#you can make cody a symbol for society

[retired-ceo]

Noco has a ton of appeal imo! The most obvious is that it’s one of those sun-moon / cat-dog / squidward spongebob type ships! That’s a very popular pairing type no matter the media.  Now you may think, why not ship n*wen? And well, noco did come first. N*wen wasn’t a thing in TDI, and nostalgia is a hell of drug.  But other then that, what else is there? 1) There’s a lot of people who dislike how c*derra was handled in world tour. Noco allows that feeling to be validated. If you relate to Cody’s experience, Noco can be healing. Noah is one of the few people who consistently points out Sierra’s flaws, and he can affirm that Sierra’s actions were indeed terrible, and *not* a joke. A lot of noco fics involve Sierra for that reason, in a kind of “right a wrong,” way. To some victims of SA, that can be really powerful. I don’t think you get that in other Noah ships, becaue well... Cody isn’t in them. 2) Another thing specific to Cody is that Cody is kinda... rlly into women. He seems to have a very heterosexist mindset. Which is BAD! And noco allows you to challenge that mindset, because now Cody’s in an M/M relationship. This also allows you to explore Cody’s seeming need to be loved, contrasted with his need to be cool. It’s very fun.  3) Lastly, in canon Noah and Cody have a decent relationship. I wouldn’t call them friends, but they tease each other in a good-humored way. Which is rare for Noah relationships. Most times Noah insults people, they react with violence [Duncan, Courtney, Chris, Alejandro (if you count the elimination), or they don’t react at all (Sierra, Izzy). Owen either gets it or he doesn’t, depending on the moment. But most of the time, he doesn’t really have a reply. But Cody has the potential to match Noah here, because he’s not usually violent, but he can be mean. And I like that. Cody can keep up with Noah. And Cody is also well... selfish/prideful enough to know his rights, in a way Owen... rlly doesn’t. If you look at RR, Owen lets Noah get away with a bunch of stuff. He does try, in the air guitar episode. And it works. But only for that episode. And then Owen just kinda accepts that Noah is a shitty friend. But Cody is annoying and persistent enough that it probably wouldn’t happen. Maybe too persistent, too shameless. It’d a double-edged sword. But at least something would be happening. And it’s not as if Noah wouldn’t argue back. I like ships where the characters challenge each other, and Noco *would* do that, I think.  If you don’t like Cody, (which is understandable), then you won’t like Noco. But I do like Cody, I think. He’s overbearing, but that also means he’s persistent. He’s entitled, but that means he’s optimistic. And that’s the complete opposite of Noah. They push and pull at each other in a way other Noah ships don’t, imo.  Also noco is loser X loser. we love loser x loser. 

there is genuinely 0 appeal to noco (and also cody). usually i can see some sort of appeal in ships i dislike but i can't see anything with noco

.

[poindexters-labratory]

Could you explain the premise (or anything else you'd like to share) of The Abyss to me, to the perspective of one who knows basically nothing about creepypasta? ;-; like I know the names of the more known characters and that's it lol. it sounds cool and I'd like to know a little more though, if you feel ok with that :0

Of course!!

Creepypasta is an Internet term that's similar to copypasta, copypasta being a wall of text that would copy and pasted to troll or meme people. A creepypasta is the same premise, but it's a horror story. A lot of memorable characters came out these stories for better or for worse. Characters like The Slenderman, Jeff the Killer, The Rake, etc.

Then there's Marble Hornets, which is a web-series inspired by The Slenderman, and it's really awesome, I would recommend it to those who haven't watched it. I most recently was able to finish up all the seasons and it really is amazing to watch.

So, I was a fandom creepypasta kid in middle school, so I was very attached to the softer interpretations of these characters. There was more comedy to the short narratives that were told with them, I also found them to be used more as vigilante characters.

There was an aspect that I really feel spoke to a lot of younger people, which was that someone was coming for them, to help them and take them from the situation that was out of their control. I know that was true for me, even though I didn't necessarily need saving, I knew that there were people who needed help. Help that at eleven years old, I couldn't provide. As a helpless and outcasted kid, these characters, however silly it may seem, helped with feeling seen and understood.

Anyway, that's sort of what The Abyss takes inspiration from, added on top that I think I can make a story out of anything. I started working on it at the peak of the pandemic, so I probably also felt helpless in that situation as well, not to mention that's when my tics got to the point where it was debilitating.

Anway, context aside, I'll explain what The Abyss has going on at this point in time (the story has been changed so many times, that's why I say that).

So, it's mainly taking the big creepypasta fandom idea that all the creepypastas live together in a mansion with The Slenderman and expanding on it. For The Abyss, it's turned the mansion into whole another dimension. This dimension has been dubbed The Abyss (you can see where the title comes from).

It's a place for nature's freaks and society's rejects. They're used for the agenda of nature's biggest freak and mystery, The Tall Man, The Slenderman, The Boss, The Operator, whatever It's called. Most of the individuals who seek refuge under It don't know It like the people that work directly under It. Most of the people there can be compared to being in military reserves. They will be called upon if they are needed.

So far, the characters that get called on (mostly by Briar) from the reserves are Ben (BENDrowned), Cody (X-Virus), Anthony (OC), and Jeffrey (Jeff the Killer) (but Jeff just kinda joined on his own accord).

There are other characters that were pulled out of the reserves by The Slenderman are OCs and a few other canonical characters, such as Kagekao, Bloody Painter, Laughing Jack, and more once I start actual progress on plot and such.

Then there are the people who work directly under the command of The Slenderman. These are the Proxies. They communicate with It telepathically in the form of visions and nightmares and do whatever job It needs done. They get a brand in the shape of the 'No Eyes'/Operator symbol from Marble Hornets somewhere on their body and are forever at the mercy of The Tall Man.

These characters shown here are Roque (Rocky), Briar-Rose (Briar), and Toby (Firecracker) (I'll explain why he's not Ticci Toby some other time).

Other characters that are Proxies include characters like Natalie (Clockwork), and whoever else I'll put in that category.

Then there are the characters who exist outside of The Abyss, like Eyeless Jack.

That would be Homicidal Lui, Jane the Killer, Nina the Killer, and most importantly Tim Wright.

The plot starting out will be a crossover/continuation of Marble Hornets, following Tim as he goes cross country getting hunted down and stalked by members of The Abyss. Tim was a very important asset for The Slenderman because of his ability to spread The Sickness. Too important to lose. It has been tracking him down for however many years and now it's gotten to the point where It has to start using Its Proxies and Reserves to get this one guy.

If anyone would like to learn about the characters as individuals, just send an ask and I'll be more than happy to talk about them :3!!

[sabugabr]

Why the Clone problem in Star Wars animated media is also a Mandalorian problem, and why we have to talk about it (PART 2)

Hi! I finally finished wrapping this up, so here’s part 2 of what has already become a mini article (you can find Part 1 here, if you like!)

And for this part, it won’t be as much as a critic as part 1 was, but instead I’d like to focus more on what I consider to be a wasted potential regarding the representation of the Clones in the Star Wars animated media, from the first season of The Clone Wars till now, and why I believe it to be an extension of the Mandalorian problem I discussed in part 1 —  the good old colonialism.

Sources used, as always, will be linked at the end of this post!

PART 2: THE CLONES

Cody will never know peace

So I’d like to state that I won’t focus as much on the blatantly whitewashing aspect, for I believe it to be very clear by now. If you aren’t familiar with it, I highly recommend you search around tumblr and the internet, there are a lot of interesting articles and posts about it that explain things very didactically and in detail. The only thing you need to know to get this started is that even at the first seasons of Clone Wars (when the troopers still had this somewhat darker skin complexion and all) they were still a whitewashed version of Temuera Morrison (Jango’s actor). And from then, as we all know, they only got whiter and whiter till we get where we are now, in rage.

Look at this very ambiguously non-white but still westernized men fiercely guarding their pin-up space poster

Now look at this still westernized but slightly (sarcasm) whiter men who for some reason now have different tanning levels among them (See how Rex now has a lighter skin tone? WHEN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN KKKKKKK) Anyway you got the idea. So without further ado...

2.1 THE FANTASY METAPHOR

As I mentioned before in Part 1, one thing that has to be very clear if you want to follow my train of thought is that it’s impossible to consume something without attributing cultural meanings to it, or without making cultural associations. This things will naturally happen and it often can improve our connection to certain narratives, especially fantastic ones. Even if a story takes place in a fantastic/sci fi universe, with all fictional species and people and worlds and cultures, they never come from nowhere, and almost always they have some or a lot of basing in real people and cultures. And when done properly, this can help making these stories resonate in a very beautifull, meaningfull way. I actually believe this intrisic cultural associations are the things that make these stories work at all. As the brilliant american speculative/science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin says in the introduction (added in 1976) of her novel The Left Hand of Darkness, and that I was not able to chopp much because it’s absolutely genious and i’ll be leaving the link to the full text right here,

“The purpose of a thought-experiment, as the term was used by Schrodinger and other physicists, is not to predict the future — indeed Schrodinger's most famous thought-experiment goes to show that the ‘future,’ on the quantum level, cannot be predicted — but to describe reality, the present world.

Science fiction is not predictive; it is descriptive.”

[...] “Fiction writers, at least in their braver moments, do desire the truth: to know it, speak it, serve it. But they go about it in a peculiar and devious way, which consists in inventing persons, places, and events which never did and never will exist or occur, and telling about these fictions in detail and at length and with a great deal of emotion, and then when they are done writing down this pack of lies, they say, There! That's the truth!

They may use all kinds of facts to support their tissue of lies. They may describe the Marshalsea Prison, which was a real place, or the battle of Borodino, which really was fought, or the process of cloning, which really takes place in laboratories, or the deterioration of a personality, which is described in real textbooks of psychology; and so on. This weight of verifiable place-event-phenomenon-behavior makes the reader forget that he is reading a pure invention, a history that never took place anywhere but in that unlocalisable region, the author's mind. In fact, while we read a novel, we are insane —bonkers. We believe in the existence of people who aren't there, we hear their voices, we watch the battle of Borodino with  them, we may even become Napoleon. Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed.”

[...] “ In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find — if it's a good novel — that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have been changed a little, as if by having met a new face, crossed a street we never crossed before. But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.

The artist deals with what cannot be said in words.

The artist whose medium is fiction does this within words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words. Words can be used thus paradoxically because they have, along with a semiotic usage, a symbolic or metaphoric usage. [...]  All fiction is metaphor. Science fiction is metaphor. What sets it apart from older forms of fiction seems to be its use of new metaphors, drawn from certain great dominants of our contemporary life — science, all the sciences, and technology, and the relativistic and the historical outlook, among them. Space travel is one of these metaphors; so is an alternative society, an alternative biology; the future is another. The future, in fiction, is a metaphor.

A metaphor for what?” [1]

A metaphor for what indeed. I won’t be going into what Star Wars as a whole is a metaphor for, because I am certain that it varies from person to person, and everyone can and has the total right to take whatever they want from this story, and understand it as they see fit. That’s why it’s called the modern myth. And therefore, all I’ll be saying here is playinly my take not only on what I understand the Clones to be, but what I believe they could have meant.

2.2 SO, BOBA IS A CLONE

I don’t want to get too repetitive, but I wanted to adress it because even though I by no means intend to put Boba and the Clones in the same bag, there is one aspect about them that I find very similar and interesting, that is the persue of individuality. While the Clones have this very intrinsically connected to their narratives, in Boba’s case this appears more in his concept design. As I mentioned in Part 1, one of the things the CW staff had in mind while designing the mandalorians is that they wanted to make Boba seem unique and distinguishable from them, and honestly even in the original trilogy he stands out a lot. He is unique and memorable and that’s one of the things that draws us to him.

And as we all know, both Boba and Jango and the Clones are played by Temuera Morrison — and occasionally by the wonderful Bodie Taylor and Daniel Logan. And Temuera Morrison comes from the Maori people. And differently from the mandalorian case, where we were talking about a whole planet, in this situation we’re talking about portraying one single person, so there’s nowhere to go around his appearance and phenotypes, right? I mean, you are literally representing an actual individual, so there’s no way you could alter their looks, right?

(hahahaha wrong)

And besides that, I think that is in situations like that (when we are talking about individuals) that the actor’s perspective could really have a place to shine (just the same as how Lea was mostly written by Carrie Fisher). In this very heart-warming interview for The New York Times (which you can read full signing up for their 5-free-articles-per-month policy), Temuera Morrison talks a little bit about how he incorporated his cultural background to Boba Fett in The Mandalorian:

“I come from the Maori nation of New Zealand, the Indigenous people — we’re the Down Under Polynesians — and I wanted to bring that kind of spirit and energy, which we call wairua. I’ve been trained in my cultural dance, which we call the haka. I’ve also been trained in some of our weapons, so that’s how I was able to manipulate some of the weapons in my fight scenes and work with the gaffi stick, which my character has.” [2]

The Gaffi stick (or Gaderffii), btw, is the weapon used by the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, and according to oceanic art expert Bruno Claessens it’s design was inspired by wooden Fijian war clubs called totokia. [3]

And I think is very clear how this background can influence one’s performance and approach to a character, and majorly how much more alive this character will feel like. Beyond that, having an actor from your culture to play and add elements to a character will higly improve your sense of connection with them (besides all the impact of seeying yourself on screen, and seeying yourself portrayed with respect). It would only make sense if the cultural elements that the actor brought when giving life to a fictional individual would’ve been kept and even deepened while expanding this role. And if you’re familiar with Star Wars Legends you’ll probably rememeber that in Legends Jango would train and raise all Clone troopers in the Mandalorian culture, so that the Clones would sing traditional war chants before battles, be fluent in Mando’a (Mandalore’s language) and some would proudly take mandalorian names for themselves. So why didn’t Filoni Inc. take that into account when they went to delve into the clones in The Clone Wars?

2.3 THE WHITE MINORITY

First of all I’d like to state that all this is 100% me conjecturing, and by no means at all I’m saying that this is what really happened. But while I was re-watching CW before The Bad Batch premiere, something came to my mind regarding the whitewashing of the Clones, and I’d like to leave that on the table.

So, you know this kind of recent movies and series that depicted like, fairies in this fictional world where fairies were very opressed, but there would be a lot of fairies played by white actors? Just like Bright and Carnival Row. If you’ve watched some of these and have some racial conscience, you’ll probably know where I’m going here. And the issue with it is that often this medias will portray real situations of racism and opression and prejudice, but all applied to white people. Like in Carnival Row, when going to work as a maid in a rich human house, our girl Cara Delevingne had to fight not to have her braids (which held a lot of significance in her culture) cut by her intolerant human mistress, because the braids were not “appropriate”. Got it? hahahaha what a joy

Look at her ethnic braids!!!

One of the reasons this happens might be to relieve a white audience of the burden of watching these stories and feeling what I like to call “white guilt”. Because, as we all know, white people were never very oppressed.  Historically speaking, white people have always been in privileged social positions, and in an exploitative relationship between two ethnic groups, white people very usually would be the exploiters  —  the opressors. So while watching situations (that every minority would know to be very real) of opression in fiction, if these situations were lived by a white actor, there would be no real-life associations, because we have no historical parameter to associate this situation with anything in real life — if you are white. Thus, there is less chance that, when consuming one of these narratives, whoever is watching will question the "truthfulness" of these situations (because it's not "real racism", see, "they're just fairies"). It's easier for a person to watch without having to step out of their comfort zone, or confront the reality of real people who actually go through things like that. There's even a chance that this might diminish empathy for these people.

Once again, not saying this is specifically the case of the Clones, majorly because one of the main feelings you have when watching CW is exactly empathy for the troopers (at least for me, honestly, the galaxy could explode, I just wanted those poor men to be happy for God’s sake). But I’ll talk more about it later.

The thing is, the whole thing with the Clones, if you think about it, it’s not pretty. If you step on little tiny bit outside the bubble of “fictional fantasy”, the concept is very outrageous. They are kept in conditions analogous to slavery, to say the least. To say the more, they were literally made in an on-demand lab to serve a purpose they are personally not a part of, for which they will neither receive any reward nor share any part of the gains. On the contrary, as we saw in The Bad Batch, as soon as the war was over and the clones were no longer useful as cannonballs, they were discarded. In the (wonderful) episode 6 of the third season of (the almost flawless) Rebels, “The Last Battle”, we're even personally introduced to the analogy that there really wasn't much difference in value between clones and droids, something that was pretty clear in Clone Wars but hadn't been said explicitly yet.

In fact, technically the Separatists can be considered to be more human than the Republic. But that's just my opinion.

So, you had this whole army of pretty much slaves. I know this is a heavy term, but these were people who were originally stripped of any sense of humanity or individuality, made literally to go to war and die in it, doing so purely in exchange for food and lodging, under the false pretense that they belonged to a glorious purpose (yes, Loki me taught that term, that was the only thing I absorbed from this series). Doing all this under extremely precarious conditions from which they had no chance of getting out, actually, getting out was tantamount to the death penalty. They were slaves. In milder terms, an oppressed minority. And again, I don't know if that was the case, but I can understand why Filoni Inc would be apprehensive about representing phenotically indigenous people in this situation. Especially since we in theory should see Anakin and Obi-Wan as the good guys.

(and here I’d like to leave a little disclaimer that I believe the whole Anakin-was-a-slave-once plot was HUGELY misused (and honestly just badly done) both in the prequels and in the animeted series  — maybe for the best, since he was, you know, white and all that, and I don’t know how the writers would have handled it, but ANYWAY — I believe this could have been further explored, particularly regarding his relationship with the Clones, and how it could have influenced his revolt against the Jedi, and manipulated to add to his anger and all that. I mean, we already HAD the fact that Anakin shared a deeper conection with his troopers than usual)

Yes, Rex, you have common trauma experiences to share. But anyway, backing to my track

As I was saying, we are to see them as good guys, and maybe that could’ve been tricky if we saw them hooping up on slavery practices. Like, idk, a “nice” sugar plantation owner? (I don’t know the correct word for it in english, but in portuguese they were called senhores de engenho) Like this guy from 12 Years a Slave?

You know, the slave owner who was “nice”. IDK, anyway  

No one will ever watch Clone Wars and make this association (I believe not, at least), of course not. But if we were to see how CW deepened the clone arcs, and see them as phenotypically indigenous, subjected to certain situations that occur in CW (yes, like Umbara), maybe some kind of association would’ve been easier to make.

I mean, come onnnn I can’t be the only one seeing it

You see, maybe not the whole 12 Years a Slave association one, but I don’t think it’s hard to see there was something there. And maybe this could’ve been even more evident if they looked non-white. Because historically, both black peoples and indigenous peoples went through processes of slavery, from which we as a society are still impacted today. And to slave a people, the first thing you have to do is strip them from their humanity. So it might be easier to see this situation and apply it to real life. And maybe that could lead to a whole lot of other questions regarding the Clones, the Republic, the Jedi, and even how chill Obi-Wan was about all this. We might come out of it, as lady Ursula Le Guin stated in the fragment above, a bit different from what we were before we watch it.

Maybe even unconsciously, Filoni Inc thought we would be more confortable watching if they just looked white (and because of colonialism and all that, but I’m adding thoughts here).

And of course I don’t like the idea of, idk, looking at Obi-Wan and thinking about Benedict Cumberbatch in 12 Years a Slave or something like that. Of course that, if the Clones were to play the same role as they did in the prequels, to obediently serve the Jedi and quietly die for them, that would have been bad, and hurtfull, and pejorative if added to all that I said here. But the thing is that Clone Wars, consciously or not, already solved that. At least to my point of view, they already managed to approach this situation in an incredible competent way, that is giving them agency.

2.4 AGENCY AND INDIVIDUALITY

So, one of the things I love most in Clone Wars is how it really feels like it’s about the Clones. Like, we have the bigger scene of Palpatine taking over, Ahsoka’s growth arc, Anakin’s turn to The Dark Side, the dawn of the Jedi and rise of the Empire and all that, but it also has this idk, vibe, of there’s actually something going on that no one in scene is talking about? And this something is the Clones. We have these episodes spread throughout the seasons, even out of chronological order, which when watched together tell a parallel story to the war, to everything I mentioned. Which is a story about individuals. Clone Wars manages to, in a (at least to me) very touching way, make the Clones be the heros. 

Can you really look me in the eye and say that Five’s story didn’t CRASH you like a full-speed train???? He may not have the same amount of screen-time as the protagonists, but his story is just as important as theirs (and to me, it might be the most meaningful one). Because he is the first to break free from the opression cicle all the Clones were trapped into. 

His story can be divided into 6 phases.

1 - First, the construction of his individuality, in other words, the reclaiming of his humanity. 

2 - Then the assimilation of understanding yourself as an individual of value, and then extending this to all his brothers, not as a unit, but as a set of individuals collectively having this same newly discovered value.

3 - This makes him realize that in the situation they find themselves in, they are not being recognized as such. This makes him question the reality of their situation.

4 - Freed from the illusion of his state, he seeks the truth about it.

5 - This then leads him to seek liberation not just for himself, but for all the Clones (it's basically Plato's Cave, and I'm not exaggerating here).

6 - And finally, precisely because he has assimilated his individuality and sought freedom for himself and his brothers, he is punished for it.

His story is all about agency. Agency, according to the Wikipedia page that is the first to appear if you type “agency” on Google, is that agency is “the abstract principle that autonomous beings, agents, are capable of acting by themselves” [4], and this abstract principle can be dissected in 7 segments:

Law - a person acting on behalf of another person

Religious -  "the privilege of choice... introduced by God"

Moral -  capacity for making moral judgments

Philosophical -  the capacity of an autonomous agent to act, relating to action theory in philosophy

Psychological -  the ability to recognize or attribute agency in humans and non-human animals

Sociological -  the ability of social actors to make independent choices, relating to action theory in sociology

Structural - ability of an individual to organize future situations and resource distribution

All of them apply here. And this is just the story of one Clone. We know there are many others throughout the series. 

