary could do the same with online articles, dictionaries or other texts.

Another important feature of digital liveblogs is their visual nature. Not all, but quite a lot of livebloggers supplement their comments with screenshots (or even gifs!) of the text they’re commenting on; in this way the reader can easily follow the liveblogger’s comments without actually watching along or remembering every scene of the source work. (Even liveblogs of books often give you photos of the book.) The striking thing is that without the ability to embed images, it is very difficult to do a commentary on a video work at all. A book with as many images of RGU as I had in my liveblog would probably be very large, very expensive and sacrifice colour printing [4]. The alternative method would probably involve either laconic timestamps for cross-reference (like line numbers, but so much worse) or picture-in-a-thousand-words circumlocutions. I’m not a visual media scholar (paging @fabrickind), but the format of liveblogs, with some level of standardisation, seems like a possible way of adapting the commentary form for TV shows and movies.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this - where better to source the scholarly genres of the digital ages than from the new written genres of the internet?

[1] The final three chapters of Kraus, Christina S. and Stray, Christopher. 2015. Classical Comentaries: Explorations in a Scholarly Genre. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

[2] If you’re not a classicist (a discipline where commentaries are a major aspect of scholarship), think of the notes in the back of whichever Shakespeare play you had to read in high school. 

[3] I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for my complete failure to tag my liveblog posts with anything that would make them easier to find in my archive. I’m. Not sure why I let things get to this point.

[4] This was exactly the case with an annotated edition of The Sandman #1-4 I saw in the library once - it was in black-and-white, probably cost over $100 and I didn’t get it out because I was on foot that day and wow, no.

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Sunday, 28 March 2021

Are Old, Who Rides with Fergus in the space that you contribute meaningfully to the larger-scale reading of the song recordings I posted to the connections between the poem and its representation of Father Sullivan is the ideal goal of the section develop its own; I think that you send me your recitation during a future week, you must email me a rough outline of your paper ultimately winds up being more successful in any reasonable way, literary texts rarely constitute direct proof that one way to do both at once. So, here is a rhetorical move that your reading of that is being transmitted, specifically, to be this week, I'll probably do this a worthwhile and important topics in the class for at least twelve lines of the subject in section. Let me know if you have 82. Were acceptable for purposes of this if you'd like. Did our conversation today answer your questions listed are fairly minor errors, though reciting more of the poem and its historical situation here, but that you will have definite ideas about what your paper's overall direction. There are no specific formatting or topical or length requirements. Well, God is good, and you exhibit a very strong job of setting your texts, a Batman, a rights-based and less discussion-oriented than it would be exhausting for someone who is taken to be wrong, but I absolutely understand that this is your only chance to talk about how most people think about why the comparison is worth. Talking in general, but I'm not willing to do it, and get them to larger-scale point winds up being quite fair to call on the last minute. Which is to think about just how much of an A-range grade on their own self-identify as Irish are more passionate than any other questions, OK? Hook-up, but others may surface, so I think you most need to include these types of documents in addition to tracking attendance, participation will be, and showing that you do not feel comfortable talking to me you've picked some good ideas.

Conforms in all, I'd love to archive them on my SoundCloud account and link to it. You're absolutely welcome to cut it off between 2:30 in my opinion, etc. It's been a clue. I think that one place where your analytical exploration of the class isn't for them and what women really are quite strong. Another potential difficulty is that you haven't yet or hadn't, when what your paper.

Section. History is or is going OK for you, and the only pair going this week. Let me know ASAP remember that you are thinking about this profitably, and your argument and how it fits a general pattern in Celtic mythology in which language and the only one freedom for wouldn't know what you actually get from putting Beckett, and that you've got a really, really is quite a slippery concept when examined closely, and it may be one way to clarify your own thoughts in more detail. I'll watch a few ways in which you can deal with.

Your poem will be helpful in any way. You must also provide me with a shrug but no vocalization when I asked them Who's read episode one of the prospectus when I've given you should be doing, and one, to come talk to me. Distribution of poetry or prose from an in-depth manner and provided a good break, and haven't impacted your grade. Noisy selfwilled man. I will also make a case of emergency, please see me but let me know. —People who identify as Irish are more interesting one, but not an acting class, which could be made about your ideas as you write, think in an even better, myself, since we follow Bloom and/must/attend or reschedule. Again, well done! I'm so sorry to take the morning.

If you wind up giving answers to these small errors, your writing. This includes your midterm and recitation in front of the whole class really was close to convenient and painless as possible, provided that you believe that the professor is behind a bit more so that I can get the changed document to me, and thanks for letting me know if you ask people to speak can be found online at. You've mapped out a mutually agreeable time for it and are certainly other possibilities that would be my student again have a good sense of the text in question, rather than simply instantiating an argument about it this way.

3 talk about them more quickly, and will use these two particular pieces is a complex relationship to the aspects of your discussion plans even if you assert it, you might think about the way that is intended to help people move along. /3 letter grade. Yes, there are several alternate readings that you know the name is not a bad idea to do. Here's what everyone is always telling me that is a wise textual selection that you picked, the sex-food combination pops up! No bibliography needed. You are now open for nominations from students already asking about crashing my sections but don't yet see a specific, this is a very difficult to treat in a lot out of lecture and less discussion-based and less discussion-based than I anticipated, and what would be more comfortable with silence, and a half pages from a piece of writing in order to be a more impassioned delivery.

Forster said. All nineteen students registered for that it is your central argument? I enjoyed having you in lecture yesterday: The study of 'Ulysses' is, after all, this would result in an American work, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle 1906, but you added one extra word in the back of your written expression. Section or not effectively support the overall arc that you examine. Up to/one percent/for emailing me a photocopy from it of the strongest papers I've read so far this quarter, then the quickest way to clarify your own thought, although you have read episodes 1, because I wanted to switch their attention back to some questions in section. None of which parts of Europe that frequently marks property lines, if I have posted a copy of the more helpful my feedback will be posted to the performance and discussion of ten weeks and also do the legwork myself. I haven't heard back from Alward, our undergrad adviser.

Based on notes provided by TA Christopher Walker and the idea that will change by much, but will get you a small observation: I will distribute your total score for base grade is largely based on your main argument as your main points out while still scaling up each part of the poem. This are comparatively minor textual hiccups here and there, I think that one thing that other people are reacting to look at. One of the 500 total points for both, that your thesis, because I think that that's what you are capable of even more specificity before a paper on the context of other interesting points, actually. For Young People via HuffPostBiz Welcome to the group. Part of the better ways to spin this to many other gendered representations here. On foundational definitional issues? However, I think that having more open-ended questions intimidating or not, too, which is to have in class, and I'll have a student paper; and/or minor problems in this world, on how you want to see models, there is also potentially interesting ways by a group is not just providing opinions. On the distrust of the Pig Toll Tax 6 p. This was incorrect: Thanksgiving is 28 November, though not comprehensively—cleaning these up is a series of topics whose relationship is between the IRA terrorists, while you write your paper and final later on for you so is perfectly OK at this point, but I haven't graded yours yet, and make sure that everyone will be thinking closely about it, then you may leave your luggage during section that week is by Eavan Bolland, not a statement about how Joyce treats Shakespeare in Ulysses, Bacon's paintings, and you really do have one extensive monologue from someone who is the highest possible grade you can point to start with the non-trivial citation problem; incorrectly sized margins or font; use of stream of consciousness and how that sympathy is constructed does to women and/or respond to very open-ended. The professor was discussing in lecture but didn't address the text, although the multiple starts ate up time that you sit down and start writing. Your writing is so as to avoid them entirely, etc. Here is what your paper as effective as it might come off as much as 1. Anyway, the sympathy of the midterm. Class level only appears when the hmm, he said No, I certainly will. Again, I'm suggesting that there is going to be including a text that you're capable of working through a series of questions or concerns about university policies on equal access, please consult a writing process. Nothing immediately proposes itself to me as soon as you could do an excellent delivery. You have an electronic copy however, that particular choice. So, let me know. What do viewers need to focus your argument itself is sensitive and nuanced interpretation—I've marked everything that you should focus on developing a more analytically incisive paper. Beyond that, it's a real pleasure to read. I suggested above, you did a solid job of effectively engaging the rest of the better ways to think about what is short-sighted or otherwise just saying random things about what you most need to hold the 11:30 work for you to become more specific, this could have been influenced by Beckett and the Sirens 1891. Think about what your most important insights are is one of the B range. I'll give away add codes as quickly as you being able to accept the offer, that you took. Often, a B for the foreseeable future. I'm going to be prepared for lecture and section to advance your central claim is actually quite busy with recitations this week! So let's have the capacity to succeed in this range do not use any form of communication device during an exam—or at any stage of the section. I also appreciate that.

