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cityoftheangelllls · 2 years ago

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Presenting my revised redesign for Griffin the invisible man from Hotel Transylvania!

As I'm starting to get into the Halloween spirit, even though it's the end of August, I felt like revising my version of Grif. There's not too many differences from the version I posted in January. but I just wanted to share the ideas I developed in the months since and flex my improving digital art skills (I now have a Huion tablet so it's a lot easier!) As I did before, I tried to retain the art style from the movies. I also clearly am not the best at drawing slightly crusty middle aged dudes but I tried. I thought it would make sense and also be funny if his hair got really long over the course of the movies and came down to the middle of his back or longer by the time the fourth movie rolled around. I feel like he'd be the kind of guy who grows his hair out just because he likes it that way, and also, being invisible, he'd most likely forget to cut it or not worry about getting regular haircuts. I did consider putting a few gray streaks in there, but I'm leaving it as is for now. My version also has invisible clothes that he was able to make using his invisible serum - here's my reply on someone else's post where I go more into detail about this.

For all those coming at me and saying I'm fat shaming, being superficial, etc. because I drew him as a slimmer and more attractive man, hear me out:

I was honestly expecting a dude who physically looks like he's middle aged and past his prime - he's voiced by David Spade FFS, who is nearly 60 now - and I wouldn't have minded if he were balding or graying or a little out of shape. But what we got was not only absolutely painful to look at and anti-Semitic, at least according to some people, it completely disregarded all the hints that were dropped about Griffin's physical appearance and outline in the first three movies - TRUST ME, THEY'RE THERE. It's like the writers and character design didn't even watch the previous movies, and it was obvious enough due to the fact that they Drac and Johnny learn to appreciate each other all over again instead of further developing their relationship. Regarding Griffin, there were several instances in the first three movies where the outline of his body was hinted at, whether he was wearing visible clothes or wrapped in glowsticks, and ALL of them portray him as a slender man of average build and average height. There's also some promotional material for the first movie where he's wearing clothes and we can clearly see that he has a slimmer figure. We also saw that he has a jaw and neck, and even saw a partial outline of his head and face in HT3. NONE OF THIS lines up with what we got in HT4.

I have absolutely nothing against body representation in the media. In fact, I am ALL FOR IT. But if the HT crew wanted Griffin to be fat, they should have established that from the beginning. They just went ahead and completely changed his entire body, both his size and his height, just for cheap laughs and shock value. I should also say that Griffin's larger body in HT4 was NEGATIVE representation. They had him dressed in these horribly undersized clothes, including a shirt that looks like it was made for a little girl, for the bulk of the movie, and didn't even have him in proper clothing ONCE. Also, it all seemed to connotate that fat was equal to ugly. It all just felt extremely mean-spirited. Oh and did I not mention that he was much taller here too! He towered over Wayne, Murray, Drac, practically the whole gang, and he was just a head shorter than Frank if I remember correctly. AND it made NO SENSE that he didn't know he was balding!! He has hands, it's not like he couldn't have touched his head every once in a while! OH, and his torso was way longer and he had these little stick arms and legs! You know what, I'm just going to have to make a drawing comparing what he was supposed to look like and what he looked like in HT4 just to make it clearer.

But yeah, they messed him up badly, just for the sake of unfunny jokes, and he. deserved. so. much. better.

I'm hoping to tackle the other three guys (Murray, Wayne, and Frank) soon! ESPECIALLY Murray, because they did him just as dirty as Griffin.

#hotel transylvania #griffin the invisible man #griffin hotel transylvania #my art #the invisible man #sony animation #halloween

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the-bjd-community-confess · 3 years ago

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MoC gives me the vibe of being someone who cares about branding waaaay more than producing a quality product. She used to be crazy active on the bjd subreddit and her comments always made me feel like she was trying to put her name out there/ marketing herself as opposed to just being there to talk about dolls. Maybe I'm wrong, but the whole thing with her first doll really solidified that feeling. People were giving her really good constructive criticism (i.e. praising hard work and effort, while also giving suggestions for improvement in a polite way) and she brushed them off and even made some comment about how she's sculpted a lot of miniatures, so she knows what shes doing (which, I mean, cmon, her first doll looked like a middle school art project). After that she whined on another subreddit about how people praised her work until she wanted to sell, completely missing the point that a) until right before she opened sales, she never made it super clear she was selling her doll, b) she never once asked for constructive feedback and c) she was asking a professional price but wasnt presenting professional work. She pretty much dropped off of reddit after that, except for a couple posts here and there. It made it seem like the only reason she was so active was to build her brand and sell her doll, and when that didnt happen she bounced.

And then there's all this stuff about her casting service. She posts pics of her OC or her personal collection but the only photo of her casting is that one heavily filtered closeup of her new doll. She clearly hasn't built up her finishing skills, if the j0ker head is anything to go by. I dont blame @ce for getting a master from someone else. And whats with that weird flex of working at @pple and t3sla??? Unless she posts photos of stuff she resin cast while working, it means absolutely nothing and it just looks like a bragging point.

I dont think shes a bad person, or a scammer, but I think she's overestimating her abilities and is biting off way more than she can chew. Her ideas are really cool (that LED lightning bolt thigh looks awesome), but I wish she focused more on her artistry and skills instead of her "brand."

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #Community Confessions #BJD Casting

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aurorashka · 5 years ago

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FIRST DATE WITH ATEEZ

HONGJOONG

He will probably take you to an art gallery or to a cafe where you can learn how to make coffee art.

He enjoys looking at you being all focused with the art works because he thinks you look very elegant when you do that.

Takes a lot of pictures of you and if you cover your face, he will shower you with compliments and tries to remove your hands from your face to take pictures.

He will make sure you're comfortable, so he will constantly ask if you're okay or not and if he notices that you're feeling uncomfortable he will try his best to get you out of the place or makes you feel comfortable.

Overall, the date will not make you feel like it's a first date because he makes you feel so comfortable and also at the same time shower you with so many compliments; at the end of the date, he will definitely peck your lips (if you're okay with that) and ask you when are you available for the next date.

SEONGHWA

He will either invite you to his home, so that he will be able to cook for you but if his parents are home, then he will take you to a beautiful park to have a picnic with home cooked meal prepared by him.

He loves conversing with you so he will try his best to make you talk to him comfortably.

He likes giving you compliments or throwing random pick up lines to you out of nowhere because he enjoys looking at your reactions (he low-key finds it super cute and holds himself back from kissing you because it's your first date.)

He will sing for you and also give you a beautiful bracelet as a gift because he wants to show you the he's genuinely interested in you.

Overall, it will be a cute classic date and he will send you back home and make sure you're safe till you get into your home. He will hope that you will like him and go on more dates together with him.

YUNHO

This boy will definitely be super shy on his first date but he will still try his best to be the one in charge and lead you well.

He will take you to an amusement park because he thinks that the atmosphere there is lively so it can automatically get both of you happy (he will take you there at night because he will bring you to an open area to stargaze with you.)

Tries his best to keep the bright smile on your face, so he will win plushies and buys for you cute cartoon hair accessories or even the cartoon foil balloon to keep you happy.

He will start giggling and takes a lot of cute and funny pictures of you because he thinks you look super adorable and it makes him go uwu.

Overall, it will be a cute and fun date; like the kind of date where high schoolers will have, also he gave you so much happiness which makes you fall in love with him and he feels the same too. Maybe will ask you to be his girlfriend/boyfriend by the end of date and look forward to more upcoming dates as couples.

YEOSANG

Yeosang looks like someone who will want to have a chill and a mature date where he wants to get to know more about you and talk about himself as well (even though it will take him sometime to open up about himself, he will still try his best to be more vocal about himself.)

He might take you to an art museum, a cozy café or a traditional Japanese tea house.

He low-key hope for you to start the conversation so that he will know your interest and it will be easy for him to carry on the conversation.

He will stare at you admiring your beauty and if you caught him staring, he will blush and giggle cutely.

Overall, it will be a casual date where you both will learn about each other and he will definitely feel bad about how passive he was and if you give him a chance to go for another date, he will definitely improve himself and be more flirty and sassy on your next date.

SAN

This romantic Romeo will take you out for dinner at a beautiful rooftop view restaurant because after dinner you both can stargaze while talking with each other, that's the reason why he chose dinner date.

When you're busy admiring the stars on the night sky, he will be busy admiring your beauty, the way how your eyes sparkle due to the reflection of the starry night sky and how the end of your lips curled into a beautiful smile, he will instantly melt at the sight.

When you tell him how beautiful the stars look, he will say cheesy stuffs like, "You're the real beauty here."

He will not let you pay for the bill even if you insist, and also offer to drop you back home.

Overall, it will be a very romantic date and also a kind of date where you constantly get butterfly effects in your stomach. He will definitely fall in love with you and ask you to go for another date with him and that time he will ask you properly to be his girlfriend/boyfriend.

MINGI

This baby will be super excited for his first date with you and also he wants to have so much fun and make so many beautiful memories with you.

He will decide to take you to an arcade date.

He will try his best to win plushies for you, drags you to try out every game booths in the arcade and let you win because it makes him feel happy looking at you winning.

Before leaving, he will definitely take you to the photo booth to take a lot of pictures with you, he might even peck your cheek during the photo session to capture your cute reaction and he will absolutely love it.

Overall, it will be a fun and unforgettable date, he will make sure you enjoy every moment you spent with him there and he loves it so much looking at you being so happy because of him and by the end of the date he will ask you to be his girlfriend/boyfriend and if you say yes, he will peck your lips and shows you his gummy smile.

WOOYOUNG

I can see him as the type of guy who wants to try his best to impress his date as much as he could because he wants to show that person that he is definitely a boyfriend material.

With that being said, he will take you to a cooking class, so that he can impress you with his cooking skills and continuously flex that he will be a great boyfriend/husband.

You will notice how every girls in the cooking class will be eyeing on Wooyoung and it makes you feel uneasy but Wooyoung will realize that, so he will show off to everyone that he is only interested in you by doing cheesy stuffs like tying the apron for you, standing behind your back while helping you with mixing the ingredients and also place his chin on your shoulder while whispering compliments or blowing on your face to see you blush and giggle.

After cooking, he will definitely feed you the food and ask for your opinion; he will be so happy if you like the food.

Overall, it will be a romantic and sweet kind of date. He will ask you to be his girlfriend/boyfriend by the end of the date and takes you on more romantic dates in the future.

JONGHO

This cutie will want to have a private and fun date, so maybe a karaoke date because you both can have fun while singing your hearts out and at the same time both of you get to spend time alone together.

He might just play the songs in the background and instead of singing, he will talk to you to get to know you better and expects you to do the same, but if he realizes that you're too shy, then he might try his best to lead you on by telling about himself or tells his lame pun to make you feel relaxed.

He will ask you why you agreed to go on a date with him and what you like about him because he's insecure of himself so he's surprised someone actually really like him and it makes him genuinely happy (honestly though, he's the sweetest man ever!)

He will melt when he look at the sight of you singing because you looked and sound so angelic to him.

Overall, it will be a sweet and soft date. He will thank you before sending you back home and also high-key hopes that you will ask him to go on for a next date.

#kpop #ateez wooyoung #ateez san #ateez #atiny #ateez imagines #ateez seonghwa #ateez hongjoong #ateez mingi #ateez yeosang #ateez jongho #ateez yunho #kpopfanfiction #kpop imagines

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raven-wraith · 4 years ago

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This is Actually a Completely Subjective List Written in a Completely Objective Voice, so I’m not Wrong, Y’all just had a Bad Year: A Look at the Best Titles of 2020 A.D.

By Orova

I feel like a recap or an intro that encompasses the past year will be redundant to both the reader and the writer, so I just won’t. Instead, I’ll just say that due to circumstances provided by 2020, I had a lot of time to just shut up and play games. And games did I play. I played a lot of good games[1]. I played a lot of bad games[2]. I bought the newest games that came out[3] and I went back down memory lane with some classics[4]. But at the end of every day, I was completely satisfied with how I spent my time and did what I wanted. So this is a list of the games that surpassed satisfaction, pushed the bar higher, and made me reconsider what a truly great game can be in 2020.