Agency is what can make the world of a difference when you are telling a story about an opressed minority. Because opressed minorities do exist, and opression exists, and if you are insecure about consuming a fictional media about opressed minorities, see if they have agency might be a good place to start. So that’s why I think that everything I said before in 2.3 falls short. Because the solution already existed, and was indeed done. Honestly, making the non-agency representation of the Clones (the one we see in the prequels) to be the one played by Temuera Morrison, and then giving them agency in the version where they appear to be white, just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

And honestly, if they were to make the Clones look like Temuera Morrison, and by that mean, take more inspiration in the Māori culture, maybe they wouldn’t even have to change much of their representation besides their facial features. As I said in part 1, I am not by any means an expert in polynesian cultures, but there was something that really got me while I was researching about it. And is the facial tattoos. More precisely, the tā moko. 

2.5  TĀ MOKO

Once again I’ll be using the Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand as source, and you can find the articles used linked at the end of this post. 

Etymologically speaking,

“The term moko traditionally applied to male facial tattooing, while kauae referred to moko on the chins of women. There were other specific terms for tattooing on other parts of the body. Eventually ‘moko’ came to be used for Māori tattooing in general.” [5]

So moko is the correct name for the characteristic tattoos we often see when we look for Māori culture. 

These ones ^. Please also look this book up, it’s beautiful. It’s written by  Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, a New Zealand academic specialising in Māori cultural issues and a lesbian activist. She’s wonderful. 

According to the Tourism NewZealand website, 

“In Māori culture, it [moko] reflects the individual's whakapapa (ancestry) and personal history. In earlier times it was an important signifier of social rank, knowledge, skill and eligibility to marry.”

“Traditionally men received moko on their faces, buttocks and thighs. Māori face tattoos are the ultimate expression of Māori identity. Māori believe the head is the most sacred part of the body, so facial tattoos have special significance.”

[...] “The main lines in a Māori tattoo are called manawa, which is the Māori word for heart.” [6]

Therefore, in the Māori culture, there’s this incredibly deep meaning attributed to the (specific of their culture) tattooing of the face. The act of tattooing the body, any part of the body, is incredibly powerful in many cultures around the globe. The adornment of the body can have different meanings for these different cultures, but all of which I've come into contact with do mean a lot. It’s one of the oldest and most beautiful human expressions of individuality and identity. 

And in the Star Wars universe, the Clones are the group that has the deeper connection to, and the best narrative regarding, tattoos. In fact, besides Hera’s father, Cham Syndulla, the Clones are the only individuals to have tattooed skin, at least that I can recall of. And they do share a deep connection to it. 

For the Clones, the tattoos (added to hairstyles) are the most meaningful way in which they can express themselves. Is what makes them distinguishable from each other to other people. Tattoos are one of the things that represent them as individuals.

And I’m not BY ANY MEANS sayin that the Clones facial tattoos = Moko. That’s not my point. But that’s one of the things I meant when I said earlier about the wasted potential of the representation of the Clones (in my point of view). Because maybe if it were their intention to base the culture of the clones after the polynesian culture, maybe if it were their intention to make the Clones actually look like Temuera Morrison, this could have meant a whole deal. More than it’d appear looking to it from outside this culture. Maybe if there were actual polynesian people in the team that designed the Clones and wrote them (or at least indigenous people, something), who knows what we could’ve had. 

Even in Hunter’s design, I noticed that if you take for example this frame of Temuera from the movie River Queen (2005), where we can have a closer look at the design of his tā moko

Speaking purely plastically (because I don’t want to get into the movie itself, just using it as example because then I can use Temuera himself as a comparison), see the lines around the contours of his mouth? Now look at Hunter’s. 

I find it interesting that they choose to design this lines coming from around his nose like that. But at this point I am stretching A LOT into plastic and semiotics, so this comparison is just a little thing that got my attention. I know that his tattoo is a skull and etc etc, I’m just poiting this out. And it even makes me a little frustrated, because they could have taken so many interesting paths in the Bad Batch designs. But instead they choose to pay homage to Rambo. And I mean, I like Rambo, I think he’s cool and all that.

Look at him doing Filipino martial arts

But then, as we say in Brasil, they had the knife and the cheese in their hands (all they had to do was cut the cheese, but they didn’t). Istead, it seems like in order to make Hunter look like Rambo, they made him even whiter??? 

2.6 SO...

Look, I love The Clone Wars. I’m crazy about it. I love the Clones, I love their stories and plots. They are great characters and one of the greatest addings ever made in the Star Wars universe. They even have, in my opinion, the best soundtrack piece to feature in a Star Wars media since John Williams’ wonderful score. It just feels to me as if their narrative core is full of bagage, and meanings, and associations that were just wiped under the carpet when they suddenly became white. It just feels to me as if, once again, they were trying to erase the person behing the trooper mask, and the people they were to represent, and the history they should evoke.

I don’t know why they were whitewashed. Maybe it was just the old due racism and colonialism. Maybe it was meant for us to not question the Jedi, or our good guys, or the real morality of this fictional universe where we were immersed. But then, was it meant for what?

The Clones were a metaphor for what? 

(spoiler: the answer still contains colonialism)

Thank you so much for reading !!!! (and congratulations for getting this far, you are a true hero)

SOURCES USED IN THIS:

[1] Ursulla K. Le Guin, 'The Left Hand of Darkness', 14th ACE print run of June, 1977

[2] Dave Itzkoff, 'Being Boba Fett: Temuera Morrison Discusses ‘The Mandalorian’', The New York Times, published Dec. 7, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/arts/television/the-mandalorian-boba-fett-temuera-morrison.html (accessed 15 September 2021)

[3] Bruno Claessens, 'George Lucas' "Star Wars" and Oceanic art' , Archived from the original on December 5, 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20201205114353/http://brunoclaessens.com/2015/07/george-lucas-star-wars-and-oceanic-art/#.YEiJ-p37RhF (accessed 15 September 2021)

[4]  Wikipedia contributors, "Agency," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agency&oldid=1037924611 (accessed September 17, 2021)

[5] Rawinia Higgins, 'Tā moko – Māori tattooing - Origins of tā moko', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ta-moko-maori-tattooing/page-1 (accessed 17 September 2021)

[6] Tourism New Zealand, ‘The meaning of tā moko, traditional Māori tattoos’,  The Tourism New Zealand website, https://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/ta-moko-maori-tattoo/ (accessed 17 September 2021)

[hiimsociallyawkward]

Dear Lara Jean,

HI. so i watched TATBILB: A&F a few weeks ago, and I have some words. Before I begin, i'd like to preface that i'm literally 17 and have no film experience, and that I've read this book once maybe 4 years ago but here it is.

ps. if you haven't gotten it already: there will be spoilers. Heavy spoilers.

first of all, i'm sorry but i really didn't like the little edit things. Maybe I've reached that point in my life where I don't f with that anymore. Like when theres a drawn house and it slowly fades so it's real life?? no thanks

the music choice... I honestly didn't have that big of a problem with it, but my korean friend kept going "wtf is this music choice" so i'm quoting her on that.

the filming and editing. well maybe it's just me but I didn't really like it. yk when you're watching a youtuber and they do those zoom in things and it's sort of fast and funny? I think there were a few times the movie did that and i didn't like it.

literally, lara jean looking directly into the camera?? it feels like it's breaking the 4th wall and maybe they're doing it to be edgy but no thanks i didn't like that either.

WHY???? Her breaking the 4th wall added NOTHING to the movie. It just took me out of the experience. I especially didn’t like it when they did it in PS I still love you when they temporarily broke up.

THEY SET THE MOVIE IN OREGON. WHAT WAS THE REASON. THE BOOK WAS SET IN VA, AND I LIVE IN VA SO I FELT A CONNECTION TO THE BOOK. AND THEN THEY GO AND SET IT IN OREGON. WHAT. WAS. THE. REASON

OREGON DIDN’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE COLLEGES. THEY’RE STILL PRETTY FAR AWAY FROM STANFORD. IN THE BOOK, UVA WAS CLOSE BY SO LJ WOULDN’T HAVE TO BE TOO FAR AWAY FROM HOME. NO OFFENSE TO THE STATE BUT WHY OREGON. THEY COULD OF PUT THEM IN CALI AT LEAST

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY LJ WANTED TO GO TO UVA IS BECAUSE HER FAMILY WOULD BE CLOSE BY. BY PUTTING THEM IN OREGON, YOU TAKE AWAY THAT REASON. i just want to 👊 whoever’s idea this was

FURTHERMORE: THEY CHANGED UVA AND UNC TO STANFORD AND NYU. I AM INFURIATED. THE WHOLE POINT WAS THAT THEY WANTED TO GO TO UVA BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE 10 MINS FROM WHERE THEY LIVED AND IT'S A STATE SCHOOL. LARA JEAN FELT LIKE THE WAS GAURANTEED TO GO TO UVA AND WHEN SHE DOESNT, IT ACTUALLY HURTS THE READERS.

in the book, LJ was waitlisted from UNC, rejected from UVA, and accepted to W&M. I’m sure you can find like 40 people at our school who can relate to this situation. I doubt 40 people in our school can relate to being rejected from Stanford BUT accepted to NYU. dear writers, please give teens across the nation (your target audience) realistic expectations for college admissions.

YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME THAT PETER AND LARA JEAN WERE ACTUALLY QUALFIED ENOUGH FOR STANFORD. LEMME JUST SAY, I'VE APPLIED FOR COLLEGES THIS YEAR AND I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD GRASP ON WHAT IT TAKES TO GET INTO CERTAIN COLLEGES. YOU'RE TELLING ME THE TWO OF THEM. REALLY. GOT. INTO. THOSE. SCHOOLS. pls.

DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE KISSING BOOTH. ELLE AND NOAH ARE POSSIBLY THE DUMBEST CHARACTERS I HAVE EVER WATCHED. I DON’T SEE THEM DO A PAGE OF HOMEWORK AND I DON’T EVEN THINK THEY ATTEND CLASS. LIKE MAKING A KISSING BOOTH FOR ONE FUNDRAISER FOR A CLUB THAT CONSISTS OF 2 PEOPLE DOES NOT COUNT AS ENOUGH TO GET INTO HARVARD. but that’s a different movie...

this is literally the idea that television and movies have in making it super easy to get into ivy leauges. as if some in state college isn't up to society's standards of where or where not it's ok to go to college. it's when gabriella montez goes to stanford, troy goes to berkely, ryan evan goes to julliard, teddy duncan goes to yale, cody martin is accepted to princeton, HANNAH MONTANA does to stanford.

and lara jean wants to study english lit. she never says “i want to go to stanford because of their great english lit program”. it’s only “i want to go to stanford because my boyfriend is going and i have no other life outside of him

fine. make your characters seem awesome by making them go to awesome colleges. but still. this is upseting.

you know how awesome it is to hear UVA, the college I've always wanted to go to, in a published book? and for them to just rip it away- espeically when UVA is so attainable?? Yea yea movie directors, i get it, UVA isn't good enough for you. whatever.

They had AT LEAST 5 MONTAGES. 5. FIVE. WHO NEEDS THAT MANY MONTAGES. To quote my friend "the movie is all montage and 30 mins of plot" AND I CAN'T FIND IT IN MYSELF TO DISAGREE WITH HER.

AND THE DANCES. I REALLY DIDN’T NEED TO SEE NOAH CENTINEO DO WHATEVER HE CALLS “DANCING” IN 2 MONTAGES. I know everyone fell in love with noah in the first movie, but i’m pretty sure everyone fell out of love with him in this one.

again, i know nothing about movies, but 5 montages?? it seems like you're just filling space and trying to make everything seem ✨awesome✨ and ✨amazing✨. SURE. everything might be awesome and amazing, but this movie was 1 HR AND 55 MINS. and you decided to add 1 HR of montages? WHy. AND. one of them was in slowmo. i can't

THEY HAD VOICE OVERS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MOVIE. sure. 1 at the begin and 1 at the end, I think that's cute. BUT THE WHOLE MOVIE?? WHY. like bruh- have a focus.

literally did anyone read the freaking book? Remember how- in the book right? Margot was actually really not ok with Trina bc she's sort of replacing their mom? and Margot is rlly not ok with it but gets over it?? see how that was summarized in like 5 seconds in the movie? Oh i'm sorry you used all your time for the movie making STUPID MONTAGES but can we get some actually emotionally beats next time?? thanks.

ok this is a big problem i have with the movie. in the 3rd book, peter tries to have a relationship with his dad who ran away from him years ago. He struggles with that relationship the whole book. This is good stuff. people can relate to this. the scene in the diner where peter “confronts” his dad was CRINGEY. It could be noah’s acting but i couldn’t take him seriously. AND HE FORGIVES HIS DAD AFTER 30 SECONDS. the movie tries to include these smaller storylines but can’t because of the time limit. i’m no screenwriter, but i’m sure there could have been a way to subtly move that plot line during the entire movie rather than that one conversation in the diner

and in the book, peter has to train for lacrosse so he has to eat healthy which stresses him out. i specifically remember him getting mad at someone (maybe it was john ambrose, i don’t remember fully) for EATING HIS CARROTS. this just shows that peter has a life too. he has to worry about lacrosse along with losing lj. but no, the movie makes him look like the perfect boyfriend who has no other worries in life except for the girl in front of him

remember how- in the book (right?? bc they had a book to go off of???) Stormy was a part of the 3rd book? like a BIG part?? They LITEALLY just used her as John Ambrose's grandmother (WHICH IM PRETTY SURE THEY DIDN'T EVEN DO IN THE MOVIES). literally, stormy and john ambrose were throw away characters in the second movie and i am infurriated. BUT ALSO I LOVE JOHN AMBROSE HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO HIM??

and remember, how in the book, how the dog's name is "Jamie Fox-Pickle" and they changed it to HENRY??? where is the flavor. what was the reason. SERIOUSLY.

BUT ALSO. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG BUT THERE WAS A POINT IN THE PLOT WHERE PETER'S MOM TOLD LARA JEAN TO BREAK UP WITH PETER. DOES NO ONE ELSE REMEBER THAT?? AND THEY CUT IT ALL OUT OF THE SCRIPT?? LIKE WHY. WHAT WAS THE REASON.

ok those are my biggest book grievances I think. but lemme just say, they NEVER went to NEW YORK. They literally wrote that in for the purposes of NYU. in the book, Chris and Lara Jean DRIVE to UNC because that's ATTAINABLE. BC THEY'RE STATE UNIVERSITIES. ANYWAYS

LJ’s and Chris’s spontaneous trip to unc showed their friendship in a good way. I never really liked chris as a friend to lj but during the trip, they are besties and it shows. the movie tries to do that in ny but peter is also in ny for some reason. she should have fell in love with ny WITHOUT peter at her side nagging her to sneak out and go on a date. she should have spent more time with chris rather than thinking about peter while she was watching the band.

the scene where Lara Jean is in New York and at the party and she sees the band? To all the boys I've loved before: Always and forever?? more like To all the boys I've loved before: gay awakening time.

when they moved the pink couch to the subway? WHy? They wanted snazzy pics.

when Lara Jean and Peter were making up and it was a really cute sequence AND THEN THEY MADE HER LOSE HER V CARD. FINE. I GET HOW THAT'S REALISTIC BUT IT WAS A CUTE SCENE. MY FRIEND ALMOST STARTED CRYING AND THEN LJ LOST HER V CARD AND WE COULDN'T STOP SCREAMING.

this is different from what was in the book (for the 100th time). In the book, they don’t do it and it shows that you can be in a high school relationship without being physical. I strongly appreciate that message. This darn movie had to have her lose her v card. WHY. IT ADDED NOTHING TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP. THE YEARBOOK SIGNING WAS SYMBOLIC ENOUGH

the montage where it's a montage of all of lara jean's and peter's cute moments?? ok fine. that was cute. but they literally just took scenes from past movies. imagine the impact if we like hidden moments from their relationships. maybe they're laughing in the car together. maybe they're watching they sunset. maybe peter is looking at her lovingly while she sleeps. WHAT IF. it WASN'T a montage of all the "bigger" moments of their relationship, and we got to see them just exist.

UGH. THE VOICE OVER AT THE END OF THE MOVIE IS SO CRINGEY I CAN'T

"WE AREN'T LIKE OTHER COUPLES. NOT US, LARA JEAN AND PETER KAVINSKY. BECAUSE WE HAVE SOMETHING BETWEEN US. WRITING LOVE LETTERS" please. b freaking s

Some redeemable qualities

while i didn't like most of the songs, "like me better" by lauv will always be loved. especially since it's a call back from the first movie?? I can ftw

WHY WASN’T “LIKE ME BETTER” THEIR SONG???? I really thought it was a good song to be their song and they referenced it in the beginning. No offense to the “beginning middle and end” people, but i felt no attachment to that song.

they customized her phone. it looked like it was a 7 (idk rlly, i don't know crap abt iphones) but they customized it. Granted, I KNOW lara jean would be the one with the aesthetic background with color coded folder, but still- they did give her relevant apps. some to note include; tiktok, spotify, instagram, netflix, notes, messages, facetime, maps, whatsapp and the STANFORD APP?? whatever- i'm chill.

they did make lara jean make choices so that was good.

the prom ask?? That was cute. with the pancakes??

at the end when Peter played the song even though earlier he didn't like it?? I liked that. i liked that a lot. ok fine i more than liked that a lot. There are multiple texts where my friends are screaming at each other. In fact, 26 separate messages.

chris in general. granted, she was more present in the books, but i'll take what i can get.

some notable quotes by her, the queen

"I'm dead inside"

not wanting to do a gigantic walk down from the stairs and asking the boys not to turn around

peter said he liked lara jean's forehead kisses and that reminded me of emma chamberlain so that's a positive only bc of emma

I remembered that they were the class of 2021, and I'M class of 2021 and it just hit for a second.

my friend cried over their graduation but i felt nothing bc we're literally living in a pandemic and chances of me getting a real graduation?? we'll see

again, these are all just my opinion. my friend doesn't like the movie bc she says she's sad and bitter and seeing these cute couples makes her feel lonely but i'm just diappointed. the books were GOOD. they were gold.

there was so much they could’ve done with the movies, and i just feel like they didn’t deliver on anything. Jenny Han, i’m sorry. The movie overall, ik someone who cried about it and someone else who gave it 7/10. props for them but jeez i just wish for more.

ok but that’s the show folk. i mean, obviously everything i said was opinion and literally don’t listen to anything i’ve said. BUT. feel free to add what you hated or loved abt the movie too. thanks. i love you guys. “always and forever” :,)

p.s- omg not them ripping off taylor swift. jk jk. ok bye

[azpartygirlz]

Thursday, September 30th

SHANNON & THE CLAMS

at Club Congress (info/tix)

“I am terrified of spiders,” says Shannon Shaw. “My mom always told me that they’re drawn to me. Like, they would drop down and dangle in my face as a baby, or they’d get in my bed.” 

But the powerhouse singer-bassist of retro-rock band Shannon & The Clams had bigger fears when she went to an astrologer two years ago. Shaw was at an emotional tipping point — willing to try anything — because everything she loved was falling apart. 

“It felt like the end of an era,” Shaw says, which began to unravel in 2016 with the tragic Ghost Ship warehouse fire in the Clams’ DIY community in Oakland. In 2018, the California wildfires in Napa almost caused her parents to evacuate their homes. In 2019, a lurking intruder drove Shaw out of the beloved apartment she’d lived in for 14 years. And then, right as her band was getting invited on big tours with bands like Greta Van Fleet and The Black Keys, her father was diagnosed with cancer. “The idea of leaving my family was agonizing — it was torture,” Shaw says. 

The astrologer told her to summon Durga when she felt powerless, a Hindu goddess who holds a weapon in each of her eight arms. Shaw saw the connection. “The symbolism of the spider made a full turn in an interesting way,” she says. “I was getting protection from the thing I feared the most.” Plus, she says with a laugh, “Spiders destroy the bullshit bugs. Like mosquitoes. Who needs ‘em?” 

Year Of The Spider, the band’s sixth studio album, rages against death and disease with the power of a thousand angry Ronettes. Songs like “All Of My Cryin',” “Mary, Don’t Go,” and “Year Of The Spider,” pulse with girl-group elegance and punk ferocity. On a Clams record, you always get both. 

That harsh/soft balance often comes down to Clams keyboardist Will Sprott. "Different keyboards lend themselves to different tones," Sprott says, "a Rhodes [piano] is more soft and bell-like, whereas a Wurlitzer has these chunky, abrasive bites. So when I'm deciding which instrument to play on a song, I'm thinking, what does the song make you feel? What do you want it to communicate? It's like, do you want this organ to scream at you or soothe you?" 

On the album opener, it was a little bit of both. “Do I Wanna Stay" is a slow tango between Shaw's voice and Sprott's piano that builds to a break point when Shaw rasps, “I dream at night…” sounding like someone whittled Brenda Lee into a shiv. 

"We went line by line with a fine-toothed comb to make sure the instrumentation matched each scene, almost like a movie," Sprott says, adding, "That's one thing about having Dan [Auerbach] as your producer — he is really good at seeing an overall vision of the sound — knowing when and where to add or remove certain layers." 

Drummer Nate Mahan agreed, saying "Stay" was a true collaboration. "Shannon had a very unique idea about the tempo of that song that we had to work out with Dan … The timing took us quite a while to get right, but I'm really proud of how it came out." 

When Mahan moved to Oakland in 2007, he was a fan of the band before he joined. "I was in a lot of improvisational and noise bands in a city that has every micro-genre you can imagine floating around … Shannon and the Clams stuck out to me because they had great songs with great singers, which I thought that really lacking in Oakland at the time." 

Mahan's intuitive approach shines through on songs with dense imagery like, "Mary Don't Go" — one of Shaw and Auerbach's favorites. "I wanted to leave space for the words and pull back [on the drums]," Mahan says. "When you slow the pace, the words can feel more powerful." 

On “Godstone," which tells the story of a surreal underwater encounter Shaw had in Hawaii, Mahan ditched the drums completely and played a halting, horn-like piano line while Sprott added the eerie arpeggiated synths. 