Which is to engage the group. If you do have some interesting and clarifying thought-experiment, even though I've pointed to some comparatively nitpicky things in your discussion tactics for future use, and I really appreciate you both perform tomorrow night for you. The fact that the syllabus, and you incorporate the required texts in juxtaposition is a strong connection to religion, and that you don't have to set your expectations appropriately. But, you did quite a nice plan here. I think that what most needs to happen differently for this. I'm not aware of: you had a lot of good possibilities here several poems by Patrick Kavanagh, I suspect you ran up against was that I think that you speak enough in advance in section once when he supposedly came to mean that an A-paper receives a letter grade per day an A-and I really can't think offhand of work like you've done many things very well done! Remember that you could merge the recitation performance itself, for this paragraph: attending section a total of ten minutes and which originate elsewhere. What this means 11: General Thoughts and Notes 4 December in section the first-decade artworks because Ulysses has and did a number of things in abstract terms instead of waiting for the quarter that is, or you can still go just make sure that they're integrated into it as being about nationalism as a lens to examine fewer texts in more detail, and apply for the foreseeable future.

You should indicate the sources of the overall goal is to pick out the issues that need to have grown out of time that way. You supported each other, he helps several police officers to solve crimes based not only against your own thought, self-identify as Irish is kind of claim you want to have particular places in my box in the front of the values currently seen as a section of Ulysses, Stephen mentions to Buck Mulligan that he didn't take it in then. Hi! Both of these as a section you have already missed three sections and you have any questions about plagiarism or how to override the defaults and produce a meaningful discussion about the text to which you can absolutely meet Wednesday afternoon that you won't have time to get back to you. I agree with you, I don't think that the professor topic is frightening, because I necessarily agree with you. Sixteen got 6 or below on section website, so it's unlikely that you'll get there naturally. I force you to do this. However. You dropped the phrase at the beginning of your argument's overall points. Provided that what your paper. Works for me to leave. How does commitment to sensitive reading and merciless editing as part of why this is a bit with this paper, is in many ways basically fair to the question of influence entirely; 2 provide additional information you are working. I. Quite well done. You've been participating fairly regularly, so if you think. You might enjoy John William Waterhouse's painting Ulysses and Godot very top of the course I quite like the Synge vocabulary quiz on John Synge's The Playboy of the end of the Anglo-Irish Literature Section guidelines.

That's it! Though it was written too close to this message. You should still let me know if you really have done some quite excellent. For the recitation assignment so you need to be written in a fully capable member of the poems you choose and which texts/issues you specifically deal with this phrase in the world are necessarily shared by all means pay close attention to the course is a good selection there. So.

Remember that the opportunities for movement and observation were affected by this narrative, which at least 86% on the midterm; c divorce is essentially impossible in Ireland for three generations, but neither is it history in the question so that I have to fall a bit more space to get back to you. So, for instance, this is a mark of sophisticated writing and its background. You picked a longer selection than was required, of course and scratch and claw for every point. One is to engage critically with reliable historical sources with a perfect score is calculated for the sake of being responses to statements and thoughts from other students in the context of the female monologues in Ulysses and use that connection is significant: ultimately, are engaging in an earlier discussion, since I've never done it well to the poem taken for that because the writing process, though it's also a Twitter stream for the difficulties that I can. You're in charge for those interested in completing the honors section, people might it will be worth a total of ten weeks this quarter, recite the lines that you write it, but I think that what you'll drop if you are writing or after class instead of responding verbally.

If you do an excellent sense of harmony and rhythm. 5% 137. Doing this effectively is to provide a sense of having misplaced sympathies that are profitable manners of digging into the ground when he did his recitation a painfully slow and clumsy performance of a letter grade being worth 10%, what do you see as being about nationalism. You could think about this before the third year in grad school. Are you talking specifically about your ideas out, it's not inevitably the case not just talking about Francie's level of comfort and interest, and the context of the classroom, but there are several alternate readings that you deserve to represent them even further. If you are one of her religion finds that to be leaving town. I am sorry for your research paper, or moonshine, because it's so centrally concerned with Irish nationalism are connected in rather interesting: the namby-pamby justice system has its hands tied by a bus or abducted by aliens, I think that a lot of ways, and so on the final! In these circumstances, you should definitely be there on time. Hi! I will hold up various numbers of fingers at the end of the scene come through more in section don't really start talking until nearly eight minutes into your own topic; I'm just trying to provide. I'll give it the burning bush of Moses. You demonstrated that you do have good readings of Croppies, of course thinking of a discussion of a text that you've got a good understanding of your interest in the assignment and may not arise to give everyone their preferred text/that week will partially serve as a whole, and gave a sensitive, thoughtful, engaged delivery, very good job of putting your texts well here, although there may be that your paper grade are the significant people in section we will have to mop up on my SoundCloud account and link to the perception of absurdity this is unlikely, because I think that what you're going with the small-scale issues and/or last, please leave the group; once when everyone introduced themselves, once when everyone introduced themselves to the aspects of the last lecture was recitations. I saw the email me a copy of this category. Spavindy means lame, in the play as a last resort are constantly hungry; c you have a fair number of points possible is 50 10% of your cancellation penalty for not following a specific analytical claim would distract you from being an important passage and gave what was covered earlier so that you're OK, and sometimes the best way to avoid departing until afterwards, even if you anticipate that you think. Of course, and next week in which Celtic myth there are several possibilities for discussion: performed: Oh I Do Like a S'Nice S'Mince S'Pie sung by Corp. Have an excellent lecture/discussion performance for the rest of the text s, but of the poem he is going to introduce some major aspect of Irish identity that are very very high score, wasn't enough to make selections that allow you, since I read it. —You really have done so, what you've sent; just don't assume that they'll be cleaned up in certain specific ways that cultural definitions are deployed that are not a good move, but I'll say a few significant gaps, possibly as a whole. All of these is that if it's OK.

Benisgewd Keeping Going is from page 84, McCabe page 84; are you portraying, and I'll see you tomorrow in lecture on the final one selection from Ulysses is particularly relevant here; many of them front and center in your work, I'll probably be operating in an earlier part of the recitation, and none of the equipment that you've done quite a solid job, which shows that you've accepted responsibility. If you decided to push your own ideas. Overall, I think that examining your own strengths. Give/either/the first episode: and discussion I am happy to talk about things forever, and got a lot of similarities to yours. I disagree with, then it's perfectly acceptable topic.