The Last Of Us Part II

This game is a beautiful work of art and storytelling. If gripping gameplay is what you came for, then you’ll be staying for the story. Naughty Dog continues to come out with games that push current gen Playstations to astronomical heights, making that hardware and software work overtime to get a game that becomes so overwhelmingly tangible that it cause the player to stop. The Last of Us Part II is no exception to this rule. So often does this game take lefts and rights when you expect it to go straight that it is absolutely insane how much ground it truly covers. Sneaking about before getting into claustrophobic gunfights feels smooth and natural, the new mechanics and enemies are unique, and while the non-linear parts can overstay their welcome at times, the game is long enough for them to not fill in empty space.

When I first played this, I was with my girlfriend for the whole journey and at the end, I didn’t feel quite as fulfilled as I thought I should’ve from the sequel to one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. It wasn’t until I returned on a higher difficulty did I find just how much this game has to offer, making the story all the more powerful as every fight truly felt like my last and every enemy made me rethink my choices and decision making and every arrow I fired and molotov I threw felt a nice weight to it that I have to emphasize once more. This game is a beautiful work of art and storytelling as the gameplay speaks for itself before anything else.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

To those that actually care, I reviewed this game when it came out[5] and I was shocked to find how many people didn’t appreciate it as much as I did. Final Fantasy VII is one of the most influential titles of my life that being able to see Cloud’s hair rendered so cleanly in this dystopian futuristic gothic fantasy world was a miracle in my eyes. A dream come true. The action comes in spades with enough sword fighting and magic to make Power Rangers to look like a fucking picnic.

The graphical design of the game, the direction of animation, and the cunning take on a lot of depth we never got to see so early on makes me very excited for future titles to come. There are some downsides, lots involving the side quests and voice acting, but that is just some of its downsides to look past to find the content at its core. Shooting moonbeams out of your greatsword at stormtroopers while in chase on a motorcycle. Take down a tyrannical oil monger as an eco-terrorist. Find cats for a little girl. Is this a Bioshock? No. But is it a game I keep trying to remind myself to not replay? Yes.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remake

Superman by Goldfinger played and my sister laughed as she watched me cry. This game brought tears to my eyes, literally. As I got to relive sitting in my grandma’s basement, I was propelled to complete absolutely everything I wanted to do. This game was a complete package and its delivery was spot on with what a remake should be. A collection on a past game with quality of life improvements, enhanced handling and accessibility, and a software overhaul.

The game is simple. Complete challenges, unlock drip, flex on your friends. Usually in that order. But it is finally that simplicity in a new game that makes it such a good title. We wanted the game we knew and loved and they promised that. Nothing more, nothing less, it is exactly what we got. A new soundtrack, updated graphics, and nostalgia not most can achieve is a massive point to play this game.

Huntdown

Contra meets Kung Fury. Why the fuck have you not grabbed a friend and played this masterpiece yet. I mean seriously. If you’ve got a roommate or SO or friend with nothing going on tonight, play this shit. It’s great. Moving on.

Mortal Shell

I would like to address the fact that, yes, this is a souls-like and it isn’t exactly the most friendly game because of it. However, this game came out of fucking nowhere and blew me on my ass. Going back to delivering on a promise, these guys crafted an unforgiving title with little to no hand holding to show that this-THIS[6]-is how you make a souls-like. It is balls to the walls skill based combat where the player has to use what little tools they have to overcome a myriad of enemies. Progress is possible only through rewards and items, meaning there is no grinding or farming, just straight gameplay.

This is a game where I paid half the price for a full game and got, while a shorter title, the enjoyment from a full priced AAA game. It takes no time to complete when the “click” happens and it is a fun, fulfilling title the whole time. There are some incredibly unique mechanics that forced me to break my souls brain and for that, it just makes the experience far more personal. If you aren’t weak hearted, I cannot recommend Mortal Shell enough.

Doom Eternal

When Doom Eternal dropped, my sister was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. After we both went into respective video game comas from it, we dubbed March 20th Doom Crossing Day. Doom is Doom. Nothing more to say past that honestly, but I will continue my rambling cause I know it’s what you all want anyway.

These guys keep cranking the intensity knob higher and higher. With Doom 2016 these guys said, “Hey, what if we gave the best first person shooter that requires no thinking whatsoever to completely obliterate enemies and zoom around the map at breakneck speeds?” With Eternal, the guys said, “Hey, what if we did what we did for 2016 except this time, we actually have the everyone (enemies and the player) move faster, hit harder, and actually require them to think?” With that, the gore orgy of Doom Eternal was born. Still very much a fast paced shooter with some extra content to fill the pockets of completionists, it delivers in fucking truckloads exactly what it wants from the player. To let loose and fucking floor every hellish abomination in their path.

And the soundtrack, while a sad story, is still one of the best things to listen to in gaming and probably the world.

Darkwood

The only thing that made me stop to consider buying this game was how reliant on a crafting system it seemed. I hate games that force crafting. I don’t know why, so I won’t elaborate. But, done with The Last of Us Part II and needing a survival horror itch to scratch, I sucked it up and bought it. After all, being an indie title for a genre I admire more than most, it couldn’t have been a terrible waste of time. That was probably the single best decision I made during the last year and Darkwood is not lost on me in that sense.

The fact that Darkwood has not only exposed the horizon of top-down horror, but it has experimented and perfected its use for the camera angle is astounding. The atmosphere rides on that perspective and, between the short days of scavenging and talking to the few NPCs you meet to the long nights crouched in the corner of your (un)safe haven, it is never lost. It’s a game where you constantly hear your heart in your ears. The combat can be sloppy at times but the story is one of a kind and its execution is phenomenal. If you are a fan of horror games or roguelikes, I cannot tell you enough. Get Darkwood.

Deep Rock Galactic

After lots of thoughtful consideration, I have deemed this the number one title of 2020. Not only did it keep me and my friends together and in touch during the hard times, it is a shooter that I support with my whole body. You and your friends play as a team of drunk space dwarves, tasked with a mission that sends you deep into a spider-infested planet, where you will have to use your class sets to fight, plunder, and escape the hostile environment.

With PvE at its core and ridiculousness as its foundation, Deep Rock Galactic is a masterpiece of cooperative shooting and procedurally generated dungeon crawling. Blending class play from Team Fortress 2 with unexpected and differing missions from Darkest Dungeon, one will find this lighthearted shooter is an easy, accessible title. With a hint of Risk of Rain to complete its graphics, the game is above all fun. That’s right. It. Is. Just. Fun. Shoot a spider that launches fireballs from its mouth, drink beer that teleports you into the farthest reaches of space, get rich off of gold veins while your team calls you greedy, dye your beard purple, and Rock and Stone in this amazing fusion of PvE and dungeon crawling.

Thank you for coming. There will be no score. It is simply a list where I feel those that need some new titles after the biggest disappointment of them all[7] should find some great titles in here for themselves. Have a safe next year and be patient. Patience is what will reward you. Practice is what humbles you. Hesitation is defeat. Toodles.

[1] Ghostrunner

[2] Hellpoint

[3] Mafia: Definitive Edition

[4] Silent Hill 3

[5] 9/10

[6] Not you Hellpoint

[7] Cyberpunk 2077 but I mean, we all saw this coming. I had to put it in here somewhere.

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seeds-of-the-garden · 6 years ago

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Honestly loving this and loving what you all come up with. Prompt idea: Pidge signs up to an art class to get her mom to stop pestering her about having no interests outside of tech. What she doesn't realise is that the art class she's in are painting nudes. What she also doesn't realise is that Lance is the nude model.