The other source of the Clams' signature sound comes from the decade-long creative partnership between Shaw and Clams’ guitarist Cody Blanchard. In “I Need You Bad,” their voices lock into bewitching minor chords. “It’s like a zipper when we sing together,” Shaw said, “I think we have a blood harmony, though we’re not related.” Bands that do have blood harmonies — the Everly Brothers, the BeeGees — are major musical touchstones for them. But unlike those groups, Shaw, Blanchard are close friends. They live 15 minutes away from each other and when both are in town, will rehearse in the goat shed turned recording studio that Blanchard built in his yard.

Blanchard mixed Spider at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studios the same week tornadoes devastated parts of Nashville right before the COVID-19 shutdowns in early 2020. He also wrote and sings lead on roughly half the songs on Spider. His songs, like “Flowers Will Return” and “In The Hills, In The Pines,” have swelling pop arrangements and a mysteriously sparse falsetto, reminiscent of bands like The Hollies and The Association. 

As a songwriter, Blanchard said he can get neurotic, so he tried Dolly Parton’s trick: writing songs from another person’s point of view. It worked, yielding some of Spider’s darkest songs: the howling “Crawl,” which has a roiling hard-rock guitar (“that was really fun — just a classic, rippin’ ‘70s guitar solo”) and the album's first single, “Midnight Wine," a thundering baroque-pop number that was inspired by friends and people in the Oakland arts community who died of drug overdoses over the last few years.

“I was thinking specifically of the feeling of alienation,” said Blanchard. “Where it feels like nothing in society works for you. The only thing that makes sense is to get fucked up to the point where you don’t care if you die or not because life is too difficult and bleak.” 

Spider ends with the slinky Motown-esque, “Vanishing.”Shaw dons her spiritual spider armor once more, singing directly and poignantly to her father (who is doing well, she said.) At first, Shaw wondered if the lyrics were too personal to put on the record. 

“It’s very emotional, very tender,” she said. “I also had these ideas that made no sense, like having the weird call-and-response, but we made it work so it was one of those songs that gave me the chance to grow.”

[acsversace-news]

**WARNING: NSFL image in this recap**

Warning: This recap of the “House by the Lake” episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story contains spoilers.

Entertainment doesn’t have to always be fun. Really, its main job is to provoke sensations in us that, even when unpleasant, help reframe our real experiences or bring insight into our lives. That is how fictional stories can feel not only true but essential.

The bulk of “House by the Lake” transpired between two now-dead men, so it’s impossible to know the thoughts, fears, or inner lives of either party leading up to their deaths. But in spending an hour exploring the final days of David Madson (via an incredible performance by Cody Fern), we know not only of his decency and humanity, but also about the life and (literal) death struggles of gay men in the 1990s. Aside from the camp value of the 1990s fashion scene (and Penelope Cruz’s instantly iconic performance) there has been almost no fun to derive from The Assassination of Gianni Versace. But that doesn’t mean it’s not great and important and endlessly heartbreaking. Let’s talk about this episode!

We began with what appeared to be a ’90s-era infomercial from the Minneapolis Tourism Board that strangely did not include any Prince music!

It looked like a nice place back then, and definitely not the kind of place where a senseless, gay-rage-fueled murder was about to take place.

This was one week before the Lee Miglin murder, explored in the previous episode. Andrew Cunanan was hanging out with his successful architect buddy David in David’s sweet loft. But apparently David had made two fatal mistakes: He didn’t like-like Andrew Cunanan back, and also he had openly talked about his successful career. Those are both Andrew Cunanan’s biggest turn-offs if we’re being frank.

Making matters worse, David was clearly in love with their other friend, Jeff. (Finn Wittrock had a free afternoon at some point apparently.) So when Andrew Cunanan summoned Jeff to the loft, it was not to hang out and watch Friends or ER. It was to murder him with a hammer right in front of David.

From this shocking and disgusting act onward, the episode became a tense hostage crisis in which a terrified (and heartbroken) David couldn’t seem to get away from Andrew Cunanan.

Andrew may not have been fully sane, but he fully had a gun. All David could really do was pretend things were normal, that they were still hanging out, and look for any opportunity to sneak off.

The horror and sadness of these scenes were so overwhelming that I was borderline relieved when we got to see a close-up of the latex dummy meant to be Finn Wittrock’s body. It was so bad and also it looked like Andrew McCarthy?

Thus concludes the only remotely fun thing about this otherwise heartbreaking episode.

After Andrew forced David to ditch the loft with him, a co-worker swung by to check in on David and found blood stains on the buffed concrete. Later, when detectives arrived, we got the sinking feeling that yet again the investigation would be hobbled by their evident discomfort and unfamiliarity with gay people. Certain immediate assumptions were just Occam’s Razor type mistakes, like the identities of the victim and killer. But when they came across some gay paraphernalia (including gay porn on DVD! In 1997!) it’s like they immediately wrote off the crime as part of some sick, gay underworld thing. When really it was just a psycho who murdered his friend out of jealousy, a thing that happens to 100% of straight people according to Investigation Discovery.

The episode also explored David’s background, in particular his relationship with (and coming out to) his father. This included touching flashbacks in which young David signaled that he was not like other boys (in that he hated murdering ducks) and his man’s-man father assured him that was okay. I was already tearing up.

As he sat trapped in Cunanan’s passenger seat, David even wept when he thought about how now the world would know he was gay, and he wondered what his parents would say, or what their friends would say. Again, if you are not a gay person who lived in the 1990s, try to imagine feeling so terrified of basic existence in society. And in addition to that, imagine there is a disease decimating your peers. If there’s one thing we can take away from this (admittedly hard-to-watch) series, it’s that life was truly hell for a lot of good people back then. Because, man. He is literally a hostage but is now most concerned that his parents’ store will lose business.

In a lovely surprise, Aimee Mann ended up playing the folk singer at a dive bar Andrew and David stopped at. While David considered attempting to escape through the bathroom window, Mann sang a cover of The Cars’ “Drive” and it verged on sublime. This guy knows what I’m talking about:

It had been a while since we’d seen Cunanan expressing anything resembling a human emotion, so this was unsettling. Part of him must have known he was past the point of no return. Yes he had successfully gotten the man he loved to go on the open road with him. But if we’re being real, he did not achieve this by very honest means.

In another flashback we learned that David had worked extremely hard in architecture school and won a prestigious award, perhaps mainly to impress his father enough so that when he came out to him, his father wouldn’t be overly angry. And in the scene where he finally did it, his father did express disappointment, but even more devastatingly, he seemed disappointed that his son couldn’t tell him this without also delivering “good news.” The whole thing would have seemed unbearably sad if the father hadn’t seemed like a decent, loving man at his core. So many weren’t/aren’t as lucky to have dads like that. Ugh, the ’90s.

In the episode’s final heartbreak (which we knew was coming), David attempted to finally rebuke Cunanan and run away from him. The episode allowed us to think he’d dodged Cunanan’s bullets and taken cover in a lake side cabin, where he enjoyed one last visit with his father.

But no. He had not outrun the bullets. He’d been struck down right there, and then finished off by a reprehensible madman.

Cunanan laid down to cuddle his slaughtered friend, but from our perspective he did not deserve the companionship even a corpse would afford. Just ask this cricket:

For the past two weeks we’ve seen Andrew Cunanan embody every gay fear and insecurity (both society’s and gay peoples’ own) and use his warped mind to destroy upstanding, good men. Good men, the kind he could never be and never would be. A smarter person than me could write an articulate essay about how Cunanan was a product of his time, or a symbol, or whatever. But the more important take-away from these two episodes, I think, was the greatness and dignity of Lee Miglin and David Madson. Though Cunanan ultimately wielded the tools by which they died, The Assassination of Gianni Versace wants to remind us that the world they existed in was at the very least complicit. It’s a dark thought, but a necessary one. And that’s how a show as complicated and frankly stomach-churning as this one is as essential as television gets.

[charminglatina]

Birthday Profiles Of Riverdale Actors Based On The Secret Language Of Birthdays Concept! (Part VIII)

What Is The Secret Language Concept?

The Secret Language scientific personality reports have proven to be over 90% accurate after 21 years in use by millions of people in a dozen languages worldwide. Our data comes from Gary Goldschneider’s 40-year empirical study of the life stories of more than 20,000 people, analyzed by date of birth. Gary looked at 50 people born on your birthday and found the personality traits held in common by 45 of them. Then he created personality profiles from those traits for each day, week, month, season and year and I further combined those profile names into the ultimate distillation of your personality - your Secret Language Name. Combining astrology, numerology, and pure psychic intuition, The Secret Language of Birthdays is a wholly unique compilation that reveals one’s strengths, weaknesses, and major issues while providing practical advice and spiritual guidance. Many have suspected that your birthday affects your personality and how you relate to others. Nineteen years and over one million copies later, The Secret Language of Birthdays continues to fascinate readers by describing the characteristics associated with being born on a particular day. The 366 personality profiles are based on astrology, numerology, the tarot, and Gary Goldschneider’s observations of more than 14,000 people. Your strengths, weaknesses, and major concerns will be illuminated while you are given practical advice and spiritual guidance. After you study your profile, it will be hard to resist examining those of family, friends, colleagues, and even celebrities.

The Personality Periods

The forty-eight personality periods, made up of twelve cusps and thirty six weeks, are units between six and nine days in length. Personology predicts the personality characteristics of anyone born within these dates. In other words, those born in the same period will share certain predictable character traits. While this may not completely represent ever individual, it is sufficient to provide an understanding of his or her basic energies. Extrapolating from the personology periods, it is possible to predict the nature of the relationship between any two people. Thus, The Secret Language Of Relationships combines each period of the year with itself and every other period to predict the nature of the resulting relationship. For example, a person born on March 31 falls into the Aries I period. This is the Week of the Child which symbolizes the freshness and openness of early childhood and of the spring season (lasting from March 25 to April 1). People born during this time are characterized by a childlike, enthusiastic orientation. This in contrast to a person born on November 10, who would be a Scorpio II (encompassing November 3 to 11). Born in the fall, which is symbolically likened to middle age, this week takes Depth as its central symbol. Thus, it becomes possible to consider the theoretical implications of an Aries I-Scorpio II relationship.

The Fourty-Eight Periods & Cusps

1. Pisces-Aries Cusp (Mar 19-Mar 24) – The Cusp Of Rebirth

2. Aries I (Mar 25-Apr 02) – The Week Of The Child

3. Aries II (Apr 03-Apr 10) – The Week Of The Star

4. Aries III (Apr 11-Apr 18) – The Week Of The Pioneer

5. Aries-Taurus Cusp (Apr 19-Apr 24) – The Cusp Of Power

6. Taurus I (Apr 25-May 02) – The Week Of Manifestation

7. Taurus II (May 03-May 10) – The Week Of The Teacher

8. Taurus III (May 11-May 18) – The Week Of The Natural

9. Taurus-Gemini Cusp (May 19-May 24) – The Cusp Of Energy

10. Gemini I (May 25-Jun 01) – The Week Of Freedom

11. Gemini II (Jun 02-Jun 10) – The Week Of New Language

12. Gemini III (Jun 11-Jun 18) – The Week Of The Seeker

13. Gemini-Cancer Cusp (Jun 19-Jun 24) – The Cusp Of Magic

14. Cancer I (Jun 25-Jul 02) – The Week Of The Empath

15. Cancer II (Jul 03-Jul 10) – The Week Of The Unconventional

16. Cancer III (Jul 11-Jul 18) – The Week Of The Persuader

17. Cancer-Leo Cusp (Jul 19-Jul 25) – The Cusp Of Oscillation

18. Leo I (Jul 26-Aug 02) – The Week Of Authority

19. Leo II (Aug 03-Aug 10) – The Week Of Balanced Strength

20. Leo III (Aug 11-Aug 18) – The Week Of Leadership

21. Leo-Virgo Cusp (Aug 19-Aug 25)  – The Cusp Of Exposure

22. Virgo I (Aug 26-Sept 02) – The Week Of System Builders

23. Virgo II (Sept 03-Sept 10) – The Week Of The Enigma

24. Virgo III (Sept 11-Sept 18) – The Week Of The Literalist

25. Virgo-Libra Cusp (Sept 19-Sept 24) – The Cusp Of Beauty

26. Libra I (Sept 25-Oct 01) – The Week Of The Perfectionist

27. Libra II (Oct 02-Oct 10) – The Week Of Society

28. Libra III (Oct 11-Oct 18) – The Week Of Theater

29. Libra-Scorpio Cusp (Oct 19-Oct 25) – The Cusp Of Drama & Criticism

30. Scorpio I (Oct 26-Nov 02) – The Week Of Intensity

31. Scorpio II (Nov 03–Nov 11) – The Week Of Depth

32. Scorpio III (Nov 12–Nov 18) – The Week Of Charm

33. Scorpio-Sagittarius Cusp (Nov 19–Nov 24) – The Cusp Of Revolution

34. Sagittarius I (Nov 25–Dec 02) – The Week Of Independence

35. Sagittarius II (Dec 03–-Dec 10) – The Week Of The Originator

36. Sagittarius III (Dec 11-Dec 18) – The Week Of The Titan

37. Sagittarius-Capricorn Cusp (Dec 19-Dec 25) – The Cusp Of Prophecy

38. Capricorn I (Dec 26-Jan 02) – The Week Of The Ruler

39. Capricorn II (Jan 03- Jan 09) – The Week Of Determination

40. Capricorn III (Jan 10-Jan 16) – The Week Of Dominance

41. Capricorn-Aquarius Cusp (Jan 17-Jan 22) – The Cusp Of Mystery & Imagination

42. Aquarius I (Jan 23-Jan 30) – The Week Of Genius

43. Aquarius II (Jan 31-Feb 07) – The Week Of Youth & Ease

44. Aquarius III (Feb 08-Feb 15) – The Week Of Acceptance

45. Aquarius-Pisces Cusp (Feb 16-Feb 22) – The Cusp Of Sensitivity

46. Pisces I (Feb 23-Mar 02) – The Week Of Spirit

47. Pisces II (Mar 03-Mar 10) – The Week Of The Loner

48. Pisces III  (Mar 11-Mar 18) – The Week Of Dancers & Dreamers

Birthday Profiles Featured:

43. Major Curda (7/12 – Cancer III) 44. Cody Kearsley (3/10 – Pisces II) 45. Emilija Baranac (8/4– Leo II) 46. Alvin Sanders (3/16 – Pisces III) 47. Ryan Robbins (11/26 – Sagittarius I) 48. Kerr Smith (3/09 – Pisces II)

#43. Major Curda (Birthday: Jul. 12, 1999 – The Day Of The Persuasive Presence; Personality Period: Cancer III – Jul. 11 to Jul. 18 – The Week Of The Persuader; Place Of Birth: Florida, United States)

Those born during the Week of the Persuader know how to convince others of their worth and get them to do their bidding. Powerful manipulators of their environment, they often manifest great drive and determination. Even the shyest and most retiring nurse private ambitions; the more aggressive make little effort to conceal their desire to rise to the top of their profession. The underlying dynamic of their character, however, is that success, for them, is the best antidote for uncertainty. Yet they rarely fall victim to blind ambition, prefering to invest in themselves than indulge in materialism or ego-tripping. They how to wait, watch and listen. Observant of what goes on around them, they are good at reading the signs of the times and knowing when to act. Their persuasive ability to convince others is supported by a solid bedrock of observation, and upon having facts and results at their fingertips. Such individuals, then, are comfortable dealing with the physical realities of life. In fact, they persuade others less by their words than by their presence alone. Strong personalities, they are not shy about quietly and effectively applying pressure. Passionate people, they are no strangers to the depths of human emotion. In the same way that insecurity can be viewed as the motor behind their ambition, their passion for something can be viewed as the gasoline. And usually, their beliefs are something they are passionate about. By establishing contact with others of like mind, they are able to give solid support to their ideas. When they are convinced they are working for the highest good of an organization or group they are difficult to oppose and can usually obtain significant benefits for all concerned. Whether at work or at home, they usually exert a powerful force behind the scenes, or as team members. These people make excellent managers and critics; they have a sixth sense for the weaknesses and inadequacies of others and can usually provide direction or guidance to remedy even the most extreme difficulties. Part of the personal power of such individuals comes from their ability to control their own needs. In relationships, for example, they would sooner be alone than enter a dubious or unstable partnership. Knowing themselves well enough to recognize the limitations of their ability to commit to the responsibilities of everyday life, when beginning a relationship they will be honest with the other person from the outset, rarely pretending to be something they are not. In any case, living alone is not really a problem for them. They generally require few luxuries, and can efficiently order their lives, particularly financially, without interference from others. They are well able to sublimate desire for social and romantic interaction into their career activities and to share common experiences with colleagues, friends and family.  The other side of the coin, however, is their sometimes prodigious tendency to indulge in excess. Although they may deal with their needs well, their desires and wants can easily get out of hand. They do not always know when to stop, when to back off, when to let go. Obsessive-compulsive behavior is not uncommon among these individuals, whether related to self-gratifying activities that provide direct pleasure or to neurotic ones that only yield frustration. For this reason, some form of spiritual training is often essential for their development. Their most successful relationships are often with colleagues rather than in personal or romantic settings, where their directness may prove too threatening to others. It also happens that they can best handle their intensity in their work, for in their private lives their direct expressions of energy may boomerang and cause personal difficulty. As friends and family members, they can be giving, sharing and affectionate. Yet their drive to control is evident here, too. They do not hesitate to advise and to judge. Their instincts, fortunately, are often right on the mark, but by assuming a managerial role they often deny others the opportunity to guide their own future. In extreme cases, they can be insensitive and smothering, and their manipulations can wreak havoc on friends and intimates. As spouses or lovers, they often find it difficult to occupy anything but center stage. Not only must activities revolve around them, but they must take an active hand in shaping and forming whatever is going on. Conflicts often arise between these dominant individuals and those who question their authority. In such moments their most aggressive characteristics are likely to emerge. Left alone to go ahead with their work and plans, however—which they usually see not as selfish but as intended for the good of the group—they are content, peaceful and even quiet in demeanor. Although it is possible or even desirable for such persons to pursue long-standing, productive and satisfying love relationships, their chances for success in such affairs are aided by good choices and sound judgment—which they too often allow to be impaired by the heat of their passions. In marriage or a permanent living situation, they need a solid, practical partner—someone who lends structure and emotional stability.