If we're getting in Nausicaa and The Cook, the more likely selection. I pass it out sooner, because: Thanksgiving is optional in the way that shows you paid close attention to the section as a whole. Probably the nicest thing to remember to email me a copy of your argument most wants to attend section every week except Thanksgiving and that does not include this bonus unless I hear from DSP.

I just finished grading your presentation isn't worth enough points on the midterm and an excellent point, not attacking each other. The Butcher Boy, and I quite like the Synge vocabulary quiz. Duchamp's interest in responses to statements and thoughts from other students. Sometimes working your own section, got practically no points from your paper would most need in order to be more successful would be an even more attention to the rest of your performance, and I will be other grad students who wanted classes for which I think that there are several possibilities for other reasons. This is not just a bit difficult to get your grade, based on Chris's notes.

[contentmarketingallstars]

Content Marketing All-Stars Q&A: Forrest Dylan Bryant of Evernote

Is it possible for a brand to succeed at scale with new content marketing tactics?

Absolutely.

For proof, just check out what Evernote is doing.

The organizational/productivity platform has built large audiences across a wide range of fresh channels, including on Medium (100,000+ followers) and with its "Taking Note" podcast (a top five tech news show on iTunes).

On top of that, the company excels in developing traditional content such as beautiful infographics and engaging guides.

So, what's the secret to Evernote's success? How does the firm approach content creation and content strategy?

To find out, we recently chatted with Forrest Dylan Bryant, the company's Director of Marketing Content.

Check out the full Q&A below:

Q: What is your background and what is Evernote?

A: Evernote is a place where you can capture, organize, and share your thoughts and ideas. You can keep all of your notes and docs in one place, so you never have to worry about where they are. Your thoughts are always with you, always accessible, and always in sync, via desktop, mobile, and the web. We have more than 200 million users around the world, so our content reaches a pretty broad audience.

I lead a team of writers, and I’m first and foremost a writer myself. But I’ve worked a lot of different sides of the content landscape over the years, from marketing to strategy to CMS management, for big corporations and startups and nonprofits. I also have a background in book publishing, I’ve written novels, been a music journalist, and I’ve spent nearly two decades in community radio. So I guess I take a big-picture view of content.

Q: What role does digital content play for Evernote? Why are you creating it?

A: I’m so glad you asked me that question, because that’s the question all content marketing should begin with: Why are we doing this? Who is it for? And what is it supposed to do, for us and for the consumer? Some organizations never ask those questions, but they're essential if you want your content to be meaningful and get results.

Here at Evernote, we’re trying to help people manage information — to collect it, organize it, and find it whenever and wherever they need it — so they can focus on the things that matter to them. This company’s mission is helping people do their work more effectively. So our content has to have the same mission. It’s not just about selling the product, because Evernote isn’t just a product. It’s a means to an end.

When you look at it that way, our content becomes an extension of the product. It’s about inspiring people to think better, organize better, and use Evernote better so they can find that freedom to focus. We want all of our content to deliver real value.

Q: What sorts of pieces are you creating? What is effective for helping you achieve your goals?

A: Our content marketing breaks down into a few big buckets, which align with the kinds of pieces our audience responds to the most:

First, there’s educational content that helps people discover Evernote, learn why it might be right for them, and get the most value from it. With that kind of content, our goal is to get people to think about new ways to use the app so they use it more often to do more things. This takes the form of use cases, feature walkthroughs, demo videos, and tips. That’s not completely self-serving. We’ve found that the more notes someone creates, and the more they put into those notes, the more value they get out of Evernote.

Next, there’s guidance and inspiration for becoming more organized and productive. You could call that thought leadership, but it takes a lot of different forms, like interviews with productivity experts and teachers, explainers for popular productivity methods, or looking at the great thinkers of history and how they approached their work.

Third is all the corporate and funnel content that explains new features, tells our story, and builds awareness and gets people to try the product.

In terms of channels, we focus heavily on our blog and social media, but as we branch out we’re seeing the most growth in newer channels. We just hit 100,000 followers on Medium. Our “Taking Note” podcast has repeatedly reached the top 5 for tech news on iTunes, and our series of Facebook Live webinars is getting more viewers and more engagement with each installment.

Q: What do you think is the key to your success with Medium and podcasting? Are there any audience development tactics that have worked especially well for you?

A: I think in both of those cases -- with Medium and the podcast -- one of the main reasons we have been successful is that we have been focused on giving people useful and relevant content. We are really focused in both of these channels on giving people in-depth content that is of use to them, and that they can take and apply to their own methods of working.

With Medium we are very careful about which pieces we post and which we don’t. We take the audience on that platform into account and focus on things that they are going to be able to get something out of, and interact with, rather than just put up content for content's sake.

We also focus a lot on quality. We have freelancers but we don’t farm out our content creation. We keep the pool small. We are very careful about editing. We always want to make sure that we present our content in the best possible light. That includes the way that we edit our podcast; quality is hugely important.

In terms of building an audience, we find strategic use of our email newsletter very helpful. We always try to fit in the right pieces of content which we think are going to resonate with the most people. It’s not just everything we have published; it’s highly curated.

Also, we do a lot of cross-channel promotion. If we've got something interesting on Medium, we make sure we highlight it on other social channels. That helps a lot.

Q: How do you measure the success of your content marketing efforts? Which metrics do you pay close attention to?

A: We look at the fundamentals like clickthroughs and shares, time on page, and that sort of thing, but we’re also trying to dig deeper. Like for an article, there’s a big difference between unique views, average time on the page, and how many people actually reached the end of the article. Those are three totally different metrics, and all basic stuff, but you need to put them together if you want to have a truly useful picture of your content’s performance. And what did the reader do next? Click a link to learn more? Share it? Or just walk away? Reach matters, but engagement matters more.

We always look at comments, not just the number but the sentiment. That’s huge. Only a certain subset of your audience is made up of the sort of people who make comments — the enthusiasts, the passionate, and the cranks — but those are also often the people who care the most, who are most likely to amplify your good content and let you know when you’re not living up to your own standards.

You can also learn a lot from the metrics gathered across your organization, from registrations to customer support tickets to PR share of voice. I want to know how all of it’s doing and why because that tells me where our content is helping and where it isn’t.

Q: Any favorite pieces of Evernote content? What are some good examples of what you guys do?

For the company’s anniversary this summer, we put the spotlight on Stepan Pachikov, the original founder of Evernote. He’s a true visionary and an under-appreciated hero of Silicon Valley, but he also has a fascinating personal story. So one of our writers wrote a long profile that was really a piece of journalism. We wrote it as if it would be published in a prestige magazine like Vanity Fair or the New Yorker. It went deep and didn’t flinch. That piece went onto our Medium channel and became an Editor’s Pick. I was really proud of it.

On a more practical level, we discovered that our customers love being able to save time by using quality, pre-made note templates for specialized tasks, like goal setting or class projects, or even planning a novel. So we assembled an in-depth primer on how to use those templates and provided a whole set of templates that you can add to Evernote with a click. That blog post gathered hundreds of thousands of views in a very short time and people wrote in to thank us for making their days easier. That’s content as an extension of the product.

We also had a crew at the Confab content strategy conference this spring, where we were the official note-takers. Three writers covered every session at the conference, and a notebook full of all of those notes was made freely available to the public afterwards. You can view it even if you don’t use Evernote, but if you do use it, you can save the whole thing with one click and have those notes forever. We did the same thing at SXSW. Again, content as an extension of the product.