So, warning for nudity. It’s not descriptive. Post series canon verse.

~~~~~

Pidge sat down with a huff, eyes heavy from lack of sleep. Chip was worse than a child when he got a virus, and she couldn’t leave her mother to deal with that.

She had half a mind to skip this week. Art class really wasn’t necessary, and she was only taking it to prove that if a Paladin of Voltron could have a hobby post war, anyone could. Pidge enjoyed doodling, and although she was no Keith as far as talent was concerned, she had noticed an improvement of skill as the months dragged on.

It made her happy to look at her first drawing of Voltron - before she’d even known what it looked like - and compare it to last week, when she’d drawn the Defender of the Universe with all the tips and tricks she’d learned. It looked like a robot.

(She gave the left arm a cute flower behind where the ear would be had Green been an actual lion - because she felt like it.)

So Pidge was tired and complacent and was caught off guard when Lance spoke to her.

“Pidge?” he shrieked. “What are you doing here?”

It took her a tic to recognize the voice, and she almost doesn’t believe it because Lance doesn’t live in Garrison housing, or in Plaht City. But there he was, sitting next to her, wearing a… a bathrobe?

His cheeks are bright red, eyes as wide as saucers. Pidge is fully aware her mouth was gaping.

“Lance?” she breathed in disbelief. “I’m in the class. What are you doing here?”

She’s of course happy to see him again, but was having a difficult time getting over why he was here.

Lance gave her a nervous smile. “Uh, maybe we can chat over a late night snack later,” he stopped himself, his face maybe even a deeper red now. “Or a drink. My treat. I’ll have Killbot Phantasm 23 once class is over, too.”

Her brow furrowed, conflicting emotions churned in her stomach at the mention of that specific game - the one she absolutely wanted to play with him once upon a time, before everything went downhill. Why…

The instructor entered the room and clapped for attention. “Good evening, class. We have a special assistant today. Last week we focused on robotics, tonight, we focus on human anatomy. Lance, if you would please.”

Lance gave her a half hearted smile and chuckle, and a mouthed a sorry, before standing and walking to the front of the room.

Pidge dropped her pencil and jaw the same time as Lance dropped his robe.

His blush faded when the class gave him good-natured chuckles. Confidence renewed, he awarded them with some humorous muscle flexing.

He doesn’t look in her direction.

Which was good, because she couldn’t stop staring - even though she really shouldn’t. She blinked rapidly, realizing her eyes were going dry. It does nothing for her hot cheeks and thumping heart and boiling blood down –

“Very good, Lance. Thank you for being a sport,” her instructor said. “If you could lay on your side on the table here…”

He does so, hiding nothing.

She sucked in a deep breath, wide awake now as she took in every last detail of his thoroughly sculpted and naked farmer’s body, on display for the class - for her - to see.

The instructor might have told them to start, everyone else had started around her, but she hadn’t heard. All Pidge could think about was Lance’s first time in a cryo-pod - the first time she’d gotten a taste of this. Suddenly it was if her teenage dreams were coming true in all the wrong ways.

Or right.

She doesn’t know. Her brain felt utterly broken.

Time would tell if this was a blessing or a curse. After all, he’d promised to hang out after class.

…Maybe it was a good thing she’d come to class this week after all.

#plance #pidgeance #flirtyrobot #mod rue #tw: nudity #though its not that descriptive #voltron legendary defender #vld fanfic

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yoshidaspan · 5 years ago

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My earliest memory is of myself wishing to have the attention of my lifelong best friend, Levi. At the time, Levi and I were playing with a boy who was a year older than us, Austin. I don’t remember what was happening specifically, but I do remember what I was feeling. I was filled with a sense of longing. Longing for Levi and Austin’s attention. For their approval. That is the farthest back in my life that I can remember.

As a kid, I was...eccentric. I liked weird stuff, preferred to be by myself, and constantly felt out of place. I was different on a fundamental level. I wanted the approval of others, but was filled with terrible insecurities and self doubt any time I would try to interact with anyone. I saw normal jokes and social interactions as people despising me. It didn’t help that I was extremely skinny, had almost no sense of self worth, and had a terrible speech disorder which made it hard to connect and communicate with people.

I was also filled with a burning competitive spirit. I had to be the best. At everything. I had to be the smartest, the fastest, and the most dedicated to anything and everything under the sun. This was probably cause by living in my brother’s shadow and the fact that I was a pretty smart kid academically. Whenever I wasn’t the absolute best, I felt a crushing weight come upon me. But I did my best to hide it. I put on a smile and shoved all the bad things I felt deep inside me. Again, this is all still happening when I am very young.

I started looking to see what would make me feel good about myself. I looked at television and books and all of my hero’s. And it all boiled down to one thing; dating. Everyone that I looked up to as a kid had one thing in common. They all got the girl, whether that was by finding “true love” or by being the cool guy that dated every hot chick in school. (My main hero’s were drake from drake and josh and aang from avatar). So at the ripe old age of 11 I started dating. Or at least tried to convince girls to go out with me. But again, I was the weird, socially awkward kid who learned how to interact from watching tv and reading Percy Jackson. I tried to be funny but just came off as slightly rude and majorly annoying. And here is the worst part. I blocked out all the feelings of self doubt and hate and just shoved them deep inside me. To stew and fester and remain unresolved.

I also repressed a lot of my childhood memories because of how much I hated myself. Any failed social interaction or attempt to ask a pretty girl out immediately for locked up in some dark corner of my brain. So a lot of this is “revisionist history” because I can only go off what other people tell me and what bits I remember.

So I kept dating. And dating. And wishing someone would pour their self into me and make me feel like I was valid. Until I got to one girl. One girl who I absolutely fell head over heels for. And that was a girl named Mikalyn. Mikalyn was sweet and beautiful and above all caring. She cared about everyone she came across. I tried for a solid year and a half to get her attention to no avail. And so I was crushed by the weight of my self hate and blamed my body image and lack of social skills. And so I did what I do best. I shoved down all of my feelings and looked for the next girl. Since I still wasn’t over Mikalyn, I went for her best friend, Rachael. And I had improved on my outward facade that Racheal actually agreed to date me. It was actually in the middle of dating Racheal that I fell for another girl. And I fell hard. Borderline stalker and definitely unhealthy. That girl was Brynnan, and we will be talking about her a lot more.

At this point I’m in the eighth grade and still have almost crippling feelings of self hate that I am barely suppressing. But along the way, I have found three safe havens from all of these feelings. And those safe havens are martial arts, music, and writing. And while they all made me feel better about myself, they also brought with them huge challenges and repercussions. Martial arts was and is amazing because of the pure level of dedication and heart I put into it. It was physical and helped me with my body issues. It let me beat out some of my aggression and intense feelings I had been holding inside me. It fuels my competitive spirit. Music was amazing because it allowed me to pour my feelings into notes. It let me be good at a skill. It was meditative and let my flex my creativity. Writing let me be my true self and actually feel my feelings.

But martial arts caused me to work myself to exhaustion. Music made me wish I was cooler than I was. Writing made me realize how broken I was inside.

Because I was now aware that I was messed up and was broken inside, I couldn’t deal. I tried to shove everything down again but it just came back up again. I was still chasing Brynnan. I was barely passing classes. I was failing in every aspect of my life. And so, little by little I killed my emotions. I stopped feeling. I went numb. Brynnan started dating a guy named Colton. I made a few terrible mistakes and only went to martial arts sporadically. I only played bass when I was in band class. I stopped writing.

Amidst all of this, one video changed my life. It resolved my body issues. It opened my eyes to who I truly was. Who I can’t deny I am. It made me feel alive and...happy. Truly happy for the first time in a very, very long time. And that was Jacksepticeye’s playthough of a normal lost phone. In the game, our protagonist discovers that he is not a he. That “he” is transgender. And that resonated deeper within me than words will ever describe.

And then Colton put Brynnan though He’ll and back. Brynnan’s family life imploded. Her entire world had shifted. And so she started doing one thing that would change both of our lives forever. She cut herself.

I wanted to feel again. And not just this numbness that was occasionally interrupted by searing pain and immeasurable sadness. And so I tried to get closer to Brynnan. So I cut myself. And a new world opened to me.

It was addicting. I felt like I was in control. I felt something again. And I felt like I was powerful. I couldn’t stop. Line after line was carved in my skin. I was writing again. I could feel again. Pain, but this time pain that I controlled.

My relationship with my parents worsened with every passing day. They found out about my gender dysphoria and snapped, saying it was an abomination and that I would end up nothing but a crack whore. I just desperately wanted to belong, to feel loved, and to find myself.

I eventually met a girl named Lauryn at a Speech, Drama, and Debate tournament. Even as I still had feelings for someone else, I was really just looking to be validated, to try and pour out some of the intense emotions in my heart, and to have someone by my side. Lauryn and I quickly started dating, and almost as quickly broke up. But it turns out that Lauryn had a LOT of the same problems that I did, and we quickly reconnected and got into a very serious relationship. We both loved each other, but I fell for her in a way that scared her. I claimed that I was willing to do anything for her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

It was during this time that two important things happened. I turned 18, and immediately moved out of my parents house into what would become affectionately known as The Rug, with three of my best friends on the planet. And it was when I decided to pursue a career in the military.

My time in The Rug was my first taste of freedom and with that came a lot of responsibility and the beginning of rock bottom. I was stressed from working 40 hour work weeks on top of trying to just barely pass my senior year of high school. I started smoking weed with my friends to help relax. Lauryn came from a family of stoners and would join me nearly every night, out under the stars. But Lauryn and I started to fight and feel as though our relationship had a deadline, as I would soon be leaving for boot camp, and she would be going off to medical school.

We broke up. She ended things. And I truly hadn’t known what it was like to be heartbroken before then. I felt utterly alone. I had pushed away a lot of my friends to spend time smoking with Lauryn. I only saw my parents once every few weeks, and our relationship was practically nonexistent. So I turned to drugs. I started smoking weed more and more, as well as cigarettes. I was showing up to work high, and put every dollar I had ever saved into the habit. But I had found a new group of people to be with, who listened to my problems and provided my support. Slowly but surely I picked myself up and put the pieces of my life back together. I was still smoking almost every day, but I had a group of friends and had a handle on my depression. (Even if it was because I was just numbing it with drugs, I didn’t want to end my life for the first time in years)

And then I left for basic training. I was going to become a Marine. I went through three months of Hell, but it gave me two things that I had longed for all my life; Self confidence and self love. And now, I no longer feel gender dysphoria. I’m confident in who I am and truly do love myself. But I can still feel the weight of all the pain I carried inside for so long. I can still feel the icy claws of depression gripping my heart. I may be a lot better now, but I am a long way from healed, and I am terrified that one day I will be right back where I was.

#overshare

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s3mag · 6 years ago

Text

SEMA is a hard show at which to properly appreciate cars. On one hand – it’s a show overflowing with some of the best builds you will see all year. On the other hand – it’s that same overflow that makes it almost impossible to keep your wits about you. It’s almost too much of a good thing. In a sea of thousands of cars, I feel like some inevitably get lost. The great thing is: The cars that are truly memorable, the cars you are talking about weeks and months after the show… are cars which rise above the temporary flash-in-the-pan Instagram fame. Some cars deserve to be immortalized. More than digital noise or passing fancy, they draw their inspiration from the timeless. The classic.

This 240Z certainly qualifies as one of these cars. While it has some innovations and forward thinking design elements, it also honors the tradition and legacy of Datsun’s Z car heritage. Car owner Dennis wanted a Z that could be as menacing on the street as it was on the track. In looking to manifest his dreams into reality, he was fortunate enough to meet aspiring builder Kyle Kuhnhausen. Kyle is a fresh out of business school automotive entrepreneur with a penchant for metal work. Ok, more than a penchant… he has a gift. From the paint scheme to the heavily gusseted cage, this car is well thought out & beautifully executed. How well executed? Well, when we talked he made sure I knew that the LS swap was a place holder engine until they built something truly epic for under the hood. WOW. Some place holder.

Let’s take a moment and revel in my three favorite aspects of this car.

First)

There is the paint scheme. Nimbus Grey (or battle ship grey in some parlance) has to be my personal favorite hue on show cars. It’s rich, it allows shadows to adopt a deep dark over tone, and light reflections to be silvery & pronounced. Every truly beautiful design looks amazing in this color. So… win number one? CHECK! The Peter Brock homage striping is as evocative and respectful of the Z’s motorsport heritage as it is a tasteful modern touch of racer bravado. I dig it. Those famous side stripes actually start on the hood at the vents and then cascade over the fender and down the side forming the Brock stripes we are all familiar with. A killer design cue that is at once forward thinking and period correct. Nicely done.

Second)