Those born on July 12 are masters at persuasion. Not only are their arguments cogent and logical, but they have an innate sense of timing. When necessary they can scold or cajole but only in the most extreme cases do they need to threaten. More often they use humor to win others over to their point of view. July 12 people are not only good at convincing others but also at initiating action. Through their efforts many projects get off the ground which might never have materialized. Sometimes July 12 people can be so clever as to subtly plant an idea in someone else’s mind so that this person may act on it, as if the idea originated with them. Unfortunately, July 12 people can be domineering parents. Because they are so adept at exerting their influence, their children are of course no match for them and only much later may realize how much of their volitional nature was invisibly controlled. In extreme cases, children of July 12 people grow up to find they have an atrophied will and remain dependent on being guided. Similar problems can arise in the love relationships of those born on this day, often involving their lovers or mates feeling and ultimately expressing built-up resentments against them. Because July 12 people rarely find partners who are a match for their strong personalities, it is difficult for them to find lasting happiness in their personal lives. July 12 people are a powerfully influential presence in whatever environment they inhabit. At work, they are generally admired for their expertise, and thus can exert a positive influence in mediating disputes. However, those born on this day cannot suffer reporting to someone they don’t admire or at least respect. For this reason, they often find themselves self-employed, or without a direct supervisor. Because July 12 people are hard-headed thinkers who have a well-defined set of priorities and guidelines for life, it is difficult for them to accept wholesale the philosophy of a company or organization. Because of their persuasive nature and forceful personality, July 12 people sometimes make enemies and arouse resentment or antagonism. They invariably believe they are acting in the common interest, but others may see them as dictatorial, unyielding or argumentative. The truth is that July 12 people often find a solution to logical problems much faster than other people, and thus may deny them a chance to get involved. Those born on this day must learn to back off, to allow others some decision making power and self-respect; it is because July 12 people are such powerful providers that they tend to foster dependence in employees, children and friends. Those born on July 12 are characterized by their dualistic nature. On the one hand, they are profoundly empathetic and gentle creatures keenly sensitive to the emotions of those around them; on the other, they possess a compelling urge to initiate and direct the actions of others. Although these two aspects seem to conflict, they both stem from their intense altruism.It’s a mistake to dismiss these people as a pushover, because they hold profound convictions and refuse to redefine them. Their loyalty isn’t limited to their convictions; they are a steadfast and generous friend, although their tendency to try and orchestrate the lives of others can become annoying. Sometimes they plant their suggestions in such a subtle way that other people will believe that they themselves have originated them. As a result they often have a powerful influence over others; the key to their success is whether they decide to exert this influence in a positive way that encourages others to grow independently, or in a negative way that fosters dependence.They are such insightful and capable individuals that they will often step in without giving others a chance to get involved; this can earn them a reputation for being controlling, difficult and stubborn. However, if they can learn occasionally to take a step back and give others a turn they will find that their chances of success and happiness increase. This isn’t to say they should hide their talents. It’s just that they are such strong-willed individuals that there’s a tendency for others to be guided rather than inspired by them.Until the age of forty there will be many opportunities for them to demonstrate their creativity and strong convictions. After the age of forty-one they may become more pragmatic and discerning. As long as they ensure that they nurture others without smothering them this is the period when these empathetic but progressive individuals will do what they do best: initiate action that ensures the welfare of others and by so doing make their own special mark. Romantic partners who let people born on July 12 take the lead will appeal at first, but for a relationship to be successful in the long term it would be far more exciting and better for them to find someone who is their equal. Staying spontaneous and independent is the key to developing their inner power while still enjoying loving relationships. One of the best things people born on this day can do for their health is to organize their lives so that there is enough time for regular health check-ups, a daily exercise routine, and buying, cooking and preparing healthy fresh food. This is because they tend to lose themselves in their work and projects, and their health suffers as a result. They would also benefit from regular periods of peace and solitude where they can get in touch with their own feelings instead of constantly focusing on the feelings and concerns of others. An ideal way for them to relax would be to soak up the scent in an aromatherapy bath. One drop of juniper oil should do the trick. Wearing the color orange will also attract more positive people and influences into their lives. These people don’t like to follow the herd so they may prefer to work alone. Apart from national and civil politics or social work, other career choices might include writing, counseling, education, and all forms of advice-giving, such as sales, negotiation and promotion. Their excellent communication skills and sharp mind indicate tremendous potential to achieve, although they do need to avoid scattering their energies in self-doubt. The life path of people born on this day is to learn to trust and let go as far as their relationships with others are concerned. Once they are able to manage their urge to take control, their destiny is to lead, guide, advise, and inspire others. People born specifically on the 12th of July are imagined to be expressive, cheerful and easygoing with the typical crab tendency to change their opinions often. The astrological planet that governs this particular day is Jupiter making you sociable with a wholesome life attitude and values. If you have this birthday a very ambitious and determined streak makes you charismatic, confident and persuasive. You may have big ideas but they are likely to also be realistic and practical and you are able to easily differentiate between the materialistic and spiritual aspects of living. One of your strongest needs is for a strong emotional connection with others to satisfy your thoughtful, communicative creativity and empathy. Individuals with a July the twelfth birthday are usually quick witted and eloquent with a curious inventive mind. You are naturally generous and warm with a modern outlook yet easily bored and at times a little tactless too. Working in any of the caring professions is a popular career choice to a person born on the twelfth of July due to your deep concern for others. Your fondness for communicating in a creative and considerate way helps you brighten up a workplace atmosphere and be great to work with or for. You will ordinarily desire a decent salary and some financial security from your job choice. However money is usually fairly low on your list of priorities and you do not seem to require large amounts to feel secure. You are budget conscious and prefer to have something set aside for unexpected expenses. For a Cancer, the person born on the twelfth day of July is typically reluctant to break away from family for romance and long term commitment. This hesitancy concerning love is accompanied by your touch of idealism in choosing a partner and sometimes overly high expectations from a soul mate relationship. Despite strongly craving affection and someone with whom to intimately share a special emotional unity you tend to be fussy and indecisive about settling down too soon. In a loving serious relationship you are usually protective, sympathetic and rarely fearful of responsibility. A peaceful home life is important to you so you are inclined to try and avoid tensions due to your flexibility and willingness to compromise. Being criticized or having your intelligence insulted are really the only things that may cause sulking or brooding. A temporary lack of focus on healthiness is sometimes experienced by those born on July 12th if they are especially stressed. If your feelings are hurt you have a tendency to sulk into the comfort of your shell and brood occasionally suffer ill health as a result. Excess stress could also aggravate your proneness to suffer from allergies and a sensitive skin. Coordinating a personal fitness routine with something fun is often the key to igniting your enjoyment of exercise. People born on this day should look to nature and outdoor retreats to assist with relaxation. Your main strengths of character are most obvious in your expressiveness, charisma and confidence allowing you to get noticed, be listened to and stand up for yourself. Your practicality and highly observant temperament contributes to anything you decide to undertake. The personality weaknesses for those born on July 12th appear to occur more frequently and intensify their strength if you are feeling at all insecure. These negative traits revolve around you displaying overprotective or controlling type behavior along with a hard headed sulky attitude and occasional cold emotions. Being born on the 12th of July should fill you with an abundance of creative expression and an intense ability to innovate realistically. These qualities direct you to make rather ambitious plans for your future. Building a secure and comfortable family base is usually a major aspiration that seems to dominate all areas of your goal setting. If you are happy and stable emotionally there are few limitations to what you can achieve in life. Amongst your greatest wishes is also to be able to visit some interesting places in the world, fortunately you are destined to travel far and wide. As you were born on the twelfth day of the month the one and two in your birth date totals a Root number of Three. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Innovation' referring to your imaginative inventing talent and ample helpings of determination. In the Major Arcana Tarot the 12th card featuring the Hanged Man is closely associated with your birthday. This symbolizes the easy overcoming of obstacles and reflects the power of your spirituality and deep thought processes. The lucky gemstone for July the twelfth birthdays is Amethyst, wear one to dispel negativity and evoke calmness. The Moon's powerful authority is assumed to be astrologically accountable for the probabilities of Cancer personalities. The actual day you were born on, the twelfth of July is ruled over by Jupiter's celestial presence. This pair of planets help decide the likelihoods of the uniqueness of your actions and ways of thinking. Your usual considerate and cheery but changeable manner is well balanced by your empathic generosity. Your wit and eloquence add to your sociability and persuasiveness can make you a popular social butterfly. If you try and recognize and cope more effectively with your insecurity moments your sulkiness and clinginess should diminish somewhat. A concluding thought for people born on July the 12th advises to attempt to be a little more tactful. Being a bit overly nosy, interfering of any kind and not giving others a bit of space are all things you should aim to avoid. Doing so could increase your sense of peace happiness and contentment. 

#44. Cody Kearsley (Birthday: Mar. 10, 1991 – The Day Of The Soul Searchers; Personality Period: Pisces II – Mar. 3 to Mar. 10 – The Week Of The Loner; Place Of Birth: British Columbia, Canada)

 Those born during the Week of the Loner tend to live in a private world of their own. This is true not only internally but outwardly for their homes are often retreats from the world, places to which few are admitted. The healthier among them can give equal weight to their careers, on the one hand, and to their social and personal lives, on the other; less balanced individuals may choose to isolate themselves more than is good for them. They generally have an instinctive dislike of superficiality. They mistrust loud, aggressive or pushy individuals and find it hard to work with colleagues who lack sensitivity. This is not to imply that they lack force or ambition. For them, however, the way a thing is done is often more important than what that thing is, and the end therefore rarely justifies the means. Grace, honesty and an unassailable aesthetic and moral code prevent them from acting underhandedly or, in particular, hurtfully. On the other hand, they may express their dislike of society’s mores through blatantly antisocial deeds, acting, as it were, in defense of their own right to individual expression. A certain elegance and grace are evident in most things they do, and they are finely attuned to many kinds of physical expression, whether it be sports, dance or more sensual forms of movement. They are great admirers of sensuous beauty, particularly in people and paintings, and their homes and surroundings generally show some kind of special touch. They have a strong soulful side, apparent in their love of music and in their empathy for all forms of human suffering. They generally believe that life is not just there to be enjoyed, and that one must in some way pay one’s dues with a certain amount of suffering before obtaining any real benefit. Rarely will they escape at least one severe trauma in their lives, perhaps involving physical injury, disease or the untimely death of a parent or friend. They are often struck by such catastrophes without warning, but they are resilient and have an enormous capacity to bounce back from disaster. Like a cat, they are blessed with nine lives, at least a few of which they are sure to use up. They see a distinct difference between being lonely (which they rarely are) and being alone (which they are often). Their own best companion, they are capable of spending hours and days alone with a good book, or with their work, without needing to talk to anyone. Their friends will know when they want to be left alone and when they want company, and will learn not to intrude on their privacy. In the workplace they do well as freelancers, operating outside the office, but if employed by a company or business they will probably need a certain amount of time each day for working on their own. Dangerous areas for them include anything with a strong habituative or outright addictive quality—drugs, drink, sex. On the other hand, their ecstatic highs, spiritual insights and emotional joys can be incredibly intense and rewarding. They often crave peak experiences, which are not bad things in themselves as long as those who seek them can handle them without undue attachment. If they remain free to move on, such experiences will leave them greatly enriched in their personal development. On the other hand, should they be unfortunate enough to get hooked on their own personal suffering or self-pity, they may wallow in such states for alarmingly long periods of time. Generally speaking, they ask only one thing from the world, and that is to be accepted as they really are. That the world often cannot grant their wish becomes the cross they bear. To comfort themselves, and to shield themselves from disappointment and rejection, they may surrender to the pursuit of money, or retreat to a fantasy-full interior life, often devoted to beauty and imagination. Whenever possible, they should follow occupations that make solid and grounding demands on them without depriving them of creativity. This kind of work will help them to stay on an even keel. They usually have few friends, but those they have are often close and loyal. Many do not like large family gatherings or social events; intimacy is really their thing, and sharing intimacy with others, whether mates, friends, lovers or valued family members, is perhaps their most cherished activity. Highly personal interaction is their forte, and the sharing of joys and sorrows is essential to their happiness. In love, perhaps because those born during the Week of the Loner have a greater ability to enjoy or appreciate such areas than others do, or perhaps their resistance to the lure of physical pleasure is lower; they are more prone than others to be snagged by a pretty face, sensuous voice or alluring body. Once attached to a person, their addiction to his or her company can be even more severe than their attraction to physical substances. They will run the gamut of painful emotions, from jealousy to hatred, yet if they decide they want to get free of their love object they will feel powerful separation anxiety. Friends and mates of a practical nature tend to bring them down to earth. Meanwhile, children will help them share their sense of wonder and awe at the natural world.

Those born on March 10 are deep, emotional individuals. Their drive for success is often rather low-key and they may be more concerned with understanding themselves and coming to grips with their complex personalities than they are with fortune, power or fame. This does not mean to say that March 10 people are overly self-involved or somehow self-indulgent. On the contrary, they love to have fun, particularly in an intimate social setting with close friends, and are most happy when they occupy a central position in their families, surrounded by nurturing and protective influences. The sensitivity of March 10 people is pronounced. They are easily hurt, feel rejection keenly and want little more than to live in peace with their fellow human beings. However, those born on this day who have experienced traumatic childhood episodes, deep psychological wounds inflicted by a hurtful parent or overly rigid moral systems placed on them early in life, can retreat from the world into a private, inaccessible emotional space and stay there. Because March 10 people are so sensitive, they experience the highs and lows of life as few others do, and therefore are more likely to turn inward and search their souls, to try to understand themselves. Through this inner development they cultivate empathy to the pain and suffering of the misfortunate, and for this reason, many born on this day opt for a service-oriented career. The more highly evolved of March 10 people show great sympathy and kindness for others, even to the point of being self-effacing and saintlike. As parents March 10 people tend to be nurturing and understanding, but must beware of a tendency to be overprotective and subtly manipulative. Generally, March 10 people put personal considerations before anything else. Also since they are so highly developed in the emotional realm, they may not develop their willpower and mental toughness as fully as they might. Consequently they can drift or stagnate, not having the strong desire or ability to better their circumstances. For the less talented or gifted of March 10 people, qualities of acceptance and passivity may not be so desirable. In putting emphasis on internal rather than external values, March 10 people are oriented toward an idealistic, non-materialistic value system. Yet they nonetheless display a great need for security and a marked desire for simple comforts, which becomes more evident with advancing age. The danger here is that they will stagnate and fail to carry their personal development any further. It is true that their exploration of inner emotional worlds (theirs and others’), deepens their sensitivity and makes them more soulful, but they must not use this activity as an escape from expressing themselves outwardly or making crucial decisions. People born on March 10 have a fragile, vulnerable quality about them however successful they may appear on the world’s stage. This is because a part of them is always searching for greater self-understanding or knowledge. Although they can be highly driven and energetic individuals, it is the inner world of ideals that defines and occupies people born on March 10. They are also extremely empathetic toward others, particular the underdog or those less fortunate.Because they are constantly aware of their own feelings and tuned into the feelings of those around them, these highly sensitive people tend to experience life intensely and deeply. They have the capacity to show tremendous kindness and love toward others, but they do need to be careful that they don’t become self-sacrificing, overprotective and jealous in the process.Although they are highly perceptive and insightful in their relationships, they can also get deeply hurt by the words or actions of others. Instead of facing their pain when they are wounded, they are more likely to withdraw into their own private world of torment. It’s important for these people to find ways to balance their sensitivity with their need to make a difference in the world. Fortunately, before the age of forty there is an emphasis in their life on assertiveness and a desire to be more active in the world. This can help them express themselves more outwardly. After the age of forty-one they often gravitate toward greater material and emotional stability, and this will help them stave off uncertainty and vulnerability.Preoccupied with their inner conflicts, there is always a danger for these people to become self-involved; but, if they can learn not to use their sensitivity as a way of escaping responsibility and confrontation, the emphasis they place on internal rather than external fulfillment marks them out as very special people. Caring, contemplative and visionary, they will direct their intelligent and original thoughts toward the common good and, by so doing, positively influence and inspire all those who encounter them. People born on March 10 rarely have problems attracting partners; problems are more likely to occur when they are within a relationship. They need to be careful that they don’t become too nurturing or overprotective, as it can suffocate others. Being easily wounded, they also need to guard against jealously. Despite the emphasis they place on togetherness, there is also a part of them that needs to retreat within themselves every now and again for private reflection. People born on this day need to take extra special care of their health as their extreme sensitivity—combined with the fact that they are likely to put the needs of others way ahead of their own—makes them vulnerable to the negative energies of others. It is vital that they work on their self-esteem, to strengthen themselves not just emotionally, but also physically; otherwise they are likely to suffer from stress, depression, compassion overload, or burnout. It goes without saying that they should make sure they eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat and refined or processed foods. Moderate exercise, preferably activity they can perform alone to recharge their batteries such as jogging, walking or yoga, is highly recommended. Wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color yellow is good for their ego, and for increasing their confidence and optimism. These people are well suited to the caring or healing professions, to social work, or to careers where they can bring enlightenment or happiness to others such as education, the arts, music, dance, or drama. Other work options include advertising, international business, sales, medicine, and counseling. The life path of people born on this day is to learn that they need to take care of their own emotional needs as well as the needs of others. Once they have worked on their ego, their destiny is to devote their considerable talents to bringing happiness or comfort to others. People born specifically on the 10th of March are believed to be brimming with attitude and ambition and unlike the typical bashful Pisces, a fan of the spotlight. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is our Sun giving you idealistic but enthusiastic leadership qualities and an air of authority. If you have this birthday your purposeful ideals are motivated by a perceptive imagination and a strong desire to accomplish. When you unite with like minded individuals you often find the boldness to put some of your great ideas into action. You are quite self reliant and a knack of helping others without neglecting your own welfare. Someone with a March the tenth birthday is usually caring, sympathetic, charming and sociable. You possess a modern outlook and have an astute moralistic mentality that drives you to more often than not make impartial virtuous decisions. Underneath all that confident demeanor you are as emotionally sensitive as any fish. Satisfaction at work is important to a person born on the tenth of March as you need to feel a sense of accomplishment for your efforts. You have high opinions of human intelligence and learning and are likely to be skilled at conveying information in a nonpatronizing tone. This makes your ideal job probably in education or in some sort of advisory role. Your ambitious streak does not ordinarily focus on pay alone. You would rather enter a lower paying profession than opt for a higher salary if it entails doing something more worthwhile. Financially you are careful but cannot be described as mean. As a Pisces, the person born on the tenth day of March is usually very flattered by romantic attention and will enjoy lapping it up. Unusually for this star sign you are also sometimes mistrustful of the intentions of others displaying forms of flattery. Where romance is concerned you present yourself as cautious yet you have a deep need for love and affection. Even though you may be hesitant to commit to a long term relationship the yearning for a true soul mate who appreciates the real you will conquer your fears. In a stable partnership you are loving, thoughtful and passionate but also often touchy emotionally and prone to moodiness. A partner must be understanding of this touch of insecurity and share your interests and viewpoints. When you do make a love commitment you are intensely loyal and will expect the same fidelity and oneness. Health problems experienced by those born on March 10th do not commonly occur as a consequence of not listening to or disregarding the body's needs. You seem to place lots of importance on your healthiness and like to keep physically fit and looking good. A competitive edge to your temperament sees you enjoying sports and being fond of things like swimming, walking or Yoga. Food is one of your passions and so you enjoy preparing healthy meals. A proneness to allergies can be a weak spot to watch out for that could be triggered by some irritant in your environment or possibly stress related. Strengths in your character lie mainly in the empathic sensitivity you show to others and in your impassioned will to succeed. This mixture of positive traits and your expressiveness can help you stand out in a crowd and get your opinions across and taken seriously, without appearing too pushy or eccentric. Personality weaknesses for those born on March 10th appear to be centered on a fairly low tolerance for disappointments. When your optimism and enthusiasm for something dips you can sink into a negative frame of mind and act uncharacteristically with mood swings or long periods of sulking. Being born on the 10th of March grants you the need to feel useful and spend your life doing constructively rewarding things. You dislike wasting time on meaningless tasks and are one of the sharpest goal setters in your zodiacal group. Your helpful enterprising approach to everything is greatly assisted by your eagerness to stick to your goals and attain them. The majority of your aims and directions will be realistic but you tend to set a few unrealistic ones too. Your unique dreams are likely to concentrate on the future and the next generations with wishes for a harmonious home life. As you were born on the tenth day of the month you are allocated a special Root number of One with the keyword 'Drive'. This numerical reference to your birthday emphasizes your impetus to achieve, gumption and perseverance. The Tarot card associated with your birthday is the 10th card in the Major Arcana, the Wheel of Fortune. This symbolizes your fine perception but also highlights the difficulty you have facing setbacks. For March the tenth birthdays the gemstone imagined to be luckiest is a Ruby. Wearing this red jewel is thought to attract love, increase vitality and bestow foresight. The typified Pisces personality is thought to have its creation influenced astrologically by the planetary power of Neptune. The actual day you were born on, the tenth of March is ruled by the celestial rays of the Sun so both these planets are involved in composing your individualism. Your independent mannerisms, astuteness, leader ability and craving for limelight all direct you towards success. Dealing more effectively with mistakes or obstacles is as a rule the best way to unlock your full potential. Your charm, sociability and kindness are superb attributes that generally offset, soften and balance your ambitiousness. For people born on March the 10th two final thoughts may be pertinent. The first is to beware of a reliance on material possessions and secondly to always strive to make emotional happiness your number 1 priority. 

#45. Emilija Baranac (Birthday: Aug. 4, 1994 – The Day Of The Guiding Light; Personality Period: Leo II – Aug. 3 to Aug. 10 – The Week Of Balanced Strength; Place Of Birth: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Leo II’s are solid and tough and do not back down from challenges; in fact, they thrive on them, and are often at their best when facing problems and difficulties. Although drawn toward experiences that hold an element of danger, they are usually not foolhardy enough to attempt the impossible. Realists, they are well aware of their limitations, which they may stretch to the limit if necessary but will rarely try to overleap. Fixed attitudes characterize them, so it will take a great deal of patience and persistence to get them to change their mind. Leo II’s pride themselves on their ability to spot phoniness and nonsense, and are particularly critical of metaphysical ideas not strongly grounded in the here and now. Leo II’s generally exercise tremendous powers of concentration, but through their fixation on their object they may lose the peripheral vision necessary for keeping in touch with their surroundings. In a related problem, their reliance on logical reasoning can detract from what may well be their best suit—that is, their capacity for strong hunches and their intuitive strengths. These traits may lead them to get out of touch with reality while at the same time remaining convinced of their rightness—a dangerous combination. Gifted with endurance and tenacity, Leo II’s hang in there for the duration. The upside of this character trait is their intense loyalty and devotion; the downside is a streak of masochism—a tendency, for example, to suffer while trying to hold a romance, marriage or business together. They can continue in an unhappy or stressful relationship for years without undue complaint, patiently seeking ways to make it work. Although they would sometimes do better by quitting, they will usually refuse to take the easy way out, and they may have little respect for those who lack their level of commitment. When long-standing relationships that have proven unsatisfactory finally do collapse, perhaps due to a stroke of fate, or to the partner’s unwillingness to continue, Leo II’s have a tendency to sink into depression. Too often they blame themselves. A long period of grieving may be necessary before they are once again able to function well. They can certainly be their own worst enemies. Those born during the Week of Balanced Strength exude power and self-confidence when their prodigious energies meld, but these same energies also get out of control and can threaten to tear them apart. At such times they make a piteous sight. Alcohol or drug binges and borderline or outright criminal activities can all be the evidence of Leo II energies running amok. Keeping balanced is less an ideal for them to attain than an absolute condition for their healthy survival. The children and friends of Leo II’s can be severely jolted if these normally reassuring presences disintegrate. Thus Leo II desire to be a protector of the weak and a friend to the underdog can backfire. Those born in the Week of Balanced Strength do well in highly structured situations of their own making, situations in which they are at the helm. They periodically feel an acute need to withdraw into a private place, however, and sometimes to a strictly isolated one. The problem here is an accompanying tendency to nurse hurts and slights, and in extreme cases to manifest paranoia. Developing an accepting attitude and working to diminish dogmatic and intolerant thought are essential to their mental health.  For the most part, Leo II’s are extraordinarily faithful people. They see themselves as champions of the downtrodden and protectors of the weak. They despise exclusion and condescension and, for this reason, generally side with the common person rather than the privileged. It is not that they do not have an ability to mix well with a variety of social classes; rather, they dislike insincerity or pretension. In their toughness, Leo II’s are able to withstand many disappointments. They usually weather the storm and win out through knowing how to wait, “having the long breath.” They like being independent, but nonetheless tend to build a well-defined life in which they exert maximum power with a minimum of fuss. Those involved with Leo II’s, whether as co-workers, employees, family, mates or friends, know that they must not be pushed or prodded when in a negative frame of mind but, rather, must be left alone to work things out for themselves. Leo II’s also sometimes accused of insensitivity. This is more often a result of their being preoccupied than of a lack of understanding on their part, for many are psychologically astute; yet although they can comprehend another person’s emotional state, they may feel no need to sympathize with it. Leo II’s are not especially empathic with those around them, and are capable of a stony detachment. Many find emotional matters simply too messy to get involved in, a response that is sometimes traceable to unpleasant childhood experience. When the parent, child or lover of a Leo II is of a more feeling type, conflict can result. Being straightforward and unpretentious themselves, those born during the Week of Balanced Strength dislike people who put on airs. Nothing excites their often uncontrollable temper more than insincerity, lying or disingenuousness. Leo II anger and hotheadedness can weaken the psychological balance on which their strength depends. Those closest to these intense individuals know how to use sensual persuasion and a fun-loving outlook to keep their partners happy.