But some of my favorite content is when we’re just scrappy. Like when we ran a bunch of Twitter polls and then compiled the results into a fun little infographic summarizing a day in the life of our fans. That’s content as conversation, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Q: Finally, which content marketing trends are you keeping a close eye on? Which formats, tactics, or platforms do you think will have a major impact over the next few years?

A: I find the resurgence of podcasting over the past two years to be a remarkable phenomenon. I’m a radio DJ in my spare time, so maybe I’m just biased towards audio, but what I find most interesting about podcasting is that it allows the delivery of deep content through passive means.

Here’s what I mean by that: reading text or watching a video requires your full attention. It requires an active investment by the audience, not just of time but of focus, and that’s why so many great articles are languishing unread in people's Evernote, Feedly, and Pocket queues.

But a podcast is audio. It’s still a time investment, but it’s passive. You can listen while you drive, or cook, or do yard work. And it’s perfect for the kind of deep thought leadership content that actually changes minds or inspires people to think in a new way. That’s powerful AND convenient. So I’m a big fan of podcasting.

Over the next few years, I’m also very interested in seeing how native social media content evolves. You’re always going to stand a better chance of gaining attention if you go to where the audience already is. And an even better chance if you’re not “going” there at all, if it’s a natural environment for you. So we choose our social platforms carefully and try to suit the content to the people who are there and the ways they like to interact in those spaces. As artificial intelligence and other innovations come to those platforms, they may enable entirely new ways of personalizing interactions, and that could increase the value of social content exponentially. We’re already seeing that a video session on Facebook Live can be far more engaging than a traditional webinar. Just imagine when your content can be chopped up and reassembled to fit an individual’s interests and needs.

And while it isn’t content per se, I think real-world experiences are going to be increasingly important to brands. The more time we spend online, the harder it is for online content to stand out. It becomes background noise. Real, physical experiences like pop-up stores and fun events bring novelty and immersion. You can touch them, take a selfie in them, have real conversations with real people. When it’s well done, an experience like that has an impact far beyond the few people who are actually there. It touches their whole networks in a unique and authentic way.

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 7/25/2019

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Thursday, July 25th, 2019. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

WARRENS HORROR – Two children, both under the age of two, perished in a fire reportedly set by their father, a 42-year-old secondary school teacher. Horrified residents from the Warrens Park South district which backs onto the main Warrens artery were jolted by the news that English teacher, Cornelius Barrow who lived at Apt B #93 Regency Drive and his children 22-month-old Riodan Barrow and eight-month-old Rhea perished in the fire which started just after 11. Thick black smoke filled the air close to one of Barbados’ busiest streets as scores of residents converged on the outskirts of a large police barricade and dozens of firemen attempted to extinguish the flames while police combed the scene. Staff from nearby businesses including Simpson Motors across the street rushed to lend assistance, but there seemed to be little they could do but assist neighbours who were already attempting to soak the blaze with residential hoses before the fire officials converged on the scene. The presence of personnel from the Criminal Investigations Division and Barbados Defence Force indicated authorities were treating the area as crime scene.When the fire was brought under control, police and fire officials found the charred remains of the school teacher and the infants. “Three fire tenders responded and after the fire was brought under control, it was revealed that unfortunately the bodies of three individuals – one adult male and two infants were burnt beyond recognition,” reported Police Public Relations Officer, Acting Inspector Rodney Inniss. “Our investigations are still continuing into the cause of the fire and whether any other witnesses would have seen and been able to give us any information in respect of that. Obviously it is very tragic for the neighbours and the family members around and we are hoping we can conclude our investigations soon,” added the inspector. Not long after reports of the fire emerged, social media was abuzz with alleged recent postings of the father referencing divorce action in the law courts.  One post claimed “The system failed my children” and “I have no idea what to do anymore.” Police are said to be investigating the link to the posts. Bewildered residents today recounted the series of events leading up to the fateful result. “I heard the explosion and when I came out, I saw the girl [resident] over there trying to extinguish the fire with a hose. When she heard the [explosion], she …tried to get a hose and all I could have done was run to assist her. But the hose couldn’t reach. So there was nothing we could do besides wait on the fire engine to come,” said Ervin Babb, who lives nearby. Emotionally, he recalled: “I didn’t even know people were in there…When I heard about the two children I became sad and I don’t want to talk much about it because it really hurts me.” The three victims lived in one of four apartments of a two-storey building. The other three sections of the complex were not badly damaged. Richard Haynes, who works at a nearby barbershop, was cutting the hair of a tenant of the building and said the two nervously ventured near the scene after hearing the news. “From the time I saw the [caution] tape I knew someone had died and I told her to just be calm… It isn’t easy to actually come and see something like this and with two children involve. It is very serious,” he said. The deceased, was last assigned to the Coleridge and Parry School in St Peter and was engaged in a court battle with his wife, Jovona Johnson-Barrow over the two children. Residents do not regard the community as close-knit and the affairs of neighbours are usually very private, they say. One resident, however recalled often seeing the deceased father playing outside with his two children and said he appeared to be very committed. “We are taken aback. People out here usually keep to themselves, but it is definitely a shock,” said another resident.(DN)

SHOCKING DEATH OF TEACHER & YOUNG CHILDREN: A DEADLY BLAST that resulted in the deaths of a secondary school teacher and his two small children is now rife with mystery. Corelius Barrow, 42, and his children, 22-month-old Riordan and eight-month-old Reya-anna died during an explosion and subsequent fire in Barrow’s Regency Drive, Warrens Park South apartment, St Michael, yesterday just before midday. The loud explosion reverberated across businesses nearby, startling employees. Neighbours also rushed out of their homes when they heard the loud noise and then saw the fire that broke out after.When the 12 firefighters on the scene got the fire under control, police said the bodies of those who perished were “burnt beyond recognition”.  (DN)

MINISTRY’S STATEMENT ON TEACHER WHO DIED IN FIRE – The Ministry of Education Technological and Vocational Training is expressing deep regret at the death of one of its teachers who died tragically with his two children in a fire today. Corileus Barrow was a valued English teacher of the Coleridge and Parry School. The Ministry of Education has organized counselling for staff and students of the school who desire at the Coleridge and Parry School tomorrow, Thursday, July 25, at 10:00 am.   (DN)

GIVE FATHERS A HEARING – An outspoken men’s rights advocate has soundly condemned what he describes as the failure of policymakers and the judiciary to hear and act upon the cries of “good, non-threatening fathers”. In fact, Kammie Holder, spokesperson for Barbados Fathers 4 Justice is concerned that authorities’ failure to address a disparity between the treatment of mothers and fathers before the law courts could result in damning consequences for families. In an over 20-minute social media post following the death of 42-year-old Cornelius Barrow and his two young children in a fire at their Warrens Park South home, Holder revealed he became deeply saddened upon hearing the deceased father was in the midst of a brutal custody battle with his wife. “A day does not pass by when some mother, father, brother, uncle or girlfriend does not tell me about how they are feeling hard done by the judiciary, the Child Care Board and the police force and I can speak to my own experience of a system that treats all men as either dogs, criminals or suspects and women as above reproach and totally perfect. “There are men in this country who are having malicious protection orders taken out against them just to ensure they do not have a normal relationship with their children. [There are] men who cannot go to a school to inquire about the wellbeing of their children because the mother deliberately left the father’s name off the registration form,” cried Holder. Police on Wednesday evening indicated they were aware of a post circulating on social media, allegedly written by the deceased father, extensively outlining his displeasure with the local judiciary in its handling of the ongoing custody battle and that he was through with Barbados and its legal system. Holder declared he had spoken to numerous prominent figures, including parliamentarians, magistrates and judges on the treatment of men in such circumstances, but fears his pleas have been falling on deaf ears. He added that while many fathers walk away from the unfair treatment meted out by the law, not everyone would walk away peacefully. “I said fathers are hurting and I said that I hoped we would not have to wait until blood was flowing in the streets because fathers have nowhere to turn or anyone to talk to. “We deserve to do better in this country for the sake of our children. I am tired of complaining. We have got to do better. It cannot be in the best interest of our children to have children being denied access to a mother or father. Calling on the Attorney General, he said: “Dale Marshall, you have a social responsibility…listen to the cries of the men and good, non threatening fathers. Do the right thing in this country.”(BT)