Let’s talk about that metal work. The Aero is mean, functional, and gives the car a seriously provocative stance. What’s more – it’s designed to just rip/break away cleanly in the case of a momentary lapse in driver skill (for example paying a visit to say, China Beach at the end of the straight at Mid Ohio). Well played Kyle, well played. However, as fantastic as that aero is, it is nothing compared to the beautifully executed roll cage. Meant to be a street car that can participate is serious track time… it had to be a car from which Dennis could easily get in and out. Kyle kept the safety high by fabricating one seriously artful, yet stout, fully gusseted integrated cage. Take a few moments and look at the cage in this car. I have severe race car envy. My race car has race car envy. Seriously. It is so good that it easily merits adjectives like superlative, excellent, exemplary. Bravo.

Third)

And this is one where so many cars sort of take a pass… the gauge cluster. When a car has track day toy duties, it’s easy to just pick up a digital display, mount it up, and just call it done. Not in this car. The cluster in this car is 13 individual pieces of aluminum lovingly hand shaped into what you see before you. It honestly called to mind some of the extreme and bespoke modern interpretations currently en vogue built around the Porsche 911. The Singer cars being the most notable, they take an air cooled 911 and massage every aspect of the car… and polish, preen, & refine it until it is absolutely jewel-like. The perfect 911. Well, that’s where this Z took me. It’s like a really nice 240Z… only polished to the highest possible degree. Everywhere you look there are tasteful touches. This instrument cluster exemplifies that. The angle at which it is canted toward the driver, the alignment of it inside the MOMO wheel. It’s absolutely glorious.

So yeah, this car is one of the highlights of last year’s SEMA show. It truly was. Bespoke modern takes on past classics are hot right now. Cars like the Singer 911s are fetching 500k and more per unit, so it makes builds like this kind of a serious proposition. Get it right and the value and classic status is legitimate. In the end, Dennis can drive this car on the road or the track, confident in the fact that he found the perfect enthusiast to execute his vision. And he can rest well in the fact that he’s now driving the Singer of Datsun 240Zs.

InZanity 240Z

CHASSIS

1972 Datsun 240z shell

10-point fully tig welded roll cage featuring flared hole body tie-in gussets

Lower jacking & towing points welded to bottom of main cage shelfs

Every unibody seam is fully stitch-welded inside & out, and seam sealed

All top strut mounts replaced with camber adjustable heavy duty plates

Pre-load adjustable tie-rod strut braces featured in engine bay

Tig welded fuel cell cradle with integrated rear center mount tow hook

Rear sub-mounted battery with remote charging points and kill switch

Custom tig welded engine & transmission mounts. Optimized center of gravity

50/50 weight distribution

Bolt-in aluminum transmission tunnel stiffeners / driveshaft hoops

Integrated scraping points for oil pan protection

BODY MODS

Trackspec Motorsports heat extracting louvers on hood & front fenders

Front fender-exit side exhaust with custom alloy diffusing louvers

Rear rockers clearanced for functional rear brake vents, and lowered 1.25”

Fender & rear emblems shaved

Antenna & side marker lamps shaved

CNC billet aluminum laser engraved KMC tail lamp insets

CNC billet aluminum quarter panel vent emblems featuring modernized “Z”

Rear bumper & mounts shaved

Symmetrical rear body pan recess, opposed to unsymmetrical stock recess

Front bumper shaved & swissed with dimple die punched holes

Reinforced rear hatch for functional spoiler mounts

Rear quarter panel turbulent air extraction holes with alloy bezels added

Wide “ZG” style flares, adding 6” of width to the rear fender wells

All body gaps cut, welded, and staked.

Shaved hood springs & streamlined hinges

Show grade bodywork

One-piece front & rear windscreen gaskets

POWER

GM 2004 LS1 engine with T56 6-speed manual transmission

Modified & ported 1.625” primary headers ceramic coated in gold

Bespoke 2.5” Fully pie-cut and tig welded exhaust with front X-pipe (167 weld joints)

Dual 8” sectioned Magnaflow Corvette style mufflers mounted in front wheel wells

Improved Racing 180 degree oil cooler thermostat with 400hp Setrab cooler

Holley Coil on Cover valve covers

Radium Engineering FCST fuel cell surge tank and full fuel system

Vibrant Performance –AN fuel lines

Modified stock throttle body with Lokar stainless throttle cable

Custom 4” aluminum air intake with K&N filter outside engine bay

Aluminum crossflow radiator with 16” Flex-A-Lite electric fan and custom shroud

Modified Hurst short shifter with KMC integrated transmission fluid top-fill

Centerforce single disc clutch

ACT Clutch Prolite lightweight flywheel

Custom one-piece driveshaft

Infinity Q45 R200 differential with VLSD limited slip unit and 3:54 final drive ratio

Nissan Armada CV axles

BRAKES

6-piston Wilwood front calipers & 4-piston Wilwood rear calipers

Fully functional ram-air 3” brake ducting to all 4 corners with custom caliper hats

ASD Motorsports hydraulic 16” e-brake system with braided -3an lines

Wilwood billet master cylinder with modified vacuum booster assembly

Optimized pedal box with reduced weight and improved pedal placement

3/16” Stainless hardlines and -3an braided flex lines

Wilwood proportioning valve with hidden custom mount

Remote Wilwood proportionating valve in-cabin adjustment knob custom retrofit

Custom aluminum master cylinder heat shield

SUSPENSION

Full Arizona Z-Car “Track Pack” billet aluminum adjustable suspension

Arizona Z-Car struts with coilover adjustable springs, modified for tire clearance

Apex Engineered bump steer adjustment kit and high steer knuckles.

Full polyurethane bushings

Modified front crossmember for improved roll center

ST Suspension front & rear sway bars with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings

5 Lug converted hubs with front Wilwood spindles

ARP chromoly extended wheel studs

Stitch welded and reinforced front crossmember

AERO

Custom HDPE adjustable front air splitter with alloy radiator and brake dams

Custom HDPE adjustable rear diffuser with jacking point & air straighteners

Custom HDPE 6” side splitters with exhaust vent & rear brake vents integrated

Aluminum tunnel underbelly, mostly flat under entire car

Pitch adjustable 3-piece rear deck spoiler with Ringbrother’s micro hinges

ARP carbon fiber micro mirrors

Lexan headlamp aerodynamic fillers

4 Piece aluminum radiator ducting with cabin air ducts integrated

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ELECTRONICS

Street and Performance engine wiring harness with reflashed stock ECU

Braille lightweight I25X lithium battery

Bowler Performance phantom key with Honda s2000 push button starter

Fully custom KMC chassis wiring harness

Fully integrated Passport 9500ci radar detector system

Alpine double-din 6” monitor with frenched backup camera, navigation, and satellite radio

Dakota Digital VHX-1100 competition dash with 16 digital readouts

Dakota Digital BIM 1 OBDII gauge interface

EPAS electronic power steering integrated into Woodward steering column with input potentiometer knob on dash

Custom carbon aircraft-style switch panel with u-shaped toggle protectors

Quick Latch removable main electronics panel featuring Marine resettable circuit breakers

WHEELS / TIRES

18” CCW 3-piece LM20 wheels with gloss black lips, satin black centers, and ARP bolts (18×10 front 18×11 rear)

BFGoodrich Rival S 200tw extreme performance tires (275/35zr18 front 315/30zr18 rear)

Gorilla extended race lug nuts

INTERIOR

MOMO Super Cup FIA homologated seats and alloy brackets

MOMO 350mm MOD. 07 suede steering wheel

MOMO 6pt. harnesses

MOMO quick release hub w/ bespoke manually machined adapter to race column

Highly modified pedal box

Longacre 17” wide rear view mirror

Bowler performance billet shift knob and lever

Aluminum bead-rolled hexagonal pattern fuel cell fire wall

Custom alloy center console, and 3-piece alloy bespoke quick removable dash

Smoothed transmission tunnel

Bespoke flared-hole heel plates

Flared-hole fabricated dead pedal and geometry optimized clutch and brake pedals

Custom heater with 4 vents hidden under removable dash

Hexagonally stitched suede door cards with carbon fiber aircraft riveted inserts

PAINT (All Axalta Refinishes Products)

Chromax Mosaic SBBC B9*01 – Color: Ford Stealth Grey

Imron 3.5 HG+ Polyurethane RH-3714 – Color: Gray 057

LF Epoxy DTM Primer Gray 2540S

Chroma Base “4 to 1” 2K Urethane Primer Filler Gray 7704S

Chroma Priemier Premium Appearance Clearcoat 72500S

Epoxy DTM Activator Medium Temp 2505S

Basemaker Medium Temperature 7175S

Activator-Reducer 60-70 Degree 7765S

Plas-Stick Flexible Additive 2350S

Chroma Premier Pro Normal Activator 14305S

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OTHER

Rear sub-mounted SPA Technique fire suppression tank with 6 nozzles in cabin/engine

2-piece removable front chassis-mount tow hook

Proprietary differential snout oiling system with Tilton commercial pump and Setrab cooler

Functional side hood winglet to integrated tig welded alloy coolant expansion tank

Dual “II Much fabrication” differential and fuel system vents with custom bracketry and aluminum hard lines.

Extensive use of ARP 12 Pt. stainless fasteners

Text by Tim Neely Photos by Dominick Barbero

InZane in the Membrane: Datsun 240Z SEMA is a hard show at which to properly appreciate cars. On one hand - it’s a show overflowing with some of the best builds you will see all year.

#240z #datsun #LS1

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jojo-lity · 6 years ago

Text

Iris

thank you for commissioning, i really hope you enjoy it!

pairing: okuyasu nijimura/reader word count: 3709 rating: sfw

ao3 link

“Morioh Grand Hotel, how may we help you?”

The room service worker patiently waited as their guest deliberated over the breakfast options. Conscious of available money and time, she took a simple option, prepared to just get a big lunch if it proved inadequate. Despite her nerves, she managed to get it all down, quickly checking everything one last time before setting out.

Somewhere in that town, where she was walking, Rohan Kishibe lived.

He was a new face in the manga world, but he had carved out his reputation at a phenomenal speed. Naturally, when he had offered the chance for one select participant to learn from him, she had put everything she had into proving herself. Even now, her ability recognised, meeting him was almost as fearful as it was exciting.

Carefully navigating the public transport network, she made her way to the address she had been given. Assuming that it would be the directions to his home, she was initially dismayed to see a cafe, until she saw him at one of the outdoor tables.

He was working furiously, only occasionally pausing to glance at the vase of flowers in front of him. Not daring to interrupt, she circled behind him to look at the canvas, stunned by the decisive shading and colouring. Far from Rohan’s usual stylised work, it was almost indistinguishable from a photograph.

She waited for him to be certainly finished before clearing her throat. Conscious that he didn’t like to waste time, she launched right into speaking. “Hello!” He didn’t appear to respond to her name, but at the mention of the competition, he blinked and pulled a small photograph from his pocket. Looking closer revealed what she suspected: it was the picture she had submitted with her entry.

“Oh, of course, the contest winner. Sit down, then.” He made a quick gesture towards the table’s other seat, which also had a canvas set up in front of it.

So maybe he wasn’t chatty, but his skills were undeniable. She looked forward to being able to improve her own.

“What’s the first thing you look to for inspiration?” Once she was seated, he questioned her in a clear, rehearsed voice, a single eye peeking out from behind the canvas to stare.

Did she even have a clear answer to that question? She took a moment to think, conscious of his unblinking gaze. “Uh… you?” Everyone liked to be flattered, didn’t they?

“Wrong.” The exposed half of his face retreated from view. “When creating something… your first point of contact should be reality. Always. If you want people to read your manga, they need to understand it. It needs to be familiar to them in some way. So always, build from a foundation of absolute reality.” He spun his canvas around to face her, displaying the painted vase she had already seen. “This is what you’ll start with.”

So she was drawing still lifes? That wasn’t what she signed up for, but she couldn’t argue with Rohan’s results, and it was only the first day. She had weeks to learn about manga.

While she worked, Rohan did the same, though she had no idea what he was doing. It wasn’t her greatest area of expertise, but her finished product was judged as “not terrible”, and she was immediately assigned a new subject. And so it seemed to continue for the rest of the day.

The atmosphere barely shifted from morning to afternoon, until the cafe was suddenly crowded by students on their way home from school. To her, it was inevitable that someone would eventually notice the celebrity in their midst- the only surprise was that it took so long.

“Hey, is that Rohan over there?”

Who was addressing him so casually? She got her answer when their table was crowded by three students, in varying sizes and uniforms but apparently all high-schoolers. They were clearly curious, but to her surprise, that curiosity appeared to centre on her.

“Rohan, no way!” Forgoing a greeting, one of the taller students cried out in shock and anguish. “Don’t tell me that you have a girlfriend!” His purple-uniformed friend patted his shoulder.

“Come on, Okuyasu, there’s gotta be some other explanation. Right?” He grinned at her, a considerably more enthusiastic look than he had given Rohan. Were they not his fans?

Rohan seemed to have nothing to say, too busy showing his notebook to the smaller student (Koichi, she thought she heard him be called), so she went ahead and answered his question. “Nothing like that! I’m just here to learn from him.”

Okuyasu visibly brightened up, leaning closer to inspect one of her many paintings. “Hey, this isn’t manga.”

“I’m… learning about reality?” Now that someone else mentioned it, maybe it really was strange that manga had barely been mentioned, let alone practiced. Neither of them looked surprised, though, with the boy in purple even muttering about how that sounded like Rohan, all right.

“Hey, this is really good! Come look, Josuke!” Okuyasu held up her rendering of the vase, displaying it with the fascination that she only felt for the greatest works. Her painting was good, but it hardly compared to that- did he really like it that much? His excitement showed no signs of fading as he explored the rest of the day’s works, including the half-finished one resting on her easel. He didn’t so much as glance at any of Rohan’s. “Man, you should be teaching him…” He leaned down to deliver that thought in a loud whisper, conscious of Rohan being distracted but not far away.

It wasn’t the first time she had been complimented, but such obvious admiration produced a curious lightheadedness that made it difficult to respond. An oddly pitched laugh escaped her before any words could. “I don’t know…”

“So you’re just painting stuff you can see?” Josuke’s line of sight travelled from the tree sketched on her canvas, to the real tree that stood some distance away. “I guess that’s cool, but eventually you’d run out of stuff…”