Those born on August 4 are often the guiding light to whatever social group, political movement, family or business they belong. Not always cut out to be leaders they must nevertheless occupy a principal position; indeed, they make their influence felt and philosophy known to all with whom they associate. Often they are useful to their group in a largely symbolic role, as they may perfectly represent its aspirations and embody its ideals in their external appearance or lifestyle. Being able to go their own way is important to the restless and active people born on August 4. Too often they are hot-headed and somewhat irascible when encountering resistance. Because of these traits as well as their tendency to be in revolt against established systems they can only remain central to the group for a limited time, unless of course revolution and activity are the business of the group also! Being strong-minded and strong-willed, they do best to establish themselves in a position in which they are free to speak and do as they wish. August 4 people are quick and clever, and perhaps from childhood have developed an adeptness at avoiding punishment and censure which serves them well as adults. Not getting caught may prove to be a constant theme in their lives—in a sense, avoiding the extinguishing of their light. Being free to shine, to radiate their ideas and ideals to those around them is of the utmost importance to them. They can suffer no greater pain than being ignored by those closest to them. August 4 people often seek to exert influence through their physical presence, which can be cloaked in anything from outrageous to highly conservative garb, depending on what impression they are trying to effect. Those born on this day are masterful at sizing up their environment; nothing in their surroundings is lost on them and they generally respond to it quickly, as they have a decisive, if not impulsive, mentality. Their tendency to think of themselves as invulnerable, however, can lead them into delicate and dangerous situations. If they can maintain a precious balance, August 4 people have a determined strength that is formidable. However, if off center they can cause great harm, usually to themselves, but also to the ideals they serve. They must remember to act in a responsible fashion since so many people may be depending on them. As time passes, August 4 people can learn to channel their rebelliousness in a more constructive direction. As they themselves get older, they are likely to acquire a bit more respect for the elderly than they had when they were young. Learning to accept the onset of seniority with equanimity and grace is perhaps the most challenging lesson for them to learn. Many born on this day display a marked love of nature and of the great outdoors, which only deepens with advancing age. Those born on August 4 Zodiac are rebellious free spirits who definitely prefer to take the path less traveled, even if there is nothing really wrong with the path everyone else seems to be taking. Their intense dislike of being restrained in any way, combined with their hatred of complacency and the unthinking acceptance of the status quo, often leads them to behave, think, act, or dress somewhat perversely or to defend unconventional opinions.These people are intelligent, compassionate and strong-willed, and their resistance to any kind of restraint endows them with radical and pioneering potential. When they channel their energies positively they have the ability to enlighten and enliven others, but others should be very careful not to challenge their need for independence because autonomy of thought is of the utmost importance to them. So averse are they to submitting to the authority or directions of others that from an early age they may reject well-intentioned attempts to help them, fearing that some sinister motive lurks behind people’s helpful exterior. Taken to an extreme, this can make them fiercely independent but also incredibly lonely figures.From childhood, people born on this day are likely to have enjoyed being at the center of things. At the age of eighteen, however, they enter a thirty-year period during which there are opportunities for them to become more conscientious, thoughtful, discriminating, and efficient in their working environment. They need to take advantage of these opportunities to learn the art of diplomacy and compromise, as this will make life much easier.When they are forty-eight they will reach another turning point that puts the emphasis on creativity and relationships. If, throughout their lives, they can learn to distinguish between independence and self-sabotaging behavior—being perverse for the sake of it—they will find that instead of becoming misunderstood, restless loners, they have the potential to become responsible rebels on whom others know they can depend for inspiration, guidance and radical but always exceptional insight. People born on August 4 Zodiac tend to have a kind of love-hate relationship with friends and loved ones, resisting their support and love yet also craving them. Despite their restlessness and need for freedom, partnerships are very important for them and they are attracted to people with whom they can share some kind of intellectual activity. People born on this day will often hide their feelings in an attempt to appear strong, but keeping problems locked inside can isolate them from others, creating unhappiness and distress. It’s important for their physical and emotional health that they learn to open up and share their feelings; if they keep bottling things up it can negatively affect their health. They should ensure they listen to the advice of their doctors, understanding that sometimes it won’t be possible for them to get better on their own. They are likely to have very little interest in diet and exercise, but understanding the links between what they eat, their activity levels and their health will help them make positive lifestyle changes. Carrying a turquoise crystal around will encourage them to communicate and express themselves more, as will wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color orange. These people are well suited to artistic, sporting or educational careers in which their talents can be used to inspire and guide others. Independent and preferring to give rather than take orders, they are best suited to leadership positions or working on their own; if in a group, they need the freedom to work in their own way. They are also good evaluators and may be drawn to real estate, Banking and the stock market. Their humanitarian instincts may draw them to the healing professions, or social and community work. The life path of people born on this day is to learn that they can be independent within a group. Once they have learned to find a balance between their need for autonomy and their need for support, their destiny is to use their talents to inspire and enlighten others. People born specifically on the 4th of August are envisioned to be extrovert, eloquent and friendly with the typical zodiac Lion natural leadership qualities. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is Uranus making you fairly unconventional, a bit of a rebel and with a need to do things your own way. If you have this birthday a decisive confident and patient nature makes you usually excellent at thinking ahead and planning the achievement of your desired objectives. A big ego drives you to seek the limelight but underneath you are very honest, loyal and generous. Ambitious, dedicated and hard working you are also quite independent, intelligent and bursting with mental energy. Individuals with an August the fourth birthday want to be noticed and appreciated yet immensely enjoy cheering others up with their witty supportive understanding. With your fixed views you are ordinarily true to yourself but you can be incredibly stubborn too. Favorite choices of a career to a person born on the fourth of August are often something in a teaching, scientific or care profession. Your decisiveness and dedication are useful assets that allow you to go as far as you please in your chosen work type. Utilizing your analytical intellect to its fullest while working gives you the greatest satisfaction. Destined to acquire a steady flow of finances, you are not overly keen on saving so may encounter the occasional monetary shortfall. Finding the best way to manage your budget with room for flexibility should help you avoid borrowing. For a Leo, the person born on the fourth day of August is typically warmhearted with plenty of imaginative passion and an idealistic view of romance. Despite caring about the impression you present to others you are not judgmental in your evaluations of individuals. Independence is often not as important to you when truly committed to a soul mate. An ideal partner is someone with whom you can relax and share your deepest thoughts and feelings without fear of criticism or misunderstanding. In a long term relationship you are likely to expect complete devotion but you will give it in return. You favor the security of a happy home life but your organized temperament may once in a while come across as a bit bossy. You usually prefer to take the lead sexually but are rarely selfish regarding putting a partner’s gratification first. The general healthiness usually experienced by those born on August 4th may be disturbed by a proneness to stress and sleep issues. While you are inclined to be physically fit and well with good health habits you are also highly energetic mentally. Your high levels of concentration can frequently drain your reserves meaning adequate rest is imperative to ensure you recharge all your batteries. People born on this day could have a tendency to try and ignore symptoms of illness hoping they will just go away, regular medical and dental check ups are advisable in order to stay healthy. Your main strengths of character are expressed in your clever quickness allowing you to think fast on your feet. Your outgoing disposition, loyalty and generosity are additional fortes that allow you to be a genuine and fun friend. Your likelihood to be honest with yourself is a fine attribute that will serve you well throughout life. Personality weaknesses for those born on August 4th focus on your stubbornness and inclination to be a tad opinionated. When these negative traits, often activated by tiredness can cause you to be irritatingly distracted, hot tempered and undiplomatic. Being born on the 4th of August directs you to have a desire follow your own personalized moral code of conduct when chasing any sort of success. You are often of a mind to believe that goals should come in many different forms aside from the usual occupational or financial achievements. Exploring your spiritual side and some of the mysteries of life could be one of your most desired ambitions. Dreams are likely to concentrate on wishes for happiness emotionally as well as articulating your rebelliousness in fantasies. A dream to shower your loved ones with an abundance of surprise gifts is also common. As you were born on the fourth day of the month your birth date is allocated a special Root number of Four. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Honesty’ emphasizing your integrity, trueness to self and sincerity towards other people. In Tarot the 4th Major Arcana card featuring the Emperor is mystically connected to your birthday. This is a symbol of a requirement for structure and stability along with your ability to coordinate a plan of action. The luckiest gem for August the fourth birthdays is Topaz for calming properties that are imagined to replace negativity with positivity. Leo personalities and their typified traits are assumed to be astrologically influenced by the power of our Sun. The actual day you were born on, the fourth of August is assigned the ruler planet Uranus adding a second celestial influence to the probabilities of your uniqueness of thought and behavioral responses. Your forward looking eloquence and friendliness enhance your yearning to be a leader rather than a follower. Your wittiness, frankness and intelligence are a fabulous combination of characteristics making you notably sincere, bright and funny. If you can aim to avoid getting overtired it should help prevent or minimize the appearance of your inflexibility and moodiness. A concluding ponderable thought for people born on August the 4th concerns growing older gracefully. Learn to accept and take pleasure in your later years and remember that although looks may fade your wisdom will definitely increase. People born on August 4 posses great ambition and stubbornness and are very affectionate. Just like a true Leo, they are task oriented and loyal with the people they care about. They like achieving different things every day and also taking their time off to relax and enjoy solitude. They avoid having to deal with mediocrity and lying people. Those born under this sign feel best when surrounded with people who respect and listen to them. Positive traits: The natives in this sign are emotionally forceful and rarely show what it behind that shield of sureness they are imposingly wearing. They are motivating and avant-garde but also sincere and prefer to show things as they are. They seem to put a lot of time in their own evolution and this is never late in bringing them the rewards.  Negative traits: These natives are selfish and strict and often are resistant to good ideas just because these are not coming from themselves. They are indifferent and evasive of a series of enterprises and this often gets on the nerves of those around them. They are prone to entering all kinds of difficult settings and then having to make risky and stupid arrangements just because they want to maintain their power. Lovers born on August 4 are passionate and energetic. They enjoy dating rituals and they invest a lot of imagination in proving their partner for interesting and adventurous they are. They are attracted to charming, energetic and ambitious people who can keep up with their agitated lifestyle. You can conquer the heart of Leo if you know how to “sell” your best features to them, while still maintaining the focus on how amazing they are and how the world revolves around them. They are likely to fall in love at a young age and have many interactions with different kinds of people. Once they settle for their loved one, they are patient and dependable and seek for peace and fulfillment. Usually a reserved person, once they are in love, everyone around them knows it. They surprise everyone with their warmth and devotion to their loved one, especially because love comes unexpectedly in their life. They are most compatible with those born on 1st, 8th, 10th, 17th, 19th, 26th and 28th. August 4 Zodiac people are very attracted to the other fire signs: Aries and Sagittarius as they tend to share the same vision of life. In life, Leo is constantly seeking for a curious and passionate partner who can expand their horizon and the most suitable to offer this is the native from Aquarius. Leo is thought to be least compatible with Cancer. As for the rest of compatibilities between the other star signs and Leo, you know what they say, stars predispose but people dispose. The lucky color for Leo zodiac is Orange.The ambitious native in Leo needs to be surrounded by rich and empowering solar shades, from the bright and energetic sunshine to the warm and elegant sunset. Other hues that appeal to people born on August 4 are purple and red. The birthstone for Leo zodiac is the passionate Ruby. This precious material is the symbol of truthfulness and romance. It is said to help the wearer successfully get through any awkward social contact and even make them appear like the most charming and communicative persons. Other gemstones that are thought to influence people born on August 4 are Peridot and Topaz. Sunflower is the characteristic flower for Leo zodiac. Sunflower suggests the focus and determination to succeed of the native in Leo. Just as sunflower orients towards the sun so does Leo by chasing success. Other lucky flowers for Leo include Narcissus and Marigold. The representative metal for Leo zodiac is Gold. Leo is known to seek power and wealth in life and this is exactly what gold is all about. Gold is also a symbol for health, knowledge and protection. Another metal considered to bring luck to people born on August 4 is Bronze. August 4 Zodiac belongs to the second decan of LEO (August 2-August 12). This decan is influenced by the planet Jupiter. Those born under this influence combine the resourceful and passionate nature of Leo with the enterprising and controlling approach of Jupiter. This period tempers the positive and negative characteristics of the Leo zodiac sign, slightly enhancing the positive ones. Being born on the 4th day of the month shows these people are hard working, meticulous and self disciplined. The numerology for August 4 is 4. This number reveals creation combined with logic and a bit of stubbornness. Those Leo associated with number four are surely imaginative but also hard working and critical. August is the eight month of the year, bringing holidays and very hot, tense days. Those born in August are outgoing and adventurous. August 4 Zodiac people are perseverant and strong willed. August symbols that resonate with these people are the Peridot and Sardonyx as gemstones and Gladiolus and Poppy as plants. The name comes from Augustus Caesar, the roman emperor.

#46. Alvin Sanders (Birthday: Mar. 16, 1952 – The Day Of Realistic Inspiration; Personality Period: Pisces III – Mar. 11 to Mar. 18 – The Week Of Dancers & Dreamers; Place Of Birth: Oakland, California, United States)

Strongly philosophical, those born during the Week of Dancers and Dreamers often spend time contemplating the intricacies of human thought and the wonders of the universe. Their minds roam freely over areas that many would find daunting or at least mysterious. They start wondering about the meaning of life early on, and often continue to puzzle over such questions for a lifetime—indeed, these issues can become the driving force behind their careers and lifestyles. Although visionary in thought, they have an intensely practical side and often well-developed technical or scientific skills. It is important to them to take an active hand in whatever is going on around them and to help other people solve their problems; they have a tremendous need to influence the lives of others and often manage to do so. These individuals may even become overinvolved, failing to recognize when to back off. Those around them may come to view their interest as meddling, mistrusting or resenting their good intentions. One might accuse them of being unrealistic if they didn’t prove to be correct so much of the time. Making the unbelievable believable, or the impossible possible, is perhaps their greatest power. They may seem to be quite down-to-earth, pragmatic, even ordinary types, yet their achievements at times border on the miraculous. It is as if, although not actually believers in miracles, they were somehow able to realize or experience them. There is a marked tendency to the paranormal in the personalities of these folks, who may manifest clairvoyant or telepathic tendencies at an early age. If those around them downplay, scoff at or suppress their abilities, they may not feel secure enough to acknowledge and reveal these talents openly until later in life. They must beware of appearing too glib and learn when to speak on a given subject. Although much that they say is true, and of a high order of thinking, their omniscient manner can antagonize people. Developing humility and admitting mistakes will only add to their credibility—an important lesson, since they can become highly frustrated if their words fail to have the desired effect. They often see themselves as teachers, a role they aren’t necessarily at all cut out for, and their disappointment over not having students, followers or disciples can bring them a measure of unhappiness. Those who encounter these folks may well find them strange or peculiar, a trait that can make them either more or less desirable, depending on whom they meet. Some have an air of self-importance, others radiate a kind of ineffectuality; both types may become complacent, however, figuring that wherever they are at that moment, whether in their career or in their living situation, is the best or at least the safest place for them to be. To an unusual degree, however, their lives are ruled by fate, and at a certain point, perhaps between the ages of twenty-eight and forty-two, a call will come to them in the form of a great challenge. Whether they respond to this unsolicited invitation may well determine the course of the rest of their lives. If they try to scale the heights, they have a better-than-average chance of succeeding, no matter how daunting the endeavor. Comfort-loving, they know how to make life pleasant for themselves and for others; in furnishing their homes, for example, they are often tasteful and imaginative. Yet a curious wanderlust or impermanence in their lifestyles can make for frequent moves, in which they leave a string of well-furnished and improved dwellings behind them. Those who do manage to stay in one place for a time may periodically need to refurbish or renovate their living space, whether those who share it with them believe this to be necessary or not. Although these individuals usually seem very independent, they often foster dependencies in others. They need to feel that they count, that they matter. This need to be needed may be one of their most vulnerable points: if their children, parents, colleagues or lovers assert a degree of independence, or cease to rely on them, they can fall apart. A family, whether biological or metaphorical, is usually essential for them, and the degree of responsibility they assume in it may be quite impressive. These people are finely attuned to the wants of others. Often highly empathic, they are good listeners and are quite able to relate to and make sense of other people’s points of view. They know well that the world is made up of many subjective viewpoints, each true for its author, and perhaps actually true also, in a relative sense. At the same time, however, they tend to feel that behind these differing viewpoints stands an absolute that is not dependent on subjectivity at all but is objectively true in all situations and for all time. Thus their underlying philosophy is a curious blend of subjectivity and objectivity, the relative and the absolute, the believer and the skeptic. Those born during the Week of Dancers and Dreamers can be unstable and unrealistic in their romantic relationships and often get involved with the wrong partner. Yet if they make the commitment to a love that is positive and nurturing, they are quite capable of making loyal and devoted spouses.

March 16 people are able to combine the imaginative and the practical, the inspirational and the down-to-earth into an appealing and realistic attitude. Indeed, those born on this day have a talent for balancing the the contrasting sides of their character. Sometimes they are swayed by their fanciful side but generally stay within the bounds of good sense. March 16 people do best when they follow the middle path. Their ability to compromise is in general a positive thing, and through being able to appreciate another person’s point of view and to adapt to it they stand a good chance of succeeding in the world. However, they must be careful not to betray their own personal set of values in the process, or to sell out what they believe in most. Less highly evolved individuals born on this day are quite capable of doing the latter, particularly for gain, and will suffer enormously for it in terms of guilt and regret later on in life. Many March 16 people carry the confidence of those favored in life. This derives not only from their own self-assurance and self-acceptance, but also from the blessing of an indefinable fortune which they periodically meet along the way. This is further enhanced by their capacity to cull the best from most situations. However, they often run the risk of overlooking danger, paying inadequate concern to negative energy and ignoring resentment in others, all of which are quite capable of surfacing swiftly and blowing up in their face. They must learn how to read the telltale signs of impending difficulty or disaster, and to deal with them swiftly as well as resolutely before they get out of hand. A kind of golden quality or wholeness imbues much of what March 16 people do. But though they value completeness and finality, their mutable side often leads them to quit projects before they come to fruition. Blaming themselves or being blamed by authority figures for such actions is in general counterproductive and consequently those born on this day must learn to accept the changeable aspects of their nature. At the same time they have to recognize that sustained, consistent efforts along one line of endeavor generally have a better probability of succeeding. March 16 people should strive to find an occupation in which they can express both the inspirational and pragmatic aspects of their nature. Learning to handle money and to be shrewd in financial matters may be difficult and tiresome for some born on this day but is vitally important to their well-being. Setting up a place of residence, raising a family, keeping social obligations and in general taking on responsibilities is perhaps the most challenging and rewarding part of life for them. Only when such practical matters are under control are March 16 people able to fully enjoy the sense of freedom they need to express their creative impulses. People born on March 16 generally appear to others as well-balanced personalities who manage to combine their imaginative potential with a practical, grounded approach. Their talent for maintaining equilibrium or seeking the middle way is the secret of their success.People born on this day are at their best when they can find a sense of balance; they have a great talent for negotiation and for making people pull together as a team. Their love of balance also displays itself in their personal life. At work they are paragons of ambition and discipline but at home they know how to unwind and reflect. They have a dreamy, intuitive side that is sensitive to the needs of others but they are not impractical and can use their common sense to make sure everyone feels important. Their homes and workplaces are tidy and elegant but not obsessively so; as a result, people often feel instantly comfortable when visiting.Because of the high value they place on balance, there is often a kind of wholesomeness about these people. There is a danger, however, that their balanced outlook sometimes overlooks the possibility of unexpected setbacks; they need to learn to pay attention to warning signs before trouble actually hits. They also need to be careful that their own views or values don’t become so muted that they disappear altogether, especially after the age of thirty-four when they can express a need for less change and conflict, and more stability and security in their lives. They need to be careful during this time not to let their practical, hedonistic side overshadow their idealistic and intuitive side.Above all, these people are multi-talented individuals who can channel their imagination and originality into schemes that are both visionary and practical. Once they are able to accept rather than deny their own changeable nature and take on responsibilities with excitement rather than apprehension, they will not only find a true sense of balance and equilibrium, but also the exhilarating sense of achievement and fulfillment that goes with it. People born on March 16 have a talent for making and keeping friends, often putting the needs of others above their own. This is also true of long-term relationships, if they are able both to overcome past hurts that inhibit deep commitment and refrain from being overly sensible about everything. Once they learn to philosophize less and laugh more they make wonderful partners. People born on this day are likely to be sensible when it comes to their diet and exercise routine, taking great care to ensure they eat healthily and exercise regularly. This is because they understand that looking after their health is all part of taking personal responsibility for their lives. What might be lacking in their approach, however, is a sense of fun, so they should make sure they dine out more with good company, experiment more in their cooking and eating, and get plenty of exercise, preferably in the outdoors. Vigorous exercise, perhaps with an element of risk, such as ice hockey, diving, or horse riding, is recommended. Wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color red will encourage them to be more daring in their approach to life. These people will flourish in situations in which they can lead and inspire, and they make great teachers or business leaders. Imaginative and sensitive to color but also practical in their application, they make great designers and image consultants, as well as art dealers or critics. They also make excellent diplomats or mediators as well as counselors, therapists, social workers, or reformers. The life path of people born on this day is to learn to place as much emphasis on their own values as those of others. Once they have learned to express themselves, their destiny is to put their energy into visionary and progressive concepts that can practically improve the lives of others. People born specifically on the 16th of March are believed to be philosophical, artistically inclined and wise with typical Piscean clairvoyant senses. The ruling astrological planet assigned to this particular day is Neptune, the selfsame cosmic influence that determines all zodiac fish personalities. This double planetary power makes you highly perceptive with a curiosity that can border on the genius level. If you have this birthday your intellectual observant temperament is enhanced with a very creative imagination, sometimes gaining you the reputation of an impractical dreamer. This is partly true but you are also commonsensical underneath and have both feet firmly on the ground. You are especially good at compromising and appreciating the views of others. Individuals with a March the sixteenth birthday usually possess an independent streak that prevails everything they do including the need to seek solitude occasionally. Work choice can be a difficult decision to a person born on the sixteenth of March as you are not often interested in the usual career paths. With your mind full of innovation and observant nature you tend to be drawn towards jobs that offer challenges and attention to detail. When you find an occupation particularly enjoyable it can sometimes be hard to not become a workaholic. Balance between your working and leisure time is considered important if you have this birth date. You can struggle with managing financial cash flow every now and then but always seem to stay on top somehow. For a Pisces, the person born on the sixteenth day of March is typically guided by their intuitiveness regarding romance. You are affectionate, loyal and responsive to a partner but you expect them to understand your occasional moodiness and requirement for space. Although you are brilliant at sensing the thoughts and feelings of others it can often be difficult to interpret your own emotions. Your sex drive is more often than not at the top end of the scale and you will enjoy flattery and foreplay. Settling down with in a long term relationship is not easy for you but when you commit it will be completely with heart and soul. The perfect mate will benefit from your quickness to learn and your willingness to compromise. Once settled you warmly welcome the responsibilites of love commitment and raising a family. Health imbalances experienced by those born on March 16th are sometimes connected to overworking or the build up of too much stress. While adequate rest can solve some issues regular exercise can help alleviate the chances of becoming over stressed. You are ordinarily a private person who can bottle up worries and so could also profit from creatively focused outlets that will assist you in maintaining body and mind harmony. People born on this day have a fairly responsible attitude to healthiness but may need to be reminded every now and then to attend their medical and dental appointments. The most admirable strengths of character you own are probably within your imaginative active practicality and finely tuned observance. These positive traits along with your artistic ability, intellect and understanding give you a privileged detailed perspective of the world and fellow human beings. Two main personality weaknesses worth mentioning for those born on March 16th are your tendencies to be fanciful and neglectful. These negative characteristics of unrealistic or careless thought or actions appear to occur more often if you feel restricted in any way or deeply hurt emotionally. Being born on the 16th of March means that your extra perception and dreaminess is likely to add a fanciful edge to your lifestyle ambitions. You generally aspire to do things in your own unique way and time, with monetary success often lower down on your list of desired achievements than acquiring useful knowledge and skills. Your dreams of satisfaction are usually for simple happiness, to feel loved, contented and totally unconfined by your circumstantial surroundings. By having belief in yourself and the future you are sure to locate the keys to the accomplishment of your personal aspirations. As you were born on the sixteenth day of the month you are allocated a birthday Root number of Seven. This numerical reference based on your birth date has the keyword ' Mystery' indicating your ingenious curious individuality and dreamy perception. In the Major Arcana the 16th card, the Tower, is the symbol most associated with your birthday. It highlights your alertness and sense of independence. The lucky gemstone recommended for March the sixteenth birthdays is thought to be Jade. Wearing this precious stone is imagined to increase energy and enhance memory as well as bring good luck. Astrologically the leading influence on the determination of Piscean personalities is assumed to be the planet Neptune. This celestial body also rules the actual day you were born on, the sixteenth of March. So the complexities and ESP of your reflective personality are a consequence of this doubly strong Neptunian authority. Your skill at switching from down to earth to fantasy and everything inbetween makes you interesting, proficient and adaptable. You are a fast learner who sticks to your principles and is destined to do rather well in life. Your artistic inclinations help you express yourself and your inquisitiveness lets you explore and dig deeper for answers. You will be able to beat your occasional negatives of absentmindedness or carelessness with a little effort. A final thought relevant for people born on March the 16th to consider concerns accomplishment. The best progress and enlightenment can often be attained easier through the generation of positivity and progression should be measured internally as well as externally.