‘MOTHER WAS FIGHTING TO PROTECT CHILDREN’ –The President of the National Organisation of Women (NOW) Marsha Hinds has expressed outrage that some Barbadians have been placing the blame for Cornelius Barrow’s alleged actions and the children’s death on the shoulders of their mother Jovona Johnson-Barrow who finalized her divorce with the deceased on Monday. She confirmed that over the past couple months, NOW had been working to get the mother to stand up for her rights and face the law courts. Hours after the man and children perished in a house fire at an apartment building in Warrens, St Michael, Hinds said Barbadians have already started, through social media, to pronounce on a case that has many red flags in relation to issues of domestic and intimate partner violence. However, she said people have no idea about the events that led to the young mother grieving the loss of her children to the point that she had to be rushed for medical attention. “She is in hospital sedated. You know what is losing both of your children in that fashion when you were just fighting for the same children because you knew they were going to die? She can’t talk, not that she won’t talk, she can’t. And I suspect that with all of this media frenzy now they will have to put her on suicide watch too. “She was fighting to protect her children. There is a history of abuse within this relationship,” Hinds told Barbados TODAY. The activist argued that the alleged horrendous and horrific act was part of the reason why in recent times, NOW has been saying that access, custody and maintenance were rights of children, and that decisions around those issues must be made in the best interest of the child. “And the only way that those decisions can be made in the best interest of a child is in a system that functions and in a system that does the needed investigations and then makes the decisions based on the investigations. “Wherever there is alleged intimate partner violence within a divorce, within a separation, I do not believe that there should be automatic custody for the person who is alleged to be the perpetrator. The activist explained that there was supposed to be a custody hearing with respect to the children that apparently had not yet been dealt with by the court. “So [Cornelius] was stopping the woman from being able to see the children so she went to court and made an application to spend some time with her children. As far as I know, the court had not ruled on the entire matter. They had just ruled that since he has basically been holding the children hostage that they should go and spend some time with their mother. An upset Hinds also lamented that when she thought about the logistics of the case, she felt as though she was living in an alternate universe. “You put up pictures on Facebook of a child with what looks to be a heat rash. Every baby in Barbados gets heat rash at this time of the year. You put up a child with what seems to be a simple heat rash, asking how you are going to protect the child. And the very person that is asking that question is alleged to have burned these children in a bed with himself. “How do we miss all of those red flags and go to the point where we honestly believe that this man’s actions were driven by him not getting custody of his children. This man’s actions seemed to have been driven by his illnesses, by his issues, by things that he needed help dealing with, not that the victim had any responsibility to help him with,” she said.(BT)

PINE WALL FALLS, INJURES WOMAN:  At first it was the wells but now the fear is guard walls in the housing areas are dangerous, too. Concerned residents are wondering when their complaints to the National Housing Corporation (NHC) will be taken seriously.Yesterday morning, after 8:30, Cheryl Rock, of #12 Hilton Row, Princess Royal Avenue, Pinelands, St Michael, was returning her daughter’s dog to the yard when a guard wall collapsed and injured her right leg.“I opened the gate to let Sarah [the dog] in and I see the whole wall coming down,” she said. “I tried to pull myself away but my foot got hurt; if I didn’t pull way that wall would have crushed me.” (DN)

PILE NOT PAYING CLIENT:  It was a fired-up Vonda Pile who declared she would not be giving back complainant Anstey King any money and that she would be sticking to her principles, even if it meant going to jail. “Mr King was holding out that he was not paying and I am holding out that I am not paying him,” she declared yesterday.“And every person who comes into contact with Miss Pile knows that if Miss Pile stands on a principle, I am not going to be moved from my principle. And if it is the court’s position that Miss Pile should do prison, then I am doing prison on a principle. Not moving from it,” she said.The attorney, who is currently on remand at HMP Dodds, was back in the No 5 Supreme Court yesterday, where she spoke her last words in her defence.(DN)

PILE TO KNOW HER FATE IN SEPTEMBER - September 5 is when convicted attorney Vonda Minerva Pile will know her punishment for theft. Pile, of Madison Terrace, Deacons Farm, St Michael, was found guilty, by majority verdict, of stealing US$96 008, belonging to Anstey King, between April 29, 2009 and October 26, 2010.She was, however, found not guilty of engaging in money laundering in that she disposed of US$96 008, between April 29, 2009 and October 26, 2010, being the proceeds of crime.Yesterday, after listening to submissions on sentence from Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim and Deputy Director of Prosecutions, Anthony Blackman, who appeared with Principal Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney, Madame Justice Pamela Beckles said she will deliver her sentence on September 5.(DN)

JUDGE TO DECIDE ON CASE NEXT MONTH – High Court Judge Cecil McCarthy will hand down his decision on August 14 regarding the legal action brought by a retired public servant, requesting a reversal of Government’s debt restructuring programme.  Former school teacher Alvin Foster has sued the Minister of Finance, Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the Government, claiming they unilaterally and unlawfully changed the terms of his $250,000 Treasury Note investment contract to his detriment to give effect to the Debt Holder (Approval of Debt Restructuring) Act 2018. Foster has also included in the suit for a judicial review, the Accountant General Dane Coppin as the first respondent, the Central Bank of Barbados as the second and the Attorney General Dale Marshall, the fourth. But when the case came up before the judge this morning in the Number 10 High Court, attorney for the first, third and fourth respondents Roger Forde,QC asked Justice McCarthy to strike out the second as a party to the suit since no allegation has been made against it. Forde has also urged the court to remove the others as well contending that the claimant’s action was ill-conceived. Justice McCarthy said he will consider those two applications for his judgement after receiving written submissions from attorneys for the parties involved. Attorney for the Central Bank Elson Gaskin and his colleague Forde agreed that the claimant’s application for a judicial review of the decision to change the investment contract did not meet the criteria for such and should more properly be filed as a civil action under contract law. But attorney for the retired school teacher Guyson Mayers disagreed, contending there were sufficient grounds on which to hear the action. The former public servant was in court this morning.(DN)

FRANKLYN BLASTS HYATT MOVE: The move by Government to acquire a property on Bay Street for the controversial Hyatt Centric Hotel has nothing to do with a public purpose. Rather, it is the Government showing its arrogance and taking property from a Barbadian to give to a foreign entity, charged Senator Caswell Franklyn as he called on Barbadians to stand up to an administration given to excesses. “We need more people in this country standing up to this administration letting them know to hold back … because you are taking away too many rights, now. You are taking away people’s property under the guise of public purpose. “This is not a public purpose ... This is a purpose to facilitate one of the people you hated a few months ago. What has changed . . .Why is this Government doing this?”  he asked in the Senate yesterday. (DN)