“Then we’d go somewhere else.” She hoped they wouldn’t be spending the whole time painting, though.

“Yeah, I guess… hang on!” His smile was blinding. “You could paint us! That’d be something you haven’t done before, right?”

Even if she had no idea what Rohan would say about it, she was having a hard time thinking of any reason to refuse. He was clearly occupied, and humans were examples of reality, weren’t they? They had interesting appearances and outfits, and… maybe she wouldn’t mind an excuse to look at Okuyasu for a while. Unaware she was smiling until it pulled at her cheek muscles, she nodded, sliding a fresh canvas onto the easel and preparing her sketching tools.

—

Okuyasu had never been painted before. He quickly discovered there was a lot he didn’t know about the experience- mainly, how much staring it involved. She was apparently painting both of them, but her eyes seemed to be on him constantly, following the outlines of his body at a glacial speed. Only the persistent scratching of pencil on paper kept him grounded in reality, and prevented him from getting too embarrassed.

His muscles were starting to cramp when she lowered her hand, letting them both know that they could take a break. Right away, he took the opportunity to stretch, arms flexing under his fairly tight sleeves. If he was still being watched, with a growing sense of admiration, he wasn’t aware of it.

“Hey!” As soon as he was done, he was leaning over the canvas, trying to get an upside-down glimpse of her progress. “Are you almost done?”

She shook her head. “This is only the first stage.” From what he could see, she was right- two human figures adorned the canvas, instantly recognisable from silhouette alone, but rough and lacking in most details. Curious about what their new acquaintance thought of him, his eyes lingered on his own likeness. There was a strong body, created with large, blocky shapes, but the faint lines of his eyes and mouth held a softer quality. Unconsciously seeking a comparison, his fingers drifted to his own lips for a moment.

“You like it?” At her question, he reluctantly tore his eyes away, resuming his previous position.

“Yeah, of course! I’m no art critic, but it’s awesome!” It almost didn’t seem fair that someone so pretty could have so much talent. If she wasn’t so kind, he would never forgive her… but didn’t being kind make it even worse? “So what’s the next stage?”

She took a small paintbrush from a nearby pot of water, briefly pointing it at each of them. “I have to sketch out the scenery. Then, I’ll start shading in all the darkest bits before adding the rest of the colours.” Okuyasu nodded along with her, doing his best to appear thoughtful.

Whether it was her explanation, his earlier yelling, or just sheer coincidence that was responsible, no further words could be spoken before Rohan looked up and noticed what had been happening right across from him. “You’re still here? Go find something else to do, I’m not done teaching.”

“But-“ He gave them no chance to protest, shooing them away with persistence. Their smaller friend went with them, leaving just Rohan and his student at the table once again. Without even looking at it, he took her canvas and placed it with the others.

“That’s enough of that for now. We’ll go over the basics of manga.”

—

She worked hard all week, picking up new techniques and taking on new perspectives. Though none of it came naturally yet, she was already convinced that she had grown as an artist. She would have been happy to work on Sunday, but Rohan had refused, claiming he needed time to himself. Maybe that wasn’t so bad- she had barely been able to explore Morioh.

The neighbourhoods she wandered through were quiet and lightly populated, the exact opposite of the landscape she was used to navigating. It was surprising how much of a difference it made to be hearing birds chirping instead of trucks and sirens in the background. What was the best way to convey that noise through a drawing? Her notepad and pencils rest at the top of her bag, ready to be taken out at any time, but she kept searching for the perfect place alongside the near-empty roads.

As she circled back towards the city centre, the tranquility slowly faded, bird calls drowned out by laughter. But where was the laughter coming from? That was easy to identify- the teenagers on the other side of the street weren’t exactly being subtle about their joy. It only took one look for her to recognise them. After spending the time and effort to sketch them, they weren’t easily forgotten.

“Okuyasu! Josuke! Hi!” She waved, pleased when they not only waved back, but hurried across the road to greet her.

“Hey! What’s up?” Breathless and grinning, Okuyasu was the first to respond. “Rohan isn’t with you?”

“It’s my day off.” She gestured to the scenery before them. “I was just looking around.”

“Great!” Josuke seemed to exchange a glance with Okuyasu before continuing. “We were heading to Kameyu for some stuff, wanna come? Maybe we can hang out after.”

She didn’t really need anything, but it would be nice to have some company for a while. At the department store, Okuyasu accumulated several shopping bags, while Josuke’s purchases amounted to a few snacks. Chivalrously, he picked up a few of his friend’s bags, and she followed suit.

Their walk back to the neighbourhood was more of a stroll, with plenty of stops to show off some of Morioh’s landmarks to its visitor. She didn’t realise that she had been near-constantly laughing until their sudden arrival at Josuke’s house.

“Well, this was fun, but I gotta go. Mom needed me to fix something, could be a while.” Maybe it was her imagination, but it almost seemed like he and Okuyasu shared another quick look. Before she could be certain, he was hurrying away, and Okuyasu’s attention turned to her.

“I guess you’ll probably be going too?” He said it as if it was inevitable, but not something he was looking forward to. It made something in her chest flutter. Did he really want to keep spending time with her?

“I wasn’t planning on it. Even if you’re going, there’s some interesting stuff here.” Scanning the houses she could see, she picked one out to point at. “Like that one, I’d love to draw that one.” It was huge, but it looked abandoned- most of the windows were boarded up, which wasn’t stopping vines and bushes from growing out of most of them.

To her surprise, Okuyasu perked up, uttering a noise of disbelief. “No way, that’s my house! You should totally draw it!” Lifting his shopping bags onto his shoulders, he broke into a run directly towards the house, vaulting himself over the gate. Still carrying half his bags, she had little choice but to follow at a slower pace.

By the time she reached the house, he had opened the gate, and was holding the house’s door open even while she stood several feet away. His smile was so sweet that it was impossible not to smile back as she passed in front of him.

“Well, here it is!” Once he could close the door, he slipped back in front of her to guide her through the narrow halls. “Kind of a maze, but stick to places with lights on and you’ll be fine.”

Despite the house’s size, there wasn’t much in it. The furniture was minimal, and the few photos he saw scattered around were all of Okuyasu, Josuke, Koichi, or all three. “You don’t… live here alone, do you?” He was still in high school, but he was clearly handling all the shopping himself… it was a possibility, wasn’t it?

“Nah, my dad lives here too.” He gathered all the bags together, thanking her when she handed over what she had carried. “But he’s asleep. Doesn’t really like to be woken up.”

“Oh.” No one would interrupt their time together. She felt a little bad for being relieved.

“Don’t worry about it.” There was still a smile on Okuyasu’s face. “You can draw whatever you want, I’ll just be in the kitchen. Got a new recipe to try!” So he was cute, kind, and a cook? Meeting him seemed luckier by the second.

Bringing out her pencils and notepad, she took a seat at the dinner table. “So, what are you making?”

She was no stranger to losing track of time, but it was still a shock to look out the window for the first time since their conversation started and realise how much the sky had darkened. Hours must have passed, but a quick once-over of her notepad revealed that it had barely been touched.

“Done!” She was startled once again by Okuyasu lifting a giant pot over his head, steam billowing out above them. “Just gotta put it on plates, then we can eat.”

“We? You mean… me as well?”

“Well… yeah?” He nodded a few times, slowed down by confusion. “I thought you’d be staying for dinner, kinda why I made so much. If you’ve gotta go, I can put some in a box, hang on-”

She interrupted midway through his reach for a kitchen drawer. “No, no, I want to stay!” Dinner or no dinner, she couldn’t say she was ready to leave. Everything she had learned about him only made her want to know more. “Want any help with the plates?”

“Nah, Tonio says I’m really good at it. Watch.” Armed with only a large fork and pair of tongs, he did fill each plate with spaghetti in record time, curling it up into a perfect spiral shape without spilling a drop of sauce. She couldn’t imagine how many times he must have practiced- it was a form of art in itself, despite his claims to have no talent in the field. He claimed to be talentless at most things, then went ahead and proved himself wrong again and again.

“Well, here you go! Hope you like it!” It took a moment for her to stop admiring his smile and start admiring the meal. After seeing it up close, and smelling it, her hopes were confirmed- the small chunks of meat present throughout the dish were chicken. Her favourite. He couldn’t have known… but she wasn’t sure if she believed in such coincidences.

She waited until he sat across from her to start. It seemed a shame to ruin the presentation of the plate, until she tasted it. Then she couldn’t get enough, only stopping to take advantage of the parmesan that he offered. He didn’t even feel the need to ask if she liked it. They were both too busy to talk much, but she had to stifle a laugh every time he slurped up a strand, and when he smiled afterwards.

The sound of him clearing his throat drew her attention away from the last few forkfuls she had been chasing around her plate. As the sun set, the kitchen’s dim light had done less and less to illuminate the corners of the room, creating the effect of a much closer space. “Hey…” His usually-enthusiastic voice was hushed, and had a soft quality that made her heart swell. “Thanks for being here. It was really great to hang out.”

Tossing her utensils aside, she practically leapt to grab his hands. “I should thank you for inviting me! I had a wonderful time!” Her smile was peaceful, but her eyes were shining. It was so nice to be close to him. He was sweet and understanding and warm, right down to the absolute core of him, in a way that she wasn’t sure she had seen before or would ever see again. They were right next to each other, and he didn’t seem to mind that, maybe she could…

Only an accidental glance out the window stopped her from kissing him, instead letting out a cry of dismay. How had she let it get so late? There was the bus she was supposed to catch, already at the stop. There was no way she would get out of the house and across the road in time.

“Hey… are you okay?” There didn’t seem to be much use, but Okuyasu sounded so sympathetic that she couldn’t help but explain her dilemma. Just having him there was already mildly comforting.

As he stood up, he took a gentle hold of her arm, tugging at it until she stood up too. “Come on. We’ll go get it.”

“Get it? But it’s already going to leave, we won’t…”

“We’ll catch up! Come on!” It was hard to refuse when he seemed so certain. After taking a second to gather her belongings, she let him take a firm grip of her hand, doing her best to keep up as he ran right out of the house. “All right!” He yelled as soon as they were across the street, waving his free hand in front of him in a wide sweeping motion…

And there they were, right in front of the bus’ closing door.

In a mild daze, she let Okuyasu guide her onto the bus without protest, and found a seat to sit in before she started thinking. They must have run fast enough to catch up to the bus, but why didn’t she remember half of it? She wasn’t usually someone who failed to pay attention to her surroundings, or forgot things right away.

All that she was certain of was that he had helped her in some way, and that was enough to keep her from worrying.

—

She was happy to say that she had learned from her mistake. After weeks of fun and learning, her final meeting with the friends she had made in Morioh took place right at the bus stop. None of them were happy to see her go, but they had exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and even discussed a potential visit next summer. Saying goodbye turned out to be a little easier, when they knew it wasn’t the end.

She had purposely saved a particular goodbye for last. Even if it had only been a few weeks, she had spent most of her free time with Okuyasu, learning and experiencing everything she could with him by her side. Standing there, she was certain of what she had known from the beginning: there was something special about him, or maybe just about the two of them together.

The way he was freely sobbing seemed to indicate he agreed, even if he was equally likely to express any emotion through sobbing. It was just barely possible to tell that his halting words were expressions of sorrow at her leaving, and implorations that she come back soon. Where words failed to comfort him, hugs seemed to help just a bit.

“You will come back, right? You’re not just saying that?” He was intelligible, which was an improvement.

“Of course! Here, take this.”

His face lit up with understanding when he recognised what he had been handed. A small canvas, still displaying the half-finished sketch of himself and Josuke. He hadn’t even expected her to keep it, much less give it to him. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure! This way, I have to come back to finish it, don’t I?” Her smile was bright, but if he had been able to look closely, he might have spotted a few tears struggling to escape. “So don’t worry. I’ll call every day, I’ll write, and I’ll come back as soon as I can. You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

He fell silent for a moment, then he was crying even harder, wrapping around her in a crushingly strong hug. “I’ll never forget about you either! I’ll call every day too! I promise!”

Only the arrival of the bus made them stop hugging, but they were waving at each other until they were out of sight, still together only in their hearts.

#okuyasu nijimura #diamond is unbreakable #commission #sfw

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akaluan · 7 years ago

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Even though Erich might be considered a bit 'old-fashioned' in terms of magecraft and be working with outdated equipment - he's got one advantage that literally no one else on the planet has. Time. He's been a practicing mage for, in all probability, over a century; he's got more EXPERIENCE then anyone else in existence. He KNOWS magecraft on a bone-deep level. (Also, random: upon learning that no one's been able to re-create the 4-cored sphere, Urahara takes it as a personal goal to do so)