#47. Ryan Robbins (Birthday: Nov. 26, 1972 – The Day Of Distinctive Manner; Personality Period: Sagittarius I – Nov. 25 to Dec. 2 – The Week Of Independence; Place Of Birth: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)

Those born during the Week of Independence are hard to control. In many ways the most independent people of the year, they must feel free to act on their impulses and intuition. People who try to exercise power over them in personal relationships are in for a rough ride. When these people respect their spouse or living partner, they will cooperate, sharing their feelings and dividing the chores. When they feel that their respect has not been earned, though, or when it is lost, expect constant conflict and strife. Honor and trust are high on their list of priorities; without these, they feel, life ceases to have meaning and reverts to the law of the jungle. These individuals have a thing about fairness, expecting it not only of themselves but of others, too. Their nurturing side is particularly evident in their relations with animals, small children and the less fortunate members of society; they simply will not tolerate mistreatment of the dependent or helpless in their presence. They often act impulsively to protect the defenceless, without a thought for their own safety. They try to project an air of self-assurance and confidence, but behind this facade there often lurks a sensitive and even insecure individual. This becomes quickly evident when they are put under stress, either through negative criticism or through some challenge to their character. In such situations they can easily and instantaneously fly off the handle, drowning those around them with their anger. Those alert enough to see the storm clouds gathering will try to avoid unleashing their emotional thunderbolts. These people have enormous willpower. Their loyalty is a matter not only of principle or of emotion but of stubbornness; sticking to their guns is a character trait. In fact, they very often get their way, simply because they allow no other possibility. Anyone deeply involved with them is likely to know their highly competitive nature since they feel winning is essential. Learning to submit, and to accept defeat graciously, is not usually possible for these dynamic individuals. Those few who do learn this lesson may have succeeded in meeting their greatest challenge, and thereby gain a high degree of maturity. At times they can be unreasonable, but they are usually open to discussion. Actually, these quick, witty individuals thoroughly enjoy verbal repartee and debate. This can become a problem if they reach a subject that sticks in their craw, when they can easily become contentious and argumentative. Friends know what subjects to avoid and how to smooth over rough spots through playfulness, but those meeting them for the first time are sometimes taken aback by their forthrightness and their at times outrageous observations and proposals. Many have a greater need to give than to receive. Their generosity is directly related to their feelings of self-worth and self-esteem, for they have a need to see themselves as caring rather than needy people. There are also those who are not at all bashful about stating their demands, and who will not object to being served by others. Both character types, however, will often occupy an indispensable position in their family: shouldering substantial responsibilities, but on their own terms, is extremely important to them. They generally have only one or two people—whether friend, mate, co-worker or family member—with whom they feel close enough to share their innermost thoughts. The bond between these people and their parents or their children is extremely deep, and may be considered a true friendship. Such soulmates know them as highly ethical individuals who value integrity and character more than anything else, except, perhaps, their freedom. If they feel betrayed by a family member or close friend they can go through untold agonies of evaluation, judgment or rejection. In these struggles, assessing the intentions of the person in question is usually of great importance. Those who want to spend time with them usually have to be able to keep up: their friends and lovers must share the fast pace they set, whether in sports, travel, work or hobbies. A special person for them, however, may also be someone who sticks close to home or place of business. They have an acute need for stability; an individual who is always there to return to may prove to be the anchor in their lives. Although most would be capable of living alone, and in fact are well suited to it, they will generally make a firm decision to be a person’s spouse or living partner and then continue in that role, even if they outgrow the need for it. Those born during the Week of Independence are ardent and unconstrained in their emotional expression, particularly in the sexual arena. They make the intensity of their energy fully apparent to their partners, who will remember vividly the full-bodied encounters in which these types engage. They take pride in their sexual desirability or prowess, often exhibiting quiet confidence in their ability to satisfy their partners. They are extremely giving of their feelings but demand a great deal in return.

Those born on November 26 display a peculiarly distinctive manner when doing most things. Hardly cut from a standard mold, those born on this day stand apart from their fellow human beings. Their ideas tend toward the philosophical and expansive, but at the same time manifest a markedly pragmatic, down-to-earth streak. Highly focused on accomplishment and achievement, November 26 people nonetheless view their own creative work or personal development as being more important than all the honors and rewards the world has to offer. Some born on this day even come to see living itself as a creative endeavor, and thus deeply value the wealth of everyday experience. Yet at the same time their minds soar with the most fanciful and romantic of ideas. Since it is impossible for November 26 people to give up either the practical or the imaginative sides of their personality, they must attempt a synthesis of the two. This seeming contradiction can occupy a great part of their energy for many years, but if they can find a way to reconcile these sides there is no end to the accomplishments they are capable of achieving. Usually the key to this synthesis is life experience, but until this synthesis occurs those born on this day may find themselves swinging back and forth every few years from basically logical, pragmatic endeavors to more fanciful ones. A measure of success may be achieved on either side of the spectrum, but a vaguely dissatisfied feeling that part of their potential is being wasted will persist. For November 26 people, relationships with lovers can be problematical, primarily because their individualism and love of freedom often outweighs their need for a permanent mate. Many born on November 26 are alternately ardent and cool, unable or unwilling to make a lasting commitment. Usually they value friends of the same sex more highly than lovers, and are not only more faithful to these friends but also capable of greater intimacy with them as well. Ultimately, however, they themselves are usually the ones who do the rejecting in relationships, sometimes out of a kind of “first strike” mentality where they sense rejection coming and act on impulse. Thus they can be dangerous people with whom to be involved. Needless to say, November 26 people can be reticent about marriage or taking on the responsibilities of children. Those who choose to remain single may be unhappy from time to time going through life on their own, but feel that this is better than getting tied down in an unalterably permanent situation. This type of November 26 person likes to flaunt his/her individuality, and finds it difficult when social mores become too oppressive. Yet at the same time, emotionally committed or not, most November 26 people move well in society, once they figure out what it is they really want to do and integrate the disparate elements of their personalities. The free-thinking individuals born on November 26 would appear to have the world at their feet. Not only are they charismatic and intelligent, they are also creative, multi-talented and capable of excelling in just about any profession they choose.Despite their incredible versatility, they may have felt from an early age that they were somehow different or removed from their fellow human begins. Part of the problem is that because they have so many talents and such an inquisitive mind, too many paths are open to them so choosing one becomes a daunting task. They may also struggle to reconcile their practical, logical orientation with the part of them that is highly creative and imaginative. At various points in their life they will lurch between these two extremes, but happiness and fulfillment can only be found when they are able to balance the two.As success-orientated people, when they are not working toward a goal they can feel restless and unsatisfied, so the sooner they decide on a path in life and set themselves targets to achieve the better. If they don’t do this, indecision, anxiety and uncertainty will submerge their huge potential.Up to the age of twenty-five there may be a lot of experimentation regard ing their career, as they focus on adventure, creativity and opportunity; but after the age of twenty-six they start to become more practical, goal orientated and realistic in their aims. This is a positive development, as long as they make sure they don’t lose touch with their imagination and creative fire. Another turning point occurs at the age of fifty-six when expressing their individuality takes center stage. Hopefully, however, they will have realized far earlier in life that the key to their success is to celebrate and make full use of their uniqueness rather than try to hide it. They have been right all along; there is and never will be anybody quite like them with their unique talents, original perspective, and courage and determination to prove everyone wrong by achieving their fantastic aims. When it comes to affairs of the heart, people born on November 26 can have problems because they like their own company and are unwilling to sacrifice their freedom. They are capable of forming close relationships but these tend to be with their friends rather than lovers. But when they do find someone who captures their heart, they have it within them to make dutiful and devoted partners. People born on this day tend to be vigorous and athletic, and they rarely suffer long from illnesses. They can, however, over-indulge in food and drink from time to time, and they may also be prone to accidents and injuries resulting from sports or risky activities. From a psychological perspective, the biggest risk to their emotional health is their tendency to withdraw or to isolate themselves from others, and making an effort to stay in touch with friends and family will benefit them enormously. As far as diet is concerned, they need to increase their intake of vegetables and fruit to boost their digestion. Moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended to help keep their weight down and their immune system strong. Wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color orange will encourage them to be warmer and more spontaneous when in the company of others. People born on this day have a meticulous approach to their work and will excel in careers that are research-based. Possible work options include education, philosophy, writing, engineering, IT, and the world of video game creation and toy manufacturing or design. The life path of people born on this day is to find a way to reconcile the disparate parts of their personality by looking within themselves. Once they are more balanced in their outlook and approach, their destiny is to make an outstanding contribution to humanity. People born specifically on the 26th of November are presumed to be practical, charming and capable with the Sagittarian typicalities of a level head and heaps of optimism. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is Saturn making you likely to be very hard working and determined with a restless enthusiasm for travel. If you have this birthday your warmhearted independent spirit usually has high standards and although prone to blow hot and cold emotionally you are predicted to be a great listener. Quite focused, honest, thoughtful and pleasant you will also be fairly sociable despite a touch of modest shyness. Individuals with a November the twenty sixth birthday are naturally creative with a love of natural landscapes but they can stubbornly insist on doing everything their own way. You may be more realistic, cautious and patient than other Archer's but you tend to be a bit more nervous and easily stressed too. You are inclined to be highly persuasive yet sometimes too blunt and critical. Preferred career choice is usually an easy straightforward decision to a person born on the twenty sixth of November. Your likelihood for possessing lots of academic talent means you will always be striving to increase your wisdom therefore any job that involves this will be a popular preference. An occupation involving regular travelling is likely to be a secondary suitable option. Your strong practicality, focus and determination are useful assets for this and any other sort of work. Financially you should fare well as you are aim to be disciplined with money, effective at budgeting and unlikely to borrow rather than save for large purchases. For a Sagittarius, the person born on the twenty sixth day of November is typically deeply loving, trusting and emotive concerning affairs of the heart. Passionate and demonstrative you need a supportive expressive partner who will happily put an equal amount of time and devotion into your love partnership. Someone special who is busy and lively with similar interests and lets you have your freedom without getting jealous or bored is ideal. Quicker and more willing to settle down in a long term relationship than others in your zodiac group, you are normally wonderfully loyal, frank and committed to a soul mate, regarding them as your best friend. Your responsible tolerant temperament has plenty of patience and a passion for romance helping make relationships happy and successful. Even though you may prefer to take the lead you also crave harmony so you will rarely be overly suspicious or argumentative. Great discipline and care of their physical and mental energies can usually help improve the general well being experienced by those born on November 26th. Your overall health state is often strongly linked to and affected by your level of happiness. Balanced periods of regular exercise and relaxation are especially good for maintaining vitality and keeping stress to a minimum. Your lower back, legs and knees could be weak points in an otherwise generally robust constitution. People born on this day should consider keeping diet varied and interesting if they wish to avoid slipping into bad eating habits that can greatly impact on usual healthiness. Your main strengths of character are displayed in your free-spirited calm, charm and dependability, perfectly complementing your warm heart and independence. Other positives are seen in your mix of realism, caution and honesty helping you differentiate between favorable and unfavorable paths. The personality weaknesses for those born on November 26th are usually prompted by an upset or misfortune as well as simply not getting your own way. These specific instances can activate your pronenesses for stubborn bluntness and criticism. Along with this expected negative cooling of your emotions you will commonly act in an indecisive and inconsistent manner. Being born on the 26th of November means you are likely to utilize lots of your common sense and efficiency in addition to working really hard in order to realize a desired goal. In spite of mainly achievable ambitions in your professional life you also have a tendency to occasionally have a few unrealistic aspirations too. Dreams appear to be mostly concentrated on those you love and the fulfilling of your personal wishes for stability and yearnings for contentment. As you were born on the twenty sixth day of the month the two and six in your birth date add up to a Root number of Eight. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Leader' relating to your enhanced persuasiveness and ability to gently guide and motivate others. In the mystical Major Arcana Tarot deck the 8th card depicting Courage is often associated with your birthday. This possibly reflects your sense of responsibility and predilections for order and balance. The luckiest gemstone for November the twenty sixth birthdays is a Black Pearl, wear one for a possible increase in intuition and wealth plus the blocking of negativity. Astrologically the planet Jupiter's dominance is conjectured to be a major influence on the probabilities of all Sagittarius personalities. The actual day you were born on, the twenty sixth of November is governed by Saturn's power changing some of your anticipated representative traits. Your predicted competence, positivism and attentive listening enhance your pleasantness and maturity. Your talent for creativity and love of the beauty of nature make any journeys you take have the prospect of being an amazing experience. If you are able to conquer overreactions to distress, disturbance or mishap you should become calmer and nicer than usual. A concluding advisory thought for people born on November the 26th is to follow your heart to your destiny and try to make a bit more effort into getting along well with others. 

#48. Kerr Smith (Birthday: Mar. 9, 1972 – The Day Of Distinctive Manner; Personality Period: Pisces II– Mar. 3 to Mar. 10 – The Week Of The Loner; Place Of Birth: Exton, Pennsylvania, United States)

Those born during the Week of the Loner tend to live in a private world of their own. This is true not only internally but outwardly for their homes are often retreats from the world, places to which few are admitted. The healthier among them can give equal weight to their careers, on the one hand, and to their social and personal lives, on the other; less balanced individuals may choose to isolate themselves more than is good for them. They generally have an instinctive dislike of superficiality. They mistrust loud, aggressive or pushy individuals and find it hard to work with colleagues who lack sensitivity. This is not to imply that they lack force or ambition. For them, however, the way a thing is done is often more important than what that thing is, and the end therefore rarely justifies the means. Grace, honesty and an unassailable aesthetic and moral code prevent them from acting underhandedly or, in particular, hurtfully. On the other hand, they may express their dislike of society’s mores through blatantly antisocial deeds, acting, as it were, in defense of their own right to individual expression. A certain elegance and grace are evident in most things they do, and they are finely attuned to many kinds of physical expression, whether it be sports, dance or more sensual forms of movement. They are great admirers of sensuous beauty, particularly in people and paintings, and their homes and surroundings generally show some kind of special touch. They have a strong soulful side, apparent in their love of music and in their empathy for all forms of human suffering. They generally believe that life is not just there to be enjoyed, and that one must in some way pay one’s dues with a certain amount of suffering before obtaining any real benefit. Rarely will they escape at least one severe trauma in their lives, perhaps involving physical injury, disease or the untimely death of a parent or friend. They are often struck by such catastrophes without warning, but they are resilient and have an enormous capacity to bounce back from disaster. Like a cat, they are blessed with nine lives, at least a few of which they are sure to use up. They see a distinct difference between being lonely (which they rarely are) and being alone (which they are often). Their own best companion, they are capable of spending hours and days alone with a good book, or with their work, without needing to talk to anyone. Their friends will know when they want to be left alone and when they want company, and will learn not to intrude on their privacy. In the workplace they do well as freelancers, operating outside the office, but if employed by a company or business they will probably need a certain amount of time each day for working on their own. Dangerous areas for them include anything with a strong habituative or outright addictive quality—drugs, drink, sex. On the other hand, their ecstatic highs, spiritual insights and emotional joys can be incredibly intense and rewarding. They often crave peak experiences, which are not bad things in themselves as long as those who seek them can handle them without undue attachment. If they remain free to move on, such experiences will leave them greatly enriched in their personal development. On the other hand, should they be unfortunate enough to get hooked on their own personal suffering or self-pity, they may wallow in such states for alarmingly long periods of time. Generally speaking, they ask only one thing from the world, and that is to be accepted as they really are. That the world often cannot grant their wish becomes the cross they bear. To comfort themselves, and to shield themselves from disappointment and rejection, they may surrender to the pursuit of money, or retreat to a fantasy-full interior life, often devoted to beauty and imagination. Whenever possible, they should follow occupations that make solid and grounding demands on them without depriving them of creativity. This kind of work will help them to stay on an even keel. They usually have few friends, but those they have are often close and loyal. Many do not like large family gatherings or social events; intimacy is really their thing, and sharing intimacy with others, whether mates, friends, lovers or valued family members, is perhaps their most cherished activity. Highly personal interaction is their forte, and the sharing of joys and sorrows is essential to their happiness. In love, perhaps because those born during the Week of the Loner have a greater ability to enjoy or appreciate such areas than others do, or perhaps their resistance to the lure of physical pleasure is lower; they are more prone than others to be snagged by a pretty face, sensuous voice or alluring body. Once attached to a person, their addiction to his or her company can be even more severe than their attraction to physical substances. They will run the gamut of painful emotions, from jealousy to hatred, yet if they decide they want to get free of their love object they will feel powerful separation anxiety. Friends and mates of a practical nature tend to bring them down to earth. Meanwhile, children will help them share their sense of wonder and awe at the natural world.