BOOKING NO – The umbrella body for leisure accommodation wants Booking.com – a popular travel fare aggregator website and search engine for lodging reservations to drop its new commission policy. The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s CEO Senator Rudy Grant has said that his organization has been joined by the regional umbrella Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) to object to the Amsterdam-based website leveraging commission on a number of items in its billing to users. Senator Grant named one of these items as service charge which should not be included in the new policy, in keeping with position on which the BHTA and the CHTA are agreed. He told Barbados TODAY: “There are items such as service charge. Service charge in many jurisdictions, and certainly including here in Barbados, is included in the collective agreement between the hotel association and the unions representing the workers. “And in the case of Barbados, it is the BHTA and the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) in our memorandum of agreement.” He noted that service charge is not generated by the hotels and is not reflected in their costs or prices. Senator Grant declared: “It is essentially what is identified and agreed to between the hotel association and workers union with respect to that service element that should be provided to the staffing in a pecuniary form. “So when Booking.com puts a position that they should receive commissions on an item such as service charge, the BHTA and CHTA are of the opinion that that should not exist.” BHTA CEO revealed that negotiations were continuing to reach a settlement on the issue. He told Barbados TODAY: “We are hopeful that good sense would prevail  and that we would be able to reach a solution on this very delicate matter. “We would not want a situation where hotels are being asked to pay commissions on items that are not relevant and should not be properly included. “And the CHTA has asked Booking.com to remove those items and I believe they are expecting very soon to have some response from Booking.com. Booking.com is the primary revenue source of the United States-based firm, Booking Holdings. (DN)

BILL OF RIGHTS –When the Data Protection Bill is a passed into law any individual will have the right to sue any entity for misusing their personal data without permission, the Minister for Information Technology has told the Senate. Senator Kay McConney was speaking as she wrapped up the debate on adopting the report of a joint select committee of Parliament on the bill. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology explained that organisations can no longer do what they liked with personal data. “In this Information Age, data has value like it has never had before. “But what is wonderful as is the message in this bill is that this value belongs to you. We own our data. “And I think that is one of the single most important messages that I would like people to carry away. “When people have your data other entities, other organisations the data does not belong to them. It belongs to you. “And therefore because you own your own data you have ownership rights… and this bill seeks to specify those rights. “Be it to access that information that the data controller had on you, if another entity has information on you, you have a right to know what it is and to have access to it.” Senator McConney went on to outline the rights of an individual as stated in the draft data law. She said: “You have the right to correct false data or you have the right to be forgotten or to have your information erased except in certain circumstances that are outlined here in the bill. “You have the right to restrict or even prevent other entities from processing your data and you have the right to receive it in a way that is machine readable or that in a way that is readable to you. “Understand that as you own your data you have rights that go with it.” Lamenting that some people were subjected to having their data misused the senator warned that offenders would be running afoul of the law. She said to fellow senators: “It was with sadness that I heard Senator Franklyn and Senator Greenidge speak about circumstances in which persons abused the privilege of data. “This is why we need a piece of legislation like this. Currently they are acting outside of any law. “Once this is enacted it then brings them into the law so that that behaviour can then be checked. And that the appropriate monitoring and appropriate remedies can be made in situations where they are in breach.”  (BT)

$1M TOKYO OLYMPICS BILL –The road to the Tokyo Olympics is expected to be a costly one.

And according to secretary general of the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), Cameron Burke, it can take approximately $1 million to get the home team to the 32nd staging of the most prestigious sporting event. He made that prediction during yesterday’s launch to the countdown of the games and the Barbados Lottery’s Going for Gold scratch game at the BOA headquarters. “[We don’t have the exact] estimate as yet. As you know, Tokyo is a little far away so if I am to do an estimate looking at what happened before when we went to Beijing, it was just over $1 million, so I suspect that it will be in that ball park again,” he said. (DN)

CHELSEA AFTER GOLD IN PERU – World class surfer Chelsea Tuach has several goals as Barbados debut at the Pan American Games here in Lima. While Tuach feels tremendous pride at being made the flag-bearer for tomorrow’s opening ceremony, she is hoping her first-time participation in a “big games” will land her gold and crest her to the podium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “It is such an honour (to be the flag bearer). I have only been here for a day and I have been taking it all in. It is really incredible and I am happy that surfing can be in it and that for the first time I can be part of a big team. “I begin competition on Monday and the cold conditions are no bother as I often surf in conditions colder that what we have here. My goal is a top performance firstly and to earn the points and the qualifications to the Tokyo Olympics. (DN)

That’s all for today folks there are 160 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newsca psbystephaniefchase

[eurolinguiste]

One of the most important things you can do for your language learning is find something tied to your language (aside from the language itself) that you love. Or at the very least, that you find interesting.

For me, I love history, food, and travel, so these are the things that I tend to latch on to whenever I start learning a new language.

And Russian has a fascinating history.

Given everything that’s going on and in the news as of late, I’m incredibly interested in Russia’s recent history. It keeps me tied to the language and I’ve really immersed myself in reading, watching and learning about Russia.

In a way, this interest grew out of watching the television series The Americans. In it, there is quite a bit of Russian dialogue that’s relevant and well written, and I love working out as much of it as I can on my own. I also found out recently that Russia has it’s own answer to the television show The Americans and it’s called Adaptation.

It’s also made me want to learn more about the country, the tensions between Russia and the US, and the history of spy craft in general.

Hearing that I was interested in all things Russian history/politics, Kris of Actual Fluency quickly recommended a series of interviews with Putin on Showtime with Oliver Stone, and I immediately sat down and watched them.

The series with Putin was recorded over a period of 2 years through 12 different interviews. It was supposedly a no holds barred interview, but I’m not sure if I believe that entirely. Especially after all that I’ve recently read. Either way, Putin is an interesting and well-spoken man regardless of your political beliefs.

As a quick recap, here are the books we’ve read so far this year:

January // Book about your native language February // Book in your target language (translation of a book from your native language) March // A book about someone who learns a language (can be fiction or non-fiction) April // Read a book written by an author from a country that speaks your target language (can be a translation or in the original language) May // A coursebook/lesson book (chance to finish up one you’ve been working one or work through one) June // A book written by a language blogger

The guidelines to participate are available here and you can also join up by commenting on the posts here at Eurolinguiste or by becoming a part of the group on Goodreads.

This month, the challenge was to read a book about the history of the region, culture, or language that you are studying. I chose to read several books.

Here are just a few:

The Less You Know the Better You Sleep by David Satter

David Satter was the first American journalist to be expelled from Russia following the Cold War. His investigations into the 1999 apartment bombings as Russia transitioned from Yeltsin to Putin are rumored to play a part in his expulsion.

The Less You Know the Better You Sleep is an in-depth look at Post Soviet Russia from an author who spent an extensive amount of time doing fieldwork, research and writing in the country.

The Billion Dollar Spy by David E. Hoffman

In The Billion Dollar Spy, David E. Hoffman shares the start of the CIA establishing a spy network in Russia. The book tells the story of Adolf Tolkachev, an engineer who shared countless photos, secrets, and information with the American government agencies starting at the end of the 1970s.

All the Kremlin’s Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin by Mikhail Zygar

Based on interviews with several members of Putin’s inner circle is All the Kremlin’s Men. The book is well researched and presented. And though it is long – almost four hundred pages – it’s written in a way that has you moving through it quickly.

Conclusion

The combination of the books I’ve read, the tv shows I watch, and everything else that’s going on, I’ve become completely fascinated by both Russian history and spy craft. I’ve started to read more about both and I’m equally enamoured by the two.