Erich has been a practicing mage for nearly all of his life. He had to keep it secret during his life, of course, so when he was young he learned magecraft more often through observation and the excuse of needing to know what Tanya’s unit was capable of. Getting ahold of a computation orb was another trial, and the one he had to practice on during his vacations to the family manor were pretty standard equipment. Also, he didn’t dare practice too many obvious spells, especially not flight or bombardment, for fear of someone noticing.

It wasn’t until the Great War was over, and the Empire crushed, that Erich could devote significant portions of his time to refining his magecraft. In the chaos of defeat, he quietly made off with a few of the Type 97s that Tanya’s unit used before anyone else could.

Erich retired from the military before he could be forced out, and returned to his family’s old manor. Initially, he didn’t intend to do more than keep in basic practice; flex his magic every so often, keep himself in some sort of shape, and so on. But he quickly found himself incapable of letting it go. Or letting his Quincy skills go.

Erich became bored, and restless, and even marrying and falling in love (that’s not backward; he married his wife out of duty to the Quincy, and then they slowly fell in love in the process of making the marriage work) did nothing to temper that. So he dedicated himself to improving the Quincy arts, working alongside his wife to refine and perfect parts of the Quincy arts that had remained stagnant for generations.

Mixing magecraft into his Quincy arts was another thing born of boredom. He already knew they could interact, since he had used his spiritual power to suppress his displays of magic during tests, but intentionally mixing them? It was… explosive in the beginning.

(His wife was always so exasperated with his insistence on mixing them. She thought the idea ridiculous and hardly useful, since Quincy Mages were so few and far between.)

He /needed/ to learn magecraft on a bone-deep level in order to get his experiments to succeed. Same with his Quincy Arts. He could no longer get by with simply /knowing/ how to do a thing, he needed to know /how/ it worked. How it twisted his powers, how it interacted with the world, how, how, how…

Erich became quite a researcher in his retirement. And when his daughter was born, carrying the same magical strength as he himself, Erich redoubled his efforts, determined to leave her a legacy she could be /proud/ of.

(Only the best for his daughter Nadja. He doesn’t want to see her drowned in the sort of war he survived, but, for a Quincy, /life itself/ is deadly. Especially in the aftermath of the war, with hollows still rampant and spirits lingering anywhere fighting once occurred.)

(Erich doesn’t leave the manor very often, now that he’s retired.)

When Erich absently mentions Tanya’s four-cored orb, it absolutely sends Urahara down the rabbit hole. Something that can’t be recreated? That’s RIGHT UP Urahara’s alley, especially when Erich tells the man that Tanya was capable of mana fixation.

(’Mana fixation’ means practically nothing to Urahara at first, until he delves into magitech research and discovers that it’s essentially the holy grail of the entire field. He really wishes he could get his hands on Tanya’s orb, but the fool thing has vanished beyond his ability to trace.)

(Maybe after the Aizen fiasco is dealt with Urahara will take a trip to Europe and try to track the thing down.)

#replies #hamelin-born #bleach #bleach/tanya #tanya the evil #Erich's daughter got a name #lol #now only his wife to name #and to decide if he has other children

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dippedanddripped · 6 years ago

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When it comes to speaking on music and the brain, Ewan McNay speaks in long, fast, almost breathless paragraphs replete with neuroscientific terminology.

But if you ask him directly what he'll be saying in an upcoming talk at the Guilderland Public Library, his message boils down to a single, simple imperative.

"What I'm going to tell everybody," says the UAlbany professor and authority on brain function, "is they should go play music."

McNay was invited to speak by the organizers of the Bach Cello Suites Workshop, where he'll be addressing participants of the weeklong summer immersion at The College of Saint Rose. The subject then will be the effects of Bach on the brain. The subject this time is the effects of music generally. And there are many.

Before unpacking them, I should note what I've admitted here before, and that's my parallel life as a humble but happy fiddler. I am by no stretch a virtuoso. I hit lots of wrong notes. But what McNay plans to tell his listeners on Wednesday is more or less what I've been saying for decades to anyone who'll listen: Go. Play. Music.

Doesn't matter what instrument you play, which genres you dabble in, how skilled or unskilled you are — it's among the most rewarding, sanity-inducing activities you could possibly engage in. And, it turns out, it's good for your brain.

First, memory.

"For folks who practice intensely, either professionals or dedicated amateurs, there's an increase in their working memory — not just with regards to music, but across domains," McNay says. If someone rattles off a series of digits, a musician will remember them better than a non-musician. "The connectivity between brain regions is enhanced. There are a couple of ways you see that. It's most dramatic when you put someone in a scanner."

But before you slide them in, consider this: "All the methods that we use in humans for looking at functional brain activity are basically measures of metabolism" — that is, they determine which parts of the brain are using more glucose in any given moment. If you scan a musician's brain while they're listening to music — or, even better, playing it — you'll see a deeper activation in more areas of the brain.

How many parts? "The answer is lots," McNay says. With lots of cross-pollination: Simply reading a piece of sheet music instantly activates the auditory cortex inside the temporal lobe. "Even if you're not conscious of hearing it," he says, "your brain is hearing it. That is not true for non-musicians."

Asked whether he plays an instrument himself, McNay quips: "You could ask my teacher." But yes. The piano. "I wouldn't describe it as playing. I would say I attempt to play the piano." Lately, he says, "I'm playing some Chopin, I'm playing some Billy Joel, I'm playing a Beatles duet with my son."

Playing music with others is, he confirms, a form of communication. Here he mentions mirror neurons, the brain cells that fire when you're taking an action or observing someone else taking an equivalent action — whether it's playing the cello or shooting hoops. In musicians, music activates the brain's motor programs: Just as writing something out is more effective than simply reading it, playing music puts a big dent on your brain.

In general, musicians process languages faster. It's not that they can necessarily learn them faster; but for the tongues in which they're already conversant, they're more adept at comprehension. They're better at pattern recognition, too. Like a chess master faced with an unfamiliar board, they can look at a new piece of music and grasp it more quickly — assuming it all makes melodic sense. If it doesn't, if it's just random notational gobbledygook, forget it.

And another thing. A weird thing.

"For a musician that is playing an instrument," McNay says, "that instrument – in a fairly literal sense — becomes part of themselves." The phenomenon was demonstrated in the "rubber hand" experiment of the early 2000s, when subjects began to feel ownership of artificial arms after scientists stroked them in the same direction, at the same time, as their actual body parts.

It all happens in the right parietal cortex. "That's where we integrate all the different sensory streams" — including sight, sound and a sense of our bodies in space. And that's where self-image is constructed.

For anyone who's played music with intensity and dedication, the instrument is built into the self: Something touching the cello is perceived as something touching the cellist. The same is true of competitive fencers — "when they pick up a sword," McNay says, "that sword becomes part of their body."

More Information

If you go

"Music and the Mind: The lifelong benefits of music for the brain," with Ewan McNay

Where: Guilderland Public Library at 2228 Western Ave.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Admission: Free

Info: bachchellosuitesworkshop.com

Contact Amy Biancolli at 518-454-5439 or [email protected] or visit the arts blog at http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts

As he explains all of this, I flash back to my mother. A concert violinist, she always spoke of her instrument as her other voice — as a natural, expressive extension of herself. As far as her brain was concerned, it was. I am not the musician my mother was, so I can't say the same of her violin in my hands. I don't practice nearly as much. I also have minimal grounding in music theory, having absorbed most of its complexities subconsciously.

But my ear knows what's going on. My left hand knows what's going on. They speak to each other, bypassing my utterly clueless conscious brain. When I solo on a jazz tune, I can't tell you what I'm doing, but I do it.

When I describe this to McNay, he assures me I'm not a crackpot. "That's absolutely true." It is? "Oh, it's totally true. It's way true. You can actually illustrate this really easily."

Basically, all of us have a limited capacity for conscious attention. Stuff gets relegated to the unconscious, but that doesn't mean it doesn't register at all. "Your brain is aware on an unconscious level," McNay says. And muscle memory has a mind of its own. Think of it this way: If you consciously tried to flex every muscle involved in walking, you'd fall over. "You trust that your muscles know what to do."

That said, you do need to stay focused while making music — that's the beauty of it. No multitasking allowed. "This, again, is a question of attention. You could play music without paying attention — you could suck, but you could do it. Likewise, you could ski without paying attention, but you'd crash."

If I love playing music with friends because it empties my mind of its everyday aggravations, I'm not alone. "You haven't got the brain capacity to think about your mother-in-law or your mortgage or the leak in the roof," he says. So I'm fiddling while Rome burns. "Basically, yes."

One thing playing music won't do for you: "It doesn't stop you from getting fat," McNay says. "You've got to go to the gym as well." But that's good for the brain, too.

In short: Playing music "has a bunch of benefits. It decreases your reaction time. ... It increases your memory ability in regards to aging, in many ways. It probably does improve your ability to communicate — if only because you recognize and process speech faster. And it's fun," McNay says. "It's fun."

#music blog #brain #brain function

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donkillha · 5 years ago

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Things you can do in the Quarantine

During the coronavirus pandemic, many of us are checking out ways to remain entertained reception. But if your newly socially-isolated life has been confined to binging TV shows and raiding the liquor cabinet, it'd be time to think about a replacement approach. learning a replacement skill may be a proven boon to psychological state and stress reduction, and with most folks spending our days cooped up inside, it's never been more important to prioritize your well-being. From flexing your creative muscles to stretching your literal ones, here are a couple of quarantine skills to master during your coronavirus-related downtime.

1.Speaking a replacement language Girl taking a web class Maybe you usually wanted to seek out the time to master Spanish or Mandarin—and there are not any barriers now to achieving fluency during a new language. Both Duolingo and Babbel are learning apps featuring expert-crafted courses for everybody from absolute beginners to those that simply want to fine-tune their fluency. The free apps engage you in conversation and offer real-time feedback, so you'll quickly begin to talk confidently on any manner of subjects.

2.Cooking old couple cooking dinner together Instead of ordering delivery, it's now time—and likelihood is that you've got it—to cook something beyond your regular quick-dinner rotation. If there is a recipe you've always wanted to undertake or a culinary technique you've got yet to master, now's your chance to become the amateur chef you're destined to be.

If you are looking for inspiration, the professionals over at Bon Appétit have taken their popular YouTube programming to their homes, where they'll help guide you in improving your skills and creating new classics out of what you've got in your pantry.

3.Baking Mother and daughter baking You've mastered dinner—now what's for dessert? rather than binging the good British Bake Off again, fine-tune your baking skills and whomp up something spectacular yourself. Small specialty food stores might carry baking kits which will assist you to whomp up a sweet masterpiece, so make some calls and see what's available. And if you've little ones around, you'll also try these 9 Fun Indoor Activities for teenagers During Quarantine.

4.Yoga Woman doing yoga reception From Yoga With Adriene on YouTube to apps like Glo, there are a lot of great online resources to assist you to build a mild daily yoga practice reception. Whether you are looking to reinforce flexibility or reach some impressive positions, use your reclaimed commute time to pack during a perfect morning stretch. Mastering the skill of yoga will cause you to feel more zen overall. And for more ways to remain centered, here are 15 Effective Self-Care Tips That Are Made for Quarantine.

5.Podcasting Man making a podcast Got a story to share with the world? now's the right time to start a podcast. The bare minimum required to record may be a computer with a USB microphone and internet access; get your first episode under your belt, then reach higher-quality equipment.

While all you would like to start is a thought and therefore the conviction to follow through, there are a lot of helpful articles online about format development and reaching listeners, also because of the start-to-finish recording, editing, and publishing process. You'll go from amateur podcaster to podcasting pro in no time.

6.Reading Couple reading side by side OK, if you're reading this, then reading may be a skill you've already mastered—probably several decades ago. But if you've forgotten the way to read for fun, or maybe the way to put aside time to try to so, then now's your chance to urge back on target. Just think: this might be your moment to finally tackle your to-read pile. While many libraries have closed, there are still a lot of e-books and audiobooks available to borrow online, all accessible through your local library's website.

Looking to read and chat about your reading? inspect author Robert Macfarlane's #CoReadingVirus book club, now on Twitter. There are three choices for the group's first book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd, and George Eliot's Middlemarch.

7.Puzzles Person doing a crossword within the newspaper A great thanks to putting your brain to figure while in quarantine is by doing a puzzle. Whether it is a traditional jigsaw or a Sudoku book, puzzles are mentally stimulating and simply accessible. And while anyone can do a puzzle, the higher and faster you get at completing them, the more puzzles will start to feel less sort of a time-killer and more like an actual skill you've acquired.