Those highly conceptual, visionary individuals born on March 9 are concerned with examining and exploring the space around them, either mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually. Curious about most everything, they are not satisfied until they get to the root of any issue or problem. They have a pronounced dislike for all forms of affectation, authoritarianism and condescension in others, and endeavor to remain natural in their approach to life. Because of their high idealism, they are generally on the side of the underdog and tend to be protectors of the poor and weak. They themselves, however, are powerful individuals with a highly developed personal magnetism. Their psychic abilities are also strong and they should therefore trust in their intuition, which is most often sound. Highly developed March 9 people rely heavily on their instincts. Although no one would deny their mental strength, in many cases they choose to go against the odds, logic and what appears true, in favor of what their sixth sense tells them (particularly when it comes to relationships and crucial life decisions). Though sometimes accused of living in another world, in fact those born on this day understand a great deal about how the daily world works, but are also able to see through a given situation to its essence and potentialities. Whether labeled as spacy or flaky or not, many March 9 people have a more elevated or detached point of view than the average person. Thus they make valuable advisors, since they so often present a viewpoint that the person seeking counsel has not yet considered. March 9 people often experience a conflict between their stable, nurturing side and their desire to be free, to travel, to let their minds roam over dreams and ideas. If they lock themselves into a position of heavy personal responsibility (family, job, social position), they may find themselves frustrated a good deal of the time. Part of the problem is that since they are highly capable, others easily grow dependent on them. They must be careful to leave certain doors open for themselves through which they can periodically escape and express the adventuresome, far-out elements of their personalities. March 9 people usually go through many major changes in their lives. Moving from one job, place or relationship to another is very natural to them, since they enjoy variety and are wary of attachment. People born on this day who have not gotten to know themselves at a deep level, who know they are unusual but have never really expressed their true self, are often surprised to discover one day how truly powerful they can be. Once they begin to realize and exercise this power, those born on this day will experience and enjoy a whole new dimension in their lives but perhaps also face many new difficulties. Indeed, they may feel the urge to drop their more mundane duties, reject a former life of compromise and reach for the stars. People born on March 9 are innovative explorers who are always willing to take risks and venture boldly into the unknown or to experiment with new ideas and concepts. Their courageous style is often admired by others and, because they are so independent, their lives are often packed with excitement and suspense.Despite their colorful and independent approach to life these people can be over-sensitive to the opinions of others, easily getting hurt when criticized. With a tendency to take things personally, it is important for them to learn to calm down between the ages of fourteen and forty-one, a period when their lives are full of aggression, assertiveness and new ventures. After the age of forty-two they often have a need for greater calm and emotional steadiness.People born on this day are often bursting with energy and enthusiasm, moving so fast it can wear themselves and others out. They can quite easily flit from one job or relationship to another, as they love variety and challenge. Although others may regard them as reckless, they are in fact far less impulsive than they appear. From an early age they have learned to trust themselves because their intuition frequently leads them in the right direction. They have an ability to see the world from an unusual viewpoint and for this reason they make great advisors and friends, upon whom people can become dependent. The dependency of others, however, can cause feelings of frustration in them when others can’t or won’t stand on their own two feet.A part of people born on this day always longs to fly away but, once they have found a way to balance their need for responsibility with their need to rush headlong into uncharted lands, they have the perception, charisma and enthusiasm to push forward social reforms. Although capable of great commitment once they have found a cause they believe in, they should make sure that they never lose touch of the key to their personality and success—their adventurous and curious spirit. The dynamic drive and energy of people born on March 9 can always gain them plenty of admirers and they tend to fall in love quickly. Although they are capable of great commitment in a relationship, there will always be a part of them that wants to spread its wings. For this reason, any partner they are involved with needs to learn to avoid routine and adapt to their need for excitement, romance and adventure in a relationship. People born on this day push themselves hard and, as a result, can place themselves under incredible and unnecessary pressure. Learning to recognize the signs of stress before they slip into depression is crucial. As far as diet is concerned, plenty of variety is important as these vibrant people will suffer if they are forced to stick to a regimented dietary regime. Regular moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended to help them release pent-up stress and tension, and also to keep their weight under control. Foot massages before they go to bed will help calm them down, and clary sage essential oil will be helpful when they feel low or in need of a confidence boost. These people have a profound sense of justice and empathy for the underdog and this makes them natural social reformers or campaigners. Indeed whatever career they enter into—be it sport, art or politics—they will always show a marked interest in humanitarian concerns. Their ability to advise and influence others may also draw them to counseling, psychology, teaching, writing, and management, and because they also have great intuitive powers the world of psychic development may appeal. The life path of people born on this day is to learn responsibility and commitment toward others. Once they have been able to do that without losing their sense of adventure, their destiny is to commit themselves to humanitarian concerns and by so doing make the world a better and a fairer place. People born specifically on 9th of March are presumed to be pursuers of excellence who are full of Piscean sensitivity, yet strong and determined. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is Mars creating your bold, active tenaciousness and keenness on challenges. This makes you a caring, courageous humanist who is not afraid to stick up for things they believe strongly in. If you have this birthday you are an intuitive idealist that cares about others and is able to remain detached enough to really help. Being naturally curious with a brilliant imagination encourages you to search for and learn wisdom and understanding throughout your life. It can sometimes give you an avid interest in anything mysterious and inspires you to be a seeker of knowledge. Individuals with a March the ninth birthday usually have good levels of optimism and a witty sense of humor that comes in useful to be able to cope with changing circumstances. Preferred work options to a person born on the ninth of March are more often than not an extension of childhood ambitions. You will usually make careful realistic plans from an early age to enable the realization of your ideal career. You also have the perseverance and patience to study and train to work in a certain chosen profession. With finances and budgeting you tend to adopt the same attentive planning strategy and will only deviate from it occasionally. This sensible approach sees you rarely having major issues with money and less likely than others in your zodiac group to be tempted by credit. For a Pisces, the person born on the ninth day of March is typical in their dreamy concept of affairs of the heart and romantic involvements. You are generally a pretty good judge of character and will form strong emotional bonds with those you love. Your charming loving nature seems to instinctively know how to make others feel understood, cared for and appreciated. Although on the surface you can appear quite self sufficient, underneath you are very tenderhearted and sometimes a little fearful of your vulnerable emotions. With a soul mate your high perceptiveness lets you adapt quickly and easily to surroundings making you a warm, responsive, sensuous lover. You enjoy giving and receiving lots of attention emotionally and look for someone with an equal amount of responsiveness. For you to think about committing to a long term partnership you must trust a partner entirely. Health problems experienced by those born on March 9th are not commonly caused by a lack of interest in healthiness. You will usually agree with the idea of positive thought having a beneficial effect on general well being and put this into practice personally. This attitude towards looking after yourself helps you gain a fine degree of fitness and keep your youthful appearance. When you are extremely happy emotionally this will show outwardly with a glowing skin and a spring in your step. Eating well is also considered important to you and so preparing food is frequently one of your fortes. Your main character strengths consist of the persistent determination you own in addition to your kind, thoughtful conceptual thought processes. These personality qualities are coupled with your imaginative curiosity and can make you a touch more confident and optimistic than most other fish. Recognizable trait weaknesses for those born on March 9th include the tendencies to be a bit too self sacrificing and be prone to stress. This negative side to your otherwise evenly balanced temperament may cause you to wear yourself out physically and mentally if you do not learn to moderate your kindliness. Being born on the 9th of March bestows upon you an abundance of inquisitiveness of the world around you and fellow human beings. You have a desire to explore the possibilities surrounding our existence from a factual and spiritual viewpoint. Your dreams are of traveling, discovering and experiencing far off places. Another part of this curiousness that enters your dreaming is the belief that there is a destined person for us all. You are not normally a goal setter as such unless it concerns a specific career path or an interesting method to acquire the funding required to fulfill future aspirations. As you were born on the ninth day of the month your Root number is the same as your birth date, a Nine. This numerical reference to your birthday has the special keyword 'Seeker' and explains your inquiring thirst for enlightenment and insight into the unknown. The 9th Tarot card in the Major Arcana, the Hermit is linked to your birthday. It symbolizes the discipline, purposefulness and dedication you are capable of. The lucky gemstone for March the ninth birthdays is a Bloodstone and it should be worn for courage and increased alertness as well as for the attraction of prosperity. The celestial body Neptune is imagined to be the leading influence astrologically in predetermining Piscean personalities. The actual day you were born on, the ninth of March is thought to be governed by the planet Mars adding persistence and free will to your Neptunian sensitiveness. The combination of these 2 planetary influences therefore cosmically shape the fundamental structure of your supposed personality. Your somewhat moralistic idealistic outlook is compassionate enough to see from the majority of angles and assists you to go far in life. Your determined positivity has a humorous side that lightens your seriousness, learning to pace yourself more effectively could be helpful for overall progress. A finishing thought to ponder especially for people born on March the 9th is that taking the time to get to know yourself better will be time well spent.

[thelovers-thedreamers-and-me]

What do you hate about Riverdale? And why are you still watching it?

last question first-

i ran a csi cyber recap blog that i keep thinking of going back to. are you surprised.

in all seriousness, though, i was a huge archie fan when i was wee. i spent hours with my best friend making up stories about betty and veronica. (i realized years later that i shipped them and also had a huge crush on that friend. whoops.) archie has a lot of nostalgia value for me. it was sort of my first fandom. i’m pretty familiar with it, so i figured i might as well give riverdale a watch. and here i am.

list under the cut- there’s some mild spoilers on there.

hokay so this is far from a complete list because i just finished episode 8 but here goes

in general, i’m just, like, not a fan of “here’s a kid thing BUT NOW EVERYONE IS SAD FOREVER” adaptations, or enforced grey morality. grey morality can be handled really, really well. but, like, this ain’t it. which links into point 2…

the characters are pretty shallow. and, like, that’s fine in archie comics. that’s the nature of the beast. but riverdale tries really really really hard to push the “we are so much more mature and interesting! it’s the real world! with murder and drugs and abusive parents and sex and whatever” angle, when the characters can’t really stand up as any sort of realistic.

especially with the dialogue. have the writers never spoken to anyone under the age of 40? did they form independent of any human society in the depths of an underground cavern and finally emerge only to be plopped in a writer’s room with only a handful of thinkpieces about how the way these kids talk today with the hashtags and the at symbols and the texting to inform them as to how teenagers speak? they kind of suffer from the issue i have with diablo cody. snappy dialogue is fine, especially from a few precocious teens. but, like, everyone talking like that is a bit much. 

there’s one line where veronica tells cheryl “just because you act like a character in a bad 90s teen movie doesn’t mean we all do” or some shit, and, like, i’d let that slide in a higher quality show. oh, haha, it’s funny because she’s acting like a mean girl! but in riverdale, it comes off a lot more like the writers saying “hey isn’t our writing the worst? it is! hahaha!” same with the kevin keller gay best friend jokes- we know. we’ve been watching. we know that, so far in the series, he’s done nothing besides be betty’s gay friend, take moose down to the river to go be gay, be veronica’s gay friend, make out with some other dude, and keep being just super, super gay. 

sexy mrs grundy

that gets two points because not only sexy mrs grundy, but also i am not actually a fan of how “reporting a teacher who is clearly taking sexual and emotional advantage of a student” is portrayed as “a bad mean thing that only betty’s bad mean mom wants to do to get back at archie” instead of, you know, “something you should do because holy fuck.”

and speaking of archie, like, mary sue much? “oh wow i have so many problems i have to choose between songwriting and football, both of which the show has told the audience i’m really good at, and actually i don’t have to choose between them at all!” like, i was already rolling my eyes by the time archie went to go watch the pussycats and responded to “please stay quiet because we write songs about being women of color” with not staying quiet and writing their songs because he’s been writing songs for three weeks now and he’s just THAT good. it helps that, you know, from what we hear he’s not actually that good. just another white dude with a guitar.

speaking of football, so many balls in the air. oh, there’s a murder! but let’s, like, not pay attention to the murder for an episode or two and focus on the teen drama. there are so many mismanaged subplots that just get muddled and then dropped for ages. i don’t care what archie does. go away, archie. i went three days without watching an episode, and i had already completely forgotten a lot of shit that had been happening. 

every. single. adult. is the worst. when everyone in the world has sinister ulterior motives, there’s no real surprise just because, like, of course you don’t trust anyone who shows up. they’re lying. everyone is lying.

“i’m guilty!” [next episode] “guilty......... of lying!” oh come off it. 

when everything is bad, why should we care? i have a problem with grimdark media just because, like, i know it’s not gonna get better. we have had one nice night of people being friends and hanging out, that we didn’t even get to watch but was mentioned in passing. 

in a vacuum, i’m down with jughead and betty. but, like, hundo percent don’t take away asexual representation just because. 

it’s a bad show. and, like, whatever. but it’s also a bad adaptation of archie. i feel as though it could have been a lot more successful- and also, like, a wee bit darker, if you want to be completely frank- if the characters had been close to their comic personalities. like, drop the comic characters into fucked-up Sex And Drugs And Murder Riverdale, and there you have it, but, like, when the characters are all also Sex And Drugs And Murder, it’s not really an archie show. like, archie is, at his core, a good guy who tries to be nice to the people in his life. that’s one of his flaws in the comic. this archie blows off his friend for a road trip to fuck his teacher and stomps into a baby shower to yell at and publicly humiliate that same friend. and then he has the nerve to be like “well you know you can tell me anything why would you hold shit back” idk, buddy, maybe because you learned a detail that he hadn’t told you and now you’re holding it against him? 

the costumes are...... interesting? idk, i think a lot of them are dumb and bad

[websterstudyabroad-blog]

5 Reasons to Study Abroad in Ghana

By Cody Anderson

A post shared by Cody Anderson (@cdmn37) on Apr 25, 2017 at 7:03pm PDT

This semester I am in a hybrid course called International Storytelling. For two weeks we spent time abroad covering the arts and culture of Ghana. I must admit, two weeks was a relatively small amount of time to spend abroad to claim to know a lot about a place. However, during that time we did more than most study abroad students can fit into a semester abroad. Thanks to the help from some amazing staff members at Webster Ghana who built our itinerary, we traveled across the country meeting hundreds of people along the way who inspired me to write about why you should choose to study abroad in Ghana. 

The People

From locals on the streets to the prominent members of society, Ghanaians’ are among the most hospitable and friendly people you can find. From our experience, they work hard, pray often, and dance like nobody’s business. In the two week trip, I bonded with some really down to earth people that treated our group like family rather than the outsiders we were. Ghanaians reminded me that sometimes it just feels good to do things for others without expecting something in return. The youth is full of energy and life, which makes every encounter with a local one that you won’t forget. Below is a picture I took of our instructor at a drumming workshop in Accra.

Cultural Heritage 

Ghana is rich with culture and art. Today there is a beautiful blend of traditional and modern art. During our time there we met several performing artists, sculptors, painters, and textile artisans who taught us a lot about the traditional techniques used to make Kente and stamp Adrika symbols. A painter shared with us his inspiration for his paintings. A tree carver showed us how to give something that has died a new purpose. In a place with so much of its traditions and values intact, it's hard to miss the beauty in things all around you. 

Peace of Mind 

Safety is, of course, everybody's primary concern when traveling to a foreign country. Ghana is quite safe for Western tourists and students to explore. Granted, our hotel was in the East Legon district, which is considered the affluent area of the Accra. During the first few days of our trip, we stuck together and traveled in groups of four or five. But as we became more comfortable with the city, culture, and people, navigating our way around with one other person was simple and easy. To avoid haggling with taxi drivers over prices, we predominantly used the Uber service because it was a fixed price and was almost always cheaper than the lowest price a taxi driver would settle on. Our second week in Ghana, a friend and I heard that locals go running up the Aubri mountain in the mornings. We decided that we had to experience it, too. I highly recommend using the buddy system when traveling anywhere. 

Food 

Accra offers a comfortable balance of food from all over the world so it is easy to find dishes that remind you of home. But, I highly recommend trying as many local dishes as possible. The wide variety of meals will surely satisfy all your taste buds. My favorite meal was the fufu and tilapia, fufu similar to the texture of bread dough is made by pounding cassava and unripe plantain together, mixed with water and goes well with just about anything. Another local staple that I really enjoyed was dried plantain chips which are delicious and great for a light snack. 

Personal Transformation

One of my favorite parts of the experience was our visit to the Anane Memorial International School, a local nonprofit school for children in Nima, Accra. Many of these kids walk for nearly 2 hours to make it to class by 8 am every morning. As an American, I have been fortunate enough to have had opportunities that many have not, opportunities such as school buses and indoor classrooms. Growing up here has come with its privileges and it is easy to forget just how convenient life can be for us. When traveling to rural villages in Ghana, it is hard to miss kids walking to school early in the morning along the highway or the small passenger vans with windows down packed shoulder to shoulder making frequent stops city after cities to pick up more passengers. No matter the length of time someone spends in a place like Ghana, you quickly realize how hard people work for what little they possess. Every day I learned something new about myself from observing and interacting with locals. I was constantly reminded that it is important to be grateful for the simple things in life. Basic things like clean water, food, and shelter are not as easily accessible for a lot of people. 

About the Author

Cody Anderson studied abroad in Ghana Spring 2017 and is a senior majoring in public relations with a minor in international relations at the Webster home campus in St. Louis, MO. 

[mikemortgage]

Native Americans say movement to end ‘redface’ is slow

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — John Little can hardly go a week without a reminder that he and other Native Americans often are viewed as relics of the past: the Indian maiden on the butter container at the grocery store, the kids’ teepees sold at popular retailers and the sports fans with their faces painted doing tomahawk chops at games.

But he doesn’t hear widespread outrage over these images that many Native Americans find offensive, even as the country has spent most of the year coming to grips with blackface and racist imagery following the revelation of a racist photo on the Virginia governor’s college yearbook page. Since then, new examples have surfaced regularly, most recently a TV host who painted her face brown in a parody of Oscar-nominated Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio.

“These are everyday realities for Native people,” said Little, a Standing Rock Sioux tribal member.

Redface may get less attention because of ingrained misconceptions and feelings of entitlement to Native American culture and land, scholars say. Native Americans also are a relatively small group, making up less than 2 per cent of the U.S. population. Blacks, by comparison, make up around 13 per cent.

Convincing the masses that stereotyping Native Americans as savage, ignorant or humourless is insulting has been a slow movement, scholars say, and one they aren’t sure will gain steam.

Throughout America’s history, people have donned redface, worn fringe and feathers, and spoken in broken English as they “played” or portrayed Native Americans in theatre, film and everyday life. In one of the earliest examples, colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped tea into the Boston harbour in 1773 in protest of British rule.

Early settlers wanted to take what they saw as the best values of Native Americans while simultaneously seizing the land and destroying tribal communities, scholars say.

Part of that was a desire to be seen as indigenous to the new land. Secret societies based on Native American symbols, customs and terminology formed and still exist, such as the Improved Order of Red Men and the Boy Scouts’ Order of the Arrow.

Waves of Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s sought to align themselves with Native Americans, whom they saw as fellow displaced people, dressing up as and singing songs about being Native American while belittling them to be socially accepted, said Peter Antelyes, an associate professor in English and Jewish studies at Vassar College.

Philip J. Deloria, a Harvard University history professor and author of “Playing Indian,” said Native Americans also were hypersexualized and depicted as cannibals. One famous political cartoon shows European nations lifting up the skirt of a Native American woman to reveal the newfound land, suggesting both were open to the desires of men, he said.

The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826, furthered those depictions and stereotypes, as did Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows, Deloria said.

Some actors later playing Native Americans made it their real-life image. Italian-American actor Iron Eyes Cody is well-known in Indian Country for a 1971 environmental ad in which he shed a single tear after paddling through a river littered with trash. He wore fringed buckskin and had a feather in his long, braided hair.

Most people think those images, largely based on 19th century Plains Indians, are who Native Americans were and still are, Deloria said. And some believe Natives went extinct.

“There’s a big, long, complicated history to this that’s really deep in American culture,” Deloria said. “It’s every bit as deep as blackface minstrelsy and slavery. It’s just out there, but we’ve kind of forgotten about it.”

Nowhere is redface more prominent than at sporting events featuring teams with Native American mascots like the Redskins, Braves and Indians, and around Halloween.

In the documentary “More Than a Word” about the Washington Redskins, fans say the team name honours Native Americans. Stadiums today are dotted with fans who paint their faces, perform their versions of a Native American dance or war cry, and wear toy or replica headdresses that are mass-produced.

It’s insulting to many Native Americans because headdresses historically were a symbol of honour and respect, earned by tribal chiefs and warriors, they say. Modern-day veterans and leaders sometimes are gifted them in ceremonies and honoured with the right to wear them.

“It’s easy to do the comparison: If this was blackface, it wouldn’t be tolerable,” said Little, who co-directed the documentary. “But that also discredits it because you are comparing issues in two separate races and two distinct people.”

Redface for many Native Americans isn’t limited to face paint. It also includes clothing and speech.

Celebrities have donned fake headdresses and feathers and hosted cowboys and Indians parties without many repercussions, beyond being called on to apologize. Non-Native actors portray Native Americans in movies more often than Native Americans do. And some politicians routinely cast doubt on tribes’ ability to control their own land.

“It’s hard for me to say people don’t know it’s wrong,” said Kyle Mays, an assistant professor of African American and American Indian studies at the University of California-Los Angeles, who is black and Saginaw Anishinaabe. “They might not know Native people, (but) they know it’s wrong and it’s just OK to do because there are not any consequences for it.”

Nicholet Deschine Parkhurst, who is Lakota and Navajo, has been trying to take companies to task for misappropriating Native American culture and to highlight indigenous people in a more contemporary way.

“When you’re viewed in that way, as only existing in the past, as the ‘frozen Indian’ found in museums … it makes it harder for voices of leaders in our communities to actually be heard, and it’s easier for people to ignore us,” she said.

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2Y5A1KD via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[caveartfair]

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Missing Hawaiian Painting “Hibiscus” Resurfaces at Auction, Selling for $4.8 million

Georgia O’Keeffe, Hibiscus, 1939. Courtesy of Christie’s.

Georgia O'Keeffe, 1956. Yousuf Karsh Huxley-Parlour

When the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) opened its “Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai’i” exhibition on May 19th, one important painting was missing: Hibiscus (1939). Featuring yellow and pink hibiscus flowers seen up close against a blue sky, it’s quintessential O’Keeffe. Having the painting—one of 20 that O’Keeffe painted during her time in Hawaii—on view would have offered a more complete story of the artist’s production during her time there in 1939. But in all of curator Theresa Papanikolas’s searching, she could never locate it.

It took Christie’s far less detective work to find it: One of the auction house’s clients simply offered it up. Instead of appearing alongside its Hawaiian peers at the NYBG, Hibiscus was the lead work at the Christie’s American art sale this morning, selling for a $4 million bid, or $4.8 million with fees, just at its low estimate of $4 million.

Before the sale, auctioneer John Hays announced that the painting may yet rejoin the group: The NYBG and the Brooks Museum in Memphis, Tennessee—the next destination for the show—have both requested it. The buyers, who Christie’s would not identify, have an opportunity to lend it out—and immediately enhance its provenance.

According to Paige Kestenman, an American art specialist at the auction house, the Christie’s team reached out to Papanikolas while researching Hibiscus’s exhibition history. Kestenman says that Papanikolas told Christie’s: “This is one of the paintings we were looking for. We were able to locate 19 of the 20 paintings.…This was the one we could not.’”

Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, 1932. Georgia O’Keeffe "Georgia O'Keeffe" at Tate Modern, London

Georgia O’Keeffe, Waterfall No. 1, ‘Īao Valley, Maui, 1939. © 2018 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden.

In fact, Christie’s was only able to identify two galleries in which Hibiscus had been publicly exhibited: An American Place (a gallery run by O’Keeffe’s husband, Alfred Stieglitz) in 1940, and a Memphis gallery in 1998. Otherwise, Hibiscus has mostly remained in private hands.