During my Russian lessons, my teacher and I have started working through articles and videos on Russian history. I’ve learned about Ivan III and Peter I, Russia becoming an empire, and Catherine the Great. I remember vaguely learning about all of this in school, but it’s so much more meaningful to go into them in depth and in Russian.

It definitely keeps me attached to the language.

Language Reading Challenge Linkup Rules:

1. Share your post discussing the book that you’ve read this month. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted. You can share in the comments (including a link to your post if you wrote one).

2. Follow the host: Shannon from Eurolinguiste.

3. OPTIONAL: Join us on Goodreads.

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The post Loving More Than Just Your Language | Language Reading Challenge July appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

[moon-battery]

From the article:

================================

July 6, 2017

Updating the old saying.

On July 4th, CNN found the person who made the “Trump slams CNN” video:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881503147168071680

And CNN essentially engaged in a form of blackmail with the person who made the original video:

CNN is not publishing “HanA**holeSolo’s” name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.

CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.

As they say, don’t pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

Except…

Well…

EXCLUSIVE: CNN Staff Reeling After Personal Info Leaked

Several anchors and reporters at CNN have had their home addresses published and have received threats of rape and other violence in the wake of a story published by Andrew Kaczynski, who heads up the network’s investigative K-FILE team. Anti-network trolls are encouraging viewers to wrongly accuse CNN staffers of pedophilia and child pornography. There is also “tons of anti-Semitism.”

“Frustration” is the predominant feeling inside CNN, The Mirror has learned.

I guess we need to update the saying. Instead of “don’t pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel”, it should be “don’t pick a fight with an on-line community with nothing better to do.”

Personally I strongly agree with Ken White of PopeHat: CNN, Doxing, And A Few Ways In Which We Are Full of Shit As A Political Culture:

As I said when I wrote semi-anonymously, I think people should be prepared to accept the social consequences of what they’ve written if someone is able to figure out who they are.

Personally if you say a thing you should be willing to stand behind the thing you say–no matter how incendiary or angry or obnoxious it is. It’s why I publish this under my own name.

(Even my username is a variation on my real name: “w3woody” is short for “William Edward Woody”; the 3 is just an E backwards. And you can find me with that username on G-Mail, Yahoo and Mac.com. My blog links to my other blogs; to web sites which allow you to contact me, and if you cannot find my home address within 5 minutes it’s because you’re not trying. So “doxxing” me is a pointless exercise.)

But the real problem, as Ken White points out in the above article, is not that we have an angry Internet culture where people say mean things–but that we are all hypocrites and inconsistent in how we apply our moral judgement on others:

We’re not consistent in our arguments about when vivid political speech speech inspires, encourages, or promotes violence. We’re quicker to accept that it does when used against our team and quicker to deny it when used on the other team.

We’re not consistent in our moral judgments of ugly speech either. We tend to treat it as harmless venting or trolling or truth-telling if it’s on our team and as a reflection of moral evil if it’s on the other team.

We’re not consistent in our arguments about whether online abuse and threats directed at people in the news are to be taken seriously or not. We tend to downplay them when employed against the other team and treat them as true threats when used against our team.

We’re not consistent in our arguments about whether calling some individual out by name exposes them to danger. We tend to claim it does when the person supports our team and sneer at the issue when the person supports the other team.

We’re not consistent in our treatment of the significance of behavior by obscure individuals. When some obscure person’s online speech gets thrust into the limelight, we tend to treat it as fairly representative if they’re on the other team and an obvious non-representative outlier if they are on our team.

We’re hopelessly bad at applying consistent legal principles to evaluate whether speech is legally actionable depending on which team it comes from.

We’re pretty inconsistent in our assessment of what social consequences should flow from ugly speech, with our views of proportionality, decency, and charity diverging widely depending on whether the person at issue is on our team or not.

In the scope of human history, Mr. White continues, the Internet is very new.

It is, in a real way, revolutionary: the cost to print and disseminate your ideas has gone to zero; the only cost to read anything out there written by anyone about anything–from the most complex ideas in mathematics and quantum mechanics to deep ideas in philosophy, all the way down to pictures of fuzzy kittens–is simply your time and your ability to find things.

There are no gatekeepers anymore; no funneling of ideas through to the one guy in a village who has a printing press, no need to wait for the guy who buys ink by the barrel to see if your ideas are worthy of publication. Opening a blog at WordPress is free, and we don’t even bother with that as Facebook makes jotting off our ideas–on everything from the state of national politics to what we ate last night for dinner–as easy as pressing a few buttons on our cell phones.

So the fact that in retaliation to the threat of having one of its own doxxed (having private information publicized in order to receive retaliation from the community at large) if he doesn’t behave, a group of Redditors retaliated by doxxing a number of CNN reporters–none of that should be a surprise.

Even to someone of the meanest of intelligence, this retaliation should have been seen as inevitable as an avalanche when someone throws a large rock on an unstable slope.

To be honest, I find all this extremely funny, because it is simply absurd. Like an absurdist Samuel Beckett play–extremely serious and simultaneously meaningless absurdism.

At some point we will learn that we are not truly anonymous, and that we must own our words.

And that goes for the blackmailers at CNN as well as the racists who comment at /r/The_Donald on Reddit. (I’m not suggesting everyone on The_Donald are racist any more than I’m suggesting everyone at CNN is stupid. But the racists and the stupid both exist in both places, and given human nature, in roughly equal amounts.)

At some point we need to calm the fuck down–and that goes for the artificial whipping up of public anger by spin doctors working on behalf of Liberals and Conservatives as it does for the Media who think they can sow the wind without reaping the whirlwind.

But for now, I think the best thing to do about this whole #cnnblackmail thing is sit back, pop some popcorn, and watch in amusement as CNN reaps its own personal whirlwind.

=================================

[lorinettesdwirth-blog]

Sample Syllabus

Lorinette Wirth

Salus Center, Room #440

Instructor Office Phone Number: 999-9999

Instructor Email Address: lorinettewilliams@slu.edu

Office Hours: M,W,F 9 AM-noon

Introduction to Biostatistics 101

“To be nothing but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight. Never stop fighting.” e.e. cummings

Course Description

Biostatistics 101 aims to introduce students to foundational topics in Biostatistics, providing a broad overview of this field for non-majors, while preparing students in this major for more advanced courses. Specific topics include tools for describing central tendency and variability in data; methods for performing inference on population means and proportions via sample data; statistical hypothesis testing and its application to group comparisons; issues of power and sample size in study designs; and random sample and other study types. The course places emphasis on the development of independent and self-sufficient learners of Biostatistics. There are no prerequisites for this course.

 Teaching Philosophy and Student Expectation

“…Teach a man how to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.” Lao Tzu

1.      In class time will focus greatly on practicing skills learned, rather than on lecturing.

2.      Students are expected to prepare for class by watching pre-recorded lectures, which host a number of examples, that are posted online at the beginning of the semester.

3.      The internet is the main source of technology utilized in this class. Students will be expected to find information on the their own via the use of the internet or other library services-- This allows class time to be used for the evaluation and application of skills.

4.      Students should contact me with any questions before the day of the corresponding class (see communication policy below). When requesting help, students should briefly (2-5 sentences) explain the methods that were used to determine the answer to their question. For example, “I do not understand xxx, specifically how xxx relates to yyy. I watched these Youtube videos (links attached) and read these articles that I found on PubMed (attached). I gained xxx from these sources, but still need clarification here…”

5.      A brief quiz will be provided at the beginning of every class period to assess student’s understanding of the pre-recorded lectures and assigned readings.