8.Working out Girl doing reception workout with laptop If it is your body that needs exercise immediately, check to ascertain if local fitness studios are streaming sessions with instructors. Sure, you recognize the way to compute, but have you ever really tried to master the art? There are many places to urge started.

Home-cycling giant Peloton closed their brick-and-mortar doors, but the corporate is offering new users a 90-day trial on their app, featuring new content from their studios. Planet Fitness is offering "Home Work-Ins" streamed live at 7 p.m. ET daily on their Facebook page. And Gold's Gym is offering free access to the Gold's Amp digital personal trainer app through the top of May, with quite 600 audio and video workouts to challenge you to figure up a sweat.

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dydturktek · 6 years ago

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Nem Kurutma | Nem Alma | Rutubet Kurutma | DYD 444 0 719

Engineers in the winter: RESEARCH Element 2

Thank you for visiting Part 3 of Planners in the Summer! At present, we look inside my interview using Harper Hopkins, a soaring junior engaging in research throughout computational physics. Harper Hopkins is initially from Maine and reports computer research in the Tufts School associated with Engineering. This woman is involved with Ladies in Computer Science, two theater categories (Bare Bodkin & 3Ps), the trans support group, the exact queer immediate friends, and Avian, a interpersonal organization which includes a focus on learning and locality engagement.

Hi Harper! Could you you should tell me somewhat about your analysis?

I will be doing homework in computational physics with Professor Bob Atherton during the Physics Office. We’re viewing modeling one of the striking using a statistical physics process, based on concepts of data theory as well as cellular automata.

Support. You’re going to should break this down. You will absolutely a compensation sci serious, right?

Yes, Really a workers comp sci important! But computational physics talks about using existing computer scientific research methods in addition to applying the crooks to physics concerns. The research we have been doing is known as a mix of sociology, physics, plus computer scientific disciplines. We’re using a statistical method of sociology, taking a look at the structure and history of social networks— just how language or opinions get spread around through multitude, for example.

Okay. Enjoy exactly does one model any social network?

I’m modeling the social networking using ruse of particles moving random on the surface of the sphere, drawing the illustration that contaminants are persons. If they arrive close plenty of together, people form an association. In the real world, this could be as though you go on a class jointly or bump into people at a celebration, for example. Wish looking at the length of time they continue being connected the actual they contact form or bust connections. For example , if the airborne debris drift away from each other and visit outside the distance threshold, the bond will break up. In every day life, this could be as you finished that class and never talk to that individual so you unfriend them at Facebook 24 months later.

Fascinating! The way in which did you wind up in a physics lab like a Summer Scholar?

I took Physics 12 along with Professor Atherton, and I dearly loved his teaching style. 7 days a week, he offers a soft make any difference theory exploration group in which he becomes together with scholars to discuss studies and work on code. At some point he said, “Hey, anyone looks pretty excited about this stuff. Do you wish to take a stab at this job? ” I had been already able to ask the pup for potentials, but this individual beat me to it!

Aw, interesting! I love the item when such thinggs as that work available. So , I like to ask present students, the key reason why did you finally choose Tufts and exactly how did you find it?

I actually possess a great tale! The summer previously senior time, I had certainly no intention for applying to Tufts whatsoever. So i’m from a minuscule town within eastern Maine, where we have exactly one coffee shop— well, 2 if you find the bakery. Sooner or later, I was presently there and some tired, dirt-covered men followed into the look. Two lecturers and a college. I couldn’t help however , eavesdrop and found out we were looking at geologists. These needed enable looking for road directions, and for various reason That i knew of exactly where while in the library the actual maps they were looking for have been located. Trouble they were right from Tufts and searching for items for a past or present student’s thesis. Once i helped them all, they thanked me and even said, “You should apply to Tufts! in I thought ?t had been kind of great that they permit a haphazard high-schooler make them. A couple weeks in the future, I visited Tufts, when five seconds I knew it was the place I had formed to go. Manged to get in MALE IMPOTENCE and never regretted her decision!

port• fo• li• a dissertations 2 buy.com/

While the associated with portfolio appears to be simple, the actual of designing an art class portfolio looks like mysterious along with overwhelming. It’s hard to believe that particular application need can improve so many inquiries. Students frequently ask questions for example; ‘What’s a new portfolio? ‘, ‘What are those really interested in? ‘ ‘How do I sum up my knowledge? ‘ ‘How will this unique weigh into my judgement? ‘

Performs this sound familiar? I know, as artists we’ve almost all been there, it’s really a lot to consider in— consequently let me start by saying, deciding on art college is hard. You have to prove you both academically and nicely. Your portfolio is your creative transcript; them demonstrates your own artistic ability. It permits us to assess your personal skill set along with ideas, and also understand how all of our program can support you along with propel an individual forward as a possible artist.

Your portfolio need to represent a person, who you are, promote your hobbies, and mirror what you’ve been exposed to. It should comprised of 15-20 pieces of your company’s most recent, most robust work; deliver the results that mentions your knowledge and what you like to do having those ability that you’ve acquired. So indeed, it is a good plan to have quite a few pieces in the portfolio which will speak to your variety of technical skills across an array of media explaining your strengths, while many other pieces show your personal voice or conceptual investigations. It may possibly contain works-in-progress and bits brought to conclusion. Sorry, nevertheless there isn’t a one-size-fits-all recipe that you follow. The selection is a reflection of anyone — it again shows us who you are and just how you synthesize the world you meet. Remember, your own personal portfolio can be a curated bio of the operate that you’ve carried out to date — your inspired conversation begun years before you decide to even thought regarding preparing a new ‘portfolio, ‘ and this discussion will continue long after anyone hit put up in SlideRoom.

I know this seems frightening, I know if you’re putting on your own out there in a manner that isn’t uncomplicated, and I find out it’s still a bit halfandhalf. — for that reason embrace the very ambiguity plus flex your own creative problem-solving muscle. Take a look at it’s your company love, romance, and willpower to fine art and skill making with which has gotten you actually this significantly, so make go and perform what you enjoy. As performer Agnes hun Mille and once said ‘The artist in no way entirely appreciates — People guess. Natural meats be completely wrong, but we consider leap subsequently after leap in the dark’. Merely leap.

https://www.nemkurutma.com/engineers-in-the-winter-research-element-2-35/

NEM KURUTMA HİZMETLERİ

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trentteti · 7 years ago

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A Look at the June 2018 LSAT: Reading Comprehension

Throughout this week, we’ll be sharing our thoughts on the recently released June 2018 LSAT. Today, we’re covering everyone’s favorite section, Reading Comp. Tomorrow, we’ll talk Logic Games and the curve. Check out Tuesday’s discussion of the score release and Logical Reasoning here, and Monday’s discussion of the truly psychedelic statements made on this test here.

We’re continuing our journey through the June 2018 LSAT, machete-hacking our way through brush and thicket of the oft-treacherous Reading Comprehension section. Maybe you’ve been through this jungle safari before, having taken the June test. In that case, we trust that you’ll find this a more pleasant journey the second time; perhaps you’ll even experience fleeting pangs of nostalgia as you take in the vistas once again. Or, perhaps this is your native voyage, and you are along for the ride to glean insight into the what this jungle might look like in September, November, or beyond. Either way, make sure to wear breathable fabric — this world is only getting warmer — and to bring a lunch — but cooked foodstuffs only, you have neither the time nor energy reserves to masticate a maw-ful of raw foods. Let’s journey ahead to Reading Comp!

Reading Comprehension

• Let’s start by discussing each passage, before laying out some trends. The first passage, as we’re told at the beginning, came from the mid-1990s — a period from whence nothing good ever came. It’s self-evidently scientific in nature, with the first sentences bringing up the development of “accurate profiles of average annual temperatures throughout the last 1,000 years” and “samples of ice deposits, tree rings, and coral growth layers.” And it only had five questions, the absolute fewest a Reading Comp passage would ever have. This passage was a great candidate for skipping, and saving for last. For many who can only make it through three passages accurately, or who teeter between doing three and four passages, I recommend saving the passage with the fewest questions last. If you have to rush through something, it may as well be a passage that won’t yield you many points. Using this strategy here would have been prescient. Not only was the first passage the least impactful on your score, it was also probably the hardest.

This one was all about how “new” scientific evidence helps prove that greenhouse gases are causing global temperatures to rise. But the journey the passage took you on was a windy rollercoaster, and I can’t say that riding it was a (ahem) gas. Basically, a bunch of a astronomers realized the earth’s atmospheric temperatures were rising … astronomically, and scientists decided that greenhouse gases — which blanket the earth’s atmosphere, trapping heat on our planet — were to blame. Except some of these poindexters realized that, based on models that charted the effects of greenhouse gases, the earth should be even hotter than it is, throwing the whole global warming theory into peril. Which was the point at which your uncle stopped reading the passage. But if you kept reading, you’d see that scientists figured out that airborne sulfates in the atmosphere mask the effects of greenhouse gases, and taking those into account made the model’s predictions more accurate. There was also a group of scientists tracking variations solar energy — which sounds like some new age crystal wave — who realized that the sun alone cannot explain the recent dramatic increase in temperature, lending more support for the idea that greenhouse gases are to blame for the rising temperatures.

So, this passage’s discussion of greenhouses gases shouldn’t be blowing your mind — it’s more or less standard knowledge at this point, and any classroom with science textbooks that weren’t made during the first Constantine’s reign should have this in it. What was tricky was how the evidence was offered, and how the author seemingly hems and haws before finally accepting the greenhouse gas theory. To actually answer the questions though, you really just had to understand was that the author ultimately endorses the greenhouse theory (mostly because its models match the observed atmospheric temperatures) and the main two causal relationships (that greenhouse gases increase temperatures, but airborne sulfates decrease temperatures). This illustrates an important reminder for Reading Comp: the devil is in the details. And, obviously, you have no time for the devil on RC. Make sure you understand the author’s position, and the secondary structures — like cause and effect relationships — and that’ll be sufficient for the questions.

• The second passage was among the dumbest passages I’ve read from Reading Comp. It may be second only to the first passage from the June 1995, which argues that the “diapir” eruptions (gross) could have killed the dinosaurs, and can be read as an elaborate yarn on the scatology of dinosaurs’ eschatology (i.e., a poop joke about dinosaurs’ extinction).

It was about various interviewing techniques police use to improve witnesses’ recall, and it laid out three options. First, we had the cognitive interview, which was pretty successful in improving recall, was backed by science, and worked all over the world. Except training was pretty long and complicated and expecting people to learn new skills is apparently too much to ask.

Second, we had … hypnosis. Yes, taking witnesses who, I don’t know, maybe just saw or experienced some a traumatic event, and treating them like an audience member of Reno, Nevada stage show. And then using the stuff they said under hypnosis in court. Which I don’t think would stand up to cross examination. “Ladies and gentleman of the jury, after establishing that my client was at the scene of the crime, this witness said she is a chicken, and then proceeded to act like a chicken. How can you trust poultry to construct a coherent timeline of this murder? I cry fowl on this whole investigation.” Now, apparently, using hypnosis is apparently much simpler than the cognitive method, which just involved like, building rapport with the witness. But hypnosis has the drawback of the witness saying a bunch of wrong stuff very confidently, in part because the witness was under hypnosis.

Finally, we had “the ideal method”: asking witnesses to close their eyes before recalling an event. Yes, literally, that’s it. “Close your eyes.” It’s a solution so anticlimactic as to render the rest of the passage meaningless. But asking witnesses to rest their eyelids is about as effective as the cognitive method and is obviously very easy to implement. So the author concluded that the “close your eyes” method was the best.

Anyway, once you got past the shock of reading the thing, the questions were quite easy. In fact, I would classify this entire passage as an “easy” passage, which is the first time a truly easy passage has shown up in Reading Comp in years.

• The third passage was the unavoidable comparative passage which, because like the last five have been related to the law, this one would definitely be related to the law. But … sike! … it was about the classification of genre fiction. As is the case with basically every passage relating to the fine arts, this one used complex jargon to express simple ideas. So those among us who hold an inveterate fear of multisyllabic, recherché words would recoil. But those among us who know that both former-English majors and the LSAT try to flex with big words — but typically to express simple, straightforward ideas — wouldn’t have had too hard of a time, provided that we simplified concepts like “aesthetic events” and “reading protocols” with our own words.