The Christie’s pricetag squares with O’Keeffe’s impressive track record at auction. In 2014, her Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for $44.4 million at Sotheby’s, becoming the world’s most expensive painting by a woman artist (the previous record holder was Joan Mitchell’s Untitled from 1960, which sold for $11.9 million earlier that year at Christie’s).

Kestenman says that a few recent prices helped the auction house determine the estimate for Hibiscus. Its sale of David and Peggy Rockefeller’s estate earlier this month saw another O’Keeffe work, a Southwestern landscape entitled Near Abiquiu, New Mexico (1931), sell for $8.4 million. Other flower paintings have sold in the single-digit millions. Last year, a flower done in pastel, Yellow Sweet Peas (1925), sold for $4.4 million last year at Sotheby’s.

Just how high can O’Keeffe’s market go? “Because a lot of her very major works are in institutional collections, I think it will depend on if there are major examples that become available on the market,” says Kestenman. “There’s a consistent, strong demand for her paintings.”

Harold Stein, Georgia O’Keeffe on Leho‘ula Beach, near ‘Aleamai, Hāna, Maui, 1939. Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Lava Bridge, Hāna Coast, No. 1, 1939. Courtesy of the Honolulu Museum of Art and the New York Botanical Garden.

Kestenman calls Hibiscus “important,” if not major. The painting is, though, of historical note. O’Keeffe’s larger series of Hawaiian flora and fauna has received particular attention over the past few years. In 2011, Koa Books published Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i, and the Honolulu Museum of Art presented “Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams: The Hawai’i Pictures” in 2014.

The artist initially traveled to the islands in 1939 to work on a commission for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (which later became Dole). While the company hired her to render images for its advertising campaign, O’Keeffe instead roamed around O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i, and Hawai’i, painting whatever she wanted. Verdant green valleys, spiky bright-red heliconia, and craggy black rocks all captured her attention.

In a catalogue essay for the NYBG show, Papanikolas writes that O’Keeffe created four compositions of hibiscus—“close studies of a single species that are both consistent with her serial modernism and suggestive of her personal transformation from tourist to ensconced visiting artist.”

According to Cody Hartley, senior director of collections and interpretation at Santa Fe’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, O’Keeffe’s Hawaii period is a great touchpoint in her career. The artist, who had been living in New York for years, began visiting New Mexico in 1929. She was so enamored with the landscape that she started spending months there at a time, relocating permanently in 1949. Inspired by her new surroundings, O’Keeffe painted bones, skulls, and other imagery associated with the desert.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Heliconia, Crab’s Claw Ginger, 1939. © 2018 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Pineapple Bud, 1939. © 2018 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden.

“Hawaii is this interesting interlude between the decade when she discovers New Mexico and when she starts to really make plans to spend the rest of her life here,” says Hartley. In Hawaii, O’Keeffe employed what he calls “a drawing practice where she used her sketches to understand and discover new places.” Her focus turned from the dry and desolate New Mexico to lush, vegetal Hawaii.

“Globally, Georgia O’Keeffe is most known for her flower paintings,” Kestenman points out, placing Hibiscus (and many of the Hawaii works) within a broader section of the artist’s body of work. “They were the paintings that first made her a real sensation.” O’Keeffe employed the subject from the 1920s through the 1950s. These pictures became immediately popular, especially as viewers interpreted the flowers’ indentations and folds as symbols of female genitalia. (Stieglitz, O’Keeffe’s husband, started the rumor.) O’Keeffe rejected the associations, which oversimplified her work.

Indeed, Hartley acknowledges both the broad appeal of the artist’s oeuvre and its subtler, more skillful elements. “Her work reproduces very cleanly in print,” he says. “I think that’s one of the reasons she’s so accessible.” Yet only in person can the viewer assess the artist’s light, skillful touch. O’Keeffe often employed a “wet into dry” technique, allowing full sections of paint to dry before beginning on the next.

According to Hartley, O’Keeffe saw her subjects as simple excuses to put oil paint on canvas in intriguing new ways. “Creating those subtle folding areas of color, those subtle gradations—that’s where she’s trying to engage you as a viewer,” he says. “It’s really about what she’s doing with paint more than anything that has to do with the flowers themselves.”

Red Hills with Flowers, 1937. Georgia O’Keeffe Art Institute of Chicago

The results, Hartley reminds us, were far more than pretty pictures. They were experiments in technique that pushed her material toward abstraction; sophisticated compositions that merged depictions of the American landscape with new ideas about painting and art.

In Hibiscus, rippled edges of petals appear to swirl counterclockwise, creating a sense of gentle undulation and breezy movement. Set against the light blue sky without any indication of the ground, the figures even become cloud-like. Swaths of pink, white, yellow, and red blend both subtly and dramatically, making the painting more about color and line than about simple flowers.  

The yellows, pinks, and oranges of Hibiscus, says Hartley, also connect the work to O’Keeffe’s New Mexico paintings. In the latter canvases, O’Keeffe employed intense yellows and reds. Red Hills with Flowers (1937), for example, merges her most-loved motif with the Southwestern landscape. These hues appear in Hibiscus, both in petals and in an interior shadow.

There’s also a small hint—intentional or not—of O’Keeffe’s reason for visiting Hawaii in the first place: a yellow stigma (the reproductive structure that protrudes from the center of a flower) in the lower left corner of the painting, which resembles a small pineapple. Now, these small details have taken on a definite, multi-million dollar price.    

from Artsy News

[benniemanchee95-blog]

Sacred Bamboo Nandina.

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For the "Throughout The U.S.A." trip, the solar powered plane will certainly take a southerly course throughout the United States prior to making its means north, ending the journey in New York City a long time in June or July. Monday: Scorpios lucky hrs will landed on the Fourth, 11th, and also 18th hours past sunrise. Additionally, our application supplies a default readying to open your shutters at daybreak to let in that stunning all-natural early morning light, and close at sundown to make sure the personal privacy of you and your loved ones. When I saw an outstanding image of my buddy Cody looking out from a coastline right into a sunset, I decided on a sundown history for the bottle. From the charming to the energising, here are one of the most gorgeous sunup and sundown viewpoints on the planet. Dawn is officially dead, however Microsoft just added a new feature to the Expectation iphone schedule that may aid you forget it. In a method obtained from the desktop application, the iOS variation of Overview has a brand-new organizing assistant that makes it rather easy to book a meeting. As a perk, columns often include an explorable Google Map that marks each highlighted activity, as well as the write consists of time stamps at each destination, which indicates "36 Hours" additionally doubles as a pre-made schedule too. Sunup City is not a basic race for the most factors, it a competition to expand the city in a manner that permits you to score the right variety of factors at the correct time so that you could optimize your collection of criteria. Happier people produced a much better result for the firm. Also I hate all the schedule applications that try to mix to-dos with occasions. If the grid were flawlessly lined up north and also southern, after that Manhattanhenge would take place on the equinoxes-- the first day of springtime and also fall-- the only time of the year when the Sunlight actually sets in the west as well as rises in the eastern. Wednesday: Scorpios lucky hrs will fall on the 5th, 12th, as well as 19th hrs past dawn. By filling various hued glass containers with water and also putting them under sunshine the water takes up the form of an unique kind of medication. Sunday: & nbspYou are luckier throughout the 7th, 14th, as well as 21st hours after sunrise. A sunset is widely symbolic of love and also caring. These accounts supply the bulk of the information Sunup draws in, like Facebook occasions, images from LinkedIn, and events from Google. You are able to better establish how to finest designate your time when you understand how much daytime remains. Firm supervisors said food and also water was provided to the caught miners while they waited for the reconstruction of power. As well as today it is including a brand-new attribute that it wishes will make the app a whole lot more useful and also more utilized: it's finally switching on an API so that individuals can produce or customize Wunderlist tasks in other applications, as well as obtain notifies for Wunderlist tasks when they remain in those apps. Stargazing is best right after sunset.

[relg3559]

Polygamy in US Media

        Over the past seven years TLC’s show, Sister Wives, has become a household name in the United States. In the most recent season finale in January 2017, over 3.4 million viewers tuned in, making it the most watched TLC show of all time. Despite their polygamous lifestyle, Kody and his four wives are portrayed as a ‘wholesome’ and ‘normal’ American family. As articulated by Bailey and Zahren in their article, “Post-homphobia Comes Out: The Rise of Mormon Polygamy in US Popular Culture,” Sister Wives does challenge convention by portraying Mormon polygamy, a practice outlawed in most states and villainized since its inception. The show allows “mainstream US media [to] juxtapose the Browns against the FLDS” which makes the Browns “legible as rightful post-homophobic citizens, especially in contrast to the darkened, queered and abjected FLDS” (Bailey and Zahren, 162) . The Browns become symbolic of the United States as a place of freedom and liberalism that allows citizens to reclaim their sexual and religious identities despite framing the family as a foil to a religious group that is not accepted, the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints- FLDS. By accepting the Brown family, the United States works to portray itself as tolerant and open-minded to sexual difference despite “reinstalling the white, middle-class, Christian, heterosexual (if polygamous) nuclear family as ideal.” (Bailey and Zahren, 161) To build on Bailey and Zahren’s argument about the Browns as well as all Mormon polygamists as “rightful heirs to sexual/ religious minority politics” it is critical to examine another TLC show about polygamy, My Five Wives. The Browns are able to embody this “post-homophobic citizen” because they conform to certain norms around sex, such as framing each relationship between Kody and each of his wives in heteronormative terms and only speaking about sex as for the goal of procreation. The Williams are not accepted or inheritors of this title because they are open to sharing intimate details about their sexual lives, that do not involve procreation, and play on the idea that Brody Williams does in fact sleep with each of his five wives. My Five Wives suggests Mormon polygamists are still marginalized and unaccepted by the general public and that the Browns achieved acceptance because they conformed to mainstream American society rather than actually receiving the benefits of so-called ‘religious freedom.’  Unlike the success of Sister Wives, My Five Wives was cancelled after only two seasons and reported low viewership. On all accounts, the Williams family is very similar to the Browns: white, middle-class and polygamous, yet the Williams family were not able to mainstream their views in the way the Browns have. Why was the Williams family not embraced by audiences as the Browns have been? Despite checking the boxes for what should make them popular, and what Bailey and Zahren call “post-homophobic” citizens, they were not; thus suggesting that just appearing like the Browns is not enough to be embraced by the public. In actuality, US society does not tolerate religious as well as sexual differences and that to be accepted the Browns normalized their sexual lives to an American ideal whereas the Williams did not.

           Kody and his wives rarely speak about sex on the show and Kody almost never shows public affection. The only time sex is ever really discussed is in vague terms and in relation to having children. For example, Robyn and Cody speak on camera about their decision to have a child together and say, “when we were thinking of having a baby we looked at each other and go ‘now can we try.’”[1] For the Browns, sex is for procreation and through this they reinforce the idea of a heteronormative family despite being polygamists. Additionally, the Browns are sexually conservative as shown when third wife Christine’s expresses her anger about when she found out that Kody and new wife Robyn kissed after Kody proposed. As Christine says, she didn’t kiss Kody until “over the altar” because “she did not feel right about kissing a married man.[2]” Despite practicing Polygamy, the Brown’s position themselves as a ‘normal’ family by upholding conservative beliefs about the sanctity and importance of marriage, family, and children in a heteronormative fashion. In contrast, the opening scene in the promotional video of My Five Wives shows Brady William walking up in bed with his first wife, Pauline, and an intimate ‘good morning’ between the two of them as Pauline strokes Brady’s cheek. Then, the scene repeats itself, but this time with Robyn, the second wife. The exact same scene repeats itself three more times, with the next three wives. Right away, this family sets themselves apart from the Browns because of their openness to show and talk about the fact that polygamy means the man will have multiple sexual relationships within his marriage. In a video interview for the Huffington Post, when talking about the subject Brody explains, “when talking about the subject you feel like you can’t talk about it, but listen, all of America is having sex… we are just normal, normal times five[3].” Interestingly, Brody tries to positon himself as just a ‘normal American’ having ‘normal sex’ in his marriage. The Williams by all accounts should be the models for acceptance in a ‘Post-homophobic’ US due to their openness about their intimate relationships and open-minded views about sex, yet it is the very thing that made the show so contested by viewers.

           In the comments for the promotional video for My Five Wives Sister Wives, the issue of the William’s sexual lives was one of the major reactions for viewers, whereas it rarely appeared in the comments for Sister Wives. Under the TLC YouTube channels My Five Wives promotional video there are critiques of the family such as “This is really having your cake and eating it too LMAO. "Honey I'm not cheating on you, we're having a polygamous relationship!" and “This is glorifying cheating to me.”[4]. The promotional video for Sister Wives did also get negative comments, but rarely did they have to do with Kody’s intimidate relationships, rather there are comments like, “This is a cult” or “Polygamy is disgusting[5]”. The William’s show was not able to overcome such negativity from the public because they did not hide that their Polygamist marriage was not heteronormative. In an article for Bustle comparing and contrasting the two families, TLC’s New Polygamists on ‘My Five Wives’ are more ‘Progressive’ and Problematic Than The ‘Sister Wives’, author Samantha Rullo, breaks down the differences between the Browns and the Williams lifestyle. Many of the differences Rullo writes about come down to the portrayal of sex in each show. For example, when Rullo examines the differences in each families’ religion and social beliefs she takes issue with the Williams saying they left the Apostolic United Brethren sect of Fundamentalist Mormonism because they wanted to move from an “exclusive viewpoint to an inclusive one.” Rullo does recognize that they support marriage equality and do not want to force polygamy onto their children, but at the same time “Brady declared that there is to be no pre-marital sex. His reasoning for all of this? He doesn't want his kids to be "flippant with their bodies.[6]" Rullo asserts that although Brady openly says he is a feminist, his actions speak otherwise, such as in this case asserting authority over his children’s sexual lives. In her views, the Williams are so troublesome because they label themselves as socially progressive but their actions do not match a ‘typical’ progressive agenda. In some ways, Rullo’s article gets to the core of Bailey and Zahren’s argument. Mainstream American media, Rullo included, tolerates and even in some cases accept that the Browns practice polygamy because they portray themselves as a conservative heteronormative family. In contrast, the way in which the Williams practice and portray Polygamy is more sexualized and liberal and therefore outside of the acceptable norms of our Protestant Christian society. Furthermore, without the backing of the Apostolic United Brethren sect of Fundamentalist Mormonism the Williams become further isolated from societal norms because they no longer can use formalized religion as part of the reason to live as polygamists. Thus, the family moves away from what is considered acceptable in the United States. The two families show that Mormonism and more specifically polygamy is not in fact accepted in the United States and that the Browns are an exception due to how closely they follow societal standards around family structure and sexual differences. The portrayal of the Browns as “rightful post-homophobic citizens” is actually dangerous to society because it portrays a false sense of religious freedom and tolerance when in reality only allows for very specific difference. Similarly, Jasbir Paur, in her book Terrorist Assemblages, conveys the idea of Homonationalism in the United States, or the idea of “normative gayness” such that there is correct way to be gay. Sister Wives and My Five Wives conveys a sense of ‘Polygamy-nationalism’ where Sister Wives is the script for how to be a polygamist and the public reaction and subsequent cancelling of My Five Wives shows what happens when one goes off this script. Thus, there is actually no true acceptance for those who practice polygamy or who have different family structures than what is prescribed by society.  

[1]Sister Wives- Time to Start Trying. Perf. Kody Brown and Robyn Brown. You Tube/ Sister Wives. TLC, 11 June 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2017. <https://youtu.be/BNSAj45__AU>.

[2] Sister Wives - The Kiss. YouTube. YouTube/ TLC, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfaLKrFbbl0>.

[3] HuffPostLive. "'My Five Wives' Star: 'All Of America Is Having Sex'." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_wQSm6LTs>.

[4] TLC. "Meet The Wives | My Five Wives." YouTube. TLC, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbeycSVQT9s>.

[5] TLC. "Sister Wives - First Sneak Peek." YouTube. TLC, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsVZdO6FJU>.

[6] Rullo, Samantha. "TLC's New Polygamists on 'My Five Wives' Are More "Progressive" And Problematic Than the 'Sister Wives'." Bustle. Bustle, 12 May 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2017. <https://www.bustle.com/articles/20358-tlcs-new-polygamists-on-my-five-wives-are-more-progressive-and-problematic-than-the-sister-wives>.

[nofomoartworld]

Free Orgasms, Neon Lights, and Pepto-Bismol at the Korean Pavilion

In the corner of the Venice Biennale's Giardini, the Korean pavilion makes an exciting first impression. A fantastical medley of technicolor neon conveys the shapes of a roaring tiger, peacocks, and dragons. A fake advertisement for Pepto-Bismol is surrounded by the blinking bulbs you'd see on a Broadway marquee. Above all this, a cheeky neon sign spells out "Holiday Motel," and to the side, a light box advertises "Free Narcissistic People Disorder... Free Orgasms," and more.

The work, entitled Venetian Rhapsody, is by Cody Choi, and is a direct comment on his inclusion in the vast European art spectacle, inspired by Macau casinos, Las Vegas motels, and the work of Patrick Tuttofuoco. "This work is talking about the double-crossed reality... of Venice, capitalism, and art. This is the conflict of contemporary artists being in the Venice Biennale," the "Komerican" artist, who moved from Korea to the States in the early 80s, says.

Lee Wan, Mr. K and the Collection of Korean History, 2010-2017. Photographs and assorted archive objects. Dimensions variable. Installation view at the Korean Pavilion, 57th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by the Artist. Courtesy of the Artist.

The pavilion is a collaboration between Choi and Lee Wan. The latter is showing his collection of archive material that traces power relations in recent Korean history through an installation titled Mr. K and the Collection of Korean History. "I collect items that represent a particular era or those that have become symbols of an era beyond their original functions or values," he says. Lee has been collecting this selection of newspaper articles and official records, as well as knick knacks and ephemera, since 2010, and has also added a box of photographs from the life of a "Mr. Kim" that he scavenged at a market. Tiny statues, a rotary phone, and a Newsweek cover all scatter the walls in an accumulation of information.

Born in 1936, "Mr. K" as the exhibition dubs him, lived through some of the most tumultuous times in Korean history. "I wanted to show the influence of politics and power on the life of an individual. I also wanted to contemplate what that individual means to a nation," Lee says. Mr. K becomes a kind of "universal" Korean, with his acronym nickname invented by curator Lee Daehyung.

Lee Wan, Proper Time: Though the Dreams Revolve with the Moon, 2017. 668 clocks. Dimensions variable. Installation view at the Korean Pavilion, 57th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by the Artist. Courtesy of the Artist.

But how much can an individual life tell us about the country as a whole? Lee is skeptical of neat narrative-building: "The life of an individual that I paint and imagine based solely on photos may, in fact, be entirely different from the individual's actual life. Likewise, it may be impossible to understand the circumstances of a country merely based on fragments of history that I collected. Yet, what is important is that people and the society often come to have similar memories of the past, as is recorded in history." In other words: nationality might be complicated, but cultural memory is still important.

Lee is also ambivalent about the concept of "Koreanness," noting that the country has undergone change from a military regime to a more openly international, neoliberal government in the past 50 years. "Frankly speaking, I am not entirely sure what it means for something to be 'Korean,'" Lee says. "Traditions no longer exist in ways they used to before, and Korea has seen modernization, thanks to the help of foreign nations. Given such circumstances, I think the expression 'Korean' is more multi-layered and comprehensive in meaning."

Cody Choi, Cheesekhwa (Color Painting) – RED, 2016-17. Oil on canvas. 124.3x161.7 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.

Choi is similarly doubtful about the stability of this definition, especially as it relates to the label of Korean art. His work Cheesekwha - Color Painting expresses this problem, playing with Western expectations of Korean art. Punning on the popular and minimally-toned paintings that are typical of the Dansaekhwa movement, Choi instead writes the names of colors onto the canvas in different shades. "I think it's still in progress," he says, on the development of a national artistic movement. "That's why I try to be honest myself. That's what I'm trying to do with my art."

At the same time, Choi feels a pressure to take part in the "-merican" part of his "Komerican" identity. "When I moved to the States in the early 80s, I studied at the Art Center College for Design under Mike Kelley. I got the sense that most American artists' expression is very aggressive. That kind of expression we never learned in Korea. Asian philosophy says: 'Don't express yourself! If you do, it means you're shallow.'" Choi's own artistic temperament is to take a less direct but still humorous approach, for example in The Thinker, that recreates Rodin's famous sculpture out of toilet paper and Pepto Bismol, which the artist downed by the bottle when he first arrived in America, in response to the stomach trouble and culture shock.

Cody Choi, The Thinker, 1995-96. Toilet paper, Pepto-Bismol, Wood. Installation view at the Korean Pavilion, 57th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by Riccardo Tosetto. Courtesy of ARARIO Museum and the Artist.

Elsewhere in the Pavilion, Lee considers the accumulation of labour as a model for citizenship, such as in the installation piece Proper Time, in which 668 clocks are each affixed to the wall, programmed to the relative time it takes a person in a different country to earn enough for a meal. Drawing on Einstein's statistical theories, the work incorporates a vast amount of research and evaluation of personal stories, and takes into account all the minutiae of what makes our lives different.

"Labor has always been the most basic and important act of exchange necessary in order for humans to continue to lead their lives," says Wan. "At the center of many problems and conflicts that we see in the world today are disparity and imbalance between these values." In this piece, as well as the Made In videos and associated objects that chart the course of Asian nations through the production of export products, Lee zooms into the individual memories, stories and personalities that all add up to create a singular culture, whether it's a silk weaver in Thailand sending her daughter to college using the fruits of this labour, or the women affected by declining demand for Korean wig manufacture.

Lee Wan, Made In, 2013-present. 12 documentaries and 12 objects. Made In objects installation view. Photo by the Artist. Courtesy of the Artist.

Over the last 50 years, Korea has become much more open to an international market, and yet, according to this pavilion, it is still finding ways to construct its identity. On this point, Lee mentions a telling fact from his years of research: "In the 1990s, there was an interesting government slogan that read 'What is Korean is international.'" If you try to define yourself by what's outside yourself, it's hard to find what was inside all along.

The Korean Pavilion is open as part of the Venice Biennale through November 26, 2017.

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