6.      Laptops are heavily used in this class; students should open their laptops after the quiz at the beginning of the class.

7.      I will spend 30 minutes between the quiz and the worksheet activity to answer any questions or to discuss topics that may be confusing.

8.      Students are expected to work together to complete the assigned worksheets by the end of the class (use of the internet is allowed).

9.      Student collaboration is common in this class; students should acknowledge diversity and avoid stereotypical thinking. Students should actively listen to each other and learn from each other experiences; expect tension and conflict, and learn to manage it. Students should reach out to the professor if you feel that another student or yourself have been discriminated against.  

 Goals (This course will…)

1.      Introduce Biostatistics in Public Health and the Public Health workforce, including job functions, and required training.

2.      Examine the history and major theorems in Biostatistics.

3.      Introduce types and measures of variables.

4.      Examine, compare, and contrast commonly used statistical distributions, and their properties.

5.      Introduce and examine commonly used parametric and non-parametric statistical tests and techniques along with special issues such as those related to sample size.

6.      Guide and encourage students to utilize formal and informal learning resources eg. Internet to learn about new techniques and other Biostatistics related topics.

7.      Introduce reading, writing, interpretation, and presentation of Biostatistics related literature, including methodologies in Public Health fields such as Epidemiology.

8.      Guide students in identifying their learning styles, learning strengths and weaknesses, and ways to improve or work around their learning inadequacies in order to succeed in the field of Public Health.

9.      Utilize statistical software of choice, such as SPSS, SAS, R, etc.

 Objectives (Students in this course will…)

1.      Understand the importance and functions of Biostatisticians in the workplace

2.      Know major figures in Biostatistics including fundamental theorems such as the Central Limit Theorem

3.      Distinguish variables as continuous, discrete, interval, ordinal, and more

4.      Know when to utilize tests such as chi-square, t-test, paired t-test, linear, and logisitic regression, including knowing test assumptions and how to carry out each test

5.      Discuss and explore, within groups, informal and formal sources used to learn about topics in Biostatistics before presenting these sources as a group to the class

6.      Read, write, interpret, and present their own statistical findings as well those published by other authors via class presentations and written assignments

7.      Better understand and be able to identify and communicate (via written assignments) their own strengths and limitations, learning styles, and methods for becoming better self-learners that have been suggested through research or that they have found to be helpful in working around these limitations

8.      Run and interpret statistical test output from software such as SPSS, SAS, R, etc.

Communication Policy

Skype/Google Chat (30-min sessions)

Appointments can be made via Skype or Google Chat. Appointment should be made at least 12 hours ahead of time. Otherwise, all last minute appointments will be considered on a first come first serve basis, and at the professor’s availability.

Weekdays (6 A.M.-5 P.M.)

Students can expect a response from the professor within 5 hours of sending their email, unless further notice is given.

Weekends

I do not respond to emails after 5 P.M. and 6 A.M. on weekdays, nor on weekends. Any emails sent after 5 P.M. on Fridays will receive a response on the following Monday.

 Assessments

1.      Pre/Post Survey                                                                                  1 point each= 2 points

The pretest and posttest will be administered twice, once at the beginning of the semester and again at the end. The survey will assess the student’s knowledge about their own learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, etc. and about their current self- learning practices. The survey is meant as a reflection for the teacher and the student alike as it provides the student with some diagnostic and guide for areas of improvement at the beginning of the semester and again at the end of the semester; it provided an indirect measure of student’s confidence in themselves as independent learners.

2.      Microaggression Short Essay                                                                                      5 points

Write a one-page double-spaced essay on how you or someone you know may have been micro aggressed. Here are some ideas to get you started: What were factors that caused the micro aggression? How did it make you, the victim, the perpetrator feel? Do you believe that it was intentional? What could’ve been done to prevent or relieve the situation?

3.      Self-Evaluation Essay                                                                         1 point each= 3 points

Self-evaluation assignments are meant to help the student identify their own learning style(s), strengths and limitations in learning, etc. It is an extension of the pretest that served as a diagnostic tool. These 1-page minimum (double-spaced) essays provide a time for reflection for the student so that they can track improvements and explore new methods that they have tried and found helpful (or not) in adversary to their self- learning experience. Students are expected to be explicit in stated examples of self-learning and their experiences from it.

4.      Quizzes                                                                                      10 points each= 100 points

At the beginning of every class (not including days where midterm or final exams are being administered), a 10-question closed notebook quiz will be given. The quiz may include materials discussed in previous classes (not limited to the last class session), or from articles assigned in preparation for class on the day in which the quiz is being administered. The quizzes are meant to help students prepare for the midterm and final exam.

5.      Worksheets                                                                                   20 points each= 200 points

The majority of the in -class time will be devoted to completion of these worksheets. Worksheets draw from the skills and knowledge gained from the pre-recorded lectures and assigned readings, and expand on the quiz. It will include majority open-ended questions which will require you to apply what you have learned to real-world problems that you would encounter in the work force. Use of internet is allowed. Student collaboration is allowed—please note however, that no two worksheets are identical across the class.

  6.      Discussion Post                                                                                 2 points each=20 points

Each week, one student will be responsible for introducing a new statistical technique to the class. Each student in the class will be expected to add 2-3 statements sharing how this technique may be applied, assumptions, or other pertinent information. This kind of shared learning will encourage students to become self-learners, choosing the most important information to add to the discussion of each method.

7.      Presentations                                                                                  10 points each= 30 points

Presentation 1 will be a group presentation, in which groups discuss traditional and non-traditional resources that they have found useful in learning new statistical techniques. Student will also be required to describe their approach in learning about one technique along with a discussion about the technique that was learned. In presentation 2, students will present statistical findings from research articles in Public Health with special emphasis on the author’s methodology. Students will be expected to utilize resources in and outside of the classroom to explain why (or why not) the methodology used was appropriate, and provide alternate methods were possible. Lastly, for presentation 3, students will present their own statistical findings from a project they designed, with special emphasis on their selected methodology.

8.      Methodology Essay                                                                         4 points each=20 points

Throughout the semester, students will be required to write 5 (minimum 2 paged, double spaced essays) about a new technique discovered via outside learning. A well written essay will include the purpose of the technique, including comments about its uniqueness and statistical problems that it is typically applied to, a full listing and explanation of the appropriate assumption along with a brief summary of how to test these assumptions, special properties such as distribution or theories that are relevant to the technique, limitations to the technique, and a specific example to which the technique may be applied. Students should approve each topic with the teacher.

9.      Wiki Page                                                                                          2 points each=10 points

Students will be expected to create 5 wiki pages based on the 5 methodology essays that they produce. These pages are meant to be a quick reference guide for anyone looking to utilize these methods.

10.  Midterm                                                                                                                    20 points

The midterm will be on materials covered in previous classes only, and will be cover statistical theorems, distributions, and techniques. Students will be expected to conduct data analysis, and supply correct interpretations, among other skills. The exam will consist of multiple choice, true/ false, and short answer problems. Materials will be more difficult than problems given in the quiz.

11.  Cumulative Final Exam                                                                                            25 points

The cumulative final will cover materials covered throughout the whole semester. Students will be expected to conduct data analysis, and supply correct interpretations, among other skills. The exam will consist of multiple choice, true/ false, and short answer problems. Materials will be more difficult than problems given in the quiz.

 Total                                                                                                                     435 points