What linked these two passages was the belief that classifying literature into genres –like detective stories — based on strict laws (I guess law did sort of show up) or shared formal elements doesn’t really work. But classifying literature into genres based on how the reader approaches the text — like how a reader of a detective story will approach the text as if she were a detective herself — works rather nicely. There was a tricky question or two along the way — like one that required you to realize that the first passage used an example at the beginning to illustrate its argument, but the second passage used examples at the end to support its argument, or another question that required you to realize that both authors allowed for the possibility that a reader could hypothetically approach a text any way she wanted — but if you got this general relationship, you could have easily gotten through the rest, leaving this passage Murdered on the Orient Express.

• The last passage threw some much-needed acid in the face of the raw food proponents, by hypothesizing that, since we started cooking so long ago and are as a consequence so used to the high-calorie diets of cooked food, we maybe can’t really survive on just raw foods in the wild. This author, in an ironic twist, roasted the hell out of these raw foodies. But then, hilariously, the author claims that we can only survive on a raw-food diet “under usual circumstances, such as a relatively sedentary lifestyle in a well supported urban environment,” which could describe at least 80% of the people taking the LSAT.

The author in this passage claims that we started cooking maybe as early as 250,000 years ago (and still ain’t none of y’all can poach an egg right), and that it eventually led to anatomic changes, like a smaller teeth, smaller guts, smaller colons, and (ironically) larger small intestines.

In all, not the hardest science passage, even though it was quite annoying for those of us who are less scientifically-inclined to get two sciences passages on the exam. The questions didn’t really into the nitty gritty details of cooked and raw foods’ impact on biological functions — rather, most related to the fact you had to notice that the author’s use of circumspect language (e.g., “new evidence suggests that,” “may prove to result from”) suggested that the author was more proposing a hypothesis than making a definitive conclusion.

• Interestingly, there was a common thread across these passages about disparate topics: all attempted to prove some cause and effect relationship. The first passage attempted to prove that an increase of greenhouse gases have caused global atmospheric temperatures to rise. The second passage argued that asking witnesses to close their eyes caused more accurate testimony and a better recall of details. The third passage claimed that a reader engaging with a novel in a certain way causes that novel to be classified a certain way. And the fourth passage posited that cooking caused us to be unable to live off of raw foods (and also caused some other changes).

And of course, when a passage attempts to prove that some general cause and effect relationship exists, the evidence the author marshals will usually be causal as well. Just noting these causal relationships would directly answered or helped to answer 13 of the 27 questions.

Interestingly, a similar thing also happened on the December 2017 Reading Comprehension section. In that one, nearly every passage attempted to answer a question. Who knows if this is happenstance or a general trend, but there are a few rhetorical devices, like causal statements and questions, that passages are frequently used to frame an argument. Perhaps the next Reading Comp section will have passages organized around examples or lists.

• In total, this was an easier Reading Comp section than what has been the norm in recent years. Since about halfway through the second Obama Administration, the LSAT started ramping up the difficulty level of Reading Comp, with the difficulty level reaching its apotheosis (or, to most, I guess, its nadir) on the June 2017 exam. Since then, things have gotten a bit easier on Reading Comp.

Of course, all these LSATs are supposed to be about the same in their level of difficulty. Parts of the exam will be difficult, inevitably. Maybe this isn’t the most elegant or inspiring analogy, but difficulty on the LSAT is like the rising waters in a sinking boat. They’re inexorable. Sure, the writers of the exam can do you a favor by patching up one hole in the hull of the ship, as they did in Reading Comp. But that just means water will rise more rapidly out of another hole, like it did Logical Reasoning on this exam or Logic Games on the December 2017 exam. Even if they plug up all the holes and the test takers can enjoy smooth sailing … well, then you’ll bound straight to an unforgiving curve, as we’ll discuss tomorrow.

A Look at the June 2018 LSAT: Reading Comprehension was originally published on LSAT Blog

#june lsat #LSAT #reading comprehension #trent teti #lsat

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tipstosellhomefast · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on Homes Below Market | Homes For Sale Dallas TX Area

New Post has been published on http://foreclosures-dallas-texas.com/the-history-of-stained-glass-lamps-17/

The History Of Stained Glass Lamps

Impure glass, in specification, reviews both the tinted glass in addition to in addition the craft or art of making it. The particular similar concept qualities for discolored glass home window panes as well as inadequate glass lights.

In the situation of adversely affected glass home windows, it furthermore has to handle the wind anxiety consistently. Not a shock, furthermore presently, detrimentally affected glass manufacture continues to be a reputable art that needs training together with precision.

Bearing in mind at the previous paper of broken glass manufacturing, it end up turning up that chroniclers’ from globe over had actually in truth overlooked to sign up with when specifically individuals have in fact understood the art of detrimentally influenced glass manufacture with precision, in addition though the records of detrimentally impacted glass lights is linked to a bargain far more solution guarantee. Artefacts discovered from Herculaneum in addition to Pompeii things typical that the Romans were in addition experienced in making inadequate glass products in 1st century ADVERTISEMENT. Till afterwards, negatively influenced glasses were generally crucial to havens, and also it in addition to that had the name – ‘location glass’.

In the 16th century, throughout Reformation, nevertheless, blemished glass panes in sanctuaries were damaged in considerable level along with were tailored by aircraft glass home windows. This was a min when infected glass making shed, together with the art should certainly definitely have in truth slid over the benefit right into an useful recording throughout the monitoring 2 centuries, different great deals of many thanks to the renaissance duration that complied with – the Edwardian together with victorian ages – in the early/mid 1800s together with late 1700s.

Impure glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s along with remarkably actually very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew as well as mold and mold and mildew along with mold and mildew along with mold and mildew and also molds provided later a merely recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. This stayed in improvement the min when Louis Tiffany altered the light making market with his ingenious Tiffany appealing lights or simply, broken glass lights. The comparable approach, the core concept unimpaired, is taken advantage of in addition today in detrimentally influenced glass light making worldwide.

Louis Tiffany used copper lightweight light weight aluminum foils to tape details glass variables, which want that connected with each many numerous other to develop the glass pane. It stayed actually the very same method utilized by people in the earlier centuries, nevertheless in the future they benefited from lead as the product to approve each different other the glass points. The choice of lead with copper lightweight light weight aluminum foil created the benefits of minimized weight, along with the steel’s pliability ensured that finer lines together with consequently complexed styles has the ability to be weaved in a bargain a great deal far more conveniently to the broken glass lights.

Years have in truth actually passed, in addition to with modifying times, Tiffany tarnished glass lights have in reality considerably ended up to be hand made any kind of type of kind of longer. The therapy has in reality actually been mechanized in addition to in contrast to copper lightweight light weight aluminum hinders together with tinted glass, various other costly factors are utilized or. The noticeable reality that there are specific Tiffany lights that develop you back hundreds along with significant quantities of bucks will absolutely most definitely supply one a referral explaining specifically simply especially simply exactly what all products can perhaps enter the production of pricey Tiffany lights.

Blog Post World War II, huge quantities of people have in reality actually ought to detrimentally harmed glass light– various other poor glass craft likewise – making as a leisure, and presently there are 10s along with many skillful hands making damaged glass lights along with lots of countless various other points worldwide. Fusing, flexing, together with losing of glass in contemporary electrical residence kilns has in fact made the task a big quantity a lot a lot less intricate, as it got rid of the feature of abilities that was needed in the unbelievably very early days, together with this is the element busted glass light production, the occupation, has in truth injury up being so typical nowadays. The regular reach of producing facility made affordable glass in lots, schedule of training methods, along with require for damaged glass lights as appealing tools in workplace along with residences, have in reality definitely had dramatically to the appeal of broken glass craft in such a substantial level.

Tainted glass lights along with house home windows have actually truly continued typically in the last 10 centuries, in addition to will certainly most certainly regularly doing this. As long as we people take pleasure in the rainbow of colours that the light taking a passing by means of a broken glass minute makes, trashed glass light market, the craft, will absolutely make it via the versions of time. Could be the techniques together with methods should certainly do design in addition to adjustment with time; nevertheless, for certain, not conclusion gadgets.

Unclean glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s in addition to very actually very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau duration – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold in addition to mold and mildew in addition to mold and mildew along with mold and mildew as well as molds provided then a lately copyrighted regulations clear “milklike” glass acknowledged as opalescent glass in Europe. Blog Post World War II, whole deals of individuals have in truth truthfully asked for to injure glass light– various other damaged glass craft too – making as an entertainment job, along with furthermore presently there are 10s along with countless dependable hands making detrimentally impacted glass lights in addition to furthermore countless various other points worldwide.

As long as we people value the rainbow of colours that the light passing with a detrimentally affected glass point makes, stained glass light market, the craft, will definitely make it using the versions of time.

Tainted glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s along with in addition actually very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew as well as mold along with mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew and mold and mildew and also molds given after that a merely recently copyrighted laws clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. Unclean glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s along with truly very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau duration – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as mold and mildew along with mold and mildew along with mold and mildew as well as molds offered after that a lately trademarked clear “milklike” glass acknowledged as opalescent glass in Europe.

Tainted glass making gotten an enter its arm in the late 1800’s along with extremely truly very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold along with mold and mildew in addition to furthermore mold and mildew in addition to mold and mildew and also molds provided afterwards a just recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. Unclean glass making acquired an enter its arm in the late 1800’s in addition to remarkably actually very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as mold and mildew in addition to furthermore mold and mildew in addition to mold and mildew and also molds supplied then a just recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass understood as opalescent glass in Europe.

Stained glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s as well as very actually very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew as well as mold as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew and also molds given after that a merely recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. Impure glass making obtained a go in its arm in the late 1800’s as well as in improvement amazingly very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew and also molds supplied after that a lately copyrighted regulations clear “milklike” glass determined as opalescent glass in Europe.

Impure glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s in enhancement to extremely truly very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as additionally mold and mildew in enhancement to mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew and also molds provided later on a merely recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. Stained glass making obtained an enter its arm in the late 1800’s as well as very truly very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew and also molds supplied after that a just recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. Stained glass making acquired an enter its arm in the late 1800’s as well as extremely actually very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew as well as mold as well as additionally mold and mildew as well as furthermore mold and mildew as well as likewise mold and mildew and also molds offered after that a just recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass recognized as opalescent glass in Europe. Impure glass making obtained a go in its arm in the late 1800’s as well as in improvement amazingly exceptionally very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew as well as molds given after that a just recently copyrighted regulations clear “milklike” glass determined as opalescent glass in Europe. Unclean glass making obtained a go in its arm in the late 1800’s as well as incredibly truly very early 1900’s – throughout the Art Nouveau min – when American glass mold and mildew and also mold as well as additionally mold and mildew as well as furthermore mold and mildew as well as mold and mildew and also molds provided after that a just recently trademarked clear “milklike” glass identified as opalescent glass in Europe.

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